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Light Of His Word The Sermons of Pastor Mike Walls Freedom Baptist Church Used By Permission Psalms 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. |
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Light Of His Word The Sermons of Pastor Mike Walls Freedom Baptist Church Used By Permission Psalms 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. |
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PICTURE OF A SERVANT
1 Timothy 1
Introduction: Before going any further, I want to say that these messages will not be a verse to verse commentary. If I skip over a verse or two, it does not mean they are not important. They are but do not fit my outline or train of thought at that time.
As I said at the end of my message last week, the pastor of a church is to be a servant. Most men who pastor enjoy being in charge. They forget that they are to be servants to the church. I willful chose to be a pastor by the direction of the Lord Jesus. This is not to make me seem so spiritual. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:15 “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you”. I want my life to count for something and some where. By the grace of God, I want it to be spent here. This whole book of the Bible is dedicated to servanthood.
Paul is writing to that the young preacher named Timothy. Timothy had been saved at an early age. He went with Paul on his second missionary journey. At the time of this epistle, he is the pastor of the church at Ephesus. We are so used to American churches that it is hard to understand some of the problems that faced pastors in the early church.
They did not a church building like we have. Why they would have thought they had died and when to heaven if they had a building such as ours. They did not have songbooks. Most of their songs were songs written from the Psalms. Their preachers did not have a completed Bible let alone Bible dictionaries, computers, commentaries and concordances. I am not sure how they studied. Probably very few had a written message in front of them.
Things were tough where he is preaching. Remember Ephesus was the location of the worship of the goddess Diana. This goddess was the goddess of fertile. The main makers of the idol were located in Ephesus. For a man to say he was a believer was dangerous. He could lose his livelihood, family, fortune and possibly his life. We have a hard time understanding the cost of being a believer in the relative ease of our life style today in this country.
Times were liberal and Satan was influencing people. There were folks who tried to mix works with salvation. Paul addresses this in Ephesus 2:8-9 when he penned these words “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” He is plain to say not by works. Satan knows if he can not stop Christianity, he wants to dilute the message with things like works. Today many people try to dilute their salvation with experiences.
Let’s look at this first chapter.
A. Timothy's Person Vs. 2
“Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.”
You have energy to do more than you can when you are older. One pastor told me one time that he thinks that all preachers ought to wait until they are forty to pastor. You are supposed to be wise at that age. I would like the energy that I had at twenty and some of the knowledge that I have gotten over the past twenty years. We are not sure how young Timothy was.
Romans 6:13
“Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”
b. He was yielded to Paul. Paul sent him to several places to deliver letters and messages to the different churches. As I said last week, he was not intimidated to play second fiddle so to speak. It takes a special person to be the second man. As I was typing these words, I thought of one man I know personally. Dwight Williams is the assistant pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in New Bern. He has worked in that position for the past nineteen years. I do not see or hear of his wanting to go of going to a higher position.
It is hard for a man to be second man. If he is doing exactly what he should, he will defer his opinion in public to the leadership of the first man or the key leader. Privately he may discuss his opinion but publicly, he is silent to it.
One of the hardest things any young preacher can do is be submissive to an older preacher who is his pastor. But it is a Biblical principle.
Hebrews 13:17
“Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”
3. He's yoked. He was yoked up with Paul. As I mentioned last week. Think of the blessing young Timothy was to sit at the feet of the Apostle Paul. You are known by your associates. You are known by whom is your mentor so to speak. One of the failures that I have found in the ministry today is the failure to mentor young preachers. They take churches with little or no guidance from their pastor. I was blessed that I had several resource people in whom I could turn. Brother Gail Cutlip would only give me advice when I pressed him for it and then he would tell me that I would have to make up my mind before going ahead that his advice may not fit the situation. Dr. Ennis has been someone in which I can call.
B. Timothy's Place Vs. 3
“As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine”
It was a hard place. The Jews opposed any preaching and teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Religion has never liked the life of Christ as He can change lives. It was a hard place because of it was a city of commerce. It was a hard place because of the heresy that found in this place.
2. It was a heathen place. Remember in my introduction I mentioned that Ephesus was the place that made the idol called Diana. It was the site of the Temple dedicated to Diana. In fact, many people gave their idols up to follow. To show the strength of their commitment, they piled their idols and books of witchcraft in a pile and burned them. Acts 19:19-20
“Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.”
That is approximately 1.6 million dollars in our money today. Some people would say what a waste. But these items were associated with idol and demon worship and were therefore tainted. These people were willing to make a small sacrifice in the eyes of eternity than to be prosperous here.
This act of burning up their idols and curious arts infuriated some of the folks of Ephesus, especially the silversmiths. They could see where this was going. People’s lives were being changed and they were giving their idols up.
Our place of service may be as hard and full of heathens, as Timothy's but we are to take the gospel to it. There is no place too dark for God.
C. Timothy's Place Vs. 5
“Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned”
1. He was to minister out of a pure heart.
2. He was to minister out of a purged heart.
3. He was to minister out of a progressing heart.
His anointing contained some truths that are found in Paul’s life.
A. Praise Vs. 12
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry”
Too many people are not thankful. It is commanded for believers to be thankful.
Col. 3:15
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”
Eph. 5:20
“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”
Phil. 4:6
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
Col. 3:17
“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
1 Thess. 5:18
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Heb. 13:15
‘By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
B. Power Vs. 12
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry”
We can not do the work of God without His strength and power. Without Christ’s help, we are really spinning our wheels.
John 15:5
“for without me ye can do nothing.”
C. Putting Vs. 12
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry”
I thought that God had made a mistake when he called me into the ministry. Paul knew that the Lord had called him even with all his past record. He had tried to wreck havoc on the church.
We have too many men in the ministry that doe not have the call of God on them. Some are in the ministry for a paycheck. Some are in the ministry for prestige. Some are in the ministry because their mother thought it would be nice if they were ministers.
One man said if you could do anything else besides preach, then do not get in the ministry. If a man rather be whatever, it would wish for him to do just that. Even though nursing puts the food on the table, preaching is my passion of life.
D. Past Vs. 13
“Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.”
Paul had much that he could have bragged in his past. He gives a piece of his biography in Philippians.
Phil. 3:3-7
“For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.”
But he knew that his past was not pleasing to God. He forgot where God had brought him. But he obtained mercy. Interesting word is mercy. It is that
the compassion we receive from a loving God. Thank God we did not get justice, for we would surely went to hell. But we got mercy from the blood of the Lamb.
He called himself a blasphemer. A blasphemer is one that evil, slanderous, reproachful, railing, abusive. He spoke against those who named the name of Christ. He spoke against Christ himself. On the road to Damascus, Jesus did not tell Paul that he was fighting believers but very God himself. That must have been a sobering thought.
He said that he was injurious. This means one whom, uplifted with pride, either heaps insulting language upon others or does them some shameful act of wrong. He was having these people put to death. They were losing their fortunes, families and many times their lives for Christ.
But that was all past. When Paul tells of those days, I think he tells it simply to show people where God had brought him. I think that there was a note of shame and sadness in his voice when he spoke of those days. I have heard some people who talked of their past and it would sound like bragging.
That was all past. God wipes the slate clean.
“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will urn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”
“Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.”
“And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”
“And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
“I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”
E. Pattern Vs. 16
“Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.”
Paul’s life was an example to others how they ought to live. It is also an example how the call of God on the lives on every man who is called into the ministry. His life should be on of a pattern. Paul later tells young Timothy how his life ought to be but that is another messages all together.
Paul admonished this young man to:
A. The Word - Vs. 18
“This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
Paul admonished Timothy to look back at the prophecies of the Old Testament. These prophecies were to encourage people to get saved and to live right.
I was reading an article by a Pentecostal preacher by the name of Joseph Chambers. He called what many of what people do today “Christian fortune telling”. After reading the article and hearing what some of the people who say they have prophecies say, I tend to agree with him.
Paul will further admonish young Timothy in 2 Timothy just to preach the Word. Nothing takes place of this Book. May we be people of the Book! It can and does change our words, ways and wisdom.
B. The War Vs. 18b
“ that thou by them mightest war a good warfare”
He was referring to the work of the church. It is constantly a battle and building program. The same is true of the life of a believer. We are constantly building ourselves up in the faith as Jude tells us. We are constantly battling the flesh as Paul reminds us in Romans. Anything worth having is worth fighting for. That is true in all areas of life. The day we stop battling and building, both as a church and as individual believers, we will start dying. May God help us to go forth unto the fields, which are white unto harvest!
C. The Way Vs. 19
“Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck”
He is admonishing Timothy to use his conscience, which the Greek tells us is that part of us that can tell right from wrong. May we do just that. It is the Bible that teaches us what is right and wrong. It is ourselves that must make the choices. What is harder is living with the consequences.
Conclusion: Let me see if I can bring some practical, daily living truths in place with this conclusion.
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