INTRODUCTION (Second Timothy)

1. INTRODUCTION(Second Timothy) “Hold fast to the teachings of your Christian Faith. Being diligent to know, honor and obey God’s word. 18 November 2018

2. Second Timothy is filled with encouragement, perhaps because the young man Timothy really needed it! Many scholars believe Paul wrote this letter shortly before his death, while he was suffering a much more harsh imprisonment than he previously endured. For that reason, this is quite a personal letter from the older Apostle to his spiritual son – like Paul’s final instructions before he finished his course on earth. • We find many practical instructions for living the Christian life in II timothy, exhortations we really need to apply to our lives today. For example, we are encouraged to boldly testify of the Lord and not be ashamed of our faith; to hold fast the teaching of the gospel; to be diligent and hardworking; to be strong in the grace that is found in Jesus; to avoid trivial disagreements that lead to strife and to endure hardship “as a good (first class) soldier of Christ Jesus” (II Timothy 2:3); to know, honor and obey the truth of God’s Word and to fulfil God’s calling on our lives.

3. I pray that you apply the instructions and exhortations (to get someone to do something) of II Timothy to your life so that when time draws near for the end of your earthly life, you will be able to say, as Paul did: “I have fought the good (worthy, honorable, and noble) fight, I have finished the race, I have kept (firmly held) the faith” (II Timothy 4: 7) • It appears that Timothy was getting fearful, weary, and unsure of his call. His spirit was sinking, so Paul came in with a strong word to revive him. In II Timothy 1:5, Paul reminded him of his faith and how it came to him. He told him in essence, “I remember your grandmother’s faith. I remember your mother’s faith. I remember when I laid my hands on you and we prayed for you to receive the gifts that are in you.” Then he said, “Now stir up the gift within you.” (see II Timothy 1:6)

4. Nobody can stir up your gift, that fires within you, the way you can. Other people can stir you up, but as soon as you are alone, you can grow cold again. That is when you have to stir up yourself. Pray, worship and praise God . Remember what He has spoken to you. Preach to yourself if you have to. Just do whatever it takes for you to stay stirred up in God! • Second Timothy 1:7 tells us that timidity, which is the same as fear, is not from God and that God gives us power, love, a calm and well-balanced mind, discipline, and self control. • I am going to tell you a little secret: fear will never stop coming against us. We must learn to do what God tells us to do whether we feel fear or not. We must “do it afraid” if necessary, but that is what courage does; it feels the fear and does what it should anyway!

5. I always thought that as long as I felt fear, I was a coward, but I have learned differently. When God told Joshua repeatedly to fear not (see Joshua 1:9), He let him know that fear was going to attack him, but that he must walk in obedience to what God spoke. • Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. • We are not cowards because we feel fear. We are cowards only if we let fear rule our decisions.

6. Fear is a spirit that produces physical and emotional symptoms. When fear attacks us, we may feel shaky and weak and find ourselves sweating. It may take everything we can muster to speak or move. None of that means we are cowards. The Word of God does not say “sweat not, shake not, tremble not.” The word says , many times, “fear not.” The way to conquer fear is to press on through it and get to the other side of it – the side of freedom, which is the side of power. • Second Timothy 2:16 instructs us to “avoid all empty (vain, useless, idle) talk.” Instead, we need to learn to speak as God speaks. It is the Word of God, spoken in truth and love from our lips that will return to Him after accomplishing His will and purpose. But in order to speak that Word in truth and love, our hearts must be right before the Lord, for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks, for good or for evil (see Matthew 12:34).

7. You are bound by your words and by your declaration. You are also judged by them. That is why it is so important to place a guard upon your lips so that what issues forth from them is not only truthful, but also kind, positive, edifying, and in line with the will of God. • You can change your actions and behaviour, but in order to do so you must first change your thoughts and words. To do that, you need the help of the indwelling Spirit of God. Ask Him to help you. He will! • God’s Word instructs us in II Timothy 2:20, 21 to be vessels consecrated and ready for the Master’s use. These verses make clear that to be consecrated is to be set apart for a special use.

8. To God we are precious treasures. According to His great plan, we are vessels He sets aside for a special purpose. God wants to show His glory through us. He wants to use us to bring others to Himself. We are His representatives, His ambassadors, here on earth. God makes His appeal to the world through us (see II Corinthians 5:20). • The meaning of the word consecrate is very similar to the word dedicate; it means to give, to offer to another, or to set aside for a purpose. If I say that a room in my house is dedicated to prayer, I mean that I want that particular room used primarily for the purpose of prayer and not for other things.

9. Do you have clothes kept for fancy parties. Have you set them aside in a certain place in your closet and keep them inside garment bags for protection. This makes them special; they are not used for ordinary occasions, but are set apart for special purposes. This is the way God views us; we are not meant for the world’s purpose, but for God’s. We are in the world, yet Jesus tells us we are not “of” the world (see John 15:19). So do not be worldly, adopting its ways and methods. • Even after we dedicated ourselves to God, we should regularly rededicate ourselves to our real purpose, as romans 12:1 encourages: “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.”

10. It is not too much for God to ask us to dedicate every facet of our being to Him. In fact, that is actually our worship and spiritual service. Under Old Covenant law, God required animal sacrifices to atone for sin. He no longer wants dead sacrifices; He wants us offering ourselves as “living sacrifices” unto Him for His purpose and use. Consecrate yourself to God and be set apart and ready for any good work! • The servant of the Lord must be a maker and maintainer of peace (see II Timothy 2:23,24). He must not strive. Strife is bickering, arguing, heated disagreement, and an angry undercurrent. Strife is dangerous and destructive. Strife is like a deadly, contagious disease. It spreads rapidly unless it is confronted and stopped.

11. Let’s have a look at verses 23 & 24:- • “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.” • “and the Lord’s servant must not quarrel, instead he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. • Strife destroys marriages, friendship, businesses, and churches. It is a tool that Satan uses to stop the will of God. Strife or contention comes only by pride (see Proverbs 13:10). The servant of the Lord must be willing to humble himself and go the extra mile to maintain peace. Paul told the Phillippians they would complete his joy if they lived in harmony (see Philippians 2:2). Paul knew the power believers have if they commit to live in unity and agreement (see Matthew 18:19). We must pursue peace, crave it, and seek it with all our heart and soul. Without peace we are without power.

12. Do not get involved in conversations that head toward strife. Avoid controversies over things that really do not even matter and refuse to be involved in gossip and tale bearing, which are ungodly and unnecessary. Do not spread rumours or tell other people’s secrets. These things cause an angry undercurrent and they hinder or eliminate God’s power and blessing. Many homes cannot prosper and be blessed because everyone is in strife. Mom and Dad bicker and argue, the siblings argue and resent one another and nobody is happy but the devil. • I want to repeat that strife is very dangerous and that as servants of the Lord we must not be part of it. It is good and pleasant when brethren dwell together in unity. Unity releases anointing (God’s presence and power) and it is also where God commands the blessing to be released (see Psalm 133).

13. The years to keep strife out of your lives. It requires willingness to constantly communicate and confront issues. Strife will not go away if it is ignored; it must be dealt with. I encourage you to ask for the Holy Spirit ’s help to be a person who avoids strife and restores peace everywhere you go. • Just as Paul predicted long ago when he wrote II Timothy 3:1,2, we live in an unthankful and ungrateful generation. It seems more people have, the less they appreciate. • As believers, we are in the world, but we must strive not to be like it. The more others around us complain, the more we should express gratitude to God.

14. Does it seem to you that we are living in perilous times? Think of the world around you as you read II Timothy 3: 1 – 5; you probably see evidence of many of the vices described. In times such as these, you must stand strong in the truth of God’s Word and have nothing to do with people who seem religious but do not exhibit true godliness or spiritual power. • Second Timothy 3:12 tells us that we will suffer persecution as believers. Satan brings opposition, trouble, trials and tribulations in the hope of driving us away from God. If we intend to succeed at being victorious believers and being all God wants us to be, we must be prepared to stand strong in times of persecution. • If we will stay standing on the inside, God will take care of the outside. If we do what we can do, God will do what we cannot do.

15. As we approach the end of Chapter 3, we read from verses 16 & 17 • Though written by men, all the scripture is divinely inspired (literally, God-breathed) and is our authority and rule for faith and life (see II Timothy 3:16). What can you do to become a more serious student of God’s Word, the Bible, so that you can be complete and equipped for every good work (see II Timothy 3:17). • Have you ever waited for the “perfect time” to share your faith with someone? The truth of the matter is that there may not always be the “perfectly right” time to share, but it is important to be ready to take advantage of every opportunity that God gives to share your faith and to proclaim and teach His Word. Pray that God will help you recognize every opportunity and give you boldness to share!

16. As we move into Chapter 4, Paul passes on to Timothy valuable information, which is valuable to all of us. • In II Timothy 4:5, Paul gives Timothy some helpful instructions on how to handle his ministry. What he says is good advice for all of us. If we are calm and steady, people know they can depend on us. God can depend on us. No one has to wonder what we might be like from one day to the next. When our unsaved friends see the calm and steady faith we have, they will be open to our testimony of the Gospel. Stability is a necessary trait in every believer’s life, one that brings personal blessings and peace, which attracts others.

17. Paul experienced a lot to take the Gospel to the early world. He was persecuted, beaten and thrown in prison for preaching the Good News. Many times he suffered because of opposition, as he described in II Timothy 4:14-16. • In this passage, Paul basically says, “Alexander the coppersmith has done me great wrong, but I am happy not going to worry about it. I am not going to get full of bitterness and hatred. I am going to let God handle it. He will take care of it.” • How much better our lives would be if we took that attitude toward so many things, if we would just cast our care on the Lord and allow Him to handle them for us.

18. In verse 16, Paul tells how no one came to his defence in his trial. I wonder how we would feel if we suffered everything that Paul went through to bless so many others only to und up without a single soul to stand up for us in our time of greatest need. Paul risked his very life for others, yet they were not willing to be associated with him for fear they might be punished too. • What was Paul’s response to their abandonment? He prayed that their failure would not be laid to their charge. That shows us his heart.

19. We can go through the Bible and look at the great men and women of God, and we can quickly see why they were called heroes of the faith. It was not because they were smarter than everybody else or because they had more going for them in the natural than others. It was simply because they had great hearts. Ask God to give you the heart of a hero too. • In closing I go back to Chapter 4 vs 7:- • I have fought the good fight • I have finished the race • I have kept the faith

20. Let us pray Father, I declare that you have not given me a spirit of fear. You have given me a spirit of power and of love and of a calm, well balanced mind and of discipline and self control. Amen