Let us continue to worship with the Word of God. Open your Bibles to 1 Timothy 4. About 2000 years ago, the Christian Church in Ephesus was growing and Timothy was appointed to lead. We noted God protecting His Church by listing qualifications for Overseers (Bishops, Pastors, Elders of today), Deacons (ministry servers) and how church members were to conduct themselves. Read along with me now 1 Timothy 4:1-11….
V1: It was prophesied that church attenders in Ephesus would abandon the faith; they followed deceiving spirits and teachings of demons.
We can also note Revelation 2:4 - Jesus Christ Himself said to the Ephesian Church, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.” We note in Ephesians 6:24 - “Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.” The Ephesian church abandoned their first love of Jesus Christ!
The church’s first love must always be the Lord Jesus Christ otherwise it will die!
That church in Ephesus did die! What we read in Scriptures including the 7 letters in the Book of Revelation are warnings for churches today! Church attenders being deceived is a disease for churches! I believe that deceptions in churches today is a pandemic!
V2-3: How are people deceived?
We read in v2….
- False teachers don’t care what they teach so long as it pulls people away from Christ! And who is the father of lies who goes against Jesus Christ? – the devil is the father of lies! All false teachers are led by the devil!
- False teachers will go against what God has provided (marriage and food restrictions were examples)!
- The Ephesians were deceived with false teachings!
V4-6: Tells the right things to do! Receive everything with thanksgiving, as it consecrated by the word of God and prayer. What does consecrated mean? To consecrate means to make holy, treat as holy, set apart as holy, sanctify, and purify. And so, Christians are to receive everything with thanksgiving, approved by the word of God and pray always (offer everything to God)!
V7-11: The church was told… Command and teach these things…..
- have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales, rather…
- train yourselves to be godly!
- physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things
(godliness must always be first)
- always put hope in the living God Jesus Christ
And so, what should we apply to our lives today?
1. Can Christian churches today forsake their first love? What should we look for in a church?
A church’s first love must always be the Lord Jesus Christ otherwise it is a dead one!
2. Churches and all Christians must always be discerning of the devil’s lies which pulls people away from Jesus Christ. In Ephesus 2000 years ago, the devil disrupted the sanctity of marriage and food. The devil is still at work today in many ways either restricting many things or allowing freedom for everyone to please themselves, rather than honoring Jesus Christ! Here’s homework for all of us; take time this week to think about and make a list of how the devil pulls Christians away from Christ in churches today! As you look for joining a church, keep in mind the schemes of the devil and say no to them!
3. Let us note and memorize 1 Corinthians10:23 - Everything is permissible, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible, but not everything builds up (ISV). Follow 1 Timothy 4:4-6 - Receive everything with thanksgiving, approved by the word of God and pray always (offer everything to God)! How are we handling things God has provided for us in our lives today? Do we just greedily take what God has provided? Do we completely reject what God has placed in front of us? Do we expect everyone else to follow our decisions?
Receive everything with thanksgiving, approved by the word of God and pray always (offer everything to God)! Encourage others to pray about things God provides in life!
4. Additional homework… Are there godless myths and old wive’s tales which can influence the church today? What does God say about those things? Have nothing to do with them!
5. Always put your hope in Jesus Christ and train in godliness! The Olympics is coming up and athletes have trained and continue to train for competitions, to try and win the prestigious sports battles! We Christians are in a spiritual battle everyday; how’s our godly training to be victorious? You are doing great with your godly training by worshiping the Lord on a regular basis with other Believers; but what about the rest of the week with your prayer life and Bible Studies?
Take moment now to quietly pray about these things and the future church you might join…
Benediction: Titus 2:11-14……
