Looking forward to awesome services in @crccpt & @crcstb this Sun with @Aidan_Jeffery! New series #mindset starting! Let's #fetch our world!
| Blood, Sweat and Tears |
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| Tuesday, 29 November 2011 14:12 |
 Take [with me] your share of the hardships and suffering [which you are called to endure] as a good (first-class) soldier of Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:3 (AMP) I’m yet to meet a person that does not like a feel good movie. I love them myself. I think the reason for this is that we identify with most of the characters in these movies. We watch them face near insurmountable odds, battle criticism, unfair treatment, heartache and all the other unjust things the world throws at us. Just when it seems our hero or heroine is down & out and defeated with no hope, they get back up & beat the system, defy all odds, catch the bad guy and destroy the enemy. We watch in delight as they triumph over evil (some of us even talk to the screen as though the characters can hear us) and we wish we could do what we see these characters do in the movies. The thrills we get from these movies, seems to only motivate us for a day or two and we resign to the fact that maybe it’s not to be for us. We all want to catch the bad guy, change the system, be the hero/heroine, find true love and defeat the enemy. God says we can! In 2 Timothy we see the Apostle Paul write to Timothy, a young worker in the ministry, facing persecution for the Gospel, dealing with fear and insecurity and who is at the point of breaking down and giving up! Timothy was a close companion (like a son) to Paul and played a vital role in establishing the churches in Asia. We see in 2 Timothy 1 that Paul spoke of Timothy’s genuine faith, but even still as strong as he was in faith he needed encouragement and had to be reminded that if he was to be victorious & see breakthrough he would have to be strong, work hard, fight and persevere. He could have given up – but he didn’t. Timothy stood strong continued in faith and remained a co-worker in the Gospel with the Apostle Paul and stayed with him to the end. Timothy played a very important role in spreading the Gospel and in building the church as we know it today. God never promised us a life free of adversity and trouble. He’s actually very clear on the fact that they would come from time to time (James 1 & Matthew 5).We don’t like to hear this as Christians – we want only the good stuff and things that comfort our flesh. The fact is we have a real enemy out there that wants to destroy us. However Jesus said He has overcome the world and defeated our enemy (John 16:33). We are here to enforce that victory! Enforcing that victory will require us to be prepared, work hard and to fight! In 2 Timothy 2 our work as born again believers are compared to that of soldiers, athletes and farmers. As soldiers we sign up for duty in the Gospel with the single purpose of conquering evil and advancing the Kingdom of God. As athletes we need to be prepared in the word and fit in faith in order to run the race set before us. As farmers we need to work hard and be disciplined in order to enjoy all that God has for us in this Kingdom. Now is not the time to give up or to become weary. Jesus has given us the keys! You have what it takes to do what must to be done! Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, Hebrews 12:1 Listen to Mp3 |