The Book of First Timothy :
Message One
By Dr. Michael
Guido, D.D.
A diner
asked a waiter, "Why do you call this
'enthusiastic stew?'" "Because,"
he answered, "the cook put everything he had
into it." There was one who cooked up a big
stew everywhere he went. Sometimes he was in
"hot water" because he "put
everything he had" into everything he did.
His name? Paul.
Let's meet
this person. One day he and his police force were
on their way to Damascus to arrest every
Christian they could find and bring them in
chains to Jerusalem. He hated them, and he
believed that he was helping God to hurt them. On
his way, as he was coming near Damascus, suddenly
a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell
to the ground. Then he heard a voice saying,
"Saul! Why are you persecuting Me?"
Saul was his name before he became a Christian.
"Sir," he gasped in terror, "who
are You?" And the Lord answered, "I am
Jesus whom you are persecuting." Trembling,
Paul asked, "Lord, what do You want me to
do?" "Get up," He answered,
"go into the city, and you will be told what
you should do." The men who were traveling
with him were speechless. They heard the voice
but didn't see anyone. Paul got up, but when he
opened his eyes, he couldn't see anything. They
took him by the hand and led him to Damascus. For
three days he couldn't see, and he didn't eat or
drink anything. Then the Lord sent one of His
men, named Ananias, to Paul. He went, but he was
scared, for he heard how much suffering he
brought on the Christians. But the Lord said,
"Go, for he is a chosen instrument of
Mine." He went, and put his hands on Paul,
and then he saw again. He was baptized, and
immediately he began to preach Christ.
Let's look
at his position. It's described in 1st
Timothy 1:1 like this: "Paul, an apostle of
Jesus Christ by the commandment of God." The
word "apostle" means "one who was
sent out." It speaks of an ambassador, that
is, one who is sent out to represent his king and
his country. Paul considered himself to be an
ambassador of Christ. By choice? Oh, no. The
Bible says, "By the commandment of
God." And what's true of Paul is true of
every Christian. One day I was watering some
azaleas with a sprinkling attachment on the hose,
and my little niece, wishing to help, stood by my
side with a little sprinkling can. It mattered
little to the azaleas whether the water came
through the large sprinkling attachment or the
little sprinkling can. All that mattered was the
water. So it matters little to the world how
great or gifted the instrument is that furnishes
the water of life. All that matters is that it
gets the water. Don't be too concerned about how
much you do - just be careful of what you do. You
see, you're the only link between God and man.
And however humble your service may be, you're in
business for the King!
"Life
can never be dull again when once we've thrown
our windows open wide,
And seen
the mighty world that lies outside, and whispered
to ourselves this wondrous thing,
We're
wanted for the business of the King!"
Let's look
at the possessions. They're introduced by the
word "our," for Christianity is a
religion of personal pronouns. So the apostle
Paul, linking himself up with his convert,
Timothy, said, "God our Savior." But is
he your Savior? The other day one said to me on
being asked that question, "No, He's not my
Savior, but I hope to be saved at last."
"My friend," I answered, "it's
better to be saved at first." Paul continued
with his possessions by claiming "our Lord
Jesus Christ." It's one thing for Him to be
your Savior, but it's another thing for Him to be
your Lord. And how does He become your Lord? Let
Wendell Philips answer. He said, "I heard
Lyman Beecher preach on the Lordship of Christ. I
went to my room, locked the door, threw myself on
the floor in my room, and said, 'O God, I belong
to Thee. Take what is Thine own. I gladly
recognize Thy ownership on me. I now take Thee as
Lord and Master.'" In closing, the apostle
Paul spoke of "Christ, our hope." He
not only gives hope, but is hope. What hope is
there for victory over self and sin? He is our
hope. What hope is there for a happy hereafter?
He is our hope. Like a boy with his kite; the
kite is in the clouds. The boy can't see it, but
he can feel its pull. So our hope has gone up to
heaven, and He's drawing us to Himself. With the
poet we can say:
"Thou,
O Christ, art all I want, more than all in Thee I
find;
Raise the
fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick and lead
the blind.
Just and
holy is Thy name, I am all unrighteousness;
False and
full of sin I am, Thou art full of truth and
grace."
"Other
refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on
Thee:
Leave, ah,
leave me not alone, still support and comfort me!
All my
trust on Thee is stayed, all my help from Thee I
bring;
Cover my
defenseless head with the shadow of Thy
wing."
copyright 2000 Guido
Evangelistic Association
All Scripture verses are
quoted from the New King James Version..
Click here to go to the next message in this
Sower Scripture Study on the book of First
Timothy.
This series of messages on
the books of the Bible were originally written
for broadcast on Dr. Guido's radio program,
"The Sower." They are collected and
reprinted here for your enjoyment and spiritual
edification.
