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Jimmy's Sermon
Numbers 6: 24-26
A few weeks ago I preached a sermon to
our young people as they were preparing for school. I told the
congregation then that even though this message was intended for the
young people I hoped that they would listen very intently because there
was sure to be a Mustard Seed somewhere. And you did listen and you were
very gracious.
Tonight I am going to ask if you will do the same thing. Tonight we come
to celebrate and mourn. We are mourning the loss of a man who has given
his time and talents to this body. Tonight is the last night that Jimmy
will lead our voices in song and today was the last time that he was
able to mold and shape the young men and women that we are blessed to
have as a part of this family.
But tonight is also a time of celebration. Last summer as my family
floated around looking for a congregation to serve with I remember how
frustrated I felt listening to others preach the message and taking
their message apart and reconstructing it in my mind. If you have the
desire to preach and you are not preaching it is very frustrating
indeed. Jimmy will tell you, as he has told me that he wants to preach
and not being able to do that has left him frustrated at times. But like
I said this is a time for rejoicing because stating in the next two
weeks Jimmy will have the opportunity to stand before a body and do in
my estimation the greatest job ever given to mortal man.
You have heard me say that today is the day that we will have our
funeral service for Jimmy. And I think that is what we are doing. You
have funerals as a way of saying good bye, but they are also a reminder
that for those of us who have been born again this is not the final good
bye. So tonight I think that it is appropriate that we spend this time
telling Jimmy good bye, wishing He and Mary good luck with their new
congregation and marriage and sending them off in prayer.
Jimmy tonight I am not going to tell you anything new, you know all of
this but I want to remind you of a few things and challenge you as you
begin this new work.
First look for the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Paul tells the young preacher Timothy exactly what his job description
is in 2 Timothy 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of
season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and
teaching.
We are to preach the word or the truth, with complete patience and
teaching. Now you know that this is not always easy. There will be times
where people won’t want to hear the truth.
They would rather hear what they are comfortable with, and the truth
doesn’t always make us comfortable.
People would rather hear what makes them happy but when truth exposes
error in our lives we are not very happy.
It might not be easy, but it is our job. There are going to be times
when it is going to be easier to let things go, to hope or pray that
they will just go away but ignoring the problem only traps us in that
problem.
Do you remember at the Men’s Retreat a few weeks ago we talked about how
King David knew that there was sin in his household and chose to do
nothing? Remember that story? It starts in 2 Samuel 11 where we read
that when the kings go out to war David stayed home. Instead of doing
what was right he did what was easy.
We’re told that he got up and walked around the roof of the King’s
house. As he looked around he saw Bathsheba, who was bathing. The Bible
tells us that David sent for Bathsheba. He was told that she was married
to one of David’s soldiers, Uriah, but despite that, David sent for her
and committed adultery with her.
Well Bathsheba gets pregnant and David tries to do the easy thing and
cover up his sin. He has Uriah brought from the battle field to spend
some time with his wife to make it appear the baby was Uriah’s. But
Uriah refused to go home while his fellow soldiers were dying on the
battlefield.
So David once again did the easy thing by having Uriah put in the front
battle line were he is killed. He was then compelled to admit the child
by Bathsheba was his and finally married Bathsheba.
Doing what was easy led David to become an adulterer, a murderer. The
baby that was born to him and Bathsheba died. For a year his intimacy
with God was broken. Turmoil was constantly in David’s house. 1 of
David’s sons by 1 wife, seduces his half-sister Tamar. In fact, he rapes
her. One of David’s other sons kills Ammon for what he did. Another of
David’s sons, Absalom, the one he loved so much, doubled-crossed his
father and tried to take the throne away from him and also publicly
disgraced his father in a way I won’t mention. You start adding it up
and you will find that David paid a tremendous cost for taking the easy
way out.
Doing what is easy might get you by for a little while but it will also
get you in world of hurt. Always remember that we are called to share
the truth and “the truth is what makes people free.”
Secondly I want to remind you to Practice what you preach.
This is going to be a life long task. But if you want to be a success in
your ministry and in your Christian life it is vitally important.
Every day you need to study the scriptures, and live what you have
learned.
Remember what the crowds said about Jesus in Matthew 7:28-29 And when
Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his
teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as
their scribes.
The people marveled because Jesus’ teachings were applicable, and
useable in their lives. As you learn to live what you have learned then
you can preach what you are living.
Once again we get great advice on how to live from the Apostle Paul when
he writes to the Church in Philippians 4:6-13 do not be anxious about
anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which
surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is
honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is
anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have
learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and
the God of peace will be with you. I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that
now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed
concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of
being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be
content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any
and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and
hunger, abundance and need.
And Paul didn’t just say that this is how they were supposed to live he
showed them how to live.
The best way to teach your congregation how to not be anxious is by
living a life that shows your trust in God.
The best way to teach your congregation how to live a pure life is by
living a pure life.
Thirdly I want to remind you that preaching is not all gumdrops and
lollipops.
You know how hard it is to work with a church. There are so many demands
on your time, so many demands for your attention, and there are going to
be people who don’t like you and there is not going to be a thing you
can do about it.
I want you to remember when it gets rough and you and Mary get to the
house, and you feel like a preacher I know who packed up in the middle
of the night and ran away just know that you are in good company.
In 1 Kings 19 we see that Elijah had just done some wonderful things for
the Lord and his people. He should have been riding a wave of success
but there were some people that he could not make happy. And they didn’t
just want to complain about him, they didn’t want him to go work with
another church, they wanted him dead. And this criticism left him
wishing the same thing.
1 Kings 19:1 – 4 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he
had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a
messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if
I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time
tomorrow.” Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and
came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat
down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is
enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my
fathers.”
But it wasn’t just Elijah. Jeremiah knew these feelings as well. He was
trying to get the nation of Israel to return to God and their lack of
movement caused him to feel like quitting.
We read in Jeremiah 20:7-9 O Lord, you have deceived me, and I was
deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become
a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me. For whenever I speak, I
cry out, I shout, “Violence and destruction!” For the word of the Lord
has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. If I say, “I
will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my
heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with
holding it in, and I cannot.
I know how Jeremiah felt. There have been times when I felt inadequate.
There have been times when my family didn’t have the things that they
needed.
I have been afraid about losing my job, angry because it didn’t seem
that anyone was listening or cared enough to change, and deeply hurt
because people have made harsh remarks, or talked about me behind my
back.
I have felt helpless when people had the preacher from lunch, or
rejected when I was told that the church would be better off without me.
But you can handle it. Remember that Elijah was told to find Elisha and
cultivate that friendship. Solomon carries that same thought in Proverbs
18:24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend
who sticks closer than a brother.
Find someone that you can confide it, someone you trust, someone that
will help you balance your feelings. But don’t become a whining
preacher.
Preaching is tough, and it will affect your family but it is important
to remember that the problems we face are people problems. If you are
preaching or shaking french fries at Burger King you will have to deal
with people who are rude, discourteous, mean, and down right ugly.
That’s the price we pay for dealing with people.
The most important thing you can do is love the people that Christ
loves.
Finally preach the Gospel
It is important to preach about how we are to live with one another.
It’s important to preach about how we are to treat one another. But it’s
also important to remember that you can preach the truth without
preaching the good news.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Now I would remind you, brothers, of
the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,
and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I
preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as
of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was
raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
Paul taught the Corinthians so many things about how to live together,
and how to live in the world. But he says that the most important thing
that he taught them was the Good News.
The Gospel that they received and stood was what saved them. The fact
that Jesus died on a cross just as the prophecies said he would. He was
buried and in the tomb for three days and upon his resurrection he
defeated the greatest enemy we have, death. That’s the Good News, that’s
the Gospel that we get the opportunity to preach, and the life that we
get to live.
And that’s the life that brings us joy. John writes in 3 John 4 I have
no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
Conclusion
Jimmy I want to close tonight by telling you that I am going to miss
you. I appreciate the work that you have done with us, and I know that
you will do a good job for the kingdom in Michigan.
It is my family’s and this family’s prayer that God will bless you and
Mary as you begin a new family, a new household, and a new ministry
together. I wish you the best, and I want to leave you with one more
passage. It is The Lord’s blessing from Moses to Aaron that is found in
Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face
to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his
countenance upon you and give you peace.
Jimmy was our youth minister who took
a pulpit job with another body.
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