April 7, 2024
Sermon Series: Remain Devoted and Faithful to The End
Book: 2 Timothy
SERMON # 7: STAYING READY FOR GOD TO USE
2 Timothy 3:14-17
Educators tell us it takes about thirty consecutive days to make a habit stick. Through constant repetition, what at first seems awkward becomes second nature once a new habit is formed. Because we are fallen sinners, good habits are harder to form than bad habits. Bad habits just come naturally.
What good habits do you need to form? Chances are if you have a target, you will hit it. A very important target for the believer to hit is the Scriptures. It is in the Scriptures, the Word of God, where the habit of godliness is formed. But note: there are no short-cuts to forming the habit of godliness. The Scriptures are not just a place where we drop in and visit from time to time. The Scriptures are to be lived in, to be dwelled in as if they were our very home. Are you willing to start out studying the Scriptures and form a good habit? There is no better time than the present to live in God’s Word.
This passage of Scripture declares three requirements for staying ready for God to use.
I.BELIEVE ALL OF GOD’S WORD v. 14-16a
A believer must live in the Scriptures (v. 14).
Believers are to live the Scriptures. Timothy had been taught the Scriptures all his life. When he was only a child, his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois had rooted him in the Scriptures (2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15).
It is not enough to have learned the Scriptures.
It is not enough to be assured that the teachings of Scripture are true.
It is not enough to know that your teachers teach the truth.
Note the word “continue” in verse 14. It means to abide, dwell, remain, and stay in the Scriptures. Simply stated, live in the Scriptures, and live out the Scriptures.
Scripture makes a person wise to salvation (v. 15). It is the Holy Scriptures that tell us about God’s great plan of salvation for man. The point is this: the Holy Scriptures tell us how we can be saved through God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture is inspired by God (16a). Believe all of God’s Word, not just some or most, because all scripture is given by inspiration of God. This means divinely breathed out. Words travel out of our mouths on our breath. So, God’s breath, which is His Holy Spirit, transported His words into the minds of the biblical writers (revelation), and then guided the writers as they wrote down the words (inspiration). The word scripture (16a) refers to the Old Testament, since the New Testament was incomplete at the time of Paul’s writing.
ILLUSTRATION:
Have you ever been lost for what seemed to be hours, when in fact your destination was only a block or a mile away? Think of the time wasted! How many times have you lost hunting for that “perfect” verse in the concordance of your Bible rather than just reading the Scriptures? Many times, we just do not look hard enough in the right place, as happened to this couple:
A married couple checked into a nice hotel after driving all day long. Exhausted and wishing to relax, they asked the front-desk clerk for the hotel’s best room. Without hesitation, the clerk rang for the bellhop and gave the couple the key to room 710. Riding the elevator to the top floor, the couple got out and walked to the end of a long hall until they found room 710. Turning the key, they entered a room that was adequate but hardly worth the premium price they had paid. Not people to complain, they tipped the bellhop, pulled out the sofa-bed and fell asleep, tossing and turning on the thin mattress.
When the morning sun entered the room, the couple awoke with aching backs. Walking to the bathroom sink, the husband noticed a set of double doors. Curious, he said to his wife, “Honey, I just found the closet.” Swinging the doors open, he was stunned! Inside the doors was the master bedroom suite. In the room were fresh-cut flowers and a basket of tasty fruit. Everything was beautiful, the furnishings, the curtains, the wall hangings, everything. The man and wife stood there shaking their heads. “If only we had opened the door and entered in—all the way. We were only a few steps away from real comfort.”
This married couple’s frustration is typical of many Christian believers today. They just fail to enter into God’s Word all the way. They stop before they can get the full benefit of what He has to offer. Remember: you cannot really ‘live in’ something until you are willing to go through the door!
To stay ready for God to use:
Believe All Of God’s Word (v. 14-16a)
II. RECEIVE GOD’S WORD v. 16b-e
The word profitable means useful, beneficial, and helpful. Simply stated, the Bible is for man and woman; God gave it to help human beings. There are four specific helps in this Scripture.
The Bible is profitable for doctrine. Doctrine refers to the content of teaching, not the method. This means our doctrine and Christian instruction must be consistent with Scripture.
The Bible is profitable for reproof or rebuke. This means reading and hearing the Word of God brings conviction about sin.
The Bible is profitable for correction. The Bible not only rebukes us when we sin; it also tells us what to do to correct, or rectify, our sin and get us ready for God to use us again.
The Bible is profitable for instruction in righteousness. The Bible trains us in how to stay on the right track and be ready to be used by God.
To stay ready for God to use:
Believe All Of God’s Word (v. 16-16a)
Receive All Of God’s Word (v. 16b-e)
ACHIEVE THE PURPOSE OF GOD’S WORD v. 17
The purpose of the Bible is that the man [or woman] of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (v. 17). By “perfect” is meant completed, matured, filled. The Bible will completely equip you to do whatever God’s purpose is for your life. God didn’t give us the Bible so we could be obnoxious Bible experts. As we live God’s Word, we conform to the image of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we progressively become more and more loving and develop into better instruments for God to use in building up His Kingdom.
James 1:25 (NKJV) “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”
The word translated blessed refers to happiness that is not dependent on outward circumstances. It is “divine delight.”
STAYING READY FOR GOD TO US:
Believe All Of God’s Word (v. 14-16a)
Receive God’s Word (v. 16b-e)
Achieve The Purpose Of God’s Word (v. 17)
Responsive Reading: 2 Timothy 3:10-17
April 7, 2024
Sermon Series: Remain Devoted and Faithful to The End
Book: 2 Timothy
SERMON # 7: STAYING READY FOR GOD TO USE
2 Timothy 3:14-17
Educators tell us it takes about thirty consecutive days to make a habit stick. Through constant repetition, what at first seems awkward becomes second nature once a new habit is formed. Because we are fallen sinners, good habits are harder to form than bad habits. Bad habits just come naturally.
What good habits do you need to form? Chances are if you have a target, you will hit it. A very important target for the believer to hit is the Scriptures. It is in the Scriptures, the Word of God, where the habit of godliness is formed. But note: there are no short-cuts to forming the habit of godliness. The Scriptures are not just a place where we drop in and visit from time to time. The Scriptures are to be lived in, to be dwelled in as if they were our very home. Are you willing to start out studying the Scriptures and form a good habit? There is no better time than the present to live in God’s Word.
This passage of Scripture declares three requirements for staying ready for God to use.
BELIEVE ALL OF GOD’S WORD v. 14-16a
A believer must live in the Scriptures (v. 14).
Believers are to live the Scriptures. Timothy had been taught the Scriptures all his life. When he was only a child, his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois had rooted him in the Scriptures (2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15).
It is not enough to have learned the Scriptures.
It is not enough to be assured that the teachings of Scripture are true.
It is not enough to know that your teachers teach the truth.
Note the word “continue” in verse 14. It means to abide, dwell, remain, and stay in the Scriptures. Simply stated, live in the Scriptures, and live out the Scriptures.
Scripture makes a person wise to salvation (v. 15). It is the Holy Scriptures that tell us about God’s great plan of salvation for man. The point is this: the Holy Scriptures tell us how we can be saved through God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture is inspired by God (16a). Believe all of God’s Word, not just some or most, because all scripture is given by inspiration of God. This means divinely breathed out. Words travel out of our mouths on our breath. So, God’s breath, which is His Holy Spirit, transported His words into the minds of the biblical writers (revelation), and then guided the writers as they wrote down the words (inspiration). The word scripture (16a) refers to the Old Testament, since the New Testament was incomplete at the time of Paul’s writing.
ILLUSTRATION:
Have you ever been lost for what seemed to be hours, when in fact your destination was only a block or a mile away? Think of the time wasted! How many times have you lost hunting for that “perfect” verse in the concordance of your Bible rather than just reading the Scriptures? Many times, we just do not look hard enough in the right place, as happened to this couple:
A married couple checked into a nice hotel after driving all day long. Exhausted and wishing to relax, they asked the front-desk clerk for the hotel’s best room. Without hesitation, the clerk rang for the bellhop and gave the couple the key to room 710. Riding the elevator to the top floor, the couple got out and walked to the end of a long hall until they found room 710. Turning the key, they entered a room that was adequate but hardly worth the premium price they had paid. Not people to complain, they tipped the bellhop, pulled out the sofa-bed and fell asleep, tossing and turning on the thin mattress.
When the morning sun entered the room, the couple awoke with aching backs. Walking to the bathroom sink, the husband noticed a set of double doors. Curious, he said to his wife, “Honey, I just found the closet.” Swinging the doors open, he was stunned! Inside the doors was the master bedroom suite. In the room were fresh-cut flowers and a basket of tasty fruit. Everything was beautiful, the furnishings, the curtains, the wall hangings, everything. The man and wife stood there shaking their heads. “If only we had opened the door and entered in—all the way. We were only a few steps away from real comfort.”
This married couple’s frustration is typical of many Christian believers today. They just fail to enter into God’s Word all the way. They stop before they can get the full benefit of what He has to offer. Remember: you cannot really ‘live in’ something until you are willing to go through the door!
To stay ready for God to use:
Believe All Of God’s Word (v. 14-16a)
RECEIVE GOD’S WORD v. 16b-e
The word profitable means useful, beneficial, and helpful. Simply stated, the Bible is for man and woman; God gave it to help human beings. There are four specific helps in this Scripture.
The Bible is profitable for doctrine. Doctrine refers to the content of teaching, not the method. This means our doctrine and Christian instruction must be consistent with Scripture.
The Bible is profitable for reproof or rebuke. This means reading and hearing the Word of God brings conviction about sin.
The Bible is profitable for correction. The Bible not only rebukes us when we sin; it also tells us what to do to correct, or rectify, our sin and get us ready for God to use us again.
The Bible is profitable for instruction in righteousness. The Bible trains us in how to stay on the right track and be ready to be used by God.
To stay ready for God to use:
Believe All Of God’s Word (v. 16-16a)
Receive All Of God’s Word (v. 16b-e)
ACHIEVE THE PURPOSE OF GOD’S WORD v. 17
The purpose of the Bible is that the man [or woman] of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (v. 17). By “perfect” is meant completed, matured, filled. The Bible will completely equip you to do whatever God’s purpose is for your life. God didn’t give us the Bible so we could be obnoxious Bible experts. As we live God’s Word, we conform to the image of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we progressively become more and more loving and develop into better instruments for God to use in building up His Kingdom.
James 1:25 (NKJV) “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”
The word translated blessed refers to happiness that is not dependent on outward circumstances. It is “divine delight.”
STAYING READY FOR GOD TO US:
Believe All Of God’s Word (v. 14-16a)
Receive God’s Word (v. 16b-e)
Achieve The Purpose Of God’s Word (v. 17)
Responsive Reading: 2 Timothy 3:10-17
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