| The Purpose of Instruction As authentic believers in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, it is possible for us to spiritually get off track in our faith walk with God. There is a strategy that our enemy uses to get us off track and it goes like this: – Stop reading the Bible every day – Stop praying and spending time with God every day – Go to church less and less – Get out of the will of God more and more – Rely on God less and less – Respond more to the flesh than to the Spirit – Isolation, no fellowship with followers of Christ – Develop a wrong thought processes that leads to spiritual strongholds In Paul’s first letter to Timothy in the first chapter in verses one through eleven, Paul both encourages and warns Timothy in regards to the idea of the purpose of instruction. On the one hand, as a child of God, Timothy has the responsibility to apply the spiritual disciplines (growing in intimacy with God through reading God’s word, prayer, and fellowship with other authentic believers) to maintain sound spiritual doctrine and build his Godly character. This is critical for divine authority and power is revealed in the earth through the position of a disciple – one who faithfully walks in divine character. These are those that stay under the authority of the word of God and under the authority that Christ has put over them spiritually. Paul goes on to warn Timothy against false teachers and doctrine (vs.3-4), and not to discount the grace of God by falling back under the law (vs.8-11). And in the middle of all of this wonderful instruction from a father to his son in the ministry is this incredible gem, for both Timothy the child of God and for Timothy the spiritual leader. Paul tells Timothy both the process and the purpose of fulfilling the charge he has been given to instruct the people. He is to have the love of Jesus Christ to the point that his desire is to build up others. This desire must come from a pure heart, a good conscience and unfeigned (real/proven) faith. Matthew 22:37 “…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” What a powerful revelation. God’s desire for us is to become progressively more and more like Him taking on His Godly character. His character is many things, but most certainly it is love. It is then out of this place of God’s love that we instruct those around us in the things of God with the purpose to build them up in love, to build their Godly character. This sounds like discipleship. This is God’s charge to us all, but especially those of us who have been called into spiritual leadership. Thought: What happens when we make knowledge the goal of instruction instead of love? Visit our website at www.HOWICP.org for more information to help you reach your full spiritual potential. |
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