THE ANTI-COMPLACENT PROPHET (36 OF 66)
by Tony Thomas
The Anti-Complacent Prophet (36 of 66)
Series: Route 66, A Road trip Through the Bible
Tony Thomas
Zephaniah
An elder in our former church stood to pray at communion. He read from Philippians 2:14, ''I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.'' Then a tear fell from his eyes and he said, ''It's hard to press on when all you can do is hold on.''
What do you do when God says, ''Charge!'' and all you want to do is retreat? When you are tired of the hassles, exhausted by expectations, weary with failure, and gun-shy because of criticism - how do you maintain your enthusiasm for God?
In the New Testament, Paul wrote two letters to Timothy because he struggled with his circumstances, too. Timothy had given all he had to give. Emotionally, he was worn thin. The flame of energy in his life had been extinguished!
Paul indicated that Timothy's generation, had a ''...form of godliness, although they denied its power'' (2 Tim. 3:5). Isn't that an accurate description of our generation? We're content to have a pretense of Christianity - but there's no power! There's no vitality!
One common problem shared by many Christians is a loss of enthusiasm for the things of God. John referred to it as ''... losing your first love.'' Jesus alluded to this person as being ''... lukewarm.'' Paul told the Galatians they were becoming ''... weary in well doing.''
Evidently, Paul recognized the symptoms in Timothy's life, as well. For some unknown reason, Timothy had settled for a complacent ministry. He was sluggish, stale and lethargic!
What happened to Timothy can happen to anybody, regardless of your intentions or depth of your faith. Timothy had grown complacent, so Paul wrote and admonished him to, ''Fan into flame the gift of God which is in you'' (2 Timothy 1:6).
That's what the prophecy of Zephaniah is all about. We're working our way through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in a series called, R ...
Series: Route 66, A Road trip Through the Bible
Tony Thomas
Zephaniah
An elder in our former church stood to pray at communion. He read from Philippians 2:14, ''I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.'' Then a tear fell from his eyes and he said, ''It's hard to press on when all you can do is hold on.''
What do you do when God says, ''Charge!'' and all you want to do is retreat? When you are tired of the hassles, exhausted by expectations, weary with failure, and gun-shy because of criticism - how do you maintain your enthusiasm for God?
In the New Testament, Paul wrote two letters to Timothy because he struggled with his circumstances, too. Timothy had given all he had to give. Emotionally, he was worn thin. The flame of energy in his life had been extinguished!
Paul indicated that Timothy's generation, had a ''...form of godliness, although they denied its power'' (2 Tim. 3:5). Isn't that an accurate description of our generation? We're content to have a pretense of Christianity - but there's no power! There's no vitality!
One common problem shared by many Christians is a loss of enthusiasm for the things of God. John referred to it as ''... losing your first love.'' Jesus alluded to this person as being ''... lukewarm.'' Paul told the Galatians they were becoming ''... weary in well doing.''
Evidently, Paul recognized the symptoms in Timothy's life, as well. For some unknown reason, Timothy had settled for a complacent ministry. He was sluggish, stale and lethargic!
What happened to Timothy can happen to anybody, regardless of your intentions or depth of your faith. Timothy had grown complacent, so Paul wrote and admonished him to, ''Fan into flame the gift of God which is in you'' (2 Timothy 1:6).
That's what the prophecy of Zephaniah is all about. We're working our way through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in a series called, R ...
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