No doubt, life is God's most precious gift given to us. Without it, we can't love, thrive, and be fruitful, and most importantly, we can't do God's work and fellowship with Him without it. Unlike a reward, we receive a gift, specifically when we don't deserve it. No one can take credit for being born, but we receive gifts on our special day. I don't believe too many people on earth would reject a free gift. But there are exceptions. I read a story about a young boy that got so nervous and anxious with Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the tooth fairy that he went as far as to write each of them and said, "Dear Santa, Easter Bunny, and Tooth fairy, I love you, but please do not come inside my house. Put my gifts in the mailbox." Out of the mouth of babes!
Then there is rewards. A prestigious item that weighs merit upon what we done to receive a benefit. We genuinely become celebratory about a reward because it's based upon what we did to receive it. Without a reward, nothing we would do on earth would be worth while.
In titling today's message, "Sharing The Truth Is Its Own Reward", I would like for you to reflect upon the Truth that when we give of ourselves to do God's work, the reward is something beyond measure.
I'm sure you heard the statement, when we feed someone a fish, it will feed them for a day, but when we teach them to fish, they will be fed for a lifetime. What a tremendous Gift we gift we give to others and the reward we also obtain in Love. Just think of Gods gift and reward given to us, whom are declared His children of light.
We can't put a physical value to it, and we cannot give our reward away to someone else. It belongs to each of us. When sharing the ‘Truth’ friends, think about this. Truth is the one Gift that everyone on earth will need to be set free, and to receive life everlasting, no exceptions.
The Gift of Jesus that we spread to others is more precious than anything we could own. Acts chapter 4 tells us, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
In todays epistle reading of 2 Timothy, much like 1 Timothy, begins by stressing the Christian hope. To serve the will of God is not to be a dreaded summons but to venture forward according to the promise of the life in Christ Jesus. The entire New Testament shines through the note of eternal promise. Nothing on earth can compare to it.
Paul tells us in 2 Timothy that the Christian faith is not a shallow optimism, but rather an involved mighty hope based on the revelation of the Truth God has made in Christ. Christ is God's promise of a new life for every man and women. Christ is the promise of eternal life; everlasting hope.
One important aspect of sharing the Truth is knowing we serve God as a family of believers not just by ourselves! A French Air Force Officer during WWII wrote this statement, "I understand the origin of brotherhood among men. Men were brothers in God. One can be a brother only in something. Where there is no tie that binds men, men are not united but merely lined up. The pilots of Group 233 are brothers in the Group. Frenchmen are brothers in France.
The French officer used brotherhood here as the resemblance towards family. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we serve a purpose together. We share the load with Christ to spread the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and just think, when we share the Truth as a body of believers, by word and deed, think about what a victorious battle that is being won while having an impact on others we encounter. When we share the truth, we are fueling up other peoples engines, firing up their boilers, providing them with tools and weaponry to fight the battle of good and evil in their own lives. If it wasn’t for the spreading of the Truth, our own denomination wouldn’t exist, as you may remember the story of John Wesleys experience with a group of believers known as Moravian missionaries. A highly devoted and spirit filled people that not only impressed John Wesley in his early years of ministry but also paved the way for modern Methodism in becoming Christ-like in every aspect of the word. Here is an excert from John Wesleys notes from 1736, "I had long before observed the great seriousness of their behaviour. Of their humility they had given a continual proof, by performing those servile offices for the other passengers, which none of the English would undertake; for which they desired, and would receive no pay, saying, "it was good for their proud hearts," and "their loving Saviour had done more for them." And every day had given them occasion of showing a meekness which no injury could move. If they were pushed, struck, or thrown down, they rose again and went away; but no complaint was found in their mouth."
What a wonderful reward it was for him to experience from total strangers a strong spirit-filled people that he could not fully comprehend this early in his ministry. The truth is what set it apart from anything else.
Let us begin our journey with 2 Timothy starting at verse 8. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace.
When we read this, we start to really see Pauls perspective on how being ashamed of the truth is deadly. What happens when we avoid to pay traffic tickets? We get our license revoked. When we neglect so great a thing as our salvation, what happens? We become lost, like the lost sheep I mentioned a few Sundays ago.
Lets continue, has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
What has been revealed? The Truth! The gift of eternal life to all of those who receive Him and Lord and Savior. Just think, what other gift could we impose upon others that would not have a lasting effect, ultimately saving their life? When it comes to the Truth, I sometimes think about Pontius Pilot, in how his question to Jesus, "What is Truth," was addressed.
Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king. For this purpose I have been born, and for this I have come into the world: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice."
Did you hear that! If you want to know the truth, listen to God! Friends, Jesus fed his spirit with passages of the Old Testament, which he learned from attending the synagogues, prayer, meditation, and actually doing Gods work. And like savings bonds that cannot be cashed until they mature, we have Christian convictions that, when learned early in life, become valuable to us. Just think of the Gift we receive from others in learning Christ, and how precious the reward they received in giving the knowledge of Christ to us.
We don't accidentally become Christian. We didn’t fall upon the church steps. There was an effort involved. Whether instilled in you as a child or a conviction as an adult, the Truth was revealed to those who seek God by way of the Holy Spirit.
The bible is full of people who are unable to understand why they have been called to some particular task. Moses complained his speech was too slow when the call to leadership came to him. Jeremiah shrank from the role of a prophet for he claimed his youth unqualified him. On the road to Damascus, paul hearing Gods calling and resisting to the pressure of the divine purpose in his life. It is part of the deep mystery of grace that God trusts fallible and unworthy men and women to be partners in fulfilling his purpose. All by way of the Truth. Just think if Moses, Jeremiah and Paul, and many others, did not fulfill their calling to God, who would have heard the Truth? Yes, God would have picked someone else perhaps, but God chose people like you and me to spread the Truth, the good news of Christ. If men had to wait until their own deeds justified Gods confidence before responding to his call, who would dare enlist in his service?
I would like for you to reflect upon four basic truths in learning and knowing Gods plan for each of us in Truth.
First, The New Testament teaches us that we 'receive' the kingdom of God, we do not build it. It's a Gift. It is our Gods good pleasure to give us His kingdom by way of the Truth.
Second we are called to seek and serve the kingdom by way of the Truth. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be yours.
Third, God gives both His will and the power for the service we are each called to do by way of the Truth. We must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, for God is at work in you, both to will and to work.
Fourth Gods kingdom is an enduring reality that cannot be shaken all while being rooted in Truth. Thank God for that. Nothing can tear down, destroy or shake even the foundation of the Kingdom of God. He seeks and desires fellowship with us by calling us to serve, just as Jesus stated, so nothing on earth, under earth or above the earth shall separate us from His love, which is only found in Truth. What earthly value can you put on spreading the good news of God to those that are in need? What price tag can you put on our time and efforts in doing Gods work which we have all been called to do? Its all priceless. Nothing compares to it, and nothing will replace the Truth. When we hold on to it, even for dear life!
In 2011, a family in Alabama experienced a deadly tornado that already killed 250 people. When the tornado came upon them, they rushed to find shelter but only finding every structure around them destroyed and only a herd of trees remained. So in a last minute decision, they grabbed some rope, headed to the trees where they tied themselves to them and praying for a miracle. A family member later reported that although they was scratched by debris, they suffered no serious injury and was ultimately saved.
How firm are we willing to hold on the truth like this family held on for dear life during the storm, even when the world starts to try and sway us a different direction and even try to blind us with their precepts? Friends, in standing firm to the Truth and giving of God to others, it’s a precious Gift to bestow. It has tremendous reward. Without Gods ultimate Love, we would be lost, without the Truth, we have nothing to stand on. So let us remember that our reward is not on this earth, but in the life to come. Amen.