Things To Remember
Call to Worship
“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57 NIV).
*Praise insert Shine, Jesus Shine
*Invocation (Lord’s Prayer) O Lord God, in whom we live and move and have our being, whose perfect face is hidden from us by our sin, whose mercy we often forget in the busyness of life, may we know your presence in this place. May we, in meekness and lowliness of heart, draw near to your throne and in you find our refuge and strength. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen
*Gloria Patri (Sung together) #575
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Amen.
*Psalm for Today Psalm 66:1-12 NRSV
1 Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name.”
5 Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.
6 He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him,
7 who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations— let the rebellious not exalt themselves.
8 Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard,
9 who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.
10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs;
12 you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.
Our Offering to God “Every one shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hast given thee” (Deut. 16:17 KJV).
*Doxology #572 Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise him all creatures here below: Praise him above ye heavn’ ly host: Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
*Prayer of Dedication Father, as we offer these gifts, remind us that deeds are more persuasive testimony than words alone. May we know that these gifts are but part of the pledge of loyalty you require of us.
Scripture Reading 2 Kings 5:1-3, 5:7-15 NRSV
5 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. 2 Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.”
8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?” He turned and went away in a rage. 13 But his servants approached and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.
15 Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant.”
*Hymn of Prayer # 314 Moment by Moment
Pastoral Prayer Creator God, you have placed us in the company of others to look after one another and that we might not be lonely. / With each day’s setting sun you seek to end the cares of the day and to close out accounts with sleep. With each day’s rising sun, you breakfast us upon the food of second chances. But we blow it. Again and again we see a new day, but in the mirror we see an old face and old fears and old ways. Yet you have promised to those who submit to the pruning of your commanding word, the lasting fruit of your abiding presence – the ultimate, coompanionable answer to the loneliness of Adam and Eve and of all your children. – Peter Fribley
*Hymn of Praise # 393 There’s Within My Heart a Melody
Scripture Text 2 Timothy 2:8-15 NLT 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.
14 Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God’s presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them. 15 Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.[1]
Message Things To Remember
Jesus Christ is the resurrected Lord. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. This is one of the most important charges ever given to believers—remember this good news. Remember—the gospel proclaims the humanity and deity of Jesus Christ. Jesus the Messiah was man. He was born of the seed of David; He was a man just like David, born of the roots of David. God sent His Son into the world in human flesh. The Son of God became a man—flesh and blood—just like all other men. He had a human nature, and because He had a human nature, He knows the sufferings, the trials, the temptations, the problems, the difficulties, the sorrows, the griefs, the struggles and the pains of life.
The point is this: Jesus Christ knows exactly what we face in life. Therefore, He is able to support us through all the trials of life. No matter what the sufferings are, Jesus Christ can deliver us through the sufferings and cause us to triumph over them.
"And the Word [God’s Son] was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.[2] (John 1:14).
It is imperative to remember. Paul goes back to the basics to ground Timothy’s thinking—a fresh statement of the elementary gospel. The first thing to notice is the content of this gospel presentation. It consists of a person, Jesus Christ, and two events, resurrection and incarnation or Davidic descent. While we might be surprised at what Paul has left out of this summary of the gospel (forgiveness of sins, salvation, eternal life and so on), what he has included probably spoke directly to Timothy’s situation.
Paul calls Christians to set their focus on Jesus Christ. It is he who has been raised from the dead, not believers. He is still the “firstfruits” of the resurrection (1 Cor 15:23), the proof that God’s promise is good. //Our present-day participation in Christ’s death and resurrection (Rom 6:1–11) does not mean removal from the sinful world, but it means power to continue the struggle in its midst with the potential to gain victory over sin. Paul calls Timothy (and all Christians) to reenter this struggle in the power of the Spirit. To concentrate on Jesus and his resurrection is to keep strong our hope in the future victory, so that the necessary present struggles do not overwhelm us.
Paul calls this my gospel. In so doing he claims not to be its author but rather one to whom it has been entrusted by Christ.
False teachers were a problem in Ephesus. At the heart of false teaching is an incorrect view of Christ. In Timothy’s day many asserted that Christ was divine but not human—God but not man. These days we often hear that Jesus was human but not divine—man but not God. Either view destroys the good news that Jesus Christ has taken our sins on himself and has reconciled us to God. Paul firmly states that Jesus is fully man (“born into King David’s family”) and fully God (“raised from the dead”). This is an important doctrine for all Christians. The Incarnation was the act of the preexistent Son of God voluntarily assuming a human body and human nature. Without ceasing to be God, he became a human being, the man called Jesus. He did not give up his deity to become human, but he set aside the right to his glory and power. / Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. / 6Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. 7He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross. 9Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2: 5-11
In submission to the Father’s will, Christ limited his power and knowledge. Jesus of Nazareth was subject to place, time, and many other human limitations. What made his humanity unique was his freedom from sin.
Remember: Jesus the Messiah was divine; He was of the very nature of God Himself. He died, but He arose and lives forever in the presence of God. Death could not hold Him because He was the Son of God.
Remember—the gospel carries one through suffering and assures the victory of one’s purpose—the spread of God’s Word. Paul was in prison because he preached the Word of God. At this particular time, Christians were hated with a fierce passion by many throughout the Roman empire. Many reacted against the message of morality and purity, righteousness and justice for all. In addition, one of the worst disasters ever suffered by a city, the burning of Rome, was blamed upon the Christian believers in Rome. Nero, in one of his moments of insanity, was guilty of ordering the fire so that he would be known as the great emperor who rebuilt the city. But the senate could never blame Nero. Therefore they sought a scapegoat, and the scapegoat chosen was the new religious sect, the Christians. As a result, a great persecution of Christian believers began. Paul, of course, was one of the major leaders of the Christians.
As stated, Paul was in prison for having preached the gospel. He was true to his call, the very purpose for which God had put him on earth: to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But note this fact: the Word of God could never be bound. Paul himself could be stopped by men, but the purpose could never be stopped. The Word of God cannot be stopped. Its message will continue on and on down through history. The message of God’s great love for the world—the message of the cross, of the death of God’s Son for the world—that message will never be stopped until the world ends. There will always be some believers who will be proclaiming the Word of God—that God will save any person who comes to Him through the Lord Jesus Christ.
The theological grounds for Christian suffering were more than theory for Paul. His own life experience testified to the reality of the resurrection of Christ and to the availability of resurrection power for engagement in the Christian struggle.
It is a hard thing for us to understand, but the cost of freedom may be a loss of freedom. And it is God’s plan that the church in some mysterious way bring to completion the sufferings of Christ (Col 1:24). Those who understand these truths best are those whose freedom or health has been seized from them because of the gospel. Wang Ming Dao, the Chinese Christian leader spent more than twenty years in prison, much of it in solitary confinement, because of his stand for the gospel. He walked in the same footprints followed centuries earlier by Paul himself (1 Pet 2:19–21).
Officially, by virtue of his leadership role in an illegal religion (Christianity was not sanctioned by Rome), the apostle was an enemy of the state. It didn’t help Paul that the fire which destroyed much of Rome at about that time was blamed on Christians. Paul knew that the price he was paying was part of his commitment to the gospel. And the message was well worth the price (see on 1:9–10).
God’s people can be put away or killed, but his word cannot be stopped. He is its source; it is his living communication to the world. To imprison it or kill it would require imprisoning or killing God. Ironically, efforts to halt the spread of the message only caused the early church to grow (Acts 8:1, 4). Paul reported, “What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel…. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly” (Phil 1:12, 14). // The growth of the church in China from the time of the communist takeover to the present, with even small portions of Scripture scarce, is equal proof of the power of God’s Word.
Such truths sustained Paul in the hardest of times, but his compassion for people is what gave meaning to his experience of suffering. There is another truth here. A Christian’s life has an impact on others. That impact is meant to be positive and redemptive. Paul endured suffering so that the church’s evangelistic mission might continue to completion, that Christians like him, willing to continue the struggle for the sake of the gospel and for others who need to hear it, might come to faith and then maturity in Christ. If Paul, then Timothy; if Timothy, then us. We all have responsibilities to other people. // Through the preaching of the gospel (1 Cor 1:21), people may come to know Christ Jesus, in whom alone is salvation. This is salvation from sin and its effects, God’s rescue that results in eternal life. The final phrase describing salvation, with eternal glory, is not superfluous. On the one hand, it is the final goal of the Christian pilgrimage. It is also the hope that can bring the believer through the present necessary experience of struggle for the gospel. Glory, victory, resurrection and removal from troubles are all yet to be fully experienced.
Remember: the gospel assures eternal glory and eternal judgment. 2 Timothy 2:11-13 is probably an early Christian hymn. God is faithful to his children, and although we may suffer great hardships here, God promises that someday we will live eternally with him. What will this involve? It means believers will live in Christ’s Kingdom. This truth comforted Paul as he went through suffering and death. Are you facing hardships? Don’t turn away from God—he promises you a wonderful future with him. The sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over us, but all who receive God’s wonderful, gracious gift of righteousness will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
God means what He says: He will keep His Word. His promise of glory and His pronouncement of judgment are sure. Some people will be saved and glorified, and others will be denied and condemned.
Jesus is faithful. He will stay by our side even when we have endured so much that we seem to have no faith left. We may be faithless at times, but Jesus is faithful to his promise to be with us “to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Refusing Christ’s help will break our communication with God, but he will never turn his back on us even though we may turn our back on him.
Paul urged Timothy to remind the believers not to argue over unimportant details (“fighting over words”) or to have foolish discussions because such arguments are confusing, useless, and even harmful. False teachers loved to cause strife and divisions by their meaningless quibbling over unimportant details (see 1 Timothy 6:3-5). To explain the word of truth correctly, we must study what the Word of God says so we can understand what it means.
Because God will examine what kind of workers we have been for him, we should build our life on his Word and build his Word into our life. It alone tells us how to live for him and serve him. Believers who ignore the Bible will certainly be ashamed at the judgment. Consistent and diligent study of God’s Word is vital; otherwise we will be lulled into neglecting God and our true purpose for living.
Conditions of Faithfulness The reward for this life is resurrection. Here Paul is focusing mainly on the future promise, though it is equally true that for Paul that future promise has already begun to be fulfilled in the life of faith, in the form of power over sin and power to endure (Rom 6:6–7).
A rejection of the call to endure gives evidence of a decision to deny Christ. Jesus’ own words may lie behind this warning: “whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven” (Mt 10:33). Rejection by Christ means exclusion from eternal life.
Paul’s point may be that no matter what, God’s promise to save his people will not fail because some prove to be false. God must keep his promises, for they are grounded in his own being and “he cannot deny himself.”
This life of decision, sacrifice and struggle is the life of salvation that is in Christ Jesus. From the standpoint of our experience this salvation remains at the best of times in progress, unfinished; at the worst of times it is nearly invisible. Its completion involves our response, our commitment to endure what can only be called a struggle. The decision to withdraw from it carries grave consequences. The decision to press on in the power of the Spirit promises eternal glory, complete life and fellowship with Christ forever. The promise of our future resurrection is the very foundation of the Christian faith (1 Cor 15:19). Remove the foundation, and faith collapses.[3]
*Hymn of Response # 278 Jesus Is All the World to Me
*Sending forth
*Postlude
----
[1]Tyndale House Publishers: Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 2nd ed. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers, 2004, S. 2 Ti 2:8
[2]Tyndale House Publishers: Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 2nd ed. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers, 2004, S. Jn 1:14
[3]Towner, Philip: 1-2 Timothy & Titus. Downers Grove, Ill. : InterVarsity Press, 1994 (The IVP New Testament Commentary Series 14), S. 2 Ti 2:8