Living Godly in an unholy world
2 Timothy 3:10-17
Good morning-
Prayer-
Father, this morning we desire to come to you with the hopes and promises of Jesus. We hope that you will be with us and guide us and lead us into worship and an intimate time of you speaking to our open hearts and minds that want to serve you. May you today as we look for some solutions show us words of encouragement in your word that help us be who you have called each of us to be. In Jesus name! Amen.
Introduction-
Solutions…this is what we have been looking at for the last few weeks in this series called solutions.
Finding answers from God’s word that would help us in everyday life.
How many believe that to find the best answers for your life- God has to be involved?
Recap-
We have looked at the essentials of God’s Word - God not only is able to save us but He desires to save us from our sins.
To experience power in our lives where the Holy Spirit can equip us to live abundant lives instead of just surviving.
Last week suffering- Going through some stuff! Anyone going through some stuff?
We are going to keep it going this morning!
Text- 2 Timothy 3:10-17 if you would turn there-
Remember, last week, 2 Timothy Chapter three began with the announcement of terrible times in the last days- people being lovers of themselves, boastful, abusive, disobedient, ungrateful, unholy, out of control… the list went on and ending with having a form of godliness, but denying the power of God.
Don’t you deny the power of God the opportunity to work in your life because you are not listening!
2 Timothy 3:10-17 Read from Bible
Paul’s charge to Timothy- Paul’s charge to each one of us
3 things I want us to look at
Living a Godly life
Allow Scripture to shape your life
Being equipped for the work that God calls us too.
I am just going to throw it out there this morning
Living a Godly life
(10) “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings- what things happened to me.”
Paul is saying to Timothy- you know a lot about me- you know areas of my life that some have not been invited into. Right- not everyone knows your business- because you do not let them in to know those things.
There are some doors, we do not open to everyone- only some selected people. That is why it is so painful when those we trust hurt us.
Paul says… Timothy you know me.
He says you know much about me, so much that you know that God rescued me from those things that hindered me at times
Do you have someone that close to your heart? They know you that well?
It goes back to the importance again of a mentor in your life.
In fact, Paul says that all who want to live a Godly life will be persecuted like him.
Learn from me
(12) “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”
I ask you this morning- are you being persecuted for your faith in Christ? Or are you just hassled a little because some don’t want Jesus messing up a good thing they think they have.
What is your definition of godly?
Most when they define godly either think that it is some magically perfect person that they could never be or they dub it down to be a good person-
One extreme where most will never accomplish so they don’t even try.
Dubbed down to just a good person and the bar set so low they think all are there.
What does the Bible say?
The Bible calls a godly person a holy person.
The bible tells us that God is holy and we are to be holy.
Our holiness is not because we are a good person, but because we serve a holy God.
Our holiness and our righteousness hinges on what Christ did for us and not on our actions alone.
The holiness of God requires judgment- “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”
If you do not want to serve God and you want nothing to do with His mercy and Grace- He will not force you to spend eternity with Him. There will be a separation that you choose nobody else.
There will one day be judgment by a holy God against sin.
Even if a sinner turns from his sins…his sins must be covered; they cannot be ignored.
That is why only Jesus can forgive sin and put us in a right relationship with Him.
That’s why we are only “good” in Christ Jesus.
Good people won’t make heaven, only godly people who have trusted Jesus to forgive their sins and are serving Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives will make heaven.
Without Jesus, we are not good, we are not holy, we are not righteous, and we are not saved from our sins.
Paul tells Timothy- you know me.
The things that have happened to me are because I have lived a godly life as defined by Jesus and the persecution I endure is because I have put my trust in Jesus.
Paul was being a mentor to Timothy-
I want you to know that I get up in your face sometimes with hard scriptures because you are in my heart.
Because you are in my heart, I have to speak the truth to you even if it hurts at times.
If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t do it.
If I didn’t desire for you to experience all that the Lord has for you, I wouldn’t put myself out there because there is easier ways to make friends and teach people about God.
This week, I was on YouTube listening to a message by one of my friends and colleagues- we all need encouragement- even pastors. As I was listening, and he was ready to pray, in the ribbon of the computer was a list of what was next coming up on YouTube.
What caught my eye was the title- “Don’t take rejection personally”.
Anyone else wish they would have checked out that video? Sure we all do.
We want to make an impact in people’s life but we don’t want to be rejected by people
Especially people we care about deeply.
If you are trying to be a good person without Jesus, you will never be godly- we can only be godly with Jesus as the anchor of our life.
But maybe you are trying to be godly and your discouraged because things are not going the way you pictured them- ANYONE?
This preacher said- who do you think you are to think that if they persecuted Jesus, they would not persecute you?
That jumped in my heart- Jesus teaches us how to respond to those that won’t listen to the words that are said to them.
Jesus spoke in the power of the Holy Spirit and some listened and some did not.
I cannot imagine someone not listening to the words of Jesus the Messiah! But they did not all listen.
It does not give us a get out of jail free card for evangelism- we all have a responsibility to invite and speak to people about the gospel and the need for Christ.
We would see more done if God’s people would take the gospel as life and death because it is!
The freedom came for me because if they rejected Jesus, they will reject me and I cannot take it personally.
“EVERYONE WHO WANTS TO LIVE A GODLY LIFE WILL BE PERSECUTED.”
Two-fold
There will be those that will not want to hear the message of Christ and you cannot take it personal.
There is a need for us to live out our faith and speak the gospel and we must never give up on those that are around us.
There are those who desire to be more the image of Christ and they are the ones that will allow Christ to transform them daily.
We have the power of God working in our lives and we have a plan and the gospel that can change their life but only God can change a heart and only God give them an ear to listen.
Mt 10:13-14
“If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave the home or town.”
This preacher spoke to my soul- I am a godly man by Christ definition and not the world’s and I desire to see all man and women saved.
This preacher by no coincidence speak these words to my soul and maybe to yours this morning-
If you go to the home or speak to someone and they respond positive, leave your peace there. Leave your words from the Lord for them. If not, they reject you or they do not listen- let your peace return to you!
He says some of us need to go back and get our peace that we left somewhere!
(That is for someone)
Maybe Go back to 2019 and get your peace.
Maybe Go back to a bad situation and not get involved again, but regain your peace and not let someone keep something that don’t belong to them. (END QUOTE)
I might add Covid-19- Don’t let it or anyone involved in Covid-19 steal something from you that does not belong to them. Let your peace return to you.
We have a responsibility to spread the gospel, but throw the garbage out in the dumpster, don’t let it stay in your heart.
The only thing that does is cause bitterness in you and bitterness against God.
Allow Scripture to shape your life
(16) “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that a man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Bible Scriptures are not just a book of thoughts from various writers- they were men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit to record the thoughts and words of God.
Do not think that God did not protect His word from being polluted by man and his ways.
They are God-breathed- they are the breath of God that gives us life and abundance because of who He is and what He desires for us.
They have the anointing of God- I pray every week that it would not be my words but his words that can touch and change a heart.
There is power in his words that says that he forgives sin and forgets sin. He is the only one that can put up a sign that says no fishing in the sea of forgetfulness.
Only God has that power and authority to be able to do that.
His word cuts like a sword to pierce our hearts and lives and makes a difference.
His word tells us what we need to do and what will happen if we do not do what He tells us.
God’s word is not a suggestion, it is a proclamation of what will happen in the name of Jesus.
God’s word says in chapter 3 what kind of lives people will be living far from God to Paul’s personal testimony of a changed heart that says- my teaching, my ways, my faith, my love, my endurance and yes even my sufferings are because of my faith and my trust in Jesus.
Timothy what was placed in your heart as young boy by your mother and grandmother is now an active seed of faith that you have by choice nurtured and learned from me and now is lived out in your life.
Our Bibles, the Word of God is not something that should remain on a shelf and growing dust, it is the active Word of God that will see you through these seasons of suffering and empower us to live victorious lives even in a time of trial and sorrow.
As I make first attempt at wrapping up, do you understand that the Lord is not expecting you to live a godly life without Him?
He knows that we cannot do it without him.
We are only godly with him dwelling in us and empowering us.
We each have a responsibility to reach people for Christ-
we will all stand before the Lord and answer that question of what did we did with the gospel-
There are people we will not be able to reach- but it does not change the fact that we have to try-
(17) ‘So that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Scripture leads us to the strength giver, the Holy spirit connects us to the power source of god to live life according to the ways of the Lord and to be godly means that we are living (not perfect) under His direction.
Let’s bow our heads for prayer- we do not want to just be good people, we want to be godly people defined by the Word of God.
Prayer-
