Scripture:
2 Tim. 2:2
and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men,[a] who will be able to teach others also.
Observation:
Paul challenges Timothy to entrust what he has been modeled/ taught to others who will be faithful to teach others.
Application:
Here we go again. Just in time. The Lord has provided another verse at the perfect moment. As I sat in the cafetorium last night with the 14 men who will lead and sometimes carry the church into the next season I couldn’t help but smile. Each with unique gifts. Each with a deep desire to please God and to serve His church. It was so awesome to hear the elders speak and use the language of 1 Thess. 2:8. It was awesome to hear the deacons engage in a clear understanding of our mission and values. It was amazing to hear prayers that echo the prayers I have prayed for years. It was humbling to look out and see men who match the description of what I sensed God calling me to develop years before I ever moved to Bradenton. I am not the apostle Paul by any means, however for the last 6 years I have played the role of mentor and pastor in your life. All that to say, three things that you need to know.
-What I have invested into each of you is of great value. The gospel of Jesus Christ is priceless. There is a reason Paul uses the word entrust. It isn’t something to pass around lightly or toss back and forth. It is a priceless investment that has been entrusted. Treat the gospel and the vision, mission and values of the local church (developed in prayer, fasting and bathed in the word) with great care and with the urgency that they deserve.
-Identify faithful people to pour this message into. Sunday we proclaim this to the masses. However, Monday-Saturday is your responsibility to find people who are willing to take the next step, to be more than bystanders and consumers and invest the gospel at a deep heart level into their lives. Each of you need to identify at least one other person to start this process with now. Don’t make excuses of not knowing enough or being too busy. You were in that room last night because I believe in you and if your too busy to disciple someone, you are too busy. You don’t have to teach them everything, just everything you know and everything you do. You can’t teach them to obey what you don’t obey. You teach what you know. You reproduce who you are.
-The goal is not for them to learn but rather for them to teach to others. We have not done our job when those who follow us do and say what we say and do. We have only succeeded when those we invest in are investing in others. There are some of you that are already doing this. However, there are some that are not. Instead of being discouraged by this, accept the challenge and start entrusting.
The best years of our local church are ahead of us. I believe this with my whole heart. However, the mission of Good Life only lives on when we are faithful to obey Paul’s charge to Timothy in this passage. Remember our mission. To love enough to make disciples that love people enough to share the good news and our lives as well. The mission is not completed when you are loving people enough to share the good news and your life. It is completed when they are making disciples that love people enough to share the good news and life. The people I have invested in (many of you) are doing this. Now it is time for the next level to embrace this and live this. This is when we will see the movement go beyond the cafetorium and into the 490,000.
Prayer:
Father, shower these men with confidence and grace. Help them know that they have what it takes and that what they already possess is enough. May they, using the gifts you have given them, begin and continue the process of entrusting to faithful people who will teach others.