3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.<\/p>\n
So, we go on with the study of the book of Second Timothy. We have started with the introduction of the book. We have seen who the writer is, and we have also seen who it is addressed to. Before he can talk about many other things, he starts with a prayer for the person he is writing to. And he says:<\/p>\n
3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.<\/p>\n
His prayer is to recall and thank God because of who the target of his letter is. Those are very good things for anybody to say about you. But even more importantly, he says that he prays for him all the time. "'\u0080\u00a6.. I constantly remember you in prayers." I hope you have such a prayer partner who doesn't just pray when things are bad; he prays for you constantly. Paul is telling Timothy, "Be aware, you are my constant prayer item. I don't pray for you once in a while; I pray for you without ceasing, constantly."<\/p>\n
I pray that you also have people in your life who are on your prayer list, whom you are taking before God. Paul knew prayer works'\u2014but prayer is work also'\u2014and that as you pray for this young man, even when you are away from him, God is answering your prayers in positive ways to help this young man be better in his ministry. Make it a regular practice to pray for people whom God places in your heart. Mention them to God in prayer, but especially be thankful about them'\u2014about the things God is doing in their life. So, these prayers are constant, so that should teach us a lesson about prayer life being a constant thing.<\/p>\n
4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy<\/p>\n
But the other thing we hear is that Paul does so night and day. Isn't that wonderful? There are some of us who pray only at night. Paul says he takes Timothy to God night and day. That tells you he was a real '\u0080\u0098prayerer'' or intercessor'\u2014whichever word you want to use. Whether it is night or day, he is on his knees for this young man. That is mentoring via prayer<\/p>\n
Of course, you might think because he was so close to God, praying for him was normal. But, in this particular instance, he is actually in prison. Can you imagine? Many of us, when we have our own trouble, we find it very difficult to pray for others, because it is we who need prayers. Paul, out of prison, is telling Timothy, "I am the one praying for you constantly." Have you seen yourself that when you are in real trouble, you feel like wanting everybody to stop all the activities to just be with you'\u2014stop all their activities so that you feel that you are loved because they have abandoned everything for your sake? But maturity is seen in Paul. The one in trouble is the one praying for others to continue the ministry rather than stop it or his sake.<\/p>\n
And I think that is a lesson we all really need to learn: that this imprisoned person is not so self-centered, so taken up by his needs, that he forgets to pray for others, which of course would be a very unfortunate thing. However, I have noted that when I am in trouble, I find it very difficult to pray for others. This is a challenge to me'\u2014that my troubles, once I give them over to God in prayer, I should then turn to praying for others who may not be sick, they may not be in prison, but they have their challenges. I should not see my challenges being so big so that other people's challenges look minuscule. What is that? You don't even need to pray about such small problems like the ones they have!!! Let us see the needs of others as important, and so, like Paul, remember them in prayer day and night.<\/p>\n
keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander<\/p>\n
Paul says "I thank God whom I serve as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience." May that be something that we will take as a good example for us.<\/p>\n
I think Paul must be admired by all of us, that he would really be concerned about others who are not in prison. You know, he needed to preach, but now he was imprisoned. Now, that imprisonment doesn't mean we stop ministry. He turns to prayer and writing messages or letters that will disciple the people out there so that they can continue the work God has given them. Prayer is also ministry.<\/p>\n
But I thought it strange that in verse four, he is actually telling Timothy, "recalling your tears." In other words, "I feel your pain." I don't know exactly what these tears were about and why they were being shed, but these are tears that Paul had witnessed the last time they were together. And he is certainly mindful of the tears of Timothy. Again, telling you clearly that he is feeling other people's pain. He is concerned about other people's pains generally.<\/p>\n
Do you feel other people's tears? "Recalling your tears?" Do you even bother to remember the pain and the tears people are going through even when you yourself have your pain?<\/p>\n
But you know, even with that in mind,he goes on to say "I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy." Remember, this is a person in trouble, and he remembers his tears, but he's missing him. I've written a book called Friendship, and I argue that you really are not somebody's friend if you don't miss them. I use a Kikuyu saying that says, "Friendship can only be proved by missing each other enough to want to visit each other."Ndugu Ni Makinya . And you can see Paul was really a friend of this mentee because he is saying, "I remember your tears and I miss you. I'd like to spend time with you. I'd like to have fellowship with you." Meeting you would give me joy. I am aware that when I do so, I'll be filled with joy. Meeting you any time just gives me joy. And I think that that's something that is important for of us.<\/p>\n
5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.<\/p>\n
Let me ask you: Does fellowshipping with other Christians give you joy? Do your reunions make your adrenaline move? You feel wonderful that the people have come to see you or you have gone to see them. That's reunion. Paul is saying, "I look forward to meeting you. When I meet you, I know I'll be filled with joy." That tells you Paul is genuinely happy with the thought of Timothy and is praying that he would have a chance to meet this young man again.<\/p>\n
And in the process, remember the faith that he had. He admired this mentee's faith and the way he loved and served his Savior, Jesus Christ, but also the way he ministered to God's people. These were the things that are filling him with joy. He looked forward to coming and hearing more testimonies,hence recalling your tears. "I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy." So, remember, we are still in Paul''s prayers. So, the prayer is constant; it is regular. And this prayer reminds him of his love for the young man and looks forward to to when they would be able to meet so that his joy would be filled.<\/p>\n
But thirdly, he says in verse five: "I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also."<\/p>\n
You see, before asking God for anything for this young man, he just thinks: What do I thank God about in this young man? First his faith. That's what he's remembering. "I'm reminded of your sincere faith." That means you can have faith, but it's not sincere. He's reminded of Timothy''s sincere faith. Are you encouraged when you see people you have led to the Lord so committed to the things of God?<\/p>\n
But I'm also happy to see in his prayer,that he acknowledges that before leading this young man to God, there are others who had laid ground '\u2014who had prepared the ground for this man to be who he was. So he recognizes the grandmother and he recognizes the mother, Lois and Eunice, as part of the process that brought this Timothy's genuine faith. You know, that's why you need to be careful before calling anybody a "son." By the time you led him to the Lord, he had listened to many sermons. Many people played a role. Please recognize: God used you, yes, but God had used other people to bring him to the position where you "harvested" him for the Kingdom of God. It's God who does it. Like elsewhere, when that debate came, "Is it Apollos?", he said, "No, no, no, no. Paul planted, Apollos watered, but the critical thing is God gave the increase."<\/p>\n
6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.<\/p>\n
So, he's saying, "Yes, I know I played a big part of your life, but there was your mother and grandmother work in growing this genuine faith." In the way they brought you up, the way they practiced their faith before you, contributed to your putting your trust in God. You know, this is a very important thing to note. Remember, the father of Timothy is not even a Christian, but Timothy and his family come from the city of Lystra, which you know, in the book of Acts, was one of the places Paul preached right from his first missionary journey in Acts chapter 14.<\/p>\n
When Paul and Barnabas were in that city of Lystra, God used Paul to miraculously heal a crippled man. Maybe the small boy Timothy was watching. You know, at that point, if you remember the story, the city was so impressed with the healing and the miracle that they wanted to worship Paul and Barnabas. They now assumed that Paul and Barnabas were Greek gods from Olympus, and they were just about to sacrifice to these gods. You know, Paul had to struggle to stop them from worshipping them. And you know, that attention may also be the one that caused some Jews to become envious and start stirring the city so that Paul''s team got the trouble they got into. So, the crowd changed from one of cheering to one of jeering within a very short time.<\/p>\n
Maybe the small Timothy is still watching as he sees the things God can do, but also the opposition you may have to face. if you remember the story, they actually stoned him and casted Paul out of the city. I guess Timothy is still watching. And lo and behold, despite all the destruction the enemy wanted, Paul survived so that he was able to continue to other cities and do ministry. So that's an introduction of the Christian faith to this young boy Timothy.<\/p>\n
But later in Acts 16, Paul has a second missionary journey and again he comes to Lystra. And that's when we now notice this young man called Timothy who is already now born again and very devoted to serving the Lord. So, he is part of the young church that was established during the first missionary journey. The young man is called Timothy. And now you can understand Paul knows him and knows that his mother and his grandmother are people who trusted in God totally, and therefore could not at the same time oppose the things of God. So, they all had helped the boy to become who he now became.<\/p>\n
But please understand, like I said earlier: although the mother and grandmother are Jews who trust in God, his father is still Greek. So, can you see then the great work of mothers? Even when the father does not play the priestly role that a father should be playing, God can still use the women to help a boy like this to be appointed to the faith ministry. I guess it''s a combination of the way they talk and the way they live'\u2014both the mother and the grandmother who are believers. Of course, maybe at a later time the Greek father may have come to know the Lord, but that's not recorded. We don't know about that.<\/p>\n
In the world of that time'\u2014the Roman world'\u2014fathers had absolute authority over the family. And since Timothy's father was not a Christian, it just tells you his faith must have been challenged; not quite an ideal home for a pastor to come from. But who is God? He is able to work through all barriers to produce a pastor in this young boy, Timothy. It's because He uses his mother and grandmother and all of them are now in the church, are born again and grounded in their faith in Jesus Christ. So, may that challenge our family life as we read this story; may that challenge us to ask: Are we helping our children to grow in the faith?<\/p>\n
Better still: Are fathers playing their roles as priests in their own home, so that even when a boy becomes bishop, we can say that faith started from his home because of what his father said and did? So therefore, the children and grandchildren continue to trust in God. You know, when Paul left Lystra the second time in Acts 16, he has already seen this boy can be of a lot of use. Unlike John Mark, who had abandoned them, this young boy, Timothy'\u2014he's in his late teens or early twenties'\u2014he picks him to become a partner in ministry. So, he begins mentoring him into leadership of the church and they actually move around with him.<\/p>\n
These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith'\u2014of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire'\u2014may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed<\/p>\n
Why does he invest in this young man? He actually says so in the passage you have just read: "I am persuaded this genuine faith is in you. I saw it in your mother. I saw it in your grandmother, but I can see it in you'\u2014genuine faith." And when you see somebody having a genuine faith, find ways of pointing them to ministry and to things they can do for the Kingdom of God. Even your own children, when they are of age like Timothy, find a way of pointing them to ministry in the wider sense. So, we are accountable to God for passing on this ministry, this word and faith they have learned at home, to others outside the home. Because when it's a genuine faith, it will not be the "faith of the mother" and "grandmother"'\u2014it is personal faith in God by the child or grandchild.<\/p>\n
So, remember: God has no grandchildren. Each of us must meet God on our own so that we can call God my Father for ourselves. So even when your grandmother and your mother are deep in the Lord, you yourself need genuine faith of your own. So, Paul says, "I know, I am persuaded that genuine faith is actually in you." It was not a faith that you admired from far; you yourself have the genuine faith. I think that's something very important. Yeah, It's not enough that it's in his family; it's in him.<\/p>\n
You know, the phrase "genuine faith"'\u2014maybe one could say it''s faith not hypocritical. That means you could have faith that is hypocritical. In other words, although you are in church, people think you have faith; but secretly, you are doing things that show you don't fully trust in God. You don't have a fear of God. Then that will be hypocritical faith. Genuine faith is a faith that is between you and God, and it's not for show. It's not a PR thing'\u2014public relations thing'\u2014for people to see how Christian you are. You are walking in the inside with God in fear and obedience. That's what Paul is saying when he's talking about this young man. He had genuine faith, something that was between him and God.<\/p>\n
Please don't send people for ministry who have other people's faith that they are practicing. You know, in the book of Acts, you hear of these people who are preaching the "faith that Paul preaches." When the demons got them, they said, "Paul we know, Jesus we know. Who are you?" They were given a thorough beating. You need a genuine faith so that even if the one who led you to Christ backslides, it will not shake you because you now have met God for yourself and you are having a genuine faith for yourself.<\/p>\n
An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient<\/p>\n
Let's just see the verse again: "I am reminded of your sincere faith." Remember, that's motivating his prayer and he's remembering well: "which first lived in your grandmother, Lois, and in your mother, Eunice, and I'm persuaded now lives in you also." I pray that that will be true of all of us'\u2014that we'll have genuine faith for ourselves, so that as our children are walking around us, watching us, they will catch a glimpse of this faith and put their trust in God. And then when they establish their own homes, they also will walk in faith so that our grandchildren also start trusting in God. And when our grandchildren continue trusting God and walking in genuine faith, it means our great-grandchildren will have a chance to know the Lord.<\/p>\n
I call this "biological church growth" in the sense that you are not talking about people coming from outside. You are not going for outreach. But if you are running your home like Eunice did, the mother of Timothy, you can see people going to know the Lord through your home. Your children soon become the adults in church .May the church really emphasize this idea: before you go out there for open-airs and reaching out, you have a genuine ministry of creating an atmosphere that will challenge your children with the gospel and then lead them to Christ at home. Then they start walking with the Lord genuinely'\u2014not to copy the parents, but because they have met the Lord for themselves.<\/p>\n
To me, the most important thing for a parent, I think, would you imagine your children not knowing the Lord? I think the most painful thing is for a genuine Christian to discover that his adult children no longer care about the Lord. It's painful. Why is it painful? Number one, because you can see the example you are setting might have an issue, and that should be everybody's fear in their own home. So, when genuine faith doesn''t happen, it's painful.<\/p>\n
But I think number two issue is because you know heaven and hell are real. And you can imagine, here you are ministering to other people, they are going to go to heaven; your own children or grandchildren'\u2014from the way they are living their lives even before you die'\u2014you know they are going to hell. It can be actually very painful.<\/p>\n
But thirdly, it's painful because when the family of the preacher does not walk with the Lord, according to Paul'\u2014when he was teaching both Titus and Timothy about church leadership'\u2014there is trouble for the whole church. He said, "Hey, if somebody's home is not well managed and a good example set, don't allow that father to enter into church leadership."<\/p>\n
So, you can see it's a painful process to the Christian parents because you may have to resign from being a deacon or being an elder. So, it's painful.<\/p>\n
And that's why we need to maybe put a stop or a slow down on witnessing out there in order to give more attention to our own children'\u2014to our spouse, etc.be witness number one; to our children, number two; to our grandchildren, number three, if God allows you to live long enough to see your grandchildren. Some actually live long enough to see their great-grandchildren. It would be exciting.<\/p>\n
Can you imagine what this spiritual father is saying? "Every time I remember you and your genuine faith, I look forward to meeting you so that i can have real joy." In other words, meeting somebody with a genuine faith will give him real joy.<\/p>\n
Does it give you real joy? Or is it that you really enjoy the company of non-Christians so that you find meeting with the Christians a drain? There must be something wrong with your faith itself if you do not enjoy meeting other people who have a genuine faith.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Day 1 2 Timothy 1 3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. So, we go on with the study of the book of Second Timothy. We have started with the introduction of the book. We have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-263483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-john-meditations"],"yoast_head":"\n