Shabbat Shalom. Today we are studying the second letter that Shaul Paul wrote to a younger man by the name of Timothy. a letter of encouragement that Paul wrote to him especially in a time of decline when things were rather bad the testimony concerning the Lord Yeshua the Messiah was in a sad state in the time that Paul was writing to Timothy a personal letter of encouragement and as I mentioned before who of us can say that we do not need the encouragement of the Lord in our lives here as we follow Yeshua the Messiah. Today we are going to read 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 6 to 12 and so please follow me.

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 for God has not given us the 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 the partaker of the affliction of the gospel according to the power of God who has saved us and called us with an holy calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Mashiach Yeshua in Christ Jesus before the world began but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Yeshua HaMashiach Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, whereunto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentile, for the which cause I also suffer these things.

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 again that day. This letter that Paul wrote to Timothy is really the last letter that Paul ever written. it is interesting because he was in prison this is the second time that he was in prison in Rome after he was already in prison in Philippi he was already in prison in Caesarea he was already in prison in Jerusalem and now he's in prison again the second time in the city of Rome and he is just about to pass away out of this scene.

To remind you that at the end of this letter, he said in chapter 4, if you remember in verse 6, for I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand. Paul was ready to die. He knew that Nero was going to kill him he knew that he is going to die and he is going to pass out of this scene and as a responsible preacher that was raised by the Lord Yeshua the Messiah he was handing the baton to another a younger believer by the name of Timothy of course Timothy was a godly young man he was a Jewish man whose mother was Jewish, his father was Greek, but he was raised in understanding the scripture that pointed to the coming of the Messiah.

And now Shaul, Paul, who was in prison in the city of Rome, in this dungeon, in this place where there was a terrible place to be in, ready to leave this scene, Timothy was receiving this letter from Paul to encourage him to continue on in the path of faith in Yeshua the Messiah and all beloved brothers and sisters if you don't sense that need of encouragement to continue on then you are really not in the path that the Lord have called you to be if you and I have accepted Yeshua the Messiah and realize that we have sinned before God and the Lord Jesus the messiah paid for our sins and he had brought us

into the body of mashiach the body of christ and he had placed us on a road that leads to heaven he produced in our life a desire to continue to live for him here in this world well we fail him at time we stumble at time sin very easily beset us but we are called to rise up and to continue to follow after him so in the first five verses which we have covered in the previous ministry by way of introduction the apostle Paul just shared his heart with Timothy Timothy he said to him in the previous verses he said in verse 5 I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee which

dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and I am persuaded that it also is within thee.

Timothy I remember I remember the faith that you have had. I remember when I met you and I spoke with you and I shared with you and I took you to be with me as a servant of Yeshua the Messiah. I remember of your faith And this faith also had been evident in your grandmother, Lois, this Jewish grandmother, and in your mother, Eunice. And I remember this, Timothy, and it really refreshed my heart. He wanted so much to see Timothy before he dies. So now notice these, beloved brothers and sisters, in these verses that the apostle Paul shared with Timothy, really the theme here is the necessity not to be ashamed of the gospel of our lord yeshua the messiah not to be ashamed of the apostle paul's teaching you know years ago there was a song that was sung by the liberated wailing wall from the jews for jesus yehudim bishvil yeshua they were singing this song I am ashamed of my sins and the sins of my people but I am not ashamed of the gospel Paul said this in Romans chapter 1 and verse 16 I am not ashamed of the gospel of the Messiah for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth to the Jew first and also unto the Greek, unto the Gentile.

You see, Paul understood the importance of the gospel message. He understood how important that it is only through the gospel message that a sinner can be saved. So now that he's ready to live this sin, he's telling to Timothy, Timothy, don't be ashamed of the Lord and don't be ashamed of me and don't be ashamed of the gospel, The Hebrew word for gospel is the besorah, the glad tidings, that a sinner that has no hope can receive hope of eternal relationship with God. And at times, beloved brothers and sisters, we find ourselves ashamed of our Lord. We find ourselves ashamed of the Lord, of Him, and of the message of the gospel, the besorah, the glad tidings that salvation had been provided for mankind.

So notice here, there are three points that I would like to mention concerning the thought of the necessity not to be ashamed.

Verses 6 and 7, Timothy is called to be stirred to stir up the gift that was given to him by God in verses 8 to 10 Timothy was called not to be ashamed of Yeshua's testimony and verses 11 and 12 Timothy was called not to be ashamed to be associated with the apostle Paul with Shaul himself so please follow me as I'm going through those verses first of all you notice verses 6 and 7 he is encouraging Timothy to stir up the gift that God had given to him you see beloved brothers and sisters let me read this verse in verse 6 he says wherefore Timothy in light of what I have already told you

previously that I thank God who called me to serve him that I am remembering the tears that you have shed that I remember of your faith and your grandmother and your mother's faith in light of this wherefore Timothy in light of these he said I put you in remembrance verse 6 that you stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands timothy he said to him in verse 6 first of all stir up the gift that gift that was given to you by god now beloved brothers and sisters listen we all have natural gifts which we were born with when we were born into this world these

called natural bent or natural gift that we have in a natural way we have naturally many gifts some people are good in one thing and another people are good in another thing some people are good mathematicians another one are good in other areas you know some of us are very very capable to work with electric another one is capable to work with carpentry with woodwork we have different type of natural gifts but here he's not talking about the natural gift here he's speaking about spiritual gift that God had given to Timothy here he's speaking about spiritual gifts that God had given every member of the body of the Messiah the moment that you and I

have accepted the Lord Jesus the Messiah he has given you and he has given me a spiritual gift and that gift you and I are responsible to use for the Lord in fact let me say that when you do not use the spiritual gift that the Lord had given to you or to me everybody else is losing out because the body has many members and every member has the ability and the gift that God had given him or her to do And the moment the person is not using his or her gift, what happens?

Everybody else is suffering. The consequence of a lack of the usage of the gift that the Lord had given to you or to me will bring about a lack of spiritual growth among the people of God. That's why we never teach that there is so-called one-man show and the rest are just to sit on the pew and just listen, Come on Shabbat meeting or come on Friday Bible class or come on Sunday to any meeting. The rest will just sit in the pew and everybody will just listen to the word of God. The few people will carry on with the show. And then we all come back the following week and we don't use our gifts whatsoever.

That is not what the Bible teaches us, beloved brothers and sisters. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter 4 for a verse there that was written to us by the same Apostle Paul who taught the Ephesians believers concerning the gifts that God had given. He does say in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 7, But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of the Mashiach, the Christ, the Christos. Notice that he said, every one of us. It's not a selected individuals who perhaps stand in the front, who do some things in the meetings or in a local assembly, but every believer, brothers and sisters, received a gift from the Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah.

The moment you have become a believer, the moment I have become a believer in Yeshua the Messiah, God by divine design not only gave me and you the indwelling of the Holy Spirit but he also gave us gifts and the purpose of the gifts notice again we are in Ephesians chapter 4 why did he gave those gifts notice it says verse 12 of Ephesians chapter 4 for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Mashiach the Messiah until we all come in the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a mature man unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, of the fullness of the Messiah.

Every one of us has a gift. And you see, it may very well have been that Timothy was maybe discouraged. Maybe the pressure was so much upon him because he was, of course, not a little boy, but he was younger than Shaul Paul. And perhaps he was maybe discouraged, maybe so much opposition. He was in the city that is called Ephesus. There were a lot of issues to deal with and many problems to deal with. And maybe Timothy perhaps needed to be encouraged, like you and I need to be encouraged. We need to be encouraged constantly because we live here in this world and we go through trials in our lives and issues and problems and a time we cannot deviate from the path that the lord has called us sometimes we don't read the bibles and we don't go to meetings and we don't pray what's the use we say you know i'm saved anyway i'm going to heaven anyway but this brother did this and this sister did this and there's problems in the meetings and there's problem in my job and my family don't understand me and my friends left me and maybe i just don't need to continue on i'm tired i'm weak i'm feeble one might say and imagine paul is in prison he's in a dungeon then ready to leave this world through death and yet he gives a word of encouragement to timothy timothy stir up the gift and you notice he says here in this verse 6 of second timothy chapter 1 stirred up the gift of God.

God gave him that gift. It's a God given. It's not some natural ability. You see, sometimes if I'm gifted in playing music and I feel like playing, I don't feel like playing, sometimes I do something good and I don't feel like doing it or feeling like doing it. It has nothing to do with it. A gift is given in order to meet the need of God's people and to use it. And when we are discouraged and dismayed and have a lot of disappointments we need encouragement and Shaul Paul provide this for Timothy it is the gift of God and notice what he said which is in you notice this gift is part and parcel of the life of the believer of the life of Timothy It is in him.

All what he has to do is to use it. Sometime, of course, beloved brothers and sisters, unfortunately, we don't like the gift that God had given us and we're trying to do what somebody else is doing. And we blunder and we don't get fulfillment in the call that God has called us to be. But God called Timothy for a certain reason, for a certain purpose, and he gave him this gift. placed this within him according to verse 6 and then notice it says here in verse 6 at the end by the putting on of my hands in hebrew we called that smichat yadaim in other word the thought of paul putting his hands upon timothy it's not that all of a sudden paul has some sort of magic in him no but the smichat yadaim the putting of the hands mean identification and recognition that god have called this brother or this sister for a certain service if you just turn back to first timothy chapter 4 you notice that there he said to him in verse 14 do not neglect the gift that is in thee which was given unto thee by the laying of the hands of the elders.

Now the elders recognized that Timothy was called by the Lord. The evidence of his gift serving among the people where he was there locally was a proof that he served the Lord, that he wanted to serve the Lord and that God had called him. And so the elders put their hands on him, Shaul Paul lay his hand on him, and it really symbolically speaks of identification and recognition that God have called these men to serve in such a fashion. You know, it reminds me of the passage when Moshe Rabbeinu, Moses, the lawgiver of our own people Israel, When he saw the call of Yehoshua, of Joshua, Moshe himself laid his hand upon Yehoshua to identify with the call that God had for him in the ministry.

Deuteronomy chapter 34 and verse 9 we read, And Yehoshua binun, Joshua binun, was full of the spirit and wisdom, For Moses had laid his hands upon him, and the children of Israel hearken unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses. In other words, Moshe have identified with the gift and the call that God had for Yehoshua, just like Shaul Paul identified with the call that God had for Timothy. But he must have been discouraged. He needed a word of encouragement and Paul was ready to do so. By the way, just to mention that the laying of the hand on the head of someone or on the shoulders of someone remind us of the years past when our own Jewish forefathers used to go to the temple to offer sacrifices.

They will take the sacrifice, they will lay their hands on the sacrifice sacrifice and spiritually speaking the sins of the sinner were transferred to the sacrifice and vice versa in the birth offering the value of the sacrifice was transferred to the Israeli individual you can read that in the book of Leviticus chapter 1 and verse 4 chapter 3 and on and on you can see how often the Israeli individual in biblical time lay his hand upon the sacrifice and it was that his sin was transformed and placed upon that animal who made an atonement for him even on the day of atonement Aaron placed his hands upon the bulak and the nation of Israel's sin was transferred symbolically to that sacrifice so Timothy had a gift and Paul encouraged Timothy to stir up the gift that God had given unto him.

Matanat Elohim as we say it in the Hebrew language. You and I have gifts and you and I need to encourage each other to stir up the gift.

And brothers and sisters if you do not use the gift that the Lord had given to you to serve the Lord and the Lord's people you are really not fulfilling the call that the Lord has for you well notice what he says now in verse 7 he told Timothy notice this for God has not given us the spirit of fear but God given us the spirit of power the spirit of love and the spirit of sound mind Timothy you know when the spirit of God having dwelt you and God had given you this gift God did not give you this gift without the ability to fulfill what he called you to do and therefore he's

saying listen God did not given us the spirit of fear you know perhaps again brothers and sisters perhaps Timothy was lacking something in his ministry because he was afraid and we know very well what happened to us when we are afraid sometimes fear grips us fear of consequences if I'm going to tell my family that I believe that Yeshua is the Mashiach can you imagine the price that one will pay especially those of us that are coming from a Jewish background we know very well the consequences of telling our people our family that we belong to Yeshua to Jesus the Messiah and we have accepted him do you remember what happened in first century to

the early Jewish believers in the book of Acts the price that they had to pay when Peter himself was preaching the message of the gospel and then how the leaders the son had dreamed took him to prison and how they bind him they put him and John in prison and after they lose him and they allow him to go up they told him do not speak by the name of this man by the name of Jesus Yeshua the Messiah but when Peter went out he shared again he said it is better to obey God than to obey man but you know brothers and sisters that's the way it is with us a time we are

afraid of the consequences and so we don't blame anybody but we know our hearts and you see that is exactly what happened perhaps to timothy timothy had to be reminded listen god did not give us the spirit of fear god did not give us this spirit of fear now what do you do brothers and sisters when you're in the midst of people who oppose the message of the gospel and you're going to tell people no i believe that jesus is the messiah i believe that the only way to heaven is through this person by the name of yeshua can you imagine the price when i think about the believers who have suffered over the years

look what's going on in muslim countries and you're going to come and stand and say that you believe in yeshua you might lose your life and you see Paul was in prison in that dungeon in the city of Rome because he testified to the name of Yeshua the Messiah and perhaps you and I at times do not you might say experience opposition is because maybe we don't share the message of the gospel with others because we have fear of consequences let me show you a time in Peter's life when he was afraid go back to Matthew chapter 26 for a moment with me that was before the book of Acts in which he became bold

and he was preaching the message of the gospel but in Matthew chapter 26 we find out that Peter was not as bold as he thought that he would be look at the verses Matthew chapter 26 when they were in the upper room and Yeshua was washing the feet of the disciples Peter kind of said to him in verse 33 answered and said unto him unto Yeshua though all men shall be offended because of thee yet will I never be offended Yeshua in verse 34 said to him unto him verily I say unto thee that this night before the cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice three times and Peter still trusted in himself and he

said in verse 35 Peter said unto him though I should die with thee yet will I not deny thee likewise also said all the disciples you see they trusted in themselves like you and I at times trust in ourselves instead of trusting in the Lord well the test came Matthew chapter 26 Yeshua is at the home of the high priest there at the court there and they are ready to accuse him so we find out in verse 69 Peter sat without in the palace and a damsel came unto him saying thou also was with Yeshua of Galilee but he denied before them all saying I know not what you saying verse 71 and when he

was gone out into the porch another maid saw him and said unto them that were there this fellow was also with Yeshua from Nazareth and again he denied with an oath i do not know this man look at this verse 73 and after a while came unto him they that stood by and said to peter surely thou art one of them for thy speech betrays thee then again he this is Shimon Petal, Simon Peter, he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man, and immediately the cock crow.

Three times, beloved brothers and sisters, Peter denied the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, in a time of test. And you see, he had confidence in himself. He thought at first that he is able to be so faithful to the Lord that even if everybody will deny the Lord, he will not do so. But you see, fear came upon him. Like a time fear comes upon us. And we're afraid, and a time we're ashamed of the Lord, and a time we will not speak for him, and we will not share the fact that we belong to Yeshua the Messiah. But you see, the Lord knows that. He knows our weakness.

But he reminded, through Paul, he reminded Timothy, Timothy, listen, God did not give us a spirit of fear. He gave us the spirit of power, the spirit of love, and the spirit of sound mind. Timothy, God has given unto us, first of all, the spirit of power. Acts chapter 1, verse 8, Yeshua said to the early Hebrew disciples in the city of Jerusalem, Ye shall receive power. The Holy Spirit will come upon you. And you will be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and Judea and Shomron, Samaria and unto uttermost parts of this earth. You will receive the power of the Spirit of God. He will enable you to share the message.

You don't need to trust your flesh. Because your flesh, the old sinful nature often failed alone. When we have confidence in ourselves, we find ourselves falling to the ground and stumbling. But God gave us the Holy Spirit of God. Ruach HaKodesh. And in the power of the Spirit of God, we can be bolded and share the message graciously, lovingly. Notice the next thing. Not only that God had given us the Spirit of power, but also the Spirit of love. The love of the Mashiach constrains us, the Apostle Paul said. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. And notice the next thing he says, and of sound mind.

Some suggest that that word sound mind has to do with being sober. You know, the believer is sound when he's walking or she's walking with the Lord. There is soberness, there is wisdom in knowing how to share the gospel message with those that would hear us speaking about the Lord. So God had not given us the spirit of fear, but he had given us the spirit of power, love, and sound mind. So we are to be balanced as we share the message. We are not to trust ourselves as we share the message. We are to do so in love, to speak the truth in love.

And we are not to depend upon ourselves, but to depend upon Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit of God that had been indwelt in us and will enable us to share the message of the Gospel. And so like Timothy, in these verses 6 and 7, we need to stir up the gift. We need to realize that God did not give us the spirit of fear but he had given us power from on high, love and affection towards people and God's people and also to be sound and balanced in the way that we present the word of God and the way we behave and practice things in our life.

So brothers and sisters, like Timothy, you and I need this encouragement. like timothy we need to stir up the gift and you have to ask yourself and ask the lord in prayer lord what gift you have given to me i know i am a believer i have accepted yeshua the messiah as my lord and messiah and savior he is the mashiach he is the lord he is my savior well what gift you have given to me and if you have given me gift and i know you did how shall i use it in order to be a blessing to the people of God. Lord, use me, please, in a sphere that you had called me to be used.

And you know, as I mentioned this before, there is joy in serving the Lord. There is blessing in participating in the work of the Lord. You feel fulfilled because if you are not serving the Lord in the area that the Lord called you and I, then we don't feel fulfilled. Something is missing. Therefore, we are encouraged to stir up the gift that the Lord had given unto us as well, beloved brothers and sisters. Well, moving along, 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 8, 9, and 10. Here's the second thing that Paul is encouraging Timothy to do. He's saying to Timothy, Timothy, don't be ashamed of Yeshua's testimony. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner.

But be thou partakers of the affliction of the gospel, according to the power of God, who had 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 the Mashiach Yeshua before the world began. Verse 10, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus the Messiah, who has abolished death and has brought to life an immortality to light through the gospel. This is so much to expound here on these verses that the Apostle Paul is saying. It sounds kind of full of information that Paul is giving here to Timothy.

Well, verse 8, notice, beloved brothers and sisters, he said to Timothy, do not be ashamed. First of all, in verse 8, he said, don't be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord. Now, brothers and sisters, listen. How is it possible that we can be ashamed of what the Lord Jesus has done for us? How is it possible to be ashamed of the gospel message? Do you know that the only way of salvation that man can ever enter into a relationship with God is on the basis of the work that Yeshua the Messiah had accomplished on the tree? That's the only way that one can be saved. Do you remember, do I remember, do we remember that our eternal destiny depended upon the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah.

And do you know that if he had not done so, where would we be? Do we have any hope without the Messiah? Do we have any future without the Messiah?

we can be religious we can believe in all sort of things that are existing today in this world in which we live in people believe in all sort of things and all sort of men and all sort of religious systems idolatry and all sort of things that people believe in today have no hope there's no future in it that's why the God of Israel said to our people you shall not have any other gods before me there is only one God the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who sent his son the Mashiach Yeshua to this world to die for our sins on the cross, on the tree and so Paul said to him Timothy

don't be ashamed Timothy of the testimony of our Lord think of his testimony he lived here in this world he walked with God he was obedient even unto death and then they placed him on a cruel cross and there he bore our sins in his body on the tree Timothy don't be ashamed of Yeshua the Messiah because that's the only answer that we can give to our lost world who need to be saved and so he remind him of this he says listen Timothy don't be ashamed of Yeshua's testimony but not only Yeshua's testimony only because he adds here, and he says, and of me, his prisoner.

You notice that Paul was a prisoner of Rome. But he doesn't say, I'm the prisoner of Nero, or I'm a prisoner of Rome. He says, I'm Yeshua's prisoner. I have committed my life to him. He is the one that captured me, and embraced me, saved me, and brought me to himself. I am now a prisoner, not of Rome, though I am here in the dungeon in the city of Rome, but I am a prisoner of our Lord, Yeshua, the Messiah. Think of what it meant for Paul, who was ready to perish, ready to die, according to chapter 4. who is ready to depart, he knew that he is going to be killed, but he never said, I am a prisoner of Rome.

He said, I am in this situation because of my identification with our Lord Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah. And so, Timothy, don't be ashamed of the Lord's testimony, and neither be ashamed of me, his prisoner. And think about it, brothers and sisters, When Paul was in prison, everybody left him. When he was in a time of need, everybody forsook him. Notice just jump down here to verse 15. Notice he said to Timothy, Timothy, everyone left me. I'm here in prison alone. Please, Timothy, don't be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. But also, Timothy, don't be ashamed of me who is a prisoner of the Lord.

I'm here in prison. Everyone in Asia left me and I'm here alone. How would you feel, brothers and sisters, when you serve the Lord and you speak of Yeshua the Messiah and all your friends, are no longer there. And you know, it is a test. Usually when trouble is coming, everybody seeks their own. As Paul said it elsewhere, all seek their own, not the things of Yeshua, the Messiah. When Yeshua was on a cross, on a tree, his disciples fled. Because there was a price to pay. And we know that too. Many times we are afraid and ashamed of the Lord, And we do not like to identify with the teaching of the Apostle Paul.

You see, the teaching of the Apostle Paul was given to him by the risen Messiah, who given him this revelation concerning the body of Mashiach, where Jew and Gentile are united together in the body of Messiah. And they are together to walk together. They are saved. They are coming in on the same ground as brothers and sisters in Yeshua the Messiah. well, Timothy, don't be ashamed of me, a prisoner of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah also. And then he's telling him, notice, he continues, in the same verse 8, he says, Timothy, be thou partaker of the affliction of the gospel, according to the power of God.

Timothy, if you are going to share the gospel, what do you think is going to happen? You're going to experience affliction. You're going to be at a time being persecuted. Brothers and sisters, we have no idea of what believers are experiencing in many countries around the world. We live like in an eggshell, protected. And I thank God for the country in which we live in and for the privileges that we have. But think of believers in the former Soviet Union, in North Korea, in China in past history, and even today in a Muslim world, like even what happened recently in Syria and in other places.

Think of believers. They're suffering the experience. Think of the early Hebrew Christian, Messianic Jewish people in the first century, the persecution that they have experienced. even Shaul himself persecuted his own brethren in first century, took them from Damascus because he went to Damascus on a way, and elsewhere he brought letters from the religious leaders of our people and brought them to the synagogue in order to bring the believers and to persecute them in the land. Can you imagine of some of the persecution and the affliction that early believers have experienced? Well, who likes affliction? Who wants persecution? No one likes this, but it seems to be that when we participate in the gospel, there will be affliction at times.

There will be persecution in the life of the believers. You notice the Lord Yeshua in Matthew chapter 10, it says, If any man love his father and mother more than me, he is not worthy of me. If any man take not a cross and follow after me, he cannot be my disciple. In other words, if we are going to follow our blessed Lord Yeshua the Messiah, there will be persecution and affliction in the life of the people of God. Turn the page to 1 Peter chapter 4. Peter is now mentioning in verse 12 to 16 to the early Hebrew believers. He says, beloved, verse 12, think it not strange concerning the fiery trials, which is to try you as though some strange things happen unto you.

But rejoice, inasmuch that ye are partakers of the Messiah's suffering, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of the Mashiach, of the Messiah, happy are ye for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. On their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as murderers, or as thieves, or as evildoers, or as busybodies in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, as a Meschichi, as a Messiah follower, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf.

Now this is amazing, brothers and sisters, something that we have to admit we have very little idea and experience in identifying with suffering as others have experienced this in their own life. The Gospel, the Besorah, the sharing of that message of the Gospel bring about affliction at times and persecution by those who reject the message of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. Well, in verse 9, he built up and he continued and he said to him, Timothy, you know, God saved us and God called us for a purpose, Timothy. He didn't only save us in order to allow you and I to continue on in our own way.

He's saying to Timothy, he had saved us for a purpose. Verse 9, he said, 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 the Mashiach Yeshua before the world began. You know and as brothers and sisters this is very precious what we read here in this passage because what he's really saying to Timothy, Timothy you know what God has already chosen us before the foundation of the world and he has called us to serve him and he saved us in time but it was already planned before the foundation of the world before the world began you know imagine brothers and sisters as Paul says elsewhere in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 3 and 4 blessed be the God and father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah who have chosen us in the Messiah according as he has chosen us in Christ in the Messiah before the foundation of the world.

We were not even born. God had a plan for those whom he was calling. And in time he reached us and he saved us. He forgave our sins, washed them away. And notice he said, and he called us with a holy calling. There is a calling upon you and I. There is a calling to serve him. There is a calling to serve him and to minister to God's people. And that calling is not according to our own purpose, but it is according to His purpose. God has a purpose for you and I. He didn't call you not to do anything, but He called you and He saved you and I so we can serve Him.

There is a purpose in our life. And you know, again, you and I will never enjoy our relationship with the Lord unless we understand and we practice the purpose that God has for us as believers. To serve Him, to minister to Him, to be part of the work of the Lord worldwide, whether it is locally or elsewhere, there is a purpose that God had called us.

and you notice that it says in verse 9 it is according to his own purpose and grace which he had given unto us in the Messiah Yeshua and that holy calling was not according to our works we don't earn our salvation we don't work for our salvation we are first of all receiving the salvation and then we can do the work that the Lord has called us to do Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 says by grace are ye saved through faith and this is not of yourself it is a gift of God lest any man should boast God has saved us but he has given us a purpose in our lives notice verse 10 he

continues and he is reminding Timothy of Yeshua's grace and through Yeshua's grace he had victoriously defeated death see notice that verse 10 but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ Yeshua HaMashiach who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel do you know what happened when Jesus the Messiah died on the tree and was buried and he rose again he abolished death for the believer death is a servant when a believer dies he or she is absent from the body but present with the Lord the Lord Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah by his death and resurrection he defeated Satan he defeated death death has no

more power over the believer in Yeshua the Messiah you see when you go to a funeral of a person who is not a believer everybody is there looking at him and saying well he didn't have his sin or her sin forgiven and he or she are not with us anymore where do they spend eternity you see unfortunately people who do not know Yeshua the Messiah can never say I know where I'm going should the Lord take me out of this scene I know that he defeated death and I know that I'm going to be with the Lord with God in heaven forever and ever and ever as we read in John 3.16 for God so

loved the world that he gave his only begotten son the Messiah that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish but have everlasting life eternal life but it was provided for us through the gospel and what is the gospel?

that the Messiah died for sin according to the scripture and that he was buried and that he rose again on the third day according to the scriptures 1 Corinthians 15 verses 3 and 4 and so on the Mashiach died for our sins the Mashiach was buried and the Mashiach rose from among the dead according to the Hebrew scriptures it is not something that someone else thought about it was already written in the Hebrew scriptures God had given it to our forefathers in the Tanakh and so Paul is saying listen it was made manifest now when the Mashiach appeared in his first coming and our Savior Jesus, the Messiah, who has abolished death.

And not only this, he brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. What does that mean? You see, we are mortals. An immortal man dies, only God who is immortal. But what happened when Yeshua the Messiah, he not only abolished death and set death aside, but he brought life and incorruptibility. That means, beloved brothers and sisters, that one day a believer who dies will be resurrected and will never have corruption any longer. He or she will receive a glorified body which is suitable for eternity in the presence of God.

what a wonderful truth to understand brothers and sisters in Hebrew this word immortality says et asher enenu over that which never pass away anymore it continue on and on and on and on you see our life here today in this world is temporary that's why we go to funeral service every time in this world in which we live in some of us have lost our parents some of us remember our uncles and our aunts and our friends who used to be with us and they are no longer with us because we are mortal when God said to Adam the day that you shall eat out of this tree dying you shall die and that's why

everyone dies physical death not only spiritual but physical death but there is a day coming and it is because of the gospel that the Messiah brought life and incorruptibility never to go back to the past the body will be resurrected united with the soul and the spirit and eternally will be with our lord yeshua the messiah forever and ever and ever and as it says here in the hebrew it says et asher enenu over it will never pass anymore it will continue immortality incorruptibility for the believer who accepted our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and it is all happened because of the gospel and so in this next verses 11 and 12 Paul reminding Timothy and

said okay I ask you to stir up your gift I ask you not to be ashamed of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and his testimony and notice in these last two verses for our ministry today he says Timothy also do not be ashamed of me because many deserted me Timothy many left me and he says notice I'm reading verse 11 where unto I am appointed as a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentile Timothy I was called by the Lord to do this service you know sometimes people don't realize but Shaul Paul was called by the Lord he didn't initiate that he didn't plan on that it was a call of God

Yeshua called him on the way to Damascus Shaul, Shaul, lama tir defeni why do you persecute me Shaul and he says what will you have me to do Lord and the Lord said to Hananiah I am going to use this man to be a servant of mine I will show him how much he will have to suffer for my name's sake.

And Shaul became the apostle to the Gentiles, to the goyim. He became an apostle to the nations of the world. And there he said, I am appointed. Number one, a preacher. Number two, an apostle. And number three, a teacher of the goyim, of the Gentiles. And an apostle is the one apostolos. He is a shaliach. He's a messenger of the Lord. Turn to Galatians 1 with me for a moment. Verse 1. Paul said that to the Galatians in verse 1. Paul, an apostle not of men, neither by men, but by Jesus the Messiah and God the Father who raised him from the dead. Yeshua, the Mashiach, He is the one who made me an apostle.

Look at chapter 2 of the book of Galatians, verse 7, 8, and 9. He says there, But contrarywise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter, for he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision this is the Jewish people he says the same was mighty in me towards the goyim, the Gentiles see that?

verse 7 and 8 and so we read in verse 9 and when James and Cephas and John who seemed to be pillars perceived the grace which was given unto me they gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship that we should go unto the heathens and they unto the circumcision you see there are two special shlichim, apostles that were called by the Lord for special ministry Shaul Paul was called to be the apostle to the Gentiles to the uncircumcision and Shimon Petros was called to be the apostle to the Yehudim, to the Jews the circumcision they had special ministry that they were called by the Lord Paul to the Gentiles Peter to the

Jews but both of them presented the message of the gospel both of them were called by God it was divine call it was not originated by themselves and finally beloved brothers and sisters in verse 12 Paul is now pointing to a few things about himself as an apostle to the Gentiles he is saying to Timothy in verse 12 for the which cause because I am serving the Lord and because I share the gospel with the nation I suffer these things nevertheless I am not ashamed you see what placed Paul in prison is the very fact that he fulfilled his ministry and he was preaching the message wherever he went and that brought about persecution and

the persecution brought about the fact that they captured him and again he finds himself in prison this time in the city of Rome in a dungeon ready to be put to death by Nero but he said one thing and I'm going to close with this and I hope all of us can understand it ourselves in our own life he said for I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day Paul said to Timothy I know in whom I believed I'm sure that he is the promised Messiah the promised Redeemer I know him I know him because it was

written of him in the Hebrew scripture and he revealed himself to me on the way to Damascus I know whom I have believer you notice he doesn't say I know in what I believe but he says I know in whom I believe it is a person it's not some human opinion it's not some kind of rules and regulation but he says I know the one that I believe in it is the person of Yeshua the Messiah I know whom I am believing and I am persuaded that he this is Yeshua Jesus that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him the word for committed in another translation that which I have

deposited I have deposited my life to the hands of Yeshua the Messiah I've given everything up here in this world for him he said but I know the one that I believe and I'm persuaded he's able to keep you know everything that we give to the Lord by virtue of serving him and living for him in this world he's able to keep that and you know what he's keeping it for according to the end of verse 12 it says against that day.

You see, there is a day coming, beloved brothers and sisters. There is a day coming in which we will have to stand before the Lord. If a person is an unbeliever here today, you're going to have to stand one day before the Lord. You are not going to escape the day in which every person will have to stand before the Lord. There is a day coming. There is a day of reckoning that is coming. Even for us as believers, there is a day coming at the judgment seat of the Mashiach, of Christ, in which the Lord is going to ask us, how did we live our lives here as believers?

Everything that we didn't do for the Messiah will be burned with fire. And everything that we have done for Him will remain. And he will reward us for the messianic kingdom. When we're going to reign and rule with him over this world. And we're going to enjoy a time of the kingdom age. Israel is restored. And the believers are going to reign with the Messiah Yeshua. And what a day that will be. And notice he used that expression against that day. I have devoted my life. I have spent my time. I have given over everything for Yeshua the Messiah because I know the one that I have believed.

And I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. And how, brothers and sisters, you and I need to live our life in the light of that day. One day we are going to stand before our blessed Lord Yeshua the Messiah and how wonderful it will be when he can say, well done, good and faithful servant.