FLEE FROM HARM
BACKGROUND:
A. Illustration: The pilot of a small Piper single engine plane developed engine failure. He continued to FLY the plane, gliding and trying find a place to land. He checked instruments, did everything he knew how, yet he was not able to FIX the problem. He called on emergency FREQUENCY 121.5 MHz, stated he had trouble. The pilot was able to FIND a rolling stretch of highway that had a straight section long enough to land, no overhead wires. So he landed. Then he sat in the plane, trying to figure out what went wrong. A few minutes later a tractor trailer came rolling over hill, crushed the plane and killed the pilot.
B. Regardless of whether it is commercial or general aviation, one needs to get away from danger.
1. This week we examine the 5th & final "F" of what to do when our engines fail:
2. FLEE the aircraft.
3. A card in the seat-back pocket of commercial planes describes the features of that aircraft. In the event of an emergency, it tells how to exit the plane. But it does not state "why."
4. Paul wrote to Timothy to tell the what, how, and why to get away from danger. It is good advice anytime our spiritual engines fail.
Read: 1 TIMOTHY 6:6-11
INTRODUCTION:
A. All of us survived at least one major storm in life
1. We may have even let Jesus FLY, be our chief pilot.
2. We opened our hearts & minds as to how God would FIND a safe place for us to land.
3. We asked the Lord for wisdom to FIX the problem.
4. We cried out in prayer, our emergency FREQUENCY, for His help.
5. Yet when the storm-of-the-moment is over, how often do we have a plan to FLEE from what caused the storm?
B. How often has our environment, our thoughts, or our desires produced trouble?
1. Sometimes our storm is so troublesome that we experience spiritual engine failure. We are at a loss as to what to do.
2. Somehow, by the grace of God, we get through.
3. But think about this for a moment. We never address the hot bed discontent, the roots of bitterness, the evil desires, or the bad friends that produced the harvest of worry.
4. In other words, we never flee from harmful circumstances.
C. Paul concluded his 1st letter to Timothy by laying out an emergency evacuation plan to deal with adversity.
THESIS: The plan involves goal, warning, & method
Goal = godliness with contentment (v 6)
Warning = flee from temptations & traps (v 9-10)
Method = pursue righteousness (v 11)
MESSAGE:
A. GOAL = GODLINESS WITH CONTENTMENT IS GREAT GAIN
1. We are reminded that we brought nothing into the world, nor will we carry anything out (v 7).
a. Naked I came, naked I depart; Lord gave & the Lord has taken away. May name Lord be praised
(Job 1:21).
b. Content with food & clothing encourages us to be satisfied with basics (v 8).
c. From His bounty, God provides for the poor (Ps 68:10).
2. "Godliness" is from 2 Greek words: "true" and "adore", meaning true adoration of God.
3. "Contentment" has a root in Greek indicating "self-satisfaction."
4. Great gain only comes when godliness is coupled with contentment (v 6).
a. It involves true adoration of who God is, and what He commands.
b. Our self-satisfaction comes from knowing we have been obedient & faithful, not anything we have done.
5. To be godly without contentment suggests one who is saved but not satisfied.
a. Parable: Mabel was in church every Sunday, but didn’t like it. When the women’s group hung curtains in the windows, Mabel did not like color. She felt the Children’s choir singing was too childish for worship. She didn’t like the idea that deacons used matzoh crackers instead of regular bread when the served the Lord’s Supper. To Mabel, the pastor should not put his sermons on new church web site, which she also didn’t like. One day, Mabel died; she stood before Christ as both books were opened (Rev 20:12). Christ found her name in the Book of Life, but much was in the other book. The Lord said she must watch her own funeral.
b. The Deacons carried her coffin, the sanctuary was decorated by the women’s group. The children sang "The Family of God." The pastor eulogized about her faith.
c. Mabel’s heart was broken, she wept. Then Jesus said, "ok, now you are ready to enter."
6. To be content but not godly is to live under false assurance. You can have a bigger barn; you can eat, drink, & be merry; not rich to God (Luke 12:16).
7. Then there are those that are neither godly nor content. These folks are in constant pursuit of pleasure. They are scoffers who follow their own ungodly desires (Jude 18). They want to sit at the head table, to be known & loved, to have prestige. They boast of themselves, and flatter others for their own advantage (Jude 16). Have you noticed how such people try to draw others into their pinball game of pleasure?
8. Paul warns us to FLEE from the snares that destroy godliness with contentment.
B. HE WARNs TO FLEE TEMPTATIONS & TRAPS (v 9)
1. People who want to get rich often plunge into ruin & destruction. The word "rich" means to be full with any material possession. Paul says the desire to be rich sets us up for the temptation & snare for foolish desires. The love of money is at the root of all kinds evil (v 10).
2. Illustration: WKOX radio in Chicago offered a $10K prize for the most outlandish way to get the money. Jay Gwaltney, Zionsville, IN won by eating an 11 foot birch sapling, dressed in a tuxedo, at a candle lit table. French dressing was used for the birch leaf salad. He consumed the tree in 18 hours over 3 days. Besides the money, he also bad a bad stomach ache. [from a sermoncentral.com illustration]
3. What would you be willing do for $10 million? [J Patterson, P Kim, "The Day America Told the Truth"]. One fourth of the resondents said they would abandon their entire family, 23% were willing to be a prostitute, 16% said they would leave their spouse. It was not asked, but I wonder how many would give up Jesus for $10 million?
4. Paul issued a warning: to be eager for money has led many to wandered from the faith, to be pierced with grief (v 10).
a. The wicked die for lack of discipline, led astray by their own folly (Proverbs 5:23).
b. They will lead others astray (Pro 10:17).
c. We all like sheep, have gone astray, each turns to their own way (Isa 53:6).
5. The psalmist offers us hope. Before when we were afflicted, we went astray. Now we obey the Word of God (Ps 119:67).
C. METHOD TO BE GODLY & CONTENT = PURSUE RIGHTEOUSNESS
1. Flee what is bad, pursue what is right (v 11).
2. Note the order in which Paul presents the method of achieving godliness & content.
3. 1st is righteousness which means to conform to the revealed will of God.
a. The Beatitude tells us we are blessed if we hunger & thirst for righteousness, we will be filled (Matt 5:6).
b. When filled our self-satisfaction is in our seeking & obedience to the Lord.
c. Coupled with true adoration, we come into a right relation with Lord.
4. The Chinese word for "righteousness" contains two characters: "lamb" above the pronoun "I".
a. Righteousness come when we lift the Lamb of God over ourselves.
b. It is only the Lamb of God who takes away sins of the world (John 1:29)
c. How often do we pursue something so hard that the "I" is placed over the "lamb"?
d. Martha was so distracted by preparation, she worried & fretted (Luke 10:38).
5. Paul provides qualifiers in the method to seek righteousness (v 11).
a. Righteousness comes from faith in Jesus Christ (Rom 3:22).
b. Faith is being sure what we hope for, certain of what we do not see (Heb 11:1).
c. God so loved us, so we should love one another (1 John 4:10).
d. Endurance is inspired by our hope in Jesus (1 Thess 1:3).
e. We give reason for the hope we have with gentleness, respect (1 Pet 3:15).
6. The pursuit of righteousness requires that we flee from the harms of our old life, to do what the Lord requires. Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly (Micah 6:8).
7. Winston Churchill said, "It is not good enough to merely do our best; sometimes we have to do what is required."
ALTAR CALL:
A. What is required of you today?
1. Maybe you are full of indecision.
2. In Japan it is considered improper etiquette to use chopsticks to wander over your food without making a decision. The word they use is "mayoibashi."
3. Do we all want godliness with contentment right now?
4. To pursue righteousness which leads to godliness with contentment requires we must give up:
a. Give up wanting to be rich, yet without giving up Jesus in our life.
b. Give up grief that occurs when we wander from the faith in Jesus Christ.
c. Give up the temptation & traps that destroy our lives.
