A Passion For God
2 Tim 2:15
There was a man who lived in the Los Angelus area. He was out of work at the moment and he often sit outside watching jets and other airplanes land at the Los Angelus airport. Fascinated, he came up with an idea. He would just build himself something that he could float around over the city and just enjoy the sites. So He went to various stores, buying some huge balloons and a tank of helium. He bought some heavy duty cord to tie to the balloons and his outdoor folding chair. The chair was made of aluminum and plastic straps.
Well, he tied his chair to the front bumper of his jeep and begin to fill the balloons and tie them to his chair. He finally had them all inflated and tied so he begin to prepare himself for the journey. He fixed some sandwiches and got a couple of water bottles out of the refrigerator and then firmly tied himself in the chair. His goal was to rise two or three hundred feet and just float around for a while.
When he cut the rope holding the chair to the jeep, he went up with a strong jerk and passed 3 hundred feet, 500 feet, a thousand feet, 5,000 feet and leveled off at around 10 thousand feet. He was one scared man. He had brought alone a pellet gun to burst the balloons to lower himself to the ground. But now he was scared to do that. He was afraid to do anything. So He drifted around and finally begin to drift out over the sea.
He was high enough now that planes were flying by and landing at the airport. In fact, he had drifted into the flight lanes of landing airplanes. Finally one pilot reported a strange apparition floating around, a man in a lawn chair floating around in their landing zone.
Quickly a helicopter lifted to investigate this strange phenomenon and when they tried to rescue the man, the wind from the props of the aircraft just blew him away. Finally, they directed the copter to about 100 feet above them and lowered a rope that He was able to grasped and he was towed back to the airport and with bursting a few of the balloons he was finally back on the ground.
The media and the police were waiting for him and the very first thing he was asked after the police had arrested him was why did he do it? His answer was: “Well, a man can’t just sit around doing nothing.”
We can’t just sat around either, we must be about the Master’s business.
2 Tim. 2:15,
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the Word of Truth.” N.I.V.
This is not a new verse to you. It’s one that you have heard and read over and over. But. familiar verses get cheated sometimes don’t they. Have you ever caught yourself reading through John and you come to John 3:16 and you just skip over it because it’s so familiar? Oh, it’s easy to do that with familiar verses, verses that we already know. We get to the point that we fail to see the significance of great truths.
Three things that I find in this scripture that I want to draw out to you this Morning, Listen to the Word again;
2 Tim. 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth”, King James
Three questions that I want to ask:
I want to be a successful Christian don’t you. “That’s not one of the questions.” I want to bring us back to the basics. Sometimes I think I was more excited and a better Christian the first year I was saved than I am today. I didn’t know a lot then, but I was excited about Jesus. Now, I know a whole lot more but I’m less impressed with myself. I love the book of Acts don’t you. I kinda get hung up on the book of Acts. Especially where Jesus says, “Greater things you will do than I am doing” Jesus said that you know, but I wonder about the reality of that truth in our lives.
How can we stand before God and not be ashamed? That’s not one of the Questions either. The Bible says that we are to do our best to present ourselves to Him as one approved.
Three questions: Here they are, write them down.
1. Is the Lord well pleased with me? First question!
Paul told Timothy to study so that he might be prepared for whatever God’s calling.
A. Let me share this story of the first time I preached. I stood and waited for God to fill me with what I should say. I realized right then and there if I were to be an effective worker for God I needed to know more than I did coming off the farm, totally illiterate of the Word of God.
B. God needs workers today prepared. Our Church is hurting for leadership. It is difficult to find workers to do the jobs that building a church creates.
C. Share how I prepared my self for work in the Church.
2. Is the work well done? Is it approved of God? Paul also said to Timothy, “Timothy, my son, if you want you hear God’s well done then you are going to have to do your work well enough that when you stand before Him you will not be ashamed.
A. What was his first assignment? Study. Be assured the work will not be well done if you don’t know how to do it. Sometimes it requires actual book study, sometimes it is personal involvement.
3. Is the Word well used? 3rd question
Are you correctly handling the Word of Truth?
A. Knowing the Word is not enough, however we can all do better in that category. I have heard atheist quote the scriptures. Were the scriptures being handled correctly? I wouldn’t say so.
B. Paul was telling Timothy, being inspired of the Lord, “Timothy, you have to be wise, use the Word so that people will listen and accept it.” Is it approved by God?
Here are three simple questions, but I would be please if you could remember them until I finish my message. Might not be easy, but try anyway, These go right along with my scripture reference.
1. Is the Lord well pleased with me today? (Does our Lord approve of what we did today?)
2. Did I do my work well today? (Am I ashamed of what I have done for the Lord today?)
3. Did I rightly use the Word of truth today? There’s a lot in this question and we are going to talk about it.
We have complicated being a Christian.
Did you know that Jesus is our only hope. Let me give you a formula. Keep it in mind.
Let’s look at these three:
I. IS THE LORD WELL PLEASED
Is the Lord well pleased with the way you are doing His work now?
I want to address Paul’s statement to Timothy. “Study to show thyself approved of God”. We spend years in preparation for whatever career that we might have chosen. But, how much time to we spend in preparing ourselves for serving in the Kingdom of God. We require our pastors to study, to pass the requirements to be ordained, and encourage them to continue on to higher degrees of learning.
Our Lord so needs leaders to serve to complete the functions of the Church. No matter how well the Pastor is prepared, he can’t do it all. There is a serious crisis with in the Church for leadership. “Study to show thyself approved unto God a Workman”.
Seems to me that the Lord is saying, whatever you are doing it requires some study on the subject, whether it be teaching a Sunday School Class, Working in N.M.I., With our youth, our children, the usher board, whatever. You need to be prepared and know what is required.
It’s time that I come to my second point;
II. DO WE HAVE A PASSION FOR EXCELLENCE?
Is the Work well done? “Study to show thyself approve unto God a workman that needs not to be ashamed”
Does the Church have a lower standard than the world. I’m afraid that we do when we consider our service to the Church. To many of our people who are on the ball when it comes to making a living, find themselves wanting when it comes to doing the work of the Church. Should we not prepare ourselves and be as diligent in doing the Work that is required to carry the program of the Church, to reach the lost, to actively be a part of every activity, helping where ever we can and if we are not prepared, have the will power to prepare ourselves. We must get past the point that mediocre is alright for the church. The world spends millions on getting things just right to attract you and get your money. They want you to keep on coming back every time you get a paycheck.
And the Third thing is:
III. DO YOU HAVE A PASSION TO USE THE WORD CORRECTLY?
“Study to show thy self approved unto God a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.”
Some would say that means discerning the truth of the scriptures, but there is more.
Do you handle the Word of truth correctly? What is the correct way? Would not God have us use the Word in such a way that it is a sword piercing the heart of the unbeliever, revealing his sin to him, and bringing him to repentance? Would not God have us use the Word to disciple believers that they become effective ministers of the Gospel? Would not God have us use the Word that all should hear and believe, regardless of race or creed.
When I ask the question is the Word well used, do we give an infectious presentation. It means to have a passion for the Word of God that makes it so attractive that in infects those who listen. It is the Word that convicts, it is the Blood of Jesus Christ that saves.
The World, no matter how attractive it is cannot do that. It cannot save, the World condemns, The World cannot remove the guilt from our hearts, it increases it. It cannot give peace. It stands in awe of the Peace of Christ. The World cannot understand that we can have peace in the midst of the storms of our lives. We have the attitude that the world doesn’t want to hear what we have to say. Their outward appearance might suggest that but down inside everyone hungers for the truth. Remember the Samaritan Woman at the well, she thirsted for the living Word, that once she had drank she would never thirst again. Oh the Water of the Word satisfies. Like a long cool drink of water on a hot summer day.
So, what are we now doing that is not making any significant difference for the Kingdom's sake? Is the Word being well used, is it being used correctly in the Swainsboro Church so it that will win the lost to Christ. Are we using methods that are out of date, is the Lord telling you that you need to change? What are we doing that we need change?
What are we doing that we need to quit. What are we doing that we need to do more and better? Once we’ve answer these question I hope and pray that we will have courage to change ... and do what is necessary to grow in the Kingdom of God .
Like Larry Waters, We can’t sit around either. We have to be about our Father’s business and that business is building His Church.
Putting Christ and the Church in the right perspective has to be first but there has to be interaction with the World about us. Does the world look at us and find us attractive? Not in the sense of physical, however we want to be that, but in a spiritual way. Do we cause others to want to know our Lord. To see Him in us, to see peace in us. Does the Spirit of Jesus radiate from our inner beings. This is what will make people hunger for the things of God.
