THE MESSAGE TO ALL BELIEVERS
1 Timothy 6:11 - 2 1
CHARACTER OF A CHRISTIAN
V:11. " But flee from these things, you man of God, and
pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. "
A. Believers are ambassadors of Christ and representatives
of the kingdom of heaven.
1. The world sees
us before they ever see the inside of a church.
2. As opposed to
pride and the love of money, the Apostle Paul gives the
attitude and
character that believers should have as representatives of
Christ.
3. Timothy, at the
time of Paul's letter to him was in his late 40's and the pastor
of the Church
at Ephesus
B. Paul gives us six characteristics of a Christian role
model.
1. Pursue
righteousness is conforming to God's standards.
a. Our aim and
goal should be to follow God's commands.
b. The world's
standards don't measure up to God's standards.
2. Pursue godliness
which is well directed reverence.
a. It means to
reverence God with all our outward actions.
b. Others
should see a sermon of righteousness in our actions.
3. Pursue faith
which means to trust God in all our decisions.
4. The first and
second greatest command given by Jesus is to
Love God with
all you heart and to love your neighbor as yourself.
5. Perseverance
(patience) is an attribute we have to learn by doing.
a. God works on
His time.
b. We have to
learn to trust God's timing.
6. Gentleness is an
inward grace of the soul and a calmness toward God
in all
situations.
BE STEADFAST AND UNMOVEABLE
V: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. "
A, Give your best efforts in all your struggles, trusting
God with the outcome.
1. Life as a Christian is not always easy,
but God has the solution to all
our problems.
2. When faced with
opposition, always speak the truth in love which
is the Word
of God.
B. Our testimony to the goodness of God is important to all
who will listen
to us.
1. We never know
who in the crowd is in need of a word of encouragement.
2. We never know
who in the crowd need godly wisdom to make the right
decision.
2. We should not
be discouraged when people do not want to hear the
Word of God.
3. We have a
promise from God that His Word will not return void.
4. God presents us
with the opposition of the devil to strengthen our faith
and those
around us.
5. We are
commanded to let our conversation be with grace seasoned
with salt.
a. With grace
so we can show kindness and tolerance to unbelievers.
b. With salt so that unbelievers will hear
the truth.
PROCLAIM YOUR FAITH IN JESUS
V:13-16 " 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. "
A. It is God who ordains each believer to work He called us
to do in Jesus Christ.
1. We have
obtained eternal life though our faith in Jesus Christ.
2. We were
baptized in His death and resurrected in the newness of life.
B. We have the confession of Jesus Himself before
Pontius Pilate that He is
the Son of God
and king of kings.
1. Jesus confessed
to Pilate that he had no power over Him.
2. Jesus had the
power to lay down His life and the power to take it up again.
3. Since Jesus is
Lord over our lives we should have no fear in
keeping His
commands.
C. We have the assurance that Jesus Christ will come again
and judge the
living and the dead.
1. Our salvation
is secure in Jesus Christ .
2. As evidence of
our faith we must honor Him with all our being
regardless of
our personal situation.
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE RICH
V.17-19. " 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. "
A. God is no respecter of person.
1. To much is
given, much is required.
2, God has a
reason that He allows some to become rich and some to remain poor.
3. Those who are
rich must over come their love for money, power and authority
to see their
purpose in life.
B. The purpose of the rich is to be rich in good works.
1. With much
money, you can provide the finance for works of the Church.
2. Whatever we ask
the Father in Jesus name will be given to us.
3. God uses the
rich in the Church to provide for some of the needs of the Church.
4. One of the spiritual
gifts is generosity.
5. The more we do
for others in need, the more treasures we store in heaven.
6. Life does not
exist in things. It exists in the heart that can let go of things.
GUARD THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST
V:20-21. " 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."
A. The mouth can be a finely tuned instrument for Christ.
1. Every believer
has been given hope in Jesus Christ.
2. We have been
given the ability to be enlighten by the Word of God
through the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
3. We have been
made special by the gift of the Spirit.
a. To the
world, the Word of God is foolishness.
b. The world
cannot understand the wisdom of the Lord.
B. The world is focused on unsound doctrine, half truths
and idle gossip.
1. The
believer equipped with the Word of truth can bring light in
this
world of darkness.
2. We are not
isolated from the world around us.
3. We can speak
the truth in conversations that start in ignorance.
4. We can
ensure that Word of God proceeds from, our mouths in
any
conversation that we are involved in.
5. Our motto
should be that from us they shall hear the truth that will
set them
free.
THANK GOD FOR THE WORD OF
TRUTH
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