Remember Jesus Christ

(The direction of our life in the Lord)

2 Timothy 2:8-13

Key Verse 2:8

“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel.”

Many people are confused about life, especially, the direction of life. Naturally, they are concerned about and yet not sure of what career to choose, whom to marry, where to live, or simply what do with their life. In order to find their life’s direction they look at other people and see how they are doing. They look at themselves to see what they've got, what they are good at doing, or what they would like to be doing. But still they are not sure which way to go.  

While I was attending a staff meeting in Chicago two weekends ago, virtually all the news I saw was talking about a lady named Anna Nicole Smith. The other day I went to LA Fitness to exercise, and she was still there on the TV. So I checked some facts on her, and the facts that came out are pretty colorful: she used to work as a strip dancer, a cover girl for Playboy magazine, at the age of 26 she married an 89 year old man – a Texas oil tycoon, 14 months after her marriage her husband died, and then more people close to her started to die: a step son who is twice as old as she, a man with whom she was involved in a lawsuit over inheritance money died, three months thereafter her own son, 20 years old, born of her ex-husband died, and on Feb. 8, 2007, she also died. When she died she was only 39. How much money did she leave behind? $1.6 billion! She also left behind a one year old daughter, Daniellyn Hope, but no one knows who the father is. Now that she died leaving 1.6 billion behind, three men have showed up saying, "I am the father of Hope. Don't touch the $1.6 billion." Obviously, she was very confused about the direction of her life. 

How then can we avoid such confusion? How can we live this one precious life in a way that is truly fulfilling? In the passage the Apostle Paul answers the question.

First, remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead

In deciding on the right direction to take for one’s life, one must first consider very carefully the life’s destination—and the destination must be right in order for us to live rightly. Finding the right destination is by far the most important point one should consider, because when the destination is wrong, all you do or don't do in life (be it your career, how much money you make, where you live, whom you marry) are bound to be all wrong. Once you've got the destination right, then all the other details of your life will suddenly become clear: which career to choose, whom to marry, where to go, what to do and what not to do. This is like a man embarking on a journey from Los Angeles to San Diego. Since he has his destination, he can find exactly which exit, street, or lane is right and which is wrong. In order to determine the route, using perhaps MapQuest, you type in your address in LA, and then the destination’s address. Then MapQuest produces the route which tells you specifically which way to turn, which freeways to take, and which exit to look for. On a U.S road map we have billions of roads, on ramps and off ramps. But the minute you determine a destination, all other freeways, boulevards, or roads not leading to your destination turn out to be "wrong" way. So the destination is process-determinative. It is the No.1 factor that determines the paths in life. 

Likewise, in our life's journey, the destination of the journey determines the direction and the passage ways of our life here on earth. Anyone who does not know the destination remains categorically confused; and it is impossible for one to know what career to choose, which way to go, where to live or even whom to marry or not to marry. If you do not know the right destination, then you remain condemned to make all the wrong choices in your life. What then is the ultimate destination of our life? Thanks and praise be to God the Father, for in Jesus he revealed to us the destination for all of us. "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead!" 

The billionaire Howard Marshall died at the age of 89. Most likely, like all of us, he did not want to die. After all he married a beautiful wife, Anna Nicole Smith, and his wife was so young, so he must have wanted to enjoy his marriage life with his young wife as long as possible. But for one reason or another after 14 months he had to die. After her husband's death, Anna must have wished to enjoy her life as long as possible. Yet, at the age of 39 she too died. [Some allege that she was murdered, but it makes no difference.] And this is the case with all peoples on earth. 

Is the grave then our ultimate destiny? No. Why? “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead.” Through his resurrection from the dead Jesus changed the direction of our life. He opened the way to a resurrected life. After rising from the dead, he spent about 40 days with his people. Then while his beloved disciples were watching, he ascended into heaven to be with God the Father. 

Speaking of the new destination for all who believe in him, Jesus said to his disciples: "Because I live you also will live." In John 14:2-4, he further said: "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." Thank and praise be to God the Father for Jesus who was raised from the dead, only to lead us to the place where he is now. Thank God for showing us the clear direction of life. 

Second, Jesus descended from David. 

Our life's journey consists of two parts: coming and going. Coming means being born here on earth, and going refers to departing from this world. All of us have completed the first part, that is, coming, and are now preparing ourselves for the second part, that is, going. About 120 people are now seated in this room. All of us were born into this world and are here now. Some arrived on this planet earth a little sooner, some later. Then sooner or later we will have to leave this world, and I am pretty much sure that in 120 years or so none of us will be here anymore. 

Jesus did the same thing. Like all of us, Jesus was born into this world. Like all of us, he lived in a physical body for a little over thirty years. Then he suffered, died, rose again, and is now at home with his Father. Paul uses the expression, “descended from David,” to refer to Jesus' coming here and living like any of us in a physical body. 

Pay special attention to the word "descended." This means that before Jesus was able to ascend he first had to descend. So, descent came first, and then ascension followed. The phrase, "from David," refers to the promise of God, when long before Jesus' birth, God had promised to send the Christ from the family line of David, which proves that Jesus is the Savior promised by God, the Savior who became flesh to be with us. After dying on a tree for our sins, Jesus rose again and thereby opened the way for us to come to the Father.

“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel.” The emphatic remark, "This is my gospel," especially the word "gospel," (which means good news) tells us the greatness of the grace that comes with the gift of salvation for those who believe in Jesus and receive Him as the Lord and Savior. How great is this grace? Again, we find an answer to this question in the word “descended.” Obviously, the word "descend" means moving from a higher level to a lower level. And how much did Jesus descend? In Philippians 2:6-8, Paul answers the question: "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!"

The Apostle Paul could have stopped at saying, "...and became obedient to death." But he added something more: "--even death on a cross!" Notice the word "even," and notice the word "cross," and then the exclamation point. The expression "death on a cross," refers to Jesus' crucifixion. Death on a cross is symbolic of shame. Literally, it is the place where no one wants to go, but will have to go. And Jesus chose to go there in order for us not to have to go.   

“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David.” In Jerusalem there is still the route called Via Dolorosa (the way of cross) which helps us better understand the point to which Jesus descended for us. This road consists of more than a dozen stations. It begins with the place where Jesus was condemned to death, and ends with the place where Jesus was laid in a tomb. Each of the stations represents the step in which all sinners were condemned to descend, but was relieved of the need to travel; for in order to set us free from the condemnation, Jesus the Lamb of God, chose to be condemned, and in order to save us from the power of tomb, Jesus himself had to be laid in a tomb. Thanks and praise be to Jesus the Son of God who descended from heaven. Praise Jesus who descended on our behalf, only to let us ascend to where he is now.

 

Third, suffering for the sake of the gospel

The next point of our life’s direction is found in what the Apostle Paul says in verse 9, "For which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained." One practical way to learn something is to actually go and do it. In order to learn carpentry one can go to a woodshop, work as an apprentice, and learn personally from a carpenter. Shepherd William Larsen is a graphic designer. He once said to me, "The best way to learn graphic design is to teach it." So as he teaches graphic design he says he learns a lot more than he used to learn while he was a student at Cal State Fullerton. The same is true with the way of life. 

Jesus came to lead us to the presence of God through the gospel. So the best way to secure the presence of God even now is to unite with Jesus Christ and do his will, that is, to actually go out and spread the gospel. This requires a firm commitment. In Paul’s case, he committed himself to Jesus Christ, even to the point of being in chains for the gospel. For us this does not mean that all of us must go to some difficult mission field like North Korea, preach the gospel in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, and then go to prison. For some it means to marry a Christian who believes in the gospel, build a house church, and produce spiritual children. For some it means to choose to live like Mother Barry who, at the age of 25, went to war stricken Korea, identified herself with Koreans, and she is still serving many Koreans to this very day, and for that purpose, she even sacrificed her dream for marriage. For some it means to live as a lay shepherd working full time, still praying to support the gospel ministry. For some it means to quit a well paying job, or to renounce the dream to make big bucks, and serve the Lord as a full time minister. In all cases, however, the point remains the same: firm commitment to the Lord and his gospel is the key to experiencing the power of resurrection. 

And no matter how limiting our circumstances might be, we must remember that God's word is not chained. Despite limiting conditions, such as a marriage, children, a job, or duties as a minister, we still can find ways to serve the Lord in the best way possible, knowing that although we are in chains, God's word is not chained. 

In committing oneself to the Lord, however, not all people find it easy for they easily get deceived into thinking that the life that is fully committed to the Lord is not as rewarding as it might seem. They are tempted to believe that committing oneself fully to serving the Lord's purpose is in fact a losing business. But Paul says that the opposite is true. Look at verses 10-13: "Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. Here is a trustworthy saying: 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.”

The first and perhaps greatest reward is the saving of the elect. Indeed, the Apostle Paul's endurance resulted in many receiving the salvation that is in Jesus with eternal glory. While Paul was in prison somewhere in Rome, he wrote epistles, such as the epistle to the Ephesians. Then Paul suffered martyrdom in Rome. But his great endurance through his painful service resulted in bearing good fruits: that is, countless people in different generations have come to better understand the grace of Jesus, secure a good knowledge of salvation, and thereby receive salvation with eternal glory. Just think about the book of Romans authored by Paul. With a fervent desire to share the gospel with the people throughout the Roman Empire, Paul wrote the book of Romans. Then many centuries after, people like Martin Luther or John Wesley got saved from reading the book of Romans. Similarly, we too who study 2 Timothy are being benefited by his great service which came through his great endurance for the glorious gospel. 

"Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory (10).” "If we died with him, we will also live with him (11).” "If we endure we will also reign with him (12)." Again the life that serves the Lord is never a losing business.

Standing here I can tell about the great endurance many people in this Downey ministry are going through for the gospel. And many of us devote our time, energy, and material resources to share the gospel. We do not know how our services will result in the salvation of how many with what glory. But one thing is for sure. If we died with Jesus, we will also live with him! If we endure, we will also reign with him. 

For this reason, let us encourage one another to never neglect meeting each other. Let us pray to encourage each other so that none of us would grow weary in sharing the gospel. Let us exhort one another to stir up the spirit of many to join in suffering for the gospel, so many would receive salvation with eternal glory in Jesus.  

One word: Remember Jesus Christ

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