
First Things First (1 Timothy 2:1-8)
- I want to begin tonight by asking you what our church
should be doing that it isnt doing
- this is a pretty broad question, and there are no right
answers, so just yell out with something thats been on your mind
- [responses]
-
- in our church, we have over 220 members
- our average Sunday morning attendance so far this year
has been around 280
- its safe to say that we have we probably have
about 280 different opinions about where our church should be headed
- 280 different agendas for the church
-
- Im more than a little curious what advice Paul
will give Timothy
- what advice will the apostle Paul give that church
leader on how to lead a church?
- up until now, in chapter 1, Paul has admonished Timothy
to correct false teachers
- Paul charged Timothy to "command certain men not
to teach false doctrines any longer"
- that was Timothys task as a church leader: to
defend Christian truth from distortion or perversion
-
- but in chapter 2, Paul moves to the subject of church
worship
- the question is not what Timothy is called to do, but
now: what is the church as a whole called to do?
- what is the calling, the mission of the church?
- and what we have in chapter 2 is the earliest manual
on church worship that we possess
- here we have instructions on the public worship services
of the church what are churches to do when they gather together?
- what conduct is appropriate within the church?
- I would like to unpack this rich passage tonight, as
we make application to our situation here at Richview Baptist Church
-
- let me first begin by saying that
- THE PRIORITY IN PUBLIC WORSHIP IS PRAYER
- (1 Timothy 2:1) I urge, then, first of all
- if I asked you, "What elements of public worship
should take priority within the church," we would receive many
different answers
- we would hear such things as music, prayers, Scripture
reading, the proclamation of Gods Word
- I myself would have a hard time answering this question
how can you pick among so many different options?
-
- but in verse 1, Paul writes, "I urge, then, first
of all
"
- whatever Paul is about to say, it is urgent
- and then Paul says that phrase, "first of all"
- Paul could mean either first in time, but it is clear
from the context that Paul is saying "first in importance"
- so ask yourself, "What exactly is Paul identifying
as the urgent first priority of the church?"
- lets read on
- (1 Timothy 2:1) I urge, then, first of all, that requests,
prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone
-
- question again: what is the urgent first priority of
the church?
- answer: prayer is the urgent first priority of the
church
- the most essential part of public worship is prayer
- prayer is absolutely central to everything the church
does
- Jim Cymbala writes, "The clearest instructions
about church life come in the Pastoral Letters, where Paul tells young
pastors such as Timothy to proceed. The apostle couldnt be more
direct than in 1 Timothy 2:1: I urge, then, first of all,
that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone."
- first in importance in public worship is this matter
of prayer
-
- Paul actually lists four different types of prayer
in verse 1
- I think that Paul is emphasizing the priority of prayer
more than the different types of prayer, but its worth looking
at these four words quickly
- out of the 7 Greek words used in the New Testament
for prayer, four of them are used here
- requests in verse 1 refers to petitions
- it has the idea of needs and desires
- God wants us to bring our needs and requests to him
- prayers is a more general word
- unlike the requests we just mentioned, it only has
reference to God
- requests can be given to anyone, but prayers can only
be offered to God
- it reminds us that our prayers are God-directed, and
worshipful
- intercession is a word that only appears twice
in the New Testament
- it seems to have the idea of both conversation and
petition
- some say that its a free familiar prayer, such
as boldly draws near to God
- Origen, the greatest Bible scholar of the early church,
taught that the fundamental idea was boldness of access to God's presence.
- and thanksgivings is self-explanatory
- the giving of thanks should always be an important
part of our prayers
- its the one aspect of prayer that will continue
throughout eternity
-
- Eugene Peterson paraphrases this verse, "The first
thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how; for everyone
you know."
- the first thing we ought to be doing as a church is
praying praying in a variety of ways, but praying
- now is the time that some of you are going to get discouraged
in prayer
- its only been since January that weve given
prayer a higher place of priority
- its tempting to give up, because prayer isnt
always easy
- there arent always immediate results
- people even leaders that you hope would
be involved, arent
- but Paul says, "Prayer is first in importance
in the public worship of the church. Dont let it slip"
-
- WHAT SHOULD WE PRAY FOR?
- (1 Timothy 2:1) I urge, then, first of all, that requests,
prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--
- (1 Timothy 2:2) for kings and all those in authority,
that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
-
- verse one literally says "all men"
not in terms of every single person alive
- the idea is that we pray for all kinds of people
- we are not to limit or restrict the scope of our prayers
to believers, or to any type of person
- we are to pray for all, regardless of race, nationality,
or social position
- pray for everyone you know dont leave
any type of person out
- pray for those you see every day
- even when you drive down the highway, and you look
over to another car and briefly make eye contact pray for that
person
- pray for their salvation
- you dont know them, but God does
- the important point in at the end of verse 1 is this
dont leave any type of person off your prayer list
-
- Paul gets more specific in verse 2
- we have a special obligation to pray for government
leaders
- prayer for all those in various levels of authority
should have a regular place in our public worship
- at that time, the emperor was Nero
- you remember him he was a notoriously cruel
tyrant
- a man who would eventually murder both his mother and
his wife
- known for his brutality and scandals that would make
modern political scandals look like nothing
- a man who, later, would arrest and kill Christians
on charges of "hatred of the human race"
- Paul says, "Pray for him"
-
- do you get the picture?
- prayer has got to be one of the central priorities
in the church
- and one of the things we need to do when we gather
to pray is to pray for our civic leaders to pray for governments
-
- WHY SHOULD WE PRAY?
- two reasons
- reason number one to pray is found in verse 2
- the reason is that "we may live peaceful and quiet
lives in all godliness and holiness"
- the word peaceful refers to the outward situation
a life free from outward disturbance
- the second word, quiet, refers to our situation
the inner state of the church
- the goal is that the church may be free of both external
and internal disturbances that can be so distracting
- and the goal is not just peace and quiet in itself
the goal in verse 2 is that we may lead lives of "godliness
and holiness"
- in other words, the goal of our prayers for all kinds
of people and for the government is that an environment
conducive to the spread of the church might be realized
- the reason we need to pray for government and for politicians
is not primarily so that taxes may be cut, or that certain issues may
be addressed the primary reason is for the good of the church
- when last have you prayed for government leaders to
lead in such a way that the church can advance, free from external or
internal disturbance?
-
- but a second and more profound reason to pray is
given in verse 3
- (1 Timothy 2:3) This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
- (1 Timothy 2:4) who wants all men to be saved and to
come to a knowledge of the truth.
- the primary reason to pray is because prayer pleases
God, whose nature it is to save
- God defines evangelistic prayer prayer for all
types of people, for the lost, for government leaders God defines
this type of prayer as intrinsically, morally good, and our consciences
agree
- the word good in verse 3 means "beautiful,
pleasing"
- our prayers on behalf of the lost are beautiful to
God, and pleasing to him
- Gods heart, according to verse 4, is that all
people be saved, and come to a knowledge of the truth not an
intellectual knowledge, but an acceptance by faith
-
- when Paul says that God wants all men to be saved,
this could refer to one of two things, and we cant be sure which
- Paul could mean "God wants all people every
single person in the world to be saved," or it could mean,
"God wants all types of people to be saved people of every
rank and status, tribe and nation"
-
- in either case, Gods heartbeat is the salvation
of men and women
- (2 Peter 3:9) The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,
as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone
to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
- God has even delayed the day of judgment to allow more
people to escape the coming judgment
- John MacArthur writes, "If the primary aim of
the church were fellowship, knowledge of the Word, or the holiness of
the saints, all those goals could perfectly be accomplished by taking
us to heaven. The central function of the church is to reach the lost"
- and, I might add, one of the first things to do in
reaching the lost is to pray for them
- it is a most excellent task to pray for the salvation
of the lost
-
- to clinch his argument, Paul inserts what appears to
be an extract from a catechism or a liturgical formula
- (1 Timothy 2:5) For there is one God
- this is the basic tenet of Judaism, repeated at every
synagogue service, and by pious Jews daily
- but Paul goes on:
- (1 Timothy 2:5) For there is one God and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
- (1 Timothy 2:6) who gave himself as a ransom for all
men--the testimony given in its proper time.
-
- in Job 9:33, Job complained:
- (Job 9:33 NLT) If only there were a mediator who could
bring us together, but there is none.
- Job was crying out for someone who could go between
him and God, representing both of them, and somehow mediating to bring
peace
- and Jesus Christ is that mediator
- only Jesus is fully man even today! and
fully God
- and by his death, he restored the harmony that was
broken
- he restored us to fellowship with God through his death
and resurrection
- he was a ransom for us a ransom being in that
day what was paid to set a slave free
- Jesus paid the price
- one person translates it, "Jesus
offered
himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all
free"
-
- and Paul says in verse 7
- (1 Timothy 2:7) And for this purpose I was appointed
a herald and an apostle--I am telling the truth, I am not lying--and
a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.
- this is Pauls calling to be a herald,
an apostle, and a teacher of the truth to the Gentiles
-
- there is so much to unpack in these verses
- but lets back up and try to get the central point
- why should we pray?
- we should pray both to create the climate necessary
for the growth of the church, and because prayer for the lost is intrinsically
good, and consistent with Gods saving nature
-
- so far in this passage, weve discovered the priority
in worship: prayer
- weve discovered what we should be praying for:
all types of people, specifically government leaders
- weve discovered why: so that the church can be
left undisturbed, and because prayer is consistent with Gods saving
nature
- Paul answers one final question in verse 8
-
- HOW SHOULD WE PRAY?
- (1 Timothy 2:8) I want men everywhere to lift up holy
hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.
- we will deal with the gender issue next week, but suffice
it to say that in the Jewish synagogue only men were permitted to recite
the prayers
- here, Paul carries this over into the church in Ephesus
- and he says, "I want, I command, I purpose that
men lift up holy hands in prayer
"
- let me just pause to say that the most general posture
for prayer appears to have been to stand with hands outstretched and
uplifted, with palms turned upwards
- if we had more time, I would talk about the importance
of body in worship, and how the raising of hands to God in prayer isnt
Pentecostal or charismatic its biblical
- but I dont think Pauls main point in verse
8 is posture its the inward condition of the heart
- Paul says, "I want men everywhere to lift up holy
hands in prayer, without anger or disputing."
- genuine prayer is impossible for those who are unforgiving
and who are nourishing grudges
- Eugene Peterson paraphrases, "Since prayer is
at the bottom of this, what I want mostly is for men to pray
not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God."
-
- so friends, prayer is the main thing
- lets put first things first, and pray for the
lost
- when we do so, were doing what is beautiful and
acceptable to God, and consistent with his nature
- lets even now bow in prayer and plead with God
that prayer would be the first thing in this church and in our hearts
- lets cry out following the example of Jesus,
who prayed for those who killed him
- lets follow the example of other Christian and
their evangelistic prayers
- John Knox cried out, "Give me Scotland or I die"
- George Whitfield prayed, "O Lord, give me souls
or take my soul"
- and the apostle Paul himself might have received salvation
in answer to the martyr Stephens prayer, "Lord, do not hold
this sin against them"
- are you prepared to respond to the urgency and priority
of prayer?