3 MARKS OF A SHIPWRECKED FAITH
1 Tim. 1:18-20
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
A teacher said, to Raymond, “Listen to me! This is the fifth time this week I’ve had to punish you! What do you have to say?” “I’m glad it’s Friday,” replied Raymond.
B. TEXT
18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies previously made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the good fight, 19 having faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and have shipwrecked their faith. 20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme. [Christian Standard Bible]
C. FAMOUS SHIPWRECKS & WARNINGS
1. Shipwrecks have caused huge losses of material possessions and human lives down the centuries. We can think of the Titanic, the Lusitania, the USS Arizona & Indianapolis, Bismarck, HMS Bounty, Empress of Ireland, Costa Concordia, etc. as recent, famous ships that were wrecked. Ships usually sink because they collide with something, sink in battle, are overwhelmed in storms, have mechanical breakdowns or they break apart.
2. SHIPS ARE WARNED. Authorities warn ships of various dangers through weather reports, red flag announcements, detail computer mapping of the seafloor, and the proximity of icebergs & other ships.
3. SHIPWRECKS HAPPEN OFTEN. A rough estimate by the United Nations says there are at least 3 million shipwrecks lying across ocean floors. There are over 5000 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes that have taken the lives of over 30,000 mariners (6X). [If that’s true of the 3 million wrecks, it would mean that at least 18 million mariners died. That’s a lot of people.] https://www.marineinsight.com/maritime-history/18-famous-shipwrecks-in-the-world/
D. THE DANGER OF CHRISTIAN SHIPWRECK
1. The Christian life is a great journey, similar to a ship voyage whose destination is heaven. Many people have gotten lost out on the ocean. They never intended to be swamped in a storm or run aground on a rocky island, but it happened. Likewise, no one starts the Christian life with the intent of getting wrecked somewhere along the way.
2. Paul used two examples of Shipwrecked Faith when he spoke of Hymenaeus and Alexander who at one time had been involved in the preaching of the Gospel. [Hymenaeus lived in Ephesus and, with Alexander (1 Tim. 1:20) and Philetus (2 Tim. 2:17), departed from the faith and began teaching error -- specifically, that “the resurrection is already past” (2 Tim. 2:18). In other words, they were teaching that Christ had already come and the resurrection had already taken place – probably similar to what the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach. These men became tools of the enemy to lead many other Christians astray.]
3. I don’t want my life to be a shipwreck used as an example to others of what happens if you get your eyes off the Lord. There will be times of testing and temptation: we mustn’t give up or take the easy road. Paul was saying to Timothy, “look over there and see the ships that have been wrecked on the shoals of rebellion and deception. Make sure it doesn’t happen to you!”
4. How’s our faith? Have we bought into the “cultural” Christianity but don’t talk about it much? What would Paul say about YOUR faith? Is it healthy? Deficient? Strong? Or is it wrecked?
5. We’re considering, “The 3 MARKS OF A SHIPWRECKED FAITH.” The first mark is:
I. A LACK OF PERSISTENCE
A. IT MEANS ‘CONTINUOUS EFFORT’
1. Paul consistently encouraged young Timothy (in his letters) to “strongly engage in battle” or “fight the good fight.” Have WE forgotten that we’re in the Lord’s army and are to be engaged in the day-to-day battles between good and evil? If we’re living for the Lord, Satan will do his best to hinder us. It’s extremely easy to get lethargic and allow Satan to strip you of your strength in Christ.
2. Satan’s goal is to corrupt our desires, invade our minds, impact our lifestyles, and thus try to move us away from God. There’s no resting place this side of heaven; we must “fight the good fight” of faith.
3. In the aftermath of 9/11, thousands of men & women volunteered to go and defend this nation. Because of the aggression there was a reaction of total and complete devotion. Throughout history, when the church was persecuted the worst - commitment, devotion, and sacrifice rose to the top. Why is this? Answer this question, “When are you most likely to hustle to make a living? When you have a thousands of dollars in the bank & plenty of food? Or when the pantry is bare and the bank account is empty?”
4. Persistence is “sticking with it no matter what.” But persistence is NOT A ONE-TIME, occasional, or haphazard type of action -- it is ongoing. The lack of persistence heralds the possibility of a shipwrecked faith.
5. Are you persisting in your relationship to Christ? Are you spending time with Him every day & listening for His voice? Are you faithful in your daily reading of the Bible? How about your church faithfulness?
B. IT’S NOT HOW YOU START BUT HOW YOU FINISH
1. In 1954 Opening Day of Baseball, the Cincinnati Reds played the Milwaukee Braves. Two rookies started in that game. Cincinnati had a rookie named Jim Greengrass who went 4-4 with 4 doubles. The Braves rookie went 0-4, but that was just the first day.
2. Who is it that people remember? Is it Jim Greengrass or Hank Aaron? (Greengrass went on to start his own lawn care company...!)
3. My point is, people won’t remember how you started, they’ll remember how you finished. You may have a life that is strewn with mistakes and blunders, but the question is which direction is it heading? How do you want to finish? The 2nd mark is:
II. A LACK OF PASSION
A. ARE YOU LIVING LIKE YOU BELIEVE IT?
1. The NIV for verse 19 says, “holding on to” faith. Here is my question, “Can you imagine someone possessing a true faith in the living God and being apathetic about it?” He’s the creator, the sustainer, the healer, the miracle worker, and the life-giver; how can we truly believe and have little or no passion about it?
2. ILLUS. Ed Young, who was long-term pastor of 2nd Baptist in Houston, told how, when he was in college, he had an atheist roommate. After being roommates for a while, the atheist finally asked, “Do you really believe there’s a personal god?” Ed Young said, “Certainly, I do.” The unbelieving young man said, “Then you’re a bigger fool than I am. If there’s a personal God and you know him, then why aren’t you LIVING like you know him and let him change your life?”
3. Many ‘Christians’ and churches today have a faith that appears to be shipwrecked because they never possess their possessions. They never have a living walk with God. They don’t believe God will intervene in their lives. Their actions, thoughts, and words often deny what they say they believe. I hate to say it like this, but we need a restoration of our passion for HIM! We need to fall in love with Him.
B. LOVE WHAT JESUS LOVES
1. ILLUS. A soul-winning Christian was greatly burdened for a young woman’s soul and kept speaking to her about her need of a Savior. She told her mother about him and how he made her feel like she had sin in her life.
2. Her mother said to her angrily, “The next time he speaks to you about your soul, tell him to mind his own business!” The young woman replied, “But mother, that’s the problem! He says that it IS his business!”
3. It’s the business of every born-again believer to do their best to help the lost find Jesus! Pete Rose said, "The player who has lost his passion – that man is finished!"
4. To fall in love with Jesus is to have passion for what HE has passion for and to love what He loves. And do you know what He loves? He loves people -- the lost, the unchurched, the hurting, the poor, and the needy.
5. It’s my belief that the lack of passion is a sure sign of shipwrecked faith. The 3rd mark is:
III. A LACK OF POWER
A. HANDLING THE HERETICS
1. In verse 20 Paul says he has handed Hymenaeus and Alexander over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme. Paul, as a Spirit-filled Christian, had involved the power of the Holy Spirit to discipline 2 heretics who had persisted in evil.
2. Scholars believe that “delivery over to Satan” was a form of punishment for determined evildoers, where they were stripped of their protection in Christ and made accessible to Satan for punishment, and hopefully, repentance (see also 1 Cor. 5:5; 2 Cor. 2:7-8).
3. In verse 18 Paul encouraged Timothy to fulfill the Holy Spirit’s prophecies about him. This would require Timothy to stay filled with the Spirit every day.
4. This priority isn’t just for apostles, for Paul told the Ephesian Church to “keep on being filled with the Spirit” ISV, CJB. Samson had been filled with the Spirit, but later the Spirit departed from him. And as you know, his life was afterward shipwrecked.
5. Could it be that we have become a generation of people with a shipwrecked faith? Paul wrote Timothy in his second letter about a later generation of so-called Christians who would be “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness BUT DENYING ITS POWER. Have nothing to do with such people” (2 Tim. 3:4-5).
B. POWER OF THE INDWELLING CHRIST
1. A Buddhist monk in Ceylon, who was acquainted with both Christianity and Buddhism, was once asked what he thought was the great difference between the two.
2. He replied, "There is much that is good in each of them, and probably in all religions. But what seems to me to be the greatest difference is that you Christians know what is right and have power to do it, while we Buddhists know what is right but have not any such power."
3. This is true, because no other religion has, as its founder, God who became man. Only through the incarnation can the divine indwell the human! Thank God Jesus came & gave us the Holy Spirit! [Unknown]
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUS.: Diff. between flotsam & jetsam
1. Flotsam and jetsam are commonly used terms used to describe the wreckage and debris that floats in the water after a shipwreck. What’s NOT so well known is that there is a difference between flotsam" and jetsam.
2. Flotsam is anything that ends up in the water AFTER THE SHIPWRECK, whether it's pieces of the boat or even some of the cargo. Nobody had any control over it; it's there as a result of the shipwreck.
3. But jetsam refers to the cargo and other items purposely jettisoned from the ship BEFORE A SHIPWRECK to help stabilize it and hopefully to save it from shipwreck. In other words, ejecting the jetsam can often save the ship.
4. Life is similar. We often have to make choices to eject things from our lives that we may prefer to hold onto, in order to prevent a much worse disaster. [Phil McGraw]
B. THE CALL
1. A.W. Tozer says that people who are crucified with Christ have three distinct marks: 1). they are facing only one direction, 2). they can never turn back, and 3). they no longer have plans of their own. [Tim Hansel, Holy Sweat, 1987, Word Books Publisher, p. 187.]
2. DOES THAT DESCRIBE YOU? If not, let’s pray and ask God to change us so we won’t someday end up in a shipwreck. PRAYER
[This message contains some thoughts of Jerry Watts & Norman Lawrence]
