Purpose: To describe how a Christian becomes a good disciple of Christ.
Aim: I want the listener to pursue having both right doctrine and right living.
INTRODUCTION: America enjoys more of a Christian heritage than any other nation on earth. Godly Men like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield who lived and proclaimed the Gospel in America 200 years ago had a tremendous impact on our country. But, that does not guarantee that we will have the blessing of God today. Modern Turkey is an example. "...98% of its 60 million citizens consider themselves Muslim. Less than one tenth of one percent of the population claim any kind of Christian affiliation.
Over ten million people live in Istanbul, an exotic 30 mile by 60 mile city of two continents where East meets West, and where the skyline is marked by the minarets of 2,000 mosques. ...Istanbul was once Constantinople, a city of churches. Turkey was once a land of the Bible.... The Lord repopulated the earth after Noah’s landing on Mt. Ararat. Abraham received God’s call from Haran. The apostle Paul was born in Tarsus and returned to his hometown after his conversion.
Paul planted some the first churches in this area, and Antioch was the place where followers of Christ were first called Christians. In fact, Antioch became the sending church for Paul’s missionary travels. Thousands of churches would later be planted in this region once called the Roman province of Asia. To this area Peter would address his first letter to Christians dispersed in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Here we find Colesse, Hierapolis, and Ephesus and the other six churches of the Revelation....
With the Edict of Milan in 313, he [Constantine] legalized the Christian faith and later became one of its chief benefactors and advocates. In 325, the Council of Nicea became the first of several major church councils in this region. Some of the most important doctrinal work ever done by the church came from these councils.... we received the Nicene Creed, still used in some churches today. For 1,000 years this region was dominated by people who thought of themselves as Christian." [1]
The letters to the seven churches in Revelation were all in Turkey. One church lost its first love, one was fearful, one was giving in to sensual temptations, one wouldn’t confront false teachers, one was apathetic, and one was being lured by material wealth.
America will go the same way of Turkey if we don’t see a revival. How can we do our part to bring our nation back to God?
REVIEW:
I. Our Method: a Biblical Vision of God
A. We must long for God’s glory
B. We must only look to God’s Word
C. We must reject man’s methods
D. We must rely on God’s power
II. Our Mission: Gospel Growth not Church Growth
A. We need God’s priorities to guide us
1. It begins with the heart
2. It is built in the home
LESSON:
B. We need prepared servants of Christ
We see this goal very clearly in the last verse of our text: "so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:17 NAU).
ADEQUATE 75.4 ἄρτιος, α, ον: pertaining to being qualified to perform some function--’qualified, proficient.’ ἵνα ἄρτιος ᾖ ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος ’in order that the man of God may be qualified’ 2 Tm 3:17. [2]
EQUIPPED ἐξαρτίζω exartizō; from 1537 and ἀρτίζω artizō (get ready, prepare); to complete, to equip fully:--ended (1), equipped (1). [3]
So what we need is to be completely qualified to serve Christ.
This is a theme we see repeated in the NT: "Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen" (Hebrews 13:20--21 NAU).
"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work"(2 Timothy 3:16--17 NAU).
How do we reach this goal? Paul is going to show us four necessary ingredients of a prepared servant of Jesus Christ.
Vs.10a, 15-16 1. Prepared servants of Christ have the truth "teaching...Scripture"
Sometimes we don’t have the right answers because we aren’t asking the right questions. When we need to make a decision our very first question should be, "What does the Bible say?"
Warren Wiersbe: "Thus saith the Lord!" is the final answer to every question. [4]
Those who trust God’s Word will never be ashamed of God’s Word! Isaiah 40:6-8 6 A voice says, "Call out." Then he answered, "What shall I call out?" All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. (NAU)
Charles Spurgeon declared, "If God has spoken, listen! If God has recorded his words in a Book, search its pages with a believing heart. If you do not accept it as God’s inspired word, I cannot invite you to pay any particular attention to it; but if you regard it as the Book of God, I charge you, as I shall meet you at the judgment seat of Christ, study the Bible daily. Treat not the Eternal God with disrespect, but delight in His Word."
When the Bible is taught accurately then a powerful tool is unleashed that the Spirit can use to change lives. "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do" (Hebrews 4:12--13 NAU).
Vs.14 2. Prepared servants of Christ have a passion for the truth "convinced of"
Are you convinced that the Gospel is powerful and that the Bible has all the answers we need? We should be able to look at our own lives and see the power of the Gospel. If God has saved us then we will grow in our confidence in the Bible AS we spend time reading and studying it.
You will never really become convinced of the value of Scripture until you check it out for yourself. "Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." (Acts 17:11 NAU)
When the Bible grips our hearts, then we will become convinced that it is really God’s Word.
"... for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia"(1 Thessalonians 1:4--7 NAU).
When David fought Goliath he didn’t just "bite the bullet" he showed that he had a blazing hope in the power of his God. 1 Samuel 17:45,48 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. (NAU)
Vs.10b 3. Prepared servants of Christ have integrity "conduct"
Normally we look at this text beginning with verse 14 and assume that the Bible is all that is necessary to prepare us to serve Christ, but the paragraph begins with verse 10. Paul is showing us that integrity must be linked to God’s Word in order for it to be effective.
Paul talked about integrity a lot:
"knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you; for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia" (1 Thessalonians 1:4--7 NAU).
"Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe" (1 Timothy 4:12 NAU).
"in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us" (Titus 2:7--8 NAU).
"Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us" (Philippians 3:17 NAU).
"Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:32--11:1 NAU).
In addition to following Paul’s teaching, Timothy is challenged to follow eight other things about Paul, six of which are in verse 10.
CONDUCT is how we live our lives. Saying one thing and doing the opposite is wrong. Paul did not preach self-sacrifice and then live in comfort.
Paul’s PURPOSE was always clear. "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24 NAU).
FAITH Paul expected God to guide him and take care of him.
PATIENCE Paul kept going forward for Christ even when it was tedious.
LOVE Paul was more concerned with serving others than he was with serving himself. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35 NAU).
PERSEVERANCE 25.174 ὑπομονή, ῆς f: capacity to continue to bear up under difficult circumstances--’endurance, being able to endure.’ τῆς ὑπομονῆς τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ’endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ’ 1 Th 1:3. [5]
"... let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1--2 NAU).
How sad if we were to give up just before the coming of victory. "For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised" (Hebrews 10:36 NAU).
Vs.11-13 4. Prepared servants of Christ accept rejection "persecutions I endured"
"Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way" (Luke 6:26 NAU).
Many popular preachers in our day claim that the "abundant life" that Jesus promised means no pain and no sickness--if we just have enough faith. The opposite is actually true. The "abundant life" is the power and presence of Christ in our lives. Jesus made this clear: "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ’A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ’THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’ When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning " (John 15:18--27 NAU).
Paul was reminding Timothy of three specific times when Paul was persecuted near where Timothy grew up (Lystra).
Antioch--Pisidian Antioch. Paul spoke in the synagogue and was well received by "many of the Jews & devout proselytes" (Acts 13:15-43). The next Sabbath, Paul & Barnabas started preaching to the Gentiles. It was then that "The Jews....raised up persecution against Paul & Barnabas & expelled them from their region" (Acts 13:44-50).
Iconium--Same scenario "The multitude of the city was divided" & "A violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles & Jews, with their rulers, to abuse & stone them..." & "fled to Lystra & Derbe..."
Then in Lystra Paul healed a man crippled from birth. The people declared Barnabas to be Zeus and Paul to be Hermes. They preached the Gospel and Jews came from both Antioch & Iconium, and turned the multitudes against them and Paul was dragged out of town and stoned and they left him there assuming he was dead.
"In 1988 evangelical philosopher and theologian Carl Henry made a stunning prediction in his book, Twilight of a Great Civilization (Crossway Books). He said that as America progressively loses its Judeo-Christian heritage, paganism would grow bolder. What we saw in the last half of the 20th-century was a kind of benign humanism, but he predicted that by the start of the 21st-century, we would face a situation not unlike the first-century when the Christian faith confronted raw paganism--humanism with the pretty face ripped off, revealing the angry monster underneath. His words have come true, and are coming truer with every passing day." [6]
There is a direct connection between persecution and the rest of this text. When we live godly lives it exposes the sin that others are embracing. "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed" (John 3:19--20 NAU).
We will never experience much of the changing power of God in the lives of those around us until we are willing to endure persecution from those around us.
CONCLUSION: We do not know who it was who had this dream, quoted in the Presbyterian Survey. But the unknown dreamer could be any one of us, could it not?
"I saw in a dream that I was in the Celestial City--though when and how I got there I could not tell. I was one of a great multitude which no man could number, from all countries and peoples and times and ages. Somehow I found that the saint who stood next to me had been in Heaven more than 1,860 years.
"Who are you?" I said to him. (We both spoke the same language of heavenly Canaan, so that I understood him and he me.)
"I," said he, "was a Roman Christian; I lived in the days of the Apostle Paul, I was one of those who died in Nero’s persecutions. I was covered with pitch and fastened to a stake and set on fire to light up Nero’s gardens."
"How awful!" I exclaimed.
"No," he said, "I was glad to do something for Jesus. He died on the cross for me."
The man on the other side then spoke: "I have been in Heaven only a few hundred years. I came from an island in the South Seas--Erromanga. John Williams, a missionary, came and told me about Jesus, and I too learned to love Him. My fellow-countrymen killed the missionary, and they caught and bound me. I was beaten until I fainted and they thought I was dead, but I revived. Then next day they knocked me on the head, cooked and ate me."
"How terrible!" I said.
"No," he answered, "I was glad to die as a Christian. You see the missionaries had told me that Jesus was scourged and crowned with thorns for me."
Then they both turned to me and said, "What did you suffer for Him? Or did you sell what you had for the money which sent men like John Williams to tell the heathen about Jesus?"
And I was speechless. And while they both were looking at me with sorrowful eyes, I awoke, and it was a dream! But I lay on my soft bed awake for hours, thinking of the money I had wasted on my own pleasures; or my extra clothing, and costly car, and many luxuries; and I realized that I did not know what the words of Jesus meant: "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Mark 8:34).
It will take sacrifice to spread the Gospel in Juniata. What have you suffered in order to spread the Gospel?
God ignites revival by setting us on fire.
[1]News and Comments from RBC Ministries" Aug.1996 pp.1 2
[2]Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (678–679). New York: United Bible societies.
[3]Thomas, R. L. (1998). New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek dictionaries: Updated edition. Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc.
[4]Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (2 Ti 3:13). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
[5]Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (307). New York: United Bible societies.
[6]From an online sermon by Ray Prichard at www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/perilous-times-ray-pritchard-sermon-on-christian-disciplines-61623.asp?page=0
