Guard The Deposit

2 Timothy 1:14 KJV That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.

2 Timothy 1:14 The Message Guard this precious thing placed in your custody by the Holy Spirit who works in us.

2 Timothy 1:14 Murdock Keep thou the good deposit, by the Holy Spirit who dwelleth in us.

2 Timothy 1:14 Amplified Guard and keep [with the greatest care] the precious and excellently adapted [Truth] which has been entrusted [to you], by the [help of the] Holy Spirit Who makes His home in us.

2 Timothy 1:14 ESV By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

2 Timothy 1:14 NASB Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.

I. INTRODUCTION—THE WATCHMAN

A. Ezekiel’s View of the Watchman

-The Bible is clear on the importance of the work of the watchman. Perhaps the classic passage on the concept of being a watchman is in the book of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 3:17 KJV Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

-The responsibilities, rewards, and the penalties of watchmen are strongly laid out later on in Ezekiel 33. Suffice it to say that it is a crucial position that God puts a great emphasis on. He was a man who needed to be disciplined, responsible, steady, honest, and wise.

-It was a very important priority for the watchman to make sure that his senses were highly sensitive to what was going on around him. The safety of the city was resting on his ability to ferret out any attack that might be lurking beyond the walls.

-From the book of Ezekiel we see the watchman had to warn the people of danger when it came their way. But there was not just the cry of danger that thundered from him, there were also the instructions that came from telling them where the refuge was.

-His cries sounded like this:

• Flee from the wrath to come. . .

• Turn ye to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope. . .

• Save yourselves from this untoward generation. . .

• The gates of hell shall not prevail against it. . .

• No weapon formed against thee will prosper. . .

-Every true watchman always has an element of fear and faith in his cry!

B. The Other Functions of the Watchman

-There are some other words that are used in the Bible in conjunction with this idea of a watchman.

• Protector—Psalm 121:5, 7-8—The watchman serves as a protector.

• Keeper—Genesis 2:15—Adam was seen as a keeper. He was the watchman assigned by God to keep what was given to him, keeping it from the attack of the serpent.

• Doorkeeper/Gatekeeper—The watchmen of old guarded the gates and doors of cities and vineyards. They were responsible for the entrance. It can apply to us as far as our homes, churches, cities, and other places where we come and go.

• Preserver—The watchman also had a responsibility to maintain things. Maintenance ministry is not always bad. There are matters in the church that need to be kept so they are in good working order.

-All of these roles were necessary for the work of the watchman to be well-executed.

II. THE WATCHMAN AS A GUARD

-In this Scripture that we read from 2 Timothy, we find crucial priority of a man who was to be a watchman. He was to be a guard. The word “guard” and “bodyguard” are also ways to express the role of the watchman.

-There are things that have been entrusted to us whether they are our families, our churches, our cities, or spiritual treasures that have to be guarded. There is a high calling that comes to us in this role of guarding and protecting each other and those things which have been passed on to us in spiritual matters.

-We are “bodyguards”—shields who cover one another.

A. A Greek Word Study—PHULASSO

-When Paul was writing to Timothy, he used a word PHULASSO which has a number of connotations to it.

• To guard and keep watch

• To have an eye upon: lest he escape

• To guard a person or thing that he may remain safe

• To keep from violence and to protect

• To keep from being snatched away

• To preserve safely

• To guard from being lost or perishing

• To guard one's self from a thing

-Scattered throughout the New Testament that same word is used twenty-five times in various ways:

• Beware—2 Peter 3:17

• Keep—Acts 12:4; 16:4; 21:25; Romans 2:26; Galatians 6:13; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1Tim 6:20; 2 Tim 1:12; 1:14; 1 John 5:21; Jude 24