The Last Letter READ: 2 Timothy 2:1-13 The dedication of Louis freeman this afternoon is like the writing of a first letter here s a last letter written by Karen Watson - a young missionary recently murdered in Iraq. At her funeral, her last letter was read: Dear Pastor, You should only be opening this letter in the event of my death. When God calls there are no regrets. I tried to share my heart with you as much as possible, my heart for the nations. I wasn t called to a place; I was called to Him. To obey was my objective, to suffer was expected, His glory my reward, His glory my reward The missionary heart: Cares more than some think is wise. Risks more than some think is safe. Dreams more than some think is practical. Expects more than some think is possible. I was called not to comfort or to success but to obedience There is no Joy outside of knowing Jesus and serving Him. I love you and my church family. In His care, Salaam, Karen [In response to letters and lives like these, the Last Letter Campaign has been launched by leaders who want to capture the heart behind them.] From The Last Letter by Ed Stetzer 2 Timothy is Paul s last letter, and he is writing to Timothy about what was most important to him; what filled his life with worth and passion: THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. This good news of salvation, is Paul s greatest passion, his proudest boast, his most valuable treasure What s yours? v.1 You then, my son, be strong That s as impossible as telling a snail to Be quick! That s as impossible as telling a horse to fly! apart from the grace that is in Christ Jesus!! The grace that is in Christ Jesus was the essential ingredient for Timothy, because he was naturally weak, timid, shy and lacking in self-confidence, So to you, whatever your nature, whatever your circumstances, Paul would say, BECAUSE OF THE GRACE THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS, BE STRONG!
V.2 And the things that you heard me say (a repeat of 1:13) in the presence of many witnesses (added) entrust to reliable men who will be able to teach others also. There s an important point here:- public / open over many years in front of many people o no special revelations o no secret traditions o no exclusive club One Saviour who gave his life for all. One gospel, proclaimed openly to all. Over the years I have heard of other little known about gospels [ The Gospel of Barnabas The Gospel of Thomas ], I ve read in books about special revelations & heard about secretive organizations Special revelations and exclusive knowledge given only to a few is not God s way in the 2 nd Century the church was to encounter just this threat in the teachings of the Gnostics., and Tertullian of Carthage used this verse to counter the claim of these heretics who claimed to have received private revelations and to have received secret traditions handed down from the apostles. Pass on this gospel this treasure entrusted to you to trustworthy people who will value this treasure and who will be able to pass it on to others who will recognize it s value and treasure it too. Illustration: the antique musical box I was given for my 7 th birthday! Paul now continues his challenge to Timothy with 3 images taken from everyday life in the 1 st century: 1. As a Christian, endure hardship like a soldier PICTURE: Roman soldier Paul s close association with soldiers [through his beatings and imprisonments] often became objects to illustrate the life of a Christian = someone who has put themselves under the authority of Jesus Christ. You shouldn t join up to the armed forces without knowing that they expect your dedication you shouldn t join up without an expectation of hardship and a willingness to suffer. This was one man s experience as he arrived to his air force base for basic training: When the drill instructor greeted us, he said something like this: "While you are here, I am going to become your mother, your father, your wife, and your friend. While you are in basic training, you will have no rights of your own. I will be all things to you. I will tell you when to get up in the morning and when to go to bed at night. I will tell you when to eat and how to eat. Now that you have joined the Air Force, you re military property." My parents were children during WW2 and they tell stories of rations, curtailment of freedoms, and the imposition of rules e.g. blackout. Because of the war.
There s a war on was a common phrase used to justify any austerity measure! Paul relates this picture to us saying: Don t get entangled in things that will distract you ; don t be distracted away from the heart of what should be our life s purpose Don t fall asleep on guard duty! Paul s specific application is: Christians - there s a war on. And many of you here at CMCC are really feeling it; you re experiencing it in all it s painful reality and he says to you: Endure the hardship like a soldier, and may you experience the support and help of your fellow comrades C Mai very nice! V. comfortable easy yes, it certainly is a pleasant place Rimpings, Starbucks and all! Underneath, in your ministry tough. Yup There s a war on. 2. As a Christian, keep the rules like an athlete PICTURE: a competitor in Greek games. For an athlete preparing to compete in the games, this was no random display of skill or strength like the parents race at Sports Day at Murree Christian School. Murree is at an Altitude of 7,500 this gave our sports teams a great advantage when they played other schools on the plains because they had trained at altitude. On the other hand, when these Dads (I ran in the Dads race) came up from the plains and put on a random display of skill it actually had those in charge seriously worried. No-one did ever drop dead of a heart attack but that was what some of the school staff expected! Paul s specific application is: No rules, no wreath. Today s rules include checking for the use of drugs that artificially build up muscle capacity if you are found to have broken the rules you are disqualified, and if you have won a race the winners medal is given to somebody else. One of the rules for winning is being diligent in training you can t expect to win a medal unless you do the training. Swimming training of niece and nephew 5:30 a.m. every day, hundreds of laps of the pool competitions. Usain Bolt of Jamaica Lightening bolt. Jamaica has produced fine athletes because they have a culture of training them up from a young age Christians need to be as serious and focused about following Jesus as an athlete aiming for a medal is about his training and keeping to the rules of the sport. As Christians we do not slavishly follow a set of rules to earn merit before God Christ died so that the just requirement of the law is met in us now he sends his Spirit
to live in us and he writes his law in our hearts and we need to follow that law The rules of love and grace, of holiness and purity; we need to be trained in the ways of godliness good routines: time for prayer; time for fellowship; time to give to others; time to nurture and cultivate our inner life To be able to obtain the most prized wreath of all, the crown of righteousness, we need to keep these rules like an athlete. 3. As a Christian, work hard like a farmer PICTURE: Ploughing, howing, planting, watering, weeding farming is hard work. A recent article in the Bangkok Post was about farmers who are selling up and moving into the cities because their rice farming doesn t pay. The Govt. needs to ensure that agriculture pays, or it s got a big problem on it s hands no food! Paul worked hard: 2 Cor 6:5 we commend ourselves in hard work. 1 Cor 15:10 I worked harder than all of them (the other apostles). Gal. 4:11 I fear that somehow I might have wasted my efforts on you. Phil 2:16 - in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labour in vain. We have role models of hard work in our midst Allan and Joan Eubank, they are the best illustrations of this that I can think of! Here s an extract from their latest letter:- Dear Community Church,. Below is our latest report. Please pray for these people. There are now 47 persons baptized in 16 families since last March 2008 - after 51 years of waiting. See attached pictures We recently returned from our 9th trip to the Talako since the headman, was murdered and we had our first four baptisms in March of 2008. We left Chiang Mai on August 17 and returned Aug 26. This time it was a six hour hike in the rain and sun. -- getting harder for the old man (80). After a lot of obstacles and prayer, Maw A Mee's wife and two children were baptized. More of their family are expected to be baptized this Christmas Farming has seasons of very hard work! If you are going to get the most from your farmland; if you are going to be productive in all your fields, then there will be times when you are too busy! If we are going to work to capacity, sometimes we will have too much happening that s O.K. I expect that! Like farmers, that s when we need to be able to ask for help, support and fellowship from others in our Christian family. If I was to cut back all that I did so that I was never stretched, then most of the time I would be doing a lot less than I could be doing!
Paul s specific application is: work hard give serving Christ and fulfilling His will for your life your ALL. With the same the expectation and attitude of a farmer when he ploughs, sows, weeds and waters work hard. V.8 REMEMBER JESUS CHRIST, RAISED FROM THE DEAD, DESCENDED FROM DAVID. This is my gospel. Remember Jesus Christ. The command that Jesus himself gave us, and which we follow when we share communion together REMEMBER ME. The epitaph over the nation of Israel was: They soon forgot! REMEMBER! Jesus Christ, raised from the dead. He was declared to be the Son of God with power by his resurrection from the dead Jesus, Son of God. Jesus Christ, descended from David. He was born of Mary, who was married to Joseph, both of whom had proven lineages back to David Jesus, Son of Man. Jesus Christ, raised from the dead; who suffered and died for our sins but who was raised for our justification Saviour Jesus Christ, descended from David; born and raised in poverty and obscurity in Egypt and Nazareth, but who was King David s greater son who now reigns in heaven King. Timothy, remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David and know that: Death is the gateway to life Suffering is the pathway to glory! He who died was raised from the dead He who was born in poverty now reigns in glory So then Timothy, when you are tempted to avoid pain, humiliation, suffering or death in your ministry, remember Jesus Christ and think again. This is what sustained Paul when he was suffering, even to the point of being chained like a criminal in his prison cell, because of the gospel he preached: God s word wasn t chained:- Preaching JESUS CHRIST, RAISED FROM THE DEAD (Jesus is the Son of God) angered the Jews they said this was blasphemy but many Jews believed [1 Cor. 1:24]
Preaching JESUS CHRIST, RAISED FROM THE DEAD angered the Roman for whom their emperor was a god but even some of Caesar s household believed [Phil.4:22] Preaching JESUS CHRIST, DESCENED FROM DAVID angered Greeks who thought that divinity was soiled by having contact with humanity but many Greeks accepted the faith [Acts 11:20,21] He was giving his life for the only cause worth living for so that rebellious humanity, extravagantly loved by God may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. (v.10) The excerpt from a first century hymn (vs 11-13) is very honest isn t it? Very real! They sang about both sides of 1. Consecration and endurance; 2. Fidelity and faithfulness. 1. I die to self and find life / I endure for a short time and reign forever 2. I disown him and he disowns me / I am faithless to him, because he can be nothing other than faithful to himself, he will fulfill his promises, whether they be for blessing or for judgement. From these 3 illustrations of soldier, athlete and farmer From spiritual experience As seen in the life of Jesus Christ As encountered by Paul himself blessing comes through pain fruit comes through toil life comes through death glory comes through suffering So, should we expect an easy time as we seek to follow Christ? Should we promise one to others? As Charles Spurgeon said, There are no crown-wearers wearers in heaven who were not cross- bearers here below. Jesus had a lowly birth and a shameful death but he was gloriously raised from the dead and he reigns in heaven; Paul was chained in prison for the sake of this gospel, and in this letter to Timothy he holds before him the pictures of The soldier to inspire him to endure hardship The athelete to remind him obey the rules The farmer to urge him to work hard We have no basis from which we can expect our Christian life and service to cost us nothing! 2 Timothy was Paul s last letter, this was Karen s:
When God calls there are no regrets. I tried to share my heart with you as much as possible, my heart for the nations. I wasn t called to a place; I was called to Him. To obey was my objective, to suffer was expected, His glory my reward, His glory my reward The missionary heart: Cares more than some think is wise. Risks more than some think is safe. Dreams more than some think is practical. Expects more than some think is possible. I was called not to comfort or to success but to obedience There is no Joy outside of knowing Jesus and serving Him. I love you and my church family. In His care, Salaam, Karen.