When I was a Children’s Pastor I used to do something at the beginning of training seminars that I want us to do this morning. I want you to think back to your childhood and specifically to your early church experience. I know many of you attended Sunday School, VBS and other children’s activities as a child. If church attendance was not part of your childhood life then think about the elementary school you attended.
Now do this. Identify in your mind one or two memories that really stand out from all others in your childhood, whether good or bad. What is it that you remember the most about going to church or attending school? Now let’s do a quick survey.
• Raise your hand if you remember a craft that changed your life? Crafts can be fun and cool but rarely are they life changing.
• Raise your hand if you remember a particular Bible story or lesson from school that forever touched you? Again, these are important but are not what we tend to remember.
• Raise your hand if you recall a special event or field trip that was a top memory maker for you. Events, both good and bad, do play a significant role and often are when major life decisions are made. But I’m willing to bet that the last choice is the memory most of us have.
• Raise your hand if your most vivid memory was a person. It could have been a teacher or a pastor or a friend. It could have even been a bad teacher, pastor or friend. I have done this same survey with hundreds of people and I get the same response each time.
As we think about the defining moments of our life most often they center on a person. Ask me my story and I would tell you about Mrs. Snow who in the midst of a not so alive church painted vibrant pictures of hope for kids. And Mrs. Traylor who told me shortly after I came to Christ that God had a special purpose for my life and encouraged me to keep an eye out for it. And Coach Brittian who modeled Christ on the wrestling mat and off and who challenged a Senior in high school to remain faithful. These men and women were followed by others like Dr. Jim Allman who passed on to me a passion for the Bible and Jack Fooks who has taught me more about life, God and leadership than anyone else. My life is full of people who invested something valuable into my life. People who gave me something that has become a part of who I am. I would like to believe that this is true in your life as well.
The realization that much of who we are is the result of the investment of others is what the message is all about. This morning we are going to be looking at 2 Timothy 1:15 – 2:13 so please open your Bible to that passage. As you do so I want to lay a challenge before you and then ask you a question. The challenge first: we have already agreed that our lives represent the investment of many people. So…….what life are you investing into today? What person are you making a difference in? Does someone come quickly to mind? I hope so. In fact, I want you to take out your message notes and write the first name of the person whom you are going to invest in at the top. Maybe this is someone you are already investing in or perhaps it is someone God has put on your heart but you have not yet responded to.
This challenge is the same one Paul gave Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2. “And the things your have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” Let memorize this verse this week.
This verse is a good summary of Paul’s whole message to Timothy. You were entrusted with a mission to multiple yourself…so complete the mission. Timothy was wavering and Paul is directly calling him to finish his job; to complete his mission.
Notice the flow of what Paul is saying. The teaching of Christ had been passed from Christ to Paul. Next Paul passed them to Timothy. Timothy is then to entrust them to other faithful men who in turn will complete the cycle and entrust them to others.
Many years ago my wife and I had the joy of vacationing in Hawaii. There we discovered a tree that grows in the tropics called a Banyan Tree. One person said this about the banyan tree. "There is... a tree whose property it is to plant itself. It spreads out mighty arms to the earth, where in the space of a single year the arms take root and put forth anew." Pliny the Elder, A.D. 70
Men and women, there is a church whose nature it must be to plant itself. To spread its arms throughout Northern Virginia and bring forth new life in Christ. The Banyan Tree is a good picture of God’s call to us to be investing in the lives of people to the point where the original source becomes difficult to see.
Imagine our church and community as each of us spend the next year investing into the life of one person. Imagine a neighbor child finding Christ in the midst of a dysfunctional family. Imagine a teenager who remains true to God in the midst of a school seducing her to sin. Imagine a struggling young adult discovering true manhood or womanhood. Imagine that person on your index card embracing the truth’s of the Bible and Christ Himself into their life to such a point that they suddenly are compelled to invest in someone else. Imagine such a church. Imagine such a community.
Now let me ask you a question: what are you going to invest into the life of the person you just wrote down? What is it that you are going to give them? The apostle Paul gives us some solid suggestions in the passage we are considering this morning.
Read 2 Timothy 1:15-18
Investing WHAT in the next generation?
1. A determined faithfulness – 1:15-18
Let’s remember that Paul is writing this letter from prison and perhaps this is the reason that Phygelus and Hermogenes turned their backs on Paul. Perhaps they, along with others, were afraid of guilt by association. If Paul is in jail for spreading the gospel and speaking boldly for God then they too may be imprisoned if it becomes known they are friends of Paul.
We know little about these two men except that they were spiritual cowards. They were recruited for the major leagues only to discover that they were only minor league material. The fact that their specific names were used means that they were probably well known to Timothy and the church community.
In stark contrast to Phygelus and Hermogenes is Onesiphorus. Paul describes how Onesiphorus came to the massive city of Rome and searched the Roman prison system until he found Paul. That in it self speaks volumes to this man’s faithfulness. In addition, he was undaunted by Paul’s life situation. The stigma of being in jail mattered little to Onesiphorus. I have come to realize that a determined faithfulness to serve others has a way of blinding us to societies stigma’s and prejudices.
So as you look at the name of the person at the top of your message notes, ask yourself, “How am I passing on a determined faithfulness to him or her?” One obvious way is to demonstrate faithfulness in your personal life. Model for them what a life of determined faithfulness looks like. Let them see you complete the tasks even when the excitement has passed. Allow them to watch you do as well in the mundane as the spectacular.
Brother Lawrence lived in a monastery in the early 1600’s. He served as a cook for 15 years and then because of health problems served the remaining years of his life as a sandal-maker. He became known widely for his faithful and humble service. Listen to his wisdom. Taken from The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. Revised and rewritten by Harold Chadwick.
“We should not grow weary of doing little things for the love of God, who considers not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.” Page 57
“Make it your study, before taking up any task to look to God, if only for a moment. Do this often while you are performing the task, and also when you have finished.” Pg 115
Faithfulness + noticing = intimacy with God.
I would suggest that you read this book with the person you are investing in. Another way is to allow them to participate with you as you practice the spiritual disciplines. Pray together. Study the Bible together. Serve together. Worship together. Share Christ with the lost together.
One final suggestion is be honest about your faithfulness to God. Let them know how you are tempted away from faithfulness but also let them in on how you find victory.
A determined faithfulness is a treasure worth passing on. As we turn to chapter 2 Paul is going to talk about a couple more valuable assets that we need to pass on to the next generation.
Let’s read 2 Timothy 2:1-7. A second trait the next generation will need in their lives is a new source on strength.
2. A new source of strength – 2:1
Most of us can understand the necessity of grace in salvation. Few people struggle with the reality that we are not all that we were meant to be; that indeed there is evil in the world and that I am a participant with that evil. So when we talk of grace in regards to salvation; of getting what we do not deserve, we can grasp that.
But this verse is not speaking of salvation but of daily life with God. Paul is telling Timothy to continually gather strength from the grace of Jesus Christ. Paul is saying that grace is more than food for the starving person. Grace is food that satisfies the famished but it is also the constant diet that brings health and provides energy for life and work. The power of grace is on-going, steady and may I even say, ever increasing.
Over the past few weeks I have come to love this verse even though it strikes at the heart of one of my biggest struggles. For I to tend to set my jaw, grit my teeth, dig deep for that extra store of energy and try harder when the spiritual struggle gets difficult and discouragement begins to grow. All the while God is whispering that personal fortitude and self-reliance are the Cokes and Twinkies of the spiritual life. They are foods devoid of life giving power and are unable to provide the energy needed for the work of God.
Real power from God is found in the same dependence I showed when I first experienced grace. I came to God with nothing to offer; with no strength of my own and He gave me His power. And it is His power that I need everyday as I seek to follow and obey Him.
So as we think about the next generation and about that person on your index card we need to be diligent to show them the source of true spiritual power. We need to help the next generation empty their life pantry of self-reliance and a “just try harder” attitude and fill it with a dependence on God’s grace giving power.
Let’s give the next generation a determined faithfulness in God and a source of strength that is God-centered and grace driven. Paul now turns to say that the work ahead will demand endurance. That is the third trait we need to invest in the next generation.
3. The ability to endure well for Christ – 2:3-7
Paul states it rather bluntly in verse 3. Timothy endure hardship and suffering with me for Christ. The work is rewarding but demanding. The next generation must know that following Christ and investing in people will include hardship and suffering. Paul then gives three metaphors to illustrate his point.
The metaphor of the soldier emphasizes a single-minded purpose and wholehearted obedience to his commanding officer. The Roman soldier Paul saw almost daily knew his purpose and when his commanding officer barked an order was quick to obey. The term “commanding officer” is more accurately translated “the person who enlisted him”. So for those who have been enlisted by Jesus Himself, we have the added joy of serving our commanding officer not just out of loyalty but also out of love. So when hardship comes I endure it because I want desperately to please Christ.
Paul next uses the metaphor of the athlete in an interesting way. Rather than emphasizing the training aspect he focuses on the athlete playing by the rules of the game. Paul seems to be saying that the service assigned Timothy will be demanding but victory is possible if he plays according to the rules. The rules of this game are spelled out in the Bible. Short cuts will be offered by our enemy that will appear to eliminate hardship but they are to be avoided.
Several years ago I was playing a racquetball tournament and was in the semi-finals. It just so happened that the guy I was playing was one of my fiercest rivals. To be nice let’s just say put up with one another. I served for the match and in the midst of playing my protective glasses were bumped and were suddenly crooked on my head. I tossed them aside just before slamming the winning shot in the corner.
Unfortunately, removing your eyewear in the midst of play is illegal which my opponent quickly pointed out. The ref was not familiar with the rule. Again, unfortunately I was. I reluctantly agreed with my nemesis and handed him the ball. Both were shocked. Playing by rules really matters. And when I won that tournament at the end of the day it felt all the better because I knew that not only had I won, but I won playing fair and square. Remember, Onesiphorus played the game right.
The final metaphor is that of the farmer and the focus here is plainly stated. The farmer demonstrates the need to work hard. We in Northern Virginia are familiar with hard work and do not shy away from long hours and demanding schedules. Whether it’s life at the Pentagon or the wild schedule of a mom we in Northern Virginia understand hard work. So let me ask you directly. Do you demonstrate the same fervor and passion for the work of Christ as you do your other work? I am not asking for the same amount of time just the same amount of energy and diligence. Will you apply the same work ethic to the person at the top of your index card as you do to your job?
A few months ago our family got to sit down with Duane Litfin, the President of Wheaton College. We are friends from years past and he was in town doing an alumni event. He has been president for about 12 years now. At one point in our conversation I asked him, “Are you enjoying being president as much as you hoped?” His response stunned me. “Mark”, he said, “There are parts of the job I enjoy but there are several aspects I don’t enjoy that much. But I continue because the work is significant.”
Men and women, we endure not because the work is always enjoyable but because it is significant. Because it matters in eternity. Because it matters to God Himself.
Investing in the next generation will make demands on our time, energy and resources. The next generation needs to know as well that the work will be demanding.
This is why, I believe, that Paul spoke verses 8-13. Paul understood well the life Christ called him to and the life he is calling Timothy to. Now we understand well the life we are choosing as well as the life we are calling the next generation to. I think at this point all of us could use a bit of encouragement; a word of inspiration. That is the fourth and final gift we need to give to the next generation. We must inspire them in the work to be done and the life to be lived.
Let’s read verses 8-13 and be encouraged. As we read those words I could not help but wonder why Paul thought it necessary to REMIND Timothy of Christ and His work. Had Timothy forgotten? I don’t think so. I think Timothy, just like you and I, was experiencing a bit of despair over the task at hand. Paul’s words are not meant to be instructive as much as they are to act as a rallying cry that will inspire our hearts and renew our passion. So just like Remember the Alamo spurred early Americans to new heights of courage so Paul is telling us…REMEMBER. To remember and do the work. To remember and live the life. Let’s be inspired and inspire the next generation by continually remembering 5 things.
4. Inspiration: 2:8-13. REMEMBER
A. That it’s all about Christ – vs. 8-9a
It’s Christ and His work that drives us forward. The work ahead is not so much about us as it is about Christ. When we despair our eyes tend to wander back toward ourselves. In those and all moments, remember its all about Christ.
B. That the Word of God is not bound – vs. 9b
God’s Word is not chained. Be reminded, men and women, that our life situation does not in any way place limits on the Word of God. At one time there were over 600 miles of catacombs under the city of Rome. Nearly all of them were dug and used by ten generations of Christians over 300 years. In the early church the catacombs served as both meeting place and graveyard for hundreds of thousands of Christ-followers. A common inscription found on the walls was the phrase, “The Word of God is not bound”. Write it on the walls of your heart and mind today and inspire the next generation with those same words. See MacArthur commentary for source of catacomb reference.
C. We work and endure for those who do not yet know Christ – vs. 10
Paul is talking in verse 10 about those who have yet to know Christ as their personal savior. We work; we endure; we strive not just for fellow Christ-followers but also for those who will one day know Christ personally. Remember that friend, co-worker and neighbor who has not yet come to Christ as you follow Christ.
D. Our personal creed – vs. 11-13
Allow me to re-phrase this popular saying into more modern language and flow.
Christ died for me to
Give His life to me to
Live His life through me so that
I may live now, endure well and reign later.
D. That rewards await
Under girding this whole passage is the hope of reward. Paul wants Timothy and us to know that not only is there the present reward of seeing people transformed in Christ but there is a future reward for the faithful.
1:18 – “Find mercy on that day”
2:5 – “The victor’s crown”
2:6 – “receive a share of the crops”
2:10 – “obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory”
2:11 – “we will live with Him”
2:12 – “we will reign with Him”
Take heart, a day is coming when Christ will make all things right and new and you will stand before Him and He will welcome you into His heaven with those grand words, “Well done good and faithful servant. Come and share your Master’s happiness.”
