1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,120 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 1 is where we will start tonight. 2 00:00:13,120 --> 00:00:18,000 We have been making our way through the book of 1 Timothy and it will not be long. 3 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:21,040 We'll finish 1 Timothy and it won't be long after that. 4 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:24,160 We'll finish 2 Timothy. 5 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:28,800 Timothy had been getting some instruction from Paul about some qualifications for church 6 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:29,800 leaders. 7 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:37,120 He had given some instructions on prayer and some instructions to men and women. 8 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:43,440 Then he led into the instructions on elders or overseers and then he talked about qualifications 9 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:44,440 for deacons. 10 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:50,920 So, we've talked about those things and tonight we are continuing on in 1 Timothy chapter 11 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:54,160 4 verse 1 and he's given him more instruction. 12 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:56,960 So, let's pray and we'll get started. 13 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:00,840 Father God, we come to you, we thank you for your good word and I pray that it would be 14 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:02,480 a good word for us tonight. 15 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:06,680 It will if we listen to it and I pray that we would, that your spirit would just speak 16 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:11,280 to us and hide me behind the cross dear Lord, that I would do a good job to bring glory 17 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,440 to you and that we would understand your word tonight and I pray that you just give us a 18 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:20,840 good few minutes free of distractions and I ask these things in Jesus' name, amen. 19 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:21,840 Amen. 20 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:22,840 Amen. 21 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:29,000 Now, in Timothy chapter 4 verse 1, now the spirit explicitly says that in latter times 22 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:36,080 some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teaching of demons 23 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:41,320 through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seer. 24 00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:46,320 Now this verse is not really clear exactly what he means here when he says the spirit 25 00:01:46,320 --> 00:01:47,640 says explicitly. 26 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:52,200 Obviously, this was something that through the Holy Spirit God had revealed to Paul and 27 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,600 when that was and in what way that occurred, we don't know. 28 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:57,360 But we do have the message here. 29 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:02,440 The spirit says expressly or explicitly, some of your translations may differ there, that 30 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:05,680 in latter times or in later times. 31 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:07,400 Now what are those times? 32 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:11,120 Well some would say that this is speaking about something that's going to occur at the 33 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:14,680 end times and quite possibly it could be. 34 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:20,120 However, in the context of what it's saying there, it just says at some later time, at 35 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:25,200 some later time from when I'm giving you this message, there's going to be something that's 36 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:26,480 going to occur. 37 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:31,240 And what he says is that some will depart from the faith. 38 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:35,240 Now many would look at this passage and say, well in the end times there's going to be 39 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:37,080 a great departing of the faith. 40 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:41,660 And a lot of people who have professed Jesus Christ are going to fall away. 41 00:02:41,660 --> 00:02:43,440 And that may be what that means. 42 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:49,920 However, it may be more of a broad instruction here saying, look, from the time you receive 43 00:02:49,920 --> 00:02:55,080 this message onward, and whatever times come later than this, come after that, there are 44 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:58,800 going to be some who are going to fall away. 45 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:01,240 Some who are going to leave the faith. 46 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:03,520 They're going to depart from the faith. 47 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:07,260 Now since we've been going through the book of Hebrews for the last few months, we know 48 00:03:07,260 --> 00:03:11,600 that that's a key theme for the audience of the book of Hebrews. 49 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:17,520 They're Jewish people who grew up knowing the law and were under the law, but then Jesus 50 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:21,480 came and rightfully so, they came to faith in Jesus Christ. 51 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,400 But those in the book of Hebrews were in danger. 52 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:29,760 And that's why we see those warnings in Hebrews chapter two, where he says, look, you're drifting 53 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:30,760 away. 54 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:35,640 And he tells them in chapter six, he warns them about falling away because they are those 55 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:39,720 who were in danger of doing just what Paul is speaking of to Timothy saying, look, there 56 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,360 are going to be some who will depart from the faith. 57 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:47,680 Now as we talked about in Hebrews, there are different interpretations of what that can 58 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:48,680 mean. 59 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:52,320 Some would say, well, those who are departing from the faith were never really saved. 60 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:55,680 But in that case, how can they depart from something they don't know? 61 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:58,800 So it appears as though they're departing from what they know. 62 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:02,360 That is some faith that they have come to in Jesus Christ. 63 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:07,960 And he says, look, there's coming a time later on that you're going to encounter and probably 64 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:12,280 still encountering that time now, and maybe more so as time goes on. 65 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:15,800 But there will be some who will depart from the faith. 66 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:19,360 But what is the reason for those who would depart from the faith? 67 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:26,040 Well, he says here that some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits 68 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:27,640 and teachings of demons. 69 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:30,160 Okay, so there's some false teachings. 70 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:34,480 There are things that are not true, that are not biblical, that are not good. 71 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:39,320 Now again, yeah, this could apply to some end times event that's going to occur. 72 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:45,400 But quite frankly, this can apply to any time throughout the history of God's word. 73 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:49,360 Because there have always been in the Old Testament and through the New Testament, the 74 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,040 commands of God, the word of God. 75 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:57,600 But there have always also been those who twist that, who teach something that's opposed 76 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:02,640 to the word of God, who teach something that is not of God, that is exactly the opposite 77 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:04,160 of what God's word says. 78 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:06,560 Now we see that in our world today. 79 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:12,960 We see many teachings, both from those who profess to be Christians and those who don't 80 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:15,000 even believe that God exists. 81 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:19,920 There are plenty in our world today that teach things that are not of God. 82 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:21,600 Where do these teachings come from? 83 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:27,640 Well, he says here that these come from deceitful spirits and demons. 84 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:31,720 So there's some spiritual powers at work, as we see through the scripture. 85 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:36,440 And I believe that those kind of spiritual powers are still at work today. 86 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:38,540 And still at work in the lives of people. 87 00:05:38,540 --> 00:05:43,200 And people are hearing something from somewhere, but it's not coming from God. 88 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:48,100 And that is clear by the things that we see so many people in our culture and society 89 00:05:48,100 --> 00:05:52,560 leading us and telling us to do and arguing for these days. 90 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:54,720 The issue of abortion is a big one. 91 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:58,520 It's amazing to me that there are so many people that would lobby for the murder of 92 00:05:58,520 --> 00:05:59,520 unborn children. 93 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:00,520 That's what it is. 94 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:02,920 They don't like to use that word, but that's what it is. 95 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:03,920 That's what abortion is. 96 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:09,600 To kill a life, and they would deny that it's a life, but it is a life by the power of God, 97 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:11,160 by the grace of God. 98 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:16,120 It is a life that is conceived and that life should not be taken. 99 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:20,600 But yet there are many in our world that would preach things that abortion is okay. 100 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:24,800 And many other crazy teachings that we see in this world of things that are okay that 101 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:26,240 we are to accept. 102 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:31,920 Homosexuality and all this crazy stuff we see in our world about men and women wanting 103 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:36,960 to transition into the other sex and all these bizarre things that our world would say to 104 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:41,880 us, this is good and this is okay and this is right. 105 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:46,920 But the things that our world calls good and okay and right are things that God's word 106 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:49,720 calls evil, sinful things. 107 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:56,120 And so we need to understand that these kind of demonic teachings, that these deceitful 108 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:58,580 spirits are at work in our world today. 109 00:06:58,580 --> 00:07:00,340 And they have deceived many people. 110 00:07:00,340 --> 00:07:03,840 Even some who profess to be Christians and maybe genuinely are. 111 00:07:03,840 --> 00:07:09,600 But even too many times now we hear professing Christian leaders preach and promote such 112 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:14,840 things that are not of God's word, that are clearly sinful in the word of God. 113 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:21,040 And so Paul tells Timothy, look, there are going to be hard times that are going to come 114 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:25,640 at a later time and there are going to be some that are going to depart from the true 115 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:27,440 teachings of God. 116 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:28,480 Why? 117 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:32,760 Because there are going to be false teachings that are going to come in and they are going 118 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:37,920 to believe these false teachings from these deceitful spirits and these demons. 119 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:43,160 So there is false stuff being taught all around our world today, both inside the church and 120 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:44,620 outside of the church. 121 00:07:44,620 --> 00:07:49,440 And so we have to be on guard that we know God's word, that we are not those who are 122 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:54,520 deceived and fall away from the truth of God's word. 123 00:07:54,520 --> 00:08:00,440 He says here in verse two, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared. 124 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:06,280 So these deceitful spirits and these demonic messages that are coming, they are coming 125 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:10,240 through hypocrites with no conscience, essentially is what he's saying. 126 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:12,840 There are some who don't know right from wrong. 127 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,800 When your conscience is seared, there's no conviction there. 128 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:21,880 Now you may remember when we started 1 Timothy, back in chapter one, a couple of times Paul 129 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:25,920 said, talked to Timothy about the importance of having a good conscience. 130 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,640 And we talked about that when we were in those chapters. 131 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:34,440 But the contrast here is that, okay, God calls his people to have a good conscience, but 132 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:36,720 what about these who are preaching all this junk? 133 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:38,960 Well, they have a seared conscience. 134 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:45,200 That is, they are so far gone that what maybe they used to consider or think or be convicted 135 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:46,880 was wrong. 136 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:49,240 They are no longer convicted of such things. 137 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:55,120 Their conscience is seared in such a way that they can teach these crazy false teachings 138 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:56,880 and not think twice about it. 139 00:08:56,880 --> 00:08:58,520 And so they're hypocrites. 140 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:00,960 That is, they're putting on a mask. 141 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:05,160 They're pretending as though they are somebody, maybe even a spokesman of God. 142 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:09,580 But really all they are is a mouthpiece of Satan in promoting false teachings and lies 143 00:09:09,580 --> 00:09:13,080 and things that go against God's word. 144 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:18,360 And so oftentimes what we see in our culture today, what our culture calls good, God's 145 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:20,120 word calls evil. 146 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:24,480 And what God's word calls good, our culture calls evil. 147 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:26,840 So we're in this cultural clash. 148 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:27,960 And this is really nothing new. 149 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:32,320 I believe this has probably existed for Christians throughout the generations. 150 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:34,120 There's always this clash. 151 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:39,720 There are always those who are coming against the word of God and the teachings of God and 152 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:41,260 who Jesus is. 153 00:09:41,260 --> 00:09:46,820 And so we are just some Christians in the line of many other Christians and others who 154 00:09:46,820 --> 00:09:52,320 will come after us who will have to face these battles and take a stand for God's word and 155 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:54,200 God commands. 156 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:55,600 Verse three. 157 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:58,240 So here are some of the teachings he's talking about here. 158 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:04,280 They forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods that God created to be received 159 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:08,000 with gratitude by those who believe to know the truth. 160 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:13,080 Now he gives a couple of examples here of some of the teachings that Timothy might experience 161 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:17,240 and those around Timothy might experience things that they may hear. 162 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:22,280 So these false teachers, these hypocrites with the seared conscious, what are some of 163 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:23,780 the things they're teaching? 164 00:10:23,780 --> 00:10:29,240 They are forbidding marriage and demanding abstinence from certain foods that God has 165 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:30,560 given us to enjoy. 166 00:10:30,560 --> 00:10:35,940 Now these are two particular examples and maybe these aren't the kind of things that 167 00:10:35,940 --> 00:10:41,000 we're up against today, but regardless of whatever the false teaching is, there's always 168 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:43,320 going to be some false teaching. 169 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:48,000 There's always going to be somebody who comes onto the scene who claims to be some kind 170 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:52,760 of religious guru or who claims to be Jesus himself. 171 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:57,440 There are people throughout the years, even recently, who are walking here today who have 172 00:10:57,440 --> 00:10:59,880 claimed to be Jesus in the flesh. 173 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:05,400 There's one guy I believe he goes by the name of Lightning Amen and he claims to be Jesus. 174 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:10,920 I think he's still alive in California and he teaches all kinds of crazy stuff. 175 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:15,640 And if I'm not mistaken, maybe one of the things he teaches is forbidding marriage. 176 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:20,440 But you always see these people that claim to be some kind of spiritual guru or somebody 177 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:25,520 from God and they've got this revelation of this new message or a better understanding 178 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:29,520 of the word of God that's going to reveal something that people have missed through 179 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:33,320 all these years and they come up with all this crazy stuff. 180 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:36,480 And so obviously Timothy was experiencing this. 181 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:40,440 One of the things he was up against people saying, hey, you don't need to get married. 182 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:43,440 Marriage is bad or you don't need to eat certain foods. 183 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:47,440 Now certainly we see that idea throughout scripture. 184 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:51,900 In the Old Testament, particularly, there were some foods that were unclean. 185 00:11:51,900 --> 00:11:56,360 And then we see in the New Testament the idea of some people didn't want to eat food offered 186 00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:57,360 to idols. 187 00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:01,520 But we also see that God kind of removed that whole clean, unclean thing. 188 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:03,880 And God said, look, I give you things to eat. 189 00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:07,440 And so we don't have to worry about those types of things. 190 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:11,120 But there are certainly people who will come with all kinds of false teachings. 191 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:13,480 Now maybe it's for forbidding marriage. 192 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:18,240 Maybe it's saying don't eat certain foods or maybe it's some other crazy off the wall 193 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:19,240 thing. 194 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:22,040 But we have to be on guard that we don't fall into those traps. 195 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:24,800 And we may say, I'll never fall into something like that. 196 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:26,160 But yet people do. 197 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:27,260 And so we're people. 198 00:12:27,260 --> 00:12:31,100 So we have to be on guard that we don't become one of those people. 199 00:12:31,100 --> 00:12:37,040 You guys may remember, I remember when I was a kid, there was a guy out in Waco, Texas. 200 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:38,720 Oh, what was the name of their group? 201 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:39,720 Branch Davidians. 202 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:41,640 David, David Koresh was his name. 203 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:42,920 Y'all might remember that. 204 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:44,760 And they had this compound out there. 205 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:47,400 And I don't know what all kind of crazy stuff he had taught. 206 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:50,320 But all these people believed him and it was just a bad deal. 207 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:55,760 And you see people like that spring up and people listen to those messages and they fall 208 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:58,100 into those traps and those lies. 209 00:12:58,100 --> 00:13:00,880 And so, hey, that's why we come and read God's word. 210 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:02,380 We pay attention to stuff like this. 211 00:13:02,380 --> 00:13:07,280 So our antennas will go up and our red flags will go up when somebody comes and teaches 212 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:08,280 something. 213 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:11,500 And when somebody says something you're not sure of, we'll go check it. 214 00:13:11,500 --> 00:13:13,000 Maybe what they're saying is right. 215 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:14,520 But then again, maybe it's not. 216 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:15,680 Maybe it's not right at all. 217 00:13:15,680 --> 00:13:19,200 And when you check it with scripture, there's your instant answer. 218 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:20,600 This person is not of God. 219 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:25,600 What they're teaching didn't come from God or the word of God. 220 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:30,520 But he says that God created the things, speaking of the food here, God created to be received 221 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:33,360 with gratitude by those who believe and know the truth. 222 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:37,640 Okay, so those who believe and know the truth won't believe the lie. 223 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:40,400 That's why it's important for us to know the truth. 224 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:43,200 We don't have to know all the lies that we may encounter. 225 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:44,200 We cannot know. 226 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:49,320 There are likely millions of lies and false teachings that we could encounter throughout 227 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:50,660 our lifetime. 228 00:13:50,660 --> 00:13:52,720 We don't have to know what the lies are. 229 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:54,560 We just have to know the truth. 230 00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:57,360 And when we know the truth, we'll know the lie. 231 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:00,480 When we know the real, we'll be able to spot the counterfeit. 232 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:05,360 That's how counterfeiters that are able to tell what counterfeit money is. 233 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:08,840 They don't spend a lot of time necessarily looking at counterfeit money. 234 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:11,280 They spend a lot of time looking at real money. 235 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:16,120 And that way when they see what's fake, those who are trying to spot the counterfeit money, 236 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:20,640 it jumps out to them because they've seen what is real so much that the fake is easy 237 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:21,640 to spot. 238 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:24,180 And that's not how it needs to be for us in God's word. 239 00:14:24,180 --> 00:14:28,760 We need to know the truth of God's word so well that when we hear something that's opposed 240 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:31,160 to that, that we know instantly. 241 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:32,160 That's a lie. 242 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:33,360 That's not the truth of God's word. 243 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:36,960 We want to be those who know that truth and stand on it. 244 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:38,960 All right, verse four. 245 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:44,880 For everything created by God is good and nothing should be rejected if it is received 246 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:50,920 with thanksgiving, since it is sanctified by the word of God and by prayer. 247 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:56,760 Now this verse right here, we have to be careful of because I suspect that there are many and 248 00:14:56,760 --> 00:15:02,280 maybe even some of us who would use a verse like this to justify a lot of things. 249 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:03,280 What does it say here? 250 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:09,360 For everything created by God is good and nothing should be rejected if it is received 251 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:10,360 with thanksgiving. 252 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:15,480 All right, so if God made everything, that means I can partake of everything that God 253 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:16,480 has made. 254 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,560 And as long as I say, God, I thank you for it, it's good. 255 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,560 Well, let's take a couple of steps back here. 256 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:27,800 There may be a lot of people, for instance, who would use marijuana in an inappropriate 257 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:32,320 way that might look at this and say, well, this is a plant that God made and it grows 258 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:34,960 in the ground and so it must be good. 259 00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:37,400 Well, in some way it is good. 260 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:41,480 There are lots of things that God makes that grows that are good. 261 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:45,920 There are certainly some good uses that we could see medically, but then there are also 262 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:50,640 lots of ways for something like marijuana that people don't use it in a legitimate way. 263 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:55,680 They use it and abuse it in a totally illegitimate way that gets them high as a kite. 264 00:15:55,680 --> 00:16:01,480 And that's not a good place to be because when our mind is not sharp, then we open ourselves 265 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:04,240 up to all kinds of crazy things. 266 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:08,480 A beer, for instance, it comes from natural ingredients that grow in the ground, so it 267 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:09,480 must be good. 268 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:15,600 Well, beer in and of itself is not a bad thing, but when we become drunk on beer, it is a 269 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:16,600 bad thing. 270 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:21,320 So people might would take passages like this and say, well, everything God made is good, 271 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:25,560 so therefore I can do anything I want as long as I say, God, thank you for it. 272 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:27,200 We have to be careful. 273 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:32,280 Everything that God makes is good, but we don't always use everything God makes in a 274 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:33,360 good way. 275 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:34,840 And that's the difference. 276 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:36,200 God makes things good. 277 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:40,720 There are a lot of things in this world in and of themselves that are not bad. 278 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:42,040 Guns are not bad. 279 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:45,060 You shoot somebody with a gun, that's bad. 280 00:16:45,060 --> 00:16:47,640 You shoot a deer with a gun, that's good. 281 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:49,880 It's providing food for your family. 282 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:55,680 Oftentimes, the way we use things is the determining factor of whether it's good or whether it's 283 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:57,060 bad. 284 00:16:57,060 --> 00:17:01,880 And there are many things that God has made and given us for our good, but we abuse it. 285 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:07,680 So a passage like this is not just a blanket, I can do anything I want because when you 286 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:12,120 bowl it all down, everything we have comes from something that God made, so therefore 287 00:17:12,120 --> 00:17:14,320 everything that I do and have is good. 288 00:17:14,320 --> 00:17:15,920 Well, not necessarily. 289 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:18,980 If you don't use it for good, that might not be the case. 290 00:17:18,980 --> 00:17:24,000 But in the context of this passage, he's talking about, hey, marriage is a good thing. 291 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:25,840 These false teachers are forbidding it. 292 00:17:25,840 --> 00:17:28,240 The food that God gives us is a good thing. 293 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:30,120 These false teachers are forbidding it. 294 00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:36,000 But look, those who know the truth know that God made all things and all things are good 295 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:42,120 so long as we use them in an appropriate way in which God has provided them to us. 296 00:17:42,120 --> 00:17:45,560 All right, verse six. 297 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:50,480 If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, 298 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:55,320 nourished by the words of the faith and the good teaching you have followed. 299 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:57,960 Okay, so this is good advice. 300 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:02,640 Paul says, here's what you need to look out for, these false teachers and their crazy 301 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:07,680 teachings, but know what the truth is and know to stand on the truth and teach these 302 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:08,740 brothers. 303 00:18:08,740 --> 00:18:11,160 Teach your brothers and sisters these things. 304 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:13,160 It's good for you, he says. 305 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:17,440 If you point these things out to brothers, you will be a good servant of Jesus Christ. 306 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:23,080 Okay, so it's good for us when we know the truth and the goodness of God's word to help 307 00:18:23,080 --> 00:18:28,320 other brothers and sisters in Christ, to tell them the truth of God's word. 308 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:30,040 And what is the benefit of that? 309 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:31,480 Well, it's nourishing. 310 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:32,480 That's what we see here. 311 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:36,440 He says, you're a good servant if you point out these things, nourished by the word of 312 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:39,120 faith and the good teaching that you have followed. 313 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:40,120 Okay. 314 00:18:40,120 --> 00:18:45,000 So Paul says, there's a lot of bad false teachings out there, but Timothy, you've been following 315 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:46,600 the teachings of Jesus Christ. 316 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:49,760 You've been following a good teaching and that's nourishing. 317 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:54,360 That's a nourishing thing for you and it's a nourishing thing for those that you are 318 00:18:54,360 --> 00:18:55,500 going to encounter. 319 00:18:55,500 --> 00:19:00,160 So teach them what is good, what is true, what is nourishing. 320 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:06,320 Don't let them be deceived by the lies and the things that will destroy them. 321 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:13,160 Verse seven, but have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths. 322 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:15,480 Rather train yourself in godliness. 323 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:16,480 Okay. 324 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:18,360 This is good advice right here. 325 00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:22,320 Have nothing to do with irreverent or silly myths. 326 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:27,000 Some of your translations might say old wives tales. 327 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:32,960 What does it mean when it talks about irreverent things or silly things or old wives tales? 328 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:35,320 What are some of those examples of those things? 329 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:36,320 Okay. 330 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:39,600 We may pay more attention to old wives tales than we realize. 331 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:43,920 There are lots of old wives tales that we give into. 332 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:48,640 For instance, I can say to you, we just went on a good vacation and on that vacation, my 333 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:56,760 truck rolled over 180,000 miles and in 180,000 miles in seven years, I ain't never had a 334 00:19:56,760 --> 00:19:59,480 lick of trouble out of that truck. 335 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:00,520 Knock on wood. 336 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:01,520 We got to knock on wood, right? 337 00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:05,240 Because if I don't knock on that wood, do you know what's going to happen? 338 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:07,680 When I get in that truck to leave, it ain't going to crank. 339 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:10,400 Now that's an old wives tale, but we do that. 340 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:13,400 We say stuff and we look around. 341 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:16,880 People see people do it all the time, but I don't do that. 342 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:17,880 It's silly. 343 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:20,400 It's an old wives tale and we don't need to do that stuff. 344 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:21,400 It's silly. 345 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:22,840 Knocking on wood don't make no difference. 346 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:26,000 Now if my truck don't crank tonight, it ain't got nothing to do. 347 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,880 I don't believe with the fact that I said that. 348 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:31,560 But these are the kind of things that we say. 349 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:36,280 We say, you know, don't walk under a light or don't cross a path. 350 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:39,560 The black cat is crossed in front of you. 351 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:43,120 On New Year's Day, make sure you eat black eyed peas and cabbage because it's going to 352 00:20:43,120 --> 00:20:44,120 bring you wealth. 353 00:20:44,120 --> 00:20:47,040 And so a lot of people eat black eyed peas and cabbage. 354 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:49,720 These things are wives tales. 355 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:52,080 These things are just, you can look them up online. 356 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:53,720 You can find hundreds of them. 357 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:56,240 And there are lots of these superstitions. 358 00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:58,320 That's what a wives tale is. 359 00:20:58,320 --> 00:20:59,320 It's a superstition. 360 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:04,080 It's something that we think, if I don't do this thing, this bad thing is going to happen. 361 00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:07,280 Or if I do this thing, it's going to be bad luck. 362 00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:08,280 It's fascinating. 363 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:09,280 It's fascinating. 364 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:11,920 It's a fun subject to study. 365 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:17,280 If you look around the world at all the old wives tales from the different cultures, it's 366 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:18,280 just crazy. 367 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:19,520 I'll let you do that on your own time. 368 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:20,760 But there's lots of them. 369 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:25,800 And there's lots of them that we do and lots of old things that we've done for years that 370 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:27,160 ain't nothing to them. 371 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:31,600 They're just old wives tales that's been passed down and passed down and things that we do 372 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:37,240 that we don't realize that they would be qualified as these silly myths that Paul is talking 373 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:38,240 about. 374 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:39,240 These. 375 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:40,240 Think some of them are old husband tales. 376 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:42,080 Well, I don't know about that. 377 00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:44,360 We just gonna go with what the scripture says there. 378 00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:49,040 But we understand what the text means when it says old wives tales. 379 00:21:49,040 --> 00:21:51,920 It's silly myths, as my translations would say. 380 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:54,040 It's things that don't amount to a hill of beans. 381 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:56,640 So don't worry about knocking on wood. 382 00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:58,360 It's not gonna, it's not gonna be bad luck. 383 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:02,800 And if you think it is, then well, you need to, we need to get over those types of superstitions. 384 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:06,520 Those things are not healthy for Christians to think about and worry about. 385 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:08,880 So what does he say instead of that? 386 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:12,920 Instead of worried about a bunch of stuff that don't amount to a hill of beans, essentially, 387 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:17,040 what he says is train yourself in godliness. 388 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:20,740 So don't worry about trying to seek out a piece of wood to knock on, but worry about 389 00:22:20,740 --> 00:22:25,120 trying to seek out the word of God because that is going to make a difference in your 390 00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:26,120 life. 391 00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:29,080 If you're eating black eyed peas and cabbage, I'm gonna break it to you, it ain't gonna 392 00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:30,880 make a difference in your life. 393 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:34,100 You've been eating black eyed peas and cabbage for 80 years, some of you. 394 00:22:34,100 --> 00:22:35,640 And have you got wealthy yet? 395 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:36,920 No, probably not. 396 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:38,960 We still just doing what we do. 397 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:40,400 Don't make no difference. 398 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:42,920 But there is something that does make difference in our life. 399 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:47,480 And that is living by the word of God and being trained in godliness. 400 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:49,240 And that's what Paul tells Timothy here. 401 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:51,520 And that's a good command for us as well. 402 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:55,160 So he says, train yourself in godliness. 403 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:57,600 Now listen to this verse eight. 404 00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:02,520 For the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every 405 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:08,220 way since it holds promise for the present life and for the life to come. 406 00:23:08,220 --> 00:23:12,560 This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. 407 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:15,840 Now he gives a real, real basic illustration. 408 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:20,320 He says, for the training of the body has limited benefit. 409 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:24,320 Now we understand the benefit of the training of the body. 410 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:28,240 There are some of you who may run or some of you who may lift weights or some of you 411 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:33,440 who may have worked out in some way in the past or may work out in some way now. 412 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:34,440 And what's the benefit? 413 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:36,560 Well, it might be to lose weight. 414 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:38,900 It might be to keep your heart rate up. 415 00:23:38,900 --> 00:23:41,780 It might be riding six miles a day on your Nordic track. 416 00:23:41,780 --> 00:23:44,000 There are all kinds of things that we do. 417 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:46,640 And why do we do this kind of training? 418 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:50,540 Because we understand that there is some good for us. 419 00:23:50,540 --> 00:23:51,540 It makes us stronger. 420 00:23:51,540 --> 00:23:53,520 It makes us muscular. 421 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:58,240 It makes our legs stronger and our arms stronger and our hearts stronger and our minds stronger 422 00:23:58,240 --> 00:23:59,860 exercising good. 423 00:23:59,860 --> 00:24:03,000 So we understand the benefit of exercise. 424 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:04,600 But what does Paul say? 425 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:08,640 He says, but exercise, the benefit of that is limited. 426 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:14,660 So there is some benefit in bodily training, but it's a limited benefit because we can 427 00:24:14,660 --> 00:24:16,240 train all we want to. 428 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:21,540 And maybe we can prolong the inevitable a little bit, but one day, guess what? 429 00:24:21,540 --> 00:24:23,300 Our strength is going to be gone. 430 00:24:23,300 --> 00:24:27,020 And so even the best bodily training has a limited benefit. 431 00:24:27,020 --> 00:24:29,620 It's going to come to an end one day. 432 00:24:29,620 --> 00:24:31,720 And so he uses that as an example. 433 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:37,200 He says, look, if bodily training has benefit and only for a little while, then you need 434 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:40,700 to know that godly training is better than that. 435 00:24:40,700 --> 00:24:46,520 If he calls us to train ourself in godliness, he says it's because it's got an everlasting 436 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:47,600 benefit. 437 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:53,440 So when we train ourself in godliness, it is both good in this life and in the life 438 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:54,440 to come. 439 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:55,440 And that's the difference between our exercise. 440 00:24:55,440 --> 00:25:00,200 And you can exercise and you can be the strongest man or woman in here in this life, but it's 441 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:02,600 of no benefit to you in the life to come. 442 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:05,760 So we should exercise and be in good shape in this life. 443 00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:07,920 And the life to come is of no benefit. 444 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:12,840 So what Paul says is what you need to do is you need to do something in this life that 445 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:15,800 will benefit you both now and later. 446 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:20,040 And what he tells us to do is live a life of godliness. 447 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:25,680 Now when we live a life of godliness, it is good for us in the here and now. 448 00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:28,320 It helps us to trust in God. 449 00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:31,920 It helps us to do the things that God calls us to. 450 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:36,760 It helps us to stay away from the things that God wants us to stay away from. 451 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:39,000 Godliness calls us to help our neighbor. 452 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:44,840 I mean, there's a variety of ways in which living a godly life brings joy to us. 453 00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:50,120 Living a godly life calls us to give to others and it's better to give than to receive. 454 00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:55,440 There's blessing in living a godly life and we experience the blessings and the joy of 455 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:58,560 a godly life right here and right now. 456 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,120 There's benefit to that godliness. 457 00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:06,320 But praise the Lord, godliness, the benefit that we have for godliness is not just in 458 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:09,860 one life, but we experience that in the life to come. 459 00:26:09,860 --> 00:26:11,200 So what does Paul say? 460 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:15,000 He says, look, you need to train yourself in godliness. 461 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:20,080 You need to train yourself in what is good and what God tells you to do and what is right. 462 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:26,320 And that will be of great benefit to you here and in the life to come. 463 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:28,640 Last verse, verse 10. 464 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:34,160 In fact, we labor and strive for this because we have put our hope in the living God who 465 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:39,900 is the savior of everyone, especially of those who believe. 466 00:26:39,900 --> 00:26:42,240 So that should be what we labor and strive for. 467 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:44,520 We should labor and strive for what? 468 00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:50,000 For godliness so that we can have hope in Jesus Christ, so that we can be strong not 469 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,920 to give in to these false and crazy teachings that we will hear in our world. 470 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:55,040 And you will hear them. 471 00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:57,760 If you don't hear them, then obviously you don't get out enough. 472 00:26:57,760 --> 00:26:59,760 You don't turn on your TV enough. 473 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:03,680 But if we get out in this world for any period of time, you're going to be confronted with 474 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:08,400 some really crazy off the wall stuff that goes against God's word. 475 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:12,720 But we combat that with godliness because godliness makes us stronger. 476 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:14,300 It helps us to know the truth. 477 00:27:14,300 --> 00:27:17,960 It helps us to live out the word of God and the work of God. 478 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:20,320 And when we do that, we find hope in Jesus Christ. 479 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:27,560 The closer we walk with God, the more we walk in godliness, the more hope that we find in 480 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:29,360 the word of God. 481 00:27:29,360 --> 00:27:33,520 And so Paul gives Timothy this instruction, both for Timothy's sake and his audience's 482 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:38,960 sake and for yours and my sake, because we need to be on guard against the same things. 483 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:44,760 We want to be those who know the truth, that we reject the lies, and that we train ourselves 484 00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:45,760 in godliness. 485 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:46,760 Let's pray. 486 00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:47,920 Father God, we come to you tonight. 487 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:49,280 We thank you for these good words. 488 00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:55,240 And I pray, dear Lord, that you would help us to be aware that we would not be deceived 489 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:59,000 by any false or crazy teachings that our world may say is right. 490 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:02,760 Dear Lord, our world may try to push things down our throat all the time. 491 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:06,880 We see them, we hear them, but no matter how much our world says things are okay, if your 492 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:10,560 word does not say it's okay, then it's not, God. 493 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:16,880 So let us know sin is sin, and let us know your truth over the lies of the world, over 494 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:18,660 the lies of the enemy. 495 00:28:18,660 --> 00:28:20,560 Let us be those who are trained in godliness. 496 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:22,100 God, that's why we come tonight. 497 00:28:22,100 --> 00:28:26,960 We come to hear your word and to fellowship and to sing these songs so that we can train 498 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:31,600 up ourself in godliness, so that we can know your word better and draw closer to you and 499 00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:33,880 try to live by your word. 500 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:38,360 So I pray, God, that if there's one in this room that does not know Jesus Christ tonight, 501 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:41,880 I pray that they would put their faith in Jesus Christ. 502 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:47,200 As the scripture said in verse 10, he is the savior of everyone, dear Lord, to everyone 503 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:48,200 who would call on him. 504 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:52,000 And so God, I pray that you just would help us tonight. 505 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:54,400 Maybe there's one listening or one here that doesn't know Jesus. 506 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:57,560 I pray that they would repent and put their faith in Jesus tonight. 507 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:02,000 And God, maybe there are some of us tonight, and we encounter some crazy teachings and 508 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:04,040 some crazy stuff. 509 00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:05,680 Help us to know your truth. 510 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:10,640 Help us to live by your word and to try to train ourselves in godliness. 511 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:12,840 And I ask these things in Jesus' name. 512 00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:27,840 Amen.