LEAVING A LEGACY OF FAITH (2 TIMOTHY 1:1-7)

Introduction

They were two Scottish brothers named John and David. John had set his mind on making money and becoming wealthy. This desire came to fruition. Meanwhile his brother David knelt and prayed. Surrendering himself to Christ, he resolved, “I will place no value on anything I have or possess unless it is in relationship to the Kingdom of God.” The inscription over his burial place in Westminster Abbey reads, “For thirty years his life was spent in an unwearied effort to evangelize.” On the other hand, John’s name is printed in an old outdated edition of the “Encyclopedia Britannica as simply “the brother of David Livingstone.” On his 59th birthday David Livingstone wrote, “My Jesus, my King, my Life, my All; I again dedicate my whole self to Thee.”

These are not my words, but on my birthday I want to borrow them and I want to rededicate the rest of my life to Christ afresh and a new. What am I talking about? I am talking about a legacy that will outlast our earthly years. I am talking about something that is greater than the sum total of our earthly possessions. This is the legacy of two women mentioned only once in all of history. Lois and Eunice are mention in one single verse in all the Word of God. Yet, their names are forever etched as women of faith because their legacy is one of being women of faith and mentors to a young pastor named Timothy.

Now let’s get the context of the text in view. Paul is a contemporary of Peter and he is writing in the twilight of his ministry and life around the year A.D. 67. He has been arrested and incarcerated. Second Timothy is one of the four prison epistles of Paul. The Mamertine Prison in Rome was a former cistern. It was a dungeon in a well that was twelve feet below ground. It was the last stop for prisoners who had been condemned to die. This is was the type of place Paul wrote the book of 2 Timothy encouraging him to stay strong in the faith and also encouraging him to come see him before winter. Paul knew his days were limited and his life would soon end. So, Paul writes Timothy, the pastor of the huge church at Ephesus to encourage him and to be encouraged by him.

Our text will give us three elements in building a lasting legacy of faith.

There is a Gratitude Worth Possessing (1:1-3)

It is interesting to note that in verses 1-2 there are no verbs in the Greek New Testament . As the book of 2 Timothy opens up, we are presented with some things that we should be thankful for. First, Paul is thankful for His relationship to Jesus Christ. Brother Paul begins with his traditional Pauline greeting (1). Paul is thankful for his ministry of being an apostle of Jesus Christ. He is an apostle not by his own doing but by the will of God. Remember that Paul is writing this from Nero’s prison. Yet, he refuses to focus on his circumstances. Rather he is focusing on “the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus.”

Having given his greeting and identifying himself as the writer, he identifies Timothy as the recipient (2). He identifies Timothy as his “beloved child.” There was no other missionary associate that Paul was closer to than Timothy. There is no one Paul mentions more in his epistles than Timothy.

Timothy’s father was a Greek nonbeliever (Acts 16:1). Paul entered into Timothy’s world and filled the male spiritual leadership void as he became a close spiritual father to Timothy. He addresses Timothy: “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” Wow! What a greeting! Paul is thankful for his relationship to Timothy.

Paul voices a prayer of thanksgiving to God for Timothy . Notice that this is a constant prayer of thanksgiving as evidenced by the phrase, “night and day.” I am reminded of the verse in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, where we are exhorted to “pray without ceasing.” We should always be ready for prayer by being in a constant attitude of prayer.

The first element in building a lasting legacy of faith is possessing a great gratitude.

There is a Godly Heritage Worth Remembering (1:4-5)

To leave a lasting legacy of faith it is important to acknowledge a Godly heritage worth remembering. Paul longs to see Timothy as he remembers a time when tears ran down the face of Timothy like a waterfall. You can sense the tears welling up in Paul’s face as he longs for the joy he will experience when he finally sees Timothy again. Paul is running out of time. That is one reason he wants him to get to Rome before winter. Now we have come to the very heart of the message. Paul reminds Timothy of his own godly heritage (5). Please bear with me this morning as I share my heart with you, especially the mothers who are here and are listening.

There is nothing more important for you to leave behind than a legacy of faith. I want to make some application point concerning this.

1. A Legacy of Faith always Has a Point of Beginning (1:5).

A legacy of faith must always have a point of origin. I have already mentioned that Timothy’s father was a Greek unbeliever and his mother was a Jewish believer. Timothy just didn’t decide to follow Christ one morning. This journey started with Timothy’s grandmother. I am reminded of my godly grandmothers who saw to it I knew about Jesus and the Bible. Then Lois passed onto Timothy’s mother Eunice and she passed it on to Timothy. You see how a spiritual legacy works. There must be a point of beginning.

2. A Legacy of Faith Will Prosper or It Will Perish

Your legacy of faith will either develop or it will die. It all depends on what you do with it on your watch. That is the testimony of the Word of God. Consider what the Bible says about Hezekiah. Hezekiah was a pretty good guy, especially when you understand who his daddy was. His daddy was the godless King Ahaz. Of course Hezekiah fouled up at the end of his life and one of his descendants, Manasseh, turned out to be worse than Ahaz. The legacy of faith on your watch will either prosper or it will perish.

I remember when Elaine and I picked up six people and moved from Charlotte to Southeastern Seminary on a word from the Lord. Neither one of us had a job. We simply went on the basis of faith on a word from God. We are here and continue to be involved in what He called us to do as a couple and as a family twenty something years later as a direct obedience to that word. We filled up a U-Haul and moved into a 1,000 square foot house. Divide six into 1,000 and see what you get. As we discovered, it wasn’t much room for six people. I remember thinking that first Christmas of 1998 that we would not be able to afford to get anything for the children for Christmas. The money we had would have to pay the bills and buy groceries. Unbeknownst to me, our former church family had a singing group come. I later found out that the love offering that was supposed to be theirs, they just could not receive. They sensed that someone else needed that money. The church relayed that we had left just a couple or so months ago. The group gave it to the church and the church sent us money, gift cards to the grocery store and to Walmart and they even sent toys for the children.

Folks, God blesses a walk of faith. You have to tend it like a garden. You have to nourish it like a beautiful plant. You have to care for it like small children. You mothers know what I am talking about. Just like your children, your walk of faith will either grow or become malnourished, depending on what you do on your watch. It is not good enough to say that I will be a woman or man of faith. You have to be a man or woman of faith. You must be willing to bring yourself under the authority of the Word of God.

3. Leaving a Lasting Legacy of Faith will Give Your Life the Greatest Impact.

Did Timothy’s faith grow on his watch? Yes, he was a mighty man of faith. It is said that Timothy died a violent death trying to turn back a godless parade. Did he leave a legacy of faith? Certainly. Two thousand years later and we are still talking about him. There is something inherently evil in turning the ministry of the church into a mere profession made up of rules and regulations. It has to be lived out. That is when it becomes something that will make a great impact.

The second element of building a lasting legacy of faith is a godly heritage that is worth remembering.

There is the Gift of Grace Worth Mentioning (1:6-7)

Paul now reminds Timothy that he needs to fan the flames of the grace gift that has been entrusted to him. This is probably due to the fact that Timothy was groping in the darkness of pastoral doldrums. He was stifling in the sweltering heat of ministerial anxiety. Timothy had a tendency toward timidity. Paul knew this. So he reminds Timothy of a couple of things. First, Paul reminds Timothy of what God has not given. God has not given to His people a spirit of fear. The word used here is not the usual word for fear. Rather, it is the word “deilia.” It means cowardice. It carries the further ideas of becoming weak and selfish because of a spirit of cowardice. It is the spirit of ultra-protectionism and it is demonic and not from God.

Paul corrects Timothy by stating what God has given to believers. First, God has given us a spirit of “dunamis”- power. He has also given us a spirit of “agapetos”- love. This is the antithesis of “deilios”- cowardice. This is why 1 John 4:18 declares, “ There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”

God has given us the gift of “sophronismos”- sound mind. This speaks of self-control and self- discipline. It is the idea of causing one to become wise.

Conclusion

All of us, but today mothers in particular, need to pay attention to the words of Paul. Ladies, if you are to build a legacy of with your life there must be the attitude of gratitude worth possessing, there must be a godly heritage worth remembering and there must be the gift of grace worth mentioning.

It is so important to leave a legacy of faith for the next generation. When you think about it, everything we believers do is done by faith. Scripture tells us that we are saved by faith. We are to live by faith. We are to walk by faith (not by sight). We stand by faith. We pray by faith. We overcome obstacles by faith. We fight by faith. We gain the victory by faith. By the way, in Hebrews 11, we discover that it is impossible to please God without faith. Of course we are reminded in Romans 14:23 that everything that is not of faith is sin. If we do not live a life of faith, the Bible says that we live a life of sin. What am I saying? Faith is not merely assenting to a body of truth. Faith is enduring under the authority of that truth. Faith is not so much a noun as it is a verb. Faith is lifelong action in the life of the believer. If you were to go to the book of Hebrews to the hall of faith, you would discover that all those over there were not famous for what they thought or felt. They are remembered for what they did. What are you doing by faith? Are you leaving a spiritual legacy of faith?