Rev. David Holwick U Father's Day
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
June 20, 2010
2 Timothy 1:1-7
|
I. To Timothy, my dear son.
A. Today I pick up Josiah at the airport.
1) Once they all move out, you think about them differently.
2) When they are underfoot every day, they are just a
nuisance, but you miss them when they are gone.
3) Perhaps he thinks of me differently as well.
One person's take on how we view our fathers over the years:
4 years: "My Daddy knows everything."
16 years: "My Dad is absolutely clueless!"
30 years: "I'd like to find out what Dad thinks."
40 years: "Let's get Dad's opinion before we make a decision."
60 years: "My Dad knew absolutely everything."
70 years: "I'd give anything if Dad were here.
I really miss him." #62857
B. Timothy probably felt this way (the mature way) about Paul.
1) Timothy had his own father - a non-Christian Greek - but he
had something better with Paul.
In Philippians 2, Paul wrote that he had no one like
Timothy, and he had proved himself.
"As a son with his father, he has served with me in the
work of the gospel."
Here in 2 Timothy, he addresses the young man as "my dear
son."
They had a close bond.
2) Paul had confidence in Timothy, and was trusting he could
straighten out the churches in the area around Ephesus.
a) But the situation has changed since his last letter.
1> In 1 Timothy, Paul has heard rumors of false
teachers and he is traveling far away, so he
sends Timothy to fix things.
2> In 2 Timothy, Paul is stuck in prison.
A> He is lonely.
B> He thinks the end of his life is near, and he
is right.
C> And the situation in Ephesus is just as bad.
b) Paul changes the focus.
1> 1 Timothy is like a manual for running a good church.
2> 2 Timothy is more personal, and focuses on Timothy
himself. (But he still expected the whole church
to read it.)
C. All of us need a father's influence.
1) Even sociologists have come to this conclusion.
2) But there are other influences in our lives as well.
3) In the opening to this letter, Paul reminds Timothy of
four of them.
II. Timothy's upbringing.
A. Our families have a big impact on us.
1) This holds true for every area of our lives, but especially
in the spiritual area.
2) Countless people can point to their parents as the ones who
had the most spiritual influence on them.
3) Usually, the most impact has been made by the mother.
B. How did your parent's stack up?
1) If you think they fell a little short, they have something
in common with Lois and Eunice.
2) Earlier in their lives they had let God down.
How do I know this? Turn to Acts 16:1-3. [read]
Timothy's mother, a Jew, had married a non-Jew.
As far as the synagogue was concerned, this made her a
backslider.
Christians have the same principle - do not be unequally
yoked.
Proof of her backsliding is that she did not circumcise
her son on the eighth day like the O.T. demands.
Maybe her husband would not let her; we do not know for
sure.
But Eunice would not have been considered a devout
mother.
And since grandma Lois put up with it, she was no better.
C. God blessed them anyway.
1) Eunice and Lois may not have followed all the rules, but
they kept the faith and passed it on to Timothy.
a) According to 2 Timothy 3:15, they did something very
important - they taught him the Holy Scriptures, the
Bible.
b) Also, when Paul visited their area, they accepted the
good news about Jesus.
They were among the very earliest Christians.
2) If you feel you have let your children down spiritually
because of mistakes you have made or a time when you
drifted away, don't give up hope.
a) As long as you have a sincere faith, God can honor your
weakest efforts.
D. Timothy inherited a faith, but it was not second-hand.
1) Having committed Christian parents is not enough.
2) You must make your own decision to accept Christ.
3) God doesn't have any grandchildren!
III. His friendship with Paul.
A. Paul and Timothy were obviously close.
1) Paul had been a father to Timothy in a way that his natural
father had not.
2) Paul not only led the young man to Christ, but he challenged
him to grow in his faith.
a) Paul continually prayed for him, wrote to him, and
encouraged him.
B. It is a blessing to have a close spiritual friend like this.
Right after I became a Christian in high school, I was
taken under the wing of Gene Snelling.
He was a sergeant in the Army and had a strong
commitment to Jesus Christ.
Sgt. Snelling had no formal religious education but
every week he had a Bible study in his living room.
Up to 20 people would pack in.
Even though I was younger than the other adults in the
group, he treated me as if I was important to God.
1) Our church has several people who are gifted at being
spiritual mentors like this.
a) God is going to give them eternal rewards.
2) Maybe it is a role that you could play in someone's life.
IV. A gift from God.
A. This was a more directly-divine influence than family or friends.
1) Just what this gift was, is not clear.
2) According to verse 6, Timothy received it when Paul laid
hands on him.
a) Some believe God's gift to Timothy was ordination,
like the ordination Kershel had yesterday.
b) Others believe it was a spiritual ability to carry out
a special mission, like being Paul's representative.
B. Every Christian has the gifts they need to serve the Lord.
1) Don't compare yourself with others.
2) Just find out what he wants you to do.
V. Timothy's own spiritual dedication.
A. Our inside factors can be more critical than the outside ones.
1) Timothy had great passion and ability as a Christian leader.
2) He also had some shortcomings.
a) We know from other passages that Timothy was
introverted and rather meek.
b) In 1 Corinthians 16:10, Paul writes:
"If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to
fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on
the work of the Lord, just as I am.
No one, then, should refuse to accept him.
Send him on his way in pace so that he may return
to me."
c) Apparently he had a tendency to cave in from fear.
d) Other people recognized this and took advantage of him.
B. Paul tries to get him to build on his strengths.
1) Timothy, and every Christian, has available power, love
and self-discipline.
a) Power alone can be too hard.
b) Love alone can be too soft.
c) Self-discipline alone can be too self-centered.
2) But when all three come together, fear is banished and we
are blessed.
C. His gift from God was not a guaranteed thing.
1) It was always available to him, but not always used.
2) Apparently Timothy had let it burn low, like the fading
embers in a fireplace.
3) That is why Paul encourages him to add some oxygen to his
spiritual commitment so it will burn hotter.
When I was a Boy Scout, we had a winter outing where we
slept in a small cabin.
The only heat came from a pot-bellied coal stove, so
everyone wanted to sleep closest to it because it was
really cold that weekend.
Throughout the night, each of us took a shift to tend to
that fire.
I remember how quiet it was in the wee hours of the night,
and how the coals glowed.
I also remember how some idiot always slept through their
shift, and the fire would go out.
Don't let your fire go out! Keep your commitment stoked.
=========================================================================
SOURCE FOR ILLUSTRATION USED IN THIS SERMON:
#62857 "Our Estimation Of Our Father Through The Years," Preaching Now,
www.preaching.com, June 2004.
This and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
=========================================================================
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
Created with the Freeware Edition of HelpNDoc: Free CHM Help documentation generator