May 25, 2003
Morning Service
Text: 2 Timothy 3:16 ? 4:5
Subject: The Word of God
Title: Everything You Need to Know to Receive What You Need to Receive
I’m going to speak to you today about the end times. I knowthat got some attention. Everybody likes to hear about the end times prophecy and how it is being fulfilled every day in our midst. The war in the Middle East, the constant conflict in Israel, America’s "Road Map to Peace" These things all seem to have end times implications. You can go on Christian TV any time you want and there will be a preacher there who will tell you what you need to know about the end. He can tell you who Gog and Magog are. They can tell you where the 200 million-man army will come from. They have the events of the tribulation all figured out. Sometimes I think they spend so much time telling us what it is that God means that they miss some of the most important meaning of scripture. I am not opposed to a study of the end times. But I stop short of saying that my interpretations of those bible verses are set in concrete.
I am going to talk about events of the end today, but not the way you probably want me to. I want to talk to you today about what Paul wrote to Timothy about the times to come. He said that there is coming a time when people will not endure sound doctrine. Now some of you are probably sitting there and wondering, "How did he go from the end times to doctrine?" Easy! Doctrine comes from the word of God. The word of God is truth. Even the confusing prophecies of Revelation are truth. We just don’t understand the whole truth yet.
But Paul said there will come a time when people will not stand for sound doctrine. For me this creates a problem. As a pastor I try to really dissect the scriptures in order to properly understand them. I preach the word of God without any excuse for what I say or believe. You hear my preaching every week. Is it affecting you? Is the word of God beginning to sink down deep inside of you to change you? Do you know what you believe and why you believe it?
. I’m afraid we have come to the point where many don’t really enjoy what the Bible has to say, but instead would rather hear words that make us feel good about ourselves. Last week I spoke to you about moving forward with God. "Get out of Haran" was my challenge to you. Don’t stay in your comfort zone. If you ever expect to receive anything from God, you need to know what the bible has to say about it.
Do you want to receive God’s blessings and promises? Then you should understand this. The Bible contains everything you need to know about how to receive what you need to receive. I want you to pay close attention today because what I have to say could change your life eternally.
I. You need to know what the Bible says. (3:16,17)
The bible is God’s word. "All Scripture is God breathed." What does that mean? It was given through men by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:21, Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
It’s not something men just wrote down. It was written over a period of about 1600 years and is woven together so intricately from the beginning to the end that we can’t deny its truth. This is where controversy begins. Many people will discount the veracity of the scriptures. It is a book written by men so it must be messed up. Interesting that many will confess the weakness of men but deny the power of God. Some will even agree that it was given by God but because man had a hand in it there must be mistakes.
I have to confess. There are mistakes. By comparing manuscripts and seeing that there have been copying errors made throughout history we have a New Testament in which 1/1000th of the text is in question, and none of the doctrine is questionable. The Old Testament record is even more impressive.
The bible is profitable...
For doctrine. Doctrine could be described as a set of beliefs set aside by a religious group as truth.
We in the Assemblies of God have 16 fundamental truths that we believe are unchangeable. Is doctrine important? A seeker asked a Christian:
"Say, what do you believe about God?"
"I believe what my church believes," said the Christian.
"And what does your CHURCH believe?" asked the seeker.
"My church believes what I believe," said the Christian."
And what do you AND your church believe?" asked the seeker.
"Why, we both believe the same thing!" said the Christian.
One thing that will attract seekers to the church is the doctrinal beliefs of that church. If I asked you today what the Assemblies of God believe, how many of the sixteen fundamental doctrines could you come up with? You need to know what you believe and why.
Sorry, but "because the Bible says so" is not a good answer. Know where in the bible it is located.
Reproof and correcting.
Reproof and correcting are nearly the same thing. Reproof carries a little stronger sense with it. Both are done with eternal consequences in mind. Matthew 18:15, "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone."
How can you show him his fault? Let the word of God be your standard.
Instruction in righteousness. By being in the word and knowing the word and doing the word, your ability to live godly lives becomes greatly increased. Not only to live holy lives but to live victorious lives.
We must use the word of God to conquer sin, Satan and the world. James 1:21-22, "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." If the word of God is going to do us any good we must act on it!
That the man of God may be equipped for every good work. Equipping - the pastor’s job. Bringing you the word of truth in a way you can understand it and grow from it.
II. You need to know that preaching is for your benefit, not mine. I am called to preach the word.
Ephesians 4:11-12, "And He Himself gave some - pastors and teachers - for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ." Folks, if I just preach to hear myself, let me say this, I’ve missed the mark. But that is not what I do. I listen to the tapes occasionally to correct any annoying speech patterns. I can’t stand to hear my voice. I wouldn’t even know how to describe it. But one thing I will say is that there are things on the tapes that sometimes I don’t even remember saying, anointed words that bring the word of God into focus. It is not for me, but for the body of Christ.
I am supposed to be prepared in every situation.
In church or out of church. That is not an instruction for just the pastor. 1 Peter 3:15, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you." Not just for the pastor but especially for the pastor even more than the saints.
Luke 12:48, "For everyone to whom much is given, much will be required, and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask more." I am supposed to be patient.
In convincing.
This involves sharing the gospel in a complete way so people can make a good decision for Christ.
In rebuking.
This means I need to be involved in the discipleship process of believers. Helping to see areas of their lives that need to be changed to be pleasing to God.
In exhorting.
As your pastor, I need to be encouraging you to continue to grow.
III. You need to know that I believe the end is drawing near. The time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine. Why are people turning away from sound doctrine? It’s a sign of the times.
1 Timothy 4:1-2, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own consciences seared with a hot iron." Sound doctrines always requires strict adherence. Romans 6:17, "But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered."
2 Timothy 1:13, "Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus." By rejecting sound doctrine people can feed their own desires. 1 Corinthians 3:2-3, "I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal."
You can’t experience God’s blessings while refusing to follow sound doctrine and separate yourself from the world. Paul wrote, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes". People are turning from the truth. People have been doing that from the onset of the church age. Salvation becomes easier when God is taken out of the equation. Then you can judge your works according to other people instead of holding your life up to the standard of Jesus Christ.
When Christ becomes the standard then salvation by works becomes impossible because it requires perfection. Only when we place our trust in Christ alone, relying on the grace of God, can we be saved.
Paul wrote to the Galatians 1:6, "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel." Verse 8, "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed."
Maybe living a life of purity according to the scriptures is a difficult thing. It becomes easier with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to remembrance all things that I said to you."
The baptism in the Holy Spirit works to magnify the scriptures.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit gives you power to walk as spiritual children of the Father.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit will give you a desire to live your life so that Jesus will be glorified.
People will turn to fables. Humanism tells us man can save himself, if presented with enough information. Evolution tells us we are all accidents of nature, therefore we have no value.
Here are some of things that happen when we turn aside to fables instead of holding on to the Scriptures.
1.Sin is ignored. We tend to water down the significance of having sin in the camp. "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s."
2.There is a lack of conviction. Do you act out of conviction or out of convenience? What fables have you bought into? A little sin is different than a big one?
You have to earn your way to God’s favor? God loves you more when you are good than when you are bad?
God loves you more than sinners because you are saved?
Remember that fables are stories that have their beginning in truth. I used to laugh at the TV movies that begin with, "Based on a true story." That seemed to be where the similarities ended. God’s word must be the ultimate guide by which we judge what we believe and do. One of Satan’s greatest weapons in the last days will be to influence some churches to base doctrine or new truth on experiences, miracles, success, or some other man made goal rather than the infallible word of God.
Paul concludes by telling Timothy to be watchful in all things.
Now, let’s go back to the beginning. This was an end times sermon. What we see in many churches today are the things that Paul warned Timothy about nearly 2000 years ago. Now, why aren’t we receiving the things we need to receive from God? Could it be that we have started believing the fables that God doesn’t heal people any longer? Is it possible that God has gotten so fed up with men that He just doesn’t care? Do we think that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is of no significance today? Who needs it? We have modern technology.
Maybe we have just come to believe that the word of God isn’t relevant for people today since it was written so long ago. Do we believe the fable that church once a week is enough to get us by?
A critic once wrote a letter to a magazine saying, "Over the years, I suppose I’ve gone to church more than 1,000 times, and I can’t remember the specific content of even one sermon over those many years. What good was it to go to church 1,000 times?" The next week, someone wrote back: "Over the past many years, I have eaten more than 1,000 meals prepared by my wife. I cannot remember the specific menu of any of those meals. But they nourished me along the way, and without them, I would be a much different man!" The Bible will do its spiritual work in us, if we will let it.
In order for us to receive we have to believe. Romans 10:14-15, "How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?"
Folks, I’m telling you now, I’m here to preach the truth to you. It may be different than anything you have ever heard before, it may be the same old stuff, I don’t know, but I know that it is the truth. It’s God’s word. What do you want to receive today? Find out about it in God’s word and stand on His promises, not mine or your own, but God’s.
