“FAITH LESSONS”
2 TIMOTHY 1:1-14
DAVID P. NOLTE
Timothy was a trainee, an intern, a co-worker with Paul the Apostle, and was pastor at Ephesus, but his foundation in the faith came from home.
Paul wrote, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my beloved son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 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. For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but 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, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. 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. Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” 2 Timothy 1:1-14 (NASB).
This is Mother’s Day – another of those days when the sermon may seem to focus mostly on the feminine members of the congregation – but I want to make it gender unspecific so that the fellows can’t sit back and tune out.
We will consider the influence of a godly mother but the focus widens to apply to each of us in our Christian life. The idea is to set forth some values Mother teaches that we all should apply in life!
A mother is one of the world's greatest teachers. Consider a mother's impact: Abraham Lincoln declared, "no man is poor who has had a godly mother." A Spanish proverb reads, "An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest." Someone else has said, "The instruction received at Mother's knee, together with the pious and sweet souvenirs of the fireside, are never effaced entirely from the soul."
Note how Lois taught Eunice who taught Timothy. My mother taught me some lessons of faith that I will never forget as long as I live. My perspective of God was largely formed when I was a small child, listening to my mother. Here are a few of the things she taught me – things every one of us ought to have learned by now:
The song Brenda sang suggests at least three thoughts pertinent to a Godly Mother’s Influence. So now, just a few thoughts on what my mother taught me:
I. SHE TAUGHT ME TO HAVE OBEDIENT FAITH:
A. Paul wrote. “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you.”
1. Some translations say, “unfeigned faith,” or “genuine faith,” or “rich faith.”
2. Faith, to be worth calling “faith” has to be obedient. Otherwise it is mere sham and veneer.
3. Paul mentioned that the message from God, “is now disclosed and through the prophetic writings is made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith.” Romans 16:26 (RSV).
B. Sincere faith, unfeigned faith, genuine faith is not merely pretending, it is actual confidence in Christ that leads to obedience.
C. Brenda’s song said, “Jesus is walking beside me, guiding each step of the way; safely He’ll lead me to heaven, gladly His voice I obey.” That’s sincere faith!
D. Instead of quarreling about whether a command of Christ is essential to salvation, let’s merely obey Him!
1. Mary said to the attendants at the wedding feast in John 2, “Whatever He tells you, do it." John 2:5 (MSG). Not ponder it; not consider it; not wait until you feel like it – but do it!
2. In a way, James said it, too: “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” James 1:22 (NASB).
3. A fellow I know led a friend to Christ and said, “Now you need to be baptized.” The other guy said, “I need to pray about that.” My friend said, “What do you have to pray about? Are you going to ask if He meant it? He said to do it, so just do it!”
E. I knew a doctor in Molalla who expected his patients to obey his instructions to the letter. I was in his office one day when he got a call from an elderly patient. He said, “Well, did you take the prescription according to directions?” She spoke and he replied, “Your niece said it is the wrong medicine? Then you are fired and she can be your doctor.” And he hung up the phone. If she had real faith in him she’d have obeyed him – it was obvious by who she obeyed, who she trusted.
MAY WE ALL DISPLAY SINCERE, OBEDIENT FAITH.
II. SHE TAUGHT ME TO HAVE COURAGEOUS FAITH:
A. Paul wrote, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God.”
B. The world would intimidate us if it were not for His presence with us. There are some great words of courage we ought to memorize and call on when we feel fearful:
1. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” Romans 8:31 (NASB).
2. “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 (NASB).
3. In the Old Testament we read about Elisha and his servant, “Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, ‘Alas, my master! What shall we do?’ So he answered, ‘Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.’ And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around.” 2 Kings 6:15-17 (NASB).
C. Brenda sang, “He knows each turn in the pathway, He is a light for my feet. He has the power to keep me though many dangers we meet.” The world is not an ally of the church, it is an enemy.
1. But don’t fear it.
2. It is a defeated enemy.
3. When He is ready He will put every enemy under the feet of Jesus.
4. In short, “WE WIN!”
D. Jesus said, “Fear not” on several occasions during His ministry on earth:
1. After a huge catch, “Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.’ When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.” Luke 5:10-11 (NASB).
2. “I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do.” Luke 12:4 (NASB).
3. To those fretting about daily concerns, He said, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32 (NASB).
E. The Prussian king Frederick the Great was widely known as an agnostic. By contrast, General Hans Von Zieten, one of his most trusted officers, was a devout Christian. Thus it was that during a festive gathering the king began making crude jokes about Christ until everyone was rocking with laughter--all but Von Zieten, that is. Finally, he arose and addressed the king: "Sire, you know I have not feared death. I have fought and won 38 battles for you. I am an old man; I shall soon have to go into the presence of One greater than you, the mighty God who saved me from my sin, the Lord Jesus Christ whom you are blaspheming. I salute you, sire, as an old man who loves his Savior, on the edge of eternity." The place went silent, and with a trembling voice the king replied, "General Von Zieten – I beg your pardon! I beg your pardon!" And with that the party quietly ended.
MAY WE ALL DISPLAY SINCERE, COURAGEOUS FAITH.
III. SHE TAUGHT ME TO HAVE TRUSTING FAITH:
A. Paul wrote, “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. Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”
1. Timothy shared with Paul that convinced, confident, trusting faith.
2. Take trust out of the equation and you take faith out with it.
3. The best definition of real faith is that it is belief that obeys because it trusts.
B. Brenda sang, “He knows my weakness and failures, and, should I linger behind, patient is He and forgiving, so understanding and kind.” You can trust Him for that!
C. People may let us down, they may renege on promises, they may be treacherous, fickle and disloyal –but Jesus remains the same!
D. God is trustworthy and there is no situation or circumstance in which He cannot be depended on for help. I read a story that illustrates that. A man was learning to fly, and his instructor told him to put the plane into a steep and extended climb. The man was totally unprepared for what was about to happen. After a brief climb the engine stalled, and the plane began to plunge out-of-control.
It soon became evident that the instructor was not going to help him at all. After a few seconds, which seemed like eternity, the student pilot’s mind began to function again and he was able to corrected the situation.
Immediately he turned to the instructor and began to vent his fearful frustrations on him. The instructor replied, "There is no position you can get this airplane into that I cannot get you out of. If you want to learn to fly, go up there and do it again."
When we feel we are stalling and about to crash, God assures us, "As you serve Me, there is no situation you can get yourself into that I cannot get you out of. If you trust me, you will get out there and serve and you will be all right."
E. The poem is right:
Trust Him when dark doubts assail you,
Trust Him when your strength is small,
Trust Him when to simply trust Him
Seems the hardest thing of all.
Trust Him, He is ever faithful,
Trust Him, for His will is best,
Trust Him, for the heart of Jesus
Is the only place of rest.
I’m grateful that my mother was faithful in teaching me about Jesus and faith in Him. It is that faith that enables us to say, “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.”
Put your faith and keep your faith fixed on Jesus ane He will carry you through.
PRAY / INVITE
Faith is always more than verbal or mental assent. It is that kind of belief that impels us to action. That is, if your faith is genuine, you will trust and obey because you know who you believe and are persuaded that He is trustworthy. So, believe Him, trust Him and surrender your will to His in obedience as we sing.
