Written by: John Sernaque
Call to Worship
1 Timothy 1: 19-20
1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
1:20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.
The Enemies of Paul—
These men had departed from the faith of the gospel, and furthermore had done despite to the Spirit of grace by attributing to the power of Satan the wonderful revelations made to Paul. Having rejected the truth, they were filled with hatred against it, and sought to destroy its faithful advocate (Sketches from the Life of Paul, 305). {7BC 912.7}
Paul was anchored in his faith that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners, of which he was chief amongst them. Paul believed on Christ and life everlasting. Paul encouraged Timothy that through Christ, to war a good warfare. However, Hymenaeus and Alexander departed from the faith and sought to destroy Paul. Paul had met with difficulties from differing sources without ever losing faith and his confidence in God. Paul was led, taught, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Paul did not let humans or the enemy stand in the way between him and Christ Jesus. Paul depended on Christ for all things, including Christ’s strength to endure the enemy. God used Paul as His instrument to impart many wonderful lessons to us. The Holy Spirit worked through Paul to present the gospel to the people as no one else could at the time. Paul spoke with the Power of the Holy Spirit. Yet throughout all this, Paul remained humble. He stated, I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. Even though Paul refers to himself as chief of sinners, God honored him to the end.
Our father, God almighty,
We come boldly before Your throne of grace, yet humbly and meekly to bring our thanksgiving, praise, and petitions to You in prayer. We thank You for always being there for us. For never leaving us nor forsaking us just like You have promised. We thank You for all Your wonderful promises to us. We thank You for Your prophet Paul and all the wonderful lessons imparted to us for our edification. We thank You for the Power granted to Paul through the Holy Spirit. We pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on us as well that You may abide in us and us in You. We will face many scoffers and naysayers throughout our walk with You. We pray not to walk in strength but by the Spirit. We pray for Your wisdom and understanding as we go about defending our faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord. We pray that You speak through us, use us as Your vessels, and give us the endurance to proclaim the everlasting gospel to all nations, kindred, tongues, and people. We pray for Your people to stand together, filled with joy, likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord of one mind. Fill us with the Holy Ghost, to speak the word of God with boldness. We pray to add to the church daily as all Your loyal servants before us. Let us be called witnesses of the saving grace of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. We pray that none should become boastful or self-confident, rather remain humble and meek. Help us to watch, pray, and deny self-unto the coming of our Lord. Paul, who called himself the chief of sinners, kept the faith until the end, receiving Your honor. We pray to receive all You have prepared for those who love You. Praise be to God. We thank You for hearing and answering our prayers, in the name of Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Comments