Okay, go with me back to Acts
15. Acts 15, we've been going through
Acts 15 for a few weeks. There's been a lot going on in
this chapter. And in Acts 15 verse 36 says, some days after Paul said unto
Barnabas, let us go again and visit our brethren in every city
where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they
do. Paul wanted to go back through
all the places that they had been and revisit all the brethren. which is something we love to
do, and that sounded good to Barnabas. He thought that's a
great idea. The problem is, is they had a disagreement over
Barnabas' nephew, John Mark, and it was to the point that
Paul and Barnabas separated. Verse 39 says, and the contention
was so sharp between them that they departed asunder, one from
the other. And so Barnabas took Mark and
sailed unto Cyprus. And Paul chose Silas and departed,
being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. And he
went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches." Now,
that's an awful thing. We looked at that last Wednesday,
this division between believers. It was an awful, terrible thing
that happened. But even so, the Lord used it
for good and we strive for peace, we strive
for our Lord's will in all things. But whatever it is that happens,
the comfort in it is, the Lord is always gonna do all things
well. You know that? Some things happen
and they're just awful. They're just awful. And the Lord's
goodness to us is he always works it out for the good of them that
love God to them who are called according to his purpose. It
always works together for good, always. And through this separation,
the Lord allowed some of these younger men to be used in the
ministry. There was a reason for every
bit of this. So now chapter 16, verse 1. says, then came he,
Paul, to Derbe and Lystra. Those are two places that he
had already been. Chapter 14 told us he went there
and he preached the gospel there. Then came he to Derbe and Lystra,
and behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy, Timotheus. Now Timothy is a precious man. I love Timothy and I hope that
the Lord will bless this. We're going to look at Timothy
a little bit tonight. We're going to look at the context
of these first five verses and we're going to look at Timothy. This is not believed to be the
first time Paul met Timothy. Timothy was already a disciple. It says that Behold, a certain
disciple was there. He was already a disciple. And
Paul had already come to his city before. Verse 2 says, which
was well reported of by the brethren. Timothy was well reported of
by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. He was a
believer, well reported of by the brethren. He was a faithful
believer. He was a very young man, a very
young man, but he was a faithful believer. And this is one of
the ones that Paul wanted to come back through and see. Now
let's look at a few things about Timothy. And I want this message
to just be clear and plain. I don't want it to be confusing,
but we're about to bounce around throughout 1 and 2 Timothy. I
want to show you some things about Timothy. So I'm going to
try to take this slowly and make it clear. Go to 1 Timothy chapter
4. First Timothy chapter 4 verse 12 Paul says to Timothy
in verse 12 let no man despise thy youth. So he was a young
man and I was told that and I appreciate that so much because I came here
and when I came here I was the youngest man here and I thought
who am I? And everybody said, let no man
despise thy youth. So this was a young man. And Paul said to
him, let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the
believers in word, in conversation, in charity, that's love. In spirit,
in faith, in purity. And Timothy was those things.
He was sincere. We're gonna see Paul use the
word unfeigned. That means sincere, without hypocrisy,
without acting. And he was an example to the
other believers in word, in conversation, in love, in spirit, in faith,
in purity. Here's what that means. He was
not a novice. All right, he was a young man,
but he was not a novice. And Paul loved Timothy. Paul
loved Timothy so much. And I understand that love in
the gospel. I really do. I know that I'm not alone. And
I know that everybody in here who knows or has heard of, Brother
Henry Mahan, loves that man. You know, for me to say I love
him, well, everybody loves him. We love that man. Well, Timothy
loved Paul. Paul loved Timothy very dearly. Look at 1 Timothy 1, 1 Timothy 1, verse 2. Paul writes unto Timothy, My
own son in the faith. He was not his physical son,
but he was his son in the faith. He said, I want grace and mercy
and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord for
you. That's what I want. My own son in the faith. The
love that exists between believers is greater than any love that
this world could imagine. It's greater than any love that
this world knows. You know, we're coming out of
Paul and Barnabas's separation. And those times are so awful
because that true love is there. And when the Lord will rekindle
it, there's nothing greater. There's nothing greater. And
Paul said, you're my son. Now look at second Timothy chapter
one. 2 Timothy 1 verse 2, Paul said
to Timothy, my dearly beloved son, grace and mercy and peace
from God the Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Timothy, I could
not love you any more than I do. I love you. Paul loved this young man. And
he took an interest in this young man. And this is an example to
us. This is a real example to us.
I have been here lately. A few weeks ago, we had a message
for children here. And I have been thinking about
the children here. My heart is so burdened for the
children here. This has made a huge impression
on me. I hope this makes an impression on us tonight. I really do. We
talk about souls that need to hear this gospel and believe
this gospel, don't we? We're always talking about souls
that need to hear it. Let's get the word out to people
who need this gospel. There are souls that need it. We have a bunch of souls in this
room that need it. And sometimes in our efforts
to reach far and wide, we can forget about right here at our
feet. These little ones are probably,
if God is merciful, going to be Kingsport Sovereign Grace
Church. They need the attention of the
word of God. That's what they need. They need
this word desperately. We have a ministry right here
in front of us. This is a mission field right
here in our midst. And I want to take it seriously. I
thought about the fact that they've been put in our care, put in
our charge. What they hear, what they...
is in our hands, and I realize that they're in the world. I
do realize that, but... we have a work. Right here, look
at 1 Timothy chapter 3. 1 Timothy 3 verse 1. It says, this is a true saying,
if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desires a good work. I used to think that said a good
thing. But he desires a good work. We have a work. We have a work. And it's not
the work of salvation. Christ does that. Christ accomplishes that. But
by the commandment of God, we have a work of throwing this
gospel net, don't we? And this work must be done from
this pulpit. It must be. And this work must
be done down in the classroom. If the Lord is willing, and if
the Lord is with us, and these children grow, and if they increase,
we're going to need more teachers. And may we never take that lightly. Those little ones down there, may we take it as seriously as
if we were going to preach to the apostles. We have a work
in our homes of pointing them to Christ, pointing
them to Christ. And we need to do this through
his word. We need to do it through his word. Timothy was such a
blessed child. This young man, we have some
blessed children in this. congregation, and I hope these
kids, I know they don't, but I hope that one of these days
they understand how blessed they are to be under the preached
word. I really do. I hope that our
children one of these days understand the great blessing that was given
them by God of growing up under the preached word. Timothy's
mother was a believer. What a blessing. Timothy's grandmother
was a believer. Look at 2 Timothy chapter 1. 2 Timothy 1 verse 3, Paul said,
I thank God whom I serve from my forefathers, Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, with pure conscience that without ceasing I have remembrance
of thee in my prayers night and day. Timothy, I pray for you
night and day. Night and day. Verse four says,
greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears that
I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the unfeigned
faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother
Lois, and in thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee
also. Timothy had a grandmother, and
her name was Lois. And Lois was blessed of God,
came to know the true and living God. And then she made it a point
to have her daughter, her name was Eunice, she made it a work
to have her daughter under the hearing of the word. And the
Lord blessed it. And he saved Eunice. And then
Eunice's eyes were opened because she saw the one thing needful.
When she had a son, his name was Timothy, she made it a point
She made it her work to have Timothy under the hearing of
the Word of God. And God blessed it. The Lord
blessed it and He saved this young man. 2 Timothy 3 verse
14 says, Paul tells Timothy here in 2 Timothy 3 verse 14, But
continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been
assured of. knowing of whom thou hast learned
them. God gives the increase. We have
a work, don't we? We point our children to Christ,
we point our loved ones, no matter what their age is, we point them
to Christ, we have a work. But God gives the increase, knowing
that God alone, he gives all the increase, all the salvation
is of the Lord. If any man or woman is taught
they're going to be taught of God. Verse 15 says, and that
from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures which are
able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ
Jesus. I am so impressed with the necessity
right now. I'm just so impressed with the
necessity of having our Children under the hearing of the gospel.
Um, God blesses it. God blesses it. Keep bringing
them all three of them. All three of them. I was thrilled
to see number three. Keep bringing them. This poor
vessel will deliver God's word with whatever ability he'll give.
We beg for his spirit because without it, we're here in vain. Without it, we're just going
to stammer and stumble. But God does not need me. And in spite of me, he can take
the word that is declared and pierce a heart. And he can do
it early. He can do it early. My encouragement
to us is keep bringing them. Keep bringing them. Well, while
we're here, let me show you what was preached to Timothy and what
Paul commanded Timothy to preach. Look at 2 Timothy 1. 2 Timothy 1 verse 5 says, When
I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which
dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and in thy mother Eunice,
and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore, I put thee in
remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee
by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the
spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be
thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the
power of God who hath saved us." Do you notice that that's in
the past tense? Who hath saved us? This is what was preached
to young Timothy as a child. You know that one gospel fits
every age, every race, every class, You know that? This is the message that was
preached to Timothy in the Word of God. The end of verse 8 says,
Be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel. It's the power
of God. Verse 9 says, Who hath saved
us? Who? Who is who? Verse 8, he
said, This is the testimony of our Lord. Timothy, the Lord Jesus
Christ hath saved us. The Lord Jesus Christ hath saved
us. Make sure you know, let no man
despise your youth. You go in and tell them that
the Lord Jesus Christ hath saved us. Make sure you know, you tell
everybody you can. The Lord hath. He hath. Romans Psalm 107 says, Let the
redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the
hand of the enemy. He hath broken the gates of brass
and cut the bars of iron in sunder. He hath. Isaiah said, The Lord
hath comforted his people. I've always loved this one. He
said, the Lord hath made bare his holy arm. You know who that
is? That's Jesus Christ. He said, surely he hath borne
our griefs and carried our sorrows. The Lord hath laid on him the
iniquity of us all. That was what was told to this
young boy. He hath put him to grief, because
he hath poured out his soul unto death. Who hath saved us? He
hath saved us. So many grown-ups and young children
are sitting in churches right now being told, you need to do
something so you can get saved. And the blessing and mercy of
God is if any soul can be under the word of God and hear, He
hath saved us. He hath saved us. You know what conversion is.
You know what repentance is. You know the Lord said repent
and believe the gospel. You know what repentance is?
It's getting rid of the phrase, what must I do to be saved? That's the question of the world.
What must I do to be saved? It's getting rid of that, and
it's laying hold of, with every ounce of this heart, who hath
saved us. Who hath saved us. Verse 9 says,
who hath saved us, Timothy, and called us with a holy calling. Timothy, here's the truth in
God's Word. Here's the truth that you are to declare. Every
soul whom God hath saved in His good time, He will call. Is God going to call all of His
people out? Is God going to turn the light on and give life to
every soul? Yes, He is. In His time, He will
call. And when He says, Come, all of
His children are going to come running. Every single one of
them. Verse 9, He said, Now Timothy,
this is not according to our works. Not according to our works. Paul
told the Ephesians, It's not according to works, lest any
man should boast. What does that mean, it's not
according to our works? Does anybody know what that means?
It's not according to our works. What that means is, it is not
according to our good deeds. Every person in here needs to
be a good person, but it is not according to our deeds. It is
not according to our morality. It's not according to our decision. It's not according to anything
we've done. Verse 9 says, but according to
His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began. Timothy, God purposed to save
some sinners. And God gave Christ and His blood
to those sinners. And God put every single one
of them in Christ, where all of the blessings of God are found.
And that's your only hope. That's your only hope. That's
what this Word says. The Word that is able to make
us wise unto salvation. And that's what was taught to
Timothy, and that's what he preached. All right, now go with me back
to Acts 16, and I'm going to make this very quick. I want
to show you what this says now in our text. Acts 16 verse 1
says, Then came he to Derbe and Lystra,
and behold, a certain disciple was there named Timotheus, the
son of a certain woman, Eunice, which was a Jewess and believed,
but his father was a Greek, which was well reported of by the brethren
that were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth
with him, and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which
were in those quarters, for they knew all that his father was
a Greek." Now, we were in Acts 15 for quite a little while.
And let me remind us of the whole issue of Acts 15. There was one
big, huge issue in Acts 15. Circumcision. All right? Circumcision. Paul and Barnabas
took a stance against circumcision, didn't they? And the reason is
because these false prophets, they came in and they said, except
you be circumcised, you cannot be saved. Paul stood up and said,
that's a lie. That's just a lie. It's by the
grace of God alone. Now, he takes Timothy His father
was a Greek, so he was never circumcised. And the first thing
Paul does is, before they go out and they preach this gospel,
the first thing he does is he has him circumcised. Why did
he do that? Why did he do that? If it was
such a big issue, why did he do that? Here's the reason. Paul, in wisdom, And I pray that
I might learn this, and I pray that each one of us in here might
learn this. Paul, in wisdom, took away every hindrance, every
single hindrance, from sinners hearing the Word of God preached. He took away every single hindrance,
every stumbling block, every single thing. I need to learn
something about this. I really do. There is one all-important
thing that every soul in this town needs, and it's to hear
the Word of God preached. The Word that's able to make
us wise unto salvation. If I'm doing something that hinders
that, I need to change. That's all there is to it. I
just need to change. Verse 3 says, him would Paul
have to go forth with him? and took and circumcised him
because of the Jews which were in those quarters for they knew
all that his father was a Greek." Let's learn from that and start
removing the hindrances. I pray the Lord would enable
us to do that. Remove the hindrances in word, in conversation, in
love, in spirit, faith. Paul did it. He calls Timothy
to do it. He said, I became all things
to all men for the gospel's sake. Verse 4 says, and as they went
through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep
that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. And I'll just remind you what
they were. Back in Acts chapter 15, they said, abstain from idols. And what that meant is, you give
Jesus Christ all the glory. That's the decree. Give Jesus
Christ all the glory. They said, abstain from drinking
blood. Make sure everybody knows that
the saving blood of Christ was on us, not in us. They said,
abstain from things strangled, things that have died strangled.
They must bleed out. Without the shedding of blood,
there's no remission of sins. Go around preaching that to everybody.
Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission. And they
said, abstain from fornication. Do not leave your first love
of Christ alone. Christ alone. As they went through
the cities, they delivered them the decrees for the keep that
were ordained to the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.
And so were the churches established in the faith and increased in
number daily." They preached God's word and the Lord blessed
it. They increased in number. My prayer is that the Lord will
give us a heart for his word here. You know that? This word is emotional, but not
emotionalism, if you want to put an ism on something like
that. My prayer is that the Lord would give us a heart for his
word. Let us feed on his word. My prayer is that our children
will be flooded with his word from down there all the way up.
And then my prayer is that the Lord will bless his word. That's
the only thing he's promised to bless is his word. I pray
that the Lord will raise up some Timothys in here. And if we know these scriptures and
if God will bless His Word, they're able to make us wise. So Lord
bless Your Word. All right, let's stand together.