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Good morning, church family. How are you? Does the weather put a frown in your face today? Oh, man. And we had a special special challenge for you this morning, and it was how are you going to get into the building Sunday?
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You made it. Good job. What do you say we stand up? We'll sing together from Psalm sixty three one. Oh, God, you are my God, and I earnestly search for you.
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Let's let that be our prayer song. God, we earnestly search for you today. Alright. Let's sing that again. Got them.
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Announcements this morning. One of em is the patriotic color runs coming up on June 30. June 30 is going to be a Young Life sponsored event for this color run, patriotic, dressed in red, white, and blue, come out and run. 10:07AM, June 30 at the high school Stadium. Right now, media.
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Last week, I mentioned this. I'm going try to mention it for a few more weeks. Right now, media is kind of like the Christian version of Netflix. Whether you're visiting today or you are a member and a regular attender here, if you will, let me know. We have several administrators here but if you'll let me know that you would like to be hooked up with this right now media, you can be.
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Just let me know. Send me your Email address and tell me and I'll hook you up so that you can get this for free. It's really, really good. Lots and lots of Bible studies but if you want to know about it, just Email the church office or Email me and we'll get you on Right Now Media. Connect our coordinator.
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So, Nancy Terasiano, are you in this room? She's not in this room but she's in this building somewhere. Nancy has been our connect, our coordinator for quite some time. The last two, three years almost and it could be you. She has moved down to Alpine and she says, I'm going to keep on helping out for the next few weeks but we need to replace her.
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So, if you feel like your gifting is one of hospitality or serving, please let us know if you would like to do this connect hour coordinate position. That doesn't mean you do it every week. It just means you coordinate who will be doing it each week. Are you are you with me? You understand?
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Okay, very good. And that being said, connect hour today down the hall. We have doubled up on the food. It's Father's Day. Go pig out, alright?
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Go down the hall. Follow down right after it's over. Walk down that bright hallway and coffee and donuts and all to your heart's content, alright? Connect hours happen in between services at 10:00 ish. Vacation, Bible School, Rolling River Rampage.
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I know in the past, we have gone overboard with decoration but digging the rolling river right in front of the church. Seems like that was a little much to me. It's but we wanted you to know, this is happening, okay? This is happening twenty fifth through the twenty seventh. Vacation Bible School.
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We're routing Flat Creek around through town and just right down here. No, Vacation Bible School is happening nine to noon, twenty fifth through the twenty seventh. So, Liz Owings is the contact person to talk to. If you want to volunteer, you can still do that. If you want to sign kids up, you can still do that.
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Thank you very much. Decorating next Saturday. What time? It's in the bulletin. Alright, I don't have a bulletin.
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09:00, you said? 09:00. That's what it says. Alright, look at this. Table for 26, please.
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Jesus says, to the maitre d and he says, but there are only 13 of you and Jesus says, yes but we're all going to sit on the same side. Happy Father's Day. That's the that's the dad joke of the morning. There might be others. I like that one though.
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Happy Father's Day. We are very very thankful Thankful for our dads, for our fathers. Pascal gave me this coat if she's watching on Facebook. Thank you. I think that's it.
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Is there anything else that I'm forgetting? Major announcements that I'm not thinking about. Okay. Alright. Well, would y'all stand and greet one another?
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I apologize to the introverts.
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Alright. Higher than.
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And on and on it goes. On and on and on it goes. And overwhelms and satisfies my soul. And I never ever have never fails and
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me. Your love never fails and never up, never runs out on me. Your love never fails and never
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gives gives up. Up, never Never runs runs out out on me. Your love.
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I'll say, give thanks to the Lord.
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Let's pray together. God, this holds so true. Your faithful love endures forever. That's why we sing this song to you. And God, by your grace, really, and it's truly by your grace, your unmerited favor that we can carry on.
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We come across a lot of roadblocks and and things in life. But God, thank you for your grace that moves us on through. Thank you God for being our our healer, our redeemer, our savior, our God. Thank you that your faithful love endures forever. Thank you God that you have overcome through your perfect life, your sacrificial death, through your amazing and powerful resurrection.
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That's what makes you legitimate. That's what makes you worthy of praise. That's why we're staying here, today. It is because of your life and your resurrection from the dead. That's why we're here.
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That's why we can continue to sing praises to your name. That's why we say that you are faithful and that your loving, faithfulness endures forever. It is because you are a conqueror. You have conquered death, hell, and the grave for us in love, and so we sing to you. You can be seated, the frontline team has has, come forward here to so we can participate here in the worship through giving, and I'd like to to pray and and give thanks.
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God, I do give you thanks again for your perfect life, your sacrificial death, your resurrection, your power that lives in us. You say in in first John four four, the one who is in you, in us, is greater than the one who is in the world. Thank you, God, for thank you, God, for being so powerful. Thank you, God, for being kind and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. Thank you, God, for every gift that you give.
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Thank you, God, for the gift of one another. Would you help us and remind us, Lord, to take care of one another? Don't let us stand in in people's way to you, but rather would you allow us, God, to be an arrow pointing upward toward you? And would you use these gifts to to do that as well? But, Lord, they come out of a a place of of love, of compassion, of mercy just like you had, and that is available to us.
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Your Holy Spirit, you give those things to us so that we can then comfort others. So would you help us? Would you help us to do that? Use these gifts to build up your kingdom because, really, that's what we're after here. Not just building up this little one here, but building up your kingdom.
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In Jesus' name, amen.
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Thank you, Judy and Susie. Teach and urge these things. First Timothy six two. Those are young ladies. There's a Bible study going on for the middle school and high school girls and they're heading out of here.
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There are a bunch of em too. That's great. Teach and urge these things is the way this starts off. Now, last week, we got up to first Timothy six two and I just finished out what I think is a paragraph and then it starts off with this, teach and urge these things. This is the way this starts off.
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It's kind of hard to start off with. Okay, teach that. What? You know, what is it that we're talking about? So, I actually went back through, we're in the sixth chapter of first Timothy.
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We've been going through chronologically the epistles in the order that they were written and Paul writing to what he called Timothy, his true son in the faith. So, in that sense, this is a father's advice to his true son in the faith but he says, teach and urge these things. He said something like this a bunch of times since we started. So, we're in the sixth chapter of this book and I went back and thought, I'm going to take out all of the imperatives that Timothy has been instructed to do since the beginning of just this book and here they are. Okay?
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That's the and that's double spaced but those are the instructions that he has given so far and was he talking about just that last paragraph that we studied? No. I don't think so. He repeatedly says, teach and urge these things. Practice these things.
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In fact, let me go back through and say, I'm not going to hit every single one of em but just listen, this is some of the instruction that Paul is sharing with Timothy. Fight the good fight. You're in this for the gospel. It's worth it to stay in it. Although you might want to turn back.
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Although you might want to do anything but stand against the heresy that's being preached. Although you might want to do anything but stand in front of people and talk. Publicly read scripture. He says, fight the good fight. Keep faith and a good conscience.
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Some have rejected that and they've suffered a shipwreck in regard to their faith. I urge that in treaties, prayers, petitions, and Thanksgivings be made for all men. The gospel and its scope is always in view with Paul. I urge that in treaties and prayers, petitions, and Thanksgivings be made for all men. I want for folks to in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without wrath and dissension.
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Don't fight with one another. Fight the good fight for unity. Stay in it. An overseer, he got, he has a bunch of em about overseers and it doesn't work exactly the same way in English because we don't usually say third person command but they do that in Greek and so an overseer, these are commands for the overseers but it's also that Timothy is being put in charge. He said, an overseer must be above reproach.
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So, it's a command to overseers or elders to be above reproach but it's a command to Timothy to make sure that that's happening. Does that make sense? Be above reproach, husband and one wife, practice fidelity, overseer, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted, not contentious, gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He mentions outright and we're going to get into some of that today. Manages his own household well.
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Fathers, overseer must keep his children under control with dignity, with dignity. Not an iron fist. Deacons, men of dignity, double tongue, not double tongue, sorry. Not addicted not fond of sordid gain, not greedy, but holding to the mystery of faith with a clear conscience. Deacons need to be good managers of their children and households as well and then specifically to Timothy, have nothing to do with old worldly fables.
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Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. Train yourself. Exercise godliness. Prescribe and teach these things. There's another one.
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Teach and urge these things. Prescribe and teach these things. In speech, Timothy, let yourself be an example to those who believe in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity, be an example. Give attention to the public reading of scripture. Give attention to exhortation.
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Give attention to teaching. Don't neglect the spiritual spiritual gift that you have. Take pains with these things. Be absorbed with them so that your progress will be evident. Pay close attention to yourself, your conduct.
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Pay close attention to your teaching, your content. See this? This is just walking through. It's it's one after another imperatives. These are the pastoral epistles.
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So, you don't hear these preached very often. Actually, unless somebody's installing a new elder or a new pastor, you hardly ever hear anything from first Timothy. Do y'all? I know I've been looking up sermons online. There are whole lot less on first Timothy than there are in other books.
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Pay close attention to your teaching content, your self conduct. Persevere in these things. Be a family. Don't sharply rebuke an older man. Have respect for your elders.
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Appeal to that older man as a father, younger men, as brothers, older women, as mothers, and younger women, as sisters, in all purity. Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor especially those who preach and teach. Maintain these principles without any bias. Those who do continue in sin, you do have to rebuke. Church discipline is in there.
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Don't lay hands on anyone too hastily in ordination and thereby share in responsibility for the sins of others. Keep yourself free from sin. It comes back to conduct. Over and over and over, he says that. We're getting real close to teach and urge these things, okay?
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It talks about your relationship with your earthly masters and then how that should be. Whether they are believers or unbelievers, your conduct should be as if unto the Lord because you don't ruin the reputation of Christ if you do everything as if unto the Lord and then he says, teach and preach these things. This is or teach and urge these things. That's the beginning right there. It's a lot.
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It's a lot and he's saying, stick with this. It really does work. Don't go after new and different novel, anything. Methods are many, principles are few, methods always change, principles never do. He's saying, stick with these things, okay?
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It makes me think of the great commission because I'm a baptist preacher. I'm thinking of the great commission all the time, right? Jesus says, go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the Holy Spirit and if I were to ask you, what does it say? What are the verbs in this great commission? Most of you would say, go, baptize, and teach, right?
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Make disciples. Go. Make disciples. Baptize and teach. That's normal.
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Go therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptize in the name of the father and the son, the Holy Spirit, teaching them, teaching them is great. That's wonderful. I got this text yesterday at 08:52AM from a friend of mine who shall remain anonymous. So, my son got an A in Bible for the year and an F in conduct. He goes to a Christian school, church school back in back in the Southeast.
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So, my son got an A in Bible for the year and an F in conduct. How can you do that? Knowing it is not the same thing as applying it. He may have started in the Old Testament. I don't know.
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This is one of my favorite little pieces of art. It says so much at one time. Do you remember from Pilgrim's Progress? The main character Christian on his journey is going along and all of a sudden, he gets waylaid just smacked hard and as he's down trying to get up, he gets smacked again and then, he is gathered up in the arms and he's like, confused and what just happened? This is paraphrasing bunion by the way but what just happened?
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Oh, that guy that hit you was Moses. That's the law. Nobody survives it. Everybody gets hit. Does that make sense?
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We all have sinned. He smacked you and he smacked you good but here I am. Old covenant smacks you down. New covenant lifts you up. For those who trust in Jesus, there is respite.
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There's rest. There's comfort. There's peace but that's Jesus holding Christian and Moses is going to hit him again. The teaching them is not just teaching them Bible. It's not just teaching them and pounding the pulpit.
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It's teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you. A new commandment I give to you not as the world gives but I give you a new commandment that you should love one another just as I have loved you. That's Jesus's commandment. Teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you and behold, I'm with you always even to the end of the age. That reminds me of Teach and urge these things.
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He's saying, teach the content. The content must be there. You cannot not have content but the conduct also has to be there. How did Jesus act and how did that line up with his words perfectly? So, we are seeking to be holy as he is holy and here we go.
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Teach and urge these things. If anyone teaches a different doctrine, what does he say in Galatians? If anybody teaches to you a different gospel, let him be anathema. Even if it's me, even if it's Timothy, it was Paul and Timothy who are writing that, Even if it's us, if anyone teaches a different gospel, let him be anathema. He's outside of God's will because the gospel is the gospel.
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Don't ever seek to change it. The message of the cross is that Jesus lived a perfect life. He died a perfect and sacrificial death for all who would believe, put their trust in him. He'll save him. If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he's puffed up.
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He's puffed up with conceit. He thinks he's figured it out. He thinks he's got a new, different way and this is a better thing. That guy is puffed up with conceit and he understands nothing, Paul says. That's pretty sharp words.
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He has an unhealthy craving for controversy. Oh my goodness, in our time, in our day, does, can you think of anybody that has an unhealthy craving for controversy? It's hard to think of anybody who doesn't. Unhealthy controversy is around us all the time. An unhealthy craving for controversy.
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And for quarrels about words. Both sides trying to interpret what they see in whether it's scripture or the constitution or anything. Both sides are trying to interpret it to their favor all the time. Quarrels about words. And they produce envy and dissension and slander.
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Envy is jealousy, right? Descension is when you're just against one another and we get a polarization. Have you seen that happen? Yeah. Slander, when you speak evil of the other, throwing grenades about the other side.
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Evil suspicions, constantly questioning the motives of the other. And constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth. I know he wrote this in about sixty four AD but it sounds really really current, doesn't it? Relevant? Imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
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So, how often does the prosperity gospel come up from up here? Pretty often and what I say every time, the prosperity gospel is hogwash, exactly. Totally hogwash. Imagining that godliness is a means of gain. I am not saying that God does not want to bless.
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He does. I'm saying, you have not figured out the process by which God must bless you. Does that make sense? You can't twist God's arm. He does want good gifts to be given to his children.
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He wants his will to be done. His glory is important to him but it's also important to those who believe in him. Imagine that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain, Paul says. Godliness with contentment is actually great gain.
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That's what he's urging Timothy towards. For we brought nothing into this world and we cannot take anything out of the world. All the way back to Job, the earliest Bible book written. We brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out. But if we have food and clothing with these, we'll be content.
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Paul's writing to Timothy and those who would listen to Timothy, to the public reading of this letter. So, let's rewind just a second. Rewind. Yep. There we go.
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Imagining that godliness is a means of gain. So, godliness being a means of gain is to say, you put on a good show so that you can receive. Have we seen any, I don't know, body on television or radio or through books that are putting on a show of godliness and they are making a met. Paul Yeah. Is saying, those are the ones who quarrel over words and struggle with each other and create envy and dissensions and they separate.
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Imagining that godliness is a means of gain but godliness with contentment is great gain. Does that make sense to you? He's saying, teach and urge these things. Live in these things. Practice these things.
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Impress them. Abide in these truths. Honor widows. Honor elders. Honor as a father, mother.
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Be a family. Godliness with contentment is great gain. Accepting God's instruction obediently, seeking to live your life conduct wise in accordance with what he has said, continues to say through his word and through his spirit. Godliness with contentment is great gain. Amen.
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Amen to that. If we have food or clothing, with these, we'll be content. Right here, I put, do y'all know what Maslow's hierarchy of needs is? Anybody know what that is? So, I had a slide in there and I just couldn't play it.
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I just took it out a few minutes ago. The the hierarchy of needs is this physical stuff has to be dealt with first and then this and then this and Paul, in a way, he's tipping the hat to that. He's saying, yeah, food and clothing are necessary. Standing up naked in front of a group of people is going to get a lot of attention but maybe they're not going to listen to you. You know, not eating eventually causes death.
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Now, he does say fast in different places and Jesus fasted, Paul fast, fast, fasted. If we have food and with clothing, with these will be content. He goes on to talk about riches. Those who desire to be rich like that's in their heart. Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation.
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Now, I have a question for you. Is it a sin to be tempted? Okay. That's good. I'm glad that you all know that.
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It is not a sin to be tempted. How do we know that? We know Jesus is sinless, was with no, he had no sin, and that in all the ways that we're tempted, he was tempted. Yet, he was without sin. We know that.
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Cardinal rule right there. No doubt about it. It's not a sin to be tempted. Now, I've got a little wisdom from my grandmother on this. So, it is not a sin to be tempted.
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My grandmother used to say this fairly regularly. You can't stop a bird from flying over your head but you can keep it from building a nest in your hair. If you entertain a temptation, you will eventually succumb to temptation and that bird will be in your hair, alright? Would y'all pray for my grandmother by the way? Not because of this.
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She's 87 and she is starting to she's starting to fade and I know that there are a lot of y'all in that situation but I've heard from two or three different family members this week that my grandmother's starting to fade and I'm flooded with all of these kind of memories. You know, she is a widow. She's over 60. She's hospitable. She's done all those things that we talked about two weeks ago and she fills our heads with knowledge, not our hairs with birds.
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But she is starting to fade. So, those who desire to be rich fall into a temptation, fall into temptation, and into a snare. So, it's a trap. It's a trap that set beforehand. It looks so good like when you say for richer or poorer in a wedding ceremony as the pastor, you know they're going to go through poorer.
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And everybody wants to get the chance to see what it's like to go through richer Those who desire to be rich fall into a temptation, into a snare. It is a trap that has been set into many senseless and harmful desires. He's saying that the things that you need, food, clothing, shelter, air, water, whatever. All of those things, yes, they're necessary but some of the stuff that we long for and look for fall into this category of senseless and harmful desires. Jesus said it was harder for the rich man, right?
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That plunge people into ruin and destruction. There are temptations that exist for how to make money faster, better, bigger piles of money. And the temptation is there. And it just plunges people into ruin and destruction. And apparently, in Ephesus, that was a big problem.
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He talks a lot about rich and poor and how they get along. He does not want for Timothy to go that route and he does not want for anybody who's listening to Timothy to go that route either but he knows some already have. He says, for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. It is not the root of all evil. You've heard that a lot.
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Money is the root of all evil. It's not. No, no, no. The love of money. Given money undo place in our lives.
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God is to be first if we put money first. It is a root of all kinds of evil. It's not the root of all evil. Evil is evil. The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.
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He's already said this, both to the overseers in early chapter three and then to the deacons, not greedy for dishonest gain. It's alright. Certainly, it's alright when you're working for your earthly master to do a good job and expect fair pay. That's great. It's when you're going through all these get rich quick schemes trying to figure it out and you're dishonestly taking kickbacks and that sort of thing.
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He's saying for the deacons here, they must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. They don't need that sort of stuff interrupting their relationship with God and it's through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith. He mentioned two at the beginning. Alexander and Hymenaeus, he just mentions them, calls their name. First of all, he says, certain persons, then he says, certain persons, then he says, false teachers, and they were teaching this doctrine of money, money, money, money, alright?
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It's through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith. We're going to pass the plates again. I'm just just kidding. Sorry. Sorry.
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And they have pierced themselves with many pangs. It hurts Paul's heart that people can't get out of their own way. Does that make sense? They've pierced themselves with many pangs by not putting God first. Trusting him and trusting his way when he says to be kind and honoring to the poor, to take care of your family.
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All of those things that he said, fighting the good fight and looking forward to the advance of the gospel. Saying, by not doing that, by turning your attention away from that and focusing on money, you pierce yourself with many pangs and that's the end of the text for today. I think that's the last slide. I should've gone further, shouldn't I? I wanted it to land.
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It really still does matter. Everything in the first part of that looked like today. The polarity, the sides, the envy, the dissension, all of that sort of stuff. It gets back to the love of money being the root of all kinds of evil. So, I talked to somebody earlier in the week and they said that, you know, A in Bible, Hef and Conduct.
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Knowing it and feeling like we ought to do something but we ought to just let the rich folks do that. Does that make sense? The statistic did you have it exactly, Nick? So $32,400 is the level at which 99% of the people in the world live at less than that, right? And 1% live above that.
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So, we are so used to hearing in our society. All the one percent, the 1%, the 1% and in Jackson, we got a lot of one percenters here in the way that we constantly think about it but if we adjust our thinking about it and go, the gospel is a worldwide gospel. Christianity and the the promise of the message of the cross is for every person on this planet. Go you therefore into all the world, right? We are the one percenters.
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Almost all of, not everyone of us in this room but almost all of us are and so how we use our resources according to Jesus is really, really, really important because where your treasure is, there where your heartbeat also. If you're after the reckless pursuit of money, you're going to fall into the snare, into the temptation. Anybody have anything to add? I think that's it. The next paragraph says, oh man of God, flee these things.
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I could've gone to there and just run out of the room. Flee these things, oh man of God. Pursue righteousness, pursue godliness, pursue faith, pursue love, pursue perseverance, pursue gentleness, and fight the good fight of faith. Lord Jesus, it is not by sight but by faith that we want to live. Would you help us with that with all of our cultural conditioning, lord?
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It is countercultural to the gospel. It's countercultural to what you teach and preach. Certainly, I'm not bashing. You said it's hard for rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven but you didn't say it was impossible. You said, immediately next, you said, but with God, all things are possible.
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But God, I pray that you would guard our hearts against the prevailing notions of our day, that you'd give us a way to articulate the way that we do, what we do, and why we do it and would you have Christ Jesus in the center of that? Would you allow us lord to get an A in conduct even if we struggle with Bible? Enrich our lives lord with your words. In Jesus name, amen. Would you all stand?
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Join in with us as we sing this final song.
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Let's sing one more song together and from Psalm thirty three four, it says, for the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything that he does.
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Your words above all of the voices above all the distractions in this world. Let's sing that again. Let me hear your words above all. Every year your words above all other voices, above all the distractions in this world. For your words bring life.
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For your words bring light and your voice speaks promises.
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Lord, your love offers more
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content with food and clothing. Think about this one. So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God from first Corinthians 10. In Jesus name, I ask that he would bless each and everyone of us this week to share his words with the way we live our life and the way we use our mouth. Amen.
