The Lion tamer

2 Timothy 1-4 "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."

We find in 2 Timothy that Christians are called to be soldiers of Jesus Christ. Our enemy is not someone we can see ( flesh and blood) but he is still very real and always present. His name is Satan and 1 Peter calls him a lion who seeks to devour us. His plan for us is our ultimate doom and eventual destruction. God will rid us of Satan at some point, but until then we must learn how to fight.

1.Lion tamers train in order to be a good soldier.

2 Timothy 2:2 we see that Timothy had been trained by hearing, watching and learning from Paul. Players who don’t practice  do terrible in the game. Church is the training gym for Christians. Christians who don’t show up to church and learn how to use their weapon ( the sword of the Spirit- Word of God) will do terrible in the fight against the lion. Jesus used the scripture to fight the temptations of Satan.

2.Lion tamers are tough

2 Timothy 2:3 tells the soldier to endure hardness. You cant do this unless you develop toughness. Too many young people in our world and churches today are not tough. They are thin-skinned, get offended easily and get upset about little things. This is not toughness. The lion will not have mercy. Its only desire is to devour you.

3.Lion tamers take orders from their authorities.

The lion uses rebellion and pride in your heart to separate you from the trainers that are making you better. Respond correctly to your training. Don’t get upset or bitter. let the training toughen you up.

4.Lion tamers are tenacious.

Tenacity describes someone who is relentless in pursuing the win. they keep at it day after day. They keep training. they keep taking orders and listening. They wake up the next day and the next and just keep repeating it every-time. the hardest part about life is just to keep doing the right thing day after day. Don’t let anything keep you from quitting. Be tough. Stay in training. Learn what it takes to fight off the lions in your life.

Pastor Brad Braudis
Bible Baptist Church | Radcliff Ky