April 24, 2024
2 Timothy 2:1-10
Jay Sanders, pastor
Towaliga Baptist Church, Jackson
The man did not have his license. He pulled out in front of me. His automobile hit my automobile. But when the police officer arrived, he wrote us both a ticket.
I was respectful on the outside but furious on the inside. Why did I get a ticket? I didn’t do anything wrong.
But there was hope. A lady saw the whole thing and could validate my story to the officer. I was relieved when I found out. But then I got the bad news. She didn’t want to talk.
If you know the truth but keep it to yourself, you are wasting that truth. God has equipped his people with everything necessary to take his good news to others.
Christians love the concept of getting strength from God. But God doesn’t equip us with his strength just so we can dunk basketballs. Our task of making disciples is hard work. It will involve persevering through various trials and it will all be impossible on our own strength. Thankfully, God has given us his strength.
I grew up in a church that put a heavy emphasis on missions. When the Olympics came to town, my church didn’t have to go overseas to do missions. All they had to do was walk outside. The world had come to us. But sadly, church members had become too busy fighting against one another. That church hasn’t been the same since.
Many of the things we get worked up over in the church don’t matter as much as we like to think they do. Churches split over carpet color. That’s an example of the civilian pursuits of which Paul speaks. Our job is to make disciples.
Perhaps the next time the civilian pursuits of carpet color comes up in a business meeting, we should ask ourselves what the connection is to our primary task of making disciples.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a black belt in karate. And a guitar player. And a football star. I eventually quit every pursuit. I wanted the glory but not the endurance.
God has given us an eternal purpose. Two things fuel Paul’s passion to get the gospel to the lost — the past and the future.
When Paul looks to the past, he sees an empty tomb. Jesus is alive and that helps him to endure the suffering that comes with the disciple’s life. But it doesn’t stop there. Paul goes on to say that he endured everything so that people can know the “eternal glory” of the salvation that is theirs in Christ.
The lady who witnessed my wreck from inside of her office eventually walked outside and spoke the truth. Will you do the same?
