Tribute given on Sunday, February 26, 2023 at Bloor Street SDA Church Reform Movement at the funeral of Br. Timo Martin

“For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me. For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.” 1 Corinthians 4:15–17

Condolences

In the name of the Holmstroem and Suarez family, the entire American Union, and the General Conference please accept our condolences and sympathies in the passing of our dear Brother Timo Martin from life to rest. There are three families which have been friends for generations: Marttinens, Derings, and Holmstroems. They all were ministered by the late Pastor August Holmstroem who visited Finland, Estonia, and Latvia, sharing the Reformation message.

Brother Timo Martin’s Talents

Jesus taught us not to call any man Father. Yet Paul explains that those who bring others through the gospel message to Christ should be respected as spiritual fathers. In God’s grace, this Reform Movement was blessed with a spiritual father—a modern day Timotheus.  Paul wrote: “For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet [have ye] not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.”  1 Corinthians 4:15

As the sunset leaves sun rays on the horizon, so the life of God’s last day saints leave their influence and works for us to admire and glorify God for His handiwork.

Brother Timo, as he was called, was a powerful and influential layperson, local church leader, Canadian Field Committee Member  poly-linguist, General Conference officer, American Union board member, world traveler, missionary, and a good preacher.

He was also a businessman. Besides having his own industrial pattern-making company, he built this church at Bloor Street (see picture of church on outside back cover). He invested his own funds, time, and expertise. He was also instrumental in acquiring the church building in Montreal. He believed in giving of his money, his time, and talent to Jesus, for the glory of God.

Brother Timo was gifted with languages. He was a translator. Finnish and Estonian are similar languages, and Brother Timo translated for Pastor Korpman here in Canada. Brother Timo learned much from Pastor Korpman who was one of the pioneers of this Reform Movement. Brother Timo also learned to speak Spanish fluently and gave Bible studies in Spanish. He was instrumental in bringing many Spanish believers and their descendants into the faith that we profess.

He was a team player who respected organization. I personally first met Brother Timo back in 1976. He, together with his wife, visited our home in San Jose, Costa Rica. Through the years, we would meet and collaborate on an official church basis. We served together on the American Union Board while Pastor Branko Cholich was President and Canada was part of the American Union. Brother Timo always fought for Canada and thereafter also for Jamaica.

Brother Timo was also a Bible instructor. In 1984, I was blessed to attend the Missionary School held at the Hamilton Church in which several in this audience participated. Brother Timo was one of our instructors. He spoke on Reformation, the Sealing message, and Last Day Events. Those were some of his favorite themes. After work, Brother Timo would rush to visit many people’s homes to share Bible studies and prepare people for baptism.

Our brother was a good preacher. I was impacted by a sermon which he gave at a Conference held in the East Coast. He titled it: “He must increase and I must decrease.” He echoed the words of John the Baptist and made it the motto which every Christian should adopt. We need to give Jesus more and more room and priority in our lives, while decreasing in our selfishness, and personal ambitions.

Brother Timo was a true world missionary. He loved to travel, like Sister Leila. He had a heart for taking the Reformation message to the Caribbean. He went to many islands, but his greatest success was in Jamaica. Together we traveled to Jamaica. He was the spiritual father of the Reformation in Jamaica. Because of his efforts, we were able to visit Jamaica and also participate in the early days of the Crusades in the 1980’s together with Joseph Smikle, Ian Grant, and Morris Lowe. Brother Timo also visited Finland many times, helping his biological family and spiritual family in the old country.

Years later, when I served as President of the General Conference, Brother Timo served on different committees and held various positions at the highest level of our organization. He served on the Peace Committee during the dialogue between this Reform Movement and the ’51 Movement. He also served on the prestigious doctrinal committee of the denomination known as the Ministerial Board of the General Conference. And because of his business knowledge and success, he served as auditor of the General Conference. Every time he came to Cedartown, Georgia, he always stayed at our home. My family has wonderful memories of the sweetness he exuded and his gentle smile.

He was very hospitable. He invited many people to stay at his home here in Toronto. People would spend months living at his home. I spent days at his home during Canadian conferences. He welcomed immigrants remembering that he too was an immigrant.

Brother Timo was resilient. He tempered opposition and loss. He lived a consistent life of service and hard work. He survived some of the hardest conflicts humans must endure. He lost his son. He had to bear the pain of losing a loved one. He had to persevere in building the church in spite of some leaders, who later left the church, who misrepresented his intent. He mustered strength in the midst of physical ailments which come with age and endured with God’s grace.

Sister Tina McTavish shared with me one of the final conversations which Brother Timo had just before his death. Her son, James Bessec asked Brother Timo, “Are you ready to go?”—he was referring to be taken home from church. Brother Timo replied, “Yes, I am ready.” He was ready to go home. God called him to rest. He finished his course. He endured the losses and triumphed over temptations by the grace of God.

He leaves a void in Canada. He leaves a church building, a Field Conference, descendants that love the Lord—children and grandchildren. He leaves friends and church members that respected and loved him.

The words of St. Paul to the Corinthians may be applied to Brother Timo Martin as we pay our last respects at the church which he so loved and worked for. He became the spiritual father of the Canadian Field. “For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet [have ye] not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.”  1 Corinthians 4:15–16

If he could speak to us now, he would say, “Be ye followers of me,” as I have been, of Christ. I have left you a pattern to follow. He actually had a business of patterns for industry. But he has left us a spiritual pattern to follow.

As Paul spoke of Timothy, we may speak of Brother Timo. “For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.” 1 Corinthians 4:17

Brother Timo Martin was faithful in the Lord and died in the Lord. The Psalmist says, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.”  Psalms 116:15

To this, John adds a blessing: “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, 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 follow them.”  Revelation 14:13

His works do follow him. He now rests from his labours till the special resurrection at the beginning of the Seventh plague, when I expect to see Brother Timo Martin once more. I call on you all to be faithful stewards of the grace of God and to labour for and work to expedite the return of Jesus in glory.

A Final Story

There is a story of Golda Meir before she became the prime minister of Israel. It was during the six-day war in Israel. The Israeli soldiers had just reconquered the Jewish Quarter containing the Western or Wailing Wall. Golda went to the Western Wall and wrote a kvitlach which refers to a small piece of paper which is put into the crannies of the Western Wall. She wrote one word: shalom which means hi, goodbye, and peace. It was 1967, and an Israeli soldier came to Golda and cried on her shoulder. They had not met before. Why did he cry on her shoulder? She thought that it was because she might have brought memories of his mother, so he cried for joy in remembering his loved ones.

We do not need to go to the Wailing Wall to pray for peace or for God to hear us. As Christians, we come directly to God to request His grace and peace. As fellow believers, we come to dilute the pain of those mourning for our beloved brother, Timo Martin. Shalom—may God keep you in His peace.

My father taught me that friends and family play a critical role in the life of their loved one. With friends and family, we multiple our joy, but we divide and dilute our pain and loss. May God comfort and bless the Martin (Marttinen), McTavish, and Bescec families in their grief as well as Brother Timo’s local church on Bloor Street, and the Canadian Field which benefited greatly from his guidance and wise counsel. Thank you, Amen.

Pastor Idel Suarez Jr., Ph.D., Pg.D