A Letter from Paul: Sermon 2 Timothy 4:1-5

Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit, that as the Scriptures are read and your Word is proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen.

Something interesting happened this week. I received a letter in the mail, now that wasn’t the interesting part. The interesting part is that the letter came from Paul the Apostle. I found this most odd especially when I read the return address and it said “Heaven”, but I opened the letter and began to read. The preface to the letter urged me to read this letter to you during my sermon time because that was the custom those many years ago when a church would receive a letter from Paul; it was read during the worship time. Now it was also the custom for the reader of the letter not to simply read the letter as one would read a notice from the electric company, but to engage the letter passionately and with some gusto. So if you all will indulge me I will read this letter to you from the Apostle Paul.

To the Church of Rehoboth/Liberty of the United Methodist denomination and the Universal Body of Christ, grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Christ Jesus, who loved so deeply that he willingly gave up his own life so that we might have life with him. I am writing to you this day on behalf of all the saints that have come before you. Not just the ones whom the Church has deemed saintly, but your saintly ancestors who founded this very church and nurtured it throughout their lives and who are still in the midst of you in a great cloud of witnesses. I write to you with the same frame of mind as I had when I wrote to Timothy those many years ago. I write to you so that you might be stirred up and recharged in the Holy Spirit. You all face so many distractions each day, distractions that I would never have dreamed of 2,000 years ago. So it is understandable that sometimes you might lose your focus and you might lose who sense of self as members of the Body of Christ. So I write to remind you of who you are, the message who have been taught these many years, and actions that must accompany your Christian life.

Those of us who are in Christ Jesus are new creations. I told this to the Church in Corinth and I remind you of it now. If Christ truly dwells in your heart then you are a changed person, a new person. Now the evidence of that change might take some time to show and we all sometimes revert to the old ways of which we are ashamed. I found myself doing this many times. Nevertheless, we are children of God because of the sacrifice and the resurrection of Christ. God came to earth in the form of a man, taught the world radical teachings of love and community. He and his teachings were rejected and they nailed him upon a Roman cross. Death, however, did not have the final victory and he is raised and with his triumph over death we have life eternal. We are people of the Resurrection.

What does in mean to be Resurrection people? For one it means that our hope is not in this world. Sometimes it is hard to find hope in such a broken world. Although technology and civilization has evolved beyond anything I could have imagined while I walked the earth. I still see the brutality engrained within human behavior. I still see the brokenness of this world. If our hope rested in this world we would have no hope, but be doomed to wander lost in this world of darkness. But, praise be to God, our hope is not in this dark world, but in the light of Christ. Our hope rests on that which is unseen. This kind of hope is called faith.

Being a Resurrection people also means that our reward is not in this world. We have work to do and a life to lead as Christians, but the reward is forthcoming. We are often mocked and ridiculed for our faith by others who feel that faith is foolishness. But we are privileged to know the truth of Christ which is the Good News. Our reward is not on this earthly life, but in the life to come when you will join with me and all those you have missed and we will feast together as God’s children. As Resurrection people we have values that seem strange to a lost world. Our values are the opposite of those in this broken world. We seek to be the greatest not by crushing our opponents and stepping on the weak, but by being a servant to all and helping those who need help. Remember what Jesus taught us, to be great you must be a servant and to be the greatest in the kingdom of God, you have to be a servant to the least of these.

Being Resurrection people also means that we are Advent people. I love the Church’s annual celebration of Advent when we remember the anticipation of the first coming of Christ and we also and most importantly remember that Christ will come again and what a glorious day that will be. Being an Advent people means that we are waiting for something greater than this life. We must always be alert and ready for you nor I know the date of that coming, but rest assured that day is something as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow.

My brothers and sisters I do not tell you all these things to teach them to you for I know that most of you have been taught these truths before. Instead I tell them to your to remind you of who you are as Children of God so that you might be stirred up by the Holy Spirit and you faith might be rekindled. You have been taught the Scriptures. Many of you here this morning first learned about God in this very church. You have faithfully attended Bible study and Sunday school for many, many years. Still there might be some who are new to the faith, those who are experienced in the ways of God are called to nurture and guide those new in the faith just as you yourselves were once nurtured. Remember the Gospel and keep your minds and faith sharp and ready by constantly immersing yourselves in the word of God. Remember I told Timothy that “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” You all are so privileged to have such easy access to the Scriptures. You must take advantage of such a blessing. You must take every opportunity you can to learn about God, this is your calling, to learn and to tell others what you have learned.

I have reminded you of who you are and the message that is the ground of our hope. If we are truly Resurrection people, we must act accordingly. First we must proclaim the Gospel. Jesus gave the disciples a commission and that commission included me and it includes you. We must tell the good news to all people, in all nations, at all times. No matter what the popular thing at the time might be we must proclaim the Gospel. Just as I told Timothy sometimes the times will be favorable and sometimes unfavorable, not matter what time you find yourselves in, you must proclaim the Gospel. You’re challenge is different than was mine. We risked our lives to proclaim the Word, but you are privileged to live in a place where there is freedom to proclaim God’s word. However, you do face many distractions and you must compete with many different things that I never dreamed of, like television, the Internet, sports, and the need for constant labor. You must devise plans to combat these distractions and reach people.

It is not only a proclamation of the Gospels that is needed, but also an embodiment of the Good News. You must live out those beliefs which you have learned and teach others. People will reject a teacher who teaches one way to live and lives another. You must practice what you preach and you must preach the love of God. Therefore you must live fully in the love of God. Love others as you would like to be loved. Love your neighbor as yourself and love God with all that you have. That is embodying the Gospels. Living in joy, forgiveness, and humility that is the way of Christ.

Finally, let me implore you as Resurrection people to worship like people of the resurrection. Worship God like God was there with you, because God is there with you. Worship with joy and fervor. Sing the songs of worship with a worship-filled heart, lift high your voices so that the saints and angels in heaven will hear you and rejoice with you. Worship God with passion because God loved you so much that he gave up of himself so that you will have an eternal home with him. Each Sunday worship is like a prelude to that day when all God’s people will be joined together. Every worship service is like a small slice of Heaven, remember that.

I close with one more reminder to you all. Jesus is with you always, even now in the midst of you Jesus is there, act accordingly. Imagine how your worship would be if Jesus was standing right there with you. If you worshiped every day as people of the resurrection the people would flood into your doors. Because people are desperate for that kind of joy, that kind of hope, that kind of love. If you want to lead people to your doors you have to be lights to guide them in.

May the grace and love of Christ be with you all, always and forever. I bid you all farewell until that day when we will all join together in the heavenly banquet and feast together in love and joy. Amen.

This is the letter I received and the Apostle Paul as stirred my soul, I don’t know about yours. We must follow the Apostles advice and live and worship like Resurrection people. I am ready. Are you?

Let us pray…

Grant, O Lord,

that what has been said with our lips we may believe in our hearts,

and that what we believe in our hearts we may practice in our lives;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen