The ministry of intercession and reconciliation – Philemon

In order for one to be effective as an intercessor certain factors must be in place:

1. Relationship – Intercession does not take place in a vacuum.  There must be a relationship.  In any case the whole issue of intercession becomes necessary within the concept of a relationship gone sour.  Paul emphasised the platform of friendship with Philemon and the fact that they are fellow workers (co-labourers) Paul also talks about Onesimus as his son – of course Onesimus was Philemon’s runaway slave! Intercession and reconciliation must be in the context of a relationship.
2. A vision of  the big picture – Paul’s prayer for Philemon (v6) points to Paul’s assessment of the big picture, a specific requisite for ability to share his faith and to understand the full impact of our relationship in Christ.  If this is not in place, if our eyes are not on the big picture, reconciliation can easily be an end in itself and the hurt suffered by the bruised party would be more difficult to forget in fact would come back  every now and then to haunt the relationship.
3. The form of delivery - The tact of Paul in communicating the request to Philemon is overwhelming.  In deed, a soft answer turns away anger (Prov.15v1).

• He first affirms him (v4-7)
• He appeals on the basis of love (v8-11)
• He tries to provide justification for  the brief separation (v12-16)
• He even cajoled and  demanded (v17-21)

Lord, may my words be seasoned with salt as you give me the privilege of being an intercessor and reconciler. I also pray that you will give me the heart for prayer, heart that is perpetually tuned to your wavelength that I may know your mind and purpose concerning the issues involved.  This I ask through Jesus Christ my Lord.  AMEN.

Doing good – a call to christian service – Titus 3

Doing good is a call to all christians to allow the changes inside to reflect on the outside.  It does not only give us an identity but also helps meet the basic needs of others (v8,14). Doing good as was exhibited in the first century church in Acts was a natural outflow of the transformation brought about by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 4).

Doing Good based on our own righteousness is like putting the cart before the horse.  Rather it must be an outflow of our salvation. Because the basic human tendencies are evil, we require the following resources to be committed to doing good selflessly:

The responsibility of an effective christian leader – Titus 2

The christian leader, armed with the mandate of the Saviour has several responsibilities including:

1. Teaching (v1) – He must teach in accordance with sound doctrine.  He must know what is taught therefore he must himself, learn at the feet of the saviour and at the feet of his teachers, mentors and models (2 Tim 2v2).  He must be sufficiently exposed to the word and versatile to the extent that he gives the right teaching at the right time to the right audience.  For the purpose of emphasis a christian leader must be sound in doctrine.  If not there is no way he can teach in accordance with sound doctrine. It is of note that his teaching responsibility is to a varied and diversified constituency (or population). He is responsible for elders, men, women, the youth, slaves and free, children and indeed  everyone in the family hence the call for the appropriateness of teaching to the difference segments of the population.
2. Encouraging (v6-8) – He, more often than not, is the shoulder to lean on.  The encourager of those threatening to quit.  An encouragement to the followership.  In spite of and despite himself, the leadership mandate thrusts him into the lime light expecting him to be the faultless super human.  Naturally therefore he becomes an example and the instruction from the passage is that he must be a positive example – in speech, in lifestyle and in action.  Nothing motivates the followership than a transparent committed leadership.
3. Rebuking (Correction) (v15) – When the message is sound and the life of the leader is a model, and example of what he teaches, he is immediately endowed with the mandate to point out deviations from the standard and correct, rebuke and discipline such persons that deviate.

The profile of an effective Christian leader – Titus 1

Several qualities of a christian leader can be brought out by examining what Paul says about himself and what he teaches on the subject.  These qualities include the following -
The Leader knows himself (v1)   – who he really is, Paul describes himself as:

• A servant of God – He knows his position in the authority chain and in the ownership line. A servant  derives his mandate from his  master – God.
• An apostle of Jesus Christ – a messenger to carry out the bidding of the Lord who appointed him, who entrusted the message to him in the authority chain and also the function to be performed.

Managing friendship under pressure – 2 Timothy 4v9-22

At no time is friendship put under pressure as when one of the parties is going through difficulties and trials.  This observation has been true down through history.
-    think of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and his twelve disciples who were essentially His fiends
-    what of Job and his 3 friends
-    as so vivid in the case of Paul as recorded in this passage.
Many things happen when a friend is under pressure.

“Keep your head in all situations” – 2 Timothy 3v10-4v8

The operating environment is characterised by immeasurable level of hostility as discussed yesterday that if one is not careful he can easily get discouraged, frustrated and tempted to give up so easily. Hence Paul’s advice to Timothy: “But you, keep your head in all situations” (4v5). What can we do to obey this instruction?

Understanding the operating environment for a success in spiritual warfare -2 Timothy 3v1-9

There is a popular saying that knowledge is power. During the war following the invasion of Kuwait, the Allied Forces knew the Iraqi defense systems so well that they were able to immobilise them even before the war started. They were able to plan their own movements in the light of such knowledge that minimal damage came to their own troops. Such knowledge however came through a combination of advanced weaponry, quality personnel and hardwork not through wishful thinking or presumption.

The quality of the vessel God uses – 2 Timothy 2v14-26

Like all warfare, the quality of the men that use the weaponry determine the degree of success that would be attained. This point was brought home most vividly during the Gulf war when one viewed the overwhelming fire power and professionalism of the allied forces set against those of the Iraqis. On the other hand, whatever crack a team is put in place as a result of training and qualities as discussed yesterday, the conduct of the personnel at the war front is also critical to victory as shown by the Mogadishu experience of the American and Italian soldiers.

The vessel God uses must be in top form at all times. How miserable for the top striker who is out of form! No player has the ambition to sit on the bench while his teammates enjoy all the excitement on the field. The misery becomes more frustrating to him and coach if his absence diminishes the quality of the team as a whole.
In order to stay in form, Paul prescribes certain things the person must avoid and some that he must engage in as a matter of deliberate personal choice. These are made up of those that jettison negative influences and those that build on one’s strength.

Things to avoid:

Cultivating qualities that guarantee success in our christian walk – 2 Timothy 1v15 – 2v13

There are certain qualities that any one aiming at making a success of his christian walk must possess. Qualities that are not inborn or inherited but must be cultivated, maintained and nourished for the best results. Paul instructed Timothy to reflect on the lessons derivable from the examples of the soldier, the athlete and the farmer to gain insight into these qualities. They include:

Contentment – thee only defense against the love of money – 1 Timothy 6v3-10

It will appear that nothing has done so much more to undermine the very foundations of the christian faith as the love of money – the overwhelming desire to be rich, to have more than the brother next door. This is so, probably because the world measures success and significance mainly by the amount of money that one has rather than the quality of his life. The dangers christian leaders, driven by the love of money, face are numerous including: