10-7-2018 An Astonishing Feat 2 Timothy 2:3-7

Well I enjoy being here with you every week and even for this morning. It's a blessing to be here, and to see first hand what God's been doing over the years here in our church. I don’t ever want to take that for granted.

We have been on an impromptu series of spiritual warfare. I try on occasion to describe the kind of commit to YHWH that would be worthy and shape our lives as authentic believers. Total commitment to the Savior which equates to spiritual vitality, and commitment to the Scriptures which is doctrinal integrity, and even total commitment of the sacrificial spread of the gospel which is missional urgency. Those are 3 points in total commitment which Dr. Douglas McLachlan had taught me. On occasion with these commitments I can say with a certain level of integrity these commitments have been a consuming passion on setting foundational principles of my Christian life ever since. I don't mean by saying that, that I believe I've somehow achieved them in the ultimate sense because I know I haven't. But I can say that I have always’ and with some level of energy that I still do aspire to them, do and I hope that I always will with whatever time is allotted to me in this life’s journey.

One of the things this means this morning is that you and I should aspire to be a part of the community of total commitment or what Dr. McLachlan calls “the community of astonishment.”

Transition:

And So this morning, I want to talk about us. As Dr. McLachlan would call us, this community of astonishment. Which hopefully we are marked by the essentials of the Christian mission. And we will look at this concept. From second Timothy, the second chapter. In particular verses 3 to 6. I Want to read through verse 7, beginning in verse one

Scripture Reading:

2 Timothy 2:1–7 ESV

1 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

2 Timothy 2:1 ESV

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,

Paul says to the young man, Timothy who was pastoring in Ephesus. Maybe not so young by now, right on the eve of Paul’s execution. And so Timothy has some years of experience under his belt by now.

2 tim 2

“You then, my child, be strengthened” let yourself be strong -- I think is the idea-- let yourself be made strong. Semantically, be clothed and edued/absorbed and endowed/furnished with the grace that you find in Christ Jesus and you're going to need it (I think Paul is saying)

2 Timothy 2:2 ESV

and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

Now if we are going to do this, then this is going to carry out the ministry in a way that is effective and redemptive. Maturational for the body and missional for of the unsaved community where we live. We are going to have to embrace some of these metaphors, some of these portraits, some of these pictures. What it really means to be a servant of the Lord, is you must therefore:

2 Timothy 2:3 ESV

Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

The definition of a good soldier. Now, nobody engaged in warfare, nobody on active duty nobody serving as a soldier...

2 Timothy 2:4 ESV

No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

And then the metaphor of an athlete.

2 Timothy 2:5 ESV

An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

And then uses the third picture here third matter for the hard-working farmer

2 Timothy 2:6 ESV

It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.

Then finally, he says consider what I say think about it really

2 Timothy 2:7 ESV

Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

Then he says consider what I say think about it really

7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

“Think” that's the word for a mind μονεω And it means to think even to imagine use your imagination as to what are the implications of these pictures I'm drawing for you-- a noble soldier, a devoted athlete, and a hard-working farmer--think! consider what I say! Think about it, meditate on it, and pray about it, and the Lord will give you understanding in everything/in all things.

I think these metaphors are marked by those components of total commitment I mentioned at the beginning and so I want to draw them out of this text. Today this is a call for 21st century Christian to be a part of what T.S. Elliot called the church within the church. That special group of Jesus called “disciples indeed.” That group of believers which exist in every generation and is a minority. Both in the world and unfortunately a minority in the church-- in the body of Christ. And it always makes an astonishing mark on the world even a bit today.

And it's this minority movement if I may call it that called “the community astonishment.” That movement is I would call each of us today-- I call myself-- that is I need need to renew my own commitment to it on a regular basis

because between 2 vast eternities: Eternity past and eternity future we each have our little vapor of life James says in verse 14 which appears for a moment and then vanishes away. The question is: what are we going to do with? And I would suggest that we need to decide to be a part of that minority-- to exhibit the level of courage and commitment necessary to be a part of the astonishing minority. It's the only way to keep from wasting our lives, it is the only way to be a part of the of the rescue operation of own society so desperately needs.

Theodor Dostoevsky's famous maxim still rings true. He says, “if there is no god, all things are permissible.” “If there's no god all things are permissible” In other words, if god is gone, and truth is dismissed, there's no ground for defining right nor wrong, no barrier against flourishing evil. We can see that all around us in America today. it's kind of like a to 32 world we're living in/living out. You know that text, to 32, we don't plan to go there, but what you have there the elimination of god in the abolition of truth-- they're both there confined in the space of 14 verses. The elimination of god and the abolition of truth. The elimination of god leads to the deification of man-- nothing could be worse than that. The abolition of truth leads the justification of sin, because when there's no truth base, you have no standard by which to determine something good or evil, true or false, beautiful or ugly. That's the kind of world we live in the kind of world Paul describes in to 32 the elimination of god the abolition of truth the deification of man and the justification of sin and that lead to the proliferation of death and we live in a world that has a sort of love affair with death--it is not just Halloween time where Americans worship death. By the way, October 31st is not Halloween— it is Reformation Day. 10/31/1517 the 95 theses were posted on the door of Vittenburg.

Wisdom personified as a lovely lady in says at the end of that chapter I think it's verse 35 or 36 She says, “all those who hate me” wisdom talking about God's wisdom “all those who hate me love death.” And we have it with abortion- infanticide euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide--a terrible preoccupation with that kind of thing all year round. The greatest question of our time is whether men and women can live without God --Will Durant. And that is what I think we've been trying to do cultural for nearly a century now. And the pictures not very pretty. The reason I say those kinds of things is because that reality is why a revitalized community of astonishment inside the body of Christ is so desperately needed.

What would that look like? What would that body look like?

Well in , you can see it there in verses 3 through 7 Paul is identifying for us what I'm calling 3 distinctive qualities of such an astonishing minority. These are perhaps the essentials of Christian mission if we're going to get Christian mission done in America and even the U.P. and Paul does so by making his appeal to 3 classic metaphors: The soldier, the athlete, & the farmer.

I think Paul is describing what Dr. McLachlan is calling the community of astonishment. He explains it as the people who live like this and live out the implications of these metaphors, these pictures, become a very astonishing community that makes a real impact for Christ in their world. So what I want to do this morning is go through those 3 metaphors within the next few minutes.

ESV

Transition:

I. A Wartime Lifestyle (vv.3-4)

By now I think we have already established without a doubt that war is being waged right here, right now and it has not ended yet. The devastating war with multiple casualties littering the landscape of western civilization. This war percolates down to the communities in which you and I live, Kingsford, Iron Mountain, Norway, Aurora, Niagara, Florence, Iron River, Sagola, Vulcan, Pembine, and so on--pockets of brokenness, emptiness, hopelessness, senselessness, shallow lives, empty hearts, hollow countenances, vacant expressions, lost souls are ubiquitous — Everywhere present. Does this sound at all familiar? These are the tragic casualties of this cosmic warfare which exists all around us. Why else would Paul talk like this?

2 Timothy 2:3–4 ESV

3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

So Paul identified the kind of soldiers that would be needed if we intend to conquer the spiritual battle, if we want to be a part of liberating people who are in bondage to the enemy. He says that they'll be mark with several powerful credentials:

Good/Noble καλος soldiers it has the idea of nobility in it. So these are noble soldiers --what is a noble Christian soldier look like?

what is a noble Christian soldier look like? one mobile soldiers are sacrificial in outlook. The number to their singular and focus. They have eyes only for Christ and his calls. And that number 3 there selfless in spirit or disposition. And that's what I think these expressions are are conveying in in. I

Noble soldiers are sacrificial in outlook -share in suffering/hardship

I think one of the things Paul is saying is that we Christians here today should not be preoccupied with the ever. Popular growth of narcissism that goes under the phrase, “what's in it for me?” no! Our focus should not be luxuriant peace time lifestyles because there's a spiritual war going on all around us --we're engaged in a great cosmic battle for the souls of humankind, for the preservation of truth, for the edification of maturation of the body of Christ, for the redemption of lost souls. So how should we live? I think patriots genuine patriots. When their nation is at war revert to a style of living that is unencumbered with nonessential so that wartime effectiveness can be achieved. I think that's a calling for all of us as well inside the body of Christ -- ready to accept hardships, and risk, and sacrifice as a matter of course --it goes with the job description.

They are singular in focus. They have eyes only for Christ and his cause.

Roman soldiers were focused. They were forbidden to engage in civilian occupations. They had a singular focus to the singular purpose to serve the dictates of the Roman Caesar. We, as Christians cannot be less focused wherever God has placed us to battle. It is a revolution were we stab people to life with the Word of God, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

They are selfless in spirit or disposition.

Us pleasing Him rather than pleasing ourselves-- this is the one of the hardest things we have to do. Nothing pulls more powerfully on our fallen nature then narcissism—me, me, me, my, my, my, now, now, now--pleasing ourselves. It is making promises and breaking them. Making spiritual decisions and then abandoning them. Affirming biblical truths but not living them. Not so with the soldier! A soldier will be too busy in the work of the one who enlisted him to think of himself.

I think Paul would agree we have to deal reasonably with the affairs of this life, but he says we're not to be entangled with them--woven together. I think the picture is that of a soldier whose weapon is caught in his cloak with the enemy gaining on him. But I think Paul is referring to an unhealthy preoccupation with the physical and material of our life to the exclusion of the spiritual and the missional so that we are rendered ineffective in the spiritual battle. If we want to live a life that makes the difference we want to make absolutely certain that we don't waste our lives are little vapor of life we want to invest in something that really matters. Then we'll have to engage an instinctive and selfless obedience to our Master's commands. The first duty of an authentic Christian soldier is unconditional surrender to Christ’s sovereignty and an uncontested obedience to Christ’s authority.

Transition:

Living a Wartime Lifestyle is one of the stunning qualities of the Church within the church, the next quality:

II. A World-Class Discipline (v.5)

The Devotion of an Athlete

Christians wanting to belong to the community of astonishment must be willing to pay a price. World-Class Athletes pay a world-class price. The Olympics have competitors who work at it all their life in order to excel in what they do to be on that Olympic stage for just one 2-Week period

2 Timothy 2:5 ESV

5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

Our task now in this cosmic spiritual battle for the souls of humankind and the preservation of truth, and of the maturation of the body of Christ for the redemption of lost people-- our task is infinitely greater in character and in value.

Not many of us are going to be world class athletes, I know I'm not. I hate sports! —I like playing a little, but I stink! I was never even near a superstar, and I fall asleep watching Football or any other sports on T.V.

The point is we need the devotion and the discipline of an athlete if we're going to be a part of the community of astonishment, and what we do is infinitely more valuable. We must have the willingness to sweat and the readiness to obey. There is a lot of sweat in athletics! αυθλην = athletics and means a significant amount of spent energy— which in context is sourced in devotion to the game with the winning end of the game in focus. Athletes don’t mind the sweat because of their intense love to the sport.

They must say “no” to other pursuits in life in order to spend the time in practice for the game. I don't know if you've noticed in life, but most of us do not like to have anybody tell us no, and we'd rather not say no to ourselves.

Titus 2:11–12 NKJV

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,

titus

In Verse 12, that word “denying” can be translated “to say no”. The grace of God teaches us to say no!

If the athlete ignores this component of athletic activity they will not be crowned. There will be days with athletes where they will wish to drop their training and relax their discipline. There will be pleasures they would like to indulge-- appetites they would like to satisfy. But athletes who are devoted to the game have learned to say no to other pleasures and appetites and yes to their training and discipline. In fact they have learned to say no to the self which is probably the most difficult thing any of us have to do and I think the same must be true the community of astonishment for all the metaphors. All the metaphors of Christian living in this passage the soldier the athlete and even the farmer carry with them strict codes of conduct and I think that's what Paul is saying, you can't be an undisciplined, flabby couch potato, Christian and do life impactful ministry in our kind of world. We can't get it done like that! Moral and missional anemia will not cut it in a post-Christian postmodern Darwinian secular world at Grace Baptist Church.

This is not a call for some form of Christian legalism, we've had plenty of legalism within Christianity over the years. We don't need anymore. It's not a call for Christian legalism. what motivates serious athleticism is love for the sport what drives spirit filled obedience and holy sweat in behalf of the cause of Christ is the great love of the God we worship and cherish. And great commission compassion in behalf of the lost world we care about. So then it is love and it is compassion which drives this kind of living and that rescues us from brute legalism.

Transition:

A willingness to sweat and a readiness to obey is the devotion of an athlete. Last quality this morning:

III. A Wholehearted Work Ethic (v.6)

A wholehearted work ethic; rather than a half-hearted afterthought— The Diligence of a Farmer We know that farmers work strenuously only if because he refers to them as the “hard-working farmer”

2 Timothy 2:6 ESV

6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.

hard-working = καπος the Greek word which describes toil to the point of sheer exhaustion-- the kind of activity which takes everything a body mind and spirit the we have to give. That's how farmers labor.

Is all this too much to ask of you? Jesus shed blood for us we ought to and need to break sweat for Him. We have the same motivation: why did He shed blood? because He loves us. Why do we break sweat? because we love Him. It is love that drives us to continue in our toils

James 5:7–8 ESV

7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

James 578

nobody knows better than the farmer that there's no such thing as a quick fix or an instant harvest despite our fast-food mentality.

Also, Farmers work obscurely. how many famous farmers do you know?

The farmer doesn't face the perilous dangers of the soldier, he does not experience the applause of the athlete, but he does feed the world, yet we are called to all three occupations as a believer.

I think the farmer metaphor is a picture of people who work out from under the spotlight, people who don't care who gets the credit so long as the world gets the Gospel and God gets all the glory.

Those kind of people in this church and every local church are the bedrock, they are the backbone of the community of astonishment and they are the ones to receive the first share of the crops.

So What?

These are the qualities of what it takes to truly love YHWH with all of your Mind, all of your body, and all of your soul. Jesus, Himself, tells us the price: “take up your Cross and follow Me”

Being soldiers, farmers, and athletes, we’ve got work to do!

Conclusion:

Armor and weapons are not sufficient to win a battle; there must be the motivation and energy to fight. Our energy comes from prayer. We use the sword of the Spirit, and we pray in the Spirit: the Holy Spirit empowers us to win the battle. The Word of God and prayer are the two resources God has given the church to overcome the enemy and gain territory for God’s glory. Christian soldiers must pray with their eyes open. “Watch and pray” is God’s secret for overcoming the world!

Mark 13:33 ESV

33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.

the flesh

Mark 14:38 ESV

38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

We should also “watch and pray” for opportunities to serve Christ (). Fight the good fight of faith with divinely empowered weapons with Christ as your Commander- in-Chief.

Let’s Pray!

Thank you Father for the privilege of being a part of this good church. Thanks for this body of believers, for Your blessing on everyone of them. Thanks for all the Deacons here who all come alongside me to help with this good ministry. We pray for Your blessing after these few moments together. I always feel, Father, a deep sense of my need for You in every opportunity an awesome privilege and sobering responsibility to try to preach or teach Your Word in a clear way and a memorable way. So I pray for the special presence of your Holy Spirit as we continue on. Continue to teach us, teach me in the inner man-- I wish to be strengthened in the inner man by The Holy Spirit as Paul prayed in I think it was. I want to preach the gospel by the Holy Spirit whom You sent from heaven as the Apostle Peter said the first chapter of his book.

We pray for that special aide of the Holy Spirit- the quickening- of The Messenger, us. And the quickening of the cognitive powers of those who chosen to join us to listen to the Word of the Living God out of this text. So Father, I trust You for Your special presence for physical stamina and mental clarity and spiritual passion to continue beyond today which grows out of a love for Your Word- its implications for our lives. Sanctify these next few moments for Your own Glory and for the good of us, the body of believers. I will trust you with these blessings, Father, and ask you for them in the name and through the mighty blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

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