I to the hills will lift my eyes, from where shall come my aid. My safety I'll bear from the Lord, who heaven and earth have made. I thought him a fetch like no rill, He's thunder that he gleams. Behold he that keeps his trail, He slumbers not, nor sleeps. The Lord be peace, the Lord thy shade, On thy right hand doth stay. The moon by night, it shall not smite, Nor yet the sun by day. The Lord shall keep thy soul, he shall preserve thee from all ill. Henceforth thy going out and in, your keep forever will. Our scripture reading is to be found in John 14, and we're reading verses 1 through to verse 6, and then verse 23 to verse 27. And you'll note that the reading is on the order of service. John 14, verses 1 through to verse 6, and then verse 23 through to verse 27. Let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. And wherever I go, ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whether thou goest, and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings, and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance. whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Amen. Let us again stand for prayer. Our Heavenly Father God, we count it a great privilege here today, we who love Thee in this building, to draw near to Thee and call Thee our Father. How blessed we are to know Thee as a Father, as a gracious Father, as an all-merciful Father, as a loving Father. And we thank Thee for Thy tender care. We thank Thee for Thy enduring love towards us. and we will bow our hearts in adoration and praise. We thank thee for those precious words we have just read, words of great comfort to the believer, words of great comfort to our souls. Oh, we think of thy father's house, thy house, we think of heaven and the mansions reserved there for thy people. And we can think of many who love thee that has passed by, passed away, and are already there in the mansions, we think of our dear sister, Mum, who is there in the glory, and we thank Thee, O Lord, Thou art so gracious. Our Heavenly Father God, we pray that we all might know that peace, that tranquillity in our souls, that peace that Jesus spake peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you, let not your heart be troubled.' And in this time of sorrow may we know peace and even abundant joy in and through Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for many memories. We thank Thee for the life of a dear sister and her faithfulness, her zeal for Thee. We thank Thee for the way in which she lived for Thee here upon earth. We give Thee praise. O Lord our God, then we come to thee. Be particularly with those that mourn. Be with my father. May he know that great strength at this time. For Rhoda, and Mike, and for Ellie, and Susanna. We pray for myself, and for Sharon, Joanna, Abigail, Nathaniel, and Samuel. Pray for Auntie Joan, and Uncle Alan, and Auntie Syl, and the whole family. We commit them unto Thee. May we know that blessing that comes from Thee. Lord, we rejoice in a wonderful Saviour who came into this world. What a Saviour He is. He is altogether lovely. And oh, may we this afternoon know a little more of His loveliness. May we know a little more of His love. May that love be shed abroad in our hearts. Hear us now, bless this time, and have all the glory for Christ's sake. Amen. Our second hymn is Psalm 23. The Lord's my shepherd I not want, he makes me down to lie. In pastures green he leadeth me, the quiet waters by. Psalm 23. My shepherd, I'm not one. He made me man to lie. In pastures green, He leadeth me, The quiet waters mine. My soul He doth restore again, and be to all the faith within the heart of righteousness, in what his own may say. And though I walk in death's dark vale, Yet will I fill the hill, For Thou art willing, and Thine own, And self begun, or still. My tablecloth has furnished it in presence of my foes. with oil and wine, and my cup overflows. Goodness and mercy of my life, shall surely follow thee, and in God's house forevermore my dwelling place shall be. In a moment, we're going to turn to the Word of God, and I'd like us just to, for a few moments, look at those words which are on the front of the Order of Service. But just before we do so, I'd like just to say a few words to the family. Firstly to you, Dad, in this hour of sorrow, where you mourn the loss of dear mum, may you continue to know that strength and ingress, and may you take comfort in the sympathising High Priest. I have often thought of the Lord Jesus Christ who wept near a grave, near the tomb of Lazarus, and it shows to us he is the sympathising High Priest of his people, and that the Lord is touched and the Lord sympathises. The Lord who so loves you upholds you at this time. You miss a wonderful wife, a wonderful companion, but one you will see again. Dear Rhoda, Mike, Ellie and Susanna, as you too mourn the loss of a dear mum, a dear granny, may you know afresh the supporting and comforting grace of the Lord. You have many a happy memory, many a memory to cherish. May the Lord be with you. and may the Lord help you at this time. Dear Sharon, Joanna, Abigail, Nathaniel and Samuel, we have lost a special mum and a special granny, but one that was more than a granny, more than a mum, a dear Christian friend. It's unusual for the son to be addressing the family. But I can honestly say not only was my mum my dear mother, but one of my closest Christian friends. One who taught me so much of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we miss a dear friend. Dear Sharon, Joanna, Abigail, Nathaniel and Samuel, she encouraged us so much and she did so much for us. We enjoyed so many meals, so many times of blessing, so many times of happiness. Let us rest in God's enduring love, the love that Mother knew and the love that we who love the Lord know as well. May we rest in God's enduring love. Dear Auntie Joan, just over a year ago, we said goodbye to your dear mum. Granny, my granny, passed away on the 7th of January, just one year ago. We didn't know what the year would bring forth. And you didn't know then, Auntie Joan, neither did I, that 11 months later, you would say goodbye to another one of your sisters. Take comfort. One day, you will see your sisters again. Dear Uncle Jeff, take comfort in those things. And you will see Granny. And you will see Grandad. The day before my grandfather died, he was singing, to God be the glory, great things he hath done. He was at peace. He knew peace. Oh, dear Auntie Joan, May you know that peace. Some of the last words I read to mum a few weeks ago and some of the last words I read to granny a year ago was this, peace I leave with you. And my prayer for you Auntie Joan is that you, along with the rest of us, would know that lasting peace, that upholding peace. There's nothing like it, that peace that brings tranquility to the soul. And to you also, Uncle Alan, and Auntie Syl, you've lost another dear sister so quickly after dear mum, dear granny. May the Lord bless you. You've had many a happy time, and I can remember some of those happy times on the 25th of December around the meal table. You've had many a happy time, and you've got many memories that you can cherish. May you know that help and peace that Jesus alone can give as well. And then to all the brother and sister-in-laws here, and to all who aren't able to be here as well, nephews and nieces. And then the whole family. We come from some large families. Well, as we mourn the loss of a dear family member, let us rest entirely in the Lord. And may we all be in full and complete surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. And then finally to you all here today, may you know that help and that strength that we all so need. I am but a man and I need that help and strength. We all need it. May you know it. Well, a dear friend is no longer here. For many of you, you knew her as a Christian friend. May we rest in the best of friends, the Lord Jesus Christ. I think of those words still as a friend that sticketh closer than a brother, the Lord Jesus Christ. And may Christ be to you that friend at this hour. Well, just for a few moments, I'd like just now just to turn to those words which you'll find on the front of the Order of Service. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Dear congregation, the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1, verse 23, for I am in a strait betwixt him, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. He was in some difficulty. Was it to remain for a little while, or was it to go home? That's where he wanted to go. He wanted to be with Christ, which is far better. What a longing he had, what a sure and certain hope, and it's the believer's what a hope he had that one day he would leave this world and go to be with Jesus. For the believer, when death comes, they leave this world and they go to be with Christ, which is far better. Two weeks ago today, my mother left this world to go to be with Christ. And in those weeks leading up to her death, she so was focused on the Lord. She knew abundant peace. She said to me one evening, Erin, I am overwhelmed. I was wondering what she was going to say. I am overwhelmed with the Lord's peace. And she knew peace. And her mind was focused. And she was longing to be with the Lord Jesus. She knew all would be well, and her mind, her eye was focused, that soon she would see Jesus. Well the Apostle Paul here had suffered much And yet, he had been helped as we see in chapter four. And he was strengthened that he was found looking up. And here in the fifth chapter, with that strength in his soul as he looks up, he declares his assured hope and great expectation of a wonderful and happy immortality or eternal life after death. And it brought him great comfort. And it brought my mother, great comfort. It brought him joy, and it brought my mother joy to think she would soon pass to glory. For the Apostle Paul was comforted as he lived his life here upon earth. There was much sufferings for the sake of Christ, but he looked up and he took comfort in a wonderful eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'd like to ask you, have you this hope? My mother had this wonderful hope. Have you this hope of a wonderful future in heaven? How do I know if I've got this hope? Well, the Lord makes it abundantly plain. It is the believer who has this hope. Well the apostle in verse 1 of chapter 5 wrote, For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. He was looking up, and what a comfort, what a comfort it is to me, at my mother's shroom. to be able to look up and to know that my mother is in the Father's house and that one day I will see the Lord and I will also then also see my mother. What a comfort. And I want to ask you, have you this comfort? Have you even this joy that all is well for your soul as you think of death today? Plainly it is to believe there's hope In the previous verse we learn that of one walking by faith. It's the believer. Now many hope they will go to heaven. Yet many don't believe in Jesus. Jesus made it plain he was the only way. We read those words earlier. I am the way. The truth and the life. There's no access to God but through him. There's no going to heaven but through him. Some like to argue. They argue with the wonderful Saviour who makes it abundantly plain that He is the way. And those who have gone to Jesus, those who have believed in Him, can have this wonderful hope. In verse 6 we read, Therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, in willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Here's the Apostle's testimony, and this was my mum's testimony. And I so saw it on her face that she was longing to be with Jesus. Well, just very briefly for the remainder of the time, I'd like us just to consider, first of all, death, secondly, heaven, and thirdly, Jesus. Firstly, death. We are confident, I say, in willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Absent from the body. Paul is thinking of that time after his death had taken place. Now death is the separation of the body and the soul. That's plain here. Just read those words again on the front of the Order of Service. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body. and to be present with the Lord, that Paul's thinking there when he would be absent from the body. Death is that separation of the body and soul. The soul does not cease to exist. It lives on. I with peace can say this this morning, that before me lies my mother's body. But my mother is in heaven. at this very moment. The soul continues to exist after death. Now we live in a world wherein so many people die each and every day. On Sunday, the Lord's Day afternoon, we had a little time of outreach at a local restaurant. And just as we began, the manager came in. Can I have a little word? Could you go and see this lady? And that lady was dying. People die each and every day. And I want to say this as lovingly as I can. We're reminded of death today. One day we've got to die. One day, like my mum, you will come to the valley. And it's not an easy valley. The psalmist said in Psalm 23 verse 4, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, it's described there. And even if one like mum knows much peace as she did, it's not an easy valley. It's not easy going for the one who is dying, but then also for the loved ones, for those looking on and the friends. And many tears have been shed in the valley. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and the valley is filled with tears. What a blessing to know the shepherd in the valley. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. And can I, with such love in my heart, say this? The only way you can face the valley is with the shepherd. I would want to face the valley without Jesus. And if you're not believing here, I so pity you. Oh, may you go to the Lord that you might know that joy of knowing him, that you might know that help when the time comes. What a blessing the shepherd is with his people. And you know, I was privileged to so grasp that in watching my mother get weaker and weaker. The Lord was with her. He was strengthening her. He was even causing her to sing and rejoice. How wonderful Jesus is. But just before we move on, one may say, why is there death in this world? Why do not people live forever? It's quite a question asked at times. Well, I must, as a gospel minister, lovingly tell you it is because of sin there is death in this world. We read in Romans 5 verse 12, Adam would have lived forever if he had not sinned. Sin came into the world and so did death. We read in Romans 6 verse 23, for the wages of sin is death. And it's a solemn fault, isn't it? But that verse goes on to say, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. There's life. There's eternal life. And what a gift that is to those who believe. And so for the believer, there is no fearful sting in view of death. It's a valley. And it's not easy at times. But there's no fearful sting. For here then, Paul, he looks beyond that time when he would be absent from the body. But let's consider secondly, as we draw to a close, heaven. What a wonderful thing it is to think of heaven having considered death. We think of death today, don't we? but we can also think of heaven. My mother has passed away. My mother is already in heaven. So let's just think of heaven for a few moments. For the believer, they will be absent from the body and present with the Lord, as we shall note in a moment. And this is a great encouragement. It's a great encouragement to me today. It's not easy. It's not easy. when you lose a loved one. But what a comfort. I know all is well. And one day I will leave this world and I will enter glory. And I will go to be with Christ. And I will also see my dear mother. What an encouragement it is. It's not easy in this world, particularly for a believer. There are many crosses and trials. But oh, what encouragement. There is a home in heaven awaiting them. Well, the Lord is in heaven. We're thinking of heaven here in the verse. Willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Where's the Lord? Well, he's in heaven, so we're thinking of heaven. After 40 days following his resurrection, he ascended up into heaven. What a moment that was. In Psalm 24 we're given a glimpse of what was happening. Who is this King of Glory? Such a King of Glory was the call and the song and he entered in. What a moment when Jesus entered into heaven. What singing took place at that time. The Lord is in heaven. And then consider God's servant, Stephen. He was given a wonderful vision to encourage him and strengthen him just before he died. In Acts 7, verse 55, we read, but he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. He looked up, he was given this wonderful vision to encourage him, and he saw Jesus standing What a wonderful thought, Jesus standing in heaven. What a wonderful place. Now if one dies and does not see Jesus, they plainly are not in heaven. For we see here that Jesus is in heaven. His immediate presence is there. Of course, we know also in a spiritual and wonderful way, he's in the life and heart of the believer. We're bringing this all together then. Paul here was looking forward to going to heaven. And it was my privilege, as already mentioned, I watched on at a dear child of God, looking forward to going to heaven. Glory, she was looking forward to. And she knew such peace in her heart. She was longing to go home. She was longing to go to heaven. What a place, it's a real place. How do we know it's a real place? Well, Jesus ascended there and he went there with his body as well. It's a real place, what a thought. It's called Paradise in 2 Corinthians. And as you think of paradise, it speaks of a lovely place. What a lovely place heaven is. What a delightful place. You may go on holiday. And you may go to some lovely place. You may be blessed and you go to another country. Maybe it's a hot island and it's like a paradise. But oh, it's nothing compared to heaven. What a delightful place heaven is. What a lovely place. A number of years ago, I went to Durham Park, just north of Bath, and I remember it well. Because the day before, I had a serious injury to my eye, and it blinded my eye. And I went up to the hospital at Salisbury, and they looked at it, but they sent me home. And I still wanted to go to Durham Park, and I went there, and my sight was just coming back. Oh, it was a lovely place. So calm. So peaceful. The sun was out. What a place it was. But oh, heaven is so much more wonderful. Such peace and calm. What a place of perfect rest. One of old wrote, perfect rest to me is promised in my father's house above. Perfect rest. A mum knows perfect rest in the presence of Jesus. We've come to remember mum. Think of mum now, she's at perfect rest in the presence of Jesus. Perfect rest. Nothing to disturb her. There were many times when she was disturbed, particularly when I was a young boy. She told me often, when I was a little older, that was of course, I used to make her cry. She could never smack me hard enough. And I would just smile at mum. and she would have sleepless nights because of me. She sat up many nights when I was ill. She didn't know rest at times, but all what rest she knows now. She knew sorrow here upon earth, but now she's in heaven where there is no sorrow. There's the absence of sorrow. It's hard to grasp it, isn't it? We know times of joy and happiness, but then suddenly it's interrupted and we may be cast down and we know great sorrow within. But in heaven, there's no sorrow. There's the absence of pain. There's no physical pain in heaven. And there's no inward pain in heaven. And there's the absence of sin. In Revelation 21 verse 4 we read, And yet am I looking at someone here you do not know the joy of knowing Jesus. I commend to you my own lovely Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, as we think of heaven, what a place. And my mum has been there now for two weeks. And what delight she has known, what singing she has enjoyed, My mother loved to sing, as many of you know. She loved to sing her heart out. And I remember just over a year ago, mum went to see her mum. And I went there and I read those words, peace I leave with you. And then I left mum. And what did mum do for the next few hours till granny went home? She read. She prayed and she sang. She read, she prayed, and she sang. She loved to sing. And it was my privilege in the last week or so, often on my own with mum in the room, just to sing, to sing to the Lord. And even on that last occasion on the 25th of December, when I was there with my mum on my own, though she couldn't join in audibly, I knew she was joining in in her heart. She loved to sing and mum is still singing. Death is not the end. My dear beloved mum is in heaven and she's singing in the presence of the Lord and I'm sure that granddad's not too far away from her either. How grand it loved to sing as well. So many in the family loved to sing. Oh, what singing there is in that place. We know heaven is a distance away. How do we know that? Because we can't hear the singing. What wonderful singing is taking place there, and mum's joining in with that great congregation around the throne in praising the Lord. One of old wrote, when I tread the verge of Jordan, with my anxious fears subside. Death of deaths and hell's destruction, land me safe on Canaan's side. Songs of praises, songs of praises, I will ever give to thee. My mum is so happy, I tell you. She's more happy than anyone here. And she's singing. singing the praises of her Saviour. What singing? What comfort? It's a wonderful thing to know comfort in the heart here, but oh, what comforts there are in heaven, in the presence of the Lord. Lasting comfort. Comfort that so lifts the soul. Such comfort. And then what delights to be with Christ, which is far better. And in the Greek, there's a stress there, so it is far, far Better what delights are in heaven, wonderful delights, particularly considering the Lord is there, for of whom heaven is. Let me tell you, at death the believer goes straight to heaven. What do we read here? We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. You know, I have to say this, I do listen to certain things that are said at funerals. Let me tell you, when my mum died, she went straight to be with Jesus. O dear child of God, heaven awaits. If you're loving Jesus, let me tell you. You may know what it is to have doubts in your heart. Do some of you struggle at times as the Lord's people? Let me tell you, heaven awaits. What did Jesus say? Let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. At death, mum went to heaven. Let me ask you, and I ask you this with love in my heart. I really do love you. What will it be for you when your time comes? If you're not a believer, let me catch your eye. Your only hope is Jesus. And thirdly and finally, we close with considering Jesus. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Present with who? The Lord. And we have this word present here. Now in the Greek, there's a little bit more to the word which is translated here as present. It speaks of to be in one's own country. To be at home. to be present with the Lord, to be at home present with the Lord. You see, dear beloved brethren, this world isn't our home, is it? We may have a home, we call home, but it's only our lodging place. And even if we move from place to place, it's only our lodging place. Our home is in heaven. To be present or to be in one's country, to be at home with the Lord. To be with the Lord. To be with Jesus. A mum's great joy in her life as a believer, but then particularly as the time drew near that she was going to see Jesus. The one she so loved. She loved Dad so much. And she loved us so much. But she loved Jesus so much more. And she was so looking forward to seeing him. Now, she was upset. She was upset at having to say goodbye to dad, to myself, to Rhoda, to Sharon, to Mike, and all the grandchildren. She was upset. But all she was looking for She knew sorrow, she knew what it was to cry, but then she knew tears of joy as she looked forward to seeing Jesus. And she was so happy. A number of years ago, I went to see Dear Grandma. What a godly Christian lady she was, along with her husband, Granddad. And I read Psalm 23. And after I read Psalm 23, I looked on Dear Grandma And I said, you're looking forward to seeing granddad. She smiled. And then I said, and I knew grandma, we all knew grandma, but you're looking forward also to seeing Jesus. And she didn't smile. She just beamed. Well, unknown to me, two hours later, she was at home with Jesus, so happy. In heaven, Jesus is in full view. The believer sees Jesus with the eyes of their soul. Yes, on that great day, they will see the Lord with the eyes of flesh, as we see in Job. But the believer will see Jesus with the eyes of their soul. And they will be so melted by his, oh, lovely face. My dear mother already knows what the face of Jesus is like. We know it's a loving face, dear brethren. We know there is such grace seen on his face. My mother seeing the face of Jesus. What a saviour he is. What a saviour he is to me. My greatest friend. who came into the world, we read in 1 Timothy 1 verse 15, he came into the world to save sinners. And we all know those well-known words. Fear not, for behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto us is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. He came. He was born in Bethlehem. He lived here upon earth. He kept the law perfectly. And then he suffered and died. He was punished in the place of guilty sinners. And all who believe in Jesus Christ can know their sins forgiven, can know that they are accepted by God, and one day will go to heaven. He died for guilty sinners. Well, guilty sinners can be forgiven. His name is Jesus. God's salvation. He saves. He came to save. Let me ask you, has He saved you? Has He come near to your soul? Has He taken hold of your heart and forgiven you your sins? What a Redeemer He is, my Redeemer. Can you say with Job in Job 19 verse 25? For I know that my Redeemer liveth, I know it. I know He's alive in glory, but also He's alive in my soul. Christ liveth within my heart. How mum loved the Saviour. She's home now. She so loved him. And she so loves him now. Do you love him? You know, you've come to a funeral service. I don't know what you were expecting. I know what my mum wanted. She wanted Jesus to be made known to you. So that is what I have sought to done. Do you love him? Do you value him? We read in Peter, unto you who believe he is precious, is he the most precious one to you here? You husband, you love your wives. They're precious. Is Jesus more precious? Do you value him? It was a privilege to be taught by my mother so much of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I can honestly say she taught me so much in the valley of living for Jesus and loving him. In the evening of her birthday, she said this to her son, Jesus is so dear to me. Jesus is so dear to me. So dear. So precious. Can you echo those words of my mom? Jesus is so dear to me. She so valued him and she was so thankful for his precious blood. I remember on another occasion, I could go on for hours just telling you the lessons I learned from mum in her dying. She said one Lorsday evening, Aaron, how wonderful to be covered by the precious blood of Jesus. Can you honestly say that? How wonderful to be covered by the precious blood of Jesus. She was so thankful for a saviour who died on that cross. She was rejoicing and she's rejoicing now. There's sorrow, there's joy in heaven and mum is there rejoicing in Jesus. She looked forward to being there, and now she's there. She knew the Lord, and she's rejoicing in him. One of old wrote these words, and mum so loved these words, blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine, air of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood, perfect submission, all is at rest. I am my Savior, I'm happy and blessed, watching and waiting, looking above, filled with His goodness, lost in His love. And mom was so lost in the love of Christ. And I tell you now, she's so lost in the love of Jesus. What about you? I pity you if you leave this service not knowing my own lovely Saviour. How can you walk out not knowing Him? and not knowing the joy of knowing Jesus. What a wonderful Savior he is. And he said, come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And if you go being led by grace, he will not turn you away. Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. He won't turn you away. I remember a number of years ago at school there was an opportunity to play football at dinnertime and we all had to line up and no one picked me. Well, they were right, I was no good. I was turned away. Jesus will not turn you away. And the stress there as well, he'll never turn you away. He'll never turn you away as a believer. And when death comes, he will not turn you away then. And how happy I am for that. He will not turn you away if you're trusting in him, for he will be at the end of the journey. I thought of Stephen earlier. He saw Jesus standing. My mum, two weeks ago, saw Jesus standing in glory. to welcome her into that place. He is at the end of the journey. There is a valley, but he will be with his people in the valley, and at the end of the valley, he will welcome them into heaven. And what a moment! We were sad. We shed tears, and we've shed many tears since mum passed away. But oh, what joy, my dear, in the presence of Jesus. for the believer at death in the presence of Jesus, their heart will be so melted by his love. No wonder my mum was happy to be going home. And I can honestly say on this day, when I must in a moment say certain words, a mum's coffin will be laid in the grave. I am happy because of Jesus. Because I know where I'm going. I'm going to see Jesus one day. And I know it won't be long before I see mum. May you know Jesus. May you know joy. Where can true happiness come into fruition? Not in ourselves, but in Jesus. May you know that joy. And may it be because you know Christ that heaven awaits. Amen. We turn to our final psalm. I waited for the Lord my God and patiently did bear. length to me he did incline my voice and cry to hear thy tender mercies lord me from though do thou not restrain thy loving kindness and thy truth let them me still maintain and after this praise i will pray and then i'm going to invite my dear father he's going to read and bring a word of thanksgiving psalm 40 i waited for the lord my god I waited for the Lord, my God, and patiently prepared. have made to me, beginning mine, my voice and cry to hear. He took me from the pimple pits and from the marred clay. And on a rock he set my feet, Establishing my way. He put a new song in my mouth, our God to magnify. Many shall see it and shall fear, and on the Lord rely. O blessed is the man whose trust upon the Lord relies, respecting not the proud, nor such ♪ Has turned the skies to ice ♪ ♪ O Lord, my God, though many are ♪ ♪ The wonders Thou hast done ♪ ♪ By gracious laws to us worthwhile ♪ ♪ The vow of force are gone ♪ ♪ In order now can reckon them ♪ ♪ To thee with them declare ♪ Sing of them, my good Jamo, and glad Beloved are. ♪ By tender mercies look on me ♪ ♪ For do thou not restrain ♪ ♪ Thy loving kindness and thine truth ♪ ♪ Let them be still maintained ♪ Let us pray. O gracious God, we thank Thee for the wonderful Gospel and the wonderful Saviour. Lord, we can face this hour, we who love Thee, not because of any strength of ourselves, but because of Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. We thank Thee for the wonderful hope in the Gospel, a hope now that is fully realised for mum in heaven above, all we thank thee for the comfort the believer can know, and all may be that we are resting in the Saviour. O Lord help us, may we know that peace that Jesus spake of. to be with my Father now, to be alongside him, and in laters we gather by the gravesite. Be near to us, O Lord, beloved Saviour of our soul. Be near to us, we pray. Hear us, for Jesus' sake. Amen. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen. When we began discussing the order of service for today, my thoughts immediately went to the words that we find in the book of the Psalms. And I read to just two verses from Psalm 118 and verses 28 and 29. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee. Thou art my God, I will exalt thee. O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. And it's that second verse, verse 29, O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever, that forms the basis of these words of thanksgiving. They're here in Psalm 118 and verse 29. You find them again in Psalm 105 and 107 and the sentiments of them in other places. And they show us reasons to thank the Lord. I'm not going to preach another sermon, but just to see from verse 29, there are three reasons to thank the Lord. First of all, because as the verse tells us, He is good. He is good. He's the almighty God. And how do we see the goodness of God? Look around the works of creation, even on a dreary day like today outside. And it all speaks of the wonders of God in creation. Think of the things that He has done, His dealings with us who know and love Him, His dealings still, His patience and long-suffering to this sinful world in which we live. Oh, we can thank the Lord then, for he is good. The second reason we must thank the Lord is for his mercy, for his mercy. And when we think of the mercy of God, it's that unmerited grace and favour to fallen sinners such as we all began our lives in that state. that he loved us even to the point of sending his son into the world as the saviour of the world that we might know in him forgiveness of sin and salvation. The third reason in this verse is this, we should thank the Lord because he is the eternal God for his mercy endureth forever. We are here today as a testimony to that truth. Dear Dot has left us, but as we've heard already, she's with the Lord in glory for all eternity. With our God, with our Saviour, the one who is from everlasting to everlasting, our God. But all we may say, that might be very well on other occasions. But how can God be thanked at such a time as this, in a service of this nature? Well, we have the answer in verse 28. And it tells us that God can be thanked on such a day as this because He is God. That's the only qualification that we need. And because He is God, we can praise Him. And verse 28 also makes it personal. Oh, the psalmist says, thou art my God. I will exalt thee. Oh, that's the basis of our thanks. That's the basis of our praise and exaltation. God is to be praised in every situation. God is to be exalted. And so at such a time as this, we can give thanks to the lord oh he's been our strength and stay some have said to me how can i keep going how have i been able to preach eat lord's day and on a tuesday evening at such a time as this it's nothing to do with me it's only in the strength of the lord which he supplies. And so we see then things come into perspective in the light of Romans chapter 8 and verse 28. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. For we do not live to ourselves, we live unto him. That verse is a verse that Dot and I have cherished over the years that we've had together, not just in the times of blessing but when we've walked in the valley, to know that our God has been with us and all things work together for good because we have been called of him. This is the basis then of our thanksgiving and now some words of thanks. I thank God today as we all can for my dear daughter, for our dear sister, as we've heard, mother, grandmother, a friend, that God allowed her to live on the space of this earth just 70 years and one day, beginning her life the other side of the forest there in that area. and we can thank God that he has given dot to us for that period of time and for much of that time Oh, it's been a life of service. She's been along my side in the things that the Lord would have for me to do. And why? Because the Lord saved her. The Lord laid his hand upon her as he did upon me. And that service was precious. At a time when I was redundant, you may say that was a disaster. But that was the very means whereby Dot and I could serve the Lord together in the bookshop. over a long period of time and how precious that was and many, many other avenues of service. We might be relatively local people. Some would call us country bumpkins, but it's been a great privilege to serve the Lord, even as far afield as in Spain and other places. And as all of the Lord, it's something that we would have not thought at all possible. So we thank Thee for her life of service, which so many of you here today have benefited from. I'm thankful for my family at this time. Over these past few weeks, they've been a tower of strength to me. And I know to dot while she was still with us. And then as a family, we'd like to express our thanks to you today. Oh, it's very difficult at a time like this to know who to include in thanks and who to leave out. And if you're anything like me, you don't get it right anyway. So I want to say just a word of thanks to all of you and to many, many more who have supported us and will go on supporting us at this time. Well, that includes doctors, nurses and carers, the Lord's people and so forth, and the fellowship of the Lord's people, which is precious to us. And then some personal thanks concerning this day. Oh, at the church at Carmel in Christchurch, we are thankful that a rented building is provided for us week by week, but we're not able to have funeral services there, and we certainly don't have a burial ground. And so we are thankful to the church here at Crosslanes in joining with us on this day and making it such a special day in memory for God. Oh, it's been good to see the two churches working alongside in a practical way when we get along to the village hall. All the work has been done by different people. Some are my nieces, some are other members of the family, but also the ladies from the church at Carmel and the ladies from the church here at Crosslanes working alongside one another. The Church Office is also joining together to support this day. So a personal and a practical thanks, one and all. Just one other word of thanks. If you look on the back of the Order of Service, you'll find that donations today are for the Metropolitan Tabernacle Overseas Ministry Fund. And we would thank you for that. Some may know that It was a great joy and privilege for Dot and I to have in our home Bible college students from the third world when they came to England to study during their vacations. Such a precious experience. We've lost track with them. We hear glimpses of news, but at best they're clearly persecuted for the sake of the gospel. They're even described as the forgotten persecuted. And so, in thinking of the Overseas Missionary Fund, it's the nearest we could get to that, but a worthy cause, Aaron and I sat down with some of those men who served the Lord when we were at the seminary. And some of those men didn't even go home for two years to visit their wives and family because they were so poor, and yet they'd come to England to study. They're now engaged in the work of the gospel around the world in pioneer countries, and it's a great privilege to be identified with them. And so in bringing these words of thanks to a close, You will notice today there's been no tributes, there's been no words of eulogy, and that's been at Dot's request, and it's how others of us feel. And why? Because as Dot made it very plain, today there's only one that should be talked about. There's only one who should have the glory, and that is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. If you want to share your memories about Dort, you'll have an opportunity one with another in the village hall to which we invite you. Maybe some of you don't know everybody else. Well, that's an opportunity to get to know someone too. The world calls it networking in this day and age. We call it the fellowship and friendship of the Lord's people. Again, on the back of the Order of Service, you'll notice the last words are, to God be the glory, great things he has done. So loved he the world that he gave us his son. And to God be all the glory today. Some of you here today who may have good memories will think of those words of the way in which we sung them just a few weeks short of 49 years ago, in the chapel the other side at Canada Common, when Dot and I were married. And now today, as we lay our daughter's body to the grave, all we do so knowing that she's being laid to rest in her beloved new forest that she always loved and appreciated even when we had to live outside its boundaries. We lay her body there today as we've heard and should know she's with the Lord. Her mortal remains will lay there until that day when the trumpet shall come, sound and the Lord shall come. To God be the glory. And my final word of thanks is the words of 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 57. Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, the victory over sin and death and hell. Thanks be to God.