Message of the Week
Updated: Sep 10
The Little White Community Church
Scripture: 1st Timothy 4:9-16
September 13, 2026
Message: “Personal Advice for Timothy!”
By Pastor George Gnade
Introduction:
1. As most of you know, we have been studying Paul’s first letter to Timothy. In Acts 16: 1, we learn how Paul first met Timothy. His mother was a godly Jew who loved the Lord. His father was a Gentile.
2. But Timothy was much younger than Paul and had a lot to learn. His mother and grandmother had led him to the Lord. Now he felt called to serve the Lord. That is why Paul agreed to take Timothy under his wings so he could learn more from him.
a. Timothy learned quickly and soon became very useful to Paul. That is why Paul knew he could trust him and often sent Timothy ahead of him.
b. When I became a minister, I was only 25 years old. Many of the leaders in my first church were much older. It was very challenging. While I was called to lead them, they had more maturity and wanted me to follow them. Timothy found himself in a similar situation.
3. That is why Paul wrote in 1st Timothy 4:12, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young.” Then Paul went on to explain what he expected Timothy to do. Let us consider that advice this morning .
A. The first and best thing Timothy could do was to “set an example” ( 1st Timothy 4:12).
1. He wrote: “Set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, and in purity.”
a. Our “speech” tells a lot about who we are. Foul language and taking the Lord’s name in vain are habits a new Christian needs to work on.
b. Instead, God wants our language to be edifying.He wants us to build each other up and encourage each other in the Lord. Paul wanted Timothy to work on this and set an example they could follow.
2. To set “an example in life” involves living a Christ like way at work as well as in our home. In fact, it is a very broad statement including our recreation, even our shopping etc. Do strangers see Christ in you?
3. Then Paul includes setting “an example in love.” Jesus said to “love one another as I have loved you.” Loving the way Jesus loved is a good goal to aim it.
4. And the last “example” Paul wanted him to work on was “in purity.” Ephesus was known for its immorality. Many false religions encourage it. If Timothy was going to help them, he had to set an example in purity. Obviously, Paul was asking a lot when he encouraged Timothy to set “an example for the believers.”
B. Secondly, in 1st Timothy 4:13, Paul writes: “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and teaching.”
1. In the synagogue, the Jews always read a passage from the O.T. and then did their best to explain it (See Nehemiah 8).Whenever Jesus visited a synagogue, that is what He did too (Luke 4:14-21).
2. Paul was commanding Timothy to do likewise. Maybe you’re thinking, that is for ministers and doesn’t apply to me. Who do you think was supposed to come and listen? Every Christian needs to keep growing in his knowledge of the Word of God in order to be effective in living by the Word of God.
C. Thirdly, in 1st Timothy 4:14, Paul exhorts Timothy: “Do not neglect your gift which was given to you … when the elders laid hands on you.”
1. When a new pastor begins working for the Lord, even in our day, we often have other pastors and church leaders anoint them and commit them to the work God has called them to do.
2. When God called me to become a pastor, I did not have the gifts to do what I was being called to do. I had to trust God to help me develop those gifts. Amazingly, He did. In fact, being very shy, making phone calls or visiting in homes, even preaching from the pulpit, were very hard for me. But my greatest weakness became my greatest strength. In all of my churches, God used my phone calls and visits to help them grow.
3. Timothy had to learn to use the gifts God gave him. Just as in sports, it takes commitment and hard work to do well. To use your gifts that God has given you requires commitment and dedication and especially prayer.
D. That is the next word of advice Paul gave Timothy. In 1st Timothy 4: 15, he wrote: “Be diligent in these matters, give yourself wholly to them, so everyone may see your progress.”
1. God knows all of us have a lot to learn. God doesn’t expect perfection. But he does expect progress!
a. One of the hardest lessons God had to teach me was to be patient with others because they would have to be patient with me.
b. No pastor or teacher or leader or Christian in the pew is perfect. We all need to pray for each other that we may all make progress.
2. Finally Paul wrote in vs.16: “Watch your life and your doctrine closely. Persevere in them…”
a. Every Christian must learn to persevere. This life is not easy. In 1st Peter 1: 5-7, Peter explains that “through faith (we) are shielded by God’s power until the coming of our salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
b. “In this you (should) greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith … may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus is revealed.”
3. God doesn’t need us to prove our faith to Him. He knows us better than we know ourselves. We are the ones who need to take a closer look at ourselves as our patience is tested.
4. If we stay close to Him or get back closer to Him, we should make progress and with the help of the Holy Spirit grow in our perseverance and commitment.
In conclusion: That is what God desires of all of us. As we make progress and persevere, He will reward us in His own wonderful way. Amen!
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Thank you pastor ❣️