Latest / Teachings On This Day On FerventWord / On Apr 06, 2008: 2 Timothy 2:19-22
Transcript
- You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2008. One last announcement I forgot to make for those of you drinking coffee. We wanted to let you know that because of the cost and because of the economy and things just being tight, we've decided to recycle our coffee cups. And so last week after you guys all left, we dug them out of the trash can, washed them out. And the coffee cups you're drinking out of are from last week. So hope you don't mind, but we're just trying to cut costs. Okay, I'm just kidding, right? Have you ever had that happen where you go to grab a glass or a dish out of your cupboard or cabinets and you begin to use it and you realize there's something still stuck on here from the last time we used it. This isn't exactly clean. Yeah, maybe it went through the dishwasher, but there's still some lettuce there or, you know, some sauce from the teriyaki chicken that you had last time. You know how that can be. And it's something that is quite disgusting. In fact, if I was serious about the coffee cups, I'm sure many of you would be quite furious. And you might even throw them at me while I was teaching here. And it's that idea that Paul is talking to Timothy about this morning. He's talking about holy vessels and unholy vessels. He's talking about you and I being prepared to For God's work. Now, in that same way, if you and I were to grab a glass about to fill it with water and we see there's just all this gunk inside of it, we would be disgusted. This morning, I want to ask you if God goes to grab you because there's something he wants to accomplish. There's a good work for you to do. And he goes and he grabs you. But then inside, there's all of this gunk. I would ask you this morning, I believe God wants to really challenge our hearts. Are you a vessel that's ready for the master's use? Are you prepared for God to use you? Are you cleaned out and sanctified? Are you set apart that God would be free to use you and not be disgusted by you? Paul starts out this morning in verse 19 saying, Nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands having this seal. The Lord knows who are his, those who are his, and let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. Just a quick background to get us caught up. Last week we talked about two men, Hymenaeus and Philetus. We talked about their false doctrine, their profane babblings, and That they'd strayed from the truth. And even to the point that Paul says they overthrow the faith of some. He says that their message will spread like cancer. And so we talked about the danger of false doctrine. But in talking about false doctrine, the danger of it, and these guys that are promoting and spreading false doctrine, Paul goes on now to say, nevertheless, and yet he's instilling back some confidence. Because, well, knowing that there's these guys who would preach false doctrine, knowing that it will spread like cancer through the church, so spread like an infection throughout the body of Christ, well, that can be somewhat scary. We can lose some of our confidence and feel real shaky about the body of Christ and the church of God. But Paul wants us to know, even though that's the case, even though there's some bad eggs in the bunch, he says the foundation of God stands, the solid foundation. What God has done, what God is doing is Is solid, it will stand and it has this seal. It's God's seal of approval. It's God's seal showing that it's genuine, that it is truly his. It's a seal that has two inscriptions. And so we can stand fast. We can be assured we don't need to be freaked out and wonder what's going to happen to the church because there's all of this false doctrine going on. Understand that the foundation of God stands. But it stands with this inscription. Now, in this portion of scripture that we're dealing with this morning, there's really two main applications. We can apply these things to the church life. That we're a part of, the church as a whole, the church universally. We can apply these things to the church. But ultimately, and this morning, this is where I will spend most of my time, that God wants to apply these things to our own selves. Even as we looked at last week in verse 15, be diligent to present yourself. Paul will say here in verse 21, if anyone cleanses himself. The ultimate application, the real point of these things is you. Where do you stand? And is God's seal upon you? Is God's seal upon you? The first inscription on this seal is that the Lord knows those who are his. Jesus told the parable of the wheat and the tares. You remember that when the landowner went and he sowed good seed, wheat, but then an enemy came and sowed tares or weeds there amongst the wheat. And they started to grow up and they realized, oh no, there's tares that are sown among the wheat. There's bad seed that was sown along with the good seed. They said, well, should we go and take out the tares? And he said, no, no, no, don't do that. You might damage the wheat. You might take out the wheat unknowingly. And so wait until the fruit is produced. And then you'll be able to safely take out the tares without damaging the wheat. And you'll be able to recognize which is which. In the same way, within the church, there's some good seed. There's some bad seed. Yeah, there's the hymenaeus and philetus. There are those who spread false doctrine. There's those who spread false teaching. And so for you and I, well, we're not really equipped to look at another person and say, yeah, they're not really right with God. It would be very difficult for us to judge a person's heart because, well, we just we don't see those things. We don't understand those things. We can discern from fruit. We can judge fruit. We can we have a limited perspective. And so there would be an unperfect evaluation by us of each other. Are you in the faith? Are you in the faith? I don't know. Is this person in the faith? We don't know. But here's the solid foundation of God. No matter what you know or what you think or what you feel, God knows who is his. He's not up there going, man, I wonder if they're going to make it. Are they really serious in this commitment that they're making? They go forward at the harvest crusade or they go up after service and say, I want to commit my life to the Lord. Are they serious, man? I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see. No, the Lord knows. The Lord knows who are his. Does the Lord know that you are his? Does he know that you are his? Are you fully committed to the Lord? Have you committed your heart? Have you committed your life to God? Are you living for him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Do you love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? The Lord knows. So that's comforting. Jesus said, I know my sheep. I know my sheep. You know, he knows you. He knows you by name. He knows every detail about you. The very hairs of your head are numbered, the Bible says. He knows you. The Lord knows those who are his. So that's the first inscription. And that's comforting. That's important. And we need to know that. But there's a second part to this seal. There's a second inscription that is, well, it's also important. Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. So on the one hand, we have the Lord knows who are his. On the other side, now we have our responsibility. Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. God calls everyone who names his name to turn from sin, to turn from iniquity, to turn from wrongdoing, to turn from rebellion against him. He calls us to stop doing wrong. The things that he's called us not to do and commanded us not to do. This is the inscription of God. The inscription of God or the seal of God rather has these two inscriptions. God knows those who are his and those who are his must depart from iniquity. Do you name of the name of Christ this morning? Would you say, yes, I'm a Christian. I'm a Christian. I named the name of Christ. I'm a follower of Christ. Do you name the name of Christ? Because the inscription says those who name the name of Christ must depart from iniquity. There must be a turning from sin. There must be a discontinuing of habitual sin in our lives. We got to stop. Those who name the name of Christ cannot continue to live in sin. Paul deals with this in 1 Corinthians chapter 5. He tells the church there it's important, it's necessary not to associate with someone who's named a brother, who names the name of Christ, yet continues in practices sin. So there's someone living in fornication, sex before marriage, boyfriend and girlfriend sleeping together, yet they name the name of Christ. Well, there's there's reason there's justification to doubt whether they have been sealed. Because of the inscription that's required. Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. If you and I continue in sin, if we press forward and carry on, if we live in sin, if we practice sin, if we sin habitually, there's a great danger in our life. Because the foundation of God stands having this seal with the inscription. The Lord knows who are his, those who are his. And let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. And so if you have not departed from iniquity, you need to make sure that you get right with God. You need to make sure, am I sealed with this seal of God? Do I have these inscriptions sealed upon my heart? Turn with me if you would. We'll come back to 2 Timothy, but turn with me to 1 John 3. First John chapter three. So very important for you and I. We cannot continue in sin. We cannot persist in sin. Yes, we will stumble. We will fall. We will struggle. But what Paul is talking about and what John will be talking about here in first John chapter three is the persistence, the continuing, the habitual sinful lifestyle. First John chapter three, starting in verse six. John says, whoever abides in him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen him nor known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. Verse 9, whoever has been born of God does not sin, for his seed remains in him, and he cannot sin because he has been born of God. Now, I would challenge every one of you to read those words and take them very seriously and to honestly evaluate your heart. Whoever abides in him does not sin. Now, the word there in the Greek tense says, Would perhaps better be translated, does not continue in sin. Or does not sin habitually. So we're not talking about, oops, I stumbled. I fell. That'll happen. We all do. But the continuation. Pressing forward. If you're not stopping. If you haven't departed. He says, whoever abides in him does not sin. Whoever sins... Again, whoever continues in sin or whoever sins continually has neither seen him nor known him. So this is a way that we can test and evaluate our own hearts and lives. Now, I would encourage you. These aren't necessarily tools for you to use on other people, but these are tools for ourselves to use on us. Do I continue in sin? Have I really turned from the things that God has commanded me not to do? Because here he says, whoever sins or whoever continues in sin has neither seen him nor known him. And so there's right reason to question if I have known him, if I continue in sin. And then he says in verse 7, let no one deceive you. This is very important. People will try to deceive you. Your heart will try to deceive you. You'll try to deceive yourself. Yes, you will. It's okay. I'm okay. I said that prayer. I believe in God. So it's okay that I continue in this because there's grace. Because it's okay. Because I said that prayer. Because they called for it. And all my sins have been forgiven. So I can let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous. Now you're not righteous because you practice righteousness. You're righteous because of your faith in Jesus Christ. But those who know him, those who have been born again, those who have a real relationship with God, guess what? It manifests itself in practicing righteousness. Righteousness. In doing what God has called us to do and told us to do. Just as he is righteous. But he who sins. Now again, he who continues in sin. The one who continues in sin is of the devil. That's pretty heavy. If you continue in sin, you're of the devil. If you keep on going, if you press on, if you persist in sin, you're of the devil. For the devil has sinned from the beginning. Verse 9 again. Whoever has been born of God does not continue in sin. Have you been born of God or do you continue in sin? It's one or the other. They're mutually exclusive. Well, I've been born of God and I continue in sin. No, that's not what the scripture teaches. We will continue to sin and that, yes, we will stumble. We will fall. But to continue in sin shows that I have not been born of God. He says he cannot continue in sin because he's been born of God. You cannot have both. You can't have both ways. Don't let anyone deceive you. Don't let your own heart deceive you. If you continue in sin, John says, you are not born of God. The solid foundation of God stands. It has this seal. God knows those who are his. And let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. The issue with Hymenaeus and Philetus is that they weren't departing from iniquity. It's very clear that they were false teachers because, well, they continued to live and practice sin. How about you? Do you have the seal of God? Are those inscriptions upon you that you do not continue in, that you do not practice sin, but you have departed from iniquity? It's repentance, a 180-degree turn. I was continuing in sin, but God stepped in. He did a work in my life. He died on the cross for me to set me free. And by faith in Jesus Christ, I've been set free. And so now I need to stop going that direction. I need to depart from iniquity, make a U-turn and head towards the things of God. Pursue the things of God, as we'll see later in verse 22. The first thing we need to know in our relationship with God and in our relationship with sin is that we're to depart from it. We must depart from iniquity. Let's go back to 2 Timothy chapter 2 and look at verse 20 and 21. He says, Using similar imagery, now he talks about this house and this great house built upon this foundation of God that stands. He said there's vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. There's nice silverware. There's good dishes. There's good china. And there's also vessels that are used, well, for not so honorable purposes. Now, there's lots of things that we could discuss here. But I think it's pretty clear. I know that God is speaking this morning, not necessarily about the details of interpretation and all of the things that we could discuss here. But he's really pointing us at the application. Verse 21. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, it's enough to understand in a house, there's vessels for honor and there's vessels for dishonor. And if anyone will cleanse himself from the latter, from those vessels of dishonor, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the master, prepared for every good work. Again, it's a picture of the church. And within the church, there's going to be those vessels for dishonor. There's going to be dishonorable people in the church like Hymenaeus and Philetus. But the point of it is, if anyone cleanses himself. This word cleanse means to clean out, to clean thoroughly. Let's do some spring cleaning this morning. If anyone cleanses himself, he will be a vessel for honor. Those who name the name of Christ depart from iniquity, depart from sin. Yet often in our lives, there's still some clutter. There's still some of that. Well, it's just junk that persists in our life. The rest of the junk and the things really that do not edify. In Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1, the author of Hebrews says, Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us. Two separate things. The sin which so easily ensnares us. Well, that's what we're to depart from. But we're also to lay aside every weight. Why wait? Well, because he's using the picture of a race. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. And so in running a race, you don't want weights that will slow you down and hold you back and keep you from performing well. It's the same thing he's talking about here in 2 Timothy. Only instead of weights, he's talking about dishonorable vessels. Why? Well, because the imagery is just a little bit different. He's saying, look, there's sin and you must depart from that. But there's also these other weights. There's these dishonorable things, this clutter, this junk, really that is within your life. And you need to lay it aside. You need to clean out thoroughly. To sweep the house, clear it out, and get rid of the junk that holds you back from what God wants to do. He says the one who cleanses himself will be a vessel for honor. Do you want to be a vessel for honor? Really? I mean, is that your heart? Not before me, but before the Lord. Is that your heart? Do you want to be a vessel for honor? Do you want to be sanctified? It means to be set apart. Do you want to be set apart for God? Do you want to be useful for the master? Is it your heart's desire for God to use you? Do you have a desire for God to work through you, for God to use you to minister to other people and impact their lives for eternity? Do you have a heart for God to use you? Is that a desire that you have? Do you want to be prepared for every good work? Do you desire to be ready for Lord, whatever happens, whatever opportunity comes, Lord, I want to do it. Do you really want to be ready for whatever God would have for you to do? Do you want to be ready? Are you willing? Is that a desire of your heart? If it is, here's what he says. If anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will fulfill all these things. He'll be a vessel for honor. He'll be sanctified. He'll be useful for the master and prepared for every good work. So you say, I want to serve the Lord. Where do I start? Clean house. Have you cleaned house lately? Many of you know, recently my wife and I, we moved out of the home that we were staying in and we moved into a little apartment. And so we went from three bedrooms with just her and I to a one bedroom apartment. And in doing so, well, there was a lot of cleaning house to do. We discovered there's a lot of clutter that we have that we really don't need anymore. It's just dead weight. It's just slowing us down. Also, in preparing to move, well, we had to get the house ready for the next person to come in. It's a dirty job. Moving the appliances, you know, how often do you do that? Clean that junk out there behind the stove. Scrub the grease off all the walls, you know, right there on the stove because I'm a messy cooker. Moving the refrigerator, moving all the furniture, vacuuming and cleaning up. When's the last time you cleaned the house, really? Spiritually speaking. Right now we're reading through 2 Kings in the Bible in a year. Just finished 1 Kings a couple days ago. Starting through 2 Kings. As you're reading about the kings of the nation of Israel, there's a common thread throughout all of them. Actually, the nation of Judah particularly. The common thread is for those who were good kings, they were good, they loved the Lord, they served the Lord, and yet the high places were not removed. And yet they didn't tear down the high places. And yet the high places were still in use. Over and over and over again, we see these kings and they had followed verse 19. They departed from iniquity. And yet there is still this area that, well, they didn't really clean house. They didn't let go. They kind of left the opportunity open. Well, maybe I'll need to go and worship that God one day. Maybe I'll need to go and practice something there one day. Maybe I'll need to. They didn't go all the way in cleaning house. Well, they loved the Lord. They were obedient to him. And yet there was this area that they just really did not want to deal with. Is that an accurate description of you in your life? Yeah, you love the Lord. Yeah, you've departed from iniquity, but... You know, there's just these things in your house that are vessels of dishonor. Opportunities, maybe, that you just kind of want to keep open. You're not practicing them. You're not going through those doors right now. But you just want to keep them open. I'm just going to keep that door unlocked just in case one day I need to use it. I need to walk through it just in case. I'm just not really ready to let that go yet. Yeah, I know I shouldn't practice. I shouldn't walk. I shouldn't do that. But I'm just going to not get rid of this just yet. When God's people would get right with him, they would demolish their old altars, their places of worship. It was a real physical act that they went through because they were worshiping idols. For you and I, it may or may not be that same way. And I want to challenge you this morning to clean house. And maybe that means literally, physically, really cleaning your house. What do you got in the closet? What's there in your bedroom? That's a vessel for dishonor. What do you got in your living room? Really, that's that's not used for God. That's not glorifying to God. What do you got in your home? That's not of the Lord. Maybe physically, literally, really, there's some cleaning you need to do, some altars you need to demolish, some trash you need to throw out. Or maybe it's spiritually within your heart. There's some areas that you just, you really haven't surrendered to the Lord. Some rooms in your heart that you haven't allowed God to fill yet. Maybe it's not at your house. Maybe it's at your workplace. Hey, if God's speaking to you, you know. You know where it's at. You know what he's speaking to you about. I want to challenge you this morning to clean house. Be sanctified. Be set apart for the master. To be used by him, prepared for whatever good work he may lay before you. I don't know about you, but I want to be used of God. I want God to use me. I want to be open to him and whatever he has for me. Because I love him. And he's done so much for me. I want to be submitted to him. Available to him. Yeah, I want God to use me. If anyone cleanses himself, he will be a vessel for honor. Sanctified and useful for the master. Prepared for every good work. You know, you can't be more saved than someone else. You cannot be more holy than... You can't be more loved by God. We all have the same standing by faith in Jesus Christ. But you can be more useful. We often say the phrase, you know, God's not looking for your ability, but your avail-ability. Are you really available? Does he grab the glass and go, man, it's filled with gunk. It's filled with junk. Clutter. Things that do not honor me. That's not being available to God. Being available to God. If you want to be available to God, cleanse yourself. From the dishonorable. Get rid of that junk. Finally, verse 22. He says, flee also youthful lusts, but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Flee youthful lusts. So three things this morning Paul has been sharing with us in regards to our relationship with God, our relationship with sin. First of all, depart from iniquity. Let those who name the name of Christ depart from iniquity. Number two, clean house. Get rid of the junk. Get rid of the remnants of your old life, the remnants of sin, the opportunities to sin, the open doors that you just want to keep there just in case later you might need them. Clean house. But thirdly, we need to flee. Depart, clean, and now flee. See, in repentance, in departing, you've turned from your sin. In cleaning house, you've kind of gotten rid of the opportunities. And so, really, everything's been dealt with. And so now he's dealing with the temptation. There will always be the temptation to go back. There will always be the temptation to perhaps do new things. There will always be temptation that is being thrown at you. As you've departed from sin, as you've cleaned house, now every time that you experience temptation, Paul says you need to flee. Flee youthful lusts, the desires of the flesh. flee them like joseph did with potiphar's wife there in genesis chapter 39 she was persistent come and lie with me joseph finally she grabbed onto his cloak lie with me and he fled he took off leaving the garment in her hand this is how we need to deal with sin not toying with it not seeing well i wonder how much temptation i can endure not saying well i got it under control i'm Not entertaining temptation, but fleeing from it. Pastor Tom would often say, when it comes to spiritual warfare, stand. Ephesians 6.10. But when it comes to temptation, flee. Don't fight it. Don't stand. Don't just sit there, but run. Remove yourself. Get out of the building. Run from that temptation. In 1 Corinthians 10.10. Verse 13, it tells us something very important. Paul says, Paul says, Paul says, But God is faithful. Although you experience temptation, although we all experience temptation, he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. As much as your heart says otherwise, as much as your flesh says otherwise, as much as society will try to tell you otherwise, you do not have to succumb to temptation. You don't have to give in because the temptation that he gives will never be more than you're able to bear, more than you're able to resist. You will still be able to flee youthful lusts. Because it says he will make it with the temptation will make a way of escape. Now, just the wording there, the way of escape. Well, it gives the implication. This isn't something you just kind of stroll through taking the way of escape. No, you're fleeing through the way of escape. Right. Like in Indiana Jones, when that that door is just closing, there's only six inches left and he slides through and grabs his hat on the way. Just he's getting out of there as quick as he can. That's fleeing temptation. That's what we got to do. We got to flee. Right. It's a way of escape that God gives us. And even there in 1 Corinthians 10, Paul says in the next verse, Therefore, since God gives us a way of escape, since we're not tempted beyond what we're able, and he makes this way of escape, therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry, Paul says. That's the point. There's a way of escape, so flee. You've got to run. You've got to be serious about this. It can be wishy-washy. If you want to toy with temptation, if you want to flirt with it and play with it, see how much you can endure temptation, You're going to find yourself in trouble. You need to flee youthfulness. Flee temptation. Get out of there. God has set you free. And so don't allow the enemy to come in and build those strongholds again. We're to flee from temptation. But it doesn't stop there. You can't just run from it and just like I'm always avoiding sin and that's the focus of your life. No. You need to fill that void with something else. You need to run towards something else. And so Paul says, flee youthful lusts, but pursue. Same terminology, same picture. You're still running. But not only are you running from sin, but now you're running towards righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Yeah, I'm not going to go into detail of each of those things. I think it's pretty self-explanatory and not really the focus of where God has us this morning. But I would encourage you to meditate on those things. Pursue the things of God. Fill your life. Yeah, clean house. But not just so that you just have an empty house. No, there's a danger to that. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 12? He talked about if one who is cleansed from an evil spirit, that that spirit goes and roams and tries to find a place to stay. And if it can't, it comes back and he finds the house all swept up and clean. You know, the spirit's been delivered. House has been cleaned. There's no more vessels for dishonor. Everything's in order. And so he goes and gets seven more and comes and inhabits the house again. And so the condition, the last condition, Jesus said, is worse than the first. And he ends that by saying, at the end of verse 45 of Matthew chapter 12, he said, so shall it also be with this wicked generation. He's not just talking about demon possession. He's talking about the wickedness of a generation. Listen, if we just clean house, and so now we just have an empty house, the worst condition Or the last state will be worse than the first. We can't just clean house. We can't just flee from temptation. But we need to pursue righteousness. We need to pursue godliness. We need to pursue love. We need to pursue peace. And then notice he says, with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. We need fellowship. We need fellowship with other believers. We can't stand alone. We can't stand on our own. In order for us to be able to flee and pursue righteousness, We need to have brothers and sisters alongside of us to help us, to build us up, to encourage us to pursue the things of God. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 11, please. 1 Corinthians chapter 11. The worship team can go ahead and make ready for worship. In 1 Corinthians chapter 11, we find Paul sharing with the Corinthian church about the Lord's Supper. And he talks about how he received from the Lord the same thing that he passed on to them. That Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, he gave him the bread when he had given thanks. And he said, take and eat. This is my body which is broken for you. And he gave the cup. And he said, take and drink. This is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you do it in remembrance of me. But he goes on after describing there that first supper, that last supper, the first communion. And he goes on to give some words. Admonition to you and I. Look at verse 27 of 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason, many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. Verse 32. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. He gives a pretty stern warning here about partaking of communion in an unworthy manner. What is an unworthy manner? Well, we know we're all unworthy. None of us deserve to take communion. But by faith in Jesus Christ, we have right standing with God. But what Paul is talking about is the need to examine ourself. Not just saying, well, I prayed a prayer. Well, I come to church. Well, I'm named the name of Christ. But there's a need of self-examination. That's not examine your neighbor, but examine yourself. He says in verse 28, but let a man examine himself. And so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. This self-examination is not something to keep us from communion, but something for us to do before we partake. And it's right in line with where God has us in 2 Timothy. This morning, have you departed from iniquity? Now, don't just answer right off the top of your head. Examine yourself. Are you about to partake of communion in an unworthy manner? Not regarding, not discerning the Lord's body? Paul says, hey, for this reason, many are sick among you and some have even died because you've been disregarding God. You've been blatantly walking away from God. He says, if we judged ourselves, we wouldn't need to be judged. God wouldn't have to discipline us if we would discipline ourselves, if we would examine ourselves. What are you going to do? Are you going to wait for God to chase in you? I would rather be broken before God than broken by God. I would rather examine myself and be broken before him and come to him on the basis of his mercy and grace than for me to be rebellious, refuse to examine myself, refuse to clean house, refuse to deal with those issues so that God would need to bring some discipline, some chastening, some correction. Now, it's because he loves us. It's so that we would not be condemned with the world. It's so that we'll be saved. But you have a choice. You don't have to do it the hard way. And I know if you're involved in something, it seems the hard way to really deal with it now. But the hard way is to wait, to not deal with it. And God will chase in you because he loves you. He doesn't want to leave you the way that you are. It's destroying your life. Examine yourself this morning. Have you departed from iniquity? Do you need to clean house? Is there some areas that are dishonorable? Some unholy vessels? Literally, physically in your house? Is there some things you need to clean up? Spiritually in your heart? Is there some attitudes? Is there some unforgiveness? Is there some issues there that are really hindering your walk with the Lord? Have you been fleeing temptation? Or have you been entertaining it? Enjoying it? Flirting with it? Allowing the enemy to come again and set up those strongholds in your life that God has set you free from. This morning, God wants to set you free. He wants to deliver you. And it's through His work on the cross. And so in a few moments, we're going to partake together. But before we do, the worship team is going to lead us in one song. And during this one song, I implore you, I exhort you, I challenge you, examine yourself. Where do you stand? Do you have the seal of God? With the inscription, the Lord knows those who are his. And let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. Let's examine our hearts. Let's examine our lives. Examine our house. And allow God to work in our hearts. So let's do that as we worship the Lord together.