Sermon Tone Analysis

In the middle of the carpet on the floor of the Oval Office, you’ll find the seal of the President of the United States featured prominently.

The Presidential seal has a bald eagle holding an olive branch in one foot and arrows in the other.

The head of the eagle is facing toward the olive branch which symbolizes peace.

It’s a popular myth that during wartime, the seal is switched out for one in which the eagle’s head is facing the arrows, which symbolize war.

That is, in fact, not accurate.

As cool as I think that would be, it’s not so.

To think about it being someone’s job to change out the seal from wartime to peacetime…to think about where they might store the extra carpet seals—I love that kind of stuff.

The truth of the seal is that Harry Truman decided the eagle’s head should face the olive branch for no particular reason.

In 1946, when British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was visiting President Truman, Truman explained, pointing to the President’s seal on the wall of the train car that he had chosen to have the eagle’s head turn to face the olive branch.

Churchill replied, “I think the eagle’s head should be on a swivel.”

Always clever, Churchill was on to something.

He knew that the United States of America would be back and forth between wartime and peacetime for the totality of its existence.

For the Christian, there is, in this life, no vacillation between wartime and peacetime.

We are at war, constantly.

We don’t have the luxury of peace.

Our enemy is relentless.

He never lets up.

He is always after the people of God, prowling around like a lion seeking some to devour.

We are in a battle.

A spiritual war.

It’d be great if we could just turn our heads and pretend we are at peace, but we don’t have the option.

We are at war, and will be until Jesus returns and sets the whole world at rights.

This is why we’re instructed to fight the good fight and to be on our guard.

We must fit ourselves with the armor of God and prepare to engage in battle.

A crucial part of this is following the commands and orders we’ve been given—following them ourselves and passing them onto others.

>If you have your Bible (and I hope you do) please turn with me to 1 Timothy 6, beginning with verse 11.

Paul is wrapping up this letter to his friend, his co-laborer in Christ, his son in the faith.

He knows this letter will be read aloud to the church in Ephesus.

And by the inspiration and preservation of the Holy Spirit, the Church universal and through the ages are recipients.

Paul gives Timothy (and the Church) a list of commands.

As an apostle of Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 1:1), Paul has the right and the authority to give commands, commands Timothy needs to follow and pass on; commands you and I need to follow and pass on.

In verse 11, Paul is calling for a contrast.

Timothy is, the church he’s pastoring in Ephesus is, and the Church is to look differently and behave differently than the false teachers and their ilk.

In contrast to the false teachers who are after a form of godliness or the appearance of godliness because they believe it will profit them financially, in contrast to those who withhold honor from slaves and masters, elders and widows, Timothy and all who follow Christ are to behave differently.

This we know.

Paul addresses Timothy specifically (and the rest of us indirectly)—“But you, man of God...”

That should remind Timothy of the great honor that is his in Christ and yet, maybe hit him with a bit of a punch.

To be a follower of Christ is a great privilege, unlike any other privilege there is.

To be His people, to be His treasured possession, to be chosen by Him—what a privilege!

There is nothing, NOTHING that compares.

It’s also quite weighty to be a follower of Christ.

It’s a high calling, a life of surrender and sacrifice; a daily taking up of your cross and following hard after Him.

This is not to say it’s a burden, but living for Christ is not to be taken lightly or flippantly.

Notice the commands, the orders Paul gives to Timothy (and, by extension, to us):

FLEE.