Give Them What I Gave You - Pastor Stacey Shiflett
- Pastor Shiflett
- 1 minute ago
- 5 min read
Give Them What I Gave You
2 Timothy 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.
Intro: As we wind down our summer and get ready for school and college to start back up, this verse has been on my mind.
This was one of my main ministry verses when I went to South Africa in 2001.
ILLUSTRATION: The custom of carrying the Olympic torch in a relay, however, began with the 1936 Berlin Olympics. A flame was lit at Olympia, Greece, and approximately 3,000 runners carried it in stages roughly 3,000 kilometers (1,860 miles) from Olympia to Berlin.
When “Passing the Torch,” there is a powerful truth being displayed: the flame remains the same while the carriers change.
There are several key elements in this verse.
I. The Things that should be Preserved
The next generation should know the THINGS.
I’m sick and tired of men apologizing for the torch. The THINGS.
They are apologizing for…
The age of the THINGS
The offensiveness of the THINGS
The unpopularity of the THINGS
The construction of the THINGS
The origin of the THINGS
The purpose of the THINGS
The essence of the THINGS
A. It was Plural - the things
1 Corinthians 14:37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
2 Timothy 3:14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
Titus 1:5 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
Titus 2:1 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
B. It was Personal – “…things that thou hast heard…”
Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard,
C. It was Public – “…the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses…”
Imagine if every person that carried the flame tweaked it? Changed it? How long would it last?
How can we commit something to the next generation if we ourselves are not committed to them??
If we fail to appreciate what has been handed down to us, we will squander it.
There is a key word in this verse.
It is the word SAME.
Not different; not improved; not updated; not revised; not modernized.
THE SAME!!
ILLUSTRATION 1:
Nadab and Abihu had a better plan.
They went to Idea Day and cooked up a better way.
The old fire wasn’t good enough for them.
Leviticus 10
· 1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.
· 2 And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.
ILLUSTRATION 2:
A similar thing happened when they invented a better way to carry the Ark.
The wrong way to carry it:
1 Chronicles 13
· 7 And they carried the ark of God in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio drave the cart.
· 8 And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets.
· 9 And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled.
· 10 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God.
It might have been easier, but it was wrong.
It might have been less stressful, but it was wrong.
It might have been easier on the people, but it was wrong.
Notice David’s confusion and questions in verse 12:
· 12 And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?
The right way to carry it:
1 Chronicles 15
· 12 And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it.
· 13 For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.
· 14 So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel.
· 15 And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the LORD.
II. The Transfer that should be Prioritized
· 1 Timothy 1:18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
We are to commit unto the next generation.
But the next generation of WHAT??
Faithful men!! “…the same commit thou to faithful men…”
Building faithful men is the first phase.
Teaching them to observe all THINGS.
OBSERVE: to attend to carefully, take care of; to guard; to keep, one in the state in which he is; to observe
There’s a lot more passing it on than just KNOWING; it involves DOING.
III. The Teachers that should be Prepared
There is a key statement in this verse that we cannot ignore.
The next generation must be able to teach!
· “…who shall be able to teach…”
NOTE: You can’t teach what you don’t know!
We are raising the next generation of teachers.
They need to be taught.
It must be dedicated and dogmatic; not full of doubt and distorted perspectives.
It must be convincing; not confusing.
It must be right!
NOTE: Some people just won’t be taught!
· Hebrews 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
But God put teachers in the church for a reason.
That reason is to raise up the next generation of teachers.
This is a gift from God.
· Romans 12:7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
Never underestimate the ability of the Holy Spirit to teach.
· 1 John 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
IV. The Testimony that should be Perpetual
Our death should not mean the death of the work.
Our demise should not mean the demise of the message and the faith once delivered.
The whole premise of this verse is the LONGEVITY of the THINGS
We are to earnestly contend for the faith ONCE DELIVERED unto the saints.
If we don’t fulfil 2 Timothy 2:2, Christianity will lose its impact and its ability to transcend generations.
