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How Important is Faithfulness? | 2 Timothy 4:9-22 | Darien Gabriel

Series: Guard the Treasure

Title: “How Important is Faithfulness?"

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:9-22 NIV

Acts 2:36-39 (Invitation)

Bottom line: Our faithfulness is important. God's faithfulness is essential.

  1. INTRODUCTION

  2. CONTEXT

  3. SERMON OUTLINE

  4. CONCLUSION

  5. NOTES

  6. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

  7. OUTLINES

  8. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  9. MAIN REFERENCES USED

INTRODUCTION

It's hard to understand what God does and why. We can learn a lot about God and his world through scientific inquiry. But we cannot discern the meaning and purpose to life and creation without hearing the Creator tell us. This is called divine revelation. This work requires philosophical and theological processing. But revelation from the Creator himself is essential. See John Lennox explain this with his analogy.

Aunt Matilda’s Cake: An Analogy for Science and Faith

In my lectures, (John Lennox says), I often use the analogy of "Aunt Matilda's cake" to explain the limits of scientific inquiry and the necessity of revelation for understanding certain truths.

Imagine Aunt Matilda bakes a delicious cake and a group of scientists is tasked with analysing it. The biochemists, nutritionists, and physicists can tell us about the cake’s chemical composition, calorific content, and physical properties. However, they cannot tell us why Aunt Matilda baked the cake. For that, we need to ask Aunt Matilda herself.

This analogy highlights an essential point: while science is a powerful tool for uncovering the mechanisms of the natural world, it cannot answer questions about purpose and meaning. These questions require a different kind of inquiry—one that involves revelation, philosophy, and theology.

Just as only Aunt Matilda can reveal her intentions, only through God's revelation can we understand the ultimate purpose and meaning of our existence. 

God calls us to be faithful in the midst of difficult circumstances and in an evil world. The only way we'll stay faithful is to know and trust him based on his special revelation of the word of God. This is why Paul remind Timothy in both letters to "guard the good deposit" and "guard the treasure" and to "preach the word."

CONTEXT

Paul is in his last days on this earth and he knows it. He writes, "And the time for my departure is near." He knows he's finishing well, but he's not done yet. He is calling together his superstars for a final summit in Rome. He wants their emotional support and he wants to give them some final instructions. So he calls Timothy to come quickly and to bring John Mark with him as he and Luke make final preparation before his execution.

It's here we pick up the story today.

It's here we wrestle with the question, "How important is faithfulness?"

I think you'll find that

  • Faithfulness to God is important, and

  • God is faithful to us and it's essential.

SERMON

OUTLINE (relies heavily on Tony Merida's outline)

I. Timothy's Call to Faithfulness (4:4-5) (Mikey preached)

II. Paul's Example of Faithfulness (4:6-8) (Chris preached)

III. More Examples of Faithfulness (4:9-15, 19-21)

A. 9 Examples (4:9-15)

      1. Timothy

      2. Demas

      3. Crescents, Titus and Tychicus

      4. Luke

      5. Mark

      6. Carpus

      7. Alexander

B. Faithful old friends and new friends (4:19-21)

      1. Priscilla and Aquila, Onesiphorus

      2. Erastus and Trophimus

      3. Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and the brothers

IV. The Lord's Perfect Faithfulness (4:16-18, 22)

A. The Lord's presence (4:16-17)

When Paul had been discouraged in Corinth, the Lord came to him and encouraged him (Acts 18:9–11). After he had been arrested in Jerusalem, Paul again was visited by the Lord and encouraged (Acts 23:11). During that terrible storm, when Paul was on board ship, the Lord had again given him strength and courage (Acts 27:22ff). Now, in that horrible Roman prison, Paul again experienced the strengthening presence of the Lord, who had promised, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb. 13:5

Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 256). Victor Books.

B. The Lord's rescue (4:18)

C. The Lord's grace (4:22)

CONCLUSION

"Life is understood backwards, but lived forward." Soren Kirkegaard

Bottom line: Our faithfulness is important. God's faithfulness is essential.

Let's

  1. Remember God is with us even when all abandon us. (17)

  2. Rest in his rescuing us from this dark world. (18)

  3. Rely on his grace and strength until we depart. (22)

Remember in v. 6 where Paul said he was being "poured out like a drink offering." The Lord was poured out for us on the cross. And all who follow Jesus are called to live the same way.

God calls us to be faithful! Faithful to guard the treasure, preach the word, endure hardships, do the work of the evangelist, and fulfill our ministry.

Paul looked back and said,

  1. I have kept the faith (7),

  2. I have fought the good fight (7),

  3. I have finished the race. (7)

What about us? How are we running and fighting and keeping and guarding?

Join me in resolving and rededicating my life to finishing well. To keeping the faith faithfully.

Invitation

““Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭36‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Bottom line:

  1. What is God saying to me right now?

  2. What am I going to do about it? Write this down on a sheet of paper.

What I hear you saying, Lord, is ___________________.

[my name] is going to believe/do __________________________________________________ as a result.

Finally, share this with your Home or Mission group this week when you gather as a testimony about what God is doing in your life. You don’t have to get too specific to give him praise.

Pray

NOTES

None to add

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

  1. Who is God?

  2. What has he done/is he doing/is he going to do?

  3. Who am I? (In light of 1 & 2)

  4. What do I get to do? (In light of who I am)

  5. How do I do it?

Let’s ask some summary sermon questions:

Q. What do I want them to know?

A.

Q. Why do I want them to know it?

A.

Q. What do I want them to do about it?

A.

Q. Why do I want them to do it?

A.

Q. How can they begin to do this?

A.

OUTLINES

None for today

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Discovery Bible Study process: https://www.dbsguide.org/

  1. Retell the story in your own words.

  2. Discovery the story

    1. What does this story tell me about God?

    2. What does this story tell me about people?

    3. If this is really true, what should I do?

  3. What is God saying to you right now? (Write this down)

  4. What are you going to do about it? (Write this down)

  5. Who am I going to tell about this?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Alternate Discussion Questions (by Jeff Vanderstelt): Based on this passage:

  1. Who is God?

  2. What has he done/is he doing/is he going to do?

  3. Who am I? (In light of 1 & 2)

  4. What do I get to do? (In light of who I am)

  5. How do I do it?

Final Questions (Write this down)

  • What is God saying to you right now?

  • What are you going to do about it?

MAIN REFERENCES USED

“1 - 2 Timothy,” by David Helm, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent Hughes

“1 & 2 Timothy” by John Stott

Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Timothy & Titus, David Platt, Daniel Akin, Tony Merida

“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)

“The Visual Word,” Patrick Schreiner (VW)

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)

Willmington’s Bible Handbook, D Willmington (WBH)

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/

Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)

ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.org

“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app (BIOY)

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