The Central Message

# 59 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 2:5-7, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, 7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle--I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying--a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. (1 Tim 2:5-7) Paul, in the midst of a dissertation on how churches ought to pray, seems to go off on a tangent of basic Christian doctrine and reiteration of his calling as an Apostle to the Gentiles. But he has good reason. He is leaving this earth soon and this message needs to be passed on to the church for the ages. There is One God and One Mediator between God and men, The Jews don't have one God and the Gentiles another. Christians don't have One Mediator and Buddhists another. Just as there is One God, there is only One Mediator and the name that Paul uses for that Mediator says it all! “The Man Christ Jesus.” The man, (He was fully human) “Christ” (The Messiah, the Anointed One...fully God!” “Jesus” (The one who would save people from their sins!) This is the central teaching of the church and must never be muddled with syncretism amongst the Jew or Gentile! “Who do you say I am” and Peter replied, “You are the Christ the Son of the Living God! And Jesus speaking of Peter's confession said, “and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Mt 16:18) And of course we can't repeat Joh 14:6 enough, “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” There is only one way for Jew and Gentile alike! The ransom that Jesus paid on the cross was for all men, for all time! This ransom was to be testified to in due time and that time was now! Hence Paul was commissioned to bring the message to the Gentiles! There is no more important message from God to the world than this, there is no other message that the devil desires to intercept and prevent from reaching ears and hearts of the unsaved, and therefore must be of utmost concern in our church prayer life. Preach it! Teach it! Pray it! Because the Gates of Hell cannot stand against it!

Pray For the Lost

# 57 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 2:3,4, “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim 2:3,4) All that has been said about prayer thus far in Timothy is linked to God's desire that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. That truth can be summed up in Joh 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Jesus ever lives to intercede on behalf of sinners as we read in Isa 53:12, “Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.” Even on the cross He prayed on behalf of sinners when He said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” As Jesus prayed for the lost, shall we His church, not also pray for them? Sometimes we struggle with the concept of praying the will of God. Well, the salvation of souls is a good place to start! Any and all things that would be helpful to leading souls to Christ is certainly worthy of prayer! How close is this to the heart of God? Listen! Eze 33:11 "Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Joh 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Yes, we may pray for other things as well, but let us never forget that God's bottom line is to “set the captives free,” and anyone who is not with Christ is captive to the evil one, so pray! Pray for the lost!

Here's Another Reason Not To Skip Church

# 57 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 2:3-8, “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, 7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle--I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying--a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; (1 Tim 2:3-8) One of the great things about the writings of the Apostle Paul is that he is never far away from interjecting the Gospel. Oftentimes in mid thought, he suddenly breaks out in the explanation of salvation and the role that Jesus gave him in presenting the story. Of course the reason he breaks out here is to underscore the importance of the prayers of the church to the salvation of souls! He says in v8, “I desire therefore (and the therefore is “there for” because of the role of prayer in salvation of souls) that the men pray everywhere!” These prayers, which we have been talking about for the past several days are a vital part of the way we should be doing church if for no other reason, that they are “good and acceptable to God our Savior.” The word “good” here means “beautiful,” and “acceptable” is the idea of being greatly welcomed! Imagine that! When we rightly pray as churches, when we hold “oratory chapel,” we are sending up something that God regards as beautiful and something that He gladly accepts! One can't help but think of Noah's offering of which is said in Ge 8:21, “ And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma.” and also the golden bowls of incense mentioned in Re 5:8, “golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” God gathers up (accepts) the beautiful, sweet smelling prayers of the saints and stores them in precious gold containers! God's love of the prayers of His saints is mentioned in the first and last Books of the Bible, and may this “sacrifice of praise,” never be far from our lips or removed from our times of corporate worship.

That We May Be Church

# 56 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 2:1,2, “ Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. (1 Tim 2:2,) As we gather for prayer and worship, we should be mindful of praying for the authorities. We ask that the One who placed the authorities in office, allowing them to rule, would cause them to allow the Church to “be church” We pray that we can conduct “kingdom business, “undisturbed.” We desire to live our lives in godliness and reverence. Godliness means holiness and so in this prayer we ask God to give us leaders who will not dictate morality to us so that are free to follow the guidelines for living as spelled out in Scripture. We don't want a government that paints us into the corner that Peter and John found themselves in Ac 5:29. They were ordered by the authorities to not teach in the name of Jesus, “But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men.” The trend of encroachment by the government into the realm of biblical based morality is evident and ought to have us all on our knees asking for the Lord's intervention. The courts and legislatures are passing laws that give license to sin, even bordering on demanding that churches forsake the Word of God and perform acts that are contrary to the Word of God! It is also the desire of the church to be able to live in such a way as to reverence God. The word reverence here is the idea of having the ability to perform one's duties as a citizen well. And we are not talking about citizenship in earthly kingdoms, but rather our citizenship in the kingdom of God. In short, “Father give us leaders that allow Your church to be church!” This matter of praying for those in authority has been neglected in the church for far too long. We spend far more time talking to others about it, rather than talking to the One who can truly do something about it!

Praying For Those In Authority

# 54 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 2:1,2, “ Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. (1 Tim 2:2,) “Father, tell the government officials that You have appointed, to ”LEAVE US ALONE!” Now those may sound like fighting words to some, and indeed they were in 1776, as the United States broke free from the tyrannical government of Britain. And we know that it was the desire to escape from governmental tyranny that led the Pilgrims to come to America in the first place! Now, I am not advocating for armed revolt in any way, shape, or form, but I am advocating for prayer as Paul spoke of here in 1 Timothy, as the government seems to be getting more and more tyrannical toward the church. Prayer in this matter is the “first of all” responsibility of the church, and for starters, let us always remember who puts rulers in office! Ro 13:1 says, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” So when governmental authorities start acting up against the church, it only makes sense to come to the Almighty God who put them there! Having acknowledged that fact in our prayer, we now come to the Father with our specific requests for our government. We ask that we may lead (pass our time) as a church in quietness and in peace. The idea of quietness is that of not being disturbed. “Give us a country Lord, where we need not fear soldiers crashing our worship services and hauling us away!” And the word peace here means “keeping ones seat.” which in my mind is a great word picture. Being asked to leave one's seat is always disturbing. Don't believe me? Just try sitting in someone elses seat on the 50 yard line at a Packer game! You see, the church has a seat, it has a place in society. It is the salt and light of the earth, and in our prayers with gathered believers, we ask that God keep the government on track with their God-given responsibilities, (see Rom 13: 1-6) so that we may keep on track with our God-given responsibilities of being salt and light in this world. ( (Mt 5:13-16)

Pray For All Men

# 54 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 2:1,2,3 “ Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. (1 Tim 2:2,3) Prayer is a vital part of “oratory chapel” (worship services) for Christians. The prayers are to include these different facets that we have discussed previously, but how in the world are we to expend those prayers for “all men?” Best answer? We are not to pray only for the members of our congregation who are present, but our prayers should be for people outside our church walls as well. We ought to trust the Holy Spirit to bring these “all men” to our remembrance as we pray. He knows better than we who needs prayer. Listen to the Apostle Paul as he addressed this matter in his letter to the Phillipians. Php 1:3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy,” What was he saying? Every time the Holy Spirit brought these Philippians to mind...he prayed for them. He thanked God for them, and made Spirit-led requests for them as he prayed! This “trusting of the Spirit to bring to remembrance” in order to pray for others, ought to be part of free flowing congregational prayer. Who will your local body of believers be led to pray for? I don't know. Why not quiet down, settle down, and let the Holy Spirit lead? Don't be surprised if someone breaks out in prayer on behalf of the enemies of the church, for Jesus said in Mt 5:44 that we should pray for them! "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,” And of course as Paul adds here, our time of congregational prayer ought also to include praying for those who are in position of authority, again as the Spirit leads, for there are many civil authorities in our sphere of influence, and in the sphere of influence of churches around the world! These authorities have much impact on the quiet and peaceable existence of the church, and instead of railing against them, why not petition the one who put them in place? Which course of action is more likely to produce the desired results? Railing against them or praying for them?

Thanksgiving Leads To Deliverance

# 52 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, (1 Tim 2:1) Paul is passing instructions along to Timothy as to “how to do church.” First of all he stresses what Jesus stressed, “My house shall be a house of prayer!” We have been looking at the different aspects of prayer and today we'll talk about the giving of thanks. To give thanks is to verbally express gratefulness. So our corporate times of prayer ought to include expressions of gratitude to God and why not? He is the Potter, we are the clay, and we are mere players gifted with physical life and the opportunity for eternal life. Created by Him, loved by Him and allowed to be participants in this universe that He has created and one day will restore to it's beautiful perfection! No, we should have no problem giving thanks to God! Yet, there are times of suffering and angst when we struggle with giving thanks, but God encourages us to give thanks anyway! 1Th 5:18 says, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Case in point: Jonah. Imagine Jonah, swallowed up in the absolute darkness of the belly of a great fish. He must be wondering, “where am I? Why am I still alive?” “Is there any hope for me in my present situation?” Well, we aren't privy to his exact thoughts but in the midst of these terrible conditions, look what he did, he gave thanks! Jon 2:9 “But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving;” He had no way of building an altar and offering a sacrifice, but he could offer up an offering of thanksgiving. Look how the Lord responded in v10, “So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” It wasn't pretty, but Jonah was delivered from what looked like a hopeless situation, and he was released shortly after he expressed thankfulness to God. We often bemoan the spiritual condition of the world and the church today, maybe we ought to spend some time in thankful praying, supplicating, and interceding together as the Body of Christ and then wait and see what the Lord might do? Father, remind us often to be a thankful people!

Intercessory Prayer

# 52 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, (1 Tim 2:1) Paul is passing instructions along to Timothy as to “how to do church.” First of all he stresses what Jesus stressed, “My house shall be a house of prayer!” We have been looking at the different aspects of prayer and today we'll talk about intercessions. I am surprised to see that this Greek word used here for intercessions is only found in two places in Scripture. The other place is 1Ti 4:3-5, “forbidding to marry--to abstain from meats that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those believing and acknowledging the truth, 4 because every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, with thanksgiving being received, 5 for it is sanctified through the word of God and intercession. By understanding it's use here, we can get a better idea of the concept of intercession in general. Paul was addressing some false teaching that had sprung up in the church which forbade marriage and eating certain foods. The biblical commentator Lenski calls these teachings “devilish,” and asserts that the “demons do like to contradict God.” After all, God-created marriage and God created foods are good! Now stick with me here! My Zodhiates Hebrew/Greek Study Bible defines intercession as “interrupting another while speaking.” So when the church speaks intercessions for all men, they are interrupting the lies and contradictions being spoken by the devil into the lives of others. These intercessions of the church therefore are designed to lift up those experiencing spiritual attack. They are “interruptions” against the lies of the devil using the truth of the Word of God! It's why the writer of Heb 12:12,13 says, “Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. This then is the heart of intercessory prayer, it's a tool God has given the church to “interrupt the work of the devil” and strengthen those who are in the throes of spiritual warfare.

Auditory Chapel

# 51 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, (1 Tim 2:1) We've covered what it means to supplicate, today let's look at the word “prayers.” It's odd that prayers gets a mention here because after all, aren't all these things, (supplications, intercessions, and giving of thanks) prayers? Isn't this a little redundant? What does it mean to include “prayers” in this mix? The word in the Greek is very broad and it means “worship” or auditory chapel. Perhaps the best way to get a handle on this aspect of worship is to see how the word is used elsewhere in Scripture. In Acts 10:4b we read, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. In Re 5:8 prayers are likened to incense wafting up to God, “and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. In Ge 8:21 Noah's burnt offering was described as a pleasant smell to God: “And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Notice the idea of “up” in the matter of prayers. These expressions are directed toward God! I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that “prayers” in Scripture are Holy Spirit prompted expressions of praise that waft up toward God! In other words, they are praise and worship, and that's what sets them apart from these other elements. They can be organized expressions such as Noah's offering or the singing of Psalms, or they can be spontaneous bursts of lauditory remarks about our great God, the main thing is they are heartfelt! And Paul strongly encourages them to be included in our worship services. No wonder the Psalmist writes in Ps 147:1 Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful. Spoken or sung, praises waft their way heavenward to God and they are a soothing aroma to Him. They are pleasant and beautiful gifts to our loving Father!

How Do Our Modern Worship Services Compare With the Early Church?

# 50 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, (1 Tim 2:1) In N.R. Needham's book, “2000 Years of Christ's Power, Vol : Age of the Early Church Fathers,” he paints a picture of what the early church worship services were like from A.D. 101 -200. He says they typically lasted for about three hours and were divided into three sections. Section one was called the service of the Word and centered around reading God's Word, singing from the Psalms, and teaching. This portion of the service was open to all. (We might even call it the first seeker service!) The second and third portion of the service was open only to baptized believers and featured congregational prayers, and the Eucharist, or what some call “communion” or the Lord's Supper. In the congregational prayer portion of the service, the worship leader, (pastor, bishop, elder) would announce a prayer topic or concern, then the congregation would pray silently for awhile, and then the spiritual leader would sum up the supplication with a spoken prayer. Then he would announce another topic or concern and repeat the process. Needham says, “this was the lengthy part of the service.” (Prayer was deemed important by the church!) I often wonder what a first century Christian would say if they walked into one of our modern worship services in America. Aside from the cell phones and coffee cups, I think they might be shocked at the brevity of the worship service. We seem to be in a hurry in America. We need to get em in and out in an hour or less. Having said that, I think they would at least recognize these three elements of worship in most churches. There IS time spent on reading and expounding on Scripture! There IS a time or opportunity given for prayer, and many churches make it a point to celebrate the Lord's Supper every week. So take heart from this. Is your church reading and preaching from the Word of God? Are you making time for corporate prayer either in the service or sometime during the week? (Many churches use to have Sunday evening services or mid-week services with an emphasis on prayer) and are you observing the Lord's Supper on a regular basis? If so, you are doing well, and you are heeding Paul's exhortation to make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks of primary importance.

Tap Into the Power. Character, and Promises of God

# 48 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, (1 Tim 2:1) Let's continue to look at Paul's blueprint for “doing church.” Again, Jesus said His church was to be a house of prayer and so Paul gives prayer precedence in his instructions to Timothy and us. Whenever two or more gather in the name of Jesus there ought to be some praying going on. That praying ought to include supplications. Supplications being requests for God to release the benefits granted to His children. This aspect of supplicating is utilized as we pray back Scripture to God. It is knowing the promises of God and tapping in to them. Let me give you an example: In the Book of Acts, Peter and John had just been released from custody and the rulers had threatened them with more punishment if they continued preaching. Peter and John then went “to their own company” (We could call that their church or local congregation, where they held church) and reported what happened. We pick it up in Ac 4:24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord (They had a time of corporate prayer) and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 "who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: 'Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? Please note how the supplication began. They acknowledge God as Creator of all things....even civil government! Then they quoted Scripture reminding themselves and God of one of His attributes that they could use in dealing with these authorities as found in Psalm 2. Even without quoting the entire promise they demonstrated to God that they were aware of how He could intervene in their situation. Because as we read on in this Psalm of David we learn this about God and those who would plot against Him: Ps 2:4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. 5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure:” Armed with this conviction about God, they then prayed for boldness to continue preaching the Word and demonstrating God's power through signs and wonders. Listen to their prayer: Ac 4:29 "Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 "by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." Supplicate church! Learn to pray back Scripture! Tap into the power, the character, and the promises of God!

Applying For Benefits

# 47 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, (1 Tim 2:1) Much of Paul's letters to Timothy have to do with the “how to's” of doing church. He's already spoken to the matter of keeping the apostolic doctrine pure and how to handle those who would teach falsely. Now he reminds Timothy of the importance and centrality of prayer to the worship gatherings. He mentions four aspects of prayer that are to be employed on behalf of all people. First of all he mentions supplications. One of those words we don't use a lot in our daily conversations. What are supplications? Simply put a supplication is a petition, it is a request. In the matter of Christian prayer, it is a subject (you and I) asking his King to grant a request. Usually asking for a specific benefit or for a perceived need to be met. Did you know there are benefits available to God's subjects? One of those benefits is that we are able to approach our heavenly Father in prayer. Heb 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Wow! Mercy? Grace (which is defined as “divine influence on the heart,” ) whenever we need it? It doesn't get much better than inviting God's influence into a situation! But there's more to remember as we bring our supplications to the King! Jesus said in Lu 12:32 "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” And in Ro 8:32, we read, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” So supplicate church! Petition! Ask! Get familiar with the benefits of being a child of the King as found in the promises of God's Word and apply for them through prayer! Apply for those benefits on your knees individually, and, (as Paul is urging Timothy,” apply for them corporately, as as a church! Ask! Seek! Knock! For you have a Good Good Father, who will always give you what is good for you and good for His church.

Oratory Chapel

# 47 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, (1 Tim 2:1) Prayer. It is of primary importance in the church. Jesus said that His house shall be called a house of prayer. The word “prayer” means worship. Strong's Concordance calls prayer, “oratory chapel.” So when two or more are gathered in the name of Jesus, he promises to be in their midst, and let the “oratory chapel” the conversation with God begin! BUT, let those conversations be carried out in an orderly fashion! Paul speaking to the Corinthians and addressing their rather disorderly fashion of worship said, “Let all things be done decently and in order.” (1 Cor 14:40) I have been privileged to participate in many different worship services in denominational, non-denominational, and even “house church” settings, and my experience has been that each brand of Christianity has it's own liturgy. By that I mean their own styles of worshiping. Most have a set style that follows along with a worship bulletin that has been printed, or an order of worship prescribed in the hymnal. These worship styles have developed over the years and churches get quite comfortable with them. Even the churches of Paul's and Timothy's days were probably very comfortable with their routines of worship. (But I suspect that they would be a little shocked at the lack of spontaneity in our services today.) All worship formats run the risk of becoming flesh driven rather than Spirit driven. Pride (which is the calling card of our flesh) is always waiting to jump into the fray, and pretty soon, we are donning judges robes and declaring our style superior to others. Worship wars break out and the Body of Christ becomes divided. This is not a good thing! Remember the church is to be a house of prayer, a house of worship, an oratory chapel where the worthiness of God is extolled rather than the worthiness of men. Worship is a lot more about heart than it is about style.

The Importance of Church Prayer

# 46 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,” Whenever we see the word “therefore” in Scripture, we need to ascertain what the “therefore” is “there for.” In this case it is tied into the Apostolic office of Paul and his handing down of instructions to the next generation of leaders in the church. These are instructions that had been given to Paul by Jesus Himself as it regards how we are to do church. Notice what is first on the agenda. Prayer! Remember when Jesus cleansed the temple? He said in Mt 21:13, “It is written, in Isaiah56:7) 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'" Prayer! It is vital! It is “first of all” things mentioned to Timothy to carry on in the churches. Are supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks a regular part of your worship services? The church has always been bathed in prayer, and Jesus was our example! Lu 5:16 says, “So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.” The disciples observed Jesus praying often. They knew it was important and so they asked Him in Lu 11:1, “"Lord, teach us to pray,” And so He gave His church what we call the Lord's Prayer. When the disciples were in the upper room waiting for the promised Holy Spirit they prayed! Ac 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. In Acts 2:42 we read, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” And when they were threatened by the authorities, what did they do? Ac 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. You get the idea. You cannot separate the church from prayer. It is vital! No wonder Paul says, “I exhort you first of all!” Christians pray! Churches pray! It's a major part of who we are and what we do. When we cease praying, we cease being the church God intended us to be.....namely a people acknowledge their dependence on Him for all things.

Is This Church Discipline Stuff Relevant Today?

# 45 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:20 - “of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Tim 1:20) Hymenaeus and Alexander were kicked out of their local congregation (delivered to Satan) so they would learn not to blaspheme. The man who was kicked out of the church at Corinth was turned out for the “destruction of his flesh.” We read about it in 1Co 5:5, “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” The purpose of this “turning out,” or turning over to Satan, was the hope that they would be saved on Judgment Day. The man in Corinth needed to have his flesh destroyed in the sense that it was ruling his life rather than the Jesus as evidenced by his very public sexual and damnable sin! (Fornicators will not inherit the kingdom of God! (1 Cor 6:9-11) Hymenaeus and Alexander needed to have their tongues tamed because they were spewing false blasphemous, doctrine, that was capable of shipwrecking faith and sending themselves and others to hell. . So how does this stuff relate to today's church? It's kind of impractical isn't it? I mean if we were to excommunicate someone from a fellowship, the word gets out that the church is uncaring and judgmental, and besides, the offender can just scoot down the street and join congregation B, where they tolerate such things as sexual sin, and blasphemous teachings. What to do? Prayerfully read the Bible! Follow the guidelines of confronting sin as laid out in Mt 18 and in 1 Cor 5, and here in 1 Timothy. What does God's Word tell you to do? Then do it! He doesn't tell you to worry about what others think or do. He just asks for you and I to be faithful to His Word and to speak His truth in love! It may seem difficult but it is His prescribed method of dealing sin in the local body of Christ. Also, understand the gravity of the situation! Unless corrected, eternal souls are at stake! And finally, be willing to submit yourself to the discipline of a congregation. Stop trying to win the battle against sin on your own or flitting about like a moth moving from one church family to the next. We are not cured of our sin problem by running from it, we are cured by running to the cross and confessing it! Find yourself a good Bible believing church and get connected. A place where the people care enough to correct any hell-bound waywardness on your part.

Get Connected!

# 43 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:20 - “of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Tim 1:20) To deliver over to Satan sounds harsh, yet the phrase is used twice in Scripture and is connected to the final stage of church discipline which is excommunication. The unrepentant sinner is told that he is no longer considered in fellowship with Christ due to his refusal to give up his very public sin, or his promoting of blasphemous doctrine in the fellowship of the church. Therefore, by his observable actions, he is demonstrating that he is no longer in fellowship with Christ, and therefore cannot be in fellowship with the local congregation, which is the Body of Christ on earth. 2Co 6:14-16 says, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. This then is a responsibility of the local congregation, which serves as the Holy Spirit filled living temple of God! They are to exercise church discipline as warranted and unyoke or unhitch the unrepentant offender from the fellowship. And anyone who has been so loosed from the Body of Christ has been “turned over to Satan,” for it is as Jesus said in Mt 12:30 "He who is not with Me is against Me,” This procedure is carried out by the God-given authority of the church as stated by Jesus in Joh 20:23 "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." The purpose is twofold: Concern for the congregation, and concern for the offender. It is hoped that by “turning him over to Satan,” (severing him from the congregation and all the benefits of Christian fellowship,) he will come to his senses, repent of his sin, recant his blasphemies and be saved, and of course ultimately be welcomed back to the congregation. One more thing. The mere existence of this procedure should tell us of the importance of being connected to a local body of believers. You and I need to be connected to a congregation that loves us enough to discipline us in accordance with the Word of God , AND we need to willingly submit to it!

The Sins of Thyatira

# 43 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:20 - “of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Tim 1:20) As believers, you and I are living, Holy Spirit filled entities, and as such we must deal with our sin. This is done through personal confession, contrition, repentance, and receiving God's forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ. If we as individual sinners refuse to repent of our sins, and bring them to the cross, then we will have no place in the Kingdom of God! Listen to what Jesus told Peter about keeping ourselves clean in Joh 13:8, “ Peter said to Him, "You shall never wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." Washing feet speaks of a daily cleansing from the accumulated dirt of one's travels. and is necessary to “have a part” in Jesus! So it is with the cleansing of our sins. The church (the local congregation) is also a living Holy Spirit organism that is also charged with dealing with the sin of it's individual members. This cleansing of the church is why Paul wrote in 2Co 11:2, “ For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” Further, pay attention to what the Holy Spirit says concerning churches in Eph 5:25-27, “ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” The church is to police itself in the matter of sin in it's members. To tolerate sin is to become like the church of Thyatira spoken of in Revelation. Re 2:20 "Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.” Isn't that interesting? The two incidents of church discipline (delivering the offender over to Satan, (excommunication) mentioned in the Bible, involved sexual sin and false teaching! And the tolerance of these two sins is singled out in the church at Thyatira. Maybe we ought to make note of it!

Your Congregation Is A Spirit Filled Living Organism

# 41 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:20 - “of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Tim 1:20) Hymenaeus and Alexander have been excommunicated from the local congregation because of their superfluous teachings and their denial of the doctrine of the bodily resurrection. These blasphemous teachings shipwrecked their faith and had the potential to shipwreck the faith of others, and therefore, since they refused to recant their teachings they needed to be cast out of the church, lest their sin infect the rest of the Body. This excommunication process or church discipline is a tool that the Lord has given to His church for the purpose of keeping false teaching and sin from gaining root in the local body of Christ. “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” ( 1 Cor 5:6) Jesus explained how it works in Mt 18:15-20, "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 "But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' 17 "And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. 18 "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." Sometimes I think we forget that the local congregation (2 or 3 gathered in the name of Jesus) is a Holy Spirit filled entity just as much as the individual believer is a Holy Spirit filled entity! As such, sin and false ideas about God and salvation must be dealt with at both levels. (It's called repentance) Paul was speaking to the church as a whole at Corinth when the Holy Spirit inspired him to write in 1Co 3:16,17 , “ Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” The church is to take this charge seriously. Don't allow the leaven of sin and false teaching to besmirch the temple of God! If anyone damages the church with false teaching and sin, God will destroy him. Therefore to cast out is to really do them a favor, hoping and praying that this action will cause them to come to their senses and repent.

The Matter of Church Discipline Or Excommunication

# 41 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:20 - “of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Tim 1:20) Let's talk about this process of delivering someone over to Satan. In a word this is the act of excommunication. It is the removal of an individual from the living organism of the local congregation, which is in fact the literal unit of a Holy Spirit filled body of Christ. We have mention of this procedure here in 1 Timothy and also in Paul's letter to the Corinthians. We read about it in, 1Co 5:1-6, “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles--that a man has his father's wife! ( A man is engaged in ongoing sexual sin) 2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, (instead of mourning over this vile and public sin, the congregation in Corinth is proud of their tolerance!) that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. (It was their pride and free thinking that prevented them from eliminating this offender from the Body of Christ!) 3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, (This ejection of the unrepentant sinner was to be done by the authority of the Lord Jesus Himself and the charge that He has given to His Body (The local congregation) in Joh 20:23 "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." After the Matthew 18 principles of the restoration of a brother have been applied and exhausted, and there is still no repentance, the congregation must act in accordance with 1 Cor 5:5, “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” There are two goals in the act of “turning one over to Satan. The “lump” of the congregation is to be kept pure, and the hope of salvation for the unrepentant sinner is to be held out. This is a very serious matter. Blasphemers like Hymenaeus and other unrepentant sinners (like this man in Corinth) are to be dealt with by the local congregation. This dealing must be steeped in patient wisdom. Not too rushed in judgment and not too slow. Handle these situations, but handle them with love and care.....bottom line, souls that matter to God are at stake!

I Know That My Redeemer Lives

# 40 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:19b,20 - “which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, 20 of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Tim 1:19b,20) For the past couple of days we have been emphasizing the importance of believing in the bodily resurrection of Jesus. If He didn't rise from the dead, we are still in our sins because He would be a false Messiah, an imposter! But He did rise! His body was never found and he appeared to many as living proof! The Apostle Paul writes in 1Co 15:3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. Again we see the importance of this teaching as Paul uses the phrase “I delivered to you first of all.” (it was of primary importance!) He didn't stop his message with the fact that Jesus died for our sins, he went on with the bodily resurrection of Jesus. No sharing of the gospel is complete without the inclusion of this historical fact! It's why we restate it in both the Nicene and Apostle's Creed. (In my opinion, these creeds need to be dusted off and brought back to our worship services! The very reason we meet on Sunday's for worship is tied to the resurrection! It is the Lord's Day! When I was serving as pastor at Living Word Lutheran, we began each service with this reminder from the Job 19:25, “ For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth;” Then I would say, “He is risen!” And the congregation would reply, “He is risen indeed!” EVERY SUNDAY! We did that as an affirmation of the doctrine of the resurrection week in and week out! I think it's sad that we have relegated virtually all our worship songs concerning the resurrection to one Sunday out of the year. I mean, what would be wrong with singing: “I know that my Redeemer lives, several times during the year! What comfort this sweet sentence gives. He lives, He lives, who once was dead, He lives my ever living head!” That song oozes hope, and we all could use a little more of that!

The Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit

# 39 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:19b,20 - “which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, 20 of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Tim 1:19b,20) To reject the bodily resurrection of Jesus is to reject Him as the Christ, the Son of the Living God and this is blasphemy plain and simple. It is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit that Jesus spoke of in Mt 12:31 "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Remember when Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say I am?” And Peter replied: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. (Mt 16:16,17) It was this revelation that the Father sent Holy Spirit convinced Peter of and it is the bed-rock bottom line confession of the church! To reject this truth is to commit the unforgiveable sin of blasphemy, and to reject the resurrection of Christ is to reject Him as the Son of the Living God! Is there hope for those caught up in this sin? Yes there is! Paul turned Hymenaeus out of the church and over to Satan in the hopes that he would “learn” not to blaspheme. To learn here is to chastise in order to educate someone to conform to divine truth. As long as Hymenaeus had breath in his body, he had opportunity to receive the conviction of the Holy Spirit that Jesus is the risen Lord, the Christ, the Son of the living God and be saved. He had the same opportunity and invitation that you and I have today: “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom 10:9)

Your Dead Shall Live!

# 38 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:19b,20 - “which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, 20 of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Tim 1:19b,20) As we mentioned last time, one of the doctrines that Hymenaeus and his ilk espoused was that there would be no bodily resurrection. 2 Tim 2:17,18 says, “ And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, 18 who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. “ Hymenaeus taught that the resurrection was a “spiritual one” and took place at the moment of conversion and therefore was “already past,” So what's wrong with that? Isn't believing that Jesus died for my sins enough? Why do I have to believe that HE bodily rose from the dead? Well first of all, because the Bible tells us to believe that way. Ro 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” You see, it's a matter of. “What Jesus you are putting your faith in? Because the Jesus who is the true God-man Messiah would rise from the dead just as the prophets proclaimed, and just as Jesus explained. Jesus said in Joh 2:19, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." and John tells us in Jn 2:21, “But He was speaking of the temple of His body.” There is a beautiful prophecy in Isa 26:19 concerning the resurrection: “Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; For your dew is like the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out the dead.” Bottom line is this, if Jesus did not bodily rise from the dead, then the Messiah, (who's body would not suffer corruption, Ps 16:10) has not yet come, and if the God-Man Messiah spoken of in prophecy and attested to by Jesus has not yet come we are all still in our sins as Paul stated in 1Co 15:17. And as he stated in 1Co 15:19, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” The bodily resurrection of Jesus and subsequent bodily resurrection of the saints is a fundamental part of the proclamation of the Gospel. He is risen! He is risen indeed!