WEBVTT 00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:10.880 This morning's scripture reading comes from the book of Second Timothy, chapter two, verses fourteen to nineteen. 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:17.600 If you're following along in one of the black Bibles provided, you can find this reading on page nine hundred and thirty-four. 00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:18.879 Uh nine hundred and thirty-five. 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:41.280 Remind them of these things and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearer. 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:51.840 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 00:00:52.880 --> 00:01:04.319 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:12.640 Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:15.519 They are upsetting the faith of some. 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:22.000 But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal. 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:29.120 The Lord knows those who are his, and let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:31.280 This is the word of the Lord. 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:33.840 You may be seated. 00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:38.799 Thanks, David. 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:46.640 Well, good morning, everyone. 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:48.640 It's so good to see you all. 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:54.560 We're continuing on in our study of the book of 2 Timothy. 00:01:54.719 --> 00:01:57.439 And so let me pray first as we begin. 00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:03.359 Father, we thank you for the privilege of coming to your word week in and week out. 00:02:04.079 --> 00:02:09.039 To sit at your feet and to discern just exactly what you would have for us. 00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:28.800 And so we pray this morning that God, you will speak to each and every one of us here, to comfort those of us here who need comforting, to challenge those of us here who are complacent and feel just cold towards you. 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:34.479 To strengthen the affections of those of us here who are weak. 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:39.919 Bring conviction by your spirit. 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:46.240 May you be honored as you spend this time in your word together. 00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:47.680 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:48.639 Amen. 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:56.240 Well, back when I was in college, there were a series of short films called Numa. 00:02:56.719 --> 00:02:58.159 Does anyone remember Numa? 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:00.159 Alright. 00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:02.080 Some people are nodding and raising hands. 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:10.319 So Numa were these really cool short films put on by a Christian teacher, well-known Christian teacher by the name of Rob Bell. 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:14.639 Rob Bell was like on the cutting edge of cool. 00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:20.240 If you were, if you're around on this, you know, the Christian church scene back then, he was like the cool guy. 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:29.919 And these films would be like series after series, these short films of him walking around or some really neat scenes with good, you know, great music in the background. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:38.159 And almost, if you weren't paying attention, you'd almost just drink in every single word he's saying as if it was completely true. 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:44.719 And it's no surprise because this man was a runaway success. 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:47.039 A runaway success. 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:57.280 In 1999, he started this church in a school gym, and in just a little over 10 years, he built this church up to over 8,000 members on any given Sunday. 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:06.960 He was also, in 2011, Time magazine had put him as one of the world's 100 most influential people. 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:09.520 That's a pretty amazing feat. 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:11.039 That's Rob Bell. 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:18.720 That same year, though, there was a book by the name of Love Winds that came out. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:29.040 Rob Bell released this book, and it would eventually lead to the crumbling, so to speak, of everything he had built up to that point. 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:33.279 Well, why is that? 00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:47.680 In this book, Rob Bell openly questions what Bible-believing Christians have believed for centuries and centuries about historic truths about heaven and hell. 00:04:48.000 --> 00:05:06.959 He writes this as soon as the door is open to Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Baptists from Cleveland, I don't know why he is so specific about that, many Christians become very uneasy, saying that, well then Jesus doesn't matter anymore. 00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:08.480 The cross is irrelevant. 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:10.079 It doesn't matter what you believe. 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:11.360 Not true. 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:18.000 What Jesus does is he declares that he and he alone is saving everybody. 00:05:18.959 --> 00:05:26.240 And he leaves then the door way, way open, creating all sorts of possibilities. 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:28.800 People come to Jesus in all sorts of ways. 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:32.319 Sometimes people use his name, sometimes they don't. 00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:39.759 What we see Jesus doing again and again is widening the scope and expanse of his saving work. 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:53.759 Now that might sound really good, but if you are not paying close attention, you might actually be missing the fact that he just taught some heresy here. 00:05:54.160 --> 00:05:59.839 This is a heresy known as Christian universalism. 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:16.720 It's an unbiblical, heretical belief that in the end, everybody's gonna get into heaven no matter what you think about Jesus, whether you believed in Jesus in this life or not, he died for everyone, and therefore, in the end, it's all good. 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:18.319 Love wins. 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:21.759 That's clearly not what the Bible teaches. 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:27.680 And because of the controversy, this book caused, 3,000 members of his church left. 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:34.959 And that same year, later on, he left the church and started a spiritual talk show. 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:37.759 That was 15 years ago. 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:39.839 15 years ago. 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:48.800 But even today, we continue to find pastors teaching deeply concerning things about God and what it means to be a Christian. 00:06:49.279 --> 00:07:04.720 I mean, just consider the fact that the largest church in our own city, Lakewood Church, with an average weekly attendance of about 45,000 people, is led by a man who openly teaches what's known as the prosperity gospel. 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:18.319 One writer explains that the essential teaching of prosperity gospel is that God wants believers to be physically healthy, materially wealthy, and personally happy. 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:27.199 Teachers of the prosperity gospel encourage their followers to pray and even demand material flourishing from God. 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:33.360 So just listen to this kind of heretical teaching expressed in one of Joel Osteen's books. 00:07:33.519 --> 00:07:37.120 He writes in a book called Become a Better You these words. 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:44.319 Quote Start thinking, feeling, speaking positively about yourself. 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:49.279 Our faith is most effective when we acknowledge the good things that are in us. 00:07:49.600 --> 00:08:00.079 Declare affirmations such as, I have a bright future, I'm gifted, I'm talented, people like me, I have the favor of God. 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:04.959 It's positive thinking couched in Christian talk. 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:13.040 And so another writer observes that noticeably absent in Osteen's optimistic message is any mention of sin or repentance. 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:19.759 And when you don't talk about sin, and Osteen purposefully does not, you're not preaching the whole gospel. 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:28.959 Joel Osteen's teaching would lead us to believe that we are being saved from unhappiness and failure in life, not from sin and God's wrath. 00:08:29.519 --> 00:08:37.360 Osteen does not teach that we need a divine rescue from judgment, but rather a self-improvement plan. 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:40.960 I love what Sean DeMars and Mike McKinley write. 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:47.200 They say the prosperity gospel essentially treats a relationship with God like marrying someone for money. 00:08:48.080 --> 00:08:51.360 You don't really love them, you just love what they can get for you. 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:58.879 Becoming Jesus as a way to get something else isn't worship, it's idolatry of the thing you're trying to get. 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:10.879 And you know, sadly, this false gospel has been exported from the US to all sorts of countries all around the world to this day. 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:16.399 People are unsuspecting people are being taught this false gospel. 00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:32.960 And I bring all this up because the church today continues to be fraught with pastors and teachers spreading all sorts of confusing, heretical, unbiblical things, like the prosperity gospel. 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:46.320 And as we think about that, as we consider the state of the church today with all its vulnerabilities, with all its frailties, with all its insecurities, I think that it could be easy to get discouraged. 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:49.120 It could be easy to get discouraged. 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:54.960 Like think about all the people who are being influenced by these teachers. 00:09:56.320 --> 00:10:04.000 You get worried about where all this is going if you think if you think too much about it, it gets unsettling. 00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:11.759 So here's what I want to us to wrestle with today as we move along in our study of 2 Timothy. 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:13.200 It's this question. 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:25.120 With all the biblical, unbiblical ideas that have taken hold in the church today, what hope is there for true biblical Christianity to survive on into the future? 00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:26.799 What hope is there? 00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:35.120 And I do want to bring some hope and encouragement in the midst of what I have just painted for you. 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:38.720 A picture of what can bring despair. 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:43.600 So with that, I want to invite you to turn with me in scripture to the book of 2 Timothy. 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:51.440 We are in 2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 14 to 19. 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:59.039 So we're going to be just in a few verses answering again this question with all the unbiblical ideas that have taken hold in the church today. 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:05.039 What hope is there for biblical Christianity to survive into the future? 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:19.759 And the first answer I see is this hope in a God who can raise up pastors in every generation to rightly handle the word of truth. 00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:29.279 Hope in a God who has a sovereign ability in every generation to raise up pastors who can rightly handle the word of truth. 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:35.840 Now, just to set the stage for us today, we know that Paul is writing his final letter. 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:39.120 He's in a cold, dark prison. 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:42.480 He's facing execution. 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:46.480 Timothy is back in the ancient city of Ephesus. 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:51.600 And he's put in charge of a dying church, a church that was struggling. 00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:54.320 There's a dire situation at hand. 00:11:54.960 --> 00:11:57.039 False teachers are on the rise. 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:01.440 Unbiblical ideas are spreading throughout the congregation. 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:04.879 People's faiths are starting to be unsettled. 00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:09.120 And the state of the church is a mess. 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:15.039 And Timothy is left to pick up the pieces. 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:17.919 He's left to deal with this mess. 00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:27.279 And in this section of the letter, Paul gives Timothy four different exhortations of what to do. 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:29.759 Look down at verse 14. 00:12:30.159 --> 00:12:35.600 The first two exhortations are this number one, remind them of these things. 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:46.480 And number two, charge them before God to not quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:09.759 If we endure, we will also reign with him. 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:14.159 If we deny him, he also will deny us. 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:18.639 If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. 00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:36.720 Now, Pastor Ben has already done an excellent job explaining those verses last week, so I'm going to just move on from this section and just move on to the second exhortation that Paul gives to Timothy, which is to charge the Ephesian Christians not to quarrel about words. 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:40.559 Now, what were they what were they quarreling about? 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:52.720 Well, to understand that situation and what they're quarreling about, you gotta go to verse 16, which is actually the fourth exhortation, and so I'm gonna I'm gonna come back to verse the third exhortation in just a little bit. 00:13:52.879 --> 00:14:02.960 So verse 16 says, But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:11.600 Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:14.799 They are upsetting the faith of some. 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:26.879 Now, apparently, what's been going on here at this time is that false teaching, what Paul calls irreverent babble, was being spread by men like Hymenaeus and Philetus. 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:31.759 Specifically, what they were teaching was that the resurrection has already happened. 00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:36.879 Now, what's the big deal of about teaching that the resurrection has already happened? 00:14:37.039 --> 00:14:40.240 Like, why make such a big fuss? 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:53.039 Well, one commentator explains that what's happening here is that Hymenaeus and Philetus were actually falsely teaching that there's actually not gonna be a bodily resurrection one day that's gonna take place, like the Bible says. 00:14:53.440 --> 00:15:07.840 You see, the Bible clearly teaches that there's gonna come a day when Jesus Christ is gonna return to the earth, and on that day, he's gonna be the judge of the living and the dead. 00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:14.159 Now, of course, when Jesus returns for judgment day, those who are still living are gonna stay living. 00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:29.039 But what happens to those who are dead is that they're gonna be, they're gonna experience a resurrection where their souls will be reunited with their resurrected bodies, and then the living and the dead at the time are gonna experience judgment before Jesus Christ. 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:30.399 That's what the Bible says. 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:34.960 As strange as it might sound, that's what the Bible says. 00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:42.960 And this bodily resurrection is gonna take place before the events that the Apostle John writes in the book of Revelation. 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:44.080 Listen to this. 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:47.120 This is a vision of the future. 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:55.519 John says, I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. 00:15:56.080 --> 00:15:59.279 Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:05.840 And the dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done. 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:12.480 And if anyone's name was not found in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:23.759 So by saying that the resurrection has already happened, most scholars believe that Hymeneus and Philetus were actually rejecting this whole idea of a future bodily resurrection. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:26.879 They were teaching people that it's just spiritual. 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:28.720 It's just spiritual. 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:34.080 What they were teaching was that this is just a spiritual resurrection. 00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:38.639 And it happens whenever a Christian believes in Christ and is baptized. 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:40.000 That's what they were teaching. 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:44.000 And so it's completely off from what scripture teaches. 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:50.879 Just leave it alone. 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:53.279 Just leave it alone. 00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:55.679 Avoid irreverent babble. 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:58.080 Don't bother with them, have nothing to do with them. 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:02.960 Because this irreverent babble is only gonna lead more and more people into ungodliness. 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:06.640 Like gangrene being spread throughout the body. 00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:08.079 You guys know what gangrene is? 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:10.559 Give me a reminder if you don't. 00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:12.319 A lesson if you don't. 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:28.240 It's a medical term, and it's used to describe the way that our body cells, our body parts, can start to die off in case of an infection that's untreated or in case of uh a lack of blood flow to a certain part of your body. 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:31.440 So, uh I think I got uh yeah, you guys are looking at this picture. 00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:40.319 So just think of what happens on the the the uh on the right side uh on your on your left, and this is a diabetic foot infection. 00:17:41.279 --> 00:18:02.880 A diabetic foot infection, in case you don't take care of it right away, what you're gonna do is you risk that infection growing and growing and growing and growing to the point where you might even need a toe or a foot or even a leg to amputate it. 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:14.079 I'm glad I I think you guys probably are glad I did not put a real picture of gangrene on the screen. 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:16.480 It's just an image, so we're safe. 00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:21.680 But this this kind of stuff happens if you don't treat gangrene right away. 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:25.200 It can be devastating if you don't treat it properly or timely. 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:26.640 That's the point. 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:34.240 Which leads to the third and most important exhortation that Paul gives to Timothy in this section. 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:37.359 Well, what is Timothy to do? 00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:43.440 What is he positively, proactively supposed to do with this situation ahead? 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:44.960 Verse 15. 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:51.519 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved. 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:58.480 A worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:07.039 What is it what does it look like for Timothy to present himself as one approved by God? 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:08.400 Paul gives two answers. 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:13.599 First, Timothy is to be an unashamed worker of Christ. 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:22.720 Unashamed because he's serving the church, he's loving the church, he's shepherding the church, and he has nothing to hide. 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:25.200 He's got a clean conscience. 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:34.400 When he takes a long, hard look inside his heart, he can honestly say that the meditations of his heart, the words of his mouth have been pleasing to the Lord. 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:40.480 Second, Timothy is to rightly handle the word of truth. 00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:42.400 Rightly handle the word of truth. 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:50.319 The word for rightly handling in this original Greek, it means to interpret and to analyze properly. 00:19:51.839 --> 00:20:04.960 And so to rightly handle the word of truth means to teach sound doctrine, to accurately, correctly explain, clearly interpret God's word to God's people. 00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:14.559 Commentators explain that to rightly handle something is literally has this meaning of cutting something straight. 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:28.480 Like if you had this made this forest, and your job was to cut a pathway straight so that a highway would be built so that people don't have to go in and out of places, it's not clear and windy, it's straight. 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:32.000 Your highway is going exactly to the destination you want it to be. 00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:33.920 That's the idea, that's the image. 00:20:35.839 --> 00:20:40.000 And the same thing goes with this idea of rightly handling the word of truth. 00:20:40.160 --> 00:21:00.960 My point is, my point is that in the midst of a fragile church seemingly ready to break apart, in the midst of people whose faiths are starting to get unsettled because there are false teachers ravaging the church with their false teachings, the solution that Paul gives is spot on. 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:04.079 It is simple but spot on. 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:12.079 And he says, stay the course, preach the word, rightly handle the word of truth. 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:28.880 And what I want you to see here is that even in our day and age, even in our day and age, though the false teachings, the false teachers might be different, the hope for biblical Christianity to survive on into the future remains the same. 00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:37.519 It's a hope that God can and will sovereignly raise up men in every generation to carry on the work of rightly handling the word of truth. 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:43.279 Men who in every generation are willing to contend for the truth once and for all delivered to the saints. 00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:47.519 Which is why 2 Timothy 2 2 matters so much to this equation. 00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:57.119 Where Paul charges Timothy and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, and trust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 00:21:58.720 --> 00:21:59.759 You see, Paul knows that Timothy. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:02.079 Timothy is not going to always be around either. 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:08.720 Paul might be headed off to glory with Jesus, but Timothy's not always going to be at the church of Ephesus either. 00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:11.519 One day he's going to be gone as well. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:44.799 And the only way this church in Ephesus is going to survive the onslaught of false teachers, the constant barrage of Satan and his forces on this church and his attacks on the doctrinal purity of this church is that in every generation there will be men who stand up to biblical infidelity and preach the true gospel and present the whole counsel of the Word of God, so that all of God's people would love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and submit to his will under the Lordship of Christ. 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:46.480 In every generation. 00:22:47.599 --> 00:22:56.480 This past week I was listening to this podcast talk that was a recording of a pastor named Aleister Begg at a recent conference. 00:22:56.720 --> 00:23:08.640 Now Alistair Begg is, he's a uh, he he is a mature saint, a 73-year-old pastor, uh, pastor at a church in Ohio for the past 42 years. 00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:10.480 He retired last year. 00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:25.599 And he brought up the fact that there can be this kind of anxiety, this kind of anxiety that happens when we start to see older pastors, faithful men and preachers, start to die off, start to enter into glory. 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:32.720 And the anxiety seems to stem from this question: well, what are we gonna do without these people? 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:34.559 They're our heroes. 00:23:35.119 --> 00:23:53.839 Well, it's also the same kind of anxiety that happens whenever a church goes through pastoral transitions, and the the man who's kind of built up the church and kind of uh uh seen the life of the church from the beginning till now, he either leaves or retires for whatever reason, and someone new comes to the helm, and people are anxious. 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:56.799 Like, like, what's gonna happen to our church? 00:23:57.200 --> 00:23:58.960 There's that anxiety. 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:01.440 What are we gonna do? 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:06.880 Alistair Begg quotes this old British preacher named J.C. 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:13.519 Rile, who's asked the same question: what are we gonna do now that all the good guys are dying? 00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:22.960 And this might have been how young Timothy was feeling towards his mentor, Paul, facing his last days. 00:24:23.279 --> 00:24:24.400 What are we gonna do? 00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:25.440 This is what J.C. 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:31.839 Ryle says, quote, fear not for the church of Christ. 00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:38.960 When ministers die and saints are taken away, Christ can ever maintain his own cause. 00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:46.799 He will raise up better servants and brighter stars, for the stars are in his right hand. 00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:50.720 Leave off all anxious thoughts about the future. 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:56.319 Cease to be cast down by the measures of statesmen or the plots of wolves and sheep's clothing. 00:24:57.359 --> 00:25:01.279 Christ will ever provide for his own church. 00:25:01.599 --> 00:25:06.240 Christ will take care that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. 00:25:07.200 --> 00:25:08.799 All is going well. 00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:21.200 Though our eyes may not see it, the kingdoms of this world shall yet become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ. 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:28.880 What a beautiful, what a necessary reminder that in the end Christ is the one who's gonna keep his church going. 00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:38.240 He's the one who promises to build his church against whom the gates of hell cannot prevail. 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:51.119 And it's Christ Himself who will take care of his church by providing the kind of men who in every generation are gonna take up the helm of pastoral leadership and rightly handle the word of truth. 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:53.359 We need not fret. 00:25:55.119 --> 00:26:08.000 Of course, this is gonna take those who are currently serving as elders in a local church to take the responsibility of identifying and rightly, helpfully equipping the younger to take up this helm. 00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:14.400 And so I just want to speak for a moment to all the Christian men in this room right now. 00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:26.799 Some of you men, some of you men, the Lord may be raising up, you may not even know it, to one day handle the word of truth rightly. 00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:38.960 Whether on a Sunday behind a pulpit, whether in a small group home setting, whether in a Sunday school, or whether it's just one-on-one discipling another man. 00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:46.640 And what this means is that you're gonna have to know how to rightly handle the word of truth. 00:26:47.599 --> 00:26:48.880 Well, how are you gonna do that? 00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:50.720 Well, you're gonna get started. 00:26:51.920 --> 00:26:59.039 I would say that if you have never read through the Bible from cover to cover, that would be a great place to start. 00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:01.200 It'd be a great place to start. 00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:08.319 Because that's gonna give you a better understanding of how one part of the Bible fits with another part of the Bible. 00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:13.599 That's gonna help you get an idea of how this whole story of the Bible fits all together. 00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:21.039 So imagine trying to read through and understand the amazing world of the Lord of the Rings. 00:27:21.680 --> 00:27:27.680 And so one day you pick up one of the books of the series and you flip through and you read maybe one chapter or two. 00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:34.880 And then next week you read through another book and you just kind of flip through randomly, like, hmm, this looks like a really interesting chapter. 00:27:35.039 --> 00:27:36.079 Let me read that. 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:40.640 And then maybe a few weeks later, you're like, maybe I even touched this third book. 00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:42.319 I'll even pick that up. 00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:43.920 You read another chapter. 00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:47.599 Do you think you're gonna get what the Lord of the Rings is about? 00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:50.559 You think you're gonna understand what J.R. 00:27:50.720 --> 00:27:54.960 Tolkien had in mind when he created this amazing world? 00:27:55.279 --> 00:27:55.599 No. 00:27:57.200 --> 00:28:00.160 The same goes with the Bible. 00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:12.960 You just keep doing this in random ways for months on end, never in order, never systematically. 00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:17.440 Do you think you're gonna get the masterpiece that God has written in his word? 00:28:17.920 --> 00:28:18.240 No. 00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:27.519 And so I want to challenge you, if you've never done it, to make it through from cover to cover. 00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:39.680 It might take you a year, it might take you two years, but by doing so, you're gonna start to get a better grasp of what the whole picture of the Bible is all about, how one part of the Bible relates to another. 00:28:39.839 --> 00:28:41.680 You're gonna start to make connections. 00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:49.519 You're gonna start to understand how the scripture has the powerful ability to interpret other parts of the scripture that you don't understand. 00:28:50.880 --> 00:29:03.119 You see, the more familiar you are with God's word, the more you're gonna be able to rightly handle the word of truth and teach God's people accurately and clearly the word of God. 00:29:04.559 --> 00:29:18.559 And as you read through the Bible, I want to commend you one other thing: that you use a solid, trustworthy study Bible to help you answer questions that come along the way as you make your way through scripture. 00:29:18.799 --> 00:29:23.599 So adding a study Bible like the one you see on the screen, this one's my favorite. 00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:28.000 Yeah, ESV study Bible, my favorite. 00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:34.000 Doesn't mean you have to read through all the different notes, but whenever you have a question, consult something like this. 00:29:34.240 --> 00:29:37.279 Easy, quick, answers your questions. 00:29:38.079 --> 00:29:54.000 And as you add this to your toolkit of reading through the Bible, you are gonna be able to interpret it that much better and one day teach it rightly, interpret it rightly and clearly whenever the Lord gives you opportunity. 00:29:54.240 --> 00:29:54.880 Amen. 00:29:55.680 --> 00:30:01.200 Now I also think this principle applies to women in our church. 00:30:01.359 --> 00:30:02.400 Not just men, but women. 00:30:02.559 --> 00:30:10.319 Titus 2 gives us this beautiful picture of older women, older women teaching younger women what is good. 00:30:10.400 --> 00:30:21.759 And part of what I think this is uh how this is happening in our church right now is that many of you are already in one-on-one discipling relationships. 00:30:21.920 --> 00:30:22.960 Many of you. 00:30:27.680 --> 00:30:37.599 You can go online, you can go to a Christian bookstore, and just get overwhelmed by what to do with your person you're discipling or someone who's discipling you. 00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:48.319 And so here's what I would say: the next time you're trying to pick out some resource, some book to read together, make sure you're being taught. 00:30:48.480 --> 00:30:55.680 Make sure you're being helped by a teacher who knows how to rightly handle the word of truth. 00:30:56.720 --> 00:31:05.200 Someone who applies scripture to the Christian life in a way that stays true to the text, who stays true to God's purposes for his text. 00:31:05.519 --> 00:31:12.160 And so, one practical way to do this is to look for book recommendations for people you trust, Christians you trust. 00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:14.960 I'm just gonna give you one site that I would recommend. 00:31:15.039 --> 00:31:17.759 Here's a link, QR code, a link you can use. 00:31:17.920 --> 00:31:26.640 It's by a guy named Tim Chales, who's a trusted Christian blogger who's been around for a long time, but he has this great website. 00:31:26.880 --> 00:31:35.599 Part of it is uh uh has all sorts of different topics, and he just recommends some of the best books you could read for that specific topic. 00:31:35.839 --> 00:31:41.039 So that's that's a that's a website with sound theology that I would commend to you. 00:31:41.839 --> 00:31:45.839 Or you can come and ask me or or Ben about recommendations. 00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:48.799 That that's that's what I want to leave with you. 00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:53.039 Now, now, kids and students, this one's for you. 00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:55.680 So, all eyes on me, kids and students. 00:31:57.279 --> 00:32:00.559 Here's what I think you can take away from this passage today. 00:32:01.680 --> 00:32:15.279 Do not, please do not blindly take in and listen to and receive the words that are coming out of a preacher's mouth every Sunday blindly. 00:32:18.559 --> 00:32:29.440 Make sure that what you're hearing preached week to week actually lines up with the Bible, which means you need to know what's in the Bible. 00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:40.799 You see, thinking like this is gonna go a long way to help you discern a good church from a bad church, a healthy church from a nothing church. 00:32:41.359 --> 00:32:50.000 And it's gonna keep you from being misguided later on when you have to make the important decisions of what church to join when you leave your mom or dad's home. 00:32:51.279 --> 00:32:53.200 And you have to ask questions. 00:32:54.240 --> 00:33:05.119 Like, is the pastor preaching scripture in a way that takes the main points of the text and makes it his main points? 00:33:05.839 --> 00:33:16.559 Or is the preacher regularly taking his points and finding isolated verses from scripture and piecing it all together so that it makes a great sermon? 00:33:18.319 --> 00:33:26.720 You need to know how to find a healthy church with healthy preaching and a preacher who can rightly handle the word of truth. 00:33:29.839 --> 00:33:34.960 Now, church, last thing for this section, I've mentioned this before. 00:33:35.599 --> 00:33:44.079 There's this possibility that I'm really excited about about starting a pastoral internship for young men who aspire to be pastors one day. 00:33:44.319 --> 00:33:47.440 And I really hope we can get one started this fall. 00:33:47.839 --> 00:33:58.079 And so I'm gonna ask, and I'd love to ask, would you pray for us as a church to help us establish an internship like this at our church? 00:33:58.400 --> 00:34:14.719 So we can train and prepare potential men who want to go into pastoral ministry, pray that God would give us godly men who want to be a part of this internship, who are interested in being trained to pastor a church, to shepherd a church, and to rightly handle the word of truth. 00:34:14.880 --> 00:34:16.559 Would you pray that for us? 00:34:17.519 --> 00:34:25.920 So, back to the question with all the unbiblical ideas that have taken hold in the church today, what hope is there for biblical Christianity to survive on into the future? 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:38.079 And the first answer I gave us is this to hope in a God who has a sovereign ability to, in every generation, raise up pastors to rightly handle the word of truth. 00:34:38.559 --> 00:34:46.159 And the second answer that I see in this passage, I'm not going to spend as much time on this, but the second answer is this hope in a God. 00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:55.039 Hope in a God who can preserve the faith of his elect no matter what comes their way. 00:34:56.480 --> 00:35:00.639 And I see this in our last verse, verse 19, look down there with me. 00:35:03.519 --> 00:35:10.639 Paul writes, but God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal. 00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:13.760 The Lord knows those who are his. 00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:20.320 The Lord knows those who are his, and let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. 00:35:21.760 --> 00:35:30.960 Now it's been pointed out that these two verses are actually alluding to a story of the Israelites in wilderness back in the Old Testament. 00:35:31.039 --> 00:35:32.480 It's a really neat connection. 00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:48.800 You see, back in the wilderness, after the Israelites left slavery and were freed from slavery in Egypt, there were Israelites who complained and grumbled and were very unhappy with the situation because they thought that life in the wilderness was way worse than life back in Egypt. 00:35:50.719 --> 00:36:20.960 And so there's this one moment, there's this one story, there's this one interesting uh episode, you might say, where this man named Korah, he gathers a whole bunch of people from Israel, including 250 chiefs of the congregation, and they assemble before Moses and Aaron, who were the leaders, and they call them out and say, You have gone too far, for all in the congregation are holy, every one of them. 00:36:21.039 --> 00:36:22.159 And the Lord is among them. 00:36:22.239 --> 00:36:26.079 Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord? 00:36:26.559 --> 00:36:35.840 Korah and his followers, they challenge, they openly challenge Moses and Aaron's authority to lead God's people in the wilderness. 00:36:36.880 --> 00:36:41.039 And then Moses, he falls on his face, the Bible says. 00:36:41.280 --> 00:36:50.719 And he says, In the morning, the Lord will show who is his and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. 00:36:51.840 --> 00:36:59.519 There's another rendering of this verse from the Greek translation of the Old Testament, and it says the words, the Lord knows those who are his. 00:36:59.920 --> 00:37:01.039 That sound familiar? 00:37:03.760 --> 00:37:08.320 Those are exact words that Paul uses to encourage Timothy. 00:37:08.559 --> 00:37:10.639 The Lord knows those who are his. 00:37:11.360 --> 00:37:17.920 And later on in the story, the Bible tells us how God punishes Korah and his followers for what they did. 00:37:18.400 --> 00:37:21.440 Specifically Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. 00:37:22.000 --> 00:37:38.079 In number 16, Moses tells the people of Israel to get far away from the tents of these men and their families, saying, Quote, Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins. 00:37:39.119 --> 00:37:53.280 And it's been pointed out that this, what Moses says here is what Paul quotes in Timothy, in his letter to Timothy, let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. 00:37:54.320 --> 00:37:56.400 If you know the story, it's crazy. 00:37:56.719 --> 00:38:03.760 What ends up happening is that all of a sudden the ground splits open. 00:38:04.320 --> 00:38:11.679 And Korah and Dathan and Beerim and all their stuff, all their family get swallowed up in the ground. 00:38:12.000 --> 00:38:13.920 And the ground covers back over. 00:38:14.480 --> 00:38:19.199 It's a punishment by the Lord in a crazy way. 00:38:22.559 --> 00:38:28.480 What Paul's trying to say here in verse 19 is actually meant to be an encouragement. 00:38:30.480 --> 00:38:45.039 That despite all that's happening in the church at Ephesus, despite the unsettling of people's faith by false teachers spreading false doctrines, God is sovereign. 00:38:47.280 --> 00:38:48.239 God is sovereign. 00:38:48.480 --> 00:38:51.360 He knows those who are truly his elect. 00:38:51.760 --> 00:38:54.960 He knows those who have genuinely been saved. 00:38:55.199 --> 00:39:00.880 There will be no impostors, because in the end God knows those who are his. 00:40:14.719 --> 00:40:18.800 Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. 00:40:19.760 --> 00:40:22.880 What a frightening thing to hear from the mouth of Jesus. 00:40:23.440 --> 00:40:24.719 Never knew you. 00:40:25.599 --> 00:40:31.440 I tell you, I don't ever want to hear those words coming out of Jesus' mouth addressed to me. 00:40:32.480 --> 00:40:46.639 You see, in this life, we have an awesome opportunity to establish a relationship with Jesus, the God of the universe, through the fact that Jesus Christ was slain, and by his blood, he ransomed a people for God from every tribe, people, language, and nation. 00:40:46.719 --> 00:40:48.000 He shed his blood for us. 00:40:48.159 --> 00:40:56.239 So that when Paul writes, let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity, that should be the mindset of every true follower of Jesus. 00:40:56.960 --> 00:40:58.159 Repentance. 00:40:59.199 --> 00:41:10.000 Like those who are truly in Christ, even if they fall into sin for a period of time, even if they do fall into some error of some sort, they ought to repent if it's brought to their attention. 00:41:12.400 --> 00:41:14.559 And so the truth will ultimately be exposed. 00:41:14.639 --> 00:41:22.000 And on the last day, when deceivers and false teachers meet Jesus, what they're going to hear is, depart from me, I never knew you. 00:41:22.960 --> 00:41:30.880 And they will receive the just punishment their sins deserve, apart from Christ, for the rest of eternity. 00:41:31.920 --> 00:41:33.920 And Paul is trying to comfort Timothy. 00:41:34.079 --> 00:41:34.800 That's the point here. 00:41:34.880 --> 00:41:48.800 Paul is trying to comfort Timothy, and by extension, all of us who are concerned about the state of the church today, about the presence of false teachers in the church today, by what theologians have come to call the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. 00:41:49.599 --> 00:42:01.039 And what this doctrine tells us is that God who chose the elect before the foundation of the world is the same God who will ensure that their faith will stay intact to the very day they die. 00:42:02.400 --> 00:42:04.800 They will continue to believe. 00:42:10.239 --> 00:42:16.639 Those who belong to his elect, God by his grace, are going, they're going to continue on in their faith. 00:42:16.960 --> 00:42:18.639 He will make sure that it happens. 00:42:19.199 --> 00:42:31.440 At the same time, they will continue on in their faith only because the God who chose them and predestined them for adoption into his family is the same God who will sovereignly, sovereignly preserve their faith. 00:42:32.320 --> 00:42:36.000 He will preserve their faith to the very end. 00:42:36.159 --> 00:42:38.559 Romans 8, 29 to 30. 00:42:39.119 --> 00:42:49.599 For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 00:42:50.320 --> 00:42:54.239 And those whom he predestined, he also called. 00:42:54.559 --> 00:42:57.519 And those whom he called, he also justified. 00:42:57.679 --> 00:43:00.960 Those whom he justified, he also glorified. 00:43:01.119 --> 00:43:02.719 Philippians 1, 6. 00:43:02.880 --> 00:43:10.400 And I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 00:43:10.639 --> 00:43:17.840 John 10, 27 to 28, Jesus says, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 00:43:18.480 --> 00:43:27.039 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 00:43:29.199 --> 00:43:39.760 If you're here today and you are already a Christian, get clear on these doctrines of election and the perseverance of the saints. 00:43:45.280 --> 00:43:59.679 I think it's really important to get clear about these doctrines because they offer us such hope, such comfort as we peer into the spiritual landscape of the church today, and we spot all sorts of concerning things on. 00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:17.280 Around us, they allow us to well up with gratitude in our souls as you think about our great God, our sovereign God, who isn't phased by the ups and downs, the twists and turns that happen in his church. 00:44:19.199 --> 00:44:23.280 And if you're not a Christian here with us today, here's what I have to say to you. 00:44:24.000 --> 00:44:27.039 Don't worry about if you're in the elect or not. 00:44:27.199 --> 00:44:31.119 That is not something you need to spend your time obsessing over. 00:44:31.360 --> 00:44:32.239 It's not. 00:44:32.719 --> 00:44:37.679 The important question for you today is where are you with God? 00:44:39.760 --> 00:44:51.280 The Bible tells us that we humans were made, we were created by God to establish a relationship with Him where we find all our hope and our joy and our satisfaction in Him. 00:44:51.519 --> 00:44:53.760 That's the way we were made to be. 00:46:28.400 --> 00:46:42.639 If what I'm talking about sparks something in you, and you just want to learn more about what it means to be in a relationship with God, I'd love for you to come find me after service or come talk with someone here at this church about that. 00:46:44.320 --> 00:46:56.719 And I just want to close last thing with a quote that really captures what I think Paul is trying to say to Timothy and what the Word of God is trying to speak to us to comfort us today. 00:46:57.440 --> 00:46:58.079 Yes. 00:46:58.719 --> 00:47:07.119 Just like in Timothy's days, there are all sorts of things that can concern us, all sorts of things that can unsettle us about what's happening in the church. 00:47:07.679 --> 00:47:15.599 Yes, we can get down and discouraged about the fact that there are so many people being influenced by false teachers in the church today. 00:47:15.920 --> 00:47:18.719 And yes, we can we can wonder. 00:47:18.960 --> 00:47:20.880 Like, where is all this going? 00:47:21.280 --> 00:47:28.320 Like, is there hope for biblical Christianity to survive on into our children's generation? 00:47:28.559 --> 00:47:30.559 Or our children's children's generation? 00:47:30.719 --> 00:47:32.000 Is there hope? 00:47:33.039 --> 00:47:34.159 Never forget. 00:47:34.559 --> 00:47:42.480 Here's the quote Churches are more fragile than we often realize. 00:47:42.880 --> 00:47:45.280 Leaders stumble and struggle. 00:47:45.519 --> 00:47:46.960 Pastors get sick. 00:47:47.119 --> 00:47:48.960 Natural disasters strike. 00:47:49.119 --> 00:47:50.719 Relationships go awry. 00:47:50.960 --> 00:47:53.199 Communities rapidly change. 00:47:54.000 --> 00:47:57.920 Local church fragility is not limited to struggling churches. 00:47:58.000 --> 00:47:59.440 Even healthy churches are fragile. 00:47:59.519 --> 00:48:06.400 Even churches that are built on the word and not a personality or program are more delicate than we often admit. 00:48:09.199 --> 00:48:18.719 At the same time, the church, notice this is the church with a capital C, is not fragile at all. 00:48:19.760 --> 00:48:22.639 Christ will keep her till the end. 00:48:22.880 --> 00:48:28.320 She will continue to advance as God rescues more and more people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. 00:48:28.480 --> 00:48:33.440