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.” 2 Timothy 2:2
A Definition
A good definition for “train” is something that is drawn behind (noun) or to draw something behind (verb). Isaiah saw the LORD’s train (noun) as it filled the Temple. What a sight that must have been! Solomon exhorts his readers to train (verb) up a child in the right way; he failed miserably. My point in defining and making a connection between the noun “train” and the verb “train” is to help illustrate our job as missionaries.
A Determination
First of all, we understand that discipleship, which Paul is encouraging in the selected text, is more than the mere regurgitation of certain truths. It is mentoring; it is training. A train would cease to be a train if the railroad cars were not connected and following the engine.
Our Lord illustrates this better than anyone else. He spent three and half years with a train of men dogging His every step. He ate with them, slept with them, ministered with them, and rested with them. The only time he was not training them was when He slipped away to spend time with His Father so that He could train most effectively. Every second of every day He poured Himself into the lives of his disciples until the day of His death. We are aware of the results. We must determine to pour our lives into those that the Lord has entrusted to us.
A Destination
Secondly, a train has a certain destination, a goal. It is locked into a specific course, and if it ever derails it’s disastrous. The Lord knew what He was doing in the life of every individual disciple. Why did He ask Phillip where the nearest bread store was? Why did He send Peter to get a coin from a fishes mouth? Why did He only take three of His disciples up the Mount of Transfiguration? He was training each man specifically and individually. He was preparing them each to fulfill a definite purpose that was prepared for them before the foundation of the earth was ever laid. Zig Ziglar said, “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” He is right!
I am not advocating for anyone to play the role of the Holy Spirit in another persons life, BUT I believe that a Spirit filled missionary can and should have the mind of Christ as it is revealed by Christ to understand what God is doing in the lives of his or her faithful men and women. Many times a Spirit filled missionary knows that God is calling a person to preach or to be a missionary before that person ever knows it. He then mentors that person to that end. John 15:15 “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”
There is no other way to reach our people for Christ. We must not rely on money and materials, or methods, or even a mega-church. There is no easy way. We must be diligent. We must make a commitment to pour our lives into our faithful men and women 24/7. Then perhaps you will hear this, “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also…”