Thank you once again for listening to the Cultivating Growth Podcast, where generally, John and I will spend some time picking a topic and talking about how it is that we can grow in that, in our relationship to God, or to each other. A little bit special this week, we are actually on the road, and we are in San Francisco, spending some time with our good friends, Josh and Calvin, who preach out here, and uh, we're gonna discuss some passages from 1st and 2nd Timothy, so  Specifically Paul Charging Timothy on some certain things with regards to his role as an evangelist.

So we're going to discuss a few of those things I'm excited about that  Topic and let's get right to it. 

All right guys We've spent already some time talking about some of these things and so now we're gonna each kind of pick one of these charges that Paul gives to Timothy through first and second Timothy and just kind of Speak to what it means to us as evangelists and just kind of discuss some of the teaching that paul leaves his good friend timothy with in first and second timothy, and so i'll kick us off with one that we talked about and josh When i'm done, maybe i'd like you you've had some good thoughts on some of The categories that you see in some of these charges that I think are really important And the first one that I was going to start us with is first timothy chapter six You In verse 20,  where Paul there says, guard what was committed to your trust. 

Avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge. And we made the point when we were discussing this about how that phrasing, or at least that idea of being committed first, and then also avoiding something second, shows up a lot in these charges. And Paul specifically here is telling Timothy, the evangelist, to guard what was committed to you. 

And to avoid  these idle babblings, these contradictions, and what is falsely called knowledge. And I think that's something that all of us as evangelists really have to be diligent about. Make sure that we are truly guarding what's been entrusted to us, but also being careful to avoid some of these things.

And again, you know, that was something, I think, Josh, I think you were the one that pointed out in our discussion, that that's an idea that is seen.  Throughout first and second Timothy.  Yeah. Well, first of all, it's uh, good to have you guys out here with us It's good to see you again I think my visit to Indiana was back in April or May and so You know getting a two visits in a year is a special treat.

So thank you guys for that  Yeah, I was you know as we were as Jeremy was guiding us through this exercise of going through these charges and admonitions given the Timothy  You know, my brain started working on trends  as my brain tends to do sometimes, and I'm actually looking at  1st Timothy 1 at the start of it all. 

I noticed in verses, uh, 3, verse 3 and verse 5, you have urgent, you know, as Paul says, he urges and then he charges.  Verse 3, like you repeated in, in chapter 6, he's saying, hey, don't mess around with other doctrines.  He phrases that a few different ways throughout these letters, like you cited in chapter six. 

And then in verse five, he says, but the aim of not messing with this stuff, right? The aim of it all is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. And so a lot of these charges that Paul gives throughout the books, one category is like, hey, don't mess with false doctrines. 

He calls it idle babbling, quote unquote, you know, air quotes, knowledge.  And then he says, but like sort of make sure you preserve the aim, the purpose as Jeremy's been harping on, right, that, that you have a certain quality about you or an intention that you're carrying in verse five, love from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith.

And so something I'm noticing in that is like a personal conviction. You're not just fighting to fight, you're fighting because, or you're guarding or protecting or whatever because you believe something. And your belief is not, you know, all out warfare, like kill all kind of belief, but is an appeal to those people out of love, out of sincerity, out of purity,  to win hearts and minds.

Right? It's not a, a, a warfare in the gun them all down sort of sense. And so I noticed that in the, in the charge here is you have the spirit of it and the truth of it represented right out of the gate.  Calvin, what was one that stood out to you?  Yeah. Uh, I'd say first Timothy four, uh, seven and eight.

Think was, uh, one that stood out initially. There  it says, have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness, for wild bodily training is of some value. Godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.  And I think, you know, reading  that we should have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths.

Kind of as an initial obvious point to it that those myths are silly, right? But they're more than that just as you know, Josh was speaking to the first chapter here that good doctrine Promotes love it enables love and it comes from the pure heart good conscience a sincere faith silly myths Corrupt all of that.

Right? And so I think the second thing from that is that godliness is a training, right? Something that doesn't happen automatically, uh, just because we  hear the word of God, uh, because we know what the Bible says doesn't mean that we're trained in godliness,  but we actually have to, you know, by the power of God, we're trained in godliness.

be thinking the way that he thinks about different things, be feeling the way that he feels about different things, asking him for his help in that, right? Um, so that it is sincere. I  think it's interesting in those passages specifically. I mean, it, uses an analogy that is, you know, pretty easy for us to grab hold of on, you know, exercising physically versus, you know, exercising spiritually.

And Paul does that a couple of times in his books. I mean, he uses soldier or war, which we've talked about a little bit already. He uses a farmer in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 6, that hardworking farmer. And so you have these analogies. And one interesting thing that I think stands out, we've talked a little bit about it,  where you have these analogies that are easy to grab hold of kind of on the surface, but if you just take a little bit more time, I mean, there's a depth to how deep that analogy can go.

And that's the exercises. is one of those. When you start to think about the reasons and benefits of physical exercise, those things play out when it comes to spiritual exercise and that analogy. It works on the surface, it works at the mid level, and you can go about as deep as you want to go with it, and the same thing probably with the farmer, you know, the same thing with war and a soldier, and so I think that there is, you know, something to be gained by, you know, spending a minute to, you know, to kind of, kind of hash that out, you know, in your brain for sure.

Yeah, I think that was, that was maybe one of my favorite parts of the conversation we were having before this was on this passage. And I think there were a lot of really good points made. I think, Jeremy, you, you made the point that when you think about bodily exercise, it's tiring and you have to be consistent with it.

And sometimes it hurts,  but you see the benefits to doing it. And some of those same principles are true when it comes to exercising ourself toward godliness.  There has to be consistency in our study and in the relationship that we're seeking to build with God. And it's going to be exhausting at times because we're putting all of ourselves into it.

You know, you and I talk about this sometimes. I'm sure Josh and Calvin, you know, you guys can relate to this.  You know, sometimes  Sunday afternoon, Sunday evenings. I'm worn out  from teaching and preaching because you're not necessarily because it's physically demanding but because you just put all of yourself into it  and it is tiring and it it wears you out and I think to be able to take a step back and realize that's good It should because i'm exercising myself toward godliness in the same way if I go to work out And I spend an hour working out, but then I walk out of the gym and i'm not tired.

Nothing hurts Well, then what did I really accomplish? Did I really do anything, um, of value while I was there, if I'm not even tired, if I didn't even break a sweat? And so, making some of those applications, I think, to how we approach, you know, as Paul says there in verse 7, exercising ourselves towards godliness.

I think that's a really valuable conversation to have.  Josh, you got another one you want to share with us?  Yeah, so 2 Timothy 1. 8 is another one we talked about.  Um,  I think I mentioned at the time that it,  In my mind, the way that I saw this categorically is like, well, you certainly have something you're convicted about and that's worth keeping and guarding.

And making sure that the spirit that you carry out doing that, keeping in the guarding is right.  But then in 2 Timothy 1. 8, Paul writes to Timothy, Don't be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but share in suffering  for the gospel by the power of God. And he continues on there.

But just to kind of isolate that thought, you know, one extreme is to say, well, I'm going to guard this for gardening at sake.  And you get so focused on doing that, that you lose sight of the love and the conviction that you're supposed to have. And then another side of it is. You don't necessarily lose sight of those things, but because you're so busy in that and you're feeling the opposition and you're feeling the struggle all the time, maybe you start to question your conviction. 

Right, like, do I actually care about this stuff anymore?  Am I tired of being out here getting, you know, blasted, so to speak, all the time? And, you know, I think the way that Paul phrases is that, is like shame creeps in.  You know, your conviction wanes, you start to have questions, and so I found this really helpful, that, you know, I think all of us can remember something like our baptism,  and the zeal that we felt in that moment for the Lord, the conviction that we might have had in those moments to say, you know, I remember telling myself, I'm never going to sin again, right?

Because I was so just on it, right?  Well, you know, um, a day later, a week later, a month and years later, like that conviction has waned, I think, hopefully, reality has set in, and sobriety has set in, and maturity has set in, but also,  maybe some shame has set in, you know, I'm tired, it's hard, and so I find it, um, one, just humbling to hear that this is necessary to, to think about, to avoid, it's a reality we face, But also encouraging that someone like Timothy felt that, and then we're in his company, we're in Paul's company. 

I think Calvin made the point when we were talking about it earlier, you know, you go to a passage like 2 Timothy 4, you know, kind of 1 and 2, which is kind of a well known, you know, passage. And you kind of have, you know, that bullet pointy, you know, kind of the way about, you know, preach the word, be ready, you know, and seeing that, and convince, rebuke, exhort, If you find yourself  falling short in one of those areas, preaching the word or convincing or rebuking or exhorting at the base of that in some capacity, shame  and you know, where, where Paul is trying to get Timothy to understand, let's,  don't, don't, don't be ashamed, don't be, don't be ashamed of that.

He's certainly from second Timothy. He's, you know, he's writing.  You know, from prison and, you know,  with an understanding that he's at the very end and he's saying, don't, don't be, don't be ashamed of doing what needs to be done or saying what needs to be said. And I think that's important for certainly us as preachers.

I think it's important for everybody, you know, to be thinking about that when it comes to regards, you know, to the word for sure.  Calvin, you got any, got any other ones we haven't talked about yet that you want to bring up? Uh, yeah, this one comes from, uh, 2 Timothy 2, I think, uh, it's kind of an actual springboard from the last thought to, uh, in verse 15 that says, 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. 

So, there, there's so much promise in that, right, that, Shame does not need to be a part of your ministry, not genuinely, not, uh, valid shame, right? As you reprove, rebuke, exhort, and all these things, um, you're going to experience disapproval. But, uh, beneath that, foundationally, if you have God's approval, right?

Then you can endure afflictions, you can remain consistent, you can love the people that aren't loving you. Amen. Um, and that happens through rightly handling the word of truth, right? And I think that that has a, you know, multi directional application, too, that, you know, if I can rightly handle the truth, right?

Then I can have God's approval, right?  Uh, which maybe is, is good to clarify that, you know, rightly handling the truth is believing what God is saying, right? Trusting in His promises, His grace. And if I can help others to do that as well, then they, too, will have no need to be ashamed, um, as they experience the persecutions of the world, right?

You go back to 2 Timothy chapter 8, uh, chapter 8, chapter 1 in verse 8, uh, Paul says, Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner. So he's being persecuted. For the truth that he's rightly handled, um, and he has no need to be ashamed. I think you guys have hit on something that's really, uh, important about both 1st and 2nd Timothy. 

Is there's a lot of responsibility and weight that's being placed on the shoulders of Timothy, the evangelist. And Paul is encouraging him.  To not take that lightly, but to understand the importance of what he's doing and to feel the weight and the responsibility that comes with that. But then on the other side of that, it's not just, hey, this is really heavy and this is really challenging and a huge responsibility that comes with it.

But also, Calvin, to your point, with that, don't, don't be ashamed of what you're doing. Don't, don't be afraid to share the gospel and to do so boldly.  You know have have a good conscience about the work that you're doing all these and so there's a lot of encouragement That paul gives timothy in this as well.

And so he does a good job. I think of balancing the scales for timothy And I think for us as well to to feel the same Level of responsibility that is placed on our shoulders as we preach and teach the gospel But then to also find a great deal of comfort in Knowing that we don't need to be ashamed of what we're teaching and we can find our approval in God and, and we can be the type of men working in his kingdom that he wants us to be all those.

And so we can be comforted by all of those things while also bearing the responsibility and the weight.  That that paul describes that the evangelist is to have we didn't we didn't talk about this verse Earlier, but I was just kind of reading around some of the verses that we've referenced and paul gives himself as an example And maintaining conviction in verse 13.

He's like, hey timothy like you don't want to be ashamed, right?  And he says like I have kind of arrived at the place that i'm in which literally is Roman imprisonment, but more importantly as a minister of God, right? Having been faithful all these years having endured all the suffering Because he's maintained a personal conviction and  you know, it's really easy for me I don't know if you guys have felt this but it's really easy for me to have that like wax and wane But i'm so in the routine of doing the job that the job keeps rolling Regardless of where i'm at personally and so like you might hear i've heard peers Say things like, well, I've really let my personal discipleship or prayer life or Bible study or whatever it is they're talking about, like fall off a cliff because I've been so invested doing this or that for the church or for my brother or sister,  when Paul says in.

Second Timothy 1, 13, what's key to following the sound pattern  is being fully convicted and believing in what Jesus has given you.  And so I find that, like, at the core of all of, like, this conversation is I'm realizing, like, You know, some of the times I'm doing the worst at this is because I've let my, like, my own personal conviction fall off a cliff  in some way or another. 

Anybody have anything else they want to, they want to bring up  that stood out to you? Yeah, I had just one other quick thing. This kind of, a bunch of things kind of going together.  It stands out, there's various attitudes that Paul is trying to lay on Timothy's going to have. We've talked about a lot of them, humility, gentleness, love, patience.

You know, those are things we've talked about, you know, kind of already, but you have, you know, 1st Timothy 6, 6 on contentment, you know, with godliness, great, great game, 2nd Timothy 4, 5, enduring afflictions. And so you have these two things of  contentment and endurance. And that's because, listen,  living the life of an evangelist.

is challenging. Living the life of a Christian is challenging.  And yeah, you've got to have, you've got to have love and you've got to have gentleness and you've got to have patience. You've got to have all of those things.  But at the same time, sometimes I think contentment and endurance are, are the hard things, especially when difficulties come.

And I think it's interesting.  That Paul is pointing out to Timothy, both of those things that you, you've got to be content with where you are and what you're about, and you, there's going to be difficulties, you know, somebody has already brought up, you know, Paul certainly points to himself and acknowledges that, and you've got to be willing to endure these inflictions.

And I think that's just important for us to, you know, be mindful of the difficulties are going to come and it's going to take a contentment and endurance to make it through.  All right. Well, we'll go ahead and wrap it up there. Um, Jeremy's word for the week. We've kind of been joking has been purpose and maybe it's not a joke.

I think it may, I don't know if you put thought into that before coming out here or not, but it's already come up several times, but you know, one of the things we talked about and we'll, we'll conclude here in second Timothy chapter four and verse five  is Paul is very serious about making sure that Timothy as an evangelist understands his purpose. 

And so he leaves Timothy with these words before making some more personal closing remarks at the end of chapter four. And so we'll conclude with this verse as well, in 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse number 5. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry. 

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