Spiritual Generations

2Tim 2:2  And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

God is concerned with spiritual longevity and reproducing ourselves as believers!

There are 5 generations of believers listed in this one verse.

They are:

1)     Thou – Timothy

2)     Me – Paul

3)     many witnesses – many witnesses

4)     faithful men – faithful men

5)     others – others

Now, let’s put them in the order of occurrence:

1)     Me – Paul

2)     many witnesses – many witnesses

3)     Thou – Timothy

4)     faithful men – faithful men

5)     others – others

Here are some thoughts as we look at this verse according to their order of occurrence:

1)     Paul preached/taught the truth – we must stay the course, regardless of our circumstances. We must not be intimidated by others! What a testimony Paul had in spite of all the difficulties he faced! (2Cor 11:23-27)

2Ti 4:2  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

2)     “many witnesses” were stirred by Paul’s preaching, not just a few!

a.     God is looking for “witnesses”!

b.    What gets you excited?

c.     Are you excited about the things of God more than the things of the world?

d.    What we get excited about…we will tell others about!

3)     These “witnesses” were excited enough about it to stir up Timothy

a.     I want to be around people who are excited about the things of God! I don’t want to be around a bunch of deadbeats!

b.    Are we excited enough to stir up someone else?

4)     Timothy hung out with solid / excited believers. He subjected himself to the preaching / teaching of God’s word.

a.     (What witnesses) Who are you listening to?

                                          i.    At work

                                         ii.    At school

                                        iii.    TV

                                        iv.    Internet (social networking – facebook, twitter, etc.)

                                         v.    Disgruntled Christians?

                                        vi.    Etc.

b.    Who are you hanging out with?

1Co 15:33  Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

We become like the people we hang out with!

c.     What we see and hear (listen to), we will talk about! (ie. Movies, games, sports, etc.)

Ac 4:20  For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

1Jo 1:3  That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

As a pastor, I don’t need to see what people do…all I have to do is listen to them and I know what they look at and listen to.

5)     Are we ‘committed’ to winning others / teaching others?

a.     In order for there to be continuity between spiritual generations, there must be 2 things:

                                          i.    Surrender – this is very important, but this is the beginning and the easiest part

                                         ii.    Commitment – this is where the rubber meets the road!

1Ti 1:12  And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

                        I liken the principles of surrender / commitment to marriage:

Surrender – marriage ceremony, exchanging vows. It is easy to exchange vows.

Commitment – facing challenges, financial reversals, health issues, etc. It is being faithful to each other and the Lord over TIME and through the difficulties in marriage!

b.    You cannot commit truth to an un-faithful person!

                                          i.    As the saying goes, if you want to get something done, go to someone who is already busy!

6)     We can only have continuity if we are “found faithful” and then we must transfer that truth to “faithful men”

As a pastor…I have never given someone a responsibility to make them faithful, I have always rewarded faithfulness with a responsibility. I have always looked for people who are faithful in the “least” and “very little” things. (Lk 16:10;19:17)

1Ti 1:12  And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

In the Bible, we see that Moses had a Joshua, Elijah had an Elisha, Paul had Timothy & Titus. Who are you discipling / mentoring?

7)     The Lord doesn’t want it to end there! He wants “faithful men” to teach others!

In Titus 2:1-10, Paul told Timothy to have the older be an example to the younger. Notice in the passage that he told them to teach them “to be” those things, to live out what they have been taught. People learn more by our example than by our words!

Note the usage of the word “pattern” in vv. 7.

As one follows a pattern to make something, we are “to be” showing forth a pattern for others to follow!

Would you want others to pattern their lives after yours!

Would you want YOU to be reproduced?

Right now, are you ready to be copied?

Are you ready to go into production?

If not, you need to get right with God and start showing the right pattern!

8)     The Lord says that we “shall be able” to teach, not might be able to teach!

If you are saved…God wants you to teach someone else. You may say, ‘What can I teach them?’ Teach them something that you know! There must be something that you know that someone else doesn’t know!

9)     That must mean that “others” must have a teachable spirit!

a.     You can learn from everyone

Pr 27:17  Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

b.    The people that give pastors the most trouble are the prideful, un-teachable types. Always arguing and confronting the pastor after every service!

c.     You can always tell when people are getting it and you can tell when they aren’t. I wish every believer could see the faces of the congregation when your pastor preaches / teaches something that hits a nerve!

So…from Paul, to the witnesses, to Timothy, to faithful men, to others!

There are 5 generations, and you can’t have that without continuity!

2Ti 3:14  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

The following is a chart that I have made to help see these principles / truths graphically…