INTRO.- Is this a trustworthy saying? “When I served in Vietnam....”
ILL.- It’s called “Blumenthal’s Blunder” (Conn. State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal) but it’s a not a trustworthy saying. Here’s the story and here’s what he said.
"We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam," he told Norwalk, Conn., voters in March 2008. "And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it -- Afghanistan or Iraq -- we owe our military men and women unconditional support."
In another appearance in 2008 before the Veterans War Memorial in Shelton, Conn., he paid tribute to American soldiers serving abroad then said, "I served during the Vietnam era. I remember the taunts, the insults, sometimes even physical abuse."
On May 18, 2009 Blumenthal said the following at a military board tribute to veterans, as reported by the Connecticut Post: "When we returned from Vietnam, I remember the taunts, the verbal and even physical abuse we encountered.”
In his defense at a news conference where he took no questions, Blumenthal said he inadvertently misspoke "on a few occasions out of hundreds of events" and could not be held responsible for how he was quoted in the press. He never apologized for making these and other false remarks.
Someone said, "There is now a very long and deep scratch in Blumenthal’s Teflon, and the tougher the Teflon, the more damaging the scratch. Voters are now likely to see Blumenthal as more of a typical politician than he’s ever been.”
The well-researched Times story, quoting from news accounts of his speeches, as well as eyewitnesses and tapes, showed he had misrepresented his military service record and had never served in Vietnam. HE LIED!
Richard Blumenthal is not the first person to “misspeak,” as he called it. Or we might say he is not the first person in politics to lie to the public.
Perhaps we recall such statements as: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” Or “I am not a crook.” Or “I did not attempt to sell Obama’s Senate seat.” Or “I was hiking on the Appalachian trail.” And there are probably many others that we don’t know about.
The other side of the coin is this: God’s Word is completely trustworthy and we must cling to it. God has never lied to us.
PROP.- The word of God contains nothing but trustworthy sayings.
1- If we died with Him, we will live
2- If we endure, we will also reign
3- If we disown Him, He will disown us
4- If we are faithless, He remains faithful
I. IF WE DIED WITH HIM, WE WILL LIVE
11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him.
ILL.- Three buddies die in a car crash, they go to heaven to an orientation. They are all asked, ’When you are in your casket and friends and family are mourning upon you, what would you like to hear them say about you?
The first guy says, ’I would like to hear them say that I was a great doctor of my time and a great family man.’
The second guy says, ’I would like to hear that I was a wonderful husband and school teacher which made a huge difference in our children of tomorrow.’ The last guy replies, ’I would like to hear them say, ’Look, he’s moving!’
The thought of dying doesn’t sound good to most people but, of course, they are only thinking of one type of dying. The act of physical death doesn’t excite most people because they think that’s the end of life.
I Thessalonians 4:13-14 “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”
We all grieve somewhat when we lose loved ones but if they are in Christ, we don’t grieve like those who have no hope.
ILL.- I was called to go to a funeral home one time in MO when a lady was to view her deceased husband for the first time. I stood off to the side and said nothing. When the lady walked to coffin to view her husband she broke down with strongly crying and said, “Would somebody pray?” I stepped up and prayed for her.
That lady was completely broken at her loss and I’m not sure she had much hope. But I could contrast her with a young married couple who lost their young son in an accident, as I recall. The boy was probably 8 to 10 years old. I watched as that young father and mother viewed their son and then watched them kneel down in prayer in front of his casket. After a period of time, they got up and walked out of the funeral home.
They had hope of seeing their son again and you could see it on their faces and in their actions. OUR HOPE IS IN JESUS. It’s all in Jesus. We trust Him for our salvation. We trust in His sacrifice on the cross. We trust Him more than we trust ourselves!
11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him.
What is this death? It’s not physical death but it’s kind of spiritual death. Did you ever die with Christ? You should have.
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
It sounds to me like Paul died with Christ in the sense of dying to himself. He put himself out of the picture. He no longer lived for self but for Christ. His was a sort of self-crucifixion or self-death.
Romans 6:1-4 “1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
In this text, Paul says that we die with Christ in baptism. How about that?! And I do believe that baptism is an act of obedience that followers should do.
11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him.
II. IF WE ENDURE, WE WILL ALSO REIGN
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him.
I’m not really big on endurance, are you? I’m not sure I want to endure everything and especially, if it’s difficult. That’s probably what many people think.
This almost sounds like: no pain, no gain. Could it be?
However, I happen to believe that we all go through periods of time in life when we have to endure certain difficult things.
ILL.- When I was, I think, 17 years old I had two jobs. I was a full-time stock clerk at a local grocery store in Webb City, MO, and I also worked for a man who did ornamental iron railing for homes. He did the welding and I did the sanding with an electric drill and the painting. I worked 7 days a week and I didn’t particularly care for the ornamental iron work.
When I lived and preached in Iowa I worked part-time for a grain elevator. I didn’t mind driving their dump trucks but I did mind very much having to scoop corn and rotten soy beans out of a grain bin. My hands hurt so much at night I had to soak them in hot water to give me some relief.
However, many of you have had to endure a whole lot more in life, some of which I could probably not have endured. When it comes to the faith of Christ we must also endure in order to reign with Him. What do we have to endure? Life itself. It’s a struggle.
Job 14:1 “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.” Life is full of trouble and sometimes, following Christ adds to our trouble in the sense of criticism, abuse, conflict, and occasionally, persecution, BUT WE MUST ENDURE IT ALL!
Matthew 24:12-13 “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
II Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
ILL.- In my running career, I placed third only one time in a marathon (26.2 miles). It was at the Sunburst Marathon in South Bend, IN, which ended on the 50 yard in the line in the Notre Dame football stadium. Finish I did and ended up getting third place.
I’ve always heard it said that it’s not those who start the race but those who finish the race that receive the crown of life. 12if we endure, we will also reign with him.
III. IF WE DISOWN HIM, HE WILL DISOWN US
12 If we disown him, he will also disown us.
Matthew 7:22-23 “Many will say to me on that day, ’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ’I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Could this really happen to someone?
ILL.- Do you remember the prophet Jim Jones? He was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, which is best known for the November 18, 1978 death of more than 900 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana.
Don’t you wonder what the Lord said to him when he entered eternity? It is possible that the Lord said, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoer”?
What a frightening thought! Hell, the second death or separation from God is a horrifying thought. However, most people don’t even think about such today. But they should. Some people, by their actions, will separate themselves from the Lord. They do it in this life and they will do it in the next life.
ILL.- A. W. Rainsbury once wrote: “Time was when the doctrine of hell caused men to tremble, but it no longer does so, for the doctrine of hell has been relegated to the rubbish heap by the modernists. They think they are wiser than the Lord Jesus.
“They do not believe in hell any more; indeed most are more concerned with the dangers of nuclear war than the danger of hell. But I tell you that the danger of hell is far more real, far more certain, infinitely more terrible, and for some far more imminent than the danger of nuclear war.
“Religious leaders say that when Jesus talked about hell that He did not really mean what He said. He meant something else, or if He did mean what He said, He did not know what He was talking about.
“The King of Hades, the father of lies, the enemy of souls, does all in his power to keep our minds off the subject. He does not like people to discuss hell unless they mention it now and again, of course, as a joke. We are not likely to lose much sleep when we have good laugh over it.” POWERFUL!
All I know is what I read in scripture and hell or the second death is not described in a pretty way like heaven is! And people should avoid going there at all cost and there is only one way to escape going there and that is, by knowing Jesus!
We must claim Jesus as Lord and Savior and we must strive to know Him better every day.
Matthew 10:32-33 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
IV. IF WE ARE FAITHLESS, HE REMAINS FAITHFUL
13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
If we are faithless. Are we ever faithless? Well, yes, who isn’t faithless at times. We all experience times of having less faith but we are also “faithless” at times and there could be a difference.
To have less faith is to be weak in faith and that we are, at times. When we are faced with some trial or temptation in life. When we lose loved ones in death our faith is often weak or we have less faith when we should have more faith.
But then there are times when we are just plain “faithless.” When we turn from the Lord and do our own thing. When we ignore Him. When we forsake the worship of Him. When we fail to give and serve and love as we know we should.
ILL.- There was a farmer who had three sons: Jim, John, and Sam. No one in the family ever attended church or had time for God. The pastor and the others in the church tried for years to interest the family in the things of God to no avail. Then one day Sam was bitten by a rattlesnake. The doctor was called and he did all he could to help Sam, but the outlook for Sam’s recovery was very dim indeed.
So the pastor was called and appraised of the situation. The pastor arrived, and began to pray as follows: "0 wise and righteous Father, we thank Thee that in Thine wisdom thou didst send this rattlesnake to bite Sam. He has never been inside the church and it is doubtful that he has, in all his time, ever prayed or even acknowledged Thine existence. Now we trust this experience will be a valuable lesson to him and will lead to his genuine repentance.
"And now, 0 Father, wilt thou send another rattlesnake to bite Jim, and another to bite John, and another really big one to bite the old man. For years we have done everything we know to get them to turn to Thee, but all in vain. It seems, therefore, that what our combined efforts could not do, this rattlesnake has done. We thus conclude that the only thing that will do this family any real good is rattlesnakes; so, Lord, send us bigger and better rattlesnakes. Amen."
We’re all guilty, however, in some form of being faithless.
James 4:17 “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”
What does this verse tell you, if anything? It tells me that we are often guilty of sin by failing to do the good we know we should! Like what? Like maybe not going to call on someone in the nursing home. Like not inviting a neighbor to church. Like not speaking up for Christ in a crowd of people when we know we should. Like not offering to do something for someone who’s in a pinch. Like not sharing with someone who has a genuine need.
All these ways and more, make us sin. And they also show that we are being somewhat “faithless.”
But here’s the main thrust of this verse. Here it again: 13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
Our Lord is always faithful whether we are or not. He is always faithful to us when it comes to caring for us and providing for us, etc. And even when we are faithless.
Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
May the Lord humble us and make faithful like He is faithful!
CONCLUSION------------------------
Trustworthiness is a good thing. It’s something you can depend on. It’s something you can take to the bank!
God is always trustworthy. His Word is trustworthy. He will never fail nor forsake us.
Now the big thing is for us to follow in His steps and be found trustworthy in life, in speech, in love, in service, and in faith.
Steve Shepherd, Jonesboro Christian Church, AR
jonesborochristianchurch@suddenlink.net
