“LIGHT-HEADED” (John 8:1-12)

Rev. Jeremy Stopford, Retired Pastor

“FOLLOW ME” SERIES – #7

Today’s “Special”: “The Long-winded Pastor”

A Pastor goes to the dentist for a set of false teeth. The first Sunday after he gets his new teeth, he talks for only eight minutes. The second Sunday, he talks for only ten minutes. The following Sunday, he talks for 2 hours and 48 minutes.

The congregation had to mob him to get him down from the pulpit and they asked him what happened.

The Pastor explains the first Sunday his gums hurt so bad he couldn’t talk for more than 8 minutes. The second Sunday his gums hurt too much to talk for more than 10 minutes. But, the third Sunday, he put his wife’s teeth in by mistake and he couldn’t shut up…

Introduction

In today’s message, we continue to look at the times when Jesus said to follow Him. He used such an expression to encourage disciples to leave everything for Him; He directed blind people to exercise their faith; and through it all, we are challenged to do so, too.

Today’s familiar passage invites us to look at life through the eyes of several very unusual people.

PRAYER

John 8:1-12:

8 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

2 Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 3Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

11 She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

1. THE CROWD (v. 2)

Where are they? They are in God’s house! (Heb. 10:25; Ps. 122:1) This was a habit, a routine, a custom. Do we have that habit, routine, custom?

What were they doing? They were hearing God’s Word! (Romans 10:17: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” IF we don’t hear God’s Word, then we won’t have… FAITH!

What did they see? They were observers – to what Jesus does. Do we look at church that way? We should! Then we will be encouraged, or we may even be challenged!

2. THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES (v. 3)

They were the recorders (“scribes”) and interpreters (“Pharisees”) of the Word.

They were considered the guides of religion, the authorities of Biblical application (v. 5) But what did they really teach? See Leviticus 20:10. Did they teach the WHOLE truth? No! Like cults today, they applied a verse to meet their need, rather than read the entire passage.

Their purpose was to “test” Jesus (v.6) Didn’t the tempter do that in the wilderness? Is this a good thing? See Psalm 11:1ff The tempter “tests” (tempts) to destroy the righteous; God “tests” to purify them!

3. THE WOMAN CAUGHT IN ADULTERY (v. 3ff)

Here is the main character of this lesson. She is described as “caught” – she is probably publicly shamed as naked. And so often are we – Hebrews 4:13: “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

And she is the object of grace. Note:

The writing of grace (vs. 6,8). Hey! Check out Exodus 31:18! “And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.” The same finger which wrote the 10 Commandments just wrote in the sand here in John 8:6 !!! Do you think these dudes recognized the writing of the law and were immediately convicted as sinners themselves? Wow!

The digression of grace (v. 9)

The living of grace (v. 10, 11)

Which character are you?

CONCLUSION

Illustration: “A Memory Funny” – The boy forgot his lines in the Sunday School music and drama presentation. His mother, sitting in the front row tried to prompt him, gesturing and forming the words silently with her lips, but it didn’t help. Her son’s memory was blank.

Finally she leaned forward and whispered the cue, “I am the light of the world.”

The child beamed with acknowledgment and in a loud, clear voice so that everyone in the congregation could hear said, “My Mommy is the light of the world.”

Verse 12 tells us that “no one who follows Me (Jesus) stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in.” (Message)

God hungers for LIGHT HEADED followers – those who are headed in the light of Christ alone. Are you?

CLOSE IN PRAYER

“YOU’RE NOT IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT”

  (Matt. 16:21-27)

“FOLLOW ME” SERIES – MESSAGE #4

Originally preached September 25, 2011

Rev. Jeremy Stopford, Retired Pastor

Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”

23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and FOLLOW ME.

25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

INTRODUCTION   

Today’s “Special”:  “Dad at the supermarket”:

My father was completely lost in the kitchen and never ate unless someone prepared a meal for him. When Mother was ill, however, he volunteered to go to the supermarket for her. She sent him off with a carefully numbered list of seven items.

Dad returned shortly, very proud of himself, and proceeded to unpack the grocery bags. He had one bag of sugar, two dozen eggs, three hams, four boxes of detergent, five boxes of crackers, six eggplants, and seven green peppers.

We’ve talked often about our hunger for God – what about His hunger for us:  HE wants to be in the driver’s seat of our lives.  How do I know that Jesus is in the driver’s seat of my life? 

  PRAYER

I. I FOLLOW HIS PETRA  (vs. 16-19)

   Peter answers Jesus’ question on His identity (v. 16)

   Jesus responds with 2 “eye pictures” that don’t show up in the English:  

• (1)  You are “Petros” (pebble), and 
• (2)  On this “Petra” (Boulder like the Rock of Gibraltar) I will build My Church.                    Jesus uses Peter’s declaration to show Himself as both the Boulder/Foundation of the Church, and the Boulder Guide of our lives.

II.       I FOLLOW HIS PASSION (v. 21)

   A word we have lost which was revived by Mel Gibson is “passion” – that is what the cross is all about!

   Jesus shared often (at least 10 times) about His passion – note responses!

   in fact, the communion is done “in remembrance” because we are quick to forget.

   What can change a community faster: people in church or to the cross?

   His passion is the basis for the gospel  (1 Cor. 15:3,4):

“ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures…”

III.       I FOLLOW HIS PATH  (vs. 22-23)

   Jesus’ path is to Jerusalem, the way of death

   Paul reminds us of this:

• “…according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”  (Philippians 1:20-21)   
• “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”  (Romans 6:13)

IV.       I FOLLOW HIS PURPOSE  (vs. 24-26)

Illustration: An old car was being driven through town when the elderly passenger noticed that her elderly driver drove through a red light.  She looked over at her driver but, noticing that she wasn’t too concerned, let it pass.

They then went through a second red light, and, once again, the elderly passenger noticed her elderly driver not so concerned about this indiscretion.

And then?  The vehicle went through a THIRD red light, at which time the elderly passenger exclaimed, “Mabel, you need to be more careful.  That’s the third red light you’ve driven through.”

To which Mabel replied, “oh, I’m driving?  I thought you were driving!”

   “Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?”  (The Message)

“Suffering” is part of His purposes for His children – “embrace it” as it causes the world to see Jesus through us – REAL Christianity!

CONCLUSION

How will I know that my life was lived with the Lord Jesus in the Driver’s Seat of my life?  

Are our lives lived with Jesus’ splendor in view, with our lives an open book before His Throne? (“For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.”   v. 27)

OR are our lives lived for today, and not, as the old song said, “with eternity’s values in view”?

Close in prayer

FOLLOW ME SERIES – MESSAGE # 3

Matthew 10;28 ff

Originally preached September 11, 2011

Rev. Jeremy Stopford, Retired Pastor

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.

But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?

And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.

But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Therefore whoever confesses Me before men,

him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. vs. 28-32

INTRODUCTION

There are many times you can communicate much when you ask a simple question which starts with, “where were you when…”. 

For example, “Where were you when the Apollo 11 crew landed on the moon on July 20, 1969?”  “Where were you when JFK was shot?”.  “Where were you when Nixon resigned?”.  “Where were you when you heard that Elvis died?”.

And…”where were you on 9/11/2001?”.  Most of us have an answer.

ILLUSTRATION:  The birth of a 9/11 baby

Here are “Reflections from a  new father” as given by David Skidmore, a youth pastor whose daughter was born on, you guessed it, 9/11/2001:

“I have looked forward to writing this article for…oh…about nine months, and I had hoped that they would be joyous words devoted totally to my gratitude to the Father for bestowing the same title upon me…again. Indeed, I am thankful that Anna Belle Skidmore was born on September 11, 2001 (7 lbs., 13 oz. and 20 inches long with red hair and blue eyes like her sister), but my heart is heavy that as our family added a member, so many lost those whom they had brought into this world. The world Anna Belle was welcomed into is a different world than the one that awaited her one day earlier, but I have to reflect on the words of the doctor as she held my daughter in the air for her first unaided breath as a TV over our bed told of the unfolding drama, horror, and tragedy. She turned to everyone in the room and said, “May this child be a reminder of who is really in control of our world.”…

“On the way to the church to write these words, I heard the “Star Spangled Banner” being played on the radio. On either side of the road were flags hung by the doors of several houses — one even hand drawn by a child, but I have to trust that it is not only the flag to which we gained a greater allegiance this day, but also we became aware of our need for our nation to truly be “under God.” If July 4th is our Independence Day, perhaps September 11th should become our “Dependence Day”…a moment in which we as a nation came to realize that our total hope, future, and lives were placed more securely in His hands.”

ILLUSTRATION:     ESPN article on sports on 9/11

More out of curiosity than anything else, I did a search on the computer for anything under the subject “10 years later”.  Being sports oriented as I am, I should not have been surprised by an ESPN article to be published this week in their magazine.  The article is entitled, “A Whole New Game”. Here are some choice excerpts:

“LATE THAT SUMMER OF 2001, the New York Giants began referring to themselves as the NYPD Blue, running plays in practice with names like “rescue” and “explosion.” They had lost in the Super Bowl the season before and expected to return and win. The captains recited an informal motto between 100-yard sprints at training camp: “Be ready to sacrifice.”

Their season opener was scheduled for Sept. 10 in Denver. It was a matchup of elite teams on Monday Night Football, with 15 million viewers expected, and the first game at Invesco Field. Giants coach Jim Fassel called a team meeting three days before the game and delivered a speech he had made dozens of times in his career, a speech he would never fully believe again.

“Starting now,” he told his players, “this game is the only thing that matters.” …

   19 YEARS HAVE passed since the terrorist attacks reconfigured America’s priorities, and sports are no longer as carefree as they were in those first days of September. What once offered a respite from the real world has instead become a part of it. A trip to the stadium sometimes means a metal detector at the entrance, a mandatory bag check inside the gate, a no-fly zone overhead and armed police officers standing alongside autograph seekers outside locker rooms. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has helped train colleges on how to guard against terrorism at sporting events. In 2006, the FBI investigated potential terrorist threats at NFL stadiums…

Every fan is a potential threat. Every athlete is a potential fraud.

“I think of Sept. 11 as the major marker in my life, in sports, in the history of this country,” Fassel says. “It’s a stark divide. There’s what it was like before, and then there’s what it’s like after.””

The world has changed much in 10 years.  Just go to an airport if you don’t believe that.   And make sure you’re there at least 2 hours before flight time!

But the greatest change perhaps is our understanding of “fear”.  Before 9/11, we had no fear of any country or religion.  After 9/11, there is a national fear of those whom we have identified as “radical Islamists”.  And unfortunately, that means that anyone who LOOKS like an Islamist is now a potential terrorist – at least that is what some say.

What is the Christian response?  Our text in Matthew 10 shows things which should be our guide, our attitudes, for a world which as much now as then, needs to hear a true gospel from those who say they love Jesus.  

Prayer

Over 2,000 years ago, our Savior gave the Christian response to “9/11 plus 10” in Matthew 10:

1.   Fear eternal God, not mortal man  (vs. 28-31)
>>> Is Christ our only fear?
2.   Confess God freely before a world which hungers to hear (vs. 32-33)
Illustration:  Ray Stedman on “from darkness to light”.

The late Pastor  Stedman told the story about a fellow in his church who was concerned about a friend of his who was severely depressed.  But the friend was an avowed atheist, agnostic, anti-God, everything.  So Ray offered to talk with him.  The man came to Ray, and Ray offered two things to the man:  “if you are willing, I will read a word of Scripture, and I will pray.  That’s it.”  The man agreed, and that’s what Ray did.  He then asked the man, “does that mean anything to you?”, to which the man answered, “no.”  But the man was willing to come back.  And for weeks, months, and even years, every week the man came to Ray, and the results were the same.  And one week Ray read a Scripture, prayed, and asked, “does that mean anything to you?” and the man said, “well, yes it did.”  And Ray said, “you meditate on that this week.”  The next week came the same response.  This went on for several months when one day the man said to Ray, “I have come to know Jesus as Savior!”.  The man is now a leading servant in the church Ray founded in California.

What happened?  Ray realized every man, woman, boy, and girl, is in a journey to know God. We have no control over the time length of that journey, but we DO have the light which can change a heart.

>>> Is Christ our only confession?

3.  Find our true worth in being a follower of the cross (vs. 34-37,39)
>>> Is Christ our only Lord?

4. Give a cup of water in Jesus’ name  (vs. 40-42)
>>> Is Christ our only gift?

CONCLUSION

Go back to verse 38:  “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”

The key thought is to answer individually the question, >>> Is Christ our only worth?

A person of Jesus’ day would know immediately what Jesus is requesting.  The imagery would be of someone carrying his cross outside the city of Jerusalem to a Roman execution.  Jesus is asking, “Am I your only worth?”  “Will you take up your cross for that which has eternal value?”.

“9/11 Plus 10” has shown the need for our complete devotion to Christ alone.  And the test of that devotion is obedience.

CLOSE IN PRAYER

By Rev. Jeremy B. Stopford, Retired Pastor

(Matthew 9:27-31)

Message #2 from the “Follow Me” Series
Originally preached September 4, 2011

INTRODUCTION  

Today’s Special:  “A Diary Funny” .

WIFE’S DIARY:

Tonight I thought my husband was acting weird. We had made plans to meet at a nice restaurant for dinner. I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment on it. Conversation wasn’t flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk. He agreed, but he didn’t say much.

I asked him what was wrong. He said, “Nothing.” I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He said he wasn’t upset, that it had nothing to do with me, and not to worry about it. On the way home, I told him that I loved him. He smiled slightly, and kept driving.

I can’t explain his behavior. I don’t know why he didn’t reply, “I love you, too.” When we got home, I felt as if I had lost him completely, as if he wanted  nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there quietly, and watched TV. He continued to seem distant and absent. Finally, with silence all around us, I  decided to go to bed. About 15 minutes later, he came to bed. But I still felt that he was distracted, and his thoughts were somewhere else. He fell asleep; I cried. I don’t know what to do. I’m almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster.

HUSBAND’S DIARY:    

“A four putt! Who FOUR putts? Arrrgghh.”

*  Identify yourself:  Are you a “fan” or “follower” of Jesus?

*  “Follow Me” in Scripture will assist us in that answer!   

Prayer

1. A SIMPLE STORY  (Matthew 9:27-31)

   This passage is in the context of our previous message, where Matthew had come to follow Jesus.    Perhaps the blind men were in the area when Jesus said to Matthew, “Follow Me.”  Perhaps they knew Matthew and his reputation for being a scoundrel.  And now?  Matthew following Jesus?  Impossible!

Our text tells us about these two blind men who follow Jesus, present themselves to Him, and then are amazed that He asks them one simple question, “do you believe that I can do for you what you’ve been wanting all your lives, to see?”  And then He replies, “it will be done to you according to your faith.”  And it was!

What faith?  What is there in this passage that we can follow as well?

Without taking too many liberties, let’s look at the dynamics of their faith!

2.  AN AWESOME FAITH!

* They had an eternal affliction – they were blind.  There were no eye surgeons.  Their condition was hopeless.   Their physical hopelessness was similar to the spiritual hopelessness of their – and our – day.   Over and over Jesus calls the religious leaders of the day “blind guides”.

But our text tells us that they knew Isaiah 42:6,7.  They knew that the Messiah was sent to heal the blindnesses of the world – especially the spiritual.

*  They followed Jesus  Considering their blindness, this no doubt was no easy task.  They were out of their comfort zone, literally.  And yet the text says, they followed Him wherever He went.

*  They knew the Scriptures:  “Son of David” is a Messianic term indicating that they believed the One they were following was the One promised in Scriptures to one day sit on David’s throne as King of Israel, and of the world.  “Have mercy on us” is a phrase showing their remembrance of the mercy seat of the temple where animals were sacrificed to atone for national sins.  This reminds us today of the cross.  “Yes Lord” is a submission to Christ’s Lordship.  Even if it is only to His being Master of their lives, that, too says volumes.  How many masters are there in the world? They followed but One!

• “According to their faith” =

(1) A trust in truth 

(Heb. 11:1,6): “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

(2) Active in love 

(1 Cor. 13:2):  “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love  [“don’t love others” New Living Translation], I am nothing.”

(3) A trust in God’s Word 

(Romans10:17):  “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

(4) A focus on the eternal 

(2 Corinthians 5:7):  “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

(5) A powerful weapon: 

(Ephesians 6:16)  “above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”

CONCLUSION:  

With that faith, they spread what they knew all over their world!  

Do we?

Close in Prayer

FOLLOW ME SERIES – MESSAGE #1

“MATTHEW THE FOLLOWER” (Matt. 9:9-13; Joshua 14:6)

Originally preached August 21, 2011

Rev. Jeremy B. Stopford, Retired Pastor

INTRODUCTION:    

Today’s Special:  “Goldberg Brothers” .   

The four Goldberg brothers – Lowell, Norman, Hiram, and Max – invented and developed the first automobile air-conditioner.

On July 17, 1946, the temperature in Detroit was 97 degrees. The four brothers walked into old man Henry Ford’s office and sweet-talked his secretary into telling him that four gentlemen were there with the most exciting innovation in the auto industry since the electric starter.

Henry was curious and invited them into his office. They refused and instead asked that he come out to the parking lot to their car.

They persuaded him to get into the car, which was about 130 degrees, turned on the air conditioner, and cooled the car off immediately.

The old man got very excited and invited them back to the office, where he offered them $3 million for the patent.

The brothers refused, saying they would settle for $2 million, but they wanted the recognition by having a label – The Goldberg Air-Conditioner – on the dashboard of each car in which it was installed.

Now old man Ford was proud of the Ford name, and there was no way he was going to put the Goldberg’s name on two million Ford cars.

They haggled back and forth for about two hours and finally agreed on $4 million and that just their first names would be shown.  And so to this day, all Ford air conditioners show on the controls. Lo, Norm, Hi, and Max.

ILLUSTRATION:  Thuvia’s ID theft  The other day my wife received an email verifying her transaction of $68.13 from her Paypal account to someone named “Sari in Europe”.  The only problem is that she doesn’t have a Paypal account. AND the transaction route was from my checking account, not from Thuvia’s.   It took several hours to eliminate this transaction, but the emotional consequences were understandably many!

*  Which leads us to a good question –  What is YOUR ID:  are you a “fan” or “follower” of Jesus?

*  The phrase “Follow Me”  in Scripture will assist us in that answer!   Prayer

1.  Jesus loves the individual faith (Matt. 9:9ff)

a.  Ministry of vs. 1–7 viewed by the crowd (v. 8)

b. Ministry of v. 9 only to an individual (Matthew)

c.  “Follow Me” – Matthew knew this to mean:

1.  “Serve Me, and not Rome nor yourself”

2.  Hunger only for the Big Picture – My Glory

3.  My job is your job  (tax collecting, writing a book of compassion for my fellow Jews) (see Col. 3:23; 1 Cor. 10:31)

4.  Your ridicule is My ridicule (v. 10ff)

5.  Your invitation is my invitation (v. 10; Luke 5:27 identifies this as Matthew’s house)  (See also Matt. 11:28-30)

2.  Jesus loves the individual focus  (Josh. 14:6ff)

a.  Contrast in worship – Caleb was a “Kenizzite”, thus a descendant of Esau who represented the flesh and not the faith of Israel.  Caleb’s worship of the true God was seen in his representing the tribe of Judah.

b.  Contrast in walk – “if the Lord is with me”. Caleb said to Joshua, “It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them [the Anakim at Hebron] out as the Lord said.” Caleb was willing to exercise his faith because his focus was on God alone!

CONCLUSION:

We call ourselves “people of faith”.  Based upon the accounts of Matthew and Caleb, how would we respond to these heart questions:

1.  I say “I follow Jesus” – am I still following my plan for my life, or is my plan surrendered to His plan?

2.  I say “I follow Jesus” – when people look at my home and my job, do they see Jesus on display, or me?

3.  I say “I follow Jesus” – am I looking for opportunities to include Him in my day?

4. I say “I follow Jesus” – like Caleb, am I looking for ways to exercise my faith?

IF I’M NOT “FOLLOWING JESUS”, WHO AM I FOLLOWING?

                     Close in prayer

By Rev. Jeremy B. Stopford
Delivered at Smyrna (NY) Baptist Church

December 1st, 2019

TODAY’S “SPECIAL”:

“A New Bride Funny”
A young man and his new bride take their honeymoon to the old Soviet Union.
On the first day of their stay, they were to go on an excursion over the mountains with their tour guide, Rudy.
As they were heading out of their hotel room the young man grabbed an umbrella.
“Why on earth are you taking an umbrella?” the puzzled bride asked.
“Because our tour guide told me to. He says it is going to rain.”
“Well, that’s the stupidest thing I ever heard,” the bride exclaimed. “There is not a cloud in sight.”
The wise new groom explains, “of course, I will take our umbrella. Because we can be sure, Rudy the Red knows rain, dear”

INTRODUCTION

One of my earthly treasures is an autographed copy of a book, given to me – according to the inscription – within a week after I was born. It was signed by Robert May, a classmate of my dad’s from the Dartmouth College Class of 1926. He wrote the book, a delightful children’s book which has become world famous. Yes, the book is “Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer”.
Dad also had another classmate, named Ted Geisel. He later changed his name. Do you know to what? Yep – Dr. Seuss.
Both Dr. Seuss and Bob May have been greatly used to bring temporal joy to generations of children – and perhaps their parents as well. “Temporal” – that means “earthly, short lasting”. It doesn’t have a viewpoint of eternity, does it?
In our morning “scripture reading”, we read what are always challenging verses from Isaiah chapters 6 and 9. In chapter 6, Isaiah is presented with the holiness of God. And in chapter 9, Isaiah comes face to face with the truth about the coming of the Messiah and Who He is: Wonderful, Councilor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Why are these important for us as we enter a new Christmas season?
Well let me first ask you: How many of you are done with your Christmas planning? Presents bought and wrapped? Meals thought out? Cards written and sent? A full Christmas involves work! Work! Work!
And our loving Father has been planning, too! Our Great God is teaching us that everything He does throughout eternity has purpose, governed by His holiness and guided to glorify His Son. He has been planning for Christmas for a long time!
And the Bible does not hide from His children what plans the Father has been making! Let’s look at some of them this morning!
PRAYER 

1 THE WORD (Matt. 13:35; Psalm 78)

We are introduced to “Parables” in Matt. 13:1-3
“Earthly story with an heavenly meaning”. Perhaps as He’s teaching, He sees a farmer…points to him, and then tells an heavenly story – an illustration – related to an earthly person or event with which His listeners would be familiar
CF. vs. 10-11 (the “why” of parables); vs. 18, 24, 31, 33

• Matt. 13:34,35 – the disciples were entering a time frame of the fulfillment of Scripture especially prepared for that moment!
• See Psalm 78:1-7 [ALWAYS check out the OT source of a NT quoted verse! We may learn its original purpose!) The purpose of this ff is that GENERATIONS may know the Lord!
  Application: IF the Word of God has been prepared as a special love gift for God’s children since the foundation of the world, what priority does the Word have in your life? 
  But wait, there’s more!

2 THE COMMUNION (John 17:24)

In John 17, Jesus enters into prayer with His Father. Most scholars believe that John has put to print here the reasonably full text of Jesus’ prayer prayed at the Garden of Gethsemane. For at the start of John 18 is Judas’ betrayal and Jesus’ arrest.
So what did He pray? What would you pray if you knew your life was about to end – or better, as in Jesus’ case – the purpose for which you came to earth was about to be done?
“Communion” is a word we often relegate to the breaking of the bread and the serving of the wine. But it also refers to the fellowship enjoyed between two people. John 17 is an insight into the fellowship of the Son with the Father.
Let’s listen in…verses 1-5 Here we are introduced to an eternal fellowship, eternal communion. If you had all of eternity to do something, would you spend it all in prayer-talk with your father? Jesus did! Phil. 2:6 tells us that Jesus set aside the independent exercise of His glory so that He could become a man. But since before the world’s foundation, the Son enjoyed a mutual glory.
Vs. 8, 17 Part 1 of our message is a major part of Jesus’ interaction with His disciples: the sharing of the Father’s words through the Son to the disciples. SO do we read God’s Word that way?
Verse 20 It is safe to say that we are prayed for here! But note: He says that He is praying for those who will believe as a result of the disciples giving their word. APPLICATION So…Jesus in turn is praying for those to whom we give His word, and who believe as a result. So that should encourage us to be active sharers of His Word to those He has put in our path – because He has already prayed for…them!
Verse 24 This is where faith becomes sight! The Father has loved the Son before the foundation of the world. Jeremiah 31:3: “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jesus wants His children to enter into this everlasting love which He has enjoyed for beyond all eternity! Wow.
APPLICATION #2 So if soon our faith will be sight, and we as believers in Christ will be enjoying an everlasting communion that the Son has enjoyed with the Father since before the foundation of the world, what is tying us down to this world? To what earthly goals are we seeking? And am I daily enjoying sweet communion with my Father, sweet communion that He can’t wait to have us enjoy face to face?

3. THE CHOICE (Eph. 1:4)

We’re not going to turn here, but another classic verse in this subject of the “heavenly Christmas preparations” would have to be Ephesians 1:4, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love”. This is one of those loaded passages. I didn’t choose Him – He chose me first! Theologians attempt to wisely explain this by showing the pattern of our salvation. We hear the invitation, “whosoever will may come.” We go through that door of faith, trusting that the offer of salvation through the work of the cross is true. And as we go through that open door of faith, we look back and see written on the other side of the door the words, “chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.”

But don’t let those words stymie you. For the rest of the verse says that His choice brings an eternal purpose with it: that we should be holy and blameless – living a life of truth and trust, not only representing the Savior in our lifestyle, but also pointing the next generation to His invitation – the same one we received when we first came: “whosoever will may come.”
 

4 THE BIG PLAN (1 Peter 1:18-21)

1 Peter 1 in the Greek is a run-on sentence. If the Apostle Peter were in my 11th grade English teacher’s class, Mrs. DeTurk would have failed him royally. But the key is this: Peter is so excited, so overwhelmed with the truth that the Father is sharing with Him, that he can hardly get a breath in.
For it is in these verses that we begin to understand all that the Father was doing before the foundation of the world: the Word, the communion, the choice all lead to the big plan.
Listen to just verses 18-20, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you…”.
Take a breath Peter! The Father’s big plan from before the foundation of the world is the sending His Son to the cross – and Peter saw that plan in action. And in turn so do we!
Application: the entire text is a vivid one. It calls for a foundation of faith in that cross. And it calls for a faith in action by daily living for His glory through obeying the truth.
Isn’t it amazing that the Father wants us to apply His Big “Before the foundation of the world” Plan to our lives?
But wait…before we go we need to see…Christmas!

CONCLUSION

Christmas, the preparation put to action!
Galatians 4:4,5: “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
As we close, picture your filling a glass of water. When the glass has so much water in it that you can’t put any more in, then we call it “full” – and perhaps spilling over, right?
And that’s what has happened here! Time filled up! God’s “heavenly Christmas preparations” were complete!

And a Baby was born in the manger.

• Have you trusted Him as your Savior?
• Are you walking with Him daily in His Word?
• Are you sharing His Word with those He has placed in your pathways?
• Are you part of His “heavenly Christmas preparations” in order that the next generation after us will know Him? Close in prayer

“THE CALLING OF THE PILLARS”  (Luke 6:12-16)

Delivered at First Presbyterian Church, Winder, Georgia May 2, 2021

Guest Speaker, Rev. Jeremy B. Stopford, from Norwich, NY

Today’s “Special”:  Show and Tell of One’s Faiths

The Kindergarten Teacher gave a special “show and tell” assignment for the next morning: bring in objects that best represent your religion or faith. The next morning she called on Johnnie: “I’m Jewish. This beanie is a yamulche worn by all faithful Jewish men and boys.” Then little Susie raised her hand. She came forward and said, “I am a Roman Catholic. These are my rosary beads with which I pray.” “Thank you Susie. How about you, Billy. Billy also came forward and said, “I am a Presbyterian, and this is a casserole dish.”

Intimacy – we all have our definitions of it, we all know its abuses, we all know its wonderful uses.

Illustration: There were 2 pictures on Facebook this past week – perhaps you saw them. The first was of a young man when he first got his new puppy. They looked young. They looked like new friends. They look like there was a wonderful trust between them, but there was also an anticipation of all the uncertainties that were to come. The second was the same man and the same animal, but now taken 15 years later. The pup was now an older dog, quite graying around the muzzle and fur. And the man – he too was graying and older looking. But now there was something special – they looked close. Happy. United for life. What we call “intimacy”.

In Galatians 2:9 Peter, James, & John are called “pillars” – “support, monument.” From the 12 of these disciples, to the 3, to the 1 (John, “whom Jesus loved”).  This is intimacy. How did they get there?   PRAYER   

First, the CALLING OF the 3 INVOLVES PRAYER (Luke 6:12-16)

The Savior is about to call His disciples – so He peruses the countryside,  posts flyers on every telephone pole, has an interview session set up, and then picks the 12 best candidates.  That’s how WE might do it. Why, that might be also how we might go about calling a PASTOR!!!

How did JESUS call His followers? He prays all night FIRST! Luke 6:12-13 read, “ Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles…”

Martin Luther said, “I have so much to do today, I must spend 4 hours in prayer”. Today’s generation is SO BUSY, so TV/cell phone/machine oriented. We just don’t have time to be still before the Lord!

In John Chapter 17, our Savior prays at the Garden of Gethsemane. Did you notice verse 20: ““I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word…” – Jesus is doing the same today. He is praying for US to make a difference for eternity in the lives of those He has wisely placed around us!

So after He has been praying for US, are we intentionally making a difference for eternity in the lives of others? Why not this day PRAY FOR THEM as Jesus prayed for US!

Second, the CALLING OF the 3  INVOLVES PEOPLE AS PEOPLE  (John 1:29-31, 35-42)

All true salvation necessitates a proper view of Jesus (1:29-31)

First Jesus prayed (Luke 6), then He uses people where they are. He uses WHO?

How would you define the “JOB” of a Pastor? Have you read Ephesians 4:11-12 lately? “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the [a]edifying of the body of Christ…”. WHO is accountable for the “work of the ministry”, according to the Apostle Paul here in Ephesians? The Pastor? NO! The pastor’s primary job is to train the people to do the work of the ministry! The Pastor can be only in ONE place at ONE time! You the congregation can be in 30-50 places at ONE TIME!!! So as much as the Pastor does in the week, how much MORE can be done if the WHOLE BODY of faith works TOGETHER to…DO THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY!

One of Scripture’s most wonderful words is “COME”! The Lord Jesus invited those who were seeking true faith to follow Him and…”COME AND SEE!”. See also Matthew 11:28-30 and Revelation 3:20. I officiate many funerals for those whose loved one had no church, no vocalized faith. How would YOU comfort the family? I almost always at the service quote or read Matthew 11:28-29: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jesus didn’t invite people to a church or to a religion. NO! He invited people to HIM! To “come and see”. To “learn of Him”. And when the seeker finds that Jesus is worthy of their eternal trust, they will trust Him as their Savior! And then they will learn to trust Him for the every day walk of life!

The Beatles, back in the 1970’s or so, had a song called “Eleanor Rigby”. The chorus was “I look at all the lonely people…where do they all come from…where do they all belong?”

Jesus would ask us:  do we see people as people, or just faces?

Third, the CALLING OF the 3 INVOLVES PERSONALITIES (Mark 3:13, 16-17)

What did He do first?  Went up to the mountain and prayed (v. 13)

Simon (“that hears; that obeys“) becomes “Peter” (“rock”; “stone”)

James, John He sees them as “sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17) – an indication of their explosiveness – sometimes to talk before they think; sometimes wanting to act with fire for the Lord. In Luke 9:51-56 they wanted to call down fire upon a city which did not trust Jesus. Jesus wisely admonished James and John (Luke 9:56), “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”

Jesus not only sees people as people, He sees them as unique servants with proper places in His kingdom. See Paul’s instruction in Romans 12:1-8. God has given each of His children “gifts” in which we can WISELY serve Him where He WISELY puts us!

Fourth and finally, the CALLING OF the 3  INVOLVES PURPOSE (Luke 5:1-11, esp. vs. 10-11)

See Luke 5:1-10 – can Jesus be a better fisher than experienced ones? In Luke’s account, these seasoned fisherman had unsuccessfully fished all night. In the morning, they were ready to give up, put their nets away. They had been working in their own strength.

THEN JESUS MET THEM! He said, “go out again and cast out your nets.” Simon explained their lack of success, but then added, “nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” Some 153 FISH came into the nets. From that lesson, the seasoned fisherman Peter said to the Savior, ““Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

See Luke 5:10b, 11 – God has a purpose for His changing hearts. The Savior wisely shared with them, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” 11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.”

CONCLUSION What lessons did we learn today:

#1  All decisions should be first preceded by prayer

#2  The Lord’s work requires seeing people as people

#3  The Lord sees the big picture in what He will do with His saints

#4  The Lord’s greatest purpose is eternal

Have you entered into this intimacy?

CLOSE IN PRAYER