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How far did we get in Second Timothy 1 Bob?
Verse 6.
Good, yes.
Second Timothy one and verse 6.
Wherefore I put the in remembrance that they'll stir up the gift of God, which is in thee, by the putting on of my hands.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel, according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us within holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel, whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles? For the which 'cause I also suffer these things, nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Hold fast the form of sound words which thou has heard of me in faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee. Keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me, of whom are fight, jealous and homogeneous. The Lord give mercy unto the House of Vanessa Forest, for he OFT refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain. But when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently.
And found me the Lord. Grant unto him, that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day.
And in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.
If we can use this six verse as an opportunity to look back. Brother Tim made some comments about gift.
And that there may be some who are younger who, who don't they wonder what their gift is. And I think it's a good opportunity to say that here we have an older man.
Writing to a younger man and he uses this expression stir up or rekindle or kindle afresh the gift that is in thee. And it's a good time for us to say there are there are hundreds of people in the room here today.
There is no such thing in the body of Christ as a non functioning member.
Every member of the body has a function.
And some of the things that we've talked about I think emphasize the fact that.
You want to know what our proper function is, and that's a matter maybe of some period of time, but it's also a matter of the Christian community. So here is an older man encouraging this younger man to rekindle the gift of God that is within him. He needed encouragement in the dark state of the assembly as it was in the empire at that time.
Needed encouragement. And when we think of the functioning members of the Assembly, we have all the different ages and stages of life at which we are. We have some in the room who've been down the road of the Christian pathway for many years. It is incumbent upon them to be looking to the next generation. And we'll see some of that as we come to the second chapter, that there are those who are older who've been in the path of faith and they watch out.
Over those who are younger, all the while realizing that a day is going to come when they're not going to be there and the baton is going to be handed to someone else. There are people in the room here who can remember a generation of men that I don't even remember.
And the men who were sitting in these conferences ministering when I came among the brethren, they're no longer here with us. It's been handed on to someone else. But it's not just that. It's every function, whatever is necessary, even those things that are not readily seen with the eye. Every member has a function. And we want to be able. First of all, I think some of the comments that were made in the first reading.
Are very important. There are things that are necessary if we're going to know what our gift is. One of them that was talked about was a good conscience.
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If there is a walking in simplicity with the Lord in our lives, we can be found in a state of soul where we can discover what our gift may be. Secondly, what is our bent? The older ones even like with a child, but the older ones can look at the bent of the younger ones and we can see, you know this might be an individual.
Who has a future as an evangelist?
You can see that with some of the younger ones or as a teacher, or there is someone who is is shows an aptitude for wisdom in applying the Word of God to the practical affairs of daily life, whatever it might be. If you look at the gifts as we have them in Romans chapter 12, First Corinthians chapter 12, Ephesians chapter 4, there are a variety of different gifts that all have a function within the body of Christ.
And I want to be in a state of soul so that I'm not disqualified from using the gift that the Lord has. I also want to be there. We want to have a condition in the assembly where the exercise of gift is encouraged. If a member does not function, the body misses out on that. And I think it's, I think it's a good thing to emphasize with this verse here for which 'cause I put the in mind to stir up or to rekindle.
The gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
It's a it's a real encouragement to look after one another, to see that the needs in the community of faith are being met and that the gifts can function normally. Every gift.
Even in the.
State of the Christian testimony as it is today. God on his side has not lacked and he continues to give gifts like you say to every member. I'd like to point out this because it's good to get it in Scripture. Ephesians 4 and verse seven you made mention of it but says unto everyone.
Of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. In other words, there's different measures given to different ones, but it's to everyone. So it's for us to be exercised about it. What are you going to do young brother or sister, because the sisters have gifts too. If you get to the judgment seat of Christ and he said the Lord says to you the gift that I gave you.
Are you going to wait till then to say I didn't even realize I had a gift?
Here it is unto everyone of us. That's why I cringe a bit when sometimes we make a classification of those in the Lords work. Brethren, we're all in the Lord's work, every one of us. Different functions, different measures, but still all in the Lord's work. And I think that's good. What you say, brother Dave, that there needs to be a sense in the those who are older.
And seeing those that are coming on, of encouraging them, giving them space to exercise their gift, because gift is developed with use, it doesn't come immediately. Still remember our brother Chuck Hendricks when somebody asked, how can I know the gift the Lord has given me?
His answer was what the what Mary said to the servants.
At the wedding feast in John Two, he said she said, whatsoever he says to you, do it. I think that's a good answer. The Lord lays something on your heart. Do it. In time it may become evident what particular gift you might have. But the point is that we function in obedience to the directions of the head. Not just because I have a gift, but the directions of the head.
And notice here in this chapter one of Second Timothy, it was by the putting on of my hands. In other words, the apostle Paul said, Timothy, I am in full agreement that you need to use the gift you have been given. Timothy evidently, according to 1St Corinthians 16, was a timid person. And so a timid person is not going to speak up that much.
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And so he tells those Corinthians to be aware that he was there and that God had given him something to be used. I'd like to go back to first Timothy chapter 4 to see the difference because as we mentioned this morning, there we have the House of God in its order. But notice the distinction here in verse 14. Neglect.
Not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the Presbyterian, or the Elderhood. So evidently, when Timothy began his ministry, there were those in the local assembly that encouraged him. They laid their hands on him. They showed their fellowship. But notice what it says.
By prophecy, I suppose that the apostle Paul detected that there was a particular gift in Timothy that was going to be useful, and so he told him to be diligent in its use. I think that is very helpful to see and and.
Gifts are different, no one has exactly the same gift as another, but we are all to be exercised and if we would function as the Lord gives us opportunity, what blessing there can be.
In connection with the sisters and experience I had a few months ago, I have the privilege of having an open door in the gospel and therapy houses. But the dear sisters, they make up cakes and cookies so.
I have a little refreshment for them after the meeting. And so one week this young man came at the end of the meeting. We I get, you know, from anywhere from 30 to 50 that come. But at the end of the meeting they all come for the cake and cookies. And so this fellow came around and he had a a piece of cake.
And he felt obliged to talk to me because he had a piece of cake. He thought that was so nice. And so we talked together. And he said, I'm not really interested, but I'll come next week, you know, and he got saved. So I want to thank the sister for the piece of cake, you know, so all the members are useful. And so perhaps you didn't know she was a Baker evangelist, you know, just encourage the sisters.
We don't really know what gift Timothy had. I don't think Scripture ever says in the 4th chapter he says do the work of an evangelist, but it doesn't say that he was gifted in that way. And I think it shows that if the Lord lays on our heart to do something like evangelizing, even though we don't have the gift for it, we need to be obedient to the Lord in that. I wonder, Brother Bob, if verse 13.
That you mentioned first Timothy chapter 4 verse 13 really defines Timothy gift. I'm suggesting this because it says till I come give attendance to reading. That's the public reading of the scripture. So a reading meeting like this remember that they didn't all have copies of the word of God. So a copy of a particular epistle would be read and then one that had the gift of teaching or exhortation here would.
Be able to expound the passage so he was to go to those Bible readings, conduct perhaps Bible readings and exhortation are really.
The.
Stirring up of the Saints in connection with what was being brought out, and then doctrine.
Doctrine is just an old English word that means teaching. So it's evident that Timothy had a gift for being able to expound the truth and to stir up the Saints, to encourage the Saints to walk in the truth. And he had an orderly outline of the truth of God and the Pauls doctrine particularly. And then in verse 14, as you mentioned, the apostle says neglect not the gift that is in thee. So he was timid and he perhaps was a little reticent and there were others that were there and he probably would rather just sit back and let them take part.
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But he had a gift for expounding the truth of God. And so the apostle encouraged it. Now you might say, when did you get that gift? Well, it's been pointed out that the brethren recognized, and Paul himself recognized that this young man has a gift. But I believe he got it at the time that he was saved. And if we just look back at Ephesians or forward to Ephesians chapter 2, we find that there's at the time of our salvation, at the time that we're sealed with the Spirit of God.
That we get a couple of gifts here. One is faith, chapter 2 of Ephesians verse 8 for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. So as soon as you're sealed with the Spirit of God.
Or quickened, I should say. You're quickened with the Spirit, You're given life, You have divine life. You have the capacity to hear the voice of the Lord, and He gives you faith to believe so that when you do hear His voice, you do believe.
But I believe at the time that we're quickened, He gives us spiritual gifts. Everyone would get a spiritual gift. We have natural gifts that are given at our natural birth, but we have spiritual gifts that are given to us when we're born again. And when we're sealed with the Spirit of God, then we have the power we have. We're indwelled with the Spirit of God. We have the ability to use that gift for the glory of God.
No gifts are mentioned here, aren't they? But.
It's really in passing almost, isn't it? Because it seems like this last epistle of Paul, he's speaking about the condition of soul necessary to thrive in the difficult circumstances when there's failure, general failure. And So what we have here are mainly the moral and the spiritual character that does these things. Gift is good, good to talk about that. We have that in different places.
In First Corinthians and Ephesians, but it's really part of the package here, isn't it? Sometimes people wonder, well, what's the difference between spiritual and moral? Maybe it's helpful to point that out. At least as best as I understand it, the spiritual qualifications have to do with my personal relationship with the Lord. The moral qualifications have to do with the practical working out of that in my soul and my relationship with others. And so that's what's mentioned in this book. Now this is Paul's last epistle. Some of us were visiting during the lunch hour.
And one of the brothers was we were speaking about it and he said, well, notice that Paul doesn't say well.
What you have to do, because things are so weak, you're going to have to set up a system, you're going to have to have a clergy, and you're going to have to appoint certain people that are going to be teachers and certain people. It doesn't say that at all, does it? But it's the moral condition that's conducive to order in God's house, even if it's only part of it, as we'll see in chapter 2. Because what we see in chapter 2 is within the great house, there's a place where the Spirit of God is given his proper place.
And so we're to act in such a way that we behave in such a way that we recognize his place and his person. So again, I just want to make the point. I appreciated that. Brother pointed out to me that it's not a mechanical thing he sets up. That's what men have done, and that's what Christianity historically has done, is set up a system with clergy and with offices and so on and so on and so forth. Here it's the moral and spiritual qualifications.
Necessary to function properly in the House of God.
Yes, I think that is very, very good.
Because the tendency is as the power of the Spirit of God, and of course I'm not talking about his intrinsic power, but the enjoyment and living in the good of the power of the Spirit of God. As that declines, so does arrangements to fill the vacuum with human energy increase and that is the system that you're talking out talking about.
And so here in the next verse now we need to remember that if we follow Bob's outline, we have 3/4 of an hour to finish this chapter.
But in the next verse, in verse seven, Timothy is reminded that it is God's power.
God's love and a sound mind. I'm no Greek scholar, anyone can look this up, but the word for power here is the word that is generally used for God's power. The word for love here is the word that is used for divine love. And the word that is used for a sound mind is a mind, I believe under the control of the Lord through the Spirit of God.
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It's the same word as is used about the man who was filled with demons over in the country of the Gadarenes, and of whom, it could be said, after the Lord had cast them out, he was clothed and in his right mind. And so we have everything that we need amid all the weakness to go ahead. Does that mean we're going to restore things back to what they were?
Originally, no. In the second chapter we find that that isn't going to happen. Does that mean that we can pretend to have the power of Pentecost? No, that's a mistake, and to try and do so only makes us realize that we don't have it. Does it mean that we should try and fill the vacuum with human energy? No. That becomes pretty self-evident if we're honest with ourselves that that is not spiritual power.
But at the same time, has the Lord changed? No, he has not. But.
Again, a remark that was a big help to me.
And some will recognize the source of it.
The Lord will always meet us where we are in blessing, if we admit where we are, if we pretend to be what we're not. He has to occupy us with our failure until we own it.
But if we take the place that yes, the church has failed, yes, we are part of the failure, no, we cannot expect to restore things to what they were at the beginning, Then the Lord says, my power is there, my spirit is there, my love is there for you, and you are not to have the spirit of fear. We can go forward in confidence, but at the same time in the humility.
Of realizing that we are part of the ruin of the church.
Here is a ingredient off times when a young man wants to commence to use what the Lord may have given him or put on his heart.
But that's not the spirit that God has given us. He's given us the spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.
Always remember your late father-in-law, Brother Bill.
Encouraging us younger ones. And he was.
Really good in the gospel. He had a gift in the gospel, but he told us that the first time he gave got up. You probably remember this. It was in Toronto I think it was and there were quite a few older well taught brothers sitting there and he said I was so scared I my mouth went dry and I.
Reached through the glass of water, but my hand was trembling so bad I had to hold it with the two hands to take a drink.
You would never know that in later years he was a gift and that that shows that gift is something that is developed with the use. So seek the Lord, start in your own local area.
Samson began. The Spirit of God began to move him in the camp of Dan that was his own local area.
And so that's where to start. And then the Lord will show you where to go from there.
So, Brother Bill, you use the expression the ruin, the ruin of the church.
What do we mean when we say the ruin of the church?
But I believe what we mean by that is that.
Very shortly after the apostles passed off the scene, we find that very quickly the church gave up many of those cardinal truths that the Lord had given through Paul, the heavenly calling of the church, the leading and guiding of the Spirit of God instead of human systems, the present living hope of the Lord's coming at any moment, and many other precious truths.
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These were given up, and as a result, human systems came in, bad doctrine came in, bad practices came in, which resulted very quickly in what the Scripture calls the Great House in the next chapter.
And.
It is always, I believe, a principle with God that whenever something that He sets up fails.
And every, if we could say it this way, every dispensation has begun in blessing and has ended in failure, whether in the Old Testament or the New.
Whenever that happens, it's a principle with God that he does not restore things.
Down here to the condition they were at the beginning, but he calls out of that ruin those who.
A spouse who show out, live out the characteristics that God gave right at the beginning, but only in a character that demonstrates the weakness that has come in. And so the church is in ruins because instead of a united testimony in this world going on with oneness of mind, being led and guided by the Spirit of God.
What do we see? We see Christendom all broken up into literally hundreds of different groups and denominations, some with a large measure of truth, some with so little truth that you could scarcely call them Christian, and yet all congregated under the umbrella of what we might call the great House of Christendom. And I believe that is what we might call the ruin of the church. Would you agree with that, Dave, or would you add to that?
So if we if we can, we can compare a few scriptures. If we have Matthew chapter 16, we see that Christ builds. He is a builder on this rock. I will build my church and I think we can say that what God does is perfect. It is not ruined. What Christ builds is the building of God.
But we have in First Corinthians chapter 3 we see that men build.
On that foundation, foundation is Jesus Christ. There is no other foundation, but men build upon that foundation. There are some who build and both they and their work are saved, are commended. There are some who build and they are saved, but their work is lost, it's burned up. And then there are the third class where both the workmen.
And the work are burned up. In other words, some of these heterodox teachers that bring in Christ dishonouring doctrine, they don't build on the truth. They, they, they're building on the foundation, but they're adding wood, hay and stubble and this kind of thing. So there's the difference between what Christ builds, which is perfect, and there's that which man builds. And I think we, we see in Scripture, as you say, that God will begin something.
But then we see the activity of man and what does it become in the hands of man? And that's where the ruin comes in. Now, everybody can take there. There are many excellent volumes of church history where you can go all the way back and and see some of the initial issues that arose at the beginning of the history of the church. And as it's been said elsewhere, in the first few 100 years, there were the Christological issues.
Where the the person of Christ, what do the Scriptures really teach about the person of Christ? Is he very God and very man? Is he the eternal Son of God? The doctrine of the Trinity? These things were fleshed out in the first four or 500 centuries of the church's history. And, and what have we seen? We've seen ruin that has come in with many of those things, many of those teachings.
That have departed from the biblical teaching of the person of Christ. Well, that's just an example. There are many other things.
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So I think those two things, what Christ builds and what man builds on the foundation, those two things are key to understanding what has happened over the past 2000 years in the Christian profession.
That's what God does is forever, isn't it? And and there is no fly in it. I sometimes use the expression the ruin is in the public testimony. That's where the ruin has come in because people say is the body of Christ one and they looked around at the different groups and they say I don't see that.
And so the public testimony shows otherwise. But God is faithful and he continues to give gifts. I think that's so amazingly wonderful. Even in our day, brethren, He's giving gifts. And so we need to be encouraged and we need to be exercised to use what the Lord has given us.
Well, the apostle in verse eight goes on, and he says, therefore thou therefore be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. And so.
Timothy was.
Very well aware that all day in Asia had been turned away from the apostle Paul, so they had turned away from his doctrine. What did Paul teach? He taught that the church was an heavenly Organism, didn't belong to this world, wasn't a part of Judaism at all. And he taught the fact that Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. All those things that have to do with good church order, Paul taught those things. He taught us about the coming of the Lord.
We didn't read that. I didn't learn it from John or from, although in John's gospel he speaks of the Lord, gives the seed plot of it. He speaks of all those things that we have in Christ, all those blessings. That's Paul's doctrine and he teaches us the doctrinal significance of the remembrance of the Lord, what the loaf means, what the cup means and the cup of blessing which we bless and so on and so.
Timothy knew that the whole of the Christian profession at that time largely had gone off into a popular Christianity, a mixed thing, a mixed thing of Judaism and Christianity, and took the sharp edge off the sword, you might say. And there wasn't a reproach to that kind of Christianity. But to remain faithful to Paul's doctrine and to remain faithful to the truth of what God teaches as to what the church is and how the church should conduct itself will bring reproach.
And it was going to bring reproach to Timothy. And so he says, don't be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me as prisoner. And so we need to be willing. And I believe this is the instruction that we're getting here in Second Timothy. Paul is saying, be willing to identify yourself with the rejected Christ. Be willing to identify yourself with Paul's doctrine that has been rejected. It's very evident.
In the world that we live in, that Paul's doctrine is being given up and has been given up to a large part.
It's very evident. The one outward visible expression of it is that the sisters in Christendom don't see themselves as being a type of Christ, a type of the church in submission to Christ, and they don't cover their heads, They don't see the type, they don't see the picture, and so they've given up. It's a visible giving up of Paul's doctrine. So what a privilege it is to identify with the Lord in his rejection.
To be gathered by the Spirit of God to the precious name of the Lord Jesus, and then to to identify ourselves with Paul's doctrine, to know it, to get an outline of it, to enjoy it, and to live in the good of it.
I'd love to connect verse 8, verse 12, think he says to Timothy, be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner. And then in verse 12, Paul says, nevertheless, I am not ashamed. So there was the example for Timothy. Paul, where are you in prison? Whatever happened?
Well, they rejected my testimony and so I landed in prison. Timothy, aren't you ashamed of that man? He's just so narrow minded. Why don't you just leave him there?
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Don't be ashamed, Timothy. I am not ashamed. Look how he says it. I think it's so beautiful. I know whom I have believed and am persuaded when it says am persuaded.
It means that there was reasons for Him to take the place that he did. I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
The word is in the new translation. Is that the deposit? I am persuaded that he is able to keep that deposit. Aren't you losing balls by taking that position? No, my deposit is kept on another side. Oh, brethren, it it does me good. It encourages me to see the confidence with which the Apostle Paul speaks. I am not ashamed.
I know whom I have believed. I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. Every encouragement, isn't it? When we read Scripture, it's always helpful, isn't it, to look for keywords or key expressions in a particular book? And I think this is the key expression in the book of Second Timothy. Keep that good deposit entrusted. We have that same expression in the previous.
Chapter of last chapter of First Timothy. I'll read in the new translation verse 20. Otimotheus, keep the entrusted deposit.
What is the deposit that God has entrusted to us? Well, it's those things that were recovered in the 1St century, weren't they? The foundations of Christianity with the truth of a remnant testimony. And if we look at church history, it's so impressed me that these truths were understood to a certain extent in the 1St century. The Word of God wasn't even completed until the end of the 1St century. And then these things were gradually, were actually quickly lost, weren't they, for many, many years?
And then over the period of time there was a recovery beginning back in the 14th century with Wickliffe and some of those people and Hus, and then later with the Reformation of some of these truths began to be recovered. I think we have a beautiful picture of it in Matthew 13, which is really a picture of church history. We have the treasure first. The treasurer, Mr. Kelly points out, is usually made-up of a number of individual pieces. And in the Reformation that some of the individual truths of Christianity were recovered.
And that's a wonderful thing. And that was the foundation then on which the next parable in Matthew 13 is the Pearl. The the parable of the Pearl, which as we well know from Revelation and other places, is a picture of the Church of God, the collective truth. But not only the collective truth, but all the counsel of God, as Paul says in Acts chapter 20. Now these things were recovered only 160 or 170 years ago.
And these things have been entrusted to us, and a great day of weakness, haven't they? But the truth is there in fact.
It's more available now than it's ever been. These eternal truths. I was thinking of two expressions. The one is.
The verse 8, the testimony of our Lord and another inverse. I know I have to go quickly here because our time is down to 25 minutes now, but in verse 9 according to his own purpose.
Well, it's God's testimony and God's purpose, and it's been entrusted to us. That's a wonderful privilege. There's a difference in Matthew 5 where the Lord Jesus speaks of the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Mr. Kelly and his excellent book on Matthew points that out. The light of the world is what we normally speak of. That's the gospel to this whole wide world. But earth in Scripture is generally used in a more restricted way to profession.
So the salt of profession is what we're speaking about as well. The church has those two important ministries. The one is in the gospel, the other is the mystery. And the mystery has to do with the whole council of God. And I, I, I believe that's what we have here. I would, I would like to say that I believe that's the key expression in Second Timothy is keep the good deposit entrusted.
So there are two deposits, aren't there here in this chapter, is that right? There is a deposit that we put up there with the Lord and that's in verse 12.
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And there's the deposit in verse 14 that the Lord gives us to keep.
There can be no question of the Lord keeping our deposit if we could say it in.
Financial terminology. It's an absolutely secure investment. Can't possibly fail. How many are interested today in a good investment? One that will not fail? Where can I put my money where it'll yield good dividends, good profits, good increase? Here's the best investment we can make.
But then the Lord says, I've given you a deposit, now are you going to keep that? And as you say, Eric, that's the exhortation that is given to Timothy. The deposit is there. It's complete. Men have tried to say, well, I've got a new revelation. Muhammad said I've got a new revelation. Ellen White said I've got a new revelation. And various others have come along and said, well, I've got something new.
No, the deposit is complete and it's there. We have the wonderful responsibility to keep it.
I've often said that I believe I'd like.
Subject, of course, to my brother's thought, but I believe really that this, this position that we've been entrusted with as as Christians is the highest privilege that God has given to any of his creatures. And it hasn't been recovered really in its, in its wholeness until recent years. So it's a tremendous privilege that we have, isn't it? I like the expression. I've often mentioned it, but Mr. Faraday in one of his little books on Solomon.
Made a striking statement that I've never forgotten, he said. Israel is the aristocracy of this earth. The Christian is the aristocracy of the universe.
Yeah.
So Paul was in prison when he was writing these. He was suffering for the name of Jesus Christ. He had preached the gospel to the Gentiles. He says in verse 11, I'm a pre. I was appointed a preacher, an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles. Verse 12 for this 'cause I suffer. And so the apostle Paul was suffering because of his testimony of Jesus Christ, but he also suffered double because the this the.
All the Saints in Asia were turning away from him.
So he suffered at the hand of the Saints and he's telling Timothy, now you need to go to these people and it's not going to be easy. Don't have a spirit of fear. And so if you are a servant of the Lord, which you all are in one form or another, you are a servant of the Lord. If you know Him as your Savior and you have a gift and you have a ministry, and God has not given us a spirit of fear. If you're going to serve the Lord, you need to have courage.
That's another another quality of a servant of the Lord is he needs courage.
To serve the Lord and it says be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel. So not only does there need to be courage because we're facing the world that hates the Lord, we're facing Christians who don't want the apostles doctrines, there's going to be afflictions. And so we need to be willing to suffer for the name of Jesus Christ. We need to be willing to suffer in our in our Christian pathway. And Paul says for this, 'cause I also suffer. And he's telling Timothy, you're going to suffer too if you're going to take up this.
This work to serve the Lord.
You're going to suffer and Paul says I know, I know in verse 12. I know whom I have believed. I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. And so he's looking forward to that day. What is that day? That day is when the Lord Jesus comes back and takes his rightful place as king of kings in this in this world and he sets up the Kingdom here and all the enemies are destroyed and put away. And at that time all the gifts are are being used or the.
The rewards that we receive in that day, the day of when the Lord Jesus takes his place, we'll start being able to use our rewards that He's given us. Those rewards are not for our glory, They're not for our prestige. They're for the Lord. We cast our crowns at his feet. Those crowns go back to the Lord. But as a servant of the Lord in this day, we need to have courage. We need to be willing to suffer for Christ.
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Because we know in that day we've committed ourselves to him.
Because we know in that day everything will come out right.
That's that's very good what you just shared and I was.
Wells between second Timothy chapter one year and Haggai.
What was said to the the remnant when they had stopped building in the book of Haggai? They had become discouraged and complacent. And in verse five of Haggai chapter 2.
It says here, according to the word that I coveted with you when you came out of Egypt, So my spirit remains among you. Fear ye not. And so they were told not to be afraid. And then the word goes on a little bit later, a reminder of what was to come.
That some were discouraged, Perhaps the state of things there.
At that time and the house that was being built, but they were, they were given a future view of what was to come. And so it says in verse 9 and Hagee I chapter 3, The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former mercy of the Lord of hosts. And in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts. So I just thought of that in connection with the verse you just read you mentioned about. I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that.
Day and it's such an encouragement to our souls to look forward to that day. That was the word of the Day of Haggai.
And in connection with that, not to.
Go back too far, but in verse 10 and also in verse 9.
It seems to me that the Lord is in verse 9 going back into a past eternity.
All of this was something that was in God's purposes in a past eternity.
Verse 10 shows us that.
God has now brought into the light what the future holds. It could read in the middle of verse 10, Who hath abolished isn't really the right word, because in that sense if the Lord doesn't come, we do go through death. But it could read an old death.
All the sting that was associated with death under sin has been taken away and brought life, and not immortality, but incorruptibility to light through the gospel.
We've attended funerals, many of us, and when that body is laid to rest, it sees corruption in the normal course of events. But will those who are alive at the coming of the Lord seek corruption? Absolutely not. And will those bodies be raised again in incorruption if they have suffered corruption?
Indeed they will. They'll be raised, glorified bodies. Well, now, if God had purposes in a past eternity that can never fail, and if God has shown us the blessedness of the future, here we are between the two.
In what is admittedly a place where failure, at least in outward profession, has taken place, how we can be encouraged on the one hand, to see the purposes of God in a past eternity and to see, on the other hand, what he has for us in the future. And that ties in very much with what you were saying, Sean.
We need to know. We need to recognize too, that what Paul was given to reveal to the church, it was revealed to him.
He brings in life and immortality to life or to light or incorruptibility.
That has to do with the body. What really happens with the body after death? The Old Testament Saints really didn't have a clear picture, did they? No. And they didn't have a real clear picture in connection with life, their own souls, what they look for after they pass through the article of death, they had no idea. So it was after Christ came into this world and after he went into death and raised the gain. And his body, the very same body, the walk through this world with was glorified.
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And the truth was revealed to Paul in connection with the immortality of the Saints. The in first Corinthians chapter 15, the change that's going to take place, what life really is composed of for a believer, his future state with the body that he has glorified. It was all revealed through Paul's ministry. And so this is what he's Speaking of here and what God has done not only.
For the blessing of man, but for his own glory, for his own pleasure. And so he says that in verse 11 That he was appointed a preacher.
An apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles. So he had many gifts. He was an evangelist, he was an apostle. He was the one that was sent by God to deliver a message with a particular work. And so he was appointed an apostle and he was also a teacher. He was a very gifted man and he used that gift to.
Really lay the foundation, you might say, in connection with this, these truths that we understand, that we know, and that we should enjoy and that we should have an outline of. Because in the Old Testament times they had no idea. After they left this world, they had very little idea of what took place afterwards. They knew that there was a resurrection and they thought of it in a general sense. The Lord began to open up the veil a little bit and reveal it to them.
In connection with the rich man and Lazarus and in connection with the death of Lazarus and his resurrection, he revealed some of the truth of those things. But it wasn't until the believers were indwelled with the Spirit of God and had the capacity, the spiritual capacity to understand these things that the apostle Paul was given the revelations and he unfolded it all. So now we understand completely. We ought to understand completely.
The word of God has given it to us. So in a day of ruin then.
Where Timothy is being encouraged to rekindle the gift of God which is within him, we have in verse 13. Here you might say we have the first antidote that he is faced with. The apostle says hold fast the form of sound words or in the new translation have an outline of sound words, which words thou hast heard of me in faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus. Now every element there is important.
An outline of sound words, a systematic expose. He is to have a systematic theology in his mind. This is an encouragement to study systematically. You know, Paul was accused in in Acts 17 when he was speaking there on Mars Hill. They said, what will this babbler say? That's a Sperma logo. It's a seed picker. And you find the people that they'll pick up a little something here and a little something there, and they kind of get this mystical system of all these little things that they've picked up and put together.
And it simply doesn't hold water. There might be a few things that are true, but then there might be a whole lot of it that's just an ad mixture of some other stuff that comes in. We want to study systematically. He was to have an outline of what he held. And he got these words which he had heard from Paul. He heard it right from the source in faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus. And that takes away the thought that it's merely an intellectual thing. Is the mind involved? Yes, of course the mind is involved.
But it links us up with the person.
The living Word is revealed in the written word, and the written word brings us instruction as to the living Word. We want to have a systematic understanding of what we hold from Scripture. That's very important. There are many helps available. There are many that can offer direction as to where you might start, but you want to understand the Word of God.
Systematically so that you see where the parts fit in the hole.
That's what we have in second Peter chapter one. Don't wait. Peter brings the same thing out. He said, knowing this first, that no prophecy of scriptures of any private interpretation. In other words, every part of scripture is part of a larger piece and we have to understand the larger pieces in order to understand where each piece fits. And so it is so important. And these things have been recovered again in recent years.
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We sometimes refer to it generally as dispensationalism. It gives us an outline of Scripture. I've often appreciated that. There's three PS that'll maybe be helped to help to some others in getting an outline of Scripture. When is that? Scripture is progressive. There's a progression from Genesis through Revelation. Genesis is the introduction. Genesis is the Revelation is the conclusion and what we have in between. But then there's also.
A great deal of parallelism in Scripture. We talked about Judges and Joshua parallel to what we have in first and Second Timothy, for instance. There's a number of parallels in Scripture and there's illustrations. The Old Testament illustrates the truth of the New Testament. And then there's parentheses. We have to understand that there's certain parentheses. The church, for instance, is a parenthesis between Israel being set aside and Israel restored.
And that puts to rest some outlines that people have where they say that the the church takes the place of Israel. It does not. The church is simply a parenthesis between the time that Israel is set aside and when it's restored. So I just mentioned those three. PS Maybe some help, maybe some may be helpful to some others. They've been a help to me. We have progression in Scripture. We have parallelism.
And then we have parenthesis.
Had a Fort peak.
Because all that it has to be connected, as you mentioned, with the person.
When we disconnected from the person, it's like disconnecting our minds from our hearts.
Somebody has a beating heart and he's alive, but he might not be thinking about anything.
But if you stop the heart, of course you can't be thinking about anything. So the heart is really, I think the key and the person of the Lord Jesus is the heart of Scripture from 1 Cover to another where it's parallel parenthesis. And I agree with what you said, brother, but I really will feel in my own heart that we have to connect every time with that which we have in that verse we were reading in 13 verse. It's faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
Not article of things that we believe, it's the person that we believe in and all the things connected with him.
Is a person who loved us had a different thought in connection with Matthew 13 because that treasure in the field, that merchant, that man, he sold all he had to have the treasure. And I did have a precious thought in my heart that because the treasure is made-up of different pieces that are precious. I thought of that as the Lord thinking that you and me, each one of us are precious to Him.
Collectively, that Pearl.
And both of these are to be at this time affected in our affections towards that same person.
Hasn't God revealed to us something, what He feels about His Son, the satisfaction that He's found in Him, so that He would have something now? The Lord just would have something now. He's going to have it all when He comes, because we're all going to be brought into the full intelligence of who He is and what He's done, but He's given to us now.
While we're here on the earth to reveal to us the person of his son, so Paul says to reveal his son in me, the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. The Lord loved the church and gave himself for it. For it. What is he getting in response to giving himself?
For you, what is he getting from us or giving himself for us? I think this is what our response should be today as we learn of these things that we move our hearts to live for Him individually and collectively.
Might just ask how do we get a sound outline? How do we get a sound outline of the word of God?
Well, if we turn to 1St a second Timothy 3 verse 14, it says, But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and has been assured of knowing of whom thou hast learned them. And so Timothy had learned from Paul himself. And Mr. Darby made the comment, perhaps I'm not saying exactly right, but he said that no Christian in the day that we live in can live in a right way without knowing Paul's doctrine.
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No, Christian today cannot live in a right way without knowing Paul's doctrine. How do I get an outline of it? Read Paul's ministry, take notes. You know, there's a brother, he's well known among us. He has a notebook that Mister Darby had, and it's probably an inch thick, maybe 4 inches by 6 inches, just littered with notes. Mr. Darby was very well taught man, knew Greek, Hebrew.
Different languages could translate the scriptures into French and so on.
He took notes he had an outline of scripture take notes get an outline when it comes to I I mentioned earlier that there are four parts main parts to Paul's doctrine, the coming of the Lord make notes as to what those Scriptures are study them and the notes in connection with the remember to the Lord and those things that have to do with church order all the Christ loved the church gave himself for it. What is the church have an outline of that. Well, Timothy did and he didn't even have.
All of the Scriptures. There is no excuse for us today not to have an outline of scripture.
Of Paul's doctrine, there's no excuse not to have it. We have electronic ebooks, we have books. We have the funds to be able to afford to buy the books we have. We can make the time to read those books. We have it all. But perhaps we don't have the outline. And so this is very practical ministry. Paul was giving to Timothy, wasn't he says have an outline. And he says a little earlier, I think it's in first Timothy that he did have that outline.
Want to encourage our young people to not miss the assembly reading meetings. That's I must say, brethren, in looking back over my life and 62 years ago, I remember being at a conference here with old brother HE Hayhoe. I was 13 years old and I must say I didn't pick up a whole lot. But yes, I did pick up a little piece here.
And there, but it's important to be at the assembly readings. I appreciate the reading meeting because.
There's a balance in ministry. One brother speaks and another brother can balance it off properly or correct if there's need for that. And I must say, I remember times when there was definite correction in a reading meeting and it impressed me. Brethren, that's what is so important in learning the truth of God. So over the course of many years, listening.
Listen to what your brethren are saying. Don't be occupied with your cell phone and and what somebody may be writing to you. Listen in. The reading means it's valuable. There's a balance in the ministry that you won't get anywhere else.
What Paul received, he received directly by revelation of Jesus Christ. He says. Let's read it in Galatians chapter two. I think it is.
No, it's Galatians chapter one.
Galatians, chapter one, verse 11. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man, for I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
And so he got many revelations from the Lord. We might also read in chapter 2 and verse.
9 Galatians 2 verse nine. When James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go unto the heathen, and they under the circumcision only they would, that we would remember, should remember the poor the same which I also was poor to do. And so.
Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, and God spoke to him by revelation. He gave him many revelations. Let's look at another one.
First First Thessalonians, chapter 4.
Just as an example.
Make a list of the revelations that Paul was given of the Lord. It says First Thessalonians chapter 4.
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Verse 15 For this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. So Paul didn't just dream this up. He didn't get it from the Jews in Jerusalem. It wasn't a part of Judaism. It was something distinct, it was new, and it was because the church.
Those that were members of the church were indwelled with the Spirit of God and had the spiritual capacity to understand and to walk in what was being taught it. It's also important to emphasize that what Paul received by revelation of Jesus Christ was the key to understanding the Old Testament as well, because now he had the key.
On general statement First Corinthians 11/23 that which I received of the Lord, that also I delivered unto you, and we have in our chapter Second Timothy chapter 2. Consider what I say, and the Lord will give the intelligence and knowledge in all things, not of all things.
Our time is up.