'Useful Servants for God'

Well, in life, for things to be useful, they need to be fit for purpose, don't they? Otherwise, they're not so useful. Like a pair of scissors, which can be both for right-handed and left-handed people, but not so useful.

Or an electric hammer where you plug it in and I'm not sure how it works, it heats up the handle. That's not so useful either.

Or like this ride-on lawnmower. It's ride-on, but I'm not sure the back tile, well, I think it'll just probably spin in the grass. Or this pocket knife, but on the left-hand side, there's an axe and a hammer, which, unless the nail is very, very small, it's not really fit for purpose, so not so useful.

The point is, for things to be useful, they need to be fit for purpose, don't they? And it's the saying when it comes to being a useful servant for God. You see, God is God, and so he deserves to be served.

What's more, God has been so gracious to us in sending his only son, Jesus, to die for us. And at the cross to take the punishment for all our sin so that we who believe can simply go free, forgiven for life eternal with him.

And so, out of deep gratitude to God, we should all want to be useful servants for God, shouldn't we? But to be a useful servant, we need to be fit for purpose too.

And that's what Paul reminds Timothy about today. Just to remind you, the context of the letter, Paul is about to die, but he doesn't want the gospel or the good news about Jesus to die with him.

What's more, there are false teachers at Timothy's church. And so, Paul doesn't want the gospel to be altered or perverted. And so, Paul writes to Tim saying, guard the gospel so that it's not altered and it doesn't die with him.

And we saw two weeks ago that to guard the gospel, Timothy is firstly not to be ashamed of the gospel or of the Lord Jesus. And then last week, we saw from our new pastor, James, that to guard the gospel means entrusting it to others and a particularly enduring suffering for Jesus.

And now this week, it means being a useful servant who is fit for purpose. How? Well, in three ways today.

Firstly, by being a worker who is approved by God. So, it brings us to point one, verse 14 and 15. Paul writes, keep reminding God's people of these things. Warm them before God and against quarreling about words is of no value and only ruins those who listen.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Now, here Paul begins in verse 14, telling Timothy firstly to remind God's people of these things.

But the question is, what things? Well, the things that we heard about last week. You see, a pastor's job like Timothy is not to come up with new things, but to teach and remind God's people of the same things in the Bible.

Because we often forget things, don't we? I mean, how often have you forgotten people's names? And we do it all the time, don't we? And some of us even sometimes forget our spouse's birthday.

Only once for the record. Only once for the record. We forget things. And so, we need to be reminded of things. I mean, if I ask for a show of hands about who remembered things from last week, I wonder...

Actually, I'm not going to do that. It might be depressing. And so, let me remind you. We learnt last week that we are to be strengthened by God's grace to endure suffering for Christ.

And remember, suffering like the soldier who puts his commanding officer, Jesus, first, above any civilian affairs. Whether it's sport or work or even family.

And doing that, putting Jesus first, sometimes is hard. It's a form of suffering, isn't it? Or to endure suffering that comes from self-discipline, like an athlete who competes according to the rules and doesn't take shortcuts.

Now, self-discipline is a form of suffering because it takes work, doesn't it? Or the suffering of a farmer who works hard. And if you know farmers, they do work hard.

It's a form of suffering. Yet, as James reminded us last week, God's grace in Christ has generously given us great motivation to endure that suffering.

Like the reward of pleasing Christ in hearing on that last day, well done, good and faithful servant. Like the reward of that victor's crown that the athlete gets.

Like the reward of sharing in the first part of the crops like the farmer enjoys. In fact, towards the end of that passage last week, just before our reading, there was a great motivation that if we die with Christ, we will live with him.

If we endure, verse 12, we will even reign with him. And then we had that warning not to disown him. We are to remember these things.

But verse 14, the second thing Timothy was to do, not just remind God's people of these things, but to warn them against quarreling about words.

You see, the false teachers that were still at Tim's church loved to quarrel about words as well as teach falsely. And so it would have been easy for God's people to get sucked into quarreling about words as well.

Perhaps these false teachers were quarreling over certain words in the Old Testament law or perhaps in Greek philosophy or we don't really know. But it was easy to get sucked into it and it ruins those who listen.

Verse 14, my wife and I have quarreled over words before. Like how to pronounce them. Is it contribute or contribute? Or when we moved to Melbourne, we argued with some people about how to pronounce this word.

Is it cicada or cicada? And sometimes people argue over the colour of that middle light in the traffic lights. You know, is it yellow like the picture or is it orange or is it amber?

You can quarrel about all sorts of things with these words until the cows come home. But in the end, who cares? It doesn't matter, does it? What matters is the truth they're communicating.

Like that middle light means speed up. I mean, slow down. Well, these false teachers like to quarrel about words.

Which is meaningless. Which is meaningless. When what matter was communicating the truth. Which they didn't do either. Indeed, by their false teaching and by their word quarreling, they were simply ruining those who listened.

Verse 14. And so we're not to get sucked into those sorts of quarrels. Whether it's the words like baptism doesn't mean to dunk or to dip. Who cares? It actually means both. The important thing is what it represents.

Our allegiance to Christ. And Timothy is to teach the truth. Not just about baptism, but about the gospel clearly. See verse 15 again. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved.

A worker who does not need to be ashamed. And who correctly handles the word of truth. Timothy is to correctly handle the Bible so that he'll be a worker approved by God and not ashamed before God.

Because he hasn't handled the word of truth correctly. And by correctly, poor means firstly, clearly. You see the phrase correctly handles was used literally in the original language back then to cut a straight path.

It was used for cutting a straight path through the land to help travelers get to their destination more easily. And so Timothy is to cut a straight path to help the word get to its destination of our head and heart more easily.

In other words, he is to teach God's word clearly so that we can understand it and be moved by it. And yes, he's also to teach it faithfully. But that comes up in verse 16.

Faithfully by avoiding godless chatter. Because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene.

Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place and they destroy the faith of some. Now here, Timothy is to avoid, verse 16, godless chatter.

Which is equated, verse 17, to their teaching, the false teachers teaching. Who, verse 18, we know it's false because they have departed from the truth.

In other words, godless chatter equals false teaching here. And this false teaching, says Paul, is like a disease, like the gangrene which spreads and eats away at the flesh.

I was going to show you a picture of gangrene on the leg, but I thought, no, no, it's a bit gross. I won't do that to you. But that's what false teaching does to the church. It spreads through the church and eats away at people's faith.

Even, the end of verse 18, destroying the faith of some. Now, of course, God will save those who are his, even if they fall for this false teaching for a period of time.

Because that's the reassurance that he gives in verse 19. He says, nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription, the Lord knows those who are his.

And everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness. But see the first inscription, the Lord knows those who are his. The implication being, he will keep them and preserve them.

And if they have fallen for false teaching, bring them back to the truth. The point here is, Timothy is to be an approved worker rather than an ashamed worker before God.

By correctly handling the word of truth, which means teaching it clearly. And by avoiding the diseased lies, which means teaching it faithfully.

And so the first application, technically, is for those who teach the Bible. Whether it's to kids or grandkids, nieces or nephews at home, or whether it's the kids church and youth leaders here at church, or whether it's at Bible study or up the front, whoever teaches it is to teach it clearly, cut a straight path and faithfully avoid the godless chatter, the false teaching.

That we might be fit for purpose as useful servants for God. But the second application is for us all, to pray for those who teach.

That they might teach clearly and faithfully. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that one of our service leaders from 1030, when they prayed before the Bible is read, just like we did today, they also prayed for all the kids and youth leaders as the kids went out.

That those leaders would teach it clearly and faithfully. That's a great thing to pray. Because don't we want everyone to grow up in Christ, in the truth? And so we should be praying for those who teach the Bible.

But the third application is for us all, to grow in the truth. So that we can spot and stop the spread of lies. During COVID, we used to sanitize our hands, you know, almost every hour, to stop the spread of the disease, didn't we?

Well, here we're to grow in the truth so that we can spot and stop the spread of lies. Which means reading God's word during the week. Studying it, asking questions about it.

I'm always happy to talk about God's word. Surprise, surprise. Listening to teaching about it and then checking what we hear against what we read in God's word to see if it matches up.

That we might all grow in the truth of it. Because the better we know the word of truth, the easier it will be to spot the lies, won't it? You know, like they used to do with the bank notes.

They would study the true note because then they could spot the counterfeit note. And so keep doing all you can to grow in the truth of God's word.

So that you can spot and then stop the spread of lies. And so to be a useful servant for God, Timothy is firstly to be an approved worker. And secondly, he used to be a cleansed instrument.

And so point to verse 20. In a large house, there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. Some are for special purposes and some are for common use.

Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes. Made holy, useful to the master and ready or prepared to do any good work.

At home, we use a tablecloth on our table. You might do the same thing. And we kind of keep the tablecloth on for most of the week.

It's our common use tablecloth, if you like. And it gets very dirty very quickly. Especially where one particular family member sits. I won't say which one. And so this common tablecloth is not useful for a special purpose of hosting guests.

I mean, it's not very welcoming when your guest sits down to your table and there's crumbs and food stains everywhere. It's not very welcoming, is it? But if we wash it and iron it, that is if we cleanse it, then it will be fit for purpose.

It will be prepared and useful to us, to host guests. And Paul's point is that if Timothy is to be useful to his master, fit for any good work, then he too is to be cleansed.

Indeed, verse 21 says, he is to cleanse himself from the latter. That is, from the dirty common things in the house. Which I take it are the sins of the false teachers who are still in God's house back in Ephesus.

Of course, it's really God who does the cleansing. And so to cleanse himself really means to repent of any sinful ways and ask God to forgive him.

And then he'll be made holy, set apart as ready or prepared for any good work. Now, this is not just for Timothy, but for us all. Because you notice in verse 21, he says, Those who cleanse themselves, plural.

That's us, not just Timothy. In fact, just before in verse 19, he said, Everyone, not just Timothy, everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness, be cleansed.

And even after that, in verse 22, Paul goes on to say to Timothy, Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

That's us as well, isn't it? You see, it's not just Timothy who was to cleanse himself from sin so that he can be useful for God. It's all of us. It's like Israel in our first reading.

They were to follow God's instructions, obey him, if they wanted to be useful as a holy nation and a kingdom of priests. And so we're all to flee evil desires and pursue purity in order to be useful for God.

Which means, by the way, that we all can be useful for God. If we're all to do this, then we can all be useful, you see. Even if we can no longer do the things we once did because of our stage of life or health issues.

I know one member who can't serve at church the way he once did because of his health. In fact, he struggles even to get to church.

And yet he is still very useful for God. For by simply making the huge effort it is to come and smile at others and join in the hymns and so on, it's a great encouragement to others.

For they think, and I've heard people say, well, if he can persevere despite that suffering, then so too can I. In other words, he's a great example to others.

Or I know another member who cannot get to church at all. And yet I was visiting them last week and they talked about their daily routine. And he casually mentioned he spent two hours praying every night.

Not just for his family, but for you. Here at this church. For us all. And those who teach the word as well.

And while both of these guys may not feel like that's very useful, it's more useful than they realize. For God works through those good works to build his church, doesn't he?

You see, we can all be useful to God. But it starts with turning from sin and fleeing evil desires. In other words, it starts with a godly character.

Why? Well, because a godly character means we want to do good works. You see, the desires of our hearts shape the work of our hands.

That's just logic, isn't it? And so if our hearts have evil or selfish desires, then what do you think our hands will do? Evil or selfish works. But if our hearts pursue righteousness, love and peace, then our hands will do works of righteousness, love and peace.

I like that member who is pursuing coming to church even when it's hard. In fact, because they have a godly character which pursues these things, they come to church and are a great example without even realizing it.

But it all starts with that godly character. If you like, we are to be a cleansed tablecloth. Because once we are cleansed, we're ready for any guests who come, aren't we?

And so we are to have a godly character such that we're prepared or ready for any good work that comes our way. And so the next application for us then is, do we all cleanse ourselves by repenting and seeking God's forgiveness?

And then pursue that righteousness, faith and love. In a while, we'll have a chance for cleansing by saying a prayer of confession, which helps us to put this into practice.

And the prayer picks up these things in these verses. So it talks about turning away from sin. That's verse 19. Turn away from wickedness. It goes on to talk about being cleansed.

That's verse 21. Being cleansed instruments. And then it talks about asking for God's help by his spirit to enable us. That's verse 22. To pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace.

And we can do this any day of the week. Indeed, we are to keep doing this every day we sin. Which may mean we confess our sins every day of the week.

Because if you're like me, we sin every day of the week. But we are to cleanse ourselves that we might be ready for any good work. Which makes us of great use to God.

Even if we don't realise it. And so to be a useful servant for God, Timothy is firstly to be an approved worker. Secondly, a cleansed instrument. And thirdly, more briefly, a kind servant.

So point 3 verse 23. Paul goes on to say, Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments. Because you know that they produce quarrels. Quarrels are the opposite of peace that Timothy is to pursue in the middle of verse 22.

The false teachers, remember, they loved quarrelling over words. And could suck God's people into doing the same. Like we saw at the beginning in verse 14. But those who are servants of the Lord Jesus are not to be quarrelsome.

In fact, they're to be kind and speak with gentleness. Verse 24. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome. But must be kind to everyone.

Able to teach. Not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed. In the hope that God will grant them repentance. Leading them to a knowledge of the truth. And that they will come to their senses.

And escape the trap of the devil. Who has taken them captive to do his will. Now here the focus is on those like Timothy. Whose role is particularly to teach.

Which is why in verse 24 it says, Able to teach. And so we who teach are to be kind and patient and teach gently.

Because the goal is not to win an argument. It's to win the person. That's verse 25. Gently instruct them in the hope that God will grant them repentance.

And verse 26. Save them from the devil's trap. And while the focus here is on those who teach. This is true for all of us. As we speak to others about Jesus.

Isn't it? Especially those who oppose us. Like the opponents that Timothy faced. And so the secondary application is then. For all of us.

Do we all speak to others gently. And particularly to those non-Christians who might oppose us. Because again it's not about winning an argument.

It's about winning the person for the Lord Jesus. Isn't it? The Lord's servant must be kind. And speak gently. Well there are lots of things out there that are not fit for purpose.

Like this doggy door I saw. Clearly too small. And so not fit for purpose. Well when it comes to Timothy.

To be a useful servant for God who guards the gospel. He is to be fit for purpose. By being an approved worker. Who teaches clearly and faithfully. A cleansed instrument.

Ready for any good work. And a kind servant. Who speaks gently. Indeed these are the type of people. That Timothy is to entrust the gospel to. Back in verse 2.

These are the type of people that we look out for. Who might be the next generation of gospel workers. But we are all to be useful servants for God. Whether that's by praying for those who teach.

Or growing in the truth ourselves. So we can spot and stop the spread of lies. Or whether that's being kind servants. Who speak gently to outsiders.

To win them for Christ. Or whether that's by being cleansed instruments ourselves. So that we too might be prepared and ready. For any good work that comes our way.

In fact. Why don't we start by cleansing ourselves now. With this prayer of confession. So why don't we join in by saying this together. Heavenly Father.

You have loved us with an everlasting love. But we have often gone our own way. And rejected your will for our lives. We are sorry for our sins.

And turn away from them. For the sake of your son who died for us. Forgive us. Cleanse us. And change us. By your Holy Spirit.

Enable us to live for you. And to please you in every way. For the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. And the assurance we have.

Is that every time we ask for forgiveness. God cleanses us. And grants us that forgiveness. Yes.