"0 Man Of God"

by Bennison, J. | Category: For Young Believers | Feb 1955

"But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of the faith" (1 Timothy 6.11, 12).

The Lord takes special pains to brace and fortify those of His children who are desirous of pleasing Him. Timothy was a young man who needed encouragement. Think how patient the Lord was with Moses and Jeremiah! Remember too how Gideon, that man of such

modest disposition, was accosted by the Angel of Jehovah and then addressed with that soul-stirring word: "Thou mighty man of valour."

Perilous times lay ahead, and the apostle, realizing it, encourages

Timothy: "But thou, 0 man of God!" God needed a man. In a past day Ezekiel tells us that God was seeking a man.

"And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the fence, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it: and I found none" (Ezekiel 22.30).

It may be that the Spirit of God is stirring the heart of some young man, one who may have had visions of doing exploits, doing the work of an evangelist, winning souls for Christ; visions of seeing the house of God a house of prayer, and worthier of that glorious Name. It was from a similar vision that the Solomonic temple was built. David had the vision, and to him Nathan the prophet said: "Thou didst well that it was in thine heart" (1 Kings 8.17, 18). God will honour such noble aspirations, providing that we are prepared to do our part. Whatever our gift may be, there is one essential, one qualification which is vital and indispensable: it is imperative that we be "men of God."

In the schools and in sport, men come to the top only because they submit to exacting discipline and self-denial. Is there any cushioned comfort in which we can learn to be men of God? Only by being conformed to the Son of God can we become men of God. "Like Thee in faith, in meekness, love, in every heavenly grace." Self and all its earthly ambitions should vanish like smoke, and the flame of devotion burn bright like as with one whom the Lord describes as "A burning and a shining light" (John 5.35).

Paul's life of sacrificial service was finished, his departure was at hand. The vision of Christ on the road to Damascus had completely overpowered him, mastering every selfish and earthly ambition. And for him the fight had been victorious; having finished the race he was resting at the goal; the Faith committed to his care had been carefully guarded. The apostle's anxiety was that Timothy also, when that time arrived, would bring into port the precious cargo" the deposit." Cross-currents and tides and winds were all about him; some had already been shipwrecked,-watch!

Of what particular dangers was the apostle thinking? Amongst others, permitted indulgences of various kinds, possibly along the line of risky encounters precariously enjoyed, may have been in his thoughts. At least he warns Timothy of bodily appetites,-to "flee youthful lusts." By that we may safely include anything that stealthily defiles the conscience and saps the spiritual vitality. Paul elsewhere writes

"I buffet my body and bring it into bondage" (1 Corinthians 9.27).

Paul here is not preaching at somebody else, it is himself he is speaking about and he is merciless on himself. Moreover, he is not advocating ascetic observances, but he is insisting that the spirit must dominate the body, and not the body the spirit. Not that the body is evil in itself as some of the philosophers taught in that day, but for a man of God, self-mastery was essential. The tendency with each one is to pamper the body, often at the expense of neglecting the spiritual man.

For the man of God there must be resolute concentration and also severe self-discipline. He must be quick to react in abhorrence against anything that would leave his barque at the mercy of the waves. Any servant of God who has been greatly used has learned to say "No" to the flesh many and many a time. The man of God is no longer his own, he must glorify God in his body. Unless that be our aim, how can the Lord work through us?

If I am to be a man of God there must be no half-heartedness, nothing of slippered comfort and easy casualness, but a spirit of unselfish sacrificial service. What do I personally sacrifice for Christ? How do I spend my time? Could more of it be given to prayer and study of the Word? Is some of it used selfishly? How about my income? How much is spent on self and selfish desires and how much is given for the furtherance of the work of the Lord?

Listen! God is wanting men. What are we going to do? The call went out in a past day,-" Who will go for Us"? Shall the answer be "Here am I"? Do we really mean it when we sing, "Take mine all in consecration: Glorify Thyself in me?"

One has written, " Collect your thoughts, rally all your faculties, mass your energies, focus your capacities. Turn all the springs of your soul into one channel, causing it to flow onward in an undivided stream. Some lack this quality. Do not try to be great at this and great at that-to be everything by turns, and nothing long; but suffer your entire nature to be led in captivity by Jesus Christ, and lay everything at His dear feet who bled and died for you."

Bennison, J. | Feb 1955
For Young Believers