Today's Passage - 1 Timothy 1:18

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 1 Timothy 1:18    Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well...     Paul entrusted God's mission to Timothy because of the prophecies made about him. In the Bible "prophecy" has two different meanings. One is referring to prophetic preaching. Another is referring to personal prophecy. Here Paul is talking about Timothy's personal prophecy. God has prophetic words in every age. In the same way there are prophetic messages in every person's life. Prophetic messages can often bring words of exhortation, comfort, and edification, and point out the direction in front of us. Prophecy is so important because it can allow God's anointing and mission to be released in each person's life.    Timothy was originally a weak vessel who didn't know clearly his path or direction. But when the prophecy was released, then he understood the path in front of him. Today God is raising up prophets in every places. Sometimes you may receive personal prophecy from a prophet. What kind of attitude should we have when facing prophecies? First, we need to understand that personal prophecy has a time. What it is pointing to may not necessarily be for now, but it may be for something in the future. This is like God's prophecy to Abraham. From the time God promised him a son, to the time he really have the son, there were 25 years in between. That's why we need to be mindful of discerning God's time.      Second, we need to understand personal prophecies are also conditional. It won't happen automatically. We need to obey God's commands then his promises will be fulfilled in our lives. For the prophecy God gave to Timothy, he need to first go follow it and then the promises will happen. This is why Paul reminded Timothy to fight the good fight, because this is what God had entrusted to him! Third, we need to understand that that personal prophecy is not perfect. There's no personal prophecy that is one hundred percent accurate. Therefore, we need to test it. Prophecy that is from God will be personally confirmed by God. God is still speaking to us through prophets. May the Lord help us not to despise the words of prophets. On the other hand, we need to also test it, just as it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, "but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil."                Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you because even today you are speaking to me through prophets. Please give me wisdom so I can understand how to interpret the messages from prophets and at the same time keep a humble and discerning heart to listen, to let it become strength to my life. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!