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2 Timothy chapter 1 verses 5 through 8, the Bible says this, When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also, wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. So let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you Lord for allowing us to have this night. Thank you for these young people and their parents that would bring them out on a Friday night to be able to have some fellowship, to eat and to have a spiritual lesson and to play a game. And Lord I pray that you'd bless everything that's done tonight that it bring honor and glory to your name and that everybody would have a good time. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. All right, so I wanted to do a lesson that was kind of geared for the teenagers. And what I'd like to do, we'll probably do more of these as we go on. And what I want to do is whenever we meet with the teenagers and their parents, I want to kind of highlight a young person in the Bible and just kind of pick out a truth from that young person. So I wanted to begin tonight with Timothy, who we read there was a young man that had grown up in a Christian home. So Timothy was someone like you young people here tonight. They were someone that had a mother and a grandmother that was walking with God. And something you need to know about Timothy is that Timothy, and you've got some fillings there, so I'd like you to write this in. If you look at the first line in the introduction, Timothy's faith had been passed down to him. Timothy's faith had been passed down to him. And we read that there in verse five, it says, When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, and notice what the Apostle Paul says about Timothy. He says, Which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also. So notice that the Bible says here that Timothy was someone, he wasn't a first generation Christian, what we'd call a first generation Christian, someone that got saved, didn't grow up in a Christian home, didn't know anything about Jesus. Timothy was someone who had a mother and a grandmother that were saved, that had walked with God and his faith was passed down to him. And there's nothing wrong with that. That's how God designed it to be. That's how God wants it to be. God wants Christians to have children and to train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and to pass down their faith to their children. But I want you to notice that Timothy did not only have his faith passed down to him, but Timothy also had made his faith personal. And that's your fill in there if you want to write that in. Timothy's faith had become personal. Because notice what Paul says in verse five again, he says, When I call to remembrance, he says the unfeigned faith, and he talks about the fact that it was in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice, but he says that is in thee. And at the end of the verse he says, I am persuaded in thee also. So I want you to notice that Timothy's faith had been passed down, but at some point in Timothy's life, his faith had become personal. He had made it a personal faith. And the lesson tonight is entitled, is your faith passed down or is it personal? Is your faith simply passed down? It's just something that your parents have given you and that your parents that you grew up with and it's just your mom was saved and your dad is saved and maybe your grandparents were saved. And if it is, there's nothing wrong with that. That's how I got saved. My faith was passed down to me through my parents and through my grandparents. But every young person in this room tonight is going to at some point have to make a decision whether your faith is just something that was passed down to you and that's how it's going to stay or if it's something that you're going to make personal for yourself. So the question is, is your faith simply passed down or is it personal? Now, what I want to do tonight and we'll do it quickly is I want to give you three ways to kind of check in your own life whether you are in the passed down phase or whether you are in the personal phase. Because when you were born, you were born with your faith passed down to you. When I was born, I was born with my faith passed down to me. Today, I'm a 33 year old adult, right? At some point, there was a transition from my faith being passed down to me to where it became a personal thing that I decided to embrace, that I decided to make my own. And in your life, because you teenagers, you're kind of in this awkward place in life where you're like an adult, but you're not. You sometimes look like an adult, you feel like an adult, but you're not. And you're in this place where you might not even be sure yourself whether your faith has been passed down or not. And the next time we meet, the next time we have a lesson like this, we're actually gonna talk about what it is that you will do when you're not being told what to do. And that'll be a lesson to come. But I wanna just give you three checks, three ways that you can check right now and you can identify I have a personal faith or I have a passed down faith. I have a faith that has just been passed down to me. And here's the thing, there's nothing wrong with that if you're six, there's nothing wrong with that if you're seven there's nothing wrong with that if you're eight but when you're 16 and 17 and 18, if your faith has not yet become personal and I'm not talking about salvation, obviously I hope you're saved. But if it's not become something that you've decided I'm gonna walk in this, I'm going to embrace this, this is gonna be my life, then you will probably end up walking away from it. So I wanna give you three ways for you yourself, for you as a teenager to be able to identify am I in the passed down place or am I in the personal place with my faith? So number one, how to check yourself, how to check whether your faith is simply passed down or if it's personal. Personal faith will be compelling. Personal faith will be compelling. I want you to notice what Paul says to Timothy there in verse six. He says, wherefore I put thee in remembrance. Can you remember in verse five he talked about the fact that Timothy's faith had been passed down but it had become personal. He said that the unfaith faith that is in thee which dwells first in thy grandmother Lois and in thy mother Eunice and I am persuaded in thee also. But then in verse six he says, wherefore and he's talking to Timothy he says, I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee. Now to Timothy he says at the end of verse six, by putting on of my hands and of course Timothy was a young man who had actually been ordained into the ministry so that's why that putting on of my hands is there. But I don't want you to think even though Timothy it was a pastor, I don't want you to think that this doesn't apply to you because all of us should have our spirits stirred up. And here he says that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee. Now that phrase there stir up or to be stirred up it means to be prompted, it means to be urged, it means to be roused to do something. So here's the question that I have for you teenagers, are there any areas in your life? And the way you answer this question or the answer to this question will tell us whether you're in the past down, my faith has simply been passed down to me or whether you've matured to the place where you could say my faith is personal, it's something I've embraced. So here's the question for you, are there any areas in your life in which the Holy Spirit has stirred you up about something where you could say the Holy Spirit has spoken to me in my heart and I've been prompted, I've been urged, I've been roused to do something and it might be something in regards to sin in your life, it may be in regards to maybe personal separation and standards for your life, it may be in regards to Christian service, to soul winning, but is there anything in your life could you go back in your mind and look at something in your life where you could say there's been a place in my life where I have been stirred because Paul told Timothy that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee. Now in your notes you have a place there to write some things down and you kids I'd like you to take some time to just jot down a few thoughts and I'll give you a minute or a couple of minutes to do that but I want you to write down, I want you to answer this question, is there an area in your life where the Holy Spirit has stirred you up about something? And here's the thing, if there's not, that's fine, we're not mad at you but I want you to ask this question and ask this question to yourself, why not? Why is it that you've grown up in a home where your parents obviously care enough about the word of God to drag you out here on a Friday night to youth activity, you're faithful to church, you're faithful to soul, when you're faithful to service and there's not an area in your life where you can say the Holy Spirit has spoken to me but God has used his word through reading, through preaching, through just thinking, through meditating, through my friends, through my pastor, through my pastor's wife, through other people in church that have influenced you, why is there not an area in your life where you could say I've been stirred, not my mom and dad were stirred so therefore we went soul winning or my mom and dad were stirred so therefore we changed this in our home or changed that in our home but where you could say the Holy Spirit spoke to me, where the gift of God that is in me was stirred because personal faith, and here's the thing, I just want you to identify, are you in the past down, my faith has been passed down or are you in the, you know what, my faith was passed down but it's also personal, it's something I've decided, it's something I've embraced because Paul said that, he said that that gift that is in Timothy would be stirred up in him so just take a moment to write a few things down there if you're able to and let me go ahead and read verse seven. Paul goes on to say this, he says, for God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of sound mind and when you read verse seven, it kind of seems like Paul is going off on a rabbit's trail because he's talking about this faith that was passed down through Timothy and then he starts talking about not being given the spirit of fear but if you notice verse eight, it kind of makes sense what he's saying in verse seven and verse eight, he says this and this is where we find our second point, he says, be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. So here's point number two, if you're done writing there in your notes and it's this and it's on the back of your page there, not only is personal faith something that will be compelling but personal faith will be confident. You will have confidence in personal faith and this is what Paul is telling Timothy, he's telling him, hey, be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. He said, I don't want you to be ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ, I don't want you to be embarrassed of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, I don't want you to be ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ and he said, I don't want you to be ashamed of me, his prisoner. Now Paul was Timothy spiritual leadership, right? And Paul was saying to Timothy, hey, don't be ashamed of Jesus and don't be ashamed of me. That would be like me telling you don't be ashamed of Jesus and don't be ashamed of Verity Baptist Church, Don't be ashamed of Pastor Jimenez. Don't be ashamed of the things that we stand for here. So again, these are just checks for you to kind of see where you're at. Is your faith just passed down to you? And that's great to start, but is that all it is? Or have you crossed the line? Have you matured to the place where your faith is personal? You've embraced it. It's something that you have. You say, well, how do I know that? Well, if you've ever been compelled, if you've ever been stirred up, if the Holy Spirit has ever worked in your life where you've actually made decisions, where you've actually grown, where God has spoken to you, but also personal faith will be confident faith. So let me ask you this. When you are around non-Christians, or when you are around worldly Christians, or when you are around lame Christians, right? When you get around family members and they say they're Christians, but yeah, you don't really know, or they're Christians, but they don't really read the Bible or know the Bible, do you find yourself feeling embarrassed or ashamed of your life in Christ, of your family's position in Christ? And if so, why? Are you embarrassed? Because here's what personal faith will do for you. It'll give you confidence to not be ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ and not be ashamed of those who are worshiping and living for Christ, even when they find themselves as prisoners or in areas of life where they seem like maybe they're not winning or they're not doing as well. So you've got a place there to write some things down. I'd like you to jot some notes down, you know? Write some things down in regards to, are you, do you find yourself being embarrassed, ashamed? Because here's the thing. Some of you are young teenagers. You just maybe just became a teenager. Some of you are older teenagers, but in this moment of your life, in this stage of your life, what your parents are doing and what we're trying to do as church leaders is to try to help prepare you for adulthood. We're trying to prepare you for the future husband, the future wife, the future adults that you're gonna be. And here's the thing. If you are now being ashamed and embarrassed of who you are in Christ, then you're not gonna set yourself up to really be that adult that's taken a strong stand for God. So personal faith will be a confident faith. And when you're around non-Christians or worldly Christians, do you find yourself feeling embarrassed? Because Paul said, be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. And when you understand that, it kind of makes sense why he says in verse seven, because here's, if you say, you know, Pastor Jimenez, I don't wanna admit this out loud and maybe I'll write this down on this piece of paper and then I'll put it in my pocket and I'll let anybody see it. But yeah, I do find myself being embarrassed sometimes. I do find myself not wanting to speak up sometimes. I do find myself trying to minimize our church's odd positions or peculiar positions or my parents' peculiar positions. The reason that you feel that way is probably because of fear. And that's why Paul said in verse seven, for God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. So personal faith will be a compelling faith. Personal faith will be a confident faith. But let me say number three, personal faith will be a convincing faith. Personal faith will be convincing. Notice verse five, again, he says, when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded, I want you to notice that word persuaded there, that in thee also. The apostle Paul said, Timothy, when I look at you, I am persuaded that this is real, that this is genuine, that this is authentic, that you are who you say you are because personal faith, not passed down faith, not faith that was just given to you by your parents and you are homeschooled because that's the decision your parents made and you're in church because that's the decisions your parents made and you're dressed the way you're dressed because those are the decisions your parents made. Personal faith is faith that will not only be compelled, it'll be stirred up in you from time to time, it'll not only be confident, you won't be embarrassed or ashamed of it, but it'll be convincing, meaning this, that people who are around you will be persuaded that you really are who you say you are. So here's a question I have for you teenager and I'd like you to write it down, or write something down there in your notes is this, the people who know you best, what do they think about you? The people who know you best, meaning mom, dad, right? Maybe older siblings, the people who know you best, what do they think about your spirituality in your walk with God, and what feedback do you get from them? Because if mom and dad think that your spirituality is fake it probably is, or at the very least it's not very persuading or convincing. And I'm not telling you this to hurt your feelings or to try to make you my enemy, I'm just telling you this so that you can identify this is where I am spiritually. I am in the past down where I'm doing what I'm doing because somebody told me to do it because it was given to me this way, but I'm not yet across the line where I'm persuaded, or I'm persuading. Because do you think, I have my parents, my mom and dad come to Verity Baptist Church, my family comes, my sister and my brother and all of that, but do you think that anybody thinks that Pastor Jimenez does what he does and Miss Jimenez does what she does because well yeah, because pastor's dad is there, right? No, I've crossed the line to where I do this because I believe it, because this is who I am. And this is what we want for all of you. We want all of you to get to the place where we could look at you and say, I am persuaded that you are who you say you are, that you're not just playing a game, that you're not just messing around, and that you're not just waiting till that magic 18 number where you can go off and do what it is that you want to do, but we're persuaded that this is real in you. Here's a question, another question I'd like you to write down and I'd like you to make a list. If you were on trial for being a Christian, what evidence has your life produced that could be used to convict you? And I'd like you to just actually write down some things. And again, hopefully you'll not be on trial for being a Christian, maybe you will one day, but if you were on trial for being a Christian, if they were literally taking you to court and saying, we're gonna convict, we're charging you of being a follower of Jesus Christ, what evidence could they bring about you, about your life to say, this is why we believe this person's a Christian? And again, if you say, well, I don't have anything to write down, I'm not mad at you, but I want you to work on that. I want you to work on having a faith that is not only compelling, but it's confident and it is convincing. It is convincing to us that you are, we are persuaded that you actually believe what you say or what you at least play the part to believe. And the goal is this, and this is what we're trying to get to. We want all of you, our desire, my desire as your pastor for you young people, not just young people, you older people too, is to have authentic faith. And this is what Paul's talking about. If you look at verse five again, he says this, when I call to remembrance, he says the unfeigned faith that is in thee. And I want you to notice that word unfeigned, or the word feigned means to be fake. And when he says unfeigned, he says it's the opposite of that, which means it's authentic. And I want you to notice there in the conclusion, you've got some things to write in. Authentic means not false. So authentic means it's not fake, but it also means this or copied. Authentic means it's not fake, it's not false or copied. So here's the question I have about your faith. Is your faith simply copied? You're just copying, and there's nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with copying as long as you own it, make it your own. But authentic means not false or copied. Authentic means, here's another fill in for you, genuine and real. Paul looked at this young man, Timothy, and he said, I am persuaded, Timothy, I am persuaded that the faith that is in you is unfeigned. It's authentic, it's real. It started off being passed down, but it eventually became personal to you. So here's the question I have for all of you teenagers here tonight. All right, we'll be done with this lesson and we'll get onto a game. But the question is this, is your faith simply passed down or is it personal? Is it simply something you're doing because your parents make you do it? Or is it something that you've embraced as your own? And if you say, well, I'm not sure, then check. Is it compelling? Have you been compelled? Have you been stirred to make personal decisions, to take personal stance? Is it confident? Or is it something you're ashamed about? Something you're embarrassed about? And is it convincing? Is it persuading? Will other people say and say, that person is following Jesus? Not because they're made to, but because they want to. And I hope, and I hope that you will decide tonight if you haven't moved from passed down to personal, that you'll make that decision tonight, all right? Let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for these young people. Lord, I pray that you would help my words to encourage them. I'm not trying to pick on them. I'm not trying to make them feel bad. I really want them to start thinking because they are young people that will soon be young adults, and they need to be ready for adulthood, and they need to be ready to walk with you in that adulthood. Lord, I pray you'd help them, Lord. They have all been blessed. They've all been blessed to be in a home that is passing down a great faith to them. But Lord, I pray that you would help them to make the necessary step, to personalize it, to embrace it, to make it their own, that they would not just be passed down Christians, but that they would be Christians that have made it personal in their lives. We love you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.