Step Out!

Well, are you guys ready to dig in, get a little more coaching from the apostle Paul? If you have your notes handy there, you can pull them out. We are going to look at chapter 4. And each time, you know, we want to get a little tip. And you can fill this in at the very top. Tip number four from the apostle Paul is this: Adversity will either make you or break you. Adversity, difficulty will either make you or break you.

Challenge, difficulty, distress, pain, betrayal, losing a job, losing your retirement, losing a mate, divorce, failure, an injury, cancer, the death of a loved one – there is no escape in a fallen world. In a fallen world there is evil and evil people. In a fallen world there’s human mistakes.

And so, the apostle Paul is going to coach this young man and us to say, “Here’s how you respond. Here’s how you keep your antennae up and recognize stuff is going to happen. Here’s where the real issues are and here’s what you need to do.”

So, with that, let’s look at chapter 4. He opens it up, you’ll notice in your notes, with a description of false teachers and where the evil comes from. “But the Spirit explicitly says that in the latter times,” here’s this phrase again, he’s talking about church people, “some will fall away from,” have you put a box around this enough times yet? “…the faith,” – why? “paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons.”

And by the way, before you get like, oh, paranormal, and that’s got to be really bizarre stuff. Or it was like where I lived in Santa Cruz and we had, I mean, audio and visible manifestations of demonic activity and we had witches and warlocks. It was the most bizarre place in the world. I would suggest to you much of the teachings of the enemy are as simple as: Follow your heart. You deserve to be happy. If you do good, everything good will come your way. Very, very subtle. God wants you to be healthy and rich and prosperous all the time.

The number one means of spiritual warfare is not bizarre stuff. It’s three little letters. L-I-E. It’s lies. Lies about the future, lies about yourself, lies about success, lies about your past, lies about who you are, lies about what makes you – a person – significant. Lies about security, lies about relationships, lies about, “you know all those Democrats, you know they’re Marxists,” right? Lies about the Republicans – “they’re all racists.”

The enemy will attack through the Left, he’ll attack through the Right. He doesn’t care. He just came to kill and to steal and destroy - you. And if he can get you to buy a set of lies and go down the path of those lies that set expectations…

Lie: I’m not in love anymore. I must have married the wrong person. No, you just stopped doing the things that build intimacy and so you have drifted apart and you’re going to have to go back to the things that you did in the beginning.

“For everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the Word of God and prayer.”

And basically he goes back to, remember, he started with false teachers. He said, “This is what you need to do.” Chapter 2 was how we need to address it. Chapter 3, we need a long-haul strategy. We need to develop really godly men with character who are going to lead the Church in the future.

And then it’s like, “Now, Timmy,” I don’t know if he ever called him Timmy. You need to understand that the source of these lies isn’t just these “bad people”. They are energized by the enemy. And the enemy is energizing false teaching inside the Church and it has the appearance of godliness. They are super disciplined. They don’t eat these foods, they don’t worship on these…they don’t, they don’t, they don’t, they don’t. And here are all these things they do. And it’s some works religiosity to somehow put burdens on people instead of experience God’s grace and forgiveness.

And so, he’s just telling him, everything that God gives us is good. And if you receive it with thanksgiving, in the Word, and prayer, it sanctifies it.

And then in verse 6 through 10, he’s going to give him a prescription to be a good teacher. He says, “In pointing out these things to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of good doctrine which you have been following.”

Now, did you notice something? Because this is going to be really key. The people who were genuine followers at one point to some degree started paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons and he is going to do well by pointing out these things and he is constantly nourished on the words of faith and good doctrine.

Do you understand? I mean, just write this in your notes: You are the product of your thought life. “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” How you think, you view yourself, your emotions, your perspective, your worldview is a product of your thought life. And that’s why Colossians 3 it will say, “Set on your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.” That’s why Paul in Romans 8 will say, “The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” See, it’s so, so important.

Later in Romans chapter 12 when he talks about how real life-change, he doesn’t say, “Go to church, do a lot of good things, and try really had to be nice, and try hard to be disciplined, and try to be godly.” He says, “Stop allowing this world system and its lies to squeeze you into its mold. By contrast, allow your mind to be renewed, that your life and lifestyle would actually prove, experience, taste what God’s will is, that it’s good, acceptable, and perfect.

And that’s why, are you ready for this? This sounds crazy. The most important decision you’ll make every single day, multiple times a day, is what you allow in your mind. What you watch, what you listen to, how long you linger in this conversation.

And by the way, it’s not just media and it’s not just culture. It’s your friends. Proverbs 13:20 says, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of a fool will suffer harm.”

I remember a mom was kind of giving it to her fourteen, fifteen-year-old boy that was kind of letting her know that she kind of, he knows kind of what life is all about. And was hanging with some people that she, being a little older said, “You know, I see where this is going.” And I’ll never forget overhearing her. She said, “Son, show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.”

So, he says, “You’ll be a good servant if you point these things out.” But then, but notice again, the content. “But stay away from worthless stories that are typical of old women. Rather, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily training is limited. “But godliness is beneficial for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

And then he gives us one of those statements, “It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance.” That godliness, discipline, going into spiritual training benefits this life and the next. And then look at the little purpose clause. And then he says, “For it is for this,” becoming a godly man, “we labor and strive.” And that word labor we get our word gym or gymnastic, athletic training. It’s pushing. It’s the third set and your arms are shaking, and someone has to spot you. But you know it’s the third set, or for some of you, the fourth set or the fifth set that that’s where you’re, that’s where things are tearing down and there is where things are going to build up. He says, “For this we labor and strive, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all mankind, and especially of believers.”

And then he gives them this personal challenge. He says, “Prescribe and teach these things.” And listen, this is Paul really coaching individually. “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather,” where should he be godly? “…in your speech, in your conduct, in your love, in your faith, in your purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.” In other words, you know what? You need to step out, you need to set an example, you need to be godly in what you say, you need to be godly in your relationships, godly in your thinking. A better word maybe is Christ-like. “Prescribe and teach these things,” he says.

Then he goes on in verse 13. “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of God’s Word and to exhortation and teaching.” In other words, again, it goes back to – do you understand the threads all through this chapter are: Where is your mind going? The people who drift away start paying attention to other things. They start drifting. “Oh, have you heard about this? Have you watched this?”

“But you, nourish yourself. Pay attention to the reading of God’s Word.” And then he goes on, “…the exhortation.” That means putting it into practice and exhortation takes more than one person. That’s like, “Hey, come on, together, let’s go. We are down ten, we’ve got four minutes left.” That’s exhortation. It’s, “Come on, everyone, step up, step in, let’s go.”

And then he says teaching. That’s explaining what is true and applying it to real life. “Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was granted you through the prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them,” why? “so that your progress will be evident to all.” What progress? You’re becoming more like Jesus! You are more loving, you’re more patient, you have more joy, you’re more forgiving, you’re a better dad, you’re a better husband, you’re a more, pure single man. Take pains, absorb, soak them in!

I mean, “Hey, Timothy, this is what you need in order to survive the world that you’re living in.” “Pay close attention, finally,” he says, “to yourself and to the teachings;” literally, the doctrines, what’s true, “persevere in these things.”

Some of you that lift weights would love this word persevere. It’s everywhere. James 1. Remember? It says, “Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials, knowing the testing of your faith produces perseverance and allow,” or, “let perseverance to have its outworking in your life that you might be teleos, or, “mature, right, perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” That’s this word. He says, “Persevere.” It’s hupomeno. Compound word. Hupo means “to be under.” Meno, “under pressure or stress.” Some of you actually pay to be under pressure and stress. And you usually have a partner, you put it on here, hupomeno, hupomeno, hupomeno.

And then it’s, “Come on! Come on! Come on!” Right? And you understand how it works. I’m sure most of you do. Is when you get to that third set, is what you’re doing is you are tearing the fibers of the muscle just ever so slightly. And the reason you don’t want to lift hard two days in a row the same muscles is you don’t want to tear too much. But what you do is you tear them a little bit.

Then if you’re smart you get some protein in you. And then in about twenty-four to forty-eight hours, as it heals back, guess what, that’s why your muscles get bigger. Your muscles get bigger because of resistance.

Your soul expands with godliness when you go through adversity. God uses suffering. He says, “For Christ has given us an example,” 1 Peter 2, “that we should follow that since He suffered, we should also suffer, following in His steps.” And he says, “If you suffer for doing wrong, what good is that? But when you suffer for doing what is right, this finds favor with God.” How we respond, literally, there’s little banquets and things going on in heaven and people high-fiving one another. “Did you see what that brother went through? What that sister went through? Did you see how they persevered? They wouldn’t give up, they wouldn’t give up, they wouldn’t give up?”

And what happens is just like your body gets stronger, your soul, your faith gets stronger. That’s how you build resilience, it’s how you bounce back. And we all want to be that person, but we don’t want the process, right?

I mean, I was giving a guy a hard time who had kind of a tight shirt on and some of us could tell he lifts weights. And so, as we were standing next to each other, I let him know that this is really a very, very loose shirt and I wear these loose shirts because I’m completely ripped underneath. And that would be a lie. But I’ll tell you what, if you’ve ever gone through that cycle and you get with a buddy and it’s three times a week, and they always, I don’t know why, they always want to lift at six a.m. or some stupid hour, right?

And the first three days you do it and you think, This is the dumbest idea in the world, and they shame you into it. And you do it another week and everything still really hurts. And about the third week, you look down and you go, I think a little something is happening there, right? You do it about six weeks, do it about three months, pretty soon you start looking like a different person. And what you’re doing physically is willfully taking your body through resistance and breaking it down so that it can grow back stronger.

There’s a guy in the wine country who did a weird deal every, every day he got up and he’d get a paper and he’d roll it up real tight and put a bunch of rubber bands around it and he’d walk through all his vines and just whap them, whap them, whap them, whap them.

People said, “What are you doing?” “I’m getting them stronger.” “Well, aren’t you going to hurt them?” He goes, “No, tell you what, I’m whapping them every day because we are going to have storms here there’s going – stuff happen – and every time I whack them what happens is those roots are responding and realize, If we don’t go deeper, we’re going to have a problem.” And when everybody else’s vineyards, when the stuff came through, his was strong.

Could you imagine what would happen if you would rethink adversity rather than, Oh, God, why me? Or, This is so terrible, or, life is not really fair. And you saw it more as the hand of a kind and loving God in the midst of a very fallen world of which He allows people the freedom to make decisions including you and me, some of which really hurt other people.

And some it’s just a fallen world but if you would receive that as: This is a test of my faith – hupomeno – and I’m going to get up each day and like Timothy, I’m going to take pains. I’m going to absorb myself. I’m going to renew my mind. I’m going to memorize the Scripture. I’m going to get with some guys that really want to do life.

And I will tell you what, in the midst of that adversity, we will meet you two years or five years or seven years from now and you will have people say, “I don’t even know you. You used to have a temper. I mean you used to be so negative about everything. You used to just rag on your wife all the time when we were out hanging out. You used to always be talking about this and that and, man, what happened to you?” And they’re not probably going to say something, “Oh, you’re so Christlike.” But they’ll see it.
Some of you that lift weights would love this word persevere. It’s everywhere. James 1. Remember? It says, “Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials, knowing the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” It’s hupomeno. Compound word. Hupo means “to be under.” Meno, “under pressure or stress.” Some of you actually pay to be under pressure and stress. And you usually have a partner, you put it on here, hupomeno, hupomeno, hupomeno.

And then it’s, “Come on! Come on! Come on!” Right? And you understand how it works. I’m sure most of you do. Is when you get to that third set, is what you’re doing is you are tearing the fibers of the muscle just ever so slightly. And the reason you don’t want to lift hard two days in a row the same muscles is you don’t want to tear too much. But what you do is you tear them a little bit.

Then if you’re smart you get some protein in you. And then in about twenty-four to forty-eight hours, as it heals back, guess what, that’s why your muscles get bigger. Your muscles get bigger because of resistance.

Your soul expands with godliness when you go through adversity. God uses suffering. Could you imagine what would happen if you would rethink adversity rather than, Oh, God, why me? Or, This is so terrible, or, life is not really fair. And you saw it more as this is a test of my faith – hupomeno – and I’m going to get up each day and like Timothy, I’m going to take pains. I’m going to absorb myself. I’m going to renew my mind. I’m going to memorize the Scripture. I’m going to get with some guys that really want to do life.

And I will tell you what, in the midst of that adversity, we will meet you two years or five years or seven years from now and you will have people say, “what happened to you?” And they’re not probably going to say something, “Oh, you’re so Christlike.” But they’ll see it.

This passage – coaching nuggets to me that are the big takeaways – here’s the truth. Here’s the truth and drink this in. It’s in bold. Some will fall away from the faith. I don’t want to sound negative; I want to be realistic. Some of you in this room will fall away from the faith.

You’d be surprised how many college freshmen go away to school and everyone else is smoking dope, everyone else is getting high, everyone else is drinking, everyone else is getting laid, and pretty soon they’ve come from a Christian family or maybe even a Christian school. And pretty soon, “I’m not sure if I believe in God anymore.” Big intellectual issue.

See, here’s the thing. When you’re sleeping with someone and when you’re doing things that are wrong and you know they’re wrong, it so guts at your conscience, the only way to cop out is you have to have some resolution in your mind, so you change your theology. But it doesn’t change the truth.

And here’s the thing, you always get what you sow. The challenge is, as the writer of Ecclesiastes points out, is you never reap in the same season.

The reason evil is – you know, when – I don’t know about you, when I sin and sin in things, and especially before I was believer when I sinned, you know, people said, “Oh, the sin is terrible.” I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I really did. Right? I mean… Because most sin is taking a good thing that God designed for us and getting it at the wrong time or in the wrong way.

But the thing about sin is you can do it and it just doesn’t seem like, “Hey, that, hey, that was no big deal. That didn’t – I didn’t hurt anybody. I’m not addicted to anything. This isn’t a problem. My marriage didn’t break apart. I didn’t become some wild, crazy, terrible person.”

Well, that’s like a farmer dropping a seed in the ground and coming back the next day and going, “Man, that seed doesn’t work!” Oh, yeah, it does. You just can’t see it right now. And then you water it. And, see, that’s why it’s so hard to be godly, because you have to sow righteousness. And when you sow righteousness, it takes time for it to grow, for your mind to be renewed, for you to change. And, see, when you sow good things, it takes a while to see the fruit. And when you sow bad things, it takes a while to see the fruit.

And so, this really is Paul trying to help Timothy understand some will fall away because of what they pay attention to. But he says, “For this godliness, Christ-likeness, faithfulness, this is what we labor and strive…” And here’s the thing, it’s not just for now.

We have fixed our hope on the living God. There is hope for us every moment of every day and a heaven that awaits us - “who is the Savior of all men and especially of those who believe.”

And so, again, we have said Christ has made it possible by His death and resurrection; He has forgiven all people. But not all people will be saved, because some will reject the offer. It’s just like you can – I’ve got a bunch of grandkids. Twelve, if you can believe it. And I can have presents for everyone, but the only ones that get the presents are the ones who open the package.

Now, so far, we’re doing pretty well when we put presents under the tree, they seem to be very intelligent grandchildren. They grab their presents, see their name on it, and they open it! But it’s amazing to me how many adults don’t do the same thing with the present, because the Scripture says it’s by grace.

That’s a word for something that is free or it’s a present. “For by grace we are saved by faith; it’s not a result of your works, lest anyone of us would boast.” It’s by putting your faith in Christ.

Notice the response here is discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. That’s what he told Timothy to do. Basically, lifting weights is great, running marathons is great, but godliness is good for now and forever.

Second, do not neglect the spiritual gift within you.

And then notice this last one is, “Take pains, be absorbed with so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and your teaching and persevere in these things.”
What I want to do now is I want to kind of go into coaching mode about how you can become a godly man. Alright? I mean, very, very specifically, how you can become a more godly man than you already are, because a lot of you are very godly men.

What does it take to live our lives where we are an example and people see our progress? The subject here is godly leadership amidst spiritual warfare, is that a fair summary, this chapter? Alright. The underlying issue is Timothy’s personal growth and development. Did you get that?

Here’s the underlying question for us: Am I willing to pay the price to be a godly man, underline “pay the price,” and then fulfill God’s calling on my life?

Did you know God has got – He has a calling for everyone. Not just pastors or missionaries. He’s got something for you to do that no one on this whole earth, eight billion people with their specific DNA.

Ephesians 2:10 says this, “You are His workmanship,” literally His tapestry, His poem, His work of art, “created in Christ Jesus unto a good work, which He preordained from the foundations of the earth that you would do.” Your personality, where you were born, your family of origin, the good, the bad, the ugly. Your spiritual gifts, your natural talents, the adversity you have been through – all of those things provide a package and you are able to do certain things, think certain ways, help certain people in ways like no one else in the world. And let me tell you something, when you discover what that is and you start traveling in that lane, it is awesome. It is awesome.

Chariots of Fire, anybody see the rerun of that? I love the line, “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.” Can I tell you? That’s God’s will for you. For some, “When I counsel, I feel God’s pleasure.” “When I build a company unto the Lord, I feel God’s pleasure.” “When I help these orphans, I feel God’s pleasure.” When I teach that Sunday school class, I feel God’s pleasure.” “When I help these couples get back together, I feel God’s pleasure.” “When I make a lot of money…”

I have a great, great friend and we went to a conference about eighteen years ago, and he came away, with the conference was on generosity and he was fairly wealthy at the time. He had been broke two or three times, but knew how to make a bunch of money. And we came out of the conference and he goes, “I now know what I’m going to do with the rest of my life,” because he was near retirement. I said, “What?” He goes, “I’m going to get so much money!

I said, “Boy, this conference really had an impact on you.” And then he paused, “So I can give it all away.” I mean, he is an entrepreneur. He’s got water parks going over here, buying and selling, he just took a piece of land over here in a place in Texas. He is doing a deal over here, a deal over here.

And he is just giving away millions of dollars. And instead of sitting, like, “Well, guess, I guess, I guess I’m going to retire, you know? Of course, I’ve done the research and people that retire and don’t do anything die in about five years, so I think that’s not a good plan.” And he just thought, I’m in the prime of my life.

And he just, he says, “The joy, the joy of getting to just change whole people’s lives, whole villages’ lives, water in these places in the world where people were dying of bad water. I mean, you figure out, and God will show you.

It’s not like He’s going, “Oh, you know, good try. That’s not it. No, no, no. Door number three! Door number four!” He’s going, like, “Here’s the door! Let’s partner.

The action required is to: Step Out! To step out and be an example. And to step out and not worry about what other people think.

It means going into spiritual training. It means discovering your spiritual gift. It means finding a mentor, a friend, or a band of brothers because you cannot do this alone. It’s not hard, it’s impossible.

And I went into spiritual training – I just, early on, I did some things like, “No Bible, no breakfast.” If you don’t like to eat breakfast, you’ll have to try something else. I love to eat breakfast. And I just developed the habit that I got in God’s Word first thing every day. Mind over mattress. It’s really simple. You develop habits. Set the alarm and don’t ever push snooze. It’s illegal. Because, here’s – you build fiber! It goes off, I get up, because my body is not going to tell me how I’m going to live my life. My emotions are not going to dictate my life. I am in charge of my life.

And you go into training to be in charge of your life. You don’t – “Oh, I feel sad today. I feel kind of bad today.” That’s just fine. I really feel bad, I really feel sad, those are very genuine emotions, and I’m going to choose to do what I was supposed to do anyway. That’s how you live.

And the moment you make the choice and start doing it, you get grace, you get grace, you get grace. And then you have bad days and you do stupid things and you get with your guys and you say, “You know, this week, I did some bad things. I did some stupid things. And I told the Father I’m really sorry. Guys, will you pray with me?” And I need to own it. “Confess your sins to one another that you might be - healed.” That’s life!

The unspoken need is to develop personal – can you guess? Discipline. The source of discipline according to Titus 2:11 through 13 is grace. “For it’s the grace of God that appeared bringing salvation to all men instructing us,” this is what grace does, “to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly,” really the word is “disciplined lives righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” You’ve got to know the source of discipline. It’s not willpower.

Second, you have to embrace the process. Hebrews 12:11. “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful but sorrowful, yet those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” You need to become a delayed gratification junkie.

I tend to be always in a hurry. I went into training. I went into training for two years, because I was always the last guy, I was always in a hurry, I was always rushed, I was putting myself under stress. And you can’t grow spiritually and love people if you’re always in a hurry. And so, I went into training and I drove on the right lane for two years. It was painful.

For two years, if I walked into the grocery store, you know, I’m the guy that’s going: line, line, line. Who is the best cashier? This line is moving. Doo, doo, doo. I’m in this line, no, I think I’m going to move to this line. Get in the long line. Review some verses. A calmness. I used to get just to the airport just two…I get there early now. Take this, new routine, I’m going to grab a cup of coffee, spend some time really pondering. It took two years. I was such a workaholic. But I went into training, and little by little, God changed my pace, my thinking, stress. You can go into training.

The most powerful thing I have done in all my life in life-change is memorizing Scripture. The practice, the habits of discipline, Romans 12:2, we already quoted it. Colossians 3 is, it’s a really powerful passage – the whole chapter. But it has, if you don’t take anything else away and you may circle that for future, because what it has, it has this truth on the front end that helps you understand how all the practices on the back end.

After talking about where to set your mind and talking about what Christ has done he says, “So then, as those who are chosen by God,” so, you are wanted, “those who are holy,” so, that’s how God sees you, “and are deeply loved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone. And beyond all these things, put on love which is the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called into one body. And let the Word of God richly dwell within you with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. And in whatever you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him.”

What I try and do, I either do Psalm 23; the Lord’s Prayer. But you know that moment just as you’re waking up, I call it the grey zone. You’re not, like, chhh. But your mind is starting - and what I try and do is at that very moment, because it sets my day. Since I’m loved, since I’m holy, since I’m chosen. Then I just whisper, “Oh God, would You help me put on a heart of compassion. Help me to feel what You feel when You see people in need, kindness.”

And I just go through that, just when I first wake up, it starts my day in a very different way. I think very carefully about what I put in my mind before I go to bed. I have a little stack of verses that I just review, just before I go to bed. Because as I sleep and I’m unconscious, your brain works.

All I’m saying is if you wanted to run a marathon, except for some of us that are a little older or with joints that don’t work, by and large, if you went into training for six months, everyone here could run twenty six point two miles without stopping. I watched my assistant do it years ago. And a complete non-athlete. But, man, she changed her diet, she started walking, then after she started walking she learned how to jog, then she had a friend and then she, “Could I come in a little bit late? I’m going to run two miles.” Then it was like, “It’s Friday. I’m going to get up really early, but I’m doing a ten mile.” And six months, six months later…

Because you have in you all that you need from God. What you need now is to go into training. And as you do that, literally, for three, six, eight, ten weeks, man, you’re going to say no to so much TV, you’re going to say no to some things and renew your mind. And don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to go off crazy. But if you’ll stop putting some things in your mind and start putting some things, others in your mind that’s truth, man, your emotions will change, your demeanor will change, God will change you.