Somebody Loves You

Raul Ries: We must also pray for our children. Pray for our loved ones. Pray for the young men and women of this church and the world. That God will touch kids in Russia, in China, in Mexico, South America, Central America. That God would move upon the young people and that they would begin to share their faith with others.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. Thanks for joining us as Raul begins a new series in the book of Second Timothy. Written from a Roman prison cell by the apostle Paul, this letter will challenge you to live wholeheartedly for God no matter what trials or opposition you face.

We hope you'll stay with us for assurance that when you trust the Lord and submit to His plan for your life, He will use you mightily in His kingdom building work. Here's Raul Ries with our study, Paul's Appeal to Timothy.

Raul Ries: If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Second Timothy chapter one tonight as we come to that second letter. And what a letter it is. From First Timothy to Second Timothy, these are actually Paul's last words before he is killed by Caesar Nero. Paul himself finds himself in a cell in Rome. He's locked in a hole where there's rats. It's like a sewer. And yet Paul the apostle rejoices in the Lord because he knows that very soon he will be in the presence of the Lord.

He says, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus." Interesting that Paul, in every letter that he writes, wants to make sure he puts his credentials. And here Paul the apostle, as he is writing this great letter, Paul here has left Timothy, his son in faith, in Ephesus. And the letter is for him personally.

This is his last letter to Timothy, and he wants to make sure that he understands what Paul's message is here. He says, "I am Paul, the little one, the apostle, the one sent out by the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, because I was called and I was sent by the will of God." By the will of God. Surely every one of us wants to be called according to the will of God.

There's such a thing as God's perfect will and God's permissive will. Now let me be careful what I say here. God's perfect will is when I align myself with God totally in submission to Him, and nothing can get in the way when God calls me to do it. I obey and I do it. God's permissive will is when I make excuses and I take second fiddle. And I don't do what God really called me to do and you lose out in the blessings of God.

Maybe you're sitting here today and you say, "Well, God has called me to be a businessman." That's cool. And then all of a sudden as you're worshiping the Lord, as you're learning in the Lord and you're growing in the Lord, over a period of time the Lord will come to you and say, "Hey, would you be willing to leave your job and go by faith and work for Me?" That would be now choosing God's perfect will or God's permissive will.

You could say, "Well, Lord, I'm going to work the rest of my life, make money." And God would say, "That's a blessing. That's cool. But you're going to miss out on what God intended to do in His perfect will." We have to be open. We have to be open to the Holy Spirit. That happened to me. I was very successful in the martial arts, doing a lot of things at a young age. By the time I was twenty or twenty-one years old, coming back from Vietnam and training, getting my black belt and opening my school and very successful, over two hundred students in my school.

And just the beginning of my career at the age of twenty-four years old, I got saved. And my wife and I went on a vacation to Acapulco, Mexico. We were sitting there at Acapulco, Mexico, in a hotel. And this Mexican promoter came to me and asked me once he found out what I did. He came to me and he asked me, "If you come down to Mexico City, I will lend you the money and we will open schools all over Mexico City and you can be a millionaire. Let me know if you want to do that."

And my wife and I was just a new creation. I just got born again. And my wife and I went in that hotel room and we got on our knees and we prayed to the Lord and the Lord told me not to do it. But the thing about it is that when I got saved and the Lord began to speak to my heart and said, "Are you willing to go full-time into the ministry?" That's when I was going to Calvary Chapel and I was under Chuck Smith and going to the tent and being in the ministry school and all these things going on in my life.

Then I was afraid to say yes because I thought, "Well, Lord, if I say yes, You're going to take away my martial arts. And I love what I do." But you know what? When I finally came to that place and said, "Lord, You can have it all. You can have it all." The Lord gave it back to me and ten times more. It's been now close to forty years that I've been doing martial arts. And God has used it tremendously all over the world.

Because a lot of times we have this mentality that if I have to give up something, God's going to take it away from me. Then I don't really want to do it. God never takes nothing from you. He wants you to submit it and to surrender willingly. Because we can't see the long plan. Can you imagine if I would have took that deal in Mexico City, what would have happened today as I would look back on my life? Oh yeah, I might be the most wealthiest person in the whole world in Mexico City, but where would my ministry been?

I would have missed out on what God intended to do. As I look now at my life and what God has done, I get totally blown away. And He's not finished yet. Think of what God can do with you if you will only align yourself with God's perfect will. God's perfect will, like he says here. It is of importance to know God's perfect will for our lives, for marriage, who you're going to marry, who is she, who is he? Are they going to help you or are they going to destroy you?

Are they going to pull you toward the Lord or are they going to pull you away from the Lord? You see, you really have to pray about these things. What kind of a job am I going to get for the rest of my life? One that is going to take me from fellowship, away from fellowship from the Lord, the study of the Word of God so that I can make more money? Or am I going to align myself with the perfect plan of God and make less and be in the house of the Lord and do God's perfect will for my life?

Those are things we have to pray about all the time. It's not about money. It's about eternity. Eternity with God. That's why Paul was so courageous here in speaking to Timothy. "Timothy, I am Paul, one to be sent out by Jesus Christ by the will of God," and notice, "according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus." Notice what it says. Paul talks now about eternal life as he awaits his execution. He says, "Look, according to the promise of life, God said that He has given me eternal life, life that is abundant. They may kill my body, but they can't kill my soul."

My soul will be with the Lord. Why? Because I am in God's perfect will even in the cell, among these rats, among this smelly place. I know that I'm in God's perfect will and I have the joy of the Lord. Can we say that in our own personal lives? As we're facing things within our lives? Or do we murmur, do we complain, are we angry with God? Or can we say, like Paul the apostle, "I thank You, Lord, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus," my position in Christ, in Christ Jesus Himself.

Surely I want the will of God for my life. Secondly, notice verse two. He says now to the recipient, who's that? Timothy. "To Timothy, a beloved son." Imagine the emotion Paul is feeling here as you feel for your own son, for your own daughter, or someone that you've trained so long. There was a young man many years ago when I was going to Baldwin Park High School. And among the Baldwin Park High School guys there was all kinds of young guys that I kept my eye on that God was raising up. God was doing a great work.

And there was this one young kid that God saved and he was there at West Covina. And then one day he just decided to kind of quit it. He got married and then all of a sudden I found out that he had no more wife, he had no more children, but he was out on the streets and he was walking the streets of Pasadena as a bum. That just killed me. How can that happen? Spare yourself of those things by submitting your will to God. Aligning yourself with the perfect will of God through obedience.

That's what Paul is feeling for Timothy. He says, "To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord." Notice the benefit here. The benefits come from who? From a Father, the Father of what? Of lights. The Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul says with great emotion, "Timothy, the great relationship that I had with you, and I thank God for God's grace and God's mercy and God's peace that is upon your life."

Guest (Male): You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. If you're in the Diamond Bar area on March 14th, be sure to make plans to join Pastor Raul and other solid teachers at Calvary Chapel Golden Springs for a family conference titled "Family God's Way." Whether you've been married for decades, newlyweds, or raising children of any age, this conference offers timeless biblical truths and real-life application to help your family thrive. For more information, go to somebodylovesyou.com and click on the "Family Conference" graphic. Let's continue now with more from Raul Ries.

Raul Ries: Verse three. Notice Paul's appreciation now for Timothy. He says, "I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day." Notice Paul's appreciation of Timothy here. Notice that men of God are men of prayer. They pray. They don't pray just for themselves, they pray for young men, they pray for young women. They pray for the church. Men of the Word, men of faith, men of the Holy Spirit.

These are the men, these are the qualifications, as Paul here is giving Timothy this great heritage that God has for him. And it's so cool because here, as Paul was talking to Timothy, Paul was chained to a Roman soldier. Every four hours a soldier would change. And what was Paul doing? For four hours he would pray and witness to these soldiers because later he tells us that there were a lot of soldiers that were actually in prison with him that had come to know the Lord through Paul.

Being chained to him, where can you go when Paul's praying? You're right there. And then the whole witness for four hours. Can you imagine Paul witnessing to you for four hours? It's incredible. Paul taking every opportunity here. And then look what he says. Notice it is the service to God. "I serve with a pure conscience." What does that mean? I have no regrets. No regrets. I have peace with God. I have served Him with all of my life, with all of my heart. No regrets in my life.

He says, "Even as my forefathers did," talking of the prophets in the Old Testament. "As without ceasing also praying, I remember you in my prayers night and day." Notice that Timothy here again is being prayed for night and day. From morning to evening. It doesn't mean that Paul is praying twenty-four seven every hour, but as he's walking through life, being in that cell, he had a lot of time to pray for Timothy.

And so we must also pray for our children. Pray for our loved ones. Pray for our friends. Pray for the young men and women of this church and the world. That God will touch kids in Russia, in China, in Japan, in Taiwan, in Mexico, South America, Central America. That God would move upon the young people and that they would begin to share their faith with others. And they would step up to the plate and say, "Lord, here am I. Use my life. Lord, I want to do it." Because I've been prayed for. You are being prayed for.

And I hope you're praying for me. God is on the throne and if we continue to pray night and day, God will hear our prayers as we stay true to Him. Verse four, Paul now, his affection for Timothy. Paul misses Timothy so much he wants to see him. Verse four: "I greatly desiring to see you, Timothy, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy." Notice here how beautiful, what a beautiful bond created among Timothy and Paul by God. The bonds that He puts together in the ministry.

People that work together and pray together. People that serve together in the ministry. Paul says, "Timothy, please, I want to see you one more time before I go to be with the Lord. Why? Because it's going to fill me with joy. Joy to see you once again because, Timothy, I love you so much. I love you as my own son," Paul says to Timothy. Verse five, he says, "When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also."

Notice Timothy came from a great heritage. Some of you here have come from a great heritage. Here, again, Paul is reminding Timothy that we must never forget our heritage, our godly heritage, our spiritual heritage in the Lord. Why? Because it's wonderful that your grandmother or your mother or your father or aunt, uncle, whoever it may be, that really influenced you in the Lord, that prayed for you. I can remember my grandmother in Mexico City. She was a Catholic and always praying for me.

She never prayed to the saints and all that. She just really prayed to God. And I remember as a little child, five years old, my grandma praying for me at night. She would stay up late at night and I would hear my name mentioned, praying for me. And those prayers didn't become vain. And it's really important that we understand that in the book of Revelation, it says that the prayers of the saints are before the throne. Even if you were to die today and you pray for your children, those prayers are not forgotten.

God has them in heaven and He will answer them one day. Prayers are not in vain. They don't bounce off the walls. They're in the presence of the Lord. The prayer of the saints. So it's really important that we understand here Paul with Timothy and his family. Verse six: "Therefore, because of this, I, Paul, remind you, Timothy," notice, "to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands." Paul says to Timothy, "Timothy, don't you remember that we laid hands on you and the Holy Spirit baptized you?"

"And the gifts of the Holy Spirit and your ministry was given by the gift of prophecy to you." Paul is reminding Timothy once again. When he says about stirring up the gift that is in him, what's happened is that he got really in a place where he got cold. The Holy Spirit was not really... he was not on fire anymore. Maybe there's some of you here that are not on fire anymore. What happened to your fire? What happened to that fire that God placed over your lives when He saved you and He baptized you and He was using you?

Every one of us has a gift that God's given to us to be used in ministry. The word to stir up here, literally in the Greek, it means to stir up a fire. What happened to the fire? The fire that was in you when you used to go to church, man, every time the doors were open. And you could hardly wait to get home to go through your New Testament. And you could hardly wait to go to work the next day or go to school so you could share with someone about Jesus.

What a great job He's done in your life and the blessings of the Lord. That's really important. Paul is saying, "I want to remind you that you were on fire, you had a fire in your heart. Then what happened to that fire? Pray to God for God to give you a fire again because we laid hands on you. Do not neglect the gift that has given to you by God." And think of how many people neglect the gift that's given to you, whether it be preaching or teaching or taking care of children or whatever it may be. Twenty-one gifts of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.

Twenty-one gifts. What's your gift? And yet Paul here still tells Timothy, "Timothy, man, get on fire again. Exercise the gifts of the Holy Spirit again." Verse seven: "For God has not given us the spirit of fear." You see, he was fearful. Timothy was fearful. Something happened. This is the tool of Satan. Satan wants to put fear in your hearts. Maybe you're on drugs, you came out of drugs and you just became a Christian, you're going through withdrawals, and there's a fear in you saying, "Oh man, I don't want to go back to my friends. I don't want to go back to alcohol or drugs."

You don't have to do that. That's the enemy. All you have to do is trust the Lord. Get into the Word. Start praying. Get baptized with the Holy Spirit. Get new friends that really love the Lord. And they're going to hold you accountable and you won't backslide. You'll be in the house of the Lord. But you don't have to be fearful. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but what? But of power and of love and of a sound mind. You see? This is who we are in Christ Jesus here.

Three things he says. Number one, God has given you dunamis power. We get our English word dynamite from that in the Greek. Dynamic. God has baptized us. Acts 1:8: "You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit." What? With power, dunamis powers, so you can be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, in Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the world. God has given us the power not of fear, but of dynamics, to be excellent for Jesus Christ.

And then he says of love, that is agape love, sacrificial love. And of a sound mind. Here, it's the opposite of a lazy mind. It's a mind that is self-controlled. It's a mind that is sound judgment and appreciation with great wisdom. How does that come? Through the teaching of the Word. As you're reading, as you're studying God's Word, God will give you a sound mind. Before that, there was no mind of soundness. You used to be crazy, man. The mind that had been polluted by the enemy.

God begins to clean your thoughts. God begins to give you good thoughts. And you start becoming strong in the Lord. As God says here, he's talking about renewing your gifts, renewing your mind, renewing your life to the Lord. And this is really important because if we don't do this, then what's going to happen? The enemy's going to come in, he's going to try to entrap you, he's going to try to discourage you, and he's going to try to get you back into the world.

And that's why Paul the apostle, in Romans chapter twelve, one and two, he says what? "I therefore beseech you by the mercies of God, brethren, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice to God, holy and acceptable, and be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your minds," which is God's perfect will for your lives. As we give our hearts and minds to the Lord, God will do that. God wants us to have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.

God wants us to continue to do the work of God with our hands. And God wants us to walk in love, and to walk in wisdom, and to walk full of the Holy Spirit, so that God can use our lives to bring glory and honor to His name.

Guest (Male): As you consider that the apostle Paul wrote this letter of encouragement from prison, we hope you'll be inspired to observe his example and live faithfully for God no matter what the circumstances of your life might be. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Today's study was titled "Paul's Appeal to Timothy." If you'd like to get an unedited version, we'll send one to you for a donation of five dollars or more. To get a copy, just call us at 800-634-9165.

We'd also like to tell you about Raul's entire eleven-part study of Second Timothy. It's available on both CD and USB. Further pondering Paul's final exhortation before his execution, you'll see that you don't have to be a person of wealth, power, or influence to do great things for the Lord. You simply need to be willing to obey and follow wherever God leads. Visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165 to order Raul's eleven-message Second Timothy series on CD for twenty-four dollars or on flash drive for fifteen dollars.

That's 800-634-9165. Or write to Somebody Loves You Radio, P.O. Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California, 91765. Be sure to take advantage of all of our free resources. They're easy to access and available twenty-four seven. Browse iTunes and Spotify for podcasts of all of these programs. Now, these podcasts are also available on the Somebody Loves You Worldwide YouTube channel, which is home of Raul's weekly Straight Talk program. Join him on the channel every Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. Pacific.

Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries is fully listener-supported. Your tax-deductible gifts support our mission to share the good news of the Lord Jesus, and we appreciate your generous partnership. Next time on Somebody Loves You Radio, we'll continue in Second Timothy. As you seek to follow the Lord with an undivided heart, you'll gain fresh confidence in the knowledge that God's Holy Spirit is always ready to support you with His wisdom, guidance, and peace.