2 Timothy 2:2
And the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
2 Timothy 2:14-22
Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them in the sight of the Lord, that they strive not about words, to no profit, to the subverting of them that hear.
Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth.
But shun profane babblings: for they will proceed further in ungodliness,
And their word will eat as doth a gangrene: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
Men who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some.
Howbeit the firm foundation of God standeth, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His: and, Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.
Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some unto honour, and some unto dishonour.
If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, meet for the Master’s use, prepared unto every good work.
But flee youthful lusts, and follow after righteousness, faith, love, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
May we look to the Lord in prayer.
Our heavenly Father, how we do praise and thank Thee that the veil has already been rent. We do praise and thank Thee that we have the boldness to enter into the holiest of all, and there to behold Thy glory and to hear Thy voice.
So, our heavenly Father, we do ask Thee that, as Thy Word has been read and is going to be explained, the Holy Spirit will speak to our hearts. We pray that Thou wouldst draw us unto Thyself, that Thou mayest be able to fill us with Thyself.
Lord, we pray that Thou wilt do a work in us that no man can do. But we praise and thank Thee: this is Thy work. So we just commit the night into Thy hands and trust Thy Holy Spirit to complete Thy own work, to the praise and glory of Thy Son. In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.
We have been using the second chapter, the second verse, of 2 Timothy as the theme of our fellowship this evening. There you find the apostle Paul exhorting his son Timothy, saying that the things which he had heard from him in the presence of many witnesses, these he was to entrust to faithful men—to men and women who were trustworthy—that they might be able to instruct others also.
Dear brothers and sisters, we do believe that, when Paul exhorted Timothy concerning this matter, it was the Lord Himself, through the apostle Paul, telling us what He desires. In these difficult days, when everything seems to be falling apart and even God’s people are falling away, this is the time when God is looking for trustworthy men and women.
God is looking for faithful men and women—those whom He can trust, those into whom He can deposit Himself, and those who are able to carry the testimony of Jesus in spite of difficult days. Not only are these people able to stand for God; they can also be used by God. They are qualified to instruct other people, that more may be proven trustworthy and be used by Him.
So, dear brothers and sisters, I do believe that this is the heart of God toward us today. Oh, that every one of us here tonight may be a trustworthy one! Oh, that every one of us may be a person to whom God can commit Himself in these last days—faithful to Him and to His testimony, and understanding enough to instruct others also.
I do feel that there is nothing more important than this in our days. This is the reason why we are gathering together this week. I do hope that our gathering together before the Lord may not be in vain, but that God may apprehend us who are here, that by His grace we may be those faithful ones whom He can trust and use to instruct others.
Probably the question Timothy would ask was, “Where can I find these faithful men?” Paul was arrested, and after he was arrested, all in Asia deserted him. Timothy remained behind. To this young man, it probably seemed that he had been left alone.
I wonder if Timothy had a feeling like the prophet Elijah. You remember that Elijah said to God:
They have killed Thy prophets;
They have digged down Thine altars;
And I am left alone,
And they seek my life.
This was the situation. What could he do?
I wonder whether Timothy’s sentiment was something similar. Paul was taken away. All Asia deserted Paul. Timothy had been a son to Paul; he was faithful, and he wept when Paul was taken away. He felt himself to be alone. Probably, when he received Paul’s letter saying, “The things thou hast heard of me, these entrust to faithful men,” he asked, “Where are they? Where can I find these trustworthy people? Did they not all fall apart when Paul was arrested?”
But, brothers and sisters, thank God. God told Elijah, “I have seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” I do believe that in the days of Timothy, when he thought that he was alone, God had His hidden ones. It was Timothy’s responsibility to find these hidden ones—to discover these men.
Outwardly, it seemed as if Timothy was alone, but actually God always had His hidden ones. These hidden ones were the ones Paul wanted Timothy to find and to entrust with the testimony of Jesus.
Sometimes we have the same sentiment. When we are passing through difficult days, and when we look around and find that we seem to be alone, perhaps we complain to God and say, “Lord, I am all alone. How can I go on?” I believe God will say the same thing to us: “I have seven thousand who have not bowed the knee. Go and find them.”
The things which Paul had spoken before many witnesses were to be entrusted to these faithful men and women, that they might instruct others also. This is what we have been trying to do this week: to discover God’s hidden ones—those who have not bowed their knees to other gods.
We want to see these faithful men come forth, no longer hidden, but bearing the testimony of Jesus with us, so that together we may carry on for His glory.
Who are these trustworthy ones? Today we have already mentioned a few things that are absolutely essential to those who want to be faithful and trustworthy in difficult days.
First, we have to remember our calling. If all we see is what is around us, and if all we see is ourselves, then certainly we will fall as others have fallen. But this is a time when we must remember our calling. We must look up and see that God has saved us and called us according to His own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ Jesus before times eternal.
If we are sure of our holy calling, if we know that we are called according to purpose, and if we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose, then, dear brothers and sisters, we shall find ourselves standing upon the Rock. We shall not be moved.
It is tremendously important that we know what our calling is. How could Paul stand? He concluded with this statement: “I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.” If Paul had not had the heavenly vision, he would have had nothing to obey. If he had not had that heavenly vision, he would not have been able to stand.
But through all the trials, persecutions, and testings, Paul said, in effect, “The reason why I can continue even today is because I have not been disobedient to the heavenly vision.” Dear brothers and sisters, do you have that heavenly vision?
The heavenly vision concerns God’s purpose. It concerns the eternal purpose of God. That vision is our calling. We are called to be the Body of Christ. We are called to be conformed to the image of God’s Son, that the only begotten Son of God may be the Firstborn among many brethren. This is our calling.
Thank God, He has not only called us, but from the day that He called us He has been depositing something good in us. He is depositing His own Son in us—not as a teaching, not as a doctrine, not as a creed. He is depositing His Son in us as our very life, as our all in all.
Surely we need to have a good deposit, and this good deposit needs to be kept through the Holy Spirit. Paul says, “I am not ashamed to suffer, because I know Whom I have believed, and I am fully persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.”
Whether we have a good deposit or not will be tested. We are already in the midst of the test. If we have a good deposit, we will stand; if we do not have a good deposit, we will fall.
How does this good deposit come about? It comes in the form of grace. Grace—grace—all is grace. Grace is not a thing; grace is a Person. Grace is Christ in action and in presence. I love that.
The grace of God is always available. It is free for all; it is universal. But grace has to be responded to with faith and obedience.
Last night we mentioned that, as part of our calling, because we have that good deposit and because we have received grace, we are called to share in the sufferings of Christ. There is a whole category of the sufferings of Christ into which we are called to fellowship with Him, and not only with Him, but together with one another.
We have to look at sufferings from a positive standpoint, not thinking that suffering is a waste. Thank God, even though suffering is unavoidable because there is sin in this world, because there is the fallen nature in us, and because Satan is the ruler of this world, God uses suffering to purify us, sanctify us, and mature us.
May the sufferings which we share with one another and with Christ work in us an eternal weight of glory.
This evening we would like to go on with the fifth ingredient, found in 2 Timothy 2:15:
Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God,
A workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
Handling aright the word of truth.
This evening we would like to share together on being approved unto God. In this verse, when Paul says, “Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God,” according to the Greek, the word thyself is emphatic. The emphasis is on thyself. The emphasis is not on the work; the emphasis is on the workman.
We often think more of the work than of the workman. This is universally true because, in this world, work is considered more important than the workman. As long as the work is done, the workman does not matter. What really matters in this world is that the job gets done. Who does it, and what kind of person does it, means little in the eyes of the world.
People do not try to know your character. They do not try to find out what kind of person you are. As long as you are capable and able to perform the job, that is all that is required of you. That is the nature of work in this world.
But, dear brothers and sisters, in spiritual work it is just the opposite. In spiritual work, God puts more emphasis on who does it than on whether it is done. God is not so much interested merely in seeing the job done; God is more interested in who is doing it.
If God does not have the right workman, God would rather not see the work done. Why? Because the very nature of the work of God is different. The work of this world is simply a work, a goal, a task, perhaps a vision to be fulfilled. But in the work of God, God Himself is deeply involved.
When you are doing God’s work, you are not merely trying to do a job. You are imparting Christ, because God’s work is the imparting of Christ. Christ Himself is in the work. Therefore, if the workman is not right, the work can never truly be done. And if there is any work done, God will never approve of it.
You remember the passage in Matthew 7. The Lord Jesus said that many—remember, many—in that day would come to Him and say:
Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by Thy name?
And by Thy name cast out demons?
And by Thy name do many mighty works?
Yet the Lord Jesus said that He would say to them, “I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” Probably some would say that these words are spoken only to unbelievers. But if you read the context, the Sermon on the Mount was addressed to the disciples. When the disciples came to the Lord, He opened His mouth and addressed them. The multitudes were gathered around and overheard what He said, but the Lord gave this message to His own disciples—those who had believed in Him and followed Him.
What day is “that day”? It is the day of Jesus Christ. It is the day when we shall all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
Thank God, because we believe in the Lord Jesus as our Saviour, we have passed out of death into life and have passed out of judgment. Christ was judged on Calvary’s cross. Therefore, we shall not appear at the great white throne to be judged concerning eternal life or eternal death.
But do not think that there will be no judgment for believers. Judgment must begin from the house of God. Paul said that one day we believers shall all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Thank God, it is not a throne; it is a bema, a judgment seat. It is not judicial judgment; it is family judgment. It is not judgment concerning eternal death or eternal life; it is judgment concerning reward or loss—whether one may enter into the kingdom and reign with Him for a thousand years.
When we appear before the judgment seat of Christ, many—not a few—many believers, many workmen, many who are engaged in what is called the work of God, will come forth and say, “Lord, Lord, in Your name we did mighty works. In Your name we cast out demons. In Your name we prophesied.”
Evidently demons were cast out, and evidently wonders were performed in the name of the Lord Jesus. Yet the Lord Jesus will tell these people, “I never knew you.” That means, “I never approved of you. Depart from Me, workers of lawlessness.”
They did these things in the name of the Lord Jesus, yet they were not doing the will of God. They were workers of lawlessness. Lawlessness means that they did not subject themselves to the authority of Christ. Even though God may have given them gifts to cast out demons and perform wonders, they themselves did not submit to the headship and authority of Christ.
Because of that, even though they did all these things in the name of the Lord Jesus, they did them on their own. “Workers of lawlessness, depart from Me. You will have no part in the kingdom.” Remember, this has nothing to do with eternal salvation. Paul said that even though a man’s work is burned up, he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.
So, in the eyes of God, the workman is more important than the work. It is true that God has a work to be done, and yet He is more interested in you—that you may present yourself approved unto Him—than in what you can do for Him.
We need to examine ourselves in His light, whether we can present ourselves approved unto God as workmen that need not be ashamed.
What is the meaning of approved? The very word means that you are being put to the test for the purpose of approval. You are being tested to see whether you meet the specifications that have been laid down, so that you may come out approved—proved genuine.
How we need to present ourselves before the Lord under the light of His countenance, that the light of the judgment seat of Christ may shine upon us to see whether we are approved.
We need to ask whether our motive is pure, whether our life is true, whether we are doing the will of God, or whether we are merely doing what we think is good for God. We need to be examined by the light from above, whether we are doing things by our own strength or whether we are doing them in Christ.
We need to be examined by His Word. As we find in Hebrews 4:12, the Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. It penetrates, it divides soul and spirit, and it exposes the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Brothers and sisters, we need it. We need to be examined by the Lord as to whether we, as persons, are acceptable to Him. Is there anything in us that is not acceptable to Him? We need to see whether we bear the character of the Son.
It is more important that we bear the image of His Son than that we can do His work. If we are not approved, then whatever we do is not approved, no matter how successful or how good it may appear to men. First of all, we need to be approved.
In the time of Timothy, words were very cheap. There was no lack of activity, and there was no lack of teaching. People loved to teach other doctrines. People wanted to be instructors of the law, yet they did not understand what they were saying. People loved to dispute about words as if they were experts. They babbled, but there was no substance in it.
There were many words being spoken and much activity going on, but who were these people? Some lost their conscience, and because they lost their conscience, they were shipwrecked concerning the faith. Some, because they loved vain babblings, advanced into greater ungodliness, even telling people that the resurrection had already passed. In this way, they overthrew the faith of many.
When we are surrounded by such things, it truly behooves us to return to the Lord, to present ourselves before Him, and to see whether He can approve us. To be approved by God is more important than what we can do for Him.
Paul says:
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver,
But also of wood and of earth;
And some unto honour, and some unto dishonour.
I wonder whether you know the difference between 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy. I believe you do, because it is so evident. When Paul wrote 1 Timothy, in 1 Timothy 3:15, he said that the church is God’s house. It is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
The church is the house of God, in which God dwells and rests. The church is the assembly of the living God; the living God is present with them. The church is the pillar and ground of truth. It is where the truth is deposited, upheld, and testified to.
But when Paul wrote 2 Timothy, he said, “In a great house.” In the great house there are vessels unto honour and vessels unto dishonour. There are golden and silver vessels, and there are wooden and earthen vessels.
In 1 Timothy, Paul mentioned elders and deacons, together with the qualifications of elders and deacons, because everything was in order. But when you come to 2 Timothy, he says, “The things which thou hast heard from me, entrust to faithful ones.” Find those who are trustworthy. Nothing is mentioned about elders and deacons.
The church described in 1 Timothy and the church described in 2 Timothy have gone through a great change. Because of this, many commentators agree that there is a change in the church: it has become a great house.
Some teach that today there is a visible church and an invisible church. The visible church is that great institution called Christianity. Within that visible church, they say, is the invisible church—the Lord knows those who are His, and everyone who names the name of the Lord must depart from iniquity.
But, dear brothers and sisters, do you think that in the Bible there is such a distinction between a visible church and an invisible church? Personally, I do not believe that in the Bible there is such a thing. Church is church.
Some say that the vessels unto honour are believers and the vessels unto dishonour are unbelievers. Therefore, they say, in the visible church you have both believers and unbelievers, while in the invisible church all are vessels unto honour. It sounds very logical.
But I do not believe that this is what Paul is talking about. I do not believe that, when Paul speaks of the great house containing vessels unto honour and vessels unto dishonour, he is referring to a visible church and an invisible church.
When he says that in the great house there are vessels unto honour and vessels unto dishonour, he is telling us that a change has indeed come to the church. In 1 Timothy, the church was in its normal state. In 2 Timothy, the church had become abnormal.
The vessels unto honour and the vessels unto dishonour do not refer simply to Christians and non-Christians. They cannot, because Paul says that if one purifies himself from these—that is, from vessels unto dishonour—then he shall become a vessel unto honour.
In other words, when the church is abnormal, you can be a vessel unto dishonour if you choose. But by the grace of God, you can be a vessel unto honour if you choose. There is a choice.
Gold in the Scriptures represents the glory and nature of God. We cannot see God, but when the glory of God appears, it is like gold.
Silver in the Scriptures represents redemption. In the Old Testament, the children of Israel paid redemption money in silver, in shekels. Silver represents the redemptive work of Christ, as gold represents the nature of God.
Wood in the Scriptures represents man and the natural life. Man, like wood, is corruptible. Earth represents the work of man. You remember how Pharaoh made the children of Israel make bricks: straw and earth were required.
So you have golden and silver vessels—vessels made of gold, the nature of God, and silver, the redemptive work of Christ. Then you have wooden and earthen vessels—those which are of man and those which are the work of man.
In early church history, there was a man—I cannot pronounce his name—who was called “the golden-mouthed.” He said that the great house is the world, because he firmly believed that in the church you could have only gold and silver vessels; you could not have wooden and earthen vessels.
That is true so far as God’s original design is concerned. The church is the church of the living God. There should be no vessels unto dishonour. Everyone called into the church of God is called to be a vessel unto honour. Everyone is supposed to be gold and silver. Everyone is to receive the life of God, manifest the nature of God, and know the redemptive work of Christ.
That is what we should be. But remember: the church is abnormal now. When the church is in its abnormal state, unfortunately, you find vessels unto honour and vessels unto dishonour. You find golden and silver vessels, and you also find wooden and earthen vessels. We should not be such vessels, but unfortunately they are present.
You remember that in 1 Corinthians 3, Paul said that he was like a wise master builder. He had laid a foundation, and the foundation is none other than Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the foundation, and everyone is to build upon that foundation. We are building the house of God.
Some build with gold, silver, and precious stones; others build with wood, hay, and stubble. Precious stones represent the work of the Holy Spirit. Gold, silver, and precious stones are costly, difficult to obtain, and not easy to work with. You cannot build a very large building with them easily because they are costly.
But wood, hay, and stubble can be found everywhere. They are cheap, easy to work with, and you can build a big building, a big house. In the sight of the world, people may more easily see what is built with wood, hay, and stubble than what is built with gold, silver, and precious stones.
But, dear brothers and sisters, the fire shall test every man’s work. Our God is a consuming fire. Remember, these are Christians—believers in the house of God. Fire will test every man’s work.
Wood, hay, and stubble cannot stand the fire. They will be consumed. Their works will be burned, though they themselves shall be saved, yet so as through fire, because the foundation cannot be destroyed.
But those who build with gold, silver, and precious stones will find that when the fire tests their work, it will illuminate these materials and make them shine. They shall be rewarded.
The difference between 1 Corinthians 3 and 2 Timothy 2 is this: in 1 Corinthians 3, the reference is to our work; in 2 Timothy 2, the reference is to ourselves. We are the golden and silver vessels, or we are the wooden and earthen vessels. The kind of work entrusted to us is determined by the kind of vessel we are.
We often think that the work and the workman are two separate things. If we go to the kitchen and cook, we may think that it is a work of little importance. If we stand on the platform and preach, we may think that must surely be a work of honour. But, dear brothers and sisters, remember: what God is really interested in is who you are.
Are you a golden vessel? Are you a silver vessel? Or are you a wooden vessel? Are you an earthen vessel? That determines the work. You may do the same work, yet in the sight of God it may be altogether different. To someone, preaching may be a work of honour; to another, feeding others may be a work of honour. To some, cooking may be a work of honour; to others, it may not be. It is not the work; it is the workman—what you are.
That is why Paul exhorted Timothy: you can be either one. If you are content to be a vessel unto dishonour, you may be, if you please. But if you will rise up in your spirit and say, “Oh, Lord, I want to be a vessel unto honour for Your sake,” then you will purify yourself.
By purifying yourself, you are declaring that you are not willing to be a vessel unto dishonour. How sad it is that there are many believers who are content to be vessels unto dishonour.
They would rather live according to the dictates of their flesh. They would rather still work in the power of their natural strength because they find this more convenient and more successful in the eyes of the world. They would rather be popular and receive the applause of the world. Many are content in that way.
Oh, if only God will make us see clearly, we will not be content simply to be ourselves—living according to the flesh and working in the power of natural strength. May God open our eyes to see that these are wooden and earthen vessels, and whatever a wooden or earthen vessel touches becomes dishonour.
You may not realize that you are doing a disservice to God. Saul thought he was serving God by persecuting Christians. He did not know that he was doing God a disservice. Probably we are doing the same thing without knowing it.
Oh, that we may rise up and purify ourselves. It is true that only God can do such a work, but here you find that you must take the initiative. You must be willing. You must not be willing to be an earthen and wooden vessel, a vessel unto dishonour. You must desire to be a vessel unto honour for the Lord.
You rise up and purify yourself from vessels unto dishonour. That is to say, you are willing to accept the discipline of the Holy Spirit. You are willing to accept the working of the cross in your life. You are willing to see your flesh dealt with and your self-life denied. You are willing to take up your cross and follow the Lord. You are willing to let God bring you to zero: “Lord, I can do nothing apart from Thee.”
If you are willing, then you will find that the Holy Spirit is always ready. Sometimes you wonder why the Holy Spirit is not doing His work in your life—why He makes your life, as it were, so easy; why He never touches you; why He allows you to live day by day in the way that you want. The only reason is that He does not want to force you.
He is waiting for you to cooperate, to yield yourself to Him: “Lord, I do not want to live anymore in my own way. I am tired of doing Your work in my own strength. I abhor myself. I hate my work.”
In the process of serving the Lord, there will come a day when you abhor yourself and hate your work. In the beginning, you may love your work. You enjoy your work. You find satisfaction in it. You feel proud of yourself and of what you have done.
But if the Lord is gracious to you, you will come to a day when you literally hate yourself. You will say, “Lord, why is it that it is I again? I do not want to see myself again. Lord, I look at my work, and I feel ashamed. I would rather not work anymore.”
When God has brought you to that point, you will be willing to let the cross cut you away. You will be willing to let your strength be brought to an end. Then you will find yourself purified from the wooden and the earthen, and you will become a golden and silver vessel. When you touch the work of God, it will be an honourable work, acceptable to God.
Are you serving God in His house? Are you engaged in so-called God’s work? Does it ever occur to you: “What kind of a vessel am I? Am I approved by God as a vessel?”
Or are you so interested and involved in the work that you do not bother about what you are in His sight? One day you will wake up. I hope you will wake up tonight and not in that day, because if you wait until then, you may hear the voice saying, “I never knew you. Depart from Me, workers of lawlessness.”
If we have purified ourselves, then we shall be vessels unto honour, sanctified, serviceable to the Master, prepared unto every good work. This does not mean that work is unimportant. God has a work to be done. But you cannot touch the work until you are a vessel sanctified, serviceable to the Master, and prepared for every good work.
Then Paul again exhorts Timothy:
But flee youthful lusts,
And follow after righteousness, faith, love, peace,
With them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
When Timothy received this letter from Paul, how old do you think he was? Of course, we cannot tell exactly, but by inference it seems that Timothy was perhaps thirty-six or thirty-seven years old. He was not as young as we might think.
In relation to Paul, he was a young man, but he was not green. As he moved among God’s people in Ephesus and in Asia, many were probably older than Timothy. In comparison with the people among whom he ministered, he was considered junior, and that created a problem.
Paul said, “Flee youthful lusts.” Oftentimes we think of youthful lusts in a sensual sense. But what Paul was referring to in Timothy’s case was not the lust found among young people in the world. Timothy did not have that kind of lust; God had dealt with him long ago.
Timothy was younger and yet entrusted with such a great work. He wanted to revive and carry on the testimony of Jesus. He wanted to encourage other people to belong to the Lord, but these people might be older than he was and might have known the Lord longer than he had. Being junior, there was a certain temptation—not in a sensual way, but in a spiritual and moral sense.
A younger person who is naturally timid may have to force himself to lead among God’s people. In doing that, he may carry an inferiority complex. To overcome that inferiority complex, he may have to assert himself beyond measure—not necessarily from ambition, but because he feels he must prove himself in the eyes of God’s people.
In doing that, he may become short-tempered, impatient with people, and insistent upon himself. He may not listen to the opinions of others. There is such a youthful-lust tendency. Paul says, “Flee from them.”
I wonder whether we have the same problem today. In our generation, thank God, He is raising up young people among His people in order to recover His testimony. The older ones may sometimes be difficult because their minds are set and their ways are fixed. But with younger ones, who are open and free, God can take them in His hands, mold them, and fashion them as He wishes.
Throughout church history, in every move of God, the people whom God used were mostly young people. Now, God uses older people too. Haggai was an old man; Zechariah was a young man, and they worked together. That is the beauty of it. So, older people, take heart: God has not put you aside yet.
Yet it does seem easier for younger ones to catch the vision. “Your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” Dreams usually go back; visions usually go forward. For this reason, sometimes a problem is created.
For Timothy to be faithful, it would have been easy to say, “Well, I am younger. Here are the older people; let them carry on. I will just hide myself behind them.” The older people might look at him and say, “You are young. What do you know?”
It would have been much easier for Timothy to draw back, but God had committed something to him. Paul exhorted him to entrust the things he had heard to trustworthy ones, that they might instruct others also. If Timothy wanted to be faithful, he had to press himself, as it were; and that is where youthful lusts could arise unconsciously.
Young brothers and sisters, if the Lord has shown you something and if the Lord is going to use you, come forth—but flee from youthful lusts. You do not need to push yourself to the front. You do not need to make yourself prominent. Let God do it.
But it is more than a matter of fleeing; that would be negative. It is also a matter of pursuit. We flee from youthful lusts as if from a plague, but at the same time we pursue.
We pursue righteousness. This is practical righteousness—not merely Christ being clothed upon us as our righteousness, but practical righteousness in our daily life. Especially for those who want to be vessels unto honour and those whom God can trust, brothers and sisters, we need to live righteously.
It is not easy, especially in difficult days, to live righteously. We have to pursue it. If you do not pursue it, you will not have it. Let us be strict with ourselves but kind with others.
Oftentimes those who are supposed to be pursuing righteousness develop a mentality in which they are very sharp with others and very lenient with themselves. But if we are to pursue righteousness, we ourselves must be strict and kind to other people.
Pursue faith. The faith here is especially in the sense of faithfulness. Of course, there is a place for faith in believing in the Lord, and how we need to believe in Him. But in this context, I believe it has more the thought of faithfulness.
It is easy, especially for younger ones, to be unfaithful in small things. Dear brothers and sisters, if we are not faithful in small things, how can we be faithful in big things? Pursue faithfulness.
Pursue love. Oftentimes, when people are really pressing on, they tend to become hard and harsh. They think they have advanced, and they look at other people and feel that others are far behind. How easy it is for us to lose love. Pursue love.
And pursue peace—not only peace with God, but peace with God’s people. In pursuing these things, pursue them with all who call upon the name of the Lord out of a pure heart.
As I travel among God’s people, more and more it comes to me that in these last days everything is falling apart outwardly. It is as if the church has become the great house, with vessels unto honour and vessels unto dishonour.
What can we do when we are under such circumstances? I believe the Lord has a good word, and the word is: pursue with those who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart.
Do not look around you and excuse yourself because other people are not faithful, because other people compromise, because other people live according to the flesh and work in the power of their natural strength. Do not say, “I will be as one of them.” Do not ever take that attitude.
On the contrary, when you see such a situation before you, brothers and sisters, find those who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart. Be with them. Seek the Lord, and bear the testimony of Jesus. This is what we must do.
May the Lord help us that we may present ourselves approved unto Him, as workmen that need not be ashamed, handling aright the Word of God. To handle it aright means that we take the whole Word of God as it comes from God and cut it in a straight line, in the way that it ought to be.
Our heavenly Father, Thou hast called us to a work, even to maintain the testimony of Jesus. But, Lord, Thou art more interested in us than in our work.
So we do pray that tonight, somehow, Thy Holy Spirit will impress upon every one of us that Thou art looking for us, not merely looking for our work. Oh, that we may be approved by Thee; that we may be broken and become golden and silver vessels; that we may be vessels unto honour.
Lord, if there are youthful lusts from which we must flee, oh, that we may flee. If there are righteousness, faith, love, and peace that we must pursue, then let us pursue.
But we pray that we may not pursue alone, that we may pursue with all who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart. How we thank Thee for giving us brothers and sisters who are of pure heart. How we thank Thee that there are still trustworthy people around. How we thank Thee for what Thou canst do in them.
In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.