SOLDIERS, ATHLETES AND FARMERS
Sunday, November 11, 2001
So you, my son, be strong (strengthened inwardly) in the grace (spiritual blessing) that is [to be found only] in Christ Jesus. And the [instructions] which you have heard from me along with many witnesses, transmit and entrust [as a deposit] to reliable and faithful men who will be competent and qualified to teach others also. 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. No soldier when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of [civilian] life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him. And if anyone enters competitive games, he is not crowned unless he competes lawfully (fairly, according to the rules laid down). [It is] the hard-working farmer [who labors to produce] who must be the first partaker of the fruits. Think over these things I am saying, [understand them and grasp their application], for the Lord will grant you full insight and understanding in everything. 2 Timothy 2:1-7 NIV
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. No soldier when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of [civilian] life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him.
As Christians, we are called to serve the kingdom of God. We are soldiers in the kingdom of God. A first-class soldier is dedicated to the service of the one who called him. He is prepared to endure anything to please his commanding officer. A soldier does not lead a cushy life. His life is hard, but he is wholly committed to the cause. He would even give his life if it were necessary. 1 Corinthians 7:23 says, “You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.” We belong to Jesus. Jesus enlisted us into His service. We should not get entangled in things that distract us from our call or that are not beneficial to the kingdom of God.
And if anyone enters competitive games, he is not crowned unless he competes lawfully (fairly, according to the rules laid down).
Your life as a Christian can be compared to a race or an athletic competition. You may cross the finish line first, but you are not the winner unless you followed the rules. If you take a shortcut, cheat or disregard the rules, you are disqualified and you lose. The challenge of the game, and the enjoyment of it, is in following the rules that are laid down and conquering the game fairly. You feel good when you have done your best and you have played according to the rules.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NIV
We are running a race, with our eye on the prize. We run to win – not to lose. The winner is not just trying to get there first, but he is prepared to run the whole race, to go all the way. We have an audience. We have a crowd of witnesses watching us. Some are there to cheer us on. Some are watching our example. We must know where we are going and we must discipline ourselves to run and not grow weary nor become distracted nor try to win by harming our fellow runners in any way. You don’t win because others are weak. You win because you are strong.
[It is] the hard-working farmer [who labors to produce] who must be the first partaker of the fruits.
God does not ask you to labor in His garden without a reward. Luke 10:7 says that “the worker deserves his wages.” 1 Timothy 5:17-18 says, “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages.”
Whatever you do for the Lord, whatever the sacrifice, He will reward you. God does not ask us to do something for nothing. He always blesses us beyond our giving. Whatever we give up for God – He promises to multiply back to us – one hundred-fold. So if you work for God, give Him nothing less than your best. Whatever you give up for Him, don’t feel like you have been deprived, just know that you are in for a blessing!
We need to understand these things and grasp their application so that we can be successful in all we do.
Recent:
Righteous Now
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17 AMP
“Therefore if any man be in Christ…” What does it mean to be “in Christ”? Galatians 3:27 says, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” You are baptized into Christ when you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” And Romans 10:13 says, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The moment
Defeating Strife
These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others], a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who breathes out lies [even under oath], and he who sows discord among his brethren. Proverbs 6:16-19 AMP
Faith Facts
Faith is persistent
Luke 11:9-10 AMP
So I say to you, Ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened.
John 16:24 AMP
Up to this time you have not asked a [single] thing in My Name [as presenting all that I AM]; but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy (gladness, delight) may be full and complete.
Faith is single-minded
James 1:5-8 AMP
If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. 6 Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the