WEBVTT 00:00:00.140 –> 00:00:07.200 You’re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 00:00:07.200 –> 00:00:11.280 To contact us, call us at 1-877-OPEN 365 00:00:11.280 –> 00:00:15.540 or visit our web-site, openthebible.org. 00:00:15.540 –> 00:00:21.520 Let’s get to the message, here is Pastor Colin. 00:00:21.520 –> 00:00:27.660 The two letters to Timothy and the letter to Titus that comes next to this one are often 00:00:27.760 –> 00:00:32.860 referred to in the New Testament as the Pastoral Epistles. 00:00:32.860 –> 00:00:37.880 The thing that makes them quite distinct from the other letters of the apostle Paul is that 00:00:37.880 –> 00:00:42.639 the other letters were written to churches, but these letters were written to just one 00:00:42.639 –> 00:00:45.840 person who’s name of course is Timothy. 00:00:45.840 –> 00:00:50.439 There was a very, very special relationship between Paul and Timothy. 00:00:50.439 –> 00:00:55.660 In fact, Paul had mentored Timothy for years. 00:00:56.040 –> 00:01:01.500 I hope that in the fall we may actually take a look at their ministry together because 00:01:01.500 –> 00:01:06.120 it’s a way of looking at much of what happens in the New Testament. 00:01:06.120 –> 00:01:12.180 It had been a very, very close relationship between the senior apostle and this younger 00:01:12.180 –> 00:01:16.940 man who now is taking over responsibility. 00:01:16.940 –> 00:01:21.239 You get a sense of the sheer warmth of the relationship, and the personal connection 00:01:21.279 –> 00:01:24.360 that there is between Paul and Timothy. 00:01:32.360 –> 00:01:36.839 In other words, the last time when they parted, it was hard for them to say goodbye, hard 00:01:36.839 –> 00:01:41.279 for Paul to say goodbye to Timothy, and he said, 00:01:41.940 –> 00:01:44.839 …that is something that would fill me with joy. 00:01:44.839 –> 00:01:53.339 So, this is a personal letter from one person to another, and its unique value to us is 00:01:53.339 –> 00:02:00.320 really Paul is very self-disclosing about how he faces the pressures in his own life 00:02:00.320 –> 00:02:02.300 as he writes to Timothy. 00:02:02.300 –> 00:02:08.639 This is very relational, and it seems to me that therefore it offers something very special 00:02:09.080 –> 00:02:14.000 us in the revelation that God has given to us in the Scripture. 00:02:14.000 –> 00:02:18.539 Now we’re going to camp out, really, over this next month on just one verse, and that 00:02:18.539 –> 00:02:25.000 is 2nd Timothy 1 and verse 12, where we have this marvelous statement of Christian confidence. 00:02:25.000 –> 00:02:31.199 I am not ashamed, Paul says, because I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that 00:02:31.259 –> 00:02:36.779 He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day. 00:02:36.779 –> 00:02:43.399 Now, that is a marvelous statement of the Christian faith and there really is value 00:02:43.399 –> 00:02:49.740 in taking time to reflect on a great statement of faith like this, to the point where it 00:02:49.740 –> 00:02:53.979 begins to get into your spiritual bloodstream. 00:02:53.979 –> 00:03:00.320 To be able to meditate on it until it affects how you think about whatever you are facing 00:03:00.539 –> 00:03:03.080 in life right now. 00:03:03.080 –> 00:03:09.779 And can I just say a word at this point about the value of memorizing great texts of the 00:03:09.779 –> 00:03:10.779 Bible. 00:03:10.779 –> 00:03:15.440 Those of you younger folks in Iwana who are doing this, or perhaps doing it at home. 00:03:15.440 –> 00:03:19.820 I encourage you to memorize great verses of the Bible. 00:03:19.820 –> 00:03:23.559 This is actually one of the first verses of the Bible that I ever memorized. 00:03:23.559 –> 00:03:31.220 And I have found that God brings it back to my mind often at times when I need it. 00:03:31.220 –> 00:03:36.259 And you will find that there is great value in getting some great scripture verses into 00:03:36.259 –> 00:03:43.059 your memory, shaping the way that you think so that God may use that to feed you and to 00:03:43.059 –> 00:03:47.220 strengthen you at times when you need it most. 00:03:47.220 –> 00:03:48.220 What a great statement. 00:03:48.279 –> 00:03:55.979 I am not ashamed because I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able 00:03:55.979 –> 00:04:01.460 to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. 00:04:01.460 –> 00:04:06.619 Now, this morning’s message is really an introduction to this verse and I want to approach it 00:04:06.619 –> 00:04:11.020 first through the eyes of Timothy and then through the eyes of Paul. 00:04:11.020 –> 00:04:16.700 See, if we are really to absorb what is being said here, it is helpful for us to stand 00:04:16.980 –> 00:04:18.059 in Timothy’s shoes. 00:04:18.059 –> 00:04:22.820 See, here he is, he gets a personal letter, he opens this parchment or this scroll that 00:04:22.820 –> 00:04:29.859 comes from the apostle Paul, what was going on in his life when he actually read it? 00:04:29.859 –> 00:04:35.200 And here’s the apostle Paul sitting down to write these words on the scroll. 00:04:35.200 –> 00:04:38.540 What was going on in his life when he wrote it? 00:04:38.540 –> 00:04:43.220 If we can stand in Timothy’s shoes and then in Paul’s shoes, we will be able to relate 00:04:43.380 –> 00:04:48.279 more fully to how the scripture speaks to our lives today. 00:04:48.279 –> 00:04:52.299 Well, first then, looking at it through Timothy’s life, what was happening in Timothy’s life 00:04:52.299 –> 00:04:57.880 when he read this letter, I want to suggest to you first a whole lot of doubt. 00:04:57.880 –> 00:04:59.260 Doubt. 00:04:59.260 –> 00:05:05.880 Timothy was not a confident person and one of his biggest problems was that he doubted 00:05:05.880 –> 00:05:07.000 himself. 00:05:07.000 –> 00:05:13.839 Now, you know, some folks are just naturally more confident than others, I look at folks 00:05:13.839 –> 00:05:20.019 who have a natural confidence and I’m tempted to envy at some times, folks are just at ease 00:05:20.019 –> 00:05:25.220 with themselves socially sure of their own decisions. 00:05:25.220 –> 00:05:32.239 Timothy wasn’t like that and you get a flavor of his temperament in chapter 1 and verse 00:05:32.779 –> 00:05:35.519 Where Paul says to him, and remember it’s personal, 00:05:42.820 –> 00:05:47.600 You see, Timothy needed to hear that because he was always battling against the certain 00:05:47.600 –> 00:05:53.200 reserve, a shyness, a withdrawing that was there in his own temperament. 00:05:53.200 –> 00:05:55.279 He was not a natural leader. 00:05:55.279 –> 00:05:58.420 He lacked confidence, he struggles with self-doubt. 00:05:59.160 –> 00:06:03.200 Frankly, to use a phrase that I’ve come to rather enjoy since I’ve, I’ve learned it, 00:06:03.200 –> 00:06:06.260 he didn’t know if he could cut the mustard. 00:06:06.260 –> 00:06:07.540 That was Timothy. 00:06:07.540 –> 00:06:09.859 And that’s how he felt about himself. 00:06:09.859 –> 00:06:11.920 And that was his daily struggle. 00:06:11.920 –> 00:06:15.859 Not only that, but he was about to experience great loss. 00:06:15.859 –> 00:06:19.739 He was going to lose his closest friend, his mentor, the apostle Paul. 00:06:19.739 –> 00:06:24.459 We’ll see in a moment that Paul was at the end of his life very close to death. 00:06:24.679 –> 00:06:29.459 And it’s for that reason in chapter four in verse nine, that Paul says to Timothy, 00:06:29.459 –> 00:06:33.299 Do your best to come to me quickly. 00:06:33.299 –> 00:06:35.059 I haven’t got long left in this world. 00:06:35.059 –> 00:06:36.779 I’m going to go and be with the Lord. 00:06:36.779 –> 00:06:41.000 Now Timothy, I would love to see you one more time, so please come, but come quickly, because 00:06:41.000 –> 00:06:44.420 I haven’t got long left. 00:06:44.420 –> 00:06:48.839 And Timothy is facing this immense loss. 00:06:48.859 –> 00:06:54.600 It is one thing to do ministry as sidekick to the Apostle Paul. 00:06:54.600 –> 00:07:00.140 It’s entirely another thing when the Apostle Paul is taken, and you’re left to say, Now, 00:07:00.140 –> 00:07:03.559 I gotta find a way of doing this myself. 00:07:03.559 –> 00:07:07.420 And that was the situation that Timothy was in when Paul wrote to him. 00:07:07.420 –> 00:07:10.760 I want to suggest thirdly, therefore, that there was a great deal of fear. 00:07:10.760 –> 00:07:14.720 What was the future going to be like? 00:07:14.899 –> 00:07:19.220 And it seems to me that this speaks to us right into Memorial Day. 00:07:19.220 –> 00:07:27.380 I mean if there is one day of the year that reminds us of the uncertainty of life, this 00:07:27.380 –> 00:07:30.339 is that day, Memorial Day. 00:07:30.339 –> 00:07:40.339 This day reminds us there is war in every generation and people die in these wars. 00:07:40.339 –> 00:07:44.179 And it will be so until Jesus comes. 00:07:44.179 –> 00:07:50.100 See that is what terrorist strikes like September the 11th do for us. 00:07:50.100 –> 00:07:56.660 They waken us up from our false sense of security that the world is as it is and everything 00:07:56.660 –> 00:07:58.459 is ordered as we like it. 00:07:58.459 –> 00:08:05.619 And then something happens in the nation and a catastrophe comes and we’re all shaken and 00:08:05.619 –> 00:08:12.179 we realize that this world in which we live is so, so much less certain than we delude 00:08:12.179 –> 00:08:15.420 ourselves into thinking that it is. 00:08:15.420 –> 00:08:17.899 It happens at a more personal level. 00:08:17.899 –> 00:08:25.179 It happened for hundreds of teenagers and college students in this last month. 00:08:25.179 –> 00:08:32.219 A small group of students from Taylor University setting up an event, driving back. 00:08:32.539 –> 00:08:37.299 The four students, the staff member, the lives taken. 00:08:37.299 –> 00:08:40.299 The journey on the way back. 00:08:40.299 –> 00:08:47.159 And when you’re 18, 19, 20, 21 you think that you’re indestructible. 00:08:47.159 –> 00:08:48.539 You feel that you’re here forever. 00:08:48.539 –> 00:08:54.479 You’ve got all your plans laid out and everything you’re going to do for the future. 00:08:54.479 –> 00:08:56.580 Then something happens you say. 00:08:56.580 –> 00:09:00.080 It’s not like that. 00:09:00.599 –> 00:09:06.520 This world is more dangerous than that. 00:09:06.520 –> 00:09:10.919 It’s what Hurricane Katrina does for us. 00:09:10.919 –> 00:09:14.640 Where is the next natural disaster in our world going to be? 00:09:14.640 –> 00:09:19.559 What if it’s here? 00:09:19.559 –> 00:09:27.359 See, the real question that we’re facing is how do we live in this uncertain world? 00:09:27.400 –> 00:09:32.280 How do you do it? 00:09:32.280 –> 00:09:38.799 And that is precisely the situation that Timothy was finding himself in when he opens the scroll. 00:09:38.799 –> 00:09:46.059 The questions in his mind are how in all the world do I live in a world like this? 00:09:46.059 –> 00:09:50.359 Now, what about the Apostle Paul? 00:09:50.359 –> 00:09:52.359 Let’s take a moment to look at it through his eyes. 00:09:52.359 –> 00:09:56.159 What was happening in Paul’s life when he sat down under the inspiration of the Holy 00:09:56.640 –> 00:10:00.260 Spirit to write these words that we’re going to ponder together? 00:10:00.260 –> 00:10:05.159 Well first, let me suggest that he was experiencing great loneliness. 00:10:05.159 –> 00:10:10.659 We know from chapter one in verse eight that he was in prison, and this was his second 00:10:10.659 –> 00:10:12.760 imprisonment. 00:10:12.760 –> 00:10:16.659 Earlier Paul had been under a house arrest in Rome. 00:10:16.659 –> 00:10:20.840 Second imprisonment in Rome, there were several others, of course, but he had earlier been 00:10:20.840 –> 00:10:24.640 under a house arrest where he had a certain amount of liberty and could continue in ministry. 00:10:24.840 –> 00:10:27.059 We read about that in the book of Acts. 00:10:27.059 –> 00:10:29.340 But this was worse. 00:10:29.340 –> 00:10:35.760 William Hendrickson says in his commentary that Paul was quote, incarcerated in some 00:10:35.760 –> 00:10:44.000 dismal underground dungeon with a hole in the ceiling for light and air. 00:10:44.000 –> 00:10:47.140 He’s basically in an extended hole in the ground. 00:10:47.140 –> 00:10:53.919 It’s very interesting as you follow the clues to his situation that in chapter one in verse 00:10:54.000 –> 00:10:58.619 Chapter 17 we read about this good man Aeniceaphoris who was a friend of the Apostle Paul’s 00:10:58.619 –> 00:11:05.039 and really wanted to visit him but could only find him after a painstaking search throughout 00:11:05.039 –> 00:11:06.260 the capital city of Rome. 00:11:06.260 –> 00:11:09.219 See this man was hidden. 00:11:09.219 –> 00:11:14.479 Folks couldn’t even find where he was in prison to get to see him without a painstaking search. 00:11:14.479 –> 00:11:19.359 And hen Aeniceaphoris saw him in chapter one verse 16 he found him in chains. 00:11:19.359 –> 00:11:24.380 And it seems clear from chapter 4 verse 13 where Paul says to Timothy please bring my 00:11:24.380 –> 00:11:25.580 cloak. 00:11:25.580 –> 00:11:31.219 He was obviously cold sitting in this hole in the ground with a light. 00:11:31.219 –> 00:11:34.580 A hole above him, for light and for air. 00:11:34.580 –> 00:11:41.900 And on top of that this intense loneliness comes through in chapter 4 verse 9. 00:11:42.099 –> 00:11:44.820 Then he says Crescence has gone to Galatia, Titus 00:11:44.820 –> 00:11:48.140 to Dalmatia only Luke is with me. 00:11:48.140 –> 00:11:50.659 So I’m just missing the team. 00:11:50.659 –> 00:11:53.559 And I’m experiencing intense loneliness. 00:11:53.559 –> 00:12:00.140 Now some of us might just say you know if Paul is writing out of the experience of deep 00:12:00.140 –> 00:12:05.739 loneliness I want to know what he has to say because that’s what I am. 00:12:05.739 –> 00:12:08.619 Not only was he lonely, he’d experienced great disappointment. 00:12:09.580 –> 00:12:14.200 verse 14, Alexander the metal worker did me great harm. 00:12:14.200 –> 00:12:18.739 Don’t know much about this character or what he did but he sure didn’t make life easy for 00:12:18.739 –> 00:12:20.460 the apostle Paul. 00:12:20.460 –> 00:12:26.020 Verse 16, at my first of this no one came to my support but everyone deserted me. 00:12:26.020 –> 00:12:28.979 Now you cannot read that without feeling the disappointment. 00:12:28.979 –> 00:12:34.419 Of course there is no self pity here, he goes on to testify about how God stood with him 00:12:34.419 –> 00:12:37.080 but you can’t avoid the disappointment. 00:12:37.159 –> 00:12:42.359 You can’t get through life without experiencing disappointment, people will let you down 00:12:42.359 –> 00:12:48.760 and a large part of your life and mine will turn on how we handle these experiences. 00:12:51.799 –> 00:13:00.979 And some of us will be saying, boy if Paul is writing about how to cope with disappointment 00:13:01.539 –> 00:13:07.619 As a Christian, then I really need to know what he has to say because that’s where I’m at. 00:13:09.859 –> 00:13:16.260 And then thirdly the Apostle Paul was facing the prospect of death fairly soon. He knew that he 00:13:16.260 –> 00:13:22.900 didn’t have long left to live. He didn’t know exactly how long but he says in chapter four 00:13:22.900 –> 00:13:27.700 in verse six, I’m already being poured out like a drink offering, the beginning of the end as it 00:13:27.700 –> 00:13:35.140 were has come he’s saying and the time has come for my departure. He’s speaking about his death 00:13:36.659 –> 00:13:40.500 and so here he writes out of this situation where he is facing 00:13:40.500 –> 00:13:47.299 the prospect of this great transition and translation into the presence of Christ and 00:13:48.739 –> 00:13:54.419 and if Paul writes at that moment in his life we’ll be saying we want to hear what he has to say. 00:13:54.979 –> 00:14:00.900 Now what we find here, as we open the scroll, is something absolutely amazing 00:14:01.940 –> 00:14:09.299 because in the middle of these circumstances we find a note of triumph and of confidence 00:14:09.859 –> 00:14:18.340 and of joy. Listen to it, I am not ashamed. I know whom I have believed 00:14:18.580 –> 00:14:26.340 and I am persuaded that he is able to keep what I’ve committed to him against that day. 00:14:26.340 –> 00:14:34.179 There is a note of confidence of being able to live in all the uncertainty and in all the pressure 00:14:35.059 –> 00:14:38.020 of these circumstances in which he finds himself. 00:14:38.020 –> 00:14:48.979 Now, I found great help here again looking at some comments of Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones who says 00:14:48.979 –> 00:14:57.940 on this passage here that what we see in the Apostle Paul is more than stoicism. 00:14:58.739 –> 00:15:03.380 Now, you know what stoicism is. 00:15:03.380 –> 00:15:09.419 Stoicism is the stiff upper lip. 00:15:09.419 –> 00:15:13.820 Stoicism is, okay life’s not as I want it to be, but, you know, grin and bear it. 00:15:13.820 –> 00:15:18.539 We can do that, we can do that. 00:15:18.539 –> 00:15:25.979 And stoicism is good especially in particularly hard times. 00:15:26.099 –> 00:15:31.400 But Paul has something far, far more than stoicism. 00:15:31.400 –> 00:15:39.559 I guess I connected with that comment because stoicism, the stiff upper lip is ingrained 00:15:39.559 –> 00:15:44.580 in the culture from which I come, you know what I mean? 00:15:44.580 –> 00:15:47.359 We’re famous for it. 00:15:47.359 –> 00:15:51.760 In the early part of the second world war, London was being bombed night after night 00:15:51.760 –> 00:15:55.340 and whole areas, you know the story, were being reduced to piles of rubble. 00:15:55.719 –> 00:15:59.919 Churchill was desperately looking to Roosevelt for help but, of course, that didn’t come 00:15:59.919 –> 00:16:06.599 until 1941, and so for this period of time until help came London was being pounded and 00:16:06.599 –> 00:16:09.059 was largely without defence. 00:16:09.760 –> 00:16:12.140 And it was a desperate time. 00:16:12.500 –> 00:16:19.940 And the newspapers needed to rally morale and knew that they had a national responsibility 00:16:19.940 –> 00:16:24.960 to keep the hearts and the minds of the people up, and so they coined a phrase that became 00:16:24.960 –> 00:16:28.679 famous then and it has remained famous ever since. 00:16:28.679 –> 00:16:34.260 And you have to understand I have to sort of rise to full height and posture to say 00:16:34.260 –> 00:16:34.500 this. 00:16:34.500 –> 00:16:37.840 Here’s the phrase, it was all over the newspapers and repeated. 00:16:37.840 –> 00:16:42.780 ”London can take it.” 00:16:42.780 –> 00:16:47.280 Now that is pure stoicism. 00:16:47.280 –> 00:16:49.239 We can take it. 00:16:49.239 –> 00:16:53.400 We can take it. 00:16:53.400 –> 00:17:02.260 And what I want us to understand is that good though that may be and certainly it is in 00:17:02.260 –> 00:17:07.439 times of war for a nation. 00:17:07.439 –> 00:17:13.000 What Paul is talking about here is not simply the ability to endure great difficulty and 00:17:13.000 –> 00:17:16.479 still to stand at the end. 00:17:16.479 –> 00:17:23.859 It is to triumph by the Spirit of Christ in such difficulty so that God’s purpose is 00:17:23.859 –> 00:17:28.300 advanced in your life. 00:17:28.300 –> 00:17:33.280 Paul has discovered something better than stoicism. 00:17:33.280 –> 00:17:38.719 Christian confidence in an uncertain world, and he writes to Timothy, his dear friend, 00:17:38.719 –> 00:17:41.599 and he says, Timothy, I’m about to go and be with the Lord. 00:17:41.599 –> 00:17:43.599 Now here’s what you’ve got to get hold of. 00:17:43.780 –> 00:17:47.780 How are you going to live in this world? 00:17:47.780 –> 00:17:52.920 Let me share from my experience what it takes. 00:17:52.920 –> 00:17:59.619 Now, I hope that opens your, or whets your appetite for what we’re going to ponder in 00:17:59.619 –> 00:18:02.339 the Word of God together. 00:18:02.339 –> 00:18:08.640 Where are we going to find confidence to live in a world like this, an uncertain world like 00:18:08.640 –> 00:18:09.640 this? 00:18:09.660 –> 00:18:13.619 Well, as we come by way of introduction to this text, because we are going to be here 00:18:13.619 –> 00:18:20.660 for four Sundays, it is so rich, let’s begin here that you need to know who you are in 00:18:20.660 –> 00:18:22.180 Jesus Christ. 00:18:22.180 –> 00:18:23.459 That’s the first thing. 00:18:23.459 –> 00:18:29.579 You need to know who you are in Jesus Christ and I want to draw your attention in a moment 00:18:29.579 –> 00:18:33.319 to verses 9-11. 00:18:33.319 –> 00:18:38.819 But before we get there let’s think for a moment about how you define yourself. 00:18:38.839 –> 00:18:40.719 Who are you? 00:18:40.719 –> 00:18:44.780 How do you think about the very essence of who you are? 00:18:44.780 –> 00:18:52.780 Because Paul could’ve defined himself in a number of different ways and let’s see how 00:18:52.780 –> 00:18:57.260 he doesn’t do it and then we’ll have a greater appreciation for how he does do it. 00:18:57.260 –> 00:19:02.699 He could have defined himself, as some of us tend to define ourselves, as a man with 00:19:02.699 –> 00:19:05.400 a past. 00:19:05.400 –> 00:19:07.260 And he could’ve done this two ways of course. 00:19:07.280 –> 00:19:13.859 On the one hand he could tell a very bright past story about my academic achievements, 00:19:13.859 –> 00:19:15.739 my career success. 00:19:15.739 –> 00:19:21.939 There was much in Paul’s personal past that he could’ve looked back on with great pride 00:19:21.939 –> 00:19:25.500 and satisfaction and it could’ve been defining for him. 00:19:25.500 –> 00:19:32.060 He could’ve talked at length to all his friends about what I’ve done and where I’ve been and 00:19:32.060 –> 00:19:34.119 all of that. 00:19:34.660 –> 00:19:40.880 Or, he could also have looked at his past in a different way, cause the truth was, this 00:19:40.880 –> 00:19:41.880 was a blemished past. 00:19:41.880 –> 00:19:44.500 There was a lot of violence there persecuting Christians. 00:19:44.500 –> 00:19:50.119 In fact he says to Timothy at one point, I was a blasphemer and a violent man. 00:19:50.119 –> 00:19:54.300 And so there was also much in his past that would’ve caused him to look back with shame. 00:19:54.300 –> 00:19:58.060 That’s probably true of you as well. 00:19:58.060 –> 00:20:02.219 Enough success in your past that you could tell a story that might fill you with great 00:20:02.339 –> 00:20:06.979 pride and satisfaction, and also, frankly, enough sin in your past that if you focused 00:20:06.979 –> 00:20:11.199 there, you might be overwhelmed with failure and with shame. 00:20:11.199 –> 00:20:15.339 Paul doesn’t do either of these things. 00:20:15.339 –> 00:20:16.739 He can speak about his past. 00:20:16.739 –> 00:20:19.859 He speaks about his good past in Philippians chapter three. 00:20:19.859 –> 00:20:22.900 He speaks about his bad past in the letter to Timothy. 00:20:22.900 –> 00:20:26.939 But he will not allow the past to be defining of him. 00:20:26.939 –> 00:20:30.579 It is what it is. 00:20:30.579 –> 00:20:33.260 That’s not who I am. 00:20:33.260 –> 00:20:40.219 Secondly, he could’ve defined himself as a man with a problem. 00:20:40.219 –> 00:20:41.900 We’ve seen that here he is in prison. 00:20:41.900 –> 00:20:46.579 He’s lonely, he’s cold, he’s facing the last days of his life, and he speaks about these 00:20:46.579 –> 00:20:51.560 problems, but they do not define him. 00:20:51.560 –> 00:20:58.540 I’m struck by the fact that even writing a letter to a closest personal friend, you don’t 00:20:58.640 –> 00:21:00.640 find the apostle saying, oh, Timothy. 00:21:00.640 –> 00:21:05.020 Will you just pray that the Lord will get me out of this dreadful prison? 00:21:05.020 –> 00:21:07.199 No, he doesn’t pray like that. 00:21:07.199 –> 00:21:12.420 In fact, what he does say at the end of the letter, chapter four, verse 18 is, the Lord 00:21:12.420 –> 00:21:17.160 will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. 00:21:17.160 –> 00:21:20.540 To him be the glory forever and forever. 00:21:20.540 –> 00:21:21.540 Amen. 00:21:21.540 –> 00:21:27.420 Now, you see, this man is facing extraordinarily difficult circumstances, but he will not allow 00:21:27.420 –> 00:21:29.739 the problem to define him. 00:21:29.739 –> 00:21:31.979 That’s not who I am. 00:21:31.979 –> 00:21:35.439 Not just a bunch of circumstances. 00:21:35.439 –> 00:21:39.739 Thirdly, he could have defined himself as a man with a project. 00:21:39.739 –> 00:21:43.300 He could have defined himself as we are often tempted to do by our work. 00:21:43.300 –> 00:21:47.040 I mean, his work was very, very broad ranging. 00:21:47.040 –> 00:21:52.339 He was called to be an apostle, and that meant traveling and preaching and planting churches 00:21:52.339 –> 00:21:53.719 and training elders. 00:21:53.719 –> 00:21:57.420 And the scope of this man’s vision and his leadership ability was awesome. 00:21:57.420 –> 00:22:03.300 I mean he was the apostle to the Gentiles, and the gospel goes throughout the Roman world 00:22:03.300 –> 00:22:06.040 under his leadership and under his ministry. 00:22:06.040 –> 00:22:14.180 And Paul gives himself to this work, but he will not allow this work to define him. 00:22:14.180 –> 00:22:20.880 It is the work that God has given me to do, but it is not who I am. 00:22:20.900 –> 00:22:23.180 How do you define yourself? 00:22:23.180 –> 00:22:28.920 Past, the problem, your work, the project. 00:22:30.959 –> 00:22:38.420 See, define yourself like that and you will never stand in the uncertainty of this world. 00:22:38.420 –> 00:22:43.680 Can’t do it. 00:22:43.680 –> 00:22:45.599 So notice how Paul does define himself. 00:22:45.599 –> 00:22:47.040 Here’s who I am. 00:22:47.040 –> 00:22:50.000 I am a man in Christ. 00:22:51.000 –> 00:22:54.359 That’s his position and that’s what comes out in verses 9-11. 00:22:54.359 –> 00:22:56.239 And remember it’s personal. 00:22:56.239 –> 00:23:01.260 You see, he’s writing this to Timothy and he speaks about God who has saved us and called 00:23:01.260 –> 00:23:03.479 us to a holy life. 00:23:03.479 –> 00:23:08.099 Timothy, Timothy, the Lord has saved us. 00:23:08.099 –> 00:23:14.520 Timothy, the Lord has called you and me to a holy life. 00:23:14.520 –> 00:23:17.800 And Timothy remember it’s not because of anything we’ve done, but it’s because 00:23:17.819 –> 00:23:19.619 of his own purpose and his grace. 00:23:19.619 –> 00:23:25.300 And this grace was given, Timothy, to you and to me, to us, in Christ Jesus before the 00:23:25.300 –> 00:23:26.500 beginning of time. 00:23:26.500 –> 00:23:31.339 But it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, He’s destroyed 00:23:31.339 –> 00:23:34.859 death and He’s brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 00:23:34.859 –> 00:23:38.579 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald, an apostle and a teacher. 00:23:38.579 –> 00:23:43.079 Timothy, in the uncertainty of this world, here’s who you are. 00:23:43.079 –> 00:23:46.180 You’re in Christ, you are saved. 00:23:46.359 –> 00:23:51.180 You’re sins are forgiven and your success is irrelevant because it’s all a matter of 00:23:51.180 –> 00:23:53.760 the grace of God. 00:23:53.760 –> 00:23:59.839 And whatever your past, however good, however bad, you take your stand here, I am saved 00:23:59.839 –> 00:24:01.780 by the grace of God. 00:24:01.780 –> 00:24:06.099 And the worst about me can’t break through that or destroy it. 00:24:06.099 –> 00:24:13.020 The best about me doesn’t render that less than utterly necessary. 00:24:13.060 –> 00:24:22.000 And more than that, Timothy, you are called to a holy life, whatever the problem. 00:24:22.000 –> 00:24:25.500 This is your unchanging calling in every circumstance of life. 00:24:25.500 –> 00:24:28.560 The problems may be great, but God’s grace is sufficient. 00:24:28.560 –> 00:24:33.359 And Timothy, remember this, that for you and for me, Jesus Christ has brought life and 00:24:33.359 –> 00:24:35.699 immortality to light through the gospel. 00:24:35.699 –> 00:24:46.260 And so however uncertain life in this world is, your eternity is secure. 00:24:46.260 –> 00:24:51.380 So don’t define yourself by the past because the past is what it is. 00:24:51.380 –> 00:24:56.400 What you need to know is that you’re saved by the grace of God. 00:24:56.400 –> 00:25:01.599 Don’t try and define yourself by the problem or the circumstances, the problem is what 00:25:01.780 –> 00:25:11.219 is, your calling is to a holy life. 00:25:11.219 –> 00:25:14.959 Don’t try and define yourself by your work because you’re work is something that you’re 00:25:14.959 –> 00:25:17.500 given to do here in this world. 00:25:17.500 –> 00:25:21.160 Your work is what it is. 00:25:21.160 –> 00:25:26.199 Your eternity is secure. 00:25:26.199 –> 00:25:30.319 And so Paul is coming to this great statement of Christian confidence that we will come 00:25:30.439 –> 00:25:37.680 to in verse 12 because he knows who he is in Christ. 00:25:37.680 –> 00:25:40.339 Are you grasping that? 00:25:40.339 –> 00:25:45.079 Is that in your spiritual blood stream as you’re moving through whatever circumstances 00:25:45.079 –> 00:25:50.540 you’re facing in life right now? 00:25:50.540 –> 00:25:54.280 Know who you are in Christ. 00:25:54.280 –> 00:25:58.140 That’s where the freedom begins. 00:25:58.140 –> 00:26:00.420 Here’s a second thing. 00:26:00.420 –> 00:26:05.099 Cultivate a biblical view of suffering. 00:26:05.099 –> 00:26:09.760 If we’re going to stand in this uncertain world, this is something we really have to 00:26:09.760 –> 00:26:15.260 get sorted out very, very clearly in our minds, because you cannot be a Christian, you cannot 00:26:15.260 –> 00:26:21.420 live in this world without experiencing pain and suffering of different forms. 00:26:21.420 –> 00:26:25.939 You need to know how to think about that and how to stand in the light of that. 00:26:26.260 –> 00:26:31.260 There is so much confusion on the subject, we desperately need what Paul teaches us here, 00:26:31.260 –> 00:26:37.939 verse 12, that is why I am suffering as I am, yet I am not ashamed. 00:26:37.939 –> 00:26:45.619 Now, I want you to notice how the issue of being ashamed about suffering keeps coming 00:26:45.619 –> 00:26:47.640 up. 00:26:47.939 –> 00:26:57.020 Look at chapter 1 and verse 8, Timothy, don’t be ashamed to testify about our Lord or ashamed 00:26:57.020 –> 00:26:59.520 of me His prisoner. 00:26:59.520 –> 00:27:09.540 Or chapter 1 and verse 16, this guy on Esephorus, he was not ashamed of my chains. 00:27:09.540 –> 00:27:16.719 And then Paul is saying, I am suffering but I am not ashamed, so this keeps coming up. 00:27:16.739 –> 00:27:23.640 We have a hard time separating suffering and shame. 00:27:23.640 –> 00:27:29.339 We feel a sense of shame when suffering is around, and I think there are two reasons 00:27:29.339 –> 00:27:33.900 for that and it’s important for us to identify them so that we can resolve them. 00:27:33.900 –> 00:27:39.260 First, that there is a sneaking suspicion in the back of our mind that suffering might 00:27:39.260 –> 00:27:42.800 mean that God has failed. 00:27:42.800 –> 00:27:48.760 I mean here is the apostle, the number one leader of the church of his day. 00:27:48.760 –> 00:27:52.819 If we can express it that kind of way, and what does God allow in his life, he ends up 00:27:52.819 –> 00:27:54.239 in prison. 00:27:54.239 –> 00:28:04.719 I mean, can you imagine Timothy doing some evangelism over a cup of coffee in the Starbucks 00:28:04.719 –> 00:28:08.619 in Ephesus, which is where he was ministering, if you see what I mean, right? 00:28:08.619 –> 00:28:09.619 You’re with me? 00:28:09.619 –> 00:28:10.619 Ok. 00:28:10.800 –> 00:28:13.760 He’s sharing the gospel, someone over a cup of coffee. 00:28:13.760 –> 00:28:17.640 The guy’s quite impressed with what’s being said about Jesus. 00:28:17.640 –> 00:28:21.479 And he says, Where did you learn all of this? 00:28:21.479 –> 00:28:25.060 Well I learned it from the apostle, Paul, you know. 00:28:25.060 –> 00:28:26.099 Oh really? 00:28:26.099 –> 00:28:28.099 I’ve come to know him, a wonderful man. 00:28:28.099 –> 00:28:29.099 Oh really? 00:28:29.099 –> 00:28:32.400 And where is he now then? 00:28:32.400 –> 00:28:36.500 Actually he’s imprisoned in some hole in Rome. 00:28:36.500 –> 00:28:38.260 Oh really? 00:28:38.260 –> 00:28:43.900 So you want me to follow a Jesus, who lets the guy who taught you about this end His 00:28:43.900 –> 00:28:46.500 life in a hole in the earth someplace? 00:28:46.500 –> 00:28:49.099 Thanks, but no thanks. 00:28:49.099 –> 00:28:53.380 You can see why Paul says, don’t be ashamed to testify. 00:28:53.380 –> 00:28:57.560 Because Timothy might have been very inclined to say, I think I’ll just drink my coffee 00:28:57.560 –> 00:29:00.900 and not share the gospel today, cause it’s too embarrassing! 00:29:00.900 –> 00:29:05.780 That there’s suffering in the life of such a godly man as the apostle, Paul. 00:29:05.780 –> 00:29:10.420 Now, we’ve all felt that, have we not? 00:29:10.420 –> 00:29:15.859 Evangelism would be much easier, if it was not for the fact that unbelievers can point 00:29:15.859 –> 00:29:26.560 to suffering in the lives of believing and godly people, and say, where is your God? 00:29:26.560 –> 00:29:29.219 Notice Paul’s answer to that. 00:29:29.219 –> 00:29:34.579 I am not ashamed. 00:29:34.599 –> 00:29:42.780 And Timothy, there is no reason in the world why you should be ashamed. 00:29:42.780 –> 00:29:48.619 And let’s get this absolutely clear, that if you are looking for the most comfortable 00:29:48.619 –> 00:29:53.780 way to live your life, you should not be a Christian. 00:29:53.780 –> 00:29:55.979 Don’t be a Christian. 00:29:55.979 –> 00:30:01.400 If you’re looking for the most comfortable way to live your life in this world, don’t 00:30:01.459 –> 00:30:04.219 be a Christian. 00:30:05.599 –> 00:30:09.939 Because Paul says, I’m an apostle and that’s why I’m suffering as I am. 00:30:09.959 –> 00:30:14.119 Jesus says, everyone who lives a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer. 00:30:14.119 –> 00:30:19.979 Jesus said, if you are going to come after me, here’s what it’s like. 00:30:19.979 –> 00:30:27.520 You are going to have to deny yourself and take up your cross every day and follow me. 00:30:27.579 –> 00:30:31.520 There will never be a day in your life where it does not cost you, in some way, 00:30:31.520 –> 00:30:34.959 to be the man or be the woman that I am calling you to be. 00:30:39.459 –> 00:30:46.719 Now, the surprise of that to us may indicate how far we have moved from a biblical view 00:30:46.719 –> 00:30:48.579 of what it really means to be a Christian. 00:30:48.800 –> 00:30:56.819 You remember Paul said in 1 Corinthians in chapter 15, 00:30:56.819 –> 00:31:08.459 if we had only hoped for Christ in this life, we would be, of all men, most miserable. 00:31:08.459 –> 00:31:15.260 Now, it’s very interesting to me, you see, that that is the opposite of what some of us say. 00:31:16.219 –> 00:31:20.540 You see, the sort of thing you hear around church world quite often, I’ve heard it many times, is, 00:31:20.540 –> 00:31:25.420 you know, even if it turned out that heaven wasn’t actually real, you know, 00:31:25.420 –> 00:31:29.339 I think that I would still have wished that I had lived this life because it’s just such 00:31:29.339 –> 00:31:39.260 a wonderful thing and and so forth and so on. And isn’t it interesting that wasn’t Paul’s 00:31:40.140 –> 00:31:48.859 experience. He said, boy, if it’s not for the reality of everlasting life, I don’t know what 00:31:48.859 –> 00:32:00.140 I was doing. So there is a big difference, you see, between Paul’s experience of what it means 00:32:00.140 –> 00:32:04.219 to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and the sort of things that we say and expect about what it really 00:32:04.219 –> 00:32:10.939 means to be a Christian. The question is, which ones out align with the scripture? 00:32:13.739 –> 00:32:19.579 So we desperately need in the church today to rethink in the light of the scripture 00:32:20.140 –> 00:32:24.939 what a realistic expectation of the Christian life really is. 00:32:24.939 –> 00:32:31.900 There’s another reason why we may end up with a sense of shame. 00:32:33.339 –> 00:32:37.020 And it’s not so much to do with the unbeliever’s question, you know, 00:32:37.020 –> 00:32:40.939 has God failed? It’s more to do with the question that sometimes lurks at the back 00:32:40.939 –> 00:32:49.260 of our mind, have we failed. I don’t know how many times I have sat in my 00:32:49.260 –> 00:32:53.739 office and the other pastors here have had the same experience where someone has come 00:32:53.739 –> 00:32:59.420 and shared, movingly and painfully, a deep wound within their lives, 00:33:01.099 –> 00:33:05.180 and as they work their way into it, is normally about half an hour into the conversation, 00:33:05.180 –> 00:33:08.939 but this is what comes out and it comes out very hesitantly and often tearfully. 00:33:10.699 –> 00:33:19.099 The problem’s being described and then it’s this, I, I wonder if it’s because of something 00:33:19.099 –> 00:33:29.739 I’ve done. See, because we’ve got shame right in, locked with suffering in our minds. 00:33:31.579 –> 00:33:34.780 I’ve heard that of parents grieving over kids who’ve gone off the rails. 00:33:36.380 –> 00:33:40.140 I’ve heard that from folks facing financial crisis, I’ve 00:33:40.780 –> 00:33:44.060 heard that from just about every circumstance of disaster you can imagine. 00:33:44.060 –> 00:33:54.540 So is this something I’ve done? So we feel this sense of shame. 00:33:57.660 –> 00:34:02.060 Now, we need to know how to answer this. If we’re going to stand in this world in which we live. 00:34:03.579 –> 00:34:07.739 There is no text in which our Lord Jesus addresses this more clearly than John 9, 00:34:07.739 –> 00:34:09.580 if you’d like to turn to that with me for just a moment, because we need to know how 00:34:10.300 –> 00:34:16.780 to answer these lurking fears that are so often within our souls. 00:34:18.379 –> 00:34:25.020 John chapter nine, as Jesus went along, John nine, one, he saw a man blind from birth 00:34:26.219 –> 00:34:31.100 and his disciples asked him, so notice this. This isn’t the Pharisees asking. This is the believers, 00:34:31.899 –> 00:34:37.500 the believers asked him, the disciples asked him. This is a question that’s in the mind of 00:34:37.500 –> 00:34:42.459 believing people. You see, rabbi, who sinned, is it this man, or is it his parents, that he 00:34:42.459 –> 00:34:47.500 was born blind? In other words, they’re asking the question he was born blind, so does that mean that 00:34:47.500 –> 00:34:52.780 there was something that his parents did and that led to this condition or does it mean that God 00:34:52.780 –> 00:34:57.500 knew in advance what he would do, the man himself, and therefore this was visited on him 00:34:58.139 –> 00:35:00.540 from the beginning of his life? That’s their question. 00:35:00.540 –> 00:35:11.500 Now, notice Jesus’ answer. He says, 00:35:12.459 –> 00:35:19.979 neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might to be 00:35:19.979 –> 00:35:29.020 displayed in his life, and right there you see Jesus cuts through the shame-suffering quagmire, 00:35:29.020 –> 00:35:33.979 he says, your assumption here is completely wrong, like Job’s comforters you’re just 00:35:33.979 –> 00:35:39.020 assuming that if there is pain in a person’s life that this must mean they have done something 00:35:39.020 –> 00:35:46.780 wrong and you are completely wrong in that direction of your thinking. Here’s what is going 00:35:46.780 –> 00:35:51.899 on. This has happened, verse three, so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 00:35:51.899 –> 00:36:01.179 So whatever pain, whatever suffering, whatever frustration, whatever difficulty you are 00:36:01.179 –> 00:36:09.979 experiencing right now, you can be absolutely clear that God’s purpose is that his work 00:36:10.860 –> 00:36:17.260 will be displayed in your life in this and through this. That is what God is doing. 00:36:17.260 –> 00:36:22.939 And when you see that it’ll lift you out of the trap of shame 00:36:23.820 –> 00:36:28.699 and it will give you a whole new perspective on what God is doing in your life. 00:36:32.699 –> 00:36:36.060 I had a conversation with someone along these lines just this week 00:36:36.620 –> 00:36:39.899 and have her permission, though I won’t mention her name, to share the story. 00:36:42.139 –> 00:36:46.060 Speaking to a lady who is finding herself right in the middle, right now, of tremendous 00:36:46.139 –> 00:36:50.860 strain, trying to sort out her parents’ lives. They’re still living. They’re now in care. 00:36:51.500 –> 00:36:56.780 They’ve had to move into a residential situation in which they’re experiencing that 00:36:56.780 –> 00:37:01.419 and their daughter’s now moving in having to sort out a whole lot of things and she said with.. 00:37:01.419 –> 00:37:08.699 with great emotion, she said you have no idea, our lives are a mess in every way that a person’s 00:37:08.699 –> 00:37:13.580 life can be a mess and I’m having to sort the whole lot out. She’s been working on it for months 00:37:17.020 –> 00:37:21.979 Finances, bank statements, a nightmare 00:37:26.300 –> 00:37:35.179 and I asked her, I said can you see any way in which God is working through you right now and 00:37:35.179 –> 00:37:40.060 you know what she said, she said well you know it’s probably quite a while since I last shared 00:37:40.060 –> 00:37:47.020 my faith with someone. You see the idea was the only way in which I can imagine God ever working 00:37:47.020 –> 00:37:50.780 is if I sit down in Starbucks over a cup of coffee and tell my testimony and I haven’t 00:37:50.780 –> 00:37:56.459 done that for a while. I said no no no no, that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about can 00:37:56.459 –> 00:38:02.780 you see any way in which God is at work in your life right now in this mess that you’re trying 00:38:02.780 –> 00:38:12.139 to sort out. She wasn’t sure. I said think of it this way. 00:38:15.020 –> 00:38:19.419 Your parents’ life has left a trail of mess 00:38:22.300 –> 00:38:28.620 and you are going in to bring order out of chaos. 00:38:28.620 –> 00:38:39.580 Whose image do you reflect when you do that? And for the first time 00:38:39.580 –> 00:38:42.060 in the conversation, there was a smile in her face 00:38:44.860 –> 00:38:50.939 because the sense of shame was replaced by a sense of glory 00:38:51.179 –> 00:38:56.219 that the image of Christ could be reproduced, 00:38:58.620 –> 00:39:04.939 a reflection of the living God who brings order out of chaos as his very first creative act 00:39:06.780 –> 00:39:12.060 and the spirit of this God is at work in this lady who’s doing it, 00:39:13.820 –> 00:39:15.020 to the glory of God 00:39:17.419 –> 00:39:19.500 in an extremely difficult situation. 00:39:21.899 –> 00:39:26.060 Do you know it’s a great thing when you find yourself in difficulty to ask that God would 00:39:26.060 –> 00:39:33.340 help you to see how his work is being reflected in you and how his purpose is being advanced 00:39:33.340 –> 00:39:39.100 through you, because he’s always doing it. Here’s the last thing, and it’s going to be very brief 00:39:39.100 –> 00:39:43.260 because we’re going to come back to it throughout the remainder of the series, that brings us right 00:39:43.260 –> 00:39:52.620 up to verse 12. That is why I am suffering as I am, yet i am not ashamed because i know whom 00:39:52.620 –> 00:39:56.860 I have believed, and so the last thing I just want to say in these moments today is simply 00:39:56.860 –> 00:40:03.419 this. Keep your focus on revealed truth. You’re going to stand in this uncertain, troubled world 00:40:03.419 –> 00:40:07.899 in which we live. You’ve got to know who you are in Jesus Christ, you’ve got to cultivate 00:40:07.899 –> 00:40:13.260 a biblical view of suffering, and you’ve got to keep your eyes focused on revealed truth 00:40:13.260 –> 00:40:16.860 because there are so many things in the world that Paul doesn’t know, 00:40:16.860 –> 00:40:20.699 that Timothy doesn’t know, that you don’t know, and that I don’t know. 00:40:23.340 –> 00:40:28.219 And we have to lift our eyes to focus on what we do know, and that’s what Paul is teaching 00:40:28.219 –> 00:40:35.820 Timothy to do. He’s saying in the middle of all this, Timothy, I know whom I have believed. I 00:40:35.820 –> 00:40:41.580 know I can trust Jesus Christ. I know that I’ve committed my life to Him, and I know that He’s 00:40:41.580 –> 00:40:47.899 able to guard what I’ve trusted to Him against that day when I will see Him face-to-face. 00:40:50.939 –> 00:41:03.419 Timothy, that’s where I’m at, Paul’s saying. That’s how I’m living in the middle of 00:41:04.379 –> 00:41:12.139 what I endure, and that’s how you will triumph in the middle of everything that you face now 00:41:12.139 –> 00:41:20.939 and in the future. Christian confidence in an uncertain world that comes from one thing that 00:41:20.939 –> 00:41:32.540 I know. I know whom I have believed. Well may God bring us to a deeper knowledge of Him 00:41:33.820 –> 00:41:38.860 as we continue to explore this application of His Word. Shall we pray together? 00:41:41.739 –> 00:41:46.459 Lord Jesus we bow before you acknowledging the uncertainty of the world in which we live. 00:41:46.459 –> 00:41:55.739 Recognizing that apart from you there is no ultimate way to stand, 00:41:58.540 –> 00:42:03.820 that Stoicism might be possible, but something better is beyond our reach. 00:42:05.580 –> 00:42:11.020 And our hearts and our minds are drawn to that which is better as we see it in the life of the 00:42:11.020 –> 00:42:17.419 Apostle Paul, as we see it in the life of other believers, as we see it commended to Timothy. We 00:42:17.419 –> 00:42:27.500 feel this is what we need, to learn to live with triumph in the face of the uncertainties 00:42:27.500 –> 00:42:37.179 and the realities of life. So Lord, thank you that we can say today, I know whom I have believed. 00:42:37.179 –> 00:42:42.379 Thank you that our Saviour is trustworthy in every circumstance of life, 00:42:42.379 –> 00:42:48.219 always has been and always will be. Let us know ourselves in Christ. 00:42:49.179 –> 00:42:56.860 Let us focus on what you have made known to us, and so let us live in whatever circumstance for 00:42:56.860 –> 00:43:02.540 your praise and glory and honour. For it is in Jesus name that we pray. Amen. 00:43:03.020 –> 00:43:06.860 You’ve been listening to a sermon with Pastor Colin Smith of Open The Bible. 00:43:06.860 –> 00:43:15.979 To contact us call us at 1-877-OPEN365 or visit our website OpenTheBible.org