This is a new sermon seires Called “Perseverance”, His Word, 2 Timothy 3:10-17 You can watch more here.
At the beginning of 2 Timothy we see this monster challenge to fight for the lives we have
been given in Christ Jesus, but in chapter 3 we see the letter press into the real life messy of
what it looks like practically to fight for the life we have been given in Christ Jesus.
There are going to be people who are lovers of money. Friends who gossip and slander.
Temptations to turn from Jesus and do what we want in life. When you get to chapter 3 it
can feel like we are reading a letter from 2026!
In 2 Timothy 3:7 there is a verse that says, “Always learning and never able to come to the
knowledge of the truth.” What? Therefore, the words of our passage this morning are so
important, because it is easy to get discouraged in the fight! Amen?
All these ways to learn makes it easy to feel confused. All these points of relationships with
social media, face time, and texting makes it more difficult to manage relationships. We can
get inspired in chapter 1 by the call to fight but by the time we get to chapter 3 we are tired,
so God’s Word is pointing us back to truth.
I remember when I first came to faith in Jesus. I didn’t grow up around going to church. I
didn’t know anything about the Bible, so when I came to faith in Jesus it was incredibly
exciting.
I started to learn how to read and study the Bible. I started to get connected to a local
church. I started to grow in my faith. I started to build deeper relationships with other
men and women as followers of Jesus, and I was elated about this new life I had in Jesus.
I couldn’t read enough about Jesus. I couldn’t talk enough about Jesus. Like, have you ever
had a friend stop a habit in their life, and then they spend the next 6-months telling you
about the dangers of that habit? Those people are the worst! I was that person, but with
Jesus!
When it came to my prayer life, Jesus answered all my prayers! I prayed for my dad to stop
drinking alcohol on a Wednesday and that Friday my dad walked away from alcohol for the
first time in my life. It was huge, because for the first time I was getting to know my dad
without this barrier of alcohol.
I prayed for people to get healed, and they were healed. I prayed for a wife, He brought me
Holly. I prayed for direction and clarity over my life, the Lord gave me direction and clarity.
He literally had a friend start sending me money, without asking him, so I could go to
seminary. It was pretty awesome!
So, you can imagine my discouragement, about 5-years in to walking with Jesus, my dad
starts to drink alcohol again. Some of those character flaws in my life starts showing back
up. Some of those doubts about Jesus started creeping back into my thoughts. Some of
those friends that I had cut out of my life start circling back, and for me, I was hit with this
incredible discouragement.
Did anything change in my life? Did I make it all up? Everyone told me this was just going
to be a phase in my life? We’re they right? Let’s see how God’s Word responds. Let’s look
at verses 10-11:
2 Timothy 3:10-11, “10 Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance,
11 persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what
persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!”
If you’re new to the Bible, don’t worry. This is in the New Testament. This is all taking
place after Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, so that the Apostle Paul is taking the name of
Jesus around the Roman Empire; Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and he references persecutions
and sufferings in his own life.
The Apostle Paul had a dramatic encounter with Jesus, Acts 9. He had these sweet
moments with the Lord of growing in his faith where men and women sent him out to
proclaim the name of Jesus like a scene in a movie, but then it all goes sideways.
In Antioch people respond with jealousy and opposition. In Iconium, Paul has to run for his
life because they are trying stone him. In Lystra, where Paul meets Timothy, Paul heals
someone, the crowds go wild, they refer to Paul as a god, and then they stone him, drag him
out of the city and left him to die.
Therefore, Paul writes, “You saw it!” You heard my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith,
patience, love, perseverance, persecution, and sufferings. Timothy had a front row view,
therefore, when Paul writes about the fight, the challenges of the fight, the discouragements
of the fight; it’s not theoretical. It’s life on life, and Timothy saw it!
When you see the phrase, “And out of them all the Lord rescued me!” It doesn’t mean; God
protected Paul from pain. God made his life comfortable and easy. God gave him success.
At this point Paul is in prison, chained to a wall, facing death. Paul’s been beaten, rejected,
and chased out of cities.
2 Timothy 3:10-11, “10 Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance,
11 persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions
I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!”
The word “rescue” in the original language means to preserve. It isn’t to remove pain, but
to carry us through the pain. Amen? This is so important for us to hear as followers of
Jesus today, because there are going to be times when we have these incredibly intimate
moments with Jesus. Especially when we are new to Jesus.
Prayers are going to be answered. Lights are going to be turned on. Dots are going to
connect. Things are going to click. It’s awesome! But inevitably, suffering is going to come.
Difficulty is going to come. Jesus tells us, if we follow Him, challenges are going to come!
The Apostle Paul is telling Timothy, “You’ve seen it!” But, in all the challenges, “The Lord
was with Him!”
This is why the Apostle Paul is listing these locations as a historical reminder to Timothy.
Yes, there was pain. Yes, there was persecution. But, the mission wasn’t destroyed. The
purpose wasn’t lost.
In 2 Corinthians the Apostle Paul writes something similar by saying, “He was afflicted,
perplexed, persecuted, and struck down.” Then in the next verse he writes, “But not
crushed, not driven to despair, not forsaken, not destroyed, for we who live are constantly
being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that death works in us, but life in you!”
I know our church family is praying through some important decisions, and I don’t know
which way the Lord is going to lead and provide. But I do know, the Lord will rescue us. He
will sustain us and preserve us safely to Himself, so that His purpose will continue and His
name will be made known. Amen? Look at verse 12-13:
2 Timothy 3:12-13, “12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil men and
impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”
You have to know Timothy is in a place of discouragement. His mentor is in prison facing
death. He’s spiritually leading people who are stirring up lies and confusion. He has to be
wondering if he’s the problem!
Therefore, the Apostle Paul writes, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be
persecuted!” It’s going to happen. When we start to put Jesus first in life, there are going to
be challenges!
When we try to start reading God’s Word, there are going to be distractions! When we start
to pray, we are going to think of everything else in life besides prayer! When we start to
take responsibility for our faith in Jesus, something in life is going to break!
I know it’s not fun to talk about. I know it probably doesn’t feel good to think about. But it
isn’t helpful to say, “Come follow Jesus, and He will make all our dreams come true!”
Because, persecution is going to come, and when it shows up we are going to think
somethings wrong with us or something is wrong with Jesus!
The word “persecution” does mean physical harm where people are put to death, but it also
means social pressure, being excluded, and targeted opposition for being a follower of
Jesus. It is the cost of following Jesus.
It’s being a student in school that isn’t included. It’s being left out of conversations. It’s
being passed over for a promotion at work. It’s being mocked by family members. It’s
being tempted into darkness. It’s being stirred up with false teachings. It is the pressure
we feel to turn from Jesus, be quiet, and calm down about our faith.
For those who don’t know, our family just spent a week in Hawaii, and yes, it was awesome!
On our first day we showed up to the beach, giddy with excitement and I slowly made my
way into the water, maybe waste deep. Nothing crazy.
But before long I noticed the current had this ridiculous pull that would move me side-
ways about a foot and move me deeper into the water a foot or two, and then the waves
were about 3-4-foot-high, so they would crash down on me and push me forward a foot or
two, and this was happening over and over. I couldn’t get out of it!
I wasn’t going further out, I couldn’t go forward, and waves kept crashing down on me, so
that eventually I had to call for my son to come help me with his monster thighs, and pull
me out of this wash. On our first day!
That’s a little bit of what it’s like to be a follower of Jesus who lives in this world that hasn’t
yet submitted to Jesus. Does that make sense? It can feel like we are in a “washing
machine” of spiritual confusion getting tossed and turned, so that in chapter 3 God’s Word
is like, “Yes, there are temptations, distractions, discouragements happening in us and
around us all the time!”
You can change cities, it’s there. You can change churches, it’s there. It’s the cost as a
follower of Jesus, therefore, look to Jesus. He is the rescuer! Jesus is the One who will
sustain us till the end. Trust in Him!
Do yourself a favor and get connected to a local church. Put yourself around other faithful
men and women, side-by-side relationships, so we can help one another endure and fight
together.
There’s going to be a temptation to go alone. There’s going to be these thoughts like, “I can
figure out. People don’t understand. I am the only one with these challenges.” You’re not.
You’re in the wash! We need other men and women who will get in the water with us,
reach out, text, call, pray, encourage and put our feet back on dry land. Amen? Look at
verses 14-15:
2 Timothy 3:14-15, “14 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of,
knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings
which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
Look at that word, “However.” That word “however” is the emotional thread of our passage
this morning! It’s great to walk with Jesus when prayers are being answered. Time in
God’s Word is explosive. Followers of Jesus are sweet. Those moments are infectious!
But persecution is going to come. Difficulty is going to come. If followers of Jesus are going
to follow Jesus in a world that doesn’t follow Jesus, there’s going to be friction, and
sometimes that friction is going to deliver some blows.
Sometimes we are going to think, “I want to quit.” For some reason, in those moments we
don’t remember the answered prayers. We don’t hear from His Word. We don’t see those
sweet friends, and we start thinking, “I am tired. It’s too hard. It doesn’t matter anyways.”
Anyone?
You know how they say, “When conflict occurs we either respond with Fight, Flight, or
Freeze?” For me, my natural response is another “F” and just “Forget it!” It might be in my
marriage, relationships, problems with health, or cars breaking down. Like, when enough
punches start happening in life, I start looking for the exit door fast, and just “forget it!”
Therefore, God’s Word calls out to us and says, “You, however, continue!” You continue in
the things you have learned from the very beginning. It isn’t about some new author. It
isn’t about some new worship. It isn’t about some new prayer. You go back to the One who
changed your life in the beginning. His name is Jesus!
Don’t give up! Don’t soften! Don’t compromise! Because there is a voice in our culture that
says, “Life should be easy.” Look at everyone else’s life. It’s so easy, but our life is hard,
therefore, God’s Word calls out, “Yeah, walking with Jesus is going to be hard!”
You go back to that which convinced you in the very beginning, and yes those are people in
our lives. Those are moments of answered prayer. Those are places where the Lord
showed up. We mark those occasions! But, verse 14 points us back to the sacred writings,
which gave you wisdom that lead to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 3:14-15, “14 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing
from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are
able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
Verse 15 is talking about God’s Word, and I know some of us have a love / hate relationship
with God’s Word because God’s Word can be intimidating. I know there are times we can
read God’s Word and it can be frustrating, because we’re like, “What does that means?”
But when we are in the “washing machine” of life getting tossed and turned, God’s Word is
the foundation. God’s Word is truth. God’s Word is the anchor. So, that over and over
God’s Word is pointing us back to God’s Word.
Psalm 1 calls us to be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which is God’s Word.
Joshua 1 calls us to be strong and courageous, not in ourselves, but in God’s Word.
Hebrews teaches us that God’s Word is living and active.
When I find my emotions getting pulled left and right like our pandemic, war in Iran,
challenges in my family, questions about our church, it is in those moments that I think to
myself, “Okay, what is true?” I know there are fears, doubts, and questions, but Jesus help
me see what is true! And I am able to know what is true through God’s Word.
I can’t stress this enough, because we are being more discipled by social media than we are
His Word. We are getting our souls yanked by political fear than we are getting our souls
anchored in His Word. Let’s just be honest!
The question isn’t, “Are we being influenced?” We are! We are living in a world, in a city
that is not in submission to Jesus, therefore, as followers of Jesus we are going to feel
yanked up and down and God’s Word is saying, “Don’t be surprised, it’s going to happen,
but let’s not try to do this alone.” Look at verses 16-17:
2 Timothy 3:16-17, “16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
Look at the phrase, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable.” It means all Scripture
is God breathed, His Words, through humanity, so that we might know Him and walk with
Him!
God’s Word isn’t random points of wisdom about life. It isn’t inspirational thoughts or
human opinions. It’s from God and critical for us following Jesus in a world that hasn’t yet
submitted to Jesus. Amen?
So, in verses 16 we see the effects of God’s Word in our life; profitable for teaching, reproof,
correction and training. God’s Word isn’t just information. God’s’ Word is forming us to
follow Him in a world that hasn’t yet submitted to Him.
I know we are all at different places, so I don’t want to make any assumptions on our
confidence in God’s Word, so let me give you some data points:
Confidence in God’s Word:
1. God’s Word is Accurate: We don’t have original writings of God’s Word. We have
copies. But, when scribes would made copies of Scripture they didn’t have the iPhone to
take a picture so they would copy letter by letter. There were special people, special pens,
special prepared skin, special ink, and if 3 mistakes were made then the manuscript would
be destroyed.
2. Number of Copies: We have over 24K ancient copies of NT writings. Although every
day we get further and further away from the original writings we continue to discover
ancient writings that are consistent with what we are reading today. The Dead Sea Scrolls
are 1900-year-old copies and they match almost exactly to 1000-year-old copies we
already had. And, when you compare Scripture with other ancient writings we have
significantly more copies and more recent copies than other ancient writings.
3. God’s is Unique: There’s nothing like God’s Word. Every other spiritual writing is
written by one person, but God’s Word is 40 different authors, 66 different books, over
1500 years and they all point toward Jesus’ work on the cross. And, the New Testament
was written at a time when a whole generation could have disproved their writings and
claims, but they didn’t. Instead these truths flourished and grew stronger.
This means as a follower of Jesus you aren’t being asked to blindly believe, follow, and not
ask questions. Instead, Scripture is constantly asking the reader to consider, think, ask
questions, and look at the evidence.
It’s possible some of us aren’t phased by those three points, because we thinking, “I believe
God’s Word!” Which is great! So, then we have to ask ourselves, “Are we reading God’s
Word? Do we enjoy obeying God’s Word? Are we talking to others about God’s Word?”
And, most of us all, are we seeing how God’s Word points us to our hope in Jesus? My first
response to God’s Word is to try to white-knuckle my way into obeying God’s Word, but I
can’t!
But Jesus is perfect. Jesus was and is obedient to God’s Word in every way. Jesus is the One
who comes to rescue us when we are getting tossed up and down in the washing machine of this world.
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.
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