I have mentioned before how the Singapore Grand Prix is considered the toughest of all the F1 races for drivers. With a track that has 19 corners over 4.94 km, drivers are constantly feeling the g-forces of high-speed turns, and they must have razor-sharp attention to avoid hitting the wall in those many corners. All this they must do while experiencing extremely high temperatures and humidity. At the 2024 race two weeks ago, race conditions were so challenging that two of the drivers, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, were not able to fulfill their post-race media duties because of what Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff called “borderline heat stroke.”[i]
Because the Singapore Grand Prix is so difficult, drivers prepare so they can persevere. They train their bodies with resistance training and cardio to increase their physical endurance. They use saunas to acclimatize themselves to the high heat and humidity. And they shift their daily schedule to go to bed at 6 am and get up at 2 pm so they are at their peak energy and attention for the race, which is always held at night. They know the tough conditions that are coming, so they prepare for them, so that they can complete and win the race.
Life in this world is tough. We must navigate all the twists and turns that come with a normal human lifespan, such as finding your way in the world, gaining and losing close relationships, succeeding and failing dramatically, losing loved ones, growing old, getting sick, and dying. As we do that, we must also endure seasons of tense emotions like doubt, despair, loneliness, discouragement, grief, shame, guilt, and fear. And then there are the unexpected challenges that surprise us, turning all our plans for the future upside down.
To start strong, we need to be prepared for the tough challenges that lay ahead for us so that we can persevere and finish the race that has been set out before us. So how do we prepare so we can persevere in the race of life? That’s what we are going to be thinking about today, and to help us as we do that, we are going to be reflecting on 2 Timothy 4:1-8. If you have a Bible or a Bible app nearby, I invite you to turn there now.
The Power of God’s Word
This is the second letter that Paul wrote to his younger friend and fellow pastor, Timothy, and it is also the last of Paul’s letters in the Bible. Paul was under house arrest in Rome when he wrote his first letter to Timothy and his conditions were relatively comfortable. But when he wrote his second letter to Timothy, Paul was all alone and chained in a cold, dark dungeon. He was likely aware that this imprisonment would end with his execution, so 2 Timothy is like Paul’s last will and testament where he passes on to Timothy the essentials he has learned of living a life of faith in Jesus.
Our passage starts off with a very solemn and serious command from Paul to Timothy: In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. (2 Timothy 4:1-2) Paul is encouraging Timothy to keep God’s Word before God’s people because we need it. We can see that when we look at some key passages from Romans which are sometimes called the Roman Road.
First is Romans 3:23-24: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:23-24)
Second is Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
Third is Romans 5:8: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
Whether they realize it or not, humanity has a huge problem. Every one of us is a sinner, both in the brokenness we inherited from our first parents and in the wrong we do and the good we fail to do personally. The dark stain of our sin separates us from the pure and holy God who created all things. We are cut off from the peace, joy, comfort and strength that he wants to give to us, and we live under the condemnation of death, both death in the sense of the end of our life in this world and death in the sense of a life apart from God forever.
Yet God has stepped into human history to stop humanity’s headlong rush toward hell. Because he loves us, even while we were still sin-soaked sinners and his belligerent enemies, God the Father sent his Son into this world to become one of us, live a perfect human life for us, and then suffer a horrible death on a cross to pay the full cost of forgiveness for all the sins of all humanity throughout all time. The proof of our forgiveness and our assurance of eternal life came on the third day that followed when the Father raised his Son, Jesus, from the dead. This is the Gospel, the Good News message, of Jesus Christ.
Clearly, a change in our life is required. But how does that change happen? Paul tells us in Romans 10: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9) We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The moment we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we pass from death to life, and from condemnation to forgiveness. But how is faith planted in the human heart? Again, Paul tells us, Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. (Romans 10:17) This is why all of us need to hear and immerse ourselves in God’s Word, the Bible. It contains the Good News message about Jesus, that gives us the faith in Jesus we need to be saved.
The Necessity of Clear Thinking
But Paul also encourages Timothy in other ways, But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:5) In order to discharge all the duties of his ministry during the tough times that are ahead, Paul knows from personal experience that Timothy will need to be a person who keeps his head in all situations and endures hardship. Paul personally experienced floggings, beatings, being pelted with stones, shipwrecks, imprisonment, and danger almost everywhere he went (see 2 Corinthians 11: 23-29). And yet Paul was able to endure all that he faced and think clearly and thoughtfully through it all. How was he able to do that?
For the answer, we need to turn to the first part of this letter where Paul writes, For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7) Our faith in Jesus not only saves us from sin, death and condemnation, it enables us to live as one of his people in this world with courage and strength. But this courage and strength is not our possession. When we believe in Jesus as Lord, we switch from living an independent life to living our one and only life fully dependent on God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us the power, love and self-discipline we need to think clearly and endure hardship, and the Holy Spirit works through what we call the Means of Grace, God’s Word, the Bible, Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.
Therefore, as we continually immerse ourselves in the truth of God’s Word, we also remind ourselves daily of the washing of rebirth and renewal we received in our Baptisms, and we regularly have our souls nourished with the Body and Blood of Jesus in Holy Communion. We challenge our minds to think with God’s thoughts, and we rest and comfort our bodies, not with the things of this world, but with the rest and comfort of God. The idea that we have a one compartment in our life for spiritual matters and the rest of our life runs according to the frequency of the world is not biblical nor sustainable. Each of us has only one life, and the only way to thrive in the life we have with God is for all of our life to be tuned to his divine frequency.
All of Us Have a Vocation, or Calling, from God
So what can we take from Paul’s letter to Timothy and apply to our lives? All of us have been given one or more vocations, or callings, from God. Our vocation might be as a basketball or hockey player, a student, an employee, a manager, a teacher, an accountant, or nurse.
You might have the vocation of parent, child, grandparent, or spouse. Whatever callings you may have, God is calling you to be his person in that role. He is calling you to fulfill the duties you have in that role with faith, hope and love. There will be challenges and hardships to endure and you will need to keep your head in all situations. To do that, you will need to keep the main thing the main thing, and that is having a whole-hearted faith that is nourished by God’s Word. You will want and need your faith to not only be a saving faith in Jesus as Lord, but also a dependent faith that relies on God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for the power, love, and self-discipline you need to fulfill the roles God has given to you.
What is Worth Dying For?
Last week, I shared that one of the F1 drivers, Pierre Gasly, is a Christian. So is Lewis Hamilton, who said, “I love racing, [but] I wouldn’t say F1 is worth dying for. Your dream, passion, ambition and goals can be worth dying for.”[ii] During his first season in F1, Lewis was told by a young fan who was undergoing chemotherapy that his performances inspired her recovery.
“It is hard to grasp that and to imagine what she is going through but she grabbed on to something,” he said. “That was maybe this young kid coming from nowhere but facing adversity, somehow fighting through it. That’s definitely worth fighting for, that’s definitely worth dying for, if you can touch one kid and put them on course for their potential.”[iii]
F1 is a dangerous sport and crashes can happen in a split second. About such incidents, Lewis says, “‘You don’t have time to pray,’ he said of such incidents. ‘Anything can happen any day, but I feel God has his hand over me.’ It is a belief strengthened by regular prayer and attendance at church. ‘I go with a couple of my close friends,’ he said. ‘We meet, we go for breakfast and then we go to church together. We leave most often feeling enlightened and empowered, it’s like a re-centring.’”[iv]
Jesus will help you to live a life that inspires and encourages others. He will help you to persevere through all the dangers and trials you will face. And Jesus will be with you to give you the power, love and self-discipline you need to think clearly, love dearly, and endure hardship. Amen.
[i] Saajan Jogia, “George Russell’s ‘Borderline Heatstroke’ During Singapore GP Revealed In New Footage,” SI.com (Internet; available at: https://www.si.com/fannation/racing/f1briefings/news/george-russell-s-borderline-heatstroke-during-singapore-gp-revealed-in-new-footage-01j8hhcgczmg; accessed September 26, 2024).
[ii] Giles Richards, “Lewis Hamilton guided by faith and perspective for new F1 challenges,” TheGuardian.com (Internet; available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/jul/04/lewis-hamilton-faith-perspective-f1; accessed September 26, 2024).
[iii] Giles Richards, “Lewis Hamilton …
[iv] Giles Richards, “Lewis Hamilton …
(This message was shared at Walnut Grove Lutheran Church in Langley BC and St. Luke Lutheran Church in Surrey BC on October 6, 2024. For more info, please go to wglc.org and sllc.ca.)
Farewell to Shadowlands 