Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 345

December 11;      1 Timothy 1:12;       189/260(III);       ‘Faithful’

1 Timothy 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,

I believe that this verse is the key to Paul’s ministry and to anyone else’s who will do what he did.  Paul had a past of persecuting the church.  Many people do.  Paul had a supernatural encounter with Jesus Christ and was born again and baptized in the Holy Spirit.  Many people do. Paul was called into the ministry by the Lord.  Many people are.  Paul never abandoned the call into the ministry and quit in spite of all of the trials and persecutions he experienced.  Many people do.  What was the key to this incredible man of God’s success in the ministry.  Paul was faithful.  According to the Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, faithful means a person who shows them self faithful in the transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of official duties.  If you notice in this definition, nothing is said of being relieved of being faithful if the going gets tough.  If you6are called by the Lord (and we all are) and purpose in your heart to do the work of the ministry, the devil will do everything he can to hinder you and stop you, since you do great harm to the kingdom of darkness.  Life is challenging.  The greatest honor we could have is continuing the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Eternity is at stake, so there will be spiritual and physical confrontations along the way.  Knowing how vital your ministry is will help you remain faithful and relying always on the power of the Holy Spirit to work through you enables you to never quit and succeed