This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Lewis
Harold, assistant pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland
County in Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Lewis as he
continues teaching through God's Word.
There is not one situation that you can run into in this life
where you can't see it covered in this word.
Nothing. But if you do read any books
other than this, make sure that those books line up totally with
this. Not well, some of it does, but
some of the questions, some of it just cause you to think
outside the box. No, we don't need to think
outside the box. We need to think inside the
word, not outside the box. What challenge are you facing
that God's Word hasn't already covered?
In today's message, Pastor Lewis declares that no situation
you'll ever face is left out of this book.
Every trial, question, and need is spoken to here.
If you read anything else, make sure it lines up completely with
Scripture. Books that partly agree or push
you to think outside the box can pull you away from the truth.
His Word is enough for every moment of life.
How do you keep God's Word as your final authority in every
situation? Now here's Pastor Lewis in First
Timothy Chapter 4 with today's edition of Living Waters of
Grace. Please turn in your Bibles to
First Timothy chapter 4. Can you imagine when we are with
the Lord and we are with Him for eternity, how it's going to be 1
long worship time with the Lord? It's going to be an endless
Hallelujah to the King, and we can have that here now, being in
the family of God and being in Christ Jesus.
Our worship time should be a endless Hallelujah to the King
even now. Amen.
OK, let's pray and then we're going to go into the word of
God, Amen. Father God in Jesus name.
Lord, we do thank you. We thank you, Father, because
once again, as we have, and we thank you that you have given us
your word, not my word or anyone else's word or you've given us
your word that we have the truth in front of us, Lord, that we
can read it every day. But we thank you, Lord, that we
have fellowship with you, Lord, when we spend time in your word.
And now, Father, I ask you, Lord, for your power, your
anointing. I ask you, God, that you would
just be with us today. Your word says we're two or
three are gathered in your name that you would be in the midst
of us Lord, there's a lot more than two or three here today,
Father, we pray that you would just be in the midst of us today
that your love would just be over pouring.
We pray Father that your power Lord would just drench us did
anointing and that it would not only bring the truth of your
word and reveal the truth of your word Lord, but that it
would be a cause us our hearts to be receptacles Lord to be
able to receive your word and that it would grow in US Lord
and cause us to grow and to look more like your son Jesus Christ.
Father, help me. I need Father for you to speak
the words Lord for you just use me as an instrument of Labor for
your will and for your work in Jesus name we pray Amen.
So this is a letter that Paul has written to his beloved son
in the spirit Timothy. And it's a very instructional
letter, highly instructional. And I love reading these kind of
letters. I love reading these kind of
epistles because it gives us very clear instruction as to
what it is that pleases God and what it is that we are to be
looking to God for the work that he's doing in us.
So it's like a father who was sitting down.
And I thought about that even this past week as I was sitting
down with my father. It's like a father sitting down
with a young son and he's giving him instructions in life and
giving him instructions on the things of the Spirit, things in
the Spirit. Timothy's a young pastor and he
needs the instruction from his mentor and his father in the
faith. So it's almost like if you can
picture Paul sitting there and Timothy basically sitting at his
feet and listening to the instruction that Paul has
received through spending time with the Holy Spirit.
And if you remember the last thing that was discussed in
chapter 3 verse 16, the verse says and without controversy
great is the mystery of godliness or God likeness as it
was God who was manifested in the flesh.
He was justified in the spirit and he was seen by angels and he
preached among the Gentiles believed on in the world and
then he was received up into glory.
And we talked about that the last time that we talked about
first Timothy. But it's this doctrine of faith
that we believe that Jesus was God in the flesh who came to be
an earthly example for us to be able to actually see the word of
God. But now here in in chapter 4,
Paul gives Timothy a warning and gives him a prophecy.
He starts it off with a prophecy as a warning.
And this is something that he's talked about before about these
doctrines coming into the church back in in chapter 1.
He said, preach no other doctrine, Timothy, don't preach
anything else other than the doctrine that we have given you.
And Galatians says, if anybody preaches anything other than
what we've given you, let them be accursed.
I don't care if it's an Angel. If they come and preach anything
other than what we have given you, let them be accursed so
early. Here in this particular letter,
we see that Paul's giving another warning.
So let's take it up in verse one.
Let's read it through to verse 5.
He says. Now the Spirit expressly says
that in the latter times some will depart from the faith,
giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their own conscience seer
with a a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain
from foods which God created. To be received with Thanksgiving
by those who believe and know the truth.
For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be
refused if it is received with Thanksgiving, for it is
sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
So we look at this and we say, well, Paul says that the Spirit
expressly says. And, and what that word can also
mean is that the Spirit explicitly says, or it clearly
says, or it clearly points out Timothy.
I don't know if it was a situation where Paul was looking
in the Old Testament, was reading some old prophecies, or
if it was something recently that Paul had been praying about
and the Spirit revealed this to Paul.
And it was probably both. But he says the spirit expressly
or it clearly says that in the latter times, deceiving spirits
and doctrines of demons, the people will heed to these
things. Some are going to depart from
the faith, and they're going to give heed to these deceiving
spirits and doctrines of demons. So when he says in the latter
times, that's much different than talking about the latter,
the latter days, he's not talking about the end times.
This is the church that is beginning.
Paul had planted many churches and he's saying that in the
latter times after my departure when I'm gone, as he spoke about
in Acts chapter 20 when he was talking to the elders and
Ephesians. He says after I leave here,
they're going to be men who are going to come in with all these
deceiving doctrines and teaching things.
They're going to be wolves and sheeps clothing.
And Paul is saying here that in that latter times, after these
things, after this point where the churches have been
established in the latter times, they're going to be people who
are going to come in and they are going to bring deceiving
spirits and doctrines of demons, very powerful words, deceiving
spirits, doctrines of demons, not just false doctrines.
He's saying that they're going to have their origin and demonic
warfare, demonic power, demonic influence.
And he's talking about the fact that these these people are
coming in with spirits that are and given doctrines that are
going to be contrary to the word of God.
There's going to be doctrines that people are going to come in
with and cause you to question what you know about the truth.
And anything that you hear or anything that you read that
causes you to question the truth of the doctrine is not of God.
It is of the devil. It is of the devil and it has
his roots. What he's talking about here
actually has his roots back in Genesis.
Back in Genesis chapter 2, when the evil one came to deceive
Eve, the first thing he did was made her question what God had
said to Adam. That was the first thing he did.
So I'm going to go back there and I'm going to look at just a
couple things just to point out how these doctrines of demons,
how it started back in Genesis. So we go to Genesis chapter 2
and we look at verse 16 and 17, and it simply says this.
And the Lord commanded the man, saying that this was the
commandment of the Lord. Of every tree of the garden you
may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil you shall not eat, for in a day that you eat of it, you
shall die. Now that's the commandment of
the Lord. That's the word of the Lord.
That's the truth because God only speaks truth.
But look at what the devil did. Now this is when the doctrine of
demon comes in Luke in chapter 3.
And we're going to look right here at the end of verse one.
And he said to the woman Speaking of the serpent, who was
the image of the demon of the demonic spirit.
And he says to the woman, has God indeed said, you shall not
eat of every tree in the garden? Look how he tries to get her to
question what God has said. That's what doctrines of demons
do. They try to get you to question
the truth of what God has said. And then if you go over to verse
4, it says then the serpent said to the woman, you will not
surely die, for God knows in the day that you eat of it, your
eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and
evil. How many doctrines are out there
where they're trying to infuse this false strength is false
power into people, into thinking that you yourself are God.
You yourself were in control of your faith.
You yourself were in control of what you do in life.
You were in control. No one else has to be in
control. Those Christians are crazy.
They're weak people. They're dependent on somebody
else or something else. But you, you have power.
You're your own God. Doctrines of demons.
Listen, God has given us His
Word and has everything in it that we could possibly need from
Genesis to Revelation. There is not one situation that
you can run into in this life where you can't see it covered
in this word. Nothing.
But if you do read any books other than this, make sure that
those books line up totally with this.
Not well, some of it does, but some of the questions, some of
it just cause you to think outside the box.
No, we don't need to think outside the box.
We need to think inside the word, not outside a box.
So just make sure that whatever you read that is consistent,
totally consistent with the Word of God, because it only takes
just a little bit to take you off to the right or to take you
off to the left. And that's what was happening
here. And he says here that they will
depart from the faith. Now, that depart doesn't mean
that they're going to, you know, walk away from salvation or walk
away from their salvation or walk away totally from God.
But they will depart from the teaching of Christian ethics.
They're going to walk away from the core things of the gospel,
the core things of the truth of the doctrine of God.
They're going to walk away from that.
They're going to stop teaching things that are rooted and
grounded in the faith and start teaching other things that have
come in with these doctrines of demons and these deceiving
spirits. And it says they're going to
give heed to those things. That means they're going to pay
attention to it. They're going to actually turn
toward those things. And after they do that in the
way that they're going to do, the way it's going to be played
out is that they're going to be speaking lies in hypocrisy.
As it says they're in verse 2, they're going to be speaking
lies in hypocrisy. They're going to be hypocrites
like Jesus referred to the the Pharisees as hypocrites.
They live hypocritic lives. They try to look one way and try
to act like they're one way, but really all the bondage that they
put on other people, they themselves can't do it.
And these are going to, the teachers are going to be trying
to look holy, try to look religious, but their doctrine is
totally contrary to the things of God, totally contrary to the
things of God. They're going to be people who
give heed to these things and they're going to speak these
lies in hypocrisy. And as a result of doing that,
look at what it says at the end of verse 2.
As a result of doing this and doing it over time, totally
refusing the truth, standing away from the truth, standing
apart from the truth, speaking consistently, things that are
evil, things that are contrary to the word of God.
After they do that for so long, their conscience then becomes
seared with a hot iron. And that's an interesting
picture. My wife and I want to go to
Montana and Wyoming. We like to travel and we want to
go to Montana and Wyoming. We want to do a dude ranch.
I know you. You're picturing me on a horse.
I know you are. What in the world is he going to
do on a horse? I know, but believe it or not, I
actually love horses. We we route.
In fact, our first date was a horseback riding.
I took a horseback riding, believe it or not, but anyway,
we want to go to a dude ranch because we know that on a dude
ranch, one of the things that they do is that they brand
cattle, they brand young horses, they brand these things.
And, and I never really considered the whole art of
branding or the practice of branding or what it meant until
I started studying this. And, and what's interesting
about it is that the branding actually not only burns the
flesh, the top flesh, but actually burns the nerve endings
so that they become numb back there.
They become numb back there. What I'm is what I'm told and
and they can't feel, they can't feel.
And I've heard people talk about having things cauterized, where
they lose feeling in certain areas of their body, which is,
and it's almost like the same thing, this cauterization or
just branding. And this is exactly what happens
when you walk in disobedience to God over a long period of time.
The conscience becomes branded, it becomes insensitive to the
things of God. You don't even be convicted
anymore. You're not convicted anymore.
Then you get further and further away and you hear his voice
further and further away to the point that you can't even hear
his voice anymore. You become insensitive to
righteousness, become insensitive to goodness.
And this is what happened with these false teachers.
Their their conscience are seared with a hot iron and they
don't have the ability to feel the truth anymore, to know the
truth, to be able to sense the truth they don't have anymore.
Their hearts are damaged. So he says here in verse three
and one of the one of the things that they begin to teach, having
this branded or the seared conscience.
One of the things that they begin to teach is forbidding to
marry and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to
be received with Thanksgiving. Now the forbidding of marriage.
So now since they have turned away from the doctrine of God
and turned away from the truth of the gospel, they now want to
forbid what God has given all of us a right to.
It's clear that the Bible does not teach forbidding of
marriage. It clearly teaches marriage.
In fact, it's one of the first institutions that God created.
But the devil, these demons, and these and these doctrines say
no, we got to stay away from it. If you want to really be holy,
if you want to really look righteous, if you want to really
look religious, don't get married.
Don't get married. No, no.
That is a doctrine of demon. It's a doctrine of demons.
We are to get married. Now Paul says that there are
people who have the gift or who have the the heart.
They're like, well, you know, there's two ways you can be a
eunuch, right? We know that the one way is
obviously the removal body parts, but the other way is the
fact that you just decide that you will not marry and you will
not have to deal with that kind of pleasure or be involved in
that kind of pleasure to be with a wife.
OK, that's another way, but that's not what this is talking
about. This is actually forbidding
people to get married. Paul says that he has the gift
to be able to do that, but if that's not you, then you need to
marry because it's better to marry than to burn with lust.
So marriage is definitely something that God gives us a
right to do. And then he says in commanding
to abstain from foods which God created to be received with
Thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
So now we think about Peter, who had grown up in the law, grown
up under the law, and when God began to present to him that he
listened. This is grace.
Now we're in the New Testament now and we're not forbidding you
to eat things anymore the way that it was in the in the law,
because it was God showing Israel his perfect
righteousness, his perfect righteousness.
But now all these things lead to Jesus Christ.
We don't have to do that. So that the Lord showed Peter
the example of all these different animals that at one
time Peter would not have eaten. He called him unclean.
God said don't ever call unclean what I call clean, arise and
eat. And if we go back again, back to
Genesis in creation, when God created these animals, he said
they were good. Everything God created is good.
So no, we don't have to stay away from these things.
And and it's just a matter of control.
These doctrines of demons are always doing things to try to
control or to instill fear into people.
It's being religious and legalistic and Paul said no,
stay away from that. That is not true.
Those are doctrines of demons for people who forbid to marry
and commanding to abstain from staying from foods.
I love Reesey peanut butter cups, so I'm glad my wife is in
here to hear this because now if I want to get a Reesey peanut
buttercup, listen, they look what was not good to eat five
years ago is supposed to be good to eat now.
They tell us at one time, don't eat beef, eat beef, don't eat
pork, No, eat pork, don't eat this, no, eat that.
I mean, it's always, always something that you're not
supposed to eat. You can't eat.
You can't eat it, you can't eat it, Paul said.
I got a solution. Bless it, give Thanksgiving over
it, pray over it, and you don't have to worry about it.
Now, I realize that there are some people, because of health
reasons that they should stay away from certain foods.
I realize that. But it's not that it's
forbidden. It's not that it's forbidden.
Spiritually that is not the reason, health reasons we
understand. But Paul said look, just pray
over it, pray over it. And so then he says here in
verse four, he says every creature as we said is good and
nothing is to be refused if it is received with Thanksgiving,
for it is sanctified by the word of God and is sanctified by
prayer. And one of the things that we
understand is that everything we do as Christians, everything we
do should be set apart, should be set apart.
In 1st Corinthians 10 and 31, he says whether you eat or drink or
whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.
That means just set apart for the glory of God.
So marriage, eating, possessions are all spirit.
They all be spiritual issues because they're all given to us
to be enjoyed. But we must understand the
source. And the source is that it comes
from God #1 and it's provided by God.
And that's why we say prayers when we eat, right?
We bless the food. We bless it because we
acknowledge that it was God that created it.
And he said it was good, number one.
Number two, we bless it because God provided it and we're
thankful. So it's more a matter of
Thanksgiving. It even is just blessing the
food. It's a matter of Thanksgiving,
and we see where Jesus Christ himself, before he would eat, He
would give thanks for his food. When he sat down to feed the
5000 and Matthew 14 and 19, before he distributed the food
among the 5000 people, He sat them all down and he gave
thanks. Then he broke it and he
distributed. And the same thing even with the
Passover. When he ate the Passover meal
with his disciples, the Bible says that after He gave thanks
or when He gave thanks he break it any distributed.
It is important that we give thanks to God when you know I
love when I'm sitting in a restaurant and there's another
family that's there and we see them praying together before
they eat. I love seeing that I love seeing
that I love seeing young kids who understand that I don't eat
anything off this table until I give thanks.
That's a wonderful thing, a wonderful thing.
Give thanks. So then in verse 6 he goes on,
he says, if you instruct the brethren in these things and
what things and all the things we just got finished talking
about instructor brothers about these bad false teachers,
instruct them about how to look out for these doctrines of
demons and these deceiving spirits.
Instructor brethren about setting things apart for the
Lord's purpose and doing all things unto the Lord.
He says if you do that, then you will be a good minister of Jesus
Christ. Nourished.
I love this word nourished in the words of faith.
That word nourished. It's a powerful word.
It means actually to be sustained, sustained by the
words of faith, to be supplied with everything that's necessary
for my life, for life and living and health is all, and my
spiritual growth is all supplied to me.
And I'm sustained through the words of faith, through the
words of faith. Studying the Word of God has
impact on our lives in so many different areas.
Obeying the word of God has impact in our lives in so many
different areas. It sustains us.
And then he says it's a good
minister of Jesus Christ who is sustained by the words of faith.
It's a good minister that has supplied everything that is
necessary for life through the Word of God.
This has been another encouraging edition of Living
Waters of Grace. Pastor Lewis Harrell has shared
some good reminders for us to learn and walk in today as he's
teaching through the books of First and Second Timothy.
There are useful practices and advice that the Apostle Paul
offers to Timothy in these books.
From a fellow pastor, Paul imparts some wisdom to Timothy
about solid leadership and what some of the criteria should be
for leadership. There are specific passages
directed towards men and women, respectively.
And All in all, there's much to gain in coming to an awareness
of God's heart for each person and God's purposes for each one.
We're happy that you've taken the time today to listen.
We invite you to come here the next edition.
In the meantime, when you have some time to spare today, go
check out our website, calvarychapelonline.com.
There you'll find additional messages as well as a variety of
resources and information about how to meet with us in person.
We're also on Facebook, so you can be a part of what we share
there as well. You can stay plugged in with
this ministry via YouTube to watch previous teachings or tune
into our live stream. Living Waters of Grace is a
ministry of Calvary Chapel Westmoreland.
Before we go today, we ask that you share this program with
others and invite them to listen on Grace FM at 91.7.
That's all we have for today, but we're so glad that you've
been with us. There's more to dig into here in
First and Second Timothy, so let's gear up for some more
great teachings from Pastor Lewis next time here on Living
Waters of Grace.