How To Be Faithful in a Fallen World
2 Timothy 1:3-14
August 19, 2018
As you are aware this morning we are going to commission our teachers and students back again into the great mission field of the school system.
We understand that as the church we have an obligation
To proclaim Christ’s excellencies
Wherever we dwell, wherever we work, wherever we go.
And the school system is one of those areas that affects most all of us.
• Some actual work there as their occupation
• Others spend a lot of time volunteering and serving in extracurricular functions
• Many of us regularly attend school functions
• And a great many of us send our children there for many hours a year
Certainly anything that has such an influence
On our time, our families, our children,
SHOULD NOT BE OVERLOOKED AS A PLACE
Where we want to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ.
And we try to remember this each year.
In fact last year, we reminded that like Ezekiel, we are all watchmen.
• We know the truths of judgment
• We know the way of salvation
• We are held accountable as those who know the truth
Surely everyone in here who claims to be a servant of Christ
Understands the mandate that is ours to share the gospel.
I HOPE YOU STILL UNDERSTAND THAT.
In fact, I’m going to trust that you do,
And that will allow us to move on to the next step this morning.
This past Wednesday night in prayer meeting Amy prayed that she knew she was going to get a “Beat Down” in the sermon this morning as she was reminded of the calling to share the truth even in the school.
But honestly, the goal this morning is not a beat down.
The goal this morning is a build up.
This morning we are looking at a “How To” text.
• Most of you are familiar with the setting of 2 Timothy which is all about encouraging a discouraged pastor.
• When you read 1 Timothy you find that Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus to straighten out a church that had lost it’s way.
• There were men there who were teaching strange doctrines, and Paul left Timothy to “fight the good fight” and right the ship.
• It must have been a terribly difficult battle because by the time we get to 2 Timothy, it is clear that Timothy has had enough and he wants to quit.
• This letter from Paul is a letter meant to challenge, encourage, and instruct Timothy how to get back in the saddle.
But more than just a “Rah-Rah” message of encouragement,
It is also a practical message of the specific steps
That Timothy should take in order to do that.
SO…
• If you have been redeemed by Christ
• If you understand that you are also under obligation to share the gospel
• If you are aware of exactly where the gospel must be shared
• But if you are timid or afraid or weak in obedience to that command
THEN THIS IS FOR YOU
It is encouragement from Paul, to Timothy,
About how to get over his fear and discouragement
And how to be the faithful steward that God had called him to be.
There are actually 5 very practical pieces of advice here.
If you struggle with confidence and boldness in your evangelism here are 5 practical things to do.
#1 FOCUS ON THE SPIRIT, NOT THE FLESH
2 Timothy 1:6-7
We’re going to come back to verses 3-5 in a moment,
But you do need to at least notice here that verse 5 reminds Timothy that Paul is in fact convinced of his salvation.
(5) “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.”
Obviously if Paul is not convinced of Timothy’s salvation
Then this letter is a moot point.
But Paul believes that Timothy is in fact saved.
Which allows for what he says next:
(6) “For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”
• Because Paul believes Timothy to be saved,
• Paul knows that Timothy is in fact indwelt by the Holy Spirit
• And therefore does in fact have a spiritual gift.
If you are not familiar with the concept of spiritual gifts,
Let me give you a quick introduction.
1 Corinthians 12:4-7 “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
• While all believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit as a work of regeneration,
• It is also true that in each believer the Holy Spirit sovereignly chooses to manifest Himself in a specific way.
• All believers have the Holy Spirit and therefore should demonstrate the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
• And in addition to fruit, they have a spiritual gift, which is a way in which the Spirit manifests Himself in the life of that believer for the common edification of the church.
This manifestation is called a spiritual gift.
• It is not a talent
• It is not earned
• It is absolutely supernatural
• It is the ability of the Holy Spirit made manifest in the otherwise powerless life of a believer.
• And you don’t get to pick it
Gifts are given through the sovereign prerogative of God.
1 Corinthians 12:11 “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”
We don’t have time this morning to get into the gifts specifically,
Or to enter the discussion about the sign gifts,
BUT IT IS ENOUGH this morning for our purposes for you to understand
That God supernaturally gifts His children for ministry.
Ephesians 4:7-13 “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.” (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
And since these are gifts made available through God’s Spirit,
The believer must understand that the work done in the ministry
Is done through the Spirit’s power, not our own.
1 Peter 4:10-11 “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
So, because of the reality of spiritual gifts,
Believers are obligated to serve according to the strength of the Spirit
And should not depend upon their own flesh as their source of strength.
To do ministry in your strength, glorifies you.
To do ministry in the strength which God supplies, glorifies God.
And this is where Paul begins his encouragement to Timothy.
“I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”
“the laying on of may hands” was the means in which Timothy was commissioned to use the gift that was recognized in him by the church.
1 Timothy 4:14 “Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery.”
So very simply and briefly put.
• Timothy’s faith was evident to those around him.
• Timothy’s spiritual gift of preaching was also evident to those around him.
• As such, they laid their hands on him, so as to set him apart for the ministry of
preaching the gospel.
They affirmed that spiritual gift in him.
So, if you are keeping score,
• Paul is reminding Timothy that he is convinced that Timothy is saved,
• And that Timothy has a spiritual gift,
• (the rest of the letter makes clear that this gift is preaching.)
This means that Timothy has been supernaturally equipped by God
To handle the ministry which God has laid before him.
And to that end Paul gives this encouragement:
“I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you”
“kindle afresh” is a Greek word that
“speaks of blowing on coals to rekindle a fire that is dying.”
In short, Timothy is to remember and look back to
That passion which God poured into him.
And this is how spiritual gifts are often made manifest.
If you are unsure as to your spiritual gift,
• I would ask you first, “What are you passionate about?”
• Secondly, I would ask the church, what they see in you. (Because it is often the church that recognizes that gift and affirms it in us)
And in the case of preaching (like with Timothy)
It would be a passion that God poured in to him
And one that the Holy Spirit is eager to use.
Consider Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 20:7-9 “O LORD, You have deceived me and I was deceived; You have overcome me and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; Everyone mocks me. For each time I speak, I cry aloud; I proclaim violence and destruction, Because for me the word of the LORD has resulted In reproach and derision all day long. But if I say, “I will not remember Him Or speak anymore in His name,” Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it.”
• You can easily see Jeremiah’s fleshly frustration,
• But you also see that there is a gift and a calling and a fire in him that will not let him stop.
Paul knows this same type of fire is in Timothy, and he needs to revisit it.
I suppose one might ask at this point, “How do I do that?”
How do I kindle afresh my gift?
• Certainly it begins with repentance for having forsaken it…
• Certainly there is prayer confessing to God the need for His strength…
• But on an even more practical note – SERVE
Put your gift to use and you will find in that
A fulfillment and a satisfaction that is literally beyond you.
But Paul wants Timothy to focus again
On the fact that God has gifted him for this.
YOU AS WELL.
• Those of you who are redeemed who will head into the school tomorrow morning, God has also gifted you.
• Possibly with gifts of teaching or proclaiming truth or evangelism, but also with gifts of service and leadership and compassion.
RELY ON HIS STRENGTH AND USE YOUR GIFT
WHY?
(7) “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”
That word “timidity” in the Greek literally means “cowardice”
That fear and that trembling and that cowardice that you fear,
DID NOT COME FROM GOD.
Where did that come from?
That came from your flesh
Your natural flesh is cowardly and weak and selfish and enslaved to sin.
BUT GOD HAS REDEEMED YOU and set His spirit within you,
And HIS SPIRIT IS NONE OF THOSE THINGS.
The Spirit God gives is that “of power, and love and discipline.”
“power”
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
“love”
Romans 5:5 “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
“discipline” (i.e. self-control, no longer following the impulses of the flesh)
Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”
And we could really talk a whole lot more just on these verses,
But THE FIRST PRACTICAL POINT I want you to understand
As you go into that school is that
You cannot succeed in your own flesh and by your own abilities.
You are too cowardly, you are too weak, you are too selfish,
And you are too enslaved…ON YOUR OWN.
But the God who has redeemed you has put fire in you
And power in you and love in you and discipline in you.
DRAW ON THAT
Rely on the Spirit, no the flesh
#2 CHOOSE SUFFERING OVER SHAME
2 Timothy 2:8
You clearly see the admonition of Paul here:
“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner,”
It harkens back to that famous passage in Romans 1
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
It is a word that refers to embarrassment.
We know that the “testimony of our Lord” is NOT a message honored by the world.
• We are proclaiming life and hope and salvation through a man that the world saw condemned and crucified.
We also know that it is NOT a loved message, hence the fact that Paul was now a “prisoner” because of it.
And because of the mocking and scorn of the world, we are tempted at times to back away from the message.
• We omit the offense of the cross
• We omit the reality of judgment
• We omit the heinousness of sin
We don’t want to be shamed, we don’t want to be persecuted.
But Paul says, DON’T DO THAT TIMOTHY
Instead, “join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God.”
Can I remind you of something that you probably already know?
• When you are called by God to share the gospel…
• When you are called by God to bear witness of Jesus Christ…
You are now stuck with only 2 options.
You will either obey Him, which opens the door to suffering
Or you will disobey Him, which will bring you shame
Think about it believer,
Can you remember a time when you failed to bear witness for Christ?
• Did that really make you feel good?
Of course not, there is shame in that.
We, like Peter, feel the need to go out and weep bitterly when we fail our Lord.
So take the other option which is to choose suffering over shame.
Make your mind up ahead of time.
You all know that I like to coach Little League Baseball.
Those who have played on my teams over the years know
We always have a motto. “Love Wins”
Love sacrifices self for the good of another
Perfect love casts out fear
We remind our boys and girls that in order to succeed as a team
You are going to have to face your fears
And sacrifice yourself for the good of the team.
And one thing I remind baseball players of religiously is this:
YOU CANNOT PLAY BASEBALL IF YOU ARE AFRAID OF THE BALL
You cannot play the game, the way the game is meant to be played
If you are afraid of the ball.
You must resolve yourself to the fact and overcome it.
You cannot play baseball with a fear of the ball
And you cannot serve Christ with a fear of suffering.
Doesn’t mean you will always suffer, but you must embrace the possibility.
Get that in your mind now.
Philippians 1:29 “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,”
Suffering IS NOT peculiar.
Suffering IS promised.
Get that through your head right now.
God didn’t call you to a life of ease, He called you to a life of suffering.
The sooner you get that through your mind Timothy,
The sooner you will be able to serve Christ effectively and without shame.
Rely on the Spirit, not the flesh – Choose suffering over shame
#3 REMEMBER THAT GOD IS NOT ON YOUR MISSION, YOU ARE ON HIS
2 Timothy 1:9-11
Discouragement and frustration often occur in our ministries
When we just don’t see God doing what we wish He was doing.
As a pastor, I may expect
• Large crowds,
• Radical salvations,
• Maybe a radio broadcast, etc.
Maybe you expected that if you share
• All of your friends would be saved,
• Your co-workers would repent,
And like the movie “Facing the Giants”
• Revival would break out in your school,
• You’d get a new pickup,
• You’d get a raise,
• Your wife would get pregnant,
• And you’d win 2 state championships.
Wouldn’t that be great!
And if that’s God’s plan, then ABSOLUTELY.
But if that’s your plan, let me ask you to check it at the door.
We are not in the results department,
We are in the obedience department.
And that is what Paul is reminding Timothy of here.
I don’t know what sort of expectations Timothy had for his church,
But I think it’s safe to say that those expectations are not being met.
So Paul reminds Timothy very candidly here that
God didn’t call him in order to fulfill Timothy’s ministries.
God called Timothy to fulfill His own purposes.
Now there is a lot here that we just don’t have time to get into.
Verses 9-11 actually give a brief synopsis of the entire gospel.
But catch the high points with me.
Paul FIRST reminds that God “saved us and called us with a holy calling”
• We didn’t enlist God, God enlisted us.
• We didn’t set the expectation for God, God set the expectation for us
And THEN Paul reminds that God did not save us “according to our works, but according to His own purpose”
• Certainly we know that we are saved by grace and not works.
• But that’s NOT what Paul is talking about here.
• Paul is reminding Timothy that God did not save us FOR our works, God
saved us FOR His works.
It is NOT LIKE we were all students at MIT waiting for someone to come along and fund our projects, and God obliged. (NO)
We WERE LIKE students at MIT waiting for someone to come along and fund our projects…and God showed up, asked us to leave school, ditch our projects, burn our research, and go to work on His project.
That is what Paul reminds Timothy of.
If you are discouraged because God isn’t blessing your ministry like you expected then let it go.
GOD RECRUITED YOU FOR HIS PURPOSE,
Your job is simply to preach the gospel here at Ephesus,
Regardless of the outcome.
NOTICE that this “purpose and grace…was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, [and] now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,”
Do you catch the point?
• God’s ministry began long before yours.
• He had a plan long before you entered the equation.
• He recruited you (and me) to fulfill His plan.
You are here to magnify God’s ministry
WHICH IS the salvation of the world, the abolishment of death,
And to bring life and immortality to men
Through the appearing, death, and resurrection of Christ.
You are here to magnify that purpose.
To which Paul says, (11) “for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.”
Do you get that?
God isn’t sending you into that school so that you can build your ministry, (or even the ministry of this church.)
• It’s not so that you can help our youth group to get bigger.
• It’s not so that you can help add families to our congregation.
God is sending you into that school as one He has recruited
To make known His purpose of salvation through Jesus.
This has been God’s plan “from all eternity”.
This plan was “revealed by the appearing of our Savior.”
This is the plan for which we have been “appointed a preacher”.
If you have your own ideas and expectations about what God should do for your ministry, drop those at the door.
There is nothing but frustration and discouragement in expecting God to honor your plans.
• Go read some of those complaining prayers of Jeremiah.
• Go read about Elijah’s pity-party before God at Sinai because God didn’t do
what Elijah expected
EXPECTING GOD TO SERVE YOU INSTEAD OF YOU SERVING GOD
IS A PATHWAY TO DISCOURAGEMENT
Rely on the Spirit, not the flesh – Choose suffering over shame
Remember God is not on your mission, you are on His
#4 BE INSPIRED BY THE CONVICTION OF OTHERS
2 Timothy 2:12
This may seem like a secondary point,
But it is so helpful in our obedience.
This is a major theme that Paul brings to light in this letter of 2 Timothy.
I had hoped we would have time to travel through the book and look at each of these, but I just don’t think we will have time, so you may have to do this study on your own.
But in this letter Paul lists 24 people by name.
• 8 of them serve as positive examples for Timothy
• 8 of them serve as negative examples for Timothy
• 8 of them serve as current servants alongside Timothy
Let me give you a quick rundown.
POSITIVE EXAMPLES
Sincere Faith in Lois and Eunice
2 Timothy 1:5 “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.”
Unashamed service in Paul (the verse here)
2 Timothy 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.”
Unashamed diligence in Onesiphorus
2 Timothy 1:16 “The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains;”
Faithfulness in Jesus Christ
2 Timothy 2:8, 13 “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel…If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”
Endurance in Paul
2 Timothy 3:10-11 “Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!”
Reward for Paul
2 Timothy 4:6-8 “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
Perseverance by Luke
And restoration to ministry by Mark (the former deserter)
2 Timothy 4:11 “Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.”
All of those are faithful examples that Timothy can be encouraged by.
NEGATIVE EXAMPLES
Apostates who abandon the faith like Phylegus and Hermogenes
2 Timothy 1:15 “You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.”
Heretics who distort the truth like Hymenaus and Philetus
2 Timothy 2:16-18 “But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.”
Depraved and rejected men like Janes and Jambres
2 Timothy 3:8-9 “Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith. But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also.”
Opposition to truth like Alexander
2 Timothy 4:14-15 “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.”
And through those lists you get the implied encouragement.
You can either be faithful like me and Onesiphorus and Luke
Or you can be faithless like Phylegus and Philetus and Alexander
THE POINT IS, we get tremendous ENCOURAGEMENT
By how others have followed Christ.
Do you remember the faith chapter in Hebrews 11?
That great faith hall of fame we read about…
Do you remember the encouragement?
Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”
Take encouragement from the convictions of others.
That is what Paul is saying here to Timothy.
• Look at me!
• I suffer, but I’m not ashamed.
• It’s because I’m convinced that Jesus can guard what I’ve entrusted to Him.
And that’s great advice for you too.
• When you get in that school
• And you’re faced with hardship
• And your flesh wants to flee,
• Remember the convictions and faithfulness of others and let them inspire you walk in their steps.
It’s great advice to overcoming fear.
#5 FAITHFUL STEWARDS BEGIN AS FAITHFUL STUDENTS
2 Timothy 1:13-14
You recognize clearly the command of verse 14.
“Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”
You know what that “treasure” is, it’s the gospel.
1 Timothy 6:20-21 “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge” — which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.”
You understand the call to defend the gospel and to guard the gospel
But let me tell you the step that precedes that.
(13) “Retain the standard of sound words, which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”
The word “Retain” there is from a Greek word
Which means “to consider” or “to cling to” or “to hold in the mind”.
Paul is telling Timothy that he needs to hold in his mind
“the standard of sound words” that he heard from Paul.
What is that?
It’s the gospel.
So what is Paul saying?
• Timothy, you need to preach the gospel to yourself every day.
• Timothy, you need to meditate and hold on to the gospel every day.
WHY?
SO THAT YOU WILL TREASURE IT.
Because if you treasure the gospel,
You’ll have no problem guarding it.
We naturally guard what is valuable to us.
If you want to guard the gospel, then learn to treasure it.
If you want to treasure the gospel, then focus on it daily.
It is the glorious truth of how God in His mercy
Redeemed sinners like me to Himself through the sacrifice of His Son.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Focus on that every day.
Become a student of the gospel
And the natural outflow will be to make you a steward of it.
Now, we had to fly through that way faster than I wanted to, but let me hit you the high points one more time.
These are the keys to be faithful and effective in your ministry of the gospel to the school or even in your own workplace.
1) Rely on the Spirit, not the flesh
• You have a gift, use it
2) Choose suffering over shame
• We are called to suffer, embrace that, and stop running from it
3) Remember God is not on your mission, you are on His
• Do what He called you to do, let Him sort out the results
4) Be inspired by the conviction of others
• You are not the first to run this race, run it like the faithful before you
5) Faithful stewards begin as faithful students
• Preach the gospel to yourself daily, so that you will treasure it, and then you will naturally guard it.
Those are the steps that need to be taken
To overcome discouragement and fear
As we go into the world to share the gospel.
But there is one more thing I want to show you.
We skipped verses 3-5 to get started.
Verses 3-5 represent the package
In which Paul delivered these truths to Timothy.
(3-5) “I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day, longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.”
Paul didn’t slap Timothy in the face and tell him to “be a man!”
He presented it in a package of gratitude
(3a) “I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you”
He presented his advice in a package of prayer
(3b) “as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day”
He presented his advice in a package of eagerness and expectation
(4) “longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy.”
He presented his advice in a package of confidence
(5) “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.”
We want to encourage our students and teachers in exactly the same way.
THIS MORNING WE WANT TO PRAY FOR THEM.
