Date:   03/06/2011

Text:   2 Timothy 1:1-7

Title:   Overcoming Difficulties in Life

Theme: Since God is the source of encouragement, we can find resources in Him when we face difficulties in life.

Introduction:

  In 1978, Scott Peck published a best-selling book called, “The Road Less Traveled”. The opening sentence is simply this: Life is difficult. He went on to say that if we can accept this, then half of the hospital wards will be emptied. Our physical and psychological problems are frequently due to the fact that people cannot accept that life is difficult.

  I trust most of us know that life is difficult. We think of those unresolved health issues of our loved ones, the impact of economic hard times on us, and difficulties in our relationships with someone we care. Then there are also those challenges at work and in our various ministries.

  What do we do when we face them? Some of us will complain, withdraw and even quit. Others will be energized by such challenges and find ways to overcome while some may switch to the attack mode.

  Beginning today, we will study the book of 2 Timothy. This is a very personal letter from Paul to Timothy. It was written in the context of a dark situation. Paul was imprisoned and waiting for his name called to be executed anytime. Can you imagine living with that kind of anticipation? Timothy was also in trouble in ministry. There were heretics in his church. He faced opposition in his church. This may have affected his health. The believers, like Paul, were persecuted by the Roman Empire. Timothy was naturally timid, or what we may call an introvert and quiet person. He was considered young in the Ephesian church where he was serving. We are not sure if any of these factors might have caused him to manifest what was externally noticeable. That is, the flame of his ministerial office had dimmed. It had lost its glow.

Do we ever feel this low and discouraged? Or you are always upbeat about everything in life. Paul’s letter to Timothy is for those who feel discouraged, and overwhelmed by difficulties in life and ministry. In this letter, we want to know how we can overcome those difficulties in life, and how we can encourage and help each other in the family of God.

I •  Encouragement is based on a proper world view.

In all of Paul’s letters, he begins with salutation. “ 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 奉　神旨意，憑著在基督耶穌裡的生命的應許，作基督耶穌使徒的保羅， 2 寫信給親愛的兒子提摩太，願恩惠、憐憫、平安從父　神和我們的主基督耶穌臨到你。 ” This morning I want to unpack verses 1-2 from a different perspective. Paul introduced himself calling himself to be an apostle by God’s will. Therefore, these encouraging words are from God and not human wisdom.

  When facing life’s challenges, we are to approach them from God, the divine perspective. If we miss this, we can simply just go to one of the positive thinking advocates and get advice from them. What makes us unique are the words: “by the will of God.” Let’s pause and ask, what stands against this will of God? In our present day culture, it is the ‘good life’. To many of us, good life is worry and pain free. As Christians, we even subtly feel that God’s will is to help us achieve a life with little or no hardships.

However, what is the will of God? In our reading of the scriptures, we seem to get a different picture. In Micah 6:8, “ 8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? 世人哪！耶和華已經指示你甚麼是善，他向你所要的又是甚麼；無非是要你行公義，好憐憫，謙虛謹慎與你的　神同行 ” then there is also 1Thessalonians 4:3, “ 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 神的旨意是要你們聖潔，遠避淫行； ” 1Peter 1:15, “ 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.. 那召你們的既是聖潔的，你們在一切所行的事上也要聖潔。 ” This is God’s will for us; that we do justice, full of kindness and humbly walk with God. God’s will is that we be holy as he is.

  So what does this mean to us in times of discouragement? What does it mean when we find ourselves or our loved ones in prolonged sickness or difficult situations? We are to remember what God wants of us is to do justice, be kind, be holy and walk humbly before him. It is like the prayer that I have often used both in public and in private: when I am sick or face adversities in life, I pray that you will help me not to sin against you in words and deeds. Even though we find ourselves under the pressure of adverse situations, people may not like us or cooperate with us, when there seems to be no end to our problems, we remember that God wants us to be holy, to do justice and walk humbly with him. He wants us to love God and men. This is difficult, right? And for this reason, we need God’s grace, mercy and peace.

II •  We are to find Encouragement in our heritage.

Proper encouragement begins with God. in verses 3-5, “ 3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 3 我感謝　神，就是我像我祖先一樣，以清潔的良心所事奉的　神，在禱告中晝夜不斷地記念你； 一想起你流的眼淚，我就渴望見你，好叫我滿有喜樂。 5 我記得你心裡無偽的信心，這信心原先是在你外祖母羅以和你母親友尼基心裡的，我深信也在你的心裡。 ” In his attempt to encourage Timothy, Paul in this long sentence called Timothy’s attention to three relationships: with God, with family and with friends. How did Paul try to encourage Timothy?

First, he reminded Timothy of his relationship with God. Paul began with himself. He was in prison not because he was a criminal, but because he was serving God with a clear conscience. He then mentioned Timothy’s sincere faith. What is faith? Believing in a God who cares and rules over us.

When facing difficulties, it is easy for us to fall back on our most familiar behavior and attitude. Some may start to blame God or everyone in sight. Others may be bitter and resentful towards the people that bring about such discouragements. Or we may indulge in self-pity and withdraw, or do the opposite by switching to an attack mode. But wait, where is God, or where is our faith?

Yes, we remember God, but we want him to intervene, swing his magic wand and take all our troubles away. Come to think of this, doesn’t this sound like the temptations Satan threw at Jesus? If you are the son of God, you can change the stone into bread; you can jump down from the height and will not get hurt. Philip Yancey wrote, “when we ask God to intervene in a dramatic way, it remotely smells like the temptations hurled at Jesus.” The faith we are to remember is the faith that believes in a God who is sovereign over my life. Not only is he sovereign, He is also in control of all the events in life, including the pleasant and unpleasant ones. There are times He would intervene, but more likely he would quietly mold and shape us into His likeness. We are familiar with the story of Joni Erickson Tada. She was a quadriplegic since her teenage years. And recently she has been fighting cancer. She wrote that she had learned that instead of asking, God , if you are really God, why don’t you intervene? Instead we may need to ask, Lord, it is difficult, what do you want me to learn and become because of these ailments? In times of discouragement, it is good to remember that our God is our rock, our shelter, fortress, our strength and our shield. This is our faith.

Secondly, Paul reminds Timothy of how his family had influenced him. There was his grandmother, then his mother. Any good biography would begin with the subject’s family influence. In many good movies, Asian soap operas, they begin with the main character’s family, parents and siblings. Timothy’s grandmother and mother were instrumental in building that foundational faith in his life. I think of a young minister who was experiencing great challenges in ministry. He was disappointed and depressed. When asked how his parents would see his situation, he said they were very supportive and encouraging. We are to thank God for our parents.

However, many of us feel that we don’t get that kind of support. Sometimes parents would say, “see, I told you not to go into ministry or take up that position in this church, you wouldn’t listen to me. Now, look at the mess you are in.” They would make a bad situation even worse. Let’s take a look at some of the words used in this long sentence: I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day; as I remember your tears, I long to see you, I may be filled with joy when I see you again; I am reminded of your faith…. These are words revealing an intimate relationship, and close friendship. Timothy may have been feeling lonely, just as Paul was feeling lonely and longing to meet him. Paul wanted Timothy to remember the close relationship they had.

Isn’t this is also true with us? when discouraged and disappointed, we need a friend to come beside us and listen. They may not give us any solutions, but they can be there listening to us. I feel sad when individuals share with me that they have no friends in this church when they are in trouble. To feel lonely in times of trouble in a church with so many people is a terrible feeling. It is my desire that each of us will ask God to help us to be a friend to someone. Pray that God will bring a lonely, troubled person into our lives.

III •  We find encouragement in our Responsibility.

Now we come to verses 6,7, “ 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 6 為了這緣故，我提醒你，要把　神藉著我按手給你的恩賜，像火一樣再挑旺起來。 7 因為　神所賜給我們的，不是膽怯的靈，而是有能力、仁愛、自律的靈。 ” How did Paul encourage him? Paul mentioned a moment in Timothy’s ministry; it appeared to be at the beginning. It was the moment that Timothy received certain spiritual gifts from God. At that time, Timothy was all fired up. But by the time Paul wrote this letter, this fire had dimmed. So Paul asked Timothy to remember this occasion, and dust off the ashes so it will burn brightly again.

Paul was gently reminding Timothy of the charge, the responsibility given to him years ago when he first started his ministry. I think of the elders and deacons, when you were installed at the beginning of each year, you agreed to faithfully perform all the duties entrusted to you as a servant, to lead this congregation by being examples for them, and to strive for the purity, peace, unity and edification of the Church. To those of us ministers, we also remember when we were installed in this church, we had also agreed to serve this congregation with love and a shepherd heart. I remember when I was first ordained, my professor charged me to be a preacher of the word. He also reminded me that people will hear God’s word but not listen. Some of us also remember the excitement when we first served as a small group leader or a leader of the steering committee. In difficult moments, we are to remember this.

Paul did not really tell Timothy how to dust off. But, if we have been following this trend of thought in these few verses, something becomes clear. In our disappointment and discouragement, we turn to God and friends, and family, we begin to climb out of this state, right? Paul then goes on to give Timothy the reason for such to dust off the ashes. God gives us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Don’t be timid, don’t be afraid, Timothy. Why, because the spirit in you is not timidity, but power, love and self-control.

We want to briefly look at them. Who doesn’t like power. We may say we have no interest in power. But don’t we want others to listen to us and become frustrated when they don’t? We actually would like to have the power so others will listen to us. but with power alone, it is dangerous. It is my way or the highway. We have heard these words; power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Then there is love. If it is love alone, it can be sentimentalism. Everything is about love without any boundaries and principles. As long as we love each other, then everything is fine. How about self control, or discipline? Again, if it is discipline alone, we can be very principled but cold. Things must be done in a certain way. For this reason, Paul reminded Timothy and us that we are to carry out our responsibilities with a good balance of power, love and self-control. It will help us to stand up against the adversity, love those who may not like us and exercise control over our negative emotions and unhealthy behaviors.

Conclusion:

   In these few verses, Paul reminded Timothy and us that when we feel discouraged about ministry, about relationship, we are to go back to the basics. Above all else, go back to God and look at life from God’s perspective. We are to review our relationships with people around us. Lastly, remember what it was like when we first started out in ministry. Are we being intimidated by oppositions or difficult situations? Don’t let these elements scare us. God has given us a spirit of power, love and self-control.

   In Scott Peck’s book, the Road Less Traveled, he began with the line that life is difficult. The following are the section headings in the rest of the book: Discipline, Love, Growth and Religion (faith), and grace. Isn’t this what Paul is writing about? Life is difficult, for this reason, we need God’s power, grace, mercy and peace to sustain us.