Ben Stuart at Linger 2018

my name is Ben Stewart and I'm a pastor and I'm a good friend of the Shane's and I'll tell you I've known him a long time and it's amazing that to see that they're not in prison or in a gutter on the street somewhere facedown is absolutely a testament to the grace of God and but to watch them do this and to know them for so long and to even hear get to hear the first Inklings of of what would it be like to create space for people to linger before God and and then to see them to have the courage to step out and encourage to invite people and then to see you come and to see God meet us here it's such a thrill to watch your friends follow God and see the blessing that comes in the wake of that is amazing so I'm deeply grateful to Shane and Shane tonight I want to say that honor them and just say thank you to them for this this weekend for us yeah amazing if you got a Bible I want to read you a couple verses from second Timothy chapter 1 2nd Timothy chapter 1 starting in verse 1 I want to read a couple verses and then we'll pray and then jump in while you're turning there let me just say my wife and three kids and I have moved to Washington DC six months ago yeah and we Wow did someone his-- Washington DC what was that or you could pray either one of those one of those two options I don't know so watch them out there but we are you know Texans from birth and deep in our hearts and that sort of thing and but moved up there because the Lord called us we believe it and we've been there and it's been amazing to see what God is doing in that city challenging place and yet God is meeting us there we have a wonderful home a wonderful community that's met with us even last week man we've run into so many people that said man how is God gonna move in a city like that number 88 out of a hundred on varnas list of biblically minded cities churches all over the city closing and becoming condos and yet we had a worship gathering last week of over a thousand people right in the heart of the city worshiping Jesus and it was absolutely unbelievable to see what God's doing so I just say that while you're turning just keep us in mind and pray for us we have found a decent taco and so that's another sign of the grace of God and we're deeply deeply grateful so second Timothy chapter 1 verse 1 says this Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of life that's in Christ Jesus 2 Timothy my beloved child grace mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord I thank God whom I serve as my ancestors dead with a clear conscience as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day and as I remember your tears I long to see you that I might be filled with joy I'm reminded of your sincere faith the faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and now I'm sure dwells in you as well 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 gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and of love and of self-control let me pray for us father thank you for some moments even now to remember Jesus to think about your triumphs God and all the hope that that infuses into our soul in the present and the vision it gives us of a glorious future I pray God help us now understand a little more of how that works of how being reminded gives us strength for the future God fill our minds now with the truth of your word stir our affections with it but steal our lives with it God strengthen us to be the kind of men and women who can journey with hope journey with faith and with power and love even in the midst of a very challenging day god I pray you would equip us right now and God I don't feel fit to the task and so we're asking you for help and I want to invite you guys if you're willing to ask him and say lord please teach us right now and then if you would please pray for me that the Lord would use me and I'd be helpful to you well father we love you and we trust you use this time and we pray that in Jesus name Amen well when I graduated from college I didn't have much of a plan my last semester my plan was to wander the earth in pursuit of adventure but I knew I wanted to be a minister at some point but I was hired to be a youth pastor in Spring Texas it was amazing killed the wandering plans but I stepped in to be a youth pastor and I was a graduate of Texas A&M and okay so you've heard of it they don't do that in DC as much but you know like most graduates from A&M the expectation is you leave I am and proceeded to take over the earth you know uh they sort of wired that into you and so it was a little alarming to me to show up at a youth ministry of about four students and six adults and to find fairly quickly that the adults did not like me and after a few months in ministry I had zero adults and one student in my ministry felt like I was going backwards and in the midst of that I was like wow man this is really hard and I don't have answers I thought I had and I don't have momentum I expected to have and I thought we were gonna blast off and this is difficult and yet in the midst of that my uncle is a stockbroker said hey I landed in the top whatever like five percent of stockbrokers my company so we get an all-expense-paid trip to London do you want to go with me and I'm like yes that's amazing let's hit eject let's go have fun so I jumped on a plane went with him and got to do a trip to Italy which to London was incredible cuz we showed up and you know I expected to go as a college kid like a backpack you know and just kind of eating beef jerky and living off the land and yeah I roll in with him and we got drivers picking us up they take us to the same hotel Bruce Springsteen was in the Spice Girls were there back when that was you know like a big deal and I remember I was checking in and they asked my name are you mr. Stewart I said yes and they handed me an envelope and I opened it and it was just filled with cash all right and the whole trip was like that whose unbelievable they would karna surround a five-course meals I remember at one point I'm driving to this five-course meal and as we're passing these monuments I see kids my age like all sleeping on the ground under park benches and stuff and I'm in a suit on my way to this dinner and I'm like roll up the windows James you know I'm just like all right sorry I'm on a new level but I remember when we first got there there was this reception the first night and so I got dressed up and I'm coming down the steps like you know walking down and I'm ready to meet the people have an adventure in London and so I show up and there's this buffet and I'm there at the buffet and this lady and I are there and everybody's excited we're all about to have fun and she looks at me and she's like well you're awfully young to be a stockbroker no like no no I'm here with my uncle and she was like well what do you do and I said I'm a youth pastor I still tell students about Jesus and she went didn't say word just walked off and it took me a minute like oh hey this hadn't been face rejection like that but I was like well man she was weird and so I'm working down the buffet line another thing happened somebody comes up well you're awfully young to be a what do you know I said well I'm a youth pastor I tell young people about Jesus and he went and did the same thing and I started to pick up pretty fast this is a crowd that had come here to have fun and Jesus and fun aren't really in the same sentence for them and so they didn't really want much to do with me it was a weird experience for me but it happened over and over and over again and as the night went on all the joy sucked out and by the ni I just wanted to go home I remember someone came up to me at the end and you're awfully young what do you do and I said I work with young people that's so amazing that's awesome I believe the children are our future and that's so cool you're investing in them I like ya isn't it and I got some acceptance all I had to do was was cut Jesus out and so I got it but it didn't make me feel much better so I went and sat in this corner that bar downstairs at the hotel and I was like man life is hard this isn't working how I thought it was that a.m. people cheered for you if you like Jesus they like bought you stuff and made you who gave you power over organizations out here in the real world they don't do that and I hit this moment where I was like you know what I'm looking back home and things are chaos and I'm looking right here and things aren't fun and I just got that wake-up call many of you have had in different ways in life at age 22 where I realized my allegiance to Jesus is costing me and belonging to him is costing me and life is hard and I just started taking some hits my question is what do you do what are you doing life's not that not that fun what do you do when you're taking hits for this and some of you maybe aren't ministers here like then I don't know what that's like but I think all of us know how difficult life can be and even if you don't feel like you're directly taking shots because of your allegiance to Jesus read a newspaper the world is a crazy place and I think we're all feeling that we're seeing the chaos in the news and the hostility towards one another in it's scaring people it was interesting for me to watch the Grammys and to see the Grammys and Sam Smith get up there Sam Smith winning Grammys winning awards got the money got the power got the popularity got everything here's the Grammy stage man what do you want to say and he gets up there in his vest I know not a believer starts singing I am young and foolish I've made bad decisions I block out the news I've turned my back on religion I don't have a degree I'm somewhat naive but I've made it this far in my own but lately all this isn't getting me higher I lift up my head and the world's on fire there's dread in my heart fear in my bones and I don't know what to say maybe I'll pray maybe I'll pray that's the course I've never believed in you but I'm gonna pray you won't find me in church not reading the Bible but I'm still here and I'm your disciple and I'm down on my knees I'm begging you please I'm broken I'm alone I'm afraid and I'm gonna pray maybe I'll pray for a glimmer of hope and I just feel like that's that's the song of the culture right now what do you do in a culture where your allegiance to Jesus doesn't get you that much what you do when you're living a life where people aren't cheering you on what do you do when life is hard it's not going the way he thought why bring all that out because we're in this moment in 2nd Timothy were Paul the great apostle writer much of the New Testaments in prison and he's not gonna make it out as far as we know this is the last word to Paul he's gonna die after this prison sentence and he's writing a letter to young Timothy young Timothy was probably my age when I was out of college young guy his protege the guy who had walked with him and Timothy had been entrusted with the leadership of the church at Ephesus which wasn't an easy place when the gospel came to Ephesus riots broke out there was animosity against Jesus and Timothy got there and as you read this letter you realized Timothy's taking shots people aren't cheering him on it's difficult to be an allegiance to God and your mentors in a jail somewhere and you're over here struggling what happens in this moment what is Paul gonna say to a Timothy when life's hard and they're not cheering you on and I think it's interesting that the theme of this conference is to remember because here in this passage Paul's gonna say over and over again I'm reminded I'm reminded I'm reminded and I remind you Paul is gonna keep pulling things up in his mind I want to remind you some things I want to bring to mind stuff and yet he's not bringing too mind things for Timothy to reminisce on the past he's bringing to mind things to give him strength for the future we know this Texans we know this in our history there was a war cry remember the Alamo remember Goliad what was happening on the battlefield when went men would yell that were they calling guys to pause in the battle for Texas Independence and reflect on that yeah I remember Goliad yeah there's a gas station there yeah the Alamo is fantastic I love that little arches is that what they were doing no it's while you're in the midst of the battle and it's your turn to face the difficulty I want you to call your mind back to people who struggled and suffered well to give you fuel for the future and so we're in this moment where Paul's gonna remind Timothy of some things and what they're gonna be is toe holds for Timothy it's interesting I got young kids and they want to learn to climb stuff so they're climbing higher and higher and and I'm helping them and yet they're getting themselves into places all the time where their little arms can't support their body weight some of you who've brought climbing you've done that as you get up there and your arms start to shake panic sets in I'm vulnerable and in that moment I'm coaching them get a toehold get some sure footing under your feet that can rest your weight and the anxiety goes down and not only does that sure footing take your anxiety down it gives you the leverage to propel upward and Paul's gonna give Timothy for toeholds things that will stabilize you and send you forward into what God has for you and they're all in this little intro and you see it at the beginning and it says at the very intro you're gonna catch what he's gonna remind him about and he tells them in verse 1 Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of life that's in Christ Jesus 2 Timothy my beloved child now here's what I find fascinating about that and I always have do they know each other yes Timothy traveled with Paul for much of Paul's ministry their deep friends he calls him my beloved son in other passages I have no one else like him so question if he's that tight you why are you spending so much time introducing yourself do you do that with your kids hey honey it's mom graduate of Howard University former consultant at PwC wife to your father mother of god I know Mom I know why is he doing this like yeah yeah yeah yeah I'm aware well Paul's not doing it to remind Timothy who Paul is Paul is doing it to remind Timothy who timotheus see Paul understands something that Timothy needs to get in him all you have to do in an intro is say your name Paul to Timothy so that's what James did James is like James greetings and then he starts but notice all you have to do is say Paul and Timothy but somebody else's name shows up three times Christ Jesus Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God right according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus to Timothy my beloved child grace and mercy and peace from God the Father in Christ Jesus our Lord and he puts Christ at the front why because that was his title - Christos The Anointed One the Messiah the king the hero that's who were surrounded by Timothy he's rooting Timothy's identity and majesty do you see that I am their official emissary of the King Jesus and you are my son in that same Jesus is our Lord Timothy and then in verse three he says I thank God as I remember you Timothy when I look at you I don't see a failure I don't see a struggler I don't see a disappointment I don't see the abandoned child of an absent dad what I see Timothy is a gift from God every time I see you I thank God that he made you Timothy and Timothy your identity's rooted in majesty you're not just a struggling kid you're a child of the Most High God do you see that and he's doing that to him to give him perspective why because he there stands that our identity determines our activity who you are determines what you do dancers dance boxers box students study hypothetically maybe that one's not the best one but you get the idea that who you are determines what you do and whatever identity you buy most fundamentally will determine what you do with your life I had a pastor when I entered college I remember he stood up in front of a group of us and he says there are two questions that will dominate your college experience and the rest of your life who are you and why are you here and your answer to those two questions will determine the decisions you make the values you hold and the life you live so when you look in the mirror who are you who are you I had a different pastor when I was in college challenged us to do that he said write out your full name on a piece of paper and draw a line after him he said say your full name to yourself he said and don't try to over coach the answer don't try to spiritualize it what's the first thing that comes to mind after you say your full given name say your name what's the first thing that comes to mind for some people it's your job I'm a banker I'm a stockbroker I'm a CEO I'm a mom some of you it's what you're good at I'm the funny guy well I'm the smart one I'm the one that people go to for answers I'm the one that people know they can talk to or maybe for some of you it's what somebody else called you I know for me it surprised me when it was my turn I wrote out my name and I was like okay I'll do this exercise I usually think things like this are kind of silly but I was like Benjamin Clayton Stuart and the first unguarded word that came to mind was disappointment discipline because that's what I felt like I was to my dad and I realized that determined my level of confidence when I walked into a room how I talked to people who I looked in the eye what I said what I believed to be true the amount of courage and confidence I had to speak your activity is determined by all right your identity who are you why are you here Timothy are you a struggling little minister that's not as good as Paul is Paul a guy in prison because he's a fool and gave his life away to a backward religion no no Timothy that is not who you are I am Paul an apostle an official emissary with the message and the authority of the king and who gave him that title did Paul name himself that like Robert Duvall in the movie Apostle I dubbed me an apostle anybody see that nobody okay it wasn't great um he's an apostle by the will of God the intention the pleasure of God Timothy I am what I am because God made me that way God made me that way in accordance with the promise of life that's in Christ Jesus I love that I think it was Billy Graham called out the gospel in miniature when I teach young people the gospel that's the first verse I teach them to memorize because that's the gospel it's a promise of life in Christ Jesus it's a promise you don't earn a promise you don't work your way into a promise a promise is something I say to you I'm gonna give you something and the good news from heaven is God is promising to give you life the assumption is you don't have it there's something wrong with you and yet God is telling you I will give you life and that life is not in what you do it's rooted in what he's done it's life and a person that's the good news of the gospel in Jesus our identity is received not achieved I'm not working to be somebody I'm not working to someday be someone who can look myself in the mirror look other people in the eye I'm not if I can get enough people to listen to me a large enough gathering enough people do applaud enough people to like enough people to follow that's something I can say I made it I am somebody are you proud of me Dad are you proud of me crowd do you love me now does this person want to be near me do these people know my name now I feel like somebody that's not the way the gospel works it's not that I achieve an identity it's I receive it from his finished work and that's the way it works and Timothy you're my beloved child you're a gift from God I thank God for you and Christ Jesus is our Lord together Timothy your idea is rooted in majesty and who your creator says you are it's far more important than what anybody else says you are I don't have the power to name you if I walked up to you and said what's what's your name what's your name right there in the gray shirt yeah yeah sorry Susan crystal what if I just said not anymore now it's Susan and not like I'm gonna call you Susan what if I said your name is Susan what would you say yeah yeah you could say cuz I don't have the authority to do that do I I'm just some guy and yet some of you some people have said things to you you're fat you're ugly you're stupid you're approved in this moment because of you can do these things in the moment you can't you're not worth while you're not enough you're insufficient or you're great because you can provide for me these things and as soon as you can't I don't know what you are I talked to a young man the other day that he was like all my identity was in my sports career and it's gone he said when I lost my career I lost me who named him that God didn't name him that some of you the identity you operate out of somebody else gave you and they don't have the right to name you God does if you're in Christ you are a new creation is what second Corinthians 5 says the old has passed away the new has come and this is from God who reconciled himself to us through Christ and gave us the Ministry of reconciliation God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself not counting our trespasses against us and he's committed to us the word of reconciliation therefore we are ambassadors of Christ as though God we're making an appeal through us we beg you on behalf of Christ be reconciled to God he made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in him I remember when it began to land on me I'm not the guy with the youth group that can pull up and all of them fit in their Buick I mean I am that guy I was that guy that would roll up to here like yeah I brought my youth group yeah the other in the backseat that's Austin and that's that Jim and that's that's everybody we're here but that's not who I am when I walk in the room it's not who I am is a child of the Most High God ordained to be in the place I am called righteous in him and I've been appointed to this place to be an ambassador of Christ to plead with you be reconciled to God I had somebody asked me how can you be so passionate about this with a crowd of five people and with a crowd of 5,000 people it's because the crowd size doesn't matter it doesn't affect any of it whatever room I walk into whether it's a room like this where you might cheer at the end or whether it's a room of people who don't like me and aren't interested at all in DC it doesn't matter it doesn't change who I am and I'm an ambassador of Christ in that room it's the thing for you you're not the shameful one the addicted one the broken one the second son the forgotten daughter you're not any of those things when you walk into a room and don't let that define how you walk into an office you are a child of the Most High God and pollux at Timothy who's been discouraged by the shots of life and said don't you dare bow your head Timothy and don't back up and throttle back into a lesser role you stand up at the full height of you're an ambassador of Jesus in Ephesus that's who you are and don't forget that don't forget that you got to get that right first then he keeps going and in verse 3 he says I thank God whom I serve as my ancestors did with a clear conscience as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day as I remember your tears I long to see you that I may be filled with joy it's interesting verses 3 or 4 in the original language Paul wrote it are all one sentence we kind of break it up so it's not as bananas but it's one sentence and the simple sentence is I thank God as I remember you that's all he was trying to say but I remember you I thank God and yet Paul just shoves a bunch of modifiers all around it like he does and it communicates I thank God as I remember you oh that's sweet constantly Timothy I think about you all the time imagine getting this letter you're an emphasis and people are opposing you questioning your authority questioning if you're worthy of the position you're in and imagine you get a letter from your mentor and you're not sure if he's gonna say hey what the heck's went on in Ephesus bro but instead you opened the letter and he says every single time I think about you which is all the time by the way I thank God for you and I pray for you every time you come to mind I thank God and I do it in my prayers when are those prayers Timothy there during the night time and there during the day time that's when I pray for you and you know what else I do I remember your tears what's that about as best we can tell it was a moment when Timothy was crying a good guess would be at their party cuz in almost every letter Paul will call him a brother in Christ a fellow servant but more often than that he calls him my beloved son and they had a close relationship and when they had to part ways Timothy started crying and I don't know if it's Paul's macho Paul didn't say he was crying he's like remember when we parted you were crying you were crying man you were crying I wasn't I was like I'll see you later but you were crying like I don't know if that was even like a joke with him like oh come on dude you were Brian - all right Oscar but he opens the letter here's his mentor's saying I remember your tears Timothy and you know what I long to see you he's a very emotional word I long to see your face man why that indicating result I long to see you that what I do I will be filled with Joey Timothy I can't wait to see your face why because the moment I do it will fill me with joy I used to teach this text to young men and I would ask him have you ever received a letter like that from the mentor from a dad from an older person in the faith and then I've never had and I asked him what would that feel like if you did and all of them would say what I imagined you would say it would be epic life-changing for someone with authority to do that and you see what Paul's doing your identity's ridden majesty Timothy God loves you and your stability is in community I want to remind you that you're loved I want to remind you that you're surrounded you're not isolated in your shame you're not isolated in your struggle you're not isolated in your difficulty or in your failures or your weakness you're not isolated Timothy you're surrounded I love you none of that's been threatened and that changes I love you I have the honor to speak with Ravi Zacharias a couple years ago and I remember just talking with him about his ministry in the Middle East and he said Ben when I am in a room full of Middle Eastern men and I tell the story of the prodigal son the son who had dishonored his father said a lot him don't know the story he said when I start talking about the son coming home and about to beg to be a servant they said they all understand that and they're all anticipating that the father will reject it and maybe kill him he said and when I get to that moment where the father sees him he said Ben every single time you could hear a pin drop he said then when I begin to tell them that the father runs to him and embraces him and kisses him he said the power in the room he said it's complete silence but you can feel the yearning from them for that because their fathers don't talk to them that way don't don't express that way and for a Middle Eastern man to be that lavishly loving to his son is unheard of and deeply longed for and I have found that true and a lot of the men I talk to we long for that we're built to commune with one another fusions will say we're members of one another and I'm not excluding women we feel the same way to it we are made become alive and community and Paul's letting Timothy know when life gets hard I want you to know you are a child of God and you're one of us you're not alone Timothy you're in a family and there's such a stability to that there's a beauty to that you're my beloved son and let me just challenge you to it is not weakness to express affection in a healthy way it's not I think a lot of men feel that way and it's not I would even say it's the other way to not express it it's usually a function of cowardice that we're meant to do this General Patton led the Third Army in the World War two when almost successful generals of all time I want to quote his speech but I can't because it's filled with cuss words but at the very end he says you know how I feel he said I would be proud to go anywhere with you wonderful guys I just love they called him that you didn't say you've strongman in his shoulder soldiers he called him wonderful he just looked I said you're wonderful I'm like that's awesome because that dude was a hard man and yet he he knew they needed that as they went out into the difficulty he knew they needed to not just be told how strong they are but they needed to told that they're valued and I would challenge you it's it's fun to see some gray hair in here when I first walked in I was like okay lingers got some aged now and I want to challenge you if you're an older set don't forget the young generation don't forget them they need it and the old testament of priests had to retire mandatory retirement I believe was age 50 but from 50 till the day they died they had to train the younger priests and it was an unquoted to keep an obligation God demanded of them you cannot retire and just go off and do whatever you are meant to move towards the young generation with your wisdom and to care for them and to raise them up and society suffer when they young are abandoned and we're in a society today where over 40% of young people are born with dad already out of the home we're in a society that is not raising our children particularly well and you can say that's not my fault it's not my problem I raised my kids yeah but you live here and they need it and the old African proverb is too true if we do not indoctrinate the young men they'll burn the village down now we need to move towards the young as I've worked among young people I am constantly asked can you mentor me mentor me mentor me mentor me my answer is no because I can't get to all of them I can only do some so if you're an older person in the church begin to circle around with the young find ways to do it that's how our society's gonna stabilize and I'll promise you this third John John said at the end of his life I have no greater joy than to see my children walking in the truth he says there's not a greater joy I can conceive of I remember meeting Jimmy need him when he was in high school and we met because he was contemplating if Jesus was worth it because he knew if he put his faith in Jesus what it would cost him and I watched him make the choice to follow him and every day I've been able to watch him minister and do what he does has been an enormous gift in this world don't miss out on that don't miss out on the gift of being able to train the young generation and if you're young and missed out on that a lot of people did get involved in a church community find a way to get in we are as an early church in DC and we meet in a living room and I love it because right now in that living room there's young and old there's kids and singles and parents and whatever but as we get around in that room there's a power in communing with one another it's a stabilizing thing in the struggles of the world and we need that and so Paul looks at Timothy and tells him stabilize your feet with an identity and God in a stabilization and community you're loved when I used to take my young kids as a youth pastor rock climbing I would do it when they were in junior high and I would do it on purpose we take him to some rock climbing gym and they would tether you by a rope to where the kids were up there and you were belaying them with the rope you could control what was happening to them but you would get slack in it so they could learn to climb on their own but inevitably these little junior high kids would get about the middle of it and the wall would seem high they would feel like they were really high their arms would get a little tired and they'd get scared and you'd see some of them get like really scared and some of them maybe even start to cry a little bit and we never shamed him in that moment the point was to encourage them not shame him so we would do these things together take him climbing their moments for the got scared and I would tell it hey brother I got you oh my god no man I got you though and so I would just go and pull the rope and they would go and they would realize oh you got me I'm like yeah yeah you're not gonna die today I can't I don't have the insurance for that and there's a wonderful comfort of knowing whatever you're dealing with in life get around some believers who got you some people that got you and Paul's telling everything you got that and not only do you have some around you the third reminder is you come from a great line Timothy you have a legitimacy that comes from history he said it in verse three I thank God whom I serve as my ancestors with a clear conscience which is a weird thing to say cuz Paul never really says that before and so it's kind of awkward again the sentences I thank God for you but he says I thank God whom I serve was the clear conscience same way my ancestors did you're like what what does that have to do with anything Paul but Paul puts himself in a historical context I'm not just some isolated guy bumping around in the world Timothy I come from a long line of people who courageously serve God and I can count my lineage all the way back to the tribe of Bennett Benjamin the lineage of kings and all through my godly line there were people that were in difficult days stood up for truth and then he looks at Timothy and says in verse 5 and I'm reminded of your sincere faith a faith that dwelt first in your grandma Lois and your mother Eunice and now I'm sure dwells in you as well why is Timothy Paul doing that to Timothy he's telling him hey Timothy I'm legit because I'm an apostle of God and you're legit cuz you're my son Timothy I love you you're loved Timothy I come from a godly line and you come from a godly line do you see him building confidence into Timothy Timothy you're not just some kid bouncing around you have a legitimacy that comes from history pull the lens back and look at your story look backwards and see other people who are faithful in a difficult day and he doesn't have to look any further than Lois and Eunice and some of you got those that made your struggling in life and you get into a place Rico you know what I'm trying to do the right thing the business practices in my company are shady I don't know what I'm gonna do and you look back and you've got people in your lineage of your family didn't say I remember my grandma and her firm faith I member her standing up in challenging ungodly people in the neighborhood I remember her spanking other people's kids when they got out of line or some of you had grandparents her parents had served in a war that you said man they just they faced their greatest fear and they tackled it and so I can face my fears others have you looked back in your lineage and you say my family was not like that my family didn't love God the people in my life I can't think of anything that motivates me by looking back at them well Paul looks back at his spiritual history doesn't look back at the ancients who served God out of a clear conscience and you can do that too because we've been grafted in to this family Noah is one of your relatives that you're not the first person to live in a society where people don't honor God this isn't new we tend to feel the net what is happening the sky is falling the world is like Noah was the only guy and he did it and he served God and he saved his family and he stepped into a hard day and he survived it and Abraham got called to do something scary I remember for me as I was contemplating moving from Texas I'm like God who does that why would you even suggest it then I'm reading Genesis that's where it was devotionally I'm like does God call people on crazy adventures for his glory yes 12 chapters in he's like move and I'm not gonna tell you where just and Abraham does it and I'm like I am in the line of Abraham I am doing what he does that encouraged Donna and I so much we feel so alive right now because we said we are really living by faith it makes all these different Bible verses make sense of like that's what Abraham did that's what you know all different people throughout the Old Testament on the guy's name I was trying to talk about he's in the New Testament and really an inspirational character Philip y'all didn't know Philip Philip in the New Testament when they were murdering people in Jerusalem for faith in Christ what did Philip do walk to Samaria the people who had rejected even Jewish faith and preached Jesus to them and let a revival and suddenly had a Ministry of thousands of people and when you get a Ministry of thousands of people you typically stay and yet God called Philip go to the road the lonely road between Jerusalem and nowhere and Philip did it and God sent him there and Philip landed on that road and when Philip landed on that road a chariot happened to go by and it happened to be this cf0 of Ethiopia and Philip got to be the first person to usher the gospel into Ethiopia unbelievable and I had to teach that passage when we were looking at leaving breakaway and heading out in this ministry Mike who does something crazy like this and I got asked to preach at a church and they asked me will you preach on Philip and I'm like all right a little background the guy gave a Ministry of thousands in walk out to go minister good people who have influenced the government I realize I'm like and that's my bro or my uncle or dad like that's the family and so you look in the Bible and say there are other people who've had to do this you got a bad boss David's boss tried to kill him a lot you got a standard - rejection I had a guy out of college he got the career of his choice of the business he wanted and they were being very shady and how they handled money and they told him entertain clients by taking him to strip clubs and getting him girls and doing all that he was like I'm not gonna do that and they were like you do it you're not better than us you do that cuz that's what they want or else you're fired and he got in his phone was like I can't lose my job well people think I get fired he read about Shadrach Meshach and Abednego that it's like serve God or get thrown into a fire and they're like we'll choose the fire because allegiance to God is worth that and they got to make a difference in the world and this guy threw boxes for UPS I had a college got a degree got fired you know went he threw boxes with integrity there's a power in a story and an authority in his testimony because of that and Paul looks at Timothy and says you come from a godly line and don't you forget it look back in history at polycarb when they came to murder him for his allegiance to Jesus Christ made them T and as the soldiers sat and ate the refreshments he gave them he prayed over them to the point where they felt sorry they took him to kill him read about perpetuate the first martyr that when they put her in the midst of the arena to be murdered for sport and she was gored by a mad cow suddenly there was a swell of sympathy from the crowd kill her quickly and she asked the guy with the sword who was about to kill her to pause for a moment so she could put up her hair because your hair down was a sign of mourning and she didn't want a mourn because she was about to see her King and the crowd was silenced by that rome changed a government changed when they saw Christians be strong you look back and you see Anna Gustin who was completely chained with his sexual addiction break those chains in Jesus name and become the greatest theologian who's lived second only to Paul you see a Martin Luther who struggled with an almost debilitating depression not let him kill him but to work through it and to become the leader of the Protestant Reformation you look back at our family tree and youth strength for your day Timothy you come from a godly line be strong be strong there was a church I visited in Italy and I remember when I was there the guy leading the tour was not a believer and kind of a wild crazy guy and I don't know but anyway he took us in this church to show us kind of random stuff and then as we were walking out of the church he stopped and he put his hand on something that looked like a bowling ball that had been set into the wall like ancient set in the wall but jutting out a bowling ball he's like you don't know what this is he said no and he said it's a it's a weight he said it's a weight that they would use to measure grain and stuff in the marketplace and you're wondering why is it set against the wall on our way out of the church was it set in here and he said because the Christians back then were tough that's how he said it he said and if you were a Christian I don't know if the story is true this is what this guy's saying who didn't have any allegiance to Jesus but he said you know what they would do if you were in the marketplace got arrested for being a Christian they tell you deny Christ if he said no they take your head and smack it against all these stones like you want to try that again deny him no I won't pay him he said they would just do that to him crack the Front's of their hands open he said so what did the Christians do they sent him in the walls on your way out of the church because believers took the persecution for the name of Jesus and the more the Romans saw that the more the Romans respected him and the more the Romans saw them loved them back the more their hearts were melted by them and you would worship in this church and then you would turn around and on your way out you would see the stones and your way out because it was a reminder it's your turn it's your turn the generation before you took the hits so you could get the gospel of life now it's your turn so Paul would say Timothy and said people been taking hits a long time tomb and you come from a godly line that delivered this to you and it's your turn be strong be strong and the last reminder is that you have a fire your ability comes from your unity with the Spirit of God Timothy for this reason I remind you I love that he's given him all this stuff you have an identity rooted in Majesty Timothy you have the stability of being in a community you're loved Timothy you have the legitimacy of a glorious history Timothy and then he looks at it and says and you have ability that comes from unity because you could look around and say I know God loves me I know these people love me I know that I have a godly line behind me but its intrinsic it's me there's something wrong with me I'm the weak link I'm the broken one I'm the disappointment and so Paul looks at him and says all this stuff's true around you you got a godly line behind you godly people who love you or Gavin that's smiling on you and so for this reason I remind you fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands the authority I gave you to be a leader step into a Timothy don't shirk and do it don't halfway do it don't clutch down stand up strong into it and in case you go who Paul you don't know it's something weak within me that's insufficient he says let me give you the reason you can stand up into all God's called you to be Timothy even in a difficult day it is for God has given us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control it's not just that you have heaven smiling on you and me loving you and a lineage behind you you have the Spirit of God in you Timothy you have the very power of God in your Timothy a power that uses weak things and uses foolish things to shame the strong a power that preaches the weakness of the gospel and sees people come to life that's who you are you have a love that defies understanding I love that hangs on the cross and says Father forgive them for they know not what they do that's the kind of love you have you have a source that's inexhaustible Timothy and you have a self-discipline you have a very power of God that lets you say no to the impulses that are enslaving the whole world Timothy you have a power from the very Spirit of God inside you and when you understand that it equipped that God loves me they love me they're cheering me on the great cloud of witnesses is with me let me step out not because of all that pressure but because of all this power and let me step into all who I'm meant to be in God he says Timothy you do that and you're gonna be who you meant to be in a dying day and you're gonna do your part to deliver the world word in the midst of a broken world and Rome changed because of men like Timothy so as I sat in that bar in London I pulled out the book I've been reading devotionally which was called the cost of discipleship and I read and I was like oh man and I was like Lord this trip stinks man I was like but I don't want to I don't want to deny you it's not who I want to be you rescued me save me I want to walk with you and if it costs me it cost me and the rest of the trip I wasn't beating people up with my Bible I wasn't a bad stock broker you know like I wasn't doing that I was trying to be cool but like I said you could tell like it just wasn't really clicking and by the end of it there was a lot of time where I was by myself and I remember we got to a moment where we were at the the last dinner the last night they they sat us down in this area and they had these this big performance hall and they were doing like like different sort of plays like just snippets of songs from different musicals that kind of thing while we ate this five-course meal unbelievable setup and I'm sitting there with no one on my left and no one on my right everyone's talking joking about the adventures what a great time they had in London and I'm just like mistake Jesus and I remember while I'm doing that this lady just slides into the seat next to me and she goes oh my god your uncle just told me what you do she was like who do you tell people you work for are you like God and I was like yeah she goes you do I was like no like that sounds really weird and she was like I just think that's amazing and I was like you do cuz I think so but I don't think anyone else and she's like no I think it's incredible and I'm like it is writing she's like yes because I have a spiritual teacher that's been teaching me lately that spirituality is like this mountain and there's all these different paths and it really doesn't matter which path you take cuz they all lead you there so this purse can believe that and this person that and this person that it doesn't really make any difference all you have to do is sincerely believe something and then God will meet you there the whole time she's talking I'm like and it hit me in that moment I was like here's what's gonna happen I said a very likely scenario is I would do something like huh so what do you do and just change the subject and in doing that sort of tacitly agree and I thought I just don't want to do that but I was just like how this is like my only almost friend and I had to pray like I was like I don't have the resources god help me help me love her enough to speak the truth and help me speak the truth in love and so I did it I did what I was too scared to do a couple of nights before I looked her and I said look I don't want this to offend you at all but I completely disagree with you and she went like who says that and I said yeah I know that sounds weird I said here's the deal I said I'm a I'm a Christian so all my hope is in Jesus I said and I believe the Bible's word God and the Bible says that we're beautiful in the image of God we're broken and we're sick and we can't fix us and we can't heal us and so Jesus Christ had to come and live the perfect life we could not and he had to die the death we deserved he took our shame on him he took our pain on him he took our sin on him and it killed him and he buried it any rose triumphant and my faith in Him the Son of God reconciles me to God so I don't think sincerely believing he's some other way to work into the approval of God is one option along with the brutal death of Jesus I think we were so far gone there was one option a hero and God sent him and all my hope is that guy and I said that and in my mind I'm like so see you later you know I just expected her to bail and as soon as I said on that she would tell me that again I was like okay so this guy Jesus and it's amazing and so I started talking about him and no kidding she starts asking me questions and at one point I'm like look at the end of the day it's all about Jesus and as soon as I said that it's like suddenly the music because we weren't paying attention anymore but suddenly the music like hit a crescendo and they had the lights welp along with its all silly like it's all about Jesus you know I call the music girl and she just went she said do you know what that is I said no one she's like that's the song Jesus Christ Superstar and I was like it's a sign repent the kingdom of God is it him and she didn't believe right there but you know what she did she sat there the whole time and kept asking about Jesus and she asked if we could jump into the same car back to the hotel and then she said hey somebody left a Bible in my hotel room she literally said it that way and I was like what's his name Gideon I know him and she was like will you wait here cuz I'm gonna go get it and I want you to show me what you're talking about and I sat there and I thought about all that cost me that a couple days before but I've sat in that moment and I was like totally worth it totally worth it so is this a difficult day to be a Christian in some ways yes in some ways no it could get a lot worse it has been in history for other people but it's our turn it's our turn so what are you gonna do when it's hard to see your family and they don't appreciate your newfound faith what are you gonna do when you go to work and nobody cares what you believe or what you think what are you gonna do when you feel God stirring you to invite your neighbor to church and you're scared what are you gonna do your identity is rooted in majesty you're an emissary of God the people of God love you and will pray with you and cheer you on as you step out in faith you come from a godly line that gave their lives to deliver this word to you and you have the very Spirit of God in you you grip onto those truths and you will rise and the world will be better for it and that's my prayer he closes in chapter 2 by telling Timothy remember Jesus Christ which could sound funny to say like do you think he's gonna forget but that's not what he's saying he says Timothy when you're scared pull your mind to Jesus Christ and then he says remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead descended from David remember the king of kings who beat death you fix your eyes on him and you find his spirit will empower you heavens cheering you on and you'll make a difference in the world and that's the kind of man or woman you're meant to be I mean pray for us God I want to thank you that Lord while we were a long way off you came running for us and God I pray for anybody here who maybe they've never believed that maybe they were invited by a friend maybe they've been uncomfortable here intellectually or emotionally but even now it's beginning to dawn on them our message is not clean your life up our message is that God has promised us life and life is in his son and he who has the son has a life and so if that's you I just want to implore you even now cry out to him cry out to him and say God I need you I don't want to stay where I am I want to be where you are if you're in the business of saving save me you telling that even now and I know the lights are down and I kind of like it that way I don't want people to look around if you keep your eyes closed but if if anybody if that's you if you're saying I want him been today I want to know Christ I want to belong to him for the first time would you be willing to put a hand up so I can see if anybody out here is in that group anybody feeling that in this space today I can't see all the way to the back but thank you God for moving god I think there's a lot of us in here that we're here because we know you and we're here because we needed to be reminded of who you are and I pray God that all this singing about our future victory being sure our sin being cast away wouldn't be just to encourage us in this place but that would be courage that launches us out to love courageously in our workplaces and our families and our social spheres and so I just ask you even now to pray and say thank you God for beating sin beating death thank you that my victory is sure thank you God that my hope is in you send me out in power I'm a child of the Most High prized by majesty loved by the community of faith in a godly line stretching out with the power of God to love those who are lost I'm not gonna shrink back in a secular day I'm gonna lean forward because I know that God who beat death beat the grave and whose victorious forever and forever I'm not gonna shrink back in this day I'm gonna stand up and rise and fan into the flames the very gift of God that's in me because I know who I am because of who he is ask him to give you courage to step into the fullness of who you're meant to be under God in the midst of this day and may the world shake under the feet of the humble confidence of the people of God make us strong for your glory by your grace for their good

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Length: 59min 57sec (3597 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 06 2018