Preached 19 August 2012
Readings:
Introduction
Timothy is known because he was one
of Paul’s companions during his missionary journeys. All that we
know about Timothy comes from the letters of Paul and the writings of
Luke (who is the Author of Acts). If Timothy was the author of any
letters or other writings we do not have them, so we have no idea
what he thought about himself.
We have been given the question “What
makes Timothy a winner?”. I'm going to start by doing an appraisal
of his life, looking at his strengths and weaknesses. After that we
will look at what it is that makes him a winner then see how all that
may help us in our life with Christ.
Timothy's Strengths
Family Heritage
Some of Timothy's strengths come from his family background. We know from the reading in Acts this morning that Timothy came from Lystra, its modern name is Klistra, and it is found in central southern Turkey. In Timothy's day is was part of the Roman province of Galatia. Timothy's father was not Jewish, but his mother and grandmother were. Paul attributes Timothy's faith and knowledge of the scripture to them. By the time Paul meets Timothy he already has a good reputation among the local Christians.
His history make him an ideal
companion for Paul, he has one foot in each camp – he knows about
the life of both Jews and Gentiles, and he has a deep understanding
the scriptures.
Obedience
Circumcision (Obedience)
After recruiting Timothy the first
thing Paul does is have him circumcised. It is not clear whether
Paul did this himself or whether it was done by someone else, but
that is not really the issue. Most Jewish boys are circumcised at 8
days old – when they are too young to remember the pain, or know to
expect it. For a young man to submit to circumcision in the ancient
world (were there are no anaesthetics) shows us that Timothy was
obedient to Paul.
Travels: Ephesus, Philipi, Corinth
We can see his obedience at other
times as well, as he was sent here and there. In 1 Tim 1:3 he is
asked to stay in Ephesus to teach and correct the Christians there,
and in Phil 2:19 Paul writes of his intention to send Timothy to
them, so that he may report back on their progress. In 1 Cor 4:17
Paul writes that he will send Timothy to remind them of Paul's way of
life, so it is possible that Timothy is a bit of a troubleshooter for
Paul.
Faithfulness / Loyalty
Towards the end of Paul’s life, as he waits for execution, we read in 2 Tim 4:9 “Do your best to come to me quickly”, a request that is repeated in verse 21. Paul follows the first request with instructions on who to bring and lets Timothy know who has left him. We do not know if he arrived in time, but from what we do know, we can be sure that as a faithful friend, he tried. Their relationship has been described as the model for Christian discipleship. Timothy has remained loyal to Paul throughout his ministry.
He has remained faithful to the work
that the Holy Spirit has given each of them.
So for his strength we have: his upbringing and his faith, his obedience and his loyalty.
Timothy's Weaknesses
Everyone has weaknesses, but with the material that we have they can be difficult to uncover, so a little detective work is called for. Looking at what is written and trying to work out why it was written, we could list Timothy’s weaknesses as:
Ashamed
He can seem ashamed of his faith, or
possibly of his friends, or perhaps he's overly concerned about
suffering.
In 2 Tim 1:8-9 “So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.”
Timid
And in a similar vein he can be
timid:
In the two preceding verses: “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. For God did not give us a
spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of
self-discipline.
Regular Illnesses
He appears to have had a recurring
stomach problem: In 1 Tim 5:23 “Stop drinking only water, and use
a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.”
Maybe Timothy had taken some sort of vow of abstinence, it was fairly rare to drink water in his day and it was hard to find pure sources. Wine would have been much weaker than the wine we drink today, but would have been pure. Once again we have no idea whether the cause of the stomach problems was contaminated water, but it is quite likely.
What makes Timothy a Winner?
We should be beginning to see a
pattern of answers to the question What makes … 'who ever we are
talking about'… a Winner?
It is, of course, his faith in Jesus.
Timothy, like all of us, I assume, has put his faith in the Lord
Jesus and is doing his best to follow the Holy Spirits promptings.
Successes
He has had some spectacular successes. He has been on a mission to most of the known world. He has been selected as one of the top people on the team of the worlds premier evangelist, and has spent much of his life learning from him.
He has grown from the boy who
inherited the faith of his mother and grandmother into a man who is
sent to troubled churches around the empire to put their theology
back on course, and to provide them with an example to live by.
We may not be like Timothy in his
calling. I certainly haven't been called to travel the world with
Louis Palau, but I have been called to the preaching and teaching
ministry of Reader.
Whatever it is you are called to, one
thing is certain. You will have weaknesses to overcome, just like I
have, just like Timothy had.
You would think perhaps that being a timid evangelist might be a contradiction in terms. Aren't evangelists supposed to boldly talk about their faith and their love for Jesus. That would certainly be the picture of an evangelist I have – someone like Charlie who was here last week – who just can't stop talking about Jesus.
Well timidity didn't seem to have affected Timothy's career as he took part in building the church in the ancient world – so perhaps there's hope for me yet!
Ashamed
How many times have you been ashamed to give your testimony – to say something – anything – to someone who needs to hear what Jesus has done in your life? How often have you stood back and failed to speak – because you don't have any thing special or remarkable to say, or because you do – and it would be unbelievable, or because somehow it doesn't fit with the circumstances. My last, carefully missed opportunity was about three weeks ago. I have confessed it and been forgiven for it, but I can't forget it like God can. I hope it will not affect my ministry, just as it didn't seem to affect Timothy's ministry.
Sickness
I'm fortunate in that I'm reasonably
healthy, some of you are afflicted with various conditions that limit
what you can do and how you live your life. I know people who are
often unable to practice their ministry because illness interrupts
their daily life. Timothy suffered, but it did not stop him in his
ministry and it need not stop yours either.
It should be noted, of course, that
sickness can provide its own opportunities: in Gal 4:13, Paul says
“As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached
the gospel to you.”
Loyalty / Faithfulness
One of Timothy's strengths that we identified was his loyalty or faithfulness to Paul. I remember many years ago standing about here being thanked for something I had been doing for years and the person making a big point of my faithful work. I remember thinking “Is that all you can say?” I didn't see faithfulness as a strength, but in reality it is. To have faithful friends over many years is a great gift – people who will stick with you and help you through the difficult time and STILL stick with you. To be a faithful friend over many years is also a great gift, as is to faithfully continue with the work you have been given to do in the Lord.
Obedience
Another of Timothy's strengths we identified was his Obedience. He did as Paul asked, time and again. Obedience is unfashionable today. Obedience means being a disciple, we all want to be disciples of Jesus, but none of us wants to be disciples of a leader of the church. At the CVM conference the leaders asked who was a follower – almost no-one put there hand up. Being a follower is somehow seen as a sign of weakness. The leaders then pointed out that if you are on a rota you are in some way a follower. Now almost everyone put their hands up. But Timothy's example to us is more than a mere follower. Timothy is a true disciple, taking both physical and spiritual direction from Paul.
Conclusion
There is a lot we can learn from
Timothy. His faith and his obedience are great examples to follow.
By Gods grace he was given an amazing ministry which help establish
the church we have today.
