WEBVTT 00:20:16.780 --> 00:20:32.560 Philippians chapter 1 and verse 20 to 21 and verse 23 read, According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with 00:20:32.810 --> 00:20:48.490 all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 00:20:48.740 --> 00:21:05.775 Betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. We welcome you today to the memorial service for Pastor Ian Weston. How can we begin to put 00:21:06.025 --> 00:21:23.060 into words the impact of his life? How can we begin to put into words the impact of a godly father? Try and get the tears over and done with early. We're going to sing a hymn. 00:21:23.310 --> 00:21:38.747 And I'm going to ask Jeremy, my brother, to come and lead it for us. It is well with my soul. If you could be upstanding as we sing, please, turning your hymn sheets there, you'll find the hymn ready for you. Thank you. Okay, just 00:21:38.997 --> 00:21:54.230 with the hymns today, my mum has requested that between the first and second verses of every congregational hymn, we have some time to listen to the orchestra. So we'll still be singing the second verse, but if you could just... 00:21:54.480 --> 00:24:55.939 Pause between the first and second verses just to hear the orchestra play. Thank you. Let's begin. Dear Gracious God and Heavenly Father, how we thank you that we can be here this day. We thank you for the great hope and the 00:24:56.189 --> 00:28:00.070 great joy we have through our Lord Jesus Christ who conquered death. We thank you for our Lord Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. How we thank you, Lord Jesus, that at the cross you defeated sin, you defeated death. 00:28:00.320 --> 00:28:15.897 Rose triumphant in victory. We thank you for the great joy of knowing you as our personal Lord and Savior. We come this morning into your presence thanking you for the life and the testimony of Pastor Weston 00:28:16.147 --> 00:28:32.050 Senior, Lord. We thank you for the consistency of his life. We thank you at 11 years of age he trusted you as his Lord and Savior. We thank you that now his faith is sight and that he's in your presence, Lord. 00:28:32.590 --> 00:28:45.407 We ask now for your blessing upon us. We pray for the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ through the Spirit, that you would move in every heart. We pray for comfort for the grieving. We pray this morning 00:28:45.657 --> 00:28:58.410 for conviction for those who have not yet received Christ as Saviour. And we pray, Lord, that for those of us who do know you, that we might be stirred this day to serve you more with all of our hearts. 00:28:58.660 --> 00:29:11.181 And so, Lord, we give this time into your hands. We pray for the exaltation and the honoring of the Lord Jesus through this service and through the testimony of this life. In Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you. 00:29:11.431 --> 00:29:23.890 You may be seated. We welcome you today to the memorial service for Pastor Ian Weston, Sr. It's wonderful to see such a great crowd here today and a testament to the impact of my father's life on so many. 00:29:24.140 --> 00:29:37.443 And many thoughts have been going through my mind over the last couple of weeks, but one thought that has been very much in my mind is just the impact that one surrendered life can have for the Lord and the flow-on effects of that into many, 00:29:37.693 --> 00:29:50.660 many lives. And so we thank you for being here today. Just a few housekeeping things before we get further into the service. Please, if you have not done so already, if you could switch off your mobile phones so that we don't interrupt. 00:29:50.910 --> 00:30:02.935 The service, that would be appreciated. Also, if you do need the bathroom, try not to interrupt the service, but if you really have to, out through the double doors there, take a right and then you'll just make your way through, you'll find the 00:30:03.185 --> 00:30:15.110 bathrooms there. Also, there's a mother's room at the back of the auditorium here, if you need to take your baby in there. There's also an overflow room, again out in that direction, just take a right as you go through into the entryway there. 00:30:15.360 --> 00:30:29.354 And there is a screen in that overflow room so if you need to go out there any time during the service there is a screen so you can still know what's happening with the service. We'd also like to invite you to attend the burial service that will 00:30:29.604 --> 00:30:43.790 follow the service this morning at 1pm at the Bathurst Cemetery. All are welcome to attend. And then that will be followed by afternoon tea at 2pm at Ridges Resort on the Mount Panorama Racetrack. So again, all are welcome and invited to attend. 00:30:45.230 --> 00:32:54.986 Okay, we're going to have our second hymn now, and I'll ask if Daniel could come and lead that for us, Finally Home. And again, we'll follow the same format with the orchestra playing a stanza in between verse one and two. We knew Dad did want for his funeral. He's mentioned 00:32:55.236 --> 00:35:04.050 it over the years. And Dad said to us over the years, and we heard him say it often in sermons, you know, I think the best way to go would be to go to sleep at night and wake up in heaven. And so the Lord gave him his wish there, and we praise the Lord. He is with the Lord. 00:35:04.300 --> 00:35:21.972 Okay, we're going to now hear from two ladies who are very special in Dad's life. Firstly, his wife, our Mum. She's going to come with a eulogy this morning, and then that'll be followed by some memories from Aunty Sue, Dad's cousin, 00:35:22.222 --> 00:35:40.200 who's known him probably the longest out of anyone here, and so that'll be good. So we'll have Mum come, and then Aunty Sue to follow. Thank you. Oh, I just want to say thank you all for coming. You're just so precious and just so lovely. 00:35:40.450 --> 00:35:54.907 It just is like a tonic poured into my veins. Really, really appreciate every one of you dear ones coming, all the effort you've made. Well, it's hard to condense a 00:35:55.157 --> 00:36:10.220 life into three pages, but I've tried to not ramble on. On the 17th of September 1947, Ian Clyde was born to Peter and Leela Wesson of Marion, Adelaide, South Australia. 00:36:11.440 --> 00:36:24.797 He was their first born child and brother to four siblings, Paul, Jan, Mark and Stephen. Ian grew up in an idyllic setting on 90 acres of table grapes and orchards. A creek ran through 00:36:25.047 --> 00:36:37.890 the property and it was in this setting where he was filled with many happy childhood memories. His home and the home of his grandfather Fred Weston were on adjoining properties. 00:36:38.140 --> 00:36:53.450 He and his father both worked the vineyards together each day. Ian's father was the fifth generation of hard-working vine dressers, producing the muscatel table grapes of distinction at the Adelaide 00:36:53.700 --> 00:37:09.490 Eastern Markets. Each year, Ian watched his father as he vigorously pruned the dead canes from the vines. When the time was right, he would then take the fruitful scions and graft them into the main vine. 00:37:09.740 --> 00:37:24.130 How often in the future would he draw from these experiences as he read and of course he preached too on John 15. I am the true vine and my father is the husbandman. Every branch in me 00:37:24.380 --> 00:37:38.690 that beareth not fruit he taketh away and every branch that beareth fruit he purges it that it may bring forth more fruit. Abide in me and I in you. I am the vine, ye are the branches. 00:37:38.940 --> 00:37:51.456 He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me ye can do nothing. He would sometimes say 00:37:51.706 --> 00:38:04.080 to me, Mel, it seems at times God roughly handles us, and the pain he was pruning seems so hard, but he knows it is necessary. 00:38:04.530 --> 00:38:17.849 Most importantly, he grew up in a truly Christian home. Both his parents were born-again believers who wanted to raise their children for the Lord. They wanted them to follow God's will wherever that took them. 00:38:18.099 --> 00:38:31.290 They really let them go. His father and grandfather were both very serious-minded people and had an abhorrence of anything filthy or smutty. Thus their homes were television-free. Ian followed in the same way. 00:38:31.540 --> 00:38:46.855 And we had 53 years of married life without a television. That was a blessing. I praise God for this. Ian was deeply dismayed at the infiltration of pollution into the homes of today. He was careful 00:38:47.105 --> 00:39:02.420 to live in a way others could follow and never wanted to be a stumbling block to anyone. His phone was internet free and the phones and the computers of the family were filtered and made accountable. 00:39:02.670 --> 00:39:17.569 But he wasn't a Pharisee in this, not at all. He knew his own vulnerability of heart and mind and certainly did not want to grieve the Lord. As a child, Ian attended the Clovelly Park Church of Christ with 00:39:17.819 --> 00:39:32.570 his parents and family. On one Sunday evening at the age of eleven, he heard the preaching of Pastor Cunningham. Ian became keenly aware of his need for forgiveness from sin and so, turning in repentance, 00:39:32.820 --> 00:39:47.890 He put his faith in the cleansing blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't pray an audible prayer, but prayed earnest in his heart to the one who heard him. He then followed the Lord in believers' baptism as a declaration of his 00:39:48.140 --> 00:40:03.010 salvation, not part of it, but just to say this is what's happened. Though imperfectly, from that day onwards, he sought to please his Lord for the rest of his life. He never left that path, and I know he brought great pleasure 00:40:03.260 --> 00:40:17.947 To his parents and grandparents and family members all of his life. I know he would give God all the glory for this. He really would. He really would. Ian stated that his grandfather was the greatest 00:40:18.197 --> 00:40:32.810 spiritual influence in his life. Fred Wesson, at great cost to himself, had made the move to leave his Methodist Church and go help start the Mile End Church of Christ under Pastor Manning, who was a 00:40:33.060 --> 00:40:47.433 Great, fundamental preacher of sound doctrine, separation and outreach back then. In reading his Bible, he had been conflicted concerning the infant baptism taught in the Methodist Church. On 00:40:47.683 --> 00:41:02.360 Sunday nights, that's why he left, on Sunday nights, while his parents went to church, Ian would stay home with his grandfather, Fred, who expound to him the book of Revelation. How he loved that. 00:41:02.610 --> 00:41:16.305 Ian would be completely captivated as his grandfather spoke in a deep, strong voice of the wonders of the premillennial return of Christ. He would recall his grandfather's booming voice as he 00:41:16.555 --> 00:41:30.250 spoke of Babylon. Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins. He had a really deep voice. And that you receive not of her plagues, for her sins have reached unto heaven. 00:41:30.500 --> 00:41:45.722 And God hath remembered her iniquities. He remembers that. Years later, Peter Weston and his family, much like his own father, could no longer remain in his own church either. High criticism had hit the churches of 00:41:45.972 --> 00:42:01.080 Christ at that time and the preacher was casting doubt on the Bible as a preserved and infallible Word of God. As a young adult, Ian experienced this difficult but much-blessed move out of the declining situation. 00:42:01.330 --> 00:42:15.632 This new church started in Peter Wesson's lounge room and eventually moved to his old factory because he had a factory and they moved to there. The new church was called Southern Christian 00:42:15.882 --> 00:42:29.800 Fellowship, pastored by Jim Reed. Some of you know Jim Reed. Ian was the organist. Electronic organs were rare in those days so Ian, who was very innovative, took an old vacuum cleaner 00:42:30.050 --> 00:42:45.349 And joined it to the organ through the wall. This saved him a lot of pumping. The only problem was it sometimes stopped. And he would have to jump off the organ, go around behind the wall, kick the 00:42:45.599 --> 00:43:00.980 vacuum cleaner into action, then hastily return to serenely finish the last stanzas. That was just so much like Ian Wesson. During Ian's young manhood, he started courting a lovely Christian woman. 00:43:01.230 --> 00:43:15.547 Around this time, I started attending the Southern Christian Fellowship through a dear friend, Yvonne Nee Jansen, who is here today. And I was intrigued to see who this lady was. I saw this lovely 00:43:15.797 --> 00:43:30.040 conservative chap up there. I wasn't interested in him, but I thought he was a lovely chap. So Yvonne made the suggestion to remain standing at the end of the next hymn a little longer than usual. 00:43:30.290 --> 00:43:45.633 So that she could point her out to me. Once I spotted her, I sat down and said confidently, that won't work. He needs someone more like me. Imagine I said that. Oh, wow. It's exactly, I just thought, oh, and 00:43:45.883 --> 00:44:01.550 she was a honey, but she just, no, it didn't work. Oh, dear. Ian became unofficially engaged and then the young woman decided not to go on with the friendship. She just, and she was very sweet about it, but... 00:44:02.060 --> 00:44:18.347 He was devastated and felt quite bitter about it for a whole year. He was so devastated. By God's grace he sought the Lord's forgiveness and his heart could sing again. When I fell in love with 00:44:18.597 --> 00:44:35.140 this organist, I fell in love with this organist at sixteen years of age. We were at an Easter camp and we were talking with a group in the moonlight. At one point Ian looked into my face and said, 00:44:35.390 --> 00:44:50.314 You've got a fleck in your eye. You didn't know you weren't perfect, did you? And that was it. I was gone. Gone. I was in love from that second onwards. So was he. 00:44:50.564 --> 00:45:05.210 We married just over two years later when I was 19 and he was 24. For employment, Ian worked at the Agricultural Department in Adelaide as a clerk for six years. 00:45:05.460 --> 00:45:18.575 Whilst putting himself through a Diploma of Electronics. He excelled with high distinctions. With these qualifications he then worked as a Technical Officer in the Highways Department, north 00:45:18.825 --> 00:45:31.960 of Adelaide, where his sharp, creative and inventive mind was put to good use. It was in this area where he worked that God would eventually lead him to start the Northside Baptist Church. 00:45:32.210 --> 00:45:47.375 Soon after we were married, Ian's burden grew stronger to reach people for the Lord. There was an opening to preach in a small church in Wandera, South Australia. This proved to be the turning 00:45:47.625 --> 00:46:03.280 point of his life. The morning he preached, 100 folks appeared from who knows where. It was just such a small place. And the Spirit of God came down and seven people gave their hearts to the Lord. 00:46:03.570 --> 00:46:15.953 The presence of Christ was very tangible. Again he preached in Lenswood and the secretary of that church was saved. Ian and I knew God was calling us to full-time service. 00:46:16.203 --> 00:46:28.910 We prayed for guidance as to where to train. The evangelist John R Rice communicated with our pastor and recommended the Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri, USA. 00:46:29.840 --> 00:46:44.310 The Lord enabled us to go in 1973 when Beecham Vic was the president and W.E. Dow was the vice president of the college. After doing the three-year Diploma of Theology, Ian came back 00:46:44.560 --> 00:46:58.950 to Australia with a clear call to plant churches. We remember the first fellowship meeting in Western Australia at the Nullamurra Baptist Church by Pastor Mona Smith. There we met... 00:46:59.200 --> 00:47:12.945 Pastor Hester and his daughter Melody for the first time. They sang the song, let me lose my life but find it Lord in thee and we never forgot those 00:47:13.195 --> 00:47:27.660 words. A year after returning from Bible College, the Lord led me in to start the Northside Baptist Church. The lead up starting was a very difficult one. 00:47:28.140 --> 00:47:43.835 The Lord allowed us to be slandered by our own pastor, whom we loved. Our phone went dead and we lost many friends. Praise the Lord, Ian's dad and mum said they would go with us and help us in any 00:47:44.085 --> 00:47:59.950 way they could. Then the Lord raised up a small group of dear people to help us. John Coventry, Robert Taylor and Neil McGregor Day were the three lads that came to help us. Uncle John. Thank you. 00:48:00.910 --> 00:48:14.925 And followed by Sue and Mary near Coventry, Sam and Jenny Jordan, and there's others, I probably can't mention them all, were among some of those that were an enormous help and support. God's hand 00:48:15.175 --> 00:48:29.190 was upon Ian from the first Sunday and people were saved often weekly. Eight years into this ministry, some very life-changing, a very life-changing thing, something very life-changing, took place. 00:48:29.440 --> 00:48:43.686 In Ian and my hearts concerning the family. We had four children at this time and that was a big family in those days and still is. The Lord spoke to us and opened our 00:48:43.936 --> 00:48:58.260 hearts to trust him for more children. Malachi 2.15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the Spirit, and wherefore one, that he might seek a godly seed. 00:48:58.900 --> 00:49:12.078 From then on, with great joy and refreshing of heart, we trusted God for His offspring in our lives. It was truly wonderful. The Lord gave us five more 00:49:12.328 --> 00:49:25.580 children here on earth and five more in heaven due to miscarriage. Now we had nine living. It was a step of faith to trust Him and how He has blessed. 00:49:26.930 --> 00:49:41.691 After ten years in the ministry at Northside Baptist Church, there were over 300 people in attendance, many of whom were saved there. This is all to God's glory as he alone builds the church 00:49:41.941 --> 00:49:56.560 through us as his vessels. In the tenth year, he knew the Lord was calling him to Murray Bridge to start another church. This was an enormous struggle for him and he was reluctant to go. 00:49:57.260 --> 00:50:12.044 Finally, one Sunday morning, it was as though God put his hand over his mouth while he was preaching and said, not another word. He left the pulpit and drove home. His resignation followed and 00:50:12.294 --> 00:50:27.250 the Murraylands Baptist Church was started some months later. He had always been called to church planting. The early days in the country seemed hard going and Ian felt God had laid him aside. 00:50:27.700 --> 00:50:41.153 Soon after we were there, I was lying in bed, pregnant with our son, Dan. Oh, so sick. I can almost feel it now. Oh, dear. Where am I? Here we are. Yes. Soon 00:50:41.403 --> 00:50:55.280 after we were there, I was lying in bed, pregnant with our son, Dan, and feeling very ill with morning sickness. Ian came to me and said he was going to resign. 00:50:56.110 --> 00:51:12.397 He said he thought the Lord had taken his hand off him and that he was on the shelf. Well, I knew that was not right. That wasn't the case. Thankfully, he said he was going to get away and pray. He picked 00:51:12.647 --> 00:51:28.450 up his Bible and a book of Francis Schaeffer and left and I prayed. That afternoon he came back through the bedroom door and his countenance had changed. I knew he'd come through the valley. He said, 00:51:28.700 --> 00:51:43.412 Listen to this, and you read from Francis Schaeffer's book, There are no big or little places to God, and there are no big or little people. I've seen men go from a little 00:51:43.662 --> 00:51:58.010 church to a bigger one and lose their rest, and not flourish at all. I've seen men go from bigger places to small ones and do well. Ian said to me, I had lost my rest. 00:51:58.260 --> 00:52:12.806 In the work and didn't realize it. I was feeding from the ministry God had wrought and not from him. He was humbled and broken about it. Now he knew on a deeper 00:52:13.056 --> 00:52:27.730 level what the heavenly vine dresser had to lovingly do. He knew afresh that the positional truths of the crucified life were his only hope to keep ministering. 00:52:27.980 --> 00:52:42.753 He never lost sight of those truths again and endeavored to teach them throughout the rest of his life. Never again did he look back from any task God gave him, be it great or small. He often 00:52:43.003 --> 00:52:57.870 quoted this verse from John 12, 24 and 25. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. 00:52:58.350 --> 00:53:13.164 He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hatheth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. After a year of temporary housing in nearby Manham, God providentially moved us within 00:53:13.414 --> 00:53:28.180 seven kilometres of Murray Bridge area. The house was on Long Flat Road, overlooking the dairy flats near the Murray River, and unbeknownst to us, our neighbours would eventually become our in-laws. 00:53:30.510 --> 00:53:44.049 Anders Oxbier was saved and his wife, who was already a Christian, went on to have eleven children. Three of their daughters, Rebecca, Esther and Anna, ended up marrying three of our sons, 00:53:44.299 --> 00:53:58.130 Dan, Jeremy and Joseph. Isn't that an amazing thing? So amazing. Many of you know them as they preach and minister by God's grace in their local churches today. How amazing it is how God works. 00:53:58.380 --> 00:54:12.897 After 17 years ministering at the Murraylands Baptist Church, with a great upheaval, we left there and came to Bathurst. For the past 21 years, Ian has passed at the Golden West Baptist Church. This has been a place of rich 00:54:13.147 --> 00:54:27.980 blessing for us. Wonderful. When Ian became the new pastor here, all the experience of the previous ministries were needed to sort out the tangles and difficulties this church was in. It had been without a pastor for a while. 00:54:28.460 --> 00:54:44.301 By God's grace, the church has grown and dear ones have been saved. Once again, we had a special blessing with a young woman being saved, who later became our daughter-in-law, Kate Neen McCleary. Ian was 00:54:44.551 --> 00:55:00.720 always concerned not to overstay at a church. He didn't want to overstay God's time, but never looked to retire either. In the end, God was the one who lovingly retired him to the golden streets of heaven. 00:55:02.000 --> 00:55:16.572 Now, just in closing, for the last seven years, Ian has been needing to manage his health issues of chronic kidney disease. He showed tremendous stamina, blessing, and an uncomplaining spirit with it 00:55:16.822 --> 00:55:31.570 all. Despite the physical malady, he would often say how much he loved his church in Bathurst and the deep appreciation for the love of the people and their great desire to be taught the Word of God. 00:55:33.100 --> 00:55:52.486 Finally, he recently went on kidney dialysis, as his kidneys were only functioning at between four and six percent. He was responding very well, and we thought he had years of living. However, 00:55:52.736 --> 00:56:12.270 the Lord decided it was time for him to be promoted to glory. On Monday, almost three weeks ago, at 5.50am, he had a sudden cardiac arrest. I thought he was dreaming, but when I came around... 00:56:13.260 --> 00:56:28.241 And dear Liddy came to be with me. It was a big shock. He was just suddenly gone. He's just lying there, the dear soul, and I just closed his eyelids, you know. He just, it was lovely to 00:56:28.491 --> 00:56:43.880 just, we had a few minutes, didn't we Liddy, to just be with him. After the initial shock, my first thought was that he was with the Lord and I felt so refreshed straight away. It was amazing. 00:56:44.130 --> 00:56:55.310 My next thought was the relief that there had not been a cloud between us the night before when we said our last good night. Human 00:56:55.560 --> 00:57:06.930 love is so flawed, but the agape love of the Lord gives a gracious path in marriage. Just to know the love of God is indescribable. 00:57:07.180 --> 00:57:20.051 That evening, as I wondered if I could have done something differently to help him, you just can't, I accepted his going straight away, knew the Lord had took him, but you still 00:57:20.301 --> 00:57:32.980 can't stop thinking, oh, could I have done this or that? The song the children will sing today began to flow in my mind. That night, just before bed, God makes no mistakes. 00:57:35.570 --> 00:57:57.975 It was so comforting for the Lord to do that for me just before I went to bed because I went to bed, he said, God was saying, I haven't made a mistake, you haven't made a mistake, no one's made a mistake. It was so 00:57:58.225 --> 00:58:20.880 wonderful, I could go to bed with a free mind. Ian loved me truly and was still saying, and was still saying the week before he died, Mel, you're so beautiful. To which I would say, you're just blind, deaf and dumb. 00:58:21.260 --> 00:58:42.294 But I was glad he said it. I loved him truly too and I want to praise God this day for nearly 53 years of marriage with Ian Clyde Weston. 00:58:42.544 --> 00:59:04.040 Well, I thank God for having the most wonderful cousin in the world that you could ever have had and I've thought that ever since I knew him. 00:59:04.290 --> 00:59:15.696 Growing up in our childhood years, our family, our cousin's family and our grandparents all lived within 200 metres of each other. So, you know, on a Saturday morning, what do you want to do? You 00:59:15.946 --> 00:59:27.590 want to go visit the Westerns? When I was 14 and my sister Mary was 17, our cousin Ian was 21. And Ian asked us if we'd like to help him paint the cute little cottage he had just bought in Eden Hills. 00:59:27.840 --> 00:59:42.165 I think, I'm not a painter, I think I slapped paint all around the living room, and probably the floor, and sometime in the afternoon in, we made a lunch for him, and sometime in the afternoon he said just very casually that he would 00:59:42.415 --> 00:59:56.740 have to leave us just for a little while, not very long, to go and pick up a friend. He didn't say if it was a male friend or a lady, or a female friend. There was not a hint of any special friend. Back he came is 16-year-old Melanie. 00:59:56.990 --> 01:00:09.566 When she walked in, just joy and sunshine entered that little cottage. When Mary and I arrived home, we cousins had a lot to discuss. Do you think they like each other? Do you 01:00:09.816 --> 01:00:22.610 think they're special friends? Do you think they might fall in love? They didn't give any of the usual clues. Well, their romance did blossom and one thing that stood out to me... 01:00:22.860 --> 01:00:36.461 As the young cousin, was that they were not consumed with their own exclusive little world of themselves. They were consumed with sharing the gospel with those who didn't know God's love. Their wedding 01:00:36.711 --> 01:00:50.450 in 1971 was such a beautiful wedding. Our cousin Ian was a great encourager. My elder sister Judy, she remembers the times when she and he would be able to play piano duets together, the complicated ones. 01:00:50.700 --> 01:01:04.489 As young people we love the singalongs around the piano at the Western home on a Sunday evening. My sister Mary had a really good singing voice and Ian encouraged her to take voice lessons and she later was heavily 01:01:04.739 --> 01:01:19.050 involved in the music ministry at Northside Baptist in the early years. Ian was a man of prayer and John said how much he appreciated the fact that Pastor Ian was a pastor who prayed for his church people and his relatives. 01:01:19.300 --> 01:01:30.334 By name, on a regular basis and how we have been blessed by those prayers. Before long, Melanie had graduated from nurses training and the happy couple were off to the 01:01:30.584 --> 01:01:41.350 US to Bible College. It was sad to see them go, but they sensed nail bail in those days with all the exciting things that they were learning and doing. I miss them. 01:01:41.600 --> 01:01:55.506 But how exciting to see them back in Australia after their studies and ministering at Southern Christian Fellowship and then church planting at Northside Baptist. Sometimes we Coventry girls, we would get together and have discussions about 01:01:55.756 --> 01:02:09.970 our cousin and we'd discuss about Melanie and Ian and try to work out which one had the greatest influence on the other. I mean, sometimes Melanie could be so funny, but then so could Ian. Melanie was very serious about her walk with the Lord. 01:02:10.220 --> 01:02:24.329 But Ian was such a help to us spiritually, so the conclusion we reach was that they both were equal in their influence on each other as they drew closer to the Lord. I remember the night Pastor Weston showed some of us 01:02:24.579 --> 01:02:38.950 Northside young people the plans for the church building that stands there today. He worked very hard physically laboring in all the stages of the building. In 1986 I was spiritually dry, living in Sydney, and very unhappy. 01:02:39.200 --> 01:02:53.025 The Lord allowed me to return to be secretary at Northside under my cousin. That first Sunday, the message was from Isaiah 44 verse 3. For I will pour water on him who is thirsty and floods upon the dry 01:02:53.275 --> 01:03:07.170 ground. I was very thirsty and God did pour water on my thirsty heart. And I was thinking, you know, God only pours water on him who is thirsty, not on him who doesn't thirst. Pastor Ian taught, preached. 01:03:07.420 --> 01:03:17.472 And lived in a way that showed the crucified life. I remember the day that he and Melanie told me that they believed God was calling them to leave Northside and plant a church in 01:03:17.722 --> 01:03:28.210 Murray Bridge. Immediately I said, well, I'm coming with you. And then I thought, oh, I better say if that's going to be all right with you. I'm very thankful I did get to go with them. 01:03:28.460 --> 01:03:41.420 In 1989, they moved to a farm property outside Murray Bridge which had a new house and an old cottage. My cousin worked hard to renovate the front half of the old cottage for me to live in. I painted the stone wall under 01:03:41.670 --> 01:03:54.450 my cousin's painting instruction and I had the help of three-year-old Simeon as we sat on a plank supported by two ladders. Our young Simeon and I, we discussed a lot of important things as you do with three-year-olds. 01:03:54.700 --> 01:04:09.376 At one point, he hid his hand behind his back and when I did see his hand, it revealed it had been in the paint pot. I lived at close quarters with the Western family as I helped in the home and in ministry. It was a very happy home. In fact, I used to just say it was the 01:04:09.626 --> 01:04:24.740 happiest home on the face of the earth. The church family was able to purchase a church building and there were times of great blessing and there were times of buffeting. One denominational church put out a warning against the church. Someone from their group had truly been saved. 01:04:24.990 --> 01:04:39.951 It was no longer just a faithful church member. Pastor Weston lived Matthew 5, 11 and 12. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. 01:04:40.201 --> 01:04:54.810 Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Pastor and Melanie had a great marriage, and I really longed to have one like theirs. 01:04:55.060 --> 01:05:06.551 In the year 2000, Danny and I were married and Pastor Weston conducted our wedding, which would always be my prayer that that would happen. In the Bathurst, Golden West years, it was always 01:05:06.801 --> 01:05:18.230 a blessing to visit and fellowship with Ian and the family. Their home was a little taste of heaven and visits there were times of refreshing for us. Through the years, Satan was not happy. 01:05:18.480 --> 01:05:35.240 With the servant who was reaching the lost and earnestly contending for the faith. And there were more trials, including the health troubles. When I saw on my phone at 6am, Monday the 22nd of July, that the founding pastor of Northside 01:05:35.490 --> 01:05:51.530 was in heaven with his Saviour, I was in shock. I thought, it just cannot be. We have prayed and prayed for healing for him from his kidney disease. As I wept, the thought came into my heart and I could just hear the Lord say, 01:05:51.780 --> 01:06:05.990 Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. One time before, Pastor Weston had asked us to pray that he would finish well. He truly 01:06:06.240 --> 01:06:20.020 did finish well, and I thank God for that ministry. He truly lived the Acts 20-24 life, but none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself. 01:06:20.270 --> 01:14:55.950 That I might finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Thank you for sharing. 01:14:56.200 --> 01:23:19.140 We're going to have now a slide presentation that Lydia put together with some help from Joseph of Dad's Life. Thank you. The screen's up here. The next hymn. 01:23:19.390 --> 01:23:47.500 Thank you, Lee, for all the many hours you put into that. If we could turn to The Rent Vale. This song was written by Pastor Weston about eight years ago. It's 01:23:47.750 --> 01:24:15.860 very much a testimony of his life, really, and the truths that helped him. And so I'll ask you to stand as we sing. This will be followed by a ministry in song. 01:24:16.110 --> 01:28:57.775 Hear His cry. It is finished loud and true. When He died, the veil was 01:28:58.025 --> 01:33:35.720 rent in two. From Revelation chapter 14 and verse 13, the Bible reads, 01:33:35.970 --> 01:33:50.539 That they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them. I want to speak to you for a few moments on this wonderful text and the theme, blessed to die in Christ. We have before us this wonderful 01:33:50.789 --> 01:34:04.930 verse in Revelation 14 and the context of Revelation 14 is the tribulation period and the tribulation saints. We need to note the context there and it certainly is one of the pronouncements of blessing. 01:34:05.180 --> 01:34:18.844 In the book of Revelation there are seven of those and truly it is a statement that will mean a lot to the tribulation saints because they will be able to escape the Antichrist's 01:34:19.094 --> 01:34:32.440 kingdom through death. But what I want to do this morning is really draw out the principle and draw out the truth that really applies to every believer of every dispensation. 01:34:32.690 --> 01:34:47.137 I think we could say that this statement is true of all true believers. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours and their works do 01:34:47.387 --> 01:35:02.250 follow them. And so I want to take out that timeless truth of the blessing of dying in Christ and apply that to the passing of Pastor Weston Senior. I'm just going to ask the Lord for some help and then we'll continue. 01:35:02.500 --> 01:35:16.947 You're enabling now in your blessing upon these moments in your word. The time we have remaining, we pray for your will and way in Jesus' name. Amen. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. I 01:35:17.197 --> 01:35:31.640 want to consider this verse with the help this morning of just three words. And the first word is the word rejoicing. Rejoicing. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, yea, saith the Spirit. 01:35:31.890 --> 01:35:44.550 And here we have a pronouncement of blessing from God the Father, from Heaven. Heaven's blessing here. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. And you'll notice something very 01:35:44.800 --> 01:35:57.890 interesting. The Holy Spirit adds His word of affirmation to this blessing. Yea, or yes, saith the Spirit. And so you have two persons of the Godhead. You have the Father and the Spirit. 01:35:58.140 --> 01:36:11.514 Both agreeing together. Now, we know that every word of the Bible is trustworthy, but when you have two persons of the Godhead saying yes to something, that's a truth we can lay a hold of and know 100% sure that 01:36:11.764 --> 01:36:25.010 it's true, as the rest of the Bible, but it's just a powerful emphasis here that the divine persons of the Godhead are united in this truth. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. Now, I want you to notice 01:36:25.260 --> 01:36:38.729 That blessing is not pronounced upon death itself. Death is not pronounced as blessed because we know that death is an intruder on God's perfect creation. Romans 5 verse 12 says, Wherefore as by one 01:36:38.979 --> 01:36:52.310 man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. The Bible is not saying that death is a blessed thing. God created man to live forever. 01:36:52.560 --> 01:37:05.972 But because mankind chose to sin, that brought death as a result into the world. So the blessing is not pronounced upon death, nor is the blessing pronounced upon all that die. It does not say 01:37:06.222 --> 01:37:20.130 blessed are those who die. No, it's very specific. It says blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. You know that word blessed means happy. You say how on earth can there be any happiness in death? 01:37:20.380 --> 01:37:33.470 How can there be any blessing in death? You know, a lot of people out there experience an overwhelming sense of hopelessness when someone dies. They experience great trauma and great sorrow, and we do experience sorrow 01:37:33.720 --> 01:37:46.810 too as believers, but it's not sorrow without hope. You say, how can there be any happiness or any blessing in death? Well, here's the key. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. Do you know there is true happiness 01:37:47.060 --> 01:38:00.117 There is true joy even on a day like this because we know that Pastor Weston is with the Lord in heaven. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. And I want to ask you a 01:38:00.367 --> 01:38:14.040 question this morning. Are you in Christ? You know that every person in this room is in one of two categories. You are either in Adam or you are in Christ. 1 Corinthians 15.22 says, 01:38:14.290 --> 01:38:28.036 Even so in Christ shall all be made alive. You say, what does it mean to be in Adam? Well, it means to be still in your sin. Because Romans 5.12 tells us that as by one man sin ended into the world and that's a 01:38:28.286 --> 01:38:42.630 reference to Adam. Remember Adam and Eve, our first parents, they chose to sin against God and sin ended into the world. And we are all born in Adam. You say, I'm not sure about that. The Bible says, for all have sinned. 01:38:42.880 --> 01:38:57.393 And come short of the glory of God, Romans 3.23. The Bible tells in Romans 6.23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We are all born sinners by nature and sinners 01:38:57.643 --> 01:39:11.960 by practice. Let me be clear this morning. We are not good people who sin occasionally. The reason we sin is because we are sinners. We are sinners by nature. We've inherited that sin nature going all the way back to Adam. 01:39:12.210 --> 01:39:24.333 And therefore we are in Adam. And to die in Adam is not a blessed thing. To die in your sin is not a blessed thing because to die in your sin means to be separated for all eternity from 01:39:24.583 --> 01:39:36.840 heaven, to be separated from Christ for all eternity in a place the Bible calls hell that says the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 01:39:37.090 --> 01:39:51.034 In fact, the Bible tells us that there is something called the second death, the first death is where our body dies, and the Bible says in Hebrews 9, verse 27, and as it is appointed unto men, once to die, but after this to judgment. That's the first 01:39:51.284 --> 01:40:05.510 death when your body dies. It's a reminder, isn't it, with the sudden passing of Pastor Weston Sr., that none of us really know the day of our death. You could die today, I hope you don't, but it could happen. We simply don't know, and I want to ask you... 01:40:05.760 --> 01:40:20.393 This afternoon, I believe it is now, are you ready to die? If you were to die today, where would you spend eternity? You know, everyone in this room is going to one of two places. It's either eternity with Christ in heaven or eternity 01:40:20.643 --> 01:40:34.770 without Christ in a place the Bible calls hell. That's what's called the second death. The second death is where you are separated from Christ for all eternity because of your sin. And so it's not a blessing to die in your sin. 01:40:35.020 --> 01:40:49.346 But it's a blessing to die in Christ. And you see, what we need is to be taken out of Adam and placed into the Lord Jesus Christ. And the only way that that can happen is through something that Jesus called the new birth in John chapter 01:40:49.596 --> 01:41:03.430 3. Jesus said, ye must be born again. You have a physical birth where you're born into this world, but you need to have a spiritual birth where you turn in faith to Jesus Christ, believing that He died on the cross for your sins. 01:41:03.680 --> 01:41:14.054 That he was buried and that he rose again. And trusting him, turning in that spirit of repentance, turning from sin and from your own works to the Lord Jesus Christ 01:41:14.304 --> 01:41:24.420 and putting your faith and trust in him. And the Bible says in Romans chapter 10 and verse 13, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 01:41:24.670 --> 01:41:40.119 Oh, I know that Pastor Weston would want me to preach the gospel today and he'd want you to know for sure that your sins have been forgiven. He'd want you to know for sure that you are on your way to heaven and the only way that you can know that is by turning to 01:41:40.369 --> 01:41:55.700 Christ. Turning to Christ in faith, the one who loved you, the one who died on the cross for your sins, the one who bore the punishment and the wrath of God for you. Do you know how much God loves you today? All you have to do is come to the cross and see there. 01:41:55.950 --> 01:42:10.830 Jesus Christ bleeding. Jesus Christ dying on the cross. And when Jesus Christ was dying on the cross, He was saying to the 01:42:11.080 --> 01:42:25.960 world, I love you. When Jesus Christ was bleeding and dying on the cross, He was saying to you, I love you. John 3.16 says, 01:42:26.210 --> 01:42:41.564 Everlasting life. Oh, God wants you to have everlasting life. Don't get the idea this morning that God wants to send you to hell. No, He sent His Son to rescue you. He sent His Son to die on the cross to take the punishment of your sin 01:42:41.814 --> 01:42:57.550 upon Himself and His blood was shed. His love was written in red. And so you need to be in Christ. You need to be born again. You need to be translated from the kingdom of darkness. You need to be taken out of Adam and placed into Christ. 01:42:58.510 --> 01:43:10.615 Because only then can it be said of you, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. You must be in Christ for death to be a blessing. You must be in Jesus Christ for death to have any happiness about it. You say, 01:43:10.865 --> 01:43:22.970 how can there be happiness in death? Well, the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 8, for the believer we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. 01:43:23.220 --> 01:43:35.533 Philippians 1.23, Paul wrote, For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. You know, death for the Christian is not a tragedy but a victory. It's 01:43:35.783 --> 01:43:47.850 not a tragedy, it's a victory, for the Bible tells us in Romans chapter 8 that we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. 01:43:48.100 --> 01:44:01.915 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and 01:44:02.165 --> 01:44:15.810 whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 01:44:16.060 --> 01:44:30.319 Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall 01:44:30.569 --> 01:44:44.770 separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or persecution, or distress, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us, for I am persuaded that neither death, 01:44:45.020 --> 01:44:58.980 Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which 01:44:59.230 --> 01:45:12.920 is in Christ Jesus our Lord. To die in Christ is a blessed thing and even death itself cannot separate us from His love. The second word I want to mention this morning as I look at the text is the word rest. 01:45:13.170 --> 01:45:28.439 Not only rejoicing, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, but rest, that they may rest from their labours. There's some comfort here, isn't there, for those of us who grieve today. Pastor Western Senior 01:45:28.689 --> 01:45:43.810 is in a place of rest, that they may rest from their labours. Now please don't misunderstand, this is not the rest of soul sleep, as some wrongly teach, that the Spirit just goes into some sort of sleep. No. 01:45:44.060 --> 01:45:58.424 The body goes to sleep. That's the term that is used in the Bible for death. It's like putting the body to sleep, but the Spirit goes to be with God. No, this is not an unconscious soul sleep, but a conscious rest in the 01:45:58.674 --> 01:46:12.840 presence of God. Revelation 6.11 confirms that, speaks of the souls at rest consciously in heaven. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours. Heaven is a place of true rest. Rest from manual labours. 01:46:13.090 --> 01:46:27.038 Genesis 3.19 says, In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground, for out of it wast thou taken, for dust thou art, and under dust shalt thou return. David was a hard-working man all his 01:46:27.288 --> 01:46:41.300 life, but he's at rest from those labours now. It's hard to stop him actually. Two weeks before he died he was on the chainsaw, much to mum's dismay I'm sure. Rest from manual labours, rest from physical labours. Psalm 90. 01:46:41.550 --> 01:46:57.917 And verse 10 and 12 read, The days of our years are threescore years and ten, that's seventy. And if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, that's eighty, yet is their strength labor and sorrow, for it is soon cut off and we fly away. So teach 01:46:58.167 --> 01:47:14.600 us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Their strength is labor and sorrow. I remember Dad saying many times, what does that mean, Dad? He said, well, it means it's just hard work to be alive after the age of seventy. And it was. 01:47:14.850 --> 01:47:30.874 Hard work for Dad. But he just never complained. Never complained. Just bore it with such grace. In fact, I think we didn't realize how sick he really was. But he's at rest from that. I love the words of Revelation 21 and verse 3 and 4. And 01:47:31.124 --> 01:47:47.450 God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. Aren't you thankful for the blessed no mores in Revelation? 01:47:47.700 --> 01:47:59.320 No more tears. No more death. No more sorrow. No more crying. No more pain. No more curse. And no more night. Rest from physical labours. Rest from 01:47:59.570 --> 01:48:10.950 spiritual labours. We know we'll serve God in heaven, but that will be in the context of a perfect body, not subject to weariness and to disease. 01:48:11.200 --> 01:48:27.083 But the battles with the world, the flesh, and the devil will be over. Aren't you looking forward to that day when we no longer have to battle with ourselves? We no longer have to battle with the devil and with the world that's constantly 01:48:27.333 --> 01:48:43.600 trying to pull us down. Dad served the Lord all his life, but he's at rest now. Finally, the third word is the word reward. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours. And notice these words, and their works do follow them. 01:48:44.460 --> 01:48:57.522 Their works do follow them. Now, it's very significant, the wording there. It does not say their works go before them because our works don't open the gates of heaven to us. It doesn't even say that 01:48:57.772 --> 01:49:10.500 their works go with them. We don't take our works as a bargaining chip before the throne of God. But the works come behind. You see, the Bible makes it very clear in Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9, 01:49:10.750 --> 01:49:22.810 And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. So we're not saved by works, but we're saved unto good works. Because verse 10 says, for we 01:49:23.060 --> 01:49:35.320 are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. And so you see the picture here, we enter heaven not by our works, 01:49:35.570 --> 01:49:49.256 We enter heaven by one work, the work of Jesus Christ, who finished the work on the cross. Did you know that this morning? Jesus Christ did it all. When Jesus died on the cross, he said, it is finished. He accomplished a full and complete 01:49:49.506 --> 01:50:02.900 salvation for sin. You can add nothing to it. You can take nothing away from it. You must come by faith. You must come by the way of the blood-stained cross there. You must kneel at the cross and say, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. 01:50:03.150 --> 01:50:18.296 God forgive me, that's the only way you can enter heaven. But as a Christian, the works follow. You know what really strikes me about this? The only thing you're going to take with you when you die as a Christian is your service to the Lord. You will not 01:50:18.546 --> 01:50:33.450 take your bank account. You will not take your two-story house if you have one. You will not take your cars. You will not take your career. When you die, that will all be left behind. I'm not saying it's a sin necessarily to have some of those things. 01:50:33.700 --> 01:50:47.810 But I tell you what, there's a problem when as Christians we're just so wrapped up in those things that we're not interested in serving the Lord Jesus Christ. And I want to tell you this morning, this afternoon, that the only thing that you can 01:50:48.060 --> 01:51:02.170 take with you when you leave this life as a Christian, it's your service for Christ. My parents used to sing very often, probably less often as they got older, but they sang a lot in the early days of Northside and carried that practice through. 01:51:02.420 --> 01:51:18.359 And there's one song that they used to sing together, only one life so soon it will pass. Only what's done for Christ will last. Only one chance to 01:51:18.609 --> 01:51:34.580 do His will. So give to Jesus all your days. It's the only life that pays when you recall you have but one life. Christian, don't waste your life. 01:51:36.110 --> 01:51:51.637 Wouldn't that be a sad thing to get to heaven one day? You're saved, you know Christ. You have a saved heart, but a wasted life. Oh, how the devil wants you to waste your life as a Christian. If you're saved, 01:51:51.887 --> 01:52:07.490 he can't get a hold of your soul anymore, but he'll try to get you to waste your life. The only thing that you can take to heaven are the works that you've done as a Christian. Because the works form the basis. 01:52:07.740 --> 01:52:25.242 Not of our salvation, but of our reward. We're going to be rewarded according to our service for the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you doing something for Christ? Are you living for Christ? I'm so thankful for a father. He wasn't perfect, 01:52:25.492 --> 01:52:42.840 but I'm so thankful for a father who lived for Christ all his days. And he never wavered and he never changed. Dad grew in grace as he grew older. He grew in grace in his disposition, but he never moved one inch from his position. 01:52:43.090 --> 01:52:53.686 On the Word of God. Never once. And in Dad's time, he saw many people come and go. Many preachers fly off on different tangents, but time is a great prover of 01:52:53.936 --> 01:53:04.600 what truly is the truth. And many of those men that flew off on different tangents, whether it be contemporary music or different doctrines, different things... 01:53:04.850 --> 01:53:16.228 Many of them ended up shipwrecking, many of them ended up completely out of the ministry because that's usually the end road of that kind of deviation from the old paths and deviation from the truth. But Dad just stayed 01:53:16.478 --> 01:53:28.120 steady and consistent and he never moved on his doctrine. I'm thankful for a father who did not join the Doctrine of Month Club. It seems to be that way these days, where people change their doctrine every month, they just... 01:53:28.370 --> 01:53:46.855 Drifting here and drifting there and blowing about with every wind of doctrine, I'm very thankful for a father who stood on the word of God and stood for the old paths and never changed what he believed. That's very rare. Their 01:53:47.105 --> 01:54:05.620 works do follow them. Only what's done for Christ is going to last. So I've wasted some years. I guess it's too late. It's never too late. I had a man call me who was saved in the early days of Northside and said, I just wish... 01:54:05.870 --> 01:54:14.720 I'd followed your dad's footsteps, but I deviated. Forty years. I said, well, I know what dad would say to you if he was still alive. He'd say, 01:54:14.970 --> 01:54:24.010 it's never too late to get back on track for the Lord. Never too late to come back and get things right with God and go on with your walk with God. 01:54:24.260 --> 01:54:37.338 Do something for Jesus Christ. I hope that if you're saved here this afternoon, you will have a passion in your heart to do something for Jesus Christ, the one who saved you, the one who loved you, 01:54:37.588 --> 01:54:50.360 the one who gave himself for you. Only one life, so soon it will pass, and only what's done for Christ will last. Isn't life just so brief? The Bible calls it a vapor. Here's for a little time. 01:54:50.610 --> 01:55:05.927 And vanishes away. Psalms refers to it as a shadow, it's there one moment, it's gone the next. The Bible refers to man as grass, flourishes for a moment, the wind blows, it's gone. Life is so brief. You think about it, even if you live for 01:55:06.177 --> 01:55:21.300 one hundred years, that's just a tiny drop in the ocean of eternity. What's a hundred years compared to eternity? What are you doing for eternity? Oh, isn't it a shame many Christians today just living for here and now, living for money, 01:55:21.550 --> 01:55:35.936 Living for the worthless priorities of this world rather than living for Jesus Christ. May God raise up men and women of God who have a passion to serve God. Their works do follow them. I 01:55:36.186 --> 01:55:50.900 think we could not only apply that to eternal rewards, works that follow in heaven, but we could also think about works that follow on earth. There's a spiritual legacy and I'm out of time. 01:55:52.370 --> 01:56:10.934 You know, the faithful service of a godly man or woman can continue to bear fruit long after he or she has gone home to heaven. And you know, their prayers can keep being answered after they've gone. In fact, the flow-on effects of 01:56:11.184 --> 01:56:30.160 just one man surrendered to God over a lifetime are just so far-reaching. Dad was a, we think of his legacy, his testimony, a father. Proverbs 20 verse 7 says, The just man walketh in his integrity, his children are blessed after him. 01:56:30.800 --> 01:56:35.350 How blessed we were. As a pastor now, a pastor for nearly ten years, I tell 01:56:35.600 --> 01:56:40.340 you what, I've counseled some very broken people who've come from broken homes. 01:56:40.590 --> 01:56:55.439 With no stable father figure and it's made me realize over time how exceedingly rare it was to have a mother and father who stayed faithful to one another. It brought tremendous security to our lives. Were mum and dad perfect? No, but praise God 01:56:55.689 --> 01:57:10.660 for a mum and dad who stayed faithful to their marriage and loved us children and did their very best to raise us for the Lord. That's very rare. Dad leaves behind a legacy of nine children, twenty-eight grandchildren and counting, and one great... 01:57:10.910 --> 01:57:25.015 No grandchild so far. Dad was a clean living man. Psalm 107 verse 2 and 3 says, I'll walk within my house with a perfect heart. I'll set no wicked thing before mine eyes. Dad maintained a clean home for us as 01:57:25.265 --> 01:57:39.850 children and I'm very thankful for that. Dad had a sense of humor but he detested joking of a suggestive kind, had no time for it. He had no time for television and that meant we were able to grow up with a childhood 01:57:40.100 --> 01:57:54.211 In a sense, it's nice to be able to enjoy your childhood innocence. I feel for young people today having a constant stream of imagery coming in through their smartphones, horrific imagery, and it steals their childhood, it steals their youth, and they can't enjoy it. No 01:57:54.461 --> 01:58:09.140 wonder depression rates are skyrocketing amongst young people, but God gave my dad a desire to keep our home clean and pure, and we had a wonderful time. He said, what on earth did you do as children without a TV? Never underestimate what a homeschooled brain can come up with. 01:58:11.500 --> 01:58:24.435 We raised, we climbed trees, jumped into haystacks, built cubby houses, including a fantastic underground one. We raised calves and chickens, had a horse for most of our growing years. We often rode him bareback. Again, 01:58:24.685 --> 01:58:37.870 never underestimate what a homeschooled imagination can come up with, including attempting to fly like Mary Poppins, Abigail jumping out of the tree, or just deciding to walk off the house to see what would happen, John. 01:58:38.610 --> 01:58:52.955 Or Daniel, Jeremy and I making a nest from our blankets and me sitting on top of them as the mother hen while they cheeped under me pretending to be baby chicks. We loved climbing trees. I remember one time as a child climbing a tree at the back of the shed. I 01:58:53.205 --> 01:59:07.830 slipped and my shorts caught on a stub and I dangled upside down for a time. I was very close to the ground. I shouted loudly, Dad! Dad! Help! Help! Dad emerged very calmly from near the water tank by the old house and lifted me down. I'll never forget what he said. 01:59:08.080 --> 01:59:27.051 Lad full marks for modesty, but next time just slip out of your shorts and get down that way. It's amazing what sticks in your head from your childhood. Dad was not only a father, but a preacher. 1 Corinthians 2, 4 and 5 in my 01:59:27.301 --> 01:59:46.610 speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. I really have to stop now, but... 01:59:46.860 --> 02:00:00.441 Dad leaves a great testimony behind. As a Bible preacher, he was totally committed to the Word of God. If the Bible said it, that settled it for Dad. He was a Gospel preacher. Dad had a great love for souls. Most of his messages included the Gospel. He was good at 02:00:00.691 --> 02:00:14.690 preaching double-barreled messages. Dad was a Spirit-empowered preacher. He believed in the endowment of power for Christian service and would often spend seasons of prayer seeking for the power of the Spirit upon his preaching. And souls were saved and lives were blessed. 02:00:14.940 --> 02:00:29.824 He was a doctrinally sound preacher. He was not tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. He was an old paths preacher. Dad never deviated from the old paths. He was a contender preacher. Dad did not enjoy conflict, contrary to how some have portrayed 02:00:30.074 --> 02:00:44.620 him, but his godly convictions at times compelled him to speak out on certain issues. He was a thorough preacher, a real teacher preacher. He leaves behind some excellent first-class Bible college courses, and Dad was a positional truths preacher. 02:00:46.130 --> 02:01:00.505 The truths of the Spirit-filled walk of faith were what kept Dad in his ministry. They kept him fresh. They helped him respond right to the trials and testings of the ministry. They kept him from the dangers of both legalism on the one side and license 02:01:00.755 --> 02:01:15.090 on the other. People have called Dad a legalist. They don't even understand the term. Dad knew what legalism was. He hated it. He wanted nothing to do with it. He preached against it, but he believed in true liberty in Christ, which is not lawless. 02:01:20.530 --> 02:01:35.309 In many ways, the key themes of Dad's life and ministry are found in the two main songs he wrote. We Must Go, we heard that at the beginning of the slide presentation, and Through the Veil. We Must Go was written early in Dad's life when he was at Bible college. He was moved, riding 02:01:35.559 --> 02:01:50.390 the buses to bring children in from the slums to hear the life-changing gospel message. The song expressed the passion he had for his calling to reach souls. Through the Veil was written later in Dad's life, about eight years ago, I believe, and highlights those sanctification truths. 02:01:50.640 --> 02:02:05.080 That were the key to his life and ministry. But I wonder this morning, this afternoon, sorry, are you saved? Do you know Christ as your Saviour? If you go to your book there, you'll find on the last inside page a Gospel 02:02:05.330 --> 02:02:19.370 presentation there, how you can receive the gift of eternal life. You'll find a Gospel tract in your booklet this morning. Please read it. Please consider where you're going to spend eternity. To the Weston family. 02:02:19.620 --> 02:02:34.995 I believe we can agree with the words of Psalm 16, 6. The lions have fallen unto me in pleasant places. Yea, I have a goodly heritage. And my message to the Western family is this. We have been handed the priceless blessing 02:02:35.245 --> 02:02:50.550 of a godly heritage. Let's not throw it away. And to all those who know Christ, what kind of spiritual legacy are you going to leave behind when you die? Only one life, so soon it will pass, and only what's done for Christ. 02:02:50.800 --> 02:03:05.954 It's going to last. Let's close with the hymn until then. Let's be upstanding as we sing. We will have to skip the instrumental part, please, because we're out of time. We need to get moving to the burial service. Straight after this hymn, we'll have you remain 02:03:06.204 --> 02:03:21.550 standing, please, and the pallbearers will come forward to convey the coffin to the hearse. You are invited to attend the graveside service if you're available, which will be at the Bathurst Cemetery at 1pm, or we may have to start just a little bit after that. 02:03:26.770 --> 02:04:55.568 Yes, or if you don't want to attend the, if you don't want to attend the burial, but you'd like to come for afternoon tea, that's fine as well. You can just, you're welcome to do that. That'll be at two o'clock. My heart can see 02:04:55.818 --> 02:06:23.450 this. Him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy to the only wise God, our Saviour. Be glory, majesty, dominion and power both now and ever. Amen. 02:06:23.700 --> 02:06:27.128 Please remain standing out of respect as we convey the coffin 02:06:27.378 --> 02:06:30.700 now to the hearse. Thank you again for being here today.