But Set the Believers an Example: Speech

“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (1 Tim. 4.12 ESV)

As I was going through my sophomore and junior years of high school (I’m not afraid to admit), I had a real bad problem with my mouth. I didn’t have a speech impediment or a stuttering problem; instead my problem was something that I chose to do. I was a terrible cusser. Now before you go around closing this blog post because you don’t have a “problem like this”, wait! My main goal today is not to talk about the badness of cussing (we know that already), my goal today is to talk about how we set a good example with our speech as Timothy was encouraged to do. 

Cussing is obviously not a good thing (James 3.1-12) and my cussing was no different. I set a bad example for the Christians I went to school with and maybe most importantly, I wasn’t being a proper representative of Christ. Cussing, however, is not the only way we can set a bad example in our speech. Maybe cussing isn’t your problem but gossip is, or maybe your problem is that you backbite or slander others. Maybe all you talk about are things like the party you went to this past weekend, or maybe you put a negative spin on everything that happens. All of these types of things set a bad example for “the believers”. 

We are called just as Timothy, a man of God, to be a good example to the believers in all our actions. The tongue is where it all starts. In James 3.3-4, the tongue is likened to that of a rudder on a ship. Although the ship is large and heavy, it is directed by the rudder. This is exactly how it is for the body. Our words “set up a path” so to speak, for the rest of our body to follow. What do I mean by that? What I mean is that what we say shows people who we are. If the things we say aren’t good, then we won’t be seen as a good example! We’ve got to be a good example in our speech!

What I want to ask you today is: Are you a good example in speech? If you’re not, where do you start? Matthew 12 tells us this:

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. (Matt. 12.33-35 ESV)

What we say is a result of our heart. This isn’t the heart that pumps blood through our bodies. No, this is the heart that we have in our minds, our inner being or our essential nature. Our heart is who we are! What is it that we treasure and hold dear? That’s what’s in our heart and that’s what Jesus is talking about here. The simple answer to my question  is this: We need to get our heart right if we’re ever going to speak right! 

We need to fill our hearts with the right kinds of things. One who goes out to party on the weekends, or has friends that encourage them to do wrong or immoral things and then shows up to worship on Sundays does not have the right kind of heart. That will be reflected in their speech. However, if we decide to constantly surround ourselves with the word of God and surround ourselves in prayer, that too will be reflected in our speech. I want to encourage you today to pick one day this week and for at least 10 minutes go sit somewhere calm and secluded and read a section of scripture and then proceed to talk with God. You’ll be amazed at what will happen! You will find that your heart will begin to yearn to spend more time in God’s word and in conversation with him. And, your speech will be reflective of that!

We have to get our heart in the right place if we’re ever going to be an example in our speech. I really hope you’ll take this challenge to heart this week.  –Jack D.

Over the Next Few Weeks....

“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (1 Timothy 4.12 ESV)

This verse (shown above) is one that I bet most of you have heard. This verse is constantly used by people today, but is it practiced? Today instead of writing a devotional I want to sort of set us up for the next 5 weeks. This passage in 1 Timothy gives us 5 areas in which we are supposed to set an example. Those 5 are:

1. Speech
2. Conduct
3. Love
4. Faith
5. Purity

Over the next few weeks I will be writing about each of these 5 areas in which we are to be examples. I will look at how we can be a negative example as well as a positive. I hope you’ll take the time to look over this verse and think about how we can be examples in each of these 5 areas. I know this wasn’t a devotional today but I wanted to make a post in order to set us up for things to come. I hope you’ll stop by next week the first devotional over 1 Timothy 4.12! -Jack D.

The Faith of Daniel to Do Hard Things (Summary of QMCC Sermon)

This past week at camp I was presented with the tremendous privilege of teaching the word of God by the way of a sermon. This particular sermon was over the topic of Daniel and his faith that helped him to accomplish hard things. This week’s blog post is a summary (the full outline can be viewed here) of that which I talked about. Daniel did 3 things that were difficult in his lifetime. Daniel:

Chose to make the right decision and stick with it – Daniel’s entire world was changed when Jerusalem was taken over by the Babylonians. Everything from his way of life to his name was changed and yet Daniel decided that he was going to do as God wanted. In Daniel 6.7-9 we read that people were supposed to not pray to anyone but King Darius; however when Daniel heard this he immediately went and prayed to God.

Do we struggle with making the right decision? I think oftentimes we know what it is that we should do and yet we hesitate because of our peers. We’re afraid of what our friends will think or say about us. We have to remember that it’s the “narrow path” (Matthew 7.13-14) that leads to life, not the “broad path”.

Daniel: Crowded himself with godly friends – We are introduced to Daniel’s friends in Daniel 1.6. We are told their names are Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (later changed to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego). In Daniel 3.8-30 we see what these friends were like. They were going to do what God wanted them to no matter what…even if that meant being thrown in a fiery furnace (Dan. 3.17-18)!

Do we have friends like this? Do we surround ourselves with positive or negative influences? I think it’s time we really evaluate who it is that is influencing us in our day to day life. The saying: “You are what you eat” can be applied here. You pick up tendencies of those whom you hang around with. The question for us is are we choosing good friends or bad ones (1 Cor. 15.33)?

Daniel: Continued being faithful through trials – Daniel was faced with a big trial. This trial? Being placed in a lion’s den. Daniel could’ve avoided that completely had he just listened to the kings decree, but since that decree went against what God wanted Daniel made the decision to be put through trials. Daniel didn’t give up after this ordeal in the lion’s den. He continued to serve God through the rest of his life.

Do we stay faithful through our trials or just give up? We’re probably not going to face anything like the lion’s den as far as physical trial is concerned, but can’t we be so overwhelmed by sin that it feels like we’re in a spiritual lion’s den? We have to realize that the trials we face are polishing us for a better, harder trial later on (James 1.2-3).

 

Today I want to challenge you to follow this example of Daniel who chose, crowded and continued. These qualities helped Daniel to accomplish hard things and are what we need if we wish to accomplish hard things ourselves! -Jack D.