Real Strength - 2 Tim. 2:1-7

As go the men of the local church, so goes the local church

We need to get some clarity together on what it means to be strong

I grew up watching strongest man competitions on ESPN

But strength is not just a matter of physical ability - It is quality that men carry.

2 Errors:

Strength as bad - Toxic masculinity

Strength as opposite of female

Both are errors because each on distorts what true strength is

If we are not careful, we will embrace one of these two errors

We need a clear view of strength as the men of Harvest Bible Church so that we can be strong Christian men, leading strong Christian homes and a strong Church family.

2 Timothy 2:1–7 ESV

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

Big Idea: Christian men must be strong in Christian conviction

I am not concerned about physical strength

I am not concerned about looking tough

That is not the primary focus for a Christian man

I am concerned that our character and conviction as men is weak and is therefore not Christian.

Let me state very clearly:

You should be a protector

You should be a provider

You should be a source of safety and stability for the people in your life

But those things should all be born out of and flow from a resolutely strong Christian conviction.

Protecting my family is driven by the knowledge that God has entrusted their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being to me

Must care for all of them

Being a dependable, hard-working, disciplined source of safety and provision for the people around me is driven by my desire to be a man of Christian character who is dependable, hard-working, and disciplined in my Christian life.

Remember to our last event: The first step of leadership is self-leadership

So if we are to be strong Christian men, if we are to pursue real strength, it is because we sought to be men of strong Christian conviction that manifests itself in our lives in being a source of strength for those who depend on us.

Christian conviction is:

Strengthened by Christ (1)

Timothy has been facing pressure from outside the church and inside the church to compromise on the truth

[Connect to today - Faithfulness to Christ is rare and difficult]

So what is Paul’s charge to him?

Be strengthened - Have conviction

Passive, on-going - Continue being strengthened

When it is difficult to have Christian conviction, the solution is not to seek a way out or a way to compromise

The solution is to be all-the more resolute for Christ in your life.

How is this possible?

v. 1b - By the grace of Christ

Listen: It is hard to be a Christian and if we are not careful, if we have the wrong definition of strength, we will depend on our own strength, and it won’t take long for us to utterly fail.

[Unpack]

Can I be honest: Most days, the call on my life as a man feels absolutely impossible

[Unpack]

If that sounds like you, then remember with me the words of Jesus to the Apostle Paul:

2 Corinthians 12:9–10 “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

To be truly strong men, we need to be honest about where we are weak, where we are tempted, where we are not sufficient, and depend on Christ for the strength we need.

Real strength is Christian conviction that is strengthened by Christ

next, Christian conviction is…

Strengthened by each other (2)

When we are strengthened by Christ, we will see his people as a means of him strengthening us, and so we will be strengthened in our conviction by each other.

Now how does that happen?

You can’t live according to convictions you don’t know.

Think about something in your life that you are knowledgable about

Someone taught you

Are you a craftsman? At one point, you were an apprentice

Are you a manager? At one point, you were an employee

Are you coach? At one point, you were a player

And in all of those, you learned from others and that led to your doing it yourself, which puts you in the position to now help others learn.

We get this in so many areas of life

Personal example?

It is no different with the Christian life - To be strong Christian men, we must be learning form one another and teaching one another.

Examples - Knowledge, living, etc.

Key words - Entrust, faithful, teach

Steward the knowledge you have received, identify other men who are faithful, and invest in them so that they can teach This is how the faith has been handed down throughout the centuries

Harvest Bible Church will always have a future when faithful men are teaching others to be faithful men.

How do I do that?

Find someone who knows more than you and is more mature in the faith, and ask to be taught by him

Find someone who knows less than you or is less mature in the faith, and ask to invest in him.

Here in a bit, we are going to hear about ways that we can do this at Harvest Bible Church.

Lastly, Christian conviction is:

Strengthened together (3-7)

Share in suffering - “Partner with us”

Timothy was in danger of tapping out because of the struggle to be faithful to Christ when the culture outside of the church and the people in the church were making it hard to be faithful.

Paul’s charge is, “Don’t tap out - Suffer with your brothers.”

What does suffering look like?

Paul gives 3 illustrations of what it looks like to be committed to Christian conviction

Soldier - Self-sacrifice, leading to God’s pleasure

When you see yourself as a soldier for Christ, you want to please him, which means letting go of the things that you might otherwise want.

What makes it possible to continue sacrificing?

When you are around other men who are sacrificing and you are encouraging one another to not tap out, but keep soldiering on.

Athlete - Self-discipline, leading to heavenly reward

The Christian life is meant to be lived a certain way, according to God’s word.

It is tempting to try and change the rules to make it easier, but it doesn’t work that way.

This is why Jesus says to count the cost.

We need one another to keep discipline - We need the accountability

“Don’t try to change the rules - Compete according to God’s word”

And we will enjoy the reward of obedience together.

Farmer - Self-denial, leading to enjoying the fruit

I have heard it said that a man who lacks purpose will distract himself with pleasure.

In our day of instant gratification, it is easy to just want to take the easy, fast route.

Because the purpose of God’s glory through our growth is too hard and seems too far off.

But spiritual growth and living with conviction is a long-game, not an easy route.

We want the immediate dopamine hit of social media rather than the long self-denial of reading our bibles

We want to go out and make our dreams happen today, rather than the long self-denial of prayer and faithfulness while we wait.

We have to be men who say, “I will pass on pleasure now because I have a great purpose that I am living for - God’s glory.”

“I will never shrink from declaring my belief that there are no spiritual gains without pains. I should as soon expect a farmer to prosper in business who contented himself with sowing his fields and never looking at them till harvest, as expect a believer to attain much holiness who was not diligent about his Bible-reading, his prayers, and the use of his Sundays. Our God is a God who works by means, and He will never bless the soul of that man who pretends to be so high and spiritual that he can get on without them.” - J.C. Ryle

v. 7 - Illumination - When you follow Jesus by faith, the Spirit opens your eyes and heart to see how his word uniquely applies to you

Where in your life do you need to practice self-sacrifice, like a soldier?

Where in your life do you need to practice Self-discipline, like an athlete?

Where in your life do you need to practice Self-denial, like the farmer?

We need to be strengthened together, being sacrificial together, being disciplined together, playing the long-game together.

Let me just paint a picture for you:

You read your Bible, you pray for your own soul, for your family, and for your friends. You attend church regularly and engage and invest in life as a church family.

If you are married and/or have kids, you prioritize them in your actions, words, and pursuits, all while glorifying God in your own heart and life.

If you aren’t yet married and don’t have kids, you pursue being the kind of man who would prioritize his family while glorifying God in his own heart and life.

You make your character more important than any pursuit of pleasure.

Tell me - Is that a weak man?

No, that is truly strong man - Not because he is built like a mountain… But because his conviction for Christ drives his whole life.

My we be those kinds of men - Living with real conviction, which means living with real strength.