Becoming A Vessel Of Honor Rebecca Brown

129 They were thrust into positions of leadership too fast. That is why Paul wrote to Timothy as he did.

"Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure." I Timothy 5:22 "A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality... Not a novice [new Christian], lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil." I Timothy 3:2-6 "Likewise must the deacons be grave ... And let these also first be proved [tested]; then let them use the of fice of a deacon, being found blameless." I Timothy 3:8-10

Scripture could not be more clear. Anyone who would come into a position of any authority in God’s kingdom MUST first prove himself or herself faithful in obeying God and putting sin out of their lives. This takes TIME. Scripture does not specify how much time, it is different with each person, but it does take some time. In my own life I went through five years of fiery trials before the Lord called me to start into this ministry, and then I went through another five years of even more intense testing before my first book was published. That makes ten years in all of intense preparation and testing. I had to prove myself faithful and obedient. I am thankful for that testing time because it has given me a deep stability in the Lord I could not have ob tained in any other way. Our authority over Satan’s kingdom increases as we prove ourselves steadfast and faithful. We must be faithful in lit tle before we can be faithful in much. I believe every new believer is given authority in Christ over the demons inside of himself, BUT he should not jump into trying to deal with

Chapter 8 The Sin Nature