This talk was originally given at Maximise 2025.

How are you doing? It’s the first night of the conference. Loads of different feelings, nervousness about turning up – is your brain already frazzled? Have you spoken to someone you haven’t met before yet? I did a ministry apprenticeship 20+ years ago at St Ebbe’s in Oxford. I remember it was my first main staff meeting and, when Vaughan Roberts was doing his bit of Bible input – I fell asleep! I was properly catching flies and snoring away… One of the other guys had to give me a jab in the ribs… and there I was nodding like I’d been listening. Maybe you can relate… it’s 8pm… you’ve been working hard… so if your neighbour’s eyes start rolling into the back of their head, you have my permission to jab them in the ribs!

In 2 Timothy 2, we’ve got Paul – and everyone’s deserted him. He’s saying to Timothy… not you PAL! Timothy is in the trenches with Paul – and Paul is saying, in terms of God’s plan of salvation, it’s a BIG moment! This is the first generation passing it onto the second generation. There’s pressure on Timothy – he’s in the trenches, will he keep going? When his one-to-one partner looks like he’s walking away, will he keep going? When he’s faced with a pastoral situation that is such a mess, it’s tough to see how it can be fixed – will he keep going? When he’s facing criticism for his mistakes and he’s feeling the grind of writing another sermon, will he keep going? And when he’s waking up in the middle of the Lord and feeling totally overwhelmed with the responsibility, will he keep going then?

In 2 Timothy 2, Paul is lifting up Timothy’s eyes to see beyond what he is to do – to see the motivation behind the task, the splendour, the glory. The central verse of this chapter is v10: “Therefore I endure everything…” Keep going with everything.

What, Paul, even when I’ve got to write another new policy to make sure I’m compliant with the Charity Commission? Yes – I endure everything. What, even the the student who keeps forgetting to turn up for my one-to-one? Yes – I endure everything. What, even that person who spends every sermon looking like they’ve swallowed a wasp and is also always critical? Yes – I endure everything.

Paul’s in prison, right – that is another level of trouble. So why endure? Here’s how v10 continues: “I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.”

There are so many reasons to keep going!

• The glory of God in Christ – there is no one else in all creation worth serving and following.
• Our identity in Christ – which is secure and glorious. We are moved loved than we could imagine.

But the one Paul focuses on here is the heart of being a faithful minister. He keeps going for the salvation of lost souls who are heading for hell. His motivation is so that real people obtain a salvation that is only possible through the person and work of Christ.

Think about it – who is the person who is driving you crazy at church at the moment? Who’s that person? Can you see them? Can you imagine what it will be like when that person is saved through the gospel? Or maybe they know Jesus already – can you imagine what it will be like when they die or Jesus returns and they’re transformed into his likeness? At that point, you’ll actually like them! And when you’re in glory, you’ll be more likeable as well! You’ll be in glory together, rescued from the horrors of hill. And you’ll have joy and laughter and the peace will never end.

I can think of someone I find really difficult. And there’s a reason why this person is so broken; suffering can go one of two ways – either they are the most godly people you’ll ever meet, or they’re the most bitter. And in this case, there’s so much anger and brokenness. And it’s probably not going to get fixed in this broken world. But one day it will be. Because Jesus has this person. And all of that curved-in hurt will be turned into blossoming joy. I reckon we’ll be able to have quite a laugh in glory about some of our exchanges in this world.

So here’s Paul and he’s saying he endures everything “for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.”

We can be confident in this task – it’s secure! God has his people – the elect – and he wants to use you in bringing them to salvation. Gospel ministry is never a waste of time. Prayer is never a waste of time. Opening the Bible and teaching Christ are never a waste of time. These are all ways that God uses to save his people. And knowing that keeps Paul going!

If you remember one thing from this conference, learn that verse.

That’s quite a long intro, right? Are you still with me?!

What is Paul doing?

• Be strong
• Pass it on
• Reflect
• Remember
• Remind

Let’s go back to the beginning.

v1 Be strong!

That is, how do we endure everything for the sake of the elect? Look at v1. Does Paul say, ‘You then, my son, be strong in your competent handling of the text?’ No – strength doesn’t come from your competent handling of the text! You don’t prove your strength by smashing out a ten-word purpose statement better than anyone else! And it’s not, ‘You then, my son, be strong in your leadership potential…’ It’s not about being the best at having a vision, or having the clearest strategy of how to achieve it. And it’s still not, ‘You then, my son, be strong in your ability to get alongside people, win friends and influence them…’

It’s none of those things. Strength for ministry does not start with our competencies – though of course God uses them.

It does not even start with our character – though if you’re not making progress in character, you shouldn’t be in ministry.

First and foremost – where does the ability to endure hardship come from? Strength comes from the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Do you know how much grace there is in the Lord Jesus? Grace that can feed a crowd of 5000 and leave 12 basketfuls of leftovers – and without breaking a sweat. Grace that can restore a bloke who was swearing to a little girl that he hated Jesus and don’t know anything about him – grace that can make him a vital figure in the early church. Grace that can cover every single situation and stress and breakdown and discouragement.

Where is the strength to keep going on in ministry? It comes from looking to him. It comes bringing the challenges to him. It comes from bringing the mistakes and failures to him. Grace means that when you do something wrong, you can own it – you’ve got nothing to prove. Grace means we can have the humility to say he doesn’t need me – but in his kindness he uses me. So be strong in his grace.

I was having a bit of online coaching to help me with some of my organisation skills because I really struggle with opening my emails in the morning. And this woman asked what my daily routine is. So I said I get into the office and I read my Bible and pray. She asked how that helps. And I said it reminds me that God is in charge – there is nothing that I face that is outside his power and care – and whatever I face today, his grace will be sufficient. And she said, ‘You need to promise me this. You need to do that every single day. Without fail. That’s it!’ And she’s not a Christian. I love spiritual people.

Where does our strength come from? It’s from Jesus! The foundation for it all is Jesus – resting in him, finding strength from him. So be strong!

v2 Pass it on!

In v2, Paul says, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”

Two things to notice. One – this is not a relay race where the dying Paul passes the baton onto Timothy, and the big question is whether Timothy will be faithful in his generation. It’s more like a gospel pandemic. There are four generations here. There’s Paul (Generation 1) who’s passed it onto Timothy (Generation 2) and he’s to pass it onto “reliable people” (Generation 3) who “teach others” (Generation 4). The best thing those “reliable people” can do is to entrust the gospel to the next generation. The gospel is the message about what God has done through Christ. The greatest victory that the world has ever heard is where Jesus got into the ring with sin and death and defeated them both. The gospel is not first and foremost about you finding meaning and fulfilment. It’s about Jesus and all he has done.

Paul is saying that Timothy needs to find people who can hold the gospel and be faithful with it, which means passing it on. Timothy – as the pastor – needs to make this a priority. And you – here in this room! – you need to make it a priority too.

The danger of superstar ministries is that no one can do it like them. But Paul says you don’t need to be a superstar – just get it, and pass it on. This isn’t rugby – we’re not looking for the next Brian O’Donoghue or Van Der Merwe! You need men and women who understand the gospel, who are confident in Scripture and will hold firmly to it – and all they need to do is pass it on. They need to pass it on to people who can pass it on themselves! It’s not one to one, like passing on the baton. It’s about multiplying in every generation.

Do you remember the R number from the pandemic? If the R number was below 1, the virus was dying. And if it was above 1, it was increasing. What do you think the R number is for passing on the gospel? My generation (I’m 44) – my friends and I were all thinking about ministry. But your generation just isn’t. So how do we help our country of 69 million, most of whom don’t know the gospel at all? We’ve got to “endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain salvation”. We’ve got to be strong. We’ve got to pass it on. And…

vv 3–7 Reflect!

These verses are brilliant. Paul gives us three images of what gospel ministry looks like. He says, think about Bear Grylls, Keely Hodgkinson and Jeremy Clarkson. Think about the soldier – the athlete – the farmer. What is similar for each of them? It is tough in the present – there are demands on all three that are hard.

In v4, it’s about not getting entangled in civilian affairs. His point is that your life is going to look a bit different to someone who is living for normal day-to-day. It’s going to feel different. In v5, you’ve got to compete by the rules. It’s not about trying to get quick gains through performance-enhancing drugs, or getting AI to write your sermon for you. In v6, it’s about not being lazy. Of course you don’t get any crops if you’re not willing to go and sow, if you can’t be bothered to get up and do the hard yards.

Faithfulness involves suffering. It involves taking risks – what feel like risks to us, but not in God’s hands, because he’s got us. So be real about it. You need to make reflecting on this part of your regular ministry patterns so that you remember that suffering is normal and you’re not flattened by it.

Think about the glory. Because the commanding officer Jesus is saying ‘Great job – thanks.’ And you’ll receive the victor’s crown, and the glory of what is to come in the new heaven and new earth. You’ll get the first share in the crops, being in glory with the people who have been saved through the ministries that you played a part in. The glory to come will far outweigh it all.

I’m in a church where people really appreciate the pastor coming and seeing what’s going on. I’m not saying that’s necessarily a great thing – it is what it is! But we all know that it means a lot when someone notices – when someone you know and respect comes and says, ‘That was a really good job.’ We appreciate it because we care what they think.

Reflect on what it will be like for the king you love – the king who made you and gave everything for you, who is the main event of the universe – what will it be like when he says to you, ‘Great job! Come and reign with me.’

So keep going in your struggles and temptations. You persevered in praying for that person – and no one saw it. You persevered in singleness even though every fibre of your body wanted to marry that unbeliever or act on that same-sex attraction.

What’s going to help you keep going? Reflect on this – chew it over – imagine it. Those words – good and faithful servant – will through your ears for eternity, and you will never stop yourself from smiling. One of the main reasons I get so down in the dumps is because I forget that ministry is hard but glory is real.

So be strong – pass it on – reflect – remember!

v8 Remember

If I was critiquing this talk, I’d say, ‘Reesy, you’ve got too bogged down in the details and you need to give us the big picture!’ So take a look at v8 and remember who is at the heart of this. It’s Jesus Christ. The one who has won! He’s done it. And what are we told about him? He’s been “raised from the dead” – he’s the one through whom life and immortality have been brought to light. He’s “descended from David” – he’s the everlasting king who’s promised to bring an eternal kingdom.

It’s obvious, but you need to remember – gospel ministry is about Jesus and it’s not about you.

You could look at Paul and think that God has made one of the most strategic errors in his plan. After all, v9, Paul’s in chains. Strategic error, God – why have you put the most important man in the kingdom behind bars? That doesn’t help. Surely you want him out. But Paul knows God doesn’t need him – he chooses to use him. And besides, Jesus has won and “God’s word is not chained”. You can’t stop God from doing his thing saving his elect through the gospel.

vv 11–13 are so gloriously hopeful and so powerfully reassuring. In the future you will live with him. Endure so you will reign with him. And don’t do this bit – disowning him isn’t a good idea – but even then there is grace sufficient. Because God cannot deny himself. He’s faithful even when we’re not. He’s more faithful than we’re unfaithful. Praise God for his grace.

Remember Peter? Do you know Jesus, three times? We’ve been there. We’ve had moments when we’ve massively blown it. But v13 reminds us that, even when we blow it, salvation is in Christ Jesus. He is faithful.

So be strong – strong in what? His grace. Pass it on to reliable people. Reflect on the future and that suffering and hard work are normal. And remember what the gospel is all about. It’s about Jesus.

v14 Remind

Paul says in v14, “Keep reminding God’s people of these things.” The church can get distracted by wrong teaching – by things that aren’t the main thing – by the latest YouTuber who’s got some niche thing about end time theology. Distraction can be so destructive. Mission drift and personal drift are so easy to do. Many things can take you off course – including “quarrelling about words” (v14) and being quarrelsome (v24). Hold onto the main things and know the secondary things – and don’t be an idiot about them. You need to know the difference between primary things and secondary things. You need to know what is worth fighting for, and what are quarrels that suck the life out of stuff. Even within our conservative evangelical world, where we agree on an awful lot, we can be really ungenerous about secondary things that are really niche. But when primary things go wrong, as in v18 – “They say that the resurrection has already taken place” – it’s gangrene, v17. It stinks and it’s dangerous and it needs to be removed from the body.

Ministry isn’t about glory now. It’s about the glory to come. There’s a church I know where the staff open the door for the lead pastor. And a friend of mine was in the meeting where the lead pastor expressed his concern that the staff team wasn’t showing him enough honour. And one of the younger team members said, ‘I thought we were meant to be honouring Jesus more.’

How do you keep reminding people?

You need to do your best to handle God’s word rightly, v15. It’s not about being the best, but about doing your best. And when you’re dealing with error and people who are teaching it, with people who are trying to escape the trap of the devil – what are you going to have to do? Shake them, shout them, bully them? NO! You gently instruct them, v25. Gospel work is to be done gently.

Strength for this work comes from the grace of Jesus. It’s not our work, it’s his – his work that he allows us to be part of, v25. What a privilege. What a joy. What a hope!

Endure everything for the sake of the elect. Be strong. Pass it on. Reflect. Remember – and remind.