Monday Morning Thoughts about Sunday: The Courage of a Shepherd (2 Timothy 2)

Here’s the deal with 2 Timothy 2. A leader is not the smartest person in the group. A leader is not the one with the most experience, or the most charisma, or the best communication skills. Rather, a leader has enough courage to take the first step into the unknown space into which the group must go. For the group to follow the leader, trust must exist between the team and the leader. Furthermore, the leader creates and maintains that atmosphere of trust. Paul is challenging Timothy to lead the Ephesian Church out of their difficulties and toward, “the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4.13, ESV). For this change in direction to occur, trust must develop between Timothy and the congregation. Simon Sinek is correct when he writes: “Trust is like lubrication. It reduces friction and creates conditions much more conducive to performance.” When a group of people trust each other, they morph into more than just a group of people, they become a team. God has given the Spirit to the Church that we may trust each other as a team with one goal. These assumptions lie underneath much of what Paul writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2. So that the Spirit may transform the Ephesian congregation into a unified team that exists for the purpose of declaring and displaying the Good News of Jesus, Paul gives Timothy multiple instructions, each of which is based upon one foundational reality. 

Timothy, know who you are.

This is what Paul getting at when he instructs Timothy, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 2.1, ESV). Timothy must strive to be a leader who is distinguished by the Gospel, not by his failures or successes as a leader. This is critical because as a Christian leader, we must be connected in a healthy way with those we lead. Like Jesus we must dwell among those we lead (John 1.14). At the same time, however, our identity must be distinguishable from those we are charged to lead. In other words, when folks aren’t following so well, we must resist the identity crisis that can emerge when who we understand ourselves to be is wrapped up with how people respond to our leadership. Timothy’s most basic identity is not Pastor. His most essential understanding of himself must be one who is strengthened by the grace of being in fellowship with Jesus. No matter what our occupation, no matter what our task at the beginning of this week, we must allow our identity to not be determined by that task or occupation. Ironically, the freedom that comes from entrusting our identity to who we are in Christ, sets us free to perform well at the tasks we have been given. Before Timothy can engage the difficult task of Shepherding the Ephesians away from dangerous false teaching, he must be confident that identity is secure in Christ. No matter what Jesus requires of us this week, if you’ve been united to him by faith in the good news about him, your identity is secure in him. Thanks be to God. 

Listen here, to our exposition of 2 Timothy 2.1-13. 

Here’s what I’m reading. 

The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus, by Fleming Rutledge. 

Growing Young: Six Essential Strategies to Help Young People Discover and Love Your Church, by Kara Powell, Jake Mulder, and Brad Griffin.   

Monday Morning Thoughts about Sunday: 1 Timothy 1

Here's the deal with 1 Timothy 1. We have been squeezed into the pattern of the world when we desire the local church to focus on anything other than Christ. The principalities and powers endeavor to draw the church away from her true message - away from the content of the message that contains the power of God. The fallen wisdom of this age entices us away Christ - the One we need, the only hope for the world. This is why Paul wrote to the Corinthians.

And I, when I came to you brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Cor 2.1-2, ESV). 

Michael Horton writes the following in his book, Christless Christianity.

“What would things look like if Satan really took control of a city? Over half a century ago, Presbyterian minister Donald Grey Barnhouse offered his own scenario in his weekly sermon that was also broadcast nationwide on CBS radio. Barnhouse speculated that if Satan took over Philadelphia (the city where Barnhouse pastored), all of the bars would be closed, pornography banished, and pristine streets would be filled with tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other. There would be no swearing. The children would say "Yes, sir" and "No, ma'am," and the churches would be full every Sunday...where Christ was not preached.”

This emphasis on proclaiming Christ as what each individual and community needs is what we learned yesterday from 1 Timothy. According to Paul all the Ephesians need, everything for which we long, and the truth around which we must orient our lives is "the grace of our Lord overflowing with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus (1 Tim 1.14). Paul could never "get over" Jesus, nor should we. On the road to Damascus, Saul of Tarsus was ambushed by the risen Christ and he was never the same. What's more, it was the mercy of Jesus Christ that transformed him. See 1 Timothy 1.12-17 . Underestimating the power of Jesus' mercy was the essential error that had slithered its way into the Ephesian congregation. The Ephesians had been taught and had begun to believe that it was through something other than faith in Christ, that life could be found. Moreover, through an unlawful use of the Mosaic law, they were believing the lie that through myths, endless genealogies, and speculations, they could find the secret to life. Against this backdrop the letter we call 1 Timothy, is an extended exposition of how what we truly need is found in Christ. Indeed ...

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth (1 Tim 2.5-7, ESV).

What's the one thing you need? A spouse? A better marriage? A new job? To get out of debt? While these (and others) are good things, these are not the ultimate thing you need. The only ultimate thing each of needs is Christ.

What's the one thing our local church needs? New and better parking? More young families? A different form of church government? Numeric growth? While these (and others) are good things for which we pray,  the only ultimate thing our local church needs is something we already have - Christ. This is the one necessary thing for the church - to pursue Christ together as the ultimate thing.

Listen here to our exposition of 1 Timothy.  

  

Monday Thoughts About Sunday: Habakkuk

Here's the deal about Habakkuk. As I think back over what the Father was saying to us through the Prophet, four summaries occur to me. May the Spirit of God shape our desires throughout this week with these truths.

1) There is never a time when God is not acting.  

As Habakkuk surveyed the religious and international worlds of his day, it seemed as though God was doing nothing. Judah was acting with just as much injustice as Israel. They were being just as unfaithful to Torah as Israel. Yet, God had not sent Judah off into exile as he had with Israel at the hands of the Assyrians. Many of us have felt a similar emotion as Habakkuk and Israel. "Why do you idly look at wrong (1.3, ESV)," is a question many of us could have asked God at one time or another. With Habakkuk, and often with us, God changes our perspective when we direct our complaints toward him. "Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would believe if told" (1.5, ESV). Often when it seems God is doing nothing, that is when God is up to something. Indeed, there is never a time when God is not active. 

2) The saving power of God works in unexpected ways.      

What was God up to in Habakkuk's day? God says clearly to his prophet: "I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people" (1.6, NIV). "Wait! What?" must have been his response. Yes. God would prove faithful to judge Judah and Assyria. His method, however, was to cause the Babylonians to prosper and increase in power. Babylonian prosperity served a purpose greater than the Babylonians. Through the Babylonians, God had plans to discipline his people by sending all of them - both Israel and Judah into exile. At this point, we must remember that although God planned a difficult exile for his people, God also promised an even greater return to the land (Jeremiah 29.10-14). Furthermore, the exile and return of Israel is meant to point to an even more difficult exile, Jesus' crucifixion (Luke 9.31), and an even greater return, Jesus' resurrection, which will lead to all the earth becoming the promised land (Rom. 4.13). It is indeed strange that God would use the Babylonians to accomplish his will on earth. It is even more outlandish (some would say foolish, 1 Cor. 1.18ff) that God would use a Roman cross to accomplish our salvation. But the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ works his saving power in unexpected ways. 

3) The people of God are saved in hope.        

In 2.3, Yahweh says to Habakkuk: "For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end - it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay" (ESV). Patient hope is the posture to which God though Habakkuk calls us. While the Israelites wait for God to judge Assyria through Babylon, their responsibility is to keep waiting. Instead of choosing to center their vision on the iniquity of Judah and Assyria, the Israelites can gaze with hope into the future. In the same way God challenges us "to wait expectantly for Him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the man who carries out evil plans. Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated—it can only bring harm. For evildoers will be destroyed, but those who put their hope in the Lord will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked person will be no more; though you look for him, he will not be there. But the humble will inherit the land and will enjoy abundant prosperity" (Ps. 37.7-11, HCSB). Where does your mind wonder these days? When my mind is idle, I am faced with a choice. Do I pick up my phone and check for more political rhetoric? Instead, let us choose to invest our idle thoughts in imagining how glorious the new earth will be when all wickedness has been judged and transformed by the "restless raging fury that they call the love of God" (Rich Mullins).

4) Hope rests on the foundation of God's faithfulness. 

Hebrews defines faith as "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Because faith and hope are inseparably linked to the absence of sight, they can be difficult to endure. Andrew Peterson puts it this way:

I say faith is a burden
It's a weight to bear
It's brave and bittersweet
And hope is hard to hold to
Lord, I believe
Only help my unbelief.

From the beginning, our life with God has been fueled by faith. The Bible is clear about this. God has always required faith of his people. It is by faith "the people of old received their commendation" (Heb. 11.2). The Bible is also honest about this. The life of faith is filled with ups and downs, detours and breakdowns, grit and grace. Faith, in its essence, is trust in God's ability and promise to save. You see, during times of weak faith, God does not call us to become what Bonhoeffer called "spiritual navel gazers." Instead, when our faith grows weak, instead of turning inward, we turn to Christ and ask for him to cling to us. I've heard both D.A. Carson and Tim Keller express it this way: "It is not the quality of our faith that saves. It is the object of our faith who saves." This is how our hope can begin to be described as confident. Our hope does not rest on our faith. Rather, our hope rests on the faithfulness of God in Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, many of us are facing situations that require faith. As we look upon these circumstances we are tempted to think God is idly watching. That is not true. God is active, in albeit mysterious ways, and in those moments he is calling us to believe and to hope - to rest on the foundation of his faithfulness on our behalf. Thanks be to God.

Take a listen to our exposition of Habakkuk from Somonauk Baptist Church.