MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(REVISED: 2016)
TEXT: 2 Timothy 2:8
ILL. In 1789 the Congress of the United States of America called upon Pres. George Washington to proclaim a national day of prayer & thanksgiving. And he did! And such Presidential Proclamations have regularly been made ever since.
But did you know that in 2010, 221 years later, Federal Judge Barbara Crabb ruled that such a proclamation is unconstitutional – that she knows better than the very people who wrote the Constitution in the first place what is constitutional & what is not?
However, later, the 7th District Court of Appeals, in a unanimous decision, overturned her ruling.
ILL. In recent years, on the anniversary of 9/11, millions of people have paused to remember those who were killed on that day. And in many places special services have been held so that people could comfort one another as our nation remembered that tragedy.
But in a 9/11 Memorial Service held in Orange County, California, officials told the participating High School Choir that they would not be allowed to sing “America The Beautiful” or “God Bless America” because those songs mention “God” & thus might offend someone. (From Bill O’Reilly’s TV program on FoxTV.)
“Might offend someone”? It seems to me that the song & the words, “God Bless America” have become a rallying cry - an expression of the determination, love, & prayers of the American people. And I’m not ashamed, or afraid, or apologetic today in proclaiming “God Bless America!”
A. But this fear of disturbing someone with the mention of God is becoming more & more prevalent. It appears that many people in our country are no longer sure what to do with any Christian holiday because they are worried about being politically incorrect, & concerned about alleged discrimination.
ILL. Because of all this, I've been told that a new politically correct version of the Bible has been printed. In it we are no longer to pray to "Our Father who is in heaven," but to "Our father/mother who is in heaven."
And Jesus is not referred to as "The Son of God," but as "the human one."
And since they believe we must be sensitive to everyone's feelings, instead of the words "on the right hand of God" the new version reads "at the hand of God" because they don't want left handed people to feel offended either.
I think the whole idea has reached the point of being ridiculous & blasphe-mous. We must be sensitive to the feelings of others, but changing God's Word to keep from offending with the message of salvation is not a valid option.
You see, even mentioning Jesus – unless as a curse word - seems certain to offend some people. In fact, the Bible tells us that to some people the death of Jesus on the cross will be foolishness, & to others a stumbling block.
And when Jesus says, "I am the way & the truth & the life & no man comes to the Father except by me," (John 14:6) & the apostle Peter proclaims in Acts 4:12, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved", then some people will be offended.
B. But the problem is, even though the secular world seems to be worried about offending non Christians, it certainly doesn't want to miss out on the opportunity to make big money off Christian holidays.
So they have come up with alternatives. At Christmas there is Santa Claus, & at Easter we have a bunny which lays eggs.
It's absurd, isn't it? It takes much more faith to believe in a man dressed in a red suit flying in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer, & an Easter bunny that lays eggs, than it does to believe in the real story of the birth & life & death & resurrection of Jesus Christ.
He is my Savior & my Lord, & He is the one I want to consider this morning.
Our text comes from 2 Timothy 2:8. It's just 14 words long, & you ought to memorize them. As Paul writes these words he is an old & tired soldier of the cross who has been through it all. He has been beaten, shipwrecked, & imprisoned. Now his life is nearly over, & he leaves this legacy of faith to the young preacher, Timothy.
PROP. Here's his legacy. "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel..." It is only 14 words long, but it pretty well says it all, doesn't it?
I. "REMEMBER JESUS CHRIST"
A. The first thing Paul tells Timothy is to “Remember” – to “Remember Jesus Christ.” Our memories are important parts of our lives, but it seems to me that as I am getting older it is becoming more & more difficult to remember things.
ILL. It's a ridiculous story, but have you heard about the three absent minded sisters - Wanda, Martha & Wilma - who lived together in the same house? One day, when Wanda decided to take a bath, she drew the bath water & began undressing.
But suddenly she stopped & said, "I don't remember. Am I getting into the tub or have I just gotten out?" She yelled to her sister Martha, "Martha, help me. Am I getting into the tub, or have I just gotten out?"
Martha hollered back from downstairs, "That's a stupid question. I can't believe you're so absent minded." And she started up the stairs, but stopped about half-way up & said, "Why am I on the stairs? Am I going up, or am I going down?"
So she cried for Wilma. "Wilma, come here. I can't remember if I'm going up the stairs or going down."
Wilma replied, "You silly woman. I can't believe you're so absent minded. I'm glad I'm not like that. Knock on wood." (Knock on pulpit) Then she stopped, looked around & said, "Is that someone knocking at the front door, or the back door?"
Well, we may have difficulty remembering some things, but Paul’s legacy of faith tells us first of all to “Remember Jesus Christ.” n
II. REMEMBER JESUS CHRIST, "DESCENDED FROM DAVID"
A. And in remembering Jesus Christ, Paul tells us to remember that He is "descended from David." That's Paul's way of saying that Jesus is the Messiah, the promised one, the fulfillment of the hopes & needs, not only of Israel, but of all the world.
Hear Jesus as He says, "Come to me, all you who are weary & burdened, & I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you & learn from me, for I am gentle & humble in heart, & you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29).
His words were words of hope & love that the world had not heard before. They were words of life instead of words of death. And the common people “heard Him gladly.”
B. We need to remember also what the world did to Him His arrest & the illegal trials. We need to remember the laughter, the mockery, the ridicule, the scourging, & the crown of thorns He endured for us.
But that wasn’t all - for they nailed Him to a cross, not for His sins but for ours. We need to remember!
We need to remember His words, "It is finished." The word Jesus used is the Greek word that means, "Paid in full!" Your debt & my debt to God, has been paid in full by Jesus on the cross.
III. REMEMBER JESUS CHRIST, "RAISED FROM THE DEAD"
A. Thirdly, Paul says, we need to remember Jesus Christ, "raised from the dead." And we do that every Sunday, don't we, as we gather with fellow Christians around the Lord's Table?
Every time we take the bread & drink the cup, we not only proclaim that Jesus died for us, & that He arose from the dead, but also that He is coming again.
Every time someone is baptized we proclaim that same message again. According to the Apostle Paul in Romans 6, the very act of baptism pictures the death, burial, & resurrection of Jesus.
We're buried in a watery grave even as He was buried in the tomb. And then we are raised to walk in a new life even as He was raised from the dead, alive forevermore.
ILL. A Bible School teacher was telling the story of the crucifixion of Jesus to a class of young boys. To illustrate, she took two pieces of wood & put them together in the form of a cross.
And she explained with emotion in her voice that Jesus was nailed to a cross, that His hands were nailed to the cross piece & His feet were nailed to the upright piece. And He hung on that cross & died.
One little boy said, "That's terrible!" Then the teacher continued. "But that's not the end of the story. They buried Him in a tomb, & on the third day He arose from the dead. Jesus is alive, & alive forevermore."
The little boy's eyes got as big as saucers & he said, "Totally awesome."
SUM. It is totally awesome, even beyond our comprehension.
IV. "THIS IS MY GOSPEL"
A. Finally, Paul says, "This is my gospel," "my good news." Have you ever wondered why, nationwide, more people go to church on Easter than on any other Sunday?
It has been suggested that maybe it’s because down deep inside many people feel trapped in life, & they're looking for something or someone to roll the stones away & set them free.
1. Sometimes it’s a stone of weakness like the disciples who felt so weak & helpless when Jesus was taken away. But then they saw the resurrected Lord & their strength returned.
We're weak, too. Temptations arise & sometimes we give in. But Jesus comes to roll away the stone of our weakness.
2. Sometimes it's frustration. We know what we should do & we want to do what's right, but we can't seem to do it alone. Then the stone is rolled away & our frustration begins to disappear.
3. Maybe it's the stone of loneliness & emptiness. Then Jesus comes & rolls that stone away too. He becomes our friend, our confidant, the one who walks with us every step of the way.
4. Or maybe it's the stone of death. Maybe some of us are getting to that point in life when we’re more sensitive to the clock that's ticking inside our bodies, & we are realizing that someday soon we, too, will die.
Some have already gone on before us moms & dads, aunts, uncles, grandmas & grandpas, perhaps a husband or a wife, or even a son or daughter. And some of us are wondering if we'll ever see them again.
But then we read these words of Paul, "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead..."
And we hear the words of Jesus, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26) And the stone of death is also rolled away.
Jesus has conquered death & now we have the promise of eternal life.
ILL. Max Lucado, in his book, “Six Hours One Friday,” tells of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of natives in a remote part of the jungle, living near a large river. The tribe was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population. People were dying daily.
A hospital was not too terribly far away - across the river. But the natives would not cross it because they believed the river was inhabited by evil spirits. And to enter its water would mean certain death.
The missionary explained how he had crossed the river & was unharmed. But they were afraid. He led them to the bank & placed his hand in the water. They still wouldn’t go in. He walked into the water up to his waist & splashed water on his face. It didn’t matter. They were still afraid to enter the river.
Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side. He raised a triumphant fist into the air. It was then that the natives broke into a cheer & followed him across.
Isn’t that what Jesus did? He entered the river of death & came out on the other side so that we might no longer fear death, but find eternal life in Him.
ILL. I came across something interesting a few years ago. It seems that during the years of the Communist domination of East Germany there was a symbol the communists could not erase – a symbol which brought hope & comfort to believers in Jesus.
You see, the communist government had built a huge TV tower. And near the top of the tower they had included a globe-shaped structure housing a restaurant.
The remarkable thing was that the sunlight always reflected off the globe in the shape of a cross. The authorities tried everything they could to prevent this phenomenon. They even tried covering the dome with paint. But nothing worked. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t get rid of that Cross!
SUM: And today, no amount of “political correctness” can affect the power of the cross. It is still the power of God & an emblem of our salvation because of Jesus Christ, our Lord!
INVITATION
