54 1 Timothy 1-2 - Pastor Chuck Smith - C2000 Series

first Timothy Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Savior and the Greek word is the Royal commandment of God it's a word that is used when a king had made a decree it is interesting that Paul so often introduces himself as an apostle by the will of God but here he declares he is an apostle by the commandment of God the word apostle is one who has been sent out a idea of a emissary or an ambassador and that's exactly what Paul saw himself as an ambassador of Jesus Christ one whom the Lord had sent out to represent him in an alien country we're in a world that's alien to God but we are God's representatives here we are here to represent God on this alien planet and so Paul one who has been sent out by the Royal Decree by the commandment of God our Savior now there is quite a bit of Old Testament route in the idea of God our salvation David mentions that in the psalms of Moses mentions that in Deuteronomy Marian the magnificant my soul doth magnify the Lord my spirit doth rejoice in God our Savior and so here's the first time that Paul uses the phrase of the term God our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ our hope God our Savior Jesus Christ our hope unto Timothy my own son in the faith grace mercy and peace from God our Father in Jesus Christ our Lord Timothy lived in Lystra a city that Paul visited in his first missionary journey it is thought that Paul perhaps stayed in the house of Timothy on his first missionary journey he knew his mother and grandmother he knew how they had instructed Timothy in the word he mentions units and laws Timothy was just a very young boy and Paul's first journey to Lystra but evidently at that time made a commitment of his life to Jesus Christ and always held Paul as sort of a hero fascinated by this man he looked up to him on Paul's second missionary journey though Timothy was still very young probably in his mid-teens he at this time became a companion of Paul and journeyed with him in his missionary endeavors and so he is listed in many of Paul's writings he was sent by Paul to Thessalonica to discover the welfare of the church he had visited many of these churches with Paul was familiar with the people Paul sent him to Philippi with a letter to the Philippians and he said that he had no one who was like-minded as he was as as Timothy I mean Timothy was just joined with Paul in heart and in spirit in calling in vision and so now Paul is writing to him and he addresses him as his son in the faith my own son in the faith and so there was this special relationship that existed between Paul and Timothy like that of a father and son and I believe that Paul saw in Timothy a tremendous potential for one to carry on the ministry once Paul was taken and so he poured his life into Timothy he discipled Timothy and the this is one of the two letters that he wrote to Timothy of instruction as a father to his son so unto Timothy my own son in the faith grace mercy and peace now in most of Paul's epistles he says grace and peace two epistles he adds mercy this one to Timothy and also is epistle to Titus there is the addition of mercy there is a difference between grace and mercy mercy is not getting what's coming to us God is merciful the Bible says as high as the heavens are above the earth so high is God's mercy towards those that fear Him God is very merciful and though we deserve the judgment of God God is merciful and though I have no I have no argument that Hollywood in that area of Los Angeles doesn't deserve the judge I believe it does deserve the judgment of God but God is merciful I think that God would be totally just and wiping out San Francisco Hollywood and a lot of these areas but God is merciful we don't get what we deserve and of course if I got what I deserve got to wipe me out too so Who am I to talk about San Francisco Hollywood God is merciful he does not reward us according to our iniquities grace is a positive characteristic of God mercy is sort of a negative characteristic in that you don't get what's coming to you grace is a positive characteristic that is getting what you don't deserve I don't deserve all of the goodness of God I don't deserve all of the blessings of God I don't deserve all that God has done for me but that's grace God doing for me what I don't deserve what I couldn't earn but I don't and haven't merited God just pouring out upon me the richness of his love and His goodness in his blessings that's grace and realizing that grace of God towards me my spirit rest and thus I have the peace so grace mercy and peace as I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went into Macedonia that you might charge some that they teach no other doctrine so Paul was called of God to come over to Macedonia Timothy was with him but Paul felt a necessity to send him back to Ephesus to instruct the church there and though he was a young man Paul encouraged him don't let anybody despise your you be an example under the believer and so I sent you back to Ephesus that you might charge those that they not teach any other doctrine neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies which only create questions rather than godly edifying which is in faith now the end of the commandment or the effect the sum total of the commandments of God is love out of a pure heart a lawyer when they ask Jesus what is the greatest commandment 'is that thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart soul mind and strength so that's what Paul saying really the the summation of the commandments is loving out of a pure heart that's what it's all about if I'm really following the commandments that will be the effect this loving out of a pure heart how God does want us to just have this deep love for one another that's that's what that's the if you want to sum up all of the commandments its summed up in that loving loving God and loving one another that's what it's all about that's what God desires of us loving with a pure heart a good conscience and faith unfeigned or a true faith a good conscience love what great characteristics to possess loving from a pure heart just a good conscience Paul said I have a conscience void of offense towards God and then faith that is true unfeigned now some have turned away from this Paul said and they've turned aside to vain jangling designed to be the teachers of the law but they don't understand what they are saying nor the things that they affirm now Paul is warning against endless genealogies questions that only create confusion or dispute sirs there are honest questions and there are dishonest questions there are some people who ask questions only because they want an argument they don't want to know the truth they have a position that they want to espouse so they want to get you embroiled in an argument and so they will ask a question not really seeking an answer but seeking an argument they want you to state your position so that they can then begin to attack your position that I call a dishonest question an honest question is the man who asked desiring to know the answer now I personally do not have any time for dishonest questions and I'll tell you I got the gift of discernment of when it comes to questions of course I know that certain groups have certain questions and when someone comes up and they have the stock questions that they ask I know exactly where they're coming from and sometimes I treat them rather abruptly and people saying around that oh that poor brother wouldn't know that he didn't want to know anything he wanted to argue I don't want to argue scripture I don't think that anything is gained from arguing Scripture trading verses and so Paul is saying avoid these things tell the people to avoid these fables endless genealogies questions that are designed that isn't why that isn't where it's at our purpose should be to build up one another not to cut it one another tear down one another challenge one another but the true purpose is to build up one another and these people he said they desire to be teachers and they speak with great authority but they don't know what they're talking about a lot of times when you don't know what you're talking about it's important that you speak with authority I read of a minister who had his sermon all outlined but then he had little notes of gestures that should be used at particular points in the sermon and so at this particular point is's extend your arm outward opening up your palm you know to the people and so these vivid type gestures and he had all of his notes all the way down how he was to gesture where he was to look when he was to smile and so forth and the whole thing was all programmed out for him well they do that but down on the page it said at this point yell like everything because it's a weak point and sometimes you know when her point is weak we got to yell it we got to speak with authority but he said they they really desire to be teachers but they don't know what they're talking about they don't know the things that they are affirming to be so these people were again trying to who bring the people back under the law and so Paul said we know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully don't have any argument with the law but then Paul comes in and he said but we know this the law was not made for a righteous man an interesting point is the a righteous man doesn't need any law a man who lives by good principles doesn't need laws you don't have to tell that man what he should do and shouldn't do he does them because he is a righteous man he is a principled man the law is for unprincipled people and there are a lot of those in the world and thus we need laws to keep them in check in Romans Paul said the law is not a terror to a good person is only the terror to the evil person you shouldn't be terrified when you see a policeman unless you're a bank robber or something you see if you're guilty of violating the law then the law becomes something that you're frightened of something that you dislike but if you're an honest upright principled citizen you appreciate the law you appreciate those who are enforcing the law because they're making it possible for you to live in this area and if it weren't for the law and those who are enforcing the law we would be living in an intolerable condition because there are those out there who need that kind of a bridle so you want to be taught the law you want the law pauses all this I'll tell you who the law is for it's not for righteous people they don't need to be taught the law they don't need to be put under the law but the law is for the lawless the disobedient the ungodly the sinner for unholy and profane people for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers for man Slayers for mongers for them that they file themselves with mankind or for the homosexuals for the men stealers for liars for perjured persons and if there be anything that is contrary to sound doctrine those are the people the law is for so you want us to teach the law what problem do you have brother you see the law isn't for righteous people we don't have to be rehearsing the law if we live by righteous principles according to the glorious gospel of the Blessed God which was committed to my trust now Paul says in rather than teaching and preaching the law we are teaching and preaching the glorious gospel the good news of God the law is bad news for the people to whom it was sent because it is a restricting thing a condemning thing the lawless but rather than preaching the law we preach the glorious good news the gospel of the Blessed God which Paul said was committed to my trust and I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me and counted me faithful putting me in ministry now Paul says of the ministry that he was enabled by the Lord God isn't really looking for ability though so often when we are looking for someone to fill a position within the church or whatever we get out the resumes and we look for thee graduated magna laude you know and we're looking for the most talented individual God doesn't God looks for the most available individual and then he enables them to do the work that he would have done and quite often the choices of God are shocking to us you know it's sort of an interesting he says you know God counted him faithful put him in the ministry and of course the steward is required that he be faithful so God's looking for someone who is available someone will be faithful years ago when we started calvary chapel just eighteen and a half years ago from the very beginning it seems that God began to bless this group of people that had gathered together it was definitely something that was ordained of God and born of the Spirit and born of prayer and and we began to have just an immediate move of God and God began to add people almost immediately of course we started with about 25 the first Sunday and before long we were running 50 and within a year or so we were running a hundred and there were a lot of other small churches in Costa Mesa at that time and they began to observe what God was doing at calvary chapel and some of the ministers at that time publicly said to their congregations if God can do it for Chuck Smith he can do it for us I liked that I understood why it is that God chose me to encourage others for God can do it for me he can do it for anybody and he used that to encourage a lot of the pastors at that time so Paul the Apostle said that the Lord enabled me he counted me faithful he put me in the ministry I'm thankful for this he committed to my trust the glorious gospel of the blessing God he said for before I was a blasphemer that he was that is he was a blasphemer against the church and against Jesus Christ I was a persecutor he stood by while Stephen was stoned consenting to Stephens death encouraging those that were throwing the stones by holding their coats and then he went down to Damascus from Jerusalem with letters authorizing him to imprison those who were believing in Jesus Christ and on his way to Damascus as he was breathing out murders and threats against the church is when the Lord got hold of his life but before I was a blasphemer I was a persecutor I was injurious but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief and the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus so Paul talks about his own ministry his call into the ministry and unlikely a candidate as you could ever hope to find in fact I thought that it would be very interesting if Paul the Apostle were to have a resume written of him and sent to some of the churches that are seeking new pastors I'm sure that the pulpit committee in reading his resume was they hate don't even bother finishing we don't want that fellow I've been thrown in prison several times I've been beaten I've been stoned I've created riots I have poor eyesight I'm not much of a speaker and yet God enabled him called him used him Paul speaks of having received mercy but then also he received the grace of our Lord exceeding abundant grace Oh glorious now this is a faithful saying now he talked about the glorious gospel that was entrusted to him and this is the gospel this is the faithful saying it's worthy of all acceptation it's a true saying it's worthy that every man should accept it what is that true and faithful saying that everyone should accept this Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners that's the gospel that's the good news Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners first of all all men are sinners therefore he came to save all men all have sinned and come short of the glory of God because all men are sinners all then were dead in their trespasses and sins Paul in writing to the Church of Ephesus said and you who were dead in your trespasses and sins were in times past you walked according to the course of this world according to the Prince of the power of the air that even now is working in the children of disobedience among whom you all of you one time lived no exception we were all sinners we were all alienated from God as the result of our sin our lives were wasted useless lost the glorious gospel Jesus came into the world to save sinners Jesus said I've come to seek and to save that which was lost and so this glorious gospel entrusted to Paul is just so simple Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners Jesus said to Nicodemus I did not come into the world to condemn the world but that the world through me might be saved and he who believes in Me is not condemned but he who doesn't believe in me is condemned already because he hasn't believed in the only begotten Son of God and this is the con nation that light has come into the world but the men will not come to the light because their deeds are evil and the light makes manifest Jesus does not stand as your accuser he stands there as your Savior Jesus did not make accusations against the sinner he only gave invitations come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden I will give you rest if you're a sinner you don't need to fear Jesus he's reaching out his arms to you he's saying to you come unto me I will give you peace I will give you rest I will give you hope I will give you life I came to save you you see so many times we see Jesus in the opposite posture we see him they're condemning us pointing the finger oh I don't want to be around him I feel so guilty you know I done so many awful things you know and I see Jesus as a judge and as one condemning me but not so he said I didn't come to condemn the woman taken in the very act of adultery brought to Jesus and they said our law says we're to stone her what do you say Jason said well I say whoever among you hasn't committed a sin let him throw the first stone then as he wrote on the ground and I am certain though the Bible doesn't say it I'm certain he began to write on the ground with his finger there in the dirt I believe he began to write and enumerate the sins that these people were guilty of probably putting their name Levi you know I start writing out his sin and Levi says oh I think I'd better go my wife's you know expecting me home and so one by one he wrote their names began to write their sins and one by one they began to leave from the oldest to the youngest until there was nobody left and stood up and they looked at the woman he said what happened to your accusers and she said well Lord I guess I don't have any and he said I don't condemn you either go your way send no more Oh what good news Jesus came into the world to save sinners not to condemn them we didn't need that we were already condemned what we didn't need was a savior when I am in need when I'm down when I'm out I don't need someone to come and tell me how horrible a person I am and and how awful I am and I need someone that will take me by the hand and lift me out someone that will help me and that's exactly what Jesus doesn't come along to to chastise you and to castigate you for all the evil that you've done he's come along to take you by the hand and lift you this is the gospel this is the good news Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners and Paul added of whom I am chief now I'm certain that he could get an argument on that point but again Paul did have a lot of indictments against him as far as Jesus Christ was concerned for he was a blasphemer of Jesus Christ he was a persecutor of the church he had injured many who had called upon the name of the Lord but he said howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them which should her after believe on him do everlasting life in other words the Lord chose the most unlikely candidate and saved him I mean if you were living in those days and you saw this young zealous paul and you saw how he hated the church and aidid christianity and hated all of the christians and if you heard him as he would blaspheme the christians and just you know it was just so filled with venom and all against Christianity and those were calling on the name Jesus is a man that is the last person in the world that will ever be saved I mean there's no hope for that guy you know he's and so Paul says God chose me to show how long-suffering and merciful he is in order that anybody else after me might be encouraging God was willing to reach to the lowest Jesus Christ will forgive the worst and it should be an encouragement God set the pattern by reaching down to the bottom and lifting me out and making me his representative his apostle his ambassador so Paul marveled constantly marveled that God should call him to minister the truth of Jesus Christ after how he had attempted to destroy this very truth that he was now proclaiming now unto the king eternal now Paul when he's thinking about this is just carried off into ecstasy and so he has to throw in this little benediction Paul does this everyone said well he just gets so excited he just has to throw in a little bit of praise kind of a you know and I love it is to me I I get so excited with the goodness of God and the grace of God and the blessing of God I just every once a while I have to throw in a little oh praise God you know and a little benediction kind of thing so now on to the king eternal immortal invisible to the only wise God be glory and honor forever and ever amen so a beautiful little benediction here the king eternal immortal invisible the only wise God the honor and glory forever and ever amen we are told to give glory unto God glory and honor and power scribe unto our God this charge Paul said I commit unto thee son Timothy according to the prophecies which went before on thee that you by them might war a good warfare holding faith and a good conscience which some having put away concerning fate have made shipwreck of whom is hymenaeus and Alexander whom I have delivered unto Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme so now Paul is charging Timothy and charging him according to the prophecies which went before on d know many times it would it seem in the early church they were directed in their ministry by prophecies by the word of prophecy in the book of Acts chapter 13 now the Holy Spirit said separate unto me Paul and Barnabas for the ministry wherein I have called them and so they fasted and prayed laid hands on them and the Spirit sent them for but how did the Spirit speak saying separate unto me Paul of us here they were gathered together praying no doubt talking about the need of getting the gospel into the world that had not heard and the Spirit said separate to me Paul and Barnabas for the ministry wherein I've called him how did he say that I believe that it was spoken through the word of prophecy someone in the group was anointed by the spirit and prophetically declared this and thus the Holy Spirit through prophecy said separate into me Paul martyrs and the gift of prophecy was used this way in the early church when Paul was in Caesarea on his way back to Jerusalem staying at the house of Philip AGGA bus a certain prophet in the Church of Jerusalem came down and took Paul's girdle and tied himself up with it and said so is the person who owns this girdle to be tied when he gets to Jerusalem he prophesied of what was going to take place when Paul got to Jerusalem they were directed and so Paul in another place in writing to Timothy said now stir up the gifts that are in you that were given unto you by the laying on of hands and by prophecy so oftentimes when they would lay hands upon people and pray for them there would be prophecies that would come forth in which the Lord would often show the person the direction of their ministry now this is not something that is limited to the New Testament as I said I have not seen a vision or a had a dream that I felt was spiritually significant I have had prophecies that were directed to me concerning my ministry when hands were laid upon me and we were in prayer together and this is a practice of the early church and it is something that is valid today years ago when I came to a very discouraging point in my ministry having been in the ministry for almost 17 years not really seeing any effective results discourage reading to the point of leaving the ministry because of the ineffectiveness of my ministry we were in prayer together and a group of friends waiting upon the Lord we put a chair out in the middle and we began to pray for people finally I sat in the chair and they prayed for me in prophecy the word of prophecy came and God began to tell of the ministry that he was going to give to me and of the way that the church would be blessed and the way the church would grow it seemed at that time like it was so totally unlikely that time the Lord actually said that he was going to give me a new name which meant Shepherd because he was going to make me the Shepherd of many flocks before I came down here a group of people were in prayer as to whether or not I should come down they had asked me to come down and to and to take over here at Calvary Chapel and they were in prayer in regards to it and the Lord spoke to them through prophecy and said that I was going to be coming down that the Lord was going to bless the church abundantly that we were going to the church would be outgrowing that facility we would be moving to a new facility on the bluff overlooking the bay and that God would continue to bless until the church would be known around the world there would be a national radio ministry and and God laid out so many things that have since come to pass through the word of prophecy so Paul is talking to Timothy about that experience he had when hands were laid upon him by the presbytery and the word of prophecy was given and gifts were given unto Timothy and the calling of God upon his life for the ministry that he was to fulfill so I charge and commitment to you son Timothy according to the prophecies that went before on thee remember those prophecies that were given that you by them might war a good warfare hang in there Timothy holding the faith and a good conscience now some have put away the faith and they've become shipwrecked and the coupla mummy name's Jaime Gnaeus and Alexander and he said I've turned them over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme now just what he means by that I don't know except Satan does desire to destroy us and you remember when the sons of God were presenting themselves to God and Satan also came with him and God said to Satan hey where have you been and he said I've been going to and fro throughout the earth up and down in it God said we'll have you considered my servant job good man and it's a tall yeah but you put a header on that guy and I can't get to him so in turning them over to Satan it could be that they are no longer protected by the heads that God puts around his children and I'll tell you if you're not protected by God against Satan you're just an open mark and I I read he my heart goes out to you I thank God for that protection that he places around us his children that edge and and perhaps Paul just said Lord take away the hedge they want to dabble with it let them get burned so that they'll learn not to dabble now I exhort Paul said therefore that first of all supplications prayers intercessions and the giving of thanks be made for all men so we are exhorted to pray for each other to intercede supplications intercessions the giving of thanks and then for kings and for those that are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness honesty now I believe that it is important that we pray for our leaders in government I believe that we should be holding our president up in prayer what an awesome responsibility that men I personally cannot understand why anybody would want to be President of the United States I mean that has to be one thankless job he needs prayer we need to pray for those who sit in the House of Representatives we need to pray for the congressmen the Senators national statewide now the purpose of the prayers is that we might lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty the real purpose of government is not to tax people the real purpose of government is to preserve the good that's the purpose of government the preservation of good and all laws should be designed for the preservation of good because there are these evil influences and powers and government is actually ordained for the purpose of preserving the good keeping out the evil and when a government no longer is fulfilling that function the evil that they allow will ultimately destroy that government just study your history books and you will see it is true over and over and over again most governments began with the high ideal of the preservation of good but in time the corrupt forces moved in the laws were liberalized to where good was no longer being preserved but evil was being allowed being tolerated and then being protected by the laws and the next thing was that the evil then overthrew the government we are at the stage here in the United States where the evil is now being protected it is being mandated by law protection of the evil being mandated by our laws and the next state is is the fall of that government so we need to pray pray for the Kings those that are ruling over us for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth what an opposite picture many people have of God who look at him as one who wants to damn everybody in fact they go around asking him to and so people get in their minds and associate in their minds God judging and condemning everyone how opposite that is to the truth of God's nature who would have everyone to be saved listen to God crying unto the people through Ezekiel the Prophet as he said turn now turn now for why will ye die saith the Lord behold I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked Peter said God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance here Paul tells us that God desires that all men be saved the god of salvation who desires that all men should be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth and what is the truth there is one God and one mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus when job was having all of his afflictions he lost his possessions he lost his children he lost his health lying in the misery covered with boils lying in the ashes his wife looking at him in this miserable state said honey why don't you just curse God and die get it over with I can't stand to see you suffer like this anymore his friends came to comfort him but rather than being a comfort they became accusers condemned errs one of his friends NFS said why don't you just get right with God and everything will be okay he said thanks a lot pal what do you mean get right with God Who am I that I could stand before God and justify my case he said I go out I look up at the stars and I realized how vast and great God is and here am I just a really nothing here on this planet God is so great and I am so small I I try to find him I look here I look there I look around I know he's around here but I don't see him and how can I stand before God to to declare my innocence or to justify my case with God so vast and I so nothing there is no days men between us who can lay his hand on his boat job saw the problem of man trying to communicate with God or trying to touch God it's it's the trying to bridge over the great gulf between infinity and the finite the only way job can see it happening is that there be a day's 'men between who can touch us both and in answer to the cry of Jobe Paul said there is one God and one mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus through Jesus Christ the cry of job is answered he is the day's man who can touch God and can touch man for he was in the beginning with God and all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made and he became flesh and he dwelt among us and we beheld his glory as of the only begotten Son of God one God one mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus now what does that mean that means that if you want to come to God don't come to me I'm not a mediator between Gotha you if you want to come to God you must go to Jesus Christ he alone is the mediator between God and man you can't go to another man you can't go to the Saints you can't go to Mary there's only one mediator the man Christ Jesus and he is the only one that can bring you in touch with God he said I am the way the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father but by me a very radical exclusive claim one God one mediator the man Christ Jesus but thank God there is a mediator oh how thankful I am I can come to God Jesus stands there and puts his hand upon God but he also reaches down and puts his hand upon me and he brings me in touch with God I touch God through him for he was in the form of God and thought it not robbery to be equal with God and yet he came in the likeness of man that he might touch me and so God touched man through Jesus and in turn man can touch God through Jesus one God one mediator who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time you see we were all sinners and as a sinner I was totally unable to redeem myself nothing I could do to save myself nothing I could do to make myself righteous there's nothing that I could do that could atone for my past guilt now you might say that there are high sinners and there are low sinners there are good sinners than there are bad sinners but they're all sinners and Radia doesn't matter if you're a good center or a bad center none of us can redeem ourselves but Jesus gave himself as the ransom he died for us and in our place we're in - Paul said I am ordained a preacher and an apostle and I am Telling You the truth in Christ I wouldn't lie to you I am a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and in truth it is to proclaim this testimony of Jesus Christ that I've been called as an apostle as a preacher and I'm speaking the truth I'm a teacher of these things I will therefore that men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting now this is on posture and prayer lifting up your hands in prayer and there are times when I pray I lift up my hands unto God I do that more when I am praising the Lord than I do and I am you know making requests some people find it difficult to lift their hands unto the Lord and if you do there's no problem God understands you've got a hang-up and he'll listen to you just as much there are a lot of discussion about the position of the body and prayer which position is most effective you know as a little kid in Sunday school they used to always say now everyone bow your heads fold your hands and close your eyes we're going to pray so I really thought that you couldn't pray unless your eyes were closed and a lot of times I'd peek to see who was praying and I'd say he didn't pray his eyes were open you know cuz they'd always nailed me and they'd say how did you know but I assumed that because their eyes were open they weren't praying but I found that I can pray with my eyes open but I found that it's better if I close them because if my eyes are open then I'm oftentimes distracted by what I see and my mind is taken off of my prayer I realize now that the teachers told us to fold our hands so we wouldn't be poking the one next to us when their eyes were closed you know and so I can see the wisdom and telling the children to bow your heads close your eyes fold your hands and I can understand the wisdom in that but yet you know you don't have to have that position to pray some people say well you got to be kneeling Paul said before whom I bow my knee and and kneeling is a good posture for prayer it sort of says something it was a position that was more popular probably during the time when the King James Bible was translated when they would come before the king and they would kneel before the king it was just the posture that a person would take which did signify a posture of surrender and honor to the king and so I'm coming before the King of the universe and and so I can see where kneeling is a good posture that might Express you know this honor and all that I wish to give to him but I also found that if I kneel by the side of my bed and put my hand my face in my hands there at the bed and I start to pray I find that quite often I can fall asleep in that comfortable position good position to pray in but it's also a fairly good position to sleep in if you're tired enough and so I have found that it helps me many times if I walk while I pray I find that it's good if I will pray aloud because if I just pray in my heart or in my mind I find that my mind has a tendency to wander over on other subjects and pretty soon I'm back in kawaii catching that wave that I missed I got the extra kick this time and I really got a good slide and so in just praying in my mind my mind has a tendency to wonder from the prayer so I find that by praying aloud by articulating my needs my requests that it does keep my mind from roaming off in other subjects and so I love to just take a walk and talk with the Lord it's very enjoyable to me to just take a walk and just talk to the Lord and just pour out my heart my soul to him as we're just sort of walking together I have discovered that it isn't the position of my body that's important for prayer but the position of my heart that's what God is looking at he's not paying any attention to whether or not my hands are lifted or I'm kneeling or my head is bowed and hands folded and eyes closed what's the attitude of my heart the position of my heart that's what's important in prayer so men here's for you pray everywhere lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting women well adorn yourselves in modest apparel there are fashions and styles that are designed to be sexually provocative as a Christian woman I do not believe that you should be wearing such styles jesus said if a man looks upon a woman and desires her in his mind he is committed adultery and thus to wear a style of clothing that was so display your body as to create a luster and desire you're causing some man to sin you don't want to do that modest apparel now I don't believe that you you know to go to the other extreme to wear your apparel you know immediately marches some kind of a weirdo you know I think that there is just a lot of modest beautiful styles then and I don't think that this in any way should inhibit your shopping you can plant spend plenty of money on clothes that are not of the provocative nature stay out of Frederick's women adorn themselves in modest apparel with shamefacedness and sobriety not with broided hair gold or pearls or costly ray now this certainly has to be read in the context of the of the day in which Paul was writing and of the styles of those days and styles change from time to time I think that the best guide is just moderation I think that as a Christian I should not seek to be ostentatious in my dress and I think that this goes for the men as well as the women now I think that there are some pretty wild hairstyles I've seen him on TV that you know our extremes I don't think that we ought to be spending a lot of money to remain fashionable with the latest hairstyles and/or some of them are not the latest hairstyles they go back aways but they're very fancy indeed and costly I don't believe in a lot of fancy jewelry myself I think that there is a better way to spend our money met a man today who had a very beautiful Rolls Royce no doubt he was desperate for transportation no he was trying to say something gold chain with a big gold pendant with diamonds in a gold white gold wristwatch with his name and diamonds on it of course he had his name on the license plate of his rolls-royce he's trying to say something I sort of felt sorry for him to be lacking and self calmness to have to say it with jewelry or something else you know I'm successful I've got it made I in the 1 million club it's sort of sad indeed so moderation that which becomes women who are professing godliness that's how you ought to dress I mean so that it doesn't take away from that beauty that glows upon a woman who is walking with Jesus Christ you know there are times in a woman's life when she glows with beauty I think that there is just something really about pregnancy I think that women rarely are as beautiful as they are when they are pregnant in the sort of the last stages there seems to be just sort of a glow that is something beautiful about it and when a woman is walking with the Lord there's just that glow of beauty about their lives there's just that special little touch of of God upon them which I'll tell you Laurie all or none of the rest can duplicate I don't care how much you span that beauty of the countenance of a woman who is walking with the Lord is something that is to this I be desired it's glorious to be home now Paul brings up a very controversial issue here he said let the women learn in silence with all subjection for I do not allow a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man but to be in silence there are certain things that I wish Paul had not written Paul is notice prohibiting the woman to teach or to usurp authority over the man and that would be in spiritual things and in spiritual issues yet in writing to Titus Paul said let the older women teach the younger women there is a place of teaching for women the teaching of the younger women how to love their husbands how to keep their homes and to walk in godliness and righteousness and my wife has taken that as her calling here at Calvary to teach the younger women having raised now the family and being free from the obligation of having the children at home she's now free to share with the younger women those secrets that she has learned in walking with God and seeking to raise a godly family Paul mentions to Timothy how he had been taught in the scriptures by his mother and his grandmother and so the teaching of the children was largely the responsibility of the mothers the only thing that is prohibited here is the teaching of men and usurping authority over them in spiritual things that's the only thing that was being prohibited here by Paul he is not prohibiting a woman sharing with men Paul in writing to the corinthians mentions the women praying or prophesying in a public assembly and he doesn't come down on them for that he doesn't say that that's prohibited and he the prophesy speaks to the church for edification for comfort for exhortation and I see these as areas where women can minister effectively in fact I think that they really are most of them tremendous exhort errs especially if they've been married we had one little woman in Huntington Beach who had a marvelous gift of exhortation a little grandmotherly woman but she could stand up and say now you know life isn't always easy we face a lot of trials but the Lord is on the throne and so often we forget that God is on the throne and we rust must remember that and she could just start exerting and man you feel like going out and conquering the world you know I'm not afraid of anything God is on my side God is ruling and and she had a beautiful gift of exhortation just the area of teaching or usurping authority over the man is the only thing that Paul comes against here and so let's be careful not to broaden out from what Paul has said no Paul isn't talking about a local cultural situation because he goes back to the beginning and he said Adam was first formed and then Eve the man was made first then the woman and Adam was not deceived but the woman was the one that was deceived notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing if they continue in the faith and love and holiness with sobriety now Paul points out the fact that Satan came and deceived Eve the suggestion is that women are more susceptible to being deceived in spiritual things than our men that's the suggestion that is made it is interesting that many of the cults have been headed up by women it is interesting if you look in the paper at the advertisements for the religious science churches and yes virtus votes for the theosophy and so forth that so often women are the ones that are teaching in these off branch kind of cults in the parables of the church the kingdom parables in Matthew's Gospel a woman hid three he put the leaven in the three loaves in the church that we'll be covering in the book of Revelation the Church of Thyatira it was the woman Jezebel who the church allowed to teach and to bring them into this idolatry so a woman's place is not that of a teacher or the usurper of authority over men in these spiritual matters now Paul said notwithstanding she shall be saved the word there is preserved in childbearing one of the greatest fears of a woman in those days when she became pregnant is that of death during the birth of the child for there was a very high rate of death of the mother in childbirth and thus there was always a mixed feeling when a woman realized that she was pregnant there was that feeling of joy and exultation we're going to have a baby but there was that underlying fear I wonder if I will survive the birth of the child because so many died in childbirth because of their limited medical knowledge and facilities so Paul is encouraging them that the Lord will be with them during childbirth they will be preserved you don't have to fear that you're going to die in childbirth the Lord will preserve you and keep you through this experience if you just continue in the faith and in love and in holiness with sobriety you don't need to fear death during the delivery of your child now may the Lord enrich your hearts in his love and it is true that you may walk in fellowship with him in a way that is pleasing unto Him that the Lord will minister to you in a very special way in your hour of need that he will come and take you by the hand and comfort you in your time of sorrow that you just might experience in these days a greater realization of God's love and if God's touch upon your life as he ministers to you through his abundant mercy and grace in Christ Jesus may God be with you watch over you and keep you in his love in Jesus name

Channel: Ken Zenk

Views: 21,343

Rating: 4.9180326 out of 5

Keywords: Bible, God, Jesus, Christ, Love, Hell, Death, Sex, Marriage, Drugs, Satan, Porno, Cancer, Sports, Girls, Music, Holy Spirit, Children, Family, Heaven, Healing, Pregnant, Aids, Gay, Movies, TV Shows, Animals, Israel Prophecy, Last Days, Christian, Jewish People, Gentiles

Id: H2X5q5vWhoo

Length: 81min 2sec (4862 seconds)

Published: Fri May 10 2013