The Power to Serve

Sunday Worship 5 April 2009
Speaker: Ps Barnabas Boon
Text: 2 Timothy 2:1-13

How do we serve effectively? Where do we get our power to serve effectively in Church, in our workplace and in our families? How do we sustain the effort of service? Our meditations on the passage of scripture 2 Timothy 2:1-13, gives us an insight into how we are enabled by Jesus to serve him in a manner that will glorify and please God.

Our starting point for committed service is always the gospel. V8 reminds us that it is the death and resurrection of Jesus for the sins of a hurting world that will enervate us and our service for the world. His resurrection reminds us that there is a supernatural power that is the source of our power to serve the world. Paul also reminds Timothy (v1) that even when he is in chains, the gospel is not chained and as such, the power to share gospel is not limited by the circumstances of the preacher. In whatever circumstance, the gospel will be preached, not for self aggrandizement but for the world and for the elect.

Next, our power source comes from grace. It is from the grace of Jesus that we draw our power and strength to serve. The command “be strong” referred to in v1 is a word in the Greek from which the word dynamite is derived. Hence “be strong” is a command to serve with great power. And the source of this power is the grace of Jesus. Hence whoever comes to him and asks of this grace, Jesus will give freely and gladly. 2 Corinthians 12:9 teaches us that our complete dependence on Jesus for all our needs will also be another means whereby Jesus makes the power of his grace freely available to us. Our total dependence on him arising from our total weakness will be the means whereby Christ’s power and grace will be made available to us.

We are also empowered through hardships. Like a good soldier who endures hardship for the sake of obedience so we shall endure, for the sake of Christ and his commands. Hardship toughens and gives character. It teaches us perseverance. It strengthens us. We are always afraid that hardship will discourage. Rather the opposite is true. It should strengthen our resolve. We must not be afraid of hardship. We should use it. We must not be afraid to subject our children to the hardships of ministry. It is by this they learn endurance. It is wrong to portray service for God as all of fun only. There is fun, no doubt, but it is also hard work, hardship and perseverance.

Finally, Paul challenges us to serve in the manner of the soldier, the athlete and the farmer. All three examples are obedient to an authority. To the soldier it is his commanding officer that he must obey. The athlete is bound by the rules of the competition. The farmer is constrained by the environment and seasons. Hence we too must be bound by one authority and this authority is the word of the Lord Jesus Christ.

All three examples have a singular goal. The soldier’s goal is victory. The athlete strives for the victor’s crown. The farmer looks to the crops as his harvest and reward. So too must we have our goal in service. Our goal is none other than the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the entire world.

Our challenge therefore is to learn to serve him in power, and in whatever circumstances we are in. The Lord reminds us through the words of Paul to Timothy, that the end of it all is indeed glorious for all who serves him. If we endured the ministry of service we shall reign with him forever. If we were to die during our service for him, we shall get to reign with him. Even when we are faithless, perhaps due to the difficulties of our service, we shall find him faithful. However, if we disown him, he will disown us. May we be found faithful in the places where God has placed us to serve him.