WORD From The Woods
1 Timothy 1:12-20
“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.”
In this passage, Paul is encouraging Timothy to stand firm in his faith and serve Christ with boldness. I really love what you see in Paul’s heart here. He doesn’t elevate himself at all, he only points to the power of God working in and through his life. So many people today who claim to be Christians are so self-focused in their faith. You see this in so much of popular Christian teaching and music, self is the primary subject of the message. Paul never does that! He only points to the power and grace of Christ in his life. He says here that he was formerly a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent, and the foremost of sinners. But, so that God could demonstrate the incredible depths of His mercy and grace, Christ saved this wretched man Paul, and transformed him into one of the greatest Christian men who ever lived! Now we sit here 2000 years later still learning from the life and ministry of Paul. He mentions the prophecies made about Timothy, we see it mentioned again in chapter 4. We don’t have much information about the specifics of these prophecies, but apparently, the elders had laid their hands on Timothy and prayed and given a prophecy about God’s calling on Timothy’s life. This isn’t some kind of hocus pocus hyper spiritual craziness. These were mature Christian leaders who knew Timothy, probably discipled him, and saw God working in his young life. They must have spent much time in prayer and were led by the Holy Spirit to call Timothy into a life of service to Christ. This is one of the most important aspects of discipleship. As we teach and disciple younger brothers and sisters in Christ, we should always be lifting them up in prayer and seeking the Holy Spirit’s leading in how we should guide them as Paul was guiding Timothy. I experienced this in my life as a young man. I was probably 16 or 17, and my pastor had started discipling me, though I didn’t realize it at the time. He invited me to start meeting with him 2-3 times a week to lift weights and study scripture. I’m still learning today how much of an impact those times would have in my life. I believe that he spoke into my life in a prophetic way that was directed by the Holy Spirit, much like what Paul mentions about Timothy. It wasn’t something crazy, he simply said that he believed God was calling me into service and that he wanted me to start preaching. I had never spoken in front of people before, let alone prepared a sermon. In fact, I had told God that I would never do anything like that! But he said, in a couple weeks he had to be gone and he needed someone to preach at our local church and I was going to do it. He didn’t ask me, he just told me! I had no idea at the time what God was preparing me for, but as I look back I realize that was no accident, It was God speaking in and through Pastor Del, to call a young man to step outside of his comfort zone to serve Christ. As you seek to be faithful to Christ in discipleship, whether you are being discipled, or as you disciple others in Christ, I hope this is an encouragement to stand firm in the faith and trust the Holy Spirit that dwells within each of us as true followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-
1 Timothy 1:12-20
“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.”
In this passage, Paul is encouraging Timothy to stand firm in his faith and serve Christ with boldness. I really love what you see in Paul’s heart here. He doesn’t elevate himself at all, he only points to the power of God working in and through his life. So many people today who claim to be Christians are so self-focused in their faith. You see this in so much of popular Christian teaching and music, self is the primary subject of the message. Paul never does that! He only points to the power and grace of Christ in his life. He says here that he was formerly a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent, and the foremost of sinners. But, so that God could demonstrate the incredible depths of His mercy and grace, Christ saved this wretched man Paul, and transformed him into one of the greatest Christian men who ever lived! Now we sit here 2000 years later still learning from the life and ministry of Paul. He mentions the prophecies made about Timothy, we see it mentioned again in chapter 4. We don’t have much information about the specifics of these prophecies, but apparently, the elders had laid their hands on Timothy and prayed and given a prophecy about God’s calling on Timothy’s life. This isn’t some kind of hocus pocus hyper spiritual craziness. These were mature Christian leaders who knew Timothy, probably discipled him, and saw God working in his young life. They must have spent much time in prayer and were led by the Holy Spirit to call Timothy into a life of service to Christ. This is one of the most important aspects of discipleship. As we teach and disciple younger brothers and sisters in Christ, we should always be lifting them up in prayer and seeking the Holy Spirit’s leading in how we should guide them as Paul was guiding Timothy. I experienced this in my life as a young man. I was probably 16 or 17, and my pastor had started discipling me, though I didn’t realize it at the time. He invited me to start meeting with him 2-3 times a week to lift weights and study scripture. I’m still learning today how much of an impact those times would have in my life. I believe that he spoke into my life in a prophetic way that was directed by the Holy Spirit, much like what Paul mentions about Timothy. It wasn’t something crazy, he simply said that he believed God was calling me into service and that he wanted me to start preaching. I had never spoken in front of people before, let alone prepared a sermon. In fact, I had told God that I would never do anything like that! But he said, in a couple weeks he had to be gone and he needed someone to preach at our local church and I was going to do it. He didn’t ask me, he just told me! I had no idea at the time what God was preparing me for, but as I look back I realize that was no accident, It was God speaking in and through Pastor Del, to call a young man to step outside of his comfort zone to serve Christ. As you seek to be faithful to Christ in discipleship, whether you are being discipled, or as you disciple others in Christ, I hope this is an encouragement to stand firm in the faith and trust the Holy Spirit that dwells within each of us as true followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-