Remember Jesus Christ
2 Timothy • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 10 viewsNotes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction: Remembering the 4th of July
Introduction: Remembering the 4th of July
What are we supposed to be doing this weekend?
Remembering
Remembering what?
It’s easy to celebrate and yet not really think about why we’re celebrating. Almost like we’re taking it for granted.
We need to pause and make sure we remember why we’re celebrating what we’re celebrating.
To assist us with that this morning, I want to look at some quotes from George Washington’s inaugural address.
...it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes...
The very first thing that George Washington does is acknowledge God and that it is only God who helps our defects and only His goodness can give us the liberties and happiness we seek. And he believes God helped orchestrate the type of government that we have to assist us in the realization of those liberties and happiness.
No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency...
Secondly, he acknowledges that God had His hand in everything that went on in helping us gain our independence from Britain.
And finally, his prayer for our nation.
I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would have the United States in his holy protection, that he would incline the hearts of the Citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the Field,
and finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all, to do Justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that Charity, humility and pacific temper of mind, which were the Characteristicks of the Devine Author of our blessed Religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation. Grant our supplication we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
I do get weary of those who refuse to acknowledge that God did in fact help our founding fathers get this nation up and running.
It’s frustrating when people won’t recognize that we were founded upon Judeo-Christian values.
And it’s maddening to think that people living in this great nation seem to think that if we walk away from those two simple truths, we not only will continue to survive as a nation, but that we will better off for it.
The reason we have prospered as long as we have is because of God’s gracious blessing on us for continuing to honor and acknowledge Him as the true founder of our country.
That being said, we Christians can end up doing the same thing with Jesus.
We can take Him for granted, not honoring Him as He should be honored, and thinking that living life without giving thought to Him can be just as fulfilling as when we are proactively seeking Him.
So Paul says to Timothy: Remember Jesus Christ
Lets’ read: 2 Timothy 2:8-13
Remember Jesus Christ
Remember Jesus Christ
Paul has already referenced remembrance several times already.
Remembering does not always mean someone has forgotten something, but rather is a call to action.
When God asks us to 'remember,' he is doing more than asking us to mentally recall something, but is also calling us to live lives according to what we remember.
It could idiomatically be the same thing as saying, “Don’t forget why you are doing what you are doing, and for whom you are doing it.”
5 Things To Remember About Jesus (vs 8, 10)
5 Things To Remember About Jesus (vs 8, 10)
Then Paul goes on to give us 5 Things to remember about Jesus, which are also summarized in the trustworthy statement we’ll look at at the end and ties into the pattern or framework of sound words we’ve been discussing in previous sermons.
So this morning we’ll be reminded of who we should be keeping in the forefront of our minds, why we should be keeping Him there, and how that should impact our lives.
The first thing to remember. The who: Jesus is the Christ.
Christ (vs 8)
Jesus Christ - this is one of the few places in the pastoral epistles that it occurs in this order. Usually it is written as Christ Jesus (vs. 10)
This would indicate some intentionality in the word order. In this instance it gives us the first thing we are to remember about Jesus.
The Anointed One.
Messiah.
Set apart as God’s chosen one.
Christ - Highlights the plan of God from the beginning to use Jesus.
Risen From The Dead (vs 8)
Passive tense - was raised.
God did the raising
The crux of Christianity.
and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
Risen From The Dead - Highlights Jesus’ divine sonship by His resurrection.
And one of the problems in Ephesus - false teachings being purported is that Jesus had already come and the resurrection had already taken place.
Descendant of David (vs 8)
God fulfilled His promises and prophecies
“I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, I will establish your seed forever And build up your throne to all generations.” Selah.
This is made a point of in the birth narrative of Jesus.
But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Descendant of David - Highlights Jesus’ human sonship and fulfillment of prophecy.
Now we look at part of the why:
The salvation which is in Christ Jesus (vs 10)
Implies there is only one way.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Salvation in Christ - Highlights that we can be saved from our human condition / sin and contrasts the way through Jesus vs. every other way
Second problem in Ephesus: The salvation being preached by the false teachers that ran counter to grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone.
Eternal Glory (vs 10)
And with it (NASB): Eternal glory accompanies salvation.
We don’t get saved so we can have heaven.
Salvation should not be viewed as a “get out of jail free” card.
We get saved, not so we can have heaven, but so we can have Jesus, heaven is just a benefit that comes along with knowing Jesus.
Heaven is only possible because Jesus rose from the dead.
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
Eternal Glory - Highlights that we will inherit the same glory that Jesus got.
But only because we’ve got Jesus!
Subtly, this is our reward. A nod back to the soldier, athlete and farmer.
Gospel Basics / Sound Words / Pattern
Jesus was God’s plan from the beginning to provide salvation for mankind’s sinful condition.
Jesus is fully divine. He rose from the dead.
Jesus in fully human. He is descended from King David.
Jesus is God’s only plan for salvation.
Those who put their faith in Jesus for salvation will inherit eternal glory.
A Second Thing To Remember
A Second Thing To Remember
The Word of God is NOT bound!
Paul contrasts his physical imprisonment to the Word of God being unbound.
The Word of God is not imprisoned, nor can it be!!!!
The Bible is not hindered nor restrained.
One Solitary Book video.
The best-selling book of all time is the Christian Bible. It is impossible to know exactly how many copies have been printed in the roughly 1,500 years since its contents were standardized, but research conducted by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 2021 suggests that the total number probably lies between 5 and 7 billion copies.
About 80 million Bibles are sold a year.
The early church father John Chrysostom said that those who seek to “chain God’s word” may as well try to “bind a sunbeam”
Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.
They might think that by imprisoning and muzzling Paul, the message will die, but God’s word will continue on in spite of what happens to Paul.
Remember, no matter what happens to us, God’s word will endure.
For, “All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, And the flower falls off, But the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word which was preached to you.
Endurance in Suffering for the Gospel (vs 9-10)
Endurance in Suffering for the Gospel (vs 9-10)
Another why we do what we do.
We suffer for the sake of:
As long as there is someone out there who can be saved by the Gospel, I will endure whatever comes my way so that they may obtain salvation.
I will do whatever it takes to get them even the chance to believe.
A Trustworthy Statement (vs 11-13)
A Trustworthy Statement (vs 11-13)
As I mentioned in the beginning God want us to remember so that we can order our lives by that which we remember.
And that’s where the trustworthy statement comes in.
This statement was most likely part of a hymn or a creed already in existence that Paul is borrowing to encapsulate his points.
Not only is it a summary of what we are to remember about Jesus, this also describes how it should impact our lives.
If We Died With Him We Will Also Live With Him.
Connects to the salvation in Jesus, His resurrection and His divinity.
Not only will we be resurrected and receive a resurrected body like Jesus, we are called to live a resurrected life now.
This is how the who and the why should impact our life.
The thought behind this phrase is used by Paul in Romans 6
Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.
a promise of our resurrection.
a metaphor for baptism.
a command to walk, now, in newness of life.
a teaching that we are free from sin and are no longer to walk in sin.
If We Endure We Will Also Reign With Him
Connects to being a descendant of King David and eternal glory.
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
Contrasts suffering with glory
Impact on our lives: This becomes the hope that helps us endure through the hard times.
For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
In spite of our suffering, we continue to press on and do good.
So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
If We Deny Him, He Will Deny Us.
Connects to salvation only in Jesus.
if we do not accept that He is the way the truth and the life and no man comes to Father except through Him, we will be rejected by Him.
Our works don’t save us, but they sure do reveal where our faith is.
They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
Profession of God alone is worthless.
“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
Jesus said, great you used my name, but you didn’t know the one whose name you used.
Works with no relationship are works for the wrong person.
You used my name, but you did not do them for me.
This would be akin to the “get out of jail free card”.
Jesus is so harsh on this one.
He said that what they did in His name was actually lawlessness, those who violate the law.
In this case the Law of God.
It becomes a form of blasphemy, misusing the name of the Lord.
The impact on our lives: Do you really know Jesus? Are you in a relationship with Him, or do you just know about Him?
This is that challenging self-evaluation one.
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?
If We Are Faithless, He Remains Faithful, For He Cannot Deny Himself.
God is faithful to Himself.
Connects to the Anointed One - Christ
Connects to His sovereign plan.
Also connects to the frailty of humanity.
contrasts our unfaithfulness to God’s faithfulness.
God’s sovereignty and faithfulness remain untouched by human faithlessness
If I falter in my faith - God will still carry me to Heaven.
Ultimately the hope of believers is on the unchanging character and promises of God.
Back to entrusting our soul lives and ministry to Him. (1:12)
Maybe more directly, Paul is thinking about those who have been faithless to him.
Phygelus and Hermogenes.
Later in 4:10 he references Demas having loved the world, deserted him.
Their faithlessness does not negate God’s faithfulness.
Impact: This should bring encouragement to our hearts.
If I fail God, He won’t fail me.
If others fail me, God never will.
We have to be careful and not let the failures of others taint our view of God.
Conclusion:
First, remember God’s plan for our salvation, Jesus, the chosen one, fully human and fully divine, who suffered and bled and died for us so that we could be saved from death and forgiven of our sin and the bonus of knowing Him personally? We get glory in heaven and a resurrected body!
Secondly, even if there is the possibility of one person believing this message, this good news is worth spreading and suffering for.
Finally, being in a relationship with Jesus Christ should change our lives. We no longer live for sin and self, but for Jesus. And the knowledge of God’s faithfulness to His promises to us should encourage us when we stumble and fall and feel like we’ve failed God.
Song: Goodness of God
Communion: A Time To Remember Jesus.
Closing Song: Thank You Lord
