2 Timothy: Stay Spiritually Strong

In this message from 2 Timothy 2:1–7, we're encouraged to remain spiritually strong by relying on God's grace and staying focused on His purpose for our lives. Through practical biblical teaching, this sermon challenges believers to live with faith, perseverance, and unwavering devotion to Christ. Be encouraged to stand firm, grow deeper in your walk with the Lord, and faithfully live out your calling.

Transcript

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Welcome to the Garible Grace Chapel Podcast, where we value the expository preaching and teaching of the Word of God for the purpose of life transformation. Open your Bibles to the book of 2 Timothy, Chapter 2, 2 Timothy, Chapter 2. On September 23rd, 2021, a disgruntled employee walked into Kroger on Bahia in Carreaville and opened fire. Killed one, wounded 14 others before turning the gun on himself. After the tragedy, the city got together and installed in huge letters across the glass entrance of the store, Carrville Strong. Those words, Carvo Strong, were and are intended to command your attention and to prompt the citizens of this area to stay strong no matter the circumstances. Similarly, as we look into 2 Timothy chapter 2, the Apostle Paul gives some commands to Timothy to help him stay spiritually strong no matter the circumstances. And of course, we'll see how that applies to us today. So if you have your scripture, I would encourage you to open it and look in 2 Timothy chapter 2. We'll read verses 1 through 7 as our text. And this is from the English Standard Version. You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus and what you have heard from me and the presence of many witnesses and trust 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 hardworking 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. That's the reading of God's word. It would be as follows. Paul wrote Timothy and prompted him to stay spiritually strong. From that, we can learn Christians are prompted to stay spiritually strong. What prompts Christians to stay spiritually strong? There are four commands that prompt Christians to stay spiritually strong. The first command that prompts Christians to stay spiritually strong is to rely on the Lord. Rely on the Lord. Look at the text at 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 1. You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Now that one verse is the link between chapter 1 and end of chapter 2. Depending on what version you are reading, it may start out with, therefore. Again, it's the link. If you will recall, chapter 1 ends with the apostle Paul encouraging Timothy to remain loyal to the gospel, to remain loyal to Jesus Christ, and to remain loyal to the Apostle Paul. But the Apostle Paul realized it was going to take spiritual strength to remain loyal. And so he opens up this particular passage as he's about to give commands on how to stay spiritually strong. He says, You then, or he wrote, you then, my child, be strengthened in the grace of the Lord. Now, again, it's interesting that he uses that phrase, my child, when speaking of Timothy. We know that Timothy was not Paul's biological son, but he loved him like a son. And they had, Paul and Timothy had like a mentor-mentee relationship, more much like a father-son relationship. And the Apostle Paul loved him as a son in the faith. And so he said, You then, my son, be strengthened in the Lord. Now that phrase, be strengthened, is important. Because remember, the first command that prompts Christians to stay spiritually strong is to rely on the Lord. And the apostle Paul gave that command with the phrase, be strengthened. In the original language, in the Greek, it is the passive voice, present tense. And here's why that's important. The passive voice means the strength doesn't come from within, it doesn't come from you. It comes from God. You're passive in the sense that it is God who strengthens you. You can't conjure up strength. You can't conjure up faith. It's by the grace of God that He gives it to you. But it's also the present tense. Which means that Timothy was to continually rely on the Lord. It's not as if Timothy came to faith in Christ and was filled with the Holy Spirit and that strength that comes from that. And he just kind of coasted into heaven on that one-time experience. That is not what the Apostle Paul is teaching. It's not a one-time experience to be strengthened by the Lord. It is a continually waiting on God, relying upon the Lord for Him to fill you fresh and new with the power of the Holy Spirit so that you can be strengthened by the grace of Almighty God. And so he writes, You then, my son, be strengthened in the Lord. And so from this we see that Christians are commanded to rely on the Lord to stay spiritually strong. In the world that we live in, the culture that we live in, with all the things that are happening around us, we need to heed this simple verse. Be strengthened in the grace of the Lord. Rely on God to give you the strength that you need to stay spiritually strong for the kingdom of God, so that you can be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. And so you don't get overwhelmed by all the negative and all the evil and all the sin that we see in our culture. No, rely on the Lord. Be strengthened by the grace of God. And that strength only comes from being in Christ. Look at this scripture in John chapter 15, verses 4 through 5. It reads, Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine. Neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. Now, other context is a little bit different, but the principle applies. If you want to do anything for God, you have to be in Christ. You can only do things, you can only produce things for the kingdom of God if you are connected to Christ. You must be in Christ. And so it is with staying spiritually strong and the world in which we live. You must rely on the Lord. Be strengthened by his grace. And by the way, constantly, continually rely on the Lord for his strength. Look at this text. It's Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 18. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Again, this is the Apostle Paul writing to the church at Ephesus, Ephesians. And he says, look, be strong and in the power of his might. It's the same concept. You have to constantly rely on the Lord and be strong in his might. And then he tells us how to do it. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and against authorities and against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. And having done all, stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth and have you put on the breastplate of righteousness. And the shoes for your feet have you put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one, and take the hammock of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. What a powerfully wonderful written passage. The apostle Paul is telling us how to stand strong. How to stay strong for the kingdom of God. How to stand strong in this present darkness. It is to rely on the Lord. Constantly rely on the Lord. And you do that by putting on the full armor of God every single day. And when you put on the full armor of God and you rely on the Lord, you will stay spiritually strong. So the first command that prompts Christians to stay spiritually strong is to rely on the Lord. The second command that prompts Christians to stay spiritually strong is to refocus on the mission. Look at the text, it's 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse number 2. 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. So the second command given to Christians to prompt them to stay spiritually strong is to refocus on the mission. The Apostle Paul commanded Timothy to do so, refocus on the mission. And then he gave him or he identified three aspects of the mission that Timothy should refocus on. First, Timothy was to identify and preserve the teachings that came from the Apostle Paul. Secondly, he was to recruit men that he could teach and who also had the ability to teach and to lead others. And then thirdly, he was to release them to do so. And the apostle Paul knew that if Timothy would follow this command, then Timothy would stay spiritually strong and the church would stay spiritually strong. Why? Because if a teacher is teaching someone else, they have to be prepared. And they have to know more than the student. And so it causes them to dig into the word and to and to study and to pray and to be prepared. And when he passes that on to another group of leaders, they have to study and be prepared. And then they pass that on to another group. And it it strengthens the entire body. So we need to refocus on the mission. An athletic scout is constantly recruiting athletes who have talent and heart. I used to say intelligence, but that no longer matters. If you're good enough, they'll have someone take your test. Amen. Sort of, kinda. An athletic scout is constantly on the lookout, constantly recruiting. You know, athletes who who who have talent have a heart. And when they think that they've come across such an athlete, they watch them for a little while. They want to see if they're consistent. And then the scout will engage the athlete or at least contact him and let him know that he's being scouted. And the reason is because they want to see how he does under pressure. Then assuming that the athlete does okay is at least consistent enough, handles pressure okay for his age and so on, then some type of offer is typically made to that student. Well, in a similar way, this is what Paul was telling Timothy to do in his church. Hey man, you you are a scout. You should be scouting people in your congregation who have the ability to be teachable and who have the ability to teach. Man, listen, you need those two. Paul even dealt with that in 1 Timothy. Like, there's a lot of talented people who can teach, but they're not teachable. You know what I mean? And you don't need those people because they're gonna be detrimental to the health of the church body. I say you don't need them. You don't need them in places of leadership because they're gonna be detrimental to the church health, to the church body. So you're looking for people who have a teachable spirit, you're looking for people who have the ability to teach and to lead, and you're constantly recruiting them and you're constantly training them, and then you release them. Refocus on the mission. I think that applies to the church at large, not just Grace Child. But it certainly applies here. You know, the reason that Paul gave this command to stay spiritually strong by refocusing on the mission is because mission drift is all too easy. Uh it happens way too easily. If you're not familiar with the term mission drift, it basically means this it's when a person or an organization slowly, often unintentionally, drifts away from the core purpose of the mission. Well, Jesus gave the church our mission. Jesus gave every church their mission. How they go about it, how they tend to their little corner of the Lord's vineyard, may vary from church to church, but the church only has one mission. And it is the coke, it is the great commission. It's given to us very clearly in Matthew chapter 28, verses 18 through 20. And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. That's it. That's the mission. Everything that is done in the life of the church should be done with that in mind. Now, look at the church in the Western world. Canada, United States, Australia, England, Scotland, Ireland, and so on. Look at the church in the Western world. It has drifted away from the mission. The church is caught up doing everything but what Jesus told us to actually do. And somehow we think that because we can fill up grand buildings with people who aren't even saved, that we're somehow doing something for God. Now, does that mean that non-Christians should not be in church? No, of course not. Non-Christians need to be in church, right? Like we should be out there inviting non-Christians to come and hear the gospel and find out what community and the body of Christ is all about. Absolutely, of course. But our goal is not to design services or design sermons so that we can attract the natural man who's not even born again. Because when you fill up a church with people who aren't even born again, that means you attracted them by entertainment, and then you are caught in the trap of constantly entertaining them, or else they go to the next best show. That's what's happened to the church in the Western world. And we wonder why the body of Christ is weak and apathetic. It's because it's drifted away from the mission. I wouldn't expect it in the amen. I wouldn't expect it to be that quiet. But you're thinking about it, right? It makes sense. See, the Lord gave us the mission. It's simple. Make disciples. It's not to make converts, it's to make disciples. Now, obviously, one needs to be converted to Christ before they're a disciple, of course. But conversion is not the end game. Discipleship is. And not only discipling the individual, but whole cultures and nations should be discipled by the Word of God. That's what the Great Commission is all about. And when a church is focused on that commission, the Lord will empower them and strengthen them to accomplish it. Look at Matthew chapter 28, verse 20. The end of the Great Commission. Listen to the promise. Teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you. And behold, I'm with you always to the end of the age. No, listen. Notice it's called the Great Commission. We are commissioned and we act with Christ. We are not doing things in our own strength. We don't dream up grand dreams and paint pictures of grand visions. And then ask the Lord to bless it. It's the other way around. The Lord injects into the life of the local church what He wants to happen in and through that local church. And when we operate on that basis, the promise of The Lord, he will be with us and he will strengthen us and he will empower us to do it. Acts chapter 1.8 is another great promise of this. It reads, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. Yes. Now notice that the power of the Holy Spirit is for us to be witnesses. It's not for us to run around and brag about the spiritual gifts that we might have. Or the gifts that are operating in our particular midst at any given moment. That is not what the power of the Holy Spirit is all about. The power of the Holy Spirit is to help us to be witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ. And notice how He gave the progression. He said, You'll be witnesses in Jerusalem. Then Judea, then Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. And if you have any biblical knowledge, understanding, you realize what's happening, right? When this was spoken, he was saying right here, right where you are, Jerusalem. And then Judea would have been the greater region. Samaria would have been to the kingdom to the north. And then the ends of the earth. But again, the church has gone into mission drift. And instead of being witnesses in their Jerusalem, they find it a whole lot easier to pull out their wallet and give all kinds of money so people can go to the ends of the earth, but you won't walk across the street to tell your neighbor about Jesus Christ. It's easier to send a missionary somewhere else. No. Am I saying that we should not support? No, of course not. Obviously, we need to support missions. Yes, because not everyone is called to go around the world. Absolutely, we should support missions. But I'm pointing out if that's all you're doing, you're missing the other part. What good is it if we win some country in Africa and we lose Memphis? Makes you think about it, doesn't it? Or at least I hope it does. See, Paul commanded Timothy to refocus on the mission. Because he knew that when Timothy refocused on the mission, then the Lord would empower him with the spirit. That strength that he was to rely upon would come when he's focused on the mission. So many people in the Western world in their own spiritual life, and then many, you know, congregates may even complain about the spiritual life of their church. And I'm just simply pointing out that it could be you're missing the dynamic, powerful move of the Holy Spirit in your life. And it could be that we're missing the dynamic, powerful move of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church because we're not focused on the mission. So this has been challenging to me as a pastor. So let me put you at ease unless you think I'm here saying it's your fault. I'm in this thing too. This is my church, too. Okay? And so, as but as a pastor and as the elder, this has been somewhat challenging to me. And so the Lord, I think, is calling Grace Chapel back to refocus on its mission. We've had so many other things vying for our attention over the last several years that it's time to refocus on what God has called us to do. And so as a part of that strategy, you will start hearing in the next several weeks about men that we are training and we will be releasing to teach in various capacities for this church. And we're gonna challenge you to go out and make disciples. Minister to people. Amen. So how do we do that? How do we refocus on the mission? Well, number one, just you know, real briefly, under under application of this particular point would be this we need to identify and preserve the words that were given to us by the apostles and the prophets. They they are still binding on us today, not the so-called fake apostles and prophets that go around today. Those aren't what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the true biblical apostles and prophets. They have given us the word of God, and we are to preserve this, and we are to teach it. We do not redefine it, we do not reinterpret it. We teach the word of God for what it is. Amen. And then we identify leaders, we train them, and we release them, and it will happen. And this church will refocus on its mission. The second command that prompts Christians to stay spiritually strong is to refocus on the mission. The third command that prompts Christians to stay spiritually strong is to reprioritize your life. You need to re-prioritize your life. Listen to this. 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 a hardworking farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. So Paul commanded Timothy to re-prioritize his life, and that would help him stay spiritually strong. That would prompt him to stay spiritually strong. And then the Apostle Paul gave three analogies to help Timothy reprioritize his life. The first analogy was that of a soldier. In 2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 3 and 4, it reads, Sharon's suffering is a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. So the soldier here represents focus life on the mission. It's why the Apostle Paul transitioned as he did from refocusing on the mission to now look at the analogy of a soldier. A soldier is focused on his mission. He does not get sidetracked by the affairs of civilian life. His main concern is pleasing his enlisting officers and the success of the mission. And the success of the mission is more important than his personal success or his personal accolades. And so we see how that clearly applies to us, and particularly as a church. We are soldiers. If you are a child of God, you are a soldier in the Lord's army. You have been enlisted in the Lord's army. Whether you realize it or not, you were enlisted. You didn't sign up. From my perspective, we signed up, right? Like I raised my hand and I came forward and I said a prayer. But the truth is the Holy Spirit moved upon your heart and He enlisted you. And he brought you into the kingdom of God. And you have been enlisted into the Lord's army. And if that is the case, then we cannot get sidetracked by the affairs of civilian life. Money, cars, houses, retirement, pursuit of happiness, and so on. Not that those things are not important, and the Lord knows that we need them, but that's not our focus. Right? So the Lord may have given some of you in this congregation, the Lord may have given some of you who's listening to me online the ability to get wealth. The Lord gave you a business mind, the Lord put you in opportunities where you can earn great wealth. Good. That's a good thing. But it's to be used for kingdom purposes. It's not just for you to hoard on, hoard up. It's for you to be used for kingdom purposes. For others, the Lord has given you the ability of administration and leadership and teaching and on and on, the spiritual gifts go. And they're not used, or they're not to be used for your advantage. It's not about your personal success. It's not about my personal success. It's not even about accolades and for people to go, oh man, look how much money they have, or look how good of a teacher he is. No, the success of the mission is what we're about. No one person is greater than anyone else in the kingdom of God. Our focus is the success of the mission. There are people out there who need to hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. They need the kingdom of God to invade their life so their marriages can be restored, their bodies can be healed, they can be delivered from their bondages and their addictions. They need a gospel-filled, spirit-filled church that is focused on the mission. That is what the world needs, more than buildings and activities. The second analogy to help reprioritize life was that of an athlete. You read about that in 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 5. It says an athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. Now, the soldier would represent, you know, single-minded, you know, focus on the mission. An athlete would represent discipline, obedience. That's what the scripture reads, not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. I mean, right? An athlete has to be disciplined to train his body to compete at the maximum level of this particular sport. That takes dedication, commitment, right? Discipline. But he also must be obedient to the rules. He has to compete according to the rules. He can't make up rules as he goes. And he can't cheat just to win. He's not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. Well, in the life of a Christian, that would apply this way. We are athletes in the kingdom of God. And we must discipline our lives to follow Jesus Christ. To compete in the kingdom of God. And we are not crowned with the crown of life unless we compete according to the rules. That is, we don't redefine the scripture, we don't reinterpret something that would go along and justify our sinful behavior. We don't cheat just so we can look like we're victorious here on this side of heaven. No? The character of a Christian matters. It doesn't matter if a preacher can stand behind the pulpit and preach the most eloquent sermons you have ever heard. And people by the thousands come to faith. If he's sleeping around on his wife, character matters. When you look in 1 Timothy chapter 3 and it talks about what you should find in an elder and a pastor, talent is nowhere mentioned. It doesn't matter how great of a preacher they are, that's beside the point. What you're looking for is the character of the individual. So we have to compete according to the rules. Every one of us. So if you are in business and uh you're in a place of leadership or some type of management, listen, listen to this. The means do not justify the ends. Character matters. You do things right. And you do things that please the Lord. And let the chips fall where they may. Who cares if you get accolades from men now? And if you stand before the great judge of all the universe and he goes, Uh, I got something I need to talk to you about. In front of everybody who's ever lived and ever will live. Right? Puts it in perspective, doesn't it? By the way, there's several scriptures that press the athletic analogy. Um Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9, verses 24 and 27, I love this. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly. I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. Yes. Yes. Every time I read that passage about, you know, uh, so I do not run aimlessly. I do not box. This one beating the air. I mean, I mean, seriously, have you ever seen anyone line up? I'd love watching the Summer Olympics. The track and field is fascinating to me. How fast some humans are on this planet, both male and female, can fly. But have you ever seen anyone line up on the block and the gun goes off and then they just cut across this way, and one goes this way, and one goes on the stand, and one goes backwards, like just run aimlessly. No. Or the one that really gets me is like, because we're talking about training ourselves, so you may not catch this, and but I can I wish I could give you a glimpse of my mind, but then I would probably taint everybody. So, so let me we have to discipline our bodies to compete, okay? So it sounds easy. The shadow box, doesn't it? But just ask Jennifer Bennett what happens. You dislocate your shoulder, don't you? You guys may not know this, but I never forget. I got a call several years ago. You gotta pray, you gotta pray, you gotta pray. I was like, what's wrong? I dislocated my shoulder. I said, What happened? She said, I was shadow boxing at the gym. And I thought, okay, I mean, I love you and all, but that's when you know you're out of shape. I can imagine. If I shadow boxed right now, I'd probably pass out in 30 seconds. I'm that out of shape. But these things do prove a point. There's so many people who think they can climb into the ring with Satan, our demonic powers and principalities, but you haven't trained in 15 years. And you think you're ready for spiritual battle? You might want to think again. Athletes train way more than they actually compete. Okay, so the Olympics. Think about how long those athletes train for the 100-yard dash. It's over like that. So it is in our spiritual life. That's what church is all about. It's to bring glory to God and to be equipped for the battle. Of course, Hebrews 12 is another one that talks about running the race, laying aside everything that hinders, and so on. There's a lot of analogies about the sport's life. You ought to think about those. The third analogy that helps us reprioritize our life is that of the farmer. Right? Uh scripture says in 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 6, it is a hardworking farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. So the soldier would represent single-minded, you know, focus on the mission. The athlete would represent obedience, uh, discipline, and the farmer, I think, would represent steadiness. Like he like a farmer has to have a steady work ethic and a steady faith. Right? Because like the farmer has to plan, he has to prepare the soil, he has to plant the seed, he has to protect the crops, he has to protect the field, and then he's got to pray. Because like, no matter all that, he still can't make the seed grow. Like that is only up to the Lord. But he has to have a steady work ethic and a steady faith. And I think that's what the apostle Paul's trying to get across to us here. That we and the kingdom of God are like farmers. Like we have to be steady. We can't be moved by the seasons, we can't be moved by the weather, we can't be moved by the circumstances that are happening in our life at any moment, in a negative sense. We're human, we know those things affect us to a degree, but it should not cause us to become unsteady. In other words, we should be steady in our resolve in the kingdom of God. We plan, we prepare the soil of the church, we sow seed, and we pray. Because we can't bring the harvest. Only the Lord can do that. And then those that are come, those that are being planted, we gotta we have to protect. That's the role of an elder. We have to protect, I have to protect the crop, have to protect the church. That's really uncomfortable, but it has to be done. You have to say, that's a wolf. Don't listen to them, don't do that. That's part of it. It's so that the crops can grow. So, the and by the way, the farmers should be the ones who receive, right? In Galatians chapter 6, verse 9, it says, And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. So don't give up. We will reap. Amen. The harvest will come. That's the hope that we always have in Jesus Christ. The fourth and final command that prompts Christians to be spiritually strong is to ruminate the message. I like that word, ruminate. Uh, and that is different than marinate. Right? So ruminate means to think deeply about. And this is exactly what the apostle Paul says. Listen, in 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 7, think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding and everything. So the Apostle Paul just threw out stuff and he said, but now you think about it. In other words, think deeply about it so that you understand and know how to apply it. That's what he was telling him. Well, that command is given to Christians all throughout the Holy Scriptures. Here are just a few. Listen to this, Joshua chapter 1, verse 8. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Psalm chapter 1, verses 1 through 3. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He's like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither in all that he does, he prospers. Philippians chapter 4, verses 8 through 9. The Apostle Paul writes, Finally, brothers, whatever's true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there's any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and God of peace will be with you. Of course, that's Paul's way of saying, look, meditate on the law, meditate on the scriptures, and not just one particular verse, but the meaning of it, the general application, the general teachings of scripture. These are good, these are just, these are lovely, these are pure, and it will help you stay focused on the mission. And the Lord will give you spiritual strength. So, in other words, you need to move beyond just reading the scripture and thinking about it. Ruminate. Think deeply, and the Holy Spirit will teach you how to apply it in every situation that you're in. Amen. Will you stand your feet with me this morning? The fourth command that prompts Christians to stay spiritually strong is to ruminate the message. And so we see here very clearly, if we want to stay spiritually strong, Paul gave us four commands. They were to rely on the Lord, refocus on the mission, reprioritize your life, ruminate the message. Man, if you will do those things, you have the promises of Scripture. That is, the Lord will be with you. He will fill you with his spirit, and you'll have the God of hope and peace working in your life. This is how you stay spiritually strong in the world in which we live. Father, we come before you this morning. We're so thankful for your word and that it is true. And I pray, Holy Spirit, that you would take these points and you would penetrate our hearts and our minds with them. That we think deeply on them throughout this week. It would bring change to us. And we would remain spiritually strong for the spiritual battles that are ahead. Amen, amen. Thank you for listening to the Carvo Grace Chapel podcast. Make sure that you like, share, follow us on socials. I'm Dr. Jason Murphy, proclaiming grace, transforming culture.