Introduction
Call on youth to read portions of Washington’s Thanksgiving proclamation.
Describing the Biblical Text
This is one of the more famous texts from the Bible.
I can even remember in the first grade, our teacher recited it in class every day.
This is a celebration Psalm which ascribes reverence to God through shouting, serving him and singing his praises.
In this Psalm, we have both the description of God relating to His people and our response to Him.
Narrate the Contextual application
I want you to think about something this morning.
Should we be celebrating our relationship to God?
Should our hearts and then our mouths be ringing forth the praises of God before Him and His throne of grace and among his people?
The obvious answer to that question is a resounding YES!!
We have absolutely ruined that first verse haven’t we?
You know what we think it means?
We think it means that it’s okay to sing in the choir when you can’t carry a tune in a bucket.
I bet you heard more than one person say, “I can’t sing very well but the Bible just says to make a joyful noise.”
That is a good sentiment and there is nothing wrong with praising the Lord and serving him and stretching our gifts even to point where they are not but, if we honestly look at this passage, we will see something else here.
Life Application (thesis)
We see a joyful noise, a shout to the Lord just to praise God for who He is.
Life should a celebration for the follower of Jesus Christ.
And our corporate or gathered worship should be no less a celebration when we come together to feast on the riches of the word of God or to life our voices praisefully to Him or to worship in our giving and our tithing to the work of the Lord.
Worship is not the object of a preposition; Worship is not something to which we go; worship is something we do.
Worship in our lives is indeed personal and private but it is also corporate of group.
We gather in this meeting place, this house of worship and when we do, we are the church visible or gathered and then we can worship together.
Every Sunday should be what this coming Thursday is all about.
It should be about worshiping with thanks.
That is because giving thanks is a celebration in which all followers of Christ should participate.
SO WHAT!! (Outline)
This text show us two reasons for this but if we read the Bible even casually, we would see that there many many more.
Let’s look at the first reason in the text.
God made us.
Verse 3 makes that very clear doesn’t it?
We are made in His image.
That is a very strong statement because it reveals that we have innately dwelling within us things that God wants us to be able to do simply because He made us.
We possess the powers of reason and the ability to solve problems like no animal on the earth.
We possess things like language, thoughtful survival (as opposed to instinctive behavior), the capacity to make complex decisions, and, we have the capacity to domesticate most of the rest of the creation.
We are also created with a spirit that enables us to know right from wrong and to understand and realize that there is a God who is indeed on His throne in heave and who brought all thing that are into being.
There is no question that we are special in the sight of God as we were the crown of His creation at the very beginning.
Something else that makes us special is that we, followers of Christ, are also made with his purpose in mind.
Sometimes we feel so very random in the universe.
We are so small and it is so big and there are so many bazillions of people out there that how could God notice me or think that I am special.
But I want us to see the second part of the 3rd verse.
We are His people and sheep of His pasture.
When you think about ancient shepherds, they had a very important job as they were overseeing much of the food and clothing supply.
Shepherds were not simply there to watch sheep, they took that task very personally and knew each sheep in the pasture and every sheep in the flock knew the shepherd as well.
The shepherd had a personal stake in the lives of each of the sheep and if something happened to the sheep either it was stolen by wolves or died from disease. The shepherd would miss the sheep.
He tended to its needs and cared for its well being.
That is very much what God does for us.
In Psalm 23, we see the word, “The LORD is my shepherd.”
In John 10, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.”
So, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, we are compared to sheep and the shepherd lovingly cares for us.
Of course, Sheep have a purpose for the shepherd.
The wool provides warmth and the meat provides food and blood provides for the sacrifice given in worship to God.
The sheep would eventually give his all for the shepherd just like we give our all to the savior who loves us and died to save us.
Part of that all that we give is a shout or a joyful noise.
Hallelujah
Praise God
We come before Him with joyful singing.
That means when we sing amazing grace, we smile like it amazes us not pucker like it annoys us.
Something else that we need to see in the overall idea that God made us is that we were made to do His will.
Sheep only go to the pasture where they are led.
When we go to a pasture where the Lord is not leading us, that is disobedience or sin.
That would characterize our lives before we became a part of the flock of Jesus.
All have sinned and come short of God’s glory
But because Of the rich love of the shepherd, He died for us to remove that sin and its burden which is an eternity separated from God.
After He died, Jesus rose from the dead proving that he is indeed the Son of God having the power to conquer death.
Just look at John 10.
It is in the same context that Jesus proclaims himself the good shepherd that he indicates that He can lay down his life and take it up again.
The good shepherd can come into your life and lead you into green pastures beside quiet waters.
He can heal and forgive.
Will you trust Him to do that today?
We have a second reason to thank God regularly,
God is faithful.
Verse 7 describes this as we see that He is good and His lovingkindness endures forever and we see His faithfulness to all generations.
He is the one who knows the end from the beginning and who has brought all things into being according to His purpose.
When God purposed redemption before the foundation for the world, He was faithful to accomplish it on the cross by His son
In His accomplishing redemption on the cross, He was faithful to apply it by His Spirit.
We see God as being faithful and true because His word tells us that He is.
He cannot lie so all of His promises come to pass.
He will not leave or forsake us so he is faithfully present in our lives.
Does anyone know the significance of March 19th?
Besides being St. Joseph’s day and Alyson Waller’s birthday, it is the day that the swallows return to the San Juan Capistrano mission every year. They also migrate away every year on the same day, October 23rd.
Their coming and going is something that can be counted on and has been counted on for many years.
You can count on God in His faithfulness as well.
Like clockwork, He will meet our needs and keep our lives in His hand.
So as we give thanks today, give the Lord a big Hallelujah or a shout to His glory.
As we give thanks on Thursday, let’s be mindful that thanksgiving is not a holiday; it is a way of life for the faithful follower of Jesus Christ.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Power for Living -- Our Mighty God -- Isaiah 41:1-10
1. Introduction
As a culture, we are inundated with bad news. As we drive down the road, we see gasoline in excess of 3.00 a gallon. As we read the papers, we see taxes going up and government bureaucracy increasing with everyone from the city to the federal government regulating us to death. Flip on the news and we see soldiers getting killed, fires burning out of control and the stock market plummeting. We see scandal abounding as sports figures and politicians and even some religious people getting caught up in unsightly behavior.
In the midst of cultural turmoil, we need to know that we have a sustaining God.
Our God is constant in His love for us and his ability to give us peace in a world and in a life that may lack peace.
2. Describing the Biblical Text
In this text, we see pending judgment coming but we also see God issuing some comfort for His people through the prophet.
As we look here we see what I consider to be one of the Bible’s significant verses.
This part of Isaiah, that is anything that is past the 40th chapter, is a pr
3. Narrate the Contextual application
This is an encouraging passage that assures Israel and Judah that God is in control of their situation and even though judgment may be about to fall, that is simply a sign that God’s love for His people is still in place.
We find in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament that God does chasten those he loves.
It goes on to say that if God’s chastening hand is not on us then we are not His.
That should be a scary thought to all of us.
We need God’s discipline for assurance that we are His.
So if we do not see the hand of God bringing discipline into our lives, then we need to seriously look at our relationship with Him.
In His discipline, we can see that his presence is a vital part of our lives.
4. Life Application (thesis)
Let’s take a look at this truth this morning.
God is our keeper and our strength and by Him, we will be upheld.
5. SO WHAT!! (Outline)
In this truth, we will see two certainties this morning as we seek to live our lives in the comfort that God keeps and sustains us.
God has a plan and that plan includes my life.
At the Associational meeting this past Thursday night, Sid Barnett’s son in law told the story of Adoniram Judson the great missionary to Burma.
As the account went, Judson was quite the scholar and fell into a group of deists in college. Deists believe more like God is a clockmaker who built the world, wound it up and just let it go.
There is no personal involvement from God in the affairs of men which as we have seen recently, to believe that is to deny the very essence of God in His sovereign, electing love for us.
In God’s foreknowing us, there is personal involvement from him in our lives from the very foundation of the world.
Look at verse 2
You see a question here. Who has aroused one from the east?
This one from the east is possibly a description of King Cyrus of Persia who would eventually overthrow the Babylonians.
Who lifted him up?
Who put him in his place of authority?
Verses 3 and 4 continue to describe the one who put Cyrus in authority and then answers the question.
Look at the end of verse
BYW if you are following along in our revelation study on Wed night, you will see this term used to describe God there as well.
This is a declaration that God knows it all from the beginning to the end.
Not only is he the one who knows it all, He is the one who causes it all to be.
Remember the name that He gave to Moses in Exodus.
I am that I am.
In that Name, he was stating that He was the one who has always existed.
He was stating that He was the one who brought everything into existence
He was stating that he was the one that caused all things to be as they are.
The God of the Bible is eternal, holy and sovereign.
And, for us to have a relationship with him, we must be brought to a place where there is noting in our lives that would offend a holy, sovereign God.
Yet, we all know that is not the case.
We all have sin in our lives.
It separates us from God and keeps us from having a relationship with Him.
Yet God desires to have a relationship with His people and that is why He sent Jesus to die on the cross.
Jesus when he died on the cross paid the penalty for our sins that we would come to know God through Christ.
The Bible says that there is no one who is righteous.
This unrighteousness separates us from God so God closed that separation by sending His wrath on His son for our sins.
This act of Great love is described in the verse that says, “God demonstrated His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
When Jesus died on the cross for us, he provided to us the forgiveness of God.
If any man will confess with his mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in his heart that Jesus rose from the dead, he will be saved for his sin and the eternal penalty of that sin, separation from God in Hell.
You might be looking right now for that forgiveness and that relationship with God.
Won’t you pray with me?
I’ll lead and you can simply repeat the words but you need to mean them from your heart.
Dear Lord,
I know that I have sinned and lived badly. I am sorry and desire to live for you now. I am receiving Jesus into my heart to be the Lord and savior of my life. Help me to give you control of my life Lord and to live for you. Thank you for dying on the cross for me and for coming back from the dead. Thank you for saving me today.
If you prayed that this morning, I am going to have an opportunity for you to respond in just a few minutes.
Isn’t great to know that God’s way is the best way?
Really, it’s the only way.
God cares for us and our lives are hidden with Him when we are relying on Him and His wisdom and strength to keep us.
Our second certainty is this.
Serving God means that our lives are hidden in Him.
There are a couple of things that we can take the bank.
Our paycheck every Friday and the fact that God’s plans for us and His wisdom are always better than our own
When we look at verses 5-7 we something that should make us take notice.
We see man attempting to control his own circumstances in his own way without consulting God or what is worse, by creating His own God.
We see the feel good mentality of today’s self esteem, culture don’t we. [Read v 5-6]
Then we see the useless pursuit of Idol worship as craftsmen and smelters and solders seek to put some kind of idol together that won’t totter in order to appease some fertility god and to save themselves from the Persians.
But in verse 8 God says that is unnecessary.
God chose them just like He chose us.
The hand of His favor is upon us and we need to serve Him.
But then we come to verse 10.
What a great verse of scripture this is.
I love the rendering in the KJV
Fear thou not for I am with thee
Be not dismayed for I am Thy God.
I will strengthen thee
Yea I will help thee
Yea I will uphold thee by the right hand of my righteousness.
I am going to ask you a question and I wish you would ask me.
Why do we worry and fret when God is in control?
Why do we anxiously look around us when our circumstances are in his hands?
He controls world leaders and governments rise and fall at His hand.
Remember verse 2 He subdues kings and delivers nations.
If God is able to manage the circumstances of the nations, why can’t he handle our little stuff?
He can and He will if we trust Him and stop taking matters into our own hands.
As we leave here this morning, let’s take verse 10 with us.
God is in control and He loves us.
But better than that, He upholds in the righteousness of his right hand.
As a culture, we are inundated with bad news. As we drive down the road, we see gasoline in excess of 3.00 a gallon. As we read the papers, we see taxes going up and government bureaucracy increasing with everyone from the city to the federal government regulating us to death. Flip on the news and we see soldiers getting killed, fires burning out of control and the stock market plummeting. We see scandal abounding as sports figures and politicians and even some religious people getting caught up in unsightly behavior.
In the midst of cultural turmoil, we need to know that we have a sustaining God.
Our God is constant in His love for us and his ability to give us peace in a world and in a life that may lack peace.
2. Describing the Biblical Text
In this text, we see pending judgment coming but we also see God issuing some comfort for His people through the prophet.
As we look here we see what I consider to be one of the Bible’s significant verses.
This part of Isaiah, that is anything that is past the 40th chapter, is a pr
3. Narrate the Contextual application
This is an encouraging passage that assures Israel and Judah that God is in control of their situation and even though judgment may be about to fall, that is simply a sign that God’s love for His people is still in place.
We find in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament that God does chasten those he loves.
It goes on to say that if God’s chastening hand is not on us then we are not His.
That should be a scary thought to all of us.
We need God’s discipline for assurance that we are His.
So if we do not see the hand of God bringing discipline into our lives, then we need to seriously look at our relationship with Him.
In His discipline, we can see that his presence is a vital part of our lives.
4. Life Application (thesis)
Let’s take a look at this truth this morning.
God is our keeper and our strength and by Him, we will be upheld.
5. SO WHAT!! (Outline)
In this truth, we will see two certainties this morning as we seek to live our lives in the comfort that God keeps and sustains us.
God has a plan and that plan includes my life.
At the Associational meeting this past Thursday night, Sid Barnett’s son in law told the story of Adoniram Judson the great missionary to Burma.
As the account went, Judson was quite the scholar and fell into a group of deists in college. Deists believe more like God is a clockmaker who built the world, wound it up and just let it go.
There is no personal involvement from God in the affairs of men which as we have seen recently, to believe that is to deny the very essence of God in His sovereign, electing love for us.
In God’s foreknowing us, there is personal involvement from him in our lives from the very foundation of the world.
Look at verse 2
You see a question here. Who has aroused one from the east?
This one from the east is possibly a description of King Cyrus of Persia who would eventually overthrow the Babylonians.
Who lifted him up?
Who put him in his place of authority?
Verses 3 and 4 continue to describe the one who put Cyrus in authority and then answers the question.
Look at the end of verse
BYW if you are following along in our revelation study on Wed night, you will see this term used to describe God there as well.
This is a declaration that God knows it all from the beginning to the end.
Not only is he the one who knows it all, He is the one who causes it all to be.
Remember the name that He gave to Moses in Exodus.
I am that I am.
In that Name, he was stating that He was the one who has always existed.
He was stating that He was the one who brought everything into existence
He was stating that he was the one that caused all things to be as they are.
The God of the Bible is eternal, holy and sovereign.
And, for us to have a relationship with him, we must be brought to a place where there is noting in our lives that would offend a holy, sovereign God.
Yet, we all know that is not the case.
We all have sin in our lives.
It separates us from God and keeps us from having a relationship with Him.
Yet God desires to have a relationship with His people and that is why He sent Jesus to die on the cross.
Jesus when he died on the cross paid the penalty for our sins that we would come to know God through Christ.
The Bible says that there is no one who is righteous.
This unrighteousness separates us from God so God closed that separation by sending His wrath on His son for our sins.
This act of Great love is described in the verse that says, “God demonstrated His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
When Jesus died on the cross for us, he provided to us the forgiveness of God.
If any man will confess with his mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in his heart that Jesus rose from the dead, he will be saved for his sin and the eternal penalty of that sin, separation from God in Hell.
You might be looking right now for that forgiveness and that relationship with God.
Won’t you pray with me?
I’ll lead and you can simply repeat the words but you need to mean them from your heart.
Dear Lord,
I know that I have sinned and lived badly. I am sorry and desire to live for you now. I am receiving Jesus into my heart to be the Lord and savior of my life. Help me to give you control of my life Lord and to live for you. Thank you for dying on the cross for me and for coming back from the dead. Thank you for saving me today.
If you prayed that this morning, I am going to have an opportunity for you to respond in just a few minutes.
Isn’t great to know that God’s way is the best way?
Really, it’s the only way.
God cares for us and our lives are hidden with Him when we are relying on Him and His wisdom and strength to keep us.
Our second certainty is this.
Serving God means that our lives are hidden in Him.
There are a couple of things that we can take the bank.
Our paycheck every Friday and the fact that God’s plans for us and His wisdom are always better than our own
When we look at verses 5-7 we something that should make us take notice.
We see man attempting to control his own circumstances in his own way without consulting God or what is worse, by creating His own God.
We see the feel good mentality of today’s self esteem, culture don’t we. [Read v 5-6]
Then we see the useless pursuit of Idol worship as craftsmen and smelters and solders seek to put some kind of idol together that won’t totter in order to appease some fertility god and to save themselves from the Persians.
But in verse 8 God says that is unnecessary.
God chose them just like He chose us.
The hand of His favor is upon us and we need to serve Him.
But then we come to verse 10.
What a great verse of scripture this is.
I love the rendering in the KJV
Fear thou not for I am with thee
Be not dismayed for I am Thy God.
I will strengthen thee
Yea I will help thee
Yea I will uphold thee by the right hand of my righteousness.
I am going to ask you a question and I wish you would ask me.
Why do we worry and fret when God is in control?
Why do we anxiously look around us when our circumstances are in his hands?
He controls world leaders and governments rise and fall at His hand.
Remember verse 2 He subdues kings and delivers nations.
If God is able to manage the circumstances of the nations, why can’t he handle our little stuff?
He can and He will if we trust Him and stop taking matters into our own hands.
As we leave here this morning, let’s take verse 10 with us.
God is in control and He loves us.
But better than that, He upholds in the righteousness of his right hand.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Power for Living -- Our Moral Task -- 2 Timothy 3
Introduction
Lynn Anderson was a country singer from the 1970’s.
Her signature song was called Rose Garden. The chorus or refrain of the song made this statement, “I beg your pardon; I never promised you a rose Garden. Along with the sunshine, there’s got to be little rain sometime.”
Describing the Biblical Text
Timothy was a pastor and he was assigned by Paul to take care of the church at Ephesus and if we notice Paul’s description of the times at hand or that will come to Timothy’s ministry, they are perilous.
As we consider the theme of the revival that we had last week, we think about the idea that life is great.
But we must contextualize that.
What is not stated but is assumed is that life in Great when lived in the Lord Jesus Christ.
That was the clear implication of the theme verse from Philippians 3:10.
Paul was issuing a warning to Timothy and then preparing Him to deal with that which he predicted to come.
As we look at the last few verses of this chapter, we see what are some pretty familiar verses as they were the cry of the conservative movement in our denomination.
Narrate the Contextual application
In Timothy’s day, heresy was a very real concern in the church and if you don’t think that it is today, just turn on the TV and watch the preachers in their coliseums and their glass cathedrals and just listen for a few minutes.
They have confused the preaching of the gospel with t eh idea of making people fell good.
Usually the preaching of the gospel does the opposite.
Usually it makes people miserable in the knowledge of their sin and then gives them that peace in forgiveness.
Think about that verse from the song “Amazing Grace.”
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved.
Grace brings the conviction and then grace gives comfort to the soul.
What is the best preparation for the perilous times that are to come?
It is the faithfully fulfilling our moral task in Jesus.
But what is that task and how do we find it?
Life Application (thesis)
That question is answered by a simple statement.
The word of God will equip us to follow Christ in our deeds.
I want you to think about 3 s words for just a minute.
Situation
Spirit
Scriptures
Every situation in which we find ourselves is handled by engaging the scriptures through the Spirit for the wisdom of God.
Every situation in which we find ourselves must me approached from a biblical per5spective on how we can handle it in the power of the God’s Spirit and the wisdom of the Bible.
SO WHAT!! (Outline)
As we look at this text this morning, we are going to see 2 distinct realities that we will need to confront in order to be equipped by the word for service to God.
Things are not always hunky dory even in church.
Some of us probably remember the Susan Smith story from a few years back. She had a boyfriend that wanted to be with her but did not want to have anything to do with her kids. Her small children were in the way of her having this relationship so she did the unthinkable. She locked her kids in a car and pushed them into a lake.
How could it come to that?
How could someone decide to destroy their own life and the life of the kids and the lives of the father’s family just to be with a boy friend?
Look at our passage.
In the last days, difficult times or perilous times will come.
That word perilous or difficult is only used in one other place in the NT.
In Matthew 8, we have this account given from the ministry of Jesus.
Listen to Matthew 8:28
When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way.
Paul is warning Timothy that the end times will be times of violence
That is not surprising based on the description that we read in verses 1-5.
When people think what they see in the mirror everyday is more important that what they read in the word or who they should worship, it leads to big problems.
There is an attitude of self-gratification that is described here that has the potential to not only come into the church but to ruin it.
Lovers of self is the very opposite of one who loves God and who loves his neighbor.
Lovers of money are the very opposites of those who seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness.
There list goes on and on but what should really jump out at us is the description found in verse 5
“Holding to a form of godliness and denying its power.”
That is a scary thing.
That means that the world has crept into the church.
I think that many people have become confused about what it means to have a worldly church.
I think that if you polled a group of 100 people and asked them what it means to have a worldly church, the answer you would get would come back to music.
If there is a band that plays music that someone might call Rocknroll, then it is worldly.
But, there might be other answers as well.
The church that handles its finances like they are a business could be seen as a worldly church.
The church that has the country club mentality where the social gospel is preached which is neither social nor is it the gospel could be the worldly church.
But if we look at this text and we look at this context, we see worldliness as something much more sinister don’t we?
This is serious business as we consider what is appropriate behavior for a person who is called a follower of Jesus Christ.
It is a cinch what is not.
We see the list right here in verses 2-5 and then we see the Christian response to it.
Avoid such men as these.
Our lives cannot look like these things because we look like the world and we are not showing to the lost around us what a difference that Jesus Christ has made in our lives.
These people have nothing to offer the follower of Jesus Christ except to tear him down and lead Him to stumble into sin.
Look at the results of lives lived like this.
They are impulsive making decisions without any input let alone God’s wisdom.
They claim to be seeking truth but never come to grips with any real truth in that they cannot comprehend the Gospel of Jesus as their eyes are blinded to it.
And what is worse, they ridicule and criticize the true church.
Look at verse 12.
These people who are described in the early verses of this text are shown in verse 13 as actually persecuting the true followers of Jesus.
But, we can’t think that we are too good for persecution or struggle.
We cannot think that we are above receiving any trouble.
Our faith demands that we be troubled.
We will be squeezed for it if we truly desire to live for Jesus Christ.
But, In spite of those who seek to trouble us and to deceive us with partial truth and falsehood, there is something that we can do.
Our second reality tells us that things are always handled well when we allow God’s word to inform us.
There are things that always go better when we have some kind of instructions to guide us.
I almost never go anyplace unfamiliar that I don’t Google a map for the trip.
I hate getting lost and even hate stopping to ask for directions even more.
When we look at our text there we see Paul giving Timothy some very basic instruction
Stick with what you know.
Continue in the things you have learned.
Remember where you got the good stuff
You have known it from childhood.
What is it?
It is the Holy Scriptures, that which teaches you and corrects you.
But, it does something else.
It completes us in so far as is possible in this life.
It makes us perfect and throughly furnished for all good works.
When the violent times come, how do we cope?
When the persecution comes, how do we cope?
We trust that what we have learned from the word of God will be there to inform us and to encourage us.
But, it is also preparing us to do the Lord’s work.
In the midst of tribulation and in the midst of the church becoming that form of godliness without any power, the follower of Jesus is still able to change the world through the power of Jesus and the teaching of the word of God.
But we have to spend time in the Bible.
Psalm 5 tells us that the Lord will hear us in the morning.
I want to challenge you to give the Lord the firstfruits of your day and take some time to read the word in the morning and then meditate on what you read for the rest of the day.
Then as you pray, ask God to give you the wisdom you need to apply the truth of the Word of God.
Our moral task is to know the Bible and to live the Bible that we will bear the fruit that God has called us to bear.
Lynn Anderson was a country singer from the 1970’s.
Her signature song was called Rose Garden. The chorus or refrain of the song made this statement, “I beg your pardon; I never promised you a rose Garden. Along with the sunshine, there’s got to be little rain sometime.”
Describing the Biblical Text
Timothy was a pastor and he was assigned by Paul to take care of the church at Ephesus and if we notice Paul’s description of the times at hand or that will come to Timothy’s ministry, they are perilous.
As we consider the theme of the revival that we had last week, we think about the idea that life is great.
But we must contextualize that.
What is not stated but is assumed is that life in Great when lived in the Lord Jesus Christ.
That was the clear implication of the theme verse from Philippians 3:10.
Paul was issuing a warning to Timothy and then preparing Him to deal with that which he predicted to come.
As we look at the last few verses of this chapter, we see what are some pretty familiar verses as they were the cry of the conservative movement in our denomination.
Narrate the Contextual application
In Timothy’s day, heresy was a very real concern in the church and if you don’t think that it is today, just turn on the TV and watch the preachers in their coliseums and their glass cathedrals and just listen for a few minutes.
They have confused the preaching of the gospel with t eh idea of making people fell good.
Usually the preaching of the gospel does the opposite.
Usually it makes people miserable in the knowledge of their sin and then gives them that peace in forgiveness.
Think about that verse from the song “Amazing Grace.”
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved.
Grace brings the conviction and then grace gives comfort to the soul.
What is the best preparation for the perilous times that are to come?
It is the faithfully fulfilling our moral task in Jesus.
But what is that task and how do we find it?
Life Application (thesis)
That question is answered by a simple statement.
The word of God will equip us to follow Christ in our deeds.
I want you to think about 3 s words for just a minute.
Situation
Spirit
Scriptures
Every situation in which we find ourselves is handled by engaging the scriptures through the Spirit for the wisdom of God.
Every situation in which we find ourselves must me approached from a biblical per5spective on how we can handle it in the power of the God’s Spirit and the wisdom of the Bible.
SO WHAT!! (Outline)
As we look at this text this morning, we are going to see 2 distinct realities that we will need to confront in order to be equipped by the word for service to God.
Things are not always hunky dory even in church.
Some of us probably remember the Susan Smith story from a few years back. She had a boyfriend that wanted to be with her but did not want to have anything to do with her kids. Her small children were in the way of her having this relationship so she did the unthinkable. She locked her kids in a car and pushed them into a lake.
How could it come to that?
How could someone decide to destroy their own life and the life of the kids and the lives of the father’s family just to be with a boy friend?
Look at our passage.
In the last days, difficult times or perilous times will come.
That word perilous or difficult is only used in one other place in the NT.
In Matthew 8, we have this account given from the ministry of Jesus.
Listen to Matthew 8:28
When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way.
Paul is warning Timothy that the end times will be times of violence
That is not surprising based on the description that we read in verses 1-5.
When people think what they see in the mirror everyday is more important that what they read in the word or who they should worship, it leads to big problems.
There is an attitude of self-gratification that is described here that has the potential to not only come into the church but to ruin it.
Lovers of self is the very opposite of one who loves God and who loves his neighbor.
Lovers of money are the very opposites of those who seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness.
There list goes on and on but what should really jump out at us is the description found in verse 5
“Holding to a form of godliness and denying its power.”
That is a scary thing.
That means that the world has crept into the church.
I think that many people have become confused about what it means to have a worldly church.
I think that if you polled a group of 100 people and asked them what it means to have a worldly church, the answer you would get would come back to music.
If there is a band that plays music that someone might call Rocknroll, then it is worldly.
But, there might be other answers as well.
The church that handles its finances like they are a business could be seen as a worldly church.
The church that has the country club mentality where the social gospel is preached which is neither social nor is it the gospel could be the worldly church.
But if we look at this text and we look at this context, we see worldliness as something much more sinister don’t we?
This is serious business as we consider what is appropriate behavior for a person who is called a follower of Jesus Christ.
It is a cinch what is not.
We see the list right here in verses 2-5 and then we see the Christian response to it.
Avoid such men as these.
Our lives cannot look like these things because we look like the world and we are not showing to the lost around us what a difference that Jesus Christ has made in our lives.
These people have nothing to offer the follower of Jesus Christ except to tear him down and lead Him to stumble into sin.
Look at the results of lives lived like this.
They are impulsive making decisions without any input let alone God’s wisdom.
They claim to be seeking truth but never come to grips with any real truth in that they cannot comprehend the Gospel of Jesus as their eyes are blinded to it.
And what is worse, they ridicule and criticize the true church.
Look at verse 12.
These people who are described in the early verses of this text are shown in verse 13 as actually persecuting the true followers of Jesus.
But, we can’t think that we are too good for persecution or struggle.
We cannot think that we are above receiving any trouble.
Our faith demands that we be troubled.
We will be squeezed for it if we truly desire to live for Jesus Christ.
But, In spite of those who seek to trouble us and to deceive us with partial truth and falsehood, there is something that we can do.
Our second reality tells us that things are always handled well when we allow God’s word to inform us.
There are things that always go better when we have some kind of instructions to guide us.
I almost never go anyplace unfamiliar that I don’t Google a map for the trip.
I hate getting lost and even hate stopping to ask for directions even more.
When we look at our text there we see Paul giving Timothy some very basic instruction
Stick with what you know.
Continue in the things you have learned.
Remember where you got the good stuff
You have known it from childhood.
What is it?
It is the Holy Scriptures, that which teaches you and corrects you.
But, it does something else.
It completes us in so far as is possible in this life.
It makes us perfect and throughly furnished for all good works.
When the violent times come, how do we cope?
When the persecution comes, how do we cope?
We trust that what we have learned from the word of God will be there to inform us and to encourage us.
But, it is also preparing us to do the Lord’s work.
In the midst of tribulation and in the midst of the church becoming that form of godliness without any power, the follower of Jesus is still able to change the world through the power of Jesus and the teaching of the word of God.
But we have to spend time in the Bible.
Psalm 5 tells us that the Lord will hear us in the morning.
I want to challenge you to give the Lord the firstfruits of your day and take some time to read the word in the morning and then meditate on what you read for the rest of the day.
Then as you pray, ask God to give you the wisdom you need to apply the truth of the Word of God.
Our moral task is to know the Bible and to live the Bible that we will bear the fruit that God has called us to bear.
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