“Power In The Word”
Part 1: Book of 2nd Timothy
2 Timothy 1:1-18
Lead Pastor Tyler Barrett
Starting a series going through the Book of 2nd Timothy.
I am afraid in our modern day churches that the TRUE preaching of the Word of God has diminished. I am also afraid in our modern day homes that the TRUE reading and practicing of the Word of God has diminished.
Why would that be the case? Why would we diminish the reading, preaching, and practicing of the Word of God?
Number one, because we don’t believe in its power anymore. Number two, because we don’t believe that it really applies to today. Number three, because our priorities are in the wrong places.
According to Christianity Today 80% of church goers don’t read their Bibles, while only 40% of church goers read there Bible on occasions.
The reason you have no victory is because you have neglected the Word of God. If you neglect the Word of God then you void yourselves of the promises that God has put into His Word for you.
So many people say they want a strong relationship with God, but you never pick up His Word and study it; that my friends will never equal a good relationship with Jesus.
Never expect more out of God than what you are willing to produce. Remember from the last couple weeks if you want the full attention of God, you must first give your full attention TO God.
Now, Paul wrote the Book of 2nd Timothy in letter format to Timothy. Timothy like a few others was Paul’s “sons” in the faith. Paul was training them and using them to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This particular letter pictures Paul in prison in Rome, awaiting death. Most likely, then, this letter was written during Paul’s 2nd Roman imprisonment. Therefore this letter would have been written after 1st Timothy and Titus.
According to Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History) that Paul was martyred sometime during Nero’s reign, which ended in 68AD, but the intense persecution began in 64AD. Therefore Paul wrote 2 Timothy shortly before his death, around 64 to 65AD.
2nd Timothy is a bold, clear call for the perseverance in the gospel in spite of suffering. Paul calls on his young coworker to continue the fight of faith, even as Paul approaches the end of his own life.
Paul knew that his death was imminent, the timing is uncertain, yet he wrote this final exhortation to Timothy to urge him to stand firm on the Word of God in the midst of persecution.
Now, before we begin, it is important to understand that EVERY Word in the Bible is equally important. Some people will say that “no, the words in red are the most important because Jesus spoke them”.
No, that is inaccurate. The worst thing the publishing companies could have done was to put the words in red, because all scriptures are equally important. The Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16 that ALL scriptures are God breathed.
We must understand that as we continue.
Now, in the 1st couple verses of Chapter 1 Paul is giving his standard greeting and reminding Timothy that the purpose of his apostleship has been to proclaim the gospel, the promise of the life that is in Jesus Christ.
I) The Word gives us SINCERE faith.
The Bible tells us “Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen” in Hebrews 11:1.
We can’t see God, but I know God is real because of the fact I am still here today, when I should have been dead.
A. We should be thankful of the passed down faith.
Look at what out text says in verses 3-5. “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.”
Paul told Timothy that he is reminded of a faith that first dwelt in his grandmother. In other words Timothy has a heritage of faith that is stored up in him.
There has been many days that I have come up against trials in tribulations and didn’t know what to do.
But I am reminded of times that I have watched my grandmother and my mother press their ways through trails and tribulation.
I am reminded of times that I have watched them pray and seek the face of God in times of need.
They may not see God, but they had the faith that God was there and that His Word gave them a sincere faith that come hell or high water, God would come through.
In the midst of those times when I am struggling, I praise God that I have a heritage of faith and endurance that has been passed down to me.
The reason you are here today and not on the streets is because some one along the way was praying for you. The reason you are here today and not in the grave is because someone along the way was praying for you.
For those of you who have children stranded out in the world, guess what they have a heritage of faith that has been passed down to them. At some point in time, because of that faith, they will turn to Jesus Christ.
Isn’t good to know that we have a heritage that has been passed down to us? I’m not talking about houses, land, or insurance money. I am talking about a faith in the living God that no matter what I may face in the name of the Lord Jesus, God WILL get me out!
B. We should be thankful for the Spirit of Power.
Look at what verses 6-7 says. “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.”
We should be thankful that we are encouraged to fan into flame the gift that God has given us.
I looked up the word gift in the original Greek language.
In the Greek it is the word “Charisma”. Which means a divine gratuity and a spiritual endowment. Charisma is a favor, which one receives without any merit of his own. Its free grace upon the unbeliever and its the gifts of the spirit on the believer.
In other words, Paul is telling Timothy, God has given you Spiritual Gifts, now you need to allow the Holy Spirit to stir those things up within you.
Church, we must be stirring up those things that God has placed in us. God has giving each of us gifts for the growth of the Kingdom of God. Those things came by faith, now we must stir them up.
I’m tired of just coming to church as usual. Imagine with me if everyone in the church begin to stir within them the gifts that God has placed inside of them. We would be building a new building.
But far too many people want to put all the responsibility on the Pastor, when the responsibility is on all of us. If we are not stirring up those gifts in our life, then we might as well go home and never dart the doors again.
We will not be effective; we will not properly use this sincere faith that has been given to us, if we are not stirring up those things in our life.
Paul goes on to tell Timothy, look, while you are stirring up those things, you better understand that God hasn’t given you a spirit of fear!
Church, fear comes from Satan. If you have fear over anything especially when it comes to your relationship in Jesus, then the devil has comes bondage over you.
You should fear NOTHING, but God.
Paul said, you don’t have the spirit of fear.... YOU HAVE THE SPIRIT OF POWER, LOVE, and SELF-CONTROL.
Fear in the Greek is the word Deilia (Di-lee-ah). Which refers to one who flees from battle, and has a strong sense of cowardice.
Boldness, not cowardice, is a mark of the Spirit of Power, called the Holy Ghost.
God wants us as children of God to walk around with our head held back in the face of opposition and have boldness!!
Proverbs 28:1 says, “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.”
Acts 4:31 says, “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the Word of God with boldness”
HEY CHILD OF GOD... YOU HAVE POWER!!! Use it for the Kingdom of God! The Word of God gives us sincere faith.
II) The Word gives us a bold standing.
Paul shifts and begins his first exhortation to Timothy. He gives a passionate challenge to continue standing strong with boldness with the Gospel, the Word of God.
There is a clear connection in this section between the call for Timothy “to no be ashamed...but to also share in the suffering for the Gospel.” And with verse 12 where it says, “I suffer... but I am not ashamed.”
A. We must not be ashamed of the Gospel.
Lets look at verses 8-11. They read, “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to 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,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,...”
These verses give us a summery of why we have our power, why we have forgiveness, why we have grace, why we have mercy.
WHY?, Because of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Gospel of Jesus isn’t that we come to church on Sundays and get our weekly fix and go back home. The Gospel of Jesus isn’t that when we do come to church we treat it like a Country Club with a cross on top of it. The Gospel of Jesus Christ isn’t that you come in here one way and leave the same.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that man was headed to hell and God sent a Savior to save the world.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that you walk in a drunk and you walk out free.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that you walk in depressed and you walk out joyful.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that you had no money, yet God paid your bills.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that you had no life, and God brought you life in abundance.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that you had no victory over your enemies, but God gave you victory over your enemies.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ gives us our power, our grace, our redemption, our forgiveness, our strength, our boldness, and our hope!
And Paul told Timothy, HEY DON’T BE ASHAMED of this thing called the Gospel. The Gospel is the very reason you are still here today!
Paul said in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...”
Church to be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus is to deny you of the blessings that it brings.
You say well, I’m not ashamed. Well, let me ask you a question... When was the last time you told someone about Jesus? If you can’t remember when... then I hate to tell you, but you are ashamed of the Gospel.
Jesus said, in Luke 9:26, “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”
We must not be ashamed of the Gospel. And notice the next thing...
B. We must be willing to suffer as a result of the Gospel.
Look at our text, verses 12-14, “which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. 13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
Paul goes on to tell Timothy, hey, you are going to suffer as I do, because of the Gospel.
Paul was on death row, because of his bold standing for the Gospel of Jesus.
Paul said I am not ashamed for I know who I have believed and am convinced that God is able to guard until that Day which has been entrusted to me.
Look at the statement, “Guard.... which has been entrusted to me”. Guard what? “The Deposit”.
What is the Deposit? The Deposit is the Gospel in the fullest sense, the entire content of the Christian faith.
So to put that all together using the Greek... It means either that God will guard the gospel, which has been entrusted to Paul, or that God will guard Paul’s life.
But either way, it is the confidence in God that understands I will suffer, but has the bold standing that his confidence doesn’t come from self, but from God!
Paul knew and was telling Timothy... HEY YOU WILL SUFFER, BUT BE OF GOOD CHEER, GOD WILL PROTECT YOU AND WHAT YOU ARE CARRYING!!
While he is saying this, Paul tells Timothy, you must obey and follow the pattern for sound words.
What he is saying is if you want the protection of God, while you suffer, you must be willing to obey the Word of God.
2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, “in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,”
Paul is telling us that, hey, you think you are suffering, you will be suffering if you are not obeying the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Then he turns right back around and says, by the Holy Spirit God will protect you.
Church, do you really understand why the Christian faith is truly the only persecuted faith on the planet? I will tell you why. It is because we are the only REAL TRUE FAITH on the planet. ALL OTHER FAITHS ARE FALSE AND HAVE NO POWER.
However out faith contains must power. The Gospel contains much power. The devil wants to do what ever he came to destroy the Child of God.
BUT BE OF GOOD CHEER, JESUS HAS ALREADY OVERCOME THE WORLD!
So, the Word gives us sincere faith and the Word gives us bold standing.... FINALLY...
III) The Word gives us sure examples.
We have both a negative and positive example from Paul’s letter to Timothy that we can learn from.
A. You will have people that turn away.
Look at verse 15, “You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phy-gel-us and Her-mog-enes.”
We don’t really know much about those 2 characters, but what we do know is that they turned on Paul.
Because of the Gospel, people turned away from Paul. It felt to Paul as if he was deserted.
Can I tell you that living by the Word of the living God is sometimes a lonely place in the world. You will have people turn on you. You will loose positions. You will suffer.
But to me that is the best place. The Word of God promises that these trials that we face are for just a moment, for they will not compare to the weight of Glory that is to come.
Living for Jesus means that you will be ignored, prosecuted, talked about, and ridiculed. But living for Jesus also means that you have an inheritance that is waiting on you in glory. Living for Jesus means that you have the ability to get up in the morning in the right mind, and doing everything that He has called you to do.
B. You will have people that will bless you.
Finally Paul finished up the first chapter on a positive note. He said in verses 16-18, “May the Lord grant mercy to the household of One-sip-horus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, 17 but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me— 18 may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus.
Onesiphorus blessed Paul greatly. He wasn’t ashamed to stand with Paul in the face of suffering.
Isn’t it good to know that God will always send someone our way to bless us in the time of hardship?
God will always come through for those who are steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the love of God.
Don’t have fear, don’t put your faith in people, trust in God and His most Holy Word!
AMEN AND AMEN!
