Sermon 2 Timothy 3:14–4:5 Equipped for Good Work

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon 2 Timothy 3:14–4:5 Equipped for Good Work

October 20, 2013

For the last few weeks we have been looking at two of the pastoral epistles, letters sent by the Apostle Paul to a young pastor named Timothy serving the church in Ephesus. Paul has told Timothy to center his ministry on prayers to God for everyone including the king. Paul then told Timothy that if his church focuses on prayer, worship and Bible study they would grow spiritually and become more content and generous. Then in the second letter Paul explained that as the church grows spiritually it's faith in Christ Jesus also grows and this faith will sustain them in times of trouble. And Paul told Timothy to keep himself spiritually strong and recruit others with spiritual strength as teachers of the gospel. Today we will see how Paul told Timothy how to distinguish between true and false teachings. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

2 Timothy 3:14 - 4:5 ¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, ¹⁵ and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. ^NIV 2 Timothy 4:1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ² Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-- with great patience and careful instruction. ³ For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Timothy was facing many problems in his church. And on top of all of this Paul was about to be executed. Up until this time whenever false teachings came into a church all they had to do was contact an Apostle of Jesus Christ to determine which teachings to keep and which to throw out. And this process worked well for them because the Roman postal system could deliver letters back and forth even if it took time. But by Timothy's day it has become apparent that the Apostles would not always be around. The unthinkable was happening, the Apostles were dying before Jesus returned. What should they do? And how should Timothy deal with false teachings in his church?

In 2 Timothy, Paul is answering these questions for Timothy. Rather than directly dealing with the content of the false teaching, Paul has decided to give Timothy a way of discerning true from false teaching that will last past the age of the Apostles.

According to Paul the way we know that a church doctrine or teaching is true is to test it by scripture. For Paul “scripture” referred to the Hebrew scriptures that had been translated into Greek. This is our Old Testament. But Paul would go beyond this and say that scripture is the Old Testament as interpreted by Jesus and the Apostles. The church had come to a new way of understanding the Old Testament in the context of who Jesus was and what he said and did. In the light of Jesus' teachings and his resurrection their understanding of the Old Testament had changed. This new understanding was contained in letters Paul and Timothy had written to other churches and was contained in the stories the church maintained about Jesus which were being written down by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And so Paul, if he was here today, would say that scripture is the Old Testament as interpreted through the New Testament.

So, how do know that scripture teaches us that which is true? Paul suggests that there are three ways that we can know for sure that scripture is reliable. Let's look at each of these.

First, Paul wants Timothy to remember from whom he learned the scripture. Timothy learned about faith from his mother and grandmother, two very faithful women. And since they were faithful Timothy could trust them and through this trust come to believe that the scripture was true.

I first learned Bible stories from my parents, grandparents and Sunday school teachers. As an adult I learned about scripture from a pastor of my church and became a teacher myself. I then went to Fuller Seminary to study under some of the best Bible and theology professors on the planet. And today I continue to learn through reading and listening. There are teachers whom I trust and have come to believe the trustworthiness of scripture through them. And I hope that by my faith in God's word you will trust me and find what I say trustworthy.

Second, Paul wants Timothy to know that he can trust scriptures because of the work of the Holy Spirit. As we read and meditate on scripture we find that the Holy Spirit acts upon us to convince us of its truth. As we grow spiritually it becomes obvious that the Bible is true. So I urge you to pray and meditate on scripture every day, find a Bible class with a faithful teacher, and come to worship every week. Do these things and you will grow spiritually and find that you believe in the truthfulness of scripture.

And this brings us to the third thing Paul wants Timothy to know about scripture. As we grow spiritually the scripture will equip us for good works. I found that the more I studied the Bible the more unusual things I started to do. I participated in service projects. I began to go monthly to a downtown church where I gave away lunches to homeless men once a month. I helped a poor church in Mississippi on their farm. I worked on a housing project in Palestine. I began to do things for others as I grew spiritually.

This will happen to you too. The more you pray and worship and study scripture the more you will want to serve others. You will find yourself teaching children or volunteering at Samaritan Shelter or delivering gift baskets to needy families at Christmas. This will be all the proof you need that what you are studying and who you are worshiping is true. Grow spiritually with daily prayer, worship and Bible study and you will find yourself transformed into a new creation, someone obedient to God who follows God into the community.

And so we have to give thanks to the dedicated teachers who have taught us the Bible. We must also thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit who transforms us as we pray, worship and study scripture. As a we grow spiritually we will joyfully follow God into those places where only God willing goes. All of this will confirm for you that the Bible is true, and its trustworthiness is something you can count on.

And so Timothy has all the tools he needs to combat false teachings in his church even after the Apostles are gone. He has the inspired word of God and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit which allows him to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ which will transform his church.

Let's pray. Holy God we ask that you Holy Spirit be with us today. Send him to open up the scripture to us so that in understanding it we will know the truth of your son. Use this to transform us into a church which follows you into places of need. This we pray in your son's name. Amen.

Sermon - 2 Timothy 2:8-15 If We Die We Live With Him

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon - 2 Timothy 2:8-15 If We Die We Live With Him

October 13, 2013

I am continuing today with my sermon series drawn from a couple of letters sent from the Apostle Paul to a young pastor he had trained named Timothy. The book of 2 Timothy is a short letter written by Paul who was in prison in Rome awaiting his execution. In the letter Paul is summoning Timothy to come at once to Rome. As you might expect a letter like this would have a profound impact on the person and church that received it. And so Paul must speak as a pastor to Timothy to assure him that the gospel he had learned from Paul was still true even if Paul himself was about to die. Paul has to help Timothy and the church to grow spiritually. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

2 Timothy 2:1-15 NIV 2 Timothy 2:1 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. 3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs-- he wants to please his commanding officer. 5 Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. 8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself. 14 Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

There are four things that the Apostle Paul wants Timothy to do. Let's look at each of these. First Timothy is told to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus”. Timothy must be spiritually strong. This takes a commitment to a program of spiritual growth. To be spiritually strong, Timothy must connect with Jesus Christ every day. This means he must pray and meditate on scripture every day. That way his faith will grow and he will be able to withstand the grief he is feeling at the impending loss of his mentor and the anger he must have at the false teachers in his congregation. Daily prayer will equip Timothy to deal with any problem which may along.

Sadly today, many Christians and even some Christian leaders ignore this advise from Paul. They don't pray and meditate on scripture every day. And so they are tossed to and fro by anything the devil sends their way. The average pastor right out of seminary finds another line of work within five years. The pressures of being a pastor are just too much. And if a pastor, or any Christian leader, is not immersed in daily prayer there is no chance for a life of service in ministry. But if we connect with Christ every day in prayer then the devil cannot lay hold of us and we are empowered to serve the church. So I urge you to pray and meditate on scripture every day.

The second thing Paul wants Timothy to do is to “entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” So Timothy is to equip people in his church as teachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is crucial for the church to be sustained as leaders come and go. Timothy is about to go to Rome and may not come back. And so faithful people have to be taught the gospel of Jesus Christ so that they can teach it to others.

That's why, for every church, Christian education is important. It not only helps us to grow spiritually it also equips a whole new generation of teachers. When we have Sunday School classes for children and youth we are preparing teachers for the church when we are no longer here.

The third thing Paul wants Timothy to do is to “endure hardship with us”. Of course no one wants to endure hardships. We want life to be easy. But Paul wants us to think about the soldier who has to leave his family and go through intense physical training. The soldier endures these hardships for the goal of being a good soldier. Or consider an athlete who rises early each morning to run or hit the gym. After a workout his muscles ache. An athlete endures these hardship to be a good athlete. Or what about the farmer who plants, and harvests, and irrigates, and prepares his equipment. A farmer endure hardships to produce food to share with others. So too with Christians. We endure hardships, get up early every day for devotions, or come to Bible studies and worship every Sunday. We endure these hardships to grow spiritually. We want our faith to be strong, and so we sacrifice a little to gain a lot.

And the fourth thing Paul wants Timothy to do is to “reflect on what I am saying”. Paul wants Timothy to ponder on the gospel Paul has taught him. He is to think about the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross in payment of sin. He is to think about the resurrection of Jesus which ensures us of eternal life. And he is think about our own resurrection from the dead when Jesus returns. Pray and meditate on scripture every day. Learn as much as you can about the Bible so you can teach others. And constantly think about the good news of Jesus Christ. Do these things and you will grow spiritually. And when you are spiritually strong you will be able to withstand whatever problem comes your way.

Paul knows that all of this is true because he has experienced it. He has spent a lifetime praying every day, studying the scripture, teaching others and enduring hardships. Now he is in prison facing execution, and is sustained by his spiritual strength.

Paul concludes this section of his letter with a poem: “If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” These might be the words of a familiar hymn sung in Timothy's church in Ephesus. We have been singing in church since the beginning. Singing helps us to remember the truths of our faith. We find ourselves singing a catchy tune we heard in church. And if we sing the song over and over again we begin to remember the words. Through singing the gospel message is imprinted on our hearts. And so singing psalms and spiritual songs in worship is also an important part of spiritual growth. That's why our choir is so important. As the choir practices music the gospel message is placed on their hearts and they proclaim the gospel to the church on Sunday.

Remember that Christ died for your sins. He rose so that you may have eternal life. If we endure the hardships in this life we will reign with Christ in the next. Christ is faithful even if we are not. Accept him as your Lord and Savior.

Lord Jesus Christ, we ask that you lead us just as you led Timothy's church in Ephesus. Help us to grow spiritually in daily prayer, Bible study and worship. Help us to remember the good news of your life, death, resurrection and coming again. This we pray in your glorious name. Amen.

Sermon - 2 Timothy 1:1-14 “A Spirit of Power, of Love and of Self-Discipline”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon - 2 Timothy 1:1-14 “A Spirit of Power, of Love and of Self-Discipline”

October 6, 2013

I am continuing this morning with our look at a couple of letters written by the Apostle Paul to a young pastor he has discipled named Timothy. Today we turn to the book of Second Timothy and we find a change in tone. In the first book Paul speaks from his apostolic authority to help Timothy deal with problems in his church. Paul told Timothy to center his ministry on prayers for everyone and to help people to grow spiritually so they will become content with what they have and more generous. But in the second book Paul no longer speaks with authority. Now he speaks as a pastor helping someone with a crises of faith. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

2 Timothy 1:1-14 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

2 To Timothy, my dear son:

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Paul begins his letter by reminding Timothy of his sincere faith. Why would Timothy need to be reminded? And why does Paul remember Timothy's tears? Timothy must be facing a crises. What could it be? We know that Timothy's preaching and teaching is being challenged by other false teachers. Timothy is proclaiming the gospel he learned from Paul. God forgives our sins through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, and in his resurrection we are promised eternal life. We can be assured of this good news through our faith. But Timothy's faith is failing. Why?

I think the reason the Timothy is questioning his faith is that his teacher and mentor, the Apostle Paul has been arrested and now sits on death row waiting for his execution. Church history tells us that Paul was beheaded during the reign of Nero. The letter we are looking at is summoning Timothy to come to Rome at once and bring some of Paul's personal effects. The impending death of Paul would have a significant impact on Timothy who would question his faith in a loving God at this trying time. And so Paul begins the letter by reminding Timothy that his faith did not come from him. Faith comes from somewhere else. So, what is the source of our faith?

According to Paul faith is something we learn. Timothy learned his faith from his mother and grandmother. We see from this that nurturing children in the faith in crucial. But today, with so many children ignorant of the faith we have to nurture people of all ages. That why the session of the church must provide for Christian education for everyone. We all need to learn Bible stories. We all need to learn about God. We all need to know what God expects of us. And so we all need to be in Christian education classes that nurture our faith, a faith that will sustain us when we need it.

But Paul also says that there is another source of faith. Faith is a gift from God, and Paul reminds Timothy that he experienced this gift when Paul laid his hands on him in his ordination. God uses the Holy Spirit to give us the saving faith in Jesus Christ. God blesses us with faith before we were born. Symbolically, the Holy Spirit delivers faith to us in baptism, confirmation and ordination. And so faith comes to us as a gift and is then nurtured by our family and church.

How do we know that all of this is true? How do we know if we have received the gift of faith or not? And can we be assured that this faith will remain even when in a crises we begin to have doubts? According to Paul we can know that we have saving faith in Jesus Christ if we have received the fruits of the spirit, power, love and self-discipline.

First, If we have the power to boldly proclaim our faith, even to those who think what we say is ridiculous, then we can be assured that we have received the gift of faith. For Timothy this means that he must continue to proclaim the gospel even to those who call it foolishness. He is not the change his message to please his audience. Rather he is to be faithful to scripture and to his teachers in the faith. He can do this because he has received power from the Holy Spirit to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.

Second, If we love one another in the church, even those who are contentious and oppose what we do, the we can be assured that we have received the gift of faith. For Timothy this means that he must continue to love his church even in the midst of problems. And love means more than just being nice to people, it mean to nurture their faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. He can love his congregation because God loves him and empowers him to love through the Holy Spirit.

And third, if we have self-discipline, keep ourselves away from sin, then we can be assured that we have received the gift of faith. For Timothy this means that he must live his life in accordance with God's will even if his church does not. Timothy has the ability to keep himself from sin because he has received the gift of self-discipline from God.

So we see from all this that if we can boldly share our faith with those outside the church, if we love one another just as God loves us, and if we stay away from sin, then we can be assured that we have received the gift of faith through the Holy Spirit. And if we have received this gift of faith, then we should nurture it by worshiping every week, praying and meditating on scripture every day, and finding a group to study scripture. That way the faith we receive as gift will grow in power, love and self-discipline.

Let us pray. Father in heaven, as we gather around this table today we ask that the bread we eat and juice we drink will nurture the faith you have given us. Bless us with power to proclaim the good news of forgiveness and eternal life. Bless us with the ability to love one another. And bless us with the ability to resist sin. This we pray in your son's name. Amen. 

Sermon - 1 Timothy 6:6–19 - Contentment

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon - 1 Timothy 6:6–19 - Contentment

September 29, 2013

This morning I am continuing with my series of sermons drawn from the letters the Apostle Paul sent to a young pastor named Timothy. Last week we saw that Timothy must center his ministry on prayer, and that his church should pray for everyone including the king. Today we will see that there was a problem in the church at Ephesus which Timothy must address. This problem revolved around the way people viewed money and possessions. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

1 Timothy 6:6-19 ⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. ⁹ People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. ¹¹ But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you ¹⁴ to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ which God will bring about in his own time-- God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. ¹⁷ Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. ¹⁹ In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

The problem in the church of Ephesus seems to revolve around the issue of money. The church was expected to be generous and provide the resources needed to maintain their building, pay their pastor, and do God's work in the world. But it seems that the people in the church are more interested in becoming rich. They long for more income and treasure. And Paul warns them that this longing can lead them into a trap set by the devil. Satan uses our longing for more money and things to lure us into evil ways. Paul wants the church to grow spiritually so that it will be more content with what it has, rather than long for even more. This will allow the members of the church to be more generous and give to the work and mission of the church. 

Paul calls this “fighting the good fight of faith”.

There are two ways to think about money and possessions. One way is to long for more. The other is to be content with what you have. I have experienced both. In my younger days I longed for more. I thought I needed more income and more savings. I needed this money to build a business and plan for retirement. And there is nothing wrong with wanting a better job, or working harder to make more. We all have to do that. But what I found is that it didn't matter how much I made or how much I saved, I still wanted more. This is what it means to long for money and possessions. Regardless if you are rich or if you are poor, you want more. Regardless if you have a high income or a low income, you always want even more. My experience was that I always needed another ten percent. It didn't matter if I made a lot or a little I just needed ten percent more to be happy.

The problem with longing for money is that you can never be generous because your needs are so great. If you always need ten percent more than you have right now then it is impossible to give anything away. This is how you can test whether or not you long for money and things. Ask yourself: Do I have enough so that I can give some away? If your answer is “no” than you believe that you need more than you have. And therefore you long for money and things.

The opposite of longing for more money and things is to be content with what you have. Contentment means that you have enough. And when you think you have enough you can be generous and give some of it away. Again, it does not matter how much you make or how much you have saved. You can be content with much or little. The amount of money you make or have in the bank make no difference in you longing for more or being content with what you have.

For years I longed for more. But as I grew spiritually though regular worship, Bible study and prayer, I have come to discover that I am now content with what I have. I make less now than I used to make. I have less in the bank than I use to have. And yet I am content. I know this because I no need longer ten percent more to be happy. I can be happy with ten percent less. Now that I am content with what I make and what I have, I have the ability to tithe. Even though I have less and make less, I am more generous and give more. I give five percent of my income to Pitts Creek and another five percent to Beaver Dam. And although this is a financial sacrifice for Grace and me, I am content with what I have left over.

When you are content with what you have then you will become more generous. When you no longer long for ten percent more you can get by with ten percent less. And it follows that if you are content with what you have you will generously give it away.

We can see this all the time in churches. The people who have been in churches for years, worshiping, praying and studying their Bibles, have become content with what they have and are now comfortable supporting the church. People who are new to the church still find themselves longing for more and are unable to be as generous. This is why it is crucial for all people in the church to attend worship regularly, meditate on scripture and pray every day, and study the Bible with others, so that as the church grows spiritually its members become more generous. And the church has the resources it needs to participate in God's work in the community.

So I urge you to do those things necessary for your own spiritual growth. Develop the habit of coming to church every Sunday. Find a small group to pray with on a regular basic. And study your Bible. Do these things and you will grow spiritually, you will become more and more content with what you have, and you will become more generous.

So fight the good fight of faith. Grow spiritually, be content with what you have and learn to be generous, giving your treasure away, while building up new treasures in heaven. Let's pray.

Father in heaven so many of us long for more money and things. We find that our needs are so great that we are unable to be generous. We feel that we cannot give to others because we need so much more. Gift us the gift of faith, so that we may grow in piety and godliness. And though this make us content with what we have and generous with our gifts. This we pray in the name of our savior who gave his own life for us. Amen.