Paul’s Prayer Of Thanks

Introduction:

Paul begins this letter to Timothy by urging him to command those in adversity only the doctrine of Christ. It was the only thing that could save them And us by extension. Now let's read verse 11. Paul states that the gospel had been committed to his trust. Proclaiming that gospel was a grave responsibility and a wonderful privilege. The eternal destiny of many precious souls depended upon him preaching that glorious gospel, The doctrine of Christ. In the next few verses, 12-17, he shows us his gratitude to God.

Text: one Timothy 1: 12-17

Body:

1.      Thankful For being put into the ministry; Verse 12

Paul expresses his deep gratitude to God for being chosen as an apostle and for the work of preaching the gospel. No doubt he remembers vividly the words of Christ spoken to him on the road to Damascus Acts 26: 16-18. He was thankful that god trusted him with this work and that god Entrusted Paul to that extent. Also, God enabled Paul, giving him strength for his ministry. Paul had earlier written that he could do all things through Christ, who strengthened him; Philippians 4: 13. Even though Paul suffered greatly because of his Christian life, he never gave up. Listen to these uplifting words, 2 Corinthians 4: 7-11.

2.      Thankful For God's mercy and grace; Verses 13-14

Before Paul became a Christian, he was a blasphemer. He spoke evil against God by saying evil against the church. He was a persecutor, an insolent man, and he did violence against the lord's church. These were truly horrible sins. Listen to the following description: Acts 1: 1, 2, and Acts 26: 9-11. Paul did these things ignorantly and in unbelief. He did not know that Jesus was the Christ and that the law of Moses had given way to the law of Christ. Paul was not offering this as an excuse, though. If he would have continued in ignorance and unbelief, he would have died lost. He thanks God for the mercy shown him, something he desperately needed.

Verse 14: Paul is also grateful for the grace of God, which was poured out on him abundantly and overflowingly. Grace is able to forgive any sin, however terrible the sinner feels about it, provided the sinner comes to God for forgiveness as God prescribes in Cortana 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11. The grace of God always requires faith and obedience for its blessings to be imparted.

3.      Thankful For Jesus coming into the world; Verses 15-16

Verse 15: What Paul is about to say can be considered absolutely true. Christ came into the world to save sinners! He came to seek and save what was lost, Luke 19: 10.

“I am chief.” This means he was the worst. This shows Paul's humility. He thought of himself as a foremost sinner because he persecuted the church. See the context; he was thinking of his past, considering himself less than the least of all the Saints, Ephesians 3: 8. Jesus was able to save the worst of sinners. Therefore, he is able to save anyone and make them saints.

Verse 16: The Lord was going to use Paul as an example. His experiences formed a pattern for people of his time and later how to become Christians and suffer for Christ. This is an example of how men who were once such terrible sinners could be saved by the blood of Christ and changed into saints. No sinner was beyond the scope of God's mercy. God is long-suffering toward us and wants everyone to come to repentance, 2 Peter 3: 9.

4.      Invitation:

read verse 17; it is a doxology, a word of glory. Gratitude for god's great blessing and praise for the only true god. It is a natural outcome for Paul, who remembers the depth of god's grace and mercy for saving such a vile sinner as he used to be.

We can enjoy those same blessings and experience the degree of gratitude that Paul did. We must Believe as Paul did in Christ. We must follow his example, believing, repenting, confessing, and being baptized (Acts 22:16).

Sermon prepared by Bobby Stafford

March 1, 2020

Prepared by Bobby Stafford

The church of Christ at Granby, MO

Located at
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P.O. Box 664
Granby, Mo. 64844
(417) 472-7109

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Doctrine