God of the Valleys, Deserts, and Wilderness (SUNDAY MARCH 23, 2025)

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬ ‭

“but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭15‬:‭57‬ ‭

Our Christian life is a victorious life. It's a life in which the LORD has already gained the victory and we live it out in our own lives.

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” ‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭33‬ ‭‬‬

However, our experience of victory is sometimes not aligned with our expectations of victory.

In my observation, the exuberance that follows Christian conversion or initial salvation often gives way to the reality of Christian life which is quite different. We eventually come to realize that isn't all mountain tops. There are valleys that we deal with. There is the experience of wilderness. There are long paths that you go through alone.

Life isn't perfect after you become Christian. There is messiness in life itself. These are not unique to Christians. But the reality is that the Christian is not immune from the challenges of life. We too have physical challenges, financial challenges, career challenges, relationship challenges, emotional challenges. We deal with ill health, poverty, job losses, broken relationships, toxic relationships, unmet expectations, disappointments of every kind.

A couple of examples.

Just a week ago, I truly believed in my heart that God was going to heal brother Vasanth in Austin. Vasanth and his family used to fellowship in this congregation a few years ago. He is a brother who came to know the Lord at age 13 from a Hindu background. His life was dedicated to serving the LORD, even while working in some very large high-tech organizations. He poured out his life to the service of his God in reaching out to others and in supporting poor missionaries in India. A few weeks ago, he suddenly felt a discomfort and needed heart surgery and never really recovered from there. Our congregation along with hundreds of people in different parts of the world raised their requests to God. However, God chose to call him home.

A few weeks ago we were praying for a sister in Trivandrum, Molly George. She was a missionary in different parts of the world. She was an aunt to Omana Aunty and sister Jainamma, but as someone so close to them that they played together in their childhood. A missionary who was suffering so much due to cancer and in so much pain. When we met to pray for her, we prayed that her death would provide her relief. Eventually her death was what brought relief to that pain.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

We might have theological or philosophical answers to that question, but those answers will not bring back the father and husband to the family that lost him. It does not change the situation concerning their future which has now become extremely different as a result of this incident.

In the middle of these circumstances we pray. Because the difference we have as a result of our conversion is that when we go through these challenging circumstances, we do not go through it alone, but we go through it with God by our side.

In our walk with Christ, there are often heights or mountaintops : where things go well. We experience reasonably quick answer to prayer. We are celebrating and declaring the glory of God.

Then there are valleys. Where we experience low points and setbacks. We pray, but prayer does not immediately yield answers. In fact when we pray we sometimes feel like things get worse. We feel fear in valleys.

We go through deserts where we are devoid of nourishments, where our throats are parched and we feel like we do not have strength for living our life, let alone doing something for the LORD. We experience lack in deserts.

There are periods of wilderness where we are not sure if we are going in the right direction. In fact we do not even know which way to turn. We sometimes go in circles, but we do not realize we are lost. We feel in these times, sometimes that God is distant. That He is not near us. We experience confusion in these times.

We may feel that God is absent from our lives. We do not doubt His existence or that He is good in His nature. But we feel like He is not in our lives. He is good to others. But He no longer seems to be involved in our lives. We pray for some other people and God answers those prayers. But our own prayers seem to go nowhere and receive no answers.

Paul himself writes thus:

“For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭‬‬

1. Correct your ways and seek His face

“I will go away and return to My place Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.” ‭‭Hosea‬ ‭5‬:‭15‬

Examine to see if your ways are correct before Him. God allows affliction in our lives to help us draw close to Him. Sometimes God allows situations in our lives to change us. We pray for the situation to change, but God wants us to change something. As we grow close to a holy God, His Spirit might convict us of something we need to change. God often wants to remove the influence of the world upon our life, that the power of the flesh in our life can be curtained, that the old nature will be fully crucified. The situations we are in could help change us to become more like Him.

2. Rejoice in Him always

The joy of the LORD is your strength. Neh 8:10

Rejoice in the LORD always and again I say rejoice. Phil 4:4

The Christian's greatest weapon is the joy of the LORD. It is a defensive force as well. When we are filled with the joy of the LORD, we can face all circumstances and come out victorious.

Do not let the enemy steal your joy. When your joy is lost and despair fills you, you provide a breeding ground for all kinds of issues. That's why the devil tries to bring despair into your lives.

Let us rejoice in the LORD for who He is, not for what we are going through. We are commanded to be joyful in practice. We are commanded to be joyful by choice.

‬‬3. Praise Him privately and publicly

“Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭63‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭‬‬

“At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭9‬ ‭‬‬

May we be people who always praise His holy name. But let us first be people who praise the LORD in our most private and personal space, by ourselves. God deserves and desires that praise from us.

4. Look to Jesus

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭

Jesus is the greatest example of endurance and purpose that we have in front of us. When we go through difficult situations, let us fix our eyes upon Him, who endured such hostility by sinners against Himself so that we will not be weary or lose heart.

In the Valley, God is able to keep you close to Him

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭4‬ ‭

In the wilderness, God is able to send you His word

“In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain. Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.” Exodus‬ ‭19‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭

You may be going through a wilderness period, without direction and a word from the LORD. But when you seek Him more, God might give you a new revelation, a fresh word that you need for this season and for your life. Wait on the LORD for Him and He will provide a word for you. The promise to Israel that they will be God’s own possession among all the peoples, and that they will be to God a kingdom of priests and a holy nation found its fulfilment in the church as we read in the new testament.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” 1 Pet 2: 9

In the desert, God is able to bring forth gushing streams of living water

“Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭19‬ ‭‬‬

In the season of your lack and emptiness, God is able to bring for a roadway showing you direction and rivers that flow with fresh, pure, energizing, and nourishing water.

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬ ‭

God leads us in victory through the valley, through the desert, and through the wilderness. In all these things He leads us in victory, that we may spread the sweet aroma of the knowledge of our God in every place.

Preaching Christ, the Power and the Wisdom of God (Sunday March 16, 2025)

Today's message is from 1 Cor 1:18 onwards.

Paul is writing to the church at Corinth. We know from the book of Acts that right before Paul comes to Corinth, he was at Athens. There he spoke the very famous sermon, often called the Mars Hill sermon.

Athens was the intellectual capital of the world at the time. Many of the greatest philosophers of that age are even today considered the primary leaders of the Western philosophical system. They include names such as Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato and preceded the time of Paul. Much of the foundations of even modern philosophy traces its roots to the frameworks established more than two millennia ago in Athens. It was there that Paul Paul delivered this message. It was a very intellectual and interesting message. At the end of his message, we read that many mocked Paul when they heard about the resurrection. The scripture says, "Nevertheless some believed." We read that says that he went to Corinth and started working among the Jews and the Greeks. There were people who were from a Jewish background and there were those from a Gentile or Greek background.

Paul writes:

"For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

The message of the cross is foolishness to those that are unsaved. What is the word of the cross? It is the message about the death of Jesus Christ and what it accomplished. It is difficult for many people to accept the news about the death of Christ:

• Some do not even believe that Jesus died. "He was crucified, but did not die," they say.

• Others do not believe it has any significance beyond being the death of a person. "People die all the time. There is no meaning beyond that."

• There are a few who think Christ's death was trivial. "Oh, it was nothing. Just a weekend of trouble."

• There are others who do not believe that He rose from the dead. "How can that ever happen?"

There is only one person who did not deserve of death. The Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, lived a pure perfect, sinless life, and was the only one who did not earn death, He did not deserve to die. That is why His death has power. We heard during worship that “the sting of death is sin.” Jesus had no sin in Him, so there was no power of sin, no sting on His death. That is what makes His death on our behalf powerful. 

Because of God's holiness and His justice, it requires that the soul that sins must die. The wages of sin is death. We also know that each of us deserve sin, because we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 

Every sin, even the ones that are trivial in our eyes are sins that deserve death in the eyes of a completely holy God. No one who has committed any sin has any claim on heaven. But in His graciousness, the LORD has forgiven our sin and has made us heirs of that promise through the death of His Son on our behalf. The only person in this world who did not deserve death, our Lord Jesus Christ, died in our place so that we could enter into His presence. 

No wonder that it sounds like foolishness to those that are perishing. 

To those that do not believe in Christ, we know it is the power of God. To the Romans, Paul writes that he was:

“not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone that believes first to the Jew and then to the Gentile.” Rom 1:16

Jesus walked to the cross willingly to pay the price for our sin. His coming to the earth was not to have three years of public ministry. The purpose of His coming was His substitutionary death on our behalf. Even though this statement is breathtakingly powerful, to the unregenerate mind, the message is foolishness. It makes no sense to the regenerate mind.

For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.” This is from Isaiah 29:14

The wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever people or the understanding of the prudent, or the intelligence of the intelligent, God will frustrate.

We are never going to influence God with our cleverness. We may influence or impress some people, especially those that are unconverted. But the godly people know when the power of God is at work. 

Paul was tired of the worldly wise people. He was tired of intellectuals who he had encountered at Athens. There is so much knowledge that the philosophers try to acquire. They ask the big questions:

• Questions of origin - "Where did I come from?" 

• Questions of meaning - "What is life? What is its meaning?"

• Questions of purpose - "What am I to do?"

• Questions about knowledge - "How can I know something? How do I acquire it?"

• Questions of destiny - "What will happen to me after I die?"

When man uses human thought powered by human language and human resources to try and find answers to questions that are deep, the end is often not satisfying. It sounds learned and sophisticated; but it is not lifegiving. The lessons of philosophy, when you look at it closely, make you miserable. Unlike the gospel of Christ that gives life, because it is God's word. 

God's word teaches us:

• That our origin is from God. We come from Him. We were created by Him and for His good pleasure.

• That mankind fell away because of sin. The only religion in the world that identifies the source of mankind's problems acccurately is the Christian faith. We know from the scriptures that the problem is sin. Even a beautiful, harmless little baby that grows up will have a tendency to do things that go against rules and laws. With training, conditioning, and controlling of environments, we often try to limit the amount of damage that can be done. But the fundamental problem is sin.

• That the remedy is the cross of Christ. The substitutionary death of Jesus Christ has paid the price for sin.

• Faith in Him and in His finished work on the cross is how we are saved from sin.

“Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” 1 Cor 1:20, 21

The intellectual powerhouses of that time and of this time could not and cannot understand the message of the cross using their intellectual abilities. Because it does not make sense to the natural mind. "How can God die for mankind?  "Who would die willingly for another person?" "How can the death of Jesus save us from sin?"

“For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” 1 Cor 1:22-24

Often, Jesus would speak to the Jews, especially the Pharisees, and someone would ask to see a sign to show that He was from God. It was an important part of their thinking. Jesus did miraculous signs at many occasions, proving that He was the Son of God. However, seeing them, most of them responded in disbelief still. They would argue whether it was lawful for Jesus to heal a cripple, a paralytic on Sabbath. 

The Greeks, the intellectuals, demanded knowledge. However, to them the preaching of the cross was foolishness. But to the saved, it is the power of God that saves them! God was well-pleased through the seeming foolishness of this message preached to save those who believe.

We all notice that it is not the message itself. The same message could be preached to two people with a similar background, upbringing, and thinking. However, only the one that God draws is likely to respond to it. To the other one, it seems foolish. It has no appeal.

We could also try and gather every argument in favor of the message we are preaching. Everything from apologetics. Anticipating the objections raised and preparing with counter arguments. "I am not prepared enough!" "What if they ask another question?" "What if they ask about another topic I am  not familiar with." The ones that are most equipped with all these arguments are not the ones evangelizing the most. They are busy in seminaries talking to Christians and intellectually advocating on these topics. Often we realize that that is not what brings people to the saving knowledge of Christ. It is the exuberant testimony of a simple witnessing Christian that often brings the knowledge of Christ to others. So stop waiting to be more prepared and start sharing the gospel.

Begin talking to others about Christ. To your family, your friends, your neighbors, your colleagues. If we're not ready to do that, let us cry out to the Lord to enable us. To strengthen us to do that. And He will give us the words to speak.

Peter said this:

"Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;" 1 Pet 3:15

When someone comes and asks you the reason for the hope in you, it is okay to be defensive and present logical arguments. But in sharing your faith, speak from your heart what the Lord has done for you. If the Lord was able to change your life, He is able to change the lives of others as well. 

To the Jew and the Greek who are not saved, the message of the cross is foolishness. It does not make sense to them. They are not able to understand it. But to those that are ready to believe, this same message of the cross is the power of God unto salvation. 

To those that believe, both to the Jew and the Greek, the gospel of Christ is the most precious message to them. It is God's power and God's wisdom. At the cross, we see the light, and the burden of sin is rolled from our hearts. Jesus takes our sin and holds us close. And by the power of God and by the wisdom of God, He lifts the burden of sin from us and sets us free. Hallelujah!

By natural ways of cleverness and intelligence and thinking and enquiry and human wisdom, we are not going to be able to understand God’s message of salvation. It happens when by the mercy of God, He draws us and in humility we approach Him. The message becomes the life-giving, life-changing message of salvation in our lives.

May the Lord touch our hearts and embolden us to take His message of salvation to those around us.

The Faith God Wants (SUNDAY March 9, 2025)

Dr. Martin Alphonse

Talking about the end times is often like a family driving in a car. Throughout the journey, the child sitting in the backseat keeps asking, “Are we there yet, dad?“ In fact, speaking about the second coming of the Lord, we can say that it is close . Another way to look at it is to say, “how can we say with certainty that this is not the time for the Lord coming?”

In Luke 18:1-8, we read the parable of the unrighteous judge. Even though the commonly understood message about the parable was about the persistent prayer of the widow, we see that Jesus closes that parable by wondering if He would find faith on earth at the time of His return. His concern was about whether He will find end-time faith.
I want us to look at Paul’s epistles to Timothy on the subject of faith. I do not want to focus on end-time faith only, but also on everyday faith. The word “faith” in its multiple forms is used so many times in Timothy. 1 Timothy uses it 16 times and 2 Timothy uses it 6 times.
In Timothy, we read about many warnings as concerning the loss of faith:

• “keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme. 1 Timothy 1:19-20 - Hymenaeus and Alexander have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. That indicates those that had faith, but lost it.

• “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,” 1 Timothy 4:1 - Again, this speaks about people who fell away from the faith through wrong doctrine and deceitful teachings.

• “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:8 - Here are those that have denied the faith, if they do not provide for their families.

• “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10 - Again here is a warning about the greed for money, causing people to wander away from the faith.

• “But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.” 1 Timothy 6:11 - Paul warns Timothy about things that he must flee, just like one would need to flee from an approaching fire, such as the one that engulfed areas in California recently. We must instead pursue faith among other things.

• “Fight the good fight of faith; O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”— which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith.” 1 Timothy 6:12, 20-21 - once again, Paul is exhorting his disciple Timothy to guard what’s been given to him, to fight the good fight of faith so that he would not go astray from the faith like some did.
  These warnings have clearly been given with a view that it is possible to once have faith and then lose it. So we must be very vigilant in these last days to avoid losing our everyday faith.
  In the epistles to Timothy, Paul speaks about faith that has the following characteristics:

1. Sincere faith

2. Successive faith.

3. Survived faith.

4. Scripture-fed fairh

5. Spirit-fanned faith

1. Sincere Faith

“For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.”
2 Timothy 1:5
The use of the phrase “sincere faith” raises the question, “Can faith be insincere?” The answer is yes. Faith can be insincere in its motive and its usage.

“Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
Paul connects faith with resurrection and with hope. I see faith and hope as twins. One does not exist without the other. If one has hope only for things of this earth, for material things, they are to be pitied. Such so called Christians are so pathetic.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” Matthew 7:21-23

Every time I read this scripture or when I hear someone quote it or when I use it in my own message, I shudder. Millions of people are calling on Jesus right now, “Lord, Lord”. It is not those who called him, “Lord, Lord,” that enters the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of the Father.

Many people prophesied in Jesus name, they cast out demons in Jesus name, they performed miracles and healing in his name. They felt that these actions were proof that God was with them, because they could not perform these miraculous works without the power of the Holy Spirit. However Jesus told them to depart from Him. It is possible that this happens, because faith and the gifts of the spirit are all gifts from God (1 Cor 12). Also, we read in Rom 11:29 that the gifts and the calling are irrevocable. Once God gives His gifts, he does not take them away. How would you use the gifts that God has given you? Will you use them for your glory? Will you use them so that people will come and praise you? Will you use them to make wealth or a name for yourself? No wonder God says to such people that He never knew them.

Paul writes: “ If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” 1 Cor 13:2

Also, Jesus after he cursed a fig tree for not bearing fruit, and His disciples were amazed, he said, “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.” He speaks about faith that moves the mountains, but He immediately tells them to forgive everyone so that the Lord may forgive their transgressions.

Everyday faith must be sincere.

Pass On Your Faith!

It is like a relay race, where you pass the baton on to the next runner, you ought to pass the faith on to your children. Pass on your faith.

2. Successive Faith

“For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.” 2 Timothy 1:5

Paul speaks about the faith that was first in his grandmother, then in his mother also lives in Timothy. Three generations successively has that faith. Three generations had the faith successfully passed on. I believe that Lois and Eunice did not forget their Jewish roots.

“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” Deuteronomy 4:9

“Tell it to your children,
and let your children tell it to their children,
and their children to the next generation.” Joel 1:3

It is like a relay race, where you pass the baton on to the next runner, you ought to pass the faith on to your children. Pass on your faith.

In Luke 15, we read about the parable of the lost sheep. But that is not the first time Jesus spoke about it. In Matt 18, Jesus spoke about children saying that unless one changes and becomes like little children, they will never enter the kingdom of heaven. He goes on in the same passage and speaks about the lost sheep. The same story that he speaks in the context of adults, he speaks in the context of children. We have to pass on our everyday faith to children.

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish. Matt 18:12-14

3. Scripture-Fed Faith

There is a prayer called “Shema Yisrael” in Deut 6:4-5

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a]  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

This prayer was repeated by the Israelites at least twice a day. In the morning when they woke up and at night when they were putting the kids to bed, they said this as the last prayer. This is the first thing that a child would hear when they wake up and the last thing they hear before they go to bed. Imagine how sweet their dreams would be!

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” 2 Tim 3:14,15

From infancy Timothy knew the scriptures. My wife is a Montessori teacher. The founder Maria Montessori found in her research that 3-month old babies can understand what you are saying. The Bible confirms this finding! “From infancy” Timothy knew the scriptures!

Continue in what you learned. What did you learn? You learned about salvation. Who did you learn from? From your mother and grandmother. How did you learn? From infancy you learned the scriptures.

Rather than let children learn from mobile phones and social media, let the mothers and fathers be the first source of learning. And it’s a dangerous world, let them learn the scriptures.

4. Survived Faith

Paul speaks about Timothy’s grandmother and mother. What about his father? His father was not a believer. He was a Greek. Acts 16:1 says, “Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.”

It was a requirement to be circumcised. Why wasn’t Timothy circumcised as a Jewish boy? Maybe because Timothy’s father was a Greek and not a believer. We don’t know anything more about his father. We only know that Eunice raised him as a single mother. Paul adopts him as a spiritual son. Looking at the possibilities, Timothy had many influences when he was growing up:

1. His mother’s side was Jewish who passed on Jewish culture to him. He spoke Hebrew and Aramaic.

2. On his father’s side, his uncles, aunts, cousins, were all Greek. So he spoke Greek and had influence of the Greek culture.

3. Finally the ruling power was Roman. So he had the influence of the Roman culture as well.

Three cultures converged in Timothy’s life. Just like for Indian children growing up in America. They have the Sub-Indian culture such as Malayali, Telugu, or Tamil. Then they have the American influence. My friend Sam George calls the children the coconut generation: brown outside, but white inside. And over that, they have the church culture.

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. 2 Tim 1:2

Again multiple generations are spoken of here.

Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.  Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules.  The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 2 Tim 2:3-6

Paul uses three comparisons here referencing the three major influences in Timothy’s life:

• Soldier: The Roman soldiers were the greatest fighting power of the time. But Timothy’s commander now is Jesus

• Athlete: The Greek were the best athletes of the times, inventing the Olympic games. Compete according to rules and be disciplined.

• Farmer: The best farmers are Jews. Jesus used so many parables from farming and agriculture.

Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. 2 Tim 2:7

Towards the end of the letter in 2 Tim 4 also Paul goes back to the same theme while providing his parting words:

• I fought a good fight (like the Roman soldier)

• I have finished the race (like the Greek athlete)

• I have kept the faith (the Jewish faith)

End time faith requires us to fight a good fight and finish the race and keep the faith. You cannot do the others without faith, because faith is foundational.

5. Spirit-Fanned Faith

I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 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.  2 Tim 1:5-6

What was the gift of God? The Holy Spirit of God as well as the faith itself!

The gift of God that was within you by the laying on of hands. “ For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” 2 Tim 1:7, 8

Don’t let the gift in you become inactive. Keep stirring it. Fan it to flame. I grew up in a small village where the wooden stoves were kept aflame with a pipe through which you blew air to fan the flames to burn brighter.

I get energized by the words in Eph 3:20, 21:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! 

There are four things that we hear here:

1. God is able

2. To do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine

3. According to His power

4. Which is at work within us already

God’s power is already within us. Keep stirring the gift of God that is within you.

This is the kind of faith that God wants us to have in these last times.