Strength to Suffer

Alright, so we are back into 2 Timothy.

So if you have your Bible, you can open it up to 2 Timothy.

And we're in chapter 2 this morning.

And we're looking at the first seven verses of chapter 2 here this morning.

Let me just read it for us and then we'll dive straight into things here.

So Paul's writing to Timothy and he says,

No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.

Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor's crown except by competing according to the rules.

The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.

Reflect on what I'm saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

So the Apostle Paul is continuing to give instruction to the younger Timothy.

And we see here this morning that there are four imperatives, four commands, four instructions.

And we're just going to work our way through these things one at a time.

And the first one we find is right up at the top in verse 1.

Paul says,

Now why does Paul say this?

What does Timothy need strength for?

Well, Paul has just finished giving examples of other believers in the previous verses.

Some who have turned their backs on him and are ashamed of his chains.

And the example of one man in his household who has stayed true to Paul and to the Lord.

Onesiphorus.

All of this is with persecution going on.

And we noticed a couple weeks ago that both of these are examples of men that Timothy knows right there from his own province.

His own region.

So Timothy and the household of Onesiphorus, they're living in the midst of a province where the majority of Christians have turned their backs on Paul.

And Paul has been writing to Timothy up until this point in this letter, urging him not to give in to fear.

Not to let his spiritual gift go unused.

He's been urging Timothy not to be ashamed of the gospel.

And then he gave these examples of these men.

Some have turned away.

And the household of Onesiphorus, which has stayed true.

And so this is what Timothy needs strength for.

You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

Be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

So Timothy needs strengthening from God.

In order to persevere.

In order to keep on preaching.

In order to keep on teaching about Jesus while he's surrounded by opposition.

He needs strengthening from God to keep going while the majority of the Christians in the province are floundering in their faith.

Paul's reminding Timothy here that even though things are really difficult,

Timothy, you're not alone.

It's not just up to you and your own resources and your own strength.

There is strength.

There is power.

There is help to be found.

And it's look to heaven, Timothy.

That's where you'll find it.

Be strengthened in the grace of God that is in Christ Jesus.

Look to him.

Well, what is grace?

Grace, by definition, is that unmerited goodness or favor of God.

And we notice here that Paul is not so specific about this.

He just says, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

And so Timothy might be thinking, well, what grace is that?

We might be thinking the same thing.

What is the grace that is in Christ Jesus?

And as I was thinking about that this week, I thought, maybe that's the point.

Maybe he had deliberately left it unspecific so that we would begin to ask the question,

what grace of God is there for us in Christ Jesus?

What goodness, what blessing, what undeserved favor, what help comes to us through Christ Jesus?

And I think as we start to think about that, we realize that that's a long list.

And forgiveness is just one of the things on the list.

We might wonder, Paul, are you telling Timothy that he should be strengthened in the grace that's already shown through Christ Jesus?

Like, look back on what Christ did for you when he lived among us and when he died for us.

Or are you telling Timothy to be strengthened in the grace that God gives us right now in the present?

Like the day-to-day meeting of our needs and help and sustaining that he does by his spirit who lives in us.

Or are you talking about the grace that God intends to give us in the future?

The hope of resurrection, eternal life, heaven.

And I think Paul might have left it open so that Timothy and we might reflect on all of it.

Past, present, and future grace.

All the good things that are given to us freely and generously as gifts from God through our relationship with King Jesus.

And when we begin to reflect on all of these things, when we begin to fix our eyes on these things and trust in these things with all our heart,

that's when we are strengthened.

That's how we are strengthened.

The countless gifts of God's grace that are ours in Christ Jesus give us strength to face whatever challenges,

whatever hardships, whatever difficulties come our way in life.

And sometimes when those things come, it's just easy to lose our way, lose our focus, lose our sight.

But when the going gets tough, don't forget, Timothy.

Take courage, take strength in remembering all that God has given in his son, through his son to us.

This is going to help you stay true.

This is going to help you walk faithfully.

So that's the first imperative.

Very simply, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

Next, in verse 2, Paul says,

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses,

entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.

And Paul, we heard something similar to this already back in chapter 1 just a couple weeks ago.

Let's look back for a second to verse 13 and 14 of chapter 1.

Paul said there,

What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching.

Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you.

Guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

And we talked about how that good deposit is the gospel.

It is the teaching that has come from Christ through the apostles to us and to Timothy.

Well, here again in verse 2, Paul's saying it again.

He's saying,

I know it says people on screen there, but men is going to be the better translation.

We've talked about this looking at some of the other epistles and letters.

The word is masculine.

It's men.

You can blame the translation.

I won't be offended.

So, here he says it again.

The things you have heard me say and trust to reliable men.

So, let's hear this again.

Timothy's not to come up with his own original teaching.

He is to carefully and faithfully pass on the things that he has heard from Paul.

Paul is the apostle of Christ Jesus.

It's Paul that speaks authoritatively on behalf of Jesus himself.

And so, Timothy's job is to just take those things that he has heard through the apostle, through Paul, and pass them on.

This ought to be the role of the teachers and the preachers in the church.

Simply to pass on the things that Paul has said and taught.

Because Paul was speaking on behalf of Christ.

We're not looking to reinvent.

We're not looking to refresh.

We're not looking to change the teaching of the church from generation to generation.

Because what we have here in the apostles' own words is the good deposit.

It is the blueprint for sound teaching that's been given to us.

And so, we need to follow this blueprint.

We need to teach these same things from generation to generation.

And not just try to come up with our own new thoughts, new ideas.

But we do notice at least one new emphasis of Paul here.

The things you've heard me say in the presence of many witnesses.

Entrust those things to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.

So, don't just guard it.

Don't just keep it.

Don't just teach it to everyone.

But specifically, be sure, Timothy, that you teach these words, this truth of Jesus,

to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach it to others.

This is a bit of a new focus in this epistle.

So, Timothy's not just done his job by getting up on Sunday morning and giving a good sermon from what Paul has taught him.

It's also his job to see that this teaching is passed on to others who will then be able to teach it to others, to still others.

This is one of the evidences that the time of the apostles was drawing to a close.

That God didn't intend to send and gift apostles through every generation right up until today.

What is the succession plan for Paul?

I mean, he's near the end here.

He's soon to die.

Paul doesn't say, Timothy, when I die, Jesus is going to make you an apostle.

And then speak directly through you, just as he has through me.

He didn't say, Timothy, when I die, God's going to raise up a new generation of apostles.

And you should listen to them because they are going to speak directly on behalf of Jesus, just like Jesus has through me.

No.

If that was the case, there'd be no need to guard this good deposit and be so careful to entrust it from generation to generation to reliable men who are able to teach it to others.

No, it seems that God's plan was that the time of the apostles would draw to a close.

It would come to an end and that for the generations that would follow, we would just keep passing on these same words, this same good deposit from generation to generation, from reliable men to reliable men and so on and so forth.

Notice Paul's double emphasis on the quality of the men.

Entrust to reliable, or as another translation says, faithful men, that's probably more literal.

Entrust to faithful men.

These are to be trustworthy men.

Men who can be depended on and counted on.

This brings to mind the words that Paul wrote to Timothy in the first letter, which we looked at a while back, about elders and how they must be men of proven character.

They must be men of integrity.

They must be faithful to their wives.

Faithful overseers of their own households.

Faithful in their interactions with outsiders.

And, remember back then in 1 Timothy, elders are to be able to teach.

It also brings to mind the words Paul wrote to Titus about elders, where he said that they must be men who hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught,

so that they in turn can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

So, entrust these words to faithful men.

Men of good, godly character.

But also men who will be qualified, who will be literally able to teach others.

This is the plan of God for his word.

For his gospel to be passed on from generation to generation.

Not new apostles in every generation, but faithful men in every generation.

Passing the words of the apostles on to faithful men, who are then able to teach it to others.

And it just keeps going on and on, from generation to generation.

Which means that we need to not be just concerned about having a pastor.

And keeping a pastor.

So that the teaching of our church will be good.

But we need to be concerned about training up new elders.

New pastors.

New teachers for the generations that will follow ours.

And there are a few different ways to do this.

One of those ways is through supporting Bible colleges and seminaries.

Training up faithful men who are able to teach is not an easy thing.

And so that's probably why we do this.

We partner together as churches and support our Bible colleges and seminaries.

And some of them do a very good job.

That's one way we can do it.

But we can and we should also do this within the local church.

Perhaps in our Christian culture we've maybe gone a little bit too far

into this idea that the teachers in the church must be professionals.

Must be the paid pastor who has completed at least four years of theological study in a good Bible college.

I mean think about this.

How many Bible colleges were there in Timothy's day in the province of Asia

that he could send his faithful men to where they could become able to teach?

We can and we should be doing this within the local church.

Nurturing, growing, encouraging faithful men into able teachers for future generations.

We often lament the decline that we see in various denominations and churches around us here in North America.

Could it be that one of the big factors in some of those stories is simply a failure

to entrust the good deposit to reliable men who were able to teach?

So let's continue to support our Bible colleges.

But let's also look to the men among us.

God is calling all of us as men, at the least, to be faithful men.

Men of character and integrity.

And from among those who are faithful, some must rise to the challenge of teaching others.

And so may the Lord give us courage.

May the Lord give us wisdom to know how and who in our little local church here.

So this is the second imperative.

Entrust the things that you have heard me say to faithful men who will be able to teach others.

The third imperative comes in verse 3.

Paul says, join with me in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

This is now the second time that Paul has called Timothy to suffer with him.

Look back to chapter 1, verse 8.

Whoa, I got the wrong verse on screen there.

It should be 2 Timothy.

But if you look in your Bible, 2 Timothy 1, verse 8, Paul says,

2 Timothy 1:8

Join with me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.

So are we noticing a theme here?

Are we noticing an emphasis?

Do these words make you squirm a bit?

Join with me in suffering.

It's not every day a person earnestly pleads with you to suffer with them.

That's exactly what Paul, though, is saying here to Timothy.

Paul is under heavy fire from his opponents because of his preaching the name of Jesus.

He's firmly in their sights.

He's in their crosshairs.

The first big Roman trial in the sequence that will lead to his death has happened.

And what's Paul asking Timothy?

He's saying, come stand with me here in the crosshairs.

Here in the sights of these opponents where I am under heavy fire.

Come into the trench with me.

It's a big ask of Timothy.

But let's not forget the first imperative.

There is strength to be found in the grace of God that is in Christ Jesus

so that Timothy can say, yes, I'm willing to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.

So this is the third imperative.

Suffer hardship with me, Timothy.

And with this imperative, Paul gives Timothy three analogies.

That of the soldier in verses 3 and 4.

That of the athlete in verse 5.

And that of the farmer in verse 6.

Let's look at these for a moment.

First, this analogy of the soldier.

He says, join with me in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs,

but rather tries to please his commanding officer.

So what we're experiencing right now, Timothy, is like a battle.

A great battle.

And we're like soldiers.

Good soldiers.

On the good side.

Soldiers of King Jesus.

That's what this persecution that's happening,

that's what this suffering that we're facing is all about.

It's because of this conflict.

It's because of this battle that we're in.

This great spiritual battle.

Think for a moment of the allied soldiers in the trenches of Europe in World War II.

Fighting to liberate.

Fighting to put an end to the tyrannical madness and violence of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.

If you were out there as a soldier,

I mean, danger just comes with every day.

It's to be expected.

Suffering is part of the cause.

Sometimes I imagine what it would be like to live in those trenches for days,

hunkered down.

The sound of bullets being fired off

and the spraying of them across the battlefield.

The pounding explosions of artillery.

The wounded there and the dead all around.

Would they be enjoying a good night's sleep every night?

Would they be enjoying a good home-cooked meal every day?

There were no lazy boys in the trenches.

No pillows in the trenches.

It was about staying alive and, if possible, fulfilling the mission.

Completing the assignment.

Carrying out the orders.

We're in a great battle, says Paul.

We are soldiers.

We are like soldiers.

Good soldiers of our commanding King, Jesus Christ.

And doing our duty as soldiers of the King

may require us to suffer at times,

says Paul, who is chained up in a jail cell right now.

And speaking of soldiers, I mean, what else about soldiers?

Paul has one more thing to share with us about this in verse 4.

And I just put it in another translation on the screen there.

No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life

so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

What is Paul's point here?

He seems to be saying that a good soldier is focused on doing his duty.

He doesn't let the stuff of everyday life interfere with his job.

I imagine Paul had all kinds of time just to observe the soldiers

in and around where he was being held prisoner.

Did he try to talk to the guards on duty?

Did he find them to be super friendly with him?

Did they play cards with him through the bars?

Or were they just focused on the job?

Maybe, have you ever seen those soldiers standing guard in the UK

with the big black fur hats?

Sometimes it's amazing to watch them, just how still they stand.

Sometimes people even try to make a game of trying to distract them

or trying to get them to smile.

But no, they're focused on doing their duty.

What's the point here?

I think Paul's saying that there are many good things in life.

There are many comforts in life.

Things we might feel inclined to pursue,

but a good soldier doesn't let any such thing distract or entangle him

such that he's not able to do his duty.

There are at times competing desires.

There is the desire of the commanding officer,

and then there is the desire and will of the soldier,

and sometimes those things don't match up.

And a good soldier, while he's on duty,

he just may have to lay aside his interests and desires

and focus on doing the will of his commander,

pleasing his commanding officer.

By way of illustration,

David, who's sitting in the back there,

one of our RCMP guys out at the local detachment from Crake,

he and I have been talking about going kayaking one of these days here.

And as I've discovered, not just from David,

but from others as well,

the schedule of an RCMP officer is challenging at times.

There are times when you're on duty.

There are times when you're on call,

and occasionally you get an actual day off.

But when you're on duty and when you're on call,

in both cases, there's a required readiness.

There's a required readiness.

Can you imagine if David and I went kayaking while he was on duty,

out in the middle of the lake,

and then all of a sudden some emergency happens,

and before he can even get into his police cruiser,

he's got to paddle for like 15 or 20 minutes

before he can even get into the vehicle.

That would be a failure on his part

to do his duty as an officer on active duty.

That would be an example of entangling himself in the stuff of life

such that what he's doing interferes with his ability to perform his job.

Not to mention that it would be quite unpleasant

to paddle around the lake with all that gear on.

Take this principle and apply it to our Christian lives.

We all have a king, Jesus.

He is our commanding officer.

He has given us his word,

clear orders on what we have to do,

and in many cases,

the commands that he gives to us,

they come with a good deal of freedom

so that we can kind of go about our business

and our daily lives

as we do these things,

where we are,

in whatever situation we find ourselves in.

But now there are times

when the commands of the king

conflict with the desires of our hearts

or the cravings of our flesh,

and we really can get all tangled up

in the stuff of life,

in the stuff of this world,

such that we're no longer able

and ready to do these things.

Do you remember the parable of the soils?

Some of the seed, Jesus said,

fell among the weeds,

and the weeds grew up

and choked out that plant,

making it unfruitful.

What did that represent?

Jesus said that it represented

those who hear the word of God,

but then God's word

bears no fruit in their lives.

And the reason why?

Because the word that they heard

was choked out

by life's worries,

by riches,

by the pursuit of wealth

and pleasures

and the desire for other things.

We can so easily get entangled.

This world offers us so much.

We can get entangled

that we're not even able,

we're not even ready

to do the things

that the Lord has commanded us to do.

Maybe you would have had opportunity

to help someone in real need,

but you emptied the bank account

on another thing

that you didn't really need,

just for your own comfort

or pleasure.

Maybe you have the chance

to serve others

and make disciples

right in front of you,

and you see someone,

but you don't have time for that

because you're too busy,

already committed

to many recreational pursuits

or hobbies.

Sometimes,

many times,

in service of the king,

we must give up

what we want,

what we desire,

so that we can do

what he wants

and what he desires.

Jesus,

the king himself,

said it like this,

whoever wants to be my disciple

must deny themselves

and take up their cross

and follow me.

For whoever wants

to save their life

will lose it,

but whoever loses

their life for me

and for the gospel

will save it.

That's another way

of saying what Paul's saying.

Join with me

in suffering, Timothy,

as a good soldier

of Christ Jesus.

Next,

he gives this analogy

of the athlete.

Similarly,

he says,

anyone who competes

as an athlete

does not receive

the victor's crown

except by competing

according to the rules.

Now,

it's a bit debated

what exactly Paul means

by this.

I mean,

the principle itself

is true,

it's obvious,

but then how does it

apply to Timothy?

How does it apply to us?

When it comes

to the Christian life,

what are the rules

that we must compete

according to?

One commentator

suggests that

the rules of the race

are simply that

those who want

to compete and win

must be willing

to endure

the difficulty

and hardship

of training for it

and then running it

according to the parameters

of the race

or the competition.

there are no shortcuts.

You do not get

to hold

to have

the gold medal

at the end

of the race

if you used

doping

or performance

enhancing drugs.

You do not get

the prize

if you cut across

somewhere in the course

just to save time

and make it easier

on yourself.

You must endure

the hardship

of training.

your body

must suffer

to get stronger

and faster

and then you must

run according to

the rules of the course.

You must suffer

your body

through all of it

otherwise you will

not receive the reward

even if you somehow

managed to cross

the finish line

first.

If we think of how

this applies

to Timothy's situation

Paul may mean

that there is simply

no way around

suffering

and hardship

in the Christian life.

At times

we must face it

and to receive

that victor's crown

that wonderful

glorious reward

from the Lord Jesus

to receive that

well done

good and faithful servant

we must be willing

to push

through the pain.

We must be willing

to endure

opposition

and hardship

and being uncomfortable

and even suffering.

We must be willing

to discipline ourselves

for godliness

and say no

to things that

otherwise

we might like to have

or do.

Things like

the pursuit of wealth

the pursuit of comforts

the pursuit of pleasures

in this world.

And so the Christian life

is both

a battle to be fought

and a race

to be run.

And sometimes

there just are

no shortcuts.

The course

laid out before us

takes us right through

the path of suffering.

Finally he gives

the analogy

of the hardworking farmer.

He says

the hardworking farmer

should be the first

to receive a share

of the crops.

And again

with this one

there's some debate

on precisely

how Paul

means this

and how it applies

to Timothy.

it doesn't really

help that our

modern day farming

is so different

from how farming

was 2,000 years ago.

Today we've got

lots of wonderful

expensive machines

that can do

some of that work

for us

make some of it

easier.

But back then

you were driving

animals.

I mean you were

holding the plow

steady with your

forearms

and your muscles

were screaming

by the end

of the day.

You were swinging

the sickle

by hand

and you were

bundling the sheaves

by hand

and picking them up

and carrying them

by hand

long days

in the hot sun.

And you didn't

do all that

for nothing.

You wouldn't

subject yourself

to that kind of

grueling labor

for nothing.

You did it

to receive

your share

of that harvest

that you were

working on.

Your reward

for the work

you did.

And when it

comes time

to divvy up

the first portions

after we take

out the first

fruits of course

when it comes

time to divvy up

the first portions

of the harvest

as it's coming in

are you going

to give the lazy

guy who just

worked slow

and stood around

looking at everybody

most of the day

are you going

to give him

the first share

of the harvest

or are you going

to give it

to the guy

who busted

his buns

doing two to

three times

as much

as that lazy

guy.

In a day.

Timothy

be like that

hard working farmer

says Paul.

The Christian

life

our service

to King Jesus

is like a great

undertaking

in the fields

and we aren't

laboring

we aren't

enduring

all of this

for nothing.

We're working

for a great

harvest

for our Lord

and we are

looking for

the reward

that will be

ours

for our

portion

our share

our reward

for laboring

faithfully.

This is not

saying that somehow

we can earn

our salvation

of course we

can't

but it's saying

that on top of

God's amazing

grace

that all he has

given us

in salvation

he really does

reward us

for persevering

and working

hard and

faithfully

for his

sake.

Finally we

come to the

fourth imperative

in verse

seven.

Reflect on

what I'm

saying

for the Lord

will give you

insight into

all this.

Timothy

think about

these analogies

I'm giving you.

Think about

them as you

face the

difficulty

and the

trouble.

It might

not be

especially

clear

at the first

reading of

this how

these things

relate to

our lives.

Soldier,

athlete,

farmer.

But as you

think about

these things

day by day

God's going

to open

your eyes

to see how

these really

are the

analogies

these really

are the

metaphors

that capture

the true

essence of

our lives

in service

of Jesus.

God's going

to give you

understanding

he's going

to give you

insight

he's going

to help

you see

how to

fight this

battle

how to run

this race

how to

persevere

in this

field work.

So these

are Christ's

instructions

for Timothy

just to

sum up

again.

Be

strengthened

in the

grace

that is

in Christ

Jesus

and trust

the things

that you

heard me

say

to faithful

men who

will also

be able

to teach

others

join with

me

in suffering

like a

soldier

like an

athlete

like a

farmer.

We're

looking to

please

our

commanding

officer.

We're

looking to

get that

victor's

crown.

We're

running

to win.

We're

looking to

get that

share,

that reward

of the

harvest crop

and continue

to reflect

over these

things.

Mull

them over.

God's

going to

help you

see.

He's

going to

help you

understand

just how

they apply

to your

situation.

We may

not have

the same

role as

Timothy

had in

his church

2,000

years later.

We may

not have

the same

climate of

persecution

as he

did in

his

province

here in

ours,

but we

have the

same good

deposit.

We have

the same

gospel.

We have

the same

Lord and

Savior and

King.

May we

not be

found asleep

at the

wheel,

checked

out,

disengaged,

distracted

from the

cause of

Christ.

If in our

corner of the

world right

now it's

easy to

run and

there's minimal

opposition,

then let us

be running.

let us be

working while

we are still

unhindered.

May we not

be found

entangled in

the stuff of

this world.

May we not

be found

unprepared to

use the

gifts that

God has

given us in

the service

of our

King.

May we

not be

found

lollygagging

in the

race that's

set before

us or

lazing around

in the

field we're

given us

to do as

Christians here

in Davidson,

here in

Craig and

from wherever

else you're

visiting from.

May we be

found focused

like that

soldier on

the mission

the Lord has

given us,

carrying out

his commands,

using our

gifts,

playing each

of us our

part in the

body of

Christ,

running our

race as

best we can

to win that

victor's crown,

working hard

toward that

harvest.

Do you

want to

hear that

well done,

good and

faithful servant

from the

Lord Jesus

when he

returns?

I do.

And so

let's keep

on pressing

on,

pressing

forward for

Jesus day

by day,

answering his

call.

Let's pray.

Father in

heaven, we

thank you that

even though you

give us these

challenging words,

this difficult

call,

that there

is grace

that you

offer alongside

of it.

Please give

us that

grace,

fill us

with that

power and

strength

that we

need to

see these

words,

to hear

these words

and be

encouraged

by them,

to be

spurred on

by them.

Our desire

is your

pleasure,

it is your

glory.

And so we

ask that you

would work in

us,

work in all

of us as a

church,

and that

you would

take for

yourself a

great harvest

for your

glory here

in Davidson

and Craig

and in

surrounding

areas.

We ask

this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.