2 Timothy 2:14 Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. 17 And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, 18 who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”
I like the book of Timothy. It was written by Paul to a young pastor just starting out. It looks as though Timothy faced some of the same problems modern day pastors face.....trying to keep everybody happy while still preaching the truth of God’s Word without compromise. I can tell you, THAT is hard work! Not the preaching part...but the keeping everyone happy part!
This sermon may be a bit rambling tonight. I just want to preach what God has burdened me with and I pray that no one here gets upset or thinks that I am personally attacking you. I’m not, and I love all of you so very much....you’ll probably never know the extent of that love until we all get to Heaven. This message was given by God...but delivered from my heart to those I love here tonight.
I often try to walk the line of being non-offensive. I know, sometimes it’s hard to tell...but it’s true. It’s never my desire to hurt anyone’s feelings or even to make someone feel guilty about anything. Conviction is the Holy Ghost’s job, and He does it better than anyone else can. I do know this...I am charged in our text with "rightly dividing the word of truth" in order to show myself approved before God...and this is a charge that I hold very deeply....and one that even scares me at times. I MUST know that what is preached here is the truth, and if it’s not then "woe unto me" for not knowing God’s truth before I speak to you.
Our text says to "shun profane and idle babblings". Sometimes we christians argue over the most mundane things, don’t we? There are a lot of different doctrines out there these days, all hiding under the name of "christianity". I’m not gonna talk about all of them here, but I have my own ideas about the difference in "prosperity doctrine" and in "being prosperous in Christ".
I can tell you, though, that the Bible warns of men who would come in the last days and pervert the gospel of Christ....even to the point of decieving the "very elect"..that’s you and me...and people who’ve been in church all their lives...with sweet sounding words and enticing doctrines that are totally out of the context with which the authors of the Bible meant.
Oh, they sound good.....there’s always a little bit of truth in a good lie....but when examined closely, they often fail the litmus test of God’s Word. Right now there is a movement afoot called "Kingdom Now". I wanted to know more about it because it sounds good, doesn’t it? I mean, I’d like to have God’s Kingdom right here, right now. So I researced it...and I assure you, I did my homework not just with one source, but many....and here’s what I found:
Kingdom Now theology is a theological belief within the Charismatic movement of Protestant Christianity, mainly in the United States. Kingdom Now proponents believe that God lost control over the world to Satan when Adam and Eve sinned. Since then, the theology goes, God has been trying to reestablish control over the world by seeking a special group of believers— known variously as "covenant people," "overcomers," or "Joel’s army,"—and that through these people, social institutions (including governments and laws) would be brought under God’s authority. They believe that since believers are indwelt by the same Holy Spirit that indwelt Jesus, we have all authority in heaven and on the earth; we have the power to believe for and speak into existence things that are not, and thus we can bring about the Kingdom Age. (That is as ludicrous as buying tickets to Israel for Jews in order to hasten the rapture)
Among the most controversial tenets of the theology is the belief that secular or non-Christian society will never succeed. Hence, Kingdom Now opposes a separation of church and state. Other beliefs include the idea that, as the Body of Christ, we are Christ. In other words, we have His divine nature. They also don’t believe in the Rapture, which is explained away as a feeling of rapture or excitement when the Lord returns to receive the Kingdom from our hands. In other words, everyone will be "caught up" emotionally when He returns. Also among the unbiblical beliefs is the idea that all prophecies regarding future Israel—both in the Old and New Testaments—are made to apply to the Church.
Kingdom Theology sees the Second Coming of Jesus in two stages: first through the flesh of the believers (and in particular the flesh of today’s apostles and prophets), and then in person to take over the Kingdom handed to Him by those who have been victorious (the "overcomers"). Prior to the Second Coming, overcomers must purge the earth of all evil influences. Kingdom Now claims that Jesus cannot return until all His enemies have been put under the feet of the Church, (including death, presumably).
How many un-Biblical staement do you see in here? First, the idea that God has “lost control” of anything is ludicrous, especially the idea that He needs human beings to help Him regain that control. He is the sovereign Lord of the universe, complete and holy, perfect in all His attributes. He has complete control over all things—past, present and future—and nothing happens outside His command. Everything is proceeding according to His divine plan and purpose and not one molecule is moving on its own accord. And speaking something into exsistance is something only God can do....we can ask, pray, and submit our petitions to God, but only He has the power to bring ANYTHING into being!
The denial of the Rapture of the church is also unbiblical. The explanation that the rapture is nothing more than the people of God being caught up in rapturous feelings ignores the fact that such an application of the term "caught up" is strictly an idiomatic expression peculiar to English, not Greek. "I was all ’caught up’ in the movie" (or other excitement) is not the equivalent of ’harpazo’ in I Thessalonians 4:17, II Corinthians 12:2-4, and Revelation 12:5, used to describe the catching up bodily into Heaven, and Acts 8:39 where Phillip is bodily "caught away" by the Spirit to another location. By the way, Jesus is coming whenever God tells Him.....no sooner or later than that! There is nothing we can do to hasten it or delay it!
As for our being Christ and having divine nature, we are not Christ, although we do partake of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) at salvation with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But Christ is the second Person of the Godhead, and no one becomes God. This is a lie from the father of lies, Satan, who first told it in the Garden of Eden when he tempted Eve with “you shall be as God” (Genesis 3:5). The Bible says that when we get our transformed bodies, we shall be like Him.....but we won’t BE Him...ever! And even though we will reign with Him, we are never, ever, never, to consider ourselves "little gods" as some would have you to believe.
Replacement theology contends that the church has taken over as Israel. Know that we as Gentile Christians are now the "sons of God’, grafted into that branch. GALATHIANS 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. We are indeed heirs to the throne, praise God! But I also know that prophecies mentioned in the Old Testament about Israel are just that....about Israel! God’s blessings to Israel are eternal, and they are without recall. Christians are blessed to be able to enjoy the promises of our God! By the same token, it doesn’t matter if you are Jewish or Gentile....you are lost unless you profess Jesus as the Son of God and Saviour of mankind!
Finally, the secong coming of Christ will be when He, not men, defeats His enemies and puts all things under His feet. The description of the second coming in Revelation 19 is the description of a mighty warrior who comes to put all things to right, not of one who comes to an earth already cleaned up and ready for Him to rule. Verse 15 is clear: “And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, so that with it He should strike the nations. And He will shepherd them with a rod of iron. And He treads the winepress of the wine of the anger and of the wrath of Almighty God.” If the earth has been “purged of all evil influences,” as the Kingdom Now-ers believe, why does He need a sharp sword to strike the nations, and why does the anger and wrath of God still exist against them?
Kingdom Now theology is another in a long line false, unbiblical, and misleading philosophies of men whose vain imaginations seek to humanize God and deify man. It is to be avoided, as is most of the "post-modern" doctrine that is bandied about these days. Believe it or not, I didn’t mean to get that deep into that teaching tonight...but we need to know the truth!
I want to bring all this around to this. I believe that God looks at today’s churches and is sickened by them. People are out of order, claiming God’s power...preaching feel-good "principles" over the solid foundation of God’s Word. These aren’t churches...they’re feel good seminars!
We’ve got too many sissy-faced preachers preaching "sermon-ettes" to a bunch of "christian-ettes" who smoke their "cigar-ettes" while watching their "TV-sets" and worry about getting their "Cor-vettes" while they let their daughters dress like "major-ettes".
It’s time for some good, old fashioned Holy Ghost annointed preaching, I don’t care if it hairlips the pope OR the "popular" evangelical "doctrine de joiur". God’s truth has NOT changed and no post-modern scholar has found some secret, hidden doctrine in the Bible that God has for 2,000 yrs neglected to show to our ancestors! If it’s old fashioned and unpopular to preach truth, then call me grandpa and treat me like a leper, cause I am gonna preach God’s truth...in season, and in these contengious times, out of season!
It’s not popular to preach hell right now....but popular or not, hell is a very real place of eternal torment, and I am going to do everything I can to preach folks out of it! It’s not popular to preach against sin these days. I’m gonna keep preaching against sin every chance I get! I hope I’m up here doing just that whenever God calls me home....and yes, I said home, because that’s where my home is...I’m just passing thru here!!!
This world is not my home! And however God blesses me here in His Kingdom now (like that?) won’t compare to what He has in store for me in His Kingdom that is to come! Praise God! I want to show you one more thing that Jesus said about His kingdom....in John 18:36 My kingdom is not of this world...I think that settles that arguement, doesn’t it?
Do you remember the gospel you were taught as a child? The one that brought you to repentance, the one that spoke to your heart and your soul? That "old-time" religion? GAL 1:9As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. 10For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
2 COR 13:5 says "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves." I like the translation of TLB here...2 Cor 13:5 Check up on yourselves. Are you really
Christians? Do you pass the test? Do you feel Christ’s presence and power more and more within you? Or are you just pretending to be Christians when actually you aren’t at all?
I want to close with the words of Paul....again. In 1 THESS 2:3 For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit.4 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. 5 For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness—God is witness.
I don’t think that I will ever be called a "man-pleaser" by anyone. I would like for everyone to like me and call me their dear friend. But I’m not trying to please men. I am trying to please God. Is that you’re desire tonight, to please God and not man? You can’t serve two masters. Isn’t it time to get back to our roots?
