1 Timothy 1:12-20, Our Great Enabler with Roman Solis
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I'm so blessed to be here with you guys this morning. It's a joy. I was able to. Begin the book of First Timothy with you guys a few weeks ago and you can open up to the book of First Timothy again with me this morning. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to teach once again and just to jump into the word with you guys it it is always such a joy for me I've been. Teaching the word. For a long time, my first Bible study I taught when I was, I want to say 15 years old. I started a Bible study at my house and my brother led a worship up there in our living room and we had some friends come out and you know it's such. It was so neat, you know as. A kid. Just. Being able to be a part of that and have taught many studies since then. And and many a few different Bible studies here and there at different homes, I've been able to teach here at the church many times. Just throughout the years in the past and currently now, I think I mentioned it a few weeks ago when I taught or the the privilege of teaching. In in men's breakfast at our men's breakfast. And it's just a joy with the guys hanging out and it's a great time there as we go through the book of Ephesians there with the men. And I just want to encourage you guys come on out. Come on out, guys, especially if you're if you're a young guy, if you're a young guy, come on out. I'm going to challenge you this morning. Right now I'm the young guy there and and I appreciate that. I I don't mind hanging out with. I know they're all listening, but the older guys, you know, the old, the old guys, old timers, I love it. You know, I'm the I'm the young one there right now, but it's always neat hanging. Out with 20 year olds. And and teenagers, you know, they never let you forget that you're getting old, right? So I appreciate that. It's always fun. And I've I heard that it's, you know, you're getting old when you start to buy your clothes at the same place you buy groceries, right? Is that true? That's true. I told my wife the other. Day I'm like, wait. You go to Costco. Let me know when you're going. So I want to see what they have on sale right now for clothes. But if you're a young guy, come on out and join us. And it's just a joy. So throughout the years I've I've taught a few different books in the Bible and I'm always a guest speaker. It seems to be at at, you know, throughout the years and I like to just kind of pick a book and go through it. So a few weeks ago, I started the book of First Timothy. With you guys. And anytime I have the opportunity, the Lord gives me the opportunity to speak or to share. That's what I'd like to do is just continue on through the book. If you'd like to go through the book of First Timothy with me, I would encourage you. You can go online. You can. I was going to say get the CD. We don't do tapes and CDs anymore. Huh, man. See, I'm old. See I'm. I'm getting there. It's so cool. But you can go online and get the MP3 and Facebook and all that good stuff, and you can check out the study there and you can even go through the book of First Timothy with me just kind of throughout the teachings and opportunities. So. All right. We are in first Timothy and you guys remember hopefully few weeks ago, we opened up the book here in Chapter one and what is first Timothy about first Timothy was written by the Apostle Paul and it was written to Pastor Timothy, right. Paul leaves him there in Ephesus. And again I mentioned that it's so neat if you're a part of the men's study. Because we're reading the Book of Ephesus or Ephesians and we get to see the letter that Paul wrote to the church. And then now in the book of First Timothy, we get to see the letter that Paul wrote to the pastor, the encouragement that Paul gives to Pastor Timothy, and how he would encourage that pastor, that is, they're leading the church there in Ephesus. It's the first of the pastoral epistles. We call them pastoral epistles. Right. The letters that Paul wrote to certain pastors to certain individuals that are leading churches and it's just a great little insight that we get a see that we get a look into that encouragement from Paul to Timothy. We get to see the encouragement that he gives to Pastor Tim, but also the responsibility. Is that he gives to Pastor Tim there that encouragement of what a pastor is, the qualifications of leadership and also as we get a little bit more into the book, the responsibilities that we have as a church and as a congregation to us, you know, we get to see that correction there last time we. We met. We gotta get a little personal. With Paul, with the apostle Paul, we gotta look at or I'm sorry. With Timothy, we gotta look at Timothy's testimony. I should say right? We looked into Paul's meeting with Timothy where he met him there in Lystra and Derby as he met him with his mother and grandmother, you know, and the influence that they had on his life. And and just that relationship, as Paul said, that Timothy, was that true son in the faith? And we got to see that love. Of that that the apostle Paul had for Timothy in this time around we get a look at Timothy's life. We get to get a little personal here. I'm sorry I keep mixing that up for you this. Morning, right. You guys know what I mean? We got to get a little personal with Paul, with Paul the Apostle. And we get a look at his testimony here. What the Lord did in his life. So let's go ahead and read this morning here and. Chapter one. We're going to start at verse 12. It says this, it says and I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has enabled me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor and an insolent man. But I obtained. Mercy, because I did it ignorantly and. Relief and the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus, and I'm going to be using the new King James version. If you are in your Bible, you can open up your new King James, or you can also follow along in the in the NLT with us as well. But let's go ahead and. Pray as we get started, father, we just lift up. This morning to you, Lord, we thank you, God, as we always do, father, just for this opportunity to be here this morning, to gather together as believers in you, Lord, to gather together as Christians, father. Lord, those that are of the way, as we're going to read here shortly, father, those that are just believers in you. Lord Jesus, we thank you God for the freedom that we have together this morning to worship you, Jesus, to praise your name, Lord God, to open up your word and just to be ministered to by you. I pray, Lord, that we would be encouraged this morning. Father, as we look at the Apostle Paul's testimony, father, how you could call such a man? That had been through so much in his life and really that had caused so much pain in other people's lives, Lord. And yet you could call him for such a great ministry. Lord, how encouraging this should be in our lives. Lord, you could use a man like Paul. Father, you could use men and women like us, Lord. God in this church this morning, Lord. We continue father to lift up those in our body. God that are. That are gone, Lord, that those in at the youth retreat. God, would you bless them, Father God. And just Lord cause a revival. Father in our youth, Lord Jesus, cause 3 sermons that have gone out this weekend. Lord to just touch our youth Lord in a way that they've never been touched before, Father, God, that they would just dedicate their lives to you, Lord. Father, that you would do something great and amazing in this next generation, Lord Jesus. We pray, Lord, for those that are sick in our body, as many are just gone right now. They're dealing with this flu or cold that's going around. Lord, we pray for them, father. We lift them up to you, Jesus. And we just pray for healings right now. Lord God, upon their bodies. We thank you, Father again for this morning and just for the gathering here. Lord, we lift this up in your name. All right. Throughout the Bible. Paul refers to himself. A few different ways. He refers to himself as a prisoner of Christ Jesus, he says. I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus. He refers to himself as a bond servant of God. I Paul, the bond servant, right. That bond servant, that slave of God. And then he refers to himself as an apostle. Of Jesus one. That is sent out that word. Apostle just means one that is sent out and we know Paul. He was a missionary, right? That went around the area there and he had four different missionary journeys and he just shared the gospel with different regions and different people as he set up different churches and he was that missionary. He was that. Apostle, that he refers to himself as that person that was sent out for the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus, he wrote. Half of the New Testament. How amazing is that for God to use Paul, one man to write half of the New Testament? Most of our encouragement that we get throughout the epistles, throughout the Book of Romans, throughout the pastoral epistles, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, all these other. Ones as well. We get encouragement through this one man through Paul. In acts chapter 13. Paul preaches the gospel for the first time in Antioch and he preaches it to the Jews. Paul was known for going into synagogues and preaching the gospel there to the to the Jewish people there. And as the Jews rejected the Gospel of Jesus and they rejected Paul, the Gentiles as he left that synagogue, it says that they cried out to they say. Teach us this message that you have told for the Jews that you have for the Jews, and Paul went on and his ministry began and started there in Antioch to the Jew or to the Gentile. And the gospel began to spread and and and to us as Gentiles that ministry began and the Gospel of Jesus Christ then went out from Paul. He wrote the book of Romans and the Book of Romans has. Been called Paul. 'S greatest work, Paul's greatest work and in life a lot of times the greatest things are named Roman. Right. We just. I'm just kidding. But that was. I'm glad you guys liked that one. That was Paul. You guys liked it a little too much, but. But Paul wrote the book of Romans and it really is his greatest work. It's filled with so much doctrine. It's filled with so much truth as we're going through it, and now we'll be blessed to just go through it in our, in our Bible reading of three years. And it's just it's. A book that you can always just fall back on when you want to know doctrine, when you want to. And you want to, you know, weigh your doctrine, your beliefs on something, bring it back to the book of Romans in such an amazing book that Paul wrote there and that God used him for. And in verse 2. 12 here in First Timothy, again we get back into Paul and his encouragement to Pastor Tim there and the 1st 11 verses. If you remember, Paul Paul encouraged Timothy in many different areas. There he encouraged him in Grace and mercy to hold fast to the doctrine of grace. Hold fast to the true doctrines and teachings of the word of God. To not allow fall. Teachers to come into the church and here in verse 12. Paul then gets a little personal and he turns it back on him and he encourages Pastor Timothy with his own testimony with his own testimony and testimonies are so powerful. Right. It's always neat listening to peoples. Testimonies and what the Lord has done in their life at the men's breakfast. Again, we are giving the men the opportunity to share their testimonies. We're kind of going around and and just hearing different testimonies. From different men and it's always neat to see the kind of people that the Lord calls, you know, just the the variety of people, people from different backgrounds, you know, you hear some testimonies like timothys very simple testimonies. You know that they grew up with believing parents. They grew up in the church, you know, and their and their testimony is kind of just that that the Lord called him at a young age and hey, they just, you know, they just want to serve God. And it's very simple testimony, but it's still a very powerful testimony. This is the testimony of Pastor Chuck. This myth, a very easy and simple testimony that God just called him. He answered that call and he just, you know, was on fire for the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing great work in his life. And then you get those testimonies that are a little different, right? Those testimonies that maybe are more like Paul's than they are, like Timothy's, those ones that you're sitting next to the guy for a year or two. And you're like, man, this guy is so nice, you know, he's the nicest guy ever. And then you hear his testimony, you're like, Oh my goodness. I had no idea four years in prison, huh? Wow, that's that's really neat, you know, and you kind of scoot your chair, you know, a little bit after the testimony, you're checking your pockets and all that, you know. But God calls people from all different ways of life, you know, from all different backgrounds. Praise God. It's not only, you know, the ones that have it all together or or are successful, you know, or thank God it's not. You know, there's not a a prerequisite you know to to be in jail for a certain amount of years or anything like that. But God calls all different types of people. That's we're going to see this morning. In Paul's testimony here. Let's read it again. In verse 12 it says this and I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has enabled me. Because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, Paul begins with Thanksgiving. And who does Paul think? He thanks God, right? He thanks. He thanks. His God. He thanks his Lord and he gives all credit to God and Philippians. Chapter 3. Versus 4-5 and six, Paul brags a little bit about himself. He talks about he, how he is the Pharisee of Pharisees, right? How he you know his upbringing? He was he was, you know, he followed. He followed the law. You know, he followed every every bit of the law. And I'm going to read it to you guys here in. In philippians? Chapter 3 verses 4-5 and six. It says, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. Paul Speaking of himself, if anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so circumcised on the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin. A Hebrew of Hebrews concerning the law. A Pharisee that is an expert. He was an expert in the law. He followed the law. He made sure he kept that law. He was very he was very zealous, he says. Even in verse 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church concerning righteousness which is in the law, blameless. He did everything right according to what he thought. He set the bar. Paul set the bar and here in verse 12. Back in first Timothy Paul, thanks God. For the work in his life, for the change in his life, I love that new song that is out there. It's called. I thank God. Right. You guys have heard that song, maybe. And I'm going to. I'm going to read it to you guys. I'm going to. I'm gonna save myself the embarrassment of trying to sing it and I'm gonna save you guys the anguish of having to listen to me sing it, but I'm going to try here. It's so hard to to read a song without, you know, the the just the melody and all that going on in your head. But let me try here. It says wondering into the night. Wanting a place to hide this weary soul, this bag of bones and I try with all my might, but I just can't win the fight. I'm slowly drifting a Vagabond and just when I ran out of Rd. I met a man I didn't know and he told me that I was not alone. He picked me up. He turned me around. He placed my feet on solid ground. I think the master. I thanked the savior because he healed my heart. He changed my name forever free. I'm not the same. I thank the master. I thank the savior. I thank God. I thank God. This is Paul's testimony. This is what Paul does here in verse 12, he says let's read it again. And I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has enabled me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry as believers. We are in the ministry, every believer is in the ministry if you know it or not. If you like it or not, you are in the ministry. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, he did not give the gift of spectating, right? It's not a spectators. Sport, you know, if you look at Christianity, it's not like the game of tennis, you know, where you got two players and everyone else gets to sit around and watch. We're all involved, you know, we're all a part of it, whether in in Church ministry, whether it's organized ministry, we call it here in church. Or whether it's out in your daily lives, out in ministry, at your jobs, at your home, with your family. You are involved in ministry and who do we thank for that? We thank Jesus Christ. It wasn't because of anything that we've done or our background or our or our experiences. It's all because of Jesus and in verse 13 Paul starts with the word, although although and you go hold on what? Hold on. Wait a second, although. Paul says thank you Jesus for putting me into the ministry. I was a, you know, Hebrew of Hebrews of Pharisee. And then he uses the word, although just when you think ladies you met the perfect man, you know they go, although you hold on, huh? Paul says here in verse 13, although. I was formerly a blasphemer. A persecutor. And an insolent man. But I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. That is, he did not know. He did not know Jesus, although just when you think you met someone who's perfect, Paul says. Although Paul had some baggage right, he came to the Lord with some baggage. Paul was a bad, bad dude. If you didn't know that. Paul was a bad, bad dude. If you look into his testimony and where he came from, the things that he used to do even to believers, man, this guy was bad. Paul, in the yearbook would have got least likely to become a Christian. You know, that would have been his photo there in. The yearbook, right? Paul says that he used to be a blasphemer. What does that mean? Blast blasphemy. That's just defamation or evil speaking. How did Paul, a Pharisee of Pharisee someone who took the law very literally? He kept it very meticulously. He made sure that he was always trying to please God. How was he a blasphemer? How does he call himself that easy? Even in Paul's good works, he was an offense to God. Paul thought that that what he was doing. Was serving God. He thought that what he was doing was pleasing to God and he worked so hard at it. He worked so hard at it, but in reality he was in offense to God. And how many people live their lives like that, right? Seeking after God trying to please God, they're thanking God you know, for all these things in their lives, but they don't know Jesus. And really, in reality, they're nothing more but an offense to God. You know, every time I go into my backyard to do some yard work. My kids love to go out there with me, right and follow me and and I love it. They come out and hang out, you know, especially Miriam Moore. So and she just wants to she throws on some boots, you know, she's in a little dress and and rain boots or something. And she goes out there. Daddy, can I help you? Yeah, Mama, come on. You know, go get a little shovel or something. You know, and Luke will come out too, and I'm pulling the weeds and cutting the hedges and all that. And and I'm piling. On is. Hey guys, grab the grab the rake, get the rake and. Rake it all up. Please, you know, and we rake it all up and you know, I go over there 10 minutes later and there, you know, all the leaves are still out every. There, right and and the rake is now a lightsaber, you know, and with the shovel. No, they're they're just digging random holes in the grass, you know. And I'm like, come on, guys, come on. You know, get the trash can. Let me rake it up. Now I go and rake it all up. Right. And then I start to put it in the trash, you know, OK, OK, I go you guys have come on. Once you get this done, now you can move on to the next thing you know. Their heart is right. They wanna help Dad. They wanna be out there with Dad. But really, they're an offense to me, you know? They're not helping me, right? They're making it harder. They're making it more difficult, you know? In fact, they're digging holes where they're where they shouldn't be digging holes. They're breaking sprinklers and stuff. And I have so much more work to do. They're an offense. I still love them. Don't get me wrong, they're still welcomed in my home. You know. But this is our relationship with God. At times. We want to please God. We want to hang out with God. We want to know God and the world without knowing Jesus is an offense to God. Remember what Isaiah said in 64 six, he said that even our righteousness, even our good works, are like filthy rags. Even our good works. How is that Paul had so many good works? I'm sure he did so many good things. I'm sure he kept the Sabbath, you know? He made sure to stay kosher and and and keep the Jewish laws on what he ate and all that. He probably took care of the poor. He did so much good, but yet his life was an offense to God, he. Was a blasphemer. How was Paula, blasphemer? Matthew 2540 Jesus says that whatever you do to the least of these you've done unto me, right. You guys know that scripture? Paul says there in verse 13, not only was he a blasphemer, but he was also a persecutor. He was also a persecutor. How was Paul a persecutor? You guys remember the story of Steven? The first martyr. In acts Chapter 7. It tells the story of Stevens life. It tells the story of the first Christian. That gave up his life for Jesus. And Paul was a part of that story. In acts Chapter 7, verses 51 and 52, it says this. Speaking of Stephen, Stephen says you stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. I like this guy. This guy's cool, I think I. Would have got along with him. I have to read it like that. It has. An exclamation point. You stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. Says you always resist the Holy Spirit, as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the just one of whom you now become the betrayers and murderers. As Stevens speaks to the Pharisees and the religious leaders there in that time. And in verse 58 it says and they cast him out of the city and stoned him and the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And we all know you changed the yes to a P and you get Paul, right. And that's Paul the Apostle there before. He knew Jesus. He was there. In favor of the persecution of the church, and he was a persecutor in verse 59, it says in these stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying Lord Jesus receive my spirit. Then he melt down and cried out with a loud voice. Lord, do not charge them with this sin. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. This that he died. Verse one in chapter 8. It says this now Saul was consenting to his death. And at the time of a great persecution arose against the church, which was at Jerusalem. Took the law into his own hands, right? Was Paul following? The Law of God was he following the law of Judaism? Was he following the Torah when he persecuted the church in the way absolutely not. He wasn't. He wasn't following God. He thought he was following God. He thought he was again. He thought he was doing everything right, but what he was doing, he was. He was taking the law of God and he was twisting it into his own weird and crazy and demented ideas of what God is and who God is and what a relationship with God is like. This is the reality. To stone a Christian to stone, a believer in Jesus, there's nothing good. In that. Paul was so lost. He was so far gone. He was a blasphemer. He was a persecutor and the same spirit. That was in Paul at that time of Stevens death and the persecution of the church, the same Antichrist spirit that was there in Paul is the same Antichrist spirit that is in every persecutor of the church and of God's people ever since. From pharaoh to Hitler, right. Always trying to eradicate the church. This is Satan's plan. How can we get rid of the Jews? 6 million Jews less than 100 years ago. In our generation, we can still speak to people today that fought against that Antichrist spirit. From Saul. To the 28 year old trans woman in Nashville, TN, just recently that went in and killed. 6 Christians. You know, three of them being children even. Because of a hatred for God because of a hatred for the way for the church. That same spirit. What does a life? In constant rejection of God, lead to it leads to insolence. Paul says they're back in. First Timothy. Verse 13. He says also. He was an insolent man. What is insolence, insolence is violence. Or being violently arrogant. Having violently arrogant behavior its pride. Having pride and Paul says that that was him before his encounter with Jesus. Paul tried everything that he could to please God, man. He tried so hard. That's what he was doing. He was trying. He was trying to reach. God all on his own. He followed the law. He persecuted the infidel. He had zeal for the church and what he thought it was, right? He did everything that he thought he could do. And in acts Chapter 9, we read about Paul's encounter with Jesus. In Acts 9 it says this verse one it says, then Saul still breathing threats of murder and murder against the disciples of the Lord went to the high priests and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus so that if he found any one who were of the way. That's you and me, who are of the way right. Christians, whether men or women, that he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Verse three, as he journeyed, he came near Damascus. And suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him. Saul, why are you persecuting me? And Saul said, who are you, Lord? And Pastor Craig says that Saul was thinking, please don't say Jesus.
OK.
Please don't say Jesus. Please don't say Jesus. And of course, that voice said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goats. Paul had so much zeal for God. He thought he was doing everything right. But in all of Paul's efforts in all of his trying, he was actually fighting against God. He's kicking against the goads. That goat is just that, that the prod, the prodding of the sheep, the prodding of the animal there, that the shepherd would use and the and if the animal or or the ox would kick against it, right. It would be encouraged to move forward. God was trying to get. Ahold of Paul's life. God was trying to get ahold of Saul. Saul was trying to get ahold of God. He was going about it all the wrong way. And what does verse 12 say again then? Back in first Timothy. Verse 12 says and I thank Jesus Christ, our Lord, who has enabled me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. It took Paul or Saul. Giving up. It took him laying flat on his face, hitting his knees before God and just. Saying Lord, who are you? Lord, reveal yourself to me. To use that word, Lord like a master or somebody that has some type of responsibility or accountability or authority over you. Paul says Lord, who are you? Reveal yourself. And that Lord would say I am Jesus. Paul surrendered and as he surrenders, he tells Timothy here in first Timothy, chapter one, verse 12. He says that it was Christ Jesus, our Lord, who enabled me. It was the Lord who gives me the ability to follow him and it is God that will enable us as believers. God will enable you. God will give you what you need to find God when you need to find him. When you're searching after him, when your heart is open to him, God will enable you. When you need to fulfill that ministry. Whether it be church, organized ministry, whether it be ministry out at home or ministry at your work, and you have that word of encouragement to share or you want to get up early, Lord 6:30 is too early to wake up. It's God who will enable you. It's God. Who will you know, give you that desire in your heart. Give you that willpower to get up and go give you that word to share that word of encouragement that will give you the the power to lay your hands on somebody and pray for them. It is the Lord who will enable you. Verse 14 says this and the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus. All of Paul's sins could not outweigh the grace of God. Paul says the grace of God was exceedingly abundant. How could call? How could God? Call a man like Saul my goodness. A man that persecuted the church, that was all for killing Christians and believers. That was a blasphemer. How could the Lord call this man? Because of the grace of God? Because of his grace. And no matter how much we sin and how much we mess up, especially before we come to the Lord, it's never enough to outweigh the grace of God. There's nothing that you can do to outweigh God's grace. He's calling you now. And he will enable you. He will give you that grace that is exceedingly abundant if we just accept it. Verse 15 says this. This is a faithful, sane, and worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of who I am. However, for this reason I obtained mercy that in in me first Jesus Christ might show all long-suffering as a pattern to those who are going to believe on him forever lasting life, the grace of God, the salvation of God, that gospel message, Paul says it it's faithful and it's worthy. Is it faithful? Is the grace of God faithful? Is the Gospel of Jesus Christ faithful? When we get to heaven, we're going to know how faithful it is, right? When we get to heaven and and and and we're able to walk in. In confidence, man who? With all the bad things I've done. Oh my God. Lord, you shouldn't let me in, Lord. But the grace of God is faithful. Is it worthy? It's absolutely worthy to be shared, right? It's that precious story. It's that precious metal. Man, gold. How precious it is. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is so much more worthy for us to be excited about. So much more worthy. Paul was a bad, bad dude, right? He really was until he met Jesus. And here it says that he became a pattern. He says they're in verse 16. He says, however, for this reason I obtained mercy that in me first that Jesus Christ might show all long-suffering. That's all patience as a pattern to those who are going to believe on him forever lasting life. Paul became that pattern that we would be able to follow. And us as believers, we are that pattern as we share our testimony as we walk worthy of the call as we follow Jesus and we just we're just here we just show up man. That's the first step. Well, what do I do? I don't just show up. Just be here. Just break. Bake that bread. You know, just mop that. Flora just clean that toilet. Just say hello to somebody. That's a pattern right there. That's the Lord doing the work in your life and setting an example to somebody new coming into this place. Imagine when Paul walked into heaven who and Steven saw locked eyes on him for the first time. Uh, Peter, you know who who's Manning the gates right now? Peter, you know Gabriel. Michael, where are you guys at, you know. To see a man like Saul walk in for the first time. Lord, Are you sure? Do you guys know who this guy? I think a mistake. Was made, you know. What was that conversation like? You know where they sitting around one day in heaven and just, you know, Stephen was like, hey, hey, Paul, remember that one time, you know. The Grace of God. How worthy and faithful it is to us. In verse 17 it says now to the King, Eternal, immortal, invisible to God, who alone is wise be honor and glory forever and ever. A man, Paul says, a few different things. He teaches us some doctrine, some truth about. God and who he is and his attributes. He says three or four things about God. One, he says, eternal. He says that God is eternal. He has no beginning and no end, right. He is the alpha and the Omega. We call him. He was never created. God is not a created being and many people that cannot wrap their minds around a God. That could create us and that is completely different and and infinite from us where we are finite beings. This is 1 block. You know that they have in their in their mind that they just can't get over that God was never created. He's not a creation. He has no beginning and no end, Paul tells Timothy. Remember, God is eternal, he is eternal. He was here before anything was here, and he will be here after anything is left over. He also he says that. He is immortal. God is the immortal God, he. Is immortal. You cannot kill him. You cannot kill God again. He has no end. How Satan would love to kill God. How satanic people in this world. Would love to kill God. How Hollywood would love to kill God. Ohh man, if we could just make a movie and have a reality we could just. I'm sure there's been one made already. If we could just kill God. Wow, what a sad world that would be to be reigned and ruled by Satan. God is immortal, and that's something that we get to stand on as believers and confidence, who you cannot knock me down. You can't hurt me, man. My God is immortal. Paul says that God is invisible. In the Book of Ephesians, Paul encourages the church. They're in Ephesus that he says that God is unsearchable. He is unsearchable, the invisible God, he's endless, he's endless. It's like outer space. How vast it is. It's like the ocean floor, you know, you hear those studies about how much we've we've, you know, searched and and visited the the ocean floor. And yet, it's only that small percentage. You know that we've ever seen. And those those creatures out there. God is endless. He's invisible. He's unsearchable. He's so vast and he's so full of gifts and he's so full of Amazing Grace, Paul says. Don't forget that. Don't forget that. He also says that he's wise. Not only is he wise. But it says to God, who alone is wise, right? He alone is wise. There's been some pretty wise men and women, I think. Solomon was pretty wise, you know? He asked for the gift of wisdom. In the end, he was also pretty dumb, you know, pretty stupid. How can you be the wisest man ever, and then make the mistakes that Solomon made? Because, really, in reality, God alone is wise. You cannot outsmart God. You can't outsmart God. No matter how much you try. To outsmart him, no matter how much more wise you think you are, you know well, you know, the Bible is cool and all, and I'm sure it helps you to be a really good person. But that's not for me. I'm more wise than that. I'm more intellectual than that, you know? I've studied more than that. God alone is wise. God alone is wise. You are not more wise than God. You cannot outsmart him. He says to honor and glory forever and ever, a Amen and Amen and like a seasoned pastor now, Paul says Amen, and then he continues on for a little bit longer. You know, it's like when the pastor begins to close and we were looking at the clock and we would. You know, and all of a sudden another 5 verses come. Right, like hey man. Paul goes on in verse 18. It says 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, having faith and a good conscience which some having rejected concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck of those. Or of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan, that they may learn not to blasphemy. Paul encourages Timothy. He says I charge this charge. I I commit to you. That word charge. I always thought it. Was more of. Encouragement, you know, or or to challenge somebody. But that word charge is actually more. Like a command. Timothy, I command you. I command you, Timothy. This is how important it is, son. Timothy, according to. According to the prophecies, which were previously made concerning you, what prophecies were those concerning young Timothy, I Wonder, man, I wonder what was said about Timothy. You know, his his mother, Eunice, maybe his grandmother, Lois. They would probably pray over young Timothy, right? We know that they were godly women. That they were believers, they would probably pray over Timothy and say Lord God, please use our son Timothy in your ministry. And I think of how important that is that we continue to pray over our children. That we continue to pray prophecies over our children to pray good things over them and that we say, Lord use them God for your ministry. How many times me and my wife will pray over them? Lord God, use our children. Lord in ministry. Lord God use mere not Miriam. Use Luke in worship because Luke, just like dude Miriam sings like me. Look, things like my wife. You know, so we we already see the gifts. You know that the Lord is doing in their lives. We say Lord use Luke God in in worship. He has the gift of worship. I can already see it in his desire to play instruments and sing and just keep the melody. Is that what it's called? The melody? He just keeps that man like a note. He can hold it. And I'm like and me and marry him are just, like, making up our own words and stuff. You know, we're just happy. You know and and Miriam, man, she's gonna. She's gonna lead Bible studies and she's gonna lead women's ministries and all that. I already know that, and I speak prophecies over her right now. You guys are all hold us accountable because that girl can talk. My God. You know she does not stop talking, right? And I love hanging out with her. Because I can talk to that girl for an hour and say no more than 3 words to her, you know, and she will just carry that conversation, man. And I love it. And then I love it. These prophecies that were made about young Timothy, the prophecies that were made about us and our children, you know and us, even when we were young, how our parents prayed over us. I heard the story of a man who, he says his mom prayed for him for 40 years. She prayed that he would accept Jesus. And then she died. And after her death, he accepted the Lord. After her death, he said for 40 years Mom prayed for me. Mom died, never knowing that this man, her son that she probably had tears over, you know, would accept the Lord. Man and just like Saul, right, when he goes to heaven, when he saw Steven for the first time, imagine that sun coming into heaven seen Mom Heavy. We need. We need to pray for our children. We need to pray for that next generation. We need to pray those prophecies. We need to never stop praying for our children. Timothy had those prophecies spoken over him. And Paul says concerning you. He says. I command you, Timothy. That you may wage the good warfare that you may wage that good warfare. You know, the Christian life is a battle, right? It's warfare, Paul says. Paul calls it warfare, man. You know, sometimes we wanted life to be more fair, right? We just say God, why can't things be more fair? Lord, why can't this just work out? Lord, why can't I just be as successful? God, why can't everyone just, you know, have a home out there and why can't you just eradicate homelessness? You know, why can't everybody make the same amount every year? Why can't you know? We look, we want this socialism and all this. We call for it and how great it would be. It would be absolutely amazing if everybody could make 100,000 a year. No. You know what? 200,000 a year, right? You guys more comfortable with that? You know, it'd be awesome. We want it, Lord, why can't life be more fair? Other people want life to be more fair, but I'll tell you what, life will never be fair. It will never be fair. Because Man's heart is deceitfully wicked. It will never be fair. Why? Because those. Those that are are on the bottom of the totem pole. When they reach the. Top and all of a sudden it becomes very guess what somebody else will usurp their authority over somebody. Man's heart is deceitfully wicked. Whoever is lifted up, we see it all the time. We saw it in Communist Cuba, you know, as they revolt in all that the the winning party. Ends up desiring to then control and have power over others. Paul says don't worry about life being more fair. He says life will be warfare. It will be a battle and we have to be ready. We got to be preyed up, you guys, we got to be seeking after the Lord. We have to have that pastor over us. Like the apostle Paul. That would not just encourage us, not just challenge us. But charge us that would command us. Who would say remember the prayers? That were said over you. Remember that life that you were called to as a believer as a Christian to live, Timothy. This is who I am. This is who I was. You know, Paul and Timothy couldn't have been more different and they could not have been more different. You know Timothy. You know, he's a mama's boy, right? I just look at him and I go. I could relate to Timothy, you know, like you know. Grew up with Christian parents and all that. And he just wanted to serve the Lord at a young age. He got into the ministry. Paul's total opposite. Paul was a murderer, you know, he was man throwing people in jail and stuff. And who this guy was crazy. But how amazing it is to see God call all different kinds of people all different backgrounds. And the same God that called Paul and called Timothy is calling you now. He's calling you today. We can say that confidently. He's calling us. He's calling us into the ministry. He's calling us to get busy for the Lord. Life is so short, man. Before you know it, we wake up and we're old and we're buying clothes at Costco, you know. And life is just almost. Over, you know. But man, he's calling us now. He's calling us to get busy for him, and I challenge you guys. I command you guys to do it. And just like. Paul said in verse 12 he will enable you. God enabled Paul God, God enabled Saul to get right with him. To just do man to change his life, to do a 180. To meet with the disciples and then to start planting churches for the way the same church that he was shutting down. God will enable you. Fear not. Fear not, God will enable you. Verse 13. Paul says he uses that term. I was. I was underline that highlight that in your Bible. Not I am. Not I am a blasphemer and a persecutor I was. There's that. There's that change that happened in Paul's life. It was evident. It was true, it was visible. He was these things in the past. Now, now, man, he's a believer in Jesus. Now he's on fire for the Lord and he's busy. And he's sharing that gospel. That is, that is faithful and worthy. I charge you guys this morning. Take hold, grab hold of that calling in your life. Figure it out. Whatever it is, ask the Lord to reveal it to you. And then it's worthy. To share, it's worthy to walk in and to be faithful to the Lord. Let's pray, father. We just thank you, Jesus. Lord, we thank you for your word this morning here God and first Timothy Lord. How powerful your word is, father. To change a man like Saul, God woo. To reach a man like Timothy, who was not any better, he broke the law just as much. Father, your word says that when you break it in one area you've you've broken it all, Lord. And even in Timothy's, you know, even in his life, Lord, he was still a Sinner, father. He still had hell on the horizon. And are just as you called Saul. Out of this life, Lord, you called Timothy as well, father. To get busy for you, Lord. You gave them salvation, Father, and that same gospel message that was powerful, father, 2000 years ago. Lord, it's powerful this morning. Here in this room. Lord, it's powerful here this morning, here in our church. It's powerful in our lives, Father in our families. And in our children God. Father, would you do something with us, Lord? Lord, would you enable us God? Would you give us the abilities that we need to serve you to reach out to the, to a community that is lost, that does not know this gospel message, father? Lord, this community needs you so badly, Lord. Father, our friends and family needs you so badly, Lord God. Lord, you've prophesied over us God. Would you give us words of encouragement, Father God, about our future. And Lord, would you enable us, Lord? To fulfill those things, Father. Thank you, Jesus. We thank you God for your Grace, Lord. We thank you God for your forgiveness, father. We pray this in your name.