Two Questions - Part 3

0 (0s): Good morning, everybody online, everybody all over the campus here. Thank you for coming to church this morning and worshiping with us. Let's all stand together. Worship our Lord 1 (15s): 0 (14m 10s): Lord, we praise you this morning. We thank you that you make it abundantly clear your creation screams. The love you have for us. Lord, we dedicate this time to you, Lord, we pray Holy spirit, that you would lead us, that you give us ears to hear your word and to understand it. We praise you in Jesus name. Amen. If you ever watched those movies where like in the backroom, the mafia's counting a whole bunch of change. 0 (14m 50s): All this money. They got the green hats 2 (14m 52s): On all that stuff. 3 (14m 54s): Well, that didn't happen 2 (14m 56s): At the lifeline pregnancy center, but they did have to bring extra volunteers to count all of the cash that we brought in. 3 (15m 2s): So harvest church, you all were saying, 2 (15m 5s): So, so generous. So thank you so much. Yeah, it was, it was, they were just blown away by the amount of cash that they had to count. And so thank you. Hey, we are still looking for a few more volunteers. Let's see, we've got a few more things. It takes a village to run a church, right? Right. So we're still looking for one, the greeting team serving one Sunday, a month. One service safety team is still looking for a few extra folks. I know a few few people came up and talked to me last week about helping out with that. If you talk to me on Sunday, my mind has just gone. So go check it at the info center. Put your name, your email, all that email address. And Phil let us know w where you can serve there. 2 (15m 48s): As well as worship and tech team were helping need help with slides, cameras, instruments, all that. So you can either do it on online or go to the info center to check in. And then 3 (15m 59s): Lastly, big announcement. We've got Easter coming up Easter. So we, 2 (16m 3s): Our Easter is April 4th and we're going to be having one service here at the church. And we're going to have to be having in the upper parking lot, where we purchased a stage. We got all the sound equipment for it. It's going to be awesome. We're excited. Announced that it's going to be there in the upper campus. Hey, there will be baptisms this year. I can't promise that the 3 (16m 23s): Pool will be warm or hot, but 2 (16m 25s): At least there'll be warm. We'll make sure it's warm and then there'll be plenty of opportunities to serve as well. So just put Easter on your calendar. We're doing Easter, we're doing it in our upper parking lot. 3 (16m 35s): So that's all I got. That's it? That's it. Valentine's day go. Well, 4 (16m 45s): No, come on up here. What was it? So you've been married for how many years? Almost 10. Almost 10 years. So Valentine's day, was it a success or 3 (16m 57s): Yes, we do. We do. I'm trying to remember. Oh, yes, yes. That was the last Sunday. It was last Sunday. That's why I'm talking about it. Yeah. Our daughter is in the middle of teething reflux, not sleeping. So, so plans had to adjust, but we had, we had fun. We got a little dinner at California, fresh Pismo with everyone else and watch the sunset. All right, good. It was good. It was good day. Yeah. How was yours? You should ask my wife and shit. 4 (17m 27s): Yeah, it was good. It was, it was good. It was good. Yeah. We're going to be, we're going to make it another year. I think it's good. It's good. 3 (17m 36s): That's fine. Maybe I should Pat. Jolina her on the back. 4 (17m 42s): Welcome. We are in first Timothy chapter one today. We're actually going to get through the whole chapter today. I believe up to this point. We've through about three verses. I know you'll believe it when you see it, but I that's the plan. Anyway. That is the plan. Hey, crazy story. I don't know if you guys heard about this, but there was this guy in his neighborhood and he's watching his neighbor kicking down his own door. It was the craziest thing. The guy watching the neighbor kicked down his door. He knew that this guy was a criminal, but he didn't think that he was like insane. So he's like, he's like, dude, you know, this guy had been put in prison for breaking entering and all kinds of robberies and all kinds of things. 4 (18m 25s): And, and so the neighbor who's watching his neighbor kicked down his own door. He's like, you know, kind of cautiously say, Hey, Hey dude, what are you doing in the criminal set? I'm working from home. 3 (18m 43s): That's halfway, halfway decent. 4 (18m 50s): W what's the best time to go to the dentist? 3 (18m 55s): Why? Why two 30, two 30? Yeah. Somebody's tooth two 30, but enough of the jokes, 4 (19m 4s): Two questions. Part three. We're in first Timothy chapter one, we're looking at two questions again this week. God, what do you want me to do today? Number one and God, what do you want to do through me today? So we're just kind of asking those questions throughout the month of February two questions, throw them up there one more time. What do you want to do through with me today? What do you want me to do today? God. And what do you want to do through me today? We're just kind of asking God these questions kind of helping to align our lives with his plan. And when I talked about his planet, it really literally puts a smile on my face because his plan is really good. And I know sometimes we're worried about asking God to fulfill his plan innocent with us and through us because we're nervous about his plan, but if we can get past all of that and realize that his plans for us are really, really good. 4 (19m 57s): And when we ask God these questions, we can get excited about what he will do. Now. He's probably not going to download information and answers to us like out of the gate in the morning, but throughout the course of the day, he will show us what we're supposed to be doing and what he wants to do through us. He'll just make that clear in the course of our conversations, interactions with people, whether we're in business or in school or working from home or in our neighborhoods, whatever the case may be, God will show us with that. Let's go ahead and stand up. And we're going to continue to drill down on this. As we get through first Timothy chapter one, Lord, we love you. And we, we, we want to know what you want us to do. 4 (20m 38s): So we're camped out on this this month. And, and so I pray that it would become more clear to us. I know if we've never asked these questions before, if, if we've never had this expectation, have you before God, it's, it's it's new territory. And so I, I, I pray God that with this new territory that you'd show us Lord and that we would have eyes to see ears to hear, and then just a willingness to do, do it. Lord, a willingness to obey, to listen and obey. So Lord God, I, I pray that as we do that, that we would hit a new level in our faith walk with you. It would just become new and exciting for us, our faith journey. And some of us have been walking with the Lord for a long time. 4 (21m 20s): Some of us are brand new in the Lord. I pray that every person represented here all over this campus would just find a new excitement following you and trusting you through all the seasons and journeys of life. So Lord, as we open up your word and as we see what Paul was speaking about to Timothy, and as we look at other passages of scripture in Romans and Galatians and in Luke, I pray God that, that we would have fresh vision for our lives, fresh obedience, doing the things that you called us to do. We love you. And we trust you Lord in Jesus name, amen. You can be seated. You can be seated. What do you want me to do today? And what do you want to do through me today? 4 (22m 1s): We're going to, we've already kind of gone over the first three verses of first Timothy chapter one, but I'm going to read them just because it's just takes a second to read through them. And then we'll kind of pick things up in verse four. And like I said, we're going to try to get through all of it today by God's grace, without going too all the way to lunchtime. So that's the plan here. Here we go. First Timothy chapter one, all the verses will be up on the screen here. This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ. Jesus appointed by the command of God, our savior in Christ. Jesus who gives us hope powerful truth right there. I'm writing to Timothy. My true son in the faith. 4 (22m 41s): May God, the father and Christ Jesus, our Lord give you grace mercy and peace. Hope grace, mercy, peace. These are the things that the Lord wants us to experience in him. So we've got nothing to fear. Can we say that? Let's say that together. We've got nothing to fear. We got nothing to fear. Hope grace, mercy, peace verse three. When I left for Macedonia, I urge you to stay there in emphasis and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth. Verse four, Paul said, don't let them waste their time in endless discussions of myths and spiritual pedigrees. 4 (23m 24s): These things only lead to meaningless speculations and don't help people live a life of faith in God. And so the goal of the teaching of scripture is that we might live a life of faith in God. This is the goal of the scripture from the old Testament, all the way through the new Testament that we might a life of 5 (23m 46s): Faith in God. So these endless this discussions, it seems James is based, based on verse eight, might have been about the laws of God. So there's meaningless speculations in debate about the laws of God is most likely what's going on. The law. The commandments were never meant to be the focus. What we see is that these things tend to become the focus that 10 commandments, the laws of God. They tend to be our focus. It's what we're trying to do, trying to follow, trying to accomplish. But the laws of God, the commandments were never meant to be the focus. The law was dizzy signed to demonstrate our desperate need for a savior. 5 (24m 32s): The law was to help us understand. We look at what God's expectations are in our abilities. We can never accomplish what God's expectations are. So we cry out for the mercy and the grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ. We say, save me, Lord. The Pharisees, a Jewish shacks were known for their strict adherence to the law is if the, that might earn them some kind of favor with God and salvation. Pastor Joseph stole from moody Bible Institute in Chicago said this, he wrote in contrast to the two commands of Christ, what are the two commands of Christ? Love God and love others, right? 5 (25m 12s): So in contrast to these two commands that encompass all of the law of God. The Pharisees had developed a system of 613 laws, 613 laws. Like if you've got 613 laws to pay attention to like, you're never thinking about anything, but those 613 laws, because if I mess up, I've dishonored God. According to their thinking, there were 365 negative commands in 242 positive laws by the chime Christ. He continues by the time Christ came in, it had produced a heartless by the time Christ arrives on the scene, the 613 laws had produced a heartless cold and arrogant brand of righteousness, heartless cold and arrogant brand of righteousness as such. 5 (26m 6s): It contained at least 10 tragic flaws. And we're just going to go through these 10 tragic flaws really quick. So this is what Joseph stole said are the 10 tragic flaws of the 613 laws that the Pharisees had developed. Number one, new laws continually need to be invented for new situations. So what does it mean to honor the Sabbath day? How far can I walk and still honor the Sabbath? How, how much work can I do? And still honor the Sabbath. So new laws needed to be created constantly. Accountability to God is revealed, replaced by accountability to men. So instead of living in a relationship with God, where by I'm accountable to him for the way that I live my life now, all my accountability is with men. 5 (26m 51s): It's with people and now I'm comparing myself to them and measuring myself by their success or by their failures. It, it creates a disconnect between people and God and it makes, keeps it all external. Number three, it reduces a person's ability to 6 (27m 7s): Personally discern 5 (27m 10s): God has called us into a relationship whereby weep have the power, the ability to personally discern what he would have us to do. We've got the laws of God, love God and love others. But within that, we have a bazillion decisions to make throughout the course of the day. Lord is this the right decision? It calls us to account with God, to intimacy with God whereby we're asking him all of the time. Lord is this the right decision? Lord is this the right plan for my life? We're we're the law of Christ calls us into account to Jesus and calls us into a relationship with him. All of these 613 laws keep everything external. 5 (27m 50s): Number four, it creates a judgmental spirit. 6 (27m 53s): It creates 5 (27m 54s): A judgmental spirit. Number five, the Pharisees confused personal preference with divine law. Number six, it produces inconsistencies. Number seven. It created a false standard of righteousness. Number eight, it became a burden to the Jews. We'll talk more about that in just a little bit. Number nine, it was strict 6 (28m 15s): CLI external and 5 (28m 18s): Finally, number 10, it was rejected by Christ. It was rejected by Christ theologian. John F Wolverine wrote exactly what these endless discussions, these crazy myths, fables and genealogies spiritual pedigrees involved as not known. So we don't know exactly what they were arguing about. We have a feeling that it had something to do with the law, but we're not sure exactly they may. He, she continues. They may have had a Gnostic flavor, but we're more likely of Jewish origin. Paul wrote to Titus in Titus one 14, he said they must stop listening to Jewish myths and the commands that people who have turned away from the truth. There's going to be all kinds of distractions in the world and within the church, if we're not careful that will take our attention off of Jesus. 5 (29m 6s): It will move our attention and cause us to focus on something else. 6 (29m 9s): Calls, Wolf, ward continues, whatever their nature, they were 5 (29m 15s): Empty of any spiritual value. And that only to further speculations questions and arguing. 6 (29m 23s): There's so much 5 (29m 25s): Speculations, so much argument with and questions within the body of Christ. I find that we tend to battle amongst ourselves as the body of Christ when we should be unified around the person and the work of the Lord, Jesus Christ. I was with a couple 4 (29m 42s): From our church and this 6 (29m 43s): Couple, they write Bible 4 (29m 46s): Study curriculum that goes into jails and prisons and facilities all over the, all over the country and really all over the world. The 6 (29m 54s): Dutra is well, they were down 4 (29m 56s): In Southern California and with the jail system and they were trying to get their more books into the LA County jail system. And so the, the chaplain read through all of their curriculum and found two sentences that he disagreed with. And so, because he found two sentences in the whole curriculum that he disagreed with, he wanted to keep 6 (30m 19s): Her books, their books out 4 (30m 21s): Of the jail system, even though 99.9% of their curriculum was in, in, on par with what he believed, because he found a couple little things in 6 (30m 31s): There that were really 4 (30m 33s): Unimportant things in most people's minds, he decided I'm going to keep, keep her books out. So these effective books that have been ministering to people all over the globe are now going to be kept out because we can't figure out how to get along over unimportant 6 (30m 48s): Issues, 4 (30m 51s): Speculations questions and arguments, such speculations were to be avoided because they did not further God's plan, which has grasped and implemented, not by human imaginings, 6 (31m 1s): But by faith, he can 4 (31m 4s): Continues by contrast human speculations tend to lead off, down endless blind tunnels, which serve only to confuse and obscure God's truth. 6 (31m 14s): So whatever 4 (31m 14s): The church in emphasis was dabbling in and in discussions of myths and spiritual pedigrees, these things only led to meaningless speculations, which don't help people live a life of faith in God. And that, and that's the goal. According to verse four, the goal is that we would live a life of faith in God, man. We need to stop arguing amongst ourselves within our denominational structures about things that are so unimportant that hinder our ability to evangelize and to grow people in their most Holy faith. So what is the purpose of Paul's instruction back to first Timothy chapter one, verse five. The purpose of my instruction Paul says is that all believers would be filled, 6 (31m 58s): Would love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience and genuine faith. Remember 4 (32m 8s): The letter written to the church in Ephesus in revelation, chapter two, he said, you've got all this stuff going for you, but I have this one thing against you. You've forgotten your first love. You don't love God and you don't love others like you did at first, the first thing that the enemy wants to attack, but the world system wants to attack is our love one for another, because the Bible says that the world will know that we're God's disciples. That we're, that we're the followers of Jesus because of our love, one for another. And so we're going 5 (32m 40s): To be attacked in that area of love. And so we're going to find a Fe fight, make it easy. We're going to find a fence with people. It'll be easy to find a fence with people and not love them. It'll be easy to find a fence with God and not love God. The, our love for God and love for one another is under attack. And instead of loving God and loving you, loving others, we can become mechanical in our faith. We can make it all about religious activity, all about the law, all about external things and be distant from God in our heart. And with our love. The purpose of my instruction is that believers will be filled with love. 5 (33m 20s): Paul understood. He was a Pharisee of Pharisees. He, he understood the law better than most, and he understood that it lacked desperately. These things that he's talking about. Now, God got a hold of him with his great, with God's great love and set him on a new path. The purpose is love. That comes from a pure, 6 (33m 41s): Our hearts are clear conscience and genuine faith. How's your walk with Jesus in light of that verse, right there. How's 5 (33m 53s): Your connection with Jesus in light of that? 6 (33m 56s): How your love what's the condition of your heart and your conscience is your faith genuine. As 5 (34m 4s): We look at these passages of scripture, and as we look at the word of God, verse six says, but some people have missed this whole point. They missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. And they want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don't know what they're talking about. Even though they speak 6 (34m 24s): Confidently. 5 (34m 27s): Commentator wrote certainly for the Christian. The goal of all exhortations in practical affairs is 6 (34m 33s): Love, which was in all probability conspicuously lacking in these speculative speculative reasoners 5 (34m 41s): Whose main purpose was their own 6 (34m 44s): Intellectual satisfaction, 5 (34m 48s): Where we're supposed to grow in our knowledge of God. We're supposed to grow in our knowledge of the word of God, but that growth should only cause us to love more fully and more effectively. It should cause us to serve Dow with a pure heart and a clear conscience with a genuine faith. The knowledge of God should draw us closer to him and not cause a distance, a separation. So we need to be careful that the knowledge that we're trying to accumulate does what it's meant to do. That's meant to cause us to have a genuine faith, a pure heart, a clear conscience it's it's meant to cause us to love more deeply. 5 (35m 28s): We should love people more deeply, more passionately. When we walk away from our time in the word, it should be teaching us these things about character of God and the plans of God for our life. So we talked about this last week, God, what do you want to do with me today? When he, what do you want to do through me today? Most likely it's around the topic of love. God wants to do something with you and through you in the area of love, like how can we love people more effectively better. We can do that by walking with people through the difficult seasons of their lives. Sometimes when we're, when people are going through difficulties in their life, we kind of give them their space. But I think maybe God wants us to walk with people more effectively, better by praying for them and just meeting their, their, their tangible needs. 5 (36m 15s): As people walk through difficulty because everybody walks through challenging seasons in 3 (36m 19s): Life, verse eight, 5 (36m 22s): We know that the law is good when it's used correctly. So we're not saying the law is bad. Jesus came, he fulfilled the requirements of the law. They're good. When they're used correctly. W what does that supposed to look like? Galatians three, 19 through 26 says this, then why then was the law given? He was given alongside the promise Jesus to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child, the 3 (36m 53s): Christ child, who was 5 (36m 55s): Promise God gave his law through angels to Moses. He was the mediator between God and the people. Now a mediator is helpful. If more than one party must reach an agreement, but God who is one did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham, 3 (37m 12s): Is there a conflict 5 (37m 13s): Then between God's law and God's promise his promises? Absolutely not. If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying. 3 (37m 24s): It's not the case. 5 (37m 26s): The scriptures declare verse 22, that we are all prisoners of sin. So we received God's promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus. 3 (37m 38s): So we don't receive 5 (37m 40s): The promise of freedom. By trying harder, we received the promise of freedom by drawing close to Jesus and allowing ourselves to be filled with the Holy spirit by constantly like constantly drawing closer to Jesus. The, the human condition always wants to keep an eye on the law. And so we're constantly focused on the things we should not be doing. Jesus has called us into an intimate relationship, a connection with him so that we're, we're, we're focused on him and filled with his presence so that we're living our lives out of that abundance out of that fulfillment out of that life, we're living out of that power. 5 (38m 21s): And the freedom just comes as a by-product just naturally comes as we keep our eyes on him. And as we keep ourselves filled with his, 3 (38m 31s): The spirits, if the law could give us new life, we 4 (38m 37s): Could be made right with God by obeying it. But the scripture is clear that we are all prisoners of sin. Verse 23 has jumped down to 23 before, 5 (38m 45s): Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us. We were placed under guard 3 (38m 50s): By the law. We were kept in 5 (38m 52s): Protective custody. So to speak until the way of faith was revealed, let me put it in another way. Verse 24, the law was our guardian until Christ came. It protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. Our hang up is that we want to be constantly made right with God, through our good actions. We want to constantly try to measure up. We can never measure up. And when we're focused on that, we're going to continue to stumble because our focus is on the wrong thing. It's like having our focus on the law, the list of do's and don'ts instead, when we're transformed by the power of God, when we're filled with the presence of the Holy spirit, and when we've got our focus on him, then freedom is a byproduct. 5 (39m 38s): We just 4 (39m 39s): Literally begin to walk in freedom, new life in Jesus Christ, 3 (39m 44s): Nice 4 (39m 47s): Verse 25. And now that the way of faith has come. We no longer need the law as our guardian for. We are all children of God through faith in Jesus Christ and Christ. Jesus. Back to first of the chapter, one verse nine 3 (40m 3s): For 5 (40m 3s): Law was not intended for people who do what is right. 4 (40m 9s): It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who considered nothing sacred and to file. What is Holy who killed their father or mother, or commit other murders, murders. The laws for people who are sexually immoral or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, 3 (40m 31s): There's liars promise breakers, or do, or who do 4 (40m 34s): Anything else that contradicts the whole teaching that comes from the glorious good news entrusted to me, by our blessed God, 5 (40m 43s): The law was designed to make people realize their sin. So it's designed to help us recognize that apart from Christ, we can't, we, we w we, we don't measure up. I can't do what God requires. I can't do it because it's beyond my capacity to do it. 3 (41m 3s): The law 5 (41m 3s): Is not the good news. We talking about the gospel, Jesus Christ is their focus, and he is the good news. And so we need to get our focus on him. And as we do that, 4 (41m 16s): We'll experience Liberty and new life in Jesus. 5 (41m 20s): Jesus rebuked the law, abiding Pharisees over and over again for their lack of true godliness. So they were constantly the law by these law, abiding Pharisees were constantly about the laws, 613 laws. It's like they did. They couldn't write enough laws to try to keep their lives in order, but Jesus rebuked them because of their lack of godliness, their lack of intimacy with him, their lack of real salvation faith in him and Luke 1137 to 46. I was reading this in my devotional, my devotion time this week. And I just wanted to share it today because it's, it's, it's really it challenged. 5 (42m 1s): Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and we're not fair. He he's, but he's, we have a Ferris ankle side of us. We can tend toward the law and tend to try to measure up by doing acts of doing the works of the law. As Jesus was speaking, one of the Pharisees invited him home for a meal. So he went in and took his place at the table. His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing the washing ceremony. Another law required by Jewish customs. Then the Lord said to him, you Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are filthy full of greed and wickedness. 5 (42m 46s): And then that isn't not the trap. Like we can focus so much on the outside of the cup, our ex eternal life that we neglect. What's going on internally. We can look so good on the outside. And yet internally be a mess. It's not God's design inside. You're filthy full of greed and awakeness fools. Didn't God make the inside as well as the outside. Jesus said, so clean the inside by making gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over. Just take a message. I'll get back to them. 6 (43m 27s): Thanks, Juanita. No, 5 (43m 31s): That's fine. First 42. What sorrow awaits you Pharisees for you are careful to tie the, even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. He said you should tie. Yes, but do not neglect. The more important things. So tithing is a external thing that we can do. It's often tied to our, you know, tied to our heart. We want to honor the Lord with our resources. And so we give, and then we check that box, potentially. I'm not, not never case, but potentially we check that box. 5 (44m 14s): And then we go about our business. When God wants to do more than just that bit 6 (44m 22s): In your life. 5 (44m 26s): Juanita is leaving the church. Now they don't go for a long come back. You're careful to tie the, even the tiniest part from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God, you should tie the yes, but do not neglect. The more important things he continues. What sorrow awaits you, Pharisees for you love to sit in the seat 4 (44m 46s): Seats of honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings. As you walk in the bar 5 (44m 51s): Marketplace. Yes. What sorrow awaits you for? You are like hidden 4 (44m 56s): Graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on. According to the law, walking over the grave was would cause defilement. 5 (45m 10s): So what Jesus is saying is that you are defiling people because you are spiritually dead. You're so spiritually dead. That when people encounter you, you are literally 4 (45m 21s): Defiling them. 5 (45m 23s): You're misleading them and misdirecting them. You're causing them to be unclean. They don't know you're dead. 4 (45m 31s): They don't know you're dead, but you are dead and you to file them. Nonetheless 3 (45m 37s): Teacher 4 (45m 39s): Said an experts in religious law. You have insulted us too. And what you just said, yes, said, Jesus, I know what sorrow also awaits. You experts in religious law for you, crush people with your unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden. 3 (46m 3s): People who are 4 (46m 3s): Or focused on the law, the Pharisees and people in our own midst, within the faith of Christiandom, we can be so focused on all of these external things and out of that word, judgmental of others who don't see things, the way that we see things we're critical, we're unloving, we're ungrateful. We're focused on the wrong thing. The law was never meant to be our focus. 3 (46m 31s): Good works in Christ were meant to be the focus faith in Jesus. We're meant to be. The focus. Love 4 (46m 37s): Is meant to be the focus of pure hearts is meant to be the focus, a clear conscience. 3 (46m 44s): All of these 5 (46m 45s): Things flow out of that connection that we have 4 (46m 48s): With, with God when we're intimate with him. 5 (46m 53s): When we abide with him, when we walk with him, when we allow him to direct our steps, when we ask God, what is it that you want to do with me? God, what is it that you want to do through me? What is your plan, Lord, because I want to be about your plan today and this week, God, I want to be about your plan, God, this month, I want to be about your plan and not just for the month of February, but God, for all of 2021 in moving forward, I want to be about your plan 4 (47m 22s): And God, because it's like a good plan. And it's a plan that will fill us to overflowing with just the beauty of God. The law was never meant to be our focus. So we need to get our eyes off of the law and get our eyes on Jesus. It was meant to just kind of keep us in check until the Christ child came. The law will never get us focused on what we were supposed to be doing. The grace of God will keep us focused. The grace of God will compel us to work or to ask these two questions. What do you want me to do today? Lord, how's that going? Anyway? I wonder, how's it going? I, I, I get up every morning and I'm like, okay, Lord, it's a new day. 4 (48m 3s): What do you want to do today? What do you want me to do today? What do you want to do through me today? And then, and then throughout the course of the day, I'm just listening. I'm just trying to listen, trying to pay attention and trying to do what he says to do. And it's like, it's like a new adventure every day. What is, what is God's doing? What does he want to do? 1 (48m 22s): I really appreciate the fact that you put that forward because for me it's been wonderful. All your senses. And you know, when you're in a word, the word is, it's not even like, you're just reading words, just like you can actually see it in motion and feel yourself. It's just so much more alive emotions, everything. 1 (49m 3s): And show me when I want to say it immediately. 4 (49m 10s): Okay. So those of you who are in a different venue and you can't hear what's going on, Maryland is talking about her experience. She's grateful that we have the opportunity to ponder these questions, thinking about these questions. And she said, it's just made everything come to life. The word of God, her walk with the Lord, everything is just is different and new. Is that accurate? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. There's something it taps into the re our relationship with God and just at a whole new level, it brings it front and center and, and it's really, it's really a life-giving experience. Thanks for your testimony about that. I wish I had you up here on a microphone, two more verses about the law, and then we'll leave the law alone. 4 (49m 51s): Obviously Romans three, 19 and 20. Obviously the law applies to those, to whom it was given for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses and to show that the entire world is guilty before God for no one can ever be made right with God, by doing it to the law commands by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. Paul understood God's grace in his mercy on that Damascus road experience that Paul had an act chapter nine. He understood the grace and mercy of God. He was actually persecuting the people of God as a Pharisee because he thought he was doing the will of God and misunderstood the will of 5 (50m 28s): God. When anytime you're focused on the law of God, you misunderstand the will of God. And we're focused on all of the wrong stuff. Paul said this in verse 12, I think Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. And so when we're asking God to work through us, God, what do you want to do with me today? What do you want to do through me today? We're we're asking God to, to work through us with his strength, with his wisdom, with his understanding, with his capacity, we don't understand what people are going through, but God does. And so when he asks us to do something, we're operating based on his understanding and out of faith in his strength, I think Christ our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work, he considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him. 5 (51m 10s): Even though I used to blast him the name of Christ. So maybe you're here today and you're like, I'm too bad of a person. Like I've made too many mistakes. You were never as bad as Paul . He's going to go on and tell us that he's the chief of sinners. Like you'll no matter what you've done. You've never been that bad. And yet God, because of his mercy and grace, Grace's 6 (51m 33s): Getting what we don't deserve. Mercy is not getting what we do deserve. Paul got both. We all get both mercy, 5 (51m 39s): Not getting what we deserve. Grace, 6 (51m 41s): Getting what we don't deserve. Forgiveness. 5 (51m 44s): I used to blaspheme the name of Christ in my insolence. I persecuted his people, but God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. Oh, how generous and gracious 6 (51m 59s): Lord was. He filled me with the faith and love that comes from Christ. Jesus. Paul was a Pharisee. He became a follower of the Lord. Jesus Christ. Right? What was your was, and what is your now w what is your was, and what is your now, whatever your was, was your now can be, I'm a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ, because of his grace and mercy. That's the gospel, whatever your was was it's unimportant. Grace and mercy can touch your life and set you on a new path. 5 (52m 37s): Verse 15, this is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. Christ Jesus came into the world to save center 6 (52m 44s): And I am the worst of them all. So Paul takes the prize. He's worse than all of us, worse than all y'all, but God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they too can believe in him and receive eternal life. All honor, catch this all honor and glory to God forever, because we're saved by grace through faith right now, because of our good works. 6 (53m 27s): Paul wasn't saved 4 (53m 29s): Because of all of his good works. He was saved because of the grace and mercy of God. 6 (53m 33s): God. So anytime 4 (53m 36s): We have a success in our walk with Jesus, 6 (53m 38s): All honor, and glory to God, when we, 4 (53m 43s): He experienced his mercy and his grace a new, because we've stumbled because we've tripped because we 6 (53m 49s): All in all honor and glory to God, he gets all of the honor and the glory all honor and glory, 4 (53m 58s): Paul understood that all honoring glory to God forever and ever, he is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies. He alone is God. Amen. 6 (54m 6s): And, and then the final, 4 (54m 9s): Final couple of verses here, Timothy's responsibility, Timothy. My son here are my instructions for you. Based on the prophetic words, spoken about you earlier, may they help you fight with, 6 (54m 21s): Well, in the Lord's battle, we're all called to a spiritual battle. May God's grace and mercy equip you for that battle. Has you 4 (54m 36s): Honor him with those two questions? God, what is it that you want to do with me? And what do you want to do through 6 (54m 40s): Me? We enter this battle 4 (54m 43s): And that's, this is why it's difficult for us to ask those questions. And this is why it's difficult for us to do though, do what God has asked us to do because we're in the spiritual battle where the enemy of our souls is fighting against us and trying to keep us distant from the Lord and distant from his plans. So he said clean to your faith in Christ and keep your conscience 6 (55m 3s): Clear. For some people 4 (55m 5s): Have deliberately violated their conscience. As a result, their faith has been shipped 6 (55m 10s): Brecht verse 20. Hi, 4 (55m 17s): Ennis and Alexander are two examples. People who have shipwrecked their faith, I threw them out and handed them over to Satan. So they might learn not to bless FIM God. He threw them out. So they might encounter 6 (55m 32s): The 4 (55m 33s): Enemy of their soul. So they might get so tired of blaspheming, God and rebelling against God and resisting God that they might turn and serve him. Maybe you're here today. And you've been maybe not blaspheming God, but you've been working against God. You've not been allowing God to work in your life. You've not been willing to ask those questions. God, what do you want to do with me? And what do you want to do through me? Not, you've not being willing to ask those questions because you're really living a life contrary to God outside. You look great. Externally, the cup is clean, but internally there's just junk going on. And God wants to address that. Maybe you've been trying to address the junk, but your focus has been on the junk. 4 (56m 14s): And God says, Hey, get your focus off the junk and get your focus on me and get filled with me. When you do that, deliverance will come. Freedom. Liberty will come. Victory over. Sin will come. Victory over. Addiction will come. That the right stuff will come. When we get focused on Jesus, what will you do this week? Maybe you forgot all about these questions. Maybe you're hearing these questions for the first time. What will you do this day? And this week, as you ask all those questions, will you out of the gate, like Maryland said, obey, obey, obey, will you be committed to it? 4 (56m 56s): No matter what he asks you to do, some are like, there's no way I need to hear what he's telling me, because we're afraid of what he's going to tell us to do, because we don't at the heart of the matter. Trust him. We don't believe that he's good. And we don't trust that. What he's going to tell us to do is good. We feel like it's going to be embarrassing to us. We feel like it's going to be whatever. So we don't even ask the question. Can I challenge that premise, that lack of faith, that fear can I challenge that and just say that we serve a good and faithful God, and it will be fun. 4 (57m 37s): I I'm going to make a promise to you that it will be fun. It will be stretching for us, but it will be fun at the same time. It'll be exhilarating too. For the first time. Maybe walk in that freedom. It says, you know, we've got, I'm just going to ask the question and do it no matter what the answer is without let's go ahead and stand up and bite the worship team forward. Lord, we want, we want to be resp responsive to you. Fill with you, attentive to you, led by you excited about you Lord. And so I pray that that would be the case for each of us. 4 (58m 17s): God use our time, our talent and our treasure for your glorious purposes, we submit to you, Lord God. And I pray that the result will be a renewed excitement or renewed joy about our faith Lord, a renewed, renewed vigor, or just excitement and, and strength and power in you. Jesus renewed faith for you. Confidence. God renewed, whatever it is that needs to be renewed in us. Do that. We pray help us. We ask Lord in Jesus name. Amen. Let's worship. 1 (59m 5s): . 0 (1h 10m 36s): Thank you, Lord, for saving us. Thank you for your grace and mercy toward us. Thank you Lord, for your protection over us, Lord, we pray that you'd be with us this week. You'd empower us. It fills with your Holy spirit. It helps us to walk with you. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Thank you guys for joining the class as well. 1 (1h 11m 11s): Great week. 7 (1h 12m 2s): I don't want to be 8 (1h 31m 21s): 7 (1h 32m 7s): never gave up on me. 7 (1h 34m 4s): Never gave up on me. 7 (1h 34m 11s): 1 (1h 39m 25s): 7 (1h 40m 13s): when I'm broke and then I can be no take care necessary. 7 (1h 42m 46s): 1 (1h 56m 19s): Good morning. Welcome to harvest. Let's all stand together. 1 (1h 56m 32s): 0 (2h 10m 14s): Lord, we thank you for great mercy and forgiveness. You offer us Lord. We thank you Lord, for this gorgeous day for the protection of a place to worship. We thank you for meeting us here. We thank you for the power of the Holy spirit. Lord, we just honored you. We confess that you are the one true. Holy God. We praise you in Jesus name. Amen. 0 (2h 10m 54s): Amen. What do you say? We all make friends 7 (2h 11m 11s): all right. 7 (2h 14m 18s): Good morning. Harvest church. Good morning. 2 (2h 14m 22s): Hey, my name is Jeremy. I'm one of the pastors here. I am joined by my daughter Posey. Yeah, one of these days she's going to give the announcements. Hey, we're so glad that you're here. Thanks for joining us. And I know I've seen some new faces today, so thanks for joining us here in person. And we want to just let you know that if you're new here, joining us for the first time visiting, go check in at the info center, we have a free gift for you. And we just like to be able to connect and find out how you can connect with harvest church. With that said, have you ever seen those mafia movies where there's a back room and there's people in the backroom, they got those little green hats and they're, they're counting all this change behind the scenes. 2 (2h 15m 5s): Well, I've never been to one of those rooms. Hopefully you haven't either. But that's why I referenced it is is a few weeks ago we had our lifeline baby bottle drive and we and harvest church donated so much cash that they actually had to pull extra volunteers into count all this change. So great job harvest church. Your generosity is amazing. So we're so thankful for, for the, for your y'all's generosity. Hey, we, we are still looking for a few more volunteers in a few areas. Once again, Sundays, the greeting team, once a month, one service, one service. Why do I always mix it up? 7 (2h 15m 42s): Okay. Yeah. That's that 2 (2h 15m 45s): Service one time a month. That's what we're looking for. We're also looking for folks to jump, join at the safety team and that's that they keep feet, keeping folks safe on campus and that'll include first aid training as well. We're looking for some more people to help out with the worship team and tech team. So slides, musical instruments, cameras, all that fun stuff. And so you can connect with us that way and go to the info center. Put your name down on a little email address. We'll get, we'll get back to you. Or you can go on the website. There's a whole plethora of ways to get connected. So grateful for that. So last announcement, and this is exciting. One Easter is coming RI Easter's coming April 4th. 2 (2h 16m 25s): We are going to be having our Easter service here on a campus at 10:00 AM, one service, and we're going to be taken over to the upper parking lot. We have a new stage, we've got a big TV wall going in. There's it's going to be an awesome, awesome Sunday. And yes, we are going to be doing baptisms as well. I can't guarantee the pool will be hot. It won't be cold. So maybe lukewarm somewhere in between, somewhere between. So we're so excited to be planning for that Lee, be listening for some opportunities to serve that way as well. So that's I think 4 (2h 16m 56s): Yep. Easy for helping with the announcements today. You get my five I five. Good job. Good job. Thanks guys. Welcome. How is everyone? Good. Good, good. We're in first Timothy chapter one today, I'm going to put this over here and we'll just do it the old fashioned way. First Timothy chapter one, we're going to get through all the first Timothy today. So far in three weeks, we've gone through three verses. And so we're actually going to get through all of it today. That is the plan all of first Timothy. 4 (2h 17m 37s): Welcome. But you guys did you, did you guys hear this, this story? There was this guy who was neighbors with this felon and this guy was known for, you know, breaking and entering and robbing people's houses and that sort of thing. And so his neighbor, this neighbor, this felons neighbor notices that this guy's kicking down his own door. Like the felon is kicking down his own door, not somebody else's door. And, and the neighbor said why? I knew this guy was an ex-con of a felon for breaking and entering and that sort of thing. 4 (2h 18m 17s): But I didn't know. He's kind of crazy as well. He was just kind of wondering what was going on. And so kind of cautiously. He said, Hey, Hey, what are you doing? And the guy said, I'm working from home. Pretty good. I mean, it's, it's, it's not terrible. Right? One more time. What's what's the best time of the day to go to the dentist, whatever, two 30 to two 30, two 30. I owe Jean five bucks for that second joke. It may be only worth about two 50, but I'm going to give her the five bucks anyway, anyway, so, Hey, we're continuing our conversation about these two questions. 4 (2h 19m 6s): So this is like two questions. Part three guys. Remember the questions, God, what do you want to do with me today? And God, what do you want to do through me today? Those questions are up on the screen. What do you do want to do with me? And what do you want to do through me today? I love these questions because they, they, they, when I wake up in the morning and I think about these questions, it kind of gets me focused right on Jesus. And it gives me focus on what his plans and purposes are for my day. Now, some of us may be a little fearful about asking these questions. Number one, where maybe we're not sure what God will ask us to do. So we're not going to ask the question, right? I just want to, I just want to make this promise to you that if you ask God this question, and if you do what God asks you to do, it will be fun. 4 (2h 19m 48s): It will, it will be fun. And it will be a bit exhilarating because you're going to do stuff that you wouldn't normally do. It's stuff that's outside of your comfort zone. And so it's going to be kind of a new experience for you. And this may have to do with your neighbors, your coworkers, your friends, your spouse, your family, whoever, maybe, but God will do something. And usually, usually I've found that it surround the area of just loving someone. So whether you're loving someone through a word of affirmation where you're just saying something honest and kind to someone in your world, maybe as someone that you don't even know, but it's someone that the Lord has kind of tapped you on the shoulder and said, Hey, just say something kind to this person. 4 (2h 20m 35s): Maybe it's someone in your life. Maybe it's someone you don't know, but it's going to be either a word where it's going to be an action. It's going to be something that communicates love in some way, either your love for that person or God's love for that person. So let that kind of take the mystery out of the whole exercise, the whole experience, and just, just go with me for the rest of this month and just ask yourself or ask God that question every single morning, when you wake up and then throughout the course of the day. So when you wake up and you ask God that, that those questions is probably not, you're probably not going to get an answer right away. You just not probably not, but you will have clarity as you're interacting with people. 4 (2h 21m 19s): And as you keep thinking about those questions, you're going to say, what do you want me to do today? What do you want to do through me today? And does it include this person? Does it include this person who's in front of me right now? And they just see what the Lord will do. Just see. I bet. I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised. It's going to be fun and it'd be exhilarating. And, and it, it will do something else. It'll keep you focused on Jesus all day long. And that's really what Christianity is meant to be about. I don't know about you, but I spent most of my Christian life focusing on the to-do list, what I'm supposed to do and what I'm not supposed to do instead of focusing on Jesus. 4 (2h 22m 1s): And often that's what Christianity boils down for people. It boils down to what I am supposed to do and what I'm not supposed to do. And that's where our focus lies. Instead of having our focus, just be on Jesus and being filled with the Holy spirit. And then out of that experience out of that life with Jesus being filled with the Holy spirit living life, I have just greater victory in my life. Since I figured out that that was kind of the, the, the formula or God's design, greater freedom, greater joy, greater peace, greater relationships. There's just something about making Jesus. 4 (2h 22m 41s): Your focus is, and being filled with the Holy spirit all day long, there's just something about it. Everything goes better. Relationships are better. You love people better. Your relationship with, with God is more intimate. There's just, there's something about the intimacy that is developed when you're focused on Jesus and filled with the spirit all day long. Let's take a look at first Timothy, we're going to be looking at Galatians three, Romans three, Luke 11 and a. So I'm going to do something a little bit different today. I had nine pages of notes and I appreciate them for the first service on my iPad, but I felt this morning for second service. After first service, I thought, you know, I, to, I feel like the Lord is asking me to, so this is the kind of the deal you don't get the revelation or the answers from the Lord until you are in the midst of whatever it is that you're doing. 4 (2h 23m 29s): So I felt like the Lord said, just, just open up the word and just teach you, you know what you're going to teach. You've got the outline in your head and all that sort of thing. There's plenty of quotes that I'm going to miss, but there's something that God wants to do. We just open up the scripture and allow God to speak. So we're going to be looking at all the same texts, all the same passages, but we're just going to be kind of doing it a little bit differently. So here we go. This letter is Paul. We've already kind of gone through the first three verses over the last three weeks, two, three weeks, whatever it's been. So I'm just going to reread them just for context, text sake, and then we'll jump and start really unpacking things in verse four. Does that sound good? You guys with me? All right, so everything will be up on the screen. 4 (2h 24m 10s): All of the verses will be up on the screen. Now they may not be in the order. This is going to be interesting for you on the tech team. They may not be in the order exactly that that I present. It gave them to you. So anyway, just be patient with me back there on the board and on the computer. This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ. Jesus appointed by the command of God, our savior in Christ. Jesus who gives us hope. That should be an expectation as followers of Jesus Christ. There should be a hope expectation. Like I should have this expectation that there's a divine hope connected to knowing Jesus that gives life. 4 (2h 24m 57s): This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ. Jesus appointed by the command of God, our savior and Christ. Jesus who gives us hope. I'm writing to Timothy. My true son in the faith. May God, the father and Christ Jesus. Our Lord gave you grace, mercy and peace. So four things hope. Grace, mercy, and peace, all tied to an intimate knowledge and walk with the Lord. Jesus Christ. Paul understood it. Having been a fair sissy, having been a person who understood the laws of God, but didn't understand God. And I think that's where we have a disconnect. Sometimes as followers of Jesus, we understand the laws of God, but we don't understand God. 4 (2h 25m 41s): And we'll never fully understand the person of God through the laws of God, because the laws of God were simply designed to help us to recognize our need for God. Does that make sense? So we're not going to get a full understanding of who God is by simply understanding the law, the do's and the don'ts we'll get full understanding of God. When we allow ourselves to be filled with his presence on a regular basis, Ephesians five, it's not on the screen. Ephesians five says don't be drunk with wine because that will ruin your life. Instead. Be filled with the Holy spirit 6 (2h 26m 12s): Instead, be filled with the Holy spirits. 4 (2h 26m 15s): First three, when I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there and emphasis. And we talked a lot about emphasis in the last couple of weeks and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth. Don't let them waste their time in endless discussions of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations, which don't help people live a life of faith in God. What is the author talking about there? When he talks about spiritual pedigrees myths, endless discussions about these things. We're not really sure it doesn't really tell us, but if we go to verse eight, it kind of helps us. The context helps us understand what this might be. It says in verse eight and we'll come back to the rest of the verses here shortly. 4 (2h 26m 57s): But it says, we know that the law is good when used correctly. So most likely there's a misunderstanding about the use of the law. Why did God give us the law? When I say the law I'm primarily mean the 10 commandments, why did God give us the law of God? Why, why were we given a lot? Well, let's, let's look at a few verses here. Let's go to see if I can flip around in my Bible here and go to Galatians. Actually, let's go to Romans chapter four, Romans chapter three. I think the tech team can find that on the screen. This is Romans chapter three, verse 19. If you can find that it'll go up on the screen. It's just obviously the law applies to those, to 6 (2h 27m 37s): Whom it was given 4 (2h 27m 40s): For its purpose is to keep people from having excuses and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. The Bible says in Romans three, that all have sinned and all fall short of God's glorious standard. So the law was given so that the whole world, the entire world might realize that they're guilty before God for no one in verse 20 says for no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. Isn't that interesting. Some of us are maybe hearing this for the first time for no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful simple we are. 4 (2h 28m 21s): So the law can't make 5 (2h 28m 22s): Us Holy. Why don't we spend so much time thinking about a lot. If a law can't make us Holy, if only our holiness can only be made available to us through Christ Jesus, as he imputes his righteousness to us, as he gives us righteousness, then why are we so focused on the law? We never find freedom in Jesus. As long as we're focused on the law, let's take a look at Galatians chapter three as well. 3 (2h 28m 49s): Galatians chapter three says why then was the law given it was 5 (2h 28m 59s): Give it alongside the promise to show people their sins. So again, the law is there. So it might recognize we have a desperate need for a savior, but the law was designed to last only the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who has promised, who is that? Speaking about Jesus, right? God gave his law through angels to Moses who was the mediator between God and the people. Now a mediator is helpful. If more than one party must reach an agreement, but God who is one did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham, is there a conflict then between God's law and God's promise absolutely not. If the law, if the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. 5 (2h 29m 46s): But the scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin. So we receive God's promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ. So we get back to first Timothy, we're going to get into a passage. We're where we're beginning, beginning to understand what all of the arguments in foolish disagreements were about. I wish I wish as the church that we could get over our foolish disagreements, they're often so petty and so small and so unimportant. And yet they hinder a few things. They hinder real fellowship within the body of Christ. 5 (2h 30m 29s): They, they hinder our ability to evangelize the loss because if the church is fighting amongst itself, how can we effectively show the world? Jesus love proved that we're his disciples and then point people to him. Quick story. We've got a couple of our church who write Bible study curriculum, Mike and Sharon do Trump. Well, they have their Bible study books and curriculum in County, jails and prisons all over the States and all over the nation. And in other parts of the world, they, their, their books have been translated into other languages. And it's gone out to nations around the world and it's helpful. 5 (2h 31m 11s): Bible study tools and information to help people follow Jesus. Well, they had a meeting with Southern California jail system, a chaplain down there, and the chaplain loved, loved 3 (2h 31m 28s): The books, but there were 5 (2h 31m 30s): Two sentences within the book that this chaplain didn't like. And so he said, your books will not be in the County jail system. Did that crazy. Why don't we have to fight amongst ourselves as the church. We're not talking about essential stuff, like things under salvation. We're talking about 3 (2h 31m 51s): Minor silly 5 (2h 31m 54s): Theological and doctrinal differences. That is not going to keep anybody out of heaven, but will keep the church from being unified. I love that dark pastors in our churches are the pastors of our churches in the area, get together once a month for lunch in prayer and fellowship. And, and so we get together the first Wednesday of every month, just for lunch and fellowship and prayer. And, and to break down those walls of division that so easily want to go up in our midst. 3 (2h 32m 25s): And so continue to 5 (2h 32m 27s): Pray because I believe as the pastors go, so the churches will go. So pray that as the pastors gather that we will continue to find unity and not get focused on 4 (2h 32m 37s): The unimportant things. 3 (2h 32m 42s): Oh, really 5 (2h 32m 42s): Reread verse three in verse Timothy one. When I left from Macedonia, I urged you to stay there at emphasis and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth. Don't let them waste their time and endless discussions of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations, which don't help people live a life of faith in God. That is the goal that the teaching of scripture from the old and the new Testament is to help people to live a life of faith in God. And so when we read the scripture, that should be a major takeaway for us. It should, this scripture should build us up in our most Holy faith. The Bible says without faith, it's impossible to please God. 5 (2h 33m 24s): And so God is calling us into a place of faith. And so in the arenas of our life, we need to be operating as people of faith. And I wonder how often we're actually operating as people of faith doing, answering the, you know, asking God those questions, God, what is it that you want to do with me and God? What is it that you want to do 3 (2h 33m 43s): Through me believing that bye-bye 5 (2h 33m 45s): Faith, God will speak to us. He'll direct us. She'll give us an assignment and by faith in him, and as he gives us the power and the grace, we're able to walk it out and to see people's lives touched and see people ministered to in our sphere of influence. I just wonder how much we're actually living lives of faith in God. Paul said in verse five, the purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love. Go ahead and underline that love if you got your, with you, me, Phil would love that comes from a pure heart. I'm an underline that a clear conscience, I'm an underlying that and a genuine faith. 5 (2h 34m 28s): The purpose of my instruction Paul says is that all believers will be filled with love. That comes from a pure heart, that clear conscience and genuine faith, but some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don't know what they're talking about. Even though they speak so confidently, this is God's the purpose of God speaking and, and inspiring the scripture so that we might listen to it and be taught about it and read it for ourselves that we would be well, let's just go from the top that we would give experience hope in verse one, grace, mercy, and peace in verse two, that's in verse five, we would see the love that comes from a pure heart at clear conscience, that genuine faith. 5 (2h 35m 29s): These are the purposes of the scripture. Now it's important that we, I just broke the pen. It's, it's important that we grow in knowledge and understanding of God, but not for the wrong reason so that we feel better about our understanding, about who God is. It's okay to feel like you're growing and like, things are good, but it should drive us somewhere. Knowledge of God, understanding of doctrine and theology. It should take us somewhere. And Paul's saying the purpose of my instruction, and this is true for not only Paul's writings, but all of the texts within the scripture. The purpose is that all believers will be filled with love. I talked about last week, the church in Ephesus in revelation chapter two, John on the Island wrote this letter to the seven churches in the first church that he wrote a letter to was to the church at emphasis. 5 (2h 36m 22s): Timothy is pastoring the church in emphasis. And so that's why we talk about emphasis. And so we're in first Timothy he's pastoring the church in Ephesus. The letter that was written to the church in emphasis was full of affirmation. But God said this, I have this one thing against you. You don't love each other. And you don't love me like you did at first, you've lost your first love. So he said, if you don't repent of losing your first love, I'm actually going to remove your lampstand from you. In other words, you won't be recognized as a church any longer. If you don't figure out how to love one another and figure out how to love me, that's what God is saying. Isn't that crazy? 5 (2h 37m 3s): It's a big deal. And so the, the emphasis of the scripture and the reason that we open up the scripture and the reason that we teach scriptures, we might have these things, this hope, this grace, mercy, and peace, but then ultimately this love that comes from a 3 (2h 37m 19s): Pure heart, a heart that just wants to honor the Lord. That just wants to give back 5 (2h 37m 29s): Laurie to God and do what he's asked us to do a pure heart with a clear conscience. 3 (2h 37m 34s): That means we're not messing 5 (2h 37m 35s): Around with our faith. We're not messing around with, in dabbling, in things of the world, cluttering our conscience, but we've got a clear conscience because though we're not perfect by God's grace, our effort and our desire is to honor him and to please him and so such that our conscience as clear, or maybe we've stumbled, but we've said, Lord, I've stumbled. And I clean. I keep a short account of my stumbling and I say, Lord, I've, I've stumbled. I've made this mistakes. I didn't want to think this. I didn't want to say that. I didn't want to do that. Whatever it is, we keep a short account with the Lord so that our conscience is clear, 3 (2h 38m 12s): Clear that there's 5 (2h 38m 15s): You and faith, genuine faith. But some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. They want to be known as the teachers of law of Moses, but they don't know what they're talking about. Even though they speak so confidently per eight says, we know that the law is good. When used correctly for the law was not intended for people who do what is right. 3 (2h 38m 42s): It is for people who are lawless. Yeah. 5 (2h 38m 45s): And rebellious. Again, the law was given so that people would recognize their desperate need for the grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Like Lord, I see the expectations that I'll never measure up. Lord. I want to honor you, but I'm never going to do it perfectly. So God, I need your grace and your mercy for law was not given intended for people who do what is right. And is for people who are lawless and rebellious or ungodly and sinful who consider nothing sacred and to file. What is Holy who killed their father and mother or commit other murders? The law is for people who are sexually immoral or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, 3 (2h 39m 22s): Liars promise 5 (2h 39m 24s): Breakers, or do who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teachings that come from the glorious good news and trusted to me 3 (2h 39m 33s): By our blessed God, who's 5 (2h 39m 37s): Supposed to be the focus of the good news. 3 (2h 39m 39s): Jesus, right? Jesus is the gospel. And yet 5 (2h 39m 44s): Spend so much of our time focused on the things that we're not supposed to be doing. Beating ourselves up over our constant failures, where we fall short, doing what God has asked us to do. I have never experienced victory in my life while I was focused on my failures. Never, just never. It never happened for years. I live like that for years. I was always trying to check the box, do my very best, do the next best thing, all of, sort of thing. But it wasn't until I just decided I'm just going to keep my eyes on Jesus. You know what? When I decided to put my eyes on Jesus, I didn't want us to do anything else, but honor him. I just, I, my focus change. 3 (2h 40m 26s): My flesh 5 (2h 40m 28s): Came under the control of the Holy spirit, not perfectly, but the level of victory and the level of freedom in Christ that has been experienced and that I've seen in others who do the same thing is unbelievable. It's unbelievable. Often we're spending all of our time just focused on, Oh, I know I shouldn't do this. 3 (2h 40m 48s): I, 5 (2h 40m 50s): So I ride mountain bikes from time to time. And anytime I'm on a, like a, a single track and there's a cliff like a drop off, 3 (2h 41m 4s): I have to 5 (2h 41m 4s): Keep my eye on the single track. Because as soon as I put my eye on the drop-off, that's where I'm going immediately. I immediately begin to flirt with danger. I'm not even thinking about it, but that's where my, my attention is. So that's where I'm going. The same is true with us. As we follow Jesus, as long as Jesus is our focus, we will keep moving in the right direction and we will be protected from those drop-offs those pitfalls that we so often fall into G make Jesus, the focus of your faith and not all of the do's. And don'ts make Jesus the focus of your faith and you will experience great victory. 5 (2h 41m 48s): Great joy, great peace, clear conscience, pure heart. Sure. True faith. All of these things will be the outcome. The result of it. 3 (2h 41m 58s): Paul 5 (2h 41m 59s): Stood having, coming, having come from the background that he came from, he understood the grace and mercy of God. He, he understood that in his own strength. He could not measure it, but I think Christ Jesus, our Lord verse 12 first Timothy chapter one verse 12 says I think Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. 3 (2h 42m 21s): Hmm. 5 (2h 42m 23s): I say this all the time. Everything that God asks us to do requires the supernatural strength at work 3 (2h 42m 27s): Within us. We can't do it without him. 5 (2h 42m 30s): Paul understood that he considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him. Even though I used to blast meme, the name of Christ in my insolence, I persecuted his people, but God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance. 3 (2h 42m 48s): Oh, how 5 (2h 42m 49s): Generous and gracious. Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was. He filled me with the faith and love that comes from Christ. Jesus. This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the worst of them all, but God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use 4 (2h 43m 12s): Me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they too can believe in him and receive eternal life, all honor, and glory to God forever and ever. He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies. He alone is God, a man. So in Paul's insolence and his anger and his, and his confusion, he persecuted the church of the living. God, the followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. He was persecuting until one day. And on that day in acts chapter nine, God got ahold of him. 4 (2h 43m 54s): And so he used to be a persecutor of the church, a Pharisee focused on the law. And now he is a follower of the Lord. Jesus Christ filled with the Holy spirit, empowered by God to do the things that God had called him to do. So maybe you look at your background, maybe you're looking at your background, thinking about your past mistakes, pay thinking about your past life. And you, you can say, I used to be, but now I am and you can declare light Paul and say, now I'm a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I'm filled with the Holy spirit. I'm a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ. So now my life will be different. I used to live this way and think this way, but now in Jesus, he has changed my life. 4 (2h 44m 39s): He has changed my identity and he's given me a new purpose. So now I can get up in the morning and say, Lord, what is it that you want to do with me? What is it that you want to do through me? Because my focus is all you, Jesus, I'm filled with your spirit and I'm focused on you because I know that you're, you've got the words of life. You're the path of life. You are the way of life. So Jesus, I want to do what you've called me to do. And so out of that, understanding and excitement about who Jesus is and out of the abundance of your faith, you're able to do the things that God has called you to do in his strength. Paul, the great apostle Paul, he wrote most of the new Testament. He understood that his strength to do what God had called him to do 9 (2h 45m 18s): Comes from God. So don't 4 (2h 45m 21s): Trying to do this stuff in your own strength. And don't try to 9 (2h 45m 26s): Get through so much. God's given us a brand to use, but often we'll will eliminate most of what God asks us to do, because it doesn't make sense to us. It just doesn't make sense. Or it's going to take us out of our comfort zone. I shared the story a few different times, but I'll share it again just because it it's it's fits shared last week. So my wife and I were coming back from vacation with our clan and we were stopped in Kettleman city to have to get some gas and have some lunch. So I'm at the gas station I'm filling up. And this is about year or two ago, year and a half ago. 9 (2h 46m 8s): Something like, and I see this black lady filling up in the Island next to me. And I feel like Lord says, go put your arm around her and tell her that God loves her. So I could have said, that's ridiculous. She's I, I'm not going to put my arm around a perfect stranger. It's re it's ridiculous. God, I'm not going to, I'm not going to do that. It's I'm just not going to do it so I could have done that. And that's often what we'll do. Like, Lord, I'm not going to do that. Right. But it said, I decided I was just gonna try it out. 9 (2h 46m 50s): And so I put my arm around her. I walked over to my arm Reiner and she's kinda like, 8 (2h 46m 54s): Okay, 9 (2h 46m 57s): I'm obviously a white guy putting my arm around a black female. And I just said, Hey, I just want you to know that God loves you and everything melted or counting has changed. 8 (2h 47m 12s): I don't, I 9 (2h 47m 13s): Don't know what that did for her or what it did for me in the moment. I doesn't even matter, but I know something happened. I know something happened. 8 (2h 47m 26s): What 9 (2h 47m 26s): Is it that God is trying to get you to do? That's going to get you out of your shell and get you focused on his plans and his purpose for your life. So don't talk yourself out of it. Just do it. Can I challenge you to do that? Just, just do it and let the chips fall where they may. It's okay to look a little foolish for God. And honestly, you probably won't even look foolish, but you just feel like you're going to look foolish, but it's okay. If we're going to be foolish for anyone, I'd rather be foolish for God and just let him get the glory and all the take all the credit for that. It's Timothy, my son, verse 18. 9 (2h 48m 11s): As we wrap up these, this chapter, here are my instructions for you. Based on the prophetic word, spoken about you earlier, may they help you fight well in the Lord's battle? So we're in a spiritual battle. The Bible says we don't wrestle against flesh and blood enemies, but we wrestle against the principalities of darkness. So we're in a spiritual battle. There's as we talked last week, I think it was last week about Ephesus. They got the temple of Artemis, which is a, of a goddess that they worshiped in the town, the people who heard the gospel repented of their, their sins and burned up their witchcraft books. 9 (2h 48m 55s): Speaking about the darkness in the world that we, in which we live. So there's this, there's the spirit, the principalities of darkness, and then the principalities of lights. And so we're in a spiritual battle. So if we don't believe we're in a spiritual battle, we'll never effectively serve Jesus because none of it, none of it will make sense to us. And we're just going to, it's just not going to sink in that we're followers of God and that were in this spiritual army are fighting the Lord's battles claim to your faith in Christ and keep your conscience clear. Paul told Timothy for some people have deliberately violated. Their conscience is as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked and he mentions a couple of guys, a couple people, how many us and Alexander are two examples. 9 (2h 49m 44s): I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so they might not learn. So they might learn not to blast FIM God. So Paul threw them out so that they might learn not to blaspheme God. He wanted them to grow in their faith, quit playing games with their faith, quit blaspheming God and turn and serve God wholeheartedly. The purpose of Paul's booting, this, this, these couple of guys out is that he wanted, he wanted them to be reconciled to God while they were still time. 9 (2h 50m 25s): Scott's desire that we reconciled it to him. Maybe you maybe you've been distant from the Lord. Maybe on the outside, everything looks good. Maybe on the outside, everything looks good. And Mark Luke chapter 11, let's just take a look at Luke chapter 11 because Jesus rebukes the Pharisees because everything looked good on the outside, but everything else on the inside was a mess. 8 (2h 50m 51s): Luke 9 (2h 50m 51s): Chapter 11, verse 37, as Jesus was speaking, one of the various seas invited him home for a meal. So he went in and took his place at the table. His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing his hand, washing ceremonies required by the Jewish customs. So the Pharisees had all kinds of laws that Jesus gave to. He said, love God and love others. Right? The Pharisees had 613 laws, 613 laws. One obviously had to do with hand-washing as part of their Jewish custom. 9 (2h 51m 35s): Then the Lord said to them, to him, you Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside your filthy, He doesn't make mince. A lot of words. He said inside you're filthy full of greed and wickedness fools. Didn't God make the inside as well as the outside. So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor and you will be clean all 8 (2h 51m 59s): Over 9 (2h 52m 2s): Verse 42. What sorrow awaits you Pharisees for are careful to tie even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore 3 (2h 52m 12s): Nor justice and the love of God. It sounds like that church had emphasis. Yes. So 9 (2h 52m 20s): Jesus rebukes them. He said, you should tie the ass, but do not neglect. The more important things. 3 (2h 52m 27s): What sorrow 9 (2h 52m 28s): Awaits you Pharisees for you love to sit in the seats of honor and the synagogues and receive respectful greetings. As you walk in the marketplaces. Yes. What sorrow awaits you for? You are like hidden graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on. And the law says that if you come in contact with a dead body or a defiled dead person, you are defiled. Jesus is saying you're so spiritually dead. That you're defiling. Everybody that you come into contact with you are spiritually dead. And so that defilement is touching everybody that you come in contact with and he's rebuking them for that teacher said an expert in religious law, you have insulted us to in what you, what you just said. 9 (2h 53m 10s): Yes, Jesus said, yes, said, Jesus, 3 (2h 53m 14s): What 9 (2h 53m 14s): Sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law. Jesus is not trying to rebuke them for the sake of rebuking them alone. He wants to get their attention. So they might come to faith in the person and work of the Lord, Jesus Christ. He's. He's wanting them to understand that he is the Messiah that he's come to bring life and life abundantly. And so he's rebuking their lifestyle. He's rebuking their belief system and the way that they go about their walk with God, their faith in God, what sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law for you, crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden 3 (2h 53m 52s): On 9 (2h 53m 54s): Terrible religious demands, 613, 613 laws. Listen, if there were 613 laws that we had to figure out and obey, that's all we would be focused 3 (2h 54m 5s): Based on that's all we be focused on. So like 9 (2h 54m 9s): I just mess up on 421. I mean, what's going on. Instead Jesus gives two and all the laws in the prophet, hang on. These two things. Love 3 (2h 54m 17s): God and love your neighbor. Isn't that awesome. So I, 9 (2h 54m 23s): I promise you that whatever God asks you to do, it has something to do with loving God or loving your neighbor. Whatever he's asking you to do, Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees because they're not only misled themselves, but they're misleading others. They're heaping these huge burdens and not lifting a finger to help 3 (2h 54m 40s): Them to help them serve Jesus. What is it that God wants you to do? What does he want to do through you? Don't like 9 (2h 54m 52s): Another week go by or even another day. Go by without resolving that question, getting that question asked and then walking it out day by day. I think he's going to give you something probably most days to do most days he'll give you, even if it's just a small thing, it'll give you something to do with that. Let's go ahead and stand up. Let's invite the worship team forward and we will pray and sing some more songs. Worship, Jesus, Lord. We stand in awe and I, and in honor of you, we thank you that your word is sharper than a two-edged sword. It pierces us and it speaks to us and it helps us. 9 (2h 55m 36s): And sometimes it rebukes us so that we might get on the right track. So Lord, whatever it is that you want to do with us, I pray that we would be allowing that and walking in that with great joy. So thank you for this time, Lord, we worship you as we sing these next few songs. Be glorified. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Let's worship. 1 (2h 56m 30s): 0 (3h 7m 38s): We thank you that you've given us hope. We thank you for the power of your Holy spirit in our lives. We praise you are together, or we pray for whatever's going on out there in the town. Three sirens go by and we have no idea, but we know that you know all about it. Lord, we pray for those people. We pray that you had that. You'd be with them. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.