Precious in the Sight of the Lord - Betty Benner

Order of Service

Welcome and Prayer – Pastor Mike

Video – Scars in Heaven by Casting Crowns

Song – The Old Rugged Cross (327 - 1,2,3)

Video – Homesick by Mercy Me

Song - In the Garden (635 - 1,2)

Sharing

Read Obituary

Share My own thoughts, maybe Jeff’s.

Michelle

Other Family?

Open for Guests

Song - Leaning on the Everlasting Arms (575 - 1,3)

Sermon – Pastor Mike – Precious in the Sight of the Lord

Video – See You in a Little While by Stephen Curtis Chapman

Internment at Hephzibah

Welcome and Prayer – Pastor Mike

Video – Scars in Heaven by Casting Crowns

Song – The Old Rugged Cross (327 - 1,2,3)

Video – Homesick by Mercy Me

Song - In the Garden (635 - 1,2)

Sharing

Read Obituary

Share My own thoughts, maybe Jeff’s.

Michelle

Other Family?

Open for Guests

Obituary

Elizabeth Mae "Betty" Benner, 96, formerly of Westwood, PA, passed away on Sunday, October 20, 2024, at Harrison Senior Living in Valley Township, PA.  She was the wife of the late Gerald I. Benner who passed away in 2017.  Born in Coatesville, PA, she was the daughter of the late Louis Earl and Bessie L. Krixer Osborn.

Betty was an area resident most of her life.  She was a member of Hephzibah Baptist Church in East Fallowfield and the former Westwood Union Chapel.  She was an Avon representative and worked the Election Polls. She belonged to the Parkesburg Area Senior Citizens.

She is survived by her children, Keith (Sue) Benner of Coatesville, and Michele Crone of New Holland, PA, grandchildren, Christopher Benner, Megan Reilly, Lindsey Benner, Brittany Stoltzfus, and Madison Crone, great-grandchildren, Sawyer Reilly, Ryleigh Benner, Addison Benner, Kennedy Stoltzfus, and Weston Stoltzfus, and siblings, Earl G. Osborn of Ephrata, PA, and Phyllis Brown of Ocean City, NJ. In addition to her husband, Gerry, she was preceded in death by a daughter, Leslie E. Benner and siblings, Robert, Richard, Ronald, and Frederick Osborn.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, October 25, 2024, at 12:00 noon from Hephzibah Baptist Church, 2237 Strasburg Rd., East Fallowfield, PA, with visitation starting at 10:00 a.m. until service time.  Interment in the adjacent church cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Hephzibah Baptist Church.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Wilde Funeral Home of Parkesburg, PA. Online condolences can be posted at www.wildefuneralhome.com

Eulogy

Some of my first memories with Betty and Jerry were sitting with them at the funeral luncheon, I believe for Geraldine Daniels. It was not long after my coming to Hephzibah and it was my first real opportunity to sit down and talk with them at length.

Turns out, I would not get many more opportunities over the years with Jerry as he would go home to be with the Lord, only a couple years after I arrived.

But I would have many opportunities with Betty, many precious and special times to sit, visit, talk, and get to know this dear lady.

And what a precious time it was.

One thing was always clear to me.

She loved God.

She loved her family.

She loved Hephzibah.

And she was always an encourager.

I am thankful for the change I had to know her here on in this life and I am thankful for the fact that we will worship and serve together in the next!

Song - Leaning on the Everlasting Arms (575 - 1,3)

Sermon – Pastor Mike – Precious in the Sight of the Lord

Introduction

I was a sinner, less perfect than God. By conviction of the Holy Spirit I learned that my condition would incur the eternal condemnation of God if I did not submit to His grace. I acknowledged myself a sinner and threw myself on His mercy and grace, recognizing that He had brought salvation to earth through His Son Jesus Christ. After God the Father put God the Son to death on the cross, He could proclaim grace and pardon to all who would submit to Him. I came to the cross, believed His promise about His Son, and God declared me righteous even while I was ungodly and gave me authority to become His child. I ceased to be a child of wrath and became a child of God, justified from all things. Simultaneously, I was declared to be an heir of God, joint-heir with Jesus Christ. I received eternal life, and shall never perish. I was accepted in the Beloved; my body became the temple of the Holy Spirit; I was born of the Spirit into the family of God, baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ, and sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption. I have an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fades not away, reserved in Heaven for me. Although I know myself to be a sinner, I am not concerned about the penalty for sin, since the Lord Jesus Christ bore the penalty and declared me righteous. The love of Christ becomes the constraining factor in my life, and I seek to glorify Him as Lord. I know Him as my Creator and so have peace of mind. I know Him as Savior and so have peace of conscience. In the measure that I enter into the second rest, I know Him as Lord and find the peace that passes all understanding.

Commentary on Romans, eerdmans.com — Donald Grey Barnhouse

Sermon Body

For the follower of Christ, there are no greater words than these, than the gospel of Jesus Christ.

God, The Good Ruler and Creator

Revelation 4:11 “11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.””

God is the ruler of the world

He made the world

He made us to rule his good world, giving thanks and honor to Him

This is how God MEANT it to be. But it is fairly obvious is not how things are now. What happened?

Our Rebellion Against God

Isaiah 53:6a “6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

We all reject God as our ruler by running our own lives our own way (Romans 3:23)

By rebelling against God’s way, we damage ourselves, each other, and the world.

The question is, what will God do about our rebellion against Him?

God’s Justice

Hebrews 9:27 “27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,”

God won’t (can’t) let us rebel against Him forever.

God’s punishment for rebellion is death and judgment (Romans 6:23)

This is hard to hear, it means we are deep trouble, but that is not where the story ends.

God Sent Jesus to Die for Us

Isaiah 53:6 “6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Because of his love, God sent his Son into the world: the man Jesus Christ

Jesus always lived under God’s rule

But Jesus took our punishment by dying in our place (Romans 5:8)

But, that’s not all…

Jesus, the Risen Ruler and and Savior

1 Peter 1:3 “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

God raised Jesus to life again as the ruler and judge of the world

Jesus has conquered death, now brings forgiveness and new life, and will return in glory

Well, where does that leave us? It leaves us with a clear choice between two ways to live.

Two Ways to Live

John 3:36 “36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

There are only two ways to live…

Our way

Reject God as our ruler

Live our own way

Damaged by our rebellion

Facing judgement and death

God’s way

Submit to Jesus as our ruler

Rely on Jesus’ death and resurrection

Forgiven by God

Receive a new life that last forever.

So, which way do you want to live?

For Betty, she had long ago chosen Christ, God’s way

For her, Psalm 116 is both an expression of her heart for God AND an expression of God’s heart for her.

In Psalm 116 , we have a beautiful picture of the gospel.

Though the setting is physical and not spiritual, it nonetheless serves as a picture of what God does spiritually for us.

He delivers us from death when we cry out to Him for it.

He delivers, both from spiritual death, and eventually, physical death too.

While we must all face physical death in this life, there will come a day when death will be no more and we will finally be free of the ravages of death that continues to corrupt and twist God’s beautiful creation.

For this reason, despite death’s ongoing presence, we can still find reasons for hope, joy, and worship.

Spiritual death has been defeated

Eternal life is available for any and all who will turn to Him.

And physical death has its days numbered. It will not persist forever.

Death in fact, has become a pathway to life.

Jesus’ death provides life for us.

Our spiritual death makes way for spiritual life.

Physical death, for the follower of Jesus, brings us into God’s presence, free from death forevermore.

When the gospel is present, not even death can defeat…

Let me read to you this text, a text I read to Betty just the day before she passed into God’s presence. I want to zero in on one particular verse as we do.

Psalm 116

Psalm 116 ESV

1 I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. 2 Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. 3 The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. 4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!” 5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. 6 The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. 7 Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. 8 For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; 9 I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. 10 I believed, even when I spoke: “I am greatly afflicted”; 11 I said in my alarm, “All mankind are liars.” 12 What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, 14 I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. 15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. 16 O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. 17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. 18 I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, 19 in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!

Throughout the Psalmist is expressing his love and devotion to God for his protection, provision and deliverance.

Threat of death, Sheol (a term to describe death, the grave, the dwelling place of the dead - a hopeless and despairing place) plague this man and threatened him.

Death had come to knock and he was in despair.

Because, like so many, he thought death would never come for him…or that it was coming too soon…

Thomas Adams noted that...

All are like actors on a stage, some have one part and some another, death is still busy amongst us; here drops one of the players, we bury him with sorrow, and to our scene again: then falls another, yea all, one after another, till death be left upon the stage. Death is that damp which puts out all the dim lights of vanity. Yet man is easier to believe that all the world shall die, than to suspect himself. A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 69. — Thomas Adams

Man is ready to believe that all the world will die and perish rather than he himself have to face it.

Every man thinks, especially the younger you are, that death is far far away from him.

So many fear death and do all they can to avoid it.

Like so many, he feared death and sought to avoid it, to be rescued from it.

The threat of death had brought the fragility of life into view.

The threat of death made him face some things he had not before had to face.

So he cried out to God.

And God heard him.

And God preserved and delivered him from death.

This Psalm is a song of worship, celebration, of praise and thanksgiving as well as a song of submission and service because of the salvation, so great and true that was granted to him as a result of his prayers.

IT IS CRITICAL TO NOTE the personal and engaged interest of our God. He is not detached, indifferent, or uncaring. He is ENGAGED with his creation.

He is listening and responding to men’s calls for salvation.

No, this is not always salvation from physical death or suffering, but God is most assuredly in the business of saving souls from hell and judgment when they turn to him faith and repentance.

God is in the business of defeating death at every turn.

Listen to his distress in verse 10…

While at the same time hearing his faith….

Psalm 116:10

Psalm 116:10 ESV

10 I believed, even when I spoke: “I am greatly afflicted”;

He believed, in his affliction.

But he says, I am GREATLY afflicted.

He trusted in his pain, in his fear, in his despair.

He trusted. He continued in trust.

This is what is necessary for the reality of salvation to fall upon us.

This bring us to verse 15 - the precious truth I want to draw out for a moment.

It is verse 15 that draws out the reality of God’s love for her, for all of us who have repented and placed our faith in Him.

At first glance, Psalm 116:15 seems a bit of a quandary. It seems out of place.

In a Psalm dedicated to praying for deliverance and salvation from death, why now does it read

Psalm 116:15 ESV

15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

He has just been distressing about the reality of death, praying to avoid it….

But then, he makes a statement about death that is actually good.

Precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death of His saints…

Why?

Because he has come to understand something about death, in his belief, that changes his perspective of it…

Because even in the event that God does not protect from physical suffering and death, death (FOR THE FOLLOWER OF JESUS) is not to be feared.

Death for the follower of Christ, for those who have trusted by faith, repented, and embraced the glorious news of the gospel, THE SAINT HAS IMMEDIATELY GONE INTO THE ETERNAL PRESENCE OF THE GOD WHO MADE THEM, THE SAVIOR WHO SAVED THEM, AND ALL THE SAINTS WHO HAVE GONE ON BEFORE.

For the follower of Christ, death is A DOORWAY into which we step into God’s eternal presence.

Death is precious in God’s sight for the saint because it forever and perfectly units God and saint, Savior and forgiven child of God.

In this way, even when physical death happens, it loses.

We are not here to mourn for Betty today, but to celebrate. Our sorrow is ours. We miss the one we love.

AND YET, if we share her faith, we know the separation is temporary, to sorrow is short.

Even if deliverance from physical suffering and death is not prevented, death of the saint is precious in God’s eyes and is the home going that we all long for as his followers and children.

In our grieving over death today, we grieve not for the death of our loved one; our tears and our grief is for ourselves who for a time are deprived of the presence and the joy for the time being.

Our hope today, in a day of death comes because of the foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is the that truth that gives up comfort and joy today.

It is the truth she would want you to hear should she be here today.

Conclusion

We must first be careful to present the gospel clearly – God, man, Christ, response. God is our holy Creator and righteous Judge. All people have sinned against Him, both in Adam as our corporate representative, and in our own lives individually. That sin deserves eternal death – separation from God in Hell. But God sent Jesus Christ to die the death we deserved for our sin and reconcile us to Him. And He requires that we repent of our sins – turn away from them – and believe in Jesus Christ’s divine righteousness and substitutionary sacrifice. When we do – and only then – God credits us with Christ’s righteousness, and begins to bring our character into conformity with His holiness.

Altar Call Evangelism, ©9Marks. Website: www.9Marks.org. Email: [e-mail]. Toll Free: [phone]. — Paul Alexander

When we do this, we can be assured that “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.”

Precious to God was Betty’s death. She is in his presence, delighting in God forevermore.

Those of us who have embraced, accepted, and believed the gospel, who have repented and who place our faith wholly in Jesus, we will see her again.

If you have not done this, let the final message of Betty life prompt you to pursue Christ. It is THE ONLY HOPE we have in the face of death and our our dying world.

Video – See You in a Little While by Stephen Curtis Chapman

Internment at Hephzibah

Graveside

Psalm 107.

Psalm 107 ESV

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble 3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. 4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; 5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. 6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 7 He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. 8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. 10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, 11 for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. 12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help. 13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. 15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 16 For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron. 17 Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; 18 they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. 19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 20 He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. 21 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy! 23 Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; 24 they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep. 25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. 26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; 27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end. 28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 29 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. 30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. 31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders. 33 He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, 34 a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants. 35 He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. 36 And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in; 37 they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield. 38 By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish. 39 When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow, 40 he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes; 41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks. 42 The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth. 43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Whoever is wise…let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

The Lord who delivers from distresses.

The Lord who saves.

This is an admonition worthy of heeding.

Today, we celebrate a God who delivers, who saves.

And we celebrate Betty’s life as a testimony to that salvation and deliverance.

Even as we commit her body the ground, we acknowledge that she is not here.

She is at home with her Savior and we celebrate with and for her…hoping (waiting with confident expectation) for the day we join her

A reality that is sure for those whose faith and trust are in the Lord.

This is not the end…life has just begun.

Let’s pray.

Invite inside for lunch.