A Sincere Faith: The Foundation Part 2 - II Timothy 1:1-5

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The Charge to Guard the Gospel Part 3

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Welcome to Faith Bible Church! If you're visiting with us, we're glad you're with us, and hope you're blessed by our service and our fellowship and sermon and just hearing

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God's truth. It's always refreshing, and so we're thankful to be here.

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I'm glad you're here to join us. And those listening online, I just pray that you are being edified and that you will be growing in the

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Word, not just listening, but following up with the sermons and reading through the

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Scripture and just meditating on that. Well, as you know, last week we voted unanimously to extend an offer to Iljin Cho for pastor of Faith Bible Church.

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We then forwarded that news to Iljin and his wife as well, Lauren, to consider that and put it in their court to seek the

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Lord's will in that. I guess I'm just dragging this out just a little bit.

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Well, they have accepted the offer. They'll hear this, so we can give a clap.

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It didn't take them very long to come to that conclusion. I think it was on Tuesday I heard some correspondence that they were already missing the people of Faith Bible Church.

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That says something about their hearts, and we can all rejoice and be glad in that.

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That is just a miraculous thing, and what a lovely couple they are, and followers of Christ.

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So we are gonna be blessed abundantly by their presence. Timing -wise, nothing's set in stone, but they'll probably be traveling the first week of July, so just kind of put that in your mind, you know, 4th of July.

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Kind of that's the period that they're coming, transitioning and coming this way. Beyond that, we haven't set down any dates of start and things like that, but just keep them in your prayers.

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They've got a lot ahead of them, and so that's a lot ahead for us as a church.

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And arriving at this place, you know, didn't happen overnight, but above all things, we want to thank the

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Lord for his faithfulness and his goodness through it all, because he has been there every step of the way, and it's important for all of us to realize that we're in the process of being blessed.

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Faith Bible Church, this is a blessing, and we can again thank the saints of this church, those that have gone before us, those that are here today.

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We thank the...and I'm gonna say a few names, and don't be offended if I don't say all the names, but to the

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Hunt family, going way back to the beginning of this church, to the Wilsons, to Victor and Barbara Arnett, Pastor Stan and Laurie, so many others, and every one of you here today.

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Hearts are full of thanksgiving for that, so thank you. But finally, a special thanks to Pastor John, to Janet, to Jackie, to Johanna, who have stood in the gap as we have sought the

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Lord, Lord's will for our church. They truly have, and I personally know that it has been a sacrifice of love on their part, and I've seen that in spades, so thank you,

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Kane family, for your contribution and your sacrifice to our church.

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It is...praise God for that, so thank you. And as we move forward into our worship,

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I'd like to read a couple verses from Jeremiah 17. It's a wonderful picture of what our lives can be and what the life of our church can be.

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So Jeremiah 17, 7 and 8, you can listen along. Blessed is the man who trusts in the

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Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.

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May that be our prayer for this church as well. So please join with me in prayer, please.

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Lord God, we thank you today. Our hearts rejoice in your faithfulness to this church and to each individual here,

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Father. You have blessed us abundantly, and you continue to show yourself every day, every moment of our lives.

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Lord, we ask today as we worship you corporately, that we might honor you, that we might lift our voices in a way that acknowledges your greatness, your majesty.

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You are a mighty God and worthy of our praise, and we fall short of that mark, Lord, we know it.

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But Father, we ask today that we would allow the Spirit to work within us, to have our step quickened in our songs, in our listening, and we pray for John, Pastor John, as you laid upon his heart of the word for today,

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Father, that it would go forth, it would not be void, that would land on ears that are willing and receptive to that truth.

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So God, bless our time today. We thank you, and we just pray for what is ahead for this church,

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Father, as well. We ask all these things in Jesus' name, amen. David?

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Good morning. Truly, Jesus is the best friend you can have, and He is our

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King. So we've got a friend who is our King, and let's stand and sing, O worship the

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King, and we praise thee,

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O God. Servants of God, let's continue in song to our

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Lord. Our Scripture reading for this morning is 1st

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Timothy, Chapter 1, verses 1 -12. 1st Timothy, Chapter 1, verses 1 -12.

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Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope, unto

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Timothy, my own son in the faith, grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our

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Lord, as I preside thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, neither to give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions rather than godly edifying, which is in faith so do.

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Now the end of the commandments is charity out of the pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of keen faith, unfeigned, for which some, having swerved, have turned aside unto vain jangling, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor whereof they affirm.

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But we know that the law is good if every man use it lawfully, knowing this, that the law is not made for righteous men, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of brothers, for manslayers, for home homewreckers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for manslayers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed

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God, which was commanded, committed to my trust. And I thank Christ Jesus our

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Lord, who hath enabled me for that. He counted me faithful, put me into the ministry.

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And Lord has blessed me to believe His word. Praise God for showing His truth and His word, and may others see

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Christ in us. Let's stand and sing, Show Us Christ. Well, if you'll have your

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Bibles, if you would open them up to 2nd Timothy. I don't know if any of you have computers, and computers usually have a keyboard, and you type on it.

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And then when you type on it, sometimes it puts something that you didn't mean to type.

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So Jim, thank you for reading 1st Timothy, but I meant for you to read 2nd

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Timothy. My computer knew better. So if you have 2nd

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Timothy, I want to read two passages, okay? 2nd Timothy chapter 3, and I don't know, what's kind of neat about being a congregation, our general sort of age group, is

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I can refer to things, and most of you can relate to them. Like if I talk about the show

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Green Acres, and how frustrating

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Mr. Haney was. In other words, as a child, the first anger that I ever felt in life, literally, was reacting to Mr.

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Haney, and how he would try to sell Mr. Douglas defective farm equipment.

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Do you remember that? And then my kids got into it.

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My kids got into it. And then I guess it was breaking some copyright, and YouTube took it down.

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But we had a lot of fun with that. So, Star Trek. Remember that thing, the transporter?

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And they would sit there, and it would take that person and turn them into something, and take them from the ship down to the planet's surface, remember those?

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So I just want you to know, you remember Kirk would flip that thing and beam me up, Scotty? One of my favorite lines of all time, beam me up,

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Scotty. So just so you know, when Iljin comes, God willing, first week of July, we are not going to be transported out of here.

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Somebody asked me that. We're going to be around. So we want to really be under his ministry, and support him, and continue to be a part of the church.

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So don't think that we're going to disappear the Sunday that Pastor Cho, or whatever we choose to call him.

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I mean, we're going to have to do something about that, right? Is it Iljin? Because me, I never say Pastor, I always say it's

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John. So, point is, we will not be transported to another planet. Now, I can't say we won't be raptured, right?

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That could be the day the Lord comes and calls home His church. Can you imagine that? He's going to be, what a

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Sunday for me to be my first Sunday here. Praise God. So if you remember last week, we're starting a series about standing firm in the last days.

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And the goal of this study, as we go through 2 Timothy, is to identify and learn or be reminded of eternal truths in God's Word that can help

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Christians stand firm in a world that seems to be almost in a freefall towards more and more wickedness.

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I finally heard from a friend of mine in Canada about what's going on. In Ontario this week, the governors, or whatever you want to call it, of that province in Canada, basically put the entire province under martial law.

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Meaning it's illegal to leave your home. You cannot leave your home.

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If you have to go to the store and you cannot demonstrate to the police officer, they will fine you or arrest you.

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And it's undetermined amount of time. So he finally wrote me.

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On God's timeline of human history, we're living in the last days.

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And God clearly lays out in many, many passages we read last week, a number of them, that as evil men proceed from bad to worse, so the world in general will follow suit.

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Okay? So how then can we live? How do believers stand firm against the waves of wickedness and immorality, ever -increasing wickedness?

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Many answers are found to this question, and helps are found in this letter, this deathbed epistle of the

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Apostle Paul to his beloved son in the faith, Timothy. And just as a reminder, going back to last week to kind of set, if you remember,

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I set the table last week and I brought out a couple of baskets of bread, right? Well, this morning, we're going to dig in.

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The main course is coming, or at least the salad. But just as a reminder of last week, 2

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Timothy 3, verse 1. 2 Timothy, not first.

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But know this, that in the last days, perilous times will come.

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For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self -control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power, and from such people turn away.

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So as I said last week and tried to establish, when we go in the

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New Testament to these various passages that mention the last days, we're talking about that period of time in human history from the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which occurred the last time

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He went up, Acts chapter 1, right? From that point to when

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He comes again, to His second coming, that period on God's timeline of human history, that period of time which is undetermined because we don't know when

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Jesus comes again, correct? No man knows. That period of time is referred to in quotes as the last days.

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And I believe that we all agree, if you look at verse 1, that we all agree that indeed we are living in perilous times.

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Amen? Can we take a vote on that and can it be unanimous? Yeah. So what does the

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Apostle Paul tell his beloved son in the faith about standing firm in the days in which he lived because he lived in the last days?

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And what does the Bible tell us about standing firm in the last days in which we live?

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And that's why if you have your notes, you'll see that this sermon title that we'll end today is

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A Sincere Faith, The Foundation. Now let me read the passage that Jim was meant to read, 2

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Timothy chapter 1, and then we'll pray. So the sermon title,

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A Sincere Faith, The Foundation. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, a beloved son, grace, mercy, and peace from God the

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Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing

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I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy when

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I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother

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Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. Therefore, I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

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For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

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Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our

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Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immorality to light through the gospel, to which

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I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.

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For this reason I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed, for I know whom

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I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to him until that day.

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Amen? So let's pray and remember the sermon title today, A Sincere Faith, the

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Foundation. Father God, we're so thankful for this time in your word. We're so thankful that it is the bread of life.

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We're so thankful, Father, that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. We pray that the

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Holy Spirit might indeed be our teacher today. And as Harold already prayed and as we sang, that our heart is prepared, that we would have ears to hear, eyes to see.

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For we ask it in Jesus' name and for his glory. Amen? So one of the truths that we will see in this 2

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Timothy as we dig further and further into the book is something that we need to understand is that for believers living in the last days or perilous or difficult times, whatever those times and seasons might be on the timeline of history, for Christians, the life we live must be lived by and through simple faith.

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The same faith, the same simple faith, that saves, if you can think back to the day when you asked the

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Lord Jesus Christ into your heart to save you, when you recognized that there is a holy

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God, when you recognized that indeed you're a sinner and that you're guilty, you're under God's condemnation, and you cried out to Jesus to save in simple faith, right, not seeing him, but just in simple faith that God gave you and allowed you to have, and you were saved by grace through faith, that same simple faith is how we live out the

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Christian life today, and it is that same simple faith that allows us and enables us to stand firm in perilous or difficult times.

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Incredible events were going on in the church in Ephesus where Timothy was the pastor, and one of the primary purposes of this letter is to remind

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Timothy, to bring Timothy back to that faith that dwelt first in his grandmother, right, and in his mother, and that Paul was persuaded was in him as well.

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That's what it's going to come back to, right? So just like we need to know and remember and have faith that God is truly in control in these last days.

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Not a bird falls to the ground, beloved, that God doesn't know it.

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Every hair or lack thereof on my head is numbered, amen?

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So time and time again, Paul is going to circle back to this truth that an all -powerful, loving, omnipotent, omniscient, transcendent

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God is in control at all points on the timeline of human history, whether it's

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Hitler, whether it's Islam. God is at work.

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God was at work when Paul wrote this letter to Timothy. God was at work in the 1950s.

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God is at work when there's wars and rumors of wars, when there's earthquakes and famines and anything else you want to throw in the bank, okay?

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God is in control, and God is ultimately, we don't understand it.

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Believe me. God is ultimately always working for His glory.

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You say, how could God be glorified when Adam and Eve fell in the garden and put us under condemnation?

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How? He's glorified in His Son, in a demonstration of His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, what?

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Christ died for us. Do you understand? And when you begin to see this picture, Timothy, you're going to come back to the strength and the ability to stand firm.

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So remember last week, I planted a pole. If you forgot, you can watch the sermon.

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It's on YouTube. Give it a thumbs up. Don't laugh.

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I was kidding about that. No, I wasn't. But I put a pole in the ground and raised a flag because waving over this letter in the breeze of the

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Holy Spirit is the grace and the power of God that is ours through and in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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That's why Paul says in Romans 1 -16, I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God.

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Right? It is the power of God. So flying high above everything

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Paul says in this letter, flapping in the wind of the Holy Spirit is this divine gospel truth.

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When it comes to standing firm in difficult times and when it comes to finding encouragement when things are anything but encouraging, much of what

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Paul says in this letter is going to come back to the power in a Christian's life through the gospel.

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Okay? And when it comes to having sincere faith as a foundation, there are several lessons about faith in the opening verses of this letter.

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So as Paul is languishing in this prison on the equivalent to our death row, what does the

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Holy Spirit bring to his mind? What was on his heart in these last days of his earthly tent?

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What truth was he resting in? And what truths were warming his heart in that cold prison cell that he wanted

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Timothy to remember and to guard in these final words of instruction to his beloved son and the faith?

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And specifically, how can believers today, how can we better stand firm in our faith living in the last days?

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Beloved, no matter what God might allow to happen in our country or the world.

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All right? Number one, first of all, by being confident in the will of God.

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Standing firm in difficult and perilous days requires being confident and trusting in the will of God.

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Hebrews 11 .1 defines faith as the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

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Turn over just a page or two to Hebrews 11. And look at what the writer of Hebrews says about faith.

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It's called the Hall of Faith, this chapter. But look at verse 1. Faith is the substance or the assurance of things hoped for.

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The evidence or the conviction of things not seen.

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And let that run over your mind. Remember that Paul is on the equivalent of what we would call death row.

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It was only a matter of time before the guards would come to get him and take him away to the executioner.

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But nevertheless, the apostle Paul had confidence in faith that the will of God would be done.

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Look back at chapter 1 of 2 Timothy. He says, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.

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How and why am I an apostle? By the will of God. How and why?

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According to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus.

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So this is a statement of confidence. Paul's in prison. He's on death row. And the first words out of his mouth in this deathbed epistle was a reminder that he was an apostle of Jesus Christ.

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How? By the will of God. How? According to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus.

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And that same will of God allowed him to be in that prison cell.

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So what did Timothy need as he's living in the last days in the first century?

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What did Paul need? What do people living in the 21st century in the last days when confusion or discouragement or fear or worry comes along because of what is happening in our world today?

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We need the very same thing. We need faith in God. And more faith in God.

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And the accompanying assurance and confidence and conviction and peace, friends, that a loving, transcended, all -knowing

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God is at work and in control and his will has now and always will be accomplished.

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Look at Hebrews 13. Again, just a page or two over. Hebrews 13, verse 8.

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Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

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So therefore, God the Father is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

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Therefore, God's will is being accomplished the same.

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What? Yesterday in the garden. Yesterday when Moses delivered the Israelites out of Egypt.

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Yesterday when the Red Sea divided. Yesterday when the judges ruled. Yesterday when

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David ruled. Yesterday when Jesus died on the cross. Amen? I mean, we've got to get this.

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It's the same. It hasn't changed. What had happened in Paul's life and what was happening in his life as he wrote this letter was according to the will of God and the promise of life in Jesus Christ.

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And see, Timothy then and the church then and Christians right up to this very day can clothe themselves by grace through faith when it comes to living in difficult days simply because of the one true all -powerful, all -knowing, loving

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God. And see, Paul sums it up in just two words.

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He's standing firm because of the will of God. And the wonderful lesson here is

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Timothy and any Christian can face difficult times with the same kind of confidence.

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It's not self -confidence. It's not something that you can conjure up.

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It is confidence in God. It is the assurance and the conviction of things not seen.

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Confidence in His ways. Complete assurance. Blessed assurance.

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Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine.

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Heir of salvation. Purchased of God. Born of His Spirit. Amen? Amen. See, that's what we need.

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Because if we go anywhere else, I don't know about you, Janet laid a couple of medical things on me that she heard this week in the car on the way here, and I was like, whoa.

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She's a nurse, so she understands the hemoglobin, DNA, whatever, the platelet, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

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Okay? I can't even say the words. I try to say them and the kids look at her.

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What did he just say? So how can believers strengthen their faith when it comes to living in difficult and perilous days?

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First of all, by following Paul's example and remembering what? To be confident in the will of God.

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Number two, by being confident in the character of God. Now, notice how

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Paul takes Timothy back and where I want to take you back to the character of God.

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Look at verse two. To Timothy. Now, the new

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King James has a beloved son. Some translations have my, and they put that in there because of the context in the original

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Greek seems to indicate that he's not, you know, talking about many. This is a very personal letter, so it would be my.

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Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Then look what he says in verse seven.

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For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind.

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See, God has given his people an abundant supply of all kinds of help in times of trouble.

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In verse two, it's grace, what? Mercy and peace. And then in verse seven, this abundant supply is a power and love and of a sound mind or discipline.

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And remember, all of these are from God. You see, these things cannot be self conjured up through the power of positive thinking or the power of positive confession.

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Speak to that checkbook, be full. No, that's heresy.

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I speak that sickness out of them. That's heresy. This is from God.

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And all of these are given to anyone who trusts in Jesus Christ by grace through faith, and it's given to them by a loving and all -powerful and all -knowing, sovereign

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God. Now, what is the significance of these qualities in verse two and verse seven, okay?

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Well, I wanna unpack them for you, okay? Because I wanna look with you at these first three, grace, mercy, and peace, okay?

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Let's look at first, grace. Now, what's interesting is when you come to these verses, if you look at every one of Paul's letters, virtually every single one begins the same way.

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And what happens when you read through the Bible on a regular basis is you come to this, and you kinda, I don't know about you, maybe you don't, maybe you're not like this, you hang on every word.

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But when you've read something like this like 50, 60 times, whatever it's been, right? You just kinda skip over things, okay?

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We don't wanna skip over these, because it's very significant what he says. It's very powerful and very encouraging to see how with these very words that he repeats in almost every letter, not in Galatians, how he's pointing to Christ, and he's pointing to the gospel, and he's pointing to the truth that these things come from God the

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Father. Do you see the word from? That is a significant, significant word in the context of these three words.

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Grace is that amazing New Testament word that speaks of God's favor, the favor of God.

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It is an incredibly rich word. I Googled it the other day. I mean, you've got so many definitions for this word grace.

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You have whole books. You go, what? Yeah, you can go to Amazon, and you can find books on this one word,

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God's grace, right? Many of you, if you've been in church any length of time, have heard this simple definition,

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God's unmerited favor, God's undeserved favor, right? But the word, when you run it through Scripture and you look up all the instances, it has a much richer meaning than just God's unmerited favor.

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It has to do with our loving, transcendent God's unmerited, undeserved, pardoning, and transforming favor and power.

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Grace is God imparting His free and benevolent influence in the lives of undeserving sinners and in the lives of those who are truly

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His children. And I put a definition in your notes. It's very comprehensive, and it's short.

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Look at it. Grace is the free, it's not original to me, the free and benevolent influence of a holy

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God operating sovereignly in the lives of undeserving sinners.

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Now, think about the ramifications of that definition. Ephesians 2, 8, and 9.

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For by what? Grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.

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It is the gift of God. Amen? Not of works, not of self -effort, not of anything we can do, right?

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You cannot conjure up, you can't make these things happen. They're all from God. They are a gift of God.

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Now, watch. Watch how Paul girds that up because he comes back to it in verse 9.

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Who has saved us and called us. Called who?

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Believers. With a holy calling. Not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which were given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

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How can a Christian martyr, how can a

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Christian martyr be tied to a stake in the 12th, 13th, 14th centuries and be set on fire and sing a hymn to God as they burn to death?

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How can Paul have hope in that risen prison and strength? Because he knows that he's been saved and called with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to God's own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus when?

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From eternity past. See, Paul had this deposit.

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It's the same deposit Timothy had. It's the same deposit all true believers have. A loving, infinite

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God, His free and benevolent influence operating in His children's lives.

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Friends, whether it's salvation, whether it's a conflict with someone you love, whether it's living in difficult times, whether it's in prison or out of prison, it is always going to come back to God and to Jesus Christ and the gospel, which means it has to come back to His grace and more and more of God acting on our behalf, which is why, look at John 1, 16, the gospel of John.

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Look what he says about this. And the sooner we get this and the sooner we hide these kinds of things in our heart, the sooner we'll be able to stand firm in perilous times.

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Look what John says in verse 16, the gospel of John. John chapter 1, verse 16, and of His fullness.

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What? The fullness of God, the fullness of Christ. We have all received and grace for grace.

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Some translations have grace upon grace. And remember, this grace is activated by faith.

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Right? Now, back to 2 Timothy, the next word, mercy. Right? This is another amazing word.

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And it's part of this triad because there's three, right? Grace, mercy, and peace. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

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Grace, mercy, and peace, right? And it's another one of these gifts that God has given us to help us to stand firm in the last days.

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The word here is compassion. It's referring to God's warm and tender affection for those who are in need and those who are afflicted.

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Any parent, you know that feeling, right? When your child falls off the bicycle and they run to you and you put your arms around them and you hold them or they've been hurt and then as they get older, you can't do that anymore and you cry.

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Right? Say, oh, I long to hold you. Get away from me.

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Right? No thanks. That's what this word is, mercy.

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Timothy, be reminded. Things are difficult. There's trouble in the church at Ephesus.

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You're feeling sick often later. He has frequent ailments. People are attacking you.

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So remember, take that blanket of mercy from God and wrap it around you.

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Beloved, be confident. Be assured. Our God is a

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God of deep and great and wide and high compassion and mercy.

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Hear, Timothy. Remember grace.

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Remember mercy and then also peace. And this is God's peace, right? This word, when you run it through the

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New Testament, it refers to the fullness of God's blessings upon His people. It's harmony.

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It's a tranquil state of soul. It's described in the

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New Testament, if I had the time to go through the verses, that with people that have the assurance of salvation, they just know

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I'm saved. Oh, my word. It is that beautiful lake up in the

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Sierras early in the morning when not a ripple is on it and you don't hear anything.

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Peace. It's supernatural. You cannot find it at Walgreens.

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Paul talks about it in Philippians 4, 7, and the peace of God that surpasses all comprehension and understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

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Go to Hebrews again, 13. You're not going to run to Safeway and get this peace.

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Look at Hebrews 13, 20. Now, may the

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God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead. See, how can you be worried about anything in these last days?

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For a moment longer, when the God of peace, the same

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God that brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work.

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So Paul's saying back in 2 Timothy, these things be on you, Timothy, and these are from God.

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So be confident in and stand firm in God's character. And it's not just what

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God gives. It's God himself. God is the giver of these things by faith.

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Look at what it says. Look at what it says. Grace, mercy, and peace.

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That's not mine. Okay, good. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the

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Father. Right? What's the center here? What's Paul's focus?

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What's waving at the top of the flagpole? It is the gospel. It is the gospel. It is

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God the Father in Jesus Christ who gives this grace, mercy, and peace by faith.

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So Paul is confident in God's will. He's confident in God's character. Grace, mercy, and peace are from him through faith in Jesus Christ.

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And then we come to verse 7. Because also from him, also from him, is not a spirit of fear, but what?

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Power and of love and of a sound mind. Now, if you look carefully, the word therefore anytime in English or in almost any language is an important word.

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Because if you think back to what I read, how Paul thanks

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God in verse 3, how he talks about how he prays for Timothy, how he talks in verse 4 about how he longs to see him.

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Right? Then he calls to remembrance the genuine faith that is in him.

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And then he says it again, I'm persuaded that this faith is in you. And then he says in verse 6,

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I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

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Right? He says

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God has not given us a spirit of fear. He says stir up.

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Stir up. Why is my mind going blank?

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Verse 6, I remind you to stir up, to kindle afresh the gift of God which was in Timothy through the laying on of Paul's hand.

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The word stir in verse 6 is an interesting word. It's the word in the

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Greek that was used to fan the flames. Remember when you go campfire, you set up, build a campfire, and it starts to maybe catch, and you go like this, right?

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And then finally it goes, right? And in our backyard we have a little fire pit, and we put the wood in there, you put a couple of things in there, you got a fire.

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It's just amazing. So the phrase laying on of hands, it relates to Paul being an apostle.

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It was a practice in the early church. You don't see it continuing like you do with praying and baptizing and serving, right?

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So the context is this. The context of what he says in verse 7 about God not giving us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

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The context is Timothy is living in difficult times. He was young.

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We read later that he was ailing, frequently ailing from different things, which we'll get into,

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God willing, in the coming weeks. And what was happening, the flames and the heat and the power of his giftedness were dying out, like when we don't put wood on a campfire, and it starts to go out.

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So Paul tells Timothy, first of all, in verse 6, right, to fan those flames.

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I remind you, because of your faith, because I'm persuaded that you're really a

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Christian and you have the sincere faith, before I get to verse 7, I'm going to tell you to fan those flames.

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Come back to that, okay? And the word gift is a spiritual gift.

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It's what God gives us. It's a grace -given gift. It is the same word that Paul uses in Romans 12 to talk about spiritual gifts, 1

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Corinthians 12 to talk about spiritual gifts, 1 Timothy 4, 1 Timothy, 1

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Peter 4. In effect, what Paul is saying here in verse 6 leading into verse 7 is this.

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Because I know you have this sincere faith, because I know that you have this sincere faith that dwelt, what, first in his grandmother, then his mother?

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Fan the flames of your gift that are dying out. Why? Because God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power.

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There's actually a picture, one commentator, more than one, of Timothy hiding in his house with the curtains drawn.

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Right? The Roman persecution, the church in Ephesus was going through all kinds of things.

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Paul was gone. Paul's in prison. And have you ever been that discouraged where you just want to go to your bedroom and put the covers over your head?

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No, not me. I'm a man. I don't do that. My wife can do that, but not me. I'm going to, right?

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Yeah, you're tough. No way. I'm a veteran. See, Paul's coming around to this gospel, to faith.

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See, because it's through the power of God, right, through the power of God that believers can exercise their faith.

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So, beloved, who hasn't experienced that vortex, that spinning vortex of living in difficult times?

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It can deflate. It can cause worry. It can cause anxiety. But what?

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Verse 7, God has not given us a spirit of fear.

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See the point? Not a spirit of dread. Not a spirit of timidity, but of power.

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And that word power, it's the word for dynamite. It is explosive power.

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It is God's power that is any believers by grace through faith.

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That's why Romans 1, verse 16, should be marked in your

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Bible because Paul says in Romans 1, verse 16, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ because it is the power.

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It is the dynamite. It is the dunamis. It is the dynamite, explosive power of God unto salvation to all who believe.

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And he says back in 2 Timothy, not only that, but of love.

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Before Christ, people have a spirit of hate. But see the gospel radically and completely changes them.

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Believers now have a spirit of love. We've been given a spirit of love. The fruit of the spirit is love.

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Christ's love in us and out of us. And then he also has given us a spirit of a sound mind, of discipline, sound judgment, prudence.

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Friends, our faith is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.

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Jesus is the rock. He is the cornerstone. Jesus is the rock.

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What truths about God and the gospel were on Paul's heart as he writes this letter in this cold prison cell, probably chained to a wall.

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Number one, Timothy, be confident in God's will. Verse one. Number two, be confident in God's character.

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And finally, be committed to having a spirit of thankfulness and unselfishness.

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See, believers living in difficult times can be strengthened to stand firm in being committed by being committed by faith to having a spirit of thankfulness and unselfishness, which means having a spirit that thinks of others.

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And see, this quality again comes by by faith. And it comes by the power of the gospel when a believer is born again and changed and they begin to realize that they are no longer the center of the universe.

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You see, you have to think about Paul's incredible circumstances, right? He's on death row, this cold and dark

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Roman prison. And see, when you think about his situation, there's a lot of ways he could have started this letter, right?

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He could have started it with a litany of complaints. You ever done that? Man, I can't believe this.

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This is the second time I've been arrested. I'm in prison. The food is terrible.

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All my friends have left me. Everybody in Asia has turned away from me, which he gets into later.

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I mean, isn't that kind of what you want to do? Shoot that email or that text? Pull out the phone. I can't believe this pastor.

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He's so boring. Right? I've got to have a vaccine passport to get on the bus.

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Let's get on. Here I am.

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I've served the Lord all my life. Where do I find myself? In the hands of a bunch of pagans.

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But look what Paul says next. Verse 3.

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I thank God. Hey, in all this, I thank God, whom

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I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy when

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I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother

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Eunice, and I am persuaded it is you also. Here's an example for us.

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Here's Paul. He's on Rome's death row. Virtually all of his church friends have abandoned him, and here he says,

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I thank God. And what's he thanking

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God for? Not his own life circumstances, not prison, not the death sentence, not the cold, not the ways that he could have been disappointed by the people that abandoned him.

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It's not about self. It is the opposite. It is so unselfish. Who's he thinking about?

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Timothy. He has served God. He's even serving

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God now on death row with a clear conscience, and the truth is, here is this. As he thinks about others, as he directs his mind towards their situation and their needs, it serves as a catalyst of gratitude, which then fuels and encourages his thankfulness to God.

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See, friends, a sincere faith is grounded in Christ. It is grounded in a biblical gospel, and that gospel produces the fruit of the spirit in a believer's life, and as we choose to grow in the grace and knowledge of our

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Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, there comes this heart of gratitude, which by grace through faith enables us to transcend the circumstances of life.

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See, what is on Paul's mind when he has genuine needs that need to be met?

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I thank God for you. I thank

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God for the sincere faith that has been implanted in you.

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I thank God that I am persuaded that this faith that was in your grandmother and your mother is in you.

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See, he's heard Jesus say that you must give up houses and friends and even parents for his sake.

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He knows that Jesus says you must take up your cross daily, right? Jesus taught that when his disciples go by faith the way of self -denial and when we by faith give up our life and when we by faith in Christ forfeit our life in pursuit of his kingdom and his righteousness and in his service, he will abundantly supply our needs more and more.

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See, Paul is an example of this truth in full regalia and in living technicolor.

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This is a mindset of gratitude to God which can be thankful even in the most depressing of circumstances.

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See, perhaps nothing in life is more compelling than a person's last words, right?

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See, with 2 Timothy, God has given us the privilege and blessing of being able to read the apostle

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Paul's very last words before being executed for his faith.

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Philippians 121, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. 1

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Corinthians 1552, for this perishable must be put on the imperishable, this mortal must put on immortality, but when this perishable will have put on the imperishable and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.

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See, Paul and Timothy were living in difficult times, perilous times, because they were living when?

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In the last days. Beloved, we're living in the last days.

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Paul's words of greeting to Timothy, his words of counsel to this early Christian congregation, remember this would have been read to the church in Ephesus, they are just as relevant to us today.

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They're just as applicable as when he first wrote them and it was first read to the Christian in Ephesus.

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See, and may God grant that we would respond to them, how? By faith. Jesus is the rock,

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Jesus is the cornerstone, the banner of truth, the flag waving over this letter is the power of the gospel, and friends, listen, not just to save, but what?

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To live. Which is why one of the key verses in Galatians is

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Galatians 2 .20, I am crucified with Christ, I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

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And the life that I now live, what? I live by faith in the

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Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. So what do we learn about the foundation of grace through faith?

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Faith in Jesus Christ that serves to encourage and strengthen when it comes to living in difficult days.

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Number one, be confident in the will of God. Amen? Number two, be confident in God's character.

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And number three, be committed to having a spirit of thankfulness and unselfishness.

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Amen? Take a moment before David comes, reflect on these verses, maybe one in particular jumped out at you, and then

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I'll pray and then David will come. So take a moment or two, please, to reflect either maybe you wrote something in your notes, maybe a particular verse struck you one way over another, and pray.

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Father God, how thankful we are for your word. Lord, our earnest prayer this morning is that this word today might bear fruit in our lives, that by faith we grasp onto these truths,

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God. Whatever you may allow in this country and the world, who knows?

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You do. But help us, Father, to stand firm, confident that you're accomplishing your purposes that we may not understand,

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Father. Ultimately, for your glory, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen?

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Thank you all for singing.