Come, Dearest Jesus, Come — Don Fortner

(Tune: #10 — O God Our Help in Ages Past — CM)

1. When Christ in judgment shall descend,
And bid the world draw nigh,
The saints shall find the Judge their Friend,
And meet their Lord with joy.

2. His flaming eyes, His thund’ring voice,
Shall strike the world with dread;
Then shall His ransomed ones rejoice,
In Christ their cov’nant Head.

3. He’ll rend the skies, and make a way
To bring His chosen home.
(Oh, blessed hope!) We’ll watch and pray,
Come, dearest Jesus, come.

4. And shall my helpless soul appear,
Before the Great White Throne?—
I’ll plead the blood of Jesus there,
And join the endless song.

As you’ve known, on May 18, our beloved pastor, Scott Richardson, left us to be forever with His Lord and Savior. Here at Katy we’ve been comforted in telling one another that the journey has ended and his race is won. His faith has become sight, and we’re so happy for him. We rejoice that the will of our Father has been accomplished in taking his own home to be with Him forever.

We acknowledge with grateful appreciation all your comforting comments, prayers, cards, letters, calls, flowers, food and caring efforts made in honoring the memory of our faithful pastor, father, and friend.

Your kind and thoughtful expressions of sympathy are appreciated today and shall be remembered tomorrow. Thank you so much.

The Richardson Family

You may suppress it, you may not like to face it, but whenever you think about death and eternity, whenever you think about meeting God in judgment, your conscience demands an answer to this question: — How can a man be justified with God? If you could find the answer to that question, an answer that would satisfy your guilty, accusing conscience, you would have what few men have — Peace.

You know that God is, that he is holy and that one day you must meet this holy Lord God in judgment. I don’t need to prove those things to you. Your conscience, the voice of God in your soul, bears me witness. You also know that you are a guilty sinner, deserving of God’s holy wrath by nature. Again, “the law of God written in your heart and conscience” bears me witness. Your very conscience tells you that God must and will punish sin. Consequently, you must soothe, or quieten your guilty conscience by finding an answer to the question, — How can a man be just with God?

You offer personal sacrifices, moral reformation, religious works and deeds of charity, but your conscience still condemns you. Your conscience says, “That’s not enough!” The only way a sinner can be made righteous and be justified with the holy Lord God is through the blood atonement rendered to him by his Son, the sinner’s substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ.

When I received the call on Tuesday morning (May 4) that the Lord had taken Bro. Scott Richardson home, my immediate response was with joyful laughter, “Bless God! I’m so thankful.” Our Lord tells us to give honor to those to whom honor is due. For that reason, and because I delight to do so, I wish to offer a brief tribute to the life and ministry of my cherished friend.

I first met Bro. Scott at a Bible conference in Memphis, Tennessee in the early spring of 1972. That same spring he asked me to preach in the annual conference hosted by Katy Baptist Church in Fairmont, West Virginia. We quickly became good friends, preaching together several times a year at different meetings and for one another at least once a year.

Faithful Pastor

Bro. Scott was the faithful pastor of Katy Baptist Church from its birth in 1954 until, at his insistence, the assembly called another pastor in 2003. At that time, the Fairmont church called Bro. Marvin Stalnaker to be its pastor. Never have I witnessed a better transition from one pastor to another. Brothers Scott and Marvin enjoyed a very blessed, close relationship of mutual love and respect, until the Lord graciously called his servant to glory. The congregation he faithfully served for fifty years cherish him; and that same congregation cherishes his successor.

Exemplary Preacher

Bro. Scott was an exemplary preacher. Gifted with a brilliant mind and keen insight in the things of God, he devoted himself to the study of Holy Scripture and the preaching of the gospel. I never heard him preach the gospel without profit to my soul. He reached with God given conviction, dogmatism and power, as a man taught of God, always exalting the Lord Jesus Christ, always urging sinners to trust him, always proclaiming God’s free and sovereign grace in our crucified Savior. When, in private conversation, we discussed the Scriptures, I always tried to listen carefully, because I always learned something of great value.

At Rest

My dear brother and friend is now at rest, enjoying that blessed sabbath fully of which he so frequently spoke, the rest obtained for God’s elect by, as he put it, “the doing and dying of the Lord Jesus.” He has entered into rest. He shall never know sin, or sorrow, or pain, or weeping, or dying again. He has taken his place in glory, seated with the white robed throng around the throne of God and of the Lamb, looking on the face of the Son of God, singing with the ransomed multitude, “Worthy is the Lamb!” How I thank God for the influence of Pastor Scott Richardson upon my life and ministry! I pray for grace to follow his example.