INTRODUCTION
- As we enter the final mini-series of Core 52, our final series is entitled Look.
- We will look back, look around, and look forward.
- Today, we will look ahead.
- Our first message will focus on something you may or may not think much about when you are young and have a lot of life in front of you.
- However, as you age and the runway of your life gets shorter and shorter, you may start to think more about the focus of the message today.
- I pray that the content of today’s message is something that you start considering today, no matter how old or young you are.
- In your life, you do consider what you will leave behind when you are gone.
- Your legacy has a lot to do with your vantage point.
- What you pay attention to will get your attention.
- What gets your attention will determine your direction.
- Your direction will determine your destination.
- Your destination determines your legacy.
- What are you leaving behind, but really the question is what are you leaving for the future.
- Your legacy is not simply about your past accomplishments; it is about how your life will impact the lives of others when you are no longer here.
- The Apostle Paul is nearing the end of his life.
- He has enjoyed close to a 15-year relationship with his protege, Timothy.
- Paul’s work was essential to him, and he wanted to ensure the vital work he did for the Lord continued.
- Paul was aware that his work and message were going to be an important cornerstone of the church, and he knew as he looked ahead to the future without him that he needed to ensure there were others who would carry the torch for Jesus.
- What Paul did during his ministry and life was he mentored people who would continue the work of teaching and spreading the Gospel.
- As you will see in your reading this week, you will not find the word MENTOR in the Bible.
- There are a string of mentors in the Bible.
- Jethro mentored Moses, who had to face Pharaoh.
- Moses, in turn, mentored Joshua, who led the conquest of the promised land.
- Eli mentored Samuel, who then guided Saul and David, the first kings of Israel.
- Elijah mentored Elisha, who confronted wayward kings.
- Mordecai mentored Esther, who intervened with King Xerxes, saving her nation from extinction.
- Jesus mentored his twelve apostles.
- Barnabas mentored Paul, who paid it forward to Timothy, Titus, and many others.
- Mentoring was so important to Paul’s ministry that in his final letter to young Timothy, he pleaded with him to continue this tradition (2 Timothy 2:2).
- Moore, Mark E. Core 52: A Fifteen-Minute Daily Guide to Build Your Bible IQ in a Year (p. 332). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
- Let’s go to our passage together as we dig into the subject of mentoring.
- Do you want your life to count and to be impactful after the Lord calls you home?
2 Timothy 2:2 (NET 2nd ed.)
2 And entrust what you heard me say in the presence of many others as witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well.
SERMON
I. Model the Faith.
- If we are going to impact the lives of others for Jesus, one of the most important things we need to do is to model our faith.
- If we claim to be people of faith, then to be effective, we need to show our faith to others.
- People need to see that Jesus has impacted our lives.
- Sitting in church every Sunday is not all there is to modeling faith; I believe it is a vital part of our witness.
- Being active in God’s church shows a sense of priority in one’s life.
- If I tell people that Jesus is my Lord and Saviour and that Jesus means everything to me, yet my life models that He is not, what does that tell people?
- What if I tell my family I am a Christian, and I want them to be one, yet they see me abusing their mother, or I am a tyrant in my own home?
- What if everything in my life comes ahead of Jesus?
- What message does that say?
- Let me share something for those of you with children and a spouse at home: you cannot fool them.
- You can say what you want about your faith, but I am telling you that they are not listening to that sermon; they are listening to the sermon you are modeling with your life.
- Your first ministry is in your home.
- We have to model our faith to our family.
- Let me ask you this question.
- Do you want your children or grandchildren to have the same faith you have?
- Do you want others to have the type of faith you have?
- If you don’t, it is time to change your life.
- When we are all modeling a faith for the world to see, the question is, what type of faith are we modeling?
- Are we modeling a Biblical faith, one that is both inspired and inspiring, or are we modeling something that looks nothing that looks like faith?
- What is the biggest turn-off when someone tries to tell you how to do something?
- For me, they are not doing it themselves.
- For instance, if I preach about loving your spouse, but you see me mistreating and tearing my spouse apart, would you be inspired to listen?
- Look at our passage as Paul looks to inspire Timothy.
2 Timothy 2:2 (NET 2nd ed.)
2 And entrust what you heard me say in the presence of many others as witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well.
- Paul encourages Timothy to entrust what you have heard me say in the presence of many other witnesses.
- Why did Paul bring up the fact that Timothy heard the message from Paul in the presence of many witnesses?
- I believe the implication of that statement is not only the message's veracity but also the messenger's conduct and life.
- How many times did false teachers come in and accuse Paul of being fake or being greedy?
- Paul always responded by reminding the folks of his conduct while he was among them.
- He talked about how he did not burden them with money, as he worked hard to make a living on top of all he did for the Lord.
- Paul’s speech and conduct modeled the faith he had in Jesus.
1 Timothy 4:12 (NET 2nd ed.)
12 Let no one look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in your speech, conduct, love, faithfulness, and purity.
- Modeling your faith includes your speech, conduct, love, faithfulness, and purity!
- We show our faith to others in the small things we do in life.
- If we are going to impact people, we have to live a life of integrity.
- People need to see Jesus before they will listen to a word we have to say.
- Our conduct is the most powerful witness of Jesus one can possess!
- Paul encourages Timothy, like an Olympic torch bearer, to hold the torch high while it is his to carry, and then Paul takes him to the next step.
- Let’s go back to our passage.
2 Timothy 2:2 (NET 2nd ed.)
2 And entrust what you heard me say in the presence of many others as witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well.
II. Multiply the Impact.
- The first point involves investing in yourself, ensuring you have something worth passing on to others.
- The next step in the mentoring process is passing the torch to the next person.
- We are called to invest in other intentionally, in other words, we have a greater purpose as we connect with people.
- In our passage, Paul tells Timothy to pass the message on to other faithful people.
- Paul uses the word ENTRUST twice in the verse.
- To entrust means to put in the care or protection of someone.
- The word also means to demonstrate, to place it before someone, like you would place it before them to eat.
- As you grow, you need to find to help grow in their faith.
- For parents, you have children.
- You have these little bundles of joy that you can impact for Jesus, they are the torch bearers of the future as well as the present.
- Paul did not ask Timothy take Paul’s teaching only for himself, he expected him to find others to entrust the message with.
- Think about your faith; someone passed the torch to you.
- Now, you need to be ready to pass it on to the next person so they can pass it on to the next person.
- The greatest disservice I could have done for Maurice McNeely, Mike Curtice, Professor Reese, and all the other incredible men who taught me and modeled the Gospel to me would have been to learn from their mentoring and then do nothing with it.
- We need to take the time to mentor other people and help them grow.
- Honestly, this part of the reason Jewlz has her LOL group, Jerry has the youth groups, and why we have the Men’s and Women’s Connect Ministries is to mentor others to help them be the torch bearers for Jesus.
- Paul tells Timothy to entrust his preaching to FAITHFUL people!
- Remember, to entrust means to hand over for safekeeping, to deposit something of value.
- It does not mean to hide it, but rather to guard the purity of the thing to be entrusted.
- Timothy was told to entrust the message to faithful people.
- As a side note, the word PEOPLE in the NET2 is translated as MEN in many versions.
- That is not an improper translation; however, the word is used to refer to people generically also as many or more times than just a man.
- Faithful means being loyal and trustworthy and people who would not betray the deposit.
- We cannot have the time to mentor everyone, we need to look for folks who be faithful with what you give them.
- I am glad some folks saw some potential in me and were willing to entrust me with the gospel.
- Let’s take a final run at the passage.
2 Timothy 2:2 (NET 2nd ed.)
2 And entrust what you heard me say in the presence of many others as witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well.
III. Maintain the Legacy.
- Paul’s charge to Timothy was to find not only faithful people to whom to entrust the message but also people who were competent to teach others.
- Paul wanted Timothy to find people who would pass the torch.
- The truth of the gospel needs to be passed on from generation to generation.
- The encouragement is to not break the chain by quitting or by failing to enlist someone to serve in your place when your time is done.
- I am always sad when I see Bible College graduates, in particular, not using the gift of their education in the local church.
- We owe it to God to share the gospel with others.
- There is no retirement from mentoring others for Jesus until we either cannot do it any longer or the Lord calls us home.
- When we mentor others, we do so with an eye toward maintaining the legacy of faith.
- The people who have invested themselves in my life expected me to grow.
- The work I do for the Lord has happened in part because a few men decided to make in investment in me.
- Many Bible College professors mentored and modeled the faith to me.
- Sadly, some of them have died, but happily, they have gone on to be with the Lord.
- A couple come to mind: Professors Reese and Walton.
- I honor both my God and those who saw something in me by striving to faithfully serve.
- All their ministries are multiplied through me, sort of like a stock split.
- We are called to teach and model sound doctrinal truths to others.
Titus 2:1 (NET 2nd ed.)
1 But as for you, communicate the behavior that goes with sound teaching.
- We also want to encourage others to learn and develop continually.
Colossians 3:16 (NET 2nd ed.)
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God.
CONCLUSION
- Much of our legacy depends on how we finish life’s race.
- Pat Williams reminds us of this in his interesting book about the virtues of West Point.
- The United States Military Academy is located about sixty miles north of New York City along the western bank of the Hudson River.
- Most Americans would recognize the name of this prestigious institution, but it conceivably could have carried another name.
- The Continental Army first occupied the site in January 1778, and it remains our oldest continuously operational army post.
- During the Revolutionary War this outpost was known as Fort Arnold.
- Imagine coveted appointments being made throughout the past two centuries to those aspiring to attend Fort Arnold Military Academy?
- The place was named after the fort’s commander during the Revolutionary War, General Benedict Arnold, but his legacy as a traitor necessitated a name change.
- We’ll all finish the race of our life. Will it be more like Paul (2 Timothy 4:7) or Benedict Arnold?
- Character Carved In Stone, Pat Williams, 2019, p.17
- Who are you passing the torch of faith to in your life?
