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As we stand, let's pray:

Lord, we will face temptations to be ashamed of you, and afraid of suffering for you. But we pray for your word to us this morning to help us to stand firm, to pass the gospel on, and to accept the cost of doing so. Amen.

I was looking at the Barnabas Fund's latest newsletter this week. Here are a few things that stood out; in Afghanistan the Taliban are going door to door searching for Christians, in India anti-Christian persecution is on the rise, and, as you may remember, in Nigeria 40 Christians were shot dead during a church service last June. How do those stories make you feel? The article went on to say:

The Church in the West does not in general experience persecution, though opposition from the dominant ideology of secular humanism could yet turn into fully fledged persecution.[Barnabas Aid, September/October 2022 p.14]

So as one of you said to me only this week: "My Christian faith now seems completely contrary to the atmosphere and values at my workplace, and I feel like I'm sitting waiting to be told I'm in trouble, just for living as a Christian". How does that make you feel? Remember that the Apostle Paul was facing death for his faith, and was writing to his protégé Timothy from prison. And we saw last week, how he urged Timothy not to be ashamed of him, or of the gospel, despite what suffering may come his way. Because it's all too easy to feel ashamed, and afraid, and then to retreat, and batten the hatches down. But this morning, God through Paul, is saying to us; "no, don't retreat", "don't keep your head down". Instead, accept the cost of the gospel ministry we've been given. And step up, and pass the gospel on. And that's our first point this morning:

1. Pass the gospel on (2 Timothy 2.1-2)

2 Timothy 2.1:

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus…

So, Paul is saying, "Look Timothy, I know you don’t feel strong, but you can be strengthened by the inner strength that comes with faith in Jesus. God's Spirit is in you. He will empower you, and keep you going, and keep you faithful to the gospel – even when it exposes you to suffering". And, we need to hear this too, don't we? Because faithfulness to the gospel will, sooner or later, expose us to suffering of some sort. So, we need God to empower us for faithful gospel ministry. And we need to know that he wants to empower us for it, and then to trust and ask him for the strength that only he can supply. But Paul is not just saying, "be strong and hang in there". He's saying, "be strong – and pass the gospel on". So, he continues, 2 Timothy 2.2:

…and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Paul first heard the gospel from Jesus himself, and he, along with the other Apostles and eye witnesses, taught the gospel to others – like Timothy. Now Paul tasked Timothy with passing the gospel on to faithful men. Men who were faithful to the gospel, in how they lived, and it what they taught, and who could be trusted to remain so, and men who could teach others also – so that they too could pass the gospel on, and it could continue, down through the generations. If you follow athletics and you think of the GB relay team, you'll probably remember how many times they've dropped the baton over the years! Fail to pass the baton on, and it's all over.

Now, Timothy was an overall church leader. In fact, he was leader of leaders – a bit like a Bishop. So, this verse is primarily talking about overall church leaders passing on the baton, and raising up overall church leaders for the future. But, we all need to encourage this, and we all need to play our part in supporting the gospel being passed on. That's why praying for our mission partners and their work around the world is vital. It's why it's important to support Pete – who wants to get involved in church leadership in Japan. It's one reason why over the past 15 years or so we've planted two churches – in Gateshead and Benwell. And we’ve supported the likes of Jon and Debs Teasdale, Ben and Vale Cadoux-Hudson and Ryan and Lulu Muir as they get involved in overall church leadership from here on Tyneside to Hong Kong. And we miss those people because the gospel being passed on is costly. So take Chris and Rosy Redfearn (who many of us know), both Chris and Rosy were here at JPC, they then went to St Joseph's when it launched. Chris was on the staff there, for a while Rosy was on the staff here. Now they're in Valencia helping lead a church out there. First of all, we missed Chris and Rosy here, and, I don't need to ask Ken and the team over at St Joseph's to know that they miss them there. But it was for the gospel that they left. The gospel had been passed on to them, and they'd been built up and equipped. Now it's their turn to lead – and pass the gospel onto others.

On the home front, it's why Ramzi, Fi and others have spent considerable time launching our new Ministry Trainee scheme - because the ultimate goal of that is to find and train leaders for the future, by giving a taste of set-apart Christian ministry. It's why we try to provide a range of opportunities for those of us who are considering church leadership to gain experience, and training, and to "test the water". It's one benefit of having a relatively large staff team – so that there's more scope to train leaders for the future. It's why Liz and others are involved in the NEGP training scheme – to train leaders for the future. It's why Ian, and the rest of our senior staff, through to people like me, spend considerable time helping others among us in ministry – from training and input, to support and advice, to feedback and mentoring. So, e.g. take Andy Gawn - He's a busy man, with a demanding role, and large family. But it would be short-sighted of Andy to just focus on his ministry. That's why he spends lots of time on training, equipping and feedback – from those of us involved in Sunday groups, right through to the few of us who give all-age service talks. And the ultimate aim of all of this has to be to raise senior church-leader-level teachers for the future.

Of course, we want to up our game on all of this – across the board. And it's obvious that have very big needs here at JPC. The way forward is neither clear, nor easy, but the future of our church is in God's hands. Can I say, we really need to believe that, and we really need to pray. But, for all of us, our ultimate goal must not be (under God) to make converts but teachers. Teachers who are capable of teaching others. So, if you're a women's Bible study leader, or you help lead a Home Group, or a Focus Group or, whether you serve and teach more informally, can I encourage you to invest in those you serve with? Pass on your experience. Encourage others. Help pass the gospel baton on. And I think we all can do that. Looking back, the first people who really helped me where more mature Christians who were one or two years older than me. But, as I've mentioned already, if we're going to do this it will be costly. And we need to accept the cost. That's our second point.

2. Accept the cost (2 Timothy 2.3-7)

It's wonderful, that's there no small print here! Paul doesn’t tuck the hard bits away in miniscule terms and conditions. Instead, he clearly lays out what gospel ministry looks like. Of course, he's writing to Timothy the full-time church leader, but, these metaphors describe the mindset we're all to have in any level of formal or informal gospel ministry. So, here's the first (2 Timothy 2.3-4):

Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

Being a soldier takes discipline. The good soldier needs to stay focused even when it's hard. There are all sorts of "civilian pursuits" that could entangle i.e. distract him, but the aim is be single-minded in following his commanding officer. That's why Anglican ministers promise a version of these words at their ordination:

Never cease your careful and diligent labours until you have done all you possibly can…to bring all those who are committed to your charge, to a knowledge of God…You must forsake all those worldly cares and concerns that hinder you from doing your duty.[An English Prayer Book, Roger Beckwith p.182]

We need to help our ordained leaders stay true to those promises. For all of us, our aim is to put Jesus' gospel priorities first, and to make sure that things that distract us are put into perspective or ruled out entirely. Because when we serve Jesus, and his gospel, it takes discipline to be there for each other, to pray concertedly, to prepare a talk or Bible study thoroughly. What might be entangling you? It could something bad that you need to let go of entirely. It could be something trivial that just distracts, and wastes your time. It could be something good. Pursuit of academic success, success at work, time with friends. But it's not good, if it's distracting you from Jesus and the gospel ministry he's given you. Tomorrow we will all be in different places as we work to serve God in many different ways. But wherever we are, our aim is the same – to serve Jesus, our commanding officer. So be like the good soldier and stay focused. (2 Timothy 2.5):

An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

If your foot crosses the long-jump board, the jump won't count. False start in the 100m world final, and it doesn't matter if you're Usain Bolt, you're disqualified. You can't be rewarded if you don’t follow the rules of the competition. So, what are the demanding rules of the "gospel ministry event"? Well, being faithful to the gospel - even when the gospel, and its implications, are unpopular. And being unashamed of the gospel, and willing to suffer for it. Which if you're anything like me is a struggle, because I want to keep my head down and avoid suffering. And, shamefully, I'm sure I sometimes do. And deep down, haven't we all felt the temptation to disobey the rules?

A while back now someone pinned me down on what the Bible says about hell. And he was furious. And he said, "Do you really believe in hell? Surely you can't possibly believe that people will actually go there? And you can't possibly believe in the kind of God who allows that…" And I just wanted to shut the conversation down, and to get away. Or to say, "no, no, no… It's like this…" Followed by something more palatable. But we don't make the rules, do we? God does. So, we need to be faithful, and unashamed, and prepared to take flack – or worse. Of course, we have to be gentle, and gracious with people. So with that guy I didn't respond by shouting about fire and brimstone (in my Ulster accent!) but what I did say when he pinned me down, and said, "do you really believe in hell?" Was, "yes I do". Because I know Jesus does and I know that he doesn't want people to go there. So, let's be like the athlete who follows the rules. Lastly, 2 Timothy 2.6:

It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.

Well, if you've seen Clarkson's Farm on Amazon Prime (other over-priced streaming services are available!) as well as a lot of buffoonery I don't condone, you'll have witnessed how unglamorous farming can be. And like many people from my part of the world, I have farming relatives, so I know that farmers don't take Christmas Day off. The work never stops. It's not a 9-5 job, it goes far beyond that. Christian ministry is a relentless commitment to serving God, and each other. Things need done when they need to be done. That's our experience here. It's what I've had modelled to me in many ways. And it's what the Bible tells us we should expect. Because, it takes seriously hard work (by all of us, across the board), if we're going to see the harvest of people coming to trust in Jesus, and those of us who do, increasing in knowledge and love of him. Long hours of preparation for that Bible study we're leading. Visiting that struggling brother or sister again (maybe every week). Out at church again, and again, to be with one another when we could be doing other things.

Think of that friend you're sharing the gospel with. What does it take to serve them? A sacrificial friendship, bravery to speak the truth, answering questions, going out of your way to invite them to church, following up with them if they do, lots of prayer and so on… Is the hard work of gospel ministry stopping you doing what you need to do? Gospel ministry involves hard work, so be like the farmer – and work hard. Finally, 2 Timothy 2.7:

Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

I hope this morning has helped you begin to think over what God is saying in this part of his word. Can I encourage you to keep thinking through what these words mean for you and your life? But it's God who uses his word to change us. He gives understanding. Ultimately, he is the one who does everything in us, and among us, and through us. So we need to ask him for help in prayer. A moment of silence to do that now as we ask God to help us apply this part of his word to our lives.

Well, as I mentioned, one way we want to help pass the gospel baton on is through our Ministry Trainee scheme, and there is an information evening about the scheme this evening at 8.15pm in the Upstairs Lounge. So if you'd like to find out more do come along and ask Fi or Ramzi if you've any questions.