WEBVTT

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The Book of Le livre de Timothée
Second Timothy

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Session 1
2 Timothy 1:1-18
Entrusted and Unashamed

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<v ->If you've got your Bibles,
and I hope you do grab 'em</v>

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and we're going to be in second
Timothy.

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The whole idea about second
Timothy is the apostle Paul

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who has been called by the Lord

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is now equipping and raising up
young Timothy

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to be the pastor of the church in
Ephesus.

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You see what he's doing is
passing the torch on

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to this upcoming generation.

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And the theme throughout

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all of second Timothy is simply
this,

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faith is not something that
happens to you,

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but it happens through you.

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And so in second Timothy chapter
one, it says this,

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"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus
by the will of God

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according to the promise of the
life

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that is in Christ Jesus to
Timothy."

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And what Paul is now going to say

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is these words that I am sharing
with you

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are not merely my own words,

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these words are coming from the
Lord himself

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to get you ready to be the man
that he has called you to be,

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to be the pastor that he has
called you to be.

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So Timothy, my beloved child,

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what I want you to notice all
throughout second Timothy

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is this kind of relational
language

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because we're gonna find out

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that Timothy grows up without a
father

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or at least a spiritually absent
father.

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And Paul is gonna play this
fatherly role in his life,

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and he goes on to say, grace,
mercy and peace

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from God the father and Christ
Jesus are Lord.

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And then he says, "I thank God
whom I serve,

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as did my ancestors."

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I want you to notice here the
language of passing the torch

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from one generation, to the next
generation,

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to the next generation.

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Paul says, "I thank God whom I
serve,

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as did my ancestors with a clear
conscience

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as I remember you constantly in
my prayers day and night."

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I want to ask you this, if you're
a believer,

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who's praying for you and who are
you praying for?

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You see, church is not just an
event that we attend,

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church is a family that we belong
to.

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Then it goes on to say, "As I
remember your tears,

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I long to see you, that I may be
filled with joy."

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Do you have those kind of
discipleship relationships?

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Do you have men and women around
you,

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a band of brothers or sisters
that you cry with,

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that you long to see, that you
pray for?
00:02:57.422 --> 00:02:59.585
Because Paul is remembering this
time

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in Paul and Timothy's life

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where they shared an experience
together where he says,

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"I remembered your tears."

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Pay attention to that,

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we'll come right back to that in
a minute.

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In verse five, he says,

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"I am reminded of your sincere
faith,

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the faith that first dwelled in
your grandmother Lois

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and your mother Eunice, and now I
am sure dwells in you."

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Now if you're paying attention,
who's missing here?

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You see no mention of Timothy's
father.

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The only mention in the Bible

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that we can find of Timothy's
father

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is way back in Acts chapter 16.

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He's never mentioned by name,

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only his ethnicity is mentioned,

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but it's by the faith of his
grandmother

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and the faith of his mother

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that the fate just passed on to
Timothy.

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Now, I will say this,

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there are no grandchildren in the
faith,

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that God doesn't save last names,
he saves first names,

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but our roles as parents and
grandparents

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and aunts and uncles and church
leaders is this

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is to take the kindling and put
it around the hearts

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of the little ones that God gives
us authority over
00:04:01.232 --> 00:04:03.962
so that when the spark of the
spirit lights

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and there the heart will come on
fire for the Lord.

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And then the crux of all of
second Timothy

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is the next couple of verses.

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Paul says this, "For this reason,

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Timothy, I remind you to fan the
flame, the gift of God

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which is in you through the
laying on of my hands."

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You see, I think this is a clue

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to let us know what Paul was
talking about when he says,

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"I remember your tears."

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Again, way back in Acts chapter
16,

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Paul comes across this young man,
Timothy,

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and he's got a lot going against
him in his life,
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but Paul says, I have been called
by God

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and Timothy I call you to come
and do ministry with me.

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And for the next several
chapters,

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through several different cities,
they do ministry together.

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And then by the time you get to
Acts chapter 20,

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the Bible says

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that Paul gathers the elders of
the church at Ephesus

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of which Timothy is going to be
the lead elder

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at the church of Ephesus.

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And he gathers them together.

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And the apostle Paul lays his
hands on Timothy

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and he speaks a word into him.

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Now Timothy is already a believer

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so he already has the gift of the
spirit.

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But in this moment, Paul begins
to speak words into Timothy.

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He begins to tell Timothy some
things

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that maybe Timothy has doubted
his entire life.

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And I believe this is the moment
that they're crying.

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In fact, acts chapter 20 says,
"They all cried afterwards."

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And how do I know this?

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Because I could tell you this,

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you take a young man like Timothy

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who definitely has some like
father wounds and issues,

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and then you take a man like Paul

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who was a father figure to him,

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who is the most spiritually

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authoritative person on the
planet,

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and that person in authority,

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that man in authority lays his
hands on this young man

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and he speaks life into him.

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And when that happens,

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(chuckles)
there won't be

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a dry eye in the house.

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Listen, I know this to be true,

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the night before we launched the
church

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that I have the pleasure of
serving now,

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my elders gathered around me in
our sanctuary,

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they laid hands on me and they
spoke truth into my life.

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And I'm just telling you, I cried
and cried and cried.

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And some people cried,

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cool man, there are some old guys
that cry, cool,
00:06:20.462 --> 00:06:22.712
like one tear like the
Terminator, but not me.

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When I cry, I convulse.

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I look like a seventh grade girl

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that just watched The Notebook,
it's not good.

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I imagine that's how Timothy is
crying

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because Paul says, "I remember
your tears."

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And then of all the things that
God leads

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Paul to say to Timothy,

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here are the words that he speaks
over him,

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he says, Timothy, "For God gave
us a spirit, not a fear,

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but of power and of love and of
self-control."

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Now you may ask, why?

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Why did Paul say these specific
words to Timothy?

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I think there's a lot of labels

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that Timothy had to overcome.

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I think there's a lot of whispers
of the enemy

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that Timothy had a tendency to
believe in.

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You see, he starts with this,

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he says, "God did not give you a
spirit of fear."

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I need you to know, fear is not a
feeling.

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Fear is not simply an emotion,

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fear is not a personality type,

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fear is a spirit that does not
come from God.

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And Timothy has a whole bunch of
things to overcome.

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And the whispers of fear will lie
to us.

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Maybe some of the lies that
Timothy believed is this,

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"Timothy, you're too young.
00:07:35.852 --> 00:07:37.472
You're too young to be a pastor.

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I mean, everybody that you come
in relationship with

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to disciple, they're gonna be
older than you,

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they're gonna be more experienced
than you."

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Maybe this is why Paul is gonna
say to Timothy,

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"Don't let anyone despise you
because of your youth,

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but set for them an example in
life,

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love, speech, and purity.

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We know that Timothy is a bit
sickly.

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He's got some kind of stomach
problem going on.

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It could be every time he stands
up in front of people,

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he gets so nervous that he has a
stomach issue.

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Maybe this is why Paul is later
gonna say,
00:08:06.463 --> 00:08:09.273
"Hey, take a little wine for your
stomach."

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It could also be the fact that

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Timothy grows up without a dad.

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I mean, he grows out without a
father figure.

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He's spiritually absent.

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And all of this swirls around in
his mind and in his heart,

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and he is full of fear.

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And so Paul says,

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"Not in you Timothy, God did not
give you a spirit of fear."

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You see, fear is a liar.

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And the opposite of faith is not
doubt,

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which is really good news.

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If you've got a lot of questions

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and doubt about the claims of
Christianity,
00:08:43.202 --> 00:08:44.732
I've got really good news for
you.

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You could be a great disciple.

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The Bible would just say,

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"Just pick up your doubts and
follow after Jesus,

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and one day all of your doubts
will go away.

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Not like next Tuesday, but when
we are in heaven,

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you won't doubt Jesus anymore

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because then our faith will
become sight."

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So the opposite of faith is not
doubt,

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the opposite of faith is fear

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because fear paralyzes and faith
produces action.

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Here comes Paul along and lays
his hands on Timothy,

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and basically what he's saying
when he says,

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"God is not giving you a spirit
of fear, but of power

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and of love and of self-control."

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He's saying this,

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"Timothy, the world does not get
to tell you who you are."

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I want you to hear this too from
the word of God,

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the world does not get to tell
you who you are,

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you are not defined by your past,

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you're not defined by your
divorce,

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you're not defined by your
affair,

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you're not defined by your
addiction,

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you're not defined by your sin,

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you're not defined by your scars,
by your temptation,

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by your sexuality, by whatever
the thing is

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that this world tries to label
you as,

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because only Jesus gets to tell
you who you are.

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And Jesus says, if you trust in
Christ

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that you are more than a
conqueror,

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that you are bought, that you are
redeemed,

00:09:56.252 --> 00:09:58.550

that you are a son of the most
high king.

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And what God has put in you is
not fear,

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but what he has put in you

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is power and love and self-
control.

00:10:08.342 --> 00:10:10.959

The most commanded thing in all
the scripture is this,

00:10:10.959 --> 00:10:12.542

"Don't be afraid."

00:10:12.542 --> 00:10:13.375

That I've read

00:10:13.375 --> 00:10:17.462

that there are at least 366
commands in the Bible

00:10:17.462 --> 00:10:19.742

where there is some version of
don't be afraid,

00:10:19.742 --> 00:10:22.082

fear not, be strong and
courageous,

00:10:22.082 --> 00:10:23.983

don't worry, be anxious for
nothing.

00:10:23.983 --> 00:10:26.102

Why 366 times?

00:10:26.102 --> 00:10:28.442

I don't know about you, but every
single day of my life,

00:10:28.442 --> 00:10:31.029

I need to wake up and hear from
our heavenly father,

00:10:31.029 --> 00:10:35.360

"Don't be afraid for I am with
you."

00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:36.489

Paul goes on to say,

00:10:36.489 --> 00:10:38.672

"Therefore, do not be ashamed

00:10:38.672 --> 00:10:42.367

of the testimony about our Lord,
nor of me his prisoner,

00:10:42.367 --> 00:10:47.367

but share in suffering for the
gospel by the power of God."

00:10:47.402 --> 00:10:48.950

And so for the rest of the
chapter,

00:10:48.950 --> 00:10:51.391

Paul is going to instruct
Timothy,

00:10:51.391 --> 00:10:54.602

so build your life in ministry on
the gospel.

00:10:54.602 --> 00:10:57.002

Don't put your faith in
circumstances,

00:10:57.002 --> 00:10:59.582

snatch your trust back from those
circumstances

00:10:59.582 --> 00:11:02.282

and put your faith in hope in the
one true God

00:11:02.282 --> 00:11:05.492

and because of that, you have
nothing to be afraid of.

00:11:05.492 --> 00:11:07.322

Don't believe the whispers,

00:11:07.322 --> 00:11:10.621

don't believe the lies of the
enemy that try to condemn you.

00:11:10.621 --> 00:11:14.132

One of the things the enemy
constantly tries to do

00:11:14.132 --> 00:11:16.927

in the life of the believer is he
wants you to believe

00:11:16.927 --> 00:11:20.132

that your life is defined by your
scars.

00:11:20.132 --> 00:11:21.936

He says, "Look at 'em, they're
your scars.

00:11:21.936 --> 00:11:23.920

You earned them, you did it."

00:11:23.920 --> 00:11:26.608

But then Jesus comes along and
says, "No, no, no, no,

00:11:26.608 --> 00:11:28.602

you're not defined by your scars.

00:11:28.602 --> 00:11:31.088

You're defined by mine.'"

00:11:31.088 --> 00:11:35.402

That the resurrected Christ gives
us the power,

00:11:35.402 --> 00:11:39.002

gives us a sound mind, gives us
self-control,

00:11:39.002 --> 00:11:40.532

gives us the power of love.

00:11:40.532 --> 00:11:42.782

And it's on that gospel that we
stand

00:11:42.782 --> 00:11:46.412

and it is on that gospel that we
walk by faith

00:11:46.412 --> 00:11:50.402

in the ministry that God has for
us.

00:11:50.402 --> 00:11:53.162

And so may you, may you right
now,

00:11:53.162 --> 00:11:55.412

if you struggle with fear,

00:11:55.412 --> 00:11:58.275

if you have a tendency to be shut
down by fear,

00:11:58.275 --> 00:12:01.565

may you hear the words of God
over you

00:12:01.565 --> 00:12:04.532

for God has not given you a
spirit of fear,

00:12:04.532 --> 00:12:07.595

but of power and of love and of
self-control.

00:12:08.462 --> 00:12:09.295

Amen.