Welcome to Friday’s Podcast.

Our reading today is 1 Timothy 1: 18-20 but today I will focus on verse 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.

If you remember on Monday I mentioned a prize for the person who shares the most podcast. People thought I was joking! I’m delighted to announce there’s a winner and they will receive their prize on Sunday.

REFLECTION

When I was about 17, I was taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold award expedition in the Lake District. I remember very well climbing to the top of a very big hill when the weather changed quite dramatically. As if out of nowhere it became very, very foggy.

We couldn’t see a way ahead because we couldn’t see the path we were following. It had become very unclear. In these moments you have to rely on your compass. The compass keeps you on track – you really have to make sure you’ve read the map properly and then trust that the compass is showing the right direction.

That experience has stayed with me because it reminds me of the feeling you have when you step out in faith – it can feel like stepping out into fresh air.

Stepping out in faith isn’t always plain sailing. It can often feel a bit of a battle.

When you’re in a battle – it can seem hard to get your bearings; you can feel pulled all over the place.

We all face battles.

The Apostle Paul’s words in today’s passage are coming from his heart as Timothy’s spiritual father because he knows Timothy is going to do battle. Timothy has a tough job on his hands. He’s stepping into leadership and he’s going to have to bring a challenge to people.

There’s no spinning the reality of the situation. It will be a battle.

Paul’s commission to Timothy is this: ‘I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you might fight the battle well…’

I have come to take Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5: 20 really seriously: ‘Do not treat prophecies with contempt, but test them all;’ Last Sunday evening at STC our leader Mick Woodhead spoke on spiritual gifts – find it on our website. Prophecy is a spiritual gift and it’s for the building up and encouragement of each other – it’s to give us courage, to help us stand firm – to remind us that God is speaking directly into our lives.

Prophetic words often fall into two categories: foretelling – a sense that the Lord may be saying something to someone about their future – or forth-telling where someone senses God reminding us of our identity in him.

For example, before our family returned to STC – even after we’d made the decision, I went through periods of doubt. Had we made the right decision? I prayed asking the Lord for confirmation. I remember receiving a message from someone who didn’t know anything about our situation or that we were even thinking of moving back to Sheffield to say she’d had a dream and in that dream we were at STC. I received that as a prophetic word.

We have to weigh prophetic words. Primarily against the scriptures – sometimes people are right and sometimes it’s just downright odd. Like the time a man told me I was going to move to America and have a ministry with computers. It didn’t take long to weigh, as I’m the least competent person with IT I know!

Paul is urging Timothy to call to mind, to remember, those prophetic words that have been spoken over his life. To hold onto them. To celebrate them and allow them to sink in and build faith.

My experience has been prophetic words are a bit like the compass on that Lake District mountain. You’re not always sure what’s going on but you know God is with you, he has spoken over you – remember what he’s said about you. And it gives you courage to step out!

I have a big yellow book – I call it my book of Kairos.