Becoming A Man Or Woman Of God

Text: 1 Timothy 6:11-21

Title: Becoming a Man or Woman of God

1 Timothy 6:11-21 11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He will bring about at the proper time-- He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. 17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. 20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called "knowledge "-- 21 which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.

I. The Man or Woman of God Flees from Evil- 11

a. Avoid evil places

b. Avoid evil people

c. Avoid evil teaching

II. The Man or Woman of God Follows Virtue- 11

a. Righteousness & Godliness

b. Faith & Love

c. Perseverance & Gentleness

III. The Man or Woman of God Fights for Faith- 12-16

a. Hold fast to your calling

b. Hold fast to the commandments

c. Hold fast to Christ

IV. The Man or Woman of God Fosters Growth- 17-21

a. Teach Contentment

b. Teach Commitment

c. Teach Consistency

Are you a man or woman of God? In our super-spiritual saturated world we would all probably say, “Yeah, I’m a man or woman of God”. But in the Bible the phrase “man of God” meant something very significant. It was a phrase that was used to describe Moses, a man who was a spokesman for God and wrote the first five books of the Bible. It was used for prophets who spoke for God and warned against sin, guys like Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha.

In the OT the phrase “Man of God” refers to someone that God used to speak prophecy, or pen the Holy Scriptures, or lead the people. It wasn’t used for just anybody. It was

So when Paul calls Timothy a man of God he is saying a lot. He is identifying Timothy as a messenger of the gospel and a spokesman for Jesus Christ.

My prayer is that every single one of us would be worthy to be called a man or a woman of God. All of us who are believers are children of God. We are heirs to the kingdom. But we are not all men and women of God. That takes a step beyond a confession of faith. It takes commitment and calling.

Today we are going to look at what it takes to be a man or women of God. Follow along as I read 1 Timothy 6:11-21…

Step #1, the man or woman of God will flee from evil. The classic biblical story of how to flee from evil is back in Genesis with the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. Potiphar was an Egyptian official in charge of a particular area. He had made Joseph his second in command. Joseph had a great deal of authority and trust. And I guess that Joseph must have been good looking too, because Potiphar’s wife had the hots for him. She kept trying to get him to go to bed with her. But Joseph kept turning her down.

One day she set a trap for him. All the servants were gone and it was just the two of them. She made another pass at him and he left his cloak and ran. This was an evil woman who wanted him to betray the trust of his friend and master. He fled that evil situation, even though I’m sure he could have gotten away with it.

What was his reward for fleeing evil? He got thrown in prison. That’s not fair. He did the right thing, but still got punished.