Sermon Transcript June 7, 2015 Opportunities to Serve 2 Timothy 1:8-18 This message from the Bible was addressed originally to the people of Wethersfield Evangelical Free Church on June 7, 2015, at 511 Maple Street, Wethersfield, CT, 06109 by Pastor Scott Solberg. This is a transcription that bears the strength and weaknesses of oral delivery. It is not meant to be a polished essay. An audio copy of the sermon on CD is available by request at (860) 563-8286. 1
Sermon Text 2 Timothy 1:8-18 8 Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner. But share in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been made manifest through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light, through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher, and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed. For I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. 13 Follow the pattern of the sound words you heard from me in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. 15 You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 But when he arrived in Rome, he searched for me earnestly and found me. 18 May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day. You well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus. 2
Introduction Our text ends in verse 18 with the statement, You well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus. Paul is talking about somebody s reputation here. It is a good reputation. This person is well known for his service. His name is Onesiphorus. You may not know him. He is not one of the big names like Paul or Peter or John. But he is known for his service within the church at Ephesus. It is kind of like what we said this morning about Audrey. I could say to you, You well know all the service she rendered here at WEFC. That is the same thing Paul is saying about this man Onesiphorus. Interestingly, Onesiphorus is held in contrast to two other men. We find them in verse 15. Their names were Phygelus and Hermongenes. They, along with many others throughout Asia, turned away from Paul in his time of need. But in contrast, Onesiphorus came to Rome where Paul was imprisoned. The text tells us that he searched for Paul and eventually found Paul. When he found Paul, through his service, he brought refreshment to Paul during a difficult time in Paul s life. But of course, Timothy, back in Ephesus, was not surprised to hear this at all. Why? Because, like the rest of the church at Ephesus, Timothy well knows all the service he rendered while at Ephesus. So as Paul writes this letter to Timothy, who is leading the church at Ephesus, I can imagine Timothy reading these words with a knowing smile. I can imagine Timothy just thinking to himself, Yep, that sure sounds like Onesiphorus to me. He has a generous lifestyle of service. It shows up wherever he goes. I do find it intriguing that in our passage this morning, Onesiphorus stands in contrast to others in the text. It is as if he stands alone in our text. He comes across as the exception in our passage, and not the rule. And yet, when you read through the New Testament you discover that taking on the form of a servant and giving of yourself in service to others in the context of the church is not the exception among God s people. Rather, it is the norm for God s people. It ought to be said about us collectively, You all know the service that the people at WEFC have rendered down there in Wethersfield. It is a posture that ought to be common to us all. It is the posture Paul took in 1 Corinthians 9:19 when he says that I made myself a servant to all. It is the directive Peter gives to all of us in the church in 1 Peter 4:10. He writes, As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God s varied grace. The posture of a servant and the continual act of service is the goal of our discipleship. It is a step we are encouraging all of us to take as we live out our faith. When you consider what it looks like to follow Jesus, service is the normal thing that emerges from our lives. And when a church is filled with people who follow Jesus by using their gifts by serving others, the entire church family is built up and strengthened. Can t you 3
just hear the refreshment and the encouragement in Paul s voice as he recounts the way he was touched by the service of Onesiphorus? So it is when a church is filled with people who are serving by using their gifts. It brings blessing to God s people. Each gift and each act of service contributes to the making of disciples. Because service is a high value in Scripture, the value of serving is also prominent in our church vision statement. Service plays a vital role in what it means to be a part of WEFC. We reveal this priority in our vision through the three questions we like to ask. Who are we? We are sons and daughters, servants and stewards. What do we do? We love God, love people and make disciples. How do we do it? Worship, Community and Service I would invite you to view this last question as a practical way of thinking through how to take your next step in your involvement as part of WEFC. Your first step would be to regularly come to the weekly Sunday worship service where we express our love for God through our worship. Your second step would be to join a Community Group where we experience God s love with others in smaller home gatherings. Your third step would then be to serve God and others by volunteering your time and your abilities. This is part of what it means to be a steward. As we already saw in 1 Peter 4:10, each one of us has received gifts and abilities from God. And what are we to do with these gifts and abilities? It says that we are to use it to serve one another. That is what it means to be a good steward with what God gives us. So as stewards entrusted with gifts and abilities, we all have something to contribute to help build up the church and consequently help make disciples. So what do we do? We serve! This morning I want to share with you the many opportunities available for you to take that next step and serve. This is the norm of what it means to be a part of a church family. This is where following Christ ultimately takes us. With everyone engaged in serving, we are all contributing in some way to the discipleship of this local church family we call Wethersfield Evangelical Free Church. Before we look at the opportunities available for you to serve in this church, I want us to consider what a generous lifestyle of service looks like. I want us to learn from the example set Onesiphorous. Because, this is not just about performing some kind of service down at the church. But rather, this is the outgrowth of a generous lifestyle shaped by the grace of God expressed to us through Jesus. It is the fruit of God at work in us. When we are caught up with loving God and when that love for God is expressed by loving others, it is only natural that this love would be demonstrated by serving one another. So what are some of the marks of this generous lifestyle of service? 4
A Generous Lifestyle of Service In the Bible, we only find the name Onesiphorus mentioned in 2 Timothy. It is mentioned here, in 2 Timothy 1:16 and then later in 2 Timothy 4:19. But in three brief verses, we find three marks of what a generous lifestyle of service looks like. It is SACRIFICIAL - The first thing we learn about a generous lifestyle of service is that it is sacrificial. Perhaps that is rather obvious. The very nature of service is the sacrifice of self for the good of someone else. It is the sacrifice of time and of resources for someone else. It is the sacrifice of personal comfort and personal interest for the interest of others. A generous lifestyle of service is sacrificial. Onesiphorus sacrificed himself for the good of Paul and for the good of others in the church at Ephesus. When Paul writes this letter, he is very close to the end of his life. From what he writes in 2 Timothy 4:6-7, he knows he is close to the end of his life. He writes, the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. That sounds like someone who knows that death is right around the corner. This is his second imprisonment in Rome. Four years earlier, he had been released from house arrest where he had some freedom of movement. But now, he finds himself in a more confined situation. This time he is not in the comfort of house arrest, but rather, we read in 2 Timothy 2:9 that Paul is bound with chains as a criminal. What happened between Paul s first arrest and his second arrest that changed Paul s fate? In A.D. 64 about 70% of Rome burned over the course of a week. Many think that the emperor Nero himself started the fire to justify his massive rebuilding plans. But in order to save face, he blamed the Christians for setting the fire and thus an intense persecution broke out against the church throughout the entire Roman Empire. Tacitus, a Roman historian, described what Nero did in persecuting Christians. He would wrap them up in the hides of beasts and watch them be torn to death by wild dogs. Some were crucified like Jesus and others were tied to stakes and lit on fire to provide light for Nero s evening parties. It was during this time that Paul was arrested a second time. Now do you see why Paul felt that death was imminent? And it truly was. Peter, around the same time was taken by Nero and crucified upside down and Paul was taken several miles outside of the city where he was beheaded. It is in this context Paul praises Onesiphorus. Why? Because unlike Phygelus and Hermogenes and unlike many in Asia, he did not turn away from Paul in his moment of need. Rather, he came to Rome, sought out Paul and brought refreshment to Paul at a time of great need. Can you appreciate the kind of sacrifice this took on his behalf? To even be associated with Paul could have meant certain death. I think this is why some 5
Christians shied away from Paul. I think this may have even been a temptation for Timothy. In 2 Timothy 1:8 Paul said to Timothy, Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner. But share in suffering for the gospel. Truly, to live a generous lifestyle of service in this case required great personal sacrifice. I am not going to sugar coat it for you this morning. There is sacrifice to serving. It will cost you time. You may have to give up a few television shows, or make a few minor adjustments to your schedule; a small price to pay in comparison to Onesiphorus. But you will need to embrace the same attitude if you want to be marked with a generous lifestyle of service. It is an attitude of sacrifice. It is SELF-INITIATED - The second mark of a generous lifestyle of serving is that it is often self-initiated. It is motivated out of a response to God s love for us. For God so loved the world that he gave... Consequently, so do we. This is one thing we learn about Onesiphorus. In fact, did you catch how Paul ends the chapter? He writes of Onesiphorus, you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus. Can you see it? Service was the name of the game for Onesiphorus. It marked how he lived his life. It was so evident that everyone knew it because they saw it in action time and time again. I love what it says about Onesiphorus in verse 17. He arrives in Rome and begins looking for Paul. In fact, he sought earnestly for Paul. You get the impression through this that Paul s whereabouts were not public knowledge and it took some effort to find Paul in this large city of Rome. But that did not stop Onesiphorus? No! Rather, he pressed on until he found Paul and then he brought refreshment to him. That is a generous lifestyle of service. Obstacles don t get in the way when you have an internal motivation to serve. All that is required for someone who is marked with a generous lifestyle of service is the presence of a need. A need moves this kind of person into action. If this person can meet this need, it is his or her pleasure to do so. So let me ask you a question as you examine your life. Do you search earnestly to find ways you can serve? Like Onesiphorus sought for Paul, do you seek to serve? I love when someone comes up to me and says, I have a heart to serve, where can you use me? To be honest with you, from time to time I have heart the opposite. I have heard some say on occasion that the reason they don t serve is because no one asked them to serve. A generous lifestyle of service does not require someone to ask you to serve. But if you need to be asked, consider yourself asked. Could you imagine what a church would be like if everyone was earnestly seeking for ways to serve? Can you imagine what a church full of Onesiphorus-minded people would look like? What would it be like if, as a church, we were beating down doors 6
looking for ways to serve? The common adage is that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. What if 80% of the people did 80% of the work? In order to take the next step to service, you need to take the step. We can show you the step, but you have to take it. It is REFRESHING - The final mark of a lifestyle of service is simply that it is refreshing. Paul said of the service rendered to him personally by Onesiphorus that he often refreshed me. Sometimes we put a man like Paul up on a pedestal and forget that he was a man who felt what everyone else feels when they are going through difficulty. When he says, that all who are in Asia turned away from me, the commentators recognize this as a figure of speech. It is hyperbole. As Guthrie says, it is the sweeping assertion of depression. 1 We know what that is like. At times we feel like everyone is against us. But you know that is not true. It just feels that way. But for whatever reason, there were those who Paul thought would be there for him and they weren t. Did you ever have that happen? You thought a certain person would be there for you when things got tough, but for whatever reason that person didn t come through for you. It seems like Paul was let down by others and it really hurt Paul. But then there was Onesiphorus. He came and often refreshed Paul through his service. That is what service does. It refreshes people According to a Greek lexicon by Louw and Nida, the word for refresh means to encourage or to cheer up. It carries the idea of giving one s heart back or to make one s heart feel strong again. That is the power of service. When you sacrifice yourself for the good of another and when you freely give of yourself to another, it leads to refreshment. It may not always be readily evident. It may not always be expressed with gratitude. But over time, a steady deposit of service leaves a mark of refreshment on the heart of the one who is served. That is a great way to live your life. Make it your daily prayer and ambition to bring refreshment to others through your service. David Maraniss wrote a book on the life of Roberto Clemente. Clemente was one of the best baseball players ever to play the game. He came from Puerto Rico, rose to stardom and yet he never forgot his purpose in life. He tragically died on New Years Eve, 1972 at the age of 38. He was personally delivering relief to Nicaragua, where a few days earlier a massive earthquake took place. The plane he was in crashed into the ocean and this great man tragically lost his life. I call him a great man, not because of what he did on the baseball field. Rather, this is what made him great. Listen to what he said when he received the award for being the MVP of the 1971 World Series. Here is what he said. If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you, and you don t do that, you are wasting your time on this earth. 2 As I read his story and became aware of his heart for the down and out and for the children of Puerto Rico, my heart was made strong again. I was refreshed. 7
Dr. Lauren Winner is an acclaimed author and she spoke to the graduating class of Gordon College. At the time, she had been out of college for ten years. She had noted that she had more or less achieved some of the goals that she had set for herself. She had a few advanced degrees, authored a few books and published numerous articles. But then she said this, Yet, when I reflect over the past ten years of my life, I realize those things that people see when they look at my resume aren t, in fact, the truly important things I ve done since graduating. The important things are far more intimate: I have taught the Pre-K Sunday School class at my church; I have tried, and often failed, to be a good wife and sister; I helped my mother die not what I expected to spend my 26 th year of life doing, but much more important than anything on my resume. Then she added, Remember that Jesus came to give us life more bountiful, not life more accomplished or more productive. Resist the world s attempts to measure the worth of your days by your productivity; measure yourself instead by the fullness and richness of your life, by the extent to which you live into the true bounty that Jesus promises us. I would add, that bounty is found in serving others. In other words, serving is also refreshing to the one who serves. A generous lifestyle of service is sacrificial, self-initiating and refreshing. It is the fruit of a life touched by the gospel of Christ and it is the norm of those who live for Christ. Opportunities To Serve In order to help you take the next step to serve, I would like to talk to you about the opportunities there are for you to serve here in the church. In your bulletins you will find a brochure that lists the various opportunities available for you to serve. You can t do everything. But a question you should ask is, What is mine to do? It is a question that implies that there is something for you to do. So, what is it? As we look at the opportunities there are to serve, I would like to group them together around three major categories. Opportunity to help people take the next step: This has to do with the shift we are making in our ministry. We are moving from being program centered to being process centered. In other words, we want to help people figure out their next step in the life of the church and we need you to help us do that. 1. We want to help people move from the street to the seat. This is a simple, clear and well-mapped plan designed to alleviate guest anxiety and easily move people to the worship service. 8
2. We want to help people move from being curious to exploring faith. This will be a gathering on Sunday mornings to help people understand the gospel and what it means to follow Jesus. 3. We want to help people move from being isolated and into community. This will be done by helping people find a home Community Group where they will benefit from genuine Christian friendship. 4. We want to help people move from receiving to serving. We are encouraging everyone to ask the question, what is mine to do? and to move into a meaningful place of service. In order to help people move into our worship service, we want to become more intentional in developing a sense of welcome. Under the category of Welcome in your brochure you find the following ministry opportunities: the parking team, greeters at various places, ushers and guest connections out in the foyer and downstairs. We need forty people every Sunday to help us with this ministry. Did you know we just made history? We have broken the female barrier with regards to ushers! As people are making their first steps into an unfamiliar and sometimes confusing building, we want to eliminate as much of stress as possible and help them find this to be a place of welcome. Starting in September, we want to begin helping people explore the faith. We need a team of people who have a gift of hospitality and a heart for evangelism who would like to join us on a Sunday morning at 9:30 to help people explore the gospel and the basics of our faith. These gatherings would be done after the model of a community group so that these conversations would be highly relational and this would help people to then make the transition into community groups. Speaking of Community Groups, it is our goal to have 30 home groups in September. So we need hosts and facilitators to help us with that. This will allow us to help people take the next step into community and experience the love of God in the context of relationship. So that is one way you can approach finding a place to serve. You can help us with helping people take the next step. Worship Faith Community Service. Opportunity to help us on Sunday: Another way to approach it is to adjust your thinking on how you think about Sunday. I remember the old commercial that asked, How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop? Here is the question about Sunday. How many people does it take to staff what we need on a Sunday? Perhaps you could think of Sunday as an opportunity to worship and to serve. We need close to 100 people to serve each and every Sunday. We need 40 people to help us with 9
our Welcome ministry. We need 40 people to help us with or Children s ministry. We need people to serve in the nursery and to help with our various Sunday School ministries. We need 13 people to help us with our Worship ministry. Some of these ministries do not require you to serve every week. Our ushers rotate and our nursery teams rotate and our worship team rotates from Sunday to Sunday. But we need a lot of people to help us do what we do each and every Sunday. Opportunity to use your gifts and serve others: Then of course, as varied as we are from person to person, there are varied ministries that you can get involved with and help. I can t list them all, but let me highlight a few things for you in this brochure. I believe there is something here for everyone. Building Care: If you are handy and can contribute in that way, we often have projects that need done around the church. This helps us maintain our building and our property and it keeps the cost down. Caring: If you would like to receive emails from people in our church who have particular needs you could sign up to be part of our SOS ministry. When a need goes out through an email, if you can meet that need you simply respond. It is great way of expressing care for one another in the church family. Ministries of Mercy: Parents Night Out is a long standing ministry to families in our church and in our community. During the school year, on the second Friday night of the month, we provide free childcare for families so that the parents can enjoy a night out. It is a great outreach and encouragement to our own families. Hospitality: Funeral luncheons have long been something we have provided free of charge for families as a ministry during a difficult time. We do need a coordinator for this and we need people to volunteer to bring food. It is a wonderful ministry of care at a difficult time in life. If you would like to be called when a funeral is taking place, sign up and we will add you to the list. So here is what you do. Take the brochure and ask the question, What is mine to do? Look at the list and fill out the contact information and identify where you would like to serve. Tear off the Contact Information and at both exits we will have offering plates where you can put your forms. When we receive your information, someone will get in touch with you and help you make the next step into service. We are grateful for the many who have already made this step. What about you? How 10
would you like to steward your gifts and help contribute to the making of disciples through your service? This is who we are and this is what we do. We serve! May it be said of us, You well know all the service they rendered down at Wethersfield. by Dr. Scott Solberg - All rights reserved 11
Sermon Title: Opportunities To Serve Sermon Text: 2 Timothy 1:8-18 Sermon Date: June 6, 2015 Getting To Know Me Questions 1. Reflect on some of the benefits you have received from others serving in the church. How have you benefited? How has your family benefited? Can you share an example of how the service of someone else in the church has been a source of refreshment to you and/or your family. How might you acknowledge and thank the person (or persons) who has refreshed you? 2. What are ways you have served or are serving in the church? Can you identify how your service is contributing to the discipleship of others within the church? 3. Was there anything from Sunday s sermon you would like to talk about or share with the group? Diving Into The Word 4. Read 1 Peter 4:10-12 and answer the following questions. As good stewards of God s varied grace (spiritual gifts).. What are we to do with our gifts? How are we to use our gifts? To what end should we use our gifts? How can you apply these answers to the places where you serve in the church? 5. Read 2 Timothy 1:15-18 Discuss the ways Onesiphorus displayed a generous lifestyle of service. How was he sacrificial in his service? How did he show initiative in his service? How did he bring refreshment to Paul through his service? What lessons do you take from this example as you evaluate your own lifestyle of service? 6. The reputation of Onesiphorus was well known. You well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus. Read 2 Timothy 1:8-14 - Discuss the key elements of the gospel in this passage. How does the gospel form within us a desire and a reputation for a life of service? How does the gospel motivate you to serve? Taking It Home 7. Thinking back to the brochure on Opportunities to Serve at WEFC, where are you feeling drawn to serve? Are you wanting to help with the process of helping people make the next step? Are you wanting to be 1 of 100 needed to serve on a Sunday? Are you passionate about building or caring or mercy ministry? 8. How would you answer the question: What is mine to do? 12