Get Back to the Word Part 2
2 Timothy 3:15
Last week we visited 2 Timothy 3:15 “and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ”. There we learned, what I call the “Trinity of Design”. That is the triple design of the Word of God; The Purpose of the Word, The Plan of the Word and Participation With the Word.
Today, we visit with this same passage again, for the Lord would still speak to us from it. We must refresh our memories by considering the societal and cultural context to which Paul, the human author of this book, writes. Let us read 2 Timothy 3:1-7.
There are indications within the passage of 2 Timothy 3 that suggest Paul was not merely speaking of the condition of the world outside the church. For, you see, he refers to a form of godliness by those who commit these heinous acts and those outside the church do not pretend to be godly. They do not hide their sins, they just go ahead and do it. Those who commit these heinous actions are likely those who profess to be Christians. Those who frequent the pews each Sabbath, those who sing in the choir, those who may participate in the varied activities of the church.
Write down 1 Timothy 4:1. “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons…” This is a text to preach on another time, but I referred to this text to convince you that the evil Paul spoke of in 2 Timothy 3:1-7 is being committed by members of the church. He says that “some will depart from the faith” meaning that they were once a part of the faith. He doesn’t mean that they left the church, their bodies are still in church, their names are still on the church roll, but in mind and heart they have stopped their forward progress in Christ and taken a detour off the main path to heaven. They now listen and take heed to more popular and favorable teaching. They want to hear positive sounding things all the time and nothing that points out sin.
That is why Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:3,4 “for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ear, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” So Paul’s admonition to young Timothy in times like these, is the same admonition I follow “preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Tim 4:2).
In the midst of a church slowly leaning toward apostasy, and denial of the truth, Paul points Timothy to the only secure and stable reality; the Word of God. While life is like shifting sand, Paul directs that young preacher, Timothy, to the unchangeable, unmovable Word of God. When people don’t want to hear sound teaching that cautions them to put away their sins, “preach the Word”. When people start leaving because they feel uncomfortable about what they are hearing, “preach the Word”.
When the other churches are all excited because the preacher is giving them a good show, “preach the Word”. Paul says, “the Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation…” It is not about what people want to hear, or even about leaving with a good feeling. It is about hearing a Word from the Lord that will get you off the wrong path and point you in the right direction. It is about hearing a Word from the Lord that will help you to make a decision that you have been delaying. It is about hearing a word from the Lord that will put you in right relationship with Him. Paul said to Timothy, it is all about “the Holy Scriptures…”
Now, why? Why is he so determined to keep Timothy preaching the Word, the whole Word and nothing but the Word? And for us, why is it so necessary for us to receive and practice the Word, the whole Word and nothing but the Word? I believe the answer is also in 2 Timothy 3:15. Five words. “…are able to make you…” In this message today I want to share with you three main ideas that come from these five words. My prayer is that our experience today will lead us to a fuller dependence upon the Word of God. Those three are: The Capability of the Word, The Creative Power of the Word, and Cooperative Union With the Word.
Let’s talk about the capability of the Word. The Scripture says, “and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able…” The word for “able” in the original Greek language is “dunamai”. It means, “to be able, powerful”. But there is a contingent or conditional factor included in this word. What do I mean?
Turn your Bible to Matthew 26:6-10 “and when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, ‘why this waste? For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.’ But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, ‘why do you trouble the woman? For she had done a good work for Me.’”
The word “might” in verse 9 is the same word for “to be able”. The disciples were upset because they saw other possibilities for that oil. They felt that this woman was wasting a precious and costly commodity which could have had another use. “it might have been sold for much…” but it wasn’t. The disciples were dwelling on “what might have been”. Perhaps they were saying to themselves “if only I had my hands on that vial of oil” “if only, if only, if only”. They were dwelling on possibilities.
To apply this understanding to 2 Timothy 3:15 it is written, “the Holy Scriptures are able…” In other words, “The Holy Scriptures might…” “The Holy Scriptures can…” “The Holy Scriptures may…” but… The Holy Scriptures won’t unless you allow it to. The Holy Scriptures have a power resident within them, they “are able”. But the release of that power on your life is contingent upon your response to it. So unless you receive it for yourself, unless you apply it to your life, unless you engage with it, live by it, hold on to it, breathe it, practice it, surrender to it, refer to it and obey it, none of its eternal and supernatural possibilities will ever be yours.
What does the word “possible” mean? “That may or can exist” it refers “to that which may come about or take place without prevention by serious obstacles. That which is possible is naturally able or even likely to happen, other circumstances being equal”. There is no question to the capability of the Word of God.
His Word has made the world, flooded the earth, brought down plagues, destroyed cities, parted seas, caused a donkey to talk, birds to feed a prophet and a fish to swallow a man. By His Word He has made storms to brew and storms to cease, healing to Kings, and diseases to the disobedient. By His Word He caused a star to sit still over Bethlehem, sight to the blind, life to the dead and enough bread out of 5 loaves and 2 fishes for 5,000 men plus women and children. By His Word fire came down from heaven, the sun stood still, armies brought to confusion, and the walls of Jericho were made to tumble. There is no question to the capability of the Word of God.
I also believe that in our modern time the Word of God is capable. By His Word, Nazi Germany ended and the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, by His Word, Communism in Russia dissipated, by His Word nuclear holocausts are thwarted and biochemical warfare is averted. There is no question as to the capability of the Word of God.
The concern however, is with our unwillingness to have full faith in it. The Word of God is able to bring a solution to your problem—so study it. A healing to your sickness—believe on it. An excitement to your heart—meditate on it. A wholeness to your brokenness---build on it. A peace to your storm—speak it. And when you are in trouble—hold fast to it. There is nothing the Word can’t do for you, for it is the power of God to save you—so get into it! The only serious obstacle to our receiving its inherent power is often our reluctance to agree with the Word. And because of our reluctance, all that the Word is able to do for remains locked up, stored up, stayed up, and put up out of reach. And instead of experiencing its power, all that remains is “what might have been”.
Do we want to live on “what might have been”? Do we want to live on “if only’s?” That is a scary, unsettling way to live. You can’t change “if only’s”. Those who live by the “if only’s” live in the past and their energies are constantly drained by “what might have been, if only…” they had made a certain decision at the opportunity it was given them to make it. I am almost sure Judas Iscariot felt that way. He spent a lot of time with Jesus, watching him perform healings, walk on water, bring the dead to life, bringing hope to the hopeless and then he looked him in the eye and gave him a kiss of betrayal.
Not long after, he realized he had betrayed innocent blood. He became tortured by “what might have been”. He was tormented by the “if only”. He was grief-stricken over the possibilities that existed if only he had believed. His guilt so decapitated his will to live that He went out and hung himself on a tree. We need not live on the “if only’s”. It kills the spirit, it drains the life forces. It suspends hope and delays happiness. We have the opportunity today to stay clear from the trees and walk with the Lord in the power of His might. Amen!
Now, before I give you the opportunity to walk with the Lord, we must better understand what the Word is able to do for us. That leads me to the second idea found in the last three words of this five-word phrase “are able to make you”. The phrase “to make you” actually comes from one Greek word “sophisai”. It embodies the whole phrase, “to make wise”. I plucked out the words “to make” to emphasize the quiet creative process implied.
The words “to make” suggest an imaginative and artistic act to bring about a desired end. It suggests the involvement of brainpower, not chance. The capability of the Word is resident in this phrase “…to make you”. The Word has the capability of creating. So now we will talk about the Creative power of the Word.
The Bible says, “by the Word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth…For He spoke and it was done; He commanded and it stood fast” (Ps. 33:6,9). It doesn’t matter what the scientists are saying about the big bang, I know what the Word says, God spoke and it was done. Those educated folk in those laboratories can’t seem to get the concept that there was nothing here before God made it. You see, God’s Word has the capability of creating something that was not there before. Ex-Nihilo means, “to bring something out of nothing”. And that is exactly what God specializes in.
He does it all the time. He brought water out of rock for Moses. He rained Manna from heaven for His children. He made a donkey speak when it had no vocal chords to do so, He made a platform out of water when gravity was supposed to make him sink, He brought life out of death, but the greatest act of the creative power of the Word of God is seen from 2 Corinthians 5:17 “therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.”
Bob Thomas relates that, “Walt Disney seldom surveyed his animators’ work while they were creating. He understood the fragile nature of the creative process, and he wouldn’t intrude. But there was nothing to stop him after the animator had left for the day. Walt’s nighttime visits to the offices became legendary and animators often left their best work on the drawing table overnight, anticipating that Walt would inspect it. But sometimes they arrived in the morning to find crumpled sheets of paper rescued from wastebaskets and pinned on a storyboard with the notation in the unmistakable Disney script: ‘quit throwing the good stuff away.’”
And just the same with us. In our night seasons, when things are bleak and dismal. When there seems like there is nothing at all to work with. When you have come to end of your rope and you have crumpled up your hope, your dreams, your anticipations, your life and put it in the wastebasket of “I give up”. God steps out onto that nothingness and begins to create. When you were sinking deep in sin, he created a solid rock for you to stand on. When troubles rained on your head, he created a shelter for you to stand under. When the winds blew on every side he created a hedge to go around you. But more than that he is constantly writing notes on the storyboard of our lives saying, “quit throwing the good stuff away”.
You think your uncontrolled anger is unusable when it is this same fierceness under the control of the Holy Spirit that made Paul the mighty evangelist he was. You think you are too passive and not assertive enough when it is these same character traits, submitted to the Holy Spirit, that made Mother Teresa the kind, compassionate, patient woman she was. You think you make too many mistakes and have to try too hard to get anything done, when it is these same character traits, empowered by the Holy Spirit to bring Abraham Lincoln out of 30 years of political failure, become President of the United States and lead this country through a civil war to end slavery. You think the hatred in your heart is evil but it is this same hatred, fired up by the Holy Spirit and pointed towards sin to build up and make a leader out of that great civil activist Martin Luther King. So “quit throwing the good stuff away”! Let God create and recreate it for His own purposes.
Are you weak and vacillating? Jesus will build in you a steady and firm character. He says, “hear my words and do them and I will liken you to a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24). Are you unemotional and cold? Jesus will awaken your senses like He did for those men on the road to Emmaus. They said “did not our hearts burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32). Are you depressed and despondent? When the Word touches your life you will go running and leaping and praising God like the lame man by the gate beautiful. Jeremiah declared, “…your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart…” (15:16).
There is nothing that God can’t do, the Word is “able to make…” but it comes down to “…you”. This is my third and final point. We must cooperate with the Word. Ellen White said, “The Lord does not design that human power should be paralyzed; but by co-operating with God, the power of man may be efficient for good” (R.H., November 1, 1892). It is “through cooperation with Divinity, human beings may in this life attain to perfection of character” (AA 531) however, “the impossibility lies in your own will” (COL 331).
When we cooperate with the Word “God will immediately take possession and work in you to will and to do of His good pleasure…It will take at times every particle of will power which you possess; but it is God that is working for you, and you will come forth from the molding process a vessel unto honor” (5T 514).
Jesus, who is the Word of God (John 1:1,18), had different effects upon those He encountered. Why? It was always contingent upon the response of those He encountered. The rich young ruler would have had much more if He had received the Word (Christ) but instead he chose his own path and the Bible says, “he went away sorrowful”. The Samaritan woman, on the other hand, received Christ gladly and went evangelizing all through town. Two different results after encountering the same Word.
Ellen White said, “it will take at times every particle of will power you possess…” Every stretch of energy and mind power you have, to tap into the ability of the Word but “you will come forth…a vessel unto honor”. The woman with the issue of blood, weak and worn after 18 years of suffering and brokenness was healed only after pushing her way through the crowd, risking embarrassment, harassment, ostracism, ridicule and rejection. She put to work “every particle of will power she possessed” to tap into the Word (Jesus) and when she had touched him, Jesus said, “who touched me?”
For you see, the Word has the ability to create wholeness within you and when you reach out for it, receive it, and rely on it, its’ inherent power is transferred to you! Sometimes you will have to be rejected on your way to receiving its power—but reach for it, sometimes you will have to lose friends on your way to receiving its power—but reach for it, sometimes you will have to stand alone on your way to receiving its power—but reach for it, sometimes you will have to reach with your last energies to get its power—but get to it, sometimes you will have to push through crowds of unwanted animosity and opposition to get to the power—but go after it, sometimes you will have to break with tradition and trends to get to the power—but determine to have it.
What are you willing to do to receive the power of the Word? Not just any power, but power to bring you into right relationship with your father in heaven. John 1:12 “but as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become children of God…” Power to bring order to a life of chaos, power to bring peace to a life of trouble, power to bring direction and purpose to a life going nowhere. Power to bring newness to an old mundane situation. Let it happen for you today!
Hear this from an unknown author:
For the lack of a nail, the shoe was lost.
For the lack of a shoe, the horse was lost.
For the lack of a horse, the rider was lost.
For the lack of a rider, the battle was lost.
For the lack of a battle, the kingdom was lost.
All for the lack of a horse-shoe nail.
Would you have it said of you that you lost the kingdom of heaven all for the lack of cooperation with the Word? If your answer is “no” then prove it, Jesus says, “come unto me that you might have life”. Come then, bring your life to Jesus.
