Dr. Jerry Motto discovered the power of a “caring letter.” His research found that simply sending a letter expressing care to his discharged patients who had previously attempted suicide reduced the rate of recurrence by over half. Recently, health care providers have rediscovered this potential when sending “caring” texts, postcards, and even social media messages as follow-up treatment for the severely depressed. Paul understood this long before the medical field. This second letter is the most touching and personal of all Paul’s writings.

It begins with Paul’s deeply personal words assuring Timothy of his love and faithful prayers (vv.2-3). Paul affirmed Timothy’s spiritual heritage (v.5) and his God-given gifts and pastoral calling (vv.6-7). We read about grandma Lois and his mom Eunice, who shared with Timothy genuine faith (2 Tim. 1:5). Their influence prepared this man to share the good news with many others. Timothy’s grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5) were godly women who lived out their faith in such a way that Timothy came to believe in Jesus. Paul points to the faith living in them as the source of the faith later living in Timothy. Paul also encouraged him to live boldly for the gospel of Christ (v.8).

I Background To Paul’s Epistle

1. Second Timothy is also Paul’s last letter and has been called his last will and testament. In it, Paul is passing the torch of leadership to a new generation of believers, especially young Timothy, the leader of the church at Ephesus. Paul wrote this letter during his second imprisonment in Rome about 66 or 67 A.D.

2. During his first imprisonment … Paul was under house arrest for two whole years and received all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him (Acts 28:30-31).

Paul was imprisonment a second and final time according to 2 Timothy 2:9 & 4:11. Many bible scholars believe Paul was in the Mammertine prison in Rome. It was a cold, damp, lonely dungeon with no sanitation facilities and a hole in the ceiling for light and air. During this time the Roman emperor Nero blamed Christians for the burning of Rome and made Christianity an illegal religion. Sometime after that, Paul was arrested and later executed. Many Christians were rounded up and arrest and beheaded or crucified.

3. Paul gave up everything to follow Christ. He had been the rising star of Judaism and would almost certainly have been named to the Sanhedrin. That was the Jewish high Supreme Court, with all its prestige, power, and prosperity. Instead, he spends his last days in a dark, damp, cold dungeon. Paul had earlier lost all his Jewish associates and friends, and now many of his Christian friends and associates that we will study about later have deserted him. Paul ends his last letter by asking Timothy to come quickly before winter and bring his coat (4:13). We do not know if Timothy made it to Rome before Paul was executed. In the first verses of this epistle we notice…
II Paul’s Purpose in Life- (1:1, 2, 5).

1. Paul begins this letter: Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ (1:1 a). Though life at this point seems so unfair, Paul has no misgivings about God’s purpose for his life in spite of his suffering. He has no regrets. Therefore, he reminds his readers he is an apostle (Apostolos), which means, “one sent forth with a message.” It is the modern equivalent of “missionary.” Paul was not one of the original twelve, but he was personally called and commissioned by the Lord. He calls himself a servant, apostle or laborer in every epistle.

2. We know from the scriptures (Acts 9:15) that according to the revelation of God given to Ananias the divine purpose for Paul’s life was to preach the gospel. – But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: Paul was an apostle not because he sought the position but by the will of God verse one. He was happy to be called the servant of the Lord and yet Paul knew he was not worthy to be called a servant or apostle of the lord.

Application:
God had a special purpose for Paul’s life and He does for each of us. True happiness comes only when we are willing to follow God’s plan for our lives. Being in the center of God’s will is difficult but it is most difficult being out of it. Doing God’s will usually requires sacrifice and suffering. Choosing to do God’s will for our lives often requires making the same choice as Moses. That choice is described in Hebrews 11:25. — Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

We sacrifice to earn money, for a car, for our education for our kids but what about for the Lord who gave himself for us. Following Jesus Christ is always more difficult than following the way of the world. That’s why Jesus said: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Your cross is whatever makes it difficult for you to fulfill God’s will for your life.

3. We know Paul is writing to young Timothy (v 1.2) and he calls him my dearly beloved son, which reveals the intimate relationship between them. Apparently, Timothy’s father was not a believer, so Paul became his spiritual father. One of the blessings of being a Christian is belonging to a spiritual family with spiritual parents, brothers, and sisters. Jesus makes a wonderful statement when His mother and brothers, who think He has lost His mind, come to take Him back to Nazareth. They wait outside and send someone to tell Jesus they are there. What did Jesus said in Mark 3:31-35?

4. Here Jesus reveals His followers are a spiritual family, characterized by a bond of love that is longer lasting than any physical family. God’s family has no orphans. Like Paul, we all need to have sons and daughters in the faith to which we can help disciple. Paul was soon to pass the Spiritual torch to Timothy. Paul prays a triple blessing for Timothy: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord (1:2b).

5. Paul is expressing his genuine desire for God’s best in Timothy’s life. He remarks on his
godly mother and grandmother who nurtured him in the Lord and prepared him for ministry. His Mother and grandmother were women of sincere faith. His mother nurtured his heart toward God; then he continued in what he had learned (v. 14). What a wonderful truth…

Application; Today it’s immoral for parents to teach their children religion as though it were actually true. An outspoken atheist believes and even claims that parents who pass along their faith to their children are committing child abuse. Though these views are extreme, today some parents are hesitant to encourage their children toward faith. While most of us readily hope to influence our children with our view of politics or nutrition or sports, for some reason some of us treat our convictions about God differently. In contrast, Paul wrote of how Timothy had been taught “from infancy” the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus”. There are many belief systems that are influencing our children. TV shows, movies… We must funnel children toward our faith, to the church, to the under shepherd.

III Paul Never Ceases his Prayers – (2 Timothy 1:3, 4)

1. Chained and sitting in a cold, damp dungeon, Paul can no longer preach or travel, but he can write and pray, so he does. Paul writes: I thank God … that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day. Timothy is always in his prayers and so are all the churches. We can learn from the Pauline Epistle to have prayers on behalf of others and co-laborers.

Application:
1. As Paul and Jesus did, all of us need to have people for whom we pray, who one day will take the helm of leadership in God’s kingdom. What priority is given to prayer in your daily life, both private and corporate? What is keeping you from prayer?

2. It is important for our Church that leaders should be examples in prayer: People who have had an arm in a cast for a long period of time will tell you what happens when the plaster is finally removed. The muscles of the arm have atrophied; that is, they have shrunk and become weak because they have not been used. That’s precisely what happens to a church when its leaders don’t pray — its ministry becomes powerless and ineffective. Church leaders are to be people whose lives are made and molded by prayer, whose heart and life are made up of prayer. Everything rises and falls on leadership! — Dr. Lee Roberson

Mat 21:13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer;

Conclusion:

The lack of joy and love in a church has a direct connection to a lack of prayer. The more the church prayers together the more inmate our relations become, tears in prayer for a wayward child, a sick mom, a lost job, struggles in a marriage, family problems. The list goes on and on. We find common ground, we find common heartache, we find common struggles and we develop intimate relationships. It binds us together.