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Hi, this is Pastor Tom and I want to welcome you to the beginning of our study
in the book Timothy, an incredible book about how God can motivate you and I to
live out the Christian life as a daily part of our everyday lives. He, God
through Jesus Christ, wants to give to me the power and the strength to live the
life that he's put into me on a daily basis. And 1st Timothy and 2nd Timothy
that we're going to study next really focus on how do I find that power?

How do I live that out? Now today as we begin, the first couple of verses in 1st
Timothy sort of set the stage for us. For some of you this is brand new to you
and even as I say 1st Timothy one of your questions is who is who is Timothy?

Well we're going to answer that right now. Listen to how this incredible book
begins. 1st Timothy chapter 1 verses 1 and 2.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ
Jesus our hope. To Timothy, my true son in the faith, grace, mercy, and peace
from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. So there you have it in those
first couple of verses.

You have Paul writing to Timothy. Who are these people? Well Paul is the
apostle, the early apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament,
many of the letters that we read.

The apostle that we read about in the book of Acts and know that by the grace of
God he was saved. He was on a road to a place called Damascus when Jesus
appeared to him on that road. He was blinded.

He didn't know. He was confused about what was happening but clearly Jesus spoke
to him and this man who had been a persecutor of the church who was trying to
chase people out of the church his life turned around completely and he began to
be a follower of Jesus Christ. Not only a follower but one of the greatest
leaders that the world has ever known.

One of the greatest leaders of the early church. The apostle Paul says in the
beginning of this book to Timothy that he is an apostle, a follower of Christ by
the command of God. Paul was a man who lived his life under authority.

He was a man who lived his life under orders and as a part of following that
command that calling of God in his life he had gone out on several missionary
journeys and one of those journeys as an apostle he went to a place called
Lystra and he met a young man by the name of Timothy. Now Lystra was a place
where Paul was almost killed for his faith. They threw huge rocks at him there
to try to kill him because he was telling the good news of Jesus's love for
people and they didn't want to hear it.

So there were some bad news for Paul and Lystra but there was also some good
news. He was able to begin a church there and he met a man by the name of
Timothy there. You can read about him in Acts chapter 16 verses 1 to 3.

This place called Lystra present-day Turkey is where Timothy had grown up. He
lived all his life. He'd learned about faith in God from his family.

We're going to find that out later as we walk through this book but then he
learns about Jesus Christ from Paul and he begins a relationship with Jesus
Christ through the minister of the apostle Paul and out of that conversion of
Timothy there's also a new commission in Timothy's life. He begins to join Paul
in his missionary journeys. That's why Paul calls him here my true child in the
faith.

The idea of child there it's an intimate word for child. There's a deep
relationship between these two men. Who is Timothy?

Well we learn in 2 Timothy 1. 5 that his mother and grandmother Eunice and Lois
taught him scriptures from his childhood. In fact the name Timothy means
honoring God or dear to God.

That is the characteristic of his life and by the way whether your name is
Timothy or your name is Paul or your name is Linda you are a person who is made
to honor God. You're a person who is dear to God. Timothy's name just happens to
express what's true of all of us and Timothy comes to know God and then he comes
to know Paul and then he comes to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ as he
serves God in ministry with Paul and by the time 1 Timothy is written many years
have passed.

It's not the days of Timothy's conversion in which this book is written. It's
not even the days of them doing missionary work together. When 1 Timothy was
written Paul was in prison and Timothy was a pastor.

He was a pastor in Ephesus a church that Paul had invested three years of his
life in building. You can read about it in the book of Acts. So the book of 1
Timothy because Timothy had become one of Paul's best friends in ministry one of
those men who stuck with him when no one else would stick with him.

They had developed this great friendship. They had a lot of differences. There
were differences in age.

One was older Paul and one younger. Definite differences in temperament. As we
read through this book we're going to find out that Timothy was a man who was
often timid.

Paul was obviously as you read his story a man who was often bold. These two men
became great friends and in that friendship because of their friendship because
of where Timothy is now pastoring. In 1 Timothy Paul is in essence writing to
the person in whom he invested the most in ministry regarding the leadership of
the church in which he'd invested the most in ministry.

That's the importance of this book and it's a book that's all about where do you
find the motivation for living a life of faith. Timothy struggled sometimes with
motivation. Motivation to say the right thing.

Motivation to live out the right thing. Motivation to believe the right thing
and these are words about motivation to live the life of Christ. If you take a
quick look at the book of 1 Timothy you can really break it down into three
parts.

Chapter 1 is personal encouragement. That can motivate you to live a life of
faith. Chapter 1 the very last couple of verses through chapter 5 is all about
practical instruction and that can be motivating living a life of faith.

And then beginning in the very end of chapter 5 through chapter 6 it's about
powerful direction. Direction to live the life of faith. Let me go back over
that again.

Personal encouragement in chapter 1 most of it. The two key words in that
encouragement to Timothy from Paul in chapter 1 are the word stay and the word
serve. He tells him we're going to see this week as we go through this chapter I
want you to stay where you are and I want you to serve where you are.

And sometimes every one of us we need someone in our lives who gives us that
encouragement. It's tough sometimes. You feel beaten down by life sometimes.

You feel like no one is listening sometimes. You feel like your faith is not
making a difference sometimes. And you need someone in your life who looks you
in the eye and says stay and serve because God's making a difference through
your life.

That's chapter 1. Chapter 2 through chapter 5 are all about the church and
they're about practical instruction. In chapter 1 verse 18 Paul writes Timothy
my son I give you instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about
you.

Instruction can be motivating because it clarifies what you're supposed to do
and it clarifies what you're not supposed to do. And the instructions that Paul
walks through for Timothy in these chapters are how to lead the church, how to
evaluate leaders, how to watch out for false teachers and how to respect people.
Chapter 2 is about how to lead the church.

Chapter 3 is about how to evaluate leaders. Chapter 4 is about how to watch out
for false teaching. And chapter 5 is about how to respect people.

Those are practical instructions we all need if we're going to live the life of
faith. Simple things to do, practical instruction about those things. And then
in chapter 6, the last part of verse 5, chapter 5 through chapter 6, it's about
powerful direction.

Chapter 5 verse 21 Paul writes I charge you Timothy keep these instructions.
It's the powerful direction of a charge like the bugle call of head this
direction. Not just the instruction of what you should do but now get going, get
doing it.

He gives powerful direction to Timothy. He gives powerful direction to those at
the bottom of society, to slaves. He gives powerful direction about false
teachers, what to do.

He gives powerful direction to the rich, those at the top of society. To all of
them he says in the sight of God I charge you to keep these commandments.
Sometimes we need somebody in our life who loves us enough to say charge.

Not just how are you doing? Not just I love you or be encouraged but who you
have a close enough relationship with. They can look you in the eye and they can
say charge, get going.

Now the book of 1st Timothy begins in chapter 2 with a prayer of Paul. To
Timothy my true son in the faith we read a few minutes ago. Grace, mercy, and
peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

It's an interesting prayer in that it's the same but just a little bit different
from the beginning of most of Paul's letters. Most of Paul's letters begin with
him praying for grace and peace. Here he prays for grace, mercy, and peace
because he's going to talk a lot about mercy in this first chapter.

He's going to focus on how the mercy of God changes us. You want to be motivated
to live the life of faith, the life of Christ. You want to be motivated to live
the kind of life that God has for you.

It begins with those three words grace, mercy, and peace. As we begin our study
together 1st Timothy we're going to talk a lot about these words in the next few
weeks. I want to pray for those three things in my life and in your life.

Let's pray together. Lord that's simply what we ask for. We ask for grace.

We ask for mercy. We ask for peace. And we ask, we ask humbly knowing that we
receive all of these as gifts.

We don't earn them or deserve them. They are given. They are given Jesus Christ
by your hand.

By the hand of your death and your resurrection. By the hand of the life that
you want to give to us. So Lord I pray today that you help me, help us to walk
through this day aware of your grace that you're with us each moment.

Aware of your mercy, your forgiveness, your patience with us. Aware of the peace
that you want to put into our hearts through your Holy Spirit. Lord I pray that
instead of living life by our resources, by my resources, you help me to live
life by your resources.

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. In Jesus
name we pray. Amen.

Join us tomorrow as we continue through chapter one. We're going to talk about
the power of faith, hope, and love.