Timothy's Purpose

272 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 3:10 But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, ( 2 Tim 3:10) Last time we talked about Paul's purpose which was made crystal clear to him by His face to face meeting with Jesus. But how about Timothy's purpose? How about yours? Let's look today at Timothy's purpose. Although he had no face to face encounter with Jesus to spell out his purpose in the church, he had many face to face encounters with Paul....who did. Perhaps the best way to describe Timothy's purpose would be to say he was like a relay runner, taking the baton from Paul and handing it off to future generations of leaders in the Christian church. His purpose was put in writing for all to see! Paul wrote in 2Ti 2:2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. In one sense, his purpose was to tag along with Paul on his missionary journeys and learn to emulate Paul, because he would be the Paul of the next generation! He traveled with Paul and at times was sent by Paul to other churches to encourage and guide them in the ways of Christ handed down to the Apostles and Paul. But Timothy's purpose took the spread of Christianity and the planting of churches to the next level. Paul's letters to Timothy gave him specific instructions on how to run the church in regards to the care of the flock, including the qualifications for leaders, the conduct of the members and ministers, the administration of the church, the order in which the church should be conducted, and how to deal with the false teachers that would surely arise in the church. All this put in black and white for Timothy and for our church leaders of today. His purpose made clear as the Holy Spirit moved Paul to write these letters with these instructions. It would be wise for all of us to review these instructions for our churches today, it seems they would help us remember our own purposes as a church. Timothy didn't have to guess about His purpose. It was there for him written in ink by the Apostle Paul who was guided by Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Do we have to guess about our own individual purposes? We'll address that question next time.

Passing the Faith Along

213 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 2:2 “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Tim 2:2) Paul was an Apostle, and as an Apostle he had some one on one training with Jesus. He made this clear in his letter to the Galatians: “But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Gal 1:11,12) The things that Jesus passed onto Paul are essential to the faith and therefore were passed onto Timothy in the presence of other witnesses, and now Timothy is charged with committing these things along to other faithful men, who are gifted teachers. If you are a rightly called pastor and/or teacher, you have had these teachings of Paul committed to you! And guess what? You are charged with committing these teachings to other faithful men and gifted teachers. The word “commit” here speaks of a deposit. You are to deposit what has been deposited in you to these other faithful teachers. Call it discipleship. Call it mentoring, call it what you will, but it must be done with every generation. Do you want to see what happens when you skip a generation? Just read the Book of Judges. It is not enough to fire shotgun blasts of teaching in weekly sermons to a congregation, this charge from Paul involves a more specific targeted audience. Where do you find these faithful men who are apt teachers? It's not up to you to find them, it is up to you to make yourself available to deposit. It is God who provides the gifted Eph 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, I have been blessed to sit under a pastor who understood the importance of passing the faith along, and it was with amazement that we watched our little congregation turn out many pastors and teachers who went on to serve in various ministries. What was our pastor's secret? He prayed and trusted the Holy Spirit to do his work! It was the Holy Spirit's doing to be sure, and it involves the work of prayer. Jesus reminded us in Mt 9:37, “Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 "Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Prayer is vital in this matter of passing the faith along, don't neglect it! It only takes the neglect of one generation to lose it!

God's Created Order

# 71 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 2:11 Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. 12 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. The Holy Spirit seeks to take us back to the beginning of creation to help us better understand the role of men and women in these newly created churches that Timothy will be overseeing. As we have seen thus far in this letter, the emphasis on apostolic doctrine is vital. The apostolic doctrine is that doctrine that Jesus first handed down to His hand-picked Apostles who (incidentally) were all men. They were then to pass the teachings on to other faithful men as we read in 2Ti 2:2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Again. It's not about giftedness, it's about God's created order. Adam first, then Eve. Try to look at it this way: By the time Eve arrived on the scene in the garden of Eden, we know that Adam had already named all the animals. Ge 2:20 says, “So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.” Adam's helper, (Eve) needed to learn the names of the animals. She needed to know what she could or couldn't eat, and she especially needed to be taught to not eat from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This was Adam's responsibility, teach Eve. Imagine the chaos if Eve suddenly decides she will call the animals whatever she pleases, or eats whatever she chooses. Yes, imagine the chaos. Eve wasn't to argue with Adam about why an elephant is called an elephant. She learned quietly and in submission, and set the standard not in accordance with ability or giftedness, but in accordance with created order. Adam first then Eve, This was the way of apostolic doctrine as well, Jesus to the Apostles (all men) first, then the rest. How does this work out in the church today? I would encourage you to prayerfully work it out with the rest of Scripture ever keeping God's created order in mind.

Passing the Faith Along

# 34 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 1Ti 1:18 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, 19 having faith and a good conscience, 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. Paul is passing the baton of the charge (the mandate) that Jesus had committed to him and to the other Apostles to the next generation, and so he refers to Timothy as his son. The implication of the word “commit” is the idea of a deposit for safekeeping. He was doing this in accordance with prophecies that had been uttered concerning Timothy. We are not privy to the exact wording of these prophecies, but in context of what Paul is charging Timothy with, they must've had something to do with carrying the message of the Apostles, (which was given to them directly by Jesus) to the next generation. As this message was deposited (committed) to the Apostles by Jesus, so it is to be committed to the next generation. Later in 2 Timothy, Paul encourages Timothy to deposit this message in others: 2Ti 2:2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Just imagine what it would've been like to be present when these Holy Spirit inspired prophecies were proclaimed over Timothy. Paul mentions this event ever so briefly in 1Ti 4:14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. And in 2Ti 1:6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. Something very real was being transferred to Timothy through the laying on of hands. Let's pursue this practice of the laying on of hands in the days ahead.