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[0:00] 1 Timothy, chapter 1, I'll read the first 11 verses. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.

[0:15] To Timothy, my true son in the faith. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

[0:27] As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies.

[0:46] These promote controversies rather than God's work, which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

[1:03] Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.

[1:17] We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that law is made not for the righteous, but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.

[1:59] I have some questions for you tonight. They may at first glance seem unrelated to one another, but upon closer review are certainly connected.

[2:14] Last week we started with a long list of items and asked you to figure out how they might be connected, what they might share in common. One tonight won't make you guess, but I'll just tell you, but we're beginning in a similar way.

[2:29] Four things that may seem unrelated, but are. And the questions are these. The first is, who is God? Come on. We've been going to church for a long time, Aaron.

[2:41] We all know who God is. Okay. A bit elementary. I'll grant you that. But something that we must know and understand. Who is God? We'll get there. Who is Jesus? That's the second question.

[2:52] You see, well, I can see how those are related and that too is a little basic. Come on. Give me a hard question. Well, we're going to look at who Jesus is tonight. Maybe something we know, but something that we must understand.

[3:06] Something that is very important for us and valuable. But another question that might not seem so related. Are you trustworthy?

[3:18] Are you trustworthy? If I had a job that needed to be done, could I give it to you, assuming it's within your range of ability, and know that beyond a shadow of a doubt, barring some natural disaster or divine intervention, anyway, could I give you a task and know that it's going to be done because you are a faithful servant?

[3:37] I know that I can trust you to do it. Are you trustworthy? When you're given a message to deliver to someone, do you faithfully pass it on? If you say you're be there, do you show up?

[3:49] If a friend is in need, can they count on you to be there for them in their time of trouble? Is your word good? Do you have a reputation for these things, for being faithful?

[4:01] Do others have a reason to speak well of you? Are you trustworthy? And the last question is this, are you a good parent? Now, there are lots of definitions floating around our society today of what a good parent is, but I'm talking about a biblical parent.

[4:18] Are you a faithful parent, raising your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord? Do you tell them about God and what He's done for you when you wake up in the morning and when you walk along the way and when you lie down to go to sleep at night?

[4:30] Is God's word often on your lips, on your tongue? Are you teaching them about your faith from infancy? Are they learning the holy scriptures that can make them wise unto salvation through faith in Christ?

[4:42] Are you consistent and loving in your discipline? Are you a believer in doing your utmost to ensure that your children will be as well? Are you a good parent?

[4:54] The reason for these questions tonight is that their answers converge in 1 Timothy. Timothy. And one particular young man, and his name is the name of the book, Timothy.

[5:08] His name isn't 1 Timothy. There are two letters to him. And his name is Timothy. And then there's the first letter and the second letter to him. And we're starting on a study of the first letter to him tonight.

[5:19] And as we do, we do well to know something about the man that Paul is writing to. And so we want to meet Timothy tonight. I want you to know who he is. We're only going to look at the greeting of the letter tonight, but we're going to dig a little bit into Timothy's background so you can understand who he is and why in the world is Paul writing him a letter?

[5:37] What makes him so special? All of Paul's other letters, or most of them, are to whole churches. Why is Timothy so special that he gets one just for himself? And not just one, but two. 1 and 2 Timothy.

[5:49] And Titus is in that family too because he was a minister like Timothy or a representative of Paul. He's special. He gets his own letter. And then Philemon. He's another individual, but not a pastor.

[6:01] Or an evangelist like Timothy or Titus. So why a letter for just Timothy? Well, before we get to Timothy, we want to answer some of these questions that we've posed tonight.

[6:16] Who is God? Who is Jesus? And we'll sum up the other two. And who is Timothy? So the first question is, who is God? Notice verse 1 again with me. Paul, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.

[6:34] Who is God? Well, we've been learning about Him on Sunday mornings. Various attributes of God. But here Paul calls God something that he's not very frequently referred to as in the Scriptures.

[6:51] And it's important for us because it relates to who we are. Who God is matters to us. And what Paul tells us is that God is our Savior.

[7:04] Paul's an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior. It's a title that's usually reserved for Jesus. The Son of God. The Savior of sinners. And Paul refers to Jesus as the Savior.

[7:16] But here he calls God, a reference to God the Father, as our Savior. And that's exactly right. God is the one who has ordained our salvation from before eternity.

[7:28] From before time. He is the one who sent His Son to accomplish our salvation. To bring it to pass. Paul says of him in 1 Corinthians 1.21, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

[7:44] God was the one who saves. He is rightfully called our Savior. Paul's drawing, it seems like, here on the language of the Old Testament. We often read in the Psalms and in the prophets of God my Savior or the God of my salvation or the God of our salvation.

[8:01] Psalm 65 and verse 5, You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness. Oh God, our Savior. The hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.

[8:12] And we could look at many other such examples. And so, the first answer to the question tonight of who is God is that He is our Savior. But there's another answer. And that is He is our Commander.

[8:24] Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God. Paul was an apostle because God told him to be. And when God commanded him to be, Paul didn't say no and run the other direction. He obeyed the command of God.

[8:35] He listened to it. God was the one who gives him His instructions. Paul wasn't a man who did according to his own whims and desires, but he was a man under orders. Living his life according to the command of God.

[8:49] And that's going to be important for Timothy. We'll find as we go along that this letter isn't just for Timothy. Maybe you think, yes, a letter or a series on 1 Timothy. That's for pastors.

[9:01] Or people that are going to be pastors. And I'm not a pastor. And I'm not going to be a pastor. And so it's not for me. Wrong. 1 Timothy is for the church at Ephesus as well.

[9:12] Timothy is at Ephesus. He's with the Ephesians. And there's problems there. And as Paul writes to Timothy, he's really writing instructions for the Ephesians. When he gets over to chapter 3, he'll tell us the reason.

[9:27] If I'm delayed, he said, I'm writing these things to you, or excuse me, I'm writing you these instructions so that if I'm delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the foundation of the truth.

[9:42] If you're part of God's household, if you're part of His church, then you need to know how to conduct yourself in God's church. And so 1 Timothy is for the church, not just for the leaders of the church.

[9:55] But anyway, Paul is an apostle by God's command, and that's going to be helpful for Timothy. Because the Ephesians won't be able to say, oh, Timothy, you're just blowing smoke, and it's just you.

[10:05] It's not Paul, and it's not God speaking to us, so we're not going to listen to you. No. Paul's writing this to Timothy to give him a little apostolic backing. He's Paul's representative. Just like Paul is Jesus' representative, Timothy is Paul's.

[10:19] And whatever Timothy says carries the weight of the apostle, and that carries the weight of God's command. And Timothy's going to need that. We read the first 11 verses, and you can already see that there's trouble.

[10:31] There's endless genealogies and controversies and people that think they know what they're talking about, but they don't really know what they're talking about. And that's going to require some careful dealing on Timothy's part.

[10:42] He's going to need the command of God to take a stand. And so it's good that it comes with the authority of God. God is our Savior, and He is our commander. That mattered to Paul and Timothy, and it must matter to us as well.

[10:56] You see, if you don't have any time for God, if you reject God, you're rejecting the only one who can save you. Because God is our Savior.

[11:07] The one who is able to save us from our sins, to deliver us from our iniquity. It's He who gave us Jesus, His Son. It's He who calls His people. It's He who declares them righteous, who justifies them in His sight.

[11:21] It's God who adopts His children. It's He who is preserving them and will bring each one of them safely home. To reject Him is to reject the way of life, the way of salvation.

[11:33] To put them off until later is to put off the one who is able to preserve your life until later. God is the Savior of mankind. Do you know Him in this way? As your Savior.

[11:45] Have you cast yourself upon Him and said, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. Because I need to be saved. It matters. It must matter to you that God is Savior. It was important to Paul and Timothy.

[11:57] It must be to us. But who God is should also be significant to us because of His command. Paul was an apostle because God told him to be. Because He commanded it.

[12:07] Are you so eager to keep God's commands? For Paul, God said it and not settled it. Is it so with you? We do things because people tell us to do them.

[12:20] Kids, you take out the trash because somebody told you to. Mom or Dad told you to do it. You do your homework because your teacher told you to. We pay our taxes because the government tells us to. There's an authority there.

[12:31] We obey the laws of the land because we've been so instructed by the government. You do your work because your boss has told you to do it. We obey authorities over us.

[12:46] God has put those authorities there. We obey them as representations of His authority. And so we must ultimately be obeying His commands with everything that He's required of us.

[12:58] Anyone ever asked you why you do something? Why do you treat? Why are you so picky about your Lord's days? Why do you treat Sunday the way you do? Why is it different for you than any other day of the week? Oh, my parents make me...

[13:10] Whoa, it's because we go to church that day. That's... No, why? And at the root of it, you can say because God tells us to. According to God's command. He has said it.

[13:20] You can elaborate on that. But when it comes down to it, don't we do these things because God tells us to? Why don't you talk like the rest of us? Why don't you have a dirty mouth like everybody else at work or at school or on the team?

[13:31] Because God has commanded me not to take His name in vain, to let no unwholesome thing proceed out of my mouth. Because God commands it. It's very simple. We obey it.

[13:42] Or maybe it's more like what Paul's talking about here. Paul was told to be an apostle. God called him to this. Maybe there are some here among us wondering if God might be calling you to ministry.

[13:55] Don't ignore that call. Listen to it. Do everything in your power to determine if it is God's call on your life. Because if it is, and you ignore it and reject it, then you're disobeying God's command.

[14:08] What a dangerous thing it would have been for Paul to say, no, Lord, I'm not going to serve you. Well, that was God's call for him. He can't disobey his apostle because God commanded it.

[14:19] And should God call you to His service? Don't. Don't reject His call. Here's not the time or place to give a lesson on a call to the ministry, but if you're wondering about what it looks like, how do I know if I'm called to the ministry, come and talk to us.

[14:35] Talk to one of your pastors about it. And we'll help you. Think through some of those things because we want you to obey God's calling on your life. But it's true for whatever He calls you to do, wherever He places you, you are called to honor Him in your profession, in whatever it is that you do.

[14:52] And so you are to obey Him. Who God is mattered to Paul and it must to us as well. He is our Savior and Commander. Titles often, again, that we give to Jesus.

[15:03] Our Savior and our Lord. The One who saves us and the One who instructs us in how to live. Here, they're attributed to God the Father. That's who God is. Do you know Him as Savior? Do you obey Him as your Master and Lord and Commander?

[15:17] But the second question is, who is Jesus? Jesus, of course, is the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity. And so, elsewhere, Paul can write that Jesus is our Savior, but that's not how he refers to Him here.

[15:33] Paul gives Jesus a title that He doesn't have anywhere else in Scripture. This is the only place Jesus is called this. And I love this title for Jesus. Paul is an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.

[15:50] Who is Jesus? He's our hope. And in Scriptures, hope is a confident expectation. Hope isn't how we use the word hope.

[16:01] Maybe some of you kids are hoping that you're going to get something in particular for Christmas. And you really want it and you would really like to get it. And you hope that Mom and Dad or Grandma and Grandpa or somebody will get it for you.

[16:14] You hope, but you're not sure. You don't know if you're going to get it or not. Maybe you will, and maybe you won't, but you sure do hope that you will. That's not what Paul's talking about. That's not what the Scriptures mean when they speak of hope.

[16:26] Hope is a confident expectation. Jesus is our hope. Psalm 71 and verse 5, For you have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.

[16:38] And the surety, the sure expectation of our hope comes from that perfect finished work of Jesus. That's why He is our hope. That finished work as our priest, even as we've sung of tonight.

[16:52] Hebrews 6.19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul. Your hope, kids, that you're going to get whatever it is for Christmas isn't an anchor.

[17:03] You can't fix anything by it. It's not sure. But the hope that you can have in Christ is an anchor. Unmovable. An anchor for the soul. Firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.

[17:18] He has become a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. The reason of hope is more than just a wish. The reason that it's confident, sure expectation, is because that hope is Jesus.

[17:28] Paul said it to the Colossians. To them, God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

[17:40] If Christ is in you, you have a sure hope and expectation that you will be in glory one day. If you have trusted in Christ, who came to do that work of salvation, given Him by God, then you will be with Jesus one day.

[17:56] He is our hope. He redeemed the people given to Him by the Father. And all those who come to Him for salvation will receive it. And He's not going to lose one of the people that God has given Him.

[18:08] That's why we can be confident in our hope. A sure expectation. Jesus is our hope. He's done that perfect work of redemption. That's why we sing, my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.

[18:23] It's His work that we find confidence in. We trust in Him and we will not be disappointed. We come to Him. We will not be turned away. He is our hope. If it's built on anything else, it's misplaced and we deceive ourselves.

[18:38] So for Paul, Christ is His hope. He is for all who trust in Him. But here, Jesus is also the one who sent Him. He's an apostle of Christ Jesus. He's His representative.

[18:50] He's His messenger. It's Christ who gave him the power, the authority to speak as an apostle. It's true for each minister of the Gospel. Christ and His Gospel are the truth we proclaim.

[19:02] And that's going to help Timothy in facing these challenges. Look, I'm a representative of the apostle of Christ. This is Christ's message I proclaim to you, not my own. And so the question for you tonight is, is Christ your hope?

[19:17] Can you sing in Christ alone my hope is found? You might have a great network of friends, but hope in them will ultimately prove to be misplaced.

[19:27] You might be really smart, but to hope in your wisdom is to be a fool. You might have lots of money and say, I'm good, I'm secure, because I'm financially well off. And Paul later tells Timothy chapter 6 and verse 17, command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

[19:58] Your hope must be in Christ, not your money, your wisdom, or your friends, or anything else. Don't put your hope in your being a good person. Well, I'm okay. I'm a lot better than the people around me, and so God's going to look with favor on me because I'm better than my neighbor.

[20:15] Your good works, you'll find out in the day of judgment, don't meet that standard of God's holiness. Don't put your hope there. Your hope must be in Christ.

[20:26] Are you trusting in Him tonight? You know that hope is the reason that while we mourn for the loss of our brother Elvin, we rejoice because He had that hope.

[20:39] Jesus was His hope. His confidence. And so He's with Jesus today. And He can testify that His hope was not misplaced, but it was sure and firm and fixed.

[20:54] Jesus didn't lose that one. He won't lose any who put their trust in Him. Do you know what Paul is talking about when he says in chapter 4, this is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.

[21:06] And for this we labor and strive that we have put our hope in the living God who is the Savior of all men. And especially of those who believe. Is that your hope? The living God. His Son, our Savior.

[21:17] Jesus Christ. Can you talk about Jesus, your hope? Are you going to be with Jesus one day? That can be your confident expectation if you would put trust in Him.

[21:28] So as Paul begins this letter to Timothy, we see who God is. We see who Christ is. But now, what of this Timothy? Who is he? Well, to Timothy, my true son in the faith.

[21:42] Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, Christ Jesus our Lord. We see a couple things here. Timothy is his son in the faith and he's somebody that's in need of grace and mercy and peace.

[21:54] Timothy was beginning to be overwhelmed with the problems in Ephesus. And Paul reminds him of grace. The grace that found him in his sin. The mercy that relieves the effects of that sin.

[22:05] The pity that comes to us through Christ. And the peace that is ours because of what Christ has done. He's in need of these things. But we have to go back in time to understand why.

[22:16] What's brought him to this point? How did he get to be Timothy's son in the faith? You can turn over to Acts 16 where we first meet Timothy. Timothy. We find him on Paul's second missionary journey.

[22:32] He's traveling about to the different churches, different places, preaching the gospel. And he comes to Derbe and then to Lystra. Notice Acts 16, the first three verses.

[22:45] He came to Derbe and then to Lystra where a disciple named Timothy lived whose mother was a Jewess and a believer but whose father was a Greek. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.

[22:58] Paul wanted to take him along on the journey so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area for they all knew that his father was a Greek. Several things that we learn about Timothy here.

[23:09] He was a disciple. He was already, when Paul got there, he was already a follower of Christ. Now, how did there come to be a disciple in Lystra? That's up on the north side of the Mediterranean Sea.

[23:20] It's not in Judea. How did that come to pass? Well, in large part, I believe it's due to his mother. Back in Timothy, you don't have to turn back there, but in 2 Timothy 1, we're told that Timothy's mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois, had faith, as Timothy now does.

[23:42] We're told right here that his mother was a believer. And we're also told in 2 Timothy 3, but as for you, he's talking to Timothy, as for you, continue in what you have learned.

[23:52] Somebody had taught Timothy something. He had learned. And have become convinced of because you know those from whom you learned it. Probably a reference to his mother and his grandmother who taught him.

[24:04] You know from whom you've learned these things. And how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Timothy had a godly grandma.

[24:16] And mom. Who taught him the Scriptures. And so he came to faith in Christ. Possible that he had been even influenced by the Apostle Paul himself on Paul's first missionary journey.

[24:29] You can go back, and we're not going to spend time to do this, but you go back to Acts 14 and you read what happened in Lystra and in Derby, and it was some remarkable things. Things that wouldn't have gone unnoticed to this young man.

[24:40] Things that would have caught his attention. It's possible that he even sat under the preaching of Paul on that first missionary journey. Because it was there that Paul preached the good news. And so Timothy, likely a disciple due to his mother's influence, his grandmother's, perhaps as well due to Paul's influence.

[24:59] His teaching, his miracles, his powerful testimony, Paul's willingness to suffer, it was there that Paul was stoned and left for dead outside the city. That's the sort of thing that leaves an impression on a young man.

[25:11] But regardless, at some point, Timothy had become a disciple. He was a believer. And not just any disciple. He had earned a reputation. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.

[25:25] He was highly regarded by those that knew him. Because he had done things worthy of praise and recognition. He understood that even a child or a young man is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is good and right.

[25:40] Apparently, Timothy's conduct was good and he was known for his faithfulness. And so when Paul comes around a second time to Lystra, he sees this young man, Timothy, and says, I want him.

[25:53] I need him. I want him to travel with me. I can see him being a faithful servant. One who's going to be of great help and assistance to me. And so, off went Timothy with the Apostle Paul.

[26:08] Now imagine, a missionary comes here to our church and he gives a report on the work that he's doing and his vision for broadening that work and extending it.

[26:20] And he preaches the Gospel to us. Would he find anybody here? That has a good reputation? Who's well spoken of by all the brethren here?

[26:33] Anybody that he would want to take with him and say, you know what, I could really use somebody like that. And if he did find such one here, would any of you be ready to go with him?

[26:46] Ready to say, I'll go. I'll leave my home, the comforts of my home, everything that I have, and go for a life on the road. And I tell you, they weren't driving around in air conditioning with four-wheel drive and everything else or walking and going in ships that are prone to shipwreck.

[27:04] And they don't have all those conveniences. It's not an easy life that Paul is asking Timothy to come and be a part of. Would you be willing to go if someone came and said, I need you.

[27:14] I've heard of your reputation and I want you to come with me. And if it was one of you young people, would you parents be willing to let him go? Timothy's mom no doubt loved her son.

[27:29] She had taught him from infancy the Scriptures. Would you be willing to let one of your own children go to the ends of the earth that Christ might be glorified in the earth?

[27:41] Timothy's mom was ready and she let him go. Timothy was ready and he went. So, Timothy proves to be a faithful companion. He lives up to his reputation.

[27:54] We find him in Acts or mentioned in Paul's letters. He's with him everywhere. He's with him in Thessalonica and Berea and Corinth and Ephesus and Macedonia and Troas. Likely with him in Jerusalem.

[28:05] Paul calls him his fellow worker. He's such a close companion. He becomes so close with Paul that he's even included in many of the greetings of the letters. Paul, an apostle of Christ and Timothy to the church in.

[28:16] And that's how close he became with the apostle Paul that he's listed in those salutations. And not only did he travel with Paul to these places, eventually Paul was able to send him on his own to some of these places as his representative to take a letter with him to one of these places to encourage them to preach the gospel in some of these places.

[28:35] And that's where we find him when 1 Timothy is being written. Paul has sent him to Ephesus. He sent him as his representative. What a remarkable thing that this young man whose father probably wasn't a believer, he was a Greek, but who had been taught the Scriptures by his mother, was found faithful.

[28:53] And Paul latched onto him and he becomes his son in the faith. Paul nurtures him and leads him. And you can imagine what a thing it would be to travel with the great apostle Paul and to just sit and just soak it up and to learn what it is to preach a good sermon and to counsel someone in their need and to have this authoritative message from God.

[29:15] He's learned from his father in the faith. What a glorious thing it is. And so, he is his now representative in Ephesus. And so, Paul's gotten wind that Timothy's facing some trouble there and that's why he writes this letter.

[29:32] And so, Timothy's not exactly a pastor, but he's a representative of Paul. And so, Paul gives them some instruction. Here's some help in dealing with these problems in Ephesus.

[29:45] And that's why we have the letter of 1 Timothy. One commentator says, and these letters are likely written late in Paul's life.

[29:55] The pastoral epistles, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, probably the last three letters that Paul wrote. And one commentator says, Paul realizes that his time on earth is nearly done.

[30:06] And his mind is set upon giving guidance to those who are to follow him in positions of responsibility. And so, Paul writes to help him to...

[30:19] What a sad thing. Here's a son in the faith. The one that he loves. The one that he's mentored, discipled along the way. And to hear that he's being accosted by the Ephesians, that there's trouble in the church.

[30:32] That's not what he wants for Timothy. And so he writes to encourage him. Grace, mercy, peace to you, Timothy. What a blessing just to hear those words, to read those words from your beloved Father in the faith.

[30:44] Grace and mercy and peace. I do. I am a partaker of these things. And I have them in abundance. And to be reminded by Paul of these things. And so tonight, we've seen who God is and who Jesus is and why it matters.

[30:57] And now who Timothy is. And that should matter to us as well. Are you anything like Timothy tonight? Are you anything like his mom for that matter?

[31:09] Timothy was a disciple. Are you? Are you a follower of Jesus? Are you trusting in Him? We've seen God as our Savior tonight. Is He your hope?

[31:19] Your trust? But what about the question we asked at the beginning? Are you trustworthy? Do you have a reputation like Timothy's? You know, you all have a reputation.

[31:29] We all have one. It's a question of what sort of reputation you have. What are you known for? Is it a good reputation? A favorable one? Or a bad reputation?

[31:41] Are you known for your faithfulness to do that which has been entrusted to you? Are you like Proverbs 25, 13, like the coolness of snow at harvest time as a trustworthy messenger to those who send Him?

[31:55] He refreshes the spirit of His Master. Paul could send Timothy and be refreshed because Timothy carried out his task. Are you ever a refreshment to anybody because you're faithful in doing what God has called you to do?

[32:08] Doing the task that you've been given to do. Someone was looking for that young man that they could be trained up. Let's say we planted a church nearby in South Bend or Plymouth or Warsaw and that church had been established.

[32:23] Would anybody say there's a young man that we could send there now that that church has been established and send to pastor that church? Do we have anybody here like that that we could send? That we could trust with that task?

[32:35] Someone who has a good reputation. Would any missionary want to take you on a journey to the ends of the earth? And if they did take you, would you prove to be a blessing or a hindrance?

[32:48] It may be hard to know that. Be able to tell that. Ask yourself these questions. Are you faithful? Those are some big things we're talking about. Are you faithful with the little things? The things that are given to you to do now?

[33:00] Do you complete your schoolwork on time? Do you turn in projects when they're due? If your mom tells you to take the trash out and clean your room, is it as good as done? Your boss gives you an assignment. Do you require constant supervision to keep you on task?

[33:12] Or can he give you that assignment and know that you'll do it and do it well? Because you're faithful. Are you reliable? Have you been there for your friends during their times of trouble? Starts with the small things and grows from there.

[33:24] Are you a Timothy? Timothy, or you say, I'm too timid. I'm too shy. It's not my personality. Not my nature to be a leader like Timothy was called to be. Well, you know what? Timothy was a bit timid.

[33:35] We'll see that as we go along. He needed some encouragement, some prodding to boldness. He wasn't the strongest constituted of guys. He's prone to sickness and weakness.

[33:47] He's like, well, I'm not cut out for that sort of ministry because I'm too weak and timid. Okay, you're like Timothy. And you can be cut out for that work if it's what God calls you to.

[33:59] You can receive that benediction, that blessing of grace and mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord and find encouragement in it. Are you faithful?

[34:12] Are you trustworthy? Are any of you willing to think about the gospel ministry? Finally, a brief word for parents tonight.

[34:23] We asked that question in the beginning. Are you a good parent? Timothy had that faithful mother and grandmother taught him the scriptures. Very simply, do you teach your children the scriptures?

[34:36] Look what can come of it. Here's a man faithful and fit to serve the kingdom of God because he had a faithful mother and grandmother. And it doesn't matter if your child turns out to be a missionary or a pastor or a doctor or a factory worker or a lawyer or a computer programmer or an engineer or a business owner or a farmer or any other legitimate profession.

[35:01] Are you raising them according to the scriptures so that in whatever they do, they'll be faithful? Following their Lord and obeying His command. Are you raising them to love the Lord that you love?

[35:15] Teaching them even from infancy the scriptures. Read Deuteronomy 6 how the parents were to teach their children at every moment of the day, every opportunity they had, to use those opportunities to point your children to the Savior.

[35:32] I think there's a word of encouragement here for moms who don't have the support of a believing husband. It appears that Timothy's father was not a believer and that didn't stop his mom.

[35:43] She pressed on, teaching in the scriptures, teaching in the scriptures and look what God did. Look how He used it. Remain faithful in teaching your children the Word. It seems that don't grow weary in well-doing.

[35:56] Press on towards the goal. May God help us in these things. We can ask ourselves until we're blue in the face, am I trustworthy? Am I a good parent? And if we seek these things in our own strength, then we're going to fail on every count.

[36:08] I'm not trustworthy. I'm not. I'm not a good parent. But by God's grace, we can be these things in His strength.

[36:19] Remember who our hope is? It's not ourselves. Our hope is Jesus. It's there that we find the strength, the courage, to be someone like Timothy, whether we're a minister or a housewife or whatever God calls us to.

[36:34] Don't go about it in your own strength. Come running to Jesus and find your hope and your trust there. God is our Savior. Trust in Him. Jesus is our hope. Hope in Him. Find your confidence there.

[36:46]  And may this faithful God and Savior make us to be faithful servants, faithful parents for those of us here that have children. May God help us in these things.