Thanksgiving Service For The Life of Rudolph C. Blair

foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] then you know what okay [Music] [Music] so [Music] so [Music] distance [Music] [Music] free [Music] hey [Music] thank you jesus [Music] things [Music] oh [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] i'll be heaven for me ever [Laughter] [Music] jesus [Music] for me to see where jesus [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] to see where jesus is it will be heaven for me hallelujah oh yeah i just wanna be where you are dwelling daily in your presence i don't wanna worship from me near to where you are i just wanna be where you are in your dwelling place forever take me to the place where you are [Music] i just want to be with you i wanna be where you are what is in your presence [Applause] surrounded by you glory in your presence [Music] [Music] i just want to be with you i just wanna be where you are in your dwelling place [Music] take me to the place where you are i just want to be with you i just wanna be where you are [Music] in your dwelling place forever take me to the place where you are i just want to be with you i [Music] [Music] that's where i always want to be i just want to be i just want to be [Music] in your presence [Music] [Music] around me lord [Music] surround me [Music] let your glory refill this place around [Music] out [Music] this one more time [Music] [Music] this place let your glory fill this um praise god praise god amen can we praise the lord everybody can we praise the lord everybody amen what a good god we serve what a great savior amen we serve and just want as we prepare to begin to let us know that in spite of the circumstance amen the god that we serve is a good god even in an occasion in a situation like this god is a good god and i want us to have this reverberating through our minds reverberating through our system i want us to recognize that the lord giveth and the lord taketh away but it doesn't change the fact that he must still be praised if we are not careful enough we tend to speak out of turn because we don't understand some things but even if we don't understand god knows best and we must always remember that and we must always have that at the forefront of our minds amen it is the way that all of us will go never forget it is the way that we must all go and what is important friends saints of god is that we are ready for this moment he was only 60 something amen and it is what it is and so especially now we need to be reminded that let's put our houses in order let's organize ourselves let's organize our minds let let's do as best as we can to give support to those walking with him because our day is coming and it can come sooner than we think having said that i'm going to allow for amen minister mattox to come and he will be moderating the session this morning amen let's give thanks to god it is a thanksgiving service for the life of east hollywood in the kingdom of god we're going to ask minister matrix to come and he's going to pick up from here praise god and lead us through this remainder of service god bless you praise the lord jesus everyone praise god we want to first give thanks unto the lord jesus christ who has been the god of us all and we want to thank him for lending us a son a father a brother a cousin and a friend we want to thank god for lending us to him and so we are here today to give god thanks for his life and has he passed his legacy will continue to live on from this day onward praise god praise the lord before we go any further i'm going to be asking minister stevenson davis to come and do the open prayer praise god let us pray if i just stand please let us pray most righteousness [Music] opening up this service law this is a service law where we're going to sometimes feel sad sometimes maybe cry but we're also going to be rejoicing because we know lord your son served a good life and is with you and we thank you for that knowledge i pray father whatever has been done today whatever be said today god in spite of it all lord you will get the honor and the glory in jesus name i pray amen praise god who do you remain standing and as you have your program in your hands we turn to the hope in him it is well [Music] my way road [Applause] [Music] thou hast me to say [Music] [Music] it is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] every god [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] with my soul it is where it is [Music] [Applause] of this [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] no more [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] us [Music] [Applause] [Music] lord shall [Music] [Applause] my soul [Music] with my soul [Music] [Applause] [Music] thank you great god thank you praise god as you remain standing we'll be having the scripture reading by the grandchildren and it's from ecclesiastic chapter 3 1 to 8 the grandchildren will be reading the scriptures the scripture reading is taken from ecclesiastics 3 verse 1 to 8. so everything there is a season and a time to every purpose to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven a time to be born and the time to die a time to plant and a time to pluck out that which is planted a time to kill a time to heal a time to break down and the time to build a time to sweep and a time to laugh a time to mourn and a time to dance a time to cast away stones and the time to gather stones together a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing a time to get and the time to lose a time to keep and the time to cast away a time to reign and a time to so our time to keep silence and a time to speak a time to love and the time to hate a time took for and a time of peace praise god praise god praise god praise god praise the lord jesus praise the lord jesus can you just clap your hands unto the lord jesus praise god praise god praise god you may be seated we will be having some tributes and the persons to come in this order we'll be having shanna blair and then we'll be having a tribute from faith chapel and then we'll be having another tribute from dr stevenson so can you come in that order right now i have avoided doing this for the longest while because i still have not come to terms with the fact that you are no longer with us uncle rudy you and i had a special band i was most definitely your favorite niece even though you did not admit it after i constantly pestered you about it you would always just smile and say you are all my favorite or i will remain silent but kenisha ginger chanil and tamika we all know the truth and if you look at the pictures in the programs you realize that i'm in every one of them uncle roddy you and i have been powering from a very long time a prouder uncle you could not find whenever we were walking on campus he would literally stop and introduce me to everyone hi this is my niecey most of my ue days were spent in his office i am sure this was the same for my sister kenisha as she pursued her bachelor's degree at ue as well from the start of the day until it was time to say bye we even had a food bond i was responsible for taking care of breakfast while he did lunch it reached a point where i had to tell daddy to start shearing uncorroded food in a separate container because he was eating too much of the food i remember one day i told him that it's fish for breakfast the next day and because i know he's allergic to fish i was in the process of asking what he wanted instead but he stopped me midway and said no no no no nigel knows how to do the fish so i can eat it he only does fish when my father cooks it i'm not sure how he worked that out maybe there was some sense because in my head if you're allergic you're allergic to it but no matter who cook it but he worked out everything in his mind to a proverbial sans tea using a branch of science to explain everything yep that was my uncle ready for you from how to save and invest how to conserve and make household supplies like so and the list goes on in his house they don't throw away the little pieces of soap they save it until we have it they have enough and they put all the pieces together to make a brand new soap auntie john is saying he did it not her we shared many precious memories at ue from walking on campus together and every chance he got he stopped as i just mentioned to let everyone know i was his niece to run in both with wesley cooking veggie chunks and aki and all other idol dishes to courtney doing lunch runs i would always be amused when he linked up with his closest cronies at ue and him trying to keep up with the patois but if you know my uncle he cannot speak a lick of power to save his life one of my ue friends one day when she first met him ask which country are uncle is from again and i smile and i laugh and i said oh karate which country i come from and you know whenever there was a star function you best believe he was taking back a plate and a drink for me he's not leaving me out of anything it was at you that i learned of his hatred for doctors his thing was the doctors are not going to tell him anything that he doesn't already know his thought was when death came he just needs to embrace it he was always at peace he would always say when it's my time to kick the bucket it's my time or that's the way the cookie crumbles he had no fears hang-ups or reservations about dying this was very true of him to his very last breath whenever you went into his office you would always see scrabble up on his computer he sat and played scrabble all day and on saturdays with brother richie brother richard salutes you scrabble was his life god was at the center of his very being and existence so much to the point where the scriptures would always be playing in the background on his office computer his explanation was that this way the scriptures would seep into his subconscious i developed this habit but somehow fell off if i may only redevelop this habit i even had my own workstation set up in his office and one day i told him i wanted a white board the next day i see him start working on something a piece of plywood with white paper taped with a piece of plexiglass he screwed to the top and that was my whiteboard who know who knew you could construct a whiteboard like that but my uncle he was very resourceful and genius there was also another time when we were working on a desk lamp together this project took a longer time but in the end i had a desk lamp for my workspace at home when i finished college and no longer had a need for it i gave it back to him but since his passing i took it back so auntie john if you're looking for it you know who has it i remember when he was about to retire said to him you know i really don't want you retired though because all you're going to do is stay home play scrabble eat and sleep and i was speaking to him in the capacity of a movement specialist and i said that's not good for you but i said promise me that you will still go on saturdays to play scrabble with brother richards and one year later i went down he went downtown to look for daddy and it so happened that i was there he was so happy to see me and when he was smiling he said my missy my nieces you know the very same thing you told me one year ago is true would you believe that this is the first time i'm coming out of my house since i retire not even scrub lag or play again i just don't have the energy all i want to do is sleep and we laughed and talked and took pictures downtown and i don't know where he got the energy from from that day but all of a sudden he was unstoppable he visited literally every end of jamaica especially frequent in portland um with his mentees and anybody else who would oblige him we all know encroaching had a phone issue he didn't have a phone and i remember one birthday i said to him you're not going to buy a phone for your birthday and he said look if you buy me a phone you're wasting your money because i'm not going to use it his philosophy was whenever people need him they can get true to him however they get through they get through so he doesn't need it so sometimes when he needed to make a call he would say can i borrow can i borrow your phone to make a call and what he said you know if he did have a phone i wouldn't need to borrow my phone no whenever we had a family function can you guess where you could find him yes anybody you guessed it right whether it was lending a helping hand to share food or it was him taking his time going through the pork to pick out his favorite pieces of lean and fat but especially the fat he was always there and you could always depend on him and even when he fell ill and wasn't able to help in the kitchen you know he was always just sit down and you know he'll put in whatever way he can and send me oh can i have some juice please and i would say i'm curry i'm not giving you any juice and it's all right just put a quarter juice in there and give me the rest water on top of it and of course you know i would always apply a gym and stuff and then again i would hear come here my niece can i have some crackers with some butter please and there were several other functions throughout the course and you know i obliged him with every quest and even in his sixth date he was still able to unofficially dedicate to dedicate my niece savannah on her very first birthday at you know a private function at our home i'm going to miss going to church and seeing him it didn't matter where at church he was but once he spotted me or any of us he would come straight to us and you know kiss us on our foreheads or her or cheeks and put us on the back good good so even towards the latter part when his feet became you know sluggish and swollen to the point where he had to wear crocs and you know when i see him to save the to save him the trouble whenever i see him i would always just go halfway and meet him uncle roddy was very protective of me if he recognized that a male was looking at me too tough he would say yout i see you're checking out my niece you know and even on his sick bed when we're removing him from knot hall he said the very same thing to the porter who was helping us move him he said i normally stood nicely on our face look pretty but stop check her out and i busted out laughing because i was wondering holy to see all of that evening i'm 68 i had the distinct privilege of spending almost if not every day of the last few months of his life with him as his physical therapist and as his niece we both stressed each other out in those weeks uncle roddy i will give anything for you to stress me out one more time i would often hear my mom and my dad say to me after they went to visit him that road they say you're up there buddy me mom or you know if i don't do this i have i'm going to get in trouble with shayna one day my mom visited him and she saw him going towards the foot of the bed and she said rodney here don't afraid they drop off you say no no no i'm going to do my exercises don't do it i'm going to get involved i'm going to get into trouble with shayna and as a therapist we just know when our patients are doing their exercises and when they're not i remember one day after he started going to mona rehab for extra therapy sessions i asked him how the session was and you know he was telling me everything and how he stood and all the things that he did so i said so wait then may you never see them somebody yesterday and do all of them some of them it's practical technical miss flex and he laughed and said no man you're thinking normal you're think international and that was just his corny way of making me laugh if you had the privilege of knowing my uncle you would know that he was one of the stubbornest people on this planet earth and everyone knew this except him whenever i told him he was stubborn he would say it's not stubborn it's the science or it's the principle or it was the word of god i remember one day in one of our sessions i said all right uncle roddy we are at the point in our treatment where i'm going to stop doing certain things for you and i also told this to the staff at the nursing home and i told kimon and kurt you know stop doing certain things and i told them what to do what to not do and this one afternoon in particular he wanted me to close his diaper for him and i said uncrowded i'm stop closing it for you now you have to learn to close it for yourself no to transition home and he said um he was determined that he was not going to close it right and he said come on the girl you hurry up and close the thing so we can start and stop waste time and he said may not close it you know he's a man of my word and if he says something i mean it i'm not going to do it cuz we're not closing it and of course and i said to him i'm a woman of my word too and if i say something i'm not going to do it and so he even brought the scripture to back it up i'm not sure which scripture so i said so the scripture tell you to be stubborn so and i started he said no but my word is my vow and i'm a man of my word and we went back and forth and of course i lost the battle because he was determined that he was not going to do it right and i remember the next day i went back and that was that next day i went back and i you know we spoke and i said uncrowded i didn't appreciate what you did yesterday and all of that and you know we started working together to achieve our goals of independence uncle roddy i distinctly remember our second to last treatment session wednesday january 12 2022 it was our best session yet i came in and greeted you and i said good morning i said good morning mr blair and he was sprawled off in the bed and he opened his eyes and said greetings i asked how he was doing and all of that he said fear to find i said why fear to find not why not good we started chatting and he was telling me all the things that he needed me to go and buy for him and all of that so i said all right no problem after the session i'll swing by mega mart and get them at this treatment session started and we did many things i have a cycle and why i take to him and you know before that day in particular he was only able to move the cycle back and forth but this day he was able to make a full revolution right and even when the timer went off and i said okay you can stop no he said he continued cycling right and that day he transferred himself into the wheelchair and all by himself and this was the first time he was able to fully stand right and we attempted to use the walker but it wasn't working so i you know i thought quickly on my feet and i told him to wrap intertwine his his hands like this and to put them around my neck and and we stole it i was so that would put some weight in his legs and i could feel his breath against my skin and i could hear his heartbeat and in that moment time stood still and of course i had to crack a joke because at that time my hair was long so i said oy you're pulling on my hair and that was that he couldn't hold the stand any longer and you know we sat down and we did a few repetitions of that and i'm not sure if you know but in the world of physical therapy he accomplished a lot that's like him running a marathon right so that was a lot compared to when i just started seeing him and i reminded him of this i said uncle did you come on far away and i remember when you couldn't even move the foot by yourself and he said yes and i told him how much i was proud of him that day and how much i loved him and you know how much yes man let's just continue doing what we need to do and we'll get there and he was looking so he was so looking forward to his prosthesis and i gave him a hyphen he smiled and he nodded and he said good good and at the end of the treatments i said how are you feeling now he said good so it moved from fear to fine to good right and that session ended with me calling my sister and my mom and his wife john and he spoke with them and then he gave me his gross release and on the list was banana bulla ice cement three different flavor lucazide and i said that's you sure that's it and he said yes came back and gave him his goodies and he started talking a little and stuff and you know i gave him the eyes to me but i realized that he quickly gave it back to me so the next day when i went back sorry the next day when i went back he said you realize that i give about the estimate the one that would nurse don't easiness she come out and she washing me i'll just give it back to you quick quick because you know he has to eat certain things in moderation and i opened one and i put it in his mouth and stuff and in the next two weeks i was not able to treat him because i was ill so i had one of my colleagues do the honors for me and the friday before his passing i called him to let him know that she would be coming at 11 30. and we were talking on the phone with him telling me support and i look into going and i said uncle he is still live from portland inaudible portland and we went into a lot of experts he went into the explanation as well to why he loves portland and all of that we talked about the cold food he had and the tuna he fell for but couldn't eat because a certain person got the wrong one the tuna in water when he prefers a tuna in oil i'm not calling any names but i'm just saying right kimon the saturday morning january 22 20 22. i was in alberta and planned to visit and treat him but this was not to be i got that dreaded call from kimon and i jumped out of my bed and put my clothes on and darren jose i am not sure how i survived the journey to corville because i don't recall breathing it's as if the world stood still i was hoping you just went into a diabetic coma and it would just take a trip to the hospital to fix it i checked for your pulse and your breathing but there was none i remembered thinking sorry i remember thinking uncle really stopped the foolishness now i sat at the chair i sat in the chair at your bedside and i didn't leave your side until the coroner's scared i thought why god why now why after we were making such steady progress why after you are now medically stable we were this close to getting your prosthesis why now it was last week that i actually cleared you for travel why no the truth is these are still questions i ask myself even to this day i still have not gotten my answers but they say the lord knows best and you have to try and i just have to trust that all he knows all the answers i know why he chose to call you home now i am honored to have known this stalwart this man of god who was deeply and firmly rooted and grounded in his faith he knew the word of god and could defend his faith and believe to uncle gary and daddy on beh you served your brother well and i salute you wherever you are now daddy uncle gary i salute you if your brother said jump you said how high and he knew this he knew how much you guys loved him and would take care of him from unk gary driving back and forth from saint thomas and portland even if he was summoned in the middle of the night to daddy who made sure every lunch time on not hall he would be there to feed him and made sure he was shaven or his nails cut and properly groomed on behalf of ankaradi i salute you to mommy you and him had a special bun she's not here now but and you guys would confide in each other you had an uncanny way of penetrating his stubbornness so much that some would lodge their complaints with you to handle i salute you auntie john kurt kim nekeisha i salute you to his mentees whom he served and loved so much do not let his labor of love be in vain and if you guys are here i'd just like you to stand let his legal let his legacy live on through you please in his memory live for god and pay it forward ultimately he would want you to live your lives by the word of god in all that you do and to the countless of other persons who were touched by his gentleness love and kindness and servanthood let his legacy live on through you uncle roddy i would do anything for one more kiss to feel your breath against my skin again to rub your back when you are throwing up to stress you or for you to stress me just one more time because i prefer your stubbornness than your absence i would do anything to let you know once more how much i loved you and how proud i was of you and i haven't been doing well since your passing and whenever i think of you there's a palpable ache in my chest and i can't i feel like i can't breathe they say grief heals with time but it hasn't hurt any less since your passing since i sat by your side that dreadful saturday morning trying to feel for your pulse i would do anything for one more conversation but the reality is you are no longer with us and this i must face by god's grace it has been very hard for me to accept but i am comforted that you lived a life that was well pleasing unto god you lived by the word of god and by science too you have fought well you kept the faith and finished your course you ran very well my dearest uncle and though our hearts here ate with pain the kind that is oftentimes inexplicable we know you are now in a better place so we will try with every fiber of our beings to pass on your legacy to the next generation so farewell on karate rudolph jim daddy and grandpa we can only imagine the angels in heaven joyfully singing as usual as you transitioned on january 22 2022 and extending our imaginations further god ushering you into heaven and saying well done my good and faithful servant praise god the person who is doing the tribute from future please not here as yet could dr stevenson from the university chair deacon devon mattocks bishop garfield daily and officers of the fellowship apostolic church mrs blair and family friends ladies and gentlemen children good morning understand sometimes persons mistake being calm and quiet with being ineffective or with not making a mark mr blair proved all this wrong in his tenure at the university of the west indies mona campos and in the department of physics just listen to how his colleagues in the department of physics ranging from support staff through to former heads of department who worked alongside him described him caring considerate punctual soft-spoken good worker warm reliable meticulous in just these words alone it is clear that mr blair's life was one that made an impact and a difference to those with whom he came into contact mr blair joined the university of the west indies in 1981 as a laboratory technologist where he was tasked with designing constructing testing maintaining and calibrating electronic equipment in the department along with other duties mr blair acquitted his role well and was commended for his willingness corporation and success in building simple electronic devices he participated in a number of training courses including inter-campus training courses for technicians in basic electronics to support equipment maintenance and an occupational health and safety course following a reclassification exercise he was elevated to senior instrument technologist effective 1994. in 2009 in his capacity as laboratory technologist mr blair also provided technical assistance to the bachelor of education be ed secondary distance program enabling the offer of the course solid state electronic devices for his commitment to the institution in 2002 mr blair was the recipient of a ue long service award for 21 years of service mr blair retired in 2015 culminating 34 years of service to the university of the west indies mona campus and to the department of physics [Applause] beyond his professional accomplishments today we remember mr blair's character his interest in the welfare of students his support of and camaraderie with colleagues his impact on the lives around him former heads of department and colleagues recall his diligence his reliability and his meticulous nature in executing his duties they recall his willingness to accommodate students in the lab even in unconventional ways so that the students had every opportunity to perform well on behalf of the university of the west indies mona campus the faculty of science and technology and ordinane professor michael taylor and the department of physics extend condolences to mrs blair and family we are grateful to have been a part of his journey and legacy may his soul rest in peace [Applause] praise god thank you very much dr stephen so thank you very much praise god and can we just stand and clap our hands unto the lord just giving thanks to the god of our salvation to the god who has made this man our friend our brother praise god praise god praise god you may be seated i'm going to be there is going to be a special tribute from marcia msm to be read by acalia can you come with that now please his lord everybody praise god amen working now uh we're reading a speech on behalf of marcia ms sam roseman so my brother blair my friend my confidant my mentor my motivator i have known brother blair since childhood throughout my life he has been like a father a listening ear as well as a voice of reasoning and encouragement he has also been instrumental in all my major achievements throughout my life's journey he was there when i graduated from each educational setting always waiting with a congratulations he was there when i got married and even became my son's godfather brother blair had a can-do attitude alive he would generally say but that's not hard that's just one two three as easy as that he would on several occasions phoned me in england to say how i see how i was doing most times asking someone to make the call because he doesn't have a phone i would often hear hold for a call and instantly i knew who that was i have had the privilege of entertaining brother blair and here in england where we spent quality time reflecting on the years at faith chapel the many stoned school trips and life on campus brother blair had a heart of gold he always sought to help the helpless the widows and the fatherless a true decon in every sense of the word my family and i certainly miss him he will always be remembered as someone who loved everyone always with a big smile which you could hardly miss a very kind and compassionate person and an excellent scrabble player sleep on my friend raceway father who loves you more than all of us may i take this opportunity to send my sincere condolences to the immediate family extended family and many friends that had made his life one of joy and excitement god bless you all praise god praise god thank you very much thank you very much could we all stand again could we all stand just for a minute oh there is going to be [Music] me too [Applause] [Music] glorious [Music] [Applause] oh i am going to [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] one more time [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] praise god praise god praise god praise god if we live right if we continue to live right we will get there praise god praise god i think i heard a story that deacon was telling someone that he was going to a wedding on that day when he died someone told me a story that he told him that no problem i'm going to a wedding but it wasn't down here what an assurance what an awesome assurance my god i'm just hoping that when my time come i can see those chariots the way he sees them preparing to come for him praise god praise god as we are moving on because we are restricted by new laws in our country i'm going to be asking sister kathleen williams and pastor michael williams to come with a remembrance michael richards sorry you know the last time i went and looked for deacon blake come make your way down sir um he said to me look look brother michael richards come here yesterday you know and then pray for my foot and look everything went out at the foot so you didn't see it yesterday but today had looked good you know and he was so adamant about what god has done he he just didn't want to trust anything that man has to say as i as i heard my sister said that he was stubborn but he never see that way and he was also a faithful person to the men's group department at church when we have anything he was the first deacon to be there and he never left out praise god i need a deacon to step up praise god come on brother richards praise the lord everyone sister brown i'm hoping to have you here thank you very much and praise the lord everyone and i'm keeping my watch time that won't pass me praise god i first met sir rudolph 1974 me too when i came whether michael was there so was brought a rudolph [Music] one of our main things in our church was that persons need to live godly righteously i came knowledge late and from somewhere different and have a use of those kind of a thing you know but i love the sunday school class so much and every sunday morning i cried they called me the weeping prophetess i used to cry a lot but brother blair will never be a person who would tease you probably doesn't laugh and that sea is gone but i thank god that i did meet that man i remember a church of course i got the holy ghost before these two gentlemen hallelujah but i remember a church he was always present he was always there he's a quick talker and not a long talker and not a very loud darker neither he talks so very softly and slowly and i thank god for that of course you know grow the years run faster than they're doing now then so he got the holy ghost he become married to john davis and i know this young lady the first day i saw her school uniform and know that she came from my parish clarendon hallelujah so then of course they got married and they have children and kurt was one of my only baby i think marge was so nice to me and got a roddy that i had no children that was murdered after them lone baby so kurt was my little boy as a baby he came and spent weekends with me praise god for that then of course brother roddy became sunday school superintendent and he was the person in charge of sunday school which one program was picnic and i really love picnic with him because we get so much fun he played cricket and brother roddy was never moving his foot he ain't running because in that one he's not leaking on one or two runs him licking four or six however sir sir run run not right already he ain't running he might wait for him six or he's four after his games he would just go aside and lay down a little bit and i don't know if he had a clock in his head or what but when it was time to picnic to get for us to get ready he would be ready and pull out the bugs and call those people come come come sleep sweet sweet who have broom and who have bag and who have whatever put away the garbage we are now going home praise god later after that i learned you know sister my uh his cousin lorna and she said rudolph is nice you know when me a little girl you know he didn't care for me i couldn't go through road and follow me and any guy she imagined me say it's my cousin what you doing beside her he said watch them you know watch them guy there nigel he said your fault what she said both of you fight to come our here we say brother rudy can't come here that was rude alfredo and then of course we get older trouble came in well i don't know much about scrabble he always wins me and i always say where's my host i said now get under my dinner that was rudolph my amazing the most amazing part of my life was at permitting when i hear he begin to talk about something in his older a in his younger age you say what no sir not that thing nagosa and it tells yourself some story you know can i tell you them then i will not just laugh i will not go no further but that was brother rudolph i really love that man when sometimes he wanted a certain thing he said nurse you know soup i said yeah man i save yours for you we went but michael and myself went to look for him while i was in that home and i'm very glad i did get to go he said i shouldn't cook no google soup because soup has to have that soft yam that if you come from country no that safyam so no more going soup i said okay fine so when he came home that wednesday i didn't call i didn't call him the thursday either but the friday i called him i said hello you don't remember me you find new girl i want one he said and so we begin to talk joyfully about the goodness of god and the mercies of god and the love of god and brother rudy begin to preach to me now he didn't well i wasn't there so i don't know if he opened his bible but he began to talk to me about the importance of the word of god and i sat in a chair at work and i listened and i said jesus i said lord you do something great for me you touch better ready lord jesus what a good god you are those of you who know me know me kind of get excited you know i get easily quick quick quick i may say jesus here brother rodney this is god's word in spain three quarters of the time that we had that day talking about the word and the importance of the word of god i mean tell your man i just turn over so can you imagine how i felt that saturday morning i came from markets and got a call that brother road is no longer here with us for the whole day i couldn't do nothing because my friend and left me it's gone ahead i did say at one time i said god i'm not asking or not to take him i'm simply asking you to let this man be ready for your gracious appearing and i'm glad because i felt it that friday when i spoke to him that he knew exactly where he was about to go what was about to happen to him and he was ready for that journey i thank god i'm happy for the person who did that picture i'll always remember him that is a real rudolph claudius blair and he's coming from me his friend he called me kathleen advaira duncan darlington williams that's all those are my name god bless you please praise god praise god i i'm kind of uh i'm not sad i'm going to tell you that the truth because since i've heard of the passing of what already now that i have not accepted that he has died but i i tried to look at it from a positive side that he's gone somewhere i knew that that saturday morning he wanted to go to portland so i keep it in my mind that he's somewhere on a trip and that has kept me so i'm not sad and i want to say that my friend brother we were very very close and i think the reason for that is that his brothers his brothers and i we somewhat grew up together own town and as a result of that people thought we were family yes indeed you were just from the other side of the road but the only thing i want to say is that but already he's a scrabble person and whoever meet him wherever he is at this time be careful he will have those two blanks and you would never know and you would pray so hard to get the two blanks out of the bag sister moulton asks brother dennis you are praying for those two blanks and guess who have them brother would have blair has them on his board just waiting for a big spell out and many times had it not mean that i was a christian god have mercy and i'm not going to pretend i get back sometime i real oh could you do me this i've been i'm praying for this and that's the kind of a person another thing about brother buddy is that he had the answer for everything and i had to remind him on a number of occasions but already your way is not the only way so once they were up by the country there of land road in portland hectares river where israel and we were friends planting green planting so because a mathematician is an engineer of course the mathematician says you can take anything and press the plant in the in the pot but the engineer said no you take the plantain from the pot put it back in the skin and then you press it and return it to the part so i said what is the series and said no it is safer when you put it in the skin because you won't get burned you win me again so even though i was using my mustang but he's the kind of a person that you can't you can't get vicks at because he's going to give you a reason and explanation for what he does but everybody is my friend and i don't want to say anything else but there's a little song that says the mountain of transfiguration the angels of the lord declare that it would be [Music] coming back [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] and everly is coming back [Music] you know this has been one of the hardest field ever to swallow but i just have to come for myself that you know the humbler is in a better place remembering my friend and brother the conor dolf player as i reflect on the life of my beloved i am reminded of proverbs 17 verse 17 which reads alrighty our friends love it at all times and the brother is born for adversity unaware of the hearts of a true friend uncertain about the extent of kindness and inexperience in recognizing the power of love but all this changed when i interacted with the humbler outside of church while i was a student at the university of the west indies i immediately schooled and learned that man's heart the heart that trusting god can be pure and true one who has the ability to do good and not become weary in doing well that love is boundless these qualities are the hallmark of a true disciple of christ the scripture reminds us that if we love each other if love is shown and evident then men will know that we are children of god i could not imagine the life lessons and the impact that our encounter would have on my life he is indeed heaven sent i can save the paraphrase of scripture not changing the word of god but i am a planet to my experience with my friend d humble lubbock at all times and dee cumbler is a brother born for adversity many can agree that zika blair goes above and beyond to support young people especially those that faith chapel amen as i chronicle snippets of our relationship please bear with me if i pause every now and then as words fail me to express my gratitude to become blair but let it be known that i am grateful and i give god thanks for all he has done not just for me but so many others too great number i did not choose him to be my friend but he chose to adopt me and i became one of his children dear cambrie was kind to everyone he met i recall my friends and i would wait by his love in between classes his love then became our study room dick humbler hosted us well he would have a variety of tea and snacks in his office waiting for us every morning just in case we didn't have breakfast he sometimes had lunch with my friends and i and these times he also used to catch up on how studies were going he genuinely wanted to see young people achieve their dreams while in his office he used opportunity to admonish and to encourage us to put god first and never to set our hearts on material things he ensured that all of us got our daily dose of scriptures as his audio bible would always be playing somehow those scriptures minister to me daily however during my moments of distress and when my circumstances were overwhelming and when my faith wavered i avoided his office he understood my mood and actions and often say you checking out on me oh i wish i could hear those words again d humbler understood me and never failed in giving me godly encouragement after leaving uwi de cambria would constantly check in with me and we often engage in discussions about life and my future endeavors all these discussions usually ended with him giving me a scripture of encouragement like a good father he gave good and priceless gifts to me his love and care was extended and felt if no one cared i knew they completed i miss my friend dearly but i know he is resting and waiting for the final trumpet to song rest well in jesus [Applause] at this time we will be having a slideshow we will have a video presentation followed by the eulogy by sister tamika makrit praise god we'll be having is the video presentation ready okay let's begin with that after the eulogy we will have the praise team and sister tamika blair ministerine for which we will be collecting an offering praise god the kisha blind sorry sorry sit with me i'm still grieving also i buried my sister yesterday praise god but god is good eh [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] um [Music] um um [Music] okay while he gets that properly organized praise the lord everybody praise the lord one more time he will do an awesome job um dark um in ireland an irish headstone leaves death and rupert also shared that one day he somebody made a mistake to trouble on karate and he beckoned pansy and panzer did not hesitate but immediately sat on the aggressor until an apology was given to ankaradi from that day onwards no one else attempted to interfere with roddy again for the rest of his primary school days he was wise even as a child it didn't take long for rudolf to distinguish himself from his pack of siblings at high school he studied the sciences and progressed through the respective grades to be a prefect and ultimately the head boy of happy grove from 1970 to 1971. yes during his secondary years even from then the blueprint of servant leadership was evident in red in uncle roddy after after graduation he proceeded to cast no university of technology to pursue a diploma in instrumentation and on successful completion rudolph went to work at the jamaica public service and then on to the university of the west indies for over 30 years and there he served until his retirement on karate might have been perceived by many as quiet but he had a daring and outgoing aspect to his persona for someone who didn't drive in his adult years auntie john was a chauffeur i am amazed at the daredevil bike riding stories that i hear about his youth there was a time when on karate road his teachers triumph 500 bike motorbike i don't know what that is through the district in addition to this you mean online so basically before the audio was interrupted online i basically just gave a timeline of um events as it relates to the legacy that on karate would have left his love his tenderness his respect dignity the family man that he is and i also said that many persons would have do i mean we i'm constantly thinking one more year one more month one more day and even one more hour with him he attended bell castle where he then moved on to happy grove high and served as deputy head boy i was at the point in the [Music] conversation where he is now at university of technology actually at his retirement uncle roddy might have been percy by many has been quiet and so even though that is true he's generally a gentle person he um he had a dear inside to him and i can't i can't fathom it because he didn't drive as an adult but yet still most of his daring acts had to do with a bike that is that gives less protection and besides stealing his teachers no not stealing that one he didn't steal this one he did along with daddy so they have an uncle called uncle whitney and they stole his bike and not only rode through the district this time but wrote from saint thomas to portland and now if i if my memory serves me well those roads are winding and it's precipitous so i just can't get it but thank god for age and wisdom and amazing grace on karate also had a magic touch when it comes on to grooming ladies here his cousin lauren and i and she will get my head if i don't do this she personally asks for me to share this fun memory of him and i quote one of my most precious memories with roddy is him combing my hair and he was my dress hairdresser after church at night he and nigel would fuss about who would do my hair and who would do martials get her for this auntie marcia she said nobody wanted to do your hair and she's wondering she's wondering if it was the texture are you here was too hard to handle but they were her personal hairdresser and she will never forget that and you know the plaques were good enough only to go to bed but she it's a memory that she'll hold on forever sometime after migrating to kingston he recognized that his life would be meaningless without the lord and so he took on the name of jesus in baptism on february 27 1977 and afterwards was filled with the holy ghost loneliness was never to be a part of this man's vocabulary and so he decided to take on to himself a wife in doing so they tied he tied the knot with marjorie blair who i affectionately call auntie john on august 18 1979 the union produced two children kurt and kimon yes nikisha hear you later they would both go on to bl you have a part to play in this part nekeisha they would go on to bless their dad with four wonderful grandchildren and nikki and if he had his way nekeisha would have to give him a fifth and make sure that was a girl so there is johanna you can't stand jude joshua shawn and jordan uncle roddy adored jordan is right there he came up to read el carrodi adored and cared for his grandchildren and was proud as most grandparents were although rudolph spent the last of the latter and the greater part of his life in kingston he had a portland heart when what a man of portland you know the the the college on hope road they're we call them college men they say they blew they bleed blue and they the school on reddish road say they bleed green ankara bleed portland love portland i'm sure that there wasn't there was a time that he was in portland every week especially in the latter part and he had a ways of swindling no political posse so you know he just needed to call him and then after a few minutes into the conversation you're you're on board a trip with him to portland you don't even know how that happened he had a healthy appetite for traveling both locally and internationally kim who unapologetically described him as the dad of every little girl's dream was often his travel body second only to auntie john he and his traveling crew visited multiple countries in north america europe and even africa kim fondly remembers their travel escapades involving the highs of rubbing shoulders with local celebrities like her only female prime minister and also the laws of a few misflights due to uncarradized twisting and turning i can just imagine how annoying that they made them if you stayed around uncharted long enough you were bound to fall victim to his many teachable moments oh my god he never let those opportunities pass whether it was about the word of god principles of life principles principle is about the principle mathematics physics or one of those when i was a boy doing in other countries once he once opportunity popped up he grabbed it i can clearly remember sorry days when i was doing physics at cxe then now seasick that on karate and again this man doesn't drive he doesn't have a driver's license would come to my house in dela cree and help me with my math and physic homework at the at a telephone call and that's on public transportation not in the lobster of a car and and did i say he he had a servant's heart i believe that he didn't just do it for me because i was his niece he would have done it for anyone regardless of their relation to him or or their status my uncle didn't see title nor status he saw persons he had a heart for people if he had his way he would turn all his children nieces and nephews and even his grandchildren into electrical engineers am i right kurt where's curt went on karate with on karate no iron no tv no phone although he didn't have one no tablet no electronic device could be discarded because even when they were broken or better yet pop down in his highs everything is fixable see auntie joe uncapping but wait don't clap yet your parts to come my mother when anything broke down at our house it's usually the irons he she would say put it down right there so just put it down till roddy come i'm sure this was to the annoyance of auntie john because all of these electronics would somehow find their way on your veranda and i know i have some things to come for right and i'm gone already i think second to the love for the word of god was his love for the word game scrabble that's another thing he will lure you into if you are not careful love scrabble and he loves you when you can't find him on a saturday just check paul moore you will surely find in my brother richards or sister molton's house playing or being lost in a game of scrabble for me on karate has and will forever be my constant apostolic teddy bear you see i never always had the privilege of having parents who were always present with me in the house of god even though they ensured i went unkarate unknowingly reminded me of my apostolic heritage and that acted as a gravitational pull towards the things of god and eventually full surrender in all this though i can never remember him personally saying to me i need to give my life to god but in hindsight he probably never really needed to because he did it by just the exemplary life that he lived he was one of my apostolic constants he his life convicted me more than any words he could have said to me there was hardly a sunday that i went and he wasn't there most times quietly worshiping you know he uncorroded would do good in asia he had this bowing kind of good how are you good you know and most times he would be quietly worshiping but there were times when you know something more got a hold of him and when that happened i hear somebody around here you cannot test it because you sat beside him you would see him hold his jacket and when he got a hold of his jacket and he began pulling it and he would do some movements like this you know something is happening but it never came off it does it was just the movement just made it look like it was gonna come off a god-fearing deacon devoted father loving brother carrying on her loyal cousin and trustworthy friend roddy or jim never ceased to live by the word of god as he gave himself sacrificially to the service of the lord and his family who meant everything to him this very easygoing persona sorry made him made it look like nothing ever bothered him one of his goal to manchester was always remember that a soft answer turneth away rat even when is him getting you angry he was totally sold out to jesus during his final months on earth uncarrot his health took a turn and he battled diabetes and high blood pressure his jovial loving and even stubborn traits never faded though his desire to be active to mentor others and to leave behind a legacy for the next generation was unmatched even during his last days when his mobility was challenged he had so many plans for the future and was excited about the prospect of each new day that the lord blessed him with whether it is was on his hospital bed or while undergoing rehab he remained optimistic and determined to regain his independence and to become healthier throughout this tumultuous period for on karate and by extension his immediate and extended family ankaradi would often share with us that he was not afraid of dying i think we all knew and accepted the fact that he was sick and i think we all knew and accepted the fact that he hated his medication and was very non-compliant i think we all knew and accepted the fact that he was stubborn and was convinced that the doctors only studied a little more than him and so he knew what they knew i think we all knew and accepted the fact that he needed mobility support after having lost a toe and then a leg but what i don't think we all expected was that we would be saying goodbye so soon way too soon the 16th president of the united states abraham lincoln once said in the end it's not the years in your life that counts it's the life in your years i believe on karate lived this philosophy and on the morning of january 22nd when his end came i phoned and still find comfort in knowing that he made the life in his years count as the apostle paul in philippians 1 verse 20 to 22 aptly describes it according to my earnest expectation and my hope that in nothing i shall be ashamed but with all boldness as always so know also so now also christ shall be magnified in my body whether it be life or by death for to me to live is christ but to die is gain it was never my intention from the point of me leaving my seat coming here to give anyone listening today the impression that my uncle roddy your deacon blair was perfect no not at all as a matter of fact that's the furthest from the truth did i mention earlier how stubborn he was i could spend the rest of today telling you numerous or i could number his faults but i choose not to but with all that with all his faults and his imperfection there's nothing that i wouldn't just give for one more year one more month one more day and one more hour with him and all his imperfections the sting of death has freshly struck again and i will not pretend that it doesn't hurt because it does however as we gather here today on this bittersweet occasion and i say bittersweet because i know we don't mourn as as those without hope because i know that some sweet day if we remain steadfast we shall meet him again in the land where our hearts will never break anymore as we gather here in love in memory of the stalwart my gentle giant with a heart of gold i would like us to honor his memory by continuing his legacy of love compassion servanthood family dignity and respect in summary to his brothers and sisters he will always be your big brother jim to his immediate family and to joan and kurt and nekeisha and the grandchildren he will always be your rock and your priest to his church family he will always be your beloved deacon blair to his mentees he will always be your support and tower of strength in the dark world just reflect and remember the lessons he would have taught you to his co-workers a dependable and reliable resource and friend in the physics department his nieces and nephews a very rare and brave treasure in this world who went home way too soon or but my uncle ready but i guess the lord reasoned this math problem and found that perhaps the best solution was for this precious specimen on karate in his kingdom to come home the reality that this kind of equation may take us all a lifetime to come to terms with but no doubt as with all things on karate there are many life applications and principles even when there is pain and loss so let us pause for a moment and find solace in the fact that he he is in a much better place as we search inwardly to decipher what lessons we would have gleaned from the sacrificial life he lived here on earth for those of us left behind to carry on his legacy let us give a little more than we take let us take time to fix more than we break whenever we can let us help a stranger drenched in rain in the reign of life struggles in doing this the the legacy of my uncle uncle roddy rudolph claudius blair lives on through us ankara you will forever hold a special place in my heart sleep on uncle dearest and rest well until we meet again some sweet day [Applause] praise god thank you very much sis um there's a silver on the civics five one zero three jw you've been hacks to go to your vehicle please okay are you ready now with the the video presentation yes sir go ahead [Music] [Music] so [Music] okay um get it right we're gonna show it today it's just always so kind and patient with us i have never seen him ruffled he was just this admirable person always cool calm pleasant and always smiling he was very very respectful and caring [Music] for people like you actually he's a very generous guy interacting with him even at uwe um and he with his brother um he was it was a privilege and you know being in our own working with him and being in the labs you know he was very helpful in showing me things around and that kind of thing so um re-entries are seen in church and helpful in church guiding the word of god and even outside of church even a new camp was a very example [Music] outside and for some strange reason we just decided to take a ride all the way to portland at his house and back to center marsh which is about 20 miles away um neither was i doing a permit to ride a bike i hope i realized that oh my god what that was such a dangerous thing that we did but i suppose you'd call it youthful as they say [Music] there's a place [Music] who are you and he says listen know the word of god walk with the word of god himself answer turn it away rash and that's how you win afraid i'm saying you have to be gentle sometime and talk with people and continue on with them and i'm telling you these are some of the lessons that stick with me this man loves his family above it all i don't know if anybody knew or anybody else mention it but i'm gonna tell you this man loves his family [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] it's about his wife and especially his daughter kimu he wants for her are the dreams that he wants her to fulfill this man and i'm glad that he was in every part of my life [Music] so [Music] vibes and color vitality being vegan please blair man brother player and even when we at church wednesday evening time when no choir not here to sing in mario say she is you have to do this singing today you know so and you know i just admired brother blair his smile and everything [Music] i believe [Music] i will remember you i'm telling you mom i will remember you in my prayers in everything remember you had a husband who was caring and you will get the same kind of support from persons who he cared for i give um honor to his life and his legacy and i ask that we just celebrate the fact that he is present with the lord [Music] cause there's a place [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Laughter] stop where you are [Music] all right excellent [Music] [Applause] praise god praise god praise god at this time we're going to be collecting an offering and i'm going to be asking sister nakisha blair to come and join the praise team for the collecting of the offering and the offering is in aid of the fifth apostolic building fund praise god um let's just pray heavenly father lord jesus god we thank you for your great love we thank you lord jesus for who you are we thank you for this occasion you are the god for who we give honor and who we give thanks to bless lord jesus god or whatever he's given us lord jesus christ that it will be multiplied to use lord god to in your service have your way lord jesus god bless and sanctify in jesus name we pray amen praise god praise god can we praise the lord everybody come with us into our hands and bless the lord jesus right now just worship with us as we minister in song bless god [Music] hallelujah [Music] john saw a city that could not be hit john saw the city oh yes he did john caught a glimpse of the golden throne tell me all about it go right on around the throne he saw the christmas season there's got to be more what will it be i want to go to that city [Music] [Applause] [Music] and i want to run [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] i want to rest on the bench [Music] today john saw a lion lay down by the lamb i want to know everything about that lamb john saw the day but [Music] worship the great i am crying [Music] he [Music] [Applause] saw lion lay down by the lamb i want to know every hallelujah [Music] john saw the day but he did not see night the lamb [Applause] [Music] [Applause] to [Music] watch [Music] [Music] city of god [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] i want to run [Music] [Applause] [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Applause] anybody [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] city of god city of god [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is hallelujah praise god praise god praise god praise god and can we all stand can we all stand at this time we're gonna be having the word but just before we do just before we do um there is a on the stream 9187 jx it's a black understream you're just asked to attend to your vehicle right now to assist someone and at this time i'm going to be asking our bishop to come and speak thus said the lord to us today god bless you as he come in jesus name amen praise god can we praise the lord everybody can we praise the lord everybody isn't he wonderful eyes have seen ears have heard it's recorded in his word that jesus our lord is wonderful in spite of the circumstance that has caused us to be gathered here said it earlier god is a good god if you believe he put your hands together and give him a clap offering praise god praise god praise god [Applause] i just want to on behalf of the faith chapel family sister blair and the family have heard so much from different individuals but i just want to use this morning and let you know that the entire faith chapel the entire faith apostolic ministry family wants you [Music] the entire blair family to know that we are in this with you you have our prayers our sincere sympathies and know that we will continue to pray amen so you'll be strong in the lord it is a big loss but nevertheless god is still a big god and he knows how to take care and he will but receive our sympathies and know that we are praying and will continue to pray i read just one verse of scripture and try to in about 10 minutes or 15 just close put together but i wouldn't want to read before mentioning to us that deacon blair was an exemplary leader a devoted loyal deacon and one that i appreciate dearly he was just so humble he was just so available he was just so supportive he was just always there you could call and deacon blair at any time and he would be available no matter what i didn't know that deacon blair took his pork so seriously though didn't know you know there's a when you go to the island grill there was a time when you saw something on the sign board that says know your pork you your call seen that when you go to island grill there was a time that they were selling pork you know they said know your pork and i believe they might have put that there having learned of brother rudy we spoke at one time and he was telling me about pork and you had to eat the pork with this fat and with the skin and i told him no the fat is not good for you and the skin is worse and yeah pork in terms of the lean is very good and i eat pork and i eat a lot of it some sometimes but i always cut off the fatty part and the skin and he made a fuss and he told me that i am not a good pork eater if you don't eat the lean with the fat and the skin you're not a good poor kita and he made a big issue out of it and you know i wish i could stand with him this morning and just say i agree with you you know because i disagreed with him because i'm a good pork eater and i just don't do the fat on the skin but he says if you leave that off you don't know your pork bishop and we argue and we separated agree to disagree but if i could get one more opportunity this morning to have a discussion like that i would agree with him just to you know but this is life there's one scripture i would read in our hearing from the book of sam the book of the psalms and it is psalm 116 and verse 15. and it says simply precious in the sight of the lord is the death of his saints precious in the sight of the lord is the death of his saints and you may be seated in the presence of the lord the word precious simply means of very great value of very great value and i've often wondered why god the great god that he is the big god that he is would take the time to describe death in this way why it is that death would mean so much to god we know that for us death is a separator we know that for us that cause grief and tears and sadness and all for those who are children of the most high god we also know that we ought to sorrow not as those that have no hope because the god that we serve has some great things in store for us and the god that we serve has made it very clear abundantly clear that after death where the child of god is concerned there are some great things over yonder that we can look forward to so don't worry he admonishes his people you will see each other again but it doesn't take away the hurt it doesn't take away the grief it doesn't somehow pull apart those that are close to the disease and we easily see and recognize that and so i have muse so often in my mind why would god see who he is plays so much on death and i've thought about it hard and i came to a conclusion in my mind and it stems from a simple fact that many of us might easily overlook you see we see god and know that he's big and he's huge and he's large and he's powerful he's unmoved we think by the things that happens in the world we think because god established all things and god by the word of his mouth created all things that things like death and things like sickness and things like those would not move god but i want us to understand today that god is moved even by things that trouble us like death and sickness and all i mused about it and came to the conclusion in my mind that god is a very personal individual he is emotional he he has a heart if we can put it in terms that we can appreciate and that we can understand he is very passionate he yearns amen and i believe that the the capacity that we have as men and as women the capacity that we have to love to show emotions the capacity that we have to feel hurt and to see to be troubled by things i believe we got that from our father and so we need to just extend our minds a little bit and we will see that god in heaven can be touched can be emotional can be hurt he has longings he yearns for some things and one of the things that god yearns for is to have the people that he love close to him and so we believe it or not we need to understand that if we are going to leave where we are here and get to god where he is there there has to be a portal that we go through it is impossible for us to just leave this physical material realm with all the issues of sin and with all the issues that have to do with our mortality it is impossible for us to be at a place with god unless we drop some things and this can only happen through the portal of death and therefore god longs for some people that are precious to him to come to him we might not understand it but it is a fact god longs and wants those that are close to him to come to him and yet he is constrained because he also wants us to be here on earth to do some things and to carry out his will here on earth so there is a dilemma he wants us to be with him there but he also wants us to be here on earth so we can teach others about him and we can propagate this gospel and so on and so on so every now and then ever so often god allows some of his saints to depart this world even though there is need for them to be here simply because he longs for them and wants them closer to his presence but for that to happen we could not just leave earth and go to heaven as we are we would have to put off this flesh and to put off the sins and to put off the things that are associated with our mortality and that can only happen by way of death and therefore because god sees that death is the portal that transfers us from this life to where he is he sees death as precious it is through the medium of death that precious portal that we are going to move from here onto the other side it is through this portal of death and so you and i although we are not afraid of death we see death as the great separator but where god is concerned death is the door that opens to allow the saints that are precious in his eyes to move from this existence to the other existence and so i put it together in that way that the god that we serve desires to have some of the precious saints come to be with him now you see folks we need to understand that absent from the body means that we are present with the lord and god snatch him from here through death so that he can be in paradise in the presence of god there are so many shades that have gone on ahead simply because god said that it was your time and i want you to be in my presence there was a time when the apostle paul struggled with the part in this life to be with the lord which he said was better but then he also said to be here was more convenient for you and he struggled with it god allowed him a little bit more time here on earth to teach and to preach and to minister but then the day came when that thing that was precious in the sight of almighty god happened in the life of paul he died and then being absent from here he was present with the lord paul could say what he said absent from the body present with the lord many can say this morning absent from the body present with the lord deacon blair this morning as we are here because he has passed a couple of weeks ago he could easily declare and declare boldly absent from the body present with the lord you know why because while we are here there are some things that we ought to do notice that god said precious in his sight are the not of people but the death of his saints there is something about the saiyans in the eyes of god that is different than with everybody else he loves us all but having become a saint it makes a big difference i am suggesting to us this morning to take seriously where we are now all the things that we heard about brother blair today is true and where we say that he has gone we know he has gone it is true but he was a practicing son of god he was a champion for this gospel of our lord jesus christ it cannot be said for every human being precious in the sight of the lord is your death but it can be said for those that have surrendered to the living god and those that are walking with the mighty king that precious in his eyes is your death saints of god friends that are here as i close it is what we do while we are here breathing that will determine where we go when death comes knocking i would want to take this morning to remind all of us that when we die there is no opportunity in the grave for you to say god have mercy on me one more time it's not going to happen i have found that life can be nice i have found that life can be lovely i have recognized that living can be beautiful but i want us to understand that god didn't allow us to be here simply to live until we die but he has placed us here he has allowed us to be here because he knows and he has advised us through his word that our being here the purpose for our being here is to organize our lives so that we can be ready when death comes because when it comes it is going to come suddenly i heard sister tamika as she gave the eulogy said yes he was ill and he lost a toe yes he was ill and he lost a leg yes he was ill and he had diabetes and the high blood pressure yes he was not doing so well physically but then he started to recover and yes he started to recuperate and yes he was getting back to normal sister williams said when they spoke that day this thursday he was just bubbling and reciting the word of almighty god and yet saturday morning he came out feeling good came out expressing himself came out making plans to go to portland and saturday morning he just went like that it is the nature of death and that is how death is going to come to us that is how death is going to visit us you see some of us are in the prime of our lives some of us are in the prime of our careers some of us are in the prime of our future endeavors and we make great plans for tomorrow and forget that tomorrow was never promised to any of us and if we make it to tomorrow and to next week it is just because without your knowledge it is not your time yet it is therefore important while we are yet alive while we are yet in our right minds while we yet have the ability to make the decision to serve god that we do it because if we don't your death is not going to be precious in the eyes of almighty god and that's not brother daley being wicked and cold and callous that is the word of god precious in the sight of the lord is the death of his saints who is a saint that man that woman that is living for him that have surrendered to him holy that has taken on his name that you're living for him and day by day and with each passing moment we're striving and doing our best to live according to his word we better know we better understand as i close the book as i put the rack down we better understand that into the decisions that we make now that will determine whether god can say about you precious in my sight is your death because if you are not a saint if you are not a son or daughter of god death is going to be your boom your destruction the worst nightmare my god and that is a fact from the book so as i step down deacon mattox you can stand up get ready to come for the mic as i go today is a good day right now is an opportune time for you and you and you and you to make it right with almighty god so that when your time comes because it is coming and even if you don't die there is going to be a big transition for the saiyans but before your time comes make your calling an election sure because if you don't your death will not be a precious thing in the sight of god it will be your doom and your destruction god bless you in jesus name praise god praise god praise god praise god at this time we're going to be asking deacon roman to pray for the bereaved family after which we will sing the the hymn there's a land beyond the river for which we will proceed to the burial area which will be in the family plot in scotland hector's river for which we will be taking the route to go by our view and to go send thomas right sister blair that's the route we will take and to continue to go golden grove and down to manchester praise god go ahead sir praise the lord everyone um could we all stand i'm going to ask the berea family to stand also we're going to ask for all of us to stretch our hands over do today i'm gonna ask the baby family just to come at the front here please i'm gonna extend our hand and we'll be praying for them thank you jesus you can just yeah let us all stretch our hands thank you jesus [Music] there is none like you we thank you for your great love we thank you for your thank you jesus by yourself lord god you see the heart and the soul it's nothing good that we have done to deserve your love towards us but here we are today in this occasion god where there is a family bereaved and so god almighty we present them before you this afternoon [Music] we seek divine comfort upon each heart present here in the name of jesus and for those family members who are abroad we send now your comfort to them god as we understand it's not easy for us to cope with the loss but right now lord jesus as the song that is being sung your voice makes the difference and so we ask that god your voice will make the difference in the lives of these family members father we ask that you will have your way let your perfect will be done stretch that comforting arms around them pull them closer and bind them together with cords of love which cannot be broken father hears our humble cry this afternoon have your way lord as we journey from here to portland we ask that you will guide us and protect us cover us under your blood as we journey from here god have your way be with us continually and let your perfect will unfold in jesus in your name jesus christ amen and let us all say amen amen god bless you praise god praise god thank you as the singers sing the leaders will proceed out first then the family member and then we all can go praise god so we go in that order right away as i start singing we will move out praise god there's a land beyond the river that we call the sweet forever and we only reach that shore by fate degree one by one will gain the portals there to dwell with the immortals when they ring those [Music] don't you hear the angels [Music] just beyond [Music] [Music] don't you hear the angels singing disa glory hallelujah [Music] oh don't you hear the angel singing hallelujah it's for you and [Music] don't you hear the angel singing hallelujah [Music] river when they ring those don't you hear the angels [Music] river [Music] don't you hear the hallelujah [Music] for your yes

Channel: Faith Chapel of Faith Apostolic Ministries

Views: 3,754

Keywords: Faith, Chapel, Gospel, Good, preaching, anointing, Holy, Ghost, Ministry, bible, study, ignite

Id: OiKUsflo3hA

Length: 164min 0sec (9840 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 24 2022