August 18, 2019
Morning Service

In Wednesday night Bible study, Sam began a study on Genesis which begins with creation.  We read there where God created the plants and made them to produce seeds that would in turn produce new trees.  This meant that an oak tree will produce an acorn which falls to the ground and in time will bring forth another oak tree.  God did not have to “recreate” an oak tree every time He needed a new one it reproduced by design; “like produces like.”  You may say now, what does that have to do with the study of the letter Paul wrote to Timothy?  The same principle applies as God greatly invested in Paul by revealing to him many truths about the New Covenant that was now in place with the DBR of Jesus.  He equipped (created) Paul to lead others with a thorough understanding of the gospel message because he was a “chosen instrument to take My message to the Gentiles and to kings as well as to the people of Israel.” (Acts 9:15) Paul was called of God to “reproduce” Jesus followers who could lead others just like himself to continue to sustain the growth of the church into all that God had designed it to be.  He was to mentor and invest in men who would then mentor and invest in other men imitating exactly the pattern God had set in order with nature at the very beginning; “like produces like.”

            This is the relationship that is between Paul and young Timothy; mentor and student.  Paul is investing in Timothy to be a leader in what was called “The Way” of following Jesus and establishing churches in every community.  They had first met on Paul and Silas’ second missionary journey in Lystra.

Act 16:1-3 Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek.  (2)  He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium.  (3)  Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.

            Timothy’s mother, Eunice had probably become a believer when Paul came through Lystra on his first missionary journey in Acts 14.  She being Jewish and Timothy’s father being Greek would have made them to be outcasts from the Jewish society much like the Samaritans.  Timothy so impressed Paul that he took him under his wing immediately.  The first thing he did was to have him circumcised to removing that as a barrier that would hinder his ministry to the Jews.  This of course is not required of to be a NT Jesus follower, but Paul was sending a message to his new young friend that there are times you must go above and beyond what is required to create a clear path to spread the good news of Christ.  Paul, as a successful leader does, modeled this teaching throughout his ministry even working and supporting himself in the cities that he came to preach so that no one would complain about him being after their money and not their soul.  He always went the extra mile to reach others with the gospel message even those different than himself.  He wrote this to the Corinthian church explaining why he chose not to have those he ministered to pay him for his services:

 

1Co 9:15-22 But I have used none of these things, nor have I written these things that it should be done so to me; for it would be better for me to die than that anyone should make my boasting void.  (16)  For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!  (17)  For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.  (18)  What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel.  (19)  For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; (20) and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; (21) to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; (22) to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

            This was the life that was modeled to Timothy and the others that walked through life with Paul the Apostle. By circumcising Timothy along with these actions, he set the tone for us to do “whatever it takes” to be able to share the gospel message with those around us.  Keep your eyes open for those in your life that need that extra effort from our end to be reached.  What can you do that is “outside the box” to build a relationship with them to then get a chance to share the gospel with them.  Can you cook a meal, offer baby-sitting, mow their yard, help fix their leaking roof, or perhaps simply offer to spend time listening and talking with them?  “Become all things to all men, that you might by all means save some.”  It will not be a burden to you but a joy.  You will find yourself blessed more than the blessing you give. 

            Now back to the letter to Timothy.  Both the first and second letters to Timothy along with Titus are called the “Pastoral Epistles” as they address many aspects of how the church is to be set up to operate. This letter and Titus were written around 64 AD and scholars believe that this was a short time period in which Paul had been set free from his first Roman incarceration and just prior to his second and final imprisonment that ends historically with his beheading.  The next letter to Timothy was believed to be written during his final time in prison.

            Paul, as a leader, is reaching out to Timothy to encourage and instruct him along the path that he has been called of God.  In this first letter we will see Paul instruct church leaders with teaching sound doctrine, instructions on public worship, false teaching, church discipline, and the duties of the church leadership.  Let’s look at his greeting in the first two verses.

 

1Ti 1:1-2 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope, (2) To Timothy, a true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

            We see here already the tender fatherly bond that lies between these two men as he calls Timothy “a true son in the faith.”  This letter is much like a father would instill his wisdom into his son about the things that life will throw at him.  But we also quickly see the central theme and strong bond that binds these two together is the “Lord Jesus Christ, our hope.”  These two men are committed to each other, but first and foremost they are committed to their Savior and Lord.  He alone is their hope.  Hope is the expectation or faith that something will happen.  Our hope for strength for the moment and our hope for a brighter future all lie within Jesus Christ.  Paul told the Romans church this is his letter about hope:

 

Rom 5:3-5 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; (4) and perseverance, character; and character, hope.  (5)  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

            We like Timothy and Paul share this hope together that Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected paving the way for us to have a personal relationship with Christ.  It is the bond that ties us together as a family of believers and it is this very thing that should push us, like Paul, to go the extra mile to share the Good News with this dark and dying world.  Do it by investing in those around you and modeling the lifestyle that we just studied in the Sermon on the Mount.  Find a mentor to lead you, a brother to walk beside you and choose someone to mentor yourself.    If Jesus tarries, we are to equip the next generation to follow Jesus preparing them to be able to prepare the one that will follow them as well. We too then can display the principle that God put into place during creation that “like produces like.”    

 

Heavenly Father open our eyes to those around us that need to hear the Good News of Jesus and equip us with fellow believers around us to invest in us and us into them.