THE LORD WON'T DO EVERYTHING | 2 Timothy 2:1-5

SCRIPTURE:  2 Timothy 2:1 "You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 You, therefore, must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

OBJECTIVES:

1.    To highlight the importance of man's participation in God's creating, sustaining and redeeming works;

2.    To emphasize the importance of preparation for conquest. INTRODUCTION:

➢    Come to think of our God who is Omniscient (all knowing), Omnipotent (all powerful) and Omnipresent (everywhere).  But despite all these amazing attributes, He would not do everything for you and for me.  He created the basics of life - air, water, sunlight, but He will not get it for you.  He created the vast seas and the ocean, but He will not catch a fish for you.  He has opened the Red Sea for the Israelites, but He did not cross it for them.  He rained manna in the desert daily, but He did not pick up anything for them.  He has sent quails, but did not catch a single one for the lame and the blind!

THE ROLE OF CHOICES AND ACTION

➢    He has done everything for you and me, Yes, but He will not do everything for you and for me.  He has conquered Death and Hell for every person alive, but to decide whether we would believe or not is not in His power for Him to do.  We need to act on what He has done!

➢    The Lord can do everything, but He just won't do everything for you!  Why? Because if He will do everything for you, He would violate His own Law of "Free Moral Will" given to mankind.  He cannot make a choice for any single person He created.  That is one thing God cannot and will not do!

➢    God will not do the part that He has given to man.  Your role is important!

➢    Our Scripture used strong action words: heard; commit; teach; endure; please; compete.  These action words do not belong to God, these are for you and me to act upon.  God is done for His part.

THE DIVINE PARTNERSHIP.

➢    The grace of God is like a Special Power of Attorney authorizing us to perform certain things, without which, we cannot perform or do anything.  The grace of God gives us the authority and power to do difficult tasks and supernatural things.  It enables us to see the thing which otherwise cannot be seen and understood by our own human ability.   And most importantly, it enables us to accomplish supernatural tasks like in Making Disciples and changing people's lives.  If we respond, His grace will enable!  That is Partnership!  If we don't act upon His commands, we cannot avail of the supernatural power and authority that God has already provided. 

➢    We need to define God's part and our part.  For God, His part is those already accomplished and done at the cross of Calvary.   At the cross was the greatest exchange of all times:  His death for our life eternal; His wounds for our healing; His poverty for our riches; His sufferings for our well being. 

➢    Isaiah 53:4 "Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes, we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, everyone, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

➢    Our part is availing of those victories by the application of faith and action.  Our part is enforcing the victories He had won for all of mankind contained in the Gospel.  Our part is fulfilling the Great Commission mandate.  It would be very difficult for us had He not dealt with sin, death, and Satan the final blow of victory.  He has overcome!  And you are to overcome with Him!

Grace and Faith work together in achieving salvation.  For other things, it cannot be by grace and faith alone, man has to obey, apply the commands and the Bible principles and work hard.  Grace alone will not lift you up from your situation, you need to work it out.

GRACE DESIGNED FOR CONQUEST

1.    GRACE IN TRAINING AND EQUIPPING DISCIPLES

➢    2Timothy 2:1 "You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

➢    "Being strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" means perceiving the available enabling power and authority needed to fulfill a difficult task of training other people.  The phrase "commit these to faithful men" is nothing short of making disciples, training and equipping them to train and equip others also.

➢    This is a supernatural and difficult task, but with the available enabling grace of God, it is possible! And know for sure that God is continuously calling courageous and obedient men and women who would commit themselves to this task.  Congratulate the person next to you for heeding God's call.

➢    Sadly, only a handful of people would commit to this task, you are among them!  Don't you be affected by the indifference and complacency of other people around you?  Don't you miss what God has in store for you!  Focus on raising armies for the Kingdom who would do the end time task.

2.    GRACE IN PREPARING FOR KINGDOM WORKS

➢    2Timothy 2:3 You, therefore, must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

➢    "Being strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" is much needed to "endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ".   The temptation is always there to quit, give up what you are doing and give in to the bidding of the world around you.  The spirit of Deception is working hard to derail many Disciples.  They had a good start, but somewhere along the journey, materialism and the cares of life enticed them to stop.  You must endure hardship!  God knows and sees your hardship! 

➢    But know for sure the He is testing your hearts if you would endure hardship!  And once you passed the tests of endurance and commitment, you are in for God's great surprise! 

➢    Continue to train and equip people!  I know God is preparing you all for your moment of greatness! Persevere!  Endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ!  Be proud of the One who called you into His Kingdom!  Be faithful to your calling!

3.    GRACE IN FOCUSING TO PLEASE THE LORD.

➢    2Timothy 2:4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules."

➢    Life in this age is full of things that could entangle you and me to the old system of this world.  Things meant to slow us down and hinder our progress in our mission.  Don't get entangled again!  Be very discerning in order not to get hooked by the things from which you have been set free.

➢    Make it a goal of your life to please God and not men.  Fight a good fight of faith!  Keep a good testimony for Jesus Christ!  Pleasing the Lord opens the door for God's favor to be poured into your life. Don't let yourself be affected if people leave you. Don't be discouraged with negative circumstances, just please the Lord!  It won't do you any good if you got affected!

➢    Proverbs 16:7 "When a man's ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."

CONCLUSION:

1Timothy 6:11 "But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses."