Bro Gary Wednesday Evening 3/14/12

Bro Gary Wednesday Evening 3/14/12

1Ti 6:11  But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

1Ti 6:12  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

1Ti 6:13  I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;

It is wonderful that God has a way of quickening us.  The pressures and trials of life can leave us as limp as a wet noodle, and rung out as a dish rag.  Jesus has a way of quickening us through God and His Spirit so that we can get spiritual food and can be an instrument to help someone else.  Sometimes our help comes by helping others.

1Ti 6:14  That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:

1Ti 6:15  Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

There is something about the thought of God’s times and our times… “To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose.”

1Ti 6:16  Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

1Ti 6:17  Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

1Ti 6:18  That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;

1Ti 6:19  Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

1Ti 6:20  O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

1Ti 6:21  Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen. The first to Timothy was written from Laodicea, which is the chiefest city of Phrygia Pacatiana.

The emphasis and burden of this lesson is to fight the good fight of faith.  We are taught in verse 11 to flee.  There are some things that we have to flee in order to fight the good fight of faith.

1Ti 6:3  If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;

1Ti 6:4  He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,

1Ti 6:5  Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

The Bible says to stay away from pride and vain janglings.  The proud know nothing but dote on questions, strifes of words, perverse disputings… stay away from those things as a man of God.

There are some things that if presented to us, will create an argument in our mind.  It is better to avoid them.

1Ti 6:10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Stay away from seeking gain and prosperity.  We are to flee these things.  Don’t follow money it will take you to the wrong place.

1Ti 6:6  But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

If we try to add things to our self outside of God’s will it will bring sorrow.

If we are to fight the fight of faith there are things that we must flee and there are things that we must follow after.

We must follow righteousness.  We must be right with God.  It is so important that we start our day right and asking God for strength and wisdom to live right all day.

We are to be holy as God is holy.  May God help us to walk humbly and righteously with our God. 

We are to be Godly.  If we are to fight the good fight of faith, then we must do it God’s way.  Doing things humanly and by man’s direction will probably only make the matter worse.

We must follow faith.  Faith has always been under attack.  Unbelief was in the Garden of Eden.  Unbelief is an old battle.  It will cause you to not believe that God is able to help you and do everything that He says that He will.  God will never fail. 

It is absolutely necessary for us to have faith in order for us to please God.  “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

When we seek God for an answer we must put two things into it.  Seek Him in earnest petition and in earnest study looking for the answer from the Word of God.  We are all ready to help anyone that is in trouble.  For them to get real help from God they must have prayed and received direction from His word. 

The Bible is the only book from earth that will be in heaven.  The word of God alone will not perish.

Follow righteousness, Godliness, and faith.  Also follow love.  Faith works by love.  In order for faith to work, we must love God, love worship, love praying for one another, and love the one that we are praying for.  Follow love, not an unhealthy love, not free love, not unrealistic love that calls bad good.  The love of God is holy love.  We are to follow that in our lives.

Follow patience. 

God is working out His purpose He has planned for you and me,
Though from us it may be hidden, someday we may clearly see
How He stands behind the shadows waiting to perform His will. 
God is working out is purpose every promise to fulfill.

There is no testimony that exists of one getting ahead of God and everything turning out good.  Follow patience.

Follow meekness.  Meekness means humility.  God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.  Humble thyself to walk with God.  God inhabits eternity and walks with the humble.  (Isaiah.)

Stay meek, easy to be entreated.  Be one that is approachable.  If someone has a thought that would be beneficial in your life, even if you cannot see how it could be, be willing to pray about it.

Fight the good fight of faith.  Without faith it is impossible to please God.  Unbelief is an old trick of the enemy.  He will still try to use it today to get you to believe that God will not give you the victory.

Mat 13:53  And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.

Mat 13:54  And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?

Mat 13:55  Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

Mat 13:56  And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?

Mat 13:57  And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.

Mat 13:58  And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

It is a very sad thing to have less than what God wants to give to us.  We only receive from God by faith.  Right among Jesus’ own people He couldn’t do many mighty works that would have made their life so different.  They chose to not believe God.  They could have chosen differently.

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus wants you and me to have faith in God. 

Rom 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

There will be times when we need to train our self to take the bible and read it and let the scriptures cause our faith to be quickened and to grow.  They will.  The Word will not fail.

2Pe 1:1  Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:

It is wonderful to have something as precious as faith is. 

2Pe 1:2  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

We must have faith in God that He will furnish the grace.  We can none of us have grace on our own. 

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

 Glory and virtue mean the presence of God and the virtue of faith, the virtue of excellence.

2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

It is marvelous that God loved us so much that He wanted us to have the same nature as He and His son have.  We can be free from the nature that we inherited from Adam.

2Pe 1:5  And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

We can have faith and we can add virtue.  Virtue is Moral excellence and strength; add to them knowledge.  The more that you can know about God the more liberty and freedom you will have and the greater blessing that you can be to someone else. 

The well educated may be ignorant about God or misinformed about God.  Some see God as a great big tyrant that is ready to beat them over the head with a baseball bat.

The God that I know sent His only Son.  He is a God of peace and draws a straight line from heaven saying, “Son or daughter, this is the way walk in it.  Make straight paths for your feet.” 

If a child was given some wood and nails and cement to build a house, he wouldn’t know how.  This God is so wonderful that even before we understood much about God, there was something in us that hungered for God.  I remember asking two questions as a child, “Where did I come from, where will I go when I die?”

Oh to have the hunger of God directed to the good things of God, to have our heart long to know God.  I remember as a child the gospel songs.  I remember my parent’s first stereo.  It was a phonograph.  It played 45’s.  You plugged it in. 

We had one record in our home.  I remember taking the needle as a child and playing that gospel song.  It was the most wonderful thing that I had ever heard of.  We could have it in our home.  I asked my mom if I could please play Grandpa the gospel song.  He wasn’t tender to the things of God.  I was disappointed when he said, “Yeah you can play it.”  He then kept talking and soon got up and walked off. 

It is good to have a knowledge of Jesus, to know of the Old and New Testament.  It is good to have knowledge, temperance, charity and loving kindness. 

Faith is holy, in a world that is not holy.  Most of us cannot stand to read a newspaper every day.  We are not tough enough.  We are blessed that faith is holy.

Jud 1:20  But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

Holy faith will only work in that which is pleasing to God.  Every time that we begin to pray, unbelief comes to try to distract us from laying hold in faith to get something from One that is Mighty.

1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

You may be challenged by the world tonight.  All that is in the world: “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the father but is of the world.”  The victory that overcomes the world is our faith.

Servants of God at Paradise, fight the good fight of faith, don’t give up or give in.  Fight.  Believe God.  Believing doesn’t have to have emotion.  We believe God even when it feels like we are a dead stick.  Believe even if you don’t have emotions.  Believe for the answer to prayer, believe even when you don’t have strength.  Ask God what you should do.  Sometimes you are encouraged by doing things for someone else. 

Have faith in God what can there be for Him too hard for do for thee.
Have faith his promise to receive, have faith, have faith in God.