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2 Tim 2:1-10 (TLB)
O Timothy, my son, be strong with the strength Christ
Jesus gives you. For you must teach
others those things you and many others have heard me speak about. Teach these
great truths to trustworthy men who will, in turn, pass them on to others. Take
your share of suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, just as I do; and as Christ’s soldier, do not let
yourself become tied up in worldly affairs, for then you cannot satisfy the one
who has enlisted you in his army. Follow the Lord’s rules for doing his work, just as an athlete either follows
the rules or is disqualified and wins no prize. Work hard like a farmer who gets paid well if he raises a large
crop. Think over these three illustrations,
and may the Lord help you to understand how they apply to you. Don’t ever
forget the wonderful fact that Jesus Christ was a man, born into King David’s
family; and that he was God, as shown by the fact that he rose again from the
dead. It is because I have preached
these great truths that I am in trouble here and have been put in jail like a
criminal. But the Word of God is not chained, even though I am. I am more than willing to suffer if that
will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.
2 Tim 2:1-2
- The
things we are hearing and learning these days are not meant to be just stored
up in us. We are not to be containers with lids tightly closed – instead we
MUST be able to pour out into others. For this, we need to be strong in the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is
the labour we are called into just as Jesus commissioned first us.
- Matthew
28:18-20 (Philips)
- 18-20 But Jesus came and spoke
these words to them, “All power in Heaven and on earth has been given to me. You, then, are to go and make disciples of
all the nations and baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to
observe all that I have commanded you and, remember, I am with you always, even
to the end of the world.”
- We
must be deliberate about identifying those who the Lord is bringing around us
so that we can be deliberate about pouring out into them. Remember what Elisha
told the widow, “go borrow vessels, not a few” (2 Kings 4:3). There are vessels
waiting to be filled whether on the cyber world, in our churches, families and
communities. This is the labour.
- Sometimes,
we are waiting for the right time to go about this labour. Sometimes, we feel
we are not ready nor able to affect someone else. The question is – have I
heard anything? Have I learnt anything from the Lord? Has my life been affected
by the gospel? If I can answer “YES” to these questions, then I’ve got
something to pass on to another. When we pour out the ‘little’ we have into
someone else, it becomes the Lord’s responsibility to keep replenishing us so
that we do more.
Prayer Points
Ø Lord, strengthen me today. Lord
Jesus, You are my strength. Let Your strength overshadow my weakness today.
There is a labour, there is a commission, there is a work that You have called
us into but I cannot even rise to it without Your strengthening grace.
Ø Lord Jesus, help me by Your Spirit to
arise deliberately to Your labour. Give me a fresh sense of commission today so
that I can arise and go for YOU like You did to Isaiah. Here I am send me,
Lord.
Ø Lord, as You are affecting me with
the Gospel, show me those around me to whom You are sending me. Give me a fresh
sense of urgency and responsibility toward the people You are bringing around
me in this season.
2 Tim 2:3-4
- All
labour involves hardship. Hardship is anything that is uncomfortable or that
stretches beyond normal. Hardship is anything that requires much effort and
causes us strain.
- Let’s
remember that it was because our brothers in the early church endured hardship
that the gospel came to us. This labour will never get easier! If we wait till
it gets easier, we will never arise to go. (Ecclesiastes 11:4 GNB). The
conditions for this labour will never be favourable. We just have to be armed
and prepared for hardship.
- We
are soldiers in the Lord’s army! We are His battle axe and His weapons of war (Jeremiah
51:20). Soldiers never sign up for easy duty. In fact when you sign up as a
soldier, you may be signing your death warrant. This is the labour.
- Soldiers
live in barracks, in separate communities so that they are ready for duty
anytime. They cannot take other jobs or businesses. They cannot be distracted
or entangled in anything that renders them unavailable when their commanding
officer calls on them.
- Soldiers
exist to please their commanding officer. We MUST please our Lord who has
enlisted us in His army. We MUST live to wait on His next command.
Prayer Points
Ø Lord, I need Your grace to endure
hardship in this labour. Help me, Lord, not to dodge the labour You are calling
me into because of the hardship involved. Make me ready, by Your grace, to go
on in the labour no matter how much hardship it brings. Help me to keep my eyes
on You and the joys of pleasing You.
Ø Lord, help me to be a true soldier,
serving You from my heart and ready to give up all for Your cause. Lord, help
me to untangle myself from everything and anything that makes unpleasing to
You. Help me to identify my entanglements and to deliberately disengage from
them.
Ø Lord, You enlisted me in Your army.
Lord, equip me and prepare me for every aspect of the labour You are calling me
in to. Don’t let me be a handicapped soldier, liability, a potential casualty
of war.
Ø Lord, make me a soldier who is ALWAYS
on active duty and not one whose name is just on the list of those who signed
up.
2 Tim 2:4-7
- There
is a set pattern for the Lord’s labour in our hands. We can’t go about it just
anyhow and expect it to be pleasing to Him. God’s work must be done God’s way
(Hudson Taylor). The fact that something is working does not mean it has been
done God’s way. It is our responsibility to become familiar with God’s pattern
for His labour.
- Matthew
7:22-23- It will be clear on the last day who has done God’s work His way or
their own way. Let’s not wait till then to discover. We must make sure we
understand His pattern and follow it.
- The
hard working farmer – this labour requires hard work, diligence and dedication
if we are to see the harvest. Laziness, slothfulness and lethargy will not get
this labour done.
Prayer Points
Ø Lord, show me Your pattern for Your
labour in my hands. Let it be stamped on my heart so that I can follow it
exactly. Anyway I have been doing Your work my own way, please Lord, stop me
today. Give me a fresh and personal revelation of Your pattern for Your labour.
Don’t let me deviate even slightly from Your way of doing Your work.
Ø Don’t let me be among them who will
be rejected on the last day because I did not labour according to Your set
pattern. Baptise me into Christ again – He is Your set pattern, as I follow
Him, let the labour in my hands be acceptable to You.
Ø Lord, keep up Your work on my life.
Rid me of laziness, slothfulness and procrastination. Work in me a diligent
heart and make me a hard worker in Your labour.
Ø 2 Tim 2:7- Lord, grant me understanding of
Your word in 2 Tim 2:3-6. Holy Spirit, open my eyes to see more of what You are
saying to me and how it applies to my life specifically.
Ø 2 Tim 2:8 – Lord, help me to NEVER forget that
at the centre of all my labour is the GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST and its mystery.
Don’t let me lose focus.
John 6:28-29 (PHILLIPS)
28 This made them ask him, “What must we do to carry out the work of
God?” 29 “The work of God for you,” replied Jesus, “is to believe in the one
whom he has sent to you.”
- Our
labour is a labour based on our faith in Christ Jesus and what He has done and
is doing for and in us.
Prayer point
Ø Lord, help my unbelief. Help me to live
this life not by sight but by faith in Christ. Keep my feet firmly planted on
the premise that ‘it is no longer I that live but Christ lives in me’ (Gal
2:20)
