Leaving a legacy..

Thanksgiving for everything accomplished by Christ...

We are very blessed. We have so much to be thankful for: our families, our standard of living, our health, our livelihoods, the food we put on our tables, and the list can go on and on. I’m sure if we took the time that was necessary to share what we are grateful for, time would escape us.

This Thanksgiving, let’s not forget to give thanks for everything that Jesus accomplished for us, and the work that He is doing in us.

Let’s read today’s Scripture.

2 Timothy 2:8–13 NLT

8 Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach. 9 And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. 10 So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen. 11 This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. 12 If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. 13 If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.

As we take a look at verse 8, we can

Give thanks for the gospel...

2 Timothy 2:8 NLT

8 Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach.

In this verse, Paul describes the incarnation. This means that God the Son became a man.

John 1:14 NIV

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

God became a human. He had to go through the birth canal just like any other person. He would have cried like other babies. He needed care just like any other child. Jesus wasn’t born potty trained. He never took advantage of His deity.

Philippians 2:6–7 NIV

6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

He was a descendant of King David, the most popular king in the history of Israel, and yet He never sat on an earthly throne.

He gets us. He understands our struggles. He knows what pain is. He understands grief, rejection, and betrayal. He suffered the most excruciating kind of death known to humans, being beaten beyond recognition, having a crown of thorns pressed into His skull, and being nailed to a cross. More than than that, He carried our sins.

Isaiah 53:3–5 NIV

3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

What a tragic way to die… The humiliation He suffered and the shame He endured.

If this was the how it ended… what a terrible story. If He was just a good man that died for a good cause, HOW terrible.

If Jesus had just been a political leader or a Rabbi that died for a noble cause, how sad. I just finished a biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life. He was so close to escaping executtion. Just days away. If only the papers had been destroyed where his name was listed as a conspirator in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, if only the Allied soldiers had liberated Germany sooner… That’s not the end of Bonhoeffer’s story and it’s not the end of Jesus’ story.

2 Timothy 2:8 NLT

8 Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach.

Let’s be thankful for the resurrection.

We believe that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only our sins but for the sins of the whole world. If Jesus was still in the grave, how would we know that our sins are forgiven?

1 Corinthians 15:20–22 NLT

20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. 21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.

This is the Good News that we preach. We aren’t hopeless when we die. If there is no resurrection from the dead, we have no hope in Christ. If Jesus is still in Joseph’s tomb, our sins aren’t forgiven, and we are still dead in our trespasses and sins.

Let’s give thanks today that our sins are forgiven, and that we have been promised eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Here’s the Good News:

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 NIV

13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

I am so thankful that because of what Christ has done, when we believe, we are in Christ and He is in us.

I am grateful that

God’s word cannot be chained...

2 Timothy 2:9–10 NLT

9 And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. 10 So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.

Before Bibles were available to the common people, they were chained to the pulpits in churches. People could hear God’s word when they came to church.

Paul was a prisoner of Jesus Christ. He was waiting execution, and yet he knew that even if he was in chains there was nobody on earth that could stop God’s word from accomplishing what God sends it out to do.

Luke 1:37 NIV

37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

Isaiah 55:10–11 NIV

10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Many have tried to stamp out the Scripture. They have tried to destroy Christianity. Satan wants people even today to believe that there is no god.

Matthew 24:35 NIV

35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Even when Saul of Tarsus was breathing threats against the early church, Jesus stopped him in his tracks and he became one of the greatest evangelist and teacher that the church has ever known. It’s ironic to think that one of Jesus’ biggest haters became one of His greatest proponents.

Paul suffered much, but he loved much, because he was loved much. Two things that meant a lot to Paul was that people would come into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and that in Christ, people will receive their eternal reward.

If anyone knew what religion was, it was Paul. If anyone knew what zeal in keeping the Law of Moses, it was Paul, but Paul’s declaration became,

Philippians 3:7–11 NIV

7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

As we look at verses 11-13, this may have been a hymn of the early church. Paul said,

This is a trustworthy saying,

We have lots of sayings and slogans that may be true or they may be tangled tales.

Here’s a few examples: (DOTEFL,com)

A stitch in time saves nine...

An apple a day...

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Actions speak louder than words...

As cool as a cucumber...

At the drop of a hat...

Back to square one...

Bend over backwards...

By the skin of your teeth...

These are many sayings that we refer to, often without thinking about them, and of course there are many more.

In Paul’s case, he was reminding Timothy of some foundational phrases that would be easy to remember.

2 Timothy 2:11 (NLT)

11 ...If we die with him, we will also live with him.

What does this mean?

Dying to sin… and being raised to life in Christ.

Baptism is a symbol of this. We need to be careful that we don’t trust in being baptized as a means of salvation. Rather, it is an outward symbol that represents a work that has already taken place in our hearts. Immersion gives us a picture of dying to sin and being raised anew in Christ.

Here’s what

Romans 6:1–12 NIV

1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.

When we become a child of God, we are brought from death to life, and we will live forever, that’s eternity. 2 Timothy 2:12 (NLT)

12 If we endure hardship, we will reign with him...

If and when we as Christians suffer persecution, we must endure.

2 Timothy 3:12–13 NIV

12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Those who suffer persecution will reign with Christ.

Revelation 3:21 NIV

21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.

Here’s what John wrote about those martyred during the Great Tribulation.

Revelation 20:4 NIV

4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

2 Timothy 2:12 (NLT)

12 ...If we deny him, he will deny us.

My prayer is that we would never deny Jesus Christ, the One who loved us and gave Himself for us.

Matthew 10:32–33 NIV

32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

There may be times when our faith is shaken to the core. We may be weak, His grace is sufficient for us. His power is made perfect in our weakness.

1 Corinthians 1:8–9 NIV

8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

2 Timothy 2:13 NLT

13 If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.

Let that sink in for a minute. He remains faithful, for He cannot deny who He is.

This isn’t a license to abuse the grace of God. This doesn’t give us the right or the privilege to sin, but God’s very nature is faithfulness.

1 John 1:9 NIV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Because of God’s faithfulness, He longs to bring us back into fellowship.

The devil’s trick is to try to keep us away from God. When we sin, he condemns us and tries to trick us to believe that God wants nothing to do with us. Rather, God’s kindness is intended to bring us to repentance.

Lamentations 3:22–23 NIV

22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

I thank God for His faithful love that sent Jesus to the cross. Because of God’s amazing grace, we have been given life through the cross and Christ’s resurrection. Let’s not wait for Thanksgiving to give thanks but let’s be quick to give God praise. Let’s never take for granted what God the Father accomplished in Christ.

Let’s pray!

Communion option:

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NKJV

23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.