Gbile Akanni The Man God Uses 1. Prayer: Our Father and our God we bless You we worship You and adore You for Your loving- kindness, we honour You for what You have been doing for us. Thank You Lord for this opportunity again to come on Living Seed. We ask that as we begin to open our hearts to you for personal instructions, may You release Your wisdom to us, may You visit us individually, may You instruct us in the paths of righteousness that Father we may become vessels in Your hand. Thank You for hearing us for we have prayed in Jesus Name. Amen. We want to give God the praise especially for this opportunity to come your way again on this program Living Seed. We thank God for the way He has led us from week to week over the several months and several years. We want to go ahead in this particular series to consider personal instructions to the man God uses. For our study, we shall be looking at the case of Timothy, and by the grace of God we shall be basing our study on the book of 2nd Timothy which is the 2nd Epistle of Paul to Timothy. We are trusting that as we go on in this series, the Lord will bring you personal instructions that if you work upon will prepare you to be the man that God can use, and if you are already being used by God, the Lord will further help you to serve Him adequately and appropriately in your lifetime. For today, I would like us to turn our Bibles to 2nd Timothy chapter 1, I would like to read some few verses from the 1st chapter before we go on. Today will be a day of general introduction as the Lord will enable us. 2Ti 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, 2Ti 1:2 To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 2Ti 1:3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; 2Ti 1:4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; 2Ti 1:5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. 2Ti 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2Ti 1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; I would like us to stop here in verse 8. and trust that God would grant us further insight as we go on in this study. Before we get into the depth of this series, I would like to make some certain comments and observation on the general preview of this particular letter that Paul is writing to Timothy. First and foremost, I would like you to look at the fact that this is a personal instruction, an instruction that is coming from an elderly man of God, from a servant of God who had experienced God for several years unto a younger person, unto Timothy who has been walking with God following our brother Paul. Now while we go through this study, we might see some personal comments that were deliberately put (I believe that God doesnt want to hide it from us) so that we might know that the men that God use are not men that are not natural. I want you to realise that there are few things that we are going to be talking about which are not peculiar: they are issues that are common to man, things that all of us go through in life, what God allows to be put in Scriptures because He uses men. When God begins to use a man He doesnt forget that he is a man, that it is a human vessel, a human form that God has placed His hand upon. So in this series we are going to be dealing with Man that God Uses, a man that God can use: what are the peculiar instructions that God gives to them and what are the areas of emphasis that God would want you and me to focus upon even as we seek for God to make use of our lives. Now lets look at the passage basically before we go ahead. The letter was addressed by brother Paul so we see 2Ti 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, Now that is very, very critical for me and I must comment on it before I proceed. We thank God that the Holy Spirit has allowed us to know the Author of a letter such as this one: this remark is very critical. Why did I say that? Now I want you to discover that before a man can receive instructions that can benefit his life, we need to have an insight into the life of the instructor. There are so many of you listening to me now that you have so many people you try to take instructions from - you have so many people that you try to pattern your life after and many of such people you cannot vouch for their personal lives. You dont know what is happening to them neither do you know the dealing of God on their life! While I am calling you to listen and to be instructed and to take instructions from men I would again want to say that ever before you pattern your life after a man, you need to have an insight on what kind of man he is. We are in such a time and in such a moment where young people are being misled, being misguided by all kinds of serious men, all kinds of leaders, all kinds of men that spring up - self appointed - claiming to be men of God, claiming to be apostles. Now, if you want God to use you and if you don’t want to be misguided in your life, you need to first of all have an insight into the man, into his ministry, into the personal experiences of such men that you listen to! This is because the man you listen to will affect your life negatively if he himself is not following the correct path. So it was very important for us to note that 2Timothy chapter 1 and verse 1 began with a proper introduction of the person that is writing this letter. It was necessary for us to consider this once more because as you are growing up, there is need not just to follow any kind of man you see, there is need not just to listen to any kind of man that you hear making noise here and there! We have come to a critical state in the development of our Christian faith especially in our time when you need to be careful who you follow. The Bible says Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God... I would like you to see something there very quickly as I go ahead. This letter is coming from Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. Even though the kind of thing that we have seen here looks very simple, yet it is very necessary for us to note it. Now you will see the way the letter was addressed: it was not addressed as Apostle Paul! You may be wondering what does bro Gbile mean: what is the difference between ‘Apostle Paul’ …and ‘brother Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God?’ This question has a lot of value for us. Value number 1 is: we are realising that Paul never forgets that he is just a brother. He is just a man. He is just a servant of God. And so the call of God on his life never became his title! The call of God upon his life never became a status for him! The call of God upon his life never became what he allowed people to address him with as several of us would like to emphasise our title in this present generation. We realised that this men that God used, they were men that were not willing to arrogate to themselves anything that would make them so big and bogus! So you see a letter that is coming from Paul was still simply written Paul. Paul.. And if you go through all the letters that Paul has written either to the Corinthian church, either to the Ephesians, either to the Galatians, either to the Phillipians, the Thessalonians, letters he wrote to even Philemon, to the Hebrews, all the epistles of Paul and even letters that people like Peter wrote, they never assumed any title. They never assumed any status! They always remembered that they were servants of God by the privilege that God has given to them. Now! You wonder why am I emphasising this? I want you to go back to Scriptures if you are going to get proper instruction for your own life. We are discovering that men that were masters in those days, men that God had descended upon to lead other men - they were not proud men! They were not men that were struggling for position. They were not men that were struggling for recognition, they were not men that were imposing themselves upon men. And so lets look at this verse again - Paul, … brother Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ Again I want you to note the word ..An apostle of Jesus Christ If it were to be this present day, it would have read like this Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ as if he were the only apostle around. Many people that would have the liberty today claim the monopoly of anointing, they carry themselves as if they are only the man of God in town, as if there is no other way by which God can work through men or use men. Again I notice in the life of Paul and from this Bible verse that says Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ.. that makes it clear to us that Paul was just fulfilling a call, there are other men that God has sent that way. There are other men that God is using and Paul recognises them; he knows that he is just a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here Paul is saying I am just a man called to serve the Lord. Now! That is very critical. And I want to ask you my friend: Who are you following, Who is leading you, Who is the man that is giving you instruction that you are patterning your Christian life or your ministry after? Have you seen such men you are following also following the lifestyle of the Lord Jesus Christ? Are they following the Biblical Principle by which the church was established in those days or you just saw a man who is full of himself, who is full of his personal achievement and who has made ministry a status rather than a service? Is your leader such a man who would rather be known by so much appellation that he has put around himself, rather than the life that Jesus Christ asked us to project - is that the kind of man you are following? Is that the kind of man that you are taking instructions from? The first thing I want to say to you today is that while it is very necessary and very good for you to be instructed and for you to be brought up by men, - now proven men of God, men that have proven their service to the Lord, men whose lives are impeccable, men that you cannot reproach in any way - I would like you again to note that if you learn from the wrong source, your life, your ministry is likely to be wrong. If you pattern your life after men that are not following after Jesus, your life, your ministry and in fact the whole of your career will end in the dungeon of hell fire. May God help you in the name of Jesus Christ. I am just looking at that opening verse and it says 2Ti 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, Note the word an and I want you also to mark it for your own life. Paul was just an apostle, but now let me go forward as that Bible verse says 2Ti 1:1 ...an apostle of Jesus Christ… Now! What is the implication of that? Paul realised that he was a messenger. If you read that Scripture from other versions, for example if you pick it from Phillips Modern English, it puts it like this 2Ti 1:1 Paul, messenger, by Gods appointment in the promised life of Jesus Christ Paul, messenger... A messenger of Jesus Christ! If you look at Living Bible, it says 2Ti 1:1 Paul, Jesus Christs missionary… Good News Bible says 2Ti 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by Gods will. So you see that Paul realised that he was a messenger of Jesus Christ. Once again before you take instruction from any man, you need to know who sent him. You need to know who sent him and who does he represent! Who does he speak for? There are so many great, great men today, great in quotes, that you really, really dont know their master. They themselves have never been mastered by anybody but they are planning to become your own master today! Such men cannot give you instruction that will lead you to heaven. Such men will not be able to help your life with instructions that will help your life to become correct! There are people that you suddenly just find raising themselves up and call themselves Prophet Something or Prophetess That or Senior Apostle This and all those wonderful titles. And some others are becoming Bishops Archbishops and all kind of bishops! And you keep wondering whose messengers are those? Whom do they really, really represent? Who are they speaking for - are they speaking for our Lord Jesus? Do you remember Jesus said A servant cannot be more than his master nor he that is sent greater than who sent him John 13:16paraphrased. You are surprised that some of these men to be messengers of Jesus they are claiming more glory, more power, more authority, even that the Master whom they are claiming have sent them. This is very, very strange. We realise that Paul ever before he proceeded with this instruction to Timothy made his identity very clear. He said Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, not the apostle of Jesus Christ If there is any man, if there is any preacher, if there is any pastor that makes you to believe that apart from him and outside of him there is no other man that God is using, there is no other man that God is speaking through, there is no other man that God is working with, you should know that man is either a false prophet, or he has inflated himself to a point of no return, that if you follow him, by the time you crash-land, you yourself would have broken your back-bone. I pray that you dont die young in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are under any instruction where they make you believe that they are the only one, that they dont learn from anybody, they dont receive from anybody, and they dont recognise other gifts in the body of Christ, you need again to check whether you are in the right place or not. You now realise Paul says Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ and that that is very interesting. He says Look at me, I am not standing by myself, even myself in all that I am - I am a messenger. Even myself I am a servant, I am an emmisary, I am a missionary of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have a Master myself, I report to Him - I give Him report of what I am doing! I am not just a man raised from nowhere, Im a messenger of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I want to ask you again: before you put your life under the personal instruction of certain men, you need to find out who is their own master. You must ask yourself whose messenger is this man? And if he claims to be a messenger of Jesus Christ, there is a way by which you check it and the way to check is by asking yourself: Is he living by Jesus pattern? Does he teach the kind of thing Jesus Christ teaches, does he stand by the principle by which we know the Lord Jesus Christ? Does this man project Jesus or he projects himself? Does Jesus increase everyday in his life, everyday in his message, everyday in his ministry or is the man only projecting himself? Do you know more of Jesus as you listen to him or you know more and more of this man? Do you hear more and more of Jesus as he preaches or you hear more and more of himself of his own personal idea, personal ambition, personal program, personal vision, personal exploit, personal powers ..and all of this? I must tell you young men, I must tell you young women, I must tell you those that are upcoming in the service of God and you are desiring for God to use you: ever before you place your life under any man, you need to know who sent him! In fact I would think it is good for you to find out in your spirit who sent this man, who does he represent? So you notice that in that single verse alone Paul had said, I am just Paul! That is very interesting for me. ...I am just Paul, an apostle - I am not the only apostle, I recognise that others have been sent ahead of me, others are going to come behind me, others are going alongside with me! Im just an apostle. May God give us such men, such leaders who do not take too much to themselves, who do not grab position and monopolise Gods grace and anointing so that younger generation of believers, younger generation of Christians, younger generation of ministers will be raised after the pattern of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now lets go ahead still on that verse 1 of our passage, I am trusting that you will lay your hand upon these general introductions which is very needful for your personal journey in the service of the Lord. May God help you in the Name of Jesus. 2Ti 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God Lets note that again - Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. Again we can see a leader here, a leader that is giving us a force of his ordination, the force of his calling. He said Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God ...not by my merit, not by my experience, not by my expertise nor my personal effort, not by what I have personally achieved but he said I Paul am an apostle by the will of God. By the will of God. Now! This man recognised that he couldnt have been in the ministry but by the will of God, he couldn’t have been an apostle, he couldn’t have said anything for Jesus if not by the will of God. If you take a little time to turn your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 5 and see a point I want you to note vis-a-vis what we are learning here. Hebrews chapter 5 and I want you to look at it from verse 4. Please join me as we read, may God help us. I will take it from King James first and the read it from other versions so that understanding may come to us. Heb 5:4 And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was. Heb 5:5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee; Now! You note something in verse 4 here that no man takes the honour of ministry, the honour of being a servant of God upon himself by himself except he that is called of God. Lets get that from other versions, it might be of help to you right now. Heb 5:4 4 Note also that nobody chooses for himself the honour of being a High Priest, but he is called by God to the work, as was Aaron, the first High Priest in ancient times. Philips Modern English Bible Heb 5:4 Another thing to remember is that no one can be a high priest just because he wants to be. He has to be called by God for this work in the same way God chose Aaron. The Living Bible So you notice that Paul realised and our elders also knew that becoming a servant of God, becoming a vessel in the hand of God, becoming an apostle or a preacher is not what a man arrogates to himself, is not what a man jumps at and grabs. God’s men are never self made unlike our days when we have so many self-made prophets, so many self-made bishops, we have so many self- made apostles: men have just sat in the corner of their rooms and said from today, I am an apostle. And from that day they continue to call themselves that. No! Paul said Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God that is to say these men that must give instruction to your life must be a man that has the backing of God, he was not just struggling to be in a position nor to put himself up, he was not just struggling to become anything, he was a man that was called of God. He said An apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.. Now let me ask you: the man you are following and those of you who are in leadership Who called you, who appointed you, the title you have given yourself now where did you get it? how did you get it my brother? Brother! Listen carefully to me Who placed you where you are, who placed this thing upon you.” I hope you are not struggling to put yourself up there. The Bible says no man makes himself high priest just because he wants to be. No! He must be called. And I want to ask you: what is the calling of God upon your life, have you been properly called? And if you are the one that is being instructed: the man you are following, do you know who called him?..Do you know whether it is God that has placed him over there? I ask you because the man you listen to affects your life so much. And this brother concludes that verse saying 2Ti 1:1 ...by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. Just before I stop here, you see that I have been able to deal with verse 1 today. If you are listening to me today, I want you to now begin to pray, if your life must be personally instructed: “Who are the men that you are following?” And if you are a leader can I ask you: “Whose messenger are you? Are you following the Lord Jesus or are you walking in the light of your own personal wisdom?” May God touch you right now as we bow your head and as we pray personally with you. May the Holy Spirit help you. Are you following a wrong man? Are you in a wrong set-up? Can you pray for God to give you personal direction today? Anywhere that you cannot see Jesus, anywhere Jesus Christ is not exalted, anywhere Jesus Christ is not the main thing, can you quickly bow your head and say to Him Lord, only Jesus I must follow and pull out of such places. God bless you in Jesus Name. Prayer: Our Father we thank You, we are coming back to you that you will open up our eyes to see the way we are going. O Lord that if we are not following You we will come back today to follow You in Jesus Name. Amen.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 03:15:30 +0000
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