WATCH OUT!
I Timothy 4.16
S: Spiritual Growth
C: Living deliberately
Pr: WE NEED TO LIVE CAREFULLY.
?: What? What do we need to be careful about?
KW: Subjects
TS: We will find in our study of Scripture, beginning with I Timothy 4.16, two subjects to which we must give specific care.
Type: Propositional; topical
The ____ subject is…
I. OUR ACTIONS
II. OUR BELIEF
PA: How is the change to be observed?
• Be a person of the Word.
• Possess a Christian worldview
• Live deliberately for the Lord.
Version: ESV
RMBC 05 August 07 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Watchfulness (S)
Dean Niferatos was riding the Number 22 Chicago Transit Authority bus in Chicago. The bus brimmed with dozing office workers, restless punkers, and affluent shoppers. At the Clark and Webster stop, two men and a woman climbed in. The driver, a seasoned veteran, immediately bellowed, “Everybody watch your valuables. There are pickpockets on board.”
Women clutched their purses tightly. Men put their hands on their wallets. All eyes fixed on the trio, who, looking insulted and harassed, didn’t break stride as they promptly exited through the middle doors.
That small story illustrates to us that…
1. It is important to be observant to what is going on around us.
There are dangers lurking.
We are to watch out for those with evil intent.
All too often, we turn on the local news or to the Buffalo News, and we are exposed to robberies, rapes and murder.
We hear about product recalls and other safety concerns.
This week, we were reminded once again about the structural integrity of bridges and how easily they can collapse as they weaken in time.
We are still reminded from time to time, in the wake of 9/11, to report matters that seem out of the ordinary.
There are dangers lurking.
In the same way…
2. We should not be naïve about spiritual issues that are around and about us.
There are spiritual dangers as well.
And we need to understand that the evil one, as Peter testifies in his letter, is seeking to devour anyone who is ignorant of his ways.
He wants to drag us down, entice us toward sin, and make us unprofitable in the kingdom.
We need to remember that the Christian life is not all roses.
There are thorns.
To think that once we become a Christian that everything will be fine and dandy and that we won’t have any problems is immature.
After all, Jesus told us to count the cost when it came to our faith.
TRANSITION:
We are considering one verse as the basis of our study this morning – I Timothy 4.16 – the final verse in the passage Pastor Will read just a few moments ago.
In this letter that we call I Timothy…
1. Context: Paul is instructing Timothy about his service for Jesus.
Paul, Timothy’s mentor, wants him to know that there are certain qualities that are required of him as a pastor and minister of the gospel.
Paul cares about what kind of minister Timothy has become and is continuing to become.
What directed me to this passage of late was a discussion I was having with area Baptist pastors.
What I am finding that is happening among ourselves is that there is an increasing care and concern about what kind of people we are in Christ, not only as pastors, but as believers in the Lord Jesus.
We find ourselves so busy going through the motions of ministry, that somehow we lose sight of what put us in ministry in the first place – a relationship with and a love for the Lord Jesus.
Now you may be thinking, okay Pastor Paul, these verses are fine for you as a pastor, but it is not for us.
We are not pastors.
Let me agree with you that the context is about ministry, but I believe the principles are more widely applied, especially when we consider that we all are considered ministers.
We all have ministry responsibility.
So I believe that there is something here for all of us today.
Paul begins to end this section of the letter this way in verse 16 (NIV)…
Watch your life and doctrine closely.
The word here for “watch” carries the meaning of keeping a critical or strict eye on the subject.
It is more than just watching, but a watching that is done with great care and exactitude.
This being so, I think the encouragement to us is that…
2. WE NEED TO LIVE CAREFULLY.
But what do we need to be careful about?
Well…
3. We will find in our study of Scripture, beginning with I Timothy 4.16, two subjects to which we must give specific care.
The ESV says it this way…
Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
OUR STUDY:
So…
I. The first subject is OUR ACTIONS.
1. First, we must give attention to what is within us (Matthew 15.19-20a).
Jesus tells us in Matthew that we are to be honest with ourselves about what is in our heart…
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.
Jesus is saying that the source of sin is our heart.
We can blame our circumstances, genetics, and other people all we want, but the truth is, we have to take responsibility for what is going on inside of us.
So when Paul tells us to watch ourselves, we need to look inside at our inner thoughts and feelings and determine where we are.
We need to take a spiritual inventory and see if we are where we ought to be.
I think the first question we should ask is…
2. Is it God first (Proverbs 16.9)?
You know, I think we are very good at telling God our plans and then asking Him to bless them.
Have you done that before?
“O Lord, bless all this I am doing for You.”
But if we give a closer listen to our heart, what we are really saying is…
“O Lord, bless all this great stuff that I have come up with.”
When it comes down to it, we have not asked God for what He wants.
We are going forward with what we want.
In the Proverbs, we find this statement…
The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
It reminds us of the kindred German proverb that says…
“Man proposes; God disposes.”
While we may have long range plans about our lives, we need to realize that the real important stuff is involved in the steps of today.
No matter where we hope to end up, we are not going to get there without the steps that we take today.
And if we truly want to be where God wants us to be, then taking the steps He has for us today is paramount.
They are the steps to our future.
Now if you are wondering what steps we should be taking, I know I don’t have all those kind of answers, but I can confidently tell you this…
3. We are to live righteously (Proverbs 28.6).
Again, Solomon tells us in the Proverbs…
Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.
There are many areas that I believe as Christians we must be very careful about.
We are too often trapped by worldly thinking and thus, we fail to live righteously.
One of them is money.
Did you know that 61% of Christians believe God wants people to be financially prosperous?
I choked on that statistic, because we have made a false equation.
We think that prosperity equals God’s smile on us – that somehow we have earned God’s favor.
We must remind ourselves that if we are prosperous, God intends for us to be good stewards of what He has given us.
We have not earned this prosperity, but rather, we have been entrusted with it to accomplish God’s will.
Another area that we need to exercise care is in our communication.
ILL Tongue (H)
Employed by the human-development center of a corporation in the Midwest, a young woman was training the employees in proper dress codes and etiquette.
One day as she was stepping onto the elevator, a man casually dressed in jeans and a golf shirt got on with her.
Thinking of her responsibilities, she scolded, "Dressed a little casually today, aren’t we?"
The man replied, "That’s one benefit of owning the company...."
Have you ever had that kind of experience before?
When you really stuck your foot in your mouth, so to speak?
This is why…
4. We are to be careful about our speech (James 3.8, Colossians 4.6).
First, note the warning James issues…
…but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
As believers, we need to be very concerned about what comes out of our mouths.
I am very convinced that we give in to the worldly philosophy that says that we just need to get things off our chests.
“Just say it” is the advice that is too often given.
But we should not give in to that.
We do not have to say everything that comes to our minds.
And James gives us the reason.
When we speak like that, it is poison.
It wounds.
It destroys.
We wound people when we spout off.
We genuinely hurt people.
We actually destroy God’s image.
We do that, all in the name of “I thought it, so I said it.”
Paul’s advice is what we need to follow when he says…
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Can I confess to you, I am still on the learning curve on this one?
Because, when I feel hurt, I am very tempted to lash back.
When I feel attacked, I want to hit back.
When I feel unjustly accused, I want make a case that no one can refute.
But God’s way is different, isn’t it?
He says, “Be gracious.”
He encourages us always to be a person of grace.
Be a man of grace.
Be a woman of grace.
“Watch yourself” is Paul’s advice to young Timothy.
He gives us this advice because a minister can’t teach the truth if he or she is not living it.
This brings us to…
II. The second subject is OUR BELIEF.
Again, that opening phrase of this verse reads in the NIV…
Watch your life and doctrine closely.
Sometimes we hear that word doctrine and we think that it is a scary word that is only for the scholars and theologians.
But the word that is translated doctrine simply means teaching.
It is a good word.
So Paul’s exhortation to Timothy is to watch what we believe, what we teach, to make sure it is true and reflects and agrees with what God has revealed.
In application, this means…
1. We are to be growing (II Peter 3.18).
Peter tells us…
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
When it comes to what we know about the Lord Jesus, we are to know more.
We are never to be content with where we are in our understanding of Jesus.
So when someone says, “Oh I have heard it all before,” I know that there is something vitally missing in their lives.
There is an unfortunate deadness of spirit that is carnal in nature.
There is a loss of the first love that is described in Revelation.
We are never to tire in growing in our knowledge about Jesus.
This means then that…
2. We are to be good students (II Timothy 2.15).
Paul tells Timothy in his second letter to him…
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (NASU)
This verse challenges us to dig deeper into God’s Word.
We are called on to be humble before it – to know it – to analyze it.
We are to be teachable as we come to it.
We are not to be found in a situation where we show that we do not know what it says.
Because…
3. His Word is to be ever on our mind (Psalm 119.48).
The psalmist said…
I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.
We often use the word “devotions” to describe our time each day with the Lord.
But I want to remind you that a five-minute devotional does not mean that you are devoted to God.
You see, devotions are about devotion.
As we come before the Lord each day, it is a time that is to be relished.
It is to be quality time with the Lord, no matter how long or how short it is.
It is a time that we let the Spirit teach us as we read and study God’s Word.
It is a time that we let Him speak to our hearts on how to apply what is before us.
APPLICATION:
ILL Bible (H)
There is a story about a rather legalistic Seminary student who wanted to have a scriptural basis for everything he did. He felt he was on solid ground if he could quote the Bible, book, chapter and verse to okay his actions.
He did all right with that until he began to fall in love with a beautiful co-ed. He wanted very much to kiss her, but he just couldn’t find a scripture to okay it. So, true to his conscience, he would simply walk her to the dormitory each night, look at her longingly, and then say "Good night."
This went on for several weeks, and all the time he was searching the Bible, trying to find some scripture to okay kissing her good night. But he couldn’t find one, until finally he came across that passage in Romans that says, "Greet each other with a holy kiss." He thought, "At last, I have scriptural authority for kissing her good night."
But to be sure, he went to his hermeneutics professor to check it out. After talking with the professor, he realized that the passage dealt more with a church setting than with a dating situation. So once again he simply didn’t have a passage of scripture to okay kissing his girl good night.
That evening he walked her to the dormitory and once again started to bid her "good night." But as he did, she grabbed him, pulled him toward her, and planted a ten-second kiss right on his lips.
At the end of the kiss, the Seminary student gasped for air, and stammered, "Bible verse, Bible verse." The girl grabbed him a second time, and just before kissing him again, said, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Well, we can appreciate this seminary’s student’s desire to be a student of the Word.
And you have to be appreciative of his girlfriend’s creative application.
With that said, let us…
1. Come under the authority of God’s Word.
Perhaps you might think this is one of those “goes without saying” principles, but I think we need to say it over and over and affirm it over and over.
As believers in the Lord Jesus, you and I need to recognize that our authority, that which rules over us, is God’s revealed Word.
We do not need to be ashamed of this.
We are people of the book.
We know that the message of Scripture has changed us and has the power to continue to change us as we heed it.
This is important to recognize because we don’t live this as often as we think we do.
To be perfectly frank, there are a lot of other things that rule over us first, like our emotions, experience, or our thinking.
And we show that we are not under God’s authority when we say, “that is not how I feel about it…”
Or we say, “that is not my experience…”
Or, “that is not what I think…”
And the Word of God ends up playing a secondary role.
Let today be a day of resolve that you will…
2. Think and act with a Christian worldview.
I say this because we must clearly be on the alert for worldly thinking that infiltrates our own.
You see, sometimes I hear Christians say (pardon me for saying it this way) the most ridiculous things.
Like… “You can do whatever you put your mind to.”
If you say that, stop it.
It is not true.
I don’t care how often Oprah says it; she preaches a false gospel…
We are not infinite.
We are finite.
God has not made it possible that we can accomplish an infinite amount of possibilities just because we dream it and try hard.
That is the foolishness of man.
Another ridiculous statement is… “God helps those who help themselves.”
This gets quoted all the time and God gets blamed for it.
It is not in the Bible.
It is not true.
It is a broken understanding of what God requires of us.
For He desires humble hearts and empty hands that come to Him in the recognition that we are unable to help ourselves.
One other area I want to mention because we are in wedding season is that I find more and more often that it is a rarity for believers to be virgins before they enter into the marriage relationship.
They are living out the worldly philosophy that says, “As long as we love each other, it is okay to have sex.”
But you know what?
It is not okay.
For romance and feelings of love, though desired, are not the most important ingredients for a married relationship.
God has created sexuality to be enjoyed and blessed within the parameters of a publicly witnessed and committed relationship.
Outside of that is a formula for disappointment, disillusionment and despair.
God has made marriage holy by giving it a certain design and order, and we are wrong to disparage it by following an alternate pattern.
So, let me repeat what I have been saying often lately…
3. Live deliberately for the Lord.
We are not to let the Christian life happen to us.
It is not “que sera, sera.”
It is not “whatever will be, will be.”
Living for Jesus takes active, daily participation on our part.
We must wake up every day with the intent to love God, love our neighbor and love one another.
We must be determined to live carefully for the sake of Christ, that this day will be a day that we will run and we will run to win.
Why?
We run hard because it is a matter of eternal consequences.
Again, the text reads…
Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
ILL Perseverance (S)
There is a single page from the journal of John Wesley that reads:
Sunday a.m., May 5 - Preached in St. Ann’s; was asked not to come back any more.
Sunday p.m., May 5 - Preached at St. John’s; deacons said, "Get out and stay out."
Sunday a.m., May 12 - Preached at St. Jude’s; can’t go back there either.
Sunday p.m., May 12 - Preached at St. George’s; kicked out again.
Sunday a.m., May 19 - Preached at St. Somebody Else’s; deacons called special meeting and said I couldn’t return.
Sunday p.m., May 19 - Preached on the street; kicked off the street.
Sunday a.m., May 26 - Preached out in a meadow; chased out of meadow when a bull was turned loose during the service.
Sunday a.m., June 2 - Preached out at the edge of town; kicked off the highway.
Sunday p.m., June 2 - Afternoon service, preached in pasture; 10,000 people came.
Bob Hartman, Plugged In, (9-16-97), p. 6
Live deliberately.
Live carefully.
Persevere and persist.
Run to win.
So that hell will be rejected and heaven received by your friends, your family and all those in relationship with you.
COMMUNION:
II Corinthians 4.5
For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
As we come to the table today, let it be known what our doctrine, our teaching, is today.
We will not compromised on this point.
It is Jesus.
He is the Christ, the Messiah, the One who came to rescue us from the eternal consequences of our sin.
He is our Lord, whom we serve.
If in anyway, this morning, you have only seen me and not seen Jesus, I have been a failure.
Our time together is not about me today.
And, frankly, neither is it about you.
This is about Jesus.
The exhortation today has been…
Watch your life and doctrine closely.
It is applicable this very moment, because as we come to the table, we are to examine ourselves.
Paul says that…
A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
We do not come lightly to this table.
Instead, we are to stop and be sure that we do not eat and drink in an unworthy manner.
God would have us confess our sin before Him, so that we might be truly appreciative for His good gift to us.
God would have us consider whether we have been watching our lives and our doctrine closely.
God would have us evaluate whether we are living carefully and deliberately for Him.
Let us pray silently…
We practice “communion” because we are to remember the death of the Lord Jesus.
We take the bread to remind us that it was by the body of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died in our place.
He became our substitute.
Being led in prayer by ____, let us take a moment and thank Him for being our sacrifice.
(Prayer)
The apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
We take the cup to remind us that it was by the blood of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died for our sins.
He became our sacrifice.
It is here we rejoice in the forgiveness we have received.
____ will now come and lead us in prayer.
Again, the apostle Paul writes, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Deacon offering.
BENEDICTION:
Now may your love abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best; and may you be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Amen.
RESOURCES:
SermonCentral:
Coombs, Colin Take Heed to Yourself
Hicks, Ron Can Knowledge Save You?
Tow, Richard Purpose and Value of Bible Study
Other Sources:
Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament. Cook Communications Ministries, 2000.
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. 12 vols, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 11. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978.
Guthrie, Donald. The Pastoral Epistles. 20 vols. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, ed. R. V. G. Tasker, vol. 14. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1978.
MacArthur, John, Jr. 1 Timothy. The Macarthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1995.
Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary: New Testament. Colorado Springs: ChariotVictor Publishing, 1989.
