Derek Grier - Stir It Up? - Part 1
We're gonna be in 2 Timothy 1, and it begins, "Paul an apostle", apostle, apostle, apostle. Now, today the term apostle is only used in religious settings. But back in the time the Bible was written, the term apostle was a secular word. It wasn't typically used in religious settings. I understand it's found some places in a Septuagint, but that aside, it was really a secular term. And the apostle was typically the admiral of a ship. And what the Romans would do is, you know, they were a warring people, and they go into a new area of the world that they had not conquered yet, often they would send this admiral on a ship.
Sometimes there'd be fleets of ships with him, and the admiral will go into this new territory that the Roman culture has not yet, or has not been hellenized. He go in there and he conquered the land but then he would also import Roman culture. A colony is basically, it's kind of like, you know, my pastor used to say, you know, he was from the Bahamas, and you know, in the Bahamas they wear jackets and long pants, and the rest, why? It's hot down there. Why would you ever wear a tie and a jacket? But they were colonized by the English. So what they did in London, they did in the Bahamas, okay? So the apostles main function was, again, to take the Roman culture and expand the kingdom, and make sure that the folks were operating as good Roman citizens.
And likewise, Paul, he was assigned to take the culture of heaven, bring it into new areas, develop churches, and the culture of heaven would be seen in that church, and then the people of that church would continue to expand. Now, they didn't conquer like the Romans conquered but God did win hearts, et cetera. So he begins with "Paul an apostle", ambassador, special messenger, an envoy, literally a person on divine assignment in this case. Then he said, "Of Jesus Christ by the will of God". Now, we may never know everything, even when we're in heaven. I don't know that we'll always know or ever know, everything about the will of God, but we must know some things. And we see here that Paul was crystal clear about one of the most important things, his purpose.
Now, you may not be called to be an apostle but all of us have an assignment on Earth. All of us have a particular purpose. And as true, Paul began all his letters stating who he was. I am an apostle because he was committed to his purpose. Find your purpose and stay committed to your purpose. You see, if you don't know who you are, you leave a vacuum for the world to tell you instead. And this can be disastrous for some of us, because, you know, a couple hundred years ago, I was just 3/5 a person, and in some neighborhoods you can only be an athlete, maybe a rapper, or a drug dealer.
The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but life without purpose. And Paul was living his purpose. You may not be an apostle in ministry but you have a purpose and you can learn from Paul. And what is your purpose? Discover your purpose. Lean into your purpose. "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ", watch this, "By the will of God". Paul understood if a man didn't call him, you know, a man can't stop him. You know, if God sets you, no human can remove you. The the will of God can never take you where the grace of God can't keep you. And Paul understood that. Whether you're single, whether you're a purpose is to be married. Whether you're a business person, homemaker, a doctor, a landscaper. If God called you there, find your lane and stay in it.
You know, enemies at times may slow you, the circumstance may hinder you, but if God be for you who can be against you? He said, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ", I didn't make this up, he's saying, by the will of God. I know I'm married to that woman in the first row, by the will of God. I did it before God. We didn't do it, there's nothing, you do it at the justice of the peace, fine. But please try to do it also before God. But we did it before God. And I know it's God's will for me to be that woman's husband. I may not be everybody's husband, but I'm that woman's husband, and I know God's will for my life, and I'm gonna stay in God's will for my life. And because God assigned me to her, I know I must have what she needs, or what it takes to make this thing work.
So "According to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus". Now, Paul was in a cold, damp, prison cell waiting to be killed. But what's amazing is as we read his literature written from these prisons, we still see a man very, very full of life. You know, death was, you know, it could have happened at any moment, but Paul understood death was part of life. You know, it may come earlier for some, later for others but it eventually comes to everyone. So we must live ready. Verse 2, "He said to Timothy", watch this, "my beloved son".
Now, Timothy was not related to Paul by blood but our spiritual relationships can sometimes be even more powerful than our natural ones. I've heard it said, you know "A good dad is a son's first hero and a daughter's first love". And we find in the book of Acts 16:1, that Timothy's natural father was not a believer but watch what God did. He supplied him with a spiritual father. You see, it may look different for each of us but God will supply all our needs. Whatever your needs are, God will find a way to supply them. And then he goes on and he says, "Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord".
Now, we also see something of the confidence that comes from Paul. He believes he's speaking from God because he's actually giving greetings from God. So he knows that this letter is instruction from heaven. And he's in his apostolic mode here. And he sends greetings from the homeland, from Father himself in Christ to everyone reading. But I want you to notice the addition of one term here. Typically at the beginning of the epistles you'll see grace and mercy. But here, and we find in Titus and 1 and 2 Timothy, when he speaks to ministers, he adds this one word, mercy. Why? Because the more you know, the more mercy you need.
And this is important because what we say sometimes can set us up for trouble. Some people say, "Well we hold our ministers to a different standard or we hold our leaders to a different stand". That's not at all accurate. It's not that we should hold leaders to a different standard but we should require them to live closer to the one standard so that they can draw us even closer. So I'm not looking at someone just to judge them and assess them, I'm trying to qualify them. I mean, if you don't got it right how you gonna lead me?
So I want someone further along than me to lead me where I need to go. And what we look for in our leaders is people that have walked with God, and have some experience and relationship, and can lead us places we have not gone yet. And that is what the attitude we need to have when it comes to judging and all the rest as it relates to our leads. Verse 3, then he said, "I thank God". Now Paul begins all his epistles with thanks. And here's the deal, your bills may be overdue, your library books may be overdue, some phone calls may be overdue. I got a few of them overdue. But you better make sure your next thank you Jesus is not overdue because your thank you's are directly connected to your breakthroughs.
"Whom I serve with a pure conscience as my forefathers did". So what Paul understood is if people doubted his intentions they wouldn't trust his actions. And you know, here's the deal, I may not always get it right. I know I don't always get it exactly right. But folks need to know I am trying to help. You know, even if I don't get it perfect, I am trying to help and be of assistance. And he was saying, "Listen, I'm living this thing. No, no, I don't do everything right".
Even though he was writing scripture and all the rest, he was not a perfect man. But he before God, he said, "Lord, you know, I am trying my best. I know my motivation is to please you and be a blessing to others". "As without ceasing, I remember you in my prayers" watch this, "night and day". Now here's the backdrop, here's the context. And this is what's gonna help you understand this entire Epistle, likely Paul was in what was a famous prison. You could still visit it in Rome called Mamertine Prison. And the lower room of this particular prison, actually it started as a cistern, and the lower room of this prison was actually connected to Rome's sewer system.
So I want you to think about the environment that Paul was in. It was absolutely disgusting. It was noxious. It was squalid. I mean, the conditions were frightful. There were animals and you didn't even just, it wasn't a type of prison where they closed a cell behind you, you were dropped into a hole. This was the nature of Mamertine prison. But in spite of his circumstance, what I want you to see, is his heart was filled with thanksgiving and prayer. How could you write a letter like this, in that type of environment?
You see, a lot of people think that they are filled with the Spirit because at some point in their life, they prayed in other tongues. But to me, one of the best signs of being filled with the Holy Spirit is being able to give thanks when life is unfair, when life stinks. When you're in a situation you don't deserve. And you can say, "Thank you, God, you are good. I know that the circumstances, I don't get it. But Lord, I will trust you".
Men and women that only when things are perfect, they can praise God. I don't trust them. One of the reasons why I pay attention to Paul is because he could praise God in circumstances like this. And then verse 4, he continues. Now, most of us, if we wrote a letter in that situation be, woe is me, woe is me, woe is me, woe is me. But while he was in there, he was thinking about somebody else. "Greatly desiring to see you". And what you need to understand, the temptation that Timothy was going through was very painful for Paul because at this point, Timothy was being tempted with disassociating himself from Paul.
And I'll give you more on that later. But I want you to watch the response of the apostle here. And he was just like, you know, a father is with a son because he didn't mention his own tears, only Timothy, you knew, you know he had to gone through some tears. You know, these are, listen, you are not in good company when you are in a Roman prison. These were murderers, these are killers, these are rapists. These are, I mean, these are people in desperate situations. And they didn't feed you in prison like they do today. If someone didn't bring their food, they didn't have any, and that meant if someone brought you food, you had to fight to keep your food, okay.
So Apostle Paul is in a dog eat dog situation but he doesn't mention his own tears. And one of the most challenging things I know in my life is knowing what bridges to burn, and what bridges to keep crossing. You know, knowing when to hold 'em, when to fold 'em. Despite Timothy's weakness, Paul knew Timothy was a keeper and Timothy was struggling. Timothy, it seems like Timothy was kind of backsliding a little bit, and you could still backslide even though you're a leader in ministry. And we'll see that in a couple moments. "Greatly desiring to see you", watch this, "being mindful of your tears". We be so full of our own tears, our own pain, and you don't know what happened to me. Watch this, "That I may be filled with joy".
Now, 99% of us would say, "Well I'll be happy or joyful when I get out of this place". But Paul would rejoice if just Timothy would visit him, and let him know the relationship was still intact. Paul had a different set of priorities. Jesus, you know, God is not caring about your stuff and your things. He cares about the quality of the relationship you have with him. And Paul was a very, very, very strong man. He was strong willed. He, you know, Paul was tough too. I mean, he was hard to be around sometimes because you know, he'll speak directly to you, and he'll straighten you out sometimes even in public. He did that to Peter. But what I want you to understand is, in spite of the toughness of Paul, he had such a tender heart.
And let me tell you something about being a father or a spiritual father or mother, a spiritual mother, loving children can hurt. But I also want to tell you what makes you vulnerable is what makes you most beautiful. And to have the vulnerability to love somebody makes you absolutely gorgeous. Paul was a beautiful man, loving his Timothy in that prison. And then in verse 5, he says, "When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you".
Now, if he's talking about genuine faith that means some people can have faith that's not genuine. Which means everyone talking about heaven is not going. But when you find the real thing ain't nothing like the real thing, baby. But what I want to say here, and I want you to catch this. Paul had every reason to be consumed with his own circumstances. It's not fair what happened to him. I mean, God, remember the miracle you did when I was in prison in Philippian jail? You did a miracle. I've been in here weeks now, and I see no miracle. God, you know, I laid hands on sick, they recover, now I'm feeling kind of under the weather with this cold, damp place.
And you imagine the frustration that could have set in and the doubt that could have begun to plague the apostle Paul here. But pay attention, he calls to remembrance, says what? "Genuine faith". Instead of criticizing Timothy for his frailties, he began to focus and encourage what was right in Timothy. He knew if he inspired, you know, Timothy to keep his faith, Timothy would also keep everything else that matters. You see, a lot of times we go after the fruit and not the root, and the real issue is not your problem, it's your faith. That you believe your circumstances. You believe what people are saying, the devil's saying in your head, you're saying in your head instead of what God's word says about your situation. He says, he compliments this guy that's considering walking away from him.
He says, "There's this genuine faith that's in you with first dwelt in your grandmother Lois or Lewis, and your mother, Eunice". But what I want you to see here is the fact that Timothy's father was an unbeliever, but that didn't stop his mother from being every inch of the woman of God, God called her to be. What your spouse does or doesn't do, doesn't let you off the hook. You still gotta be what God's called you to be in your situation. It first dwelt in your grandmother but then the grandma pass it down to the daughter. And you know, I love my family and everything but if they stop loving God and I agree with them, we'd all be wrong.
But here's the real danger. If I start going with them, I forfeit my ability to help them. So if I get in how am I gonna reach down to help them out? And if we are so weak, we gotta follow those around us instead of doing the right things God has already placed in us. If salt loses it's saltiness, it's good for nothing. What's the point of the salt shaker on the table if it doesn't add flavor and taste? The reason you're in the family, the reason you're in the room, is to bring a certain flavor to the table that wouldn't be there in your absence. But Jesus doesn't end there. He says, "If salt loses its saltiness", watch this, you're not gonna like this, He said, "It's good for nothing".
How many of you know some good, don't look, look straight. How many of y'all know some good for nothing people? "It's good for nothing except to be trodden underfoot by men". Meaning when you lose your salt trying to be accepted by people, you're gonna end up being dominated and walked on by those same people. In other words, they're not gonna respect you. Therefore, therefore, because of the one thing I know you still have Timothy, your genuine faith. You see, when you have a solid foundation, when your faith is real, you become steadfast. Immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. He said, "Therefore, Timothy, I remind you".
Most of my job, most Sundays is not to preach nice as much as to remind you who you really are because the devil's been in your ear all week saying what you can't do, and you telling God what you won't do, and all the rest. I'm here to remind you what this word, what this book says about you. It's not that I'm a great preacher, your amens are because I'm just saying what God says about you from this book. It bears witness with your heart and your amen says it's right. Amen?
But here's the context. Timothy was in a mess because the Emperor Nero, you know, some people, historians say he actually started this fire, but rumor had it, whether it was true or not, I don't know, was that the emperor started this fire because he wanted to expand the palace. But the problem was the fire got out of control. But then after the fire, Nero recognized and realized that the Christian, the two majority Christian districts were untouched by the fire. God still knows how to protect his own.