Equiped and Equipping

Over the last, few weeks we have been examining the principles found in scripture that define who we are as a church.

Week 1 - we talked about Gospel centered unity corporatelty but also with in our own homes.

Week 2 - We examined what it looks like for us to live a kingdom-centered life.

Week 3 - We learned that biblical stewardship is much more than money, its stewarding our lives well. but we noted that will include purposing our finances toward kingdom work.

Today we are looking at principle 6:

“I will strive to be equipped for His service by faithfully attending the services. I will devote myself to bible study and prayer.”

2 Timothy 3:10–16 CSB

But you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance, along with the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured—and yet the Lord rescued me from them all. In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness,

2 Timothy 3:17 CSB

so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

This passage is well known. In it we see that Paul is encouraging Timothy a young pastor to continue in his pursuit of Christ. The pursuit of his calling in Christ.

While it is true that this passage is from one older minister to another there are a few key principles that apply to the all believers everywhere.

But first lets look at the defintion of the word “equipped”

Equipped : to make someone completely adequate or sufficient for something;

In other words, In the Word you will find everything you need to remain faithful in faith and conduct. Equipping is about giving you what you need to be both faithful and successful in the Christian life.

Theology’s proper goal is to equip the disciples of Jesus Christ for obedience.

J. I. Packer

Now keeping this idea in mind lets go to our text today.

Notice what he says here..

2 Timothy 3:10–12 CSB

But you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance, along with the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured—and yet the Lord rescued me from them all. In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Why does Paul bring up persecution and equipping in the same passage?

You will need to be equipped by the Word of God before hardship comes.

Paul is warning Timothy that hard times are coming. Hard times can be expected both due to the hardship of living in a sin cursed world and persecution.

For this reason you should take being equipped with all seriousness.

8 years ago, a gentleman in the church i was serving in opened a small gun shop. He was a retired policeman and this was a dream of his to have a little shop in the community in which we lived. A place where guys would come and both shop but also just hang out and shoot the breeze.

Imagine Floyd’s barbershop on Andy Griffith except with guns. Selling guns was secondary. He asked me to work a few shifts here and there. In Rural Virginia, no one gave this a second thought. So I thought it would be a good opportunity to earn a few extra dollars and also rub elbows with the locals. He insisted that all his employees be armed.

Before starting however, He also insisted that I do some firearms training with him. I remember, as we began to practice at another church members private range, (again this is rural living) , there was a since of gravity about what I was doing. All of the sudden shooting went from being just a hobby to a serious necessity. There was a since that what I was learning could save my life as well as those around me.

There was an intensity that came into my training as I understood it’s purpose and necessity.

Now some of you already see where I am going with this....

Paul is telling Timothy that this training in the Word is not just good advice. It isn’t just for those who want to be super-Christians. This training is of the utmost importance.

How many of you believe that you will be the one who walks away from the faith?

How many of you believe that your kids will be one day walk away from the faith?

You know I have never met a single person who believed that it would be them or their kids.

Yet I have met and heard of many that have abandon it. Don’t you see in everyone of us there should be an intensity that comes from understanding the war that is coming.

2 Timothy 3:13 CSB

Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceiving and being deceived.

look at the very words of Jesus...

Matthew 7:15 CSB

“Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves.

Matthew 24:24 CSB

For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

Acts 20:28–30 CSB

Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Men will rise up even from your own number and distort the truth to lure the disciples into following them.

2 Peter 2:1–3 CSB

There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved ways, and the way of truth will be maligned because of them. They will exploit you in their greed with made-up stories. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep.

2 Peter 3:14–18 CSB

Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace. Also, regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him. He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things hard to understand in them. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures. Therefore, dear friends, since you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

I think all of us would agree that false teachers are on the rise. The very church in the U.S. seems to be leading the charge in teaching heresy and speaking deceptively. So as we see that there is a war for our minds, our hearts, and our souls, there should be within us a fire, an intensity to both know the Word of God and to practice it.

A successful church is not a church that has dynamic programs, music, and teachers.

A successful church is the one where the people have a heart