Pass it On

Well, I think we're all familiar with the reality that anything that happens in life—even the most remotely intriguing thing—has 50 cell phones out recording it. I mean, you can't blow your nose on the street corner without somebody recording you with their cell phone. But there was a day and a time when, if you wanted to record something, you had to write it down. That was the only way to do it. It had to be written down. And many church leaders throughout church history have employed that very system in their own preaching and teaching. For example, men like John Calvin, John Knox, Richard Baxter, and Charles Spurgeon had people literally sit on the front rows of their sanctuaries writing down what they preached. They helped to record accurately what was said. And that would be very important for some of these men, especially men like John Knox, who were under threat of death and persecution for claims about what he said. He wanted to make sure they got it right. Others like Calvin and Spurgeon wanted to archive their sermons so that their preaching would in essence live on beyond themselves after they had died or so that it could serve as resources to people who were not present when they preached them. They would have this archive of teachings that could multiply and extend their ministry. There was the additional benefit that this would also be a tool for those individuals who were working so hard to write down what was being preached; it would be a tool to help train and equip them for ministry as well. In other words, these men were careful to answer the question, "What will happen when I'm gone?"—specifically, what's going to happen to the ministry when I leave this earth or when I'm no longer able to stand up and preach. These men understood the importance of being able to answer that. The apostle Paul did too. And he addresses this issue in the letter of Second Timothy. So if you want to open there—Second Timothy chapter 2—Paul gets into this very same issue. I want to look this morning at verses 1–7 of chapter 2 in Second Timothy. Paul says this: "You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hardworking farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything." Really, what the Apostle Paul wants Timothy to understand as he's moving through this letter, giving him his last little bits of instruction before he leaves, is that because life is uncertain, we need to invest in the future. We don't know how long we're going to be here. We don't know what's going to happen to us. I mean, if you just think about the challenges that Paul has already laid out for Timothy in chapter 1, he's specifically told him not to be ashamed of the gospel or of me, Paul, his prisoner. And then he told him to share in the suffering for the gospel. So right there in those two instructions, you have something that implies everything from just being made fun of for what you believe all the way to the possibility that you might have to become a martyr for the faith—and really everything in between. All of that is there. So right there is the reminder that you need to be prepared because what if the worst should happen? And then add to that just the general uncertainty about the future. It doesn't matter who you are. You can strategize and plan all you want, but we ultimately don't know what will happen, do we? So much of what lies in the future is completely out of our control. In fact, Solomon addressed this in Proverbs. Proverbs 16:9 says, "The heart of man plans his ways, but the Lord establishes his steps." You know, you plan all you want, but it's ultimately in God's hands. James addressed this in his letter in James 4:13–15. And he says, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit'—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.'" Ultimately your times are in God's hands. Your life is at the mercy of his decisions for you. You still should be planning. You just should have goals and objectives for your life. But ultimately, as James says here, it should all be under the caveat of "if the Lord wills, this will happen. This is what I plan to do." And Timothy here, he's in Ephesus. He's working with this church. Paul is in Rome. He's imprisoned, confident that his life is soon to come to an end. And yet, he longs for Timothy to come to him. At the end of this letter, he writes in chapter 4, "Do your best to come before winter. Try to get to me." So even in that there's some uncertainty about Timothy and the church of Ephesus. Who knows if he'll get to Rome? What's going to happen to him when he gets there? You know, all of this is sort of under the blanket of uncertainty. And so what that means for somebody like Timothy working in a church—whether it's in Ephesus or anywhere else—is that there should be a plan in place for the future, for the ministry after he's gone. What's the ministry strategy for us here at Grace Fellowship? What if I should die? What if the elders should have to leave? Whatever. You know, what's going to happen here? Do we have a plan? Are we investing in the future? We all, I think, can read this passage and find plenty to take to heart as it relates to our lives and ministry within this local church. The first thing that we see right off the bat in Paul's instruction to Timothy is that he needs to double down on his dependence. Ranger, could you help me out with the slides? Thank you. All right, there we go. Just as I said, double down on your dependence, Timothy, because the uncertainty and temporary nature of life always remind us of our dependence on God. Which is why Paul tells Timothy here, "You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus." Strengthened by the grace. This implies dependence. But it is a dependence that frees us. We often think of dependence as being restraining and constraining. I'm totally dependent on this. I can't sleep without my CPAP. Don't raise your hand if that's you. No judgment, right? Um, I know lots of people that have been blessed by that. But they acknowledge that if they didn't have it, it would be difficult for them. You know, that seems constraining. That seems confining. I'm tied to this thing to which I am dependent. But this is the kind of dependence that frees us. It's a liberating dependence because it frees us to obey God without the responsibility for the results. Did you think about that? Timothy, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. It means you get to be a salesman without any quotas you have to hit. Just get out there and do the ministry. Be strengthened by this grace that Christ provides for you. Trust him. Let him be responsible for the results. It's uh it's like the Red Bull slogan: Red Bull gives you wings. Those wings are very short-lived, I have found. Um but they're there for a brief moment and they feel great and then they're gone. But the grace of God is better than the wings you get from Red Bull because it carries us above and beyond our natural abilities. It allows us to do things for which we can take no credit. And so when, for example, Paul is challenging Timothy to not be ashamed and to be willing to suffer for the gospel, remember this is not a call for some sort of self-reliance and just sort of tough it out. Timothy, it's not a call for him to draw on some sort of imaginary inner strength, but rather it's a call for him to lean on the magnitude of the grace of God that is available to him that allows him to do these things that under normal circumstances and with our own bent towards self-preservation we would not naturally incline ourselves towards. Timothy is able to be called into battle, if you will, dependent not on his ability, but dependent on this grace that is provided for him in Christ Jesus. The magnitude of this task fills us with such a feeling of inadequacy. Uh, I know if I was in a position where my life was literally being threatened because of my faith in Christ, I have to say I question my ability to stand strong in that. I pray that I would be able to, but I understand the only way I would be able to would be through some supernatural grace provided to me by God. I would instinctively and naturally just be a coward about it were it not for God's grace. And that's what Paul's saying here. The magnitude of the task and our own inadequacies mean our only hope is to lean on Jesus, to trust in him. Uh I love what John Stott says when he says this: It's not only for salvation that we are dependent on grace, but for service also. You know, grace that's given to us—yes, we remember it when we think about the cross and Christ's death for us, but it's also a grace of God that enables us to go out and do what he calls us to do. Let me give you some examples of graces that are in Christ Jesus that enable us to do the work God has called us to. The one we all know but the one we all neglect is prayer. We all understand that as a grace. In our dependence we draw upon the power source of God's grace when we pray. It reminds us of God's care. It reminds us also of God's control. It unburdens us from the misguided notions that we have to be in control of our lives and our ministry. In Philippians chapter 4, flip over there real quick if you have your Bibles. Philippians 4:6–7, Paul writes this: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." There is something empowering about being able to pray and to cast our cares and our concerns on God and just do what he calls us to do, trusting in him. The gospel obviously—that's a grace of God. You should preach it to yourself regularly. God has done for us what we could not do for ourselves. The most gracious thing he could do, he has already done. Remember, that's what we emphasize: the work of atonement for sins, the very thing we could not do for ourselves. Uh our biggest problem—there was no solution out of that problem that we ourselves could accomplish. God has accomplished that for us through his Son Christ Jesus. And what a grace that is. Paul emphasizes that in Second Timothy in the first chapter in verses 8–10 when he says this: "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began." The grace of the gospel. There's the grace of his presence in the Great Commission when Jesus is about ready to leave, ascend to the right hand of the Father, and he leaves his disciples with a charge for how they are supposed to conduct themselves in this world. He says first of all that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And then he says, "Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." He's leaving, but he's going to be with them always. He promised them, remember when he left, he was going to send a helper, a comforter, the Holy Spirit who would guide them and lead them into all truth. There is the grace of God's presence that enables us to do the things we cannot do in our own strength and in our own power. There's the grace of peace in the midst of conflict and difficulty. We've already been reminded in Paul's challenge to the Philippians about the anxiety that we can let go of when we cast our cares on Christ. And then we are guarded by this peace that passes all understanding. Jesus said in John 14, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." There's this promise that even in the midst of trouble and difficulty, we can let those troubles go and we can have peace resting confidently in the grace of God that is ours in Christ Jesus. And then there is, as I've already mentioned, the grace of the Holy Spirit, God's Spirit that is left to us, sent by the Father and the Son. Elsewhere, this is also in John 14. Jesus says, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." Again and again throughout Jesus' ministry as he's preparing for the cross he reminds his disciples that he is going to leave them but that he is going to give them the Holy Spirit. In John chapter 15 he talks about it. In John chapter 16 he talks about it. Again and again he brings it up. Christ addressed the need for us to trust God to meet our material needs. In the Sermon on the Mount, he says, "Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. ... For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all." If you think about it, if we're dependent on Christ for our food, for our clothing, for our sustenance, for the bare necessities of life, then it only makes sense that we are dependent on him to be obedient to the commands to which he has called us—to be unashamed, to be willing to suffer for the cause of Christ. We are dependent on these graces that he gives to us. But what that means is we can do it. If we depend on our strength, no, you won't do it. If we depend on his, we will succeed. Timothy, double down on your dependence. Keep depending on Christ. Then he gives him some ministry advice. He needs to create ministry redundancy. One thing was certain: Timothy is either going to move on from Ephesus or he's going to die. I mean, we could be certain that one of those two things—and truthfully, both of those things could happen, right? You can move on and die, right? There's no promise. But either way, there was going to come a time when he was no longer able to lead the church at Ephesus. He was never going to be able to function as their spiritual leader and shepherd forever. And so what is to be done? Well, he has to pass on what he knows, what he has come to understand about the gospel, about biblical truth, all that Paul has entrusted to him and taught him as they have served together in ministry. It was Timothy's responsibility not just to hold on to that for himself, but to pass that on to the future of the church. They were going to be dependent on him for that. He needed to extend himself beyond his ability to live, extend his ministry long past when he's left or he has died. And this isn't just about the older teaching the younger, the spiritually mature teaching the spiritually immature. It is also a part of this even in the dynamics like parents teaching children. This goes all the way back to Moses' instructions to the people of God in Deuteronomy that there is this responsibility to extend ourselves beyond ourselves by teaching other people the truth that we have come to know about God, instructing others in this. God sustains his church through the faithful entrusting of biblical truths to other people. It's a multiplication. In fact, if you look at the New Testament, a good chunk of it is letters written to people and churches teaching them how to understand the Christian faith and live it out. That's what Paul is doing so often when he writes these letters to these churches—or that Peter's doing or James is doing. They are trying to take what they understand not only about the truth of who God is but also how we are supposed to apply those truths to our lives. So when we think about the church, maybe we want to ask ourselves, what's going to become of the church? What will become of the Great Commission work that has been left to our care if we don't seek to be multi-generational churches? That work is going to die. That's why Timothy is supposed to entrust this to faithful men. It isn't that he wasn't supposed to teach the whole church and that everyone in the church didn't need to learn these things, but he needed to take special care to make sure that those who were faithful in the church were entrusted with this knowledge, with this truth. It's especially important to identify and invest in these kinds of people. This is what we looked at—one of the things that came out of Acts chapter 6 as we were looking at that in the equipping hour—that they had this need arise in the church. And so in the church they needed to identify individuals who were full of the Holy Spirit, who were faithful, who were full of wisdom, the kind of men who could carry on the work and help to multiply the efforts of the apostles in that church. Don't misunderstand that Paul is challenging Timothy that the only people who need to concern themselves with spiritual truths are those who feel called to pastoral ministry or full-time teaching ministries—that that's the only people who need to be invested in. That's not what he's saying. All he's saying is that he needs to be especially devoted to that so that his ministry can live on after he has died. From the earliest days, the church has needed to devote itself to learning about God, learning how we glorify him as his children. And in fact, if you go back to the very earliest days of the church, when the church is basically embryonic in Acts chapter 2, what are they doing? They are devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the reading of Scripture. And it's not just a select few within that group—not just those who were aspiring to be future leaders of the church—but it was everybody in the church. Everybody in the church was serious about evangelism because Luke tells us that the Lord added to their number daily as many as were being saved, which lets us know that they were out there telling people about Jesus Christ as the Messiah who had suffered and died for sins. And the church was focused on discipleship, growing as followers of Christ. That's really the difference between a dying church and a thriving church. It doesn't matter whether we've got the big LED wall on the back of our stage or we've got all the dog-and-pony show every Sunday. It doesn't matter if we do all that kind of stuff. What matters is are we faithful? Are we serious about evangelism and discipleship—growing in the faith and then multiplying through sharing our faith with others? In Second Peter chapter 1, Peter says this: "Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things." This was on Peter's heart as well as he's speaking to the people in his letter. He says, "Look, I know I'm not long for this world. I know the day is approaching when I'm going to die. So I am going to make every effort so that after I'm gone, you can still remember the things that I taught you." This is so important. God wants faithful people in his church—yes, people who faithfully teach and also people who faithfully learn and then people who are faithful to repeat that process. This is so important. Sure, the focus is on ministry leaders and that's what Timothy needs to make sure that he's doing—equipping people to carry on the work of the ministry after he's gone. But the application resonates throughout the whole church. We all need to be faithful. We're all called to be faithful. We all need to be the kind of people who can be entrusted with the truth of Scripture and the truth of the gospel, the truth of Christian doctrine. We all need to be that. So, how do you do that? How do you be the kind of person who is able to entrust that to others and who is the kind of person who can be entrusted with that? Well, you have to be the kind of person who focuses on what matters. And he gives three illustrations: the soldier, the athlete, and the farmer. And you might not be able to relate to all of those, but I bet we could all relate to one of those at least. Paul's instructions are directed at Timothy. So, it does connect most directly to pastors, elders, overseers. These individuals have to have a clear understanding of what God and the church needs them to be and do. We need good leaders in the church. I love this quote: Servants of Christ are not merely dabblers or to be well-rounded dabblers in all types of trivial pursuits. They are tough-minded devotees of Christ who constantly choose the right priorities from a list of potential selections. Paul prohibited the loss of single-mindedness and the longing for an easy life. That's what he's calling Timothy to when he's challenging the need to be like a soldier. And he says that no soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits. It doesn't mean that Timothy couldn't be bivocational. You know, Paul was a tentmaker, right? Doesn't mean that. Doesn't mean that pastors can't have families that are entangled in civilian pursuits. Doesn't even mean that pastors can't have hobbies. In fact, I remember hearing somebody say, "It's okay if your pastor golfs—just be a little concerned if he's good at golf, right? Because it takes a lot of time and effort to be good at golf. And if he's good at golf, well then what isn't he doing?" You know, you can rest assured I'm not good at golf. Okay. Um the idea being though as a follower of Christ our devotion has to be first and foremost to Christ and everything else in our life needs to be in service of that. That's why so often Paul's challenge to his readers is that they are to let everything they do be done for the glory of God—that singular focus. I was trying to imagine—like I understand that warfare back then was very different than it is now. But just the idea of imagining a Roman soldier on the battlefield, you know, instead of getting in their phalanx or whatever, he's scrolling on his phone while the other guys are getting their shields locked in. You know, it would be a disaster, right? You want to be in the moment and be doing what you're supposed to be doing. That's the call that he's laying at Timothy's feet here. This image of the soldier, the athlete in this athletic competition—there's no way to cheat. There's no way to manipulate the rules. If you're going to be a follower of Christ, there's only obedience. You can't sort of cheat your way into being a follower of Christ. If you've watched the Olympics, you understand what this picture is, right? If you followed the Olympics, they found a way to cheat in curling even—to just nudge the thing with your finger. Um, I don't really know what the examples of cheating for people in the pews are. I do know when I think about pastoral ministry, cheating looks like plagiarizing sermons or now people using AI to write their sermons. Why is that cheating? Because it's not putting in the work of study, actually seeking to learn and to digest the text for yourself as a spiritual leader of the flock. Doesn't mean you can't ever read other sermons or refer to other works. That's a part of the study. But just taking other people's work and passing it off as your own is not being a good shepherd of the flock. Uh, on the flip side, another way that pastors cheat is just living in the study. They're just always their nose is in the books and they're never in the trenches with the people. They're never out applying Scripture to their lives or helping others work through life by applying the word of God to themselves. In Hebrews, the writer of Hebrews writes this in Hebrews chapter 12: "Let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Soldiers, athletes—singular focus, don't try and skirt the rules. The farmer—if the farmer wants the harvest at the end of the season, they've got to do the work at the beginning of the season. And at the beginning of the season, it's not like a 40-hour-a-week nine-to-five job. You get Saturdays and Sundays. No, it's a lot of work. Just ask Matt, right? He's not working 9 to 5 when he's planting and plowing and doing all that. It's long hours until the work is done. And what Paul says is like those people—those people in the church who put in the work like a good farmer—there is a reward for them. The good farmer ought to have the first share of the crops. Later in this letter, Second Timothy in chapter 4, Paul says, "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing." That's a great example of the kind of first share of the crops, the kind of rewards that God has reserved for faithful servants—soldiers, athletes, farmers. They all work in the midst of circumstances that are largely outside of their control. They do what's necessary to succeed, but the ultimate outcome they are dependent on God for. Good soldiers, good athletes, good farmers—knowing that, though—don't ever let go and let God take the wheel. They work hard and they trust the Lord. Psalm 37 says, "Trust in the Lord, and do good." And the church needs pastors. The church needs ministry leaders who are passionate about their work. But the church also needs people who are willing to hear and receive the word of God, who are willing to be equipped and trained up to do the work, to continue the work, to further the work, to help with the work. That's why we're called to use our gifts, but also to be equipped to use those gifts better. I would hope that every one of you who is here this morning would be willing to raise your hand and say, "I want to be faithful. I want to be entrusted with Christian doctrine. I want to be a part of passing it on to others so that the church grows, multiplies, thrives because we are dependent on God and obedient to God to do the work that he has called us to do." Amen. Let's pray. Dear Lord, we thank you so much for the faithfulness of Paul. We thank you for the faithfulness of Timothy. We thank you for others like them who were faithful to their calling, not only to learn and to know the truths contained in your word, but to pass those on. In many respects, our church here today in Dixon is a tribute to their legacy and their faithfulness and the way in which you used them to continue the work of the gospel. We ask that you would help us to carry high that same torch, that we would be faithful to proclaim your truth and to extend the ministry of the gospel beyond these four walls and long after our lives here on earth are done. May we be diligent to learn and diligent to share what we have learned with others and entrusting that to faithful people who can continue to carry on the work. We know it's you who build the church. We know it's you who sustains the church. We know that you are God of the church. And yet you have called us to be obedient to you. And you have said that we are the tools through which you do all that. You build and sustain the church through faithful men and women who are eager to know your word and to share your word with others. We ask that you would help us to be a part of that equation, not just for a short time, but for as long as we are here on earth. We ask all this in your name. Amen.