Good morning, everyone. This morning, we're going to continue in 2 Timothy, where we left off a couple weeks ago. But before we start, let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we're grateful for this time together this morning. Father, we're grateful that according to your wisdom and your plan, you have ordained a time when your people would gather to encourage each other and to jointly worship you together. Father, that is a blessing to us. And Father, we're grateful that you planned and commanded that for us. And Father, we're grateful for that because as we gather, we get to remember all the things that you have done for us. We get to recite them together. And Father, you have done great things for us. Father, you have redeemed us, as we just sang. Father, you've redeemed us because of your own purpose and grace, which you had in Christ Jesus before the ages began. Not according to our works, according to the things that we had done, because, Father, we know that that would have gotten us nothing but judgment from you. Father, not only have you redeemed us, but you have called us to holy callings. You have given us ways in which we serve in your kingdom. Those who should not have been in your kingdom are now appointed to be sons and daughters of the Most High and have been entrusted with the words of life. Father, you have given us an inheritance in Christ. Father, you have done so much for us, and so we love to come and to recite those things together and to worship you for them. And Father, that's why we turn to your Word this morning, is because we want to see more. We want to know more about what Christ has done for us. We want to rejoice more in how you have done great things for us. And so, Father, I pray that that would be the outcome of our time in your Word this morning. Father, give us eyes that see clearly the truths of Christ. Give us hearts that respond correctly with rejoicing in who Christ is. Father, give us wills that want to submit ourselves to what Christ would call us to. Father, as we ask for those things, we know that we need them. We need your spirit to be in our midst, because Father, on our own, we don't have those things. We can't create those things in us, but we know that your spirit can. And so I pray that your spirit would be in our midst according to your promise. And Father, I pray for myself, especially as I come to preach your word. Father, I pray that you would fill me with your spirit. Give me words that are true and glorifying to Christ. Give me words that are beneficial to those who are here listening, Father, that Christ be glorified, and those who are here would be benefited by this. So Father, we entrust this to you, and we pray this in the name of your Son, Christ Jesus. Amen. So this morning, we are going to be in 2 Timothy 1, 8 through 18. But before we jump in, I wanna go back and remember where we've been so far. And so we started Second Timothy about a month ago now, and we started with this summary statement, what I thought the book was about, what the main point of the book is. And I said that Second Timothy tells us that serving the gospel will be hard, but it's always worth it. So keep pressing into Christ. And as we go through this book, that's what we're going to see over and over again, that serving the gospel isn't easy. Paul's going to talk about his suffering. He's going to look at Timothy's suffering. He's going to say, yeah, that's how it is. But there's still great joy in it. And the way that you're going to endure to persist, to persevere, is by pressing into Christ. So we did an outline of the book. We said that this book was organized into a series of exhortations or charges. So we said that there are two sets of three charges. And the first set of charges all has to do with Timothy. And it looks at Timothy and says, Timothy, you need to be strong in the gospel. That's going to be where your strength comes from, is from the gospel. And then the second set of charges were to be strong with the gospel. Therefore, if you're strong in the gospel, then keep going. with your ministry. So we're in that first section. We did the first charge last time I was in Second Timothy, which was fan into flame the gift of God. This week we're going to do the second charge, which is, therefore, do not be ashamed about the testimony about our Lord. That's going to be our charge. We're going to do that. But we're also going to put in the examples, because the examples go very closely with the charge this time. They're going to be examples of people who weren't ashamed and people who were ashamed of the gospel. And so we're going to look at both of those together this morning. So if you have your Bibles, go ahead and pull them out and turn to 2 Timothy 1. I'll be reading verses 8 through 18 this morning, or I'll have it up on the PowerPoint if you want to follow along there. 2 Timothy 1, starting in verse 8. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony. Is it not quite right? Thank you. Therefore, I don't have it in front of me anymore, so I'm just trusting that I'm clicking the right number of times. 2 Timothy 1, starting in 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, 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 an apostle and preacher and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. 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 the sound words that you have heard from me, and the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. But when he arrived in Rome, he searched for me earnestly and found me. May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day. And you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus. So as we go through this passage this morning, this is gonna be my proposition, my main point, is this. Paul tells Timothy that he can't shrink back from proclaiming the gospel. Paul tells Timothy he can't shrink back from proclaiming the gospel when it gets hard, because that was entrusted to him by God. Instead, he needs to trust God and be ready to suffer for the gospel. He tells Timothy that he can't shrink back from proclaiming the gospel when it gets hard, because that was entrusted to him by God. Instead, he needs to trust God and be ready to suffer for the gospel. And I'll have four points this morning with kind of a fifth tag on that's really short at the end. So if we get to 2.4 and you're thinking it's going really long, .5 isn't going to take very long. Four main points. First, I want to ask what? What is Paul talking about? We're going to look at the command. What does Paul tell Timothy? Do not be ashamed about the testimony about our Lord. Then we're going to look at the why. Why is Paul not supposed to be ashamed, I'm sorry, Timothy not supposed to be ashamed about the testimony of our Lord? We're going to get the promise that Paul gives to Timothy. Then we're going to talk about how. How is Timothy going to be not ashamed? We're going to look at the exhortations that are built around that command. And then finally, we're going to look at the who. We're going to see that Paul lists several examples as we go through this passage. Several of those who were not ashamed and several who were to help illustrate what this point is about. And then briefly at the end, a lot of this is going to be directly applicable. And so you can just kind of go through, but we'll just review at the end, what does this mean for us? So let's start with the first point, the what. Look at the command. The command, as I've already mentioned, is, do not be ashamed. And so we find it in 2 Timothy 1, verse 8. And it says, 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. It starts out with the therefore. So actually, we're starting in the middle of a thought, we have to remember what happened before. And so if you can think back several weeks ago to when we're in 2 Timothy 1 verses 3 through 7, we can think about all that Paul said there. Paul had told him that he was to remember. We saw that word remember used over and over and over again as we went through 2 Timothy 1. But then specifically it says at the very end that he is to fan and to flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of hands. For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control. So he's saying, that's the sort of spirit that's filling you. And so he pointed back and said, therefore, you should be fanning into flame the gift of God, but also looking forward. If God has filled you with that sort of spirit, then therefore, you should not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord. And so we can say that specifically, but then more generally looking at everything that's gone before, we could say that Paul is saying, because you're remembering what God has done, you're fanning into flame the gift of God, and God has given you that sort of spirit, therefore, do not be ashamed. And so we keep going, come back to 2 Timothy 1, and we say, therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord. nor of me his prisoner." That's Paul's main thought here, is do not be ashamed about the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner. So we have to look at what's going on in kind of a broader sense in 2 Timothy. And so the testament about our Lord is the message of the gospel, the message that Paul has been proclaiming and Timothy has been proclaiming. But then Paul tags this on the end, nor of me as prisoner. Paul looks at this and says, you know what? That proclamation of the gospel has brought suffering. I'm enduring that suffering right now, and Timothy, you're enduring that suffering right now. And that's what's going to tempt you to be ashamed. Because of the suffering that's come through the proclamation of the gospel, you're going to be ready to shrink back from the ministry of the gospel. And so we could say that what Paul's worried about is that Timothy would want to save face by shrinking back from the ministry of the gospel when you or others are going to suffer for the gospel. It's something like wanting to hide from suffering. That's what Paul's Meaning, when he says, do not be ashamed of the gospel, he means, don't be ready to go and hide from the suffering that's going to happen with the gospel. Don't shrink back from the ministry that God's given you. So as I come to this passage, when I think of ashamed, the first synonym that pops into my mind is embarrassment. But I don't think that's merely what Paul's talking about here. There might be that included in what Paul's talking about is embarrassment, but I don't think it's merely embarrassment, like, oh, I'm embarrassed that I'm preaching this gospel. that would fit into here, but it's more concerned with actions and desires rather than just merely emotions. Paul says, when it gets hard, you can't stop, you can't pull back, you can't shrink back, you can't be ashamed and go hide from your ministry when it gets hard. And so we could start to define what is the opposite of being ashamed. The opposite of being ashamed of the gospel is to be bold with the gospel no matter the cost. And that's what Paul is going to be building to over this entire book, is the opposite of being ashamed of the gospel is to be bold with the gospel. Don't let suffering cause you to run away. That's why we read Hebrews 10 this morning, because I think we hear that same idea as we go through Hebrews 10. And so I'll just read again Hebrews 10, 32 through 39. It says, but recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings. sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those who are treated. So we get that at the beginning. Yes, this is what the gospel's like. You were suffering. You were publicly exposed to reproach and affliction. Sometimes you were just associated with those who were being reproached and afflicted. But then he says, for you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what is promised. For yet in a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay. But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. Wow, Matt, it's really easy to say persevere there, isn't it? I almost did the same thing. But have faith and preserve their souls. And so we get that same idea that the author of Hebrews looks at these Christians and says, You have experienced suffering. At first, you were glad to experience that suffering because you knew that you had a better possession, an abiding one. But there's going to be this tendency, this want, desire to shrink back from that suffering and therefore pull back from the truths of the gospel. The author of Hebrews is saying, don't do that. Don't shrink back. Continue to push forward even when it gets hard. And that's the same thing Paul's thinking here. 2nd Timothy 1 saying therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord don't shrink back Don't want to go and run and hide and get away from the suffering that you were those besides you are going to endure for the gospel So it says therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of the other ward nor of me as prisoner and if that's what he's thinking He's thinking don't shrink back then the opposite of shrinking back would be what he says next. But share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. So he says, don't be ashamed. Don't go and run and hide when it gets hard. Instead, be ready to go suffer. Stand up and take the suffering like a man, if we were to paraphrase Paul. I think he would be very glad to say that to Timothy. He says, share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. And so that's the opposite of being ashamed. Instead of being ready to shrink back when things get hard, you need to be prepared to suffer for the gospel. The fact that you might or are suffering for the gospel isn't a reason to give up. It's a reason to prepare to suffer well. And so that's Paul's second exhortation to Timothy. His first one is, fan into flame. Fill up your excitement for what God has done in Christ. And then his second exhortation is this, do not be ashamed of the gospel. When it gets hard, don't want to go and run and hide. Keep pushing in knowing that suffering is going to come. But that'll bring us to our second point, which is why. Why is Paul calling Timothy to push into suffering and not to run away when it gets hard? I want to pull four things out of this passage for why Paul is listing this for what Timothy ought to be doing. And we're going to see that this is wrapped up in a bunch of promise that Paul puts into the middle of this paragraph. Even as you read it, I hope you could hear all the hopeful promise that was at the center of this paragraph, and I want to pull out all that goes into that promise. And Paul is going to say to Timothy, why do you need to not be ashamed? It's because all these things that God has done. So I want to look at them. We'll list four of them. First, Paul tells Timothy, You need to not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord because God has appointed suffering as the way that the gospel goes forward. Because God has appointed suffering as the way that the gospel goes forward. So continuing on 2 Timothy 1.8, he says, therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel. Paul says, that's what the purpose of suffering is, is because the gospel is going to keep going forward as we suffer for it. In fact, this is something that Paul talks about a lot in his writing. He'll come to Colossians 1, 24. He'll say a very similar thing about his own ministry and says, this is why I'm suffering, this is what's happening when I'm suffering. Paul says, now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ afflictions for the sake of his body, that is the church. So Colossians, Paul takes a step back and he says, look at how the gospel came to you. The gospel came to you through the suffering of Christ. Christ suffered on the tree that you would be redeemed from sin and given to righteousness. And Paul says, I'm just filling up the little crease in corners that Christ has appointed to me so that I can bear that message to you. And it shouldn't be surprising, if that's what the message was about, it shouldn't be surprising that the messengers are going to endure the same sorts of things. And so Paul says, when we suffer for the gospel, we are suffering for the gospel. We're letting it go forward through our suffering. In fact, he's going to come back to this concept in 2 Timothy in the next chapter. He's going to say in 2 Timothy 2.10, he says, Paul referring to his own ministry again, therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect. that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Paul says, that's the way the gospel goes forward, and I'm willing to endure that suffering so that the gospel can keep going forward. So that's the first thing that Paul would say to Timothy. Timothy, this is how God has appointed for the gospel to go forward, is through you suffering for that gospel. So maybe that's not the most hopeful promise right there, but that's the first one that we're gonna see, but then it gets more hopeful after that. We're gonna see, because God has appointed, suffering is the way the gospel goes forward, but Timothy, also you should not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, because God has empowered you to endure suffering for the gospel. Timothy, God has empowered you to endure suffering for the gospel. So we'll just keep going on through 2 Timothy 1.8. It says, 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. So Paul looks at Timothy and he says, Timothy, this is what the gospel ministry is about. When you do gospel ministry, you are going to suffer. That's just a given. That's how God has designed it. When you suffer, you are helping push the gospel forward. But he's also going to say something like this. Suffering is hard. And Timothy, I know that you don't have it in you to endure it on your own. Suffering is hard. You aren't strong enough to endure that on your own, but God never expected that of you. God never expected you to endure suffering for the gospel on your own strength. You can endure through suffering because God has given you the power to endure in the gospel. So he says, Timothy, man up, share in suffering, but He's going to say, share in suffering for the gospel, not because you're such a strong man, but because you're relying completely on God's power. He says, Timothy, that's the promise that's going to keep you there and keep you rooted in the gospel and allowed to go forward with the gospel, even when it gets hard. So God has appointed suffering as the way the gospel goes forward, but God has also empowered gospel ministers to endure suffering for the gospel. But then third, and this is where Paul's gonna go through the rest of this paragraph, is he says, Timothy, God saved you, and he called you to a holy calling. So he says, Timothy, why should you not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord? And say, because God saved you and he called you to a holy calling. He's gonna say, look at all the great things that God has done for you in the gospel, and then realize that in that, God entrusted you with the gospel. He's given you that message. So how could you shrink back from it? So we keep going. We're going to move forward now. We've gone through verse 8 in pretty good detail. We're going to move into verses 9 through 14. So he says, So he's looking, partially this is reflecting back on what is the power of God. So when he says, Timothy, you need to suffer by the power of God, he wants him to look and see how great is the power of God. He says, this is the sort of power that God has shown us. He has saved us, and he called us to a holy calling. That's how great the power is. And if he's able to do that, then he's able to empower you to keep going in gospel ministry, even when it gets hard. But I think he's saying more than that, because he's going to latch on to that idea and develop that idea for the rest of the paragraph. He saved you and called you to a holy calling. Often when we get that idea of saved and called, usually it's talking about the whole of salvation. And I think at least partially that's what Paul's talking about here, especially with the saved us. But I think when he starts to talk about called to a holy calling, he is talking about generally all Christians have been called to a holy calling. We've been called to walk in the righteousness of Christ, to exhibit the holiness of God. But I think he's looking specifically at Timothy right now and says, you've been saved and you've been called to a holy calling. And he's going to say, this is the thing that you were called to. So he's going to go through, he's going to talk about how God saved us in Christ. But then he's going to look at himself and say, you know what? It says, God saved us and called us to a holy calling. And then Paul's going to tell us what his calling is. It says, God 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 which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus who abolished death and brought life and immortality to life through the gospel. Then he's gonna come back and says he saved us. He just talked about that. Now he's gonna talk about the holy calling for which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and teacher. So Paul has that in his mind when he's saying you've been called to a holy calling. Timothy, it's not an accident that you've been placed in the position you've been placed in. It's not an accident. God called you to lead there in the church in Ephesus. God empowered you. In fact, we've already seen that in the verses before. I'll actually put it up there in a second, but I'm getting to it a little ahead. Paul has already told Timothy in verse six, a few verses ago, he says, for this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God that is in you through the weighing on of my hands. He's saying you are set apart to this work. I was set apart to this work. That's the sort of calling I'm talking about. And so Paul says, that's the sort of calling, and that's what's bringing my suffering, which is why I suffer as I do. 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. So Paul says, when I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and teacher, the gospel message was entrusted to me. And I was to go out and preach that gospel message. Now, we're going to get back to why is Paul convinced that God is able to guard that? Hold that in the back of your mind, because that's going to be an important point. But we see that, I guess, still, that God has called Paul to go preach the gospel. That's been entrusted to him. That's been deposited, if we're going to use the Greek. That's going to be the deposit that's been deposited into Paul, and Paul needs to keep going forward to preach the gospel. And then he's going to look at Timothy and say, that's me. I've been called to be a preacher and apostle and teacher. I've been entrusted with the message of the gospel. Then he'll look at Timothy and say, you have to, by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit. Paul said that deposit was put into me, and I need to be faithful to that deposit. That deposit was put into you too, Timothy. Be faithful to that. I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher. Timothy, when we get to you, we're probably gonna have to cross off apostle, but you're still a preacher and a teacher. And so you've got a very similar deposit. Guard that good deposit. And so he's looking and he's saying, Timothy, this is the glory to which God has called you. He saved you and he called you to a holy calling. Like I said, I had 1 Timothy 1, three through seven. He's looking back and saying, I and the other elders laid our hands on you. That wasn't accidental. That was an incredible statement of God's calling on your life. You can't forget that. But then we come back to 2 Timothy 1, 9 through 14. He's gonna say, God saved you and called you to a holy calling, but he colors how he wants Timothy to look at that. He's not saying, well, you know what, there's a dictator that gave you a job, Timothy, and that dictator is gonna expect that you do that job. Now, there might be some truth, I wouldn't use those words, but there would be some truth to that statement. When God called you to that, you have no other option except to do that thing. But that's not the color that Paul wants to give there. He says, Timothy, God saved you and called you to a holy calling, not because of your works or anything that you could possibly do, but because of his own purpose and grace. He says, this wasn't a calling of a dictator that's looking at your life and saying, you know what? I can squeeze as much blood out of this person as I can and get work out of them. This was the calling of a loving father who has a purpose, and that purpose is a gracious purpose, to exalt his son and let us rejoice in his son. And he says, Timothy, that's the sort of call that was made on your life. When you came to the gospel, you were saved. We laid our hands on you, you were called to a holy calling. That holy calling wasn't because of you, it was because of God and his purpose and his grace. And he's had a plan that existed before the ages began. He gave us that grace in Christ before the ages began. That's the sort of color Paul wants to put on that calling. He says, Timothy, you've been called to this, don't shrink away from it. Look at the great grace, the great glory that God gave you in that calling. Then he's going to get caught up in the gospel. He looks at that and says, wow, what a great gospel. God saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. And then he's not going to be able to not finish that message. It started before the ages began. But Timothy, we're witnesses. We saw that it broke into time. It's now been manifested through the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to life through the gospel. He looks at that, he said, Timothy, that's what God has done for you. So when God calls you to suffer for the gospel, he's gonna give you the power to suffer. And this is the sort of power he has. He's got the sort of power that saved you, called you to a holy calling, and that saving and calling to a holy calling was a sort of power that abolished death and brought life and immortality to life through the gospel. So don't shrink back from that calling. Be ready to go pursue that calling because God called you to it. So why should you not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, Timothy? Because God saved you and called you to a holy calling. But then Paul's gonna tell Timothy one more thing before he gets off the way. He's gonna say, Timothy, don't be ashamed about the testimony about our Lord because God is able to ensure that which he has commanded. God is able to ensure that which he has commanded. So I don't like to talk about politics much because I get off into all sorts of things. And I'm not going to talk about politics, but there is a concept in politics called unfunded mandates. Everybody know what those are? The federal government says, you've got to go do this and this and this, but we're not going to give you any money for that. You have to do it on your own. That's an unfunded mandate, and people argue about that all the time. And I'm not jumping into that argument. But Paul is looking at Timothy and saying, Timothy, God doesn't give any unfunded mandates. God doesn't make any unfunded mandates. Timothy, if God called you to this ministry, He's gonna make sure that you have what you need to do this ministry. So coming back, I'm gonna jump into verse 11. Paul says, look at me, I've been called to a very similar ministry. He says, this is for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. One thing I know it's hard, I've got called to that same thing and I've suffered for it, but I'm not ashamed for I know whom I have believed. Then he says this, I'm convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. Paul says, the gospel message wasn't trusted to me. And he'll say other places, woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. He says, when I was given that trust, now I have a command to go and proclaim that trust. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. But when Paul looks at Timothy, he says, you've been given that command too, and I think he'd say to Timothy, woe to you if you do not preach the gospel. But then he's gonna step back and say, but Timothy, It's not up to you. That power doesn't have to come from you. I'm convinced that the God who called you to that, the God that called me to that, is able to guard until that day that which has been entrusted to us. When God called us to it, he was going to make sure that we're faithful. If we have been saved and called to a holy calling, God isn't going to give us a task that we can't do. He's going to make sure that that task is finished. And so Timothy, just keep going. You can trust God. you can trust God with him. And so Paul tells Timothy, do not be ashamed of the testament of our Lord. He gives him four reasons. One, God has appointed suffering as the way the gospel goes forward. Two, God has empowered you to endure suffering. You have the power of God, and you've been saved and called to a holy calling. And third, well, Timothy, let's think about that. You've been saved and called to a holy calling. Don't shrink back from that. And Timothy, when God called you to that holy calling, he's not going to abandon you. He's going to guard that calling until the day that he returns. So that's the why. The what? Do not be ashamed. Why? Because of all that God has done. But then Paul's going to look at Timothy and tell him how to do that as well. How are you going to be not ashamed of the gospel? How are you going to keep being bold with the gospel even when it gets hard? So that's gonna be the exhortations around this charge. Now I'm gonna summarize those in saying, Paul tells Timothy, be rooted in the gospel. Your strength is actually gonna come from the messages you carry, so be rooted in that message. So I have five ways that Paul calls Timothy, five things Paul calls Timothy to do that will strengthen him to endure suffering and be bold with the gospel. First, Paul tells Timothy, this is how you're going to be not ashamed. First, you need to trust that God will provide what is necessary to proclaim the gospel. When he says, suffer for the gospel by the power of God, he says, this is how you do it, by the power of God, instead of on your own power. First, come back and trust that God will provide what is necessary. So coming back to verse 12, he says, but I am not ashamed. He said, I've been appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, and I've suffered for that, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed. He says, I haven't been called by an aloof dictator that wants to crush me. I've been called by a king who will give me everything I need, and I'm putting my trust in that so that I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. So that's going to be the first thing, Timothy. Make sure that you trust that God will provide what is necessary to proclaim the gospel. Don't go out there and think that on your own power you're going to have what it takes to suffer well for the gospel. You're going to proclaim the gospel and find suffering, and you're going to shrink away unless you're trusting that God's going to provide what is necessary. So root yourself in that. I know whom I have believed. Timothy, make sure you know who you have believed in as well. You be convinced that he's able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to us. So that's the first thing. That's the first how. But then the second how is, as you trust that God will provide what is necessary, make sure you retain your confidence in the gospel message. Make sure you retain your confidence in the gospel message. I think in the back of his mind, Paul's thinking something like this. When proclaiming the gospel gets hard, Timothy, you're gonna be tempted to two things. You're gonna be tempted to just run away, or you're gonna be tempted to change the message to make some more people happy. He's gonna say, neither of those are okay. Both of those are just running away, just different types of running away. So he says, coming back in verse 13, he says, I'm convinced that he's able to guard until that day that which has been entrusted to me. And then he comes back to exhortation, specific exhortation. He says, Timothy, Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. He says, okay, Timothy, I've called you not to be ashamed. I've called you to trust that God will provide, and this is how you're going to do it. Go back and follow the pattern of the sound words. Go back and remind yourself what you heard from the beginning. In fact, Paul's going to come back to that over and over again in 2 Timothy. Remember what you learned from the beginning. Remember what the gospel message was. Don't let that get stale in your mind. Make sure you follow that pattern of sound words that you heard from me and do that in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. So Timothy, when your confidence in the gospel is strong, then you're going to be able to draw strength from the gospel. When your confidence in the gospel gets weak, when you start proclaiming a message that you're not sure you believe 100%, or you've forgotten some of the glories and the strengths of that message, then when suffering comes, it's gonna be easy to say, oh, I give up, I don't want that. But if your confidence in the message of the gospel is strong, if you're following the pattern of the sound words, you're reminding yourselves of those over and over again, you're keeping them clear in your mind, then that's gonna provide strength from God to endure suffering well. So that's the second how. First, trust God that he'll provide what is necessary. Second, retain your confidence in the gospel message. But then third, I wanna come back to the same phrase and say, there's more there than just remember and retain your confidence in the gospel message. Paul's gonna say, if you wanna have power from the gospel to endure suffering while for the gospel, you need to be practicing the gospel message yourself. So we come back to verse 13, and I wanna just focus on that first word, follow the pattern of the sound words that you heard from me. He says, these are the words that you heard from me. This is the gospel message that was entrusted to you. You need to know it. You need to make sure that you've got it grasped well, but also he's saying not just no, he's saying follow. Do that. Live out the gospel in your own life. If you are trying to stand and preach the gospel to a congregation, and you're not living the gospel yourself, it is going to get incredibly hard. And suffering is gonna feel like it's going to crush you. So Timothy, go back, make sure you're confident in the gospel, and make sure you're practicing the gospel. Follow that pattern of sound words in your own life. those words that you heard from me and that you found in faith and love of Christ Jesus. If you retain your confidence in those and practice those, then the gospel is going to be strength for you so that you're able to keep preaching the message even when it gets hard. So one, trust God will provide. Two, retain your confidence in the message. Three, practice the message. Don't make it a message you preach and don't do yourself. And then four, Paul's gonna tell Timothy, protect. the message of the gospel. Protect the message of the gospel. I'm back. Verse 12, Paul says, I've been given this ministry as well. I'm a preacher and apostle and teacher, and I've suffered for that. That's why I suffer as I do. But I'm not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed. I'm convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. Then he looks at Timothy, he says, Timothy, follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me and the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Then he gives him one more exhortation. by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Guard the good deposit entrusted to you. Actually, there's a fun play on words going on in this passage. Paul just said, I've been called to a similar ministry, Timothy. I've been made a preacher and apostle and teacher, and that's brought a lot of suffering into my life. That's why I suffer as I do, but I'm not ashamed, because I know who I have believed in, and I believe that he's able to guard. But if I believe that he's able to guard, then I'm gonna look at you, Timothy, and say, you better guard it. by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit. It's actually exactly the same phrase. Paul says, I've had that deposit put in me, and I know that God's gonna guard that deposit. What he's not saying is, therefore, Timothy, it doesn't matter what you do, because God's got it. He says, because we know that God's gonna guard that deposit, then we're gonna jump in and say, I'm going to guard that deposit. I've been given that deposit. I'm not gonna fritter it away. I'm not gonna let it go still, or be changed, or be corrupted somehow. I'm gonna say, well, This is a glorious message that I've been entrusted with. I'm not going to let anything harm that message. I'm going to protect that message. So it says, trust that God will provide what's necessary. Retain your confidence in the message. Practice the message yourself and protect that message knowing how great the worth is. Knowing that God's going to protect it so you can jump in with full confidence when you're trying to protect that message. But then fifth, there's one that I think we might overlook, an exhortation that Paul puts in here, and it's believe that there's a final reward. Believe that there's a final reward. And so Paul's gonna look at Timothy and say, it's hard. In fact, I've suffered a lot. Timothy, you're not even close to where I am yet. In other books, Paul's gonna say, you wanna do like some suffering games? I'm gonna trounce you all because I've got a lot more than any of you. But he says, I've suffered and I'm not ashamed, and this is why. So come to this is why, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day. He looks at Timothy and he says, This is a time of suffering. This is a time when the gospel is going forward. This is the time when we get to fill up what is lacking, which I still think is a really weird phrase, but that's what Paul says. We get to fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ. That's the time we're in now, but that's not always the time. We get to do that until that day. When Paul talks about that day, he's looking at the day when the final culmination appears, when Christ comes back in glory and establishes his kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. He said, Timothy, it's going to be hard now, but remember there is a day when it's done. Timothy, it's gonna be hard now, but God will guard, not forever, and won't be eternal suffering that God's gonna guard you for. He's gonna guard you until that day when Christ returns, and there is a great reward for those who have persisted in the gospel. In fact, that's gonna be a theme that goes through the rest of 2 Timothy as well. Paul's gonna come to that at the end of 2 Timothy again. So he wants Timothy to say, Yeah, you need to trust God. You need to retain your confidence. You need to practice that message. You need to protect that message. But here, Timothy, this is what's gonna keep you suffering for the gospel well. Believe that there's a final reward. So I just wanna come back. I think Hebrews 10 is a very good parallel passage. I wanna read that passage again because here how the author of Hebrews, which I'm convinced was either Paul or somebody very closely associated with Paul, is gonna say a very similar thing to the hearers. He says, but recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. He said, that's what fueled your suffering in the first place, is you were confident. You knew that you had a better possession, an abiding one, that was kept for you outside of your situation now. So then he looks at him and says, therefore, do not throw away your confidence. Timothy, don't shrink back. Don't be ashamed. Don't throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what is promised. It hasn't come yet. Right now is a time of suffering, but there is a time when you will receive what is promised for yet in a little while, and the coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. So the author of Hebrews said the same thing. Look, there is a great reward. Don't lose sight of your confidence. Keep going even when it gets hard. So those are the how. Timothy, I'm calling you, don't be ashamed even when you're going to suffer. In fact, prepare yourself for suffering. Share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. What is doing that by the power of God look like? First, we're going to trust that God will provide. Second, you're going to retain your confidence in the message. You're going to practice that message in your own life before you preach it to the hearers. And you're going to protect that message knowing it's more valuable than gold. And then you're going to look forward and say, it's suffering now. But it won't always be. There will be a final reward. So that's the how, but then before Paul jumps off of this idea, he's gonna say, look at people who have done this. I wanna list out examples so that Timothy, you're clear what I want you to do when I say, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord. So I wanna look at the examples. He has some wrapped up in the paragraph we've been going through and some in the paragraph afterwards. We're gonna look at four examples. We're gonna look at Paul, we're gonna look at Onesiphorus, we're gonna look at Pheidulus, and we're gonna look at Hermogenes. So break those up, we'll look first at Paul. Paul's gonna look at himself and say, Timothy, look at me, I'm an example of a preacher who has not been ashamed of the gospel. Paul holds himself up as an example often. He holds himself up in his example, not because he's perfect or he thinks that he's the standard, but he said, as much as I'm following Christ and try to follow after me, I have been empowered to do this. I've been appointed by Christ to do it, and so follow my pattern. So Timothy, look at me. I've been a preacher, an apostle, and teacher who has not been ashamed of the gospel. So this one's buried in the middle of a paragraph we've already been in, so come back to the end of verse 10. He's been talking about what Christ has done, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to life through the gospel. And he's going to pause and say, Timothy, I'm in the same boat as you. I've been appointed to a task in that gospel. I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. And he's gonna say, Timothy, I know the suffering that goes along with serving the gospel. In fact, since I've been appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, I've endured a lot of suffering. So he wraps it all up in that one phrase. He says, that's why I suffer as I do. Because God called me to a holy calling. He appointed me a preacher and apostle and teacher. That brought for me a life of suffering as I go through this world trying to proclaim the gospel. He says, that hasn't been easy. There's a few times in 2 Timothy where Paul sounds like he's lonely, like he's a little crushed and defeated, but he keeps coming back to this and saying, no, no, that's why I suffer, so I am not ashamed. He says, Timothy, I'm trying to put this into practice in my own life as well, and I'm not going to be ashamed of the gospel that I've been called to preach. Why? That's the why we already looked at, because I know whom I have believed in. And I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. God gave me this deposit of the gospel. He'll say in other places, it's like we've been called as ambassadors to Christ, proclaiming the message through us, be reconciled to God. Says that's what I've been appointed to, and that's why I've suffered, but I'm not ashamed. So Timothy, look at me. If you want an example of what it looks like not to be ashamed, it's me. I've kept preaching the gospel even when I've been thrown in prison, even when I've been beaten with rods, even when I've been carted off to Rome, even when, as I say at the end, I'm probably going to die pretty shortly here by the hands of the Roman government. But I've never stopped preaching the message. In fact, he'll say that at the end. He'll say, everyone else ran away from me, but I clearly proclaim the message. That's what it means to not be ashamed. He's gonna say, this is what it means. Friends are gonna desert you. When I stood up in my defense, none came to stand by me. He's gonna say, this person ran off, and this person ran off, and this person ran off, and this person did harm to me, but I kept preaching because I know who I have believed in. And I say, look at that, Timothy. That's an example of someone who's not ashamed of the gospel. Now, it's a great example. It's a lofty example, a hard example, one that we might read and say, I'm not sure how any of us could attain to that. And that might be a discouraging thing. I think for Timothy, it would have been encouraging because this was the guy he knew. This was the guy who was like a father to him. And Timothy would have heard that and said, yeah, he's been there too. But for some of us, that would seem overwhelming. How could I be like Paul, the guy who preached without shame before the Roman emperor? So Paul doesn't only list one example, and I love this, because Paul is going to go to the other end of the scale, and he's going to give us another example. It says, that's one way it looks when you're not ashamed of the gospel. But then he's going to come back to a second example, and he's going to say, there's other ways of not being ashamed for the gospel. Let's look at Onesiphorus. Onesiphorus, as far as we know, In scripture, he's never listed as a pastor, a teacher, but he's just a Christian. He's a Christian, but Paul highlights him and says, this is what a Christian who is unashamed of the gospel looks like. So we'll come to the paragraph afterwards, going into 15 and 18. We'll come back to 15 in just a minute. Those are gonna be a couple other examples, but then starting in verse 16, he says, may the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me. and was not ashamed of my chains. But when he arrived in Rome, he searched me earnestly and found me. May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day. And you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus. We don't know much about Onesiphorus. It's not like we have paragraphs and paragraphs of things that Onesiphorus had done. Timothy clearly was familiar with him. Paul ends and says, you know what? You know all the things he did. This is really the only thing that's recorded in scripture that he did. But Paul says something like this. Onesiphorus wasn't called to the same sort of ministry. He wasn't called to be a preacher, an apostle, a teacher of the message, but he could still be unashamed of the gospel, and this is what it looked like. When it got hard, he jumped in. He didn't run away. When it got hard, he participated with those who were suffering. He didn't leave them alone. Paul, you can hear it in the back of this. That meant so much to Paul. Paul said, look at all these people who ran away from me. All these people I thought were friends in the gospel. All these people who I thought were gonna stand beside me and they all turned away from me. And I said, oh, may the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus. But he didn't. When it got hard, he came and stood by me. When it got hard, he wanted to be identified with me and identified with the gospel. And he refreshed me, he gave me strength. And so Onesiphorus is an example of a Christian unashamed of the gospel, not one that was called to preach the message, but one that said, I'm gonna be there when it gets hard. I'm not gonna run away. I'm gonna stand beside the guy who's getting persecuted. And so there's Paul, a preacher unashamed of the gospel. There's Onesiphorus, a Christian unashamed of the gospel. Then Paul looks the other way and he says, there's also the other option. He's gonna look at Phygelus and Hermogenes, and he's gonna say, this is what it looks like to be ashamed of the gospel. So coming to 2 Timothy 1, 15 through 18. Actually, Phygelus and Hermogenes, they had really bad luck. Because Paul says, there's actually a lot of people here, I'm just gonna list two. So he says, you are aware that all who are nations turned away from you, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. I don't know what Paul listed off Phygelus and Hermogenes particularly. Maybe there are people that Paul knew very closely, maybe there are people Timothy knew very closely, maybe there's other things going on in the background. Again, we don't know, we're not told much. But he says, you are aware that all Hornatia turned away from you. When it got hard, most people left. When it got hard, they jumped ship because they didn't want to share in suffering. And that's all we're told, is that they turned away from Paul at the last minute. He's going to develop that more at the end. He's going to look at Demas, in love with this present world, who deserted him. He's going to look at others who ran off for all the reasons that Paul was alone. But he says that's what it means to be ashamed of the gospel. When it gets hard, you don't want to be associated with the person that's getting hurt. You want to get as far away from that person as possible because you don't want to share in that suffering. So he looks at that and he says, those are the two options. The gospel is going to entail suffering. That's the bedrock here, Timothy. The gospel will be associated with suffering. But you can either run towards it, loving the gospel, like me, or on a sifra so you can run away from it and try to get away from the suffering like Pidellis and Hermogenes. To be unashamed is to run towards the suffering for the sake of the gospel. And so those are the examples Paul lists. He says, look at me, look at Onesiphorus, look at Phagellus and Hermogenes, Timothy, those are the two ends. Where are you gonna go? So what does this mean for us? Hopefully, as I've gone through this, this all has been extremely applicable, but I wanna stop and think, okay, most of us aren't preachers and apostles and teachers. Actually, we can say that none of us are preachers and apostles and teachers, pretty flat down. Most of us aren't even in the preachers and teachers category. But as I said in the opening message, there are ways in which this is very easy to apply to those who have been called to preach the gospel message. But it also applies to everyone who's been given any sort of gospel ministry. And that's why I love the poll listed on a syphilis as an example here, because he brings it outside of Timothy. He says, Timothy, I'm speaking to you, so I'm going to be speaking to a preacher. I'm going to be speaking to somebody who's been called to preach the gospel message. But he also pulls in examples of those who aren't and says, this applies to everyone. And so, again, like I said in my introductory message, we need to think about what gospel ministries. Has God called me to be a father raising my children, a husband leading his wife, a mother training her children in the truth and instruction of Christ? Has he called me to be a co-worker who's sharing the gospel, a friend who comes and stands along someone in need? So we can think about all the ways in which we've been given gospel ministries, and then just take all these things and apply them to us. Say, how are we going to do that well? How are we going to do that in a way that makes us unashamed of the gospel and ready to endure suffering instead of ready to run away when it gets hard. So I just wanna pull out four things real fast. Four things, these are what we go away doing from here to be unashamed of the gospel. So first, we need to be rooted in the truth of the gospel. That's where Paul comes down to. He says, Timothy, follow that pattern of sound words. Know it and live it. Root yourself in it. If you can't do that, then it's going to get too hard, regardless of what type of gospel ministry you have. If you're not rooted in the gospel and knowing it and practicing it yourself, it is going to get too hard and you're going to run away. So that's the first one, be rooted in the truth of the gospel. And second, I think we need to rejoice in the truth of the gospel. We can hear that in Paul's words. He says, Timothy, God 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 life through the gospel. He says, Timothy, it's hard, but remember how glorious it is. This is the message you get to proclaim. Rejoice in the truth of the gospel. Be rooted in it, rejoice in the truth of the gospel, and then go out and be bold. Don't do a calculation that says, you know, right now, if I shared the gospel with somebody, or if I lived out the gospel somehow, that this wouldn't be the easiest time in the world because something would happen to me. Say, you know what, this might not be the easiest time, and somebody might not like me for this, but I'm gonna go ahead and testify to Christ right now. And it could be in big ways, you might be able to share the gospel with a co-worker all the way, or it might be in small ways and you just jump into a conversation and say, you know what, I'm a follower of Christ. And because of that, X, Y, or Z. Or it could be in all sorts of ways, but be ready to be bold with the gospel. We need to be rooted in the truth of the gospel, rejoice in the truth of the gospel, and be bold with the truth of the gospel. And then we need to do exactly what Paul told Timothy. Be ready to suffer. He said, don't be ashamed. Instead, get it in your mind that you need to be ready to share in suffering for the gospel. We need to be ready for things to be hard because we love the gospel. In fact, that's what Jesus told to his followers. He said, count the cost. Before you come, count the cost. You should be able to recognize that this isn't going to be an easy road full of roses and pots of gold as you go on to the kingdom of heaven. It's going to be a hard road. And if you forget that, if you think, you know what, things are gonna be easy here, and I really like how things are going here, you're gonna have a hard fall, and then it's not gonna be easy to keep going on. But if you keep reminding yourself, things are gonna be hard, things are gonna be hard, and I'm ready for it, then you're gonna be able to draw strength out of the gospel that you've rooted yourself in and rejoicing in, and then you'll be able to be bold with the gospel in every situation you've been put in. So kids, as we wrap up, here's our kids' question for today. His question is, why can we be bold in the gospel, even in the midst of suffering? And the answer is this, because God gave us the ministry of the gospel. God gave us the ministry of the gospel. Whatever way he's put that in your lap, and he's put it in the lap in different ways for every Christian. If you're in Christ this morning, God has given you a ministry of the gospel in some way. God gave you that ministry, and he'll provide what is necessary. God gave us the ministry of the gospel, and he will provide what is necessary. Let's pray together. Father, we're grateful for this encouragement that you had Paul write to Timothy. And Father, as we look at this, I believe that many, if not all of us, need to come before you and say, Father, there are ways in which we have been tempted to be ashamed of your message, ways in which it was easier for us not to say something or easier for us to step away. Father, as much as that is true of us, Father, we want to come in repentance and confession and say, Father, that is not worthy of the gospel that you have given us. That is not worthy of the glory that Christ deserves. So Father, we're sorry for that, but Father, we also hear hope in that. And Father, we pray that as Paul promised to Timothy, that you would guard the deposit that you gave to us. Father, that we recognize it isn't in our power, but it is in your power, that we can be true and faithful to the ministry that you've given us, that we can be true and faithful to the gospel message. So Father, I pray that you would strengthen us in that and give us boldness. Father, may we be people that are known as not ashamed of the gospel. that people would be easily able to identify us as followers of Christ. Even if they don't like that, even if they disagree with us, Father, I pray that they would be able to identify us as that. I pray that because that's what you've commanded, but I also pray that because that's what Christ deserves. I pray that you would root that in us. Let us see the glories of the gospel message and be ready to joyfully associate ourselves with it. Father in Christ, in your name we pray, amen.