Dear Timothy

We are going to move into our time in the Word together, and today we're going to begin a new

series of sermons through the book of 1 Timothy, the letter of 1 Timothy in the New Testament.

And this will last us right up until Christmas. And I know that we have a variety of people here

this morning, some who have been Christians, followers of Jesus for decades, and some to whom

all of this is pretty new. And so I'm going to just take a few minutes to explain what the letter of

Timothy is, and who wrote it, what kind of writing this is, and where it fits into the bigger story

of the Bible. And then we'll jump in and look at the first few verses of this letter. So if you have

your Bible, you can open it up to 1 Timothy, and you can follow along. We'll also have the words on the screen.

So for those of you who may not know, after Jesus came, he died on the cross, he rose again from the

dead, and then he continued to appear to his followers for a period of about 40 years, sorry, 40 days.

And then Jesus was taken up into heaven. We call that the ascension of Jesus. And then not too long

after that was the Jewish festival of Pentecost. And it was celebrated in Jerusalem. And it was then

that God poured out his spirit on the apostles, those men that Jesus had chosen. And the apostles

were enabled by the power of the spirit to do miraculous signs, kind of like Jesus did. And they

were enabled to speak the very words of God to the people. And that day, the apostle Peter, by the power

of God's spirit within him, preached a sermon, and thousands who heard it came to believe in Jesus

as the Messiah and as their Savior. We usually speak of this day, Pentecost, as the day that the church

was born. The word church in its original ancient meaning is very simply congregation or assembly or

gathering. And in this case, it was those who had gathered and were united by their faith in Jesus

as their Messiah and as their Savior. So Peter and the other apostles, they continued

doing these miraculous signs. They continued preaching the good news about Jesus to people

all over the place. And more and more came to repent and believe and be added to the church.

These people accepted God's gift of salvation and the number just kept growing and growing.

All of this, by the way, is recorded in your Bibles in the New Testament book of Acts.

Well, the Jewish leaders were not too happy with this. And so they began to persecute

the church, those who believed in Jesus. And many of the believers scattered. They fled for their lives.

They left Jerusalem. They left Israel, some of them, and went to surrounding territories and areas.

And they began telling people about Jesus wherever they went. And so suddenly, churches began to

spring up in all the surrounding nations and peoples. And in the midst of all this, there was a man named

Saul. And Saul was a Pharisee. He was a persecutor of the church of Jesus. And Luke tells us in the book

of Acts about how Jesus himself, from heaven, stopped Saul in his tracks when he was on the road to

Damascus. Jesus revealed himself to Saul. And Saul became a believer. In fact, more than that,

Jesus chose Saul to be one of his apostles, one of his spokesmen. And Jesus gave Saul, who from that

day on changed his name to Paul, a mission, a task. So Paul was now to go to the non-Jewish

places all around the Mediterranean Sea and tell them about Jesus and the salvation that he offers.

And so Paul did this. He went on three, what we call missionary journeys, traveling from city to city,

sometimes on foot, sometimes by boat, across the Mediterranean Sea to different places.

And Luke tells us in the book of Acts that some people in each of these cities came to believe

in Jesus. And local churches were born in all these towns and cities all around the Mediterranean Sea.

Well, in one of these cities, Paul came across a young man named Timothy. And Timothy's mother was a Jew

and his father was a Greek. But Timothy's mother had raised Timothy to believe in God. And Timothy accepted

the good news of Jesus for himself. And he was saved when, most likely when Paul and Barnabas actually

came to his city with the message of Jesus on Paul's first missionary journey.

According to Luke, Timothy grew in his faith and he matured to the point that other Christians in his

little church regarded him very highly.

And so Paul actually took Timothy on as a co-worker for his second and third missionary journeys.

So they, Paul and Timothy, traveled together and worked together to make Christ known and to see local

churches established all around the Mediterranean Sea. I'll put a little graphic on the screen there.

So you can see the line. They went all over the place. This is just one of Paul's missionary journeys.

And one of these cities where a church began was the ancient city of Ephesus. You can kind of see it

right there. It's just on the western coast of what's today Turkey. Back then it was the Roman province of Asia.

And you can read about how the church was started there in Ephesus in the book of Acts chapter 19.

Acts 19 · chapter mention

Now the reason this is significant is because this city of Ephesus is where Timothy is right now

as Paul is writing this letter to him. We don't know the exact date that Paul wrote this letter,

but it was sometime between the time that this church in Ephesus was started and sometime and probably the time

when Paul died, which is actually a really short period of time. It's only about a 10-year window.

And so we're looking at about 55 to 65 AD. And maybe even we can narrow that down a little further

because it seems from the letter that the church has already had some time to be established.

And there's already been some things happening. We've seen some false teachers creeping into the church.

And so probably right around that time, 55 to 65 AD, this is only 25 to 35 years after Jesus ascended into heaven.

So if you want to open your Bibles up to 1 Timothy, let's look at the first few verses and see how this letter begins.

1 Timothy.

1 Timothy.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.

To Timothy, my true son in the faith,

grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer

or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies.

So this is very obviously a letter.

Paul introduces himself by name right at the top.

He tells us who he's writing to, Timothy.

There's a greeting which is at the same time kind of a blessing.

Grace, mercy, and peace from God and from Christ Jesus to you.

And then Paul jumps in verse 3 right into giving instruction to Timothy.

And this is quite typical of Paul's 13 letters in the New Testament.

They're full of instruction.

Instruction for how individuals that he's writing to ought to live.

But usually he writes to churches, local churches in different cities.

And so instructions for those local churches and how they're to live.

Let's notice just a few details in the introduction here.

First, Paul reminds Timothy and the church there in Ephesus of who he is.

He's writing as an apostle of Christ Jesus.

This is really important.

It's like Paul saying, this isn't just a friendly letter of correspondence,

but I am writing on behalf of Christ Jesus himself as his apostle, his chosen spokesperson.

So these instructions, these encouragements, these promises that I'm about to give to you,

they're not just from me, but they're from Jesus who speaks on whose behalf I speak.

So this is why we consider this letter so special, why we consider it sacred.

Because it's not just the words of a guy named Paul to a friend named Timothy.

Rather, it contains the very words of Christ Jesus himself spoken through Paul to Timothy.

So we take these words very seriously.

They're the words of God.

And Paul very briefly mentions how he came to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.

He says, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God and of Christ Jesus.

So both God and Christ Jesus together commanded it.

They decreed that Paul be an apostle.

And he mentions just one thing each about God and about Jesus there in his introduction.

God, our Savior.

He is the one who saves us, who rescues us.

And Jesus, our hope.

He's the one who our hope is in.

And then he goes on to Timothy, my true son in the faith.

Now it's easy to imagine how close this relationship would have been between Paul and Timothy.

I mean, here they were traveling together, working together,

all around the Mediterranean world.

And Paul being the older of the two and Timothy, a young man,

it's easy to see how they would have had a close father-son-like relationship.

But Paul thinks this way as a father-son relationship,

not just because of their many shared experiences,

not just because of the many moments where he probably got to counsel Timothy,

but because they share the same faith.

He says, to Timothy, my true son in the faith.

This is the key.

They both have faith in God.

They both have this same faith in Christ Jesus.

In fact, it's possible, not for sure,

but possible that Paul was even the one who led Timothy to be saved,

to know about Jesus at the start when he first came to Lystra.

So they have a very special, close relationship because of their faith in Jesus.

They're like spiritual family, father and son.

Now as we get beyond this greeting and into verse 3,

we see that Paul has some instructions for Timothy.

He says,

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia,

stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people

not to teach false doctrines any longer.

So they were both in Ephesus at one point,

but then Paul left to go into Macedonia.

And at that time, he urged Timothy to stay there in Ephesus.

This kind of brings us to the question of what Timothy's role was in Ephesus.

You may have heard it said that Timothy was a pastor in the church at Ephesus.

And, you know, we kind of call these letters,

1st, 2nd Timothy, Titus, the pastoral epistles.

But actually, if we look at it really closely,

nowhere in the New Testament is Timothy called a pastor.

Neither is he called an elder.

Neither is he called an apostle,

like Paul is.

But in two of Paul's letters,

he refers to Timothy as his co-worker.

And we often hear Paul telling us in his letters

of how he sends Timothy over here,

or he sends him over there,

or he leaves Timothy behind with this church.

And it seems that probably

we should stop thinking of Timothy

as the pastor of the church in Ephesus.

He is doing that kind of a shepherding work while he's there.

But this is part of his assignment.

We could probably think of him as an apostolic delegate

who's been assigned to serve in this church

in order to deal with any particular problems that have arisen,

that need special care or attention,

and to see that the church is strengthened and established and healthy.

Now, one tendency as we talk about that kind of a relationship to the church

is to think of this letter as merely a kind of instructional handbook

for pastors or church leaders.

It is written to Timothy,

and he is kind of functioning as a pastor or leader while he's there.

But really, this letter is for the whole church.

About halfway through the letter,

Paul makes this crystal clear.

He tells us what his purpose is in writing this letter.

And this is in 1 Timothy 3, verse 14.

1 Timothy 3:14

He says,

Although I hope to come to you soon,

I'm writing you these instructions

so that if I am delayed,

you will know how people ought to conduct themselves

in God's household,

which is the church of the living God,

the pillar and foundation of the truth.

So Paul intends to come back to Ephesus soon.

But in case something happens,

in case he gets put into prison again,

in case he gets held up in his travels,

he wants Timothy to have these instructions

so that Timothy will know how people there in the church at Ephesus

ought to live as the church.

How they ought to conduct themselves in God's household.

So what is this letter all about?

Well, it does have some instructions and encouragement

for leaders in the church,

but much more,

it's all about how we as a church

should conduct ourselves,

should live as followers of Jesus.

It's not just a leadership manual kind of letter.

It's a church life handbook kind of letter

written by Christ Jesus

through Paul to us.

Let me say it another way.

The aim of this letter is not just to equip church pastors and elders.

The aim of this letter is to show us

how we as a local spiritual family of God

should live,

should behave,

should act.

And this letter tells us some of the ways

that our faith in Jesus

should transform our conduct.

And I'm really excited about this.

Just as God was at work in our church

in the last sermon series we did

through the Gospel of John,

showing us things about Jesus maybe,

I hope,

that we hadn't seen before,

opening our eyes to see more of His glory.

I hope and pray that now

as we turn to this letter of 1 Timothy,

the Lord will do some wonderful things

and continue that work of transforming

our lives as a church

to match the faith

that we share in Jesus.

And this letter touches on

all kinds of conduct in the church.

I'll just list off a few things.

Paul will give some definition

to what's right and what's wrong.

He's going to tell us about

what kinds of things we should

and should not be teaching,

should and should not be talking about.

He will set some clear priorities for us

and what kinds of things

we should be giving ourselves to,

our attention to as a church.

He'll have specific instructions for men

and for women.

He's going to lay out a framework

for leadership in the church.

He'll warn us about

some of the false teachings

that are coming.

He'll talk about how different people

in the church should relate to each other,

how we should care for the needy among us.

So this is a wonderful letter from God

through Paul to his people, to us.

And I'm excited about how our church

may grow to increasing spiritual maturity

and unity in the months ahead

as we spend time here

in this letter together.

So let's look at it.

Let's look at the first instructions

that Paul gives to Timothy

in verses 3 to 11.

And we'll see what we can draw

from these words

for our church here in Davidson

and for ourselves.

So I'll just read it again,

starting in verse 3.

Although I hope to come to you soon,

I'm writing,

oh sorry, that's back in chapter 3.

Verse 3, chapter 1.

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia,

stay there in Ephesus

so that you may command certain people

not to teach false doctrines any longer

or to devote themselves to myths

and endless genealogies.

Such things promote controversial speculations

rather than advancing God's work

which is by faith.

The goal of this command is love

which comes from a pure heart

and a good conscience

and a sincere faith.

Some have departed from these

and have turned to meaningless talk.

They want to be teachers of the law

but they do not know

what they're talking about

or what they so confidently affirm.

We know that the law is good

if one uses it properly.

We also know that the law is made

not for the righteous

but for lawbreakers and rebels,

the ungodly and sinful,

the unholy and irreligious,

for those who kill their fathers or mothers,

for murderers,

for the sexually immoral,

for those practicing homosexuality,

for slave traders and liars and perjurers

and for whatever else is contrary

to the sound doctrine

that conforms to the gospel

concerning the glory of the blessed God

which he entrusted to me.

So with the time that we have left this morning,

I want to look at six problems

in the church,

in Ephesus,

that we see in these first few verses.

Verse three down to verse eight.

Problem number one.

Certain people are teaching false doctrines.

Paul says,

stay there in Ephesus

so that you may command certain people

not to teach false doctrines any longer.

So this is a problem.

We've got people in the church

who are teaching things

that aren't true.

And Paul gives more detail

about what kinds of things

they're teaching down in verses six and seven.

He says,

some have departed from these

and have turned to meaningless talk

wanting to be teachers of the law

but not knowing what they're talking about

or what they so confidently affirm.

So these people who are doing the false teaching,

they've gotten away from the gospel.

They've gotten off the main message

that we're supposed to be teaching

and proclaiming as a church.

They're appealing to the Old Testament law

as an authority for how we should be living

as followers of Jesus in the church today.

But Paul says,

they don't even know what they're talking about.

In verse eight, he says,

we know that the law is good

if one uses it properly.

And so the implication here

is that these false teachers,

they're not using the law properly.

They're misunderstanding it.

They're misapplying it.

Now we don't know all the details

of exactly what they were teaching

from the Old Testament law,

but if we think back to the confrontations

that Jesus had with the Pharisees,

the Sadducees,

the religious leaders back in Jerusalem,

we can imagine the kinds of things

they might be saying and teaching.

So Paul wants Timothy to put a stop to this.

He wants Timothy to command them

not to teach these things any longer.

So that's the first problem.

Certain people teaching false doctrines.

The second problem in the church,

there are people following myths

and genealogies.

He says,

stay there in Ephesus

so that you may command certain people

not to devote themselves

to myths and endless genealogies.

So it seems that some of these false teachers,

they're making a really big deal

about these Jewish myths

and Jewish ancestry in their teachings.

And they're urging people

to pay close attention to this stuff.

And some of the believers

are getting sucked into it.

They're buying into this.

And it's leading the church

to get away from the main thing,

the gospel,

the good news of Jesus.

And so Paul urges Timothy,

command these people

not to devote themselves

to myths and endless genealogies.

So that's the second problem.

People following myths and genealogies.

Problem number three.

So these first two problems,

people teaching false things

and people following,

giving attention to myths and genealogies,

gives rise to a third problem.

And it's controversy

and speculations in the church.

Such things promote

controversial speculations,

he says,

rather than advancing God's work,

which is by faith.

So it seems that,

I mean, you can imagine this.

Like, if you're emphasizing genealogies

and tracing out lineages

and all kinds of things,

you can imagine the kind of quibbling

and arguments and disputes

that would be coming up

and how these Old Testament laws

should be applied

and how these ancestries

and genealogies

make this person more prominent

than this person over here.

So maybe we should listen

to this person

and not this person.

And with these controversial speculations,

it's translated differently

depending on your Bible,

your English translation,

but there's at least three ideas in here.

The first is,

it's promoting controversy,

disputes,

arguments,

are happening

over these things.

So that's the first idea in it.

The second,

some translations render it

as empty

or useless speculation.

So Paul's saying

that these are things,

these are matters

about which it's,

at the end of the day,

debating over this

is pointless.

It's empty.

There's no fruit to it.

There's nothing good

coming from it.

It's useless.

And then finally,

there's that idea

of speculation.

So they're not talking

about facts.

They're not talking

about truth.

They've gone off of that

into speculations,

raising questions

about obscure things

from these myths

and genealogies

and from the Old Testament law.

What is speculation?

It's coming up with theories

and guesses

and opinions

without a firm factual basis.

So that's the third problem.

The false teaching

and the focus

on these myths

and endless genealogies

is leading to controversy.

It's leading to speculating

of all kinds.

Useless,

pointless

over things

that we can't even be certain of.

That's problem number three.

Problem number four,

these speculations

and disputes

are not furthering

God's agenda

for the church.

He says,

such things promote

controversial speculations

rather than advancing

God's work,

God's program,

God's agenda.

So there's something

that God wants us

to be doing as a church.

He has a plan.

He has a purpose for us.

He has a track

that He wants us to be on

and the problem

is that these things,

these disputes

and controversies

and speculations

are taking us

away from that.

They're distracting us.

They're sidelining us.

That's problem number four.

Number five,

some people in the church

have departed

from a pure heart,

a good conscience,

and a sincere faith.

Verse five,

he says,

the goal of this command

is love

which comes from

a pure heart

and a good conscience

and a sincere faith.

Some have departed

from these

and have turned

to meaningless talk,

wanting to be teachers

of the law,

but they do not know

what they're talking about

or what they so

confidently affirm.

This is a pretty

heavy statement.

Some people

in the church

have departed.

They've left off

from a pure heart

and a good conscience

and a sincere faith.

This is a big problem.

We need a heart check here.

What's the goal?

What's the motivation

of these people?

Paul makes it clear

that the false teachers

themselves

are the ones

who have left

these things behind

as they turn

to meaningless talk,

senseless babble,

fruitless discussions

over these things.

That's problem number five.

Some in the church

have departed

from a pure heart

and a good conscience

and a sincere faith.

And finally,

problem number six.

there is pride

in abundance.

Arrogance

and ignorance

seem to describe

these false teachers.

They're confidently

affirming things,

says Paul,

and yet they don't even know

what they're talking about.

I mean, think of that.

They aren't using

the law properly.

Verse eight.

They don't understand it.

They're misapplying it,

so they're ignorant

about what they're speaking

about,

and yet they're

confidently

proclaiming it.

There's arrogance

and pride

in these teachers.

Pride is deadly

in the church,

especially if it comes

to find a pulpit

or a platform

or a leadership position.

The sense we get

is that these teachers

are more concerned

about having a following

than they are

about anything else.

So these are the six problems.

There could be more,

but these are the ones

I found in these verses.

There's a lot there.

Certain people teaching

false doctrines,

people following myths

and genealogies,

which are leading

to controversy

and disputes

over useless speculations,

and these speculations

and disputes

are not furthering

God's agenda

for the church.

Some of these people

have departed

from a pure heart,

a good conscience,

and a sincere faith,

and pride

is one of the things

that's at the root

of this.

Paul's going to go on

to talk more

about the law

and its purpose

in verse eight to eleven.

We're going to come back

to that in a future message

in about three weeks,

but what can we take

as a church

for ourselves

from these six problems?

I think the Lord

would have us do

some reflecting,

some prayerful reflecting

as we think

of these problems

in the church

at Ephesus.

And I came up

with sort of three,

I guess you could say,

ways that we can respond

to these six problems

that we see

in the church.

First,

I think we see here

that we need

to check our hearts.

If we think back

to the beginning

of this year

and our church's

annual meeting,

our elders shared

with the church

five growth priorities,

and one of those

was growing in love,

that we as a church

would grow in our love

for one another.

Well, Paul tells us here

in verse seven,

that love grows

out of a pure heart.

It flows out

of a pure heart

and a good conscience

and a sincere faith.

That's the fertile soil

that real Christian love

grows in.

And so,

if we want to grow

to be a more loving church,

we need to ask ourselves,

do we have a pure heart

and a good conscience,

a clean conscience,

do we have a sincere faith?

The problem in Ephesus

was that some had departed

from those things.

They turned away

from those things.

They'd given their hearts

instead to the desires

of the flesh.

They were no longer

acting according

to a clear conscience,

and they'd turned away

from that sincere faith

in Jesus.

And I think God

is asking us here,

each one of us,

to simply examine ourselves,

to prayerfully examine

our own hearts.

And so let me ask you,

how is your heart?

Are you walking

in sincere faith

in Jesus?

are you living

by the Spirit

to please God?

Or are you

kind of

gotten off of that,

gotten away from that,

knowingly

going against

your conscience,

living

to scratch

the itch

of the flesh?

or are you

continually

coming back

to Christ

when you have sinned

and when you have

done wrong

and confessing

and repenting

and receiving

His grace

and walking

with Him?

Or

are you living

in habitual,

persistent

sin,

doing things

you know

are wrong?

So I want

to urge you

to prayerfully

examine

your own heart

because the love

that we long

to see overflow

and abound

in our church

requires good soil

to grow in,

a pure heart,

a good conscience

and a sincere faith

in Jesus.

And hey,

if you're struggling

with this,

if you're wrestling

with doubt,

if you're feeling

cold

and hard

inside,

unresponsive,

would you tell

a brother or sister

in the church

would you ask

them to pray

for you?

Just share

that you're

struggling

with them.

We don't have

to do this

alone.

So that's the

first thing

that we can do

in response

to this

is to check

our hearts.

Paul said it

this way

in this letter

to the Corinthians.

He said,

examine yourselves

to see whether

you are in the

faith.

Test yourselves.

Do you not

realize that

Christ Jesus

is in you

unless,

of course,

you fail

to test?

That's the

first thing

to do,

to check

our own

hearts.

The second

thing is

to check

our focus

and our

priorities

and our

message.

And this

is a church

thing.

Are we as a

church keeping

the main

thing,

the main

thing?

Are we

staying focused?

Are we

staying on

mission?

Are we

staying on

message?

church?

Is the

gospel,

the good

news of

Jesus,

the main

thing,

the biggest

priority of

our church?

Is it our

main teaching?

Is that what

we're mostly

focused on

sharing with

the community

around us,

with the

people around

us who

are lost?

Or are we

getting

sidetracked?

Are we

getting

distracted?

distracted?

Now I know

some of us

have been

Christians for

a long

time.

And sometimes

we can

grow dull.

We can

get bored.

We can

tire of

hearing the

same things

over and

over and

over again.

Hopefully

not, but

some of you

maybe think

that, why

didn't you

tell us

some new

stuff,

Pastor Josh?

Stop just

telling us

the same

thing over

and over

again.

I want

to hear

some

different

things.

But Paul

speaks here

to remind

us that

this, the

gospel of

Jesus, is

the thing.

It's the

main thing.

As Paul

says in

verse 11,

it is the

gospel concerning

the glory of

the blessed

God.

That's the

sound doctrine.

That's the

message that

we've been

entrusted with.

That's what

we've got to

be focused

on, making

that known.

Are we

doing that?

We don't

leave off of

this ever.

So this is

why we're

doing Alive

on Sunday

mornings.

This is why

we did

Five Day

Club this

summer.

This is why

we're doing

Light the

Night on

October 31st

and the

Christmas

carol sing

in December.

There's no

end to the

things that we

could pour our

time and

energy into.

But our

time and

energy is

limited.

So are we

using it to

make the

gospel of

Jesus known

in this

community to

those who

don't know

it?

That's the

second way we

can respond.

Check our

focus.

Check our

priorities.

Check our

message.

And finally,

the third

one.

One of the

big problems

in the church

at Ephesus

was controversial

speculations.

Speculations

that caused

controversy.

Speculations

which were

useless,

empty,

pointless.

Pointless

disputes over

guesses,

theories,

opinions,

things that

are not

especially rooted

in fact.

Now in

their day

they had

their

controversial

speculations

over Jewish

law,

over myths

and genealogies.

what do we

here today

have our

controversial

speculations

over?

Now this is

something I

want to urge

you not to

take offense

over.

And I

also want to

confess that

I am guilty

here myself.

But I'd like

to suggest

that we

here today

have our

controversial

speculations

not over

Old Testament

law but

over Bible

prophecies

and end

times

timelines

and theories

and frameworks.

I'd like to

suggest that

we have our

controversial

speculations

over what's

happening in

the news

and what

that means

in the

grand scheme

of God's

plan

over politics

and who

will win

or lose

the next

election

and what

that will

mean for

us in

the days

ahead.

Now yes

some of

these things

have to

do with

what we

read in

the Bible.

So did

the Old

Testament

law stuff

that these

teachers in

Ephesus were

getting off

into.

It's certainly

not wrong

to do

earnest

Bible study

to seek

to understand

the scriptures

how they

apply.

But I

think like

they did

in Ephesus

with the

Old Testament

law

we all

too easily

and often

today

when it

comes to

end times

matters of

Bible

prophecies

we get

off the

plain

meaning

into

all

kinds

of

speculations

guesses

theories

opinions

things that

are not

rooted in

fact

or clearly

stated in

scripture

they're

guesses

about how

things will

unfold

in the

future

now in

Ephesus

the problem

was

teachers in

the church

who are

promoting

these things

and who

are confidently

affirming

all kinds

of things

but I

think our

problem

today is

not so

much

teachers

in our

midst

but teachers

and influencers

online

now there's

some good

content online

don't get me

wrong

but many

lack

discernment

I wonder

what Paul

would say

to us

in our

day

would he

tell us

to stop

listening

to that

kind of

stuff

on

YouTube

would he

tell us

to stop

listening

to self

appointed

discernment

ministry

people

we may

think

that that

guy

seems to

really

know

his

stuff

he knows

what he's

talking

about

he's

so

confident

but do

we really

know him

what if

he is

confidently

affirming

and yet

he doesn't

even know

really

at the end

of the

day

what he's

talking

about

let us

admit

that when

it comes

to the

future

only

God

knows

the

future

only

God

knows

the

intricacies

of how

his

plan

will

unfold

and how

his

prophetic

words

will be

fulfilled

at the

end

and so

based on

what Paul

says to

Timothy

here

I would

urge us

not to

listen to

people

who

speculate

about

what's

soon

to

happen

or

what's

just

around

the

corner

I

would

urge us

not to

listen

to

people

who

tell us

confidently

that

they know

the significance

of all

the things

that are

happening

in the

news

in God's

plan

these

things are

guesses

these

are

theories

these

are

speculations

and they're

controversial

and as

Paul says

they do

not advance

God's

work

God's

agenda

I think

these things

often steal

our attention

away from

our main

priority

as a

church

it's one

reason I

don't support

Bible

prophecy

conferences

or end

times

conferences

because

what are

they

more often

than not

it's a

mixture

of some

good

teaching

and preaching

with a

whole lot

of

controversial

speculations

now please

hear me

out

I'm not

saying

that we

shouldn't

care about

what's

going on

in the

world

today

we

should

neither

am I

saying

that we

can't

know

the

facts

about

what's

happening

in the

news

we

can

neither

am I

saying

that it's

wrong to

have a

guess

or an

opinion

about

what may

happen

but the

problem with

these teachers

in Ephesus

was that they

were confidently

affirming

they were boldly

proclaiming

even though they

didn't truly

know for certain

what they were

talking about

and I think

that part is

key

many big end

times teachers

and discernment

ministry teachers

are often

boldly

proclaiming

confidently

affirming

this is how

it's going to

go in the

future

I've got all

the pieces

arranged properly

and figured

out

yet do they

really know

if such and

such an event

in the news

is a precursor

to a bible

prophecy soon

to be fulfilled

I'm skeptical

and I've been

guilty of this

myself

when I first

came out of

bible college

I was like a

bulldog in a

china shop

when it came

to end times

and bible

prophecy

and I was so

deeply disappointed

if I discovered

that some other

person over here

didn't come to

the same view

that I had

the same

speculations

that I had

and so based

on what Paul

says to Timothy

here

if we have

theories

if we have

guesses

if we have

opinions

we should

hold them

as theories

guesses

opinions

we should

hold them

with open

hands

we should

be willing

to let

go

of them

we should

not be

eager to

promote

them

and convince

others

this is

the truth

and we

shouldn't get

offended when

people don't

buy into

those hunches

those ideas

that we have

at the end

of all things

God will keep

every word of

his promises

no doubt

about that

he will

prove his

matchless

wisdom

and his

sovereign

power

let's make

an effort

to relegate

the controversial

speculations

to their

place

these things

as Paul said

do not get

us where God

wants us to be

as a church

they don't

further God's

work

let's not be

concerned so

much about

what's happening

way out there

what's going

to happen

tomorrow

as Jesus

said let's

be focused

on today

let's be

focused on

loving our

neighbor

this community

that he's

placed us

in

let's be

focused on

the good

news of

Jesus

the gospel

that main

message

if we want

to be a

healthy church

a healthy

local household

of God

these are the

things we need

to do

we need to

check our

hearts

we need to

check our

focus and

priorities

we need to

cut out

controversial

speculations

and the

sources that

promote them

because we've

been entrusted

with the

gospel

concerning

the glory

of the

blessed

God

this is our

message

and it's

really good

news

and it's

what we

want to

be known

for as a

church

more than

anything else

let's pray

father in heaven

thank you for

your word

and sometimes

it does cut

deeply into

us

and I do

pray lord

that you

would help

us see how

these words

apply to

each one of

us personally

we don't

want to be

off the

path

we want

to be

right where

you want

us to be

as a

church

we want

to be

declaring

your love

for people

who are

lost

and your

salvation

which you

offer through

Jesus

I pray that

you would do

that work

in us

that you

would lead

us to that

place

that you

would strengthen

us as a

church

that there

wouldn't be

any among

us

who leave

off of a

sincere faith

but that each

one of us

would be there

walking with

you and that

our love

would grow

for each

other and

for you

we ask this

in Jesus

name

amen