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"Faith
For Our Times" • 7.10.16 • Calvary
Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- Several months have passed between the
completion of First and Second Timothy. Shortly after writing First Timothy, Paul penned a similar letter
to Titus. Then, all hope of release
dwindled.
- Caesar Nero had began to ramp up his campaign
against the Christians, even assigning them the blame when he intitiated the
burning of Rome.
- In First
Timothy, Paul had displayed some hope of being released. That hope isn't
spoken of in this epistle. There is in fact a resignation that martyrdom is
near.
- Paul is writing from the Mamertine prison in
Rome. It's a cistern like cavern whose only light source comes from the hole
which let's you in and out of it.
- What we are about to study is written by a
man with a death sentence hanging over him, whose body is wracked by the brutal
cold of the stone walls that surround him.
- For all intents and purposes, Second Timothy represents more than
Paul's final words. These represent his last will and testament to his sole
heir. Let's pick it up in verse 1.
Text
• II
Timothy 1:1,2 : "Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is
in Christ Jesus, To
Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ
Jesus our Lord." : As we have mentioned
before, ancient letters were written upon long scrolls.
- Functionally, it was important to mention who
was writing immediately, thus, we begin with Paul, who was, in our terms, an
official delegate and spokesmen for Jesus Christ.
- Paul had no authority apart from Jesus
Christ. What he is about to say, he says secondarily through Christ's authority,
as an official from Christ's office.
- His was an apostleship by the express desire
of God. It was God's wish that Paul serve in this capacity. A committee would
not have appointed him.
- Paul had not been given much of a warm
greeting when he first came to Jerusalem in Acts 9:26. Given his background as a blaspheming terror to early
Christianity, it's no surprise.
- Additionally, Paul did not install himself as
an apostle. In point of fact, he had resisted and fought with all of his might
against the early church. Only God could affect Paul's Apostleship!
- God gets all the credit for what came about
in this man's life. Ultimately, who is a better example of God's power to
transform, than the man who had been His chief enemy?
- In this way, Paul is a trophy, as are you, of
God's grace! For the Apostle's part, he was happy to be in the service of the
God that He had once opposed!
- What a joy it was for Paul to have been wrong
about God and His Savior Son Jesus! What a joy to now be set apart by God to
announce the promise of life! Did you hear that?
- Paul is a minister of the promise of life!
You aren't suffering here this morning. You aren't in a dark, damp hole in the
ground awaiting the executioner's blade!
- In this world, you are promised life until
death finds you. Jesus promises life out from death!
- Jesus, the Good Shepherd, came into this
world to give His sheep life and that more abundantly. (John 10:10)
- Paul had experienced this life and was
pleased to offer it as an assurance to all who would place themselves in Christ
Jesus! This life that is promised by God is found in no other source!
- It is exclusively granted by God's grace
through a person's faith in Jesus! God's promise is to grant life through Jesus
Christ.
- Timothy had been a recipient of this life and
was also now the intended recipient of this letter.
- Having just studied First Timothy, I won't go into great detail regarding his life,
except to say that he met Paul while the Apostle was visiting his home town of
Lystra.
- Some time later, Paul invited Timothy to join
him on his second missionary journey. Fast forward nearly two decades and Paul
sees this young man as a beloved son in the faith.
- What an amazing thing God can do? He can give
you life and a family in Himself! In this case, Timothy was esteemed, the word
"beloved" denoting great favor.
- Paul wishes Timothy grace, mercy and peace,
all of which find their source in the agency of God the Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ!
- If you would know grace, unmerited,
undeserved, favor, you must receive it from the One who designed it! If you
would have mercy, it must come from the merciful One!
- If you would have peace, you must receive it
from the Prince of Peace Himself! Paul desired that Timothy enter in and
receive this, his portion.
- I would pray that same for you: May you know
more of His grace, mercy and peace as you study this epistle. You will find it
all as you seek Jesus, our Lord! Verse 3.
• II
Timothy 1:3-5 : "I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my
forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day,
greatly
desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with
joy, when I
call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your
grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also." : Did you hear that? Paul thanked God! He thanked God in the
midst of the loss of his freedom and as he faced certain execution! What a
testimony!
- Specifically, Paul was continually thankful
to God for Timothy. This was the God that he served. That's an important
consideration. God calls us all to serve Him.
- "Serve" speaks to rendering
religious or liturgical homage. Paul was always seeking to give God all that he
deserved. He rightly considered his service his worship.
- He served God, most importantly, with a pure
conscience. He was guiltless in his soul. He had done nothing to betray his
conscience or to compromise himself.
- As you get older, you are increasingly
concerned with being truthful before God. How much more is this true when you
are a servant of God and you are about to meet Him face to face?
- Paul, like his forefathers, those that had
gone before him, served without staining his conscience. Was Paul thinking
about his own relatives? I don't think so.
- I believe he thought of those who had
embraced the faith and served the Lord. I have to believe that Paul thought of
Jeremiah's sufferings, who had also be cast into a cistern while serving!
- In this way, Paul sees himself as the next
servant in line. He was rightly related to God through faith and by extension,
brought into the line of His servants!
- Think about this: As you take this
historically rendered faith, you are in line with all of God's faithful
servants, helping to continue their work! What a statement to make!
- Paul concludes his parenthesis. He thanks God
as he continually brings Timothy up in his prayers. Every time he prays, as he
wakes or as he goes to sleep, Timothy is on his mind.
- He prays with a great longing to see Timothy,
remembering his tears. At their last meeting, Timothy had been emotional and
that was Paul's last memory of him.
- He wanted to see Timothy so that he could
turn that somber memory into joy, because he would see a growing, maturing man
of the faith. Why do I say that?
- I say that because Paul was musing on
Timothy's genuine faith. It was sincere, lacking in hypocrisy. It's undisguised,
meaning that with Timothy, what you saw was what you got!
- He believed in Christ. He trusted in the Lord
and there was no question about that. Can that be said of you? Would Paul or
anyone else make that accusation about you? May it be so!
- In Timothy's case that faith did not
originate in him. This was modeled, as the faith of God "dwelt" in
the two most influential Ladies in his life.
- Other translations bring out a more colorful
range to the concept. For example, the NLT uses the word "filled"
while the NIV uses the word "lived."
- Similarly, the NET uses these words, "I recall your sincere faith that was alive
first." Paul may have raised Timothy spiritually, but it can't be said
that he was his primary influence.
- Timothy saw a faith that was lived out, that
held sway and infliuenced the decisions of his grandmother Lois and his mother,
Eunice.
- Which of you have read the "Book Of
Lois?" Who can quote from the "Letter To Eunice?" You can't. But
their faith lives on through Timothy!
- One should never doubt the reality of
influence and teaching potential that a Grandmother of Mother possesses. That
can never be diminished.
- Yes, there are days of incredible boredom and
relentless repetition. On occasion, there are moments, perhaps imperceptible to
anyone including you, where your faith truly shines.
- That moment is captured by the watching eyes
of a person who will carry it forward and see it become the dominating
influence of their lives!
- By the way, don't make the mistake of
thinking that Timothy's Grandmother and Mother had it all together or that
their faith was somehow greater than your own. They weren't perfect.
- Timothy's Mother had been a Jewish believer
who had been married to a Greek. (Acts
16:1)
- It's not certain whether she was already a
believer and married a Greek or if she had become a believer while married to a
Greek. Either way, she had certainly been a lukewarm Jewess!
- When Paul invited Timothy to travel with him,
he had to have him circumcised (Acts
16:3), something that a law abiding Mother would have done in the first 8
days of his life!
- Whatever her condition was, in the most
influential years of Timothy's life, Lois and Eunice began to live a life of
faith before their beloved son that caught his attention.
- It doesn't matter what has happened before
today. If today you hear his voice, turn to Him and let His faith live in you!
- Your perfection is impossible. Your obedience
and willingness to follow God is possible.
- You don't have to be a scholar. You don't
have to be a super saint. Obey what you know and do it sincerely, wholly and
fully. That will communicate far more than you know!
- On a final note, understand that living faith
lives on, but know that a dead faith, an insincere faith, a faith that lives
only on Sunday, will never translate beyond you! Nobody wants that!
- Gratefully, Eunice and Lois had been sincere
and it was alive in Timothy now.
- Paul was convinced of this. He had seen it
first hand and it was real. Paul is confirming that for Timothy. "Your
faith, when last I saw you, was as real as the faith that your Ladies
had!"
• II
Timothy 1:6,7 : "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in
you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of
love and of a sound mind." : Writing
on behalf of God and because of Timothy's faith Paul reminds Timothy to stir up
the gift of God.
- This was what he was to do. Don't let this
get lost in the shuffle of things that will eventually be done. "Timothy,
put this into the forefront of your mind."
- Stir up the gift of God. This word speaks of
"re-kindling" the embers of a fire.
- When those precious few winter hours occur in
Southern California, I love to sit by the fire. Many mornings, I've awakened to
a pile of ash.
- In my head, I'm sure that there isn't enough
flame to restore a fire. In my experience, I've been amazed to see how little
it took to rekindle it to a roar! How evocative is this picture?
- I don't believe that Paul is inferring that
Timothy has let the fire go out. I believe that it's his intention to say that
this was a time to be sure that it was stoked to it's highest flame!
- One commentator suggested that a first
century audience would know the importance of a flame in their homes,
especially as winter approached. Nobody would let a fire go low!
- This might not be the case with Timothy, but
it might be with you and I! How does this happen? With any fire, there is a
reduction when there is a lack of new fuel.
- Beyond discovery of a gift from God, there is
the continual need to exercise.
- For those interested in fueling the debate of
divine sovereignty and human response, see here again the balance. God
sovereignly gives gifts to His people.
- They in turn must exercise and attend to
them. They must fan them into flame!
- The fired up Christian is always looking to
serve, to invest their gift into others. Aside from the exercise of their gift,
might I also mention the need for continuing education!
- What are others with the same gift saying in
their essays and blogs? What resources are available to uncover new ways to
express this gift? Gifts become skill in the hands of the practiced!
- May I finally suggest good godly friends,
whose greatest desire in life is to serve the Lord!
- Where would Timothy have been without Paul's
encouragement and instruction? When you are yoked with similarly gifted and
inclined people, the fire is a natural by-product!
- My friends must be people who share a greater
desire for God's Kingdom than I possess. These friends will push me toward
Christ and their influence will help fuel my flame.
- Alternately, friends who are strongly minded
toward the world necessarily have to take a diminishing place of influence.
Why? Because we share a similar responsibility with Timothy!
- Listen to Paul's words: "Timothy, this
is not a regular human gift that you can dispense with. This was entrusted to
you by God!" If God has given you a gift, there is an expectation for use!
- Paul knows, as Timothy received this when
Paul laid his hands upon him! Paul did not confer it upon him, but confirmed
what God had already deposited in him!
- Use your gift, but understand that it's to be
used in conjunction with what you have been given by God to exercise it! "For God has not given us a spirit
of fear."
- God is not the author of timidity. The fear
or truly, the cowardice that you might be experiencing, does not have it's root
in God. Why would Timothy be fearful?
- As we saw in the first Epistle, there was a
wave of men who were giving into teaching heretical things. That was within the
church. On the outside, there was the Caesar, Nero.
- Persecution was the order of the day. But the
fear that would mute the usage of a God given gift was not from the Lord. That
was the manifest fear of man!
- When I give into the pressure that is always
present and willing to allow my gifts to be subjugated, I am immediately in
sin.
- The gift of God, that comes from God, for the
use of God toward the people of God is our priority. If I won't use it because
of what people will do to me, I'm in the wrong!
- Why is that? Because I'm living in something
that God hasn't provided. I'm choosing to live in my own power and not in the
power of God! That is what God has already given to us!
- He has given us a spirit of power. This word
is the seed for the English word "dynamite." It's explosive, dynamic
power that the Christian posesses. Why do they not experience it?
- Often they choose the fear by focusing on
what they are experiencing over against the truth of what God has given to
them!
- God hasn't simply given us sufficient
strength to get by on. He has given us power to overcome, to trust Him in the
midst of the most harrowing experience.
- This doesn't mean that we are superhuman and
"above" every circumstance. It means that we have a constitution to
stand faithfully within every circumstance!
- It's what Paul means when he says that he has
learned to be abased and to abound, to be full and to be hungry. (Philippians 4:12)
- This power allowed the apostles to be pressed
but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken and
struck down but not destroyed! (2
Corinthians 4:8,9)
- How is any of that possible? The power of God
to sustain a person through every known human circumstance! He has given us a
spirit of power and of love!
- All human beings are capable of showing love.
But this word reflects God's kind of love, given specifically to His people.
- It is the love that sees the deficiency of
it's recipient and looks for a way to make up for it so that love can occur!
- Paul refers to this love in the book of
Romans, when he says that God demonstrated His love for us by dying for us, not
while were friends, but while we were enemies! (Romans 5:8)
- The kind of love that God gives us causes us
to not simply tolerate our enemies, but to actually love them! Hear the Lord's
word on the matter.
• Luke
6:32,33 : "But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?
For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is
that to you? For even sinners do the same." :
The love of God extends to all. It's not from Him unless it's focus surprises
you!
- Paul notes at the end of verse 7 that God has given us a spirit that
is endowed with a "sound mind." The Greek word speaks to a restoring
one to their senses.
- This is a wonderful word which reminds me of
the prodigal son, who spent all of his money and time and still landed in a
pigsty!
- There came a day when he looked at his
situation and thought of what his Father's servants were doing at the same
time. When he decided to return, it was because he had come to his senses!
- From there, he turned around and came home.
That's the beginning. A person like Timothy had already come to Christ. Having
a mind that is restored to that sense remains with the Lord!
- There is a sense here of discipline and focus
specific to a person who is rightly aimed at a relationship with His Father.
This is what our God has given us.
- If Timothy had a fear of not exercising his
gift properly, he need only to remember that God had power for him.
- If he wondered how he would handle people, he
would recall the love that was available to him for them.
- If he wondered how he would handle his life
in the midst of certain trials and tribulations, he would be able to know that
God had given him a mind able to focus on Jesus!
- There wasn't a situation that Timothy was
going to face, which God hadn't already anticipated and equipped him for. That
same truth applies to you and I!
Conclusion
- As we
conclude, let me gather for us a few lessons that this passage teaches us about
our faith. First, our faith preserves us
through trials.
- Paul could
thank God and encourage Timothy from a prison cell because his faith kept him.
- Second, our faith is meant to be lived out.
It's not enough to know facts. God calls us to live by our faith. It's only
then that our faith lives on in others.
- Third, our faith links us to the saints of the
past. Paul's forefathers are our forefathers and we continue the work that
they began when we live by faith in Jesus Christ!
- Fourth, our faith must be continually kindled.
We must exercise our gift faithfully, educate ourselves continually and
befriend people who share our love for Christ's Kingdom.
- Finally, our faith is operated by God's power to
love and focus upon Jesus! What a gift!
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