We're Talkin' about Practice

“Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress” (1Tim 4:15).

“But we’re talkin’ about practice. What are we talkin’ about? Practice? We’re talkin’ about practice, man. We’re talkin’ about practice. We’re talkin’ about practice.” These are the infamous words of Allen Iverson back in 2001. So A.I. missed a few practices. Not a problem for him. It’s the game that matters. I mean, we’re talkin’ about practice.

Two thousand years before the Answer started breaking ankles with his killer crossover, the Apostle Paul was talkin’ about practice. He writes to Timothy, “Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, os that all may see your progress” (v15). Don’t just talk about the Gospel. Don’t just think about His Good News. Lace up your sneakers and live it out. Stop flapping your gums and do it. I mean, we’re talkin’ about practice.

This is a big deal for the young pastor and his fellow Ephesian followers of Jesus. A team of false teachers who’ve talked a big game but lived very little of it have distracted folks from the true message of the Gospel. They’ve been selling a spiritual snake oil that’s really nothing more than demon doctrine (1Tim 4:1-2). With Paul on divine assignment in Macedonia, he’s turned to his protege Timothy to get the church of Ephesus back on track (1Tim 1:3-7). His assignment is clear. Fill the leadership void with godly men and women of integrity (1Tim 3:1-12). Return to the message of God’s goodness and hit the gym to get CrossFit (1Tim 3:14-16; 4:3-10).

But Paul makes it clear that Tim is to get in top spiritual shape for a reason. He’s not just lifting to get ripped. He’s training himself to “practice these things, immerse yourself in them” (v15). Spiritual disciplines such as Bible study and praying are great…but ONLY when they have an impact on how you live. Otherwise it’s a total waste of time. Nobody’s impressed with your six-pack biblical abs if you’re living just like the rest of the world. You get yourself in Gospel shape to be the living Gospel to your family, your friends, your neighbors, and your coworkers. 

When the apostle tells Pastor Tim to “practice these things” (v15), he uses the Greek word meletao. It actually means a couple of different ideas. On one hand, it describes focusing with intensity or giving your full and total attention to something. But it also means to train, exercise, and rehearse carefully and precisely. In ancient Greek literature, writers use this term to paint a picture of public speakers diligently practicing their speeches in private first. I mean, we’re talkin’ about practice.

While most translators of the New Testament can’t really seem to agree on the exact words, they all agree with what meleato means. 

“Be diligent in these matters” (NIV).

“Take pains with these things” (NASB).

“Put these things into practice” (NRS).

“Give your complete attention to these matters” (NLT).

“Practice and cultivate and meditate upon these duties” (AMP).

“Practice these things” (GNT).

“Cultivate these things” (The Message).

Do these things with focus on detail. Go out of your way to implement them properly. Don’t just think about them but do them. Don’t just do them mindlessly, understand their meaning. Know why you do what you do. Let your actions be the outward response to the work God’s doing inwardly. 

Paul’s command to Timothy is in the present tense. What’s the big deal about that? The pastor isn’t just to do them once and move on. You can just as easily translate this as “keep on practicing these things.” Willing and worshipful obedience to God’s commands is not a one-and-done kinda thing. It’s not a checklist you accomplish and then toss in the trash. Remember, following Jesus isn’t a phase or something you knock out during at church camp when you’re thirteen. We keep on keepin’ on. We “keep on practicing these things.”

This explains we get our idea of practicing law or medicine. I’ve always been uncomfortable with putting my health in the hands of someone who’s still working things out by practicing. It’s one thing to get your hair cut at the barber college. The original meaning of our English word “practice” back in the 1400s was “to pursue or be continually engaged in a profession, skill or craft.” Do I treat my obedience to Christ like a craft? Am I honing my skills and doing everything I can to get better at doing what He tells me? I mean, we’re talkin’ about practice.

So just what exactly is Tim to practice? What are “these things” (v15)? Chances are they’re closely related his other mentions of “these things” we see here in this section of the letter. Paul is “writing these things” so folks will know how to live as members of God’s family (1Tim 3:14). If Tim will “put these things before the brothers,” he’s serving Jesus well (1Tim 4:6) The apostle encourages the young pastor to “command and teach these things” concerning the Gospel (1Tim 4:11).

Specifically, “these things” include focusing on the Mega Messiah Mystery which God revealed as our rescue in Jesus (1Tim 3:16). He saves us because we can’t save ourselves! Receive gratefully and enjoy fully God’s creation as a wonderfully good gift (1Tim 4:3-5). Pursue a godliness never goes out of style, either in this life or the one to come (1Tim 4:8). Leave it all on the field for others because Jesus gave everything He had for us (1Tim 4:10). Proclaim and explain the Gospel and apply it to my everyday life (1Tim 4:13). 

Paul tells us that the best way to devote yourself to practicing these things is to totally “immerse yourself in them” (v15). This phrase in the original Greek literally means “in these things be.” If you truly want to experience the love and grace of Jesus, get out of the kiddie pool dive into the deep end of the Gospel. It’s scary when you’re feet don’t touch the bottom. I have to put my total and complete trust in Christ when I’m up to my eyeballs. Stop splashing around where it’s shallow. Go out past the ropes. 

Remember when Jesus invited a fisherman named Simon head for deeper water (Lk 5:4)? Another time, our Savior asked this same disciple to take a stroll on the stormy Sea of Galilee (Mt 14:28-29). I love the lyrics to Hillsong United’s song “Oceans.” “Your grace abounds in deepest waters.” Do you hear Him? He’s urging you and me to get in over heads in our trust of Him. Go deep. Get in over your head. Immerse yourself. In these things be

My continual obedience and immersion in God’s ways aren’t just for me. According to the apostle, you do this “so that all may see your progress” (v15). He uses a Greek word (Gr. prokope) which describes advancement, forward movement, making headway, or improvement. It literally means a “cutting ahead” or “beating forward.” Picture an explorer busting his tail to blaze a trail. Cutting through the jungle with a machete going somewhere they’ve never been before. It’s very hard work.

In the same way, progress in our walk with Jesus can be hard. I admit that there are times when my flesh wants to turn back instead of following my Savior in obedience. I don’t want to give up my incredibly comfortable, me-centered life. But God has SO much more for me as He calls me to a life of godliness. It’s in that journey of submission to His ways that I actually find His best for me, what Jesus calls the abundant and overflowing life (Jn 10:10). He gives us His strength to accomplish what we could never do on our own (Jn 15:5). As a matter of fact, His power surges best when we admit our weakness (2Cor 12:9-10).

Seeing what God can do in your life gives those around you a front row seat to who He is and what He can do. It’s important “that all may see your progress” (v15). This reinforces Paul’s words just a couple of verses back to “set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1Tim 4:12). The best leaders are the best followers. Godly leaders show what obedience to the Lord looks like. The apostle told his friends in Corinth that if they had any doubt following Jesus to follow him (1Cor 11:1). Do you have folks you can follow when you don’t know what to do? And don’t doubt your impact on the people around you. Whether you realize or not, others are watching your progress.

Paul’s talkin’ about practice. He's talking about the continual and willing devotion to Jesus and His commands. Diving into the deep end of the Gospel pool. Others are watching what God is doing in my life as I follow Christ. I mean, we’re talkin’ about practice.

Whoa! Halfway There!!

“Whoa! Halfway there!!” 

About 2,500 years before Bon Jovi and the boys sang about Tommy busting his butt on the docks, Nehemiah and the Israelites hit the halfway point rebuilding the walls. Despite the cat calls and smack talk from knuckleheads like Sanballat and Tobiah, the work goes on and the walls go up. But this is so much more than sheer determination in the face of opposition. The perseverance of the people is an answer to prayer. Nehemiah steps up in leadership when he drops to his knees and prays to God about the situation. The LORD responds to Nehemiah’s prayer by putting the Hebrews to work. And before you know it, they’ve hit the midway point of the project. 

“Whoa! Halfway there!! Whoa! An answer to the prayer!!”

Let’s rewind just a bit and see how we got here. The glory of Jerusalem seems like a distant memory. Under the leadership of the wisest man in the world, King Solomon, this city was once one of THE destinations in the ancient Near East. But the disobedience and rebellion of God’s chosen people against His goodness eventually led the LORD to send Nebuchadnezzar to sack the city and drag the Jews back to Babylon into captivity. For 70 years, the Hebrews serve as slaves almost 1,000 miles away from the Promised Land. Suddenly, God begins working through a series of pagan Persian kings to bring them back home. Yahweh enlists various men to lead a three different expeditions. First, Zerubbabel. Second, Ezra. Third, Nehemiah. 

Just a few months ago, our man Nehemiah was pulling his shift as King Artaxerxes’ cupbearer back at the winter palace in Susa (Neh 1:1, 11). His brother breaks the news to him about the broken walls of Jerusalem and it breaks his heart (Neh 1:2-3). The word of the crisis brings Nehemiah to his knees in prayer (Neh 1:4-11). Little does he know what God is about to orchestrate. Before he can pop the cork on the next bottle of Merlot for his royal highness, this humble wine steward is leading an expedition to rebuild the once proud city on a hill (Neh 2:1-8, 11). After a bit of quick midnight recon (Neh 2:12-16), Nehemiah pitches the project to the city leaders of Jerusalem and tells them that the king and God are behind the project (Neh 2:17-18). 

Before we start to think everything is rainbows and unicorns, we need to realize that this is the real world. There is opposition. There is massive pushback on the project from a group of local thugs named Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem (Neh 2:10, 19-20). But under Nehemiah’s encouragement and leadership, the people get busy. This is a total team effort (Neh 3:1-32). Sanaballat and the boys amp up their bullying tactics even more (Neh 4:1-3). Nehemiah prays even more (Neh 4:4-5). 

How does God respond to this latest prayer by the leader of the project? Does His angel army rumble over the horizon to the rescue? Do the walls miraculously build themselves overnight? Nope. Something even more unexpected happens. “So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work” (v6). Nehemiah and the Hebrew work crew buckle down and start building up. Despite the trash talk and intimidation of their enemies, the Israelites trust in God’s provision and protection on this project. As part of his prayer, Nehemiah makes the huge point that Sanballat’s thugs weren’t just a pain to the people. “They have provoked You to anger in the presence of the builders” (Neh 4:5). They were standing in blatant opposition of God. Just in case you were wondering, this is NOT a good place to be. You will lose. Every. Single. Time. Nehemiah not only leads the people in the project but in the demonstration of faith as well. He constantly reminds everyone that God has a firm grip on what’s going on (Neh 2:8, 18). So they built the wall. A God-given passion combined with a prayer-driven action is powerful combo.

At this point, we get a status report on the project. “And all the wall was joined together to half its height” (v6). Back in chapter 3, Nehemiah walked us around the job site to show how everybody is working at the same time. The stones are connecting. The holes are closing. The people are working. This is all hands on deck. In some ways, this is a picture of how things should work in the local church. Everybody needs to be a part. Just as the wall has joined together, the body of Christ should join together. We all need to get off our blessed assurance and serve. It’s not what Jesus from you. It’s what He wants FOR you. There is a huge blessing when we serve together. There is a huge blessing when we build the walls.

And the people are making incredible progress. Before you know it, the city wall rises “to half its height” (v6). While the author doesn’t pull out his tape measure and tell us just how high this is, archaeologist Sir Charles Warren has found evidence that the ancient walls of Jerusalem during the days of Nehemiah were about 200 feet tall. That certainly is awesome headway, but they are far from finished. The city is still vulnerable and still in danger. Remember, it wasn’t that long ago that the walls at full height failed to keep out the Babylonian army. But HUGE progress has been made due to God’s hand, the people’s faith, and Nehemiah’s leadership. They’re halfway there. Cue Bon Jovi.

Nehemiah not only gives us a status report on the walls, but the people as well. “For the people had a mind to work” (v6). A closer look at the original text of this little sentence tells us a lot. He uses a Hebrew word for “work” (Heb. ‘asah) that can be translated as to do, make, produce, and maintain. It carries the powerful idea of perseverance and powering through. Again, we see God answering Nehemiah’s prayer by giving the people the passion to persevere. The LORD sustains the drive in the hearts and minds of the Israelites to keep going. He gives them the motivation to push through. To keep on keeping on. We see that in The Message’s take on verse 6. “We kept at it, repairing and rebuilding the wall” (v6 The Message).

Notice how Nehemiah takes absolutely no credit for such fast work by the people. He prays to God and celebrates the crew. The insults and intimidation of knuckleheads like Sanballat and Tobia have no effect on the Israelites. If anything, they may have worked even harder! A huge part of God’s blessing on rebuilding the walls is that He gave His people a desire and passion to do the work. They have the mind to do it. They have the mind to make it. They have the mind to keep it going. A God-given passion combined with a prayer-driven action is powerful combo. 

Cue Bon Jovi.

“Whoa! Halfway there!! Whoa! An answer to the prayer!!”