Am I Ashamed Of Jesus Christ, week 4
Over the past three weeks, we have addressed the question, Am I ashamed of Jesus Christ?
First, we defined, being ashamed of Jesus as a person that is afraid or ashamed to associate their life with Jesus
publicly. This sounds like the characteristic of an unsaved person, however, many Christians fit this description as
well, sadly enough.
Then we discussed, how we can all become more bold for Jesus, using Paul's exhortation to a young pastor, Timothy
found in the book of 2 Timothy 1:6. Paul called for Timothy to renew and stir up that gift that God had placed within
him at the moment of his salvation. The same is for you and me here today. The first thing, every Christian should do
after their salvation and baptism, is to discover what their God given gift is from God, in order to be an effective tool,
used of God, within His church body.
Next in vs. 7, Paul reminded Timothy to remember the power that God had placed or sealed in him at the moment
of his salvation. In essence, Paul was encouraging Timothy to live daily in the Spirit of God, which would enable him
to draw from a divine power, display a divine love and maintain a divine priority in his own life. And that same call goes
out to you and me sitting here this morning.
1. Discover your God given gift
2. Understand the resources that God has given you in order to accomplish His work here on earth.
and next, we look at vs. 8
The third step in every Christian's life, to becoming more bold for Jesus is to simply
ACCEPT YOUR SUFFERINGS
Everyone who is faithful to identify with the gospel of Jesus Christ will experience some form of persecution and
rejection. 2 Timothy 3:12 says Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Christian, by choosing to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, you will face persecution and rejection and not let
it catch you off guard when it occurs in your life. IN contrast Christians that attempt to avoid all conflict and hostility are
often devestated when it happens.
So here in vs. 8 Paul gives Timothy three general principles that teach us how to accept our sufferings.
1. First, Paul tells Timothy , Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, Which means we are to
identify with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
In essence Paul was telling Timothy, in order to accept your sufferings, preach Christ boldly every opportunity you
have. I'd rather be in the valley holding Jesus' hand than on the mountain top without Him. And By doing so, Timothy
would be joining with all those who had suffered before him, including the Lord Himself.
Often times, when we are faced with persecution or rejection, Somehow, the devil makes us feel like we are the
first one's that ever happened to. I know with me personally, When I am mocked or talked about behind my back by
people, often times, I become discouraged until I realize, I'm in pretty good company, Jesus Christ. Did people treat
Him any better? He spoke nothing but the Truth of God's Word and they crucified Him for it, So why should I feel
like, I should be treated any better than God's Son.
I know in my life,
when I apply this principle, it really gets me out of my pity party and gets me moving forward for Christ again.
Elijah the prophet, cried unto God and said, Am I the only one that hasn't bowed and worshiped, the false god
of Baal. And God responded in 1 Kings19:18 and said, Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees
which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. God told Elijah get out of your little
pity party and get moving.
So the first thing we should all do, according to vs. 8 is identify with Jesus Christ and then Paul goes on to say,
do not be ashamed of the Lord's testimony. That word testimony in the Greek means witness. And the witness of
Jesus Christ, is the gospel. So to identify with the Lord is to take a public stand for the gospel, boldly proclaimming
His death, burial and resurrection, warning unsaved men and women that they are sinners headed for eternal
punishment in hell, and then offering them the glorious hope of heaven through faith in Jesus Christ.
God had Paul give this message to Timothy, but God also thought it important enough to insert into the Bible, so
we could receive this message as well today in 2012. God certainly knows the pressures that you and I face today,
for the gospel's sake. And in this verse God knows that it is vital for You and Me, if we are to remain steadfast in this
ministry, we will have to accept our sufferings for the gospel's sake.
So first Paul exhorts Timothy to identify with the Lord Himself and then he goes on to continue to say in vs. 8,
Identify with the Lord's people.
Second in line, only to the danger of being associated with Christ , at that particular time, was the danger of being
associated with Paul.
If anyone associated themselves with Paul, they exposed themselves to the same dangers that he faced.
Remember when Peter denied knowing Jesus three different times. Peter at that particular time in his life, was
afraid to identify himself with Jesus because he feared the torture and brutal death that Jesus received would be his
own fate as well.
I think it is safe to say Paul didn't have many friends. But Paul wasn't in the ministry to make friends, he was in the
ministry to work for The Lord. Can we do both? of course we can. But often times, we may be forced to chose,
my friendship or my Savior?
And how will you respond? Like Peter, I don't know Him. Peter was afraid, scared and Peter allowed the
pressure of outside forces effect his relationship with Jesus. Here in our text , possibly Timothy was starting to
distance himself from Paul, because Paul was a hated man in the world. Every evangelizing Christian will be hated in
this world. Because, right now Satan has been given control over this world, Yes, God is sitting on the throne and
nothing can happen in your life, without God's approval, but God has allowed Satan to rule this world until Jesus comes
back very soon and crushes Satan and everything evil. And be very clear, Satan hates the gospel being spread.
Do you need proof that God is real? We're here right now, uplifitng and teaching about Jesus. If God wasn't real,
Satan would kill everyone of us right now. If God wasn't real, You would never be allowed to leave this building and
share the gospel with anybody, because he would stop you. God is the only reason, God is the only Power in which
we are capable of doing anything for Him down here on earth, because if it wasn't for God's power, Satan would
devour us.
Paul here, pleas with Timothy to join with him in his sufferings. Christian, what Paul is saying here to you is ,
accept your share of evil treatment. It is not fair for Lonnie and Me to accept all of the evil treatment against our
church, and I'm not saying we do. If you hear lies being spread about us or this church, take a stand on the truth.
Don't stand idly by and watch a fellow believer or a good Bible teaching church get thrown under the bus by one
of Satan's pawns.
As we quoted earlier, All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. If you're truly saved here
this morning, You must and I must expect persecution because, That is how a hostile, Satan controlled world reacts
to those who confront them with the true gospel. You can always tell God's people from Satan's people,
When the truth of God's Word is given, notice how it is received. Some with gladness, Some say thanks but no
thanks, But when a person or group respond in anger, SATAN ALERT. And know, you are not talking to people
you are speaking with Satan. They are simply his mouth piece. And you are to be God's mouthpiece.
Is it possible to share the gospel as a means to tell people it will bring them a better life, it is their only way to
heaven and not face persecution? Possibly, But because the Bible is filled with many , many other truths, God
commands us to know them, learn them, study them so that we will be able to stand UP for Him. For example,
Eternal salvation. some people believe that you can lose, eternal life.
This is where being bold for the Truth will bring persecution. When you're bold and tell them that is a lie, and
God doesn't give eternal life and take it back, expect persecution.
When you are bold and explain through the Bible that every woman pastor behind a pulpit, leading a church service
is living in disobedience to God's Holy Word, expect persecution.
That is the boldness, that Paul is exhorting Timothy to. That is the boldness that God is calling us to.
You will be accused of being a hater. That guy, that woman, they hate women pastors. I've been accuse of hating
people that speak in tongues. That is obsurd. Because I stick to what God's Word says and I will not sway from it,
I get labled as a hater. But they're God's Words , not mine, so How am I the Hater? In essence, these same people
doing the accusing, are pawns of the devil and Satan is calling God a liar. So where's the voice of Truth?
What we have to realize is this, the battle that we face is not against other people. God's got His soldiers and
Satan has his. It is definitely a spiritual battle. Don't be afraid to stand on the truth of God's Word because it is truly
all we have in this world.
And that is Paul's last point in vs. 8, He tells Timothy to Identify with the Lord's Standard, which means
do not be afriad to suffer for the gospel.
Understand, when Jesus says we will suffer for His sake, that means all of your suffering and all of my sufferings
should always result from our righteousness, not our sinfulness.
If you are ever persecuted or have to suffer for the gospel, don't be fearful and feel as if Christ has deserted you.
Instead understand that you have been counted worthy to suffer for Him. It is truly an honor.
Galatians 6:17 Paul said, I bear on my body the brand marks of Jesus. Paul considered it a privilege to be
beaten with whips and rods and to bear scars from the shackles on his hands and feet for the Lord's sake according
to 2 Corinthians 11:23-28.
In Acts 5:41 we're told that after the apostles were flogged by some of the Jewish religous leaders, they rejoiced
that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for Christ's sake.
How about you here this morning? I've said it and I'll say it again, You'll never get flogged for the gospel's sake,
You'll never get beaten, like Paul, for Christ's sake, by sitting on your couch and watching tv.
The most popular line, I hear from Christian people today is, " I know, I saw what was going on, but I chose to
keep my mouth shut, or I chose to stay out of it." I know, I saw Satan attacking, I saw Satan throwing his lies out
everywhere, to everyone willing to receive them, but I chose to stay out of it. Really, Good Job Soldier.
The typical way of thinking in most Christian's lives is, well, If I don't bother the devil, he probably won't bother me.
And you're probably right. The devil is like a football coach. He's devising plans and schemes all the time.
How many times do you think a coach is devising a plan on how to stop a player that never plays in the game.
Today, if you were going to play the Baltimore Ravens, you would devise a plan to stop thier best offensive player
Ray Rice. But you know what happens any way, Ray Rice still normally gets his 100 yds.
Let Satan device a plan against you, because you know what, God will still make it possible for you to get your
100 yds. Ray Rice is talented and he doesn't waste his talent. Child of God you have been given a power by God
Himself, don't waste it, sitting idly by, saying, I chose not to say or do anything. That is not what God is looking for.
In closing , as we serve the Lord, we can expect persecution. And an important element in developing a greater
courage and boldness is learning to accept our sufferings by
1. identifying with the Lord
2. Identifying with his people
3. Identifying with his Standard.
Then when persecution comes, we will have the confidence to know that God is counting us worthy to share in the
Sufferings of Jesus Christ.
