Latest / Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast / Be Bold - Don't Be Ashamed (2 Timothy 1)

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Be Bold - Don't Be Ashamed (2 Timothy 1) · Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast

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Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
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Let me ask you a personal question. In our current
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environment, have you found yourself at times
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being ashamed of the Lord? Maybe even being ashamed
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of the gospel? There's a word of hope for that
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today. Stay with me. Paul wrote 2 Timothy from
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a Roman prison, chained as a criminal, awaiting
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execution. And his message to his young apprentice
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wasn't, play it safe. It was Be Bold. I'm Dave
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Drewy, and today on Living on the Edge, Chip
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Ingram begins a message from this powerful letter
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titled, Be Bold, Don't Be Ashamed. It's the next
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part of our larger study called, You Can Make
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Disciples, Personal Coaching from the Apostle
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Paul. And remember, you can always revisit or
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share these lessons anytime by going online to
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livingontheedge .org. Well, now here's Chip Ingram
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with his message. You'll notice on the very front
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of your notes, it talks about the paralyzing
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power of fear. And I think we've all experienced
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a lot of that. And I want to begin a little bit
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differently than normally. If you have a Bible,
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if you'd open to 2 Timothy, and what I would
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like you to recognize that as you open that,
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you're holding one of the most precious documents
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in the world in the last 2 ,000 years. This is
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the final letter of the most influential man
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that has ever walked on the earth. The first,
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of course, was Jesus. But the Apostle Paul would
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be his final letter, a very personal one to his
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son in the faith, Timothy, and we'll learn the
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theme of the book is, I'm going to die shortly.
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And God has deposited in me and in his church,
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the truth, the faith, and the practice of living
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it out. And I have spearheaded it for the Gentiles.
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And I'm now passing it on to you and you need
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to pass it on to others. And we're here because
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Paul was faithful and Timothy was faithful. But
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this is the final thing he wanted to say knowing
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he didn't have much time left. He wrote 13. of
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the 26 books. Jesus was the most influential,
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but our understanding of what happened on the
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cross was given by the Holy Spirit through the
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Apostle Paul. Without Paul, we wouldn't know
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redemption and propitiation and the sealing of
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the Spirit, who we are in Christ. Without the
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Apostle Paul, we wouldn't understand the great
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doctrines of the church, how all the Old Testament
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and the journey of what God was doing, how it
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climaxed in Christ. The work of Jesus on the
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cross, the epistles, the letters, the man who
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was beaten with rods two or three times in the
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sea a night and a day, left for dead once. And
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as you read this final letter, we'll even get
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to the very last chapters, by the grace of God
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and the testimony of this man, he's still reaching
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forward. He's faithful. He loves God. He has
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a perspective. He's not afraid. And so I think
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it's a very, very precious document. And it gets
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more precious because I want to give you a historical
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background because when you see when he wrote
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it, why he wrote it, and what was going on, just
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in the back of your mind, be thinking of what
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you've been through, what's happening in the
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world, what's happening in our world. Think of
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disease and viruses and political division and
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the kind of things that are happening in our
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world, the chaos. And I think what you'll realize
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is that it's in that environment that he's writing
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it. Paul had one Roman imprisonment, and then
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he went on to Spain. Claudius was the emperor,
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and Claudius, this was not, when you did adoptions
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in the ancient world, you often adopted adults
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or late teenagers. And especially if you didn't
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have children, you would adopt an heir, someone
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that you thought was bright and capable. And
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in this case, Claudius adopted Nero at the age
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of 13 to be his son. By age 17, he had died and
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Nero is made the emperor. He had a tutor from
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the Senate. He did pretty well. But very quickly,
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he was a very young kind of wild guy who actually
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in the conflict over power with his mother, had
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his mother murdered. He did things that no emperor
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had ever done. In 64 AD, this is two years before
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Paul's coming back. At least from the ancient
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documents, it's believed that he was a part of
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setting Rome on fire because he wanted to clear
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out this area for, he had this big building plan
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that he wanted. And he blamed the scapegoat was
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the Christians. So Paul comes back to a world
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where it's now illegal to be a Christian, where
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Christians are the most wanted, where they're
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hated, where they're being blamed. And he's got
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a young pastor in Ephesus named Timothy. If you
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think it's hard to be a Christian now, imagine
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being a pastor of a cosmopolitan city. Ephesus
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was known for two things, immorality and idolatry.
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It was the LA, the Shanghai, the London, the
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Paris of its day. Probably more like Las Vegas.
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And so you got a young pastor who's really, really
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struggling, who has a sort of personality -wise,
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tends to be a little bit timid. You have an older
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man who's now come. And in this second imprisonment,
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he's writing this letter, not chained to a guard
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where he rents a home, but he's in a damp dungeon.
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And it's dark. And he's already had one tribunal
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before the royal imperial court. And when he
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went, no one showed up but him. He'll tell us,
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I was all alone. And you can understand why.
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I mean, to associate with him right now, they
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were fearful for their life. And he says, all
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in Asia. And when he says Asia here, it's not
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the geography we think of. It's the church and
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the movement in Asia. It's that area of the country.
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And so this is an older man who doesn't have
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the perspective we have looking back at, hey,
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Paul, you know, don't sweat it. In 2 ,000 years,
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you're going to be a hero. All he knew was there
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was a calling from the living resurrected Christ.
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And he'd been beaten up a lot. He'd been left
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for dead a lot. And he's in a damp place and
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he's given his life for other people. And when
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he's in his direst hour, nobody shows up for
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him. And he cares about this young man and he
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realizes that the promises of God are true regardless
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of your emotions. The promises of God are true
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regardless of your circumstances. And I have
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a calling from God. He appeared to me, and I've
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been faithful to that calling, and now I'm going
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to take that mantle, that Old Testament thought,
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that mantle, and I'm going to put it on Timothy.
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And our idea would be more like, I'm going to
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pass the baton. And that's the background. It's
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heavy. It's weighty. These are really, really
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precious words. The purpose is his most personal
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letter and it's from the heart and it's this
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encouragement to him. It's short and it's filled
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with admonitions and challenges and instructions
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to be a faithful disciple. I've been passionate
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because of my background and some of you know,
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to help Christians live like Christians. I think
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the most powerful evangelistic thing that has
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changed the course of the world is when you meet
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a vibrant, living, godly person. Not perfect,
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but I mean, they're honest, they're real, they're
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authentic, they're passionate. When they mess
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up, they do something like this. I messed up.
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I'm sorry. I was wrong. When they find that they
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have bias and they're thinking wrong about things,
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they repent and they're real and they're attractive.
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And I didn't experience that in church and I
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met some people who did and God introduced me
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to his word and a great group of people many
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years ago and that's been my passion. It's not
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enough to make disciples. Disciples have to make
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disciples. It's about disciple makers. 66 or
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70 % of our kids leaving the church is not because
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of the culture. Their parents in the church didn't
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disciple them. We need to own that. We stop blaming.
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Now, is media and education, are there a lot
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of forces that have really been negative toward
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the faith of our children? Yes, but they were
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in Daniel's day and they did pretty good as teenagers
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without their parents around. They walk with
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God. We got to understand that we haven't discipled.
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And so I heard the Lord say, you need to teach
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through 2 Timothy. about making disciples and
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you need to focus your energy and your time and
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these pastors and whoever you're gonna help,
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not just to grow and to mature and to be a Christian
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who lives like a Christian, but to be a disciple
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maker. And so that's why we're studying this
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book. And so let me give you the framework of
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the entire book because that's what this book
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is about. There's four essentials in this book
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to becoming an effective disciple maker. Chapter
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one is to be bold, don't be ashamed. In each
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chapter, he's gonna say something very clear,
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very strong. He'll be a challenge. He'll even
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talk about it as a sacred deposit. Now think
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of something that you would put in a deposit
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box or something that's so precious. He goes,
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this is this deposit that God gave to me, I'm
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giving it to you. Chapter one, be bold, don't
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you dare be ashamed. Chapter two, be strong,
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don't be distracted. There's so many things that
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will take you off course. Chapter three is be
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prepared. Don't be surprised. The world's gonna
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get difficult and worse and more evil than you
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imagine. Don't act like, oh, where's God? What's
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happened? And then chapter four is be faithful.
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Don't shrink back. And I guess what I wanna say
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is I'm just passionate. I may even, I have some
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questions in your notes. I don't want this to
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be an academic exercise. I don't want you to
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walk out of here and get in your car and go,
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wow, I know a lot more about Paul. I know a lot
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more about Timothy. I can think my way through
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that book. No, no, I want you to leave here thinking,
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with whatever years I have left, I need to be
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proactively making disciples. And I'm gonna start
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first and foremost in my relational network called
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my family. And I'm gonna ask, do I have a plan?
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Am I intentional? Where am I at? By the way,
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if more is caught than taught, am I the kind
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of man, am I the kind of woman, am I the kind
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of dad, am I the kind of grandmother or grandfather
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that my kids and grandkids want to be like? Because
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we always have to be what we want those we disciple
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to become. And so I don't want to be academic.
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And I want you to realize that this was written
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in an environment where Christians were paralyzed
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by fear. Does that sound familiar? What we're
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facing in our lives, if we're honest, is we're
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often paralyzed by fear. We're fearful to be
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bold and to be strong and to be outspoken about
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our faith. To be outspoken about our loyalty
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to Jesus. Sometimes in our own families, not
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bold to say, this is right and this is wrong.
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Because what you know is that even if you share
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it winsomely or kindly or lovingly, and if you
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share it even with exactly the right motives
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and the right intentions, there's a good chance
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you'll get canceled. There's a good chance that
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you'll be rejected. even from family and maybe
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some other church members. Here's a pretty good
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chance if you're loyal to Jesus and to his word,
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that's what Paul's gonna tell us to do, that
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some people will call you and see you as a bigot
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or maybe even a hater because you would say,
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I'm a follower of Jesus. Now to be fair, can
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we try and be fair and look it through the lens
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of other people? We have acted in some ways.
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And we have done some things as the church that
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have given them way too much ammunition to say
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there are bigots. They are haters. There's some
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in our family that have stood for the truth in
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ways that were most unloving, most unkind, and
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most uncaring. So it's not about just are we
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committed to the truth. Are we committed to the
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grace and truth? Jesus came and he was described
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in John what? What? Grace and truth. The law
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came through Moses. Grace and truth came by Jesus
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Christ. No man has seen God at any time. But
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he, Jesus, has. The Greek word is exegeted him.
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That means explained him, made him real, understanding.
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When Bible teachers, we exegete the text. That
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means we study it and find out what did it mean
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to the first century and what did it mean and
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what do these words mean and what's the culture
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because we want to fully exegete to understand
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it so we can know how should we teach it to 21st
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century people. That's what Jesus did. That's
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what he wants us to do. So we're gonna have a
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challenge and this book will address those fears.
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And here's the exciting part. And it will provide
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the truth that will empower you and me to be
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set free, to be bold, to do it winsomely and
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kindly, non -judgmentally, to shoot it straight
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with family and friends and neighbors in a way
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and with a heart and with a kindness that has
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both grace and truth. And so I'd like to ask
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you a question. On a scale of one to 10 right
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now, how would you rank your boldness for Christ?
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Okay, just personally, you don't have to, you
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know, you might. I'm gonna write this very small
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on my notes. Please keep your eyes on your own
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paper, you know. A one is I've been a wimp. I've
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just, I've been passive. There would be no evidence
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to convict me as being a believer. I just kind
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of shut my mouth, keep my head down. I don't
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like conflict. I don't like arguments. When the
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conversation comes up, because it always leads
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to other things, I just be quiet. And a 10 is,
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man, I've been bold. I've shared it, right? Okay.
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And I'm going to assume, whether you're a 1 or
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a 10, that you've done it winsomely and lovingly
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and kindly. And no one can be a 5. It's human
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nature. I'm about a five. Liar, liar, pants on
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fire. In denial. But I just want to ask you,
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just honestly, how bold? You read through the
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book of Acts. The greatest evidence of the Holy
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Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit
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is boldness. It's boldness. Paul was bold. People
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were bold. They were grateful they got to suffer.
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We were just here about three weeks ago and we
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had 300 and some pastors and we had 22 of our
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leaders from 13 different countries. We had pastor
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from Iraq, pastors from throughout India, pastors,
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leaders of whole denominations, whole networks.
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We had communion and I was down there and a Chinese
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fellow who came up to me who just translated
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our third or fourth book for China knelt down
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and put his hands on my shoulders and prayed
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for me. And thank me for our partnership of what's
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happening in this country. They're bold. And
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they understand it'll cost them their life. And
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I don't mean they're going to get canceled like
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on Facebook. Or that maybe Thanksgiving's not
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going to be as unified as we'd hope. Right? This
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is, they're bold, but they're meeting the deepest
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needs of people that are hurting right now. And
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so they're also demonstrating incredible love.
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And so I'm gonna ask this final question, then
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we're gonna jump right into the text and get
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to the answer. What are your greatest fears currently
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with regard to your faith? Try to be as honest
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as you can. Is it being rejected? Is your fear
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that you'll be misunderstood? You're afraid that
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if you're bold, you'll create more division in
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your family or your church? You afraid, you know,
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I mean, honestly, I fly a lot. I meet a lot of
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people. I mean, it's weird. Why would I care
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what someone thinks who's sitting next to me?
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And I find myself in conversations and it's really
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clear that I'm coming from here and the other
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person is radically coming from here. And I have
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to really muster up, Lord, how can I winsomely,
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lovingly be bold? Here's some guy I don't even
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know and I don't want him to not like me. Okay,
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I'm a wimp, I admit it. I think owning those
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feelings helps me say, okay, but you love him,
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Lord, so would you give me some wisdom about
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how I can turn this conversation, because man,
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he is hammering some stuff that we're as far
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apart as we could be. What I realize is probably
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what he needs more than anything else is to meet
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a Christian that doesn't fire back and play ping
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pong with him and this and this and that. Maybe
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I'm gonna keep listening, and then I'm gonna
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ask him about his family. then I'm going to ask
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him about his fears. Then I'm going to ask him
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about his work. And it may take an hour. And
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this guy's going to open his life and heart because
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I've done this a bunch, a bunch, a bunch of times.
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And after that, there's some trust built and
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he'll ask me a couple questions and he will just
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look at me with this cockeyed look like, so you
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really think Jesus could change these things?
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Really do. Really do. We could argue about all
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these different things, but you're a dad that's
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struggling with a couple kids. You're flying
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too much. You drink too much. You get depressed
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a lot. You don't think your marriage is probably
19:06
gonna be together here in another three or four
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years at the current rate. And they need to meet
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some people that maybe disagree with them on
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a lot of things, or even inside the church or
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inside the family, but really listen and really
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love. But you gotta face your fears. And so what
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I would say is what the Apostle Paul is going
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to do is he's, here's what I like, and here's
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the big transition. He's going to talk to a young
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man who by nature of personality and history
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just tends to be afraid when nothing's wrong.
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And he's going to pass the baton, and right now
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things almost couldn't be worse. And so as you
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dig into your notes, let's see what the apostle
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Paul in this prison from his heart is going to
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say to his son in the faith. Paul, an apostle
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of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, according
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to, notice his focus, the promise of life in
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Christ Jesus. I'm in this dungeon, but the first
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words are about hope. And it's a promise. And
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he always keeps his promises. To Timothy, think
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about when you want to align with someone and
20:26
when you want to encourage him, how important
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it is to affirm, my beloved son, grace, mercy,
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and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus,
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not the Lord, our Lord. I thank God whom I serve.
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with a clear conscience, the way my forefathers
20:48
did, is I constantly remember you in my prayers,
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night and day. I'm here, you're there, but I'm
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thinking about you all the time. I'm praying
21:02
for you all the time. I love you, I miss you.
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Longing to see you, even as I recall tears, so
21:13
that I might be filled with joy. He's playing
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the videos in his mind about times with Timothy,
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the meal we had here, what happened in Lystra,
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the thing that happened over here, the early
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times in Ephesus, the miracles we got to see
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God do, watching you grow, watching you take
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some of these assignments like Titus. For I'm
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mindful of the sincere faith within you which
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first dwelt in your grandmother Lois. in your
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mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you
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as well. These first five verses, you'll notice
21:56
in your notes, the historical background, you
21:58
now know from whom it is, Paul and why, about
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AD 67, in a Roman prison. And you know, it's
22:05
to Timothy in Ephesus to pass the baton. And
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I just want you to listen for the importance
22:11
of the mentor, mentee, And the context, it's
22:17
both the content and the context. But it's deep,
22:21
real, vulnerable, affirming relationship. I came
22:29
to Christ right after high school, before college.
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And I was discipled by a discipleship parachurch
22:37
group. And he wasn't an on -staff person, he
22:41
was a bricklayer. And I would say I was not a
22:47
very, you know, people went to Bible studies
22:49
and things like that and I sort of hit and miss
22:52
and had a hard time getting up and go to church.
22:55
But Dave would come and meet down at my little
22:58
kitchenette. You know, I look back and I can't
23:04
tell you how many meals I ate at Dave's house.
23:07
I can't tell you how many times he knocked on
23:08
the door and I pretended I was asleep. I can't
23:11
tell you how many times other leaders in the
23:13
ministry said, Dave, that Ingram will never amount
23:16
to anything. He is a flake. And they were right.
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But he just wouldn't give up on me. See, I think
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somehow discipleship turned into, would you like
23:29
to be in our group? What did you get for question
23:31
number four? It's been great. You know, then,
23:36
oh, did you hear Macy's has a sale? And hey,
23:38
what do you think about, then you name your NFL
23:40
team or your SEC team and the men go over here
23:42
and the ladies go over here. And I went to Bible
23:44
study. And by the way, that's a really great
23:48
beginning. But genuine discipleship flows out
23:54
of heart relationships where you affirm and love
24:00
and have experiences where you cry together.
24:04
It's not about their spiritual performance. It's
24:07
not about how much of the Bible they know. It's
24:09
not about whether they showed up or not. It's
24:12
not about whether you can, you know, after they
24:14
leave, you talk about, you know, they're still
24:15
doing this and he still drinks too much. And,
24:17
you know, I can tell he still has that porn issue.
24:19
I could tell he's kind of lying to us or all
24:21
that junk. It's about. Loving them and getting
24:25
them into God's word and introducing them to
24:27
Jesus and putting your arm around them and walking
24:30
with them to Jesus so they begin to get to know
24:34
Jesus so he changes their life from the inside
24:37
out and that transformation begins to spill into
24:40
every area of their life over time with all their
24:43
ups and downs like we all had. That's the context
24:46
of discipleship and we've lost that. And by the
24:49
way, you know what? I don't know about you, but
24:51
if I have a problem, I would much rather someone
24:54
take an x -ray or MRI and say, by the way, we
24:57
do have a problem. You have cancer. That's a
25:01
lot better than, I don't know I have a problem.
25:04
There's no x -ray, there's no MRI, and I have
25:06
cancer. I can do something about the cancer that
25:09
I know I have. I can't do anything about what
25:12
I don't know. You have the greatest opportunity
25:15
in your lifetime to make an impact for Jesus
25:18
Christ because Things are raw. It's been revealed.
25:24
People's behavior, your behavior always reveals
25:27
your true beliefs. Our mouths are just what we
25:31
say. And by the way, what we sincerely think
25:33
we believe. I mean, I was just reading the gospels.
25:37
All of you will forsake me, Jesus said, right?
25:40
You know, and then he quotes the Old Testament
25:42
passage, they'll strike the shepherd and the
25:44
sheep will be. Peter goes, not me. And all one
25:47
by one, not me, not me, not me, not me. They
25:49
were sincere. You don't know what's in you. I
25:52
don't know what's in me until the test. And when
25:57
the test comes, you find out what you really
25:58
believe. And so Paul's gonna, he's gonna talk
26:04
to Timothy about, first off, he's modeling, this
26:07
is how I've loved you. Deep discipleship, real
26:12
discipleship always flows from the heart. And
26:16
I want you to imagine, like coming up and there's
26:19
a box. And the box says truth. And then I want
26:22
you to imagine a bridge. And here's another box
26:25
and it says truth. And your children and your
26:29
grandchildren and people that you want to help
26:31
are on this side of the bridge. And inside this
26:34
is the truth of your life, the gospel, the word
26:38
of God, the power of the Holy Spirit. And what
26:41
you want is you want to get this truth. Not only
26:46
in their mind, their heart, and their will, but
26:48
you want to get it in their hearts over there.
26:52
Do you know what the bridge is that connects
26:54
it? It's not information. It's relationship.
27:00
People can only receive as much truth as they
27:03
trust you, as they think you believe in them,
27:07
as they actually experience. I've prayed for
27:11
you night and day. With longing, I'd love to
27:15
be with you. With tears, I'm remembering you.
27:17
I think about your family. What's he really saying?
27:21
He's saying, Timothy, this isn't coming as this
27:23
is what you ought to do and get with the program.
27:26
You see, the stronger the bridge, this is great
27:29
for you parents and even grandparents, the stronger
27:32
the bridge, the greater the weight of the truth
27:35
you can get from over there to over here. And
27:40
what I learned a long time ago with four kids
27:42
that are all spread out, they're all gonna have
27:43
problems and they're all gonna have struggles
27:45
and they're all gonna come to a time where they
27:47
don't know if they buy into you or God or anything
27:50
else. And you've modeled as best you can, but
27:54
what I can tell you is, and sometimes they'll
27:57
make some really big mistakes, right? But if
28:00
the bridge is strong, then they'll feel safe
28:05
to come and talk about it and get some help.
28:09
And so that's what Paul does. Now he shifts gears
28:12
and he's gonna give Timothy three specific challenges.
28:16
Let's walk through them together. Challenge number
28:20
one is to be bold and fulfill your calling from
28:24
verses six and seven. He says, notice, for this
28:27
reason. What reason? The reason of how much I
28:30
love you. The reason for where I'm at, the reason
28:33
for why we're here in God's calling, for this
28:35
reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift
28:38
of God which is in you through the laying on
28:41
of my hands. Why? For God has not given us a
28:45
spirit of timidity, but of power and love and
28:48
discipline. So he's talking about Timothy's responsibility,
28:53
right? Remember the laying? He's talking about
28:56
his ordination. He received the Spirit when he
28:58
trusted Christ. This was a time when Timothy,
29:00
God's got his hand on your life. Remember this
29:04
gift, this deposit to be entrusted with the gospel?
29:07
You need to get, hey, there's a lot of junk going
29:10
on now. It's illegal right now. Nero is a nutcase.
29:14
Here's what I want you to get. Everything you're
29:16
seeing in this world that makes you uptight,
29:18
and this is crazy and it's never been like this,
29:20
it was way worse. And this is what he said to
29:24
a young man who hung in there and he passed it
29:27
on, who passed it on, who passed it on, who passed
29:29
it on so that you're sitting in a seat. And so
29:33
his responsibility is standeth to flame. And
29:36
then God's provision is you have a spirit living
29:39
within you called the Holy Spirit. And the characteristics
29:43
of the Holy Spirit is what? It's not timidity.
29:49
It's not fear. It's dunamis. We get our word
29:53
dynamite. It's power, it's love, and it's discipline.
29:57
And what you know and I know is that what we
30:01
need in order for the spirit to have more of
30:04
us is we need time in God's word because the
30:07
spirit of God takes the word of God and makes
30:09
it the living word in our life. We need the community
30:12
of God's people so the spirit living in you and
30:15
the spirit living in me as we share and pray
30:18
and the Jesus shows up. renews me. And that Spirit,
30:22
the fruit of the Spirit, creates the kind of
30:24
love and discipline for people that are different,
30:26
that helps us endure when it's hard, and helps
30:29
us discipline ourselves to do what we need to
30:32
do instead of what we want to do. You can't live
30:35
off your emotions. You can't live out of fear.
30:39
You either live out of faith or you live out
30:40
of fear. If you live out of fear, your life is
30:44
like an emotional roller coaster. And God says,
30:48
you don't have that spirit. He's telling him,
30:50
basically, Timothy, you've got what you need
30:52
to make it. Your part, stand at the flame. Can
30:57
I ask you something? Can you in your mind's eye
31:00
go back and tell me, when were you most passionate
31:03
about following Jesus Christ? Just when was it
31:06
that, man, you know, I gotta get up and I gotta
31:08
read. I gotta share my faith. I gotta care. We
31:11
got new neighbors coming in. This matters. It
31:14
matters more than, I could miss an SEC game.
31:17
I could miss an NFL game. I could miss a sale.
31:19
This is who and what really matters. When was
31:23
that? And if it's not right now, then here's
31:28
the call. Fan it into flame. Just fan it into
31:32
flame. God's not mad at you. He wants to help
31:37
you. He's saying, of course you have fear. That's
31:42
why I gave you my spirit. It overcomes that.
31:46
The principle, we must constantly remind one
31:48
another of powerful experiences in our past and
31:52
the power given to us by his spirit. Sit around
31:57
the table. When family comes over, just say,
32:03
hey, what are the biggest miracles our family
32:05
has ever experienced? What are your biggest moments
32:08
with God? So you need to remember the God that
32:12
answered those prayers, He's the same, right,
32:14
today, yesterday, forever. He's willing, he's
32:19
open. But we need to come with expectation. We
32:22
need to come with a sense of he's real and vital
32:24
and wants to work and wants to bless and wants
32:27
to use us. And I think the first place to do
32:31
that, the aside to parents, is let's make our
32:34
kids and grandkids our number one group that
32:37
we disciple. And there's, please, I mean. You
32:43
know, we live in the psychological world, so
32:45
what I mean by that is that what used to be biblical
32:50
language has turned into therapeutic language.
32:53
People don't sin, they're sick. Right? You know.
33:00
Or they have a syndrome or an ism. And hey, I
33:04
major in psychology, undergraduate and graduate
33:06
work, so I understand it. But here's what I'm
33:09
saying is, Sometimes we ought to use words like
33:12
sin and guilt. False guilt's bad. True guilt
33:18
means the Holy Spirit is putting in fingers something
33:21
specific about my life, my mouth, my behavior,
33:24
my attitude that's wrong. And the agenda is not
33:28
to make me feel, you know, we're in a world where,
33:31
oh, I don't want to make you feel bad. There's
33:33
times, guess what? God wants you to feel bad.
33:37
Feeling really bad about doing something bad
33:40
or thinking something bad or saying something
33:42
bad is called remorse. And remorse leads to,
33:46
wow, I'm sorry. And I'm sorry leads to repentance,
33:50
a metanoia, change of mind, where you say, oh,
33:54
Lord, you understand, all sin, it's not about
33:56
the rules, it's about the relationship. Sin isn't
34:00
fundamentally, you just crossed this line. Sin
34:03
is, you hurt your Savior. You hurt your wife.
34:08
You let your heavenly father down. You disappointed
34:12
him. You know, when it's just like, well, I'll
34:16
try not to do that anymore. That's behavioralism.
34:20
That's moralism. Sin is... I miss the mark of
34:25
loving and caring and something came out of my
34:28
mouth and it's wrong in me. I need to own it.
34:30
And when I come and I own it and I ask God to
34:33
forgive me, he forgives me and cleanses me of
34:36
all my sin and he fills my heart with peace.
34:40
We spend our energy trying to get rid of our
34:42
guilt. If it's false guilt and family of origin
34:45
and go to a good therapist, a good Christian
34:47
psychologist, hey, been there, done that, we
34:50
all need some of that. But a lot of life is like,
34:53
why did you say that? That's a hateful thought.
34:57
That was bigoted. That was biased. That was insensitive.
35:01
That was selfish. Those aren't psychological
35:03
terms. By the way, everything I just said, I'm
35:06
sure I've done all those in the last 48 hours.
35:10
And I'm pretty convinced most of you have. But
35:13
as long as we don't kill someone, we think, I
35:15
haven't sinned a whole lot. Be interesting to
35:20
go home and read your own Facebook and all the
35:21
things you posted and ask yourself, how happy
35:24
is God with that? Because we're gonna learn,
35:27
the Lord's bondservant must not be quarrelsome,
35:30
but be kind to all. Challenge number two is don't
35:37
be ashamed of your Lord. Look at verses eight
35:40
through 12. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the
35:44
testimony of our Lord or me, his prisoner. but
35:48
join with me in suffering for the gospel. How?
35:51
In your own strength? No. According to the power
35:54
of God. Why? Who saved us and called us with
36:00
a holy calling. Based on what? Not according
36:05
to our works, but according to his own purpose
36:08
and grace, which was granted to us in Christ
36:11
Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed.
36:17
By the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus.
36:21
And then notice what he accomplished. Who abolished
36:24
death and brought life and immortality to light.
36:28
How? Through this sacred deposit called the gospel.
36:33
The good news. The work of Jesus. And so Paul
36:38
says, don't be ashamed of your Lord. Why? Because
36:43
of, he's called us because of what he's done.
36:47
How can you, how can, it's like someone, you
36:49
know, you were in a $10 billion of debt and you
36:54
decided to kill yourself. And so you're on the
36:57
edge of the ledge and Jesus runs over and says,
37:01
I just paid your bill and I rescued you. And
37:04
then you go to a business meeting and, well,
37:07
I kind of want to introduce my friend Jesus,
37:09
but you know, I'm a little ashamed of him. No,
37:12
he saved my life. He paid my $10 billion bill.
37:15
I get to tell everybody about him. If you don't
37:19
keep remembering what Jesus has done for you,
37:21
you'll be ashamed of him. And you'll care more
37:23
about, in my case, what the person in the next
37:26
seat on the airplane thinks. I'm thinking, this
37:28
is ridiculous. And so I talk my way out of that.
37:31
And then by God's grace, I think, you know, I
37:33
have a spirit that's going to be bold, okay?
37:35
I'm going to open my lips, spirit. You need to
37:36
get royal. And he does. And by the way, can I
37:41
say too, just to help you guys out, I chicken
37:45
out sometimes just like you. I get intimidated
37:48
by people just like you. But what I find is when
37:53
I am aware of what I've been called to, what
37:56
I've been saved from, what God has done, the
37:59
purpose, and that he's brought life and immortality,
38:02
and that he's actually entrusted me, I'm sitting
38:05
next to this person. He's actually entrusted
38:08
me with the only answer to this man's spiritual
38:10
cancer. It's the gospel of Christ. And you know,
38:15
the one thing I would say too for some of you
38:17
who are thinking, oh, I probably need to really
38:19
get a lot bolder. All your fears about how people
38:22
will react, I'm just telling you, I think a lot
38:27
of it is simply the enemy. Because I'm shocked
38:30
at how open people are. We got a neighbor that
38:33
when we moved in, they said, he's the bad neighbor.
38:38
Boy, that's not nice. No, no, he's the bad neighbor.
38:41
And they told me all these stories. Well, you
38:44
know, that was like setting my wife on fire.
38:48
We're going to love the bad neighbor. And in
38:51
the first couple years, he was the bad neighbor.
38:55
I mean, you know, picky and this. I mean, and
38:58
he alienated everyone. And, of course, he's married
39:01
to the sweetest gal ever, you know, that we got
39:03
to know. And he recently. He got from the bad
39:08
neighbor to the talking neighbor to the, we have
39:12
some, you know, he's pretty reserved. You can't
39:14
sort of get into his world much to, he has a
39:18
disease. They don't know what's wrong, neighbor.
39:20
Who asks us for prayer, neighbor. Who thanks
39:23
us for being around, neighbor. Who I have shared
39:27
the gospel multiple times with him. And it's
39:30
just, no, I got it. He tells about his denominational
39:33
background. You know, it was fire and brimstone,
39:35
according to him. And if I walked into church,
39:38
you know, it would cave in and there's no hope
39:40
for me. And, you know, I just keep giving him
39:43
the gospel. And for the first 10 years, can I
39:47
tell you something? If I only had 10 years, I'd
39:49
say the gospel doesn't work. Of course it works.
39:54
But his need got him to where he was starting
39:58
to think differently about life. And can I tell
40:02
you some of your relatives? Some of your neighbors,
40:05
some of your friends, some of your adult kids,
40:09
some of your grandkids who've told you that they've
40:12
left the faith and on and on. If someone would
40:15
sit down and listen and have a cup of coffee
40:18
and ask them questions for an hour or more and
40:21
not try and preach at them, but really listen
40:24
and care about them, they're hurting and they're
40:27
afraid and their world's messed up. Don't be
40:30
ashamed of your Lord. join me in suffering. It's
40:39
literally the idea of this word is, enter in
40:41
with me. Let's lock arms and suffer together.
40:44
It's like an invitation. The reason is to obey.
40:50
To obey in light of what God has done for us.
40:55
It's a beautiful, beautiful passage. Notice he
40:58
says, for which I was appointed a preacher. The
41:02
word is, It would be, in some older translations,
41:06
it's called a herald. And it would be like if
41:08
there was a king or a queen, it's someone who
41:10
officially would, you know, and make an announcement
41:14
on the behalf of royalty. And Paul says, all
41:19
these things, don't be ashamed of our Lord. God
41:21
assigned me to blow the trumpet and announce
41:25
that the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords
41:27
has come to this earth to save us. and to forgive
41:32
us and to take us with him, to be with him forever.
41:35
And not only was I a preacher, but I was a apostle,
41:41
one who is sent and a teacher. And for this reason,
41:48
I suffer these things. But he says, I'm not ashamed.
41:53
Well, why, Paul? I mean, how come you're in a
41:56
lot worse situation and you're not ashamed? He
41:59
says, for I know, the word here is an experiential
42:03
know. I know whom I've believed and I'm convinced
42:09
that he is able to protect what I've entrusted
42:13
to him until that day. My life and my suffering
42:18
and my hurt and my doubt and my uncertainty and
42:22
just like he's asked me to be faithful what he's
42:25
entrusted to me. I can suffer because I know,
42:29
I am convinced that I have given to him and he's
42:34
able to protect that until that final day. Challenge
42:40
number three to Timothy is don't be ashamed of
42:44
his word. Verses 13 through 18. Hold on to the
42:50
example of sound words or literally it's the
42:54
sound teaching. which you've heard from me in
42:58
the faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
43:03
Protect through the Holy Spirit who dwells in
43:06
us this treasure, this deposit, which has been
43:09
entrusted to you. You are aware of the fact that
43:12
all who are in Asia turned away from me, among
43:16
whom are Phygelius and Hermogenes. The Lord grant
43:21
mercy to the household of... But when he was
43:30
in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and he found
43:32
me. The Lord grant him to find mercy from the
43:35
Lord on that day. And you know very well what
43:39
services he rendered at Ephesus. And so the command
43:44
is retain and guard the truth. Be loyal to Jesus,
43:48
be loyal to his word. And there's certain things
43:51
to be loyal to his word right now, just to be
43:53
loyal to his word to say, I believe that marriage
43:56
is between a man and a woman. That's not dissing
43:58
anyone else. We live in a free country and people
44:01
can have whatever kind of relationships they
44:03
want to have. But as a follower of Jesus, to
44:07
say that you can be characterized as a hater
44:12
and a bigot. Say it kindly. Say it lovingly.
44:16
Give the theological basis for it. It's the Christ
44:19
and the church. Marriage by definition has to
44:22
have differences. It can't have sameness. It
44:25
needs a male and a female. There needs to be
44:28
a connection. There's multiple things to be true
44:32
to God's word right now. And please hear the
44:35
context. It's historic. There's certain times
44:38
where the church has come together. The Apostles'
44:41
Creed. It's very broad. It's very clear. And
44:44
inside the Apostle Creed, these things are true
44:46
that we believe. Salvation by grace through faith.
44:51
The virgin birth. The triunity of God. Deity
44:56
of the Holy Spirit and the deity of Christ. The
44:59
return of Christ. I mean, there's certain, the
45:03
authority and veracity and the inspiration of
45:08
the Word of God makes you look in some educational
45:10
circles like, you know, you're just like three
45:14
bricks short of a load. Your kids in secular
45:17
universities now are made to feel like they are
45:20
anti -intellectual and if they don't believe
45:24
certain things that are now accepted as the truth.
45:27
And so my point is, are you ready? I'm going
45:32
to say this as nicely as I can. Didn't plan on
45:35
saying it, but I'm going to say it as nice as
45:36
I can. Could we as the church stop whining and
45:40
stop complaining? and stop blaming and equip
45:44
our kids so that they have answers for those
45:47
kind of things and have the kind of relationship
45:50
with them and model the kind of things where
45:52
they would say, you know, the people that are
45:54
saying this and that, their life is a train wreck.
45:56
And you know, grandma or grandpa, you know, you
45:59
seem to be a little old fashioned. You're into
46:00
that whole Bible stuff, but you know, like you
46:02
got so many years together and you really love
46:04
each other and you're really nice to me and your
46:06
life is the kind of person I'd like to be. Guess
46:08
what? It's called discipleship. That's what we
46:13
can do. But don't hang back. Don't believe the
46:16
lies that your adult kids or your teenagers or
46:19
your grandkids don't want to hear from you. My
46:22
son planted a church. He's about 10 years old.
46:25
And when pastors are going through rough stuff,
46:26
you go help your son. And so he was really tired
46:30
and asked me if I'd fill in. I did a little four
46:32
-part series for him. And I did something really
46:34
basic. And then I hung around and talked with
46:36
him. And I was just like, oh, I so want to help
46:38
these young people. So I said, honey, what do
46:41
you think if, like I'm going to, in the message,
46:43
there was two services, if I would say anyone,
46:46
you know, I thought this is what a Christian
46:48
is. And I talked about being a Romans 12 Christian,
46:50
just a profile of a disciple from Paul. And just
46:53
real simple, I said, if you would like to explore
46:55
what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus,
46:57
why don't you come to my house for the next three
47:00
weeks, next three Sunday nights? And I said,
47:03
honey, you think we could feed this trip? I don't
47:06
even know how many people. Is it going to be
47:07
five people? Is it going to be 50 people? Okay,
47:10
can I invite them? She said yes. And so I did.
47:17
And I didn't know. And so we had like 13 people
47:19
show up. And all young people except two or three.
47:23
I can't tell you. I mean, the first three talked
47:27
about their church background, deconstruction,
47:29
where they're living in. I thought I believed
47:31
all these things. I'm not sure about this. I'm
47:33
not sure about that. Next week, next week, honest
47:37
conversation, very small teaching, open, vulnerable.
47:42
In the first week, one lady made a lordship decision.
47:45
In the first week, another lady came to Christ.
47:47
The two or three gals that were doing the deconstruction
47:50
had never had a safe place. You know what they
47:53
needed? They needed some old white guy and his
47:56
wife who love each other to open their home.
48:02
and explained lovingly the most basic things
48:04
in Scripture that most of you could do off the
48:06
back of your hand. And then the three weeks got
48:10
done, and I mean, people shared at such a level.
48:12
And the third week, I said, you know, no one
48:15
has to, because I didn't know where they were
48:16
coming from. But let's, Teresa, why don't you
48:19
start, and I'll pray at the end. If any of you
48:20
would like to pray. Well, they pour out their
48:22
heart. And then pretty soon, Chip, can I meet
48:24
with you? I'm meeting with this guy. And then,
48:26
Teresa, can I meet with you? And here's, you
48:28
know what I want to tell you? Oh, my God. These
48:32
young people are so hurting. And their first
48:35
thing is, oh, what about this? What about that?
48:37
And they say this and evolution that and this
48:39
and that. You know what they need? They need
48:41
someone to love them. They need someone to love.
48:45
And you know what? They know the top 10 podcast
48:48
influencers more than they know Matthew, Mark,
48:50
Luke, or John. There's no anchor in their life.
48:56
Well, the three weeks got over and everyone go,
48:58
do we have to quit? And I thought, well, what
49:02
do you want to do? So Teresa goes, why don't
49:03
you all come and we'll eat at our house? And
49:06
she goes, you know, we had a cookout. And then
49:08
they brought their mates or friends. And I've
49:11
never seen two of them broke up with people that
49:15
they were involved in that were unbelievable.
49:16
I mean, bang, bang, bang, bang. They have just
49:19
responded to God's word and made application
49:21
and their lives are radically changing. And we
49:24
cry and hug one another. I didn't know these
49:26
people eight weeks ago. Paul says to Timothy,
49:30
I love you, I'm for you, I care for you. Timothy,
49:34
I want you to know that you got everything that
49:36
you need, but your part, you gotta fan into flame.
49:39
You gotta get passionate like in the early days,
49:41
get super clear. And then can I tell you, don't
49:44
you dare be ashamed of your Lord. Don't you dare
49:47
be ashamed of his word. And you know what? Can
49:50
I invite you into something? I'd like to invite
49:52
you to suffer with me. Would you go arm in arm?
49:56
As I go out, can we just, You know, realize they're
50:00
going to call the play. They're going to give
50:02
you the ball. You're going to grab the ball,
50:05
and you're going to tuck it. You're going to
50:07
break through the line. You're going to go about
50:09
eight yards, and a linebacker who's been waiting
50:12
you in a free safety is going to knock your head
50:14
off. They do it on purpose and pay him a lot
50:18
of money to do that. And you know, spiritually,
50:21
that's what God wants you to do. He goes, man,
50:23
I got angels blocking. I got people prepared.
50:27
You got the ball of the gospel. I want to give
50:30
it to you. And I want you to break through. And
50:32
I want you to get some yards for the kingdom.
50:34
And I want to invite you to know that guess what?
50:39
There's some spiritual linebackers. They're going
50:41
to say this or post that or say that or that.
50:44
And you know what? You may find them asking you
50:49
about, would you pray for this kidney problem
50:52
that they can't figure out what's going on? And
50:55
I'm really afraid. I'm afraid to die. And they
51:01
don't have to respond great because that's not
51:03
your responsibility. You can't change them anyway.
51:05
Right? Outcomes are God's. But would you be bold?
51:14
Don't be ashamed. You're listening to Living
51:20
on the Edge with Chip Ingram and the conclusion
51:23
of a message called Be Bold, Don't Be Ashamed.
51:26
From his series, You Can Make Disciples, personal
51:29
coaching from the Apostle Paul. We'll hear more
51:32
from Chip in just a moment, so stay with us.
51:34
You know, every message in this series is on
51:37
the Living on the Edge podcast. Subscribe so
51:39
you can have it with you all week. And if you
51:42
want the complete unedited sermon experience,
51:44
the Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast has you covered.
51:47
Find it wherever you listen. Chip challenged
51:50
us today not just to believe the right things,
51:53
but to actually live them out in front of the
51:56
people around us. That's the question at the
51:59
heart of his book, Yes, You Really Can Change.
52:01
Not just what you know, but whether what you
52:04
know is actually changing you. It's a practical,
52:08
Scripture -grounded look at the process of real
52:10
transformation, written for anyone who genuinely
52:13
wants their faith to show up in their life. Plus,
52:17
we're including a second copy with every order
52:19
right now, one to keep, one to give to a friend
52:22
to share in the journey. As we continue this
52:25
series on discipleship, we want to help you invest
52:27
in the faith walk of others around you. So get
52:30
your copy and a copy for someone you know by
52:33
going online to livingontheedge .org slash offers.
52:38
If you'd like to help Chip bring this kind of
52:40
teaching to more people every day, a donation
52:43
of any amount goes directly toward that mission.
52:45
Give online at livingontheedge .org or by calling
52:49
us at 888 -333 -6003. You can also reach us by
52:54
mail at Living on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, Atlanta,
52:59
Georgia, 30024. Well, now let me hand things
53:03
over to Chip for a final word. Thanks, Dave.
53:06
As we close today's program, I want to ask you
53:09
a question, something I want you to ponder on
53:12
today. If you are the greatest Christian that
53:16
some people will ever meet in your neighborhood
53:19
or at the coffee shop or at work or in your family,
53:22
are you bold? Are you out there in a winsome,
53:26
kind, loving way? Are you representing Jesus
53:29
in a way that people would be attracted to him?
53:33
Does your Facebook indicate someone who's loving
53:36
and kind and truthful and caring? Can I ask you,
53:41
do what it takes today. to be bold for the Lord
53:44
Jesus Christ. People are in desperate need. And
53:48
regardless of the criticism that you may get,
53:50
you'll never regret being bold for Jesus. I'm
53:54
Dave Drury, and that's all for today's program.
53:56
More practical faith -building teaching from
53:59
Chip Ingram next time on Living on the Edge.
54:05
Today's program is produced and sponsored by
54:07
Living on the Edge.