Relationships in the Faith

would you turn your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 1. 2 Timothy 1. Before we begin, if you don't mind me, I would love to pray and then we'll get into our uh second uh sermon or lesson of our series that we're starting. So, let's pray. Father, we love you and we do thank you for being such a good God. And we thank you for Paul and just the leading of the Holy Spirit to write this letter to Timothy. And we ask Lord as we um read the verses that we have tonight that you would speak to our hearts and that you would encourage us and help us to glean something from it that would help us to live better for you and that would draw us closer to you.

Father, we love you so much and we thank you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. So, I want to give a little bit of a context of where we are in second Timothy. So, last time we we went through the book of the letter to Timothy, the first letter, first Timothy. Uh we went through all was it six chapters? Yeah. Okay. Was it six chapters? I just confirming if you guys know your Bibles, but we went through the letter to Timothy the first time and that letter was actually written to Timothy around AD62 or so. U and that was um after Paul's um first Roman imprisonment. So we know that it was that because of how he wrote that letter and after the at the end of the book of Acts, the letter to the uh the Christians in Acts, um we know that Paul was in prison and so he didn't write it during that time.

must have been after that time that he wrote to Timothy. So that was um kind of the context of first Timothy. And in second Timothy, Paul is now writing um close to the end of his ministry and really close to the end of his life. Paul is writing from a Roman prison. This is his second Roman imprisonment. And this was not a a beautiful place to be. This was not a place that you would desire to be in. Um this was the um effect of persecution of the Christians that was happening during that time. Paul was one of the leading um preachers, missionaries that was going around preaching the gospel, starting churches, encouraging Christians and because of that the Roman government threw him into prison.

Um at the time it was emperor Nero and AD64 was the great fire of Rome and a lot of the Christians were blamed and persecuted after that fire. In fact a lot of the Christians were used as lamp or just um kind of street lights to light the way for the Romans in the evenings. And it this is the context in which Paul is now writing from and he's writing to Timothy. And it's it's a little bit sad because as you read the letter to Timothy the second time, Paul actually feels very lonely and he's actually I he's he'll he'll later say, "I have fought the good fight." So he's done his best, but just because of where he is, it seems that Christians and brothers and sisters in Christ have actually left him because of that.

They thought, "Oh, since he's in prison all the time, there must be something wrong with him. Let's not follow him." Because in his letter, he would name people like Deeus who has forsaken him and these other Christians who left him. And so Paul is reminiscing over his life and he's just thinking, I cannot wait to be with Jesus, but I would long to be with people right now, too. So as you read this letter, Paul is really encouraging Timothy first of all to continue the faith that Paul had himself has exemplified to all the Christians, but also he's he's longing to see Timothy. And you'll read it here.

We'll we'll read it in our passage tonight. But Paul really wants to see his friend, the the the young man that has helped him in the ministry. He is he is just needing that encouragement and and we'll we'll read it and we'll see that. But Paul actually wrote this letter to Timothy so that Timothy could go and visit him. It was saying in chapter 4 to bring the parchments and bring the cloak. Just the fact that he says bring the cloak. He actually says bring it before winter. It's showing that this Paul was in prison and this prison was probably not a a comfortable place. It was most likely very cold during this time.

And so Paul is just longing for those things that would at least give him some comfort while he still has time. Unfortunately, after uh second Timothy, this was actually his last letter ever written. Um because soon after this, he would be um he would be murdered because of his faith. But second Timothy chapter number one and verse number three down to verse number five. The Bible says this. 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. Verse number four. greatly desiring to see thee, being being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the unfamed faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lewis and thy mother Ununice.

And I am persuaded that in thee also. Before we get down to breaking uh this verse and just seeing what Paul is saying here in this passage, I want to take you back to Paul and Timothy's relationship. I want to show you where it started and kind of give you the verses in scripture that we have that paint the relationship that Timothy and Paul had. So if you turn to Acts chapter number 16, Acts 16, and it's in verses 1 to3, Paul met Timothy around probably AD 46-47 during his first missionary journey. And in verse number one in Acts 16, the Bible says this. Then came he to Derby and Lististra. And behold, a certain disciple was there named Timoththeus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jews and believed, but his father was a Greek, which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lististra and Iconium.

him would Paul have to go forth with him and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters for they knew all that his father was a Greek. So Paul finds Timothy and the report that Timothy has was that he was a disciple. A disciple is a follower of Christ. A disciple he was already a disciple before Paul came. That is a credit to the family that Timothy came from. But it's interesting because it says here in Acts chapter 16 that the father had a negative report. In fact, the Jews, they looked down on the father because the father was a Greek. And that's why Paul um took Timothy who was already saved and it's a a disciple already and is having to put him through this what the law requires, which is circumcision.

And so Timothy, a young man, is being circumcised just to appease the Jews that were looking down at his family lineage and looking down the fact that he was a Greek. But Timothy was already a disciple and Paul saw him and he he he saw how the the spirit that is in him and the desire he has to serve God and just the fervent spirit that Timothy has. And Paul really liked that. And so he took him and said, "You know what? I want you to serve with me. I want you to serve the Lord with me. And it's amazing because Timothy goes with him. So, it wasn't like he just forced him to go with him. It was it was a mutual agreement.

Timothy took a liking to Paul as well. Paul notices Timothy's reputation and faith and chooses him as a ministry partner. And this is the beginning of their spiritual partnership. This is where it all starts. And then we get to Acts chapter uh number 17. And you can write these verses down to look it up later. But Acts 17, we see that Timothy becomes Paul's trusted collaborion. In Acts 17, Timothy stays faithful when Paul is forced to move on. And Timothy is having to stay behind here. And he's he's continuing to serve the Lord. In Acts chapter number 19, Paul trusts Timothy to be sent ahead into Macedonia.

Like Paul recognizes the maturity, the spiritual maturity that that Timothy had. And he was even allowing him to go ahead to continue the ministry that he has started. In acts chapter number 20 verse number four, Timothy travels as part of Paul's close ministry team. In 1 Corinthians chapter number four, we see that Timothy becomes Paul's delegate or representative to the churches that he's sent him to. In verse number in 1 Corinthians 4:17, Paul calls Timothy his beloved son and sends him to Corinth to remind them of Paul's ways in Christ. In 1 Thessalonians chapter number 3 2-6, Timothy is sent to strengthen and encourage believers, bringing back good news to Paul.

In Philippians chapter number 2 19-23, Paul praises Timothy's unique heart for the church, serving with him as a son with the father. You see here in um 1 Timothy chapter number one and just the book of Timothy, Paul calls Timothy his own son in the faith. All throughout the sec uh throughout second Timothy, you'll see this as well. Paul uh deepens this by saying my dearly beloved son in uh 2 Timothy chapter number uh 2 verse 1-6 Paul urges Timothy to be strong and endure hardship and pass the truth to faithful men. This is where we get our verse on disciplehip. In chapter 3 of this letter, Paul reminds him of his example and points Timothy back to scripture as the foundation of ministry.

You see Paul mentoring Timothy as he's in the ministry. In 2 Timothy chapter number 4 9-11, Paul is facing this death at the doorstep and he pleads for Timothy to come quickly showing him how much he values that relationship that he has. This is a relationship that has been 20 years in the making. From AD46 about 47 to this letter second Timothy being wr written about AD 6667 20 years has Paul known Timothy. That's a long time in the ministry. Praise the Lord for people that you can call your friends in the ministry. Praise the Lord for people who are faithful alongside of you regardless if they have moved to a different city or a different country, but you still keep in touch with them.

Paul considers Timothy to be one of his closest friend, even his his own son. And he says here in verse number three as we break down our our passage today Timothy chapter number 1 3:5 Paul says this I thank God and I think as Paul often writes in his letters Paul often thanks uh give thanks to God for the person or the church that he is writing to. But as we consider Paul's situation and the context of second Timothy and the mood of the whole thing, as we consider as he's thanking God, it's it's a genuine gratitude for a faithful friend. Paul thanks thanks God just for being faithful. how important it is to be thankful to the one that gives us the relationships that we enjoy today.

1 Thessalonians chapter number 5:16-18 says this, "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I thank God." He goes on to say, "Whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience." Whom is referring back to God. I thank God whom I serve. This is Paul's way of saying the same God that my ancestors served. It's the same God that I'm serving today. And I think that really speaks to not to Paul's faithfulness, but it speaks to God's faithfulness. The same God that was there with Abraham and Moses and David is the same God that Paul can clearly claim is mine.

I'm serving that same God. Have you ever considered who was saved in your family? And when I when I was reading this, I I was looking back on my own family tree and thinking about who in my family got to hear the gospel. And I praise the Lord. I grew up in a family that had the Bible. They preached the gospel. They preached the Bible. And my grandpa is one of the ones that I can think of. and my grandma who is with the Lord right now. And I think about every single day when they're reading their Bibles and and spending time with God. I'm so thankful that I have people like that that I can look back on and say, "Praise God that my my God was faithful to them."

And as I'm living my own faith out, I'm realizing that my God is faithful to me, too. And as I'm looking into looking at my kids as well, I can't help but hope and wish that they would take that as well. that that they would trust in God, that they would also put their faith in God. Psalm chapter number 89 verse1 says this, "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever. With my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations." And how amazing it would be if I could think into the future. if I could see the future and seeing my sons, my daughters and their greatsons and my greatsons and my greatgrandsons and to see them still faithfully serving God even after I'm gone.

That that would be an awesome thing to consider. Paul says here in verse number three again, with a pure conscience, he says, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience. He means he is serving God with a conscience that is clear. He has no regrets serving God. He has done nothing wrong in serving his God. And I think the reason why he's saying this is for the reason that because he's in jail, some people who are looking at his situation are probably discouraged and they're probably thinking that Paul actually committed a sin that he's in prison. And you you know how gossip works and that can spread.

But I think Paul is making a statement and just clearing his own plate saying look I have served God faithfully and I have done nothing wrong. The Bible calls that blameless. But Paul is claiming it for himself. And that's that's a confidence that he's claiming too. But it's a confidence in the Lord as well. Paul was arrested for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. And the Roman govern government especially under Emperor Nero viewed Christianity as a threat. And so Paul was treated like a criminal and held in a harsh prison cell. In 2 Timothy chapter number 2:9, the Bible says this. He said, "Wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer even unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound."

He was imprisoned because of his faithfulness to Christ, not because of any crime. Paul goes on to say that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day. Paul is saying that he remembers Timothy in his prayers all the time whether it's day or whether it's night. You know who I think about when I read this verse. I actually don't think about you. I'm sorry if I'm saying that. But I think about my kids. I love my kids and I love my family. They're the ones that I will pray for day and night. And that's not to put anybody down. That's just the reality of it. And I think when Paul is saying this, he's encouraging Timothy in that matter as well.

Because Paul values Timothy and he sees his relationship with Timothy as Timothy, you are my son in the faith. You know, the people that you care about the most, you will pray day and night for. The friends that you care about the most, you will pray day and night for. The family that you care about the most, you will pray day and night for. You will pray for those you genuinely care about. And Paul said, "I thank God who I have served since the same God that my my ancestors served. I thank God for you, Timothy, and that is why I pray for you day and night." But then in verse four, he goes on to say this, "Greatly desiring to see thee."

And um I think that just adds on again to that relationship that Paul has with Timothy. He longs to to see Timothy, to embrace him, and to be in connection with him, to spend time with him. In our own in our own relationships, we have a longing to spend time with those we genuinely care about the most. We already discussed Paul and Timothy's relationship, but Christianity is meant to be lived with people. It's not meant to be something that you live out by yourself. That's why we have a church. That's why Christ didn't just die for you. Christ died for the church. And throughout Paul's letters, he valued the church and he put the church in such a high regard because that is what Christ gave his life for.

And the church is not this building. The church is every single person that has accepted the gospel here. We are not meant to live our faith alone. We're meant to live it with people. So don't try to live it by yourself. Who is your Timothy? Or who is your Paul? Because maybe you're a young Christian and you're looking for a mentor to Timothy. Paul was Paul was his mentor. He was the one that he could rely on that he could go and ask questions about scripture and life. And he was the one that he was doing ministry with. Paul was that mentor. And some of us young Christians, we need mentors that could p that can pour into us and that can speak life into us and speak the the truth into us and tell us, "Hey, what you're doing is stupid.

Don't do it." Or maybe they'll just say, "Hey, you know what? I'm praying for you. Let me encourage you and we need mentors like how Paul how Timothy had Paul as his mentor in Ecclesiastes chapter number 4:9 and 10. You jot this down. Bible says this, "Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow." The church is very important because it's where you can find the community that you need to be able to live this life and become stronger because you have brothers and sisters that are coming alongside of you that can lift you up when you're in despair, but that can also encourage you when when you're down.

And then you as well as being part of this church body can also do the same for others. You can also encourage and you can also lift up. The church is where you will find your Timothy or your Paul. And if you're not here, then I'm sorry you will not find your Timothy or your Paul. Because this is where you'll find the person that you need to be able to grow stronger in your faith. Paul goes on to say, "Being mindful of thy tears." And I think this is because when Paul and Timothy had departed or had um separated um or maybe when Paul had left Timothy and Ephesus, when we were studying uh first Timothy, we um read the first chapter and we got to get the feeling that Timothy did not want to stay in Ephesus.

I mean, he was just tired of the the drama. And Paul said, "I I urge you, please stay and please help these people that are in this church." Because I think Timothy really wanted to be with Paul. And I think this is the moment that that Paul is rem remembering because if you genuinely care about someone, you can't help but cry when they leave or when you separate or separate ways. And so Paul is saying he is mindful of Timothy's tears. And and um this is a weird question, but uh has anyone ever cried for you? Do you have people that you can cry to? Yeah, but you might say, "I'm I'm a man. I don't cry."

But the reality is you're also human. And we need relationships that we can be vulnerable with. And the fact that Timothy was able to cry in front of Paul showed that he wasn't just being like, "Oh, I'm a tough guy. I don't need to cry when you leave." It just shows that his relationship with Paul was real. Like if you have a a child and you care about them, you will cry to them or they will cry to you because that's the bond and the love that is evident in that. I hope you can find people that you can be vulnerable with as you live for God because that is one thing that will definitely change your life.

When you find people that can see you for who you are and still give you the grace of God and still love you and give you that compassion that is that only comes from God. Paul goes on to say that I may be filled with joy. And I think this is Paul just looking forward to seeing Timothy again. I wonder what kind of Christian you are. A pastor says it this way. He says,"Are you the kind of person that when you walk in, people are happy or are you the kind of person when you walk when you leave people are happy?" Proverbs 18:4 says this, "A man that had friends must show himself friendly, and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."

There's a there's three reasons why uh people avoid others. These are my reasons. I just I'm a scholar, so I have to say it. Uh number one, uh three reasons why people avoid others. Number one, that person attracts negativity. And so we we don't want to be with people who are negative. Number two, that person is too positive. Now, if you're sinful, you don't like positive people or you just there's just some people that just don't like people when they're happy and when they're smiling. The other the last one is this. Um if that person owes you money and so you don't want to you avoid that person.

But I think as Christians though, you it it really has to be or it ought to be that that there's there's joyful moments when we meet up with our brothers and sisters in Christ that this is where we can find that joy that we cannot I mean we're in the world where we're dealing with people who are unsaved. Most of you live in un like you work in ungodly environments. Maybe there's just cursing all around. Or maybe there's just sin that is just church is a place where we can come and find joy and say, "You know what? I'm so glad that I can make another week and praise God and be energized and be encouraged again in the Lord so I can go back out and be refreshed."

And yeah, you can get that every day because you have the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit does that for you. But it's nice to have brothers and sisters in cri in Christ that can also encourage you and help you as you live your life for him. In verse number five, Paul says this, "When I call to remembrance the unfeign uh faith in thee or that is in thee." Um the word unfigned here, it it has the idea of without hypocrisy. So it's genuine. Um Paul is saying this is a genuine faith that he sees in Timothy and he Paul recognizes this. But you know it's sad but there are Christians who live double lives.

You might look good on Sunday. You might look good on Sunday morning especially but throughout the week you know your heart and you know what you're going through. And there are Christians who come to church and they they can put on a show, but when they go back home and then when they go back into the world, it's just like it's like they're not even Christians. And the question is, do you have a genuine faith? The opposite of unfeigned is fain and unfeigned faith is genuine and heartfelt. Then fain faith would be fake, superficial or for show. and it's not truly rooted in belief or conviction.

The type of faith that Timothy had was a genuine real faith. Paul says this, "Which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Ununice." Um, Timothy first learned about unfeigned faith or this this type of faith not from Paul the preacher, the missionary, but he actually learned it from his grandma and his mom. Isn't that cool? That Timothy had godly family. Timothy came from a Christian home. We're not sure of his father. I mean, in Acts chapter 16, we we read about the fact that his father was a Greek, but the the very fact that Paul doesn't mention him as somebody that has unfeigned faith shows that the father was probably not saved, that the father didn't have this type of faith that Paul is mentioning.

In 2 Timothy chapter number three uh verse number 15 uh down to uh verse number 17, the Bible says this. And that from a child thou has known the holy scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. And then he goes on to say, "All scriptures is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reprove, for correction, for instruction, and righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, truly furnished unto all good works." And I think what's amazing about this verse that we often quote about the Bible, about scriptures to back up scriptures, is that this is a verse that can be true of Timothy.

That his life has been changed by scripture. That his life has been guided by scripture. Because Paul noticed it. He said, "From a child, you know this and you've lived it out and I've been able to witness it." That's why Paul chose Timothy to be his ministry partner because he saw that Timothy had a reputation that he was a disciple, that he was a genuine disciple. Praise the Lord for parents and for moms and for grandmas, but also for dads and for those who teach their children about the Bible. You know, church is important because we have our children's classes. We have the youth ministry where we can teach our young ones.

But faith is better caught than it is taught. And they might see us twice a week or once a week, but they see you every single day. And I think the difference is that Timothy saw grandma and mom and he saw that their faith was not just preached on Sunday. though they didn't probably had not they had they met every day probably or they had a different schedule back then but Timothy saw the genuine faith that his grandma and his mom exemplified and I think because it was so real at home that it was shown visibly that it wasn't just preached but it was actually lived out because of that Timothy saw that and he said you know what I want that and because he wanted that he got it Romans chapter number uh 10 verse number 9 to 10 says this that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in thine heart that God had raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved.

Verse number uh 13 the Bible says this for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Timothy saw the gospel. He heard the gospel. He heard the gospel from scriptures from his mom and his uh grandma and he accepted that gospel and that gospel took root and it was planted in his heart and it grew and as a young man Timothy already had a good testimony. But as you see in his faithfulness to God, in his relationship with Paul for 20 years, Timothy followed Paul as Paul followed Jesus. And we can know for sure that Timothy didn't just now follow this mentor, but he himself followed Jesus and firsthand because Timothy needed to.

as he is pastoring a church in Ephesus, dealing with all kinds of troubles and all kinds of drama, having false preachers come in and having to dilute the gospel and and Paul having to encourage Timothy, hey, stay faithful. I know it's it's hard, but just keep at it. Timothy needed his faith to be genuine. As a pastor, you need your faith to be genuine because you cannot be leading everybody else if you yourself do not have a strong foundation. And that's why Paul says, "And I am persuaded that in thee also." Paul recognized this faith in Timothy. Paul acknowledges that this and encourages Timothy to continue with this faith.

this faith that he received from his mom and his grandma that Paul has also passed on to him. This is the faith that he needs to continue with. And as Paul is writing this, I can't I just can't imagine him looking forward to the day where he can meet and see Timothy again and embrace him and and talk story with him and just be joyful in the Lord. The point of this message at this point we can talk about disciplehip and how important disciplehip is and how we need to teach others to continue on. But really the point of this message is to tell you how important relationships in the faith are. If you are by yourself living your faith, you will not last because God didn't just die for you.

He died for every single person, the church specifically. And so you need people in your life that could either be pouring into you or that you yourself can pour into because it's not just about receiving. It's about disciplehip. And disciplehip is continuing on to the next person. And so Paul is encouraging Timothy and commending him. But first of all, he's just thanking him, thanking God for Timothy. So I ask you this question. Who is your Timothy? And if you don't have one, then who is your Paul? Do you have somebody that you can pour into or do you have somebody that can pour into you? Let's pray.