God’s Seminary
II Timothy 3:10-13
Purpose: To describe the ingredients that make up a successful servant of Christ.
Aim: I want the listener to accept the challenge to serve Christ without reservation.
INTRODUCTION: I am constantly amazed by the difference between the Bible’s formula for success in the Christian life and current popular teaching about how to be a successful Christian.
Recently I looked as some of the popular Christian books that are being sold today. I know that you can’t judge a book by its cover, but just listen to the titles that publishers know will sell: Happiness is A...Simple Steps to a Life of Joy; Happiness, God I want to be Happy; Secret Power to Winning, Happiness and a Cool Wardrobe; Life’s simple Guide to Happiness; The Fulfillment: Pursuing True Happiness; Secret’s of Happiness, 101 Ways to Happiness; Nourishing Body Mind and Soul; Success and Spirituality: 7 Steps to Financial and Spiritual Happiness; (and here is my personal favorite) One-Minute Wellness: The Natural Health & Happiness System That Never Fails. Do we ever find passages in the Bible that sound like these books?
God’s seminary training is much different from our modern idea of following Christ.
REVIEW:
1:1-2:13 I. How Should a Christian React to Stress?
2:14-26 II. How Should a Christian Relate to Fellow Believers?
3:1-17 III. How Can a Christian Reside in a Hostile Culture?
Vs.1 A. See the big picture
1. Jesus may come at any time “in the last days”
2. Serving Christ is hard “difficult times will come”
Vs.2-4 B. Identify evil
Vs.5-9 C. Identify religious imposters
Vs.5 1. An imposter’s character
a. They love to look religious “form of godliness”
b. They ignore the Gospel “denied its power”
Vs.6-9 2. An imposter’s conduct
Vs.6 a. They target the vulnerable “captivate weak women”
Vs.7 b. They emphasize the novel “always learning”
Vs.8a c. They fight the truth “oppose the truth”
Vs.8b d. Their thinking is pointless “depraved mind”
Vs.8c e. They have no relationship with Christ “rejected”
Vs.9 f. Their hypocrisy will be exposed “their folly will be obvious”
LESSON:
Vs.10-13 D. Practice the spiritual disciplines
Paul is drawing a very sharp contrast between
the religious impostors and Timothy when he says, “Now, you...” Notice that Paul emphases this again in verse 14: “You, however...”
The word FOLLOWED literally means “follow alongside.” Paul’s seminary training was much more than just a classroom. Paul practiced his Christianity out where everyone could see it. Timothy learned by listening to Paul, but he also learned by watching Paul and serving the Lord with Paul.
✔ The world does not need sermons; it needs a message. You can go to seminary and learn how to preach sermons, but you will have to go to God to get messages. - Oswald J. Smith
Vs.10 1. Faithfully pursue godliness “followed my...”
Let’s look at Paul’s “Seven Steps to Success” in the Christian life.
a. Learn the Word “my teaching”
Acts 2:42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching [First, then] and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (NAU)
The Word of God can save us: James 1:18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. (NAU)
The Word of God also changes us: Ephesians 5:26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, (NAU)
1 Peter 2:2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, (NAU)
John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. (NAU)
b. Live the Word “conduct”
The Bible changes us so that our conduct is different.
“I’d rather see a sermon that hear one any day,
I’d rather one should walk with me, than merely point the way.
And the best of al the preachers are the men who live their creeds,
For to see good put in action is what everybody needs.”
✔ Don’t unsay with your life what you say with your tongue. - Richard Baxter
c. Know your goal “purpose”
What was Paul’s purpose in life?
Philippians 3:8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, (NAU)
Philippians 3:12 . . . I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. (NAU) What did Christ “grab” Paul to do? Acts 9:15-16 15 . . . he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” (NAU)
Philippians 3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (NAU)
d. Live as if God is right “faith”
Paul lived his life as if God was right about everything. Faith is learning to, Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. (NAU)
e. Be patient with difficult people “patience”
The word Paul uses here refers to people, not circumstances.
1 Thessalonians 5:14-15 14 We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. (NAU)
f. Love all the time “love”
John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (NAU)
Tertullian, an early church leader who died in 230 AD said, “It is our car for the helpless, our practice of lovingkindness, that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents. ‛Look!’ they say, ‛How they love one another! Look how they are prepared to die for one another.’”
g. Never allow circumstances to stop you “perseverance”
This word refers to things or circumstances (not to people as the word PATIENCE does). We need to learn to endure difficult circumstances because of the glory that is ahead of us, just as Jesus did: Hebrews 12:1-2 1 . . . let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, . . . . (NAU)
William Barclay said that this NOT, “...the patience that can sit down and bow its head and let things descend upon it and passively endure it until the storm has passed. It is the spirit that can bear things, not simply with resignation, but with blazing hope. It is not the spirit that sits statically enduring in one place, but the spirit which bears all things because it knows that these things are leading to the goal of glory. It is not patience which grimly waits for the end, but patience which radiantly hopes for the dawn. It is the quality which keeps a man on his feet to the wind. It is the virtue which can transmute the hardest trial into glory because beyond the pain it sees the goal.”
Hebrews 10:36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. (NAU)
When David fought Goliath he didn’t just “bite the bullet” he showed that he had a blazing hope. 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)
Our willingness to endure hard circumstances proves whether we really love Jesus or not. Real love, “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7 NAU).
Vs.11a 2. Expect opposition “persecutions and sufferings”
These two words are different because they refer to what happens when you practice the other 7 things. Notice that ✔ Paul does not highlight his successes, but his scars.
Galatians 6:17 From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus. (NAU)
Paul refers to three different times that he endured persecution. We find them recorded in Acts chapters 13 & 14. In Lystra, Paul was stoned and left for dead. Timothy could have been an eyewitness.
PERSECUTIONS and SUFFERINGS are required courses in God’s seminary. They are not electives.
Vs.11b 3. Trust in God’s faithfulness “the Lord rescued me”
Paul is saying that it IS possible to endure great trials. A believer is indestructible until God is ready to call him home.
Revelation 11:7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. (NAU)
Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their vindication is from Me,” declares the Lord. (NAU)
2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; (NAU)
✔ “The training did not take place inside the walls of an isolated classroom, but on the battlefield for men’s souls” Dwight Edwards
Vs.12 4. Remember that all believers have similar challenges “all will be persecuted”
The word DESIRE can be translated “wish” or “want.” If you have godly desires you will have problems from the world.
This is why Jesus warned us that our love for Him must be greater than our love for our families: Matthew 10:35-39 35 “For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. 37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it. (NAU)
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, . . . . (NAU)
Vs.13 5. Don’t expect the enemy to give up “proceed from bad to worse”
Literally this means, “they will cut forward to what is worse.” In other words, they will progress backwards.
There will always be those around you who will try to discourage you from following Christ.
CONCLUSION: ✔ Sufferings are but as little chips of the cross. Joseph Church
