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Ryan's gonna be preaching from Second Timothy today. If you have your Bible, you can open to 2 Timothy chapter 2. If you'd stand in reverence that the word of God is being read. 2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 8 through 13. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, for which I suffered hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal, but the word of God is not imprisoned. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may 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 also will deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. This is the word of God. You may be seated. Brian, would you please come?

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What a truly rich treasure of a passage. Let's pray that we would do justice in all the preaching of it, the receiving of it, and the implying of it. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word again. We thank you for the privilege of being here this morning to hear the preached word, to receive the truth of it. May your name be exalted. May your glory be what is manifested here as we honor you and worship you with all things. Lead and guide us by your Spirit, we pray in Christ. Amen. Well, as is read this morning, we get the privilege, I would say, of being back in 2 Timothy. If you can recall, for the past four weeks or so, this year, we have found ourselves challenged by the Word of God to see ourselves as soldiers for Christ and soldiers of the cross. In that time, we have seen that the soldier for Christ has many different weapons in the arsenal. From we began with the bellows that fan the flame of faith, this gift of faith. To the courage that God alone gives us, to the ability to have right doctrine, sound doctrine, to the strength that only Christ can provide. Our quiver of spiritual arrows is full, and the Lord Jesus Christ calls us to use them every single day. Well, for today, we have the privilege of looking into a weapon that should really frame all of our thinking, all of our worship, and really all of our whole lives as we think of the weaponry of our eternal arsenal. We have been given, as Christians, the ability to wield the weapon of honor.

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Honor.

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Now, again, that may not seem like a weapon in the traditional way of thinking and warfare, but as we go through this passage, I want us to see the fact that this weapon could actually fight for us and with us and in us. It can actually fight off temptations. Temptations of the evil one of self in the wiles of the world. And they can do it far better than any weapon forged in iron. It's stronger even and more effective than any weapon that the gun stores will sell at keeping you safe spiritually. Honor. Isn't that a wonderful thought as we look around at our current culture? What a radically different way to think and live than what we see typically going on around us. What a joy to know that the Lord will give us everything we need to honor Him and live as honorable people. What a great weapon. As we start today, the first thing I want us to dwell on is really the backdrop for any life with Christ or any kind of gospel ministry in this way. And so the first part, what I want us to look at as we look at this text, is that we are called to honor first our commanding officer, Jesus Christ Himself. And again, as we looked at a little bit last week, we do this by remembering, first and foremost, by remembering who he is and what he has done. Look at verse 8 with me again. It says, remember Jesus Christ. How do we honor Christ with our lives? How do we live an honorable life? We look at Christ. Isn't that the word honor, isn't that what even many people of the world actually kind of desire? Even though we don't see it? We all, as human beings, I think, want something on our tombstone that speaks of the fact that this person was honorable, right? We value that sentiment even as a culture, even if it is totally obscured and even sinfully hoped for. But for the Christian, the way that we do this starts, begins, and thrusts us into worship by remembering Jesus Christ. That's honoring. It gives and brings Christ Himself honor to be worshipped for what He has done as we recall to our minds, as we read His Word, as we worship together. Such a glorious thought. But that begs a question: what is it that we are to remember? Again, this is similar to part of the sermon from last week, but it's very important we do this. Look at verse 8 tells us a few things that we're to remember. Look at verse 8 again. Remember Jesus Christ, and then what does it say right off the bat? Risen from the dead. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead. So first it says, remember him. That does sound like a no-brainer for the Christian, but the problem is we don't often do this, do we? And said many times we rob him of the honor that is due to his name by falling into sin, by living for the pleasures of the world, falling prey to the doctrines of demons that tell us that this life is all about me, all about my stuff, all about my health, my prosperity, my earthly freedom, my good feelings, my comfort, and so on. And when those things become ultimate, our Savior actually takes a back seat in worship. Remember him in all circumstances. And I'll get to the resurrection piece in a moment, but I want to say this remember him in all occasions in your life, in all events. When you're scared of dying, remember the author of life. When the fear of getting sick maybe from a virus, remember the sustainer of all things. Have you noticed that since COVID became a reality in our lives, every single time there's a virus in Timbuktu, it's going to circumnavigate the globe and everybody's got to be in panic and fear. No. When you lose your job, remember Jehovah Jireh, the great provider. When your kids rebel. Remember the story of the prodigal sons and how it depicts the grace of our great God. When your family despises you because of your faith in Christ, remember the cross and his sufferings. Look to him, proclaim his sufficiency as you seek to honor him with trust and with faith. There is nothing in this life that can compare to the glory and beauty of the Savior, and there is nothing in this life that can bring, that can take you from his loving and firm grip. Remember him. So in those moments of difficulties or even privileges, as you remember his sovereign goodness and you trust in him during those times, he is honored. And so Paul tells Timothy, Remember Christ, he's going to be honored through it. You will be worshipful. And he says, and here's some things to recall to mind. Never forget that Jesus Christ rose from the grave. In 1 Corinthians 15, we we read that essentially we're we're a bunch of, now follow me here before, okay, we're a bunch of idiots for wasting our Sunday morning by being here if Jesus Christ didn't raise from the dead. And Paul actually says in verse 19 in 1 Corinthians 15, we are to be most the most pitied in all the world if Jesus remained dead in the grave. All of the religions who gather to worship a so-called dead deity would be lumped into that, of course. We're all foolish and pitied for a waste of life, but Christians all the more. Listen to what Paul says there. I'm actually going to read part of 1 Corinthians 15, starting in verse 12. He says, Now, if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say there is no resurrection? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain. Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God. Because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. You're still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. Fortunately, as Paul goes on to talk about, that's not true. The resurrection did happen. But it's that important. It's a supreme truth of the Christian faith. We should be remembering this each and every day as we recall the gospel to our minds. Because without the resurrection, there is no good news, is there? There is no Christian faith, and there is no eternal life for anybody. So we are called to wield the weapon of honoring Christ by reflecting daily on the power and truth of the resurrection as we remember him. Next, look at what Paul says next in verse 8. It says, Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead, descendant of David. Huh. That sounds almost odd at first, doesn't it? Paul says, Remember Christ by recalling to mind his heritage and therefore kingship. This is such a wonderful truth to reflect on. Maybe you are thinking to yourself, why does Paul speak of the resurrection and the lineage together? I mean, how does that even coincide? But this is just great. Jesus is a descendant of David, and what that means first, and practically, is that Jesus is human. Okay? Jesus is the divine Son of God, second member of the Trinity, was born human, descendant of David. But as we know, Jesus is killed on a cross and was buried for three days. And like what we just spoke about, Jesus is raised again, conquering sin, conquering death, praise be to God. What this means is that his resurrection then validates and provides for the next part of him being the descendant of David. You see, David was promised that there will be this one who would come and sit on the throne in the eternal sense of things, not just, you know, for twelve years until you die. He says, He even goes on to say in a passage in the Psalms that the Holy One will not even undergo decay. Talking about Jesus. But that can only happen if Jesus rises again and therefore brings about the destruction of the evil one, the temporary rulers of the world. Along with that comes immortality, not only to the Son of God, by the way, but all of those who are in Christ. And so the descendant of David's got to be a human, but he must be able to rule forever. And so he had to rise again. Timothy must remember that this Jesus, this king, this ruler, he must remember that he was born in the flesh, that he took on flesh, that he died in his place, and that he has conquered the grave and is now ruling as that fulfilled king. David's promised seed. Romans chapter 1, verses 3 and 4 says, concerning a son who is born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who is declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of Holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord. So Paul combines it there too. Jesus needs to be born a human to be able to die for sinners, but he also needed to be raised again to conquer sin and death, live forevermore, and come and to become the King of all kings. Through the lineage of David as was prophesied. And you see, all people will exist forever, you know that, right? But only those with Christ who have died to self will live forever with Christ. Everybody else is just existing in torment. And so the resurrection and the lineage of Jesus are absolutely inseparable truths that are closely tied together through the doctrine of what we call the hypostatic union. That just means that Christ is, that Jesus is both fully man and fully God. Or others say, truly man, truly God. Therefore, he becomes the eternal king. That's why Paul links him here. And in the gospel, we must know that we reap this incredible reward of living with him as we are raised anew in the resurrection. And we studied that to some extent in Sunday school this morning in our Bible study about Romans 6, where it shows us that. Again, this brings honor to the name of Christ if this truth is remembered, spoken of, lived out, and celebrated daily. Does your life look like that? As you remember this beautiful truth as a soldier for Christ, you end up swinging a powerful weapon. The weapon of seeking Christ's honor. And you're swinging it at the flaming arrows of doubt or fear that rise within yourself as you use your shield as well to tactically defend those who are under your care. We actually get to honor Christ by just remembering his work in his life. Isn't that cool? And as Paul says in verse 8, this is all according to my gospel, he says. So this is why Paul says, It's all according to the gospel. My gospel, he says. And so again, I say to you today, brothers and sisters, honor Christ by preaching the good news to yourself daily. Proclaim it every morning. Because it's not only going to help you live for him, but it'll also help the others around you. And as we'll talk about it in a minute, Paul even says it's going to help you endure suffering. And so I ask you, do you know that to be true of you? Do you remember Christ? Think about it, you and I can actually endure suffering for Christ as we cling to the gospel. In fact, all Christians are called to be like Paul and see this as their gospel, personally owning it. Because it's not some abstract truth, is it? Some far-off thing. This is our gospel, this is my gospel. Not that I'm the central attraction or focus, that's Jesus. But that I cling to it so tightly, so reverently that I see it as my own. And this is a fear-crushing weapon that brings Christ honor. Therefore, look at verse 9. Next it says, we honor Christ by suffering hardship for the gospel when called to it. Paul, what's he up to as he writes this letter? We've talked about this. He's in prison, right? He is indeed suffering hardship as he's writing this letter to his beloved son in the faith, Timothy, because he's in prison for the work of what? All those dirty deeds he did for the gospel. He's in prison seen as a criminal by the world. But he sits there in these chains, joyful, even thankful, because the gospel is going out. Could you imagine be in that place? He sits there thankful and joyful because of what is eternally true, and that is the honor of the name of Christ. Paul is again reminding Timothy, you're going to endure suffering. It will come your way. And it will honor Christ if you remember him and remain faithful as he strengthens you. Brothers and sisters, I've got to say it again, we cannot be naive. Suffering for the gospel is absolutely a normal way in which the Church of Jesus Christ functions. Now we have been blessed to have immense freedom in this country for many years. Much of the rest of the world, even now, knows nothing of this. Let's just take China alone, one of the most populous countries, used to be the most, but now second, with their communist government, and they're doing, of course, what all communist governments do, right? They seek to squelch the gospel. They seek to harm the people of God, and they have to do this. Why? Because communist ideology insists on it. Because it is an antagonistically atheistic style of government. It has to. And that's just one example of what's going on in much of the world for the people of God. And so we cannot expect that we're never going to suffer for the gospel here because of our past freedoms or current. Suffering always comes to the people of God from the world. And many times from those who call themselves religious. But as we know, China is actually one of the fastest growing countries for Christ in the world, isn't it? And we think on that and we say, how can that be? It's illegal to worship Christ. How can it be? Because, as Paul says here, look at verse 9 again. Oh my goodness. Look at this. He says, For which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal. Notice the imprisonment word there. But the word of God will not be imprisoned. The word of God will never be chained. It will always expand, it will always flourish, it will always spread, it will always impact lives, it will always transform hearts. Why? People will be saved because God is gracious. There are sheep out there that will respond to the Savior's voice, spoken through the Savior's people, proclaimed through the Savior's word. The word of the Lord cannot be squelched, it cannot be eliminated, it cannot be chained, it cannot be imprisoned. Now, back in the pre-Reformation days, the Roman Catholic Church many times would literally chain the Bible to the pulpit that the priests would read. Why would they do that? Because they didn't want common man to know the Word of God. They didn't want them to know what it actually said because they weren't exactly doing it. But those chains were obliterated, weren't they? Those weak links of iron were crushed under the weight of the sovereign Lord's truth. The gospel still went out. The gospel still changed hearts, even in spite of the absolute garbage that they were teaching. You can literally physically chain the Bible. You can put laws in place that would prevent the Bible from being widely distributed. Man can do as they wish, but the gospel will go. The word of God will be known. The word of God will endure forever, the Bible says. What can man do to stop the Word of God from doing its work in the hearts of the redeemed? Nothing of consequence. God must be honored and glorified. Glorified is the reason. God has chosen to reveal Himself to us by the means of His written revelation of Himself and what we call the Bible, and the honor of His name that is thoroughly proclaimed throughout it will go into the world, praise be to God. We may suffer for it. We may suffer for our part in the spread of the word, but it will go out and he will be honored. Isn't that good news? I mean, we wield the weapon of honoring Christ as we suffer for his name in this. Why? Because Christ is honored in that suffering as his word is released through our chains. Paul says in Philippians 1 that his suffering is worked out for the greater progress of the gospel. Have you ever said that? Maybe you got a little flack from your family for following Christ too closely. Maybe you got some zeal in you and your family doesn't like it. You're too much of a Bible thumper, or you name it, right? I mean, we don't have the level of persecution that North Koreans have right now, but think about maybe something, something in your life in that regard, and you just say, oh, praise God. It's working for the greater progress of the gospel. Do you say that, or do you go, oh, it's not fair? It's not right. Why do they so mean? Paul says, it's working out for the greater progress of the gospel in Philippians 1, so that through his imprisonment, the cause of Christ has been well known there in Rome. Even in Caesar's own household and his own guards, it says. Now, Paul may be in chains, but the word cannot and will not be chained. Why? Again and again and again, because God will be honored, or else all is not right with the universe. We cannot silence his word. God will ensure it goes out. He will change Saul into the great apostle Paul so that his word will go forth. He will raise up an Athanasius to shut down heretical Arius that sought to defy God and his word. God will bring forth a Jerome to translate the word into the tongue of the people. God will raise up a Tyndale, a Huss, a Wycliffe, a Luther, a Zwingli, a Calvin, a Knox, a MacArthur of today, maybe, to make sure that the word continues to transform people's lives. He will further his mission. God will enable his people to translate his word into thousands of languages. God will turn the hearts of people in persecuted countries to desire that which is eternal, like in China or in Middle East or Africa or India. God will not allow one jot, one tittle of his word to pass away, to be forgotten or neglected. His word will go forth, his people will be transformed, and the name of Christ will be honored. Even as we suffer to make sure this happens. This is the man, John Bunyan, who piled the famous book, The Pilgrim's Progress. This man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his preaching of the gospel. This man, Pastor Bunyan, was such a powerful preacher that when asked, the great Puritan John Owen, maybe the most influential of all time, said he would gladly exchange all of his learning for just a bit of Bunyan's power on the pulpit. That's this guy who preached the gospel. But as Bunyan went into that prison cell for the preaching of the gospel, this is what he said. He said, I got me back into prison and I did sit down to write again. I've been away from my writing too long. Maybe this is not so much as a prison, as an office from which I can reach the world with Christ's message. To which I love what the great preacher and evangelist George Whitfield wrote of Bunyan's work. He says, The smell of prison. It's such a compliment. Point is that when Bunyan was in that cell, he was asked, What are you going to do if you got out? To which he quickly replied that he would preach the gospel. Same thing that got him in there. Bunyan said that he would remain there until moss grew on his eyelids rather than stop preaching. Bunyan knew that though he may be chained, the word of God will always go forth even through those chains. He was even known to preach to a waiting crowd of people on the outside through his prison bars. God's word will go forth. Not man, not prison bars, not even the very gates of hell itself will stop the advancement of the one thing that can change eternal lives, the word of God by the power of the Spirit of God. God will be honored. His word will be read, it'll be known, it'll be studied and lived out by all who delight in him. Even if and when that means suffering for his name. And so I ask you now, is the word of God chained in your home? Is the word of God chained and bound up and not being released? Sitting on the shelf dusty? Or is it being released each day in and through you as you worship, as you read, as you study, as you apply for his honor? What does your house look like? That's where it begins. Verse 10. I love this. I would say we honor Christ by loving others and putting them first. Your desire to have the name of God honored is putting others first. Do you realize that? Your suffering for the gospel will benefit others. Paul says, for this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen. For what reason? The honor and fame of the Lord Jesus Christ and his work of the gospel. For this reason he's willing to suffer. Anything. He doesn't care. As long as the gospel goes to the people of God. And what this produces is not only perseverance for Paul, but for others as well. He does it in part for the sake of the elect the chosen. But here's the thing: the Bible clearly teaches, as I've said many times, God sovereignly and graciously elects, he chooses people. He is that marvelously gracious and merciful. And so Paul says here, it's for the sake of those that he's willing to suffer any hardship. He's willing to have his name and his body defamed and defiled so that the honor of Christ can be known and magnified in and through others. So that's one thing. But here's what's interesting. I think if we read this passage in its context and figure it out, Paul isn't primarily speaking to those who are already living for Christ in the churches, verse 10 talks about. He is speaking of those who are out there that are chosen, those who are out there that have not yet come to repentance, but will, because God has sovereignly called them unto salvation before the foundations of the world, as Ephesians 1 talks about. And I tell you, this has got to be one of the most comforting verses in all of the Bible in regards to our witness for Christ and our ability to make disciples. Think about it. God has already elected, called, chosen people out there that will respond to his word. Praise God. Could you imagine going out to proclaim the good news thinking it's on my shoulders to get somebody saved? That's a burden we can't bear. Or maybe God, they're thinking, I guess there's nobody left who's going to respond. Look at all these people. No, it's the one who goes out, or here with Paul, the one who is in prison who confidently proclaims the gospel. That's the one who loves others deeply enough and pursues passionately the honor of God enough from the lips of the people that goes out in confidence because God has spoken. The man who believes in the doctrines of grace ought to be the single most confident and comforted evangelist that there is. John 10 reminds us there are sheep out there who need to hear his voice from his word, and it says they will respond, they will come into the fold, it says. And I say, Praise be to God. You and I have no idea who that is. Point is, again, it's not on our shoulders to get these people saved. We just know that they're out there who are going to respond. We're not the determining factor, God is. But since we have such confidence now in the grace and work of God through his word, we're willing, as Paul, that's the point, as Paul, to do anything to get the message out there. For them to hear that voice that they so desperately need to hear. Paul had the heart of Christ in this. Because Paul also wished that none had perished. In Romans, he actually says that he would almost trade his eternal salvation if the Jews would just repent and believe. That's my paraphrase. But he, of course, is clinging to God's sovereignty in this. But this compels him to truly love his neighbor enough to suffer and even die so that the gospel would go out if needed. Why? Because he knew that there were chosen folks who were going to respond. Praise God. The word of God will never be chained with people like Paul being called to preach it through hard times. What a genuine love for his neighbor. Do you love your neighbor? Anybody can bake a cake, right? Anyone can walk an elderly across the street, mow the lawn, split the wood, whatever. But who loves their neighbor enough to stay in prison because the gospel must be preached to the lost? Oh, that's love. And that brings immense honor to the name of Christ. That's a sharp weapon the enemy has no response for. And it brings with it salvation and eternal glory as the pure response to the Lord's call. And Christ is honored in that life. Look at verses 11 to 13 with me. Some people say this is maybe a bit of a hymn that they used to sing in the church early on. But what I also see is these participatory statements speak of first a condition and then a conclusion by and large. The first one in verse 11 says, For if we died with him, we shall also live with him. That's a wonderful gospel truth, isn't it? Paul spoke of the resurrection back in verse 8. What Paul is saying here is if we have trusted him, if we have indeed repented and believed in the gospel, we've confessed Christ, Lord and Savior, then we shall live with him eternally, just like he said in verse 10. Again, as we studied this morning, Romans 6 teaches us this beautiful truth by using our baptisms as the perfect illustration of this reality. Being immersed in the baptismal waters depicts our death to self, the old self and the fleshly and sinful self. And as we come up out of those waters, we are representing what Paul is talking about right there. And what honor and what glory Christ receives as we are saved. Maybe it's our death in a cold and dark prison cell. Maybe it's on our own comfy bed. The Christian has been gifted to already have died to self, either way. Paul says that to live, Christ. Philippians 1. He says in Galatians 2, I have been crucified with Christ. You know this passage. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me in the life that I live. I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. When we live like this, when we're saved and created anew for this kind of life, Christ is honored. You see, the non-Christian who has not been raised to newness of life cannot honor Christ. They cannot honor him like the man or woman who has been born again. Because if we died with him, we will live with him. And our new lives bring him honor. Look at verse 12. It says, if we endure, we will also reign with him. Wow. Think of that for a minute. Reigning with Christ. It is honoring to the work and fame of Christ, though, when that first part takes place. When we endure. When we endure whatever the world will throw out at us. Of course, the Lord gives us strength for this, but we also have to fight hard to endure the temptations to be cowardly and say, oh, I'm not going to preach Christ any longer. That costs too much. I'll recant my words. Just spare my life. Don't take me to prison. That brings Christ dishonor. That's taking your weapon as a soldier, not just laying it down, but kneeling before the enemy and humbly handing him your weapon and saying, I'm yours. That's an act of treason to not persevere in the face of trials for the gospel. But if we endure, if we lovingly and truthfully swing the weapon that honors Christ, we shall reign with him. We shall be gifted with the ability to reign with Christ. That too brings some honor. I mean, isn't that his mercy on display? What a privilege. Not that we'll ever be on par with Christ and his power, his authority, none of that. But as worshiping saints, reverently doing his will, seeking his honor, we shall reign with him in the rule of the universe. As he rules. What a salvation we have. What honor he deserves for that gift. What this shows us is that the Christian soldier who gives in and refuses to endure for Christ will now reign with him. Because they weren't a Christian soldier to begin with. They were playing the part, wearing the uniform. Look at the rest of verse 12. If we deny him, he will deny us. Does that fit within your understanding of Christ and the gospel and the Bible? I hope so. If we're brought before kings, governors, presidents, trials, and we refuse to stand for Christ and we deny him with our mouth and with our lives. The Bible says here and in other places, Paul's just quoting Jesus. The Bible says he will deny us before his Father. It brings Christ's dishonor to deny him before man. Isn't that a difficult condition and conclusion to hear? This is not speaking necessarily of the person who just fails in that moment, they have a moment of weakness. Peter comes to mind three times in one night. It's speaking of the one who refuses to acknowledge Christ with their mouths and their lives, or their lives, I should say, by and large, especially when there's a cost. It's the one who says, I'm a Christian, and then they live like a devil Monday through Saturday. It's the one who is a closet Christian for fear of offending others. It's the one who says that just live and let live. And they do not have a burning desire to make Christ known to the world. This is speaking of the one who either out and out just professes apostasy and flees from Christ, or the one who constantly remains too fearful to speak truth to the world around them that needs it. Not that they have to be preachers of the word from a pulpit or anything like that, but whether that's the workplace, the family, the friend, or even the stranger who wants to harm them for Christ, we are called to remain faithful to the truth. We're called to take up that great weapon of honoring Christ, and even if we are, even if we end up getting dealt a mortal death blow because of it, we know that Christ must be honored, and we will go to reign beside him either way. And so I want us to actually let the fear of this passage sink in a bit. It's good for us. If we deny him, he will deny us. Again, this is not just with the mouth. This is how you live your life. We are not to just read this passage and go, okay, I need to get through that quickly and just kind of move on so I get back to John 3.16. This is spoken by Paul to invoke an insatiable desire to bring honor to his holy name. Because the thought of being without him and being denied before the Father, it actually awakens in the Christian a fervent and passionate motivation to remain faithful by his strength and his word. And Paul goes on to say here, by the way, Christ can't deny himself. So if Jesus says, I'm going to deny you before my father if you deny me before men, what promises Jesus failed to fulfill? I want it to stir our hearts. But don't let it just be a little bit of fear or a lot of fear that sinks in. Let it be turned to a white hot passion for his name to be exalted as you ponder the resurrection of the Savior and the truth of who he is. Let this stir within you as you consider his faithfulness, not yours. Look at verse 13. It says, if we are faithless, I would say here's the grand news for the universe at large. His faithfulness, his goodness, his holiness does not depend on you and I in the slightest. Isn't that good news? I mean, even if you and I are completely faithless people, he will always remain completely faithful in all that he does and in all that he is. Why? He can't deny himself. It's just who he is. It's impossible. Our unbelief, our sinful denials of him, that doesn't diminish his truth, one iota. And here's the wonderful part for us. If you became afraid at the thought of being denied before the Father in heaven because of your faithlessness, it comes to your mind, then you can actually rejoice. Because either you are not saved, and the Lord is opening your eyes to your need of him, that's one side, or you will now, as a believer, rest in his faithfulness to endure, even if your flesh wants to deny him. Either way, repentance is the key. And so here's what I mean. If you're a follower of Christ, you're always just relying on his faithfulness. His faithfulness depends on himself, and guess what? Our faithfulness depends entirely on him, too. So denying Christ with your life and mouth, unless it was a moment of weakness that is repented of, proves that you're not his. Because he's always faithful. But use this moment to repent and confess and follow him. And remember, if you're ever going to be able to stand before the world and proclaim his name, it is because his strength and faithfulness is working in you, and you can praise God for that. That means that if you are his, you will be able to stand just like Peter, who failed miserably, right, on that night? Three times? But what happened the next time persecution came along to him? He withstood. He withstood. Because of the power of Christ in him. Again I ask, why? Why all this? Why must we stand? Why must we profess him? Because the honor of Christ's name is at stake before a dying world. The name of Christ must be honored in and through his people. When we fail to fight well as soldiers of the cross, we dishonor his name. Will we do that? Of course. Will we be tempted to lay down our weapon of honoring Christ and temporarily seek to honor self? Yeah. But the one who is in Christ and is truly fighting for Christ as a soldier, we will endure. He or she will not deny his glorious name before men. He or she will remember the gospel. They will see it as a privilege to suffer for the sake of his honor and those who would come to honor him. And do you realize that as we look at this passage, as we think about it, what is Paul pointing us towards? Obviously, he's pointing us to Christ, as he always does. And so we walk away going, it's Jesus, it's all about him. Christ is the only one who's worthy of honor. I mean, again, all over the world there are people who are recipients of honor. We have so many rewards, and this and our awards. Honor societies. We call the elderly honored citizens. We have honors with uh so many different areas and atmospheres of life, some of them Them silly, some of them make kind of sense. Now, while we can certainly have times of what I would call maybe little honors for people, true and lasting honor, humble and worshipful honor, that's reserved for Jesus Christ. And so our lives must be reserved for him in that way as well. Not denying him. As we begin to finish up here, reflecting back for just a moment on the seven verses from last week. I would say that Christ is worthy of honor as we look at all of those things. Christ is worthy of honor because he's the great teacher, verse 2. Jesus teaches all that we need to know through his word by his spirit. Verse 4, he's the great soldier, isn't he? Has there ever been a greater soldier in God's army than Christ Himself? The general, the captain, the champion? I mean, the enemy was single-handedly ripped apart and destroyed by this mighty one. Verse 5, Jesus is the greater athlete in how what Paul always calls running the race. He's the champion athlete. He always, without fail, perfectly ran the race and did the will of the Father in heaven. He is the greater everything, including the greater farmer, he goes on to talk about. Who else worked hard to bear fruit? The fruit of righteousness, but Christ Himself. And as we see today, he is the perfect Savior, the perfect King. In all that He is, and all that He is done, and all that He is doing, He is worthy of every crown, every ribbon, every affection, every reward, every trophy, every shred of worship that you and I can ever muster by His grace. He is worthy of all honor. Does your life match that? Because it's the good soldier of Christ that just refuses to be entangled up in giving honor to the world around them. And instead, they passionately desire to honor the king, this general. And if that's you, if that's your countenance, then have confidence in this. You will by no means deny his honor before the world. Instead, you will pray the Lord's prayer before men, maybe. Hallowed be your name. Let your name be holy, is what that's getting at. Let your kingdom come, let your will be done in and through me and to this world. Cause the honor of your name to be on the lips and lives of your people. That's the prayer of a soldier for Christ. And so I just encourage you today, as we conclude, never cease, brothers and sisters, never cease to wield the weapon that promotes the honor of the King of Kings. Remember him. Remember who he is. Remember what he's done, what he has in store for you as his people. Suffer whatever it takes for his name, so that the name of Christ will be exalted in your life. Honor the King. May that be the cry of our hearts as his soldiers, his knights. No matter what the world is doing and what they are giving honor to in our current cultural moment, it changes all the time. You and I honor Christ alone. It's the single most worthy aspiration in your life that can ever be. I want you to think as we close and pray, what is it in your life that you're giving honor to that you need to cut out immediately? And instead reverse that, repent of that, and honor Christ alone in your life. What is that? Or what are those things? He's worthy, brothers and sisters. He's worthy of it all. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the privilege, the gift that it is to know you, to know the resurrected Christ, to be known by the resurrected Christ. Father, we thank you for giving us the strength to follow you, to live for you, to honor you, to cherish you. We ask you, Father, that you would give us boldness in our witness, boldness in our holy living, ability in those things. Not for self, not so that the world or even the church can take notice, but so that you would be honored in and through your people here in Praise City. We pray this all in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, our King, our commander. Amen.