DYNAMICS That EFFECT CHRISTIAN SERVICE-II—1Timothy 1:18-20
Attention:
Linda & Jill were chatting over coffee. "I've been experiencing a strange & painful side effect from coffee. I'm fine when I drink it black, but if I use cream, or sugar, or both, I get a stabbing pain in one eye, said Linda."
Linda then took a sip of her coffee. "Ow!" she cried. "There it goes again!"
"Linda, take the spoon out of the cup!" replied Jill.
Certain dynamics were present as Linda drank her coffee with cream or sugar that effected her eye!
Likewise there are Dynamics that Effect our Christian Service.
Need:
Dynamics effecting Christian service
Paul warned Timothy of the dynamics required to fulfill his charge.
Believers must be aware of the dynamics surrounding the fulfillment of their Christian service.
What are some dynamics effecting/pertinent to/ Christian service?
We looked at only 1 of these the last time we were in 1Timothy, & found...
Christian service must embrace the...
1. TRAINING Dynamic(:18a)
Today we’ll continue in that vein & look at more dynamics that must be embraced in our Christian service.
2—Christian service must embrace the...
DECLARATIVE Dynamic(18b)
Explanation: (18b)
: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,”
Paul makes reference to the “prophecies” which had been voiced earlier regarding Timothy’s calling to apostolic/pastoral ministry.
What exactly were the prophecies? They obviously entailed Timothy’s calling into itinerant ministry(1:2)—preaching(2Tim. 4:2)/ministerial/evangelical(2Tim. 4:5)/pastoral.
No one states a true “prophecy” apart from God. Some unexpected people spout prophecy—Balaam the hireling prophet, Cyrus king of Persia, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, etc. God used them due to their position but their statements were not their own. We can’t arrive at God’s declarative truth by our inherent human wisdom.
1Cor. 1:19-21—“For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.”
Do we become what others have stated?—Allowing others to influence us in such profound ways that they outshine God’s will.
OR
Do we rather become what God has stated?!— Allowing God’s will(s) to influence us in such profound ways that they outshine worldly wills.
Jn. 1:12-13—“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Argumentation:
Our personally received ‘prophesies’ are partially granted by means of the recognitions of others regarding our...
...giftedness...destiny...service...calling...direction...& so on.
1Pet. 1:13-19—“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, & rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish & without spot.”
1Cor. 12:4-7, 11—“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:”.....“But one & the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”
1Cor. 14:12—“Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.”
1Pet. 4:10-11—“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory & the dominion forever & ever. Amen.”
These are all general statements & not personal ones. How do I know what I’m called to?...
How was I called to preaching/pastoral ministry? It is something that I cannot leave & it cannot leave me. As Jeremiah said it is like a fire in my bones...
Jer. 20:7-11—“O LORD, You induced me, & I was persuaded; You are stronger than I, & have prevailed. I am in derision daily; Everyone mocks me. For when I spoke, I cried out; I shouted, “Violence & plunder!” Because the word of the LORD was made to me A reproach & a derision daily. Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not. For I heard many mocking: “Fear on every side!” “Report,” they say, “& we will report it!” All my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying, “Perhaps he can be induced; Then we will prevail against him, And we will take our revenge on him.” But the LORD is with me as a mighty, awesome One. Therefore my persecutors will stumble, & will not prevail. They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper. Their everlasting confusion will never be forgotten.”
Rom. 12:3-8—“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, & individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”
You may be an(a)...
Encourager—Card writers, Telephoners, Facebookers, Twitter-ers....
Prayer Warrior—
Administrator—organize events
Teacher—
Farmer, Delivery person, Housewife, Mill worker, Retail merchant, Nurse, Janitor, Construction worker, Quarry worker, Heavy equipment at the landfill, etc. but we all must fulfill those positions in Christ & empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Illustration:
Friday night we ‘hosted’ a cookout at our house/We had burgers & brats/I cooked them on my old Weber grill/The mechanism that opens & closes the bottom vents is frozen in the ‘open’ position/It has dings all over it/The 2 grates no longer are shiny & new/But it does a great job cooking burgers etc!/Earlier Friday, it was ‘prophesied’ that the Weber would be crucial to the ministry of our family get-together/DECLARATIVE Dynamic
Application:
?You Embraced the Dynamics of open DECLARATIVES regarding your Christian service?
?You Embrace this Dynamics of Christian Service?
3—Christian service must embrace the...
WAR(ring) Dynamic(:18c)
Explanation: (:18c)
: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,”
By such a “charge” & empowered by the prophesies, Timothy is equipped to “wage the good warfare.”
*Any ministry whereby Christian truth is rightly dispensed to others is fraught with such difficulty that it can be considered “warfare.”
More than a battle, “warfare” is the entire protracted campaign.
The quality of such ministerial warfare is of vital importance to the Christian message borne. It is to be unequivocally “good.” The minister of the Gospel of Christ must continuously battle his/her own ‘demons’ first & foremost. Secondarily there are the continuous skirmishes which consume, grip & engage others.
Our warring is primarily defensive yet it is defensive because it is perceived by those it effects as offensive.
“Wage”—strateuomai—V.—1)To make a military expedition, to lead soldiers to war or to battle, (spoken of a commander); 2) To do military duty, be on active service, be a soldier; 3) To fight. Strong—To serve in a military campaign; figuratively, To execute the apostolate (with its arduous duties & functions), To contend with carnal inclinations. Used 7X.
“Good”(See 19 agayov)—kalov—1)Beautiful, handsome, excellent, eminent, choice, surpassing, precious, useful, suitable, commendable, admirable. Distinctly the beauty which comes from harmony(physically or morally), the beauty which arises from a symmetrical adjustment in right proportion, in other words, from the harmonious completeness of the object concerned. Strong—properly, Beautiful, but chiefly (figuratively) Good (literally or morally), i.e. Valuable or virtuous (for appearance or use, & thus distinguished from agayov, which is properly intrinsic).
“Warfare”—strateia—N. f.—An expedition, campaign, military service, warfare; 2)Metaph. Paul likens his contest with the difficulties that oppose him in the discharge of his apostolic duties, as warfare. Strong—Military service, i.e. (figuratively) The apostolic career (as one of hardship & danger). Used 2X. Argumentation:
Isa. 9:6-7—“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government & peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David & over His kingdom, To order it & establish it with judgment & justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”
Jn. 18:33-37—“Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, & said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation & the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, & for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.””
Any kingdom has access & right to defensive & offensive power. Any King of that kingdom exercises those accesses & rights because of the kingdoms & kings which openly oppose it.
Mat. 10:34-39—““Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, & a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; “& ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross & follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, & he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Lk. 12:49-53—““I came to send fire on the earth, & how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to be baptized with, & how distressed I am till it is accomplished! Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, & two against three. “Father will be divided against son & son against father, mother against daughter & daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law & daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.””
Lk. 2:34-35—“Then Simeon blessed them, & said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall & rising of many in Israel, & for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.””
God’s righteousness, peace & joy in the Holy Spirit(Rom. 14:17) must be protected at all cost!
Eph. 6:10-18—“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord & in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh & blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, & having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, & having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, & the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer & supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance & supplication for all the saints--”
Christians are called to peace—a personal peace that extends to every aspect of our lifestyle—yet the exclusive nature of the Gospel cuts against the flesh, inviting contention from both the prince of the power of the air & thereby the contentions of individuals when submission/surrender of their flesh to the kingdom of God becomes mandatory.
Col 3:12-17—“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy & beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, & forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; & be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching & admonishing one another in psalms & hymns & spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
We must enter the war as defenders of the faith, offering peace.
Illustration:
Our neighborhood in Wesley Chapel, Florida/Cookie cutter—Fences—Walls & most of all...Grass/St. Augustine, Centipede & Bermuda/The houses are so close that the yards must be well kept or the neighbors property will look bad/So most look out for one another & themselves by clearly defining their property lines/When one mows, the adjacent neighbor mows, & this carries on thruout the neighborhood/The difference in grasses is a real challenge though/We had two neighbors one on each side with a street in back & behind/We planted St. Augustine & one of our neighbors had the same—no problem/But the other had a Bermuda-Centipede mix/St. Augustine doesn’t compete well with Bermuda or even Centipede/I was forever pulling them out of my St. Augustine on the property line!/Constant never-ending & never-easy battle but one which was necessary for our investment!/WAR(ring) Dynamic
Application:
?You Embraced the Dynamics of open WARing regarding your Christian service?
?You Embrace this Dynamics of Christian Service?
4—Christian service must embrace the...
FAITH Dynamic(:19a)
Explanation: (:19a)
:19—“having faith & a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,”
Intimately tied to maintaining the “good warfare”(:18) are its twin drivers—“faith” & “good conscience.” One cannot “wage the good warfare” apart from saving & sustaining faith!
In order to sustain a spiritual “warfare” which is proper in the eyes of God, it must be supplied & maintained thru one’s “faith”—personal sin is properly dealt with in Christ’s sacrificial atonement, in which the believer places ultimate salvific & life-consuming sanctifying trust/confidence.
“Faith”—pistiv—1)Conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God & divine things, generally with the included idea of trust & holy fervor born of faith & joined with it; 2) Fidelity, faithfulness. Strong—Persuasion, i.e. Credence; Moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially, Reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, Constancy in such profession; by extension, The system of religious (Gospel) truth itself.
Argumentation:
*Heb. 11:1—“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Jude 20-21—“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
Rom. 5:1-2—“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, & rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Eph. 2:14-22—“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, & has broken down the middle wall of separation[Jew & Gentile], having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, & that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came & preached peace to you who were afar off & to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers & foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints & members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles & prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
All the above takes place thru personal faith.
Col. 2:6-10—“As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted & built up in Him & established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy & empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, & not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; & you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality & power.”
Mat. 28:18—“And Jesus came & spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven & on earth.”
Eph. 3:8-12—“To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, & to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities & powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness & access with confidence through faith in Him.”
Heb. 4:1-2—“Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.”
Heb. 10:38-39—“Now the just shall live by faith[Hab. 2:4]; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.”
Lk. 18:7-8—““And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day & night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?””
Js. 2:21-22—“Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, & by works faith was made perfect?”
Illustration:
Hunting Dog/The owner keeps the dog in top shape—Shelters, Feeds, Waters & Exercises it/In return the dog is faithful to its duty to run rabbits, fetch ducks, tree raccoons, flush pheasants, etc./The owner places complete confidence in the dog’s ability/We likewise must put complete confidence in Jesus’ ability to free us from the condemning penalty of our sin/FAITH Dynamic
Application:
?You Embraced the Dynamics of Salvific FAITH regarding your Christian service?
?You Embrace this Dynamics of Christian Service?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Linda’s eye pain(from the spoon) as she drank coffee.
Action:
Christian service must embrace the...
2. DECLARATIVE Dynamic(18b)
3. WAR(ring) Dynamic(:18c)
4. FAITH Dynamic(:19a)
1. TRAINING Dynamic(:18a)
Presented 03/04/2012am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
