Please turn to the book of Acts, Acts 16. We will read the first five verses.
And he came to Derbe and Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, by name Timotheus, son of a Jewish believing woman, but a Greek father;
who had a good testimony of the brethren in Lystra and Iconium.
Him Paul would have to go forth with him; and took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew his father, that he was a Greek.
And as they passed through the cities, they instructed them to observe the decrees determined on by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem.
The assemblies, therefore, were confirmed in the faith, and increased in number every day.
Please turn to 2 Timothy, 2 Timothy 1. We will read the first nine verses.
Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ by God’s will, according to promise of life, the life which is in Christ Jesus,
to Timotheus, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am thankful to God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, how unceasingly I have the remembrance of thee in my supplications night and day,
earnestly desiring to see thee, remembering thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
calling to mind the unfeigned faith which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded, in thee also.
For which cause I put thee in mind to rekindle the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power, and of love, and of a wise discretion.
Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner; but suffer evil along with the glad tidings, 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 to us in Christ Jesus before the ages of time,
but has now been made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, Who has annulled death and brought to light life and incorruptibility by the glad tidings.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee for inviting us to Thy table. We thank Thee for loving us, and loving us to the uttermost. Thou hast given Thy all to us, and we are here this morning because of Thy love.
Lord, as we continue in Thy presence, we pray that Thy word will come forth from the throne and reach the hearts of all of us. Dear Lord, Thou hast done so much for us, and what dost Thou now want us to be and to do?
So we just come and open our hearts to Thee and say, “Lord, speak; Thy servants hear.” We ask in Thy name. Amen.
Just a little bit of history, for those who may not know this gathering, beginning in 1943.
Before that time, two sisters from Richmond went to the Havana Conference. I wonder if you have heard of the Havana Conference. That was in the sixties.
Well, Brother Sparks, Brother DeVern Fromke, and myself were the speakers there. These two sisters from Richmond came to attend that conference. One of them was quite engaged in charismatic work.
While they were there, the Lord spoke to them, and they were completely transformed. Out of that, I was invited to visit them.
So, in the beginning, it was in the home of one sister, and mostly sisters were invited. But later, some young people began to join them.
Then, because the Havana Conference came to a close, it was suggested that, whether in Richmond, we should begin the conference.
So finally, we felt it was of the Lord to begin the conference in Richmond. That was in 1972, and we had it in the Episcopalian diocese, which is on River Road. About a hundred attended.
Then, in 1973, we had another one. That was when Kenny was married. After that conference, we felt that probably it was of the Lord that we should begin a testimony in Richmond.
The brothers and sisters at that time all agreed. So it was in 1973 that we started to have meetings regularly in Richmond. That was how we first began.
According to the Bible way, a generation is forty years. So we have been here more than a generation.
We do expect that young people should be raised up by God to continue the testimony here. So it is with this in my heart that I would like to share something with the young people here.
Now, that does not mean that we older ones are exempted. If we are young in heart, we still can receive what the Bible shows us.
So when I am thinking of the second generation, I thought of those young ones who worked with Paul. Among them, we are all familiar with one person especially, who is Timothy. So this morning, I would like to share something about Timothy.
Now, Timothy—his father was a Greek, but his mother was a Jewess. We are told that his grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice, belonged to the Lord.
Now, how they came to believe in the Lord Jesus, we are not told. But most likely, they were among the Jewish people who were saved during Pentecost. You remember, three thousand were saved, and most likely the grandmother and the mother were saved at that time.
We know nothing about the father, because the Bible does not mention him anymore. He probably had died. So Timothy was brought up by his grandmother and mother.
You see how important the influence of the mother or grandmother is to young people.
Some of you may have heard of Brother Thornton. I knew his parents. His father went to China as a medical missionary. He was the head of the orthopedic department in Cheeloo University.
This couple loved the Lord. They opened their home to the medical students there, and many, many good students were brought to the Lord through them. These medical students could come to their home, open their refrigerator, and eat anything they wanted. They called him Papa.
They had four children—two girls and two boys. I knew all of them.
I was greatly impressed by the mother. She tried very hard to find a time with her children, one by one. She talked to them once a month and, of course, prayed for them.
Because of this, all of them loved the Lord and served the Lord. So I see the importance of the parents.
The Lord gives you parents children. They are not only gifts of God, but they are also an obligation on your part. God wants parents to bring up their children in the admonition of the Lord.
How parents should pray for their children as they grow up, and how parents should try their best to show them Jesus Christ. Of course, that takes not only speaking, but also life, so that the children will be affected by the parents.
This is what happened to Timothy. He was brought up by the grandmother and the mother, and they helped him, even from his youth, to know the Bible and prepared him for his salvation.
Therefore, during Paul’s first missionary trip, even though the Bible does not mention it, we know by inference that Timothy was saved through the ministry of Paul.
After this young man was saved, he was really faithful to the Lord. As he was able, he began to serve the Lord in Lystra and Iconium.
So when Paul came during his second missionary trip, he saw this young man and intended to take him with him and to help him further on.
Now, brothers and sisters, this is the burden of the older brothers and sisters. We have a responsibility to the young people in our midst. We should pray for them, speak to them, and help them to know the Lord Jesus and to love the Lord Jesus. This was what was done to Timothy.
So thank God, Timothy was faithful to the Lord in these two places, Lystra and Iconium. He served. When Paul came the second time, Timothy was recommended by the brothers at both places.
What a commendation that is: a young man faithful to the Lord, touching the hearts of the brothers and sisters in two places, and highly recommended to Paul. I hope this will happen in our midst.
Paul realized the situation. There was a future for God in this young man, so he intended to take him on his trip—that is to say, to help him on in the Lord.
But his father being a Greek, he was not circumcised as a Jew. So, for the sake of the Jews, Paul circumcised him and took him with him.
We find there was a relationship between Paul and Timothy that you do not find in any other young person with Paul. They had the closest relationship.
Brothers and sisters, you find how Paul led this young brother. Naturally speaking, he had a very timid temperament.
You know, brothers and sisters, God created us each differently. Not only physically—we are all different. I often say that our face is a very small area, and there are only a few features on the face. Yet no two persons in the whole world are exactly the same.
Even though they are twins, people may try hard and hard to distinguish them, but the parents know they are different. Everyone is different. Think: God created numberless people in this world, but no two persons are exactly alike.
I often say God loves variety. We do not want uniformity, because God loves variety.
Here is Timothy. He had a very timid temperament. We may think, “A person with a timid temperament—what can he do?” He will always try to hide behind somebody. He will always draw back.
But, dear brothers and sisters, our temperaments are given by God. We are all different; we all have different temperaments. Some people are naturally outgoing. Other people are naturally quiet.
But that is no problem, because God loves variety. If our temperament can be given to God, He is able to use whatever temperament He has given to you.
So do not try to change your temperament. Your temperament will never change drastically. It may change a little bit; it may be under better control. But your temperament is what you are. God made you that way, and God wants to use your temperament for His purpose.
So thank God for that. Oftentimes, we try to change our temperament. We want to be like some other people because we think some other people are better. But, brothers and sisters, do not think that way, because your temperament comes from God.
If you give your temperament to God, under His control, He can mold it and He can use it for His own glory.
So here is Timothy. We may think, “What can a timid person do?” He always hides behind somebody and does not want to take charge. But here you find this young man, naturally timid, gave his timidity to God, and God could mold it and use it for His own glory.
So Paul took this young man, and he went with Paul. He learned much from Paul. There was such a relationship between Timothy and Paul.
I believe, brothers and sisters, whatever temperament God may give you, He can use it, and He will use it, if you will give yourself to the Lord.
The problem is: who is in charge? Are you in charge of your life, or have you given yourself to the Lord and let Him be in charge?
If it is the latter—that you give yourself to the Lord and let Him be in charge—even the temperament can be molded and used by God. We find Timothy, even though he was a timid person, was used by God in a remarkable way.
He knew Paul so well, and he learned so much from Paul. As you find in 2 Timothy 3:10, Paul said:
But thou didst follow my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, patience,
persecutions, sufferings.
You find there are nine things that Timothy learned from Paul. He was thoroughly acquainted with Paul’s teaching, and, of course, that is most important.
Timothy, even though he was familiar with the Scriptures, needed help in order to use the Scriptures, as it were, in a straight line according to God’s thought. So Timothy learned the teachings of Paul.
The teachings of Paul were not his own teachings; they were the teaching of Christ. We find in Acts 2 that those three thousand who believed in the Lord Jesus continued in the teaching of the apostles.
There were twelve apostles, but the teaching is singular. As we read the Bible, we find that the different apostles had different emphases. Paul had his emphasis, Peter had his emphasis, and John had his emphasis. But no matter what their emphasis may be, the teaching is one, and it is the teaching of Christ, because they received from the Lord, and after they received, they taught.
Here you find Paul greatly used by God. He was a great teacher, and Timothy learned the teaching from Paul. He was humble enough to learn.
You know, sometimes young people may be so proud of themselves, so confident of themselves, that they do not receive the teaching of their forefathers. But here you find Timothy was humble. Whatever Paul taught, he learned. Because of that, Timothy became a teacher. He was able to teach in spite of his young age.
Then he also knew the conduct of Paul. You know, teaching and conduct should be together. If you teach and do not live that way, your teaching will not affect people.
But we know that Paul lived as he taught, and Timothy noticed Paul’s conduct. He learned from that.
Not only that, but purpose. He could see the purpose of Paul. Paul was out busily serving the Lord, not in any way trying to get something for himself. Paul’s purpose was only one: to do the will of God. Timothy learned that from Paul.
Then faith. Paul lived a life of faith. He said, “For me to live is Christ.” “I am crucified with Christ. No longer live I; it is Christ who lives in me.” So, brothers and sisters, here you find Timothy learned faith from Paul, and longsuffering.
Brothers and sisters, we want to live a very smooth, easy life. But if you want to be true to the Lord, we live in this world that is ruled by the enemy of God. If we are true to God, we will suffer.
Timothy, as a young man, learned the law of suffering from Paul. And, of course, love.
If you read the writings of Paul, you can see his love for the church. He gave himself and reserved himself for the churches. Even to those churches that did not love him, he loved them.
Timothy learned this love and endurance—how Paul endured in spite of all the sufferings he had gone through—and also persecution and suffering. Timothy learned all these things from Paul.
Because of that, you find that Timothy was able to serve the Lord faithfully to the end.
How do we know? Well, after Paul left, Timothy continued to serve the Lord in such faithfulness that he was put in prison also. But thank God, he was released from prison. That shows his loyalty and faithfulness to the end.
If you turn to Hebrews, the last chapter, Hebrews 13:23:
Know ye that our brother Timotheus is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you.
Now, we are not sure who was the writer of Hebrews. Different people have different ideas. I have my own idea too. I think probably Hebrews was written by Apollos.
Here you find Apollos mentioning how Timothy was set at liberty. In other words, because of his faithfulness to the Lord, he was put in prison too. But he was released.
Even after being released, you find he continued in the ministry. If it was Apollos, he said he would go and visit these people with Timothy. So Timothy continued to serve the Lord.
So, dear brothers and sisters, this morning my burden is this: we have been here for more than a generation, and we do expect our young people to come up.
You know, if the testimony is held by only one generation—the first generation—then how can it be continued?
But we believe that the testimony of Jesus is continuing until the coming of our dear Lord. So may our young people rise up, give themselves to the Lord completely, and see what He can do with such young people. This is the prayer of my heart.
Let us pray.
O Lord, we want to thank Thee for our young people in our midst. We have great expectation from Thee for these young people. We pray for them.
We look to Thee that Thou wilt touch the hearts of our young people. Not because they are young, but, Lord, if they should give themselves to Thee, however young they may be, Lord, Thou canst use them.
We pray that there will be such utter commitment of these young people to Thee, and soon we will see what Thou canst do with the young people.
We want to see this testimony go on until Thy coming. O Lord, wilt Thou please raise among us young people that will go forward and carry on the testimony of Jesus.
We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.