Text: 2 Timothy 2:22-26
Exegesis
- Theme: The Lord’s Servant
- Topic: How Timothy can be an effective servant of God
- Truth: The Lord’s servant must watch himself in order to help others watch themselves.
- Thrust: Timothy must learn to watch himself and his relationship with God, so that he can help others watch themselves.
Exposition
- Theme: Servants of God
- Topic: How Christians can become effective servants of God
- Truth: The servant of God must watch himself in order to help others watch themselves.
- Thrust: Christians must learn to watch themselves and their relationship with God in order to help others watch themselves.
Exhortation
- Type: Thrust oriented
- Take Home Message: Watch yourself to help others watch themselves.
- Trailing question: How can we watch ourselves?
- Talk (sermon):
A. Take-off (intro)
Getting involved in ministry and serving God is a great privilege. But sometimes we forget what is truly important. We forget our own relationship and walk with God. We become too busy with our tasks and we forget to take care of our own spirituality. Consequently, we also become ineffective in helping others. What we need to do is to watch ourselves in order to help others watch themselves.
B. Teaching outline (body):
How can we watch ourselves? The first thing we need to do is to watch our walk with God (vv.22-23). This has a negative connotation as well as a positive connotation. Negatively, we need to flee certain things that we know will not be helpful to our spiritual growth. On the other hand, and on a more positive note, we need to pursue certain things that would really help us grow spiritually. We need to do this, not by ourselves, but in community with others. We need to be pro-active when it comes to our spiritual walk. We cannot leave it to chance. Second, we need to watch the way we influence others for God (vv.24-26). We need to influence others for their own good and to lead them to a deeper walk with God. Sometimes doing so can be a challenge, especially if they are not willing to accept our advises. We must watch how we try to influence others. We cannot be resentful or quarrelsome. Otherwise we might lose our influence altogether. Instead we must be kind and patient, teaching people how to walk with God as we walk with God. Our hope must be in the Lord who alone can transform human hearts. We must watch the way we influence others for God, because we don’t want to rely on ourselves but on God alone.
C. Touchdown (conclusion)
Serving the Lord is a great privilege. But we must be careful that we do not lose sight of what is truly important. Ultimately, it’s about relationships, not tasks. It’s about our relationship with God and with other people. Watch yourself and your relationship with God first, then you can help others watch themselves. When you’re spiritually healthy, you will also become effective in your ministry.
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