A Mother's Greatest Gift

Well, good morning.

Once again, happy mothers today to you who are mothers.

! My name is Tom Zentz.

My wife Carrie and her mother are actually on their way back from Chicago this morning.

! They were there visiting her aunt who turned 100 years old this weekend.

Carrie and I have been married for 39 years.

We have six children, seven grandchildren.

We've been members of Maranatha since 1984.

Over these 40 years, we've had the privilege of ministering to this body in various ways,

including now, one, as your deacon.

I want to say that it's our joy to see what God is doing here at this church.

It is a blessing.

When Pastor Andrew asked if I would preach on Mother's Day, I confess, there was some apprehension.

This day has often been met with mixed feelings for me.

And my own mother was only in my life until I was eight years old.

I was the oldest of four boys.

We were eight, four, six, and two.

When my mother battled an invisible enemy, a brain tumor.

That tumor caused her to change her personality, become even violent.

My father divorced my mother.

He remarried three more times.

That ended at three more divorces.

And then my mother, at her age of 40, she died of that tumor.

So while I'm grateful to God for other Christian mothers, those ladies in churches who have influenced me and my brothers,

this was a day we really did not celebrate.

Not until I married Carrie 39 years ago and gained a new godly mother-in-law.

So whether this day is a celebration for you personally or not,

this is the Lord's Day.

And the message is from God's word.

And it's for our good.

It's for his glory.

It is a pleasure to look at the scriptures with you today.

Our text is going to be 2 Timothy chapter 1.

2 Timothy 1 · chapter mention

I invite you to open your Bibles there.

If you're using the Pew Bible, it's page 995.

We're going to be looking at verses 1 through 14,

but I'm going to confess to you that we're actually going to be looking at the whole letter of 2 Timothy.

Don't get worried.

It's not going to be that deep of a look.

But we're going to be tracing three themes that Paul threads throughout the letter of 2 Timothy.

Before I read this passage here in 2 Timothy 1,

let me just say again, thank you, mothers,

for your faithful ministries to your children, your family.

The emotional and the physical rollercoaster of life can be exhausting,

and it can be overwhelming.

And I'm praying that the Lord would encourage your hearts today,

that you might be renewed and refreshed as you hear the word of God.

Please follow along as I read.

This is 2 Timothy chapter 1, starting at verse 1.

2 Timothy 1 · chapter mention

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,

to Timothy, my beloved child,

grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience,

as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.

As I remember your tears,

I long to see you that I may be filled with joy.

I am reminded of your sincere faith,

a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice,

and now I'm sure dwells in you as well.

For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God,

which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

For God gave us a spirit, not of fear,

but of power and love and self-control.

Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord,

nor of me as prisoner,

but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,

who saved us and called us to a holy calling,

not because of our works,

but because of his own purpose and grace,

which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

and which now have been manifested through the appearing of our Savior,

Christ Jesus,

who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher,

which is why I suffer as I do.

But I am not ashamed,

for I know whom I have believed,

and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

Follow the pattern of sound words that you have heard from me

in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us,

guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

Would you join me in prayer?

Our Heavenly Father,

You are so faithful.

You are loyal to your own character.

And we can trust you.

You are a good Heavenly Father.

Thank you for the blessings that are ours through Jesus Christ.

Thank you for allowing your Son to go through what he did for our sake.

Thank you for the rich gospel and the salvation that we cherish.

Lord, we confess to you,

we don't love you as deeply as we ought to.

Would you help us to love you more and more, day by day,

even as we come under the teaching of your word this morning.

May your spirit make Christ a little bit more clearer in our lives.

Help us to reflect him, to reflect your glory among our families,

among our neighborhoods, at our places of work,

wherever you have us.

This morning as we see your word

and your spirit brings things to our attention,

help us not to discard it.

I pray, Father, that you would have your work and your will done in our lives.

I'm guessing that there are some individuals here today

who come with some heavy burdens.

Some come with doubts and maybe wondering what you are doing.

Would you help them to know that your word is sure

and your hope, it's eternal.

God, I pray that we would be refreshed

through the preaching of your word this morning.

We want to give you praise.

We want to say thank you again for your Son, Jesus,

and we pray in his name.

Amen.

The title of the message this morning,

and there's no outline.

That's on me.

It's a mother's greatest gift.

And I would say mothers,

and when I say mothers,

all of you in here know that the things

that we're going to be talking to mothers about,

most of it applies to all of us.

So mothers and fathers,

especially now as Christian parents,

mothers and fathers,

the most necessary thing as a Christian parent

is your own life in Jesus Christ.

And it may seem simplistic.

It may seem so fundamental.

But as Christian parents,

our own lives need to be marked by godliness and faith.

Godliness and faith are manifested in various ways.

But one of the chief ways is a love for

and a trust in God and in his word.

A godly mother steeped in God's truth

is powerfully effective

as an instrument of God in the lives of her family.

The challenge this morning from our text

is to delight your own selves,

mothers,

in the word of God.

That affection that you have for God and his word

is what your children are going to see.

Your faith in the scriptures

to guide you,

to encourage you through the challenges of life,

that will be evident.

You see,

we can only share what we possess.

Christian mothers who know little of Christ

will have little of Christ

to share with their children.

Christian mothers who delight little in Christ

will instill little delight in their children.

Christian mothers who speak little of Christ

will have children who speak little of Christ.

Our children are sponges.

Their little souls are inclined to soak up

what floods forth from our lives.

As we delight in the Lord and in his word

and we display that delight to our children,

they do take note.

Generally speaking,

the things that capture your hearts,

they capture the hearts of your children.

If you would allow me,

I was walking out this morning

from our entryway in the house

and I saw this.

And I thought,

I'll just bring this.

My daughter-in-law,

a few years ago,

created this for us.

And as she began to understand

the Zenz family

and what we like

and what we like to do,

she created this.

And it says,

in this house,

we forgive,

we give grace,

we say prayers,

we do Sunday family lunch,

we give hugs,

we choose joy,

we love really well,

we play games,

we reminisce about Japan,

we live there for more than 10 years,

we do puzzles,

and we drink milk nog.

You'll have to ask me about that one later.

We serve the Lord.

It dawned on me that

for her,

not having grown up in my family,

as she began to observe

what we like and do,

those began the things

that she began to like and to do.

And as we think about ministering

to our children,

it is the scriptures

that give us the wisdom

and the means to do so.

Of course,

we will never do so perfectly,

but if we would seek to do it well,

our lives must be filled

with the scriptures.

The word is how we are made wise

into salvation,

and how we accomplish ministry

for the good of those around us,

including our children.

Lois and Eunice serve as two great examples

of this in our text this morning.

There in 2 Timothy 1, 5,

Paul says to Timothy,

I'm reminded of your sincere faith,

a faith that dwelt first

in your grandmother Lois

and your mother Eunice,

and now I am sure dwells in you as well.

That word sincere

is very interesting to me.

If you take that Greek word,

it literally means

not hypocritical.

And the word hypocritical,

some of you remember,

it's from the Greek drama,

and as that mask was put on,

and the person behind the mask

is speaking as if they're this person,

that person is disguised.

They are hypocritical.

Not hypocritical is removing the mask,

being true.

And so Paul is saying about his faith

that your faith is true.

It's sincere.

I also like the English word sincere.

That comes from another cool word

that's from the Latin.

That word sincere,

the first part of it,

the sin,

it's really sign.

That means without.

And the serra,

that means wax.

And so in Greek culture,

a merchant that sold pottery,

maybe he's putting things out on the table

and he drops a vase.

It doesn't shatter,

but maybe it gets a crack.

What he can do

is put a little wax on that

and then touch it up with paint

and set it out as if it's okay.

And if you're coming alongside to buy that,

you'll take that vase

if you're a good,

shrewd purchaser

and you'll hold it up against the light.

And what you're looking to see

if it is without wax,

if it's true

and if it's the real thing.

And that's what Paul is saying to Timothy here.

Your faith, Timothy,

it is sincere.

It's true.

I'm reminded of your sincere faith,

a faith that dwelt first

in your grandmother Lois

and in your mother Eunice

and now I'm sure dwells in you.

What a lineage.

Here are two women of the word,

women who loved the scriptures

and made sure to obey their son

and their grandson in the truth.

Talk about a godly example.

I confess at this point,

I was very tempted to name this message

a mother's faith.

And while there may be some merit in that,

I think both Lois and Eunice

would agree that

the knowledge of divine things,

especially the salvation

that Timothy enjoyed,

it was not derived from their faith.

It has only come through

the holy scriptures

and through God himself.

Remember what Paul said

to the church in Rome

in chapter 10, verse 17.

Faith comes from hearing the message.

And hearing the message

is through the word about Christ.

It is through the word of God

that salvation comes.

Here's our key theme this morning.

Mothers and the rest of us,

your most important task,

your greatest gift,

is to delight yourself in the Lord

and in his word

and model that before

and pray that for your family.

That should be encouragement

because it's not up to you

to save your children.

It is yours

to faithfully live,

love and live the scriptures

before your family.

I want to start by considering

the background of this second letter

to Timothy, if I may.

Paul's in Rome.

He's in prison for the gospel.

The letter,

this letter will be his last

before his execution in AD 67.

It's filled with affection for Timothy,

his son of the faith.

And with urgency and concern

for the state of the church

after his death,

he's going to write this letter.

It reveals a man

who is coming to grips

that he's going to soon die.

Timothy was born

in the town of Lystra.

That's the southern part of Galatia.

If you're able to imagine,

remember the Mediterranean Sea

and you've got Israel over here

and you've got the Boots country,

Italy over here.

You've got a body of water,

the Adriatic Sea,

and then you've got this peninsula

at the bottom of that peninsula.

You've got Greece.

Another body of water,

the Aegean Sea,

and then you have this piece of land

that kind of juts out this way.

The very end of that land,

that's modern Turkey,

but that was Asia Minor.

When you're reading Revelation,

you see the seven churches there.

That was in that piece of land.

And then if you just go further east,

there's another fairly big piece of,

that's a big region,

and that's Galatia.

And in the southern part of that region

is Lystra,

and that's where Timothy was born.

His mother and his grandmother

were both Jews,

and they had come to know

the Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 16.1 tells us,

however,

that his father was a Greek.

And the way that it's constructed there,

it sort of implies

that his father did not know

the Lord Jesus Christ.

Imagine the potential tension then

for a mother wanting to participate

in the Jewish traditions,

and not having the support of her husband.

Not having the praise,

and the influence of a godly husband.

Or the tension of parenting Timothy

in the ways of the Lord,

and not having that affirmation.

No details of how dysfunctional home life was

is mentioned in the word of God,

but it's easy to assume

there were challenges.

It may be that Lois,

the grandmother,

first,

and perhaps then Eunice,

heard the gospel preached

when Paul came to Lystra

during his first missionary journey

there in Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

If you recall that story,

Paul and Barnabas

came into the city of Lystra,

and they met a man who was lame,

and through the power of God,

they healed that man.

And immediately,

the townspeople,

they're like,

whoa!

And they said,

the gods have come to us.

And they praised

Paul and Barnabas

as gods.

And immediately,

Paul and Barnabas said,

no, no, no.

They deflected that praise,

and they said,

no,

that belongs to Jesus Christ.

And they ministered

the gospel of Jesus Christ

in the city of Lystra.

Soon after that,

some Jewish teachers

from nearby Antioch

and Iconium came,

and they began to spread lies

about Paul and Barnabas.

And they changed the hearts

of the people of Lystra.

In fact,

what they did was

they ended up stoning Paul.

They drug him outside the city

and left him for dead.

And the Bible says

he was revived,

and guess what he did?

He went right back

into the city of Lystra,

and he ministered

the gospel there.

And he made sure

the churches were strengthened,

and leadership

was in position.

As you're reading

through the book of Acts,

Acts 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15,

Paul goes back

to give report

in Jerusalem,

and then in chapter 16,

he's going on

a second missionary journey.

And he's taking Silas

with him.

And you know where

he makes a beeline for?

He goes right back

to Lystra.

And in Lystra,

in Acts 16,

Acts 16:2

verses 2 and 3,

I'm going to read it for you.

It says this.

This is regarding

Timothy's character.

He was well spoken of

by the brothers at Lystra

and Iconium.

Paul wanted Timothy

to accompany him.

When Paul went back

to revisit Lystra,

he met Timothy.

He met a young man,

probably a teenager,

not unlike some of you here.

And there was something

about Timothy

that the people

saw him.

And they noticed,

and they remarked

about his character.

He was probably

still a new believer,

but he was making

a mark for the gospel.

And I think it's because

of his grandmother's

and his mother's influence

in training him

in the truth.

You're in 2 Timothy.

You just flip over

to chapter 3.

Look at verses 14 and 15.

It says here,

But as for you,

continue what you have learned

and have firmly believed,

knowing from whom

you learned it.

And how from childhood

you have been acquainted

with the sacred writings,

which are able to make you

wise for salvation

through faith in Christ Jesus.

The Greek here

for the word for whom

is actually plural.

There in verse 14.

It seems to imply

that this influence

was from Timothy's

grandmother and mother.

It was their teaching

in the scripture

that helped Timothy

to grow

in the spiritual disciplines.

He observed

their devotion

to Christ

and his word

while living at home.

That famous verse

in chapter 3,

verse 16,

that says,

All scripture

is breathed out by God

and is profitable

for teaching,

for reproof,

for correction,

for training in righteousness,

that the man of God

may be complete,

equipped for every good work.

When Timothy read that,

he's like,

I know that.

I experienced that.

So by the time

Paul writes this second letter

then to Timothy,

this young pastor

had been ministering

there at the church

of Ephesus.

He had been pastor

at the church of Ephesus

for about four years.

It had been almost

just as long

since he received

the first letter

of Timothy

to him.

Timothy had been

a faithful servant

to Paul

ever since he left home

with the apostle

about a decade earlier

there in Acts 16.

And since that time,

he had ministered

alongside Paul

for the duration

of the second

and third missionary journeys.

He had visited places

like Troas,

Philippi,

Corinth.

Timothy was not unfamiliar

to the Ephesians

when he settled

in Ephesus

to be the pastor there

because he had been

with Paul

for almost three years

ministering alongside Paul

to the church there.

And now Paul writes

this second letter

to this young pastor.

He's going to provide

him encouragement

and strength

to face the difficulties

and trials

that would surely come

after Paul's own death.

As Paul lays out

what he considered

the most important

last words

for Timothy

to hear and to live by,

we have the benefit

of gleaning from that.

There are some rich takeaways.

I'm just going to give you three.

And if you're taking notes,

the first point would be this.

And guys,

this is like

the most important thing,

Paul,

is this is what's on his heart.

And here it is.

Salvation comes

from God alone.

You look back

at chapter one,

verse one of 2 Timothy.

Just follow along.

I'm going to kind of

take this thread

through the letter.

In verse one,

the promise of the life

that is in Christ Jesus.

Timothy,

remember where your salvation

comes from.

It's nothing you've earned.

It's only in Jesus Christ.

Look at verse two.

Grace,

mercy,

and peace

from God the Father

and Christ Jesus

our Lord.

Go down to verse nine.

Who saved us

and called us

to a holy calling.

Not because of our works,

but because of his own purpose

and grace

which he gave us

in Christ Jesus

before the ages began.

And the next verse,

verse 10.

Our Savior Christ Jesus

who abolished death

and brought life

and immortality to light

through the gospel.

And there in verse 12,

for I know

whom I have believed

and I am convinced

that he is able to guard

until that day

what has been entrusted to me.

I'm just going to take

a little bit of a pause.

That was the English Standard Version.

The literal translation,

if you go back,

it says this,

I'm convinced

that he is able to guard

until that day

the word is my deposit.

That's all it is.

And there are godly men

and women

on both sides of this.

The ESV says

that deposit

that was entrusted to me.

The King James

and the Legacy Standard Bible,

the New American Standard Bible

says it this way.

What I have entrusted to him.

The difference is this.

Not only does God

source me with salvation

and shower me with salvation,

he is the one

who secures my salvation.

It's not up to me

to hold it

and then to hang on

as tight as I can.

My salvation

rests in the power of God

to secure it.

You go down to verse 13.

We're still looking

that salvation

comes from God alone

in the faith and love

that are in Christ Jesus.

Verse 18.

May the Lord grant him,

O Neciferus,

to find mercy

from the Lord

on that day.

And then,

we're just going to do this.

Go to chapter 2.

Look at verse 10.

That they,

that is the elect,

may obtain the salvation

that is in Christ Jesus

with eternal glory.

In chapter 3,

verse 15.

For salvation

through faith

in Christ Jesus.

In chapter 4,

verse 8.

Henceforth,

there is laid up for me

the crown of righteousness.

The,

the laurel

of righteousness

and not my righteousness

but the righteousness

of Christ.

And how did I get it?

What does it say there?

It was awarded

to me.

It was given

to me

by my righteous judge

Jesus Christ

on that day.

And guys,

it's not because

I've earned it.

It's not because

of anything

I have done.

It is a free gift.

from our Savior

Jesus Christ.

Not to me only

but also to all

who love his appearing.

Timothy was well grounded

in the scriptures.

His theology

was pretty good.

But he still needed

to be reminded of this.

We all do.

There are times

in our lives

we take our eyes

off the Lord Jesus Christ

and we begin to look

at the circumstances

around us

and we begin to sink

like Peter did.

We begin to wonder

in doubt.

We all need

to be reminded.

By the way,

we live in a broken

sin infested world too.

But don't we rejoice

that we've been delivered

from this?

This darkness?

We've been freed

from the chains

of sin and death.

We've been rescued

out of the kingdom

of Satan.

We've been delivered

into the kingdom

of his dear son

Jesus Christ.

We've been made

children and heirs

of God our Father

and we're going to

spend eternity

with him.

That's good news.

That's great news.

Nevertheless,

we and our families

are not immune

to the heartaches

of this world

or the attacks

of the enemy

or even our own

tendencies.

just to doubt

and to wonder

and to wander.

Christ is our only hope

and his word

is our sure foundation.

Mothers,

believe this

for your own selves

and then gently

remind those

under your care

of the beauty

and the glory

of salvation

that comes through

Jesus Christ alone.

As Paul's considering

what he must tell

Timothy,

I think the second thing

I am reading through

this letter

is this.

The word of God

is our ultimate passion.

The word of God

is our ultimate passion.

Go back to chapter 1.

Look at verse 8 please.

Do not be ashamed

of the testimony

about our Lord.

The testimony

about our Lord,

that's the gospel message

of Jesus Christ.

That's the word of God.

Don't be ashamed.

To be ashamed

is to feel that guilt

or disgrace.

I think it also,

there's a measure

of fear

that comes

with being ashamed.

What's the opposite

of fear?

What is it

that casts out fear?

It's love.

Don't be ashamed

of the word of God.

Paul's going to use

this word a lot,

especially in this letter.

Love the word of God.

Love the God

of the word.

Don't be ashamed

of the testimony

about our Lord,

but share in suffering

for the gospel.

Look at verses 11

through 12

there in chapter 1.

For which I was appointed

a preacher

and apostle

and teacher,

which is why

I suffer as I do.

Here it is.

I am not ashamed.

Verse 13.

Follow the pattern

of sound words

that you have heard

from me.

That's the word of God.

In the faith

and love

that are in Christ Jesus.

Verse 14.

Guard the good deposit

entrusted to you.

Now this echoes

1 Timothy chapter 6

1 Timothy 6:20

verse 20.

Paul says there

in his first letter,

O Timothy,

Timothy,

guard that deposit

entrusted to you.

This is the deposit

coming from God

to Timothy.

It's not the same deposit

as in verse 12.

Here,

this deposit.

Commentators,

even MacArthur comments

and he says

this refers to the truth

of divine revelation.

God has entrusted

Timothy

with the truth

of God's word.

He is to care for it.

He is to protect it,

to guard it,

to keep it pure.

Chapter 1,

verses 16 through 18.

Let me just take a moment

to say this.

Sometimes, friends,

when you're pursuing

God and his word,

you can come to think

that am I the only one

doing this?

Am I in it by myself?

I would just encourage

you to look around.

But for Timothy,

Paul's going to give him

an illustration.

He says there,

in verses 16 through 18,

I want you to think

about somebody.

His name's Onesiphorus.

For he often refreshed me

and he was not ashamed,

there it is again,

of my chains.

But when he arrived in Rome,

he searched for me earnestly

and found me.

May the Lord grant him

to find mercy

from the Lord

on that day

and you well know

all the service

he rendered at Ephesus.

The Apostle Paul

had gone through a lot.

I mean,

you read his own writings

and he talks about

the shipwrecks

and the heartaches

and suffering

and the stonings

and I mean,

what a list.

What in the world

would then ever

refresh the Apostle Paul?

Here he is in chains.

I mean,

you're just talking about

a damp cloth

across the forehead?

I don't think so.

You're talking about

a pat on the back

and a word of encouragement?

I don't think so.

There is something

that I think Onesiphorus

used to refresh Paul

and I believe

it was the word of God.

That's the only thing

we can hope in

and rely in.

It reminds me of this.

You are not alone

in this pursuit.

Look at chapter 2,

verse 2.

What you have heard

from me

entrust to faithful men

who will be able

to teach others also.

And I can hear Timothy

saying,

yep,

that's my mom.

I didn't appreciate her

as much

when I was younger

but I'm so thankful

for her faithfulness

to the scriptures

and to me.

Mothers,

grandmothers,

it is never too late

to have this kind of passion

for God and his word.

I'm going to take a moment

to brag on my mother-in-law.

As she was approaching

her 80s,

she wanted to see

the scriptures afresh.

And so she committed

to reading through her Bible

once again

and this time

having the commentary

of Matthew Henry.

And she spent

three and a half years

going from Genesis

through Revelation.

and often

she would come to us

and she would just

share with joy

some of the nuggets

of truth

that she had learned

from God's word.

It is never too late

to come back to God

and say,

help me to see you

with fresh eyes,

with fresh faith.

Help me to see you

for who you truly are.

Help me to love your word

even more deeply.

In chapter 2,

verses 3 through 6,

what Paul's going to do

is change a little bit.

He's going to start

giving some metaphors,

some illustrations

of what it means

for those who are

passionate for their craft.

He wants to show Timothy,

you model this

just like these people

are doing.

And he gives,

first of all,

the good soldier.

This good soldier

is one who trains hard,

knowing there's an enemy

and that his own life

might be required

to protect others.

be passionate

for the word of God.

He then talks about

the crowned athlete,

one who's focused

and faithful

in developing their skill,

not allowing anything

to sidetrack them

in order to win the prize.

And this third one,

the hard-working farmer,

what a visionary.

He looks at an empty field

and he sees fruitfulness

for the coming season

even before he's sown.

He rises early

and he works late

to make this happen.

He trusts in God

who alone controls

the circumstances

and the elements.

Consider their sacrifice,

their effort,

their faith,

their focus.

Timothy,

be passionate like they are

for the word of God.

In my preparation for this,

I almost missed this.

There's really not just

three metaphors

and three illustrations.

There's a fourth one

and it starts in verse eight.

because what Paul does now

is he says this,

remember Jesus Christ.

Those were good,

but now let me give you

the best model

of someone

who is passionate

for the word of God.

It's the word of God,

the word incarnate himself.

Jesus Christ.

Timothy,

be passionate for his word.

Remember Jesus Christ

there in verse eight,

as preached in my gospel

for which I am suffering.

Bound with chains

is a criminal.

The word of God

is not bound.

Therefore,

I endure everything.

Timothy,

it's worth it.

He is worthy.

A familiar verse there

if you've been in Awana

in chapter two,

verse 15.

Do your best

to present yourselves

to God

as one approved.

This word approved

means tested by God

and found fit.

If you want to see

the opposite of that,

Titus chapter one,

verse 16.

There's a word there

that sometimes

is translated reprobate,

sometimes just unfit,

but it does mean

tested by God

and found unfit.

But here,

do your best

to present yourself

to God

as one who has been

tested by God,

found fit,

a worker who has no need,

again,

to be ashamed,

rightly handling

the word of truth.

Skip over to chapter three,

verse 10.

We're taking that thread

through this second letter.

You, however,

have followed my teaching,

my conduct,

my aim in life,

my faith,

my patience,

my love,

my steadfastness,

my persecutions

and sufferings

that happened to me

at Antioch.

And then skip down

to verse 14.

But as for you,

continue in what

you have learned

and affirmatively believed,

knowing from whom

you learned it

and how from childhood

you have been acquainted

with the sacred writings,

which are able

to make you wise

for salvation

through faith

in Christ Jesus,

all scripture

is breathed out

by God

and profitable

for teaching,

for reproof,

for correction,

for training

in righteousness

that the man of God

may be complete,

equipped for every

good work.

To be a complete man

or woman

for God,

it requires

the right handling

of the word of God,

allowing the spirit

of God

to use his word

to teach,

reprove,

correct,

train,

and equip us.

Friends,

to assume

that we

or our children

will ever be complete

by any other means

makes God a liar.

It has damnable

effects

in the lives

of people.

Is it a wonder

then that his final

word about this

is in chapter 4,

verse 2?

Paul says this

with such force,

preach the word,

herald the word,

be ready in season

and out of season,

reprove,

rebuke,

and exhort

with complete patience

and teaching.

You cannot do this

if you do not

have the scriptures

as your center

and Christ

is not your love.

Embrace them

by faith.

That third thread

I think

that we're going

to see

through this

second letter,

it's a bit somber.

It's closely related

to the second thread

and here it is.

Timothy,

beware of misplaced

passion

for something

other than God

and his word.

I'll say it again.

Beware of misplaced

passion

for something

other than God

and his word.

If you go back

to chapter 1,

look at verse 15.

Paul's going

to mention two people.

He says this,

you are aware

that all who are

in Asia

turned away from me

among whom

are Phygelus

and Hermogenes.

The word

turned away there,

that phrase,

it's a disloyal

desertion.

It's a treacherous

or a traitorous

abandonment.

it's saying,

I'm going to pursue

something else.

Something has captured

my attention

and it's not you,

God.

And it's not your word.

Go to chapter 2.

Look at verses 17

through 18.

Paul says this,

and their talk

will spread

like gangrene.

Among them

are Hymenaeus

and Philetus

who have swerved

from the truth.

The word

swerved

from the truth

means missed

the mark.

Something

has attracted

their attention.

Something

has

caused them

to leave

what is true

and they have

pursued

something else.

It wasn't

God

and it's

not the word

of God.

Chapter 3.

There's sort

of a lengthy

area here

verses 1

through 8.

I'm not going

to read the

whole thing.

Paul's going

to help

Timothy

understand

that in

the last

days

this is

what you

can expect.

He says

there in

verse 1

in the last

days

there will

come times

of difficulty

for people

will be

lovers of

self

lovers of

money

a little bit

later on

not loving

good

further on

lovers of

pleasure

rather than

lovers of

God

always learning

and never

able to

arrive at

a knowledge

of the

truth

just as

Janice and

Jambres

opposed

Moses

so these

men also

opposed

the truth

their

affection

was not

on God

and his

word

chapter 4

verse 2

a time's

coming

Timothy

when people

will not

endure

sound

teaching

that is

the word

of God

but having

itching

ears

they will

accumulate

for themselves

teachers

to suit

what

their own

passions

and will

turn away

from listening

to the

truth

and wander

off into

myths

I'm going

to ask

you

friends

what's

stealing

your

affection

today

what is

it that's

robbing

you of

making

Christ

and his

word

the most

important

thing

in your

life

what is

competing

for your

love

what's

taking

your

time

and your

joy

look down

at verse

nine

what a sad

commentary

on this

gentleman

I use

the word

gentleman

he did

follow

Paul

for a

while

Demas

in love

with this

present

world

has deserted

me

here's a

person

that followed

the apostle

Paul

that served

alongside

him

that

ministered

with him

says here

he loved

this present

world

his affection

turned

away

it swerved

away

don't

be like

this

don't

allow

competition

for your

love

to have

any

place

in your

hearts

and I

don't know

what that

means for

you

but I

believe

the Holy

Spirit

will bring

that to

your

attention

you know

this was

supposed to

be an

encouraging

message

I think

it is

there's so

much

that's so

rich here

I'm thinking

mothers

I hope

you've been

encouraged

this morning

see what

what God

did for

Timothy

here

he can do

for every

one of

your

children

no matter

no matter

how scarred

they are

by sin

no matter

the decisions

that they've

made

no matter

how rebellious

they've

been

the gospel

can change

their lives

embrace the

Lord and his

word with all

your hearts

teach his

principles

live by them

by faith

pray by

faith

like that

farmer

there is a

barren field

in front of

him but he

sees fruitfulness

goodness

because by

faith

he's trusting

that God's

going to bring

that about

work hard

at your

craft

don't get

sidetracked

can I give

you a

kind of a

Paul Harvey

rest of the

story moment

after my

mother passed

away

my father

sent me

something I

had never

seen before

my baby

book

didn't even

know I had

one

and in

it were

several

things like

how big

I was

how long

I was

how much

I weighed

and so on

but there was

also this

prayer

it goes like

this

dear Tommy

if anything

should ever

happen to

mommy and

daddy we

want you to

know that

we loved

you so

much

we love

each other

and are

very happy

we love

God and

know he

sent you

to us

we want

you to

love God

and pray

every day

read your

Bible and

ask God

to lead

you in

the right

way

and then

there was

more about

not drinking

and cussing

and going

out with

the girls

who do

but my

mother's

prayer

was that

her son

grows up

to love

God

and to

love his

word

sometimes

I wonder

if I'm

here today

because

my mother

prayed that

prayer

and God

answered

he can do

that for you

let's pray

father we're

all here

by the

grace of

God

all the

glory

all the

worth

belongs to

Jesus

Christ

there are

some

family members

that we

know

who know

who need

this gospel

and we

ask God

that in

gentleness

but also

in power

that your

word would

overwhelm them

with the

truths

that we

read here

in your

word

that they

would be

convicted

of their

sin

that you

would draw

them to

yourself

we have

neighbors

and co-workers

we have

friends

who don't

know the

Lord Jesus

and we

pray for

their

souls

God

save

them

we lift

them up

before you

God

even our

own lives

at times

we're such

wretches

we rebel

we wander

and stray

we find

affections

in other

things

would you

draw our

hearts back

to you

and what's

truly

important

loving you

and loving

your word

would you

do a

work in

us today

God

would you

revive our

hearts

we ask

this in

Jesus name

amen

you're

dismissed

thank you

Thank you.