Opening Illustration: Letting people into their safe deposit boxes. Before I went into full-time ministry, I used to work in retail banking. One of things I would do in the bank, would be letting people into their safe deposit box. As part of the process, I would leave the room before they opened up their box. But every so often, one of the customers would say, “I want to show you something.” Now, it’s quite fascinating to think about what people might store in those boxes. It’s probably the most secure location to store something. We had strict rules about locking the vault at the end of the day. It had a timer on it, that once it’s set, it can’t be physically opened until the timer runs out. If you ever get locked in a bank vault, just make sure it’s not on Friday because it won’t open again until Monday. It’s fascinating to think about what’s in those boxes. Diamonds, gold, silver, jewelry, stock certificates. So, whenever someone would want to show me something that was in their box, I was always waiting for someone to pull out this bar of gold. But it never happened. Do you know what I was shown? Pictures. A family watch. Letters. Military medals. Items that had little monetary value, but were absolute treasures to those people. What they valued the most is what they protected and guarded. The items that were the most valuable to them were the items they locked up in the vault.

Today, in our time in God’s Word, the apostle Paul brings up this very issue. He doesn’t ask the question directly, but as we read the verses, we’ll that we are forced to ask ourselves the question, “What is most precious to me?” If you know about Paul, you know that he’s not asking about material things. The question in front of us is: “What do I have locked in my heart’s vault?” What emotion, what belief, what worldview, do I have that is the most precious thing to me? Here’s why it’s important to ask that question: Your life will be directed by what’s locked in your heart’s vault.  What you are keeping in the corners of your heart is what is going to influence the direction of your life. What burns bright inside of you is what is going to guide you. So, let’s get into these verses. Open your Bible to 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy is about halfway through the New Testament. As you turn there, let me remind you we are going through this entire book as a church family. It’s letter that Paul wrote to a young man named Timothy. It’s an encouragement to keep moving forward. And as you move forward word, you can take heart because God is faithful. Sermon Series: Take Heart: The Faithfulness of God. God’s Word is alive and powerful – let’s read it with expectancy. Read 2 Timothy 1:13-18. Pray.

Before I read verse 13, let me remind you about what we read last week. Our calling is to what? Burn bright for God. We fan the flame of our spiritual gift so that we can have the courage to burn bright. So, as we go, as we burn bright, there is a message we carry. And here’s what we see first about this message: We can’t mold God’s truth into what we want. 

1) We can’t mold God’s truth into what we want. (vs. 13-14) Let’s read verse 13 again: ¹³ Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me—a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. What does Paul tell Timothy to hold on to? “The pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me”. Maybe your translation says, “sound teaching or healthy teaching”. This wholesome teaching is God’s truth. Paul was diligent to teach Timothy about the gospel of Jesus Christ. But what does Paul specifically tell Timothy to hold on to? The pattern of wholesome teaching. This word, “pattern,” refers to a model or a form or an outline. It was a guide that Timothy was to follow. Think of it like cake mold. Not sure why that popped up first in my mind, maybe I’m hungry. Paul is telling Timothy to bake it, serve it, and eat it up. But what Timothy can’t do is change the mold. That’s non-negotiable. The gospel that Timothy learned from Paul wasn’t up for debate or change. Timothy was charged to follow what he was taught about Jesus – which was shaped by the faith and love he had in Jesus. Timothy was going apply the gospel in different ways, but the gospel message can’t change. Why am I emphasizing this one word in verse 13? Because we need this truth more than ever before. I mentioned last week that American church has gone from trembling to shaking.

In our culture, the primary danger to the gospel isn’t overt, outside opposition to God’s truth. If you look back in history, the Church thrives in those seasons of overt, outside opposition. And you could make the case that we are heading towards that, but we aren’t there yet. The primary danger is from those within the Church, those who loosen up their stance and allow the deterioration of God’s truth. Our biggest danger is letting worldly ideology influence how we view the Bible. It’s believing those YouTube videos where someone lays out their belief that the Bible doesn’t really mean what it says. It’s believing that sex outside of marriage is okay. It’s believing that God didn’t design marriage for a biological man and biological woman. It’s believing that salvation – going to heaven – can be found in other religions. Since I’m already stepping on some toes, I’ll step on a few more. It’s believing that truth can be found inside of you. It’s believing that hell doesn’t really exist and that people really won’t go there if they don’t have Jesus. It’s believing that having a church family – a church home – doesn’t matter and that you can do life on your own. It’s believing the ultimate goal of this life to find happiness. When your heart’s vault has locked up all this subjective truth, the core of you is unstable. You’re in this never-ending search for the next happy high. And that means you the core of you will always be changing. That’s why Paul tells Timothy to follow the pattern – the mold – the unchangeable truth of God.

Our biggest danger isn’t the threat of someone coming and shutting this church down. Our biggest danger is letting the God’s Word be diluted. Quote: “A diluted form of Christianity will rob you of your joy.” – Alistair Begg. You need to personally know God’s Word. My challenge to you is the same as Paul to Timothy: Know the gospel. Don’t come in here each week, grab a few cake crumbs, and expect that to sustain you for the rest of the week. Take the cake mold for yourself, bake it, serve it, and eat it up. That means, you must take the time to know God’s Word. Your biggest danger is not knowing God’s Word for yourself. Here’s what Paul tells Timothy to do next: Lock up God’s precious truth in your heart’s vault.

2) Lock up God’s precious truth in your heart’s vault. (vs. 13-14) When you have God’s rich, pure, and unadulterated truth, what do you do with it? What does verse 14 say? ¹⁴ Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you. I like how the NIV states this verse: “Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” When you take the time to understand the message of the Bible – the message of Jesus – you see just how much a good deposit it is. The gospel becomes so precious to you. And what do you with the things that are most precious to you? You guard it. Illustration: Transporting the Mona Lisa. What’s the most famous painting in the world? I think it’s anything by Bob Ross, but there is a consensus it’s the Mona Lisa. The painting may be the most heavily guarded and protected. Since the 1950s, The Mona Lisa is protected by a purpose-built, climate-controlled enclosure topped with bulletproof glass. The painting is so heavily secured that it has only left the Louvre twice in the past century. Think about those two trips. What if you were in charge of transporting the Mona Lisa? Some of you getting anxious just thinking about it? But if it was up to you to securing take the most famous painting in the world from one place to another? You do whatever you could to preserve this beautiful, one-of-a-kind work. If man-made painting can evoke this kind of reaction in us, how much more of a reaction should God’s Word create in us? 

Here’s the litmus test for knowing if God’s Word is precious to you or not: You lock it up in the vault of your heart. You see just how precious it is and you say, “I’m going to guard this truth with all that I am.” When you see the gospel’s infinite worth, you can’t help but guard it. You put a stake in the ground and say, “Nothing is going to touch God’s truth in my heart.” You guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit. You guard it with the power of the Holy Spirit. That means for some of you, you need to remove some things in your heart because it’s incompatible with God’s truth. For some of you, that means you need to open your heart to God’s truth. You are so closed off that you’ve left in empty void. For some of you, you need to receive the message of Jesus – the gospel of Jesus – for the first time. GOSPEL PRESENTATION. 

Paul has the confidence in Timothy that his heart has locked up the gospel. In the next verse we see why that is important. Paul knows that not everyone will do the same as Timothy, so Timothy better guard that precious truth. Verse 15 is tough, but it’s a reality we will face. Here’s what we see next: When you burn bright for Jesus, not everyone will stand with you. 

3) When you burn bright for Jesus, not everyone will stand with you. (vs. 15) Take a look at verse 15: ¹⁵ As you know, everyone from the province of Asia has deserted me—even Phygelus and Hermogenes. We know very little backstory to what happened in this verse. Most historians believe that since Paul was arrested again, the believers in Asia believed the Christian cause was lost. Paul had labored in Asia for years. In the book of Acts, we saw that many people in Asia believed. Now, they deserted Paul. Paul mentions two names – hard names to pronounce: Phygelus (Fij-ulous) and Hermogenes (Her-ma-ja-neous). These men were most likely leaders in the Asia church, but we don’t know for sure. This is the only time in the Bible these names were mentioned. And it’s for what? They deserted Paul.

This brings two items to our attention:

1. Your legacy matters
   • Make sure it’s a legacy for Jesus
2. Not everyone will move forward with you
   • When go deeper into the presence of God, not everyone will join you
     • When you stand for Jesus, not everyone will stand with you
     • As God’s truth directs your life, it will create change
   • This brings a hard reality in front us
     • You will outgrow and out go relationships in your life
     • For those of you who have the courage to burn bright, your relationships will shift and change
     • And this is hard
       • It’s not something we think about often
       • But just as Paul faced it, so will we
     • Sometimes it’s a relationship that you need to create distance
       • Other times, it’s a relationship that experiences distance slowly over time
     • And this isn’t “I’m better than that person” or “That person isn’t as strong as a Christian as me”
       • This isn’t a posture to take, it’s a reality to observe
       • Don’t walk out of here going, “I need to leave that person behind”
       • Just be prepared that down the road, not everyone will stand where you stand

But there’s a flip side to this! As you take God’s truth – as it is – and you lock it up in your heart’s vault and courageously burn bright, there will be some cool surprises along the way. The final three verses show us this: God will faithfully provide others to burn bright with you. 

4) God will faithfully provide others to burn bright with you. (vs. 16-18) Let’s read verses 16 through 18: ¹⁶ May the Lord show special kindness to Onesiphorus and all his family because he often visited and encouraged me. He was never ashamed of me because I was in chains. ¹⁷ When he came to Rome, he searched everywhere until he found me. ¹⁸ May the Lord show him special kindness on the day of Christ’s return. And you know very well how helpful he was in Ephesus. Look at what Onesiphorus (Ah-nes-sif-orus) did for Paul: He searched all over Rome for Paul. When Onesiphorus found Paul, he visited him often. He encouraged Paul often. He was not ashamed that Paul was in prison for Jesus. In return, Paul prays that God will show special kindness to Onesiphorus and his family.

Here’s my encouragement those who are burning bright for Jesus. Look for the unexpected relationship. Onesiphorus’ name meant “bringer of profit”. Don’t look for the relationship that is going to bring you social profit. Don’t look for the relationship that is going to bring you monetary profit. Don’t look for the relationship that is going to bring you emotional profit. Look for the relationship that is going to bring mutual spiritual profit. Look for that person who brings encouragement and light. And be the person who brings encouragement and light. Lock God’s truth in your heart’s vault and look for another who has locked God’s truth in the heart’s vault. It may not be who you expect, so don’t miss God’s faithfulness. 

I will close with where we started. What’s locked up in your heart? What truth are you guarding at all costs? What emotion, what belief, what worldview, do you have that is the most precious thing to you? Whatever that is -- is where your life is headed. Be honest with yourself and look inside. What are you holding onto with a grip so tight all your knuckles have turned white? The only way you can move forward is if God’s truth is on lockdown in your heart. If you are tired of running in circles, get a new compass. Let go of whatever the world has told you take hold of God’s truth. It is the only truth that will lead you to joy – true joy. And then, let’s all have the courage to move forward. Let’s all burn bright together. Let’s all be that “bringer of profit”. Let’s be that relationship each other needs. That’s a church family. That’s a church living out a vision so everyone can know the hope of Jesus. Let’s all be a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I end with a quote. It’s source is unknown. Some think it was found among the papers of a young Pastor in Zimbabwe after he was martyred for his faith in Christ. Regardless, as I read it, make it your heart’s cry. Quote: " I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of his. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure. I won’t give up, shut up, let up, until I’ve stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till he comes, give ’till I drop, preach till all know, and work till he stops me. And when he comes for his own, he’ll have no problem recognizing me. My banner will be clear.

Dear God, may it be so. Let’s pray.

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