The Aim of Our Charge Is Love

February 25, 2018 · 1 Timothy

Series · 1 Timothy · Week 2 of 24

Scripture referenced 5 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

1 Timothy 1:1-7 primary text for the sermon, read and expounded through the message

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ our hope;
2 to Timothy, my true child in faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 As I urged you when I was going into Macedonia, stay at Ephesus that you might command certain men not to teach a different doctrine,
4 and not to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause disputes, rather than God’s stewardship, which is in faith—
5 but the goal of this command is love, out of a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith;
6 from which things some, having missed the mark, have turned away to vain talking;
7 desiring to be teachers of the law, though they understand neither what they say, nor about what they strongly affirm.

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Acts 16

cited to show where Timothy is named as a disciple on Paul's second missionary journey

1 He came to Derbe and Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess who believed; but his father was a Greek.

2 The brothers who were at Lystra and Iconium gave a good testimony about him.

3 Paul wanted to have him go out with him, and he took and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts; for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered the decrees to them to keep which had been ordained by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem.

5 So the assemblies were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.

6 When they had gone through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.

7 When they had come opposite Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit didn’t allow them.

8 Passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.

9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night. There was a man of Macedonia standing, begging him, and saying, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.”

10 When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go out to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the Good News to them.

11 Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the day following to Neapolis;

12 and from there to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the foremost of the district, a Roman colony. We were staying some days in this city.

13 On the Sabbath day we went outside of the city by a riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down, and spoke to the women who had come together.

14 A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul.

15 When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and stay.” So she persuaded us.

16 As we were going to prayer, a certain girl having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by fortune telling.

17 Following Paul and us, she cried out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us a way of salvation!”

18 She was doing this for many days. But Paul, becoming greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” It came out that very hour.

19 But when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.

20 When they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men, being Jews, are agitating our city,

21 and advocate customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.”

22 The multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates tore their clothes from them, and commanded them to be beaten with rods.

23 When they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely,

24 who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks.

25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were loosened.

27 The jailer, being roused out of sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, “Don’t harm yourself, for we are all here!”

29 He called for lights, sprang in, fell down trembling before Paul and Silas,

30 brought them out, and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

32 They spoke the word of the Lord to him, and to all who were in his house.

33 He took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and was immediately baptized, he and all his household.

34 He brought them up into his house, and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, with all his household, having believed in God.

35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying, “Let those men go.”

36 The jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go; now therefore come out, and go in peace.”

37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, without a trial, men who are Romans, and have cast us into prison! Do they now release us secretly? No, most certainly, but let them come themselves and bring us out!”

38 The sergeants reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans,

39 and they came and begged them. When they had brought them out, they asked them to depart from the city.

40 They went out of the prison, and entered into Lydia’s house. When they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them, and departed.

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2 Timothy 1

quoted to show Timothy's sincere faith dwelling first in grandmother Lois and mother Eunice

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus,

2 to Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 I thank God, whom I serve as my forefathers did, with a pure conscience. How unceasing is my memory of you in my petitions, night and day

4 longing to see you, remembering your tears, that I may be filled with joy;

5 having been reminded of the sincere faith that is in you; which lived first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded, in you also.

6 For this cause, I remind you that you should stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

7 For God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.

8 Therefore don’t be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but endure hardship for the Good News according to the power of God,

9 who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before times eternal,

10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the Good News.

11 For this, I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.

12 For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day.

13 Hold the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

14 That good thing which was committed to you, guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

15 This you know, that all who are in Asia turned away from me; of whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.

16 May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain,

17 but when he was in Rome, he sought me diligently, and found me

18 (the Lord grant to him to find the Lord’s mercy in that day); and in how many things he served at Ephesus, you know very well.

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Philippians 2

referenced to show Paul's high trust of Timothy, saying Timothy cared for others more than anyone else

1 If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion,

2 make my joy full, by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind;

3 doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself;

4 each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.

5 Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus,

6 who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,

7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.

8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross.

9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,

11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

13 For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.

14 Do all things without murmurings and disputes,

15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world,

16 holding up the word of life; that I may have something to boast in the day of Christ, that I didn’t run in vain nor labor in vain.

17 Yes, and if I am poured out on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice with you all.

18 In the same way, you also rejoice, and rejoice with me.

19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered up when I know how you are doing.

20 For I have no one else like-minded, who will truly care about you.

21 For they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ.

22 But you know the proof of him, that, as a child serves a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Good News.

23 Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it will go with me.

24 But I trust in the Lord that I myself also will come shortly.

25 But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your apostle and servant of my need;

26 since he longed for you all, and was very troubled, because you had heard that he was sick.

27 For indeed he was sick, nearly to death, but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, that I might not have sorrow on sorrow.

28 I have sent him therefore the more diligently, that, when you see him again, you may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.

29 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy, and hold such in honor,

30 because for the work of Christ he came near to death, risking his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me.

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James 3

cited warning that not many should be teachers because they will face a harsher judgment

1 Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment.

2 For in many things we all stumble. If anyone doesn’t stumble in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also.

3 Indeed, we put bits into the horses’ mouths so that they may obey us, and we guide their whole body.

4 Behold, the ships also, though they are so big and are driven by fierce winds, are yet guided by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot desires.

5 So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest!

6 And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna.

7 For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and sea creature, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind;

8 but nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the image of God.

10 Out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

11 Does a spring send out from the same opening fresh and bitter water?

12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, yield olives, or a vine figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh water.

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his deeds are done in gentleness of wisdom.

14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and don’t lie against the truth.

15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic.

16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition are, there is confusion and every evil deed.

17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

This message opened the series in 1 Timothy, working through the first seven verses. Pastor Blake introduced Timothy as a person before turning to what Paul's opening words ask of him and of the church at Ephesus. The sermon kept returning to a single verse, verse five, as the anchor for everything that follows in the letter.

What was said

Paul opens the letter by identifying himself as an apostle, one sent out by Jesus Christ, and by addressing Timothy as "a true son in the faith." Pastor Blake took time to establish who Timothy actually was before moving into the text. The name Timothy comes from two Greek words meaning to honor and God. His hometown was Lystra, where Paul most likely met him on the first missionary journey. He had a Jewish mother and grandmother, Eunice and Lois, who had shaped his knowledge of the scriptures, and a Greek father who was not a believer.

Paul's greeting to Timothy adds "mercy" to the usual grace and peace, and Pastor Blake noted that this was personal. Grace is God's unmerited favor leaning toward you. Mercy is punishment withheld, which mattered to Paul, who called himself the chief of sinners. Peace comes from God the Father and Jesus Christ the Lord. The way Paul links God and Christ together throughout those opening verses points to what Pastor Blake called a high Christology, placing Christ firmly in his rightful place as God.

Paul then tells Timothy to remain at Ephesus and charge certain persons not to teach a different doctrine. Pastor Blake noted how hard it is, week after week, to keep saying the same thing: that God loves you, that Christ's sacrifice can redeem an unrighteous life, that the gospel is simple enough for a child to understand. The temptation, he said, is always to say something new, but you cannot add a new character to the story that is not in the Bible.

The "certain persons" causing trouble are devoting themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Paul's point, and Pastor Blake's, is that arguing over those things promotes speculation rather than what he calls stewardship from God that is by faith. It is talk that goes nowhere and builds nothing.

Verse five is where Pastor Blake planted the stake for the whole series. The aim of the charge, he said, is love, specifically agape love, complete goodwill and benevolence, wanting the best for the other person. That love issues from three things: a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. He said he intends to return to that verse as a grounding point throughout 1 Timothy, especially when the letter moves into subjects that tend to make people stumble or argue.

The sermon closed by looking at what happens when people swerve from those three things. Swerving from a pure heart is where pride creeps in, the certainty that you are right. Swerving from a good conscience is pressing forward with something you know you should not be pressing forward with. Swerving from sincere faith produces what Pastor Blake called vain discussion, talk that does nothing. The false teachers in Ephesus were desiring to be teachers of the law without understanding what they were saying or the things they were making confident assertions about. He noted that a preacher in his own homiletics class once told him that when someone has a weak point, they pound the pulpit, and that confident assertion is often the tell.

The death of Billy Graham that week gave Pastor Blake a moment to illustrate sincere faith. He mentioned that Doyle Vaughn had called him to share that he came to faith at a Billy Graham crusade, driving across West Texas and New Mexico to get there, and that the faith that started there had been growing ever since. Pastor Blake's observation was that Billy Graham never tired of preaching the same exact message, and that the gospel he preached with slick hair in 1957 was the same gospel preached last week.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

Paul calls Timothy 'a true son in the faith' and connects that title to Timothy's character and the job he is being asked to do. What does it mean to you to have that kind of trust placed in you by someone further along in the faith, and have you experienced that kind of relationship?
Pastor Blake pointed out that it can be tempting to teach something new rather than repeat the same gospel message week after week. Why do you think the simple, unchanged gospel can feel insufficient, and what does it look like in practice to keep coming back to it?

and 3 more questions in the guide

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0:12 Good morning, church. How are we? Good to see everybody. Scouts, good to see you guys and all your families and faces. Yeah.

0:20 Hurrah. How about this? Let's stand up. We'll start singing and and give praises to God. Children of the living God come and sing.

0:35 Sing out thou children of the

2:36 Can I have a seat? I've got a few announcements this morning and... Is this thing on? Can y'all hear me? Okay.

2:43 Announcements this morning. Monday nights at first b. What is the picture today?

2:50 Blake, is that supposed to be me?

2:53 Know well the condition of your flocks and pay attention to your herds, Carl.

2:59 This one... Yes. Know that tomorrow the door is open. You're welcome to come. This one is on the importance of repentance, and it's just for Blake.

3:09 Alright.

3:12 I heard and I'm not sure because I was I was out last week, but I heard that you preached a message on a letting go of the things of this world right before we had a huge yard sale that we were asking for donations. You did. Okay. And the week before, I preached on unity right before a congregational vote. We we also need repentance.

3:37 What's the sermon this week? That's a good one. We're going to go to the book of first Timothy this week. Get back to it. Awana is happening tomorrow night in this room.

3:45 Big kids club, poor inscription to the hearts and minds of kids, games, council time. It's a good time. Awana is happening at the same time as Monday night. Youth group is happening on Tuesday night from 06:30 to eight. That's middle school and high school.

3:59 Youth group. We've got, this is Boy Scout Sunday. Can you see it? It's right there.

4:04 Woo hoo. They

4:08 are here during the night and they're cooking breakfast at and it should be ready by ten. So they're working on that down the hall right now in the new kitchen and so they were helpful with actually establishing that kitchen. The boy boy scouts are here every week and they have been meeting in this church. I think it's eighty five years. For eighty five years.

4:27 Yeah. That precedes this building and the building before this building and the building before that. So thank you all for doing what you do and always being steady and being here. Tuesdays, the Boy Scouts are here and they're on call pretty much anytime that we need them and thank you very much for that. They're down the hall, 10:00, go have breakfast.

4:50 Pancakes and what else? Bacon. Alright. Fantastic. That's right.

4:56 Guatemala. Guatemala is the mission trip is happening. We are gathering there on Easter night, gathering in Guatemala City to head out the next day to go do a mission in Zacapa, Guatemala. We did a yard sale here this week and yard sale is primarily a fundraiser for that and it went really well. I don't know exactly how well.

5:17 I'll tell you when I do know And there are a couple things. This is a Mangelson photograph that's hanging down on the other end of the hall. When you're going to grab your bacon and pancakes, there's a Mangelson photograph that's still up for raffle. We started the raffle yesterday. We're continuing it through today.

5:33 I don't know all the exact rules, but it's $20 a ticket if you want a chance at a Mangleston photograph, and this snowmobile that you walked past to get in here this morning is also being raffled off if you'd like a chance at that snowmobile. We're raffling that off too. I think today's the last day. If you want to do that, it's 20. Okay.

5:50 I think that's it. There's a spaghetti dinner. We are in a compressed time frame for raising funds for Guatemala. Can you tell? Spaghetti dinner, Friday, March 16.

6:00 We have an abundance of relationship oriented people but I tell you what, last Tuesday, this was an empty room. It's just a Nawana game circle and then, it went on Wednesday and Thursday to be in a full blown thrift shop. Really? It was amazing. There was not a space in here that was not covered by something for sale.

6:20 Donations that y'all donated and a lot of other people too and it was fantastic, and then after it was over, it cleared out of here. That is a team building experience like you wouldn't believe, but the goers were here, the senders were here, and it was fantastic. Spaghetti dinners happened on March 16 at 06:30. I don't know any more about it than that. Baby bottle campaigns going on for Turning Point and I think that any other announcements should be in the bulletin.

6:48 Prayer request, you can check for that sort of thing. Did I forget something? There's one thing. Steve, would you stand up? I just heard this.

6:55 Okay. I'm supposed to use this because people on Facebook get mad at Ray if we don't use it on the phone. Weekend was the high school Nordic state championship in Laramie, and our girls won state. And it was a rough... Yesterday, 10 k was the final day at the parking lot.

7:18 It was blowing 30 to 40 miles an hour, so it was a rough day, but, they did well, and, we had two on that team, Dory, Sinclair, and Eileen. And, so they raced well yesterday, and and Eileen finished and did it was great.

7:37 10 K near Happy Jack Pass. Yeah. Yeah. Amen. Thank you very much, Steve.

7:41 Don't forget about the Boy Scout Breakfast but would you stand up and greet somebody and we'll bring you back together with a song. Is this too loud for you?

8:21 Alright. Here in this morning, we're here in sworn weary land, many a dream has died. Like a tree, like a tree planted by the water, never will run dry. So living water, night, shine like the sun made darkness run-in high. We know we were made.

9:19 We know we were made Amen.

11:09 Alright. Let's sing. There's a reason.

11:11 And there's a reason why the curse of sin is broken. There's a reason why the darkness runs from light. There's a reason why we stand here now forgiven. Jesus is alive. And there's a reason why we are not overtaken.

11:44 There's a reason why we're singing through the night. There's a reason There's a reason why the dead may arise. There's a reason why we share his resurrection. Jesus is alive. Amen.

12:52 Praise the king. Praise the king. He is risen. Praise the God, that's why we

14:58 sing to you because you indeed are alive and you're well, and you're alive at work in the church, and I thank

15:04 you for that. And I I thank you for each person here.

15:06 I do pray that you'd be speaking to us through your word, through song. God, through your Holy Spirit because you are indeed alive and and that's how you are at work in the world, through your spirit, through your word, through the church here as as believers. So God, would you continue to strengthen and encourage this church that that the people around us could truly see that you are alive and that you're well and that you give hope you give hope to those who who truly need it most. And, God, we do. We truly need your hope.

15:46 And I pray that as we take in the scripture that we would... We truly would hear your words above all the the noise in our life. Don't don't let us crowd out what you've got

15:59 to say to us. In Jesus name. Alright, let's sing. Let me hear. Let me hear your word above all of our voices above all the the in this world.

17:38 Listen, your words give life. Your words give life that's never ending your your words more than ours, more than ever. Let us share your love with Let's sing that verse again. Let us speak your words. Let us speak your words more than ours, more than ever.

19:14 Will wither and the flowers will fall, but the word of our God will last forever. Your words

20:22 You can be seated and the frontline team is up here, and they're going to pass plates here. And we're at this part of the the service, the worship through giving. And I know some give online, and some like to throw checks or cash in there. And some are visiting for the first time, and I just want you to know if you're visiting for the first time, please don't feel pressured to give. We're just happy to have you here as a guest.

20:48 And and, so with that being said, I'd like to to give thanks and and pray. God, as we just saying, thank you, God, for your word that it gives life. It breathes life into us, God. Alongside with your spirit, as we take in your word, your spirit helps it come to life as we understand it. And I pray, that that just would be more of that, that we would see how powerful, and how true your your word truly is.

21:19 Thank you, God, for every gift that you have given. Anything that's good, it it it comes from you. And so, yeah, let us take a moment just to to pause and acknowledge you for for who you are, for what you've given, that we are where we are today, simply because of of your grace and and your mercy. And so I pray that, these gifts would, be pleasing to you, that they'd be given with a... With an open hand and a grateful heart.

21:49 And I thank you, God, for just how you have supplied. This this weekend was a great example of that. And I pray that you would use these gifts, God, to build up people, to build up your church and to glorify yourself. In Jesus' name.

24:04 For for all that you've done. Let's sing this together. We love you. Know how we love you. You are the one

27:09 Amen. Thank you, folks. It's mighty quiet in here this morning. Excellent. Children are dismissed right now to go down to children's church.

27:20 If you want to, they're welcome to stay if you'd like to. We are up to new book in scripture. So, the last time that I preached was two weeks ago and we went through the very end of Philippians and we're up to first Timothy and we're going to go through the first seven verses today. So, first Timothy, I mentioned one and two last time. Just mention it in at the very end of the sermon but we're going to get to know Timothy and do a little bit introductory matters this morning.

27:53 Starts off like this, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ and apostle means one who is sent out like a missionary, someone who has a mission and Christ Jesus met Paul on his way to Damascus. Paul's on his way to Damascus and he met Jesus whereas he was going to Damascus to persecute the church and persecute Christians. When he met Jesus, his whole life changed and Jesus said, you are going to be my messenger to the Gentiles. So, Paul, an apostle, one who is sent out by Jesus Christ by the commandment of God, our savior, and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope. He says, God our savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope.

28:33 He's putting those two right together. He's connecting them together with an and and he is linking them together. It's obvious when he says, hey, wait a second. They're still dismissed. You trying to run some more kids out of here?

28:49 There's no man with red pants in the back either. Let's just keep going through these slides. Here we go. So, God our savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope, our savior and our hope and the way that he links em together, he's pointing towards the absolute divinity of Christ. He says, first of all, he said, who it's from?

29:09 We sign at the bottom but usually in a business letter, you know, you have your name up there too at the top. Let them know who it's from. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, is sending it to Timothy. He calls him a true son in the faith. I think there are several reasons why he calls him a true son.

29:22 He's not his biological son but he's a son in the faith. Paul had made several missionary journeys and on his first one, he went through Timothy's town and when he says a true son in the faith, most people point to the fact that Timothy was converted on Paul's first missionary journey. That's a possibility, a very good possibility but I think that since it's in this book and this book has a lot to do with sound doctrine and scripture really sound doctrine based in your principles on stuff. I think that he's pointing out that he's a true son in the faith. He's given him a stamp of approval or a seal for the job that he's calling him to do.

30:03 To Timothy, a true son in the faith. So, what do we know about Timothy? His name is Timothy. Timothyos, it comes from two Greek words, which means to honor, to value at a price, to lift up, to esteem, to exalt. Actually, not so much exalt, but to say the true value of.

30:24 So I value it at a price. I honor, and then the word God. Now, it is way back a word that was used by heathens and pagans. It was not something that was just Christian. It's a beautiful name.

30:34 You think, oh, yeah, to honor God. That's a wonderful name. I'm naming my next child Timothy and that's good. Christians and Jews took over the name Timothy because it was such a great name. So, to honor, I put small G God but honoring God is what Timothy means.

30:50 So, we know that. What's his hometown? Well, Paul's first missionary journey when he left out Antioch, he'd been hanging out there. It was the first kind of interdenominational, not, that's not the word. It's interracial.

31:02 It was an integrated church. It was a big community of both Jewish background believers and pagan rep background believers in Antioch. Barnabas had been trying to keep them together. He went and he grabbed Paul, brought Paul back up to Antioch. They were there together, and then they decided we need to spread this message under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

31:23 They went off across through Cyprus up to Perga, up to Pisidian Antioch, and then to Iconium coming down, they hit Lystra and Lystra is Timothy's hometown. That's where he's from. For those of you who love maps, you got maps today, alright? First missionary journey, 8046 to '48, that's where he met Timothy most likely. That's what we believe.

31:47 So, that's his hometown. Paul came also to Derby and to Lystra and a disciple was there named Timothy. This is in Acts 16. So, in the first missionary journey, Timothy and his mom and grandma probably too were just facing the crowd not mentioned but on his second missionary journey, he says there was a disciple there, so he had already come to know Jesus and had been learning about the faith before that. So this journey is from '50 to '52, and that's where we meet him by name first.

32:23 What's his family background? Well, the next thing after that, Paul came also to Derby and Lystra. A disciple was there named Timothy, the the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer. So, this is a Jewish background Christian lady but his father was a Greek. So, he was not a Christian, not a believer, not a Christian and I'm reminded of your sincere faith.

32:46 We see in second Timothy. We're not there yet but I'm going to give you a head forward on that. I'm reminded of your sincere faith, the faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and now I'm sure it dwells in you as well. That's about Timothy. He's saying that you had learned about the scriptures, Old Testament scriptures is what Paul was an expert in, right?

33:05 Even before he was met Jesus by Jesus on that road to Damascus. He was a student of the Old Testament scriptures and so having a Jewish mom and grandmom, he knew em. We know that from a couple other books of scripture too. What was his birthday? Anybody know?

33:23 Anybody know? That's ridiculous, right? How about his birth year? Relative. We don't know his birthday.

33:29 I know it's feast day. The Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church and lots of other churches celebrated on January 26. We don't know his birthday, but his approximate birth year was about seventeen AD. Seventeen AD, and how do we get that? He was 80 years old when he was martyred, and we do know specifically he was martyred in ninety seven AD, so about seventeen AD.

33:52 So all of the sermons all my life I've heard about Timothy, it's been about your youth, your youth, your youth. Well at this point, Paul's approaching 60 years old, and Timothy is about fifteen or 16 years younger than him. I'm 46. Who in here is fifteen or 16 years younger than me? Mike, how old are you?

34:11 Yeah, John Micus. No. It's a good gauge right there. Mike, how old are you? 34.

34:18 So a little bit younger than Mike. That's the difference in age between Paul and Timmott. Travelogue So, his travelogue, where had he been? Well, he was we believe brought up in Lystra but when he was invited by Paul to come on that missionary journey, Lois and Eunice, my grandma said, go, I suppose or he said, I'm going one or the other because he took off and he went to Iconium. He went to Antioch, Troas.

34:50 That was where they heard the Macedonian call, right? And they went on across to Neopolis and Philippi. He was there with Paul at Philippi. Went down to Thessalonica, hung back while Paul went forward, went to Berea on down to Athens and Corinth. Missionary journey, eighty fifty to fifty two.

35:12 And then the return trip back through Ephesus and that holds some significance. They spent a long time in Ephesus on that trip and Timothy was there. He knew the culture of the place. He had come to know it. They were there for several years, and he saw that the Great Temple Of Diana, or Artemis, this great temple, all the silversmiths were upset with them because it had changed the local economy how the people accepted Christ.

35:41 They changed how they were so radically that the the idol trade took a dip. Back to Caesarea, back to Jerusalem, and then back to Antioch. So he did that trip. Third missionary journey, here he goes again. Antioch, up to Derby, Lystra, back home, probably some home cooking, I would imagine.

36:02 Up to Aconium, Antioch, back to Ephesus, Troas, Neapolis, making the same loop it looks like and then the trip back and he ends back up at Ephesus. Ephesus, Ephesus. We hear it now three times. Here we go. You don't know about.

36:15 What was his occupation? If you look at Timothy to begin with, he was a traveling companion, the apostle Paul for all we know because he says, there was this disciple there. We invited him to go and he came with us. So, that's what we know. Traveling companion of Paul on his missionary journey.

36:31 So, they are spreading the gospel starting first in the synagogues everywhere they go. Student of the scriptures, Timothy, I'm sure is reinforcing the message that Paul is presenting to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles. That's the way they always did it. He did carry letters and he did go places and carry things for Paul. So, he was a courier but what we're going to see and what most people call him is from first Timothy, the next few verses, he is made an overseer with a stamp of approval from the apostle Paul.

37:04 He is the first bishop at Ephesus. If they track back their lineage, that's what it is. So more important than all of those I think is what is his character and his comportment? There are pages and pages and pages read. What do you all know about him?

37:18 Hit me. He was young, that's what most people think of first. Timid, anybody thinking timid? You were too timid to say it? Sorry.

37:30 Character and comportment. I like this little blurb. Hendrickson and Kistemacher is a great commentary, and he says his character... They say his character was a blend of amiability He was likable and he was friendly and he really did care for other people. Amiability and faithfulness Paul trusted him from his writings.

37:51 It looks like he trusted him more than anybody else. Y'all remember Philippians two was just a few weeks back and he said, Timothy is the guy. I don't have anybody else here who cares for other people like Timothy does. Amiability and faithfulness in spite of a natural timidity. He was timid but Paul said, don't let him get on to you because you're younger than them.

38:10 I know they're older than you. I know they're elders. Don't let them scare you. Okay. So, that's that.

38:17 Now, we're going. First Timothy one and two, grace, mercy, and peace. Normal greeting is always grace and peace. This is a very personal thing to a to a man. It does...

38:30 He did mean for this to be read aloud, it does give Timothy kind of a seal of approval like I've said twice already, but he says grace, that is God's unmerited favor. So God is leaning towards you with favor. Grace. Paul always starts with it, doesn't matter which congregation he's writing to, He's always starting with grace. God's unmerited favor is for you.

38:53 God loves you and he wants what's best for you. Mercy. Mercy is though you deserve punishment. May God withhold it. So, says, grace, his unmerited favor towards you, mercy, his punishment held back because to Paul, since he's about to say he's the chief of sinners, knows that we all deserve punishment but he's saying may God's mercy rest on you and peace.

39:21 This time he says from God our father and Jesus Christ our lord. God our savior and the Lord Jesus Christ our hope, he said to begin with, and now he says, God our father, Jesus Christ our Lord. It's a high Christology. He puts Christ in his rightful place as God. He's Lord and hope.

39:47 Hope always in the scriptures is an absolute certainty for that which is in the future. It's not like I hope it'll happen. It is hope that is secure, incorruptible, will not change. Oh, and he's the supplier of grace, mercy, and peace. So that's just the first two introduction verses.

40:04 Next thought section is three through 20. I'm not going go all the way through that today. I'm just going to get up to seven, but I think we want to concentrate our thoughts and minds on something that's really easy to understand. Verse five. Verse five is easy to understand, hard to live out.

40:19 I won't... Like I said, I won't go that far today. I'll get to five. As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remember the map? He goes through Ephesus and then he goes up towards Macedonia and he says, as I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus.

40:35 Hang on there so that you may charge certain persons. Certain persons. Y'all don't think that's funny? I haven't gone far enough yet so that you may charge certain persons. There are some people at Ephesus that are causing trouble.

40:52 It's not everybody. It's not everybody at Ephesus, but there are certain persons that are causing trouble. So that you, Timothy, timid one, amiable one, friendly one, faithful one, Timothy, would you charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine? I think I've mentioned this here before, but I'm gonna mention it again. You know how hard it is to stand up here and say the same thing every single week that God loves you and he is leaning towards you with his grace.

41:22 He's abounding in mercy. He loves you and he wants to transform your life into something good. That's the gospel people. That is it. By the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross, your unrighteous life.

41:39 Can be redeemed and be... You can be given the righteous life of Christ. It'll be credited to your account. So it's tempting to teach a different doctrine. Just from saying the same thing over and over and over again, you just say, I want to say something new.

41:57 You can't add a new character to the Christmas story that's not in the Bible and you can't add anything new. The gospel is the gospel. It's simple enough for a child to understand. Keep saying it and that's what Paul saying to Timothy in this. In fact, let's go on.

42:14 So, that that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine nor to devote themselves to myths, myths. What's a myth? It's a made up story to make a point, right? He's saying scripture is not a myth. Scripture is true.

42:28 Don't devote yourself to myth and don't devote yourself to endless genealogies. Now, genealogies, if you're looking at the the various genealogies in the scriptures, there seem to be contradictions. It's the way that it's counted. And so if you're arguing over, well, I believe the genealogy of blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah and for these points, no. No.

42:49 No. No. And you just go on and on and on, and that's what you're talking about, are you missing the point? According to verse five, he says that these things, myths and endless genealogies promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. He's saying that that is set up against stewardship from God that is by faith.

43:17 And then verse five, he says, the aim of our charge, Timothy and I'm saying it to you. Paul saying it to Timothy saying it to me. The aim of our charge, what we have before us, what we are supposed to be shooting for, our charge, our job basically. The aim of our job is love and it is agape love. Agape love, complete benevolence, goodwill, high esteem.

43:42 It is wanting the best for the other person. It is God's type of love. It's not eros, the physical love. It's not phileos, brotherly love. It is agape love, God's type of love.

43:52 He says the aim of our charge is love, and it is love that issues from or comes out of a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. I'm gonna use this throughout this book to just ground us and bring us back. Okay? There are lots of controversial things in first Timothy, especially among our society. There are lots of things where they can be stumbling blocks for people, where they can cause people to go, I don't believe that.

44:21 I think this. He says over... No, no, no, no, just like the endless genealogies, just like the myths. Okay? The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.

44:37 Now I think all those things are perfectly reasonable and understandable. Do you understand them? Do you catch your heart saying or doing things or your mouth saying because out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. Do you ever say anything that you don't, that you wish you hadn't said? I was going say that you don't mean, but when you say it, you mean it.

44:58 Is that out of a pure heart? If there's corruption and anger and all kinds of ugliness in your heart, then what comes out of your mouth is going to be that. Our aim, our charge is love that issues forth from a pure heart. The gospel that is presented is that God is leaning towards you to save you and transform you. It doesn't stop at salvation.

45:26 Salvation is the place where you have that incorruptible hope that you will have an eternity in heaven, but it's the starting point for your sanctification where he begins to purify your heart. How about a good conscience? Can you sleep at night? I can't sleep at night. Y'all know that about me.

45:49 I'm an insomniac. I dwell on things. I go over and over. Sometimes sometimes I just don't sleep. Sometimes I pray about things.

45:58 A good conscience in this context is doing what you know to be right, what that feels like on the backside of that. Does that make sense? Within your... Whatever the code is, it's internal, I know that, but it is adhering to the code. In all literature back...

46:18 Way back when, not just Christianity, it is an adherence to someone's own code. The gospel is at the root of everything in first Timothy, but the aim of our charge is godly love that issues from a pure heart which God says he will purify. As you yield your will to him, he will purify your heart, and you can go forward with a good conscience. Now I think of AA, I think of NA, I think of lots of other 12 step programs. Those things work because it's really, really hard if you have the weight of everything that you've done to hurt and offend and harm anyone else weighing on your shoulders all the time.

47:03 So the good conscience of from this day forward, today, just today, day by day, today, I did not do the things that harm me or my loved ones. Does that make sense? In the past, yes, I would have done that a different way but right now, praise God. Thank you. By your grace, I have a good conscience.

47:25 I can feel good about the way today went. Pure heart, good conscience, and a sincere faith. Do you think there are religious hucksters? Do you think there were religious hucksters? I'm sure that some of those tinsmiths that were tinking, tinking, tinking, tinking out little statues of Diana when the market fell, do you think they started making crosses?

47:52 I bet they did. I don't know that for sure. Sincere faith is a personal relationship with Jesus and now that I get to that, Billy Graham died this week. How many people did he invite to invite Jesus into their heart? Lots and lots and lots of several y'all actually in this church.

48:16 Doyle Vaughn called me yesterday and he said, I want a chance to give a little word. You can say no. I wouldn't dare. He's not in this service, so I'm gonna tell you. He drove across West Texas, New Mexico, Albuquerque, got to Albuquerque, and went to Billy Graham crusade, and that's where he accepted Jesus.

48:39 And since then, it has been a growing faith, a growing sincere faith. Billy Graham never got tired of preaching the same exact message. It's baffling. If you watch him with slick hair in 1957, you're going to get the same gospel that you got last week. Amy ability, faithfulness, Pure heart, good conscience, and a sincere faith.

49:14 I'm I pray right there that that is what we hit upon, and that's what we link to as we're considering some of these how we do church, men's and women's issues, how should the church be arranged and set up, who's in charge, who gets the final say. As we go through that in our individualistic autonomous culture, this is what I want to come back to. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. So that's where this starts. It goes out.

49:48 Now certain persons, here they are again, certain persons, certain persons by swerving from these, swerving from what? Swerving from these, these are a pure heart. Swerving from their purity of heart. God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. Right?

50:12 Or humble. That's... However some of y'all say it. Grace to the humble. If you have that tinge of pride that I'm right.

50:21 Dunk on it. I'm right. The chances are that you're headed towards pride and your purity of heart is starting to fade. I know that personally. In an argument, I'm right.

50:40 Certain persons by swerving from these, a pure heart, a good conscience, people who can't really look back and say, yeah, I did that. Right. And they stand on, but I did it and doggone it, we're going with it. Okay? And then sincere faith.

50:58 If you swerve from these certain persons, swerve from these, they've wandered away and they've wandered away into vain discussion. Vain discussions means talking that doesn't do anything. Desiring to be teachers of the law. What does James say? James says, Let not many of you be teachers, for you will have a harsher judgment for what you've presented.

51:23 Desiring to be teachers of the law, wanting to set themselves up as teachers, but without understanding either what they are saying. Hold on just a second. Where'd it go? Back again. Desiring to be teachers of law without understanding either what they're saying or the things about which they make confident assertions is what the verse says.

51:49 Not thinking and not understanding what they're saying nor the things about which they make confident assertions and when I see confident assertions, it reminds me of something that my pastor, preacher, and the preaching class I took. He said, this is a common thing that you will see is when someone has a weak point, they will pound the pulpit. Making a confident assertion. This is the way it is. You need to sit.

52:15 When they do that, wait a second. The biblical backing up under that probably is not quite there. They're not understanding the things about which they're making confident assertions on. So the aim of our charge is a love that issues from a pure heart, a good conscience, a sincere faith. Are you with me?

52:36 Yes. Alright. False teachers is what I'm gonna call them instead of certain persons. Okay? When Paul says certain persons, I'll say certain persons, but false teachers are the ones who have swerved from the main thing.

52:50 If you hear somebody that's going on and on and on and on and they built this theological construct that's just like, oh my goodness and it doesn't issue from godly love like this, pure heart, good conscience, sincere faith builds up the messenger rather than the message and the message of the cross. At that, the gospel, then weak point, found pulpit. To Timothy, a true son in the faith. So false teachers, the true son in the faith is the one who's been given charge to oversee what's going on, and it is a position that is brought with peril because he's got a lot of confident people saying things they're absolutely certain of and they're wrong. So that's where we end up right there.

53:40 The aim of our charge is love that issues from pure heart and good conscience to censor faith. For those of you who want to know what next week is going to be about, hey, it's a kiosk construction. Woo hoo. Chiastic construction. All of you theologians out there want to come back, don't you?

53:57 It's going to talk about what Timothy's charge is and that's part of what we've covered today. His what the false teachers are teaching. It's a little vague. It's like listening to one side of a phone conversation when you have a letter from Paul to Timothy and we don't know the exact circumstances. We don't know exactly what he's up against with the false teachers.

54:18 We can infer a lot, but we have to infer it with some humility. We don't know exactly the circumstances. The law has been mishandled by the false teachers, and then Paul goes into the authorized doctrine and the gospel, testimony of faithful teacher, and then he repeats that charge to oppose the false teacher. So that's that. We'll go into that next week.

54:41 But now that you've got your primer, got your pump primed on the first seven verses, we can make it through 17. Can I get the band to come on up? Would you stand with us? We're going to sing a song. I do want to give an invitation.

54:54 It seems like the thing to do. If you have never trusted Jesus before, if you've never trusted a preacher before, actually, I understand you. I get that. Totally. My charge is that that I just mentioned and I'm going to do it based on and grounded in his word because I do believe that his word.

55:21 Everything we sang a little while ago is about God's word enduring forever. If you would like to talk, you don't have to come forward during this song. You don't have to come up here and pray at the altar but if you want to, that's open. If you don't want to, just come see me this week. Would you sing with us?

55:38 Lord, I need you.

56:07 Without you. I fall apart. You're the one that guides my Where sin runs deep, your grace is born. Where grace is found is where you are. And where you are and where you are.

57:08 Lord, I am free. Your holiness is Christ in me. Lord, I need you. Oh, I need you. Yeah.

59:00 Amen. So, the aim of our charge, church, is love, godly love. It issues from a pure heart a good conscience and a sincere faith. I pray, Lord, would you help us this week to walk in holiness, to be called apart from the world, to be a peculiarly godly and holy people that draw and attract and are winsome to the gospel, undiluted and pure, the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. In Jesus name, amen.

59:33 Amen. Don't forget the Boy Scouts are cooking down the hall.

59:51 Hi.

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