On Mission With Jesus

Introduction

Good morning! Yes it is! Isn’t great that we get to come to a place of worship freely this morning? Those of us here in this worship center can do that. This is just one of the many freedoms we get to enjoy. All of us this morning woke up with two things. We woke up with God’s grace renewed another day. We also woke up under a blanket of freedom that allow us to enjoy so many things, that many across this globe want on a daily basis.

This blanket of freedom is costly and is provided by our service men and women, who have chosen to honor others above themselves, to ensure the many freedoms we enjoy are preserved. Today is the day, a body of believers, we honor our veterans to say thank you for your sacrifice and service to this great country!

I’m going to ask to please hold your applause till the end.

If you have served or service this great country, would you please stand? If your spouse just stood up - will you please stand?

If you have someone in your family who is serving - would you please stand?

If you are a surviving spouse or a surviving family - will you please stand?

Veterans - Thank you! Thank you for your love of this country and for your service.

Families thank you for supporting our service men and women. We are thankful for the sacrifice your family is or has made for us.

Our service men and women demonstrate incredible fortitude when facing opposition. But every once in a while, opposition can become heavy where encouragement is in order. Our passage this morning comes from Paul’s words, encouraging Timothy to weather the storm. Open your Bibles with me to 2nd Timothy chapter 2.

2 Timothy 2:1–4 NKJV

1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

Pastoral Prayer

Paul begins with, you therefore, my son. Timothy was not Paul’s son in a physical way. Timothy was his spiritual son in the sense of Paul’s ministry. This is a personal way to address Timothy. This helps to show the special relationship the two had. It would be similar if in your family you addressed an elder as mother, mom, dad. Or, if you had step-children and they addressed you as mom or day.

The thought is that Timothy was facing opposition, and that opposition was talking it’s toll. At the same time Paul was remaining confident that Timothy would remain confident to the calling God put on His heart. One of the great things we see here are the true words of a brother-in-Christ, and that of a mentor. One attribute of a mentor is the other person can usually see when we are struggling. And more than just seeing, they can usually offer words that our hearts and minds appreciate. Paul is guiding Timothy to “be strong in the grace.” Folks, Paul is looking at Timothy’s situation in such a way and sees what’s going on. Paul’s words to “be strong in the grace” are mentioned to offer encouragement. Many appreciate some form of encouragement from time-to-time. Paul has recognized the need and addressed it. He affirms that the strength was not found in himself but found in grace that is in Christ Jesus. The grace that is sustained Paul is the same grace that sustains Timothy. It’s the same grace that sustains you and I. It’s only found in Jesus. This means to have a need for continual dependence on God.

This is the reservoir Timothy is to draw from. The reservoir of Jesus Christ never runs dry. Jesus has grace without measure. He does not retain it for Himself. If you think of a bog water tank, like the tanks kept overhead on stilts. When the water flows through the pipes then through all the branches, the overhead tank empties itself. Jesus does the same thing. He empties out His grace for us. The same grace that forgives and makes us holy is the same grace that empowers us. This is the encouragement Paul is trying to guide Timothy to. Letting him know that he can be empowered and strengthened.

Paul shares a strong parallel with what he is sharing with Timothy. This is where Paul’s mentorship really starts to shine. Paul is challenging Timothy to mirrors his endurance. Paul draws on the grace of Jesus. And! If one person can do it, another can do it.

As Paul identifies the power, he quickly moves to the purpose. Paul guides Timothy to do more than just remaining faithful. Paul talks about these quote-unquote “things,” that are mentioned in verse of our passage this morning. The reference to these things is the expression of the gospel. Timothy was able to share in this thought, because often he would have been within talking distance of Paul when he was sharing the good news of the gospel, whether it could have been in many private conversations or “among many witnesses.” Paul was not ashamed of what the gospel meant or to have gospel conversations with complete strangers. Paul’s hope was for Timothy to share in that boldness. This still remains true for us today!

Paul understood life on this rock will not last forever. There will be a time in everyone’s future where you will be called to transition to the next stage of life. Paul knows his time is coming to an end and eventfully Timothy’s time will come to an end. Before the sand runs out of the hour glass, there is a time to commit these things to the next generation who will carry the torch forward. Timothy is guided to train reliable faithful men of the future. This can be thought of as adding “another link in the chain by teaching the gospel to others.” This added link is the very essence of discipleship. We have this finger print going on here. As we keep adding links to the chain, or see ripples in the water, the gospel will continue to spread. To help nurture the spreading of the gospel, we must have a passion for the gospel and a passion for this lost and dying world.

Revelation 1:1 is an example of forging and adding links. This process of spiritual reproduction in Revelation 1:1 and then again Paul is guiding, which began in the early church, is to continue until the Lord Jesus Christ returns. Until that day comes, we can faithfully “endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”

Paul talks about enduring hardship. One aspect about Paul is his straight forwardness. This really helps because we know exactly where the other persona stands. Paul knew that enduring hardship is part of the normal Christian experience. He was reminding Timothy of that. What Timothy was feeling was something he knew something about. But so did Jesus. The Son of God walked this earth in the same earth suit Timothy walked in, and the same earth suit we are walking in today. Jesus faced rejection and opposition. We will face the same rejection and opposition because of who we serve. The one difference is Jesus over cam all of that in victory. And, that means we too can have the victory.

Paul is urging Timothy to submit to the characteristics of “a good soldier.” The image of a soldier was familiar both to the early church and Timothy. Timothy would not have to look very far to how Paul was using this illustration. Good means “to meet high standards of expectations.” Military service involves self-sacrifice, endurance, discipline, vigilance, obedience, ready to co-operate with others, sympathy, enthusiasm and loyalty. A soldier in activity duty does not have a 9-to-5 job, or even a long 60-or-70 hour work week. A soldier is a person who has a 24-hour day. The person does not take off for a 2PM break. This persons body, health, skills, time are used in the branch of service which this person serves. Take the American Soldier for example, these service men and women meet very high standards and expectation from their CO’s. One common thread that is evident is the attribute of loyalty. In the face of hardship, rejection and opposition, you never hear or see where our service men and women becoming distracted from the mission. In this image, Jesus Christ is in the role of the CO. The believer is in the role of the professional soldier under the authority of the commanding officer. Just as the soldier wishes to please their commanding officer, we, as believers, ought to strive to please our commanding officer - Jesus Christ. The Bible say in (that):

2 Timothy 2:4 ESV

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

In the story where Jesus heals a centurion’s servant, the centurion in described his way of life as:

Luke 7:8 ESV

8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

Luke 7:8 helps to support the idea of the CO to service professional. Paul is guiding Timothy not be distracted in the stuff that is happening either on the sidelines or outside the stadium walls. Paul is using this metaphor to emulate the service demeanor for Timothy. Roman soldiers were not allowed to plead in court for another as a lawyer, to act in business, tutor, or trade - to name a few. The point is the centurion who was called to be a professional solider was to be a solider, full time to the fullest extent possible.

For the Christian, this should guide us not to be entangled with what is going on at the sidelines. The also does not pardon us from being aloof with distractions. We still have a duty to perform in this life.

Mark 4:19 ESV

19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

This is but a taste of the various entanglements that can keep an unbeliever from Christ, and keep a believer from faith full service to God. Satan likes to keep up busy with all sorts of things. These things keeps us so busy that we are just plain exhausted. I’m not saying a full schedule is bad. Somewhere in there God is right over there desiring time with you. Time in God’s word fortifies our armor for when the call to engage comes, we stand with readiness!

Conclusion

I’ve heard the Christian life be described as no playground but as a battlefield. It’s a battlefield where battles are lost and won on a daily basis. But we have the assurance of victory in Jesus Christ!

We have ministries under this roof that is equipping this next generation of Christians. I can tell you personally that I’ve seen our young people refute world philosophy with biblical truth. AND, they did it boldly! This is because we choose to act cohesively, or in military terminology, we are acting as a unit.

We are making the decision to not back down in the face of darkness and what could seem like daunting odds. We’ve got our game faces on. OH YEAH - We are ready! When opposition and rejection rear-up, we can confidently say - you had better bring your A-Game. Because, I’ve go Jesus on my side. Folks this is also called drawing a line in the sand - just like Shammah. Shammah was part of a small battle that is not often talked about. Shammah defended a lintel field from the Philistines. He took:

2 Samuel 23:12 ESV

12 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory.

Are you ready to stand in the power of Jesus Christ?

What are you facing today? Do you need victory?

I invite you come and pray before the cross of Christ.

Closing Prayer