MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(REVISED: 2019)
(Powerpoints used with this message are available for free. Just email me at mnewland@sstelco.com and request PP #120.)
TEXT: 2 Timothy 1:12,14; Matthew 25:33-40
ILL. There once was a radio program whose announcer would proclaim, "People do the craziest things!" Whether from carelessness or stupidity, some things people do or say seem to make no sense at all.
For example, years ago the telephone company in Sacramento, CA., opened up a Service Center where customers could call in to report troubles on their line, request repairs, or order new equipment. But there was a problem. When it opened, the Service Center had an unlisted telephone number.
And in Springfield, IL, a funeral director was amazed to hear a salesman criticize a competitor's coffins. He said, "Our coffins are lined with real silk. But their coffins are lined with synthetic materials which may cause skin irritations."
You see, people do & say strange & foolish things! But I'm convinced there is nothing as foolish as some of the reasons people give for their lack of commitment to Jesus.
In 2 Timothy 1:12 the apostle Paul tells us why he is committed to Jesus, "I know whom I have believed & I am convinced that He is able to keep that which I have entrusted to Him until that day."
Then just two verses later, Paul tells the young preacher, Timothy, "Guard the treasure that was entrusted to you." (2 Timothy 1:14)
In both of those verses the word "entrusted" that Paul uses is a special Greek word, "paratheke", which means "leaving a treasure or a deposit with someone you trust completely."
There were no banks in Paul's day where you could deposit your money & keep it safe. So what did you do with your wealth when you went on a journey? And if you were to die, who could you trust to be the executor of your estate?
The person you ask to take care of your possessions must be someone you know very well, & whom you trust completely. And that is what Paul is saying Jesus is when he said, "I know whom I have believed & I am convinced that He is able to keep that which I have entrusted to Him until that day."
I. "I KNOW HIM!"
A. When Paul said, "I know Him!" he is not saying, "I know about Him as an historic figure," or, "I know about Him as a name that appears in the books."
But rather, "I know Him personally as my Savior, my friend. I know Jesus, & I know “He is able to keep that which I have entrusted to Him.”
I imagine that as Paul wrote those words he must have thought back over his life & the terrible things he had done when he had persecuted the church.
But then he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, & from that moment on his life was never the same. Where once he had imprisoned Christians, now as a Christian he was in prison.
Sitting in that Roman prison cell, Paul must also have recalled all the suffering he had endured ? the times he was hungry & cold & lonely, & the times he had been arrested, beaten, & left for dead.
Yet, when compared to the joy that was his because of Jesus ? it was worth it all. So he writes, "I know Jesus, & I want you to know Him, too!"
B. You see, the greatest news is not that Paul knew Jesus ? but that we can know Jesus, too.
We are told that when we accept Him as our Savior, repenting of our sins & are baptized into Him, that He forgives & forgets our sins & washes our guilt away.
When we keep His commandments we show our love for Him, & He becomes the Lord of our lives. We receive the gift of His Spirit who lives within us & gives us guidance & strength for every day.
ILL. Horace Bushnell was a preacher in Hartford, Conn. for 47 years. He was an invalid most of his life, but God used him in a great way to preach the good news of Jesus as Savior & Lord.
In the last sermon he ever preached he said, "I know Jesus better than I know any man in Hartford." What a wonderful thing to be able to say! "I know Jesus!"
Do you know Him? Can you stand with Paul & John & Peter & all the others who have walked the corridors of time in the army of God & say, "I know Jesus?" Oh, I hope you can!
II. "I KNOW THAT HE IS ABLE"
The 2nd thing we see in this verse is His power. "I know Him," Paul said, "& I know that He is able." Think of all the things which He can do.
A. He is able to create. We read in John 1:3 that "All things were made by Him; & without Him was not anything made that was made." He created this world & everything in it. And He made us in His image too!
ILL. I have felt the mist of Niagara Falls in my face. I have gone to the top of Devil’s Head Peak & seen the purple mountains' majesties. I have stood on the shores of both the Atlantic & Pacific oceans & listened to their restless waves.
I have descended to the depths of Carlsbad Caverns, & have gazed at the gaping chasm that we call the Grand Canyon. I have looked up into the starry sky & seen the Milky Way. And when we consider this universe we are over-whelmed with what He has created!
But what God created, Satan sought to destroy. Satan tempted man, & man yielded to that temptation & sinned ? separating himself from God. So Jesus came to cleanse us & bring us back to God. Truly, Jesus is able!
B. He is also able to comfort & inspire us.
The 1st Century world marveled at the attitude of Christians toward death. They couldn't understand how Christians could rejoice when one of their number died. But they rejoiced because Jesus had won the victory over sin & death.
ILL. Look at some of the ancient paintings. There is one that is particularly out-standing. It shows Christians in the center of the Coliseum at Rome. Surrounding them are hungry lions preparing to attack.
The stands are filled with shouting people cheering on the lions. But on the face of every Christian in the arena there is a look of peace, because "He is able."
SUM. Despite everything we encounter on this earth, "He is able." He is able to comfort us & inspire us to even greatest heights of service in His kingdom. So Paul writes, "I know Him, & I know that He is able."
III. "TO KEEP THAT WHICH I HAVE ENTRUSTED TO HIM"
Paul goes on to say, "I know that He is able to keep that which I have entrusted to Him." Just what had Paul entrusted to Christ?
A. Obviously, he had entrusted his life. He had committed his body & soul & spirit completely to Jesus.
The Bible teaches that our eternal spirit is worth more than anything else in this world. It is our most valuable possession, & Paul says, "I have entrusted it to Jesus, & He is able to keep it safe & secure throughout all eternity."
B. He is also able to keep track of what we have done.
The 26th Chapter of Matthew tells of an interesting event that occurred during the last week before Jesus was arrested & crucified. Vs's 6-9 tell us,
“While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on His head as He was reclining at the table.”
“When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. ‘Why this waste?’ they asked. ‘This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.’
But Jesus didn't think it was wasted. In fact, He commended her. Then Jesus said something that we ought to remember. He said, “I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” (Matthew 26:13)
Not only did all four of the gospel writers record this event, but I am convinced that Heaven is keeping record also, & God will never forget.
IV. "UNTIL THAT DAY"
Again, Paul said, "I know whom I have believed, & I am convinced that He is able to keep that which I have entrusted to Him until that day."
A. Paul is obviously referring to that day when all the people of the world will stand before the judgment throne of God. Jesus tells about that in Matt. 25:33-40.
“All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. …Then the King will say to those on His right,
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you…For I was hungry & you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty & you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger & you invited me in,
“I needed clothes & you clothed me, I was sick & you looked after me, I was in prison & you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry & feed you, or thirsty & give you something to drink?
“When did we see you a stranger & invite you in, or needing clothes & clothed you? When did we see you sick or in prison & go to visit you? The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”
If we are His, then on that day when God's people stand before the throne we will hear the words, "Well done, good & faithful servant." (Matthew 25:21) What a day of rejoicing that will be!
B. But for others, it will not be a day of rejoicing. Jesus says that some will hear the words, “Depart from me. … Whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me.” (Matthew 25:45)
ILL. Wally & Barbara Rendel lived in Lexington, KY where Wally was a minister at the Southern Acres Christian Church for over 20 years. While ministering there, the Rendels received a call that every parent dreads.
Late one night an Ohio State Trooper called & told them that their 21-year-old daughter, Jill, had been killed when the van she was riding in with the rest of the girls basketball team from her college had overturned.
Jill was vivacious, on the dean’s list, & very popular. She had been selected by her fellow students as Homecoming Queen just a few days before.
When Wally & Barbara received the tragic news that Jill had been killed they were devastated. But say what you will, there is something markedly different about the way mature Christians face death. The apostle Paul said, "We grieve, but not as those who have no hope."
The funeral for Jill Rendel was packed. Over 1000 people came. It was a funeral that was a little different for some. It was not a dirge of sadness but a celebration of Jill’s ultimate victory in Christ & His promise of life eternal.
Toward the end of the service a young man sang a most moving song, entitled, "I fell on my knees & cried Holy."
The song says,
I dreamed of a city called glory, so bright & so fair.
When I entered the gates I cried holy, the angels all met with me there.
They carried me from mansion to mansion. Oh, the sights that I saw.
Then I said, "I want to see Jesus, for He’s the one who died for all."
The second time he sang the words, "I want to see Jesus" Wally & Barbara, sitting within reach of their daughter’s casket, stood & raised their hands to heaven, & all 1000 people there spontaneously stood with them, praising God.
Then Wayne Smith, a long time preacher friend, closed the service with a prayer & the words of a poem which he was certain would be Jill’s message to all:
"Grieve not for me. Nor let one small tear fall.
What you dream of, I can see. And I’m telling you, it’s worth it all!"
Immediately the entire congregation burst into applause. Applause at a funeral? Yes, that’s possible for one reason & one reason only - because we believe Jesus who said, "I am the resurrection & the Life. Because I live, you will live also."
INVITATION. So I ask you again, "Do you know Jesus?" Regardless of your needs, He is able.
People, that day is coming for each of us. No one knows when, but it is coming, & we must be ready. Again & again God tells us, "Be prepared. Be ready for that day when it comes." If you're not ready, Jesus is ready to help you. And He invites you to come. Will you come?
