Three Faith Anchors
Text: 2 Tim 2:8-13 9/3/04
Function: The listener will take courage to continue in the faith amidst possible discouragement.
Every day, people like you face difficult circumstances. Some of these things you face just might be hard hitting enough so that your faith takes a blow.
Some of you faced home environments that make you hurt every day. Others have seen mission challenges that called for every last ounce of energy. Some of you have been over your heads in leadership crises that made you wonder why you signed up. Others have struggled through business losses that made you feel like a failure. Still others of you have known bodily diseases that whittled away at your physical strength until your spirit was drained of life. Others suffer intellectual battles of faith, where frankly, you wonder how or where you will come out.
There are any number of faith killers that can destroy your walk with God: doubt, discouragement, sin, opposition, or even exhaustion. How do you hold on to faith when God doesn’t meet your expectations?
Timothy appears to have been facing some kind of discouragement, whether from the inside or the outside. His mentor sends him an encouragement letter. Paul brings on some terrific anchors for holding his faith solid, even through tough times.
Anchors are critical to a ship’s survival. If they don’t hold amidst stormy waters, the ship will be grounded or even smashed against the rocks.
We too need faith anchors. The first of these anchors is to
Remember Jesus Christ
Now, if you’re going through hard times, and someone says, "Remember Jesus Christ", what do you first think of?
I tend first to think about that tremendous endurance test he went through at his death: The sweat, the lashes, the thorn-spiked crown, the nails, the rough wood against his human skin, the searing physical and spiritual stress. These all tell of an incredible trial that would have made most turn away.
It’s certainly not out of place to remember that event when it comes to endurance. The author of Hebrews says in 12:2-3, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (NIV). Many people have been inspired to renew their faith when they consider the death of Jesus.
But when Paul says, "Remember Jesus Christ" here, he has something else in mind: Look at 2:8, "Never forget that Jesus Christ was a man born into King David’s family and that he was raised from the dead." (NLT)
If you are running a marathon, you may gain considerable inspiration from watching the best athlete sweat and ache up the worst part of the course. But another hope may help you more -- the moment when you expect to cross the finish line with hands held high.
Remember Jesus, born of David -- a human like you, yet of royal Messiah blood. And never forget there is something more magnificent about him than any human who lived.
Jesus said of himself in John 2:19, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days." John says he was speaking about his own body. Jesus didn’t say God would do it, he said he would do it -- personally, because he was God. It was almost like saying, "Go ahead. Do your worst. I will return. I am the ultimate authority."
In a movie, "The Princess Bride" there is an amusing scene. Two of the heroes are sword-fighting with their left hands. They’re battling almost evenly back and forth until the Spaniard panting, says, "I admit it, you are better than I am." The masked man says, "Then why are you smiling?" Spaniard, "Because I know something you don’t know." Masked man: "And, what is that?" "I am not left handed." The Spaniard then switches hands and gains ground.
"You are amazing.", says the masked man. Spaniard, "I ought to be, after 20 years." Masked man: "Oh, there’s something I ought to tell you." Spaniard "Tell me." Masked man : "I’m not left-handed either."
Sometimes you don’t show all your cards until it’s time. Jesus could look at all those who wanted him dead and say, "I know something you don’t know." As the author of life, he held a secret strength, a deeper power that made even death the loser.
And you who follow Him have it too. People may say to you, "Aren’t you afraid you’re going to die?" You can say, "I know something you don’t know."
Every believer will experience an echo of that life burst. Inside you is an unseen resurrection power.
The resurrection says, "There is light after darkness. There is a higher reality in which corpses breathe again in much better than new bodies. The prisons of death and torture chambers will yet disappear from view. Grief and sorrow will have their very last day."
Besides all this, Jesus’ resurrection brings an anchor for those with intellectual doubts. Go ahead and look into it with all the skills of a historian and scholar. Do your worst, or your best. Try to explain how Christianity did not fizzle and die like so many little cult followings of that time.
"Because He lives, I can face tomorrow." Because he lives, I can withstand pain in this life, difficulty, and even persecution. So Paul says, "This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal."
To him, it’s all very personal. "It’s my gospel, my good news," he affirms. And he was ready to be treated like a criminal for holding to it, complete with the lashes, the shame, and horrid cell conditions.
To be of any use to any of us, faith has to be personal. The resurrection of Jesus will do nothing for me if I don’t believe it or if I don’t think it’s important. THE gospel has to be MY gospel -- my good news. I have to be able to say, "God loves me. God rescued me. I will live again with Him." When it becomes your own, you will gain incredible staying power.
They chained Paul up, but they couldn’t chain up the good news. It has a life of its own.
When your faith is weak, remember Jesus. Remember that even death couldn’t hold him down. What an anchor!
There’s another anchor, related to the first, that just might inspire you to hold on:
Remember Your Brothers and Sisters
In Verse 10 Paul says, "I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen." (NLT)
I want you to imagine what would happen if everyone, at this church, at this moment, gave up on faith completely. Imagine the doors close to this church this afternoon and a For Sale sign goes up over the front sign.
Every Bible is removed from your house. No one speaks of faith again. You mention God or Jesus only as swear words. What would happen in your family? What would happen in your friendships, and in our community?
The thought is rather horrifying to many of us. Yet that is what could happen over a longer time if we let faith fade. Not only do you suffer, every one around you suffers.
The very moment you talk about your dedication to Christ, you are talking about dedication to your fellow human beings, especially those who are fellow believers. There are no committed believers who are not committed to other believers.
Faith and love are not far apart at all. If I run away from faith it’s a retreat into safety away from an unpredictable God. If I run away from loving others, that too is a retreat into the safety so I will not be hurt by others, so I will not have responsibility. If you retreat from love, you will likely retreat from faith.
God loves you more than you can possibly imagine, and he loves your neighbor just as much.
If you love others, it will inspire your faith and you will think twice about how you live it. When I see all the good that Jesus does for others, I am ready to give of myself more. And every time you give away a little more of your life, you become a little more like God.
Let’s face it, without God, life is hopeless. Without God, there is no right and wrong, there are no higher values and we may as well live like animals, like many suggest. Without God there is no purpose for living. Without God, people may as well claw for every corner of the earth they can get for themselves before they die. Without God, this world is a dismal, dark selfish place. For that reason alone, faith is worth living for and sacrificing for and even giving your life for.
So remember Jesus. He wins. Remember others. They need him. They need you to be strong. And
Remember Your Reward
Paul has a few "trustworthy sayings" and this is one of them. He’s saying, "You can hang your hat on this one. You can take this one to the bank. You can count on it."
Here it is in verses 11-13 "If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself."
Notice the first phrase. It says if we "died" -- past tense. That’s how Paul describes what should be true of every Christian. We die to our old selves -- we surrender our old ways. When Jesus died on the cross, we allow Him to take the old self and crucify it too.
When you share with him in his death like that, you also share with him in his resurrection. Look at what Jesus promises in John 6:40: "For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
And "if we endure, we will also reign with Him." To endure means, "Stay under the load. Stick with it." Run, walk even crawl to the finish, but don’t ever give up.
What’s the problem? Why would any of us be tempted to? In Timothy’s day, their opposition was often physical. Our opposition is, in my opinion, more dangerous -- it’s a stealthy, under-the-radar spiritual attack. Free time and easy money entice us to live for maximum comfort and pleasure. So we’re lured into fields of ease rather than pursuing the discipline of a growing spiritual vitality.
You who are truly Christ’s will endure. You will make it, and you will find a reward much greater than your own faithfulness.
The other side is there as well. What you do with Jesus, he also does with you. You share the destiny of the one you serve. Disown Him, and he will say, "I never knew you either." Those were Jesus’ words in the book of Matthew.
Yet our actions will not change Him. If we are faithless, he remains faithful. The battle for faith is a lifetime battle. Sometimes your faith will burn so bright that you will wonder how you ever doubted. At other times, your doubt and discouragement may be so overwhelming that you wonder how you ever believed. Child of God, that is the day to know his faithfulness far exceeds our weakness.
If we stop trusting and believing in him, he remains. He doesn’t disappear just because someone won’t believe in Him. He cannot cease being there for us, because that is completely outside His nature. He’s a rock.
Your faith matters to God. It matters to others, and no doubt it matters to you. May your anchor hold as you remember Jesus and his victory, as you remember the part you play in the life of others, and as you remember your reward.
Multimedia Presentation Outline:
Three Faith Anchors
How do I hold on to faith when God doesn’t meet my expectations?
Remember Jesus Christ
2 Tim 2:8 (NLT) "Never forget that Jesus Christ was a man born into King David’s family and that he was raised from the dead."
Remember Jesus Christ
JESUS, in John 2:19: "Destroy this temple (body) and I will raise it up in three days."
Inside you is an unseen resurrection power.
To be useful to me personally, the gospel has to be my gospel.
Remember Your Brothers and Sisters
2 Tim 2:10 (NLT): "I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen."
The minute you talk about your dedication to Christ, you are talking about your dedication to people.
Without God, this world is a dismal, dark, selfish place.
Remember Your Reward
2 Tim 2:11-13 (NIV): "If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself."
You share the destiny of the one you serve.
God’s faithfulness far exceeds our weakness.
