Beth Moore "Entrusted" Session 4: Difficult Times, Difficult People

We're nearing the end of our study of "Entrusted" by Beth Moore.  What a journey we've had these last four weeks.  Only two more sessions to finish.

Pre-Session
In the pre-session talk, a question was asked about how to know our calling.  This is Beth's answer:

• Say "yes" to God
• Ask Him to bring you to the place where you know Him
• Start walking it out
• Let Him plan the course
• The Word of God will give you just enough light to know where to take the next step

It was also said that "so many times we think there is one calling and we need to find it.  There isn't one specific thing we're trying to figure out.  It's a matter of being sensitive to where God is leading us."

Session 4

In this session, Beth weaved in bits and pieces of her own story. She shared with us her biggest eye-openers of the last 40 years of ministry.

Our scripture was 2 Timothy 2:20-26.  We focused more on verse 26 in this chapter:

"and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will." ESV

Beth emphasized two thoughts here:

• God has a will for our life
• Satan has a will for our life

"It's not archaic thinking to know that there is a demonic world.  We need to know and believe there is a kingdom of darkness."

Beth strongly instructed us to not leave sound doctrine.  

Biggest Eye-Openers

1. The forces of evil are meaner and abler than most of us ever pictured.

• We had better be ready for attacks.  Second Thessalonians 2:8 says this "God will breathe on the man of lawlessness."  The kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness are not equal, but they are two opposing forces
• The enemy has great wrath.  He wants to touch God's children (Revelation 12:7-12)
• The enemy wants to prove us unfaithful.  The most effective thing the enemy can do is to entangle us to prove us unfaithful.
• The more entangled we are, the less faithful we will be with what has been entrusted to us
• We are not our own worst enemy, but we are our own worst enemy's accomplice
• We can have a sincere and pure devotion to Christ and be completely seduced by the devil
• Regular warfare is hard ball.  Seduction is curve ball.  The enemy is an artist at seduction

2.  This faith-life is a fight from beginning to end.

• The enemy will minimize what Christ has done and then destruct us. But we must "take hold" (I Timothy 6:11-12)
• We must wrestle it out (Acts 14:22) - learn to fight
• Our cloud of witnesses is cheering us on

3. Even amid the evil that beleaguers (surrounds) or befalls us, God is continually and mercifully after our good.

• Luke 22:31-32 was used to reveal to us that Peter had something that needed sifting
• We cannot hide what needs to be sifted in us.  It must be defeated in us
• The thorn stands as a guard over our life

4.  God purposely set up the system where it demands dialogue and dependency to function properly.

• Jesus is after an invasive relationship with us
• He's pushing the envelope of our communication with Him continually
• Complete dependency
• Invasion of God
• We can't walk in the gray zone
• You will be delivered.  Your life is just beginning after going through it

5.  Jesus. Is. The. Best. Part.

Anything entangling us from knowing that Jesus is the prize, you will want to deal with.

Session 5: "Fulfill Your Ministry"

Beth Moore "Entrusted" - Session 3 "Strong in the Grace"

Welcome to session 3 of the Beth Moore "Entrusted" series.  Session 3 was called "Strong in the Grace."

We're halfway through this series with only 3 more sessions to view.

A question was posed to Beth Moore: How do we know what the will of God is for us to do?  Her answer was this: when we're exhausted but energized by what we do.

She encouraged us to stay the course and live lives of faithfulness.  She also discussed in the pre session that we need to have portions of people poured into our lives - teachers, mentors.

Part One
Beth dissected our theme scripture for this session in 2 Timothy 1:6-7:

"Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands.  For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment."

"Fan into Flame" - this is something that is active and requires motivation from us to rev up the flames in our life.

"The gift of God" - it's supernatural. He gives the unction. To do what exactly? To fulfill the divine purpose we have during our earthly stay. 

"You've got to have God to serve God."

Beth described some things that help her to "fan into flame" her gift and spiritual fervor:

• Getting trained
• Scripture
• Prayer
• Music
• Exposing herself to people who are on fire

We are enormously gifted.  Start praying for what that gift is.  Scriptures used:

• I Corinthians 12
• Romans 12
• I Peter 4
• I Corinthians 14:1 - earnestly desire

In using scripture to "fan the flame" or be quickened by the Holy Spirit, we turned to:

• Jeremiah 23:29
• Jeremiah 20:9

Some ways to "fan the flame" in prayer:

• Colossians 4:2
• I Kings 18:44

Expect it.  Watch for it to come.  

Listen to and read the teaching of people "who are a lot of fire" - Hebrews 10:24-25:

"And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works - not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near." - HCSB

Timothy had prophecies made over him about his gifts for ministry.  He was officially publicly recognized when Paul and the elders laid hands on him - I Timothy 4:14.

But in 2 Timothy, this is a private letter, and Paul's personal role in Timothy's commissioning is appropriately mentioned here.  He was officially ordained.

Part Two

Dissecting 2 Timothy 1:7

"For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love and sound judgment."

In this context, "a spirit of fear" means cowardice.

It also can produce a perversion of all three of the components mentioned above in verse 7.

• Perversion of power = powerlessness or abuse of power
• Perversion of love = lust or hate
• Perversion of self-control = a drive to control others

Beth discussed also with us the word "power" in verse 7 as well.  Greek word used is dunamis meaning power, especially achieving power.  

She discussed the word meaning from duna meaning able or capable.  What's the difference?

Able meaning you possibly could do it if you wanted to.

Capable meaning you sieze the power and use it.  It. Is. Mine.

Moving on, Beth gave us different versions of the last word in verse 7:

• ESV - self control
• NIV - self-discipline
• NKJV - sound mind
• HCSB - sound judgment

Self-control used here in the Greek sophronismos - to discipline, correct; sound mind, sober judgment.

We were reminded that we're in a war and we need to have a lot of backbone.  We've not been given a spirit of fear.....

Next: Session 4 "Difficult Times, Difficult People"

Beth Moore "Entrusted" - Session 2: Purpose and Grace

Beth Moore has been using the context of 2 Timothy to teach us about the relationship between Paul and Timothy and to "guard the deposit that was entrusted to you", which is the gospel of Jesus Christ and the giftings given by the Holy Spirit.

In session 2, Beth reminds us of the goal of this series once again:

Mighy servants of God turned loose on this globe to fulfill our callings in the great name of Jesus.

To do:

• What we are called to do
• And what we are put on this planet to live out

Some of our effectiveness will be wrapped up in our connectedness.  In our generational connectedness (elder/younger), we must remember that we who are older must not hover over our "little sisters" so they can't complete their calling.

With this generational connectedness, we must give others the freedom to be who they are and to learn at their own pace.  It also depends on our relationship with younger women how much correcting we can speak into their life.  Relationship is key.

As Paul and Timothy were generationally connected in a healthy relationship, so can we do the same.

Timothy and Paul's relationship merges in I Timothy.  He leaves Timothy in Ephesus to shepherd the church.

We also learned that there are three books in the NT that comprise the "Pastoral Epistles:"

• I Timothy
• 2 Timothy
• Titus

These are the young men that Paul has left in charge to shepherd the early congregration of believers.  Paul is stressing through these letters that "this is the way to pastor this church, the way to raise them up."

In I Timothy 3:14-15, Paul writes to Timothy, who is probably in his early to mid 30s (I Timothy 4:12), about the way a believer ought to behave in "God's household."  In 2 Timothy, she says, more personal language is directed towards Timothy than in I Timothy and Titus.

Paul has been mentor to both Timothy and Titus, nurturing them along.

In I Timothy 1:1-19 notice the phrase "my true child of the faith."  And then in verses 3-19, the key words here are entrusted and entrust.

The word in verse 11 that is used for entrust or entrusted is the same Greek word that translates for us "Faith" (pistis), Beth says.

God is saying this to us:

"Can I trust you with what I've called you to?"

There are two things that have been entrusted to us as was entrusted to Timothy:

• The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
• And the gifting God has given us to share

We are to share the story correctly:

• What He came for
• What He fulfilled
• What He has done for us
• What a difference that makes for us

We must pass this down correctly and soundly.

We personalized this phrase from I Timothy 6:20:

Oh _____ (your name), guard the deposit entrusted to you!

Notice that we do the guarding.

In 2 Timothy 1:12-14, the word entrusted in this passage is a different Greek word than in I Timothy which is "Phylasso" - guard or protect.

Two points Beth gave to us:

1. We don't effectively guard what we don't highly esteem.

2.  If we can't stand to be questioned, we will be too childish to stand guard.

Younger women, you must keep the charge entrusted to you because us older women will be gone.  What is that charge:  to teach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ exactly as it is with the giftings given to you.

The word "charge" means to declare, to tell, to give the charge like a military man would do to those under him.  Nine times in these two letters to Timothy, Paul says to him "I charge you."

Closing:

Until you have the opportunity to do what you are called to do, just do what you are needed to do.

Next: Session 3 "Strong in the Grace"