Janet Elenor Banks Funeral Message

Homily Text

Me Beloved, please remain standing for the reading of God’s Holy and Inspired Word, which does not come from man’s own interpretation but was produced by men as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit, the prophetic word more fully confirmed to which you will do well to pay attention, for all of Scripture is breathed out by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness that saints of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Pet. 1:19-21 cf. 2 Tim 3:16-17). Hear now the precious words of the Word of God made flesh:

John 14:1–7 ESV

1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

This is the Word of the Lord, which I pray you would receive as such. [You may be seated]. Let’s pray.

Opening Prayer

Sovereign God, our blessed heavenly Father,

Lord, bless your Word inscripturated as it goes forth today that we might see the excellencies of the Word incarnated, the Lord Jesus Christ, our only hope in life and death, in whom and through whom we pray. Amen.

Message

Friends and family of our beloved Janet Eleanor Banks, I hate to say it, but must admit, I’m gravely concerned with what’s gone on here this morning.

I’m genuinely concerned that you have come here today under false pretences.

Beloved, I’m concerned that you have come here today because you have heard rumour of Janet’s demise.

DON’T BELIEVE IT! DON’T YOU DARE BELIEVE IT!

Because though she has died bodily, yet she lives. For Yahweh God is the God of the living not the dead.

So, TAKE HEART, BELOVED! Right now, at this very moment Janet Eleanor Banks is more alive than ever.

And yet, she is not yet as alive as she will be when she will rise again with Jesus Christ, the firstfruit of the resurrection from the dead.

Because Christ is risen, because He lives, Janet lives also.

Beloved, this is the good news, this is the message that Grandma wanted me to urgently deliver to you all today…

And, isn’t that so like her, that even in her death, she wanted to care for and comfort those who she has left behind. And, in this way, she mimics her Lord, who, as we see in our text today, even when facing His imminent death spent His last hours caring for and serving for others.

And the reason that I stand before you all today is because she wanted you to share her hope and comfort in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And perhaps, some of you here are asking, how can you with such confidence make such a bold proclamation? From whence comes your hope, her hope?

The answer is simple: JESUS! Her great hope and comfort, even amidst her impending death, came from her personal faith and trust in God and His Messiah. The remedy set before Christ disciples, in vs. 1, during the great tumult and confusion on the eve of His death.

And, though, at times, her faith might have been weak and immature, it’s important to realize that we are saved not by our faith and the strength and maturity thereof. No! Rather, we are saved by the object of our faith, namely the Lord Jesus Christ–His perfect Person and Work, and its saving capabilities, which is to the uttermost!

And as we see in our text today, v.s 1–4, that Christ assures His disciples that because He has gone before them to prepare a place for them all those who believe in Him and His Father who sent Him can have confident assurance that where He is we also will be.

Indeed, this is the great hope of all who are in Christ, Janet included.

This was her comfort, which is brilliantly captured in…

Heidelberg Catechism 1. Sunday

QUESTION 1. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

Beloved, we have confident assurance in Janet’s eternal destiny because she knew THE WAY to eternal life! And that way is a Person, and that Person Has a name, and His name is Jesus.

So, weep not for her, beloved! Weep for all those who are not united to Christ through faith, who do not know the way, and who have no part in the hope of the resurrection to eternal life.

And Perhaps, you fear you have no part in the resurrection from the dead. Perhaps, you are like Thomas, are full of doubts and uncertain of the way.

Here, again, the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ…

John 14:6 ESV

6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”

He is the map, He is pathway to destination of eternal life, and He bids you “Come!” For today is the day of salvation.

But notice, beloved, vs. 6, there is no other pathway!

Christ is not a way to God the Father. He is THE (definite article) WAY to God the Father and no one can come to the Father apart from Him.

Because Jesus Christ is unique in His Person, as the only God-Man; and His work as the only perfectly righteous human to have ever lived, He is uniquely qualified to be the conduit between God and man.

And, candidly, beloved, this was, as it may be for you, one of the hardest things for Janet to face, because, after all, works righteousness is the default operating system of mankind.

For there is a way that seems right to man but that way leads to death (Prov. 14:12, 16:25).

And Janet was no different. For much of her life she was headed down the broad road that leads to destruction. For much of her life, she relied on her own works as the standard of righteousness. She worked and worked thinking her own goodness would earn her heaven. She thought her deeds could span the infinite chasm between her and Her Creator.

But, despite her wonderful life of truly Christ-like sacrificial service to others, which we’ve heard wonderful testimony of today. Despite her vibrant life full of love, and laughter, and joy, when she began to weaken and when she was truly faced with the stark reality of her own impending death, and things began to crystallize, these things in which she once placed her confidence, offered her no assurance; no hope! None.

Why? Because, in her wisdom, deep down she knew all too well her own weaknesses, her own sins and her own failures, and, frankly, her deep regrets. She knew, like all of us, that she had sinned and fallen far short of the glory of God, and that even her greatest works were done with sin-stained heart and hands and would not avail before the throne of God.

She came to see with clarity just how far short she fell from God’s standard of righteousness, which, as our Lord taught on the sermon on the Mount, is nothing short of perfect, perpetual, personal obedience (Matthew 5:48). And she knew, she wasn’t perfect.

Beloved, she came to understand the bad news (Rom. 6:23): that the wages of sin is death . Death is our just dessert; it is our due. It’s what we have earned. It is our paycheque meticulously counted to the very last fraction of a penny.

But, beloved, with that understanding she came also to understand that “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:23).

And it gives me great joy, beloved, to report to you that she grabbed that gift with the open hand of faith.

Resting in the beautiful asymmetry of salvation that while she earned death and hell, God freely held out to her the gift of eternal life.

Conclusion

Beloved, death is the ultimate enemy, an enemy that is coming for all of us, and Janet knew that all to well. She stared him in the face for quite sometime.

But, thanks be to God, this is the very same enemy that Christ came to defeat.

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Through Christ’s sacrificial, substitutionary death, the Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself the sins of the world and defeated sin and death definitively–once for all! That all who are in Him by faith might be accounted righteous before God Almighty and inherit life eternal!

And, in Him, Janet conquered death. That she might cry:

Oh’ death where is your sting, O grave, where is your victory?

And beloved, Janet wanted you to know, that you too can conquer death, that God is offering you, right at this very moment the gift of eternal life…

John 17:3 ESV

3 And [Beloved] this is eternal life, that [you should know], the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom [He has] sent.

John 5:24 ESV

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears [His] word and believes him who sent [Him] has eternal life.

John 3:36 ESV

36 [But hear, too, this warning, John 3:36,] whoever does not [hear and] obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

So I ask you, beloved, which way?: (1) The Path of Christ which leads to eternal life? (2) Or the Path of sin which leads to death.

The Choice is simple but it isn’t easy! Christ bids you to come to Him to walk His Way, that you may die to your sin and self-righteousness.

But, in doing so, He holds out to you the gift of eternal life.

So, beloved, I beg of you, Choose THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life. Like Janet, choose life, choose Christ.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Closing Prayer

Yahweh, Our God and Heavenly Father,

Father, Thank-You for the death of death in the life of Christ!

Oh Lord, there is a way that seems right to man, but that way leads to death. Oh Lord, I pray that all those here today would forsake that way eschew the chaos and folly of unbelief and choose Christ, THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE.

Father, how merciful are You, that even when we were your enemies,You provided for us a way of redemption and reconciliation through Your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Almighty God, thank-You that, in Your sovereignty, You revealed this Way to our beloved, Janet, and that while she sleeps in Christ, she is more alive than ever. Lord, show others, by the eyes of faith, this way also, that her hope and confidence might be theirs also.

Bless us as we now proceed to the reception and internment, and may all of our interactions & fellowship be full of worshipful hope in You; through Jesus Christ our Lord, the sole Saviour, the Saviour of our souls. AMEN. Commendation: [w/Raised Hands]

God Almighty, in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend our beloved Janet to Your care.

THREEFOLD AMEN