1 Timothy 1:12-16 (HCSB)
12 I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry— 13 one who was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life.
Yesterday I attended a meeting and we talked about using the gifts that God has given us and empowering others to use these gifts to further His kingdom. During this discussion Paul and Timothy came to mind. This morning I started reading 1 Timothy and felt like the Lord began to really open my eyes and I got excited! As I read it there were many truths that began to sink in. One is that I must fully and completely acknowledge who I was/am. Paul said in verse 15 that this is trustworthy and worth “full acceptance.” We have to be willing to completely accept who we are. In his case, he acknowledged that he was a “blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man.” There is no room for partial acceptance. Either I am or I am not; there is no in between!
Complete acknowledgement must come before healing can occur. Acknowledgment proceeds acceptance, and I have to acknowledge my sins before He can forgive them. I must acknowledge that I am a sinner and that He died for me before I can accept Him as my Lord and Savior. Only after complete acknowledgement are we in a place to receive His mercy. It is essentially the key that unlocks the door.
Paul said in verse 16 “But I receive mercy for this reason, so that...” Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who “would believe” in Him for eternal life. Those who “would believe” really spoke to me. Those who “would believe” are those who don’t yet. My life, everything I have, and all that I will ever endure is for the purpose of reaching the lost. The real value of my life is not in what I accomplish. Its only value is my willingness to allow Christ to shine and reach others through it. “...and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” Matthew 10:39 NIV. You might be wondering where I am going with all of this, and what it has to do with using the gifts that God has given us. The reason is simple: In order to use the gifts we have been given, we first must know why we were given them. In a world where gifts are given “to us... for us”, it completely contradicts what most of us have come to know.
1 Timothy 1:18-19 (HCSB)
18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies previously made about you, so that by them you may strongly engage in battle, 19 having faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and have suffered the shipwreck of their faith.
Paul gives Timothy instruction “so that” he can strongly engage in battle. I love the word “strongly”. Who wants to go weakly into battle? If you are going to go weakly into battle, why even go? What if we (the body of Christ) took this to heart and really started walking it out? I am speaking to myself here too. The reality is, this is not our home and if we are only here for a short time why would we not leave it all on the field? Paul gives Timothy two things that he needs to come to battle with. The first is good faith, and as soon as I read this, Hebrews 11:1 came to mind.
Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
What am I hoping for? In order for me to have faith in something, I have to be hoping for something. If I don’t know where I am “hoping” to go, I will never know if I get there. What has God stirred in your heart and mind? Where is He leading you? What do you dream about? Hold on to those thoughts for a minute. I am going to pause for a second and jump to the second thing Paul mentions. The second prerequisite for engaging in strong battle is good conscience. This is the part that often stings a little bit. What are my motives? Who am I serving? The reality is we are all servants; we are all serving something or someone all the time. Who is benefiting from them? If I am the common benefactor then I need to make some changes. Are my dreams about me or about Him? Are they selfish or selfless?
Gut check time: This last year has been a tough one for me, and there have been many challenges and distractions. Over the course of time, I got distracted. I’m sure we have all been there at one point or another. It’s not that I stopped serving (if you’re breathing, you’re serving), it’s what I was serving. If I let life’s challenges consume my thoughts and mind, I am a servant to the challenge rather than the One who controls it. I believe through all of this He was showing me that if I am going to remain “strongly engaged in battle” I need to continually ask myself where am I walking (faith) and why am I walking there (good conscience). As Paul graciously said, “...Some have rejected these and have suffered the shipwreck of their faith” (1 Timothy 1:19).
Father,
Thank you for your plan and purpose on our lives. Thank You for loving us despite our many imperfections. Thank You for your forgiveness and the opportunity to share your love with others. Lord, help us to become servants with faith and good conscience. Lord, give us vision to fulfill our life’s purpose. Give us the strength we need to strongly engage in the battle of the lost. Help us to become warriors for Your kingdom using the gifts you have given us! Open our eyes to see any distractions that may be present. In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen
12 I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry— 13 one who was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life.
Yesterday I attended a meeting and we talked about using the gifts that God has given us and empowering others to use these gifts to further His kingdom. During this discussion Paul and Timothy came to mind. This morning I started reading 1 Timothy and felt like the Lord began to really open my eyes and I got excited! As I read it there were many truths that began to sink in. One is that I must fully and completely acknowledge who I was/am. Paul said in verse 15 that this is trustworthy and worth “full acceptance.” We have to be willing to completely accept who we are. In his case, he acknowledged that he was a “blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man.” There is no room for partial acceptance. Either I am or I am not; there is no in between!
Complete acknowledgement must come before healing can occur. Acknowledgment proceeds acceptance, and I have to acknowledge my sins before He can forgive them. I must acknowledge that I am a sinner and that He died for me before I can accept Him as my Lord and Savior. Only after complete acknowledgement are we in a place to receive His mercy. It is essentially the key that unlocks the door.
Paul said in verse 16 “But I receive mercy for this reason, so that...” Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who “would believe” in Him for eternal life. Those who “would believe” really spoke to me. Those who “would believe” are those who don’t yet. My life, everything I have, and all that I will ever endure is for the purpose of reaching the lost. The real value of my life is not in what I accomplish. Its only value is my willingness to allow Christ to shine and reach others through it. “...and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” Matthew 10:39 NIV. You might be wondering where I am going with all of this, and what it has to do with using the gifts that God has given us. The reason is simple: In order to use the gifts we have been given, we first must know why we were given them. In a world where gifts are given “to us... for us”, it completely contradicts what most of us have come to know.
1 Timothy 1:18-19 (HCSB)
18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies previously made about you, so that by them you may strongly engage in battle, 19 having faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and have suffered the shipwreck of their faith.
Paul gives Timothy instruction “so that” he can strongly engage in battle. I love the word “strongly”. Who wants to go weakly into battle? If you are going to go weakly into battle, why even go? What if we (the body of Christ) took this to heart and really started walking it out? I am speaking to myself here too. The reality is, this is not our home and if we are only here for a short time why would we not leave it all on the field? Paul gives Timothy two things that he needs to come to battle with. The first is good faith, and as soon as I read this, Hebrews 11:1 came to mind.
Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
What am I hoping for? In order for me to have faith in something, I have to be hoping for something. If I don’t know where I am “hoping” to go, I will never know if I get there. What has God stirred in your heart and mind? Where is He leading you? What do you dream about? Hold on to those thoughts for a minute. I am going to pause for a second and jump to the second thing Paul mentions. The second prerequisite for engaging in strong battle is good conscience. This is the part that often stings a little bit. What are my motives? Who am I serving? The reality is we are all servants; we are all serving something or someone all the time. Who is benefiting from them? If I am the common benefactor then I need to make some changes. Are my dreams about me or about Him? Are they selfish or selfless?
Gut check time: This last year has been a tough one for me, and there have been many challenges and distractions. Over the course of time, I got distracted. I’m sure we have all been there at one point or another. It’s not that I stopped serving (if you’re breathing, you’re serving), it’s what I was serving. If I let life’s challenges consume my thoughts and mind, I am a servant to the challenge rather than the One who controls it. I believe through all of this He was showing me that if I am going to remain “strongly engaged in battle” I need to continually ask myself where am I walking (faith) and why am I walking there (good conscience). As Paul graciously said, “...Some have rejected these and have suffered the shipwreck of their faith” (1 Timothy 1:19).
Father,
Thank you for your plan and purpose on our lives. Thank You for loving us despite our many imperfections. Thank You for your forgiveness and the opportunity to share your love with others. Lord, help us to become servants with faith and good conscience. Lord, give us vision to fulfill our life’s purpose. Give us the strength we need to strongly engage in the battle of the lost. Help us to become warriors for Your kingdom using the gifts you have given us! Open our eyes to see any distractions that may be present. In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen