"Guard well this incomparable treasure..." 2 Timothy 1:13-14 (TPT)

The precious and magnificent words which Paul deposited into Timothy were genuine words of healing and comfort.  Paul had received these words from Jesus directly when He needed them most after His journey to Damascus and the uncertainty of him of being knocked off his horse and blinded by a vision of Jesus.

During his conversion experience, Jesus had told Paul (who was then called Saul) to go into the city and wait. Jesus later spoke to Ananias the prophet in a vision and told him to go to the "street which is called Straight", and ask "in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus". (Acts 9:11) Ananias objected that Saul had been persecuting "your saints", but the Lord told him that Saul was "a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel". (Acts 9:15). When Ananias went in to Saul and laid his hands on him, the "scales" of dead tissue on the surface of his eyes fell off, and he looked up at Ananias. After additional instruction in the ways of the Lord, Saul was baptized and spent many days with the disciples at Damascus and immediately began to preach Christ.

Paul learned what it meant to live a life in the fullness of Christ no matter what circumstance he was placed in.  He consistently knew that the love of Christ which was his portion, and he wanted this (agape) love to live in Timothy also.  Paul was demonstrating what it was to have Christ live in him and model that love to Timothy so that he could see perfectly the outcome of Paul abiding in that love no matter where Jesus took Him.

Paul made himself a model of true effective Christianity, even when in prison he demonstrated Christ and never retaliated against the Roman regime that had imprisoned him, but demonstrated the peace of God even amongst the beatings and lashings and his eventual beheading, he knew there was nothing to be compared to the beauty and splendor of his eternal home which was his ultimate goal.

Paul also said to Timothy that the faith and love of Jesus was progressive, even though Paul had deposited the original (seeds) words within Timothy, the faith and love of Christ Jesus would continue to grow, take root, and flourish revealing more and more of the depths of God’s love which manifests in all of our lives without measure.

Brenton Brown - We Will Go!

There is great treasure here, beyond anything this world can offer.  A treasure which is not based in silver, gold, or anything of monetary value, but on the revelation of Jesus and His life in us.  That is the treasure, it’s Christ in us.

Paul told Timothy to “..guard well this incomparable treasure by the Spirit of Holiness living within you.”  There are so many forces which are competing for our attention and affection, it takes the power of the Holy Spirit to help us discern the different influences so that we can be guarded and keep our eyes on the prize which is Jesus alone. 

We have not reached the place of persecution in this nation where the government comes against the church to such a degree that people are imprisoned and tortured for their faith, this, however, is a reality in other countries where totalitarian regimes are hostile toward the gospel and will do everything in their power to silence it to prevent it from spreading.  It is those Christians in those countries who are under this type of persecution and are under constant threat of death who know Christ to such a degree that they have surrendered themselves to trust Jesus to take them to their eternal home even when captured.  Muslim countries like Iran have radical Islamic sects which show no mercy to Christians when caught, they are humiliated, men and women are typically raped, and then tortured to death.

Christians in these Muslim countries offer their bodies as living sacrifices to the call of Jesus to not retaliate against their oppressors so they may be a testimony of the love of Christ in every circumstance, even in the face of their death so that Christ may be glorified in them and God's peace may be demonstrated.  In doing so, true revival is breaking out among the people and many are coming to Jesus.

Paul’s narrative to Timothy is also a call to us to allow the life of Christ to shine from our lives so that the outward demonstration of love which will confound the world and its systems and create a desire for what we have.               

  

Now, I speak to you who are not Jewish, since I am an apostle to reach the non-Jewish people. And I draw attention to this ministry as much as I can when I am among the Jews, hoping to make them jealous of what God has given to those who are not Jews, winning some of my people to salvation.  Romans 11:13-14 (TPT)

Paul wanted to provoke the Jews to jealousy by this profound love God has shown through Christ Jesus to the non-Jew, shouldn’t we also in our day provoke to jealousy those who are Muslim to know their savior and demonstrate to them the love of Christ through our lives?  The Muslim faith is only second to Christianity as being the largest religious system in the world, as Jesus has declared: "the fields are ripe unto harvest."

 “For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts.” Haggai 2:6-7 (NKJV)

Jesus is the "desire of all nations", for it is His love that everyone desires, but they don't know Him yet.  It is we who are the ambassadors of Christ to demonstrate that love to broken humanity that they may know their savior and be healed. 

We are that "temple filled with glory!"

Be Blessed;

Stephen Barnett