Guard the Treasure

All right. Good morning. Glad to see you guys. Glad you're all here. If you'll stand with us, we'll pray and we'll get this thing started.

Father, we just thank you for another day. Just thank you for this time that we can come together, Lord, and worship you and just give you praise and just glorify you this morning. Lord, move mightily this morning. We love you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. Lord God, you're bigger than any disease, Lord God. You're the creator of everything again soon.

We know that you're coming to save the day. Confess that you are King of Kings.

We just praise you for how faithful you are to us, Lord, even when we fail. Would you guys go and stand with me for the Lord? We give you glory for taking our rightful place on that cross. Nobody could have done what you did. And we thank you, Lord. We praise you. And we give you glory. And now, as Pastor, as Pastor Ryan comes, Lord, I just pray that you would move by the power of your Holy Spirit.

Move mightily this morning and give Pastor Ryan the words to speak and give us hearts to receive it. We ask these things in Jesus' name. All God's people said, Amen. Let's take some time and greet one another.

Good morning. If you could begin to locate your seat. Grab a bulletin. We'll get ready to go over some announcements.

Welcome to Calvary Chapel. I'm glad that you have joined us this morning. A handful of things to take note. As always, on the left-hand side are the things going on throughout the week. We have a couple of different things coming up also soon. Men's breakfast is coming up this Saturday down at the other end of the hallway. So, fellas, take note of that. Come join us as we have a little breakfast together and talk about Jesus, some good fellowship time.

That's 8 o'clock this coming Saturday. There's also a Fall Fire Youth event coming up October 17th and 18th. If you have any questions about that, see Jared Doyle. Thank you. And then also on the 18th at 9.30, there's a quarterly Sunday school teachers meeting. So, if you're a Sunday school teacher, check that out in the Cornerstone Room at 9.30 a.m. And then I've got a couple...

Are you coming up to make an announcement? I've got a couple of people coming up to make announcements here. So, I'd like to first invite up Leah. Good morning. Oh, there's a lot of you. Okay. So, the new building is almost done, which is very exciting. And with new building is going to come new spaces that need cleaned. So, let's get started. So, I am up here on behalf of the cleaning committee.

And we have a cleaning crew that takes care of this building. And we're looking to form a team of maybe five to seven of you who can help us with the new building. And basically what it entails, don't be intimidated by that because I know that seems like a lot of space. And it is. But it's a commitment. If we can get about five people, it's a commitment of maybe an hour or so once a month.

We do it on a rotation basis. And then we also like to have a person who is our sub or our fifth Sunday person. And that fifth Sunday. Happens about three times a year. So, I don't. That sounded confusing. But basically, you're committing to about once a month. And so, someone will show you. It's not like you're just turned loose. And it's really not a big deal.

But if you feel led to help in that way at all, just see me or Lauren. Is Lauren here?

She is. Either one of us. And in two weeks after service, we're going to have just a quick after church meeting in the foyer for existing members that help clean. And then anybody who's interested in joining the team. The other part of that is vacuum. Vacuuming is a huge piece. And so, currently, we kind of have a separate person that takes care of vacuuming and a separate person that takes care of like the bathrooms and the tables and surfaces.

That's the plan for that, too. So, if you do help, don't think you've got to vacuum all of that. And we'll separate that out. So, those of you who would want to do that could. And those of you who would rather just clean the bathrooms can do that instead. So, thank you.

And then we have one more announcement for Operation Christmas Child. My name is not Phil. And I am not wearing a box. But I'm going to talk to you about Operation Christmas Child for a minute. The trip that is going to the distribution center, we had 35 spots. And 35 spots have been filled, which is awesome. If you would still like to try to get in on that trip, there is a wait list out that you can put your name on.

So, if anybody drops out, you can fill that spot. The other thing that I wanted to talk about. Oh, and for that trip, there is a meeting next week. After church, after both services. So, it will just be a quick meeting just to discuss logistics and that kind of thing. The other thing that I want to talk to you about with Operation Christmas Child is our shoebox packing party.

So, we started doing this just a couple years ago. And the idea was get families together where we can do ministry together. A lot of ministries that go on in the church, you have to find child care. You have to, you know, kind of depart from your family to go do ministry. This is something that you can disciple your children in ministry. So, also, next Sunday after church, we are going to be doing this shoebox packing party from 2 to 5.

And we have all of the supplies that are needed. We have all of the shoeboxes that are needed. Just a special note, the shoeboxes that are in the hallway out there, if you take those, plan, those are for you to pack at home and bring back. We don't need anybody to grab shoeboxes from the hallway if you plan on packing at the shoebox packing party. So, there is no.

There is no cost to pack a shoebox. The only cost would be a donation of about $10 a shoebox, which is what Operation Christmas Child asks that you give as a donation to help with the shipping and the gospel material that they print to go along with each shoebox. So, at the shoebox packing party, we are going to be filling shoeboxes. We are going to be making sure that they're fun, that they're full.

And that they are personalized. So, Emma, what is your favorite thing about the shoebox packing party? My favorite thing is coloring pictures to send them. Yeah, so we are going to be praying over the shoeboxes and doing little crafts to include to try to personalize those boxes. Forrester, what's your favorite thing about the shoebox packing party? He said that his favorite thing was making jump ropes.

So, a thing that we've started is doing t-shirt jump ropes. So, a thing that we've started is doing t-shirt jump ropes. Where we shred t-shirts and make jump ropes for kids that can't just go to Walmart and buy a jump rope. So, I hope that you will join us. Also, if you are part of the youth group, you are going to be packing shoeboxes this Wednesday during the normal youth group time from 7 to 8 p.m.

So, make sure that if you normally come to youth group, come this Wednesday and pack some shoeboxes. I think I hit all of the points. If you are an adult out there and you would like to help with any of these events, we could definitely use some adult volunteers to help guide and direct the kids at each of the different packing stations. And if you would like to make any donations towards just the shipping, please either let myself or Ryan or Ross or Jana, wherever they're at, know.

We really appreciate it. Thank you. All right. Thanks, guys. Okay, those are the things that are going on. If you would make sure that your mobile device is silenced. For our responsive reading this morning, we're going to be in Psalm 42. Psalm 42, looking at the New American Standard for this part. If you need one, it should be one in a row around you. And as you are turning to Psalm 42, if you are able, please stand in the honor of the reading of God's Word.

I will read the odd verses if you will follow along with Pastor Allen and the even verses. Psalm 42, for the choir director of Maskell of the Sons of Korah. As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God. For the living God, when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long, Where is your God?

These things I remember, and I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God, with a voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude-keeping festival. Why are you in despair, O my soul, and why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him for the help of his presence.

O my God, my soul is in despair within me. Therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the sound of your waterfalls. All your breakers and your waves have rolled over me. The Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and his song will be with me in the night, a prayer to God of my life.

I will say to God, my rock, why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As the shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me, while they say to me all day long, Where is your God? And read verse 11 with me. Why are you in despair, O my soul, and why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him, the help of my countenance and my God.

And so, Father, we do come to you now. And say, Lord, as the deer pants for the water brooks, so truly our souls long for you. And so, Father, meet us here, I pray, through your word, through the power of your Holy Spirit. Father, open up the truth of your word to our hearts and to our minds. And, Lord, may we take in everything that your Spirit has for us this morning.

In Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. And if you would, open up in your Bibles to the book of 2 Timothy, chapter 1. 2 Timothy, chapter 1. Last week, as we began to read the book of 2 Timothy, chapter 1. Last week, as we began this last book of the pastoral epistles, and really the last written work of Paul, we said that we would give it an overall title that still had the idea of faithfulness, which is what the pastoral epistles carry with them.

But with this letter, we said that the idea is final words from a faithful servant. And so, with that as a backdrop, Paul is going to give several exhortations throughout this letter to Timothy. The first of them we'll look at today, which is going to carry us through chapter 1. And the exhortation he gives Timothy today is to guard the treasure. Guard the treasure.

So, starting in verse 8 of chapter 1, this is what it says. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me, his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling. Not according to our words, but according to the power of God. Not according to the works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.

For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me and the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard through the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phagellus and Hermogenes.

The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. But when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me. The Lord granted him to find mercy from the Lord on that day. And you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus. Guard the treasure. There's three things he's going to tell us about guarding the treasure.

Number one, he's going to tell us, don't be ashamed. Number two, he's going to say, I know whom I have believed. And number three, he was going to follow that exhortation with guard the treasure. So let's look at the first one, don't be ashamed. Look again at verse 8. It says, Don't be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me, his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel.

Paul urges or exhorts Timothy to not be ashamed of two things. The first thing he tells him not to be ashamed of is he says, don't be ashamed of me. Now, it's interesting that Paul would ask Timothy to not be ashamed of himself, not be ashamed of Paul. But the more that you know about what was going on in Paul's life, which is sort of alluded to at the end of chapter one, you know that many were ashamed of Paul at this point in time.

You see, the message that Paul brought had become a little bit unpopular, partly because of the persecution taking place around him at that time. And so many were running away from Paul because he was a little bit of a lightning rod of persecution. And quite frankly, the legalistic people didn't like the teaching of grace that he brought. And so many had begun to abandon Paul at this point in time because they just didn't want the heat that went along with it.

And so in a manner of saying, Paul, please don't be ashamed of me because he knows he needs good friends around him. He says, don't be ashamed of the message that I'm bringing. But not only does he say, don't be ashamed of me, but he says, don't be ashamed of the testimony. Don't be ashamed of the testimony that we've been bearing witness to. And so you should ask yourself a question, what testimony is he talking about?

Well, I feel like the only testimony that we're speaking of here is the testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So why would he be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Well, because if we've set things in the setting, of first century A.D., we have to understand a little something of why they would potentially be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ at this point in time. First of all, it's because it's the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is a Jewish carpenter and an itinerant rabbi.

We have to understand that the world that Paul was living in, the world that the early church was living in, was not real fond of the Jewish people. Some things haven't changed. They weren't real fond of the Jewish people. They thought that they were kind of strange. And quite frankly, at a point in time, many of them had even been kicked out of Rome. Well, the fact that he was a Jewish carpenter made it something to be ashamed of.

The second thing is he was a carpenter. This Jesus that they followed was a manual laborer at that point in time. And in the world that Paul lived in, the Greek and Roman mindset both viewed a common laborer as just that, a common laborer. And so he could have been ashamed of the testimony because of the Jewish carpenter that it would bore witness of. But the second thing is that this Jewish carpenter had the testimony of having been crucified.

Now, you and I look at the cross and we don't think too much about it because it's somewhat sanitized in our eyes. Because we've been around it our entire lives. Some of us hang it around our neck. You have decorations on your wall. But the cross in the time of the first century A.D. was not a decoration you put on your wall. It was something to be ashamed of.

Because it was such a horrific way to be put to death. It was such a horrific form of capital punishment that it was only fit for the slaves. A Roman citizen was not allowed to be crucified. Therefore, anyone who was crucified was someone who was looked down on as being less than human. And so this gospel testimony was about a Jewish carpenter who had been crucified.

Not only that, but the testimony is that he had been raised from the dead. Which again, a Greek mindset at that point in time viewed as absolute foolishness. How dare someone claim that there is a resurrection of the dead. Let alone that they saw someone who had been raised from the dead. You see, there was a lot to be ashamed about for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Just like there is today. Which is why Paul reminds Timothy, In the world that you're living in, don't be ashamed of the testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Instead of being ashamed of it, he asks him to do something very interesting. He says, middle of verse 8, Therefore don't be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering.

Join with me in suffering. Now I want you to imagine that last night, perhaps you're hanging out at your house by yourself watching the Cubs game. Unfortunately, which is what I was doing. And watching them lose to the Milwaukee Brewers, but whatever. And somebody rings you up, they shoot you a text message. And they say, hey, what are you doing? I'm sitting here watching a sad baseball game.

Would you like to come suffer with me? I bet you would immediately come up with a better plan. The baseball game sounds so much better than joining someone in their suffering that they're taking part in at that point in time, right? But Paul says, join me in the suffering. Literally what he says is, share with me in the suffering that's taking place. We don't think about that as something that we want to do.

It's very foreign to our nature. And yet that's what Paul asks them to do. Why? Because you are never nearer to Jesus than when you are suffering for the gospel that he has proclaimed. You are never greater in your understanding of who Jesus is than you are in the times when you are suffering for the message that he has given you to give out to everyone else around you.

I believe it was the Amplified Bible that put it this way. It said, It said, Continue to preach the gospel regardless of circumstances. Continue to preach the gospel regardless of circumstances. He tells Timothy, join with me in the suffering. Continue doing what you're doing, even if that's what it brings into your life. Because brothers and sisters, we have to understand something.

The world that Paul lived in, that's exactly what was happening to him. Remember, paint the picture for where Paul is right now. Paul is sitting inside of a prison. Not a fancy prison. Not where he's getting lots of nice treatment. And there's a TV time every day and yard time every single day. But a prison that's inside of a dungeon that only has a hole in the ceiling to let in light and air.

And he is facing certain execution. That's what he knows is awaiting him. And so he says, join with me in the suffering. But don't just join with me in the suffering for the sake of suffering. Join with me in suffering for the gospel. Join with me in suffering for the gospel. And that's the next area where we segue into here. Because I want you to notice what he refers to the gospel as in verse 8.

He refers to the gospel as according to the power of God. According to the power of God. That means a couple of things. I think we should pay attention to what he means when he says that the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ is according to the power of God. The first thing is that the gospel has inherent power from God because that's what the message has in it.

You know, I got to witness that power of the gospel this last week. Wednesday night we had our fields of faith event and it was fantastic. We had, I couldn't believe how many people showed up. They just kept rolling in. We had almost 1,300 people at this fields of faith event. And it was so powerful. But do you know what the most powerful part was? We brought in this young guy that was a speaker.

And listen, I'm not trying to throw shade or anything, but he wasn't the powerful part. The powerful thing about that night was four students that stood before a crowd of almost 1,300 people and declared how Jesus changed their life. They declared the fact that God brought them from darkness into light. How God brought them from death to life. Sometimes literally brought them from death to life.

And we got to hear, and myself shed a lot of tears, over the power of the gospel as it had affected their lives. And as they stood before that group of an incredible number of their peers, they said this is what Jesus did for me because of the power of the gospel. I get to brag for just a minute because one of those kids was crying. Because one of those kids was my own daughter.

Hang with me. I was a mess that night. Can you believe that? It's hard to believe, right? My daughter's giving her testimony. I held it not together. I have this picture. It is from last year's fields of faith. She's not in here, I don't think. She can't hear us. I have this picture from last year's fields of faith. And it was when she really gave her heart to Jesus.

I have this picture of me hugging her. It's a great picture. It's one of my favorite ones that's ever been taken in my life. And I have a picture from last Wednesday night. And it's me standing right next to her after she gave her testimony before almost 1,300 people. And the reason she was there giving her testimony before all of those people is because the gospel had taken its hold on her life.

Because that's the power of God. And that's what we have to remember. We have to remember every time we give out the truth of the gospel, we unleash the power of God into the lives of people. Because it takes people and takes them from being those who hated Jesus and sometimes their parents. At least that's what I heard. Those that hated Jesus to those who want to follow Jesus.

Those who were lost in their sins to those who are alive in Christ. Those who were dead in their sins to those who were following Jesus with all of their heart. Because that's the power of the gospel. And you know how I know that that's the power of the gospel? Because the kids that I prayed with didn't say that speaker and what he said meant a lot to me. They said, I heard what she said and that's me.

And I need Jesus. Their words, not mine. Because that's the power of the gospel. And so when he says, join me in the suffering for the gospel because it is the power of God, that's what he means. Because that's what it is. But not only that, not only is it the power of God and that it has the power to transform the lives of people, but it's the power of God and that he empowers us to give it out even in the midst of suffering.

I remember somebody coming up to Violet afterwards and saying, I'm probably not supposed to say her name online, my daughter. I remember somebody coming up to my daughter afterwards and saying, how on earth were you able to stand? Because she did fantastic. All four of those kids did so good. I was so stinking proud of all of them because they all stood there and without their voices quivering,

without them shaking, they just stood and boldly proclaimed what Jesus did. I just happened to overhear this one conversation. They said, how did you do that? That was so many people. And she goes, Jesus gave me everything I needed. That's what it means by the fact that the gospel is according to the power of God. Because it empowers us to even deliver the message to people.

He says, join with me in suffering for the gospel because it is according to the power of God. He goes on then to describe this God of the gospel in verse 9 when he said, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was granted us in Christ Jesus from eternity. But now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who, meaning God, has saved us and called us with a holy calling. He has saved us and called us.

The word save there means to be delivered. And that's exactly what salvation is. Salvation is the deliverance from the power of sin. Salvation is the deliverance from the penalty of sin. Salvation is the deliverance from the kingdom of darkness, from the kingdom of death into the kingdom of life. The kingdom of light, the kingdom of life, the kingdom of freedom.

And so he has saved us. He has delivered us from all of those things. But unfortunately, sometimes for many of us, that's where the gospel stops. Is that he saved us from the penalty of sin. And then we're just happy that we've been saved from the penalty of sin. But that, brothers and sisters, is only half of the gospel. Because the rest of the gospel is that he has called us

with a holy calling. He has called us with a holy calling. Let me describe this holy calling to you. It is a consecrated life. A life that is set apart. A life of purpose. Too many people are content with the first part of salvation, which is that they have purchased fire insurance. Well, they gained their fire insurance, which Jesus purchased for them. And they say, I'm saved.

And you can ask them, have you ever been saved? Yep, I asked Jesus into my heart when I was seven. And I've been saved. But have you been saved? What do you mean? I mean, do you live a holy life now based upon the fact that you are holy in Jesus Christ? Because that's salvation. The first part is fire insurance. And does fire insurance work? I mean, if your life isn't holy, I have to question whether or not you've ever been saved.

Because that's only half of the gospel. If holiness isn't what's being produced, then I question if a holy God saved you. Because you have been called now to holiness. You have been called to a consecrated life. A life that is set apart unto the use of Jesus Christ, which means a life of walking away from sin and walking towards Jesus. That's a consecrated life.

But not only is it consecrated, it is now a life of purpose. A life of restored purpose. I will always go back to this. Because the restored purpose that you have in your life is twofold. Number one, to know Jesus. Number two, to serve Jesus. That's why you were created and that is your purpose. I will continue saying it until one day I say, what is your purpose?

And you all shout it out with one big voice, right? And so, so if you don't want me to keep saying it, I'm just kidding. I'll keep saying it anyway. You have been set apart for a purpose. It's what you were created for and it's what he has saved you for. And now your life has purpose because of what Jesus has done for you. And that now changes every part of your life.

Because now it means every part of your life is guided by this singular purpose. Now you don't have a career, you have a ministry. Now you don't have a family, you have a ministry. Now you don't go to Walmart, you go to the mission field. Right? Because you have been saved now with a holy calling. Set apart unto God for a specific purpose. He says, for God, or excuse me, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling.

Not according to our works, but according to his purpose and grace. This deliverance, this salvation and this calling, he tells us, first of all, is not according to our works. And listen, I will continue to beat this into the ground too. Because I know so many Christians that walk around thinking that their salvation is dependent on what they do. My salvation is dependent on whether or not I've done enough today.

Whether or not I've done enough good things to be accepted by Jesus. Listen, I'm just going to calm your heart right now. You haven't. And you need to stop trying. Because you will never be able to do enough. Too many people running around going, yeah, well, I fulfilled my Sunday duty. I read my Bible this week. I'm feeling pretty good about my walk because I've done these things.

I don't want you to feel good about your walk because you've done these things. I want you to feel good about your walk because he's done these things. And now you're responding to him by doing all of the other stuff. I don't get up every morning and read my Bible because I want Jesus to love me more. That's actually something he set me free from. He set me free from the feeling that if I don't read my Bible,

he's not going to love me today. No, instead what I do is I get up and read my Bible every morning because he has saved me. And I want to know the Jesus who gave his life for me. And that's the only way I can know that Jesus is if I get into his word every single day. I don't show up and hang out with all of you because I'm hoping that Jesus is going to love me more

because I show up and hang out with all of you. I show up to a church service every Sunday morning because I want to be around God's people because this is how I'm drawn closer to my walk with Jesus and how I not only am encouraged myself, but how I can encourage you in your life. In your walk with Jesus. You see, there's a difference between those two things.

So, he has saved us and called us with a holy calling. Not according to my works, but instead, what's it according to? His purpose and his grace. I'm going to take those in reverse order here real quick, okay? First of all, it was according to his grace. In other words, it was according to God's unmerited gift. An unmerited gift, which is why works cannot ever be a part of it.

Because if I work for it, it means it's something I've earned. If it's given to me, it means it's something I can just accept by faith. And that's what Jesus has done. He's given us salvation. He has given us this gift of salvation. And so, it is by his grace. But the other word I want to point out to you is that it is according to his purpose. Can I give you Ryan's translation of this?

He did it on purpose. Like, he saved you on purpose, right? Listen, I know there's some families sometimes where, you know, you've had like four, maybe five children, and then all of a sudden one more comes along and they're like, oops, right? Like, that one wasn't on purpose. We didn't plan that one. And that kid ends up finding out, they're like, I wasn't planned.

It's okay, Jesus planned you. But listen, there's nobody in this room that's a whoops, right? Not in your creation or in your salvation. He did it on purpose. As a matter of fact, before the foundation of the earth, he was like, that person's going to be born, they're going to come to follow me, and I can't wait for it. Because he did it on purpose. It was according to his purpose.

He planned it. Salvation is God's plan. And so he says, it's not by the good works that you've done that he has saved you and called you with a holy calling. No, it's according to his purpose and his grace, which was granted to us how? In Christ Jesus. This is another one of Paul's favorite words, phrases, is in Christ Jesus. As a matter of fact, if you were to read the book of Ephesians,

you would find that phrase littered throughout the book of Ephesians. Because all of the blessings that we have are not because of who you are, they're because of who he is. And all of the grace that you stand in is not because of who you are, but because of who you are in Christ Jesus. And when he views you in Christ Jesus, he doesn't see you. He sees Jesus in you.

Because that's who you are now. They are given to us in Christ Jesus from all of eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Such a beautiful thing that God's plan for salvation is from the very beginning of eternity. As a matter of fact, we are told that Christ was crucified before the foundations of the earth. That you were chosen before the foundations of the earth.

And all of history anticipated this salvation until the coming of Jesus. And when Jesus came, when Jesus showed up on the scene, the promise made in Genesis chapter 3 was fulfilled. The promise made in Genesis chapter 3 of a Savior who would come and crush the head of the serpent was revealed. And it was revealed in Jesus Christ. Therefore, if you want to understand more about salvation,

you need to understand more about Jesus. If you want to understand more about your holy calling, you need to understand more about Jesus. If you want to understand more about who you're supposed to be, you need to understand more about Jesus. Which is why Peter, in his epistle says, his divine power has given to us everything that we need. For life and godliness through the knowledge of him who has called us.

So you need to get to know Jesus. Because he is the revealing of salvation. But the revealing of salvation means this. Notice what it says in verse 10. This Jesus, our Savior, abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Abolished death. I struggled with this phrase this week. I hope you wrestle with some things in scripture sometimes.

Sometimes we read something hard in scripture and we go, I don't understand that. I'm just going to quit wrestling with that now. You should struggle with some things every now and then. Like, allow your mind to wrestle with it. Because that's healthy for us. It's healthy for us spiritually. It's healthy for us emotionally. And it's amazing to see what God's Holy Spirit can do

when we wrestle with things. But I wrestled with this phrase because I thought, okay, Jesus abolished death. And I've taught this and I believe this. But I'm going to be completely honest with you. I deal with death a lot. I deal with death on a fairly significant, on a fairly consistent basis in my life. Matter of fact, here a couple weeks ago, it's somewhere in the neighborhood of my 100th funeral that I did

since I've been in ministry. I do a lot of them. And so I face death a lot. And then I get down to the fact that I've lost some people that I've been very, very close to in the past few years, let alone the past couple of months. So I kind of just went, Lord, I don't understand what you mean by you abolish death. I still see a lot of death. What do you mean by that?

And so as I was praying through it and reading through it, I came across, I think this was out of the Amplified Bible, I came across this and I thought it was really good. It says, Jesus abolished death by making it null and void. By making it null and void. Now that kind of made sense to me. And I want to tell you why it made sense to me. Because while on this side of eternity,

we are always going to face physical death because that's part of the fall, spiritual death is something we will never face because it can't really have any kind of a hold on us. See, the day that we became born again, we became just that, born again. Our spiritual side became alive because death, true death, is separation from God. True death is us being separated from God.

And so while death takes place in the physical body, death does not take place in the soul because it has no power over our lives any longer because I can never be separated from God. I can never be separated from His presence. I can never be separated from Him. Which is what gives those of us who have lost loved ones that know Jesus an incredible amount of hope.

And it actually colored this phrase a lot to me to think that He abolished death by making it null and void. He didn't do away with the physical aspect of it. He did away with the spiritual aspect of it. And it no longer has any power over my life and it no longer has any power over your life. Because it has been made null and void through the working of Jesus Christ and His abolishing death.

And so we have hope as believers in Jesus Christ. We don't mourn as those who have no hope. We mourn as those who know that our last breath on this side of eternity equals our first breath on the other side of eternity because He has abolished death. But not only has He abolished death, notice what it says, He has brought to light life and immortality. Now again, I want to tell you why I think this is a significant phrase

that Paul gives us right here. Again, paint for ourselves the picture of what's going on right now. Here is Paul inside of a dungeon at the end of his life having faced an incredible amount of difficulty in his life. Having faced death multiple times in his life, only this time he knows he's facing death for real. Because he's coming to the end and he knows that all that's waiting for him now

is an executioner's sword which will ultimately remove his head from his body. He knows that's what's coming for him. And he's reminiscing on what he's going to tell his faithful friend, what he's going to tell this young man. He tells him about Jesus who has saved us and called us with a holy calling because by His own purpose and grace, not according to our works, but by His own purpose and grace, He has saved us.

And He has now abolished death and He has brought to light life and immortality. Can you imagine saying that when you know that within the next few weeks you're probably going to have your head removed from your body? You see, that's what the Gospel does in the life of a mature believer. Is that they start realizing that even though I'm facing death, I'm really not facing death.

Even though I'm facing my end of time, the end of my time on this side of eternity, I'm not facing the end of my time. Because I know that death for me is just a promise of a new life. Death for me is just the continuation of the life that I have now lived. And Paul holds on to that hope and that's what's giving him hope so that he can continue the work that he's doing in spite of facing death.

Every single day. And I think that that really colors that statement when you think about where Paul is in his life right now. He says life and immortality have been brought to light through the Gospel. And then to finish this phrase off, he says the Gospel, verse 11, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. Paul says I have lived my life doing these three things.

Being a preacher of the Gospel, doing the work of an evangelist, being an apostle, being sent out, and in his case, carrying that significant office of the apostle. But third of all, being a teacher. Can I just tell you that I can't say this for sure because I don't really know Paul but I know a lot of other ministers and they'll all tell you the same thing that that's their favorite thing to do is to teach people. It's wonderful to preach a good message and have that message resonate with people but what's really fun is to teach people.

To see people go from being like yes, I want to follow Jesus to I know how to follow Jesus to I want to know what his word has to say to this is what his word has to say to go from not understanding anything about the Bible to having a firm grip on the Bible and having confidence in their walk with Jesus Christ. See, that's what's missing in a lot of churches today. We're missing teaching in the church today. It's fascinating, I was reading Chuck Smith on this from way back in the early 80s and I think it was about 80, 81, somewhere right in there.

It was about 45 years ago. The problem that we have in the church today is that the word of God has been preached to death, but it's not been taught. The word of God has been preached ad nauseam but no one's ever been taught. Therefore, we have immature believers or people who really are believers but they've been moved by a stirring message. They don't know how to walk with Jesus.

So that's why God gave him the mission to teach the Bible. And quite frankly, that's why God's given me the mission to teach the Bible. Matter of fact, woe is me if I stop teaching the Bible. Because that's the hard part of what's supposed to take place in Scripture. Line upon line, precept upon precept. And so he says, this gospel is what I was made a preacher

and an apostle and a teacher of. And so Paul tells them, number one, don't be ashamed. Number two, Paul says, I know whom I have believed. I know whom I have believed. Look at verse 12. He says, For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed. For I know whom I have believed and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

Paul says, for this reason I also suffer these things. For what reason? For the gospel. For the sake of the gospel that he was made an apostle and a preacher and a teacher. He says, I continue to suffer these things. I told first service this tonight because I thought about it during worship of first service. I thought it would be fascinating to turn 2 Timothy into a movie.

One of those, like, constant flashback sort of movies, you know? Like, follow me on this. Like, every time Paul talks about something else that went on in his life, he pushes back to that scene. And when I think about this, when he says, for this reason I also suffer these things, I imagine him kind of reminiscing and thinking back on what it must have been like to suffer these things.

Because remember, Paul went through an incredible amount for the gospel. He went through times of shipwreck. He went through times of being beaten with stones, of being beaten with rods, of being beaten with whips. He went through times of great sickness. He went through times of just incredible suffering. He said, for this reason I suffer for these things. And as he looks back,

he goes, I'm not sad that I did it. I'm not sad that I went through all those things because I did it for a purpose and I did it for a reason and it meant the world to me to be able to suffer for these things. He says that even though I suffer for these things, I am not ashamed. Can I put it to you in my own language? I would do it all again. I'll go back to a statement that was made

to me the Sunday after Charlie Kirk was assassinated. I've tried not to make too much about that because sometimes I think we've gone a little overboard with that, but it was a fascinating time, wasn't it? What a crazy time to have lived through. And that Sunday after, I remember somebody coming up to me before service, or in between services, and they said, I bet if we asked him, knowing what you know now, that you will lose your life at the age of 31 because of the stand that you have taken on the truth, would you do it again? I guarantee

he'd say yes. And I know that because of guys like Paul who said, I've suffered all of these things for this reason, but I'm still not ashamed. In other words, I'd do it all over again. I'd do it again today. Why? Why on earth would you be someone who was willing to suffer like that and say, I would do it all over again? That's not our culture. That's not our flesh.

That's not our mindset. Our mindset is to avoid suffering. Our mindset is to avoid hardship, to avoid difficult things. So why did Paul find himself in a place where he says, no matter what, I suffer these things, but I'm not ashamed. I'd do it all over again. Well, the answer is given to us in verse 12. Four, indicating an answer to the question, I know whom I have believed.

I know whom I have believed. That phrase is so important because it reminds us that our faith is not a what, it's a who. Our lives in Jesus Christ are not about what we know. They're about who we know. You can spout all the facts in the world that you want to. You can quote all the Bible verses in the world that you want to. But if they've not led you to a deeper knowledge of Jesus,

then they've done nothing for you. You know how I know that? Because Jesus looked at the religious leaders of his day who could do the exact same thing. They could spout all of the knowledge. They could spout all of the information. They could quote all of the Torah. But he said, you search the scriptures, for in them you think you have life. But these are they which testify

of me. And there can be a real danger for the church to know a lot of things, but to miss Jesus. To know a lot of facts, but to miss Jesus. And if we've missed Jesus, then we've missed the point. If we've missed Jesus, then we've missed the whole thing. But Paul, as he reminisces on his life, he says, I've suffered in all of these ways, I've been through all of these things,

and I would do it all over again. He says, there's a reason why. Because I know whom I have believed. Because I know him. Because I know Jesus. And I want you to think about everything that Paul had been through in his life, and through it all, and his side. Jesus was always right there with him. He was always right alongside him. And Paul said, I know him because

I have spent my life pursuing him. I know him because I have spent my life going after him, studying him, learning of him, spending time with him. And so I know in whom I have believed. And so he's not dying for a set of doctrine. He's not dying for a list of scriptures. He's suffering for a person who means more to him than anything he could ever imagine. He says, I know whom I have believed.

You know, the only way you get to that place is by a day in and day out walk with Jesus. I've been at the bedside of many great men and women of God. And I can tell you right now, beyond a shadow of a doubt, this same heart that Paul has here is the same heart that each one of them had. Because they had spent their life not pursuing an idea, but pursuing a person.

And as they spent their life pursuing that person, they all knew one thing. Jesus. They knew who they believed in. He said, I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. And Paul said, this is what I'm convinced of. That word convinced means persuaded or to come to a settled persuasion. This is the one thing that I am

persuaded of. This is the one thing that I am convinced of, that he is able to guard that which I have entrusted to him until that day. As is often the case, a bunch of people that got more caught up in facts than Jesus are debating about something in this verse. What's Paul talking about here? He's either A, talking about his life that he has entrusted to Jesus, or B,

he's talking about the message that he has been entrusted with. I think you all know how I usually handle these situations. The answer is yes. Because remember, it's about Jesus. Paul knew that the message that he had been entrusted with, the message of the gospel, was safe with Jesus. That it would not end with him. That when he died, the message would not

stop. The message would continue to be safe. You know what the beautiful thing about the message of the gospel that's in this great leather-bound Bible right here, is it's the same message that they were preaching 2,000 years ago. Even though they tried to burn it, even though they tried to kill its messengers, even though they tried to kill its organization, its institution, they tried to destroy everything they could about the gospel, but they couldn't stop it. Why? Because I know

whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to keep what's been entrusted to me until that day. So the message of the gospel is safe. But I tend to lean towards the other group on this one. Because I think what Paul's saying is, I can trust him with my life. I can trust him with my life. Because I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to keep

what I have entrusted with him. Until that day. You know how Paul knew that? Because he had lived his life trusting God. He had lived his life trusting that God was able to keep him in the way that only God could. It didn't mean there were no hardships in his life. It meant that he knew everything that came into his life was first filtered through the hands of a loving God.

It was always intended for his good and for God's glory. And now in this moment when he knew that he potentially faced certain death, he knew he could continue to trust God. Not only with his physical life, but with his eternal life. And when you come to a place where you say, my life is God's, and I trust him with it, you become invincible. Because no one can stop you at that point in time.

How do you kill somebody like that? You don't. Because their message keeps going. I'm sorry, I don't mean to do it. How do you kill a guy like Charlie Kirk? You can't. Because his message keeps going. Is it because of who he is and because of what his message was? Or is it because of who he is? No, it's because of what his message was, which is Jesus. His message was Jesus,

and that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and that Jesus says what right and wrong is, and all we can do is get on Jesus' side. That's why you'll never stop a guy like that. It's why you'll never stop a guy like Paul. It's why you can't stop Jesus. It's why you can't stop the gospel. Because when you realize that all of that's entrusted to God, it becomes an invincible message.

And you become invincible in his sight. So, he says, I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he's able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. Both Paul's life and his life's work were safe with Jesus. And so he says, don't be ashamed. I know whom I have believed. And then he gets down to the business. He says, guard the treasure.

Notice what he says in verse 13.

The Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. He tells him two things. Number one, he says, retain the standard. The word retain means to follow the pattern or to hold fast. He says, follow the pattern and hold fast to this. I love the idea of hold fast there because it makes me think of being a wrestler. So, when we were wrestlers,

we would do these 30 second starts, right? Because if you got down to, I don't know, I don't understand overtime anymore, but it used to be when you got into double overtime, that they flipped a coin and one guy had to maintain control and the other guy tried to escape control. And so if you were the guy that was trying to maintain control, you had 30 seconds to do one thing. Hold on to the other guy. It didn't matter if you stalled.

It didn't matter how pretty it was. You had one job. Don't let him go. Hold fast. Hold on as tight as you can for those 30 seconds because if you could hold on, you won the match. And so we did these 30 second starts and you learned it didn't matter what body part you were grabbing. You were grabbing something you were holding on for dear life because you knew if you held on, you won.

And that's kind of the way it is that Paul's telling him right now. Hold fast. We've only got so much time. Grab on and don't let go. Grab on and don't let go. But what does he tell him to retain? What does he tell him to hold fast to? What does he tell him to follow the pattern of? Sound words. He tells him to follow the pattern of sound words. Hold fast to sound words. The

idea of that is wholesome teaching. Hold fast to the wholesome teaching. In other words, the pure teaching of what God's Word has to say. Hold fast to it in your life and that you only let the good stuff in. Hold fast to it in your life and that you dedicate yourself to being one who teaches the Word. And hold fast to it yourself and that you defend against anything

that is not holding tight to the pattern. So he tells him first of all retain the standard. And then he says guard the treasure. Guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us the treasure which has been entrusted to you. The idea of the word guard there means to keep it and use it wisely. Keep it and use it wisely. It's a beautiful picture that's given to us because

the idea is to hold onto it with everything that you've got but then use it the way that it's supposed to be used. And how is he supposed to keep it and use it wisely? Well, through the power of the Holy Spirit. He says through the Holy Spirit keep and use it wisely. How does the Holy Spirit do that in our lives? Well, the Holy Spirit instructs us first of all about how important the treasure is.

And we'll get to the treasure here in just a minute. He tells us just how important the treasure is. And then he shows us how to use it wisely. I'm reminded of a story in the New Testament. A parable that Jesus told that was very similar to this. Jesus told the parable of the talents. It's not talent like what you and I think of like I can play football really well or something like that.

Talent was money at that point in time. And Jesus said there was a landowner who went away and he distributed his wealth to three of his servants. To one he gave this many talents. To the second one he gave a little bit less. And to the third he gave a little bit less. And he left. And he left it entrusted to them. And when he came back the first one had taken his talent and he

had guarded it. He had kept it and used it wisely. He had invested it. And when he invested it, it earned back twice the amount that he had been given. So he hands it to his master and he says, I guarded it. I kept it. And I used it wisely. And look, now twice as much as you gave me. And his master says, well done good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.

He comes to the second servant. The second servant says, I didn't have as much as him, but I guarded it. I kept it. And I used it wisely. And I invested it. And I got back twice. What a beautiful thing. Well done good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord. Then he came to the third servant. The third servant was like, you know, here's the thing.

You're kind of a jerk about this stuff. You're kind of a hard guy to work for. So I was scared of losing it. So I took it and I buried it. So here it is. Here's the talent. You see, he didn't keep it and use it wisely, did he? So what does this master say? He goes, you foolish and lazy servant. Give what you have to the other two. Because you didn't guard it. You didn't

keep it and use it wisely. See, that's what it means by guard the treasure. He tells Timothy, keep the treasure and use it wisely with the people around you. Well, I hope you're asking yourself a question right now because the Holy Spirit shows us how to do that. But what is the treasure? Well, the treasure of course is the Word of God. It's the message of the Gospel. In 2 Corinthians,

Paul tells us that we have this treasure in an earthen vessel. That's us. We have the treasure of the Word of God. We have the treasure of the Gospel inside of us. And so we have to take this treasure and we have to keep it and use it wisely. We have to keep it and use it wisely. Because we have been entrusted with it. Notice what it says. Let me read this to you again.

Guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us the treasure which has been entrusted to you. That word entrusted is very interesting. It means a deposit that has been consigned to one's faithful keeping. A deposit that has been consigned to one's faithful keeping. It goes along perfectly with that parable that we told. And if we begin to view the Word of God

as a treasure, then all of a sudden it changes the way that we handle it all the time, doesn't it? I see these little things pop through every now and then, interestingly enough, while I'm scrolling my phone. And it'll say, what if we treated our Bible like our phone? And it shows somebody getting out of their car, holding their Bible while they're walking, somebody driving down the...

Listen, I don't think you should drive and read your Bible at the same time, okay? I just want to say that right now. If you get into a car wreck because you drove and you read your Bible, do not call me. It is not my fault. I did not tell you to do that. But it shows somebody, you know, driving while they're trying to read their Bible and it shows somebody walking into the bathroom holding

their Bible and it shows somebody laying in bed and the first thing that they do in the morning, they have their Bible in their hand. It sure makes you think about something, doesn't it? It sure makes you kind of wonder what your greatest treasure is. The Bible says where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. It says guard the treasure. It's interesting

because if this is truly the treasure that we say that it is, and I bet everybody in here, if I told you, do you consider the Word of God a treasure? In your life, you would answer correctly. You'd say, absolutely I do. See, only your lifestyle can tell whether that's true or not. Only your lifestyle can decide whether or not the Gospel is truly the treasure.

Because the longer that you live your life, the more you realize that the things that you have to hold onto are only the spiritual things. Because those are the real treasures that you have in your life. I wonder what would happen if we started treating the Word of God like a treasure. The treasure that it truly is. He gives a couple of examples of one who didn't treat the Word of God like a treasure

and one who did. Look in verse 15, real life examples from Paul. He says, You're aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phagellus and Hermogenes. The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. But when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me.

The Lord granted him to find mercy from the Lord on that day. And you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus. Because everybody left me. There was two guys that didn't guard the treasure. There was two guys that didn't retain sound words and their names are Phagellus and Hermogenes. Can you imagine being those guys? Like dude, the call out that you get for all of eternity in the Bible.

Like what if they're in heaven and they're like, Paul, what the heck, yo? How you gonna call me out like that? What is that about? They may not be there, I don't know. But those guys didn't guard the treasure because they started caring more about themselves than they did others. You see, when we guard the Word of God and the treasure, it changes the way that we view people, doesn't it?

When God's Word, when the message of the Gospel is the treasure of our life, it colors everything else that we do. Because God's Word teaches me my identity, which teaches me who I am in Christ, which reminds me of my purpose. And when I start to understand my purpose, I no longer view my job as something that I hate, I view it as my mission field. The place where I can reach other people with the treasure of Jesus Christ.

I don't view my family as people that I'm just supposed to love. I view them as those that I am bringing up in the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't view the person that sits next to me in church as the person that I hope doesn't talk to me today. I view them as someone that needs to be discipled in Jesus Christ that I need to pour my life into. I don't view church as something I just show up to.

I show it as a life that I live. I don't view the people around me as bothers in my life. I view them as opportunities to show the love of Jesus. When I use the Word of God like a treasure. You see, there was a guy that did that. His name was Onesiphorus. He said, Onesiphorus often refreshed me. As a matter of fact, when he came to Rome, he eagerly, let me make sure I quote this correctly,

eagerly searched for me and found me. The idea behind that in the Greek is that he would not stop until he found Paul. One commentator put it like this, he went from dungeon to dungeon until he finally found the one that Paul was in. Why? Because he guarded the treasure and it changed everything about the way he treated people. Brothers and sisters, these final words

from a faithful servant are so important to listen to. Guard the treasure. Don't be ashamed of the Gospel. Know who you believe. Keep and use God's Word wisely. Amen? Let's all stand. And if you'd bow with me. Father, we come before you. And Lord, I thank you for the morning that you've given us together. And God, I just ask that you would be with us as we go out from this place.

Lord, that your Word would continue to do its work as always. I pray that the things of me would fall by the wayside and only the things of you would remain. Lord, I pray that you would draw us near to you and fashion in us hearts of men and women of God. And Lord, that truly, we would know you. Not just about you, not just some facts. Lord, what that we, like Paul,

would be able to say. For I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to him until that day. So Lord, move in our hearts, we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed. Worship you. Worship you. Working in it. Who you are. Is who you are. Are here. Worship you. Worship you. We thank you the darkness and into light, newness of life.

God, we just thank you and we praise you. And we ask your blessing upon each and every one of us here this morning. And continue ministering to us as we leave here today. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Guys, have a wonderful week. You. God bless you.