The Time of Departure, The Passing of Brother Mike Schreib

[0:00] for leading that one. And I'm always pleased that you aren't afraid of new songs. Amen. Keeps things different. It pleases me.

[0:11] All right, let's go to 2 Timothy tonight, please. Chapter number 4. 2 Timothy 4. And I want to read three familiar verses to you.

[0:38] And please follow along in 2 Timothy 4, verses 6 through 8. The Bible says, For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

[0:52] I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

[1:11] Now, I can't help but to be moved by the passing of our brother and fellow laborer for the Lord, a preacher and a pastor and a soldier, Pastor Mike Schreiber.

[1:30] Many of you know, maybe a few of you don't know, yesterday he went home to be with the Lord. And I feel a bit foolish, just being honest with you. I feel a bit foolish because I never met the man.

[1:42] And I felt led this past Sunday when Brother Pfeffer mentioned his upending surgery. And I was here in the afternoon waiting for some fellows to show up that I just got thinking about him and thinking about the surgery.

[1:55] And I just felt, just moved. I felt like I want to go meet him. I want to go see his wife and himself and sit down with him and just talk with him and try to encourage him and be a blessing to him and just get to know him.

[2:08] I know he had come and I know he preached in this pulpit. And I looked on the records. It was in January. I think it was of 2000. I forget now. Whatever.

[2:20] It was before I came here. So it might have been 2020. He preached on a Sunday night. I intended on calling him then this week. And Sunday I got a hold of his number and realized that, oh, well, I'm not going to be able to meet him because of the surgery and germs and stay away kind of thing.

[2:37] And so I thought, well, I'm going to give him a call sometime this week if possible. And I didn't have the time at that moment on Sunday to do it. So I thought I'll try someday this week. And Monday flew by.

[2:48] And Tuesday I thought of it. It glanced through my mind in the afternoon on Tuesday. And I thought, I think I'll try that tomorrow or Thursday. And I got the message last night that he had passed.

[3:00] And it struck me in my heart. It struck me just in the innermost part of me that he passed, that he's with the Lord, and that I didn't get to connect with him.

[3:12] It bothered me. And I really wish in my heart that I could have at least reached out when I had the opportunity and let it pass by. And so be it. I'm not going to mully grub about the regret of it all because it's too late.

[3:28] But that brother preached in this pulpit. As a matter of fact, I understand he was even a candidate to be for the position of pastor of this church at one time. And it was because of hearing his name at that time.

[3:41] And I was here on a Sunday in January. And I flew back to Pennsylvania. It was the following Sunday that he came and preached in the PM. And hearing from Brother Pfeffer his name that he filled in and just staying in touch, I looked him up and saw that he pastored locally here at Bible Baptist Church International in Ontario, is it?

[4:03] And he has been there for a good while. And I looked him up. I watched some of his videos or just listened to him preach and teach. And over the time I've been here, I've even somehow come across his stuff again and looked and just listened to him for a little bit.

[4:17] And I appreciated him. I appreciated his stand on the Bible. And I appreciated that he took Syria's Bible doctrine and teaching it and preaching it and stood for the Word of God.

[4:31] It just impressed me and I was thankful for that. Brother Schreiber, Mike Schreiber, was a graduate of Pensacola Bible Institute from back in 1993. And he came out here to Southern California.

[4:44] He's been serving Christ in the ministry for almost 30 years. And he started his chemo in the year 2017. And he's had his ups and downs through that time.

[4:54] And some of you know this to one degree or another. But then finally went home to be with the Lord yesterday evening. And considering his departure, considering his departure, I got meditating on what he departed to.

[5:10] And I want you to take your Bibles and go to Philippians chapter 1. Look at Philippians chapter 1. And look at with me at verse number 21.

[5:32] Where the Apostle Paul says, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. He uses the word gain. To die is gain.

[5:45] Nobody else talks like that unless you're a born-again Christian that knows where you're going when you die. In verse 23, Paul says, For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is what he says, far better.

[6:04] Nevertheless, to bind the flesh is more needful for you. He uses the word gain. He uses the words far better. And Paul's talking about, in this context, which is far better than sticking around in the flesh, and helping out this local church, and being a help to them which they needed.

[6:24] And what he's referring to is the, he's not talking about the trials of life, like heaven's far better than dealing with, no, he's talking about the work of the ministry, and serving the Lord. And he said, But I have a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better than serving him down here, and ministering for him down here.

[6:43] And I'm considering the departure of our brother, and considering that it's been gain for him, and it's far better for him. And I realize that, there's just not really a lot that can be said for certain, about what he's experiencing, in actuality.

[7:05] There's just not a lot, from the word of God, that we can pull out, and know for certain, that he is experiencing this moment. The Bible has revealed some things, about the other side, and most of what I read, about the, from the scriptures, about eternity future, about a new heaven, a new earth, when the former things are passed away, but not so much about, what we would say now, where our brother is now, our departed brother.

[7:32] He's present with the Lord, but what that looks like, well, eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard, and neither hath entered into the heart of man. And so probably the best way, for us to consider his departure, is to, not consider what he departed to, but maybe consider, what he departed from.

[7:56] Because that's something, that we can all get. That's something, we can all appreciate, and understand. And so let me say, a few things tonight, about our brother, Mike Schreiber, and what he departed from.

[8:09] And the first thing, I want to say, come back to, we'll stay here, let's stay here in Philippians. In 1 Timothy chapter 6, Paul told Timothy, to fight the good fight of faith.

[8:22] And we read that, Paul said, I fought a good fight, and he said, the time of my departure is at hand. And the first thing I want to say, that brother Schreiber departed from, is he departed from, his fight of faith.

[8:37] Because that man, can lay his sword down, and finally rest. When we read about, the apostle Paul, when we read about, the ministry that he had of the Lord, he describes being, in bonds.

[8:51] Look at chapter 1 of this, where we're at in Philippians, in a verse, well read verse 12, he says, but I would you should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me, have fallen out, rather unto the furtherance of the gospel, so that my bonds in Christ, are manifest, in all the palace, and all their places.

[9:08] And many of the brethren, in the Lord, waxing bold in my bonds. And he says it again, in verse 16, and elsewhere, the apostle Paul, is locked up. And that's what he received, for the ministry, and for serving God, and what he's been doing.

[9:23] He's in bonds. That was his fight. It landed him in jail. Notice also, in this passage, verse 16, he talks about, some of the brethren, and them preaching Christ.

[9:34] And he says, the one preached Christ, of contention, not sincerely. Why are they doing it? Supposing to add affliction, to my bonds. So there's brethren, that can't stand, the apostle Paul, and what he's doing.

[9:48] And they've got so much, envy in them, in verse 15, envy and strife, that they're supposing, they want to add affliction, to what he's doing.

[9:59] And Paul's okay with it, because Christ is preached, and he says, praise the Lord for that. And he just, he lets it roll, right off of his back. But there's another thing, in the ministry, of the apostle Paul, in his fight.

[10:11] Bonds, the brethren, seeking to add to his affliction, out of spite, and contention. Verse number 29, of the chapter, he references suffering, and he references conflict. For unto you, is given in the behalf of Christ, not only believe on him, but also to suffer, for his sake, having the same conflict, which he saw in me, and now here to be in me.

[10:31] That man's suffering. The apostle Paul talks, in 2 Timothy 3, verse 11, he references persecutions, and afflictions, that he endured, at Antioch, and Lystra, and so forth.

[10:44] Place after place, persecutions, afflictions. He also mentions, and I think you know the place, in 2 Corinthians 11, an incredible list, of the perils, of the ministry.

[10:57] Perils of my own countrymen, perils of false brethren. He talks about perils of the sea. He talks about hungerings, and thirsting, and naked, or cold, and nakedness, fastings.

[11:12] This man's been through it, getting beaten, and beaten, and beaten, more than once. Perils. At the hands of his own countrymen, and false brethren.

[11:22] In 2 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul describes, that there was given to me, a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan, to buffet me, lest I should be exalted, above measure. Paul got it from all sides.

[11:34] But he fought a fight, he fought a good fight, until his course, was finished. And I have to believe, that brother Shrine, having served God, in the ministry, for nearly 30 years, I have to believe, that that man, having never met him, I have to believe, he had his share, of afflictions.

[11:53] We know, to some degree, we know of his, his battle with his flesh, and the sickness, in his body. But surely, surely he faced opposition, in his fight of faith.

[12:06] I have never met a work of God, that hasn't met opposition. I have never met a person, a Christian, that wants to serve God, or a man called of God, that hasn't faced some trials, in this life.

[12:17] Whether it's from the world, or whether it's from his own brethren. I haven't met one, and so I have to believe, that brother Shrine, faced his. And as he departed, this life, and his time of departure came, he departed, from his fight, of faith.

[12:36] I said it before, I've never met the man, but I truly, I honestly, after thinking on him, in these last few days, anticipate, meeting him in glory. I mean it, we're not going to talk about, the southern California weather, we're not going to talk about, the traffic in LA, we're not going to talk about, the Dodgers, we're going to talk about, the times that God, has been good to us, in this life.

[12:58] I look forward, to sitting down, with the man, and hearing what he has to say, about Jesus Christ, and the years that he served him, and how good God's been to him. The hand of the Lord, was on him, and I can't wait, to fellowship, over those wonderful things, that we've experienced.

[13:16] I'd love to hear him, tell the times, that God, delivered him, if you read at the end of, 2nd Timothy 4, where Paul talks about, being delivered, from the mouth of the lion, and when no man, stood by him, I think, I bet this brother, has some stories, that he could tell, when God delivered him, and when God stood by him, as he fought, the fight of faith.

[13:39] But he departed, and he departed, from his fight of faith. Something else, that our brother, departed from, is he departed, from the fight, with his flesh.

[13:51] With his flesh, he's delivered, from what Colossians, reads, Paul calls, the body, of the sins, of the flesh. That thing is, gone.

[14:02] We talk about it, we talk about, longing for it, getting out of this thing. Well, this brother, that I'm talking to you, about tonight, he has departed, from the body, of the sins, of the flesh.

[14:13] Look at Romans, chapter 7, with me. And let's consider, the apostle Paul again. He's delivered, from his fight, of faith.

[14:35] He's delivered, also, or departed, from his fight, with his flesh. In Romans, chapter 7, Paul describes, in this passage, his never-ending battle.

[14:49] A daily fight. And this time, it's not with his countrymen, and it's not with the brethren, and it's not with Satan. This is with his flesh, his own sinful self.

[15:01] And look at, this man's been saved, for as best as I can tell, 25 years. 25 years, in the ministry, serving Christ, been through, some of these major battles, and things I've already referenced.

[15:15] But this one, never went away. It never, well I guess, it did one day, didn't it? It did one day, the day of his departure. Romans 7, look at verse 15.

[15:26] Paul says, for that which I do, I allow not. For what I would, that do I not. But what I hate, that do I.

[15:41] Now I don't know too many ministers, of the gospel, that would admit to this, in writing. Admit, how, how much they struggle, with their flesh.

[15:55] I don't think there's too many, men that have been saved, 25 years, that are pillars of the faith, that would admit in writing, to how weak they truly are.

[16:06] And so, I'm not making out, our brother Shrive, to be the chiefest of sinners, by any means. But he was flesh, just like you and I. The difference today is, he's departed, from his fight, with his flesh.

[16:20] And if you have a desire, to please Jesus Christ, and if you have a desire, to live above your sin and flesh, then I'm sure that the words, that we're about to read, are going to resonate with you.

[16:31] I'm thankful, Paul wrote what he wrote, about himself here. It's a best, I'm telling you, it's a blessing to me, to read that the apostle Paul, not just that he had the struggles, but that he admitted it.

[16:42] It's a true blessing to me, and I think if you want to serve Christ, and want to get above your flesh, this will speak to you as well. Let's read these verses, verse 16 forward.

[16:53] Paul said, If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law, that it is good. He's saying, I admit that I'm guilty, the law is right, it declares me wrong.

[17:05] Verse 17, Now then, it is no more that I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing.

[17:15] For to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I would, I do not. But the evil which I would not, that I do.

[17:29] Now if I do that, I would not, and it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me, I find then a law, that when I would do good, evil is present with me.

[17:41] For I delight in the law of God, after the inward man, but I see another law in my members, warring. It's a fight. Warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity.

[17:54] He's losing the fight. Bringing me into captivity, to the law of sin, which is in my members. Oh, wretched man, that I am.

[18:06] When have you heard a preacher, or anybody for that matter, declare to you, that's what they think of themselves. Somebody saved 25 years. Somebody that people look up to.

[18:19] I read that, and I just think, yep. Oh, wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me, from the body of this death? Paul calls it, the body of this death.

[18:33] I mentioned Corinthians chapter 2, I'm sorry, Colossians. He calls it, the body of the sins, of the flesh. Well, when Paul departed, he found the deliverance that he longed for.

[18:46] The deliverance from the body of this death. From the evil that was present with him. That would not allow him to do the things that he wanted to do for Christ.

[18:57] And kept being a stumbling block, and a hindrance to him going forward in his Christian life. Warring against him the whole time. The apostle Paul found his deliverance, and I believe our brother, yesterday, found his deliverance, departing from the fight with his flesh.

[19:20] And so, even so, it's true with brother Mike Schreiber, and again, I'm not trying to lift him, or make him sound like a filthy man, but he departed from the war that was within himself, and the struggle to get the victory over sin every day, the fight with his flesh.

[19:40] The Bible says in Galatians 5 that the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary, the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

[19:52] That's the exact language of Romans 7, the things that ye would. preachers, and pastors, and men in full-time ministry, not one of them is above fighting with their flesh every single day.

[20:05] As a matter of fact, there's a host of good men, an entire, sadly, an entire historical record of good men in the ministry that have fallen because of sin.

[20:17] And so, preachers are not, they're not unaffected by the sin that dwells in them. As a matter of fact, no one escapes this life unscathed by sin. But when a believer departs this life, when our brother departed yesterday, he was delivered from a battle that raged inside of him, he was departed from the fight of his flesh.

[20:44] And what a blessing that'll be for us one day. And I'll never be able, I get a glimpse in my mind of what it'll be like to have just, head to toe pure holiness, clothed in righteousness.

[20:59] I can't, I can't touch it, I can't describe it, I just get a glimpse in my mind about it and I, it just rejoices in my spirit that one day, one day it'll be a reality.

[21:11] This brother, he knows this. Finally, one more thing is, his time of departure, he departed from something else, he departed from a fight, not just with this fight of faith and not just a fight with his flesh, but he also departed a fight with this fallen world.

[21:31] And come with me to Galatians chapter 1. Being a man in the ministry, you find yourself on the front lines with a wicked world.

[21:44] in Galatians chapter 1, look at verse number 4. Brother Schreiber departed from a fight that he had with this fallen world.

[21:55] In verse number 3, Paul writes, and he says, Grace be to you and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father, to whom be glory forever and ever.

[22:15] Amen. This brother got departed from a fight with this fallen world, what Paul calls present evil world. Look at Ephesians chapter 2. This world doesn't love Jesus Christ, it's evil.

[22:29] This world doesn't want God to reign on it, it's evil. This world doesn't want to see righteousness, it wants to have its own way and it's following its leader.

[22:40] Look at Ephesians chapter 2. And when you were lost, you did too. Verse number 1, And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now, today, today, now worketh in the children of disobedience.

[23:09] This world is a fallen world. It's got a prince over it. He's called the god of this world in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. And Paul again calls it this present evil world.

[23:23] But our brother, Brother Schreiber, like so many others before, has departed from this world's wickedness. He's departed from this world's immorality and from the evil that surrounds us daily.

[23:40] It's crime, it's dishonest men and women, it's liars, it's addicts, it's derelicts, it's diseased, all the products of a fallen, sinful world.

[23:53] No longer does our brother have to listen to the clamor from liberals versus conservatives, from Republicans versus Democrats. Where he's at, nobody's talking about climate change, nobody's talking about vaccines, nobody's talking about mental health and green energy, nobody cares.

[24:13] And nobody's scared about anything either. Where he's at today, he's departed from the fight on his hands with this fallen, filthy world. Nobody's scared about anything where he's at.

[24:27] They're not worried about the future where he's at. He's at peace. Our brother has departed from a fight with deceitful workers, from fighting against false teachers and preachers that are contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, from men that spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit.

[24:52] And I don't know, church, whether you pick up on this or not, but one of the duties of a pastor is to kick against the philosophies and all of the traditions of men and the rudiments of this world, all this garbage that surrounds you and the world believes and they follow and it's our job to stand up and to push it back where it came from and to open your eyes to it.

[25:16] And this brother, he's departed from fighting against this fallen world. He's departed from fighting with those that have swerved and turned aside unto vain jangling, from those who have erred concerning the faith, from those supposing that gain is godliness.

[25:30] No more wrestling with principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places. His fight with this fallen world is finished.

[25:43] And I can't say a whole lot about what he has departed to, but I can see with mine own eyes what he has departed from. And I can say with the scripture that where he is now is far better.

[26:00] Far better. I want to encourage you tonight, Christian, to not give up and to not slow down and to get in the fight for what's right.

[26:12] This man is an example to many. He's going to be missed by many. He stood for a long time and served Christ for a long time.

[26:24] And he's never going to regret one moment of it now. Get in the fight if you're not in it. Stand for truth and stand for righteousness in these last days.

[26:35] And perilous times shall come, so fight on. Don't give up. Men are departing from the faith, so fight on. The Bible says they won't endure sound doctrine.

[26:47] Well, fight on. They'll turn away their ears from the truth. Fight until the trumpet sounds. Fight until the breath of life departs from your body.

[27:01] Fight on until the time of your departure is at hand. I want to show you a video of Brother Schreiber. And this is a few years old.

[27:13] It's just a short clip. And this is several months after he began chemotherapy. He got up in his church and he sang a song. And it just broke me in half.

[27:26] And I want to play it for you now. I'm not trying to drum up something here, but it was a blessing to me. And I'm going to just hit play and let it be speak for itself. Might take me a minute here, so...

[27:42] Everything went to sleep.