Defining Discipleship | 2 Timothy 2:1-2

Summary

What does it mean to be strong in Christ Jesus? In the fourth week of our series The Last Word, Todd Wagner shows us how our faithfulness and service to Christ might be hard but relying on the Holy Spirit to produce other faithful men and women who know Him is worth it.

Key Takeaways

• We don’t believe God loves us because we are good; we believe that God is good, so He loves us.
• 2 Timothy 1:1-18 is summarized in 2 Timothy 2:1; 2 Timothy 2:2 is spelled out in 2 Timothy 2:3-2:22.
• We will be judged as servants (2 Corinthians 5:10). Therefore, we have a duty to serve our King as He has called us to.
• The reason God gives us gifts is to serve one another. Service isn’t about you, but about what God has given you.
• You we are born to go to war. You have the power to change lives and the power to tell others that your life has changed.
• “Be strong” in 2 Timothy 2:1 is a perfect passive command; it’s something that happens to you. We don’t rely on our strength, but we receive what God has given us and are faithful with it.
• You are a Christ-follower. Other labels don’t matter. The question is not who you are, but are you going to follow Him?
• Pro tip: Know the end of the movie or you are going to find yourself wanting to fire the screen writer and director of your life.
• Only a fool tries to re-write God’s screen play (Matthew 16:23).
• When hard times come, people should lose faith in false doctrine, not in the True God.
• God has called you to a life of faithfulness and it is going to be hard. But it is going to work out for you.
• You won’t get a reward for faithful church attendance. You will get a reward if you faithfully attend to His business (Proverbs 22:4).
• God doesn’t want you to be healthy and wealthy. He wants you to be wise. Wise men and women take up their shields and pour themselves out like a drink offering (Philippians 2:17).
• We don’t just depend on Christ for our salvation but also for our service (Ephesians 2:8-9).
• God has called you to be His ambassador and to be strong,
• We are here to reproduce. We invest so much in our church members because we are the faithful men and women who will invest in the next 100 who walk in our doors and need to know Christ.

Discussing and Applying the Sermon

• When is a time you have relied on your own strength, and when have you instead received strength from the Holy Spirit to carry out a task God has called you to do?
• Do you know your spiritual gifts, and are you using them to invest in other faithful men and women who follow Christ today?
• If the church were reproduced based on your community group, what would it look like?

Other Mentioned or Recommended Resources

• Suggested Scripture study: 2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Timothy 2:3; Ephesians 6:10; Acts 1:8; Proverbs 22:4; Matthew 16:13-23; Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Peter 1:3, 5-7
• Sermon: Focused on Ministry and Service