This isa new sermon seires Called “Perseverance”. Get Ready! 2 Timothy 1:1 You can watch more here.
This morning we are going to kick off a new series in 2 Timothy in the New
Testament called “Perseverance,” because sometimes people present life in
Jesus like a “walk in the park / all roses” but honestly God’s Word describes
our walk with Jesus like a fight!
Ephesians 6 teaches, also in the New Testament, we live in a world with
spiritual forces of darkness and that our battle isn’t against flesh and blood, so
every day put on the armor of God, because we are walking in a spiritual
battle. Amen?
Of course, there’s battles like cars breaking down, losing a job, arguments in
the family, there’s also spiritual battles taking place every day like “I don’t
want to worship today to?” I don’t want to pray. I don’t want to talk to that
person. I don’t want to read God’s Word. I don’t want to obey God’s Word, so
that there is a spiritual fight taking place in our life all the time!
Our battle isn’t just against flesh and blood, but forces of darkness all around
us in our marriages, careers, physical health, financial, heart and mind, so that
God’s Word teaches us to get in the fight!
Sure, we could ignore the fight, block out the fight, or cover up the fight with
some ice cream, or we can do what God’s Word teaches us, and we can lean
into the fight. Amen?
This morning we are only going to see God’s Word calling us to, “Get ready for
the fight!” And we are going to break down verse 1 word by word as our only
verse this morning. Look at 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 1:
2 Timothy 1:1, “1 Paul….
Stop! Verse 1 it tells us the author of 2 Timothy is Paul who writes this letter
to Timothy. Write that down. That’s the kind of insight you get at North
Village Church!
The ultimate author of all of Scripture is the God of Scripture, but God speaks
through human beings to give us real emotions, real struggles, real locations
with real people, because God’s Word isn’t just about transferring information
from Him to us, but instead He’s about forming relationship with Him and His
Word through His people. Amen?
That’s why it’s always good to take some time to learn about the human
author when you study God’s Word, because it is going to help us understand
what we’re reading.
And, when we learn about the life of Paul we learn Paul doesn’t show up until
after Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension in Acts 1.
Paul shows up in Acts 9, and Paul is known for hating Jesus, hating Christians,
and Paul’s main goal in life was to hunt down Christians, throw them in jail
and kill them! So, just in case you thought your life was too bad for Jesus, look
at Paul!
Can you imagine? As a Christian in the first century, you spend most of your
time trying to avoid people like Paul, and then someone says, “Oh, Paul has
come to faith in Jesus. We should go hang out with him?” Everyone was like,
“Nah, that’s alright!” Paul was a bad dude!
It’s in Acts 9 that Paul becomes aware that he isn’t just a flawed human being
with anger problems, but that he is a sinner separated from God. And Jesus
isn’t just a prophet, but Jesus is God in the flesh who has come to take Paul’s
sin at the cross and conquer his sin through the resurrection, so that it
changed Paul’s life!
Paul ends up taking the message of Jesus around the world, and 2 Timothy is
written to Timothy while Paul is in prison for proclaiming the name of Jesus,
so that Paul writes this letter to Timothy who is younger, mid 30’s, and
Timothy is leading this new church, so that everything in Paul wants this
church in Ephesus to keep going, so he writes this letter to encourage
Timothy. You with me? Look at verse 1 again:
2 Timothy 1:1, “1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus…
In verse 1 we see Paul is not only a follower of Jesus, but he is also a capital A-
Apostle! Sometimes people refer to themselves as “modern day apostles” and
those titles don’t mean anything.
A capital A-apostle means they saw the resurrected Jesus and were sent out
by the resurrected Jesus; therefore, Paul includes this title in the opening
letter to Timothy to remind himself and Timothy and us that his authority is in
Jesus. Do you see that in verse 1?
This is a side note, but sometimes people will say, “I like Jesus’ words in the
Bible, but I don’t like Paul’s words in the Bible.” That’s silly. Paul’s words are
Jesus’ words. There’s nothing Paul is writing about that doesn’t begin and end
with Jesus. He’s all about Jesus, so he begins this letter, “Paul, an apostle of
Christ Jesus!” His authority is in Jesus!
When we introduce ourselves we talk about, “Oh, look at my impressive job,
look at where I live in Austin, what I drive,”, because those things are where
we find our authority. Those things make us feel important!
We love talking about our six-pack abs, how much money we make, building
up our resume, and gaining followers on Instagram. Why? It’s because all
those things make us feel strong, important, like people should listen to what
we have to say!
But the problem is that all those things are unreliable. Amen? At the drop of a
hat our careers can change. We can end up living in a city like El Paso! Our
cars break down.
And before we know it our resumes aren’t that impressive, and we start to feel
like we don’t have anything to offer, because our confidence was tied to our
circumstances, and our circumstances are always changing, so right out of the
gate we see God’s Word teaching us when we are in Christ, we are in a daily
fight to find our confidence in Jesus and not in the ever changing things of this
world. Amen?
This is where it gets really practical for us this morning. Each of us would do
well to consider, “Where am I finding my confidence in the things of this
world, instead of in my faith in Jesus?” What has to get rocked in my life
before I start to shrink back?
In my life, I like to get things done, so when I am productive I feel confident.
When I am marking things off the list I walk with a little pep in my steps.
But, when those things in life go unfinished like a broken HVAC, brakes on my
car, unresolved conflict, physical sickness, and I will have this underlying
current of feeling off, behind or frustrated. Why? It’s because my confidence
is tied to my productivity!
Therefore, I have to get into the fight in those moments to point my heart and
my mind back to Jesus, and finding my confidence in Jesus.
This is why Jesus is so important. It is because of Jesus that we can confess
these things to the Lord, and we can receive His forgiveness and His grace to
turn from putting my confidence in my productivity, and instead put my
confidence in Him alone. He’s so good!
It’s because His commitment to me isn’t tied to what I produce and
accomplish in a day, because His commitment to me is because He has called
me to be His. Amen?
I don’t know where you find your confidence in this world, but God’s Word is
inviting us to an intentional fight to turn from those areas, and turn to Jesus!
Look at verse 1 again:
2 Timothy 1:1, “1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God…
Who knew we could get so much out of one verse! It is in verse 1 we see the
Apostle Paul’s confidence is in Jesus, because he sees the whole of His life is in
Jesus. Do you see that in verse 1, “An apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of
God!”
The Apostle Paul isn’t running his own agenda. He’s not accomplishing his 5-
year plan. He didn’t manifest these things into existence! His steps in life are
from the Lord!
Listen to me, it’s so easy to feel like everything in life rests on our shoulders.
We feel like we got to make the right step, with the right person, at the right
time, but that’s not what verse 1 is describing.
When the Apostle Paul writes, “by the will of God” he’s not saying, “I’ve figured
life out perfectly.” He’s saying, “His life is in God’s hands, and not his hands.”
Does that make sense? Listen to me, you got to fight for this!
Walking in God’s will is less about finding this magical path or that magical
path, but more about following the right person and fighting to put Him first
in our life. This is why God’s Word is inviting us to get in the fight!
If being in God’s will depends on us getting everything right we are going to
get overwhelmed with anxiety. But if God’s will is about trusting Him with the
whole of our life, it will result in confidence, because we’re in Him. Does that
make sense? It’s a fight! Let me give us some other areas where we need to
engage the fight every day to keep it practical:
Sunday Worship: It’s a fight to show up on Sunday morning! We’re
punching the enemy in the face every time we gather!
We’re here to deepen our relationships with one another, get more rooted in
God’s Word, so that our faith isn’t just a religious experience, but our faith is
growing in warmth and vitality. It’s intentional, because we are in a fight!
Devotional: This means every day we are getting into God’s Word! Krav
Magav! We’re learning how to read God’s Word, study God’s Word, enjoy
God’s Word and obey God’s Word!
There’s a great book called “30 Days to Understanding the Bible.” I am sure
we have some copies in the foyer. It’s a great resource to help us understand
God’s Word, so that when people see us at a coffee shop we can creep them
out and say, “I am training for the fight!”
Prayer: Oh, don’t we want to have six-pack abs in prayer! 3 second prayers
are great! But we want those 3 second prayers to grow into 30 second
prayers, and 3-minute prayers, and 30-minute prayers, because we do our
best fighting through prayer!
Evangelism: This means we are learning how to talk to other people about
what we believe and why we believe what we believe. We want to assume
that we are going to be in spiritual conversations where there are going to be
conversations, so that we are prepared to give an answer!
Yearly Focus / Overflow: This month of April we are challenging our church
in Austin to “Love Our City!” It’s probably not going to happen naturally! We
are going to have to fight to get it on our schedule to find an area of our city to
serve this month, but wouldn’t that be great if the body of Christ was putting
comfort and pleasure to death, so that we are fighting to serve our city?
We can say push back and say, “Well, Michael, that doesn’t sound like a lot of
fun!” First, God’s Word never describes life with Jesus as a spa day! Let’s get
that thought out of our head! God’s Word describes it as a battle, and the
battle is coming whether we like it or not!
In addition, this battle for our faith in Jesus is fun, because Jesus has already
won! Amen? Jesus has already entered the greatest fight we could imagine.
Jesus has already been declared victorious. He has already conquered sin,
resurrected from the dead, ascended to the Father and promised to return, so
that when we are in Christ, we are in a fight, but it’s a winning fight! Amen?
It is a fight we have been equipped in the Holy Spirit. We are gifted with
spiritual gifts to engage this battle. I hope you know your spiritual gift. We
have a link on the website. You should definitely learn your spiritual gift!
And, we are given the body of Christ. We are given one another, so that the
whole time we are in the fight, we able to be shoulder to shoulder with other
followers of Jesus for His glory! Uh, it’s pretty dang fun!
Like, you can’t tell me it’s not fun watching Paul fight for His faith in Jesus! It’s
fun watching Deborah fight for her faith in Jesus! It’s fun watching Clay
Preston fight for his faith in Jesus.
I know I am a pastor, but isn’t it fun to see men and women in Christ work out
their faith in Jesus with ups and downs. It’s like a movie! But it is a fight!
I wish I could tell you that there was some sermon, some church in Austin,
some podcast or some book you could read and it would make it so that we
don’t have to fight, but God’s Word is inviting us into the fight! Look at verse 1
one more time!
2 Timothy 1:1, “1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ
Jesus.”
At the end of verse 1 it teaches us we have been given life in Christ Jesus. Do
you see that in verse 1? It is by grace through faith in Jesus’ life, death, and
resurrection that we have been given the promise of life.
The word “life” in the original language is the word “Zoe.” It’s not talking
about a better set of circumstances that go up and down. God’s Word is
talking about a life that has been given. It’s not earned or achieved. It is a gift!
In addition, it’s a promised life. It’s not secured by our effort. It’s not
maintained by our performance, so that this life in Christ is both present for
today and future to come!
I want you to see that this morning. I want you to see that this is what we are
fighting for this morning. It is why Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, and
the truth, and the life.”
It is why verse 10 in this chapter says Jesus has come to, “Abolish death and
bring life.” It is why the Apostle Paul is in prison facing certain death and
takes a moment to write Timothy a personal letter to remind Timothy and
himself and us, that only in Jesus is there is life!
This means when you are clocking in at work, changing diapers, washing
dishes, and talking to your neighbors you are doing so by the will of God,
according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus. That’s why we fight! It is ours
for the taking!
I remember I went bowling with some friends recently, and when it came to
our last game something happened, like it was out of a movie.
One of the guys stepped up to bowl and on his first frame he gets a strike.
Then, on the second frame he gets another strike. On the third frame he gets
another strike, and then he steps up to the fourth frame and he rolls his fourth
strike. It was amazing.
At one point, a crowd started to gather around to watch us bowl, because it
was so exciting. One guy in the crowd says, “I can’t stop watching!”
So, that my friend turns to us and says “I am starting to get nervous. I am
starting to think I could bowl a perfect game. I am starting to think I might get
sponsored as a professional bowler.”
You know why? He started to feel like something special was about to
happen. In a small way he started to see his life differently and he started to
see a potential for something great.
In the fifth frame my friend knocked down 3-4 pins. The glory had ended.
The crowds walked away, but verse 1 it is teaching us we have been promised
by Jesus something much better than a perfect game in bowling, and it starts
the moment we come to faith in Jesus, it is a gift, and God’s Word is inviting for
us to fight for it!
North Village Church
This sermon is brought to you by North Village Church, a non-denominational church in Austin. established in 2009 and built around Jesus and Bible teaching.
Are you looking for a church in Austin? At North Village Church we put Jesus at the center of our church family. We worship together every Sunday at 10:30am, encourage Christ centered fellowship through groups, and host special events such as Bible studies and Theological Training, to ensure that we are rooted in in God’s Word. We also serve our local community in association with several Austin based organizations.
North Village Church is made up of professionals, married couples, singles, and families who are wanting to experience the life-transforming power of Jesus. If you are a family with children or teens, we can support you with either or both our Kids Ministry and Youth Ministry.
You are welcome to contact us if you would like more information.
NVC Online
Unable to attend this Christian Church in Austin? Don’t worry, because, through God’s provision, we have created NVC online, an Online Church streaming a worship service every Sunday from 10:30am Central Time. You can also watch our short, powerful sermons on demand and follow us on Instagram for daily Christ centered content.