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Voddie Baucham - The Hard Truth About Serving Jesus Christ 2 Timothy 2 1–7 · Voddie Baucham Sermons

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Speaker 1: All right. Are we ready? All right. Well, good morning.
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Speaker 2: It is a delight, a great joy, as usual, as
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Speaker 2: well as a quite sad occasion this morning. As I
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Speaker 2: sat back there, I thought about the fact that we've
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Speaker 2: been here for almost a decade, In fact, we've been
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Speaker 2: here so long that many of you thought we would
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Speaker 2: never leave. And we've gotten that message from many people
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Speaker 2: who said, why are you going? If you'll recall, when
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Speaker 2: we came, we said that we would be here for
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Speaker 2: three to five years. That was our plan. It has
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Speaker 2: now been almost ten. And so that time has come.
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Speaker 1: But as I.
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Speaker 2: Sit here, there are several memories that just flood my mind.
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Speaker 2: And one of them, we almost always sit right over there.
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Speaker 2: Very few people know why we've always sat right over there.
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Speaker 2: Our children have even forgotten why we always sit right
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Speaker 2: over there. The reason we always sit right over there
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Speaker 2: is because when we first came, our children, the ones
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Speaker 2: who came with us, were 2, 3.
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Speaker 1: 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11.
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Speaker 2: And so we had some who were still being trained
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Speaker 2: to sit in church, and we needed a quick way
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Speaker 2: to get out if they needed reminding.
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Speaker 1: Amen?
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Speaker 2: And so that's why we've always sat over there on
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Speaker 2: that side, because when we came, that was the phase
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Speaker 2: of life that we were in. And now we sit
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Speaker 2: here almost a decade later, And all but one of
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Speaker 2: those children has spent most of their life here in Zambia.
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Speaker 2: It's hard to wrap our minds around. When we first came,
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Speaker 2: we didn't have any grandchildren. Now we have three on
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Speaker 2: our way to 50.
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Speaker 1: Amen. And God's been good.
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Speaker 2: We're grateful to have had this time and opportunity to
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Speaker 2: be here and to share this part.
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Speaker 1: Of our life with you.
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Speaker 2: And as I thought about this day and the opportunity
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Speaker 2: to come and bid farewell, I couldn't help but be
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Speaker 2: guided again and again to second Timothy where Paul essentially
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Speaker 2: bids his farewell. He's at the end of his ministry.
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Speaker 2: He's at the end of his life. He knows that
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Speaker 2: he's at the end of his life. One of the
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Speaker 2: most famous passages in the entire letter occurs there in
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Speaker 2: chapter 4. That's not our text for today. But in
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Speaker 2: chapter 4, he says to Timothy, For I am already
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Speaker 2: being poured out as a drink offering, and the time
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Speaker 2: of my departure has come.
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Speaker 1: I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race.
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Speaker 1: I have kept the faith.
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Speaker 2: Henceforth, There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness,
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Speaker 2: which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me
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Speaker 2: on that day. And not only to me, but also
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Speaker 2: to all who have loved his appearing. And so at
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Speaker 2: the end of his life, when he is in prison
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Speaker 2: and knows that it could be his last time, knows
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Speaker 2: that his execution could be near, he takes pen to
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Speaker 2: paper and says, He has his amanuenses, his secretary, if
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Speaker 2: you will, to pen a letter to young Timothy. To
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Speaker 2: give young Timothy his final words. To give young Timothy
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Speaker 2: what he hoped wouldn't be his final farewell. But what
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Speaker 2: ended up being just that. And so if you have
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Speaker 2: your Bibles with you, open with me to the book
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Speaker 2: of 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy chapter 2. Title of my
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Speaker 2: message today is, I leave you with this. 2 Timothy
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Speaker 2: chapter 2, beginning of verse 1. Then, you then, my child,
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Speaker 2: be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
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Speaker 2: And what you have heard from me in the presence
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Speaker 2: of many witnesses... entrust to faithful men who will be
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Speaker 2: able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a
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Speaker 2: good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in
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Speaker 2: civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one
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Speaker 2: who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he
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Speaker 2: competes according to the rules. It is the hardworking farmer
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Speaker 2: who ought to have the first share of the crops.
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Speaker 2: Think over what I say. The Lord will give you
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Speaker 2: understanding in everything.
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Speaker 1: As Paul.
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Speaker 2: Brings his ministry and his life to a close, he
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Speaker 2: gives several instructions to young Timothy. But here in chapter 2,
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Speaker 2: he gives what is essentially the crux of the matter.
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Speaker 2: Everything that he's saying here in the book of 2
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Speaker 2: Timothy can really be summed up in what he says
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Speaker 2: here in chapter 2. But what's important here is not
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Speaker 2: just what he says, but how he says it. It
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Speaker 2: gives great insight, not only into his relationship with Timothy,
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Speaker 2: but it also gives great insight into the relationship between
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Speaker 2: those of us who have been called to preach, and
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Speaker 2: those to whom we have the privilege of preaching. Four
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Speaker 2: things that he leaves, that today I leave with you. First,
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Speaker 2: I leave with you a fatherly affection. He says in
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Speaker 2: verse 1, you then, my child. Timothy is not Paul's
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Speaker 2: biological child. He's not Paul's child by adoption. Timothy is
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Speaker 2: Paul's child in the faith. They have a very close,
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Speaker 2: intimate relationship. And the reason that he refers to Timothy
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Speaker 2: like this is because the church is essentially the household
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Speaker 2: of faith. The church is the family of God. And
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Speaker 2: because it's the household of faith and the family of God,
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Speaker 2: it unites us in ways that nothing else in this
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Speaker 2: world can. We don't gather here today because we have
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Speaker 2: the same taste in music. We don't gather here today
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Speaker 2: because we're all from the same generation. We don't gather
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Speaker 2: here today because we're all from the same culture. We
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Speaker 2: gather here today because we are all part of the
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Speaker 2: family of God. And one of the incredible privileges of
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Speaker 2: preaching the gospel, especially being able to preach it for
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Speaker 2: a That in the family of God, the person who
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Speaker 2: stands here and does what I am doing this morning
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Speaker 2: is exercising a fatherly responsibility. It is an incredibly great
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Speaker 2: weight to carry. And one of the most awesome privileges.
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Speaker 1: In all the world.
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Speaker 2: And it has been my privilege to for the better
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Speaker 2: part of a decade, to be able to share this
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Speaker 2: fatherly affection with you. To look out upon the face
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Speaker 2: of brothers and sisters. To look out upon the faces
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Speaker 2: of people who've become so incredibly dear to me and
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Speaker 2: to my family. Listen to the way Paul puts it
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Speaker 2: in chapter one. Go to chapter one, beginning in verse three.
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Speaker 2: He says, I thank God whom I serve as did
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Speaker 2: my ancestors with a clear conscience. As I remember you
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Speaker 2: constantly in my prayers night and day.
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Speaker 1: That's fatherly affection.
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Speaker 2: I pray for you. I pray for you regularly. You're
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Speaker 2: on my heart all the time. He says, as I
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Speaker 2: remember your tears. That's fatherly affection. I long to see you.
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Speaker 2: that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded
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Speaker 2: of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in
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Speaker 2: your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and now
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Speaker 2: I am sure dwells in you as well. Paul and
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Speaker 2: Timothy had shared life together, and he was expressing fatherly affection.
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Speaker 2: They had shared loss together. They had shared great joy together.
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Speaker 2: They had shared victories and defeats together. It's not just here,
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Speaker 2: but elsewhere.
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Speaker 1: In the letter.
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Speaker 2: In chapter four, verse nine, he says, do your best
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Speaker 2: to come to me soon. Again, Paul knows he's at
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Speaker 2: the end of his life and he's saying to young Timothy,
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Speaker 2: hurry up and get here. In chapter four, verse 21,
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Speaker 2: do your best to come before winter. Because of course,
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Speaker 2: once the winter comes, It'll be difficult to get there
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Speaker 2: at all and you have to wait until the winter
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Speaker 2: is over. And Paul doesn't believe he has that long.
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Speaker 2: He loves this young man with a fatherly affection and
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Speaker 2: yearns to see him again. That is what the church does.
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Speaker 2: That is what the church gives us. That is who
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Speaker 2: we are as followers of Christ. Jesus said in John 13,
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Speaker 2: 34 and 35, a new commandment I give to you,
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Speaker 2: that you love one another. Just as I have loved you,
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Speaker 2: you also are to love one another. By this, all
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Speaker 2: people will know that you are my disciples if you
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Speaker 2: have love for one another. In 1 Timothy, Paul says
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Speaker 2: in chapter 5, verses 1 and 2, do not rebuke
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Speaker 2: an older man, but encourage him as you would a father.
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Speaker 2: Younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women
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Speaker 2: as sisters in all purity. It is the family of God.
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Speaker 2: And as I look out today, I look out upon
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Speaker 2: my brothers and my sisters. My uncles and my aunties
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Speaker 2: and my nieces and my nephews. And in some instances,
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Speaker 2: my father's.
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Speaker 1: In the faith.
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Speaker 2: And so as we depart, know that this is how
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Speaker 2: we depart. We don't depart as people who came here
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Speaker 2: as laborers and hirelings just to do a job. But
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Speaker 2: we depart having invested ourselves, having given ourselves away to
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Speaker 2: our Zambian family. Secondly, Not only do I leave you
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Speaker 2: with fatherly affection, but I leave you with God's grace.
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Speaker 2: Again in verse 1. You then, my child, be strengthened
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Speaker 2: by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Be strengthened
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Speaker 2: by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Paul knows
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Speaker 2: that what Timothy has lying ahead of him is going
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Speaker 2: to require a strength that is beyond his. And so
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Speaker 2: he encourages him to be strengthened by by the grace
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Speaker 2: that is in Christ Jesus. The grace of God is
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Speaker 2: the source of our strength. Relying on anything else is
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Speaker 2: a fool's errand. If you rely on anything in yourself,
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Speaker 2: you will fail. If you rely on anyone other than
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Speaker 2: God himself, you will fail.
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Speaker 1: They will let you down.
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Speaker 2: Your only source of reliable strength is the grace of God.
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Speaker 1: That is it.
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Speaker 2: The grace of God saves us. The grace of God
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Speaker 2: sanctifies us. The grace of God sustains us. And the
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Speaker 2: grace of God will deliver us to our heavenly home.
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Speaker 2: It is all of grace. All of it. And if
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Speaker 2: you've heard nothing else from me over these years, I
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Speaker 2: hope you've heard that. You know, Paul begins and ends
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Speaker 2: all of his epistles saying, with this. Thirteen epistles, and
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Speaker 2: they all begin and end with grace. Perhaps you've never
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Speaker 2: done this before, but we're going to do it today.
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Speaker 2: Romans chapter 1 verse 7, he begins with grace to
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Speaker 2: you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
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Speaker 2: Jesus Christ. Chapter 16, he ends with the grace of
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Speaker 2: our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. First Corinthians chapter
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Speaker 2: He begins in chapter 1, verse 3, grace to you
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Speaker 2: and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Speaker 2: He ends in chapter 16, the grace of the Lord
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Speaker 2: Jesus be with you. Second Corinthians, he begins in chapter 1,
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Speaker 2: verse 2, grace to you and peace from God our
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Speaker 2: Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In chapter 13, he
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Speaker 2: ends with the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and
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Speaker 2: the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
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Speaker 1: Be with you all.
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Speaker 2: Galatians, he begins with grace to you, peace from God
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Speaker 2: our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He ends with
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Speaker 2: the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers.
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Speaker 2: Ephesians chapter one, verse two, grace to you and peace
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Speaker 2: from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He
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Speaker 2: ends in chapter six, grace be with all who love
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Speaker 2: the Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. In Philippians, grace
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Speaker 2: to you and peace from God our father and the
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Speaker 2: Lord Jesus Christ. He ends in verse chapter four, the
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Speaker 2: grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. In Colossians,
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Speaker 2: he begins with grace to you and peace from God,
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Speaker 2: our father. He ends with grace be with you. In
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Speaker 2: first Thessalonians, he begins with grace to you and peace.
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Speaker 2: And he ends in chapter five with the grace of
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Speaker 2: our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. In 2 Thessalonians,
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Speaker 2: grace to you and peace from God our Father and
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Speaker 2: the Lord Jesus Christ. In chapter 3, the grace of
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Speaker 2: the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. In 1
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Speaker 2: Timothy chapter 1 verse 2, grace, mercy, and peace from
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Speaker 2: God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Chapter 6,
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Speaker 2: grace be with you. In 2 Timothy, he begins with grace, mercy,
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Speaker 2: and peace from God the Father and he ends with
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Speaker 2: The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
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Speaker 2: Titus chapter 1. Grace and peace from God the Father
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Speaker 2: and Christ Jesus our Savior. Titus 3. Grace be with
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Speaker 2: you all. Philemon chapter 1 verse 3. Grace to you.
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Speaker 2: Peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Speaker 2: And he ends with the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Speaker 2: Be with your spirit. Why bother going through all of
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Speaker 2: that to make this point? It may seem redundant to us,
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Speaker 2: but the fact of the matter is, for Paul, everything
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Speaker 2: he did, everything he said, everything he wrote began and
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Speaker 2: ended with the grace of God. He did not take
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Speaker 2: it for granted. He did not assume that, well, these
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Speaker 2: brothers know me, or, well, they've received another letter from
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Speaker 2: me before, so they already know that this begins and
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Speaker 2: ends with grace, so I'll just move on to something else.
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Speaker 2: He never moves on from grace. We never move on
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Speaker 2: from grace. Our entire Christian life, from beginning to end,
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Speaker 2: is of grace. All of it is of grace and
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Speaker 2: nothing but grace. Even the obedience that we offer to God,
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Speaker 2: we offer that obedience to God by his grace that
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Speaker 2: enables us to do so.
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Speaker 1: It is all of grace. I leave you with the
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Speaker 1: grace of God. It is all you need.
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Speaker 2: And there is nothing that I could leave you with
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Speaker 2: that is more significant than than the grace of God. Thirdly,
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Speaker 2: I leave you with a pattern of sound words.
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Speaker 1: Verse two.
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Speaker 2: And what you have heard from me in the presence
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Speaker 2: of many witnesses, entrust the faithful men who will be
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Speaker 2: able to teach others also. Now, Why do I refer
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Speaker 2: to this as the pattern of sound words? Well, because
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Speaker 2: elsewhere in the book, Paul uses this terminology. In fact,
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Speaker 2: he makes a reference to this idea in every chapter
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Speaker 2: of 2 Timothy. Listen to this in chapter 1, verses
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Speaker 2: 13 and 14.
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Speaker 1: Follow the pattern of sound.
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Speaker 2: Words that you have heard from me, In the faith
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Speaker 2: and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy
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Speaker 2: Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted
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Speaker 2: to you. Chapter 2, we hear him saying here, Go
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Speaker 2: to chapter 3 and look at the beginning of verse 14.
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Speaker 2: But as for you, continue in what you have learned
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Speaker 2: and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it,
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Speaker 2: and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the
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Speaker 2: sacred writings which are able to make you wise for
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Speaker 2: salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is breathed
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Speaker 2: out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
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Speaker 2: for training in righteousness, that the man of God may
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Speaker 2: be complete, equipped for every good work. And finally, in
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Speaker 2: chapter 4, verses 1 and 2.
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Speaker 1: I charge you in.
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Speaker 2: The presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is
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Speaker 2: to judge the living and the dead and by his
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Speaker 2: appearing and by his kingdom preach the word. Be ready
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Speaker 2: in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, and exhort
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Speaker 2: with complete patience and teaching. Why this emphasis? Why this
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Speaker 2: emphasis in every chapter? Think about this for a moment.
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Speaker 2: The Lord Jesus Christ has come, he has lived his
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Speaker 2: perfect life, he has died his sinless substitutionary death, and
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Speaker 2: he has ascended to his father. His apostles are left
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Speaker 2: to carry on his work and to communicate.
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Speaker 1: The gospel everywhere.
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Speaker 2: But even early on, there are perversions of the gospel.
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Speaker 2: When you look at Corinthians, when you look at 1 John,
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Speaker 2: you see that there are enemies of the gospel coming
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Speaker 2: in on every side. The apostles are dying one by
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Speaker 2: one by one. Paul now knows that he is at
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Speaker 2: the end of his life. So what's the only hope?
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Speaker 2: They don't yet have the compiled New Testament. So the
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Speaker 2: only hope is that faithful brothers who have heard this
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Speaker 2: pattern of sound words would hold firmly to this pattern
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Speaker 2: of sound words, this gospel message, and communicate this gospel
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Speaker 2: message to others who will hold on to it and
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Speaker 2: transmit it as well. Otherwise, the gospel message dies in
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Speaker 2: the first generation. That's the urgency. That's the urgency. Hold
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Speaker 2: on to it. And don't just hold on to it,
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Speaker 2: but hold on to it rightly. Turn with me, if
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Speaker 2: you will, to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. This is an
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Speaker 2: example of where Paul lays out this pattern of sound words.
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Speaker 2: 1 Corinthians 15, verse 1, Paul writes, Now I would
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Speaker 2: remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you,
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Speaker 2: which you received, in which you stand, by which you
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Speaker 2: are being saved, if you hold fast to the word
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Speaker 2: which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
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Speaker 2: For I delivered to you as of first importance what
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Speaker 2: I also received, that Christ died for our sins in
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Speaker 2: accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he
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Speaker 2: was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures,
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Speaker 2: and that he appeared to Cephas, or Peter, then to
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Speaker 2: the twelve. Then he appeared to more than 500 brothers
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Speaker 2: at one time, most of whom are still alive, though
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Speaker 2: some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James and
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Speaker 2: to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one
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Speaker 2: untimely born, he appeared to me. This is the pattern
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Speaker 2: of sound words. This is the gospel that we preach.
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Speaker 2: You see, the grace of God is the source of
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Speaker 2: our strength.
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Speaker 1: Absolutely.
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Speaker 2: But the pattern of sound words, the message of the gospel,
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Speaker 2: explains the grace of God to us. The grace of God.
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Speaker 2: Many people out there talk about the grace of God.
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Speaker 2: People who don't even believe in God talk about the
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Speaker 2: grace of God. It's only when you have the pattern
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Speaker 2: of sound words that you properly understand what the grace
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Speaker 2: of God means.
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Speaker 1: When he says grace and peace.
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Speaker 2: By the way, first century believers often greeted one another
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Speaker 2: with those words, grace and peace.
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Speaker 1: Why the words grace and peace? It was really shorthand
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Speaker 1: for the gospel.
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Speaker 2: The grace of God that we need because we are sinners.
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Speaker 2: The gospel message shapes the way we understand the world.
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Speaker 2: There is a God who created the world and everything
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Speaker 2: in it. He created man in his own image. First
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Speaker 2: man he put in the garden and he gave him
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Speaker 2: a command. A particular command not to eat of a
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Speaker 2: particular tree.
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Speaker 1: Promised him life.
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Speaker 2: Upon the keeping of it and threatened death for him
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Speaker 2: and his posterity should.
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Speaker 1: He not keep it. And he didn't keep it. He
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Speaker 1: ate of the fruit.
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Speaker 2: And because of that, sin entered into the world. And
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Speaker 2: all of us in Adam are now fallen. But in
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Speaker 2: chapter 3 of Genesis, the curse of the serpent gives
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Speaker 2: us a promise.
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Speaker 1: When God says to the serpent, I.
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Speaker 2: Will put enmity between you and the woman and between
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Speaker 2: your seed and her seed, you will bruise his heel,
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Speaker 2: but he will crush your head. There is a promise
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Speaker 2: right there in Genesis that there is one coming who
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Speaker 2: is going to defeat the serpent and who is going
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Speaker 2: to undo what the first Adam has done. And all
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Speaker 2: of the Old Testament with its prophets and priests and
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Speaker 2: kings remind us again and again that God is in control,
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Speaker 2: but our deliverer has not yet come. No king was
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Speaker 2: king enough. No priest was priest enough. No prophet was
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Speaker 2: prophet enough. That is until our prophet, priest, and king,
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Speaker 2: Jesus Christ, born of a woman, born of a virgin.
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Speaker 2: Why born of a virgin? So that he does not
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Speaker 2: inherit Adam's sin. Lives a perfect life in our stead.
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Speaker 2: Keeps the law completely on our behalf. So that his
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Speaker 2: righteousness might be imputed to us. and then dies an
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Speaker 2: undeserved death, a substitutionary atoning death, where our sinfulness is
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Speaker 2: imputed to him and is crushed and killed on the tree.
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Speaker 2: Our sin is paid for. That's the grace of God.
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Speaker 2: That's the pattern of sound words. That's the message that
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Speaker 2: shapes our understanding, not only of our salvation, but of.
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Speaker 1: Everything in the world around us.
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Speaker 2: The problems in our world are not primarily economic. They're
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Speaker 2: not primarily political. The problems in our world are primarily sin-based.
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Speaker 2: And we need the grace of God. And when we
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Speaker 2: come to God by His grace, guess what? We find peace.
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Speaker 2: Peace with God instead of enmity with God. And New
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Speaker 2: Testament believers sort of shortened this and they would greet
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Speaker 2: one another, grace and peace. And Paul began all of
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Speaker 2: his letters, grace to you and peace from God our
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Speaker 2: Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Speaker 1: It was a.
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Speaker 2: Summary of that pattern of sound words. It was a
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Speaker 2: reminder that we are who we are and that we
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Speaker 2: have what we have. because of the message of the gospel.
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Speaker 2: And nothing else, nothing else will do. And so I
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Speaker 2: leave you with fatherly affection. I leave you with the
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Speaker 2: grace of God. I leave you with a pattern of
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Speaker 2: sound words. And finally, I leave you with a mission
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Speaker 2: worth suffering for. Look beginning in verse 3 of our text.
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Speaker 2: share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
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Speaker 2: No soldier gets entangled with civilian pursuits since his aim
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Speaker 2: is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete
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Speaker 2: is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
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Speaker 2: It is the hardworking farmer who ought to have the
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Speaker 2: first share.
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Speaker 1: Of the crops.
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Speaker 2: Think over what I say, for the Lord will give
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Speaker 2: you understanding in everything. By the way, just like every
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Speaker 2: chapter in 2 Timothy, talks about preserving and proclaiming the gospel,
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Speaker 2: preserving and proclaiming this pattern of sound words. Every chapter
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Speaker 2: in 2 Timothy talks about suffering for this cause. Look
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Speaker 2: with me at chapter 1 and verse 8. Therefore, do
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Speaker 2: not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor
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Speaker 2: of me, his prisoner, but share in suffering for the
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Speaker 2: gospel by the power of God. In chapter 2, right here,
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Speaker 2: share in suffering as a good soldier in Christ Jesus.
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Speaker 2: In chapter 3, look beginning in verse 10. You, however,
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Speaker 2: have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life,
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Speaker 2: my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions
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Speaker 2: and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium,
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Speaker 2: and at Lystra. Which persecutions I endured. Yet from them
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Speaker 2: all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to
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Speaker 2: live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
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Speaker 2: While evil men, evil people and imposters go from bad
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Speaker 2: to worse, deceiving and being deceived. Finally, in chapter 4,
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Speaker 2: beginning in verse 3. For the time is coming when
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Speaker 2: people will not endure sound teaching. but having itching ears,
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Speaker 2: they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own
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Speaker 2: passions and will turn away from listening to the truth
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Speaker 2: and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded,
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Speaker 2: endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry.
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Speaker 2: It is a mission worth suffering for. Four chapters and
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Speaker 2: four times Paul tells young Timothy two things. Preserve and
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Speaker 2: proclaim the gospel. And endure the suffering that will inevitably
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Speaker 2: follow as a result of doing so. And folks, here's
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Speaker 2: what's amazing about this. Paul is in prison. He is
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Speaker 2: most likely about to be executed. He picks up pen
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Speaker 2: and paper, gets his amanuensis, his secretary to write a
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Speaker 2: letter to young Timothy. And if I may, here's the
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Speaker 2: summary of second Timothy. Timothy, I love you. They're about
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Speaker 2: to kill me for preaching the gospel. When they do,
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Speaker 2: preach the gospel. That's second Timothy. That's it. That's it.
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Speaker 2: They are about to put me to death. Most likely
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Speaker 2: they're going to cut off my head, and they do.
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Speaker 2: And when it happens, when it happens, I want to
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Speaker 2: make sure, by the way, that's why in 2 Timothy, listen,
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Speaker 2: if I'm in prison, I just need to be honest.
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Speaker 1: Amen?
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Speaker 2: If I go to prison, if I went to prison
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Speaker 2: in the first century, and I'm the Apostle Paul, and
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Speaker 2: I'm writing a letter to somebody, my letter would go
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Speaker 2: something like this. Grace to you and peace from God
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Speaker 2: our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you remember
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Speaker 2: those guys who were praying for Peter when he was
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Speaker 2: in prison and then the doors opened up and he left? Yes,
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Speaker 2: go get them. That's my letter. But that's not Paul's letter.
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Speaker 2: Not once does Paul flinch at death in this letter. Why?
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Speaker 2: Because he is bidding young Timothy to follow him in
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Speaker 2: laying down his life and not just dying, but being
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Speaker 2: killed for the gospel. You can't call a man to
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Speaker 2: do that if you're scared. You can't do it. And
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Speaker 2: so he says to his young protege, Not I'm dying,
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Speaker 2: but I'm already being poured out as a drink offering.
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Speaker 2: Why that turn of phrase? I'm already being poured out
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Speaker 2: as a drink offering. Not I'm about to die. Not
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Speaker 2: I'm about to be executed. But he saw his impending
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Speaker 2: death as an act of worship to his God. But
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Speaker 2: the ministry to which we're called is not just worth it.
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Speaker 2: It's more than worth it. Preserving and proclaiming the gospel
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Speaker 2: of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's more than worth it.
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Speaker 2: Our desire is that Christ would have the fullness of
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Speaker 2: the reward for which he died. Whatever it is that
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Speaker 2: we're called to endure, it's more than worth it. By
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Speaker 2: the way, if you're wondering how we can do that,
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Speaker 2: go back to chapter one again. There was a turn
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Speaker 2: of phrase there.
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Speaker 3: And I'll end with this. I'll end with this. Second
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Speaker 3: Timothy chapter one, beginning in verse eight. Because it's everything.
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Speaker 1: It's everything.
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Speaker 2: Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord,
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Speaker 2: nor of me, his prisoner, but share in suffering for
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Speaker 2: the gospel by the power of God.
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Speaker 1: Isn't that amazing?
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Speaker 2: When you're suffering, you think what you need is the
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Speaker 2: power of God to get you out of your suffering.
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Speaker 2: Paul says, share in suffering by the power of God.
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Speaker 2: Who saved us and called us to a holy calling.
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Speaker 2: Not because of our works, but because of his own
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Speaker 2: purpose and grace.
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Speaker 1: There it is.
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Speaker 2: Which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.
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Speaker 2: And which now has been manifested through the appearing of
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Speaker 2: our Savior Christ Jesus. Who abolished death and brought life
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Speaker 2: and immortality to light through the gospel. There it is.
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Speaker 2: For which I was appointed a preacher and apostle forever.
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Speaker 2: and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do.
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Speaker 2: But I'm not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed,
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Speaker 2: and I am convinced that he is able to guard
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Speaker 2: until that day what has been entrusted to me. Then
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Speaker 2: he says, follow the pattern of sound words that you
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Speaker 2: have heard from me in the faith and love that
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Speaker 2: are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells
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Speaker 2: within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
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Speaker 3: How?
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Speaker 2: He is not saying to young Timothy, be more manly.
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Speaker 2: Be more masculine. He's not saying to young Timothy, cause
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Speaker 2: all fear.
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Speaker 1: To leave your body and your existence. He's not saying
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Speaker 1: that to young Timothy.
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Speaker 2: He's saying to young Timothy, be strong in the grace
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Speaker 2: that is in Christ Jesus. Continue to preserve and proclaim
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Speaker 2: the gospel. You are going to suffer, but when you do,
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Speaker 2: it is the grace of God and the power of
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Speaker 2: God that will grant.
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Speaker 1: You all you need in order to be able to
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Speaker 1: suffer well. It's enough. It's enough.
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Speaker 2: And so, as I leave, I leave you with fatherly affection.
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Speaker 2: I leave you with the grace of God. I leave
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Speaker 2: you with a pattern of sound words. And I leave
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Speaker 2: you with a mission that is worth suffering for.
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Speaker 3: Let's pray.
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Speaker 2: Our good and glorious and gracious God, the God and
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Speaker 2: Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God who saves
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Speaker 2: us by his grace, sanctifies us by his grace, keeps
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Speaker 2: us by his grace, and who will bring us to
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Speaker 2: our heavenly home by his grace. God, we bow before
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Speaker 2: you in humble adoration.
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Speaker 3: Amen.
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Speaker 2: And overwhelming gratitude for your goodness. Thanking you for the
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Speaker 2: fact that you loved us in spite of ourselves and
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Speaker 2: not because of anything in us. Father, grant by your
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Speaker 2: grace that we might hold firmly to the pattern of
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Speaker 2: sound words. that we might call men and women, boys
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Speaker 2: and girls, to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And
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Speaker 2: that beyond that, we would equip other faithful followers with
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Speaker 2: this same pattern of sound words so that they might
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Speaker 2: give it away to others long after we are gone.
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Speaker 2: I pray that the work that you've given me the
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Speaker 2: privilege of doing here over the last decade, would bear
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Speaker 2: that kind of fruit.
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Speaker 1: Thank you.
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Speaker 2: For the people of KBC, for the investment that they
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Speaker 2: have made in the Bauckham family, and for the investment
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Speaker 2: that the Bauckham family has been allowed to make in
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Speaker 2: this church. Use this, we pray, by your grace and
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Speaker 2: for your glory In Christ's name, amen.