Character counts: I am working on it
I. How does one pick a plumber? a mechanic? a carpet-layer? an evangelist? a truck driver? The answer: By referral. What others are saying about that person.
Very heavy weights (like people’s respect and confidence) are hung on the thin wire of reputation. (Swindoll) Thomas Dewar wrote, "Nothing deflates so fast as a punctured reputation." I want to have a reputation similar to Timothy. On three different occasions it was stated by three different persons that Timothy wholly followed the Lord.
Character in the Greek denotes a mark left by an engravers tool. It is noticeable by anyone. Our lives may be the only Bible people read
2 Cor 3:3-4 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God.
Timothy is a man of character. He is born of a Greek father and a Jewish mother. His mother and his grandmother had taught him in the most excellent way. 3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. (2Tim 1:3-6)
Character is something we continue to work one. Paul tells us in Romans 5:1-4
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.
I would like to tell you what made me want to be a Christian. My brothers were both baptized into Christ as teenagers. I saw the difference in them. I saw in them what Jesus means to them. Even in the hard times as Paul spoke about. Our family at that time was going through some very rough times, yet I saw my family staying faithful to Jesus Christ. I saw the change that having Christ in their life meant, and at age 11 I wanted that for me. Character counts.
Timothy grows in character. In Acts 16: 3-5 we see how this develops. Paul returns to Lystra on his second missionary journey. During his first trip there he found trouble, he was stoned and left for dead. Maybe Paul wondered if anyone had heard him. I am sure my parents wondered before I was baptized if I was listening, and they found out, just like Paul, someone was listening. For Paul that someone was Timothy
1 He came to Derbe (DERBY) and then to Lystra,(LISTRA) where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. 2 The brothers at Lystra and Iconium (I CONE KNEE UM) spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
During my early years I am sure my Dad wondered if I was listening. After all I was still only 11, not much may have seemed to change. I remember one time my Dad and I went to a Promise Keepers conference in Knoxville. That Saturday sessions seemed to go on and on, my Dad did not have much money and I was always hungry or thirsty. It was the late session that afternoon, I was thirsty and wanted something to drink, my dad had some change and gave it to me. He told me I could buy a drink after this session. During the session I learned that James Byrd, a black man, was being buried in Texas that afternoon. James Byrd was killed by some white men only because he was black. I asked my dad why they killed him, he told me because the men hated him because he was black. I remember seeing a very large black man sitting behind us, I turned to the man and told him I was sorry, some very stupid men did a very stupid thing. Then I heard that they were taking up an offering for the family of James Byrd, without hesitation, I put the change that my dad gave me to buy a drink in that offering. The man behind me asked why I did that, I told him “I can go home and get a drink, those boys can’t go home and get another daddy, I just want to help.” My dad taught me to care for others, I guess on that day he realized I was listening, just as Paul realized Timothy was listening.
Are you listening? Character counts
Jesus had good character Luke 2:52
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Peter tells us of its importance
2 Peter 3:18
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
Paul reminds us to grow in character we have to make our life and our teachings match (1 Tim 4:16)
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Timothy grew in character so well that Paul trusted Timothy to settle problems in Corinth (1 Cor 4:17), and then he trusted Timothy to lead the churches in Ephesus. If we want to be trusted with more we must develop our character in the little things.
Character Counts: Me, I’m working on it. It is a lifetime job.
C. Four things to do:
1. Let not your good be evil spoken of . . . Protect your proper motives
2. Forsake the appearance of evil. Don’t ever compromise righteousness.
3. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The golden rule really does work
4. Consistency in conduct and action (Double minded man is unstable in all his ways.) Proverbs tells us.
VI. What is our reputation and what can we do about it? One morning in 1888 Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, opened the newspaper only to find an article about his own death. A careless reporter had confused Alfred with his brother who had indeed died. The shock of reading his own obituary was compounded by the realization of how the world saw him. To the general public he was simply the "Dynamite King," a successful industrialist who had amassed a fortune from explosives. There was no mention of his ideal of peace for mankind or his efforts to break down barriers. He would be remembered only for being a "merchant of death." Alfred determined right then that he wanted to do something to make sure the world would recognize the values to which he had devoted his life. He decided that this could be accomplished by the way he disposed of his vast wealth in his last will and testament. That’s why today we have a prestigious award given to someone who has contributed significantly to the cause of world peace--the Nobel Peace Prize.
As Christians, we ought to be concerned about what the world will remember us for.
(Call up Invitation team)
How does the world see us? We sing “Let all who come behind find us faithful, what about those who are with us?
Character Counts: Me, I’m working on it, how about you?
