2Tim 1:8-18

Welcome to Week 2 of our study through the Book of 2 Timothy. As we said last week it is referred to as 2 Timothy because it is the second of two letters that the Apostle Paul would write to Timothy while waiting for his execution in Rome.

2 Timothy 1:8–18 NIV

8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. 13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. 15 You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.

I want to propose that the reason we fail to finish well, the reason we fail to fan the flame within us, the reason we fail to fulfill the ministry God has given is rooted in the wrong theological perspectives.

Paul opens our eyes to a few things here that we must ask ourselves, and new persepectives that will help Timothy and us endure the way He did.

So I want to propose three questions to get to the heart of it for us?

Question 1: What is Your Relationship With Suffering?

2Timothy 1:8

2 Timothy 1:8 NIV

8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.

Paul opens up with a revolutionary perspective on suffering and following Jesus. And the key to following Jesus, and finishing well means we must change our understanding of suffering and relationship with suffering.

When I ask What is Your Relationship With Suffering, I mean..how do you view it? What are you going through? Why are you going through it?

Is your current persepective on the suffering or pain in your life, the right one?

Biblically speaking there are three types of suffering:

Suffering that results from sin and foolishness (Our fault, rooted in disobedience)

Suffering that comes from the brokenness of this world (sickness, storms, other people sinning against us for no reason)

Suffering that comes from living right, pursuing Christ and His mission.

Paul here is not talking about suffering as a result of sin. That is not to be joined in, it is to resisted.

Paul also here isn’t talking about suffering from the brokenness of the world (That happens, but it is unavoidable)

Paul here is talking about the suffering for pursuing Christ.

So, as we think about, what is my relationship with suffering…why am I suffering?

Am I making decisions that I need to change? Are the consequences just because I’m being foolish, selfish? If so, lay them down.

Is the suffering you are going through just from the brokenness of life? Then trust. Flooding for instance, we can’t fix that or change that. Hail, we can’t avoid that. Sickness, it happens regardless. People stealing, that is just life..and result of the brokenness of this world. We can prepare for these things, try to prevent these things..but they are outside of our hands.

The last is suffering for Christ. This is the question I want to ask you. Are you suffering, or going through difficulty for your faith? I’m talking about the unique suffering that comes because you have chosen to follow Jesus? What is your relationship with that suffering? Are you afraid to suffer for Jesus? Are you avoiding suffering for Jesus? Are you unwilling to suffer for Jesus?

Suffering for Christ isn’t just prison and torture. Suffering for Christ happens when we lay down that which we love for Him. It can mean losing friends. It can mean losing money. It can mean, losing comforts. It can mean, losing your plans and goals. It can mean, losing time and energy.

Suffering for Christ is when you choose to take a personal loss so others can win and see Jesus.

It is to give up sleep to wake up and pray in the morning.

It is to give up money that you were going to use for you, and use for God and His people.

It is when you take steps into the places that scare you.

It is when you have to walk away form people, and walk alone.

It is when you pursue God’s call on your life at the risk of looking crazy.

It is when you endure shame for forgiving people that don’t deserve it.

Its moving to a country or community you don’t know to work or share the love of Jesus.

It is serving.

Parents, suffering for Jesus is when you choose to raise your children with Godly principals, refusing to make sports, or education and idol, or even your kids as an idol..and you become ok with other parents looking at your crazy, or even your own children looking at you crazy!

Its not engaging in sex before marriage, killing your flesh and desires to live right and holy!

It is not just whips and dying in a prison. But it is dying to what you would choose for yourself. And in that sense…it is suffering for Christ.

Paul says, do not be ashamed of me, His prisoner. This doesn’t just point to his chains, this is Paul demonstrating, as he does in other places, that He is no longer a slave to sin, but a slave unto Christ. He has willingly chosen to die to what He wants, where he wants..for what God wants. In Romans he says, “I am constrained by the Spirit” its the same word when a person is constrained by chains. In other words, I have died to what I would choose, for what He chooses for me.

This is suffering! Those decisions and sacrifices that come from choosing Christ!

Paul introduces a revolutionary perspective on suffering for Christ, and should change our relationship with suffering.

Suffering For Christ is Not a Problem Its a Privilege

If you view the suffering you go through for Christ as a problem, you have the wrong perspective.

In saying don’t be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, He is implying be proud. And you are proud of Christ and who He is to you, join with me in suffering.

Suffering is not a problem, its a privilege. Its an honor.

The world shamed Jesus on the cross, and will shame Christians for taking up theirs.

As Jesus showed boldness in taking up His cross, Paul encourages Timothy to do the same.

When suffering comes, the world will tell you that you are being foolish, or you have made a mistake. The world will point to your suffering as a sign of Christ’s failure.

They told Christ, if you are God, get yourself off the cross. Save yourself.

But Christ’s suffering revealed His power. It revealed the power of the gospel.

And so Paul says, your suffering is not a reason to feel shame, it is a priviledge.

It is the means by which we identity with Christ, and reveal the power of his gospel to the world.

If you are ashamed of suffering, your are ashamed of Jesus. If suffering is something you avoid, you will find youself avoiding Jesus.

Paul makes this connection if you are ashamed of Christ’s testimony, you won’t join in suffering.

But if Christ is a privilege to you, then suffering for Him will be a privilege.

Example:

It is an honor to be your pastor. When I say that, I mean its a priviledge, and a humbling thing. It is a blessing to be identitied with such great people. As difficult as pastoring can be at times, it is never something I can complain about because I am reminded day by day of the blessing and honor it is to lead God’s people and be identitied with God and with you.

Its also an honor for me to be a Husband. Its an honor to have Elayna as my wife. Marriage is not easy, but the joy of being identitied with Elayna, and being able to love her, and lead her..is a priviledge. Even when I’m tempted to complain about difficulties of marriage, I must pause and remember the priviledge.

In the same way, suffering is a priviledge. Because it points to being identitied with Jesus. It points to the honor of knowing Him and being in a relationship with Him. It points to what a blessing it is to be saved!

This is what Paul means. To avoid suffering is to avoid Christ. To avoid pain and difficulty in marraige would be to avoid marraige all together. To avoid the burdens and difficulties of pastoring would be to avoid Jesus and his people all together! Suffering is a priviledge because it points to an identity with Him.

Suffering for Christ and with Christ is an honor and is humbling.

What a blessing it is to be in His kingdom, and to lay down these things to be identified with Him.

There is no shame in SUFFERING because it is actually an opportunity to IDENTIFY with CHRIST.

It is a wonderful opportunity and blessing!

Suffering For Christ Is a Promise

He will say in the chapter 3…

2 Timothy 3:12 NIV

12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

Paul says, its not that you might suffer, but you will. If you want to live a godly life!

2 Timothy 1:11–12 NIV

11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

Paul says, I have proclaimed the gospel, that is why I suffer! I’m not surprised!

John 15:18–20 NIV

18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

Throughout the new testament, persecution always follows proclamation. It is not abnormal. Or unexpected. It is the natural consequence.

Paul knew it, Jesus knew it, Timothy knew it.

Stop praying for suffering among Christians to end. Why would we pray for suffering to end when Christ promised it. The only way persecution and suffering will end for belivers is when we stop proclaiming and preaching the gospel. If we cowar. If we stop going to the hard places.

We don’t pray that there would be no suffering for Christians, we pray that we could endure it!

If we spend our lives so afraid of suffering, so averse to sacrifice, that we avoid even the risk of persecution or crucifixion, then we might never discover the true wonder, joy and power of a resurrection faith. Ironically, avoiding suffering could be the very thing that prevents us from partnering deeply with the Risen Jesus.

Ripken, Nik; Lewis, Gregg. The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected (pp. 308-309). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

So suffering is not something to avoid but endure.

Paul encourages Timothy do not be ashamed be proud. It is a privilege to suffer with Christ. He says do not be surprised, it is promised.

It is impossible to follow Christ and not suffer. If you have avoided suffering for Christ (not the other types of suffering but specfically suffering for Christ) you have also avoided Christ too!

What are you laying down for Jesus?

Suffering for Christ is Productive.

2 Timothy 1:8–9 NIV

8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,

He says join with me in suffering for the gospel. Verse 9- He has saved us and called us to a holy life! In other words, suffering has a part to play in holiness.

I had always assumed that persecution was abnormal, exceptional, unusual, out of the ordinary. In my mind, persecution was something to avoid. It was a problem, a setback, a barrier. I was captivated by the thought: what if persecution is the normal, expected situation for a believer? And what if the persecution is, in fact, soil in which faith can grow? What if persecution can be, in fact, good soil?

Ripken, Nik; Lewis, Gregg. The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected (pp. 161-162). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Persecution and suffering is the soil by which faith and holiness grows!

James 1:2–4 NIV

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

The difficulties you endure as you pursue Jesus can help you to grow if you allow them.

The early church grew not in spite of persecution, but because of persectuion.

When the people were persecuted, and they scattered, they just went and traveled and took the gospel wherever they went. Persecution was God’s means of expanding His kingdom!

“It must be understood that there are no nominal, halfhearted, lukewarm Christians in Russia or China. The price Christians pay is far too great. The next point to remember is that persecution has always produced a better Christian—a witnessing Christian, a soul-winning Christian. Communist persecution has backfired and produced serious, dedicated Christians such as are rarely seen in free lands. These people cannot understand how anyone can be a Christian and not want to win every soul they meet.” —Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, in Tortured For Christ (1967)

Pastor Samuel Lamb, one of the great men of China’s underground house church movement, often says, “Persecution good for church.” He knows this from firsthand experience. During more than twenty years in Communist Chinese prisons, his church grew exponentially.

Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, founder of The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), saw the same thing in Communist Romania. He once wrote, “I have found truly jubilant Christians only in the Bible, in the Underground Church and in prison.”

What if when Christ said, the only way to follow me is to take up your cross, wasn’t just an expression..but a reality. What if knowing Jesus and experiencing Christ happens outside of our comforts! In the heart of suffering.

What I am saying is, our perspective of suffering must change!

So What is Your Relationship With Suffering?

Are you suffering for Christ or some other reason?

Do you see suffering for Jesus as a priviledge?

And if this is true, if suffering for Christ is the way we identify with Him..what does that mean for the American church. Has our ease and comfort lulled into a spiritual apathy?

Have you fallen into spiritual complacency?

I want you to see thus far, that this persecution and suffering is a priveledge, promised, and productive. But let me make this more practical so you can see what this looks like in you life.

The Second Question you must ask yourself is this?

What Is Your Relationship With Those In Suffering?

2 Timothy 1:9–12 NIV

9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

Paul didn’t just suffer for suffering sake. He doesn’t just say aim for suffering. I am not saying that we should just look for suffering, and just do whatever brings pain. No, that wasn’t Paul’s point. Paul talks about what, the grace of God, and the gospel power to bring life.

Paul says, I am a herald, an apostle, a teacher! Thats why I’m suffering.

You missed it, he said I’m not looking for suffering. I’m looking for the lost. I’m looking for those who are spiritually suffering!

I’m looking for those who don’t know the message. I’m looking for those who need to be taught. I’m looking for those who are dead in thier sins!

He says….My heart breaks for the lost! Thats why I suffer.

Let me make this practical now: I am not telling you to look for suffering! I am telling you to look for the lost around you! Because if you look, and you go, and you speak, and you share, and you love..you will suffer.

A Christian that avoids suffering avoids those who are suffering.

Because the moment you step into the darkness and the mess, you get some of that mess on you too.

For many of us today, the bubbles we have created to insulate our lives and keep us from suffering are the same barriers that keep us from reaching and loving the lost!

Does lostness break our heart? I want us to be honest.

If your son or daughter had cancer or was about to die…I know you would be at this altar. I know you would pray all night. You would wail and holler. Cry out. The burden would we heavy!

My question..if thats true for physical brokenness, how much more for those who are lost. If thats true for physical suffering, how much more for spiritual suffering?

If we don’t suffer for Jesus because its because we aren’t burdered for the lost.

Pauls ambition is not to suffer, its to reach the lost. He sums up his ambition and aim in Romans 15

Romans 15:20–21 NIV

20 It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. 21 Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”

Paul’s message to Timothy was not to suffer, it was to fulfill His ministry. It was to preach, teach, and reach the lost. And when that is your ambition, you will suffer.

When I was called to international missions, this was the verse God used to do it. The question i had to ask myself was, “What is my ambition?”

And when I made that decision in 2019 to apply to IMB, I knew it meant I had to leave family, friends, country, language, comforts. I even knew it likely meant marriage was out of the picture! But, my heart and my mind was so focused on Jesus and the lost, those things were secondary.

And as you all know, I was a week from my training with IMB when COVID hit and everything got shut down. God blessed me with Elayna, and now we both aim to serve unreached people.

I’ve had people tell me, RJ…I could never fly or go to another country. Or do all that the way you have. And you know some can’t go becaues of health or other reasons..but many have completely disquallifed serving in certain places because of the heat, or flight, or bugs, or whatever.

And what that communicates to me is that they are not willing to lay down that comfort for the cross or thier soul.

I thank God, that Christ let no obstacle keep him from coming to you and me!

He became man, laid down comforts for the sake of the lost!

Because of Christ’s SUFFERING, ETERNAL LIFE has the FINAL WORD regarding your life.

This means we can suffer as Christ suffered with our eyes on eternity!

Pauls says, 1Corinthians 9:19-21

1 Corinthians 9:19–21 NIV

19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.

If we are unwilling to suffer for Christ, it reflects an unwillingness to reach suffering people.

Lost Sheep Ministry:

As David Platt says, the goal is not to disinfect Christians and separate them from the world but to disciple them and send them back into the world.

Vertical Church is not a perfect church. My goal is not to just disnfect you from the world! But we are a church that serves. We are a church takes off its gloves. We are a church that sits at whatever table hurting people are at. No comfort we have is more important than thier soul.

Thats who we are because thats who our savior is.

Will you be willing to suffer to share the gospel?

Will you tear down the walls you built to keep you save, so that you can go to someone in need of help?

Our hope and life is focused on eternity! And so we live to help others get there!

“Don’t ever give up in freedom what we would never have given up in persecution! That is our witness to the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ!”― Nik Ripken, The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected

So What Is Your Relationship With Suffering?

What Is Your Relationship With Suffering People?

What Is Your Relationship With The Suffering Savior

You see at the root of it is this, if you don’t have the right relationship with the suffering savior, you will not have a relationship with those who are suffering, and you will have the wrong relationship and perspective on suffering!

2 Timothy 1:13–18 NIV

13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. 15 You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.

He says this! Guard the good deposit that is in you! Remember the Spirit, God in you. Stay close. Abide!

The Message of 2 Timothy c. Our Duty to Guard the Gospel (Verses 12b–18)

Paul knew Christ in whom he had put his trust and was convinced of his ability to keep the deposit safe: ‘I know whom I have believed, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me’ (12). He has entrusted it to me, it is true; but he will take care of it himself. And now that Paul is entrusting it to Timothy, Timothy can be sustained by the same assurance.

There is great encouragement here. Ultimately, it is God himself who is the guarantor of the gospel

Paul says, God has placed this gospel in me..and I will do my best to be faithful in it..but ultimately my confidence is that Christ in me will keep me! My relationship with Him will sustain me and help me to endure!

Without first understanding what Christ has done for you on the cross, you will never be able to help those in suffering, or endure it yourself!

Stay close to Jesus! Rest in Jesus! Keep your eyes on Jesus! Finish well!

Paul points to two examples of folks for us to consider.

First he says, Physelus and Heromogenes have deserted me.

In other words, they were with Him, then when things got hard for Paul and suffering ensued they were gone. They were there, but thier relationship with Suffering People like Paul wasn’t right. They were not willing to stick that close if it mean they would suffer to.

Let me pause here and say: How often the church is like this. We are with people when things go well, but the moment it gets hard, messy, they struggle, or it means we will have to suffer to..we desert them!

Why did they do it?

Apparently the Galatians, and others of Paul's disciples in Asia, decided to follow a way other than that taught by Paul. In his letter to the Galatians, they had turned from following Paul's gospel of grace, and had begun to follow a gospel of religious rules. They were "seeking to be justified" rather than trusting Christ to do all the justifying (Galatians 2:17). Perhaps they had turned back to Paul after receiving his letter. But if so, they had now turned away from him.

Paul notes two specific men who are bad examples: Phygelus and Hermogenes. These men would have been known to Timothy, but this is their only mention in scripture. Paul does not want Timothy to follow this way, which might involve compromising truth to avoid risk of rejection.

We don’t know precisely, but it is likely they had compromised the truth for fear of rejection.

In other words, thier theological error was revealed in thier unwillingness to suffer. Or to put another way, When they stopped seeing Christ correctly, they stopped joining those in suffering.

One of the surest signs of an accurate theological understand of a suffering Savior, is a suffering servant who loves and proclaims the gospel to suffering people.

You do not abandon suffering people unless you have first abandoned Jesus somewhere along the way!

I am not saying these two men weren’t believers, but they certainly had lost thier effectivness and fruitfulness.

There is no neutral. There is no inbetween. You may say, but RJ..maybe they really loved Jesus but they didn’t want to suffer. That is not a category Paul gives. That may be a category we have..but not one Paul gives.

They had in some way abandoned the truth, and when thier truth God messed up. And when thier relationship with Jesus was shaped by the wrong perspective, their relationship with those in suffering did too.

But there was also an an example of Onesiphorus. Who was there, and was faithful. Paul tells Timothy to be like Him!

Which one will you be?

Will you be the two who left Paul when it got hard? Who were ashamed of the suffering?

Or will you be the one looks and looks to help and comfort, even if that means suffering

Your relationship with the Suffering Savior is revealed in Your relationship with the Suffering.

Is Jesus worth that much to you?

Which one do you want to be? How would you want to be remembered? As a deserter like Phygelus and Hermogenes who showed promise but at the first sign of persecution or difficulty they deserted Paul and the gospel mission or as Onesiphorus who put his life on the line to minister to Paul in his time of need?

How do you want to be remembered?

Picture of Wall of Martyrs

Everyday 172,202 people will die without Christ, will you allow suffering to keep us from lowering this number or help it grow?

Hacksaw Ridge (clip)