Ron Gannon - Be a Good Soldier to Christ Jesus

[0:00] Well, we got us a rainy day out there, but it's very nice in here, right? Okay, well, from looking, I hope we don't have trouble tonight getting a quorum.

[0:13] I don't know if we have one here right now. So that is number one tonight. We do have our annual business meeting tonight. So we really appreciate if everybody would come back for that meeting tonight.

[0:26] And a quorum, we need 25% of the members here at Grace Bible Church. And I think at present we have 89 members, if that's correct.

[0:38] And so we need at least 25% of that, which would be somewhere around 23%, I guess, or 23 people. So keep that in mind.

[0:49] If you see somebody that's not a member or that is a member today, you see them, tell them to please show up tonight. It's an important business meeting. Concerning that, on the back of your bulletin, it has the officers that will be, that's recommended for a new office this year.

[1:07] So if you want to look at those, it would be great. We do have a problem getting a clerk this year. So tonight we will not be having a new clerk voted for for the next year.

[1:22] As a matter of fact, Marla's not here, is she? No. Well, I'll try to get with Marla today, but we can't even find the minutes from last year.

[1:32] So we'll see what happens. If we don't have them, that's okay, too, I guess. So tonight at 6 o'clock, the annual business meeting. Keep that in mind.

[1:46] What else do we have here? Star Shop. Don't forget that. The container for the Star Shop is out there in the hallway, and that's for all kinds of little things that you can get for the young, young children that we support.

[2:05] So keep that in mind between now and a good part of December, and those things will be coming about. Am I missing anything?

[2:17] There's not too many in here. Oh, by the way, another thing we probably should make clear about the business meeting, we have the board recommended these individuals to be board members for the next coming year, but we also tell the congregation that they can elect somebody from the floor, but only if you've contacted those people beforehand.

[2:46] It's not good if we just invite or nominate somebody, and it's a prize to them. So keep that in mind also. Is there anything that I've missed, or is there anything that anybody else wants to offer for announcements?

[3:05] Okay. Keith, if you want to play that special. Thank you. Thank you.

[4:05] Here we go. Well, our voices still work, right? All right. What is it?

[4:16] Number 723. Yep. I'll help you out. All right. We're going to do a duo up here. Thank you.

[5:05] Christ is more than conqueror. Stand then in grace to might with all his strength in doom and take to arm you for the fight the panoply of God.

[5:26] From strength to strength go on and wrestle, fight, and pray. Tread all the powers of darkness down and win the well-fought day.

[5:46] Leave no unguarded place, no weakness of the soul. Take every virtue, every grace, and fortify the whole.

[6:03] That having all things done and all your conflicts past, ye may or come through Christ alone and stand complete at last.

[6:22] Amen. Yep. You got it? Okay. We'll give you one more try, Keith.

[6:34] I've heard theologies And I've heard philosophies People have opinions And their own point of view I've heard preachers preach And I've heard teachers teach But it all comes down to Simple gospel truth I believe the book Every story that I've heard Every line and every word In those sacred pages I believe it's true Written down for me and you And it stood the test of time

[7:38] Through the endless ages And because of all it has done In me I believe the book The skeptic only finds Ancient words from ancient times And they're quick to tell you It's all out of date But I see a timeless truth And my life is living proof Of its power to save And I'm not ashamed to say I believe the book Every story that I've heard Every line and every word

[8:39] In those sacred pages I believe it's true Written down for me and you And it stood the test of time Through the endless ages And because of all it has done In me I believe the book From Genesis to Revelation From beginning to the end From the dawning of creation To the final amen I believe the book I believe the book Every story that I've heard Every line and every word In those sacred pages I believe it's true Written down for me and you

[9:41] And it stood the test of time Through the endless ages And because of all it has done In me I believe the book I believe the book I believe the book I believe the book I believe the book Ball I believe the book I believe the book I believe the book I believe the book I believe the book Bib一点 to learn It's true Barb, thanks Barb, thanks for bringing that song this morning Very, it fits right in with what I want to say this morning It's going to be talking about the word the fact that there was people coming in after the Apostle Paul left these churches and they were bringing in false doctrine.

[10:45] And there's nothing better for us than what this song says. I believe the word. The word of God. He's laid out a pattern for us that we can't go wrong if we follow.

[11:03] Let's open with a word of prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we just thank you this morning for who and for what you are. Father, for the amazing cross or for the amazing grace that you gave us at the cross.

[11:16] We really can't even fathom it. Father, that you would take us sinners and you would just accept us because of what your son did at the cross.

[11:27] And we no longer have that sin, but it's been thrown into the deepest ocean. We thank you for that. We don't deserve it, but you've given it to us through grace and how we appreciate that.

[11:42] So we just pray you'll be with this service this morning and bless it. And Father, we just thank you the country this morning and the things that the turmoil we seem to be going on here this week.

[11:53] With the marches, the riots, wow, all over an election. And we just pray for your will in this whole matter. And Father, also for the virus that seems to be going on and getting worse and worse.

[12:07] And we know that some more restrictions will probably be coming our way. So we just pray for your will in all these matters, Father. And we just thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning and to be with you in your word.

[12:20] Father, we just thank you this morning. We praise you. And we ask it all in our Lord and Savior's name, Jesus the Christ. Amen. Well, this morning I want to talk about Timothy.

[12:35] And we're going to get a little bit about Titus, too, because you really can't talk about Timothy without talking about Titus. Because they all come together. And there's three books written about those two.

[12:46] And that's what we want to talk about this morning. But we've got to do some background for that. Paul wrote these letters to two men that he had trained in the ministry. These letters, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, are called the pastoral epistles.

[13:00] What scripture comes to mind when you think about these letters to Timothy? Well, for me, the first thing that popped in my mind was 2 Timothy 3.16.

[13:11] For all scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. And, of course, that is the key verse that backs up that, 2 Timothy 2.15.

[13:26] Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman. Who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.

[13:37] We're talking about the word here this morning. And to be able to handle it accurately, it takes work. And the main thing about that is the work involves sitting down and reading God's word.

[13:50] And that's what the work is all about. And so neither Timothy or Titus were what we would call today would be pastors. Each was a young leader who traveled to churches in various cities and they handled problems that emerged with special guidance as was needed.

[14:08] We'll see a number of the problems they had to deal with when we look at Paul's letters later on. Problems ranging from selection of local leaders to order in the churches to confronting heresies to maintaining an emphasis on godliness and good works.

[14:26] And we see that that's what these young men did. Paul's final letter to Timothy and Titus contained guidelines for living as God's family in a world that is often an enemy for the Christians here today and their values.

[14:40] These words still apply to us today. We can take these letters and make them our handbook for today. That's what's great. These letters are words of wisdom for our gifted leader.

[14:53] They are words written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. As Paul was nearing the end of his ministry, we see these things that were happening. The first 30 years of the New Testament period had passed now.

[15:07] 30 years had gone by. Jesus was now a part of history. The church had grown and developed after his resurrection. The power of the gospel had brought hope and new life to millions of first century pagans.

[15:21] The church had met opposition and attacked and had affirmed Jesus Christ as the center of its life. The men and the women were the driving force in these early years was Paul, Peter, Barnabas, John, Apollos, Priscilla, and others.

[15:36] And now they were growing old. They were growing old after 30 years. As Paul and others looked ahead to the future, they knew they must commit their ministry to others who would faithfully carry out the work of God.

[15:54] And they were led to leave their last words in letters like Timothy, Titus, Peter, Jude, and John. And that's what these books are about.

[16:05] You know, the apostles were and the leadership was all getting older. The prophecies were decreasing. They're not even coming at all now because these words were given to them and they have been given out to the new Christians.

[16:19] So there was no new prophecy coming along. And as these leaders were getting to the age where they're going to disappear, Paul had the wisdom to write these letters to these men who were going to be going to these churches again and establishing an organizational approach to church.

[16:42] And that was that they would go in and they would tell people how to set up their church, how to elect leaders for their church, which comes in right for tonight.

[16:53] Because tonight we're going to be leading or asking for new leaders to be elected for our church service here. So these are the things that Paul was wanting to get forth when he was writing these letters.

[17:07] The book of Acts closes with Paul imprisonment in Rome. Paul was kept under a very lenient confinement at that point. He had his own rented home and welcomed many visitors. It was during this time that he wrote the prison epistles, Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon.

[17:23] Soon after the accounts of Acts, Paul had the opportunity to appeal to the emperor and he won his release from prison. But since there is no other historical record of Paul after the book of Acts, we cannot be certain of the events leading to the pastoral epistles.

[17:43] But there has been other writings from other authors that shed some light on this subject. And there's other people that are writing that time that don't happen to be in the Bible. But some of this is history.

[17:54] And the fact that Paul got out of prison and he started doing his travels again is it wasn't a fifth missionary or fourth missionary journey. But that's not what it's called.

[18:05] But there is no history of it. But we do know Paul went out and we know from other writers that they mentioned the fact that he went back to Ephesus. He went to some of the other churches that he had had.

[18:18] And as that time was wrapping up, that's when he decided to write these letters. Paul most likely made an intended visit to Spain after his lease. And an early church father, Clement of Rome, reports that Paul went to the extreme limit of the West for several years before he suffered martyrdom.

[18:37] He also must have visited Ephesus and Macedonia. It was after these visits, as he was visiting other churches, that he just must have written 1 Timothy and Titus around A.D. 64.

[18:53] Soon after this series of events happened that unleashed opposition to Christianity throughout the empire, the Roman Empire at that time was ruled by Nero Claudius Caesar.

[19:03] He was very unstable. And in A.D. 64, a fire broke out and nearly destroyed Rome. The rumors circulated that Nero had put this capital to torch because of some glorious building project that he wanted to do.

[19:20] And we know later on that Jerusalem was destroyed. But this is earlier than that. And since Nero was under fire by the Romans, he started looking for a scapegoat and upon whom he could turn the wrath of the people against.

[19:39] And the Christians who were already hated by the Romans were chosen. During the next five years, suppression of Christianity became the official policy of the Roman state. And persecution was intensified.

[19:53] Paul was arrested again and sent to a maximum security prison this time. And at this time, he had no privileges like he had the first time he was in prison.

[20:04] That first time, he actually had his own rented house. And he invited many Christians to come to that house during his stay there. And as we see, he even had some Roman soldiers that became Christians because of his stay there and the opportunity that he had to be able to teach.

[20:23] And what an opportunity he had because even though he was in a rented house, he was still a prisoner. And he was handcuffed or tied to a Roman soldier.

[20:35] And what a way to teach. I mean, if you're sitting with a man 24 hours a day, if that's what it was, the opportunity would definitely be there. And Paul used that opportunity.

[20:46] And we know that some of the Roman soldiers came to Christ because of Paul there in the imprisonment. But during this day, he could not have visitors.

[20:58] And he did not have the leniency that he had the previous time that he was in jail. And in order to gain the best possible understanding of the Pauline epistles, we will do well to consider first the personalities and the characters of Timothy and Titus.

[21:15] And that's the pastoral epistles. From the two letters to Timothy, it is evident that he was cultured and refined, a student of scriptures from his youth. And we see that in the book of Acts.

[21:26] And since I mentioned the book of Acts, I mean, the book of Acts is the key to scripture. Because it takes us from the Gospels all the way through the New Testament.

[21:42] Because what happens there in the book of Acts is a transition period. And we see that for 30 years. Again, we're talking about 30 years. These people were on the scene. And in that time, there was many things that happened that was a progression of the thing that we call the Christian church today.

[22:01] And these are the times that was going on here. And we see here that Timothy was cultured because, as we see in Acts, I think it's Acts 16 maybe, that Paul, when he went there, he found this young man and he took him under his wing.

[22:22] And from that point on, he went with him into the missionary journeys he had. And he went from city to city. And a lot of times when Paul would leave a city, he would go on. But he would leave Timothy there to kind of back up what he was saying and to give more instructions.

[22:38] Or sometime if he heard something that was going on at one of those churches, he would write Timothy and say, Timothy, go back. Go back to Ephesus. Or he'd go to Titus and say, Titus, go back to Corinthius, to Cornuth.

[22:54] And these are the things that these two men were doing. Even evidently he was delicate in health. We see that as we read 2 Timothy. Timothy, we get an insight into his personality and character as the apostles write to him about his childhood.

[23:10] His mother, his mother Lois, his grandmother, and his tears. His grandmother, his tears, his pride's medicine for his oftentimes infirmities. So we know that during this time that Timothy had a lot of problems with health problems.

[23:25] So that's kind of an outline about Timothy. For Titus, it was a very different character. This is evidence from Paul's letter to him, in which he addresses himself as a general in the army, which might address as a lieutenant, directing him to set in order the things that are wanting.

[23:45] He would go back to these cities, and he was not as gentle as Timothy. To exhort, to evince the gainsayers, to rebuke sharply those who lived in sin, and to reject willful heretics.

[23:58] And we can see that in Titus, all of Titus' chapters as we read Titus. Titus was clearly the more robust character.

[24:09] Yet he was not coarse or crude by nature. For on the contrary, he exhibited a remarkable combination of enthusiasm and direction and integrity. While Timothy was sent to Cornuth.

[24:22] That is not correct. Well, yes it is. While Timothy was sent to Cornuth to help the believers on doctrinal issues, Timothy was sent there to deal with them in more practical matters, including the delicate matter of their delinquency in giving.

[24:40] And they had to go back to the town of Cornuth many times. Because as we read the book of Acts, we see that Cornuth had a lot of problems.

[24:52] We get into 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians. And we see the fact that as they believed, they still were falling. And a lot of things that was, they gained insight on, they just left behind.

[25:05] Because of the false teachers that came in. And for the fact that they still had all those longings to be a part of the Jewish congregations. And the things that was going on there.

[25:17] So Paul and Timothy had to go back and correct these people many times. And since they were different from each other, we begin with the following question. What type of a Christian personality do you suppose God can use best in his service?

[25:35] My type? Your type? The bold? The unspoken type? The reserved? The cautious type?

[25:48] Well, I think the answer to that is all of them. All of them. The type that most sincerely desires to be used by God for the area of the Christian service is so wide that there is need for many and varied personalities.

[26:04] Only we must sincerely desire to be used in whatever he wishes to use us for. So all the churches we got out there today, we got all kinds of personalities out there as pastors and as lay people.

[26:21] And the main thing is, no matter what the personality, is our desire to be a leader for Christ. And that's exactly what Paul was doing here as he was writing to Timothy and to Titus.

[26:34] Both of these men of God, whose personalities differed greatly, found great usefulness in the service of Christ. In both of them, too, Paul found support that he greatly needed in his labors and suffering for the Lord Jesus Christ.

[26:50] Finally, both Timothy and Titus were the kind to whom Paul could entrust responsibility in the work of the Lord. They were reliable, and the apostles' confidence in both of them shines forth, not only in his letters to them, but also in his writings that he did to other people.

[27:08] He gave out to other people. The theme of the letters to Timothy is the fighting the good fight and believing in the house of God.

[27:21] And the important subjects that we're going to discuss this morning are law, law, prayer, appearance and activity of women, qualifications for bishops and elders and deacons, the last days, care of widows and the use of money.

[27:39] And when you just stop and think about those issues there, those are issues that we face today, aren't they? So, again, if we sit down and we read Timothy and the first and second Timothy and Titus, we get a good picture of what Christ intended for the church today.

[28:01] And I think we see that. So these are the things that we'll be talking about. Speaking of the fight, living the good fight, let's turn to 1 Timothy chapter 1. And we'll start with verse 3.

[28:24] As I urged you upon my departure from Mesopotamia, remain on at Ephesus, though that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God, which is by faith.

[28:43] But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, staying from these things have turned aside to fruitless discussions.

[28:56] We go up to verse 3. We have already concluded the time frame to be after Paul's release from prison, and he was traveling around to these churches again.

[29:11] So we see that this is 1 Timothy, which is written about A.D. 64. As to false doctrine, Paul had predicted its appearance and his address to the Ephesians' elders before he went to Jerusalem that last time, before he was put into prison, even he was mentioning to the elders about the false teachers and the things that were coming in and the apostasy that was happening.

[29:32] And even though it may not have been happening at full speed at that point, but by the time Timothy was written, it was substantially developed at that point.

[29:43] But indeed, it appears from both epistles to Timothy that he had by now been subjected to much pressure from the heretics at Ephesus and needed considerable exhortation to remain steadfast in the battle for the truth.

[29:58] And these are one of the things that Paul was trying to get to Timothy. Despite Paul's warnings, his prediction had come to pass. Heresy and false doctrine were now widespread at Ephesus and the churches in Asia.

[30:12] Apostasy always begins with a little leaven, which, if not quickly purged out, will soon spread and take control. So we see this is what was happening at the new churches as Paul established them on his missionary journey.

[30:26] And we see that a lot because Paul would leave on his journey. He would go to the next town and he went to the next town. He'd go into the church. He'd start preaching and he'd preach to the Jews first.

[30:39] And if they rejected, then he would go back again to the Gentiles and things were going along real well. And then what would happen when he left? The people from the other town he had just been to come to this town and say, wait a minute.

[30:54] All that stuff Paul was feeding you. Do you think this is true? We need to keep the law. We need to keep the things. It's always been a tradition for the Jewish people. And this is what was happening as these new churches were being developed.

[31:11] And even today, it may be going in on some of our churches today. You know, we may have people in a congregation that stirs up some trouble and say, is this really what the scripture says?

[31:24] Should we really be doing this or should we be doing something else? So these are things that was written to Timothy and to Titus, but they're right in front of us today.

[31:34] We can always keep that in mind. Myths mean fancy stories, tales, fables based on imagination, void of any facts. And that's all we've been hearing here lately about the election, huh?

[31:49] Facts, facts, facts, false truths. But there are facts out there. And we need to keep to the facts. Paul uses this word four times when writing to Timothy and Titus, suggesting this was a characteristic of early apostasy, which is abandonment of the gospel.

[32:10] This was the things that would go on. People would come in and say these things that go against what was happening with the new church. Genealogies. There was a lot of that going up, which put pain to the source of one's origin.

[32:21] And a lot of that was going on. A historical record of descent. That was a very popular thing at that point when Timothy and Titus and them were out on the visionary journeys.

[32:32] And these people would come into the new churches and try to start trouble. Those that Timothy was to correct were teaching myths and endless genealogies rather than dispensation of God in this faith.

[32:47] In other words, they should have been concentrating on their efforts on more on making known the dispensation of God in this church age. And again, we're even doing that today, too.

[33:01] You know, what is the dispensation of the church age? And I think Brother Marv has done an excellent job in his teaching here in the 50 years about the dispensation of the church age and what we should be doing in church age today.

[33:16] And these are the things that Paul wanted to get started with these new churches. And it's taken a long, long time. And again, we're still doing it.

[33:27] So verse 5 says, love from a pure heart. Those who were coming in were apparently putting on a false pretense of love. They'd come in and get in the congregation, make friends, and how you doing?

[33:39] And we need to be doing this. And kind of all of a sudden, they start starting to give sly little remarks to the people they're contacting that they're trying to lead them astray. And that was going on then, as we see today, that's even going on now.

[33:55] So agape love is long-suffering and kind. It is not jealous or boastful. It leads believers to uphold one another and to live for Christ instead of self. So this false love, instead of that, they needed the agape love, which is a complete love, the love that is, well, just not natural for us.

[34:17] All the other type loves become kind of natural for us. But agape love, that's kind of difficult because that's putting other people first in your life.

[34:29] Instead of pointing our finger at us, we need to be our hand out to other people. And this was not happening there either, just like it's not happening today.

[34:42] We're a Southeast-type people. And that really comes out as did back in that church age and it does in this church age today. So agape love, giving that love out to other people.

[34:54] What is it that we call for our own kids? I forget the word. No.

[35:08] Oh, tough love. Tough love. That's part of agape love because you love that person enough not to let them get away with something. And we see that as we're raising our children sometimes.

[35:21] So agape love, that's what the Apostle Paul was trying to get the people in the churches to do. And that's what he wanted Timothy and Titus to do after he left the scene. Verse 6, strained from pure love, good conscience, and relief, real faith, these in Ephesus were missing the mark.

[35:39] They turned away from Paul's gospel and turned unto empty speaking or vain, useless, and trivial speaking. We've seen that as we're going through the book of Acts. So Paul says in verse 18 to close that, Paul comments to Timothy is to fight the good fight.

[35:58] Don't give up. And I think that's a good message for today too. As we see problems in the church, don't give up. Fight the good fight.

[36:08] Fight the good fight. And we have to do that by using God's word the proper way and also showing agape love. Concerning the law.

[36:20] We'll move on to concerning the law now, but down to verse 7. Wanting to be teachers of the law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make certain assertions.

[36:34] But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully. Realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious.

[36:46] For the ungodly and sinners. For the unholy and the profane. For those who kill their fathers or mothers. For murderers and immoral men. And homosexuals and kidnappers.

[36:57] And liars and perjurers. And whatever else is contrary to sound teaching. According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God. With which I have been entrusted.

[37:09] Again there, Paul points out and makes it very clear that these are not his words. These are words that God entrusted him with. And we see that ever since the day Paul accepted Christ there on the Damascus road.

[37:24] That he tried to do what God was wanting him to do. And to be entrusted. God entrusted Paul with his words.

[37:35] And Paul now has given it out. And now he's given it to Timothy and Titus. To give out to the world. Since things have changed and everything's going to change. After the apostle Paul and all the apostles leave.

[37:47] Things will be completely different. So verse 7. Verse 7. We aren't sure exactly what these false teachers are saying.

[37:59] But if they were Jews with a pharisaical bent. They probably were teaching that keeping the Old Testament law. Is a means of salvation. While at the same time they were living in a lidacious or bad manner.

[38:14] They were both teaching these things and constantly affirming false doctrines. They thought they had the truth. With pride and ignorance. These men taught their false teachings. They just came in to the congregation.

[38:28] And started giving all these false things out. The legalists take fleshly pride in his observance of certain rules. Of course when they do this. We need to follow these rules people.

[38:43] But of course he always picks rules that he can follow. It's easy to pick rules that you can follow and say now we need to follow these things. But to take the whole word of God and use that.

[38:56] That's not as easy is it. Because sometimes it's very difficult to completely turn yourself over to doing what God says in his words.

[39:07] And even though we try and try. We still have that old nature in us. And it still keeps creaking in. But these people came in with that in mind. And that's what they did.

[39:17] And they kept telling them. These are the things that we should be doing. But since he operates in the flesh.

[39:29] These are the ones that doing this. He has no power over the indwelling spirit. Since sin is not being dealt with inwardly. Sooner or later he falls in outwardly lawless behavior.

[39:41] So see we see that this is a thing also. If you don't have the right thing in Christ. If you don't have that right spiritual bent. You can preach all you want to preach. You can say here's the rules.

[39:53] This church must do this, this, this, this. But if you aren't following those rules. And if you aren't following God's spirit. Eventually it's going to come out.

[40:06] It just has to. That's just the way human nature is. And it will come out. And that's what we see what's happening during this time. Grace on the other hand. Operates in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

[40:20] Who enables the believer to judge sin. At the thought level. And to be transformed in the inner person. Through the renewing of the mind. Through God's powerful word. The renewing of the mind.

[40:32] And that's what happens when we read God's word. Especially when we take it and reread it. And reread it. Which is something that Marv has always said to do.

[40:42] Don't ever give up on reading scriptures. You say, well I read through the Bible the whole way. I went from Old Testament all the way through the New Testament. Well congratulations. That is good. It is good.

[40:54] But that's not enough. One time of reading scripture. It won't hack it. You got to do more than that. And you don't have to sit down every year.

[41:07] And read through the Bible. But you do need to read the scripture. And a good thing to do. Is make a habit of doing that every day. And if you make that your habit.

[41:20] Habits are habits. And you just do it automatically. You sit down. The first thing you do is. If you do it in the morning. I'm going to read God's word. A few verses. Or maybe a paragraph. Maybe a chapter.

[41:31] And do that on a day to day basis. And that's what. A lot of these people were not doing. Because they would read God's word. They would see it. But then they would turn away from God's word.

[41:43] So we know that grace. Is done through the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit works on us. And when we're reading God's word. That spirit works. And it may not.

[41:54] Correct a bad behavior today. But weeks. Months. Years. Years. He does correct bad behaviors. And that's not because.

[42:05] We say. I'm not going to follow this rule. It's because. In here. Something has changed. And when we change inside here. In our heart. That's when real change takes place.

[42:18] Thus we must be clear on both the improper. And the proper use of God's law. And I think the. The improper use of God's law. Is to try to be saved.

[42:30] By keeping it. And we. We've been told. Time and time again here. That you cannot be saved. By trying to keep the law. For one thing.

[42:42] It's impossible for us to do it. Because we know that we can't do it. On a day to day basis. Continually. So. There's got to be something other than. Keeping God's law.

[42:55] To be saved. I don't know how many people are out there today. That say. Brother are you saved? If that's your conversation. Sometimes you slip it in differently. But. It gets.

[43:06] It gets down to saying. Do you know Jesus Christ. Is your personal savior. And I don't know how many people will say. I hope so. I'm working on it.

[43:17] Well. You got a tough job ahead. Because that's not the way it works. And. Working on that. Trying to be saved.

[43:28] Is just not going to hack it. We need to know the. Truth. That's in the scriptures. That Jesus Christ. Died on that cross. For our sins. Number one. You have to confess the fact.

[43:39] That you are a sinner. And know that. And know that you can't do anything about it. And when you come to that. Realization. That's when you can do business with the Lord.

[43:50] So Paul doesn't. Specifically address this improper use here. But this. Was the entire thrust of his life. Of his life. Before he was converted. The improper use.

[44:03] Who was the apostle Paul? He was a Pharisee. He was also. A Jew. And. You see there.

[44:14] In the book of Acts. And Stephen. Was stoned. He was the first to step up. And say. I'll throw. I'll be there. I'll hold your clothes. While you stone this man. I believe exactly.

[44:25] What you're saying about this man. And he said. Now. To even make that point more clear. Sign a letter. And I will go out. And bring all these people back.

[44:36] Who believe upon Jesus Christ. And that's what he was. That was his job. He went out. And took Christians. And. We do know that. When he. Was going to. Boy.

[44:49] How the mind slips. Damascus road. When he was traveling to Damascus. That's when the Lord said. Now Paul. It's your time. This is not going to be like.

[45:00] Most people get this. But boom. The fascia light. That knocked him off his horse. And he was blinded. For what? Three days. So. The apostle Paul.

[45:11] Got the message. He got the message. So. During that time. That he was blind. He had plenty of time. To set. And contemplate. What is going on here. What is going on.

[45:23] And he finally come to the conclusion. After. Ananias came. And talked to him. That he needed the savior. And. That's when the God told him. I'm going to use you. To teach to the Gentiles.

[45:35] And that's when something new. Came aboard. Jew and Gentile alike. Not just the Jewish population. So. That's what the apostle Paul did.

[45:47] Before he was converted. He had all the bad things. Of the law. And that was the improper use. Of the law. God's law. God's law. Can be compared to a mirror. The purpose of the mirror. Is not to wash.

[45:58] Your face. But rather. To show you. The dirt on your face. And drive you. To soap and water. The purpose of the law. Is to convict you.

[46:09] Of your sin. And drive you. To Christ. For cleansing. Keeping the law. Can't save you. Because as we shall see. No one is able. To keep it perfectly. Only Christ.

[46:19] Can save. Now let's turn to chapter 2. And here we're going. Paul discusses prayer. Chapter 2 verse 1.

[46:33] First of all then. I urge. That in treaties and prayers. Petitions and thanksgiving. Be made. On behalf of all men. For kings and all who are in authority.

[46:43] So that we may lead. A tranquil and quiet life. In all good. Godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable. In the sight of the God. Our Savior. Who desires all men.

[46:54] To be saved. And come to the knowledge. Of the truth. For there is one God. And one mediator. Also between God. And man. The man. Jesus Christ. Who gave himself.

[47:06] As a ransom. For all. The testimony. Given as the proper time. For this was appointed. A preacher. For this. I was printed. Appointed a preacher. And an apostle.

[47:17] I'm telling the truth. I am. Not lying. As a teacher. Of the Gentiles. In faith. And truth. Therefore. I want to. Want the men. In every place.

[47:27] To pray. Lifting up holy hands. And without wrath. And dissension. So one of the things. Paul wanted to stress here. To these young men. Was when you start these churches.

[47:38] You've got to get the people. To know that you need to go. To the Lord on prayer. Because prayer. Is talking to God. And he can find out. What he wants. And. You've got to.

[47:50] Open yourself up. And lay it before the God. Before God. In prayer. At the end of chapter one. Paul says that. Some have rejected. And suffered shipwreck. In regard to their faith.

[48:03] Among those. Of Hyenitis. And Alexander. Whom I have turned over. To Satan. Notice immediately. Immediately. In chapter two. After Paul. Delivered. Delivered these two to Satan.

[48:14] He exhorts. Believers to pray for all men. In spite of how. Encourageable. These two men were. Paul had not given. Up on them. Another.

[48:25] Scripture in line with that. Would be. First Corinthians. Where. Paul said. If you're going to do. These type things. You should be. Taken before the church.

[48:37] And the church. Should. Vote. And be thrown out of the church. That's. What it came down. Some of the things. That these Corinthians. Were doing. Were very. Sad.

[48:48] Incest. Was one of those. And. This could not happen. In a church. And they would be. Taken from the church. Membership. But Paul. Later on. In Corinthians. Comes back to the Corinthians.

[49:00] To say. Now that you've done that. You've thrown this man. Out of your congregation. We think it's too much. For any person. To suffer. You need to think about.

[49:11] Bringing this man. Back into your congregation. Pray for this man. Bring him back. He's learned his lesson. Bring it back. And I think that's something.

[49:21] The churches today. Should be doing the same thing. Number one. We should be. If there's something. Happening in our church. That is. Is bad. To the place where. It's affecting the membership. Of the church.

[49:32] The church leadership. Needs to step up. And say. Pal. Come here. We've got a problem. With what's going on. With what you're trying. To start in this church.

[49:42] Or what you're doing. Outside the church. Sometimes. That's. A matter too. There's nothing wrong. With a church. Bringing somebody up. To their comings. Bring them up.

[49:54] And if it gets necessary. You do it. One on one. Then you do it. Two or three. On one. And if that doesn't work. What do you do? You take it to the congregation.

[50:07] And you have a congregation. And the congregation votes on whether this man or woman. Should be taken from the membership roles. And I don't think that's going on enough today in the churches.

[50:18] I think it should be going on more. Of course. These type things shouldn't be going on period. But they do happen. And. So this is what the apostle Paul was. Was trying to point out when he's talking about prayer.

[50:31] One of the things. Remember we are to hate the sin. And what do we do with the sinner?

[50:43] We love the sinner. So I think prayer is going to bring that about. It's okay to. Hate the things that the sinner has done. But after time.

[50:54] You got to go to that sinner and say. We want you back. Or we know that you. Are sorry for the things you've done. And. We want you back. So it's that time to do it.

[51:05] Even if we punish a fellow church member. We are trying to correct. And bring that person back. And we see that again. Like I said in 2 Corinthians. Sufficient for such one. Is the punishment. Which was inflicted by the majority.

[51:18] And again. By the majority. So that on the contrary. You should rather forgive. And comfort him. Otherwise such one might be overwhelmed. By the excessive sorrow.

[51:29] I urge you to reaffirm. Your love for him. And we see that in Matthew. Also it says. To love your enemies. And pray for those who persecute you. So keep that in mind.

[51:41] Paul's first instruction to Timothy. Is to go to prayer. We are to talk to the Lord in prayer. Pray for all men. For the Lord God appeals. Requests. Thanksgiving and intercessions.

[51:53] Paul encourages both Timothy. And us to make prayer our priority. To get specific. Verse 2 concerning prayer. Says that Timothy. To pray for kings. And all who are in authority.

[52:03] Again. Again. I do not say any qualifications here. It says pray for all men. Here he was talking about kings.

[52:15] Because. At this time in the church. It was still. You still had kings out there. We don't have kings today. But we do have leadership today. So I think. What this scripture today would mean.

[52:26] Pray for your leadership. In the government. Whether you like it or not. Whoever gets this election. We need to pray for that man. Once he's elected. We need to put his.

[52:38] Put our thoughts to him. Because for four years. He's going to be there. So get behind him. And pray for this man. So this is what.

[52:49] Some of the things that Paul is trying to point out here. So pray for all. That's in authority. And we see that again. Not only in government.

[52:59] We see it in the church authority. We see it in the authority in the home. We see it in authority every place. In the job. The working environment. Every place. So.

[53:17] Verse five. It's. Was there any reason for Paul to state. For there is only one God. Yes.

[53:27] Paul lived in a. It lived in a polyleic state world. And remember Athens. That's where Paul went. And had all the statues. Of all the gods that was out there. And so we know that Paul lived in a time.

[53:41] Where everybody believed. That there were multiple gods. So yeah. Paul lived there. There was reason for him to question it. And he's saying here. That there is only one God.

[53:54] Salvation involves bringing two parties together. The one true God. And the deprived human man. Paul goes on to say. That there is one mediator of God in man. A mediator is one who is a go between.

[54:07] And to. As an. Inter. Mediatory agent. One who attributes. One. On one's behalf. In other words.

[54:17] We send ambassadors out to foreign countries. For the United States. And they send ambassadors over here also. That is what a mediator is.

[54:28] It's somebody that goes between. That does these things. And. Jesus Christ is a mediator for us. When we accept Jesus Christ into our life. He becomes our mediator before God.

[54:40] And all things in God will become ours. Through Jesus Christ. Because he is there giving. For us. To our father. He mediates. The things between us and him.

[54:52] And. So. Paul is telling. Timothy here. In another way. That pray. For all people. Because. When we pray for people.

[55:03] We pray that God will intercede. And send his mediator. To be a mediator for them. So. Christ is our mediator in this church age.

[55:16] First he is the mediator of God. He belongs to God. And he mediates on his behalf. In 2 Corinthians 5. Says he made him who knew no sin.

[55:26] To be sent on our behalf. That we might become the righteousness. Of him. So God does that for us. Through Christ. Who is our mediator.

[55:38] Jesus Christ is the only offering. That satisfies God's concerning sin. He is our propitiation. For all men. He is our mediator. Now move on to.

[55:50] Chapter. 2. When it's going to be talking about. The position for women in the church.

[56:03] And it says here. Likewise I want women to adore themselves. With proper clothing. Modestly and discreetly. Not with braided hair. Or golds or pearls. Or costly garments.

[56:14] But rather by means of good works. As it's proper for women. Making a claim to godliness. A woman must not. A woman must give. Partly receive instruction.

[56:25] With their submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman. To teach or exercise authority. Over a man. But to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created.

[56:36] And then Eve. It was not Adam who was deceived. But the woman being deceived. Fell to the transgression. That women will preserve. Through the bearing of children. And they will continue in the faith.

[56:46] And sanctify with self-restraint. These are. These are kind of hard verses. A lot of women say.

[56:57] Hey that apostle Paul. He was a woman. He was a female. Male chauvinist or whatever. That he would make these kind of statements. We got to understand.

[57:08] That this was a different time. A different culture. That we're talking about here. And God's word is true and accurate. And we can count on that.

[57:19] But the culture today. Is not the same as it was back then. And we see that things have changed. In that regard. First women were to adorn themselves.

[57:31] In proper apparel. A Christian woman's clothing. Is to orderly. Properly and seemly. What does this mean? Wow. In today's culture. I mean it's up in the air.

[57:44] What does it mean? So. I don't think we can take that. Today. And make it real stringent. Because there's so many different ways. That women dress. And. And.

[57:55] If they do it in the right way. I think that's all that matters. Women are not to dress in. In. They are to dress in proper appeal. They are not to dress modestly.

[58:06] They are to dress modestly. And discreetly. Modestly meaning. But good behavior. And discreetly meaning. With good judgment. In other words. Just dress with sensible thinking.

[58:17] And I think that's what. We can come down to today. We don't need to nitpick. What people are wearing. And how they wear it. Or anything else. But. Go with. What these women's.

[58:28] Character is. And go with that. They are not to. Adorn themselves in braided hair. Gold or costly garments. Many Christian women are puzzled.

[58:38] That Paul should. Prophibit. Braiding in the hair. Surely braids aren't immodest. Are they? No. Braided hair. That's not immodest. But you know what?

[58:49] In that culture. Who was braiding their hair? Rich women. And they braided their hair. So they could put these gold. And other little knickknacks.

[59:00] In their braids. So what they were doing was. They were putting their self out there. As I am rich. I'm able to do these things.

[59:11] So they were doing it. For the wrong reason. And I think. Hey let's just take that today. And say. If women are doing dressing. Or doing anything today.

[59:22] And they have a good reason. Then we just take that for granted. So the verses are not telling. The women to look unattractive. Or plain. But to reject the world's yardstick.

[59:36] Of measuring beauty. And if we do that. I think there's not going to be. Any problems out there. Also a lot of questions.

[59:48] About leadership. And I don't think I'll get into that. I want to skip on. And get to the leadership. That's in chapter three. So let's move on to chapter three. And it talks about.

[60:01] Qualifications for bishop elders and deacons. It's a trustworthy statement. If any man aspires to be. Appear. Aspires to be office of overseer.

[60:11] It is a fine work that he desires to do. An overseer then. Must have the above approach. The husband of one wife. Temperate. Prudent. Respectable. Hospital.

[60:22] Able to teach. And not addicted to wine or pugnacious. But gentle. Peaceable. Free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well.

[60:34] Keeping his children under control. With all dignity. But if a man does not know how to manage his own household. How he would. He will he take care of the church of God.

[60:45] And not a new convert. So that he will not become conceded. And fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation from those outside the church.

[60:55] That he will not fall into reproach. And the snare of the devil. Deacons likewise. Must be men of dignity. Not double-tongued. Or addicted to wine. Or fond of soldered gain.

[61:08] But holding to the mystery of the faith. With a clear conscience. These men must first be tested. Then let them serve as deacons. As if they are beyond reproach. Women must likewise be dignified.

[61:21] Not malicious gossip. But temperate faith in all things. Paul's purpose in writing chapter 3. Is to plain to Timothy. The necessary qualifications for an elder.

[61:32] And for the leadership of the church. And he sets forth. The way that that would be done. An elder in the name for the Old Testament.

[61:43] Was the priest. Or the person clothed with authority in the Old Testament. Just like it is today. And entitled to respect, reverence. The body of the elders of Israel.

[61:55] Were the representatives of the people from the very first. And were recognized as such by Moses. Today. Today. Well today. I don't even think that the word elders to be used.

[62:08] But we. Today an elder. We consider as a pastor. A leader. And that's what the New Testament thing for elder is. Pastors. Bishops. Overseers. Leaders and rulers.

[62:20] And we see this in Ephesians. And the book of Acts. And Hebrews. And Thessalonians. Where these words are used. The deacons were established to assist the elders.

[62:31] So. Today. In our church. We don't have deacons. All we have is elders. We call them elders. elders. And. We do this by our constitution.

[62:44] And our bylaws. Just the way that Paul has outlined it here. The elders this year. Will sit down. And if we have a new position to come and open for the elder board.

[62:56] They look at that person. And they say now. Bring forth some recommendations. And somebody will say okay. How about Joe Blow here. Well. Yeah. We all know Joe.

[63:09] We know that he has the right attitude. And all these type things. Or maybe he doesn't have the right attitude. And at that point we say. Yeah. Yay or nay. All part of this elder and his family. We'd be part of the church eldership.

[63:20] And at the end of the session. If there's two elders needed. Then they come up with two names to recommend. And that's exactly what you're going to see tonight. When you come. We have. I think tonight.

[63:32] There's three. So. This is the way that. That we select the elders here at church. And I think it goes along with what Paul was saying here to Timothy. And to Titus.

[63:43] On how to establish order in the church. So he gives out these. There. To be above reproach. The husband of one wife. That one.

[63:54] There seems to be many interpretations of this verse. And the correctness seems impossible to prove. You know. What was Paul getting at. When he said the husband of one wife. And we know that divorce was not approved by God.

[64:07] But it was allowed by God. So how do we interpret that? I favor this simple interpretation. A candidate for church leadership should be involved in a faithful and monogamous marriage.

[64:20] If married. Which would exclude polygamy. Living together. Homosexuality. And other questionable sexual relationships. And I think.

[64:30] I think we should be able to. To take it down to those aspects. And not to take everything that we see here. In these descriptions. Is solid.

[64:43] And rock standard. Because again. We're talking about a different culture. A different time. And we're not in those cultures today. So things can be different. And I'm running out of time.

[64:54] Okay. We didn't get to 2 Timothy. And I think. We run out of time. So I'm not even going to try to get to 2 Timothy. But 2 Timothy is full.

[65:06] Again. Of great things. And number one is. That verse 3. 16. All scripture is inspired. And Paul is letting him know.

[65:17] That scripture. Is the important thing in a person's life. And we need to get there. We need to read it. And understand it. And get it before the people in the church. And. A lot of things that Paul.

[65:29] Told Timothy. And Titus. Are with us today. Because we are a church. And somewhere along the line. Going back many, many years. Timothy came to our church.

[65:42] And he established. The way that this church here. Should be run. And prayerfully. That's what we are doing here. At Grace Bible Church. We're getting into these. Pastoral epistles.

[65:55] And. The leadership knows what they are. And they try to put them. And use them. For this congregation. Let me close with a word of prayer. Father. We just thank you today.

[66:05] We thank you for. This church. We thank you for the leadership of this church. We thank you for. Men like the apostle Paul. Who took Timothy. And Titus. And brought them along.

[66:16] And used them as apprentices. During his ministry. To go out and establish all the churches. Out there in the world. As these men.

[66:27] Became of age. And they were coming off the scene. That he wrote these letters. To Timothy. And to Timothy. And Titus. To instruct them. On to how to pass this word on. For.

[66:38] Father. We know that. There's no more new prophecies. To be had. And we know that all we have today. Is your word. And father. We take that word. Very seriously. And we just pray.

[66:48] That we can use that into our lives. In a daily matter. So father. We just thank you today. For that word. We thank you for this congregation. And we thank you for this congregation. And we pray for tonight. For the. For the elders meeting.

[66:59] And the business meeting. That we'll share tonight. So we thank you today. Father. And we just pray it. In Jesus precious name. Amen.