Latest / Mount Eaton Church / Biblical Manhood & Womanhood - 1 Timothy 6:11-20 - Foundations of Biblical Leadership

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Biblical Manhood & Womanhood - 1 Timothy 6:11-20 - Foundations of Biblical Leadership · Mount Eaton Church

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Good morning, family. Please turn to 1 Timothy
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chapter 6. We'll be finishing up the book today.
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Before we start there, we're going to do the
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catechism reading today from Heidelberg Catechism.
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It's question number 21. So I will read the question
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and you will read the answer. By God's grace,
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I will help to guide you through it because it's
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quite long. Okay. What is true faith? True faith
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is a sure knowledge whereby I accept as true
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all that God has revealed to us in his word.
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At the same time, it is a firm confidence that
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not only to others, but also to me. God has granted
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forgiveness of sins, everlasting righteousness
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and salvation out of mere grace, only for the
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sake of Christ's merit. The faith of the Holy
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Spirit works in my heart by the gospel. If you
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ever get a chance, please take the time to go
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through these catechisms, especially with the
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kids. There is a... a children's catechism, catechism
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for kids. Also, there's an app you can download
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called the Reform Companion. I do encourage you
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that if you don't have that, do it. There's a
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couple of other things we're going to be looking
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to work on and implement over this next year.
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One of those is family worship as we teach and
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train our people to do worship at home. And catechism
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reading is part of that process and also song
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and prayer. So these things are, I think, that
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have been missing in the church for many years
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because we've modernized it to the point that...
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We miss those opportunities to teach our children
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deep theology and the truth about God's scripture
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and his doctrine. So these are opportunities
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for you to be able to do it at home with your
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kids. It also starts to instill in them a reverence
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and an awe for the holy places. And I'm excited
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about that. Anyway, I've been praying for you
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guys, and let's pray as we dig in. Father, I
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want to thank you so much for your goodness and
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faithfulness. Thank you, Lord, for your word.
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Help us to honor and glorify you in all that
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we do. full counsel of your word is spoken, that
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your word hits upon the heart. Holy Spirit, that
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you use it to convict and to prick the soul and
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that we would respond in repentance and honor
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and glory of you. We thank you for your faithfulness.
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We thank you that your word is living and active,
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sharper than a double -edged sword. And Lord,
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you take out of us everything that is evil and
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you put in us all that is good and righteous.
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and that this work is a continual work of sanctification
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until our one day return to you. Lord, we give
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you honor, glory, and praise, and thank you for
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your faithful work in and of our lives in which
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you have destined us to be completed through
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the glory and honor of Christ. Lord, we praise
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you and we thank you. In Jesus' name, amen. So
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I'm going to start off reading in verse 3, and
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I'm going to go through the whole chapter because
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it's important that we kind of grasp what Paul's
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talking to Timothy about. As you guys know, this
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letter was written to a pastor. He was a young
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pastor, probably around 19 or 20 years old, as
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I said before. And this was really a call and
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a charge and a responsibility to Timothy as a
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man on how he should live his life as a pastor,
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not only as a pastor but at home. And so we've
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started this journey this year on biblical manhood,
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biblical womanhood, and we're going to continue
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this journey through the rest of this year and
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maybe even part of next year as we start to really
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understand what does it mean to be a man and
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what does it mean to be a woman. Because in our
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culture today, everything is antithetical to
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the Scripture and to the Gospel, and there's
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this push among the secular world to continue
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to push out. God's standard as a man and a woman
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and try to instill or institute a worldview or
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a standard that is secular and anti -God. And
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it doesn't really help our country at all. It
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actually tears it apart. I'm not going to get
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into the historicity of all those things, but
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we'll one day maybe talk about it in Bible study,
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how we've gone from... Adam and Eve, all the
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way to a world society that is embracing all
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kinds of secularism, humanism, and it's just
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really reflecting the reality of their hatred
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of God and the hatred of his things. That being
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said... Let's see what he says to Timothy in
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the rest of this chapter. He says, If anyone
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teaches a different doctrine and does not agree
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with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ
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and the teaching that accords with godliness,
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he is puffed up with conceit and understands
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nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy
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and for quarrels about words, which produce envy
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and dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and
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constant friction among people who are depraved
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in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining
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that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness
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with contempt is great gain, for we brought nothing
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into the world, and we cannot take anything out.
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But as for you, O man of God, flee these things.
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Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love,
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steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight
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of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which
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you were called and about which you have made
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a good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
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I charge you in the presence of God who gives
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life to all things and of Christ Jesus who in
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his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the
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good confession to keep the commandment unstained
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and free from reproach until the appearing of
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our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display
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at the proper time. He who is the blessed and
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only sovereign and the King of kings and Lord
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of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells
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in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever
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seen or can see, to him be honor and eternal
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dominion. Amen. As for the rich in this present
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age, charge them not to be haughty. nor to set
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their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but
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on God, who richly provides us with everything
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to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in
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good works, to be generous and ready to share,
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thus storing up treasures for themselves as a
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good foundation for the future, as that they
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may take hold of that which is truly life. O
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Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you.
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Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions
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of what is falsely called knowledge, for by professing
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it, some have swerved from the faith. Grace be
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with you. It's very important that we understand
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the importance of the Word of God in the life
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of a believer. Now, As we sit and we look and
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we read about what Paul says to Timothy here,
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it says, first principle, godly leaders must
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pursue godliness, hold to the faith, and live
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obediently. Do you hear that, men? Godly men,
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godly women, especially the men, should be leaders
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that must pursue godliness, hold to the faith,
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and live obediently. You don't get the choice
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of doing what you think you should do. You have
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to do what God says you should do. For this very
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reason, make every effort to supplement your
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faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,
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and knowledge with self -control, and self -control
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with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,
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and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly
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affection with love. For if these qualities are
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yours and are increasing, They keep you from
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being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge
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of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1, 5 -8. Do
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you understand that? And what we're going to
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read is almost the same list that Paul gives
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Timothy. But pay attention to what Peter says
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here. For if these qualities are yours and are
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increasing, they keep you from being ineffective
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and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
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Christ. You want to know why the church is struggling
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here in America? Because it doesn't seek holiness,
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godliness, righteousness, and truth. It seeks
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only that which pleases itself. Whatever feeds
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the sinful nature is what we want. Why? Because
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we love that momentary feel -goods, right? We
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love to be told how awesome we are. 1 Timothy
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6, 11 through 16. But as for you, O man of God.
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I like how Paul uses this immediately. He reminds
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Timothy that, hey, you're a man that belongs
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to the living God. You're a man that has a responsibility
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to God. Any authority or anything that God has
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given you to steward is his and you belong to
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him. This word flee, fugo, fugo means to run
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from all things abhorrent. Do we run from everything
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that's abhorrent? Or do we sit back and just
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enjoy things that are abhorrent? This is a difficulty
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for each and every one of us, I'm sure. But are
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we really thinking through? Do we run from the
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things that harm us spiritually? Do we run from
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the things that harm and affect our families
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as men and as women in the household? Do we really
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flee? Do we really run from the abhorrent? Lord
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knows we see the abhorrent every day. And then
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he gives them this. He says, pursue, diako, means
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to seek eagerly or to endeavor to acquire. Are
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you endeavoring to acquire God's righteousness,
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godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness?
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And how do I acquire these things? How do I get
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them? There is only one place on all the planet
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that God has given you. to grow in righteousness,
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to grow in godliness, faith, love, steadfastness,
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and gentleness, and that's his word. There is
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no other place that you can go in order to grow
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and acquire, pursue these things. As a matter
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of fact, it says in Psalm 1, it's a psalm that
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I memorized, but I'll read it from the ESV because
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I memorized it in the NIV. I said that at early
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service. Look what it says in Psalm 1. It's actually
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bigger than I thought. Here we go. Blessed is
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the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
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nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in
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the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the
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law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates
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day and night. Does God's Word saturate your
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life? Do you think about God, His Word, every
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minute of every day? You're like, well, that's
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a little bit of a Jesus freak stuff. That's too
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much Jesus for me. You can't get enough of Jesus.
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One, you have all the Jesus you're going to get.
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The question is, how much do you want to know
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him? How much do you really want to be changed?
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Because you cannot change if you don't change
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the mind. We're going to talk about that in a
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little bit. So seek God's righteousness, godliness,
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faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness in the
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word. How can a young man keep his way pure?
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By living according to your word. I have hidden
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your word in my heart that I might not sin against
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you. Psalm 119 verse 11 and I think it's 12.
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It is Psalm 119 though. Verse 12 in 1 Timothy
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chapter 6 verse 12. Fight. Agonizome. Agonizome
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means to contend or struggle with difficulties
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and danger. In other words, what this means is
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I have to be willing to fight the good fight.
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I need to be willing to contend for the faith
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through struggles, difficulties, and danger.
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In other words, we've gotten comfortable here
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in the Church of America because we can come,
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gather together, talk about Jesus, be told how
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awesome we are, go home, and not think about
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Him all day, all week, and then come back and
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go, I got my fill again. But that's not the way
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relationship with God works. Because in every
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single day, you are literally struggling with
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difficulties and dangers. What kind of struggle
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are you fighting? What fight are you really fighting?
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The greatest fight that you're going to have
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and the greatest enemy that you have is not Satan.
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You can't blame it on the devil. The greatest
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enemy that you live with is yourself. Every day
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you wake up at war. Every day you're fighting
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and battling. Every day you've got to deal with
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your mind and the issues that are going on in
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your life. Every single day you wonder why Christians
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continue to struggle and never live victorious
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lives because they're too busy trying to blame
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it on someone or something else. The greatest
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enemy you have is you. How do we know that? Because
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Paul tells us that why do I do the things I do
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not want to do but the things I hate, those I
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keep on doing. So I find at work within the members
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of my body a law. It's called the law of sin.
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Sin wants to kill you. And it may kill your body
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one day. It will if the Lord tarries. But when
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we get old, sin has won that one. But he hasn't
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won the victory. It's temporary. Because the
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dead in Christ will rise and those who are left
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will be caught up to meet him in the air and
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will forever be with the Lord. But sin wants
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to kill you. How do we win this battle? How do
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we deal with the issue of endeavoring and purposing
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to fight the good fight of faith, living for
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the purpose of the gospel, fighting for the gospel.
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How do we hold on to these things? Well, the
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word the good fight in the Greek means, with
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all things praiseworthy, exert oneself to the
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utmost against all things opposed to Christ.
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Am I exerting myself to the point that I am exhausted
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in the fight of war? but I am using all things
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that are praiseworthy. I am using righteousness,
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godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness,
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faithfulness, self -control. Am I applying the
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Word of God in my life to the point that I am
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fighting and contending in the struggle of difficulties
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and dangers? Because the battlefield is not out
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there. The battlefield is right here. How do
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we know? Romans 12, 1 and 2. Verse 2, do not
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be conformed to the pattern of this world, but
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be transformed by the renewing of your mind so
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you can test and approve what God's will is,
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his good, pleasing, and perfect will. If you
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cannot win the wars here, you will never win
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the victory of life. And you can't win without
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Christ because he's already won it. So what do
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we do? It's actually verse 1. Therefore I urge
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you, brothers, in the view of God's mercy, to
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offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy
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and pleasing unto God, for this is your reasonable
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act of worship. How do you win the Christian
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life? How do you continue to fight the good fight?
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Die. Surrender. Self -sacrifice. Take up your
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cross daily and follow me. That's what he's talking
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about here. When we're pursuing, when we're endeavoring
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to acquire righteousness, godliness, faith, love,
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steadfastness, and gentleness, it starts here.
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We win here because Christ has won. Die. That's
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the idea. So he says, fight the good fight of
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faith. Take hold of eternal life. Embrace the
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life you are given in Christ. Are you content?
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Is Christ enough for you? Godliness with contentment
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is great gain. Take hold of eternal life. Embrace
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the life you are given in Christ to which you
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were called. God has called you out of the kingdom
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of darkness into the kingdom of his light. You
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belong to him. He has picked you out of all the
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people on the planet. You sitting in the chair.
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He has chosen you to be part of his family. What
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a privilege. And then he says this concerning
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Christ, that he has called you about which you've
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made a good confession. You have professed Christ
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as Lord because of the gospel. And you've done
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that in the presence of many witnesses. When
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you come to Christ, you don't keep it to yourself.
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You tell the world. Why? Because that's a good
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confession. Look what Christ has done for me.
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And what's the response? How do you do that?
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What do you do? What's the scripture say? Go
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and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
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them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy
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Spirit. Go and be baptized. Baptism is a proclamation
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to the entire world that you are a follower of
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the King. And I have nothing to be ashamed of
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because of his sacrifice for me. It's interesting
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that even Jesus does this same thing. We're going
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to read that in a second. Timothy made a profession
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in many witnesses. And then Paul says this, I
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charge you in the presence of God who gives life
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to all things and of Christ Jesus, who in his
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testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good
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confession. He says to Pontius Pilate, my kingdom's
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not of this world. If it were of this world,
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would not my servants take up arms? Wouldn't
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they fight? The kingdom I come from is not of
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this world. You don't belong to the world. You
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belong to him. The good confession is that he
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is the king of his kingdom. That the gospel is
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the answer to the disease who in his testimony
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before Pontius Pilate made the good confession.
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Then he urges Timothy to keep the commandment.
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Keep all that God commands, unstained and free
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from reproach. Don't let anyone look at your
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life and go, you're a hypocrite. Then he says,
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until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Why? Because when Christ comes back, perfection
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is coming. Behold, I make all things new. His
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kingdom will be established forever, and we will
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be with him forever as he's promised. No more
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sin. And then he says, which he will display
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at the proper time. This word proper time means
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exact time concerning himself. He will come when
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he's ready. Why do I say that? Because as we
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get a little bit further down, we start to deal
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with some issues, and I want to mention Bethel
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Church. They're trying to bring the kingdom here.
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It's called dominion theology. The seven mountain
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mandate. It is evil, it is sinful, and it's wrong.
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Do not, as God's people, listen or watch. anything
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from Bethel. It is evil. Why? Because they want
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to say they've been given the authority by Christ
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to take dominion. And you'll see why I'm saying
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this in a minute. There is only one sovereign.
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They want to say that God has given them sovereignty
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and that they give God permission to use them.
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This I didn't give in the first service, but
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I need to clarify a little bit so people aren't
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confused. When you are not sticking to the sound
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doctrine of the scriptures and you are leaning
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on other teachers through television or radio
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that are extremely dangerous and that pull you
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away by every kind of argument, which he warns
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Timothy about later in the same chapter, you're
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setting yourself up for a lot of disappointment.
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If you ever get a chance to watch a series called
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American Gospel, there's a third part of that
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series called Spirit and Fire. I do encourage
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you. It's a... It's a documentary series. It's
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probably going to be like 12 videos long. I do
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encourage you to watch it. It'll be eye -opening.
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But that requires us as men of God to preach
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the full counsel of His Word and to teach doctrine
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and to warn the people of what's coming. We're
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in a day where the onslaught of false doctrine
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and false teaching is being permeated through
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our culture. And the only way it's going to stop
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is when men of God stand and say, No! and expose
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them. I don't do it because I find joy in exposing
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them. It angers me that I have to do it in the
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first place. But their work is always continuing,
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which means we must continue to work also. Look
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what it says. If Christ appears at his proper
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time, why is he going to appear at his proper
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time? Why is Christ going to come? Because he
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who is the blessed and only sovereign, he is
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sovereign, always was sovereign, and always will
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be sovereign. He was on the throne at the beginning
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of time. He's still on the throne now. God rules
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and God governs. You may not like the way He
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does it, but He doesn't really care. It's His
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way and it's the right way. It's pretty simple.
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Who is the blessed and only sovereign? He is
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the King of kings, the Lord of lords, who alone
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has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable
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light, whom no one has ever seen nor can see.
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That is God. He is king and he reigns. Why is
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this so important? Because we don't rule our
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own lives. God rules. God allows us as creatures
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to make some decisions within the parameters
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of what we are. We don't have true free will,
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do we? It's pretty limited. I mean, I would love
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to fly like a bird. I mean, if I had free will
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to do that, then I would find any way possible
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to do it, like a bird. But I can't, because I'm
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not a bird. So I am within the confines of what
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I am. Remember that. Why is this important? Because
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we miss the point of God's sovereignty. I think
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we have a hard time with the reality that God
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rules, because man wants to rule. That has been
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the problem from the beginning. He wants to make
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his own decisions. He's volitional. So, if God
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is King of kings and Lord of lords and alone
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has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable
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light, who no one has ever seen nor can see,
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well, to Him be glory and honor and eternal dominion
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forever. To Him and Him alone. So, second principle,
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God's stewards, godly stewards are committed
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to doing good, being generous, and sharing all
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the Lord has given. You know why many people
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are rich? It's because they know how to manage
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money. Think about it. Okay? They're stewards
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because they have learned the principle of stewardship.
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We talked a little bit about that last week.
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Look what it says here. Through him, then, let
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us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise
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to God. That is the fruit of lips that acknowledge
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his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share
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what you have. for such sacrifices are pleasing
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to God, Hebrews 13. God is pleased when people
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are generous. God demands, commands us to be
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generous. You think 10 % is enough? God doesn't
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want 10%. He wants all of you. He wants your
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wallet. He wants your feet. He wants your house.
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He wants your TV. He wants it all. He doesn't
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just want parts. And you know what people do?
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They come in, they give their 10%, and they go
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home and say, I gave God enough, because that's
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all he requires. That's not New Testament covenant.
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New Testament covenant says, I give all my life
25:44
to him. All. Do we keep our promises and our
25:49
giving towards him? He doesn't want 10%, like
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that's enough to please him. He wants all of
25:55
you. He wants your heart. Being said, this deals
25:59
with the issue of the rich. It says, as for the
26:01
rich in this present age, charge them not to
26:04
be haughty. In other words, don't go around saying,
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I'm good. It's all good. I can live whatever
26:11
I want. I'm good. Nor to set their hopes on the
26:15
uncertainty of riches. In other words, that I'm
26:17
going to be okay because I got enough. Trust
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me, you can't take anything out of the world.
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You came in with nothing, you will leave with
26:26
nothing. That's what it says, doesn't it? I just
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read that in verses 3 through 10. He says, don't
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set your hopes on the uncertainty of riches,
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but on God. Why? Who richly provides us with
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everything to enjoy. Do you guys enjoy what God
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has given you? Do you guys sit back and enjoy
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and look at what God has lavishly blessed you
26:50
with? Or do you go, that's all my hard work.
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We don't keep a beautiful home because We're
26:56
trying to impress people. We keep a beautiful
26:58
home because God is beautiful. We steward because
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God commands us to steward the home he's given.
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And one of the things that we do to show we have
27:08
dominion is to beautify the things that God beautifies.
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It's not to rule. He rules. We steward. Look
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what it says, continues in verse 18. They are
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to do good and to be rich in good works, to be
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generous and ready to share. thus storing up
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treasures for themselves as a foundation, storing
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up treasures, not earthly treasures, storing
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up treasures, heavenly treasures, as a good foundation.
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What foundation? The foundation laid by the apostles
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and Christ our cornerstone for the future. The
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future of what? The future wealth we get to give
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to our grandkids? Or do we store up the treasures
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for the future? meaning the gospel and the generations
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upon generations upon generations of believers.
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Which legacy do you think is going to last? Now
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I say this, I want you to get this. We look at
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our president today. Many of us like what he's
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doing. Let's say he does all this stuff, but
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he dies without Jesus. What legacy does he leave?
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He leaves nothing because Christ is not supreme
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for him. Think about that. It does not matter
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what you think this man is doing, and it does
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not matter what the church says concerning him,
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that this is God's sovereign work. If the man
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dies without Christ, what does it matter? Momentary
28:34
comfort for Christians. Think about it. What
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kind of legacy is he going to leave? He's a billionaire.
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He's got enough money that will last generations.
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But he dies without Jesus. What does he leave?
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His money. He came into the world with nothing.
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He dies with nothing. That's sad. That's what
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he's talking about here. If the president ever
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listens to this, I pray that he stores up treasures
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in heaven upon the good foundation, that the
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future of what he leaves is the legacy of the
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gospel and of godliness in the life of his family.
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Why? So that they may take hold of that which
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is truly life. Godly leaders must preserve all
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that the Lord has entrusted them. And I, when
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I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming
29:29
to you the testimony of God with lofty speech
29:32
and wisdom. For I've decided to know nothing
29:35
among you except Christ and Him crucified. We
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don't come with eloquent speech and we don't
29:42
come with dollars, dollars. We come with the
29:45
gospel and the gospel alone. Christ is enough
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and the gospel is enough. It's the only thing
29:50
that he's given to man by which men can be redeemed.
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And we look at our churches today and wonder
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how many people can preach that truth. I remember
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when I first started preaching the gospel, started
30:02
doing missionary work, and I went from church
30:04
to church. 98 % of the people that went to Baptist
30:08
churches, when you ask them what is the gospel,
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could not answer that question. In a room of
30:14
10 people, two people knew the answer. In a room
30:18
of 100 people, maybe four people would know the
30:21
answer. Why? Because we've been told, all you
30:25
got to do is say this prayer. Welcome to the
30:28
family. Look what Paul says to Timothy here.
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He says, oh, Timothy, guard, preserve, keep from
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being snatched away. The deposit entrusted to
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you. What deposit? The deposit of the gospel.
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The deposit of the truth of God's word. The deposit
30:47
of sound doctrine. Timothy, this has been entrusted
30:51
to you as a pastor. Are you going to let it be
30:55
snatched away? I will not. I will not. I will
31:00
preach the full counsel of God's word, and I
31:02
will preach the gospels in its entirety, and
31:05
I will call you to obedience and into a holy
31:08
life. That's what godly men should be doing.
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In the same way that Paul urges Timothy to guard,
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to keep from being snatched away, the deposit
31:17
entrusted to him. The best way that we as men
31:20
of God can do this is to avoid irreverent babble
31:23
and contradictions of what is falsely called
31:28
knowledge. that we speak against the false, and
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that we speak the truth of sound doctrine. That
31:35
is our responsibility. Too many books out there.
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Look what it says in verse 21. For by professing
31:42
these contradictions, by professing these irreverent
31:46
babbles, is the idea here. For by professing
31:50
it, some have swerved from the faith. Can you
31:52
imagine that? They're so committed to the false
31:55
doctrine and the false gospel and the prosperity
31:58
gospel and the feel -good gospel that they just
32:02
shipwreck their life. Their ministry is a mess.
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No, it's not. Look at how many people go to their
32:07
church. Look at how many people are going to
32:09
go to hell with them. You know what's amazing
32:11
is Paul says this, right? To O Timothy, guard
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the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid irreverent
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babble, contradictions. of what is falsely called
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knowledge, for by professing it, some have swerved
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from the faith. Grace be with you. And he stops
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the letter. It's the end of the letter. No benediction.
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He just leaves Timothy there. I'm like, what's
32:34
that about? Here's why I think Paul did that.
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Because he's like, Timothy, you need to think
32:39
about these things. I don't need to give you
32:42
a data boy. Real men, when they're being challenged,
32:46
and exhorted, because this is what this letter
32:48
is. This letter is a letter of exhortation. You
32:52
don't go, oh, by the way, you're doing great.
32:54
No, it's grace be with you. I pray that you can
32:57
work these out. I pray that you can do what God
33:02
has commanded you. Think about it. Read the letter,
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and then he says, grace be with you. I mean,
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he leaves all kinds of stuff on Timothy's lap.
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As a 19, 20 -year -old, this is one of the other
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things I wanted to share. It's sort of like when
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I played football. The men will get this. The
33:19
women, you won't get this. It's not chauvinistic
33:22
at all. Trust me. When we would go into practice
33:25
or we're in a game, halftime, we go in the locker
33:28
room or we sit on the sideline with the coach
33:31
and we're getting our rear ends kicked. That's
33:34
bad. Do you think he goes, you know what? You
33:36
guys are doing great. Keep trying. No. What he
33:40
says is, he says, you guys are terrible. What
33:44
is wrong with you? You practice better than this.
33:47
You're better than this. You should be working
33:50
harder at this. What is your problem? And we
33:54
go, I don't know, coach. He's like, B -men, stand
33:57
up and go take the field. Now, think about that.
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How come men can be talked to like that? See,
34:06
Donna knows. The reason why you can't talk to
34:10
a woman like that, they'll be like, oh, no. They
34:14
get hurt feelings. For men, it's like, yo, let's
34:18
go. I'll follow a guy like that. That's what
34:22
Paul's doing here. Hey, Timothy, grace be with
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you, bro. What are you going to do? Go do what
34:28
you were told to do. That's the idea. Then he
34:31
gives him a second letter, which we'll talk about
34:33
after Resurrection Sunday. Okay? So what kind
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of men and women are you going to be? Especially
34:40
the men. What kind of men are you going to be?
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Are you willing to out -serve, be the first,
34:45
work the hardest, love God supremely, lead your
34:49
families, or are we just going to continue giving
34:52
up our responsibility as men and let our wives
34:54
take over? How about if we invite them to partner
34:57
with us? How about if we ask them to, hey, won't
34:59
you come alongside me? Let's go do this together.
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That's what real leadership is about. Father,
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I want to thank you so much for your goodness
35:06
and faithfulness. Thank you, Lord, for your word.
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Thank you that you have called us as men to guard
35:13
the deposit that has been entrusted to us, to
35:18
avoid irreverent babble and contradictions, but
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to stand firm in the word, to stand on the truth,
35:24
to teach sound doctrine, even when it's difficult,
35:27
even when people don't want to hear it. But you
35:30
deserve all honor and glory. Help us to contend
35:33
for the faith, to give you glory and honor in
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all that we do. We praise you and thank you in
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Jesus' name. Amen.