1 Timothy 4:12 (The Message) 11-14 Get the word out. Teach all these things. And don’t let anyone put you down because you’re young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity. Stay at your post reading Scripture, giving counsel, teaching. And that special gift of ministry you were given when the leaders of the church laid hands on you and prayed—keep that dusted off and in use.
In the movie The Bourne Legacy we realize even further the legacy of Jason Bourne fighting against the system that trained him to kill. The agency decides they want to get rid of the agents they have trained and makes efforts to give them medications that will kill them instead of continuing to enhance their abilities. Enter Aaron Cross, a member of a Black Ops program called Operation Outcome. These are men and women who are genetically enhanced for their missions, but due to the public exposure of Operation Treadstone in The Bourne Ultimatum, they want to tie up any and all loose ends. Aaron Cross is a loose end that avoids their attempts to kill him, but they are able to kill all the other agents in the program. Aaron decides to go back and retaliate against those who sought him out and make right the injustice of the program. His commitment to the legacy of Jason Bourne is the driving force of the movie based on the Robert Ludlum book.
Paul in writing to his “son in the faith” Timothy, wanted to verse him in the conduct of being a good minister and carrying on the legacy God had made through Paul’s life. His legacy was a “born again legacy” of holding fast to the faith and also to the sending out of Godly people in his life. The born again legacy is, of course, much different than the Bourne legacy, in that there isn’t any killing of humans, but bringing humans to the knowledge of the love of Christ. In sharing these instructions in 1 Timothy 4, Paul brings up a number of things for Timothy to watch out for on his mission in life. These are all subjects that work for us today as we live out the calling God has on our lives.
First of all, Paul tells Timothy to “get the word out” in verse 11 and to teach all these things. These things include to foundation of the message of Christ and the continued life of the disciple. We are compelled as ministers of the gospel to teach those who accept Christ how to grow in their walk with God and prepare them for battle, which by the way is against spiritual powers in high places. Those high places become a part of a person’s life the moment they accept Jesus. They become a part of Operation Life Freedom and those forces are out to stop them from completing their mission. Getting the word out puts into motion forces for good that are led and empowered by the Holy Spirit through God’s Word.
Secondly, Don’t let age be a factor in your mission. I was a youth pastor for 25 years and I always told the young people I was leading to step and step out for Jesus. Don’t wait for some magical age to be confirmed to do something for Jesus. Do it now and do it right. Age is not a factor when serving the Lord and I am on the upper side of the age thing, but I keep as current in my walk as a younger man to keep fresh and ahead of the game. You are only as old a you let yourself become and I am not working toward quitting. I am training for even bigger ventures in my future and staying relevant and current is the desire of my heart and God is good about updating my preferences every day.
Thirdly, Live your life by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity. In other words, live your life out of what happens in your quiet times with God. God enables all of us to live a life of purpose and trains us through His Word to grow in our faith. I want my walk with God to be ever increasing and I am leaning in to learn more from God so that He will be seen in my life in all areas. I believe I am very upbeat about things and that comes from Jesus alone. If I show faith it is because of what God has taught me about faith. All of this stems from my training in preparation to do my mission.
Fourthly, I need to stay at my post reading scripture, giving counsel, and teaching. This training should not just stay with me, but be shared with others who will carry on the mission for the rest of their lives. The Word of God refreshes our Life Screen every time we open it up and ministers to our mind and our heart. The continued confession of sin gives us pure updates and keeps our system running properly, so nothing impure will rule our life because we give it no place in our life and allow God’s grace to step up our game by allowing us to live and serve in freedom. That gives us a Godly confidence that puts us on a fast track to bigger and better things in our life.
Lastly, but not leastly. (new word trumpism ) He tells Timothy to keep the gift of ministry he was given dusted off and in use. It is not time to quit. It is time to get going in a big way. Don’t put the calling on the shelf that was affirmed by Godly men. Use it for the Lord. I like to clean out my garage from time to time and if I come across a tool that has dust on it, I know I haven’t been using it. God has given all of us tools or special abilities to be successful in our mission of life and we should use them all and not let dust gather on them. If you can sing. then sing to the fullest for Jesus. If you can build things with your hands, then you should use that ability to the fullest for Jesus. Anything you can do for Jesus is a use of the gifts He has given you for service. Paul says it like this in his letter to the Romans 12:1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
With Jesus in your life you are a game changer. With Jesus in your life you carry around the Born Again Legacy that changes lives for eternity. With Jesus in your life you create synergy and excitement and drive. With Jesus in your life you are a minister of the gospel of peace that God gives to all who come to Him. It was that way for Paul and it also that way for us. Live the Born Again Legacy and complete the mission God has sent you on. Catch the adventure and share with everyone you meet. That is your mission!!
The Pilgrimage continues…
David Warren
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