Jump Start # 2561

2 Timothy 2:22 “Now flee from youthful lusts, and pursue after righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

Our verse today is one that is often left to teenage classes, devos, and young people gatherings. I doubt that was the target audience that God exclusively had in mind when Paul wrote those words. Many of the troubles that young people get caught up in were not created by their peers, but those older. I doubt that teens have the know how to smuggle drugs in from drug cartels in foreign countries. I doubt that teens have the money it takes to produce and distribute pornography. It’s an older generation that is using a younger generation to addict and profit from.

There are times in our lives when we need to dig our heels in and put up a fight. But there are other times when we just need to leave. We need to flee as the passage states. We need to run as fast as we can away from temptation. Don’t try to argue with it. Don’t try to convert it. Don’t try to reason with it. Run and run fast.

There is a great little expression in our verse that I want to focus upon. It’s often overlooked. We spend so much time talking about lusts and fleeing that we may not even see the two little words, “with those.” It’s the “with those” that can make all the difference in your spiritual journey.

Get away from youthful lusts. Go after the godly characters. But do that “with those” who are following the Lord. Do that with those who have a pure heart. Do that with those who call upon the Lord. The “with those” is our circle of influence and friends that helps us spiritually.

Now, think how wonderful this is:

First, when things are not going well in your life and you are facing storms, isn’t it great to have a “with those” who love you and the Lord. They will not tire of serving. They will not complain. They will not seek to get something from you. Like you, like the Lord, they have a pure heart. They love you and they love the Lord. You can count upon these folks. You know that they will be praying for you. Where would we be without our Lord and our church family.

Second, it is great to know that there are others who believe as you do. There are others who have a deep love and respect for the Lord as you do. Sometimes a person gets to thinking that they are the only one. Being alone and outnumbered is not a good place to be. For Elijah, it led him to some dark thoughts that he shouldn’t have had. The same can happen to us, but it shouldn’t. We a “with those” among us. It is our “with those,” that reminds us and encourages us.

Third, the “with those” represents our church family, our fellowship in Christ. Together, we encourage each other. Together, we remind, teach and support each other. Together, we are the body of Christ. One mind. One voice. One heart. One mission.

Many of us have been separated from each other during this epidemic. We call. We text. We share things on Facebook. But it’s not the same. And, being apart really makes us miss each other. And, it brings some lessons that we can learn.

First, it makes us realize what a wonderful blessing our church family is. It doesn’t matter whether you are in a small congregation or a large one, each face, each family, each heart, is loved by the Lord and is special. Sometimes we complain about each other more than we ought to. Sometimes we fuss about the preaching, the song service, but that sure seems different when you are worshipping at home on Sunday.

Second, it makes us understand the great work that the shepherds do. It’s hard keeping us all going the same direction. Some of us are stubborn. Some of us have a wild spirit. Some of us like to be independent. Some of us think we know better. What a job it is keeping everyone moving forward and with the Lord. Sure makes us be thankful for the great leaders among us.

Third, it makes us realize that it takes all of us to make us who we are. The little ones, the old ones, the new ones, the seasoned ones—we all have a story. We all have a background. We all came to the Lord and He graciously forgave each of us. We are the “with those” that we need to be pursuing life and the Lord with.

With those…we need these folks in our lives.

Roger

Jump Start # 1686

2 Timothy 2:22 “Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

  Yesterday, we took a look at the word “avoid.” There are conversations in which the child of God needs to avoid. That sounds odd to us. Another principle like that similar to that is the idea of  “fleeing.” The Christian is told to flee. Go. Get out of there. Run. That sounds opposite of the “unmovable” that the Corinthians were told to be. That sounds opposite of the “stand firm” that the Ephesians were told. Stand firm. Hold your ground. That seems and sounds logical and right. However, we find those “fleeing” passages in our Bibles.

Here, in our verse today, it’s flee youthful lusts. In Corinthians, it’s, “flee fornication.” The Corinthians were also told to “flee idolatry.” The preacher Timothy was told to “flee” from the love of money. This can seem confusing to us. There are times we are to dig in and stand firm. There are other times we need to get out of there. Hold your ground or flee? Which is it?

We find ourselves in all sorts of trouble when we stick around when we ought to be fleeing. We remember Joseph, back in Genesis, when Potiphar’s wife grabbed him, he ran. He left his cloak in her hands. He didn’t go back for it. He got out of there as fast as he could. Had he stuck around, he may have gotten into trouble morally. In the words of the Duck Dynasty boys, “He’s gone.”

It seems that most of the fleeing verses surround sexual and moral situations. Youthful lusts—not youthful adventures. Not youthful attitudes. Not youthful ideas. It’s lusts. The lusts of the eyes is what got King David in trouble. Flee fornication—again, sexual and moral situations. We could even say this concerning, flee idolatry, since most of the idol worship involved illicit sex. Moral temptations are not the time to have a discussion, debate nor find ten things wrong with it. Rather, get moving. Get out of there. Flee.

Sometimes in our Bible classes we want to come up with some real fancy ideas and strategies about how to endure and survive temptations. We get brilliant with our solutions. The best solution is simply flee. Go, and don’t look back. We could discuss why a person is with someone who may tempt them. We could talk about the surroundings, finding spiritual giants to hang out with. We could try to identify things to look for as one heads down that road. We could study Proverbs 7, which is an eyewitness of an moral crash. Good stuff for a class. But when in those actual situations, it’s not a time for discussion but rather, flee. It may be at school. It may be at work. It may be towards a neighbor. Flee.

Fleeing may seem embarrassing to you. Fleeing may seem inappropriate without an explanation. Fleeing may make you look rather uncool. So what. Flee. You don’t owe Satan an apology, explanation or a defense. Get going and get out of there.

Avoiding and fleeing—two common principles found within the makeup of God’s people. We need to know when to avoid and we need to know when to flee. The purpose in both of these is our salvation and the good of the kingdom. Staying, when I should have left, may hurt my soul. Staying can send the wrong messages.

Parents need to talk to their teenagers about “fleeing.” Call home, and parents, go get them. Be thankful that they called. Be thankful that they want to flee. Lecture later, if need be. Compliment them on wise thinking and wise choices.

When traveling, away from home, flee from the very things that would hurt your marriage. Don’t be flirting with someone not your mate. Don’t be sharing private info with the opposite sex. Flee those situations.

Many a Christian looks back and admits, “Boy, I didn’t see that coming.” Nope, he sure didn’t. He didn’t have his eyes opened. He wasn’t careful. Be alert, remember Peter telling us that. Satan is roaming about like a lion. He’s looking. He’s watching. He’s waiting. Get out of there. Flee.

Christians must be street smart and spiritually awake, at all times. Don’t fall into traps. Don’t get yourself in situations that hurt you spiritually.

Flee. There is a time for it.

Roger

Jump Start # 1096

2 Timothy 2:22 “Now flee youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

Parents involved and active in helping their children in the dating process is what we are looking at this week. Some of the most stressful times in families comes right here. The child wants to date someone that the parent is uncomfortable with. The child wants to push the limits on how early to date or they see nothing wrong with dating someone much older than they are. Parents see red flags. Parents need to guide the child.

One of the big issues with dating, is who the child goes out with. Dating is much more than simply going out for some social fun. Dating is a journey that leads to love and then the emotions, reasons and common sense get all jumbled up and it’s hard to see clearly. Frogs do not become princes. That’s only true in fairy tales. Frogs remain frogs in real life. Also, from the pool of people that one dates, eventually comes the person that they will marry. So if their dating experience is with frogs and dogs, that is typically who they will marry. That is one of the parents greatest fears.

Our verse today is heavily emphasized on the front expressions, ‘flee youthful lusts.’ I want to consider the word ‘with’ in this passage. Flee youthful lusts. Yes. Pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. Yes. However, do that pursuing WITH those who call upon the Lord from a pure heart. Sincere in faith. Not playing the game. Not a hypocrite. Not saying all the right things but not believing at the core of their heart. It is the “With those,” that parents need to help out with.

There are two common things that many kids face in congregations today. First, there is no one their age. There are kids older and younger, but no one their age. Or, they have grown up going to church with the kids that are their age and they’d rather swallow an egg as to go out with “those” people. There is no attraction, chemistry, or liking of the kids that they grow up with. So, the child starts dating people from school. This is where the problems begin. Parents do not know these kids at school. They do not know the parents of these people, the background, and especially question if the person calls upon the Lord from a pure heart. The child will beg the parent to give them a chance. The child will plead that the person is a good person. They will say, ‘you do not know them as I do.’ Some of the kids may be religious, some may not. We know all too well from our own experiences, that a lot of the trouble we got into was from friends who introduced us to things we should do, dared us to do the foolish and prompted us to do things that we never would on our own. Yes, we remember. We want to keep our kids safe from those influences.

What’s a parent to do? What if there is no one within the congregation that your child wants to date? Then as a parent, you broaden the circle and find more people that fit into that category of “with those.” Visit other congregations. Try some summer camps that are run by brethren. Get to know the child’s friends from school. Have your home be the place where kids gather. This takes some doing on the parents part. There are things that kids want to do. Just sitting around talking gets old for them. Invest in fun things that kids like to do. Keep the pantry stocked with snacks. Kids love to eat. Give them space but let your presence be known. Bedrooms are off limits. Too much alone time is not good. Too late at night is not good. Do some family things together. Get the person helping out around the house. You are noticing character and the kind of person he is. Definitely invite to church services. As a parent, don’t try to dress, talk or act like you are 16. You are not. You will come across as being very strange and you’ll embarrass your child to the point that she will not want to bring her date around. You are a parent, act like a parent.

The house rules need to be enforced. Language, respect and attitude must be right. Don’t toss a person out for one slip. Just remind him that we don’t use those words. If it continues, then deal with it.

Through this process, you are seeing things. Red flags need to be dealt with. There must be discussions with your child about what is going on and what you notice. You, as a parent are helping your child.

Early teen dating and later dating is not the same. Some principles developed in the early part will help with the later part. Later dating is much more serious. A future mate is in the back of their mind. They are more selective about who they go out with. This is the time to remind your child, that just as they are looking at someone, the other person is looking at them. It’s time for them to step up their game. Sloppy, lazy, attitudes, no goals, no ambition is not top shelf material. If they want a prince then they must be a princess. That involves more than having golden hair, it means that they have something attractive about their character, attitude, ambition and goals as well. This is the time that faith must be discussed. Religious differences can wreck a marriage. Someone who shows no interest in the God that you love, is problematic. This is where years of lessons come to the front. This is a head and heart issue. This is where you must shine as a parent. It’s hard. Compromising faith and convictions never leads to conversion. It leads to a weak Christian.

You want your child to marry someone that will help them go to Heaven. You want them to marry someone who will stand with God. You want them to marry someone who will help raise a godly family. Worship, prayers and spiritual growth are essential to pleasing the Lord. You want your child to experience that and to be engaged in God’s kingdom.

I know so many young couples that are doing that very thing. They have chosen godly people to date and marry and now they are on course to raising godly families. Sure they have stress, trials and everything that comes with being a young couple. Money is tight. Jobs are stressful. But with God and each other, worshipping weekly, they’ll be fine. They are establishing the right building blocks for a solid foundation. They have been taught well by godly parents. There were moments, but they got through that and today, they are doing well.

I can say this, because I have been there with my kids. Four kids. At one point I had four teenagers. What were we thinking! Three of the four are married. The last is now engaged. Everyone is a strong Christian. Everyone is busy in the congregations they attend. The dating process wasn’t always smooth nor without some differences.

The story doesn’t always end ‘happily ever after.’ There have been Christians who have married Christians only to have tears of broken vows and broken dreams. Someone didn’t keep the pure heart with the Lord. It’s a journey that each person must choose to stay on.

Parents, help your child to find the “with those” that Paul mentioned in our verse today. Don’t settle for, ‘there isn’t anyone.’ There is. You just have to find them.

Roger