Take Ten with Pastor Don Podcast

April 3, 2024

(The following is the script for the Take Ten with Pastor Don podcast for April 3, 2024)

Welcome to Take Ten with Pastor Don. I’m Don McGarvey, pastor of the Troy Mills Christian Church in Troy Mills, Iowa.

I love this time of year because of all the sports happening.

We have March Madness, both men and women happening. And to be honest with you, I’m finding some of the women’s games to be more exciting than some of the men’s games.

And baseball has started. It’s a great time of year.

There is one thing that all sports have in common and that is there are “rules of the game.” And if you are going to win, you need to follow those rules.

A few weeks ago, I shared some things called, “Lessons from Uncle Paul.”

He was an avid sports fan. He was a coach of basketball, baseball, and football. I know he played tennis until he was in his 80’s. He beat me at racquetball in his mid-70’s. He also officiated middle school basketball games, again, up into his 80’s.

A mutual friend told me once that Uncle Paul could run faster backwards on the basketball court than most guys half his age could run forward.

Recently I read one of his writings where he wrote from the book of 1 Timothy.

His take on 1 Timothy was that the Apostle Paul, wrote to young Timothy, and gave him “Five Rules of the Game.” And if Timothy wanted to be successful, he would follow these rules.

#1–Behave yourself. (1 Timothy 3:15) This had to do with maintaining godly character and living a lifestyle that always brought honor to the name of God.

Both the Apostle Paul and Uncle Paul would challenge men to stay consistent. Not to be one way at home and another way at work. Or one way on the basketball court and another way at church.

In another letter the Apostle Paul wrote, he talked about how our “talk” should be consistent with our “walk.”

#2–Exercise yourself. (1 Timothy 4:7) This had to do with being spiritually fit. Timothy was challenged to do the things, daily, that would keep him “saved” and keep him from becoming inconsistent in his walk with God.

If you read in 1 Timothy 4:7, the Apostle Paul warns Timothy not to have anything to do with foolish arguments and to stay away from stories that old women would tell.

I’m also sure that exercising himself would have included time studying God’s Word, praying, and serving others with deeds and with words of encouragement.

#3–Give yourself. (1Timothy 4:15) The apostle was giving Timothy a great challenge. And now in 1 Timothy 4:15, Paul challenges Timothy to give himself over to the things of God so much so that others, when they watch him, could see that he was growing in his faith, that he was becoming more consistent in his lifestyle, and they would see something in him that they wanted to be in their life.

That’s a great challenge for us. And yes, folks are watching you. They are listening to you. They want to know if you really do believe all this “God stuff” that comes from going to church and claiming to be a Christ follower.

Whether you’ve ever told your neighbors or not, they’ve figured out that you go to church somewhere.

They see you leave Sunday mornings, every week, at about the same time, and then return home about the same time.

A great question is, “what’s the evidence that you are a Christ follower? Or is there any evidence?”

#4–Keep a close watch. (1 Timothy 4:16). In verse 16 of 1 Timothy 4, the Apostle challenges Timothy to “watch yourself.” He was talking about what he taught and how he acted. You see, Timothy, was a pastor. He was the leader of the church in Ephesus, placed there by the Apostle Paul.

And Paul knew it was important to stay on the right track. Not to be swayed by circumstances, by trials, or by temptations. And, as you already know from your ow life, circumstances change all the time, trials come in a wide variety of sizes, and temptations are lined up, one right after another.

The Apostle Paul warned young Pastor Timothy, that not only did his salvation depend upon him watching himself but so did the salvation of those in his sphere of influence.

The final rule of the game my Uncle Paul wrote about was:

#5–Keep yourself pure. (1 Timothy 5:22).

In 1 Timothy 5:22, the Apostle challenged Pastor Timothy to “keep yourself pure.”

Uncle Paul said, “wine, women and song–if in doubt, run for your life.”

The Apostle Paul wrote some great advice in his letter to the church in Galatia.

Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

The Apostle Paul and my Uncle Paul wanted men of all ages to know that holy living was always a choice. God would never force His will on us. But holy living is the key to success. Unholy living has a price tag though that is much more than any of us want to pay. It’s your choice.

Because I’ve listed several Scriptures in this podcast, I will be posting my notes on my blog. You can get to my blog by going to: donmcgarvey.com

Well, that’s our time for this time. Thanks for listening and thanks for subscribing to our Podcast. In case you haven’t subscribed, please ring the bell.

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Thanks again for listening and God bless you!