LIVING AS A MAN OF GOD
1 Timothy 6:11-16
Dorn Ridge and York Manor, September 21, 2013
Audio link to listen to this sermon: http://chirb.it/P4wDmB
INTRODUCTION:
1.) The Book of 1 Timothy as we have said before was kind of a ministerial manual from the Apostle Paul to the young man Timothy.
2.) Paul’s words in this 6th. chapter were words of instruction for this young man to keep him true to God, and to help him live the Christian faith as minister of the gospel.
3.) Today, I want us to see five applications of what it would mean for Timothy to live as a man of God.
4.) These same truths can be applied to our lives to day to help us live as men and women of God.
I. MEN OF GOD NEED TO BE ABLE TO FLEE. ( 1 Tim. 6:11)
1.) He must flee from the desire to get rich, and from the love of money.
A.) Last week as we were looking at money, one of the directives of the Apostle Paul was that Godliness with contentment is great gain.
B.) The second statement we had looked at was that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
C.) As Paul was writing to this young man Timothy he was giving some powerful instructions for Timothy, and also for the church at Ephesus.
D.) Today as we further the teachings in this regard, I want you to see the verb in this 11th. verse.
da.) The verb that Paul has used we translate as “flee.”
db.) When I study the Scriptures of the New Testament I find that many times sins are spoken of and warned against.
dc.) Many times the Bible gives warnings about sin.
dd.) The word of God challenges us to avoid allowing temptation to lead us into sin.
dda.) Scripture reminds us that when we will rely on God, that He will give us his strength to withstand sin.
E.) There are two temptations to sin listed in the Scriptures where the inspired writers use words that are more powerful than just to warn us about the danger of the sins.
ea.) The two areas of sinfulness that are spoken of more powerfully than just a warning are the sins of sexual immorality, and of the love of money.
eb.) Many times when the warnings are given, the admonition is to “flee” from these areas of sinfulness.
eba.) The idea of fleeing is much more than just going for a casual jog in the park; it is the idea of escape from some kind of intense danger that could destroy us.
ebb.) It is the picture of how fast and hard you try to get out of range of a very real danger.
ebc.) To illustrate the idea of fleeing, I want to take you back thirty years to a time when I wanted to look at a certain car in a junk yard in Eastern PEI one Sunday afternoon.
ebc-1.) I had walked through most of that junkyard, and was wondering why there was a cable going from the back of the junkyard and was connected to a front end loader on the other end of that junkyard with the cable very tight.
ebc-2.) To go to a back corner of that junkyard, I had to lift the cable which caused another cable attached to it to move, and make a noise.
ebc-3.) It was at that point I learned the purpose of this cable as a very large German shepherd whose job it was to keep people out of that junkyard sprang to life.
ebc-4.) Needless to say, I wasted no time in getting out of there that day, getting over the fence about three feet ahead of a dog determine to get hold of me.
ebc-5.) That is the picture of fleeing that Paul is speaking of here.
ec.) Scripture warns us that some temptations to sin are so dangerous and so beyond our ability to deal with that our only option is to flee from them.
eca.)such is the case with either the love of money, or the temptation to sexual immorality and sin.
ecb.) These are both areas that are so powerful that we cannot play with them once the temptation has come, for we will most likely lose the battle.
II.) MEN OF GOD NEED TO PURSUE.
-- The idea of fleeing is a negative one. Paul now gives us a positive one to follow or pursue.
-- It is the picture of someone who has a goal and vision before them and will do whatever it takes to reach that goal.
-- It is the kind of determination that caused Christopher Columbus to keep on sailing when his crew were to the point of mutiny out of fear they were going to sail off the end of the world.
-- It is the kind of determination that led men to sell everything they had, and head west for the Gold rush over a century ago.
-- It is also the kind of determination that a Man of God is to have in pursuing after God.
1.) Men of God need to pursue righteousness. ( 1 Tim. 6:11)
A.) One of the passages we looked at last week was Matt. 6:33.
B.) God wants us as men and women of God to be seeking his kingdom, and his righteousness.
C.) He wants us to be morally upright, and to keep our lives as free of sin as we possibly can.
ca.) We all know that in this life we will never reach that level of perfection, but God’s desire, is that we would literally hunger and thirst after righteousness.
cb.) In fact, that is exactly what Jesus himself had echoed: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they will be filled” (Matt. 5:6)
2.) Men of God need to pursue Godliness.
A.) There are really two aspects of Godliness.
aa.) The first aspect is that it is kind of a deep sense of inner piety, where the contents of our hearts hold God in the greatest of reverence, awe, and respect. It is the idea of having in our hearts an air of holiness when our minds are drawn to God.
ab.) The second part of Godliness is that the reverence we have for God in our hearts, we will want to express in our lives, and in our actions.
3.) Men of God need to pursue faith.
A.) As Christians we need to pursue faith.
B.) In all likelihood we all have faith.
C.) Yet we need to pursue more of it by pursuing even more in our relationship with Christ.
D.) One of the things that always amazes me when I look at Jesus, is the number of time he is surprised by the lack of man’s faith.
da.) On one occasion when Jesus was asking the disciples to be willing to forgive others more than they had expressed a willingness of heart to do.
daa.) These men realized they needed more faith to carry out what Jesus was asking of them.
dab.) It took a lot of faith to forgive someone seven times in one day for the very same sin.
db.) Luke 17:5-6
dc.) As men and women of God today, we also need to be regularly pursuing stronger and greater levels of faith so that we also can carry out the will of god in our lives as well.
4.) Men of God need to pursue love.
A.) When Paul addressed the church at Corinth, one of the things he brought out to them was the need for love.
B.) Paul spoke of many great and wonderful attributes of the Christian life, but in each instance, Paul said If I have these attributes, but do not have the love of God dwelling within me expressing itself also to others that I am nothing.
ba.) 1 Cor. 13:1-4
5.) Men of God need to pursue endurance.
A.) All through the Word of God, we are challenged to remain faithful to God, and to Jesus Christ.
B.) When Jesus used the Apostle John to write to the seven churches of Asia Minor, he had to write rebukes to most of the churches.
ba.) In the midst of those rebukes, there was one church hat received only encouragement.
bb.) The Church at Smyrna was really struggling.
bba.) The Christiains there were facing severe poverty.
bbb.) The were also facing extreme persecution from the Jews.
bbc.) These Christians had to face severe persecution, even to the point of
death.
bbd.) It was an area that was not easy to be a Christian, and to remain faithful to Jesus Christ.
bbe.) Yet with all these struggles in Smyrna, the Christians were remaining faithful to Christ.
bc.) With this as a backdrop, Jesus said to the church at Smyrna: “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Rev. 2:10)
C.) Today, as men and women of God we also need to be faithful to Christ, even to the point of death.
6.) Men of God need to pursue gentleness.
A.) Several years ago, I read a book titled “Man of Steel and Velvet.”
B.) This book described these two very opposite extremes to describe a man who is of value to his family, to society, and to the church.
ba.) On one hand it is perhaps easier to be a man of steel.
bb.) One of the things we think of with a macho or manly man is to be strong, and to at times be unmovable, and powerful.
bc.) The other side of this is that a true manly man needs to mix his strength and hardness, with a gentleness that balances out the strength.
bd.) As men of God, we need to have that aspect of gentleness in our life as well as the strength.
III. MEN OF GOD NEED TO FIGHT.
1.) There is need for men of God to fight the good fight of the faith. (1 Tim. 6:12)
A.) Faith in Christ is a simple thing, but it is never easy.
B.) If we are in Jesus Christ, Satan will do his best to destroy us.
C.) As men and women of God we must always be on guard to fight the good fight of faith.
ca.) If we are not presented with challenges to our faith, and things that will cause us to question on our very faith, and on God himself, then perhaps there is a malfunction in our faith.
cb.) What I am saying is that if Satan feels you are in his court and living for him there is no need for him to challenge you, nor to put obstacles between you and God.
cc.) It is only when a person is committed to Jesus Christ trying to serve the Living God, that Satan is threatened by our faith and our Christian walk.
cd.)Satan is only going to actively seek to destroy the life of a Christian when the faith we he profess in Jesus Christ is real enough to shake the gates, and foundations of hell with the power of the Living God within us.
D.) The Apostle Paul challenged the church at Ephesus to put on the whole armour of God.
da.) Eph. 6:10-18
db.) As Christians, and men and women of God we need to be continually wearing the armour of God because we are in a battleground with the forces of darkness and of evil.
2.) “Take hold of eternal life.”
A.) Salvation is freely given in Jesus Christ, but we must still consciously choose to grab hold of it.
B.) Paul reminds timothy of the day that Timothy stood up to Confess Jesus Christ and gave his life to Christ in the waters of baptism.
ba.) “To which you were called when you made your good confession in front of many witnesses.”
bb.) Like Timothy, we need to be actively taking hold of eternal life.
IV. MEN OF GOD NEED TO LIVE WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT GOD IS WATCHING THEM.
1.) “In the sight of God…” (1 Tim. 6:13)
A.) Who give life to everything
B.) For those who are not willing to put their lives in the hands of God, the knowledge that God is watching us is a very scary thought.
C.) But for the child of God that same knowledge is a comforting thought.
ca.) Christians know that through the blood of Jesus Christ, that God will see every aspect of our lives, including the good, the bad, and the ugly.
cb.) Psalm 139 is a very powerful passage of Scripture. Throughout that passage David asks the question “Where can I go from the presence of God?”
cc.) David’s understanding that there was nowhere that he could go from the presence of God, did not bring him sorrow, or fear.
cca.) Instead, this divine knowledge of God brought him peace, and comfort knowing that God could know everything about him and still love him.
cb.) Through Jesus Christ God can look at every terrible thing we have done, and still see the blood of Jesus Christ cleansing us of our sin.
D.) It is true that the knowledge that God sees and knows all should challenge us to be the best that we can be to the glory of God Almighty!
da.) But when we are less than that, God still loves us, and through Jesus Christ will forgive us.
db.) 1 John 3:19-21
2.) “And of Christ Jesus”
A.) “Who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession.”
aa.) Under oath, Jesus made the good confession.
ab.) Mark 14:62
V. MEN OF GOD ARE MEN OF INTEGRITY.
1.) “To keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Timothy 6:14)
A.) When we are men and women of God, we will have the desire to obey the Gospel, and the commandments of Jesus Christ.
B.) It is our desire to live for Christ, and to walk with integrity in Jesus Christ.
2.) “Which God will bring about in His own time…”
A.) As we give ourselves to God, He will help us to become more like him, and to be truly men and women of God genuine and true in the faith.
3.) They are men who seek to honour God with their lives.
A.) When the end has come to our days on this earth, there is not greater testimony anyone could ever give of us, than to say he or she sought to honour God with their lives.
CONCLUSION:
1.) As we close here today, we have looked at words specific to this young man Timothy for living as a man of God.
2.) May we leave here today applying these same truths to our lives, so that that we can fully glorify God by being Men and Women of God.
