Charlie McMenemy funeral
Notes
Transcript
Talking to Arlene about Charlie yesterday, I was struck with how Charlie reflected so much a particular passage in the NT.
1Thess 5:15-23
15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
Can see Charlie's character in this verse, a character that some may call "good living"
Possible for anyone who cares enough to do what we call good, but God tells us "There is none good, no not one".
Charlie would agree with me when I say that Charlie wasn't good - he was SAVED. And there's a big difference.
What we call good is really just decent, but being SAVED meant that Charlie was able to fulfil v15.
This verse has three character traits that ought to be seen in everyone who is saved…
I - Give good for evil
I - Give good for evil
Most people want to give back what is deserved, but God gave His very best for those who have rejected Him and are His enemies.
Ro 5:8 "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
And that kind of love for people who have wronged you is only truly possible when you're SAVED.
II - Be a disciple of God
II - Be a disciple of God
"ever follow that which is good"
Jesus once said, "There is none good, save God" - so to follow that which is good is to follow God.
That's what being a disciple of God means. Following God isn't religion.
Charlie wasn't religious. He was saved. He wasn't following a set of rules and rituals. He was living out a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ - a relationship that began in 1990 when he repented of his sin and placed his faith only in the Lord Jesus Christ. From then, he was a disciple of God.
III - Have a good testimony
III - Have a good testimony
Among believers and unbelievers.
Charlie had a good testimony.
Not just the story of how he got saved, but the life he lived after he got saved. It's that testimony, lived before all of you gathered here today and those listening online, that made some of you call him good living.
But Charlie was just living out what Paul said in Galatians 2:20…
"The life which I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me".
And so v15 sets the scene for the man whose life we're thanking God for today - a man who loved those who did wrong, who was a disciple of God, and who had a good testimony.
But I want to focus on a few other characteristics that Paul speaks of in these verses that so clearly speak of the man Charlie was.
He was JOYFUL
He was JOYFUL
16 Rejoice evermore.
Charlie enjoyed fun and laughter, and he had a great sense of humour.
Sometimes when he was telling you about a funny incident he'd hardly be able to to finish it, he was laughing so much.
Even in pain, Charlie rejoiced in the Lord.
4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
Especially over this last year with his cancer diagnosis and lockdown, and all the other difficulties there have been, Charlie was able to say "It's great to be saved!" or "It's great to have the Lord!"
Joy isn't happiness.
Joy isn't enjoyment.
Joy is having a wonderful sense of assurance and that all is well with your soul, even when your body is suffering and life is hard.
It's the relief that comes from knowing that this life is the worst it's ever going to be, because what comes next is glorious.
Charlie was joyful because he was saved and knew where he was going. He was ready for Wednesday afternoon.
Are you?
Do you have the joy that Charlie had?
Do you know with absolute certainty that when you die, you'll be with Christ, which is far better?
Or are you just hoping that it might turn out that way?
If you're just hoping, then you aren't saved, and your hopes will be shattered. But you can go beyond hope, and you can know that all is well, if you would only be SAVED as Charlie was saved.
Then you'll know true joy.
He was PRAYERFUL
He was PRAYERFUL
17 Pray without ceasing.
Charlie was a man of prayer.
I'm told that Charlie prayed about everything.
Even when he and Arlene were going to buy a new sofa, Charlie prayed before they left the house.
Some people may think that strange, but Charlie was just doing what the Bible told him he should do - bring everything to God in prayer.
When Charlie was able to be at the prayer meeting, he was always the first to pray.
Every night, he always prayed with Arlene.
In fact, I'm told that the only night he didn't pray and Arlene prayed instead was Tuesday night when he just didn't have the strength to.
But you may ask, how did he pray so much? What would he pray for?
He prayed for his church family.
He prayed for his church family.
He loved the people of this fellowship and he would pray for them faithfully, including the children and young people.
He prayed for the sick and suffering.
He prayed for the sick and suffering.
His own suffering gave him an appreciation of the value of prayer, and so he prayed for others who were suffering too.
He prayed for his own family
He prayed for his own family
For Arlene, and for his wider family, especially those who took him in as a son and a brother at 18 years old when his own father died, his mother having passed away when he was 18 months.
But what did he pray for them?
I know that Charlie's greatest prayer, his number one priority for his family, was that they might get saved.
Charlie prayed for the salvation of the people he loved.
You're here today to honour Charlie and to give thanks for his life, but the greatest honour you could give Charlie is to be an answer to his prayer - to stop trying to convince God you're good enough for heaven but to admit to God that you're a sinner, and to call on the Lord Jesus to save you from your sin.
That would be the answer to Charlie's prayers.
He was THANKFUL
He was THANKFUL
18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Charlie was always thankful.
I don't think I ever left the house after a visit without Charlie thanking me for calling and for praying.
Charlie always thanked Arlene for everything she did for him. Arlene can be content that she gave him care that was second to none, and Charlie knew it and appreciated it. Right up to the end he was thanking Arlene for all she did.
But Charlie also thanked the Lord.
Now, many will look at Charlie's health since his accident in 1998 and wonder how he could have so much to be thankful for.
Charlie thanked the Lord for Arlene, and for the 27.5 years they got to spend together.
Charlie thanked the Lord for his wider family - for the Davidsons who took him in and loved him as one of their own, and for the Johnsons who loved him as much as he loved Arlene.
Charlie thanked the Lord for his church family, and for the fellowship he enjoyed with them. He thanked the Lord for the opportunities to serve Him through the Coagh Christian Fellowship and the Friendship Hour. He thanked the Lord for the many hours of fellowship he enjoyed alongside his brothers and sisters in Christ.
But Charlie thanked the Lord most of all for saving him and working a wonderful change in his life. When Charlie got saved in 1990, his friends didn't give him long. They thought he'd be back drinking with them in no time. But God had changed Charlie and he never went back to the pub or the drink.
Charlie was thankful, in spite of his disabilities, because a life lived with Christ is always worth living, and comes with the assurance of something better ahead.
He was FAITHFUL
He was FAITHFUL
21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
The second best thing in Charlie's life was Arlene.
Now I know that Arlene will understand why I say that, and will agree with me. For 27.5 years Charlie held fast to Arlene and loved her completely.
We know life is going to be very different for you, Arlene. There will be some days easier than others, and it's our prayer that the Lord will continue to strengthen you by His grace, just as He has done over the years.
But the best thing in Charlie's life was the Lord.
Without the Lord, Charlie could never have loved Arlene as much as he did.
Without the Lord he could never have endured as much as he did with the joy, prayer, and thankfulness that he demonstrated.
Charlie held on to the Lord.
But more than that - the Lord held on to Charlie.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Charlie knew God and God knew Charlie, because Charlie belonged to God. How?
Because in 1990 Charlie came to God and admitted he was a sinner on his way to hell.
I'm told that as Charlie travelled home from Bridgend to Windsor Terrace, he was terrified that he'd be involved in an accident before he had the chance to get saved. But by God's grace he got home safely and kneeling at the side of his bed he confessed that he was a sinner and he called on the Lord Jesus Christ to save him and make him ready for heaven.
Because Charlie was willing to do what God said then, today Charlie isn't in a coffin. The body he lived in is, but Charlie is with Christ today, and that's far better.
At this very moment Charlie is looking at the Lord Jesus Christ who saved him, and the joy and thankfulness he has right now far exceeds anything he felt while he was here with us.
He's singing praises to the Lord right now, and doing so perfectly in tune.
Not because he was "good living", but because he was SAVED.
What about you?
Are you decent?
Are you "good living"?
Or are you saved?
Charlie was decent, loving, friendly, funny, thankful, caring, prayerful, kind, thoughtful, and helpful - but he could have been all those things and still have gone to hell.
The only reason Charlie is in Heaven is because he didn't trust in himself to get him there - he trusted in the Lord to get him there, and that's where he is right now - not as an angel, but as something better - a child of God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Friends, the only way you'll ever see Charlie again is by trusting in Charlie's Saviour.
Will you be the answer to Charlie's prayers?
Will you trust in his Saviour to be your Saviour?
Will you do it now?