06-27-07 #Disciple Bible Study Titled: "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly"

[Disciple]

In ancient Rome, crowds by the tens of thousands would gather in the Colosseum to watch as Christians were torn apart by wild animals. Paul Rader, commenting on his visit to this famous landmark, said, "I stood uncovered to the heavens above, where He sits for whom they gladly died, and asked myself, 'Would I, could I, die for Him tonight to get this gospel to the ends of the earth?'" Rader continued, "I prayed most fervently in that Roman arena for the spirit of a martyr, and for the working of the Holy Spirit in my heart, as He worked in Paul's heart when He brought him on his handcuffed way to Rome." Those early Christians "lived on the threshold of heaven, within a heartbeat of home, no possessions to hold them back."

2Ti 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.
2Ti 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

2Ti 2:2 is telling us that all the things in which we have heard concerning Jesus and the Gospel from and with other people to take those stories and to share it with other men that will take them and share them BOLDLY with other men. So if we do this according to what Paul is saying here we will also be keeping the command that was give in Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Lets look at the key word here in this scripture Faithful. Paul uses Faithful men in this portion of scripture and wht he is saying here is use men who not only have received the grace of God, and are true believers in Christ, but are men of great uprightness and integrity; who having the word of God, will speak it out boldly, and faithfully, and keep back nothing that is profitable, but declare the whole counsel of God, without any mixture or adulteration; for the Gospel being committed to their trust, they would become stewards, and of such it is required that they be faithful; and therefore this is mentioned as a necessary qualification in them;
Mark Hatfield tells of touring Calcutta with Mother Teresa and visiting the so-called "House of Dying," where sick children are cared for in their last days, and the dispensary, where the poor line up by the hundreds to receive medical attention. Watching Mother Teresa minister to these people, feeding and nursing those left by others to die, Hatfield was overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the suffering she and her co-workers face daily. "How can you bear the load without being crushed by it?" he asked. Mother Teresa replied, "My dear Senator, I am not called to be successful, I am called to be faithful."
the last line of this story says it all: "I am called to be faithful." Lets look at the words that are said about beig faithful:
Mat 25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Luk 19:17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.
There are times that we have to stand faithful through the good and the bad times for example:

• Salvation by grace - the good
• Shunned by loved ones - the bad
• Joy in the midst of a storm - the good
• Tears shed in the midnight hour - the bad
• Lifting up holy hands in the sanctuary - the good
• Heartache and heartbreak - the bad
• Waking up in the morning - the good
• Can’t sleep at night - the bad
if we cant stand during these lil bad times then we can not have the promises that we get for being faithful.

Here we seen a few examples of what God promises to us that are faithful but lets also look at what is say about his faithfulness:
1Co 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord
2Th 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
I dont know about for you all but for me that sure is exciting stuff to hear.

So now lets look at:
2Ti 2:3 - Thou therefore endure hardness,.... Hardness in his scripture is the same as the word afflictions in 2Ti 4:5 wich is the Greek word kak-op-ath-eh'-o which means to undergo hardship: - be afflicted, endure afflictions (hardness), suffer trouble. "suffer evil"; and means the evil of afflictions, as persecutions of every kind, loss of name and goods, scourging, imprisonment, and death itself, for the sake of Christ and the Gospel:

Now as i begin to study this out the meaning of hardness i really started lookin and asking myself these questions: Would i give up my good name, my things that i have? and the answer i gave was Yes.... yes i would. Would I suffer imprisonment for the Gospel or for loving Jesus...and again the answer was Yes yes i would. But when i got t the scourging part i broke cause i could say yes with my mouth but what if i was really faced with this as a reality could i really suffer this horrific beating. and for those who arent really sure what this is let me explain it from a web site that i found.

Flogging was a legal preliminary to every Roman execution, and only women and Roman senators or soldiers (except in eases of desertion) were exempt. The usual instrument was a short whip (flagellum) with several single or braided leather thongs of variable lengths, in which small iron ***** or sharp pieces of sheep bones were tied at intervals. Occasionally, staves also were used. For scourging, the man was stripped of his clothing, and his hands were tied to an upright post. The back, buttocks, and legs were flogged either by two soldiers (lictors) or by one who alternated positions. The severity of the scourging depended on the disposition of the lictors and was intended to weaken the victim to a state just short of collapse or death. After the scourging, the soldiers often taunted their victim.
As the Roman soldiers repeatedly struck the victim's back with full force, the iron ***** would cause deep contusions, and the leather thongs and sheep bones would cut into the skin and Subcutaneous tissues. Then, as the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh. Pain and blood loss generally set the stage for circulatory shock.
so after reading this i cryied out to God and prayed that if i was ever faced with this situation that i could without any doubt stand faithful to my Lord.
Yeah these are some extreme things that most of us probably wont have to face but then we might. We will however: have to indure the some trials and precusions and i found a great qoute that sums it all up right here.
"We have to deal with the good and the bad until we get to the ’Land of Nomo.’ No mo’ sickness - No mo’ trouble - No mo’ problems - No mo’ pains - No mo’ – disappointments."

So i want to leave you with thinking about this have you been faithful in the Little things? would you or could you endure all the things that go with carrying the Gospel and helping to further the kingdom of God? I challenge you to stop right now and ask yourself these questions and if you even find a bit of hesitation.. then PLEASE come up here right now and seek God about that area. If there are any of you here that do not have a true relationship with the Lord you too come up here and we will pray with you.




1Ti 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;