Ambassadors of the King
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
If you’re a fan of Indiana basketball, or a complete bandwagon fan that hopped on during the NBA finals last season, you know the name Tyrese Halliburton.
>Photo of Tyrese Halliburton
Halliburton was, and is, the Indianapolis Pacer’s break out point guard and shooting star. And although he had a team around him, Tyrese single handedly made several baskets at pivotal moments in the NBA finals that would ultimately bring them to the championship series against OKC, Oklahoma City Thunder.
So, it’s the final game of a seven game series. The Pacers are on fire, but it’s still a neck and neck game, and this one would determine the champion team.Tyrese is on the sidelines due to a tight calf, so they were saving his strength for later, but they ended up putting him in mid-way through the 1st quarter of the game.
Tyrese drains several 3 pointers, he looked amazing, the crowd was going wild. He steps back to pivot and make another bucket, and the worst thing ever happens.
Tyrese overextends his tight calf and “pop”, his achilles tendon rips off the bone. He goes down, obviously in physical pain, but you could see it in the emotions on his face - the real pain was knowing his body failed his teammates and his city.
The Pacers would end up losing the game, but Indianapolis had never gotten that close to winning an NBA championship. The spirit of the town was like nothing I’ve ever seen. The crowds at these games - oh man, something about an underdog being in a championship they aren’t supposed to be in brings people together like nothing else.
Tyrese unfortunately will be out for the 25-26 basketball season, but he remains on the Pacer’s roster and is currently in recovery, day by day gaining more strength in his repaired achilles.
Although he’s out of season and out of commission, his goal remains the same - get better, get stronger, practice, build the team, for no other reason than to win games. Ultimately, to win the championship.
That’s Tyrese’s job - to heal, to get better, both inside and outside the basketball season. His mission is winning games.
And that comes from hard work. It comes from analyzing game film to see where his weaknesses are.
It comes from accurate coaching that tells him, honestly, how to get better.
See, I think our major problem as followers of Christ is that we forget our central mission. We forget that we don’t represent ourselves, that we have a central mission and a God who’s name we take into the wilderness.
We worry so much about our circumstances, our popularity, feeling close or far from friends, from God, that we scramble, we spiral and forget who we are.
Tyrese Halliburton plays games and wins for the Pacers, his only mission in his job. We, as followers of Christ, are called to proclaim the name of Jesus, to the ends of the earth.
Today, we’re going to take a look at 2 Timothy 4:1-5 as we continue on in our Kingdom Culture series. We’re going to see Paul, an apostle, sending out with protégé, Timothy, with a specific mission - preach the word. Be ready.
See, we have a mission as followers of Christ that extends far beyond ourselves. Our lives are meant to serve as ambassadors to Jesus Christ, to the Word. We are called to a different standard than the culture around us.
We are called, no matter what the season, no matter what the hardship, to keep our eyes on the prize ahead, which is the finalize Kingdom of God.
So, let’s get into 2 Timothy 4:1-5.
Background
2 Timothy, as you may already know by the name, is a sequel to Paul’s first letter to Timothy, aka 1 Timothy.
Now, these two letters were written under different circumstances and at different times. So, here’s a bit of cultural context.
Paul and Timothy had a very close relationship. Timothy joined up with Paul and Silas on what is known as Paul’s second missionary journey. They would travel together, and Paul would entrust Timothy with delivering several letters, and even co-wrote some letters with Paul. They lived with each other, and there was a trust between the two. So much so that Timothy left his home and family to travel with Paul.
Timothy was all in. This was very much a father-son, mentor mentee relationship.
So, we see Paul writing these two letters to Timothy. And Timothy is currently in Ephesus, where he likely remained for the rest of his life, and Paul is writing letters because the two are separated.
In 1 Timothy, Paul drops Timothy off in this city of Ephesus, and then has to move on to Macedonia. So, Paul writes Timothy a letter that is very detailed and structured, covering Christina marriage, church leadership structure, and other things Timothy needs to develop in the Ephesian church which has been influenced greatly by Greek culture.
In fact, Timothy is half greek and half Jewish, which gives him a really good leg up in the cultural norms - he can relate with many the cultural mix in Ephesus.
2 Timothy, on the other hand, is much more personal. See, when Paul writes his second letter to Timothy, it’s in prison. Paul knows his time is near.
So, he writes 2 Timothy as a passing of the torch, Timothy is the next generation. You can imagine Timothy reading this letter, knowing he’ll likely never see Paul, his father figure again.
Picking back up, then, in chapter 4 of 2 Timothy, here’s what Paul tells Timothy to do, in his final charge to his mentee:
Preach the Word
Preach the Word
He tells Timothy to do this:
2 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching.
And when you hear that word, preach, don’t think of me up here in the portable pulpit, okay? Think proclaim, or announce. It’s a bigger concept than simply giving a sermon. It’s a public declaration.
Paul, in his dying breaths and strokes of pen, wants to give Timothy this final bit of advice - “Don’t forget to proclaim the gospel”. This is the central charge of Paul’s farewell to Timothy.
This preaching, or proclaiming, the word isn’t just when you want to - there are conditions.
Paul writes - be ready in season and out of season.
Be ready. That’s not a passive command, but it’s a lifestyle. Timothy, be ready. Be ready to preach.
Be ready, be prepared. That means Timothy wasn’t ever to be in an idle state, or ill-prepared. His lifestyle was to match preparation.
Now, I want to note, this doesn’t mean restless. It doesn’t mean “go until you drop” mentality. Grind. Because Timothy was still a practicing Jew, he took his sabbaths, his day of rest each week. He likely celebrated the holidays, went to weddings, participated in the cultural norms.
This was a continued lookout for God and how He was moving.
I think this is kind of like a guard on a watchtower. Sure, the guard looks to be stationary much of the time, but he’s the lookout. Always on active duty.
It’s the same attitude as the prophet Habakkuk, after he has this very upfront complaint toward God, this is what he says:
1 I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the lookout tower. I will watch to see what he will say to me and what I should reply about my complaint.
Habakkuk didn’t tell God off, then go hide or go sleep passively somewhere, forgetting about the conversation. No, he remained active, alert. Ready for God’s response.
This is what Paul charges Timothy with. Be prepared, all the time.
And not when it’s convenient for you, but all times. In season, and out of season.
Preach the word, when it’s working, and when it’s not. When people are receptive, and people aren’t.
When you’re happy, or not so happy. When you feel like continuing the mission, or you just want nothing more than to give up hope.
Because the mission, the target isn’t something that you can control or work toward. It isn’t reliant on you at all, or your feelings, or if you pass or fail.
The mission is to proclaim the name of Christ. Period. If you’re doing that, you’re working toward the mission.
The gospel of Jesus supersedes anything we can bring to the table, anything were overwhelmed by, anything we miss on accident.
It is the absolute definition of universal truth.
And with that truth, Paul tells Timothy to to correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching.
And there we have it, at the end of just one verse in 2 Timothy, our Kingdom Culture, our Christian Culture, has completley clashed with the world’s culture.
First, there’s a standard of truth claim, which is the word, Jesus Christ. He is the defining factor of truth. The world does not have that standard. It doesn’t.
Nothing we encounter outside the realm of Christ is truth. But our world, and Satan, would like us believe there is no measure of truth.
Truth is fluid. This is my truth. Whatever my thoughts are, that is objective reality.
And when you stand up to that truth claim, boy do you ruffle feathers. When you go against the grain of the world, you get splinters.
This is why John the baptist was beheaded, this is why Paul was beheaded, this is why John was exiled. This is why Charlie Kirk was assassinated. This is why they strung up Jesus Christ on a cross.
When you make a stand for God’s truth, there will be people that are threatened. And Satan will take action.
And we should be ready for this truth, as Paul says, in season and out of season. Because our God is so much bigger than our circumstances.
13 Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them or be intimidated, 15 but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.
Our minds should be on Christ, all the time, and our hope should be so apparent that people are asking “why are you so hopeful? Why are you so joyous, generous, why are you the way you are?”
To which we respond “Christ”. No matter what our lives look like, no matter the season, that is our constant.
And in view of that, with that standard of truth and readiness, we can correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching.
Correction and rebuke, let me tell you, the world does not like this. No one I know really enjoys correction, I don’t know about you.
This is so far from our nature, but it’s a needed component in Kingdom Culture. Absolutely essential.
Because if we continually hold on to this truth of Christ, that our lives can be radically changed by following the commands of Scripture, yet we never tell anyone what’s in the book, what’s going to actually change? Nothing.
As Proverbs 27:5 wisely reads:
5 Better an open reprimand than concealed love.
Concealed love is not love at all.
What’s even more difficult for the world to tolerate than correction and rebuke with sound truth is encouragement.
True, encouraging words that are seated in truth are difficult to come by. Because encouragement is almost always veiled in jealousy or ulterior motives.
But true encouragement that comes from the word of God is unique. It gives hope, it is not jealous, it’s true love.
And here’s what we know about true love:
4 Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, 5 is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. 6 Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth.
When we truly love, we can encourage others truly. We can exercise that great patience, and teaching, with everyone we encounter. The Spirit will allow us to do that.
Going against the grain of society is difficult, which is why Paul tells Timothy to endure.
Endure
Endure
The whole reason Paul is writing this to Timothy is because the people of Ephesus are needing direction. See, Ephesus was an extremely wealthy city. They were on a port, they had the temple of Artemis. Kings would come deposit money in the temple, ships would trade, the economy was booming. Greek influence was huge, the theatre was booming with entertainment.
They didn’t need God.
So, for Timothy to evangelize in Ephesus, he had to tell people the truth. Which had to begin with their need for a savior. Which they didn’t know about, because who needed that? They has everything they needed right there in this metropolis.
And that’s why Paul warns Timothy:
3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. 4 They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5 But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
I don’t like what you’re saying, Timothy. It offends me, and I already have my way of life. I have my myths. You’re telling me I’m a sinner? Eh, I was fine until you showed up. I’m tailoring what I hear to only people I agree with.
And as much as we want to believe our society had advanced from this primitive age, I can tell you 2025 is identical in nature to AD 65.
We don’t naturally want truth. We don’t want sound doctrine. What we want is our flesh. Our desires.
But, that’s fine. It’s not us against them, it’s not us against the world. Our battle is against our own flesh, against the evil powers and principalities.
Because Paul doesn’t tell Timothy to go out and force everyone under the treat of death to convert. He doesn’t tell Timothy to go burn down Nero’s palace.
5 But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Self-control, endure the hardship, do the work.
I’m not sure who needs to hear this this morning, but you cannot control what other people do.
You cannot control their actions, what they think about you, what they believe about Jesus. You are not the determiner of their soul or salvation.
What we can control is ourselves. In fact, it’s a gift of the spirit. Self-control. We can’t even really control ourselves, but it’s a by product of the Spirit within us. Of God within us.
What you can do, as a devout follower of Christ, is output truth from yourself into a world that craves it, that is looking for truth but can’t find it.
What you can do is endure hardship by being prepared, by being ready in and out season.
By keeping your composure in the face of hatred. By truly loving your enemies.
And all this, everything we’ve covered thus far, Paul says to do for a specific reason:
For the Kingdom
For the Kingdom
1 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and his kingdom:
In Jewish tradition, there had to be two witnesses, which is why Paul writes this charge is before God and Jesus.
Paul is making an oath, and the charge to Timothy is “solemn”, it’s of utmost importance. It’s an unbreakable command, and oath.
So, because of God and Jesus as his witness, Paul charges Timothy do do these things, but also, it’s because of the appearing of the Kingdom.
Of course, the arrival of the Kingdom is Jesus Christ, as he said at the beginning of His ministry:
15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
It’s good news that the kingdom is here. It ushers in a new age, it ushers in a king that is above all other kings and governments and ideals.
Paul says we do these things not out of obligation or to make ourselves feel good or to conform with culture or to get rich
But because we have an eternal King who sits on a limitless throne and deserves our undying worship and allegiance.
Our job is to be an ambassador of that kingdom. To take our King’s name to every person on this earth and expand his kingdom for his and only his glory.
18 Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.”
We are the imago dei, we are made in the image and likeness of God the creator.
We are his ambassadors, we need to proclaim only the name of Christ Jesus who reconciled us to the Father.
This is our solemn charge today, our mission hasn’t changed whatsoever.
In light of this, we need to
Take our Charge Seriously
Take our Charge Seriously
Church, we need to be ready. We must be ready to stand up for truth. To be ready, in the ebbs and flows of seasonality.
Whether were winning the NBA finals, or were recovering from injury.
Whether everything is going as planned, or we fall from grace.
Whether people stand against us, whether the world fights back and hates us.
Our message, our mission stays firm, rooted in the grace of Jesus.
And if you’re ready, if you choose to stand up, there will be earthly consequences, there will be backlash, you may lose friends, family members, people may be mad at you.
But. If you choose to stay the course. To pursue Kingdom Culture. To be ready, to stand at your guard post.
You have the chance to win souls to the Kingdom of God. To watch people’s lives transform. To hear that “well done, my good and faithful servant” before our King.
Church, it’s time to get ready. Get ready for a revival, it’s coming. Get ready for God to move, He’s moving. Don’t miss it.
I want everyone this morning to bow your heads and close your eyes with me. Let’s go to God together.
If you’ve never accepted Christ, if you’ve never made the commitment to follow him as your only hope to life, do it now. It’s not fancy, you don’t have to know the right thing to say.
Just lay your burdens at his feet, and place your faith in Jesus alone. Surrender.
If your a Christian today, a follower of Christ, but you haven’t committed. If you feel lukewarm in faith, ask God to relight the fire. Because you are a servant of God right now, and he wants to use you.
Pray that He alone sits on the throne in your heart, give your life to him. Recommit to him, lay your sin before him. He is gracious, he wants you back home.
If you feel like a Timothy, you’ve been at this Christian walk for a while, you’ve stayed the course, like you’ve been called to your next step in faith, ask God how he can use you. Don’t leave this room without pursuing God, if you’re feeling a call to higher ministry.
Pray.
Let’s stand and worship God today, give Him everything you’ve got.
