Preparation: 2 Timothy 2:15

God, Have My Mind

Alone in a cold, dark Roman prison facing certain execution, Paul’s famous last words were issued to his spiritual son, Timothy. Timothy represented the next generation of Church leaders. Paul knew Timothy and others like him would face every imaginable adversity, so he used his farewell address to encourage and instruct him in his new ministry.
At the top of Paul’s priority list was the mandate for Timothy to invest himself in studying and memorizing the Bible. Over the years, Paul had learned it was the power of the spoken Word of God that would melt men’s hearts and bring them to Jesus. The apostle spoke a powerful sentence, which is recorded in 2 Timothy 2:15: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
Paul was exhorting Timothy to study, learn, memorize, and build his life on The Book. It would require a huge investment of time and focus, but it would pay big dividends for the Kingdom. And Timothy’s preparation in learning God’s Word would enable him to influence many people to come to Jesus!
About seven years ago, God convicted me that I was not living up to Paul’s admonition to Timothy. I was not “fit” for the job of making disciples. Of course, when God called Peter, Andrew, James and John (Mark 1:16-20), they were not ready either. Jesus said, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Jesus’ command suggests that only after some lengthy and intense personal training would they be fit to be “ fishers of men.” In other words, the logical plan is on-the-job-training first, then spreading the Gospel and winning the lost.
I was burdened with the need to become an effective witness. So I made time for my on-the-job-training by cutting off the TV! I started attending Sunday School classes, took some Bible college classes, committed to a read- through-the-Bible program and sought personal witness training from some qualified people. Today, I don’t profess to be Billy Graham’s twin, but my daily passion is to serve Jesus by seeking and saving the lost. I was unfit to do that until I first made the effort to prepare myself. Do you share my passion but feel inadequate for the task? In Romans 10:17, Paul wrote: “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” What are you studying? Spiritual growth is a work in progress. Are you progressing? Daily? What’s in your diet? A friend of mine named Ted is a professional auctioneer. He’s a naturally gifted communicator who (praise God) has dedicated his talent to Jesus. Ted is the most bold and effective witness for Jesus I’ve ever known.
One afternoon several years ago, Ted pulled his car into a gas station. A severe lightning storm was approaching. As he entered the store, he noticed a man unloading gas out of a tanker into an underground tank. While Ted was paying, a thought hit him like a ton of bricks: “I wonder if that man knows Jesus?” So as he walked by, Ted asked the man: “Standing around all this gas, does that lightning concern you?” “Yes, sir!” he responded. Ted saw his opening, “If lightning were to strike, do you know where you would spend your spiritual eternity?” The man said, “No.” Ted then proceeded to share God’s plan of salvation.
Ted is always ready! He’s never ashamed. And he’s totally prepared because he’s committed many salvation passages to memory. Ted invited the man to seek protection in his car from the storm, but the man said it was against the law for him to leave the tanker while it was pumping. So the two of them crawled under the tanker as the driving rain approached. It was under that huge truck the driver met Jesus as his Savior!
Recently, Ted was invited to speak at a Church in Virginia on behalf of the Gideons. They had advertised Ted’s name on the Church sign as the guest speaker. At the end when the invitation was offered, a man stepped out and came forward. He spoke these words: “Ted, you probably don’t remember me, but a few years ago, you told a man about Jesus under an old gas tanker. And he prayed to receive Christ under that tanker in a driving thunder storm! That man was me!”
Ted had not forgotten. The man continued: “Since that time God has called me to ministry, and now I pastor a small Church just down the road. Some of my congregation saw your name on the Church sign this week and remembered it from my testimony. They told me about the service today and I wanted to come tell you what God has done in my life!”
I don’t profess to be like Ted. I’m not campaigning to be the “poster child” for personal witnessing! After all, I am the one who wasted 47 years (Have you wasted a few?). But, it never ceases to amaze me that when you tell somebody about Jesus, they never, ever forget! They may not accept your message then, but they will never forget.
Paul said in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, (To continue reading, go to my comment below.)