Follow The Pattern
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· 4 viewsIn the second sermon of the "Entrusted" series, lead Pastor Wes Terry talks about Following the Pattern out of 2 Timothy 1:7-18. In this sermon we learn the importance of boldly sharing the gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Notes
Transcript
INTRO: PERSECUTED
If you haven’t been paying attention, Christianity and Christians who actually go to church and take their faith seriously are becoming less and less popular in our culture. I don’t have to name the issues but you know as well as I do that the Bible’s teaching on certain “hot potatoes” in our culture have caused vastnumbers of people to mock Christianity and shame Christians. Don’t get me wrong. We still have it good here in the West. In places like the Middle East, it’s not just social pressure Christians face, it’s death.
THE GOSPEL HAS ALWAYS PRODUCED SUFFERING:
Christianswho advance a biblical Gospel have always been in the minority. They’ve always been persecuted. The word Gospel means “good news” but the message of the Gospel is actually an incredibly offensive message. It’s only good news if you believe what it has to say about God, mankind, and the way to be saved. Most people don’t. They don’t want to believe that they are sinners who’ve fallen short of God’s standard. They reject the idea that according to God’s perfect justice he must punish sin.
CULTURAL CHRISTIANITY IS DEAD NOW: THANKFULLY
They certainly reject that the only way to be saved from sin is by grace through faith in a crucified Jewish carpenter who lived over 2,000 years ago and who claimed to be God. The Gospel. Jesus was mocked when he preached it. The disciples were mocked when they spread it. And Christians have been mocked throughout the centuries as they’ve advancedit. The “cultural Christianity” that existed in America for so long and still exists to some degree here in the South is a historical phenomenon. It’s not normal. And it won’t be this way forever. Cultural Christianity is dead. And I think that’s a good thing.
TIE THIS TO 2 TIMOTHY:
The attitude towards the Gospel in our culture over the next 50years is going to start looking more and more like the “first Christians” were up against and less like what our grandparentshad to deal with. That’s why we’re studying the book of 2 Timothy. Because it shows us how the Gospel is properly entrusted from one generation to the next in the context of a culture that is highly antagonistic towards faith in Christ. We are beginning to see that culture and we all have been given that responsibility.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK:
Last week we got to meet the two main characters: Paul and Timothy. Paul was church planter extraordinaire. Timothy was a young, insecure, Pastor of an influential church at Ephesus. Paul encouraged Timothy for his authenticity and lack of hypocrisy but challenged him to get over his fears and to press in to what the Holy Spirit was doing in him and through him. The text we’re going to look at today shows us what a spirit filled life looks like when you find yourself in an environment that hostile to Gospel. 2 Timothy 1:8-18: Shake the shame, share in suffering, and stay empowered.
READ THE TEXT: 2 TIMOTHY 1:8
The reason I know Paul is explaining what it means to live a Spirit-filled life is because our text last ended week with these words, (1:7-8) “…for God gave us a spirit not of fear [of man] but of power and love and self-control. [spirit filled worship vs. suffering] 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,” Shake the shame, share in suffering and stay empowered. The rest of our text is going to show us how, and why and examples of people who did it well and those who didn’t do it at all.
SHAKE THE SHAME:
The temptation for Timothy to succumb to shame was not a figment of Paul’s imagination. The cross was a scandal. But both Jews AND Gentiles viewed crucifixion (a penalty reserved only for the worst of criminals) as the ultimate emblem of disgrace and dishonor. Polite pagan company never mentioned the equivalent of the English word cross. The preaching of the cross was held to be absurd. The idea of a Jewish peasant becoming the substitutionary atonement for people’s sins was laughable. (The Alexamenos Graffito = crucified man w/head of a donkey. “Alexamenos worships God”)
WHAT IS SHAME?
Webster’s dictionary says shame is “a painful emotioncaused by consciousnessof guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety.” I think we’ve all felt shame before. But let’s think about what causes it. It can be due to guilt. Usually guilt made public (lied on taxes but no shame until it was exposed.) It can be due to shortcoming. Not an immoral action necessarily but simply not measuring up to one’s expectations. (poor performance on a run) Or impropriety. Think party foul. Wore the wrong clothes to the party. Had my zipper down during speech. Whatever the source, shame isn’t a pleasant experience.
GOOD AND BAD SHAME:
Sometimes shame is proper (like when sin is exposed) but other times it’s not (poor performance). The shame Paul is telling Timothy to shake is a misplaced shame around the Gospel. “Don’t be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner.” In other words, it may be “uncool” (impropriety) to be associated with the Gospel and especially with me a preacher of the Gospel. But, that shame you feel isn’t from God. It’s from the enemy. And if you want to live full of the Spirit then you gotta shake the shame.
NOTHING ABOUT THE GOSPEL SHOULD MAKE YOU ASHAMED
There’s nothing about the Gospel that should make you feel shame. Sure, you might be ashamed of how you look or what you wear or past mistakes you’ve made. But the good news that we were sinners separated from a Holy God who loves us and sent his Son to die on the cross in our place for our sin though we didn’t deserve it. That message is NOTHING to be ashamed of. And neither is your association with people who believe it. Our culture, though, is full of worldviews that seek to shame Christians.
WORLDVIEWS THAT TRY TO SHAME US: MTD & NA
Talking about the worldview of millenials Quinton Smith says it might be described as “moralistic therapeutic deism.” The belief that if people “do good, feelgood and believe in some kind of God (one who created the universe but is not really involved in the affairs of life), then there is a heavenly future awaiting them.” That view tries to shame belief in the Gospel because “what rightdo you have to tell people that they’re bad and in need of a savior? That’s ignorant, primitive, and simply foolish.” Or the New Atheism which rejects not just God’s existence but treats with disdain anyone who DOES believe in God.
JESUS AND SHAME:
Jesus said in Mark 8:38 “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Shake the shame. Identifyboldly with the person AND the teachings of Jesus and let the chips fall where they may. Paul’s encouraging Timothy. “You don’t have a Spirit of fear but of power, love and self-control.” In the words of Taylor Swift, “Haters gonna hate…but I’m just gonna shake…” Some of us this morning need that encouragement. We’re finding ourselves ashamed and that doesn’t have to be.
DON’T BE ASHAMED OF OTHER BELIEVERS:
It’s not just shame of Christ and his teachings. It’s also shame of others who identify with the Gospel. Other Christians. There’ve been plenty of times when I’ve been ashamed of my association with other Christians because of their behavior or rudeness. That’s not what Paul’s talking about. He talking about people in your workplace or classroom or locker-room who take a stand for Christ and get slammed for it. He’s saying, “don’t leave them hanging.” That could be you. You need to step in and stand up for them.
SHARE IN SUFFERING:
That leads me to the next point in our text which is to share in suffering. I read this week that there are manyChristian who choosea path of suffering because they think it’s spiritual. It’s not. Choosing suffering for the sake of suffering is just stupid. You’ve got problems if you do that. Paul’s encouragement isn’t to choose suffering but to be unashamed of the Gospel. If, in choosing God’s will, that leads to suffering (which it will) then share in it. Embrace it. Don’t run from it. It doesn’t mean something is wrong.
A THEOLOGY OF SUFFERING (JESUS, PAUL):
Jesus predictedthis. “If they persecuted me they’ll persecute you.” (Jn 18:20) Jesus crowned the Beatitudes with suffering, in essence saying that whenyou have attainedthe sevenblessed qualities of poverty of spirit, mourning, meekness, spiritual hunger, mercy, purity of heart, and peacemaking, you will suffer! “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). Suffering is part of God’s gospel blessing. Paul suffered for the Gospel and saw it as a blessing. “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake!” (Col 1:24) He tells Timothy later in this book “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…” (2 Tim 3:12)
HEALTH AND WEALTH GOSPEL THEN AND NOW:
This was in direct contradiction to what many of the people who were opposing Timothy believed. They believed that the resurrection (a spiritual resurrection) had already taken place and that those who had experienced it had been so endowed with the Spirit that their difficulties evaporated. Their theology was similar to today’s “health and wealth” preachers. To them, Paul’s sufferings and imprisonment in Rome were due to his shamefully unspiritual nature and the disapproval of the Holy Spirit. Paul is reminding Timothy what a TRUE “Spirit-filled” life looks like. And it includes suffering for Christ!
STAY EMPOWERED:
So if you want to live a Spirit-filled life here’s what it looks like. Shake the shame, share in suffering, and stay empowered. How do you do that? Paul says it’s “through the power of God.” Isn’t it so interesting that when we experience suffering in life we default to depending on anything and everything BUT the power of God? When shame rears it’s ugly head we default to human effort, self-defense, money and leverage. But not prayer. It’s usually only after we’ve exhausted every other resource that we go there.
EMPOWERED BY GRACE:
I might clarify Paul’s exhortation to be empowered by God’s grace. Because what Paul does in vv 9-10is write about the amazing grace of God. His sovereign, sufficient, eternal and personified grace. (1:8-10) “share in suffering through the power of God 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,”
A BRIEF THEOLOGY OF SALVATION:
There’s much to say about these verses. We could do a whole series on them. This is such a concise and beautiful picture of the Gospel of Grace. Notice you see salvation in all three of it’s tenses. “He saved us (past)…[and] called us to a holy calling (present) [and] abolished death and brought life and immortality to light [future] through the gospel.” Justification (penalty), Sanctification (presence) and Glorification (power). The message of the Gospel is that in Jesus Christ you were saved, are being savedand will be saved. He rescuedyou. He’s making you holy. He assures you that you’ll never die.
POWER THROUGH MEDITATION ON GRACE:
When Paul meditated on the Gospel he meditated on grace. Salvation is a work that is all of God and it is all of grace. Not by works. Your moral effort has nothing to do with your salvation. Why? Because, according to this verse, God’s grace was given to you before you even had an opportunityto do good OR evil. God gave you grace before time began in the person of Jesus Christ. The source of our salvation is not our merit but GOD’S unmerited grace. It’s not grace and a mixture of works. It’s all grace.
EMPOWERED BY THE SPIRIT THORUGH THE GOSPEL:
The degree to which you believe this (not just in your head but in your heart) is the degree to which you will experiencethe Spirit’s power in your life. Fear flees when the Gospel goes deep. Power, love, self-control, the fruit of the Spirit – they all come alive in your heart when the Gospel of Grace takes root. This is why we need to be reminded of it over and over. This is why every sermon needs to be a grace-based Gospel sermon. Remind yourself daily – especially in your suffering, especially when feeling shame – that you were chosen by grace, kept by grace, and will see Jesus one day by grace!
NOT ASHAMED BECAUSE GOSPEL MAKES GOD PERSONAL:
Shake the shame, share in suffering, and stayempowered through meditating on the Gospel of grace. Paul continues that it was (1:11-12) “…[the Gospel] for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know WHOM I have believed… Certainly Paul knew what he believed as well as any Christian who has ever lived. He authored 13 of the 27 books of the NT. But he stresses WHOM he has believed in and continues to believe in (perfect tense).
NOT ASHAMED BECAUSE GOSPEL MAKES GOD BIG:
He continues, “and I am CONVINCED that HE IS ABLE to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.” For Paul, the power of God comes alive in his life because God’s grace in the Gospel made God personal. But also, the grace of God in the Gospel made God big. When God is big, your people and your problems are small. When God is small, people and your problems become big. Paul is saying, “When I suffer, I know that the faith that was given to me and the commission to preach the Gospel isn’tbeing protected by his my own power but by the power of God himself. And HE IS ABLE.”
DO YOU HAVE THAT SAME CONFIDENCE?
Do you share that confidence? Paul was inviting Timothy to stand w/him. His invitation extends to us today as well. Will we join him? Paul concludes with two commands. First: “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (v. 13). Second: “By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you” (v. 14). Follow the Pattern [outline]. The Gospel is powerful. Don’t deviate from it or color outside the lines. And walk by the Spirt so that the gift God has given you remains protected. Those are good words for us.