Dave’s Monday Blast – June 12, 2017
2 Timothy is the Apostle Paul’s last letter. It is a bit like a “Last Will and Testament”. It is a very personal letter to his protégé Timothy. He writes while in prison, and at the end of his life. His personal circumstances are dire. In the flesh, the future looks bleak, not only for him but for the Church. But Paul knows that God is in control and he writes to encourage his successor to stay in the game, to press on and to finish the course as “his labor has not been in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
His advice to Timothy is the Holy Spirit’s advice to us: Listen up men!
First, he reminds Timothy of where he came from. He recalls Timothy’s grandmother and mother, both of whom were godly women. If you’ve ever had a godly grandmother or godly mother, you know that when they pray, it works. They’re something else. He tells Timothy that the same faith that guided their lives now lives with him.
Second, He encourages Timothy to keep playing the best game he possibly can: “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” (2 Timothy 1:6). Paul says that now isn’t the time to give up–it’s a time to work even harder for God’s purpose.
Third, Paul gives Timothy a charge that is the heart of the entire letter: guard the gospel! He tells him that now is not the time to give up. We’ve come too far to leave the game. Just as a sports team guards the ball, we’re called to guard the gospel and pass it to the generations to come.
Pastor Andrew McCourt says it this way, “You are not alone. As Paul wrote to Timothy he was just trying to keep his nose above water, doing everything he could to keep his faith to the end. But as he wrote from his dungeon, he proved to Timothy (and everyone else who has read his letter) that God is able to keep us in our hardest times”.
When we are INTENTIONAL about guarding the gospel, we hold on to the best news we’ve ever been given. Its news that can transform a hurting world, and that can keep you upright when you feel your faith is about to collapse. Do you feel that way right now my friends? It doesn’t matter if you’re more like Paul or more like Timothy, if you’re in a locker room or an emergency room, when you guard the gospel and hold tight to His promises, you have everything you need to “press on” and finish the game.
