It is indeed a delight to be here with you on this morning. And for those of you who do not know me and may not know who I am, I've had this happen recently as people have invited me to preach certain places and introduced me and talked about the work in Zambia. And I'll come and preach my message. And then people afterwards will say, your English is remarkable. At which point I respond, you know, I was born and raised in Los Angeles, and I know we don't speak the best English, but... Thank you. If you have your Bibles with you, open them to the book of 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy. Today is his father's day. And I know that you guys practice systematic exposition here and not necessarily deviate for things like this. But as a guest, I'm not part of the rotation. So I get to do a Father's Day message today. And it's always interesting for me. There was a story that runs around prison ministry circles. And I've had the privilege of preaching in prison on a number of occasions. One particular ministry came into the prison system in the state of Texas, and they offered the inmates an opportunity to write Mother's Day cards. And so they came and brought them cards and the envelopes, and everybody was able to do a card on Mother's Day. just tremendous participation in this endeavor. Overwhelming majority of the inmates participated in this and sent out the cards. So the group decided to go back on Father's Day and less than 10% of the inmates participated. Largely because the overwhelming majority of them did not have a father in their life. I grew up in Los Angeles, California, was born in 1969. So 70s and 80s, South Central Los Angeles, drug infested, gang infested. I remember very distinctly one day in the projects where I grew up. These two young men came to play in the field where we would play football. It was a big field in the middle of the project. It's amazing. I've gone back as an adult, and it's not as big as I remembered it. But for us, it was just a huge football field for us to play. And I remember these two young men came. I don't remember their names, but there's a couple of things I remember. One, I remember they were from Ann Arbor, Michigan. And I remember that because when they said Ann Arbor, a couple of us thought they said Antarctica, right? And we were like, we didn't think there were people, let alone black people, in Antarctica. And they said, no, no, no, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Almost as cold, right? But not quite. And the second reason that I remember these two is because we followed them back to their apartment after we had finished playing our game that day. And I wouldn't have said it then, and most of us wouldn't have said it then. But we went back to the apartment where they lived. on a number of occasions. And one of the reasons that it was so attractive to us, at least for me, was because these were the first boys that I knew whose father lived at home with him. I hadn't seen it before. I didn't know what it looked like for a man to live at home with his wife and children. It was unusual, extraordinary. I wouldn't understand until much later the implications of this. My father died in 2006. I knew my father, spent time with my father from time to time. But even though I didn't grow up with my father, when he died, there was this tremendous hole left in my life. And every man that I know whose father has passed on testifies to the same fact. How amazing is that? A person with so much influence, so much gravitas, that even when he's not involved, even when he's not presence, his death leaves a gaping hole. This position is so important that God gives it his own title. You think about that for a moment. God, who speaks, communicates to us who He is, and He identifies Himself as Father. And then He communicates the importance and the significance of the role a man plays in his household by sharing the same title. It doesn't get more significant than that. Why second Timothy on Father's Day? Verse five explains. We're gonna read verses one through 14, but I want you to see here in verse five. Paul says to Timothy, I'm reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and now I'm sure dwells in you as well. Sometimes when we read the Bible, we are taken aback, overwhelmed by what is there. But in this passage, in this verse, We're taken aback and overwhelmed by what is absent. Where's Timothy's dad? Where is he? I want to offer a word of encouragement today for men who ask that same question. Where's my dad? Where's my father? For men perhaps whose fathers have passed away, or for men who, like me, had fathers who were just plain not there, I want to offer a word of encouragement, a word of encouragement in the form of this letter. And it comes in those first two verses. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus to Timothy, my beloved child. That's where Timothy's dad is. Amen? That's where his dad is. God, who is a father to the fatherless, brought a man into Timothy's life because that's what he needed. What's so significant about this text is why Timothy needed this father figure in his life. And when you understand this letter and why this letter exists, and what this letter was designed to accomplish. It's almost overwhelming to think about. In every chapter, here I want you to see this, there's two things we see in every chapter and they're the theme of the letter and I believe they answer the question why it was so important for God to give Timothy a father figure. Look at verse Number eight. In fact, before that, first start in verse 13. Follow the pattern of sound words that you have heard from me in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Guard the good deposit entrusted to you. So here's the idea. Paul is saying to young Timothy, I want you to follow this pattern of sound words. I want you to guard this good deposit. I want you to preserve and proclaim the gospel. Look in chapter two and verse two. And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust a faithful man who will be able to teach others also. There we are again. preserving the gospel, proclaiming the gospel. Go to chapter 3 and look at verse 14. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. There it is again, preserving and proclaiming the gospel. And then in chapter four, look at verse two, preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and teaching. So in every chapter of this short letter, Paul is saying to young Timothy, preserve the gospel, proclaim the gospel, and understand why this is significant. Understand that here we are, you know, at the end of the first century, here we are, where Christ has come, he has lived, he has died, he has risen from the dead. The gospel is going forth. Churches are being planted. Peter is sort of holding down the fort in Jerusalem, and Paul, The apostle to the Gentile is taking the gospel throughout the then known world. And as these churches are popping up, Paul is playing the first century version of whack-a-mole. You know whack-a-mole, right? That game where they stick their head up and you got to pound them with it, you know, before they go down and you got to get... This is what's happening. He goes and he plants a church. and he plants another church, and he plants another church. He's on this journey. He comes back from his journey. And by the time he gets back from his journey, there's a letter waiting for him, because there's a problem in the church that he just planted. And now he's got to write back to fix what's messed up in those churches. And then he's going to go and visit those churches and plant some more churches. And by the time he gets back, there's more word that comes about problems in the other churches that he's playing whack-a-mole. I always chuckle a little bit when people say, you know what we need to do is we need to go back to the first century church. Really? Which one? Corinth? No. They were crazy. Galatia? Absolutely not. The Judaizing controversy? No. Thessalonica? Huh? No, absolutely not. That is not where you want to be. Immediately, immediately, the church is experiencing struggles, both internally and externally. You write to Corinth and you say, internally, enough already with the divisions. You write to Colossae and what do you say? Listen, these people with this asceticism, these people with these Jewish myths, these people who are combining these false teaching to Galatia, what are you writing? The Judaizers do not go in that direction. Internally, externally, the church is at war from its inception. And now as the apostles begin to be martyred, as they begin to age, as they begin to realize that they won't be there forever. As Paul's in prison, and according to chapter 4, he recognizes that this is probably the last time. It's not the first. Amen. He's what you call a repeat offender. But if you read chapter four, it's obvious that he thinks this might be his last. Hurry and come to me. Bring me the things and people that are important to me. Because I'm already being poured out like a drink over me. And what do you do? What does a father do when he knows he's at the end of his life? What did Jesus do when he was at the end of his life? When a man knows that he's at the end of his life, he gathers those under his charge and he gives them final instructions. Paul writes 1st, 2nd Timothy and Titus. These young men that he's taken under his wing, These young men who've traveled with him, who've been mentored and discipled and fathered by him and then sent out. He writes and he says, preserve the gospel and proclaim the gospel because there are attempts to pervert the gospel, both from within and from without. But there is another message in every chapter. Chapter 1 verse 8, therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. Verse 12, which is why I suffer as I do. Chapter 2 verse 3, share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Verse 9, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. Chapter 3 verse 10, You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions, and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra. Which persecutions I endured, yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus shall be persecuted." Chapter 4, verse 5. As for you, always be sober-minded. Endure suffering. Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry. There is a two-pronged thing in every chapter. Here's the two-pronged thing. Here's what he's saying to young Timothy. To young Timothy who had a hole in his life because of a man who wasn't there. To young Timothy who, for some reason, has to be reminded that God did not give us a spirit of fear. To young Timothy who has to be told, buck up, boy. He writes this letter and here's the theme, preserve and proclaim the gospel and endure the suffering that will follow inevitably as a result of doing so. In short, here's what he says. I am in prison probably for the last time. I'd love to see you. But in case I don't, here's what you need to remember when I'm gone. They are going to kill me for preaching the gospel. When they do, take my place. Both in the preaching and in the suffering. He has amazing things about this letter. One of the amazing things about this letter, again, is what's absent. Because if I'm in prison and I think they're going to kill me, I'm going to write letters too. But I'm going to write the guys who had the prayer meeting when Peter was in jail. Amen, somebody. But he doesn't do that. He does not flinch at death. He is unwavering, not because he's unafraid, but because as a man he knows You do not grab another man by his collar, look him in his eye and say, don't be afraid to die while you're quivering in your own boots. And that's this letter. Don't be afraid to die. How do you mentor and disciple a man? to a point where you can write him a letter and basically say, come and die with me. There's evidence of that here in this first chapter. We'll highlight some of these and then I'll be done. Number one, you build your relationship on the reality of God. You build your relationship on the reality of God. If you're gonna bid another man come and die, you don't build your relationship just on your hobbies. Amen? You don't do that. But look at what we have here. In those first 14 verses, we're gonna read those first 14 verses, and I want you to pay attention. There are going to be five times that he mentions God, six times that he mentions Christ Jesus, and then at the end, he mentions the Holy Spirit. In these 14 verses, there's 12 references to the Godhead in these first 14 verses. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, there's one. By the will of God, there's one. According to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, there's two. To Timothy, my beloved child, grace, mercy, and peace from God, there's two, the Father and Christ Jesus, there's three, our Lord. I thank God, there's three, whom I serve as did my ancestors with a clear conscience. As I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day, as I remember your tears, I long to see you that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and now I'm sure dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and of self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. who saved us and called us to a holy calling not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher, which is why I suffer. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of sound words that you have heard from me in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. Five times, God. Six times, Christ Jesus. And cap it all off, Holy Spirit. What is the foundation upon which his relationship with his spiritual son is built? It is the triune God. What is the root and warp and roof of the discipleship that he has poured into Timothy? It is the triune God. What is the hope that Paul has that Timothy will be able to continue on when he is gone? It is the triune God. It's God. It's God. It's God. His speech is bathed in the language of God. His heart is saturated with dependence on God. It's everything. It's everything. It's everything. Listen to me. We have so much. And it is easy for us to take God for granted. You know, when we first got to Zambia, we've been there for three years now. When we first got there, we were in the middle of massive load shedding. We had a three-day rotating schedule where we would have eight hours, 10 hours, and 12 hours without power every day. And then we'd go back to the eight-hour schedule, to the 10-hour schedule, the 12-hour schedule, over and over again. And it was amazing what that did to us, what that does to your psyche, right? Just there's no power. And every day, you know, there's going to be periods where there are no power. And one day, it was worst when we would have, you know, the evening time where there was no power, and then power would come on later in the night. And one day, Power came on, and there was this cheer that came up from the children, you know, and from us, ah, yes, the power's on, everybody's excited. And Bridget just sort of looked at me and she said, who'd have thought that we'd celebrate because the lights come on? We take things for granted. We just take things for granted. We take God for granted. In Him we live and move and have our being. How rare is it that His name is on our lips? Because we just, we just assume. We just assume. But as Pastor Kevin was saying last night, when we sang, I forget which hymn it was, it was a profound statement. You know, something like, this song is a song that you sing if you know you've only got five more minutes to live. When you know that it's the end, you don't have time for the fluff. The 7-Eleven, you know, Jesus is my boyfriend. No, uh-uh, uh-uh. If you know that it's the end, if you know that soon and very soon you are going to see the King, if you know that one day when those keys come a-jangling to your door, it's going to be to carry you out Those are the days when you don't assume God. Those are the days when you don't take God for granted. And if you are taking pen in hand to write and encourage your replacement, to be your replacement and to be faithful because the gospel has to continue to go forth, you don't take God for granted. In 14 verses, you mentioned the triune God 12 times. Because he's everything. He's everything. This is real discipleship. This is building men. Not only that, not only do we have this God-centeredness, but we have this gospel-centeredness. Excuse me, man. I'm sorry. Up here crying and snotting. I should have known better than talking about my daddy on Father's Day. I'm not sorry, by the way. But notice this. Notice what he says. Verse 8. I love verse 8 for a number of reasons. I hate the prosperity gospel. I hate the prosperity gospel. I hate what it does to people. But more importantly than that, I hate what it does to God. I hate what it turns God into in the minds of people. I hate it. I despise it with every fiber of my being, which is why I love verses like verse 8. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God." Here's the lie that the prosperity gospel says. The prosperity gospel says, if you're suffering, you need to call on the power of God because when the power of God is present, suffering has to flee. Paul says, you suffer by the power of God. He's not calling on God to be delivered from suffering. He's calling on God to be delivered through suffering. Chapter three, verse 12, he says, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus shall be persecuted. This is not our home. We're strangers, foreigners here. It's funny, you know, people always ask me, and what they want to get around to is kind of a tactful way to ask this question. You're black, so, you know, do you blend in in Africa? They'll find tactful ways to Africa. How are you received over there? Like a foreigner. When I go to the markets, you know, There is, in Jambia, what we expats refer to as the accent tax. They hear you talk, and all of a sudden, the price of this stuff goes up, right? So, you know, yeah, when I go to the market, my black skin doesn't mean a thing. I pay the accent tax, right? I'm a foreigner. And it's an amazing thing to feel like a foreigner, like an alien. And that's what we are. That's what we are. Suffer for the gospel. So his relationship is rooted in God and it's rooted in the gospel. How do you, how do you write a letter bidding a young man to come and die? It's rooted in God. It's rooted in the gospel. And he continues, by the gospel of God. What God? The one who saved us and called us to a holy calling. Not because of our works, but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. In other words, this gospel is not dependent on you. The power of this gospel is not dependent on you. The gospel does not derive its power from you. It derives its power from God. And the gospel is not new. The gospel is not recent. The gospel is as old as God. God is the gospel. He is the good news. And we suffer for the gospel, for the gospel. We are able to suffer for the gospel because of the gospel. We delight in suffering for the gospel because of the gospel, because of the good news. Because last time I checked, the death rate was one per person. Nobody gets out of here alive. But it's the gospel that gives us hope. and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, the gospel, the gospel. Everybody's going to die, but there are some of us for whom that is not the worst news in the world. Why? Because of the gospel. He brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Before that, you were a dead man walking and you didn't even know it. But the gospel has brought you life. It's an amazing thing. What can you, what do you do? I love there, you know, in Acts chapter four, when they bring in, you know, Peter and John and they've healed the lame man They're preaching in the name of Jesus, and they tell them not to preach anymore in the name of Jesus, and they warn them not to go preach in the name of Jesus. What are you warning me with? What are you warning me with? Don't preach in the name of Jesus. Yeah. Yeah, I'm not going to do that. Whether it is right to obey men rather than God, you be the judge. But we cannot but speak of what we've seen and heard. And then the text said, after they warned him again, they let him go. How do you warn him again? Well, just don't do that. No, we're going to do it. How do you? If you keep preaching in the name of Jesus, we'll take all of your possessions. Dude, this is Acts chapter 4. We gave our possessions away in chapter 2. You stop preaching in the name of Jesus or we'll put you in jail. Like when Peter was there. Stop preaching in the name of Jesus or we'll kill you. You mean like you killed him before he rose again on the third day? For me to live is Christ. To die is gain. How do you threaten a dead man who has eternal life? Paul says, Jesus brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. How can you stare down death when life and immortality have been brought to light through the gospel? Because ultimately, what is happening is this. People are saying, you have two choices, either You disobey us and live the life that is life, or you obey us and deny the life that is life so that you can enjoy the cheap imitation a little bit longer. For which I was appointed a preacher, and a teacher, an apostle, and a teacher. It's the gospel. Not only is it this God-centeredness, and not only is it this gospel-centeredness, but notice the example. Notice the example. Look at what happens here. We already saw in verse 8, he says, therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. Share in suffering. There's two sharings here. When you read this, there's two sharings. Number one, he's calling Timothy to share with him in suffering. Secondly, he's calling Timothy to share with Jesus in suffering. You see, when the Christian suffers, the Christian doesn't just suffer. The Christian shares in suffering. Number one, you share in suffering with Christ who suffered so that you might live. But you also share in suffering with all of those who have suffered so that the gospel of Jesus Christ could actually get to you. Do you hear that? When we read Acts 1.8, we're so egocentric. You receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you'll be our witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the outermost parts of the world, right? And we go, well, Jerusalem, that's where you live. Judea, you know, that's your surrounding area. Samaria, that's where those, you know, outermost parts of the world, that's, you know, Africa, Middle East, wherever. No, actually, when he said that, Jerusalem was Jerusalem. All of Judea, that actually meant Judea. And Samaria, When he said that, watch this, what he was actually referring to was Samaria. And when he said the remotest parts of the world, he meant places like America. We're not the epicenter. We're the outskirts. And the only reason we have the gospel is because there were people who joined Christ in suffering so that the gospel could reach the uttermost parts of the world and find us. But watch what he does. Verse eight, right? He's saying, you don't be ashamed. But verse three, I thank God whom I serve with a clear, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience. That's verse three. Now, look at verse 12, which is why I suffer. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I'm convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. In other words, before and after he says to Timothy, don't be ashamed, he says, my conscience is clear, I'm not ashamed, you don't be ashamed. Follow my example. Follow my example. After all, my example was, number one, to point you to God. And number two, to have you rooted and grounded in the gospel. Follow my example. And then we have these tender words appear. Look at verse three. As I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day, look at the intimacy. As I remember your tears. They cried together, I long to see you that I may be filled with joy. I'm reminded of your sincere faith. He knows his spiritual history. They have this personal, intimate relationship. In chapter three, he says, you know. You know my life. You know my suffering. You know we were together. You know, you know, you know. You know me. I know you. Stir up the gift that is in you through the laying on of my hands. I'm the one who ordained you because of what I saw in you, because of what I know is there. Look at me, boy. Look at me. And listen to what I'm about to say to you. You can do this. Do you hear me? I know you. And you know me. You can do this. Now, don't look down. Don't you dare look down. Look at me in my eyes. You can do this. Your grandmother gave you something. Your mother gave you something. I gave you something. But more importantly than that, God gave you something. Days are going to come when you absolutely refuse to believe that you can do this. And when those days come, I want you to remember me. looking you dead in your eyes and saying to you, you can do this. By the power of God, you can do this. For the sake of the gospel, you must do this. And through the presence of the Spirit of God in your life, You will do this because Christ must have the fullness of the reward for which he died. That's second Timothy. That's real biblical manhood. That's real discipleship. That's real Christianity. And it is as real today as it was then. We do not know what we will be called upon to endure. But we know that all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. And the beauty of God's written word is this, is that the same letter that was written to Timothy is written to you. And when you find yourself in that moment where you do not believe that you have what it takes to do what it takes. Remember me looking you in your eyes not on my own authority but based on this text that applies as much to you as it did to Timothy and hear me saying to you, you can do this. By the power of God for the sake of the gospel. Because Christ will have the fullness of the reward for which he died, which is why he will give you what you need when you need it, so that you might endure for the sake of his glory. and for the cause of the elect. Amen.