For Young People - Timothy — Anton Bosch

Turn with me, please, to the first letter of Paul to Timothy, chapter 4. 1 Timothy, chapter 4. And we've introduced the two letters to Timothy this morning in the adult Bible class. And I'm going to, again, take one aspect.

I'm going to look at two verses. One verse from 1 Timothy and another verse from 2 Timothy this morning. And we want to read the whole of 1 Timothy, chapter 4. 1 Timothy, chapter 4. Now the Spirit speaks expressly that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.

But reject profane and old wise fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.

These things command and teach. Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by the prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things. Give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.

Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. Timothy was a young man. We don't know how young he was, but he was young.

And so I think that the scripture specifically doesn't tell us how old he was, so that most of us here can relate to him. Everybody except John. Most of us are young, and so it is written to us. Timothy had a tremendous heritage.

His grandmother and his mother were both Jews, and they believed the scriptures and taught the scriptures. And when Paul came to their city, they all came to salvation. And when Paul came the second time to that city to preach, the elders of the church said, Here's this young man, and he has an excellent spirit, and we recommend that you take him with you.

And so Timothy went to go with Paul, and from that point on, Timothy would serve with Paul as his protege, and Paul poured his whole life and all of his understanding and knowledge and so on into this young man, and Timothy became one of the most, in fact, the most faithful of all of the young men, of all the men, in fact, that worked with Paul and who were in the ministry at the time.

Now, the two letters to Timothy contain a lot of advice concerning how a minister or a preacher needs to act and the things that he needs to be doing in the local church. It's very important from that point of view.

But it is also written as a father, and over and over, Paul speaks of Timothy as his son. Not that he was his physical son, but his spiritual son, his son in the faith. And he gives him all the advice and all the things that he needs to know, how to apply himself, not just as a young minister in the gospel, but as a young man in general.

And I'm going to focus on two verses. The one is in 1 Timothy 4, verse 12, and the second in 2 Timothy 2, verse 22, where he gives specific advice to young people, and we have a lot of young people here this morning, and so I want to speak specifically to the young people.

So, John, you can take it easy, but this is for the rest of us. And so, advice to young people. Now, the first thing that he says to him in 1 Timothy 4, verse 12, let no one despise your youth. Now, it must have been quite difficult for this young man to do the work that he had to do, because he had to deal with some really tough situations in the ministry.

And as he had to deal with these things, there were people who could say, well, you know, he's just a kid. Now, Paul is saying, don't let people despise the fact that you are young. Now, how can we do that?

It has to begin with ourselves. We can't make a rule and say young people must not be despised. Young people must be respected. Now, many people don't even respect older people, let alone respect younger people.

So how can you as a young person make sure that you get the respect that you deserve? Because we all want respect. None of us like to be despised, whether we're old or whether we're young, whether we're in the ministry or not in the ministry.

None of us like to be despised. We all want to be respected. But how can we force people to respect us? Well, the answer is we can't. We can't make a rule and say that everybody must be respected. I would like everyone to respect everyone else.

In fact, that's part of the New Testament. Paul teaches and he says that we need to let everyone esteem others better than himself. In other words, respect one another. But I think that while Paul was saying to Timothy, don't let them despise your youth, he wasn't saying to Timothy, you need to censure or discipline or rebuke those who despise you.

I don't think that that was what Paul was saying. But what Paul was saying was, Timothy, you need to earn the respect of those who are older than you. You need to earn the respect of others around you.

And many times we find that young people, particularly those who grew up in the church, and many of the young people here this morning, are those who have grown up in the church just the way that like Timothy did.

And many times you feel you don't earn the respect or you don't get the respect that you deserve. Especially now that you're growing up. Maybe you're 18, 19, 20 years old, and people still treat you like you're a kid.

Well, you need to earn that respect. And when we come to the marriage seminar, we're going to speak about that also. Men oftentimes like to force people or force their wives to respect them. But in fact, that respect can only be earned and can only be deserved when we act in a proper way.

And so Paul is really saying to Timothy, Act in such a way that people will not despise you, but that they will respect you. That they will honor you. Now, he doesn't leave it there. He now gives him a whole list of things that he needs to do if he is going to earn the respect of those around him.

And as people, and not just young people, but as people, these are the things we need to do in the church. You want people to respect you? These are the things you need to do. The first thing is, you need to be an example.

Now, we've been speaking very much over the last couple of years about the importance of elders leading by example. But now he's not just speaking about elders, but he's saying, young people, be an example.

He said, but how can I be an example? I'm a kid, or I'm a young person. And there are many older people, and there are people who have been serving the Lord for a lot longer than I have. How can I be an example to them?

Well, you can, you know. Timothy was an example to everybody that he came across. Paul writes in another place, and he says, There is one man that I have absolute confidence in, that he feels about the church the way I feel, and that is young Timothy.

Now, Timothy was an example not just to his equals. He was an example to everyone in every one of the churches that he went to. And you can be also. We can be examples. And we can be examples in these areas.

The first thing is example in word. In word. In the way we speak. One of the reasons why young people are often disrespected is because of the way those young people speak. What do you speak about? How do you speak?

Do you still speak like a child? Well, then, how is someone going to respect you if you speak like a child? How is someone going to treat you like an adult if you use childish language? Now, remember, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13, and he says, When I was a child, I spoke like a child.

We expect children to speak like children. We expect adults to speak like adults. And many of the young people here are in that phase now where you're transitioning from being a child to being an adult.

You need to leave childish speech. You need to begin to speak adult things. So it's not just the way that we speak, but it's the things that we speak about. Kids are about what? Themselves. What do kids speak about?

What do children talk about? Me. I. The things that I want. When we become adults, we begin to focus not on ourselves, but we begin to focus on others. We begin to speak about other things and about other people and about the world around us.

So the way we speak needs to change. The things that we speak about needs to change. And I think that Paul was specifically writing to Timothy concerning the Word when he speaks about the Word of God.

When you begin to speak the Word of God, you begin to speak about the Word of God, you know what? Other people in the church will take notice. Now, I'm not saying that we need to do this in an artificial way.

Just memorizing some scriptures and throwing out some big words here and there. But when the Word of God becomes part of you and it becomes something that you love and you begin to talk about, you know what?

I will take notice if no one else does. People around you will take notice and say, here's someone who's not just in Sunday school anymore, but someone who actually has a relationship with Jesus, who loves the Word of God, who knows the Word of God.

Now, I don't want any of us to begin to say, I'm too young, I can't do these things. All of us can do these things. You remember young Samuel, he was a toddler when he was brought to the temple. But you know, from that point onwards, as a baby, literally as a baby, he was an example to Eli, the high priest, and to the whole of Israel.

Of a young boy, as a young child, who loved God, who was faithful to God. I don't believe that any of us can say, I'm too young to speak, to set an example, to live the kind of life that will show people that I love Jesus and that I love His Word.

You can begin right where you are now, whether you're 5 or whether you're 10 or whether you're 18 or whether you're 25. And one of the things that I, I have made many mistakes in my life, but one of the things that I am incredibly grateful for is that I gave my life to Jesus when I was young.

And that I served Him from when I was young. And when as a young man, and even as a teenager, I began to study the Word, I began to preach the Word. And I believe that by doing that, we can earn the respect.

We can earn the respect of those around us. And I'm very concerned that many times in the church, we lose, not just in this church, but in many churches, we lose the young people. Because they grow up to a certain point and then they leave and they say, well, you know, the church is not for me.

I'm just, I don't fit in. No, you fit in. You have an important role. And you are the next generation. We have an older generation, my age, in this church. And then we have a big gap. We have a few brothers in between.

Israel and Robert and a few other brothers in between. And then we have the next generation. Are you going to take the place of the older ones as they move up? Or are we going to have to go and find somebody else in the world?

And of course, we want to see people saved. But the future of this church is in the hands of the young people here. But you need to earn the respect. Don't let people despise you. Be an example in word.

Be an example in what you speak. Be an example in conduct. That's the next thing he speaks about there. The way we act. The things that we do. Now, it's amazing how that people don't understand how respect comes.

And, you know, when you act like a teeny bopper and as a... I don't know how to express... I know how to explain it in our language. But, you know, as a... You know, just a young maverick, you know, and just all over the place.

And, you know, you act like a child. He said, but why don't people respect me? Why don't people understand that I'm not a child anymore. I'm a young person. I'm a young man. I'm a young woman. Well, maybe it's because of the way you act.

Maybe you're still acting like a child. You're doing childish things. Now, one of the things that still has not ceased to amaze Inna and I, are the young men that you see around the cities here, 25 years old, with a skateboard under his arm, and his pants under his knees, and his underpants sticking out.

He's 25 years old. But he acts like he's 12 or 10. And he wonders why the police hit on him. He wonders why no one respects him. But he's acting like a child. Paul said, be an example in the way that you act, in your conduct.

And it's important that we not just speak the right things, but that we act those things, that we live those things out in our lives. Now, I'm not saying we have to act like old men, and walk around with long faces.

But you know what? Paul says, when I was a child, I spoke like a child. I acted like a child. But now that I'm grown up, I have left childish things. And you know, there are things that you associate with children, there are things you associate with adults.

There's behavior that you expect from children, and there is behavior you expect from adults. And it's important that we show that kind of behavior. Not just of those who are older in age, those who are growing up, and those who are maturing in age, but those who are maturing in the faith.

And of course, you know that you can be 60 years old, and you can still be a child in the faith. Now, it's important that we grow up, not just in maturity in the physical, and in the emotional, and the intellectual areas, but that we grow up in the spiritual areas.

And this young man, Timothy, maybe he was emotionally and physically, he was very, very young. But spiritually, he was far advanced, beyond those who were much older than he is. And you can be also. Be an example in your words.

Be an example in your conduct. Be an example in love. That's the third thing in verse 12. In love. What is it that you love? Again, children love themselves, first of all. They love their little things.

Their little toy motor car, or their toy doll. And of course, we know women don't have this problem, but us men, well, you know, we get older, and it's just the price of the toys that changes. But the toys are still there.

But what is it that we love? And we can clearly see that Timothy, the things that he loved was the Lord. He loved His Word. And he loved God's people. Those were the things that he loved. And those are the things that we need to set an example in.

When we love the things of the world, that's no example. And people, especially in the church, will despise you. But when you're an example, and you love the Lord with all of your heart, when you love the Word of God, when you love the people of God, those are the things that we need to be an example in.

And every one of us is in the same place. It doesn't matter what age you are. We need to be an example to one another in word, in conduct, and in love. And then the fourth one that he has here is in spirit.

Now, not all translations have that word in there, but some of the translations have that word. In spirit. Now, what does he mean by being an example in spirit? Now, whenever we read about the spirit in the Bible, we tend to say, well, this is the Holy Spirit.

But in fact, I don't believe that he's speaking about the Holy Spirit here. He's saying, be an example in spirit, in attitude. We speak about somebody who has a mean spirit. You use that phrase? A mean spirit.

It doesn't mean that they have a demon of meanness. It simply means they have a mean attitude. And he says, not just must you speak the right things, not just must you act in the right way, not only must you love the right things, but you have to have the right attitude.

The right attitude. Now, that's one of the problems that young people struggle with. I know. This thing we call BA. Not BO. That's what you use deodorant for. BA, bad attitude. Bad attitude. Now, he says, be an example in your attitude.

Have the right kind of attitude. Now, unfortunately, a lot of young people in this church do have a bad attitude. Others have good attitude. Paul says, set an example. Have a good attitude. Have a good attitude to others around you.

Have a good attitude to life. But it begins with your attitude towards yourself. And when you don't respect yourself, well, no one else is going to respect you. When you don't have a right attitude about who you are and about yourself, that's going to affect your attitude to everybody else around you.

So it begins inside. So be an example in your attitude. You know, one of the saddest things in life is to see somebody who grows old and has never lost the bad attitude. That's sad. You know, young people sometimes have a bad attitude and that's not nice.

That's bad. But to see them never lose that attitude and become 70 years old and 80 years old and they still have the same attitude. That's terrible. It means they never grew up. They never matured. Life never taught them anything.

And one of the things that we can measure somebody's maturity by, and I'm not just speaking in general. I'm not speaking about spiritual maturity only. But one of the things we can read somebody's maturity by is by their attitude.

And you may be 30 years, 40 years, 50 years, 60, 70 years old and still have the attitude of a teenager. That's no good. So let's set an example to everybody around us with the right attitude, the right spirit.

And then an example in faith. So we're still in 1 Timothy 4, verse 12. Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in faith, in spirit, and in faith. In faith.

Now that's a challenge for young people. Because young people have faith. But they have faith mostly in their parents. My parents will provide. If I have a financial problem, my parents will help me. Their faith is in.

Now that's no example. What Paul is speaking about is faith in the Lord. Trusting in the Lord. And so really he's speaking about moving from a position where we are dependent on our parents to a position where we are dependent on the Lord.

Where we are building a relationship with Him as my Heavenly Father. And obviously we need to continue to respect our earthly parents. But you know, one of the problems that so easily happens is that parents spoil the children, and children grow up, and the children become 23 years old, 24 years, 25, 26, and the children still are dependent on the parents.

They've never learned to stand on their own feet and to trust the Lord for what they need. What they need emotionally. What they need spiritually. What they need physically. What they need financially.

So we need to learn to begin to trust the Lord. To have a walk with Him. And to begin to become independent. One of the things that comes with growing up is independence. When you're Olivia's age, you cling to your mother.

You're that dependent. As you get older, the less dependent you become. That's one of the signs of maturity. Now I don't know how old Timothy was. Maybe he was 16. Maybe he was 18. When he left his mother and his grandmother.

It looks like his father was absent most of the time. But he left his mother and he went off with this preacher. Because he had learned to trust God. Faith in the Lord. And you know, I long to see young people who can set an example of faith.

An example of faith. Living their lives trusting the Lord. What about the future? What about your career? What about this? I'm trusting the Lord. Now that doesn't mean that we do nothing and that we don't study and we don't apply ourselves and our jobs.

And that we're saying, well, we just trust the Lord. But while we're doing all the things that we need to do. Our trust and our confidence is not in ourselves. And it's not in our parents. And it's not in the government.

It's not in the state. But our confidence is in the Lord. Our trust is in Him. I know whom I have believed, Paul says. And I am persuaded that He is able to keep what I've committed to Him against that day.

And so it doesn't do away with our importance for us to work hard and for us to study and to do all of the things that we need to do. But where is our faith? Be an example to the believers in faith. And then the final one in this section here.

Be an example in purity. In purity. And I think that we're going to speak about this one a little bit more when we get to the next verse. Purity, obviously, meaning cleanness, cleanliness. Now, he's not just speaking about washing your hands and washing your face.

It goes beyond that. He's speaking about moral and spiritual purity. Young people have many, many things that attract them. There are many youthful lusts. And let's go to the next verse that I want to look at this morning.

And we'll see that. 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 22. This is an easy one to remember. 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 22. So we have all the twos. And he says to Timothy, Flee also youthful lusts, but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Some of these things you'll find was in the first verse we looked at. So some of them are repeated. And you see, the last verse that we looked at, 1 Timothy 4, 12, ends with being an example in purity.

Now, this explains what he is meaning. Flee youthful lusts. Flee youthful lusts. There are many things that attract young people. You know, lust, we always see in the context of sexual lust. But lust goes beyond that.

It's a desire for anything. Some people have sexual lust. Some people have lust for food. Some people have a lust for power. Some people have a lust for money. Some people have a lust for pleasure. Whatever form that would be.

And we see these movie stars in and out of prison and in trouble all the time, just driven by what? A lust for pleasure. Partying all the time. There are many things that drive people. There are many things that drive young people.

There are many cravings and desires that young people have. And unfortunately, some of those we carry with us into our older life. But he says, run away from those things. Flee from them. Now, that's a radical mindset.

You know, young people want to be different. And so they all dress the same. But if you want to be different, you want to be radical. Flee youthful lusts. Run away from those things that attract young people.

Why? Because they'll destroy you. Simple as that. I don't need to tell you about all of the movie stars that are on the news every night. You switch on the news. We watch the news at 10 o 'clock every night and guaranteed.

One, two, three or four movie stars are going to be on their way to this terrible future. Why? Because instead of running away from these youthful lusts, they're chasing these things. And where do these things lead them?

They lead them to destruction. Flee youthful lusts. Run away from them. You know, that's radical. He doesn't say, just keep them in their proper place in your life. No, he says, run away from them. And I suppose one of the great examples in this has to be young Joseph.

Remember, he was a young man also. And you remember there was this beautiful woman and she was rich and she was powerful. And she tried to seduce him. And as a young man, he would have said, well, this is great.

Modern thinking would say, well, you know, he got lucky. But what did Joseph do? He ran for his life. He ran for his life. And you know what? Because he did that, that was one of the reasons why God made him one of the most powerful men in the world at the time.

Second only to the world ruler, to the Pharaoh. Because he fled youthful lusts. Young people, don't think that you can play with those cravings. It doesn't matter what it is, whether it's for drink or for drugs or for sex or for money or for speed or for whatever it is.

And you're going to be able to manage it or handle it. It will handle you. Every night we switch the television on and there's been another young man, particularly, killed in a street race. The lust for speed.

It's as destructive as the lust for drugs or for alcohol or for sex or for anything else. Flee from these things. But if you're going to chase anything, he says, if you're going to pursue anything, if you're going to chase down something, these are the things you should be chasing after.

Now this is radical. And yet I believe that this is what will make the difference between young people in this church becoming powerful influences in society and in this church. And those who will become criminals.

Pursue righteousness. Chase after righteousness. If you're going to make something your goal, if you're going to make something the thing that you're going to chase after and think about and try to get hold of with all of your life, don't make it youthful lusts.

Make it righteousness. What is righteousness? Being right. It's as simple as that. Now, this is not this kind of arrogance of saying, well, I'm always right. Remember the book of Proverbs speaks about the fact that all the ways of a man are right in his own eyes.

That's not, but doing the right thing. I want to do the right thing. Make that your desire to want to do the right thing. To do the right thing by your boss. Do the right thing by your teachers, by your school, by your team, by your church, by your family, by those that you love, by society.

Doing the right thing. But above all, doing the right thing by God. Doing the right thing as far as God is concerned. Make that your goal. You know, all of my life I grew up with this song in the church.

We used to sing this almost every Sunday night. I want God's way to be my way as I journey here below. For there is no other highway that the child of God can know. In fact, that has been one of the desires of my life.

Is I want God's way to be my way. I want to be righteous. I want to do the right thing. In every one of my relationships. In every one of my dealings. In every part of my being. I want to do the right thing.

Now, that's radical. Don't chase after youthful lusts. Chase after righteousness. Then the next thing he says is chase after faith. Pursue faith. Now, we've spoken about faith in 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 12.

He spoke about faith. Pursue faith. Now, faith is not something that is always easy to get. None of these things are easy. Otherwise, you wouldn't need to pursue them. You only have to chase after or pursue.

Pursue means to chase after, to hunt down, to track down things that are a little bit elusive. We like to use the word pursue when you speak about someone hunting a deer. Now, the deer doesn't come up to you and say, here I am, shoot me.

The deer is elusive. It runs away. Righteousness is a little bit elusive. Because just when you think you've got it, the standard changes. The bar is raised. The same with faith. Just when you think, I have this faith thing worked out.

And trust me, I've been working at it for a long time. And just when I think I have this faith thing worked out, I realize I don't. And so, I'm off again. Pursuing faith. Trying to come to a point where I trust God totally, completely.

With all of my soul, with all of my being. Pursue righteousness. Pursue faith. Pursue love. Pursue love. Now, none of these are things that you can never get to a point where you say, I have it. Because just when you think that you're so loving, you come across somebody who is particularly hard to love.

And you realize, I just don't have enough. Now, it's easy to love God. When we're in isolation. But when there are other things that are so attractive in this world. We begin to focus, shift our love.

And so I have to keep coming back to my love for Him. I need to keep working on my love for people. Because just when I think I've got to a point where I can love everybody. Somebody who is more unlovely and more obnoxious and more whatever comes across my way.

And I realize I just don't have the love that I need to have. And so I'm pursuing again. I'm chasing after that again. And these are wonderful things. Because they are not going to lead us. As you pursue youthful lust, it's going to lead to destruction.

But as you pursue these things, it's not going to lead you astray. It's going to lead you closer to the Lord. And so it's the right kind of thing to be chasing after. And then finally he says, pursue peace.

2 Timothy 2 .22. Pursue peace. One of the things that distinguishes young people from older people or from immature to mature people. Is that immature are always spoiling for a fight. Immature people like to fight.

Whether it's with fists or knives or with words. But as we grow up, one of the things that needs to come with maturity is a pursuit of peace. Now it doesn't mean peace at every cost. Paul is saying to Timothy very clearly.

You need to confront wrong doctrine. You need to confront wrong actions. You need to confront wrong values. And that will bring us into conflict. But all the time we should be working towards peace. Wanting to be at peace with God.

Wanting to be at peace with other Christians. Wanting to be at peace with those around us. Pursue peace. And then finally, the last little bit I want to stop on is the end of that verse. Because we easily stop there.

Flee youthful lusts. Pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace. With those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. You see, young people, one of the things that happens is that we are very influenced by our peers.

And right now, is it Lindsay Lohan is saying, or her father is saying, Well, you know, she's in this way because of her friends. Maybe it is true. She's still responsible. She chose those friends. And your friends will often determine the direction of your life.

And so he's saying, flee youthful lusts, but pursue these things with others. Who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Find others, like in this church, who call on the Lord.

In other words, who worship God. And who do so out of a pure heart. And when you do that, it will make it much easier to pursue the right things. Remember, not so long ago, we spoke about evil communications, corrupt good manners.

And when we associate with the wrong kind of people, it's going to emphasize the wrong kind of behavior in our lives. But when we associate with the right kind of people, it will bring about a good result in our lives.

We're going to be chasing after, you're going to hear messages like you hear this morning. Now maybe that's not what you wanted to hear. But it's going to have a positive influence in your life. I trust, I hope, I pray.

And so we need to be fleeing youthful lusts. Pursuing, chasing after, hunting down righteousness. Faith, love, and peace. Now remember where we began. Don't let anyone despise your youth. And folks, let me just be very honest and let me just speak as a person, as just somebody in this church.

There are young people in this church that I despise. I despise their attitude. I despise their lifestyle. I despise their values. Now, is that my fault? No. You're only getting what you put out there.

You know, there are young people in this church that I admire. Because they are chasing after the right things. They have the right attitude. They're setting an example. You know, when you get older, you say, but why doesn't anyone respect me?

When you have to beat up your wife in order to get her respect. Remember what I'm telling you today. You can only earn the respect by the way that you live. By the things that you do. By your values. By your attitude.

And it begins today. Don't say I'm seven years old, eight years, ten years, twelve. It begins today. Remember, Jesus was twelve years old. And it wasn't because he was God. But it was because he had a desire for the things of God.

And he sat there with the scribes and with the teachers of the law. And he amazed them by what he knew. Because he just loved the Word of God. The future is really in your hands. The future of how people relate to you.

The future of where you're going to end up is in your hands today as young people. Choose the right way. Choose the way of God. And maybe one day you'll become a great man like Timothy. Like Samuel. And even like Jesus.

Who from young chose the right way. Timothy had a great advantage because he grew up in a Christian family. I had a great advantage because I grew up in a Christian home. And most of you here this morning have the same advantage.