Scripture: 2 Timothy 4 v 1-8: "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."
Jesus will give a Crown of Righteousness to those disciples who, throughout the ages, have faithfully allowed God's plan for their lives to be fully manifested. If they have been obedient and honest in their ministry; if they have taken good care of the flock of God, putting the needs of the people before their own, then there will be a righteous crown for them. However I believe they will lay every crown at the feet of Jesus for He alone is worthy.
Paul led Timothy to the Lord and gave him the best foundation for his ministry; exhorting him to be an evangelist and to be very watchful over using the right doctrines. Paul told him to reprove and strongly rebuke those who preach false doctrines. For us today this must also be true as with apostasy abounding in the church the false doctrines are rife and the true gospel in freefall.
In this modern era churchgoers have itching ears for every new fangled religious idea or teaching and intermingle new age doctrines with some verses out of the Bible to justify their stance. Out of this came the spiritually mingled, politically correct Interfaith Movement.
Numbers 3 v 2 - 4: "And these are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest's office.
4 And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest's office in the sight of Aaron their father."
In Interfaith all the religions of the world are free to worship whatever deity appeals to them. In their meetings rabbis, gurus, imams, prelates, lamas spiritualists, worshippers of ancestors, and priests take turns in praying to their chosen idol. However, it is requested or insisted, that no mention is made of the name of Jesus Christ because that would offend many. It offends many demons of false religions that's for sure and they truly fear that name. The fact that believing in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord is the ONLY way to Heaven totally escapes them.
Aaron the High Priest of the Hebrews on their journey to the Promised Land, consecrated his sons as priests. Two of them were out of line and brought false worship and religions to the people. Their strange fire cost them their lives. Our God never changes. He will not permit His people to follow demons. Not then, not now.
Paul had come to the end of his Earthly ministry and had created a legacy for the Church of wisdom and stability. He had great passion for Jesus and had suffered beatings, whippings, imprisonment and other awful persecutions because he taught the people to oppose the reigning Caesar, the Ruler and god of Rome.
The present "reigning Caesar and God of Rome", Pope Frances, will soon find himself wishing he had chosen a more true and righteous path. He is hovering on the edge of death and his worship of Mary, the false one not Jesus' mother, and other false doctrines bars his entrance into Heaven. Who could convince him otherwise? There is no such office nor person who is Vicar of Christ. No person can take His place except the Holy Spirit.
Paul knew that Jesus had a crown for him even though he considered himself the least of all the saints because he had been guilty of persecuting the Church and consenting to the death of Stephen. This type of humility in one who had done so much to spread Christianity throughout the known world is wonderful to see.
Saints are born again Christians; sinners are not yet born again. That is how God sees the people of Earth - either saint or sinner, no nationality nor religion nor colour nor gender. Saints have a personal relationship with Jesus, and are led by Him in the ways of truth and life. Sinners reject the right ways of the Lord to satisfy their fleshly lusts. You cannot be both. In the Roman Catholic Church you can only become a saint after performing two miracles after your death. Seriously?
We must endeavour to do our utmost for the Kingdom of God whether or not there is any reward other than to be in Heaven for eternity. Our work is to lift Jesus up so He can draw all men to Himself. The Holy Spirit has given us spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, miracles, healings, faith, prophecy, word of knowledge, word of wisdom and discerning of spirits of good and evil. We must use these gifts under His guidance to help one another and overcome the wiles of the devil.
I watch every video of Afshin Javid, the former Hezbollah terrorist who had a personal visitation from Jesus as he lay dying in a Malaysian prison over 30 years ago. He still weeps when he speaks of Jesus touching his shoulder and forgiving his sins. His humility, remorse, gratitude and love for the Lord brings tears to my eyes. He reminds me of Paul on the road to Damascus. Every follower of Islam should listen to his testimony. Many will be worthy of a crown if they follow him to the Cross and beyond.
Our true crown is to bring glory to the name of Jesus as faithful followers. Let people see us as beacons of light to draw them into the bosom of our Father. Let our crown be the good we do, the love of God that is reflected by us, the modest way we live as witnesses of truth.
Prayer: Heavenly Father Jesus is coming again and there is an urgency in our hearts for the lost to have a chance to be saved. If our friends and family are unsaved please help us to share the gospel with them. Give us the courage O Lord. Give them the opportunity to earn the crown of righteousness for themselves.
In Jesus' name. Amen.