2 Tim 1:12 For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. 
	Previously, we looked at some of those truths that should be seen as certainties in our relationship with Jesus Christ. They are truths that should be indisputably set into place in our lives and in our hearts. This morning, let us look more closely at the fact that we are not to be ashamed by the witness of Jesus Christ in our lives. This world power tries everything at its disposal to make it as difficult as possible, for a Christian to hold true to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only by the grace and the power and the love of God that we are able to hold firmly to the spiritual truth and reality that our God reigns and that He is now our very life. We truly do, no longer live our own lives, thank God. Christ lives forth His life in us. In Him, we are brought lovingly, securely, perfectly, and joyfully into that living relationship through His life and His power at work in us. In Him, we are not ashamed, despite all the ceaseless influences and endless and vicious attacks of this world.
	The Psalmist knew this truth, as recorded in Ps 119:4-7. Thou hast ordained Thy precepts, That we should keep them diligently. Oh that my ways may be established To keep Thy statutes! Then I shall not be ashamed When I look upon all Thy commandments. I shall give thanks to Thee with uprightness of heart, When I learn Thy righteous judgments. Notice that the Psalmist knew what it took to know the Lord in such an unashamed manner. First, we have to be established in our ways in Christ Jesus. Establishment necessitates undergoing the trials and the testing and the pressure and the tribulation and the shaking away of everything that can be shaken. Establishment means that we have given ourselves willingly into God’s hands for Him to do everything necessary, in His Sovereignty and Grace, to bring forth His Glory Alone.
	This is not a simple process where we just pray and then wake up one morning established in the Lord. It takes time and it takes force and it takes stress and it takes pressure and it takes commitment and it takes undergoing the intensity of exercise and training that will last the eternal ages to come. To be established in Christ, is to be crucified daily and completely to any self-desire and any earthly understanding and concept. It means to be absolutely, obediently focused upon Christ and refusing to settle for anything less than the fullness of Jesus Christ as our life today, tomorrow, and forever. 
	The Prophet Isaiah had this heart. Isa 50:7-10 For the Lord God helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I shall not be ashamed. He who vindicates Me is near; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other; Who has a case against Me? Let him draw near to Me. Behold, the Lord God helps Me; Who is he who condemns Me? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment; The moth will eat them. Who is among you that fears the Lord, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. 
	Notice that Isaiah is just as set in the course of the Lord’s work in his life as was the Psalmist. As a matter of fact, Isaiah even puts it in terms of setting his face like flint. He knows that he will not be ashamed. No matter what happens, he knows that God is with him. He is absolutely assured that God will vindicate his resolute stand in the honor of the Lord. 
This is another of those keys that we need to realize within our hearts in terms of our living relationship with God in Jesus Christ. There are those times when it feels like we are alone. There are those times when our prayers seem to go unanswered. There are those times when we look to heaven and do not see God’s grace abounding upon us in the warmth and the brightness of the sun. We see the overcast skies. We feel the dampness and the chill in our beings. But the fact is, whether or not we sense or feel it, God is with us. We need to set our hearts and minds as flint on that fact. No matter how we feel, no matter how things look, no matter how disheartened we may be, God is with us. We will not be ashamed as we trust in Him. 
This entire aspect must be established in us after all, our complete and resolute trust in Him. This is the activity that faith works in our lives, don’t you see? No matter how things appear, we trust Him because we live in the faith that He has all things well in hand. Faith is not a feeling. It is not an emotion. It is not a gimmick or a mind trick. It is the absolute assurance that we can trust God, no matter what! Even if we are tortured and maimed and martyred in this realm, our faith assures us that God has us well in His hand and that we have nothing to fear! We will never be put to shame, as we faithfully set our hearts on pleasing God in everything we do.
	Another prophet of the Old Testament picks up this reality as we read in Joel 2:23-29. So rejoice, O sons of Zion, And be glad in the Lord your God; For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, The early and latter rain as before. And the threshing floors will be full of grain, And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil. "Then I will make up to you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, The creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you. "And you shall have plenty to eat and be satisfied, And praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people will never be put to shame. "Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am the Lord your God And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame. "And it will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. "And even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. 
	Notice that Joel sees far beyond what the current situation entails. The locusts have been devastating and have stripped away the food. Starvation has been rampant and the people have been severely chastised for their disobedience. There have been many, many tears and much anguish, and yet the Lord’s promise is full and rich before the people. In spite of all that they have suffered, and suffered greatly, even unto death, they will not come to shame as they set their hearts and their hopes on God. If they will but turn back to Him and seek Him with all their hearts and beings, they will experience the early and the latter rain. They will find that their vats and their threshing floors will overflow in the goodness of the Lord. 
Do not look at what can so easily overwhelm us in this realm, look to God! Set our eyes on him! We will not be ashamed if we rely on God. Seek after Him and come into the full harvest of His grace and goodness. We will be completely satisfied to overflowing, if we will but seek God with all our heart and with our entire mind and with all our soul. Hold on to Him through the devastation and the drought and the famine and the pestilence and we will find our rest and our comfort in the midst of this plagued and arid world. He will pour out His Spirit and He will flood us with relief and comfort and fullness. All shame and sorrow and mourning will flee away, as we hold fast in the truth of the grace and the goodness of our Lord God Almighty.
	The Apostle Paul emphasizes the rock solid faith that is ours as he writes to the Church in Rome. Rom 9:30-33 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed." Our very righteousness is based on the fact that we are not ashamed of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Children of Israel had been given all the prophecies and encouragement to hold on to the Lord forever. Yet, they found that they could not look on the face of Jesus Christ without shame in their hearts. They stumbled over the Messiah because He did not bring them what they wanted, an earthly kingdom. Whereas the Gentiles, having nothing in this world and looking for nothing out of this world, freely received the love of God offered by faith in Jesus Christ without shame or hesitation. The Jews, thinking they knew it all, could not accept the One, Whom the Gentiles, who had nothing, could embrace as their everything. 
	The Children of Israel had everything in God, and they threw it all away because they wanted to elevate themselves above the rest of humanity. They were possessed with the spirit of self-importance and self-reliance. They did not want what Christ offered because it didn’t fit into their plans for future glory. 
Lest we start to throw rocks, keep in mind that all humanity, from Adam downward, has faced this exact same self-aggrandizement. There is a sense of self that prevents some from accepting the free gift of God’s love. There is a sense of entitlement, a sense of human intellect, a sense of thinking that we can get what we want, if we trust in ourselves and in our own ideas of what matters. It is only by the grace of God that we have been brought, in all humbleness and acceptance to the only hope of life, Jesus Christ. Apart from Him, we, too, have our own vicious battles for self-supremacy and self-worth raging in our minds and hearts. 
As we face these battles, we need to join the heart of the Apostle Paul in Phil 1:18-21. He had to bear the false charges against his ministry. He had to deal with the lies and the treachery of the Judiazers. He had to face down the wolves seeking to prey on the church. All the while, in the midst of these vicious, personal, and brutal attacks, he kept his heart and soul focused on the only source of hope and life.  What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice. For I know that this shall turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ shall even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 
To live is Christ and to die is gain. How many of us can testify to the fact that we are not ashamed to be called by the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Whether at work, or at school, in the market, on the playground, at sporting events, at home, at the neighbors, with friends, or with adversaries, do we proclaim, by our life and deeds and words, that we belong to and hold steadfastly onto Jesus Christ? How do we respond when we are drawn into those conversations which make fun of Christians and high moral standards and the belief in God as the Creator and the Savior? Do we skulk into the background, and deny our Lord, like the Apostle Peter on that awful night of his humiliation? Or, do we stand firm and lovingly in the truth that there is only one way of salvation, through the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ? To live is Christ and to die is gain. How much we gain as we earnestly seek after the Lord to make us not ashamed of His name and His Gospel – as we learn to live forth, even unto death in this world, for His name’s sake!
	Look at the spiritual growth in the Apostle Peter as he proclaimed the Lord Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected. He encourages us on this path. 1 Peter 4:14-17 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God. For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 
We cannot afford to avoid suffering for the name of Jesus Christ. We are called to join in the fellowship of His suffering. It is the direct result of that suffering together for His name that brings us into depth of fellowship with Him. As we endure hardship together and as He is our comforter and keeper through it all, we find that our bond of suffering cements our hearts together in a manner that cannot be broken. 
When a husband and wife endure a cataclysmic, catastrophe together, clinging onto Christ and each other for mere survival, something glorious develops. There is a union established which works to keep them going on with Christ through all the many more difficult times ahead. There is a purpose in our facing adversity and trial together, and that is the very basis of our union in Christ. He suffered for our sakes, and in turn, we suffer for His sake. We learn to lean and to rely completely on Him, Alone, as our every source of life.
	Finally, the Apostle John tells us, we need to abide in Christ. 
1 John 2:27-29 And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. 
To abide, means to set aside anything else and to face our responsibilities as Christians. We will not be ashamed, nor will we ever be disappointed, if we abide in Jesus Christ. This means that we take the time to be in communion with Him, reading His Word, studying His Word, obeying His Word, and cherishing His Word. It means that we spend time speaking with Him in prayer, talking with Him, calling to Him, seeking Him, beseeching Him, listening to Him, waiting before Him, worshipping Him, honoring Him, and living unto Him. 
We abide as we worship Him together as his Body, as we fellowship in Him with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We feed from Him as we hear His Word proclaimed. We partake together with Him in our service of Communion and Baptism and Dedication unto Him. 
These are all various elements that are part of our abiding in Him, along with our abiding in His suffering, and abiding in His correction, and abiding in His instruction, and abiding in His chastisement, and abiding in His fellowship. As He is so much the focal point of our time, our energy, our thoughts, our hearts, and our desires, we will find that we cannot possibly be ashamed of Him. And we will know that He is not ashamed of us. He will be so much the center of our concentration that nothing else will be of any consequence within this sojourn through our earthly life. Lose ourselves in Him, and we will find that He is our everything and so very much more. So be it! 
For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. Amen.

This morning’s benediction is Neh 9:5b+6 Arise, bless the Lord your God forever and ever! O may Thy glorious name be blessed And exalted above all blessing and praise! "Thou alone art the Lord. Thou hast made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. Thou dost give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down before Thee. Amen