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Salt + Light Community is a SOMA church plant in the heart of Fort Worth, TX. Here you’ll find teaching and discussions from our gatherings on Sunday afternoons.
I'm not gonna be talking about
those two names, so that's your
own studying to do if you want.
Um, but I, um, you know, when I'm teaching
and, uh, spending the week preparing,
it's always interesting to see the
weeks that God, um, ordains, you know,
when you're in a passage of scripture.
And so, of course, this week, right?
It's been a week.
Um, I know that we have all felt the
heaviness of this week in different ways.
Um, we've had different reactions.
There's complicated feelings that
we have probably been working
through and wondering what is right,
what is a good and right response?
Um, what does it look like
to reflect the heart of God?
What is human in us?
What is godly in us?
There's feelings of grief and empathy.
And confusion and anger as we try and
we've wrapped try to wrap our minds around
national violence and global violence.
And so I tried my best this week, the
second half of the week to avoid social
media because I was very aware that, um,
I was very vulnerable to be shaped by
other people's thoughts and opinions.
And I did not want my heart to be formed
by other people's thoughts and opinions.
I desperately wanted Christ to
be my refuge, my safe space.
I did not want the internet
to be my safe space.
The internet was not a safe space for
me, but Christ is our safe space, and I
needed that reminder this week to myself,
and maybe you need that reminder too.
And so then, um, I think it was Thursday.
It was Thursday morning, I
was sitting in a coffee shop
working and I had my AirPods in.
So I couldn't hear anything that was
happening, but I looked around and
if you ever had those moments when
you're out and you're just all of a
sudden just overwhelmed, um, with.
Uh, just the, the spirit of God, uh, you
know, just, you just feel this thin space.
And that's what was happening
to me in this moment.
Um, there was this, I was so overcome
with the spirit that I, there was
this reminder that God intimately
and immensely cared for every
single person in that coffee shop.
And there were nine people there, and,
uh, none of us were in the majority.
So there was this beautiful mix
of diversity in the, in the space.
And there was a man, uh, a
little bit further down from me
who appeared to be houseless.
He was very dirty and bedraggled and was
not able to make eye contact with anybody.
Um, there was another
older man who smiled at me.
He was very friendly toward, toward
the barista, and when he turned
around the back of his shirt.
Had this very overt Christian nationalist
saying on it, something that I would
not have want my children to read.
And I was just so overwhelmed in
that moment, in that space with the
truth that God really, actually,
truly loves each person in this space
more than I could possibly imagine.
Every single person there, he loves.
So much, and I don't
know anything about them.
I knew enough to make some judgements,
but I didn't actually know any
of them, and God knew everything
about them and he loves them.
They matter to him.
And so it was just so good for
me to sit in this passage this
week in Timothy because it's
really just such a simple passage.
This whole passive scripture is it, it was
written to from Paul to Timothy to be a
dose of encouragement and to give him some
hope and some direction, and so that's
what I really want it to be for us too.
Today, I want it to be
a dose of encouragement.
I want it to give us some hope.
I want it to give us some direction
because this passage really is just
a solid unpacking of the gospel
and the impact that it can have.
It's about our salvation that is
found in Jesus, and it's about our
mission that is guided by Jesus.
And in this passage, Paul holds himself
up as living proof that if Christ could
save him a blasphemer, a persecutor, and
a violent man, his words, then Christ's
mercy is wide enough for everyone.
So I wanna look through these, the,
these words as passage like this.
Paul first explains what the gospel is
and what it means to us, and then he
gives instruction on what our response
to the gospel is meant to look like.
Okay.
Our response to the gospel is meant
to produce a missional faith, and he
tells us what that's supposed to look
like, and that might trigger some of us.
I'm just gonna give us
all a heads up here.
So let's start by going
back to Paul's words.
Okay.
So we're gonna start at
the beginning, in verse 12.
And Paul says, I thank Christ Jesus,
our Lord, who has given me strength,
that he considered me trustworthy,
appointing me to his service.
Even though I was once a blasphemer
and a persecutor and a violent
man, I was shown mercy because I
acted in ignorance and unbelief.
The grace of our Lord was poured out
on me abundantly, along with the faith
and love that are in Christ Jesus.
So there's Paul's testimony
for us with gratitude.
He says, it's God who found me
trustworthy and gave me a way to serve.
And what's interesting here is he said
that God considered him trustworthy.
Now, this doesn't mean that Paul proved
himself and thus was chosen by God
because that's not how the gospel works.
God doesn't choose us based on merit.
Full stop.
Make sure that is written on your heart.
God does not choose us based on our
merit, but rather this is what's
cool about it is God got to use
what made Paul Paul for his glory.
So think about this before Christ.
Paul was Saul.
If you're familiar with his story, you
can go back and ask and look into it more.
But Paul was Saul and Saul, we can
assume from what we know, he, um, he
was a leader, so we're gonna assume
that he was an excellent communicator.
Okay.
He, uh, Saul was driven and focused.
He was a faithful and
sincere Jew, zealous for God.
And he likely believed that he
was being obedient to God until
Jesus appears to him and gives him
a new identity and a new calling.
And so when God saved Paul, he.
He redeemed Paul's skills for his glory.
I love that.
And so even though Paul admits that he was
a terrible person, God showed him mercy.
It says that he was shown mercy because
he acted in ignorance and unbelief.
Yes, he was sinful and yes,
he was in need of salvation.
But Paul, uh, Paul, before he
was not lawless or godless.
In fact, in Philippians three, Paul
writes, uh, as to righteousness,
under the law as to righteousness
under the law, I was blameless.
So Saul, in his ignorance, was
faithfully and sincerely following
his religious convictions.
That's interesting.
He was faithfully and sincerely
following what he believed was right.
He thought he was doing things right.
Now, this is important.
That means that this does not
excuse his sin by any means, but
it does give a reason for it.
It does help us understand.
Doesn't excuse it, but
it gives a reason for it.
But nevertheless, sin is sin and
it separates us from God and it
pulls us into opposition against
his mission for this world.
And so Paul knows that what
he's had experienced is grace,
faith, and love because of Jesus.
That's what he's saying here.
And Jesus not only pointed
Paul to his service, but he
also saved him from his sin.
And that's the gospel.
The cross is not just a rescue
from sin, it is also enlistment
into God's global mission.
And the thing is, this gospel that
Paul talks about, it's personal to him.
This is his personal story here,
but it's also personal to us.
That was Paul's story, but what's yours?
How has God shown you mercy?
How has God poured out his grace?
How has God redeemed your
skills for His glory?
How have you experienced his love?
Okay, so this is the part where we
hear this and we hear about Paul.
You know this like just this
incredible apostle, and we
think, okay, well that's great.
Um, I don't have a radical
conversion story like that.
Paul's story, incredible.
Not my story.
We're not the same.
I get why you, Paul, have such gratitude.
I get that you must have
felt terrible about yourself.
You killed people, you hated
Christians, you were violent.
But that's not my story.
And just because that's not the
sound of your story, it does not
mean that your life hasn't also
been dramatically transformed.
And I think we forget that
you don't know what alternative versions
of yourself you might have been had
you not accepted the love of God.
You don't know the depths of
what you were rescued from.
But you can know the depths of
God's love because you were rescued.
There was a time in my life, uh,
several years ago where I was in
counseling regularly, and, uh, one
of the underlying reasons that I
was there was because I kept having
these really intrusive thoughts.
Like, if only I had done this thing
differently, or if only I'd made this
choice instead and I would just spiral.
Uh, it was very unhealthy.
And one thing that my counselor would
always remind me, she would even draw
me a chart, a little circle, and I
just, it's like seared on my brain.
Um.
It.
She would always remind me
that I can never have certainty
on that sort of thing.
It's fruitless to play that sort of game.
That sort of certainty
belongs to God alone.
There's no way to possibly know what
choices I might have made that might have
been better or might have been worse.
What we have is our present reality,
and I guess what I'm trying to say here
is that, um, I think one of the best
things that we can do for ourselves is
to radically accept our story as it is.
Don't compare yourself to Paul's
or your friend's testimony or some
testimony that you saw on social
media, because if your faith is in
Jesus, then God is transforming your
life because of his grace and mercy
and love, and that's a gospel story
that should never be minimized.
But for you also, maybe you are
thinking, okay, but there are parts
of my story of my past that are
really hard that I carry shame for.
Or you wish that your past had been
different, but the same is true for you.
You also get to radically accept
your story as one of grace and
mercy and love to learn from Paul.
He did not talk about his past with shame.
He knew his past did not define
him because God redeemed his story
and gave him a new mission, and
that is what Paul was defined by.
That was his new identity.
So through Jesus.
Our stories are not ones of shame, but
one of redemption and grace and mercy.
And so what all of our stories
together show is that no one
is beyond Christ's reach.
Paul lived a horrible life and
God saved him in spite of it.
And that is such good news, and it reminds
us that there is hope for all people,
all stories, all experiences, because no
one is outside the boundaries of God's
all consuming love and forgiveness.
No one.
Read, read along with me in verse 15.
Here is a trustworthy saying
that deserves full acceptance.
Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners of whom I am the worst.
But for that very reason, I was shown
mercy so that in me the worst of sinners
Christ Jesus might display his immense.
Patience as an example for those who would
believe in him and receive eternal life.
Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners.
And guess what?
That's all of us.
So that means this gospel
story is for all of us.
Paul doesn't share his
testimony to be esteemed.
He tells it to say no one is
beyond the scope of God's mercy.
No one is beyond the loving reach
of God because he sent Jesus to
save sinners, and that's all of us.
So in the clash between sin and grace.
Grace abounds more.
And so while this part of this passage
might seem like it's all about Paul,
it is in reality all about God and
His grace and his mercy, and his
patient love, his patient love,
which is why I love that it ends.
This section ends in praise, and
Paul says, now to the king, eternal,
immortal, invisible, the only God.
Be honor and glory forever and ever.
Amen.
Paul's prayer here reminds us that all
of life, including all mission and all
ministry, are dependent upon God and
primarily exist for His glory alone.
Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners.
That's the gospel.
And now his church, that's us.
We are called to bear witness.
That's the response to the
gospel that we have received.
And then what Paul does is he
goes on and he calls us the
church to a specific action.
And as I read his words, I want you
to notice what emotions bubble to the
surface for you as you hear these words.
So picking up in chapter two,
Paul goes on to say this.
I urge then first of all, that
petitions, prayers, intercession, and
thanksgiving be made for all people,
for kings and all those in authority
that we may live peaceful and quiet
lives in all godliness and holiness.
This is good.
And please as God our savior, who
wants all people to be saved and to
come to a knowledge of the truth.
When did you last make a list
of the people you wanted to
pray for, or if you made a list
today, who would be on that list?
If you had to make a list of the
people that you regularly pray
for, who would be on that list?
One of my prayer rhythms, uh, that I,
that I do is I have these index cards.
Um, and I think I, I might have
shared this with y'all before, that
I used to keep track of prayers
for individuals as well as groups
of people, different categories.
And so, for example, each of my
kids, they have an index card.
It says their name on it, and it has,
and I, I kind of update these seasonally.
It has things that I wanna
pray for consistently.
Maybe a, a verse that
I'm praying for my kids.
I have one for Matt.
Last season I had one that
was labeled DNA group.
It had everyone's names.
This season I have one that
says, uh, you know, alpha Team
has my alpha team on there.
And these are just how I, uh, how I use,
uh, how I help myself, keep track of
people that I want to be, um, regularly
praying for and prayers that I feel God
is asking me to pray for these people.
So if I can be honest, uh, with you
for a moment though, do you know who
I don't have on that an index card?
I don't have
the president, the vice president, our
governor, our senators, the people in
authoritative power in our country.
The people who make laws and
decisions that affect us all.
People who make laws and decisions
that maybe don't personally
affect me, but affect people
that we're called to care about.
People who were put in power,
whether I voted for them or
not, whether I like them or not.
And this is tricky to talk about, right?
Um, because for some of us, if I dare
suggest that we pray for our leaders.
Our political leaders, the people
in power, some of us might feel a
little bit of anger or resentment
or tension inside of you, and maybe
for others you think, well, this
is how I voted, so I'm satisfied.
Um, my prayers were answered.
But I bet no matter where you fall
politically, and we do have varying
degrees of political affiliations here,
uh, no matter where we fall, we all find
ourselves feeling something similar.
I think when we look out at the world
we live in, sad or scared, angry, maybe
on the border of rage, untrusting.
Nervous, anxious, confused,
worried, helpless.
Prayer is not helpless.
It's not something that we should
look to once we've exhausted
all of our other options.
Prayer actually is what Paul is saying
here is he's saying prayer actually
is our missional catalyst for change.
Whether we see it that way or not.
I don't personally have influence
over people in authoritative power,
but I do have access to prayer.
The people in power need prayer
for a very important reason.
They are not God.
They need God.
They need his spirit to guide them.
So Paul tells us, Paul tells us to pray so
that we may live peaceful and quiet lives.
We need peace.
This country needs peace.
Our world needs peace because unrest
does not just exist in our country.
Uh, there's still a war in Ukraine.
There are wars we don't even hear about.
There are bombs in Gaza and
starving, desperate children,
images that are so painful to see.
And I hope if you caught our newsletter
this past week, we gave you an update
from our missionary family, the Lloyd.
Uh, who live over in Nepal
about the political unrest
they've been experiencing.
I don't know if you're aware of what's
going on over there, what's been going on?
Um, it started with these political
protests that led to the police firing
at protesters and killing 19 youth,
which then led to more protests and
looting an eventual state of lockdown,
uh, in their city that they're in.
And they asked us for prayer and
we asked you guys to join us.
In praying and yesterday they sent this
update and I wanna read what they said.
They said Nepal has a new
interim Prime minister.
The first female Chief Justice is
now the first female Prime Minister.
And while some officials
attempted to reject the proposal,
she was the people's choice.
She is said to be known for her honesty
and courage to fight against corruption.
The House of Representatives has
been disbanded and there is much
hope among the citizens of Nepal
that the new Prime Minister will help
to rebuild a more just government
elections are set for later this fall.
Some of us have stayed.
Ha, some of us stayed up Friday night
to watch the Prime Minister being
sworn in, and we are praising the Lord
that the government and the people
could come to a peaceful resolution.
Praise God for how he's working and
answering prayer, how he's answering
that prayer for Nepal and keep praying.
And t Wright puts it this way.
You guys know how much I love his wisdom.
Um, he says this, the call to prayer.
Is also the call to think, to think
clearly about God and the world and
God's project for the whole human race.
Don't rest content with the
simplistic agendas of the world that
suggest you should either idolize
your present political system
or be working to overthrow it.
Try praying for your rulers
instead, and watch not only what
God will do in your society.
But also how your own attitudes
will grow, change and mature
at salt and light.
We believe the gospel is good
news for every day, everyday
life, and every cultural moment.
And so we want to declare the gospel
into areas of personal unbelief
and cultural division, and we want
to bravely wade into the waters of
discomfort, where as a community, we
wrestle with tragic events like a school
shooting and a political assassination
that happened on the same day.
There is no place in our
country for such violent.
Senseless actions, we should be
deeply unsettled by those things
and by the further divisions
that those events have caused.
Some of us are probably trying to figure
out, well, what kind of action do I take?
And I would say, that's a really
great question to ask God in prayer.
Because prayer also puts us in a
posture to receive from God wisdom
and direction, especially in heated
cultural moments like we're in right now.
I don't know necessarily what the
best course of action is for me to
take, but I can start by praying for
the people in power and attune my
attention to the Holy Spirit because
there might be action for me to take.
There might be something for me to
do, but I wanna come to that decision
from a posture of prayer, not one out
of anger or fear or a quick reaction.
We are called to pray because God
desires the salvation of all people,
and to quote and write again back
to his quote, he says, that is the
project for the whole human race.
Even the people you disagree with.
The people you disagree with in
person or the people you disagree with
online, the people that you consider
your enemy, the people that you
think are too far gone for salvation.
God loves them and he wants us
to pray for them, and that is
part of our missional response.
What would it look like if you, if I
challenged you today, to make a list of
people that you don't wanna pray for?
What if we started backwards?
What if we made a list of the
people that we don't wanna pray for?
Not just, um, you know, your friends
or your family, but the people you
would even consider your enemies, the
people you think are too far gone.
And then what if you
actually prayed for them?
What if you prayed for them on
occasion or every week or every day?
What do you think that
would do to your heart?
What would it do to theirs?
Would you be so bold to even share
that list with somebody else to
share it with your DNA group?
One of the main purposes of gathering
as a DNA group is to share in the
mission of God together and to offer
each other support and encouragement.
Here Paul's words again about God.
He says God who wants all
people to be saved and to come
to a knowledge of the truth.
So this passage, it gives us
a beautiful insight into the
heart of God for the world.
God wants all people to be saved,
not just so they can go on living
how they want, but so that they can
come to a knowledge of the truth.
If we share the heart of God, when
we look out at all the people of the
world, we should desire for them all
to be saved from sin and to understand
that fullness of life actually comes
from knowing God through Jesus.
Who is the way, the truth and the life.
And so Paul tells us our first
action is a call to prayer,
and we restructured our time in the
gathering, uh, so that we could create
space now to pray, to put it into action.
And so what I want us to do is
think about how, uh, what the
spirit is kind of stirring in you.
What names came to mind for you?
What mixed emotions
are you wrestling with?
And I wanna invite us just to a time
of contemplative prayer that you can
either pray on your own or pray with
the person next to you or a couple
of people nearby, what makes you
feel most comfortable right now in
this moment, what you feel led to do.
And we're just gonna take a few
minutes to go before the Lord with
these names that we struggle to pray
for with these people that God loves,
and that our missional response is
to bring their names to the Lord.
So I wanna open us up and then give
you time to pray, like I said, either
on your own or with somebody nearby.
And then I'll close this in a minute
and lead us in time of communion.
God, right now we come before you
in a posture of prayer.
And Lord, we might have mixed
reactions to all of this and, um,
what it looks like to pray for people.
Pray for this nation.
Pray for the the world.
Pray for the people we don't love.
Pray for our enemies.
We're called to pray this way because
you love each person and you invite
us as a response to the gospel we
have received to pray for others.
And so right now, we just as
a community of followers, come
before you and lift up our prayers.
God, would you shape
us to be men and women
who act first in a posture of prayer?
And we seek you,
Lord.
We want to be people who
reflect your love, your patient
love your mercy to others
God, would you shape us
to reflect your heart?
Amen.
I wanna invite us into
a time of communion now.
And so, uh.
The table's in the front or in the back.
You can come up if you'll come up
right now to receive the bread and
the wine that represents the body
and blood of Christ, and we will take
communion together in just a moment.
Paul says there for, there is one
God and one mediator between God and
mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave
himself as a ransom for all people.
He gave himself as a ransom for you.
And as we reflect on that, that is
what you're holding in your hands as a
reminder that Jesus came into the world
to save us, not to help us save ourselves.
He did the work of salvation Alone,
paid the price fully by giving his
life as a ransom for each one of us.
And by doing so, he became the
mediator between us and God.
And that is the best good news
that has been shared with this
world, and that message of good
news is not meant to stay with us.
It is meant to be shared with
the world and passed down
from generation to generation.
And so as we take communion together,
we remember the work of Jesus on
the cross, and we ask that Jesus
gives us a heart and a desire to be
messengers of this good news to others,
to a world who needs to hear it.
Take and eat right now please.
Now to the king, eternal, immortal,
invisible, the only God be honor
and glory forever and ever.
Amen.