1 00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:05,720 You're listening to Key Life Fellowships pulpit ministry 2 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:08,920 podcast. We thank you for tuning in as we 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:12,320 learn from God's Word together. If you would like more 4 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:15,760 information regarding Key Life or to speak with one of our 5 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:20,920 pastors, please visit us at keylifefellow-ship.com. 6 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:27,320 Amen. I pray that as we sang a moment 7 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:33,640 ago, that Christ is all. And if He's not all to you, I 8 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:38,680 pray today and before you leave at the conclusion of this 9 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:42,440 service, that He would have mercy upon your soul, you would 10 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:44,760 leave here. And knowing that Christ is all, 11 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:47,960 He is, the only chance that you have of forgiveness of sin is 12 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,040 the only chance that you have of eternal life. 13 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:53,000 He is King of kings and Lord of Lords. 14 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:59,560 And I pray today that all of us would bow to who He is, whether 15 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,040 you have been a Christian for quite some time or whether you 16 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:07,560 don't yet know Christ, that today Christ would be all and 17 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:10,040 all to all of us here this morning. 18 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:12,720 If you have your Bibles, if you would turn to First Timothy, 19 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:18,160 we'll be looking at the 4th chapter today as we continue 20 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:21,280 walking through Paul's pastoral epistles. 21 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:25,360 We continue looking at biblical ministers and biblical ministry. 22 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:31,320 What? What are we to be as we walk 23 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:35,840 through this, not only First Timothy, but Titus and Second 24 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:37,680 Timothy in the Pastoral epistles? 25 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:43,080 We will see that there is a a frequent and reoccurring theme 26 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:47,840 in these pastoral epistles. It's often not discussed or or 27 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:50,200 preached or taught on or even considered. 28 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:53,960 If we look at the Scriptures and we would look at the Scriptures 29 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:58,040 properly, we would see that it's prevalent, that it is commanded. 30 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:02,600 Paul's going to teach us about this particular thing today, 31 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,600 this particular mark of what he calls a good minister. 32 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:10,360 Remember last week in verse 6 he said you're a good minister if 33 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:14,960 you do these things, but today he's going to show us the most 34 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:18,640 important mark of a good minister. 35 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,560 What is it? What is the most important mark 36 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:26,520 of a good minister? I can tell you this what Paul is 37 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:28,800 not talking about. He's not saying that they will 38 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:33,440 be an eloquent preacher. He's not saying that they will 39 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:37,600 be a great theologian, though. Being an eloquent preacher and a 40 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:42,080 great theologian, it doesn't hurt anything and it's helpful. 41 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:45,320 It's not the most important thing that Paul is going to 42 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:49,240 cover here today. He's not talking about one who 43 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,960 is good at administration or, or who leads well or leads with 44 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:57,280 purpose or maybe has that charismatic personality or 45 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:02,200 giftedness. He's not talking about any of 46 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:04,920 these things. Again, all of these things, 47 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,560 definitely not a hindrance. Definitely helpful to being a 48 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,560 good minister. But what is the most important 49 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:17,520 mark of a good minister before I tell you what that most 50 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:22,320 important mark is? Let me remind you of this. 51 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:24,640 I am not the only minister in this room. 52 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:28,600 If you are in Christ, you are a minister to. 53 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:30,360 To. Some capacity. 54 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:35,000 Perhaps you are a Christian father, You are the minister of 55 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:37,880 your family. Perhaps you are a Christian 56 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:39,480 mother. You are the minister. 57 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,560 Day in and day out, hands on, with your children. 58 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:47,160 You are a minister of Christ. And how are we to be good 59 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:51,480 ministers? What is the most important 60 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:54,400 attribute or mark of a good minister? 61 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:59,840 Paul makes that very clear today and it is the attribute of the 62 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:05,240 mark of godliness that he is talking about, often forgotten, 63 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:10,040 often not even alluded to and so-called Christian Church 64 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:14,960 services. We not, we're not going to make 65 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:19,160 that error today. We're going to look at it just. 66 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:23,560 As he is proclaiming it here, a command to be godly. 67 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:26,840 What is godliness, right? We could come up with all sorts 68 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:31,560 of definitions, but what does the word mean Eusebia in the 69 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:35,840 Greek? What does this word dictate? 70 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:40,800 It means this. It means reverence, respect, and 71 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:44,120 piety toward God. That's what godliness is. 72 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:46,960 And we know that if we have reverence, respect, and piety 73 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:51,720 toward God, we'll do what God has called us to do in Christ. 74 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,720 We'll obey that which he has LED us to obey. 75 00:04:56,760 --> 00:05:02,480 It's a life that reveres and honors God through holy living, 76 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:08,360 holy practice, practical righteousness, a life that is 77 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:14,000 lived that obviously values God and what God thinks and who God 78 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:17,200 is. A godly life would be a person 79 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:21,720 who they exalt God above all things, especially themselves. 80 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:28,080 He's talking about this mark as it pertains to ministers. 81 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:34,880 Godliness as we know comes from a work of God that occurs 82 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:40,400 inwardly and that God works out of us through holiness, 83 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:44,600 practically being consistent with that which Peter spoke of 84 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:48,320 in first Peter chapter one verse 16 where he quotes the Old 85 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:52,840 Testament and he says for it is written, be holy because I am 86 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:59,880 holy. Godliness is that holy life 87 00:05:59,880 --> 00:06:04,040 being displayed. DL Moody said this. 88 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:07,840 He said the world has yet to see what God will do with a man 89 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:12,320 fully consecrated to him. I want you to think about that 90 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:15,160 this morning as we are going to be challenged in the area of 91 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:18,360 godliness. I know many of you have spent 92 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:22,160 your life in church and have never been challenged with this 93 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:27,200 particular topic. Godliness, because what we have 94 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:30,280 done is in our minds, we have created this idea that godliness 95 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:33,120 is something that's far outside of our grasp. 96 00:06:34,840 --> 00:06:37,280 But today what you're going to realize is godliness lives 97 00:06:37,280 --> 00:06:41,960 inside of you if you were in Christ, and it's not so far as 98 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:45,880 you think it is. It has not distanced itself from 99 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:52,320 the true believer. In fact, godliness and a holy 100 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:57,320 life is exactly what God in Christ has equipped each of you 101 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:02,520 who are in Christ to live as good ministers for the Lord 102 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:05,000 Jesus Christ. First Timothy chapter 4. 103 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:09,880 We look at verse 6 because he says and if you point these 104 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:12,040 things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of 105 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:15,560 Christ Jesus brought up in the truths of the faith and of the 106 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:17,200 good teaching that you have followed. 107 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:22,160 He says in verse 7 where we begin today have nothing to do 108 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:26,120 with godless myths and old wives tales. 109 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:29,080 Rather train yourself to be godly. 110 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:31,680 Remember he spoke about the danger and the threat of 111 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:34,920 apostasy due to unsound teaching and doctrine. 112 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:38,720 He's encouraging Timothy to be a good minister, and he's 113 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:41,080 encouraging Timothy to be a good minister so that he will 114 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:43,680 disciple others there in the church at Ephesus to be good 115 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,840 ministers. He goes on, he says for physical 116 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:51,640 training is of some value, but godliness has value for all 117 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:55,520 things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to 118 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:57,880 come. Verse 9 it says this is a 119 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:00,280 trustworthy saying. You guys remember this, We've 120 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:02,680 already mentioned this in the study when Paul says this is a 121 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:07,560 trustworthy saying. He is like that parent, looking 122 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:11,840 their child in the eye and saying, listen to me, this is of 123 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:14,640 great importance. This is a trustworthy saying 124 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:18,520 that deserves full acceptance. And for this we labor and 125 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:23,440 strive, that we have put our hope in the living God who is 126 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:28,720 the Savior of all men and especially of those who believe. 127 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:31,040 Let's pray together, Father, in the name of Jesus, we come to 128 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:34,760 you, thanking you for your word. Lord, we ask as we look at Your 129 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:37,280 word today, that you would lead us and that You would guide us 130 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:41,320 into godliness. That You would guide us into 131 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:46,160 godliness because we see in Your word that it is Your will to do 132 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:48,640 so. God, that we would submit 133 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:50,520 ourselves to you. We would submit ourselves to 134 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:54,840 being trained and disciplined in righteousness so that godliness 135 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:57,560 will come forth from our lives, bringing you glory and honor and 136 00:08:57,560 --> 00:08:59,720 praise. God, I pray for the. 137 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,080 Soul who's here today, who does not know Christ. 138 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:03,800 They are lost and they are undone. 139 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:08,040 They are without hope and without God, therefore they have 140 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:09,800 no godliness living in and through them. 141 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:13,440 God, I pray today that you, as only you could do, would do a 142 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:16,760 work in them, and by Your mercy you would call them out of the 143 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:19,240 darkness of their sin and bring them into your marvelous light, 144 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:21,920 into your righteousness. That you would do a work in them 145 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:27,760 are Your sovereign grace, regenerating them to life, to 146 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:32,320 faith, to repentance, to salvation as only you can. 147 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:36,160 That today they would be born again, born of God. 148 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:41,840 Now. That in that you would raise up 149 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:46,160 a group of godly people for your namesake according to your will 150 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:48,640 and according to your promises. We thank you for what you're 151 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:50,880 going to do now. We thank you for what you have 152 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:52,400 already done in the previous service. 153 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:56,760 We ask that you would move us to godliness in our lives as we 154 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:59,080 seek to be good ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ. 155 00:09:59,880 --> 00:10:02,760 We pray these things in your mighty name, Lord Jesus, Amen. 156 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:09,960 So we discussed today this most important mark of a good 157 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:14,160 minister. There's no sense in really 158 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:16,680 messing around with this. The thing that we really need to 159 00:10:16,680 --> 00:10:19,440 do is just jump right into what the Word of God says. 160 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:22,040 That's what I intend to do this morning. 161 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:24,080 So if you're taking notes, write this down. 162 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:26,800 The good minister, How many of you say, well, now that I know 163 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:29,440 that I am a minister and that Kirk's not the only minister in 164 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:31,200 the room just because he's standing in the pulpit or in 165 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:33,560 case he's not the only minister? Just because He's leading us in 166 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:38,440 praise and worship through song. Now that I realize that I'm a 167 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:44,640 minister, and I hope you do realize that, wouldn't it be 168 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:47,000 appropriate that we would seek to be good ministers? 169 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:50,800 To seek to be all that it is that Christ desires for us to 170 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:53,240 be. So let's look at this the good 171 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:57,040 minister will first of all be driven to godliness, driven to 172 00:10:57,040 --> 00:10:59,640 godliness. Verse 7 Paul says this have 173 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:03,600 nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tells rather train 174 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:08,120 yourself to be godly. Now let me make this very clear 175 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:10,640 in the original language so that we can all understand this. 176 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:16,640 Paul is not making a suggestion. He's not filling out a request 177 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:19,160 in a comment box. Hey Timothy, could you please 178 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:24,840 consider being godly? When he says to train yourself 179 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:27,480 to be godly, that is an imperative. 180 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:32,840 That means it is a command. He is saying Timothy for the 181 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:36,040 gospel minister who wants. To be a good minister, there is 182 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:42,520 no other option. Train yourself in godliness. 183 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:48,560 Train yourself to be godly. And Paul's very practical here. 184 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:52,480 He doesn't act as if there's no obstacles to this. 185 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:55,600 He doesn't act as if there's no distractions to being godly. 186 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:58,920 We all know this, don't we? Those of us who have ever sought 187 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:02,680 to live a godly life, we know that the earth is full of 188 00:12:02,680 --> 00:12:05,920 distractions, that our lives are full of distractions. 189 00:12:06,680 --> 00:12:10,280 And Paul covers this so practical here, he says have 190 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:14,600 nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales. 191 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:21,120 Instead, or rather then be distracted by these things, 192 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:25,080 train yourself to be godly. That's what Paul is telling him. 193 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:27,760 He's giving him some instructions on what the good 194 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:32,120 minister should do and the good minister should have. 195 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:36,280 First off, disregard deceptive distractions. 196 00:12:37,560 --> 00:12:42,920 Paul's telling Timothy, don't be sidetracked by unimportant or by 197 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:48,280 silly things. What is he specifically talking 198 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:51,640 about? Godless myths that came from 199 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:55,840 folklore or old wives tales that came from human philosophy? 200 00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:01,040 He's talking about, if you would, the theories of the day 201 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:05,880 that could easily distract someone from our purpose in 202 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:09,120 Christ. And our purpose in Christ is not 203 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:12,840 any of these things, right? Because they're trivial in 204 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:15,280 nature. So Paul is telling him that 205 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:19,120 don't, don't get distracted by things that are trivial. 206 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:22,200 Don't get distracted by the trivial matters of this life. 207 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:27,280 Because can't we all agree there are some things that matter and 208 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:29,000 there are some things that just don't matter. 209 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:35,560 And most of the time, if we're ever distracted from being godly 210 00:13:35,560 --> 00:13:39,400 in our lives, we're distracted by things that don't matter. 211 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,520 It's the trivial and it's the temporal things of this world 212 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:47,360 that so easily distract us. He's saying, don't fall into 213 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:50,280 that trap. Don't be distracted by godless 214 00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:53,160 myths and old wives tales, trivial matters or secondary 215 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:54,960 issues. And don't you know that the 216 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:58,400 secondary issue mill is churning right now, right? 217 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:02,960 Because any time there's a bomb that explodes in any of these 218 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:06,440 ancient lands, boy, the, the, the people jump on this 219 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:10,320 eschatological band wagon of trying to figure everything out. 220 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:16,040 Oh, I think because we, we, we're in a war with Iran. 221 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:18,240 Well, that means we're in the end times. 222 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:24,160 No, Jesus ascending to heaven meant we're in the end times and 223 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:27,200 He's going to work everything out according to His will and 224 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:31,440 plan. And I don't want any of you to 225 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:34,800 fall into the trap of getting distracted by trying to figure 226 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:37,960 that out to a degree that you forsake godliness in your life 227 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:40,760 that you're not concerned with. You know what? 228 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:47,120 We might be living in the very last of the end times, and you 229 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:49,520 to be so consumed with that you're not worried about being 230 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:53,400 godly in your life any longer. Oh, may it never be. 231 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:56,960 May we see that in order to be a good minister, we can't be just 232 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:01,000 distracted by these deceptive tools, these secondary issues. 233 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:06,440 There's just some things regarding eschatology that none 234 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:09,960 of us know. That's why we have deemed it a 235 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:11,800 secondary issue. You know what? 236 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:16,440 I'm not going to split hairs over what eschatological camp 237 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:19,560 you live in. Live there, stay there, keep it 238 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:21,280 to yourself unless somebody asks you. 239 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:25,280 Nobody cares how many episodes of Jack Van Impe you watched 240 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:28,440 when you were a kid. Some of you know what I'm 241 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:29,720 talking about, don't you, Rexalla? 242 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:36,880 But let's not get distracted by secondary issues to the point 243 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:40,040 that godliness is not something that we prioritize in our life. 244 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:42,680 We laugh, but we've all met these people, right? 245 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:48,120 They're trying to uncover every uncover every in time mystery. 246 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:51,920 There are just some things you're not going to know, so get 247 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:56,400 over it. Let's get over it and trust what 248 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:58,440 you do know, what God has revealed. 249 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:03,400 And I can tell you this, I don't know who the Antichrist is, but 250 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:08,600 I do know this God still requires me to live a godly life 251 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:10,760 and it's called me to a godly life. 252 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:12,880 And that's what I need to be concerned with. 253 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:16,640 I need to be concerned with what God says I need to be concerned 254 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:19,600 with, not with what my imagination wants me to be 255 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:21,880 concerned with. These trivial matters are 256 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:23,920 secondary issues. What about conspiracy theories? 257 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:25,320 Who aren't these all flying around? 258 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:32,920 Some of you spend countless hours reading about them on 259 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:38,240 YouTube, social media because you want your conspiracy to be 260 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:47,720 right so bad so it consumes you. All the while these conspiracy 261 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:52,120 theories are consuming you. Godliness is not did. 262 00:16:53,760 --> 00:17:00,400 You hear that you're distracted by something that is keeping you 263 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:03,520 from being what God has commanded you to be and that is 264 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:06,720 godly and to train yourself in godliness. 265 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:10,839 You're worried about if the government is corrupt or not. 266 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:14,599 Can I help all of you? Where man is involved, 267 00:17:14,599 --> 00:17:19,760 corruption is present. There has never been a 268 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:24,000 government that wasn't corrupt. Why? 269 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:26,280 Because sinners are involved there. 270 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:29,520 And where there is sin, there is corruption. 271 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:37,840 So stop spending countless hours on the YouTube machine listening 272 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:40,640 to your favorite conspiracy theorists tell you how it's all 273 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:45,360 going to play out in the end and pick up the Word of God and see 274 00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:48,720 that God is very clear and he's very precise, that he is raising 275 00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:52,000 up for himself in the midst of all the chaos of man. 276 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:58,280 He is raising up for himself a holy people, a godly people, 277 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:02,000 people who are concerned with godliness over all things. 278 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:07,480 Those are good ministers of Christ Jesus, not distracted by 279 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:10,840 all of this other stuff. The controversy, the conspiracy 280 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:15,400 theory. Well, how sad it is that I've 281 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:18,080 walked the halls of this church and listened to people try to 282 00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:20,160 convince someone that the earth is flat. 283 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:26,680 And it's OK if that's what you want to believe. 284 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:35,160 But why would you be so distracted by it if you would be 285 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:39,360 worried as much as you are in thinking that NASA somehow 286 00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:44,760 tricked us? If you would be as worried about 287 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:47,920 godlessness in your life that needs to be confessed and 288 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:52,160 repented of and godliness in your life that needs to be 289 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:56,760 worked for the glory of God, you would be a good minister. 290 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:02,080 But you spend time and you spend the effort and all of these 291 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:05,760 controversies and all of these conspiracy theories that you see 292 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:14,160 on, you know, the authority Facebook, shame on you. 293 00:19:16,360 --> 00:19:20,400 Word of God is true and any truth that you need as it 294 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:24,640 pertains to godliness has been supplied for you right here. 295 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:28,320 And if the government dupes? All. 296 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:34,520 Of us, God has never lied to us and He's faithful to everything 297 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:37,360 that he has ever said. And our hope resides in Helm and 298 00:19:37,360 --> 00:19:39,920 Helm alone. I know. 299 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:43,120 New way of thinking for the godless American church, isn't 300 00:19:43,120 --> 00:19:48,000 it? We must be driven to godliness, 301 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:50,040 disregarding all deceptive distractions. 302 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:53,040 They're out there. I will be the first to admit it. 303 00:19:53,040 --> 00:19:55,600 They were out there when Paul is addressing Timothy to avoid 304 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:57,440 godless myths and old wives tales. 305 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:00,720 Things that don't matter, things that aren't true, things that 306 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:02,240 are controversial, things that are half true. 307 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:03,880 Did you know? OK, the person who says, well I 308 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:06,320 believe my conspiracy is true, It might be part true. 309 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:10,520 But part true is always full lie. 310 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:17,480 Amen. There is no such thing as 1/2 311 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:23,080 truth, so don't spend your time distracted by these things 312 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:25,480 instead. Do what the author of Hebrews 313 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:27,160 says in Hebrews chapter 12. Here's what he says. 314 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:29,640 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud 315 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:33,920 of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders. 316 00:20:34,360 --> 00:20:37,160 Before he ever gets to sin, He lets us know there are other 317 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:39,440 things that can hinder us, there are other things that can 318 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:42,000 distract us. He says let us throw away 319 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:45,920 anything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us. 320 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:51,160 And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, and 321 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:53,280 watch. What he says next? 322 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:59,160 Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith, 323 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:02,680 for the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its 324 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:05,040 shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 325 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:08,400 Why is the writer of Hebrews telling us all of this? 326 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:14,080 Because people can so easily be distracted, and the enemy is so 327 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:17,000 crafty at distracting you. He would distract you with 328 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:20,240 things that aren't necessarily sin. 329 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:22,360 That's what he says there in chapter 12. 330 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:27,840 It could be sin, but it could be something else that hinders you. 331 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:30,000 And what does he say to do with it? 332 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:35,360 Throw it off, Get rid of it. Stop wasting your time being 333 00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:38,080 distracted by it, whether it's trivial matters, a secondary 334 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:41,000 issues, a controversy or conspiracy theory, or watch this 335 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:47,520 earthly politics. May I be a good? 336 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:49,280 Minister to all of you for just a moment. 337 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:52,880 If you're spending more time on Fox News than you are on your 338 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:54,640 knees in prayer, you are in the Word of God. 339 00:21:57,600 --> 00:21:59,200 You're not training yourself up in godliness. 340 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:06,880 You want to be discouraged. Watch what's happening in this 341 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:09,480 fleeting world. You want to be encouraged. 342 00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:11,760 Open the Word of God and see that God wins in the end through 343 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:13,960 the Lord Jesus Christ. And all who are in Christ win 344 00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:18,760 with him. Disregard the theft of 345 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:20,600 distractions. Paul's warning us. 346 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:23,240 He's warning the Ephesians, he's warning Timothy. 347 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:27,480 This could apply to all of us. There are things that could 348 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:31,880 hinder us or distract us. Find Titus another pastoral 349 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:33,320 epistle in chapter 3, verse 9, he says. 350 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:36,080 But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments 351 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:37,920 and quarrels about the. Law because these are 352 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:40,280 unprofitable and useless. They were fighting about 353 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:44,040 so-called spiritual things found in the law genealogies 354 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:48,720 controversy. He says leave those things, 355 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:50,880 they're unprofitable and useless. 356 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:54,080 Second Timothy chapter 2 verse 16. 357 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:58,240 He says avoid godless chatter. Because those who indulge in it 358 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:02,520 will become more and more what ungodly. 359 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:05,280 Stop talking about things that don't matter. 360 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:06,920 Why? Because God's words say When you 361 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:14,640 participate in godless chatter, you'll become even more ungodly 362 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:16,800 not to be the. Objective for the believer. 363 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:21,560 The believer should be I want to progress in godliness, not in 364 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:24,360 ungodliness. Second Timothy chapter 2. 365 00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:26,600 He goes down in verse 23 and continuing to talk about this, 366 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:29,320 he says don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid 367 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:33,000 arguments. I like that Paul uses that term 368 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,560 stupid arguments because I can then confidently call them. 369 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:40,200 Stupid arguments because you know they produce. 370 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,520 Quarrels. I had a man not that long ago 371 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:46,520 leave the church because I wouldn't buy into his 1611 King 372 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:53,760 James only stuff. Is he didn't possess the 1611 373 00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:55,960 King James, he's probably never seen or touched a real 1. 374 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:57,360 He has to go to a museum to do that. 375 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:05,200 You find one in a garage sale, buy it, give it to me, then I'll 376 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:06,640 tell you how much it would be be worth. 377 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:13,200 But this man spent time and effort trying to convince me, 378 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:15,120 and I just kept telling. Look, I've already I've already 379 00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:17,080 researched all this from I'm not going to argue with you about 380 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:20,120 it. This is a needless quarrel. 381 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,160 Not only this is a needless quarrel. 382 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,920 I'm going to agree to disagree with you as a mature believer 383 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:29,880 and say, hey, you've said where you stand. 384 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:32,440 I've told you where I stand. I'm not going to try to convince 385 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:34,520 you otherwise. Please stop trying to convince 386 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:36,880 me otherwise and let's just live at peace like God would want us 387 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:40,600 to do. Of course he did. 388 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:42,840 It's all good 1611 King James people do. 389 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:44,920 He pouted and went home, took his toys with him, never came 390 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:48,200 back. And I say thank you for not 391 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,560 causing division in the body of Christ over silly, stupid and 392 00:24:51,560 --> 00:25:00,110 needless arguments. We see it often, don't we? 393 00:25:01,390 --> 00:25:06,350 People distracted from godliness by all of these stupid things, 394 00:25:07,430 --> 00:25:11,750 wanting to win the argument. Who cares if you win the 395 00:25:11,750 --> 00:25:15,520 argument? And you hurt your testimony and 396 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:17,560 trying to win the argument. People see that you're not as 397 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:19,800 godly as you once professed to be because you were more 398 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,080 interested from a prideful standpoint, winning an argument. 399 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:25,120 Oh, how foolish we would be to ever do that. 400 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:27,400 Paul's warning Timothy about this. 401 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:29,720 The good minister should disregard deceptive distraction. 402 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:32,040 Secondly, he should desire godliness. 403 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:34,720 He says, train yourself to be godly. 404 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:39,560 He speaks as if Timothy already has a desire in him to be godly. 405 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:40,680 You know why he speaks like this? 406 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:43,560 Because he knows Timothy does. And he knows that that desire 407 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:45,240 didn't come from Timothy himself. 408 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:49,800 He knew that that that desire to be godly came from the fact that 409 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,680 Timothy was in Christ. And if you're in Christ, the 410 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:57,040 Holy Spirit indwells you. And if the Holy Spirit does live 411 00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:01,640 in you, you will have a desire for godliness. 412 00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:08,360 Let me also help you with this. If you have 0 desire for 413 00:26:08,360 --> 00:26:12,200 godliness, it's a pretty good indication that the Holy Spirit 414 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:16,160 doesn't live in you, because the Holy Spirit is not going to be 415 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:20,320 anything other than holy. That's not just the catchy title 416 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:22,560 that we tag on the Spirit's name. 417 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:26,520 That is who He is. He can be nothing else, and He 418 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:33,000 will not and cannot tolerate you being ungodly as a child of God 419 00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:37,080 who has been raised up in Christ to fulfill a promise that He 420 00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:42,120 made to Abraham about raising up a godly and holy people for 421 00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:46,360 Himself. And so if you sit here today and 422 00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:48,880 you say, you know what? I I don't really desire to be 423 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:52,960 godly, it's plain and simple. God doesn't live in you. 424 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:58,040 And so your weak profession of faith is now proven because you 425 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:00,720 have no desire to live a godly life. 426 00:27:03,360 --> 00:27:08,720 There will be a godly desire, a deep desire, a willingness to be 427 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:12,520 godly when no one else desires to be godly. 428 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:14,960 Why? Because this desire comes from 429 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:20,240 an inward work that God has done by His own grace in the believer 430 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:24,880 Thomas Watson in the book entitled The Godly Man's 431 00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:27,120 Picture. A book that I am so thankful 432 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:32,200 that a sovereign God made sure I got that book in my hand. 433 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:39,600 Because what it taught me is this through many, many hundreds 434 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:43,640 of references to Scripture. My main objective as a minister, 435 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:46,720 it's not to be the greatest theologian. 436 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:48,040 It's not to be the best preacher. 437 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:53,360 My main objective as a good minister is to be godly. 438 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:58,080 That book taught me what godliness really looks like 439 00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:01,920 according to the Word of God. The author of that book, Thomas 440 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:06,440 Watson. Who I feel is a friend of mine 441 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:11,160 since he has discipled me so much, though I've never met him, 442 00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:14,720 and though he's been dead hundreds of years before I ever 443 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:17,560 existed. He said this, he said godliness. 444 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:21,000 Is the sacred impression and workmanship of God in a man's 445 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:25,960 heart. Knowing that my desire for 446 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:28,520 godliness didn't come from me, I can't pat myself on the back and 447 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:32,600 say, well, I'm I'm doing so good because I am desiring godliness. 448 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:37,880 Now Watson knew this, that godliness is something that God 449 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:41,640 works in the heart of a man who was once wicked. 450 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:46,920 It reminds us that any desire for godliness in our life stems 451 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:50,800 from God himself, stems from God himself and his regenerating 452 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:53,800 work in Christ. Had He not regenerated us in 453 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:56,880 Christ by His grace, we would never have a desire for 454 00:28:56,880 --> 00:28:59,560 godliness in our lives. What does that teach us? 455 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:02,120 It teaches us that the desire for godliness that we as 456 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:08,120 believers will have, that that desire is indicative that a work 457 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:13,840 of God has occurred within us. If there is no desire for 458 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:18,440 godliness in your life, if this morning you've heard the the 459 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:23,840 title about godliness and you turned me off, you don't desire 460 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:26,440 godliness in your life. It's also indicative of 461 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:29,720 something. It's indicative of the fact that 462 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:31,400 a work of God has not occurred in your life. 463 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:34,760 You say, Well, that seems like a pretty bold statement, Pastor. 464 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:36,920 Let me just read for you Ezekiel chapter 36. 465 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:40,400 Are you ready? It says this verse 26. 466 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:43,840 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you, and I 467 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:46,560 will remove from you your heart of stone. 468 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:49,760 That's that old wicked and deceitful and dead heart. 469 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:53,040 And he says, and give you a heart of flesh, one that's 470 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:55,600 actually operating. And he says, and I will put my 471 00:29:55,600 --> 00:30:01,760 spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful 472 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:05,680 to keep my laws. What is he saying here? 473 00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:11,800 If there is a work of God that is worked in you, it will come 474 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:14,360 out of you. And that's what is meant by 475 00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:17,680 workout your own salvation with fear and trembling. 476 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:23,840 It is that which is inside coming out of you as you train 477 00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:29,640 yourself to be godly. It is that new heart, It is that 478 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:32,840 new mind. It is that new nature that God 479 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:36,160 wrought on the inside coming out of you. 480 00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:38,920 It begins with desire. Why? 481 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:41,120 You're never going to train yourself into anything if you 482 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:46,680 don't first have a desire. Some of the people in the church 483 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:49,920 recently have run half marathons and marathons. 484 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:54,440 You know what they didn't do? They didn't wake up on marathon 485 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:59,160 day, eat a half pound of Bluebell ice cream and say, you 486 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:00,640 know what? I think I'm going to run 26 487 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:08,320 point whatever miles it is. No, they had a desire that came 488 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:13,320 from within, and then with that desire they began to train and 489 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:15,800 to prepare themselves. This is what Paul's telling. 490 00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:17,520 Timothy here. This is what he's telling to. 491 00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:19,040 All. Those who seek to be good 492 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:25,880 ministers of Christ be driven to godliness, disregard all the 493 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,760 deceptive distractions, all the things that this world throws at 494 00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:34,640 us, and desire godliness above everything else. 495 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:39,160 To realize that Second Corinthians 517 says that you 496 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:42,920 are a new creation. He says the new creation has 497 00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:45,160 come, the old has gone, the new is here. 498 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:47,400 Well, the old is gone and the new is here. 499 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:55,160 And you used to be ungodly in your old nature, shouldn't stand 500 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:58,480 the reason that in your new nature you would seek and desire 501 00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:03,080 godliness? Of course, that makes perfect 502 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:05,880 sense, and a good minister will be driven to godliness, refusing 503 00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:09,560 to be distracted by things that would hinder that desire that 504 00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:12,800 God has put in them. Oh, I'm thankful for the burning 505 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:16,240 desire that God has put in me to be godly. 506 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:22,680 It confirms to me over and over and over again that I am truly 507 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:27,960 saved because prior to Christ saving me, I had no desire to be 508 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:31,160 godly. All I had was a desire to 509 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:34,440 fulfill the cravings of my flesh, to to to go to the next 510 00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:39,560 thrill of my sin. However, because a work has been 511 00:32:39,560 --> 00:32:43,440 done in me through Christ, because I am a new creation, 512 00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:49,240 because I have received that new heart, that old heart taken from 513 00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:56,360 me, I now desire to be the kind of person that God says that I 514 00:32:56,360 --> 00:33:02,800 ought to be, a person who lives for the glory of God and lives 515 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:05,320 to be obedient. Say, Kurt, do you think you're 516 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:06,320 perfect? Oh, not yet. 517 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:10,440 One day I will be, because he who began this good work in me 518 00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:12,560 will also carried on to completion in Christ Jesus. 519 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:16,400 I'm thankful for that. But I am thankful that every 520 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:22,960 step closer to Christ, I can also train myself to step a 521 00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:26,960 little closer to godliness because of the resources and the 522 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:31,600 power of the Holy Spirit He has placed in me, coupled with the 523 00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:35,440 truth of His Word. So the good minister will be 524 00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:37,440 driven to godliness. Secondly, the good minister will 525 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:41,320 be disciplined in godliness. Paul speaks much about 526 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:42,960 discipline. He doesn't shy away from it 527 00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:45,680 here. He says in verse 8 for physical 528 00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:48,760 training is of some value. That's for all the people who 529 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:50,680 say, you know, I'm just going to worry about my spiritual 530 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:53,480 training and never exercise. He says it's of some value. 531 00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:56,960 He didn't say no value. Take a walk every now and then, 532 00:33:57,160 --> 00:34:00,160 eat right, keep the heart in good shape. 533 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:03,280 It's good for you. It's of some value. 534 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:04,840 But he says, but godliness has value. 535 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:07,400 For all things, this is the important. 536 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:09,719 Thing that we see. Holding promise for both the 537 00:34:09,719 --> 00:34:12,080 present life and the life to come. 538 00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:15,480 So if we're growing in godliness or if we're going to grow in 539 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:20,360 godliness. We have to be disciplined in 540 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:24,800 godliness. A person's never going to be 541 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:29,560 physically fit who is not physically disciplined. 542 00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:37,560 And so a person is not going to be spiritually fit godly if 543 00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:39,600 they're not spiritually disciplined. 544 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:43,159 So a person who is growing in godliness and I pray that your 545 00:34:43,159 --> 00:34:46,880 desire. They will be devoted to 546 00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:50,000 spiritual training. They will be devoted to 547 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,080 spiritual training. Now, now I know this many of 548 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:58,280 you, you spend hours in the gym working on the physique of that 549 00:34:58,280 --> 00:35:03,440 ever fleeting temporal body that will decay and. 550 00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:10,080 Turn back to dust. But it hurts you to spend 551 00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:18,920 minutes in prayer, minutes in the Word of God, minutes 552 00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:27,800 meditating on the word of God. But we must who seek godliness, 553 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:32,920 be devoted to spiritual training, just as that athlete 554 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:34,400 is devoted to training. Getting up. 555 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:37,840 Those Olympic athletes that many of you just witnessed competing 556 00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:41,240 in the Winter Games, they didn't decide to do this a week before 557 00:35:41,240 --> 00:35:45,160 the Winter Games. Their entire life has been 558 00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:50,240 training for this one event. So we as Christians ought to 559 00:35:50,240 --> 00:35:54,360 take note of that. We ought to see that there is a 560 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:57,960 more important thing at stake here, godliness, which is for 561 00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:03,400 this life and the life to come. As Paul said, we ought to be 562 00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:07,040 devoted to spiritual training, just as those athletes are put 563 00:36:07,040 --> 00:36:14,080 to a spiritual degree, striving for godliness and living a life 564 00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:16,320 of discipline so that we see it in our lives. 565 00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:21,000 First Corinthians 9 verse 26. Paul using an analogy here, as 566 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:25,440 he often does athletic event, this particular 1A boxing match. 567 00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:27,800 He says, therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly. 568 00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:29,600 I do not. Fight like a boxer beating the 569 00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:31,640 air. He's talking about his spiritual 570 00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:34,600 life here and he's making this analogy and he's saying I beat 571 00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:38,240 myself into subjection. What does he say? 572 00:36:38,240 --> 00:36:41,200 I train myself in godliness. That's why he can pass this 573 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:46,160 along to Timothy. I fight against my own sinful 574 00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:50,560 desires, my own flesh. I fight these things. 575 00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:54,040 I bring them into subjection. I am disciplined. 576 00:36:54,040 --> 00:37:03,360 In this area, just like physical training, training and godliness 577 00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:07,280 takes discipline. Not only does it take 578 00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:13,400 discipline, it takes time. For all the youngsters who are 579 00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:15,160 here today, you've been a Christian for about two months. 580 00:37:15,160 --> 00:37:19,080 You won't be mature tomorrow, right? 581 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:22,520 For all the people who get saved and two months later they want 582 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:27,080 to take my job. It doesn't quite work like that. 583 00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:33,960 Because if you're devoted to spiritual training, you'll also 584 00:37:33,960 --> 00:37:35,360 be devoted to everything that comes with it. 585 00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:38,560 You know what It takes time. It takes time. 586 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:42,560 I have seen God do a progressive work in my life in the area of 587 00:37:42,560 --> 00:37:44,400 godliness, my entire Christian life. 588 00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:49,320 I'm so thankful for that. But it has taken time. 589 00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:52,400 You know what else that involves pain, right? 590 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:55,200 Because when when you're seeking to live a godly life, you know 591 00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:57,600 what's coming? Persecution, Paul said. 592 00:37:57,600 --> 00:37:59,800 That persecution is going to come on all. 593 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:02,320 Who seek to live a godly life. It's coming, it's part of it. 594 00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:04,720 You're going to face pain you're going to have. 595 00:38:04,720 --> 00:38:06,320 People who don't like you. And in fact you have people who 596 00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:08,720 hate you. Many have had people who have 597 00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:11,280 killed them because of their desire to be godly. 598 00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:17,600 Involves pain. It includes sacrifices. 599 00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:20,720 Some of the reasons why we don't see a whole lot of godliness, 600 00:38:20,720 --> 00:38:22,440 why we don't even like to talk about it in the church, because 601 00:38:22,440 --> 00:38:27,160 we start asking people to suffer pain and actually asking people 602 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:31,240 to sacrifice. Did you know there was no such 603 00:38:31,240 --> 00:38:32,480 thing as a New Testament Christian? 604 00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:36,160 Who got through this world without pain or sacrifice. 605 00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:44,040 Because our Master endured pain and sacrifice, and for following 606 00:38:44,040 --> 00:38:46,440 in his footsteps, we will endure the same. 607 00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:49,080 It comes with a reward though, doesn't it? 608 00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:54,080 It comes with great reward. Just as that person who competes 609 00:38:54,080 --> 00:38:56,240 physically, who trains and disciplines himself. 610 00:38:56,240 --> 00:38:57,840 And in the end, they win the prize. 611 00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:05,680 We run for a greater prize in regard to godliness, an eternal 612 00:39:05,680 --> 00:39:06,640 pride. That's prize. 613 00:39:06,640 --> 00:39:09,600 That's exactly what he's saying here when he's saying that that 614 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:13,560 godliness has value for all things in this life and in the 615 00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:17,800 life to come. And God has promised that we 616 00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:20,200 must be devoted to spiritual training, discipline and 617 00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:23,600 godliness. I can't say this enough. 618 00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:27,640 A good minister will take this seriously topic of godliness. 619 00:39:29,360 --> 00:39:30,600 Why? Because of what the Word of God 620 00:39:30,600 --> 00:39:31,960 says. Second Peter chapter one, verse 621 00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:33,520 3. It says His divine power has 622 00:39:33,520 --> 00:39:36,600 given us everything we need for a godly life through our 623 00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:39,680 knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. 624 00:39:40,720 --> 00:39:43,240 Through these He has given us His very great and precious 625 00:39:43,240 --> 00:39:45,600 promises so that through them you might participate in the 626 00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:48,400 divine nature. Having escaped the corruption in 627 00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:51,400 the world caused by evil desires, He says in verse 5. 628 00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:54,920 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith 629 00:39:54,920 --> 00:39:59,840 goodness and to goodness knowledge, and to knowledge, 630 00:39:59,840 --> 00:40:02,840 self-control, and to self-control, perseverance and 631 00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:05,360 to perseverance. Here it is class, godliness, 632 00:40:06,200 --> 00:40:10,000 godliness, and to godliness mutual affection, and to mutual 633 00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:11,480 affection, love. You know what he's saying. 634 00:40:11,480 --> 00:40:13,720 Discipline yourself. Be devoted in spiritual training 635 00:40:13,720 --> 00:40:17,040 so that you will keep growing toward maturity. 636 00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:22,440 And a very important part of the maturation process and a 637 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:27,600 Christian is godliness. Before you will ever love as 638 00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:31,960 Christ loved, before you will ever consider others above 639 00:40:31,960 --> 00:40:37,440 yourself, you must have a devotion to training yourself in 640 00:40:37,720 --> 00:40:40,400 godliness. It's progressive. 641 00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:45,200 Be devoted to this spiritual training because that's what a 642 00:40:45,200 --> 00:40:46,760 good minister will be devoted to. 643 00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:50,520 It'll be devoted to the Word as it trains them in righteousness. 644 00:40:50,920 --> 00:40:53,440 So pastor, that's your job. It's all of your jobs. 645 00:40:53,440 --> 00:40:55,360 You all agreed we're all ministers, right? 646 00:40:57,360 --> 00:41:01,880 We have to train ourselves in the word of God and 647 00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:03,160 righteousness through the word of God. 648 00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:06,920 Second Timothy chapter 3 verse 16 says this all scriptures God 649 00:41:06,920 --> 00:41:10,400 breathe and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and 650 00:41:10,480 --> 00:41:14,720 training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be 651 00:41:14,720 --> 00:41:18,440 thoroughly equipped for every good work, so that you will be a 652 00:41:18,440 --> 00:41:21,440 good minister. Where do we train in 653 00:41:21,440 --> 00:41:25,280 righteousness as we open the Word of God, As we learn from 654 00:41:25,280 --> 00:41:28,360 the Word of God here in this congregation, in your homes as 655 00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:31,280 you start your day and as you finish your day that God has 656 00:41:31,280 --> 00:41:33,880 blessed you with In the Bible studies that are going on and 657 00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:37,640 enriched next door and your families around the dinner 658 00:41:37,640 --> 00:41:39,280 table. As you discuss the things 659 00:41:39,280 --> 00:41:43,280 pertaining to the Word of God in your life as it is examined in 660 00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:47,240 light of that word. This is where godliness happens, 661 00:41:47,240 --> 00:41:49,040 when we're devoted to spiritual training. 662 00:41:50,640 --> 00:41:54,520 Are you, are you devoted to spiritual training in your life, 663 00:41:54,640 --> 00:41:57,800 disciplined and godliness, or is it just something that you say? 664 00:41:57,800 --> 00:41:59,560 I'll take it or leave it. You know, if it comes along, 665 00:41:59,560 --> 00:42:00,920 well, I'll take it. If it doesn't, it doesn't. 666 00:42:00,920 --> 00:42:05,440 It's come along. 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ died on a cross in 667 00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:09,440 your place to rescue you from your sin, to raise you up from 668 00:42:09,440 --> 00:42:11,960 that cesspool and give to you a new life, a new life that 669 00:42:11,960 --> 00:42:15,480 displays godliness. It's come along. 670 00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:18,440 And then he sent his Spirit to live in you, the Holy Spirit. 671 00:42:19,160 --> 00:42:21,600 And the Holy Spirit, the third person of the triune Godhead, 672 00:42:21,600 --> 00:42:25,440 lives in you, giving you a desire for godliness. 673 00:42:29,360 --> 00:42:32,960 So you must devote yourself to it, devoting yourself. 674 00:42:33,440 --> 00:42:38,680 That's spiritual training. You won't see godliness as an 675 00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:41,680 option if you're truly born again. 676 00:42:44,560 --> 00:42:48,360 Ecclesiastes chapter 12 makes that very clear. 677 00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:54,680 Solomon, when he gets to the end of all things, examining life 678 00:42:54,680 --> 00:42:57,960 and seeing what it's all about. He says this in verse 13 to 679 00:42:57,960 --> 00:42:59,480 chapter 12. Now all has been heard. 680 00:43:01,240 --> 00:43:03,320 After you said over and over again, life meaningless, 681 00:43:03,320 --> 00:43:06,880 meaningless, all is meaningless. He comes to this conclusion. 682 00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:08,760 Now all has been heard. Here's the conclusion of the 683 00:43:08,760 --> 00:43:12,080 matter. Here's what we need to focus on 684 00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:16,800 as humanity Fear God and keep His commands, for this is the 685 00:43:16,800 --> 00:43:22,600 duty of all mankind. This is your purpose. 686 00:43:25,120 --> 00:43:27,640 And though your purpose was thwarted because of sin in 687 00:43:27,640 --> 00:43:31,520 Christ, you have been rescued from that sin and you have been 688 00:43:31,840 --> 00:43:37,880 repurposed for godliness to bring Him glory by your life. 689 00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:39,400 The things you do and the things that you say. 690 00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:42,280 Devote yourself to training and this to learning, to growing. 691 00:43:42,480 --> 00:43:45,160 Why? It is the duty of all men fear 692 00:43:45,160 --> 00:43:48,760 God to keep His commands. It's the reason for your 693 00:43:48,760 --> 00:43:50,080 existence. It's the reason that you were 694 00:43:50,080 --> 00:43:53,280 created. Do you think you exist for any 695 00:43:53,280 --> 00:43:56,440 other reason? You've got it all backward. 696 00:43:57,560 --> 00:43:59,280 We don't exist for whatever reason. 697 00:43:59,280 --> 00:44:02,240 We say that we exist. We exist for the reason that our 698 00:44:02,240 --> 00:44:07,040 Creator has said that we exist. That is to obey Him, to keep His 699 00:44:07,040 --> 00:44:10,040 commands, to bring glory to Him. That is our duty. 700 00:44:11,040 --> 00:44:14,840 We are now able to do that in Christ, we who were once not 701 00:44:14,840 --> 00:44:17,600 able to do that. So the good minister will be 702 00:44:17,600 --> 00:44:20,640 devoted to spiritual training. You will devote yourself to the 703 00:44:20,640 --> 00:44:24,440 time and to the pain, to the suffering that it takes. 704 00:44:26,760 --> 00:44:29,720 Well, I don't like to read. Pray that God will give you a 705 00:44:29,720 --> 00:44:34,560 desire to like to read. I watched a man in Arkansas who 706 00:44:34,560 --> 00:44:39,240 couldn't read. He wanted to teach little kids 707 00:44:39,240 --> 00:44:40,600 the Bible. You know what he did? 708 00:44:41,680 --> 00:44:43,280 He said, God, I don't know how to read. 709 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:46,480 He didn't. You know what God did? 710 00:44:47,360 --> 00:44:51,800 God taught him how to read. He began to read the word of God 711 00:44:51,800 --> 00:44:53,800 so that he could teach little children the word of God. 712 00:44:53,800 --> 00:44:56,280 And to this day, he's still pouring into little children in 713 00:44:56,280 --> 00:44:58,880 that same church. Why? 714 00:44:58,880 --> 00:45:00,520 Because God birthed a desire in him. 715 00:45:01,480 --> 00:45:02,560 Did it hurt? Was it tough? 716 00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:03,880 Yeah. He had to walk into a room where 717 00:45:03,880 --> 00:45:05,560 some of those kids could probably read better than he 718 00:45:05,560 --> 00:45:08,720 could. But he trusted God. 719 00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:13,000 He devoted himself to spiritual training so that he could pour 720 00:45:13,920 --> 00:45:16,520 word of God out to others. That's a desire for godliness. 721 00:45:16,520 --> 00:45:20,840 That's being devoted to what it takes, delighting in the eternal 722 00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:25,280 over the temporal. Paul is making this very clear. 723 00:45:25,360 --> 00:45:27,600 He's just holding promise for both the present life and the 724 00:45:27,600 --> 00:45:29,080 life to come. He says physical training. 725 00:45:29,080 --> 00:45:31,680 You know what, you can train all you want and in the end you're 726 00:45:31,680 --> 00:45:34,320 going to die. It's just for this life. 727 00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:42,320 He might be a gym rat, but I've done enough funerals to know 728 00:45:42,320 --> 00:45:44,480 this. That guy who was once muscled up 729 00:45:44,480 --> 00:45:50,200 and shredded and everybody owed and gnawed over his muscle, he 730 00:45:50,200 --> 00:45:54,320 Withers away. He's put into a casket and he's 731 00:45:54,320 --> 00:45:59,120 put into A to the ground, and he will stand before a holy God and 732 00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:01,800 he will answer for the life that he lived, not for how big his 733 00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:08,920 muscles were. The good minister will be 734 00:46:08,920 --> 00:46:10,640 delighting in the eternal over the temple. 735 00:46:12,760 --> 00:46:14,840 Second Peter 3 says this, but the day of the Lord will come 736 00:46:14,840 --> 00:46:17,560 like a thief in the night. The heavens will disappear with 737 00:46:17,560 --> 00:46:20,320 a roar, the elements with will be destroyed by fire, and the 738 00:46:20,320 --> 00:46:24,000 earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 739 00:46:24,760 --> 00:46:31,040 Pretty scary, huh? Sounds like some kind of nuclear 740 00:46:31,040 --> 00:46:33,760 Holocaust to some hyper premillennial, doesn't it? 741 00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:38,720 Especially since we're fighting against Iran and Israel's 742 00:46:38,720 --> 00:46:43,600 involved. Yes, all of those things play a 743 00:46:43,600 --> 00:46:47,880 key role in scripture. And if you really think those 744 00:46:47,880 --> 00:46:49,840 things are a big deal, watch what he says next, since 745 00:46:49,840 --> 00:46:51,320 everything will be destroyed in this way. 746 00:46:54,080 --> 00:46:56,480 What kind of people ought you to be, right? 747 00:46:56,480 --> 00:47:00,080 You're saying you're worried about a nuclear Holocaust, Peter 748 00:47:00,080 --> 00:47:07,880 saying God by his hand is going to refine this earth, not ought 749 00:47:07,880 --> 00:47:10,600 to get your attention, not to get your attention for a reason, 750 00:47:10,600 --> 00:47:11,920 since it's going to happen that way. 751 00:47:11,920 --> 00:47:16,440 You can bank on that, right? Because I can't tell you that 752 00:47:16,440 --> 00:47:19,160 the Russians are going to nuke everyone or that America's going 753 00:47:19,160 --> 00:47:21,440 to nuke everyone and, and this thing's all going to end in some 754 00:47:21,440 --> 00:47:25,080 kind of nuclear Holocaust. This is conspiracy theory mixed 755 00:47:25,080 --> 00:47:29,400 with hyper premillennialism. But I can tell you this, the 756 00:47:29,400 --> 00:47:36,240 hand of God will one day refine with fire the earth as we know 757 00:47:36,240 --> 00:47:39,600 it. And that is true. 100% Well, 758 00:47:39,600 --> 00:47:41,560 since it's going to happen, what should we do? 759 00:47:41,720 --> 00:47:43,720 Well, since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind 760 00:47:43,720 --> 00:47:46,600 of people want you to be? You ought to live holy and godly 761 00:47:46,600 --> 00:47:47,960 lives. You can't get any plainer than 762 00:47:47,960 --> 00:47:51,880 that, can you? You ought to live holy and godly 763 00:47:51,880 --> 00:47:53,360 lives. You're really worried about the 764 00:47:53,440 --> 00:47:59,360 the world ending as you know it. It ought to motivate you to live 765 00:47:59,360 --> 00:48:03,040 a holy life. You ought to be delighting in 766 00:48:03,040 --> 00:48:05,280 the eternal over the temple. You ought to be saying this. 767 00:48:05,280 --> 00:48:06,840 You know what that counts for nothing. 768 00:48:07,480 --> 00:48:10,200 The only thing that counts in the eyes of God is holiness and 769 00:48:10,200 --> 00:48:14,080 obeying His commands, bringing glory to His name, sharing the 770 00:48:14,080 --> 00:48:16,400 gospel with others that they might have might have that same. 771 00:48:16,520 --> 00:48:19,400 Hope. And so the good minister will be 772 00:48:19,400 --> 00:48:23,680 disciplined in godliness, devoted to spiritual training 773 00:48:23,680 --> 00:48:25,880 and delighting in the eternal over the temple. 774 00:48:29,440 --> 00:48:33,200 Again, I'm not the only one that this pertains to. 775 00:48:35,000 --> 00:48:38,800 Are you delighting in the eternal over the temporal? 776 00:48:40,240 --> 00:48:42,000 Are you teaching your kids that that's what you're doing? 777 00:48:42,960 --> 00:48:49,200 Are you putting so much emphasis on your kids temporal status? 778 00:48:49,480 --> 00:48:50,760 Right? Do they make the team? 779 00:48:51,560 --> 00:48:56,120 Do they make the cheer squad? Are they going to be a Major 780 00:48:56,120 --> 00:48:57,360 League Baseball player? Watch this. 781 00:48:57,360 --> 00:49:00,920 Probably not. Statistics are far stacked 782 00:49:00,920 --> 00:49:04,040 against them. But you know what they can be if 783 00:49:04,040 --> 00:49:09,200 you teach them properly. Godly, godly. 784 00:49:10,840 --> 00:49:12,480 And if you're a good minister, that's what you're going to be 785 00:49:12,480 --> 00:49:13,720 doing. You're going to be delighting in 786 00:49:13,720 --> 00:49:15,800 the eternal over the temple. And your children are going to 787 00:49:15,800 --> 00:49:16,680 see that. And they're going to say, you 788 00:49:16,680 --> 00:49:18,360 know what, Mom and Dad, they're OK with me playing a little ball 789 00:49:18,360 --> 00:49:22,440 every now and then, but they are not OK with ball becoming an 790 00:49:22,440 --> 00:49:27,360 idol. They're not OK with that. 791 00:49:28,360 --> 00:49:31,720 They're not OK with my my whole existence being about this 792 00:49:31,720 --> 00:49:36,600 thing. I'm glad I got to teach my son 793 00:49:36,600 --> 00:49:40,800 how to throw football. But you know what? 794 00:49:42,600 --> 00:49:44,040 Neither one of us plays football anymore. 795 00:49:46,800 --> 00:49:48,120 You know what I'm more thankful for? 796 00:49:50,840 --> 00:49:56,320 And God showed me the importance of godliness when it comes to my 797 00:49:56,320 --> 00:50:02,840 children and to show them by my example that I delight in the 798 00:50:02,840 --> 00:50:05,920 eternal over the temple, that the things of this world, 799 00:50:06,280 --> 00:50:09,480 they're fleeting. But being disciplined in 800 00:50:09,480 --> 00:50:11,840 godliness, it's good in this life. 801 00:50:13,200 --> 00:50:15,680 And it has eternal value. Why? 802 00:50:16,360 --> 00:50:20,560 Because the godly example that we as good ministers in our 803 00:50:20,560 --> 00:50:24,320 homes leave for our children, they will follow that good 804 00:50:24,320 --> 00:50:27,360 example, and they will follow that good example into the 805 00:50:27,360 --> 00:50:31,600 presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, surrendering. 806 00:50:31,600 --> 00:50:35,040 Their lives to him, and then living their life for him. 807 00:50:35,040 --> 00:50:38,400 It's no coincidence that in the same epistle. 808 00:50:39,240 --> 00:50:42,000 When it came down to the requirements for the overseers, 809 00:50:42,000 --> 00:50:45,080 the bishops in the church, the leaders, it's no coincidence 810 00:50:45,080 --> 00:50:48,240 that he said their house had to be godly, their children had to 811 00:50:48,240 --> 00:50:51,400 be godly. Why is that? 812 00:50:52,240 --> 00:50:56,320 Godly parents produce godly children. 813 00:50:57,280 --> 00:51:00,440 That is by God's design. You can go back to Malachi and 814 00:51:00,440 --> 00:51:01,800 you can look at this. You know what he says? 815 00:51:01,960 --> 00:51:04,360 He says I hate divorce. And why does he hate divorce? 816 00:51:05,840 --> 00:51:09,680 Why? He says I hate divorce because a 817 00:51:09,680 --> 00:51:13,840 family is divided. And he says this about it. 818 00:51:13,840 --> 00:51:16,280 He says forsake not the wife of your youth. 819 00:51:17,520 --> 00:51:21,240 And then he gives you the answer as to why, so that you'll 820 00:51:21,240 --> 00:51:27,320 produce godly offspring. Godly offspring, you say? 821 00:51:27,320 --> 00:51:28,720 Well. Pastor, I've had a divorce. 822 00:51:28,720 --> 00:51:30,200 Are you saying that I can never be godly? 823 00:51:30,200 --> 00:51:32,280 No. In Christ you've been redeemed. 824 00:51:32,880 --> 00:51:35,720 And be thankful for that. God Forgives you for something 825 00:51:35,720 --> 00:51:38,120 that He says that He hates. Hey, And He forgives us for many 826 00:51:38,120 --> 00:51:39,400 things that He says that He hates. 827 00:51:40,360 --> 00:51:42,840 But know this and have this in your heart. 828 00:51:42,920 --> 00:51:45,200 If I could have done it all over again, I would have done it 829 00:51:45,200 --> 00:51:48,200 differently. And now I desire to do that 830 00:51:48,200 --> 00:51:52,480 which is right even in the lives of my children, so that they can 831 00:51:52,480 --> 00:51:57,760 see that godliness is important. Delight in the eternal over the 832 00:51:57,760 --> 00:51:59,560 temple. Be devoted to spiritual 833 00:51:59,560 --> 00:52:02,640 training. The good minister will be 834 00:52:02,640 --> 00:52:04,560 disciplined in godliness, don't forget that. 835 00:52:04,560 --> 00:52:10,200 And lastly, the good minister will be diligent in godliness. 836 00:52:10,960 --> 00:52:15,640 This won't just be a fly by night thing, a good idea that 837 00:52:15,640 --> 00:52:19,200 lasts for a little while. Verse 9, it says this is a 838 00:52:19,200 --> 00:52:21,240 trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 839 00:52:21,720 --> 00:52:23,280 And for this we labor and strive. 840 00:52:23,280 --> 00:52:26,440 He says this is the whole reason that we do what we do, that we 841 00:52:26,440 --> 00:52:31,400 have put our hope in the living God who is the Savior of all men 842 00:52:31,400 --> 00:52:33,440 and especially of those who believe. 843 00:52:34,280 --> 00:52:35,880 What's he saying here? He's saying that a good minister 844 00:52:35,880 --> 00:52:41,120 will labor and strive diligently in godliness, enjoying the 845 00:52:41,120 --> 00:52:45,720 assurance of the hope that he has in Christ and in displaying 846 00:52:45,720 --> 00:52:50,320 to others the reason for. That hope through an obedient 847 00:52:50,320 --> 00:52:54,160 life of godliness, he said. This is the whole reason that we 848 00:52:54,160 --> 00:52:56,560 labor and strive. He says this is the reason for 849 00:52:56,560 --> 00:52:58,920 our existence. And Paul saying this to Timothy, 850 00:52:59,720 --> 00:53:03,800 his young protege, saying we we are in Christ and and we are 851 00:53:03,800 --> 00:53:09,320 doing what we do because of godliness and what God desires 852 00:53:09,320 --> 00:53:14,000 to work in and through us. It's all because of the hope 853 00:53:14,000 --> 00:53:19,480 that we have from the living God who is the Savior of all men and 854 00:53:19,480 --> 00:53:22,120 especially of those who believe. Now let me just give you the 855 00:53:22,120 --> 00:53:26,080 theological interpretation of this so you don't get confused. 856 00:53:26,080 --> 00:53:28,520 There are many people say, see there, He's the Savior of all 857 00:53:28,520 --> 00:53:30,320 men. So all they're going to believe 858 00:53:30,320 --> 00:53:36,480 that's universalism, that's heresy, Patrick, that's heresy. 859 00:53:39,280 --> 00:53:42,160 And The thing is, he's never promoting A universalism that 860 00:53:42,160 --> 00:53:43,160 all. People will be safe. 861 00:53:43,160 --> 00:53:45,840 You know what he's saying? That even the lost people right 862 00:53:45,840 --> 00:53:47,960 now are saved by the common grace and the common love of 863 00:53:47,960 --> 00:53:50,840 God. Because he should have already 864 00:53:50,840 --> 00:53:52,280 judged them for their wickedness. 865 00:53:52,280 --> 00:53:55,360 He should have already taken them out. 866 00:53:56,200 --> 00:53:59,400 He's saying that if you have breath in your body, even if you 867 00:53:59,400 --> 00:54:02,960 are not in Christ, you have not yet believed, God is still 868 00:54:02,960 --> 00:54:07,080 saving you and preserving you, perhaps for this very day that 869 00:54:07,080 --> 00:54:09,080 you hear the gospel and you believe. 870 00:54:09,800 --> 00:54:11,080 Because then he goes on, He says. 871 00:54:11,080 --> 00:54:14,160 And especially for those who believe He's saying, you know 872 00:54:14,160 --> 00:54:20,440 what, there is general saving. The fact that God sustains all 873 00:54:20,440 --> 00:54:27,040 of mankind temporarily, but then there is that special salvation 874 00:54:27,040 --> 00:54:31,480 for those who believe that is where He preserves us eternally. 875 00:54:31,720 --> 00:54:34,240 Don't miss that, because if you misinterpret that, you're going 876 00:54:34,240 --> 00:54:37,080 to jump off into the camp of universalism again, which is 877 00:54:37,160 --> 00:54:40,800 heretical. So a good minister, as we get 878 00:54:40,800 --> 00:54:46,880 back to the purpose for this, will be diligent in godliness. 879 00:54:47,800 --> 00:54:49,960 Why will He be diligent in godliness? 880 00:54:53,240 --> 00:54:55,120 Because God has wrought that work in him that we've seen 881 00:54:55,120 --> 00:54:59,040 through Jesus Christ, the one who was once dead and is now 882 00:54:59,040 --> 00:55:03,160 alive, the living God, and who is the Savior of all men and 883 00:55:03,160 --> 00:55:08,840 especially of those who believe. We will be diligent in godliness 884 00:55:08,840 --> 00:55:14,160 because of the work that God has done in Christ through us, a 885 00:55:14,160 --> 00:55:17,640 resurrected Savior giving us new life. 886 00:55:18,400 --> 00:55:21,880 And so diligence and godliness will be write it down, propelled 887 00:55:21,880 --> 00:55:25,600 by hope received. It'll be propelled by hope 888 00:55:25,600 --> 00:55:28,520 received. Paul here talking about the hope 889 00:55:28,520 --> 00:55:32,160 that they have in Christ and. He's saying it's a trustworthy 890 00:55:32,160 --> 00:55:35,440 saying full of that it that it deserves full acceptance. 891 00:55:35,800 --> 00:55:38,080 It's the reason that we exist and it's the reason that we 892 00:55:38,080 --> 00:55:39,840 labor and it's the reason that we strive. 893 00:55:43,160 --> 00:55:45,200 He's Speaking of those who have. Put their hope in the living 894 00:55:45,200 --> 00:55:46,560 God. He's talking about himself and 895 00:55:46,560 --> 00:55:49,680 Timothy, he says. Because we have put our hope in 896 00:55:49,680 --> 00:55:54,600 the living God, let us be propelled by the hope that we 897 00:55:54,640 --> 00:55:57,080 receive. This is the reason that we live, 898 00:55:57,560 --> 00:56:00,320 the reason that we breathe, this is the reason that we work, and 899 00:56:00,320 --> 00:56:01,840 this is the reason that we strive. 900 00:56:01,920 --> 00:56:06,960 Because we have been given hope by the living God through 901 00:56:06,960 --> 00:56:08,640 Christ. Paul's reminding Timothy, 902 00:56:09,200 --> 00:56:14,920 because they've both trusted in the Lord as their Savior, now 903 00:56:14,920 --> 00:56:18,800 they're responsible to live their lives due to that hope 904 00:56:18,840 --> 00:56:22,840 that they have received. First. 905 00:56:22,840 --> 00:56:25,160 Peter 1/3 says this. Praise be the God and Father of 906 00:56:25,160 --> 00:56:27,480 our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy, he has given 907 00:56:27,480 --> 00:56:30,200 us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of 908 00:56:30,200 --> 00:56:34,280 Jesus Christ from the dead. Peter, they're saying we have a 909 00:56:34,280 --> 00:56:37,600 living hope. Because our Savior is alive. 910 00:56:37,600 --> 00:56:40,960 Paul saying the same thing to Timothy here we have living 911 00:56:41,040 --> 00:56:43,200 hope. We have assurance. 912 00:56:43,200 --> 00:56:45,960 Let that propel you. Let that hope that you have 913 00:56:45,960 --> 00:56:48,000 received in Christ, the living God. 914 00:56:48,160 --> 00:56:53,760 Let it propel you in this life to be a good minister and to be 915 00:56:53,800 --> 00:57:00,240 a godly minister. We should be driven by this, 916 00:57:00,880 --> 00:57:05,600 propelled by our hope in Christ. It should propel us to live a 917 00:57:05,600 --> 00:57:10,880 godly life out of appreciation for what Christ has done for us. 918 00:57:11,600 --> 00:57:14,040 I don't live a godly life. I don't seek to live a godly 919 00:57:14,040 --> 00:57:16,720 life thinking that God is going to credit that to my count my 920 00:57:16,720 --> 00:57:21,120 account as righteousness. The only righteousness I'll ever 921 00:57:21,120 --> 00:57:24,080 receive is righteousness that has been imputed to me from 922 00:57:24,080 --> 00:57:26,320 Christ. It is a gracious gift of God, 923 00:57:27,640 --> 00:57:35,160 but because I have that hope, I desire to live a godly life that 924 00:57:35,160 --> 00:57:41,400 I may reflect the work that God has done in me, out of me, and 925 00:57:41,400 --> 00:57:44,520 through me to others. It is the reason, Paul says, 926 00:57:44,520 --> 00:57:50,120 that we labor and we strive. Compelling us by the hope we 927 00:57:50,120 --> 00:57:52,480 have received. Are you propelled by the hope 928 00:57:52,480 --> 00:57:54,520 that you've received in Christ to live a godly life? 929 00:57:54,680 --> 00:57:57,800 I can think of no better reason to live a godly life than that. 930 00:57:59,040 --> 00:58:02,880 To know that I have been saved by God's grace through the 931 00:58:02,880 --> 00:58:06,920 sacrifice of Jesus Christ that he made on my behalf that I did 932 00:58:06,920 --> 00:58:10,040 not deserve. He who knew no sin became sin so 933 00:58:10,040 --> 00:58:12,480 that I might become the righteousness of God. 934 00:58:12,920 --> 00:58:16,920 And in seeing that inside of me, there's this great desire to 935 00:58:17,200 --> 00:58:22,320 distort in me, to be righteous unto God, that is, to live a 936 00:58:22,320 --> 00:58:23,760 godly life. Why? 937 00:58:24,200 --> 00:58:26,640 Because I'm trying to find hope through a godly life? 938 00:58:26,640 --> 00:58:31,120 No, because hope came to me and my response should be a godly 939 00:58:31,120 --> 00:58:36,040 life, every day living in godliness to say thank you, 940 00:58:36,200 --> 00:58:38,280 Jesus, what you did was worth something. 941 00:58:39,600 --> 00:58:43,840 What you did meant something. You are displaying your power in 942 00:58:43,840 --> 00:58:47,520 and through me, how you took a dead man and how you brought him 943 00:58:47,520 --> 00:58:49,560 to life because you are the living God. 944 00:58:50,400 --> 00:58:54,280 You've given me hope in a virtually hopeless world. 945 00:58:55,240 --> 00:58:58,920 May I live my life to honor you and to bring praise to you. 946 00:58:58,920 --> 00:59:04,800 May I be diligent in godliness, just as Paul is telling Timothy 947 00:59:04,800 --> 00:59:09,840 to be here. Oh, what hope He has given us 948 00:59:11,000 --> 00:59:14,360 and the living God through the new life that He's given us in 949 00:59:14,360 --> 00:59:18,000 Christ as we read a moment ago in our scripture reading, Titus 950 00:59:18,000 --> 00:59:19,720 2 verse 11. For the grace of God has 951 00:59:19,720 --> 00:59:22,840 appeared that offers salvation to all people, and it teaches us 952 00:59:22,840 --> 00:59:26,760 to say no to ungodliness. I'm so thankful that the grace 953 00:59:26,760 --> 00:59:29,680 of God teaches me to say no to ungodliness and not like this 954 00:59:29,680 --> 00:59:32,640 Antinomian thinking of the day that since I have grace, I ought 955 00:59:32,640 --> 00:59:34,320 to be able to just do whatever I want to do. 956 00:59:35,200 --> 00:59:39,480 No, His grace teaches me to say no to ungodliness and worldly 957 00:59:39,480 --> 00:59:43,160 passions, and to live self controlled, upright and godly 958 00:59:43,160 --> 00:59:46,960 lives in this present age, in the present age of wickedness, 959 00:59:49,640 --> 00:59:53,840 while we wait for the blessed. Hope, the appearing of the glory 960 00:59:53,840 --> 00:59:57,440 of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself 961 00:59:57,440 --> 01:00:00,400 for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for 962 01:00:00,400 --> 01:00:05,160 Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is 963 01:00:05,400 --> 01:00:07,480 good. Why would Jesus have come to 964 01:00:07,480 --> 01:00:10,440 this earth to die on the cross, to purify a people for His 965 01:00:10,440 --> 01:00:15,360 name's sake and then be OK with us not living godly pure life? 966 01:00:15,360 --> 01:00:19,480 It would be ridiculousness, that's what it would be. 967 01:00:22,880 --> 01:00:27,120 Let us be propelled by the hope that we have received, diligent 968 01:00:27,160 --> 01:00:32,480 and godliness and proclaiming hope to others. 969 01:00:32,480 --> 01:00:35,040 All the while, he says, For this we labor and strive. 970 01:00:35,040 --> 01:00:37,560 What were Paul and Timothy laboring and striving for? 971 01:00:37,560 --> 01:00:39,320 To be good ministers of the gospel. 972 01:00:40,440 --> 01:00:42,400 To be good ministers of Christ Jesus. 973 01:00:43,680 --> 01:00:48,840 Paul's telling him here. In doing that, when you seek 974 01:00:48,840 --> 01:00:53,200 godliness, you give hope to others. 975 01:00:53,200 --> 01:00:54,880 And this is the whole reason that we exist. 976 01:00:56,880 --> 01:00:58,360 Did you know this? A good minister, That's the 977 01:00:58,360 --> 01:00:59,760 whole reason he wakes up every day. 978 01:01:01,920 --> 01:01:04,720 He doesn't wake up every day to enjoy the toys of this earth, 979 01:01:05,800 --> 01:01:11,040 the pleasures of his flesh. True man of God has already done 980 01:01:11,040 --> 01:01:15,000 that. He wakes up every day to say 981 01:01:15,000 --> 01:01:17,440 thank you God, that I'm no longer what I once was, but I am 982 01:01:17,440 --> 01:01:22,040 now a vessel for your glory. Let me live a godly life because 983 01:01:22,040 --> 01:01:23,880 of the hope that I have received in Christ. 984 01:01:24,600 --> 01:01:26,560 Why is that important? Because in doing so, you're 985 01:01:26,560 --> 01:01:33,120 proclaiming hope to others. And we should diligently display 986 01:01:33,120 --> 01:01:35,560 godliness in our lives so that others will see the hope that we 987 01:01:35,560 --> 01:01:39,000 have in Christ so that they can recognize the change He's 988 01:01:39,000 --> 01:01:44,520 brought in US. I told the first service that 989 01:01:44,520 --> 01:01:47,720 when people who I went to school with when I was a younger man 990 01:01:47,720 --> 01:01:52,960 and was not yet a believer find out that I'm a preacher, I get 991 01:01:52,960 --> 01:01:56,520 some strange looks and that's OK. 992 01:01:57,400 --> 01:02:01,760 They should look at me strange because God has wrote a miracle 993 01:02:01,760 --> 01:02:06,000 in this wretched scoundrel. I can tell you that which I'm 994 01:02:06,000 --> 01:02:10,480 very thankful for. They look at your life and you 995 01:02:10,480 --> 01:02:12,960 know what they notice? You're different. 996 01:02:12,960 --> 01:02:18,040 You know what different means? He once were ungodly, and now 997 01:02:19,640 --> 01:02:23,360 you're living a godly life. It's important that the lost 998 01:02:23,360 --> 01:02:24,840 world sees that. Why? 999 01:02:24,840 --> 01:02:26,520 Because in that they see our hope. 1000 01:02:27,280 --> 01:02:30,800 Our hope is in Christ. I live a godly life because of 1001 01:02:30,800 --> 01:02:37,160 what Christ has done for me and I want others to see that, not 1002 01:02:37,160 --> 01:02:39,640 so that they can pat Kirk on the back and say oh Kirk is a good 1003 01:02:39,640 --> 01:02:40,800 guy. I'll be the first to tell him 1004 01:02:40,800 --> 01:02:43,280 Kirk is a scoundrel apart from Jesus Christ. 1005 01:02:46,040 --> 01:02:52,000 Kirk is a man who was once lost in his sin, lost in his own self 1006 01:02:52,000 --> 01:02:55,880 deceit. Kirk is a man who still 1007 01:02:55,880 --> 01:02:59,880 struggles with the old nature, just like each of you do. 1008 01:03:01,400 --> 01:03:04,680 Oh, but the deep desire of Kirk's heart, just as it was 1009 01:03:05,040 --> 01:03:11,160 King David, is to please the Lord and to please the Lord 1010 01:03:11,160 --> 01:03:14,160 through living a life of godliness so that others will 1011 01:03:14,160 --> 01:03:15,880 see there's hope even for them. You know what? 1012 01:03:15,880 --> 01:03:18,200 Because that's what those lost friends, when they look at me, 1013 01:03:18,200 --> 01:03:22,720 they say, man, if there was hope for Kirk Hall, surely there's 1014 01:03:22,720 --> 01:03:24,600 hope for me. Is that not what the Apostle 1015 01:03:24,600 --> 01:03:27,280 Paul meant when he said, yes, I'm the worst of sinners? 1016 01:03:28,440 --> 01:03:31,000 When God showed his grace to me, Paul was saying is if God can 1017 01:03:31,000 --> 01:03:33,720 show his grace to me, he can show his grace to you. 1018 01:03:34,960 --> 01:03:37,440 If there's hope for me, there's hope for anyone. 1019 01:03:37,880 --> 01:03:40,320 There's not ever been a person that I have shared the gospel 1020 01:03:40,320 --> 01:03:43,480 with that I don't tell them that somewhere in that presentation, 1021 01:03:43,480 --> 01:03:46,560 look, if there's hope for me, there's hope for anyone. 1022 01:03:46,600 --> 01:03:48,520 So don't think that you're counted out just. 1023 01:03:48,520 --> 01:03:57,120 Yet what's the greatest way to display that hope, change life, 1024 01:03:58,160 --> 01:04:03,400 a new life, godliness. When others see our godly lives 1025 01:04:03,400 --> 01:04:05,960 and our service to the Lord and our dedication and devotion to 1026 01:04:05,960 --> 01:04:07,760 Him and to His church, you know what's going to happen. 1027 01:04:09,160 --> 01:04:10,680 They say that we're driven by that. 1028 01:04:13,280 --> 01:04:16,200 They're going to want to know why. 1029 01:04:20,360 --> 01:04:22,040 First, Peter 3 verse 15 says this. 1030 01:04:22,040 --> 01:04:24,120 But in your hearts Revere Christ is Lord. 1031 01:04:24,800 --> 01:04:27,280 Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you 1032 01:04:27,280 --> 01:04:28,960 to give the reason for the hope that you have. 1033 01:04:30,640 --> 01:04:32,960 How would they just be looking at your life and see that you 1034 01:04:32,960 --> 01:04:34,160 have a hope that they don't have? 1035 01:04:35,520 --> 01:04:39,240 The expression of godliness coming out of your life, the 1036 01:04:39,240 --> 01:04:40,960 change that God has brought in your life. 1037 01:04:41,680 --> 01:04:43,680 He says we'll do this with gentleness and respect, keeping 1038 01:04:43,680 --> 01:04:46,240 a clear conscience so that those who speak maliciously against 1039 01:04:46,240 --> 01:04:51,000 you and your good behavior in Christ, they may be ashamed of 1040 01:04:51,000 --> 01:04:51,960 their slander. What did he say? 1041 01:04:52,800 --> 01:04:54,120 Don't worry about them slandering you. 1042 01:04:54,120 --> 01:04:58,120 Just keep living a godly life devoted to godliness. 1043 01:04:58,120 --> 01:05:00,800 And even those who slander you will know that they can't even 1044 01:05:00,800 --> 01:05:05,600 feel good about that. Why is it important? 1045 01:05:09,240 --> 01:05:13,120 Because when we do that, we display Christ. 1046 01:05:14,680 --> 01:05:19,600 We just pray Christ. He displayed a perfect and godly 1047 01:05:19,600 --> 01:05:25,080 life on this earth, and even those who accused him couldn't 1048 01:05:25,080 --> 01:05:28,080 really even say anything bad about him with a clear 1049 01:05:28,080 --> 01:05:31,520 conscience. Pilate himself testifying to 1050 01:05:31,520 --> 01:05:33,400 that. I find no fault in this man. 1051 01:05:33,400 --> 01:05:35,720 I guess so, Pilate. There was no fault in this man. 1052 01:05:38,240 --> 01:05:42,120 And when people see the work of God in us through godliness. 1053 01:05:42,120 --> 01:05:45,000 You. Know what conclusion they come 1054 01:05:45,000 --> 01:05:49,160 to as they see God in US. I find no fault in this man. 1055 01:05:50,360 --> 01:05:53,120 I only see hope in this man where there otherwise was not 1056 01:05:53,120 --> 01:05:55,200 hope. And I want to know about this 1057 01:05:55,200 --> 01:05:56,720 hope. And what did Peter say that they 1058 01:05:56,720 --> 01:06:00,640 do? They will ask you to give them a 1059 01:06:00,640 --> 01:06:03,480 reason for the hope that you have. 1060 01:06:04,000 --> 01:06:06,520 This is where we share the gospel. 1061 01:06:07,240 --> 01:06:12,320 This is where we proclaim that the gospel is the only, only 1062 01:06:12,320 --> 01:06:14,600 message that a man can hear and be saved. 1063 01:06:14,600 --> 01:06:18,560 That it is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. 1064 01:06:20,520 --> 01:06:24,640 What opened that door for you to share that godliness? 1065 01:06:25,680 --> 01:06:29,960 So Paul's telling Timothy to be diligent in godliness, to be 1066 01:06:29,960 --> 01:06:32,840 propelled by the hope that he has received in Christ, the 1067 01:06:32,840 --> 01:06:36,840 living God, and to be proclaiming this hope to others. 1068 01:06:36,920 --> 01:06:38,280 Why? Because they need to know. 1069 01:06:39,320 --> 01:06:42,520 That He's the Savior of all men, but especially those who believe 1070 01:06:42,640 --> 01:06:46,640 that it is God who has preserved you all this while because He is 1071 01:06:46,640 --> 01:06:48,880 the Savior of all men. You have breath in your body 1072 01:06:48,880 --> 01:06:50,920 because He has allowed you to have it and He's. 1073 01:06:50,920 --> 01:06:53,040 Allowed you to have it so you would hear this message of hope 1074 01:06:53,040 --> 01:07:00,320 today that hope is in Christ. And if you believe, if you 1075 01:07:00,320 --> 01:07:08,400 believe, he says especially for you, it is that special 1076 01:07:09,360 --> 01:07:15,120 effectual grace and produces salvation not just in this life 1077 01:07:15,120 --> 01:07:20,600 but for all eternity. So do you desire to be a good 1078 01:07:20,640 --> 01:07:25,600 minister? I probably should have started 1079 01:07:25,600 --> 01:07:28,480 the message with that just to make sure that at least had 1080 01:07:28,480 --> 01:07:31,600 someone who was listening this morning in case they wanted to. 1081 01:07:34,200 --> 01:07:37,000 But I think those of you who are in Christ and who are truly in 1082 01:07:37,000 --> 01:07:42,280 Christ, you can say without a doubt, yes, I desire to be a 1083 01:07:42,280 --> 01:07:45,200 good minister because God has put that desire in you. 1084 01:07:46,880 --> 01:07:49,720 If you desire to be a good minister, the most important 1085 01:07:49,720 --> 01:07:52,800 thing is godliness. And I would encourage you to ask 1086 01:07:52,800 --> 01:07:54,960 yourself, are you driven to godliness? 1087 01:07:55,840 --> 01:08:00,520 Are you disciplined in godliness and are you diligent in that 1088 01:08:00,520 --> 01:08:03,320 same godliness? Are you doing and being that 1089 01:08:03,320 --> 01:08:07,080 which Christ died for you to do and to be? 1090 01:08:10,680 --> 01:08:18,000 So may we strive, as Paul said, may we labor toward godliness 1091 01:08:18,760 --> 01:08:24,200 for our own sake, because of the hope that we have, and for the 1092 01:08:24,200 --> 01:08:27,359 sake of others who have no hope that they would see hope in 1093 01:08:27,359 --> 01:08:29,640 Christ. Let's pray together. 1094 01:08:29,640 --> 01:08:31,040 Father, in the name of Jesus, we come to you. 1095 01:08:31,040 --> 01:08:32,800 We thank you for your word. We thank you for the challenge 1096 01:08:32,800 --> 01:08:34,279 and the conviction that you've brought through it. 1097 01:08:36,240 --> 01:08:39,880 God, I pray that your will would be done as this message has gone 1098 01:08:39,880 --> 01:08:44,279 out and as your spirit stirs the hearts of your people and as 1099 01:08:44,279 --> 01:08:47,800 your spirit draws those who are not of your fold into your fold 1100 01:08:47,800 --> 01:08:51,399 this morning, God, I pray that you would be glorified. 1101 01:08:51,399 --> 01:08:54,760 Above all things. I pray and I ask all these 1102 01:08:54,760 --> 01:08:56,120 things in the mighty name of Jesus. 1103 01:08:57,200 --> 01:09:00,720 Amen. You've been listening to Key 1104 01:09:00,720 --> 01:09:03,479 Life Fellowships pulpit ministry podcast. 1105 01:09:03,880 --> 01:09:07,040 Join us each week for more teaching from God's Word.