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 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:40,640 The world makes things controversial, but it's the word 6 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:43,040 of God. It's the word of God. 7 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,280 And before we even go there, I just want to go to second 8 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:50,120 Timothy real quick. Chapter 3, Second Timothy 9 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:51,920 chapter 3, we're going to just look at verse. 10 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:59,520 Just going to read for verse 16. All Scripture, not some, not 11 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:04,160 parts of it. All Scripture is given by 12 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:08,640 inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine and for 13 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:14,000 reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. 14 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:16,400 We just talked about that. How much is all? 15 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:21,120 Well, all means all. When God says that all of His 16 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:23,760 word is good for us, He means what He says. 17 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:29,360 All of it is good for us. And yes, that does include those 18 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:34,200 long lists of genealogies with names that no one can pronounce. 19 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:38,040 Today, Pastor Lewis shares with us that God's Word is good for 20 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:41,000 even the most controversial of subjects. 21 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:45,440 He points out that what the world calls controversial is 22 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:48,480 actually clear as day in the Word of God. 23 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:53,160 That is, if we accept it just as it is written now. 24 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:56,640 Here's Pastor Lewis in the Book of First Timothy, chapter 2, 25 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:00,000 with today's edition of Living Waters of Grace. 26 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:05,320 Even Jesus himself said whoever believes shall not perish. 27 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,800 Whoever believes or whoever will be saved with those who believe, 28 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:13,800 all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 29 00:02:13,920 --> 00:02:15,360 Everybody's not going to do that. 30 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:18,320 Everybody's not going to do that. 31 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:23,600 So when he says all men, you know, be saved, this is not 32 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:26,880 saying that all men, as in all men without exception, will be 33 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:28,200 saved. That's not what he's saying. 34 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:33,360 He's saying that he, he desires that all men without distinction 35 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:36,800 be saved. This is all men without 36 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:38,720 distinction. That means he doesn't care if 37 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:42,200 you're a Jew, if you're a Gentile, if you're a woman, if 38 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:45,600 you're a man, if you're black or if you're white, if you're a 39 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,600 Pagan, A Gentile Jew. He doesn't care about that. 40 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:51,480 All men can be said. The gospel goes out to 41 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:54,840 everybody. It goes out to everybody. 42 00:02:56,920 --> 00:03:00,120 So it's not a distinction by what a person is. 43 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:05,000 Doesn't matter if it's man or woman, everyone, the gospel is 44 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,440 there for them to be able to believe and receive. 45 00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:11,240 That's all men. And then he says and come to the 46 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:15,440 knowledge of the truth after you get saved, then we need to be 47 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:18,280 sanctified, right? We need to move on and grow in, 48 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:20,920 in God. We need to grow in God 49 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:24,160 sanctification. That means we, we're, we're 50 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:27,960 working toward being set apart for God, for the use of God. 51 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:30,480 It's our growth. It refers to the Christian 52 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:34,200 growth after being saved to become a disciple of Jesus 53 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:38,600 Christ and not to be LED astray by the false doctrines of false 54 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:43,000 teachers, the doctrine of false teachers. 55 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:47,880 We can't be LED astray by that if we are growing in Christ. 56 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:50,960 Second Peter 318. It tells us to grow in the grace 57 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:54,800 and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 58 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:59,960 So why are we doing that? Why are we doing that and how 59 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:02,720 and how and what is the means to be saved? 60 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:05,240 Well, he says that in the next line. 61 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:09,640 Look at verse 5 for this. For there is one God and one 62 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,640 mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. 63 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:16,320 So what is the means for all men to be saved? 64 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:18,279 Or what is the means for men to be saved? 65 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:20,959 First of all, because of one God. 66 00:04:20,959 --> 00:04:23,400 We have one God. We don't have many gods. 67 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:28,920 There's one God, one true God, one true and living God. 68 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:32,760 A lot of people like to say God, and then he, they talk about all 69 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:36,600 these things that God is not. If it's not the God of this, the 70 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:39,680 God of the Bible, then he's not a true God. 71 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:44,600 It's an idol. This is the one and true God, 72 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:47,720 the living God. And he gave us his word so that 73 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:53,240 we know who he is. He wants to be found of us when 74 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:57,480 he says seek me and and you'll find me because he wants to be 75 00:04:57,480 --> 00:04:59,120 founded. But he's not hiding from us. 76 00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:01,800 He's not planning hide and go seek from us. 77 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:05,640 He wants to be found of us. He wants us to know him so that 78 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:10,920 we're not LED astray. So he says, so he says here, 79 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:14,560 first of all, there is one God and one mediator. 80 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:16,840 Now, there may be some people out there that might even agree 81 00:05:16,840 --> 00:05:18,520 with us and say, yeah, there's one God. 82 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:24,200 But when you say there's only one way to God, when you say 83 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:27,880 there's only one mediator between man and God, there's 84 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:31,880 only one way that you can get to that God, that's when you have 85 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:34,160 problems. People hate us for that. 86 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:38,760 People call us names for that. People ridicule what? 87 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:44,520 They slander us because of that. They call us intolerant because 88 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:46,240 of that. Narrow minded. 89 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:49,080 We're narrow minded by thinking it's only one way. 90 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:53,200 How fair is that? It's true. 91 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:58,880 There's one way, and that way is Jesus Christ the man. 92 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:02,720 And he said the man because the reason why he said the matter is 93 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:05,880 because he's truly God and he's truly man. 94 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:08,560 He's fully God and he's fully man. 95 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:13,560 But we but he's the mediator between God and man, the man 96 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:17,560 Jesus Christ, because it was the you humanity of Jesus Christ 97 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:21,920 that died for us on the cross. It was in his humanity that he 98 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:26,960 died, and in his humanity he was yet without sin. 99 00:06:27,840 --> 00:06:30,520 That's why he was the accepted sacrifice. 100 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:37,040 He was a man without sin, and he's the only mediator between 101 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:39,760 God and man. There is no other. 102 00:06:40,280 --> 00:06:42,360 There is no other. I don't care what argument they 103 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:46,000 try to make to try to make it seem like there's other ways to 104 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,280 the Father, there is none. Jesus Christ himself said it was 105 00:06:49,280 --> 00:06:53,080 only one way, he said, and John 14, six, I am the way, the truth 106 00:06:53,280 --> 00:06:56,840 and the life. And John 10/7 he says I am the 107 00:06:56,840 --> 00:07:00,040 door. And then in Hebrews 9 and 15, he 108 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,600 said the Bible says he's the only mediator of the new 109 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:10,360 covenant, the only mediator of the new covenant, the man Jesus 110 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:14,280 Christ. And how is it that this mediator 111 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:16,400 works? What is the work of this 112 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:18,400 mediator? Look at what he says here in 113 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:22,720 verse. In verse 6 he says Who gave 114 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:28,920 himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time he gave 115 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:32,680 himself a ransom of all. That word is actually in the 116 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:35,920 Greek called anti lutron, anti lutron. 117 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:40,360 The word anti actually refers to the substitutionary. 118 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:45,200 It's the substitute. And of course, Lutron refers to 119 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:50,600 the fact that it is the ransom or the price of freeing a slave 120 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:55,800 anti Lutron and, and, and, and that's how he is the work. 121 00:07:55,800 --> 00:08:00,640 That's the work of the mediator. The fact that he gave himself, 122 00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:05,280 he died for our sins. He paid the cost of what we 123 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:08,800 could not pay. So He was the full cost to 124 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:14,760 substitute for us for sin. Galatians 313 say that it tells 125 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:18,280 us that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. 126 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:22,360 The law held us captive in its in its condemnation. 127 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:27,480 And no one but Jesus Christ could have paid the price to 128 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:30,800 free us from that bondage. No one but Him. 129 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:33,559 Thank God for that. Huh? 130 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:36,679 That He sent his Son to die for us? 131 00:08:36,919 --> 00:08:39,799 That was costly. That was costly. 132 00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:42,640 And we talked about on Wednesday night that, you know, that this 133 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:49,600 was not just, it was not a pretty crucifixion, it was a it 134 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:55,880 was a true sacrifice. A true sacrifice, just like all 135 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:59,920 the animals in the Old Testament was a sacrifice. 136 00:09:00,680 --> 00:09:03,080 And how bloody those sacrifices were. 137 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:06,320 That's how bloody the cross of Jesus Christ was. 138 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:09,440 It's not the cute little pictures that we see where He 139 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:11,920 has a little blood on his around his head or a little bit of 140 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:13,040 blood on his hands. A little bit. 141 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:17,720 No, it's not that. We're talking about a brutal, 142 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:21,000 brutal sacrifice. He took on the sins of the whole 143 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:24,360 world. He paid the sins of the entire 144 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:27,440 world, of everybody. You want a reason to be 145 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:29,640 thankful? There's another one. 146 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:34,200 Think about Him on the cross and then think about the fact that 147 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:38,280 it was meant for you because we were guilty. 148 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:40,640 He wasn't even guilty. We were guilty of the sin. 149 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:46,320 Bless your name Lord in the Old Testament. 150 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:49,280 Now there were other go betweens, you know the Old 151 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:51,640 Testament, the priest in the high priest. 152 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:55,600 They were the mediators between God and man because the you 153 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:59,080 know, the children of Israel didn't want to speak to God 154 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:00,400 anymore. They were fearful. 155 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:05,240 Moses was a type of mediator or go between between God and man 156 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:09,120 are the 1st covenant, but it's only Jesus Christ and that all 157 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:13,000 all all those mediators pointed to the mediator Jesus Christ, 158 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:17,800 the true mediator, the one and only mediator. 159 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:20,160 And then we go over here to verse 7. 160 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:24,440 It says for which I was appointed A preacher. 161 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:28,120 I was appointed A preacher and an apostle. 162 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:31,760 I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying. 163 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:35,440 A teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 164 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:42,160 You know what's amazing is that Paul's now saying that I'm 165 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:45,200 qualified. I was anointed. 166 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:50,240 I was called to this ministry. And the ministry that he was 167 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:54,000 called to was what was described in the verse before. 168 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:58,280 The verse before where it says he gave himself a ransom for all 169 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:02,520 to be testified in due time. The message that we give, the 170 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:06,360 true gospel message, is the fact that Jesus Christ gave his life 171 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,680 for our life so that we would have salvation. 172 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:16,560 It's a simple gospel message. Jesus Christ died according to 173 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:20,280 the Scriptures, and he was buried, and on the third day he 174 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:22,320 rose again according to the Scriptures. 175 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:28,640 It's a very simple gospel, but there's power in the gospel 176 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:32,800 message. There's power, and Paul says 177 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:35,960 that I was a preacher of that message. 178 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:39,680 What does he mean a preacher? A preacher is one who heralds. 179 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:43,920 He had the authority to herald that message publicly and 180 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:48,280 proclaim the gospel message to all men. 181 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:51,560 He said I was a preacher of that, and then he said I was an 182 00:11:51,560 --> 00:11:54,080 apostle. That means he was 1 cent. 183 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:58,400 He was given a special mission from God himself. 184 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:02,360 He was called and and then he says that I am speaking the 185 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:07,520 truth in Christ and not lying A teacher of the Gentiles. 186 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:10,360 Is there a difference between being a teacher and a preacher? 187 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:16,040 Absolutely a teacher, a preacher heralds the message. 188 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:19,600 He cries out the message he he he tells what the truth of the 189 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:21,320 he tells the truth. That was the message that the 190 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:23,080 message that he was sent to deliver. 191 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:26,000 Most evangelists are your preacher. 192 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:28,080 They just give the message. This is the truth. 193 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:31,440 This is the true message. But the teachers, they actually 194 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:33,760 teach us. They instruct us in the way of 195 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:37,000 righteousness. They break down the message, 196 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:40,880 they expound the message. That's a teacher. 197 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:43,840 Teach us in the way of righteousness. 198 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:46,480 Teach us in a way of holiness. Teach us in a way that's 199 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:49,680 pleasing to God. Teach the doctrine that was 200 00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:56,560 given to us from the apostles. That's a teacher explains the 201 00:12:56,560 --> 00:13:00,960 right way. So yes, Paul was a preacher and 202 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:03,760 he was a preacher of the Gentiles according to Acts 9 and 203 00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:07,080 15 said that he was sent to the Gentiles, but he was also sent 204 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:09,840 to kings and he was also sent to the Jews as well. 205 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:14,840 So this message he was sent to for everybody and, and it was A 206 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:18,120 and it was a teach the Gentiles in faith, which again was 207 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:20,880 justification, just as if you had not sinned. 208 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:25,120 We are all justified. We're justified righteous by 209 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:27,760 God. We're decreed, we're called 210 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:31,760 righteous by God, not that we are righteous in what we do, but 211 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:35,400 we're decried. We are declared righteous by God 212 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:36,960 the Father. And that's the faith. 213 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:40,280 And then in truth, that's the sanctification he teaches. 214 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:43,880 Also, He makes disciples of men and women. 215 00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:46,360 He makes disciples, and that's what we should be doing. 216 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:51,600 You see, after you are saved, then it is necessary for us to 217 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:55,360 grow and the way we grow, and that's called the process of 218 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:57,640 sanctification. We're learning the way of 219 00:13:57,640 --> 00:13:59,200 righteousness. We're learning the way of 220 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:02,000 holiness. We're learning to walk more in 221 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:04,000 the spirit and less in the flesh. 222 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:08,720 We're learning that and that's how as a church body we tend to 223 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:12,800 grow closer to the Lord. And now that he's talked about 224 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:14,680 that and all this is coming through prayer. 225 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,000 Keep that in mind. He's all dealing, He's still 226 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:18,680 dealing with the issue of prayer there. 227 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:22,680 You know, we should pray for, for the word to get out to 228 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:27,400 everybody, We should pray. I heard one teacher say that you 229 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:30,840 know it in the church now, there's more announcements and 230 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:32,720 things of that nature than there is prayer. 231 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:36,320 And we really need to focus on prayer. 232 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:40,320 I'm glad that we have so many avenues here in this church that 233 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:44,800 offer prayer. So many, so many. 234 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:46,720 And you can all plug yourselves into it. 235 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:50,800 We invite you to plug yourselves into those avenues of prayer 236 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:54,040 because every one of those groups, whether it's a Thursday 237 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:57,240 night Zoom group or whether it's the Thursday night group that 238 00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:03,080 meets here to pray about certain things, the the all of the Bible 239 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:05,320 studies that should include prayer. 240 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:08,640 I'm sure it does. When those things happen, that 241 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:13,960 is all in worship to God. It's all in worship to God. 242 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:21,520 So we pray because he died for all and his death was sufficient 243 00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:29,440 for all, but it's only efficient for those who believe, for those 244 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:33,040 who believe. And then he goes to verse 8. 245 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:36,960 And as we move to verse 8, we come to see now that we're now 246 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:43,120 moving into an issue which is seen as being controversial, but 247 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:50,000 it's not really controversial. If it is rightly divided, it's 248 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,920 not really controversial. The world makes things 249 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:55,880 controversial, but it's the word of God. 250 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:59,800 It's the word of God. And before we even go there, I 251 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:02,680 just want to go to second Timothy real quick. 252 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:05,920 Chapter 3, Second Timothy chapter 3, we're going to just 253 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:08,600 look at verse. Just going to read for verse 16. 254 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:14,800 All Scripture, not some, not parts of it. 255 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:20,400 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is 256 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:25,840 profitable for doctrine and for reproof, for correction, for 257 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:31,800 instruction and righteousness. We just talked about that, that 258 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:36,080 the man of God or the woman of God may be complete, thoroughly 259 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:40,120 equipped for every good work. So what we're about to go in 260 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:45,160 here into here, this is not Paul's opinion. 261 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:52,480 This is not just Paul's opinion. All scripture is inspired by 262 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:55,320 God. It's in the Canon of Scripture. 263 00:16:55,560 --> 00:17:01,880 This is coming from God. So he, she, he says here in 264 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:10,480 verse 8, I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting 265 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:14,200 up holy hands without wrath and doubting. 266 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:18,920 Let's stop there, he said. I desire, therefore, that the 267 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:23,319 men pray everywhere. Now he's talking about not just 268 00:17:23,319 --> 00:17:27,400 mankind, meaning everybody. He's talking about men as in 269 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:33,240 male gender, that they pray. And Paul is saying here that men 270 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:36,800 should lead prayer in public services. 271 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:41,680 Men should lead prayer. I know growing up I didn't see a 272 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:43,960 lot of men leading prayer in public services. 273 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:47,040 It was most leading women. I just see a lot of men leading 274 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:50,080 it. But Paul says here that men 275 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:55,280 should lead prayer. We know women will pray, but 276 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:57,240 Paul's saying we want to see more men praying. 277 00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:00,880 Men pray leading. And now this is not a 278 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:03,800 prohibition to say that women shouldn't pray in public. 279 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:07,640 That's not what this is saying, and we want to get to that over 280 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:10,920 in verse 9. But here he is making a point to 281 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:14,560 say that men should be praying and should be leading and 282 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:20,240 praying in public services, lifting up holy hands without 283 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,480 wrath and doubting. So Paul's mentioned in three, 284 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:28,200 three things that are essential. And we know with men praying in 285 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:31,640 public, three things. First of all, he says lifting up 286 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:35,600 holy hands and lifting up holy hands is actually cultural. 287 00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:39,880 It's Jewish culture that the men at that particular time when 288 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:44,120 they prayed, they would pray extending their hands to heaven. 289 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:48,480 Now that gesture of extending the hands of heaven, when you 290 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,680 look at it, it really has a lot of different meaning or 291 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:53,760 connotations to it. First of all, it's the 292 00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:59,920 connotation of surrender. It's surrender when a man lifts 293 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:04,080 his hands, when a police officer tells a suspect to come out with 294 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:07,120 your hands up, that means you are surrendering, that that 295 00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:10,840 person is surrendering to the authority of that police 296 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:13,040 officer. He's surrendering. 297 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:16,920 He is putting himself into custody, willingly putting 298 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:18,880 himself into custody of that police officer. 299 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:22,400 And that's exactly what we're doing when we lift our hands to 300 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:24,760 the Lord. Back in the Old Testament, this 301 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:30,160 was a sign of surrender to God. God, I surrender, I place myself 302 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:35,280 under your authority. So the prayers that go up are 303 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:41,600 prayers to the Lord submitting to his authority. 304 00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:45,560 And there's several scriptures that talk about the lifting of 305 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:47,560 the hands. Turn with me really quick to 306 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:53,960 Psalm 63 and look at verse four. He says thus I will bless you 307 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:58,000 while I live. I will lift up my hands in your 308 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:03,560 name and then go to Psalm 134 and Psalm 134 reads this way. 309 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:08,360 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and bless the Lord. 310 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:13,120 And we know we read the story back in First Kings chapter 8 311 00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:17,920 and 22 that when Solomon prayed and he dedicated to temple. 312 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:26,320 He lifted up his hands to heaven and he prayed when David prayed 313 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:29,800 several times it's mentioned that he lifted up his hands to 314 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:33,560 the Lord when he prayed. So that is a, it's a cultural 315 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:37,040 position, but I just want to mention that we need to 316 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:38,720 understand the lifting of the hands. 317 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:43,160 It's an outward expression of where our hearts should be. 318 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:47,720 It's not that important what we do with our hands. 319 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:52,280 Now, God is more interested in the position of your heart when 320 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:55,280 we pray. And then he goes in and he goes 321 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:58,080 into that. So he says without wrath and 322 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:01,120 without wrath means that it's, you know, you first of all, 323 00:21:01,120 --> 00:21:02,960 you're you. The hands that you're lifting up 324 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:05,920 have to be holy hands. So it's got to be pure hands, 325 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:07,760 right? Hands that we, we're not talking 326 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:10,560 about, you know, practicing sin and then coming up and lifting 327 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:14,960 your hands to pray. You know, that doesn't mean that 328 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:17,840 if you have sin that you can't pray, you repent. 329 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:23,560 And the repentance cleanses us. We confess, and that cleanses us 330 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:26,680 before God and we can lift up our hands and pray. 331 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:28,520 It's about lifting up cleansed hands. 332 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:32,120 That means the heart is cleansed from whatever sin is morally or 333 00:21:32,120 --> 00:21:34,720 spiritually cleansed. But it's without wrath. 334 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:37,160 And without wrath simply means without anger. 335 00:21:37,360 --> 00:21:40,560 It's without resentment. We should be praying without 336 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:42,440 resentment. I shouldn't be up here praying 337 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:44,800 and knowing I got something against that brother sitting 338 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:49,600 back there or something against a sister sitting over there. 339 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:53,000 Can't pray like that. I got to go make it right with 340 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:55,640 them first. I got to go make it right with 341 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:59,960 them and then I can pray. I don't want my prayers hindered 342 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:03,880 by having all these ungodly things in my heart towards 343 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:06,480 someone else, have an ought in my heart against a brother. 344 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,120 I can't pray that way, Davis said. 345 00:22:11,120 --> 00:22:14,640 If I regard iniquity in my heart, he won't hear me. 346 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:19,880 God won't hear me. So we have to have pure hearts 347 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:23,360 and clean hands when we pray. And he said, and doubting, 348 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:26,520 doubting actually means that we must pray in faith. 349 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:28,040 We shouldn't be praying doubting. 350 00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:32,160 James said that when you pray, you know you, you, you should be 351 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:34,680 praying without doubting. You ask without doubting. 352 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:38,960 He said he who doubts is like a wave of the sea tossed to and 353 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:41,960 fro by the wind. It it's an unstable person who 354 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:46,000 doubts. When we pray, we pray believing. 355 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:50,360 We pray believing, so we pray without doubt. 356 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:55,080 So then we go on to verse 9. And this is where things get 357 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:58,840 kind of interesting because he says here in like manner also, 358 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:04,880 and don't miss that line, in like manner also, in like manner 359 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:10,320 also, women adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety 360 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:15,440 and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly 361 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:17,480 clothing. So what is he saying here? 362 00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:23,320 This is actually evidence to some degree that women can pray 363 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:26,280 in public. It's fine for women to pray in 364 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:28,000 public because he said in like manner. 365 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,920 Also. In other words, in the same way, 366 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:35,840 when women pray, their praying should be with adorning 367 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:40,280 themselves in modest apparel. Men should pray with their 368 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:45,040 hearts, not having wickedness or anger or art in their hearts. 369 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:48,480 He emphasized that for men, not that anybody should, but that's 370 00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:52,240 what he emphasized for men And but for women, he said when you 371 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:55,120 pray, if you want to, you know, when you pray, have modest 372 00:23:55,120 --> 00:23:58,760 apparel. Thank you for tuning in to 373 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:01,880 Living Waters of Grace with Pastor Lewis Harrell. 374 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:05,440 We're currently in the books of First and Second Timothy. 375 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:09,360 Some of the things included in these New Testament letters from 376 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:14,000 Paul are that the young and newly established Pastor Timothy 377 00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:17,760 was being encouraged to hold fast to what was true. 378 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:22,160 He was challenged to confront and address the false teachers 379 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:26,120 that were rising up. He was also reminded to accept 380 00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:29,960 his calling to the ministry with gratefulness and to address the 381 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:33,160 happenings going on in the Ephesian church. 382 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:37,760 Paul was imparting his experience and knowledge to the 383 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:41,040 next generation. Timothy was receptive to 384 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:43,960 learning and gleaning what he could from Paul's wisdom. 385 00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:47,960 This is how it should be in ministry across multiple 386 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:50,920 generations. Those who have lived a little 387 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:55,360 more life should be open to sharing their successes and also 388 00:24:55,360 --> 00:24:57,280 things they've learned along the way. 389 00:24:57,280 --> 00:25:00,840 That we're not a wind. The younger generations coming 390 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:04,960 up can learn and appreciate much from those ahead of them, and 391 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:09,200 perhaps avoid some of the same pitfalls that their mentors work 392 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:13,760 through mentoring. It's a beautiful relationship 393 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:17,040 when the hearts are in the right place to learn and grow. 394 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:20,000 We trust that you're in a community where this is 395 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:23,120 happening. Older ones providing advice and 396 00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:27,400 wisdom, and each side learning and growing from one another. 397 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:31,400 This certainly was the case for Paul and Timothy as they were 398 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:33,760 comrades for the sake of the gospel. 399 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:38,000 For more information on where this teaching came from, go to 400 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:42,760 calvarychapelonline.com. There you can also learn about 401 00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:45,360 our service times to join us in person. 402 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:48,720 This has been living waters of grace.