Antioch Baptist Church Delivered July 9, 2014 post
2 Timothy 1:1-7 NIV
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according
to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, my dear son:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a
clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4
Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I
have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother
Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 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 did not give us a spirit of
timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
It is useful to understand the circumstances under which any
part of the Bible is written in order to better understand God’s meaning for
us.
1First - Paul wrote this letter to Timothy from a Roman
prison and he was expecting his eminent death. 2 Timothy was Paul’s last recorded letter. HIS TIME WAS SHORT. But then, every generation is short.
Second - Paul
understood that this as pivotal time in World History, a time when the
leadership of the Church was transitioning from the Apostles to the next
generation of believers.
Third - Though
this missive is intimate, 2 Timothy was much more than personal letter from
Paul. His purpose is to provide
instruction for the post apostolic church. He gives Timothy three commands:
· Preach the Word
· Combat False Doctrine
· Pass the Torch
Look at what Paul wrote in verse three: “I thank God, whom I
serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I
constantly remember you in my prayers.”
Paul was recalling the example of his ancestors while continually
praying for Timothy, the next generation.
Paul is saying: “This was my heritage. And through myself, your grandmother
Lois, and your mother Eunice, it is now yours.”
Paul would back his assertion in chapter 3: “14 But as for
you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because
you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known
the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus.”
In other words: “This is from a trustworthy source. You can put your faith in it. Pass the torch, for it is your
heritage.” And what an inheritance
it is: Not timidity (fear), but power, love and self-discipline (self control)!
But you here at Antioch Baptist, You understand
heritage. That bowl of peppermint
in the narthex, honoring the memory of Nathan Davis bears witness to that. And the fact that you would prominently
display a candle-holder from the 1800s to remind us that our ancestors found it
Holy and right to build a sanctuary in this valley in which to worship God.
It is our heritage that grounds us; it connects us to the
saints that came before us. We are
called to offer our brief lives to be a part of something eternal, and our
mortal bodies to be a part of something larger and immensely beautiful.
My sisters and I share this heritage with you. This is our mother’s home church. I understand that our grandfather, Tim
Buffington, is Antioch’s oldest living deacon. It was at this altar that our parents were married.
I know of your commitment to spreading the Gospel and
helping those in need. I remember
hearing many years ago about your work with Carpenters for Christ. I also was delighted to learn of your
support for Youth for Christ and your mission work in Kentucky.
You could have chosen to be just another country church
tucked away in a corner of Floyd County.
But you, because “God did not give you a spirit of timidity, but
instead, a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” – you chose to
spread His glory beyond this valley to a world that desperately needs a
Savior. You are passing the torch. And for this reason I praise God for
you.
So the message this morning for us is this: Don’t drop the
torch.
Think of relay race.
The first runner is carrying a baton, after he runs a certain distance,
he hands it off to the next runner.
That runner runs for a certain distance the hands it to the next runner
and so on until the race is complete.
It is the same with the Olympic torch runs.
Did you ever notice that none of the runners stop until the
baton is passed? Did you notice
that the runner who is about to receive the baton is already running; his hand
is stretched far back for a smooth hand off?
This is how we should be. We should be running, hand stretched back ready to grasp
what is being handed to us. And we
should run our entire course. And
when our time comes to pass the torch, it is our responsibility to place the
Gospel into the next generation’s hand smoothly, so they can run unimpeded.
But do we do this in the American Church? We are running, not looking for our
spiritual heritage but instead we are focused on career, crisis, and
Kardashians –
We are just not eager to grasp that obligation that is
rightfully ours to bear. Notice
that I said obligation. We are
obligated to spread the Gospel to the next generation.
So how are we doing?
The Barna Group recently completed a comprehensive survey of young
adults aged 18-29 years old, known as the “Millenials”, just this past year.
They found that 6 out 10 Millenials with a Christian
background have dropped out of church after attending regularly. Sadly, this leaves only 4 out of that
10 of this group still regularly active in church.
Again, according to Barna, “the unchurched segment among
Millennials has increased in the last decade, from 44% to 52%, mirroring a
larger cultural trend away from churchgoing among the nation’s population”.
It seems that with each passing generation, the Saints who
ran before are becoming more disconnected from the children who will be running
after them.
When we in the American church fail to pass the torch, our
society suffers. The consequences
are staggering. I pulled this
quote from Investor’s Business Daily:
“Today, 24% of all families are headed by single mothers.
And that number is set to grow. New data from the Centers for Disease Control
show that out-of-wedlock births as a share of all births was 40.7% in 2012 —
the fifth straight year over 40%.
. . . children growing up without a father in the home are
four times more likely to live in poverty than children of married parents,
three times more likely to end up in jail and 50% more likely to be poor as
adults.”*
These are numbers that you have all heard before. When we drop the torch, then our
children, our neighbor’s children, will be left to wander in cultural darkness
and spiritual vacuum.
So what about that 4 out of ten that remain active in church
compared to those that dropped out?
Those Millennial Christians are four times more likely to say that they
“better understand my purpose in life through (the) church” (45% versus 12%).
See, if you know your purpose in life, then you are not likely
to be timid or fearful. Instead,
you will practice Godly power, love, and self-control. You are also much less likely to shoot
up a shopping mall with an automatic weapon.
So is there any hope for the future of the American
Church? YES! With God there is always hope of
revival!
Does the Bible
give us direction on what we should do specifically? Again, Yes!
Lets look to what Moses wrote Deuteronomy 6:4-12.
The context here is that the old generation died in desert
and God is preparing the next generation to move into Canaan, the Promised
Land. This is from the new Common
English Bible:
4 Israel, listen! Our God is the LORD! Only the LORD!
5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your
being, and all your strength.
(Center you life on Christ.)
6 These words that I am commanding you today must always be
on your minds. (Think on scripture
constantly.)
7 Recite them to your children. Talk about them when you are
sitting around your house and when you are out and about, when you are lying
down and when you are getting up. (Talk to your children about Christ
consistently.)
8 Tie them on your hand as a sign. They should be on your
forehead as a symbol. (In other
words, there should be a consistency between the scriptures you know and the
actions you take. That which you
do should square with what you profess.
Don’t be a hypocrite.)
9 Write them on your house's doorframes and on your city's
gates. (What do you allow in your home?
What is on the TV, bookshelf, and computer? Does your city resemble Mayberry or New Orleans?)
The text goes on to say that if we do these things, then God
promises to provide “houses that you did not build, stocked with all kinds of
good things” and “vineyards that you did not plant”.
It’s funny. We
all want “houses filled with all kinds of good things” and to “eat until we are
satisfied”, and we want our progeny to have these things too. But we neglect to let them inherit that
one thing that will give them true contentment in life: Our faith in Christ.
Mom and Dad, you are the most comprehensive Bible that your
children will ever read.
My wife, April goes to a women’s Bible study on Sunday
afternoons. One Sunday as she was
heading out the door our daughter Bella yelled “Mommie, wait!” Bella ran and grabbed her little
Bible-story book, tucked it under arm, marched to the door and said: “Okay, I
am ready to go to Bible study with you!”
This is what I mean by not dropping the torch. Pass the torch!
The time is short.
The hour is critical. You
must live that Faith which was imparted to you as an inheritance.
You cannot pass on power from prayers that you have not
prayed.
You cannot pass on love from hymns that you have not sung.
You cannot pass on self-discipline from scripture that you
have not read.
You cannot pass on the courage of a faith that you have not
lived.
A Nation’s strength comes from the lessons that are taught
at the knee of a Christian parent.
