His Promise, Your Potential
1 Timothy 1:18 Good News Translation (GNT)
18 Timothy, my child, I entrust to you this command, which is in accordance with the words of prophecy spoken in the past about you. Use those words as weapons in order to fight well,
The Apostle Paul instructs Timothy to fight well with the prophecies that have been about him.
Paul was an apostle and Timothy was now pastoring the most prominent church that Paul had established. This church was located in Ephesus. Ephesus was the quintessential display of any modern city today. Ephesus was filled with business, entertainment, culture, education, politics, etc. In this modern environment, Timothy encountered challenges and difficult days. The weapon that Pastor Tim was to fight with were the prophecies that had been spoken about him.
The gift of prophecy is not a gift that ended in the Old Testament, and the gift of prophecy is not only meant to point out all of the sins and mistakes in a person’s life. The gift of prophecy can have a corrective tone, and the gift of prophecy can also be a voice of encouragement. Rather corrective, encouraging or a combination thereof these words are intended to equip us to fight well.
Here are 4 things that we can remember about a word of prophecy in our lives.
1. God is a Good Father. If the word is corrective in nature, then you can always know that the correction is out of a heart of love. The love of the Father is intended to reveal to you and I His Goodness.
2. God tells the Truth. God is always a truth teller, and the devil is always a liar. (John 8:44)
3. God speaks of our potential and His promise. A word of prophecy is not something that we can be passive about. The word that God speaks will be of His promise to us, but more of the potential that our Good Father sees in our lives. One cannot set back and be passive. We pursue our potential and we stand upon His promise.
4. Faith activates the word of prophecy.I recently heard a story about someone who had been told about a house that God was preparing for them. This word seemed so big that the person was not active with faith toward the word. The Lord spoke again and said, “If you do not activate your faith then your house will be off of the market by Monday”, this was on a Thursday. This man shared the words with his wife, and his wife said, “I know exactly where that house is located at.” Today, they live in this home that is beyond their wildest dreams.
Today, I challenge you to remember the words that have been spoken over your life, and to also ask The Father what He wants to say to you. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedsfrom the Father.” (Matthew 4:4) Take these words and defeat the devil today.
Check out this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nwSIYvpOkc