Timothy, The Next Leader

Text: 2 Timothy 1:3-14, Bottom Line: Make the Right Investments In Our Replacements

It was December 24th, last year, Christmas Eve. I was at Peg’s Glorified Ham and Eggs (our version of Wade’s Dinner back in Reno) and I sat across from perhaps one of my best friends and ministry partners Phil Burdoin. Phil, a couple of years older than me ,had a passion for the gospel like few I’ve ever seen. When I got to The Bridge Church I knew he was the guy I needed to make my biggest investment in. Investment in time, investment in prayer and investment in helping him continue to develop his giftings. It wasn’t as though Phil was immature by any stretch, he was a deeply ground believer in Jesus Christ and had been using his gifts in amazing ways for the kingdom, but there was something about him that made me want to make a deeper investment in him and there was a reason; He was always willing to make hard sacrifices in order to invest time in other people even though his full-time job for almost two decades was as an IT professional. He had a full time job with full time commitments and yet still was willing to invest in others. That was the type of man I wanted to invest in.

We met for Bible study with a group every Monday at my house, Phil and I met Tuesday mornings for coffee, we were together on Wednesday nights leading youth ministry some times on the weekends and of course on Sunday mornings. There were times when I literally saw Phil every day of the week.

This encounter over breakfast on Christmas Eve was particularly important because Phil and I both had a sense, even then three months prior to setting foot here in Oswego, that this is where God was calling my family for the next step in ministry and Phil and I, who share an affinity for planning ahead, were dreaming about how to set up the ministry well for my departure.

After a long talk, about two hours, as we sat and we cast a vision for what a proposal would look like to present to the staff and board at The Bridge we had a well laid plan and a thought for the type of individual the Bridge Church would need, and I realized something, he was sitting right across from me, it was Phil; a man I had instructed students numerous times to address as Pastor Phil because he was that to them.

So I asked him, “Phil, what about you? What would stop you from stepping into full-time vocational ministry”. We talked more, dreamed more, took time over the next several months and through some rather God inspired events, here is Pastor Phil today, Associate Pastor at The Bridge Church.

Phil is built for ministry and I saw that in him. But I wasn’t the only one who saw that, Pastor Bill West the Senior Pastor at The Bridge Church had seen that well before I had seen that, Pastor Josh McCrary my predecessor had seen that in him and countless others. We all saw the same thing, Phil was worth the investment.

And as I sat across from him that morning over breakfast I knew, I just knew I had been investing in my replacement. That really is the essence of discipleship, finding your replacement; the person you can invest time in and energy around the gospel of Jesus in a way that says, I know that time is short, who am I investing in to replace me as the gospel goes forth.

Transition:

As we continue in our series Everyday Leaders, Biblical Leadership Principles for Every Christian I would like for you to consider the investment you are making in the next leader. How we are going to see that unfold in scripture this morning is in the life of a man who is everything I described in Pastor Phil Burdoin, today we are going to be looking at Timothy, The Next Leader. Open your Bibles with me to 2 Timothy 1 starting at verse 3.

At this point in Paul’s life he is preparing to go to be with the Lord, he sits in prison, execution is not too far off in his future, this is in fact the last writing we have from the great apostle Paul and who does he write it to…his young protege Timothy, his disciple, his replacement. Paul knows that his gospel ministry is coming to an end, but he knows the gospel certainly does not stop with him, it goes forward and it will go forward through the ministry of a young man he has invested in, his disciple, his replacement. If you are a ministry leader, take out your notebook and pay particular attention today and when I say ministry leader, I’m not talking about Elders or our Board of Ministries or our staff exclusively…don’t make a mistake I’m talking about them too, but if you lead an outreach, a Community Life Group, children’s ministry, youth ministry, if you are a musician, if you are a parent or grand parent pay attention I’m talking to you. What I hope we learn today friends is that for each of us we are either going to be a Paul or a Timothy; you are either at the point of investing in the spiritual development of another, your disciples, your replacements, or you are being invested in (which by design will mean you will eventually invest in another and you will eventually have a replacement), no one is excluded from that; this is how the gospel goes forth…discipleship…and how God intends to expand the kingdom through us is the process of discipleship, making the right investments in our replacements.

Let’s stand together, as is the tradition of our church, as we hear from God’s word in 2 Timothy 1:3-14.

Teaching:

2 Timothy 1:3-14 (ESV) 3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 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 gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. 13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

You may be seated, may God add his blessing to the reading of his word as we are guided by his Spirit in applying it to our lives today.

You should have the clear sense from Paul in this passage that Paul is not simply looking for someone to take over for him. There is a deep affection for Timothy that is evident which goes far beyond Paul needing someone to assume his ministry; that is at the very heart of his discipleship relationship with Timothy. This is how discipleship happens friends, it’s an exchange, but it goes deeper than the exchange ,it’s rooted in love, but even more in their connectivity to Jesus Christ and how Paul speaks about Timothy. It is what Paul teaches us in his relationship with Timothy.

Move 1: Make The Investment of Continual Prayer

Listen to the type of relationship Paul had with Timothy he says first and foremost, above all things that he constantly, he constantly remembers Timothy in his prayers. That out of all the other things going on in his life, all the other people he is responsible for, the proclaiming of the gospel to the Gentiles Paul still takes time to pray for Timothy, but does so in a way that reminds him of their affection for each other; constantly…night and day.

Paul knew this as foundational to Christian development, it wasn’t something you just did in crisis, Paul is embodying here what he proclaims in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing. This was in Paul’s DNA to pray for people, in every letter he writes he begins with prayer for the people he is writing for, but not only begins with prayer but he tells his people how he is praying for them and why he is praying for them.

Friends one of the biggest investments you can make is to have a robust prayer life where you find yourself praying for others more than you are praying for yourself, praying specifically for others and their circumstances but also for their growth and development as disciples of Jesus Christ. this is what Paul models for us. But for Paul it wasn’t just about having a replacement, someone to take over for him once he is gone from the gospel ministry, he shows us that investing in our replacement goes much deeper than that.

Move 2: Make An Investment in A Disciple’s Whole Life

Look at verses 4 and 5: 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

For Paul, Timothy as his beloved disciple clearly mattered more than the ministry. It wasn’t about just getting the work done in the church, his relationship went deeper. When Paul says he remembers Timothy’s tears we don’t have a sense of what those tears were over, but Paul clearly did, so much so that he didn’t have to say exactly what brought those tears; they both knew. Remember this letter is written only in the broad view to us, Paul doesn’t have us in view when he is writing this, God does, but Paul doesn’t. He has Timothy, his disciple in view. For us it shouldn’t matter what his tears were over nor should we spend undue time trying to figure it out what we should see in this is that his tears, whatever they were mattered to Paul, we should see the love for Timothy that Paul had that said you are more than a ministry tool for me you are loved by me.

But not only that his family mattered, note here that he mentions his family by name, his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice and their faith. Paul has a deep investment in the whole life of Timothy.

I’m going to talk to the ministry leaders in the room for a moment; how many times do we get frustrated because there just aren’t enough volunteers. It seems like the same people are always doing the same things. But let me ask you, what kind of deep discipleship investments are you making in people? Are you invested in people and their lives, walking through their tearful pains with them, do you know their lives, their families or do you just want to get things done around here.

Is there someone in your life that if you were preparing to meet the Lord like Paul, that you are so invested in, that you would feel compelled to write them one last letter of love and instruction and they would expect it from you?

Friends you will here me say this as long as I am one of your pastors, I said it when I first interviewed and I’ve said it all along, “People Over Program”. If our aiming point is just to keep the institution going we are no different from the rest of the world’s institutions and we have a very thin view of God and his church. Our aiming point should always be a rich relationship with people that points them to Jesus Christ, whether they are preaching a sermon or plunging the toilet.

And out of this rich type of relationship building it is the arena where we get to see a disciple’s gifts and we have the opportunity to help them foster their gifts and challenge them to use those gifts. This is where healthy discipleship finds life and the kingdom expands.

Move 3: Find Opportunities to Help Disciples Exercise Their Gifts

Paul has a clear sense in his mind of what he is going to ask Timothy to do, he is his disciple, he has seen Timothy’s pastoral gifts and his relationship with Timothy is such that he is not going to let him off without using his God given gifts. He tells him in verse 6 to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

You see their is two parts to that; what Timothy does and what Paul does. Paul by saying that the gift of God Timothy has came through the laying on of his hands, means that Paul had a hand in helping Timothy to develop and exercise those gifts. He trained Timothy, he saw his natural ability and the supernatural giftings God had put in him. Paul is living out the principle that he wrote to the Ephesian church, the very church where he left Timothy to be a shepherd in Ephesians 4:12 (ESV) 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…

Paul did that with Timothy, but gifts without use have no value. Let me say that to you again gifts without use have no value. This is why Paul charges Timothy, as he prepares to leave this earth, to fan into flame, in other words, grow in and use your gifts Timothy, and because he knows Timothy and his gifts so intimately he knows exactly how he is to challenge Timothy to exercise those gifts. He says to him:

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed,

Note the connection between verse 8 and 11-12.

In verse 8 he tells him to not be ashamed of the gospel but to share in its sufferings and why does he tell him to do so? Look at verses 12, because Paul suffered for the gospel and was not ashamed to do so.

You see Paul was only asking Timothy to go as far as he had gone, to do what he had done, what they had done together. For the Timothy’s in the room (which really is all of us) we have a responsibility to use the gifts God has given us for the building up of the body of Christ. The gifts God has given you are of good use in the world, to provide for your family but primarily, God has gifted you to build up the body of Christ at some level. Paul had equipped Timothy for this, he had pastored him in a way to be a pastor and with his last dying letter he says to Timothy, go do it, because you’ve seen me do it.

And it all centered around one overarching thing and it hasn’t changed.

Move 3: Make The Investment of Gospel Truth In Your Disciples

If you look at the scope of this passage it centers unapologetically around the gospel as the central focus of Paul and Timothy’s relationship. He helped Lois and Eunice foster the faith they had instilled in him that was rooted in the gospel and when Paul needed someone to replace him he knew the only thing that would matter that he could leave Timothy was the gospel.

Look again at verses 9-10, this is a summary of the gospel, that God had saved them and called them both to a holy calling by his own purpose and grace, that Christ had doe it before the ages began and that he had abolished death, but look very closely at the relationship between verses 12 and 14. Paul saw that the gospel had been entrusted to him in verse 12 and in verse 14 he says he entrusted it to Timothy.

Friends the gospel is the heartbeat of any and all discipleship in our lives.

Bottom Line: Make the Right Investments in Our Replacements

I am so blessed in the Lord every time I think about Phil Burdoin, when ever I talk to him and to see how he is growing as a pastor. Friends who is your Phil Burdoin…your Timothy? Until Jesus returns we can only presume that our responsibility lies as followers of Jesus to know the gospel intimately, it has been entrusted to us and that we have a responsibility to entrust it to others. That is only going to come in deep relationship with other believers. Who are the people that you are creating deep connections with and how are you learning to prayer for others more than yourself? Do you know their families, their stories, their gifts and are you in a place to challenge them to use those gifts?

It isn’t about getting more volunteers, it isn’t about keeping ministries going it’s about people, it’s always about people and helping them develop a passion for Jesus Christ in community together. That is how Oswego Alliance will make an impact for Jesus Christ, invest in another disciple of Jesus Christ, find your replacement and prepare to expand the kingdom together.