to gather together on Sundays and worship together and to enjoy celebrating who we have in Christ. And today's a special day. Following our service, we will have our all-church lunch, and so we certainly look forward to gathering together for that fellowship. And then immediately following that, we'll all come right back in here for a special ordination service. And we don't get to do those too often, so it's a real blessing to get to do that as Pastor Mark will be brought to you as a congregation to vote on his ordination and have that special service immediately following at 1.30 just right after the lunch. And so as we sing together, I often think about The fact that this is going on all over the world. As we sing, sometimes we'll sing a song and I'll think, oh, that's a song my wife and I spent a year in Lithuania. Well, that's a song we used to sing. there in that church or, oh, that's a song that I sang on a missions trip in Mexico or other places. Or sometimes I'll get a text from one of our missionaries or another pastor even in the province that says, hey, we're praying for your church services this morning. And it's a reminder that we are all part of the body of Christ. We have the same mission. We are worshiping the same God. However, ministry does not take place on a global scale. It happens in geographic locations. It occurs with real people who share the truth with real people as they rely on the Holy Spirit to do the work. And that has been happening over the centuries as the gospel of Jesus Christ has spread to the ends of the earth. Now, the years of Jesus' earthly ministry were rather confined geographically. The Bible records him going no farther than 200 kilometers from the place of his birth. And much of that time was spent in the region around the Sea of Galilee. Jesus taught many lessons along the shore and some even in the lake itself. On one occasion, Jesus told his disciples to get in a boat and to go on the other side of the lake and that he would join them later. And so they get on the boat, as they're in the middle of the lake, there is a storm that suddenly comes. And there are high waves. It's a terrifying time. And to make matters worse, it's night. So they're in darkness. And to their surprise, they see Jesus walking on the water. And they cry out, it's a ghost. And he speaks to them. He says, I'm here with you. Do not be afraid. Then Peter says, if it's really you, tell me to come and join you on the water. So Jesus tells him to come. Peter jumps out of the boat and walks on the water toward Jesus. What an act of faith. But when he saw the high waves around him, could feel the strong wind against him, he started to look around. He began to sink. And he cried out to the Lord, save me. And Jesus reached out his hand to hold him up. Jesus then says to Peter, oh, you of little faith. Why did you doubt? Now, did Peter have faith? Well, certainly. He got out of the boat and started walking on water. That sounds like really big faith to me. Why then did the Lord rebuke him? Well, it's because his faith didn't last. It was short-lived. When he looked around at the wind and waves, he stopped trusting in the Lord." The problem isn't a small amount of faith. For Jesus said, if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could remove a mountain. What's important is the object of your faith, not the size of your faith. You see, faith in and of itself isn't necessarily good. The object of your faith determines the value of your faith. If your faith is in a trustworthy object, then you have placed your faith in the right place. The problem with Peter's faith in the Sea of Galilee was that it didn't endure. He stepped out in faith, trusting in the right object, Jesus. But a minute later, he was distracted by other things. What Jesus wants in his disciples is a faith that endures. A faith that continues on. He wants us to be faithful. When Paul writes his first letter to Timothy, faith is one of the main themes. He even addresses it to Timothy, calling him a true son in the faith. He tells Timothy the purpose of God's commands is to have love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith. But then he adds, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk. And throughout the rest of this letter to Timothy, Paul goes back and forth between bolstering Timothy's faith and warning of straying away from the faith. In verse 18 of chapter 1, Paul tells him to wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience. And then he adds in verse 19, some having rejected concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck. In verse one of chapter four, Paul states that in latter times, some will depart from the faith. But in verse six, Timothy is charged to be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and good doctrine. In verse 12, He is commanded to be an example to other believers in faith. In chapter 5 verse 12, we learn that there are some younger widows who have cast off their first faith. And we saw last week in verse 10 of chapter 6, that some have strayed from the faith because of their love for money. So the problem in the Ephesian church is obvious. There are those who once embraced the faith of Christ, but they've strayed away. False teaching or the love of money has drawn them away from the truth. The primary concern then that Paul has for Timothy is to be faithful. To persevere in his faith. To serve God faithfully to the very end. And having just lamented the fact that some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, Paul then tells Timothy what true faith looks like. I've entitled the message this morning from 1 Timothy 6, Faithful Faith. Faithful faith. This is how faith behaves. It is what faithfulness looks like. This is the ongoing nature of the kind of faith that Jesus expects in all his disciples. Let's begin by reading verses 11 and 12, and notice the commands that Paul gives here. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life. to which you were also called and have confessed a good confession in the presence of many witnesses." Just in these two verses, we find four commands. Flee, pursue, fight, lay hold on. These verbs are all singular addressed specifically to Timothy. But instead of using his name, Paul calls him a man of God. In the Old Testament, great leaders like Moses, Elijah, and David were called man of God. But Paul is not comparing Timothy to these great men. What he is saying is that Timothy belongs to God. He is God's messenger to Ephesus. He is God's servant to this local church. Yes, his assignment came from the Apostle Paul, but ultimately from God. As God's man, he must be faithful. He has been entrusted with a job to do, and he must do it. Although you and I have not been given the same assignment that Timothy was, God has placed you where you are. You are God's man, as a husband to your wife, as a father to your children. And this isn't exclusive to men, whether male or female, young or old. You belong to the Lord. You are God's servant and you must serve him faithfully. So what does that look like? Well, the first two commands are focused on ethical conduct. Ethical conduct. Flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. As God's servant, there are some things you need to run from and other things you need to run toward. What are these things from which you should flee? Well, the immediate context would highlight the love for money in verses 6 to 10, and the useless arguments of the false teachers in verses 3 to 5. Of course, there are many other sins that you should also run from. In 2 Timothy 2.22, we find the warning to flee youthful lusts. That's what Joseph did when tempted by Potiphar's wife. He ran from the temptress. Faithfulness demands that we put a distance between ourselves and those things or even those people who will draw us away from Christ. What is it that distracts you from the faith? What passions draw your heart away from the Lord? Are there people who are trying to lead you astray? In order for your faith to endure, you must flee these things. But faithfulness isn't merely defined by what we stay away from. Paul says in place of false teaching and the love of money and other worldly lusts, we should pursue virtue. He lists six characteristics of a faithful servant of God. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness, Righteousness is simply behavior that should accompany anyone who has received the righteousness of Jesus Christ. You see, Christ not only died for us, he lived for us. He perfectly fulfilled God's law, and by grace, he offers his perfect obedience to those who believe. Paul testified in Philippians 3.9, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. It is on that basis and that basis alone that a holy God accepts us. Although sinners in practice We bear the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, God's sinless Son. And since we are righteous in position, God wants us to be righteous in our behavior. The next virtue, godliness, isn't much different. Godliness is a passion for God, a devotion for God that is demonstrated by godly conduct. We saw last week in verse 6 that godliness with contentment is great gain. After godliness, we have the word faith, and this term has a range of meaning that could include trusting in the Lord. Timothy should certainly do that, trust in the Lord. The word could also be translated, though, faithfulness, someone who is trustworthy because of their loyal commitment to the Lord. And there is really no reason to separate the two meanings in this context. A faith in Christ that continues on is faithfulness to Christ. It is a faithful faith. Next in verse 11 is love. So often Paul pairs faith and love together, for they are really inseparable. A genuine faith will love God and love others. And that is why love for money or love for anything else is so dangerous, because it draws us away from loving God with all our heart. The last two virtues also have a focus on endurance. Patience refers to enduring difficult circumstances. And gentleness is required when enduring difficult people. And each one of these qualities could be a full sermon. And this list itself isn't exhaustive. But what Paul is illustrating here is that faith works. It is active. It's not limited to the mind. No, it produces ethical conduct. After the man of God is instructed to flee and pursue, we find two more commands in verse 12. Fight, the good fight of faith. lay hold on eternal life. Here we find the word faith again. It is a fight of faith, literally of the faith. The faith refers not to an act of believing, but what is being believed. In 1 Timothy, we find the words truth and doctrine repeatedly. That's what faith is. It is truth about God. It is the truth of the gospel. It is the doctrine which accords with godliness. And what is Timothy to do? He is to fight the good fight of faith. He is to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. Jude 3. So the first two commands are about ethical conduct. This command and the next are about doctrinal conviction. Doctrinal conviction. The word fight in verse 12, both the verb and noun, are a Greek word from which we get our English word agony. Agonize in the good agony of faith. The word was used in military context as well as in athletics. If Paul is continuing the analogy of running from the previous verse, then the picture is of a marathon runner who is in agony. His heart is pounding. His feet are burning. His muscles cry out to him, wanting to take a break. And he keeps on running. He agonizes because it is a good agony, a worthwhile struggle. Timothy has been charged to stop the false teachers in Ephesus and stop them from spreading their lies that are damaging the church. And in its place, he is to be active in nourishing the church in sound doctrine. And this would not be easy. Struggling over doctrine is agony. But this is what it means to be faithful. running, keep struggling, don't quit, fight the good fight, persevere in the faith. And the next command in verse 12 is to lay hold on eternal life. What does that mean? Well, in the fight of faith, Paul doesn't want Timothy to be a casualty. Back in chapter 1, Paul mentions Hymenaeus and Alexander. These were two men who had made shipwreck of their faith. Paul was even concerned for himself. after telling the Corinthians to run in order to win, he said, and we quoted this at the beginning of the service, I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. So as Timothy strives and struggles, as he agonizes and contends for the faith, he must not lose his grasp on his own faith in Christ. And eternal life here isn't focused so much on something in the future, but rather on a present possession. Jesus said in John 6, 47, he who believes in me has eternal life. It's a present possession. John 17.3, Jesus describes what eternal life is. As He prays to the Father, He says, This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. You see, eternal life is knowing the eternal God. Eternal life is a relationship with Christ that begins by faith and then endures for all eternity. It is much more than a ticket to heaven. It is a present, personal relationship that begins here on earth and then continues forever. And in these two commands, we have both sides of doctrinal conviction. Truth and faith are both necessary. Faith in something false will not save you. But simply knowing the facts of the gospel without laying hold on them personally will also not save. Have you embraced Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? I'm not asking if you attend church or believe in God. I'm not asking if you went to Sunday school as a child. I'm not asking if you are a good neighbor or try to live by the golden rule. Are you embracing Christ as your only hope? Are you trusting Him? Do you have an enduring faith? Paul warns Timothy not to be complacent. As you run the race, don't drop the baton. Hang tightly onto it. The true faith is a faithful faith. It is characterized by ethical conduct, by doctrinal conviction, and third, by ministerial commitment. Ministerial commitment. The final command in this passage is focused directly on the ministry that Timothy has been charged to do in this letter. These are his ministerial orders. In verse 13, Paul begins by saying, I urge you, the ESV has, I charge you. This is a solemn charge as the rest of the verse demonstrates. I charge you in the sight of God, who gives life to all things and before Christ Jesus, who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate. This is to remind Timothy that this charge is really from God. Paul is the human agent delivering the message, but he does so before the witnesses of God the Father and God the Son. The actual charge then comes in verse 14. I charge you that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless, until our Lord Jesus Christ appearing. As Paul is nearing the conclusion of his letter, he charges Timothy to keep what has been commanded. Timothy is a man of God. And all the instructions of this epistle are commandments from God. So Timothy must be faithful to his ministerial commitment. He must keep this commandment, Paul says, without spot, blameless, until the Lord Jesus Christ appearing. In other words, he must complete his assignment. He must do so without fault or failure. He must be faithful to the end. So, that is what this faith looks like. It's what Paul had previously said when he told Timothy in chapter 4 to take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them. For in doing so, you will save both yourself and those who hear you." As God's servants, we demonstrate our faith by ethical conduct, doctrinal conviction, and ministerial commitment. But Paul does more than command in this passage. He gives Timothy and us the motivation to persevere in the faith. He does this by focusing our attention on the past, the present, and the future. Notice the encouraging truths about the past in verse 12. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life to which you were called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Paul here reminds Timothy of his confession. This probably refers to his baptism where he would have publicly confessed his faith in Christ before many witnesses. Paul here reminds Timothy of this. This is the same word that Paul uses in Romans 10 when he states, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes into righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation." You see, we must continue to believe. We must hold tight to eternal life. But our possession of salvation had a beginning. And it could be an encouragement to remember the time when you publicly confessed your faith in Christ before witnesses. But even before you believed, God was doing a work. Paul says, lay hold on eternal life to which you were also called. Why do you have eternal life? Because you confessed your faith in Christ. And why did you make this good confession? Because the Lord called you. In 2 Timothy 1, Paul gives similar encouragement. He tells Timothy, Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me as prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our words, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. So the ultimate assurance is not your confession, but the divine calling of implanting faith in your heart to draw you to Christ. And this is all of God's grace, not of works, lest anyone should boast. And Paul links our good confession with Christ's good confession. Look at verse 13. I urge you in the sight of God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate." What good confession did Jesus testify before the Roman governor? Well, remember the Jewish leaders arrested Jesus and accused him of claiming to be the Messiah, a king. As Jesus stood before the Roman ruler, He was asked, Are you the King of the Jews? And Jesus answered, It is as you say." Jesus testified who He was publicly in front of many witnesses at great peril to His human life. Because of this confession, Jesus was crucified, shedding His blood for my sins, and your sins, and Timothy's sins. Timothy then could have his personal faith bolstered as he kept his confession in Christ, following Christ's own confession. You see, Jesus doesn't ask of us what he was not willing to do himself. Deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow me. And you and I can because God called us to do this. So be encouraged to persevere faithfully because of what God has done in the past. Let's return to verse 13 and notice a focus on the present. Paul says, "...I urge you in the sight of God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who witnessed a good confession before Pontius Pilate." This isn't just any letter. No, the instructions in this letter make up a charge written by Paul in the presence of God and Jesus Christ. Think of Timothy reading this letter for the first time. Reading all of these commands. You think his spirit would have been overwhelmed? Go stop these false teachers. Keep all these people who are strained from the faith, nourish them up in a sound doctrine. Timothy must have been overwhelmed. And here he could read what Paul is saying, to take courage that God is right here, present with you. You are in his sight. And God is described here as the one who gives life to all things. What a powerful God. Timothy may feel weak. He may be a little insecure about his youthfulness and inexperience. But he is a man of God. And this God is the creator of everything. Everything that lives does so because of Him. And the one who stood before Pontius Pilate died. But on the third day, he arose. He later ascended to heaven, but just before his ascension, he tells his disciples, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. And that's reality for you. Brothers and sisters, living for Christ isn't easy. There is opposition to ethical conduct and doctrinal conviction and ministerial commitment. But the God who gives us these instructions and demands is also the God who gives life to all things. And He is right here with us. In our presence, he promises never to leave us nor forsake us. Our time is quickly fleeting. Paul not only points Timothy to the past and the present, he also reminds Timothy of what is to come in the future. Look at verse 14. I urge you that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless, until our Lord Jesus Christ appearing." The Greek word appearing is epiphany. It is a sudden, visible manifestation of what was previously hidden. 1 Thessalonians 2 tells us that the Lord will consume the man of lawlessness with the breath of his mouth and destroy him with the brightness of his coming, his epiphany. This refers to the second coming of Christ. In 2 Timothy 4.1, Paul says, I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing, His epiphany and His kingdom. In the midst of serving Christ here on earth, we must be continually cognizant of the promise that Jesus is coming again. And that's the motivation for obeying His commandments without spot and without blame. How long should we be faithful? Until Christ appears, Paul says. Now that could mean that your life ends before and you get to see Christ in heaven through death. He could come for us here on earth, for believers to meet the Lord in the air. So, when will He come? Look at the beginning of verse 15. Christ appearing, which He will manifest in His own time. Jesus warned his disciples that they will not know the time of these final events. He said, "'But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, but my Father only.'" Just before he ascended, his disciples asked him, "'Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel?' And he said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons, which the father has put in his own authority. Acts 1.7. So don't speculate when Christ will appear and don't listen to the false teachers who do so. Jesus tells us what to do. Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." In other words, don't wait to be faithful. Obey Christ today as you look for His appearing. And the ultimate reason to persevere in obedient faith is God Himself. He is worthy of our faith. It is a privilege to serve Him. And Paul just can't help himself. As he writes about God, God's work in the past and the present and in the future, he just breaks out into praise. Some theologians believe this could be part of an early Christian hymn. Look at verses 15 and 16. Speaking of Christ appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, and then this praise. He who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. Now there is so much here and our time's about up. I'm gonna say a little bit more about this in the next service as I give a charge to Pastor Mark in his ordination. Since there's so much here, might as well use some of the things that we had to rush through here this morning. And hopefully you'll be back here in another hour or so. But the emphasis in these words of praise is obvious. It's on the transcendent majesty and glory of God, and especially His power. Think of the power potentates, as the new King James uses that word, potentate. Think of the mighty rulers throughout history who have controlled powerful armies, and even today, the powerful militaries. Who's in control of those? Well, whoever it is. God is the one who made them. He raises them up and puts them down. God is the only sovereign. He is the king over all kings, the Lord of lords. Their powerful career may be so successful that they hold on to power for decades until they die a natural death. But God alone, Paul says, has immortality. His kingdom has no end. To Him be honor and everlasting power. And that's the God we belong to. He's the one we get to serve. He's the one we've come to worship today. He's the most trustworthy object in which you can place your faith. By God's grace, we will fight the good fight. We will finish the race. We will keep the faith. Paul did. And at the end, he could say, Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day. and not to me only, but to all who have loved his appearing. Let's bow for prayer. We thank you, Father, for your divine plan. We thank you for calling us with a holy calling to salvation. And I pray for anyone right now who in their heart is filling that conviction. We pray that you would draw any sinner who is not following Christ to your Son. That you would give them the courageous faith to believe, to repent and turn to Christ and Christ alone. Father, we're thankful that your divine plan brought Christ to earth to live a perfect, righteous life in place of our sinful lives, and then to pay the punishment that we deserve. Father, we all have sinned. We fall short of your glory. We deserve eternity in hell fire. Thank you. for your mercy and grace, that you demonstrated your own love for us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Father, we thank you of what you have done in the past. We pray that you would continue the good work that you have begun in us. that you would sanctify us, that you would strengthen our grip on the gospel. We would not be a casualty, even as we read of in 1 Timothy, of those who strayed from the faith. We will be committed. We will demonstrate a faithful faith that others may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. In Jesus name, Amen. Let's stand together and sing about our Lord Jesus who will reign forever. Let's sing together. ♪ Jesus shall reign where'er the sun ♪ ♪ Does its successive journeys run ♪ ♪ His kingdom spread from shore to shore ♪ no more. To him shall endless prayer be made, and endless praises crown his head. His name like sweet perfume shall rise, with every morning's sacrifice. People and realms of every tongue dwell on His love with sweetest song. And infant voices shall proclaim Their early blessings on His name. Let every creature rise and bring ♪ Honor and glory to our King ♪ ♪ Angels descend with songs again ♪ ♪ And earth repeat the loud amen ♪ And before we go to fellowship, let's just thank the Lord for the meal we're about to partake of. Father, we're thankful for the opportunity to fellowship together. We've worshipped you. We look forward again to uniting together in just another hour to sing praises and to to worship you. Father, we're thankful for the meal that's been prepared for all those that have worked so hard to provide this opportunity for fellowship. We pray that the hearts of your people will be encouraged, that each one of us will minister, will stir up love and good works in one another here this afternoon. Blessed be the one and only sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality dwelling in unapproachable light. whom no man has seen or can see, to him be honor and everlasting power. Amen. you