WEBVTT 00:00:00.270 --> 00:00:04.129 First of all, we're supposed to start first Samuel 00:00:04.129 --> 00:00:08.630 today but I think this may take longer on the 00:00:08.630 --> 00:00:12.429 note -taking side than We probably will not get 00:00:12.429 --> 00:00:27.129 the first so we'll use this as a I'm sorry Okay, 00:00:27.170 --> 00:00:31.030 so we are talking about note -keeping. So who 00:00:31.030 --> 00:00:33.689 knows where the text for that message will come 00:00:33.689 --> 00:00:39.850 from? 1st Timothy, so turn to 1st Timothy if 00:00:39.850 --> 00:00:44.590 you would. By way of introduction, we will say 00:00:44.590 --> 00:00:47.329 this, that there is one authority in the church. 00:00:48.109 --> 00:00:55.640 Who is that? Jesus Christ. And he has... Seen 00:00:55.640 --> 00:00:59.780 fit to make his will known by leaving us what? 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:05.140 The Bible and he has further seen fit then to 00:01:05.140 --> 00:01:15.200 have that Bible be taught in his church by Faithful 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:20.200 men gifted by him to teach that word and Expound 00:01:20.200 --> 00:01:24.159 it and apply it so when we're talking about notekeeping 00:01:24.329 --> 00:01:31.590 The purpose of note -keeping is what? To aid 00:01:31.590 --> 00:01:37.329 in our learning and retaining the Word. Every 00:01:37.329 --> 00:01:40.069 activity of the Church, our note -keeping is 00:01:40.069 --> 00:01:44.109 what? Word -centric. There's nothing that is 00:01:44.109 --> 00:01:46.349 more important in the life of the Church than 00:01:46.349 --> 00:01:50.030 the Bible. And so whatever note -keeping we do, 00:01:50.409 --> 00:01:53.819 we ought to have that in mind. that it has to 00:01:53.819 --> 00:01:57.480 be focused on the Word if it's to have any spiritual 00:01:57.480 --> 00:02:00.840 value whatsoever. There's nothing that has spiritual 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:04.879 value that is outside of the Word of God. And 00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:07.879 so I went to Timothy because Paul is telling 00:02:07.879 --> 00:02:10.460 Timothy then to establish certain traditions 00:02:10.460 --> 00:02:15.500 and certain activities to set things up in the 00:02:15.500 --> 00:02:20.400 church so that it would be conducive to that 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:22.199 taught word. So we're not going to obviously 00:02:22.199 --> 00:02:25.580 go through the entire book of 1st Timothy. We 00:02:25.580 --> 00:02:28.060 are going to focus on two areas if we're going 00:02:28.060 --> 00:02:30.219 to take good notes or if we're going to glean 00:02:30.219 --> 00:02:33.120 from the word without taking notes. There's two 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:37.960 things that Timothy is instructed by Paul to 00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:40.740 establish in the church. In other words, for 00:02:40.740 --> 00:02:43.740 everyone in the church to do if that word is 00:02:43.740 --> 00:02:47.530 going to be effective in God's in the lives of 00:02:47.530 --> 00:02:50.949 God's people. And then Paul goes to great lengths 00:02:50.949 --> 00:02:56.569 in Timothy to tell us what it is that he anticipates 00:02:56.569 --> 00:03:00.030 will be taught and what the goal is of the things 00:03:00.030 --> 00:03:02.610 taught in the church. In other words, this is 00:03:02.610 --> 00:03:04.389 what you're going to teach. And if you teach 00:03:04.389 --> 00:03:07.530 it well, this will be the outcome of that taught 00:03:07.530 --> 00:03:10.789 word. So let's look. We're not going to read 00:03:10.789 --> 00:03:13.150 the whole, even the first chapter, but we are 00:03:13.150 --> 00:03:16.939 going to start in verse three. as I besought 00:03:16.939 --> 00:03:19.819 thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went into 00:03:19.819 --> 00:03:23.039 Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:25.639 they teach no other doctrine." Okay, so there's 00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:28.240 the first thing. Now, the first thing that Paul 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:32.659 instructs Timothy to do when he's setting out 00:03:32.659 --> 00:03:35.900 these elders, these men, is that they teach no 00:03:35.900 --> 00:03:38.240 other doctrine. Now, presumably that's what? 00:03:38.620 --> 00:03:41.099 The doctrine that Timothy has been taught by 00:03:41.099 --> 00:03:48.000 Paul, and Paul has received from... Jesus. But 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:50.080 we don't really know that but we will know that 00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:54.159 here shortly. Neither give heed to fables and 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:57.099 endless genealogies which minister questions, 00:03:57.699 --> 00:04:01.460 rather godly edifying which is in faith. So then 00:04:01.460 --> 00:04:04.020 what's that contrast that's going on there? How 00:04:04.020 --> 00:04:06.919 is this doctrine going to be taught? Well one 00:04:06.919 --> 00:04:09.180 of the things that it's going to be is clear. 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:14.419 When you minister these genealogies, at the end 00:04:14.419 --> 00:04:17.160 you have what? All kinds of questions. So Paul 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:20.500 anticipates that this sound doctrine that he's 00:04:20.500 --> 00:04:23.540 going to teach in the churches is going to be 00:04:23.540 --> 00:04:26.019 clear and it's going to lead what? It's going 00:04:26.019 --> 00:04:27.959 to lead to a greater faith. It's going to be 00:04:27.959 --> 00:04:30.420 delivered in faith and it's going to be received 00:04:30.420 --> 00:04:34.420 in faith and it's going to encourage faith. Now 00:04:34.420 --> 00:04:36.899 the end of the commandment is charity out of 00:04:36.899 --> 00:04:39.860 a pure heart and a good conscience and a faith 00:04:39.860 --> 00:04:43.899 unfamed Now there there is a good definition 00:04:43.899 --> 00:04:46.100 of what is going to be taught in the church. 00:04:46.100 --> 00:04:49.860 What's it? What's it going to do? The teaching 00:04:49.860 --> 00:04:54.500 in the church is going to result in what? Love 00:04:54.500 --> 00:05:02.500 is going to be in abundance in the church Devoted 00:05:02.500 --> 00:05:06.579 to God a heart that is in love with God and cares 00:05:06.579 --> 00:05:09.300 for his people that wants to hear the instruction 00:05:09.300 --> 00:05:13.220 From God and then that word that a doctrine that 00:05:13.220 --> 00:05:15.439 is taught is going to result in what in God's 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:18.620 people a clear conscience These people are going 00:05:18.620 --> 00:05:20.899 to know God so well They're going to understand 00:05:20.899 --> 00:05:22.860 God's will for their life and they're going to 00:05:22.860 --> 00:05:24.519 put that into practice that they're going to 00:05:24.519 --> 00:05:30.160 have clear consciences so The third thing then 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:34.100 is a faith on faith. So when this doctrine goes 00:05:34.100 --> 00:05:36.560 forth, when this teaching goes forth from God's 00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:39.720 men, it's going to result in what? In God's people. 00:05:40.259 --> 00:05:42.740 It's going to establish their faith firm. They're 00:05:42.740 --> 00:05:45.399 going to know what they believe. It's going to 00:05:45.399 --> 00:05:48.519 enable them to exercise that faith as they apply 00:05:48.519 --> 00:05:51.399 that doctrine and their faith is going to grow. 00:05:52.299 --> 00:05:55.579 Now that's the inevitable result of the proper 00:05:55.579 --> 00:05:58.920 teaching of God's Word in the church. If that's 00:05:58.920 --> 00:06:01.120 not the result, then there's a problem on one 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:03.980 side or the other. In order for that to happen, 00:06:04.339 --> 00:06:11.259 what is required? Who is required? The Holy Spirit. 00:06:11.899 --> 00:06:14.360 So both in the teaching of the Word and in the 00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:17.819 receiving of the Word, the Holy Spirit is required. 00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:21.199 It's a spiritual exercise that goes forth. The 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:25.120 man of God receives the word from God through 00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:28.220 the leading of the Holy Spirit. And by the Spirit's 00:06:28.220 --> 00:06:31.620 power, he delivers that word to God's people, 00:06:32.060 --> 00:06:35.740 having received it himself first. So the teaching 00:06:35.740 --> 00:06:38.839 doesn't go forth first to the people. First it 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:41.500 goes forth to the person teaching. Then it goes 00:06:41.500 --> 00:06:44.399 forth to the people. And the people are presumably 00:06:44.399 --> 00:06:47.279 prepared by the Holy Spirit and enabled by the 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:50.519 Holy Spirit to receive that word. But that word 00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:52.819 that they receive is not a word, it's not my 00:06:52.819 --> 00:06:55.720 word. So if it's my word, where does it belong? 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:00.000 In the trash heap of history. We just throw it 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:03.199 out. We don't need it. God's people don't need 00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:05.639 Dave Dickman's word any more than they need Tim 00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:08.360 Dickman's word or Mike Dickman's word or Carol 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:11.800 Murray's word. What they need is a word from 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:14.060 their master, from their authority, from their 00:07:14.060 --> 00:07:19.029 God. And that word... delivered through his servants 00:07:19.029 --> 00:07:25.790 is effective in their lives. All right. So that 00:07:25.790 --> 00:07:28.290 that hopefully that will cement in our minds 00:07:28.290 --> 00:07:30.250 that what we're doing when we're taking notes 00:07:30.250 --> 00:07:34.089 is we're trying to discern the word of God. Now 00:07:34.089 --> 00:07:38.129 there is and and since it's a spiritual exercise 00:07:38.129 --> 00:07:40.930 enabled by the Holy Spirit, it should not be 00:07:40.930 --> 00:07:43.990 surprising to any of us that one person hears 00:07:43.990 --> 00:07:47.379 one thing in a sermon clearly emphasized and 00:07:47.379 --> 00:07:49.980 just exactly what they need. And another person 00:07:49.980 --> 00:07:54.639 hears something else entirely different and emphasized 00:07:54.639 --> 00:07:58.259 because of a need in their life. Sometimes I 00:07:58.259 --> 00:08:00.819 preach or I teach and I feel like it was a waste 00:08:00.819 --> 00:08:03.959 of my time. I just feel like I didn't have my 00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:06.540 thoughts organized nearly as well as I wish I 00:08:06.540 --> 00:08:08.740 would have. I didn't emphasize the things I thought 00:08:08.740 --> 00:08:11.680 I was going to emphasize Saturday when I was 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:14.360 in preparation. And the word is received and 00:08:14.360 --> 00:08:18.639 people say, oh, that was great. Other times I 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:21.420 think boy I nailed it. I think I had everything 00:08:21.420 --> 00:08:25.639 organized and crickets is the response now the 00:08:25.639 --> 00:08:28.399 only explanation for that is that the Holy Spirit 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:35.039 is at work and What he intends for everyone to 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:41.799 hear is Exactly what each person needs and so 00:08:41.799 --> 00:08:44.320 when you're taking notes then that's what you're 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:47.429 taking notes on You're taking what's being taught 00:08:47.429 --> 00:08:50.629 and how does this change my perspective? How 00:08:50.629 --> 00:08:52.970 does this apply to my life? How do I need this 00:08:52.970 --> 00:08:55.870 and how is this going to help me? But if you're 00:08:55.870 --> 00:08:58.950 going to listen and be able to take notes well, 00:08:59.330 --> 00:09:03.649 what has to happen ahead of time? You thought 00:09:03.649 --> 00:09:04.990 you were coming here and I was just going to 00:09:04.990 --> 00:09:07.769 give you a mechanical lesson on how to take notes. 00:09:08.730 --> 00:09:17.950 Hopefully nobody really thought that. And what 00:09:17.950 --> 00:09:23.590 does that look like? What? Okay, so in first 00:09:23.590 --> 00:09:32.070 Timothy three, no, three, two. First Timothy 00:09:32.070 --> 00:09:36.450 two, turn to the next chapter. Verse one, I exhort 00:09:36.450 --> 00:09:39.409 therefore that first of all, supplications, prayer, 00:09:39.649 --> 00:09:41.990 intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for 00:09:41.990 --> 00:09:44.809 all men. Then in verse eight, I will therefore 00:09:44.809 --> 00:09:48.009 that men pray everywhere. lifting up holy hands 00:09:48.009 --> 00:09:55.110 without wrath and doubting. Now, that is an exercise 00:09:55.110 --> 00:09:57.610 that is a discipline in the life of the church 00:09:57.610 --> 00:10:03.370 for what purpose? So that the word can go forth 00:10:03.370 --> 00:10:08.590 and be received. If you think you're going to 00:10:08.590 --> 00:10:11.289 come in here and take effective notes and you're 00:10:11.289 --> 00:10:13.769 going to be able to hear what God is saying to 00:10:13.769 --> 00:10:16.480 you, But you haven't bothered to dedicate the 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:19.500 time in your life to ask the Lord for a word. 00:10:20.340 --> 00:10:23.679 To ask the Lord to give that word to the person 00:10:23.679 --> 00:10:26.320 who's speaking. If you haven't asked the Lord 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:29.940 to give you ears, spiritual ears, and a spiritual 00:10:29.940 --> 00:10:32.600 heart to receive that word, then don't expect 00:10:32.600 --> 00:10:36.299 to take effective notes. Don't expect to hear 00:10:36.299 --> 00:10:38.580 from the Lord. It's really as simple as that. 00:10:38.620 --> 00:10:41.679 Paul lays it out. If the word is going to go 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:44.320 forth, and if it's going to have its... Desire 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:46.220 effect in the lives of the people the people 00:10:46.220 --> 00:10:52.919 are going to have to do what? pray Believing 00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:57.159 Do you pray that the Lord would have a word for 00:10:57.159 --> 00:10:59.620 you is that the burden of your heart throughout 00:10:59.620 --> 00:11:02.360 the week Do you pray that the Lord would have 00:11:02.360 --> 00:11:07.320 a word for everybody else that's here? If you 00:11:07.320 --> 00:11:09.659 don't then don't be surprised when you come in 00:11:09.659 --> 00:11:11.500 here you're frustrated with your note -taking 00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:14.440 Don't be surprised if you come in here and you 00:11:14.440 --> 00:11:17.179 leave and you think, I was just a bunch of words. 00:11:18.120 --> 00:11:20.620 I didn't understand it. I didn't understand the 00:11:20.620 --> 00:11:23.879 application. It doesn't meet any need of my heart 00:11:23.879 --> 00:11:26.539 or in my life. Nothing really went on. Well, 00:11:26.840 --> 00:11:29.240 the first question to ask ourselves is, did I 00:11:29.240 --> 00:11:32.720 pray? Paul apparently thinks it's fairly important. 00:11:33.500 --> 00:11:36.299 Now, what's the other thing that he gives instruction 00:11:36.299 --> 00:11:39.220 to the people to do to prepare for to receive 00:11:39.220 --> 00:11:45.600 the word? Turn over to chapter 5. Now there's 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:47.639 all kinds of instruction, we're skipping over, 00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:50.139 inside the church. Most of it is given to the 00:11:50.139 --> 00:11:55.080 elders of how to conduct things. These two though, 00:11:55.139 --> 00:11:58.000 he instructs for everybody in the church to do. 00:12:01.299 --> 00:12:05.799 Verse 17, let the elders that rule well be counted 00:12:05.799 --> 00:12:09.879 worthy of double honor, especially, or namely, 00:12:10.039 --> 00:12:12.860 they who labor in the word and doctrine. For 00:12:12.860 --> 00:12:15.279 the scripture says, Thou shalt not muzzle the 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:18.480 ox that treadeth out the corn, and the laborer 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:29.200 is worthy of his reward. This is a side note, 00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:31.539 but do you know where that second quote is from? 00:12:31.559 --> 00:12:43.889 The laborer is worthy of his reward. Now what 00:12:43.889 --> 00:12:48.629 would that lead you to believe? Paul says that's 00:12:48.629 --> 00:12:53.049 scripture. So one of two things had to go on. 00:12:53.309 --> 00:12:55.370 Either the book of Luke was already written, 00:12:55.470 --> 00:12:58.710 the gospel of Luke was written down, or Paul 00:12:58.710 --> 00:13:03.450 knew that Jesus had said this and that it was 00:13:03.450 --> 00:13:06.090 written down by someone and that that was the 00:13:06.090 --> 00:13:08.769 very word of God and it was going to be written 00:13:08.769 --> 00:13:11.129 down and preserved by God and used in the church. 00:13:11.899 --> 00:13:15.000 or it was already written down and already recognized 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:17.720 as Bible when Paul was writing this letter. Now 00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:20.360 that's just, you can take either one of those 00:13:20.360 --> 00:13:22.679 that you want, but Paul apparently thought that 00:13:22.679 --> 00:13:25.679 the gospels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and 00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:29.919 John were scripture, equating it with, whereas 00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:32.559 the first quote comes from the Old Testament. 00:13:34.120 --> 00:13:36.779 So if you're ever trying to figure out how to 00:13:36.779 --> 00:13:39.639 think about God's word and how things came to 00:13:39.639 --> 00:13:42.940 be Bible, There's a key verse for you. Alright, 00:13:43.980 --> 00:13:50.399 Paul tells the people to give. Now, is that an 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:53.659 important part of church life? Is that an important 00:13:53.659 --> 00:13:56.600 part of Christian life? What does that have to 00:13:56.600 --> 00:14:00.759 do with the ministry of the Word? Have you ever 00:14:00.759 --> 00:14:03.340 thought, Paul just threw that in there for no 00:14:03.340 --> 00:14:10.590 particular reason. Well, what is giving? How 00:14:10.590 --> 00:14:13.730 is that related to the Word and why is it important 00:14:13.730 --> 00:14:17.509 that the people that are teaching the Word are 00:14:17.509 --> 00:14:20.210 supported by the people who are being taught 00:14:20.210 --> 00:14:31.889 the Word? Let me just ask this. Is that a spiritual 00:14:31.889 --> 00:14:40.029 activity? So is that as spiritual as the hymns 00:14:40.029 --> 00:14:46.370 that we sing? Is that as spiritual as our prayer 00:14:46.370 --> 00:14:53.169 life? Okay, so we're not we're not trying to 00:14:53.169 --> 00:14:56.490 find a hierarchy of spiritual activity What we 00:14:56.490 --> 00:14:59.590 are saying is that and what Paul says is that 00:14:59.590 --> 00:15:04.149 our entire lives sacrificed to God. Everything 00:15:04.149 --> 00:15:06.330 that we have and everything that we are is a 00:15:06.330 --> 00:15:09.970 reasonable thing based upon what Christ has done 00:15:09.970 --> 00:15:14.870 for us. And so giving is no less of a spiritual 00:15:14.870 --> 00:15:17.909 exercise than anything else. It is first and 00:15:17.909 --> 00:15:23.570 foremost then we would say it's worship. Was 00:15:23.570 --> 00:15:26.149 it commanded by Jesus? We'll turn over to Matthew 00:15:26.149 --> 00:15:35.570 chapter 6. Verse 1, Take heed that ye do not 00:15:35.570 --> 00:15:38.690 your alms before men, to be seen of them. Otherwise 00:15:38.690 --> 00:15:41.129 ye have no reward of your father, which is in 00:15:41.129 --> 00:15:44.389 heaven. There's a reward there. Therefore, when 00:15:44.389 --> 00:15:46.809 thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet 00:15:46.809 --> 00:15:49.549 before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues 00:15:49.549 --> 00:15:52.049 and in the streets, that they may have glory 00:15:52.049 --> 00:15:55.409 of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their 00:15:55.409 --> 00:15:59.309 reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy 00:15:59.309 --> 00:16:04.050 left hand know what thy right hand doeth. that 00:16:04.050 --> 00:16:07.389 thine alms may be in secret, and thy father which 00:16:07.389 --> 00:16:12.169 seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly." 00:16:12.169 --> 00:16:16.929 Now, if I was a televangelist, I might say, give 00:16:16.929 --> 00:16:19.870 to me and God will give back to you ten times. 00:16:19.929 --> 00:16:22.090 Send me a dollar, you'll for sure get a check 00:16:22.090 --> 00:16:24.009 in the mail or you'll find the ten dollar bill 00:16:24.009 --> 00:16:27.850 somewhere today. But what's the reward that God, 00:16:28.330 --> 00:16:32.870 that Jesus has in mind there when he says, Give 00:16:32.870 --> 00:16:35.049 your arms and expect something from the Lord. 00:16:35.090 --> 00:16:42.210 What is that? Have you ever thought about that? 00:16:43.509 --> 00:16:46.090 Does that have nothing? First of all, it's just 00:16:46.090 --> 00:16:48.950 Jesus just kind of presumes and assumes that 00:16:48.950 --> 00:16:52.070 this giving is going on He doesn't say if if 00:16:52.070 --> 00:16:55.470 it fits with inside your budget or if you remember 00:16:55.470 --> 00:16:58.610 on this week or that month or whatever else or 00:16:58.610 --> 00:17:03.149 if you have some surplus Well, then He just says, 00:17:03.370 --> 00:17:05.710 when you give, now who's He writing that to? 00:17:06.089 --> 00:17:08.849 Let's not be like the Jehovah Witnesses. Who's 00:17:08.849 --> 00:17:13.849 He writing that to? To every one of His people. 00:17:14.849 --> 00:17:17.849 All of us. It's written to you and it's written 00:17:17.849 --> 00:17:21.910 to me. It's a personal teaching from Jesus to 00:17:21.910 --> 00:17:25.309 you and to me. This giving is going to go on. 00:17:25.369 --> 00:17:34.210 What's the reward? Okay? So it's going to increase 00:17:34.210 --> 00:17:38.410 faith. You're going to experience the provision 00:17:38.410 --> 00:17:42.210 of God through your giving. Especially what? 00:17:42.930 --> 00:17:46.769 When you give more than what you're comfortable 00:17:46.769 --> 00:17:49.430 giving. Now I'm not telling you that you ought 00:17:49.430 --> 00:17:52.170 to... Whatever the paycheck comes in, you just 00:17:52.170 --> 00:17:53.750 turn it all over to the church. I'm not saying 00:17:53.750 --> 00:17:56.390 that at all. That's between you and the Lord. 00:17:57.450 --> 00:18:00.250 But I guarantee you that whatever it is... If 00:18:00.250 --> 00:18:02.490 you say we're going to give X number of dollars 00:18:02.490 --> 00:18:04.569 a week or we're going to give this percentage 00:18:04.569 --> 00:18:07.130 of every penny that comes into our house, whatever 00:18:07.130 --> 00:18:11.190 it is, it's not going to be easy all the time. 00:18:11.769 --> 00:18:14.410 And you'll be able to find an excuse without 00:18:14.410 --> 00:18:17.789 any problem whatsoever that will seem very legitimate. 00:18:18.690 --> 00:18:32.869 Has anyone ever experienced that before? So what's 00:18:32.869 --> 00:18:39.690 the reward then? An increase in faith, is that 00:18:39.690 --> 00:18:43.769 it? That's the entirety of the reward that we're 00:18:43.769 --> 00:18:50.529 going to get from Jesus. Your teachers are taking 00:18:50.529 --> 00:18:53.089 care of it. The people that are watching out 00:18:53.089 --> 00:19:03.220 for you. What else? Which means what? Which is 00:19:03.220 --> 00:19:08.460 going to lead to or enable what? Okay better 00:19:08.460 --> 00:19:14.619 and more So that's so the so the question then 00:19:14.619 --> 00:19:18.200 comes back to us have we taken that seriously 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:22.279 Do you expect to come in here and receive a word 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:26.099 from God Almighty? But you haven't devoted enough 00:19:26.099 --> 00:19:28.440 of your life to support the work that goes on 00:19:30.049 --> 00:19:34.470 Paul apparently thought that was ludicrous. That 00:19:34.470 --> 00:19:39.069 that's the way fools would think. Now those are 00:19:39.069 --> 00:19:41.950 the two things. So if you haven't been praying, 00:19:42.130 --> 00:19:44.990 start praying. And if you haven't decided to 00:19:44.990 --> 00:19:48.289 give, start giving. And you'll be amazed how 00:19:48.289 --> 00:19:50.829 much easier it will be to take notes. You'll 00:19:50.829 --> 00:19:55.049 be amazed at how much easier it is to hear from 00:19:55.049 --> 00:19:57.910 your God. Remember that you don't have because 00:19:57.910 --> 00:20:00.980 you don't ask. If you haven't asked for a word, 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:03.779 don't expect to get it. If you haven't said, 00:20:03.980 --> 00:20:06.039 this is what's important to me and I want it 00:20:06.039 --> 00:20:08.900 to keep on going and therefore I'm going to give 00:20:08.900 --> 00:20:12.359 support for that word, then don't be surprised 00:20:12.359 --> 00:20:15.720 if you don't get one. So do those two things. 00:20:16.779 --> 00:20:20.259 So prayer before, giving, consistent, joyful, 00:20:22.119 --> 00:20:28.400 respect. No, we talk about honor for the elders. 00:20:28.619 --> 00:20:34.880 This is so hard. But it's for you. I mean, it's 00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:37.319 real. It's there, right? It's in the Scriptures. 00:20:37.980 --> 00:20:42.160 It's double honor. What does that mean? Undoubtedly, 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:44.680 it has to do with money. We've already talked 00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:47.819 about that, but what's the other one? That only 00:20:47.819 --> 00:20:51.559 gets us halfway there. Paul apparently had two 00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:54.059 things in mind when he was talking about giving. 00:20:55.180 --> 00:21:02.740 What's the other one? It expects that from all 00:21:02.740 --> 00:21:12.259 of us. Okay, I've already given it to you. Those 00:21:12.259 --> 00:21:15.440 who are keen of hearing would have heard. Respect, 00:21:15.539 --> 00:21:22.160 honor, a certain decorum is expected between 00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:25.720 the elders and the people. between the people 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:32.200 and themselves when we come to church. A certain 00:21:32.200 --> 00:21:35.299 amount of honor is due. A certain amount of respect. 00:21:35.539 --> 00:21:38.779 A certain way of conducting yourself that says, 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:43.119 this is important to me. That's what's expected 00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:45.660 when you come into the house of God to hear from 00:21:45.660 --> 00:21:50.700 God Almighty. That can be applied in all kinds 00:21:50.700 --> 00:21:55.200 of different ways. throughout church history 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:58.160 been applied differently. But one thing that 00:21:58.160 --> 00:22:01.140 is consistent throughout church history is that 00:22:01.140 --> 00:22:06.220 it is a serious and it is an important part of 00:22:06.220 --> 00:22:08.519 a Christian's life when he comes together in 00:22:08.519 --> 00:22:12.220 the church. So however that is manifested both 00:22:12.220 --> 00:22:16.019 to each of us here and to the world at large, 00:22:16.259 --> 00:22:19.200 I will leave that to you to make a determination. 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:21.900 But if you haven't even thought about that, If 00:22:21.900 --> 00:22:24.880 this to you is just like going to Walmart on 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:28.539 a Tuesday afternoon to pick up a carton of eggs, 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:32.200 then you're thinking about it all wrong. What's 00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:35.880 perfectly acceptable and good and right when 00:22:35.880 --> 00:22:38.640 you go to Walmart may or may not be good and 00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:41.500 right and acceptable and respectful when you 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:43.980 come into the house of God. So you need to at 00:22:43.980 --> 00:22:46.859 least think through that process and think, how 00:22:46.859 --> 00:22:49.920 is it that I am going to show my respect for 00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:52.890 the elder? for the person that's been preparing 00:22:52.890 --> 00:22:56.329 and I is now teaching and most importantly before 00:22:56.329 --> 00:23:00.130 God Almighty to whom I have requested that there 00:23:00.130 --> 00:23:09.109 be a word for little old me all right enough 00:23:09.109 --> 00:23:11.509 of the prayer and enough of the giving now I 00:23:11.509 --> 00:23:15.410 have an acrostic for you the first one in my 00:23:15.410 --> 00:23:21.549 life you need to come then quiet Come to the 00:23:21.549 --> 00:23:28.609 meeting quiet. And so for the cue we have Quiescent 00:23:28.609 --> 00:23:35.650 Q U I E S C E N T Which is characterized by an 00:23:35.650 --> 00:23:39.849 absence of upheaval or discord so what does that 00:23:39.849 --> 00:23:45.549 mean for you and for me in respect to our State 00:23:45.549 --> 00:23:48.490 of being and our state of mind when we come here 00:23:48.490 --> 00:23:52.109 to the church What is the absence of upheaval 00:23:52.109 --> 00:24:06.049 or discord Because why Okay, we have peace with 00:24:06.049 --> 00:24:11.230 God we have We are content with where God has 00:24:11.230 --> 00:24:13.769 put us. That's the main emphasis that I want 00:24:13.769 --> 00:24:17.029 to put here If you are not content with where 00:24:17.029 --> 00:24:20.309 God has put you in life, and there is discord 00:24:20.309 --> 00:24:24.089 there, that doesn't mean that you can't get that 00:24:24.089 --> 00:24:25.769 straightened out when you come to church, and 00:24:25.769 --> 00:24:27.410 hopefully there will be people there that will 00:24:27.410 --> 00:24:30.410 help you. But if you're going to hear from God, 00:24:30.650 --> 00:24:32.869 the first thing you need to do is be totally 00:24:32.869 --> 00:24:35.990 and fully surrendered over to God and be content 00:24:35.990 --> 00:24:38.390 with where he has you. That doesn't mean, now, 00:24:38.390 --> 00:24:40.509 if there's sin in your life, that's gotta be 00:24:40.509 --> 00:24:46.180 dealt with, undoubtedly. resentment or there 00:24:46.180 --> 00:24:49.440 is worry. Those things have to be dealt with. 00:24:49.700 --> 00:24:53.119 You have to come into the meeting place of God 00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:58.920 with his people to hear from God quiet. The U 00:24:58.920 --> 00:25:03.559 stands for undisturbed by regret or worry about 00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:06.799 responsibilities or needs. In other words, I'm 00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:09.480 coming in here and I'm undisturbed by what's 00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:11.819 gone before in my life. That's gone on. It's 00:25:11.819 --> 00:25:16.190 done. I've confessed those sins before the Lord. 00:25:16.549 --> 00:25:18.549 I'm not concerned about what's going to happen 00:25:18.549 --> 00:25:20.990 next week. I'm not concerned about what's going 00:25:20.990 --> 00:25:23.690 to happen this afternoon. What I am concerned 00:25:23.690 --> 00:25:27.569 about is the present, right now. The things that 00:25:27.569 --> 00:25:29.470 are going to happen, I will leave to the Lord. 00:25:29.509 --> 00:25:32.170 I'm not going to be caught up with worry. The 00:25:32.170 --> 00:25:34.750 things that have gone on, I have done my best 00:25:34.750 --> 00:25:38.170 to correct whatever wrongs I've done and I have 00:25:38.170 --> 00:25:40.470 learned my lessons and going forward I won't 00:25:40.470 --> 00:25:42.410 have, but I'm not going to be overtaken with 00:25:42.410 --> 00:25:52.329 regret. Undisturbed by regret or worry. I, Q 00:25:52.329 --> 00:25:58.269 -U -I, intentionally focused on God and undisturbable. 00:26:01.609 --> 00:26:04.029 My focus when I come in and this is something 00:26:04.029 --> 00:26:06.089 that we, now these are all things that you have 00:26:06.089 --> 00:26:11.470 to do. These things don't happen. Are you content 00:26:11.470 --> 00:26:13.529 with where God has you? You've got to think about 00:26:13.529 --> 00:26:17.730 that. You've got to come to a conclusion. Are 00:26:17.730 --> 00:26:21.630 you purposely saying I'm not going to be thinking 00:26:21.630 --> 00:26:24.990 about the future and my settled position is that 00:26:24.990 --> 00:26:27.190 I don't worry, but in this place I'm not even 00:26:27.190 --> 00:26:28.990 going to think about the responsibilities that 00:26:28.990 --> 00:26:33.029 I have in the week ahead. I'm not going to concern 00:26:33.029 --> 00:26:35.710 myself with regrets about what's happened before. 00:26:37.009 --> 00:26:40.329 I am coming in here and I am focusing all of 00:26:40.329 --> 00:26:47.180 my attention on God and on His Word. Now, that 00:26:47.180 --> 00:26:52.960 means that I'm not giving any... In other words, 00:26:53.000 --> 00:26:55.559 what I'm saying is that I don't want to be in 00:26:55.559 --> 00:26:59.619 any way distracted in my thinking. I don't want 00:26:59.619 --> 00:27:03.980 to be in any way thinking about two different 00:27:03.980 --> 00:27:10.039 things. I want to have my sole focus, my attention 00:27:10.039 --> 00:27:14.220 is on the Lord. And no matter what happens around 00:27:14.220 --> 00:27:18.799 me, I'm not going to allow that to disturb my 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:22.339 attention or to interrupt my focus on God. Things 00:27:22.339 --> 00:27:25.220 happen, right? One of the things that happens, 00:27:25.500 --> 00:27:27.759 I was talking to Dan tonight, is we heard the 00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:31.099 static that came through the speaker. Now, is 00:27:31.099 --> 00:27:36.279 that ideal? Who likes that? Let's see some raised 00:27:36.279 --> 00:27:41.859 hands. Hey, none of us like it. Now the second 00:27:41.859 --> 00:27:46.700 question is, is the amplification that goes out, 00:27:46.779 --> 00:27:48.900 is that good for people? Well, it's good for 00:27:48.900 --> 00:27:51.779 Joanne for sure. When Thelma comes back, she's 00:27:51.779 --> 00:27:53.779 been asking for her for years, I'm going to assume 00:27:53.779 --> 00:27:57.460 that it's good for her. And so then the rest 00:27:57.460 --> 00:28:00.759 of us then, we should anticipate that occasionally 00:28:00.759 --> 00:28:03.579 we're going to have some stag that comes through 00:28:03.579 --> 00:28:05.819 there. And what are we going to do when that 00:28:05.819 --> 00:28:09.500 happens? Well, we're going to jump up and down 00:28:09.500 --> 00:28:15.940 and say, No, and not in our minds. We're going 00:28:15.940 --> 00:28:18.519 to say, I expected that, but that's not going 00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:27.039 to distract me from. That's not easy. Maybe somebody's 00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:29.940 going to kick a cup over and we're going to hear 00:28:29.940 --> 00:28:39.420 someone's security or what is it? Yeah, a security 00:28:39.420 --> 00:28:49.519 Stanley cup. Do you anticipate that those types 00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:53.599 of things may happen? Well, how am I going to 00:28:53.599 --> 00:28:57.920 react when I hear that? Am I going to get a good 00:28:57.920 --> 00:28:59.819 laugh out of it? Am I going to look around and 00:28:59.819 --> 00:29:06.500 see who did that? No, I just know it's going 00:29:06.500 --> 00:29:08.640 to happen. Unless it happens right next to me 00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:11.140 and there's something for me to do, I'm not going 00:29:11.140 --> 00:29:13.000 to concern myself with it. It's not going to 00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:15.700 distract me. It's not going to interrupt the 00:29:15.700 --> 00:29:18.180 train of thought that's going on. It's not going 00:29:18.180 --> 00:29:20.420 to interrupt this interchange between teacher 00:29:20.420 --> 00:29:24.259 and student. It's not going to interrupt the 00:29:24.259 --> 00:29:26.980 line of communication between me and my God. 00:29:28.319 --> 00:29:31.059 Somebody can kick a Stanley Cup across the room, 00:29:31.380 --> 00:29:34.000 but my determination is that I'm not going to 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:38.259 allow that to affect if I hear God's Word from 00:29:38.259 --> 00:29:43.440 me. Now, do we come into this place with that 00:29:43.440 --> 00:29:46.200 kind of resolution? Every time the door opens, 00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:49.059 do we all have to turn and see who's coming in? 00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:59.119 Does it matter? Maybe it does. I'm not saying 00:29:59.119 --> 00:30:00.859 that it doesn't. If you're expecting somebody 00:30:00.859 --> 00:30:04.579 to come in, you're looking for them. What I'm 00:30:04.579 --> 00:30:07.960 saying to you is every single thing that you 00:30:07.960 --> 00:30:11.460 can set out of the way That gets in between you 00:30:11.460 --> 00:30:14.880 and God say get it out of the way Anticipate 00:30:14.880 --> 00:30:16.799 that things will be said that things will happen 00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:23.660 outside of anyone's control or outside of anyone's 00:30:23.660 --> 00:30:28.400 Potential control Undisputable I'm going to sit 00:30:28.400 --> 00:30:34.579 in that way e q u i e Enjoying God's salvation 00:30:34.579 --> 00:30:38.400 having sin confessed and I have pursued God in 00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:45.089 the week before enjoying God's salvation, which 00:30:45.089 --> 00:30:48.089 means I've confessed my sins and I have pursued 00:30:48.089 --> 00:30:52.329 God in my personal life. If you want to profit 00:30:52.329 --> 00:30:55.069 from the taught word, then you are going to be 00:30:55.069 --> 00:30:58.470 a person that is enjoying God. You know Him. 00:30:58.869 --> 00:31:03.309 You know yourself. And you bask in the glory 00:31:03.309 --> 00:31:06.130 of this great salvation of God's that has been 00:31:06.130 --> 00:31:10.490 given to you as a gift. And out of respect and 00:31:10.490 --> 00:31:15.029 just out of... a good and a new heart that loves 00:31:15.029 --> 00:31:18.569 God, we openly and eagerly confess our faults 00:31:18.569 --> 00:31:24.210 and our sins before Him. We seek Him in our free 00:31:24.210 --> 00:31:26.269 time. We seek Him in the time that we've set 00:31:26.269 --> 00:31:30.369 aside to seek Him in prayer and in study and 00:31:30.369 --> 00:31:34.309 in His Word. So if you're going to come into 00:31:34.309 --> 00:31:37.789 the house of God to hear from Him, then you've 00:31:37.789 --> 00:31:41.109 got to be enjoying his salvation. And then T 00:31:41.109 --> 00:31:47.829 is obvious. What does T stand for? What? Trust. 00:31:48.369 --> 00:31:52.089 I knew Carol would get it. Trusting in God the 00:31:52.089 --> 00:31:56.910 Father's plan and provision. If you're not trusting 00:31:56.910 --> 00:32:00.390 God to provide for you in every part of your 00:32:00.390 --> 00:32:02.230 life, then don't be surprised that He doesn't 00:32:02.230 --> 00:32:06.970 provide it for you. Has He promised to meet with 00:32:06.970 --> 00:32:09.630 you? Has He promised to guide and direct His 00:32:09.630 --> 00:32:12.549 church? Has He promised to make His will known? 00:32:12.849 --> 00:32:15.450 Has He promised to make Himself known? Has He 00:32:15.450 --> 00:32:17.410 promised that He will help you to understand 00:32:17.410 --> 00:32:19.970 what's going on in the world? Has He promised 00:32:19.970 --> 00:32:21.710 that He's going to help you understand what's 00:32:21.710 --> 00:32:24.690 going on in your own heart? Yes, He's promised 00:32:24.690 --> 00:32:27.829 you all those things. Do you trust His Word though? 00:32:29.470 --> 00:32:32.970 Is His Word good enough? Or do you need His Word 00:32:32.970 --> 00:32:35.349 plus the philosophers to help you get through 00:32:35.349 --> 00:32:38.549 life? Do you need His Word plus the psychiatrist 00:32:38.549 --> 00:32:42.430 to get through this life? Are you trusting in 00:32:42.430 --> 00:32:46.890 God alone and His purpose and His plan? Are you 00:32:46.890 --> 00:32:52.430 trusting in God the Son to speak? He spoke when 00:32:52.430 --> 00:32:55.490 He was here in the world in the flesh and walking 00:32:55.490 --> 00:32:58.589 on this earth. He still speaks today, doesn't 00:32:58.589 --> 00:33:02.690 He? Are you trusting Him to speak? Or are you 00:33:02.690 --> 00:33:07.119 trusting Me to speak? God forbid that you trust 00:33:07.119 --> 00:33:11.160 in me. Your trust has got to be focused entirely 00:33:11.160 --> 00:33:15.279 on the Son. God has said that this is the way 00:33:15.279 --> 00:33:19.259 it's going to happen. So one of the exercises 00:33:19.259 --> 00:33:21.839 that I do in my life is I try to thank people. 00:33:22.220 --> 00:33:24.559 I'm not the best at it, admittedly. And probably 00:33:24.559 --> 00:33:26.980 people here think, you didn't thank me enough. 00:33:27.500 --> 00:33:31.359 And that may be true. But when I'm thanking someone, 00:33:31.420 --> 00:33:34.240 who else am I thinking of when I'm thanking that 00:33:34.240 --> 00:33:38.559 person? God Because it's God that put that person 00:33:38.559 --> 00:33:41.880 in my life to do that thing for me or Whatever 00:33:41.880 --> 00:33:44.400 good that's that has come to me through that 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:46.640 person. I'm thankful to God for that provision 00:33:46.640 --> 00:33:50.059 Now if you put that if you'll just put that way 00:33:50.059 --> 00:33:53.099 of thinking in your life at all times It will 00:33:53.099 --> 00:33:55.720 help you tremendously. It will help you to see 00:33:55.720 --> 00:33:58.180 God in places that you never imagined that he 00:33:58.180 --> 00:34:02.079 was Someone does something nice to you in the 00:34:02.079 --> 00:34:06.440 parking lot at let's go back in Walmart God put 00:34:06.440 --> 00:34:09.460 that person there. That's a blessing from God 00:34:09.460 --> 00:34:13.599 to you And then you're trusting in God the Holy 00:34:13.599 --> 00:34:16.239 Ghost to enable the speaking and the hearing 00:34:16.239 --> 00:34:20.500 and the applying of that word Trusting in all 00:34:20.500 --> 00:34:23.179 three you're trusting in God. You're not trusting 00:34:23.179 --> 00:34:27.300 in yourself Am I am I going to be able to be 00:34:27.300 --> 00:34:30.480 smart enough to understand? Am I going to be 00:34:30.480 --> 00:34:34.000 able to be? discerning enough or understanding 00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:38.199 enough to apply that word? No. That's the answer. 00:34:38.380 --> 00:34:42.760 No. Is the Holy Spirit going to make you ready 00:34:42.760 --> 00:34:45.239 to receive that word and to understand what he 00:34:45.239 --> 00:34:50.039 has for you? Absolutely. But if you're trusting 00:34:50.039 --> 00:34:52.300 in yourself or again if you're trusting in the 00:34:52.300 --> 00:34:54.920 teacher, well that teacher really he's got acrostics 00:34:54.920 --> 00:35:00.039 every week. Now the teachers want to be better. 00:35:00.780 --> 00:35:04.239 We'll just say, we want to be better. Tim wants 00:35:04.239 --> 00:35:07.179 to be better. Dad wants to be better. It's hard 00:35:07.179 --> 00:35:10.079 to teach an old dog new tricks. We all know that. 00:35:10.340 --> 00:35:12.360 But there's still a little bit of hope that Dad 00:35:12.360 --> 00:35:18.139 will get better. He wants to be better. I want 00:35:18.139 --> 00:35:25.000 to be better. But whatever we have, what? It 00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:28.300 will be sufficient because the God... will provide 00:35:28.300 --> 00:35:33.219 to you what you need through us. And that should 00:35:33.219 --> 00:35:36.800 be entirely humbling, both to you and to me, 00:35:37.539 --> 00:35:40.780 that God is able to use me to help you in your 00:35:40.780 --> 00:35:49.179 walk with Him. All right. There's my shot at 00:35:49.179 --> 00:35:51.099 an acrostic. I don't know that I'll ever do it 00:35:51.099 --> 00:36:15.079 again, but. Turn back in 1 Timothy. I believe 00:36:15.079 --> 00:36:25.380 it's chapter 1. Yes. Okay, so he goes through 00:36:25.380 --> 00:36:28.219 all these things. Teachers of the law, they think 00:36:28.219 --> 00:36:30.019 they know, but they don't really know anything. 00:36:30.559 --> 00:36:33.949 Then we get to the end of verse 10. And if there 00:36:33.949 --> 00:36:37.389 be any other thing that is contrary to sound 00:36:37.389 --> 00:36:39.789 doctrine, now there's sound doctrine again. And 00:36:39.789 --> 00:36:42.650 then in verse 11, according to the glorious gospel 00:36:42.650 --> 00:36:45.730 of the blessed God, which was committed to my 00:36:45.730 --> 00:36:50.289 trust. So there we've got two things. We've got 00:36:50.289 --> 00:36:55.130 the objective truth of the gospel, the objective 00:36:55.130 --> 00:36:58.510 truth about who God is, and then we've got the 00:36:58.510 --> 00:37:01.269 objective truth about everything that God has. 00:37:01.440 --> 00:37:06.219 given to his church, the blessed God. So when 00:37:06.219 --> 00:37:10.480 you're taking notes, those are the things that 00:37:10.480 --> 00:37:14.760 you're looking for. Who is God? Has this teaching 00:37:14.760 --> 00:37:19.119 given me a new perspective on who God is? Has 00:37:19.119 --> 00:37:23.199 it enabled me to appreciate more of who God is 00:37:23.199 --> 00:37:27.929 because of the way that it was presented? I never 00:37:27.929 --> 00:37:30.710 saw God in that way before. I knew He was holy, 00:37:30.750 --> 00:37:32.849 but I've never thought about Him in this terms. 00:37:34.809 --> 00:37:37.789 When you hear that, then you write that down. 00:37:38.889 --> 00:37:41.469 Your objective when you listen to someone preach 00:37:41.469 --> 00:37:44.429 is not to be able to figure out what their outline 00:37:44.429 --> 00:37:49.070 was. It's not really to figure out how many points 00:37:49.070 --> 00:37:52.190 they had. It's not to figure out if there was 00:37:52.190 --> 00:37:55.090 an A, a B, and a C in a subgroup number one and 00:37:55.090 --> 00:37:58.820 number two. is to figure out what is the Lord 00:37:58.820 --> 00:38:01.239 saying to you and what is He telling you about 00:38:01.239 --> 00:38:07.099 Himself. Then what? He's going to tell you about 00:38:07.099 --> 00:38:11.280 who you are. How do I view myself now in light 00:38:11.280 --> 00:38:13.860 of this truth about God that I've just learned? 00:38:15.019 --> 00:38:17.840 How does that make me feel about myself? How 00:38:17.840 --> 00:38:21.219 does that make me discern myself? How do I know 00:38:21.219 --> 00:38:23.739 myself better? And when you hear that, you're 00:38:23.739 --> 00:38:30.420 going to write it down. Write it down. Sometimes 00:38:30.420 --> 00:38:35.480 you hear a new way of expressing a concept that 00:38:35.480 --> 00:38:37.900 you never thought of before. Sometimes it's totally 00:38:37.900 --> 00:38:40.400 new. We're going to give out that book. What's 00:38:40.400 --> 00:38:44.159 the name of it? How to... Leading Your Family 00:38:44.159 --> 00:38:49.900 by Beeke. There's a phrase in there that he uses 00:38:49.900 --> 00:39:01.940 which is... the illusion of intimacy. So, I don't 00:39:01.940 --> 00:39:04.239 know how much time you've thought about social 00:39:04.239 --> 00:39:09.719 media. Why is it so predominant in our society? 00:39:11.059 --> 00:39:15.300 It's everywhere. There must be a perceived need 00:39:15.300 --> 00:39:18.500 by most people that they believe is being filled 00:39:18.500 --> 00:39:20.900 by social media, right? That's the only explanation. 00:39:22.800 --> 00:39:26.719 That's the only explanation. That's why millions 00:39:26.719 --> 00:39:29.699 of people are on however many different platforms 00:39:29.699 --> 00:39:32.579 all involved in each other's lives over the internet 00:39:32.579 --> 00:39:35.960 on these what we call social media and and the 00:39:35.960 --> 00:39:38.440 reason is because it gives you the illusion of 00:39:38.440 --> 00:39:42.260 intimacy It gives you the illusion of friendship 00:39:42.260 --> 00:39:46.079 gives you the illusion of relationship All those 00:39:46.079 --> 00:39:50.809 things are illusions the devil would love for 00:39:50.809 --> 00:39:53.070 you to think that you have a relationship with 00:39:53.070 --> 00:39:55.769 somebody halfway across the world because you 00:39:55.769 --> 00:40:00.110 follow them on their Instagram account. But it's 00:40:00.110 --> 00:40:03.949 not true. It's just an illusion. You don't know 00:40:03.949 --> 00:40:07.230 that person at all. You know very little about 00:40:07.230 --> 00:40:09.650 them and you know only what they want you to 00:40:09.650 --> 00:40:13.610 know. But it fills that need for community. It 00:40:13.610 --> 00:40:18.010 fills that need for friendship. But only in an 00:40:18.010 --> 00:40:25.179 illusion. Now, I'd never heard that before. But 00:40:25.179 --> 00:40:28.880 that's a very succinct way of saying exactly 00:40:28.880 --> 00:40:31.639 what social media is, the illusion of intimacy. 00:40:32.039 --> 00:40:35.260 When you hear something like that in a teaching, 00:40:35.380 --> 00:40:40.440 write it down. I'd like to remember that. That 00:40:40.440 --> 00:40:42.840 could be helpful to me the next time that I'm 00:40:42.840 --> 00:40:45.400 thinking about this, that, or the other thing. 00:40:46.219 --> 00:40:48.880 I've never heard somebody express the worship 00:40:48.880 --> 00:40:51.840 of God in that type of a phrase. I'm going to 00:40:51.840 --> 00:40:54.099 write that down. I'd like to remember that. Maybe 00:40:54.099 --> 00:40:56.780 I can use it in my family. Maybe I can use it 00:40:56.780 --> 00:40:59.960 in my prayers. Maybe I can use it in my discussions 00:40:59.960 --> 00:41:02.639 at work. Whatever it is, the Lord has spoken 00:41:02.639 --> 00:41:05.420 that. It seems especially fitting to me and it 00:41:05.420 --> 00:41:07.980 helps me to understand what's going on. I'm going 00:41:07.980 --> 00:41:12.239 to write it down. That's what you're looking 00:41:12.239 --> 00:41:18.320 for. are the two aspects of any good teaching, 00:41:18.460 --> 00:41:24.820 any spiritual teaching in the church. We have 00:41:24.820 --> 00:41:30.019 first what? Objective truth. We know it's objective 00:41:30.019 --> 00:41:32.579 truth because it comes to us from the Word, right? 00:41:33.280 --> 00:41:36.840 So here is the doctrine of God's goodness laid 00:41:36.840 --> 00:41:41.880 out. It comes from the Bible. It's taught according 00:41:41.880 --> 00:41:47.260 to Scripture. What else do we have to have? What 00:41:47.260 --> 00:41:51.940 does that mean for me, Dave? I've heard everything 00:41:51.940 --> 00:41:55.860 that you've said. Have you ever been under someone's 00:41:55.860 --> 00:42:00.260 preaching? For years, maybe. And they're just 00:42:00.260 --> 00:42:04.900 teaching you words. Is there anything more frustrating 00:42:04.900 --> 00:42:07.820 to a Christian than to leave a place and feel 00:42:07.820 --> 00:42:12.579 like all that I know is the Greek word for love? 00:42:12.670 --> 00:42:16.949 And I know what the cultural situation was back 00:42:16.949 --> 00:42:19.610 in Ephesus at the time of Paul's writing this 00:42:19.610 --> 00:42:23.389 letter. But I don't understand how am I supposed 00:42:23.389 --> 00:42:29.570 to use this in my life. And nobody really cares 00:42:29.570 --> 00:42:32.190 if you know Greek. And nobody really cares if 00:42:32.190 --> 00:42:37.250 you're an expert on ancient Greek culture. The 00:42:37.250 --> 00:42:40.050 church doesn't gather together for a Greek lesson. 00:42:40.300 --> 00:42:43.780 or a cultural lesson, a history lesson. The church 00:42:43.780 --> 00:42:46.699 gathers together for what? To hear the truth 00:42:46.699 --> 00:42:50.260 of who God is and to understand then how is that 00:42:50.260 --> 00:42:57.099 going to be applied in my life. When you hear 00:42:57.099 --> 00:42:59.860 that on a Sunday morning, you write that down. 00:43:01.719 --> 00:43:04.559 The Lord may speak to you while that's going 00:43:04.559 --> 00:43:10.429 on. If God really is good, I... probably have 00:43:10.429 --> 00:43:12.409 not been thinking about him the right way in 00:43:12.409 --> 00:43:15.170 this part of my life. And you note that on your 00:43:15.170 --> 00:43:20.469 notes. I've probably given too much of an emphasis 00:43:20.469 --> 00:43:23.090 on this part of my life, but not nearly as much 00:43:23.090 --> 00:43:27.550 emphasis over here as I ought to. I haven't even 00:43:27.550 --> 00:43:29.869 considered this that I heard today. I'm going 00:43:29.869 --> 00:43:32.949 to have to go home and consider how it is that 00:43:32.949 --> 00:43:40.389 I'm going to work this into my daily life. That's 00:43:40.389 --> 00:43:45.269 what I do when I take notes. Now you can do as 00:43:45.269 --> 00:43:48.849 much more of that as you want. You want to try 00:43:48.849 --> 00:43:50.909 to see, you want to try to understand what has 00:43:50.909 --> 00:43:52.789 been taught and you've written all those things 00:43:52.789 --> 00:43:55.010 down, you've written down the application of 00:43:55.010 --> 00:43:57.150 those things, and you've written down the hymns 00:43:57.150 --> 00:44:00.570 that were sung. Maybe you take a few notes on 00:44:00.570 --> 00:44:04.050 a few parts of the prayer meeting that stood 00:44:04.050 --> 00:44:06.489 out to you. Maybe you write down some of the 00:44:06.489 --> 00:44:08.190 testimonies that were given. You go home and 00:44:08.190 --> 00:44:11.739 you say, Can I discern the leading of the Spirit 00:44:11.739 --> 00:44:17.900 in all of these things? Was it just random that 00:44:17.900 --> 00:44:23.159 we sang these particular hymns? Somebody says, 00:44:23.199 --> 00:44:24.940 well, I was thinking about this, I wanted to 00:44:24.940 --> 00:44:27.880 sing that hymn. Well, is that a spiritual activity? 00:44:32.940 --> 00:44:35.460 How is it that the opening ties together with 00:44:35.460 --> 00:44:38.920 the Lord's Supper meditation and with the main 00:44:38.920 --> 00:44:42.699 teaching of the day at the pulpit? Does it? How 00:44:42.699 --> 00:44:44.719 does Wednesday night tie together with Sunday 00:44:44.719 --> 00:44:48.199 morning? Can I pick and choose? Maybe I'll just 00:44:48.199 --> 00:44:52.880 take Wednesday nights. Or does Wednesday night 00:44:52.880 --> 00:44:55.059 make a whole lot more sense when I'm there on 00:44:55.059 --> 00:44:58.440 Sunday morning? Does Sunday morning make a lot 00:44:58.440 --> 00:45:03.199 more sense if I'm there on Wednesday night? Does 00:45:03.199 --> 00:45:06.239 it go together? Does the Lord have a unified 00:45:06.239 --> 00:45:08.239 message for all of His people? And if you only 00:45:08.239 --> 00:45:10.360 hear for half of it, you're only getting half 00:45:10.360 --> 00:45:28.139 the message. Now that's what I would say. Last 00:45:28.139 --> 00:45:44.179 thing then. Last thing, and that is the part 00:45:44.179 --> 00:45:46.500 of the preparation if you're going to take notes, 00:45:47.300 --> 00:45:51.539 especially, well not even especially, if you're 00:45:51.539 --> 00:45:53.199 going to take notes, if you're going to hear 00:45:53.199 --> 00:45:56.159 from the Lord, is that you do at least a minimum 00:45:56.159 --> 00:46:01.000 of reading the text before you get here. So it 00:46:01.000 --> 00:46:05.139 only takes, now, I'm trying to be understanding 00:46:05.139 --> 00:46:07.539 on Wednesday nights because we in the Old Testament, 00:46:07.539 --> 00:46:10.920 we cover, you know, a few chapters. Maybe that's, 00:46:10.920 --> 00:46:12.599 you know, I think you should be able to read 00:46:12.599 --> 00:46:18.500 that without cramping your schedules. I don't 00:46:18.500 --> 00:46:21.139 think that's asking too much. If you do, then 00:46:21.139 --> 00:46:23.260 I'll give you a little bit of leeway that on 00:46:23.260 --> 00:46:25.679 Wednesday nights. You don't want to read those 00:46:25.679 --> 00:46:27.659 four or five chapters. I think you ought to do 00:46:27.659 --> 00:46:32.119 it. I think the Lord will bless that and reward 00:46:32.119 --> 00:46:35.260 that in your life. But on Sunday mornings, generally 00:46:35.260 --> 00:46:37.500 speaking, if someone is preaching through a book, 00:46:39.840 --> 00:46:42.739 you really only have to read six, seven, eight 00:46:42.739 --> 00:46:47.380 verses. So if you wanted to read it in context, 00:46:47.559 --> 00:46:50.679 you're reading one chapter. How long does it 00:46:50.679 --> 00:46:59.380 take to read a chapter? Five minutes? Five minutes 00:46:59.380 --> 00:47:03.130 we're talking about. If you haven't read, in 00:47:03.130 --> 00:47:06.030 other words, the chapter in 1 Peter that Tim 00:47:06.030 --> 00:47:08.550 is going to be preaching on on Sunday morning, 00:47:08.630 --> 00:47:12.010 then you have cheated yourself out of the opportunity 00:47:12.010 --> 00:47:19.090 to glean more from that from his teaching. Now 00:47:19.090 --> 00:47:21.590 it may be difficult because Dad didn't tell us 00:47:21.590 --> 00:47:24.849 where he was going in the Proverbs. That's okay. 00:47:25.869 --> 00:47:28.530 It's not always possible. I didn't tell you I 00:47:28.530 --> 00:47:30.670 was going to be teaching and using 1 Timothy. 00:47:31.400 --> 00:47:33.820 So you couldn't read it. That's fine. I understand 00:47:33.820 --> 00:47:36.800 that. But if I tell you that next week we're 00:47:36.800 --> 00:47:39.760 going to be in First Samuel, I think it's reasonable 00:47:39.760 --> 00:47:41.739 that I would expect, you know, you read a couple 00:47:41.739 --> 00:47:44.619 chapters in First Samuel. Just what I think. 00:47:45.320 --> 00:47:47.280 You want to be able to understand it better. 00:47:48.000 --> 00:47:51.139 You want to be familiar with the passage. You 00:47:51.139 --> 00:47:53.280 want to, you know, maybe there are a couple of 00:47:53.280 --> 00:47:55.159 verses that you're like, I have no idea what's 00:47:55.159 --> 00:47:58.119 being said there. That's the weirdest way to 00:47:58.119 --> 00:47:59.800 say something that I've ever heard in my life. 00:48:00.409 --> 00:48:02.710 That's okay. Then you're ready and you're prepared 00:48:02.710 --> 00:48:05.130 and when you come in you can say what does this 00:48:05.130 --> 00:48:10.989 mean? same thing in on the Sunday morning you 00:48:10.989 --> 00:48:14.389 read it and you're thinking I Need some help 00:48:14.389 --> 00:48:17.690 here, but at least I've got the groundwork done 00:48:17.690 --> 00:48:19.809 at least I understand that I don't understand 00:48:19.809 --> 00:48:25.389 it That's half the battle, right? Sometimes that's 00:48:25.389 --> 00:48:27.889 a better place to be in than what you say. Well, 00:48:27.889 --> 00:48:34.349 I know what that's saying So that's the focus 00:48:34.349 --> 00:48:38.389 of your notes. A word from the Lord and a proper 00:48:38.389 --> 00:48:42.329 application of it. The Lord speaks. He really 00:48:42.329 --> 00:48:46.190 does speak to us. And if you don't believe that, 00:48:46.610 --> 00:48:50.429 then give it a try. If you don't believe that 00:48:50.429 --> 00:48:52.909 the Lord really speaks to you personally, then 00:48:52.909 --> 00:48:57.469 take notes. Dedicate some time in your life for 00:48:57.469 --> 00:49:00.090 prayer. dedicate a very little bit of time to 00:49:00.090 --> 00:49:02.630 read the Word in preparation for the teaching. 00:49:03.469 --> 00:49:08.449 Get your giving in order and then listen. The 00:49:08.449 --> 00:49:13.489 Lord speaks to us. Is there anything sweeter 00:49:13.489 --> 00:49:19.030 than that? Has anybody ever heard from the Lord 00:49:19.030 --> 00:49:26.489 and thought, that was for me? In any place of 00:49:26.489 --> 00:49:29.679 your life. Have we all heard that voice? Now 00:49:29.679 --> 00:49:32.400 we all heard it when we came to repentance and 00:49:32.400 --> 00:49:35.739 faith, right? There's no question about that. 00:49:36.260 --> 00:49:38.739 That was how the relationship between you and 00:49:38.739 --> 00:49:41.280 the Lord and me and the Lord started, was the 00:49:41.280 --> 00:49:47.880 still small voice that said, I won't cry, that 00:49:47.880 --> 00:49:56.420 said, Jesus is your savior. Do we expect then 00:49:56.420 --> 00:49:58.440 that the rest of our life will be filled with 00:49:58.440 --> 00:50:02.519 silence? That that's the only time in my life 00:50:02.519 --> 00:50:04.940 that I'm ever going to perceive the voice of 00:50:04.940 --> 00:50:10.719 God If that's the way that you think you're wrong 00:50:10.719 --> 00:50:15.840 and I'm begging you Come prepared to hear it 00:50:15.840 --> 00:50:19.380 is the sweetest most blessed thing in the world 00:50:19.380 --> 00:50:24.460 to think that little old me From Hillsboro, Missouri 00:50:24.809 --> 00:50:28.969 Who, when I'm dead, maybe my kids will remember 00:50:28.969 --> 00:50:31.349 me, but in two or three generations, I'll be 00:50:31.349 --> 00:50:37.730 nothing. Ask my kids what they think about my 00:50:37.730 --> 00:50:43.829 Grandpa Dickman. They'll say, what do you think 00:50:43.829 --> 00:50:47.349 about him, Hannah? Nothing. I don't think anything 00:50:47.349 --> 00:50:51.190 about him. I know him only by what you've told 00:50:51.190 --> 00:50:55.409 me. And so when she tells her daughter about 00:50:55.409 --> 00:50:59.389 him, that's going to be, it's over. Hopefully 00:50:59.389 --> 00:51:02.730 she'll have this vague appreciation for the history 00:51:02.730 --> 00:51:04.789 of her family that's gone before, but nobody, 00:51:05.090 --> 00:51:09.829 I'm a nobody. Maybe we'll have somebody here 00:51:09.829 --> 00:51:13.949 that will be a somebody, I don't know. Somebody 00:51:13.949 --> 00:51:21.210 in God's kingdom that I'll applaud. A star on 00:51:21.210 --> 00:51:26.059 TikTok. I don't want to hear about it. Most of 00:51:26.059 --> 00:51:29.519 us will go on to the next life and be forgotten. 00:51:31.760 --> 00:51:36.800 But God has a word for you. You see, you're not 00:51:36.800 --> 00:51:43.199 a nobody to Him. To Him, you are the person for 00:51:43.199 --> 00:51:47.380 whom He sent His Son to suffer and to die in 00:51:47.380 --> 00:51:50.170 order that you would be reconciled to Him. so 00:51:50.170 --> 00:51:52.349 that you could live in this world as the new 00:51:52.349 --> 00:51:55.809 creation. So that you could exercise dominion 00:51:55.809 --> 00:51:58.389 in a way that honors God in every part of your 00:51:58.389 --> 00:52:03.070 life where He's given you responsibilities. He's 00:52:03.070 --> 00:52:06.050 got a word for you. And He's got help for you 00:52:06.050 --> 00:52:09.510 as you try to do that. He answers the plea of 00:52:09.510 --> 00:52:13.409 your heart to be loved. He answers the plea of 00:52:13.409 --> 00:52:15.429 your heart that says I need some fellowship. 00:52:15.869 --> 00:52:19.550 I need some friendship. I need some solid... 00:52:20.550 --> 00:52:23.150 Unquestionable parts in my life. I've got to 00:52:23.150 --> 00:52:26.150 have something to build on. He answers that from 00:52:26.150 --> 00:52:29.469 His Word and in His teaching. And that's for 00:52:29.469 --> 00:52:33.809 you. It's because He loves you. It's because 00:52:33.809 --> 00:52:37.070 He cares about you. And He intends for everyone 00:52:37.070 --> 00:52:39.789 in the whole world or everyone that knows you 00:52:39.789 --> 00:52:43.750 to know that His grace is sufficient for you. 00:52:44.440 --> 00:52:48.079 So bring your notepad to Wednesdays and to Sundays 00:52:48.079 --> 00:52:51.500 and take notes in that way. Not so that you can 00:52:51.500 --> 00:52:54.539 be a scholar on First Samuel. You won't be that 00:52:54.539 --> 00:52:57.420 anyway. You can take as copious a note as you 00:52:57.420 --> 00:53:03.360 want. That won't happen. But you will hear the 00:53:03.360 --> 00:53:07.420 voice of God and then when you go back and you 00:53:07.420 --> 00:53:10.860 look at it again later on, those things hopefully 00:53:10.860 --> 00:53:13.400 will come to mind and be helpful. That's what 00:53:13.400 --> 00:53:21.239 we're looking for. That's why Paul says it doesn't 00:53:21.239 --> 00:53:23.980 matter. I didn't come to you in flowery words. 00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:27.219 I didn't put together a speech that would be 00:53:27.219 --> 00:53:30.019 recognized by Shakespeare as the most beautiful 00:53:30.019 --> 00:53:33.880 things ever spoken in Greek, I suppose. Is that 00:53:33.880 --> 00:53:41.360 what he spoke? Paul wasn't concerned about that. 00:53:41.440 --> 00:53:44.480 He wasn't trying to accomplish that. You can 00:53:44.480 --> 00:53:47.119 hear the voice of the Lord and the Lord can deliver 00:53:47.119 --> 00:53:51.579 a message to you through anybody that he sees 00:53:51.579 --> 00:53:57.539 fit. He wants to deliver a message to you from 00:53:57.539 --> 00:54:00.780 a guy from Louisiana who speaks in this weird 00:54:00.780 --> 00:54:04.539 Cajun accent that is almost, you know, it's hard 00:54:04.539 --> 00:54:07.619 to hear and understand. And yet, and still, the 00:54:07.619 --> 00:54:10.659 Lord uses that person to deliver a word to you. 00:54:11.429 --> 00:54:14.769 Or you listen to Martin Lloyd -Jones, who is 00:54:14.769 --> 00:54:17.909 logical and well put together, well thought out, 00:54:18.030 --> 00:54:24.949 and delivers exactly the word that is organized 00:54:24.949 --> 00:54:27.070 the way that we all wish we could organize our 00:54:27.070 --> 00:54:29.329 thoughts, and the Lord can speak through that 00:54:29.329 --> 00:54:34.389 to you. And anywhere in between those two, and 00:54:34.389 --> 00:54:36.909 he has throughout church history, used those 00:54:36.909 --> 00:54:41.409 people. Who's the greatest preacher alive today? 00:54:42.369 --> 00:54:45.510 Don't know don't care But the preacher that God 00:54:45.510 --> 00:54:48.210 has given to you is sufficient to deliver God's 00:54:48.210 --> 00:54:51.989 word to you to fuel your heart and to instruct 00:54:51.989 --> 00:54:55.829 your living and If you want more than that, then 00:54:55.829 --> 00:54:58.670 you'll have to go somewhere else You'll have 00:54:58.670 --> 00:55:00.989 to go to the Catholic Church or you'll have to 00:55:00.989 --> 00:55:03.769 go listen to some Pentecostal guy talk about 00:55:03.769 --> 00:55:10.019 the prosperity gospel try to explain to you how 00:55:10.019 --> 00:55:12.920 there's only one God and Jesus wasn't really 00:55:12.920 --> 00:55:15.679 God. You can get all kinds of stuff anywhere 00:55:15.679 --> 00:55:20.460 else, but what you want is a word from God Almighty 00:55:20.460 --> 00:55:24.380 for you and you're going to hear that from somewhere 00:55:24.380 --> 00:55:27.920 in maybe not flowery language, but from a person 00:55:27.920 --> 00:55:30.739 who is dedicated to the Word of God and to deliver 00:55:30.739 --> 00:55:34.280 that and be used in your life for your benefit 00:55:34.280 --> 00:55:37.960 and for God's Lord. And that ought to be enough 00:55:37.960 --> 00:55:50.880 for us. Questions? You want to answer all your 00:55:50.880 --> 00:55:58.500 note taking questions? I will, I'm serious, if 00:55:58.500 --> 00:56:00.360 somebody's got a question real quick.