Being Faithful Until Jesus Comes | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

If you're a visitor here this afternoon, we welcome you, and we're so glad you can join us. And whether you're a visitor or you are a member or planning to be a member, join with me in the bible in second Timothy in chapter three. And let's begin together in verse 10. Second Timothy chapter three, beginning in verse 10, we read, you, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, which persecutions I endured, yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Father, we thank you for these verses.

And though we may not understand completely what you have in store for us, we thank you in advance because we know that all scripture is breathed out by you, and it is profitable. It is very much profitable, for you will fashion us this afternoon to look more like your son. We pray, Lord, that you would aid us in receiving these words, and that, oh, God, we would sense your love in them, your wisdom, your beauty. We pray, Lord, that the result of such a time together as a family unpacking the scriptures, we would leave here loving our Lord, loving our savior, our master, the reigning and risen king. Lord, you are alive.

You see us in this moment. You are present, and we ask, Lord, with great desperation that you would manifest your realities to us. Lord, we long for your fellowship, and we hunger for your word. Make it known to us now in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Amen. Last week, you and I received a sobering illustration provided by the apostle Paul, getting a glimpse of just how corrupt and warped man can be, and how man will continue to be, and how activities as we have learned last week will only grow and become more rampant in the days ahead. The apostle's specific example deals with certain predators roaming, seeking people to take captive. And they do this by twisting the word of God. They do this by assaulting the word of God.

And they intend to lead people astray, especially those that the apostle has categorized as weak women. Meaning there's a certain class of women who are primary targets because they lack spiritual substance and discernment. We read how these wicked men long to devour such people even if it means their damnation. For the sake of personal gain, they are willing to do so much for self. And as Timothy is learning this, I mean, put yourself in his shoes for a moment.

Everything from people to avoid, everything from those who would come against the gospel, those who would try to lure others away, you can imagine that as a young minister this would have been challenging to hear. I mean all you're hearing is that it's going to get worse, days are going to become more bleak, There's gonna be people who are gonna oppose your message, and those that you're trying to win to Christ will in fact be deceived. And so I can just imagine what this man felt in his heart as he was holding this letter from his mentor. This is what I'm headed towards. This is what ministry is going to look like.

I I can't trust certain people. It's gonna only become more violent and aggressive against the work that I have dedicated my life to. And we read here that as these things are true for Timothy, they're also true for us. So over the past few weeks, maybe you found it difficult to hear that what Timothy was warned about, you and I are in. And you and I will only experience more and more as long as God keeps us on the earth.

And I'm sure the past couple of years here in America and even across the globe has taught us, I hope, that what we've been studying isn't just some theology. This is an instruction manual. You and I are seeing it. We're observing it. We're we're in it.

So this is completely relatable. But there's no need to be discouraged because Paul in the verses that you and I just read is trying to encourage his spiritual son. Yes. He's about to continue to warn him about the dangers ahead. He's not gonna neglect those things.

He's not gonna shy away from the dangers that will come against the church. But at the same time, what Paul is going to do is put his finger ever so gently on Timothy's chin and turn his attention toward an encouraging message. Mainly the example of Paul in his testimony, and in his example of how to live for Christ. That's what he's trying to do here. In other words, what Paul is trying to say is, Timothy, I need you to look at me for a second here.

I need to remind you, my prodigy. I need you to see and understand that I myself was committed to the work of Christ during perilous times. It was not easy for me either. And I'm trying to give you something to imitate Timothy. But we also read here that he's not only gonna have Timothy look at Paul, he wants him to look at God.

How God was faithful to Paul. And the same God that was faithful to Paul is going to be faithful to Timothy. And And the same God that was faithful to Timothy is going to be faithful to you and me. And so what Paul is trying to do is look at my example as you put your hands to the plow and you drive yourself into the darkness as you bear the light. But also don't fail to look up to realize that God is with you, Timothy.

As culture is becoming more corrupt, as there's more apostasy, as there's more compromise in Christendom, let me give you something that will help you move forward in faith and strength. And in almost an artful fashion, you know what Paul does? Did you notice it? He lists certain things about himself. He provides one trait after the other of what faithfulness looks like, and it contrasts that ugly list that we read earlier in the chapter about what the godless are like.

But instead of touching on each of these things like we did, instead of going through every single point and making a message out of each of it, we're gonna zoom out and look at the broader application here because here's the main point. If you're a note taker, whether mentally or on paper, here's the main point of today's message. How to be faithful in the last days. How to be steadfast in these final hours. How to be effective and fruitful in a day that is becoming more opposed to the truth and to righteousness.

Because that's what Paul is trying to instruct Timothy about. The necessary applications in order to be faithful in these last days. Number one, we read it. In verse 10, you, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness. Paul lists nine different attributes about himself.

And what's incredibly important to understand is that he is not exaggerating about himself. He is not boasting about himself. Everything that he is saying by the Spirit about himself is true. It's not just true because the Holy Spirit bears witness. It's not just true because he's a vessel of divine revelation.

It is also true because Timothy was an eyewitness to it. He says, you have followed my teaching. You followed me. And that word followed means to closely examine. It means to be accompanied by.

It means to be near. It means, it means to be very well acquainted with. It's the same word that Luke used in the introduction to his gospel when he says that he has followed closely these things concerning Jesus and he's going to write an accurate account of his ministry and his life. It's the same word. And so as we look at this word, we realize what Paul is saying is, you have studied my life, Timothy.

You're you're my disciple. You heard the testimonies about me. You sat underneath my teaching. You traveled with me from time to time. And as a close companion, you have with your own eyes observe the events that make these things that I say to you true.

You know it's true. You can bear witness to it for yourself. You've traced my life. You've witnessed my life. You've considered the instances that make these things true.

And here's the thing. Paul's mentioning all of this for one main purpose. So that as Timothy is prepared to face great danger for his faith, he would have someone to imitate. And he would remember that he he can imitate someone that he has witnessed being faithful in troubling times himself. Listen to this.

Paul was an apostle. Yes. But his influence toward Timothy was not exclusive to his office. This man had a relationship with Timothy. He discipled this man.

It was life on life. And what impacted Timothy was not just the fact that he was an apostle. It was that he was faithful. And the point I wanna make to you from this is that you and I, you better believe it today. No matter what your occupation is, no matter what your personality is like, you have, by the grace of God, the ability to be a blessing to those even beyond your lifetime.

You can. Based on one simple thing, faithfulness to Jesus Christ. Faithfulness to the gospel. Faithfulness in your relationship to God. That could be true for you, father.

That could be true for you, wife. That could be true for you, older brother, older sister. It could be true for you, best friend. It is possible to live in such a way in which we can bless people to live in even greater ways for Christ even beyond our lifetime. Do you remember or did you forget that Paul is writing this as his final letter?

He's about to die. He's about to be executed. And he wants to pass the baton to Timothy. He wants Timothy to wave high the flag of the gospel without shame or hindrance. And as he's about to do this, he's reminding him of his life.

And he has complete trust that Timothy can move forward even though he's not going to be alive to celebrate it. That's the discipleship that we should want to give to people. That's the influence that each of us has a ability to offer another generation. And this encouragement would make absolutely no sense to Timothy if he could not draw strength and stimulation from a real life example. And that's the point I want to make to you today.

Listen. Leaders today will shape the leaders of tomorrow. Current leaders today will shape the leaders for tomorrow. The attitude of parents toward God's word and ministry and the local church will set the standard for the spiritual development of their children. Those that you associate with their measure of passion for Christ, whether you wanna believe it or not, will have an influence, and no small influence on your own outlook on the things of God and the value that they carry in your own life.

We all know this. You know this. But instead of making this a text about associating with the right people in order for us to be encouraged like Timothy would be, let's turn it around in Paul's perspective. You be the person that will encourage. You be the example, though nobody else will be the example, that can bless even one person that will take the baton of the gospel forward.

And though the influence of this may vary from each of us, there is people, there is a person at least that you can bless. There's no doubt about it. And Paul's main concern was Timothy. And I hope that that would be your desire. The same desire of Paul that you would believe in the bottom of your heart that I can live in such a way that I can impact at least one person to be faithful to Christ?

There's enough compromise around. Wouldn't you agree? There's enough disappointment. May we be a people, an army of people that would actually give people a disturbance in a holy way to live for Jesus Christ. So how does he do it?

He gives the recipe right here. You have followed, number one, my teaching, my doctrine. Paul, yes, he's an apostle. He received specific and divine revelation as a representative for truth. But listen, the principle is still, is still true.

Paul lived it. He believed it. He loved it. And this is not by accident. The fact that teaching is the first thing on the list is not random.

It's on purpose. Because everything else that follows teaching, his conduct, his aim in life, his faith, his love, his steadfastness, everything that follows is built on the foundation of what do you believe? What do you believe? What is the ultimate authority in your life? What do you what do you govern your decisions with?

What are what are your what are you guided by? What are your plans determined by? And the foundation, the bedrock for Paul was divine truth. What Jesus Christ personally revealed to me, that is where everything else flows from. That is where everything else is shaped into.

And that's important because if you and I are going to have a lasting impact on anybody, at least eternally, it's going to have to come from the place of upholding the Word of God as a supreme authority in your life and mine. It's not just a reference text to you. It's not just a place where you culturally refer to when you need something. It's your very source of life. It's the reason why you live.

It is your compass in this world. It is the determiner of how you make decisions. Only then will there be even a step forward into being an impactful disciple for Christ. You and I have to understand that what made Paul the man that he was, was that he was a man of God concerning the word of God. He knew it for himself.

He believed it for himself. And he obeyed it even though nobody else would obey it. And may we so joyfully be submitted to the word of God. May we be so saturated with the scripture. May we be so overflowing with the word of Christ dwelling in us.

Not just in knowledge, but in affection and passion that those who know us will unmistakably make the conclusion that you are a person who trembles at God's word. That person takes that book seriously. And let those who observe us realize that the reason why you love, the reason why you forgive, the reason why you sacrifice, the reason why you serve is because you are compelled by this truth that is the driving force of all that you do. There's an attack on the word of God today. And though many people will say that this is the inerrant word of God, those same people, by practice would admit that it is not sufficient.

Is it sufficient? Not is it just perfect, is it sufficient? Is it enough? Is it all that we need to build a local church? Is it all that we need to know how to be a godly husband, a godly mother, a godly friend, a godly employer?

Is it sufficient? This world is confused and people don't believe that truth even within the church. But Paul was a man who said everything flows from doctrine. Everything flows from my teaching. And you've noticed that, Timothy, haven't you?

But he makes a quick shift. He doesn't stay there. He goes from my teaching to my conduct. See, Timothy wouldn't just be stirred by the fact that Paul had a set of creeds that he believed and even authored. That wouldn't be enough.

What would mold Timothy is that he realized that this teaching that Paul promoted and preached and was willing to be stoned for, this teaching affected his conduct. You couldn't separate it. That's why it's right there next to each other. Because what good is it to to be able to quote things and eloquently express it if practically you deny it and show people that it doesn't have the power to change you or transform you? See see Paul was saying this in Timothy.

Go, yeah. I understand you're a vessel of divine truth. You have a wealth of information. That's great. You have wonderful things to teach.

You can exegete the old testament like nobody else. But I can see Paul, I've noticed that it actually changed you. You are a murderer. You are a persecutor. Now you're being persecuted.

The love that you have that oozes out of you, the sacrifice. I can see how what you know actually changes the way you behave and think and act. That's what makes an impact. When people actually realize that that Bible that you hold is actually in your heart as well. And it pulsates through you and it gets in your blood.

You've seen my conduct. And he couples this together. We would think that Paul would end there. We would think that that would be enough to motivate Timothy. But look what he says right after.

He goes, not just my teaching, not just my conduct, but my aim in life. I love that phrase. You have followed, you have observed, you have recognized my aim in life. In other words, you know what the purpose of my existence is. There's no question about it.

This isn't just theology, and this isn't just behavioral modification. You wanna be somebody that actually impacts somebody else for Christ, have a fiery passionate desire for the Lord. Let it be the reason why you live, not just the reason why you do something on Sunday morning. Let it be the very reason why you breathe and wake up and whatever it is that you do. He says, this is my aim in life.

That's the goal that I have. It's Christ. I'm actually passionate about this. So he's talking about affection here. He's talking about devotion.

He's talking about a long term commitment to Christ. And he says, you know, you've seen it. You've heard it. And you even know that I'm writing to you from prison. So you know that this is the reason why I actually live.

We don't need firework Christianity anymore. Just a spurt of emotion for a season and it dies out and turns into smoke. The thing that Paul had is the thing that you and I can have and that is a fire on the altar of devotion that continues to burn as it did in the tent in the wilderness. Day and night, day and night, day and night. That altar remains.

That altar is there. That's what's going to make an impact. What I love about Moses is that when he was in the wilderness, he saw a burning bush. Did he not? Burning bushes were not uncommon in the wilderness.

They would combust into flame all the time. What compelled Moses to look is that this thing is burning and it is not, it's not stopping. It's not consuming the bush. It's still burning. That's what catches people's attention.

I've seen many people. I've seen many people burn for the Lord and burn out not too long after. It's not their aim in life. They got excited for a moment. They're good people.

They wouldn't harm or do evil, but the aim in life is not Christ. Everything else should orbit around this man, the God man. And that's what Paul is trying to say. This is my aim. And Timothy, as he's listening to this and reading this, knew that he can face a deteriorating culture, knew that he can face trouble ahead because in his life, he had witnessed a man who was ablaze for the gospel.

You couldn't put the thing out of him. You couldn't stoned it out of him. You couldn't whip it out of him. You couldn't discourage him out of him. You couldn't gossip out of him.

The man could not move. And I pray that each of us would have a fire in such a way that it would cause those who are fickle in their faith, it would cause those who are distracted by trinkets in this world to have a holy disturbance because no matter what they justify their compromise with, they would know in the back of their mind, I know a man that that is committed to Christ. And they just don't stop. I know a woman that is godly and loves the Lord. I have no excuse.

I have no excuse because I've seen a person burn for the Lord and they haven't stopped burning since I've known them. That was the person Paul was. So Timothy's excuses to be timid and fearful was becoming less and less possible. Because Paul, in humility, yes, but by the spirit's leading, is putting himself out on display and saying, Timothy, it's possible. Look at me.

Look at my scars. Look at look at where I'm writing you from. You've seen it. You've heard it. And I'm telling you that whatever happened to me can happen to you.

I cannot help in studying this be reminded of another close relationship between two men of God. Not Paul and Timothy, but Elijah and Elisha. Elisha was to replace Elijah in his prophetic office as a spiritual spokesman for the nation of Israel. And Elijah was taken up into heaven. And Elisha was left to himself.

And as he was left to himself, he was just left to himself. He was left with a burden. He was left with a responsibility. He was left with an expectation from the people. Is this guy gonna walk in the shoes of Elijah?

And this man receives Elijah's mantle. His mentor disappears into the heavens and he walks up to the bank of the Jordan. And he makes an interesting prayer. It's a very short prayer, but sometimes short prayers are better than long ones. If they mean everything to you.

He says this, just listen. You don't have to turn there. You probably know it. He said, in second Kings two fourteen, where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?

You know what he didn't say? Where is the Lord, the God of Israel? Where is the Lord? That would have been sufficient. He was very specific.

Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? Well isn't God the God of everyone who puts their faith in them? Yes. He is. But his request is specific.

Where is the God of my mentor? You see, Elisha was very acquainted to Elijah. He was his servant. He was his assistant. He traveled with them.

And Elisha witnessed many things to the relationship between God and his spiritual leader. Oh, he saw how God provided for Elijah. He saw how God protected Elijah. He saw how God empowered Elijah. I'm sure he has witnessed Elijah pray and God answer those prayers.

How God empowered him to be able to be that faithful minister that he was though he had moments of weakness. How he had this love spill over to the nation of Israel even though they were in spiritual compromise because he was energized by loyalty to God. And you know what Elisha, I believe, is saying here among many things? I believe what he is saying is, oh, God, the God that I saw in the life of Elijah, I need that God in my life. I want that God in my life.

Can you imagine that? Father, mother, would not be the burning desire of your heart that as you live for the Lord Jesus, that your children would grow up and making that request. The God that my mommy served. The God that I heard my daddy pray to when we were in trouble. I want that God to be my God.

I want to serve that God. I pray that it would be true of the leaders of this church, and as by God's grace we raise up future leaders, that as the people who serve with those leaders be will be able to witness their lives and the conviction and the unction that they have and say, I want the God that these pastors serve to be real in my life. Oh, you think you need to be a prophet, right? You think you need to be an apostle? No.

You just need to be faithful. And you need to have this to be the aim of your life. See, this this Christianity in the corner of your heart will never influence anybody. But this thing, when it's an all consuming passion, can leave a mark on another generation. I'm sure you didn't have perfect parents.

I didn't have perfect parents. I'm not perfect. But I can tell you moments that have marked me. I can tell you moments where I my my room was in the basement of our house back in Canada and some days I would climb out of that hole, go upstairs, and I would see two bibles on the kitchen table open. And my parents were at work.

They didn't say anything to me. They didn't sit down with me. But I knew one thing that day as I started my own day, mom and dad met with the Lord together. And that impressed me. That touched me.

That meant more to me than any amount of money that they made, whatever toys they can give me. That marked me. And so you and I can know such a thing, but only when it becomes our aim in life. And the point that Paul is trying to make to Timothy is that culture is going south. Christendom is becoming very complicated and compromised.

But in these last days, Timothy, strive to live in such a way in which you will burn for God. And these are the things that will make it possible. Know what you believe. Let it apply let it be applied to your life and make sure that it doesn't just get to your head, but let it consume your affections. And if that's not possible for you, if you feel like there's a disconnect between your brain and your heart, you beg God until it trickles down there.

Because that's the only thing that will radiate and influence others. I remember a great friend, an evangelist who is now with the Lord, and whenever I would ask him, how can I pray for you? He would look at me and say, pray that I would die climbing. Pray that I would die climbing. Pray that I would die with my hands on the plow, not in my pockets whistling in this world.

And I'm sure that he did die climbing. So the first thing is to establish such a recipe in order for our walk to not only be concrete, but to be influential. See, we don't want this individualistic idea of Christianity in these last days. We don't wanna go buy some property out there and hide from all the evil in the world. We want our light to shine as the dark the darkness thickens and the evil becomes more evil.

But there's something else. It's not just a walk that can be imitated. In verse 11, we read, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me. If you and I are gonna be faithful in these last days, if you and I are gonna know an effectiveness in our witness in these last days, then you and I must have a comprehension and a realistic expectation to suffer. Notice we didn't touch on everything that Paul's talked about in verse 10.

But again, let's zoom out and look at another broader application here. Out of all the things that he mentions in this list, there is one thing that he elaborates on. There's one thing that he emphasizes on and that is this, my personal sufferings. That's what, out of all the things he chooses to unpack, I suffered much, and you will too, Timothy. I went through great pains, and I traveled through dark alleys.

And Timothy, if you're gonna be faithful, you better know it. That's why this prosperity gospel is so damnable among other things. It it is setting up people for failure. It is setting up people to make their hearts rocky instead of soft. See, in this faith, you have Christians who endure for a while, and you have Christians who endure until the end.

Now enduring for a while sounds good, but not according to Jesus. Because enduring for a while according to Jesus speaks of those who receive the word of God initially with great joy and excitement, and even expressing their gratitude of how they found a church that is so serious about the gospel, faith. Will it be their departure from the faith. We don't want to endure for a while. We want to endure until the end.

And Paul proved that knowing that he is about to have his head possibly cut off. He writes here which persecutions, in the second part of verse 11, I endured. I didn't just face it, I went through it. And that is what you and I should strive for. And as we read this, we realize not only is he talking about persecution, he is mentioning three specific locations where he experienced these hardships.

And where? In Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. Why these three? Is it the only places where he experienced resistance? Oh, no, no, no, no.

The man can reveal his back and tell you where he got those trophies from, But by the Spirit, he chooses to give us these three. And would, would we praise God today that these three accounts are given to us in the book of Acts in perfect order? All you have to do is read Acts thirteen and fourteen to realize what happened to Paul in these places. And I think it would do us great service to come to the book of Acts and to see how these sufferings were various and how they had different masks and different expressions. So turn with me to Acts chapter 13.

And let's begin here in Antioch. We read here in verse 14 of Acts 13, just to know that we are in Antioch. But they went on from Perga and came to Antioch, Pisidia. As we come down to verse 45, Paul preaches an amazing sermon. A sermon that shook people, a sermon that brought about this result in verse 44 in Acts 13.

The next Sabbath, almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. Be gathering for a game. I didn't realize it till today. But could you imagine what it would look like for an entire city to come to a church to hear an order of the Lord. Yeah.

That's what revival does, by the way. That's what a ra and strip clubs and even sporting. Sport, it's not bad. Don't email me after this. It's okay.

But it makes many things go out of business because there's a passion for the spirit of God. Verse 44, the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But look what happens in verse 45, but when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul reviling him. Now the ESV is unique in this because it, it includes the fact that they reviled Paul. So not only, another word for word translation, it might not be so clear, but not only did these men blaspheme the message, they actually wanted to ridicule the messenger.

And so they begin to scorn him and revile him. And we don't know exactly what they said, but one thing came to mind when, when Paul was before a great governor. In fact, when he was before a king, King Agrippa in Acts 26. Oh, I love that sight of Paul in those chains. He's preaching the gospel, and he's trying to persuade King Agrippa to become a Christian.

And then the governor Festus is there, and he interrupts, he interrupts Paul in his presentation, and he says, Paul, you are out of your mind. Your great learning has driven you out of your mind. That's not nice. He's calling him crazy for what he is sharing and believing. You've lost it.

You're, you're crazy. I can imagine that these Jews were saying similar things. Maybe you, believer, have heard similar remarks from family members. You believe that book written by man? You actually think that this is applicable today?

Are you are you alright? Have you heard it from co workers? Have you received a Facebook comment? Have you been reviled for the gospel? Paul has.

He's been ridiculed. I can imagine what these men spewed out of their mouths, but the resistance only intensified in verse 50. In Acts 13, we read in verse 50, but the Jews incited the devout woman of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district. Get out of here. We don't want nothing to do with you.

If you're gonna stay here and spew that, leave. So it went from verbal assaults to now saying, we don't want your presence. We don't want you to be around us. You can no longer work here as much as you've been faithful to our company because we've discovered that your beliefs are bigoted and discriminatory. Paul experienced rejection.

In our context, it would look like you losing your job. In your context, it would look like you not coming and being invited over by friends or family because you're one of those loony evangelicals. I remember when I first got saved and I was expressing myself, one of my friends who was who was in the world looked at me and says, whatever you do, do not become those fanatical evangelicals, would you? Too late. Paul was reviled.

Paul was driven out. You can say relationships were severed. There was awkwardness in the air. And he was noted. He was marked.

This man is no longer invited in this neighborhood. But he goes from Antioch to Iconium in chapter 14. Look at verse one and two. Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and, look at this, poisoned their minds against the brothers.

Their strategy was slightly shifted. They used their words, yes, but not to directly assault Paul, but to now manipulate and to poison the minds of others about them. Do you believe that people's minds can be poisoned? Words are powerful. And again, just like Paul being reviled, we don't have a record of the words that were shared.

But it should not surprise us that whatever was shared was enough for these people to discredit the man and the ministry. And so I just allow my imagination to go places sometimes, though not making it dogmatic. But I can just imagine these unbelieving Jews whispering to people, meeting in their homes, gathering to them and saying, you know, this Paul guy, what he teaches? Whenever people believe it just, like, splits up families. It's very ugly.

They're I think they're a cult, actually. They do this thing where they eat eat the blood, and they eat the flesh of their their leader. Don't listen. It's a crazy cult. Oh, this this Paul, he's he's money hungry.

He's doing all of this because he wants more. You know, they they they give in these things, these churches, and I think he just wants an extra buck. So be careful with this Paul guy. And slowly but surely, people's minds were poisoned. Potential hearers, potential disciples were now were now so influenced that they could not even hear the man.

And it's a sad sight indeed, but I want to make this admonition to you that here's another form of suffering, servant of God, that as you have set your life to plant the seeds of the gospel in hearts, there are people who are enemies of truth that will plant seeds of suspicion and doubt in others concerning you. Do you think Satan's arsenal is limited to a Roman coliseum with lions? No. He has different tricks. And if he can't revile you and intimidate you head on, he'll just get other people against you and poison their minds.

Are you ready for that? Are you ready for that? Are you ready for your reputation, your motivation, your integrity to be put into question by others? Because Satan wants to make sure that your testimony and ministry is hindered and can't move forward in a specific place. Are you ready for that?

Because it will come. It will happen. And if you're not ready for that, you will not make it very long an effective ministry for the Lord Jesus Christ. So minds were poisoned. Did it stop there?

No. We come down to verse 19. Now we go from Antioch to Iconium to Lystra. But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city supposing that he was dead. So not only was this man's ministry making great strides in advancement, so was the persecution.

The greater the success, the greater the viciousness of men. You want to know how vicious they were? Did you read it carefully? It wasn't the men at Lystra that necessarily attacked him. Look at verse 19.

Jews came from Antioch and Iconium. They traveled. They followed the guy. It wasn't enough to say get out of here. It wasn't enough to say you're no longer welcome in our community or in our synagogues.

No, no. They wanted to rid him from the earth. News came. This Paul, that wherever he went, power comes out of him. Truth comes out of him.

He's shaking our streets. Let's go get him. So they packed their bag and realized, as you read this, we think this is just like one suburb to the next. No. This is miles away from each other.

Hatred is just as strong as a motivation as love is. Burning with envy, burning with jealousy, burning with hatred for Christ, they pack their bags and they follow the man. Like, leave him alone. He's not there anymore. And they find him, and they whisper the same garbage to some of the citizens of this place.

And now it wasn't just words that were hurled against him. Now actual physical bricks and stones were launched at his face and his back. And they wouldn't stop until they believed that this man was dead. And once they came to that conclusion in their own minds, they dragged his unconscious body like it was a bag of garbage and threw it outside of the city, left to rot without a proper burial. And this man, what startles me about him is not just how much he endured, but that once he regains consciousness, he gets up, wipes the dust off his shoulders, and he goes to the next city to preach.

I I look at that, and I go, I I know what it's like to be revived. I know what it's like to have people's minds think differently. I know that. But to be stoned and then dragged out of the city only to get up? And this man was you know, maybe I should take a couple weeks off.

He gets up and he goes to the next city. And that's what blesses me because not just what he experienced and how he remained faithful and he didn't retaliate in the flesh, those are all glorious things. But his response afterwards, after he traveled through these cities and all the hatred and the things that came against him, what did he do? Go to verse 22. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.

You went back? Doing what? Strengthening the souls of the disciples, Encouraging them to continue in the faith and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. That's what this man did. He gets up and the the main concern, though his soul was afflicted, though his body had cuts and bruises, the only thing traveling through his mind is, oh, we have to take care of those converts.

We have to we have to make sure that there's leaders established to nurture them and train them up in the faith. Barnabas, come on, let's go. And he limped his way back. He's going he's going back into enemy territory. What possesses a man with such a love?

The love of Christ. The love of Jesus Christ. The love for souls. The love for the church. The love for people.

That is greater than any stone, that is greater than any slander. Brother and sister, I say this in love. Weak Christianity is not going to cut it. Oversensitivity is not going to cut it. It's not gonna happen.

Not having things our way is not gonna make effective Christianity. Expecting to be treated in a certain manner in the moment that we receive some resistance, we give up. That's not gonna work. It's not. This man is showing his trophies to Timothy, and he's expecting the same from his spiritual son even though he might, some believe, with his personality might be more timid and shy.

No. No. No. There's something that's greater than your personality, greater than your fears, greater than your concerns, the indwelling power of the spirit of God. We have to believe that this is real.

We've it it can be so real that it helps you soar above these things. People give up too easily. People get discouraged so quickly. People interpret things and read into things and and and they need to take a break from ministry for six months. I'm I'm not talking about not resting.

I'm not talking about needing to be encouraged. I'm talking about striving for what this man had because it's possible. I want it. I hope you would want it as well. You and I have to realize that if we're gonna endure in these days, you've learned it face on in these past two years.

If you're gonna make it with fruit hanging from the branches of your faithfulness, you have to be ready to embrace suffering. That might look like slander. That might look like stones. That might look like you losing your job. That might look like you losing your friends.

But it's Christ worthy. He is worthy. And Paul believed that for himself. This man did not allow the lumps on his head. He did not allow the whispers of the crowds to deter him.

See, as much as he saw unbelief and resistance, he also saw souls that were willing to receive the gospel and be trained up. And that was enough for him to say, even if there's a handful at Iconium, I'm going. See, Paul had an amazing resume in second Corinthians 11 of the things that he suffered. Shipwreck, robberies, sleepless nights. But then the cherry on the top at the end of that list in second Corinthians 11, he says this in verse 28, and apart from other things, there is this daily pressure on me of my anxiety for the churches.

A holy anxiety. A concern for the people of God. The children of God. This is what drives me. It hurts me sometimes when I hear heretics coming.

I mean, can you not see that this was his aim in life? It's clear, isn't it? Paul suffered. It's clear, isn't it? Timothy's being prepared to suffer.

And if it hasn't been made clear to you, let it be clear to you that all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. It might look like persecution in Antioch and Iconium or Lystra, but it's coming one way or another. You know, I was thinking about this. This is this is sometimes very difficult to preach in American churches. It really is.

Because, like, we understand it, but you preach this kind of message in China and they'll get it. They'll get it. They're like, I've heard it was true that you have pastors there that when they enroll to be a pastor, they're fully convinced that part of that job is that they will be in prison. Like, that's what they know. Like, in their minds, it's it's not having a better building.

It's not having, none of that stuff is in the forefront of their minds. No. When they say, oh oh, I feel like God's called me to pastor, they have they are fully convinced that at one point they're gonna go to jail and be tortured. They, they, that's just it. Can you imagine training up seminarians like that in America?

As you graduate, you most likely will go to prison between three to ten years. So prepare your family. It's very hard to communicate these things because of the great length of peace that we have known in this nation. But let let me remind you as as we come to the book of acts again, I want you to see that even the early church knew seasons of peace. We almost have this idea that it was just constantly turbulent, not so.

Here's proof. Acts nine thirty one. Acts nine thirty one. We're told this about the church, the early church. So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up.

No persecution, no disruption, no laws being placed, Just peace. People meeting together, celebrating potlucks, fellowship, conferences. Nothing. No nothing. And it was being built up.

And then three chapters later, look what happens in verse one of Acts chapter 12. About that time, Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belong to the church. The image that I have here is if you've ever if you've grown up in a tropical area in this in America or a tropical place in the world, you know how quickly it can go from sunny and clear to cloudy and downpour. And sometimes you can see those clouds in the horizon, and then you're just you're having a conversation. Next thing you know, you realize that there's no sun kissing your skin, and you're feeling drops on your head, and it took but a moment.

So as much as you and I in America are enjoying great peace, I can tell you very quickly can we see the church knowing great trouble. So don't be too comfortable with peace. Enjoy it, thank God for it, but prepare yourself for things to change very quickly. We're almost done. We come back to second Timothy and we read the final thing that Paul has in mind for Timothy to know in order to be faithful in these last days.

He says in verse 10, you need to have a walk that's worthy to be imitated and here here's how it looks. There's a doctrine that you have to believe in. No. Let that influence your conduct. Let it be your very aim in life and look at how it can touch other people.

Not only that, you have to know that there is suffering your way. Don't be surprised when it comes, and be ready to endure it when it does. But lastly, look what he says at the end of verse 11. Which persecutions I endured, yet from them all the Lord rescued me. If you and I are gonna know faithfulness, then you have to know something about the sovereignty of God.

What he is telling his faithful disciple is that even though I had no great pain, I also saw God's intervening power in each of those places. God delivered me from each of those situations, Timothy, and if he did it for me, he will do it for you. Now here's the thing. This is where I believe the ESV might do a disservice because you look at other word for word translations and it doesn't read the same way. See, here it says yet from them all the Lord rescued me.

But other translations would say yet out of them all the Lord rescued me. And I think that makes more sense. It's not true that the Lord will rescue and deliver us from trouble. That's not true. What is true is that you will know afflictions, but from those afflictions he will deliver you.

That's the difference. And that's what he's saying here. Yes, I've known those afflictions. Yes, I've went through them, but I can tell you this, I felt the hand of God lift me out of them in due time. In fact, many believe that what Paul is doing here is he is borrowing the language of the psalmist in Psalm thirty four nineteen where we are told, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Timothy, you have to understand that though your foes, though kings, though governors even, though entire cities would come against you, there is a God who is sovereign over all of them. He holds all power. He's supreme in strength. Nothing can confound his counsel. He is in control.

Is he Paul? You believe that he'll rescue you from from everything? Yes. So is he gonna rescue you from prison as you write this? Because you're telling me that he rescued you from Antioch and Iconium.

Is he gonna rescue you from jail right now? Here's the answer, and Paul knows it. No. No. In fact, Paul in this letter is confident, I'm going to glory.

I'm I'm not gonna be delivered this time. This imprisonment is different. So wait, does it make your point less valid? I thought you just said that the Lord rescues us from death, that he will not let the enemy have his way with us though we might come out and escape. Is that what's gonna happen to you?

No. I'm actually gonna die. So what does it mean? Well, it's the same understanding that those three Hebrew boys had when they were ready to be thrown into a furnace for not bowing down to an idol. The Lord is able, and he will.

But even if he doesn't, we're not gonna worship your gods. Is God able? Paul says yes. Has God? Yes.

Will God this time? As much as you and I believe in his sovereign power, we must also believe with it his perfect wisdom. He can deliver me, but it doesn't mean he has to. He can save me from death. He can make sure that your body will never know even a cold for the rest of your life.

And he can make sure that whatever assassination attempt on your head is planned will never succeed. But his deliverance from death can also be a deliverance through death into his presence forever and ever. So Paul had a confidence in the sovereignty of God. He can, he has, and he might, but I know he won't. He's still sovereign though.

How can you be discouraged with such a belief? How can you be discouraged? It's like he's able to do it. In a moment, he can remove that pain from you. In a moment, he can he can make a way.

He can open it. He can do everything. But I also rest in the knowledge that if he doesn't, there's a greater reason for it. I think about Acts. You don't have to turn there in Acts 12.

In Acts 12, when Herod came to put his filthy hands on the pure church of Jesus Christ, he takes a hold of James, one of the apostles, and slays his neck. He kills him. And in the same chapter he imprisons Peter and Peter, through the prayers of the saints, knows a miraculous escape from iron bars. Well, why didn't he do it for James? Were you not able?

No, he was able. He was able to save James and Peter, but in his perfect wisdom, James had an early graduation into glory. And in his perfect wisdom, Peter needed to be delivered because Peter still had some work to do. How do you lose in the Christian life? Tell me.

Do you know a loophole that I don't know about? Because I look at this and I realize that we are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for the inspired word of God. Oh, the life that we felt this afternoon from the scriptures.

Lord, we are amazed at your wisdom. And, Lord, we realize that this is a word for today. We ask you, oh, God, by your grace and by the things that we have heard, that you would make us faithful. Make us faithful in these last days. Lord, may we be a people of the book who know what we believe, and may it be translated into our conduct.

It may not just be translated into how we behave, but may it actually affect the throne of our affections. May it be our very aim in life to live for the glory of Jesus. Oh Lord, may we not be intimidated of the hostility in the horizon, but may we look at all persecution with a smile on our face, knowing that you are able to rescue. You will rescue, but even if you don't, Lord, you are sovereign still. And so, Lord, we ask that you would give us what you put in this man, Paul, that despite the betrayal, despite all the despicable things that were done to him, to his reputation, he had a love for the church, a love for the gospel, a love for souls, and he wanted to minister to them even if it cost them even if it cost them his health, his comfort, his safety.

Lord, we are so selfish. Deliver us from self. Crucify us, Lord. We pray, oh God, that that this old man, though it may would try to be resurrected, that it would remain. It would remain in the tomb, and that we would walk in new life in Jesus.

Lord, we do not have the power to do this within ourselves. It must be your grace. It must be your grace in us. Lord, we pray for the fathers in here. We pray for the disciple makers in here.

We pray for the mentors, the leaders, oh god, those who are training, those who are older brothers and sisters. May our walk be worthy of imitation. Though we may not be apostles or prophets, may our love for Jesus Christ make an impression on those who watch us. Oh, Lord, this is what we long for. And may not our walk be for the sake of impressing others.

It may just be the simple devotion to you that would spill over into other things. But we worship you for the word today. We give you all glory as a church. In Jesus Christ's name we pray. Amen.

Let's stand and worship the Lord, shall we?