BLESSINGS
1Ti 4:7 But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.
1Ti 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
1Ti 4:9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.
1Ti 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
1Ti 4:11 These things command and teach.
1Ti 4:12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
1Ti 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
1Ti 4:14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.
1Ti 4:15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
-To understand this expression it is necessary to know that the apostle alludes here to the gymnastic exercises among the Greeks, which were intended as a preparation for, their contests at the public games. They did this in order to obtain a corruptible or fading crown, i. e, a chaplet of leaves, which was the reward of those who conquered in those games; Timothy was to exercise himself unto godliness, that he might be prepared for the kingdom of heaven, and there receive a crown that fadeth not away
Exercise train
Godliness – reverent devout holy
Profitable- helpful or serviceable, that is, advantageous ophellō (to heap up, that is, accumulate or benefit); gain:
The way some people talk, living for God doesn't pay off in this life.
But notice that it said, "...godliness is profitable... having promise
of the life that NOW IS..." (v.8). That's present tense.
You see, too many times Christians think only about being blessed in
the life that is to come. They'll say things like, "Well, when we all
get to Heaven...... and thank God, that will be a great day. But these
folks seem to imply that the promises of God are all for over there in
the next life.
I CORINTHIANS 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
That's a little bit blind to us because that word "husbandry" doesn't
mean so much to us today. But one modern translation reads, "ye are
God's garden." Another translation said, "ye are God's farm."
Well, you expect a farm to produce, don't you! You expect a garden to
produce! You expect it to be profitable. There wouldn't be an profit
in planting a garden or tilling and working a farm if it didn't produce
anything.
Friends, godliness is not a hindrance to success. Godliness is exactly
the opposite. It's profitable unto all things!
First, godliness can ensure protection in your life.
If you are God's - if you belong to Him - then you ought to expect Him
to take care of you. That doesn't mean you're to act foolish and still
expect God to protect you. But if you are His and you're living for
Him, you can rely on His keeping power, knowing godliness always pays
off. It will ensure divine protection.
Thank God, if you're a Christian, you are His; you belong to Him. The
Apostle Paul said to the Church at Corinth, "What? know ye not that
your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye
have of God, and ye are not your own?" (I Cor. 6:19).
So, you see, you don't belong to yourself; you're not your own. You've
been bought with a price, and you belong to God (I Cor. 6:20). Since
you're not your own, you ought to endeavor to please the One who owns
you - the One to whom you belong! And as you live for Him, you ought
to expect Him to take care of you.
The Lord didn't say the going was always going to be smooth. In fact,
He said, "MANY are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord
delivereth him out of them all' (Ps. 34:19). When you serve God, He
delivers you "out of them all"!
Now that word "afflictions" is translated from the Hebrew, and it also
means troubles and trials. In other words, we could read Psalm 34:19,
"Many are the troubles and trials of the righteous, but the Lord
delivers him out of them all."
In Psalm 91 God said, "He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I
will be with him IN TROUBLE; I will deliver him, and honour him" (Ps.
91:15). Godliness is profitable! God protects His people who call
upon Him in trouble.
Religion says that you cannot be holy and prosperous but that kind of thinking is ridiculous. No one has more gold than God, and yet He is holy. He is separated from the world and very spiritual. According to Haggai 2:8 all the gold and silver belong to Him. Gold cannot make you holy or unholy
The Bible tells us that when Christ ascended to heaven, He took up the
ministry of high Priest to all who come to Him by faith....... this man
[Jesus], because he continueth ever,-hath an unchangeable priesthood"
(Hebrews 7:24).
Two Priesthood's Are Mentioned in the old Testament-
the Aaronic Priesthood and the Melchizedek Priesthood.
We know that Aaron, the high priest, was from the tribe of Levi. But
Melchizedek - introduced to us in Genesis 14:18-19 was a most
mysterious figure. Biblical scholars know very little about him, and
there has been a lot of conjecture about who he was. Here is the
setting into which the high priest Melchizedek is introduced:
Genesis tells us that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, where Abram's
nephew Lot lived, were attacked by a confederated army made up of
several kingdoms. This army had plundered the cities' food and other
supplies and taken captive many of the inhabitants, including Lot and
his family.
Abram took a small army of 318 men and defeated this plundering confederation: "And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people"
Here is the picture: Abram had just won an incredible victory, bringing
down this whole confederated army. Now he was returning home from
battle. On the way he met the high priest, Melchizedek, King of Salem,
who came out to meet Abram "...and brought forth bread and wine ..."
Hebrews tells us this about the high priest: "For this Melchizedec,
king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning
from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; to whom also Abraham
gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of
righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of
peace; without father, without mother, without descent, having neither
beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God;
abideth a priest continually" (Hebrews 7:1-3).
He has no beginning or end - and that means he would have had to be God! As the writer of Hebrews tells us, Melchizedek's name means "King of Righteousness," and his title, "King of Salem," means "King of Peace."
The phrase "without father or mother" means simply that Melchizedek had
no lineage of priesthood, as did the Levitical priesthood. "Without descent" means "without a priestly genealogy." He was not of a "generations of priests," as Aaron was. Rather, he was divinely appointed a priest by God.
The writer of Hebrews also tells us that Melchizedek was "made like
unto the Son of God" - meaning, he was like Jesus in that he had no
priestly genealogy: "...our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe
Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood" (verse 14).
Jesus' father, Joseph, was not a priest; he had no genealogical line
out of Judah, from which the Levitical priests descended. So we see
here that Melchizedek was a foreshadowing of Jesus' priesthood. This
earthly high priest was meant as a type of our High Priest in glory -
Jesus, King of righteousness and King of peace!
Abram paid tithes to Melchizedek from all the bounty he had taken from
the defeated armies. Scripture tells us that, in turn, the high priest
blessed him: "And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the
most high God..." (Genesis 14:19).
Here is a beautiful picture of the very ministry of Jesus our High
Priest. You see, it was the duty and privilege of the high priest to
come forth from the Holy of Holies and bless the people. The Lord
instructed Moses:
"Speak unto Aaron and his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the
children of Israel, saying unto them, The Lord bless thee, and keep
thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto
thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace"
(Numbers 6:23-26). In other words: After the high priest takes the
blood into the Holy of Holies, sprinkles it on the mercy seat and waves
the incense, then he is to come out, face the people and bless them.
This was the final act in the sequence of the high priest's ministry.
He was to emerge from the Holy of Holies, raise his hands and bless the
people with the blessing God gave him!
It is important to understand that these blessings Jesus bestows on us
are not temporal but spiritual: "Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in
heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).
In the Old Testament, the high priest's blessings were temporal. God
promised to bless crops, livestock, cities and all the people's
activities. It was all physical, with no spiritual dimension, such as
we have today - because the veil had not yet been rent in two. Yet
because we walk in a spiritual realm today, the blessings we receive
are spiritual in nature.
You may ask, "Doesn't God bless us with outward, physical blessings?"
Yes, at times God does bless us with material things - but only as they
produce a spiritual outcome! Any material blessings that draw our
heart away from Jesus can quickly be withdrawn.
Sadly, many believers think of God's blessings only in terms of
material things. They pray, "Lord, lay Your blessings on me. Load me
down with Your benefits!" Yet, inwardly they think, "I want a newer
car, a nicer apartment, better furniture, more money in the bank."
The Lord does take good care of His children. He told us to seek Him
first, and that all our necessities for living would be provided.
When the Old Testament priest spoke this blessing to the people, it was
not just a wish for them. He didn't say, "I wish you peace. I wish
the Lord to shine His face upon you..." No - the blessing was backed by
the full power of God!
You Must Understand ThatOur Lord Jesus Delights in Blessing His People!
Many Christians think God delights only in chastising and correcting
us. No! The Bible tells us He takes no pleasure in disciplining us.
On the contrary, Jesus says, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your
Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).
No preacher, apostle, prophet or shepherd in history ever blessed people more than Jesus did. He pronounced blessings everywhere He turned!
Consider the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. Jesus said, "Blessed are
the poor in spirit. Blessed are you who mourn. Blessed are the meek.
Blessed are you if you hunger and thirst after righteousness. Blessed
are the merciful, the peacemakers, the persecuted, the reviled." Everywhere Jesus turned He pronounced, "Blessed . blessed ...blessed..."
He took children in His arms and blessed them. He blessed those who
held feasts for the poor, crippled, lame and blind: ".thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just" (14:14). he lifted up his hands, and blessed them"
Jesus' last words before He left His disciples were words of blessing. Luke says Christ "...opened their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures" (Luke 24:45) - and then "...he blessed them..." (verse 5 1).
You earthly fathers know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more does your heavenly Father want to bless you?" (see Matthew 7:11).Paul writes: "So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful
Abraham" (Galatians 3:9). What is this blessing of Abraham?
James tells us, "... Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him
for righteousness..." (James 2:23). Abraham believed that he was in
right standing with God, even though he was still being sanctified.
Beloved, this is the blessing of Abraham - the knowledge that we are
justified by faith! "That the blessing of Abraham might come on the
Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the
Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:14).
(Genesis 15:1). This verse means, "After Abram looked around fearfully at the enemies surrounding him ... after he felt dejected, that he hadn't made any progress ... the Word of the Lord came to him......
The first thing God told Abram was, "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield,
and thy exceeding great reward" (same verse). In this single verse, God
has given us the secret to the greatest blessing any believer could
ever have! You see, the first thing our High Priest Jesus says to us
when He comes out to us from the Holy of Holies is, "Don't be afraid!"
He sees our fearful condition and assures us, "No devil or demon in
hell can touch you. You are under My blood - and you are not to fear!"
