Studying to Show
Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 2:10-26
10 Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the
salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
11 This is a faithful saying:
For if we died with Him,
We shall also live with Him.
12 If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.
13 If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.
14 Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to
no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a
worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun
profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. 17 And their message
will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, 18 who have strayed
concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the
faith of some. 19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord
knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from
iniquity.”
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and
clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. 21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from
the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for
every good work. 22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace
with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes,
knowing that they generate strife. 24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle
to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God
perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may
come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to
do his will.
Paul advises us here through his words to Timothy to be diligent to study to show
ourselves approved to God. So, what are we supposed to be diligently studying?
He tells us that we are to rightly divide the word of truth, which certainly is speaking
of scripture. Do you believe that diligent study means to pick up the Scriptures once
a week, read along for about two minutes and then put it down for another week?
Does that show any diligence?
Joshua 1:8 - This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate
in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you
will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
YHWH, tells Joshua that the book should not depart from his mouth and that he
should meditate on it all the time. But God doesn’t make it an empty promise. He
says that if he’ll do this thing, he will be prosperous and successful. So, let’s say
someone doesn’y meditate on God’s word at all during the day, but rather meditates
on a particular sport, or on PlayStation, or on cartoon for several hours. What
would you think is their priority in life? Would it be fair for them to say God’s word is
their priority if they never meditate on it but rather meditate on other things?
Mark 12:29-31
29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our
God, the LORD is one. 30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all
your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31
And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other
commandment greater than these.”
The first of all commandments is called in Hebrew ‘the Shema’. We are supposed to
love God with everything we have, all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds, and all
our strength. And the second is to similarly love our neighbor as ourselves. So,
what do these two great commandments have to do with studying scripture?
John 1:1-5
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He
was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing
was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
The apostle John tells us here that Yeshua IS the word of God. He stresses how
crucial the word of God is in that it is what created all things. The word of God is
light and it is life and it shines in the darkness. So, if the Word is Yeshua and if
Yeshua is God, let’s take a look at the Shema again. Shouldn’t we love the word of
God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength? That seems like a pretty basic
theorem to me. If you’ve ever had a best friend or a girl or boyfriend, you know what
it’s like to want to hang out with someone all the time. You come home from school
and as soon as you can get your homework done, you want to go out and play with
them. If you can’t be with them then you want to talk with them as much as
possible. You want to learn everything about them; what make them happy, what
makes them sad, what they like, what they don’t like. If we feel that way about the
people God puts on our path for fellowship and relationships, how much more
should we feel that way about God and His word? As for the second great
commandment to love or neighbors, how are we going to do that if we don’t know
what true love is?
Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
God’s word is what clarifies the path of righteousness for us. It IS the light in the darkness
and without it how can we possibly see our way clearly?
John 14:5-6
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the
way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through Me.
We have already established that Yeshua and the Word of God are synonymous.
How do we find our way? Yeshua, the Word of God. How do we find the truth?
Yeshua, the Word of God. How do we obtain life? Yeshua, the Word of God.
John 8:31-32
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My
disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
He gives us the pattern for success over and over and the pattern does not
change. If we want to know the truth and true freedom, we have got to abide in His
word.
John 15:5-8
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit;
for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a
branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are
burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it
shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be
My disciples.
The message is no different now than it was to Joshua. Abide means to live in. If
we want to have real success in this life and the next, we need to live in the word
and have the word living in us.
Ephesians 6:13-17
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil
day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth,
having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the
preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will
be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
It is our only offensive weapon against the enemy. Everything else is for us to
defend ourselves, which is definitely a good thing if we want to survive. It’s like
having security bars on your house to keep the bad guys out. They’re fine and all
and you will be able to feel pretty safe when you’re inside but what about when you
want to play outside in the yard? Do the security bars give you any safety there?
But what if you had an AK 47 strapped to your back and the bad guys all knew it
was way more powerful than the fiery darts that they had? You could feel safe in
your yard, right? Then what if you took that AK around the whole neighborhood?
You could make things safer for everyone, couldn’t you? Wouldn’t that really be
‘loving your neighbor’?
Matthew 24:3-5 & 24
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us,
when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the
age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many
will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to
deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.
Genesis 3:13 - And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Proverbs 30:5-6
5 Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
6 Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
Luke 11:28 - But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and
keep it!”
Romans 10:17 - So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date March 2, 2008
Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 2:10-26
10 Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the
salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
11 This is a faithful saying:
For if we died with Him,
We shall also live with Him.
12 If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.
13 If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.
14 Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to
no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a
worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun
profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. 17 And their message
will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, 18 who have strayed
concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the
faith of some. 19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord
knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from
iniquity.”
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and
clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. 21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from
the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for
every good work. 22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace
with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes,
knowing that they generate strife. 24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle
to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God
perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may
come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to
do his will.
Paul advises us here through his words to Timothy to be diligent to study to show
ourselves approved to God. So, what are we supposed to be diligently studying?
He tells us that we are to rightly divide the word of truth, which certainly is speaking
of scripture. Do you believe that diligent study means to pick up the Scriptures once
a week, read along for about two minutes and then put it down for another week?
Does that show any diligence?
Joshua 1:8 - This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate
in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you
will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
YHWH, tells Joshua that the book should not depart from his mouth and that he
should meditate on it all the time. But God doesn’t make it an empty promise. He
says that if he’ll do this thing, he will be prosperous and successful. So, let’s say
someone doesn’y meditate on God’s word at all during the day, but rather meditates
on a particular sport, or on PlayStation, or on cartoon for several hours. What
would you think is their priority in life? Would it be fair for them to say God’s word is
their priority if they never meditate on it but rather meditate on other things?
Mark 12:29-31
29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our
God, the LORD is one. 30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all
your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31
And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other
commandment greater than these.”
The first of all commandments is called in Hebrew ‘the Shema’. We are supposed to
love God with everything we have, all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds, and all
our strength. And the second is to similarly love our neighbor as ourselves. So,
what do these two great commandments have to do with studying scripture?
John 1:1-5
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He
was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing
was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
The apostle John tells us here that Yeshua IS the word of God. He stresses how
crucial the word of God is in that it is what created all things. The word of God is
light and it is life and it shines in the darkness. So, if the Word is Yeshua and if
Yeshua is God, let’s take a look at the Shema again. Shouldn’t we love the word of
God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength? That seems like a pretty basic
theorem to me. If you’ve ever had a best friend or a girl or boyfriend, you know what
it’s like to want to hang out with someone all the time. You come home from school
and as soon as you can get your homework done, you want to go out and play with
them. If you can’t be with them then you want to talk with them as much as
possible. You want to learn everything about them; what make them happy, what
makes them sad, what they like, what they don’t like. If we feel that way about the
people God puts on our path for fellowship and relationships, how much more
should we feel that way about God and His word? As for the second great
commandment to love or neighbors, how are we going to do that if we don’t know
what true love is?
Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
God’s word is what clarifies the path of righteousness for us. It IS the light in the darkness
and without it how can we possibly see our way clearly?
John 14:5-6
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the
way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through Me.
We have already established that Yeshua and the Word of God are synonymous.
How do we find our way? Yeshua, the Word of God. How do we find the truth?
Yeshua, the Word of God. How do we obtain life? Yeshua, the Word of God.
John 8:31-32
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My
disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
He gives us the pattern for success over and over and the pattern does not
change. If we want to know the truth and true freedom, we have got to abide in His
word.
John 15:5-8
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit;
for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a
branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are
burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it
shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be
My disciples.
The message is no different now than it was to Joshua. Abide means to live in. If
we want to have real success in this life and the next, we need to live in the word
and have the word living in us.
Ephesians 6:13-17
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil
day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth,
having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the
preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will
be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
It is our only offensive weapon against the enemy. Everything else is for us to
defend ourselves, which is definitely a good thing if we want to survive. It’s like
having security bars on your house to keep the bad guys out. They’re fine and all
and you will be able to feel pretty safe when you’re inside but what about when you
want to play outside in the yard? Do the security bars give you any safety there?
But what if you had an AK 47 strapped to your back and the bad guys all knew it
was way more powerful than the fiery darts that they had? You could feel safe in
your yard, right? Then what if you took that AK around the whole neighborhood?
You could make things safer for everyone, couldn’t you? Wouldn’t that really be
‘loving your neighbor’?
Matthew 24:3-5 & 24
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us,
when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the
age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many
will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to
deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.
Genesis 3:13 - And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Proverbs 30:5-6
5 Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
6 Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
Luke 11:28 - But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and
keep it!”
Romans 10:17 - So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date March 2, 2008
