Audio Access Available Above
"Living
This Day In Light Of That Day"
• 7.17.16 •
Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- Paul is very near the end of his life. His
conversion to Christ and his subsequent commitment cost him dearly. It was
truly about to cost him his life.
- On his mind is his dear son in the faith, who
is following in his footsteps. As Paul paces in his Mamertine prison cell, he
considers what to say to Timothy.
- The times have changed dramatically.
Christian theology is running into direct conflict with governmental policy.
Jesus and Caesar cannot both be Lord. How should Timothy act?
- Faithfulness to God will not simply cost
Timothy something. It will cost him everything! With that in mind, pay
attention to Paul's instruction. We pick it up in verse 8.
Text
• II
Timothy 1:8 : "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of
me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according
to the power of God," : Timothy knows that God had not
given him a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. That
should focus and sharpen his thinking.
- I hear Paul communicating this command like
this: "Timothy, look me in the eye: Don't be ashamed of the testimony of
our Lord!" To "be ashamed" is to be suffused with shame.
- When you are caught doing something that you
shouldn't do, there is a physical response.
You feel a
wave and the flush often shows up on your face.
- A note here on the language. Paul is not
inferring that Timothy is ashamed and that he needs to stop being ashamed.
- The sense here is that he is not to allow
shame to begin to well up at the testimony of the our Lord! Don't give into it for
a moment! What is the testimony of the Lord?
- It is the witness, the evidence of our Lord.
Essentially, this is the gospel proclamation. Why would Paul need to say this?
He was living in the original anti-Christ world!
- Timothy is to proclaim the atoning sacrifice
of a Jewish Messiah, who was executed by Rome, who then resurrected from the dead
and ascended to the Father where He lives now!
- Yeah, I don't see the problem do you? The
Jews considered this proclamation a stumbling block and the Greeks, the culture
of Rome, found it to be foolishness! (I
Corinthians 1:23)
- Paul is telling Timothy not to stop
witnessing or giving his testimony of the Lord's power to minister. Tell the
world of the Jewish Messiah who offers His life to the World!
- In Timothy's time, being quiet about his
witness was not only natural, but somewhat expedient, as softening his stance
or muting what he believed in, might help save his life!
- Imagine the temptation you might have if your
child faced a similar circumstance.
- Hear Paul command his spiritual child. In
spite of the present danger and what it might cost you, never let yourself be
ashamed of what the Lord has done in your life.
- Do you need to hear that today? Regardless of
what it might cost you, don't be ashamed of the gospel! Timothy was not to be
ashamed of the gospel or her greatest herald!
- Paul calls himself "the Lord's prisoner."
He is neither Rome's or Nero's prisoner. He is the Lord's prisoner! Wherever
Paul was, he was cognizant of the fact that he belonged to God.
- When Paul was a tentmaker, he was the Lord's
tentmaker! When he was a missionary, he was the Lord's missionary. Here in
prison, he is the Lord's prisoner!
- Paul's point to Timothy is that he needn't
feel as though God had abandoned him because of the circumstance that he found
himself in.
- It may have seemed lowly and embarassing to
some, but nothing had changed in Paul's mind, except for his location! There
isn't any need to be ashamed and recoil.
- Instead, share, jump in and join in the
afflictions that gospel ministry had to offer! It sounds very strange to our
ears because we equate godliness with victory.
- We cannot fathom a relationship to God that
doesn't equal out to our greatest comfort and ease! That thinking is purely
fictional and thoroughly unbiblical!
- The early church counted it an honor and a
privilege to suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ.
- Jesus Himself taught that we should count it
a blessing WHEN we are persecuted for His sake. Why? The prophets of God were
also persecuted! (Matthew 5:12)
That's good company!
- In the early chapters of the Christian
church, there was intense pressure not to preach in the Name of Jesus Christ.
- The Apostles facing the same crowd that
called for Christ's crucifixion reasoned that it was better to obey God than
men and were beaten for it. What was their response?
• Acts 5:41 : "So they departed from the presence
of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His
name." : They rejoiced that someone looked at their
lives and wanted to beat Jesus out of them!
- Here, Paul invites Timothy to join in because
that was the order of the day for God's servants!
- The Apostle doesn't want to suffer and he
doesn't seek it as if that suffering added something to his spirituality. However,
if it's what must be to be counted faithful, then suffer well Timothy!
- In the Western world, we are largely unaware
of what it means to suffer anything other than the occasional barb thrown our
way.
- Our brothers and sisters in the East, in
Muslim dominated cultures, know what it means to suffer and it may be that we
will also learn in the coming years as hate speech legislation continues.
- Many are in fear for their lives as we speak.
You and I might be in fear for our reputation or our possible career
advancement. Paul speaks to us and says, "If it costs you everything,
stand!"
- I know that you might be fearful and wonder
how you will be able to stand, especially if your life is required. Paul
anticipates that as he tells Timothy how he will: According to the power of
God!
- God would sustain them as they suffered. He
would give them power to overcome. I heard a Pastor say this week that when
suffering comes, God will simply "up the dosage of grace!"
- Every believer who has ever faced execution
has been a regular believer such as yourself! God was faithful to our heroes.
They faced what they faced by God's grace! Verse 11.
• II
Timothy 1:9-11 : "who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was
given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the
appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life
and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a
preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles." : We have God's power which will carry us through the suffering
and His salvation which has already delivered us!
- Incidently, this is why we shouldn't be
tempted toward shame, but prompted toward pride! God saved us through the
gospel! We were lost in our sin and He reached down to deliver us!
- His work on our behalf is complete! He has
set us apart unto Himself! A "holy calling" is what every believer
lives out. We have been taken out of the world and been set aside for God's
use!
- That didn't happen by anything that they did
or you did. There isn't a saint that will pass through the gates of heaven, who
will be able to point to their good deeds or works.
- Instead, we will agree with Paul and
recognize that the salvation that is ours through Christ was according to His
own purpose.
- When you think about why He saved you, know
that you are in the right ball park when you say, "Because He wanted
to!"
- He had this plan laid in His mind in the
annuls of eternity, literally before the "time of the ages!" That
plan came into laser focus when Jesus Christ made eternal life visible to all!
- The NLT puts it best when it translates this
verse, "And now He has made it plain." All who wish to know may see
through the lens of scripture the grace of God manifested in Jesus Christ!
- That grace in Christ has afforded us life as
it has disarmed death. "Abolished" means to "render
inoperative."
- This is reminiscent of Paul's words in I Corinthians 15 when he writes that
death was swallowed up in victory. "Oh death, where is your sting!" (I Corinthians 15:55)
- Of course, death is an event that will occur
for each of us unless the Lord comes. Scripture isn't denying that. For Paul,
his own death is a day or so away!
- What scripture is telling us is that death is
on it's way to dying, which is evident by it's lack of power to sway our
decision making. Death to a Christian has lost it's effect. It's useless
against us!
- That doesn't mean that we long to die or
aren't nervous about the particulars of our physical death. None of us want to
die without dignity or in a great deal of pain.
- But, for the Christian, even these thoughts
are secondary to the life that death door opens for us to receive! Christ has
defeated and disarmed death forever!
- Don't you think that was one of Paul's
greatest comforts being mere moments away from suffering decapitation? He was
on death row, but death row didn't own him!
- The darkness wouldn't stick to him because
Christ had brought to light life and immortality into this world! "Life"
is not simply a generic term.
- It truly means the full, unhindered
experience of vitality. Immortality signals the lack of corruption that will
attend to this full life existence!
- When we experience completely what God has
deposited within us, we can know that it will never deplete or diminish in any
way! We will have the fullness of life and that for all time and eternity!
- That is our promise through Christ! That is
what Paul was called to announce and carry as a teaching to the Gentiles!
• II
Timothy 1:12 : "For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am
not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able
to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day." : Paul was suffering now because of the claims of the gospel and his
love for the life in Christ demanded it from him.
- He had a responsibility to the Lord to bring
the knowledge of God's salvation to the Gentiles. In teaching them to call
Jesus "Lord," he directly contradicted Roman law, as only Caesar was
"Lord."
- Paul was viewed as a leader of sedition. He
had suffered at the hands of his own people and now from the Gentiles that he
was called to preach to. Regardless, he was not ashamed!
- I feel that if he were to write this today,
Paul might say, "Knowing what I know, I'd do it all again the exact same
way!" He had no regrets to speak of! Why?
- Because of who he had believed in! "I
know." The word speaks of being able to perceive with the eyes. Paul sees
who he has believed upon. His eyes are cast and fixed upon Him!
- He knows who he has put his full confidence
upon. Notice that it isn't "what" he believes, but in "whom he
believed." Christianity is a relationship with the living God.
- That is what Paul is driving at here. He
knows with certainty the God that he has believed in!
- That is what carries any believer through any
circumstance: A faith that sees the reality of that which it focuses upon! In
our case, we know the King of Kings, the Author of eternal life!
- Paul has believed and has become persuaded.
He has become convinced and confident that the God that He has believed upon
has the ability to keep what he committed to Him!
- The word "keep" refers to watching,
or guarding over that which he had committed or deposited to Him. What had Paul
committed to Him? His very life!
- No matter what was happening and who seemed
to be in control, Paul was able to patiently endure his trouble because he
trusted God!
- The idea here is of a deposit made that
rivals that of a trust. In this case, the terms of the trust fund go all the
way until that Day!
- What does "the Day" refer to? It's
a way of describing the season of judgment that will occur, both for the wicked
and the righeous.
- The wicked will awake to judgment. Their
account will be settled and those that have remained in their wickedness will
offer their supposed righteousness to God.
- Their funds will be embarassingly low and the
Lord will proclaim that He never knew them! That is the Great White Throne judgment.
- Every unbeliever who stands there will be
condemned to a sentence of eternally conscious torment away from the pleasing
presence of God.
- That isn't the line that Paul and indeed, all
the believers who have ever lived, will stand in. Our seat is the Bema Seat. In
Paul's day, this was the place where olympians received their reward.
- Today, it's a gold, silver or bronze metal.
In their day, it was a piece of glorified lettuce! At the Bema seat, destinies
being already known, Christ will dispense reward to His people for their
service.
- Why will we be given them? Perhaps it's so we
have something to give back to Him. But ultimately, Paul sees the trust fund of
His life, maturing into that moment.
- All that he was banking away in this life
will be rendered to Him in that time! That is what you are doing as well.
- You have given Christ control over your life,
so much so that He is actually living His life through you! The benefits of
that trust will not mature or come to full maturity until that Day!
- He can do what He wants with my life! I put
it in His hands and someday, I will be the benficiary of His good grace!
Conclusion
- Think about
this: Do you think that Paul wishes today that he had been ashamed of the
gospel then? Being a little more quiet about his faith might have preserved his
life!
- What are a
few more years of shameful regret against an eternity of blessing? What is that
worth to you? Let us hear Paul's words today: "Don't be ashamed of the
testimony of our Lord!"
- Whatever it
may cost you today pales in comparison to what you will experience in that day!
- Live this day
in light of that day and you will never be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ!
No comments:
Post a Comment