05/30/2024 Midtown Church Thursday Night
SERMON SERIES: “LIFE LINES, SCRIPTURES THAT FORMED ME.”
SERMON: “CLOSING ARGUMENT”
Pastor Bob Balian
Primary Texts:
- 2 Timothy 1
- 1 Timothy
- 2 Timothy
5 Conditions That Lead to Discouragement
1. Theological CONFUSION
- 2 Timothy 2:17-18
“Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.” - 1 Timothy 1:19
“Some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.” - 1 Timothy 6:10
“Some have wandered away from the faith.”
2. Moral CHAOS
- 2 Timothy 3:1-4
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
3. Relational REJECTION
- 1 Timothy 1:6
“Some have turned aside.” - 2 Timothy 4:10
“Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.” - 2 Timothy 4:14
“Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm.” - 2 Timothy 4:16
“At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them.”
4. Personal SADNESS
- 2 Timothy 1:15
“You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.” - 2 Timothy 4:13
“When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas…”
5. Overwhelming CIRCUMSTANCES
- 1 Timothy 4:12
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young…” - 1 Timothy 5:23
“Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.”
5 Formative Choices
1. Choose OPTIMISM
- 2 Timothy 1:1-2
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”
2. Choose GRATITUDE
- 2 Timothy 1:3-4
“I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.”
3. Choose ENCOURAGING RELATIONSHIPS
- 2 Timothy 1:4-5
“Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I have been 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.”
4. Choose SACRIFICIAL SERVICE
- 2 Timothy 1:6
“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.”
5. Choose COURAGE
- 2 Timothy 1:7
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”
Additional Encouragement (2 Timothy 1:1-7)
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus. To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I have been 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. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
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