LISTEN
This sermon was preached by Pete Bullock at the CCM Kingsway 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 Burnage in EARLY/MID/LATE YEAR. The full series included the following sermons:
BIBLE VERSES
This sermon was based on 2 Timothy 2:1-13.
The Appeal Renewed
1You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. 3Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. 5Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. 6The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
8Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. 10Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
11Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
12if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
13if we are faithless,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.
KEY POINTS
Christian Mission is for All Christians
- “The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses,…entrust to reliable people……who will also be qualified to teach others.”
- The Greek word for “reliable” literally means “faithful”. Having faith in God means believing Him and trusting Him. So, if you believe Jesus is Lord and trust that He is Good – well, you’re in!
- So it’s really a very low bar to joining Paul and Timothy in their mission. The “qualified to teach” bit? That’s the outcome Paul is looking for, not a skillset he needs. So we can paraphrase this as “share the message with fellow-believers so that they can share it with more people”.
Christian Mission is About Christ
- The message Paul is so excited about sharing with the world is not an essay, a formula, or a theological treatise. It’s not complicated. It’s not first and foremost a set of doctrines to adhere to, but a person to know. The message is a person, and that person is Jesus Christ.
- Now, it might seem like a technicality, but I think this point is really important. It’s the difference between seeing our mission as a chore, and seeing it as a joy. I can often think of Christian Mission as something I’m “supposed to be doing” and then feel guilty if I’m not. That’s because I think I’m supposed to be spreading my belief system, and it’s difficult, dry, boring, academic. Most people don’t even necessarily realise they have a belief system, so they certainly aren’t interested in a new one.
- If our mission is to share news of a person – well, that’s very different. Jesus is somebody alive, and he makes a difference to my life. He makes a difference to the work I do, the house I live in, the way I spend my money. If I share that, well, suddenly it’s a lot more tangible. So let’s share Jesus – let’s share what we know of his character as we read about it in the gospels.
Christian Mission Works
- When Paul talks about the elect here he basically means that there are loads of people who need to hear the gospel message because they are ready for it. They are ready to put their faith in Jesus, they just need to know how.he believes. Because of this he is convinced, he’s convinced that God is faithful, he’s convinced in God’s power, he’s convinced that God is still in control.
- When you put your faith in Jesus, you start to change as the Spirit of God starts to change you from the inside. You start to grow in love, in joy, in peace, in patience, in kindness, in goodness, in faithfulness, in gentleness, and in self-control. You start having a positive impact on the world around you, improving the atmosphere at work, looking out for the good of others. And the best bit – when you put your faith in Jesus you obtain salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting.
- So Paul shares Jesus with everyone because he believes that there are people ready to meet Jesus, he believes that when they do it’ll be good news all around. It’s not about getting more people through the doors at church, it’s about more salvation, more forgiveness, more glory. More truth, more light, more goodness. More faith, more hope, more love.
MORE SERMONS
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