I want to invite you to take your Bible and turn with me to 2 Timothy 1, and we'll be looking at chapter 3 as well. If you don't have a Bible, you can find a pew Bible, and it should be around page 840 in that pew Bible. That should help you to locate it. I want to introduce you this morning to a young man of whom probably we know more about him than any other in the scripture other than the Lord and James and John. And that young man's name is Timothy. God has wonderfully and providentially made sure that we know not only Timothy's mother, her name, his grandmother, and even a little bit about his father. I don't know if you've ever even thought about that, but the name of the young man is Timothy. Well, the devotional this morning is going to be taken from those scriptures that you have there, and I'm gonna invite you to follow with me, and we have a tradition here at Hillsdale of standing and reading God's word together. And so would you do that? Would you stand with me? Second Timothy. chapter 3, not on the PowerPoint, and we're going to read beginning in verse 14 through verse 17, 2 Timothy 3 verse 14. Here's, let's read together. But continue thou in the things which thou has learned and has been assured of knowing of whom thou has learned them and that from a child thou has known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation and through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect. throughly furnished unto all good works. Thank you for standing. You can be seated. Let's pray. Father, we ask that you would just in a wonderful way move in our hearts this morning. What a great day it's been. What a joy to have mothers and fathers and grandparents with us today and to especially have our young people from the academy. It's been a wonderful day. Now, Lord, I pray that we'll be challenged this morning by the responsibility, the privilege of being teachers. Whether we are employed as a teacher or we are parents and grandparents who have the opportunity of teaching children or we have the special spiritual gift that is here in the scriptures. Lord, open our eyes, our hearts, and our thoughts to the truths that we have before us today. In Christ's name, amen. If you have an outline, you might have received one when you came in. Hillsdale, we tend to study verse by verse and work our way through the scriptures. This morning, we're doing a little bit of a departing, and yet, nevertheless, we're wanting to make sure that we continue. At Hillsdale right now, we have begun the year with the theme contending for the faith. And one of the things that we're looking at is the purpose of the church. the purpose of the church. Why is there a church? As I'm listening to Mrs. Henry give her testimony this morning, and I'm looking at some of the teachers and the faculty in the school, I've been here 40 years as of this October. In 1995, God laid on my heart a desire to ultimately have a school. Well, we were 11 miles from this location, And the thought of that congregation of having a school was, no way, it's just not going to happen. But I knew in my heart that this was God's will and God's plan. And it took another 10 years. In that 10 year period, we purchased the property that is today Hillsdale. We built the building, and then in 2005, we began the first year of what was then Hillsdale Preschool. We had no thought in mind of going on up and adding elementary grades, and we have seen the Lord bless in a great way I do credit Mrs. Henry for her passion, her love, not only for students but her love for moms and dads and grandparents. My heart for the school would be like we are a family as a church that God would bring that same spirit to the school. that somehow we would have a school that is not only academically excellent, but a school that also has a sense or a feel of a family. And I think many of you have seen that over the years, God has answered that prayer. But the purpose of the church, why the church? There's many things that I could say regarding this this morning, but I think the best is probably simply to state what the mission of our church is, and it is the mission of the school. Would you read this statement with me, read together? The mission of Hillsdale Baptist Church is to glorify God through evangelizing the lost, edifying the saints, and equipping believers for ministering to the next generation. It is our goal, whether it's the church or it's the school, to be sharing with young people the hope of salvation that is only found in Jesus Christ. It is our desire to encourage and to build up. And so whatever Bible class you might attend, whatever the Bible study might be, in all of those classes, we want the Word of God to be taught faithfully, that the body, that the people that are members of this church might spiritually mature. It is the same thing for the school. Whether it's teaching English or teaching math or teaching literature or teaching science, that the scriptures permeate everything that we do as an institution. And we're going to share with you why that is important. Now, a few things. The church body is one member. Another thing that we believe is that every believer of this body, every believer that is a member of Hillsdale Baptist Church, should be a functioning part the body, not just a pew center, not just a congregation, but that they are actually actively involved in ministry. One of the reasons that we require that anyone that teaches at Hillsdale Christian Academy must be a member of the church is is not because we're constraining them, but philosophically, it's the outgrowth of who we are. We are one body with many members. And I'll not go anymore on that, but there are other reasons for that. In Romans 12, verse 4, here's where the philosophy is found in these words. For as we have many members in one body, And all members have not the same office or the same function. There are seven different spiritual gifts that we find in the book of Romans that are given to the church. If you are a believer, if your faith and trust is in Jesus Christ, you have been gifted, not just talents, but a spiritual unction, a desire that if you yield and surrender to the Lord, you will have the outgrowth of your life will be a fulfilling ministry that you'll never have in any other area. But it begins with Romans 12 verse 1 of being surrendered. I'm convinced one of the reasons that some believers never have the joy of the Lord in the midst of the church is because they've never surrendered to the Lord. Maybe that's you today. Well, it begins with, first of all, trusting Jesus Christ as Savior. Everything flows out of that when you put your faith in Christ as Savior, and you are filled with His Spirit. You are gifted. with spiritual gift or even perhaps gifts. One is this gift of prophecy which we shared is that of preaching or teaching. That is my calling on my life. It's the calling of my pastoral staff. Perhaps we pray that it might be the calling of some of our young people that one day they'll take their place in a pulpit and preaching and teaching God's Word. I mean, after all, there will be another generation as the Lord tarries. Alright? In Romans 12 and verse 7 and 8, there are six other gifts. There's the gift of ministry, which we shared last week, is the fulfillment of serving. There's the gift of teaching, which is the subject this morning. The gift of exhorting or encouraging, giving, of ruling, administration of mercy. Those are all the gifts given to the church. If you're here today, whether you're a visitor or you're a regular member of Hillsdale, and you know Christ as Savior, It is within your heart, your longing, your desire to serve the Lord if you surrender to him. And it's my prayer, some of you might literally have the calling this morning and say, I'm called to be a teacher, whatever that role, wherever that might be. And so you have your Bible, Romans 12 verse seven was the word of God. teacheth, or the teacher. It is the gift of teaching. And I have so many here at Hillsdale that have been teachers for years. Now, I heard a little bit of the laughter when Sheila and I stood. We are coming on our 40th year. I came in 1985. I was the youth pastor for the first 10 years here at Hillsdale. And I so loved that ministry. that when it was time to assume the role of the senior pastor, I had tears and I don't know if some of the young people in that time remember, but we all cried because I knew that there would be no going back, things would be different forever for me at Hillsdale. and yet I look out on this congregation and some of the teenagers in my youth group when I came in 1985 are now some of the leaders of Hillsdale Baptist Church and for that I praise God. Now let me introduce to you this gift of teaching and if you're even here visiting and yet you know the Lord you should really gravitate to the principles and truths that we're looking at. So here's what the gift of teaching is. It is a supernatural ability, that is meaning something only God can do. It is a supernatural ability to understand, to teach, to explain, and then finally, to practically apply God's word. But in order to do all those things, it must begin with a disciplined study of God's Word. As I look at the school and I have our children's director Matt Mills there. And to think that I have a young man there that every day of his life is dedicated to teach in a Bible class. That is an incredible gift. Not just to Hillsdale, but to the families that have their children here. To know there is a competent young man opening the Bible, and teaching God's Word. And so, in order to be a teacher whom God can use in a great way, you must first be a student of God's Word. One of the things that I enjoyed hearing this year, we had some young men preach at a contest. And Pastor Peterman told me they kept saying, I didn't know it was so hard, so much hard work to prepare something to speak. Well, they were only speaking for, what, 10 to 12 minutes. I weekly speak three times for 45 minutes to as much as an hour each time. So it's a life-driven passion. But it is a calling. And then some other thoughts. What is the gift of teaching? Well, it's more than an ability to master a subject and instruct others. There might be some people here this morning that are teachers and you teach other disciplines, other courses in other places. Well, you're not teaching the Word of God, but you have talents that you've developed to be able to teach. And I certainly appreciate the discipline of a teacher. And then there's another, and I mentioned this in passing earlier. In order to be a teacher, it begins with saving faith. The pulpits of America and the churches in America, sadly, are filled with people teaching God's Word that don't believe God's Word, which they're teaching. And so it's very important that we understand to be a teacher of God's Word, you gotta begin with knowing God. And how do you know him? You know him through Jesus Christ, you understand him through not only the provision of his inspired word, but you also knowing through the discipline of studying and appreciating what he has revealed about himself. Now, 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 15, Paul is writing to Timothy, the young man I'm introducing you to, and he writes to Timothy these words, study. The word there is carrying the meaning of discipline study. I could compare it to preparing for a test. I can remember when I was in college and I knew when I went to history class, invariably the teacher was going to stand, Dr. Pinozian, and he was going to say, take out a half sheet of paper, and here are the questions that you're going to answer." And so he would start putting the questions. So I always knew the pressure, the test is coming. That is the idea of the word discipline. When you go to God's Word, Study in such a way that it is as though you are preparing for a test. By the way, at the end of this hour, you're going to take out a half sheet of paper and I'm going to give you a test. Just kidding, just kidding. Now look at this again, 2 Timothy 2.15. So we read, study to show thyself approved unto God. And then the word of workman, literally a worker or a laborer, that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. I want to give you two spiritual thoughts here. Here's the first one. If you are a spiritually gifted teacher, You are a workman and a straight shooter. Now, I have a tendency to perspire, even the thought of work, and I break out in a sweat. I don't know if any of you are like that, you know? My wife would look at me and say, are you all right? Yeah, I'm just thinking about working, right? A workman, a laborer, a disciplined individual. I don't know what you're like with your job. When I was working out in the public, I would get to work at least 30 minutes early to clock in. Now, you would say, why are you getting there 30 minutes early? Because I got to clock in. I got to get ready to work, right? I prepared myself for being there and doing the job that was my job, what I was laboring to do. And then the rightly dividing means to be a straight shooter. That's the only way I knew how to put it. The words rightly dividing means this. It means to cut a straight line. to plow a straight furrow. So get this, as a pastor, whatever church you go to, as a pastor, the preacher should get up, he should open the word after laboring all week to get ready for this moment to teach. And the second thing he should do is to shoot it straight. That's what it literally means. Another identification of rightly dividing is to go to a rock quarry. Now some of you might have granite countertops or might even have marble in your home. It was cut from a quarry. Rightly divided. It was straight. That is exactly the job of the preacher. The preacher and the teacher of God's Word has the responsibility of cutting straight. And that doesn't always receive applause. that sometimes it receives an oh me. And then I want you to notice too the object. What is the object? And it is the word of truth, the word of truth. Now, another thing, a pastor must be a teacher. The Bible says that he is to be apt to teach, 1 Timothy 3, 2. He is also to be able to teach others. But that's not what the subject this morning is. The subject this morning is this. Not every teacher is called to be a pastor. Therefore, there are teachers in the church who have a holy divine calling and a gift for teaching. There are so many other things I could share there. We already have introduced many of our church family to you this morning. And Johnny Johnson was mentioned. We have a man up in Children's Church right now. He has been teaching children at Hillsdale for 47 years. years. 47 years, it's amazing. Looking around our church family, we don't measure teaching in years, we actually measure it in decades of teaching and dedication. Well, that's enough of the introduction. Let me give you Timothy and the few minutes that I have. This Timothy, we find him in the scriptures, some very interesting things about him. One is, he was from a spiritually divided home. You know, there might be some people here this morning, moms and dads and grandparents, and your home in which you're raising your children and you're sending them to Hillsdale Christian Academy because you want them to be taught and trained in the Bible. But in your home, there might be a division about your faith and what you believe. And so you have your children here, but maybe not at the support of a mom or the support of a dad. I want to encourage you this morning that God can use a godly, Spirit-filled mom or dad if you'll dedicate yourself to training and teaching your children the Scriptures. Here's what we read in Acts 16 about Timothy. Then he, that is Paul, came to Derbe and Lystra, and behold, a certain disciple Timothy is just a teenager, maybe even middle teens, 15 years old perhaps at this time. So Paul comes to this city, Derbe, Lystra, and we read, and there was there a young man named Timotheus, Timothy, the son of a certain woman which was a Jewish. And believed. She was a believer. And then it says, and his father was Greek. So here we have this homily. We don't know how Timothy's mother came to be married to a Greek man. A Gentile. Most likely an idolater. And so we don't know any of the scuttle that might have gone with that. But here's what we do know. She had been raised as a Jewish young lady. and knew the Old Testament scriptures. At some point she had married a Greek, a Gentile man. As far as we know, there's nothing more said about the father. So we may assume he most likely was either an unbeliever or perhaps by this point was even dead. and his influence was removed. Now we read about Timothy in verse 2, that he was well reported of by the brethren. In other words, he had an outstanding testimony among others. You know, mom and dad, it is possible to raise your children, even if your home is not perfect, but to raise them in such a way that they have a testimony among others of being a child who has a great and honorable reputation. That should be your goal. It's our goal as your children are with us. Now, let me give you some other thoughts as we introduce Timothy. He's a third generation believer. Now here's what we learned as you have your Bible in 2 Timothy. That his mother and his grandmother were believers. And they were women of faith. And so here we have this young man named Timothy. He's growing up. He is a believer. He's a disciple, Acts chapter 16. He has been very much influenced by his mother, who was not only a Jew by background, but was also herself a believer. And so Paul, as he's writing 2 Timothy, is writing it from a prison cell in Rome. He will soon be martyred for his faith. So at the end of his life, he's writing this letter that you are reading, and he is sending it to Timothy, a young man. Now we know he came from a divided home. We know that his mother was a Jewish believer married to a Gentile, a Greek, and I'm a believer as far as we know. But we also know that there was a godly grandmother who was part of his life. Consider with me then the verses that you read earlier. Paul's writing to Timothy near the end of his life, and he says, now Timothy, continue. Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and has been assured of, and then watch this statement, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. Well, where did Timothy learn the things that Paul was referring to? And the answer is, he learned it from his mother and he learned it from his grandmother. Let me say to you this morning, as a church and as a school families, the earlier you teach your children the Scriptures, the greater the influence will be on their life. The thought of teaching Timothy as a child literally means, get this, as an infant, as young as an infant. In fact, the Jewish people had the concept that as a mother was breastfeeding her son or daughter, that she was imparting to that child her knowledge of the Scriptures. Timothy's whole life then had been shaped by what he had learned and been taught in his youth. Here we read in verse 15, and that from a child, from the earliest moments of that child's life. Here's what we know at Hillsdale as a school. If we can have children in our school by three years old and four years old, We can impact their life, not just academically, but spiritually in a way that we cannot when they come in the fifth grade or the sixth grade or the seventh grade. Now, I don't want to discourage you, but if you're imparting to children, your children, your sons, your daughters, God's word, and you wait until they are in middle school I can't say that you've waited too late, but I can say the impact of God's Word on their life will not ever be stronger than it is when they are young. Now consider again, and that from a child thou hast known what? The Holy Scriptures. And so what Paul is appealing to Timothy is remember not only what you've learned, but also remember who taught you what you've learned. And so my challenge to every one of us today, whether we're parents or we're grandparents, is that time is of the essence. to impart to your children God's truth. There's never a time better than right now to teach truth. But here's something you need to know. As Paul is appealing to Timothy, he's appealing to him on the basis of the foundation that his mother and his grandmother had laid. But what would have happened if there had been no foundation? I doubt that Timothy would have been receiving this letter. Even though Paul was a mighty man and a great preacher and a great model of a believer, time would have been fleeting for Timothy to be shaped by truth. Let me give you a thought. I'm not going to have you turn, but look at Deuteronomy 6. In Deuteronomy 6, this was the mandate for Jewish people. This is what they were told to do for the moment their children were born. And I read, hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord and there is only one God. And we continue to read, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart. with all of your spirit, your mind, your thoughts, with all of your being, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might, and these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart." So where was the focus of a Jewish mom or dad? It was to do what? It was to impart to their children, not just their mind, but to their very heart, the truths of God's word. Verse seven, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children. And so listen this morning as I have a unique opportunity to have the church and the school families here. Hillsdale Christian Academy can only build on the foundation that you as parents and grandparents lay. Our goal is not to be a reformatory, Our goal is to be an institution that is imparting and instilling in the hearts and minds of children God's truth. And so that is our passion. That is why we're different. We began Hillsdale Christian Academy not with the desire to be in a sports program. Not with a desire of being anything more than an institution spiritually guided and seeking educational excellence. That was our goal and our purpose from the very beginning. And we cannot do it without moms and dads. Well, I need to give you some thoughts and I need to close. So here we go. Children require, these are some concepts, children require more than discipline. They must be taught the scriptures in their early childhood years. Tanya gave her testimony, allow me to give mine. When I was 12 years old, the church that we were attending was no longer opening the Bible, the preacher was no longer teaching from the scriptures, and the Sunday school classes were no longer studying the Bible. And my dad, who did not know the Lord, was very much convicted that his children were not being taught God's Word. And so it had been, the church we were a part of had been our family's church all the way back to the early 1900s. And so here we are in the late 1960s and dad is starting to seek somewhere else for his family to go. My grandfather was buried in the cemetery. The emotions, our families went there. The emotions that my dad had to work through. But he was committed to find a place that he could take his children and God's word would be taught. We ended up in a little independent Baptist church. The pastor there didn't have the education that I've enjoyed. But the one thing that he did do was open the Bible and clearly teach God's Word. I learned for the first time that I was a sinner. And the wages of sin is death. I learned for the first time that it didn't matter what good works I had done, whether I was a church member or I had been christened as a baby, I had gone through the communion. I learned for the first time that none of those things merited God's favor. And it was an eye-opening experience for me. The preacher had to convince me that all the good things that I was doing as a child would never save me. for my salvation was not by works of righteousness. I had to learn that by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Everything that I took confidence in as a young man that would merit God's love and God's favor suddenly became nothing. And I came to realize that my only hope of salvation and forgiveness of sin was in Jesus Christ. The thought of faith, let me talk with you just a moment on that. Somebody says, well, what is faith? Well, for by grace are you saved through faith. But the question has to be asked, faith in what? Faith in who? And I learned that my hope of forgiveness and eternal life was not faith in faith, but faith in Jesus Christ. Who loved me and He died for my sins. Who was buried and He was raised from the dead. That is saving faith. Not what, just what I believe, but in whom I believe. Now, quickly, some thoughts here regarding Timothy. I want you to get the influence of his parents, his mother and his grandmother. Paul urged Timothy to follow the unfeigned faith, literally the sincere faith of his mother and his grandmother. 2 Timothy 1 in verse 5, Paul again writing to Timothy, and he says, Timothy, I remember. As I'm sitting here in this prison cell, I'm calling to remembrance, calling to memory the unfamed faith, the sincerity of your faith that was first in thy grandmother Lois, and then in thy mother Eunice. And I'm persuaded that in thee also. Let me say something to you this morning. Mother and grandmother, even if you don't have the support of a father or a grandfather, your faith, if it is sincere, can change the life of your son and daughter. You have to put your confidence and hope in that. You'd say sometimes, Pastor, I feel like I just keep hitting my head against the wall and my husband or my wife, they just don't support what I'm doing spiritually. But I want you to know that it was what Lois and Eunice modeled and what they taught Timothy that made him the young man that Paul is writing to in the scriptures today. And then a thought that goes with that too, 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 14, continuing the things thou has learned. Hillsdale Christian Academy can only support what you are instilling at home. Without your help, we're gonna be like a vehicle that has tires and one of them's flat. It's inefficient. But with your help, with your faith, with you sincerely practicing truth, it can change the life of a son and daughter. And then Paul appealed to Timothy to remember the power of the scriptures. He was taught as a child. That's why we have a dedicated young man who teaches the Bible. That's why when you come to master clubs or you come to teen group or you come to Sunday school at Hillsdale, we're always teaching the Bible. So all you people do is teach the Bible. That's right. You know why? Because of this verse here. And that from a child that has known the Holy Scriptures, which are able, literally powerful, to make you wise. Wise into what? Wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. And then, closing. Timothy was instructed in the Old Testament Scriptures. You have to understand that. As Lois and Eunice were teaching this young man named Timothy, they didn't have the New Testament. What they were teaching him was the Old Testament. There's a lot of churches today says, you know, there's no reason to teach the Old Testament. But listen, it was by the Old Testament scriptures that Timothy came to understand not only that he was a sinner, but the need of salvation that only God could provide. Looking in the New Testament, we look back and say, and that provision of salvation was in Jesus Christ. And so what was Timothy learning? Timothy was learning that there was a Messiah who was to come who would be born of a virgin. Timothy learned in Isaiah chapter 9 that this Messiah would be wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. So here is the prophecy that he learned as a child that there is a Messiah who is coming, born of a virgin, Who is none other than mighty God? How can this be? And the answer was Jesus Christ. He was taught also in Isaiah chapter 53 that the Messiah that would come would be a suffering Messiah. One that would die. As Paul began to share with this young man the Old Testament Scriptures and how Christ had fulfilled them, it transformed Timothy's life. He went from faith in what God had promised to faith in what God had provided. Salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Paul reminded Timothy then, I think this is my last point on your outline, Paul reminded Timothy that the scriptures are powerful, inspired, and essential. Mom and dad, you can give your children the iPhones, the Android phones, you can give them computers, you can give them iPads, you can even give them the best education that money can buy. But there will be nothing more transforming in their life than if you give them God's Word. The gift of the teacher. There are people that are teachers that do not have the spiritual gift. But the ones who have the spiritual gift of teaching. can open the word and having studied it with clarity and understanding be able to explain and apply God's truth. Timothy had in his life a mother and a grandmother Men that were at the synagogues that every Saturday Timothy would have heard God's Word being read. And it would have always been the Old Testament. And then Paul comes along. Not only now are the mother and grandmother and spiritual men reading God's Word. But then there was Paul. The apostle of Jesus Christ. And Timothy's life was forever changed. I say to my church family this morning, what you have witnessed here today is something we've been watching for 20 years. For the first time, this was Hillsdale Christian Academy Day. We've never had one before. And it was your sacrifices to build this building. and pay for all of the things that go on here that makes possible what you saw today. And I think the sacrifice was worth it all, don't you? But then pray. Pray for moms and dads and grandparents. There's some here this morning, and they really want the best for their children. I know they do. Out of all the places they could have put their children, they put them at Hillsdale Christian Academy. so that they could experience not only the excellence in education, but they could experience their child being taught God's Word every day. Now, I ask you this thought. Lois and Eunice, mother and grandmother, had given to their son Timothy knowledge and he had accepted their faith. What are you giving to your sons and daughters? Are you purposely and intentionally giving them God's truth?