back to indexSunday 2014-10-05 - Flee & Pursue pt 2 - 2 Tim 2:22
00:00:00.000 |
Alright, so if we don't have any other announcer, why don't we turn our Bibles to 2nd Timothy chapter 2 00:00:03.820 |
I'm gonna be mainly focused on verse 22, but chapter 2 22 through 26 00:00:09.380 |
Chapter 2 22 to 26. I'm gonna read out of the ESV 00:00:17.200 |
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness faith love and peace along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart 00:00:25.840 |
Have nothing to do with foolish ignorant controversies, you know that they breed quarrels and the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome 00:00:32.520 |
But kind to everyone able to teach patiently enduring evil 00:00:35.980 |
Correcting his opponents with gentleness God may perhaps grant them repentance 00:00:40.080 |
Leading to a knowledge of the truth and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil 00:00:45.000 |
After being captured by him to do his will. Let's pray 00:00:47.760 |
Gracious and loving father we thank you so much for today 00:00:57.160 |
For us to be able to pray to you to come and worship you father God 00:01:02.240 |
And again, we know that there are many brothers and sisters around the world who are in the most midst of heavy persecution 00:01:09.440 |
We ask that you would surround them and protect them strengthen their faith Lord God 00:01:14.540 |
That in the midst of persecution and and many of them even martyred them Lord 00:01:20.160 |
That more and more people may know that the hope that we have in Christ is not something that we've made up 00:01:25.120 |
That you are a God who loves you're a God who is merciful 00:01:30.000 |
That we worship a Savior who has resurrected from the dead 00:01:33.360 |
That we would live our life Lord God fullest for your glory 00:01:37.440 |
So for that and we pray for your blessing this morning in Jesus name we pray. Amen 00:01:45.680 |
Obviously because of the students coming back and there's a lot of changes that always takes place 00:01:49.600 |
You know and not just this time of the year because our church is you know, somewhat young 00:01:54.560 |
I don't say somewhat it is young and so there's constant changes and those of you who just came into college 00:02:02.440 |
All right next four years is gonna change your life 00:02:04.920 |
I mean, I see so many people come to college and you know by the time they get back home after four years 00:02:09.640 |
They realize everything has changed your friends has changed. You know, what what you experience has changed 00:02:14.560 |
So it gets harder and harder to go jump back in because you don't realize how much things are changing until you go back home 00:02:22.600 |
There's some of you who just recently graduated and and you're working and your world is being rocked right now 00:02:27.680 |
You know waking up every day at 6 in the morning to try to get the work and then come in a Bible study and all 00:02:33.940 |
That you're adjusting to this new schedule. So you you are going through a lot of changes 00:02:38.920 |
Some of you who are just got married or in the in the process of getting married right now 00:02:44.820 |
I mean your world is gonna get rocked and you can tell even visually, you know, especially with the guys 00:02:52.120 |
But with guys even the way they dress change when they meet the right person, you know 00:02:56.180 |
I mean their hairstyle changes all of a sudden you start wearing button-down shirts and you know, and you take shower regularly 00:03:03.720 |
Changes, you know, then those of you who are young couples who have children 00:03:07.640 |
And obviously that's another thing's gonna rock your world and you you start seeing changes, right? 00:03:13.120 |
There's a lot of things that happen, especially when we're young, you know our life changes 00:03:17.840 |
And so when our life changes, there's external things 00:03:20.360 |
Like I said, you can even tell physically the way you talk what you value 00:03:24.840 |
You know what you're hoping for what you consider to be entertaining all of these things are going through process of change 00:03:30.900 |
But I can say of all the things that we experience in life that changes 00:03:35.280 |
There's nothing more radical than when we meet Christ 00:03:38.840 |
When somebody becomes a Christian that a lot of times the people who knew you before you met Christ 00:03:45.160 |
They don't even recognize who you are. Like what happened to you? 00:03:47.960 |
right and it's not just a small change when we meet Christ and and someone who was once lost in sin and 00:03:54.480 |
is found in Christ there has to be no almost always is a 00:03:58.460 |
Radical change our speech changes our weekends change what we pursue change 00:04:03.920 |
But the challenge that we have and I know that every every genuine believer who meets Christ goes through a radical change 00:04:19.100 |
We get to a point where we need to plateau in our walk with God and then we begin to think you know that change 00:04:24.260 |
Happened when I first met Christ, but after that we hit a plateau and we just kind of learned to coast 00:04:29.700 |
and we're in the beginning when you begin to cause you you get a little bit frustrated because you feel I'm just kind of stagnant and 00:04:36.980 |
I don't have that kind of same passion that I did before and you begin to look around your your other peers and you see 00:04:42.640 |
Well, everybody else is going through the same thing 00:04:44.640 |
So what end up happening is you begin to adjust and think maybe this is normal 00:04:50.180 |
Maybe that passion and this this passionate pursuit of Christ is just something that happens when you initially meet Christ 00:04:56.260 |
But after you've been a Christian for a while, maybe plateauing is normal 00:04:59.880 |
but the problem with that type of thinking is 00:05:02.940 |
Every time you look in Scripture again, it screams out 00:05:06.460 |
Apostle Paul as he is sitting in prison after 30 40 years of ministry. He talks about straining 00:05:13.700 |
He's talks about fighting to the end. You know Timothy 00:05:18.260 |
Was not a newbie, you know, that's a term that's that use now. I'm pretty sure I'm using it correctly, right? 00:05:27.180 |
He's been with Paul through various trials when Paul was put into prison the first time Timothy was with him 00:05:32.880 |
Timothy joined him early part of the second missionary journey 00:05:36.020 |
So it wasn't like Timothy all of a sudden joined ministry and as a young pastor 00:05:39.820 |
She started facing trials and all of a sudden he's shocked and he's thinking about going back home 00:05:44.820 |
No, Timothy went through all these trials. He was there when Paul was shipwrecked 00:05:48.500 |
He was there when he was put into prison and and stoned and he was he was there through all of that 00:05:55.100 |
But the trial that they're facing now was much greater than anything that they've seen before and probably one of the greatest 00:06:01.720 |
Discouragement with Timothy is that all these older men that traveled with Paul some of them are beginning to fall away and go back home 00:06:12.660 |
And maybe he's beginning to contemplate maybe maybe I've done enough 00:06:16.940 |
I mean I sacrifice and I gave and you know, I had hardship 00:06:22.540 |
I mean, I've done my part let the other guys do it and it's in that context 00:06:26.180 |
Paul writes this letter second Timothy telling Timothy to persevere 00:06:29.660 |
To continue that you're on this right path. This persecution is not coming because you made the wrong choice 00:06:35.940 |
You know, you could have gone left you could have gone, right? 00:06:38.660 |
You could have want went to this city and you could instead of going to that city whenever we face hardship 00:06:43.500 |
We begin to rethink the decisions that we made and we begin to think that maybe if I made that choice 00:06:50.200 |
This hardship would not be here. Maybe if I went to this school, maybe if I want to jack that job 00:06:55.040 |
Maybe because I made the wrong decision. These things are happening 00:06:58.420 |
Instead Paul reminds Timothy said these things are happening because you're on the right path 00:07:04.740 |
These hardships and persecutions are coming your way because you are following the Lord and he 00:07:10.300 |
Challenges him to continue to persevere in this fight, even if you give your life 00:07:20.940 |
We talked about a couple weeks ago in verse 22 00:07:23.460 |
He's talking about how to continue to persevere. And so the first thing that we looked at was to flee 00:07:30.420 |
Paul says you must flee in your walk with God. You must flee you cannot 00:07:34.620 |
Love the world and love God at the same time no matter how hard you try 00:07:38.800 |
You you want the church to change you want the world to change but it's just not going to change God's Word will stand 00:07:48.700 |
2,000 years ago what he does today and what we he will do tomorrow. He will never contradict himself 00:07:53.540 |
So when he says you cannot love the world and love God at the same time 00:08:00.180 |
It is consistent even today no matter how hard you try 00:08:03.420 |
So he says you must flee you must run from this but the second part of it 00:08:09.260 |
He says not only must you flee but you must pursue righteousness faith love and peace 00:08:14.540 |
Along with those who call on the name of the Lord from a pure heart 00:08:18.100 |
You know some of us at least in the beginning of our walk with God try so hard to flee from the world 00:08:24.740 |
And after a while you may have gotten tired and you thinking you know, this is too hard 00:08:29.940 |
You know every time you go to school you watch TV and there's just temptations around us all the time 00:08:36.660 |
And so you just kind of learn to compromise as long as you're not in blatant sin 00:08:41.000 |
You know long as you're not getting drunk and you've kind of pushed the envelope to the point where you can enjoy the world 00:08:46.900 |
And not go over the edge. So you're always living on the edge 00:08:52.780 |
Every once in a while you might step over but it's kind of like oh, that's a mistake 00:08:57.380 |
See when we're only fleeing from the world and you don't understand what it means to pursue Christ 00:09:08.060 |
See this second part of pursuing Christ pursuing righteousness 00:09:19.340 |
in fact that word that same word that he describes to pursue is 00:09:25.100 |
The same word that he uses in Galatians 1 13 when he describes how he used to be 00:09:29.860 |
It says in Galatians 1 13 for you have heard of my former life in Judaism how I persecuted the Church of God 00:09:40.260 |
So Paul used that same word persecuted here to challenge Timothy to pursue righteousness. It is not a passive word 00:09:48.860 |
You know think about it when Paul took responsibility for the stoning of Stephen 00:09:54.260 |
It was not legal for him to do that when they took off their cloaks and put it at Paul's feet 00:09:58.980 |
Paul was taking responsibility for this murder if the Romans found out what happened. He could have been executed for that 00:10:05.740 |
So when Paul says he persecuted the church, he basically was saying I'm willing to die 00:10:13.300 |
He got permission from the chief priests and the Jewish leaders to get a small army 00:10:18.340 |
With him and begin to chase these Christians out way over into Damascus 00:10:23.460 |
And the reason why he was targeting Damascus is as dark 00:10:27.220 |
Damascus is as far as you can go under the authority of the chief priests 00:10:31.140 |
So basically what Paul was doing was he was pouring his life out to persecute these Christians 00:10:38.100 |
And it is in that context as he's going to Damascus. He meets Christ and his life is turned flipped upside down 00:10:43.260 |
He used that same word to encourage and challenge Timothy to 00:10:53.060 |
Think about all the things that we pursue with all our might 00:10:56.780 |
And again, I don't mean to make some of you feel bad. But you know when the iPhone came out you see this long line 00:11:03.060 |
You know going around the corner. Some of them said they were standing for two days 00:11:07.020 |
Right because they want to be the first to have the iPhone to play the games and to show people they they were the first 00:11:14.500 |
Now we go through all of that to pursue a phone 00:11:22.180 |
What kind of effort are we putting toward pursuing the things of God? 00:11:25.880 |
See, that's the word that he's describing. In fact, that same word is translated in the New Testament to pursue and 00:11:32.340 |
It's translated persecute 30 separate times. In fact, it is more common to translate this word to persecute and he's reminding Timothy 00:11:41.060 |
Our walk with God is not it's gonna be a cakewalk 00:11:44.220 |
It's not just choosing the right church and you just kind of go with the flow 00:11:47.300 |
I hear the right sermons and just gonna go with the flow. It's gonna require 00:11:54.300 |
That's one thing that and I was sharing with our leaders yesterday as I was meditating on 00:12:02.220 |
He lived every single day preaching the gospel because he lived as if it mattered whether he preached it or not 00:12:14.900 |
He was concerned that the Thessalonians after they heard the gospel that they were gonna fall back because of persecution and he writes to them 00:12:22.020 |
He says I was afraid that my labor would have been in vain 00:12:25.520 |
He didn't just step back and say God is sovereign 00:12:29.340 |
So I just gonna trust God and I'm I'm just gonna live in peace. He doesn't say that 00:12:35.340 |
vigorously as if he was in a midst of context of war 00:12:39.740 |
Even as he is being persecuted as he is in prison. He never relaxed 00:12:46.060 |
There's a there's a sense in our culture that we think that if we're mature 00:12:49.860 |
And if we know who God is and Lord, he's sovereign that we're Calvinist that we should just relax 00:12:55.540 |
Read the Bible and relax come to church and just relax. Well, I don't see that with Paul 00:13:02.060 |
He's the one who teaches us about sovereignty 00:13:05.300 |
He's the one who teaches about election and yet I see a man who every single day lived as if everything he did mattered 00:13:13.060 |
And the reason why he did that because it did it matters. It matters what we do 00:13:19.360 |
It matters what we do with our time. It matters what we do with our money. It matters if we pray 00:13:32.340 |
To passionately pursue these things, but I want to go through in this pursuit 00:13:37.900 |
Like what is it exactly that he is asking us to pursue and I can sit here and and tell you about what is righteousness? 00:13:46.060 |
Pursuing love means what is pursuing peace means but in the end 00:13:49.820 |
If you see these things as simply as the end goal pursuing righteousness 00:13:56.780 |
You're gonna miss the whole point of what Paul is trying to tell Timothy 00:14:00.500 |
So I'm not gonna spend this morning expositing what righteousness what love is what peace is 00:14:05.100 |
Because I want you to understand that these things that he is calling us to do is only a means to the ultimate end 00:14:11.860 |
You know Paul says in first Corinthians 9 26, so I do not run aimlessly I do not box as one beating the air 00:14:19.260 |
Right, whether you are beating the air whether you're running aimlessly, you're gonna pour out energy 00:14:26.180 |
But the difference is if you're beating the air aimlessly if you're boxing aimlessly at the end result you accomplish nothing 00:14:32.860 |
Instead of and just spent the same amount of energy 00:14:40.540 |
Sometimes Christian life feels exactly like that 00:14:43.380 |
You know those of you who were young Christians and you're excited about your faith and you say ah 00:14:48.780 |
Yeah, I read the Bible pray go to church and you're excited about it 00:14:51.820 |
Those of you who've been a Christian for five years ten years fifteen years plus 00:14:56.420 |
You kind of have this thing that you know what I've done all of this and I know how to play the game 00:15:00.340 |
I know what to say. I've read my scripture. I know the fundamentals of Christianity now what? 00:15:08.580 |
I'm not gonna sit here and talk about the each detailed words because I want to go beyond that and see the bigger picture 00:15:14.420 |
It's kind of like an individual if you go into the army and 00:15:20.180 |
You get basic training right and everybody goes to the basic training because you're being taught how to be a soldier 00:15:26.940 |
How you should dress how you should sleep how you should wake up how you should? 00:15:31.140 |
March how to hold the gun how to shoot a gun and it's basic training, right? 00:15:35.100 |
But if you got into the army and all you did was basic training 00:15:39.380 |
After about three four years, you're like, okay. All right, we're marching again 00:15:43.620 |
Right wake up in the early morning and he blows a whistle and then we're marching again 00:15:51.140 |
See basic training is to train you for something else. It's a means 00:15:58.980 |
But if you think the basic training and making your bed and marching properly that that's the goal, it'll become old real quick 00:16:05.600 |
See, that's what pursuing righteousness love faith and peace will feel like at times when you don't see the bigger picture 00:16:12.860 |
And all you think is being a being a passionate pursuer of these things is is this do the right things, right? 00:16:20.420 |
Have the right theology put enough time in prayer, you know serve the homeless and and we have all of these things 00:16:27.500 |
But after a while all we've learned how to do is look like a Christian 00:16:33.980 |
You've dressed yourself up and you know how to dress and you know how to talk and you know what to do and you know 00:16:39.440 |
How to take commands, but all you've done is learn how to look like a soldier 00:16:43.480 |
Oftentimes that's what our Christian pursuit feels like 00:16:48.220 |
We're just learning how to put on the uniform of a Christian 00:16:52.160 |
And so when we talk about pursuing righteousness, we're doing all these things 00:16:55.600 |
But in the end it feels like you're running it in circles. You're not getting anywhere 00:17:00.280 |
What is it exactly that he that we are pursuing? 00:17:05.520 |
If these are just a means to get there, what are we pursuing? 00:17:09.300 |
You know Paul says first Timothy 6 5 he said a lot of these guys a lot of these false teachers are coming 00:17:15.520 |
They are depraved mind the depraved of the truth 00:17:17.900 |
Imagining that godliness is a means of gain now. There is great gain in godliness with contentment 00:17:23.960 |
In other words, these guys are using godliness to gain something but they're missing the whole point of godliness itself 00:17:30.720 |
if you understand what the gut godliness is for and 00:17:35.280 |
You are content about it. It's great game. But if godliness is only only through it that you're gonna gain something else 00:17:42.520 |
You're missing the whole point. That's what these guys say 00:17:45.120 |
They think that godliness is is for the purpose of gaining something else 00:17:48.760 |
Think about it in the church how often we do things because we want to look a certain way to certain people 00:17:55.080 |
How often do we do certain things because we're leaders. That's what leaders are supposed to do 00:17:59.800 |
How much are we how much of what we do because oh, we're a member of brain. So this is what's expected 00:18:05.240 |
So so we do these things and in some way we're gaining the respect 00:18:09.920 |
We're gaining honor by doing all of these things 00:18:14.080 |
But Paul says in Philippians 3 12 to 14. He says anyone who is mature should have the same attitude of Paul 00:18:22.160 |
He starts out in verse 12 said not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect 00:18:29.480 |
Because Christ Jesus had made me his own brothers 00:18:32.760 |
I do not consider that I have made it my own but one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and 00:18:37.440 |
Straining forward to what lies ahead pressing on toward the goal for the price of the upper call of God in Christ Jesus 00:18:43.800 |
Now you've probably heard that passage many times 00:18:50.840 |
Forgetting what is behind pressing on toward what is ahead? 00:18:54.260 |
Straining toward what is ahead? Right? So again, this is a guy who's writing this sitting in prison 00:19:01.800 |
You know if anybody could relax he could be relaxed I mean he's sitting in prison and preaching the gospel 00:19:10.240 |
He's passionately pursuing but here's the point if you just look at that and say yes, let's do it. Let's go. Let's do it 00:19:17.320 |
Right, you probably many of you are sitting here saying like I've done it. I've done it many times and now it's gotten old 00:19:26.800 |
What is the goal of this? What is the purpose of this? 00:19:29.800 |
Well Paul says and again the key to what Paul says here is in the previous thing that he says in Philippians 3 8 through 9 00:19:38.160 |
Remember chapter 3 verse 12 begins by him saying not that I have already obtained it 00:19:43.120 |
Not that I have been made perfect and I am now I am pressing on to make it my own 00:19:47.560 |
So what is it that he is pursuing to make it his own? 00:19:53.360 |
I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord 00:20:00.240 |
For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain who? 00:20:09.880 |
So in other word, what if Paul saying what is he pressing on toward? What is he straining toward? 00:20:18.440 |
His goal wasn't simply to live a right life his goal wasn't simply to have peace with other people 00:20:24.200 |
His goal was that these are means to get to Christ to have deeper fellowship with Christ 00:20:29.740 |
Why was he okay with being persecuted and suffering? 00:20:33.020 |
Because he said through the suffering he can fellowship with this Christ 00:20:37.320 |
That everything in the world became rubbish in light of knowing Jesus Christ 00:20:46.880 |
Paul and what Jesus is calling us to do is not simply here. Here's how what you must jump 00:20:53.200 |
Here's a standard of righteousness that if you're a Christian 00:20:56.980 |
this is what you need to meet up to and we're trying so hard to jump through these hoops and 00:21:01.480 |
Not realizing that what Christ is calling us to is to himself 00:21:15.400 |
Verse 2 for I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified 00:21:21.640 |
Why does he say that because it's Corinthians church in the church 00:21:24.780 |
They became a Christian and all of a sudden now they're being divided 00:21:28.920 |
they're allowing all kinds of sinfulness in the church and 00:21:32.160 |
Paul says the reason why this is happening in the church because you forgot 00:21:35.800 |
You forgot the foundation in which you stand which is Christ crucified 00:21:41.400 |
You forgot what brings you together. It's Christ crucified 00:21:44.760 |
You forgot the reason why we sacrifice it's Christ crucified 00:21:49.560 |
So the moment Christ is not the head the moment that Christ is not your pursuit 00:21:54.640 |
You see Godness as a means to get something else 00:21:58.440 |
And that's why this church was divided. That's why Paul says when I came to you 00:22:02.960 |
I didn't come with persuasive words of wisdom, but in power 00:22:06.680 |
So that your your faith would not rest on man's wisdom but on God's power so that you would see Christ through me 00:22:12.640 |
That what I'm asking you to do is not to jump through hoops, but I'm calling you to Christ 00:22:19.480 |
Again Paul describes in Colossians 2 1 through 4 his ministry 00:22:25.840 |
He says for I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you 00:22:30.720 |
And for those that lay out to see and for all who have not seen me face to face 00:22:34.440 |
So when Paul says he's laboring he's struggling for them. I mean, that's an understatement 00:22:42.000 |
Mean, there's a guy who gets stoned to get dragged out of the city thinking he's dead walks right back up goes into the city 00:22:51.360 |
He's shipwrecked. He's beaten. He's he's given lashes which most men would have died just even from one time 00:23:06.200 |
He says I struggle. I want you to know how much I struggle for you that their hearts may be encouraged 00:23:12.160 |
Being knit together in love to reach all the riches of the fullness of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery 00:23:19.640 |
See that he says I'm struggling all of this because I want you to know this is what I'm trying to establish 00:23:27.200 |
the knowledge of God's mystery which is who which is Christ and 00:23:33.080 |
Then he says in verse 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge 00:23:42.000 |
Everything that we want is in Christ everything that we covet in the world 00:23:46.960 |
Thinking that if we have these things there would be more joy. I would feel more alive 00:23:51.240 |
Everything that we have been deceived to think that is in the world. Jesus says it's in Christ all the mysteries 00:23:58.960 |
Everything that you and I can possibly imagine everything that we've been this world has been deceived to pursue 00:24:03.920 |
He says found in Christ. That's why Paul says I struggle with all the energy that he's given me that you may know this Christ 00:24:14.760 |
He's giving his life so that you may also come to know this Christ 00:24:18.840 |
That's why Paul says in Philippians if you're asking me if I want to live or die, I want to die 00:24:25.840 |
Because my pursuit is Christ if I die, I'm going to meet this Christ that I've been pursuing 00:24:30.600 |
But the only reason why I will continue living is because I want you to know this Christ, too. I 00:24:35.480 |
Want you to see who this Christ is and I want you to come with me 00:24:40.400 |
So as long as he keeps me here, I'm gonna take as many people as possible 00:24:50.760 |
So if it pursuing righteousness is all anything other than pursuing Christ, it will become old it will become a tremendous burden 00:25:01.800 |
Because whatever you receive whatever honor you may get 00:25:05.520 |
Whatever respect whatever position that you may get from pursuing righteousness in the end. It won't be enough 00:25:12.440 |
It won't be enough for you to persevere. It won't be enough when you get persecuted 00:25:18.960 |
It won't be enough when your friends and families and the church doesn't live up to what you desire 00:25:27.280 |
You will be disappointed and you're just a you're just one event away from saying that's it 00:25:37.200 |
We pursue righteousness because these are things that brings us to Christ we pursue faith because faith connects us to Christ 00:25:45.520 |
We pursue love because he first loved us. We pursue peace because we can only have peace when we are with Christ 00:25:58.200 |
Christ is what we're pursuing. Why do we need to do this? 00:26:01.940 |
Well in Ephesians 2 89 you guys know that verse very well for by grace you have been saved through faith 00:26:07.280 |
It is not your own doing it is a gift of God not as a result of work so that no one may boast 00:26:12.920 |
For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them 00:26:20.260 |
So what does he say? We've been saved by grace for what for good works? 00:26:24.360 |
We were created for good works, you know, if we don't properly understand what good works is that Paul 00:26:34.800 |
If we're don't if we're not careful we could look at works as you know 00:26:39.000 |
What isn't that the law and didn't didn't the law all the law did was burden people and bring them under the curse and make sin 00:26:47.560 |
If you look at the Old Testament if you look at the fall of Adam and Eve when God created Adam and Eve did he say? 00:26:52.600 |
You're created. I put my breath in you and I made you like us and now just just go 00:27:00.760 |
Because oftentimes we think of work and labor as something that came in after the fall 00:27:07.180 |
No, that didn't happen. In fact, if you look at Genesis chapter 2 00:27:10.600 |
When God created Adam and Eve, he said be fruitful and multiply and subdue the land. So before the fall they were working 00:27:17.740 |
They were laboring. They were naming animals. They were they were cultivating the land 00:27:32.560 |
Work itself actually causes us to to feel alive 00:27:38.380 |
Would tell you you know, like I've had all kinds of jobs 00:27:40.660 |
You know because I'm a I'm a pastor and you know, we don't come from a wealthy family 00:27:45.060 |
So, you know, I've had to I've had to work in any minimum wage job 00:27:48.540 |
I've had it at some point and I've had some bad jobs, you know 00:27:52.260 |
I've had a job where I was cleaning toilets eight hours a day sometimes 12 hours if I wanted overtime 00:27:57.780 |
You know from 8 to 2 sometimes 8 to 5 in the morning, but that was not my worst job 00:28:03.140 |
You know, I had another job working at City of Belflower 00:28:06.480 |
My job was to go into the sewer area where the water pipes and I had to clean that out to repaint the pipes 00:28:12.140 |
So I was 30 feet under painting pipes that one summer for about four months full-time, but that was not my worst job 00:28:19.040 |
You know, I got some I had some bad experiences, but that was not my worst job my worst job 00:28:24.800 |
Why I dreaded going to work was I worked at a gas station in Norwalk? 00:28:29.560 |
I think it was an Imperial in Norwalk. So many guys may know that area 00:28:33.240 |
But there was a 76 gas station there and it was already dead by then. I don't even know if that exists anymore 00:28:39.000 |
There are no customers. I mean this is you know now like because of the internet 00:28:43.760 |
There's so much stuff going on at night at that time even a TV shut off around one at one o'clock 00:28:48.120 |
There was no internet no phones, you know, just landline and they're literally I was little in this little room with a glass window and 00:28:57.200 |
And I had to sit there and we had maybe two customers a day 00:29:00.280 |
You know and the funny thing is I couldn't balance the balance 00:29:10.880 |
Dreaded that job because I work from 11 to 7 in the morning full-time 00:29:17.120 |
And this is while I was going to school to help pay for my tuition 00:29:21.160 |
But literally from 11 to 6 o'clock. We had no customers 00:29:26.880 |
You know and then and then right one transition that people would start to come but there were no six seven hours 00:29:33.880 |
You know one time I literally read the book of Acts four times in one sitting. I had nothing to do 00:29:39.880 |
I was in small group. My small group leader would give me a book and said, oh, you know 00:29:43.360 |
We're gonna read this for the next month. I would have that read and next time I comes I read it 00:29:47.000 |
Give me something, you know, literally seven hours. I was doing nothing 00:29:50.200 |
I had that job for about six seven months and after about two months 00:29:53.840 |
I just couldn't stand it anymore because every day I go in as a 12 o'clock. So choose 1205 00:29:59.320 |
Six tomorrow, what am I gonna do for six hours? You know and every time a car would pull up I get excited 00:30:05.480 |
It's like oh shoot. He's gonna come. Oh shoot. He's not putting a quick acid, you know 00:30:09.480 |
You think like doing nothing would be great initially. I thought I'd be awesome. I got no responsibility. No customer 00:30:16.360 |
I got nothing to do but literally it's like being in prison 00:30:19.480 |
Because I can't go out because I'm working, you know 00:30:23.880 |
If that was the worst job was not all this other stuff because just seven hours to do nothing 00:30:30.000 |
Sometimes we think that we became a Christian now, we're liberated. So therefore we do nothing 00:30:34.960 |
We just enjoy a Christian Liberty means we're freed from the bondage of that now. I just do whatever I want 00:30:41.600 |
That is not what the scripture talks about when he says is we've been liberated 00:30:55.640 |
He restores us so that we may live a righteous life that God intended and we feel alive 00:31:01.640 |
The scripture says that he came to give life and give this life abundantly when he tells us to come and follow me 00:31:08.960 |
He's asking us. Hey sacrifice to jump through these hoops. That's not what he's saying 00:31:12.960 |
You've learned how to live in death where death reigned 00:31:18.000 |
Now that you've met Christ come follow me and I will show you how to live 00:31:21.380 |
That's what Christian sanctification is sanctification isn't jumping through hoops and try to appease this. Holy God. You can't appease this. Holy God 00:31:29.520 |
What righteous deed can you possibly do to appease a holy holy holy God that is not what sanctification is 00:31:45.800 |
Everything that you've learned since you were a child before you met Christ 00:31:56.760 |
Telling us and deceiving us to think that if you pursue these things if you have these things if you go here if you eat 00:32:02.280 |
This if you if you have the proper people around you you will live 00:32:05.520 |
But you lived long enough to know that all that does is bring more frustration 00:32:10.560 |
You finish one bucket list you have to make another bucket list 00:32:14.640 |
You eat of the bread that the world gives you you will go hungry again 00:32:18.160 |
If you drink of the water that this world keeps telling you is what you need to drink. You will go hungry. Are you thirsty again? 00:32:32.280 |
Every time you're gonna be convinced. I need the next one 00:32:39.120 |
That's why you look at all the I am statements of Christ 00:32:42.400 |
He says you're coming from bread, but I am the bread 00:32:45.320 |
You think that the Messiah is gonna come and he's gonna bring the light. I am the light 00:32:49.680 |
You're hoping to be received by these fake shepherds of Israel who's kicking you out of the synagogue. I am the door 00:32:57.160 |
I am the shepherd you want me to come and raise your brother from the dead 00:33:03.920 |
You're looking to see where you ought to go where the truth is where the path is 00:33:08.360 |
He said I am the way and I am the truth and I am the life 00:33:12.040 |
No one comes to the Father but through me you think you're saved because you're children of Moses 00:33:26.320 |
We receive Christ and we've been given life and now he says I'm gonna teach you how to live this life 00:33:33.360 |
you ever see anybody, you know, there are some of you guys who are gifted with singing and 00:33:45.200 |
Because that's how God created you. You have a 00:33:48.240 |
Fantastic voice and when you sing you shine you feel alive. Not only do you feel alive? 00:34:01.120 |
When the scripture says that God has given us each individual gifts and we live the way God intended us to live 00:34:07.160 |
Pursuing righteousness faith love and peace and we feel alive 00:34:11.200 |
The glory of God is reflected on us and we benefit God receives the glory and everyone else benefits as a result 00:34:21.120 |
It's not jumping through the hoops. It's not to appease this Holy God 00:34:31.760 |
And that's why he calls us to pursue righteousness 00:34:43.960 |
Life is found in Christ in Christ alone. Well, how should we do this? He says 00:34:49.360 |
Along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. You're not meant to be doing this by yourself 00:34:56.840 |
In fact, if you look at the fall the very first thing that happens when Adam and Eve breaks God's command 00:35:09.640 |
Loneliness must come in. I know you know if we survey the room how many of us feel lonely 00:35:20.800 |
God intended remember what he created everything. He said he created the earth. It was good. He created the heavens 00:35:25.760 |
He it was good. He created the light. It was good. He created Adam. It was good 00:35:29.760 |
Except he looked at him in the second time. He said it was not good for him to be alone 00:35:35.040 |
So he made a companion for him because he was not meant to be alone 00:35:39.600 |
So the first thing that happens when the fall comes is that they are separated. They have to begin to hide from each other 00:35:46.680 |
And so our life our Christian life was never meant to be lived by ourselves. In fact Hebrews 10 24 and 25 00:35:54.760 |
Pulse or the author says and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good deed 00:36:01.120 |
Not neglecting to meet together as is a habit of some but encouraging what one another all the more as you see the day 00:36:10.520 |
You're not supposed to live by yourself, you know 00:36:13.360 |
And I know a lot of people if we did a survey and said what was the one that number one thing that you're looking 00:36:17.820 |
For it'll say, you know good theology good preaching and fellowship 00:36:22.200 |
So I think everybody knows how fellowship affects us. But here's the thing that we need you and I need to understand 00:36:30.600 |
There's a difference between fellowship and friendship 00:36:33.400 |
There's so many people are going from church to church looking for friendship 00:36:37.520 |
Now the difference between friendship and fellowship is friendship only happens with certain people who have similar background, right? 00:36:45.360 |
You were educated the same way you are same economic status 00:36:49.080 |
You have you're in the same similar age bracket 00:36:51.480 |
And so you have friends because you have common experiences common background common language 00:37:02.360 |
I'm not saying it's always the case. You can have fellowship with friends, but sometimes you can have friends without having fellowship 00:37:08.600 |
Right, you can have friends and say why I love that that guy or that girl because they never judge me 00:37:15.000 |
No matter what you do. They never judge me. Well true fellowship requires that we speak the truth in love 00:37:22.460 |
Because there's a clear goal. It's partnership 00:37:27.000 |
Friendship will be perfectly content where we are 00:37:29.920 |
But fellowship will provoke us on toward loving good deed because fellowship is a partnering together for something. There is a purpose for it 00:37:38.120 |
It's not just so that I can be sued and I can somebody can can give me a sympathetic ear because life is hard 00:37:48.320 |
Friendship only happens with people who are similar to us 00:37:55.440 |
with anyone who is in the context of pursuing Christ a 00:37:58.640 |
13 year old a 70 year old who is passionately pursuing Christ 00:38:04.120 |
We have fellowship because I can be provoked you don't have to be my age 00:38:08.240 |
You don't have to have the same experience if you love Christ you're pursuing him 00:38:11.680 |
You can be provoked by anybody of any age of any language 00:38:15.320 |
But sometimes we get make we mix up the friendship with fellowship 00:38:21.000 |
We're jumping from place to place group to group people to people looking for somebody to understand me 00:38:30.880 |
Fellowship and that's why he says not to just get together. It says along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart 00:38:39.760 |
What I want to encourage you guys this morning is to look for people 00:38:49.480 |
Don't just don't do so I were in the same fellowship, but we're in the same Bible study 00:38:53.000 |
But look for people who have pure heart and team up with them. It's a I what do we have in common? 00:39:00.800 |
Is it all we write we're like bicycling we have that in common. Really? That's your connection not Christ 00:39:08.760 |
We like rock climbing. So, you know, I have I can I have something to talk to you about this guy 00:39:13.640 |
One go rock climbing really that's what you're gonna you're gonna bring you together, right? Because you like rock climbing 00:39:20.200 |
If Christ isn't what brings you together, whatever else is bringing you together is gonna easily fall apart 00:39:33.600 |
Together to provoke one another this ought to be a fellowship of people from all different backgrounds 00:39:39.760 |
People would we would have normally sitting and have lunch together if it wasn't for Christ. That's the beauty of the church 00:39:46.120 |
The beauty of the church are people from all age all background all culture 00:39:51.200 |
Bringing us together when the outside world looks at it says why are those people together? How did they become friends? 00:39:57.520 |
What could they possibly have in common? Why is that old guy with that young guy? 00:40:02.200 |
You know, why are these people sitting together and calling each other brothers and sisters in Christ? 00:40:06.840 |
And that was one of the best evidence of the power of the gospel in the early church was that you had slave owners and slaves 00:40:15.400 |
You had Jews and Gentiles all in the same church 00:40:19.160 |
And they called each other brothers and that's what called the outside church outside people to look at that isn't what is bringing them together 00:40:26.680 |
It was Christ they were all pursuing Christ together 00:40:35.480 |
Let me wrap up with this, you know a lot of times we talk about sanctification, you know again we have this mentality 00:40:42.000 |
It's like oh, it's burdensome. It's a lot of sacrifice and life is hard enough as it is 00:40:45.720 |
You know, I gave this illustration years ago, but it's been a while. So I'm gonna wrap up with this 00:40:53.080 |
Okay, some of you guys may know what I'm talking about because I've given it before 00:40:56.160 |
How the birds got their wings and this is not in the Bible. Okay, so don't say hey 00:41:01.400 |
We learned something new about the Bible today. It's not in the Bible. Okay 00:41:05.240 |
A long long time ago. There are birds did not have wings. So if the imagine birds that didn't have wings, right? 00:41:12.200 |
Imagine birds that didn't have wings if they didn't have they'd be pretty pathetic creatures. They're little tiny legs, you know 00:41:18.440 |
I mean, they can't run. They're not fast. They don't have arms. They have this little beak. They can't protect themselves 00:41:23.040 |
And so because they were pathetic creatures, they were used as servants in the jungle 00:41:27.880 |
So the so the the monkeys would make them carry their bananas from tree to tree, right? 00:41:33.080 |
So that's all they were good for and then the angels were flying around and they looked at these birds and they had mercy on 00:41:38.800 |
Them look at these animals. They're being abused. Let's do something about it. So one of the benevolent angels decided to 00:41:48.480 |
Then they could be come from a pathetic creature and they could they could fly 00:41:53.300 |
Right, so they came and all these angels decided to sacrifice their wings and give it to these birds 00:41:58.760 |
So when they first got the wings, they had no idea what this was 00:42:03.220 |
They have the bananas in their back and they're running around the jungle and they're running into the trees, right? 00:42:12.900 |
We're carrying the bananas and now we got to carry this burden too. Like who are these angels? 00:42:17.860 |
You know and so they were running around and you know what the what the banana is like 00:42:23.260 |
So this is too much. So eventually they decided to get rid of their wings 00:42:31.220 |
Look at the angels remember what the angels were doing with these rings. Do you think that maybe they were flying? 00:42:36.060 |
Maybe they were up in the air because of these wings and it was these wings that that caused them to be up there 00:42:41.580 |
So some of them said you know what? Let's try it 00:42:43.740 |
so some of the birds decided to go up on a hill and 00:42:47.300 |
fly off and then they spread their wings and they began to fly and they no longer were carriers of bananas and 00:42:58.580 |
Eventually evolution took its course and then they died off. That's why they're not here 00:43:01.620 |
So now these birds have become these majestic creatures, right 00:43:13.300 |
But so much of our Christian life because we don't understand what it is 00:43:18.500 |
We look at all the imperatives of scripture and all the challenges that we have and all we see is the blood of the cross 00:43:28.980 |
They're carrying these bananas paying the bills 00:43:31.800 |
Having a good marriage raising children is hard enough as it is and then we come to church and then we feel guilty 00:43:40.820 |
I got a game I got a serve and on top of all the burdens of being a human being in this fallen world 00:43:52.740 |
In this burden is too much to bear and so after a while you throw it off and say, you know what? 00:44:04.260 |
But when we realize what Christ is calling us to is to life 00:44:08.500 |
That the calling that he's given us imperatives the righteousness. These are all calls to come to him 00:44:15.560 |
That he opened the gates to the throne of grace and he says now come with confidence 00:44:26.860 |
Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest 00:44:31.420 |
take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and I'm humble in heart and 00:44:37.020 |
I will give rest for your soul for my yoke is easy and my burden is light 00:44:41.980 |
Isaiah 40 31 it says they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings of eagles 00:44:51.940 |
They shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint 00:44:55.900 |
so I pray with all my heart that our church would recognize the 00:45:00.220 |
Prize that we have in Christ that Jesus came to give life and give life abundantly that all of scripture is 00:45:10.020 |
Would you take a minute to come before the Lord and prayer with me as a worship team comes to lead us in praise? 00:45:16.860 |
Again take a few minutes come to come before God and to pray Lord 00:45:21.300 |
I've been trying so hard with my own strength to do this and to do that 00:45:26.540 |
Not recognizing that you were calling me to you 00:45:33.260 |
Want to be intimate with you. I want to know this life that you promise 00:45:38.100 |
And to take some time to come and pray before God 00:45:42.220 |
That God's call this morning is to live and to live abundantly. Let's pray