Prayer Propels the Gospel Message 3

1 Timothy 2:1-7

1 Timothy 2:1–7 NKJV

1 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. 3 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.

Prayer

Message

Paul was a seasoned and older apostle, an experienced apostle who was writing to Timothy, the young and forthcoming pastor to lead the church at Ephesus. Paul realized it was going to take a great deal of work to get the church and young Timothy off to a good start.

In this text we read tonight from message 3 of our study, Prayer propels the Gospel, we are learning Paul’s instructions to the church as to how to pray and the importance of prayer.

Week 1 we learned in verse 1 that we were to pray for all people. We learned to pray comprehensively and all inclusively for all the people about us.

Week 2 we learned of the vital importance of praying for a leaders, from local community, job leaders, world leaders, and yes, us church leaders.

And we learned why that we pray for those in authority. They play such a vital work for the framework of encouraging a tranquil and quiet life, a fertile soil that is conducive to the spreading of the gospel.

If you have ever spent any time in witnessing, door to door evangelism, you quickly realize that there are environments more conducive to sharing than others.

You can go in a home and the family does not know to turn down the TV or the children are unruly or they are racing and chasing to the next activity. And our Lord knows what climates are better served for sharing Him with others.

Tonight we continue in this study. You will remember that we made our time together at the end of our service as a practicum or clinical if you will in that we put into practice what we learned.

We to this point have learned the breadth of prayer, and the things we have prayed for up to this point is a building process to see God at work in the lives of the lost. God is calling upon us to prepare the soil for a rich harvest.

We get to verse 3 tonight and we learn how beautiful our prayers are in the sight of God.

Prayer is a Means of Grace

1 Timothy 2:3 “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,”

Prayer is a means of Grace to see God work in the lives of the lost.

Think of it this way:

Raise your hands for those that enjoy Christmas? Obviously, I know you love Christmas because Christ is the Christ of Christmas, but I mean how many of you enjoy Christmas as it relates to family and the traditions that are held at the house hold? Take a moment and share what makes it special? What do you do to make for a great Christmas?

A great Christmas comes with great preparation. There is a build up to the time together. The family appreciates the great effort one goes to to make for a great Christmas.

We learn tonight that it is “good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.”

Why did Paul title God in this particular place, Savior? Yes, he is Savior obviously, but that aspect is what all the prayer prepping is for?

When we say that prayer is a means of grace means that it reaches out to God, we incorporate by direct communication God into the equation of daily life and we are asking Him to set the stage that He will be front and center of the daily life we live.

I believe it is similar to the experience I enjoyed this last week. I was not having to compete with the likes of Ganmom with my children and my grandchildren. They were hugging on me, wanting pictures with me, i was getting time with the family that can many times be divided.

Do you think sometimes that God wants us to stop and spend some quality time with Him just discussing life?

“Good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.”

1 Timothy 5:4 “4 But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God.”

Romans 12:1-2 “1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Romans 14:18 “18 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.”

1 Peter 2:5 “5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

Think in these terms. How can we pray for the gospel to go out unhindered?

Let’s brainstorm a minute as to how we can pray that the gospel go out unhindered?

-interruptions. Multimedia issues. COVID, The Music, the specials, practice for worship, my message, the delivery, my ticks, those are all detractants from worship. The temperature, the seating, weather, and the list goes on.

Winning the Lost

1 Timothy 2:4 “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

We are right to pray for the lost by name. Names are in the Bible for a reason. They represent people. specific people.

“James and John, Sons of Zebedee.”

The names of God describe His attributes.

Now, understand that we pray that they come to the “knowledge of the truth”. We are not in control of the outcome, God is. In fact, God in His sovereignty and power could cause anyone to be saved if He desired, but he provides man with free will, choice. Our prayer is that we present the Word in a fashion that one can understand and accept.

Isaiah 45:22 “22 “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”

Isaiah 55:1 “1 “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.”

Ezekiel 18:32 “32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore turn and live!””

Luke 14:23 “23 Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”

John 3:15-17 “15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 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. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

Romans 3:29-30 “29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.”

God wants everyone to be saved, but in His love for you, he will not will that everyone be saved.

The Lord’s Ear and my Listening

1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,”

We are to pray that Jesus intercede for us as we serve Him. And, we pray for this triune harmony at work as we serve Him.

Mediator

New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries: Updated Edition 3319 μέσος (mesos)

3319. μέσος mesos; a prim. word; middle, in the midst:—among(3), among*(5), before*(3), between(1), between*(3), center(6), forward*(3), midday*(1), middle(6), midnight*(2), midst(19), two(1), way(2), within*(1).

Would you allow me to open your thinking to something deep?

When we read the Gospel of John about the relationship with the Father, have you ever considered that Jesus’ love for you is equal to His love for the Father?

Deuteronomy 6:4 “4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!”

Mark 12:30-31 “30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.””

John 17:21 “21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

When a baby comes out of the womb, what actions as parents do we do to recreate that security that a baby enjoys?

Our Lord and Savior at birth was wrapped in “swaddling clothes”.

We are to pray for that harmony, that koinonia with the triune God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit at work as we share Him with others.

You see, we can go through this process of prayer that the pray becomes inward, prepare me for Your Service.

His Appointment and My Actions and Accuracy in Sharing

1 Timothy 2:7 “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.”

Ephesians 3:7-8 “7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. 8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,”

1 Timothy 1:11 “11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.”

Think of this verse in context to the story of the talents.

2 Timothy 1:11 “11 to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.”

God has appointed you with certain gifts, skills, talents, to be used of Him.

Galatians 1:15-16 “15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, 16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,”