Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Making a Lasting Difference │ Msg 914

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Making a Lasting Difference │ Msg 914 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: All scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
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Speaker 1: for correction, and for instruction in righteousness that the man
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Speaker 1: or woman of God may be made complete, mature, complete
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Speaker 1: in every way. We always turn to the word of
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Speaker 1: God with that hope and confidence that knowing that each
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Speaker 1: section has been equally God-breathed and therefore preserved for our instruction.
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Speaker 1: If you have a Bible with you this morning, please
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Speaker 1: locate 2 Timothy chapter 3. You will also find in
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Speaker 1: your worship folder an outline for the message of the
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Speaker 1: morning that you may want to place here in the
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Speaker 1: crease of your Bible when we finish with the reading.
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Speaker 1: 2 Timothy chapter 3, beginning at verse 10 through verse 14.
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Speaker 1: And now in respect for the scriptures and in the
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Speaker 1: honor of the name of Christ, we stand together for
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Speaker 1: the reading of God's word. 2 Timothy chapter 3, verses
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Speaker 1: 10 through 14. Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions,
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Speaker 1: and sufferings. Such has happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium,
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Speaker 1: and at Lystra. What persecutions I endured, and out of
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Speaker 1: them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire
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Speaker 1: to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But
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Speaker 1: evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse,
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Speaker 1: deceiving and being deceived. You, however, you continue in the
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Speaker 1: things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from
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Speaker 1: whom you have learned them. May our God be honored
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Speaker 1: in the reading and in the living out of his word.
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Speaker 1: You may be seated. Each time an offering is taken,
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Speaker 1: we often think it's an appropriate moment to explain that
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Speaker 1: this is an occasion for God's people to support God's work.
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Speaker 1: If you visit with us today, we certainly would not
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Speaker 1: expect a gift from you. It would be like you
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Speaker 1: were paying for a meal at a table in our
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Speaker 1: home where we have hosted you. If you are here
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Speaker 1: without Christ, we certainly would urge you not to give,
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Speaker 1: but take this as an opportunity to receive God's gift
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Speaker 1: for you, which comes completely without any cost to you.
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Speaker 1: It costs the Son of God his life. But by
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Speaker 1: giving you his life, he provides you with the opportunity
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Speaker 1: to claim eternal life with God forever. And this would
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Speaker 1: be a great occasion as other people around you give
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Speaker 1: for you to receive his gift, which is forgiveness and
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Speaker 1: eternal kind of life. May we bow together as Christians
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Speaker 1: prepare to give and as we bow before him to
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Speaker 1: give ourselves first. before our offerings. Each line of each
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Speaker 1: song and each hymn we have sung today, our Father,
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Speaker 1: is a melodic reflection that comes from our own hearts.
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Speaker 1: These are not mere words that fit on a page
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Speaker 1: or on a screen. They are our testimony. We see
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Speaker 1: ourselves as we have declared nothing but a wretch in
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Speaker 1: whom you have found favor. We bring nothing to you.
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Speaker 1: You are the one who has rescued us. We have
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Speaker 1: not died that others may live. You have died that
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Speaker 1: we may live. And thank you for your son's death.
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Speaker 1: If we were to spend another hundred years on this planet,
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Speaker 1: we would not find sufficient words to thank you. Our
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Speaker 1: gratitude knows no bounds. And we pause today before this
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Speaker 1: offering to express the delightful privilege that is ours of
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Speaker 1: all things to give to you, the one who has
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Speaker 1: given so much to us. Thank you for your son
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Speaker 1: who knew no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth,
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Speaker 1: who when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered,
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Speaker 1: he threatened not, but committed himself to him who judges righteously.
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Speaker 1: who his own self bore our sins in his own
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Speaker 1: body on the tree, that we being dead to sin
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Speaker 1: should live unto righteousness, by whose stripe we are healed.
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Speaker 1: Because of the healing and because of the rescuing, all
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Speaker 1: because of your grace, we pause with our gifts. In
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Speaker 1: the name of Jesus Christ, we give today. And all
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Speaker 1: his people said, amen. Most people I know want to
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Speaker 1: make a difference. In fact, they want to make a
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Speaker 1: lasting difference in the lives of others. Most people I
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Speaker 1: know do not want to drift along in mediocrity. You
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Speaker 1: do not want to be swallowed up in anonymity or obscurity.
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Speaker 1: As a matter of fact, You want to make a
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Speaker 1: difference in the lives of people around you. You're not
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Speaker 1: driven by money if you are in this category. You
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Speaker 1: are not driven by fame. You're not afraid of hardship
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Speaker 1: or sacrifice. As a matter of fact, you're not even
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Speaker 1: worried about the risk involved because you want to make
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Speaker 1: a difference, a difference that lasts. You certainly are not
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Speaker 1: looking for an early retirement because you know that life
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Speaker 1: continues on as long as you have breath in your lungs.
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Speaker 1: You want your life to count for something. A classic
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Speaker 1: example of this occurred back in 1914 in the life
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Speaker 1: of a man named Ernest Henry Shackleton. Shackleton had a vision,
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Speaker 1: a dream to accomplish something that had never been done before.
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Speaker 1: He wanted to lead an expedition across Antarctica. How's that
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Speaker 1: for a dream or a vision? He knew he couldn't
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Speaker 1: do it alone. He would have to recruit people like-minded,
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Speaker 1: just as strong-hearted and determined. If they were going to
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Speaker 1: make that journey with him, they would have to be
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Speaker 1: willing to risk, to care nothing about the life-threatening sacrifices
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Speaker 1: that would be involved. So how would he recruit those people?
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Speaker 1: As legend has it, he knew nothing better than to
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Speaker 1: take out an ad in the London Times, although the
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Speaker 1: original has yet to be located. According to the book,
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Speaker 1: The Greatest Advertisements, 1852 to 1958, the ad appeared as follows.
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Speaker 1: Men wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long
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Speaker 1: months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return, doubtful, honor
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Speaker 1: and recognition in case of success. Ernest Shackleton for Burlington Street. Amazingly,
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Speaker 1: it became the single most popular ad in the history
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Speaker 1: of newspapers. Five thousand and more men offered themselves to
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Speaker 1: this task, along with three very brave young women. Within days,
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Speaker 1: the names began to deluge the man's life. men and
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Speaker 1: women alike saying, we want to make a difference, a
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Speaker 1: difference that will never be forgotten. He announced his intention
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Speaker 1: to go across the South Pole. He invited those to
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Speaker 1: submit their names to conditions that would be harsh, numerous,
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Speaker 1: in fact, on some occasions, virtually humanly impossible. The pay
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Speaker 1: would be low, more like a token honorarium But Ernest
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Speaker 1: Shackleton found his group. As he put it, they were
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Speaker 1: not merely talented or physically strong people. He looked for
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Speaker 1: intangible qualities, such as attitude, character, or as Winston Churchill
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Speaker 1: used to refer to it, character, character. A team spirit,
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Speaker 1: qualities that would transform a collection of individuals into a
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Speaker 1: synergistic union of souls.
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Speaker 2: A team.
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Speaker 1: The phenomenal story is recorded in a book you must read.
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Speaker 1: After you read it, be sure your kids read it.
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Speaker 1: After your kids read it, be sure your grandkids get
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Speaker 1: a copy. You need to read it to them. It
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Speaker 1: is titled, one title, one word, Endurance. Shackleton's story is
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Speaker 1: recorded in this phenomenal book. His desire was to make
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Speaker 1: a lasting difference. And by the way, that never just happens.
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Speaker 1: It's the result of possessing the right qualities that are
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Speaker 1: essential in having the determination to get you through the
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Speaker 1: tough stuff. All of this brings us to the five
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Speaker 1: verses that are in the core of 2 Timothy chapter 3.
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Speaker 1: Please turn there. Paul the older is writing Timothy the younger. Paul,
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Speaker 1: who will soon die at the hands of the Romans,
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Speaker 1: Passing on this information to Timothy who will live on
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Speaker 1: as he pastors the church in Ephesus, hundreds of miles away.
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Speaker 1: These words are Paul's way of saying, stay with it.
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Speaker 1: Go for the goal. Don't let anything stop you. Continue on, Timothy.
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Speaker 1: Or in the words of the great theologian, Larry the
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Speaker 1: Cable Guy, get her done. Get her done, Timothy. We
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Speaker 1: laugh at that. We smile at that. The guy's hilarious.
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Speaker 1: But the fact is, I have never accomplished anything in
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Speaker 1: my life without that particular motto ringing strong. Nor have you.
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Speaker 1: You do not just happen to get an education. You
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Speaker 1: do not just happen to accomplish some goal you have
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Speaker 1: set for yourself. You don't just happen to make a
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Speaker 1: difference in someone else's life. You don't stumble into that.
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Speaker 1: It is the result of you yourself determining to be different.
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Speaker 1: I was reared with that philosophy. Son, we don't care
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Speaker 1: what the neighbors say or do or think. We are swindles.
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Speaker 1: We will do it our way. And he drilled that
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Speaker 1: into me, as only my wife could tell you. We
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Speaker 1: will be ourselves regardless of what anyone else is or
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Speaker 1: says or does. So I was halfway there by the
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Speaker 1: time I got in the Marine Corps, and they just
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Speaker 1: finished off the job right then. Get her done was
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Speaker 1: the motto of the Marine Corps, though I never heard
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Speaker 1: it while I was in there. It was put other
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Speaker 1: ways that I'll not get into. The goal, put simply,
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Speaker 1: is this. Write it down. To make a lasting difference
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Speaker 1: in the lives of people around me. That's the goal.
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Speaker 1: Two practical comments before we get further into this passage.
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Speaker 1: To make a difference means you must be different. Samey
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Speaker 1: same never got the job done. Being like everybody else
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Speaker 1: never made an impression. To make a difference, you must
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Speaker 1: be different. Secondly, to be different, you must cultivate the
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Speaker 1: qualities that are essential for that difference. To be different,
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Speaker 1: you must cultivate the qualities. That's why Paul spends time
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Speaker 1: to name one after another as he writes to Timothy,
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Speaker 1: knowing that Timothy will outlive him. A quick overview before
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Speaker 1: we get into the details of the verses. Look at
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Speaker 1: these verses for yourself. Verses 10 through 14 of 2
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Speaker 1: Timothy chapter 3. If you were to sit down at
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Speaker 1: your kitchen table, open your Bible to this passage, These
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Speaker 1: are a couple or three things I would give you
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Speaker 1: as tips for sort of opening the passage for you.
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Speaker 1: Often think in terms of time, past, present, and future.
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Speaker 1: When you're reading a passage, look for that. Look for
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Speaker 1: hints that give those clues. Now, they won't always be
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Speaker 1: in that order as these verses would model for us. First,
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Speaker 1: there is the past. Then Paul jumps to the future,
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Speaker 1: then he comes back to the present. All the while
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Speaker 1: saying to Timothy in so many words, I want you
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Speaker 1: to make a difference unlike all of the others around you.
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Speaker 1: How do I know verses 10 and 11 are referring
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Speaker 1: to the past? Look at the verses. You'll find four
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Speaker 1: words that end with E-D. How pedantic can I get, huh? Timothy,
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Speaker 1: now you followed E-D. That's the past. Verse 11. The
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Speaker 1: persecutions and sufferings which happened, E.D. That's the past. Happened
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Speaker 1: in Antioch and Iconium and Lystra. I endured, E.D. That's
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Speaker 1: the past. Out of them all the Lord rescued me, E.D.
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Speaker 1: That's the past. You followed. These things happened. I endured them.
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Speaker 1: The Lord rescued them. All of those things, look back. Timothy,
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Speaker 1: remember this. how it was. When you get to verses
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Speaker 1: 12 and 13, the future is introduced with the word will.
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Speaker 1: Look at the verses. Indeed, all who desire to live
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Speaker 1: godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. There's your clue.
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Speaker 1: Look at the next one. Evil men and imposters will
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Speaker 1: proceed from bad to worse. That's another clue. When you
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Speaker 1: read will, you know you're reading of the future. I'll
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Speaker 1: get to that in a moment, but that is an
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Speaker 1: absolute prediction of what we can anticipate. It isn't something
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Speaker 1: that might have applied to the biblical days. That is
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Speaker 1: a prediction true to our own day. You determine to
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Speaker 1: live godly, you will be persecuted. If there are enough
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Speaker 1: of you living godly, you can count on this. The
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Speaker 1: imposters and deceivers will proliferate, and as a result, they
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Speaker 1: will work hard to make your life miserable. They will
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Speaker 1: proceed from bad to worse. Count on it. It's a
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Speaker 1: biblical promise. It's a prediction. So what do I do
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Speaker 1: with a past like that and with a future like this?
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Speaker 1: How do I handle myself in the present? See the
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Speaker 1: word continue in verse 14? You, however, continue in the
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Speaker 1: things you have learned. That's a word for the present.
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Speaker 1: If I tell you to continue on with something, I'm
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Speaker 1: not talking about the past. I'm not referring to the future.
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Speaker 1: I'm saying keep on keeping on. Continue on. Now the past.
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Speaker 1: Here's something to write down regarding the past. To model
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Speaker 1: the truth we've been taught regardless of the tests and
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Speaker 1: trials that come. As you look to the past, you
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Speaker 1: want to remember those who modeled the truth that they
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Speaker 1: were taught and have taught us regardless of the trials
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Speaker 1: and the tests that come. Let me state here a
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Speaker 1: principle that I would wish you would write down as well.
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Speaker 1: It's something that I've never read, but it's something you
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Speaker 1: can pass on to someone else. There is a powerful link, L-I-N-K.
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Speaker 1: There's a powerful link between remembrance and continuance. There's a
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Speaker 1: powerful link between what we remember and how we continue.
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Speaker 1: I've had the privilege of having some great teachers in
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Speaker 1: my life. I had great parents. I have a great wife.
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Speaker 1: I have great kids. I have great mentors. I have,
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Speaker 1: thank the Lord, a great education, thanks to the grace
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Speaker 1: of God and the patience of teachers. I have great
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Speaker 1: reminders of days past where knowledge was poured into my life.
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Speaker 1: It came from all different directions, always from people. Information
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Speaker 1: comes from people. I follow those people as best I can.
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Speaker 1: When I fail, it's often because I am not following
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Speaker 1: the things I learned from my past. I don't make
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Speaker 1: a difference if I don't follow that kind of teaching. Now,
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Speaker 1: Paul's concern was for Timothy. That's why he begins with
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Speaker 1: the two little words that you're tempted to run right
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Speaker 1: on by. Now you. Now you, verse 10. Why is
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Speaker 1: that important? Because they are connectives to the first nine verses.
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Speaker 1: The first nine verses, you remember, is of depravity on parade.
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Speaker 1: It's the unfolding of 19 qualities that characterize those who
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Speaker 1: are lost, those who are deceived, and those who are deceiving.
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Speaker 1: But you, verse 10, but you, Timothy, but you, Shirley,
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Speaker 1: but you, Doris, but you, Chuck, but you, Bill, but you, Martha,
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Speaker 1: but you, Sue, but you, Frank, but you, Jack. This
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Speaker 1: is written to you and me just as it was
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Speaker 1: written to Timothy. But you, unlike those who are deceiving
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Speaker 1: and being deceived, you are different, Timothy. You were different.
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Speaker 1: I could call your names again. You were different, Chuck,
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Speaker 1: I could say to myself. Why? Timothy, why was he different?
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Speaker 1: Look at what it says. Because you followed, and now
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Speaker 1: he names nine memories in Timothy's life, each of which
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Speaker 1: in the original text has a definite article, the. Allow me,
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Speaker 1: though it will be a little bit wooden, let me
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Speaker 1: read it to you literally. Now you followed the teaching,
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Speaker 1: the conduct. the purpose, the faith, the patience, the love,
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Speaker 1: the perseverance, the persecutions, and the sufferings. Each one is
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Speaker 1: a category unto itself, and as Timothy unrolled the scroll
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Speaker 1: and read the letter for the first time, he remembered.
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Speaker 1: He remembered. He remembered the years he had traveled with Paul.
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Speaker 1: He remembered the events that occurred. He remembered the times
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Speaker 1: of teaching where sitting under candlelight, Paul would lean over
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Speaker 1: and say to Timothy, now remember this, such and such
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Speaker 1: and so and so. Or let me show you what
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Speaker 1: the Lord has revealed to me. And he would teach him.
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Speaker 1: That's what he means here by the teaching. The teaching. Now,
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Speaker 1: this is a very important point to remember. We follow
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Speaker 1: people physically. That's called follow the leader. And that's simple.
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Speaker 1: That's easy. We do it as a child. But we
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Speaker 1: also follow other people mentally. We say that. I follow you.
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Speaker 1: Someone is making something clear, you say, I follow you.
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Speaker 1: I follow where you're going. Far more importantly, we follow
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Speaker 1: people spiritually. I can still remember in my mind's eye,
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Speaker 1: I can see the scene where I saw a mentor
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Speaker 1: on his knees pouring out his heart to God on
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Speaker 1: a rainy night on the island of Okinawa. He didn't
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Speaker 1: even know I was watching. I knew he was going
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Speaker 1: through a terribly difficult time, and I saw him as
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Speaker 1: he was pouring out his heart to God, and I
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Speaker 1: remember his conduct. See the word here? Followed my teaching.
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Speaker 1: He followed my conduct. The word means lifestyle. The Scottish
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Speaker 1: people say some things are better felt than tellt. When
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Speaker 1: you follow people's conduct, it rubs off on you. They
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Speaker 1: don't say, and now my conduct is going to reveal
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Speaker 1: so and so. And we take a note on it. No,
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Speaker 1: it doesn't work like that. We see them under stress.
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Speaker 1: We watch them under pressure. We see them respond to
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Speaker 1: their critics. We watch how they handle sickness, affliction, disappointment.
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Speaker 1: We see how they handle rewards and accomplishments. We watch
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Speaker 1: their conduct, Timothy. You have the benefit of having the teaching,
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Speaker 1: the conduct, even the purpose. The word means aim in life.
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Speaker 1: You have followed my aim in life. One wag put
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Speaker 1: it this way. If you shoot at nothing, you'll hit
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Speaker 1: it every time. You who have no purpose for living
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Speaker 1: are living a rather blank life. It's purposeless. You're sort
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Speaker 1: of living from one day to the next. Reminds me
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Speaker 1: of a cartoon out of Peanuts. Years ago, Charles Schultz
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Speaker 1: included this little scene where the dog, Snoopy, carries the
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Speaker 1: message to the reader. Linus takes the stick and he
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Speaker 1: throws the stick and Snoopy looks at the stick, is
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Speaker 1: it flies through the air and lands, and he sits
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Speaker 1: there and looks at it. Doesn't move. Thanks to Charles Schultz,
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Speaker 1: we know what Snoopy is thinking. In his mind, he says,
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Speaker 1: I want people to have more to say about me
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Speaker 1: when I'm gone than he was a nice guy and
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Speaker 1: he chased sticks. When Paul finished his life, no one
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Speaker 1: would say he's a nice guy and he chased sticks.
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Speaker 1: What's going to be written on your stone? Come to
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Speaker 1: think of it. He's a nice guy. He lived 47
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Speaker 1: years or he lived 78 years or she raised four
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Speaker 1: kids and died at age 92. With Paul it will
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Speaker 1: say you followed my teaching, my conduct, my purpose, my
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Speaker 1: aim of life. The next four go together. They are
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Speaker 1: sort of the cardinal virtues of the Christian life. Faith, patience, love, perseverance.
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Speaker 1: Look at those four words. I'll lump them together. Faith
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Speaker 1: is trust in God. The next word is patience with God.
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Speaker 1: Love for God and endurance waiting on God. You remember that, Timothy.
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Speaker 1: You have good, solid roots. By the way, it will
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Speaker 1: give you a firsthand acquaintance with the living God. Thomas Carlyle,
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Speaker 1: the Scottish essayist, remembered when he was a boy the
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Speaker 1: words of his father as their parish was without a pastor.
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Speaker 1: The father was gravely concerned over the pastor they would
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Speaker 1: get to fill the responsibilities of their church. Carlisle records
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Speaker 1: these words of his father. What this parish needs is
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Speaker 1: a minister who knows and loves Christ other than at
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Speaker 1: second hand. Who knows and loves Christ other than at
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Speaker 1: second hand. If you have a pastor who has a
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Speaker 1: second hand love for Christ, you have an absence of
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Speaker 1: passion and enthusiasm. If you yourself are lacking in this
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Speaker 1: sense of firsthand love, patience, a trust, an endurance, you
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Speaker 1: won't make it in any sense of purpose, in any
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Speaker 1: way of shaping the lives of others. Not just stories
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Speaker 1: of other people's love and faith and patience and endurance,
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Speaker 1: but your own. See the word perseverance? It's from two
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Speaker 1: Greek words that mean to abide under. Hupo is under
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Speaker 1: and meno is to abide. It was used for a
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Speaker 1: donkey when you loaded it up with a burden that
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Speaker 1: was to be carried on a long journey. The donkey
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Speaker 1: was said to hupo meno, the burden. He would abide
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Speaker 1: under the load. By the way, we put a lot
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Speaker 1: of emphasis on people who are healed from diseases and
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Speaker 1: we're grateful for each healing. But we don't place much
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Speaker 1: emphasis on those who endure through years of not being healed.
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Speaker 1: You know someone like that? Someone you've loved all the
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Speaker 1: way to death, perhaps, or near death? That's endurance. And
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Speaker 1: your being by their side is a mark of endurance.
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Speaker 1: I got a sweet note from a longtime friend of mine,
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Speaker 1: Howie Stevenson, who was greeting me on a birthday. And
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Speaker 1: he said, I just want to tell you that I
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Speaker 1: just have great memories of our years together. And he
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Speaker 1: went through all of it. And he said, my life
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Speaker 1: is now spent with Maryland. She's suffering from a form
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Speaker 1: of dementia now. And he said, these are the ways
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Speaker 1: I spend my life today. He's enduring. I wrote him
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Speaker 1: back a word I hope was a word of encouragement.
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Speaker 1: I said, you've exchanged the spotlight for the twilight. And
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Speaker 1: you're still faithful. One of the marks of maturity is endurance.
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Speaker 1: See it here? It says persecutions and sufferings such as
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Speaker 1: happened to me. Timothy, you remember that. By the way,
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Speaker 1: something terrible happens when we see a mentor suffer. I
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Speaker 1: don't know if you've lived to do that, but if
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Speaker 1: one of your teachers goes through a time of rejection
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Speaker 1: or painful conditions or being misunderstood, it hurts you deeply.
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Speaker 1: You know what Timothy remembers of Paul? His being stoned
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Speaker 1: at Lystra. That was Timothy's hometown. You remember that, Timothy?
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Speaker 1: You remember when you dragged me out from under those stones?
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Speaker 1: Remember the blood and the laceration and the scars that followed?
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Speaker 1: Those are the things that happened to me at Antioch,
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Speaker 1: at Iconium, and at Lystra. Don't you love the next statement?
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Speaker 1: Look at verse 11. What persecutions I endured. Out of
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Speaker 1: them all, the Lord rescued me. It's a great word, rescued.
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Speaker 1: We sang of it this morning. He rescued the souls
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Speaker 1: of men. He rescues us. Let me give you a
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Speaker 1: couple of thoughts on this before we go further. Denying
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Speaker 1: our suffering is not a mark of maturity. Denying suffering,
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Speaker 1: denying hardship is not a mark of maturity. Don't deny it.
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Speaker 1: Acknowledge it. If you're going through a hard time, don't
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Speaker 1: say it's not a hard time. Paul says, what persecutions
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Speaker 1: I endured. Sometimes by remembering the hard times, you're given
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Speaker 1: strength to handle the better times. And another little tip,
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Speaker 1: remembering God rescues us makes us stronger for the next
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Speaker 1: time we need him. Remembering that God rescues us makes
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Speaker 1: us stronger for the next time we need him. Remember
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Speaker 1: the story of David and Goliath? Of course you do.
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Speaker 1: We all remember David in the slingshot and that great
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Speaker 1: big old lumbering Goliath of Gath. And Saul wouldn't take
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Speaker 1: him on. And David, youngster that he was, shows up
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Speaker 1: at the battlefield and says to Saul, let me at him.
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Speaker 1: I'll get her done. Let me out there. Remember what
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Speaker 1: Saul did? Saul puts his own armor on David, puts
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Speaker 1: his helmet, clunk, puts his big coat of mail. Saul
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Speaker 1: had is a 56 long. David is a 32 short.
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Speaker 1: He's just a little guy. Standing there. And David says this.
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Speaker 1: I can't walk in these. Isn't that a great line?
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Speaker 1: So he takes his helmet off. Takes the armor off
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Speaker 1: of him. Takes the sword away from him. The sword
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Speaker 1: he had to drag out there. But what he had
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Speaker 1: was a sling and a few stones. And Saul looks
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Speaker 1: at him and says, you're but a youth. And this
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Speaker 1: man has been a warrior since he was a youth.
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Speaker 1: He's mean as a junkyard dog. You've just been keeping sheep.
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Speaker 1: David says, no, no, no, no. What you don't know
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Speaker 1: is that I've killed a lion and a bear when
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Speaker 1: I was protecting my father's sheep. You read the story
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Speaker 1: in 1 Samuel 17. Nobody talks about this. Saul's bottom
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Speaker 1: jaw hits his chest. You killed a lion and a bear? Yep.
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Speaker 1: I mean, have you ever met anybody that says, hey,
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Speaker 1: by the way, yesterday I killed a lion. That night
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Speaker 1: I killed a bear. I see people with scars all
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Speaker 1: over them that met up with a bear, but the
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Speaker 1: bear had them. David says, I killed a lion. Just
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Speaker 1: go there. And I killed a bear. And who is
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Speaker 1: this uncircumcised Philistine that he should taunt the armies of
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Speaker 1: the living God? How could David take on Goliath? He
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Speaker 1: had a lion and bear story. Don't forget your lion
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Speaker 1: and bear stories. Don't forget to pass them on to
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Speaker 1: your children. Tell them about the lions and the bears
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Speaker 1: and God's rescuing you. How could Daniel go into the
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Speaker 1: lion's den without fear? Why? Three chapters earlier, He records
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Speaker 1: the event where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went through a
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Speaker 1: fiery furnace. I'll take on lions any day in comparison
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Speaker 1: to 12,000 Fahrenheit fire in a furnace. He had seen
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Speaker 1: the Lord deliver him there. He was going to deliver
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Speaker 1: him here. That's how you do it. And so he says,
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Speaker 1: the Lord rescued me out of them all. How good
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Speaker 1: is that word? All of them. Now the future. Look.
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Speaker 1: If you're taking notes, to face tomorrow realistically, regardless of
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Speaker 1: how hard times will be. The purpose of this passage
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Speaker 1: is to help us face tomorrow realistically, regardless of how
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Speaker 1: hard the times will be. And believe me, they will
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Speaker 1: get harder. Look at what it says. Indeed, there's a
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Speaker 1: lot of emphasis in that word. Indeed, Timothy, all who
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Speaker 1: desire to live godly in Christ Jesus, what? will be persecuted. Timothy,
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Speaker 1: count on it. You want to live a godly life?
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Speaker 1: You want to be so different that you make a
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Speaker 1: lasting difference in the life of others? You will be misunderstood.
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Speaker 1: You will be mistreated. You will be talked about. You
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Speaker 1: will be misunderstood and forgotten and pushed aside. Count on it.
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Speaker 1: Don't be surprised by it. Peter writes, don't be surprised
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Speaker 1: At the fiery trial which is to try you as
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Speaker 1: though some strange thing happened to you. I'm surprised we're
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Speaker 1: not more persecuted. May say something of our lack of godliness.
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Speaker 1: All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will
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Speaker 1: be persecuted. And in fact, if you think things are
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Speaker 1: going to get better, look at verse 13. Evil men
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Speaker 1: and women, this implies, imposters will proceed from bad to worse,
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Speaker 1: deceiving and being deceived. What is the year going to bring?
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Speaker 1: It's going to bring imposters who will proceed from bad
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Speaker 1: to worse. How about the year 2020? It's going to
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Speaker 1: bring imposters who will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving
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Speaker 1: and being deceived. What if the Lord tears into 2025?
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Speaker 1: You're going to find people deceiving and being deceived. You're
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Speaker 1: going to find things worse. America will be a harder
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Speaker 1: place to live for Christ than it is now. And
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Speaker 1: it is now harder than it was when I was
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Speaker 1: a child. And it was harder when I was a
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Speaker 1: child than it was when my father was a child.
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Speaker 1: Because things erode. Because imposters increase. Because deception intensifies. Because
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Speaker 1: evil proliferates. Count on it, Timothy. That's why Jesus said
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Speaker 1: to his followers, Blessed are you when people persecute you
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Speaker 1: and say all manner of evil against you. so persecuted
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Speaker 1: they the prophets. Now, verse 14. The present. Here's the present.
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Speaker 1: What do we say about the present? To be ready
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Speaker 1: for whatever may occur, no matter the challenge. To be
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Speaker 1: ready for whatever may occur, no matter the challenge. Look
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Speaker 1: at this. You, however, here's another you day. You, however,
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Speaker 1: there's an emphasis in the original, just like the beginning
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Speaker 1: of verse 10. Now you, you, however, Timothy, are going
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Speaker 1: to make a difference because you are different. You continue
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Speaker 1: as a great word. Remember, remembrance has a direct link
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Speaker 1: to continuing, to continuance. Remember, continue in the things you
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Speaker 1: have learned and become convinced of knowing from whom you
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Speaker 1: have learned them. You've got a reliable source in my life.
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Speaker 1: But go back to the words learned and become convinced.
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Speaker 1: There's a difference. We learn knowledge. We learn information. I
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Speaker 1: learned algebra. Let me use another example. I learned history
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Speaker 1: from a good history teacher. I tried to learn algebra,
35:32
Speaker 1: and it didn't work. I learned Greek from Greek teachers.
35:37
Speaker 1: I learned Hebrew from good Hebrew teachers. I learned theology
35:42
Speaker 1: from great theology teachers. I learned information. That's what I learned.
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Speaker 1: None of it gave me convictions. None of it gave
35:50
Speaker 1: me knowledge. Timothy, back to verse 14, I'll get to
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Speaker 1: the other in a moment. Continue in the things you
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Speaker 1: have learned. When he sat by candlelight and learned the doctrines,
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Speaker 1: Timothy learned them from Paul. Paul passed them along. When
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Speaker 1: he learned of the revelations God had given Paul, Timothy
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Speaker 1: learned about the revelation. When he learned about the church,
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Speaker 1: he learned knowledge about the church from Paul. But he
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Speaker 1: didn't learn convictions. Convictions come when we turn the knowledge
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Speaker 1: into actions. And we began to endure. We began to
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Speaker 1: stand fast. We were willing to sign up for the
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Speaker 1: journey across the Antarctic continent in life. And convictions occur
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Speaker 1: at that point. I'm going to tell you a quick flashback.
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Speaker 1: When my class graduated from seminary back in 1963, I
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Speaker 1: remember Dr. Wolvard, living at the time, was the president
36:46
Speaker 1: of the school. And he said with a frown as
36:48
Speaker 1: he looked out over our group of men, not that
36:51
Speaker 1: large in number. We were all men at the time,
36:54
Speaker 1: the school. He said, I'm grateful for each one of you,
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Speaker 1: but I have a concern. I fear that you are
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Speaker 1: graduating with a great deal of knowledge and not very
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Speaker 1: many convictions.
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Speaker 2: Wow.
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Speaker 1: And he was right. Four years at Dallas Seminary will
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Speaker 1: give you knowledge. It won't give you convictions. You have
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Speaker 1: to cultivate those. Four years at any school will give
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Speaker 1: you information, but it will never give you wisdom, endurance, character,
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Speaker 1: the determination to press on. And so, to make a
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Speaker 1: lasting difference, we must hold fast to the truth, that's
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Speaker 1: the past, stand strong on our convictions as we face
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Speaker 1: the future, knowing, knowing that times will get more difficult
37:47
Speaker 1: and more difficult. But it's still worth it. Still worth it.
37:52
Speaker 1: By the way, you may want to know the ending
37:53
Speaker 1: of the story of Ernest Shackleton. He never reached his destination.
38:00
Speaker 1: The ship which was named the boat that was named
38:03
Speaker 1: Endurance never really actually found its desired destination. They came
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Speaker 1: between the flow of ice and the ice crushed the boat.
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Speaker 1: so that it began to go down. And they took
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Speaker 1: the wood from it, from which they built the fire
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Speaker 1: and whatever, got the boat off, from which Shackleton and
38:23
Speaker 1: a few chosen individuals made their way to an island,
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Speaker 1: South American island, and came back and found the men alive, remarkably,
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Speaker 1: and rescued them. But it all seemed in vain, I'm sure,
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Speaker 1: to them. However, what you may not know is that
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Speaker 1: their story motivated and made a difference in the life
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Speaker 1: of another who did reach his destination. His name was
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Speaker 1: Sir Edmund Hillary. Do I speak today to a few climbers?
38:51
Speaker 1: Hillary was the first to go to the peak of
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Speaker 1: the Himalayas and to scale Mount Everest. These are his words,
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Speaker 1: Hillary's words, who lived years later. Of all the explorers
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Speaker 1: I would like to have known, Shackleton was the most admirable.
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Speaker 1: It is as a leader of men and as an
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Speaker 1: overcomer of appalling obstacles that Shackleton really excelled. Not for
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Speaker 1: him an easy task and a quick success. He was
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Speaker 1: at his best when the going was toughest. The enormous
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Speaker 1: affection and respect he engendered in his expedition members, often
39:34
Speaker 1: mighty men themselves, shines through in their diaries and their writings.
39:40
Speaker 1: So wrote Daniel Boorstin in his book, The Discoverers. It
39:45
Speaker 1: looked as though it was all in vain. just as
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Speaker 1: you may feel your life is. What you don't know
39:51
Speaker 1: is the lives who are watching you, who are being
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Speaker 1: changed by your example. Go back 2,000 years and look
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Speaker 1: at a cross. Read the minds of 11 disciples. Defeat.
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Speaker 1: All is lost. We followed him these three years in vain.
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Speaker 1: He's dead on the cross. No. God's greatest rescue plan
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Speaker 1: and all of time occurred three days later when he
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Speaker 1: was what? Raised from the dead. Hmm. Dawned on the disciples.
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Speaker 1: He must have meant what he said when he talked
40:38
Speaker 1: about dying and being raised from the dead. And then
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Speaker 1: Jesus looked at them on the Mount of Olives and
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Speaker 1: said to them, get her done. The job isn't anywhere
40:50
Speaker 1: near over. And I say the same thing to every
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Speaker 1: one of us. The resurrection was God's amen to Christ.
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Speaker 1: It is finished. He raised and changed the lives, and
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Speaker 1: from the lives he changed, he transformed the world. They
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Speaker 1: made a difference among the people around them. And you
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Speaker 1: and I must do the same. Regardless of how dark
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Speaker 1: it is today, the cross is a reminder that no
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Speaker 1: matter how dark it gets, There is a brightness in
41:20
Speaker 1: God's rescuing power. That's the message of this passage. You
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Speaker 1: get breath in your lungs, you're not sure, this afternoon
41:31
Speaker 1: get in front of a mirror and go, if there's
41:35
Speaker 1: a little fog that appears, you're safe. If it doesn't,
41:39
Speaker 1: call your doctor. You need help. But you're alive, and
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Speaker 1: if you're alive, there's a purpose. If there's a purpose,
41:46
Speaker 1: it's to make a difference in somebody else's life. Otherwise,
41:50
Speaker 1: you're spinning your wheels. And you bought the message of
41:54
Speaker 1: today that life is all about you, which it is not.
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Speaker 1: It's about glorifying our Savior. Let's bow our heads together.
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Speaker 1: This was the perfect occasion for you who have never
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Speaker 1: done so before to turn your heart and life over
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Speaker 1: to Christ. He's the one who paid the complete penalty
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Speaker 1: for your sins. Complete penalty. As one wag put it,
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Speaker 1: he picked up the tab. Jesus paid it all. All
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Speaker 1: to him we owe. Our Father, meet with us in
42:37
Speaker 1: a very special way in these quiet moments. May we
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Speaker 1: look at this cross again and anew and remember that
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Speaker 1: it was he who died on our behalf and lives today.
42:50
Speaker 1: having been raised. Thank you for his life. May our
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Speaker 1: life model his more effectively and consistently in the years ahead.
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Speaker 1: Thank you anew, our Father, for the cross, for all
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Speaker 1: that it represents, the shame, the suffering, the payment, the
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Speaker 1: abandonment from yourself, as the sin was born of the
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Speaker 1: whole world, whose blood keeps on cleansing us from all sins.
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Speaker 1: I pray that you will drill to our minds and
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Speaker 1: hearts the things we have heard today. May we realize
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Speaker 1: that the one who made such a difference in the
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Speaker 1: world has made a difference in our lives for a purpose.
43:41
Speaker 1: That is that we might make a difference in the
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Speaker 1: generation in which we live. Hear the devotion of our
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Speaker 1: hearts today. In His matchless name we pray. Everyone said, Amen.
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Speaker 2: The preceding message, Making a Lasting Difference, was copyrighted in
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Speaker 2: 2009 and 2015, and the sound recording was copyrighted in
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Speaker 2: 2015 by Charles R.
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Speaker 1: Swindoll, Inc.
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Speaker 2: All rights are reserved worldwide. duplication of copyrighted material for
44:15
Speaker 2: commercial use is strictly prohibited.