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Finding Strength in God’s grace & even sharing it boldly to others – 2 Timothy 2:1-14

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/sermon-saju.mp3″]

Our passage for this Sunday is 2 Timothy 2:1-14.

In these verses we see Paul continues to encourage Timothy and he starts by saying “be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus” – To find strength in the grace of God.

The author of Hebrews in chapter 13:9 resonates something similar as he writes “for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.”

The author of Hebrews is writing in a context where the people were listening to some strange teachings about the power of foods. What he is essentially saying is that we need to find our strength in the grace of Christ Jesus and not in any external factors.

Our Christian walk is not an easy one. I’m sure you must have already figured that out. We are fighting against the powers and principalities of this world that are constantly waging war against us. The enemy wants to tear down our lives, tear down our mission. Jinson and I were talking about how real this battle is especially for both of us who are at the forefront leading the way. There are often times when we let down our guards and end up giving into Satan’s temptation and schemes.

I’m sure you guys have your own set of struggles when it comes to living out the Christian life. Times when you feel ashamed of yourself, times when you feel worthless, lonely, hopeless & guilty.

The first thing I want to encourage you is by reminding you that your battle is not unique and don’t ever let the enemy make you think that others are not going through the same struggles as you are. In fact, we all go through almost the same kinds of battle especially the battles with our flesh, maybe at different levels.

The question I want to ask is what do you do when you go through moments like these? Do you close yourself and go into hiding from the world? Do you break fellowship with your brethren because of shame and guilt? Do you sulk in your depravity and go on sinning even more?

The easiest thing is to do is all of the above and that’s exactly what the devil wants to achieve.

Rather, will you consider going to God and finding strength in his Grace? Paul’s encouragement to us is to find our strength in the grace of God.

What is this grace that Paul is urging us find our strength in?

Grace is a constant theme in the Bible, and it culminates in the New Testament with the coming of Jesus (John 1:17). We can all extend grace to others; but when the word grace is used in connection with God, it takes on a more powerful meaning. Grace is God choosing to bless us rather than curse us as our sin deserves. It is His benevolence to the undeserving.

Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves.” The only way any of us can enter into a relationship with God is because of His grace toward us.

God shows both mercy and grace, but they are not the same. Mercy withholds a punishment we deserve; grace gives a blessing we don’t deserve. In mercy, God chose to cancel our sin debt by sacrificing His perfect Son in our place. But He goes even further than mercy and extends grace to His enemies (Romans 5:10). He offers us forgiveness (Hebrews 8:12; Ephesians 1:7), reconciliation (Colossians 1:19-20), abundant life (John 10:10), eternal treasure (Luke 12:33), His Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13), and a place in heaven with Him some day (John 3:16-18) when we accept His offer and place our faith in His sacrifice.

Grace is God giving the greatest treasure to the least deserving—which is every one of us.

Finding strength in God’s grace means letting loose of our guilt, our pride, our arrogance and trusting in the finished work of Christ for the sake of our sins even the ones that we committed this morning.

But remember, it begins when we come to God with a genuine heart of repentance, humbling ourselves in his presence and surrendering to his Lordship and Authority.

Paul then goes on to encourage Timothy in verse 1 saying “what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men,[a] who will be able to teach others also.”

You see, finding strength for ourselves by the grace that is in Christ Jesus is not enough. We are called to now share the same with other hurting people.

Often times when we get to meet with family or friends going through a tough situation we tend give them advice based on our experiences and expertise.

But the truth is that it is only the grace of God that can give a person true liberty from his hurting situation. Our expert advice will only give relief for a moment.

We preach and present only Christ and Christ alone.

In verse 8-14 Paul says

8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The saying is trustworthy, for:If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself. 14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God[b] not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.

This is why we are chosen, this is why we are called – To preach and present the gospel and share the grace of God to all mankind.

And we ought to do it with due diligence at all times, till the last breath of our life.

Paul goes on to give us three analogies to explain how we ought to do it.

The first analogy Paul gives is “Like a good SOLDIER share in the suffering of Christ and please the one who enlisted you without getting entangled in civilian pursuits” (verse 3-4)

In sharing the gospel our number one priority should be to please our heavenly father and not pomp up with pride thinking that we are doing a favour to the Lord. Remember we are his servants and he is our master.

And as soldier, to be effective in our calling we might even have to consider disengaging ourselves from unhealthy civilian pursuits.

I was telling Jinson yesterday that one of my challenges in these last couple of days were to identify areas in my life that distracts me from pursuing God, certain activities whether in business or in personal life that draw my attention away from devoting my time and energy to God.

Some of things I identified as distraction and stopped doing it were browsing through social media feeds especially facebook and instagram. I think I’m quite ok with Likedin and Twitter, they don’t bother me too much. Watching very selective kind of movies. I stopped watching TV long back so that’s already sorted out. Allowing my clients access to me 24X7, they were real botheration to me giving me calls anytime during the day and talk about business – I guess I need to think of a better way to doing business and making money.

As a soldier of Christ you need to ask yourself what are some of the civilian pursuits that disengage you from being effective for the Lord. Identify them and get rid of them. You have a better purpose in Life than pursuing the things of the world.

The second analogy Paul gives is “Like an ATHELETE compete according to the rules” (verse 5)

Remember the rules are laid out by the Lord, his WORD is his grace filled rule book.

We can’t defeat the enemy unless we follow this rule book.

Our journey of leading people from darkness to light is almost like the journey of Joshua leading God’s people from wilderness to the promised land. When Joshua was assigned to lead the people of Israel out of wilderness the instruction that was given to him in Joshua 1:7-8 was “ be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success[a] wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

An athlete can never win any competition if he/she fails to follow the rules of the game, in fact they will be terminated from the game after several warnings.

Similarly as servants of God we cannot win this battle of saving the lives of our loved ones from the clutches of hell if we fail to read and meditate on the word of God ourselves. We can never convince anybody if we ourselves aren’t convinced and don’t have a right perspective of the Gospel truths.

By bringing people to the knowledge of Christ we are not building our kingdom, it is God who is building his kingdom and uses us as an instrument in his hand. And therefore we are not called to make additional plans and strategies that override the plans and strategies mentioned in the book. Rather as good athlete we follow the rulebook as it is and diligently follow Gods heart.

The third analogy Paul gives is – Like a FARMER work hard (verse 6)

Serving the Lord and serving his people is hard work. We can’t accomplish this while sitting on a comfortable couch all the time.

Going the extra mile is never an easy task.

Paul sets an example of hard work when he writes in 1 Cor 15:10

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

He really worked. And yet he says it was not him, but the grace of God.

Grace makes Paul who he is and grace accomplishes in Paul the crazy-eyed, joy-filled labor for the gospel of which we Gentiles are all beneficiaries.

As Christians we should work hard, but we work more for the joy of all the good our work can bring to others.

As I conclude I want all of you to think deeply about your lives, where do you think your life is heading to?

Are you allowing your guilt and shame to stop you from going to God and finding strength in his grace

And if you’ve already enjoying the love and grace of God are you been too selfish not to share with your hurting brothers and sisters and console them to trust in Jesus and his finished work on the cross?

As a good soldier are you willing to please the one who enlisted you, even to the point of disengaging in civilian pursuits that distract you from doing so?

Do you soak yourself in God’s word daily so you can be like the athlete who plays by the rules and wins the battle on Gods strengths and by the guidance of the Holy spirit.

Like the farmer are you willing to work hard, leave your comfort zone, walk the extra mile to serve one another?

Let’s come to God in prayer and search our hearts and make a commitment to him.

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Articles

Combating Depression

Disappointment, Discouragement, Depression.

We’re all fairly familiar with these. It’s something that we struggle with more often than we would like to admit. There’s always been this awkwardness with talking about these things to other people. Even in Christian circles, Depression is probably looked at as the person struggling with their Faith in God.

The recent shocking news of the lead singer of the band Linkin Park, Chester Bennington, committing suicide is all over my Facebook news feed. Apparently he had 6 children from 2 wives, everyone knows he had an illustrious career with him being one of the most well known faces even for those who don’t listen to rock music.

Makes you wonder, what would cause someone like that to suddenly take his own life? I don’t know enough about him, so it would be unfair to make assumptions about his lifestyle. But it does throw some light on the serious consequences of struggling with depression.

Depression isn’t something new, it’s always been around. The Psalmist laments in Psalm 42

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?…”

But the next line is where he encourages himself

“… Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God”

In another situation in Psalm 73:26 he acknowledges

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”

We are weak in the flesh and in our hearts, situations and circumstances may overwhelm us, but the one thing that can comfort even in those times is depending on the strength of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ because he has overcome the world (John 16:33).

Having struggled on and off with depression myself I know that what encourages me in those times is going back to God in prayer and reading through His word.

1 Peter 5:6-7 says

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”

Sometimes the hardships we face are needed to humble us and bring us to a place of dependence on God. To cast our troubles and fears on to him because he is more than capable of handling it. This is the Saviour who died on the cross to spare us from the punishment that we deserved, of course he cares!

Sometimes, even though we know these things, it’s so easy to forget them. Which is why it’s so important for us to surround ourselves with other believers who we can be accountable to and who can remind us of these truths when we need to hear it.

And lastly, as Christians, how do we respond to the people we see around us battling with discouragement? 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we may comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God”

Out of love for our friends and family, the least we can do is tell them about the hope and comfort that we receive from Jesus. We can tell them about God’s unfailing promises and encourage them to repent of the sins that they’re holding onto. And we can pray that they would never feel so discouraged that taking a drastic step like the way Chester did seems like the only way out.

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Sermon

A Biblical Perspective on Suffering – 2 Timothy 1:8-18

Series: God Alive Church – a journey through 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus

Last Sunday we started with 2 Timothy and Jinson took us through chapter 1 verse 1-7  (Full sermon on Be Bold in the Lord – 2 Timothy 1:1-7) where we looked at the whole aspect of been bold. Being bold in our witness, being bold in confronting sins within the church, being bold against false teachers.

And we become bold by first remembering each other in prayer, by expressing our faith and exercising our gifts & by relying on the Holy Spirit.

This Sunday we will look at the rest of the verses in chapter 1 i.e verse 8 to 18.

Let’s open our bible to 2 Timothy 1:8-18

In this passage Paul is encouraging Timothy to not be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord. What he is saying is do not feel ashamed to be a witness of Christ. But instead he says “share in suffering for the gospel”.

I believe the suffering Paul is talking about is not just a general suffering caused because of sickness and pain in our physical body. But Paul is specifically talking about the suffering caused
– because of the Gospel
– because of our salvation & calling in Christ
– because of us pursuing the purposes of God
– because of us living under the grace of God.

Where do I get that? – I get that from verse 9-12

Share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to[a] a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,[b] 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher,12 which is why I suffer as I do.

Paul talks about his suffering for the sake of the gospel in 2 Cor 11:22-33

The aspect of suffering is often misunderstood or misinterpreted in our Christian context. It is either perceived as something that every Christian should endure to the extent that they beat their bodies to death or something that needs to rejected and looked upon as a curse from God. Most prosperity gospel preachers will tell you that suffering is not from God and that God only blesses.

And therefore I think it is important that we have the right perspective about suffering before we look at the rest of the verses in 2 Timothy 1.

The truth about Christian suffering is all Christians suffer. Either you have, you are, or you will
Acts 14:22“through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God”

Romans 8:28 contains some comforting words for those enduring hardship and suffering: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” In His providence, God orchestrates every event in our lives—even suffering, temptation and sin—to accomplish both our temporal and eternal benefit.

The psalmist David endured much suffering in his time, and this is reflected in many of his poems collected in the book of Psalms. In Psalm 22, we hear David’s anguish: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? Oh my God, I cry out by day but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent. Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel. In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: ‘He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.’”

In Matthew 16:24 Jesus said to his disciples ,”If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

Matthew 10:38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me”

Suffering is not just physical but even mental & spiritual. Suffering for the sake of righteousness. Suffering to keep our lives holy by denying ourselves of all our fleshly desires.

Before we look into some practical advices by Paul in the rest of the verses let me share some important biblical truths about suffering.

1. Suffering may come in many forms

The apostle Paul wrote, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9).

In these two verses, Paul lists several types of suffering — it includes mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual. Each of these are different ways that we can suffer, and when suffering comes, often several of these types of suffering are involved.

The Bible doesn’t whitewash our experience of suffering by saying that it’s only one kind of suffering. Rather, it recognizes the multifaceted ways that suffering can come upon us.

2. Suffering happens in community

What I mean by that is suffering should be a shared experience within the local church community or as body of Christ. Galatians 6:2 encourages us to bear one another’s burdens.

Which means when one member of the church body suffers for the sake of the gospel then the whole body needs to carry that person’s burden by empathizing, praying & encouraging one another.

Within the local church body suffering for the gospel should be a shared experience. We don’t suffer alone but we suffer as a community. This truth should give us comfort knowing that we are not alone to carry our burdens.

3. Suffering prepares us for ministry

The third biblical truth about suffering is that it prepares us for ministry

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:4 that God “comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

A minister of God – David Powlison in his book “Suffering and sovereignity of God” writes

“When you’ve passed through your own fiery trials, and found God to be true to what he says, you have real help to offer. You have firsthand experience of both his sustaining grace and his purposeful design. He has kept you through pain; he has reshaped you more into his image. . . . What you are experiencing from God, you can give away in increasing measure to others. You are learning both the tenderness and the clarity necessary to help sanctify another person’s deepest distress.”

Our suffering when endured with joy and hope equips us to bless and encourage another brother or sister who is going through the same situation.

4. Suffering is a battleground

Wherever there is suffering, there is a battle — a battle for our soul.

The book of Job teaches us that there can be two outcomes of the suffering that come upon our lives. We can either lose our soul by cursing God because of our present suffering or we can preserve our soul by praising God even in the midst of suffering.

5. Suffering prepares us for future glory

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:17–18, “This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Our natural response to suffering is often avoidance. But God brings suffering in our lives for the sake of our eternal joy — yes, even glory.

I like some of the shared observations and comments that were posted on our bible reading whatsapp group when we were going through the passage 1 Peter on suffering. Let me mention some of them just in case you missed reading it.

One of Jinson’s comment was “Suffering can apply in various ways today. Being insulted or ridiculed because of our commitment to Jesus. Made fun of because we don’t use shortcuts or compromises to get things done.”

Jane’s comment said “suffering is not a surprise but it’s a plan or will of God for our testing, it strengthens our faith. Our sufferings are not just our own but Christ’s which indicates we are united in Christ and He is glorified in our actions and attitudes. When we rejoice, it shows that Christ and not other things are more desirable and precious and that Jesus is the source of the joy we experience”

Suffering is a Plan – I love that statement

And therefore, the prayer that we need to make while we go through suffering is not for God to take away the sufferings from our lives but to ask for help to endure sufferings with joy and rejoicing.

In Romans 5:3 onwards Paul says we need to be rejoicing in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

In the light what we now know about suffering what is the encouragement does the rest of the verses in 1 Timothy 1 gives us.

The first encouragement Paul is giving to us is

1. Do not be ashamed (verse 8)

Do not feel ashamed and feel distressed when you suffer for the sake of the Gospel.

Paul is saying this to Timothy as a word of comfort because probably Timothy himself is going through fear and shame.

Imagine, someone like Timothy who Paul laid hands on and identified his gifts, called by God to pastor this influential church in Ephesus actually suffered from the same things we do today — fear and shame in gospel living, gospel ministry and gospel sharing.

The world ashamed is used 4 times in this letter. The fact that it is used this many times in such a short letter shows that it is a natural tendency for Christians to be ashamed of the gospel.

Shame is a powerful deterrent to righteous action. To identify in the presence of others with something they disapprove of is always difficult.

Shame defined:

Feelings associated with (but not limited to) failure, public exposure, disgrace, embarrassment, social rejection, ridicule, and dishonor.

Shame and fear go together.

Pauls teaching in v.7that God gave us not a spirit of fear but of power, love and self control is foundational to what follows. Do not be ashamed of the Gospel!

The second encouragement we get from Paul is found in verse 12 where he mentions “I am convinced that He is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me”

Suffering may kill our physical body but it can never destroy the hope within us that has been entrusted to us because God himself and God alone is the one that guards our heart. Which is why we need to have total dependence on Gods sovereignty and plan. Being prayerful at all times asking God to guard and protect our soul from been corrupted by the world and the things of the world.

In times of suffering our dependence should be on God’s ability and not ours.

In Romans 8:28 Paul reminds us that in all things God works together for our good.

The third encouragement we receive from Paul is found in verse 13 where he says “Follow the pattern of the sound words (or teaching, or doctrine) that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus”

Especially in times of suffering and hardships it is important for us to guard the truth of the gospel. It is during these times that we easily get swayed away by false doctrines, wrong teachings that take our focus away from Jesus and we make ourselves the center of attraction.

We need to hold on to the truth that Jesus is sufficient, we need to be satisfied in Him no matter what happens around. In times of loss, in times of need, in times of pain, in times of distress, we need to respond in faith and stick to the pattern of sound doctrinal truth that will guard our heart from getting corrupted.

Even in the darkest moments of our life we have to treasure the fact that we are a child of God, loved by him, treasured by him, preserved by him. We need to echo the words of Paul in Phillipians 1:21 no matter what happens “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain”.

To remember that any which ways “My life on earth is temporary” – like grass that withers, flower that falls off. “My suffering is temporary” because in Christ I have a new hope, hope of an eternal life spent in heaven.

When you suffer for the gospel refuse to believe the condemning words of the world, refuse to believe the lies of the enemy that says you are not loved, you are not special, refuse to believe that God is incapable to save you from your suffering. But believe in the sounds words of the scriptures that give us hope.

Ephesians 1:11-14 says The day we put we our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we were destined and appointed to live for the praise of HIS glory. In him we who heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, we who believed, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire the possession of it, to the praise of HIS glory.

These are the words of sound teaching that we need to treasure at all times.

The fourth and final encouragement we receive from Paul is found in verse 14 where he says “By the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you”

Remember, we have been entrusted with the same Gospel, the same truths, the same doctrines, the same deposit that Timothy was. So if it is important for Timothy to hear this word, it is important for us as well. Especially in times of suffering.

This Deposit is good news!
• It ought to be treasured for what it is
• It ought to be boldly shared with …
• dying colleagues,
• dying friends, loved ones & family members
• dying neighbors,
• dying cashiers,
• dying postal workers,
• dying classmates,
• dying commuters
• dying strangers
• dying flight attendants,
• dying peoples in 196 countries of the world.

Just because we’re going through some kind of suffering doesn’t mean that we stop preaching and sharing the gospel.

As parents we need to guard the gospel truths for the sake of our children
As friends we need to guard the gospel truths for the sake of our other friend
As church leaders we need to guard the gospel truths for the sake of our congregation
As members of the body of Christ we need to guard the gospel truths for the sake of our brothers and sisters.

The gospel truths are entrusted to us by God so that we preserve it for our next generation, through suffering, through calamity.

Let’s remember the stalwarts of our faith who endured suffering and even gave their lives for the sake of the gospel.

Acts 6 & 7 records the story of Stephen who was stoned to death for speaking the truth of Jesus Christ.

Peter, the disciple of Jesus was martyred under Nero’s reign. Tradition holds that he was crucified upside down.

A man named Polycrap, who was the disciple of Apostle John. Historians say that Polycrap may have been responsible for compiling the new testament of the bible that we have today. He was burnt alive for refusing to burn incense to the Roman Emperor.

John Wycliff, a 14th century theologian responsible for translating the Latin bible into common English. He was killed & His body was exhumed and burned along with many of his writings.

John Huss, a Czech priest was burnt alive for standing the heresy of the catholic church.

William Tyndale, known for his translation of the bible into English was choked to death while tied to the stake and then his dead body was burned

Jim Elliot and his four missionary friends were slaughtered to death for reaching out to the Auca tribe with the gospel of Jesus.

Brothers & sisters, there is huge price that has been paid for Christians martyrs because of which today we are gathered here to celebrate the gospel. People who stood the test of time to guard and preserve the gospel from reaching out to nations.

Finally, as I close I want to encourage each one of you to search your heart this morning and ask these following questions to yourself.

How do you view suffering for the sake of the gospel? What do you believe the word of God says?

Is your heart ready to endure sufferings that glorify God?

Do you feel ashamed to be called a follower of Christ?

Are you convinced that God is able to guard your heart?

Are you holding fast to the sound doctrines of the bible in times of trouble and pain?

Are you guarding and preserving the gospel that is entrusted to you?

And lets come to God and allow him change our hearts this morning and help us live faithfully for the sake of His kingdom.

Categories
Sermon

Be Bold in the Lord – 2 Timothy 1:1-7

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/170709_1136.mp3″]

We’ve had an amazing journey studying the book of 1 Timothy. We completed the letter of 1 Timothy last Sunday and we are starting with 2 Timothy this week. In terms of its biblical context it does seem like a couple of years of years passed since his last letter to Timothy. Some things have changed since then. Paul was arrested and imprisoned in Rome for a second time. From the description given in this letter it does seem like this imprisonment was much more severe and confined than the previous experience. So much so, that a believer named Onesiphorus needed to search earnestly in order to find him. (1:17) All of Paul’s companions abandoned him by this point. His chains and his martyrdom were too much for the others so they left him alone. Only Luke remained with him (4:11). It’s in a cold dungeon as he’s waiting for his “departure”, he writes a farewell letter to his disciple, faithful companion and close friend.
This letter is ordained and written through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit but we’ll see elements of personal heartfelt statements as Paul remembers his memories with Timothy. Few of the key themes that we’ll come across in this letter are:
• Suffering
• Truth
• Godliness

Let’s look at the first seven verses of 2 Timothy 1 for today’s meditation:

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

2 To Timothy, my beloved child:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2 Tim 1:1-7)

In our Christian walk there are many instances where it calls us to be bold! Let me also say by boldness I don’t mean arrogance, dominating and harsh. In our culture, that’s what we refer to as being bold. Being bold is like Arnab Goswami is what we think in today’s culture. However, biblically being bold is about having strong convictions about the truths of the gospel but expressing it with gentleness and humility.
24 And the Lord’s servant[e] must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth (2 Tim 2:24, 25)

So there are quite a few places where it requires us to be bold:

1. We need to be bold in our witness. We need to boldly speak the truths about Jesus while speaking to unbelievers.

2. We need to be bold while confronting the sins within the church. This is probably something we don’t hear nowadays. “Oh, well you have no right to tell me what to do” or “Who made you judge over my life?” These might be the responses you will hear if you confront sin in today’s church. However, as we see in Scripture the church is the body of Christ and we have a role in maintaining its purity and unity. So there’s always going to be a need for confronting sin until we are made perfect (completely separated from the presence of sin) on the day Christ returns. Paul in Galatians 2 confronts Peter with his sin because the moment a few people from the Jewish circumcision party came to Antioch, he withdrew himself from the Gentiles and only ate with Jews. Paul had to confront him because this was hypocrisy and would negatively affect the Gentile believers at Antioch. And this was Peter! Just imagine having to confront someone like Peter. That requires boldness, don’t you agree?

3. We need to be bold against false teachers. That was the context of Ephesus at that time. Timothy’s role as a pastor there was to teach the right doctrine but also refute and stop the false teachers from influencing the church. Even though some time has passed since Paul’s first letter it seems like the false teachers were still having an influence in the church. Timothy was also facing opposition from these men. They were probably older in age and claimed to be “wiser” and more knowledgeable. He needed boldness to refute them.

So we do understand that boldness is required. But what about times when we aren’t bold but timid. Here’s how today’s passage can empower us to have godly boldness:

1. Remembering each other constantly in prayer (v3)

3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.

One thing I wonder when I look at this passage is, why does Paul thank God for Timothy?

It’s a prayer of thanksgiving along with petitions made for him. Paul is probably thanking God for choosing Timothy sovereignly. In God’s Sovereign wisdom, He chose Timothy to be adopted as His son in Christ. Paul’s also probably thanking God for saving Timothy. The gospel one fine day started to make sense to him. It’s like the lights went on! Suddenly the story of Christ crucified on the cross seemed so beautiful to him because he saw that his sins were placed on the cross. Christ rising from the dead gave so much hope and joy to Timothy that he wanted it and desired to repent and place his full trust in what Christ did for him. It’s the story of every believer. And Paul rightly could thank God for that. Paul then probably thanked God for the many ways in which Timothy is being changed into the likeness of Jesus. Paul has fond memories of the first time he shared the gospel with Timothy. And then seeing Timothy grow through those years of life on life discipleship – 15-20 years. Paul also probably thanks God for using Timothy to lead and minister to the church in Ephesus which was a growing church.

The next question is why does Paul constantly pray for Timothy? Doesn’t God already know what Paul has been asking for Timothy? Why pray more?

Sometimes we forget the purpose of prayer. Prayer is not designed so that God can find out what we need.

for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matt 6:8)

Prayer expresses our trust on God and is a means by which our trust increases. When we look at the “unceasing”, “non-stop” prayers that Paul makes for believers in other letters we see how he actually believes and has faith in what he prays. It’s not because he just wants to say something positive and encouraging to the believers. Here are some examples:

11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thess 1:11-12)

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks[d] to the Father, who has qualified you[e] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (Col 1:9-12)

You see a firm conviction that God will answer because these requests are in perfect accordance to God’s will.

In Luke 11, just after the Lord’s prayer Jesus encourages his disciples to pray because God delights and responds to his people’s prayer.

11 What father among you, if his son asks for[d] a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

If we knew how God acts and accomplishes His purposes through prayers of his people, we wouldn’t stop praying!!!

Just know that one of the most powerful and real ways in which you can help and encourage your brother and sister in Christ who struggles with timidity and fear is by praying for them.

2. Reminding each other how sincere faith is expressed by exercising our gifts

5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands

What does Paul mean “By sincere faith”? It means a faith that is genuine and not hypocritical.

Paul is trying to encourage Timothy by reminding him of his faith and also talking about his spiritual heritage. Not to say that Timothy inherited his faith from his mother or granny. No, we enter into a relationship with Christ through personal faith. But the work of Christ in his family’s life was visible evidence to the work and power of Christ! Which is why it’s important to see our homes as one of the most key places where we display who Christ is to our family members! The way we talk about the gospel, the way we apply the gospel and the way we respond to the gospel matters at home especially.

Paul makes an interesting connection between this verse on sincere faith and relates that with the next verse which talks about “fanning into flame the gift of God”. Even though in this passage it’s not clear what the gift is but I really believe it’s referring to his gifting of “preaching and teaching”. Where do we see that?

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. (2 Tim 4:1,2)

13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them,[c] so that all may see your progress. (1 Tim 4:13-15)

So that was his gifting but let’s understand the principle here. If you have sincere faith, then it will need to be expressed by using your gifts to help and serve the body! You cannot have a situation of a person who says “I have really genuine faith but I don’t want to serve a local church”.

Saju and I were just talking a few days back of how sometimes the main reason why we fail to experience joy and life in our Christian walk is due to boredom! We are just bored lacking that purpose which needs to drive us each day. And Christ didn’t give us gifts to “preserve” them. He gave them to us graciously so that we may “spend” them on the people he’s placed around us. Just imagine how passionate and life-giving your life would be if you thought each day “I need to use my gift to serve this person, I need to use my gift to meet this need, I need to use my gift to bless this person”. Our job as elders is to facilitate and encourage multiple gifts and ways by which the body is being built up into Jesus. Our conviction is that if we are all not contributing and serving each other, then we in fact end up hurting each other.

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:15-16)

The illustration that helps me understand this is how if one of our legs is injured, the other leg has to apply extra effort in order to make the body move forward. And it’s true about the church too.

My personal experience with this is: I’ve seen so much of joy and passion as I’ve invested and spent myself in serving others with my gift. That in turn has also fuelled my faith. So let’s have those conversations about how can we use our gifts more and more.

Seeing Christ work through our administration of our gifts as we serve each other adds more confidence and boldness in our faith. That’s the principle behind 1 Tim 3:13.

Lastly, we can be encouraged to be bold by:

3. Understanding the power of the Holy Spirit within us

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (v7)

How many of us truly believe this verse? Often in churches like ours it’s a topic we end up wither side-lining or diminishing in terms of its focus. If I have to be honest, this understanding of the power of the Holy Spirit is something that I have a lot to grow in. When we look at the book of Acts and even other places where the Spirit is mentioned it’s in a sense of power and divine strength being given to the believer. Often times when we talk about the Holy Spirit we think of it as a fire-cracker when it’s supposed to be a dynamite in the sense of His power! Here are a few verses that reveal the miraculous power of the Spirit:

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. (John 16:8-11)

2 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Gal 5:22)

In the book of Acts, whenever we see instances of the disciples being “filled in the Spirit” it results in them boldly declaring about Jesus. And if we have believed in Jesus, we too have the same Spirit in us!

Also, this Spirit empowers us to love God and people in a special way! Which means that even during times when we are being severely persecuted for our faith, the Spirit will strengthen us to love God. Also, with respect to love…the Spirit will empower us to love people who hate us. And sometimes these things seem unimaginable or extremely hard but that’s the powerful Spirit within us. We do have to be step with the Spirit. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. (v25)

There is an action, a human responsibility involved here. For example, if we aren’t spending time fuelling our love for God by studying Scripture, we cannot automatically expect affections for God to suddenly turn on. True Christianity isn’t lazy Christianity! Another example is if we don’t take radical measures to kill sin and keep ourselves pure, we cannot expect our love for God to grow from there.

Finally, self-control…why is self-control mentioned in that list? How does self-control relate with boldness?

I believe the lack of self-control often affects us from being bold for the Lord. Either it adds a lot of guilt. “How can I share about Jesus when I myself struggle with an excess love for money, position, pleasure?” Or where it becomes a reason for reproach from others where they point fingers at our lifestyle.

I hope we don’t look at this passage and feel disheartened if we don’t see perfect love for God or people, or perfect self-control being exhibited in our lives. The bible has a word called “repent” which means change of mind and turning back to God. Acknowledging the Spirit’s work in our life and now keeping in step with the Spirit.

There is a reason why Paul mentioned these ways reasons to encourage Timothy in his moment of fear: remembering him in prayer constantly, reminding him to exercise his spiritual gift and helping him understand the power of Spirit that is in him. Let these three ways encourage our hearts toward immense boldness in the faith!

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Sermon

What does Godly pursuit look like – 1 Timothy 6:11-21

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/2nd-july-saju-sermon.mp3″]

Our passage for today is 1 Timothy 6:11-21

These are the last words of Paul in his letter to Timothy. And after giving quite a few instructions on various church matters he is now concluding his letter with some wise advice.

Before we look into the passage I must mention how impressed I am with this man and his wisdom and insight. I see a man who has truly understood the meaning of life as a follower of Jesus, a man who has his heart set on the right things, a man who is so deeply in love with Jesus and his teachings that he just cant keep it to himself but expresses it every time he talks to people and even when he is writing letters.

His words are truly an overflow of his heart, belief & love for Jesus. They are impressive and at the same time contagious. Instead of chasing hundred gurus or wise men of this world who claim to have the knowledge God & the spiritual world, if we can understand the heart of this simple yet godly man through his words in these letters we will truly be able to see God for who is he and live the life that will give true meaning and satisfaction as long as we live on this earth.

With these thoughts about the man who wrote the letter lets look at this piece of the passage and understand what he is trying to communicate and what we need to understand about true Christian living.

There are two foundational things I want all of us grab hold of which is also seen clearly through these initial verses before we get into the practical applications later on.

You see, If we are a follower of Jesus and want to learn what it means to live a Godly life then the first foundational statement we need to grab hold of as a Christian is that “Our Life is not meant to chase the world and the things in it”

In verse 11 Paul is saying “O man of God, flee from these things”, he is saying in connection to his previous statements in 1 Timothy 6:6-11.

Let me also support my argument with another verse from 1 John 2:15-17 which says

Do not love the world or the things in the world (which includes money and possessions Paul talks about in 1 Timothy 6:6-11). If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life[a]—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

This verse has one clear commandment and three viable explanation. The commandment is “Do not love the world”

We live in a culture where we are taught by our parents, our teachers, our friends that the goal of life is to attain materials things & earthly possessions. A child is told that he needs to study well so that he can pass this school, get into a good college and complete his graduation so that he can get a good paying job that will help him save money so that he can get married, raise children, live a comfortable life and fulfill his responsibilities by leaving wealth and earthy possessions for his next generation.

The world is a crazy place where people are crazy after money and possessions.

If you want to know how crazy and world is then you should read the tweet by President Donald Trump 2 days back which revealed a secret money making trading tool that gaurentees 99.9% accuracy and he said in his tweet that anyone not using this is a dumb. People who do not chase the world and the wealth of this world is considered as dumb.

Beloved, It is a universal truth that people eventually end up suffering because they lead a worldly life in this material world. I’m quoting this from the Hindu vedas. The vedas assert that life is not meant to seek worldly wealth and possessions but for tapasya, which means devotion to God. Even though the teachings of the vedas lead people into a wrong understanding of God but the statement about people chasing after wealth and afflicting themselves with suffering has been a real problem from ages.

Here’s what the bible says in 1 John 2:15-17 The first explanation to why “Do not love the world” is because “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him”. The Love for the world pushes out love for the Father.

The second explanation in the same verses to why “Do not love the world” is because “the world and all that in it, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life – is not from the Father”.

The third explanation to why “Do not love the world” is because “the world is passing away along with its desires”

And finally the verse ends with an encouragement saying “whoever does the will of God abides forever”

What does doing the will of God looks like?

It is a life that pursues God and Godly things. 1 Timothy 6:11 says it is the pursuit of righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness & gentleness.

Which leads us to my second foundational statement that is as a Christian “Our pursuit is a heavenly pursuit”. In verse 12 Paul says “Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses”

I don’t know whether what I’m saying is too deep for you to understand. I cant think of any other easy way to explain this at the moment.

Here’s what I want to say – We will never ever discover true happiness and fulfillment if our pursuit is not a heavenly pursuit.

I hope thats a simple and easy statement to remember. My son Jairus was sitting next to me while I was writing that statement and suddenly stopped me to say Dad you know what I love that line you wrote. It is so true and I truly believe it with my heart.

In the next few verses from 1 Timothy 6:13-21 I believe Paul goes on to share three key things to keep in mind as we continue to pursue the things of God.

The first key is found in verse 14 where he says “Keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ”. What Paul is saying is that we should be careful and ensure that the commandments of Jesus is unstained and free from reproach by our act of consistent obedience to them.

The commandments of the one who is blessed and sovereign, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in the unapproachable light, whom no one has even seen or can see, to the one to whom belongs the honor and eternal dominion. Jesus Christ.

Our obedience to Jesus’ words is what shows whether we truly love him and that his words are Life changing. Merely calling ourselves as a follower of Jesus and living a completely ungodly lives stains the words of Jesus and makes people disapprove and show disappointment in their actions towards Christians.

Jesus himself said in John 14:23 “Anyone who loves me will obey my words”. Our obedience to Jesus is the proof that we truly love him, cherish him and treasure him above everything else of this world.

Have you noticed in fact when we end up failing to walk in obedience to Jesus’ words our hearts stops pursuing God and starts pursuing the things of the world. I’ve noticed that happening to me. There are times when I feel the peace of God rest in my heart, free from worry, free from fear. And then suddenly I end up disobeying God in some way and the peace suddenly vanishes and I end up worrying about the same things of the world that never bothered me before.

It shows that there is definitely a connection between pursuing god & godly things and keeping the commandments of Jesus.

“We pursue Godly things by keeping his commandments and keeping his commandments helps us pursue Godly things.”

The second key is found in verses 18-19 where Paul is saying “Store up treasures by doing good, by being rich in good works & by being generous and ready to share”. Even though these verses are addressed specifically to the rich people in this present age I believe they are equally applicable to every Christian who wants to enjoy life.

First and foremost we ought to treasure the Lord Jesus above everything else. When Jesus is our treasure, we will commit our resources—our money, our time, our talents—to His work in this world. Our motivation for what we do needs to be right. Jesus should be our motivation.

In verse 17 Paul is says “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” verse 18-19 – They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

The reason this key is important is because Jesus says in Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”

It doesn’t mean that being rich is ungodly, but been rich to the extend where your heart is completely captured by the treasure you have accumulated for yourself is ungodly. Rather we should hold our possessions loosely and willing to generously share by doing good to others.

Doing good also means in a spiritual sense to be willing to do good to others by sharing the good news of Jesus every time when an opportunity comes your way.

Even when we live sacrificially for Jesus’ sake or serve Him by serving the body of Christ, we store up treasure in heaven. Even seemingly small acts of service do not go unnoticed by God.

“If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward” (Matthew 10:42).

Our pursuit of godliness should lead us to store treasures in heaven that neither moth nor rust can destroy. verse 19 say We need to lay it down as a good foundation for the future, so that you make take hold of that which is truly life.

The third statement in these passages that has a connection with our pursuit of God is verse 20 where Paul writes “Guard the deposit entrusted to you”.

The deposit Paul is talking about is the deposit of the Gospel truths, the teachings of and about Christ that needs to be guarded from irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called ‘knowledge“.

After so many years of being a Christian I am so glad that I am here today with the deposits of the right biblically doctrines which is in accordance to the Gospel. Thanks to my mentors and friends who’ve contributed to this growth.

Starting from a very legalistic church environment to a more liberal church culture where Gods grace was taken for granted mixed with the prosperity teachings.

When I look back and think of how God has led me through all of that to a place now where I’ve come to treasure the Gospel is such precious and I want to guard this with all my strength and life.

That is exactly what Paul is urging Timothy to do.

Our ongoing pursuit of heavenly things should include guarding the deposit of the Gospel truths entrusted to us by God through his servants.

The word ‘irreverent babble’ reminds of people who have so much to say that they don’t even think of whom that are speaking and what the outcome of that conversation will lead to. These kind of talks have always led people astray and sadly they call it ‘knowledge‘.

The saddest part is when people are swerved away from their belief and the gospel as Paul writes in verse 21.

Brothers & Sisters, these truths that you hear today has been entrusted to us by God as a good deposit and we need to guard it with our life. As parents, as elders, as teachers, as friends.

Our attempts to guard the Gospel reveals a heart that is constantly pursuing God and the things of God.

I hope this passage has given us a Godly perspective of what it means to Pursue God and that you will remember and remind yourself these truths.

God bless you.