Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12, NLT)
People ask me, who is your successor? My answer is, I have no successor! I haven’t finished my job yet, and I won’t quit until the job is finished! But more and more young pastors and leaders are coming to me for help and advice; I want to encourage others to follow in my steps, and do as I have done for the last 73 years in full-time ministry. That’s why I have chosen Paul’s first letter to Timothy - whom he describes as his ‘true son in the faith’ - because I want to talk to you as MY true sons and daughters in the faith.
Paul introduces himself as an ‘apostle of Jesus Christ by the Command of God our Saviour and of Christ Jesus our Hope’. That’s important for you and for me, because Paul was not one of the first 12 apostles. The remaining 11 disciples, after the betrayal and death of Judas, had to decide who should replace him in the ministry. A man called Matthias was chosen, a man who was with Jesus from the beginning. We don’t actually see much evidence of his subsequent ministry; to me, the one who truly replaced Judas as one of the 12, was not the one chosen by the casting of lots as a decision of men, but rather Paul, an apostle chosen ‘by the Command of God’.
I feel I have something in common with Paul in this, because I do believe that the reason I am in ministry and have remained in ministry for so long, is that I also came into this position by Divine Appointment. I’ve often told how, at the beginning of World War II, I was evacuated from London for a short time to Scotland, and how, one night when I had already gone to bed, I heard sweet music coming from downstairs and these words, ‘Hear the Lord of Harvest sweetly calling, “Who will go and work for Me today, who will bring to Me the lost and dying, who will point them to the narrow way?”’ And the refrain, ‘“Speak, my Lord, speak, my Lord, speak and I will answer, here am I, send me!”’ I stood at the top of the stairs, probably only 8 years old, and said, “Here am I, send me!”
This calling was again confirmed when I was 15. I had already given my life to Christ, I’d been baptised in water and filled with the Holy Spirit, but a day came when, on holiday with a group of other young people on the South Coast of England, I had to break away from my friends because there was such a clear call from God, “I need you, I want you, I want you to give Me EVERYTHING.” That was a major turning point in my life, and I feel today, I am in this position by the Command of God.
Paul continues his letter to Timothy, “to my true son in the Faith.” I had a wonderful wife and three daughters, but I never had a son. I would have loved to have a son to follow in my steps. And yet, I look on all young pastors and leaders who follow me in the work as ‘my sons’, and some I even call ‘my sons’ - just as Paul did Timothy. I would like to think people would follow my example - follow the lead that I have taken - and step out in their own calling.
Paul is saying to Timothy that, even though he is a young man, he must correct these men of their false teaching. Paul says in v5, the goal of his command is LOVE which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Our teaching HAS to be in LOVE. We can’t force and compel. Some religions adhere to strict codes and enforce them by law. In Afghanistan and Iran for instance, Islam enforces its doctrine so strictly, that they imprison, beat, torture and execute people who do not keep to their teaching. The Gospel is preached in LOVE. There cannot be compulsion, you cannot compel people. It’s LOVE. We have to come back to basics: it is a Gospel of God’s LOVE.
Paul is concerned, because here in Ephesus, some have wandered away from the simplicity of sincere faith and turned to meaningless talk, v6. When I am free and not preaching, often I will slip into the back of a church meeting, and I’m sad to say, sometimes I come away thinking it was just meaningless, pointless. It’s easy to stand up and talk, but it should come from your heart, in LOVE, a strong message. I have a strong message, and I share it with all my heart. In v7, Paul examines what was going wrong in Ephesus: they wanted to be ‘teachers of the Law’, but, Paul says, they do not know what they’re talking about, or what they so confidently affirm! How blunt Paul is!
You know, we have to live by the faith we preach. When I was a young pastor and evangelist in England, God said to me one day, “Shut up! Stop talking! Go out and do yourself all the things you are telling other people to do!” My life for the past 60 years is that I’ve gone out to live it, do it, act it - I don’t tell people to do what I haven’t done myself! I’ve preached in the open air, in cinemas and theatres, in football fields, halls, stadiums… I’ve been out there, I’ve been doing it - and I haven’t stopped!