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Caleb Auyoung, House of Praise Evangelical of San Diego (HOPE SD) Combined Service 22 January 2012

WHAT IS YOUR LEGACY? (2 Tim. 4:6-8)

Introduction

A well-known pastor from Los Angeles, Pastor Greg Owyoung was shot and killed at his pulpit in 1985. His death moved dozens of churches across the nation, and many Chinese-American pastors today will attribute Pastor Gregs life and passing as their inspiration to become pastors. What a legacy to leave to inspire believers to the task of ministry that God calls us to. What is your legacy? What will you leave to believers who are still young in faith? This church, HOPE of San Diego, is a young church, but have you considered what this churchs mark will be on the community? What will characterize this churchs ministry? This morning, Id like us to see what characterized the Apostle Pauls ministry for our encouragement and to Gods glory.
Exposition: 2 Tim. 4:6-8

2 Timothy is Pauls last epistle before he was executed. Most Bible scholars consider this to be Pauls last will and testament. When a persons death draws near, his or her perspective on what is truly important comes into sharper focus. As such, this letter is highly instructive and meant to encourage Timothy to be a faithful minister: to preach the Word, do the work of an evangelist, be faithful. Verse 6 Paul is essentially passing on the baton of ministry to Timothy and in 2Tim 4:6, Paul gives the reason for his charge. The first half of the verse is an image from the Old Testaments priestly sacrifices. After a Jewish priest made animal sacrifice to God, he would pour wine beside the altar. This symbolized the believers dedication to God. Paul takes on this imagery for himself to confirm his dedication to God. The second half of verse 6 continues his reasoning with a more concrete statement: it was time for Paul to depart from this life. He describes his timely departure with the Greek word kairos. Kairos was used to indicate a specific point in time an appointed time so he is not being vague about his death. So the verse could read like this: Gods appointed time for my death has arrived. When we think about what sort of mark or legacy we want to leave, we must consider that there is a limited amount of time to make that mark. God, in His sovereign wisdom, makes the call for when we come home to Him. And in light of the brevity of time, you and I must determine how we are to live our utmost for His highest. What we do matters for the kingdom of God which has no end. In light of our salvation, what you do with your God-given life matters. The legacy we leave tomorrow will come from the life we live today. Verse 7 So what should the Christian life that wants to leave a lasting legacy look like? Paul gives us a picture in the next verse in 2Tim 4:7.
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(1) Fighting the good fight. Paul describes defending the faith and doing spiritual battle. It is seen in his charge to Timothy a few chapters earlier when he tells him to be a good soldier of Christ; its evident when he tells the Ephesians to put on the armor of God in Eph. 6; and it is purposeful unlike a man beating the air aimlessly as in 1 Cor. 9:26. (2) Finishing the race. Pauls letters are full of athletic references to compare the Christian life; competing in a race is one of his most well-known illustrations and for good reason. Participating in competitions is hard work! (3) Keeping the faith. This is Pauls declaration of keeping that which God entrusted him with. (See 1 Cor. 4:2) As believers, we are given the greatest treasure in the world, the good news of Jesus Christ and we must be good stewards of it to the end. Stewardship of this gospel our faithfulness to Christ is seen in our behaviour & in every circumstance. Yes, we will falter every now and then, but the grace of God is more than capable of picking us back up; Gods grace helps us to persevere as we walk, stumble, and persevere toward the Lord Jesus Christ. Fighting and running with purpose; being a faithful steward of the Gospel is your walk with Christ characterized by these qualities? Is God calling HOPE San Diego to be characterized like this? Verse 8 With our time here being short and were given an essential list of what characterizes a lasting legacy, Paul uses 2Tim 4:8 to remind us that there is a light at the end of our mortal journey. The crown of righteousness is a metaphorical crown since righteousness is immaterial, so the reward Paul talks about could be achieving the fullness of righteousness. This reward will go to all Christians who like Paul demonstrate an earnest desire for the Lords return in the way they live. And thats to say that we need to have long-term vision for considering what sort of legacy we will leave for others and the kingdom: are we looking ahead toward Christ, and seeing everything we do today in light of His return? Do we have a vision of the risen, victorious Jesus Christ straight ahead while we serve Him here and now? HOPE San Diegos name is an acronym for House Of Praise Evangelical, putting two significant fundamentals of the Christian faith together: praise and evangelism. In name alone, the church stands for being a place of worship and is evangelical in its witness. You have a clear vision of Christ in the name of your church already! You fix your eyes on Christ in worshiping Him, and when you do, youre telling everyone the Gospel. Worshipping Christ must lead to evangelism, and evangelism will lead believers to worship Christ. That is having a vision of Jesus Christ while serving Him here and now. CONCLUSION What is your legacy as a believer? What is this churchs legacy for the kingdom? What sort of legacy should we be leaving? To help answer the question of leaving a legacy, consider those who have invested into your spiritual well-being: pastors, fellowships, brothers and sisters in

Christ Their investment is their spiritual legacy to you, and as such, you are doing the same for others. Todays passage showed Paul doing the same for Timothy by encouraging him from the character of his own ministry and witness. It is this life encouragement that is meant for us as well. Our legacy both as individual believers and as HOPE San Diego should strive to be purposeful and persevering in our witness, and we do so with an earnest desire to see Christ glorified and praised.

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: , Sunday, January 22, 2012 : 4:68

1985 4:68
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4:6 kairos
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1. 9:26 2. 3

3. 4:2


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4:8 HOPE

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