Letters: 1 Timothy 4-6

One wrong turn in the water can feel like the right direction until you run out of breath. That story becomes a mirror for spiritual life as we open 1 Timothy and talk about deception, truth, and the quiet ways we can drift without noticing.

We walk through Paul’s guidance to Timothy on rejecting myths, clinging to Scripture, and training for godliness in everyday life. You’ll hear simple, practical handles for Christian discipleship: listening to God through the Bible and the Holy Spirit, talking with God through honest prayer, and acting on what he asks so we stop “swimming” against the truth. We also lean into Paul’s call to set an example, reminding both young and older believers that God’s calling is not limited by age and that spiritual gifts are meant to be used, not neglected.

Then we zoom out to a foundational question: what is the church? Not a place we visit, but a people we are. That leads into a grounded, sometimes challenging conversation about biblical honor in 1 Timothy 5 and 6: honoring elders, caring for widows, providing for family, valuing faithful leaders, and showing respect in the workplace so the name of God is not dragged down. We close with a direct warning about false teachers and modern noise, plus a timely lesson on contentment, the love of money, and what it means to fight the good fight of faith with consistent spiritual training.

If you’re hungry for spiritual freedom, clearer discernment, and practical next steps for living like Jesus at home, online, and at work, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the message.

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Transcript

Welcome And Life Group Challenge

Angus MacLeod 0:00

Well, good morning, church. We are continuing our series on letters today, and we are blessed once again to hear from another three voices who are going to be speaking in 1 Timothy. And so before we get into that, I just want to introduce myself. My name is Pastor Angus. I'm the family pastor here at Cornerstone. And if today is your first day with us, welcome. We are so glad to have you. Here at Cornerstone, we use this image all the time of the disciples walking with Jesus. And the reason we do that is because we find that none of us have arrived. All of us are imperfect. We are all trying to follow just a little bit more close to Jesus, and we are all trying to be just a little bit more like Jesus. The way we do that here at Cornerstone is by loving God, making disciples, and reaching the world. And so, in fact, that's where uh Pastor Celeste and Pastor Jay are this week. They've they've been out doing ministry in Asia and maybe uh will be returning this coming week. So if you would pray for them in their journeys that it would be safe travel and that there would be no issues on the way. But uh we look forward to them being back. We also are looking forward to the fact that our upcoming life group season will be starting soon. And so we want to just encourage you and challenge you to predecide to become one of the members of our life groups where you can either connect, grow, or serve. These are all vital areas uh that can increase your spiritual life here at Cornerstone as well as your connection with others. So as we get into letters, I'm going to introduce our first speaker who is Amy. She is one of our ordained ministers here, and she has a word that she's been prepared to share with you.

A Pool Story About Deception

Aimee Lenger 1:50

Good morning. Have you ever heard of someone being described as being able to swim like a fish? I am the opposite of that comparison. I grew up in a colder climate and I did not have a lot of opportunities to swim, so as time went on, I became more and more afraid of the water because I didn't know how to keep myself afloat. When I was nine, my parents enrolled me in a summer swimming class, and that's how I found myself spending the next several weeks with a group of five-year-olds in a pool. By the end of the class, I could swim and dive off the diving board and even kind of open my eyes underwater, but I couldn't see much. My hair eventually turned green, but it was worth learning to swim. Unfortunately, the class ended before we had a chance for the instructors to show us how and when to turn our heads to breathe while we were swimming. So I could swim for as long as I could hold my breath. A few months after the class, some leaders from our church took a group of us kids to an indoor water park. Since I had had swimming lessons, I felt confident enough to go down the water slide. My strategy was as I reached toward the end of the slide and saw the light at the end of the tunnel, I would prepare to hold my breath. And as the slide propelled me into the pool, I would blindly swim until I could feel the steps and climb out of the pool. After several descents like that, I hit the water as usual and began swimming. And swimming. And swimming. And soon I began to panic. I couldn't feel the steps, and I knew that I could not hold my breath much longer. At the last moment, just when I thought my lungs were about to burst, I felt the steps and climbed out of the water, gasping for breath. The lifeguard had just jumped in the pool to save me. And she told me that instead of swimming out toward the steps, I had been trying to swim back toward the water slide. I was in the opposite direction of where I was supposed to go, even though everything in me told me I was swimming in the right direction. But my brain wasn't telling me the truth. Throughout our lives, we hear things that aren't true. Sometimes these messages come from others, and sometimes we deceive ourselves. This problem was also rampant in the first century when the fledgling church was trying to figure out the truth. We'll be in 1 Timothy 4 today, so please turn there with me in your Bibles. As Pastor Angus mentioned last week in his excellent message, this letter is referred to as one of the pastoral epistles, which is just a fancy way of saying Paul was writing to Timothy to help and encourage him as he pastored the church in Ephesus, which is a city marked by a yellow star on the map that's up there. Ephesus was located in modern-day Turkey and was filled with all kinds of people who wanted to follow God, but whose culture and former beliefs made them vulnerable to deception.

Freedom From Rules And Rumors

Aimee Lenger 5:37

Verse 1. The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. Jesus died in order to emancipate us. We've been talking a lot about freedom this year as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country. We take our national liberty very seriously. But our freedom in Christ is so much better. We are free from the burden of an impossible set of rules. We are free from people keeping us out of God's kingdom. We're free from hopelessness, free from believing lies. We are free. However, as the early church began, some people were trying to gatekeep this new freedom. They were attempting to require adherence to a set of rules that Jesus never asked us to follow. Paul was pretty fed up with the burdens imposed on new believers, and he wanted people to understand the truth, so he declared it plainly here. Verse 4. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. Paul urged Timothy to remind believers of the truth that all of God's creation is good. We don't need to live our lives in fear, believing rumors spread by people who don't know anything. Or even automatically believing our own thoughts, which sometimes are not based in reality. Verses six and seven. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales. Rather, train yourself to be godly. This is the truth. God accepts us just as we are. We don't have to clean up before he agrees to save us. And he's not basing his acceptance of us on some impossible standard. But he also doesn't leave us like he found us. And praise God for that. Who wants to keep suffering in their mess when God is offering to deliver us from our misery and guide us to the full, vibrant life he died to give us? He accomplishes all this by helping us reject the lies we've believed and instead embrace the truth.

Train For Godliness With Three Habits

Aimee Lenger 8:48

If we do want that amazing life he offers, we need to figure out what it means to train ourselves to be godly. An easy description for it is something we say around here all the time, and we even sing about this morning: be more like Jesus. But what does that actually look like? How do we become more like Jesus? Well, how do you become more like anyone? First, you get to know them. And getting to know Jesus is just spending time with him. We can do that in three simple steps. Number one, listen. Cling to the truth. In other words, read your Bible. Don't think of the Bible as just a set of rules. It is God's love letter to us. And He gave us 1,189 chapters and 31,102 verses. That is a long love letter. As we get to know God better, we can learn to hear the Holy Spirit speaking directly to us. Begin to lean into him as well and ask him to talk to you directly. The second way to train ourselves to be godly is to talk to God, otherwise known as prayer. This gives us a chance to share our deepest thoughts and emotions in complete safety. When my husband Gil and I were dating in college, we talked for hours on end. We walked to class together talking. We went out on dates and talked. We hung out in the student lounges talking. We talked as we ate together in the school cafeteria. We didn't have cell phones back then. So when we would each go to our own dorm rooms at night, we would get on our old-fashioned phones with cords and talk on those. Sometimes we even stayed on the phone all night. I slept with the receiver next to my head simply because I wanted to be in Gil's presence even when I couldn't physically be near him. Even now, we talk all the time. We update each other on what happened while we were away from each other. We discuss household-related topics, and we regularly share our thoughts and feelings. We maintain a strong relationship because we've never stopped talking to each other. Now imagine this. The third way to train yourself for godliness is to act. As you get to know God's voice and recognize the truth by listening to his word and his Holy Spirit, and as you get used to talking to him in prayer, you'll find yourself wanting to do what he asks and what you know pleases him. You'll quit swimming in the wrong direction and turn around to where you're supposed to go. And that's how you begin to walk in truth. As you do more of that, Jesus will pour out his blessings on you, the best of which is always more of himself. In verse 8, Paul further explains the value of training ourselves to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. Physical training is valuable. We care for our physical health by choosing to eat the right foods or less food and by exercising. We level up that care by managing our stress and getting enough rest. But if we prioritize our physical bodies over our spiritual health, there's a problem. Because our physical health benefits us in this life, but our spiritual health comes with eternal benefits. Paul continues in verse 9. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things.

Lead By Example At Any Age

Aimee Lenger 14:22

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. Young people, listen up. You are never too young to have a meaningful relationship with God or for Him to notice you, call you, and allow you to bring other people closer to Jesus. The Bible gives us multiple examples of babies and young children whom God called and ministered through, sometimes even before their births. I don't have time to talk about all of them today, but if you want to know more, you can look up the accounts of Samson in Judges 13, the prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel 1, and John the Baptist in Luke 1. God doesn't care how old you are. And this goes for the more mature people here today, too. God doesn't put an age limit on his calling, he has a plan for you. He sees you. And he is inviting you to be a part of his plan to bring people closer to Jesus. Don't let anyone, including yourself, tell you differently. Paul's advice in verse 12 is to set an example for others in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. That pretty much covers our whole lives, doesn't it? It goes right back to training ourselves to be godly, to living our lives based on truth, the real truth, not the cleverly disguised lies we hear from others or sometimes think up all on our own. Verse 13. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching, and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Because God has a specific plan for you, He has given you special gifts to take part in that plan. We are all born with special talents that are meant to help each of us in fulfilling our calling. Then, after we give our lives over to Jesus, we also receive spiritual gifts to further help us. What's more, we can ask for the Holy Spirit's baptism available to all believers, which empowers us in our calling. Verse 15. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. God calls us to diligence. Each of us is an example to others. So we need to devote ourselves to God's plan and God's truth, not the twisted path of the enemy that frequently leads us in the opposite direction from where God wants us to go. Our friends and family and co-workers and neighbors are watching us closely. Part of God's calling for us is to lead others out of deception. Let's be sure our example and instruction lead people toward the truth. As long as we're alive, we're heading somewhere. Let's keep our eyes wide open to watch which way we're going, correct course if necessary, and bring along with us all the people we can. God offers us the remarkable chance to participate in the salvation process by guiding others toward the truth. Let's not waste the opportunity.

Angus MacLeod 18:45

Amen. Such a good word, Amy. You know, living in a country where we are so free, isn't it funny how bound up we can be sometimes? I mean, we we can go out and we can worship God and we can do all of those things, but there's still some something within us that's bound. And so, Amy, thank you for that word because there's so many good reminders in there of how to cut those strings, how to cut those binds that bind us. Because if we want to represent Jesus, nobody wants to follow a bound Christian. And so it's important for us as believers to make sure that we keep those uh those binds, those things to the world not grabbing onto us so that people can see us as walking in freedom. As we continue on, we're I'm gonna invite Eddie to the stage. He's one of our uh one of our ministers here at Cornerstone, and he's going to be continuing on.

The Church Is People Not Place

Edward Perez 19:42

Well, good morning, family. I want to first start by thanking God and Pastor Jay and Celeste for this amazing opportunity to come break bread with you this morning. Um, as already mentioned in these letters, we're looking at the the word of God as the love letters from heaven. I love the way that Amy and Pastor Jay have shared that in the past. Um again, this these letters, or at least this particular letter in 1 Timothy, is more about Paul instructing Timothy, as mentioned, about his leadership in the church, but also what I'm gonna call as birthmarks of the church. But before we get into the letter itself, I want to uh address that uh that uh term church. What or who is the church? Okay, and the way I want to explain this is through a little bit of an analogy, if you will. I'm gonna act out something here for a moment. And uh uh just so we can kind of see what it is that I mean by this. So tomorrow, many of us, if you st if you're still working, or or if not, you may be meeting together with family or friends, and this conversation may happen tomorrow, okay? And see if it's familiar to you. I'm gonna be playing two parts. Hey Ed. Hey, Leonel Messi. Now I know we're past the World Cup and all that, but I'm scoring points with Pastor Jay because he loves the football. Love you, Pastor Jay? How was your weekend? Did you do anything? Oh yeah, last Saturday, my family and I, we did so-and-so. And then Sunday we got up, we went to church, and then later we did so and so. Right? A familiar conversation we may have, right? Nothing wrong with it, everything perfect. We're gonna change it up. I'm gonna do it one more time, I'm gonna change it up a bit and see if you can catch the change. Ready? Hey Ed. Hey, Mbappe? I just love that name, so I wanted to use that. How was your weekend? Did you do anything? Well, yeah, my family and I Saturday we did so and so. And then as the church, we got up Sunday and went to Cornerstone, and then later we did so and so. Did you catch it? Right? The first time it said we went to church, and the second time it said, as the church. Why the difference? Well. Think about it for a moment. When we say it the first way, and again, nothing wrong with it, but it puts the emphasis that church is a place, right? But Jesus didn't die and do all that he did for a place or a building. He did it for us, his people, his nature. So when we say as the church, it puts the emphasis on us, and it it's us that make up the church. Now, for the past 18 years or so, my wife and I have been involved in kids' church. So I'm gonna do a little something else and get you guys involved. This is Serena approved, so I hope you go along with it. Because if you got little kids in kids' church, this is what they do. So now you guys are examples to your kids. So I need you to be nice and loud, okay? It's okay to be a little bit loud in church, alright? So I'm gonna have you repeat after me, and this is what we do in kids' church, okay? So as the church, that's you and me, we love the Lord.

unknown 22:54

We love the Lord.

Edward Perez 22:55

Oh man, you guys are good. You must have had your coffee already. But we're gonna do one more time. Ready? One more time. As the church, that's you and me, we serve the Lord.

unknown 23:06

We serve the Lord.

Edward Perez 23:07

Man, you guys are awesome. So remember that anytime you hear that term church, think of it differently. It's not the place, it's us that make up the church. And by the way, even try that tomorrow if you have that conversation. Say that. Well, as the church, I did this and see if you get any reaction. Maybe it'll stir up a conversation with somebody about that. Amen? All right. So we're gonna look at uh the first couple of verses of 1 Timothy chapter 5. It says this do not rebuke an older man, but encourage him as you would a father. Younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters in all purity. Right? So if you're bound here at Cornerstone in any way, or if you're new here, you're gonna hear a lot of people refer to each other as brother and sister, right? And this is probably where it comes from. Because we understand one thing, that we're all related in the bloodline, not by a natural sense, but by his blood. We're family to one another, okay? Excuse me. But I want to also emphasize more about that part about don't uh rebuke an older man. Uh in our culture, if you agree with me, I'm a little older than some of you in that there, but we've kind of lost some of the uh essence of how we respect our elders in our community, right? When I grew up, you didn't dare talk negatively or any disrespectful way to somebody older than you, your parents, um, teachers, your neighbors, coaches. You respected them always, man. You paid a price if you didn't. But we've kind of walked away from those things. But God, in his in his standard, again, as birthmarks of the church, we gotta uphold the standard. We can't expect that necessarily for somebody that doesn't know Christ. We need to show them those ways. And get God takes this very seriously. And to uh emphasize this point, Leviticus 19, 32 says, you shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man. You shall fear your God, I am the Lord. He parallels that aspect about doing so as unto him for those that are of the you know elder generation within our community. So if you're 65 or older and you're able, would you please stand? And if you're not able, just raise your hand. Okay? And all the rest of us, point your hands towards them, we're gonna pray for them. Lord, we thank you for your word. We thank you that you guide and direct your church, your body, your people. Lord, we ask first to forgive us for where we've fallen short of that standard. Help us to turn it around and do it as you say so. And for Lord, these that are standing, bless them, Father God, in this stage of life. Your word says that the latter days should be more blessed than the former. Meet them in every need they have at this current time, physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, however they need it, Father God. Meet them, bless them, and let these days of their life till you call them home be such a blessing to them and others. Help us to make connection with them, learn from them, and uphold that standard for your glory, all in Jesus' name. Amen.

Angus MacLeod 26:21

Thank you.

Honor Widows Family And Elders

Edward Perez 26:25

So moving on for the rest of the chapter is uh focused on a particular matter of honor in three specific um uh people groups. But before we go there, we need to establish well, what is biblical honor? It's a Greek word in this particular chapter called tumeo, and it means about respect, high regard, and the value. And it also carries the connotations of being able to financially compensate and support. Okay? Now, the first group of people that he addresses in this are the widows, okay? And in this particular chapter, he's he spends a lot of time differentiating the difference between true widows and widows. Okay, the true widows were one that didn't have any family support to help them in their in their particular stage that had happened. And if you don't know, widow means that there a woman has no longer the her husband is no longer with her. Okay? And in those cases, it was the church. And who's the church? You and me, yeah. It was their responsibility to see to their welfare and to care, okay? But outside of that, if they had family and all that, it was the family that's the ones that support the ones that are considered widows in the community. Now God takes this very seriously. If we look at 1 Timothy 5, chapter 8, or excuse me, verse 8, it says, but if anyone does not provide for his relatives and especially for the members of his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. How many of you would honestly say that's the first time I've ever heard that? And it's okay. It's okay if you you know, but it's there. Okay? You've heard it, you can't deny it now. It's our responsibility. And you know, one thing else I want to point out, it doesn't say if the uh widow is somebody that's uh likable or she gave that they're a Christian, or you know, even in the place before where it talked about you know respecting of the elders and stuff, it doesn't say that they're you to do so just because of certain aspects. It's just because they are. Okay? It's our responsibility as his children to walk out the things for his glory, not because they deserve it or want it. So I know there's times we have familial uh circumstances that say, well, they're not Christian though, so I guess that uh excuses me from having to do that. No. If you're the Christian, you uphold that to them regardless of what their standard is. You just do what you do as under the Lord. Amen? Got it? All right. So uh beyond that, the honor aspect was looking at elders. Now in the scriptures, it looks at elders in two fashions. One, those that are older within the body. But in particular, this one is talking about the honor of those that serve as the pastoral. We see in uh 1 Timothy 5, chapter 17, or excuse me, chapter verse 17, that the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For those of you that may not know, Cornerstone next month will be celebrating 40 years in existence here. We currently have the founding pastor, Pastor Rich, and standing sitting to my left, or sitting over here to my left, correct. Um, 40 is an interesting number in the Hebraic because it means a time of testing. And so this body in existence has been through a time of testing according to God's standard. What is he testing? What is he preparing us for? I hope you have some expectation about that if you belong to this body here, because who knows what God's preparing us or has been preparing us all along. But in for a moment, would you please extend your hand towards the pastoral over here? We're gonna pray for them. Father, we thank you again for 40 years. And should you tarry, many more. Help us, Lord, to be fruitful for your kingdom. Bless these that labored in the beginning, as He told us in your word, to double honor them. Show us how, as a body, to do so, all to your glory. Bless them, Father God, for their labors and things, for all that they say and do, helping us to grow as as your children. We just give you thanks and glory for this, for you ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you. And then finally, the last uh ones to honor were called masters. Now, this language is a little bit different in our culture. When you look at the action, it's at the beginning of chapter six, actually, the first couple of uh verses.

Double Honor Leaders And Respect Work Authority

Edward Perez 30:57

But it uses language of like bond servant and master. And we we hear that in our language today, it's like, oh, we don't want to have any of that. Well, the best way to understand that language in our culture today is employee and supervisor, okay? And so as if you're a Christian employee in a uh whatever service of stuff, you're to honor your map or your supervisors or leaders that you have, okay? And vice versa, the other way. If you're an employee, or excuse me, if you're um uh a uh yes, thank you. If you're the supervisor, manager, or owner of a business, you're to honor those that serve under you as according to the word of God. All right, and so finally, um this tandem that we have here of Paul instructing Timothy, you know, we see what Paul's sharing with Timothy and Timothy to go out and to do those things, right? But we don't have an account in the Bible as to whether or not Timothy fulfilled those things. We kind of believe by faith that he did, but we don't have an actual account. However, in the Bible, we do have one in the Old Testament in the form of Moses and Joshua. Okay, Joshua helped deliver the Israelites out of Egypt at a time they needed, and then prior to the second time trying to go into the promised land, he uh passes the baton to Joshua and gives them a set of instructions of what he was to do. And then we have a book of Joshua that lets us know what Joshua did to fulfill that, okay, and for the most part, pretty much he did. But then at the end of Joshua, he's instructing the people following him of basically what Moses instructed him. Okay, so we're looking at Joshua 22, 5. And this is what Joshua shares with them, and I believe it's also spoken to us today as well. Oh, I'm so sorry. Uh I wanted to say if I could back up once. I forgot to mention that in the place we're honoring masters and supervisors, I had the opportunity to do that a couple of weeks ago. There should be a picture, guys. Yeah, there's my crew. Let me get out of the way. Sorry, I forgot that. I kind of skipped ahead. So the gentleman on the back row, fourth from the left, or from your, yeah, from your left, with the tall, tallest guy there, that's Dallas. He was my supervisor for a while. Um, as by the way, this is the public safety at Grand Canyon University, half the crew. And uh he recently got a promotion or it got hired by the City of Surprise to be their one of their PD. And so we were celebrating him this day, and we prayed with them, blessed him. So to say that to honor those, I had that opportunity to be able to honor my supervisor, as the word said. Um, also, by the way, two of the gentlemen that are in there are getting married the next year, and one of them, I have the blessed opportunity to be uh officiating his wedding. Um beyond that, over there at Grand Canyon, they're having a baby boom, and there's like nine babies about to take place. I don't know what's in the water, and I know there's some uh expecting here as well, so but I forgot, I forgot to share that. So going back to Joshua 22, again, what Moses shared with Joshua, uh what he was to instruct those following him, Joshua 22, 5, only be very careful to observe the commandments of the law that Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you to love the Lord your God and to walk in all his ways, keep his commandments, cling to him and serve him with all of your heart and with all of your soul. Okay? Now, the people of Joshua's day, unfortunately, when you read beyond that, they didn't necessarily heed what he had told them. There's a very disturbing sentence that said in one of the ends of the chapters in the judges, I believe, that says, and they all did what was right in their own eyes. Let that not be said of us in our day and what we're doing now. Let's fulfill what God has called us to again for his glory. Thank you all. God bless you.

Angus MacLeod 34:56

Amen. Thank you, Eddie. I like what he had to say there. Say this with me. I am the church. Say it again, I am the church. See, I think it's when we really get that down into us that we we start acting like the church rather than calling the church and saying, hey, you guys need to do this. Um, because we, while the church, we want to be there for as many people as we can. The reality is the effectiveness that we all have when we all accept the mindset that I am the church, that we can begin to make a huge difference in this world. Well, our last speaker I'm going to invite to the stage is Joel. He's a member of our crucial member of our tech team. He's also on our servants council, and super excited to hear from him today.

Honor Your Boss To Represent Jesus

Joel Montemayor 35:59

So I'm gonna be speaking on chapter six, and so I'm gonna reiterate uh some of Eddie's comments on verses one through uh one and two. So it starts off in verse six, um, but before I start, it says this is the last chapter, so this is the summary of the chapter. So uh Paul's talking to Timothy, and he kind of sums it up. So some of the topics that I'm gonna talk about have been talked about in chapters one through four. So in verse one it says, let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. So the first part of that, Paul is saying, slaves to honor their masters. And so um, just like Eddie, we don't really have that terminology here, but we do have honor your boss. And so uh that's a difficult thing because we live in a world where a lot of our bosses are not believers in Jesus. And so we have to honor them regardless. And uh I know in reading this, it's been difficult for me. I've been given a lot of opportunities to honor my boss when I didn't feel like they needed to be honored. And so we need to do that. We need to respect authority because Christ gave us that example. Christ gave us an example to follow, and so we need to do that so that the name of God is not reviled. And so when we're going out there into the world, into the workplace, into uh the social areas, we need to remember that we are Christ's example. We are uh we are what God has called us to be. And so we need to live that way so that when people see us, they see that uh we follow somebody who is greater than anything this world has to offer. Okay, and when we honor authority and they don't deserve it, they will see that we that we live for something greater, and they'll they will uh they'll want to know what we're like, and so um be more like Jesus. And so um that's not just a saying, but it's a it's a theme in these letters. Paul is trying to tell Timothy to be more like Jesus, because Jesus gave us an example on how to live, and so as we do that, we uh we need to honor

Spot False Teaching And Guard Responses

Joel Montemayor 38:10

authority. And so he goes on to say if anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. So the first part he's saying is, teach these things. And so he's telling Paul or Paul is telling Timothy what to teach. And so uh in the people that spoke before me, those are the things that uh Paul is telling telling Timothy to teach. So uh he's doing that because there was false teachers in uh Ephesus. Ephesus had a problem with false teachers, and so Timothy was there to correct them and expose them because they were causing strife and dissension amongst all the people, and so uh this warning for false teaching is also to us. So we need to make sure that we are not following false teachers, that we need to be careful on who we listen to. So uh right now we have YouTube and and all the social medias, and there's a lot of people to listen to. There's a lot of people talking, saying a lot of different things. Some of them are good, some of them are not. And so we need to make sure that they line up with the word of God. So we need to make sure that we're reading the word of God so we know what the word of God says. And as we do that, when we listen to people, when we listen to teachings of uh scriptures or any kind of teachings, any kind of opinions, we know, hey, that person lines up with the word of God, and so that we can follow them. But there's another thing we need to do. We need to be careful on how we respond because we can respond incorrectly as well, and that response can be a teaching as well. When when we respond, uh we live in a world right now where our responses are shared through millions of people. You know, you respond on Facebook or or one of those, everyone can see your response. And if they see you as a believer, then they see, oh, this is what he believes. That's a teaching. So we need to be careful on how we respond. So it goes on in verse six through eight and says, But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing with these things, we will be content. So what he's saying is godliness plus contentment is great gain. So godliness is the lifestyle that conforms to the character and commands of God, and being content is being at peace with what you have. So, first he's saying is to be godly. And so that godliness is um it's a way of life. So we need to, again, follow Christ's example, we need to live in that way, and so we need to be humble, we need to uh follow the word, what it says, and then we need to be content. And so being content is a it's a difficult thing. We need to be happy with where God has us. And we can all say that we're happy with where God has us, but a lot of times our actions speak louder than words. We want more, you know, we want the next thing. We live in a culture of wanting more, and so uh I I struggle with that many times. I like tech, I like um gadgets, I like the next thing. And so wanting more falls with that, you know, you can't get the next thing if you don't have more. And so we need to be careful with wanting more. And so I think of uh this next image of a man just kind of in the woods being at peace. And so contentment is like the root of peace. And so we need to just focus on that. Try not to fill our schedules so much that we don't have time to just be at peace with God. And so we need to make that time, we need to make that a priority in our lives.

Choose Contentment Over The Money Trap

Joel Montemayor 41:52

Okay, and uh he goes on and he says why we need to be content. And in verses nine through ten, it says, But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires, that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving and that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. So Paul's warning that it's a trap, that this is the opposite of being content. Wanting to be rich leads to destruction. And we're in a culture of wanting more. Everywhere you look, there's somebody wanting more. There's a uh if you guys can go to the next slide. So we see money as a trap, but then uh we also see uh this man with a whole bunch of money, and we think, you know, you can do a lot with a lot of money. So we got to make sure that we don't fall into that trap, into that temptation, because that uh is what the enemy's doing in this culture, in all the commercials, it's trying to say, hey, it's okay to want more, it's okay to get more, you know, do more. You know, you can do more if you have more. And so we need to be careful with the things that we watch and the things that we listen to because those things are slowly dulling our senses. They're slowly saying, hey, you know what? It's okay. It's okay to be a believer and to want to be rich and to desire to be rich. But Paul is saying that leads to temptation, that leads to destruction. Uh uh, it talks about the love of money leads to pride, envy, jealousy, conceit. It leads to so many things. There's so many problems that the love of the money is the root of. And so we need to uh watch out for that and watch out for those traps because sometimes we don't even realize we have them. Sometimes we don't realize that we love money, and we don't realize that these other things that we're struggling with could be because we have a desire to be rich. Because it's not it's not apparent, you can't see it on somebody, it's just there. And so we need to ask ourselves and and watch ourselves with that. And then it says. Wandered from the faith. And so that one is a hard one to hear. Our mission is to uh tell people about the kingdom of God, to show people the way to the Lord so that they can be part of this kingdom, part of something that's greater than this world. But the love of money is the opposite of that. It leads them away from the kingdom. And so we need to be careful and watch out for that because that is going to uh derail us. Sorry, I'm talking fast because I'm nervous. So one of the things John Rockefeller, so he was a billionaire back in the back in the older days, and he was asked, how much more money is enough? Or how much more money would make you happy? And his reply was just a little bit more. And I think that that hits hard because sometimes we just want a little bit more. Like I don't want to be super rich. I just need a little bit more to be happy. You know, I don't want, and sometimes that's the trap right there is that we just want a little bit more, and then a little bit more, and then a little bit more. And then that cycle never ends uh of wanting more. And so God has us where we're at for a reason, and we just need to be happy with like, hey, if God wants me to be here forever until I go to the next world, then I need to be happy here. And so let's let's do that together. So it goes on to say in verses 11 through 12 But you, man of God, flee from all of this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. So I think of uh fight the good fight of faith. That's uh when I think of fighting, I think of uh two people fighting, like a boxing match or an MA match, MMA match. And uh that's what I think of. When I think of fight, I think of something physical. Uh I'll think of Mike Tyson. Uh some of you know who he is, some of you don't, but I remember when I used to walk Mike Tyson, he would knock out people in the first round. And I remember you had to pay for the fight. You have to pay to watch the fight, you save up all your money, and then you know, $50, which was a lot, and then 30 seconds in, fight's over. And so, but it was great. He he would really knock them out where other people would just kind of go back and forth. Or I think of a an epic battle uh between good and evil, uh, old day style uh horses and knights, and and I think of that. When I think of fight, those are the things I think of. But Paul is talking about something completely different. He's not talking about something physical, but he's talking about something spiritual. He's talking about us living out our faith out in the world. As we go out there, are we living out our faith? And so uh we live out our faith by honoring authority, we live out our faith by worshiping God and following his teaching, by being more like Jesus, that's how we're living out our faith. And so Paul talks about these things many times, but he's talking about it here to fight the good fight and to live out your faith.

Fight Faith Like Training For A Match

Joel Montemayor 47:18

And so uh we live out our faith by uh reading the word, but we need to train. And so when a fighter is gonna fight, he trains. So he's going to the gym, he's going to the gym every day. You know, the fight is one day, but there's a year-long training regimen. So we're going to the fight all the time. So we need to train all the time. But our training is right here. So right here is our training. We're in the gym right now. When you're reading the word, you're at the gym. When you're praying, you're at the gym. When you're worshiping, you're at the gym. And so we need to make sure that we go to the gym and worship the Lord. Okay? But there's somebody else at the gym. And so there's an enemy at the gym, and he's out there, and he's out there doing push-ups, waiting to see how you're gonna respond on Monday. You know, are you gonna honor authority? He's waiting to see how you're gonna respond on the weekend. You know, what are you gonna do this weekend with your friends? You know, how are you gonna respond to uh their invitations? You know, if you call yourself a believer, you need to be different so that the world can see that you're different. We need to be different. And when I say you, I mean me. Okay, this message has been I've had many opportunities to be content that I've uh struggled with. I've wanted to buy more stuff, I've wanted to do so many things this week because uh God has shown me. He's He's put a mirror in front of me saying, hey, you need to work on these things. So we need to work on these things. You know, we need to get in the Word more, we need to worship more, we need to uh respond better. Okay? And so uh I'm just gonna close this one and just say that this chapter is summarized by saying we need to respect authority and be content where God has us. And thank you guys for being patient with me, and God bless you guys.

Angus MacLeod 49:09

Great word, great word, thank you, sir.

Accept Jesus And Pray Together

Angus MacLeod 49:16

You know, we do need to be content where we are. God has called us exactly to the moment that we are in in the world that we are currently in, and so we need to be content about that, but also excited for what he has next, because where we are right now is not where we will end this journey. And so for some of us, that journey begins today. So I'm gonna ask if everybody would stand with me as we close. Because I have one final question for you, and that is have you accepted Jesus? Have you embraced Jesus? You see, because that's where this life really begins. We've done things a certain way up to this point, and then we have an encounter with an Almighty God who wants to take our life where it is to take us to where we are going to go. See, we symbol we see this symbol of the cross as a symbol of hope, as a symbol of life, because this is where the Lord took all of our sin, all of our shame, and turned it into something good. And so it says it like this in Romans 10, verses 9 and 10. Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, with the mouth one confesses and is saved. So I'm gonna ask with all heads bowed and all eyes closed, if that's you and you're here today, and you recognize that you're ready to start a new life with Jesus, you're ready to join a new family, you're ready to be content where you are, but excited for where God is taking you. I'm gonna encourage you just to raise your hand up so that I can see who we are praying with and for. And then once I acknowledge you, you can put your hands back down. And then we'll be praying with you. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. So again, I'm gonna ask with all heads bowed and all eyes closed if you would just repeat this prayer with me. Lord, thank you for loving me. I thank you for sending Jesus. I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe he rose again. Forgive me of my sins. I surrender my life to you. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Amen.

Altar Time Blessing And Staying Connected

Angus MacLeod 52:05

Congratulations. As we open this altar, there have been been many different concepts and things that we've we've heard about today. And if any one of those things has struck a chord with you, I invite you to come and bring it to the Lord. Have a moment with him, talk with him about it. Maybe you have a struggle, maybe you've recently experienced a victory, whatever it is, the Lord wants some time with just you. And so I'm gonna pray and open this altar, and this altar is for everyone. Father, I thank you so much for the ability for us to come and bring those things that weigh heavy on our hearts, but also, Lord, that we can come with praise and thanksgiving. Lord, we can't be in a place here where your word is ministered and it have us leave completely unaffected. And so, Lord, I pray that today would lead to life change, and that as we come to your altar, as we come and take some time to be with you, that you would meet with us and that you would speak to us personally. We pray this in the mighty name that is Jesus Christ. Amen.

Annie MacLeod 53:19

We're gonna ask you to stand with us as you get ready for the blessing. The message I kept hearing over the past couple weeks is God doesn't care where you are, he's ready for you now. And we just sang that song and it just rang so true. A friend is a person who doesn't care where you are, they just want to be with you. They want to help you through it, they want to be a part of that testimony, being able to speak through it. So that's that beautiful thing that these letters keep speaking thousands of years later, hundreds of years later. He's still saying this to us. Our pastors are on their way back this week. Jay Celeste, the whole family, and I just want you to this week pray over them as they travel, as they get finished with the whole jet lag thing. But you just pray over them for this week as as as people go back to school. Those children, those teachers, the principals, the parents. As they go back to school, please pray, be in prayer this week for those people who are over authority over you and those who are under authority of you.

Angus MacLeod 54:26

Before we go, I want to pray this prayer of blessing over us. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Lord, we pray this blessing upon your church, your people, and we ask that as you go out, as we go out this week, that you would help us to live lives changed so that this world can be changed. We pray all this in the mighty name that is Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Thank you for joining us here at Cornerstone. Know this. We love you very much. Have a great week.

Speaker 3 55:10

Thank you so much for being a part of our worship and our service. We hope you are blessed. If you want to stay connected, if you have a prayer need, or if you just want to keep tabs on what we're doing here, it's all available on cornerstoneaz.org. We can't wait to see you next week.