Battle Tips from Timothy- Youth Lectures 2024

Hello and welcome to the West Side Church's special podcast.

Good morning. Thank you so much for being with us. If you'll turn in your New Testaments with me to second Timothy chapter two, we're gonna spend virtually our entire time in that chapter this morning, second Timothy chapter two. As others have said all this weekend, let me say as well, thank you. Thank you to our shepherds for providing this opportunity as you watch over our souls, as you care for us, as you guide us to health and to good service as soldiers of Christ. Thank you. Thank you to Mark and to Dina for the work that you put into this weekend, coffee and conversations and everything else this weekend happens in part because of their efforts. Thank you to our deacons, to our members for the way that you support this and help this to be possible. And thank you especially to you guys right here. David said it well yesterday. If it weren't for you guys, this would just be a big blank space and then lectures after that. Nobody wants to just come hear lectures, they wanna hear youth lectures, and you guys' passion for the Lord. You're care for one another, your passion for worship that we've done so well this weekend. It absolutely encourages and edifies us. So thank you for who you are as soldiers of Christ this very day. We're gonna begin in just a moment in second Timothy chapter two. But before that, I wanna read a short letter that was written in June 6th, 1944. Now, that was a long time ago, but bear with me for just a moment. It was a famous general in World War ii. George Patton, if you've heard that name before, he writes this letter to his son who is enrolled at West Point as a student in that military academy. He says, among other things, the troops I have commanded have always been well dressed , smart, salu, prompt and bold in action because I have personally set the example in these qualities. Officers who fail to enforce discipline and the proper wearing of uniforms and equipment when not in the presence of the enemy, will also fail in battle. And if they fail in battle, they're potential murderers. There is no such thing as a good field soldier. There's only good soldiers and bad soldiers. And he concludes with this remark. Well, this has been quite a sermon of which we've only read an excerpt. This has been quite a sermon, but don't get the idea that it is my swan song because it is not, I have not finished my job yet. I have no immediate idea of being killed, but no one can ever tell, and none of us can live forever. So if I should go, don't worry, but set yourself to do better than I have signed. You're affectionate father . Probably didn't expect to hear those words from Patton this morning, did you? But our text today is a lot like that . Paul writes to his son in the faith Timothy, to give these battle tips just like Patton's son was studying to be an effective soldier. And his father writes to him to say, here's what that looks like from someone who has experience who's walked this road. I know what it takes. I've taught others to do it. Well, Paul writes to Timothy and says, I know what it takes and I want you to know what that looks like. So in two Timothy chapter two in verse one, Paul writes this, you then my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust of faithful men who will be able to teach others, also share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus, no soldier. Some translation say, no soldier in active duty or service. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. Now , Paul continues, but this isn't farmers of Christ farm. This is soldiers of Christ arise . So we're gonna pause right there for just a moment this morning. Those are powerful words. Paul has charged Timothy over and over and over again like a commanding officer would their subordinates, this is what you must do, and that's what Paul says to Timothy. But can I ask you for just a moment to think with me about Timothy himself? If you put a mental picture of Timothy's personality and character, his heart, what comes to mind for you? If you're like me, it's probably not a soldier. I'm accustomed to hearing Timothy described as timid and mild mannered , and I think there is some truth to that. But I'm afraid that I've given into this caricature of Timothy as a wimp, that the angriest you'll ever see Timothy is oh rats. And then he'll feel sorry that he said, oh , rats, that you couldn't possibly raise his blood pressure to anything that would resemble excitement or passion or aggression. He'd be the perfect Chick-fil-A employee, right? He'd stand in line all day, he'd never get angry at customers. He'd say, my pleasure. At the end of every sentence, it would just roll right off his tongue. But, but no, that's not Timothy at all. And I wanna suggest as we begin this morning, that part of the reason we know that is because of where Timothy is, we presume, and we have good reason to believe that Timothy is in Ephesus. And I wanna suggest just for a moment that Ephesus is a strategic spiritual battleground. This is not a place for wimpy soldiers. This is a place for mighty men who serve well and boldly and actively. And that's where Timothy is. Think for just a minute with me about what happens in Ephesus. It is the place from which the gospel goes out into all of Egypt's, why Paul spent so long there, because it really matters. But it's also the place where there is just vehement persecution. The Jews throw Paul outta the synagogue. Well, that's no surprise. That happens everywhere, but it's also an Ephesus . You guys remember that story in Acts 19 about the mob that drags Christians into the theater and for two hours they go on repeat. Great is Artemis of the Ephesians, great is Artemis of the Ephesians. I think after a few minutes I'd be done. That's how devoted they are to their goddess that they worship a false goddess, but one who they are devoted to in Ephesus, that's in Timothy's backyard. That's what he's facing day after day after day as a preacher of the gospel. There are all these pagan practices. It's in Ephesus that people come out of this demonic magic to Christianity and they burn books that are worth this enormous sum of money. But we would be fools to think that every single magician converted, that's still happening right around the corner from Timothy. And the pagan, immoral, horrible worship that happens in the temple of Artemis draws visitors from all over the ancient world. And Timothy has to live in that neighborhood. And it's more than that. I wanna suggest for a moment that there are a whole host of issues morally that Timothy deals with. If we sample across the various letters, there are temptations to sexual immorality, there are questions about what it means to be a Christian in a marriage in your household, what it means to be a Christian in the workplace, dealing with materialism and greed. How do Christians relate to government and all this political strife. What about gender roles? What should men do? What should women do? Where do they belong? And there is rampant false teaching that is questioning the standards of truth that Don talked with us about Friday night, young people, does this look familiar? You're dealing with this stuff right now, right here. And so I wanna just take a side note for a second and say, that's not new. Yes, you guys are dealing with different manifestations of those challenges because of technology and culture at a younger age than probably most of the rest of us did. So thank you for enduring. I wanna be real about that. But those aren't new problems. And that makes Paul's instructions to Timothy super relevant because no matter your personality, whether you're a Timothy or a Peter, no matter how old you are or what neighborhood you live in, this stuff matters. And Paul says to Timothy, be a good soldier even as you fight these battles. And you guys are doing that. So what Paul says to Timothy matters immensely this morning. So having thought about that, I'd like us to just go back for a second and read verses three and four. One more time to get those before us. Those are gonna be our primary text for this morning. Again, Paul says, share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. Paul will say more about some of those things and we'll talk about that this morning. But one of the things as we begin that Paul wants Timothy to understand, is that being a good soldier of Jesus Christ can be and often is hard. You guys know that experientially and others in this building, we've lived there. We've been there, we've done it. It can be hard. I wish I could tell you differently, but that's not reality. And Paul is a straight shooter with Timothy. You need to know it's hard. When a Roman soldier enlisted, they went through a ceremony that looked something like this. You see those swords pointed at that guy's chest and neck. That's not a real lighthearted uh, you know, jovial sort of ceremony. It gives you a taste of what it's like to be a Roman soldier. When you signed up and got in this situation, you took a vow that was called the Sacramentum. You promised that you would faithfully execute the commands that you were given, that you would never desert the service and you would not seek to avoid death in fulfilling your responsibilities. Oh, yeehaw , who wants to sign up for Roman army today? It was hard. And that ceremony evokes every bit of that. The training was hard. So whether you're training for marching or training battle formations, you're practicing with your weapons, you're polishing your arm , or you're learning how to care for those things, dealing with civic sorts of responsibilities around the fort of every sort and kind. It was hard day in and day out. The life of a Roman soldier was hard. And if you were on your way to a post or to a battle, you might march as much as 20 miles in a day with a heavy, heavy pack. 60 70 pounds was not unusual. That's hard work. And that was real life as a Roman soldier. And you might be assigned to a remote location far from your home, from anyone you had ever known where conditions were rough. And everybody that you would come to in that new place would hate your guts. You've probably heard that saying, I'm from the government and I'm here to help. Nobody wants to hear those words. Well, that's Roman soldiers. They show up and everybody goes, oh , it was hard. It absolutely was. And it wasn't a part-time job. I was struck by that statement in verse four that Paul makes You don't get entangled in civilian affairs. Soldiers aren't nine to fivers , right? They're not part-time job guys. They're in this day in and day out, day after day, week after week, month after month. They don't get to think about fun and play and hobbies. No, they've gotta think about war because very literally, their lives depend upon it, and the lives of their fellow soldiers depend upon it as well. And so it takes everything that you have at every conceivable moment so that you are always ready not to die in the typical career if you lived long enough, which is a big if was 25 years in the Roman Army. So on day one, you know you've still got 9,000 some odd days yet to go. And on day two, you've still got a whole bunch of days yet to go on and on and on it goes. Now, young people, if you're feeling discouraged, please don't. Paul says this to Timothy for a reason because it's real and he wants Timothy to know that. And what Paul says also is, I've been there and I've done it. I've done the hard suffering thing and I've kept on keeping on. And I halfway expect Paul to go kind of old man on Timothy and go, Hey, I did it. You suck it up and do it too. But that's not what Paul says. Look at verse three again with me. Paul doesn't say endure suffering. He says that in other places. But hear what Paul says is share suffering, share suffering. Roman soldiers didn't serve alone. They didn't train alone. They didn't fight alone. They didn't march alone. And so they didn't face those hardships by themselves. And what Paul says to Timothy is, let's do this together. Yes, it's hard and it's gonna continue being hard at times, but we can do it not just Timothy, you have to do it. And I've done it before. So quit whining and get after it. We can do it together. And I think that is just immensely powerful. One of the things, as Paul talks about his sufferings, he's been through past persecutions, he's in prison awaiting execution. But I think maybe the greatest pain that Paul references in two Timothy is fellow workers who have abandoned Paul or abandoned the gospel entirely. That breaks his heart. Imagine how Paul's heart would break if Timothy gives up. I think that's in here. He's not guilt tripping Timothy, but he's saying, we can do this together. We have to do it together. It's the only way and it's what good soldiers do. So let's endure together. But that raises an important question. How do we do that? How do we keep going when it's hard? Not just together, but what motivates us? What hope do we have in the future? And we actually noted that a moment ago in our scripture reading, right? Two Timothy chapter four. We're gonna get to that in just a moment. But I wanna suggest three principles to you that I think Paul builds in by his consideration of this vivid image of a Roman soldier being a Roman soldier built character. Now, young people, if your parents have ever said that phrase to you and you've hung your head, 'cause you don't wanna hear, oh, it builds character. I get it. I've been there too. But one author said this about being a Roman soldier, Roman soldiers internalized the values of loyalty, discipline, and sacrifice through that hardship and through that service together. And part of what that means young people is it starts out really hard, but as you get more loyal, more disciplined practice that sacrificing piece more and more, what happens is the hard stuff gets easier. It gets easier to be a good soldier the longer you've served because you've had the reps at it, you know how it works. You know what to expect. And it's not as hard as day one used to be that matters, and Paul references that to Timothy. But of course that's not all he says. He talks about pleasing your enlisting or some translations have commanding officer, if you please your boss, things will go well with you. Oh, news flash , right? There were some really lousy jobs in the Roman Army, like being the Roman fort plumbing services guy. Yeah, you don't want that job. You serve well as a Roman soldier, you can get a nicer job like shoveling hay or you know anything other than plumbing services. You can get promotions which have pay and status and some comforts with them. But that happens if you please your commanding officer. That's part of Paul's motivation. It is the purpose to which we are called, and it has some benefits to it as well. But I think the greatest benefit that Paul has in view is just that of a Roman soldier. If you served a full career, if you made it 25 years, it was great to retire as a Roman soldier. You could get land, you could get money, but maybe most significantly if you weren't a Roman citizen before you could become a Roman citizen. And that very literally changed your destiny and that of your family and future generations. It meant so much. Think about all the times that Paul kind of pulls that Trump card out and things work a little bit better afterwards. Roman soldiers had hope, but Paul says, I've got a better hope for you. Look, in chapter one of two Timothy and verse 12, Paul famously says, but I am not ashamed for I know whom I have believed. And I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. That's my commanding officer. Paul says, he's got this. Look at chapter two in verse 11. Paul says, if we have died with him, that is with Christ, we will also live with him. If we endure, we will also reign with him. That's gonna be awesome. Paul says, keep on keeping on. It's absolutely worth it . And then in chapter four, as we read earlier, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race . I've kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that day. And not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing. I think that's what Paul wants Timothy to really understand. It fits a Roman soldier. It was hard, but they did it together because it was absolutely worth it. And Paul says that same thing to Timothy. It will be hard, you guys know that, but we can do it together. And that's God's call and it's absolutely worth it to go all the way to the end. What brings us then to think for a moment about what Timothy is gonna do in response to these instructions, and I'm gonna probably do some of what Paul references in Second Timothy one, and that is the work of reminding more than plowing new ground here, so to speak, or marching a new path because we talked about some of this yesterday, but I think the first one of those is that Timothy is reminded, much like we were yesterday, Sean and David did such a great job , uh, truth, and Don did a great job Friday night as well. But Sean and and David's messages yesterday were tailored at this. We have to live like we're soldiers at war. And Timothy is reminded, he's reinvigorated, he's rededicated to doing that day after day after day. A couple of notes about that as we continue here. Paul says, this is not the time to get distracted or tempted by those civilian affairs when the battle is unseen. I think that's a really important point that Paul makes in Ephesians six. We don't struggle against flesh and blood. If we did, we could reach out and grab it and there would be a sword right here, and it would be really hard to forget that we're at war, but that's not how this works. We're fighting a spiritual battle. And so it is easy, even in a place like Ephesus to go, oh , I'm tired. I've got other things I need to tend to. I've gotta do laundry, I've gotta eat, I've gotta take care of things around the house. It's easy to get distracted and forget. And I think part of what Paul says to Timothy is maybe that's particularly hard for young people. Can I make the application to that today? We've got all kinds of entertainment things that can distract us, where we can forget that we're soldiers at war, not civilians at play. And Paul says to Timothy, don't forget, don't get distracted. Remember that quote from Patton earlier? There's no such thing as a good field soldier. You don't wake up one day and go, oh, I have to go to battle today. Okay, I guess I'll throw my armor on . How do I use this sword thingy? Do, oh, I guess this will work out okay. No, that doesn't work day in and day out, you have to be ready. That's how it worked for Roman soldiers. And Paul says that's how it has to work for good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Their lives depended on it. And so Paul says, renew that daily devotion, that discipline, just like a Roman soldier to live like you're at war. We've made note of this second point already, so I'll just make it briefly. I'm calling that huddle up and endure. You've probably seen those pictures of Roman soldiers in battle in that formation where you've got guy next to guy and they're holding their shield right next to each other and above so that nothing can get in that really works. And I think that's one of the applications as well that Timothy would take from this. Paul says in Galatians six in verse two, bear one another's burdens and thus fulfill the law of Christ. The writer of Hebrews says, see to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God. That's a really powerful verse. It says, I'm not just responsible for me, we are responsible for us. And so we gotta get in here and make this work. Some of that is Paul and Timothy personally, right? Paul's heart will absolutely shatter if Timothy gives up. And he doesn't mind telling Timothy that Timothy knows it, but when Paul endures, it encourages Timothy. When Timothy endures, it encourages Paul and it just keeps working. It's fantastic. And when Timothy endures, it encourages the Ephesians, and when they endure, it encourages Timothy. That's how this is supposed to work. And we're doing that this weekend. We do this on other occasions like this, right? Whether that's camp or other sorts of lecture series, we huddle up and we draw encouragement from our worship, from our studies, from just sitting next to each other in a pew or over a cup of coffee and going, we're in this together. And I think Timothy would be even more diligent about this effort because of Paul's words to him. But that brings us then to that matter that Paul says of not getting entangled in civilian affairs. There was a part of me that when I read that, I thought my immediate reaction is, does Paul mean okay? Go out of the world? You go build the first Christian commune of Ephesus and you guys all go live in there and you read your Bible, say a prayer, sing a song, and then repeat endlessly day after day after day, because then you're not entangled in civilian affairs. No , that's not it. Look with me in chapter two and verse 22 at what Paul says there, I'm gonna suggest this phrasing of flee and pursue . We noted some of this yesterday, but I'm gonna reinforce it and remind again today. We'll read down through verse 26, 2 Timothy two in verse 22. Paul says, so flee youthful passions, pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart, have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies. You know that they breed quarrels and the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone able to teach patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness, God may perhaps grant them the opponents repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil after being captured by him to do his will. Now , that doesn't sound real soldiery except for that last phrase, and I think that's a really important point. Paul says, there are literal spiritual prisoners of war and we can help 'em , but part of that begins by us being dedicated soldiers that we will flee some things and pursue other things just like Roman soldiers sacrifice some things in their service. We've gotta do that too . And Paul warns against both what I'll call underactivity and overactivity if we're chasing after these youthful fun passions, but not seeking Godly things. We're we're lazy soldiers. Don't do that, Paul says. But at the same time, as truth talked about Friday night, we fight our battles differently. We don't turn into overaggressive soldiers of Christ who just beat people over the head until they finally submit. That doesn't work. We don't fight and quarrel and be mean and nasty for the cause of Christ. Those don't go together. And as soldiers of Christ, we have to do things that make sense that are consistent. And I think Paul offers two really powerful motivations for this that I'd like us just to observe in verses 14 to 19. In particular, I think what Paul describes is what it looks like when you get entangled in civilian affairs. Just just kind of glance through those verses with me. Look in verse 14, that idea of quarreling again in verse 16, this irreverent babel that leads into ungodliness in verse 17, gangrene, oh my, that's a real soldier thing. And you don't want that. Paul says, don't mess around with this stuff. Verse 18, folks who have swerved from the truth, imagine for just a minute, young people being in the middle of a battlefield and you get turned around and lose your way and you're having trouble telling which side is your side. You know what happens, you die or you get captured and then you die. It's terrible. It's an absolute disaster. And Paul says, that's what happens when you get tangled up in stuff that doesn't fit soldiers. You get lost and you die. Don't do that. Be a good soldier. In verse 18, that idea that the resurrection has already happened that makes you lose your hope and lose your faith. All of this is just an absolute wreck. And so part of Paul's motivation to Timothy, part of I think what would motivate Timothy in the days ahead to flee and pursue is I can't afford to mess around with this stuff because it will cost me my life. But the other piece of that is what Paul says there at the end, if we will do this, set a right example with right hearts, right teaching, right living. There's the chance that we can be a hero in war. And I think that's thrilling. Paul references folks who have been taken captive by Satan, but did you see that phrase? They come to their senses. That reminds us a lot of the prodigal son and and that's a powerful parable. We obviously won't cover that this morning, has a lot of emotion into it. But Paul also talks about granting them repentance. Paul uses that word or that phrase about himself. And I think maybe Paul has himself in mind when he writes these verses, and that Timothy would've understood that there was a time when Paul had lost his way when he was an opponent of Christ instead of an advocate of Christ, and he was captured by Satan. But Christ and disciples, they helped him turn around, they helped him find his way. They literally saved his life and it changed everything about Paul. And part of what Paul says to Timothy is, you can do that too. You can save people's lives spiritually because of the power of Christ and the power of God's word, if you will flee and pursue. The final thing I would just note briefly about Timothy is I think he is encouraged and again, reminded to be consistent. Those last verses that we just read, they have to do with the heart and the life and with Timothy's teaching. And I would say that's a pretty good application for us. If we don't have it right in here, we're never gonna get it right out here. Remember what Patton said? There's no good field soldiers. You can't fake it. You can't fake being a good soldier. So Timothy needs to do that internal work of being consistent, of being truly dedicated and devoted to be a good soldier. So I wanna conclude in our last few minutes here, thinking about our charge. We have some differences. I think I know enough about you guys to say that I'm not Timothy and you're not either. I'm not a full-time preacher or minister. I don't live in Ephesus. Exactly. I'm not suffering the way that Paul and Timothy did. But these instructions aren't just for Timothy. Over and over in both of Paul's letters to Timothy, he says, you charge the brethren, you tell them you entrust these to other people so that they can do them as well. And but like Timothy, you are young people. You have all the passion and enthusiasm, the energy that Timothy would've had. You're facing similar battles. And most importantly this weekend, like Timothy, you are soldiers of Christ. So we wanna make application of what Timothy, or rather what Paul says to Timothy. And I think that begins first with this point of just checking our direction. That's that idea of fleeing and pursuing. If I'm going away from this and towards that, I have a definite direction. I don't need to check my compass because I'm going that way. And that's what Paul says to Timothy. And I think that's good advice for us as well. Losing our way in battle is catastrophic. So be diligent to check young people. Please check what you are fleeing and pursuing when you're thinking about what you're gonna look at on the internet or what picture you're gonna post or what you're gonna read or where you're gonna go, how you're gonna spend your summer. Flee something, please flee the right thing and pursue the right thing. Check your direction. And can I make very particular application to that, to something that I've struggled with and I know others you have as well. Have you ever wondered about that question? Does God say, I can't ever heard somebody ask that question? Does God say I can't or does God say it's wrong? When we do that, we've lost our way. It's like a soldier in the middle of a battlefield checking his compass when there's a guy right behind him with a sword trying to kill him and his friends on the other side. You don't need to look at a compass when that's happening. You just need to go so young people, please, before the battle, through events like this weekend and others, equip yourselves to know your direction and go it hard, full, straight ahead. You go the right way. Don't give into that temptation to lose our way in battle. I would then add briefly to select good influencers. Yes, I mean social media, but I don't just mean social media. Lemme suggest three things very briefly. I've heard it said that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. I think that's a significant idea. So choose those five people carefully, okay ? You are surrounded by fellow soldiers of Christ who are your peers. Awesome. Draw 'em close. Keep 'em close. That's fantastic. But can I suggest two other things? Maybe the corollary to the average of the five people that you spend the most time with is the five social media influencers that you follow the most closely may become the average that you are. So think about that please. When you're following an account, a podcast, an Instagram page, TikTok , whatever it may be, think about that they are influencing you and that can go really well or really badly. So select them carefully. And can I say finally, young people in particular, I've benefited from this over the years. Go find a Paul . Paul helped Timothy immensely. You have old people, older people, I've got some gray in my hair who love you, who have been there, who have fought the battles and have won them, and they want you to as well. Go find them and stick with them. They will help you just like Paul helped Timothy. And then finally, and very briefly, I'm a little over time. Forgive me for that. Mark, guard your influence. If Timothy did what Paul wanted him to as a good soldier, he could save lives. But that required that he was consistent and careful in his heart, in his life, and even his manner of interacting with others. So whether that's how you speak to a friend at school, whether that's the comments or posts that you're making on social media or sharing those, determine whether people will listen to you about being a soldier of Christ. So guard that influence. I'm gonna close with just this final note. George Patton's son lived to a great military service. He served for 34 years. He received nine military awards, including a purple heart. He did well, and part of that was because his father wrote that letter to him. And I wanna say to you this morning that that's what Paul wanted for Timothy. And it's what we want for you guys. We want you to do well. We want you to endure. We want you to win. We want you to get that crown of righteousness, the retirement package that Roman soldiers received. So please hear what Paul said to Timothy, hear what we're saying to you and be soldiers of Christ. Endure arise. Let's do it together because it's absolutely worth it. Thank you .

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