LISTEN
This sermon was preached by Vishal Bandugula at the Ladybarn site of Christ Church Manchester on Sunday 17th January 2021.
SERIES
This message was part of the ‘SERIES NAME’ series, preached at Christ Church Manchester’s church in Withington in EARLY/MID/LATE YEAR. The full series included the following sermons:
BIBLE VERSES
This sermon was based on 2 Timothy 2:1-13
A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus
1You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
8Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11The saying is trustworthy, for:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself.
KEY POINTS
CV of a Servant of God
- Paul is writing to timothy, these are things one needs to possess as essential criteria to be a servant of God.
- We are all servants of God.
The Servant of God Should be Like a Soldier
- A soldier does not get entangled with the affairs of the world but is detached from it 2: 3-4. He lives in world recognising at all times that he is not of the world. A good soldier’s responsibility is in fighting the enemy and winning the battle.
- As servants of God, our primary goal should be in fighting the enemy, the temptations and winning the battle.
The Servant of God Should be Like an Athlete
- An athlete runs according to the rules, which means, he does not cheat. As servants of God, we should not cheat, whether someone is watching or not.
- Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the lord are in every place, observing the evil and the good.
The Servant of God Should be Like a Hard Working Farmer
- The farmer sows the seed and he doesn’t come the next morning to check whether there was a crop or not. He sows the seed, applies the fertiliser and water and works hard.
- A servant of God should work hard in meditating the word, he works for years, invest the seed of faith in people diligently. If his efforts are honest, he will have the joy of seeing people he served grow up.
MORE SERMONS
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