Share in Suffering (2 Timothy 1:6-12)

400 years ago, 1628, John Bunyan was born.

Bunyan was born to a poor family near Bedford, England and he was

not well educated, but he was extremely rebellious.

He was known especially for his frequent cursing.

By age 16 he joined the army and he fought in the English Civil

War. By 1646, he was discharged after

a near death experience and the following year he got married

and that's really when everything in his life started

to change. We don't know the name of

Bunyan's wife, but we know these newlyweds were dirt, were

absolutely dirt poor. Any newlyweds out there know

what that's like? Bunyan said.

We didn't have so much household stuff as a dish or a spoon

between us. That's not much.

But his wife did bring into marriage two books.

There were two Puritan books. And Bunyan read the books and he

was convicted of his sin. So he started attending church,

and he tried to stop cursing. After months of attending his

parish church, he actually met some women from another church.

He came across them and he heard how they joyfully and zealously

talked about Jesus Christ. And that's when Bunyan realized

through their spiritual conversation that he was lost,

that he had no joy, that he had no Christ.

So in 1651, those women introduced Bunyan to their

pastor, John Gifford. And it was Gifford that God used

to lead Bunyan to repent of his sins and to believe in Jesus

Christ. Eventually, Bunyan and his wife

and he had four little children, would have moved to Bedford to

where they'd become a member of Giffords Church.

He was a member there and soon after he became a Deacon.

And then just a little later he started preaching and then he

started writing and he wrote a lot.

He published over 50 books, 50 books.

You might be familiar with one of them.

His most famous one is called The Pilgrim's Progress.

That book, Pilgrim's Progress might be one of the most famous

books ever written in English during his own lifetime.

It sold over 100,000 copies. Today, over 250 million copies

have been sold. In fact, since it's been in

print, which was way back in 1677, it's never been out of

print. Friends, you should read it.

Kids, I hope your parents have read it to you.

If not, ask them to buy you a copy of Pilgrim's Progress and

to read it with you. Pilgrim's Progress is an

allegorical retelling of the Christian life.

The main character's name is Christian, and he's on a journey

from the city of Destruction, the world to heaven, which

Bunyan calls the Celestial City. But there's many troubles along

the way. In 1688, Bunyan made it to the

Celestial City. He caught a fever, and he died

soon after. But before he died, his friends

gathered around his deathbed, and Bunyan encouraged them.

He encouraged them, and he told them that his greatest desire

was to be with Christ. And when he died, he lifted his

arms to heaven, and he cried out.

Take me, for I come to thee. And Bunyan finished his race.

He entered glory. His faith became sight.

How can we finish the race? How can we cross that finish

line and enter the Celestial City and see our Savior?

Friends, if you have your Bible, please turn to Second Timothy,

2 Timothy 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1. If you don't have a Bible, maybe

you forgot one. Maybe you don't even own one.

Just raise your hand now. Somebody would be glad to bring

you a Bible so you can follow along in the text.

We're in second Timothy. If you're not familiar with the

Bible, those big numbers, those are the chapters and the little

numbers, those are the verses. We're in Second Timothy, chapter

2 Timothy 1:6–12

1, verses 6 to 12. This is the Apostle Paul's last

letter. It's a letter he wrote to

Timothy from a Roman prison while he awaited his execution.

And with his final words, the apostle Paul assures us in

chapter 4, I have fought the good fight.

I have finished the race. I have kept the faith as I read

verses 6 to 12. Hear the word of the Lord.

For this reason I remind you to fan and to flame the gift of

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

For God gave us a spirit, not a fear, but of power and love and

self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of

the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his 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 has 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, an 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'm convinced that he is able to

guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

Here's the Apostle Paul's invitation this morning.

Share in suffering for the gospel.

That's his invitation to you, believer.

Share in suffering for the gospel.

It's it's a striking it. And if we're honest, it's a

strange invitation. Share in suffering.

Who? Who wants to share in suffering?

If you're not a believer in Jesus, I want you to see that if

you want to follow Jesus, following Jesus comes with a

cross. The gospel entails suffering,

and I want you to see this morning that Jesus is worth

suffering for. That's what the apostle Paul

tells us with his last words. There's three points to the

sermon. If you're following along, .1 is

the gospel invites suffering, .1 verses 6-8 the gospel invites

suffering. Look at verse 6.

For this reason, Paul writes to Timothy, I remind you to fan

into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the

laying on of my hands. If you remember last week in

verses 3 to 5, Paul remembered Timothy's sincere faith.

His grandmother and his mother taught him about the Lord, and

Timothy ministered alongside Paul for over 15 years and

Timothy's pastoring the church in Ephesus.

But his service to God is not finished.

So now Paul reminds him to fan into flame the gift of God.

What is this gift of God that Timothy has?

I think the gift is Timothy's pastor.

In other words, Paul's referring to Timothy's installation as a

pastor. Notice Paul says it's in him

through the laying on of Paul's hands.

That was a pattern recognizing leaders by laying hands on them.

It was a pattern that was seen in the Old Testament.

In the book of Numbers, Moses is transitioning leadership to

Joshua and in Numbers 27 the Lord tells him, take Joshua, a

man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.

And this was done publicly, it was done before the whole camp

of Israel. And that pattern in the Old

Testament continues in the New Testament.

In Acts 6, when the Church of Jerusalem recognizes these proto

deacons, they prayed and they laid their hands on them.

In Acts 13 when the church at Antioch commissions Paul and

Barnabas for missions for church planning, they laid their hands

on them and they sent them off. And that's why in First Timothy

4, Paul previously tells Timothy, don't neglect the gift

you have which is in you, which was given to you by prophecy

when the council of elders laid their hands on you.

It's also why Paul warns Timothy in First Timothy 5.

He says don't be hasty in the laying on of hands, meaning

don't be hasty in appointing new elders.

And that's exactly what you witnessed earlier in the service

here with me. Ashok and Brandon laid hands on

me as a public recognition of something the congregation

affirmed last week in a vote. But some Baptist churches

understand the pastor it a little differently.

They might understand as a permanent role.

Once you become a pastor, you're always pastor.

You know, you could be a pastor even if you're not a pastor of

any specific church. And the Roman Catholic Church

and some Anglican churches also understand this laying on of

hands a little differently. They would say that those set

apart for ministry are understood to receive some

special grace from God for that ministry.

But the pattern in the New Testament is that the ability to

hold the office of pastor depends on just two things.

One, well, the man has to meet the qualifications.

Those are listed out in first and V3 and in Titus 1 he has to

meet those. And then second, a congregation

has to affirm that man as their pastor.

That's it, those two things. So the laying on of hands is not

when some special grace is imparted to a man for pastoral

ministry. It's when the congregation

affirms the work of the Holy Spirit in a man's life.

But how do all these things work?

You have the elders and you have the congregation, and then you

have the Spirit. We get a little picture in Acts

20. In Acts 20, Paul's addressing

the Ephesian elders, and there he says to the Ephesian elders,

the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.

How does it all work? Well, it's in many ways the same

as it's worked in our church. The elders lead Brandon Ashok,

we're leading in the process. And then the congregation

affirms what the spirits doing. That's how it all plays

together. So basically Paul is saying

here, Timothy, don't neglect your pastoral ministry.

Don't slack on your teaching. Pay attention to your preaching.

He says, fan it into flame. And in that sense, pastoral

ministry is much like a muscle. If you work out, which I'm sure

some of some of you do, what happens when you skip the gym

for a week? Well, not a lot happens.

Actually. You don't really notice

anything. But what if you stay away for a

month, or a year or a decade? Your muscles that you work so

hard to get will wither away. You'll grow weak.

Your muscles will atrophy. Or, to use Paul's analogy,

ministry is like a fire. What happens if you start a fire

but you don't tend to it? Well, nothing happens

immediately, but eventually, if you do nothing, if you don't

stoke the flames, eventually the fire dies out.

It grows cold. So Paul tells Timothy, fan it

into flame. Exercise your pastoral muscles.

It's very similar to what he charged Timothy in First Timothy

for there. He said, practice these things,

immerse yourself in them so that all may see your progress.

Perhaps you have been going to the gym and you've been working

hard and then months later someone looks at you and goes,

you look different, something's different about you.

Have you been working out? They notice it.

The exact same thing is supposed to happen with your pastors.

They should grow. They've not arrived.

So your pastor that you have today, like me and Ashok and

Brandon, five years from now, 10 years from now, if we're still

pastoring, by God's grace, you should say you've made some

progress. Your preaching's gotten better,

your praying is more edifying. You're more wise today.

That's the work of the Spirit, and we have a role to play in

it. Fan it into flame and Paul

charges Timothy. He grounds the charge in verse

7, the gift of God's spirit. Look at verse 7, for God gave us

a spirit, not a fear, but of power and love and self-control.

Notice those three things, Power, love, self-control.

Those are things that all Christians possess by the

Spirit. Jesus promised the apostles you

will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.

And then we see in Galatians 5, the fruit of every Christian by

the Spirit is, among other things, love and self-control.

So Timothy, by God's Spirit, is equipped with everything he

needs for faithful and fruitful ministry.

But Timothy faces a challenge in ministry, which is really the

challenge of every pastor. Cowardice.

That's what Paul refers to in that phrase.

God gave us a spirit, not a fear.

He's not talking about fear alone, but a fear that makes you

freeze, a fear that stops you in your tracks when you're supposed

to act in the face of danger. Perhaps you've been in a

situation like that. A dangerous situation arises and

you just freeze. You don't know what to do, so

you do nothing. Pastors can't be cowards, but

that's the temptation and we get it because no one wants to be on

a church members bad side. No one wants to have that hard

conversation. No one wants to confront those

false teachers or that false teaching.

But if a pastor lacks courage, if they fail to act, who suffers

for it? The congregation.

Pastors must take on trouble to spare the congregation from

trouble. It's not that pastors must be

fearless, like they never have any fears or they're never

anxious about anything. They must be courageous in the

face of those fears. Jesus gives us a picture of

pastoral ministry in John chapter 10.

John 10 · chapter mention

He shows the difference between a shepherd and a hired hand.

When trouble comes, when there's wolves attacking the flock, what

does a hired hand do? They flee, but a shepherd

doesn't, and Jesus gives himself as a picture of a faithful

shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep church.

Pray that God would give your pastors even more courage.

Pray that we would fear God and not fear you.

Pray that we wouldn't check it out when God calls us to step

up. Brothers who aspire to pastor

you desire a noble task. Keep making progress in your

teaching. Be a man of courage in a world

of cowards. But notice that Paul's focus is

not just on courage. It's also love and self-control.

Meaning that if you want a pastor, you must be courageous,

but you cannot be careless. You must be careful with the

sheep. Every action must be constrained

by love for the sheep and love for the Lord.

You must be compassionate and tender.

You must be able to restore sinners in a spirit of

gentleness. Church, look for elders.

Look for men who are courageous and careful.

Those are the men you want to shepherd your soul.

Now in verse 8, Paul gives Timothy his invitation.

Look at verse 8. Therefore, do not be ashamed of

the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but

share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.

It's because Timothy has the Spirit that he must not be

ashamed of the gospel, and he must not be ashamed of gospel

workers, gospel workers like Paul, who Withers away in

prison. Instead, he must share, he must

participate. He must join Paul and Jesus

Christ in suffering for the gospel.

His willingness to suffer for the gospel is actually evidence

and proof that he's not ashamed of the gospel.

Now put yourself in Timothy's shoes.

You can imagine how tempting and convenient it would have been to

just forget about Paul, who's in prison, 1600 miles separate

them. There's no FaceTime.

There's just letters that you can send, and it will take

months to get to its destination.

It would have been easy. And in fact, that's what many of

Paul's ministry associates did in his final hour.

Paul says in First and Second Timothy, many of them deserted

him, but not Timothy. And so Paul reminds Timothy to

share in his suffering. He reminds Timothy that he has

the power of God, that God has given him the Spirit to do the

very work required of him. Now you might wonder, what

difference does the Spirit make to share in suffering?

Remember the apostle Peter at Jesus Christ's arrest, a servant

girl asked him, weren't you with Jesus?

Peter said, don't know him. Another servant girl sees him

later and she says to everyone, hey, that man, he was with

Jesus. But this time, Peter says with

an oath. I don't know the man. 1/3 time

someone says to Peter, I can tell by your accent you're one

of his followers. And this time Peter invokes a

curse on himself, and he swears I don't know the man. 3 denials

When it came to suffering with the suffering servant, Peter was

ashamed. But that was Peter before he

received the Spirit of God. After receiving the Spirit at

Pentecost. It was Peter who powerfully

preached at Pentecost. And it was Peter who is charged

not to speak in the name of Jesus.

But he said we cannot speak of what we have seen and heard.

And it was Peter who told the high priest himself who charged

him not to preach Christ. We must obey God rather than men

empowered by the Spirit. Peter shared in suffering for

his Savior. That's what God's Spirit

produces in his people. He empowers us and he enables us

to not be ashamed of the gospel, but to share in suffering for

the gospel. Now, friends, we should always

feel shame when we sin. We should never feel shame for

the gospel. But if we're honest, each of us

are far more sensitive to the court of public opinion than

we'd like to admit. Don't you find that to be true

in your own life? We feel pressure come people's

opinions and we're tempted to cave.

We sense shame for what we think or believe.

We want to shy away. Christian, how are you tempted

to feel shame for the gospel? Could it be that shame is what's

keeping you from sharing the gospel with your neighbors

because you're fearful of what they might think about you?

Or could it be that shame's keeping you from acknowledging

Christ at your workplace because you're afraid you might miss a

promotion? Or could it be that shame is

keeping you from boldness with your family because you're

worried you're nervous about what they might say behind your

back? Ask yourself this.

Why am I excessively sensitive to the opinions of others?

What do my fears say about me and about what I prioritize and

ask God for help? Turn to him humbly.

He sent you, the Spirit, to be your helper.

On your own. You can do nothing to fight your

fears, But you, believer, have the power of God by the Spirit

of God. So ask that God might stretch

out his mighty hand and free you from your fears so that you can

share in suffering for the gospel.

It's the gospel that Paul turns in verses 9 and 10.2.

The gospel is worth our suffering.

The gospel is worth our suffering.

In verses 9 and 10, Paul really double clicks on that word

that's in verse eight. Look at verse 8.

There's the word, the gospel. He double clicks on it.

And so as we stare at these verses, verses 9 and 10, I just

want you to let the good news soak in.

He says God 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 has been manifested through the appearing

of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolish death and brought life

and immortality to light through the gospel.

What is the gospel? That is the most important

question you can ask, and Paul gives us the answer in verses 9

and 10. It's how God save sinners.

Verse 9 he tells us how. Verse 10 He tells us why.

Flip that. In verse 9 He tells us why.

In verse 10 He tells us how First, why.

Why does God save sinners? Look carefully at verse 9.

Notice what the answer is not. It is not because of our works.

Did you see that, friends? Look, look at verse 9.

Not because of our works. God does not save sinners

because of their good works. God doesn't save sinners because

they try their best. God doesn't save sinners because

they do their best. God doesn't save sinners because

of anything they've done at all, which is the opposite message of

every major religion. The message of every major

religion is you must do something to be saved.

That's the message of Islam. Islam teaches you must follow

the five pillars. Declare that there is no God but

God and that Muhammad is his prophet.

Say your prayers five times a day.

Give to the poor, fast during Ramadan, travel, make your trip

up to Mecca. That's the message of Hinduism.

Hinduism teaches karma, that your deeds become your destiny,

that what goes around comes around, that you need to do

enough good deeds to liberate you from the endless cycle of

rebirth. It's the message of Roman, an

Eastern Orthodoxy, which teach that there's grace, but you must

also work. You must do good works, which

together the grace and your good works participate for your

salvation. In other words, every major

religion is a message of self help.

Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.

Fake it till you make it garbage.

That's what Paul's assessment is.

He says he'll have none of it. He says not because of our

works, kids. That means that going to church

won't save you, or being born in a Christian family won't save

you, or reading your Bible enough won't save you, or

obeying your parents won't save you.

God won't save you because of anything you've done.

So we have to ask Paul, why then does God save sinners?

He says in verse 9, because because of his own purpose and

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

began. Christian, on what does your

salvation depend? Not your works, but God's grace.

Not you, but God. Trace the timeline of your

salvation. How far back do you need to go?

Paul says before the ages began. Well, how far back is that?

Go to your date of birth. You have to keep going.

Go back hundreds of years after that, you need to keep going.

Go back another thousand years after that and you need to keep

going. Go back before time itself

began. OK, now we're there.

And what exactly were you doing way back then?

Nothing. Don't you see Paul's point?

When you trace the river of your salvation to its source, it will

not lead to you or to your works, but to God and His grace.

God is the one who calls sinners.

God is the one who chooses sinners.

God is the one who saves sinners.

So salvation does not depend on human effort or initiative or

merit at all. It depends on God.

He chooses, He saves, He calls. That's why God saves, because of

his purpose, because of his grace.

But how? How does God save?

Look at verse 10. How does God save sinners?

Paul says, and which now has been manifested through the

appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and

brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

When you trace the river of your salvation to its source, it will

lead you to Christ, to grace that's given in Christ Jesus in

eternity before the ages began appeared 2000 years ago when our

Savior Christ Jesus was born. Sin brought death and judgement

into the world, and since we're all sinners, we each deserve

death and judgement. But when Christ came into the

world, he abolished death and brought life and immortality to

light. Through his death and

resurrection, he received the eternal judgement that sinners

deserve, and he defeated death and gave eternal life to

undeserving sinners. That's what happened on the

cross. He died for sinners and had his

resurrection. He rose for sinners, and it's

all grace. It's not because of works, it's

God's work. It's not ours, friends.

That is the Apostle Paul's unpacking of that little word

gospel. There's a scene in the movie

Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, which I think depicts

this very well. It's the scene, the Battle of

Helms D If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about.

King Theoden and his people are being attacked by an army of

orcs. They're in a mountain fortress

with a huge wall between them and an ocean of enemies.

And on the 5th day of this siege, the wall breaks, the

enemies flood in, and it seems like all is lost.

It seems like this is the end. But the wizard Gandalf told one

of them, look to my coming at first light on the 5th day at

dawn, look to the east. And it's just when you think

it's all lost that Aragorn looks up to the Ridge on the east and

the sun begins to rise and peek through, and there's Gandalf

with an army to save them all from their enemies.

If you're not a believer. When it seems like all hope is

lost when Christ is crucified, when he's died and darkness

descends in Jerusalem and he's in the grave for three days and

all his followers are mourning because they think it's over.

It's then that life and immortality are brought to light

through the gospel. Because on Sunday, on the third

day, Christ rises from the grave and that's when the enemies are

defeated forever. If you're not a believer, do you

see the light dawning in the darkness?

Do you feel the warmth of Christ's love for sinners?

Do you understand? Do you believe that there's

nothing you can do to save yourself?

You contribute nothing, but Christ has done it all by grace.

Will you this morning leave behind your sin and trust in

Jesus Christ for salvation? Church, If there's no gospel,

there's no light, and there's no life without Christ, we'd be

walking in darkness today. Or, CS Lewis said it would

remain always winter but never Christmas.

But the light has dawned and death has been defeated, and

Christ has risen victorious. Which is why you and I need the

gospel preached to us every single week.

Think about this for a moment. The apostle Paul ministered

alongside Timothy for over 15 years.

Timothy was even a pastor of the church at Ephesus.

And yet here Paul reminds Timothy of the gospel because in

the face of suffering, he needed a reminder of what he was

suffering for. And that's a reminder each of us

need. We need to be regularly reminded

of why God saved us and how God saved us.

And we need to regularly remind one another that this gospel is

worth suffering for. In fact, this gospel is the very

motivation to share in suffering.

It was Paul's motivation, which we'll see in point 3.3.

Our suffering can't stop the gospel.

Friends, I want you to see how this passage fits together.

In verse 8, Paul challenges Timothy.

Timothy, don't be ashamed. Share in suffering for the

gospel. And then in the middle verses,

verses 9 and 10, you have the gospel that's worth suffering

for. Here we are.

Now in verses 11 and 12, Paul does not issue a challenge.

He comforts Timothy. He puts his arm around Timothy.

He says to Timothy, Timothy, I've suffered too.

I'm not ashamed. God's going to take care of

everything. Verses 11 and 12 look at verse

11. Paul says, for which I was

appointed A preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I

suffer as I do. God's the one who appointed Paul

to his ministry. He appointed him to be a

preacher and teacher and apostle of the gospel.

Remember back to Acts 9, which was read early in the service.

Paul was promised suffering. Jesus told Ananias that Paul was

his chosen instrument. He said I will show him how much

he must suffer for the sake of my name.

Christian, do you see the intrinsic connection between

preaching the gospel and suffering for the gospel?

That's what Christ promised Paul.

That's what Paul knew himself by experience.

Paul does not then ask Timothy to do something that he's not

willing to do himself. He practices what he preaches.

He preaches and that is why he suffers.

Brothers and sisters, we need to set our expectations of the

Christian life accordingly. Following Jesus is costly.

Christians and non Christians like face God's bitter

Providence, sickness, the loss of a job.

But suffering for the gospel is exclusive to following Jesus

Christ. For following Jesus Christ comes

with a cross, and sharing the gospel invites suffering itself.

It is why Paul suffers, but he's not ashamed.

Verse 12. I'm not ashamed, for I know whom

I have believed, and I'm convinced that he is able to

guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

Notice Paul's great confidence in prison.

I know whom I have believed. He's met Jesus Christ.

He's believed in Jesus Christ. He's not ashamed of Jesus

Christ. And notice what Paul's convinced

of in prison. He's convinced that God is able

to guard what's been entrusted to him.

What has God entrusted Paul with?

The gospel. He's been entrusted with the

gospel. Yes, his life is in danger, and

he does trust God with his life also.

But it's the gospel that's his focus, and it's the gospel that

Paul believes is in good hands. And notice what day is on Paul's

mind in prison That day. Yes, he's going to be executed

shortly. Perhaps he already knows when

that's coming. That's not the day he's thinking

of. He's thinking of the final day

when Christ returns. Christ, second coming and final

judgement. That's where Paul's mind is.

That's where his heart is here in his last days in prison.

Back in college, the Burtons got me into rock climbing.

I started rock climbing. I'd go down to Arkansas and go

to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch and there I would climb these 30

foot tall cliffs. And I'm personally afraid of

heights. Rock climbing was one thing that

helped me with that. You get to the top and you need

to clip into anchors. You know, you bring the rope up

yourself. There's these little bolts in

the mountain and you have clips, and every 5 to 8 feet or so you

clip in so that if you fall, you only fall a few feet.

But when you get to the very top, there's these anchors you

need to clip in. And to clip into the anchors,

you have these slings. There are these little cords

this big, less than half an inch thick, and you just take those

two things, you clip them in and then that's it.

Those will hold you. And then you need to feed the

rope in, use your hands. So there's a moment you have to

clip in with the slings and then lean back on them 30 feet in the

air and then use your hands to feed the rope through.

Imagine if you were the one up there. 30 feet in the air and

you've got the clips and it's your first time.

Your slings are on the anchors, but you're a little nervous, as

I can imagine. I've been there.

What encouragements might I yell up your way to get you to

actually let go and lean back? I might tell you, hey, those

little half inch thick slings, they can withstand 11

kilonewtons of force. And you might just stare at me

blankly like you're doing now and I might tell you that's 2500

lbs of force. You know, that's those slings

can hold a small car. You can lean back.

You can trust them. Just do it, lean back.

But the truth is, and maybe you'd know this, the truth is

that even those little slings which can withstand 2500 lbs of

force, well, that's just £2500. There's a breaking point.

There is a point where if you lean back hard enough or

something happened, or you did put a small car there and it was

2600 lbs, those slings would just snap.

You can be confident in them, but only to a certain point.

They're strong, but they have limits.

Friends, the apostle Paul in prison, look where his strength

relies. He says God is able.

He is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to

me. He is able.

The apostle all sits in prison with his life on the line.

He remembers that God is able. That's his confidence.

He serves the God who is the Almighty.

He's all powerful. The Old Testament Saints called

him Psalm 46. One our strength.

There's no limit to his power. There's never a single moment

where he's exhausted, Isaiah declared of him, He does not

faint or grow weary. And Jeremiah said, Lord, nothing

is too hard for you. That is our God.

He's able. There's no limits, yet there's

infinite power, which means you and I and our church can have

great confidence as we look to the future of gospel ministry.

Because God is able. We have nothing to worry about.

God is able. We can labor and toil and then

relax and rest because God is able.

We can even share in suffering and take on suffering and trust

that God is able. He is able, called, suffered in

prison, He suffered for the preaching of the gospel.

And he invites Timothy and he invites us to do the same, to

share in suffering for the gospel.

In 1661, John Bunyan was arrested for preaching the

gospel. They threw him into prison, and

they told him that if he wanted to be set free, all he had to do

was stop, stop preaching the gospel, and they're at home.

He had his wife and his four kids, and his first daughter was

blind. They needed his help.

And yet, Bunyan replied, if I'm free today, I will preach

tomorrow. So he remained in prison for a

total of over 12 years. Those days were particularly

hard and painful as he was separated from his family, but

he endured. It was in prison, actually, when

he wrote his famous Pilgrim's Progress.

At one point in Pilgrim's Progress, Christian, the main

character, meets another character named Faith.

And Christian asks Faith about shame, the shame that we might

feel for following Jesus Christ and for suffering for Jesus

Christ. And Faith tells Christian what

God says is best is best, though all the men in the world are

against it, seeing that they make themselves fools.

For the Kingdom of heaven are the wisest, and that the poor

man that loveth Christ is richer than the greatest man in the

world that hates him. Shame depart.

Thou art an enemy to my salvation.

Brothers and sisters, when you're faced with suffering for

Jesus Christ, let's say with Bunyan shame, depart.

Let's share in suffering for the gospel.

Let's pray, Father, we pray that you'd fill us up with the Spirit

so that we can stomach these difficult truths, so that we can

share in suffering for the very gospel that saves us.

And Lord, help us trust that you are the one who's able to guard

until that day what you've entrusted to our church.

We pray in Jesus name, Amen.