1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,080 You’re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 2 00:00:07,080 –> 00:00:15,700 To contact us call us at 1-877-OPEN365 or visit our website OpenTheBible.org. 3 00:00:15,700 –> 00:00:19,200 Let’s get to the message, here is Pastor Colin. 4 00:00:19,200 –> 00:00:24,760 I’m going to continue today our series that we’re calling The Apostles’ Apprentice 5 00:00:25,059 –> 00:00:32,040 We’re following the life of Timothee who served as an apprentice to the Apostle Paul 6 00:00:32,040 –> 00:00:38,880 and our aim in following the story is for us to learn how we can be increasingly useful 7 00:00:38,880 –> 00:00:41,959 as servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 00:00:41,959 –> 00:00:46,619 Now, we began a couple of weeks ago by looking at Timothee’s call and we asked the question 9 00:00:46,619 –> 00:00:51,900 how can we be more responsive to the call of God? 10 00:00:51,900 –> 00:00:57,060 And last week we looked at Timothy’s first assignment when Paul sent him to Thessalonica 11 00:00:57,060 –> 00:01:02,880 and the Christians there had gone through some persecution, a painful trial and Timothee’s 12 00:01:02,880 –> 00:01:08,260 assignment was to strengthen them in their faith. 13 00:01:08,260 –> 00:01:14,019 And we saw last week that the trip to Thessalonica was a marvelous success. 14 00:01:14,019 –> 00:01:16,900 Timothy was now more than the Apostle’s apprentice. 15 00:01:16,900 –> 00:01:19,980 He was now the apostolic envoy. 16 00:01:20,980 –> 00:01:26,339 He was the apostle Paul would choose to send out on missions to churches. 17 00:01:26,339 –> 00:01:29,519 He was trusted with significant responsibility. 18 00:01:29,519 –> 00:01:35,699 He was increasingly useful in the work of Christ and so, at this point in the story, 19 00:01:35,699 –> 00:01:41,400 Timothy is flying high. 20 00:01:41,400 –> 00:01:48,540 And today we’re going to come to a critical turning point in his life, which was his first 21 00:01:49,160 –> 00:01:56,120 big experience of disappointment. 22 00:01:56,120 –> 00:02:01,279 And it’s an important message because sooner or later this will come to us all. 23 00:02:01,279 –> 00:02:08,839 You cannot get through life without hitting moments of major disappointment when something 24 00:02:08,839 –> 00:02:13,720 you’re asked to do doesn’t go so well. 25 00:02:13,740 –> 00:02:21,039 Like Timothy, you’re not able to accomplish what you wanted to achieve and we find ourselves 26 00:02:21,039 –> 00:02:22,960 staring failure in the face. 27 00:02:22,960 –> 00:02:27,320 What are we going to do then? 28 00:02:27,320 –> 00:02:32,500 Nobody gets through life without facing disappointment. 29 00:02:32,500 –> 00:02:39,020 And how you handle it will be the key to future usefulness. 30 00:02:39,020 –> 00:02:43,160 That’s what we’re going to discover from this episode in the life of Timothy. 31 00:02:43,839 –> 00:02:48,880 Timothy is really a model to us of how to respond to disappointment. 32 00:02:48,880 –> 00:02:55,839 He didn’t allow the disappointment and pain of his experience to destroy his ministry 33 00:02:55,839 –> 00:03:02,580 rather what he did was he used it to make his ministry more effective. 34 00:03:02,580 –> 00:03:05,899 Now I do hope that you will follow this story in the Bible with me. 35 00:03:05,899 –> 00:03:10,020 It’s a very fascinating one as we piece the various parts together. 36 00:03:10,160 –> 00:03:17,139 I am gonna begin in Acts 18 this morning so I invite you to turn with me in your Bible 37 00:03:17,139 –> 00:03:21,639 there, Acts and chapter 18. 38 00:03:21,639 –> 00:03:28,139 Now you will see from the beginning of the chapter there that we are told here the story 39 00:03:28,139 –> 00:03:33,139 of what happened the first time that Paul arrived in this town of Corinth. 40 00:03:33,139 –> 00:03:39,179 You need to know that Corinth was the last Vegas of the ancient world. 41 00:03:39,220 –> 00:03:45,279 So the fact that there was a church planted there was quite a remarkable thing. 42 00:03:45,279 –> 00:03:49,820 And we’re told that when Paul arrived there chapter 18 in verse 1, he met up with this 43 00:03:49,820 –> 00:03:55,360 couple by the name of Aquila and Priscila and he stayed with them and in verse 4 we’re 44 00:03:55,360 –> 00:04:01,600 told he followed his usual pattern every sabbath reasoning in the synagogue, trying to persuade 45 00:04:01,600 –> 00:04:03,039 the Jews and the Greeks. 46 00:04:03,699 –> 00:04:09,380 Then we are told once he got this ministry going that verse 5, Silas and Timothy arrive 47 00:04:09,380 –> 00:04:14,179 and when they come it seems that they took up some kind of employment because it’s from 48 00:04:14,179 –> 00:04:19,059 that point onward, verse 5, that Paul is able to give himself to the work of preaching full 49 00:04:19,059 –> 00:04:20,059 time. 50 00:04:20,059 –> 00:04:24,040 He had been making tents with Priscilla and Aquila before that. 51 00:04:24,040 –> 00:04:26,940 You come to verse 6 and we find that again there was some opposition. 52 00:04:26,940 –> 00:04:28,000 Look at it there. 53 00:04:28,040 –> 00:04:35,079 Notice verse 6, when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, notice what he did, he 54 00:04:35,079 –> 00:04:40,920 shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, your blood be on your own hearts, 55 00:04:40,920 –> 00:04:46,839 I am clear of my responsibility from now on I will go to the Gentiles. 56 00:04:46,839 –> 00:04:53,619 So he moves the focus of his ministry, and the house of a man called Titias Justis, which 57 00:04:53,640 –> 00:04:59,100 was just next door to the synagogue, becomes the place where Paul’s ministry continues 58 00:04:59,100 –> 00:05:05,480 and we’re told that many people were baptized here after they had believed in the Lord Jesus 59 00:05:05,480 –> 00:05:07,459 Christ. 60 00:05:07,459 –> 00:05:11,700 Now Paul had continued this for a little while and it seems then that he came to the point 61 00:05:11,700 –> 00:05:16,459 of feeling that it might be right for him to move on from Corinth and to begin work 62 00:05:16,459 –> 00:05:18,059 in another place. 63 00:05:18,059 –> 00:05:21,920 But then verse 9 notice what happened, the Lord intervened. 64 00:05:22,260 –> 00:05:27,399 One night, verse 9, the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, 65 00:05:27,399 –> 00:05:29,239 don’t be afraid. 66 00:05:29,239 –> 00:05:34,160 You notice even Paul struggled with fear sometimes, and God said to him, now Paul, don’t you be 67 00:05:34,160 –> 00:05:42,920 afraid, you keep on speaking, don’t be silent, I am with you, no one is going to attack and 68 00:05:42,920 –> 00:05:47,720 harm you because I have many in this city. 69 00:05:47,720 –> 00:05:49,119 What a great vision that was. 70 00:05:49,279 –> 00:05:54,640 God says there are many people in this city to be one for Christ, so you stay here. 71 00:05:54,640 –> 00:06:01,220 That’s the vision, there’s a great harvest that’s going to come right here in Corinth. 72 00:06:01,220 –> 00:06:07,880 So we’re told, verse 11, that Paul stayed there in fact for a year and a half, teaching 73 00:06:07,880 –> 00:06:09,600 them the word of God. 74 00:06:09,600 –> 00:06:11,779 And Timothy was with them during that time. 75 00:06:11,779 –> 00:06:12,920 What was Timothy doing? 76 00:06:12,920 –> 00:06:18,959 I guess he was working, and with Timothy and Silas earning, they supported Paul. 77 00:06:19,380 –> 00:06:23,940 during this period, so that he was released to be full-time in the work. 78 00:06:23,940 –> 00:06:29,279 And then beyond that, we’re told, in 2 Corinthians 1, 19, where Paul talks about the Son of God 79 00:06:29,279 –> 00:06:34,899 who was preached to you by Silas, Timothy, and myself. 80 00:06:34,899 –> 00:06:39,619 So Timothy was involved in the preaching, and then in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul 81 00:06:39,619 –> 00:06:43,760 specifically says that he didn’t baptize many people, only a few. 82 00:06:43,760 –> 00:06:48,220 So we can reasonably assume that Silas and Timothy were doing baptizing and discipling 83 00:06:48,220 –> 00:06:52,940 of young converts and so forth for this year and a half. 84 00:06:52,940 –> 00:06:58,399 Then after about 18 months, the missionary team of Paul and Silas and Timothy, they leave 85 00:06:58,399 –> 00:07:03,019 Corinth and they move on to Ephesus for their first visit. 86 00:07:03,019 –> 00:07:06,579 And then later they return there and remained some time. 87 00:07:06,579 –> 00:07:12,660 Now, some years after this, Paul received a letter. 88 00:07:12,660 –> 00:07:16,100 We read about that in 1 Corinthians chapter 7 in verse 1. 89 00:07:16,100 –> 00:07:23,119 He received a letter that came from the believers of Corinth and it was a disturbing letter 90 00:07:23,119 –> 00:07:28,200 because it made it clear that there were obvious problems in this church that Paul, Silas and 91 00:07:28,200 –> 00:07:30,920 Timothy had planted. 92 00:07:30,920 –> 00:07:36,660 Around the same time, there were some friends of Paul’s who were in Corinth who came and 93 00:07:36,660 –> 00:07:38,079 visited Paul. 94 00:07:38,079 –> 00:07:43,239 And alongside the letter that he had received, these friends gave a first hand report and 95 00:07:43,320 –> 00:07:48,420 made it very clear that there were significant problems in the church. 96 00:07:48,420 –> 00:07:51,500 This prompted Paul to do two things. 97 00:07:51,500 –> 00:07:57,880 The first was to write a letter which we know as First Corinthians. 98 00:07:57,880 –> 00:08:00,260 The second was, guess what? 99 00:08:00,260 –> 00:08:01,260 He sent Timothy. 100 00:08:01,260 –> 00:08:09,079 They were in serious difficulties in Corinth and I want to take a few moments just to give 101 00:08:09,079 –> 00:08:15,640 a review or an overview of the problems they were facing which really are typical of the 102 00:08:15,640 –> 00:08:18,839 kinds of problems that churches often face. 103 00:08:18,839 –> 00:08:19,839 So I’ve called this… 104 00:08:19,839 –> 00:08:26,079 I just wrote out the problems and it happened to be ten, so I’ve called this Ten Dysfunctions 105 00:08:26,079 –> 00:08:27,940 of a Local Church. 106 00:08:27,940 –> 00:08:30,160 It’s just an overview of First Corinthians. 107 00:08:30,160 –> 00:08:34,400 I’m going to race through very quickly and you will recognize that these are problems 108 00:08:34,640 –> 00:08:41,080 that churches often face and the scriptures address them very directly in this very significant 109 00:08:41,119 –> 00:08:42,119 letter. 110 00:08:42,119 –> 00:08:45,799 So are you ready to go here, Ten Dysfunctions of a Local Church? 111 00:08:45,799 –> 00:08:51,000 Number one, division around personalities. 112 00:08:51,000 –> 00:08:56,500 That’s what happened at Corinth, you have it in chapter one and chapter three, people 113 00:08:56,500 –> 00:09:01,479 in the congregation rallied around different personalities. 114 00:09:01,479 –> 00:09:07,580 The focus on personalities displaced the centrality of Jesus Christ. 115 00:09:07,580 –> 00:09:13,340 So 1 Corinthians 1, in verse 12, one of you says I follow Paul. 116 00:09:13,340 –> 00:09:16,599 Another says I follow Apollos. 117 00:09:16,599 –> 00:09:19,159 Another I follow Cephas, that’s Peter. 118 00:09:19,159 –> 00:09:21,979 And still another says I follow Christ. 119 00:09:21,979 –> 00:09:29,640 If you take it up in chapter 3 Paul says there, chapter 3, verse 3, since there is 120 00:09:29,780 –> 00:09:33,640 jealousy and quarreling among, you are you not worldly? 121 00:09:33,640 –> 00:09:35,340 Are you not acting like mere men? 122 00:09:35,340 –> 00:09:41,059 For when one says I follow Paul, and another I follow Apollos, are you not mere men? 123 00:09:41,059 –> 00:09:44,539 What after all is Apollos and what is Paul? 124 00:09:44,539 –> 00:09:48,900 They’re only servants through whom you came to believe as the Lord has assigned to each 125 00:09:48,900 –> 00:09:49,900 his task. 126 00:09:49,900 –> 00:09:55,020 So this runs throughout 1 Corinthians, and it was a significant difficulty in the life 127 00:09:55,020 –> 00:09:59,000 of the church, division around personalities. 128 00:09:59,000 –> 00:10:05,200 Number 2, second disfunction, spiritual pride, and again, this is focused in many places, 129 00:10:05,200 –> 00:10:08,719 but especially 1 Corinthians 4. 130 00:10:08,719 –> 00:10:11,559 The Corinthians church really thought that they were something. 131 00:10:11,559 –> 00:10:16,440 They felt that they had everything going for them to such a degree that they had really 132 00:10:16,440 –> 00:10:22,859 lost touch with any realistic sense of their dependence upon the Lord. 133 00:10:22,859 –> 00:10:27,239 So chapter 4 in verse 7, Paul says to them, he asks them 2 questions. 134 00:10:27,940 –> 00:10:32,960 What do you have that you did not receive? 135 00:10:32,960 –> 00:10:38,700 And if you received it, why do you boast as though you did not? 136 00:10:38,700 –> 00:10:43,219 Chapter 4 and verse 7, dysfunction. 137 00:10:43,219 –> 00:10:46,500 Number 3, distrust of leaders. 138 00:10:46,500 –> 00:10:49,619 Now this runs right throughout both first and second Corinthians. 139 00:10:49,619 –> 00:10:55,320 1 Corinthians 4, 2 Corinthians chapter 10-13. 140 00:10:55,320 –> 00:11:01,580 Of all the churches in the New Testament, Corinth was by far the most difficult to lead. 141 00:11:01,580 –> 00:11:09,700 This is clear from 1 Corinthians 4 to Corinthians 10-13, Paul was judged more severely by the 142 00:11:09,700 –> 00:11:14,219 believers in Corinth than he was in any other place he ever visited. 143 00:11:14,219 –> 00:11:18,979 Look for a moment with me at chapter 4 and verses 1 to 5. 144 00:11:19,539 –> 00:11:21,599 Men ought to regard us, 145 00:11:21,599 –> 00:11:28,080 that’s Paul, Timothy, and Silas, as servants of Christ and those entrusted with the secret 146 00:11:28,080 –> 00:11:29,419 things of God. 147 00:11:29,419 –> 00:11:36,179 Now, it is required of those who have been given a trust that they must prove faithful. 148 00:11:36,179 –> 00:11:42,440 I care very little if I am judged by you, Paul says, or by any human court. 149 00:11:42,440 –> 00:11:46,900 Indeed, I do not even judge myself. 150 00:11:46,900 –> 00:11:49,619 My conscience is clear. 151 00:11:49,619 –> 00:11:53,000 But that does not make me innocent. 152 00:11:53,000 –> 00:11:55,840 It is the Lord who judges me. 153 00:11:55,840 –> 00:11:58,880 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time. 154 00:11:58,880 –> 00:12:00,440 Wait til the Lord comes. 155 00:12:00,440 –> 00:12:10,039 He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness, and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. 156 00:12:10,039 –> 00:12:13,760 At that time each will receive his praise from God.” 157 00:12:13,900 –> 00:12:20,619 Now you put this alongside 2 Corinthians chapter 10 through 13. 158 00:12:20,619 –> 00:12:26,000 What becomes very clear is that there is a persistent pattern among the congregation 159 00:12:26,000 –> 00:12:30,580 in Corinth of judging Paul’s motives. 160 00:12:30,580 –> 00:12:34,559 The judgements that were made were not very kind. 161 00:12:34,559 –> 00:12:38,140 Paul says this, he said, now look, what you need to hear is this. 162 00:12:38,140 –> 00:12:42,979 What really matters is not the judgements you make about me. 163 00:12:43,000 –> 00:12:46,580 They’re not even the judgements I make about myself. 164 00:12:46,580 –> 00:12:52,440 What really matters here is the judgement of God about me, about you, and about everyone 165 00:12:52,440 –> 00:12:53,440 else. 166 00:12:53,440 –> 00:12:55,539 That’s what he says to the church in Corinth. 167 00:12:55,539 –> 00:12:57,719 He says this and it’s very sober. 168 00:12:57,719 –> 00:13:03,099 One day, one day, the motives of all men will be revealed. 169 00:13:03,099 –> 00:13:06,799 They’re not revealed now but one day they will be. 170 00:13:06,840 –> 00:13:15,159 God will bring to light what is hidden and at that time, each one of us will receive 171 00:13:15,159 –> 00:13:18,719 exactly what is due from the Lord. 172 00:13:18,719 –> 00:13:24,559 These are very, very powerful words and they were spoken in a situation you see where the 173 00:13:24,559 –> 00:13:34,000 dynamics in the congregation had fomented extensive criticism of the missionary team 174 00:13:34,000 –> 00:13:36,000 that had planted the church. 175 00:13:36,119 –> 00:13:39,539 Disfunction number three is distrust of leaders, it’s all the way through First and Second 176 00:13:39,539 –> 00:13:40,640 Corinthians. 177 00:13:40,640 –> 00:13:46,440 Disfunction number four- failure to exercise church discipline. 178 00:13:46,440 –> 00:13:51,919 Now you find this in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and the story is taken up in 2 Corinthians 179 00:13:51,919 –> 00:13:52,919 chapter two. 180 00:13:52,919 –> 00:13:57,140 1 Corinthians chapter five and I won’t go into the details, you can read them all there 181 00:13:57,140 –> 00:14:04,080 at your pleasure but it describes a chronic case of persistent and continuing sin in the 182 00:14:04,460 –> 00:14:11,460 church which, because the church prided itself on its tolerance, was never dealt with and 183 00:14:15,320 –> 00:14:22,320 failure to exercise effective church discipline is the fourth dysfunction of a local church. 184 00:14:23,200 –> 00:14:27,659 Number five- threats of lawsuits. 185 00:14:27,659 –> 00:14:32,080 This is 1 Corinthians and chapter six- will you look at 1 Corinthians chapter six in verse 186 00:14:32,739 –> 00:14:39,739 seven. The very fact that you have lawsuits among you, means that you have been completely 187 00:14:41,900 –> 00:14:48,900 defeated already. Wow. You’re completely defeated already where that begins to happen. He says 188 00:14:50,739 –> 00:14:57,739 to the Corinthians, why not rather be wronged, why not rather be cheated. Do you know it’s 189 00:14:58,059 –> 00:15:05,059 not the end of the world if you’re wronged? Why not rather be cheated, he says. You’ve 190 00:15:08,219 –> 00:15:15,219 got to think about the advance of the kingdom, and that’s the apostolic priority. 191 00:15:17,200 –> 00:15:23,380 Dysfunction number 6, discontent among marrieds and singles. This is the focus of 1 Corinthians 192 00:15:23,419 –> 00:15:28,239 chapter 7. In here if you look at chapter 7 and verse 1, you’ll see the reference to 193 00:15:28,239 –> 00:15:34,739 the letter that had originally come from Corinth, about the matters that you wrote about. 194 00:15:34,739 –> 00:15:39,440 It is good for a man not to marry, the Corinthians had raised this whole question about singleness 195 00:15:39,440 –> 00:15:45,419 and marriage. There were many problems over it. You can read through it in chapter 7. 196 00:15:45,419 –> 00:15:49,580 The heart of the issue is that some married people desperately wanted to be single and 197 00:15:49,840 –> 00:15:56,520 single people desperately wanted to be married. Sounds familiar? And more than that, some 198 00:15:56,520 –> 00:16:02,080 single people had become sexually active and some married people had just been celibate. 199 00:16:02,080 –> 00:16:07,700 And Paul addresses both problems. Dysfunction number six, discontent among 200 00:16:07,700 –> 00:16:12,820 marrieds and among singles. Dysfunction number seven, confusion about 201 00:16:12,820 –> 00:16:18,900 Christian freedom. This is the focus of chapters 8-10. And the issue here is, that some believers 202 00:16:19,099 –> 00:16:25,559 were so concerned about being different from the world. You’re concerned about being different 203 00:16:25,559 –> 00:16:30,979 from the world. Well some Christians were rightly so concerned about being different 204 00:16:30,979 –> 00:16:35,380 from the world that they had established fairly rigid rules of behavior. This is how it’s 205 00:16:35,380 –> 00:16:42,380 done. And became increasingly like the Pharisees. Other believers in the same church were so 206 00:16:42,820 –> 00:16:47,640 deeply concerned about connecting with the world. Concerned about connecting with the 207 00:16:47,640 –> 00:16:51,520 world. Yeah we oughta be concerned about that. But they were so concerned about connecting 208 00:16:51,520 –> 00:16:57,559 with the world that they ended up with lifestyles that sometimes were indistinguishable from 209 00:16:57,559 –> 00:17:04,560 the culture. So confusion over Christian freedom is the seventh dysfunction. 210 00:17:05,839 –> 00:17:12,839 Dysfunction number eight. Tension over worship. This is 1 Corinthians chapter 11 through 14. 211 00:17:13,479 –> 00:17:20,400 And the whole issue of how the church should worship had become a focus of debate in Corinth. 212 00:17:20,500 –> 00:17:27,160 And Paul in these chapters lays out the principles of unity and diversity. There are different 213 00:17:27,160 –> 00:17:32,339 kinds of gifts chapter 12 verse 4 and the same spirit. There are different kinds of 214 00:17:32,339 –> 00:17:39,339 service and the same Lord. There are different kinds of working and the same God works all 215 00:17:39,520 –> 00:17:46,520 of them in all men 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verses 4 to 6. Dysfunction number nine loss 216 00:17:47,660 –> 00:17:54,660 of an eternal perspective. This is 1 Corinthians chapter 15 continued in 2 Corinthians chapter 217 00:17:55,140 –> 00:18:02,140 five. We turn to chapter 15 and verse 12. Paul says if is preached that Christ has been 218 00:18:02,459 –> 00:18:08,459 preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, which obviously it is and he has 219 00:18:08,459 –> 00:18:15,459 just said that, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection from the dead. Clearly 220 00:18:16,060 –> 00:18:22,119 some folks in Corinth were teaching that there is no resurrection from the dead for Christian 221 00:18:22,119 –> 00:18:28,660 believers. If that were true, what it would mean of course is that being a Christian would 222 00:18:28,739 –> 00:18:35,739 be all about finding a more fulfilled life now. Sound familiar? See the loss of an eternal 223 00:18:35,760 –> 00:18:40,800 perspective, we get our eyes off heaven and eternity in the presence of the Lord and what 224 00:18:40,800 –> 00:18:45,780 do we end up with, a form of Christianity that’s giving us a more fulfilled life. Now 225 00:18:45,780 –> 00:18:49,819 that’s exactly what was happening in Corinth and it’s what chapter 15 is all about. By 226 00:18:49,819 –> 00:18:56,819 the way some scholars think that the loss of an eternal perspective, the issue in chapter 227 00:18:57,239 –> 00:19:04,239 15 was actually the root cause of all the other problems that existed at the church 228 00:19:04,800 –> 00:19:10,619 in Corinth and personally I think that they’re right. 229 00:19:10,619 –> 00:19:16,859 That takes us to the 10th dysfunction. Reluctant giving. Fascinating. Right at the end of the 230 00:19:16,859 –> 00:19:23,859 letter, 1 Corinthians 16 and verse 1, now about the collection for God’s people. Do 231 00:19:24,060 –> 00:19:28,380 what I told the Galatian churches to do on the first day of the week. Every one of you 232 00:19:28,380 –> 00:19:35,380 should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up. And he proceeds 233 00:19:37,000 –> 00:19:41,660 to speak about the issue of giving. What’s fascinating is that when you take this up 234 00:19:41,660 –> 00:19:46,859 in 2 Corinthians, written just a short time later, there are two whole chapters on this, 235 00:19:46,859 –> 00:19:52,920 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. And if you follow the story there it becomes clear that the Corinthians 236 00:19:53,280 –> 00:20:00,280 had started giving, and then after a period some of them began to hold back. 237 00:20:00,560 –> 00:20:07,560 So there were a few problems in Corinth. So what does Paul do? Two things. One, he gives 238 00:20:12,119 –> 00:20:18,199 them scripture. He wrote 1 Corinthians under the inspiration of the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 239 00:20:18,380 –> 00:20:25,380 chapter four and verse sixteen. He glanced back to it. 1 Corinthians chapter four and 240 00:20:39,180 –> 00:20:46,180 verse sixteen. He puts it right here in the letter. Chapter four, verse sixteen, out of 241 00:20:48,199 –> 00:20:55,199 the book of Deuteronomy, but I urge you,” says Paul, to imitate me. And for this reason, 242 00:20:55,239 –> 00:21:02,239 I am sending you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind 243 00:21:05,359 –> 00:21:12,180 you of my way of life in Christ Jesus.” Very significant, which agrees with what I teach 244 00:21:12,339 –> 00:21:19,339 everywhere, in every church. Now, imagine the scene of the Apostle sitting 245 00:21:20,719 –> 00:21:27,719 with young Timothy. Remember he’s in his twenties. Timothy, you’ve been with me for a little 246 00:21:28,560 –> 00:21:35,560 while now, and you did such a great job in Thessalonica encouraging the good folks there. 247 00:21:36,439 –> 00:21:40,060 So, I’m going to give you another assignment. 248 00:21:40,060 –> 00:21:47,060 Corinth. Timothy, you need to know few challenges there, a bit of division, spiritual pride, 249 00:21:52,599 –> 00:21:59,160 distrust of leaders, failure to exercise discipline, threats of lawsuits, discontent among single 250 00:21:59,160 –> 00:22:04,260 folk, married folk, confusion about Christian freedom, tension over worship, loss of an 251 00:22:04,400 –> 00:22:07,900 eternal perspective and they got a problem with the giving, but other than that, Timothy, 252 00:22:07,900 –> 00:22:12,660 nothing you can’t handle. 253 00:22:12,660 –> 00:22:16,660 And just with a little lightness of touch, will you look at 1 Corinthians Chapter 16 254 00:22:16,660 –> 00:22:23,660 and Verse 10. 1 Corinthians Chapter 16 and Verse 10. I love this. Paul says, if Timothy 255 00:22:24,660 –> 00:22:31,660 comes, do you think that means it was still under discussion? He already said I am sending 256 00:22:40,660 –> 00:22:46,619 them. Maybe the guy was reluctant and understandably so. If Timothy comes, and see what he says 257 00:22:46,619 –> 00:22:53,619 next. See to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying out 258 00:22:53,660 –> 00:23:00,660 just as I am. No one then should refuse to accept him, send him on his way in peace, 259 00:23:00,660 –> 00:23:05,500 so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers. I think that 260 00:23:05,500 –> 00:23:12,500 tells you volumes, don’t you? So Timothy went to Corinth? And, you know what? Things 261 00:23:15,079 –> 00:23:22,079 didn’t go well. We are not given any details but when we came 262 00:23:22,800 –> 00:23:29,800 back to 2 Corinthians, Timothy is back with Paul and the Apostolic envoy is no longer 263 00:23:31,599 –> 00:23:38,599 Timothy but it is now Titus. Ouch! Look at 2 Corinthians in chapter 8 for a 264 00:23:41,500 –> 00:23:46,500 moment please. Let me turn to this chapter, 2 Corinthians in chapter 8. 265 00:23:46,800 –> 00:23:53,800 1 Corinthians is all about Alcine and Timothy. A short time later 2 Corinthians look at chapter 266 00:23:55,359 –> 00:24:02,359 8 and verse 6, it is all about Titus. We urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning 267 00:24:05,739 –> 00:24:12,739 to bring also to completion the act of grace on your part, or verses 16 and 17 of the same 268 00:24:13,739 –> 00:24:20,500 chapter, I thank God who put it into the heart of Titus. The same concern I have for you, 269 00:24:20,500 –> 00:24:26,420 for Titus not only welcomed our appeal but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and 270 00:24:26,420 –> 00:24:33,420 on his own initiative. Our verse 23, As for Titus, he is my partner, says Paul, and fellow 271 00:24:33,900 –> 00:24:40,900 worker among you, as for our brothers they are representatives of the churches, and an 272 00:24:45,780 –> 00:24:52,780 honor to Christ. Now writing in the New Bible Dictionary, Donald Guthrie draws this conclusion 273 00:24:53,800 –> 00:25:00,439 and I quote because I think he sums it up perfectly. From the situation that resulted 274 00:25:00,560 –> 00:25:07,560 at Corinth, as we see it in 2nd Corinthians, we conclude that Timothy s mission was not 275 00:25:08,219 –> 00:25:14,119 successful. It is significant that although his name is associated with Paul s in the 276 00:25:14,119 –> 00:25:21,119 greeting of this Epistle, it is Titus and not Timothy who has become the apostolic delegate. 277 00:25:22,119 –> 00:25:29,119 put yourself in Timothy s shoes. He has been 278 00:25:32,239 –> 00:25:39,239 given a major assignment and it did not go well. The work he has done has led him to 279 00:25:42,520 –> 00:25:49,520 bitter disappointment. He now lives with an overwhelming sense of failure and an inner 280 00:25:50,160 –> 00:25:57,160 loss of confidence. That’s the story. Here’s the question, how can you overcome disappointment? 281 00:26:02,859 –> 00:26:08,959 That’s the question. 1. Stand firm in your 282 00:26:08,959 –> 00:26:15,959 calling. I want to turn to 2 Corinthians 1 and just to notice this very obvious thing 283 00:26:16,119 –> 00:26:21,160 that we probably passed many times before, at the beginning of 2 Corinthians Paul, an 284 00:26:21,160 –> 00:26:28,160 Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother. Timothy is back 285 00:26:32,060 –> 00:26:39,060 with Paul when he writes 2 Corinthians, so Timothy didn’t quit. He went back after 286 00:26:39,079 –> 00:26:46,079 an assignment that did not go well and effectively comes back to Paul and says 287 00:26:47,219 –> 00:26:53,739 well Paul how can I be useful to you? At this point Paul was in Ephesus and Timothy 288 00:26:53,739 –> 00:27:00,060 throws himself into the work in Ephesus alongside Paul and guess what? Years down the line who 289 00:27:00,060 –> 00:27:07,060 becomes pastor at Ephesus? Our man Timothy. God richly blessed his ministry. 290 00:27:07,859 –> 00:27:13,540 God richly blessed his ministry. Never confuse your calling with one assignment. That is 291 00:27:13,540 –> 00:27:20,540 a huge lesson here. Disappointment or failure in one assignment does not change the the 292 00:27:21,260 –> 00:27:28,260 call of God on your life. So stand firm in your calling because disappointment and failure 293 00:27:28,260 –> 00:27:35,260 does not change a thing. Is that encouraging? I find it so. 294 00:27:37,619 –> 00:27:44,619 Second, grow in your character. Stand firm in your calling but when you face disappointment 295 00:27:44,619 –> 00:27:51,619 grow in your character. Verse 8-9 of 2C 1, here is Paul now and remember Timothy is with 296 00:27:52,099 –> 00:27:59,099 him, so the we is Paul and Timothy. And Paul says, we do not want you to be uninformed, 297 00:28:00,020 –> 00:28:04,819 verse 8, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were 298 00:28:04,819 –> 00:28:11,819 under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure so that we despaired even of life. 299 00:28:12,680 –> 00:28:18,979 Indeed in our hearts we felt the sentence of death but this happened, why? So that we 300 00:28:19,079 –> 00:28:26,079 might rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. See, most time in life we 301 00:28:27,260 –> 00:28:34,260 can see a way through our problems. But in Asia, Paul says, me and Timothy we could see 302 00:28:34,260 –> 00:28:41,260 no way out. We despair even of life itself at one point and this happened so that we 303 00:28:41,959 –> 00:28:46,280 might learn to rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. God, you’ve got to 304 00:28:46,280 –> 00:28:51,339 do something that only you could do to turn this around. 305 00:28:51,339 –> 00:28:58,339 Now how did Paul and Timothy become the men of faith they were? Because they learned to 306 00:28:58,920 –> 00:29:03,099 lean hard on God in the times of their most bitter disappointment. You look at the lives 307 00:29:03,099 –> 00:29:08,219 of any godly men and women in the Bible, you will find the same pattern is true- that they 308 00:29:08,219 –> 00:29:13,680 became who they were by standing firm in their calling in the most difficult times, by leaning 309 00:29:13,719 –> 00:29:19,380 into the Lord where they could see no way out, and learning to trust the God who raises 310 00:29:19,380 –> 00:29:23,020 the dead. 311 00:29:23,020 –> 00:29:30,020 Finding God’s grace in and through disappointment is one of the critical moments of Christian 312 00:29:31,160 –> 00:29:38,160 experience. What are you going to do with your disappointment? Stand firm in your calling, 313 00:29:38,219 –> 00:29:45,219 your calling. Stand firm in your calling. Grow in your character and receive the gracious 314 00:29:50,459 –> 00:29:57,459 comfort of God. As that gift is given to us by the Holy Spirit, let that gift be ministered 315 00:29:59,180 –> 00:30:06,180 through us to one another, and let it be for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 316 00:30:08,439 –> 00:30:15,439 Shall we pray together? Father, we feel a strange mixture of utter dependence and extraordinary 317 00:30:20,619 –> 00:30:27,619 gratitude. We see our need, and we see your blessing, so we cast ourselves upon you for 318 00:30:28,500 –> 00:30:35,500 the one, and we lift our hearts in thanksgiving on the other, and we ask that it will always 319 00:30:45,160 –> 00:30:52,160 be so. That our posture will ever be the humility of those who know that what we have is only 320 00:30:52,819 –> 00:30:59,819 what we’ve received, and that we’re always utterly dependent on you. But then at the 321 00:31:05,819 –> 00:31:11,459 same time with glad hearts may we minister what we have received to one another and so 322 00:31:11,459 –> 00:31:17,979 fulfill the calling of the Body of Christ. Lord, there are some folks in the congregation 323 00:31:18,060 –> 00:31:25,060 right now who are facing bitter disappointment, have lost confidence, and are feeling a sense 324 00:31:27,160 –> 00:31:34,060 of failure. And our prayer is that you will touch every heart that is in the middle of 325 00:31:34,060 –> 00:31:41,060 this struggle right now that they may stand firm in their calling, that they may grow 326 00:31:41,199 –> 00:31:48,199 in their character, that they may experience the comfort of God. That’s the prayer that 327 00:31:52,020 –> 00:31:59,020 we all pray for ourselves, and that we pray for one another. And in praying this, we, 328 00:32:01,180 –> 00:32:07,880 as best we know how, rededicate ourselves for Christ and for His Kingdom. In Jesus’ 329 00:32:07,880 –> 00:32:12,579 name. Amen. 330 00:32:12,619 –> 00:32:16,020 You’ve been listening to a sermon with Pastor Colin Smith of Open The Bible. 331 00:32:16,099 –> 00:32:21,000 To contact us, call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 332 00:32:21,099 –> 00:32:25,099 or visit our website OpentheBible.org