Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
06/02/2019 CLASS
Becoming One Of Those Who Make A Difference
Deuteronomy 6.4-9 John 6.63, 8.32, 17.17
We’re gathered here this morning to honor TEACHERS AND TEACHING…
The first point I want to make is… We know this is the right thing to do!
• Paul’s admonition was that we should give honor to whom honor is due…
Romans 13.7…
• That we should in honor prefer one another… Romans 12.10…
• Peter encourages us to Honor all Men… 1 Peter 2.17.
Here’s what I want you to do this morning… Think about what your and my life would be like… IF WE HAD NOT HAD SOME GREAT TEACHERS IN OUR PAST…
• Parents & Grandparents?…
• School teachers?
• Bible Class teachers?…
• Preachers?
Those who loved us… Cared enough about us and our future to…
• Pray for us…
• Support…
• Encourage…
• Teach…
• And Mentor Us?
Listen church… I never smell the fragrance of Crayons that I don’t think of EVA CULLEN… My first Bible School teacher on Government Avenue in Fayetteville.
I owe a lot to her… I am indebted to many others… Those who took a personal interest in me… Taught… Mentored… Molded… Me.
• Viola Brown…
• Sister Henderson…
• Tommy Kelton…
• Jimmy Allen…
• Joe Banks…
• F. I. Stanley…
• Eugene Henderson…
I could go on and on… But these names mean nothing to you… BUT ALL IN THE WORLD TO ME.
Bu there it is… YOU HAVE YOUR NAMES… You have your list… RIGHT?
Let me suggest we stop here for a few minutes in silence AS WE EACH GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR THOSE… TEACHERS… PREACHERS… FAMILY MEMBERS… Who taught us about God… Brought us to Jesus… BOW WITH ME.
Well…God was a Teacher… Jesus… God in the flesh… Was The Master Teacher.
I want us to listen to their admonition to both teachers and students… Read it with me… The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these WORDS that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall TEACH them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates… The WORDS I speak… They are spirit and life… You shall know the TRUTH and the TRUTH shall set you free… Sanctify them by THY TRUTH… THEY WORD IS TRUTH.
Listen…God’s Greatest Desire for us is that we will want to become like Jesus… Take on His image… Have His heart… Mind… Attitude…Behavior.
GOD WANTS US TO BECOME TEACHERS!!!... Listen to this commission from the lips of Jesus… Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always… Matthew 28.19-20.
I love this teaching story… Every time I hear it…
It touches my heart… Pulls at my heart strings
It makes me examine my life to see… Just what kind of teacher I really am…
Teddy’s letter came today and now that I’ve read it… I will place in my cedar chest with the other things that are important in my life.
The letter started with the words… I wanted you to be the first to know...
I smiled as I read... My heart swelled with a pride... Pride that I had no right to feel. You see… I have not seen Teddy Stoddard since he was a student in my fifth grade class... That was fifteen years ago.
The first day he stepped into my classroom… I disliked Teddy… He was dirty.
No not just occasionally dirty… But all the time... DIRTY.
His hair hung down over his eyes and ears.
His physical faults were many… And intellectually there was left a lot to be desired.
By the end of the first week of school… I knew that he was hopelessly behind the others.
Teddy became the goat of the class… The outcast… The unlovable and unloved. Teddy became a loner. He was a little boy no one cared about… And I made no effort in his behalf.
As the days rolled on... By Christmas… I knew that Teddy would never catch up in time to be promoted to the sixth grade level. He would be a repeater. To justify myself and my attitude toward Teddy… To cover my own backside… I went to his folder and made some notes.
He had very low grades for the first four years… But with no grade failure. How he had made it… I don’t know. I found myself closing my mind to the personal remarks in his file…
• First grade... Teddy shows promise…But has poor home situation.
• Second grade... Teddy could do better. Mother is terminally ill. He receives no help at home.
• Third grade... Teddy is a pleasant boy.... Helpful… But much too serious. Slow learner. His mother passed away near the end of the year.
• Fourth grade... Very slow… But well behaved. His father shows no interest.
Well…I thought... He may not have had to repeat a grade before… But he will repeat this one… It will be good for him.
Christmas came and gifts for the teacher were piled high under the little tree in our room. The children were excited as I unwrapped each one…. Teddy’s was last. The wrapping paper was a simple brown paper bag on which he had colored green Christmas trees and red bells. The sack was sealed with masking tape… For Miss Thompson from Teddy… it read.
As I removed the last bit of masking tape… Two gaudy items fell to my desk…
• A discolored rhinestone bracelet with several stones missing…
• And a small bottle of dime-store cologne… Half empty.
I could hear the snickers and whispers...
I could not bear to look at Teddy.
Isn’t this lovely!!… I said as I tried to place the bracelet on my arm.
I dabbed a little of the cologne behind my ears… And all the little girls lined up for a dab behind their ears.
The bell rang and all filed out with shouts of… See you next year... Merry Christmas Miss Thompson... But Teddy waited at his desk. He walked slowly toward me clutching his personal gift and books to his chest... You smell just like mom… He said softly. The bracelet looks real pretty on you… too…. I‘m glad you liked it.
Teddy left... I locked the door… Cried and Prayed… Resolving to give Teddy what I had deliberately deprived him of... Expectation... I resolved to expect him to do better.
I resolved that afternoon to make a difference in Teddy’s life. I stayed every afternoon with Teddy from the end of the Christmas break until the last day of school.
Slowly…But surely… Teddy caught up with the rest of the class. He didn’t have to repeat the fifth grade. In fact… His final grade average was among the highest in the class.
Although I knew he would be moving out of state… I was not worried… Teddy had learned how to study… And was well equipped for the next school year.
I didn’t hear from Teddy for seven years. That was when the first letter came…
Dear Miss Thompson… I just wanted you to be the first to know… I will be graduating from High School next month…Second in my class… Yours truly Teddy Stoddard.
Then there was the second letter… I wanted you to be the first to know… I was just informed that I’ll be graduating first in my class. College has not been easy… But I liked it. Truly yours… Teddy Stoddard.
And now today Teddy’s third letter… Dear Miss Thompson… I wanted you to be the first to know… As of today I am Theodore J. Stoddard... M.D.
I’m going to be married in July and I wanted to ask if you could come and sit where mom would sit if she were here. Very truly yours… Teddy Stoddard.
With this story we learn that Teachers…
GoD-pleasing teachers… Are those who make a difference.
Well…How can we… As teachers make a difference?...
By having a servant’s heart.
The world says…
• Climb the ladder… Get to the top…
• Grab all the political clout you can…
The push for worldly greatness is found in… control… Controling others!!
The push for spiritual greatness is found in serving others.
Jesus said… The greatest in the Kingdom is the one who serves… Teaches… Models…Mentors.
Here’s the question!... Do you... Does your preacher… Have a teacher’s heart?
Teachers make a difference because of their understanding.
Go with me to Luke chapter one... We find two people there… Two women…
• A young girl in her teens is pregnant... With child out of wedlock.
• There is another woman… She is much older... And she too is pregnant.
What do you do when you're… 16… 17… 18… Years old and pregnant without a husband?
You can’t go home to mom and dad saying… This child is a product of the Holy Spirit.
They’re not likely to understand such an explanation.
But…I tell you where you can go... You can go to Aunt Elizabeth’s house.
She’ll understand Holy Spirit Conception.
So Mary arrives… And sure enough… Elizabeth understands… And accepts Mary justas she is... Demanding no other explanation.
Today’s churches need more people like Aunt Elizabeth…
• With open hearts…
• Patient hearts…
• Understanding hearts…
• Accepting…
• Affirming…
• Encouraging hearts.
We need more understanding hearts and less critical judgmental hearts… Amen?
Teachers make a difference by example.
Church…Do you know why TIMOTHY was such a good boy?
Two reasons…
• Timothy was the product of a loving caring mother and grandmother... Lois & Eunice.
• And of course the teaching mentoring life of the Apostle Paul.
These lived their religion before Timothy… And that made a difference.
Indeed…As teachers… If we want to make a difference… We must… Be willing to live Jesus before our students… Live Jesus bEfore others… All others!!
Teachers make a difference because of their expectations.
Hannah had to be one of the greatest teachers of all time.
Hannah expected Samuel to be God’s person… And he was!... And he was!!!
As a mother teacher she raised him with expectation.
Parents…Teachers… You can make a difference in the lives of your children and students by Having great expectations of them.
Expect them to become great in the Lord’s kingdom... And they will be... And they will be.
It was Solomon who said… Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
Class…Here is a sobering sobering thought… We are all teachers… We can’t escape that fact this morning.
Each of us is influencing others…
• Our spouse…
• Children…
• Grandchildren…
• Extended Family…
• Students.
We are influencing somebody each moment…
• Every Moment!!...
• Even this moment.
Church…Someone… Some precious soul is… Listening to us… Watching us… Walking in our footsteps.
The question becomes… Are we leading them to Jesus?… Or are we leading them to eternal destruction?… WE EACH GOTTA ANSWER THIS MORNING… AMEN?
May God help each of us to be among those
who make a difference in the lives of our Young People.
• Because they have a Servant’s Heart…
• Because they make an effort to Understand Each Student
• They Live out what they Teach…
• They Cry and Pray over their students…
• They have Great Expectations of each student.
May God Bless Our Study Together