Evangelist Herman E. Wesley III
Brother Cooper’s Closet
Ephesians 6:13-19 NIV
The Homegoing Service for brother Ransom Cooper
Southside Church of Christ / Saturday, October 10, 2009 at 1:00 p.m.
Evangelist Matthew Myles, Officiant
Evangelist Herman E. Wesley III, Eulogist
THE OCCASION
To the honorable minister of this church that I love so much, my friend and brother, Minister Matthew Myles Sr., the bereaved family, friends, deacons and members of the Southside Church of Christ, and the Gospel Satellites. We have come together on this day, again, to remember the life and legacy of one of our contemporaries. A great man. A loving husband. A devoted father. A thoughtful friend. Brother Ransom Cooper. I am humbled to have been asked to share some thoughts with you on this day. I want to read some words from the Bible, if that’s alright with you. In Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, Ephesians chapter 6 at verse 13, the NIV Bible reads:
THE TEXT
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
INTRODUCTION
Without a doubt, anybody who ever came in contact with brother Ransom Cooper knew brother Cooper was a “dresser.” From my very first Sunday ministering at this church, back in 1996, I remember a sharp fellow, sitting right over there, who always looked like he had just stepped out of a clothing catalog. Many Sundays I would be compelled, before preaching, to simply ask brother Cooper to stand up so everybody could see how sharp he was. I ain’t gay, and I don’t have any feminine tendencies, Lord knows I don’t...but brother Cooper always looked good! You might as well say Amen! It was evident by the way he presented himself that he cared about how he looked, he cared about the impression he would make; and the way he dressed and the way he carried himself indicated that he had himself together! With that in mind, this afternoon, as we celebrate his life and times, I want you all to journey with me as we take a look into BROTHER COOPER’S CLOSET. Ya’ll don’t mind peeking into his closet with me, do you? I believe brother Cooper had three closets, and the first one I wanna take a peek in is his material closet.
BROTHER COOPER’S MATERIAL CLOSET.
Brother Cooper had a material closet. When you look into this closet you see an extensive wardrobe, and one thing about it, in this closet, his wardrobe stands out. Slacks and shirts of all colors and fabrics and styles. Shoes from every hue of the rainbow, snake skin, alligator, leather, canvas...belts, a wide array of belts to match his particular outfit on any particular day. And suits, man, brother Cooper has some suits! Green suits, yellow suits, navy blue, sky blue, baby blue, steel blue, powder blue, ya’ll loosen up, you know I’m telling the truth! Dierdre told me his favorite color was red, and you have to be a man’s man to wear a red suit, but brother Cooper was able to wear it with style, class and dignity! Not only that, but in order to get all this stuff in his closet, he had to be a worker! I know that’s a foreign concept to some folk, but if you want something, you have to work for it, so brother Cooper didn’t mind working for what he wanted. If he wanted a shirt, he’d work for it! If he wanted some slacks, he’d work for it! If he wanted a suit, he’d work for it! He knew nothing was free, so he worked for what he wanted! He drove trucks for a while for the trucking company. He’d work nights and weekends on his ice cream truck! And when he got a little extra cash to do something nice for himself, he’d go down to some of his favorite stores...Looking Good, Right-On, Oxford Street, and he’d pick out what he wanted, and he’d put it on! And since I’m driving his way, I need to tell you that he didn’t just want to look good by himself. He had a wife that he loved for 44 years, who preceded him in death, but he made sure that she was sharp, too! Helen and Ransom, sharp together! You walk in their home, and there’s a picture of them, from back in the day, ya’ll know about back in the day, don’t you! The seventies and the early eighties, and you can just envision how sharp they were together. A man’s closet says a lot about him, and brother Cooper’s material closet showed him to be a man of style, a man of taste, and a man of dignity. But there’s another closet I want to take a peek in....
BROTHER COOPER’S SPIRITUAL CLOSET
Brother Cooper had another closet. It was his spiritual closet. And I’m here to tell you, having been his minister for close to nine years, that he had some clothing that was distinctive in this closet, too. He didn’t work for these clothes, these clothes were a gift, but he had to maintain the gift. He didn’t purchase this clothing from Right On or Looking Good. This clothing wasn’t hanging on the rack at Oxford Street, but when he wore this clothing, he stood out. He picked up his tailor made suit one day when he gave his life to Christ down here at the church of Christ, help me somebody! He didn’t buy it, but his name was on it! He wasn’t measured for it, but it fit him perfectly. Did you check out his vest? It was the breastplate of righteousness! How about those shoes? His feet were fitted with the Gospel of Peace! He wore a hat...I know you didn’t see him in a hat often, but spiritually, he had a hat! The helmet of salvation! He had a protective outer garment, we call it the Shield of Faith, and you may not have known it, but he carried a piece...not a .44 or a .22, but the Sword of the Spirit! Help me, somebody! And if you don’t mind, let me tell you about his belt. It wasn’t snakeskin or rawhide, it was the belt of truth! Paul said, that as a believer, his loins were “girt about with truth!”
Everything Ransom was about was held together and held up by truth!
When he went looking for a Savior, he found Him in the church of Christ...girt about with truth! When he obeyed the gospel, he was baptized for the remission of his sins...not voted on, not prayed in, but baptized for...girt about with truth! He received the gift of God’s Spirit when he was added to the church through obedience and baptism, and he served the Lord with gladness...girt about with truth! He enjoyed life! He always had a smile on his face! Can I park my car here for a little while? Life is short! You oughtta enjoy life while you have it! You can’t enjoy life when life is over! I can understand folk out in the world being all uptight and sour faced;
no joy, no hope,
no forgiveness, no redemption,
no future, no Spirit, no Christ,
but I don’t understand church folk like that! Folk can cry in church all day long, and we love to feel sad for folk, rub em’ on their back, bless your heart...but we have a problem when folk get happy! Be happy when you see other happy folk! Be happy cause you serve a God who loves you! Be happy cause you serve a God who cares! Be happy cause Jesus left the comfort and serenity of heaven to come down to this cruel and chaotic world, to die on Calvary’s cross, carrying the burden and shame of your sin and mine! Be happy cause brother Cooper didn’t just dress up the outside! He made sure he was sharp on the inside, too! Sing a song of joy, and let your heart be glad! Lift up your head, lift up your heart, and if you ain’t careful, you’ll mess around and lift up your hand! Happiness is like the swine flu....it spreads! Dead folk belong in a cemetery, not a church! This body before us is dead! Unanimated! Not moving! Not feeling! Ransom has left his body,...but his happy soul, his joyful soul, his invigorated soul lives on! We do not serve the God of the Dead! We serve the God of the Living!!!! Act like you got your shouting clothes on! Breastplate of righteousness....sword of the Spirit....feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace...and then Paul says, PRAY! DIERDRE...PRAY! LUGRIA...PRAY! CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN....PRAY! ZEKE...I KNOW YOU LOST YOUR BEST FRIEND...BUT PRAY! PRAY FOR YOURSELF! PRAY FOR SOMEBODY ELSE! AND THEN, PAUL SAYS, PRAY FOR ME! PRAY FOR YOUR PREACHER AS HE PREACHES THE WORD! PRAY FOR YOUR PREACHER AS HE PREACHES THE TRUTH! PRAY FOR THE PREACHER AS HE PREACHES THE MESSAGE OF GOD DESIGNED TO SAVE THE SOULS OF MEN! I’M TALKING ABOUT BROTHER COOPER’S CLOSET...AND YOU’D BETTER BELIEVE THERE WAS SOME PRAYER IN THAT CLOSET!
BROTHER COOPER’S ETERNAL CLOSET
But now, all those closets...the material closet, the spiritual closet, they now house nothing but lifeless clothes. Clothes that were once animated by the presence of his physical body, that now hang dormant and lifeless on the rack. The suits, he can’t wear them any more. The shoes, they sit, as a memory of the life that was, and is no more. The belt of truth...it might as well hang with the snakeskin and the rawhide, there is no more use for them, because they are emblematic of life on this side.
But be of good cheer, saints. Brother Cooper has one more closet. He has an eternal closet. He’s resting now, but one day, when he gets up, together with all the saints who have gone before (I Thessalonians 4:13-18). One day, when he gets up, to be reunited with those who remain, who shall be changed together with him, to meet the Lord in the air. One day, when all of God’s children shall leave this old earth and forever be in the presence of the Almighty God, His eternal closet is going to be opened! And from this closet, his sharpness is going to be resurrected! From this closet, his brightness is going to be revealed! From this closet, his smile is going to be renewed and his energy is going to be restored! Can’t you see him, as he steps forward to get his robe! Can’t you see him, as he steps forward to get his crown! Can’t you see him, as he steps forward to get the keys to his mansion! HELEN AND RANSOM, SHARP, TOGETHER AGAIN!
CONCLUSION
I hear somebody saying, How do you know Helen and Ransom will have robes, but I just have to tell that when you are a child of God, there are some things you just know by divine intuition and an understanding of His word!
I know that if the earthly house of this tabernacle be dissolved, I have a home, eternal in the heavens, not made with hands!
I know in whom I have believed and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day!
I know that all things work together for good to them who love God and are called according to His purpose!
I know that it is not in man that walketh to direct his own steps!
I know that my Redeemer lives!
And...(ref. Scene from Revelation 6 and 7)
I know that one of these old days, after the sun refuses to shine and the moon drips away in blood!
I know that one of these old days after the stars fall from heaven, like a fig tree drops her figs when shaken by a mighty wind!
I know that one of these old days when the sky rolls up like a scroll and the rocks and mountains will be moved out of their places...
I know the old plantation slave singer sung for me when he moaned,
I gotta robe! You gotta robe! All God’s children got robes!
