PRODUCERS of a HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT-VI—2Timothy 3:1-9
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(n) hostile(antagonistic) environment will characterize the last days.
Why will hostility/antagonism characterize the last days?
23 producers of a(n) hostile(antagonistic) environment.
“Perilous/Difficult”—calepov—Hard to do, to take, to approach; Hard to bear, troublesome, dangerous.
‘....it is hard to keep our integrity in the midst of general corruption.’—Matthew Henry(1721)
A(n) hostile(antagonistic) environment is produced by,
a distortion of….
1. Self(:2a)
2. Wealth(:2b)
3. ACHIEVEMENT/Ability(:2c)
4. VIEW/Pride(:2d)
5. Reverence(:2e)
6. Authority/Respect(:2f)
7. Position/Grace(:2g)
8. SEPARATION(:2h)
9. AFFECTION(:3a)
10. RECONCILIATION(:3b)
11. ACCLAIM(:3c)
12. CONTROL(:3d)
13. DIGNITY(:3e)
14. Goodness(:3f)
15. Loyalty(:4a)
16. CIRCUMSPECTION / Uprightness(:4b)
17. SUPERIORITY/Humility(:4c)
18—A hostile(antagonistic) environment is produced by…
A Distortion of LOVE(:4d)
Explanation:(:4d)
:4—“traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,”
“Lovers of Pleasure”—filhdonov—Loving pleasure
Argumentation:
Prov. 21:17—“He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; He who loves wine & oil will not be rich.”
Rom. 8:7-8—“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Jude 20-21—“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
—Both God’s love for you & your love for God.
Mk. 12:29-30(Mat. 22:37, Lk. 10:27)—“Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. ‘And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, & with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.”
Isa. 58:13-14—““If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the LORD honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken.””
Ps. 27:4—“One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.”
Ps. 84:2—“My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the LORD; My heart & my flesh cry out for the living God.”
Jos. 23:11—“Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the LORD your God.”
Dan 9:4(Neh. 1:5)—“And I prayed to the LORD my God, & made confession, & said, “O Lord, great & awesome God, who keeps His covenant & mercy with those who love Him, & with those who keep His commandments,”
Rom. 16:17-18—“Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions & offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, & avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, & by smooth words & flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.”
Illustration:
Take a new Job at Long Horn Steakhouse/Dish Washer/Tired of being wet & having mashed potatoes in shoes/Want the day off/Take it unannounced & without permission/Don’t show up at work/Lover of pleasure—Pleasure over Duty-Responsibility-Calling/Distortion of LOVE
Using money for my benefit only/Deny the millions in the world who can be helped by your money—Buy bigger barns, as it were/Distortion of LOVE/God wants my wealth used for good.
Application:
?You guilty of Distorting LOVE?
?You contribute to a Hostile Environment or a Friendly/Benign one?
19—A hostile(antagonistic) environment is produced by…
A Distortion of GODLINESS(:5a)
Explanation:(:5)
:5—“having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”
Pretense in denying Holy Spirit power
“Form”—morfwsiv—A forming, shaping; Form
“Godliness”—eusebeia—1)Reverence, respect; 2) Piety towards God, godliness.
“Denying”—arneomai—To deny; To deny someone; To deny, abnegate, abjure; Not to accept, to reject, to refuse something offered.
“Power”—dunamiv—Strength power, ability. Power, natural ability, general & inherent.
“Turn away”—apotrepw—To turn one’s self away from; To shun, avoid.
‘Turn these away.’
Argumentation:
Ezek. 33:30-32—““As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls & in the doors of the houses; & they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come & hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.’ “So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, & they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. “Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice & can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them.”
Mat. 15:7-9(Isa. 29:13)—““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. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’””
Acts 8:13, 18-23 “Then Simon himself also believed; & when he was baptized he continued with Philip, & was amazed, seeing the miracles & signs which were done....Then they laid hands on them, & they received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! “You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. “Repent therefore of this your wickedness, & pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. “For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness & bound by iniquity.””
1Cor. 4:18-20—“Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, & I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant, but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power.”
Col. 2:18 -23—“Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement & the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, & not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied & held together by the joints & ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with the using)--in accordance with the commandments & teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion & self-abasement & severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”
Acts 20:28-30—““Therefore take heed to yourselves & to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. “Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.”
Illustration:
Tiger Woods/Excellent golfer/Idolized by many/Claims Buddhist/Form of godliness only with no power/Distortion of GODLINESS
Actors on a stage/Pretense gains one fame or notoriety/Off-stage totally different/Form only/Distortion of GODLINESS
Myth busters/Buster(test dummy)—Internal skeleton, Ballistics gel, Tubes(blood vessels), Brain, etc/Represents a body but is Not a man/No power/Distortion of GODLINESS
Application:
?You guilty of Distorting GODLINESS?
?You contribute to a Hostile Environment or a Friendly/Benign one?
CONCLUSION:
A hostile(antagonistic) environment is produced by,
a distortion of….
18. LOVE(:4d)
19. GODLINESS(:5a)
A hostile(antagonistic) environment is produced by,
a distortion of….
1. Self(:2a)
2. Wealth(:2b)
3. ACHIEVEMENT/Ability(:2c)
4. VIEW/Pride(:2d)
5. Reverence(:2e)
6. Authority/Respect(:2f)
7. Position/Grace(:2g)
8. SEPARATION(:2h)
9. AFFECTION(:3a)
10. RECONCILIATION(:3b)
11. acclaim(:3c)
12. CONTROL(:3d)
13. DIGNITY(:3e)
14. Goodness(:3f)
15. Loyalty(:4a)
16. CIRCUMSPECTION / Uprightness(:4b)
17. SUPERIORITY/Humility(:4c)
Presented 02/21/2010am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf NC 27054
