Influential Relationships Followers — Westlake Bible Fellowship

0:00 Introduction and Recap

Alright. As you can see, we will have a PowerPoint. It's not that impressive, but it might help some of you with some note taking with this message here. But you'll see that we are gonna be in second Timothy chapter chapter three. But I'd like you to do is before we get to second Timothy, we're gonna read an account in Acts.

So if you could turn please to Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13. And so, again, just kind of recapping. Right? The last night we looked at the initial relationship and that is of our faith.

Right? That's the most important relationship. Right? Is do you love Jesus? Do you love Jesus?

If you love Jesus, right, that's where we can start with all our other relationships. And then this morning, we were looking at some of those, inherited relationships. As we said, usually when it comes to our family, we didn't choose who our family is. We kind of inherited those. And, but you know what?

God, I believe, thinks very highly of the family. As we looked at there, I think it's through the family that we get to see a lot of God's character. And so certainly there's lots of relationships within family, within the home. And we talked about that. I think it's important for you to understand the power of your home to the world in which we live in.

In fact, I just would remind you too, right? When it comes to church ministry, right, there's often in scripture many areas of ministry where the Bible says, hey, listen. If your relationships aren't good in your home, don't bother serving here in the assembly. Right? That's how important family is to God.

Right? If things aren't working in home, hey, hey, don't bother coming and working on relationships here. It has to first take place in the home. That's important to God. Okay?

And then as was mentioned already, I really want to look at this idea of discipleship. Right? Every one of us here should have a relationship where either we are discipling someone younger than us, and it doesn't necessarily mean by age, right? It could be just someone younger in the faith. Right?

And I really believe that there's an importance to having someone in our lives who we can go to as well. Right? Someone who is that mentor. Right? Someone that we look up to in the faith as well.

So we're gonna look at that for our last session here. And listen, I've never had a conference where I had to speak after lunch. That's just cruel. Okay? So if you're falling asleep, I won't hold it against you.

Okay? I may just walk over and tap your shoulder or something like that. No, I'm just joking. This isn't camp. We do that to the kids.

We make them stand on the sides and things like that. Alright, but I'll try to keep it short today too because I know that everybody is in a food coma right now. Thank you very much for the lunch. It was delicious. It was very, very good.

And so here we have in Acts chapter 13. I'm just going to kind of read some snippets here that we can kinda get an idea of what Paul might be talking about in second Timothy chapter three. And so if you look at verse 44, Acts chapter 13 verse 44, and it says, on the next Sabbath, almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy. And they contradicted and blasphemed.

They they opposed the things that were spoken by Paul. And so of course, Paul Barnabas actually just helps them grow bolder. Right? And they continue to to share. Then look at verse 49.

And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region. But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women. And the chief men of the city raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their region. This is at Antioch, by the way. And so then look at chapter 14, please.

Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren. And in verse five, and when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews with their rulers to abuse and stone them, they became aware of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lyconia, and to the surrounding region. And then if you'll turn over perhaps to verse 19, or it could be on that same page there. It says, And then the Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there.

So they're following them. They're literally following them as they go along. And here they are in Lystra, and it says, They came there and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul. And they dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up, went into the city, and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

5:29 Paul's Difficult Circumstances in 2 Timothy

Now, when we get to second Timothy here, I want you to understand, and I'm sure some of you already know this, is that circumstances for Paul have drastically changed. K. When Paul goes to write second Timothy now, he is now a prisoner of Rome. He's in a dungeon that, at least historically speaking, they say that when you went into this dungeon, you didn't come out alive. In fact, if you did come out alive, you didn't come out sane.

They said that there might have been no light. It might have been completely dark. And not only that, but Paul knows because we read in this letter that he sends to Timothy. We read that that he knows that this is the end. He knows it.

Says in chapter four, and so we know that in a very short time, right, Paul is actually going to be beheaded. Right? And if that wasn't bad enough, we also read in this letter that all of Paul's associates, with the exception of one, have left him. They've all left him. Only Luke remains.

And so, this is a dark hour for Paul. Okay? Try to put yourself in his situation. You're in this dungeon, this dark prison. You know that this is it.

You know that you're about to die. And all of your associates have left you. Now, interesting contrast, right? We looked at Isaac's concern when his mind was filled with death. Here Paul knows that he's going to die.

And look at what his concern is. His concern in writing his last letter here is for his Timothy. That's who he's concerned about. He's concerned about the gospel of Jesus Christ and Timothy continuing to take that gospel to the world. Man, what a challenge that is for me.

Right? I can't tell you how many times I've I've heard people say, well, John, you just don't know what what what I'm going through right now. I I know what Paul went through. Well, no, no. You don't understand, John.

I just feel so alone right now. Yeah, yeah. Paul had nobody. Yeah, but no, you you don't understand. You don't understand how hard things are for me right now.

Well well Paul knows he's about to be beheaded. And yet Paul is still concerned, not with himself, but with the gospel and his young one in the faith, his son Timothy. What a challenge that is for us. Don't think for one moment that because you're going through a hard time right now that you don't have a responsibility to those younger in the faith. You do have a responsibility in spite of whatever you're going through right now.

I don't think it matters. I don't think there's ever a circumstance in your life where you can say, hey God, listen, I know that I don't have a responsibility right now because I've got too much going on. Look at Paul. And so here in second Timothy, chapter three, beginning in verse one, it says, but know this, and again, he's writing this to Timothy. That in the last days, perilous times will come.

For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness, but denying its power. And from such people turn away. For of this sort are those who creep into households and they make captives of gullible women, loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of truth. Isn't that a testament to our society today?

Always learning, but never being able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now, as Janus and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth. Men of corrupt minds disapproved concerning the faith, but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all as theirs also was. And this is what we're going to focus on today, these three verses here. But you, Timothy, have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long suffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra.

What persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. The Lord will bless the reading of his word. Again, let's just ask him for help.

Father, we again thank you for your word. We thank you for an example like Paul. Even in his last moments, even in a dark hour, he's not concerned with himself. He's not self absorbed. He's actually concerned with Timothy.

He's concerned with your gospel. And so we just pray that, again, as we look into what he writes here to Timothy, that we ourselves might be able to glean truth from this, that we might be able to practically apply some of these things to our lives, especially when it comes to our relationship with those younger in the faith or older in the faith. And so we ask your blessing on our time together in Jesus name, amen. The emphasis in this chapter is on knowledge and responsibility. Paul informed Timothy about the character of the last days.

12:07 Following Faithful Examples

The second coming of the Lord Jesus. Perilous times means dangerous or savage. It's actually the same Greek word that is used to describe the two demon possessed men in Matthew chapter eight, which is translated exceedingly fierce. The Greek word literally means hard times. And again, I've mentioned this a couple times this weekend is, you know what, in one way or another, I know all of you are having hard times.

Whatever it could be. Maybe it's spiritually. Remember, financially. Right? Maybe it's physically.

Right? But we all have hard times. And certainly Paul is referring to this, that there's a time coming where there's going be hard times. In fact, perhaps the margin of your bible might even say times of stress. I know nobody has that here.

Times of stress. And so there's no doubt that these characteristics describe the time in Paul's day and have continued today. We ourselves are living in hard times, times of stress. Paul here gives Timothy three instructions to obey in order that his ministry might be effective during hard times. He talks about fending off that which is false.

He talks about following those who are faithful and forgetting not what comes first. You notice here in verse 10 that I read, he says, but you. But you. And and that there makes a strong contrast between the false teachers and the apostle Paul. Furthermore, he uses the word my.

Right? And that's fronted there for the emphasis in the Greek text. Paul is telling Timothy, but you, in contrast, Timothy, have carefully followed. Not the teachings of Janus and Jambres, right, which we read in verse eight. Not the teachings of these with corrupt minds.

Not the teachings of these who are leading ladies away in lust. Not those who are leading those people away in a form of godliness that has no power. No. In contrast, he says to Timothy, you carefully follow me. So you can see why the title of this message here is the impactful relationship, and we're talking about followers.

Followers. So Paul is saying here to Timothy. Says Timothy, you, in contrast to these other ladies here, you follow me. And so Paul turned from the false teachers to remind Timothy that he, Paul, had been a faithful servant of God. Here is an example worth following.

Here is a life worth emulating. For many years, Monterey, a California coast town, was a pelican's paradise. As the fishermen cleaned their fish, they flung the entrails to the pelicans. The birds grew fat, lazy, and contented. Eventually, however, the entrails were utilized.

And now there was no longer snacks for the pelicans. When the change came, the pelicans made no effort to fish for themselves. They waited around, and they grew gaunt and thin. Many of them starved to death. They had forgotten how to fish for themselves.

The problem was solved by importing new pelicans from the South, birds who were accustomed to foraging for themselves. They were placed among this... Their starving cousins there, and the newcomers immediately started catching fish. Before long, the hungry pelicans followed suit. And the famine ended.

It's a good illustration. Right? Right? It's important that for all of us. Right?

We need those who we can follow. We need people that we can emulate after. Right? Paul often times said, hey, note those who so walk. Paul in other places says, hey, imitate me as I imitate Christ.

Here, right, we see Paul say to Timothy that you have carefully followed me. I think it's important in these difficult days that we follow the right spiritual leaders. What are their characteristics? Right? If we are followers, right?

And that's how the Christian life works, right? Right? Every one of us is following, emulating someone, and we should be one that someone else is following or emulating after. What are those characteristics, right, that make someone worth following? And so here we have what I would call a godly example.

18:16 Characteristics of a Godly Example

In the New King James it says, Timothy, you have carefully followed. You have carefully followed. And so the first point is this, a godly example is known for his or her presence. His or her presence. Their lives, okay, are open for all to see.

Paul had nothing to hide. Right? It's kind of consistent with what we've talked about already this weekend. Right? Where Peter, right, in his restoration with the Lord Jesus, Jesus is saying, hey Peter, just be honest with yourself.

Right? To kind of be open. Right? And we looked at, unfortunately, with Isaac and Rebecca's family and how everything was in secret. Right?

And so here, I think it's important that a godly example, right, as Paul says, hey Timothy, you have fully known these things about me. Paul, right, had nothing to hide. Nothing to hide. Notice what Jesus says. Jesus says in John chapter 18, he says, I spoke openly to the world.

I always taught in synagogues and in the temple where the Jews always meet, and in secret, I have said nothing. The Lord Jesus, right? Had nothing to hide either. Right? He was always present, always open for all to see and hear.

In fact, in Acts chapter 26, right, we read that Paul says, my manner of life from my youth, all the Jews know. There was nothing even from when he was a kid that was kept secret. He was an open book. But also, I think there's something here. Right?

How could Timothy fully know these things about Paul? Certainly, I think there's one aspect in that Paul had nothing to hide. Right? Paul certainly was transparent. But there's another thing here too, I think that's important.

Right? Timothy fully knew because he spent time with Paul. Right? If Paul's not present, if Paul is not there in Timothy's life, he can't know these things. And that is what discipleship is all about.

Right? What we're going to see here is just a great list of what we ought to be reproducing in the next generation. This is what they should be able to see and emulate after. And so discipleship is not just what a teacher works to pass on to a student, but what the student is careful to learn and replicate. That's what discipleship is.

I mean, you look at the life of Jesus and the disciples, right, there were certainly times when the Jesus taught like no one had ever taught before. But man, I think the disciples learned a lot from just hanging with Jesus. And for three and a half years, they ate with him. They walked with him. They were with him.

They saw life. They did life with Jesus. You've got to be present. Right? You've got to be available for this younger generation.

If they want to come over to your house, tell them to come over. Okay? Make yourself available for them. Be present. That's why Paul could say to Timothy, Timothy, you fully know these things.

I've always been with you. I've had nothing to hide. This is me. I've known I've shared this before, but people know this in our house. People come in and out, they realize, okay, these guys aren't perfect.

But hey, we're real. We're real. The next one we see here. Right? A godly example is known for his or her pedagogy.

Right? He says, you have carefully followed my doctrine. My doctrine. You see, they preach true doctrine. Now the doctrine Paul refers to here is the true faith.

The gospel of Jesus Christ. And man, I think this is so important today. What we're seeing amongst Americans today, right, they are increasingly comfortable picking and choosing what they deem to be helpful and accurate theological views. Americans today have become comfortable discarding the rest of the teachings of the Bible. Americans are embracing an unpredictable and contradictory body of beliefs.

Faith of whatever variety is increasingly viral now rather than biblical. Hey, as long as it's viral, hey, that sounds good. I can't tell you how many young people I've talked to today, but they say, hey, have you heard this podcast yet? I'm like, no, have you read your Bible in a while? Not if they have, that's great.

Everybody's listening to this podcast all the time. I don't know if it's true or not, but a brother once told me that he spoke to a youth conference, many of them professing believers. And he yelled out to them. Right? What is probably the most popular evangelical verse that you would think of today?

And they said, John three sixteen. And he said, who could quote it? And they all were able to quote it. He said, okay, I want five of you to come up here. Five of them come up.

He handed all five of them a bible. He said, now find John three sixteen. He said, the fastest could, it took him over a minute to find it. With people spending less time reading the bible, becoming less engaged in activities that deepen their biblical literacy, faith views are more often adopted on the basis of dialogue, self reflection, and observation rather than teaching. Feelings and emotions now play a significant role in the development of people's faith views.

In many cases, these feelings and emotions are much more significant than information based exercises, such as participating in or having their own personal bible study. The point is this. We are losing the truth. And the reason we're losing the truth is because we're not passing on God's truth. We're leaving our young people to fend for themselves.

And let me tell you something. They can find all kinds of truths out there. Just from their phone, one little push of a button. We are losing the truth. And let me tell you something.

No matter how appealing a preacher may be, if he does not preach the truth of God's word, he does not deserve our support. Does not matter how eloquent he is, how many good stories he has, how funny he is, if he's not preaching from God's word. And so discipleship involves teaching. Paul says, Timothy, you have known my doctrine. He taught it to Timothy.

The third thing we see here. Alright, Paul says, Timothy, you have fully known my manner of life. You see, a godly example is known for his or her practice. They practice what they preach. Really, this is speaking of conduct.

Their behavior. How they act. You see, Paul's manner of life backed up his messages. He did not preach sacrifice and then live in luxury. He gave to others far more than he ever received from them.

He stood up for truth, even when it meant losing friends, and in the end, his life. Paul was a servant, not a celebrity. You should be able to look at a person's way of life and determine whether or not they are a godly example worth following. It's not that hard. Too often, we see the conduct of someone's lives and we're like, well, I don't really agree with that, but you know what, I still want to follow them.

No. No. No. No. No.

They better practice what they preach. And here, Paul says, Timothy, you have known my manner of life. So what does this include? This includes how they spend their time. How they manage their money and their possessions.

What kind of entertainment they enjoy. How do they relate to their family, to their friends, fellow workers, even strangers. Are they rude or sensitive? Are they oblivious to the needs of others or kind and caring? These are important, aren't they?

Right? When we are emulating our lives after somebody, if we're following someone, right? These things should be consistent in their lives. Christianity is a way of life that affects all of life. It should.

Maybe you guys do it here, but one of the practices that we have in our assembly, when a brother is being considered for elder or deacon, we call their employer. Say, hey, listen, tell us how he is at work. We call their family. Hey, listen, how are they in in... With their relationships in the family?

Guys, those are important things. Hey, guess what? You don't know the person if all you're seeing them is on Sunday morning. Their manner of life has to be consistent with what you see on Sunday morning. And so discipleship involves how you actually live your life, not just what you say.

How do you live your life? What manner of life is it? What's your conduct like? Do the people at your job know you're a Christian? If they don't, man, I'm sorry.

That's a concern. They should know. Your life should be so drastically different. They're like, yeah, this guy, he's a Christian. Oh, yeah.

The next one Paul says. He says, Timothy, you have known my purpose. Man, a godly example is known for his or her purpose. Paul's purpose was to glorify God. There was never a question about Paul's purpose in ministry.

He wanted to do God's will, and he wanted to finish the work that God gave him to do. In Acts chapter 20 verse 24, he says this, but none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy and the ministry which I receive from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. That was Paul's purpose. In fact, in second Corinthians chapter five, he says this, therefore, we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to him. That was Paul's purpose in life.

He wanted to please God in whatever he did. What's your purpose? Has God given you a purpose? Is there a ministry that he's given you? Is there something he's given you that you're his eyes, hey, listen.

I want to fulfill the purpose that God has given me to do. Whether it's to love my spouse, whether it's to raise my children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, whether it's to serve the body here or ever in any other assemblies that you're going to, whether it's to evangelize to the lost. What is your purpose? You see, discipleship involves sharing a vision, helping the younger person develop godly purpose in their life. When you're meeting with someone young in the faith, ask them, hey, what do you feel God has called you to do?

Right? For all of us, it's different. All of us, as the Bible says, has a different gift, a different ministry, a different activity. It's not all the same for all of us. And it's important when you have a younger person in the faith, you say, hey listen.

Right? What is your vision? Where do you want to be in five years, ten years, twenty years? One of the greatest things I ever to do, I had to apply for, it was called Challenge Ministries. And part of the application process is I had to write my obituary.

That was a great exercise to write. And I wrote this when I was, man, 18 years old. Right? What do you want to see? When you go reach the end of your life, what is it you want to accomplish for God?

What do you want to be for him? What do you want to do for him? But not only that, Paul says that he knew his faith. And here, a godly example is known for his or her poise. Paul was a man of faith.

You see, Paul trusted God to do what was humanly impossible so that he gets the glory. Referring to how God delivered him from the brink of death, Paul says this in second Corinthians one nine, indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. I think Paul thought he was going to die. But he trusted that God was going to raise him from the dead. You see, a man or a woman of faith lives in light of eternity.

He knew even if God didn't raise him, right, from earth there, he knew that there was going to be a resurrection someday. And we live in light of that truth, trusting that God will keep his promises even beyond the grave. Do you believe that? That's a man or a woman of faith. And so why is it a godly example is one who keeps their poise?

Well, you see Paul's faith sustained him in trial. I don't know about you, but when trials come into my life, I don't know how much poise I have. Right? When difficult times come, hard times come, these times of stress that we're talking about, can you say, hey, you know what John? No, I had faith even in that.

I trusted God even amidst those trials. It's usually after I get through the trial, I look back and I go, man, Lord, I missed the opportunity. I missed that opportunity to trust you. Instead, I got stressed out. I complained.

I I I took matters into my own hands. And God along was saying, I just wanted you to have some poise. Just to trust me. And so as we're discipling people, right, discipleship involves setting an example when it comes to trusting in God. Don't just tell people, hey, I trust God.

And then when they watch you, you don't every time a trial comes in. Right? It's being an example. Right? That we can have poise even during difficult times, times of stress, because we trust God.

Right? I mean, that's what Matthew six talks about. Right? Do not worry about anything. Right?

Because when you worry about those things, you actually are saying that God doesn't love you. You're saying that God is not all knowing. But we don't really want to say that. We know that he loves us. And so guess what?

If he's allowed these trials in your lives, God knows what he's doing. You can trust him. You can know that God is all powerful. He's all wise, all loving. And so Paul here says to Timothy, hey, listen, you have fully known my faith.

36:29 Long Suffering

Paul was a man of long suffering. Paul's long suffering was seen, specifically here, in his attitude towards his persecutors and his critics. Right? Certainly somewhat towards his physical afflictions too. But more of, this is the idea that Paul was patient with those who were constantly persecuting him.

People were constantly being critical of him. All the time. We just read some of it here in just two chapters. Right? But that's how it was his whole life.

Right? Constantly being berated by people who were against him. People of God, Jews, right, filled with envy, who would stir up the crowds to persecute Paul and those who were with him. And it says, Timothy, you knew that even all this I was patient, that I was a man of long suffering. Right?

You see, the patient man doesn't have a short fuse. He can bear with difficult people without exploding in anger. And listen, I know in the church we don't deal with difficult people. Okay. All right.

So this is the same like our assembly. Okay. Good. I just want to make sure. Right?

Yeah. Isn't that crazy, right? That probably the most difficult people I've ever had to work with are believers. And I'm probably guilty as charged too. Like, what is it about us that makes us so difficult?

Right? Man, we're so good at judging other people and lifting ourselves up over other people, being critical of one another's ministries, and things like that. Man, we love that first time that brother stands up in the breaking of bread and shares. We want to be the first one to tell him why he... What he said was wrong.

The guy never shares again. We're difficult. Let me tell you something. It is tough to serve in the body of Christ. But the godly man or woman is patient.

They don't have a short fuse. They're not easily angered. Right? I would say even this that the godly man, right, doesn't snap at his wife or his children with angry words. You see, Paul, he bore up under people's attacks.

And so I think this is a big one when it comes to discipleship. Is discipleship involves the example of how to put up with difficult people. I'm still learning it. I don't know if I ever quite get it, but there's something with that. Mean, you think about all the difficult people that Jesus had to work with, just his disciples, let alone all those who were in opposition.

And then you look at Paul's life and Peter's life and, man, some of the the great heroes of the faith and all the difficulties that they had to face from the church. From their own. And there's something to be said here, right? That hey, we need to tell our younger people, hey listen. Guess what?

Be ready. The first time you do a ministry, someone's going to say something that offends you. Hey, listen. Don't worry about it. Right?

Just be patient. Boar up under these things. Right? The Lord knows what you're doing. Okay?

Don't worry about what some of your brothers or sisters might say. What I've learned is this too, is that, and maybe some of the elders can relate to this, is when you're in a position like an elder or even a speaker, right, for whatever reason people feel like, hey, it's fair game. You know, that they can say whatever they want to you. You know? And most often than not, at least in my experience is, a very small percentage of it is true.

A lot of it is, don't know where they get it from. But I've always tried to say, okay, Lord. I don't think what that person said was said in the right way. I don't think the timing was very good. Most of it was untrue.

But is there something that you wanted me to hear there? Is there something that I can take for myself and say, you know what, you're right. That is an area that I got to work on. I think that's okay to take that approach. Right?

But Paul was patient. The next thing he says, oh Timothy, you have fully known my love. And here a godly example is known for his or her passion. Paul was a man of love. Paul was selflessly devoted to the Lord and to his fellow men.

Paul willingly gave himself to serve others. And I think this is important here, for all of us here. Paul had a love for the lost. Do you have a love for the lost? I don't know of anyone else other than Paul that actually told God that he would be willing to be accursed for the sake of the lost.

I couldn't say that. I think Paul meant it. That's how much he loved the lost. His own people who had rejected the Messiah. He said, Lord, man, if they could be saved, make me a curse.

Man, that's love. He was a man of passion. In fact, the less he was loved by others, the more determined he was to love. And so discipleship involves setting the example of unconditional love and making the choice to value people. Hey, listen, I know this is a hard topic, especially in the day and age that we live in.

With homosexuality, transgenders. Please don't mistake what I'm saying when I say this. Is that we understand that that lifestyle is wrong. It's not the way God intended it. God created us with a specific form and a specific function.

I'd like you to take this approach here is that they are still valued by God. Don't forget that for one moment. And really, the church right now is probably one of the only places they can come to and say, hey listen, I love you. I love you. And God loves you.

And let me tell you something too, is that when you see, even if you look at the times of the Jesus revolution and the hippies and things like that, and you see today with transgender and and all these things that are going on. You actually see that there are... These are people who are looking for love. They're just looking in the wrong places. You have a tremendous opportunity, right, as a follower of Jesus Christ, say, hey, listen.

I know what you're looking for. I found it. I know a God who created you, who loves you. But man, we have to value people. Even if they don't look or sound the way we do.

Even if they're a little different. And please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that we excuse the sin. But how else are we going to be able to get to that conversation, right, until we say, hey, listen. We love you.

And God loves you. Paul had a love for the lost. Do we have that same love? Then Paul says here, you've known, he said, my perseverance. Paul was a man of perseverance.

The word here means endurance. The ability to stick with it to the end, even when the going gets tough. And so here Paul, he prays, right? That he may be, that we may be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience, joyously giving thanks to the father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. One of Paul's prayer there in Ephesians.

Steadfastness and patience, right, are the same Greek words for perseverance and patience. That's here in our text. If God's mighty power delivers us instantly from our trials, why would we need steadfastness and patience? Right? Are you following me here?

Like, God doesn't always instantly deliver us from our trials. In fact, we see the example with Paul here. And because he doesn't, he says, right, that we need perseverance and patience. We need steadfastness. Now what's interesting to me that with this context, right, that Paul prays that that we would be strengthened, with all steadfast and patience, joyously giving thanks.

Now that's the part I have a hard time with. You see, because if this is the case, right, if the only reason, right, that I need steadfastness and patience is because God has yet to deliver me from my trials, why would I be joyful about that? See, it takes his mighty power to give us joy in the midst of unanswered prayers, doesn't it? And I know we've all experienced unanswered prayers. We've prayed for children who have walked away from the Lord.

We've prayed for the salvation of family members who have yet to trust him as savior. We have prayed for people who are going through some sort of sickness and they ended up dying. Right? We've gone through times where God says, hey listen, I need you to persevere. Yep, you want that answer right now, but I'm not going to give it to you.

But guess what? In that moment, right? Whatever trial you're going through, right? In that moment where I am not going to immediately deliver you from that, I want you to joyously give me thanks. Because we know God knows what he's doing.

That's perseverance. That's enduring, even when the going gets tough. It's not saying, hey, God, I don't want this right now, but I guess I'll endure. No. It's, God, thank you for this.

I tell you, it's really hard right now, God, but I know that through this, I'm going learn something more of you. I'm going learn something more of myself. And I can joyously give you thanks for this trial right now. Easier said than done. It's tough.

But discipleship learns not to quit when things get tough. I feel bad for those who are being discipled, who watched the person that was a disciple of them quit. There's nothing more devastating than that. Someone you looked up to, someone who taught you the doctrine, someone who was an example for you, and then one day they say, you know what? I'm done.

49:10 Persecutions and Afflictions

Paul showed all of these characteristics that we talked about. He showed them all in the midst of persecutions and afflictions. It wasn't like Paul had a nice, easy life, and he was able to do all these things. Right? Paul demonstrated these things to Timothy in the midst of afflictions.

In the midst of his own problems. It wasn't like Paul's like, hey listen, I got no problems in my left, Timothy. So let me bring you in and I'll teach you some things. Timothy came in and said, this guy's got all kinds of problems. Everywhere he goes, everybody wants to kill him.

And Paul says, you've known these things, Timothy, from the moment you would be with me. And so, you know, Paul did not ask others to suffer with him. Paul suffered for others. The fact that he was persecuted from city to city was proof that he was living a godly life. Some people have this idea, right, that that godliness means escaping persecution.

When actually just the opposite is true. At Lystra, they stoned Paul and they left him for dead. And so discipleship involves actually going through difficult times for the sake of following Jesus. If you want to follow Jesus, you know what Jesus promised us? He's promised us persecution, affliction.

He's never promised us, you know, an easy life. And so it's interesting here that Timothy, right? You know where Timothy was from? He's from Lystra. You remember Saul before he was Paul?

What did Saul witness? The stoning of who? Stephen. That's right. Do you think God used that in Saul's life?

I guarantee it. Right? I believe that as Saul witnessed the stoning of Stephen, watch this martyr, I think God began to work in the life of Saul who eventually became Paul. I would not be surprised if Timothy actually witnessed the stoning of Paul. He's from that area.

It's where Paul was stoned and left for dead. Just like Paul, right, witnessed the stoning of Stephen. You see, God used the stoning of Stephen to bring Paul to Christ. Is it possible that God used the stoning of Paul to bring Timothy to Christ? Now, we do know that by the end of chapter 16 of Acts that Timothy is now traveling with Paul.

Now it may be simply Paul's way of reminding him in this portion that we're reading of what Timothy had actually witnessed with his own eyes. He says, what persecutions I endured, yet out of them all the Lord delivered me. Now did the Lord deliver him in the sense that he spared his life? Yes. I mean, we don't know if Paul actually died and then he came back to life.

Right? But we know that Paul gets up, then he keeps going there. So yeah, okay, he did. Did the Lord deliver him in the sense that he suffered no harm? No.

I would say getting stoned and left for dead is a pretty bad day. You see, the Lord had not delivered Paul from trouble, but he had delivered him out of his troubles. This is again a reminder to us that we are not promised freedom from our difficulties. But we are promised that the Lord will be with us and see us through. In the midst of all that, right, the Lord delivered Paul.

From all that the Lord delivered Paul from, he gave Timothy here, right, a non negotiable spiritual truth that we all need to embrace. All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. If you live a godly life, you're going to suffer some form of persecution. And Paul didn't just tell Timothy this. He lived it.

He lived it. He would actually die knowing this. I think many of us have this notion that if we're living the way that we should, that our lives should get easier and easier. When trouble comes out of the blue, we sometimes don't know what to do with it. And sometimes even mistakenly have asked, what did I do to deserve this?

The truth is, when you take a step to get closer to Jesus, when you take a step, right, to serve Jesus more, you will find pushback. I guarantee it. If your desire this weekend, right, is to love Jesus more and to serve Him more, I guarantee you, you are going to have pushback from world forces of this darkness, from spiritual forces of wickedness. It's going to happen. Expect it.

But don't let the enemy discourage you from being an effective servant of Jesus Christ. Don't let them discourage you. Just lastly I want to encourage you with this is this, this idea of the relationships older to younger. Is Paul, as we saw here, had been a divine object lesson to our young Timothy. Right?

55:35 Being a Divine Object Lesson

Could be someone at your work. Could be your neighbor. But don't fool yourself one second and think that nobody's watching your life. There's always someone watching your life. What kind of object lesson are you?

Let's pray. Lord, these things that we're talking about, we understand that we cannot do it without your help. In fact, I'm reminded of the verse that says that we can do above it, above, abundantly and exceedingly above all that we could ask or think, but it's only according to the power that works within us. And so when it comes to these things, Lord, I really would pray that each of us would be filled with your spirit, each of us would be controlled by your spirit, that we'd be empowered by your spirit. That we would not try to do these things in our own strength and our own flesh.

Lord God, help us to be those who don't just talk about our faith. Help us to live it. Help us to live our faith out. Because whether we acknowledge it or not, we understand that there are those watching us. They see our lives, Lord God.

And I pray that our desire would be to live lives in such a way that it brings honor and glory to you. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Influential Relationships Followers — 2 Timothy 3-4

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Influential Relationships Followers — 2 Timothy 3-4

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