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Expanding on a thought preached by Pastor Charles Stanley:

— Our responsibilities as we await the Second Coming of Jesus, who will make everything RIGHT.

We’ve looked at 1/ To be watching faithfully… 2/ To be waiting peacefully…

— Today we look at:

3/ To be working diligently… 4/ To be worshipping joyfully…

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3/ To be working diligently… (until His return)

— The Apostle Paul gave Timothy these instructions about working diligently…

2^nd Timothy 2:1-5  You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,  (2)  and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.  (3)  Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  (4)  No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.  (5)  An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

I see two pitfalls listed here that could side-track our work for the Lord as we await His return.

— FIRSTLY ~ 2^nd Timothy 2:3-4 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  (4)  No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

Q1/ A soldier is to follow the will (orders) of whom? ~ (Answer) His CO __ __ AN __ __ R.

Q2/ If this soldier gets wrapped up in civilian pursuits, is he following his purpose as a soldier? YES / NO. ~ Our purpose as Christians is to do God’s will. Distractions will affect our diligence.

Q3/ (For discussion) Can a Christian get involved in politics? (I suggest it is all about whether we get distracted from God’s purpose in our life.)

— SECONDLY ~ 2^nd Timothy 2:5  An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

Q4/ In a race, can you truly say you’ve been diligent if you cheated? YES / NO.

Q5/ Who sets the race-course for a Christian’s life? __ __ __. (I won’t give you any hints on this one!)

Paul also says in 2^nd Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Q6/ How do we know how to rightly handle the word of truth (God’s Word)?

(As we take this time to look into scriptures, do you think you are trying to be diligent with God’s things?)

Q7/ Who’s guidance is needed to properly understand God’s scriptures? ~ (A BIG hint) John 14:26  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

~ The answer here is the KEY to learning how to fulfill the next requirement as well…

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4/ To be worshipping joyfully until His return… (True life-worship is about joyfully thanking God in all our activities.)

— As our worship exalts God, it builds our faith, it restores our JOY, and it encourages those around us.

— A vital and active faith (our walk with God), will deliver a JOY in our hearts that even hardships and trials cannot quench.

However, an interesting question arises when as a SENIOR, we enter a time of life where our ability to be active and physically working changes, and that question is… How do we keep JOY in our daily walk when our body develops chronic aches and pains, and as such, we can’t do all that we want to do for the Lord?

— To answer this, I ask you to examine what your goal in life is?

God tells us in His Word, that we are to love God and others (even) as we love ourselves.
— So those two motivations should frame our lives.

Matthew 22:34-40  But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  (35)  And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.  (36)  “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”  (37)  And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  (38)  This is the great and first commandment.  (39)  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  (40)  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

— Now let us see how this can affect our JOY quotient…

Matthew 19:16-26  And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”  (17)  And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”  (18)  He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,  (19)  Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  (20)  The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?”  (21)  Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”  (22)  When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  (23)  And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.  (24)  Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”  (25)  When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”  (26)  But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

— A question: In verse 22, what were the feelings of the young man as he turned away?

— After that Jesus explains here how we can reject any sorrow of loss, and hold onto our JOY even when yielding up our security and goals for the future… (SEE Vs.23) And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. (AND Vs.26) But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

— Therefore to hold onto JOY in life, we need to focus on our love for God and to be involved in seeking the benefits of others rather than ourselves. (Even the wealthy, can do this with God’s help to shed wealth’s hold over us.)

How does this apply to growing OLD JOYFULLY?

— To those who read this who are not SENIOR CITIZENS, and are still working towards goals of retirement, these verses command you to refrain from allowing your secular ambitions to dominate your thoughts and goals in life. It is a HARD task, but if you allow God to lead, you will grow to know true JOY!

— To those (of us) who ARE SENIORS, these words still hold a major truth of obtaining and holding onto the JOY OF LIFE.

Q1/ What is this young man seeking? (Matthew 19:1)

Q2/ What does Jesus tell the young man that he is to do to achieve this? (Matthew 19:21)

Q3/ Are we also to also sell everything and go out with only the clothes on our back?

— NOT UNLESS GOD SO COMMANDS. (If God actually spoke this to your heart, that would need strong Holy Spirit’s confirmations.)

~ The Holy Spirit is the KEY to being able to hear and to know God’s will in one’s life…
If you are filled with His Spirit, let Him speak and guide YOU! (Even in how you plan your future.)

Q4/ When Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.” ~ He said “with difficulty” ~ and that with God’s help it can be done…

— So what attitude is required of a “rich man” to follow God?
(Fill in these blanks) ~ He must be willing to G__V__    U__ his material security and goals.

— If we are RETIRED, how can we also G__V__    U__ our material security and goals?

Q5/ That brings up the question, What are your retirement goals? (Are you ready to let God change them?)

Just because we may not be able to have the same goals as when we were younger, we can still seek to do something for the Lord’s work. And that always requires some time and effort outside of our COMFORT ZONE. (You see we also have things we need to give up, just like the rich young man.)

So I suggest the answer to WORSHIPPING JOYFULLY until Jesus returns… is for everyone to allow God to lead and to give them the opportunity to step outside their comfort zone and serve others in HIS name.

With that let’s let the song ‘I’ll be a friend to Jesus’ take us into our close and prayer time.

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MY ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS in Pt.2

Q1/ A soldier is to follow the will (orders) of whom? ~ (Answer) His COMMANDER.

Q2/ If this soldier gets wrapped up in civilian pursuits, is he following his purpose as a soldier? (Answer) NO. ~ Our purpose as Christians is to do God’s will. Distractions will affect our diligence.

Q3/ (For discussion) Can a Christian get involved in politics? (I suggest it is all about whether we get distracted from God’s purpose in our life.)

Q4/ In a race, can you truly say you’ve been diligent if you cheated? ~ (Answer) NO.

Q5/ Who sets the race-course for a Christian’s life? ~ (Answer) GOD.

Q6/ How do we know how to rightly handle God’s Word? ~ (Answer) Study your Bible

(As we take this time to look into scriptures, YES… you are trying to be diligent with God’s things?)

Q7/ Who’s guidance is needed to properly understand God’s scriptures? ~ (Answer) God’s Holy Spirit.

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Q1/ What is this young man seeking? (Matthew 19:1) ~ (Answer) Eternal life.

Q2/ What does Jesus tell the young man that he is to do to achieve this? (Matthew 19:21)

~ (Answer) “…go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Q3/ Are we also to also sell everything and go out with only the clothes on our back?

— NOT UNLESS GOD SO COMMANDS. (If God actually spoke this to your heart, that would need strong Holy Spirit’s confirmations.)

Q4/ When Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.” He said “with difficulty” and that with God’s help it can be done…

— So what attitude is required of a “rich man” to follow God?
(Fill in these blanks) ~ He must be willing to GIVE UP his material security and goals.

Q5/ That brings up the question, What are your retirement goals? (Are you ready to let God change them?) …For discussion.

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