“If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am. Let no man therefore despise him: but conduct him forth in peace that he may come unto me……” (1 Cor. 16:10, 11)
Timothy is an interesting character in the New Testament Scripture. He was a young man, probably in his early twen-ties, and he was a faithful fol-lower of Paul. He was enthusi-astically implementing Apostle Paul’s teachings in all the churches. But he seemed to be timid (shy)! ?See to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you!? Also in 2 Timothy 1:7, Paul says, ?God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.? From these Scrip-ture passages, we can infer that Timothy was an introvert, afraid of speaking in public, and was easily intimidated. He passed on the powerful words of the apostle Paul, but he was de-spised by Corinthian church.
Many of us are like Timothy. We are very afraid to say anything in public, and are
afraid to offend anyone. We feel so inadequate before fellow saints, and we have a tough time convincing the seasoned veterans in our church. Even though we hear the Word of the Lord directly, we are unable to communicate effectively be-cause of the fear of rejection. We tend to take the rejection personally, rather than realizing that it was the Word of God that was rejected. It is encouraging to realize that Paul used a timid, young person as overseer (Bishop) for the churches he planted! This must be encour-aging news for those who think, ?Not Me!? There is no need to disqualify ourselves from minis-tering because we are too young, or old, or not eloquent, or not smart enough. Paul empha-sized that Timothy was a fellow laborer just like him! This teaches us a very valuable les-son: All ministers of God should be treated equally. When a popular preacher preaches, there is standing room only, but if the preacher is not that promi-nent or eloquent, nobody shows up. We tend to glorify the elo-quence, style of preaching, and presentation, but neglect the meaty part, the SUBSTANCE
FROM THE LORD! Substance is everything! Preaching has become a theatrical perform-ance. The person who can act well gets the most recognition. Here is an example of a not so great preacher story! One weak preacher got tired of his congregation because his preaching was often criticized. One day he decided to just read one of the most powerful sermons of Spurgeon, word for word. After the sermon deliv-ery, he received the usual criti-cism!
Let us be faithful in our calling like Timothy even though we feel inadequate. Moses tried to avoid his call. He gave many excuses. But God still wanted him to take His message to Pharaoh! God is not looking for eloquence or certain spectacular style. He just wants obedient vessels. He just wants faithfulness in communicating His words to His people. He wants people to pass on His message without any dilution or compromise. But unfortunately, there is a strong emphasis for style over substance.
Thoughts from my heart … What is an Acts 2:42 Church?
The Jerusalem Church that is mentioned in Acts chapter 2 is very special because it was the very first church that was planted on the face of the earth, and it was planted by God alone by the power of His Holy Spirit! This church was so unique, fresh and pure, and we can learn so much from their devoted worship and life style (Acts 2:42-47). The more we understand it, the more … continued here
Youth Corner … Are you Being Molded by God?
A kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they drew. She would occasionally walk around to see each child’s artwork. As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.
The girl replied, “I’m drawing God.” The teacher paused and said, “But no one knows what God looks like.”
Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the little girl replied… continued here
Amazing Grace
The topic for this month’s discussion is God’s Amazing Grace. Amazing grace is undeserved mercy. When we look back at our lives, we can think of the many times we deserved to face consequences for our actions but people showed grace by overlooking our faults. How did that feel? Now let’s look at God’s amazing grace – we have hurt Him deliberately so many times, but He is gracious enough to forgive us. He didn’t have to but He showed us that amazing grace…. continued here
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