“Generational Discipleship”
2 Tim 1:1-7, 3:10-17
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
3:10-17 10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
Intro: As I prepared for this Mother’s Day I asked the Lord to lead me to something different, something beyond the traditional Mother’s Day themes that I have preached before and He has answered my prayers. This morning I would like to introduce the subject of “Generational Discipleship.” Discipleship is a familiar subject in Scripture. As a matter of fact one of the last things that Jesus said concerned the making of disciples.
Matthew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Our Lord commands all Christians to make disciples and He also gives us a plan for doing so with Jerusalem as the starting point and with the whole world as our mission field. With this in mind I would also like to state that Jerusalem includes the place you and I live, our own home and family. Two things stand out:
Discipling others reveals obedience to our mission. (Deuteronomy 6:5, Matthew 28:19, Acts 1:8)
You are probably familiar with Matthew 28:18-20 in which Jesus gives a commission to His disciples: Go and make … disciples. That’s right! To be obedient to our mission as followers of Jesus, we must be active in disciple-making. God requires us to be faithful managers of the gospel (1 Corinthians 4:2). To be found faithful, we must not leave the gospel sitting on a shelf. We must share its power for salvation.
God has chosen the people of God, empowered by the Spirit of God and equipped with the Word of God, to be about the mission of God. Those in younger generations are desperate for older generations to authentically show them the way. This is your mission, do you choose to accept it?
Discipling others reveals our ongoing hope for God’s church to outlive us. (Psalm 78:2-8, Judges 2:6-11)
The Old Testament gives us a picture of the outcome when the people of God take their mission seriously.
In Psalm 78:2-8, we see an example of when the people of God DID take their mission seriously. Let’s take a moment to read those verses, taking special note of verses 6 and 7. The psalmist gives us two “so that” statements:
2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:
7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:
1. “so that a future generation—children yet to be born—might know”
2. “so that they might put their confidence in God”
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In the Scriptures we have read together this morning Paul mentions the names of three generations of one family; Timothy, his grandmother Lois, and his mother Eunice. Let’s see what these texts have to say to us today.
I. The Powerful Legacy
I wonder if Lois the grandmother of Paul’s protégé Timothy could have realized just how influential she would be in the life of her grandson. That fact that her name is mentioned in the NT tells us that she will never be forgotten. As long as this old world stands she will be remembered for her contribution to Timothy’s life and ministry. Likewise Eunice, Timothy’s mother needs to be acknowledged for the part that she played in pointing her son to the Savior. What can be learned from the lives of these two mothers’ and what is their lasting legacy?
a. Recognize the Power You Have
Every Mother needs to understand that while the husband and father may be superior in terms of physical power, that she has something that he does not possess, the power of influence. For thousands of years the influence of mothers has been and continues to be felt in our secular culture and more specifically in the Christian culture. Many of us first heard about the Lord and the gospel from our mother’s knee. We may have heard the Bible stories and children’s songs from our grandmother’s lips. There is no way to count how many souls are in heaven today because of the witness of a godly women like Lois and Eunice.
b. Recognize the Opportunity You Have
One of the first things that happens when your child is born is that the doctor or attending nurse will lay your baby in your arms. This continues a bonding process than began in the womb and continues to develop as your child grows. You will spend more time and be in closer contact with your child than any other person. You have an opportunity that no one else has.
c. Recognize the Urgency of Your Labor
It must be recognized that time is both your friend and your enemy. Someone has said that “time marches on.” This is true and your child will be grown and leave home and your influence before you know it. Next month will be a milestone for Judy and I. Our son Michael will be 50 years old. It seems like just yesterday that he was our little boy playing with his toys in his bedroom but those days are gone and exist now only in our memories. You only get one shot and you have to make it count. You cannot afford to waste it because too much is one the line. You child’s eternal destiny is at stake.
II. The Powerful Lifestyle
Notice that Paul acknowledges an “unfeigned faith” in Timothy, Lois and Eunice. What does the word unfeigned mean? It is defined as something authentic, genuine and sincere. How is this authentic faith produced?
a. A Commitment to theTruth
Notice that Paul states that “from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures.” The foundation of this faith is the Word of God or in this case the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We do not know the specifics concerning the conversion of Lois and Eunice but I believe it is safe to say that they we exposed to the Word of God, repented of their sins and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and the result was an authentic, genuine saving faith.
b. A Confirmation of the Truth
Their conduct confirmed their confession. They walked the talk and talked the walk. They lived out their faith in such a way as to give credence to their testimony of faith in Christ. When Timothy looked at his mother and grandmother he observed a consistency of conduct and behavior that served as an encouragement to believe the faith of his mother and claims of the Gospel. There was no duplicity or hypocrisy that might discourage the development of a genuine faith in Timothy’s life. Certainly this would not be a guarantee of a living faith in Timothy but it would mean that there would be nothing that might deter Timothy from following the faith of his mother and grandmother. The lifestyle of these two women could never be used as an excuse for not following the Savior.
c. A Continuation in the Truth
The Greek term for “youth” is neotes. In this culture, someone could be called a “youth” until they were forty years old. According to Irenaeus, “Thirty is the first stage of a young man’s age, and extends to forty, as all will admit.”Earle comments, “The word for ‘youth’ (KJV) is neotes, ‘used of grown-up military age, extending to the 40th year.’” So Timothy was somewhere between 30-40 when this second letter was written. His mother and grandmother had been believers for some time and had a testimony of many years of faith and faithfulness to the Lord.
III. The Powerful Lesson
Notice that Paul declares that “…from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
What should be the goal of every mother or grandmother in Timothy’s case?
a. The Conversion of Your Child
Nothing that you could ever do is of any more importance than the salvation of your child. Nothing! What you do will in large measure determine where your child will spend eternity. If you child is going to come to the Savior it will most likely happen when they are young. For example:
Children can surely come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as amply testified by the following well known believers...
Polycarp, the great church father, was nine when he was saved.
Matthew Henry was eleven.
Jonathan Edwards, America’s greatest theologian, was seven.
Hymn writer, Isaac Watts, was nine.
Evangelist Henry Drummond, Moody’s friend, was nine.
E. Stanley Jones, the great Methodist missionary statesman, was moved to be a missionary when he was eight years old. He saw a picture of a big tiger standing beside a small Indian boy, and underneath was the caption, “Who will tell me about Jesus?” And Stanley Jones said, “I will.”
Corrie ten Boom asked Christ to be her Savior at age five.
W. A. Criswell, the famous Southern Baptist pastor, was saved when he was ten, but he felt God calling him into ministry even earlier. “I had been thinking about being a preacher for years, since I was six,” he recalled. “I knew I wasn’t converted yet, hadn’t been saved. But I knew God wanted me to be a preacher.
”Hymnist Philip Bliss was twelve years old when he made his public confession of Christ.
William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, was fifteen.
Dr. Harry Ironside was thirteen.
Count Nickolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf, who gave rise to modern Protestant missions, was saved at age four.
I read recently where The Barna Research group announced that the vast majority of those who are saved experience the conversion during childhood -- before the age of 14. A person who is unsaved at the age of 14 only has a 10% chance of being "saved" later in life. It doesn’t say that it is impossible to be saved later in life but it does indicate the older we get the less likely it is that we will be saved.
Then notice that it is the Holy Scriptures that “make thee wise unto salvation.” We must expose our children to the Word of God if we want them to follow Christ at an early age. If you bring you children to church Sunday and Wednesday they have the opportunity to hear the Word of God for about 2 hours per week. That’s two hours out of 168 in a week more or less. It is vital that they be exposed to scripture.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Many parents blame the church when their child goes astray or follows a worldly path but friends there is no way the church can give your child all that they need in only an hour or two per week. When Timothy was being raised he heard the holy scriptures daily in his home. There was no Sunday school, children’s church or even a regular place of worship in many cases, but he heard God’s Word.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
3 Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:
7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:
Conclusion: If I can I would like to give a word of testimony on the subject of generational discipleship. I came to Christ at age 17 and as far as I know I was the first person in our family to become a Christian. Not long after that I was giving my personal testimony during a men’s service and my brother Danny was saved. Not long after I started preaching I was filling in at Newport and my dad who had driven over to hear me was saved. Judy and I have two children and they were saved at 5 & 8. I led my son Mike to Christ at home and Christi was saved at youth camp. They married and gave us 5 grandsons, each of which professes to be a Christian. Our oldest is married to a fine Christian girl and is a youth pastor in Pocahontas, AR. I have some of assurance that both of my granddads were saved in the hospital and my mother and several other family members have come to faith in Christ. Why did I tell you this? First, if you will give your heart to Jesus you may start a generational chain of events that will have eternal consequences. Second, if you are saved then you have a mission field right in your own home. Share the Scriptures with you children and your children’s children. You can change the eternal destiny of your family.
