WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.700 2 Timothy 4, verses 6 to 8. 00:00:03.700 --> 00:00:07.980 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, 00:00:07.980 --> 00:00:10.439 ! And the time for my departure is near. 00:00:11.060 --> 00:00:15.580 ! I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 00:00:16.260 --> 00:00:19.019 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, 00:00:19.500 --> 00:00:23.260 which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, 00:00:23.699 --> 00:00:27.420 and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 00:00:28.179 --> 00:00:29.179 This is the word of the Lord. 00:00:29.179 --> 00:00:30.320 Thank you, Lord. 00:00:31.640 --> 00:00:35.219 Great, thank you, Teddy. Do keep that passage open in front of you. 00:00:35.299 --> 00:00:38.299 We're going to be looking at those three verses together. 00:00:39.159 --> 00:00:41.920 And like I mentioned earlier, if you're here for the first time, you're visiting, 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:47.260 then we have been working our way through this letter of Paul 2 Timothy. 00:00:47.820 --> 00:00:50.260 I'm going to start this morning, though, with a story. 00:00:50.780 --> 00:00:55.960 It's a true story that has been written for us, recorded for us. 00:00:55.960 --> 00:00:57.579 So let me read it to you. 00:00:57.579 --> 00:01:03.560 Heym's entire family was rounded up that afternoon. 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:12.400 They were bad blood, enemies of the glorious revolution, CIA agents. 00:01:13.039 --> 00:01:14.239 They were Christians. 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:21.539 The family spent a sleepless night comforting one another and praying for each other as they lay, 00:01:22.119 --> 00:01:26.500 bound together in the dewy grass beneath a stand of friendly trees. 00:01:27.500 --> 00:01:32.859 The next morning, the teenage soldiers returned and led them to their place of execution. 00:01:32.859 --> 00:01:36.299 The place was grim indeed. 00:01:36.299 --> 00:01:39.620 It bore many gruesome signs of a place of execution. 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:42.620 A sickly smell of death hung in the air. 00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:48.219 Curious villagers foraged in the scrub nearby, lingering, half hidden, 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:55.900 watching the familiar routine as the family were ordered to dig a large grave for themselves. 00:01:55.900 --> 00:02:03.620 Then, consenting to Heym's request for a moment to prepare themselves for death, 00:02:04.160 --> 00:02:10.020 father, mother and children, hands linked, knelt together around the gaping pit. 00:02:10.020 --> 00:02:20.400 With loud cries to God, Heym began exhorting both the Khmer Rouge and all those looking on from afar to repent and believe in the gospel. 00:02:21.540 --> 00:02:30.040 Then, in panic, one of Heym's young sons leapt to his feet, bolted into the surrounding bush and disappeared. 00:02:30.039 --> 00:02:37.620 Heym jumped up and with amazing coolness and authority prevailed upon the Khmer Rouge not to pursue the lad, 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:40.139 but to allow him to call the boy back. 00:02:41.579 --> 00:02:44.379 The knots of onlookers peering around the trees, 00:02:44.939 --> 00:02:48.719 the Khmer Rouge and the stunned family still kneeling at the graveside, 00:02:49.159 --> 00:02:52.340 looked on in awe as Heym began calling his son, 00:02:52.959 --> 00:02:56.099 pleading with him to return and die together with his family. 00:02:56.099 --> 00:03:00.759 What comparison, my son, he called out, 00:03:01.319 --> 00:03:03.819 stealing a few more days of life in the wilderness, 00:03:04.060 --> 00:03:06.319 a fugitive, wretched and alone, 00:03:07.219 --> 00:03:10.859 to joining your family here momentarily around this grave, 00:03:11.340 --> 00:03:14.900 but soon around the throne of God, free forever in paradise. 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:19.819 After a few tense minutes, the bushes parted, 00:03:20.340 --> 00:03:25.400 and the lad, weeping, walked slowly back to his place, kneeling with the family. 00:03:26.759 --> 00:03:30.259 Now we're ready to go, said Heym to the Khmer Rouge. 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:35.599 By this time, there was not a soldier standing there who had the heart to raise his hoe 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:39.459 to deliver the death blow on the back of these noble heads. 00:03:40.519 --> 00:03:43.519 Ultimately, it had to be done by the Khmer Rouge commune chief, 00:03:43.579 --> 00:03:45.099 who had not witnessed these things. 00:03:45.099 --> 00:03:53.000 But few of those watching doubted that as each one of these Christians' bodies toppled silently into the earthen pit, 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:55.419 which the victims themselves had prepared, 00:03:56.120 --> 00:04:00.639 their souls soared heavenward to a place prepared by their Lord. 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:08.299 That was Cambodia in the late 1970s under the brutal reign of Khmer Rouge. 00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:18.139 And I start there with that story because I think it captures for us what's going on in this passage in 2 Timothy chapter 4. 00:04:18.139 --> 00:04:26.439 Look down at verse 6, and you'll find that Paul is effectively there, kneeling at his own grave. 00:04:26.939 --> 00:04:29.599 He says, in a way that sort of echoes Heym, 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:32.259 I am being poured out like a drink offering. 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:34.839 The time of my departure is near. 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:36.300 Literally, he's saying, 00:04:36.300 --> 00:04:38.319 My ship is about to sail. 00:04:38.460 --> 00:04:39.560 It's leaving the harbour. 00:04:39.660 --> 00:04:42.759 My life is being taken away from me. 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:45.259 And then in verse 8, 00:04:45.660 --> 00:04:46.800 like Heym to his son, 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:49.780 he's anticipating a crown of righteousness that will be his. 00:04:50.819 --> 00:04:57.139 The crown that he pictures is like one of those wreaths or garlands that's given to an Olympic winner. 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:01.639 It's like the sort of thing that they used to give to Formula One drivers when they won a race, 00:05:01.720 --> 00:05:05.560 but they don't do it anymore because it covers the sponsors on their race seats. 00:05:05.560 --> 00:05:08.240 It's like a simple trophy of victory, 00:05:08.740 --> 00:05:13.360 not valuable in itself, but a mark of justification of past action. 00:05:13.480 --> 00:05:14.420 You've made it. 00:05:14.819 --> 00:05:17.000 A place in eternal glory is yours. 00:05:17.860 --> 00:05:19.500 You know, Paul here in these verses, 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:21.980 although he's facing death, he's in a dungeon, 00:05:22.100 --> 00:05:25.120 he's not afraid, he's not troubled, he's not anxious. 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:28.819 He's calm, assured, and confident. 00:05:31.319 --> 00:05:34.420 You and I are not in these kind of dramatic conditions, are we? 00:05:34.420 --> 00:05:37.840 We're not under the condemnation of Nero facing execution like Paul, 00:05:38.199 --> 00:05:42.280 nor are we in the Khmer Rouge's Cambodia in the 1970s and 80s. 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:46.060 But still the truth is our lives slip away, don't they? 00:05:46.939 --> 00:05:49.259 Our ship one day will depart. 00:05:50.020 --> 00:05:52.920 You and I live our lives on the cusp of eternity, 00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:55.360 probably closer than we think, 00:05:55.420 --> 00:05:57.100 as life is short, it's uncertain, 00:05:57.740 --> 00:05:59.280 and very, very unpredictable. 00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:03.059 And the way Paul writes these verses here 00:06:03.059 --> 00:06:08.319 means that what he is saying is that the courage to live like this 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:10.899 is not meant to be extraordinary, 00:06:11.799 --> 00:06:13.939 but it's meant to be ordinary. 00:06:15.139 --> 00:06:17.500 In other words, what Paul is saying to us in these verses 00:06:17.500 --> 00:06:20.599 is that as his life is like this, 00:06:21.019 --> 00:06:23.319 so our life can be like this. 00:06:23.799 --> 00:06:25.719 His courage can be our courage. 00:06:26.580 --> 00:06:27.980 That's the whole flow of the section. 00:06:27.980 --> 00:06:30.900 If you notice, verse 6 starts with the word for, 00:06:31.020 --> 00:06:31.740 literally because, 00:06:32.620 --> 00:06:35.720 which means that Paul's confidence in the face of death 00:06:35.720 --> 00:06:38.840 is the reason for the instruction of verse 5. 00:06:39.160 --> 00:06:40.460 So if you look up at verse 5, 00:06:40.760 --> 00:06:41.440 there in verse 5, 00:06:41.560 --> 00:06:44.860 Timothy is being called to get on with the ministry. 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:47.900 The baton has been handed from Paul to Timothy. 00:06:48.140 --> 00:06:49.480 And Paul is saying, in effect, 00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:51.300 listen, I'm departing. 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:53.880 So Timothy, you do what I did. 00:06:53.879 --> 00:06:56.639 You live like I lived. 00:06:57.600 --> 00:06:59.060 You die like I die. 00:07:00.159 --> 00:07:02.420 Passing on the baton generation to generation. 00:07:03.159 --> 00:07:04.060 Because, verse 8, 00:07:04.139 --> 00:07:07.079 the crown that Paul anticipates is not just for him, 00:07:07.500 --> 00:07:10.879 but is also for all who have longed for his appearing. 00:07:13.819 --> 00:07:16.560 Now, I don't know how you feel about all that this morning. 00:07:16.659 --> 00:07:18.259 Let's just take a breath, shall we, for a moment? 00:07:18.259 --> 00:07:22.599 I don't know how you think about that opening story. 00:07:22.699 --> 00:07:23.959 It's very moving, isn't it? 00:07:24.579 --> 00:07:27.199 I think it's hard to imagine not only the courage 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:30.259 to kneel there at the side of your own grave, 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:34.819 but then to have the courage to call your son back to die with you. 00:07:35.240 --> 00:07:38.579 Never mind the courage of the son to come back out of the jungle, 00:07:39.180 --> 00:07:40.259 to kneel there by the grave. 00:07:40.259 --> 00:07:46.560 Imagine the courage that Paul has here in a cold, dark, damp dungeon, 00:07:47.039 --> 00:07:50.379 facing execution, writing one of the New Testament's 00:07:50.379 --> 00:07:54.459 kind of most warmest, pastorally, theologically rich letters. 00:07:55.459 --> 00:07:56.639 What presence of mind. 00:07:57.180 --> 00:07:57.939 What courage. 00:07:58.879 --> 00:07:59.980 It's all very incredible, isn't it? 00:07:59.980 --> 00:08:01.180 It's all very otherworldly. 00:08:02.519 --> 00:08:04.219 Perhaps you're a guest here this morning. 00:08:04.259 --> 00:08:07.240 Maybe this is the first time you've ever sat in a room 00:08:07.240 --> 00:08:08.400 and looked at a Bible. 00:08:08.900 --> 00:08:10.360 I mean, it's a strange thing to do, isn't it? 00:08:10.360 --> 00:08:11.259 But we do it every week 00:08:11.259 --> 00:08:14.060 because we believe this is how God speaks to us. 00:08:14.900 --> 00:08:17.420 And maybe, you know, maybe if you're honest, 00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:19.259 you are afraid of death, 00:08:20.199 --> 00:08:23.180 terrified that when it comes, your courage will fail, 00:08:23.280 --> 00:08:25.460 that at that point you will realise 00:08:25.460 --> 00:08:27.100 that everything that you've been living for 00:08:27.100 --> 00:08:29.220 has just abandoned you and left you behind. 00:08:29.620 --> 00:08:32.120 You have no reason for hope or courage 00:08:32.120 --> 00:08:34.700 kneeling at the gravesite. 00:08:34.700 --> 00:08:38.460 Well, if that's you, and I think honestly, 00:08:38.820 --> 00:08:41.580 all of us are there to one degree or another, aren't we? 00:08:42.259 --> 00:08:44.500 Then this passage has something very, very important 00:08:44.500 --> 00:08:48.340 to teach us, that we might live and die courageously. 00:08:49.180 --> 00:08:51.200 Now, let me just show you how the passage works 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:53.300 and then we'll pull out the meaning for us. 00:08:53.400 --> 00:08:54.860 Notice the tenses, right? 00:08:55.420 --> 00:08:57.120 I know you love English grammar, right? 00:08:57.460 --> 00:08:59.420 Notice the tense of verse six. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:01.780 It describes the present tense. 00:09:01.779 --> 00:09:03.740 He is being poured out. 00:09:04.079 --> 00:09:05.120 His departure is near. 00:09:05.179 --> 00:09:06.939 This is what's going on at the moment. 00:09:07.659 --> 00:09:09.759 Verse eight describes future glory 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:10.500 that we've talked about. 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:11.120 That's the future. 00:09:11.220 --> 00:09:14.259 He is waiting for this crown that is in store for him. 00:09:14.659 --> 00:09:16.819 And verse seven describes the sort of past 00:09:16.819 --> 00:09:18.120 or completed actions, 00:09:18.539 --> 00:09:20.399 the way that Paul has lived his life. 00:09:20.839 --> 00:09:22.759 And he describes for us in those verses, 00:09:22.839 --> 00:09:23.799 which we read with the children, 00:09:24.199 --> 00:09:25.799 that three completed actions. 00:09:25.799 --> 00:09:28.179 And it is as Paul in the present 00:09:28.179 --> 00:09:30.179 looks at those completed actions 00:09:30.179 --> 00:09:32.719 that he then has confidence for the future. 00:09:33.579 --> 00:09:36.579 So let's take our time just to look at those actions. 00:09:36.819 --> 00:09:37.759 The first one is this. 00:09:38.139 --> 00:09:39.419 I have fought the good fight. 00:09:41.479 --> 00:09:44.419 Now, I hope you notice as we see this 00:09:44.419 --> 00:09:46.500 that there's an implication in the statement, isn't there? 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:48.679 You know, I have fought the good fight 00:09:48.679 --> 00:09:50.799 means that there are many bad fights 00:09:50.799 --> 00:09:51.759 that aren't worth having. 00:09:51.899 --> 00:09:53.279 Yeah, you know that. 00:09:53.279 --> 00:09:57.699 Dying grace and courage in the face of what befalls us 00:09:57.699 --> 00:10:01.439 is not the product of a life lived fighting bad fights, 00:10:02.259 --> 00:10:04.259 fights with your fists or your words. 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:06.819 Instead, this is fighting the good fight. 00:10:07.059 --> 00:10:08.519 And we don't have to guess what that is 00:10:08.519 --> 00:10:09.899 because it's not the first time 00:10:09.899 --> 00:10:11.240 Paul has taught like this to Timothy. 00:10:11.419 --> 00:10:13.879 In fact, he's mentioned in 1 Timothy 6 00:10:13.879 --> 00:10:17.179 where he's told to fight the good fight of the faith. 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:19.839 It's a good fight that's implied 00:10:19.839 --> 00:10:22.620 in the picture of the soldier in chapter two, 00:10:22.620 --> 00:10:23.240 if you remember, 00:10:23.340 --> 00:10:26.039 who is not to get entangled in civilian affairs 00:10:26.560 --> 00:10:28.220 in chapter two, verse four. 00:10:29.799 --> 00:10:31.240 So this then is the fight. 00:10:31.940 --> 00:10:35.539 The good fight is the fight to keep trusting Christ. 00:10:36.379 --> 00:10:38.519 To keep believing that living for Jesus 00:10:38.519 --> 00:10:39.879 is the best way to live. 00:10:40.460 --> 00:10:42.879 It's the fight to keep fighting against sin 00:10:42.879 --> 00:10:44.460 and selfishness and pride 00:10:44.460 --> 00:10:46.360 and lust and anxiety and anger. 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:48.240 It's the fight that you have 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:49.639 with the temptations of the world. 00:10:49.639 --> 00:10:51.600 It's the fight to fight the temptation 00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:54.539 of the allure of money, possessions, comfort, career. 00:10:57.559 --> 00:10:58.620 It's not the idea. 00:10:58.819 --> 00:11:00.120 Don't make a mistake here. 00:11:00.179 --> 00:11:01.779 It's not the idea that Paul is saying, 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:03.840 listen, fighting the good fight 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:05.279 is how you become a Christian. 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:07.319 He's not saying being a Christian 00:11:07.319 --> 00:11:10.139 is about our efforts to live for God. 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:12.500 Paul has been so clear on that 00:11:12.500 --> 00:11:13.580 in the whole of the New Testament. 00:11:13.700 --> 00:11:14.580 You can't miss this. 00:11:14.580 --> 00:11:16.940 It is Jesus alone who saves, right? 00:11:17.420 --> 00:11:19.060 It is the work of Christ 00:11:19.060 --> 00:11:21.240 in the life of the believer that saves them. 00:11:21.620 --> 00:11:23.180 His death in our place. 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:26.920 His punishment bearing the pain of our sin 00:11:26.920 --> 00:11:28.000 before a holy God. 00:11:29.040 --> 00:11:33.840 But still, that faith, trust and confidence in Jesus 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:36.600 that is ours by the Spirit 00:11:36.600 --> 00:11:39.980 needs to be expressed in a fight for sin. 00:11:39.980 --> 00:11:42.980 If you turn to Colossians 1, 00:11:43.019 --> 00:11:43.860 it will come up on the screen 00:11:43.860 --> 00:11:45.060 so you don't actually have to turn to it. 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:47.379 But in Colossians 1, verse 29, 00:11:47.580 --> 00:11:49.980 Paul uses exactly the same words. 00:11:50.500 --> 00:11:51.420 And he says this, 00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:54.120 to this end I strenuously contend. 00:11:54.379 --> 00:11:55.300 It's the same idea. 00:11:55.399 --> 00:11:56.340 It's the same words. 00:11:57.379 --> 00:11:58.940 With all the energy that Christ 00:11:58.940 --> 00:12:00.580 so powerfully works in me. 00:12:01.379 --> 00:12:02.240 Here's the image there. 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:03.399 As the Christian, 00:12:03.560 --> 00:12:04.980 someone who is trusting in Christ 00:12:05.539 --> 00:12:06.980 works alone to save them. 00:12:06.980 --> 00:12:08.680 The person who's trusting in that, 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:12.460 you see that because Christ gives that person energy 00:12:12.460 --> 00:12:14.560 to fight the fight of faith. 00:12:15.560 --> 00:12:18.500 The energy that Christ so powerfully works within him. 00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:21.779 Christ by the Spirit gives Paul the fuel, 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:24.639 but the fight belongs to Paul and he's fighting. 00:12:26.300 --> 00:12:29.519 Obviously the idea that life is a fight or a struggle 00:12:29.519 --> 00:12:31.940 is not unique to Christianity, is it? 00:12:31.940 --> 00:12:35.740 Lots of great sort of philosophical ideas 00:12:35.740 --> 00:12:37.420 that circle our world 00:12:37.420 --> 00:12:40.920 have thought of life being a struggle or a fight. 00:12:41.940 --> 00:12:43.820 Karl Marx defines life as a struggle 00:12:43.820 --> 00:12:45.420 of the poor against the rich. 00:12:46.780 --> 00:12:48.080 Environmentalists would define life 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:50.340 as a struggle of carbon emissions 00:12:50.340 --> 00:12:51.440 and ocean pollution 00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:55.260 to kind of put a lid on our impact on the environment. 00:12:55.259 --> 00:12:59.419 Capitalism defines life as a struggle for success 00:12:59.419 --> 00:13:02.179 or personal wealth or possessions. 00:13:03.500 --> 00:13:05.700 But notice that in all of those ideas 00:13:05.700 --> 00:13:06.799 that come to us from the world, 00:13:07.100 --> 00:13:09.600 really that the struggle is out there 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:12.480 and you fight it with resources from in here. 00:13:12.899 --> 00:13:13.679 Have you noticed that? 00:13:14.259 --> 00:13:18.279 So the fight is against a system that keeps you poor 00:13:18.279 --> 00:13:21.279 and you fight it with your own personal resources. 00:13:21.399 --> 00:13:23.200 I will stand up for myself. 00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:25.980 Or the fight is the fight against, 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:27.780 you know, not having what you want 00:13:27.780 --> 00:13:30.379 and you fight it in here with the resources 00:13:30.379 --> 00:13:33.340 that come here from being the best that I can be. 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:36.580 That's how it works. 00:13:37.540 --> 00:13:38.740 But Paul says, no, no, no, no, 00:13:38.800 --> 00:13:41.580 that's not the fight for faith. 00:13:41.660 --> 00:13:42.920 That's not the good fight. 00:13:43.620 --> 00:13:44.960 Because the problem in the world 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:46.960 is not a problem out there, says Paul. 00:13:47.100 --> 00:13:49.879 No, the fight for faith is because the problem is in here. 00:13:50.740 --> 00:13:52.520 The problem is in our hearts 00:13:52.519 --> 00:13:53.740 that we don't love God. 00:13:53.819 --> 00:13:55.159 We don't live for him. 00:13:55.879 --> 00:13:58.480 We live for ourselves and for our own glory. 00:13:58.639 --> 00:13:59.299 We're selfish. 00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:02.319 We're full of anger and bitterness. 00:14:03.740 --> 00:14:06.480 And the internal struggle, 00:14:06.899 --> 00:14:08.360 that's where the battle is located, 00:14:08.819 --> 00:14:10.019 is fought, says Paul, 00:14:10.100 --> 00:14:13.899 with external resources that come to us from the spirit. 00:14:13.899 --> 00:14:18.079 So instead of being an external fight with internal resources, 00:14:18.079 --> 00:14:21.240 it's an internal fight with external resources 00:14:21.240 --> 00:14:22.879 coming to us by the spirit. 00:14:23.860 --> 00:14:26.679 It's a fight that we don't fight in our own strength. 00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:30.220 We're given the resources by the spirit. 00:14:32.139 --> 00:14:33.459 And that fight, doesn't it, 00:14:33.459 --> 00:14:35.059 starts when you become a Christian. 00:14:36.120 --> 00:14:38.000 And if you've been a Christian for any length of time, 00:14:38.079 --> 00:14:40.519 you know that it carries on your entire Christian life. 00:14:40.519 --> 00:14:44.340 Over the centuries, 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:47.899 Christian heresies have basically fallen into two camps. 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:51.120 The first one would be called Pelagianism, 00:14:51.659 --> 00:14:53.019 after a guy called Pelagius. 00:14:53.179 --> 00:14:54.120 This is the idea that, 00:14:54.579 --> 00:14:57.019 really, it's our works that contribute to our salvation. 00:14:57.299 --> 00:14:58.579 The idea that, you know, 00:14:59.079 --> 00:15:01.139 the people who get saved in the final analysis 00:15:01.139 --> 00:15:02.659 are the good people, 00:15:02.759 --> 00:15:04.960 the people who have worked hard. 00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:08.900 It's the heresy of success or of control. 00:15:09.740 --> 00:15:11.320 It's the idea that we can't be, 00:15:11.820 --> 00:15:13.519 you know, you can't be so morally bankrupt 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:15.800 that salvation has to come to you from externally. 00:15:15.900 --> 00:15:16.519 Yeah, go through. 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:17.480 Sunday school started. 00:15:17.620 --> 00:15:17.879 Go on. 00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:20.480 There you go. 00:15:26.660 --> 00:15:27.100 Pelagianism. 00:15:28.060 --> 00:15:29.240 The heresy of success. 00:15:30.120 --> 00:15:31.900 The idea that it's our works 00:15:31.900 --> 00:15:33.300 that contribute to our salvation. 00:15:33.299 --> 00:15:36.659 And so the church or the mosque or the temple 00:15:36.659 --> 00:15:38.879 sort of lords it over people, don't they? 00:15:38.919 --> 00:15:39.199 And they say, 00:15:39.299 --> 00:15:40.379 if you do this, 00:15:40.779 --> 00:15:42.439 then we will make sure you get this. 00:15:42.659 --> 00:15:43.939 If you do this work, 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:45.559 we'll make sure you get that salvation. 00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:48.259 Doing battle with sin and immorality. 00:15:48.859 --> 00:15:50.500 But they are wrong, aren't they? 00:15:50.579 --> 00:15:51.959 Because if fighting the fight 00:15:51.959 --> 00:15:53.899 is something we do in our own strength 00:15:53.899 --> 00:15:56.059 to contribute to our own salvation, 00:15:56.620 --> 00:16:00.259 then when you're kneeling by the grave like Haim was, 00:16:00.959 --> 00:16:02.479 you will have no courage. 00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:04.200 Why will you have no courage? 00:16:04.539 --> 00:16:06.080 Because you will be thinking, 00:16:06.680 --> 00:16:07.960 have I done enough? 00:16:08.920 --> 00:16:10.039 Have I done enough? 00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:13.580 And you will never be able to say yes. 00:16:16.100 --> 00:16:18.180 But Paul is teaching something different here, isn't he? 00:16:18.180 --> 00:16:18.940 He's saying, listen, 00:16:19.080 --> 00:16:20.039 that the fight, 00:16:20.300 --> 00:16:23.039 the good fight against sin and immorality, 00:16:23.039 --> 00:16:25.820 that is done in the strength of the Lord. 00:16:26.259 --> 00:16:28.080 Not to contribute to my salvation, 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:29.700 but as an expression of it. 00:16:29.700 --> 00:16:33.040 So as I kneel beside the grave, 00:16:33.720 --> 00:16:34.180 I go, do you know, 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:36.960 the fact that I was even fighting sin at all 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:38.800 is evidence of Christ's work in me. 00:16:39.400 --> 00:16:41.660 The fact that I wanted to fight sin 00:16:41.660 --> 00:16:44.379 is because he gave me the courage to do it. 00:16:45.259 --> 00:16:47.540 So that facing the sailing ship, 00:16:47.680 --> 00:16:48.759 the departure of his life, 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:49.920 kneeling in front of his grave, 00:16:50.680 --> 00:16:51.259 Paul can say, 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:52.460 I fought the good fight. 00:16:52.460 --> 00:16:56.820 The other heresy is called antinomianism, 00:16:57.360 --> 00:16:59.280 which literally means against law, 00:16:59.440 --> 00:16:59.960 nomos. 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:02.519 It's the idea that what we do doesn't matter. 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:04.880 This is the idea of Western liberalism, right? 00:17:04.980 --> 00:17:05.819 It doesn't, you know, 00:17:05.840 --> 00:17:06.900 that if God exists, 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:09.299 his job is forgiving stuff, right? 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:11.420 So he's full of grace and mercy. 00:17:11.539 --> 00:17:12.480 It doesn't matter what you live, 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:13.980 you know, what you do. 00:17:14.420 --> 00:17:14.640 You know, 00:17:14.900 --> 00:17:16.059 this is the sort of heresy 00:17:16.059 --> 00:17:17.160 that captures churches 00:17:17.160 --> 00:17:20.100 when they say that the experience of the saved 00:17:20.099 --> 00:17:21.779 is mostly just about rest, 00:17:22.719 --> 00:17:24.159 letting go and letting God. 00:17:25.539 --> 00:17:25.779 You know, 00:17:26.139 --> 00:17:27.159 it's the idea that says, 00:17:27.399 --> 00:17:29.219 if I let go enough, 00:17:29.339 --> 00:17:31.599 if I have the right spiritual experiences, 00:17:31.740 --> 00:17:32.859 if I go to the right churches, 00:17:32.959 --> 00:17:34.139 if I listen to the right music, 00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:37.179 if I attend the right kind of silent retreats, 00:17:37.179 --> 00:17:39.799 or if I have the latest kind of ecstatic 00:17:39.799 --> 00:17:41.099 spiritual experience, 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:43.339 if I read the right books, 00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:45.379 then in those moments, 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:46.619 God will do the work for me 00:17:46.619 --> 00:17:48.059 and it won't really be a battle anymore. 00:17:48.059 --> 00:17:51.159 I don't really have to think about that. 00:17:52.399 --> 00:17:54.019 That's not Paul's language here, is it? 00:17:54.579 --> 00:17:56.319 His language is the language of sweat, 00:17:57.119 --> 00:17:57.579 blood, 00:17:58.759 --> 00:17:59.440 tears, 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:00.659 fighting. 00:18:01.559 --> 00:18:03.679 He says in 1 Corinthians 9 verse 26, 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:05.200 when he picks up the same kind of idea, 00:18:05.299 --> 00:18:05.579 he says, 00:18:05.659 --> 00:18:07.379 I don't fight like a boxer beating the air. 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:12.659 If you go and walk your dog in Queens Park 00:18:12.659 --> 00:18:13.419 in the morning like I do, 00:18:13.740 --> 00:18:15.399 people are boxing the air there, aren't they? 00:18:15.399 --> 00:18:15.839 That's what they're doing. 00:18:15.859 --> 00:18:16.539 They're trying to get fit. 00:18:16.779 --> 00:18:17.419 That's not Paul. 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:19.460 He's fighting a real fight. 00:18:20.080 --> 00:18:21.660 I strike a blow to my body 00:18:21.660 --> 00:18:23.259 and make it my slave 00:18:23.259 --> 00:18:24.580 so that after I preach to others, 00:18:24.700 --> 00:18:27.300 I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 00:18:28.500 --> 00:18:29.360 I'm fighting. 00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:30.840 I'm fighting. 00:18:32.279 --> 00:18:34.220 Perhaps I can say this by way of application. 00:18:34.560 --> 00:18:37.900 My experience is that this fight of the good fight 00:18:37.900 --> 00:18:38.800 is ferocious. 00:18:39.720 --> 00:18:40.660 It's painful. 00:18:41.560 --> 00:18:43.240 That holding on to Jesus, 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:44.200 that trusting him, 00:18:44.200 --> 00:18:45.060 that fighting sin 00:18:45.059 --> 00:18:47.619 is harder than I would ever have imagined 00:18:47.619 --> 00:18:49.259 and it doesn't get any easier. 00:18:50.899 --> 00:18:51.839 It troubles me, 00:18:51.899 --> 00:18:53.359 and maybe this is what happens as you get older. 00:18:53.460 --> 00:18:54.279 It troubles me, I think, 00:18:54.299 --> 00:18:55.460 when I see younger Christians 00:18:55.460 --> 00:18:57.119 who don't seem to appreciate this 00:18:57.119 --> 00:18:58.139 about the Christian life. 00:18:58.140 --> 00:19:02.640 They run from experience to experience 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:05.020 thinking that that will fix them as a Christian. 00:19:06.380 --> 00:19:08.860 Making scant use of the means of grace 00:19:08.860 --> 00:19:11.500 because we seem to live with this assumption 00:19:11.500 --> 00:19:13.380 that the Christian life is a life of rest, 00:19:13.380 --> 00:19:14.520 not a life of war. 00:19:14.519 --> 00:19:19.000 That if there's work to be done in the Christian life, 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:20.319 God will do it for me 00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:23.779 and I won't have to pick up a tool or a weapon. 00:19:24.619 --> 00:19:26.440 And Paul says, no, fight like a soldier 00:19:26.440 --> 00:19:29.259 because when the end draws near, 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:30.460 and it will draw near, 00:19:31.220 --> 00:19:32.500 we will see in the fight 00:19:32.500 --> 00:19:34.379 the fruit of Christ's work in us. 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:37.740 Secondly, I've finished the race. 00:19:39.019 --> 00:19:40.139 In the Greek here, 00:19:40.180 --> 00:19:41.500 there's not really much of a distinction 00:19:41.500 --> 00:19:43.720 between the language of a race and a fight. 00:19:44.299 --> 00:19:45.720 In fact, the soldier language 00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:48.019 could have been used of someone also competing. 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:49.940 But I think what Paul is doing here 00:19:49.940 --> 00:19:52.660 is riffing off his earlier illustration in chapter two 00:19:52.660 --> 00:19:53.960 where he says this, 00:19:54.039 --> 00:19:56.420 similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete 00:19:56.420 --> 00:19:59.160 does not receive the victor's crown 00:19:59.160 --> 00:20:01.960 except by competing according to the rules. 00:20:02.500 --> 00:20:04.279 The idea here then is the idea 00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:07.019 that there is a marked out course 00:20:07.019 --> 00:20:08.660 that Paul has been set to run. 00:20:09.360 --> 00:20:11.700 Paul at his conversion is told by the Lord 00:20:11.700 --> 00:20:13.019 that he will have to suffer 00:20:13.019 --> 00:20:15.019 and preach to the Gentiles. 00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:17.500 You know, God had work for Paul to do. 00:20:17.579 --> 00:20:18.940 He'd laid it out in front of him. 00:20:19.220 --> 00:20:20.599 And now at the end of his life, 00:20:20.619 --> 00:20:22.160 he's saying, I ran that race. 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:24.359 I did that work that you had called me to, Lord. 00:20:24.639 --> 00:20:26.279 I didn't swerve from it. 00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:30.440 I don't know if you've heard of a guy called Rob Sloan. 00:20:30.980 --> 00:20:34.240 Rob Sloan was an athlete from the Sunderland Harriers. 00:20:34.740 --> 00:20:35.900 And he was down to compete 00:20:35.900 --> 00:20:38.259 in what was called Britain's most beautiful marathon 00:20:38.259 --> 00:20:40.200 around Northumberland's Kielder Forest. 00:20:40.839 --> 00:20:43.379 And he finished in a remarkable time 00:20:43.379 --> 00:20:46.700 of two hours, 51 minutes, third place, 00:20:47.099 --> 00:20:49.900 cross-country marathon up and down hills. 00:20:50.420 --> 00:20:52.259 Not bad for an amateur athlete. 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:53.799 In fact, incredible. 00:20:53.799 --> 00:20:56.279 So incredible that some of his fellow athletes 00:20:56.279 --> 00:20:57.279 became a bit suspicious. 00:20:58.119 --> 00:21:00.059 They realised that they had not seen him 00:21:00.059 --> 00:21:02.279 at several checkpoints towards the end. 00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:04.740 And despite his initial denials, 00:21:04.859 --> 00:21:07.960 it came to light that Rob had hopped on a bus 00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:09.379 at mile 20 00:21:09.379 --> 00:21:12.039 and then just ran in for the last mile 00:21:12.039 --> 00:21:13.200 to claim his third spot. 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:14.200 He'd cheated. 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:16.619 And the medal was taken off him. 00:21:17.299 --> 00:21:19.740 Now that's the sort of negative contrast, 00:21:19.839 --> 00:21:20.859 isn't it, to Paul here. 00:21:21.439 --> 00:21:23.459 Paul says, I didn't get on the bus. 00:21:24.219 --> 00:21:26.719 I stuck to the race that was marked out for me. 00:21:27.500 --> 00:21:29.179 God had good works for me to do. 00:21:29.719 --> 00:21:31.000 I followed his lead. 00:21:31.639 --> 00:21:33.099 I've done what he asked of me. 00:21:34.519 --> 00:21:36.519 Now it's possible for us to get confused here. 00:21:36.579 --> 00:21:37.899 We're straying into the territory, aren't we, 00:21:37.899 --> 00:21:39.259 of sort of divine guidance. 00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:42.740 How do we know what God wants us to do with our lives? 00:21:43.500 --> 00:21:44.659 And I think for some Christians, 00:21:44.759 --> 00:21:45.500 this has been understood, 00:21:45.719 --> 00:21:47.979 the idea that God has this sort of 00:21:47.980 --> 00:21:50.740 mysterious, hidden, individual, 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:52.220 specific will for my life. 00:21:52.299 --> 00:21:54.860 And my job down here is to try and guess 00:21:54.860 --> 00:21:55.980 what God wants me to do, 00:21:56.059 --> 00:21:57.640 listening perhaps to some sort of 00:21:57.640 --> 00:21:59.160 still small voice in my head 00:21:59.160 --> 00:22:00.220 telling me what to do next. 00:22:00.519 --> 00:22:02.640 But that's not really how Paul is describing 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:03.720 running the race here. 00:22:04.779 --> 00:22:07.259 Really how he describes receiving divine guidance. 00:22:09.099 --> 00:22:09.759 You see, can't you, 00:22:09.799 --> 00:22:11.420 how that would rob you of courage 00:22:11.420 --> 00:22:12.200 in the face of death 00:22:12.200 --> 00:22:13.420 if that's what life is about. 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:15.240 You'd be kneeling there going, 00:22:15.860 --> 00:22:16.880 did I do the right thing? 00:22:17.460 --> 00:22:18.460 Did I take the right job? 00:22:18.519 --> 00:22:19.740 Did I marry the right person? 00:22:21.019 --> 00:22:22.400 Did I live in the right place? 00:22:23.320 --> 00:22:23.840 Actually though, 00:22:23.880 --> 00:22:24.759 the question in the New Testament 00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:26.920 is much simpler and deeper than that. 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:28.860 Paul assumes here that our lives 00:22:28.860 --> 00:22:30.840 are guided by God's sovereign plan. 00:22:31.180 --> 00:22:32.519 That's not a plan that we have to guess. 00:22:32.580 --> 00:22:34.019 It's a plan that he's sovereign over. 00:22:34.300 --> 00:22:35.779 The route is given by him. 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:38.539 So what matters most is our motives. 00:22:38.539 --> 00:22:41.180 That running the race 00:22:41.180 --> 00:22:43.659 is about wanting to please God. 00:22:44.879 --> 00:22:46.759 The question of divine guidance 00:22:46.759 --> 00:22:49.059 in 2 Timothy is something like this, right? 00:22:50.539 --> 00:22:52.659 Do I want to live my life to please the Lord? 00:22:53.319 --> 00:22:55.180 Do you want to live my life to please myself? 00:22:55.920 --> 00:22:56.680 Which one do I want? 00:22:57.500 --> 00:23:00.139 What is the guiding motive of my life? 00:23:00.279 --> 00:23:02.639 Pleasing Jesus or pleasing myself? 00:23:03.899 --> 00:23:05.039 It's why it's possible, isn't it? 00:23:05.059 --> 00:23:06.319 It's a much deeper question. 00:23:06.399 --> 00:23:08.079 It's a harder question in some ways to answer. 00:23:08.079 --> 00:23:09.299 It's a simpler but harder. 00:23:10.460 --> 00:23:11.399 It's why it's possible, isn't it, 00:23:11.419 --> 00:23:14.220 to be a godless, self-seeking pastor or missionary 00:23:14.220 --> 00:23:17.000 who is not really obeying the Lord 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:19.619 or a fully devoted, God-pleasing Christian 00:23:19.619 --> 00:23:20.960 in full-time secular employment 00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:22.939 because the course is titled 00:23:22.939 --> 00:23:25.059 Live for God's Glory. 00:23:25.639 --> 00:23:26.460 That's how it's titled. 00:23:27.460 --> 00:23:28.659 Not so much just, you know, 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:29.720 I'll follow me if you want to, 00:23:29.799 --> 00:23:32.939 but eagerly desire to follow me in everything. 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:36.559 Can I say to you this morning, 00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:38.019 here's a diagnostic for you. 00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:39.839 If you're wondering where you are with all of this, 00:23:40.159 --> 00:23:41.759 whether you are really a Christian or not, 00:23:42.500 --> 00:23:43.919 if as you look into your heart, 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:48.119 you see no desire to live for God's glory, 00:23:48.199 --> 00:23:51.939 if there's no desire to find joy and purpose 00:23:51.939 --> 00:23:53.859 and satisfaction and meaning 00:23:53.859 --> 00:23:56.419 in living for God and his glory and not your own, 00:23:56.779 --> 00:23:59.000 can I say to you as gently and as clearly as I can, 00:23:59.059 --> 00:24:01.379 if you don't find that desire in you, 00:24:01.799 --> 00:24:02.859 you're not a Christian. 00:24:03.819 --> 00:24:04.740 You're not a Christian. 00:24:05.679 --> 00:24:06.779 A Christian is not someone 00:24:06.779 --> 00:24:08.879 who does something perfectly all the time. 00:24:08.879 --> 00:24:10.039 That is not true. 00:24:10.539 --> 00:24:12.459 The Christians in the room here know their sin 00:24:12.459 --> 00:24:14.519 and they repent of their sin regularly. 00:24:14.939 --> 00:24:17.719 We do it together as a church for that reason, right? 00:24:17.939 --> 00:24:19.179 But a Christian is someone 00:24:19.179 --> 00:24:20.919 who their deepest desire 00:24:20.919 --> 00:24:23.519 is to live for God and his glory, 00:24:23.639 --> 00:24:24.559 not them and their own. 00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:26.599 They say, listen, 00:24:26.599 --> 00:24:30.039 I know I do this falteringly and failingly, 00:24:30.459 --> 00:24:32.639 but Lord, I want to please you, not myself. 00:24:33.240 --> 00:24:35.779 I want you to take the glory and the honour, not me. 00:24:36.199 --> 00:24:39.219 I want to follow where you would lead me 00:24:39.219 --> 00:24:41.319 and not just go where I want. 00:24:42.299 --> 00:24:43.839 We're running the race, 00:24:44.459 --> 00:24:45.719 anticipating the crown. 00:24:46.639 --> 00:24:48.099 And the presence of that desire 00:24:48.099 --> 00:24:50.980 and the way that has shaped our lives 00:24:50.980 --> 00:24:53.240 is a sign of the Lord's work in us. 00:24:53.240 --> 00:24:58.539 I once had a trainee up in Liverpool 00:24:58.539 --> 00:25:01.279 and he was in his early 20s 00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:03.539 and he was from Surrey, right? 00:25:04.039 --> 00:25:04.799 Surrey's lovely. 00:25:05.900 --> 00:25:07.720 And so he moved to Liverpool 00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:09.460 to work with us in a church there. 00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:11.960 And one afternoon he said to me, 00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:13.420 in a quite troubled way, 00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:14.059 he said, 00:25:14.460 --> 00:25:17.299 there's no reason for me to be here 00:25:17.299 --> 00:25:19.140 other than the gospel. 00:25:20.019 --> 00:25:21.779 And he was really troubled by that. 00:25:21.779 --> 00:25:24.420 It's like, why have I come so far north? 00:25:25.539 --> 00:25:27.660 Why have I left leafy Surrey 00:25:27.660 --> 00:25:29.399 for urban Liverpool? 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:32.160 If the gospel's not true, it makes no sense. 00:25:32.940 --> 00:25:33.740 And I said to him, listen, 00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:35.599 I've got great news for you. 00:25:36.440 --> 00:25:38.539 The gospel is true. 00:25:39.539 --> 00:25:41.279 And so it's right, isn't it? 00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:43.079 If you can see that your life 00:25:43.079 --> 00:25:44.299 has been shaped by the gospel, 00:25:44.680 --> 00:25:46.819 if you can see that it is the good news 00:25:46.819 --> 00:25:47.920 of the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:25:48.019 --> 00:25:49.899 risen, ascended and returning one day, 00:25:49.900 --> 00:25:52.060 that it is that news that is shaping 00:25:52.060 --> 00:25:53.320 your present action, 00:25:53.620 --> 00:25:55.680 then you can have great confidence, can't you? 00:25:55.780 --> 00:25:56.800 You're running the race. 00:25:57.519 --> 00:25:58.480 You're running the race. 00:26:00.600 --> 00:26:01.440 Thirdly and finally, 00:26:01.820 --> 00:26:02.880 I've kept the faith. 00:26:03.400 --> 00:26:04.140 I've kept the faith. 00:26:05.340 --> 00:26:06.880 Here, it's not so much the idea 00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:09.080 that Paul has kept trusting in Christ himself. 00:26:09.160 --> 00:26:09.759 He has done that. 00:26:09.820 --> 00:26:10.880 That's the soldier image 00:26:10.880 --> 00:26:12.060 that we were thinking about. 00:26:12.420 --> 00:26:13.560 Rather, I think the point here 00:26:13.560 --> 00:26:16.280 is that he is handed on to Timothy. 00:26:16.279 --> 00:26:18.940 He has, he is, I've kept the faith. 00:26:19.079 --> 00:26:20.259 I've preserved it. 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:21.099 I've looked after it. 00:26:21.139 --> 00:26:22.079 I've guarded the gospel 00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:23.839 and I'm now handing it on. 00:26:24.299 --> 00:26:25.720 I'm entrusting it to Timothy. 00:26:25.899 --> 00:26:27.920 I'm passing it on to reliable people 00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:29.819 who will be qualified to teach others. 00:26:29.940 --> 00:26:32.240 I've resisted the false teachers. 00:26:32.660 --> 00:26:34.379 I've gently instructed opponents. 00:26:34.599 --> 00:26:36.420 I've had nothing to do with foolish arguments. 00:26:36.500 --> 00:26:38.160 All those things that we've been finding 00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:38.759 in 2 Timothy. 00:26:41.759 --> 00:26:43.220 I'm going to take you back to Liverpool again. 00:26:43.220 --> 00:26:45.319 But when I was a pastor of a church 00:26:45.319 --> 00:26:47.460 in the city centre there about 20 years ago, 00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:51.039 the location of the church meant that the leadership 00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:53.480 and really the congregation was made up 00:26:53.480 --> 00:26:57.039 of predominantly young people, young adults, 00:26:57.640 --> 00:27:00.279 young couples, graduates, students. 00:27:00.819 --> 00:27:02.240 It wasn't exclusively that. 00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:03.680 We had a few older members 00:27:03.680 --> 00:27:05.460 who made a massive contribution 00:27:05.460 --> 00:27:06.420 to the life of the church. 00:27:06.860 --> 00:27:09.299 But I remember once going to visit an older couple 00:27:09.299 --> 00:27:11.059 who'd been attending the church for some time 00:27:11.059 --> 00:27:13.139 but had decided that they were going to leave 00:27:13.139 --> 00:27:13.960 and go somewhere else. 00:27:14.099 --> 00:27:16.460 And my job was to go and sit with them 00:27:16.460 --> 00:27:17.759 and to chat with them in their home 00:27:17.759 --> 00:27:19.960 about why they decided that now was the time 00:27:19.960 --> 00:27:21.299 to leave and go somewhere else. 00:27:22.619 --> 00:27:23.559 And as we chatted, 00:27:23.659 --> 00:27:25.119 we chatted through a number of different things. 00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:27.839 But then they came really at the end of the conversation 00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:28.639 to their real reason. 00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:29.599 You know people do that, don't they? 00:27:29.599 --> 00:27:30.659 You have a conversation with them 00:27:30.659 --> 00:27:33.220 and the thing that you really wanted to talk about 00:27:33.220 --> 00:27:34.200 only comes out at the end. 00:27:34.980 --> 00:27:36.119 Anyway, so that's what happened. 00:27:36.639 --> 00:27:38.359 And they said something like this. 00:27:38.359 --> 00:27:41.119 They said, listen, we just can't imagine 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:44.919 being in a church where the pastor 00:27:44.919 --> 00:27:47.679 and the leaders are younger than us. 00:27:48.299 --> 00:27:48.799 That's what they said. 00:27:49.619 --> 00:27:51.839 Now I've thought about that conversation quite a lot since 00:27:51.839 --> 00:27:53.339 and I've thought of lots of wonderful things 00:27:53.339 --> 00:27:54.000 I should have said. 00:27:54.259 --> 00:27:54.879 But at the moment, 00:27:54.979 --> 00:27:57.019 I don't think I really said anything very helpful at all. 00:27:57.519 --> 00:27:58.740 I was just dumbstruck. 00:27:59.719 --> 00:28:02.619 You know, if you can't imagine being led 00:28:02.619 --> 00:28:05.099 and pastored by people who are younger than you, 00:28:05.099 --> 00:28:10.299 you condemn yourself not to keep the faith, don't you? 00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:14.339 You know, if you can't imagine being in a church 00:28:14.339 --> 00:28:17.000 that is pastored and led by younger people, 00:28:17.159 --> 00:28:18.119 then you are saying, 00:28:18.299 --> 00:28:22.039 I am not going to pass this on to anybody else 00:28:22.039 --> 00:28:24.959 who will be qualified to teach. 00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:29.859 If we can't be involved in a church that we don't lead 00:28:29.859 --> 00:28:31.699 or we can't be spiritually cared for 00:28:31.699 --> 00:28:33.639 by people who are less mature than us, 00:28:33.640 --> 00:28:35.380 not maybe simply just in age, 00:28:35.440 --> 00:28:37.040 but perhaps in wisdom as well. 00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:38.660 If we can't imagine that, 00:28:38.980 --> 00:28:41.580 then we won't keep the faith and we won't die well. 00:28:42.740 --> 00:28:44.780 You know, Paul doesn't say here that he's kept the faith 00:28:44.780 --> 00:28:46.140 because he's sure that Timothy 00:28:46.140 --> 00:28:47.820 likes the same music that he does. 00:28:48.200 --> 00:28:50.480 He doesn't think that Timothy wears the same sandal brand. 00:28:51.060 --> 00:28:53.580 He doesn't even think that Timothy is the finished article 00:28:53.580 --> 00:28:55.520 and that Timothy won't make any mistakes, 00:28:56.140 --> 00:28:58.460 even mistakes that Paul might not make himself 00:28:58.460 --> 00:28:59.700 if he'd kept hold of it. 00:29:00.080 --> 00:29:01.660 No, he says, I've kept the faith 00:29:01.660 --> 00:29:04.900 because he knows that Timothy knows the gospel. 00:29:05.500 --> 00:29:07.620 He knows that the truth has been preserved. 00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:08.740 His job has been done. 00:29:10.320 --> 00:29:12.340 Let me try and be really practical about this. 00:29:12.779 --> 00:29:15.960 We have got to, as a church, 00:29:16.060 --> 00:29:18.720 and I think this has been a failing of churches down the years, 00:29:18.779 --> 00:29:20.740 not just the church here, but many churches, 00:29:20.940 --> 00:29:23.700 we have got to let young people lead. 00:29:23.700 --> 00:29:27.000 Not just any young people, 00:29:27.400 --> 00:29:29.160 but young people who know the gospel, 00:29:29.819 --> 00:29:31.860 young people who are theologically thoughtful, 00:29:32.500 --> 00:29:33.720 they've read the scriptures, 00:29:33.940 --> 00:29:34.980 they've been taught them, 00:29:35.059 --> 00:29:36.640 they know how to handle God's word, 00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:38.640 they know its doctrines clearly, 00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:40.720 they've shown maturity and wisdom, 00:29:40.860 --> 00:29:42.400 they are biblically qualified to lead, 00:29:42.660 --> 00:29:44.340 but we hand the baton on to them. 00:29:45.480 --> 00:29:46.420 And as we do that, 00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:47.940 we need to be good at rejoicing 00:29:47.940 --> 00:29:49.700 more that the gospel is going forward 00:29:49.700 --> 00:29:52.299 than it is going forward in the way 00:29:52.299 --> 00:29:53.840 that maybe we would have done it. 00:29:54.299 --> 00:29:55.860 Because here's the truth of it. 00:29:56.200 --> 00:29:58.059 Church is not about you. 00:29:58.840 --> 00:30:00.120 It's not about me. 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:01.700 It's not about the young people. 00:30:02.080 --> 00:30:03.380 Church is about Jesus. 00:30:03.680 --> 00:30:04.920 It's his church. 00:30:05.220 --> 00:30:07.559 And it's a church for every generation 00:30:07.559 --> 00:30:09.039 until Christ returns. 00:30:09.740 --> 00:30:12.000 And our job here is to steward the ministry 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:13.779 for the very short time that we have it 00:30:13.779 --> 00:30:15.420 and then hand it on to others 00:30:15.420 --> 00:30:16.680 who will be suitably qualified. 00:30:16.680 --> 00:30:23.519 I'm really sad that I never got to meet Doris. 00:30:24.320 --> 00:30:26.100 Many of you in this room did get to meet Doris, 00:30:26.180 --> 00:30:28.480 but for those of you who don't know who she was, 00:30:28.940 --> 00:30:30.120 she was the member of the church 00:30:30.120 --> 00:30:31.140 who when she died, 00:30:31.320 --> 00:30:32.539 left a legacy to the church 00:30:32.539 --> 00:30:34.720 that enabled us to appoint a pastor 00:30:34.720 --> 00:30:37.220 and purchase the freehold of this building. 00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:40.860 Now, I didn't know her. 00:30:41.340 --> 00:30:42.519 So I don't know whether Doris 00:30:42.519 --> 00:30:44.200 would like everything about church today. 00:30:44.920 --> 00:30:46.279 She might not like the burgers 00:30:46.279 --> 00:30:47.559 or the bouncy castle, perhaps. 00:30:47.619 --> 00:30:48.059 I don't know. 00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:50.299 But let me say, 00:30:50.460 --> 00:30:51.879 I can say with great confidence 00:30:51.879 --> 00:30:54.399 that she kept the faith 00:30:54.399 --> 00:30:58.940 because her gift has been used by God 00:30:58.940 --> 00:31:00.319 to keep these doors open. 00:31:00.500 --> 00:31:01.740 And you and I this morning, 00:31:01.920 --> 00:31:02.660 in some sense, 00:31:02.759 --> 00:31:03.779 stand on her shoulders, 00:31:04.279 --> 00:31:04.619 don't we? 00:31:05.619 --> 00:31:06.960 So I want to ask you, 00:31:07.359 --> 00:31:09.799 what about you this morning? 00:31:10.619 --> 00:31:13.460 Where are you in this baton passing on job? 00:31:14.220 --> 00:31:15.519 Now, maybe you find yourself this morning, 00:31:15.579 --> 00:31:16.500 you're a younger person, 00:31:16.899 --> 00:31:17.559 and you're thinking there, 00:31:17.619 --> 00:31:18.379 yeah, brilliant, Steve, 00:31:18.460 --> 00:31:19.480 stick it to the old people, right? 00:31:20.119 --> 00:31:21.240 Let me say, if you're thinking that, 00:31:21.519 --> 00:31:22.859 please repent of that right away. 00:31:25.079 --> 00:31:26.839 But maybe as a younger person this morning, 00:31:26.980 --> 00:31:30.460 perhaps you're reluctant to pick up the baton. 00:31:31.919 --> 00:31:34.460 Perhaps you see in some of the older saints 00:31:34.460 --> 00:31:36.460 the commitment that it's required of them 00:31:36.460 --> 00:31:37.620 down through the years. 00:31:38.819 --> 00:31:39.720 Perhaps you realize, 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:41.559 watching them and seeing what they've done, 00:31:41.700 --> 00:31:44.579 that actually to carry the baton 00:31:44.579 --> 00:31:46.819 will take from you 00:31:46.819 --> 00:31:47.559 some of the things 00:31:47.559 --> 00:31:48.880 that you might love to do instead. 00:31:50.819 --> 00:31:53.279 It might mean me staying when I want to leave 00:31:53.279 --> 00:31:54.799 or leaving when I want to stay. 00:31:55.860 --> 00:31:58.100 You see that it will make you poorer financially, 00:31:58.259 --> 00:31:58.519 probably, 00:31:58.640 --> 00:32:00.559 as you pick up the financial responsibility 00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:01.759 of handing the baton on. 00:32:01.759 --> 00:32:04.980 It will make you time poorer 00:32:04.980 --> 00:32:07.680 as you give yourself to the work of the gospel. 00:32:08.940 --> 00:32:09.879 But do it. 00:32:10.960 --> 00:32:12.519 We have a responsibility, don't we, 00:32:12.539 --> 00:32:14.000 to hand on the baton. 00:32:14.619 --> 00:32:15.720 It's the hardest thing ever 00:32:15.720 --> 00:32:18.299 to get young Christian people 00:32:18.299 --> 00:32:20.140 to give up their Friday evening 00:32:20.140 --> 00:32:22.960 to teach younger children the gospel. 00:32:23.140 --> 00:32:23.720 Why is that? 00:32:24.259 --> 00:32:25.879 We have a baton to hand on to them. 00:32:26.319 --> 00:32:27.980 It's the most important thing that we do. 00:32:28.519 --> 00:32:30.079 We want to kneel in front of the grave 00:32:30.079 --> 00:32:32.639 with a sense that we have kept the faith. 00:32:33.199 --> 00:32:34.199 So pick the baton up. 00:32:36.359 --> 00:32:38.559 Or maybe you're an older Christian this morning. 00:32:38.639 --> 00:32:40.339 How do you feel about passing the baton on? 00:32:40.659 --> 00:32:42.299 About mentoring someone to follow 00:32:42.299 --> 00:32:43.480 in the work that you've been doing? 00:32:44.519 --> 00:32:45.220 Are you reluctant? 00:32:46.279 --> 00:32:47.919 Perhaps you fear that things might not be done 00:32:47.919 --> 00:32:49.359 in the way that you wanted them to be done. 00:32:49.799 --> 00:32:51.779 Well, let me urge you to keep the faith 00:32:51.779 --> 00:32:53.579 because the time is coming. 00:32:54.039 --> 00:32:55.240 It might not be that far away 00:32:55.240 --> 00:32:56.279 for some of us in the room 00:32:56.279 --> 00:32:58.639 when, like Paul, our ship will sail. 00:32:59.399 --> 00:33:02.200 And courage to meet Jesus in the future 00:33:02.200 --> 00:33:06.539 as we anticipate the loss of our lives in the present 00:33:06.539 --> 00:33:08.339 come from looking back and saying, 00:33:08.759 --> 00:33:10.700 I fought the fight, the good fight. 00:33:10.799 --> 00:33:12.019 Not the bad fight, the good fight. 00:33:12.359 --> 00:33:13.519 I finished the race. 00:33:13.960 --> 00:33:14.899 I kept the faith. 00:33:16.899 --> 00:33:19.480 Don Cormack, who recorded that story 00:33:19.480 --> 00:33:20.779 that we started with in his book, 00:33:20.920 --> 00:33:22.480 Killing Fields, Living Fields, 00:33:22.480 --> 00:33:26.779 tells how the courage of Haim and his family 00:33:26.779 --> 00:33:27.960 and others like them, 00:33:28.680 --> 00:33:30.279 basically the news of that 00:33:30.279 --> 00:33:32.000 made it into the refugee camps 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:33.420 which were springing up in Thailand 00:33:33.420 --> 00:33:34.880 as people were leaving Cambodia. 00:33:36.019 --> 00:33:37.440 And many people who were fleeing 00:33:37.440 --> 00:33:38.160 were not Christians. 00:33:38.539 --> 00:33:40.680 And the news of the courage of the Christians 00:33:40.680 --> 00:33:42.920 arrived at the refugee camps in Thailand 00:33:42.920 --> 00:33:45.240 and people began to respond to the gospel 00:33:45.240 --> 00:33:47.160 as they realized that these Christians 00:33:47.160 --> 00:33:48.660 had something that they didn't have. 00:33:48.660 --> 00:33:53.340 I wonder, maybe that's you this morning. 00:33:54.560 --> 00:33:56.720 Perhaps the courage that Paul has here, 00:33:57.360 --> 00:33:58.960 that Haim had, that Timothy has, 00:33:59.040 --> 00:34:00.019 that your Christian friend 00:34:00.019 --> 00:34:01.180 who brought you this morning has, 00:34:01.600 --> 00:34:02.880 perhaps that's enough to make you think, 00:34:02.960 --> 00:34:03.320 do you know what? 00:34:03.580 --> 00:34:04.560 I want that. 00:34:05.540 --> 00:34:07.700 I need that. 00:34:08.700 --> 00:34:10.980 I need something in my life 00:34:10.980 --> 00:34:13.559 that will be solid and certain 00:34:13.559 --> 00:34:15.200 and last beyond the grave. 00:34:15.199 --> 00:34:18.659 Let me tell you that Jesus is the only one. 00:34:20.059 --> 00:34:20.819 Come to him. 00:34:21.419 --> 00:34:22.059 Don't delay. 00:34:22.879 --> 00:34:23.980 Trust in Christ. 00:34:24.299 --> 00:34:25.259 Fight the good fight. 00:34:25.539 --> 00:34:26.219 Run the race. 00:34:26.899 --> 00:34:27.899 And keep the faith. 00:34:28.059 --> 00:34:29.239 And then for you too, 00:34:29.839 --> 00:34:32.719 there will be in store a crown of righteousness. 00:34:33.299 --> 00:34:35.139 Let me pray as I close. 00:34:35.139 --> 00:34:41.539 Let's just take a moment of quiet 00:34:41.539 --> 00:34:46.359 just to reflect and pray in our own hearts. 00:34:46.360 --> 00:35:08.260 Heavenly Father, we want to pray 00:35:08.260 --> 00:35:12.740 that you might give us all the resources that we need 00:35:12.740 --> 00:35:14.320 to fight the good fight, 00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:16.440 finish the race, 00:35:17.380 --> 00:35:18.559 and keep the faith. 00:35:19.640 --> 00:35:22.660 Thank you for your goodness to us in the Lord Jesus. 00:35:23.660 --> 00:35:26.120 Help us this morning to be an encouragement 00:35:26.120 --> 00:35:28.260 and a blessing to one another. 00:35:29.200 --> 00:35:31.220 In Jesus' name, amen.