Remember
Notes
Transcript
SCRIPTURE
SCRIPTURE
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.
Remember
Remember
Verse 8 begins with, once more, a call to remember.
Not because Paul was concerned that Timothy might forget, but rather this is a call to remember all the time.
As if Paul were saying, “Take this thought and keep it at the forefront of everything you do. May the focus of your ministry be seen through this lens.”
Today, we remembered.
We took communion together.
That was a command of Jesus so that we would remember.
We’re commanded “as often as you eat or drink, do this in remembrance of Me.”
We do it together as a family, but we are commanded to remember His death and what it brought to us each time we eat or drink.
8 Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach.
God In Flesh
God In Flesh
What is Paul calling us to remember?
That Jesus was God in flesh.
Very real.
Very human.
Not super human.
Not superman.
Superman couldn’t understand humanity’s struggles.
Superman had to put on the guise of being like us.
Jesus LIVED, DIED, and SUFFERED the same as us.
Jesus was tempted like us.
He also had a very real mother.
Which means Jesus had grandparents.
Jesus had ancestry.
Which is why Paul addresses Jesus as a “descendant of David”.
He literally was a descendant of one the most famous kings of Israel.
Not only was he very human but he was royalty, even by earth’s standard.
The way in which His humanity came about fulfilled hundreds of prophecies, that the Christ , the Messiah, would come from David’s lineage.
And He did.
Jesus wasn’t “playing” human.
He became like us.
Resurrected
Resurrected
8 Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach.
Paul told Timothy, here’s something I need you to ALWAYS remember… Jesus was raised from the dead.
Many have been resuscitated;
Remember when Elijah raised a boy? 2 Kings 17:8-24 This is the story of the widow who fed and housed Elijah when they believed that this would be their end.
Do you remember the story of how Elisha raised the Shunammite’s son? Her son had been working in the field and had somehow hit his head, then he was carried to his mother where he laid in her lap and died.
How about how Jesus healed Jairus’ daughter, or when he raised Lazarus from the tomb?
Peter raised Dorcas.
Paul raised Eutychus.
There were resuscitations — not much different from when a paramedic or doctor brings someone back from the dead, only these had been accomplished by prayer.
These people would go on living until they died again.
They would live until God saw fit for them to die.
That’s resuscitation.
Not bad… cheating death once.
Reminds me of video games where you get extra lives to play.
But it’s not the same as resurrected.
Jesus was resurrected.
Dead — then alive — and he stayed alive - immortal!
That’s the power of resurrection!
Die once.
Live forever.
Good News
Good News
This IS the good news — that we can live forever in the presence of God!
This isn’t the only reality — there’s so much more to life than just this!
THAT’S the good news!
The good news is that God is establishing His holy city, made up of people who have received this immortality!
AND THAT’S GOOD NEWS!
ALWAYS REMEMBER THE GOOD NEWS!
The good news is that God became flesh and dwelled among us, without sin, was crucified and died… this was the sacrifice which atoned all living flesh if they believe…
Believe — not just in our heads or hearts — but believe in such a way that our lives are transformed by RESURRECTION power!
THAT IS GOOD NEWS!
Sadly, some people will never hear this, will never receive this…
worse yet, some will punish those who tell the good news.
Which brings us back to Paul in Mamertime Prison awaiting his execution for telling the good news.
9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!
Paul reminds us that though he is suffering in chains and is bound in a prison cell filled with other people awaiting their death, THE WORD OF GOD CANNOT BE BOUND!
No matter what tactics people take to keep the gospel from spreading it won’t work!
Someone, somewhere, is sharing the gospel of Jesus… maybe it’s you!?
But they cannot kill or capture the good news of RESURRECTION!
They cannot kill or capture the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection — which bought our freedom from sin and death!
The gospel has outlived every empire that tried to bury it.
The Elect
The Elect
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.
Like it.
Hate it.
Deny it.
Argue against it.
The fact is that there are finite number of individuals whom God has chosen, the elect. These are the ones who have been given the gift of faith.
The doctrine of election isn’t an excuse not to evangelize.
It’s the reason Paul evangelized.
Because he knew God had people everywhere who would respond to the gospel
And we know this because;
God loved us first.
8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
God chose us first.
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
And here’s how we come; we responded to His invitation.
14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Many are called -the good news is given to everyone — but “few are chosen”, these are the elect.
And Paul says he is willing to suffer for the sake of the elect.
In other words, he’s willing to endure the hardships of this life if it means that he is able to present the good news to the elect who will receive the gospel and respond to it!
HE WILL DO ANYTHING TO MAKE SURE THE INVITATION GETS OUT!
And we need to be of the same mindset — who in your life needs to hear the gospel?
Paul told us we need to be like farmers and be constent, and repeat the process over and over. And here’s why
The Trustworthy Saying
The Trustworthy Saying
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.
The words in verse 11 should sound familiar…
During baptism, similar words are usually spoken.
Baptism is a sacred ritual, a holy institution of the church.
It marks you as one who believes, one who has FAITH in the resurrection.
We do it to remember Christ who laid down His life for us, and was resurrected.
We remember through baptism.
Now, look more closely at verse 12…
12 If we endure hardship,
we will reign with him.
If we deny him,
he will deny us.
Reigning With Him
Reigning With Him
What in creation is Paul talking about, we will reign with him?
To be honest, this isn’t even the first mention of us “reigning with Him” in scripture…
2 Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves?
We are going to judge the world? What is all this even about?
When Paul wrote those words to the church in Corinth, they were a little lawsuit happy — they couldn’t deal with their own grievances toward one another.
Can you imagine, inside a church family, suing one another?
Paul reminds them in these verses of their destiny, of OUR destiny.
If we endure hardship,
we will reign with him…
Look… none of us completely understand what this means, to “reign with Him” but apparently we will be given some amount of judgement over angels and creation.
Most believe this judgment to be more about rewarding angels and giving out accommodations, rather than handing out convictions or damnation.
Regardless, those endure hardship for Christ here on Earth are promised to be among those who will determine judgment in Heaven.
So, we absolutely need to remember our destiny…if we endure suffering or hardships for Christ, then we will reign with Him in eternity!
That said, if we know that we are going to have problems with one another, if we know there’s going to be trouble within the church family, the WE HAVE TO KNOW that lawsuits and “pursuing our personal rights” isn’t what Christians are called to do!
Let’s look back to what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth about how Christians should respond to one another…
Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life.
Paul essentially told them to “FIGURE IT OUT”.
I believe what he meant here was to suffer hardships with joy and accept that you’re going to have issues with people.
In other words…
Forgive, show mercy, and move on.
When we moved here almost 15 years ago now, one of the first things we were told about Mainers by Mainers was that folks in Maine tend to hold grudges.
Once their offended the tend to never forgive and never forget.
Talk about remembering the wrong thing!
While that’s been true of some people, not everyone is like that.
I’ve found some people who have walked in the words of scripture, they have answered Christ’s call to love, to show mercy, to work it out FOR THE SAKE OF ETERNITY.
And that is precisely what we need to remember - forget the offense - and remember this!
WE HAVE A DESTINY - SOMETHING FAR GREATER THAN THIS LIFE!
Rejected
Rejected
12 If we endure hardship,
we will reign with him.
If we deny him,
he will deny us.
Did you see that?
On the other hand, if we deny Him…
He will deny us.
Wow. Just like that? REJECTED?
This is a hard saying, but we need to be careful that we understand precisely what Paul meant by this…
Denying Jesus means He will deny us.
Really?
Like, if I mess up and deny that I know Jesus, deny to speak the gospel… that means I’ve been rejected… denied!?
Consider the story of a gardener who stops tending to his plants. Initially, he neglects to water them, and then he ignores the weeds.
Over time, his garden becomes overrun and lifeless.
This is similar to Paul’s exhortation to Timothy: rejecting Jesus isn't just a single act; it is a pattern of neglect that results in spiritual death.
The serious reality is that we must cultivate our relationship with Christ or risk being uprooted.
The reality is that Paul is not warning Timothy that Jesus is “gonna get you” if you don’t start behaving…
Paul is simply explaining to Timothy and to you and me that if we consistently have a pattern of denying Christ, rejecting Jesus, then we will see — in time, that He has rejected us as being transformed, renewed, ANY DIFFERENT AT ALL from the people who live in darkness, as well.
You can’t hardly call yourself a farmer if you don’t tend to your crops.
You can’t really call yourself an athlete if you never compete.
And, you can’t really call yourself a soldier if you refuse to follow commands.
Friends, we can’t really call ourselves transformed by Jesus Christ if we never live for Him.
We’re simply lying to ourselves.
You can say that you want to be a follower of Jesus all you want, you can intimate that church matters, you can make great posts on Facebook about religious matters…
But at the end of the day, if you aren’t willing to follow His commands, you aren’t His.
Think about Jesus’ own words concerning this;
“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.
Jesus said it plainly, just because you say the words don’t and won’t ever mean you’ve changed a bit! Believing is both mentally agreeing and physically acting upon that belief.
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
If you’re looking for a guarantee of your salvation, the best place to look is in how you spend your days, not some warm fuzzy feeling in your heart.
We aren’t called to live some bizarre duality — on Sunday we are a Christian, but Monday - Saturday is for us…
We are called to be totally transformed into HIS likeness — our minds renewed by Holy Spirit so that we consider His will not ours.
If that isn’t happening in you, it is probably time to turn to the Lord and ask for Him to TRANSFORM YOU! And then it’s time for you to ACT UPON that transformation!
He is Faithful
He is Faithful
But perhaps one of the most amazing turns, the most beautiful thing we can remember in this letter happens in the very next verse…
If we are unfaithful,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny who he is.
While verse 12 tells us that if we continue in a pattern of denial, rejecting Christ,
if we exhibiting a life unchanged, that He will in the last day deny us.
But Paul shifted the focus of what he was saying at such an important moment.
Believers who love Jesus would never want hear or experience rejection from Jesus — He is what they live for!
But at the same time, we are all human, we all make dumb mistakes, sometimes we do things which aren’t accidental mistakes…
Sometimes we purposely act in disobedience.
Sometimes we are purposely unfaithful to God.
Sometimes our flesh gets in the way of our faith.
It’s in these moments (not a pattern of living) but in these moments when Paul’s words matter most!
If we are unfaithful,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny who he is.
Hear me today,
God isn’t simply putting up with you.
You aren’t putting God to the test each time you mess up.
Even in those moments when you are weak.
When you behave less than faithful.
GOD ISN’T GOING TO GIVE UP ON YOU BECAUSE YOU MESSED UP.
And stay with me…
It isn’t because of you — it’s because that’s WHO HE IS.
He is a faithful God.
That’s His nature.
You don’t have to earn it.
He’s not being put out — He’s not putting up with you.
The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
For he knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust.
So today, I’m not saying don’t worry about messing up.
I’m not saying it’s ok to sin.
What I’m saying is that IT IS SUCH A COMFORT TO KNOW THAT regardless whether we are faithful EVERY moment or not, HE IS FAITHFUL — BECAUSE THAT IS WHO HE IS!
Challenge
Challenge
Today, are you in need of running back to Him? Have you been in a pattern of denying Him? Does your life reflect YOU and not Him?
Maybe, today you are in desperate need because you know that you’ve had moments where you weren’t faithful - you’ve been beating yourself up — are you ready to receive His grace?
Church, today hear this —
He is not faithful to you because of what you do — He is faithful, because that is who He is.
You will either find Him faithful to receive you back because you strayed momentarily,
Or you will find Him faithful to His word, and He will reject You because you never knew Him.
Either way, God is faithful — how do you want to experience His faithfulness today?
Closing
Closing
Remember Jesus.
Remember the resurrection.
Remember the gospel.
Remember your destiny.
Remember His faithfulness.
Because there will be moments when your faith feels weak.
There will be moments when suffering feels heavy.
There will be moments when you wonder if following Jesus is worth it.
In those moments, remember:
The tomb is still empty.
The Word of God is still unchained.
The gospel is still true.
And Jesus Christ is still faithful.
Because He cannot deny who He is.
