The Fear of Agitation

2 Timothy 3:10–17 NIV

You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Introduction: Anticipation is worse than experience - Medical procedures.

13-We Fear Agitation.

Paul and Timothy:

Paul is imprisoned in Rome - For his defense of the Faith.

He is in the middle of his court trial, and it is not going well, and he is getting the sense that he may not survive it.

He has been encouraging Timothy to reject fear of the shame of the Gospel and Paul’s imprisonment/Convicted as a Criminal. A number of people had abandoned Paul because of his imprisonment - Paul was in prison because people were getting agitated by the Gospel, and people were leaving Paul agitated simply because he was imprisoned.

There was this other agitation. - There were some who were denying a part of the Gospel, by saying the resurrection has already taken place - Taking away the hope of many of Christ return and their resurrection, but not only that there are always people who will oppose the gospel like Jannes and Jambres in the O.T. who opposed Moses.

In this letter to his spiritual son Timothy, Paul reminds him that pain and persecution are a normal part of the Christian life. He recalls his own suffering because of the message of Christ, as well as the Lord’s hand in rescuing him through every situation (vv. 10–11). Paul warns Timothy that persecution is a guarantee for everyone who lives a godly life in Christ Jesus (v. 12).

1. In this letter to his spiritual son Timothy, Paul reminds him that pain and persecution are a normal part of the Christian life. He recalls his own suffering because of the message of Christ, as well as the Lord’s hand in rescuing him through every situation (vv. 10–11). Paul warns Timothy that persecution is a guarantee for everyone who lives a godly life in Christ Jesus (v. 12).

What might be agitating to us that we fear - losing friends, being ridiculed, being labeled. I think this especially hard for teenagers. One of the primary things our young folks are looking for is a sense of belonging, and there is a risk in living out your faith sharing our faith with others that those we feel belonging with will disown us. Or brings unwanted attention towards us.

Haloween Article - “Stay away from Halloween.” - The fear for kids is missing out on the opportunity to be a part of the group. The article writer’s response would seem to be, “Tough Nuggies.” Yet that would seem to be the tension any many people’s minds.

How do we navigate this fear?

14 - We Can Stay Anchored.

Paul is honest, “…All who want to live in a godly manner in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” - We don’t overcome this fear by pretending there will be no agitation.

One of the greatest contributors to fear is running away from reality, or pretending that reality or the truth does not exist. We are best able to address our fears when we state reality so that it does not control you.

Fishing with my Dad when the Anchor was not long enough. Constantly battling drift, and our lines getting crossed. - The whole fishers of men illustration.

Trisha Taylor - “The key is to stay both defined and connected.”

Paul gives us two Anchors.

Paul gives us two Anchors.

First is a trusted community - For Timothy that is his grandmother Lois, and mother Eunice, and Paul himself. These people taught Timothy the Scriptures and the Truth, his grandmother and mother since he was a child.

Counter-Balance Illustration.

I can list a ton of people who fit this for me.

Coaching experience that anchored me.

Discussions with my Mom.

Roommates in college

Life Groups

College Ministry - S.A.L.T., Icthus

Who are your anchors?

Scripture itself.

To regularly stay grounded in the Scripture and the overarching story of scripture. The Good News that it shares, and how it is the best news for every living creature on this planet. That Life, Death, Resurrection - and our future resurrection is way better than anything the world and humans have to offer.

So focusing on the good news, but also how scripture is alive and will speak into difficult situations.

Conflict with a particular pastor who was not behaving well and quite frankly was being an agitation to our classis. We were looking through the BCO to find a solution, but that morning in my quiet time I read the passage where Jesus that if brothers have a lawsuit against eachother to try and resolve it before going to court. That spoke to me that the best course of action was not church legal action first, but rather sitting down with the individual and try to work things out.

What are doing to anchor yourself in scripture and to guide you through agitating situations?

• Just read it. There are a ton of tools out there. There are reading plans galore. – But my best suggestion is read what your friend is reading.

• To Start - keep it simple - We can teach a class on Bible Study Methods, but for most of us I simply recommend a couple of simple questions to ask while reading.

• 15 - S.O.A.P.

• S - Scripture - What word or phrase stood out to you?

• O - Observations - Ask the Who, What, When, Where, and Why Questions?

• A - Application - How might you live this out?

• P - Prayer - Pray to God about what you learned.

• 16 - 4 Questions - What stood out?, How did it make me feel? What is God saying? What am I going to do about it?

• The Importance of Community - Yes, we can get in the way of our own hearing the word. Reading scripture in Community provides discernment, accountability.

Conclusion:Ravi Zacharias tells the amazing story of a young Christian in Vietnam. He writes, “I was ministering in Vietnam in 1971, and one of my interpreters was Hien Pham, an energetic young Christian. He had worked as a translator with the American forces, and was of immense help both to them and to missionaries such as myself. Hien and I traveled the length of the country and became very close friends before I returned home. We did not know if our paths would ever cross again. Seventeen years later, I received a telephone call. ‘Brother Ravi?’ the man asked. Immediately I recognized Hien’s voice, and he soon told me his story. Shortly after Vietnam fell, Hien was imprisoned on accusations of helping the Americans. His jailers tried to indoctrinate him against democratic ideals and the Christian faith. He was restricted to communist propaganda in French or Vietnamese, and the daily deluge of Marx and Engels began to take its toll. ‘Maybe,’ he thought, ‘I have been lied to. Maybe God does not exist. Maybe the West has deceived me.’ So Hien determined that when he awakened the next day, he would not pray anymore or think of his faith. The next morning, he was assigned the dreaded chore of cleaning the prison latrines. As he cleaned out a tin can overflowing with toilet paper, his eye caught what seemed to be English printed on one piece of paper. He hurriedly grabbed it, washed it, and after his roommates had retired that night, he retrieved the paper and read the words, ‘Romans, Chapter 8.’ Trembling, he began to read, ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. . . for I am convinced that nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Hien wept. He knew His Bible, and knew that there was not a more relevant passage for one on the verge of surrender.

Reference the Reformed Confessions: The Reformed Confessions are statements of faith written to clarify the Gospel at times when the Church was in crisis. Heidelberg Chatechism: Q&A 19, 22, 98 Belgic Confession: Articles 2-7 Canons of Dort: Head I, Article 3; Head II, Article 5; Head III and IV, Article 8, 17; Head V, Article 14