Hardships
Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 35:02
0 ratings
· 879 viewsFiles
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Endure Hardships
Endure Hardships
You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
In writing to Timothy, the apostle Paul makes an astounding claim “endure hardships”
At first glance one might think in terms of persecution
Kako pa thao
The translators have inserted the word hardship to complete the thought of the word while the text is emphasizing the process of endurance
KJV - hardness, NIV - Suffering,
It is a compound word - Kakos meaning evil, wrong, bad and po ieo meaning to do or make
πάσχω - meaning to experience something which comes from without and which has to be suffered - “something come upon me”
It is the antonym of of verbs like “free action”
It isn’t something that you would choose to come upon you
Jesus spoke of this to His disciples:
yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
One of the defining factors in the victorious life of a Christian is his or her ability to withstand the outside forces of pressure trying to move them from their convictions!
Tribulation is the word that means “to be pressured” like a crowd pressing in with no escape and persecution “to be pursed”
The enemy’s plan is relentless and ever increasing
Scripture tells us that the enemy is trying to exalt his name above the name of Christ
it’s all about the Name!
For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
John is encouraging the disciples to “carry on” and “know” not just head knowledge but “experiential” knowledge leading to a sustained faith!
There is power in the name of Jesus
There is power, power, wonder working power, in the blood of the lamb!
To the church at Pergamos Jesus said:
“I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
Some translations have “Satan’s throne”
In Rev 13 we see the beast rising out of the sea (could represent the sea of humanity) and Satan gives him authority
And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.
Again we see the attack is against the “name” above all names!
Paul describes this endurance in military terms!
No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
Don’t get distracted Timothy!
In the past satan pounded the church with persecution and it grew…today his plan is to lull the church to complacency by removing the Word of God from it’s midst
You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
To endure mistreatment by evil
A suffering of misfortune not of ones own doing
The focus is not the illness but rather the effects of the illness - in our case, sin
Kittle - this suffering has little to do with the emotion but rather the maintaining of one Spiritual state!
emotions change but the Word of God remains the same
Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.
This is the inheritance of the saved!
Interestingly the word appears 42 times int he NT most in regards to Christ and the suffering of Christians for His sake
We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
The goal for us is to “manifest the life of Christ in our mortal flesh”