Character matters
Series Solutions
Selected verses
Introduction-
This morning we will conclude our series on Solutions. I hope that it has been beneficial.
How many remember the illustration last week of the business man and the homeless guy in the pizza place. How many can relate to the business man assuming it was his pizza and that the homeless man was wrong just because he didn’t look like he looks- having to eat his words because he did not take the time to find out the whole story.
We all have work to do but at least I hope that you are willing to do the work! (Repeat)
We have for several weeks looked into finding answers from God’s word for what is happening in our lives.
I won’t take the time to again highlight the past weeks, you might want to do that online but we can come to an agreement that the best solutions come to us when we as Christians are asking God for the answers!
When we are seeking Him in a day and age where the voice of God seems to be getting softer and the voice of the world is screaming.
We need the Lord
We need to be living out God’s truths and not let the world drown out the voice of God.
The loudest voice isn’t always right.
This morning, looking at Character- who we are when no one is looking -
Prayer-
Father, this morning we come in the name of Jesus to ask you Lord to speak to each of us and have us do an self examination to make sure we are who we claim to be.
A lot of people put on the title of Christian but who we are when no one is watching is really who we are.
I ask that you would speak clearly and louder than the world is to us this morning and you would be glorified in our lives. In Jesus Name Amen.
Text- 2 Timothy 4:1-8 read from Bible
Again Paul is talking to Timothy and to us about our lives in Christ.
Paul was telling Timothy - This world is going to be judged by a supreme God and just God. One who will have the final say.
I scratch my head everytime the news comes on and I hear about some new ridiculous law that some governor is pushing that will be better for society and it is nothing but atrocious to God and His morals.
He is telling this young preacher to preach the Word. Be prepared and use God’s Word to correct, rebuke, and encourage.
There is coming a day when people will only tell you what you want to hear and turn you away from the things of God.
Do the work that you have been called to do.
We may not all be called to preach the word but we all are called to spread the word.
He is talking about character-
The character of a person is how they think and how they act distinctive to the individual.
It is their nature. It is who they are under all circumstances and even when nobody is watching, they are still that person.
Be who we are supposed to be in Christ.
Remember as a believer, we are to be in Christ with every part of our life.
We do not have a Sunday morning person and a rest of the week person. We are to be Christ-like everyday 24/7.
Our Character is who we are when nobody is watching. Not who we pretend to be when people are watching.
The time will come- They were moving into it and I believe we are there- a time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine- in the Greek it means to have a “healthy idea of what you believe”.
It means when this time comes people will not tolerate or be able to bear a godly and healthy view of God.
He addresses teachers that are supposed to be teachers of God’s word and God’s principals.
There won’t be a shortage of teachers, there will be a shortage of teachers who teach a healthy and correct gospel.
Talk about their desires- they will be teachers only there to comfort and tell them what they want to hear.
There will be no challenge to address what is wrong with their lives.
Itchy ears, tickle the ear phrases are for people who only want to hear what they want to hear.
They profess to know the truth but are backslid in the faith, apostate, or former believers expressing false teachings that match their personally formulated gospel according to themselves.
Paul then shifts his advice to us with a series of imperatives that contrast those who are in Christ and those who will be in end times.
That how they will be timothy-
Timothy
Keep your head
Be self-controlled
Clear minded
Sound or healthy doctrine of beliefs.
He is talking Character- what you are and not what you pretend to be.
Character
In general, are people who are considered to have good character often have traits like integrity, honesty, courage, loyalty, fortitude, and other important virtues that promote good behavior.
These character traits define who they are as people—and highly influence the choices they make in their lives.
Time tested. Character erodes or grows. (Repeat)
Our character is developed through time. More accurately, our character is developed through our experiences and what we choose to learn and do from them.
I told you before that US government agents are not taught how to find counterfeit money by looking at fake money. They are taught to identify real money so well that they can find counterfeit.
The name Frank Abagnale probably doesn’t mean anything to you- at 17 years old, Frank became upset that his parents had divorced, he left home and never went back and by the age of 21 had went around the world forging 100’s of bad checks and pretended to be a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer before getting caught in France. He served a prison term there and was extradited from there to a US prison, where he served 4 years before he was set free because they needed him to show the world how he did the things he did. They wrote books about him, they made a movie called “Catch me if you can”, and to this day they cannot understand completely how he did it for so many years before caught. He has since served over 30 years with the FBI before retiring to counteract con men, check frauds, impostors. 3 sitting presidents have offered him a pardon and he has not let them absolve his charges. He was truly sorry for his actions.
His character changed-
His values changed
His allegiance changed
Remember character erodes or grows- he decided to use those experiences with his changed heart to do good from them.
What caught my attention when I heard his testimony on why he would come clean and try to prevent it from happening again was that he is sorry for what he has done and has learned from his mistakes and morally he did not want someone else to be able to to do those things to others.
He said that you can have all these firewalls in place to prevent something from happening but usually what brings it all down is someone not doing what they are suppose to do or someone allowing someone else to do what is wrong.
Paul is telling us that we have to be careful that we do not leave the backdoor open.
We cannot let the firewall of our life down and be vulnerable. We cannot shirk our duty and abandon our post and allow someone or something to get past us… because if we do we have allowed our character to be compromised and become altered.
Proverbs 11:1-9 Passion version- your NIV is little different
“To set a high standard for someone else, and then not live up to them yourself, is something that God truly hates, but it pleases him when we apply the right standards of measurement. When you act with presumption, convinced that you’re right, don’t be surprised if you fall flat on your face! But walking in humility helps you make wise decisions. Integrity will lead you to success and happiness, but treachery will destroy your dreams. When judgment day comes, all the wealth of the world won’t help you one bit. So you’d better be rich in righteousness, for that’s the only thing that can save you in death. Those with good character walk on a smooth path, with no detour or deviation. But the wicked keep falling because of their own wickedness. Integrity will keep a good man from falling. But the unbeliever is trapped, held captive to his sinful desires. When an evil man dies, all hope is lost, for his misplaced confidence goes in the coffin and gets buried along with him. Lovers of God are snatched away from trouble, and the wicked show up in their place. The teachings of hypocrites can destroy you, but revelation knowledge will rescue the righteous.”
Character is who you are to others
It’s what people see in you.
It’s what people will say about you after you die.
Character is one legacy left behind that cannot be changed once you die.
Your spoken words or your actions will be received or denied because of your character.
Paul writes Romans chapter 5
“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Paul tells us that our troubles produce endurance- troubles meaning pressures- anyone going through some pressures of life? God uses these pressures to mold us into who He wants us to be. These pressures of life produces endurance. You want another word for endurance (patience). Nobody prays for patience because we know to get it we have to go through stuff! The endurance (patience) is how we stand on God’s principals and on God’s promises. Not our spirit that would lie down and let the floodwaters rush over us but the Spirit of the living God that meets things head on and overcomes by the power of God working. This fortitude, “troubles” produces character. The Greek word for Character here is dokime and it means a metal which has been passed through the fire so that everything unpure can be purged out of it.
When we come out of the fire we are stronger, purer, better and nearer to God.
What comes out of the Godly purging is the endurance and character that makes us more Christ-like and less like the world.
It is that character- the character of being Christ-like that produces hope- Godly hope.
Two people can go through the same situation. It drives one to despair and the other to action.
To one it is the end of hope and the other, it is a challenge to be Christ-like.
Illustration-
Our actions or lapse of character affect us and those around us. Older Baseball fans may remember the story with Pete Rose. In 1989 Pete Rose while managing a baseball team was found guilty of gambling on his team. He was found guilty of even betting against his team. This has cost him a great deal- he has lost his place in Baseballs Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Pete Rose has more hits in the game than any other player in baseball, 4,256 to be exact but because of his gambling does not have his name in the hall. What he did had nothing to do with his baseball skills, he got the most hits, but because of his character he is not allowed in the hall of fame. To this day, he has regretted his actions that has kept him out. But that is not the end of the story. Also in 1989 Catcher Johnny Bench retired from the same team but because of the press of Pete’s actions, they neglected to give more press of bench’s retirement and his accomplishments. To this day, their friendship has been strained because of Pete’s moment of bad decisions. You cannot make good decisions based upon bad information or bad decisions
The character that has endured the test always emerges with hope of the future.
Listen to the last words of Paul (who was sitting in prison) talk about end of life and the importance of character
Paul has already experienced a preliminary trial which turned out badly, he awaits a second trial which he fears will not go well. His hope is in Christ. He is not afraid of dying, he wants timothy to understand and follow his example.
2Timothy 4:6-8 Read from Bible
He says that he is being poured out like a drink offering- he knew they would understand that- the process of his death has begun. He is sure of death with no time limit on it- he is sure of the outcome.
Let me close
He knew his departure from this earth was near- he was not afraid. His hope was in Christ death for Paul was only passing from this life to eternal life. He knew that Christ has defeated death the “last enemy.”
To live is Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and to die was to gain the hope and promise of Christ to have unhindered fellowship with Christ.
To suffer for Jesus was a living sacrifice- to die was to reap the rewards of Christ promises.
“I have fought the good fight”
“I have finished the race”
“I have kept the faith”
He looked forward to receiving the crown of righteousness! The Laurel wreath of the Olympic game is a great imagery of what we will be giving back to Jesus as our crown of righteousness.
That is godly character that people must see in us and what the Lord is looking for in each of us who professes Christ as Lord of our lives.
Let’s pray-
