2 Timothy | Pr Matthew Chang

You're listening to a message to go from axt church.

We hope this message will light up your tea.

Based on the Book of two Timothy. Did you know

that Timothy is a disciple? Whose is the disciple of

Timothy Jason? Yes? How many Timothy is we have here?

Please stand up with the real Timothy? Please stand up

with there's one here? Okay? Of course, partans Kady is

Timothy as well. You know my brother, my eldest brother's

name is Timothy as well. Oh did you didn't know? Right? Ah? Wow,

my oldest brother, my oldest brother, he's a doctor in

bas In. Now his name is actually Timothy as well.

So we're gonna learn a lot about Timothy. Okay. So

Timothy is also a disciple, and his discipler was Paul, Okay,

the great apostle. Paul was the very personal this cypler

of Timothy. And so we how many books do we

have about Timothy or really at least addressed to Timothy? One?

Two or three? Two? Okay? We have two? Okay, So

we're gonna pick not on the first one we're gonna pick.

We're gonna pick up from the second one as well.

And I thought it'd be nice to learn and to study.

How Paul, uh what do you call it? Uh? Ministers

raised and then also guided Timothy in a very unique

set of circumstances, you know, unique, very set of time.

What Timothy has to go through, what kind of age

he was, what kind of challenges he went through? Uh?

And how Paul actually approaches discipleship. And mind you, it's

not a lot of you know, go go BTM and

then you sigh. You know, nowadays we do this. We

got mama, hey, sit down with you, have a chat

house your life. Paul didn't have that luxury, you know.

So wait, did Paul write to him from the prison? Oh?

How many of you like discipleship from the prison? He

was gonna discipling are from the prison. So we're gonna

go through it. Okay. So what I'm gonna do is

gonna read through the first chapter, go through together, and

then here we're gonna go breaking into different parts. Okay,

all right? Two Timothy. Chapter one from verse one Paul

an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God

according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. Okay,

you read this first verson you really sounds a bit

somber ready, you know, because according to the promise of life,

you know, you don't right introduce yourself. I am who

I am by the promise of life by Christ. It's

like it's a bit shaky. Really means like you know,

you're in a certain state radio okay, which I will

share with you in a while, okay. And he says,

here to Timothy a beloved son, who Timothy was to

him was a beloved son grace, mercy and peace from

God the Father and Christ Jesus, our Lord, our Lord.

And in my version here there's a title and he

says Timothy's faith and heritage, which goes back to where

Timothy came from, and what he received is an inheritance

as well. And he says there verse three, I thank God,

whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did,

as without ceasing, I remember you in my prayers night

and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of

your tears, that I may be filled with joy when

I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you,

which dwelt first. Okay, note this first in your grandmother

Louise and your mother eis eunits okay, and I'm persuaded

it's in you also. Therefore, I remind you to stir

up the gift of God which is in you through

the laying of my hands. For God has not given

us a spirit of fear, but of power and of

love and of a sound mine. Okay, let's pause there

for a while. This will be the first part of

what I'm going to be sharing. First, Okay, let's have

a I prepare some slides here, okay, and I put

some animation because I don't want you to see all

of you, you know, one only piecemeal, okay, one by one, Okay.

So two. Timothy is actually one of Paul's last letters, okay,

his final letters, and he is actually writing from prison

in Rome. How many times was he in prison in Rome?

Two times? Okay? He was in prisoned in Rome two times.

The first time at the end of if you read

the book, actually the first time towards the end that

he was on the way to Rome to be tried

to receive Tron. But that imprisonment was a very general imprisonment.

I say imprisonment because it was a house arrest. Okay,

he was he was in a house arrests, you get

men like he cannot he's not freeman. But he wasn't

a house arrest. When your house arrest, you have a

lot of perksla. You know. It's like, you know, you

get to grab food, you know, you get to have

different things, you get to have a fridge and I'm

just kidding, Okay, it's it's a lot more comfortable life.

The second arrest that he had, I was near. It

was under this emperor called you will be very familiar

under Emperor Nero. How mail you heard Emperor Nero before? Huh?

What was he for? Missmall firmast were burning roma? Uh?

Some some historians say he did not burn wrong. You know,

he was just nearby, you know, so we will learn later,

o King. So the second imprisonment was way more severe.

He was put in a proper prison. Uh. And he

knew because the landscape for Christianity has completely changed under Nero,

I will share with you a bit wide. Okay. So

he was writing from prison. And actually, you know when

when you read I told you earlier in the first

verse that he says that what according to the promise

of life which is in Christ Jesus. The tone of

Paul writing tewod Timothy is different from the first Timothy

or from any other letters. You know why because he

is anticipate, anticipating death already. Okay, he's anticipating death ready.

He's not writing to be able to think about whether

he can see Timothy or anyone or on going back

to Jerusalem anymore. No, he knows that his time is near,

and so he wrote with a certain sense of what

they call it anticipation around death as well. Okay, so

this is where the writer comes from. Now, who is Timothy? Okay?

So the Bible says it in verse to that, to Timothy,

he is a beloved son, Okay, a beloved son, or

some might call it a true son in the faith.

So where did uh? Where did Timothy? Where did Paul

actually Timothy? So we learned from X chapter sixteen, if

you follow up before from the second missionary trip. Okay,

one of the first places in the second missionary trip

that Paul went through was this place called Lestra Okay,

in Lystra. So he met these two wonderful ladies. Okay.

One was the grandmother and one was the mother. Okay.

The grandmother's name is Louise, which is Timothy's grandmother, and

the mother was what the mother uh, suddenly Eunice. Okay,

So Timothy's mother was is Eunice. The grandmother is Louis. Okay,

So Paul met this too wonderful lady and they were

Jewish believers, okay, Jewish believers. Most likely they were Jewish

first Okay. The mother married Greek, the father was a Greek,

so Timothy himself is half Greek half jew Okay. But

when Paul, most likely either in the first initial second

first trip or towards the later part of his first

missionary trip, he probably had passed by Lestra and shared

the gospel and the two ladies responded very very favorable

favorably to them as well. Okay. So now it says

here that that Paul remembered him in his prayers okay,

night and day, greatly desiring to see him, being mindful

of his tears Okay, that he may be filled with joy. Now,

there's a few things I want to get with you, uh,

I get to know you. Let you guys. First, it

says that that Paul remember Timothy even when he was

approaching death, and not just remember Timothy. He remembers Timothy's struggle. Okay,

what what did Timothy actually struggle with? Or are some

of his challenges? Okay? Firstly, he was young. Okay, he

was very young. Okay, he's probably around when he was,

you know, taking up leadership roles. He was probably around

his twenties and the thirties and thirties. Hands up, twenties

and thirties, early twenties and thirties. Ooh, many Timothysias. Okay, yeah,

we got many timothysa. Now let's compare with your word,

compare with what he had to do. Paul reminds him,

you know, in the first Timothy that don't let anyone

look down on you. Okay, don't look down anyone of

you because of your age. But why would he be

afraid of anyone looking down on him? Firstly, because he

actually has a responsibility. It says there in when Paul

met Timothy and the two women in his life, right,

it says that, uh, that Timothy had a good reputation

that even you know, when you know, when he when

Paul was talking to different ones, to the different to

the fellow believers in Lestra, although then spoke very well

of Timothy. He had a reputationality. He was had had

a good reputation, a good favor from people. And Paul

actually what did he do with Paul actually recruited Timothy

to become his disciple and took him to his second

missionary treat and third missionary treat as well. So he

brought him like he was a fellow companion with him.

He sometimes was Paul's messenger and now God the post messenger.

Sometimes he was there to help him to preach and

then to help him to do ministring as well. And

so if you if you read in X chapter in

X chapter sixteen on words, you will see that you

always prefer to Paul. But they or we then Luke

joined them as well. Okay, Luke also the apostle. Luke

also also joined them later on as well. Okay, So

now let me open just my nose very quickly. Okay.

So because Luke so, because Timothy was very well, uh

favored and had a good reputation reputation, he was actually

putting church as the overseer of the church in Ephasus.

If you know Ephasus, what I taught before is that

Ephesus is a major city, top three, top five city

in the world at the time. Like you know, it's

like you're the head church in I don't know, Shanghai,

New York. You know it's a major city. You know

of Singapore. You know, it's like it's a major city.

You know, the twenty to thirty year old young man

you know. Okay, okay, now what was and when you

read you remember that? Sorry if I jump with different places?

Are Timothy? There are two letters write first Timothy and

then two Timothy. The first Timothy that Paul wrote to

Timothy right, has to do with a lot of technical advice,

a lot of specific advice. Well, how he should do

a lot of functions for example, like overseeing the church

in Ephesus. Okay, what he's doing. He has to appoint elders.

How may you you want to go want to start

appointing elders in your church? You know, appointing people? It's

not that easy one to know, how ma are you

from Pahad? You know that hr is hard, you know

because once you hire, it's very hard to put let

people go on, you know, and you have the wrong

person in church, they have really bad influence, you know,

especially if you're the top leader. You know, they can

really give you. They can be really be a thorn.

You know, I see a lot. Yeah, yeah, you know

what I mean. You're from experience, right, some of you

you know you have businesses. You know exactly what I'm

talking about, isn't it. They can have the nicest resume,

they can ask for a high salary, all this reference.

I know this fella, I know that fella, or I

tell you no talking interview one kind. But then the

moment after that there is a different any moment I

was like, whoa, who is this guy? You know? So

appointing elders as well, And it's no joking, nor elders

are very powerful people because elders are supposed to keep

the governance of the church, making sure that the message

of the church and in integrity is there. So they're

supposed to know the word and of good reputation as well.

So he is charged to what Paul actually gave me

instructions to appoint elders and how to do that, if

you read in firstimity, what else he has to do?

He has to combat combat false teachers and greed in

the church. For a twenty to thirty years old, and

how many of you up to it nuh combat false

teachers are while Paul is not in prison or doing ministries,

He's to combat false teachers in Ephesasa Eversasa is the

city with one of the most gods and religion around

the world. Did you know that everyone Greeks, they got Jews?

You know, who are different people asking you? And who

is this Jesus? He has a twenty thirty year old

has to combat all these things. People were greedy for

money as well, thinking about how to use money, how

to dispense money. He is to administer that as well.

He has to preserve sound doctrine. You know, combating is one,

but he has to make sure that the sheep in

the church are continually fed with sound doctrine. Okay, people

will say, hey, we miss Paul, Hey we miss Apollos,

we miss this pastor, we miss this pastor, but then

we only got Timothy tay Or can trust or not?

Which university you graduated from one? You people? Are people

tend to do that to Usen't it? This counts you?

You know all these things? You know, he has to

minister to the poor and to the widows as well.

Oh my goodness, have to do community worlds all in all,

not just community. What these people are in the church.

You know, the widows are a very needy one because

they depend on the generosity of the church and the

giving on the people to survive one another. So you

have people's lives and family dependent upon you to make

sure that resources are dispensed properly, you know. So Paul

tell him, do not neglect the widows. And they are

widows from and make it complicated. There are widows from

different groups of people, from Jews, from Greeks, from Christians.

Who do you give to first? Some people one more,

some people want less. I know some people that, hey,

you give them expiteful They get upset, you know, but

it's still okay to eat. One become choosers and picky. Oh,

very difficult, right. And then not only that, he has

to regulate conducts of men and women in the church

as well, what you should wear, what you should not wear.

Cannot speak, cannot teach all this out. He has to

give us why not? So, how many of you are

envious of Timothy's resume job description? How many of you

is that the ideal drop description? You want to go?

So I said, no, I want to work from home somewhere.

You're like, You're like, I want a five figure salary.

You know, you know, you know, I want to work

from home. I want free lunch, I want free dinner.

I want to go this. I want transportation cover when

I travel. I want business class only. You know, everybody

wants that and all, but nobody wants Timothy's job. Everybody said,

poor Timothy. No, don't, don't say Fortima. It is a privilege.

It's a privilege twenty thirty years. Oh people. But we

don't realize that he actually goes through so much things. Okay,

So Paul remembers him, Paul is he knows his tears. Okay,

Paul is in prison by Timothy, also prosecuted outside. You know,

Paul remembers him. But we also know. Okay. One of

the things that we one of the want to come

back about disciples. Okay, so what can we learn here? Okay?

In verse five, it says that Paul Paul says it

when I called Tom remembrance the genuine faith that is

in you, which well, first in your grandmother Luis and

your mother Eunice. First of all, I want to put this, Okay,

Timothy has a heritage He did not became an overseer

by coincidence. He did not become a disciple of Paul

by coincidence. Paul saw something in him, and what he

saw in him didn't just pop out nowhere. He saw

in him what was trans from the grandmother and the

mother into him. You get me in He didn't just

see you. He sees something of a heritage that came

from the grandmother and the mother. Okay, he saw a

genuine faith. Okay. So the response, now this is red practical.

If you are a discipler, what are some of the

responsibility that you need to do as Pauldy, it is

your responsibility to identify genuine faith in people. And why

they say that because not everyone wants to be disciples

or are ready to be disciples. That's the truth. We

want disciples, we want to make disciples. There's the truth.

We want to make disciples, but not everybody is ready

and not everybody who wants to be disciples. And so biblically,

what should we do when you some people say, hey,

I want to be disciples and everybody wants this, So

what should we do? What should we as disciples who

pastors leaders do? And also you when you look as well,

what should they look in you? Do you got talent?

Do you got skills? For us? Thing most requirement genuine faith.

You must have genuine faith. Okay. That's a very very

important thing. I hope you write down. Okay. So when

you disciple someone, look for genuine faith. Okay, look for

genuine faith. Are they really believing and trusting in Christ?

That they desire more than anything else to know truth

and nothing but the truth? So help, so, God help you?

Is that? What is that what they are looking for?

Not just talent? And if Paul says that this genuine

faith in Timothy and other twists, is that it was

first in their mother and grandmother. And so by the

end of today we pray, hope to pray for not

just mothers and my grandmother's love. We want to pray

for fathers. So so lah you know, but mothers and

grandmothers have a special role in imparting a heritage. Okay,

parents underlying this? Okay, hide this, you know, underline this,

put it in your heart, no, teach your heart and

all by when you pray, say God, I see this testimony.

May my children receive the same heritage as Timothy, make

me a good parent, Make me one of genuine faith. Lord,

give me a genuine faith that I might impart this

genuine faith to my children. Write this down as your prayer.

Under said, No, this is a bibigger prayer, people bi

bigger prayer or how you should pray to the Lord

for your family. God, give me a genuine faith. Not

only there, may I impart this to my children. But

so the key thing is you don't realize. Parents, you

are always imparting something to your children, you like it

or not. If you are always worrying, you impart a

certain sense of fear to them. Everything that you do,

your actions, your decisions impart something to them. Are we

cognizant of what we are imparting to them? You get

mean right by what we do. I'm not saying that

we are perfect. I impart certain okay, sometimes I call

it nonsense okay to my children as well. Sometimes the

jokes and nothing I do, I do, and I'll tell them.

My children say, I know I've done wrong. My job

is not. My role is not for you to become

like me. I want you to be better than me.

You need to be better than me. You have to

learn from me came my right and my wrong. But

most importantly my job is to not always to follow me,

but for all the christ you must the aim. The

goal of a Christian of us, as Christian parents are,

is to pot, to stir up, and to want to

implant a genuine faith in our children. You get, I

mean right? Impart a genuine fight? So how do we

do that? You, yourself disciples, must have a genuine faith. You

cannot impart what you do not have. Peper, you cannot

give what you do not have. If you are like

if you are you know, adubting people, You don't have

to say it. Your children knows that you doubt. You know,

I mean right? You tu knows because by the life

that you do, by the conviction that you live by.

You go to church, but then your life is a

live a different lifestyle. YOUTA mean right. It sounds harsh, parents,

but it's true. So so in our lives we need

to come to a place to be, to allow God

to refine and to bring about a genuine faith and

love in our hearts. You got, I mean right? So

that this genuine faith and love will guide me and

my spouse. If I fight, Yes, children sometimes see the ugly,

but because God's love, we reconcile, and as reconciling gives

hope to the children. You ken, I'm saying, I'm not

asking to be perfect, you know, but we're asking that

no matter what, we come back to God, a genuine faith,

a genuine sincerity, to desire, to need God, to depend

on God the game, not to be perfect, to depend

on God. And I see my mom and their dad,

they always depend on God more than anything else. I

know they have the fear of God. I know they're

not perfect, but the fear God, and so when they

go out, they also learn to fear God as well.

Understand I'm saying, no, So this is so you're learning

something about this posh or not. You yourself must have genuine faith,

and then you must be able to impart genuine faith

to your disciples as well. The second thing that we learn, okay,

it is found in verse six that says, therefore, I

remind you to stir up the gifts of God which

is in you through the laying on my hands. If

you don't believe in the power of the laying of hands,

there is a scripture here. They're not just a scripture.

Here there is an evidence there, the poor himself, there

is that when I laid hand on you, there is

a gift that stirred in you, or the giar, the

awaken in you. Okay, but your job is not just

to remember where it was. Your job right now because

you have so much responsibility, is so much butt than

so much persecution. You need to continue to stir up

that gift. So we as a discipler, when you're discipling someone,

you have a responsibility to stir up the gift of

your disciples. Or maybe if you backtrack first, if you

are discipling someone, pray God, may they discover their gifts.

May they awaken to the not just a gift. May

they have a sincere and fervent desire to serve you. You

came in right desire to serve you, and the desire

for a gift to serve you as well. You're not

looking for talents, en, but a desire to serve. And

then you know why because Paul says that in verse ever,

very uniquely, he says, for God has not given us

a spirit of fear, but of power and of love

and of sound mind. Why he has to not package

these together with the gift that Timothy had, because Paul

knows that if we don't exercise it, it is the

evidence of fear in your life. You know what I'm

saying now, when you don't exercise gift, which is very clear,

it is the evidence of fear in your life, and

fear the evidence of fear. The evidence of fear means

it's not from God. You get me a right, the

stains of fear. You must remember, what does God? What

has portitude? Fear? Is it from God? I don't want

to maybe, but you know, maybe I don't Maybe people

don't lie? No not? What if I fail? You know?

What if you know, I gain myself into trouble? Is

it from God? Where is the source of these thoughts?

Saw this malaise or what they call it procrastination of laziness.

You know, I hurt a very good quote. Now, people

are not lazy. People are lost. Laziness is just a

symptom of being lost or that. Oh that's very good.

Good right? What's that? What an interesting? Just like laziness

is a symptom of lost. I was like, oh, interesting, okay,

pondered upon okay, but people, uh, people have this thought

you know, and fear. But you gotta say, where does

this come from? Okay, yes, we are we know, we

know that the evil one is not inside eye, but

it does not mean that he can cannot attack us

from the outside by putting thoughts in our minds. One

and not mean we are not held by it. But

yet this thoughts do come in. But we have a

choice to battle these things, you know, and so but

Paul gives him the truth. You must it must be

remembered to stir up the gift of God. So the

gift is in Timothy. Okay, but it needs to be stirred,

you know, like cook, you know, stir. It needs to

be stir because gifts can be suppressed and remain dormant

because of fear. And fear is the loss of power.

And fear is not of a sound mind. Okay, God,

they do not give you a spirit that is not

of a sound of or not of not without authority

in Christ and not without a sound mind. Unreasonable? Why

not when you give an excuse that? People think, why

but don't you want to serve God? You get I

mean right? And to stir? How do you stir a gift?

The word stir in Greek, it's not just to cook enough.

The word to stir is to kindle a flame. Okay

it say, you know, you like go aroung like that.

You know it's you know, it's died down ready, but

you need that to become a proper fire to cook dinner.

What do people do they're new what new feel or wood?

And then they start to blow, to breathe into the

fire to light it up again, to stir the fire again. Okay,

to stir the fire again. And so for us, how

do we stir up this gift? We need faith? We

need faith. We want by faith and not by side.

You do not because that whether you care or no,

you but I just want to serve, a fervent desire

to serve. And you say, God, I want to serve

you by faith and this little gift that you're giving me.

I want to be faithful. I don't want to be

a faithful steward or a servant who hides even just

one talent, I want to hide it. Or if I

got one, I will serve you if I can become

a host, I become a w it can pay a guitar,

if I give a water encouragement I just give a word.

I want to serve you, you get me right. And

when you serve God adds more. You get me right.

And you say, WHOA. I parlized that I can actually encourage.

It can make a difference, and I want to be

more generous. You say that you can give one ring,

You give one ring. It it doesn't matter. You give

and you stir it up store because you continually exercise

by faith. And now when you give, you're not giving

by base on your wallet. You continue to give because

it becomes a pattern of exercising faith. You know what

I'm saying. Now, So we as discipless, we need to

teach our disciples to what up there gave? Turn to

your neighbor. Let's stir up your gift. Huh stir up

your gifts people, make sense or not? Are you getting

good discipleship techniques or not? Huh? So the first thing

you lay on hands of people and pray for them, Okay,

then start up a gift. Ah, no care sky stir

up their gif Okay. Now let's read on. I'm going

to read from verse eight. The title says, not a

shame of the gospel looking for time. Okay, Therefore, do

not be a shame of the testimony of our Lord,

nor of me, okay, his prisoner, but share with me

in the suffering for the Gospel according to the power

of God, who has saved us and called us with

a holy calling, not according to our works, but according

to His purpose and grace, which was given to us

in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been

revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who

has abolished death, broad life, and immortality to light through

the Gospel to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle,

and a teacher to the gentiles. For this reason I

also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed. Okay,

this is the key word, not ashamed, for I know

whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is

able to keep what I have committed, which is his

life to him until that day. Okay. Then then let

me finish these last few verses, and he says, said,

to be loyal to the faith. Hold fast the pattern

of sound words. There's a pattern of sound words. Sound

words as a pattern, okay, which you have heard from

me in faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus

that good thing which was committed to you. This is

very important. The good things that God has committed to us,

that our disciples committed to us, we must keep by

the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us. I will explain

to you that means, okay, how do we keep the

things that God is committed to us by the Holy Spirit?

And this you know that all those in Asia have

turned away from me, among whom are fy genius, okay, homogeneous,

I don't know. Okay, Okay, I don't know. Okay. Holiday.

Then verse sixteen, the Lord grand mercy to the household

of one sypherus or sounds like Harry Potter characters. Okay,

For he often refreshed me and was not ashame of

my chain. But when he arrived in Rome, he sought

me out very zealously and found me. The Lord granted

him that he may find mercy from the Lord in

that day. Okay, And you know very well how many

ways he ministered to me at ever sus. Okay. Three

more points what we as disciples should do. First one,

disciples must not be a shame of the Gospel. And secondly,

they must not be a shame of the brethren in Christ.

Not be ashamed of the gospel, and not be ashamed

of your brothers and sisters in Christ who are truly

in Christ. One. Okay. The role of a disciple is

to firstly make sure, okay, to make sure that your

disciples firmly grasp this gospel. Paul makes it clear, say that, hey,

you and I are here not by coincidence. I am

appointed as an apostle, as a teacher, as a preacher

for one maintain the message of the gospel. And the

message of the gospel has power. It is the power

of what for eternal life, to abolish death and to

bring immortality. Remember this always what you're called for and

the power of the message. Okay, Remember what you're called

for and the power of the message. We can never

forget that. Okay. And now, at the same time, in

this sixty four eighty right, something happened in Rome. You

know what happened. Rome got burned. Rome got burned. Okay,

Rome got burned. There was the Great Rome Fire. You

know how many days it burned? So yeah, how many

days did Rome burn? Six days? A six days. You've

seen the California fire early this year. It's like that

are for six days. People, six days and this is

not like what fire. This is like in the city

you know where Rome is like dance one and no

it's not like fire, hydrant, helicopter dropping in water. No,

six days. Okay, people have speculated it was Nero. You

know when when I went to when I was in

Rome and when away we followed people, they was talking

about the fire. They were saying, like, you know, there

was one theory that you know, Nero was wanting to

burn you know, because he wanted to he because Rome,

you must say, it's a tell two cities. One part

is very beautiful and one part is very ugly. One.

So they were saying that when Nero looked out, he

was saying that his place was so beautiful, but yeah,

they outside was very ugly, you know, poor people as well.

So he wanted to burn down the city and remake

it as well. But there are people who say that,

but it cannot be because he was in Antium future sight,

you know, thirty five hours away. How can he do

that when we don't know? But what we do know

from history was that from that day, okay, when the

city people needed escape, goat, people needed who was responsible

so Amberani wrote to this opportunity to blame the Christians.

Blame the Christians, and the Christians, according to the historian Josephus,

were considered abominations. Christians were called abominations. And I tell you,

we are not living in a time and there's not

too far from that. We are not living in a

time that's too far from that. When sometimes doing good things,

people were called that they hate you for it. And

you see the us a lot of things. I'm not

gonna go about, but you see a lot of interesting

things that it's very unreasonable. One. Now, okay, let's see

what was What were some of the things that Christians

were accused and hated for. They were hated, They were

accused as abominations for treason because they heard rumors that

Paul was preaching that Jesus Lord, oh people can use

their oh the curst Jesus is not you massive treason.

People spin and twist the same tactic that the devil

has used in the garden, eat them, always twisting words. Second, cannibalism,

because Christians practice communion, drink of the blood and if

of the body of Christ. What do you guys do

at night? Eight o'clock all across clang Valley, different homes,

How many homes in PJ drink blood and eat the body. Oh,

my goodness, cannibalism. Some of you are cannibals. I really

eat so much meat. Okay, ye will accuse of witchcraft?

How did Paul heal these people? But then all these people,

many gods couldn't do it, isn't it? And know why

they call it rich crist because they lost money when

they couldn't sell all their idols. They couldn't make money

from their temples. They call paula practice of witchcraft. Incest ah,

because we practice brotherly love. You see amazing how things

can twist. Wanna amazing and these are real things are amazing,

and these are things you see. We don't they don't

need social media to twist wordswana, to put propaganda and

to put a force portrayal of any one one. No, no,

they just be the first and be the loudest. And

sometimes things so twister can be so real, you gotta mean, right,

can be so real. And so Paul was in Rome

and he is in prison. Imagine what Timothy has to

endure as his disciple in Ephesasa and you are the

youngest in the church having all these duties, and your

discipler is in prison being accused of all these things.

You see a lot of times we look at the

lens of a Christian now, but we don't look at

the world. World. The world looks at Timothy and Paul differently.

You want to know, they look at them, and these

people need to be altered. You know, even the thing

bad things we do to them are justified. You know.

Sometimes now these people are justifying even wrong and violence things.

You know, you know what I'm saying now, we're doing

in the name of God, ah, things that but doing

because we have a moral high ground, you know what

I mean? Right, people are justifying things like that. They

were doing that back in the old days. History repeats itself. People,

these are not new things. Humanity always succumbed to the

same thing. You got mean, right, It's so there's why

there is what they were actually dealing with. That's why

Paul tells him said, do not be ashamed of the

testimony of our Lord, nor of me as a prisoner.

He said, no, of me as his prisoner. So it's

very scary what they were actually doing. You must what

Paul said, know what you believe people as so, if

we're an raised disciples, we must tell them, do you

know what you believe and whom you believed? You mean

no other greater responsibly as a discipler is to make

sure that know what you believe and whom you have believed,

so that they are persuaded that God is able to

preserve your soul for that very day persuaded. That's why

Paul saw that genuine faith in Timothy. You know what

I'm saying. No, that's the role of a discipler. There's

a role of a discipler. Second last one, disciples must

hold fast to the faith and word. Okay. From verse

thirteen day he says that Paul admonishes Timothy to hold

fast to the pattern of sound words which you have

heard from me. You're just hearing worder. Some words are good,

but you must understand that is a pattern of teaching.

You must observe as well. Some teachings are good, but

it doesn't follow a patterner. You must check you get

mean right. Not everything that tickles are entingles and shinier

is right one another. You know what I'm saying. Not

a lot of people are always going for the next

best thing. You know, war this preaching like that one,

or it changes the way I pray, like that changes

my behavior. Ah, I don't want to go into different things.

But you know what I'm saying. No, no, I mean

it's very powerful one not do this on that. Oh

I don't have to do this' it's it's it's very

very very revertricky. But there must be a pattern. A body,

a collective body of sound words. God's words must be

fool it must be a body. It does not contracted

one another one an there is why. There's how the

old scholars they actually compare which writings are included in

the Bible. It may sound good, but it's not consistent

with the rest of the scripture. It cannot be included.

One and No, there must be a pattern. Okay, it

must be a pattern of sound words. God is not

suddenly God like the God different, he talks differently. All

God is the same God. God has never changed. He

spoke consistently through his through his disciples, and he will

keep and preserve his word, and he will would out

all those who pretend to be teachers of the life.

All these false teachers will be routed out. Okay, now,

so there are many and important even indicates two people

here who actually turn away. And so we remember when

Jesus said in the Parable that there are people who

will turn away from the faith. Some because the seeds

which represents the word of God are thrown at the wayside,

eaten by birds. Some are thrown in the stony places

because it never bear much root in your heart. Some

they are thrown into the thorns because they are choked

by the cares of life. But those that actually fall

on fertile grounds, they go deep and they are able

to bear much fruit. Okay, Disciples must keep the word

from those the word, not just the word of God,

but those who have spiritual authority over them as well.

In your life, you will recognize that God also places

people who are who have spiritual authority over you as well.

You might not like it, but there is people who

have spiritual authority over you. But Paul has spiritual authority

over him. Okay, as he cares for him. But it's says, yeah,

that's very important. That says that in verse fourteen, that

good thing which was committed to you, keep by the

Holy Spirit who dwells in us. So what does that mean? Oh,

if Pasta cannot give me a word, ready, he has

spiritual authority me and he gave me a word. How

do I keep this word? Just meditate and memorize it.

What does it mean? What does it mean? It means

that the words that you receive, you do not just

use human understanding. You do not just use natural feelings

and worldly wisdom with wisdom to keep its integrity, you

must instead pray, ask, and seek the Holy Spirit to

keep the integrity of the message. You get what I'm saying.

Not whatever Jesus committed to Paul, and Paul to Timothy.

Paul said that you cannot use the world rome has

burned ready, and everyone is saying one thing about Paul,

one thing about Jesus as well. And if you use

that to interpret and to keep the integrity, you will fail.

You know what I mean? Right? So you must use

is like what they call it the Rosetta stone. You know,

the Rosetta stone that is the translator of the ancient world. No,

everything that you have used the Rosetta stone. So Paul

is saying that you must translate and keep the ingreat

integrity off the message of the gospel of what Paul

personally spoke to you through the Holy Spirit. No other

way you can interpret that. You cannot convert. It is

like using different apps to convert in it. You know

what I'm saying. No, the only way is true. The

Holy Spirit makes sense or not? If not, you would say, hey,

pass can and I hear from one person, I hear

another rumor, and I hear another rumor, you will interpret

differently true or not? You interpret it differently. You take

one message when you look at social media. Look everyone,

you will interpret differently. People, But we have what paulses

that You don't not use something else. You use something

that's already been installed in your operating system. What's it

being installed in the operating system. The Holy Spirit is

ead be installed in your operating system. When you became

a Christian, you came pre installed with the Holy Spirit.

If you are truly a believer, If you are truly

a believer, a factory setting, if you truly believe this

is the promise of the Lord. Now you have the

Holy Spirit installed in dwelling in you use that to

interpret and to keep the integrity of the message. And

so you and I we must first of all recognize

spiritual authority. And secondly, we have a responsibility to keep

the integrity of the world. So you and I are

You must what commune with the Holy Spirit to keep it.

Most of us we want, we're too lazy to do it.

Most of us we never use it. We just use

our word thinking. When you drive, you talk talk talk, talk,

talk talk. There's hardest messages. Sometimes you go on social media,

you really read there's the message of it. You never

counsel with the Holy Spirit. What is it? Lord? It's

not about my feelings. It is not my personal offense

with that person. It is not my past, it is

not what I heard from people. But Lord, I desire,

more than anything else I have, and I desire more

than anything else, a genuine faith. And I desire that

you will keep this faith and also keep me pure.

That I might keep your word pure, and those you

have entrusted over my life pure as well. That I

might not sing against you, that I might not seeing

against those of you that that came from you as well.

You'ren't say what I'm saying. Not so then we may

not sing against God and against people so important these

are discipleship things. Then That's why I'm telling you. I'm

not telling you from I'm not teaching you from from

mere reasoning. I'm teaching you from how Paul actually teaches Timothy.

Because I tell you Christians at that time were at

the lowest of the lowest side. I tell your approval rating.

You know, nobody wanted to be associated with them, all

sorts of black male, all sorts of forced portrayal world there.

But we must keep the word. We must hold faster

the word, and we must keep the integrity. Lastly, true

disciples ought to help and refresh their brothers and sisters.

You cannot leave your man behind, disciples, Disciples, you cannot

leave your man behind. That's why Paul remembered him, Remember Timothy,

and he remembered those who came to Roma, even in

the greatest Christian pursucar. They came to him in their persecutor,

in their environment, and sat Paul out. You know, it's amazing.

So we owe one another a love, a brother leader,

to help one another, to encourage one another. It's difficult,

but if we are true disciples, first, we must reach

out and help. Makes sense, Okay, So let's let me recap.

We are disciples to do. First. First of all, okay,

we must have genuine faith. We must have genuine faith

in ourselves and in those with disciples. Secondly, we must

stir up gifts of one another use in good times

and in the tough times. We must not forget. These

are the gifts that exist. For such a time as this,

we need the give. We cannot stay nore. If times

are so they are more comfortable, you cannot use to give.

How much more in times of difficulty you will not

use to give. But these are the gift that are necessary. Thirdly,

we must not be ashamed of the gospel and the

brethren in Christ. Okay, know the gospel, and do not

be ashamed of your brethren in Christ, especially when they

are being portrayed falsely by the world. Faith say we

say faith. Okay. Disciples must hold fast to the world,

add to the faith and the word entrusted to them

by the Holy Spirit. And lastly, disciples ought to help

and refresh one another. Okay, come, let's stand together. The lawyer,

we're going to pass the time to pass that ov

in to help the minister them. But they maybe can

do me a favor. I remember we talked about want

to pray for two things. First thing, I want to

pray maybe we can pray for genuine faith. Then we

have this practice of willing to stretch out and they

the power of the lay of hands that one another.

When we as a church out there say hey, we

when we pray, we want to pray to the lay

of hands. When we pray, what to stir up genuine faith,

to stir up gifts for one another as well. That

when we pray for you with our desire is that

you will have a furbun desire to serve God with

all that you have. Secondly, let's pray for our families.

Prayer for our fathers and mothers. Pray for their desire

to catch that genuine faith from the Lord themselves and

to be able to be a blessing and impart the

same first generation, second generation, and then the third generation.

You know what I'm saying. You know you don't want

to just be first generation and then stopping all first, second,

even the third, and then even to the fourth as well. Lord,

we commit all this to him, say God, We'll save

not just my family, but the generations after us as well. Amen. Come,

let's let's worship the low for now. Let's come in

out of time to him. Let's open on your hands

and begin to pray for yourself as well as the Lord.

All that you're spoken today, we are all this Lord.

It reminds us that we're all disciples. Whether I'm a father,

whether I'm a mother, whether I'm young, whether I'm single,

doesn't matter. We are all disciples. So Lord, help us

to kindle this genuine love right now, genuine faith to

seek you and to desire for more of you. Let's

begin to pray for yourself right now. Let's commit yourself.

Let's align right now, steer yourself to humble yourself to

desire for more of God. Say God, I need you.

If you're a car in your life right now, come

on right now, just pray to him. Pray to him

right now. Commit commit all your ways and your thoughts

to him right now in the mighty name of Jesus.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

information on our church, please visit as Church RG. We

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this week is going to be a good week, a

hit for you. God bless