Twenty-first Sunday After Pentecost
October 14, 2007
TEXT: 2 Timothy 2:8-13
Have I Got a Promise for YOU!
Have any of you ever broken a promise? Of course you have! We all have!
Some of the promises we brake were made with good intentions. That is, we intended to carry it out, but something happened, which prevented us from doing so.
At other times, people make promises they have no intention of carrying out.
The Scriptures reminds us of the importance of Ataking an oath@ or Amaking a promise, especially to God. Joshua said to the children of Israel in Judges 21 verse 5:
Then the sons of Israel said, "Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up in the assembly to the Lord?" For they had taken a great oath concerning him who did not come up to the Lord at Mizpah, saying, "He shall surely be put to death."
The Scriptures also warn us against making an oath idly or lightly, as in the case of Herod in the New Testament, who made a frivolous promise to his step daughter while he was drunk. He said that she could have up to 2 of his kingdom. Plotting with her mother she asked for the head of John the Baptist on a plate. (PAUSE)
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A person=s Word should be his/her bond, and it is for God. But we soon learn the importance of AGetting the Promise In Writing!@ This, however, is nothing new. In the days of Abraham written contracts were also common. Archeologist have found clay tables in cuneiform of contracts dating back to the time of Abraham.
Paul writing to a young pastor by the name of Timothy gives him not only some good advice, but The Word of God. He says:
Here is a trustworthy saying:
Can you imagine having a trustworthy saying today? How many trustworthy saying are there out there today that you and I can count on. Can you trust the Promises of politicians or will they say anything to get elected? (PAUSE)
In Today=s Epistle Lesson there is: A PROMISE.
It is a promise from God to You! Listen closely because This Promise IS Comforting! Because This Promise Is For You!
IF we died with Him, we will also live with Him.
IF we endure, we will also reign with Him.
IF we disown Him, He will also disown us;
IF we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself
IF you die with Him,?
What does it mean to Adie with Christ.@?
Does it mean that you as a Christian will have to die physically for your faith? It=s Possible! Many throughout history have indeed been called upon to do this very thing. And today Christians are being put to death because they profess Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and the only way to the Father.
But Paul has something else in mind when he say, Ato die with Chris@. He is talking about dying to this world=s way of thinking, acting, living, AND standing up for Christian values and teachings.
Only in this way are we dead to the world, but alive to Christ.
I see this being one of the greatest dangers facing the church today, and one of the reasons is that we aren=t aware of it happening. We still go to church. We may even read our Bibles, but still make friends with the world. This unwillingness to ADie with Him,@ manifesting itself in the lives of Christians in terms of ATheir Priorities.@
For example, We say that our children are the most important thing to us; and they Are! However, what you are doing or NOT doing shows or proves to them whether Jesus Is First in your life.
Is the spiritual welfare of your child more important than giving them everything they want? Is having what you want more important than the spiritual welfare of your child or children? Is the welfare of our children=s spiritual life as important as their social life or more friends?
We like to think that everything is okay, but there is the danger of trying to have our feet in both worlds? It manifest itself in terms of our busy schedules with our kids or even our retirement. Is God First?
Paul is saying, AIt doesn=t work!@ But oh how Christians today think it can work for me. AI can juggle both of them.@
No my dear Christian friends, Jesus says you and I can=t have our feet it both worlds. The lie of Satan is that you can! But this is not support by Jesus. He says you will ultimately show a preference for one or the other, and that you are only fooling yourself to think you can have both. Jesus says:
No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." Luke 16:113
Paul writes in Romans 6:16,
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
James writes in chapter 4 verse 4:
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
(PAUSE)
We know that in our Baptism, we are united to Christ in His death. Through our Baptism we become members of Athe body of Christ.@ We receive the gift of the Holy Spirit only because God says so! It is another Promise of God.
Luther says, that keeping our baptism alive means walking in our baptism. That=s another way of saying we live out our faith from the cradle to the grave. We walk the walk, and not just talking the talk. If parents don=t take the spiritual high road what makes you think that your children will survive?
We also know that Ato die with Christ@ expresses the Christian life of saying: ANO!@ to sin and Acrucifying the deeds of the flesh.@
This committed lifestyle is what Paul means by Adying with Christ@ as we can see from Romans 8:18:
for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
And what is the Promise in this verse?
TO LIVE WITH HIM!
Now That is a Promise that I want for Me, My Family and ALL of You!
It=s pretty standard among all parents to want the best for their children. And it should be pretty standard among all Christians to what eternal life for their children.
Unfortunately, we all know that NOT ALL of our relatives will be in heaven. NOT because there isn=t room. NOT because God doesn=t want them there, but because, as our text says also: AThey disown Him.@
The Promise that God makes is a Personal Promise.
By that I mean that No one can believe for another person. A relationship with Jesus Christ is personal in the fact that each person must evaluate the trustworthy of this saying for him/herself. AND, IF that person is unwilling Ato die with Christ,@ then they will not live with Him. No matter how much you or I may want it for a loved one it is a matter of them coming to grips with this Promise for themselves.
This Promise was what Luther had been looking for: The Promise of Forgiveness of Sins and Everlasting Life! A Promise, NOT conditioned upon his good works in order to merit God=s favor, but God=s gift of grace to ALL who would call upon the name of the Lord.
It is a Wonderful Promise, to be sure! BUT not everyone is willing to be committed to it!
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The Next verse says:
If we endure, we will also reign with Him
Paul wanted Timothy to realize What=s at Stake here?
Indeed, there is a Promise for us to hold on to. However, we must seek to order our lives, so that we continue in this Christian faith. It is NOT good enough to say, Athat I once was faithful,@ OR, Athat I used to believe,@ OR, Athat I have my own faith, don=t bother me to conform my life to what God=s Word says and wants for my life.@
There is a real temptation both within and without to not endure. Paul reminds us of This trustworthy Promise too.
It=s Worth It!
As you drive across rural Kansas and visit some of the older congregations you will notice that many of these early congregations have a cemetery adjacent to them.
I wonder if there is not more here than first meets the eye, and that not only is this something practical, but it also has a wonderful theological implication.
By having the cemetery next to the church the message of The Resurrection of Jesus Christ stands central to the faithful, as they look upon the graves of their loved ones and are constantly reminded of their death in Christ, and the Promise held out to those still living in this world to remain faithful. It keeps the living mindful of those who have gone on before us, so that our goal is also to die with Christ in the faith. That cemetery is also not just a constant reminder of death, but a reminder of Life and the resurrection of the body!
AND so Here is Another Promise that is Guarantee to You this day:
IF you endure you will also reign with Christ.
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Next, there is the reminder of a God who is Just and Faithful to His Promise Not only of Redemption through faith in Jesus Christ, but also His Judgment!
If we disown Him, He will also disown Us!
If we don=t Walk with Him, If we don=t Follow Him, if we don=t Die with Him, if we don=t Confess Him in our lives then, He will also disown Us! If your faith doesn=t change your priorities. If it doesn=t change your stewardship then, be warned!
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In the Final verses Paul reminds us that This Promise is Certain. Paul says,
AIf we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.@
What a Comfort it is to know that God WILL DO WHAT He has Promised to Do. Namely, to give to all those who Adie with Him,@ and Aremain faithful to Him,@ Eternal Life.
THAT is God=s Promise to YOU, the faithful who are here today.
You need to hear this Promise for no other reason than to be reminded that God will Keep His Promise of The Forgiveness of All Your Sins
You need to hear this Promise because God isn=t like You or Me with regard to our Promises! We fail to keep our promises to God, but that doesn=t stop Him from Keeping His! He doesn=t act like us!. He will forgive! He will take us back! He will save ALL those who die with Him and endure with Him for His name sake.
AMEN.