Servants of God

Introduction

Well, good morning. It’s a beautiful day, and we know that it’s a beautiful day because our Lord Jesus lives. And if you have your Bibles, I’ll invite you to open the 2 Timothy. I just read it, so if we’re all still turned there, that’s where we’ll have the base passage for the lesson this morning. This morning we’re going to be talking about something that might be very hard for a lot of us. Something that could be very hard to execute for many of us. Something that could be really hard to take from a lot of us. And that is the concept of correcting humbly. See, when we’re in 2 Timothy chapter 2, we’re we’re reading what Paul is leaving, Timothy urging him to serve faithfully amidst his opposition.

This this passage, I think sometimes is twisted and not twisted, but sometimes they read this passage and they think, well, this is only for the preachers, right? Only the preachers have to listen, listen to 2 Timothy chapter 2, and uh that’s all who they apply to. But I want us to read this again uh really quickly. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach patience and humility, correcting those who are in opposition. If God perhaps grants them repentance so they may know the truth, that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

1. A Servant of the Lord

A servant of the Lord. Now, I don’t know about you, but it’s just not preachers who are servants of the Lord. A servant of the Lord is anybody who wishes to serve God, who wants to work for God. And so when we’re looking at who this applies to is the Christians who have decided to commit themselves to God. And a servant of the Lord is not someone who wants to debate, who wants to fight people. It is not someone who wants to strongly impose their opinions on people who may not know the word. We are servants. And now that we have decided to carry the name servant, there’s a lot that comes with that. Being a servant of the Lord is a great thing, brothers and sisters, amen.

I mean, you can achieve a lot in this world. There are doctors, there are CEOs, there are people who own their own businesses. There are a lot of people who achieve great things in this world. But I think you have reached the pinnacle of this life when you have chosen by your own free will to say, I am a servant of God. But here is the thing about being a servant of God. You let that represent you, but you also represent someone else. When you walk and you share with people and you say, I am a servant of God, I am a servant of Jesus, you are representing Jesus in God. And so you need to understand that your posture, your mannerisms, the way you talk, the way you come at people, is all going to be tied in with your representation of God.

2. Must Not Quarrel but Be Gentle to All

And I want us to carefully understand that this passage is not just for preachers. This passage is not just for teachers, it is for everybody. Everyone who decides to follow God. But then it says the servant of God must not quarrel, but be gentle to all. This idea of quarrel is having strife. It is verbally fighting, being contentious. Understanding that the truth should be defended, but not with a combative spirit. The truth needs to be defended with love. Understanding that the whole point of you showing and telling the truth is so that they can come on the side that you are on, which is the side of God. A quarrelsome Christian does not represent the gentle-hearted Christian that God wants us to be.

Gentleness is not weakness. Gentleness does not mean that you are soft. In fact, gentleness shows a lot of maturity. Because sometimes a lot of people who don’t have a lot of maturity want to elevate things and escalate things to maybe a violent nature, whether that’s violent verbally or violent physically, they don’t want to talk. They don’t want to deal with it. They have their own ways of dealing with their own problems. And I know as people we all have our ways to cope. I’m not putting that down. If you have your defense mechanism, we all know that we have to work on things. But even opponents deserve the kindness that the people who carry God’s image bear. Gentleness in a conversation when you are discussing God definitely opens up the person’s mind and opens up their heart.

3. Able to Teach, With Patience

When you are gentle with a person, you are teaching it, it invites them into an atmosphere that shows them that they are in a safe place, even if they disagree. Gentle to all, able to teach. Verse 24. A servant of God needs to understand the scripture. A servant of God needs to understand what they are teaching. If you are going to go out and seek the lost, you need to understand that you need to understand what you’re saying.

You need to understand who your master is. And you have to be able to share with people in an effective way. Teaching requires patience, preparation, understanding. It’s not just about how much do I know. It’s about well, how can I convey this message to you? And it implies the maturity that you have with your spirit and the biblical literacy that you share with other people. Being able to teach is something that I think some people find very scary, and it is sometimes. It’s a lot of weight on your shoulders. When you teach somebody God’s word, you are trying to guide their soul. You are trying to guide their mind, you are trying to guide their heart, but you are ultimately trying to bring their soul to God.

And when you do that in a way that can’t bring them to it, and if you do that in a way that makes them feel like they want to resent God, you have now turned away a soul, and that is a very bad thing.

That’s how important it is that when we teach God, when we share God, then we need to be prepared. That we need to understand. As a regular teacher, I’m sure we have many regular teachers. I know Katie, Katie, uh Janisha, many others, uh, they can tell you as a teacher, I’m sure it’s really hard to deal with uh people who don’t want to hear what you got to say. Katie’s nodding her head, like yeah.

And that’s the reality, is sometimes people, although you want to do good for them, although you want to share God with them, sometimes don’t want to hear it. Or sometimes they do want to hear it, but as soon as they do hear something that doesn’t click well with them, they’re gonna emotionally turn you off and mentally turn you off. And how do you handle that? You gotta show the patience, you gotta show them how God would handle them. Being patient, not only with people, but being patient when you’re in wrong. Understanding that when you’re a Christian and when you go out to do these teachings and studies, we came with the with the reality that there are people who don’t agree. And sometimes you’re going to run into people who don’t agree so much that they’re going to try to hurt your feelings, and they’re going to try to put you down, and they’re going to try to make you feel little.

4. In Humility Correcting Those in Opposition

People need to hear Jesus. People need to hear that their life needs to change if they are not in the place that they need to be. Verse 25, in humiliation and humility, in humility correcting those who are in opposition. Correction needs to be done in a way that is humble. I can’t stress it enough. It needs to be done in a way that is humble, not superiority. We don’t go up to people trying to convince them that God is great, and we say, Well, I’m better than you because of that. Don’t think that you are better than people because you understand God. We want them to understand that we sin just like them. We want them to understand that we want to help them just as much as they probably want to help themselves.

Meekness is a posture of a servant who knows God is the one who changes the heart. It is not you that is going to change them. It is not you who gets all the glory. It is God. It is God who uses you as a vessel to save the lost. All the glory goes to God. Praise God every time that a person comes to their senses. That a person comes to realization that they need God. Because no matter who taught them, they’re not coming to that person saying, Well, I’m of that person. No, they come to say, I wear the title of servant of God. When someone joins God, they join God’s family. They don’t join your family. If God perhaps will grant them repentance so that they may know the truth.

See, God is going to grant them the repentance. When you teach them God, God is going to open their hearts to understand how they need to change their life. And brothers and sisters, I want us to understand about this correctional topic that we’re going through. I want you to ask yourself one question while we’re going through this lesson about correcting and teaching. And that question is well, who needs to hear this? Who does this apply to? And brothers and sisters, it applies to everyone. Young people need to understand how to talk to people. Older people need to understand how to talk to people. Parents need to learn how to talk to their kids and people. Preachers need to understand how to talk with people. Teachers need to understand how to talk with people.

Elders need to learn how to talk with people. This is a concept that does not call out everyone, but it calls I’m sorry. This is not a concept that singles out anybody, but calls out everybody. This concept that this is not something that one person has to go through. This is something everyone has to go through.

5. Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Communication

And uh I called my communications teacher for this lesson because I thought that there was something really, really important about communication for this lesson. And it’s the concept of intrapersonal and interpersonal communication. I hope this doesn’t sound like a lecture, but if it does, I apologize. Intrapersonal communication is when you are coming in your head and you are trying to decide how you are going to connect and communicate with the person. That’s when you need to be gentle. That’s when you need to be meek. That’s when you need to be patient. That’s when you need to be prepared. That’s the intrapersonal part of your communication. And the interpersonal part of your communication is how you convey your message, whether verbal or nonverbal. That’s how am I speaking to this person?

That’s how is how is my face looking when they’re telling me something I don’t agree with? That’s how am I going to stand and treat them after they tell me something that doesn’t align with the Bible. That intra and interpersonal communication is a really great concept that I think that we needed to understand, brothers and sisters. It clarifies your own understanding because you explain the scriptures to other people. You need to think through what it means. That’s the intra-personal part. What does it mean? How does it apply? How might you word it in a way that they can understand? Build your personal connection. The more you reflect internally on God’s word, the more confident and passionate you will be when you talk with people about it.

Prepare your heart spiritually. Pray with God, talk with God, meditate with God, make some self-examination, and maybe have others examinate you too. Examine you too.

And make sure your teaching is out of, not pride. Anticipate some questions. Anticipate the conversation. Understanding that when you are teaching something, there will be times when maybe they don’t understand. And when you are teaching, it is your job to convey, and you can’t get stopped. You have to be ready to defend the word and explain the word at all times. And when you show this interpersonal communication, this exchange of thoughts, this exchange of feelings, this exchange of ideas between people. It helps with the teaching of God. It really does. It can help build a relationship of trust. People who are more open to the gospel, people are more open to the gospel when they feel valued and understood. When they feel like it’s not a one-sided conversation.

When they feel like this person genuinely cares about me, this person doesn’t have any ill will towards me, but just wants to see me doing good, wants to see my soul happy, wants to see God happy. And it allows the two-way conversation to happen. You can listen to their questions, you can listen to their doubts, you can listen to all the things that they believe.

He said a very interesting point. Some people are really, really anxious and they want to run towards the problem as quick as possible. And then you have people who are so anxious that they run away from the problem as quick as possible. And so when you’re going to share, when you’re going to teach, and you have to find the median of how to deal with both sides. The people who want to do nothing but figure out the problem, and that’s nothing, that’s all they want to do, or the people who want to run away from the problem as much as they can. How do we meet them in the middle? How do we try to encourage them to come closer? How do we try to encourage them to face the problem in a respectable time in a mature manner and in a spiritual loving environment?

And through all this communication, through all of this teaching and it ultimately demonstrates God’s love and action.

6. Our Lord Is Our Perfect Example

Now early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to him, Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should such should be stoned. But what do you say? This they say, testing him that they might have something of which they accuse him. But Jesus stopped, stooped down, and wrote on the ground with his finger, as though he did not hear. So when they continued asking him, he raised up his he raised himself up and said to them, He who is without sin amongst you, let him throw a stone at her first.

And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it being convicted by their conscience went out one by one, beginning with the oldest, even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised himself up and saw no one but the woman, he said to her, Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? She said, No one, Lord, and Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more. Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I am the light of the world, he who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have light, this is a story that might be very well known. The woman who was caught in adultery, the woman who obviously was in sin.

And the people brought her to Jesus. The Pharisees, the scribes, the religious leaders at that point. And even though they were trying to test Jesus, even though they were trying to trap Jesus, they ultimately set up Jesus for such a wonderful lesson. They bring to Jesus a woman who has obviously sinned. She is red-handed, caught. And Jesus stays silent and writes on the ground. And then he says to these scribes and these Pharisees, whoever’s without sin can throw the stone. Now, brothers and sisters, the only one who could throw the stone didn’t. The only one who could throw the stone didn’t condemn that woman. The law had condemned her. He told her the truth. You have sinned. He gave her the command, go out and sin no more.

Jesus did not ignore this woman’s sin. Jesus did not say, hey, because this crowd tried to trap me and make you look horrible, it’s just okay. No, Jesus still had to tell her, don’t sin. Don’t do that anymore. But Jesus didn’t do that by stoning her. Jesus didn’t do that by humiliating her. Jesus didn’t do that by any means except with a gentle, calm conversation. And I love that our Lord is our perfect example. Because when we’re talking about our correction with people, when we’re talking about the way these conversations need to happen when we go out as servants of the Lord to present the Lord, we actually know how the Lord worked with these types of situations. We have the actual truth that Jesus was gentle.

That Jesus was not judgmental. Yet he’s still the judge. He’s still the judge. But Jesus was the whole point when he corrected someone was not to make them feel degraded. Because guess what? Jesus loves them. In fact, Jesus wanted them to be with him so bad that he gave his own his life. That he gave his life on the cross. And I think sometimes we as Christians might be those people who are waiting for the condemnation. I think as Christians, sometimes we don’t even realize that we are the Pharisees and the scribes sometimes.

It’s real.

Genuinely wakes up and says, Well, how can I ruin so-and-so’s day? But sometimes we need to be aware of the warnings and the dangers with how we talk to people, with how we communicate with people, with how we act around people. And it’s a learning curve. I’ve had to learn it. Growing up, I had to learn it. Being a preacher, I had to learn it. Being a teacher, I had to learn it. Being a kid, I had to learn it. Being an adult, I had to learn it. But I want us to understand we are all going to be guilty of sin before we are made holy by God. And I want us to all know that we are all helpless alone. And it is Jesus who saves us.

Conclusion

It is God who brings us back up. And I want us to understand that when we are out in the world, we need to introduce people to Jesus. Just as somebody has introduced us to Jesus at one point in our life. And when we receive mercy, and when that person receives mercy, we go in a different direction. And we try as Christians to guide them in the right direction. And we share. Share the direction you are going in.

That they have a family in God. That sometimes they don’t have a family out in the world, but they have a family who cares about them. Who cares about their soul? Who cares about how they are feeling? Who cares about where they are in their life? And sometimes they’re not going to be in the right place in life. And so love them enough to tell them the truth. Love them enough to understand that they are falling a victim to the devil, but love them enough to understand that just because they are with the devil now does not mean that they can’t be with God soon. And so I want to invite you this morning. If you are not a Christian today, understand you have sinned.

But I invite you to understand something wonderful, brothers and sisters.

And so I invite you, if you know that your life is separated, if you know that if the day of judgment was tomorrow, and that would not be a good day for you, you would not be smiling on that day. I invite you to fix that this morning. Have the urgency to understand that things can be made well if you just come to God. If there’s any way we can help you this morning, if there’s any way we can help you come back to our Lord, won’t you come forward as we stand and sing the song of invitation? What could you do with Jesus?

And you must give for some being.

What could you do with Jesus? They come for night and day with his hands up there. What will you say? What shall it be? What shall it be? What shall your answer be? What could it do with Jesus? Oh, what shall your answer?