Transcript

2 Timothy 2:1-2 “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. [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.”

The scripture above was a charge given to Timothy by Apostle Paul identifying himself also as one of those who taught Timothy, and is asking him to also commit the same things he was taught to men who are faithful witnesses who will also be able to teach others. Singles, married and family life expression (SMFLX) is not just about a set of people, but about a generation. God is raising men who will raise others that will also raise others and the sequence is meant to continue. The essence of this meeting is to raise a platform where men will be raised by committing things into their hands and also making them become what God wants them to become. Witnesses are going to commit things to us, and the essence of this is that we in turn become a witness (2 Timothy 2:2). For instance, in Acts 28:6, when Apostle Paul was bitten by a viper, the people thought that he would die but he did not and this made them change their minds saying he was a god, not a man.

The kind of people God wants to raise as witnesses are a generation that is unkillable by the world. Trying to kill them accelerates their formation of them becoming witnesses. When the theme of the meeting was unveiled to us, certain things of note were mentioned, one of which is that although clouds of witnesses are cheering us on, God wants us to become not just clouds but visible witnesses on earth.

Witnesses are in grades and classes. There are witnesses that are clouds, but God wants to raise witnesses on earth. They are the kind that are living witnesses, they carry the testimony, they witness it in their flesh, blood and souls. These are witnesses that are touchable. The cloud of witnesses obtained a good report, however, we are to obtain not just a good report but what God has prepared and promised. We are to obtain the promise by living out what is in the heart of God, that is, what He promised before the world began. They are to witness the life of God. We trust God to raise us not just as eye witnesses but living witnesses, that have become what God intends for man to become. We are in the process. Whatever stage we are at, we should have this expectation, this hope, patiently waiting for it. The kind of witnesses that God wants to raise and men will wonder at, are not yet manifested and we are to stay until we become such witnesses.

2 Timothy 1:5 “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.”

In 2 Timothy 2:2, Apostle Paul told Timothy that he is to be raised as a witness to raise other witnesses. He tried to trace this process through his family lineage. This is beyond being raised in the church setting by teaching and preaching, because what we receive in church is to be lived out in the family. Lois tutored Timothy’s mother, Eunice, at home, not on the pulpit. This is a generational blessing, there was a genuine, unfeigned faith that Timothy’s grandmother had and transferred to his mother. It was not a confessed faith but a conversation. The apostle Paul referred to Eunice as someone who lived a faith-life, she had the faith inside her. Our families must raise witnesses from the cradle, who will become faithful witnesses either as functional singles, functional wives or functional husbands and would impact the children.

Proverbs 13:22 “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.”

 The best way to transfer this inheritance is by living, embodying and becoming it for the children to read. If you become the Bible, you do not need to preach to your children, they can read.

Psalm 127:4 “As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.”

 Arrows are used to chase game. The arrow is poisoned to ensure that it sedates the animal on attack; the arrow is used with a bow and sent on an errand. Arrows are elements of errands to achieve a goal. Once the arrow meets the target, and the target is captured, the arrow is broken. Children are like arrows. God wants to pull our lively youths and young adults as arrows and send them to capture a destination.

Psalm 127:4-5 “As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. [5] Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.”

Arrows are used to chase gems. They are elements sent on errand to achieve a goal. Lively youths and young adults are to be pulled as arrows and sent for a capture mission. “Mighty” qualifies the kind of men that should shoot arrows. How far an arrow goes depends on how strong a man is, children are not going far because they are being shot by weak men.

2 Timothy 1:5 “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.”

This means Paul was not the only one that worked on Timothy. Paul was saying that though he is Timothy’s pastor but there were other pastors who may have silently worked on him, witnesses around him that he had. That seemingly silent church is the original church, which is the conversation of his mother and grandmother. The call to raise witnesses that will embody God’s life is heavy on the pastors, but there can be no church without the family. The work becomes easier in church when the home is orderly. The reason pastors have to overwork on a soul is because a solid foundation has not been laid at the home. A man’s first pastors are the parents.

Genesis 18:17-19 “And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; [18] Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? [19] For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”

When God is able to raise the keepers of the way, there will be keepers of truth and people who will embody “the life”. God did not say He knew Abraham as one who would advise or beg his children, but that he would “command” his children. Parenting is one of the easiest things God has designed to transfer life from one to another. When a man is a faithful witness, his children will trust God without a blink of eyes because they will see the truth in the life their parents are living.

 Abraham had over 300 members of his household yet he had the power to command them (Genesis 18:19). It is not about the number of people in the household, but how strong he was. A man who cannot command his household lacks formation.

1 Timothy 6:12-14 “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. [13] I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; [14] That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ…”

How to command is tied to becoming. We are to keep the commandment without blame which speaks about us becoming blameless.

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