Latest / Living Waters of Grace / Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland Sunday Services / Living Waters of Grace 01.13.26
Transcript
- 0:04This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Lewis
- 0:08Harold, assistant pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland
- 0:12County in Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Lewis as he
- 0:16continues teaching through God's Word.
- 0:37Join in on that with me. Don't be fearful continue to do
- 0:40what God has called you to do and then he says here in verse
- 0:439, he says who has saved with us a holy calling.
- 0:47He called us to be separate from the world.
- 0:49The world is not going to go through those things.
- 0:51The world is not going to take that risk, but because of what
- 0:54we believe in and because what we know is waiting for us, that
- 0:57promise of life, we can continue to do what we've been called to
- 1:01do. And whatever happens, happened.
- 1:03Faith is the substance hoped for, the things unseen.
- 1:07Literally, faith is believing in something that you can't see.
- 1:11So that means that faith requires risk.
- 1:14How can we as followers of Jesus take risks?
- 1:19Well, it requires us to 1st believe in the One who empowers
- 1:22us to do the things that He's called us to do.
- 1:25When we believe in God, God moves.
- 1:27Now, that doesn't mean that God doesn't move just because we
- 1:31don't believe. God's will is like water.
- 1:34It will always take the path of least resistance.
- 1:38But when we believe, walk in faith, God moves in bigger ways.
- 1:43Now here's Pastor Lewis in the Book of Second Timothy chapter
- 1:461, as he continues his message last words.
- 1:50He sees Paul getting arrested and about to be executed, and
- 1:53he's in the same ministry. He is testifying to the same
- 1:57name that Paul was testifying to that's leading to his impending
- 2:01execution. Maybe that caused Timothy to
- 2:04weep. We don't really know what caused
- 2:08Timothy to weep. But Paul says I'm mindful of
- 2:11those tears, that I may be filled with joy when I call into
- 2:15remembrance. Your genuine faith, Timothy,
- 2:19your faith is not hypocritical. Your faith does not come from
- 2:25surface belief. Your faith comes from the real,
- 2:30the real source. Your faith is based upon your
- 2:34knowledge and your belief in Jesus Christ.
- 2:37That is genuine faith. It's faith in the face of fear.
- 2:42It's faith in the face of all things of persecution.
- 2:45It's faith in the face of danger.
- 2:48That's genuine faith, Faith and temptation, Timothy.
- 2:52Your faith is not hypocritical because your examples were good.
- 2:58First, it was in your your grandmother, your grandmother
- 3:00Lois, she was a faithful woman. And that was passed down to your
- 3:06mother, Eunice, who was a faithful woman.
- 3:09They pray for you, Timothy, and now you have genuine faith.
- 3:13I'm going to tell you something. Most of us, and I know I am,
- 3:17chief, I am definitely one who are here as a result of the
- 3:23faithful prayers of someone who prayed for us.
- 3:27Maybe it was your grandmother, maybe it was your grandfather,
- 3:30maybe it was your father, maybe it was your mother.
- 3:35For me, it was mother, grandmother and my older sister.
- 3:41They desperately prayed for me to come out of those streets,
- 3:44and maybe somebody did that for you.
- 3:47So we have evidence that the fervent prayers of the righteous
- 3:52availeth much, and Timothy understood that.
- 3:56So if you're praying for somebody that's not in here yet,
- 4:00if you're praying for somebody that you want to see walking
- 4:03with the Lord before you leave, don't stop praying.
- 4:07Regardless of what you see, regardless of what you see.
- 4:14It's not about what we see. It's what we believe.
- 4:17We serve a God that is able to change hearts, to change lives,
- 4:23to change the destiny of men and women.
- 4:26He is able. So don't give up your prayers.
- 4:30Don't give up your prayers. And then he goes on and he says
- 4:33in verse 6, he says, therefore, I remind you now, this is his
- 4:38first. If you're taking notes, this is
- 4:39his first instruction to Timothy.
- 4:42He says, therefore I remind you, stir up the gift of God that is
- 4:46in you through the laying on of my hands.
- 4:50Stir up the gift that's instruction #1 Timothy.
- 4:52Stir up that gift that is in you.
- 4:55Every one of us have a gift that's in us that came to us at
- 4:58the time that we got saved. When the Holy Spirit came to
- 5:01dwell on the inside of us, it brought gifts.
- 5:06So we all have a gift, but non use fear and other things can
- 5:11cause that gift to go dormant. Circumstances, frustrations,
- 5:18problems in ministry, it can cause that gift to go dormant.
- 5:22Non use of that gift. And Paula said, Timothy, stir up
- 5:27that gift. Fan those embers into a flame.
- 5:31Timothy, don't let your ministry die.
- 5:33Don't let your faith die. Don't let your testimony die.
- 5:36Stir it up. And that's what He's saying to
- 5:40us. He sent it to me and I know He's
- 5:42saying it to you as well. Stir up that gift that's in you.
- 5:45God placed something in you. I don't know what it is, but He
- 5:49placed a gift that's in each and every one of you who believe.
- 5:52Stir it up. Don't let it sit and go dormant.
- 5:57Don't let the enemy be able to celebrate because you are not
- 6:00serving the Lord in the way that God has called you to do it
- 6:03because your gift went dormant. Stir it up.
- 6:08Stir it up. But it's also important that we
- 6:11remember that the gift is in you.
- 6:17You're not the gift, he said. The gift that's in you.
- 6:22We're not the gift. Don't let people think you're
- 6:24the gift. Don't let people make you
- 6:27believe that you are the gift. The gift is in you.
- 6:32It's in US whatever that gift is teaching praise and worship, AV
- 6:38leadership, whatever the gift is administration.
- 6:40It doesn't matter. The gift is what's in you.
- 6:45So he goes on that was necessary just to put out there before we
- 6:48move on. Then verse 7 he says, for God
- 6:51has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love
- 6:54and a sound mind that was must have been necessary to say Paul
- 6:57would not have made that admonition if it wasn't
- 7:01necessary. Somewhere along the line Timothy
- 7:05must have became timid somewhere along the line.
- 7:09Somewhere along the line Timothy must have become pretty silent
- 7:13about his gift and was not teaching the word of God or
- 7:17doing what he needed to do with the gift that was placed in him.
- 7:20Somewhere along the line something was going on where
- 7:22Timothy was becoming fearful. Otherwise Paul would not have
- 7:26made that admonition to him. He would not have brought that
- 7:29up. And it was right after he said,
- 7:31stir up the gift. And then he says, for God has
- 7:34not given us a spirit of fear. So you put those two together.
- 7:39That tells us that Timothy somewhere along the line became
- 7:43fearful. Maybe it's because he was seeing
- 7:46so many people executed around him.
- 7:47Maybe it's because he was seeing the treatment.
- 7:49Maybe it was because he was getting threats from Nero.
- 7:52Maybe he was because the older people that was around him was
- 7:55just disrespecting him so much that he become fearful.
- 7:59But whatever the case was, he must have become fearful.
- 8:02And Paul said God did not give us a spirit of fear.
- 8:06Timothy, God gave us a lot of gifts came and a lot of things
- 8:10came with the spirit that God gives us.
- 8:12A lot of things come with the spirit that God gives us.
- 8:14In fact, if you go to Isaiah Chapter 11 verses one, it talks
- 8:18about the seven spirits of God, the fear of the Lord, the spirit
- 8:22of counsel and might, the spirit of understanding and knowledge,
- 8:26and the spirit of fear. All those things come with the
- 8:29spirit. Fear is not one of them.
- 8:32Anything that we fear, it's the fear of God.
- 8:36And that's a reverent fear, not a oh, I'm so afraid fear.
- 8:39It's the fear of God, the reverent fear of God.
- 8:43So somewhere along the line Timothy became fearful.
- 8:47So he goes on here and he says, but what did come with that
- 8:50spirit was power, love, and a sound mind or a disciplined
- 8:58mind, a mind of self-control. That's what did come with that
- 9:05spirit. But not fear.
- 9:06Fear wasn't one of them. So Paul's acknowledging Timothy,
- 9:10he says, look, serve boldly and not fearfully.
- 9:14And he's given us that same admonition to serve boldly and
- 9:17not fearfully. So he goes on here in verse 8,
- 9:23so #1 stir up the gift of God #2 Now verse 8.
- 9:28Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor
- 9:32of me his prisoner. That's number two.
- 9:37Do not be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord.
- 9:40When you look at that, when you look it up in the Greek, it
- 9:42really talks about don't be disillusioned or don't be
- 9:45disappointed of the testimony of the Lord.
- 9:49There's a lot of things that happens that could disappoint
- 9:52us, so we lose faith. We can lose faith in the
- 9:55testimony of Jesus Christ, so we don't give it as much anymore.
- 9:59And Paul says don't be ashamed of it.
- 10:02Don't be ashamed to suffer for him.
- 10:04Don't be ashamed to talk about Jesus Christ, Timothy.
- 10:07He is the Messiah. He is the real deal.
- 10:10He is the Son of God, He is the Christ.
- 10:14You don't have to be ashamed. You won't be disappointed if you
- 10:18put your faith in him, Timothy. You won't be disappointed,
- 10:22Timothy, Don't be ashamed. Don't be ashamed.
- 10:27And that's what he talks about. Then he says nor of me, his
- 10:30prisoner. Some people can be ashamed.
- 10:32Wait a minute, You, you're doing all that teaching out there.
- 10:34I mean, think about how some people can say that, you know,
- 10:37you're always talking about Jesus and you talk about your
- 10:39faith, but look at you, you're suffering.
- 10:42Look at you, you going through, look at you.
- 10:44You ain't prospering. Don't care about that because we
- 10:48have the promise of life that Paul talked about at the
- 10:50beginning. I don't care about what goes on
- 10:52here in this world. So what I know, I serve a God
- 10:56who's able to do anything that he wants to do for me and for
- 11:01you. I serve a God who's able.
- 11:05But the promise that he gave us was the promise of life, and
- 11:08that's what we trust in. So he says.
- 11:11So don't be ashamed of me either, just because I'm
- 11:13suffering. But instead of being ashamed,
- 11:15and this is #3 the third instruction, Share with me in
- 11:19the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God.
- 11:23Timothy, join me in the sufferings.
- 11:27Join me in it. Suffer with me, you know, Don't
- 11:30try to avoid it. Preach the Word.
- 11:33And if you have to suffer as a result of preaching the Word, as
- 11:37a result of sharing the message of the gospel, so be it.
- 11:41Then join in it with me, Paul said to Jesus.
- 11:45I want to know you in the fellowship of your suffering.
- 11:50I want to stand the way you did. Jesus stood and looked of all of
- 11:53the people who wanted to kill him every day.
- 11:56He looked right into their face and continued to teach what God
- 12:00gave him to teach, to preach what God gave him, to preach, to
- 12:03do what God gave him to do. Looking right into the face of
- 12:07those who he knew wanted to kill him, he kneeled down in front of
- 12:11the man who he knew was going to betray him.
- 12:15But he didn't become ashamed of it or back off of it.
- 12:17He washed his feet anyway. He washed his feet anyway.
- 12:23And Paul is saying, let's join in on that.
- 12:25Join in that with me, join in on that with me.
- 12:28Don't be fearful. Continue to do what God has
- 12:31called you to do. And then he says here in verse
- 12:349, he says who has saved with us a holy calling.
- 12:38He called us to be separate from the world.
- 12:40The world is not going to go through those things.
- 12:41The world is not going to take that risk, but because of what
- 12:44we believe in and because what we know is waiting for us, that
- 12:47promise of life, We can continue to do what we've been called to
- 12:51do. And whatever happens, happens.
- 12:53And he's going to tell us why that's important for him a
- 12:55little further down. But he called us with a holy
- 12:58calling. That means it's a calling to be
- 12:59separate. You know, you're a chosen
- 13:02people. You know, you're a royal
- 13:04priesthood, you're a holy nation.
- 13:09You're separate. You're separate.
- 13:11You're a peculiar people. You're a people unto me.
- 13:14You're separated unto me. So he says, walk in that.
- 13:17And then he goes on and he says according, not according to your
- 13:19works, but according to his own purpose and grace Things here in
- 13:24the world that we achieve. We achieve them because of our
- 13:26efforts. We achieve them because of our
- 13:29efforts. You get a job based on your
- 13:31history of work, things that you have done.
- 13:33It's based on your own effort. There's a lot of kids right now
- 13:35always relate things to sports, but there's a lot of kids right
- 13:38now that are playing high school basketball.
- 13:40OK, There's thousands of high school basketball teams around
- 13:43the country and thousands of basketball players.
- 13:45There's only a few. There's only a few colleges that
- 13:49will give scholarships to these players.
- 13:51So all these players are trying to earn a scholarship and
- 13:54they're doing it through their works, but that's in the world.
- 13:58What Paul is saying here is that you're going to be called out,
- 14:02but it's not going to be because of your effort.
- 14:04It's going to be because of God's own purpose and grace.
- 14:09Nothing that we do makes us credible to be called out by
- 14:14God. Nothing.
- 14:15It's all according to His purpose, and He's given it to us
- 14:19through His grace. That grace is that unmerited
- 14:22favor, but it's also that enablement to do what God has
- 14:26given us to do for his purpose. Amen.
- 14:30And then he goes on and he says here, which was given to us in
- 14:35Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the
- 14:41appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death
- 14:45and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
- 14:50Here's Paul again focusing on the promise of life.
- 14:55He says, look, this thing was already established, and it was
- 14:59done before time began. Not before your time, but even
- 15:02before our time, OK, Not before God's time.
- 15:05God doesn't have a time, right? He's infinite.
- 15:08There's no beginning, there's no end.
- 15:10But it was before our time began.
- 15:13It was already established, already steps, because God is
- 15:16sovereign. He knows the end from the
- 15:18beginning. We see to the corner.
- 15:20He sees around the corner but what he saw.
- 15:23But what he brought to us whenever it was revealed was
- 15:26basically the same message that was given to the prophets of
- 15:29old. He abolished death through the
- 15:33cross and brought life and immortality to light through the
- 15:37gospel. And that's the message again,
- 15:39the message that God wants us to preach.
- 15:42That's what Jesus wants us to send out.
- 15:44It's the message of life through the gospel.
- 15:48That's what the gospel is. It's a message of life.
- 15:51Those who don't believe the wrath of God abides on them.
- 15:55That's death, that's death. But for those who believe, it's
- 15:59eternal life. It's eternal life.
- 16:04He's given it to us. And then he goes on here in
- 16:06verse 11 and he says to which I was appointed a preacher,
- 16:12apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles.
- 16:15Paul said it's for this gospel that we're talking about that
- 16:18I'm talking about with you now. It's for that gospel that I was
- 16:22appointed to be an apostle. I was appointed to be 1 sent
- 16:25from God with the message to share with everyone.
- 16:28I was appointed that. And then he says, I was also
- 16:31appointed to be a preacher. And a preacher is a herald, one
- 16:35who goes out and he shares he, he exhorts and he shares the
- 16:39gospel. He exhorts, he he shares the
- 16:42good news. Paul said I was appointed to be
- 16:45that as well. And he's also appointed to be a
- 16:48teacher. And that's a systematic
- 16:50instructor of the doctrines of Christ.
- 16:53I was appointed to do those things.
- 16:55That's why I was called by God. But then he says here for this
- 17:01reason, in verse 12, for this reason, I also suffer these
- 17:05things. For this reason, for the message
- 17:08of life that God has given me, I suffer the things that I'm
- 17:12suffering right now because of the message of the gospel.
- 17:17That's why he's suffering, he says here.
- 17:19And then he says, I'm suffering these things.
- 17:20Nevertheless. Nevertheless, Paul's never
- 17:24focused on his situation. He's never once focused on the
- 17:27fact that I'm in a dungeon, the fact that I'm cold, the fact
- 17:30that I'm lonely. He never focused on that.
- 17:32The fact that I'm looking at impending death.
- 17:34He never focused on that, he says.
- 17:36But nevertheless, I am not ashamed.
- 17:38You know, if you can read this and not feel some enthusiasm,
- 17:44some a spirit rousing up the stirring of the Spirit reading
- 17:47this, Paula said, I don't care that I'm looking at death.
- 17:51I don't care about that. I don't care because I know who
- 17:57I believed. I know who I believe.
- 18:01I believe the Messiah, Jesus Christ is the Messiah.
- 18:05I'm not believing what those Pharisees are saying about Him.
- 18:08He is the Messiah. He's the truth.
- 18:11He's the way, and he is the life.
- 18:13I know who I believe. I know it.
- 18:17It's in my knower. He said I know who I believe.
- 18:20I am persuaded. Paul says I'm already persuaded.
- 18:24You know, no one has to persuade me.
- 18:26No one has to convince me. I am persuaded that he's able to
- 18:31keep what I have committed to him, and that's his life, that's
- 18:39his soul. He's able to keep it and he's
- 18:43able to keep it for us. He's able to keep it for us as
- 18:47well. The scripture says in Matthew,
- 18:52he says those who try to keep their life will lose it.
- 18:56If you try to keep this life we have down here mingling with the
- 18:59world, we don't lose that. But those who will lose their
- 19:03life for my sake, meaning Jesus Christ, the sake of Jesus
- 19:07Christ, they will find it. And that would be eternal life.
- 19:13They'll find it. So he says he's able to keep it
- 19:19against that day. And then in verse 13, he says
- 19:24hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from
- 19:29me in faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus.
- 19:34I just want to stop there for a second.
- 19:36He says hold fast. That means grab hold to hold
- 19:39tightly, hold near, stand on. But then he doesn't just say
- 19:47hold fast the sound words. Let's not miss the word that he
- 19:51put in between that. He said hold fast the pattern of
- 19:58sound words. Let's not change the gospel.
- 20:03Let's not minimize the gospel. Let's not water down the gospel.
- 20:07Let's not make the gospel something that it's not, don't
- 20:11add to or take away from it. The gospel is not a a get rich
- 20:15quick scheme. The gospel is not a motivational
- 20:19speech kind of a thing. It's not for motivational
- 20:22speaking. It's not a self help program.
- 20:25The gospel is not a prosperity project.
- 20:30It's not a way just to get money, he said.
- 20:33Hold the pattern the way that I gave it to you, Timothy, which
- 20:37is the way that I got it from Jesus Christ.
- 20:40Hold on to that. Keep that same pattern.
- 20:44Keep that word true. Be true to the word that I have
- 20:48given to you. Don't change it.
- 20:52Don't try to influence anybody by doing something different.
- 20:55Don't try to modernize it. Don't try to make it appealing
- 20:59to the new believer. No, Timothy, no.
- 21:03I know you're young and there's young people that's going to be
- 21:06trying to come to your church, but don't change the pattern of
- 21:10the gospel of those sound words. Keep those words the same.
- 21:16Keep the message, the message. Keep the main thing, the main
- 21:20thing, Timothy, and don't turn away from that.
- 21:24And when you give it to somebody else to teach it, give it to
- 21:28them the same way. Hold the pattern and that's what
- 21:33God is saying to us. Hold the pattern of sound
- 21:36teaching. We don't have to water nothing
- 21:38down. It's one of the things I love
- 21:40about Calvary Chapel. You can't really do that because
- 21:42you're going verse by verse, chapter by chapter.
- 21:45You can't roam around and try to twist and turn and and make
- 21:48things into your own message. No, you can't do it.
- 21:51What's here. That's what you got to teach.
- 21:54That's what you got to teach. Thank you, Jesus.
- 21:59Amen. Thank you, Jesus.
- 22:01So as we get ready to think about our Lord and Savior Jesus
- 22:07Christ, he said I only said what my father gave me to say.
- 22:12I only did what my father told me to do.
- 22:15He was true to the word of God. He kept the pattern of the
- 22:20sound. He never changed it.
- 22:22Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever.
- 22:28He didn't change anything to try to gain popularity.
- 22:32When he knew people wanted to kill him for his message, he
- 22:35didn't change his message so it sounded less threatening.
- 22:38He didn't do that. He kept the pattern of sound
- 22:43words. When he knew that the Pharisees
- 22:45were trying to trick him up, He didn't do something to try to
- 22:48appease him. He spoke the gospel.
- 22:52He spoke the word of God. He didn't change it when the
- 22:57devil came to him, when he was in the wilderness, when he
- 23:00fasted for 40 days and 40 nights and the devil was trying to get
- 23:04him to change things up. He just simply preached the word
- 23:07every time. He didn't come up with his own
- 23:10examples or come up with his own way or something that might be a
- 23:14pleasing or appealing to Satan. He didn't do that.
- 23:18He kept the pattern of sound words.
- 23:22Let's keep the pattern of sound words.
- 23:24We endeavor to do that here in this house.
- 23:28For many years, Clark has been a a watchman over this house.
- 23:32To keep the message pure, the way that it comes out of this
- 23:37work, we have to do the same. We have to do the same.
- 23:43He was called to do it, we're called to do it and we have to
- 23:46continue to do. It you've been listening to
- 23:50Pastor Louis Harrell here on Living Waters of Grace, we're
- 23:54digging into all that Paul shared with Timothy in the books
- 23:57of First and Second Timothy. Timothy was commissioned to do
- 24:01the following fight, the good fight of faith, lay hold on
- 24:05eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed
- 24:09the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
- 24:14Timothy would be carrying on what Paul had taught him and
- 24:18continuing on in ministry, even though Paul knew that more
- 24:22hardships would come. For Timothy.
- 24:24This is the Christian life. It's not glamorous.
- 24:28It's not some celebrity status. It's hard fought, it's gritty,
- 24:33it's unpopular, but it's worth it.
- 24:36Do you believe that today? Are you willing to fight the
- 24:39good fight even at the cost of earthly pleasures?
- 24:43Living the life of a follower of Jesus will have its heavenly
- 24:47rewards. To be a part of a community
- 24:50that's looking forward to that heavenly reward, we invite you
- 24:54to join us at Calvary Chapel Westmoreland.
- 24:57If you're in the Greensburg, PA area, come be with us this
- 25:00Sunday at 10:30 AM at 400 E Pittsburgh St.
- 25:05Ste. 6B. Check out Calvary Chapel
- 25:09online.com For more information on directions and any other
- 25:14details you might want to know. You can also download our mobile
- 25:18app from our website thatscalvarychapelonline.com.
- 25:23If you have friends or family members who want to tune in,
- 25:26encourage them to listen on Grace FM 91.7.
- 25:30One last thing, this radio ministry relies on your support
- 25:34to keep things going. If you're willing to donate
- 25:37financially, send gifts to Grace FMPO Box 716, Greensburg, PA
- 25:4415601. Thanks for prayerfully
- 25:48considering this, and thank you for listening to Living Waters
- 25:52of Grace.