Jackie Hill Perry Sermon: Pure Doctrine Makes Us Good Servants of Christ - Legacy Chicago 2017

[Music] how are you saying I heard like seven people I said how are you saying I like I like when people talk to me I'm not presbyterian so uh it's encouraging to be known as a saint isn't it if someone asks you if you were a good servant of Jesus Christ what would you say some of you without hesitation might respond yes I believe that I am while there are others of you who might respond is I'm not sure but I hope so to answer the question you would have had to gather some things you would have had to consider some things you would have needed to gather up a few examples from your life bring it to the forefront of your mind for you to look at them and then say this this and this is the reason why I believe and don't believe that I am a good servant what I want to lay before you this morning is that how you answer the question of being a good servant does not matter if how you got your answer is not true let us turn or should i say click the first Timothy chapter 4 verses 6 through 10 we don't carry Bibles with paper no more say Amen when you got it if you put these things before the brothers you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed have nothing to do with the reverent chilly mist rather train yourself for godliness for bodily training is of some value godliness is a value in every way and it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come the saying is trust worthy and deserving a full acceptance for to this end we toil and strive because we have our hope set on the Living God who is the same of all people especially of those who believe Apostle Paul has up until this point been charging his child in the faith Timothy to confront and challenge Fross doctrine he has urged him to pray for all people he has laid out how men and women are to function within their local church and how these men leading these churches are to live he then tells Timothy that the Church of the Living God is a pillar and a buttress of truth two words that give the imagery of a building being held up and supported by and protected from all that would seek to destroy it because Paul wants Timothy to know that if the church is for anything she is for the truth but Paul what's Timothy to also know that there is a coming a time when people who are in the church will leave or depart from believing the church or believing the truth that the Church teaches now to all of this you would think that Paul would give Timothy some more doctrine to believe I mean chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 has been laying out what Timothy is to believe in the speech but Paul takes a brief break if you will and he instead lays out now not only what Timothy is to believe but what the belief should do to and through Timothy as much as God through Paul 1 Timothy to have a solid ministry he also wants Timothy to be a solid minister he says if you put these things before the brothers you will be a what a good servant Paul gives him an exaltation of identity that has a condition for it to be contained or obtained it says if you put these things these doctrines these teachings that I just lay before you put them before the church then you can rightly call yourself a good servant of Jesus Christ while we're talking about it what is doctrine anyway I mean it's even the theme of this conference so it must be a pretty big deal doctrine to be said plainly is a belief system that is taught there are some who might tell you that we all need dr. we just need Jesus the funny thing is that is a doctrine and a false one at that we live and breathe doctrine all day long from Twitter to Facebook to CNN we are surrounded by people making confident versions about things that they believe in hopes that we would believe along with them so clearly we shouldn't disregard the idea of doctrine but rather we need to recognize and discern the difference between false and true doctrine because if we want to be a good not a decent not okay not a mediocre but a good service and we have to understand that teaching good doctrine is a part of that identity Paul basically tells Timothy yo bro I want you to teach what is true to the people that you are serving let me remind you that that's what it means to be a minister I know we have a lot of Ministers in the rooms we have pastors we have poets we have elders we have pastors wives we have deacons we have Sunday School teachers we got youth group leaders we got missionaries we are Christian bloggers authors musicians ehh rappers DJ shout out to you these titles these titles are gorgeous but they mean nothing if we have forgotten what they are supposed to mean in light of Scripture we are to be serving servants that are not hesitant to teach what is true I have a feeling that there might be a few of you who take deep pride in teaching doctrine either on social media and a small group among friends etc so as I share Paul's charge for Timothy you are inwardly patting yourself on the back and glorying and doing what a good servant does but I want you to ask yourselves in your teaching who are you doing it for do you find joy in teaching doctrine because of how it helps people see God or because of how how it helps people see you isn't it deep how quickly theology can become idolatry when you stop digging into God's Word to learn and delight in him but instead you read and dug deep to only learn about him for the sake of being known by everyone else but him there was another group though that comes to mind this is a group that is refused to teach doctrine all who have become comfortable with the title of a Christian and not the duty of a Christian the one who knows that they are called to make disciples and teach them all that God has commanded but they know that some of these commands are a bit offensive they know these commands might have them losing friends or jobs or followers so that only doctors they care to teach are the ones they don't cost them anything if any of you in this room fits this description is because you've forgotten that you are called to be first and foremost a servant but I guess in a sense you are a servant you are a servant of yourself so I should rephrase that I guess you have forgotten who you are to be a servant of notice the end of verse 6 does not say if you put these things before the brothers you will be a good servant of pride or if you put these things before the brothers you will be a good servant of fear no it says if you put these things before the brothers you will be a good servant of Jesus Christ he is to be the primary motivation for our love and our labor with doctrine after saying this Paul comments on how Timothy has been and is being trained in the words of faith and now he has followed the good doctrine in other words Timothy practice what he preaches good service not only teach good doctrine but they are constantly learning and living it so if when you thought about how you would answer the question are you a good servant and you only consider what you knew and left out how you live I encourage you to reevaluate let's turn those first Timothy verses chapter 1 verses 8 through 10 real quick it should take you a big thumb sweet you know it's why I want you to pay attention to something here it reads now we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully understanding this that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient for the ungodly and sinners for the unholy and profane for those who strike their fathers and mothers for murderers for the sexually immoral men who practice homosexuality and slavers Liars perjurers and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine think about this Paul lists a myriad of behavior such as murder and sexual immorality and says that it's contrary to sound doctrine you would think he would contrast false doctrine with sound doctrine not sinful behavior against good teaching here we can conclude that even if you know sound doctrine if you are not allowing it to transform how you live you are still in opposition to it your knowledge should lead you towards faith in what God has said in the scriptures and faith through the power of the Holy Spirit will produce fruit in which your doctrine and your life will be United though Timothy has been nourished in the faith and has followed good doctrine Paul still warns him he tells him to have nothing to do with the Reverend silly myths but instead train for godliness if what you believe governs how you behave and it does then a good servant is one that refuses to have anything to do with doctrines and ideas that are opposed to the truth found in God's Word in the beginning of chapter four we see some of the myths being taught by false teachers were asceticism and marital abstinence we would be deceived though if we didn't think that we don't have some modern myths floating around in our debt such as those who will tell you that you don't have to fight for the rights of those who are marginalized and oppressed as if the gospel doesn't demand love or the myth that our sexuality is open to interpretation or the myths that God won't judge sin or the myths that America can define marriage or the myth that gender roles within marriage don't matter or the myths that the gospel ain't true are relevant or real or still as powerful as it was the day Jesus came out that great good servants refused to have anything to do with what is not in accordance with sound doctrine but instead they spend their energy in their time not researching the Illuminati and CH H but they send their energy and time talking to eight of you they spend their energy and time training for godliness why why because knowing God makes everything better the truth is this life is hard we are surrounded by brown bodies being lynched on camera we have death and our families frustration in our home infertility in our marriages divorces in our church abuse in our pulpits we have broken relationships relationships we have inconsistent friendships not to mention our own struggles with the flesh day after day after day there are some of us who will leave this conference and go home to a situation that makes you want to distrust the gospel but guess what even in all that turmoil God knows you and you know him him being the one who created it all him being the one in control of it all him being the one who will sustain you and sanctify you and keep you and convict you and comfort you and carry you through it all have we forgotten that godliness comes through intimacy with that guy and that godliness not only transforms how you live but how you see life this is why it is valuable because at the end of the day what does it matter if when this life is over you knew a bunch of stuff about God and never knew God himself Paul lets us know that godliness is a value in every way as it holds promise for the present life so right now life your today and God willing tomorrow life and also for the life to come Paul wants Timothy to know that what he just said is to be trusted and it deserves his acceptance he says in verse 10 for to this end we toil and strive because we have our hope set on the Living God why all this talk about doctrine what does it matter it matters because we're going to see God one day remembering verse 8 Paul says godliness holds promise not only for this life but for the life to come Paul has eternity in mind teaching what is true is not a sport for him it's not a game it's not a means to get followers if anything if you just skim through the New Testament you'll see that his commitment to the Scriptures made his life even harder and you can expect the same to happen to you the Paul wants Timothy to know that he will stay faithful because his hope is not in a dead thing his hope is not in an idol or people or fame or fear or pride his hope is in the Living God do you remember when you were dead in trespasses and sins when you lived like God couldn't see you when you talked like God couldn't hear you when you threatened God like he couldn't move but he loved you anyway and having loved you the Living God died and if he was only a man like others saying he wouldn't have been able to die for your sins because he would have needed someone to die for his own if he was only a prophet like other religions say he would have stayed dead if he wasn't the son of God like another might say he wouldn't have had power over death but seeing that he is a prophet and a priest and the son of God fully God and fully man completely perfect therefore the only sacrifice that God would accept on our behalf because he was this end more and he is raising to life he was and is able to make you alive with him on this god we set our hope until then until we see his face until we obtain the promise of eternal life that awaits us we must continue to preach what is true we must continue to live what is right and we must train for what matters because at the end of the day that's what good servants do that's prayer lord I thank you for this time I thank you that you are so gracious that we are a body a community of people that once did not like you were in opposition to you that did not love you but I thank you that now we are people who pay money to hear about you who travel across places to learn doctrine so that we can teach it to others God I thank you that you have regenerated us in such a way where we are just different where now we want to teach what is right now we want to learn about you and I pray that you would continue to do the work in us where your word becomes alive where we see you rightly and we live rightly and make your gospel glorious and beautiful as it already is Jesus saying amen

Channel: Legacy Disciple

Views: 93,659

Keywords: Legacy, Conference, Urban, Discipleship, Jackie Hill Perry, Sermon, 1 Timothy 4, Bible, Preaching, Jesus, God, Christianity, Faith, Message, Teaching

Id: qFPHynkcV9M

Length: 16min 5sec (965 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 13 2017