WALKING WITH GOD – FUNERAL SERMON
November 13, 2016
(The following link will take you to an MP3 recording of the funeral sermon: http://chirb.it/c4b4Jq)
INTRODUCTION:
1.) In Genesis 5:24 Scripture tells us of a man named Enoch.
A.) “Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”
B.) Certainly the account of Enoch is an unusual one in Scripture because of having the privilege of God giving him an exemption from death.
C.) Certainly the honour given to Enoch is not one which is common to those of the human race, and it was not a privilege given to Geoff.
2.) The exemption from death is not what I want us to focus on today but rather the earlier part of that verse where it stated that he had walked faithfully with God, and then was no more on this earth.
A.) I want to use that verse because in many ways I feel it is a description of the life of Geoffrey Conley.
aa.) I think we would all agree that Geoff to the best of his ability lived his life walking with God.
B.) Today I want us to look at four ways of walking with God that Geoff has experienced, or is now experiencing.
ba. The first of these is that:
I) GEOFF CHOSE TO LIVE THIS LIFE WALKING WITH GOD.
1.) There was a point of time when Geoff had to make a conscious decision to follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
A.) That day would have begun his walk with God.
B.) It is not an automatic decision to walk with God nor is it something that just naturally happens as we go through our life.
ba.) Joshua said to the Israelites “Choose you this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24:15)
C.) The decision of salvation occurs when we consciously make Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.
ca.) There is no other person who can make that decision for us.
cb.) For Geoff that walk of faith began on April 21, 1963.
cba.) On that day Geoff consciously decided to give his life to Jesus Christ, and through faith to obey the gospel in the waters of
baptism.
01) Certainly that was an exciting day for the church, as it always is when one comes to Christ.
.011) It was even more exciting because:
cbb.) Geoff was not the only one to make that very important decision that Sunday morning.
.01) Besides Geoff, his sister Maureen, and three others also made the decision to come to Jesus that morning, and two others pledged their allegiance to Jesus Christ that night.
D.) That day was the beginning of a walk of faith that Geoff has continued to walk for the rest of his life on this earth.
ca.) Truly Geoff had experienced the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in His own life.
cb.) Even while he lay on a bed of sickness Geoff would nearly daily read and find encouragement from the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 1:16-17.
cba.) Those words were the Philosophy of Geoff’s life, and an encouragement for each hour.
cbb.) “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”
.01) A Second aspect of walking with God is that:
II) GEOFF DESIRED THAT OTHERS WOULD ALSO WALK WITH GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.
1.) Geoff accepted a call to the ministry so that he could give to others that same privilege of walking with God.
A.) He wanted his life to count for something and to be a blessing to others in their spiritual walk.
B.) In Christ, Geoff had found the fullness and satisfaction of his life, and longed for others to also experience that blessed relationship with our Creator and Redeemer.
C.) He truly loved His Lord, and was zealous for others to experience the same thing.
ca.) My first memory of Geoff was in exactly that role, for my first memory of Geoff was when I was a child at Bayview Christian Camp. Geoff and a group of us kids were all seated together on the grass in the middle of the back field of the camp as Geoff led us in a study.
2.) Throughout life, Geoff had a great desire for all to know Christ.
A.) Throughout the years, I have known Geoff to have a great concern and love for the lost.
B.) So many times Geoff and I have talked with each other and he has expressed his concern over individuals and their need for a saving relationship with Christ.
ba.) Certainly, the matter of salvation, and concern for the souls of the lost were of great importance to Geoff.
baa.) Geoff would often go out of his way to become a friend to people, and through that friendship to also introduce them to Jesus
Christ.
.01) Sometimes Geoff would use a pot of fish chowder, or some of his delicious squares to build a bridge with others, that down the road might have the opportunity to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them.
bb.) I recently spoke to a man who told me that Geoff had conducted the marriage ceremony for him and his wife several years ago.
bba.) A few weeks after the marriage Geoff was the first visitor to their new home.
bbb.) He encouraged them to be active in the church as a married couple, and encouraged them to come to the church he ministered
at.
bb.) Certainly, this is an aspect of life and ministry where Geoff had the heart and mind of God, and desired that all of the lost would
come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
bba.) Even as Geoff was coming closer to death he was an encouragement and a witness of Christ to the medical staff as well as those
who would visit with him in the hospital.
bbb.) I think he could relate to what Paul the Apostle said in 1 Cor. 9:22: “ I have become all things to all men so that by all possible
means I might save some.”
C.) On more than one occasion when a person has gone from this life into the next I have heard Geoff speak with great concern if that person entered into eternity without Jesus Christ.
ca.) Geoff had genuine sorrow over the soul of such a one and of the eternal state they would be faced with because of their rejection of Jesus Christ.
cb.) As the years of Geoff’s life passed, he entered a new stage in his walk with God: and that was through the valley of the shadow of death.
III) AS GEOFF PASSED THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH HE FOUND THAT EVEN HERE GOD WAS WALKING WITH HIM.
1.) The walk through the valley can be scary.
A.) Over the past 9 years Geoff has come to a new place in his walk on this earth, and also his walk with Christ.
B.) Since 2007, Geoff has lived with the knowledge and experience that cancer was at work in his body.
ba.) Even with the great medical care he received, it became more and more obvious that his cancer would not be defeated but would
take him into the Valley of the shadow of death, and ultimately bring him to death.
bb.) That walk can be a very scary walk.
bba.) It is scary because one has to ask:
.01) Will it be long?
.02) Will it be painful?
.03) What will I have to endure on that journey?
bbc.) The walk is scary because the way is unknown and we only learn it as we travel its path.
2.) The walk through the valley can also be very lonely.
A.) Even though others come to stand by our side it is a walk we must take by ourselves.
B.) Geoff has been very blessed with his family and friends by his side.
ba.) There are so many who have been a great source of strength and comfort to Geoff on this walk he had to take.
aa.) Just the same:
3.) The walk through the valley is easier when we know that God is walking with us.
A.) I am reminded of the words which King David had uttered so many years ago:
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff they
comfort me.” (Ps. 23:4).
aa.) Anyone who had talked with or visited Geoff over these past few months knew that Geoff had hope and confidence even as He
walked through this very difficult valley.
B.) Certainly each of us know that Geoff experienced the presence and the peace of God as He walked through this final part of his
time on this earth.
ba.) We have seen the level of freedom and comfort that Geoff has had even speaking of his own death.
bb.) That degree of comfort comes only when the presence of God and the peace of God are part of your daily walk with God.
bba.) Just as the Apostle Paul had expressed:“For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.”
bbb.) That was exactly the confidence that Geoff had as he walked through death’s dark valley.
.01) He had not fear, but peace, confidence, hope, and anticipation of the future.
.02) Geoff was able to have this attitude because he knew and was experiencing the truth that “He who begun a good work in [him]
would carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 1:6)
bc.) Even with God’s presence, the journey through the valley had become increasingly long and difficult.
bba.) The last time I spoke with Geoff was about 5 days before he left us to enter into the next stage of his walk with God.
bbb.) At that time he told me he hoped it would not be much longer before he could go home.
bbc.) God was merciful to him and has answered his prayer and has taken him home.
.01) Geoff has now come to a new phase in his walk with God.
IV) FOR ALL OF ETERNITY GEOFF HAS THE PRIVILEGE TO WALK WITH GOD.
1.) As I come to this fourth point I want to share some words that Geoff had said to tell you.
A.) On one of my last visits with Geoff we discussed his funeral service in quite a bit of detail, and I told him the four points of the
message I was preparing for today.
B.) As I told Geoff my fourth point he interrupted me and said: “Be sure to tell them that today I am walking closer and more intimately
with Jesus than I have ever walked during life.”
C.) That is a true confidence in Jesus Christ.
ca.) That is a wonderful view for not only Geoff but for any Child of God to have. After all, the promises of Scripture assure us that:
caa.) “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”
cab.) Again, Paul stated that “for me to live is Christ; to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21).
cac.) There is no denying that we will each one miss Geoff.
cad.) Yet here in the midst of sorrow it is also a day of rejoicing.
.01) We can rejoice because we know of Geoff’s faith in Christ.
.02) We can also rejoice because the resurrection of Christ has given us proof that the Word of God is true.
.03) There in the promises from God’s Word we have the assurance and hope of being in the presence of God even when we have
gone through the portal of death.
.04) Today we can only imagine and wonder what it is like to be in the presence of God, and to walk with Him throughout eternity.
.041) I truly believe that Geoff is experiencing right now the fullness of which we can only dream and try to imagine.
CONCLUSION:
1.) I want to close the service today with a poem titled: “At the end of the Road.”
A.) I do not know the author of this poem, but Geoff had it given it to me last Spring and asked that I would read it at his funeral today.
“What shall I find at the end of the road ----
The road where the sunset lies?
Will there be more of joy and less of pain
Under those beckoning skies?
Will the colors deepen as I draw near
or will they fade in grey?
For the road is long and the road is strange
That I travel day by day.
What shall I find at the end of the road
When I’ve said my last good-bye?
When I hear from far off the silent call ----
The call to souls who die----
What shall I find at the end of the road
When the last long mile I’ve trod?
Find?
I shall find all I have prized on earth,
For my heart’s love, home, and God.
