Unstoppable, Unquenchable, Unthwartable, p.2

Well read your Bible so let's go back to second Timothy got most the way through this message last weekend have the last point to conclude this morning so probably will not be as long as we normally are, but I did add some to it, so who knows. Second Timothy chapter 2 Paul's writing to Timothy's young understudy giving him guidance for the church but spending a lot of energy as we see here talking to Timothy personally about persevering about never giving up about never leaving the faith.

When the odds are against you and persecutions abound, whatever it may be Timothy to stay strong and he can some wonderful words here that encourage us to stay faithful to the end. I've entitled this exposition unstoppable unquenchable and unaffordable. Verse nine going to verse 13 second Timothy two, for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal, but the word of God is not in prison. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen so that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, and with it eternal glory. It is a trustworthy statement for if we died with him.

We will also live with him. If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. First of all I think Paul speaks of the unstoppable power of the word of God. That was her first main port in the unstoppable power of the word of God. He talks about the fact that Timothy and I'm a criminal here in this prison in Rome and that's what they call me literally mean and evil one.

He said not aware that the gospel is that's necessary. I'll take that and we should expect that there will be times in our lives in our church family corporately and in our individual Christian lives.

If we are striving to be true to God first for you to be terribly misunderstood. Though there be so many who will really believe you're up to no good that you're really a detriment to kindness and goodness, and the well-being of the community that's been happening to the gym though the Sentry and you go to be finding yourself. Hopefully not in prison.

Like Paul, but persecuted for the faith. But then Paul goes on to say in verse nine. They've got me in prison there calling me a criminal and I'm not a criminal. But the word of God. He says in verse nine is not imprisoned power, you can't stop the word of God.

You can't imprison the word of God. Matter fact throughout the centuries as the powers that be try to cross out the church and crush out the gospel of the minister.

The word they've only actually help accelerate the spreading of the word of God. Paul's passion about this is revealed, I think in second Timothy chapter 3 verse one he says finally, brethren, pray for us.

Finally, being the final most important thing is pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it also did with you. So that's what he say why not my matter. Prison I'm going everywhere preaching the gospel saying souls saved bringing them together in the local New Testament churches, and even if I am in prison. The gospel is still going for and we talked about the ways that it's not imprisoned that how through the centuries God has used that persecution of the word to actually multiply the advancement of the word in the earth, but affected. Philippians 1 2014 Paul said I we do know, brethren, that my circumstances. That's his imprisonment have turned out for greater progress of the gospel is unstoppable. Verse 13 so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well-known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else and that most of the brethren trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. He said I'm in prison but now by associate ministers or even more emboldened to keep and even to a greater extent the keeping faithful to a greater extent keep preaching the word of God. The word of God is unstoppable and again, what did Paul do in prison. A lot of his New Testament writings were while he was imprisoned. So what he did in prison pending the word of God has now been used for 2000 years to be preached when the loss to establish churches all over the world, the unstoppable power of the word of God II still reviewing.

We talked about the unquenchable motivation for my notes here think with the unquenchable motivation of being glory of God focused.

I will look here to find this page in my notes. Please forgive me. There it is. This is something that I glean from this text, but also find reinforcement for my viewpoint and the balance of the apostle Paul's teaching in verse 10 he says. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen. That's the elect church so they may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, and with it eternal glory.

Notice he throws glory in their this eternal glory. And that's the glory, the church will have certainly that's the immediate context, but our glorious Christ glory in Christ's glorious our glory can't separate the head from the body. He's the head with the body, the church can't separate the groom from the bride. He's the groom where the bride the Bible tells so he saying there's this great glory that's coming. I'm going to talk a little bit more the moment. Listen to Matt about how it's all about worship. Everything that is about worship will talk to Beth at a moment and that's what Paul said here. There's going to be a glorious worship event at the end of time. When we the church are glorify with Christ Jesus, and will all enter that eternal state together in God the father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit. We worshiped and adored. But we also will share in their glory. And Paul said winning the lost, but also knowing that I get to get it on the preparations for that glorious eternal state that keeps me going. That pushes me forward and motivates me. By the way I'm convinced is a church leader that there's nothing that will keep you to the task as having a glory of God. Focus that God wants to be made much of God wants her to be much expounded about his power, his beauty is wisdom and that the gospel building the church is building up the churches and in filing the churches ultimate in eternal state condition will all be a continuum and an increasing a bringing glory to God and again I glory we get to share in one of the ways to view glorious just that simple phrase I just used to make much of, but also to be accurate. You can make much of something and not tell the truth about but when we make much of God.

We don't tell the truth about who God is and make much of it and there's coming a day in the eternal state. When everything that is will always make much of the one true God. Paul said that's coming in the church is the centerpieces use the metaphor. The illustration last week that when Jesus yields up the kingdom to God the father's he taught in first Corinthians that the crown jewel of the kingdom is the elect church we will be glorified under his own glory and posit that in point.

That conclusion is what drives me and keeps me going are not new material now.

III the unsupportable purpose of Jesus Christ. The unsupportable purpose of Jesus Christ.

Now he would say this in verses 11 through 13 and scholars believe that this is a likely part of an early church him that this was actually song in the church is probably with some other verses with it and I think that's probable. We don't know exactly but that's probable. And so they may make some basic statements here about what we are as Christians and the Christians would saying this, if you will to admonish and encourage one another that when the incomes of the phrase it's a trustworthy statement in verse 11, he means this is true not listen to me this is true for us. The church, but the things were about to saying our say that's true, is not even understandable if not intelligible to the unredeemed culture they won't get it they can't see but wheatgrass something that is absolutely true, but the world would call us crazy for embracing it right. Let's look at it together. In verse one. He says, for if we died with him so that that you lost the culture immediately. They don't want to die. All they got this earth. The unredeemed world and will think about death and what's on the other side because there God in their world and all that they have is the here and now with the Christians to the world were strange. If we died with him. The word of God. Here is an heiress tenses has the idea of finished action with continuum results library with the scholars to say though, it's an heiress tents and also includes the fact that we continually die. We continually strive toward this death with Christ, what we mean by this. It means that we died to the values of that this world holds, we weave to die to the temporal CN centered purposes of this present world we got to the kind of patterns and habits that this world embraces to achieve those sin centered purposes were not saying were perfect at this, but once were converted. We gained a new purpose and pattern of learning that Dr. the things we can't keep to gain those things we cannot lose is why the apostle Paul said in second Corinthians 410 I care about in my body the dying of Jesus, I'm continually and Paul also said I die daily and so it's Christians when we made our profession of faith for believers baptism we joined up by a group of people who are all saying together were striving to die to this world as being our end, our goal or even our highest pleasures we can enjoy some stuff down here.

That's not all sin.

But in our heart of hearts we live for the ultimate pleasures of God and his purposes and his patterns for our life. Then he says in verse 11 we die, but we also live with him. We live with him and I think that has the idea of his abundant life. Now Christ lives in us now, but it also includes the eternal life that we will share with him forever and ever and ever. In the eternal state. Now note the verse 12. Again, these things would be paradoxical to the world they would be rejected by the work he's as if we endure, we will also reign with him endure again has the idea of suffering persecution bearing up under we keep on going to work under this persecution that he says if where that kind of people the kind of people and says it may cause trouble and it may cause heart ache may cause being unpopular in the community but we are those people who will stay true to Christ, and will carry on forward and enduring that also. That's the kind of people Christians are and then we know we will reign with him glory keeps coming out this glorious future state when one dates.

Not only will we be in heaven will be part of the reigning in heaven. I don't know all that that means I do know the Bible talks about the apostles having throne's with Jesus in heaven, but it does mean it's going to be a wonderful wonderful eternity for those who know Jesus Christ. So one thought is that the sufferings we are enduring are the forerunners of our eternal glory. The sufferings of this present life.

This pilgrimage are the birth pangs of glory know what's become popular in in Christendom and actually it happens in every generation. We certainly got plenty of the false teaching in our day and that is this that you as a Christian God want you to have heaven now in heaven later to the old Puritans you sent that way so many people in heaven now and then they will heaven later time. Well, God sometimes in his providence gives us a blessed life and maybe not so much persecution and things are going pretty well overall.

We had be ready like the apostle Paul. He may stay in Philemon's house well-to-do man pie was very conflict best of everything he may stay at Lydia's house a very wealthy lady who loved him dearly and probably serve him and gave him the best of everything within the next week he may stay in Caesar's Palace.

That means the dungeon below Caesar's Palace that means prison.

Whatever the will of God called for whatever it means that that's what were about. So we know if we endure that reality and live that out faithfully where those who will also reign with our Christ in that eternal glory. He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep to gain that which you cannot lose. Basically what Paul is saying we may give up some of the so-called pleasures of this world, but we been given the capacity to see that those pleasures are hollow on the inside there's no real substance to them their lives or you listen to be church, the pleasures of this world that this honor God that go against the teaching of the word of God our lives there false pleasures where increasingly tasting the pleasures of God will taste them in the fall and in future eternity and we will reign with him and that an ending that the unending true pleasures of the eternal state. So we going to verse 12 and he says are less second part of verse 12, I should say if we do not him. He will also deny snow. There's a warning here. This should trouble us a little bit. I do believe the main intent here when he says if we deny him is the idea that we are totally rejecting our word were rejecting Christ altogether. It's a it's a firm apostasy. We just all in Christ and who reject him.

We had some so-called popular Christian leaders in the last couple three years to come out and said they no longer are Christians. They no longer work except Christianity are Christ, the listen what going to 100% of the time. There's one reason for that. They love sin not because they intellectually discovered some great new inside that show them that Christ would in real know this because they kept indulging you told us you told Tom this jump into positive apostasy you slide into apostasy they start to slide a long time ago embracing sin and finally they realized I want to just wallow in indulgent treasure this CN and I know I can't do that as a Christian. It's always a deep possessive stronghold of sin that relieves a mental posse.

I think that's the idea here and when he says if we did not him. It didn't mean we specifically as Christians. It means anybody who is an absolute apostate reject of Christ will be one that Christ himself will also deny Jesus said in Matthew 1033 but whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before my father who art in heaven, but there are those within the church there are those within the local church family who fall away and end up being out and out deniers of Christ in the faith.

These are those who don't last, and it's very interesting that very often, these folks make a big splash in the early years, but as time goes on, they depart the faith altogether. Dr. Rogers used to say that the faith that fizzles toward the finish was faulty at the first is just found out at the finished the moves on nieces. Christ will deny those who out not deny him, and then I think were back to an idea that has rid of the idea that Christians can fall into an unfaithful season.

Hopefully today, hopefully, is not months, verse 13. If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. Scholars don't know for sure. I'll know for sure but I think the idea here, here, perhaps, is like the apostle Peter on the night that Jesus was betrayed and arrested Peter finds himself in the dark of the garden, denying his Lord three times.

He was unfaithful in that season, but even though Peter deny the Lord three times and even though I true child of God may deny the Lord. In a sense and be unfaithful. He will never fall headlong into altogether rejecting the Lord will never find himself in a long season of unfaithfulness.

This much is true in this much cannot be debated and that is the last half of verse 13 which is where I will camp for the rest of my time. If we are faithless, here it is. He remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. There is a sense in which, in our weakest moment.

Our faith can be strongest because of the sense in which, in our weakest moment we crowd and say all God, that's just like me, that's just what I am, that's just what I'm capable of, but my trust is not in my ability to be faithful, but in your faithfulness to me with me church sometimes. Perhaps God let you fall to remind you of just what you are apart from him because part of what Peter found out Peter was sincere when he said I'll I'll die for you in just a little while, eateries deny more three times.

I think the low sensory Peter here's what you are and your strength. No matter what he will not be unfaithful to us now out strongly agree with the brothers who interpret this text to be saying in a broader way this truth here that part of what Paul is getting over to Timothy, should I say maybe the foundational thing the main thing Paul is getting over to Timothy's Timothy lesson. It doesn't matter how many Hermogenes, since I jealousies there are out there who who forsake us. It doesn't matter how many people apostasy. I did it matter if it is that it is you and it didn't matter how many Christians about fall into a season of unfaithfulness.

Here's what you need to know that will not alter the purpose of Jesus Christ from being accomplished. That's what he said the unaffordable purpose of Christ as we were talking about.

He said he's going to be faithful to the commission, his heavenly father gave him and he will perfect and complete all his purpose to the end of the age that here's a key cross-reference that buys into that tree very strongly is high in his one of his his priestly prayer. Just type perhaps not the high priestly prayer. I'm sorry this is not a prayer.

This is a pronouncement all that the father gives me. John six 3739 guys all that the father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out. Notice the certainty of his purpose being fulfilled if the father gave him to me. They'll come to me and I will not cast them out, verse 38, five come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me, and this is the will of him who sent me of all that he has given me. I lose nothing.

That means his purposes and unaffordable purpose.

He's not going to lose anything though. Notice any save Avon Avon over all the time, into eternity.

He didn't lose a thing. He set out to accomplish and he says the last phrase, but raise it up on the last day, and on that last day all of those he saved in all of those. He's counted all those he's brought into the eternal state. They will give him glory, honor and praise forever and ever.

Because it's all about worship. Listen. The purpose of God is to the end of God being fully and properly worshiped honored praise to glorified purpose of God is not about keeping people out of hell not going purpose of God is that God will be worshiped as he ought to be worshiped and that purpose is unaffordable. No matter what happens. Timothy no matter what happens. Timothy how hard it gets will not be thwarted at all, always coming to that the end think about it folks. His reputation as a as the Christ is on the line to keep all of those whom the father has given him the glory and honor and praise of the Godhead is on the line all that every was all that ears and all that will ever be is providentially orchestrated down to the minute shot of detail to the end of God's glory and honor and praise his worship did you rarely what's happening at muscle Shoals high school what's happening with this pandemic down to the tiniest minutia of detail is all being perfectly orchestrated so that the purpose of Jesus Christ is perfectly fulfilled. Well, not be thwarted.

Timothy grab hold of that that he keep you strong when it's when there's a difficult day. Let me illustrate. As I said to you many times the most passionate thing about God is his own worship is all glory his own honor and his own praise, now follow with me. This is why rebels in the earth. Those that reject God live to establish their own glory their own honor and their own praise. That is, they live so that they might be worship. That's what unraveled us. I don't honored praise and glorify and worship God will bemoan God, and I'll get the glory, honor and praise and worship myself in that what Satan did.

Satan in his pride was jealous of God. That was his downfall. He wanted to be like God.

He wanted the glory and honor and praise i.e. the worship, and to him that God only deserves God and God alone deserves it. And this is why he tempted Eve in the garden with this live, Eve, has God said the Lord save God really want you to either that Korean have the knowledge of good and a woman coming got in really say that we eat. He uses God's word with a twist. Be careful hello to Aeschylus for known God's word to make it work out for us in our glory and honor and praise Satan's is a God that here's the problem.

Leave for St. Dotson company, Eve, God knows that when you either that you will be like God, do you can amplify that say this, you'll be your own God. You can decide good and evil, you can take the place of God for your life and be God's been around forever and it really is all about worship Eve.

God didn't didn't really want your competition casinos. If you eat of this tree, you'll be God and you can be your own God.

You can decide for yourself.

Good and evil that this is the foundation of man's problem for all of time. He wants to be his own god and you certain the glory and honor and praise that belongs to the one and only true God. That's why in our culture today were hearing these people say, well, my truth is, this will, my truth is that say I'm own God.

There is no objective got out there that gives us truth that we have to discover through nature and through his word. While we can decide ourselves must establish my own truth and then I'll deserve the glory and honor, praise for how wise and wonderful. I am establishing my own truth for me. I'll decide my gender. I'll decide my sexuality. I will define what is good and I want to find what is bad.

I will define what is right and will define what is wrong. I'll be God and here's what they say next that all of you must celebrate me all you must praise me as I decided I'll be God so that you end up calling that which God calls good, evil, in the end up calling what God calls evil good. Isaiah 520 and 21 woe to those who call evil good and good evil to substitute darkness for light and light for darkness to substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter while to those who are wise in their own eyes as I don't say God you are the only true and wise one, and I will bow to youget up and say I am wise and I include what is about worship so honor me, glorify me praise me, I have become. This was going on. Our culture always has been with the prophets and woe to you when you do that. What was the idea of sorrow and despair is yours because you have become the marked out object of God's judgment brothers and sisters when you see that spirit in our age. You are you God is identifying before you.

Those who are under his judgment hearing.

The fact that they can from their heart. Think good is evil and evil is good is a mark that God has already led them into delusion to believe those things which are not true. Romans 122 says, professing to be wise, they become as fools were wise we don't need God. When we are on God.

Romans 126 says, accompanied with this viewpoint, God gives them over to degrading passions. First, they turned away from God instead will be our own God will worship us will worship ourselves. Then God turns himself and his protective care away from them and he leaves them to their own selves, their own depraved hearts and reprobate minds. I would like to say I think it is true though God turns them over. God doesn't necessarily give up on the head in our church. Numerous people who come out of those lifestyles who have repented and come to Christ. I would say to you, as far as our perspective as long as a person's breathing there still hope. Amen there still hope because they don't say themselves. God say something God is mighty to save.

There's always hope.

Always hope degrading passions, God gave them over Romans 126 to degrading passions means file, shameful, disgraceful passion, but remember what's behind all of this. It's worship. They decided I Satan told Eve you can be your own God. Your your own creator. You can create yourself a manicure woman, you create yourself a woman if your man it's all about worship. Look at me I'm God I'm creating this stuff you can divine goodness bad you cannot define bad is good for yourself and thus exalt yourself as worthy of glory and honor and praise. As worthy of worship. Now as far as worship goes, how successful is this whole movement will be is been going on since adamantly sending the garden of Eden this thing of rejecting God and establishing yourself as God this thing is saying I want to worship out the glory and honor, praise, and modeling.

As a side note, though, we should point out the perversions of our present culture. The Christian who decides I'll become husband. I want to be what God says you're saying I'll be God, why I want to basically God's is your calling yourself God. So before we condemn the world, us realize were repenting centers down here struggling to be pleasing to God. A man we have the residual of this in our own system, but thank God one day, as Paul said wretched man that I am who will deliver me from this body of death to get this out of me once and for all. This is praise be to God, Christ Jesus our Lord will be so glad when God cleaned you guys up cleans me up gets rid of the remnants of pollution and rebellion in ungodliness.

By the way he's faithful to achieve it you get it done. Some of you still get more of it done while you're here.

This will be painful because your contrary I'm a little bit about that, but he'll get it all done in glory, to be glorious for us.

So how successful is this going to be, well, let me say this to you is going to be 100% successful at achieving Christ unaffordable purpose of bringing all glory and honor and praise to himself, so how was I got haphazard good has he can get going on and praise from all these types of people with these rebels who do not repent and turn to Christ will come to eternal judgment. And for all eternity. They will experience the nearness of God. You see, God goes to hell.

God abides in hell but is not. There is no he's not.

There is grace in his kindness is in hell. In his wrath is retribution and it is judgment and he goes there to torment and judgment the ungodly and there in hell for eternity. God really will receive glory and honor and praise i.e. worship for the righteousness of his judgment against the rebel so they're going to perfectly bring him worship not one tiny smidgen of his purpose will be forwarded because his purpose is worship and in that day Jesus will see to it that every chosen vessel of mercy will be glorified with him in the eternal state.

And God will from them, receive glory and honor and praise for the power, the beauty and the perfection of his love and grace that saved them and secured them unto eternal glory.

Everything out of the purpose of Christ will be fulfilled every single being will powerfully continually bring glory and honor and praise and worship to God the father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit that was the purpose of Jesus Christ to bring about worship symbol you let the Texan went all over the place noted in verse 13. Our last first.

If we are faithless, he remains faithful faithful to what will faithful to the sins to thoughts here about this faithfulness because he cannot deny himself. You're going to make it all the way through Timothy to glorification so don't don't don't lose heart. In this temporal seasonal warfare and work and persecution you will make it all the way through because he can't deny himself. Your one with him.

We are saved, you become in Christ, and Christ gets in you and your down here in Christ is in you up in heaven you're already in Christ and then as you grown or sanctified down here. He's tried and proved that Christ is not only in you, but you become more like hip and then one day in heaven is fully completed because he can't deny himself.

If one elect child of God, ends up in hail, Jesus failed his purpose to that can happen no matter who's unfaithful on the earth is purpose will remain because he's faithful, you can't miss glorification because you are in him and he cannot deny himself. Secondly, I would like to amplify with the balance of biblical truth helping me come to this conclusion that he cannot decide deny himself glory the honor the praise, i.e. the worship that he's ordained for himself before the world was, and it is inherently proper for him to receive the glory, the honor and praise and he's the only one that here's the most unbelievable fall weekend dresses. There's only one being who inherently is worthy of all glory and honor and praise nest. God somehow in the beauty, the power and the wisdom of God. He sent his son into the earth to die for the children through time and space history.

The gospel is preached, the spirit works we can repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and we become one in Christ and in some magnificent magnanimous way in all eternity. We need to in Christ will share in the glory, honor and praise. Not suggesting as God's like the Mormons teach that because were in Christ I meet any time you honor me, you honor Pam were one, but the oneness of human marriage that here is not even to be compared with the oneness of us in Christ.

So the inherent praise that God deserves by his very being, will be sloshed over and wrapped all around us to just glory poem glory because, by the way, it's all about worship and God said do you file foolish rebellious acts in the earth calling yourself God decide for yourself with good bedrock to make your own rule just for God, your unbounded. You still don't glorify me you just do it in hail. Joe glorify me for all eternity under the worship by you in the sense that the judgment on you in hail will be bring worship to the holiness of my just righteousness. That's against you. Jesus said in John 12 2728 that my soul has become troubled, and what shall I say father, save me from this hour so he he see in his humanity.

He's wrestling with the cross event we can't enter into all that that meant look at the rest of verse 27, but for this purpose I came to this hour. Other words, the purpose of Christ would ever admit for Christ. He willingly did it all go to this hour I face this thing so the purpose is completed. Fulfilled this purpose I came to this hour. What is the purpose. Father, glorify your name so that worship. Father, glorify your name but I could just absolutely run through the back wall and the father says has he said, I have both glorified it, and you just wait son I'm glorified again. I think he saying I'm glorified myself in the earth right now and building my church which you wait to we get to the eternal state.

And this will be glory poem glory poem glory. Timothy don't stop, don't quit, don't back up.

Don't compromise don't give in his worst. It's absolutely worth it. You believed on Christ in our text, the chosen ones cannot be lost. You will make it to heaven and to eternity because you making it to heaven and eternity is central to God's own purpose to glorify and honor and praise himself are to bring glory, honor and praise to himself. Timothy we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself