Clean Transcript

The Afflictions Of The Gospel

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• Let's go today to 2 Timothy chapter 1, and we're going to be reading verses 7 through 9. And you need to stay with me because I think this might be needed and necessary for the time to come. The title of the message is "The Afflictions of the Gospel." An unusual title: "The Afflictions of the Gospel." So notice, if you would, 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 7. The Word of God says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God, 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 given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." The truth of the matter is we have been impressed and rejoice in the glories of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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• And now to come up with a title, "The Afflictions of the Gospel," should make us think, that is for sure. And although I titled this just exactly what the Scripture says, "The Afflictions of the Gospel," I must make it clear that the gospel is not afflicted in any way whatsoever. The truth is the gospel does indeed bring afflictions with it. All you have to do is recall what went on in the first century. Recall, if you would, please, all the persecutions of the apostles and the early Christians.

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• And if you're unfamiliar with that, then you need to read Fox's Book of Martyrs and find out how many gave their life for the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Word of God has a lot to say about afflictions, and we understand that we must not only face them, but we must also bear them as well. There are numerous promises in the Bible concerning afflictions. I'm going to give you several, but the very first one is interesting because it's found in Psalm 34 and verse 19, where the Bible says, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all." Now stop and think about that. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all." Truly God does indeed deliver us out of our afflictions, but the way we get delivered out of every affliction and all the afflictions is through death and eternity as well. But the Bible does say that God does indeed deliver us, and certainly that then led David in Psalm 132 in verse 1 to say, "O Lord, remember David in all of his afflictions." So it is proper and right and lawful then to pray and ask

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• God to remember us in our afflictions, and if He so pleased, deliver us from our afflictions as well. So God may graciously deliver us. God may graciously enable us to endure those afflictions. You remember it was the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12, he said, unless he should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations that were given unto him, that he was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet him. And then he went on to say that he besought the Lord thrice, three times, that this would be removed. And God said to him, "Know that my grace is sufficient for you." And therefore, the Apostle Paul wrote, "Therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me." So the truth is, the Lord may deliver us or He may just give us grace to bear them.

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• That is for sure. So the gospel does indeed bring afflictions with it, and unhappily there are many Christians, I think, who fall because they're ignorant of this fact. Many times the gospel is portrayed like it is a bed of roses without thorns. I want you to turn, holding 2 Timothy, but look in your Bibles if you would very quickly to the book of Acts chapter 14 and verse 22. Look what the Scripture says. Acts chapter 14 and verse 22. The Bible makes this exceedingly clear because when Saul went away to confirm the souls, look what he says. Paul, this is the Apostle Paul, Saul of Tarsus, who became the Apostle Paul, says, "Confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith and that we must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God." Now the word "tribulation" is the same Greek word as "affliction," so he could say "through much affliction we must enter into the kingdom of God," or "tribulation" or "suffering." So the word "tribulation" and the word "affliction" are one and the same. Now there is another passage in 1 Timothy chapter 3, and I

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• want you to look at it. I said 1 Timothy, it's 1 Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians chapter 3, look if you would in verse 3, and then I'm going to pause here and comment on this momentarily. 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 in verse 3. The Word of God says, "That no man should be moved by these afflictions, for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto." Now stop and think about that. The Apostle Paul says we are appointed unto afflictions. Why in the world should we be appointed unto afflictions? And I'm going to very quickly give you six reasons. Actually, I'll end up giving you seven, but I want you to listen. The very first reason we're appointed to afflictions is affliction happens to be a

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• means of sanctification. When you're afflicted, you're drawn away from the world and from the flesh. Afflictions may be physical, they may be mental, they may be emotional, they may be spiritual, they may be financial. But whenever you're suffering some type of affliction, you're not really concerned about enjoying yourself in the world or providing for your flesh. I was thinking this morning, and I hadn't thought about it in years, but when I was in college, I had mononucleosis, which is known as the kissing disease, or the teenager's disease, because they usually get it from kissing. And the only one I'd kissed was Alice, and she wasn't sick, but I did get sick.

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• And I wasn't a teenager by any stretch of the imagination either at that time, but with a temperature of 104, chills and fever and vomiting, I don't think you're going to be wanting to go out and do anything particularly except stay close to the bedroom and the bathroom as well. So the point I'm trying to make: afflictions are oftentimes used to sanctify us, and we then learn to be weaned from the world and weaned from the flesh as well. So the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 6 in verse 4 said it like this, now listen carefully, "But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses." So we may approve ourselves through suffering these afflictions as well. And there's a tremendous passage in Isaiah chapter 48 and verse 10, where God says, "Behold, I have refined thee." Now listen, "I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." So God then oftentimes refines us through affliction.

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• Secondly, affliction is a means of separating the wheat from the chaff. You'll notice many times in the church, there are false professors. There are hypocrites. And when God sends afflictions, when God sends persecutions and tribulations and trials, oftentimes those people just simply disappear. Their attitude is this: well, if this is what it takes being a Christian, I don't want any part of it. In the book of Mark chapter 4 and verse 17, God speaks about these.

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• And He said they have no root in themselves, now listen carefully, "and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended." So affliction is necessary oftentimes just simply to sort out the wheat from the chaff. Thirdly, afflictions give us the opportunity of ministering to others. You know what the Bible says in the book of James chapter 1 in verse 27? "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." So how many times have we visited folks in their affliction? Oh, it is indeed an opportunity to minister, that is for sure. And then fourthly, enduring afflictions graciously is a means to encourage others in the faith. Now I know that everyone in this room has gone through some afflictions. We've gone through some personal experiences that have not been good, but let me tell

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• you something: as much as you and I may have suffered some, we have not suffered anything like the apostles and some of the Bible patriarchs. That's why the Bible says in James chapter 5, "Take, my brethren, the prophets for an example." So think about these for an example of suffering, affliction, and of patience. And then he said, "Behold, we count them happy which endure. You have heard of the patience of Job and seen the end that the Lord is exceedingly gracious." Well, when you stop and think about Job, when you think about Isaiah, when you think about Jeremiah, when you think about Amos, when you think about Hosea, none of us have ever been through anything like that. And certainly afflictions will encourage others who are suffering when we say, "Well, Steve, I know exactly what you're going through."

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• "I went through this five years ago. I know exactly." So we can encourage others, and it encourages us as well. We know that we're not alone. So, fifthly, enduring afflictions for the Lord Jesus Christ and His glory is counted as that which is light and unworthy to even be compared to eternity. So, in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verses 17 and 18, that's where the Apostle Paul said, "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." Then he said, "For we look not at those things which are seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but we look at the things which are unseen, which are eternal."

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• And then sixthly, very quickly, afflictions give the unsaved the opportunity to see what God's people can endure by His grace and by His mercy. So, if you would turn in your Bibles, instead of me quoting it, I want you to look in Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10, because Christians enduring afflictions give the unsaved an opportunity to see what we can endure by the grace of God. So at Hebrews chapter 10, verse 32, the Bible says this: "But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions." Now watch, "a great fight of afflictions; partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock"—that is, people were watching you, looking at you as you endured these things—"and partly while ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly whilst ye became companions of them that were so used." In other words, you know, they suffered it, you were with others who suffered it as well. And so you were a gazingstock by the

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• world and by the unsaved as well. So I'm going to end up with this section with just a seventh one. It is our afflictions that give us the opportunity to see the mercy and the grace and the graciousness of God. Acts chapter 7, verse 34, Stephen is speaking and he's quoting what God said to Moses, and listen carefully: "I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them." And then he told Moses, "I am come down to send thee to Egypt." So God said, "I've seen the afflictions and I've heard the groaning, I've come down to deliver." So obviously, clearly, in our afflictions, we are giving God the opportunity to deliver us graciously and kindly as well. Now, before I get started, I want to tell you this. There are three main Greek words that are used in our Bibles that are translated as afflictions and persecutions, tribulations. And I want to give them to you because I want to emphasize in just a little bit the last one. The first word is the word "thlipsis,"

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• and that's pronounced correctly "thlipsis," and it literally means tribulation, affliction, trouble, anguish, persecution, and being burdened. The second word is "pathema," and we actually probably get our English word "pathetic" from that word. But it is also translated as suffering and affliction as well. There is another word that is close to that and has another Greek word attached to it. It is "kakopathema" from "kakos," which is a word for bad or evil, "pathema" for suffering, so actually it means to suffer that which is evil or to suffer that which is bad. Okay, and then the third word, which I'm going to mention now, is the word "sugkakopatheo," and it is a combination of these words that I've just mentioned, and this is the word that I'm going to be showing you which means to suffer hardship or to be a partaker of afflictions together. Now I want you to go back in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 1, because I want you to see in the context of what I'm going to be talking about there's

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• a verse in this passage that we often quote and we never really ever consider it in its context. But first of all, let me tell you that Paul is writing to Timothy in this passage, and Timothy is his son in the faith. Timothy is the man that he's trained in the ministry, and if you'll look in verse 5, he tells Timothy, "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice; I am also persuaded that in thee also." So Paul is saying that yes, Timothy, I do believe that you are a real genuine Christian. His grandmother was, his mother was, so evidently Paul knew the family quite well. But notice what he says in verse 6. He says, "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands." In other words, Timothy had been set apart for the ministry. He had been ordained by the Apostle Paul, and he tells Timothy now to stir up the gift of God that is in him. Now I want to tell you what this actually is saying when he tells him to stir up. Now listen carefully.

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• Here's a Greek word and I'm going to explain it for you. "Anazopureo." Okay. "Ana" is a preposition which means "in the midst of," and "zoe" is related to "zoe" which is life, and then "pur" which is the word for fire or fiery. So literally, look what he said in verse 6 again: "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the flame, rekindle the fire, make everything glow. Stir the ashes. Revive the sparks."

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• Bring out the burning coal. That's exactly what it's telling him. It's the same truth that the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5 in verse 19 when he wrote, "Quench not the Spirit." In other words, don't put the fire out, don't pour water on the Holy Spirit. Keep that which is in you alive and hot. So there is the possibility that Timothy, like so many of us, had become remiss and neglectful, even lackadaisical in his faith and ministry, and thus the Apostle Paul now is admonishing him to stir up and rekindle that flame and to build that fire and get hot in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. So active service, active witnessing, active ministry

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• always brings with it certain afflictions of the gospel. Now, let me tell you, there are many that are opposed to the gospel. There are many opposed to the preaching of the gospel. I want you to hold 2 Timothy, but turn back in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4—I'm sorry, chapter 2 is what I want. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, and let me point out the fact there are many who are not excited at all about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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• I remember when God saved me and He called me to preach. I was so excited. I thought that everyone would be eager to hear what I had to say. Well, I discovered they weren't. In fact, some got very upset, especially when I implied that they were sinners. Yeah, oh no, they didn't like that at all. Well, there are plenty of people who just simply do not want the gospel preached.

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• So look in 1 Thessalonians 2, look what the Apostle Paul said in verse 14. He said, "For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus." Look what he said: "For ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen in Thessalonica, your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost." Wow. So here's the people: they did not want the Word of God preached. They did not want the Word of God taught. And oftentimes, notice if you would, he said, "You've received the same persecution that we have in Judaea." It's just that simple. Now in the book of Acts chapter 18, if you want to turn back there just for a moment, Acts chapter 18. Look, if

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• you would please, beginning there with verse 5. Acts 18, verse 5. Silas and Timotheus had come to Macedonia, and Paul now was preaching. And watch verse 5: "And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves and blasphemed, he shook his raiment and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth

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• I will go unto the Gentiles." And so here they were not interested. They were not eager in hearing the truth. So not everyone is interested in hearing the gospel. Tyrants oppose the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, look around, if you would, at what we call the third world countries. And practically every one of them is run by a tyrant. Almost like America. You understand what I'm saying? But look at these third world countries. And they really do not have the gospel. Why? Well, a tyrant despises the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because the gospel teaches that Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Moreover, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ sets men free. Moreover, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ binds men together in one accord, and the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is that which condemns sin and wickedness

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• and corruption. And of course, they certainly do not want that. Our Lord said it very plainly in John chapter 3. Listen to what He said: "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Listen to this: For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, lest his deeds be reproved. But he that loveth the light cometh to the light, that his deeds may be revealed." In other words, our Lord said men hate the light because their deeds are evil. Now let me state this another way. You cannot move without producing friction. For every action there is a reaction. Here's what the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 16 and verse 9: he said, "For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries." Now stop and think about that. "A great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries."

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• So let's put it like this: the door of opportunity swings on the hinges of opposition. Anytime, anytime you have an opportunity, there is going to be an opposition. Whenever you are over the target, that's when you're going to be taking flack. That is the truth. Now I want you to go back in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 1, and I want to start putting all this together for you. And I want you to see this. So the Apostle Paul now has been telling Timothy he needed to stir up the gift that was

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• in him, and then he makes this astounding statement in verse 7: "And God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." For God has not given us a spirit of fear. I believe that Christians have been by so much propaganda, worldliness, toleration, and effeminacy that they've become literal cowards in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not wish to be looked down upon. We do not wish to be hated. We don't wish to be disliked.

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• We do not wish to be frowned at. We do not wish to be thought different. We do not wish to be mocked, and we certainly do not wish to suffer. We are unwilling today to suffer loss of respect or goods. Now before I go any further, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5. I want you to see what our Lord said. I'm just telling you where we are today, and look if you would at the truth that our Lord enunciates in Matthew chapter 5, beginning there with verse 10. Matthew 5, verse 10.

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• Our Lord says, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my name's sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

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• Now go back to verse 10. "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake." Not because you're a sinner, not because you're wicked, but because you do that which is righteous. Now look in verse 11. He says, "Blessed are you when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you." Look at the next word: "falsely." Which you're not meriting that evil. You're not meriting that wickedness. You're not meriting that slander. No, you're living a holy, godly life. They're just speaking evil against you. And then our Lord tells you in verse 12, you are to rejoice, for so persecuted they the prophets.

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• Now, all I'm trying to show you is this: we have developed an attitude that's totally and completely contrary to Scripture. And when you look around in our day and time at what is happening now, it's not nearly as bad as what had happened in the first century. But I can tell you and I can assure you that persecution is coming down the pike a whole lot quicker than you and I could ever think about it. And we need to have our thinking caps on and we need to learn to think scripturally and biblically.

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• Now if you go back to verse 7 in 2 Timothy chapter 1, here's what he said again: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." Here's a good question. If God has not given us a spirit of fear, where does fear come from? How do we get fearful if God does not give us a spirit of fear? Well, I can certainly give you one answer. By the way, the word "fear" is the word "deilia" in the Greek. It literally means, listen: fear, fearfulness, timidity, cowardness. God has not given us a spirit of timidity. He's not giving us a timid spirit. He's not giving us a cowardly spirit. That's what He's saying. So, where does fear come from? Well, the Bible tells you in Proverbs 29, verse 25, listen carefully: "The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." The fear of man bringeth a snare. When you and I get fearful of men, we're not properly fearing God. Let me make a statement.

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• I'm going to show it to you. Fear of man repudiates the fear of God, and fear of God repudiates the fear of man. So look at it in Matthew chapter 10 before I go any further. Matthew chapter 10, look at what our Lord said, and you can see this for yourself. Matthew chapter 10, note if you would verse 28. Matthew 10, verse 28. Here it is. Our Lord said it very plainly. He said, watch carefully: "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Wow. "Fear not them which kill the body." Do you realize the only thing that a man can do is confiscate your goods? He could hurt you, but the most he could do is kill you, and he cannot destroy your soul. He cannot destroy your life in Jesus Christ. But our Lord said, "I'll tell you whom you are to fear. You're to fear the one sovereign God who's able to destroy both soul and body in hell." So the truth of the matter is this: if we fear man, we are not fearing God, and

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• if we fear God, we are not going to be fearing man. The only thing man can do is confiscate our goods, take our lives. Man is limited. Man is finite. God is infinite. God is unlimited. And here's what Paul is telling Timothy: "Timothy, look at me." He said, "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." Now, here's my next question. Why did Paul say that to Timothy?

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• We quote verse 7 all the time, but I want you to note the context. Let's look at verse 7 and then verse 8. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." And then he says this at Timothy: "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God."

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• So here's a good question. In fact, I'll ask you several good questions. Are you ashamed of the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you ashamed of the Word of God? Are you ashamed of the Apostle Paul who was thrown in prison for the faith's sake and for his obedience to Jesus Christ? Are you ashamed of those Christians today who are being persecuted, prosecuted, and imprisoned for obedience? Are you ashamed of and are you embarrassed by those Christians who will stand for that which is right and holy and godly and reveal and expose wickedness and sin and corruption? Are you ashamed? This is what Paul said to Timothy: "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord." Richard Wurmbrand wrote the book "Tortured for His Faith." Wurmbrand was in a, I think, Romanian prison for 14 years. I was not there, but a bunch of other preachers were. Wurmbrand came to

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• the United States and spoke, and afterwards they all went out to a restaurant and they all ordered food, and when the waitresses came with all that food on those trays, and Wurmbrand saw it, the first thing he did was he hit the floor of that restaurant on his knees and began to loudly praise God and thank God for all of that food. And one of the preachers said, "I was so embarrassed." He said, "And then I got embarrassed that I was embarrassed."

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• He said, "If I'd eaten rats for 14 years, I might learn to be thankful as well." But you know, we oftentimes are ashamed of things we should never ever be ashamed of. And if we are really ashamed of truth and ashamed of suffering for Jesus Christ and ashamed for those who suffer for Jesus Christ, then I've got a real surprise for you. Because in Mark chapter 8 in verse 38, the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ said, "But whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of the Father with all of his holy angels with him." So our Lord said if we are ashamed of Him, He is going to be ashamed of us. Now, look at it.

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• Paul tells Timothy in verse 7, "For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Look what he says in verse 8 now: "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: here it is, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God." Do you recall I told you that I was going to mention this one Greek word again? "Sugkakopatheo," and it literally means to be a partaker with, to be a partaker together, to be afflicted together with. That's exactly what he's saying. Look at verse 8: "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou a partaker, be a party of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God." Now, let me ask you a question.

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• Who wants to suffer just to be suffering? No one. Who wants to be afflicted just to be afflicted? No one. Why in the world would Paul encourage Timothy to be a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel? So, let's ask another question. If we are afflicted, if we are suffering, for whom are we suffering? Well, that's a good question. Look back in your Bibles to the book of Colossians chapter 1, just a few pages back, Colossians 1 in verse 24.

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• And you will get the answer. Colossians 1, verse 24: "Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you." So Paul is writing these Colossian Christians, and he says he's rejoicing in his sufferings for them.

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• Now watch: "and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church." So everything the Apostle Paul suffered and went through, it was not only for the honor and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, it was for His body, the church. So we're suffering and would be suffering for the Church of God. And this is the same thing that the Apostle Paul basically said in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 10 when he said, "Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they might also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." So he says we're suffering for the body. Now, I want you to watch this. So if you go back in your Bible to 2 Timothy chapter 1, he tells Timothy not to be ashamed of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and not to be ashamed of him as a prisoner. Look what he said in verses 11 and 12: "Wherefore I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things." Now I'm not going to go back and make you read there in 2 Corinthians where Paul went a night and a day in the deep, he was beaten with rods,

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• he was stoned, he was left for dead, all this. But he said in verse 12, "For the which cause I also suffer these things"—everything that he suffered—"nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." Paul said, "I'm not ashamed of everything I've suffered." Well, the truth of the matter is this, folks. There are many people, many Christians who are ashamed to suffer. They're ashamed to be identified with Jesus Christ, and they're certainly ashamed of His Word. Now skip down to verse 15. I want to show you this. 2 Timothy 1, verse 15: "This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me,

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• and was not ashamed of my chain: but when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently and found me. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me in Ephesus, thou very well knowest." Now notice if you would please, he said Onesiphorus was not ashamed of him. He said, "When he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently."

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• Where was Paul? Paul was in prison. And Onesiphorus made it a point to find the Apostle Paul and to minister to him. Everyone else had forsaken him, but Onesiphorus was not ashamed of my chain, the Apostle Paul said. Alice and I know a godly Christian couple, have known them for years, know their family, who were not only persecuted by the state in which they lived, not only persecuted, they were prosecuted, and both the husband and the wife were thrown into prison for two years, three years, something like that. They'd done absolutely nothing wrong. I knew this couple because we had been in so many meetings together all across this country.

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• So while they were in prison, I could not visit them since they were so far away, but I wrote them letters weekly, and when I could call and when they could call me, we talked on the phone. After they were out and back at home and back in ministry, they called me and told me that I was the only pastor that communicated with them the entire time they were in prison. And I know for a fact a multitude of preachers knew these people and knew them well. I'm just simply pointing out the fact we have not understood that God has not given us a spirit of fear, of timidity, of cowardness. We understood that we would not be ashamed of the gospel. We'd not be ashamed of suffering. We'd not be ashamed of those who are suffering. Now Onesiphorus was not ashamed to visit the Apostle Paul. I got news for you: most professing Christians today would be ashamed to visit the Apostle Paul. Most professing Christians today would not even visit Jesus Christ in prison.

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• How in the world can you say that? Well, I'll show you. Look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 25. I hope you automatically know what this passage says, but look in your Bibles, Matthew chapter 25, and let's begin reading there with verse 41. Watch it. Matthew 25, verse 41. Our Lord is talking about the sheep and the goats, and He's already talked about the sheep. Now He's getting to the goats. "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Now look what our Lord says: "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?"

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• "Lord, if we had seen you, surely we would have done this to you." Then shall he answer them, saying, "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." Nobody said, "Inasmuch as you've done it not to the least of these, you have not done it unto me." That's why I said most people would not even visit Jesus Christ in prison. We won't visit those who are there for righteousness' sake. I want you to go back in your Bibles to 2 Timothy, because I want you to look in chapter 4, beginning of verse 14. Watch this. 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 14. You want to see how the Apostle Paul suffered? Watch. He says, "Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his deeds, or his works: of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words." Now watch this: "At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me."

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• "I pray God that it be not laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Yes, there are afflictions with

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• the gospel, but the gospel is not afflicted. The Lord Jesus Christ is not afflicted. However, there is one sense of the word in which He is afflicted. Let me show it to you. Look in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 63, and look if you would please at verse 9. Isaiah 63 and verse 9. You have to remember that He is the head, we're the body. Isaiah 63 in verse 9: "In all their afflictions he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: and in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old." Note if you would, "In all their affliction he was afflicted." Do you realize that? Whatever touches the body touches the head. And what did our Lord say? He said, "He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of my eye." You cannot poke your finger in God's eye without there being a response. And so the truth of the matter is this: He is afflicted when we're afflicted, that is for sure. But if you look back now to 2 Timothy chapter 2 in verse 3, look at what else he tells us.

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• 2 Timothy 2 in verse 3, he says, "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." And the word "hardness" and the word "afflictions" are one and the same. So he literally says, "Thou therefore endure afflictions, or hardness, or troubles, or persecutions, or burdens, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." Soldiers are known to be burdened and afflicted and have to do without many times. So the truth of the matter is this: He tells us that we must endure all of these afflictions as a good soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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• Now, may I tell you, in light of the context of verses 7 and 8, we're being called upon not to be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, not to be ashamed of His truth, not to be ashamed of Him and those who work with Him and those who were saved by Him, but we're to identify with them and we're to also partake of the afflictions and the sufferings through the power of God, because God has not given us a spirit of fear. It's kind of like Stonewall Jackson. He had a guest in his house, and it was right before the war broke out, and they were discussing the fact of the imminency of war and what was going to be entailed.

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• They both went to bed that night, and the man tossed and turned all night, could hardly sleep. He woke up the next morning, what little sleep he did get, gloomy, disappointed, and Jackson came down smiling and happy as ever. And he asked Jackson, he said, "How in the world can you be so happy in light of our discussion last night?" Jackson looked at him and said, "Why?

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• Why should the peace of a Christian be upset by what man can do? Has not God ordained that all things will work together for our good?" So this is what he's saying: "I'm not going to fear whether it's war or whether it's not war. I'm just going to do what God has called me to do. I'm not going to be ashamed." That's why the Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 6 said that we're to stand, and having done all, to stand. Now I want to make just a couple of applications. I want you, if you would please, to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11, because I want you to see what our attitude should be. Our attitude should be that of Moses. This is an astounding passage. Look if you would in Hebrews chapter 11 and beginning there verse 24: "By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter." That means Moses would have been in line to be a Pharaoh. He would have been the ruler of all Egypt and all other countries that Egypt conquered. So he said, "By faith when he was come to years, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter." And what did he choose?

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• "Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." That's Pharaoh. He could have done whatever he pleased, had whatever he wanted, whatever he desired. But he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. How did he make this choice? Look at it in verse 26.

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• "Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward." Do you realize Moses considered the reproach of Jesus Christ, suffering with Him, being afflicted with Him, greater than all the treasures of Egypt? Wow. Look at the men who sell their souls for millions of dollars—that's worthless paper. And here Moses could have had more money than any man has ever dreamed, and he counted it worthless, like Paul. Wouldn't Paul say, "I count all things but dung that I may win Christ"? Moses said, "I'd rather have the reproaches of Jesus Christ than anything else." Hmm. Let me show you another one. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. We're talking about afflictions, and yes, the truth of the matter is that when you talk about afflictions, no one wants to be afflicted. No one wants to suffer. I don't want to suffer just for suffering's sake. I don't want to be afflicted for affliction's sake. No, but there's a difference between someone who has an innate and stupid desire to suffer and someone who's willing to suffer for righteousness' sake and for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. But I want you to watch this. He said, Paul writing these Thessalonian Christians, said in verse 6, look at it:

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• "And ye became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost." Now that seems contradictory. You're afflicted, but you've got joy. You're afflicted, but you have joy. You know, I can think back to my childhood. We were in church every Sunday morning, every Sunday night, every Wednesday night, any night there was a special meeting. And most of us were poor as church mice.

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• I remember being barefooted and going barefooted all the time, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans as a boy. Yeah, we did. We'd have all kind of cottage prayer meetings and all kind of things like that, and of course the only time we ever got to go to town was on Saturday afternoon, and that was just to buy groceries and come back home because we had to work all the time. You know, I'm going to tell you something: I'm sure that we were afflicted. I'm sure that we suffered, but I don't even remember all that suffering. All I remember is, boy, we had fun. We were, you know, there's joy in suffering when you are suffering for righteousness' sake and when you're suffering for the honor and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's my last one.

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• I want you to think about this. Not only is there joy in affliction, but I believe that we are at the point in history where every true Christian needs to take the command of the Apostle Paul to Timothy personally when he said, "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God." In other words, it's just like when you've got a fire in the fireplace and it's about to go out. You take that poker and you start poking around those coals until you get the ashes away from the coals and the coals come to the top and they start glowing. And then you throw more wood on the fire. That's exactly what the Apostle Paul is saying. Stir yourself up. Get hot. Get zealous. That's what the word "zealous" means—it means to be eaten up with zeal. Stir yourself up. And remember, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.

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• And there's no reason to be timid. There's no reason to be a coward. Just if we suffer for righteousness' sake, count it all joy.

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• Now is the time to stand. Now is the time to speak out. Now is the time to proclaim Jesus Christ is Lord. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. And we thank You, Father, that You have not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. And Lord, enable us to stir up the gift that is within us. Lord, may we glow hot for Thee. May we not be ashamed of Your Word or ashamed of Your truth. Speak to our hearts. Grant us, Lord, that we may walk and talk boldly through Thy grace and through Thy mercy. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask it. Amen. Amen.

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• you you

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T19:50:19Z