1 Timothy 1
1 Timothy 1:1-20 (NKJV)
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,
2 To Timothy, a true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.
5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,
6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk,
7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.
8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully,
9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,
11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.
12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,
13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
16 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
18 This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,
19 having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,
20 of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
There is powerful truth in the Word that will bring deliverance and freedom. Attempted expansion on the way found there is much more detrimental than beneficial, especially when it is turning away from the purpose of love that is to be found in the law, the revealing those things that are so objectionable to the heart of God, while also magnifying His faithfulness that makes us fit to be with Him in spite of our own unrighteousness. The desire to instruct and be seen as elevated in understanding is to miss the purpose of gaining revelation, which is only to impart freedom and deliverance in the sharing of grace. There is a need for fellowship and conversation, but when it comes to the things of God, there need not be any solutions found apart from the truth found in the heart of God, by the Spirit, and in the Word. Any revelation acted upon should be founded in that truth and established on the foundation of the Word. For each of us, there has been given a great mission in the acquisition of our own salvation and deliverance. It is to emulate the Master in offering everything about our lives to the service of others in love. It is not what we know and our ability to present that knowledge that secures us in the presence of the Father for eternity, but rather bearing the fruit of righteousness the Blood purchased access to.
Fight the good fight, keep the faith. It’s a verse that we have heard so many times and use often, but I had not realized that it was connected to a remembrance of what others had imparted into Timothy in word that Paul was exhorting him to go back to to be able to keep going.
There are going to be times we want to quit. Whether it is a job or place or a relationship, there will come a time that you will want to quit and go to something or someone else. That’s just the nature of things, but when you have a word from God on where you should be, you have to go back to that word when times get tough!
When I taught a couple weeks ago, I talked about my job situation. It’s a job I love when we are busy and people are coming in and out, but when we are slow, I nearly hate it. It is boring and mundane and completely un-mentally stimulating when nothing is happening.
A few weeks ago, I was at my wits end with it, I was completely in a bad mental place from boredom and a rough day with a manager put me pretty close to the edge of losing it. Hehe, I’m human! I ended up applying for quite a few jobs, and even interviewed.
I have always been offered every job I’ve interviewed for, but this time, I did not get this job that I was pretty sure was already mine. It wrecked me. I took it to God amongst many tears, and He told me that He had put me at my job, and to stop trying to leave. That almost made me annoyed to be honest! Couldn’t He see that I was miserable? Didn’t He know what was going on? Aren’t I so much more than occupying a chair for 10 hours? I didn’t like it, but I would be obedient.
I decided to change my perspective about my current job and the amount of free time I had at it. With that came a change of attitude and a new, sometimes daily, going back to what God had said to me about Him placing me there.
Within a couple weeks after my wits end experience and the new word from God, I had an opportunity arise at my job that is a game changer. It is the answer to the breakthrough that I’ve been praying for for quite some time.
It took me seeking God, hearing a word from Him and the continually reminding myself of what He said to be able to endure. This is exactly what Paul is talking about to Timothy! When things get rough, go back to the word, the promise, the prophecy! Go back to what God said, dig your heels in and don’t let go!