14 All in Verses for MenSample

Do you want to grow spiritually at twice the speed?

This is Vince Miller.

Our text today is from 1 Timothy 6:11-12. It reads:

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. — 1 Timothy 6:11

So at this moment, Paul has just told Timothy to watch out for bad teaching and teachers who desire deceptive gains. And now he gives him this command to "flee," or run away from these people and their teaching. But then Paul adds a counteraction here. It's not only a command to flee from bad action, bad people, and bad teaching but also a simultaneous pursuit of good action.

This is the thing I think many believers get wrong. They try to merely stop something without starting something new. And this is important because spiritual momentum is never neutral. If you want to stop doing something, you must run from it and then start doing something new. It's a stop with a start. It's a flee with a pursuit.

I always think of it like two cars passing each other on a narrow stretch of road traveling at high-speed mph. We flee from one thing at 100 mph and pursue another at 100 mph, but as we pass, we increase our distance from each at 200 mph. That thing in the rearview mirror getting further from us a twice the speed because we are pursuing something new.

So what does Paul tell Timothy to pursue? Six things that were going to be very important for him:

1. Righteousness or proper conduct toward people.
2. Godliness or obedience to God.
3. Faith or complete trust in God.
4. Love or benevolence toward people.
5. Steadfastness or staying power.
6. Gentleness or being mild in a manner with challenging people.

So maybe there is something you need to stop doing. Run from it. Flee from it. But simultaneously determine what you need to start doing. Once you decide what that is — pursue it. And if you do, you’ll watch your spiritual growth and fortitude increase at twice the speed.