Session 3

Missed most of this talk by Philip Ryken, as was on the Radstock stand, talking, but heard the end on verses 2 Tim 2:3-13. He spoke about the three vocations mentioned of soldier, athlete and farmer. Arguably the three of the most hardworking groups there are. That Paul would choose these three three toughest of professions to illustrate the ministry is so significant.

Farmers are surely the most hardworking, rising early before dawn, and working hard until they drop, sowing the seed faithfully.

Great story about Luke Short who was converted at 103. He was sitting in the garden when he remembered some words he had heard in a sermon many years ago. It was a sermon from the Puritan William Flavel. Amazingly he had heard this sermon 85 years earlier. So the seed had been sown almost a century later, it had grown. Faithfulness in sowing the seed, like the hardworking farmer. He lived for another three years.

Session 4

Mark Driscoll comes on. Keller quips that if Piper is a dog, what does that make Driscoll? A sabre tooth tiger?

In this passage basically Paul tells Timothy not to be an emotional counter punching drama queen.

Reading 2 Tim 2:14-26

Three big ideas
You will face the opportunity to pastor three types of people

Positives - want gospel things for gospel ways because they want the gospel to win. Blessings more than burdens. Begin with love and grace and trust and mercy.
Negatives - want ungospel things for ungospel ways because they want to win. Stiff necked. Want to lead but lack character. You dread the sight of their email in the inbox.
Neutrals - Most are neutrals. What the bible calls sheep. Easily confused. Timid. Can be fearful.

Timothy has some negatives here, and Paul wants to be a positive. 2 of the ringleaders of the negatives are mentioned. CH Spurgeon says, negatives are like bees. Their sting isn't much, but when they swarm its trouble.

20 different kinds of negatives:
1. Success jealousy negatives. You are doing well, big building etc, and they are broke with real estate lust. Etc etc.
2. False witness negatives. Lie or tell half truths. Character publicly attacked.
3. Misinformed negatives. Hear something not true, and act as if it is. This can turn neutrals to negatives.
4. Personal dislike negatives. Don't like your age, dress, etc. Just you.
5. Take up offence for another person negative. Some people just repeat Junior High for 40 years.
6. Missiological negatives. Some on the right find all forms of modern contextualisation sinful (often via blogs ...!?), and others say you haven't gone far enough.
7. Single issue voter negatives. They ask your position on their issue on your first Sunday. Are you republican? I say "I vote for Jesus every time. I write it in the box every time. And one day he's coming back". Home school, public school? Eschatology? Always Jesus plus something...
8. Chain of command negatives. Don't respect it.
9. Little world negatives. There are City boundaries - like your network. State boundaries - important emphases/themes. National boundaries - broader, other evangelicals. E.g. some only fellowship with the reformed... not with scary Arminians?
10. Tradition negatives. Opposed to change.
11. Unforgiving negatives. Even when you apologise or repent, they will not forget. They keep old rocks to throw, And they are archaeologists..
12. Plank-speck negatives. Preach repentance but don't practice it. Religious people need to repent of religion.
13. Diatrophes negatives - always wanting to be first. Upfront. On the literature.
14. Distrust negatives. Their default is distrust. You are guilty until proven innocent.
15. Control negatives. Don't understand difference between power and influence. They don't understand influence is more powerful than control.
16. Critic negatives. Nitpicking at something.
17. Worrier negatives. Looking for a hill to die on. Read stories of martyrs and want to be one.
18. One handed negatives. One hand: things worth dying for. Other hand: secondaries. These negatives are either fundamentalists who fight over everything. One guy said ‘I would die for the KJV!' Question: Who's going to kill you? And there are liberal one handed people too. People who only have an open hand, or a closed hand. Not both.
19. Gossip negatives. Watch out for ‘intercessors' - the Greek word for gossip. Just for prayer...
20. Theological negatives. Just not going to agree with them. Accept it.

Back to the text. Timothy is dealing with negatives.
Verse 18 - upsetting the faith of some. The neutrals don't know what to think.

Here's the crisis. Will Timothy be a positive, a negative or a neutral?
If negative, will return evil for evil, and the church will become toxic. We can feel guilty here, knowing we have responded badly ourselves. Note, nothing good said about young men in the bible... passionate and strong, yes, but so are terrorists.
So Paul comes in, as the positive. Remember Paul was the negative once. Breathing threats and murder.

He says 20 things to young Timothy:
1. Positively emphasise what you are for and not against. V14, remind them of these things. Be careful if your pulpit is always reacting to those who react to you. They are setting your agenda.
2. Positively use your God-given authority. V14 - charge them before God. Sometimes we are just cowards. Neutrals need that kind of strength when the negatives are active. Have nothing to do with foolish arguments.
3. Positively invest your words. Don't engage. You cannot change the subject or their mind.
4. Positively do your best. V15. Do your best to present yourself as one approved.
5. erm... missed this one.
6. Positively study harder. Rightly dividing the word of truth. V15.
7. Positively avoid getting drawn into endless arguments. It spreads like gangrene. Rick Warren ays : Communication today is instant, constant, permanent, global. V16,17
8. Positively warn the sheep about the wolves. Be careful about using strong words. Like heretic. But here Paul uses the term. Not that you can't use the word, but don't be using it all the time. And be careful, only naming names when you have to. These guys have been at it for years.
9. Positively remind the church that it belongs to Christ. They are not our people. They are his people.
10. Positively practice repentance before preaching it. Don't just share grace, enjoy it. Don't just preach penal substitutionary atonement, use it. Acknowledge failings. Repentance is at the heart of it all. The first of Luther's 95 theses... at the heart of the Reformation heritage.
11. Positively use your passion to be a better servant - v20,21. Honourable vessels. You are a tool in the hands of Christ, so be a decent tool - one he can actually use.
12. Positively grow up quickly. V22 Flee youthful passions. Full tank of gas and no map. That's the problem. Young guys go two ways - angry mean intense. Others, cowardly, passive, sweet church boys. Often feel too young. Find land mines by driving over them. You outgrow youthful passions by the gift of negatives and pain of failure.
13. Positively seek righteousness faith love and peace. V22. Peace is not dull.
14. Positively grow in discernment. Foolish V23
15. Positively be kind like Jesus. V24. Jesus did not curse Judas on the cross, call out his enemies. Jesus was not weak, but he was kind.
16. Positively harvest opportunity to train your people - v24 able to teach
17. Positively suffer patiently like Jeuss v24 patientnly enduring evil. For some this is your life's work. Toxic churches. One guy is faithfully sticking with his little flock because he knows if he leaves his bishop will send in a wolf. Pursue patience.
18. Positively correct gently. V25. Lovingly.
19. Positively desire good for your enemies. V25, 26. God may perhaps grant them repentance, leading to a knowledge of the truth, coming to senses.... They were taken captive in war. When they shoot you, you will still have compassion. Do you want the negatives to repent? To escape the snares of the devil? If not, you're a negative. You become so obsessed, that you become like them, reflecting them.
20. Positively use your energy to win converts and not argument. 4v5 Don't waste all your time on the negatives, there are people who need Jesus. Do the work of an evangelist. If Satan cannot get you into error, he will keep you busy. Negatives will take your time energy, passion, joy and evangelistic zeal and fervour. You'll think more about them than lost people.

Which positives in your life do you need to honour? Men you should honour.
And how can you be a better positive?
How can you be a better neutral? Someone influences us. Who influences you? Do you choose people who feed the worst in you.
How are you a negative? Just flipped it on you. You have had many faces in your mind, and we are al negatives too. We have a lot to repent of. Here's the good news. We have Jesus.

And thank you Lord that you allow hypocrites to preach, because I've enjoyed it.