Beverley Deschenes
Funeral • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 2 viewsNotes
Transcript
Thanks
Thanks
On behalf of the Deschenes and Seely’s I want to thank each and every one of you for coming today. We certainly appreciate all the support you are showing for the family today.
We’ve all known Bev for different periods of time, and we’ve been touched by her in so many ways...She was the faithful wife of 40 years to Maurice; a caring mother to Dennis, Daniel, Matthew, Timmy, and Ben; an amazing grandmother to 16 grandchildren; and a friend to so many of us here…
All of you here demonstrate how much of an impact Bev has had on us, she truly lived an incredible life...
Maurice, your love for Bev didn’t go unnoticed. The last five years have not been easy ones for you. As Bev’s capabilities to do every day things faded away, your example of love grew stronger. Every day you took care of her; dressed her, fed her, drove her to her appointments and to church, and you were there, patiently answering her many questions. The patient love and care you provided for your wife in her afflictions is an example to all of us of the love that Christ has for the church. Thank you Maurice.
In case you haven’t met me yet, my name is Ben Roy, I’m one of three pastors here at Fundamental Baptist Church. And it would be an understatement to say that it’s been a joy to have Maurice and Beverley among us for such a long time.
Sermon
Sermon
It’s the time of year again that all students dread, exam week. Exams give us a chance to demonstrate how much we know; we show how well, or how poorly we’ve performed throughout the year.
When we are faced with the reality of death, it has the affect of making us ponder on the life we’re living.
2 Better to go to the house of mourning Than to go to the house of feasting, For that is the end of all men; And the living will take it to heart.
Death forces us to stop for a moment, and reflect on the important matters of our lives. We think of the times we’ve done well, the times we would like to get a second chance, and how we’ll live the rest of our lives.
We wonder, if life were an exam, what would my grade be?
When my turn comes, and I face God and give an account for how I’ve lived my life, what grade would God give me?
Would I pass? Did I do enough good things to weigh out the bad?
Would I excel in life’s exam?
In Philippians chapter 3, we’re introduced to someone who seemed to be passing life’s exam with flying remarks.
Here we meet the apostle Paul, in Philippians 3:5 he recounts to us his past as a young religious leader. He found himself in a high ranking religious class; known as the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the pinnacle of religious people, any practicing Jew around Paul would have aspired to be like him one day.
He was,
5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Paul had an advantage over most around him. He grew up in a highly religious family and sat under the teaching of one of the finest teachers in Israel at the time. Paul knew the right people.
We all know how important it is to know the right people if we want to get something we desire. Our name suddenly moves on the top of the resume list when the manager realises who we’re affiliated with.
Paul was on the top of the list when it came to his family, he was a descendent of God-fearing Jews from the tribe of Benjamin, everything was stacked to his favor.
On top of this, he says,
6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
In every aspect of his life, Paul was spotless when he compared himself with God’s Law. Anyone around him would have given Paul an A+ on the exam of life!
Maybe you can relate to such a person like this. You’ve been raised in a moral family, maybe even in a church going home. You were raised by good parents who taught you good manners, they taught you to work hard and be kind to others.
You might be thinking the same as Paul did, “I think I’d score quite well on God’s exam. I’m a good person after all!”
If this is the way we think, there’s one important question we must ask ourselves, “How does God examine my life?”
Does He place our good deeds on one end of the scale, and our bad deeds on the other side, and let us into heaven if the good outweighs the bad?
Paul says in verse 7, Philippians 3:7
7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
In other words, “When I compared my good works, all my religious accomplishments to Jesus Christ, I realised my works were useless.”
He goes on to say that everything he had in life was garbage when compared to knowing Jesus Christ. The value of all the worldly accomplishments we achieve in this life ultimately have no value in the next. We are still stranded in our sins.
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Our good works get us nowhere nearer to heaven than from the day we were born. If we are honest, we would all get a grade of 0% on life’s exam.
The bad news is that our failure makes us unworthy of heaven, God’s standard for heaven is perfection, a 100% grade.
But we’ve missed that mark, we’ve failed to live according to God’s perfect standard or righteousness. If we’re left alone in our works, all we will have earned is hell when we die.
Bev realised this truth at a very young age. She was only 8 years old when Earle Smith showed her the way of salvation at Camp Miracle. Even at her young age, she realised that her works could not save her, she needed someone else to save her.
Paul needed this too, his entire life goal was to become more righteous, to be more pious, to be more religious, so that when he faces God one day, maybe he will be welcomed into glory. But that was not enough, it never will be enough, he says in verse 9 that is was “not having mine own righteousness”
Only righteous people make it to heaven. And the problem is, none of us are righteous. If we base our acceptance with God on being a good person, we will never make it. We need someone else to save us, we need someone who actually lived perfectly.
We need what Paul found, Philippians 3:9
but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
This is the good news that Jesus Christ offers, this is the good news that Bev gladly received. Jesus died so that you can become righteous. He died so that you could trade exams, you receive His 100% pass, and He receives the consequences that come with our failure. You can receive eternal life if you believe in Jesus Christ. It’s a free gift that is offered to you. Salvation is offered to you, and if you receive it by placing your faith in Jesus Christ, you can know God just as Bev does now.
That’s where we get to Maurice and Bev’s favorite verse in the Bible, Philippians 3:10
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
Paul’s singular desire and joy in life was knowing Jesus Christ.
We all have plenty of people we know of. These are the ones we know on the shallow scale: Co-workers, classmates, aqcuaintences, cashiers, etc.
Then there are the people that we know, the ones we’ve spent considerable time with, ones we’ve grown to love. We’re all here because we know and love Bev on the more personal level. It’s so sweet to know someone on a deeper level...
Yet the joy we get from knowing people cannot compare to the joy that knowing Jesus Christ gives.
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
Because Bev came to know Jesus as her own personal Saviour, we have full confidence that her body will one day be reunited with her soul in heaven. The hope of the resurrection is why we approach a day like this with joy. Yes, we sorrow for a time, that’s appropriate and a healthy thing. But we don’t sorrow without hope. She is looking at her Saviour face to face as we speak.
You can share that same hope if you trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Admit that you are a sinner, He died on the cross for your sins. Believe in your heart that He rose from the dead three days later. Call on His name for salvation. And you will receive eternal life, not because of your works, but because you received Jesus’ righteousness by faith.
If you want to know more about the hope that you can find in Jesus Christ, you can come and find me or Pastor Andy after we’re dismissed, and we would love to show you how you can know you are saved and on your way to heaven.
Congregational Hymn
Congregational Hymn
In closing, we’re going to sing one of Bev’s favorite songs.
“In My Heart There Rings a Melody”
Announcements
Announcements
In just a moment we’re going to close off our time in prayer, but before I do that we just have a couple of announcements for you to be aware of.
As soon as I finish praying, you will be dismissed (starting with the family from front to back) where you can then make your way reception down the hall to the right.
The family will be leaving at 1:30pm for the commital at the Little Lepreau Cemetery. They would like you to know that you are more than welcome to join us there.
Close in Prayer
Close in Prayer
Recessional
Recessional
Call the congregation to rise
Lead the family out to the foyer
