2 Tim 2:14 – 3:9 2 - "More than just words" Feb 24, 2020

 2 Tim 2:14 – 3:9  

Last week John talked to us about enduring hardship like a soldier, training like a respected athlete, and being like a hardworking farmer. This week, Paul follows up that section, of suffering and hard work with words and speaking. This is no coincidence. For to live a Christian life takes both. To heal the world takes both. In any society the discussion group MUST be balanced out by the action group. Steve Farber, a top motivational speaker, says “Make sure your actions and behaviors, live up to and reflect the words and ideas, promises and commitments that come out of your mouth.” We as, God’s people, need to emulate this. According to James “... let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.” v 5:12. We need to stick to essentials, don’t argue about EMPTY WORDS or philosophies.  Words alone are inadequate. 

Paul reminds Timothy to preach on this "these things” referring back to Verses 11 – 13, where it says  

 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” 

 Our jobs, and Timothy’s, is to stay on point, the gospel is what is important. Stay away from the arguing that is so present. When trying to persuade others of Christ’s importance remind yourself, don’t argue, keep bringing up the words of Christ. For arguing words only brings “ruin to the hearers”. Hopefully, the last thing we want is to ruin our hearers, especially if we are trying to win someone to the Lord. The bible must be used in its entirety because you can’t pick and choose parts. The bible expresses, in many different ways, one salvation message. It makes sense when it is rightly handled, so STUDY the word of God. 

In today’s society, the anonymity of the internet has made arguing easier; there is no responsibility held if the hearer doesn’t know who is saying it. So, we fight about every little detail; and, make sure that our opinion is heard above all.  Paul is calling Timothy out above the fighting, and bickering. 

A great place to see in our society, is social media. A good example, is Facebook, it reaches 60% of internet users. And here are some fun stats for you – to blow your mind (well they do mine!) Facebook has 2 billion monthly users, and 38.6% of the worldwide population uses Facebook.  Now I am not knocking Facebook – Mom can tell you I am pretty close to addicted to it. With it on 2 computers and the mobile device I carry with me constantly. Also, having downtime at a computer job gives me ample time to scan stories and look at pictures. It is my way of staying in touch with friends in different states and watching their kids grow. It is a good tool. But that is all it is, a tool. One that can be used, for good or ill. 

 I also am in a group on Facebook, with about 200,000 other people. And I know only 3 of them in person. I have anonymity. I can say whatever I want with almost no repercussions. Just the moderators, that are most likely overrun with hundreds of comments to watch and posts to keep up with, to contend with (well, and maybe those 3 people I know). This kind of anonymity has made arguing easy for today’s society. But as we can see in verse 18, in the year 66, arguing was also a favorite past time. Paul gives us a great example, Hymenaeus and Philetus, they spread rumors that the Resurrection had already occurred. In today’s world we hear similar things. Paul’s call is to remain focused on the central truth.  Our churches are to teach the truth not to become a debating society. When we focus on people’s opinions, it "leads people into more and more ungodliness” 

However, we are to present ourselves to God. We are not responsible for the person next to us!  Now I know it is probably easier for me to say being single, then it is for some of you that have spouses and kids; however, we have to remember to present ourselves (not to say you can’t lift up in prayer, spouses, kids, family, friends and enemies ... in fact we are called to do that as well). But we are not responsible for their actions/beliefs.  

We can come to God’s throne without fear ... (Hebrews 4:16, says “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need”). Paul says to present yourself, as one who has no reason to be ashamed. This is because God loves us, unconditionally. I just finished a great book called Daring Greatly by Berne Brown. Where she talks about confronting Shame. She says Shame resilience (or withstanding Shame) is built by 3 moves.  First, practice courage and reach out, sharing your experiences with someone who loves you (not despite you being vulnerable but because you are vulnerable). Someone that has earned the right to hear your story! Second, talk to yourself the way you would talk to someone you love and are trying to comfort! And third Own the Story! If you own your own story you get to make the ending.  

Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology, is known for saying, “I am NOT what has happened to me. I AM what I choose to become” 

We are also to handle God’s word rightly. Paul wanted Timothy to study so that he would rightly handle the word of truth. And remember Timothy is studying the Old Testament, and the very words that Jesus said. He didn’t have the whole of the new testament to study. But studying the word of truth, all of it, is important. To learn how it works together and in our lives. Because as we study, we learn more of God. This is a process that is developed over time. When Paul says “rightly handling the word of truth” this is like an artisan, a worker in a skilled trade, especially one that involves making things by hand, like Paul, and tent making. The word here for “rightly handle” is (and, I am going to butcher this I am sure) Orthotomein which literally means to cut rightly. The Greeks used it in three different ways 1 – driving a straight road across country, 2 ploughing a straight furrow across a field and 3 work of a mason in cutting and squaring a stone so it fits into its correct place in the structure of the building. As one commentary puts it … “the man who rightly handles the word of truth drives a straight road through the truth and refuses to be lured down pleasant but irrelevant bypaths. He takes each section of the truth and fits it into its correct position as a mason does a stone.”  

But, God’s firm foundation of truth stands. And on that foundation is set a seal, when Paul talks about a seal, he of course isn’t talking about the cute, sea animal, he is talking about the emblem.  

The original purpose, according to Wikipedia, of a seal, was to authenticate a document, or as the cover of a container or package holding valuables or other objects. It can also show ownership. And these seals “The Lord knows those who are His” and “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity”.  Show the world who we belong to and that we are valuable. The LORD knows who is HIS, this is an intimate experiential knowledge that can only be obtained in a relationship. Our sure relationship with our father in heaven should motivate us to a life of purity. Therefore, keeping us away from iniquity. So, the church consists of those who belong to God and who commit to the struggle of truth and righteousness.  

In this church or “house” as Paul refers to it, are many different kinds of vessels. Here we can see that the Church consists of many different people. There a few different types mentioned, and they fall into two categories. Useful and Un-useful (which according to spell check isn’t a word lol). Paul mentions Gold and Silver (both precious metals that the bible refers to being refined through fire, or rather affliction) these vessels represent believers who are faithful and useful in serving Christ.  

The process of being refined for metal is most commonly through fire. I have heard that for silver when it is refined, takes forever, but the silversmith has to watch it the whole time. And the dross only comes to the surface if the Silver is held in the hottest part of the fire. It is done when the maker can see his face in it.  In Isaiah, he says "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. “48:10 So we too are being refined. And we too get held, and watched by the maker, in the hottest part of the fire. And when we reflect the maker it is good. Being refined makes us useful in serving Christ.  

The vessels that Paul talks about that are wood and clay, represent believers who fail to honor the Lord. This is displayed also in 1 Cor 3: 12 – 15 - “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw — each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” So, fire, or affliction, will eventually come to all Christians and bring you to a spot where you are either just scraping through the gates of heaven, or shining and reflecting the makers face.  

And next, in 2 timothy, comes one of my beloved lists. I love them because they are clear cut and help me to make sure I am doing each thing. But life is not that simple and clear cut - and neither is following God.  

Paul starts here with telling us to flee the foolishness and passions of our youth. When as we run away from one thing, we have to be running to something else. Here Paul suggests to run towards righteousness, faith, love and peace. And he reminds Timothy to steer clear of the IGNORANT controversies that lead to quarrelling. In Rom 12: 18, Paul tells us, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” kind to everyone. And one section in the ESV, stood out to me. Be “Patiently enduring evil”.  So, at 4:30 in the morning – when I do my best thinking LOL- I had out 5 commentaries and 4 different translations. And I came to this. You can’t take just a section of a verse. In NKJV it says “but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient. In humility correcting those who are in opposition.” and NLT, probably my favorite version here, says, “be patient with difficult people”. Gosh what a picture. We all have people in our lives or that we know that are difficult, argumentative maybe? The word for quarrel translates, as a military term, hand to hand combat, that is what we are NOT to do. We are to be patient with those we are trying to win to Christ; not fight and argue with them. Remember the aim of this is that we bring them to repentance – not win the argument. How hard this is. We know of a God that loves them and wants to be with them and has the hope that they so desperately need, and are running out of time. But we are to be patient. 

Timothy is also to correct the opposition, with gentleness. Can you feel the tension here? Don’t argue, live in peace, but don’t be a doormat stand for what is true and right. This life God calls us to is not easy but THIS is why He sent us the Spirit, to be with us and help us. And I would also like to point out that here it says, GOD will grant them repentance. WE are not responsible for them! We give our best talk to them, for God does use us, PRAY desperately for them but GOD will grant them repentance. That they will come to their senses and escape the devil’s snare. 

In chapter 3 life doesn’t get any easier, sorry friends 😉. In one commentary it says, “the Last days, includes the whole time from the writing of this letter until the return of Christ”. So, this is now. And I am sure in this list you saw many things that are happening today. I know I sure did. The early Church expected the second coming of Christ to be any. Day. and lived like it could happen at any. moment. WE are to live like that as well.  

I also love that it says avoid such people. In 1 Corinthians 15:33 it says “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” Love them, pray for them. For some of us they are family. But do not let them ruin you!  

And I will end with a note about Jannes and Jambres, simply because they are named!! They were the magicians that stood against Moses in Egypt when he was trying to get Pharaoh to let God’s people go. The story is in Exodus 7. Satan used these men. He is an imitator that has supernatural power. So, he is dangerous.  and cunning. In 1 John 4 :1, it tells us to, test the spirits, as many false prophets have gone into the world. Again, study God’s word, know when a false prophet is trying to lure you away!!  

Self Control

This is a devotion I gave in the past...

 found it kind of neat that Marge spoke of the vine and the branches last week, for I had already decided to talk about the fruit of the Spirit, tonight. 🙂 like Marge mentioned, In John 15: 4 “it says Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. It seems kind of curious what this fruit would be. In Galatians 5:22-25 in the NIV, it also talks about fruit. And it says  

 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” 

So, by remaining in Christ we began to exude the fruits of the Spirit. We must “keep in step with the Spirit” 

For me Self-Control is probably the hardest listed. And self-control is obviously pretty important! It is one of the attributes that God has been pressing on my heart to work on this year. I thought it would be helpful to look up some points about Self-Control. As it is something that is taught that we need in the Bible, I felt it was wise to share my findings. 

 First Let’s define Self –control. Self-control is the ability to control oneself, in particular one's emotions and desires or the expression of them in one's behavior, especially in difficult situations. 

So, it is important to God that our emotions are in check, along with our behavior.  Like when the LORD was telling Samuel to anoint the next king, he said about one of David’s brothers that “looked” to be the very essence of a king. 1 Sam 16:7, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” it is important to God that we get our heart right. 

 Coach John Wooden is a legendary basketball coach of the UCLA Bruins he won 10 national championships within 12 years, 7 of which were consecutive, and was named national coach of the year 6 times. Wooden managed to make an impact as a coach, leader, and teacher to not only his players, but to people all over the country. He has a “Pyramid of Success”. That includes Self-control. And he says, “Self-control, regardless of what we are doing, whether it involves a physical act or a mental decision, must be maintained to produce desirable results. If emotion takes over, reason usually flies out the window and the acts or decisions are not likely to be as productive as they should be.” According to John Wooden self-control is a “prerequisites for a leader and an organization whose goal is to perform at the highest level of which they are capable.” Self-Control is a major part of maturity.  

So, I searched for ways to maintain self-control and found a list it includes 10 Strategies for Developing Self-Control which I thought to be very helpful. These are from Psychology Today -    

1) A can-do attitude - As a Christian our strength comes from knowing that God is in control. In Matt 19: 26 Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 

2) Goals - Goals basically guide our choices. The more specific the goal, the better able you are to reach it. A good guideline for goals is to make them … SMART -Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-based. Something that is concrete and easy to monitor. 

3) Self Monitor - Self-monitoring helps us to become experts on our own behaviors. By doing so, it will make habits easier to change. It is a form of feedback. 

4) Motivation - The more you want the goal, the more likely you are willing to make the efforts and sacrifices required to achieve it. 

5) Confidence - An important component of motivation is the person’s self-perceived ability to achieve it. People won’t build up much motivation for change if they believe it is impossible for them. those with strong beliefs are more likely to continue their efforts to master a task when difficulties arise. 

6) Willpower – Willpower represents strength or psychological energy that one uses to resist other temptations in order to work toward one’s goal. Thus, having only one goal makes self-control more successful than when people have two or more conflicting goals. 

7)Avoiding Temptation - this requires anticipating situations where unwanted desires might emerge and taking proactive steps to ensure that one doesn’t succumb to the unwanted desire. 

8) The How and Why - “Why” questions encourage long-term thinking, or desirability of pursuing an action. In contrast, “How” questions bring the mind down to the present and consider the goal’s Success. The Why questions can benefit people to keep going on maintaining a new habit. As a German Philosopher once remarked, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” 

9) Self-control as a pattern of behavior. - basically, your actions today affect your actions tomorrow. It is said, “self-control comes from choosing ‘patterns’ of behavior over time rather than individual ‘acts.’” 

10) Automated Goals - Goal pursuits can be enhanced by a simple planning strategy: making If-then plans that connect a certain triggering situation with a concrete behavior. And the person is now on automatic pilot- the planned action will be triggered directly by the specified cue. Thus, when people are stressed or distracted, they can fall back on good habits.  

God says He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Cor 10:13). And in 2 Tim 1:7 it says God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of Power and of love and of a sound mind. He will give us the strength and power to have the self-control that we long for and he requires.  

Like a great Meme on Facebook says...You can eat all the kale, buy all the things, lift all the weights, take all the trips, trash all that doesn’t spark joy, wash your face and hustle like mad, but if you don’t rest your soul in Jesus, you’ll never find peace and purpose.