Eulogy for Elder Alvin (Bobby) Andrews

How To Survive The Hard Times.

Psalm 1:1–3 KJV

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

I. Elder Andrews and his service.

a. Elder Andrews was a pillar of our church.

He served in many capacities, as a deacon, Assistant Sunday School Superintendent, Sunday School Superintendent, Elder, and also trustee.

He was very important to our church, in addition to overseeing the Sunday School department, he also spearheaded the Vacation Bible School and also gave out gifts to children during the Christmas holiday along side his wife Mother Liza Andrews.

Elder Andrews was always willing to help and to encourage others including yours truly. He along with my Uncle Danny, which was his brother were the first to tell me I was going to be a preacher which I vehemently denied.

One thing that I actually admired about Elder Andrews that other people may not have liked about him is that he didn’t mince words. I told you what he thought and how he felt whether you liked it or not. And for some people due to sensitivity level may some times taken offense to things he may have said. But he was my type of people. Say what you need to say and then let the dust settle….don’t kick the can down the road because you don’t know what tomorrow holds.

There had been times that we didn’t always see eye to eye on some things. We would cordially discuss it and then settle it. That’s a life lesson that some of us should take note of. Learn how to talk to people, don’t hold a grudge, and as the scripture says……don’t let the sun go down on your wrath.

II. Elder Andrews in his suffering.

a. Elder Andrews prior to his death had what seemed to be a Job like experience. His health declined to the point that Mother Liza had to take care of him. He was not able to come to church.

b. Now I will say this to our members. Some of us are way too judgemental to the effect that if you’re not in Bibleway Church you’re in a backslidden state and on your way to the lake of fire.

c. Elder Andrews had several health complications that prevented him from being in service. However his heart never left the church, he wanted to be in church, but his body just could not function like it should. And yes there was a part of him called “dignity” that he didn’t want to have someone wheeling him to the bathroom, didn’t want the saints to see him in the state that he was in. But that doesn’t give anyone the right to judge him.

d. Elder Andrews may not have been in church, but if you talked to him, his faith remained strong even though he was suffering, his faith remained strong even though things were happening to him that he didn’t understand.

e. I had the honor of sitting with him, when I would go visit him, I knew that he liked sitting on the porch and I would go down to Vinton to sit with him and just talk. My wife even went with me a couple of times. We would talk, laugh, cry, joke, look at the animals in the neighborhood, reminisce, and I appreciate those times that I got to spend with him. I regret that once I returned to working full-time recently that I did not get to see my friend before he passed. That’s why we should never take life for granted.

f. Now most of us that know Elder Andrews knew what he was going through, diabetes, back problems (most likely lumbar), problems with his knees, foot problems, and server allergies. And usually when your knees go bad, your health goes down because you can’t move. And when you stop moving, when you stop using muscles, you lose strength. Some of us for some odd reason don’t understand that. He fought with the fact that his wife had to take care of him.

g. Then Mother Liza passed, the love of his life, the one who took care of him. I know his children looked out for him, Pam I know you did the best you could, Derrick I believe you tried to look out for Pops in your own way. But Mother Liza was his rock, and when she went to sleep in the Lord it was a blow to Elder Bobby that made him suffer. Because we must understand that death leaves a void and death is a painful experience. Doesn’t matter how strong you think you are, doesn’t matter how much Holy Ghost you have, death brings a wound that some people never recover from!

h. So now, my comrade, my friend seems to have lost everything. But one thing he did not lose was his faith in God! He never lost his love for God, although he didn’t understand……he still trusted God. He may not have been in the pulpit to preach a sermon. But I got a sermon every time I went to see him, because when he encouraged himself in the word he was strengthening me too.

i. I guess this is a good place to preach from. How do you maintain your faith, your integrity, your love for God after you lose everything?

ANS:

Psalm 1:1–3 KJV

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

All of those years of going to church.

All of those years of serving in the church, singing on the choir, reading his bible, waking up in the middle of the night writing scriptures.

He never followed the advice of the wicked, nor stood around with sinners, or joined in mocking with them. He wanted to see them saved, he told them about the Lord and what they needed to do to be saved!

His delight was in the law of the Lord and Elder Andrews meditated on it day and night. And if you are going to survive the hard times, these two scriptures are what you must do!!! Elder Andrews could have lost his mind….but the WORD HAS POWER TO KEEP YOUR MIND. HE WILL KEEP HIS MIND IN PERFECT PEACE WHOSE MIND IS STAND ON HIM BECAUSE HE TRUSTS HIM.

What happens when you obey and do the first two scriptures?

Ans:

Psalm 1:3 KJV

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Elder Andrews was like a tree planted by the rivers of water. I know that Elder Andrews loved to fish. And anyone that knows anything about the Roanoke River, one day do an observation and see how many trees you see in the river, how many trees do you see that have fallen along the bank of the river.

You don’t see any….why is that, because those trees are rooted deep in the ground and they are continually fed by the water of the river.

The scriptures uses water as a metaphor for the word of God. When you get the word in you, when you delight in God’s word day and night, it makes you strong. So then when the winds and waves of life happen…..when the floods of life happen……because you’ve been rooted and planted in God through the word of God….you can survive the hard times!!!

I would sit and listen to Andrews cry because he missed his wife, to about 10 minutes later talking about the goodness of God and praising God! Last time I saw him, I prayed for him and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him!!! It never left him, because the Bible says…..come on and receive this family Jesus said “Low I’ll be with you alway, even to the end of the world.” and again “I’ll never leave you nor forsake you.

This is how you endure the hard times. When you have this thing right, you can love God, you can worship God, you can praise God. Because our worship of God is not based upon our circumstances, it is based upon who God is……God is holy, God is good, God is righteous, God is merciful, God is great, He is Jehovah Shalom the God of peace, He is Jehovah Tsikidune God our righteousness, He is Jehovah Roi….the God that sees all, He is Jehovah Rapha the God that heals, He is Jehovah-Nissi the God who is our banner….who fights for us. And things can be going really crummy in life, and you can be in pain….BUT WHEN YOU KNOW WHO GOD IS…..LIKE JOB….EVEN THOUGH HE DIDN’T UNDERSTAND WHY HE LOST EVERYTHING……JOB STILL HONORED GOD…..HE STILL SOUGHT THE LORD…..ELDER ANDREWS SEEMINGLY LOST EVERYTHING….BUT HE NEVER LOST HIS FAITH AND HIS LOVE FOR CHRIST!

III. Elder Andrews and his desire.

i. As we bring this service to a close. What would Dad say to you Pam and Derrick? Sister, nieces and nephews? You know what he would say. Get in the church and get saved. He would tell you that if you haven’t repented of your sins, to believe the gospel and repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost!

ii. Can I tell you, that Elder Andrews was a psychotic Jesus fanatic…..he found the real thing and he wanted to share what he found and what he experienced with everyone!

iii. He would tell you that if you want to be where I am….you gotta go through the door…..and that door is Jesus Christ. You gotta live for him, you gotta love him with all your heart, mind, and strength, you gotta love a holy and consistent life….that’s what he preached.

iv. So family, can I tell you a secret…..Pam and Derrick…..can I tell you a secret that I know about your Dad? He is absolutely right about Jesus….HE IS REAL….AND HE CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE AND GIVE YOU ETERNAL LIFE!

v. You need Jesus….matter of fact everyone in this room right now need Jesus….no one is exempt. Try Jesus, maybe you have been turned off from church…..I don’t know….but time is short and your life is short…..let’s get to know the Lord while we have time.

So that when we come to the end of life we can hear the Lord say “Well done thy good and faithful servant……enter ye into the rest of the Lord.”

To my friend, my supporter, my comrade in the gospel, rest well my friend, I’ll see you in the morning.