11/19/11 Training Ourselves To Be Godly
11/19/11 HOW TO GROW AS A GOOD MINISTER OF CHRIST JESUS
Part ll: Training Ourselves To Be Godly
(Testimony)
1 Timothy 4:6–16; 6:11–12 Kevin Jesmer 11-19-11
Key Verses: 4:7b–8
Dear Lord Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me direction to train myself to be godly. I would get so swallowed up in just surviving in this world, that I would forget trying to be godly and I would work, eat, sleep and exercise. I years would go by just, surviving, resting and worrying. Who can save me from this meaningless life? Only Jesus. Only Jesus can give me absolute hope and mission and life direction. Praise God for grace. I pray that my kids and my Bible students may love Jesus more than anything else and that they may decide, by faith to train themselves to be godly. May they take their relationship with Jesus seriously. May they offer up their lives to Jesus in humble surrender and grow some spiritual muscle through godly training. Please grant me one word of God through this passage. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!
In this passage I learn that nobody can train me. God alone can train me and I can decide by faith to train myself. God does train me through his word, through his mission to pray, preach, teach and shepherd the flock of God. Usually it is through the hard and difficult times of life that he trains me the most, But just as a father, disciplines his son, so does God discipline me so that I may grow in his share in his holiness. Submitting to God’s training helps me to grow strong spiritually and helps me to overcome this world. God has been training me lately through my struggle to overcome fatalism and despair.
He has been training me though the message preparation at the Chicago center for the Leadership development conference. I thank God for all of his divine discipline in my life for it makes me overcome this world.
I need to also decide to train myself to be godly. I can do this several ways. To train ourselves to be godly means to train ourselves through prayer, Bible study and obedience to the word of God. Our thought world must be under Christ’s control. Training in godliness requires effort, just as physical training requires effort and discipline. Godliness has value now and forever. When we train ourselves to be godly then we can grow as good ministers of Christ Jesus.
I thank God who has been helping me latterly to grow spiritually through prayer. Julie and I pray most every night together for the family. Sometimes I do not want to pray. But when I do, I am blessed and the kids are blessed too. Julie and I are closed together too. I am also trying to get back to basics in regard to the word of God. In the name of business I was getting away from meditation on God’s word and sharing it with others. And so I want to start faithful testimony writing and sharing with my family. I also want to write daily bread and posting it. I thank God for the cohort group at Wheaton College. I have to discipline myself. to read Christian books and write small book reviews. I also want to discipline myself through daily Bible reading in order to get through the Bible in a year. I also want to write daily bread meditations on Joshua and Judges and even produce new material on Judges. I also thank God for the discipleship study from Marks Gospel that Julie and I are doing with Msn Mark Yang.
It all sounds like a whole lot, but I know that without this intensity of training I can not grow spiritually so that my progress is “evident to all.” Without this intensity of struggle I have a tendency to fall into my sins, especially the sin of despair and fatalism. I loose strength to good in my life.
I need also to grow in purity and holiness and grow so that I am not loving money. I pray that God may create in me a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Lord, I pray that I may not live for money or pleasure but serve God with a pure heart and pure motives.
One word, Train myself to be godly so that I may grow as a servant of God.
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