If you would please open your Bible to 2 Timothy chapter 1, 2 Timothy 1. Of course today is Mother's Day and it's a time for us to celebrate motherhood and to honor our mothers. The Bible introduces us to some wonderful mothers and grandmothers. And I'd like to have us consider today a passage that mentions both of those generations together. 2 Timothy 1. I'll begin reading in verse 1. We're going to focus on verse 5 today. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dearly beloved son, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day, 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 thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that is in thee also. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you for this special day. We remember our mothers, whether they are still living or whether they have gone on before us to heaven. To honor them, to honor the memory of them, to honor our grandmothers, to show reverence to them, especially those who had great faith or have great faith, those who know Christ and live for Him, may we honor them today. We pray that you'll speak to us from this passage. In Jesus' name, Amen. The question we're considering today is, do you have a Lois and Eunice type of faith? Now this is something really that everyone can aspire to have. Everyone here, male and female, young and old. Not just mothers and not just grandmothers. But certainly it is something that every Christian woman should aspire to have. the faith of Lois and Eunice. And all of us ought to honor those who do have such faith as these respected women did. For you see, behind many a great son or daughter is a great mother. George's father died when he was 11. The management of the vast estate and the education of the children fell on Georgia's mother, a responsibility which she fulfilled with great success. Her biographers state that, quote, to the care of his excellent and pious mother, he, George, was indebted for that education and those sentiments of heroism and principles of virtue and honor which raised him to the summit of greatness and glory, end quote. George's mother is described as a woman of, quote, singular prudence and strength of character, end quote. At a pivotal moment in George's life, his mother declined to give her consent to his joining the British Navy, despite his elder brothers obtaining a commission for him as a midshipman. For, you see, had she allowed this to happen, It would have changed the whole course of George's life, and indeed the course of world history. For you see, this widowed mother was Mary Ball, the mother of George Washington, the father of our nation, the first president of these United States. So who knows, dear Christian woman, if by divine providence you might influence and shape the life of the likes of George Washington. You might be a mother or a grandmother to such a person, or you might be a spiritual mother or grandmother to such a person, just as Paul was the spiritual father to Timothy. You might be a Sunday school teacher, or a youth worker, or you might just be a prayer warrior in the church who prays for our young people earnestly, beseeching the throne of heaven for grace upon those young lives. So do not diminish your potential to be that woman used of God to touch such a life. And so the theme we're gonna consider today is this, you can have a Lois and Eunice type of faith, and you can honor those who have such a faith. But that begs the question, what exactly is a Lois and Eunice type of faith? What I'd like us to do this morning is to consider four characteristics of such a faith that we can glean from this very verse that we're focused on today. The first thing we see here is that a Lois and Eunice type of faith is genuine. The King James Bible uses the adjective unfeigned. Other translations will render that word sincere or genuine. I'm using the word genuine. have a genuine faith. The word in the original Greek of the New Testament is actually a very interesting word. It's the negation of a word from which we get our English word, hypocrite. Originally, the term referred to an actor on the stage who would wear different masks to portray different characters in the play that they were performing in. They were known as hypocrites. actors on the stage, making believe, pretending to be someone that they were not. And so by negating this word, Paul refers to a faith that is real, that is genuine, that is sincere, a faith that wears no masks, a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of faith, the real deal, genuine faith. Do you have such faith? Is your faith genuine? If it is, then you have the faith of Lois and Eunice. Someone who has genuine faith trusts in God with their whole heart. Their profession aligns with their deepest convictions. And their lives that they live, live in light of the reality of those convictions. Bible convictions. Truth, the truth of the word of God. Now, as we look in the scriptures, we can see both negative and positive portrayals of faith. We can see phony faith. We can see faith that was weak, faith that was not genuine. For example, we might think of Lot's wife, who looked back upon the city that they had left behind, and she was turned into a pillar of salt. We might think of Job's wife, who told her husband, why don't you just curse God and die in all this misery? But there are many positive examples. genuine faith in the scriptures. Here, for example, Paul is admiring the genuine faith of Lois and Eunice. They had a genuine faith. Other women in the Bible are commended for their faith as well. For example, we could turn to Hebrews chapter 11, the great hall of faith, and there are some women who are listed there. Sarah, for instance. Sarah is in the hall of faith because, quote, she judged him faithful who had promised. I mean, she had genuine faith in God. She trusted in God's promises. Rahab is also listed in the Hall of Faith. And we're told there that she, quote, perished not with them that believed not, end quote. But she put her faith in the living God, the God of the Jews. Ruth had genuine faith. She told Naomi that Naomi's God would be her God, And the Lord used Ruth even in the messianic line. Deborah in the Old Testament demonstrated a greater faith than Barak, for she questioned his hesitation. Why would he not go into battle? She challenged him to act in faith. She confidently declared, the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And that prophecy came true. And, of course, there's Queen Esther, who bravely trusted in the God of heaven. She asked her people to pray, and then she went into the presence of the king uninvited to plead for her people. All of these women had genuine faith in God. They really trusted in God. They acted upon their faith. Their faith was genuine. Now maybe your faith is genuine and you're like that man who came to Jesus and he said, Lord, I believe, but help thou my unbelief. You know, how do we cultivate a deeper faith, a stronger faith, a genuine faith? Well, we sprinkle it with the water of the word for one thing. So be a woman of the word. If you want your faith to be genuine and strong, be a woman of the word and be a woman of prayer. and get to know your God and step out in faith instead of holding back in fear. Put your trust in the God of heaven and let Him give you confidence. In so doing, you will cultivate genuine faith and learn to trust Him more. So have a Lois and Eunice type of faith. have a faith that is genuine. That's the first characteristic. The second characteristic, a Lois and Eunice type of faith is memorable. Paul begins here in verse five, he says, when I call to remembrance, King James here is the most accurate rendering of the Greek. He's calling to remembrance. He's fondly remembering the faith of Timothy and of his mother and of his grandmother. All of these are flooding into Paul's mind as he's writing this letter. No doubt you've experienced that. When you've sat down to write a letter, well, maybe you don't write anymore, maybe you email or whatever it is. However, you might get a hold of somebody, contact somebody that you haven't communicated with for a while. And as you're composing that letter or email to them, you're reflecting on the fond memories that you have of that person. And especially if they're a person of faith. You think of their great faith. You're reflecting on those as you're writing that letter. That's what Paul was experiencing. Maybe you're writing to someone you had sat under their ministry. Maybe it's a former pastor of yours. You have fond memories of his ministry. Maybe you went with that person and you went out soul winning together and you saw people come to know the Lord. You have fond memories of that. Maybe you were there when you saw this person that you're writing to come to faith. In Christ, they came to saving faith. And maybe you even had a part in that. Maybe the Lord used you to share the gospel with them. And they came to saving faith. And that seems to be the situation here, as Paul is writing to Timothy. For Paul addresses Timothy as his son, as his spiritual son. We see it in 1 Timothy 1, verses 1 and 2 as he begins his first epistle to Timothy. He says, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, unto Timothy, my own son in the faith, he says. Also in 1 Timothy 1, verse 18, this charge, Paul writes, I commit unto thee, son Timothy. And right here, as we began to read in 2 Timothy, verses 1 and 2, he begins Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, in verse 2, to Timothy, my dearly beloved son. And in chapter 2, verse 1, he also says, thou therefore my son. So Paul looks to Timothy as his son in the faith. Paul was to Timothy as a spiritual father to a spiritual son. And by the time of Paul's beginning of his second missionary journey, Timothy's testimony had grown strong. If you hold your place here and turn over to Acts chapter 16, we can just see this commendation of Timothy's faith. Speaking of Paul, the apostle, then came he to Derbe and Lystra, and behold, a certain disciple was there named Timotheus, that's Timothy, the son of a certain woman who 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. He 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." And so we learned something from this passage about Timothy's parentage. We learned that his mother was a Jewish woman by descent, but his father was an uncircumcised Greek. And we learn that on his mother's side, apparently his maternal grandmother was also a believer. So we have Lois and Eunice, his grandmother and his mother, who came to faith in Christ. And it's interesting here, as we learn about Timothy's parentage, that his father was an uncircumcised Greek, apparently not a believer. And so really it would seem that the spiritual instruction then was coming from his mother. From his mother and grandmother. And so Paul, as he's reflecting and remembering, he's thinking about Timothy to whom he's writing, and he just has such joy as he thinks about Timothy's sincere faith and his heritage of faith that he acquired from his mother and his grandmother. If we piece it all together, it seems that Paul, assisted by Barnabas, came to Lystra on his first missionary journey, and introduced the gospel to those parts. And we're told here in 2 Timothy 1-5 that faith came first to Lois and Eunice. And so it would seem that through Paul and Barnabas's ministry, these dear women came to saving faith first. And then Timothy was saved. We don't have all the details, but it seems likely that Timothy came to faith through the witness and the testimony of his mother and grandmother. Many a child has come to saving faith through the witness and the testimony of a godly mother or grandmother. Many have been saved because their mother sat down with them and explained the gospel to them. And they trusted Christ as their Savior. And so Paul is reflecting on all this and he just has such fond memories, not only of Timothy, but of his dear mother and grandmother. It would seem that God used them as instruments. to bring young Timothy to saving faith. And so Lois and Eunice had a memorable faith. They had a faith that made an impression on young Timothy and even on the great Apostle Paul. It was a memorable faith even to the Apostle Paul. Wouldn't you like to have the Apostle Paul write about your faith? So have a Lois and Eunice type of faith and honor those who have it. Have a faith that is genuine. Have a faith that is memorable. The third characteristic, have a faith that is enduring. As we go back to 2 Timothy 1.5, I want to focus on a particular verb that's here in the verse. It says, Of all the verbs that Paul could have used, He chose a verb that refers to God or something making their home in someone. That's kind of the idea of this verb, making a home in someone. For example, Paul uses this verb in Colossians 3.16 in reference to the Word of Christ dwelling in us richly. Same verb. He uses this verb in 2 Timothy 1.14 in reference to the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. who makes his home in us. And he uses the verb here in reference to genuine faith that makes its home in a person, in the heart of a believer. So Paul is declaring that genuine faith has made a home for itself in these dear women, in Lois and Eunice. It's an abiding faith. It's an enduring faith. It's a faith that does not waver in the face of hardship or adversity. It's a faith that just implicitly trusts God. It's a faith that is on its knees beseeching the throne of heaven until the divine answer comes. It's that kind of enduring faith. She was an eminent Christian. who had earnestly besought the Lord for a son. And when she gave birth to that son, she named him Samuel, believing him to be a direct answer to her prayers. This excellent woman took upon herself the task of teaching her son to read. She homeschooled him until the age of 10. As a youth, Samuel was intellectually gifted, but spiritually disinterested. And so his pious mother prayed earnestly until Samuel gave his heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ. Following his studies, Samuel was licensed to preach, and it is said that his sermons electrified the hearers, and many professed Christ. The preacher that I'm talking about is Samuel Davies. Among those saved under Samuel Davies' preaching was the mother of Patrick Henry, with young Patrick in tow, who gained the benefit of sitting under the great oratory of this great preacher. Among his life's achievements, Davies established a school that became known as Princeton. Davies served as the fourth president of Princeton, succeeding Jonathan Edwards. Samuel Davies had a mother who had an enduring faith, and she was a mother of prayer. Praying for God to give her that son, and then praying for that son, no doubt all the days of her life. So have an enduring faith. Have an enduring faith like the faith of Timothy's grandmother, Lois. Maybe you're a grandmother, or a spiritual grandmother, or of that age. You're two generations removed from the youth of our day. And do you realize that you still have a role to play? The role of Lois, praying for our young people, ministering to them, Having an enduring testimony of faith that you live before them, that they may follow in your footsteps. Have an enduring faith of a grandmother. Have an enduring faith of a mother like Eunice. Maybe you're one generation removed from the youth of our day. And you have a role to play. Again, whether you're a mother or a spiritual mother, Whether you're an aunt, whether you're a Sunday school teacher, serving in some capacity here in ministry, or at least praying for our young people, you can have an enduring faith, the faith of a mother. I have some testimonies from my own life of a grandmotherly figure when I was a new Christian. And I can remember a Sunday when the pastor asked the young people who were serious about living for Christ to come to the front of the auditorium and form a line across the front. And he asked people to volunteer to pray, to pick one of those young people to pray for them. And the woman who selected me was a woman by the name of Anna Coptic. a grandmotherly figure in our church, an old woman. I don't think that she ever had any children of her own. But she prayed for me. She prayed faithfully for me. And I still treasure the New Testament that she gave me to carry with me to be able to share the gospel with people. I also think of a motherly figure to me, a spiritual mother. I think of the pastor's wife under whose ministry I was saved. Because it was in those days when I attended vacation Bible school that the pastor's wife took a group of us aside and shared the gospel with us, and I received Christ. And so to this day, she remains a special person to me. You can be that kind of special person to someone. You can be that Lois or that Eunice to someone, to a young person here in our assembly. So have a Lois and Eunice type of faith, a faith that is genuine, a faith that is memorable, a faith that is enduring. One more, a faith that is taught and caught, taught and caught. What we see here in 2 Timothy 1.5 is a heritage of faith. Passed down from grandmother to mother to son. A heritage of faith. A faith that was indeed taught in the home. Now we just have to go down a few verses to chapter 3, verse 14. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and has been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. And that from a child that has known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. So we learn here that Timothy had been taught the scriptures. Now, this is probably a reference to what we call the Old Testament, to the Jewish scriptures. For Timothy's mother and grandmother were Jewish women. And they had learned the scriptures from their youth. And now they're passing it on to the next generation, or two generations out. And so Timothy learned the Jewish scriptures. So that by the time the Apostle Paul and Barnabas came there, Timothy was ripe. He was ready. He was ready to receive the Messiah of whom the Jewish scriptures prophesied. And so Timothy came to saving faith. largely because he had been so taught the scriptures from the time that he was a child. By the time Paul and Barnabas came to bring the gospel there to Lystra, Timothy had been taught and taught for many, many years. and he received the gospel readily. And he went on to become a man of God who testified of the gospel to others and eventually a pastor of a church. So ladies, be sure that you are teaching your children and your grandchildren and the young people in our assembly the scriptures so that their hearts are tender to the gospel so that they can receive Christ at an early age and serve him all of their days. And so Paul exhorts Timothy to continue in the things that he's learned. He says there, knowing of whom you have learned them, And the whom there probably is a broad reference to Paul and Barnabas and Lois and Eunice. So it was taught and it was caught. That's what Paul is describing there in chapter one, verse five. It was a faith that was caught. Lois' faith became Eunice's faith, which became Timothy's faith. It's a faith that was caught. Now, of course, we need to clarify here that each person is saved individually, right? No child is born a Christian. Just because you're born into a Christian home does not make you a Christian. I heard a joke once, any more than going to McDonald's makes you a hamburger. It's not like that. Each person must come to saving faith. But God does use. Christian mothers and grandmothers. To bring the gospel to young lives. To lead them to Christ. To teach them in the scriptures. To show by their example how to live a Christian life. So that their faith is taught and caught. So have a Lois and Eunice type of faith. and honor those who have such a faith. We've looked at four characteristics. Can you remember them? What's the first one? Genuine faith. What's the second? Memorable. That's a faith that makes an impact on someone's life. What's the third one? Enduring faith. What's the fourth one? Taught and caught. Dear Christian woman, I want to encourage you today that you can have such a faith. It is possible for you. You can be that Lois or that Eunice to a young person here. You can be a woman of the word and a woman of prayer. And you can maintain a testimony of faith and trust in God. Not one who is fearful, but one who is full of faith, trusting and believing in God. Even in the midst of trying circumstances, you can have a faith that endures, that endures those things. and you can have an exemplary faith that is imparted through your word, your teaching others, and through your example, so that it's a faith that is taught and caught. And may we all honor those women who have such a faith. Let us honor our mothers and our grandmothers, but let us also honor the spiritual mothers and grandmothers who are in our midst, The women among us who live a good testimony of faith, let us honor them. Let us take our own children and point them to such examples of faith. Let us honor them all. For behind many, a great son or daughter is a great mother. Behind many, a great man or woman of God is a great mother or grandmother. who had great faith. Jonathan was the fifth of 11 children. His father was a distinguished pastor and Bible scholar. His mother was known as a woman with a thorough knowledge of the scriptures and a woman of fervent piety. She was careful to bring up her children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. She protected her children from bad company. She taught them the path to eternal life by Jesus Christ. She imparted her religion by both word and personal example. And being a woman of prayer, she constantly prayed for divine guidance on behalf of her offspring. The woman's name was Esther Stoddard. A name that is perhaps not so well known to us. But her son's name, Jonathan Edwards, is well known. Edwards is arguably one of America's most important theologians and a great revivalist preacher from the 18th century. A man whom the Lord used to, in part at least, to bring about the first great awakening. And so, dear Christian woman, Who knows if by the hand of Providence you might touch the life of the next Jonathan Edwards? Reflect on that for a moment. And aspire to have the faith of Lois and Eunice. Our Father, we thank you for this exhortation today, this encouragement. We pray, Lord, that every woman here will greatly aspire to have the faith that we have looked at this morning. And Lord, I pray for all of us to honor those women among us, those women in our lives who have such a faith, especially today. We pray, Lord, that you'll help us as we endeavor to grow our faith, to cause it to be stronger, to cause it to be more like the faith of these dear women. I pray, Lord, that you'll help us to feed our faith with your word, to strengthen it through prayer, and to grow in our trust of you. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. For a closing hymn, please take the Praise Glorious book and turn to page 96. Now this is, I think, a new song to us, but it's a fairly simple melody. And so what we're gonna do is just, you can stay seated for a moment, and I'm gonna ask Scott to play through this once so we can hear the melody, and then we'll stand and we'll sing all four stanzas. Stand together, sing number 96, all four stanzas. ♪ And he comes home again ♪ ♪ The rest of all their prayer is heard ♪ ♪ And praises run to Christ ♪ ♪ Their parents love the sacred word ♪ ♪ That leads us to the eye of the Lord ♪ Our Father, again we thank you for the example of Lois and Eunice and of the sincere faith of both of these women and of Timothy. And Lord, I pray that you'll help us to aspire to have such faith. And may our faith grow stronger day by day. May we learn to trust you more. May we live lives that have a good testimony for Christ. And may we touch other young lives and direct them in the way that they should go. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.