A grandchild sitting on her grandfather’s lap listening to the Bible story of Noah’s Ark, asked "Were you in the Ark, grandpa?"
He chuckled and replied, "Why, no I wasn’t."
There was a pause, and the child looked up at him quizzically and asked, "Then why weren’t you drowned?"
If that is the biggest discouragement that you have, then you don’t need this message! This subject of discouragement might be the most common in the Bible for Christians. In other words, aside from the message of salvation, this might be the top one.
And I realize why. Every time that we are going through a Bible book and we hit this subject, I think, “boy, we really need this message.” We have people who are discouraged and downhearted. Do you want me to get specific?
In just the last few months, the Northfield family has some that have lost their jobs. Right now there are some that are fearful that they will be losing their job soon. We have a foster family that is having their license challenged. We have a family about to lose a father to cancer. One of our women went to visit with her family just this week on the anniversary of losing their mother to a murder. And this same family has lost two others to cancer in just the last couple of years. There are some who suffer through depression. Then they feel guilty about it because they feel like Christians shouldn’t battle depression . . . and some “well meaning” Christians tell them that they shouldn’t battle depression! It all can be pretty discouraging. That is exactly the subject that Paul addresses to his young son in the faith, Timothy.
By AD 67, four years after Paul wrote 1 Timothy, Christianity had become a stench in the nostrils of Rome. Christians had the audacity to refuse to acknowledge the emperor Nero as a god. To make matters worse, the egotistical ruler had convinced the populace that this “anti-imperial” sect deliberately set the great fire of AD 64, which destroyed half of Rome. Christians were now official enemies of the state, subject to public torture and execution.
The apostle Paul, caught up in the undertow of the swelling wave of persecution that he had helped start so many years ago, now found himself in the courts of Rome, charged with “propagating a forbidden cult.” As if this opposition wasn’t enough, Paul also faced abandonment from Christians. Some fell from the faith, like Demas, but some were apparently afraid of what might happen to them if they associate with Paul.
Fearing for their own lives, the Asian believers failed to support Paul after his arrest (1:15) and no one supported him at his first defense before the Imperial Court (4:16). Abandoned by almost everyone (4:10-11), the apostle found himself in circumstances very different from those of his first Roman imprisonment (Acts 28:16-31). At that time he was merely under house arrest, people could freely visit him and he had the hope of release. Now he was in a cold Roman cell (4:13), regarded as “an evildoer” (2:9), and without hope of acquittal in spite of the success of his initial defense (4:6-8, 17-18).
It was under these bleak conditions that Paul wrote once again, and for the last time, to Timothy, his dear son in the faith, about the matters most pressing on his heart. Because of that, 2 Timothy is both emotional and urgent in tone. Scot and I will do out best to bring that out for you.
This entire letter is for everyone tempted to throw in the towel. This letter reminds us that the gospel is worth the battle, and that God is faithful to equip us, strengthen us, and uphold the truth of His word.
In the middle of his second, and final imprisonment, the Apostle Paul found himself faithful, yet discouraged. Even in the middle of this hardship though, he found a level of joy that could not be surpassed. How can he have joy at a time like this? What was his secret?
In the first chapter of 2 Timothy Paul reveals for us, through his instruction and encouragement to Timothy, how to discover a Joy Filled Faith in the midst of discouragement.
If you want to be faithful . . .
I. Possess a grateful heart. (1-7)
2 Tim. 1:1-7
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, [2] To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. [3] I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. [4] Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. [5] I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. [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 did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
After offering thanksgiving for Timothy and expressing sadness that the two are apart, Paul reminds the young leader of his Christian heritage. In spite of the circumstances, there is plenty for which to be thankful.
In verse 4 Paul talks about recalling Timothy’s tears. But his heritage should help him to remain faithful. Timothy probably needed this reminder. He might have been wondering if the Gospel could overcome, or even withstand, the storm of heresy raging through Asia Minor. He might even have wondered if the gospel was worth fighting for.
How do you answer the question, “is it worth it?” Is it worth holding on even when you have a life threatening disease? Is it worth holding on when you are being ridiculed daily at work? Is it worth holding on when your spouse has been unfaithful? Is it worth holding on even when the situation doesn’t seem to improve, in fact, it gets progressively worse? Is it worth it?
Paul reassures Timothy that it is. Through the message of Christ, God has made Timothy a man of noticeable faith and has saved three generations of his family. That should be reason enough to stay in the battle for truth.
Do you think your family is worth the battle? Are our families worth the energies required for the task of teaching them about Jesus?
One elder statesman of a Christian church has devoted himself to a fifty-year study of Christian and non-Christian families. He says that in American culture today, most young adults following Jesus Christ either come from non-Christian homes where they were converted to Christ in their teenage years through a dynamic youth ministry, or they come from homes where they grew up in love with Jesus because mom and dad were so in love with Jesus that love permeated their lives.
It passed through their pores. Very few believers come from homes where there was a kind of indifferent, apathetic commitment to Christ.
It is sobering and thought provoking to suggest that, in American culture, the chances are better for a child growing up in a non-Christian home to become a Christian than for a child growing up in a home that has an indifferent, apathetic commitment to Jesus Christ.
A study once disclosed that if both Mom and Dad attend church regularly, 72 percent of their children remain faithful in attendance. If only Dad attends regularly, 55 percent remain faithful. If only Mom attends regularly, 15 percent remain faithful. If neither attend regularly, only 6 percent remain faithful.
Those statistics may seem discouraging, but that is what they church is for, to make up for the gap. Wednesday nights are the best time for that to happen. Bring them to the meal, let them be around other Christians in that way. You can beat those stats. After all, Timothy, a young preacher ignored that statistic. You be faithful with what you have, all the time you can. You possess in your home a grateful heart for everything God provides and not a bitter heart for what you don’t have and your children will be influenced well. You be sure your candle of faith is blazing so that it might never be interpreted by your children that you’re apathetic towards Jesus. But you have to have a thankful heart. You have to show them that there is joy in the service of the king.
Stephen Freed asked his daughter one day; "Elizabeth, what will you do if I end up like Granddaddy someday?"
Watching my father slowly deteriorate from an incurable disease has been a painful process--one that has raised many such difficult questions in my mind. When I posed this particular question to my 15-year-old daughter, her response gave me even more to think about.
"I don’t know, Dad," she answered after a moment. "But I’m watching you to find out."
And your children are watching you to find out. They want to know if Jesus is real. If you claim Him as Lord and yet he doesn’t make a difference in your life, why should they even bother? If you have no joy in your service, why should they want to sign up? They want to know if the faith you claim you possess has any foundation or is it just another event on your social calendar.
They want to know if Jesus is authentic enough to you to change the way you treat your spouse or handle challenges in your home and deal with problems in your life. When you’re discouraged is Jesus Christ real then?
There is good reason that we believe that Timothy might have become discouraged, even lax, in his ministry. There is reason to believe that Timothy was beginning to wane in his passion for Jesus. So Paul gives him a reality check. Paul reminds him to, “fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. [7] For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
Timothy’s gifts needed stirring up. His self-discipline may have waned in study and prayer. He may have been preaching, teaching, and contending for the faith with diminished fervor. It was time to fan the dying embers of God’s gifts into full flame. Some people have the notion that following your spiritual gifts is spending the days and years of your life doing only those things which come naturally, easily, with no effort, discipline, or practice.
However, like many gathered in this room today, Timothy had placed his spiritual gift away from the flame of the Spirit and his effectiveness as a Christian was diminishing. We all have those times, but we have to catch them before we die on the vine.
Paul’s reminder to Timothy was simple…I thank God…remembering you.
Isn’t it refreshing to be appreciated? Timothy must have been encouraged when the Apostle Paul, sitting in a cold prison as an enemy of the state wrote to him and said; I’m so grateful for you Timothy. Here’s the Apostle, discouraged himself and encouraging others. When you’re down you be grateful for those few people in your life who never leave your side. I know I am. I’m grateful for the few who never waver in their constant and often daily encouragement towards me. When you’re down, thank God, but you be sure to share that gratefulness for those you thank God for. You’ll find, like the Apostle your own spirits lifted. So possess a thankful heart.
The second instruction Paul offers for a joy-filled faith is to…
II. Possess a confident mind. (8-12)
2 Tim. 1:8-12
So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, [9] who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, [10] but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. [11] And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. [12] That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
Suffering, Paul explains, may last for a time in this life, but we suffer for the truth of an eternal message, a God who loved and chose a people for Himself before time, sent His Son to die for them, and gave them eternal life. The gospel is nothing to be ashamed of.
Sometimes we are so caught up in what we see right in front of our faces, that we can’t see the big picture, we are blinded to it. It is at those times that we walk by faith. It is at those times that we trust the Eternal, loving, encouraging God the most. We can’t see the big picture, but he can.
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After a good meal they lay down for the night and went to sleep. Some hours
later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend. "Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see."
Watson replied, "I see millions and millions of stars."
Holmes asked, "What does that tell you?"
Watson pondered for a minute. "Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets.
Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo.
Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three.
Theologically, I can see that God is omnipotent and that we are small and insignificant.
Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow."
"What does it tell you?"
Holmes was silent for a minute, and then spoke. "Watson, you meathead. Someone has stolen our tent."
Watson couldn’t see the big picture.
In a Rolling Stone interview, Tanya Donelly, lead singer of Grammy-nominated alternative rock band Belly, notes, "For some reason, God is embarrassing to people. It doesn’t embarrass somebody to talk about how they got completely bombed the night before and puked all over themselves, but God is a really embarrassing subject, and that’s kind of strange." Tanya’s right. That is strange!
Paul reminds Timothy:
Don’t be Ashamed
To testify about our Lord
Of one who testifies about our Lord
Paul wrote years earlier to the church in the city where he is now imprisoned. Romans 1:16
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Paul tells Timothy that you can’t have a joy-filled faith when you’re half embarrassed about your faith, so possess a confident mind about what you believe.
UCLA alumni and fans made UCLA football coach Pepper Rodgers’s life miserable during a season when his Bruins got off to a horrible start. Nobody in Southern California would hang out with him. "My dog was my only true friend," Rodgers said of that year. "I told my wife that every man needs at least two good friends. She bought me another dog."
Rodgers can be rigid in the face of adversity. When his players at UCLA were having difficulty adapting to the wishbone offense he’d installed and the school’s alumni demanded that he adopt another system, Rodgers didn’t budge. The wishbone, he said, "is like Christianity. If you believe in it only until something goes wrong, you didn’t believe in it in the first place."
Is that the problem with your faith? Will you only believe in the atoning work of Christ on the cross until something goes wrong? Do you expect Christianity to always be smooth sailing? Where in the Bible do you get the idea that there will not be any trouble? You have to have a confident mind, but not a foolish mind!
A story is told of a town where all the residents are ducks. Every Sunday the ducks waddle out of their houses and waddle down Main Street to their church. They waddle into the sanctuary and squat in their proper pews.
The duck choir waddles in and takes its place, and then the duck minister comes forward and opens the duck Bible. He reads to them: "Ducks! God has given you wings! With wings you can fly! With wings you can mount up and soar like eagles. No walls can confine you! No fences can hold you! You have wings. God has given you wings, and you can fly like birds!"
All the ducks shout, "Amen!" And then they all waddle home.
We’re kind of like the ducks, not that we waddle a lot, but that we want to shout Amen and then never do anything about the “amen.” It’s almost like the ducks are ashamed to fly. Paul says, even though I’m suffering I am not ashamed because I know, with confidence that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. I know the purpose of his grace and that he is the Savior who has been revealed. What do you believe with that much confidence?
[12] That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
If you want a joy-filled faith there’s no room for embarrassment. Paul was humiliated in prison and yet not ashamed of his imprisonment. Can you say with Paul…I am not ashamed because I know in whom I believe and I am convinced that he is able to guard the very spirit of my life until he comes?
Paul reminds Timothy if you want to battle discouragement and discover joy in your faith…possess a grateful heart, a confident mind, and thirdly. . .
III. Possess a determined purpose. (13-18)
2 Tim. 1:13-18
What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. [14] Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you--guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
[15] You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.
[16] May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. [17] On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. [18] May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.
You only guard things that are valuable, right? Paul talks about the “sound words” that need to be guarded and taught.
The Gospel is a treasure of truth that has been entrusted to us. God’s words are the words of life for those who are convinced about Jesus.
Oh church, Christianity is not some spiritual euphoria, especially the way this post modern culture defines “spiritual.” This walk with Christ is a house building adventure and the foundation is the Solid Rock of Jesus Christ and premises of our faith found in God’s Word. Guard the words of life. Guard them with all that you have. Paul tells Timothy if you want to find any joy in the middle of discouragement it’s found by drawing on the word that has been deposited within you.
Paul is speaking from first hand experience. Paul reminds Timothy that everyone in the province of Asia had deserted him, even Phygelus and Hermogenes. Paul is lonely. He’s imprisoned. Not under house arrest but painfully stuck in a cold dungeon cell and he has no one. How often do you feel that you have no one? Are you ever so lonely that it seems no one cares? Paul is writing from this condition in his lonely and solemn state but then he remembers…Timothy needs encouragement. So from a prison cell he writes even though he’s lonely. And as he writes he remembers Onesiphorus.
When you’re down and the phone rings from the one who can lift your spirits. Or the email comes that says, “I’m in your corner.” Or the gift arrives that says “I want you to know I appreciate what you do for me,” it is a great feeling. For Paul, Onesiphorus was the phone call, the email and the gift. It must be good to have a friend like that. And so with a renewed determination Paul continues his ministry from a cold dungeon cell. Timothy needed renewed. Maybe you do as well.
We need an Onesiphorus in our lives or maybe it is better said that we be an Onesiphorus. If we want a joy filled faith in the middle of discouragement maybe we need to spend more time encouraging others. When we’re so low that even the bottom looks up, helping others can be the key to helping ourselves. Paul had Onesiphorus and Timothy had Paul…who has you?
I am sure you have heard in recent weeks of what the news called "The Miracle at Quecreek." It was nine miners trapped for three days 240 feet underground in a water-filled mine shaft. They decided early on that they were either going to live or die as a group.
The 55 degree (Fahrenheit) water threatened to kill them slowly by hypothermia, so according to one news report "When one would get cold, the other eight would huddle around the person and warm that person, and when another person got cold, the favor was returned."
"Everybody had strong moments," miner Harry B. Mayhugh told reporters after being released from Somerset Hospital. "But any certain time maybe one guy got down, and then the rest pulled together. And then that guy would get back up, and maybe someone else would feel a little weaker, but it was a team effort. That’s the only way it could have been."
That is a picture of the church! If you’re facing astronomical odds and the world seems to be against you, don’t give up. With a renewed sense of a determine purpose you stand firm for Christ. Do what Paul did and write a letter of encouragement or be an Onesiphorus and go refresh someone else who is discouraged, but don’t throw in the towel.
Listen to what Paul says of his friend Onesiphorus:
16] May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. [17] On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me.
He searched hard for Paul. He traveled from Ephesus bound for Rome with one purpose… to find the apostle Paul and lift up his spirits. How far will you travel to lift up someone who is hurting? Onesiphorus is only mentioned two times in Scripture, both in the book of 2 Timothy. He wasn’t a preacher or an apostle or a church leader to our knowledge but he was a great encourager. It could possibly be that Paul was so down he had given up until Onesiphorus came on the scene. It might be we have this letter of 2 Timothy because of Onesiphorus’ encouragement to Paul.
But we do know this, it is with a renewed determination that this lonely apostle picks up his pen again, writing to a fearful, timid young preacher in Asia Minor and reminds him to keep the faith.
Conclusion
Are you discouraged? Keep the faith.
Are you down? Don’t quit now.
Are you sad? Stay strong.
When you’re discouraged change your thinking to thankfulness.
When you’re discouraged remind yourself of your Savior Jesus Christ.
When you’re discouraged search hard for a renewed purpose.
It’s only then you’ll discover a joy-filled faith and strength for this journey we call life.
