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To Timothy chapter one. It's a really fantastic passage. I'm really excited about learning from it. And I'm going to be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Version. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will for the promise of life in Christ Jesus. To Timothy, my dearly loved son, grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

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I thank God whom I serve with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did, when I constantly remember you in my prayers day and night. Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy, clearly recalling your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois, then in your mother, Eunice, and that I am convinced is in you also. Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that it is in your mother, Unis, and that I am convinced is in you also. ! Therefore, I remind you to keep a blazeze the gift of God that

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in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me his prisoner. Instead, share in the suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God. He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

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This has now been made evident through the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. For this gospel, I was appointed a herald, apostle and teacher, and that is why I suffer these things. But I am not ashamed because I know the one I have believed in, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard what I have, what has been entrusted to me until that day.

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Let's see if I can get this microphone closer to my mouth today. I noticed Belinda was reading from an iPad. For the first time in Bible study now, we have people saying, my Bible just ran out. It's extraordinary. John Fetty suffered every parent's worst nightmare. He killed his own son. His boy, William, died because of what he taught.

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Take it back to 1558. That's England. Queen Mary sits on the throne. You know she was called Bloody Mary. She was the Roman Catholic, who would stop at nothing to stamp out Protestantism. So in her rain she hung, she beat. She imprisoned literally thousands of Protestant men and women, and John Fetty was a Protestant. He thought salvation comes through trusting Jesus alone. And he believed and he taught that God's Word was more authoritative than any church, and so he was actually in time, convicted as a heretic.

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And he was imprisoned in the castle of Bishop Bonner. Now, this prison in Bonner's castle was called the Lollards Tower, because that's where the followers of John Wickliff, the Lollards, had been imprisoned. and tortured. And it was an unspeakably horrible place. Men and women were beaten with rods. They were whipped. They were humiliated in the stocks. Most people, when they were put in the stocks, would have their head and their hands and also their feet put in the stocks, but then they would be given

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a stool to sit on. But if you were less fortunate, they would turn you upside down. They'd put your feet in the top stocks so that your face was down in the muck and in the the crap and your back was arched and your muscles were tortured and sometimes for weeks at a time. Most people in the Lollard's Tower died within the first month. And John Fetty was put in these stocks with a picture of water and a loaf of bread just beyond

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his reach. And he was kept there for 15 days. And at the end of the 15 days, his son William came to see him. little eight-year-old boy. And he walks in and he says proudly, I am here to see my father, John Fetty. And the guard just snarled at him and he said, your father is a filthy heretic. And he's getting what he does. He's learning his lesson in the stocks. And he pushed William Fetty to the ground.

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This is an eight-year-old boy. You can imagine it was too much for her. He's overcome with emotion and he says, my father is no heretic. You're a bunch of murder. He was parroting what the things that he heard his father say at this point. This is his father's belief. And the guard seized him and he took him into a back room and he weaped him and he beat him and he kicked him for an hour. And finally they took William in to see his dad and the blood was coursing down his face and

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the father John cried, my son, what have they done to you? and William said, I was searching for you, and I spoke against the guard, and he took me away and whipped me. And another guard overheard that. And so they took William away again, and they kept him for three days, without food, and they systematically tortured him with whips and with rods.

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And finally, they knew he was going to die, and so they set John, free and they gave him back his son. But he was a beaten wreck and he died two days later. All because of what his dad believed. John believed the gospel. John preached the gospel and William died because of the same gospel. Now can you imagine carrying your little boys

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beaten body home. It's not a story. This happened. Can you imagine the guilt, the grief, to be the death of your own child? So often we think about suffering for the gospel, and we romanticize it, don't we? We kind of imagine ourselves striding at the head of a victory. It's almost like the Lord of the Rings, isn't it? You know, we're arrogant, but for the gospel. We never imagine it will affect our families.

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We never imagine it could mean losing our children. Some of us in this room perhaps even know Graham Staines. The Australian missionary to India, who in 1999, he and his two sons, Philip and Timothy, were on holidays, and they were sleeping in the back of a jeep. And Hindu extremists came and they set that Jeep on fire. And all three died. Now, his sons would not have been there but for Graham's beliefs.

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His sons died for the gospel that he taught him. Now, in those last moments, how must he have felt? See, it's got to be the moment when our trust in the gospel and our trust in Christ is most put to the test, isn't it? When the people we love, even our children, are going to suffer and perhaps even be killed for it for the gospel that we believe and that we've taught them. In our passage this morning, that's exactly the position that Paul is in.

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in. He's writing to his dear son. And he doesn't just teach him the gospel. He calls him to suffer. So far as we know, Paul didn't seem to have a wife or a children of his own, certainly not while he was traveling as an apostle. But among the people he meant, there was one person that he called a son, Timothy. Look how he starts his letter. Verse 1, 2 Timothy 1. Paul, an apostle of Christ, Jesus, by the will of God, according to the promise of life that's in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dear son.

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Now that's literally my beloved boy. Paul doesn't even call Timothy a man at this point, but he's lad. He's boy. And look, if you've got kids, if you've got a son, you know it, you know it, don't you? I've got a little boy. His name is James. But in our family, he's Jamesy, gamesy, gumsy, goosey, gizzy, gizzy, gusigie, gizzy, gusy, gusy, gai. It just keeps coming. It's amazing how quickly you can remember that. Most of the time, I just call him gumsy. It's my way of calling him my beloved boy.

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That's the relationship Paul has with this boy, Timothy. You get a fill for it in Philippians 2. Just turn over to Philippians 2 verse 19. This is Paul boasting about his boy. The way we love him. to boast about our kids. Philippians 219, I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I may also be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Christ Jesus, but you know

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Timothy's proved himself. Because as a son with his father, he's served with me in the work of the gospel. See, the man who had no son has found a son in Timothy and together they've preached their gospel side by side and the gospel has made them spiritual father and son. And you can see how close they were. If you keep it 2 Timothy 1 verse 3 open. You can see how close they were in 2 Timothy 1 verse 3. He says, I thank God whom I serve as my forefathers did with a clear conscience.

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As night and day, I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears. I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. See, Paul prays for his boy night and day, just like a parent does. And he's not praying because he's worried about Timothy. Now, these are thankful prayers. These are the prayers of a father who is proud of his son. And Paul remembers Timothy's tears at their parting. I had a friend who was a trainee with a fairly stern, kind of frightening senior pastor.

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And the team was studying this passage, and the senior pastor. And the team was studying this passage. And the senior pastor. pastor asked, why do you think Timothy was crying here? And everyone in the team just looked earnestly down at their Bibles. No one wants to answer. And my friend looked at the next verse and he said, well, he's crying because he's got a mother with the name Eunice. To which the minister looked soberly over his glasses and said, my mother's name was Eunice.

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I don't think it's an unfortunate mother's name that he's crying about. Some of you know who that senior minister is doing. These are the tears of a son when his father is going away. And Paul longs to see Timothy so that the tears will be replaced with joy. But if Paul's Timothy's father, Lois and Eunice were his mom. There he's mother and grandmother. Look in verse 5. I've been reminded of your sincere faith which first lived in your God.

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grandmother Lois and in your mother, and I'm persuaded now lives also in you. See, before Timothy had ever met Paul, he'd sat on his mother's knee and he'd learned the gospel. Lois and Eunice taught Timothy this gospel from his boyhood. Now, we don't know anything or anything much about Timothy's dad, except that in Acts 16, he was a Greek, probably not a Christian. But Paul was now his father. And Lois and Eunice were his mothers. And verse 5, he's inherited their faith.

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Do you see who Timothy is? This is the beloved boy. This is the young son of godly Christian parents. He's a genuinely converted young man. He's the son to an apostle. He's the son to a mother and a grandmother, both godly women. And now Paul's writing to instruct his son. See, Paul knows that his time on earth is short now. Just flip over to 4 verse 6, 4 verse 6.

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Paul says, for I'm already being poured out like a drink offering. And the time has come for my departure. I've fought the good fate. They've fought the good fight. I've finished the race. I've kept the faith. Paul's talking about his life in the past tense, isn't? This is something that is now so close to its end. It's virtually finished. And to Timothy is this father's letter, this father's last advice to his beloved boy. It's passing the baton.

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And Paul gives Timothy two main tasks in our passage. Two tasks he passes from father to son. And the first one is for Timothy to set his gift on fire. Have a look in one verse six. 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. That's Timothy's first task. To fan God's gift into flames. Now, what does that mean? How do you fan a gift?

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into flames. What did Paul's hands got to do with it? Verse six is a little bit tricky, but I think Paul actually gives us a hint back in 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 13. So just flip back to 1 Timothy, 4 verse 13. Have a look there. Paul says, until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of scripture, to preaching and

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the teaching. Don't neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters. Give yourself holy to them so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them because if you do, you'll save both yourself and your hearers. See, there's that gift again, but this time we've actually got a context. In the verse before, Timothy's to devote himself to the public reading of scripture, to preaching and to teaching.

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And then verse 16 talks about his hearers. That is, I think the gift, is that the elders, including Paul, have put their hands on Timothy, and they've given him the task, the role, the calling, if you want, of being a preacher. And now in 2 Timothy, what we see is that preaching is one of Timothy's great roles. It's one of his jobs. So come back and look in 2 Timothy 4, 4, verse 1. 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 1. in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who'll judge the living and the dead and in view of

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his appearing in kingdom, I give you this charge. Preach the word. Be prepared in season and out of season, correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction for the time will come when men won't put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they'll gather around themselves a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They'll turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to them. myths, but you keep your head in all situations. Endure hardship. Do the work of an evangelist. Discharge all the duties of your ministry. See, that's Timothy's job.

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Is to preach the gospel. In season and outer season. Correct. Rebuk. Encourage. Evangelize. I think that's what Paul means when he says to Timothy to fan this gift into flame. Timothy, my son, you get out there and preach. That's the job we gave you. So why is it a gift? Has God made Timothy an especially good preacher? He's a gifted preacher. Look, I think it could be that. But I think it's also more.

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I think this notion of the gift carries with it the notion of grace. It carries with it the notion of privilege. That Timothy is now given the gift, the honour, the privilege, of being the mouthpiece of God. See, so, often we get the wrong ideas about what ministry is and what gifts are, don't we? Sometimes we examine ministry and we examine the options laid before us. And we do it in terms of what do I have to give up? What are all the things that I'm going to be called to give up to do this job?

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I've got to give up my career. I've got to give up my high salary. I've got to give up the advancement options. Or even in ministry, we can do it. I've got to give up moving from this church, which is safe and secure to this church over here. That's what's so extraordinary about Maca going to Northern Territory. I kind of said to him, aren't you afraid you're giving up this big church to go to something that's tinier? That's where it would hit me, to be honest. Because I'm thinking about what I'd have to give up. And at that point, I start thinking, well, in that case, if I give it up,

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I'm starting to do God a favor here. God, look what I'm giving up for you. Look at a, look at the sacrifice I'm making for you, God. I hope you're grateful for God. I hope you're grateful, God. I hope you understand the magnitude of I'm suffering here, God. When we think that really the best thing to do is think about getting out of ministry, isn't it? Because we're not doing God a favor by going into ministry, by laying all of our massive enormous gifts at his feet. We're not, God is doing us a favor by letting us join his team.

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God's doing us a favor by letting us speak on his behalf. In Revelation 14, I'm sure you know, that God sends an angel. through the skies to preach his eternal gospel. He does not need my mouth to do it. But he gives us this privilege. He gives us this privilege of preaching to him, of being his fellow workers of scattering his seed and building his house and tilling his field. You know, 1 Corinthians 3. And in 1 Corinthians 3, Paul even says, we don't even do anything. We're not the active agent. God's the one who gives the growth, but he gives us the enormous

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privilege of joining us him in his fellow workers. Timothy may be a very important. Timothy may be a gifted preacher, but by far the greater gift is the privilege of preaching the gospel. And it is a spiritual gift because it's the spirit that compels Timothy to do it. Take another look in two Timothy 1 verse 6 there. He says, for this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying out of my hands, for God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power and love and self-discipline. It's not just that Paul is

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urging Timothy to preach, the spirit urges him on too. Because the spirit is a preacher. What does Jesus say when he's promising the spirit in John 16, that the spirit will convict the world of guilt with regard to sin, righteousness and judgment? The spirit is a preacher. And so if you've got the spirit, the urge of the spirit will be for you to preach. That's why I think it's crazy that we keep having these arguments about whether or not all Christians should be evangelizing it, whether the Christians are commanded to evangelize. I think we're missing the point.

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The spirit is a preacher. And if you've got the spirit, you will preach. The spirit in you will overflow and he will preach through you. The spirit's not timid. The spirit's about power and love and self-discipline. Power to save. Power to redeem people by the words, the very words of the one who created the universe. love to call the lost sheep back to their shepherd.

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And self-discipline just came sign it seems kind of out of place, doesn't it? Power, love, self-discipline? That one seems kind of out of place. You need power when you preach, because you're going to, we're looking to bring people from death to life. I know that. You need love. Why would Paul call Timothy to self-discipline? Come to think of it. Why does he mention timid? Well, it's because of the second job he's got for Timothy.

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See, as Timothy fans this gift into flame, as he preaches by this spirit, Paul knows he is going to suffer. And so Paul's second task for Timothy in this passage is to suffer as he preaches. Have a look in verse 8. Don't be ashamed to testify about our Lord or ashamed of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.

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See, Paul isn't just calling Timothy to preach. He's calling to him to suffer for the gospel. And he's calling Timothy to not be ashamed of the gospel or of Paul. So as Paul wrote this letter, you know, I'm sure he was in jail himself. In 2 verse 9, he says that he is chained like a criminal for preaching the gospel. gospel. And so the great temptation now for Timothy is to look at his father and to shrink back, not use the gift, not follow the leading of the spirit, to not evangelize, not rebuke, not encourage. Some people say that Timothy was kind of shy and retiring. And that Paul's writing

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to get him moving. I don't think that's it at all. I don't see anything in the passage that suggests that. The word for timid in verse 7 is really just the word for cowardice. It's that lack of courage. It's being ashamed. that's weakness. Paul's worried that his boy is going to lose his nerve. He's going to see Paul in prison and he's going to see his own potential humiliation and he's going to lose his nerve. It's going to be ashamed. And Paul's got good reason to worry. So look in verse 15 of chapter 1. He says, you know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me,

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including phygealous and homogenies. Everyone else is ashamed. Why not Timothy? I've been ashamed, haven't you too? Haven't you felt that shame when you're kind of with that embarrassing Christian, and you're on the bus or in a cab, and they're just talking on about Jesus, and they haven't got it yet that the other person isn't interested? And they just keep talking through those embarrassing silences and plowing on? Haven't you felt that shame? Haven't you felt that shame with the other people around that person?

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They kind of snigger at them. Because they know, everyone else knows that they're socially awkward, and they don't get it because all they're interested in is talking about Jesus. And haven't you felt the shame when someone says to you, you're not like, you're not like that Fred Nile guy, for those of you who don't know, Fred Niles, a very overt Christian in New South Wales, preaches against homosexuality. It's at least that's what he's known for. And you feel that shame when his name gets brought up. I was sitting on a panel not so long ago at our university on, should homosexual marriage be legalized? It was put on by the

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law faculty. And so every single person in the room really just was against. And there was me and another Christian minister on the panel. The first thing he said was a quote from Fred Nile. And my head just went, oh. And I felt shame. Paul was afraid that his son would feel shame. That he wouldn't have the spirit still self-discipline and he'd be a coward. Because see, there's something.

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to recognize here. Paul is not calling Timothy to take a risk. He's not calling Timothy to the possibility of suffering. He's calling him to the certainty of it. Take another look in verse 8. So don't be ashamed to testify about our Lord or ashamed of me, his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel. See, Paul's calling Timothy there to the certainty of suffering. As he writes from his prison,

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Paul knows that he's condemning Timothy to the same fate or even worse. Paul knows that just as he has been deserted, Timothy is now going to be abandoned. Just as Paul has been whipped, Timothy is now going to be flogged. And just as Paul has been imprisoned, Timothy's likely to end up in jail as well. As Paul's calling Timothy to exactly the same fate as John and William Fetty, that the son must now come and suffer and perhaps even die for the father's

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leaves. Because see, there's something we need to recognize, friends here, and that is that gospel preaching always leads to opposition. It always leads to some kind of tension or controversy or broken relationships or pain. And we keep forgetting that because we keep buying into this lie of utilitarianism. So utilitarianism has as one of its basic tenets that the idea, the meaning of life, is to pursue happiness. We measure right and wrong by the amount of happiness that people have. And so that's what life should be like. Everyone ought to be happy. And so when people complain

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against Christians, we immediately assume that something must be wrong. We must be doing something. We must have been insensitive. We must have been too controversial. Because if we'd done it right, they would thank us for it. They'd like us because we wouldn't be in this hot water. Paul says, no, that's another way it works. Suffering is normal. Suffering is business as usual. Suffering is business as usual. because when he talks about the world we live in in chapter 3, this is a sinful world.

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This is the evil days of the last days. And in this sort of world in these last days, gospel preaching is never going to be popular. People will resent us when we say that Roman Catholicism is wrong. People will resent us when we say that Islam is wrong. They're going to hate us when we talk about hell and repentance. And we need to resist this sense that something is wrong. when people are opposed to us. Of course they're not going to be happy with us. It's called the sinful nature.

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And ministry is always done in the face of opposition. We used to have a fellow, I haven't seen him for a couple of years now, but we used to have a fellow who was happy to say and said to my face, my dearest wish is to see you and your ministry destroyed. Why? Well, because three of our girls who are living together came and asked me to talk to him because he was stalking them, was their word. And then he was, over a three-year period, he did everything possible to see our church and our campus group destroyed. So at one point, he wrote on the blackboard of the largest theatre in campus,

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come to Newcastle Christian students and hear Greg Lee speak about why all queers will be condemned to hell. He wrote that on the board, the university had kittens. They went ballistic. The next year, some white supremacists in Newcastle bashed an African student. He mocked up some posters with our name on the bottom saying that, supported the white supremacist group. We actually made the ABC News for that one. Then the next year in O Week, he put up posters saying that I was the Antichrist because I believed

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that I was God. I thought that one was the closest to the truth, actually. And every time my instinct was to say something's wrong. There is something wrong. It was actually wrong with him. But there's something wrong because he's not happy. But this is just ministry, isn't it? A couple of years ago, we had a mission on our campus, and it happened to be the same week as Muslim Awareness Week, Islam Awareness Week. And they had a series of posters, and every single one of them attacked Christianity explicitly. And the university did nothing. But if Christians criticize Islam,

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well, if you live in Melbourne, you know what happens when you do that. See, ministry and opposition, just go hand in hand. Paul says to Timothy, don't be ashamed to testify about our Lord or ashamed of me, his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel. Jump in Timothy, the water's boiling, is what he's saying. Now, how could Paul do that? See, John Fetty never knew beforehand what his gospel would lead to. He never knew that

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it would kill his son, but Paul knows that Timothy's going to suffer, and he's calling him to it. His own beloved boy. How could Tim, how could Paul do that to him? Timothy, how could this letter be even remotely bearable to write? Look, you see it in the rest of verse 8. Take another look in verse 8. So don't be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me, his prisoner, but join with me in

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suffering for the gospel by the power of God. Paul calls Timothy to join him in suffering because he knows the power of God. Yes, Timothy's going to suffer, but he's going to suffer by God's power and under God's power. This is where some Christians, they think that suffering is a sign that God is not sovereign. I'm suffering because God can't stop the evil. Satan's attacking me. I'm caught in this great cosmic battle, but Paul says, no, no, no, that's not the way at all.

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We're suffering by the power of God. God hasn't lost control. He's in control even of the suffering. And just to show us how in command God is here, Paul widens our view in the rest of the passage. He takes our eyes off imprisonment and Timothy's suffering and he shows us just how magnificent the sovereignty of God is. Versus 8 to 12 is one of the grand passages of the Bible. God is our Savior and caller. Look in verse 9. Join with me in suffering by the power of God who's saved us and called us to a holy life.

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See, God hasn't lost control. No, God is the one who is saving me, and he's calling me, saving me from something much worse than suffering, saving me from sin, saving me from death, saving me from hell, and he's called me now to be his child. And why? Well, not because of me, but because of him. Verse 9, God saved us and called us to a holy life, not because of anything we've done, but because of his own purpose and grace. See, who's in charge here?

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not me. God didn't save me because I earned it. He didn't save me because of obligation. He didn't save me because he must do it in recognition of who I am. No, he saved me because it fitted his purposes, his will, his generosity. And Paul says he did it before the beginning of time. Take a look in the second half of verse 9. It's just extraordinary. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. But now it's been revealed.

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through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who's destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. This is mind-blowing, isn't it? Before the beginning of time, before the world existed, before the stars, before the sons, before there was even such a thing as time itself, God knew me. Before he'd created anything, he determined that not only me, but every Christian who's ever lived, would receive his grace. And he brought all of our ancestors into the Lord.

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to being at just the right time and they all met and were married at just the right time and they all had children at just the right time so that we could all be born and receive God's grace. And it's not just true for you and I, but it's true for every Christian who's ever lived. And Paul says God did it with such certainty that he actually gave us this grace before the beginning of time. It was a done deal right the way back then. And then he says, God worked through the ages to reveal this plan. Look in verse 10. God revealed all this through.

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the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus. You see that at just the right time, in just the right country, Jesus was born into just the right family and he grew up and went to Jerusalem in just the right political situation to be crucified by just the right sinful people. And God willed all of that before time was even created. And then he accomplished it for us. So that verse 10 Jesus has destroyed death and brought life and in immortality to light through the gospel.

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See, never mind suffering. Never mind persecution. God has destroyed death. God's brought immortality. So how much more can we handle a few posters? How much more can we handle a little bit of slander? How much more is God in control, even of the fellow who would say, will see you destroyed. How can I not trust a God like that to lead me through the hottest fire?

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How can you not trust this God to lead you through even the darkest, darkest moments? In fact, how can you not even entrust your children to this God? Join with me, Timothy, because you know the power of God. And supper. We don't know what happened to Timothy, do we? As far as I can tell, we're never told. But we know what Paul expected. He expected his son to suffer just like he did.

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And just like John Fetty's boy William did. And we know that Paul did suffer. Look in verse 11. Of this gospel, I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That's why I'm suffering as I am. Yet I'm not ashamed because I know whom I've believed. And I'm convinced he's able to guard what I've entrusted. to him for that day. Paul was sovereignly appointed to be an apostle and by the power of God he was suffering. What a model the father was for his boy. See friends, the great truth at the heart of our ministries is the sovereignty of God.

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The great truth at the heart of our church plants, at the heart of organizations like Geneva, is the power of the God who saved us and called us. Let me speak to you as people who are in Timothy's life. Unless we know the sovereignty of God as the bedrock in our hearts, we will never be faithful to the gospel. Unless we are absolutely convinced in our guts that God is in control,

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unless we're convinced that God saved us and called us before the beginning of time, unless we're convinced that we suffer by His power, we'll never proclaim the truth. Because how can I stand up to suffering alone? How can I stand up to ridicule? How can I stand up to the abuse? How can I stand up to the potential of physical violence or the actual event of it if I don't have God beside me, behind me, over me, inside me, in his spirit? See, people who don't know the sovereignty of God always end up softening the gospel.

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They always end up weakening the gospel. They always end up teaching what's popular, what people's itching ears want to hear. Because if God is not my strength, then my message is as weak as I am. But if I know God is sovereign, then I'll preach. If I know that God, the God of the universe, created me and saved me and called me and chose me before the beginning of time and sent his son to conquer death and give me eternal life, then what can scare me?

[36:28]
Sure, you can threaten, but I've got immortality. You can make me unpopular, but I've got God's grace. Do you see how that you? the sovereignty of God must be the absolute foundation of our ministry. In fact, unless we're convinced of the sovereignty of God, we will never call people to join us, will we? We'll never recruit. We'll never ask people to go with us. Let's think of the people who are part of your team, those deeply dear people,

[37:01]
the ones who you've prayed with and sweated with, the sons and daughters that you, how could you, How could you ever call them to join you in ministry unless it's by the power of God? How could we ever send people to Pakistan, to India, to Perth, to the Northern Territory? How could we send people to the hard places, unless we're sending them in the power of God? Paul says, join with me, Timothy.

[37:31]
Join me and suffer by the power of God. Let's pray. Our great father. Sometimes we feel 10 foot tall. We feel bulletproof like we can do anything, and we're filled with pride. And other times we feel so helpless and weak and timid.

[38:03]
We don't want to open our mouths because we're afraid of what people will say. In both of those moments, please fill us with that deep sense of your sovereignty. That you are the creator. That you have saved us and called us. That your salvation was so certain you gave it to us before you even created time. That you worked in history to bring your son to secure that salvation.

[38:37]
And that now we who are your beloved little girls and boys, preach with your power. Please convict us deeply of the truth of this. We pray that it would be part of the very bedrock of what we believe. And please continue to remind us of it at those moments when we most need reminding, Father. Please nudge us forward by your spirit.

[39:07]
to preach and to suffer. We pray that we might have this privilege of joining in the long line of people who the gospel has been handed down to, from Paul to Timothy, to the faithful people he entrusted it to right to us. And we pray that we might entrust it to the next generation as well. Amen.