First Baptist Church

9 West Main St. Earlville, NY 13332

Inviting and Accepting

Rev. Jeremy Stopford, Pastor

BEFORE AN AUDIENCE OF ONE (Matthew 6:5-8)

By Rev. Jeremy B. Stopford

TODAY’S “SPECIAL”: “Johnny Didn’t Do It”

The visiting church school supervisor asks little Johnny during Bible class who broke down the walls of Jericho. Little Johnny replies that he does not know, but it definitely is not him.

The supervisor, taken aback by this lack of basic Bible knowledge, goes to the school principal and relates the whole incident.

The principal replies that he knows little Johnny as well as his whole family very well and can vouch for them. And if little Johnny said that he did not do it, he, as principal is satisfied that it is the truth.

Even more appalled, the inspector goes to the Regional Head of Education and relates the whole story.

After listening he replies: “I can’t see why you are making such a big issue out of this: just get three quotes and fix the wall!”

INTRODUCTION

Palm Sunday is the last Sunday of this month, and Easter is April 1st. To prepare our hearts for these special days, I have initiated a season of prayer every Thursday at 7 pm throughout this month. I really hope you can come. But how do I pray, in public? Is that foreign to you? For the next several weeks, we are going to look at a most familiar piece of Scripture where the Lord Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray. It’s in there! TODAY: 3 elements of Spirit-filled prayer. PRAYER

#1 FIND A MENTOR, BE A MENTOR (Luke 11:1ff)

In our text we are soon introduced to what has traditionally been called “The Lord’s Prayer”. But the context is prefaced by a request made by Jesus’ closest disciples. Luke 11 tells the rest of the story: the disciples had observed how John the Baptist taught his disciples how to pray. Now they wanted Jesus to do the same for them. We need to find a mentor to help us pray. And when we learn how to pray, we need to encourage others.

One of the greatest “old salt” writers on prayer was a fellow named E.M. Bounds. I encourage you to look up his books. There are about 8 in the series on prayer. And he wrote them at a time before TV, radio, phone – you know, those times when all one had to do was learn of Jesus! And Pastor Bounds did!

Not in our hymnbook is an old hymn, “Teach Me to Pray”. The song, copyrighted in 1925 was written by Albert Simpson Reitz who lived from 1879-1966. Listen to the heart cry. This is what Jesus is talking about here:

Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray;

This is my heart-cry day unto day;

I long to know Thy will and Thy way;

Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray.

Chorus:

Living in Thee, Lord, and Thou in me.

Constant abiding, this is my plea.

Grant me Thy power, boundless and free.

Power with men and power with Thee.

#2 DO NOT IMITATE THE WORLD (Matt. 6:5)

They know not – or might not know – Jesus!

Illus.: I distinctly remember a prayer a local “pastor” prayed at my brother-in-law’s graduation. It was an exceptionally hot Sunday afternoon when the “pastor”, honored to be asked to give the invocation, prayed “and Lord, please keep the ladies’ mascara from running.” His platform to influence the students for eternity had been wasted.

Written prayers are nice – and many old saints used to write their prayers (and we still have them). But this is an intimacy between you and God alone.

Key phrase here describing them is: “love to be seen” as professionals, not as servants of the King of Kings.

Are their “giants of prayer” that have influenced you? For me, Stewart D. from nearby West Eaton. Nearing 100, when he prays publicly, his prayers are full of Scripture as to Who he is approaching. “all mighty, all wonderful, most high God; all righteous, all powerful.” – all from the scriptures. He knows to Whom he is praying. Imitate heart-felt prayers.

#3 BEFORE AN AUDIENCE OF ONE (Matt. 6:6)

Illus.: The KJV says we are to pray in our “closets.” Let me tell you about the “Tom P. Syndrome”. Tom was a straight A student. Eagle Scout. Ultimate Doctoral Candidate. Yet when he was first saved, taking the Bible literally, he would pray in his closet. His mom could never find him when he was praying! Is that what is meant here?

You are not praying before the ones you are with. You are praying to the Lord. Alone. In fact, that is a good motto for one’s Christian walk & life. Perhaps Tom had it right – he was praying before an audience of One. As are we!

CONCLUSION:

REMEMBER: THE FATHER DOESN’T WANT YOUR WORDS; HE WANTS YOUR HEART (Matt. 6:7-8)

Illus.: When my dad was alive, I tried to call down to Florida at least once a …. Month! I thought that was quite the work on my life. After all, Dad was 47 years older than I. He was going to be around forever. But then one day I learned that his health wasn’t what it should be, and that his days were numbered. Guess how often I called then? And I made sure that at the end of every call he and I would exchange the words, “I love you.” In fact, those 3 words are the last ones I ever heard him speak this side of eternity.

Our Heavenly Father already knows your needs, your wants. Those may be important to you. Your needs may be overwhelming. But in the most intimate moment possible in eternity, the Father wants to hear you.

Will you talk with Him today?

Will our church talk with Him today? This week?

Or is it possible for a church to exist without ever talking with the Father?

Close in prayer

First Baptist Church

9 West Main St. Earlville, NY 13332

Inviting and Accepting

Rev. Jeremy B. Stopford, Pastor

“NEVERTHELESS” (Exodus 16:26-28)

February 18, 2018

TODAY’S SPECIAL

A “Memorial Funny”

An elderly woman died last month. Having never married, she requested no male pallbearers.

In her handwritten instructions for her memorial service, she wrote, “They wouldn’t take me out while I was alive, I don’t want them to take me out when I’m dead.”

INTRODUCTION

If you have been reading your Bible for any length of time, or even if you are just starting to develop a habit in the Scriptures, there is a word that you may have come across and paid little attention to. The word is the subject of today’s message. “Nevertheless”. God places this word at timely moments. In fact, in the NIV He purposely puts in there 40 times (27 in OT, 13 in NT). In the Old King James, it Is there 97 times; and in my New King James, some 118 well-placed transcriptions of the Hebrew and Greek languages are found. It is an important word. Let’s find out the pattern of its use.

PRAYER

THE PATTERN OF “NEVERTHELESS”:

#1. A DOCTRINE (v. 26)

* This is a Biblical principle that the Lord is desiring for those who call Him Father and Lord. This is not a man-made teaching; rather it is a God directed pattern upon which God desires His child to govern his or her life. * Any and all doctrines are designed for the good of God’s people. They are not a hardship; rather, they encourage one simple word: trust! Trust that the Lord is ALWAYS true to His Word! * In v. 26, the doctrine is the law of the sabbath as regarding working and food. We are introduced in verses 1-26 to God’s provision for the people of Israel while they are wandering between Egypt and the promised land of Israel. * Note what we glean from these first 25 verses:

A. The timing (v. 1) is 45 or so days after leaving Egypt. The people are grumbling (v. 2) because they have no food.

B. What is the difference between v. 3 and v. 26? In verse 26, they are wandering in the wilderness. In their reflections in v. 3, they are…SLAVES! They are not free. They are not working for a living – they are working for the State of Egypt and for the Pharaoh’s pleasure. But by v. 26, they were once again reasoning that it might have been a good thing to be a slave!

C. In v. 4 we are introduced to God’s provision, “bread from heaven.” Do you remember the conversation in John 6? The people of Jesus’ day were harping that they were already God’s people, they were followers of Moses, and how that MOSES had provided them bread in the wilderness. Do you remember Jesus’ response? (1) My Father provided that bread; and (2) I am the Bread of Life. We know from the NT description that Exodus 16 is a test to show that the provision of manna is an earthly picture of the big picture of the Father’s provision of His own Son! And we are today invited to TRUST Him! Do we? And where can we show we trust Him? His Word! Deut. 8:3 quoted in the NT!

D. In v.16 we learn the weight of the provision: the people are to collect an “omer” per each person in the household. Most footnotes show than an “omer” weighs about 3 pounds. You have an household of 5 people, you collect 15 omers of manna; 3 people? 9 omers. And everyone was completely filled – IF they did what God directed. Look at v. 18 – God’s provision brought contentment!

E. And on the 6th day (v. 23), they were to gather double as much. This is so they could enjoy a sabbath rest. The 6th day was a purposeful season of work – they were not to do on the sabbath what they could have done the day before.

ILLUSTRATION

I remember my first pastor and what his family did on SATURDAY. The pastor would gas up the vehicle so he wouldn’t have to do that on Sunday. His wife would do all the shopping so that there would be no need to shop on Sunday. IN FACT, as late as the 70’s most stores were closed on Sundays! Gas stations seemed to be always open. In just a short time, times changed. WHY? Because part of the mindset is that if we work more, we have more. (that’s being simplistic – I know there are exceptions. BUT ask some of the older folk in our congregation – and you will find that many of the wives DID not work, because they were content with the provision the husband made – and they lived accordingly!

* This was a good doctrine – a test by the loving Heavenly Father. He would faithfully provide. And He wanted His people to trust, and in their trust, obey.

#2. A DECISION (v. 27a)

* This is the place of the crossroads – a place where two roads meet and one must decide which road to travel

* We are introduced to the key word, “nevertheless”. The word SHOULD NOT be there. The verse SHOULD say, “and the people willingly trusted the Lord and obeyed Him.”

* Our key word is a decision word. It is the word at the crossroads which says, “God is testing me. He is giving me a choice, to trust or to go my way. There is something in me which does not understand His test. Perhaps I should test the waters before fully trusting Him.”

* OK, perhaps we’re being too harsh on the Israelites. So then, put yourselves in their shoes and be honest. God says, “I will provide all your needs. You say, “I NEED A 75 INCH FLAT SCREEN TV LIKE MY NEIGHBOR HAS.” So you go and put the TV on credit – and can’t pay it off for 10 years. In the meanwhile, a kid puts a shoe through the TV, the very item you thought you must have. You are stuck, because…you didn’t trust at the crossroads.

SO THE DECISION LEADS TO…

#3. A DISOBEDIENCE (v. 27b)

* “Some” – it is fortunately only “some” – but it is ALWAYS “some” who fail to respond in faith to the test.

* What did they do? They went out on the Sabbath to gather bread. The bread wasn’t there. God said it wouldn’t be there. So then why did they go looking for it?

* There is an old adage, surely not original with me: partial obedience is absolute disobedience. These people went through the rituals of faith, but not the trust.

* Did you catch that? And could that ever be you? How easy it is to go through faith’s “rituals”: to be in church, to serve in various places, but for what? To get God’s brownie points? OR because you love and trust the Lord? These few Israelites were disobedient.

AND THAT DISOBEDIENCE ENDS UP WITH:

#4. A DISAPPOINTMENT (v. 28)

* Read v. 28 with a hankie in your hand – not for you, but for God’s tears. Can you hear His tears in His words, “How long will you refuse to keep (obey)…?”

* How long? That means that this disobedience is ongoing until the heart goes back to where it began – with the doctrine, the principles of God’s Word that a loving Heavenly Father is encouraging His children to follow and obey.

CONCLUSION

So let’s wrap this up. We began with a doctrine, a principle of God’s heart. God loves to instruct. Yet His instructions are also a test to obedience. And the heart at the crossroads hungers to satisfy both directions of the test.

And God wisely introduces that crossroads with the word “nevertheless.” Look for it throughout the Scriptures.

Some choose to disobey. It is easy to go through the motions of faith; some choose to say “no” to God and feel no remorse while at the same time hurt the cause of Christ that He has called His church to fulfill.

And finally, there is one aspect we often ignore: God’s tears of disappointment. His “how long”.

This week, maybe even today, God will test each of us with the choice to follow and obey His doctrines, His principles of true living in Christ. May that test raise the Heavenly Red Flags of Decision, Disobedience, and Disappointment BEFORE we get to the crossroads and regret the decision we make.

OH may “nevertheless” not be a part of our walk with Jesus this week!

Close in prayer

A message from the Pastor

First Baptist Church

9 West Main St. Earlville, NY 13332

Inviting and Accepting

Rev. Jeremy B. Stopford, Pastor

“Who Is Like You?”

(Exodus 15:11-13)

February 11, 2018

TODAY’S SPECIAL

“A Wedding Funny”

Little Emily was at her first wedding and gaped at the entire ceremony. When it was over, she asked her mother, “Why did the lady change her mind?”

Her mother asked, “What do you mean?”

“Well, she went down the aisle with one man and came back with another one.”

INTRODUCTION

How are you doing on your Bible reading this year? I’ve shared with you that I am reading 3 chapters a day and 5 on Sunday. During this past week’s reading, my heart wondered about the phrase read in our text. It is a wonderful phrase – not used much, but with deep insights into God and ourselves. PRAYER

#1. THE WORLD HAS NO SONG (Exodus 15:11-13)

A. What gods? (v. 11a). Turn back a few pages to Ex. 7, beginning with v. 14. The descriptions are great. What was the purpose of the plagues? Simply to prove that the God of the Israelites is greater than Pharaoh? NO! Look again at the plagues:

* Blood (7:14ff) – against the Nile, worshipped by the Egyptians

* Frogs (showing God’s majestic sweep of power)

* Gnats (distinguishing trust in the true God vs. trust in the occult magicians) * Flies and Livestock (distinguishing Egypt from Israel)

* Boils (key word: dust – God’s tool of creation)

* Hail (see 9:19 – a call to trust God’s Word)

* Locusts (a test of Pharaoh’s hard-heartedness vs. the reason of his officials-v. 7 and 20)

* Darkness (JESUS is the light of the world, and the rest of the world is in darkness (vs. 22ff – how long? THREE DAYS – symbolic of Jesus’ time in the tomb)

* The firstborn (ch. 11 and 12 – symbolic of God’s ownership, and of His one day giving His firstborn – one and only Son). THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUE GOD!

B. Mighty in battle (v. 11b, 12) and marvelous in leading (v. 13). The psalmist Asaph (Ps. 73:23-24) contemplating these same issues broke out in song “Whom have I in heaven but Thee! And there is NONE upon I that I desire beside Thee!”

Scripture’s first use of the phrase “who is like you” shows us a mighty truth: There is no comparison: THE WORLD HAS NO SONG!

#2. GOD’S PEOPLE HAVE A SONG! (Psalm 89:8)

A. We could have looked at two other passages in the Psalms:

(1) Psalm 35:10 (David speaking): “My whole being will exclaim,“Who is like you, Lord? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.” Our great God is a helper to the helpless. He DOESN’T help those who help themselves! Rather, He helps those who have no help! Ponder that one the next time you don’t know where to turn, what direction to go. Who is like God Who helps the helpless?

(2) Psalm 71:19 (the verse following our church’s “Verse for 2018”, v. 18): “Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens, you who have done great things. Who is like you, God?” The unnamed psalmist could only burst out in uncontrolled praise when he pondered the uniqueness of our God! Verse 7 says, “I have become a sign to many; you are my strong refuge.” How can we possibly know how many people are looking to us for encouragement at any given moment?

ILLUSTRATION: there was a fellow classmate in Bible school named Charlie. While we were in our late teens and early twenties, Charlie in his late 50’s felt led of the Lord to come to Bible School. He ultimately graduated from my class and later pastored in the “North Country” of New York State. But Charlie had one distinguishing trait: he was a prayer warrior. OH, we knew how to pray. But we knew that when Charlie prayed, God heard and God answered! He was a sign to us that God was his strong refuge! We believed it – and he lived it! And because Charlie lived it, when after graduation we all went our separate ways, we, too, knew: who is like God, our strong refuge!

B. Psalm 89:1 teaches a song: The old KJV vs. one says these words which have been put into a wonderful chorus: “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness to all generations.”

And verse 8 echoes the same heart: “Who is like you, Lord God Almighty? You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.”

The psalmist had a song – and he knew that not only was God mighty, but God was not a God Who is a far off! His faithfulness is on display every day!

And God’s faithfulness could be considered the theme of Psalm 89. Look at verses 2, 5, 14, 33, and 49. In addition to the two we’ve looked at, the psalmist could not stop singing about God’s faithfulness.

So when was the last time you thought on God’s faithfulness?

HAS GOD GIVEN YOU A SONG?

CONCLUSION

We have learned today that the Scriptures remind us of two great truths: the world has no song that has any eternal value; and the Christian has a song which reaches to heaven rejoicing in the faithfulness of the living and most personal God.

But there is one more verse that we must close with.

Deuteronomy 33:29 says “Blessed are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will tread on their heights.”

Near the end of his life, Moses could look back and exclaim that not only was God unique; God’s people were unique, too. That’s how God looked at Israel. That’s how God looks at you and me. He has made an eternal investment by purchasing us with the blood of His Son at Calvary. He sees us as unique, one of a kind. “Who is like you?” God says of us!

He asks of us, “if I see that in a world that is lost and without hope, you are my eternal investment, will you do this for me: have no other gods before Me. Then repeat daily, “WHO IS LIKE YOU?” – when you think of the only living God!”

Perhaps you can’t carry a tune in the shower! But God has given each of us a new song – He is faithful. There is none like Him!

Sing out your song this week loud and clear!

Prayer

Week Seven, 2018

JUST BENEATH THE SURFACE

By John Grant

Do ye look on things according to the outward appearance? If any man trust himself that he is Christ’s, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ’s, even so are we Christ’s. – 2 Corr. 2:7

While riding down river through the Amazon Jungle, noticed how murky the water. It was so murky that one could not see a hand below the surface. I didn’t even try because I have heard what creatures swim in those rivers just below the surface.

I thought about how that relates to sin, which often lurks just out of sight and just below the surface of our everyday lives. Often is subtle and the sin is small. Why would I not want to stick a finger below the water just to see what it is like? Look at Lot. He started with small sins which grew and grew and then he failed.

The reason Lot failed is illustrated by an event that happened on June 5, 1976. On that day, under clear skies, without warning, the massive Teton Dam in southeastern Idaho collapsed, sending a torrent of water surging into the Snake River basin. There was extensive property damage and loss of life. It seemed to happen so quickly. Some workers on the dam barely had time to run for their lives.

But it really didn’t happen suddenly. Beneath the water line, a hidden fault had been gradually weakening the entire structure. It started with just a tiny bit of erosion. But by the time it was detected, it was too late. No one had seen the little flaw; no one got hurt by it. But everyone saw the big collapse, and many were hurt.

That’s what happened to Lot. He allowed little sins in his life to go unchecked. They weren’t major, shocking kinds of sins–just “little” sins. But they were steadily eroding his moral character, until finally the sordid incident recorded here burst the dam.

Keep your hands out of the murky water, for you never know what sins are lurking there to hook you into a life or progressive sin.

***

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

Obituary:

Joe’s wife passed away and he wanted to keep the obituary as short as possible, so he penned “Sally Smith died.” When the funeral home told him that the minimum wordage was six words, he added “Car for sale.”

Jesus is Lord. And that changes everything.

–o–

During the course of administration, and in order to disturb it, the artillery of the press has been leveled against us, charged with whatsoever its licentiousness could devise or dare. These abuses of an institution so important to freedom and science are deeply to be regretted, inasmuch as they tend to lessen its usefulness and to sap its safety.” —Thomas Jefferson (1805)

–o–

In grammar school they taught me that a frog turning into a prince was a fairy tale. In the university they taught me that a frog turning into a prince was a fact. —Ron Carlson

–o–

C. S. Lewis wrote, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.” Focus on those you serve and witness the new found value.

***

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

Lord God, I praise You today for burdens lifted, sins forgiven and hope restored.

Pain can be used for good. It causes us to pause and ponder what’s really important. Mark Merrill

In what appears to be his last tweet, on Dec. 1, 2017, R C Sproul wrote about his belief in eternity: “When God writes our names in the ‘Lamb’s Book of Life,’ he doesn’t do it with an eraser handy. He does it for eternity.”

Lord Jesus, what a thrill it is to know You call me friend! It is a bigger thrill to know that You will never unfriend me!

Lord God, I praise You that Your love for me is based on Your character, not on my performance. How great You are!

Keep your face always toward the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you. Walt Whitman

***

Selected portions of Thoughts on Life can also be read at TheLife.com and Thoughts-About-God.com. You can subscribe directly to those on their respective websites.

Your feedback is welcome and if you want to be taken off the mailing list a simple e-mail will do it. Feel free to pass this along to others and to contribute your ideas and thoughts. Address all items and comments to [email protected]. © Thoughts on Life Copyright 2017

©2018 John Grant | Florida State Senator (Ret.) | 10025 Orange Grove Drive | Tampa, FL 33618

Week Five, 2018

IN OR OUT?

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. – Revelation 3:15-16

Recently, my bride and I went to a spot on planet earth that was 0-0-0 Latitude. Located in Ecuador, it is literally the middle of the planet. A yellow line depicts the dividing line between the Northern and Southern hemispheres and is commonly referred to as the Equator. It is depicted literally by a yellow line.

One can straddle that line and be half in each hemisphere. Many Christians live their lives that way, half in and half out. John speaks of that in Revelation saying that we have the option of being either hot or cold, but we should not straddle the middle and be lukewarm.

I am not a poker player, but I understand that when a player feels lucky, he can bet the farm, by shoving all his chips to the middle of the table and saying, “I’m all in.” It is either win the table or lose all he has.

Jesus’ words to the church at Laodicea can be confusing. The vibrancy of the church is best to be hot, but cold is better than lukewarm. What this says is that it is better to be an indifferent pagan than to be a backslidden Christian. It is better to have never heard the Gospel than to have heard, accepted and fallen away. The one who has never heard has an excuse, but the one who has does not.

What is your spiritual temperature, hot, lukewarm or cold? Are you all in and not straddling the middle line?

***

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

A crowded Southwest flight was canceled because of a mechanical problem. A single gate agent was re-booking a long line of inconvenienced travelers.

Suddenly an angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. He slapped his ticket down on the counter and said, “I HAVE to be on this flight,”

The agent replied, “I’m sorry, sir. I’ll be happy to try to help you, but I’ve got to help these people first, and I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out.”

The passenger was unimpressed. He asked loudly, so that the passengers behind him could hear, “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?”

Without hesitating, the attendant smiled and grabbed her public address microphone: “May I have your attention please; may I have your attention please” she began – her voice heard clearly throughout the terminal. “We have a passenger here at Gate 14 WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to Gate 14.”

***

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

Remember to give thanks and not be afraid of difficulties ahead.

True freedom is not freedom from responsibility to God and others, but freedom from ourselves in order to live for God and others. John Stott

***

Selected portions of Thoughts on Life can also be read at TheLife.com and Thoughts-About-God.com. You can subscribe directly to those on their respective websites.

Your feedback is welcome and if you want to be taken off the mailing list a simple e-mail will do it. Feel free to pass this along to others and to contribute your ideas and thoughts. Address all items and comments to [email protected]. © Thoughts on Life Copyright 2017

©2018 John Grant | Florida State Senator (Ret.) | 10025 Orange Grove Drive | Tampa, FL 33618