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Hey, good morning everybody. How are you? Good morning. Y'all y'all volunteered to sit in the front. Is this Baptist Church?
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Would y'all would y'all stand up together and Imma invite Scott Humphrey if he'll come forward and sing with and we're going to start off this morning singing a few. Some standards and classics. Here we go.
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I heard an old story how a savior came from glory how he gave his life on I heard about his healing of his cleansing power revealing how he made the lame to walk again and cause the blind to see and then I cried dear Jesus come and heal our broken spirit
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Amen. Y'all sound good this morning. Did you know that one? Yeah, I was just making sure. Love lifted me.
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Hymn number five zero eight. We'll carry on. We'll carry on.
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Carry on. That's what I read. I was sinking deep in sin far from the peaceful shore
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Amen. Y'all can have a seat. Have a few announcements this morning. Monday nights at First B is happening. It's happening this Monday night and Carl will be preaching.
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What do you have tomorrow night, Carl? Oh, Ephesians three. So, he just finished up the book of James and he's going to Ephesians three and that actually is pointing towards the witness of the church to be the cosmic the witness to the cosmos. In fact, Carl and Tanya and Pascal and I are all going to Africa. We're going to Africa on a mission trip to the a school that is built on the site of a dump, which is off the site of a slum, which is off of Nakuru, Kenya.
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Okay? So, we're going to help minister in a school. Tanya and Pascal and two other three other ladies are going to be ministering in the school and we're supposed to be ministering among pastors from the area and Monday nights at first be is going to happen even while we're gone. That's Carl's favorite animal right there. And this is my favorite right there.
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And so I just put them up there so y'all remember. We're going to be in Africa. Not tomorrow. Carl's preaching tomorrow but a week from. He's still preaching that week too but we're leaving after Monday night.
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So, if you're from the South and there are bunch of southerners in here too. It's Monday week, alright? We're leaving Monday week to go to Africa but that's happening. Awana is happening every week, Monday night, same kind of time, 05:45. They gather right in here.
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They sing some songs. They do opening ceremony, play some games, and then do council time and it is awesome. I'll give a little bit more of a shout out during the sermon in this service but Monday night, it's 05:45 to 07:30. Kids are here and it is. It's actually awesome too.
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Young life is happening around this valley. You know, that's something that has been started up rather. How how long has it been going, Tanya? Three, four years? Three, four years.
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Three, four years in a prayer group before that praying that it would be here. So, young life needs volunteers and leaders who love to connect with teens. Christians who are dedicated but particularly like to be connected to and love teenagers. So if you feel like that fits you, that fits you, then contact Allie Lane either with that phone number or through jacksonhole. Younglife dot org.
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It's a great organization and they have done lots of things but you know how it is here. People move here and then they move away or people who've lived here for a long time move away and they just need more new volunteers or leaders. So, there we go. Young Life, excuse me. Community Bible Studies Prayer Group is meeting on Wednesdays.
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They started January 16, 09:30 to eleven in the mornings and 06:30 to eight in the evenings and there's childcare available for that in the morning session. Actually, the lady who watches the kids there is just this great, great Hispanic lady that we Felix, y'all know Felix from First Service? Felix and I have been talking to her lately and she's just fantastic. So anyway, if you feel like, hey, I want to do something. I don't know what.
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This is a study of Hebrews. They're about halfway through the book but you can start at any time, okay? Wednesday start already started 09:30 in the morning and 06:30 in the evenings. Precept, this is an ongoing study that's been going for a lot of years and they go book to book just like we do up here from the platform. Stay in the Bible.
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Stay in God's word and this time it's Acts, a study of the book of Acts, Jesus's witnesses who are empowered by his Holy Spirit. That's on Thursdays at nine and there's a connect hour between services and if you didn't get here early this morning, you missed a really really ample breakfast. It was really really good. Jennifer Lampo made breakfast or second breakfast if you're a hobbit. It was really really good down the hall between services.
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It's a good way to stay in touch with the other service too. Anything else? Is there anything I've forgotten? Anything I forgot to announce? Good.
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Anything else should be. I did see something that that I thought was informative and funny. If you go to this service regularly, there is an adult Sunday school class that meets down the fellowship hall during this. And it says, and I quote, adult Bible study boundaries open to all. I thought it was funny anyway, but it it is happening down the hall at 09:00 if you wanna do that.
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So would you stand up and greet one another? If you're an introvert, just stand in your place and don't say anything to anybody. They'll come. We'll go to another song in just a second but can we just pray for for a second? God, that third verse of that song, lord, would you do that?
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You have, you are omnipresent. You are omnipresent and you are omniscient, all knowing, and omnipotent, omnipotent. You are all powerful God. For this reason, we pray just like this to you. Holy presence, love, divine, cast out my fear.
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Lord, some of us are going through stuff that we are afraid to face and I pray lord that your holy presence, that your love divine would cast out our fear and I pray that you'd shield us lord from the attack of the evil one. I pray that you would free us from that which has been put upon us by others. I pray that you would call us lord and that you'd lead us in the way that we should go and I pray your holy presence and your love divine lord would cast out our fear. In Jesus name, I pray we go forward in faith. Amen.
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In moments like this, hymn number 91. Y'all can have a seat but I am going to invite the frontline team if they would come forward and would y'all pray with me? Yahweh, thank you for this morning. We thank you for this music, lord, that is so reassuring to us. The words that we have sung, lord, are not vain repetition.
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They are words of truth and encouragement. So, God, I pray that we would keep these things in our heart in moments like these that we keep em ever before us lord that your word would ring true and that it'd be something that sinks down deep in that we would listen deeply and that at times when we feel tempted, afraid, alone, or hurt, lord, but we would begin to remember who you are and who we are in you. God, I also pray that those of us who have found ourselves in you and have believed your gospel lord that we would be spreading it. Lord, for those of us here in the room who have trusted in Christ, I pray that this would be a time right now where we're able to give back a portion of what you've given to us so that we can see your kingdom advance so that we cannot just see it advance but so that we can be a part of its advancing. Lord, both by your sovereign will and our human and responsible action in light of the gospel.
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Would you save others, lord? As your gospel advances. Pray that it'd be from here to the uttermost parts including the Kuru, Kenya, and the Maisha, Maya School outside of. In Jesus name, lord, would you bless in this community to do your bidding and your will as on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus name, amen.
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I praise God. We are here in this morning to worship him. Amen. I love to sing with mister Bob. Mister Bob, it's a blessing to my heart.
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Praise God. And hymns hymns, that's good to the heart, honestly. This week, I was invited at the community Bible church to sing for kids, And I kind of gathered, like, 12 songs, contemporary songs and hymns. And while I was there in front of them, I
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don't know.
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I I felt like, this kid needs some hymns. I end up singing six hymns. They they have such a good message. They they point us towards Christ. Amen?
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And walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own
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Amen.
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Glory. It's my mother's mother's favorite song. Yeah. Nice. Thank you.
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So, if y'all are here and you're here every Sunday, you know what we're doing. We're going through the New Testament in the order that it was written. We're up to second Timothy two fourteen through 26 and that's what we're going to cover today but we've been in this for a while. We study the life of Jesus in the book of John for a while and then studied the life of the early church in the book of Acts and since then, we've used that as a framework for going forward in scripture. We're up to about sixty five AD, '64, sixty five, sixty six AD.
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This is probably the last book that Paul wrote. It's a personal letter to his true son in the faith who was in charge at the church at Ephesus. He's a pastor. So, it's a personal letter but it's also a personal letter to a pastor and so he's dealing with a lot of things that Paul has dealt with for many years. In the first Timothy, he set up like how this is how you choose elders and this is kind of the way that this needs go and then in second Timothy, it's a personal letter.
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He's he's near the end of his life. He knows it. He's in jail when he writes and he's writing this letter and it's very sweet and tender but he also recognizes what Timothy is going through and oh, here we go. Second Timothy two fourteen to 19 starts off this way. It says, remind them of these things.
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Remind is the first word. Remind them of these things and so remind the word is an imperative. It's a command straight from Paul to Timothy and he says, remind them of these things. Well, which things? What's he talking about?
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You know, when we read letters or when we do sermons, especially when we do sermons in churches, we only cover part at a time. We might cover a verse or two verses or four or five like today. But when you get a letter from somebody, don't you read the whole thing? You don't read part of it and then a week later read another part of it. So unless it's a love letter, if you read a love letter, you might read the whole thing and then go back and read every single clause, you know.
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But which things, if we're looking for what he's talking about, this is the immediate, most previous context. This is what he has just said. He says, it's a trustworthy statement. That's the fourth time he said that either Timothy or Titus. It's a trustworthy statement and then he reminds him of what was probably the words of a song.
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If we died with him, we will also live with him. That's encouraging because if you've identified with Christ and his death and we say that at baptisms buried with Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. If you've identified with Christ in his death, you will also live with him. His death means an end to sin. He breaks the power of cancelled sin.
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If we endure or persevere, if we keep on going, we will also reign with him. That's something to look forward to. If we deny him, he will also deny us. Jesus said as much. He said, if you deny me before men, I'll deny you before my father in heaven.
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So, that's not anything new. It's grounded in dominical tradition. The Lord had taught that too. If we are faithless, he remains faithful. Now, for a struggling pastor who has had some hard time which Timothy was doing that and Paul was inviting him to put some faithful men in charge and come see me for a while and let's be renewed together.
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Bring me my coat. He's saying personally, come on. But when he says to Timothy, for when we are faithless, do you ever wake up in the morning just feel like, ugh, I'm just bedraggled. Feel like I don't have any faith left. He remains faithful.
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Call out to God. He's found by everybody who seeks after him and he will empower us. What he says, If or when that if there's a conditional, the grammar of it's kind of complicated but if we are faithless, can be translated if or can be since. Since we are faithless as human beings, since we are faithless, he remains faithful. If you've accepted the gospel, rest in that because he cannot deny himself.
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Union with Christ happens when we accept his way. The way, the truth, and life. Jesus, when we accept that, he cannot deny himself. Once you're in, you're in, okay? So, that's the immediate previous context but if you go back a little further, we'll go back to two weeks ago what we preached.
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Retain the standard of the sound words of the gospel. The gospel is true. Let God be true and every man a liar. Retain the standard of the sound words which I've given you. It's not a legalistic thing and it is not a license thing where it's antinomian like there is no law or that law is all that matters.
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It's the gospel. Retain the gospel of grace. The standard, the sound words, guard that, guard the gospel of grace, that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life that God has made that we might be made right and be safe, saved. Retain the standard of the sound words. Guard that.
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Be strong in what? In the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Be strong in the grace of it because it's unmerited favor and when you begin to think that you deserve the grace of God, you don't. Does that make sense? It's not grace if you deserve it.
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It's just a transaction if you deserve it. You don't deserve it. We all fall short of the glory of God. All of us have sinned. We all have shortfall but Christ has made the way that we would be able by God's grace to receive him and have life everlasting with him.
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Actually, I'm going read just a few verses right here. These are three of those imperatives here. You therefore, my son, my true son in the faith. I love you. Be strong in the grace that's in Jesus Christ and the things which you have heard from me.
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In the presence of many witnesses, Timothy had been traveling with him on the second, third missionary journey. He had been sent to do different things but he had been around Paul in all kinds of context in synagogues and in the streets and in the marketplace, He had been around. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, my story doesn't change. The gospel is the gospel and it doesn't change. Entrust these things to faithful men, those who will be able to teach others and Timothy, suffer hardship with me.
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I'm here and I'm in jail and it's hard when you're standing up for the truth sometimes. Suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. So, entrust it to faithful men and suffer with me. That's his five imperatives from a couple weeks ago. So, that remind which is a command, remind them of these things and solemnly charge them.
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The word solemnly charge there, it's a participle that points back up to the remind. Remind them by solemnly charging this. In the presence of God, not to wrangle about words. It's useless and it leads to the ruin of the hearers. Have you all ever heard folks that just quibble about nonsense that don't make any sense at all?
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Come on. Really? Y'all watch news? Just check it. Like, have you all heard anybody quibble and wrangle over words?
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Yes, it happens all the time in our society. It's something that people do. They quibble over stuff all the time and Paul is solemnly charged. He says, and remind them not to go on and on about these things, not to wrangle about words which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. That's an imperative.
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We're supposed to do especially as a pastor. I think he is writing to a pastor when he says it. Remind them not to wrangle about words, not to get into that. It's useless. It leads to the ruin of the hearers.
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When we're convinced of our own opinion, that's a problem. I've gotta laugh. It's gotta be based in truth, right? It's gotta be based in truth. So, not to wrangle about words.
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Be diligent. When he says, be diligent, hasten unto is the old King James. Hasten towards or be diligent. That's another imperative. Be diligent to present yourself.
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So, there are those who might wrangle about words and it is useless and it does lead to the ruin of the hearers but what he is telling Timothy is listen, you be diligent to present yourself, okay? So you worry about yourself. You remember that? We have screens up here now, and you can see a lot clearer than before. So I'm gonna ask Blake if he'll put on a little 42 video.
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Why about yourself? Why about yourself?
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Can I help?
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No. I'll help. I don't. You can help when I'm out to eat, okay? We can help when we are out here.
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Do you
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do do
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Do you help?
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You can help when we're out to eat, probably.
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You want me to help, Rose?
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No. Thank you. No. Thank you.
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What do you want me to do?
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What about yourself? About yourself? I'll do this one. So I'm gonna do that. You drive.
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What about yourself? Go drive. Go.
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So this little girl recognizes. She recognizes that he's got a job and his job is to drive and she's able. She's done this before. She's able. When she, if she were to ask for help, he would help, right?
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And so you worry about yourself is the short form of that to just say, she can do this and she needs to do this. You drive, you know. You deal with what's yours to deal with. Be diligent to present yourself, and it's an emphatic position in Greek. It says, you worry about yourself.
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You be diligent to present yourself what? Dakimas. Dakimas is the Greek word. Dakimas means tested or approved. They used to stamp it sometimes in wax.
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They used to put it on as the marking of a vessel that would hold water. Okay? If you make an earthen vessel, a jug or a pot or whatever, something that holds water and is approved would get a seal that said it's documented, tested or approved. It's derived from decima which means to receive or welcome. We welcome and receive doctrine that is approved, right?
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We receive that. Properly is that which passes the necessary test or scrutiny that is acceptable because it is genuine, it is validated, it's verified. So if you work at a bank and you are looking upon each transaction, you're supposed to be spotting counterfeit money, right? You have to be really familiar with what is real money and what it feels like in its whole lifespan from the time it's crisp until the time it's worn out. You need to know what real money feels like so that you can tell the difference between a truth and a fake.
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So Documas is approved, not counterfeit. Documas actually is used for the proving or testing of coins. If a coin was struck and it was off center or not right, those were supposed to be thrown back into the fire because they're not documas. They're not approved. Not counterfeit, not corrupted.
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It is something that's been tested. So, he's saying to you, Timothy, be diligent and I'm saying to you, I'm saying it myself too. Be diligent to present yourself, approve to God as a workman. Since he was a pastor, he knows that he's going be dealing with people. He knows he's going be dealing with people's problems.
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He knows he's going be dealing with the word of God. So, he says, before the word of God, when you're in your study and when you're doing this, be diligent about yourself first. Make sure that the heart, your heart, you don't need to be ashamed. Okay. Now, Awana clubs, I mentioned them in the announcements.
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I'm a mention them again right now. Awana, you know what it stands for? Approved workmen are not ashamed and so the whole purpose of Awana is to pour scripture into their minds so that it can reach their hearts. Kids, while they're young, give the Holy Spirit a deep well from which to dip in scripture because it'll bring up and it will save em. Oh, man.
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Somebody told me something this week. Actually, I have never heard before. He said, somebody gave him a Bible and on the front page right here where you'd sign your name or whatever it said in the front cover, it said, This book will keep you from sin. If you internalize it and you take it but it follows it up with or sin will keep you from this book. That make sense?
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I don't know. It's, I wouldn't hang it. It's not, it's not chapter and verse scripture but it's a good way to think about it. I want to in your heart makes it a good, good, good foundation for people. So, Awana, that's what that stands for and Awana clubs are here every Monday night at 05:45.
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There's a little plug for that, right? Be diligent, present yourself, approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth And so people who wrangle about words can wrangle about biblical words. They can wrangle about Old Testament, which was happening a lot in Paul's day. And they were wrangling about whether it was law or whether it could be grace or some combination of the two. What is it?
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And Paul is saying, Timothy, you need to be able to accurately handle the word of truth. So, you be diligent and study to present yourself as a workman who need not be ashamed. Accurately handling. Ortho to me. It's from two words, to know which means cut and orthos which means straight or correct.
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So properly it is to cut straight. If you're trying to cut a straight line, it's not easy to do unless you have an actual line upon which to cut. So scripture lays that straight line, and then we are to accurately handle that and follow that line. Does that make sense? It's a pretty good word.
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I like that. Rightly divide because it's about cutting truth from error, rightly dividing or correctly apportioning is the way it is and so again, I wanna happens here. Hopefully, we're pouring scripture in so that their hearts will have something to draw upon and what is false will show up because they know what is true. Does that make sense? Okay.
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Accurately handling the word of truth but avoid worldly and empty chatter. That's not easy to do, is it? Avoid worldly and empty chatter. It's ungodly and it says right here, it will lead to further ungodliness. If you keep on saying something over and over and over, eventually going to believe it.
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If you keep on saying, I'm saved and it doesn't matter what I do. It doesn't matter what I do. I do. We're wandering way into the area of antinomianism or licentiousness where we are away from the good old gospel is, I long to do your will, oh Lord, because it pleases you and it's good for me. That make sense?
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Avoid worldly and empty chatter for it will lead to further ungod liness. If you're in an entrenched legalistic position over here and you keep on and keep on and keep on doing it, that's getting you further and further away from the good old gospel way that he has set us free. Does that make sense too? Okay. Their talk and their talk but avoid worldly and empty chatter and I I would say most of what goes on is worldly and empty chatter quite honestly.
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Their talk will spread like gangrene. Gangrene, if you have some translations say a canker, really old translations say a canker. Some say a cancer. But I think gangrene's a better one and I think it's better because the word is gangrena. Gangrena is the Greek word for it.
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It means a gangrene, an eating sore. Not just cell growth that grows and you might live years and not even know you have it. This is something that is really, really ugly and it's something that is killing off the flesh and it just keeps growing until it is removed. So an eating sore, a gangrene, a putrefaction of tissues, gangrenia. Now we have screens up here now.
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You got to see the little girl rather than just hearing her in her car seat now. I'm going to give you a strong warning. The next slide is a very vivid illustration. If you are weak, stomached, don't look at it, okay? Close your eyes now.
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This is gangrene. Okay. That's what gangrene of the foot looks like. Do you think there's any way to help that big toe or that one next to it? It just keeps on eating from there and gets worse.
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The way that they used to treat gangrene was maggots because there are maggots that eat only dead flesh and there are others that eat only living flesh and in some places they still do it. They put maggots to eat. Sorry, I see. Oh, thank you. It's just somebody blowing their nose.
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I thought she was gonna throw up right there. Sorry, let me get that off of there. Sorry about that, excuse me, I'm sorry. Sorry. The precept pencils were enough to show the screens, weren't they?
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Sorry. Okay. Their talk will spread like gangrene. Why do you think Paul uses that illustration? Because it's dangerous and it spreads.
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The worldly and empty chatter just gets worse and worse. It doesn't get better. It has to be completely removed. And so he's speaking to one person, but he's also speaking to one person who happens to be a pastor and he's saying, do you know how harmful it is for this worldly and empty chatter to just go on all the time? That doesn't mean anything.
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Encourage one another, build each other up. Alright. Among them, now he's going to name names. Among them are Hemaeus and Philetus. Men who have gone astray from the truth.
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They have gotten off of the good old gospel way and he says specifically what they're teaching saying that the resurrection has already taken place. Now, that's not true. It wasn't true then. It's not true now. If anybody tells you the resurrection has taken place, it has not yet happened.
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But we see that as early as first Thessalonians forty nine AD. There were people who are already saying that Christ's resurrection had taken place and they were upsetting the faith to some in sixty four, sixty five, sixty six. These two guys at least and maybe some more were saying that the resurrection had already taken place and Paul is saying, they are upsetting the faith of some. What if somebody extends you the free gift of the gospel by God's grace and you accept it and then somebody says, oh, wait a second, Jesus has already come back. You do anything you want to because we're living in the hereafter right now.
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It's all a sumptuous pleasure for us. That's what it sounds like. Phyllitus and Hymenaeus were teaching complete antinomianism. They believed in the resurrection. That's true.
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That's gonna happen, but they had misinterpreted it, and they were teaching others their misinterpretation. And then Paul, I love this. He goes, nevertheless, okay, that's that's not true and they're spreading bad stuff, but nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands. Amen. Firm foundation of God stands having this seal, the Lord knows those who are his.
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Okay. So here we are again, back at you worry about yourself because you can't do anything about the condition. You can't do anything about someone else's soul. If you start looking around and go, oh my goodness, they're not in the family. They're not in the kingdom of God.
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They don't believe in Jesus. I don't I doubt their salvation. You worry about yourself. Be concerned about yourself. Now, your life and he's going to go ahead and say how we should be living it but your life bringing other people towards God and not barring the door to keep em away is a good thing.
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The Lord knows those who are his and everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness. This is why I believe Phyllatus and Himinaeus were teaching some antinomian licentiousness, okay? License because there was a wickedness there and he's saying the seal of God is God knows who are his. He knows the ones who've been transformed by the gospel and everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness. He puts the onus back on us to do that.
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Now, we have to do it by his spirit. It's impossible to walk in his will, in his way, without his spirit doing the empowering. But it should, if it has taken root, it should grow up into a sanctification that is growing and more and more walking away from wickedness. 20, now in a large house, there are not only golden silver vessels but also vessels of wood and of earthenware. Some to honor and some to dishonor.
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And this to me, I I've read every commentary that I've got in my office and several online and people are all over the map with exactly which vessels are what and how they got to be the way they are. It goes on to say, therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, well, which things is that? I think the things are wickedness. He just mentioned it. Abstain from wickedness and worldly named chatter and further ungodliness and straying from the truth.
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Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he'll be a vessel for honor and sanctified and useful to the master. If that's true that the Lord knows who are his and everyone who's his is to abstain from wickedness, then, you can see, you can begin to see those who are honored and sanctified and useful to the master but you worry about yourself. Him and Phyllitus, yes, they've gone astray from the truth. They're saying something that's not right and not true but you, Timothy, worry about yourself. You study to present yourself approved.
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You keep on trying to divide the truth accurately and he's going to go on to tell you how to argue your point in a minute. Be prepared for every good work. If you cleanse yourself from these things, you'll be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the master, and prepared for every good work. Oh my goodness, we're saved by grace through faith. That's not a work of ourselves so that no one would boast.
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We are Christ's workmanship. We're God's workmanship created in Christ. So that we may walk in the good works that he prepared in advance for us to do. So, to be prepared, we do that. Now, he says, flee from youthful lust and pursue righteousness and faith and love and peace.
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Flee the youthful lust. Get away from them. Don't go after those things. Abstain from wickedness. Don't get into the area of license where you feel like you can just do whatever you want to.
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You're completely free. You're completely free from legalism and you're completely free from the enslaving sin. So, flee that stuff but pursue actual righteousness, not just looking right by your outward appearance. Pursue righteousness, actual rightness, not just winning the argument, not just winning the debate, not just winning the Twitter battle, okay? Righteousness, actually walking aright.
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Faith. What is the faith? What is the gospel and sticking with that? Love, agape, that's godly, unconditional love, and peace. Flee youthful lust and go after those things and go after em with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
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Now, I don't hit a whole lot of things where I say, y'all ought to come to church more often. Be in church every Sunday. I don't hit that all the time because I think that that goes legalistic a lot of times. I'm more like Olive Garden. When you hear your family, you know, come on.
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But this verse specifically says, flee youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. That is about getting together in small groups and in church, perhaps in a 12 step program, that is about trying to get the youthful lust behind you and actually seeking actual righteousness and faith and love and peace. Do it with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. An accountability group is a fantastic thing. A bunch of legalists getting together to compare who's more Christian is not a good thing.
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So, he says, but refuse, foolish, and ignorant speculation. Have you heard any foolish or ignorant speculations lately? Oh my goodness. Ask somebody who does not believe in creation. What their explanation is and get ready for some foolish and ignorant speculations, okay?
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I could say the same thing. That I've heard some really, really, really, really, really bad empty chatter coming from from the side that does know the truth but they just say it the wrong way. He's gonna get to that in just a minute too. Refuse foolish and ignorant speculations like that world and empty chatter that leads to further ungodliness. Knowing that foolish and ignorant speculations produce quarrels.
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So, you can have the right information, the right story, and be right about it and present it unrighteously and start a fight. Do you know that? This is a picture of the Lord's bond servant right here. It's not Paul saying, this is what I do and this is not a direct command to Timothy saying, this is what you should do. He's saying, whoever the Lord's bond servant is, they must not be quarrels.
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But be kind to all and able to teach and patient when they're wrong. So, this picture of the Lord's bond servant looks a little fuzzy right there but the clarity comes when it's the Lord's bond servant is not quarrels. So, if you are arguing and quarreling constantly, it's a heart condition. Even if you're, even if you're theologically right, you have backing all the time. If you're constantly quarreling with people, there's a heart condition there and that's hard news but it's true.
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Lord's bond servant must not be quarrels. The Lord's bond servant must be kind to all. It does not matter their political persuasion, their racial identity, their national identity. It does not matter about their socioeconomic background or their family of origin. The Lord's bond servant must be kind to all.
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The Lord's bond servant, Timothy, pastor Timothy, must be able to teach. He goes on to say and they must be patient when wronged because you will be wronged. You're a human and you're dealing with other humans and eventually, you're going to sin against one another and that's just the way humanity is. So, you must be patient when you are wronged. He goes on and he says, patient when wrong with gentleness, correcting those who are in opposition.
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I'm going go and put that one on my little list here. Corrects those who are in opposition
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gently. Why?
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Why does it have to be gently? Why? Not just blast them. They deserve it. They're wrong, right?
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He says right here, do it with gentleness, correcting those who are in opposition. If perhaps, leave room for God, okay? If perhaps, God may grant to them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth. If you've got a good case and you present it well and you're not mean about it, people are more likely to receive it. Is, do you think that's true?
50:49
If you're mean about it, do you think they're going to receive it? They're going to reject you and what you had to say and be further entrenched in their positions and at that point, you're keeping people from the kingdom rather than bringing them in. With gentleness, correcting those who are in opposition if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth. So, there's that but why he tells us why in the very next part of this verse. And they may.
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Doesn't say that they will just because you're nice. They may come to their senses and they may escape the snare of the devil. Having been held captive by him to do his will. A terrible place to find yourself that just because you think you're right and you've got some biblical backing for your point. You you sought meticulously to find the biblical backing for your point because it goes against the themes of grace and love and truth.
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Peace. Found a way to prove you're right. And then you find out that you've been held captive by the devil and doing his will after all. Boy, that's tough. So, if you can do this with gentleness and correct in those who are in opposition, they may come to their senses.
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They may escape the snare of the devil. Now, I was reminded of this when I was studying this. Romans one, we always go to Romans one and a lot of different debates. There's and then, they burned in their lust against the for one another and they rejected God and they've suppressed the truth and they've lifted up the lie of the devil and all of Romans one after about 16, the gospel is the power unto salvation for all who believe and then there's this long list of people rejecting God, rejecting God, rejecting God and we see that a lot but Romans two four says, do you think lightly of the riches of his kindness? This is talking about God.
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Do you, church, think lightly of the riches of his kindness and his tolerance and his patience not knowing that it is the kindness of God that leads you to repentance. It's not. Actually, I'm going go see this. James one says this, James 119 through 22. This, you know, my beloved brethren, that everyone must be quick to hear and slow to speak and slow to anger for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
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The anger of man does not produce righteousness of God. And it is the kindness of God that leads to repentance. If you want to be godly, be kind, okay? Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, he says, everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness in second Timothy. This is James.
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Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness. In humility, receive the word that has been implanted which is able to save your soul but prove yourself to be doers of that word and not merely hearers who delude themselves. Wow. It's a heavy sermon, isn't it? But it's right at the center of the gospel.
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The gospel is the cure for legalism and the gospel is the cure for license, licentiousness, antinomianism. The gospel is the cure for both. Think about this. My solution for a legalist is not just sin more and you'll balance it out. Are you with me?
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And for someone who's in the ditch who is bad guy, okay? It's not come to church every Sunday and don't wear blue jeans, okay? It's not legalistic. That's not the solution for sin. The gospel is the solution for sin.
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The grace of God. You're not going to earn it by what you do. It's unmerited favor. That's the point. So, we need to live out the gospel.
54:50
He's saying how to do that and it's like this. Don't be quarrelsome. Always, always, always wrangling over words, empty chatter, all that stuff. Be kind to everybody. If people keep on coming to you and confiding in you and asking, that's because they trust you.
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Don't blast them, okay? The truth, yes. Be able to teach by all means and be patient when you're wrong because people will wrong you and then when you find that you're in opposition, there's somebody opposed to the truth. It's not you and it's not personal. You can step back.
55:27
My mother used to say something all the time that I'm thinking I've thought of it 50 times this morning because of the sermon, not because of anybody else. She used to say this fairly regularly and it it is a Psalm but I don't know which one it is. It's great peace have they that love thy law, oh Lord. Great peace have they that love thy law, oh Lord, such that nothing shall be able to offend them. Isn't that a great peaceful place to live?
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Is that whatever they say against me is not against me. If I'm carrying the truth in my heart and I'm carrying it forward, if I can be kind and gentle and lovingly explain the truth of a gracious and loving, merciful God to someone who's living in opposition with it. I may be a part of their coming. I think we've got a very evangelistic song to sing for the end. Would y'all stand with me?
56:21
And I think we're gonna sing the savior is waiting. Hymn number four eighty three. My cousin is here today and I told her before the service that I was gonna have her come up and sing, but she doesn't have to. She is holding a sleeping baby right now. I was just gonna let you know, you don't have to do that.
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We're not gonna go extra hours so that you could sing. The Savior's Waiting, hymn number four eighty three. I woke the baby up. That's beautiful. You may keep on playing.
57:59
I just told Blake to let the words down. If you do feel like, I don't know Jesus and I don't know how what that, why that even matters. Would you come talk to me this week at some point? Would you just come find a time that you can come talk to me about that? We are doing like a traditional invitation right now.
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That's that's been come on down. Come on down. But if you don't feel comfortable doing that right here, right now, please just catch up with us and we'll talk to you about what we see to be the truth. Hopefully, in the gentlest way possible. In Jesus name, I'm praying right now this, it is the grace of God that has appeared that offers salvation to all people.
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It is a wide open evangelistic call. The good news. It teaches us, those of us who have accepted it, it teaches us to say no to ungodliness and to worldly passions and to live self control, upright, and godly lives in this age. God, would you use those lives? Would you transform them to match this verse and not ever bar the door to anyone that you are drawing to yourself.
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In Jesus name, lord, may we never be a part of that hindrance. Amen.
