I am glad that I was able to post the sermon today and I did not have to wait until Saturday. As I've said, this is what I look forward to doing each week. I hope that all of you who read the blog are doing well.
We had heavy rain last night in my area. I didn't have flooding near my house. However, there was one area just to the north of me that received over 5 inches of rain in one hour. I thank the Lord that the storms near me weren't bad, but please pray for those who were affected in a bad way by the storms.
I have a prayer request that some may find odd, but I am going to ask you to pray about it anyway. I have a mole in my front yard that is absolutely tearing my yard to shreds. I know that this may seem like a trivial thing to some, but it is really bothering me. Please pray that this mole or moles will go back into the large field behind the house where they came from. No one cares if they are in that field. Thank you.
Now, on a more important note. Please pray for those who are suffering from terrible diseases in this world. There are ongoing problems with cholera in Yemen and South Sudan. Polio is a problem in Congo. Pray for an end to these epidemics.
Let us all continue to pray for peace in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen and South Sudan. Pray for peace wherever violence rages.
For our prayer focus countries this week, please pray for Togo and Sri Lanka. Pray that many will come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.
This week, we are not having a message from our parables of Jesus series. Instead, I would like us to focus our attention on a passage that has been meaningful to me over the past few weeks.
II Timothy is one of the pastoral epistles. It was written by Paul to Timothy. Timothy was a young man who Paul trained to be a leader in the Christian church. In II Timothy Paul gives instructions to his young disciple.
Beginning in verse 1 of chapter 2, Paul calls on Timothy to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. This is something that all of us need to do. We need to realize that we have been given God's unmerited favor in Jesus. We have not done anything to earn our salvation. It is a gift of God. Knowing this, we need to share this gift of the presence of the Lord with others so that they might come to experience the love and forgiveness of Jesus as well.
In the verses which follow, Paul calls upon Timothy to suffer hardship like a good soldier of Jesus Christ. He calls on Timothy not to entangle himself in the things of this world but to keep his focus on the ministry. He is to keep his focus on preaching the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. This is the same message for which Paul was imprisoned.
As followers of Jesus, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus and keep our focus on the mission that He has given us to do. We need to realize that this world is passing away. Only what is done for the sake of Jesus with eternal values in view will remain. We have a mission given to us by the Lord Jesus in the Great Commission to take His Gospel to the ends of the earth. We have a mission of making this world a little bit better place than how we found it.
I believe that if all Christians would concentrate more of their efforts on evangelism and good works for others that this world could be revolutionized in the name of Jesus.
In verses 11-13, Paul makes some statements to Timothy that I want us to focus our attention on.
In verse 11 Paul says, "If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him." This means that if we have trusted in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and in His glorious resurrection, we are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ. Those who have placed their faith in Jesus will not face eternal death, but instead they will have eternal life. Jesus said that He has gone to prepare a place for all those who trust in Him. When we die, Jesus will take us to be with Him forever. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Him, even though he were dead, yet shall he live.
In verse 12 Paul states, "If we endure, we will also reign with Him." Life on earth is hard, and those who live Godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. If we faithfully follow the teachings and the commandments of Jesus while we are here on earth, He will reward us in the world to come. In some sense we will rule and reign with the Lord Jesus in His eternal kingdom that will have no end.
Verse 12 also tells us that, "If we deny Him, He will deny us," If you don't want to follow Jesus anymore, He will not force you to follow Him. As I've said before, I don't think we can lose our salvation by committing a sin or sins. However, I do believe that a person can make a conscious decision not to be follower of Jesus anymore. I also believe that there are some who are Christians in name only. Jesus said this Himself. Jesus said that in the final judgment some will say to Him "Lord, Lord," but Jesus will say to them "I never knew you. Depart from me you who work iniquity."
Finally, in verse 14 we read the words, "If we are faithless, He remains faithful for He cannot deny Himself." I love this verse. This verse tells me that even though I may disappoint the Lord at times, He will not walk away from me. He is always faithful to keep every promise that He has made to us. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." In the difficult times of life, this is an extremely comforting thought. The Lord will always keep His promises. He will never leave us, and He will never forsake us. Even if others forsake us. The Lord will not forsake us.
What is important in realizing this is that we have to keep an ultimate perspective. We may have hardship and struggles in this life. We may end up as bad as Lazarus who was laid at the rich man's gate. However, the Lord has promised an eternal reward to all of those who faithfully follow Him. Throughout eternity we will have eternal joy and abundance if we are faithful to the Lord right now. He will keep this promise. He is faithful in that He will always be with us, and He will provide for us in the world to come.
I hope these few verses from II Timothy have been an encouragement to you. Next week, we will look at another passage that has been important to me recently. After that, we will return to our series on the parables of Jesus. On Monday, I will post the verses, and on Wednesday, I will have a dog book review. May God bless you all. Amen.
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