1 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:08,520 This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Lewis 2 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:12,200 Harold, assistant pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland 3 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:16,520 County in Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Lewis as he 4 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:18,920 continues teaching through God's Word. 5 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:39,800 Your boss, the owner of your company, Pray for them. 6 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,360 How much time do we spend criticizing? 7 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:47,760 I don't like what's going on in the country. 8 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:51,400 Then we need to pray more. I don't like the conditions at 9 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:52,600 work. Then we need to pray. 10 00:00:54,080 --> 00:01:00,880 God is able to change any and everything, any and everything. 11 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:05,040 Talk more to God about them than you do to them, or even about 12 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:09,760 God. Pray now that is a powerful 13 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,280 exhortation. If you spend any time online, 14 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:16,080 you know it is a sea of opinions. 15 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:20,520 Facebook is littered with posts about disgruntled employees 16 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:23,560 ranting about how awful their bosses are. 17 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:27,680 My hope and prayer is that wasn't just describing you. 18 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:32,560 Pastor Lewis will encourage you to stop being a person who is 19 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:37,080 always complaining and start being the person who prays. 20 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:41,120 What can I actually do to change the things that are wrong in my 21 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:43,600 life that are outside of my direct control? 22 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:48,800 Pastor Lewis says pray now. Here's Pastor Lewis in the Book 23 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:53,080 of First Timothy, chapter 2, with today's edition of Living 24 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:57,240 Waters of Grace. We are in the 2nd chapter of the 25 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:02,000 book of First Timothy, and I would remind you that in the 1st 26 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:06,320 chapter, Timothy had come. Paul Heck written Timothy a 27 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:10,320 letter basically giving him instruction and direction. 28 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:15,080 Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to plant a church and after that 29 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:18,080 church was planted, he left Timothy there to give them 30 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:21,560 instruction, to give them commandments as to how that 31 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:24,520 church should function. We should also remember that as 32 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:29,480 we go through this, that Ephesus is a Pagan city, much like 33 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:33,200 Chicago or much like New York. It's a Pagan city. 34 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:38,920 So we have to remember that it was important for him to give 35 00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:44,800 instruction on how to function in a Christian Church. 36 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:49,760 They were no longer going to be going to the Temple of Diana, 37 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:54,440 whatever, going to be doing sacrifices to idols and having 38 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:56,960 church their way. They were no longer going to be 39 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:59,680 doing that. They were now going to be in the 40 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:03,760 Church of God, which is the Church of the living God, the 41 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,040 pillar and and ground of truth. Amen. 42 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:12,160 So it was important for them to be able to get instruction. 43 00:03:12,640 --> 00:03:15,960 And the first verse starts with therefore. 44 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:19,600 So because it starts with therefore, let's go back and 45 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:23,720 look at what He is therefore about and we live. 46 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:28,080 We would look at verse starting at verse 18 of the 1st chapter 47 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:31,560 of Timothy. It says this I charge, this 48 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:36,520 charge I commit to you. This charge I commit to you, son 49 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:38,280 Timothy. Timothy, this is what I want you 50 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:42,520 to do, according to the prophecies previously made 51 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:47,960 concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 52 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:53,120 having faith in a good conscience, which some, having 53 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:57,920 rejected concerning the faith, have suffered shipwreck. 54 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,400 So we understand that he's telling Timothy that it's 55 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:03,760 important. He already told him earlier that 56 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:06,560 teach that you ought to teach no other doctrine and you ought to 57 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:08,520 pass that word on to the elders there. 58 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:12,840 Teach no other doctrine other than the doctrine that I gave 59 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:16,640 you, Timothy, other than the doctrine that the other apostles 60 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:20,440 gave, the doctrine of Jesus Christ that's grounded and 61 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:24,280 rooted in the Word of God, that doctrine, the true doctrine, the 62 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:28,440 gospel of Jesus Christ. Teach no other doctrine other 63 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:31,200 than that. So he goes on here and said that 64 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:35,240 those who have swayed from that and that have gotten away from 65 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,000 that doctrine, they have suffered shipwreck. 66 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:41,360 They've suffered shipwreck of whom? 67 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:45,600 Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan, that they 68 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:51,640 may learn not to blasphemy. Therefore, Timothy, I exhort 69 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:59,600 you, or I urge you, I am strongly directing you, Timothy, 70 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:04,640 first of all, that supplication, prayers, intercessions, and 71 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:07,800 giving of thanks be made for all men. 72 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:12,080 So he is saying, Timothy, this first of all, doesn't mean that 73 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,560 on the list of things that I have to tell you to do, this is 74 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:17,520 number 1. And then this other thing will 75 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:19,160 be #2 that's not what he's saying. 76 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:23,880 He's talking about priority. First of all, the most important 77 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:27,240 thing, the most significant thing that you do with this 78 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:34,760 church is that they are to pray. So this section, this first 79 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:38,840 section is going to be geared toward the significance of 80 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:41,520 prayer. So as he's talking about prayer, 81 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:47,080 he said that there's four different ways to initiate or to 82 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,360 and count engage in prayer. And the first one, he said 83 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:53,800 supplications. And the supplications just 84 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:56,960 basically it emphasizes the urgent need. 85 00:05:56,960 --> 00:06:01,880 It's a personal or urgent need, request for my urgent needs. 86 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:04,760 That's the supplication. We give supplications to the 87 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:06,720 Lord. And then he said prayers was 88 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:10,560 just an overall umbrella, which basically talks about worship. 89 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,840 Prayer is a is an act of worship. 90 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:19,000 Prayer is an act of worship. It's speaking to God with 91 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:22,920 reverence in our hearts and not just expression of wants and 92 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:25,720 needs, but it is an act of worship. 93 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:29,760 It's also an act of submission. It's an act of humility as we 94 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:33,680 come before the Lord in prayer. Those who are proud will not 95 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:37,240 pray. It's those who are humble who 96 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:41,080 will pray. So he says all prayers are 97 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:43,840 supplications, prayers and intercessions. 98 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:47,440 These intercessions have to deal with the expression of petition. 99 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:52,040 To put a a petition before a superior, That's what they call 100 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,000 intercessions. And that intercession can be on 101 00:06:55,000 --> 00:07:00,160 behalf of myself or yourself or be on behalf of someone else. 102 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:05,080 Inter sessions. It it it's coming before the 103 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:09,600 Lord with a, a confidence. It's a fellowship before the 104 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:11,280 Lord. It's inter sessions. 105 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:14,600 I can ask of these things because I know you are God and 106 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:17,440 you're able to do it. You're able to do it. 107 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:21,000 So I intercede on behalf of myself where I intercede on 108 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:24,440 behalf of someone else. You know, he says, when you come 109 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:27,280 to God, you should believe that he is God. 110 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:31,040 So when we make intercession, we're coming with a confidence 111 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:34,720 that the one that we're praying to is able to do it. 112 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:39,040 So he said come with with supplications and inner and 113 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:42,880 intercessions. And then he says also he says 114 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:46,080 also Thanksgiving. Now Thanksgiving should be a 115 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:52,040 part of every prayer. But I want to also admonish or I 116 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:57,600 want to encourage you that there are times that we can pray when 117 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:04,200 it's just for Thanksgiving. Sometimes we can go before the 118 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:06,760 Lord and say, Lord, I don't want to ask you for nothing today. 119 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:11,120 I just want to thank you for everything that you've already 120 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:13,280 done. I don't want to ask you for 121 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:16,120 anything. I just want to thank you for 122 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:20,720 what you have done. We need to always have our 123 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:24,520 Thanksgiving and included with our prayers, but sometimes we 124 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:27,880 can just go before God and just have a prayer session of just 125 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:30,200 Thanksgiving. Lord, thank you, thank you, 126 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:33,480 thank you, thank you, thank you. Lord, thank you. 127 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:38,600 I would dare you to try to run out of things to thanking for. 128 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:42,760 You can't do it. You can't do it, Lord. 129 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:44,360 Thank you for waking me up this morning. 130 00:08:44,560 --> 00:08:46,640 Thank you for the roof that's over my head. 131 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:48,720 Thank you for the shoes that's on my feet. 132 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:51,640 Thank you, Lord, for the food that's on my table. 133 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:54,040 Thank you for your protection, Lord. 134 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:56,680 Thank you for your wisdom. Thank you for your knowledge. 135 00:08:56,880 --> 00:09:00,400 Thank you for helping me to get around the snares of the enemy. 136 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:03,320 Thank you for saving me. Thank you for redeeming me. 137 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:08,520 Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I dare to try to run out of ways 138 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:11,000 or things to thank him for. You can't do it. 139 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:16,640 So Thanksgiving should always be a part of our prayers. 140 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:20,320 Who do we pray for? He says here in the bottom of a 141 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:25,040 verse 1, he says pray for all men, all men. 142 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:29,440 That's male and female. That's not just men in general. 143 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:33,840 It's male and female. But pray for everybody. 144 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:36,880 Those we know, Pray for those we don't know. 145 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:40,320 Pray for those who like us, Pray for those who don't like us. 146 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:44,480 Jesus was on a cross and he said, Lord forgive them for they 147 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:46,280 know not what they do and they're trying to kill him. 148 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:48,840 Stephen did the exact same thing. 149 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:51,720 They were stoning him. He was near death and he said 150 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:54,520 forgive them for they know not what they do. 151 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:58,760 Pray for all men. But then he gets specific here 152 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:02,800 in verse 2 and he says for kings and for all who are in 153 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:07,600 authority, pray for kings and all that are in authority, that 154 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:10,920 we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness 155 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:14,680 and reverence. So he says here, pray for kings 156 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:19,640 and all who are in authority. I was recently convicted. 157 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:25,680 After I started studying this, I was convicted and I was 158 00:10:25,680 --> 00:10:29,440 convicted because I was not obeying this. 159 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:32,120 I was not praying for my president. 160 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:36,440 I was not praying for this Congress. 161 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:40,200 I wasn't praying for people that I consider had an ungodly 162 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:44,080 platform. I wasn't praying for them. 163 00:10:45,680 --> 00:10:52,000 But as I started studying this, it came to my heart that how in 164 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:58,600 the world could we ever expect, How can we ever think, how can 165 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:01,760 we ever, how can we ever think that these people are going to 166 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:07,840 change on their own except that the Lord comes in and changes 167 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:10,480 their heart? How much can it happen? 168 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:13,520 And the way that that happened is through prayer. 169 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:19,920 Us praying, us interceding on their behalf, us putting 170 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:23,520 supplications before them, us coming with hearts of 171 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:28,040 Thanksgiving and prayers to them, Praying for even the 172 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:33,520 people that we think are ungodly presidents or ungodly leaders. 173 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:37,720 He says pray for all leaders and everyone that's in authority. 174 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:40,920 He's not just talking about church leaders, but please pray 175 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:43,640 for us. Please pray for us. 176 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:47,680 Pray for church leaders. Pray for leaders that are head 177 00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:50,560 of other ministries. Pray for those who are in 178 00:11:50,560 --> 00:11:53,600 Congress. Pray for your manager at work, 179 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:57,160 your boss, the owner of your company. 180 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:01,360 Pray for them. How much time do we spend 181 00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:05,240 criticizing? I don't like what's going on in 182 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:06,920 the country. Then we need to pray more. 183 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:09,600 I don't like the conditions at work. 184 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:14,920 Then we need to pray. God is able to change any and 185 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:20,640 everything, any and everything. Talk more to God about them than 186 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:23,000 you do to them, or even about God. 187 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:27,600 Pray. And he's telling us here that we 188 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:30,200 should pray for our pastors and pray for church leaders, for 189 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:33,000 parents, for teachers. Pray for the secular people, 190 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:37,160 Pray for believers and pray for unbelievers, people who are 191 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:39,880 close to you. Pray for people who are far away 192 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:43,120 from you. He says pray for all men. 193 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:50,040 And when we do that, then we can lead a quiet and peaceable life. 194 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:54,440 Quiet meaning that we, we, we have a, a calm life, a life 195 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:57,480 that's not causing division or, or disruption. 196 00:12:58,680 --> 00:13:02,160 It's a life that allows us to not care about getting in 197 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:05,480 someone else's issues or someone else's concerns or someone 198 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:08,720 else's business. It's, it's, it's a, it's a quiet 199 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:11,720 and peaceable life. And then he says peaceable, 200 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:15,880 meaning a life without contentions, a life without 201 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:19,520 being quarrelsome. It's a peaceable life. 202 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:23,400 That means it's a calm, not only calm within us, but also calm 203 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:24,960 around us. We pray for that. 204 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:28,840 We pray for that. You see, we are told actually in 205 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:31,040 the book of Matthew that we should be peacemakers. 206 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:35,040 And in order to be peacemakers, to be peace, we got to live 207 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:36,680 peaceable. If we're going to be 208 00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:39,600 peacemakers, we first of all got to be peaceable. 209 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:46,400 And we pray to become peaceable. And then in verse 4, verse 210 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:49,480 three, first of all says, for this is good and acceptable in 211 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:52,760 the sight of God our Savior. And I think I remember telling 212 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:56,120 you the last time, the reason why he's emphasizing God our 213 00:13:56,120 --> 00:14:02,280 Savior is because we must remember that Nero was actually 214 00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:05,160 the the, the emperor at this particular time. 215 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:10,160 And he was requiring, he was requesting for people to call 216 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:13,960 him Savior. That's why they needed to pray. 217 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:19,760 That's why they needed to pray. And he said, who desires all men 218 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:23,320 to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth? 219 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:26,120 All men to be saved. That means justification. 220 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:30,880 Now keep in mind, he's saying he desires all men to be so He 221 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,040 desires all men to be saved. That doesn't mean that he has 222 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:37,840 willed or decreed or determined all men to be saved. 223 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:41,480 He is. He said he wants all men to be 224 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:44,400 saved or he will have all men to be saved. 225 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:48,040 Some you may have that translation instead of he that, 226 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:49,760 you know, desires all men to be saved. 227 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:53,760 But the point here is that being emphasized is that God wants, he 228 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:56,400 would like for everybody to be saved. 229 00:14:56,640 --> 00:14:59,600 But we also understand that everybody is not going to be 230 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:01,600 saved. There are some people who are 231 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:04,520 not going to accept the truth of the gospel. 232 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:09,440 There's some people who are going to refuse to believe, but 233 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:11,800 he would like for all people to be saved. 234 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:15,360 Very clear here. He said it's not his desire that 235 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:19,280 any should perish, but that all coming to repentance. 236 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:21,240 He doesn't want people to go to hell. 237 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:23,120 But will people go to hell? Yes. 238 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:25,280 Will people not be saved? Yes. 239 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:28,840 But it's not because he doesn't want all people to be saved. 240 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:33,800 So this isn't a decree because some people might think, well, 241 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:36,160 if he desires or if he wills for all people to be saved, then how 242 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:40,360 come everybody's not saved? He doesn't decree that he wants 243 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:43,360 that to happen. Now also please keep in mind, 244 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:46,920 because no, like, like Paul is saying here, you know, teach no 245 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:49,640 other doctrine. So we got to be true to the 246 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:52,440 doctrine that's being taught. There are people out there that 247 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:58,440 take this verse and start preaching a universal salvation. 248 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:02,120 See, there it is right there that proves it. 249 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:04,840 God wants everybody to be saved. So everybody eventually is going 250 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:06,840 to be saved. Everybody. 251 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:09,360 Ain't nobody going to hell. Everybody's going to be saved. 252 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:14,840 No, not so not so. It's clear that there are going 253 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:16,840 to be people who will not be saved. 254 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:21,600 Even Jesus himself said whoever believes shall not perish. 255 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:26,040 Whoever believes or whoever will be saved with those who believe, 256 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:30,000 all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 257 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:31,560 Everybody's not going to do that. 258 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:34,480 Everybody's not going to do that. 259 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:39,680 So when he says all men, you know, be saved, this is not 260 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,920 saying that all men, as in all men without exception, will be 261 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:44,280 saved. That's not what he's saying. 262 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:49,360 He's saying that he, he desires that all men without distinction 263 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:52,800 be saved. This is all men without 264 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:54,680 distinction. That means he doesn't care if 265 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:58,120 you're a Jew, if you're a Gentile, if you're a woman, if 266 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:01,480 you're a man, if you're black or if you're white, if you're a 267 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:04,480 Pagan, A Gentile Jew. He doesn't care about that. 268 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:08,200 Oh, man can be said, the gospel goes out to everybody. 269 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:14,520 It goes out to everybody. So it's not a distinction by 270 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,839 what a person is. Doesn't matter if it's man or 271 00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:22,480 woman, everyone, the gospel is there for them to be able to 272 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:25,359 believe and receive. That's all men. 273 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:29,280 And then he says and come to the knowledge of the truth after you 274 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:32,040 get saved, then we need to be sanctified, right? 275 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:34,560 We need to move on and grow in, in God. 276 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:38,600 We need to grow in God sanctification. 277 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:41,560 That means we, we're, we're working toward being set apart 278 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:44,400 for God, for the use of God. It's our growth. 279 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,920 It refers to the Christian growth after being saved to 280 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,560 become a disciple of Jesus Christ and not to be LED astray 281 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:58,000 by the false doctrines of false teachers, the doctrine of false 282 00:17:58,000 --> 00:17:59,800 teachers. We can't be LED astray by that 283 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:04,440 if we are growing in Christ. Second Peter 318. 284 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:07,840 It tells us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and 285 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:12,760 Savior Jesus Christ. So why are we doing that? 286 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:17,200 Why are we doing that and how and how and what is the means to 287 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:20,120 be saved? Well, he says that in the next 288 00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:22,440 line. Look at verse 5 for this. 289 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:26,720 For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, 290 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:30,640 the man Christ Jesus. So what is the means for all men 291 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:32,720 to be saved? Or what does it mean for men to 292 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:35,520 be saved? First of all, because of one 293 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:36,920 God. We have one God. 294 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:41,480 We don't have many gods. There's one God, one true God, 295 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:46,320 one true and living God. A lot of people like to say God, 296 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:48,960 and then he, they talk about all these things that God is not. 297 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:53,760 If it's not the God of this, the God of the Bible, then he's not 298 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:55,360 a true God. It's an idol. 299 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:00,560 This is the one and true God, the living God. 300 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:03,840 And he gave us his word so that we know who he is. 301 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:09,920 He wants to be found of us when he says seek me and and you'll 302 00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:12,440 find me because he wants to be founded. 303 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:15,640 But he's not hiding from us. He's not planning hide and go 304 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:18,320 seek from us. He wants to be found of us. 305 00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:21,480 He wants us to know him so that we're not LED astray. 306 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:27,720 So he says, so he says here, first of all, there is one God 307 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:30,360 and one mediator. Now, there may be some people 308 00:19:30,360 --> 00:19:32,280 out there that might even agree with us and say, yeah, there's 309 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,480 one God. But when you say there's only 310 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:40,160 one way to God, when you say there's only one mediator 311 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:44,240 between man and God, there's only one way that you can get to 312 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:46,880 that God, that's when you have problems. 313 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:51,440 People hate us for that. People call us names for that. 314 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:55,320 People ridicule or they slander us because of that. 315 00:19:57,120 --> 00:19:59,160 They call us intolerant because of that. 316 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:02,120 Narrow minded. We're narrow minded by thinking 317 00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:04,480 it's only one way. How fair is that? 318 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:12,120 It's true, there's one way, and that way is Jesus Christ the 319 00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:15,800 man. And he said the man because the 320 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:19,000 reason why he said the matter is because he's truly God and he's 321 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:22,200 truly man. He's fully God and he's fully 322 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:25,000 man. But we but he's the mediator 323 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:29,240 between God and man, the man Jesus Christ, because it was the 324 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:33,520 you humanity of Jesus Christ that died for us on the cross. 325 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:36,240 It was in his humanity that he died. 326 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:40,800 And in his humanity he was yet without sin. 327 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:44,320 That's why he was the accepted sacrifice. 328 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:50,360 He was a man without sin. And he's the only mediator 329 00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:53,480 between God and man. There is no other. 330 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:56,040 There is no other. I don't care what argument they 331 00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:59,680 try to make to try to make it seem like there's other ways to 332 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:02,920 the Father, there is none. Jesus Christ himself said it was 333 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:05,760 only one way. He said and John 14, six, I am 334 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:10,440 the way, the truth and the life. And John 10/7, he says I am the 335 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,560 door. And then in Hebrews 9 and 15, he 336 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:17,080 said the Bible says he's the only mediator of the new 337 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:23,760 covenant, the only mediator of the new covenant, the man Jesus 338 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,680 Christ. And how is it that this mediator 339 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:29,800 works? What is the work of this 340 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:31,720 mediator? Look at what he says here in 341 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:36,040 verse. In verse 6 he says Who gave 342 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:42,200 himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time he gave 343 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,920 himself a ransom of all. That word is actually in the 344 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:49,120 Greek called anti lutron, anti lutron. 345 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:53,520 The word anti actually refers to the substitutionary. 346 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:58,280 It's the substitute. And of course, Lutron refers to 347 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:03,640 the fact that it is the ransom or the price of freeing a slave 348 00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:08,800 anti Lutron and, and, and, and that's how he is the work. 349 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:13,600 That's the work of the mediator. The fact that he gave himself, 350 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:18,200 he died for our sins. He paid the cost of what we 351 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,680 could not pay. So He was the full cost to 352 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:27,600 substitute for us for sin. Galatians 313 say that it tells 353 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:31,040 us that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. 354 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:35,120 The law held us captive in its in its condemnation. 355 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:40,160 And no one but Jesus Christ could have paid the price to 356 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:43,440 free us from that bondage. No one but Him. 357 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:46,160 Thank God for that. Huh? 358 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:49,280 That He sent his Son to die for us? 359 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:52,360 That was costly. That was costly. 360 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:55,200 And we talked about on Wednesday night that, you know, that this 361 00:22:55,200 --> 00:23:02,080 was not just, it was not a pretty crucifixion, it was a it 362 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:08,280 was a true sacrifice. A true sacrifice, just like all 363 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:12,320 the animals in the Old Testament was a sacrifice. 364 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,440 And how bloody those sacrifices were. 365 00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:18,680 That's how bloody the cross of Jesus Christ was. 366 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:21,800 It's not the cute little pictures that we see where He 367 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:24,240 has a little blood on his around his head or a little bit of 368 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:25,280 blood on his hands. Little bit. 369 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:29,960 No, it's not that. We're talking about a brutal, 370 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:33,240 brutal sacrifice. He took on the sins of the whole 371 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:36,560 world. He paid the sins of the entire 372 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:39,640 world, of everybody. You want a reason to be 373 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:41,800 thankful? There's another one. 374 00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:46,320 Think about Him on the cross and then think about the fact that 375 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:50,280 it was meant for you. Because we were guilty. 376 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:52,520 He wasn't even guilty. We were guilty of the same. 377 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:58,520 Bless your name. This has been another 378 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:01,720 encouraging edition of Living Waters of Grace. 379 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:05,840 Pastor Lewis Harrell has shared some good reminders for us to 380 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:09,640 learn and walk in today as he's teaching through the books of 381 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:14,240 First and Second Timothy. There are useful practices and 382 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:18,400 advice that the Apostle Paul offers to Timothy in these books 383 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:21,800 from a fellow pastor. Paul imparts some wisdom to 384 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:26,440 Timothy about solid leadership and what some of the criteria 385 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:30,440 should be for leadership. There are specific passages 386 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:33,120 directed toward men and women, respectively. 387 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:36,840 And All in all, there's much to gain in coming to an awareness 388 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:41,760 of God's heart for each person and God's purposes for each one. 389 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:45,160 We're happy that you've taken the time today to listen and 390 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:47,840 invite you to come here the next edition. 391 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:51,240 In the meantime, when you have some time to spare today, go 392 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:55,680 check out our website, calvarychapelonline.com. 393 00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:59,800 There you'll find additional messages as well as a variety of 394 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:04,080 resources and information about how to meet with us in person. 395 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:07,880 We're also on Facebook, so you can be a part of what we share 396 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,920 there as well. You can stay plugged in with 397 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:15,160 this ministry via YouTube to watch previous teachings or 398 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:18,920 TuneIn to our live stream. The Living Waters of Grace is a 399 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:21,720 ministry of Calvary Chapel Westmoreland. 400 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:25,960 Before we go today, we ask that you share this program with 401 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:31,200 others and invite them to listen on Grace FM at 91.7. 402 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:34,800 That's all we have for today, but we're so glad that you've 403 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:37,880 been with us. There's more to dig into here in 404 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:42,040 First and Second Timothy, so let's gear up for some more 405 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:46,720 great teachings from Pastor Lewis next time here on Living 406 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:47,880 Waters of Grades.