Jenny Hope

from Pastor James: www.walkintheword.com

Eliminate the Drain
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:1-2
If you had a hole in your gas tank, it wouldn’t be long until you investigated why your tank is always empty. I just filled up, you think. Why am I on empty again? The same thing happens in the Christian life. We get filled up with great Bible studies and sermons, and we think we’re good for the long haul. But not far into the trip, we’re out of gas. Completely drained. What happened?
I believe one reason our spiritual strength drains quickly from our lives is because we hoard it. Sounds like the opposite would be true, but it’s not. If we keep everything we gain in the Christian life to ourselves, we end up running out of gas. Paul tells Timothy: “What you have heard from me . . . entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).
The way to grow spiritually is not to pack every study, every sermon, every lesson you can into your skull. You might think you are a great Bible scholar but really you’re just a big Bible fathead. Some of the most spiritually weak people I know have more Bible information in their cranium than anyone around. But they can’t face temptations or weather even the smallest storm because they haven’t been growing in what they’ve learned. You’ve got to transfer truth to others in order for it to make a difference in your own life.
Do you take sermon notes when your pastor preaches each week? What do you do with them afterward-stuff them in a drawer? Carry them around in your Bible until you purge them all? Find someone this week to share something new you learned from the sermon or from a message you’ve read in a book or heard on the radio. In Paul’s words, entrust to others what you have learned. You will experience a fresh infusion of the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Merely reading the words will do nothing for you. But if you do what they say, you will fill up on God’s strength.
How about it?