Whatever It Takes (#4) Series

“WHATEVER IT TAKES” 1 Timothy

INTRO – Today, we will conclude our WIT series. As we have considered God’s call on our lives to be the person He desires for us to and become the church that He desires for us to become, we have considered these things:

• That Paul’s testimony from 1 Cor. 9:22-23 of “becoming all things to all people using all possible means to share the Gospel” should become our testimony, too.

• That Jesus had a WIT heart and, b/c of His heart and His commitment, faced temptation, rejection, and diversions. We must remember that in our quest to do WIT and live out that commitment, we will face the enemy’s temptations. We will have to deal w/ rejection from those who don’t understand our commitment, don’t share our commitment, and feel threatened by our commitment. We need single-minded devotion to battle against diversions that threaten to keep us in our comfort zones where we are accepted, settling for good things when we could have the best.

• That by looking at the lives of Martha and Mary, we must learn to survive and thrive in the midst of our busy lives by letting Christ in, listening to His words, and limiting the distractions in our lives.

Each of these messages dealt w/ our personal commitment to being a WIT person. This morning, the focus is on the church. Chuck Colson: “The church is the Lord’s, bought w/ His blood on the rough wood of the cross. It is the holy city that will shine w/ light for eternity. The bride of the coming King. The assembly of believers redeemed by His grace, yet whose every deed will be scrutinized by His judgment. The Body that is His holy presence, pointing the way to the coming k’dom.” He goes on to say: “For the church in the West [us] to come alive, it needs to resolve its identity crisis, to stand on biblical truth, to renew its vision…and, more than anything else, recover the fear of the Lord. Only that will give us the holy abandon that will cause us to be the church no matter what the culture around us says or does.” (Being the Body, p. 130-131) Using the words that we’ve used this last month, only that will give us a commitment to do WIT to be church that G desires for us to be.

What will does it take to be a WIT church? How do we do WIT to be the church G desires for us to be?

I. WE WILL PREACH TRUTH – Ch. 1

A. Timothy was facing difficult situation in his church. False teachers were leading people away from the foundations of their faith. Only way to counter their teachings was to stand his ground, command them to stop teaching the false doctrines, and fight the good fight of the faith.

B. We are living in a day in which there are more and more false teachers espousing their views.

a. Talk shows are full of them.

b. Websites are abundant.

c. Even in some Christian denominations.

d. Mormon Church is about to launch the largest publicity campaign in its history.

C. To be a WIT church, we must preach the truth of the Gospel as strongly as we possibly can, in every way we possibly can, as often as we possibly can.

a. V. 15 – This is the truth that the world needs to hear!

D. As we do this, there will be battles to fight. Only by doing WIT to preach the truth – and LIVING the truth – will we be victorious!

a. “Saving Pvt. Ryan” – toward end of movie. Young soldier whose sole job was to get ammo to the soldiers fighting the enemy was too terrified to move. Soldiers died b/c he did not get them ammo.

b. We must take the ammo of the truth of the Gospel to people or they will die!

II. WE WILL PRAY FERVENTLY – Ch. 2

A. V. 1 – We know that God is all-powerful and all-knowing. But what an incredible privilege He has given to us in letting us help Him change the world through our prayers. A WIT church will pray diligently, esp. for the lost!

a. “requests” – lit., to fall on your face and beg

b. “prayers” – used only in ref. to God. Worship & reverence must be present when we pray.

c. “intercession” – meaning “to fall in w/ someone” or to get involved w/ them. Empathy, sympathy, compassion, involvement enter our prayer lives as we pray for lost. We cry out to God on their behalf.

d. “thanksgiving” – need to pray w/ a spirit of gratitude for the love of God expressed in the Gospel truth.