Remember Jesus

INTRO: DON’T YOU HATE FORGETTING?

Don’t you hate it when you forget something you ought to remember? One of the things I always envied about Pastor David was his ability to remember names. Meet you once and the next time he’d talk to you he had your name, the names of your kids, the first business you started when you were out of college, etc. The older you get the worse your memory gets, right? Can’t remember which grandkid is who. The human memory is a funny thing. But it’s also one of the most important tools we have spiritually.

REMEMBERING AND YOUR SPIRITUAL HEALTH:

Remembering the great acts of God is essential to the spiritual well-being of God’s children. The degree to which you are able and willing to “remember” certain things about God – who He is, what he has done, what he has promised to do – it is to that degree that you will be able to endure suffering and succeed spiritually. You see this theme in the Old Testament (with Passover meals). You see it in the New Testament (with the Lord’s Supper). You see it play out in your own life.

OT WARNINGS (PSALM 78:10-11) AND NT EXHORTATIONS (2 PETER 2)

In the OT, every time the nation of Israel got “divine amnesia” they would get themselves in trouble, find themselves in captivity to some foreign nation, and experience the judgment of God. Psalm 78:10–11 “They did not keep God’s covenant, but refused to walk according to his law. They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them.” You see this all throughout the OT. In the NT you see Peter play of the theme of remembrance as he encourages fellow believers to endure suffering. “If God delivered Noah from the flood, if He delivered Lot from S&G, then He will deliver us!” Remember, remember!

PAUL ENCOURAGING TIMOTHY TO REMEMBER GOD KEEPS PROMISE:

We’ve been studying 2 Timothy. If you’ve been paying attention you’ve noticed how big a role the theme of remembrance plays in this book. In ch 1 Paul uses the word 5 times in the first 7 verses! Paul remembers this faithfulness of the men of Godin the OT (1:3), Paul recalls the close friendship he has with Timothy (1:4), Paul reminds him of his own spiritual heritage and sincere faith (1:5), he reminds Timothy of the spiritual gifts he was given by the Holy Spirit (1:6-7). Remember, remember, remember! In every case the message is the same. Remember that God keeps his promises and His Word is true.

PAUL BRINGS ULTIMATE MEMORY: REMEMBER JESUS

This morning we’re in 2 Timothy 2:8-13. In our passage today Paul gives Timothy the greatest thing that he could ever remember. The greatest proof that God’s Word is true. The greatest example that God keeps his promises. Look at 2:8-9 “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, [9] for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!” You see two things in these two verses. Paul is saying, “Timothy remember the PERSON of the Gospel (Jesus) and the POWER of the Gospel (the Word of God is not bound!)”

REMEMBER JESUS CHRIST: SAVIOR/KING; HUMAN DIVINE; GOD IN FLESH

1st, remember the person of the Gospel. Who is that? Jesus Christ. Christ is not his last name. It’s a title. It means “The Messiah.” The one whom the OT predicted would come. “God’s Anointed.” The one who would deliver God’s people from captivity. The one who take the throne and reign forevermore. Jesus Messiah. Jesus emphasizes his humanity. Christ emphasizes his divinity. Jesus emphasizes his death on the cross (SAVIOR). Christ emphasizes his reign over all (KING). The Savior King. God in the flesh. Jesus Christ.

RISEN & OFFSPRING = GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES

The Bible is the written Word of God but Jesus is the Living Word of God. He is God’s “logos.” “In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) Paul will encourage Timothy to remember the written Word later in this text and later in this book. Right now, Paul is emphasizing the need to remember Jesus, the LIVING WORD. Remember that he is risen from the dead. Remember that he is descended from David. Both emphasize the truth that “God Keeps His Promises.”

RISEN FROM THE DEAD: SPIRITUAL IMPLICATIONS

1st he is risen from the dead. His resurrection validates all his claims. I’m a Christian b/c God raised Jesus from the dead. Anybody who predicts his own death & resurrection and actually pulls it off… I just go with them on whatever they say. There are a vast number of spiritual implications to the resurrection. That’s why I believe the Bible is true, without error. Because Jesus was raised, we can have courage, power, & authority. We’re freed from our past & have hope for the future. We can live a holy life because we have a new kind of life alive in us… resurrection life! It changes everything.

RISEN FROM THE DEAD: PHYSICAL IMPLICATIONS:

There are physical implications as well. If God raised Jesus from the dead physically, that means God is going to raise our physical bodies from the dead as well. The Bible says we will be given NEW KINDS of bodies because of the resurrection. Incorruptible bodies. No more sin. No more death. Why? Because of the resurrection of Jesus. By the way, “risen from the dead…” it’s a perfect tense verb which means it’s a past actionthat has continuing abiding effects. Every day is Easter. Easter joy every morning! Eternal life NOW! Because God raised Jesus from the dead.

OFFSPRING OF DAVID:

Remember Jesus as risen from the dead but also as the “offspring of David.” If you are not a big Bible person you may be asking, “What’s the big deal about being an offspring of David?” This David is “King David” the king of Israel. It’s a big deal because in 2 Samuel 7:12-13 God made a promise to King David through the prophet Nathan that “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

JESUS IS THE FULFILLMENT:

In some ways, Solomon fulfilled that prophecy. He finished the temple and reigned as king after David. But the Davidic kingdom eventually fizzled out until Jesus showed up. It was under the kingship of Jesus that the everlasting kingdom was realized. He is the seed of David that was ultimately promised in 2 Samuel 7:12. Jesus fulfills God’s OT plan of salvation. Remembering Jesus as the “offspring of David” is remembering that God never fails to keep his promises. God’s Word is true. Remember Jesus.

ACCORDING TO MY GOSPEL:

“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel” Those 10 words are a great summary of the Gospel. Messiahship & resurrection make up the essentials of the Gospel (Rom 1:1-4; 1 Cor 15:1-4) Paul didn’t say “my Gospel” as in “my version of the Gospel as opposed to everybody else.” He meant “the Gospel as it was entrusted to me by Jesus himself so that I might preach it to the Gentiles.” Remember the Gospel, Timothy! Remember the person of the Gospel. Remember Jesus Christ. Risen from the Dead. Offspring of David. Savior. King. Cross. Crown.

GOSPEL EMPOWERED PAUL TO SUFFER:

It was remembering the PERSON of the Gospel that enabled Paul to suffer like he did. Look at v 9. “my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!” The person of the Gospel & the power of the Gospel stand on either side of Paul’s pain. He’s basically saying, “when I suffer, I just remember that God keeps his promises. And I know that to be true because I know the Gospel to be true. And I know it to be powerful.” Paul knew he might have been chained to ground but the Word of God cannot be chained. The message of the Gospel cannot be stopped.

WORD IS A LION: PAUL PERSEVERED:

Spurgeon said that the Word of God was like a Lion. You don’t defend a Lion. All you have to do is let it loose and let it defend itself. It’s easy for us to look at somebody like the Apostle Paul and feel intimidated. Such perseverance. How did he do it? I think it was because the death and resurrection of Jesus had really gripped his heart. He really believed the Gospel deeply. And he tells Timothy to remember it every day of his life. (remember = present tense) Remember the person of the Gospel. Remember it’s power.

THE APOSTLE PAUL CHAINED:

Paul contrasts the power of the Gospel with his captivity. He says, “I’m suffering, bound with chains like a criminal.” The word translated criminal was used of the worst kind of people. Murderers, thieves, traitors, the kind of crimes that were punished by torture. Paul had a tough road of ahead of him that couldn’t be avoided. Most people think the reason he was in prison is because Nero had blamed the burning of Rome on the Christians and the apostle Paul was one of most notable leaders of the movement. You think it’s bad today. Back then the Christians were socially scorned. A public punching bag.

THE WORD OF GOD UNCHAINED:

But it really didn’t faze the apostle Paul. He had been imprisoned before and saw how his imprisonment was USED by the LORD to actually ADVANCE the Gospel NOT SLOW it down. He said in Philippians 1:12-18 “12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”

PHILIPPIANS 1:15-18:

“15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.” This is what Gospel empowered suffering looks like. Paul tells Timothy in 4:16that his current imprisonment is doing the same kinds of things. Don’t you want that kind of attitude and perseverance? Remember! Remember!

GOD HAS REDEMPTIVE PURPOSE: EFFORTS TO STOP THE WORD:

Remember the power of the Gospel. You may be chained. You may be suffering. There might be pain. But the Gospel is still the power of God for salvation. Remember that. Remember God has a kingdom redemptive purpose in your negative circumstance. Somehow he will bring good outof the misery. When I look at the growth of Christianity in places like China, the suffering of the church is what caused it’s spread. The Gospel is powerful. Stalin figured that out in the 30’s. We need to remember that today.

PAUL’S MOTIVATION? THE ELECT:

Paul believed his suffering was being used by God to advance the Gospel. The Gospel isn’t just a crutch to “get by.” It’s the conviction that you’re being used by the Lord to help bring people to salvation through your pain. So you rejoice. Remember the person of the Gospel. Remember it’s power and purpose “to save those who would believe.” Pauls says in 2 Tim 2:10. “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” (Notice Christ first this time alongside of “eternal glory” to emphasize reward of suffering!)

OUR SUFFERING AND OTHER’S SALVATION:

I’ve always been fascinated by this. Paul seems to suggest there’s a correlation between his willingness to suffer and the possibility that others would both come to faith in Christ (conversion) AND maintain their faith in Christ (perseverance). I think it’s something we ought to remember as well. In God’s economy, he uses the suffering of the “church” to strengthen and enlarge the size of the “church.” And by “the church” I mean the same thing that Paul means when he says “the elect.” “Who are the elect?” you ask.

WHO ARE THE ELECT:

When you see the word “elect” just think “God’s special people.” Look at passages like Eph 1 or Rom 9 to study the doctrine of election. That God “elects”people is a biblical concept and not all that controversial. HOW/WHY God allows/causes some to be elect & others not to be is where the controversy really lays. (Calvinist/Armenian) Our text doesn’t shed any light on that so we’re not going to talk about it. Suffice it to say, some people are going to heaven. Some people aren’t. The people who go are God’s elect. They’re his Church. His bride. And Paul is willing to suffer so that they might be saved.

ARE WE WILLING TO DO THAT?

Would we be willing to suffer like that so that others come to a knowledge of the truth? I’d like to think so. The only way to be motivated to suffer in that way is to remember the Gospel. Remember it every day. Make it a “front burner” kind of issue. Remember the person of the Gospel. “Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, offspring of David.” Remember the power of the Gospel. “I may be chained but the Word of God will not be chained.” The world, my flesh and the devil can try and stop the advance of the kingdom but God’s Word will not return to him void and so I’ll have confidence. I’ll persevere.

THE TRUSTWORTHY SAYING:

Paul closes with a trustworthy saying. In your notes I’ve identified this as the promise of the Gospel. (Person, Power, Promise) I call it the promisebecause Paul prefaceshis statement as a “trustworthy saying.” He does this three other times in his first letter to Timothy. (1:15, 3:1; 4:9) Let’s read the saying and then figure out what it means. 2 TIM 2:11-13 “The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; [12] if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; [13] if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.”

FOUR STANZAS:

Some people think this was a creedal statement or hymn. Could have been. If it was a hymn, the main point is that “God keeps his promises.” That’s the point of this trustworthy saying. And the fact that God keeps his promises will either be a very good thing for you. OR, it will be a very bad thing for you. The first line is about Christian conversion (becoming a Christian). The second line is about endurance (staying a Christian). The third line is about apostasy (denying Christ.) The last about faithlessness.

TWO POSITIVE:

The first two stanzas talk about the positive reward that awaits those who trust in Christ and endure to the end. “If we’ve died with him (meaning take up our own cross, deny ourselves and follow him) then we will also live with him. Paul makes the same point in Romans 6:3. This is why we say what we say when we baptize somebody. You die to an old way of life and your raised to a new way of life. The first half is about becoming a Christian the second half is about staying a Christian. Endure to the end and not only will you go to heaven when you die but you’ll reign with Christ in his everlasting kingdom.

TWO NEGATIVE: WHAT I USED TO BELIEVE:

Paul closes with two negative stanzas. I used to think that last line of this verse taught that we could be faithless (as in continue to sin with immoral choices) and God would remain faithful to save us because our salvation isn’t based on works but based on God’s grace through our faith in him. The only problem with that is that the word “faithless” means something other than “continuing to struggle with sin.” It means “a lack of faith in Jesus as Lord.” In other words, it means the same thing as “denying Christ.”

WHAT PAUL REALLY MEANS:

Paul is communicating ONE truth with the TWO statements. If you deny Christ in this life then God will be faithful to keep his promises. God is a promise keeping God. He CANNOT deny himself. There are some things that God cannot do. And he CANNOT save those who will NOT cry out to Him and say “God save me.” Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 10:32-33 “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” God keeps his promises.

THY WILL BE DONE:

I like the way C.S. Lewis put it. “At the end of the day, God never sends anyone to hell against their will. There are some who will say to God, “okay, thy will be done.” And some to whom God will say, “okay, thy will be done.” God is faithful to do what he promised. And he promises to save ANYONE who will call on the name of the Lord. But to anyone who denies him. He promises to deny them. Because he cannot deny himself. God keeps his promises. God’s Word is true. You can count on it.

WHAT WILL YOU DO: BELIEVERS:

Some of us need to find comfort in the truth this morning that “God keeps his promises.” You’ve been scared out of your joy over the past few months and the reason is because you’ve forgot to comfort your soul with the truth that God is faithful. God’s Word is true. What you need this morning is to remember. Remember Jesus. Remember that God’s Word isn’t chained. You’re suffering will not keep the Lord from succeeding in his purposes. God will keep his promise. Trust him. Will you trust him? If you can trust him with your salvation, why would you NOT TRUST him with these other things?

WHAT WILL YOU DO: UNBELIEVERS:

Some of you need to feel uncomfortable this morning because God keeps his promises. Because God’s Word is true. You need to feel uncomfortable in your unbelief. In your faithlessness. I want Broadview to always be a place where you can be comfortable as an unbeliever. But NOT comfortable in your unbelief. I want to always make you think. If God does exist and has revealed himself through Christ, then what you do with that truth matters eternally. Some of you have no good reason for why you’ve not yet given yourself fully to Jesus. And today is the day you need to give your life to Christ. Will you do that?