Jeanette Poelstra
Notes
Transcript
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-20
Jenette Poelstra Funeral Message
Brothers and sisters in Christ, when people meet with a pastor, especially in later stages of their life, I think it’s common for a special bond to form. When I came to Corsica, Jenette was one of the easiest people to talk to at the home, and I quickly considered her a friend. We didn’t meet as often as I met with some of my other parishioners, but that was because it seemed she was often on the go. Some of you that live in the area know that she could be a hard woman to track down. Yet when we did get together, the conversation would inevitably make its way to talking about church and denominations. She was interested in my opinion on certain changes with young people and what the Bible says. As caring and compassionate a woman as she was, clearly having a mother’s touch, she was also intelligent. She cared deeply about matters of faith and the church.
Jenette was a woman of faith, that’s been the description I have come back to again and again in recent weeks. I think I use that description because what I saw in her was that these passions were things that she would talk about with anyone. I as a pastor have the unique opportunity to talk about serious things and eternal things with many people that often get reserved for only the closest of family and friends. Yet this seemed to be who Jenette genuinely was.
I don’t say this simply to brag about her to many of you who probably already know these things. Rather I share this because I think this is what wearing the armor of God looks like. The apostle Paul used imagery throughout his letters to the churches that they understood. As he goes through each piece of the armor, we can probably picture that part being worn on an ancient soldier. But in giving the picture, he’s not saying that there is a physical, a tangible armor for us to wear, but there are qualities that a Christian will arm and defend themselves with.
The truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, salvation, the Spirit and the Word of God, and maybe we can call it the battle cry of the believer—prayer. Most of those are not things we can touch, rather they are things we think, believe, hope on, and practice. They are our convictions, they are where we turn when we are facing challenges but also what we celebrate with when there are victories and when we see God at work. Jenette, your mother, your grandmother, your friend, she wore this armor, and the way she wore it was visible. The joy that she had about life and about her Savior as well as the concern for people to know the Lord were very evident.
One of the benefits of how the armor is presented in Scripture is that it shows us that our faith is one that is both on offense as well as defense. As Paul writes in verse 13, put this on so that you may stand. We have a sword; we have feet fitted to be ready. But we also have the breastplate and the helmet and the shield. The call of a Christian is not a relaxed and lazy belief, just waiting passively for the Lord’s return to come. No, living in a world that is broken and filled with sin, we are to serve the Lord and live to glorify him. We are to be seeking out those who do not yet know Jesus, who do not yet call him Savior and Lord. They are not the enemy that we seek to attack. No, that is the devil, and the spiritual forces of evil that Paul alerts us to.
Each of us ought to be encouraged to put on this armor, to put on this way of life. That’s the command of this passage, and yet a command works in such a way that every person has the opportunity to decide whether or not to follow-through.
When someone passes away, we find ourselves somewhere on a spectrum, on a range of feelings. Maybe for some of you, today is about celebration—a wonderful, long life, with wonderful memories. On the other end, hopefully not the case here, but there is such deep grief because of tragedy. Often this is the case when it seems like death has come to someone too soon. Yet wherever we are, we are reminded that life here as an end. We do not know when our end will come or what will bring it about, but it will come.
But another thing we have to know is that this choice, and it is, I believe, the important choice is always before us. Will we put on the armor of God, or will we try to live unarmed or trying to use someone else’s armor? The armor of God is to take hold of the good news of Jesus, to put on the armor that helps us to live our lives against sin and the devil, to be alert to the things that harm us and other people. To put on this armor is to say, “I can’t save myself, I need help,” and to daily then trust in the help that Jesus lends.
It is good for each of us to take a look at our lives, at where our hope is, and to see if we have armor on and whose it is. One of the most wonderful pieces of this passage is that God provides all of these things for us. None of us creates truth or righteousness, none of us can bring peace to ourselves or decide on our own what faith involves; all of these are wonderful gifts given to us by our heavenly Father as he watches over his children. Salvation is not something that we can ever do enough to earn, it is not something we get lucky with. But as Jenette knew very well and I hope many if not all of us here do too, salvation is God’s gift.
We live today on the Easter side of remembering Jesus’ death and resurrection. We think about why he came, and it was not simply to show off, and he did not have sins to die for. But he came for us. He died as a sacrifice for us. He rose again to defeat eternal death that we would have the hope of living with him forever. As I shared here in Corsica, this is a true story, not a fairy tale, not a good script. This is real.
Wearing the armor of God means that we believe what Jesus has accomplished is really for us. Not one of us deserves his grace, and yet his grace can cover anything if we truly believe in him. If you are at a point where you say, “I don’t have this armor on, but I want it. And yet I don’t know the first thing about getting it,” look no further than the God who has created all things and is redeeming all things and who sustains all things. Turn to him, ask him to show you the truth about yourself and the truth about him. Ask him to help you lay your sin before him and give you the assurance that you have been saved. Ask someone to help you study God’s Word, the Bible. This book tells of how God reveals himself to those he loves throughout history. It tells us how things have gone, how we have gotten to a place of being so messed up, and then tells us what the future holds. If you give your life to him, he will fit you and dress you with his armor.
As Jenette came closer and closer to death, it was clear that her body was weakening. Her voice was quieter, she slept more, she struggled with her breath. Yet there is no doubt that she remained strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. She knew where her hope was, she knew her Protector, and as we each live on with memories of her and what she taught us, may we too be able to approach our lives with that same strength. Amen.