LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH
SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 4 OCTOBER 2020 pm
2 TIMOTHY 1 VERSES 1 - 6
The apostle Paul is writing to this young man Timothy out preaching the gospel. Paul was in prison and these were his last words recorded for us. His last letter was to this young man to encourage him. Maybe he saw him under tremendous pressure. In verse 4 he remembers well the day they parted company, shed tears with one another then looked forward to the day when the opportunity would come to meet again. He calls to remembrance the spiritual wellbeing of this young man Timothy - verse 5. He was concerned about his physical wellbeing but more importantly his spiritual wellbeing. The Lord in our midst is interested in your spiritual wellbeing. He didn't ask how he was getting on in the world, whether he was climbing the social ladder but was concerned about his spiritual wellbeing. The Holy Spirit is here to search your heart, ask you the question "are you saved or not?" "Are you going to heaven or into a lost Christless hell for all eternity?" Paul says here in verse 3 "I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day." He used the word persuaded or convicted. "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee." Does that statement bring a challenge to your heart? Does it bring the thought to your mind that perhaps you are not saved? Is that faith in your heart and life today or have you missed out? Have I neglected the invitation to get right with God?
Timothy had a great example lived out in his home. "I am convinced this faith was in your grandmother and in your mother also." There was a time when they were not saved. They needed a Saviour, they were lost in sin. Under the ministry of the apostle Paul these dear souls made their way to Calvary, bowed their knees and were saved. They witnessed to Timothy and Paul said he could see that same faith in him now. We are saved by grace through faith, it is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. Are you saved tonight? In Acts 14 when Paul preached in Lystra that family was gathered there. The invitation was given out and Lois looked to the preacher. She acknowledged her sin before God, she went beyond to the cross of Calvary for that work of grace. She saw Jesus suffering and bleeding, giving his life for her. She accepted the Lord as her Saviour. There was a transformation in the home then Timothy saw his mother trusting the Lord as well. A tremendous example to him. Isn't that a challenge to you tonight? That we would be living a life before our children, that they would hear and see something of saving grace in our lives. Paul said to the Corinthians "ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men." Maybe you have seen someone in your life coming to faith.
The evidence he saw. "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things have passed away, all things have become new." Paul could see the evidence of salvation in their lives. Evidence seen of the grace of God. "By their fruits you shall know them." Think of Zacchaeus in Jericho. After his conviction he said "the half of my goods I give to the poor and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation I restore him fourfold." Needed to get right with God but also with the people around him. The Philippian jailer - the evidence in his life when he trusted the Lord as Saviour. He brought them into his own home, washed their stripes, gave them food to eat. He was genuine, sincere, not hypocritical but real. That is what Paul was saying to Timothy. Have you a salvation that is real, has changed you, means that heavens door is open to you tonight?
An experience that was real It didn't matter what his grandmother or mother did. He had to have a personal experience of saving faith in his life. "He came unto his own and his own received him not." A transaction of God. Not something half hearted. It matters not whether your parents are saved, that cannot get you into heaven. Maybe you have had the privilege of being born into a home where the scriptures were read, when you were taught the gospel faithfully in a church or in a Sunday School. Think of Paul's conversion on the Damascus road. What an experience that was. Zacchaeus' experience - he was sitting up a tree, no-one knew where he was. The Lord stopped at that tree, bid him to come down in front of everyone. Nicodemus came to Jesus at night because he didn't want anyone to see him. Each experience was individual to each of them. Have you had that personal experience? On the day of Pentecost 3000 souls were saved. The Holy Spirit began to convict them of their sin. Everyone was individually and personally saved. They all called on the Lord individually and they were saved. It is between you and the Lord tonight. You can trust the Lord as your own Saviour tonight, admit you have sinned, acknowledge the fact that you are a sinner. Only Christ can save and only through his work on Calvary. You can be saved if you repent of your sin, confess your sin, turn from your sin and be saved.
The expression of this young man's faith. Maybe you have someone you know who has experienced this faith and you know you need that same faith. Will you come and trust him as Saviour? Timothy was preaching the word - Paul told him "stir up the gift that is within you." The Ethiopian eunuch realised that the waters of baptism were available. He showed he was following the Lord Jesus. He identified with the death and resurrection of the Lord and went down into the waters of baptism as a result.
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