PRODUCERS OF A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT-II—2Timothy 3:1-9
Need:
We live in a country of great corporate & personal wealth.
Why do people/things seem to be getting worse with times? Why is the world getting worse/colder/violent? I’m gonna fix this.
Self-protection/Isolation/Anonymity/Introversion/Antisocial/Aloof/Perversions/Indulgence/Alignments/Identification/Worldliness/Self-help
A Distortion of relationships at all & various levels
Isolated/Alone/Separated/Useless/Powerless/Fearful/Inept/Depressed/Devil-may-care
The last days will be characterized by a hostile(antagonistic) environment.
The Apostle Paul, revealed to Timothy that a hostile(antagonistic) environment will characterize the last days.
A hostile(antagonistic) environment will characterize the last days.
Why will hostility/antagonism characterize the last days?
22 producers of a hostile(antagonistic) environment.
“Perilous/Difficult”—calepov—Hard to do, to take, to approach; Hard to bear, troublesome, dangerous.
A hostile(antagonistic) environment is produced by,
a distortion of….
1. Self(:2a)
2. Wealth(:2b)
3. ACHIEVEMENT/Ability(:2c)
4—A hostile environment is produced by…
A Distortion of VIEW/Pride(:2d)
Explanation:(:2d)
:2—“For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,”
“Proud/Arrogant”—uperhfanov—Showing one’s self above others; An overweening estimate of one’s means or merits, Despising others or even treating them with contempt, haughty. From—uper—Over, beyond, more & —fainw—To bring forth into the light, cause to shine, shed light; Shine.—‘Shine above/beyond’
*‘One who thinks too highly of himself, describing a trait which is simply internal, not referring primarily to external manifestation, although this is implied. It means one who is proud, the external manifestation when it appears being in the form of arrogance in dealing with others.’
Source of “Boasters” is an internal Pride.
Always stacking the odds in your favor. Tear people down so you will look good.
Argumentation:
Ps. 101:5—“Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look & a proud heart, Him I will not endure.”
Prov. 21:24—“A proud & haughty man-- “Scoffer” is his name; He acts with arrogant pride.”
Prov. 8:13—“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride & arrogance & the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.”
Prov. 16:18—“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Prov. 29:23—“A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.”
1Jn. 2:15-16—“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, & the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.”
Illustration:
Couple invited to dinner/?Dress code—just dress comfortably/Arrive in jeans, t-shirt & flip flops/Hostess glares at you & she says, ‘I can’t believe you wore that!’/Distortion of VIEW/Pride
*Uniform can give people altered of reality/Dictators/Military uniforms/Seem more important than they are/Distortion of VIEW/Pride
On a pedestal/Ivory tower
When your identity becomes —Your Education-Degrees/Reputation/Ownership(#s & worth)-Homes, Businesses-Cars/#s-$, Spending, Income, Baptisms-Converts-Years served-Congregation size-Staff members
Application:
?You guilty of Distorting VIEW/Pride?
?Are you a contributor to a Hostile Environment?
5—A(n) hostile(antagonistic) environment is produced by…
A Distortion of REVERENCE(:2e)
Explanation:(:2e)
:2—“For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,”
“Blasphemers/Revilers/Abusive”—blasfhmov—Speaking evil, slanderous, reproachful, railing, abusive, Impious against God.
—Defiant irreverence—intentionally & openly speaking evil of, defaming or mocking God ‘s economy.
—Critical hateful resistance to God & His work.
Blasphemy is—After having seen all the evidence necessary to complete one’s understanding of saving faith...A determined unbelief, which refuses the deity of Jesus & thus the Holy Spirit who indwelt Him.
‘To question God’s goodness, wisdom, fairness, truthfulness, love, or faithfulness is a form of blasphemy.’—MacArthur
Argumentation:
Isa. 5:20—“Woe to those who call evil good, & good evil; Who put darkness for light, & light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, & sweet for bitter!”
The unforgivable sin—Blasphemy of the Spirit
Mat. 12:22-24, 30-32—“Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind & mute; & He healed him, so that the blind & mute man both spoke & saw. And all the multitudes were amazed & said, “Could this be the Son of David?” Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.””.....“He who is not with Me is against Me, & he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. “Therefore I say to you, every sin & blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”
1Tim. 1:12-15—“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, & an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith & love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying & worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”
Heb. 6:4-6—“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, & have tasted the heavenly gift, & have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, & have tasted the good word of God & the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, & put Him to an open shame.”
Heb. 10:26-27—“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, & fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.”
2Pet. 2:10-22—:10-11—”....They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power & might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.”......:12— “But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught & destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, & will utterly perish in their own corruption,”....:20-22—“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them & overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” &, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.””
*!Never saved but recruited to a religion!
Illustration:
Famous atheistic quotes—Distorting REVERENCE
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE(German philosopher & philologist):
-Faith means not wanting to know what is true.
-Which is it, is man one of God’s blunders or is God one of man’s?
-In Christianity neither morality nor religion come into contact with reality at any point.
-Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.
ISAAC ASIMOV(Science fiction author & Biochemistry professor)
-Properly read, the bible is the most potent force for Atheism ever conceived.
MATTHEW ARNOLD(Poet & Cultural critic)
-All the biblical miracles will at last disappear with the progress of science.
MARK TWAIN(Author & Humorist)
-It ain’t the parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.
RICHARD DAWKINS(Ethologist, Zoologist, Neo-Darwinian evolutionary biologist, theorist & Author) The God Delusion
-Be thankful that you have a life, & forsake your vain & presumptuous desire for a second one.
-The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous & proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.
THOMAS EDISON(Inventor, Scientist & Businessman)
-I have never seen the slightest scientific proof of the religious ideas of heaven & hell, of future life for individuals, or of a personal God. So far as religion of the day is concerned, it is a &*#!%^ fake. Religion is all bunk.
Distorting REVERENCE
Application:
?You guilty of Distorting REVERENCE?
?Are you a contributor to a Hostile Environment?
6—A hostile(antagonistic) environment is produced by…
A Distortion of AUTHORITY/Respect(:2f)
Explanation:(:2f)“Disobedient to parents”
:2—“For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,”
“Disobedient”—apeiyhv—Impersuasible, not compliant, disobedient, contumacious(stubbornly or willfully disobedient to authority).
“Parents”—goneuv—Fathers, parent, the parents. From —ginomai—To cause to be.
—The ones who brought you into this world
View parents as unworthy of consideration or respect.
Argumentation:
Deut. 5:16—‘Honor your father & your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, & that it may be well with you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.”
Le 19:3—‘Every one of you shall revere his mother & his father, & keep My Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.”
“Honor”—dbk kaw-bad’—To be heavy, be weighty, be grievous, be hard, be rich, be honorable, be glorious, be burdensome, be honored.
“Revere”—ary yaw-ray’—To fear ,revere or be afraid
Deut. 27:16—‘Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt.’….’”
“Contempt”—hlq kaw-law’—to disgrace, dishonor, be lightly esteemed, be dishonored, be despised.
Mat. 15:3-8—“He answered & said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? “For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father & your mother’; &, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ “But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”-- ‘then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.”
*Pharisees despised authority & made themselves the authority.
Col. 3:20—“Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.”
Eph. 6:1-4—“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father & mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you & you may live long on the earth.” And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training & admonition of the Lord.”
“Obey”—upakouw—1)To listen, to harken—1a) Of one who, on the knock at the door comes to listen who it is, (the duty of a porter); 2) To harken to a command—2a) To obey, be obedient to, submit to.
Illustration:
My teen/Brought home a dog(John)/Our wishes disregarded/Long story short—Found a good home for John.
A teenager/Disrespect of house rules—Explained numerous Xs/Bedtimes/Music choices/Bring ‘woogoos’ over/Hang with the wrong people/Distortion of AUTHORITY/Respect
Application:
?You guilty of Distorting AUTHORITY/Respect?
?Are you a contributor to a Hostile Environment?
!Can be overcome in Christ!
7—A hostile(antagonistic) environment is produced by…
A Distortion of POSITION/Grace(:2g)
Explanation:(:2g) “Unthankful”
:2—“For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,”
“Unthankful/Ungrateful”—acaristov—Ungracious, unthankful, thankless. Opposite of carizomai(graciously) meaning to do something pleasant or agreeable (to one), to do a favor to, gratify.
Opposite of ‘to do a favor’
*An “unthankful” person remembers all those who do not help them, but is unappreciative of those who do help. They see others as—put on this earth—to serve them personally.
*Have no regard for benefits provided by others(particularly one’s parents)
Argumentation:
Rom. 1:20-21—“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power & Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, & their foolish hearts were darkened.”
1Cor. 15:55-57—“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, & the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
2Cor. 4:15—“For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.”
2Cor. 9:10-11—“Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, & bread for food, supply & multiply the seed you have sown & increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.”
2Cor. 9:15—“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
Php. 4:6—“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer & supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; & the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts & minds through Christ Jesus.”
Col. 1:9-12—“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, & to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom & spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work & increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience & longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.”
*Col. 2:6-7—“As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted & built up in Him & established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.”
*1Th. 5:18—“in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Heb. 13:15—“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”
Illustration:
Car given to son/He abuses it—Runs it to death—Drives it like a race car/Transmission acting up & Throws a rod/Expects the giver to buy another one/Distortion of POSITION
Welfare recipients/Some use it for a crutch/Scheme ways to continue it/Distortion of POSITION
Application:
?You guilty of Distorting POSITION?
?Are you a contributor to a Hostile Environment?
!Can be overcome in Christ!
CONCLUSION:
Action:
A hostile environment is produced by a distortion of….
4. VIEW/Pride(:2d)
5. REVERENCE(:2e)
6. AUTHORITY/Respect(:2f)
7. POSITION/Grace(:2g)
1. SELF(:2a)
2. WEALTH(:2b)
3. ACHIEVEMENT(:2c)
Presented 10/18/09am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf NC 27054
