The War Room

1 Timothy 2:1–7 NASB95

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. 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.

Intro: Last week, we talked about Guarding the Gospel and we left with the charge to “Fight the Good Fight” to “Battle for the Church.” This battle is truly a war against untruth.

There is a lot of untruth that exists in the world. There is a lot of untruth that is being peddled and embraced in Christian churches across the globe. It can be overwhelming when you consider the movements that we’ve witnessed within our lifetimes - New Age movement, the Progressive movement, and now the “woke” movement. Friends, there are a number of professing Christians and churches who flat-out contradict Scripture in both their teaching and practices. There are mega-churches who have good music, charismatic leaders, and tens of thousands of members who are passionate about their brand of Christianity. The problem is that they have forsaken truth. They use the name of Jesus, but they do not know Him.

But this is not a war against men. It’s not a war against groups or even against the false teachers. Our enemy is not the prosperity preacher, the supposed social-justice warrior, or the “enlightened” Facebook theologians.

Ephesians 6:12 NASB95

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

We might wonder, “What can I do? How can I fight this fight?”

We have a tendency to want to keep our heads down. Ignore it and hope it goes away - look, that strategy has never worked. But this is a big war- it’s too big for me; for us. So, how do we “fight the good fight”? How do we even begin?

As we continue to work through this series, Paul gives us instructions. And we’ll walk through the offices and roles in the church and some other great helps as we go along, but we must not rush into it. So, today, we take just a small piece of this letter- 7 verses that are vital in this war.

After all, Just as a physical battle does not begin on the battle-field, but in the war-room, so must we.

The war-room is a place of equipping for battle. Paul uses more battle imagery in Ephesians 6 as he explains the importance of putting on the armor of God. This is a process of prayer by which we are made to stand firm against the schemes of the devil (Eph. 6:11).

Discuss: What is a war room? How can we enter into a spiritual war room?

The same truth is brought forward here in this letter to Timothy. Paul urges Timothy (and that’s the word used- literally Paul calls Timothy to this action) & the church to begin here. In fact, we should note the phrase in v. 1 which underscores Paul’s sense of urgency.

“First of all, then”

This is an urgent matter- of first priority. It is too important to skip. The command to Guard the Gospel is too great of a task that the church could not afford NOT to give ample time and energy in prayer.

This is true for me each week even as I study and prepare the week’s sermon. You see, I cannot afford NOT to spend concerted time with God in this process. I even have to get away completely if there are distractions- even good ones.

“I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer” - Martin Luther

There was movie that came out in 2015 called “War Room” - Anyone seen that?

Paul walks us through what this war-room is by giving us the ingredients for our Battle Prayers. He breaks it down to the Content, the Concept, and the Confidence of our prayers.

The Content of our Prayers (1-2)

(What we Pray)

Paul tells Timothy to pray entreaties, prayers, petitions, thanksgivings on behalf of all people. (1)

Certainly these are all nuanced differences of prayers, but don’t get too hung up on defining them. The point I believe we need to see here is that we are to pray all kinds of prayers for all kinds of people.

We should pray for God to help others- to bless them, protect them, heal them. We should pray for God to intervene in situations, for God to forgive people of their wrongs, restore relationships, and deliver from them from strongholds in their lives. We should give thanks to God for people, and thank God for what He is doing in the lives of those around us.

When we enter the war-room, we will pray all kinds of prayers because there are all kinds of situations and needs. But we ought to pray specifically- not simply offer generic mumblings.

This requires us to be involved in people’s lives. In requires that we care enough to step into the messiness of relationships.

Paul makes a point to mention prayer for kings and those in authority.

This was perhaps a weak area in the church of Ephesus, so Paul singles it out. BTW, the rulers in the 1st century were probably fairly difficult to enjoy praying for. I imagine you can think of some people in authority that you forget to pray for. Do you thank God for the President? The Governor? Your boss?

So There is instruction to pray specifically for these. This isn’t a new idea- we studied in Romans 13.

But he doesn’t just say to pray for them, he gives a reason. Listen to v. 2b.

“That we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity”

This might seem to go against the whole idea of “Fighting” or even “War Room”, but it is consistent with the teachings of Scripture. We are commanded to be peace-makers, to live at peace with each other whenever possible. We are commanded to love our neighbors and to pray for those who persecute us. In fact, as we’ll learn later, one qualification of a church leader is that they have a good reputation with outsiders. (1 Tim. 3:7)

Here’s what we need to see: When we are mindful to pray for these, we are living out a more consistent testimony. We cannot stand against untruth if our testimony is marred by an inconsistent character.

Discuss: How can you better shape your prayers? Who do you need to include in your prayers?

Our War-Room prayers should include all kinds of prayers for all kinds of people.

The Concept of Prayer (3-4)

(How We Pray)

The Battle for truth is not simply a rejection of untruth. As we pray, Paul reminds us that our prayers in the war room ought to reflect God’s Heart.

What do I mean? Well, let’s look at God’s desire. In verse 4, we see that God desires ALL men to be saved.

John 3:16, the most well-known and quoted verse in the Bible says that God so loved THE WORLD…

The Gospel is intended for ALL. It’s hope of forgiveness for the vile criminal, It’s hope of redemption for the false teachers, It’s light and life for the oppressor and thief. Hey, the Gospel message is valid for murderers, it’s valid for fornicators, it’s valid for idolators- God desires for ALL to be saved!!

And because God’s heart is for the world, so must our heart be. As we enter the war room, we pray that the very people who have wronged us, who have led people astray, who have been instruments of hatred and divisiveness- we pray that these people would come to repentance before our Lord!

These words are glaring in contrast with the letter written to the church in Ephesus recorded in Revelation 2:1-7. Here, Jesus says:

Revelation 2:4 NASB95

‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

They fought the false teachers, but they did so without love. They kept the false teachers at bay, but did not look upon them as God does, desiring them to be saved!

Paul Washer stood before a crowd at a youth conference some years ago and made this statement:

“I’m not troubled in my heart about your self-esteem. I’m not troubled in my heart about whether or not you feel good about yourself, whether or not life is turning out like you want it to turn out, or whether or not your checkbook is balanced. There’s only one thing that gave me a sleepless night. There’s only one thing that troubled me all throughout the morning, and this is this. Within a hundred years, a great majority of people in this building will possibly be in hell. And many who even profess Jesus Christ as Lord will spend an eternity in hell.”

You see, the concept behind our prayers must be that we are praying with the heart of Almighty God! The heart that desires ALL mankind to be saved!

But Paul says not only does God want people to be saved, He desires that they all come to know the truth. (4b)

What is truth? How do your prayers reflect God’s heart?

John 8:31–32 NASB95

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

John 17:17 NASB95

“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

God desires not only salvation for all mankind, but He desires that people would abide in His Word- that they would grown in truth and likeness of Jesus Christ.

I wonder- how are you praying for one another? Do you pray for holiness? Do you pray that God would deliver one another from the bonds of a stronghold? Do you pray that each day your spouse, children, coworkers, etc. would become more like Jesus?

We enter the War Room to pray all kinds of prayers for all kinds of people in congruence with the heart of God. And we do this with complete

TheConfidence in Prayer (5-6)

How better to guard the gospel that to go before the throne to the God of truth?

Here in v. 5-6, Paul gives a statement of confidence that we have in our God.

There is 1 God -> There is no other! The God on the mountain is the God in the valley! The God of Creation is the God of my salvation! The God of all Power is the God who gives strength. Hey, friends, when we pray, we can be confident that the God of the Bible is supreme! He is on His throne. He is unshakeable as the writer of Hebrews says. He does not change, and therefore does not change His mind about us!

There is 1 Mediator between God and Man -> God knew that we needed a mediator. We saw it in the OT with Moses and with the priests, but these were imperfect. And at just the right time, God provided us with the perfect mediator in Christ. Jesus testified in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; No one comes to the Father but through Me”

We can pray in confidence knowing that we have Jesus as our perfect mediator!

There is 1 Ransom -> You see, the Jews would go to the temple and a priest would have to mediate their prayers and offer a sacrifice for them. We need to make atonement for our sins, but, as Paul reminds us, we cannot do that on our own. We studied this in depth in our series through Romans. But you and I can enter the war room with confidence because Jesus Himself was our ransom! He who knew no sin became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God. We can approach the throne boldly because Jesus paid it ALL.

Discuss: What confidence do we have in prayer? How will your prayers change in light of today’s text?

We don’t go into war in fear. No, we go knowing that God is pleased by our prayers on behalf of others. We march into battle assured that God desires us and that His Gospel is sure.

This is the Gospel, the glorious truth that Paul was called to proclaim… and as we take up the battle to “Fight the Good Fight”, let us begin in the War Room.