Tawa Baptist

The Spirit & Lydia

Scripture: Acts 16:6-15

Video Link:  https://youtu.be/Yuu1LtQLwQk

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • An open window
  • A small beginning
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

The expression God never closes a door without opening a window has become a bit of a cliché. But that does not make it any less true. To say that God never closes a door without opening a window implies that God is exercising a guiding hand over our lives for good.

A door represents the usual means of entry. While climbing through a window is not the usual (or expected) way of getting in. Gaining access through a window requires us to think differently, to look for alternatives and to be prepared to make ourselves a bit uncomfortable.

During the month of August, we have been focusing on a series of passages from the book of Acts in support of Arotahi, our New Zealand Baptist mission organization.

The book of Acts tells how the Holy Spirit worked through men and women to spread the message about Jesus. Last week we heard how the Spirit involved Stephen, Ananias and Barnabas in the call and conversion of Saul.

This week we jump ahead in time around 15 or 16 years. By this stage, Saul is now the apostle Paul, about to embark on his second missionary journey.

But, as we shall see, this journey takes an unexpected turn when the Holy Spirit closes a door and opens a window. From Acts 16, verse 6, we read…   

6 Paul and his companions travelled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. 11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we travelled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that districtof Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

An open window:

Can you think of a time when God closed a door and opened a window in your life? Such that your life took a whole different path.

Perhaps you thought you would be an accountant or an artist, but you became a social worker or a teacher instead. Or maybe you thought you would live somewhere sunny and warm, but you ended up in Tawa.

Sometimes we think we are headed in a certain direction, only to encounter a roadblock before reaching our destination. Then, when we least expect it, another way is opened to us; a window to a world of possibility quite different from what we first imagined.

The Holy Spirit closes doors and opens windows quite a bit in the Bible.

David thought he was going to be a shepherd of sheep, playing his harp in the field. But God made him the shepherd and king of all Israel and the author of many psalms.

Peter thought he was going to be a fisherman following in his father’s footsteps, but God made Peter a fisher of men following in Jesus’ footsteps.

Paul thought he was going to be a Jewish religious leader, a guardian of the law. But Jesus made Paul an apostle, a guardian of the gospel of Christ.   

What doors has God closed in your life. What windows has he opened?

In the verses we just read from Acts 16, the Holy Spirit shut the door to Asia and opened a window to Europe.

We don’t know why or how the Spirit prevented Paul and his mates from entering Asia, but we don’t need to know. The point is, the Spirit of Jesus was directing the Christian mission with a bigger picture in mind.

The book of Acts isn’t primarily about the acts of the apostles. It’s more about the acts of the Holy Spirit, working through the apostles. 

Verse 6 of Acts 16 says that Paul travelled with his companions. This tells us Paul was not a one-man band. Paul worked as part of a team. Not a large team, just 3 or 4 highly committed people.

When it comes to Christian mission it is best not to go it alone. We need the encouragement, support and accountability of other believers. Paul’s team on this occasion included Silas, Timothy and Luke.

Silas was a respected leader in the early church and recognised as a good speaker, someone who would assist Paul in preaching the gospel.

Timothy was an emerging leader, Paul’s apprentice. The missionary journey was good experience for Timothy. Paul had an eye to the future, hoping that Timothy would carry on the work after he was gone, which Timothy did.

Luke was a physician and historian. Having a doctor travelling with them was a good health & safety measure. But Luke did more than take care of blisters. Luke took notes. He documented Paul’s work and wrote one of the gospels about Jesus, as well as the book of Acts. We (today) owe a great deal to Luke.    

Verse 9 says, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When Paul shared his vision with his companions, they all concluded Macedonia must be where God wanted them to go.

This shows us at least two things. Firstly, discerning God’s will is best done in community with other believers. Paul had the vision, but Silas, Timothy and Luke helped him to interpret it.

Secondly, Paul and his team held their plans loosely. They were open to God. God’s ways are not our ways. God has his own plan and we need to be flexible enough to adjust our sails to the wind of his Spirit. If we push a door and it doesn’t open, we don’t force our way in. We look for a window.

Verses 11 & 12 of Acts 16 tell us how Paul and his team obeyed the prompting of the Holy Spirit, travelling from Troas to Philippi, a leading city in Macedonia. The open window from Troas to Phillipi involved sailing across the sea and walking inland for a bit.

Macedonia is one of the largest regions of Greece. It is the place Alexander the Great came from. When the Romans took over from the Greeks, Philippi was populated with Roman army veterans. Consequently, Philippi was a city that was very loyal to Rome, quite different from Jerusalem.

Verse 12 says that once they had arrived in Phillipi, Paul and his friends stayed there several days. This is interesting. Paul doesn’t dive into preaching the gospel straight away. He simply observes for a while. He walks around, taking in the culture and getting a feel for the place. 

The first job of a missionary is to listen. Before we can communicate effectively, we must get to know the people and their culture.

A small beginning:

So what happened next? From verse 13 of Acts 16 we read about Philippi’s first Christian convert…    

13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God.

The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Life starts small. Biological life doesn’t come much smaller than a cell.

Cell size is measured in microns. A micron is a millionth of a meter, which is tiny. Your average human cell is about 25 microns in diameter, so you can’t see a human cell with the naked eye. You need a microscope.

As small as they are, cells are the basic building blocks of all living things.

The human body is composed of trillions of cells. Cells are essential to our physical functioning.

Life starts small but it grows. Last week we saw a video about the work in India. In 1938 Malcolm and Catherine Eade went to Tripura. Gwen told me the Eades worked as missionaries for ten years before seeing their first convert. Now, more than 85 years later, there are thousands of Christians and hundreds of churches in Tripura.  

In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 13, Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

The kingdom of heaven starts small, but it grows big enough to fill the whole earth.

Paul’s standard mission strategy, when going to a new city, was to begin by preaching in the local synagogue, because this is where the common ground was. As a Jew, Paul was usually welcome in the synagogue, at least at first.

Also, the Jews were more likely to understand what Paul was saying about Jesus being the Messiah of God. They already believed in the one true God and they had a concept of the Messiah through the Hebrew Scriptures.

However, there weren’t enough Jews in Philippi to warrant having a synagogue so that door wasn’t just closed, it did not exist.

Undeterred, Paul and his friends looked for a window. They went down to the river on a Sabbath where they expected to find people at prayer. The idea was to start sharing the message about Jesus with those who were most likely to receive it.

When Paul and his companions arrived at the river, they found a group of women gathered there. Before coming to Phillipi, Paul had seen a vision of a man from Macedonia. But on arriving they were faced with women. 

Now I imagine Paul and Silas probably felt a bit uncomfortable because, in their culture, it just wasn’t done for Jewish men to talk with women they didn’t know, especially Gentile women.

But that’s the thing about Jesus. He is for everybody, including those who are different from us. In Acts 8, the Spirit sent Philip to help an Ethiopian eunuch, who then came to faith in Jesus. And in Acts 10, the Spirit sent Peter to Cornelius, a Roman Centurion.  

Verse 14 says, one of those listening was a woman named Lydia.   

We don’t know Lydia’s origin story, only that she was a dealer in purple cloth, which in today’s terms equates to a business woman in the fashion industry.

The most likely scenario is that Lydia was a widow who took over running the business and the household after her husband died. She appears to be very capable, a woman of means.

Verse 14 notes that Lydia was a worshiper of God. In other words, she was a Gentile who converted to the Jewish faith at some point in the past. Therefore, she believed in Yahweh and was familiar with the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament) but she did not yet know that Jesus is the Messiah.

Who is the Lydia in your life? Who do you know who is open to hearing about Jesus? Pray for them. Speak with them. Be friends with them.

Verse 14 goes on to say, The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

The heart, in Scripture, generally refers to a person’s inner life. The heart is more than one’s feelings. The heart is the core of your being, including the mind, emotions and will. The heart is where desire and longing and decision making come from.   

I imagine that Paul gave Lydia some wonderful rationale for believing in Jesus, but I don’t expect it was solely logic that convinced Lydia. I believe the door to Lydia’s heart was opened by the love of Jesus. As she heard about Jesus’ sacrifice, Lydia was moved from within to respond to God’s love

In Romans 5, Paul writes, “And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of love and truth. The Holy Spirit is the key which unlocks genuine heart understanding. We can’t really put our trust in Jesus without the help of the Holy Spirit. So how does Lydia respond?

Well, she and her household are baptized with water. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward reality. By being baptized, Lydia is sealing her commitment to Jesus and bearing witness to the work of the Spirit within her.

After Lydia and her household have been baptized, she opens her home to Paul and his friends, saying: “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And the apostle Paul and his friends show their acceptance of her as a true believer in the Lord (like them) by staying in her home.

We are not told if anyone else listening to Paul that day became a Christian.

Unlike the church in Jerusalem, which started with 3000 converts on the day of Pentecost, it appears the church in Europe started small, with just one household.

But life often starts small, with only a single cell. Lydia’s home became the first house church for believers in Phillipi. Since that humble start, 2000 years ago, literally millions of people have become followers of Jesus throughout Europe.

Conclusion:

The thing I like about today’s reading is that there is nothing spectacular or dramatic about it. The opening verses of Acts 16 are like a jam sandwich, sweet but ordinary.

So often in the book of Acts we encounter miracle after miracle. The apostles speak in foreign languages, they heal people and cast out demons, they confound their critics with wisdom from heaven, the doors of prisons fly open for them, they see the Spirit manifest God’s power in supernatural ways, they are bitten by scorpions and live. The miraculous is common place in Acts.

And while that is all wonderful and true (and irritating), it seems a long way from our own experience.

I like that Paul and his companions stumbled their way into Europe. They had intended to go to Asia but the way was blocked. For a few days there they didn’t know where the Spirit was leading them. That’s how it is for us most of the time. More often than not we only see God’s guidance with the benefit of hindsight.

I like the way Lydia and her household came to faith in Jesus. There was no walking on water, no healing of the blind or deaf. No tongues of fire or any other drama. The Spirit did something within Lydia, something deeply personal, which unlocked her understanding and communicated the love of Christ.

This is a work of God for introverts. How precious is that inner change, that almost goes unnoticed.

And I like way Lydia responded with a simple obedience of faith, no grand gestures. She was baptised in water and offered the apostles hospitality.      

Miracles are great but they are not the destination. They are merely sign posts along the way pointing to an even greater reality. The reality of God’s love for us in Christ.

So, this is my prayer today…

May Jesus be real for you in the ordinary things of life.

May Jesus be real for you whether you are vacuuming or making the dinner.

May Jesus be real for you whether you at the supermarket or at work.

May Jesus be real for you whether you are reading your Bible or watching TV.

May Jesus be real for you whether you are feeling happy or sad, angry or calm.

May Jesus be real for you whether the door is open or closed.

May Jesus be real for you whether the beginning is small or large.

May Jesus be real for you in all of life. Amen.   

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Can you think of a time in your life when God changed the direction of your life, when he closed a door and opened a window? What happened?
  3. Who does Paul take with him on his second missionary journey in Acts 16? Why does Paul take these companions? Who are your companions on the journey of faith and mission?
  4. What is the first thing Paul does when he arrives in Phillipi? Why does he do this?
  5. Why did Lydia respond to Paul’s message as she did?
  6. Do you know anyone like Lydia? Who are the people in your life who are most open to hearing about Jesus?
  7. What small (Spirit inspired) beginnings are you aware of?
Tawa Baptist

Paul & Timothy

Scripture: 1st Timothy 4:6-16

 

Title: Paul & Timothy

 

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Paul’s belief in Timothy
  • Paul’s guidance for Timothy
  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

I have here a guitar with six strings

–         For the strings to work (to make a sound) they need to be held in tension

–         To create the tension one end of the string is firmly tied to the main body of the guitar while the other end of the string is attached to a tuning peg

–         This end is fixed – it doesn’t change

–         This end can and does change

–         With just the right amount of tension the string sounds the right note

–         If there is no tension at all then there’s no sound

–         But with too much tension the string is out of tune and at risk of breaking

 

Today we continue our series on inter-generational relationships in the Bible

–         That is, relationships between people of different ages or generations

–         The focus of this morning’s message is the mentoring relationship between the apostle Paul and his protégé Timothy

–         Mentoring relationships are a bit like guitar strings

–         With mentoring we need to hold two things in tension: belief & guidance

–         On the one hand we need to have a rock solid belief or trust in the other person – that’s like this end of the string which doesn’t change

–         At the same time we need room to make adjustments by giving & receiving guidance – that’s like this end where the string is tuned

–         Belief and guidance – two things held in tension – both needed to keep the relationship in tune

 

As a father in the faith (a mentor) to Timothy, Paul believed strongly in Timothy – he trusted him with significant responsibility and difficult tasks

–         But Paul’s trust wasn’t abdication

–         He didn’t blindly leave Timothy to his own devices

–         Rather Paul trusted his young protégé and gave him guidance

–         First let’s consider Paul’s belief in Timothy

 

Paul’s belief in Timothy:

In thinking about this idea of believing in people let me tell you a personal story

–         When I was in my late 20’s I attended a Baptist church in Tauranga

–         Little by little the leadership of the church trusted me with responsibilities

–         After a while I became a house group leader

–         Then one day the pastor asked me to preach on a Sunday morning

–         Afterwards he gave me some guidance – 54 minutes is too long for a sermon (apparently I’m not that interesting to listen to)

–         But the pastor believed in me enough to ask again and next time I followed his guidance and made the message shorter

 

My faith really grew in that church because people older than me believed in me and they cared enough to give me guidance and feedback

 

After watching me in action for a couple of years the pastor of the church told me he believed I had a call to pastoral ministry

–         Some others said the same thing around the same time so we went to Carey College to get more guidance, which is how we ended up here

 

The basic point I’m trying to make is that when you are mentoring people you need to believe in them and provide them with guidance

–         It doesn’t work to do one without the other

–         Belief & guidance go together

 

To expound that point a little more…

–         You don’t just tell people you believe in them – you show them by trusting them with real responsibility

 

This is how it was with Paul & Timothy

–         Paul demonstrated his belief in Timothy both with words of prophecy and with actions – that is, by trusting Timothy with real responsibility

 

To give you some context, Paul’s first missionary journey took him through Timothy’s home town of Lystra

–         We can’t be sure but it is possible (perhaps even likely) that Paul led Timothy to Christian faith during that visit

–         What we do know for certain is that Paul enlisted Timothy’s help on his second missionary journey. In Acts 16 we read…

 

Paul travelled on to Derbe and Lystra, where a Christian named Timothy lived. His mother, who was also a Christian, was Jewish, but his father was a Greek. All the believers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of Timothy. Paul wanted to take Timothy along with him…

 

It appears that Timothy’s mother was a Christian but his dad wasn’t

–         This meant Timothy had a difficult choice to make

–         In becoming a Christian he was aligning himself with Jesus

–         The risk was that he might alienate his father in the process

–         Nevertheless Timothy took the risk

 

It also appears Timothy had some special quality to him because all the believers spoke well of him

–         Most likely Timothy had showed promise as a preacher and had an easy personality so he got on well with people generally

 

Evidently Paul saw something in him too because he invited Timothy to accompany him on his second missionary journey

–         Paul was a clever guy – perhaps he saw Timothy’s mixed parentage (half Jewish / half Greek) as making him an ideal candidate for mission work

–         Timothy would be able to act as a bridge between Jews and Gentiles

–         In any case the fact that Paul was keen to recruit Timothy is saying something because Paul wasn’t easily impressed

 

At the end of Acts 15 we read how Paul wouldn’t take John Mark (the writer of the gospel of Mark) with him because Mark didn’t go the distance on their first mission trip

–         Essentially Paul didn’t believe in Mark but he did believe in Timothy

–         And he demonstrated that belief with words & actions – he spoke words of prophecy over Timothy and he asked Timothy to join them

–         (The words of prophecy aren’t mentioned in Acts but Paul does remind Timothy of them years later in both his letters to Timothy [1])

 

The life of a Christian missionary in the first century was pretty dangerous – there was a good chance of being whipped, thrown in prison or even killed

–         Timothy, for his part, responded to Paul’s belief in him by taking the risk and submitting to Paul’s guidance

–         Timothy was most likely in his late teens or early 20’s at this stage, which makes Paul’s belief in Timothy even more remarkable in that cultural context where the younger you were the less respect you got, generally

 

Timothy accompanied Paul & Silas to Macedonia

–         The next time we hear about Timothy is in Acts 17

–         After arriving in Berea there is trouble and Paul has to leave but Silas & Timothy stay behind in what is a hostile situation – most likely to instruct the new believers in the faith

–         By leaving Timothy in Berea Paul is demonstrating his belief in Timothy

–         Eventually Timothy & Silas catch up with Paul in Corinth

 

Over time Timothy becomes Paul’s right hand man – he is to Paul what Joshua was to Moses

–         Paul continues to show he believes in Timothy by sending the young protégé as his representative to teach and encourage some of the churches Paul had planted on his various missionary journeys

 

For example, while Paul was in Athens, he sent Timothy to the Thessalonians to establish them in their faith and encourage them through teaching & preaching [2]

–         Although the Thessalonian believers received Timothy positively the city of Thessalonica was not a friendly place

–         The young church was experiencing persecution there – but Paul had confidence in Timothy that he could handle the challenge

–         Timothy would have needed to be a calm presence, providing comfort and strength to the believers there

 

Sometime later, while Paul was establishing the church in Ephesus during his third missionary journey, he sent Timothy to the Corinthian church

–         This was also a challenging assignment for Timothy but in a different way to Thessalonica

–         The Corinthian believers had got off track by listening to false teachers and following bad theology

–         Paul sent Timothy into that situation to correct dodgy doctrine and immoral behaviour

–         Paul writes about Timothy’s purpose in his letter to the Corinthians saying…

Therefore I sent Timothy to you, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church [3]

 

Here we catch a glimpse of the closeness there is between Timothy & Paul

–         Paul loves Timothy like a son and Timothy knows Paul’s ways like a son knows a father

 

Timothy is often portrayed by preachers as a bit timid, a bit sickly and not particularly robust, always in need of encouragement

–         But there isn’t much Biblical evidence for this stereotyping of Timothy

–         In actual fact the New Testament shows us that Timothy was faithful, resilient and steadfast under pressure

–         You don’t send someone you love into difficult situations if you don’t think they can handle it

–         What’s more you don’t keep going back into hard places if you are timid

 

Paul believed in Timothy but it wasn’t blind belief – it came with guidance

 

Paul’s guidance for Timothy:

Earlier I told you a personal story of my pastor believing in me – that was when I was in my late 20’s

–         Let me tell you another personal story of something that happened when I was about 10 years younger than that – this story is a little bit different

 

So there I was, 18 and full of confidence, sitting in church with my best friend when the director for Youth For Christ (YFC) came up to my friend and asked him if he would like to be a youth leader

–         My friend wasn’t really that keen – he said he’d think about it which meant ‘probably not’

–         The funny thing was the director didn’t ask me – even though I was sitting right there beside him when he asked my friend

–         Not sure why that was – I suppose it’s because he didn’t really believe I’d be suitable – he was probably right

–         But that didn’t stop me from saying, “I’ll do it”

–         I could tell by the way he stumbled over his words that he wasn’t expecting me to volunteer like that

–         Clearly I wasn’t his first choice but he must have been desperate because he agreed to take me on, with guidance

 

Now in that little story I brought belief while the director brought the guidance

–         I believed in the mission of YFC, I believed in the director and I believed in myself, even if no one else did

–         I worked with YFC for a number of years part time and did eventually earn the director’s trust – we got on well together

–         However, a big part of earning his trust was my willingness to follow his guidance

 

Towards the end of Paul’s life, while he was in prison, he sent Timothy to the church in Ephesus, once again as his representative to sort out some issues there

–         It was while Timothy was in Ephesus that Paul wrote two personal letters to him, which we know as 1st & 2nd Timothy

–         Among other things these letters contained some guidance for Timothy

 

Please turn with me to 1st Timothy chapter 4, verse 6 – page 262 toward the back of your pew Bibles

–         This is one of those passages where Paul gives Timothy guidance 

–         By this stage Timothy has worked with Paul for something like 13 to 15 years (thereabouts)

–         Which means Timothy would have been in his late 20’s or early 30’s

–         One of the things we notice about Paul’s guidance is that isn’t coercive

–         Paul doesn’t force his way with Timothy

–         Rather he offers Timothy the benefit of his experience & example, then allows Timothy room to choose for himself

–         From 1st Timothy chapter 4, verse 6 we read…

 

6 If you give these instructions to the believers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, as you feed yourself spiritually on the words of faith and of the true teaching which you have followed. 7 But keep away from those godless legends, which are not worth telling. Keep yourself in training for a godly life. 8 Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is valuable in every way, because it promises life both for the present and for the future. 9 This is a true saying, to be completely accepted and believed. 10 We struggle and work hard, because we have placed our hope in the living God, who is the Saviour of all and especially of those who believe.

 

11 Give them these instructions and these teachings. 12 Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example for the believers in your speech, your conduct, your love, faith, and purity. 13 Until I come, give your time and effort to the public reading of the Scriptures and to preaching and teaching. 14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift that is in you, which was given to you when the prophets spoke and the elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things and devote yourself to them, in order that your progress may be seen by all. 16 Watch yourself and watch your teaching. Keep on doing these things, because if you do, you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this reading for us

 

Quite often when professional sports people are interviewed on TV prior to a big match they get asked a question which is a bit provocative or controversial and you hear them respond by saying something like…

–         “We’re not thinking about that. That’s outside of our control. We’re focusing on what we can control.”

–         The idea is, there’s no point in worrying about what other people are thinking or saying because you can’t do anything about that

–         The best you can do is control yourself and so that’s what you give your time and thought to

–         Making your tackles, reducing handling errors and giving clean passes

–         They’re the sorts of things you focus on because they are the things you can control – they’re also the sorts of things that silence your critics

 

As I said before Timothy was sent to the Ephesian church to sort out some problems there

–         False teachers had been spreading various heresies among the Ephesian believers and it was Timothy’s job to remind people of the truth

–         Paul wanted Timothy to stand for the truth

–         This meant Timothy was facing opposition from the false teachers

–         So people were thinking and saying all sorts of things that weren’t true both about God and Timothy

–         Paul’s advice (his guidance) for Timothy was don’t worry about what other people are thinking and saying – you can’t control that

–         Focus instead on what you can control

 

Don’t get caught up in pointless arguments over words and myths – instead read the Scriptures publicly and preach from them

–         Because by preaching from the Scriptures you make truth clear, giving people a pathway out of the confusion created by the false teachers

 

Don’t let people look down on you because you are younger than them but instead be an example to them

–         In other words, don’t worry about what other people think of you

–         Let your actions speak for you

–         Or as Ghandi famously said, “Be the change you want to see”

–         Because it’s your example which will silence your critics

 

As William Mounce observes…

–         “Many of the characteristics that Paul encourages Timothy to follow stand in contrast to the opponents’ characteristics

–         Timothy is to be an example in speech (the opponents are babblers)

–         Timothy is to be an example in conduct (the opponents have brought the church into disrepute)

–         Timothy is to be an example in love (which the opponents have abandoned)

–         Timothy is to be an example in faith (which the opponents have ship wrecked)

–         And Timothy is to be an example in purity (which the opponents have stained)” [4]

 

In short Paul tells Timothy to persevere in the truth because the truth will always prevail in the end, while that which is false cannot last

–         And the way to persevere in the truth is to watch yourself & watch your teaching

–         In other words, take care of your own relationship with Jesus first and practice what you preach

–         Don’t worry about what your opponents are saying or doing – it’s not your job to control them

–         Just focus on what you’re doing – keep your eye on the ball

 

It’s like when you’re driving a car – you need to be aware of other traffic but not distracted by it

–         Keep your eyes on the road – look where you’re going, otherwise you’ll go where you’re looking

–         If someone else is driving dangerously, give them a wide birth – you concentrate on driving safely

–         It’s the same principle for Timothy at Ephesus

 

So that’s a sample of Paul’s guidance for Timothy

–         In many ways its great advice for us too

 

Maybe you’re at work surrounded by people behaving badly

–         You can’t control them but you can control yourself

–         Be different from them (that’s what it means to be salt & light)

 

Or perhaps you have a husband or a wife or children or parents or friends who don’t share your belief in Jesus

–         That can be quite lonely at times

–         You might get on well enough but there is still a level of intimacy that you can’t share with them

–         Timothy understood what it was like to have a father who didn’t believe

–         We can’t control what other people think or believe

–         What we can do is pray for them, talk about Jesus and be an example in speech, conduct, love, faith & purity

 

Conclusion:

As I said last week, one of our values here at Tawa Baptist is passing on our faith to the next generation

–         We want to see others continue to walk in trust with Jesus

–         One of the ways people learn faith is by having someone show faith in them – it’s in being trusted that we learn to trust

–         It’s when we realise that God believes in us that we are able to believe in Christ

 

The other thing we do in passing on our faith is we provide guidance

–         Guidance is not coercion, it’s not force

–         Guidance is offering the benefit of our experience and example in a way that leaves the other person free to choose

–         Jesus is the source of our guidance – he’s our prime example

–         But he’s not just a historical example – Jesus continues to guide people today by giving his Spirit to those who believe

 

Let me leave you with two questions…

 

Do you know that God believes in you?

–         He believes in you so much that he sent his only Son, in trust, that you would accept him

 

If you do know that, and you have accepted Jesus, then what guidance are you giving others by your own example?

 

Reflection questions:

 

1.)    What stands out for you in reading these Scriptures and/or in listening to the sermon?

 

2.)    Can you think of a time when someone believed in you?

–         How did their belief affect you? What difference did it make to you?

 

3.)    Is there someone younger (in the faith) than you that you believe in?

–         How can you demonstrate through your actions that you believe in them?

 

4.)    How did Paul demonstrate his belief in Timothy?

–         How did Timothy respond to Paul’s belief in him?

 

5.)    Putting aside the stereotype we often get of Timothy (as shy, timid, sickly, etc.) what picture does the New Testament actually give us of Timothy?

 

6.)    What do we notice about the nature of Paul’s guidance?

 

7.)    What advice (guidance) did Paul give Timothy in his letter? (from 1st Timothy 4:6-16)

–         How might we apply Paul’s advice to our own lives and situations?

 

8.)    What guidance have you found most helpful in your walk of faith?

–         What guidance are you giving others by your own example?

 

9.)    Do you know that God believes in you?

 

 

https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/3-sep-2017-paul-timothy

[1] 1st Timothy 4:14 and 2nd Timothy 1:6

[2] 1st Thessalonians 3:1-3

[3] 1st Corinthians 4:17

[4][4] William Mounce, Word Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, page 245.