“Flee the World’s Ways and Pursue a Godly Lifestyle”
1st Timothy 6:11-21
In our lucrative world today, many have been ensnared in the desire for wealth and prosperity, especially in the church. Paul gives us warning to flee from this mindset and false teachings. For Jesus as well told the disciples that the religious leaders in his day loved wealth and the places of honor. “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight. (Luke 16:13-15)
So let’s look at the first portion of our text, “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession. Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
Paul exhorts Timothy to flee from the temptations of this world, and from sins that easily entangle: the love of money, the striving for the world, envy of others, gossip, slanderous and malicious talk that goes with the sinful desires from the root of all evil. For those who fall into these sins indulge in suspicious evil thoughts, and are in constant friction with others because of a corrupt mind and demonic blindness which has deprived them of the light and the truth from God’s word. “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart…The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (1 Cor. 4:5a; 2 Cor. 4:4) Paul saw the effects of these in his prior life, and wanted to spare his young protege.
Timothy was to flee from these sinful desires of this world and pursue a Holy Spirit led life and all of His godly facets: righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
Paul knew that pursuing these areas of the Spirit required the Holy Spirit to guide him in the ways of Jesus and God’s word, and to fill him with wisdom, understanding, and insight to the mind of God (1 Cor. 2:10-16). Paul spoke in his letters and prayed for Timothy and the Ephesian believer’s need for the increased knowledge and understanding of the love of the Lord that would drive the man of God to pursue righteousness in its correct form, spiritual riches from the Father. “Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor…. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Prov. 21:21, Eph. 3:16-19)
Timothy was growing into the man of God that he needed to be by growing in the riches of the Father. He needed to continue his pursuit of God and flee the world. Paul knew it was a spiritual fight against a daunting foe, in the devil and his dominion, but Satan was no match for the Lord Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit. For Paul said that believers were more than conquerors through Christ Jesus, “If God is for us, who can be against us?...Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. … For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:31, 35, 38-39)
Last, Paul brings to Timothy’s mind the Lord Jesus standing in the praetorium has Pilate drilled Jesus about who he was in front of the accuser’s hinchman, the Sanhedrin. How important it is to live a life led by the Holy Spirit, Paul prayed and taught Timothy to remember that he was in Christ.
Application - I don't know of more apt words for a believer to understand and follow than to pursue righteousness. The world is ripe with sin that will easily draw the young, old, and unsuspecting into its snare. I had a Paul in my life in a mentoring pastor Strong. I also had mature brothers who discipled me in my earliest years in the faith. But it was the guidance of the Holy Spirit that proved to be the greatest advisor and counselor when it came to pursuing righteousness and all that God has for me. I am still in need of pursuing a Spirit-led life even after all these years.
If you are a Paul to a young man or woman, these are sound words from our Lord. It takes more strength to say no to the world than it does to believe you are invincible in yourself. There are many cadavers of foolish people who have given into the desires for the world and its ways. They have followed the wooing of the enemy as he lures them away from God’s path onto a path of destruction lined with distractions and deceptions. Jesus spoke of the super highway that led to hell and destruction, but there is the narrow gate and path that led to righteousness and eternal life and it is this way we are to go. (Matt. 7:13-14)
We need to always keep our focus on Jesus and the manner of his lifestyle, for this is the way as Isaiah spoke, “Though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of oppression, yet your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will [constantly] see your Teacher. Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” (Isa. 30:20-21) Paul knew this verse in his own life and journey with Jesus, and he knew the fight that would ensue with the demonic and worldly teachings and craving. For the apostle John gave sage advice as well on the lure of the world, “Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.” (1 Jn. 2: 15-17)
Again there are many false teachers, preachers, and others in the world today who teach and preach prosperity for prosperity’s sake. God doesn’t want you rich in the wealth of this world. It is a fickle mistress that will seduce you and then leave you in destitution and death. (Luke 15:11-32) Our lives should be an example of contentment and Holy Spirit joy as He leads in the church and life.
We are to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness for these qualities will serve us well as we fight the good fight of faith until we enter into the heavenly kingdom of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.
Last, Paul charged his protege to keep all the commands that Paul had given for him to teach and was entrusted with in the Ephesus church. So let’s read the rest of the text, “I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen…Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.”
Paul now reminds Timothy of the importance of the promise from Jesus to his church, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” (John 14:1-4) the gathering of the church to heaven (1 Thes. 4:16-18; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Cor, 15:51-53; 1 Thes. 5:1-11; 2 Thes. 2:5-12).
Now Paul was adamant and believed in the anticipated and imminent return of Jesus for the church, for he had taught it to all the churches he planted by the work of the Holy Spirit in him and guiding him in writing these letters. Timothy was to teach all that Paul had entrusted to him and be ready for the gathering up of the church, but Paul also taught it was in the hand of the Father as to the timing of this gathering and it was in his omniscient timing, for God worked in appointed time, not the time of man. So for Timothy it was a lifetime expectation.
Now Paul went into prayer and worship of Almighty God as he is writing this to Timothy. For God truly is “the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen”
Paul couldn't refrain from exalting God the Father, and the Holy Son of God. For he remembers his own experience of being in the presence of the Holy One on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:3-20; 2 Cor. 12:2-4) For in his vision or gathering to heaven Paul knew that the holy presence of Jesus was surrounded, overshadowed, and enshrouded in glorious unapproachable light and power in the throne room of the Holy Tabernacle of Heaven. It was this Jesus that Paul served and told all who believed the gospel message to hold in the highest honor. Amen
Last, Paul reiterates the command in the letter, and now tells him to guard what has been entrusted to his care, the truth in the scripture and the gospel, and the care for all the believers in the church of Ephesus. Paul recalls the commision Peter had received from Jesus on the bank of Galilee, to love, to care, and feed those sheep, as well as to protect them from the ravenous wolves who came with a false gospel and teachings. For there were many proliferating a false gospel and infiltrating the church with demonic supplemental teaching (knowledge) to lead the church astray or into godless chatter opposing the gospel of Jesus. These were from those who confess faith in Jesus but had departed from the faith to follow a lie and a depraved mind.
Application - Every person who has been called by God to serve Jesus in a role in the church is entrusted with a sacred and holy task. God has endued them with His Holy Spirit and all the power and gifting needed to do the job well. Whether as an evangelist, preacher or teacher who will be accountable for everything they have said and taught. “Don’t be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life.” (James 3:1-2) But thank God for mercy and grace, for God knows we aren’t perfect people.
We are nearing that day of his glorious appearance and should be excited and enthralled for his coming for us his Bride, the Church. But as servants of our Lord Jesus Christ, we also know that we will be held accountable for what we have been entrusted with. As a former pastor, I am entrusted with the expounding of the absolute truth of the Bible and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. As well as the care, nurturing, feeding, and protection of God’s flock from the wiles of Satan, and his many wolves and minions. For it is too easy to be ensnared in the slanderous words and lifestyle of the world that continually tries to invade the body of the church. As the proverbs teach us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” (Prov. 4:23-27)
Let us again attain the work of God and live lives that honor and proclaim His glory. We are told that only the Father knows the time of the catching up of the church, but he gave us signs and foreshadowings of the time as it draws near. In the meantime, we like Paul should be enraptured in our praise and love for our Lord and Savior, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the One who lives in unapproachable light in the Kingdom of Heaven. We should hold up holy hands and bestow amorous worship to the only One who is worthy to open the scroll. The precious Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. To Him be all glory, honor, and praise! Amen.
I’m again including the ABC’s of salvation (JD Farag). Please, Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.
First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,
B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third,
C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."
Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.
If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com
Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis
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