WEBVTT 00:00:06.540 --> 00:00:10.779 Thank you, Paul and music team. I'm going to 00:00:10.779 --> 00:00:13.640 ask you to open your Bible with me to 1st Timothy 00:00:13.640 --> 00:00:18.339 as we begin a study of a book that tells us how 00:00:18.339 --> 00:00:24.320 to do church. Have you ever had a close friend, 00:00:26.039 --> 00:00:29.100 a relationship that was so dear to you that that 00:00:29.100 --> 00:00:32.700 person seemed like a part of your family, perhaps 00:00:32.700 --> 00:00:35.740 even more precious than your own brother or sister? 00:00:36.420 --> 00:00:38.500 Perhaps even more precious than your parent. 00:00:40.380 --> 00:00:42.619 I've had a few of those relationships in my life. 00:00:42.700 --> 00:00:45.640 I remember a family that we became close to in 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:47.920 our ministry in Kentucky and still today, out 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:49.600 of all the people, the hundreds of people in 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:52.079 that church, they're the ones that we stay in 00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:55.100 closest contact with. We see them each time we 00:00:55.100 --> 00:00:58.179 go back. He happens now to be a state legislator 00:00:58.179 --> 00:01:01.119 in Kentucky and is serving the Lord as a teacher 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:03.380 in a school system in northern Kentucky, but 00:01:03.380 --> 00:01:06.629 a legislator as well. And whenever we get together, 00:01:06.969 --> 00:01:08.590 well, you know, we just let our hair down. We 00:01:08.590 --> 00:01:11.030 have a good time. Because we're close. We're 00:01:11.030 --> 00:01:15.069 like family. Our kids, when they were all small, 00:01:15.269 --> 00:01:17.530 they thought they were really cousins to each 00:01:17.530 --> 00:01:20.810 other. Those kinds of relationships are precious. 00:01:21.549 --> 00:01:24.290 And that's how Paul felt about Timothy, whom 00:01:24.290 --> 00:01:28.989 he calls my true child in the faith. My true 00:01:28.989 --> 00:01:33.519 child in the faith. Elsewhere, he refers to Timothy 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:38.400 as my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. 00:01:40.060 --> 00:01:43.859 He says he served with me like a child serving 00:01:43.859 --> 00:01:48.140 his father. Paul apparently had led this young 00:01:48.140 --> 00:01:51.379 man to Christ on his first missionary journey 00:01:51.379 --> 00:01:55.120 as he went to the city of Lystra where Timothy 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:59.159 was reared. At that time, Timothy was probably 00:01:59.159 --> 00:02:03.799 a teenager. He may have been as old as 18 or 00:02:03.799 --> 00:02:06.939 19. Some think he was even younger than that. 00:02:08.360 --> 00:02:11.479 Then just a few years later, three or four years 00:02:11.479 --> 00:02:15.520 later, Timothy had grown so much in the Lord 00:02:15.520 --> 00:02:19.620 that the Apostle asked him to become a part of 00:02:19.620 --> 00:02:25.080 his traveling missionary team. What an honor 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:29.370 was Timothy's. They traveled together. They ate 00:02:29.370 --> 00:02:32.830 together, worked together, taught together. So 00:02:32.830 --> 00:02:35.590 much so that the apostle says of him to the Philippians, 00:02:35.810 --> 00:02:40.169 I have no one else of kindred spirit. Have you 00:02:40.169 --> 00:02:44.030 ever seen Anne of Avonlea? She was always looking 00:02:44.030 --> 00:02:47.729 for someone of kindred spirit. And she found 00:02:47.729 --> 00:02:52.289 a few. That's the way that Paul felt about this 00:02:52.289 --> 00:02:56.370 young man, Timothy. Such relationships are treasures 00:02:56.370 --> 00:02:59.939 in life. And if you don't have many of those, 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:03.020 I want to encourage you to work at it. Really 00:03:03.020 --> 00:03:05.840 work at having those kinds of close relationships. 00:03:07.539 --> 00:03:10.840 After Paul's release from his first confinement 00:03:10.840 --> 00:03:15.139 in a Roman prison, it seems that he traveled 00:03:15.139 --> 00:03:18.520 again for several years. This is not recorded 00:03:18.520 --> 00:03:22.039 in the book of Acts, but early historians of 00:03:22.039 --> 00:03:25.599 the church tell us about Paul's travels after 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:30.000 his first imprisonment. Then later he was imprisoned 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:32.979 again, you recall, and ultimately martyred in 00:03:32.979 --> 00:03:36.520 Rome. In that interim period between the two 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:38.759 imprisonments, Paul did a good deal of traveling, 00:03:39.400 --> 00:03:42.740 and on one of his journeys he went through Ephesus, 00:03:43.240 --> 00:03:45.560 where he had spent years of his life, where he 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:48.539 had led many people to Christ and baptized them. 00:03:49.259 --> 00:03:51.759 He went back to Ephesus, and with him on that 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:55.509 occasion was Timothy. Apparently, because of 00:03:55.509 --> 00:03:58.229 some problems that had arisen in the church, 00:03:59.030 --> 00:04:01.610 Paul left Timothy behind. He said, Timothy, I 00:04:01.610 --> 00:04:06.810 want you to stay here while I go on. He went 00:04:06.810 --> 00:04:11.030 on to the area of Macedonia, and there he penned 00:04:11.030 --> 00:04:13.449 a letter back to Timothy, and that's what we're 00:04:13.449 --> 00:04:16.110 studying together. I invite you to open your 00:04:16.110 --> 00:04:18.709 Bible and follow along as I begin reading in 00:04:18.709 --> 00:04:22.660 verse 1. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, according 00:04:22.660 --> 00:04:25.980 to the commandment of God our Savior, and of 00:04:25.980 --> 00:04:30.240 Christ Jesus who is our hope. To Timothy, my 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:34.100 true child in the faith, grace, mercy, and peace 00:04:34.100 --> 00:04:37.300 from God the Father in Christ Jesus our Lord. 00:04:38.420 --> 00:04:42.740 As I urged you upon my departure from Macedonia, 00:04:43.060 --> 00:04:47.870 remain on at Ephesus. In order that you may instruct 00:04:47.870 --> 00:04:52.329 certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor 00:04:52.329 --> 00:04:56.310 to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, 00:04:56.670 --> 00:04:59.970 which give rise to mere speculation rather than 00:04:59.970 --> 00:05:03.410 furthering the administration of God, which is 00:05:03.410 --> 00:05:07.670 by faith. But the goal of our instruction is 00:05:07.670 --> 00:05:11.189 love from a pure heart and a good conscience 00:05:11.189 --> 00:05:16.189 and a sincere faith. For some men straying from 00:05:16.189 --> 00:05:20.730 these things have turned aside to fruitless discussion, 00:05:20.850 --> 00:05:24.389 wanting to be teachers of the law, even though 00:05:24.389 --> 00:05:27.009 they do not understand either what they are saying 00:05:27.009 --> 00:05:29.449 or the matters about which they make confident 00:05:29.449 --> 00:05:32.910 assertions. But we know that the law is good 00:05:32.910 --> 00:05:37.110 if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that 00:05:37.110 --> 00:05:39.930 law is not made for a righteous man, but for 00:05:39.930 --> 00:05:43.220 those who are lawless and rebellious. for the 00:05:43.220 --> 00:05:47.220 ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, 00:05:47.779 --> 00:05:50.660 for those who kill their fathers or mothers or 00:05:50.660 --> 00:05:55.040 murderers, and immoral men and homosexuals and 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:59.019 kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever 00:05:59.019 --> 00:06:04.040 else is contrary to sound teaching, according 00:06:04.040 --> 00:06:07.519 to the glorious gospel of the blessed God with 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:12.329 which I have been entrusted. Now, as we think 00:06:12.329 --> 00:06:15.829 about the book of 1 Timothy, we need to understand 00:06:15.829 --> 00:06:19.230 that this book is written to a pastor. That doesn't 00:06:19.230 --> 00:06:23.990 mean that its content is only relevant for pastors. 00:06:24.550 --> 00:06:27.069 It's relevant for all of us. But it does mean 00:06:27.069 --> 00:06:31.050 that he's going to talk about a pastor's responsibility 00:06:31.050 --> 00:06:35.529 and the role of various people in the church. 00:06:36.730 --> 00:06:39.569 I think we have a key verse for the book of Timothy 00:06:39.569 --> 00:06:44.079 in chapter 3. Where in verse 14 he says I am 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:48.180 writing these things to you Hoping to come to 00:06:48.180 --> 00:06:52.680 you before long, but in case I'm delayed I Write 00:06:52.680 --> 00:06:55.939 so that you may know how one ought to conduct 00:06:55.939 --> 00:07:00.300 himself In the household of God which is the 00:07:00.300 --> 00:07:05.040 Church of the Living God So he is writing back 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:08.899 to Timothy who is now probably in his mid -30s 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:12.600 possibly as old as 40, and we all know how young 00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:16.959 40 is. He is writing to this young man to tell 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:21.100 him how he is to do church, what it means to 00:07:21.100 --> 00:07:25.100 have church, what a church is about, what are 00:07:25.100 --> 00:07:28.680 some of the orders for the church. And so I've 00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:31.279 arranged an outline of the book along that theme, 00:07:31.319 --> 00:07:33.180 and if you have your outline in your folder you 00:07:33.180 --> 00:07:38.220 can turn to it. Chapter 1, Paul explains that 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:41.899 If we're going to do church, if we're going to 00:07:41.899 --> 00:07:44.720 be a church, if we're going to act like a church, 00:07:45.620 --> 00:07:48.360 then in the first place we have to stay on course 00:07:48.360 --> 00:07:52.800 with the message. We're going to talk about that 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:55.220 today and next week, possibly the week after 00:07:55.220 --> 00:07:58.899 that. He goes on in chapter 2 then to say, if 00:07:58.899 --> 00:08:02.339 we're going to do church, we must arrange order 00:08:02.339 --> 00:08:06.180 in its ministry. It's a certain order for things. 00:08:07.829 --> 00:08:09.910 Third, he says, if we're going to do church, 00:08:09.990 --> 00:08:13.589 we have to maintain standards for those who are 00:08:13.589 --> 00:08:17.750 leaders. In chapter four, he tells us that if 00:08:17.750 --> 00:08:20.430 we're going to do church, we must guard against 00:08:20.430 --> 00:08:25.110 the enemies who will attack us. And then in the 00:08:25.110 --> 00:08:28.370 last two chapters, he says, if we're really going 00:08:28.370 --> 00:08:30.509 to do church, if we're going to be a church, 00:08:30.569 --> 00:08:34.330 then we have to resolve conflicts among the members 00:08:34.330 --> 00:08:40.750 of the church. Now, amid the contemporary confusion 00:08:40.750 --> 00:08:43.149 that exists today about what it means to be a 00:08:43.149 --> 00:08:47.149 church, we need to take a fresh look at what 00:08:47.149 --> 00:08:53.649 God has to say about it. To be a church, in the 00:08:53.649 --> 00:08:56.909 first place, a congregation must stay on course 00:08:56.909 --> 00:09:01.429 with God's message, the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:09:02.950 --> 00:09:05.309 Now, someone says, well, that's obvious, isn't 00:09:05.309 --> 00:09:08.879 it? Well, you would think it would be obvious 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:13.059 that to be a church one must stay on course with 00:09:13.059 --> 00:09:17.440 God's message. But it's not as obvious to everyone 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:22.639 as we might think. For the sake of cultural relevance, 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:26.620 there are those who are willing to compromise 00:09:26.620 --> 00:09:32.940 the message of Jesus Christ. In order to have 00:09:32.940 --> 00:09:37.340 intellectual acceptance by some, There are churches 00:09:37.340 --> 00:09:41.320 that are willing to change the message of Jesus 00:09:41.320 --> 00:09:48.259 Christ. For the sake of being active in popular 00:09:48.259 --> 00:09:52.559 social causes, there are so -called churches 00:09:52.559 --> 00:09:56.639 that are willing to corrupt the gospel of Jesus 00:09:56.639 --> 00:10:01.980 Christ. So do not think that this first statement 00:10:01.980 --> 00:10:06.240 is as obvious as it may seem to you. That in 00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:09.419 order for a congregation to truly be a church, 00:10:10.740 --> 00:10:16.519 it must stay on course with God's message. Forsaking 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:23.759 that message or diluting it or confusing it forfeits 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:26.799 the claim of a group of people to be a church 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:32.740 in a biblical sense. So what I'm suggesting this 00:10:32.740 --> 00:10:34.659 morning is that while there are lots of people 00:10:34.659 --> 00:10:38.539 meeting even in our area under the name of church, 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:44.639 in a biblical sense they are a church only if 00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:48.299 they have God's message proclaimed in their ministry. 00:10:50.220 --> 00:10:53.159 That is why I'm saying that in order to be a 00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:56.919 church, in order to do church, a congregation 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:02.649 must stay on course with God's message. That's 00:11:02.649 --> 00:11:05.690 what Paul writes about in chapter 1. He warns 00:11:05.690 --> 00:11:12.110 several times about going astray or turning aside 00:11:12.110 --> 00:11:16.690 as he puts it in verse 6. There are some men, 00:11:16.690 --> 00:11:22.250 he says, who have missed the mark. They have 00:11:22.250 --> 00:11:24.830 gone astray in their message. The result of that 00:11:24.830 --> 00:11:28.929 is that they have turned aside to fruitless discussion. 00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:32.860 I'm especially aware of that verb turned aside 00:11:32.860 --> 00:11:35.899 today because it's a medical term meaning to 00:11:35.899 --> 00:11:40.440 dislocate. And I have a back that is dislocated 00:11:40.440 --> 00:11:43.559 this morning. You may see that I am walking and 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:48.600 standing tenderly because of dislocation. Well, 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:51.419 it can happen to your body. It can happen to 00:11:51.419 --> 00:11:53.820 your church as well. It can happen to your message. 00:11:55.080 --> 00:11:57.480 You see, and what was happening in the church 00:11:57.480 --> 00:12:02.120 at Ephesus apparently was a temptation to turn 00:12:02.120 --> 00:12:06.740 aside from the gospel message. There were some 00:12:06.740 --> 00:12:09.419 who had already strayed off course and had become 00:12:09.419 --> 00:12:16.519 dislocated. They had twisted away from that message. 00:12:16.600 --> 00:12:20.379 Paul warns about that. Now, to stay on course, 00:12:20.500 --> 00:12:23.620 what we need to do is to use God's navigation 00:12:23.620 --> 00:12:27.220 chart. If I can use that sort of a picture for 00:12:27.220 --> 00:12:32.779 you. God has a navigation chart which He outlines 00:12:32.779 --> 00:12:37.220 for us in this paragraph that we have read. And 00:12:37.220 --> 00:12:39.840 on this chart He tells us with regards to our 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:44.000 message there is a port that we're heading toward. 00:12:44.100 --> 00:12:49.919 There is a destination. He says there are perils 00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:53.460 that we have to be aware of on this chart. so 00:12:53.460 --> 00:12:57.539 that we stay clear of the peril. And he says 00:12:57.539 --> 00:13:00.299 that there is plotting that needs to be done. 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:05.580 So let's think of it in those terms. The port 00:13:05.580 --> 00:13:13.120 of our course is changed lives. That's the goal. 00:13:13.179 --> 00:13:16.919 That's the destination that our preaching, our 00:13:16.919 --> 00:13:19.940 instruction needs to have. That's where we're 00:13:19.940 --> 00:13:24.409 headed with our ministry. It is the transformed 00:13:24.409 --> 00:13:29.509 lives of all those who believe that is our goal. 00:13:31.210 --> 00:13:34.169 In other words, the port of our course or the 00:13:34.169 --> 00:13:37.149 goal we're headed for is not political activism. 00:13:38.169 --> 00:13:42.909 It is not social causes. It is not cultural renewal, 00:13:43.009 --> 00:13:47.570 nor is it national recovery. Not that any of 00:13:47.570 --> 00:13:50.090 these things are bad in themselves. They may 00:13:50.090 --> 00:13:53.799 even be a part of a byproduct. of what we do. 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:59.899 But the point is that our goal, our port, is 00:13:59.899 --> 00:14:03.100 individual lives that are transformed by the 00:14:03.100 --> 00:14:09.139 power of God. How can a church know if it's on 00:14:09.139 --> 00:14:15.360 track? The answer is, check the lives of its 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:21.529 people. You don't necessarily look at its size. 00:14:21.590 --> 00:14:26.690 You don't look at the annual budget. Its buildings 00:14:26.690 --> 00:14:30.929 can fool you. It may have a wonderful reputation. 00:14:31.090 --> 00:14:36.649 The only real way to know if a church is on course 00:14:36.649 --> 00:14:41.230 is to see the lives of its people. That's the 00:14:41.230 --> 00:14:49.850 goal that we seek in our message. really reduces 00:14:49.850 --> 00:14:52.750 this to one word. When in verse 5 He says, the 00:14:52.750 --> 00:14:58.049 goal of our instruction is love. Love, the greatest 00:14:58.049 --> 00:15:01.830 of all Christian graces. Jesus said, by this 00:15:01.830 --> 00:15:04.409 shall all men know you are My disciples if you 00:15:04.409 --> 00:15:11.549 have what? Hello? Love for one another. Right. 00:15:12.549 --> 00:15:16.210 He says, the Apostle Paul says, Now there abides 00:15:16.210 --> 00:15:18.610 faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these 00:15:18.610 --> 00:15:22.870 is what? Love. It's the greatest of all. So Paul 00:15:22.870 --> 00:15:26.409 seems to pick out that word and he summarizes 00:15:26.409 --> 00:15:30.669 transformed living in love. I think that's fair 00:15:30.669 --> 00:15:34.730 enough. Because when one loves, there is a willingness 00:15:34.730 --> 00:15:38.370 to seek the welfare of others, even enemies, 00:15:39.669 --> 00:15:42.789 at personal sacrifice for the glory of God. That's 00:15:42.789 --> 00:15:46.500 what love is. He says this love needs to come 00:15:46.500 --> 00:15:49.620 from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and 00:15:49.620 --> 00:15:54.120 sincere faith. Eugene Peterson has written a 00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:56.179 paraphrase of the New Testament. If you don't 00:15:56.179 --> 00:15:58.960 have it, you need to get it. It's called The 00:15:58.960 --> 00:16:04.179 Message. If you enjoy the Living Bible, for example, 00:16:04.340 --> 00:16:07.639 a paraphrase of the Bible, you'll even more enjoy 00:16:07.639 --> 00:16:12.639 Eugene Peterson's The Message. Someone told me 00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:15.259 recently that he was in a unique place to write 00:16:15.259 --> 00:16:18.100 a paraphrase of the Bible because in the last 00:16:18.100 --> 00:16:21.179 20 years he's not even read an English translation 00:16:21.179 --> 00:16:24.580 of the Bible. All he's been reading is the Greek 00:16:24.580 --> 00:16:27.299 and the Hebrew. Well, it takes a very special 00:16:27.299 --> 00:16:31.059 person to do that sort of thing and because of 00:16:31.059 --> 00:16:33.360 his acquaintance with the original languages 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:37.889 as well as his unique ability as a writer. Eugene 00:16:37.889 --> 00:16:40.350 Peterson has written this paraphrase and he says 00:16:40.350 --> 00:16:43.269 regarding this verse, this is how he puts it. 00:16:43.750 --> 00:16:46.509 The whole point of what we're urging is simply 00:16:46.509 --> 00:16:52.409 love. Love uncontaminated by self -interest and 00:16:52.409 --> 00:16:59.809 counterfeit faith. A life open to God. That's 00:16:59.809 --> 00:17:03.179 what we're talking about. The port of the course 00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:06.680 that we're on, the goal of this course is changed 00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:09.880 lives. You see, it's not enough for us to be 00:17:09.880 --> 00:17:15.559 hearers of the Word. We must be transformed doers 00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:21.019 of the Word. The measurement of a church is not 00:17:21.019 --> 00:17:24.559 how much its people know about the Bible's content. 00:17:27.180 --> 00:17:31.410 It is how much the congregation applies. in its 00:17:31.410 --> 00:17:36.910 life. That tells you whether a church is on course. 00:17:38.730 --> 00:17:41.329 It is not adequate merely to study the Bible 00:17:41.329 --> 00:17:45.210 and to know its facts as important as that is. 00:17:47.730 --> 00:17:51.650 Those facts must be allowed to transform us. 00:17:51.829 --> 00:17:56.809 How does that happen? By welcoming God's truth 00:17:56.809 --> 00:18:00.559 into our hearts. not merely taking it into our 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:03.059 heads, but allowing it to sink into the deepest 00:18:03.059 --> 00:18:07.960 part of us. And they're choosing to yield to 00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:11.980 what it says, to fashion our lives accordingly. 00:18:12.099 --> 00:18:15.940 We were at the State Fair a few weeks ago and 00:18:15.940 --> 00:18:21.180 went to the, what's it called, Heritage Square, 00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:24.880 and back in there was a blacksmith shop. Can 00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:27.630 we get back there? We happened to be there at 00:18:27.630 --> 00:18:29.930 the time when the blacksmith was doing his work, 00:18:30.009 --> 00:18:33.569 putting his iron into the forge, heating it up, 00:18:33.630 --> 00:18:36.529 getting it nice and hot, and then putting it 00:18:36.529 --> 00:18:38.630 on the anvil and pounding it. I don't think I'm 00:18:38.630 --> 00:18:42.190 going to do that move again. Pounding that anvil. 00:18:44.029 --> 00:18:46.789 And what happened? Well, that metal was conformed 00:18:46.789 --> 00:18:50.049 to it. You see, that's what needs to happen when 00:18:50.049 --> 00:18:53.759 we come to church. to a service. That's what 00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:56.579 needs to happen when we open our Bibles to read 00:18:56.579 --> 00:18:59.759 it. That's what needs to happen in our cell groups, 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:04.559 in our small churches, that our lives become 00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:08.940 warm to it so that our lives then can be shaped 00:19:08.940 --> 00:19:15.279 after the Word of God transformed to it. One 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:19.079 of our strategies adopted as a church is to teach 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:24.009 God's Word for life change. Our concern is for 00:19:24.009 --> 00:19:27.710 more than content. It must go beyond that to 00:19:27.710 --> 00:19:32.170 change in all of us who are hearers. And so we 00:19:32.170 --> 00:19:34.670 cannot be content in our Sunday school classes, 00:19:34.970 --> 00:19:38.329 in our small churches, in ourselves, in our Bible 00:19:38.329 --> 00:19:42.769 studies, wherever in our ministry unless we are 00:19:42.769 --> 00:19:47.980 seeing changed lives. Merely dumping the content 00:19:47.980 --> 00:19:51.339 of the Bible into people's minds produces arrogant 00:19:51.339 --> 00:19:57.319 airheads. It creates critical spirits of self 00:19:57.319 --> 00:20:00.960 -absorbed people who are lazy and uncommitted. 00:20:02.220 --> 00:20:05.579 It is insufficient, and when it happens it means 00:20:05.579 --> 00:20:09.740 that a church is off course. For when a church 00:20:09.740 --> 00:20:13.799 is on course, it will reach the goal of love. 00:20:16.020 --> 00:20:19.319 changed lives, conformed to the life of the Lord 00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:22.519 Jesus Christ. So my point is that we know we 00:20:22.519 --> 00:20:26.819 are on course when we see changed lives, and 00:20:26.819 --> 00:20:29.279 that's the port toward which we as a church have 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:34.660 chosen to head. Secondly, the peril of our course 00:20:34.660 --> 00:20:39.500 is identified in this text as strange doctrines. 00:20:39.819 --> 00:20:43.700 He says these we must avoid. These are doctrines 00:20:43.700 --> 00:20:47.519 which are different. than those that harmonize 00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:52.140 with the message of Christ. Here Paul is concerned 00:20:52.140 --> 00:20:56.000 about false teaching from what were called Judaizers. 00:20:57.220 --> 00:20:59.740 People who were committed to the Old Testament 00:20:59.740 --> 00:21:03.460 law and sought to mix that law with the grace 00:21:03.460 --> 00:21:06.380 of God. There also may have been some Gnostics 00:21:06.380 --> 00:21:09.400 among them, but primarily it was Judaizers and 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:15.039 so they were misusing the law. Now Paul says 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:19.960 the law has a good purpose. It has a lawful use, 00:21:19.980 --> 00:21:26.460 and what's its use? To expose sin. It shows where 00:21:26.460 --> 00:21:31.920 we're short of God's glory. It reveals in us 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:36.980 the dark spots. The law's purpose is to expose 00:21:36.980 --> 00:21:43.549 the sinfulness of sin. The law defines sin. Sin 00:21:43.549 --> 00:21:46.630 has always existed even before the law of Moses, 00:21:47.289 --> 00:21:50.210 but when God gave that law, when God gave the 00:21:50.210 --> 00:21:54.890 Ten Commandments, it defined sin so that it could 00:21:54.890 --> 00:22:00.849 be seen and understood. These people were saying 00:22:00.849 --> 00:22:03.230 that somehow there is hope in the law. That is 00:22:03.230 --> 00:22:07.190 that by keeping the Ten Commandments, And believing 00:22:07.190 --> 00:22:10.349 in Jesus Christ, one could be saved. Paul says, 00:22:10.630 --> 00:22:17.089 bad message, strange doctrine. We don't become 00:22:17.089 --> 00:22:21.230 saved by keeping the law. The law tells us we 00:22:21.230 --> 00:22:24.450 need a savior. Its purpose is then fulfilled. 00:22:26.710 --> 00:22:29.089 These people were confused about that. You see, 00:22:29.650 --> 00:22:32.869 our hope is not in ourselves. It's not in the 00:22:32.869 --> 00:22:38.190 law. Our hope is in Jesus Christ. So there's 00:22:38.190 --> 00:22:41.609 a warning here about false doctrines which sidetrack 00:22:41.609 --> 00:22:45.210 from God's kingdom and God's purpose. He says 00:22:45.210 --> 00:22:50.289 in verse 4, these things do not further the administration 00:22:50.289 --> 00:22:53.470 of God. That is God's purpose. God's carrying 00:22:53.470 --> 00:22:57.630 out His purpose. Strange doctrines never do that. 00:22:59.329 --> 00:23:01.710 Well, you say we don't have Judaizers around 00:23:01.710 --> 00:23:05.029 anymore. Well, perhaps not by that name, but... 00:23:04.809 --> 00:23:07.529 We do have false doctrines that the Church must 00:23:07.529 --> 00:23:12.329 be aware of. The Church, and I'm using that term 00:23:12.329 --> 00:23:16.089 in the broadest sense, is today being told that 00:23:16.089 --> 00:23:19.950 we should adopt what I'm terming populist theology. 00:23:22.769 --> 00:23:28.349 Theology that is fashioned and formed by populist 00:23:28.349 --> 00:23:32.269 movements in our nation, in our culture. The 00:23:32.269 --> 00:23:35.069 gay movement is having an effect on the theology 00:23:35.069 --> 00:23:39.509 of some so -called churches, as is the pro -abortion 00:23:39.509 --> 00:23:44.109 movement, as is feminism. And what he is telling 00:23:44.109 --> 00:23:47.470 us here is that we are to be sure that the message 00:23:47.470 --> 00:23:51.890 stays pure. We're to stay on course and not give 00:23:51.890 --> 00:23:57.309 heed to false doctrines, strange doctrines. that 00:23:57.309 --> 00:23:59.950 come from populist theology. And then there is 00:23:59.950 --> 00:24:04.029 prosperity theology. We must be aware of that 00:24:04.029 --> 00:24:07.430 teaching that says somehow if we are faithful 00:24:07.430 --> 00:24:11.230 to God and sacrifice for God and do all the things 00:24:11.230 --> 00:24:13.230 we should, we're going to be healthy, wealthy, 00:24:13.410 --> 00:24:20.779 and wise. That is a theology that is somewhat 00:24:20.779 --> 00:24:23.039 declining, I think, today in the church, but 00:24:23.039 --> 00:24:25.319 it's out there. You hear it on television. You 00:24:25.319 --> 00:24:29.559 get mailings from people who teach this strange 00:24:29.559 --> 00:24:34.980 doctrine. They're off course. There is a psychologized 00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:39.980 theology. The gospel of self -help, the gospel 00:24:39.980 --> 00:24:44.940 of the higher power, which mixes together the 00:24:44.940 --> 00:24:50.980 feeble Attempts of man to help himself and the 00:24:50.980 --> 00:24:56.599 gospel of Jesus Christ. Strange doctrines. How 00:24:56.599 --> 00:24:59.279 are we to recognize these doctrines by testing 00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:02.940 them against the Word of God? We're not to believe 00:25:02.940 --> 00:25:06.099 everything we read or hear as though it's the 00:25:06.099 --> 00:25:10.759 truth. The great American axiom is, does it work? 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:16.420 If it does, it must be okay. The Bible's axiom 00:25:16.420 --> 00:25:21.299 is, is it true? If it's true, it's okay and it'll 00:25:21.299 --> 00:25:27.279 work. We are so pragmatic in America. We look 00:25:27.279 --> 00:25:30.180 for what works and if some teaching comes along 00:25:30.180 --> 00:25:34.400 that seems to help the human condition, there 00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:38.039 is a tendency to absorb it and adopt it and bring 00:25:38.039 --> 00:25:42.019 it into the Word of God. We are not to compromise 00:25:42.019 --> 00:25:46.059 in any sense the power of the simple gospel of 00:25:46.059 --> 00:25:50.980 the Lord Jesus Christ to transform lives. If 00:25:50.980 --> 00:25:55.299 you're interested in this sort of thinking, these 00:25:55.299 --> 00:25:57.680 notions, I would encourage you to get a hold 00:25:57.680 --> 00:26:02.900 of a book entitled No God but God by Oz Guinness 00:26:02.900 --> 00:26:07.119 and John Seal, who are the editors of it, which 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:10.119 exposes some of the strange doctrines in the 00:26:10.119 --> 00:26:15.299 church today. So as we think about God's navigation 00:26:15.299 --> 00:26:19.259 chart, He's given us the port. He said in journey 00:26:19.259 --> 00:26:24.200 we are to avoid the peril of strange doctrines 00:26:24.200 --> 00:26:28.880 which will wreck us. We have to navigate around 00:26:28.880 --> 00:26:32.880 them in order to stay on course. And finally 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:35.859 He says the plotting of our course is by sound 00:26:35.859 --> 00:26:41.359 teaching. Navigators have checkpoints on their 00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:47.000 charts. At these points, they use various means 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:51.319 to find out where they are. Sometimes there are 00:26:51.319 --> 00:26:55.000 visual sightings. This was especially common 00:26:55.000 --> 00:27:00.680 before we had modern technology. Submarines had 00:27:00.680 --> 00:27:04.559 to come to the surface and use the stars, or 00:27:04.559 --> 00:27:07.279 perhaps if they thought they were close to some 00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:10.670 body of land. They would check their chart and 00:27:10.670 --> 00:27:12.569 see if the land was where they thought it should 00:27:12.569 --> 00:27:15.809 be by visual sightings, by the stars. Today we 00:27:15.809 --> 00:27:19.329 have satellites so that airplanes and ships and 00:27:19.329 --> 00:27:22.109 submarines under the sea can nearly instantly 00:27:22.109 --> 00:27:24.670 tell exactly where they are within a few feet 00:27:24.670 --> 00:27:29.309 on the globe. So they can plot their course by 00:27:29.309 --> 00:27:33.009 these measurements. How do we plot our course 00:27:33.009 --> 00:27:38.460 so that we don't stray? The apostle says it is 00:27:38.460 --> 00:27:42.539 by sound teaching. He says in verse 10, whatever 00:27:42.539 --> 00:27:47.720 else is contrary to sound teaching. You see, 00:27:48.140 --> 00:27:53.339 sound teaching exposes us when we have gone astray. 00:27:55.339 --> 00:27:59.039 Sound teaching gives us assurance that we're 00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:03.359 on track or it warns us that we have strayed. 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:07.960 Sound teaching helps us to know where we are. 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:11.279 Sound teaching from the Bible condemns sin. It 00:28:11.279 --> 00:28:17.119 doesn't redefine it. It doesn't excuse sin. It 00:28:17.119 --> 00:28:19.880 doesn't say you were just born that way, you 00:28:19.880 --> 00:28:25.619 can't help it. Sound teaching confronts sin and 00:28:25.619 --> 00:28:30.140 condemns it. It calls for repentance, not recovery. 00:28:31.980 --> 00:28:37.920 Sound teaching also glorifies God, not man. It 00:28:37.920 --> 00:28:42.900 points to God as Savior, not to man as his own 00:28:42.900 --> 00:28:47.859 Savior. It honors God. It's not egocentric with 00:28:47.859 --> 00:28:52.279 its theories and its therapies. Sound teaching 00:28:52.279 --> 00:28:56.039 also stimulates to life change, not merely to 00:28:56.039 --> 00:28:59.720 religious knowledge. Today in America there are 00:28:59.720 --> 00:29:02.599 pulpits that apologetically give sermonettes 00:29:02.599 --> 00:29:08.299 for Christianettes, who give out social commentaries 00:29:08.299 --> 00:29:12.859 on the issues of the day, who provide humorous 00:29:12.859 --> 00:29:15.720 monologues that entertain and tickle the ears 00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:18.700 of the hearers. And some of those churches are 00:29:18.700 --> 00:29:22.980 filling up. The only problem is the lack of sound 00:29:22.980 --> 00:29:26.680 teaching will lead those churches to shipwreck. 00:29:28.360 --> 00:29:30.980 Because it is only the sound teaching of the 00:29:30.980 --> 00:29:33.740 gospel of Jesus Christ as he mentions in verse 00:29:33.740 --> 00:29:38.920 11. The gospel of the blessed God that will keep 00:29:38.920 --> 00:29:43.799 us on course. So we need constant sound teaching 00:29:43.799 --> 00:29:46.700 for the plotting of our course so that we eventually 00:29:46.700 --> 00:29:51.740 get to our goal. How are we to do church? We're 00:29:51.740 --> 00:29:54.559 to do church by staying on course with God's 00:29:54.559 --> 00:29:58.450 message. How do we do that? But we do that by 00:29:58.450 --> 00:30:02.910 remembering that our goal is changed lives. That's 00:30:02.910 --> 00:30:07.390 our port. That there are perils of strange doctrines 00:30:07.390 --> 00:30:09.369 that are out there that will lead us astray. 00:30:09.650 --> 00:30:13.210 We must be alert to those. We stay on course 00:30:13.210 --> 00:30:16.250 by constantly checking ourselves against the 00:30:16.250 --> 00:30:19.829 sound teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:30:22.410 --> 00:30:26.779 We as a church need to stay on course. But we 00:30:26.779 --> 00:30:29.859 do that by each of us individually staying on 00:30:29.859 --> 00:30:32.039 course. And so the question that I want to close 00:30:32.039 --> 00:30:38.119 with is this. Are you on track spiritually? Have 00:30:38.119 --> 00:30:41.859 you in the first place had a saving, genuinely 00:30:41.859 --> 00:30:46.559 saving experience with Jesus Christ? Do you know 00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:48.660 beyond the shadow of a doubt that He is your 00:30:48.660 --> 00:30:51.579 Lord and Savior? And should you drop dead today? 00:30:52.359 --> 00:30:55.359 Or you'd be involved in a terrible accident like 00:30:55.359 --> 00:30:58.880 those 132 people on the airplane the other day. 00:31:00.220 --> 00:31:02.940 You would at that instant of death go to be with 00:31:02.940 --> 00:31:07.059 the Lord. I hope you have that assurance. If 00:31:07.059 --> 00:31:11.359 not, will you trust the Lord Jesus? Genuinely 00:31:11.359 --> 00:31:14.640 and truly? Are you allowing His Word to change 00:31:14.640 --> 00:31:18.460 your life? Is your life hot enough spiritually 00:31:18.460 --> 00:31:22.170 that it will conform itself? to the teaching 00:31:22.170 --> 00:31:26.970 of the Word of God? Are you checking yourself 00:31:26.970 --> 00:31:31.470 to be sure you're on course? These are important 00:31:31.470 --> 00:31:34.549 questions for us as we track ourselves spiritually. 00:31:36.049 --> 00:31:39.829 As we begin a new fall of ministry with excitement 00:31:39.829 --> 00:31:44.990 and opportunities, I hope it's a time for all 00:31:44.990 --> 00:31:47.289 of us just to stop and reflect for a moment and 00:31:47.289 --> 00:31:52.920 say, Lord, am I Who and what and where I ought 00:31:52.920 --> 00:31:59.599 to be and if not then Let's say Lord get me on 00:31:59.599 --> 00:32:07.240 course Let's pray together Father you are so 00:32:07.240 --> 00:32:10.440 good to us. You are gracious and kind and loving 00:32:10.440 --> 00:32:16.440 and Today as we pause at the end of this message 00:32:17.389 --> 00:32:20.190 It's a time for us to reflect individually on 00:32:20.190 --> 00:32:24.349 whether we, personally, are on track spiritually 00:32:24.349 --> 00:32:28.710 or if somehow we have been twisted and turned 00:32:28.710 --> 00:32:33.029 aside and gone astray. There may be some of us 00:32:33.029 --> 00:32:37.130 who are near rocks who have broken up because 00:32:37.130 --> 00:32:42.690 we've shipwrecked. Thank you that you are willing 00:32:42.690 --> 00:32:45.700 to give us a new beginning. that you are willing 00:32:45.700 --> 00:32:48.380 to point us in the right direction, that you 00:32:48.380 --> 00:32:51.420 are willing to be on board with us and be our 00:32:51.420 --> 00:32:57.059 captain to steer our ship. I pray that right 00:32:57.059 --> 00:32:59.359 now you might truly be the captain and lord of 00:32:59.359 --> 00:33:03.440 each of our lives. Is he the lord of your life, 00:33:03.579 --> 00:33:06.119 my friend? Before I finish praying, if he is 00:33:06.119 --> 00:33:08.259 not, will you just lift your hand and say, Pastor, 00:33:08.279 --> 00:33:12.220 today I am by the lifted hand saying, Jesus Christ. 00:33:12.460 --> 00:33:16.059 will now be the Lord of my life. I've not been 00:33:16.059 --> 00:33:18.839 listening to Him. I've gone astray. I've not 00:33:18.839 --> 00:33:23.059 been on course. But I today, at this moment, 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:28.240 am making Jesus Christ the Lord of my life. Yielding 00:33:28.240 --> 00:33:31.299 myself to Him. Would you lift your hand just 00:33:31.299 --> 00:33:42.200 for a moment? Yes. Someone else? Father, I thank 00:33:42.200 --> 00:33:45.900 you that you have spoken to this heart and I 00:33:45.900 --> 00:33:49.420 pray that whatever the issues are, by your grace, 00:33:50.440 --> 00:33:53.619 you would move into that life and bring about 00:33:53.619 --> 00:33:59.579 that redirection that is so needed today. We 00:33:59.579 --> 00:34:04.420 thank you that in your grace, your amazing grace, 00:34:05.720 --> 00:34:09.789 you minister to us where we are. And I pray that 00:34:09.789 --> 00:34:13.750 for those of us who can honestly say we believe 00:34:13.750 --> 00:34:18.610 we're on course, I pray that we today will be 00:34:18.610 --> 00:34:22.809 allowing you to change our lives by your word, 00:34:23.050 --> 00:34:28.449 by the work of your spirit. Would you stand together 00:34:28.449 --> 00:34:31.449 with me please with head bowed, eyes closed, 00:34:32.190 --> 00:34:35.250 as we sing this chorus expressing our yieldedness 00:34:35.250 --> 00:34:40.420 to the Lord. I surrender.