Antioch Covenant Church

The Death Of A Relationship
2 Timothy 4:9-22
“At my first defense no one appeared in my support; instead they all deserted me…”vs. 16

Opposite Ends of the Spectrum
Story One
High school sweethearts Les and Helen Brown, who were born on the same day on Dec. 31, 1918, died at age 94, within one day of each other. “My mom often said she didn’t want to see my father die, and he didn’t want to live without her,” Daniel, the couple’s youngest son, told the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Helen died on July 16, and Les died on July 17. The Southern California couple celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary in September. “It was a real love match, wasn’t it?” their oldest son, Les Jr., told the newspaper. “They were together every day for 75 years.” According to the sons, the pair met at Huntington Park High School and eloped on Sept. 19, 1937, at the age of 18 against their parents’ wishes. They thought a match between a wealthy man and a working-class woman would never work out. The couple moved to Long Beach in 1963. He was a photographer for the Navy. She sold real estate. They had seven grandchildren. The two, who were friends with many of their neighbors, were known to take road trips and worshipped at Kingdom Hall as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Eventually, Helen was diagnosed with stomach cancer, and Les suffered from Parkinson’s disease. “Like the Bible says, ‘They were as one,'” Bob Brobst told the Press-Telegram, who was a friend of the couple’s for a decade.

Story Two
Britney Spears and Jason Alexander
Ditching the traditional white wedding gown for a belly-baring top, jeans and a baseball cap didn’t bring marital bliss for the pop-star bride, who wed a childhood friend on a whim after partying together in Sin City. What happens in Vegas really stays in Vegas: This January 2004 marriage lasted only 55 hours before it was annulled.

What makes or breaks a relationship? Why do some relationships last for a lifetime and some for maybe a few days or even a few hours?

Read Passage – 2 Timothy 4:9-22
9 Make every effort to come to me soon. 10 For Demas deserted me, since he loved the present age, and he went to Thessalonica. Crescens went to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is a great help to me in ministry. 12 Now I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring with you the cloak I left in Troas with Carpas and the scrolls, especially the parchments.14 Alexander the coppersmith did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him in keeping with his deeds. 15 You be on guard against him too, because he vehemently opposed our words. 16 At my first defense no one appeared in my support; instead they all deserted me—may they not be held accountable for it. 17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed for all the Gentiles to hear. And so I was delivered from the lion’s mouth! 18 The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever! Amen. 19 Greetings to Prisca and Aquila and the family of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus stayed in Corinth. Trophimus I left ill in Miletus. 21 Make every effort to come before winter. Greetings to you from Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters. 22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

Paul’s Vulnerability
As we finish our study of 2 Timothy we get an insight to Paul that doesn’t come out too often. I think of Paul as this rough, tough, bulldog type of guy. Prior to him accepting Christ, he was a persecutor of the church. The bible even talks about him standing by and watching people being persecuted or killed and him giving his approval. He seemed to be determined, relentless, and I get the picture of him being a bull in a china shop. Things didn’t seem to phase him much.

An important part of Paul’s life is his relationships. In our passage today we see a different side of Paul; a more sensitive, caring, and tender side. The side where he cares about people and his relationships with them. He is sitting in jail awaiting execution and when you are confined and alone it gives you a lot of time to think. He says in verse 10:

“For Demas deserted me,,,and he went to Thessalonica.” vs. 10

“Alexander the coppersmith did me a great deal of harm.“ vs. 14

Paul has had some relationships that were difficult and at times he didn’t see eye to eye with others and they ended up parting ways. Splits in relationships are difficult. Notice the word he uses here; deserted. That is a strong word with lots of feeling and emotion behind it. You can tell this tough man feels hurt, probably a deep hurt, some disappointment and maybe even betrayed. Really we see a more vulnerable side of Paul.

Comfortable Endings?
I think this brings up something that we all deal with in life and very few times does it seem we get much coaching or training on it; endings. Can we be comfortable with endings? Some people seem to manage them with ease while others struggle with them and fight them. I read recently in the book Necessary Endings by Dr. Henry Cloud that ending can be unplanned or planned.

Planned endings: graduation, timed events like a conference, concert, a day, a year, etc.
Unplanned endings: death, a sudden break-up, an disaster that came upon suddenly like a earthquake, twister, etc.

There are some endings we want. Something is not going well and we just want that particular thing to time to end. Others we don’t want. We have to ask ourselves how we deal with endings and are we comfortable with them? We even need to ask ourselves if we are prepared to deal with them and have we received any training on how to handle them?

To Manage Endings, Recognize…
So today I want to take a clue from Paul from our passage and look at our lives and how we manage endings. I believe that if we understand endings, and can learn to manage them, we can help ourselves to move forward in life and really bring more glory to God in how we handle our lives. In order to manage endings, we must recognize a few things.

1. Accept the Cycles of Life
The first thing to recognize and accept is that there are cycles of life. This is something that God created when he created our world. Think about it from a verse we can refer to in Psalm 74:16-17:

“You established the cycle of day and night; you put the moon and sun in place. You set up all the boundaries of the earth; you created the cycle of summer and winter.” Ps. 74:16-17

God established cycles. He separated the light and the darkness and created day an d night. That is a cycle. Each time the sun goes down a day has ended and night has begun. When the sun comes up the night has ended and day has begun. There are certain things that we do in day and others we do in night. On a greater scale God created the seasons; summer, winter, spring, and fall. Each season is unique and brings about certain things.
Ex. For example let’s consider the cycle of a plant
Winter – Prepare the soil, gather equipment, etc.
Spring – Clear the ground, plant, water, fertilize, etc.
Summer – Water, fertilize, direct the resources, manage the crop, grow, etc.
Fall – Harvest, care for the field so you don’t ruin it for the next year, etc.

God established the seasons and each season brings an end to one thing and begins another. Solomon wrote about this in Ecc. 3 in one of the more famous passages of Scripture:

“For everything there is an appointed time, and an appropriate time for every activity on earth…” Ecclesiastes 3:1

Our lives have built in cycles; birth, death, laughing, crying, working relaxing, etc.
Ex. Prince George being born to Prince William and Kate. A new season.
The couple I started with today, the season of death.

It’s important not only to recognize tht there are seasons, but accept them as well.
Ex. I am in my 50’s. I won’t be able to do what I did in my 20’s or 30’s. Some things change, my hair, my proportion, my eyesight, etc. I can accept it or fight it but it is still going to happen.

2. Grieve the Loss
The second thing to recognize about managing the endings in our life is that we can grieve the loss. Once you have recognized the cycle, the reality sets in that we experience loss. Continuing with Solomon’s words from Ecc. 3:4:

“… a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…” Ecc. 3:4

Grieving is a process that can be uncomfortable and let’s face it, it hurts but it is part of the cycle of endings in our life. Many times when we experience loss, because we have not been taught how to deal with loss, we are not sure what is appropriate for grieving. Part of my job as a pastor is to help people through their time of grieving. One thing that seems to really help people in those times is giving them permission to grieve and to express it. Some cry uncontrollably, some laugh and think its inappropriate, some become very quiet and some very loud. Grieving takes on different traits and expressions and it’s okay to let those out and give yourself permission to grieve. In John 16 Jesus is talking about his upcoming torture and death with the disciples and he tells them in verse 20:

“Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” John 16:20

Grieving is part of the ending process. It’s an appropriate thing to do and a necessary thing to do. Grieving is experienced in more than just losing people. It can be about losing a job, a relationship, a material object that is important to you, any number of things and in all areas of your life.
Ex. My eyesight. I recently had to get glasses for the first time in my life. I was saddened that my eyes were no longer able to do what they had done my whole life. I was proud of my eyesight but now part of it is gone. I have to let that go and accept the fact that I need to wear glasses especially when I read.

3. Let Go So New Opportunities Can Come
There is good news that comes to us in the third area of recognition about managing our endings, it is that we let go so new opportunities can come. In John 15 Jesus is giving an parable about the vine and the branches and in verse 2 he says:

“He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me. He prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit.” John 15:2

Jesus is touching on a subject here that can be difficult to understand but is extremely important when it comes to dealing with the endings in our life. He talk about pruning here. Pruning is cutting away part of a plant so that new growth and better growth takes place. Think about why we cut away part of a fruit plant. Really it comes down to 3 reasons; 1. The plant produces too much for it to handle, 2. Some of the growth is no good (diseased, sick, measly), and 3. Some of it is dead and taking up valuable space for the healthy part of the plant. An expert gardener know what a good plant looks like and what is taking resources away from the plant producing good fruit so he cuts away all the things that don’t allow it to have the best crop possible. When he does that, he gets better fruit.
Ex. A peach tree.

There is another aspect of this as well; it’s that some things need to be cut away because they just weigh us down. Hebrews 12:1:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us…” Hebrew 12:1

Managing endings mean there are some things that might still be good but they are weighing us down so you cut them out so that you have new opportunities.
Ex. The tools in my garage. I had an opportunity to get more so a weeded out the old tools, the ones I don’t use, but they are still good tools, and sold them off so I had room for new tools, ones I needed and would be using.

New opportunities come when we let go of things that are no longer necessary or a necessity.

The Forever Relationship
As you begin to consider and manage the endings in your life, there is one more things to remember. Pastor Tim Keller states in a sermon that we were created in relationship with God, Father, son and Holy Spirit. So, there is one thing that will never end. Know what it is? Romans 8:37-39:

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom. 8:37-39

We have one relationship, one promise of something that will never end in our life: God and his presence. His love for you and I is so great, so vast, and different than any other thing in our life. It is something we can count on, depend on, and know without a shadow of a doubt that it will never end because he promises that to us. To finish Pastor Tim Keller’s thought: we were created in relationship with God, and we are the only religion that that believes our destiny is to be in relationship with God. There is a relationship that lasts forever.

A Fight to the Finish

2 Timothy 4:6-8

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” vs. 7

A Momentary Lapse

Show clip of Lindsay Jacobellis and her unfortunate fall in the 2006 Olympic snowboarding finals. Listen to the enthusiasm of the announcer too.

So what happened? Analysis showed that she took her eye off the goal. She was so assured of winning that she decided to do a little showboating. She grabbed her board and makes a little hand gesture with her right hand and ends up falling on the landing and finishing in second place. Now before you are too hard on her, think about this for a minute. How many times in the course of a day or week do you/I have one of those momentary laspses and do something that we look back on and say, “What was I thinking” or not thinking for that matter. In 2 Timothy 4 Paul talks about keeping our focus and he likens life to a sports event and that we need to finish strong.  If you are able, please stand as we read verses 6-8.

Read Passage – 2 Timothy 4:6-8

⁶ For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Prep Time

Whatever we do in life, it takes time to prepare for it. If you’re a doctor, you spend 10+ years in school and time as an intern. If you are a CPA you spend about 4-5 years schooling and in training. If you are a teacher you earn a degree and usually a certificate and  you usually volunteer or train with another teacher. If you a psychologist you earn your degree and spend time interning. You get the idea.  An athlete trains long and hard too. An article in USA Today from January 8, 2008 took a survey of 21000 Division I college athletes revealed that these weekly average hours for players:

Football – 44.8 hours

Baseball – 40 hours

Basketball – 36.8 hours

Women’s Basketball – 36.1 hours

Golf, Hockey and Women’s Softball over 36 hours

To excel at things we need prep time and it takes work.  Peter says in 1 Peter 1:13

“Therefore, get your minds ready for action…” 1 Peter 1:13 (NET)

Our faith takes time, work and preparation. We shouldn’t kid ourselves into thinking we don’t need to put some effort and time into preparing ourselves to live a Christian life.  Lindsey Jacobellis had a goal, to be the best in the world and to win. She prepared for that, trained for that, everything was about that, and in an instant it was gone.

What is our goal, your goal, when it comes to your life? Is it to live a good Christian life? To get to heaven? To hear God say “well done”? If so, how are you preparing for that?

Finishing Strong Doesn’t Happen By Accident

I believe Finishing Strong Doesn’t Happen By Accident. I believe Paul helps us understand that in this passage of Scripture and that he gives us some insight as to what it takes for us to finish strong.

1. Giving It Your All

First, he reminds us that it takes giving it your all. Verse 6:

“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near.” vs. 6

There is a great word picture here for us to absorb. A drink offering was a type of sacrifice. Both Old Testament Jews and their pagan counterparts were familiar with drink offerings. A worshiper would approach the altar of hot coals with a goblet of wine. As a prayer or special vow was spoken the wine would be poured on the coals. The whole goblet was poured out to the last drop. The wine instantly evaporated giving off a cloud of smoke and a sweet rich fragrance.

The Romans often ended a meal or banquet with such an offering. It marked the time to rise and move on as well symbolized the giving of last drop to glory of the gods. Remember Paul is sitting in prison awaiting his execution; this is how Paul viewed his coming death. It is as if he was saying: “The day is ended; it is time to rise and go; and my life must be poured out as a sacrifice to God.” His executors might think they were taking Paul’s life. He viewed his death as an offering he was giving to God. He has one thing left to give—his life. He offered that too as a sacrifice of worship to God.

Jesus was speaking with his disciples in Luke 13 and he told them these words in verse 24:

“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Luke 13:24

You might not have consider your life as a preparation for eternity but it is.  How are you preparing for it? How are you preparing to meet God? Paul encourages us to make every effort. That means giving it your all. It takes reading your bible, praying, going to church, fellowship, tithing (yes, I said tithing), etc. Not to be negative but we may need to ask ourselves a tough question:

“I am giving everything but…” What am I holding back?

2.  It Takes Determination

A second point that Paul makes is that it takes determination. Let’s read verse 7 again:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” vs. 7

Everything Paul mentions in this verse is about determination. It’s the idea of definitely deciding or fixed intention, or to achieve a desired intention. Paul looks back with confidence that he has fought hard, and kept his eye on the goal and has been striving to achieve that. This takes persistence and as I said, determination.

Life is like a rollercoaster. You go through ups and downs. It is very rarely level. Persistence and determination is hanging on when you’re at the top and holding on harder when you’re on the bottom. Not to long ago there was a phrase that was somewhat popular about this, it was:

Keep on keeping on.
Determination is getting back up when you fall and trying again. And sometimes it takes a lot of tries.

Ex. Learning to ride a bike and taking the training wheels off.  It’s scary. It takes full effort and focus. It’s hard and tough. But when it comes, what a great feeling. The results are so freeing and exhilarating. A few weeks ago we read these verses in 2 Timothy 2:11-12:

“Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him.” 2 Timothy 2:11-12

Failure can be frustrating and deflating. But it can also be a learning and growing experience and when we move past the failures, we find new places we never imagine. Paul tells Timothy that the part of the reward for determination is that we will reign with Jesus.

3. Know Your Desired Result

The third key to finishing strong is to know your desired result; verse 8:

^“ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness…” vs. 8

Paul understands what lies ahead; a crown of righteousness. And let’s take that a step further as well.  We can look forward to receiving a crown but even more important, we achieve the goal of being eternally with God. Paul also said in Phil. 3:14:

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 3:14

Let me explain this through a story.

Ex. In one of his books, A.M. Hunter, the New Testament scholar, relates the story of a dying man who asked his Christian doctor to tell him something about the place to which he was going. As the doctor fumbled for a reply, he heard a scratching at the door, and he had his answer. “Do you hear that?” he asked his patient. “It’s my dog. I left him downstairs, but he has grown impatient, and has come up and hears my voice. He has no notion what is inside this door, but he knows that I am here. Now then, isn’t it the same with you? Even though you don’t know or understand everything that’s on the other side, you know who’s there. That’s what makes the difference.”

Our desired result is to ultimately be in heaven and with God. He is what we want.

Not Too Late

Now I believe that one of the things that stops us from finishing strong is our failures. They can discourage us and sometimes drive us away from our desired goal. But here is the thing, if you are still breathing, if you are still here on this earth, if you still want to finish strong, it’s not too late.

Let’s go back to story of Lindsay Jacobellis. After such a huge mistake, I am sure it was tempting to give us and wallow in self-pity. She was only 18 when that event took place. She got back to snowboarding and listen to her accomplishments after that event:

OLYMPICS

2010: Olympic team

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

2011: Gold at World Championships

2007: Gold at World Championships

WORLD CUP

2011: Three World Cup wins

Two-time SBX World Cup Champion (2007, 2009)

2008: Back-to-back World Cup SBX wins at Lake Placid in ’07 – SBX

33 career World Cup podiums (23 wins, 22 SBX/1 HP)

OTHER

Seven-time X Games Champion SBX (’03-’05, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11)

2009: Visa U.S. SBX champion

2008: Visa U.S. SBX champion

2007: Silver at X Games – SBX

2007: 2nd at Tamarack Grand Prix (HP)

We can make mistakes as well but it doesn’t need to be the end.  The important thing to remember is the God is a God of second chances. It’s never too late.  Keep the goal in mind. Be determined, and don’t be afraid to give it our all. The reward is far to great to let a mistake, a misstep, or a failure stop us from hearing those words, “‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (Matt. 25:21)

Commissioned By God

2 Timothy 4:1-6

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus…I give you this charge…” vs. 1

Who Said That?

Presidential quotes and do we or did we believe them when they said them.

“I am not a crook!” –Richard Nixon

“You can’t divorce religious belief and public service I’ve never detected any conflict between God’s will and my political duty. If you violate one, you violate the other.” –Jimmy Carter

“I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” – Bill Clinton

“Read my lips: no new taxes” -George H. W. Bush

“Truth is the glue that holds government together.” –Gerald R. Ford

As you have noticed, these are words from our Presidents, our leaders, those in a position of authority that we are supposed to trust and believe. But, as we have seen, their words have not always bee truthful and trustworthy. Who can you believe? Whose words can we trust? Let’s look at what Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 4:1-5 say to Timothy about the words we speak:

Read Passage – 2 Timothy 4

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ² Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. ³ For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

“Believe Me…”

I think it’s safe to say that most people want the truth but at the same time we are very skeptical people. Often I hear people using the phrase “Believe me…” when they are speaking. It’s actually kind of funny because when I hear that, it often makes me wonder if they are telling me the truth.  I think they are trying to assure me but it really has the opposite effect. Paul starts this charge to Timothy by telling him the plain truth in verse 1:

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom…” vs. 1

The truth he relates to him is that one day we will all die and stand before God. At that time, we will be judged about our life and weather we believed God’s Word that Jesus is Savior and Lord or did we deny it.  If we accepted Jesus, we will gain eternal acceptance to God’s kingdom and if we don’t, the reality is that there is a hell and those who don’t trust Jesus basically choose to go there. Paul is telling Timothy, and his congregation, that they are responsible for getting that message out to the world. Paul is building up the pastor, Timothy, and he is sending the same message to his congregation.  His charge in this passage reaches beyond Timothy and extends to his congregation that they have the same charge as Timothy.

Stop for just a moment and think about those closest to you.  Even those sitting around you right now. We want those we care about and those closest to us to be in heaven.  But, we also want to see everyone have the chance to know Jesus and go to heaven.  I know I want to help in that process and Paul is saying that we all have a part in that process.  We can all help.

Two-Part Commission: Preach and Reach

Helping in that process is what I call being commissioned. Paul gives Timothy a two-part commission.  It’s a catchy little phrase; Preach and Reach.

Preach

The first charge is to preach the word.

“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” vs.2

Last week in our study of 1 Timothy 3 we read that Paul said:

“All Scripture God-breathed and useful…” 2 Timothy 3:16

Now you might be thinking, isn’t Paul speaking to a pastor at this point? What does this have to do with me? We have this useful tool at our fingertips and we really need to make sure we use it. You might even think, “well, preaching, that’s for Ron, for pastors, and for those in the ministry.” What runs through your mind when I say the word “preach?” Here is the definition of the word “preach” that we see in this verse; to proclaim or to tell. Actually is probably a lot more simple than most people think; it’s just to tell others what God has done and what he has done for you.

Paul also says to be ready in and out of season, that is another way of saying to be ready anytime the opportunity presents itself. And, there three things it can be useful for; correcting, rebuking, and encouraging. Now, I think we get the correcting and rebuking part. In fact, I’d say that many people stop right there. I want to encourage you to do the third the most, encourage. Scripture can be very uplifting and helpful. Scripture doesn’t need to be a weapon that we beat someone over the head with, it can be a source of encouragement and building up of others. Let me give you and example of the way we encourage others with Scripture.

Ex. Proverbs 31 on Mother’s Day many men use verse 30, “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” I know for the women in my life that is a huge complement and encouragement.

I love it when I get a card for Father’s Day, Pastor’s Day, etc. and there is a verse on there and it encourages me. We need to do this more often and not just on holidays. Encourage people and affirm who God has created them to be.

Two Keys

Paul also gives us two keys when it comes to preaching and telling people about what we believe.

-Patiently

The first is to preach patiently. Many of us say something and expect people to get it the first time. That can be a bit optimistic.  Studies have shown that for someone to really absorb something it has to be heard 7 times or written 3 times.  We need to be patient with others in their pursuit of God and allow God to work in them. We are the messenger. God will do the work and change their heart. Be patient.

-Carefully

The second is to preach carefully. We need to be considerate of others, their lives and temperament as well as the need to know the truth.  We can share our faith and affirm others if we are careful in our approach.

Both of these are attitudes we bring and they come from building our relationship with God. The closer we are to God, the more we are in communion with him, the more we are willing to share our faith and to do it with the right attitude. We are all charged to do the duty of ministry but that does not mean all the duties of ministry are on us. I can sum it up with the saying that is on our sign right now, “Do your best, let God do the rest.”  We do all we can and then turn it over to God and allow him to do what is right and best and we eageraly watch and wait on him.

Reach

The second part of Paul’s message is to reach our community. Notice his words from verse 3-4:

“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” vss. 3-4

Others are not afraid to share their message, knowledge, and story.  We don’t need to be shy about wanting to make a difference in our community.

“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Hebrews 13:16

We are called to be active in our community and to be reaching out.  So we spend time with others, even those who are not like us. We realized everyone is in need of God and we are to be, as Jesus said in Matthew 5, the salt of the earth and the light to the world.  He is the light and we bring that light to a dark and hurting world.  Sometimes that is with words, sometimes it is with our actions. St Francis of Assisi said:

“Preach the gospel at all times, when necessary use words.” – St. Francis of Assisi

Keep Your Head

Finally, Paul gives an important perspective to Timothy about this whole idea of preaching and reaching, it’s to keep your head, verse 5:

“But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” vs. 5

Keeping your head means to keep the right perspective. Let me explain this point with a story from an incident that happened in San Antonio, TX on a hot September day.

Ex. It was a 99-degree September day in San Antonio, when a 10 month-old baby girl was accidentally locked inside a parked car by her aunt. Frantically the mother and aunt ran around the auto in near hysteria, while a neighbor attempted to unlock the car with a clothes hanger. Soon the infant was turning purple and had foam on her mouth.
It had become a life-or-death situation when Fred Arriola, a wrecker driver, arrived on the scene. He grabbed a hammer and smashed the back window of the car to set her free. Was he heralded a hero? He said, “The lady was mad at me because I broke the window. I just thought, What’s more important–the baby or the window?” Sometimes priorities get out of order, and a Fred Arriola reminds us what’s important.
Ray Tiemann, Fredericksburg, Texas. Leadership, Vol. 11, no. 3.

What was more important the baby or the car.  Unfortunately for this aunt at the time it seemed to be the car. I’m sure, in retro spec, she would look back and say, of course, the baby was more important. At the time that perspective was lost. We know material things can be replaced and that people cannot. Our emphasis should be on people, their hearts and their souls and God’s desire to see everyone come to the understanding of who Jesus is and that he is our Lord and Savior.

“Preach the gospel at all times, when necessary use words.”

How To Kill A Church
2 Timothy 2:14-19
“Warn them before God against quarreling about words…” vs. 14

Two PillowsYiddish folklore offers tells this story about gossip-makers. There was once such a man had told many malicious untruths about the local rabbi He realized the errors of his ways and went to him to apologize and to try to make amends. He begged the rabbi to forgive him and said, ”Rabbi, tell me, how I can make amends.” The rabbi sighed, “Take two feather pillows, go to the public square in the middle of town. There cut the pillows open, wave them in the air, then come back.” The man thought it was a bit strange but agreed and he quickly went home, got the two feather pillows and a knife, went to the square, cut the pillows open, and waved them in the air. Feathers went everywhere. Afterwards he goes back to the rabbi and says, “I did just what you said, Rabbi.” “Good.” The rabbi smiled. “Now, so you realize how much harm is done by your gossiping and lies, go back to the square and collect all the feathers.” “But Rabbi,” said the man, “that is impossible. Feathers went flying all over and there is no ways to get them all back.” “Exactly!” said the Rabbi.

Read Passage – 2 Timothy 2:14-19
14 Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. 17 Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place,and they destroy the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”

Concerned About God’s Approval
In the passage previous to this, Paul is writing Timothy making it really clear that Jesus is the only way of salvation. Salvation makes you start thinking about eternity. When I think of eternity, I think about standing before God. Paul states in verse 15:

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” vs. 15

There is the reality that one day we will all stand before God and have to give an account for our life. There really is only one answer that will appease God. It’s not how many good things you have done, how much you accumulated here on earth, if you met some quota of attending church so many times in your lifetime, or even if you gave a certain amount of money to the church. The only real answer is that you believed that Jesus was God’s Son and that you accepted Him as your Lord and Savior. If you are able to claim that, you here these words (my paraphrase) “Great job, you’ve understood that, come on it to heaven.” I’ve thought many times about standing before God and I want to hear that.

Growing up in a very strict vein of Christianity I knew that was the right answer but still flet like I had to do all things good things so that God wouldn’t be mad with me. It’s a fear based reaction. It’s kind of the old tactic that you tell people they are dying and going to hell unless they accept Jesus, which at one time worked but really doesn’t work too well anymore. As I have gotten older, I see it much differently. I realize how much God loves me. I don’t know about you but I know for me, when someone loves me, I want to love them back and I want to show that in my action and give them back that same kind of love they have given me.

Needing Constant Attention
I would love to tell you that once you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior that you sin less and less and eventually you put sin behind you and lie is a breeze. But…that isn’t true. Our lives are in need of constant attention so Paul says in the first part of verse 14:

“Keep reminding God’s people of these things.” as. 14a

Life is really more like a rollercoaster than a drive on an even road. We can be on top of things one minute and struggling with something else the next. Sin is that way too. It seems you are doing well when all the sudden you find yourself doing something that you don’t want or hate doing. Staying on track is tough and constant work.
Ex. Most of us have at one time or another struggled with some type of weight issue. You do well for a while, stick to your diet, exercise, and then somehow, somewhere, you got off plan and it’s time to reevaluate and get back to where you want to be.

Especially when it comes to sin, I think many times we get complacent and have a sense of false security. We think we are doing well. We haven’t done anything really bad like, robbed a store, set any big fires in the hills, murdered someone, etc. We get a sense of false security because our sins don’t seem that big.

Church Killers
Though that is true, we haven’t committed any “big” sins, so to speak, there are things in our life that are hurting us and many those around us too. One of those more “quiet” sins can be that of a critical spirit and in our passage today, Paul points out 3 ways this can show up in our life. I would even put this to you, we have to be extremely careful with these because they can not only hurt us, they can kill our church. That’s why today’s sermon is “How to Kill A Church.” These things can actually do just that.

 Nitpickers
The first thing that Paul points out to Timothy is that many times we can be “nitpickers.” We can be critical about every little thing and nitpick people, ideas, and the things around us to death. Notice what Paul says in verse 14b:

“Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.” vs. 14b

What does nitpicking really accomplish? At times it is important to be correct and accurate. There is nothing wrong with that, in fact, there are times when it is needed. But nitpicking goes further than just being accurate. Paul points our here that nitpicking can be words that cause fights, they are of no real value, and it tears down. Addd to this the words of Solomon from Proverbs 16:28a:

“A perverse person stirs up conflict…” Proverbs 16:28a

As I said, not all the time but many times nitpicking is stirs up conflict. I tend to be a “smudger.” That’s right I am a “smudger.” If you are a stickler for minute details I will probably drive you bananas. You know, if the clock says 6:58 I will say it’s 7. I can get really perturbed when someone corrects me. It stirs up conflict. It’s important to know when nitpicking is good and when it is just plain irratiating. Let me give you two examples.
Ex. Ale Trabek on Jeopardy. I love to watch the show but when someone says a answer wrong, especially if it’s a foreign language, it can be irritating and very pretentious when he corrects the contestants.
Ex. Example number two. Sometimes people can be very nitpicky when it comes to the church. They can critique just about everything. Recently when someone visited and I went to their home to talk with them, they had a list of everything that was wrong; from the donuts being too sugary, to the bathrooms, to the children’s dept. etc. It was really irritating. On the other hand, contrast that with a woman that came by recently to view the church for her wedding. She loved the building, complimented the wood, the sanctuary, etc. and she was just thrilled with everything. I can’t tell you how much more of a joy it was to talk to the soon-to-be bride.

Many people use the line “I am just critiquing…” as their excuse. We really need to make sure our nitpicking isn’t tearing down but that we use it only when it is necessary and when it is used for building up.

Gossips
A second church killer are those who gossip. Verse 16:

“Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.” vs. 16

What is gossip? Did you know if you look it up in the dictionary that one of the definitions is a “chatty talker?” Isn’t that interesting how that lines up with verse 16? Now chatting isn’t in and of itself bad. But when it is used to tear down, to demean, to put down, and if it is “godless”, it really isn’t something that should be in our life. Gossip separates people, it is usually done to elevate the person speaking it and put down another, and it as verse 16 says, ity leads to more ungodliness. But it gets worse. Let’s go back and finish Proverbs 16:28:

“…and a gossip separates close friends.” Prov. 16:28

Now let me be a little more personable here. I want you to know that I love being with you. I love being a family in Christ. I love spending time with you, doing ministry and activities together, and I enjoy your company. But notice what these two verses are saying, gossip kills the church. It separates, it divides, and it leads to more ungodliness. Isn’t that exactly what we don’t want the church to be like? I want our church to be inviting and to be a place where people are affirmed and welcomed and comfortable. And the thing about gossip, it’s a silent killer.
Ex. Paul uses an example here that is really disturbing. Gossip is like gangrene. Gangrene is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that arises when a considerable mass of body tissue dies (necrosis). This may occur after an injury or infection, or in people suffering from any chronic health problem affecting blood circulation. So let me show you how this works in the church. Gossip tears down and hurts others. It causes part of the church to die and it can be life-threatening to the church.

Think how serious these words of Paul are. They reflect the need for the church to be a place of building up and encouragement. If a church is hurting people, causing injury, and that begins to spread, it is like gangrene, a silent killer, and it is life-threatening.

False Teachers
The final church killer is false teachers. Paul says in verse 17 and 18:

“Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have departed from the truth.” vss. 17-18

Let me add to this some words from Peter in 2 Peter 2:1:

“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.” 2 Peter 2:1

Now this is really important to understand, the false teachers were in the church. We often think of the false teachers being out there. Not so. In both of these passages the authors point out the false teachers are in the church. We expect the church to be a safe place, a place of learning, worship, and growing closer to God. We expect to hear the truth. The church includes those we here on TV and radio. It includes you and it includes me. That’s why it’s so important to check everything to the Bible, to God’s Word. You should check the things I say to the Bible for accuracy. Don’t assume because someone is quoting the Bible that it is true and that they are quoting the Bible accurately. Check it out.
Ex. We are living in a day and an age when God’s standards are being challenged right and left. We are living in a time when we are being told to be “tolerant” of others. Being tolerant does not mean we accept people’s sins as “okay” but that we love people and desire them to know God the way we know God and that they draw close to him. A good example of this is the idea of being “poly-amorous.” That multiple partners are okay and that it’s just people loving other people and expressing that in a physical way. This is a big teaching in our world today and more and more people are accepting it. This is not God’s way. He is clear that marriage is between a man and a woman and that the marriage bed is to be pure. That is Biblical.

ThinkSo these are three church killers. For me, I am in the business of building the church not killing it. The question might be how to be a church builder. Well, it takes some thought. You have to think about it and commit to not being a nitpicker, a gossip or a false teacher. I found a tool that can be a helpful guideline when thinking about speaking. Use the word “think” and ask yourself these questions

T—Is it true

H—Is it helpful

I—Is it inspiring

N—Is it necessary

K—Is it kind

I don’t want to kill the church. I am call and challenge you to join me in being a builder of God’s church.

God Is Faithful

2 Timothy 2:8-13

“…if we are faithless, he remains faithful…” vs. 13
 

The Three Sisters

Have you heard about the three absent minded sisters – Wanda, Martha & Wilma – who lived together in the same house? One day, when Wanda decided to take a bath, she drew the bath water & began undressing.

But suddenly she stopped & said, “I don’t remember. Am I getting into the tub or have I just gotten out?” She yelled to her sister Martha, “Martha, help me. Am I getting into the tub, or have I just gotten out?”

Martha hollered back from downstairs & said, “That’s a ridiculous question. I can’t believe you. You’re so forgetful.” And she started up the stairs, but stopped about half way up & said. “Why am I on the stairs? Am I going up, or am I going down?”

So she cried for Wilma. “Wilma, come here. I can’t remember if I’m going up the stairs or going down.”

Wilma replied, “You so funny. I can’t believe you’re so forgetful. I’m glad I’m not like that. Knock on wood.” (Knock on pulpit) Then she stopped, looked around & said, “Is that someone knocking at the front door or the back door?”

Ever have a day where you just can’t remember anything?  If you’re able, please stand and let’s read 2 Timothy 2:8-13.

Read Passage – 2 Timothy 2:8-13

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, ⁹ for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. ¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

¹¹ Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
¹² if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
¹³ if we are faithless,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.

Remember

Our passage toady starts with an interesting challenge for us, verse 8:

“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead…” vs. 8

The call is to “remember.” The concept of remembering has a few things to consider. First, I realize that there are some things that we would just rather forget; trauma, really difficult times in our lives like in relationships, people who may have hurt us or wronged us, etc. But…remembering can also be important for us.  There are benefits for us to remembering things as well. We learn from our mistakes and from our difficulties and are tough times and when we remember those things and learn from them, we don’t make the same mistakes and we begin to formulate more of who we are and those things can help us achieve things in life and make us smarter and stronger.

Ex. I had a “light bulb” moment like that. You all know the 3 Stooges and the antics they have. One was actually putting a light bulb in their ear and having it light up. Well, as a boy of about ten I thought that was pretty cool.  So…you guessed it, I stuck a light bulb in my ear and when I twisted it, that sharp then that goes into the socket, really cut up my ear.  I never did that again.

In another instance, at about the same age, I remember my dad teaching me how to use an electric drill and how to use a drill. That has helped me many times when I have built and remodeled things. 

Paul is asking us to remember Jesus and who he is in our life. Paul makes this statement in vs. 9:

“This is my gospel…” vs. 9

He asks us to remember Jesus and who he is so why does he follow that up with this statement? I believe it’s because in the normal living of our everyday lives we can forget that Jesus is with us and what he has done for us and that when we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, our life needs to reflect that. Remembering that we have committed our life to Jesus and that he is part of our story, should be reflected in our daily actions.

Today we are celebrating communion. Communion is a way of remembering Jesus and his actions on our behalf. God purposefully built into the life of a church the service of communion so that we would always remember that.  I grew up in a church that had a separate service for communion.  We called it the Remembrance Service.

Ex. Look on the front of our communion table (point to the table in front of me), it even says “Do this in remembrance of me.”

A Trustworthy Saying

Paul continues on in this passage about what the communion means to us. We are suppose to remember what Jesus did but how should that effect our lives? Paul explains that in what he calls a trustworthy saying. In other words, these are words we can live by. So what are they and what do they teach us?

Verse 11 – If We Die With Him, We Will Also Live With Him

The first line is verse 11 which states: (read above). We are called to remember Jesus and that he died and also that he rose from the dead. For us, that means that when we accept that gift of salvation through him, that we are called to die to our old way of life and to live in light of all that he is in us. It means that some of our old habits and behaviors we choose not to do anymore. Paul uses some strong words here. Think about that idea of dying. That means it to disappear or to exist no longer. Think about that when it comes to some of our old habits and behaviors, those are to die.

There is a challenge here. If we accept Jesus and all he did for us, do we believe that enough to live it out. It should make a difference.  It should make a difference in the way we treat people, in the things we say, the things we do, etc. Another verse that helps us understand what this might look like in our life is in Galatians 2:20:

 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Gal. 2:20

Ex. There was a movement in the early 1990’s lead by a guy named Dan Seaborn where he created a bracelet with the initials WWJD. Do you remember that? The WWJD meant What Would Jesus Do. It was meant to challenge us to live out the commitment of our faith through our actions.

When we really trust him and put behind us those old ways of life, those old habits and behaviors that are not really in agreement with our faith in Jesus, we actually live a more full life…as Paul said in verse 11, “in Him.”

Verse 12a – If We Endure, We Will Also Reign With Him

The second part of this trustworthy saying is in the first half of verse 12: (read above) the second call in this saying is to endure.  Let me expand our thought on this by using a verse from Matthew 24 to help us get a better understanding of this. Matthew 24:12-13:

“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:12-13

The key is the words “stand firm.” Standing firm is holding your ground in the face of adversity and difficulty.

Ill. Ever had a bad week? A week where things just are out of whack? My week was kind of that way. I had a few difficult things happen and I just was in a bad place mentally, thought wise, attitude wise, etc.  I am sure that most of you have had weeks like that. Just yesterday I saw someone I hadn’t seen in a few weeks and when I said, ”How are you?” they said,”Ummm, ok I guess.” They had had a bad eek to and they weren’t hiding it at all.

So what do you do? Let’s go to Paul’s word s from 1 Tim. 4:11:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 1 Tim. 4:11

Standing firm, enduring, is gutting it out even when it’s not good. It’s working through the tough times and sticking to your faith even when you want to give up

Ex. What does that look like. For me, this week, it meant going to a few selected people I trust and pouring out my heart. It meant praying when I didn’t feel like praying. It meant going back to Scripture and trusting it when I just wanted to go hide somewhere and forget about everything. It’s not easy, not fun, and not a great place to be. I was not a fun person to be around. I moped a bit, I was more quiet than normal, I didn’t have that pep that I usually do. But…by the end of the week things had started to turn. I was popping out of it and it even showed in my physical countenance. My wife said she could see it. See, it even happens to pastors.

Verse 12b – If We Disown Him, He Will Also Disown Us

The third part of this trustworthy saying is the second half of verse 12: (read above). There is a stark reality that comes in this saying, it that we can choose to put our faith in anything we want, but if we don’t believe that Jesus is God’s Son, and that he died for us, we can’t expect him to stand up for us. He even told us that himself; Matthew 10:32-33:

“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:32-33

In this passage Jesus is sending out his disciples to spread the gospel. He wants the disciples to be strong in telling people about salvation in the face of opposition and not lose faith themselves. Jesus gave 100% of himself on our behalf and he wants us to have a similar commitment. Many people put their faith in a lot of things, science, other gods, power, material things, the earth itself, etc. His call to us is to be willing to stand up for him. He allows us to choose him or anything else but if we choose something else, we cannot expect him to stand up for us when we are standing before God.

Verse 13 – If We Are Faithless, He Remains Faithful

The final part of this trustworthy saying is verse 13: (read above) this seems to be a bit confusing because he talks about us not being faithful. I believe this is referring to our struggle to remain faithful. We, in and of our own power, struggle to remain faithful. There is good news though, God is faithful. Let me try to explain this in this way; if we accept Jesus, God gives us his Holy Spirit to live in us. So if he is in us (point inside), it’s not about us and our power but about him and his power and he can’t fail. We are his and this is where the end of verse 13 comes in, he cannot disown himself.  See if he is in us, he is there and he will never, he cannot, he will not, disown or turn on himself. He can’t. he won’t. we are secure in him. He promises us that and he doesn’t fial o his promises, we learn that in Hebrews 10:23:

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” Heb.10:23

God is faithful.

Communion

So let me bring this full circle. There are some things we should never forget. Jesus, his work, and his victory is one of those things. God put in place a way for us to never forget, it’s the communion part of our worship. It’s a way for us to remember what was done for us and what Jesus went through on our behalf. This is actually a gift from Jesus to us as well. He gave everything for us on the cross. When he dies, he was completely spent, he had given everything he had including his communion with God. He felt distance from God and that’s why he said “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”  In turn we can have full communion with God because of all he did for us. So we take this a a great honor and a serious remembering of what a loving, giving and incredible God we serve and the gratefulness for the work of Jesus Christ and his gift of salvation.

Spiritual Veterans
2 Timothy 2:1-7
“Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” vs. 3

Surprise! I’m Home!
Show video of army veteran who comes home and surprises daughter at her first gymnastics meet.

Read Passage – 2 Timothy 2:1-8
You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. 3 Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. 5 Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

Decoration Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday which occurs every year on the final Monday of May. Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died while in the military service. It typically marks the start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end.
Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries.

And that is the sobering thing about memorial day, it’s for those that have died in the service. If you serve or have served, you probably hope to celebrate Verteran’s Day because that means you made it. But celebrating Memroial Day is really for remembering those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Strong
Paul is in prison awaiting his execution. He knows he is going to die yet he writes 2 Timothy to encourage this young pastor to remain faithful in serving God. He wants Timothy to lead the church. In verse 1 he writes:

“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” vs. 1

Paul points out to Timothy that it takes strength to faithfully serve. To drive this point home, he mentions three examples of strength; a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer. All three are symbols and a picture of people who work hard, serve long, and all of them need to operate out of strength. These examples are not of the faint of heart or for people who give up easy.

A Soldier’s Life and Mindset
Today, being that this is Memorial Day weekend, we are going to focus on the soldier example that Paul gives. When you think about it for a moment, there are quite a few things that we can learn from a soldier that apply directly to our lives as well. I thought that Paul, in this passage, helps us understand what the lifestyle and mindset of a soldier is and from that we can better understand what we can learn from them for our life.

• Commitment and Devotion
The first mindset is that a soldier has deep commitment and devotion. Paul asks us to join him in suffering like a good soldier. A soldier is wholeheartedly committed and sold on what he is and what he does. It’s not a commitment you make casually. Many soldiers make the commitment for life and it becomes who they are.

Soldiers have to commit to a certain period of service and then “re-up” when their time is up, unless of course they decide to retire. They are expected to be totally committed to their job and their country. There should be no wavering or second guessing. It really is all or nothing. Jesus, in Luke chapter 4 is being tempted by Satan. Satan offers to turn his whole legion of angels over to Jesus if Jesus will just bow down to him. Jesus replies in verse 8:

“It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” Luke 4:8

Jesus is committed to God and to His ways. There is no wavering in that devotion. I think of that with soldiers as well. They are to be totally devoted to their unit, their branch of the service and to their country. In fact, when Jesus is speaking on the Sermon on the Mount and giving those listening teaching on how to live their lives he says in Matt. 6:24:

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” Matt. 6:24

As a soldier, your heart cannot be divided. One of the evidences of this is their uniform. When a soldier goes to a wedding, a funeral, a special event, etc. they wear their uniform. It’s part of who they are. The wear it proudly and it is always well kept and neat.
Ex. Now many of you don’t know this about me, but I served…in the cub scouts. I was a cub scout and a Weeblo for many years. One of the things about being a cub scout was we were to wear our uniform every day that we had a den meeting. I remember going to school with that uniform on and even being asked many times why I was wearing it. I was proud to be a cub scout and proud to wear that uniform. Even some of my childhood school pictures were in that uniform.

Of course being in the cub scouts is not the same as being a soldier but there are some things that we learned that are similar to it. One thing is that uniform. “Uni” means one. We were expected to stand up for each other and hold together as a group or den. Let me show you how important that uniform is. You would never see a Navy man dress up in an army uniform or a Marine uniform. They were their uniform proudly and it is a respect and devotion to who they are. Each uniform is very distinct and you can tell which branch of the service they are in just by looking at their uniform.

Question: Can people tell you are a Christian by the way you look?

• Focus and Sacrifice
A second mindset of a soldier and one that Paul keys in on is a soldier has focus and makes a big sacrifice to be a soldier. Verse 3:

“Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” vs. 3

Paul talks about suffering. When you sign up to be a soldier, you put aside your own desires, your own ways, and your own agenda. Most of the time, a soldier doesn’t decide where they will serve, or what they want to do that day, or where they will live. They are at the beck and call of the branch of the service they are enlisted in and they take orders. They sacrifice time with their spouse, time with their children, they sacrifice professions at times, and many times their hobbies as well. They go away for long periods of time and they miss much of the everyday things that regular civilians do. I 1 Samuel 12 the prophet Samuel is ready pass away and he is giving instructions to the nation of Israel. He says in verse 24:

“But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart…”
1 Samuel 12:24

He calls the nation to serve God faithfully. Faithfulness is keeping your focus to your commitment and making sacrifices to your own will and ides.
Ex. To give you an idea of what this is like, I’ve asked a veteran to give us a bridef overview of the sacrifice of a soldier.

One thing that goes along with being focused and sacrifice is that you have to be willing to be different; willing to act differently.
Ill. If you hear people who are gossiping, you decide no t to gossip. If you hear people putting others down, you have to be willing to love, if you see people hoarding and only being concerned for themselves, you have to be willing to give generously and not give in to making it all about you and you only, etc.

• A Team Player With Individual Gifts
And that leads us to the third mindset of a soldier, that you are a team player with individual gifts. Remember what Paul wrote in verse 2:

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people…” vs. 2

Reliable people who will be a witness. That is the idea of using however you are gifted to spread the gospel and to use your gifts. Each of us has been given gifts, by God, and we are called to use them to serve others, and to bring glory to God. Peter said in 1 Peter 4:10:

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10

Think about how an army unit is set up. Each person has a job and they are expected to do that job well and they are expected perform that job in a way that best benefits the unit as a whole.
Ex. Army unit Sergeant, Corporal, Specialist, Private first class, Private, Private

Devoted For Life
Adoniram Judson, Jr. (August 9, 1788 – April 12, 1850) was an American Baptist missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Adoniram Judson became the first Protestant missionary sent from North America to preach in Burma. His mission and work led to the formation of the first Baptist association in America, inspired many Americans to become or support missionaries, translated the Bible into Burmese, and established a number of Baptist churches in Burma.

“The motto of every missionary, whether preacher, printer, or schoolmaster, ought to be “Devoted for life.”

It takes a lot to be a soldier and many pay the ultimate price, their life. Paul is encouraging Timothy to hang tough. Hanging tough is being committed, devoted, focused, sacrificial, and a team player. Don’t forget Paul’s words in verse 1:

“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” vs. 1

We are called to be like a soldier in our commitment to God and his church and to be the
Reliable witness to the world that God is real, God is love, and that God wants everyone to know him and his son Jesus Christ and that is the key, Jesus. We can only be strong with His help.

Proud Of My Faith
2 Timothy 1:8-13
“So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner.” vs. 8

All Roads…
I am not sure how you feel about this but lately I have been struggling a bit with the idea that our world is changing, quickly and the moral and beliefs of our society has changed. There was a time not too long ago when you could express your faith and the world would listen. There was a time not too long ago when you were actually expected to have faith. We’ve seen our world change and it’s now at a point where the present culture doesn’t seem to reflect the faith that our country was founded on. Many people call the time we live in now as the secularizing of America. I would even say that my faith now clashes with the present culture. Christianity is quickly loosing it’s footing in the United States and is no longer the predominant faith. It’s fine to state you are New Age, Muslim, Buddhist, Church of Scientology. Etc. and it’s culturally accepted. Say you’re a Christian and that you believe in God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible and it’s likely you’ll meet up with quite a bit of opposition.

Tolerance is one of the words that gets thrown around a lot. I hear things like; we need to be more tolerant of others views and beliefs and I would go a step further and say that if we, as Christians state our beliefs, we are considered intolerant. In fact, one phrase that continually gets repeated to me is:

“All roads lead to heaven.” (show picture) The other is that phrase:

“Anything you believe in is okay as long as you believe it and it works for you.”

As I reflect on these statements, they really sound good, don’t they? They even sound kind of beautiful in a sense, a sense of peace and acceptance and they sound “tolerant.” I mean it’s okay really to believe anything as long as it works for you and others should respect that and even allow it. It sounds like a new problem but really it’s not. The church, since Christ left this earth and ascended to God’s right hand, has been struggling with acceptance. Let’s read a passage that Paul wrote to Timothy about this very thing in 2 Timothy 1:8:13:

Read Passage – 2 Timothy 1:8-13
So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. 13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Peer Pressure
Even in the early church there was peer pressure for Christians to deny their faith and give up the belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Notice again verse 8a:

“So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner.” vs. 8a

We can become ashamed of the gospel, ashamed of what we say is our faith. Ashamed means we are embarrassed by it and the peer pressure is to keep it to ourselves. One way the world deals with things is by “labeling.” What I mean by that is putting a label on someone is attaching a descriptive word to them. When that happens it is easier to control them. So if they label you intolerant or conservative or a fundamentalist, or anything else, it’s easier to try to manipulate others thoughts about you or to put peer pressure on you to either change or deny your views.

Suffering For The Cause
Paul continues verse 8 by saying:

“Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel…” vs. 8b

Paul calls us to join him in suffering for the gospel. Now he was suffering. He was in prison awaiting execution. We might get pressure to change but we haven’t really had to suffer for the gospel, at least here in the United States. We are actually called to go so far as suffering for our faith if necessary. In other parts of the world they do suffer for their beliefs.
Ill. In a Newsweek issue from 2012 they call Christians the most persecuted religion.
But we are called to tell others about our faith and to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here is the thing, what the world doesn’t understand, that as good as it sounds to say all roads lead to heaven, what they are denying is God. They are taking God out of it and inserting individuals and the world. By saying all roads lead to heaven, it becomes up to the individual to decide what is right and wrong. They want to decide for themselves and they want everyone to come up with their “salvation” from within themselves.
Here is a great example from my own week. I went on Facebook this week and a friend of mine posted this:
Ex. Show picture with the caption “I am trusting the universe has a plan”
Like the phrase “All roads lead to heaven” doesn’t this phrase sound good, maybe comforting, even beautiful (as well as he picture that goes with it)? But realize how empty it is. The trust is put in an inanimate object and something cosmic.

Responding To Opposition
So how do we respond? What is our response to opposition? Peer pressure? To things that sound beautiful but are really empty.

The first thing I want to make very clear is that I believe in God, one God, and His plan for my life and his plan for all of us. He gave us his son who told us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6) But Paul, in our passage today, gives the church, that’s you and I, the response that we need to hold fast to our faith and to not just respond, but to live fully in the promises that God has given to us.

• Choose Your Power Source
First, you must choose your power source. You have to decide where you will draw your powere from when you face opposition. Paul said in verse 8:

“Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.” vs. 8b

Paul knew his power source was God. Paul choose that. In his earlier life he tried to do it in his own strength and that didn’t work. You and I have a choice. Where or who do you choose to find your power source? You can choose yourself, you can choose the universe (like that slide), you can choose the earth, you can choose a god (small g) made of wood, stone, metal, etc. or you can choose to make God your power source. Paul also said in Romans 15:13:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

God makes it clear to us that he does not leave us alone…ever. He has put within us his Holy Spirit and that Spirit gives us power. The world says that we all have within the insight and knowledge and strength to choose our path.
Ex. Buddhism – There is no God but we all have within us the answers
I choose God as Paul choose God.
Ex. An outlet. Explain how electronic things will not work without a power source.

• Confident In God’s Strength
We can choose God because our second response it to be confident in God’s strength. I learned verse 12 as a young boy. It was part of a song and I can never forget it. It says:

“Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.” vs. 12

What have I entrusted to him? My very life and soul. I would never give my life and soul to something or someone who I am not 100% convinced has the ability to keep that safe. One of the things I am convinced of is that the more I know God, the more I spend time with him, the more I trust him, the more confident I am that He is God and He is able to guard me, my life, my soul, and all that I am.

The key to this point is in the spending of time. Did you ever notice that the more you spend time with someone the more you know them and the more you have the chance to appreciate them. Yes, you also have some difficulties with the little things that can drive you bananas but you also really get to know them. Think about someone you really trust. I mean trust with your very life. How did you get to that point? By spending time together and getting to know them. By shared experience. God is the same. You spend time with God and you get to know him better. You talk (prayer), you walk (shared experience), and you see all the little ways he cares for you and the little things that somehow work out when it seemed there was no way out. This reminded me of Psalm 68:35:

“You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.” Psalms 68:35

I know pastors can sound like a broken record. Especially when it comes to things like prayer and Bible study and…church attendance. But listen to this verse. There is a key in it. When you come to this place, when you worship, have fellowship with each other, spend time in his house, it produces strength.
Ill. Ever invite someone over to your house? Why? To spend time together and be together and grow together. God provides a chance for us each week to come to his house and spend time with him and grow closer, and draw strength. Why do we think we can invite God to get us through our difficulties and not spend time with him and really develop a relationship with him?

• God The Father
The final response to overcome opposition is God himself. Let me explain by rereading verse 9:

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.” vs. 9

We can get side tracked by this one issue: Why is this happening to me? But notice what this verse tells us. What is happening many times is not because of you. It’s for God’s purpose. This is where many “religions” just don’t get it. Mainly, because they make it about themselves, “me.” We can buy into that so easily. It so natural to think of me. But this verse is telling us that things we go through might not be about us at all.
Ex. Job He didn’t go through all those horrific things because of himself of something he did or didn’t do. His friends tried to convince him that it had to be because of him. He kept deflecting it back to God.
When we get caught up on ourselves, all we have is the here and now. We forget the bigger plan and the bigger picture. Paul’s words for 2 Corinthians 4:17 say:

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:17

Part of our response is to realize and understand that God’s bigger picture and plan has more for us than any temporary struggle or opposition we might be going through.

A note about opposition, struggles, and adversity; we usually grow more through our tough times than we do when things are going well. In an odd way; adversity helps. Our struggle can be a gift in many ways. They teach us to trust God, to trust in his power and strength, to trust in his plan.

…Don’t Get Caught Blaming

Caution: On note of caution, don’t get caught playing the blame game. When we blame we don’t take responsibility for what is happening and tend not to deal with the issue. When we accept our part and trust God to work his plan, we have the chance to grow through our adversity and opposition.

Never Alone
To end, I really want to stress the point that God never leaves us alone. That is the underlying promise of all that Paul is writing to Timothy about here. Verse 13:

“Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” vs. 13

Paul stresses again and again in this chapter and in this letter as a whole the idea that God’s Holy Spirit is in us.
Ex. Corrie Ten Boom prisoner in a Nazi Concentration Camp
Her famous words, “There is no pit so deep, that he is not deeper still.”

Influential Mothers
2 Timothy 1:1-7
“I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your
grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice…” vs. 5

The Yellow Dress
The story is told of a young boy who walks into a Macys store. He wanders around for a few minutes until he finds his way to the women’s dept. He isn’t much taller than the racks themselves. He looks around for a minute and sees some dresses over to his left and makes his way to them. He circles around it once and comes to the place where there are some yellow ones. It’s a bit confusing because there are many variations of yellow and styles and he stares for just a minute. He finally sees one that seems right to him but he still not sure. About this time a woman approaches and sweetly smiles at him and asks him if he needs some help. He answers, “Um, okay, I want to buy my mother a dress for Mother’s Day and her favorite color is yellow. I think she would like this one.” He points to the one he has decided on. The woman asks, “Do you know what size your mother wears? Is she an 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 or anything like that?” He’s a bit confused and kind of turns his head up as if he is thinking. Finally he replies, “She’s the perfect size.” The woman gets a huge smile and grabs him a size 6. When they get to the counter he pulls money waded up in his pocket and surprisingly he had more than enough to pay for the dress fully. She wraps it for him and he walks out of the dept. with a huge smile and sense of satisfaction on his face.

Leave it to a kid to give such a great answer to a question. Today is Mother’s Day and we want to honor all of the women here; many who are mothers, may one day be a mother, or many who have helped us in raising our children and have helped fill that motherly role for us.
P.S. The supposedly the mother in the story had to return the dress for a slightly bigger size.
If you are able, will you stand as we read 2 Timothy 1:1-7. You might say, “Didn’t we read that last week?” The answer would be “yes” but we are going to look at a part of it that we didn’t touch on last week.

Read Passage – 2Timothy 2:1-7
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Two Strong women
To briefly review, 2 Timothy is a letter written to Timothy from Paul. Paul is in prison in Rome and is waiting for what will ultimately be his execution. He writes to Timothy to encourage him. He is a pastor that Paul left in place on one of his missionary journeys so he really has a heart for what happens in this church. A lot of this book is filled with insightful wisdom and a passionate heart for the people of this church and for his young protégé Timothy. This book has a lot of great insights into how we look and act as a church. Last week we talk about God being our foundation and the base for everything we do.

I briefly mentioned verse 5 last week. Today I want to focus on that verse. In that verse there are two important women listed. Many believe them to be mother and daughter.

 Lois
The first woman mentioned is Lois. She is Timothy’s grandmother and probably the mother of Eunice. Although her name is Greek she is a Hellenistic Jew. In other words, she is Jewish but has been influenced by the Greek culture in which she lives.

 Eunice
Eunice is Timothy’s mom. She was a Jewish woman married to a Gentile. We assume since Lois and Eunice are mentioned together here that they are mother and daughter. Timothy was trained in the Scriptures since the time he was a young boy (2 Tim. 3:15) and that is because of Eunice. It is assumed that she became a Christian on one of Paul’s missionary trips through the region and some guess that at some point she became a widow and raise d Timothy as a single mom. She must have had some great pride in her son being chosen to accompany Paul in some of his travels and eventually being appointed pastor of a church.

Sincere Faith
There is one thing that stands out in this passage about these two women. Let’s look one more time at verse 5:

“I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice…” vs. 5

Paul mentions these women as having “sincere” faith. This is literally a “pure” or “un-hypocritical” faith. Their faith had a purity to it that stood out. The verse indicates that this purity in faith was passed on to Timothy and it continued on in him.

Women Of Influence
So…I call these “women of influence.” How did these women become such women of sincere faith? I think the answer comes in the following two verses and it is how we are called to live as well, it is the strength, guidance and direction that comes from the Holy Spirit.

Last week we ended by talking about the importance of fanning to flame the gift within us. It should be noted that this doesn’t mean that Timothy had not let his fire smolder or that he was beginning to burn out. It is more of the idea that his mother and grandmother had instill in him the base of his foundation and now it was time for him to rely on that strength and courage that God had instilled in him to lead the church through its difficulties.

• Cultivate Self-assurance
Let’s interweave what God’s Spirit instills in us from verse 7 with what these women of influence do for us through the Spirit. Verse 7a:

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid…” vs. 7

One of the gifts the Spirit gives us is self-assurance and confidence. We don’t have to be timid when we have God’s Spirit. In that same way, a good mother, a woman of influence builds up those around her. I would venture to say that for the most part, most mothers, and most women who are filling that role of mother to children, want to build their self-confidence and to see those children go on to do great things. These are words that Paul iterates in 1 Thess. 5:11:

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up…” 1 Thess. 5:11

Paul touches on an important part of building self-confidence, encouragement. And add to this Hebrews 3:13:

“But encourage one another daily…” Hebrews 3:13

A woman of Godly influence builds up and encourages her children, her husband, and those around her daily. Encouraging is building the emotional feelings and inner certainty. Note, there needs to be sincerity here. Building up and encouraging is bringing out those gifts and talents that they see in their loved ones.
Ex. My great-grandmother, She knew I loved baseball. When I was just 6-8 years old she was already in her mid to late 80’s. she would tell me to get a lawn chair, an put it right in the middle of our lawn in the backyard. She would then tell me to get a ball and my mitt and she would sit there and throw the ball to me. I don’t know how much she liked sports, if at all, but she knew I did and want to encourage me in what my interests were.

• Empower
A second gift the Spirit gives us and that women of Godly influence pass on to those around them is to empower people. Continuing with verse 7:

“For the Spirit God…gives us power…” vs. 7

Empower others in enabling them to do things. It’s giving them the means and the opportunity to accomplish their goals and desires. This is providing the means to accomplish things. How many women give, without little thought of themselves, to se that others are taken care of. They give their provisions, their material things, and their ———–. Proverbs 27:17 says:

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17

Sharpening is honing and urging the other person on. Solomon also wrote in Proverbs 1:8b:

“…do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” Proverbs 1:8b

Mothers have wisdom and experience that they pass along to their children. So we see empowerment comes in the form of provision, sharpening, and teaching.
Ex. I remember well one of my Sunday School teachers. She would have been my teacher in 1st or 2nd grade. Her name was Mrs. Schnieder. I don’t know the last time I saw here but it would have been in my late grade school years. She befriended our family and I remember admiring her and her sons. Her sons were in high school and I really looked up to them. I can’t tell you exact words she said to me, but I know her words and her teaching had a huge impact on my life. I do remember her encouraging me and building my confidence level. I do vividly remember her having my family over for Sunday dinner and for some reason I remember her back yard very vividly. She encouraged me and had the faith that encouraged me to be a man of God and to truly live out my faith.

• Unconditional Love
The final gift we receive from the Holy Spirit that is also exhibited in those influential women of our life is unconditional love. The final part of verse 7:

“For the Spirit God…gives love and self-discipline.” vs. 7

One thing that I cherish in my life is that God loves me unconditionally. No matter how much I sin, how much I feel unlovable, God loves me without limits.

“Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Cor. 13:7

I have had the privilege of having women in my life that love me unconditionally.
Ex. Grandma Payne and Lois. I have had the privilege of marrying into a family that has welcomed me and loved me unconditionally. (Expand)

Building A LegacyLois and Eunice remind me that our actions and our lives have an impact on people and make a difference in other people’s lives. Couple that with the insight that Paul gives us here about following the direction of the Holy Spirit and we can understand that that we have an important decision to make. What kind of legacy do I want to leave? Our legacy is not determined on what we say we are but on what others say about us. Solomon touches on that in Proverbs 31:28:

“Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.” Prov. 31:28

For just a moment, think for a quick second about those people, and today I would say those women, who had an impact on your life. Let me share a Mother’s Day blessing with you.

Mother’s Day Blessing
You touch my heart with your caring…
You touch my life with your friendship…
You touch my spirit with your faith…
You bless me just by being you.
Happy Mother’s Day.

Fan To Flame

2 Timothy 1:1-7

“I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God…” vs. 6

The FamilyChurch

Do you ever wonder just how thw church should look? Consider what this family church looked like. Some families make church their home. Others find other uses for the church.

Take the notorious Tate family, for example. Perhaps you’ve met some of them. The chief of the clan is old Dic Tate, who insists on running everything in church. His brother Ro Tate wants to change everything. Aunt Agi Tate has a knack for stirring up trouble; and her husband, Irri Tate, always lends a hand.

The next generation of Tates has its own characteristics. Hesi Tate and his wife, Vege Tate, would just as soon wait until next year whenever a new project is suggested. Aunt Imi Tate would love to create the first generic church. Devas Tate announces constantly that the church is doomed, while her husband Poten Tate promises he can lead the church out of trouble. Today in the Word, May, 1996, p. 8

Obviously this is having a bit of fun with the names but it does make you think a bit about what role some people have in the church as well as what our own role might be. Today we are starting a new study on the book of 2 Timothy which has a lot to say about the church. If you are able, please stand as we read 2 Timothy 1:1-7.

Read Passage – 2Timothy 2:1-7

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, ² To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. ³ I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. ⁴ Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. ⁶ For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

What Lies Ahead

As we approach 2 Timothy it’s important to understand the circumstances of the writer, Paul. It says in verse 1:

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus…” vs. 1

Paul says the “promise of life.” In a sense he is considering what lies ahead for him. 2 Timothy is Paul’s farewell address to Timothy and the church at large. Paul is in prison in Rome waiting for execution. Most likely he is in a very primitive setting with bare walls, maybe a cot or a chair and small table, and chained up.  It’s probably cold and damp and he knows what lies ahead, his execution. He probably doesn’t have much in the way of comfort and is left to consider his impending death.  If this were me, I think I would be absorbed with that. Not Paul. He is thinking about the ministry, the things he has done and the people he has influenced and left in place, and he is still concerned about the gospel being spread. He uses this time to pass the ministry baton to one of his protégé’s, Timothy. This is important to understand as we read through this book.

Pastoral Book

This letters that Paul wrote is one of the Pastoral Epistles. When I was a kid we memorized the books of the Bible by some of the categories they fell into like the Gospels, the minor prophets, the Pentateuch, etc.  Three books, 1^st and 2^nd Timothy and Titus make up what are called the pastoral letters because they were written to pastors. First and Second Timothy and Titus make up the Pastoral Epistles. These letters were written for instruction of young pastors but also for the people of the those churches to understand their gifting, their call in ministry, and what the church should be like.  They are written for all of us to understand what the church should be.

The Devoted Church Is Devoted To…

As I read through 2 Timothy recently, it struck me that this book has a great deal to say to us about what a devoted church, and by that I mean devoted to God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, looks like and our part in being a devoted church. Keeping in line with that thought I thought it would be a good chance to review our theme. It’s written in your bulletin but it is also on the outline as well.  Our theme:

ACC Theme: Passionately Loving God, Life, and Others

I believe much of what is written in 2 Timothy goes a long way to helping us understand that theme and to live it out. In his opening, Paul addresses this idea of a devoted church in these first seven verses.  Here aer three things we need to be devoted to.

• God

First, a devoted church is devoted to God.  This may sound almost redundant or you may be thinking that this is a given. Don’t overlook this important point. Verse 5:

“I am reminded of your sincere faith…” vs. 5

Notice the reminder to have sincere faith. Sincere have has a genuineness to it. It also means that it is real and true. I take this to mean that we understand who we are and that everything we do is based on the same thing, the foundation of the faith, God himself. In order for our church, any church really, to be the witness to our community and to the world, the foundation must be God. That means that everything we do, everything we say, and everything that unites us and makes us who we are is built on the foundation of God, to bring him glory and to honor him. We devote ourselves to him and seek to glorify him in all things.  In 2 Chronicles 22 King David is seeking to build a temple to God and he is preparing everything for Solomon to do this after his death. Listen to part of David’s instructions to the people:

“Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God.” 1 Chronicles 22:19

David uses the same idea in this passage about the foundation of the temple and of the church as well. The foundation is far beyond the material things used to build the building, it is building everything upon God himself as our foundation.

Ex. The example I think helps us put this in a picture we can understand is the compass. When you have a good compass, it will always give you your bearings and it is always based on letting you know where true north is. Wherever you are headed, whatever direction you are going, and whatever you are doing, a compass will always let you know where true north is so you always have your bearings.

For the church, God is our true north. Whatever we do, say, whatever ministries we undertake, it should all be about and for God. He is the common bond for the church. We can do things individually but we are all connected to God and that makes us connected to each other. God is the common bond, the thing that ties us all together, the glue to our community and church is God himself.

• Each Other

The second devotion of the church is being devoted to each other. Paul’s words in verse 3 speak volumes to us about this. Verse 3:

“I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.” vs. 3

A hallmark of Paul and his ministry is his love and care for others and that is brought out in this verse when he talks about his prayer life. His thoughts for his fellow believers go beyond the meeting on the Sabbath.  He follows this up with a second devotion to each other in verse 4:

“Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.” vs. 4

His desire is also to be together, to spend time together. Part of the draw of being a church is the true care and concern we have for each other.  It’s more than just being friends.  In some ways it is more than  being a family even though we use that term.  I mean, think about it, you don’t choose your family, you are usually born into it. As a church family, we choose to be together, and we like that even when there are differences. The differences make us stronger and bring different gifts and strengths to the church. This idea is a them through Paul’s ministry.  Listen to his words from Romans 12:10:

“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Romans 12:10

This kind of devotion is seen by being open and honest with each other, trusting each other, coming along side one another when we hurt, when there a re difficulties, when there are joys to be shared and by building a deeper love for each other.

Ex. A great example of this is our greeting time.  We love being together and being in each others lives.  That greeting time is fun, a chance to catch up and a time to encourage and pray for one another.  I know it seems almost funny how I have to corral you back after that time but it really is a good thing.

That depth and joy shouldn’t be limited to Sundays. We have midweek studies, we have events, we have ministry, etc.  If our time is only on Sunday then we are more like a club than a family. I want to follow Paul’s example and have that devotion to each other.

• Service

And the third devotion is to service. Notice Paul’s words in verse 3:

“I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did…” vs. 3

Service is getting outside of yourself and doing things so that the love of God flows out into others and our community.

We serve each – acts of love, care, concern

We serve outside the church – Operation Shoebox, POH, etc.

In 2 Corinthians 9:13 Paul writes:

“Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ…” 2 Cor. 9:13

Our service allows God’s love to flow out of us an into others and in turn that helps them see God. Active compassionate service, Reaching out to those the world looks down on.

Ex. Tim Keller – Pastor Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, New York

Tony Campolo, a Christian speaker was at a conference in Honolulu Hawaii. He had flown in but because of the time change was wide awake at 3 a.m. He hungry so he goes out to eat and finds a seedy diner and goes in and sits down. Right next to him he overhears a conversation between two women, prostitutes, and one was named Agnes who tells the other that tomorrow is her birthday. Her friend asks if she is going to have a party or anything. Agnes says she has never had a birthday party in her life.  Well they finish and leave. Tony goes over to the owner, Harry, and asks if he knows those women. He says he does because they come in every night about the same time, in fact he knows almost all the people that come in there. So Tony says, tomorrow let’s throw her a birthday party.  I will bring the cake and decorations and asks if Harry knows her friends.  He says he knows all her friend so Tony asks Harry to invite them all and they will have a surprise party for her. The next night at 2:30 a.m. Tony shows up and they decorate the diner and the cake and her friends start showing up about 3 am.  Tony notices that all of them are prostitutes. So there he is a Christian speaker in a seedy diner at 3 am with a bunch of prostitutes. At 3:30 a.m. Agnes walks in and every screams, “Happy Birthday!”  She was utterly stunned and couldn’t even stand up so she sat down and began to cry. She looks at the cake and tries to blow out the candles but couldn’t through all her tears.  Harry hands her a knife to cut the cake but she asks if she could not do that, she has never had a birthday cake and she doesn’t want to ruin it.  She wants to take it home and just keep it as long as she cane. She asks if she can run home and take the cake. They are a little unsure about this but they say okay and now Tony is in this diner with a bunch a prostitutes and he doesn’t know what to say do.  So, he says “How about if we pray for Agnes?” So he said a prayer for her life, her salvation, prayed that her life would be changed and that God would be good to her. Tony says “When I finished Harry leaned over and said “You never told me you were a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to?” I answered I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3 a.m.  Harry thought a second and with some hostility in his voice he said, “No you don’t, there is no church like that. If there was, I would go to that church. I would join a church like that.” Harry saw love and good works, good deeds. What kind of community produces love and good deeds that makes the Harry’s of the world want to come?

Keep The Fire Burning

To wrap this up, Paul gives us a great picture of what we are to look like and what to do. It’s founds in verse 7:

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” vs.7

Each of us have something in us, a flame that is the gift of God. Fire is another word that many times refers to the Holy Spirit. God has given us part of him, the Holy Spirit to live in us and to guide, direct and encourage us. We have his peace and strength in us. We shouldn’t stifle that. Paul’s word picture here is to fan that fire into flame; to make it bigger, brighter and deeper. Going back to our theme, I think that is the passion we refer to.  We don’t want our Christianity to be dull, smoldering, and this little ember that never really turns into a fire.  We should be striving to fan that ember into a fire. People build fires to gather around, to warm themselves, to cook and feed themselves, etc. This is an attractive thing that draws others. It’s living the full life, the passionate life, the devoted life.

Running Against God

Jonah 4

“I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God…” vs. 2

The Great Agnostic

There was a traveling preacher back in the early 1800’s named Rev. John Ingersoll. He was pretty famous and would fill in the pulpit for some pretty famous preachers like Charles G. Finney.  In other words he was a guest preacher for pastors when they were out of town. Much like Mike Laughlin does for me. Some of his views were pretty radical and this took its toll on his family causing them to move frequently; mostly in a very negative way. He had a son born in 1833 named Robert. Robert Ingersoll became pretty well known. He was a Civil War Veteran, a political leader, and an orator. Because of the experience with his father, he became an agnostic.

Agnostic – One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God. One who is skeptical about the existence of God.

Atheist – a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings

Many of Robert Ingersoll’s speeches advocated freethought and humanism, and often poked fun at religious belief. When Robert was delivering his lectures against Christ and the Bible, he usually attracted large crowds. One night after an inflammatory speech in which he severely attacked man’s faith in God, he dramatically took out his watch and said, “I’ll give God a chance to prove that He exists and is almighty. I challenge Him to strike me dead within 5 minutes!” First there was silence, then people became uneasy. Some left the hall, unable to take the nervous strain of the occasion, and one woman fainted. At the end of the allotted time, the agnostic exclaimed pompously, “See! There is no God. I am still very much alive!” After the lecture a young man said to a Christian lady, “Well, Ingersoll certainly proved something tonight!” Her reply was memorable. “Yes he did,” she said. “He proved God isn’t taking orders from atheists tonight.”

It might sound crazy, but do you (I) think we can control God? Give him orders? Challenge him? You might be quick to say “no” but how many times do we pray, “God, if you just do this I will do that.”  Deep inside we know God is bigger than that but we still do it sometimes. Today we are going to finish our series on Jonah and his interaction with God after he has preached to Nineveh and they have relented and turned back to God. If you are able, please stand as we read God’s Word.

Read Passage – Jonah 4

But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. ² He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. ³ Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” ⁴ But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?” ⁵ Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. ⁶ Then the Lord God provided a leafy plantand made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. ⁷ But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. ⁸ When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” ⁹ But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.” ¹⁰ But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. ¹¹ And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

A Pastor’s Dream

Jonah experiences an interesting phenomenon here. He preaches God’s word to the people of Nineveh and they turn from their wicked ways and repent. They turn back to God.

Ill. Most pastors would love to have this happen.  Can you imagine; you preach, they hear, and they repent and start following God! WOW! We pastors get frustrated when we do everything we feel we are called to do and the results just don’t seem to be there.  The church doesn’t grow, people don’t seem to change at all, and the church doesn’t seem to be moving forward. Can you imagine what would happen if everything went the way pastors thought it would? Wow! A pastor’s dream come true.

The text tells us over 120,000 people turn to God and start following him.  This is huge. It’s like all of Antioch and then some become Christians. Can you imagine the excitement, the notoriety, the phenomenon that would take place; the change in the city, the crime rate, etc. and how full the churches would be that next Sunday.  This is big stuff. If God used me that way, I have to think I would be thrilled.

Jonah’s Anger and It’s Cause/Effects

So, how do you think Jonah responded? Verse 1:

“But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.” vs. 1

Yep, everything goes just as God was hoping and that got Jonah really upset; more than upset, down right angry. He is ticked.  He thought this might happen and now that it has, he is fit to be tied.  And his anger displays itself in 3 cause and effects.

–Self-pity He is wallowing in self-pity and self-absorption. He could care less about the Ninevites and their salvation. He only cares about what he wants, what he thinks should happen and why he is not getting his way.

–Arrogance He is also steaming with arrogance.  He thinks he knows best what should happen to them and he is basically saying he knows better than God.

–Hatred And he is brewing with hatred. Now these are the Ninevites and they are the Israelites enemy but his hatred is so great that he just wants to see them all destroyed and basically rot in hell.

Jonah’s negative attitude leads him to sulk and mope away to a nearby hill and sit and watch the city of Nineveh from a distance. He is pouting and moping and really acting childish.   Think about it this way.  He walked through Nineveh for three days with this hatred preaching and watching these people turn to God.  He knew God and His ways and as he is preaching and they are turning, he is watching these “enemies of his” received God’s forgiveness and love and there is nothing he can do about it and he probably hates this all the more and it just increases his feelings of hatred and self-pit.

The Plant

Jonah’s story takes on a new twist in verse 6. Even though Jonah is angry with God, God isn’t done with him. Verse 6:

“Then the Lord God provided a leafy plantand made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant.” vs. 6

Jonah is angry, tired, and still somewhat curious as to how God is going to ultimately deal with the Ninevites so he heads east of the city. Scholars assume that it was probably up on a hill where he had a good vantage point to see the city but that is an assumption, we are not told that in the text. It does make a lot of sense though..  He maybe even hoped that somehow God was still going to destroy it and he had a great view to watch that take place. But it didn’t. So…God notices Jonah sitting out in the heat of the day and provides a plant for him to have some shade from the heat. Even in his pain and rebellion god provides for him. He has built a little shelter, probably something like a lean-to. It’s not sufficient to protect him so God causes a plant to grow, and grow quickly. We a not told exactly what kind of plant it is; some versions of the Bible call it a gourd. If you have ever grown a squash or pumpkin plant this can make some sense because their leaves are big and broad even though they are not know to grow up in one day.

Note: if God can control the giant fish can’t he control a plant as well. Another evidence of God being in control of nature.

So in the midst of his putting and anger God is providing some comfort, peace and ease of his pain. God was not only calling the Ninevites to himself, he was calling Jonah too. God provides peace in the turmoil. But the peace is temporary as the next morning a worm eats the roots of the plant and kills it and the wind kicks up and blows the pant over. And again, Jonah becomes angry. Angry to point of wanting to die. A bit strange but death seems better to Jonah than seeing God work in people’s lives, even his own.

How can I Not Miss Out or 3 Questions To Check Our Focus/Attitude

This really leads us to the question; How Can I Not Miss Out on What God Is Doing or the way it’s listed in your outline, what questions can I ask to check my focus and attitude? Jonah 4 is full of questions and those question are important for us to ask to ourselves so that we are in line with our hearts and our attitudes when it comes to what God is doing.

• Am I Just Going Through The Motions?

The first question is; Am I Just Going Through the Motions? Let’s look again at verse 2:

“He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish.” vs. 2

The whole time Jonah was preaching to the Ninevites, his anger and hatred are building.  I am going out on a limb here but I don’t think that is what most people want to see in their pastor or ministry leader. Jonah was giving the word, he was saying what God told him but he didn’t believe it himself. He was just going through the motions. He was speaking God’s Word but that word was not resonating in his heart.

Ex. Before you are too hard on Jonah, think about your own life.  Are you just going through the motions? You’re at work but your heart isn’t really in it.  You’re with your family but you aren’t really giving them all you’ve got. You call yourself a Christian but your life through-out the week looks anything but what a Christian is supposed to be. You come to church but only because you think you are supposed to or to appease someone else.

The only way to get past this is to have a different perspective. To find the joy and the passion for the things you are involved with. Work hard at your job and enjoy the work because God uses that too. You can be a “real” Christian and people will see that. You job is actually ministry. Being the best parent or spouse is being real and it speaks volumes to your family and friends about you love for God. Let me add a verse that helps with this; Proverbs 23:26:

“My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways.” Proverbs 23:26

When you are being all that God has called you to be, in your job, in your home, in your hobiees, etc. you find the new perspective of delight or joy. When God has control, we find the delight in life that God intends for us.

Ill. Jonah was not “delighted” that the Nivevites turned to God.  He was just going through the motions. He could have had real joy by seeing how God was working in bringin some bad people to a good God.

• Do I Recognize God’s Provision?

The second question; Do I recognize God’s provision? Do I acknowledge all the things that God has given to me and done for me? Verse 9:

“But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” vs. 9

An important part of this story is that God provided the plant for Jonah. Many times we think if we are not acting right, if we are not being “good”, that God will not be there for us.  I think that is a world view but not an accurate view. God provides for Jonah even though he is moping, angry, upset, and really not acting very well. God provided quite a few things for Jonah. He provided his skills, like public speaking, his persuasiveness, etc. In his misery God provides a plant to bring him peace and comfort. But Jonah doesn’t recognize these, he is so busy with his hatred and self-pity that he misses God’s provision.

It’s harsh, but we can do the same.  We are so caught up in not having our way, not getting what we think is right or just, not having things go our way, that what we do have and what God has provided, we either miss it or we fail to acknowledge what we do have. Jonah is preoccupied with his hatred and self-pity and it clouds his vision; it clouds him from seeing that God is still working with him too. When our vision gets clouded like that, we place too much importance on the wrong things and in our study today Jonah does that by placing his joy on a plant. Timothy says in 6:17:

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”  1Timothy 6:17

We all know that the things we have we can loose at any moment.

Ex. We can have the nicest of cars and in one quick moment that car can be totaled. i.e. hit and destroyed and we might not even be in it or near it.

Really Jonah is acting very childish. Children have to learn that things are things.  Notice how important something is to a child one minute and the next it could be completely out of their mind. Buy a child a candy bar and it’s only good until you pass the ice cream shop.

Looking at things as being from God means we appreciate them and are grateful to God for what he has provided. I think it’s interesting to see how people treat wealth. We see some rich people who are generous and some who are not. Many times we even think that the rich should share their things with us but we don’t share what we have with others. When we recognize our things as being from God, we can then use them for his glory.

• Do I See The Big Picture?

The third question to ask ourselves is; Do I see the big picture? Verse 11:

“And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?” vs. 11

It’s important to note from verse 11 the insight that God gives u on His perspective of things.  God’s concern is people. And he even throws in that he is concerned with animals too. Jonah does not have the big picture here.  What’s his focus? It’s very narrow; himself and a plant. That’s it. The warning that we take away from this is that when we catch ourselves focusing on ourselves, and we focus on the marginal things, many of which we have no control over, we find ourselves looking at a small narrow picture. God’s view is much bigger. His view is the 120,000 lost people of Nineveh. His concern is for their lost-ness. How far are we willing to go for those who are lost? How far is God willing to go and can we look at them through his eyes? We can miss out on God’s plan when we have a narrow focus.  Listen to a verse that comes from the prophet Hosea in 14:9:

“The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.” Hosea 14:9

We have a choice. Do I want to be in line with God and his plan? Those are the right ways, the righteous ways, and there is stability in those ways.  The other choice is to go our own way and that way is the rebellious way and unstable, we stumble in them.

Ex. Driving. Do you know how to keep your car centered in a lane? Your focus is up ahead of you with a big picture of where you are going. The best way to get in an accident is to look at only your car and only right in front of you.

It’s About Relationship

Because, with God, it’s all about relationship. He wants to be in relationship with you. With each and every person. That’s his concern, that’s his focus, that is his desire. You. Me. Each of us. The book of Jonah ends with a question.  Let me end with a question and a challenge today: Are you missing out? Are you feeling like Jonah and full or self-pity, or anger or hatred? Which of these do you identify with and need to change your perspective? Are you missing out by just going through the motions, or not acknowledging God’s provision, or missing the big picture?