He’ll be looking at 2 Timothy; the Apostolic Gospel and the Apostolic Ministry.

Greg writes;

There is enormous fascination in reading the ‘famous last words’ of great people whose lives shook the world. What was uppermost in their minds during their final hours can still have an impact upon our lives today. II Timothy is Paul’s last letter and final legacy, written within days of his imminent martyrdom at Rome. It is reminiscent of Sir Winston Churchill’s fearless war speeches to beleaguered Britain during the darkest days of WWII. Here, the great Apostle charges his fellow-soldier Timothy to ‘Never, never, never give up!’ – in a moving rallying call still resonating to all of us who love the gospel, and long for it’s ongoing revolutionary influence today.

Paul’s sober realism unmasks the threat of false teachers and evil-livers who still love to intimidate and silence us, if they can. His striking courage and strong counsel is actually Christ’s voice, urging us to grab our combat gear and weapons then enter what C.H. Spurgeon called ‘The Greatest Fight in the World’. This is the worldwide battle to save countless lives drowning in a tsunami of sin and lies. This deadly tide can only be turned back when the ‘unafraid and unashamed’ fearlessly preach God’s saving message as though they really believed it. II Timothy then becomes our personal and timely summons to ‘Guard the Gospel’ in our time and generation.

For sermons in this series, please visit our website in the coming weeks.

The Church of Jesus Christ is beyond question God’s greatest idea. The entrance of sin into the world disordered everything. It warped humanity, strained relationships, fragmented community, and robbed mankind of hope. The Gospel is the remedy. The Church is God’s shop-front window display of what he offers freely to all. His ultimate vision is ‘…to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, Jesus Christ.’ (Eph. 1:10) Everything will eventually be under Christ’s benevolent rule again.

Most of mankind believes salvation is a human achievement, or at least a joint effort with God in which we play the major part. Actually, we contribute nothing to our salvation but the sin we need to be saved from. Paul credits our rescue entirely to God – the Triune God of the Bible. Jesus is central to this recovery so we make much of him. Deliverance was achieved in full by his faithful life and saving death on the cross, vindicated by his resurrection and exaltation. One who owed nothing settled debts we could not pay. The result is a new humanity, intimately related and reconciled to God and one another then empowered by his Holy Spirit.

The Trinity is the prototype community – ‘The One and the Many’ – a unity in diversity. This is true of God’s new community, the Church. We’re all different, but in Christ we become one big family with relatives all over the world. Watchman Nee observed, ‘The necessity of a revelation of the Church of Jesus Christ to the believer is as great as the necessity of a revelation of Jesus Christ to the unbeliever in the first place.’  See this, and you’ll never settle for warped or unhealthy church life again.

Healthy churches consist of Christ’s ambassadors gathered under his kingship as outposts of heaven. They have spiritual ‘clout’ to effect change in individuals, communities, cities, and nations. God’s supernatural energy within us can accomplish astonishing things through us. The same power that brought the dead body of Jesus back from the grave progressively renews everything in and around us. The all-pervasive effects of sin and rebellion can be dismantled, starting with God’s people. Churches regularly visited by God’s power are hard to explain and even harder to explain away. The Gospel heals all divisions – ageism, sexism, racism, class-ism, violent fanaticism – so we have something credible to offer the world. God shows up, speaks to, and does things among them.

Disease is inevitable whenever Jesus is excluded from his own Church. He resorts to knocking and seeking entry by asking, “Can I have my Church back please?” (Rev. 3:20). Other hands are often at the helm, not his. Leaders must decide who’s boss and yield to him, resolving to do anything the Lord asks in order to turn things around before the disease becomes terminal. This entails fearlessly making the Gospel central, along with the boldness to preach and act upon all God says to effect reform, renewal, and any radical surgery needed for complete recovery. Submission to both God’s Word and Spirit is the key, so that Christ’s voice is heard and change is here to stay. Such obedience may prove costly, but it won’t be half as expensive as disobedience.