I want you to open your Bibles
first to Acts chapter 28 for just a moment. Acts chapter 28. The last two years of Paul, the
Apostle Paul's life here on earth, the last two years, were spent
in a house, a rented house called a hired house. He rented it with
his own money. But he was held in prison at
that place and guarded by a soldier every day for two years. But
the scripture tells us that his friend Luke spent a lot of time
with him and Aristarchus, another friend, and also other friends
came to visit him. to hear him preach. And it says
here in Acts chapter 28, verse 30, this is the story of that
last two years. In Acts 28, 30, And Paul dwelt
two whole years in his own hired house. He paid the rent, and
he was guarded by a soldier, and he received all that came
in under him, preaching the kingdom of God. and teaching those things
which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence. He
never preached any other way, did he? With all confidence and
boldness. Nobody forbidding him. Nobody. And then Paul died, but
we don't know when or how. Now, nobody knows. of Paul's
death, almost nothing is certain. Some people said he lived several
years after that, but most everyone believes that Paul was martyred
after this two years that he spent in his own house. And the
reason I believe that, if you'll turn to 2 Timothy, chapter 4,
the reason I believe that Paul's time was very limited, those
two years, and that his death was immediately at hand, because
I believe he said that to Timothy. Look at 2 Timothy 4, verse 6. This is the last epistle that
Paul wrote, the very last, and he wrote it to his beloved son
in the ministry, Timothy. Look at verse 6, 2 Timothy 4. For I am now ready to be offered,
poured out as a sacrifice. The time of my departure is at
hand. He wasn't talking about ten years
from now. He was talking about now. I've fought a good fight. I've finished my course. I've
finished my course. It's over. I've kept the faith. Henceforth, there's laid up for
me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me in that day, and not to me only. but unto all them that love his
appearing." Now I want us to look for a few moments at this
last epistle and start with chapter 1, verse 1. Chapter 1, verse
1 of this final epistle of the Apostle Paul written to his beloved
son. That's what he called my beloved
son, Timothy. Chapter 1, 2nd Timothy, Paul
an apostle of Jesus Christ. He had no doubt about it. Paul
knew he was an apostle. Paul knew he was an elder. Paul
knew that he was a preacher of the gospel. He said, God put
me in the ministry. God put me in the ministry. I'm
an apostle of Jesus Christ. You see, the Lord Jesus gave
gifts to men, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. And Paul was one of these men
to whom God gave this awesome responsibility to preach the
gospel. I'm an apostle. I'm an apostle. I'm a preacher. I'm a servant
of God. That's what he said. He put me
in the ministry. And I'm an apostle of Jesus Christ
by the will of God. Not by the will of men. And not
by the will of the church. The church didn't select him
to be an apostle. God did. It wasn't by the will
of men, nor the will of the church, nor because of his personal merit. He said, I was before a blasphemer,
injurious, persecutor. But God put me in the ministry
by the will of God. By the will of God. Oh, what
a responsibility. by the will of God to be an apostle,
a preacher. And look at verse, the next line.
According to the promise of life which is in Jesus Christ. The Lord God talks so much about the promise.
The promise made to Abraham. The promises to God's people. And the Lord God from the beginning
has promised life eternal. God who cannot lie has promised
life eternal through our Lord Jesus Christ, which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord. Peter said that. Peter said the
promise of God of eternal life is to you and your children.
It's God's promise. God who cannot lie promised before
the world began to give life to you and your children. Now
watch this. And to all that are far off,
Jew and Gentile, bond and free, male and female, even to as many
as the Lord our God shall call. God, who from the beginning promised,
He swore it by an oath, by two immutable things, His word and
His oath, He promised eternal life, He promised eternal life
to you and your children. and to as many as are far off,
even to as many as the Lord our God shall call." Well, how? How
are we going to attain to this glorious promise of eternal life? How? Well, Mary answered that
question. Let me turn to Luke chapter 1,
if you want to you may turn with me. Mary answered that question.
How? How? How? In Luke chapter 1 verse
35, Mary said to the angel, how can this be? How can this be? Life eternal, promise of God,
glorious redemption, passing from death, how can this be?
I don't know a man. And the angel answered and said
to her, I'll tell you how. The Holy Ghost shall come upon
you, and the power of the highest shall overshadow you, and therefore
also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called
the Son of God. That's applicable to you and
me right here. How can these things be? Well,
I'll tell you how. The Spirit of God shall come
upon you, and the power of the highest shall overshadow you.
That holy thing, that holy life, that eternal life which God promised
before the foundation of the world shall be born in you, in
you. How? How indeed? Well, Paul answered the question.
Turn with me to Romans chapter 10. How can this be? How can this be? Sinners, unworthy, unworthy sinners Sons of God,
how can this be? Look at Romans 10, verse 14. Same question here is asked,
how? He says in verse 14, how shall they call on him in whom
they've not believed? How? How are we going to call
on him in whom we've never believed? And then he asks this question,
how can you believe on him whom you haven't heard? And how can
you hear without a man? That's what Mary said, I know
not a man. If there can be found an interpreter,
but I don't know one. How can they hear without a preacher?
And listen, how can they preach except they be sent? How indeed? How can this be? God has promised
eternal life. God who cannot lie from the beginning
in Christ Jesus. But how? Now here's the answer.
How? How can they preach except they
be sent? Verse 15. How beautiful are the
feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad
tidings of good things. Here's how. It pleased God by
the foolishness of preaching, by the preaching of this gospel.
That's what Paul says. I'm an apostle of Jesus Christ. And I'm sent, according to the
promise which God Almighty made before the foundation of the
world, to give life eternal to you and your children, and to
them that are far off, and as many as the Lord our God shall
call. But how? There's got to be a preacher,
and that preacher's got to preach the gospel. And that's what Paul's
talking about right here in my text. This is the message. All right, look at verse 2. Verse
2, to Timothy. an apostle by the will of God
according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus to Timothy,
to Timothy my dearly beloved son." You know, he wasn't talking
about a natural son, because Paul had neither wife nor son
or daughter. He had no family. But this man Timothy is his dearly
beloved son. And I tell you why he called
him his dearly beloved son. First of all, because of Timothy's
youth. Timothy was a young man. Paul
was called the aged one. Paul the aged. And Timothy was
a young man. And that's why he looked to Timothy
as being his son. And then Paul taught Timothy
the gospel. That's right. From a child you
have known the Holy Scriptures. that'll make you wise to salvation. And God used Paul to teach this
young man the gospel. I've got some sons in the ministry
who've listened all these years to Henry the Agent, and now they're
young men, but they know the gospel. And he's my son because
of his youth, and because I taught him the gospel by God's grace,
and because of his great affection for Timothy. He loved Timothy.
sincerely and deeply loved him. And I'll tell you another reason
why he called him his son. Look at verse 2. To Timothy,
my dearly beloved son, grace, mercy, and peace. Grace, mercy,
and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul is saying here, Timothy, God's
given you the three greatest gifts that God can give to a
man. I'm not talking about material things and physical things and
even long life or intellectualism or human happiness. I'm talking
about the three greatest gifts God can give to a man. The first
one is grace. That's right. Grace. What is
grace? Grace is God giving us what we
don't deserve. That's God's grace. God giving
us what we don't deserve. Mercy. Mercy is God not giving
us what we do deserve. And peace. What is peace? It is peace with God. Not peace,
I give it to you. It's the peace of God. It's peace
from God. And when you have peace with
God, and of God, and from God, you've got peace with men. You
can walk with God, you can walk with me. That's true. My peace I give unto you, not
as the world give I you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. And of Him are you in Christ
Jesus, who of God, who is of God, is made unto us all we need. Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification
and redemption. You care of a thing? God's given
you grace and mercy and peace. What else do you need? Tell me,
Jim, what else do you need? Grace, mercy, and peace. Well,
look at verse 3 and 4. Here's three or four things that
stand out here. Paul says it for me, stand out
here for me, you'll see other things, I'm sure. He says, I
thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with a pure conscience. Now, let's hold that right there
a minute. I serve God from my forefathers with a pure conscience.
Is Paul claiming to be without sin? Oh, no. Now, he said the
things I would do I don't do. Brother Scott said one time there's
a lot of things that I wish I hadn't have done, and a lot of places
I wish I hadn't been, a lot of people I wish I'd have never
met, and a lot of things I wish I hadn't have said, and a lot
of things I wish I'd have never could take back, But he's not
talking about living without sin. He's not talking about that
at all. What he's talking about here
is not living without fault or sin, but he has a, his conscience,
his conscience is always pure in regard to the message that
he preaches, to the gospel he believes. That's what he says.
I serve God with a pure conscience. My gospel is true. It's the true
gospel. I don't compromise it. Necessity is laid upon me. I
must preach the gospel. Woe is unto me if I preach not
the gospel. I have a pure gospel. Secondly,
my gospel is sincere. I don't practice deception. I
don't deceive people. My gospel is sincere. My gospel
thirdly is for the glory of God. Not for the praise of men. He
said, I don't covet your silver or your gold. I covet you. My gospel is for the glory of
God. And fourthly, the gospel I preach
to those who will hear it is not for personal gain or glory,
but for the glory and preeminence of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
right. I serve God with a clear conscience,
with a pure conscience. That's right. It's the gospel
you preach. It's what you stand for. It's
your commitment and your dedication and your giving everything, give it all
you've got for the glory of God. And Paul says this, and without
ceasing I have remembrance of you in my prayers day and night.
I pray for you. I pray for you. You can't preach
to people if you don't pray for them. You can't preach to people
if you don't love them. He says, I pray for you. I thank
God for you. I pray for you. I pray for you
every day, he said. I pray for you day and night.
And verse 4 said, I greatly desire to see you. What a fellowship.
What a joy divine. Leaning on the everlasting ark. What a fellowship. What a fellowship. being mindful of your tears and
mindful of your joys, mindful of your trials and mindful of
your successes, mindful of your old age and mindful of other
things. I'm mindful of you. I'm mindful
of your tears that I may be filled with joy. All right, verse 5.
When I call to remembrance the unfamed faith that's in you,
which dwelt first in your grandmother, Lois, and in your mother, Eunice,
and I'm persuaded in you too. This young man is a third generation
believer. Isn't that a blessing? A third
generation believer. His grandmother loved the gospel,
his mother loved the gospel, and he loved the gospel. And
it was a family, now watch this word here, in verse 5, verse
Verse 5, when I called to remember, it's the unfeigned faith that's
in you. It wasn't just faith, some kind
of faith. It was unfeigned faith. Unfeigned
faith is in your grandmother and in your mother, and I'm persuaded,
I'm confident in you too. What is unfeigned faith? I'll
tell you, I'll give you four statements. genuine, sincere faith, unfeigned
faith. Number one, the grace of faith,
if it's unfeigned, is implanted in the heart by the Spirit of
God. It's the gift of God and not
of man. You didn't get it down the front of the church, or in
a baptismal pool, or at a soul winner's convention. It's the
gift of God. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. If any man be in Christ, the
Spirit of God dwells in him. So unfeigned faith is God-given
faith. Secondly, the gift of faith,
if it's unfeigned, is genuine. It's sincere. It's real. And thirdly, the gift of faith,
which believes with the heart, believes unto righteousness.
It believes unto the righteousness of Christ. It has an object,
and that is Christ. Look to Christ, believe on Christ.
And then fourthly, the grace of faith, if it's unfeigned,
works by love, both to men and to God. It works by love. It's called in 1 Timothy, it's
the work of faith, the labor of love, and the patience of
hope in the sight of God. So unfeigned faith. is implanted
in the heart by the Holy Spirit. It's sincere and genuine and
it believes on Christ unto righteousness. That's its goal. Walking paths of righteousness
and then it operates and works in love, in kindness, in goodness. That's right. Let
your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father which is in heaven." I don't have any
works, I don't have any faith. That's right. But now watch verse
6. Verse 6. Paul, he had this deep
affection for Timothy. But the Apostle Paul's great
affection and deep regard for Timothy and Lois and Eunice and
these other believers did not keep or prevent Paul from warning
them, warning them. He warned Timothy, he warns you
and me, he warns us, exhorts us, reminds us to look to Christ
and continue in the faith. That's right, he said, look here,
verse 6, wherefore I put you in remembrance, this is the title
of my message, wherefore I put you in remembrance. I put you
in remembrance that you stir up this gift of God, which is
in you, by the putting on of my hands." Paul is saying here,
there are some people who depart from the faith. I don't want
you to depart from the faith. There are some people that leave
Christ deamless, have forsaken me, having loved this present
world. He talks about Alexander the copper smith, talks about
others that did him much evil. And over here in Hebrews, let
me just read it to you. You listen while I read. Now
the just shall live by faith. If any man draw back, my soul
will have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them which
draw back to perdition, but of them that believe to the saving
of the soul. So here, Paul loves this young
man and believes in him, but he still takes time. to warn
him about departing from the faith. I put you in remembrance
now, I put you in remembrance of some things. And in this message,
I'm going to give you four things that Paul reminds Timothy of. He said, I'm going to put you
in remembrance of some things. And I want you to look at these
four things with me. I put you in remembrance that
you stir up this gift of God, which is in you. That you stir
up this gift of God, which is in you. See, the Lord puts in
every believer God-given gifts. That's right. Every believer
has God-given gifts that the world doesn't have. The natural
man receives it, not the things of God. They're foolishness to
him. Neither can he know them. They're spiritually understood.
But God had given us His Spirit, understanding and discernment. And God gives us, and these things,
these gifts are not acquired by education. These gifts are
not natural, these gifts are spiritual. And God gives these
gifts of discernment, understanding, to preach, to teach, to minister
the Word, to witness the Word, God gives these gifts to every
believer. Let me show you that in Jeremiah
chapter 31. Jeremiah chapter 31. Every believer
is given the Holy Spirit, is given a spirit of understanding
and a spirit of discernment. In Jeremiah chapter 31, listen,
verse 34. which giveth the sun by night,
by day," and let's see, it's Jeremiah chapter 31, verse 34,
I'm sorry, I'm reading verse 35, in verse 34, 33 and 34. But this shall be the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord. I will put my law in their inward
parts, I'll write it in their hearts, I'll be their God, they'll
be my people. And they shall teach no more
every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know
the Lord. They'll all know me. They'll all know me. From the
least to the greatest, every believer, every child of God
will know me. From the least to the greatest,
saith the Lord. And I'll forgive their iniquity and remember their
sins no more." Every believer has the Holy Spirit and the gifts
of God and discernment and understanding. Let me show you that in 1 Corinthians
2. In 1 Corinthians 2 verse 9, listen
to this. But as it is written, I have
not seen nor ear heard Neither have entered into the
heart of man the things God has prepared for them that love him."
God has prepared for them that love him. That's everybody that
loves him, every believer. But God hath revealed them unto
us, God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. For the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what
man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which
is in him? Even so, the things of God knoweth no man but the
Spirit of God. And we have received, not the
spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that
we may know the things that are freely given us of God's." See
what he's saying? The Lord God has put in every
believer God-given gifts. We know him. He knows us. We
understand, we have discernment, and these are not natural gifts,
these are spiritual gifts. God puts them in us. Now then,
look at that next line just a moment. He said, Wherefore I put you
in remembrance, that you stir up the gift of God, which is
in you, which is in everybody, for everybody I'm talking to,
before the sound of my voice, has the Spirit of God, the gift
of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God, the presence of
God, discernment, understanding of the scriptures as we grow. But he said it's by the putting
on of my hands. Now then, in the early days of
the church, it was only through the laying on of the hands of
the apostles that the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God, was given.
We read that in the book of Acts in the early days when Paul visited
people and they laid hands on them, they were filled with the
Holy Spirit, and that was what was the apostles, those twelve
apostles had the gift to lay hands on people and receive the
Holy Ghost. We're not apostles. And those
men had the gift to impart the Holy Spirit by laying on of their
hands, and it tells us that in Hebrews 2 and 4. But we're not
apostles. And the Holy Ghost is not given
to men today by laying on my hands or yours or anybody else's
hands. It comes with the Spirit, not
by might or by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. That's
right. Now then, here's what he's saying
here. Wherefore I put you in remembrance that you stir up
this gift, that you stir up this gift which is in you, first of
all symbolically, symbolically. by the laying on the hands of
the apostles. But later on, by the baptism of the Holy Spirit,
which is to every believer, we're all baptized in the same, by
the Spirit of God, in Christ. That's right. Now you stir it
up. You stir it up. You stir up this
gift which is in you. You understand? God dwells in
us. I come and take up my abode with
you, I in them and thou in me. We may be one. We've got children. We're not strangers and unbelievers
and atheists and infidels. We're children of God, filled
with the Holy Ghost, baptized with the Holy Spirit, taught
of God. Every man will be taught of God.
They'll know me from the least to the greatest, all of them
will know me. Now stir up that gift. Stir up that gift which
is in you. stirred up by attention, stirred
up by concern, stirred up by effort, stirred up by reading,
by devotion, meditation, by conversation with other believers. Walk with
the people of God. Did you ever, when you were growing
up as a child, did you all bank the fires at night? A lot of
you older people remember banking the fire. My dad would go in,
cold winter, and he'd put ashes on the coal. Just pour a scuttle
full of ashes right on the coal. And we'd run to the bed, you
know, because the fire was out. If it wasn't out, it was covered
over with that ash. Next morning we'd come down,
get the poker out, start dabbing. There it is. There's the fire.
Just just like that. You put some fresh wood or coal
on there, that's why she's burning. Stir it up. And I know we can
get messing around with ashes sometimes. There's lots of ashes
that get, they like to mess around with ashes. And it looks like
there's no fire there. But it's there. If the Spirit
of God dwells in you, it's there. It's alive, it's alive coal right
off the altar. But now I'm telling you, and
tell me the same thing. Stir it up. Stir it up. Get busy. Get busy stirring it
up, reading the word of God, studying the word of God. Walk
with the believers. Help one another. Stir up the
gift of God, which is in you, which you have of God. Stir it
up. God gave it to you. Now look
at that verse 7. God hasn't given us the spirit
of fear. We don't fear people. We don't
fear persecution. We don't fear failure. We don't
fear demons. We only fear one, that's God.
We fear him. We fear him. But not these other
things. They can't touch you, can't hurt
you. And then he's given us not only
freedom from fear, but he's given us power. Power, not by might
nor by human ability, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. He's
given us the Spirit of love, operates within us and upon us. And I'll tell you something else,
He's given us a sound mind. That's right, a sound mind. Wisdom,
discernment, understanding, truth. I know the truth, you know the
truth. These people here have been around here long enough
to know the truth. You've got discernment, you've got a sound
mind. You've got a sound mind. God gave you a sound mind, gave
you freedom from fear, and gave you the power of his spirit,
and gave you love in your heart, and gave you a mind that's sound
in the faith. I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God, don't you? That's a sound mind. Oh, here's
the second thing. He says in verse 8, Timothy,
he's warning Timothy, stir up the gift now. And secondly, he
said, don't be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord. Don't
be ashamed of the gospel. The testimony of the Lord is
the gospel. Don't be, don't be ashamed of
the gospel. Don't be ashamed of me, the preachers
of the gospel, me, his prisoner. Don't be ashamed of me. Don't
be ashamed of those who torture the gospel. reveal the truth
of God to your heart, don't be ashamed, but be a partaker. Look at verse 8, it says, you
not only don't be ashamed of the testimony of Christ or me,
his prisoner, that fellow down there in jail for preaching the
gospel, you give thanks for him, don't be ashamed of him. But you be a partaker of the
afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. You be ready
to take your stand for the glory of God and with those who believe
the gospel. Young people, some of the fellows,
folks you associate with, don't. Just don't. Walk with people who love God.
Don't be ashamed of the gospel. Don't be ashamed of the testimony
of our Lord. Don't be ashamed of your pastor. Don't be ashamed
of these dear elders here. Don't be ashamed of these men
who teach the word of God. Don't be ashamed to put your
arm around them and say, he's my friend. He's my friend. I'm not ashamed. Now, one old
writer wrote a hymn. He said, Lord Jesus, shall it
ever be? A mortal man ashamed of thee?
Ashamed of thee whom angels praise, whose glory shines through endless
days? Ashamed of the Lord Jesus, who
has soon afire let evening blush to own a star? He sheds the beams
of light divine over this poor soul of mine. Ashamed of the
Lord Jesus, that dear friend on whom my hope of heaven depends? No, when I bless, be this my
shame, that I no more revere his name. Ashamed of Jesus? Yes, I may, when I've no guilt
to wash away, no tear to wipe, no good to crave, no fear to
quell, no soul to save. I never will be with it. Now is my boasting vain? Till then I'll boast one thing,
the Savior slain. And oh, may this my glory be,
may this my glory be, that he'll never be ashamed of me." Paul said, Timothy, stir up the
fire. Stir up the gift of God that's
in you. You know it's in you. And don't
be ashamed of the gospel. Don't compromise. Don't sell
out. Don't compromise anybody in this
world. I'll tell you who I am. I'm God's son. What I believe,
Christ is my Lord. The hope I have is to see Him,
wake with His likeness, and I'm not ashamed. Never will be. God help us. And here's the third
thing I want us to look at. Here's verse 9. Who saved us? Look at verse 9. He said He saved
us. Who saved us? The Lord Jesus
saved us. And not only that, He called
us. He called us with a holy calling. And not only that, He
called us not according to our works, not according to our righteousness,
not because of our merit. He called us according to his
own purpose and grace, when? Which was given us in Christ
before the world began. You believe that? Of course you do, if you believe
the gospel, if you believe God. He saved us. We didn't save ourselves. He saved us. We didn't cooperate.
I like what that old black fellow said. He said, how did the Lord
save you? He said, well, I did the sinning,
he did the saving. I did the running, he did the
catching. He saved me. He did it. Not according to our
works. He called us with a holy calling.
According to the good pleasure of his own will, which was given
to us in Christ before this world ever started. You believe that?
That's so. By grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it's a gift of God, not of works
that any man should boast. We're His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good work. Thank God for it. And there's
no middle ground, there's no halfway point, there's no neutrality.
It's Christ or condemnation. That's right. That's right. And verse 10 said, and this gospel
of Christ, verse 10, is made manifest by the appearing of
our Savior who came into this world in human flesh, walked
this earth, obeyed God's law, was kept in all portions as we
are yet without sin, died on the cross, was buried and rose
again, ascended to the right hand of God, and he has abolished
death And brought life and immortality to life through the gospel. Oh,
the gospel. Saving. There's just one gospel.
There's just one gospel. It has to do with his son. Concerning
his son. It's the gospel of God. It's
the gospel of grace. It's the gospel of Christ. It's
the gospel of substitution. It's the gospel that saves the
soul. And here's my closing point.
Now we're his preachers. Verse 11, I'm a part of the preacher. Not a very good one, and an old
one, and worn out, but I'm a preacher. His preacher, that's right. I'm
his preacher. I'm an apostle, not ashamed of
it. I'm a teacher of the Gentiles.
I'm a teacher telling people the truth. For the witch cause,
Paul said, I suffer these things. Nevertheless, now watch this,
I'm not ashamed. I am not ashamed. I know whom
I have believed, and I'm persuaded beyond a shadow of a doubt that
he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against
that day.