City Life Starter

The Word:

Revelation 19:10 “…….For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

1 Timothy 1:18 “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may fight the good fight,”

1 Timothy 4:14-16 “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.”

Reflection Questions:

1. What is “Godly” encouragement?
2. Do you want to offer this to others?
3. How can you offer this to others?

By Heather Mattingly

The Webster dictionary definition of “encourage,” as Kacee Pate masterfully taught us on Sunday, is “to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope: hearten, ‘Encourage’ suggests the raising of one’s confidence especially by an external agency.”

This also is the definition of God’s words to us – His word inspires courage within us.  Has God, or anyone of His children, said or prayed these words to you before? (Challenge: read these out loud to yourself in your mirror today):

I am a child of God. (John 1:12)

God delights in me and is delighted with me! (Psalm 18:19 & Isaiah 62:4)

I am made in His image. (Gen 1:27)

I am right with God (Rom 3:22)

I am chosen by God. (1 Peter 2:9 & John 15:15)

I am worth dying for. (John 3:16-17)

What does reading these words do to you? Can you feel what’s going on inside your body? Is your heart picking up its pace? Is a smile coming to your face? Are your eyes getting wider? That is a tiny bit of what encouragement feels like – what being who you really feel like.

This is what God’s word does to people: inspires courage to be whom He made you to be. There’s a reason His word inspires courage: we need the courage to fight. Because every day, the world, our culture, and our circumstances are screaming other messages at us. And the world’s screams feel louder than His still, small Voice. Which one will you believe? Will you have the courage to believe the Truth?

This conflict we fight every day is not new. In the Scriptures above, the apostle Paul and one of his sons in the faith, Timothy, give a lesson of how to fight this good fight: Paul tells Timothy to fight the using what weapons? The “prophecies previously made concerning him” (1 Tim 1:18). This word “prophecies” in the Greek is “propheteia,” which means just what you think it means: “a discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God…” Well, what is the purpose of God? God says in Romans 8:29 that His purpose is to “…conform [us] to the image of His Son.”

Paul challenged Timothy to fight by using the words of life and encouragement that were spoken and prayed over him. We do not know these words because each of us has words spoken to us individually that we are to use as our own weapons. Have these kinds of words been spoken to you before? In 1 Tim 4:14, Paul further instructs Timothy to “meditate on these things,” and to “give [himself] entirely over to them.” Paul also instructs him to “take heed to [himself] and to the doctrine. Continue in them…..” I wonder if Timothy wrote down the words prayed and spoken to him; and if so, I wonder how often Timothy went back to review them and pray for them?

What a powerful example for us to follow – do you write down what the Lord speaks to you either Himself in His word or through others in prayer? Do you remember these words and/or review these words regularly?

When you remember what He said, you find that His words easily flow out of you, and His words are encouraging. You are probably the tool God wants to use today to speak His words of encouragement to those around you. I’m challenged myself writing this! Will you join me in doing all you can to remember what He says to you today? (Hint: let’s write). If we remember what He says, it will naturally flow out of us to others, and His words of encouragement will be spoken. And His word “will not come back void, but will accomplish what He desires and achieve the purpose for which He sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

Prayer:

“Lord, please open my ears to hear Your word today, and open my mouth to speak Your word to others. You said that ‘…[Your] Spirit who is upon [me], and [Your] words which [You] have put in [my] mouth, shall not depart from [my] mouth…’ (Isaiah 59:21). Please use my mouth for Your glory, and let me co-labor with You bringing Your sons to life by speaking Your word of encouragement. Amen.”