Timothy is a young pastor in the church in the city of Ephesus. Ephesus was the third largest city in the Roman empire. Around 250,000 during Paul’s time there. From Ephesus, people could travel by road to many parts of the empire and this made it a popular city for business people, artists, and followers of other religions to live in. Because of all the people from different nations and religions living there, a lot of their ideas and teachings began to get mixed into the church there. When Paul heard about this starting to happen, he begins to get worried about the church there, so he writes this letter to Timothy to encourage him to be a strong leader in the church and lead the people to follow Jesus as Jesus taught them to be.
Because Timothy is young, Paul tells him, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.” This is the theme for Cadets this year. As your counsellors, we want you to grow into being leaders for Jesus. I see some of you already becoming leaders in our Bible lessons on Cadet evenings and in different cadet events. All the things that Timothy faced are still around today and this means we need you all to grow into leaders that show people, including adults, the kind of people Jesus teaches us to be.
Timothy lived in challenging times as a follower of Jesus, but it’s not any different today. That’s why we need good leaders who love Jesus and are able to recognize when things are happening that make it harder to follow Jesus and be who Jesus teaches us to be. In Timothy’s time there were people who were making up all kinds of rules to follow that made it seem as if the world that God created wasn’t good enough. They told people that there were things they shouldn’t eat. I know that our moms and dads tell us that we shouldn’t eat too much candy or junk food, but our parents don’t say we can’t eat it. My mom told us not to eat dirt, but that’s more common sense!
Now I know that most of you aren’t that interested in girls yet. Now you might find this hard to believe right now, but there’s something really special about when a boy and a girl get older and find out they love each other and want to spend their lives together and have a family. There were people who said that it was bad to get married. If your mom and dad would have listened to those people, you wouldn’t be here today! Paul reminds Timothy that everything God makes is good and that we shouldn’t reject something if we receive it with thanksgiving as a gift from God. God used to have rules about food for his people, but after Jesus came and died for our sin, rose from the dead, and then went back to heaven, God sends the apostle Peter a dream to let him know that those rules were now ended for his people and they could eat the same food as the gentiles.
Paul tells Timothy to teach the people in his church what God really teaches and to make sure they don’t listen to those people who are making up rules that make them trust God less. You might believe that you’re too young to lead or teach, and there’s many people in the Bible who thought the same thing when God called them to be leaders; Jeremiah tells God in 1:6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” God then tells Jeremiah, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you.”
God will help you to be the leader he calls you to be. In his next letter to Timothy, Paul reminds Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner.” Timothy was taught by his mom and grandmother about God and God has given you parents and grandparents, uncles and aunts to teach you about God and Jesus so you can be more Christ-like in all areas of life. God gives us the Holy Spirit to remind us of what Jesus taught through older people in your lives.
You’re still learning to be leaders. Part of becoming leaders is to learn from those who are leading right now; people like your counsellors, from teachers, coaches, our faith formation coordinator, counsellors, and teachers but the most important people you learn from are your parents and then your grandparents. When God calls you to leadership, he will give you people to encourage you and help you learn how to be the leader God is calling you to be.
God tells older men to be involved with young men and youth, to teach and mentor them, and he does the same thing with older women, to teach and mentor the younger women. King David tells us in Psalm 78, “My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old—things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.” Moses taught Joshua, Eli taught Samuel, Elijah trained Elisha, Barnabas mentored John Mark, and now Paul is mentoring Timothy. We also have the Bible to guide us, this is why we study the Bible at Cadets.
Paul warns us to stay away from godless myths and old wives’ tales. There’s a lot of people saying things about Jesus that aren’t true and make Jesus look like he’s just pretending to be God. They change things in the Bible to fit what they believe instead of believing what the Bible actually says. I’ve learned that lots of people like gossiping and talking a lot about other people, even when they have no idea if what they’re saying is even true. Today way too many people trust what they read on the internet, Instagram, Facebook, or whatever other site is popular right now. It’s like eating: you can either eat good healthy food or you can fill yourself with junk food that over time will make you weaker and sicker and godless myths and old wives’ tales will make you sick in your soul and mind.
God wants us to learn how to think well and listen to the Bible and the Holy Spirit; this is why Paul tells us to train ourselves to be godly. Lots us of want to be in shape for hockey, basketball, rugby, and volleyball, but it’s more important to have healthy souls and hearts if you’re going to be a leader. So how do you become spiritually fit? We build good habits in reading the Bible, especially together as a family, praying to God regularly, and worshipping together as a family and at church helps you get in shape. Serving and helping out other people by yourself and as a family, and thanking God for everything helps you to be strong in all the important ways, to be an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.
How we live is important because people are always watching to see if we really believe what we’re saying or teaching. They’ll follow you if they see you really care about them and are living the way Jesus calls us to live. Focus on building these good habits and learning from your parents and teachers and cadet counsellors. This will help you to become good leaders for Jesus, something that pleases Jesus and helps us all to become stronger in our faith too. You’re never too young to lead, whether it’s at school, cadets, or wherever you are. As Paul tells you, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young,” it’s your faith, not your age, that makes godly leaders.
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