AS MEN OF GOD

INTRODUCTION

AT THE BEGINNING OF CHAPTER 6

Paul is teaching Timothy how to disciple people

He is encouraging him to hold the line concerning certain subjects

He talks about Contentment

He speaks to Godliness

He clues us into what the love of money can do

AND IN VERSE 11, PAUL BALANCES ALL THOSE THINGS WITH A GREAT EXHORTATION TO SEAL THE LETTER

TURN TO

1 Timothy 6:11–21 NKJV

11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, 15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. 17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. 20 O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:11-

PRAY THAT GOD WOULD MAKE CLEAR THE THINGS WE SHOULD BE HOLDING ON TO AND THE THINGS THAT NEED TO BE LET GO

PRAY THAT GOD WOULD REVEAL TO US THE THINGS THAT ARE NOT GOOD FOR US

PRAY THAT WE WOULD FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT

1 TIMOTHY 6:11-

1 Timothy 6:11 NKJV

11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

HOW MANY OF US TODAY WOULD CONSIDER OURSELVES MEN OF GOD?

For all of us who consider ourselves Men of God

For those of us desiring to be men of God

This saying co

Paul says:

FLEE THESE THINGS

FLEE: PHEUGO

Disappear, Avoid, Escape,

THESE THINGS

BUT DON’T JUST RUN AWAY FROM EVIL

PURSUE RIGHTEOUSNESS!

Whenever God calls us from something, He almost always is calling us to something greater

Sometimes we don’t get it

Sometimes it’s hard for us to leave

Sometimes Fleeing from certain things may cost us something

But I’m here to tell you that whatever the cost of our sinfulness

It is nothing to be compared to what God has for us on the other side of that decision.

PURSUE GODLINESS

Seems impossible huh

We can make excuses all day long

“God you know I am not perfect”

“God you know my weaknesses”

“God I can’t be like Jesus”

Though these are true

They shouldn’t be excuses

They should be encouragements that God knows who you are and still loves you

They should encourage you, that even though your heart is wicked and who could not it, He still desires a relationship with you

He knows what you’re going through and still pursues after you.

That word Pursue in the greek is DIOKO

To set in motion

To persecute

To Strive after

As Men of God, we must flee the things that lead us astray

And Set in Motion

Ignite

Turn the key to the things of Godliness, Faith, Love, Patience, and Gentleness

WHY IS PAUL SPEAKING TO THESE THINGS?

Because these points are hard for us men to cultivate

My mom always praises me about my Patience

My sisters always compliment my gentleness

My church always says I have a lot of faith

My wife knows that I love her

My God knows that I am trying to pursue righteousness and godliness

And you know what my response always is:

IT ISN’T EASY

It isn’t easy to be patient

It isn’t easy to be gentle

It isn’t easy to have faith

It isn’t easy to love

It isn’t easy to pursue righteousness and godliness

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT

IT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE

IT IS NO SMALL THING THAT PAUL TELLS TIMOTHY THAT HE MUST FIRST FLEE SOME THINGS

AND THEN PURSUE THESE OTHER THINGS

IF WE ARE HAVING TROUBLE PURSUING AFTER THE THINGS LISTED HERE

IT IS MAYBE BECAUSE WE HAVEN’T FLED FROM OUR SINFUL TENDENCIES.

MAYBE WE ARE STILL INVOLVED IN SOME SMALL WAY WITH THE THINGS OF THE PAST

MAYBE THATS WHY WE GET FRUSTRATED

MAYBE THATS WHY WE WANT TO THROW IN THE TOWEL

MAYBE THATS WHY OUR MARRIAGES ARE STRUGGLING

MAYBE IT IS BECAUSE SEEKING THE KINGDOM IS OUR LAST RESORT.

MEN, IF WE ARE GOING TO BE MEN OF GOD, WE NEED TO LEARN TO FIGHT FOR WHAT GOD WANTS TO ACCOMPLISH

1 Timothy 6:12–16 NKJV

12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, 15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:12 NKJV

12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1 TIMOTHY 6:12-

PAUL HAS NO OTHER WORDS TO USE BUT “FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT”

You can’t accomplish verse 11 if you are not fighting for what matters

Your Righteousness

Your Godliness

Your Faith

Your Love

Your Patience

Your Gentleness

WILL ALL NEED TO BE FOUGHT FOR

PAUL SAYS: LAY HOLD ON ETERNAL LIFE

Take hold of it

Grasp it

Never let go

For this is your calling

Jesus desires all men to be saved

He doesn’t delight in the death of the wicked

If God desires one thing

It is that all men be saved

For us who have confessed who Jesus is before many witnesses

It is time for us to continue laying hold of that which has laid hold of us

PAUL IS URGING US, THE MEN OF GOD, IN THE SIGHT OF GOD

THE GOD WHO GIVES LIFE TO ALL THINGS

AND BEFORE JESUS, WHO CONFESSED BEFORE PONTIUS PILATE

THAT WE CONTINUE TO PURSUE AFTER BEING LIKE JESUS

As Jesus confessed before God and Man who He was

As jesus kept the commandments

As He was above reproach

LET’S LIVE INTO OUR CONFESSION

LET’S LIVE OUT WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST JESUS

LET’S NOT STOP PURSUING THESE THINGS UNTIL HE COMES BACK

HERE IS THE DEAL:

Sometimes we forget who God is

Paul reminds us of this:

He says:

Look we don’t know when He is coming back

What we do know is that He is sovereign

We know that He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords

Who alone has Immortality

Who dwells in unapproachable light

Whom no man has seen or can see

Whom deserves all honor and whom has Everlasting Power Amen.

This is who we are dealing with

This is whom we live for

This is whom we live to glorify

He is the reason for by which we have been created, through whom weve been created, and by whom we have purpose

In him is all the riches of grace and love

Because He is the source of our riches, check out verses 17-19

1 Timothy 6:17–19 NKJV

17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

1 Timothy

WHY IS PAUL TOUCHING ON THIS?

Just like it is hard for us to be Patient, Gentle, Loving, Faithful, etc etc

PAUL KNEW THAT IT iS HARD FOR A RICH MAN TO NOT BE HAUGHTY

He says:

Command those who are rich in this present age to not be haughty

That word is Arrogant in the Greek

Why would Paul say that?

#1 Because it was almost a guarantee

#2 See when you trust something that you created, your trust for yourself begins to grow

The kingdom you built becomes about you

The riches you have stored up become your identity

Its what identifies you

Its what you trust in the most

Paul knew that those who responded to prosperity with arrogance where not aligned to biblical living

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This is why Jesus said:

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into Heaven

PAUL IS NOT SAYING TO BE PERPETUALLY POOR

HE IS SAYING:

Command those who are rich to not be arrogant.

Tell them not to trust in uncertain riches

Thats the key to this text

The riches that we can build are uncertain

They can go away

They will not transfer to Kingdom Riches

In fact, they will be left for others to enjoy and spend as they wish.

TO THOSE WHO ARE RICH HE SAYS:

Instead of trusting in your riches, trust in the Living God

Trust in the God who gives us richly all things to enjoy

Do good, that you may be rich in the good works that you participate in.

Be ready to give

Be willing to share

Instead of storing up treasure for yourself, store up for yourself a good foundation for the time to come. THAT YOU MAY CONTINUE TO LAY HOLD OF ETERNAL LIFE

Again, we must continue to grasp and live into the promise of Eternal Life

This is what we have been saved for

This is the reason that the Gospel has captivated us

That we would inherit Eternal Life

That we would live here on earth as Citizens of Heaven

PAUL THEN TURNS THE CONVERSATION TO HIS SON IN THE FAITH, TIMOTHY

1 Timothy 6:20–21 NKJV

20 O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.

FRIENDS, WE ARE TIMOTHY’S

-12

We are called to guard what has been given to us

To protect the thing that has been committed to our trust

How?

By avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge

What does this mean?

What was going on?

Timothy was in Ephesus

A city surrounded by Gods

Demetrius who made money off of idol manufacturing

The Sons of Sceva who tried to cast out demons in Jesus name while never knowing Jesus personally

Though it was normal for those outside of the church to profess idolatrous views

Paul encourages Timothy to not allow this in the church

Instead of entertaining all of these conspiracy theories

Or paying attention to what is falsely called knowledge

Guard the Glorious Gospel that was committed to you

For many who have not have strayed concerning the faith

Grace be with you amen!