STUDY, STUDY, STUDY

II Timothy 2:15

Sunday Night Sermon

July 19, 1998

Fair Avenue Baptist Church

Take your Bibles and turn to II TIMOTHY 2:15.

"Study" means doing your best, be diligent

"Approved unto God" simply means to do your best to have God’s approval.

I want to ask three questions concerning this verse as it applies to our lives:

[1]  IS THE LORD PLEASED?

Paul had a passion to please God....a deep passion  PHIL 1:21

We need to have God's approval - PROVERBS 16:7

Notice MATTHEW 3:17 - "This is my beloved son..."

Look at what Jesus said in JOHN 8:29

Our ultimate goal should be to please God and to be in the Will of God.

Look at what Jesus said in MATTHEW 25:21.

[2]  IS THE WORK WELL DONE?

Where is our passion for excellence?

Remember, this is God's work!

Michelangelo was a perfectionist is his work - he would often spend weeks on the most minute detail.

There is an old saying that applies to churches and God's work:

Talent is cheap but dedication is costly.  How much have you paid?

God's work must be done right!

We should never operate with a standard - try treating your job with the same attitude as you do the Lord's work....or could it be that it the problem, we are treating the Lord's work with the same attitude as our jobs.

Again I ask - Where is our pursuit of excellence?

Ted Williams, the baseball player with the highest single season batting average at .406, and with one of the highest career batting averages, if not the highest, told this story:

When he first started playing major league baseball, he went 0 for 10 in his first ten at bats - no hits and 10 outs.

After that terrible start, he determined to make every bat like it was his last one, and he worked himself into one of the best baseball players in history.

And did you know that his last time at the plate, his last at-bat, he hit a home run.

How would you Sunday School teachers teach if you knew it was your last time to teach?

How would we sing if we knew it was our last time to sing?

[3]  IS THE WORD WELL USED?

We know that Jesus wants to know the scriptures, remember in MATTHEW 21:42 and MATTHEW 22:29, let's read those again.

We need to know God's Word...

We need to live by God's Word...

We need to share it with others...

Is the Lord pleased with our life?

Are we doing the work of the Lord well?

Are we using the Word of God?
 PRAY