God Desires all to be saved 1 Timothy 2:1-8
Notes
Transcript
Introduction: 1 Q survey answer. Stop losing members and attenders. Points to an inward focused church. This will only push the end farther away.
Remind the Church about the mission. We joyfully worship God, intentionally grow followers of Jesus, and lovingly serve our families, our communities, and our world.
This is our mission within the context of this body of believers. However, Jesus said to go therefore and make disciples. He didn’t say to keep members from leaving. Jesus’ commission points to the growth of the kingdom of God through the growth of the church. The answer to the survey points to protecting our own fellowship.
Every year the church completes a report which goes to the National office. TALK ABOUT THE REPORT. Print a copy. For the 15 years before I arrived there were conversions reported in one year. 2017 there were 5. What happened that year? Since I arrived there has been a few. But it doesn’t show in up in the pews. So what’s the problem? Focus. An inward focus - survival mode.
We have to change the focus from inward to outward. Stop doing everything for the people in the church and start doing it for the people who aren’t yet in the church. Our focus must turn outward to the lost and hurting around us. Doing church the same old way won’t save the church. A switch in focus from inward to outward requires change, but it has to start with prayer. Prayer for those who will come to Jesus through the ministry of the Chapel but also for the ministry of the Chapel, that it can change in such a way that the lost will be reached.
Our passage this morning shows God’s heart for reaching the lost.
1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,
2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
3 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 also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.
7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.
Transitional sentence: God desires all men to come to a saving knowledge of Christ Jesus. If that is what God desires then that is what we should desire.
Paul begins this passage with First of All!! That means Prayer is the beginning of ministry. Prayer has the power to change people’s lives and invites us to come alongside God’s work of salvation. The prayer Paul has in mind is prayer oriented toward evangelism. It is oriented towards the lost coming to know Christ Jesus.
So pray. Pray - on behalf of all men. Paul asks that we make entreaties and prayers and petitions and thanksgivings to God on behalf of all men. This is intercession. This is prayer for and about others. Not me and not you who believe. But what are these prayers that Paul is talking about?
The Entreaty is an earnest or urgent requests to God.
PRAYER, of course, is our communication with God.
A Petition is a formal message requesting something that is submitted to a king, in this case God our King.
and with Thanksgiving we are expressing gratitude to God, for all the wonderful things He has done.
Using all of these types of prayer in the same breath points to the need for prayer that includes more than just asking God to save them. Paul is urging each of us to urgently request, and petition God to help the unsaved around us. To break the power of sin and death in their lives that they might hear and accept the gospel message.
The point is that prayer is comprehensive and this is an urgent business. People are dying everyday without knowing Christ Jesus. There are churches all over in this country, but how many teach the truth.
How many teach that there is one mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus. How many teach the full gospel instead of a watered down version that requires nothing more than a prayer to receive everlasting life. Or how many teach that sinful behavior is acceptable because our culture is different than that of the Bible.
When the Bible was written the law of sin and death ruled over the world in the same way that it rules over the world now. The law of sin and death requires the blood of a perfect sacrifice as payment to break free from the penalty of sin. This payment is a ransom. Just like a kidnapper would demand for the release of someone being held hostage. Pay the ransom or the kidnappers kill the hostage.
In this particular case each hostage must pay their own ransom. The ransom must be paid to have life. Unfortunately the demand is too high. However, the ransom has already been paid. Mark 10:45 says:
45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
The Son of Man, the One man who became the mediator when he paid the ransom required for our salvation. He was able to pay the ransom. His life, His blood became the ransom to buy our freedom. His blood covered all those who call upon His name and walk in His ways.
Another good reason to pray for others and help them come to a saving knowledge of the truth is for our lives.
There is a difference between those who know Jesus and live according to His word and those who do not. Those who do not live according to His word are generally the ones who cause the most trauma in the lives of those who do live according to His word. Those who do not know are the ones who persecute those who do know. By praying for those around us we can create change in their lives. Change that could lead to our lives being quieter and more tranquil. As Christians we are called to be at peace with all men. Romans 12:18 says:
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
This isn’t always easy to do. But through prayer God can work in people to bring about change.
This leads us to the heart of God. We all have desires and according to this passage His desire is that all will be saved and come to the knowledge of the the truth. This means that God wants people to know and accept Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
This is also an Alliance Core Value - Lost People matter to God. He wants them found.
God is our Savior. Our Saviour, is willing that all should be saved John 3:16 says:
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Since God wishes and is willing to save whoever believes then we should work on behalf of others, by praying for their salvation. Would not more be converted if we prayed more. He has saved us who believe, being “our Saviour.” He is willing that all should be saved, even those who do not as yet believe, if they will believe Tit 2:11.
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
So we must imitate God. Since He wishes that all should be saved, do you also wish it? If you too wish it then pray for it. Because prayer is the instrument of causing such things. Paul didn’t say, “He wishes to save all.” If God wished to save all He could simply save all. But Paul said God desires to have all men to be saved. This implies the possibility of man’s accepting it, through God’s grace, or rejecting it through his own free will. So our prayers should include all men and women, since God’s grace includes all.
God desires that all would be saved but does not require it. Those who choose to be saved will be saved.
b. Those who put their trust in Christ Jesus will be saved. But what is it that we must be saved from? Well Romans 5:9 says:
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
So we must be saved from the wrath of God or punishment, which is the punitive outworking of God’s righteous indignation at sin; perhaps describing an anger long-building.
No one enjoys punishment. This particular punishment is being thrown into the lake of fire. Eternal separation from God.
Salvation requires those who do not know the truth of Christ Jesus to come to a saving knowledge of the truth.
The saving truth as it is in, and by, Jesus. John 17:3 says:
3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Jesus is the truth. He is the only way to eternal life. To come to the truth or to the knowledge of the truth there must be a full “recognition” of Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. There must be a point of confession that Jesus is Lord and full belief in the heart that He was raised from the dead.
This is the point of conversion. To come to a saving knowledge of the truth is to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. This is for all those who are lost but also for those who do not have a right relationship with God but call themselves “Christians.”
13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
So how then do we respond?
We must begin with Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors - all people.
Are there people in your family that do not know Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior? Pray for them. How about friends and neighbors? Pray for them too. Neighbors? Not just the ones next door but the ones on the other side of town. The ones you bump into at the store or a restaurant. Pray for them too.
The prayers should be specific, reverently brought to God. The prayers should be bold as though you actually believe God can and will bring about your request. And your prayers should be full of thanksgiving for what God has done in the past and what He is about to do. These prayers should be offered up “for everyone.” Specifically name those whom you would have be saved and generally pray for all men.
As you pray begin building relationships those you are praying for and the others around you. Going to church for the sake of going to church isn’t a thing anymore. Honest, safe and loving relationships are more important than a worship service. That’s one of the reasons why worshiping along with a live stream has become common place. Good relationships aren’t always found at church. So people will find them in other places. Book clubs, yoga groups, VFW, the American Legion or volunteering for a worthy cause like meals on wheels or some other organization you might know.
As you build relationships with people you will have the opportunity to both show them Jesus through your life and tell them about Jesus with your words. As you build the relationship you can Lead them to Jesus. Salvation and a knowledge of the truth of who Jesus is comes through hearing the word.
Romans 10:14-15 says:
14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?
15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”
You are that preacher. You have a testimony about how Jesus has worked in your life. Preach it. Tell others about the grace that Jesus has shown to you.
One way to begin this process of praying for your friends and neighbors is to sign up for and use the B.L.E.S.S. application for your phone or computer. The acronym is:
B. - Begin with Prayer
L. - Listen - take the time to listen to your friends and neighbors story.
E. - Eat - Break bread with them. Food always makes things better.
S. - Serve - Serve them in some way to show them the Love of Jesus.
S. - Story - Tell them your story.
With the Bless app you will get a list of the neighbors who live around you. There is also a map which shows you where they live. You can begin praying for them by name. As you have or make an opportunity begin talking with them and getting to know them. Get to know them by listening to their story. The best way to help someone find Jesus is to know where they are and what is going on in their lives. Then eat. Bring them cookies or invite them to a cookout in the back yard. Then serve them in some way. The service can be based on what you have learned from their story. Then you will be able to tell them your story. Then you can introduce them to Jesus.
If you would like to know more about the B.L.E.S.S. app let me know.
Exit: So, we can work to keep members and attenders from leaving or we can get busy making disciples. A church that is focused on saving itself from death by keeping members and attenders from leaving will become irrelevant to the lost and hurting on the outside who need Jesus. But if the members and attenders of the church choose to change their focus to save the lost and hurting on the outside then the church could become relevant and begin to grow.
God desires that all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Is that what you desire? Are you working to make it happen?
Choose life, choose to make disciples.
