Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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I hope everyone had a great Christmas.
I love Christmas, but I also like the
week between Christmas and New Years.
I feel like you get to take a breath before
jumping into the new year.
Today, I want to talk about purpose, because I think
sometimes it’s easy during this time of year to fall into a sort of lethargy; there is
something new coming (a new year, in this case) and we know it, but it can be a
difficult to see it, to plan for it, or to have hope that things really are going to move
forward in the right direction, that things will change for the better.
And those
changes we are looking for could be internal or external; but there is often a
longing for something better as we come into the new year.
And so I want to talk
about our calling as believers in fulfilling the special purpose God has for each one
of us, because He will move us forward as we respond to Him in humility and
obedience.
And the fact that God has a special purpose And will bring it to pass is
important to realize, because it helps you see the big picture God has for you now,
and how you can operate in the present gift of the present knowing God will
complete His purpose in you.
Paul writes to Timothy about purpose; 2 Timothy
1:8-10 NKJV Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of
me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to
the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was
given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, 10 but has now been revealed by
the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought
life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
First, Paul reminds Timothy of the love God has for us, and that God’s love
was so great towards us that He sent Jesus.
God saved us, and after He did that
gave us purpose, or a holy calling.
And He didn’t give us that according to how
good we did, or how great our performance was.
God’s Purpose in You | 1
In other words, God gives us a purpose and a Holy calling in Him because of
His grace, His mercy, and His faithfulness, and it comes through connectedness to
Jesus.
God doesn’t give us purpose and a high calling because we did so great in
ourselves.
In our world today, we tend to think of promotions in terms of our
performance.
But God blasts this performance-based mentality in this portion of
scripture again.
God says, ‘no you have been given a high and holy calling.
There
will be suffering involved, that’s a part of it.
But I am going to bring you into what
God has for you because Jesus abolished death and you trust in Him.
I’m going to
move you forward into my plans and purposes, not because you’re doing so well in
the way you’re walking things out, bet because Jesus Christ, the Light of the
World, the Hope of Humanity, has come and has invited you into His presence,
He’s invited you to participate in His plan for you.’
And Paul, here as he is encouraging Timothy in his calling, says ‘don’t be
ashamed.’
Shame is one of the main killers of calling. 2 Timothy 1:8 NKJV
“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His
prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the
power of God.”
In this passage specifically, Paul is saying that Timothy shouldn’t
be afraid or ashamed of the good news of Jesus even though it is scandalous.
In
other words, both Jewish and Gentile audiences didn’t like it.
A free gift of
salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ offended the Jews who
wanted to keep the law, and it was dumb to the Gentile world who saw no purpose
in following a person who had no worldly status and just ended up getting
murdered.
But I want to point out again that shame is one of the main killers of calling;
Paul says don’t be ashamed of the gospel; how many of us come to Jesus, but then
still struggle with shame and condemnation because we’re not good enough to be
God’s Purpose in You | 2
worthy of His love?
A mentality that is stuck in shame might cause us to suffer, the
problem is that that kind of suffering is actually what Jesus died to stop.
What I
mean is that when we’re bogged down by shame and condemnation in our thoughts
about how bad we are (that’s worm theology - I’m just a terrible, awful person and
I deserve to be punished because I don’t measure up to God’s standard) it blocks us
from moving into God’s high and holy calling for us.
It blocks us from suffering
for the gospel, for God’s good news of love, because we’re too busy suffering for
ourselves.
Romans speaks of why we can be free from shame; Romans 10:4 NLT “For
Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given.
As a
result, all who believe in him are made right with God.”
The law was given so
that we would know how sinful we are, so that we would know we couldn’t be
perfect or measure up to God’s standards.
But because of Jesus, who has fulfilled
the law perfectly, anyone who believes in Jesus Christ is now made right in God’s
sight.
We are His children, totally loved, accepted, and forgiven.
And so as we put
off shame and condemnation, knowing that Jesus brought us into His family, we
can start to move forward in our purpose, which is to operate in the same ways
Jesus did.
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