Thinking in the Way of Jesus Christ

Having the Mind of Christ

Book of 1 Peter Chapter 4:1-11

Remember in our last lesson the Apostle Peter talked a lot about our conscience and today the Holy Spirit will take this to the next level.

If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you have realized that being a Christian is not always easy and the Lord has never said it would be. In fact the Lord has warned us all along that we would suffer persecution.

Many unbelievers in this world reject Christianity just because they know they will be hated, not only by the world, but even by their close friends, who if they took a close look some were already their enemies.

True friends would never lead you to a life of alcohol.

True friends would never lead you to a life of drugs.

True friends would never lead you to a life of immorality.

A true friend that loved you would always have the best interest for you in mind!

The world will often ridicule and mock the believer and even abuse the believer, some even to the point of death.

The greatest way we as Christians can deal with these things, is to remove our guilty conscience and install the mind of Christ and the Scriptures teaches us how to do all these things!

The very first things we are to do, is to make sure we are in the will of God!

*****1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, "arm yourselves likewise with the same mind": for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh "to the lusts of men, but to the will of God".

If we think about it, what was Christ's greatest attribute? The patient, submissive, and unwavering trust in the wisdom and love of His Father!

Jesus Christ spent every day in the will of His Father in Heaven!

The Glorious God of Heaven came to this earth and took on a body of flesh and it is that body of flesh that suffered so tremendously!

Our Redeemer is so far above us, that we cannot fathom the "Glory World", but He is also walking right beside us to hold us up through our own suffering. "Oh, What a Savior"

Why is it so important for us to be in God's will?

1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

When we are in the will of God, the world will see us as being like the Lord Jesus Christ!

Heb 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

Heb 13:21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

What is our job in this world?

Eph 6:6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God "from the heart";

Eph 6:7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

To be in the will of God, is to be dead to self and alive through Jesus Christ.

We are the enemies of sin and immorality, but in many ways our greatest enemy is ourselves.

We war with our flesh, when the Lord has already given us victory!

There can be little doubt that the Lord Jesus suffered most all the things that we suffer even things that we do not suffer in our lifetime, but we can also be sure Jesus did not suffer from illnesses because the work He had to do required a healthy body.

Does that mean just because Jesus had no sin and neither was sin in His heart that He was healthier than most, I'm sure this was part of it.

Does it mean that the diet that Jesus ate was healthier, again I'm sure this was also a part of it.

It took a strong healthy body for the Lord to endure the things that He did in the flesh, but He also was in the complete will of His Father.

Another thing we know is that the Lord Jesus Christ never allowed Himself to be absorbed in His own sorrows. He was always ready to be a part of other people’s joys, but at the same time He would also be a help through their griefs even if His griefs were far worse!

You see Jesus Christ did not come to this earth to suffer for Himself, He came to suffer for me and to suffer for you!

This is when we are to arm ourselves with the same mind!

As long as we are in the complete will of our Heavenly Father, He will keep us healthy to continue the work of the Lord!

I dare say not many of us have all our lifetime pursued the things of God.

*****1Pe 4:3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

What great truth are we to be reminded of? It is about time we are fed up with sin!

We must be fed up with the sin in our lives, until we hate that it was ever a part of us!

We must be fed up with the sin in this world, and do what we can to show we are against it!

As Christians, we all have an old life and in our old life we each have sin that caused the Lord Jesus Christ to suffer for our sins. Remember Jesus had no sin at all!

That old sinful life must be behind us and it must remain behind us!

There is no part of that sin that can be a part of our new "Born Again" life! So many do reject this today.

Enough is enough, we are to walk in the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Only a few of these things are mentioned, but they will cover all sin.

**Lasciviousness means shameless conduct of any kind, period!

Filthiness, indecency, shamelessness, without restraint, things that are far worse than just doing wrong!

We do not have to go on any further to see that these things are taking over America today.

**Lusts is not only sexual desire which is running rampant and even called natural to evolutionist, who say we come from animals and no worse from a bunch of rabbits.

Lust can be a strong desire of any kind.

Lust is a strong desire and when mixed with passion and craving is destructive to the soul.

Lust of this sort can never be satisfied!

Notice if it drugs or alcohol it is called addiction and there is a great need for help. The answer is to say no to these things and yes to Jesus.

If it is all the sexual lust in our world, it is just called a natural habit that is in our culture as human beings.

We live a world of free sex, but no responsibility for the outcome, in fact expecting some taxpayer to pay for their sin.

**Excess of wine: It should be evident this is not talking about grape juice. The Christian world would understand that we are to do what Jesus said and not what major denominations say about wine.

Pro 23:29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?

Pro 23:30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.

Pro 23:31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.

There are those who twist and turn this Scripture, but the Holy Ghost says do not even look upon alcoholic wine, so certainly we are not to drink it. This goes for all Christians and in fact all believing Jews!

The excess of wine means drunkenness which in fact is the sin of covetousness and lust!

Anything we take into our bodies that affect our senses, can loosen our moral restraint!

Pro 23:32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.

Pro 23:33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.

Pro 23:34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.

Pro 23:35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

**Revelings: Some would say carousing which is hard drinking, abusing freedoms, over indulgence. Some would say too much party life, and orgies. In truth it is just feeding the lusts of the flesh without restraint!

1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

1Th 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

1Th 5:7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

**Banquetings: Are no more than drinking parties, or drug parties or marijuana parties. People gathering to partake of their sinful nature!

Rom 13:13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

**Abominable Idolatries: This is the worship of idols and anything that is placed between you and God is an idol.

These can be man-made things, but also things of the mind. Devoting yourself to anything that is not of God!

These are the very ones who are in Hell looking up wishing they had changed their ways but refused to do so too many times!

Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

These are old friends or acquaintances or lookers on who think it is you who are strange!

*****1Pe 4:4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:

1Pe 4:5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

People today think Christians are "judgmental" when they reject all these things mentioned here.

When we have "the mind of Christ" we can see how the world looks upon us.

The world just cannot understand why we would want to be different from them.

The world just cannot understand why we do not accept the things they accept.

The world has taken that word freedom to mean unhindered in all the things of the mind and a distinct hatred for authority and anyone else who thinks they are wrong! In fact they are so full of hatred toward those who object to their line of thought they are willing to kill and maim and murder all in the name of their freedoms!

We Christians are hated just for what we stand for! Freedoms that extend no further than the Word of God! I made a choice to be free with the freedom that Jesus gave me, and He gave me the freedom to stay away from the people of the world that go against the Word of God.

2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

To give in to the world is to go against my holy Father!

My Father is also the "Judge" of this world!

All those in the world will stand before my mighty Father and give an account for everything they have done, and they will not be able to use the excuse that no one told them.

Even if that was true, it is still a lie because they have observed how the Christian has lived and they have rejected that and in doing so they have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ!

Mat_5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

The love of our Father in Heaven means that we must condemn the world while at the same time reaching out to those who are caught up in this world!

God sets a high standard, but it is truly a standard that makes sense even if you are not a believer!

The world will say we are only superstitious, but the fact is they are only half right. We have a SUPER FATHER in Heaven!

God loves us all so much that He makes sure we all hear or see the truth, so we can make up our own minds about the truth of God!

*****1Pe 4:6 For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

Was the Gospel preached in the time of Adam? The coming of the Messiah has always been preached. His coming at two different times was just missed by many of those who ignored the prophets or those who decided they were more important than the truth of God!

Jud_1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

Those people rejected the truth then just as they do today!

Besides Elijah and Enoch, every child of God who was a child by faith, whose soul has returned to God in Heaven, but they left a sack of flesh to be buried in some grave, or burnt to non-existence, or slipped into the oceans or some were just left to rot or consumed by beast.

It was not important that the flesh be saved as the souls that loved the Lord returned to Him!

2Co_5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

2Co_5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Again Paul wrote

Php 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Php 1:22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.

Php 1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

Php 1:24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

This is not just a doctrine of the New Testament, it is the doctrine of all the Scriptures!

Enoch new and Job who lived around the time of Abraham new!

Job 19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

Job 19:26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

Job 19:27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

God smiles every time a child of God leaves that flesh behind and goes back home to his Creator!

Psa_116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

The same cannot be said of the souls of those who reject the Lord!

1Sa 25:29 Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.

Before the Lord came to pay the debt for our souls, the coming of the Messiah was preached to all who would listen to the truth!

Since the Lord came and then returned to Heaven, the Gospel is preached of the Second Coming of the Messiah.

God is going to judge this world!

This has been the message since the time of Adam. Yes God destroyed much of the world in the time of Noah, but God will destroy this entire world after His Second Coming.

Immorality is returning as in the days of Noah, the world does not care, but endorses all immorality and God will burn this world with fire whenever He gets ready.

What truth do we know?

If the Church was "raptured" today there would be at least 1007 years until the time of the destruction of this world!

The "Gospel" is preached so the world will know the judgment of God while they are still in the flesh!

The "Gospel" is preached to warn those who have rejected the Lord for one last time.

The "Gospel" is preached to offer eternal life to anyone, who will believe!

(My God can save anybody, anywhere, at any time)

The point being, those whose flesh remains, are left on upon this earth to return to the dust from which it was created, and had accepted the "Gospel", have heard the truth of God, have heard the coming judgment, but because they accepted the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ, will miss out on the coming "Judgment of God"!

They already live with God!

They already possess the life that God has given them!

They are already living forever according to the promise of God!

If we realize these things are completely true, bury them in our heart, forget the promises of this world, which are vain, we can have that peace like a river.

Isa 66:12 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees.

Isa 66:13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

You see the end of all things is getting closer every tick of the clock. There may be 1007 years or more left, but the only way to miss all the "judgment" of God is to accept the "Gospel" today while you are still in your flesh!

*****1Pe 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

The end of all earthly promises is at hand.

The end of worldly enjoyments is at hand.

The end of trials and sorrows are at hand.

The end of privileges is at hand.

The end of opportunities is at hand.

The wrath and the judgment of God are at hand!

After the Bride of Christ has been removed, there will be 7 years of tribulation, the last 3 and 1/2 years, will be wrath like has never been seen.

Then 1000 years of the reign of King Jesus, where He will deal with the Jews and those nations that helped the Jews, the Church will already be with Him when He returns to this earth.

Keep this in mind, but while these things still exist and before the rapture of the Bride of Christ, we need to have the mind of Christ now!

To live sober lives is to be serious about the plan of God given to us in the Scriptures, have a sound mind according to the Word of God, always in control of our beliefs and our thoughts, self-restrained from temptation, and to be calm and sensible in this evil world!

Our main thought should be that the return of Jesus Christ is imminent!

All remaining prophesies concern the Jewish nation, the Church is only waiting on her Husband, waiting on the "trumpet" to blow at any moment alerting her(the Church) it is time to leave this world!

We are to be busier in the House of God to carry His message outside the house.

It is not time to hide, it is time to put on the work gloves (the Scriptures) and work even harder to break up that fallow ground (the lost) and our lost family members so they are not left behind!

Life is precious to the Lord, because He is all about life and the Giver of life!

God already knows what we are going to do, so He has the tools ready for us, if we will just get busy at the work the Lord Jesus gave us to do.

It is not time to give up on the Lord!

It is not time to quit on the Lord!

It is not time to listen to those in this evil world!

It is not time to stray from the Word of God!

It is time to be sober minded and watch unto prayer!

To "watch" is to see how the Word of God is unfolding in our world today, but also remembering God's Word will never come back void.

The Word of God will do what God sends it out to do!

It will bring Holy Ghost conviction to those who hear it, or it will make an enemy.

Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

But this is not all.

It is not time to forget about the love of God!

*****1Pe 4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

1Pe 4:9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging.

1Pe 4:10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Charity: The message of God is love. There is no greater love than the love of God toward all His creation.

In fact if God had another name it would be "LOVE"!

Be not mistaken there is no one upon this earth that God does not love!

There would be "No Mercy" without the fervent love of God!

There would be "No Grace" without the fervent love of God!

God has a universal love and good will toward all mankind, and it goes unnoticed by most of the world.

There would be no life without God's air.

There would be no life without God's water.

There would be no life without God's food.

Every seed would rot in the ground, without the fervent love of God!

This world is a much better place when we also show that fervent love of God to each other!

For the Christian, love is the number one witnessing tool we have!

The true Christian will hate sin without hating the sinner, realizing that sinner walks according to the devil and we all did the same at one time.

Sin is sin because it goes against the Word of God.

The only way to eradicate sin is death! That soul must die to sin and be "Born Again" into new life and this happens only by the Word of God.

When we show that love of God to each other, it is then that we can say "Love Changes Things"!

To love means we are not hating.

To love means we are being forgiving.

To love means we are more likely to reach someone with the message of God!

Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Hospitality means we are to accept one another ungrudgingly!

For the early church would not have survived without Christians sharing everything with each other.

Many Churches today are still in what is called the "Home Church". People who open their homes because of the love of God and invite strangers into their homes!

In fact hospitality is important in every church, or what would that lost soul think when they walked into the church of today.

Every home is to be the center of Christian love, fellowship and outreach, and this is to spread throughout the Church!

Everything we have belongs to God and we are to share those things to "glorify God"!

God has even given each of us a gift and it is to be used to glorify Him!

Spirit gifts come to us after the Holy Spirit moves into our souls.

The Holy Spirit may expand on talents we had before He moved in, but these are not the same as Spiritual gifts.

1Co 12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

1Co 12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

1Co 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Notice it is the Holy Spirit who decides what gifts we need for the work He has given us to do, and He may add to or subtract to those gifts as time goes on.

These have nothing to do with the "fruit of the Spirit" which is given to us all!

So what are "Spiritual Gifts"?

We could say that these gifts are "Grace Gifts" because of our "faith" in the Lord Jesus Christ, because there is no other way to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit!

1Co 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

1Co 12:6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

Another thing we should understand about the gifts of God, they do not make us better youth workers or better adult workers.

These gifts do not make us better workers in the slums, or in foreign countries, or in cities, or in the country. The gifts of the Holy Spirit work everywhere the Holy Spirit sends us!

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are a benefit to mankind on a Spiritual level!

Natural talents, though a gift of God through our parents are a benefit to God on a natural level, but they too, should be used for the purposes of God for maximum benefit!

We should have the benefits of God on our minds at all times!

*****1Pe 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Once a lost person has observed us and they will.

Once a lost person has seen our love, and they will know.

The next thing is what do they hear coming out of our mouths?

The Oracles of God would include His Prophesies, but oracles are all the communications from God which are bound up in what we call the Bible.

When we are in conversations, we must never refrain some saying "thus sayeth the Lord".

We need to explain God's side to all we come in contact with.

They have only heard the lies of the world. They do not need to hear worldly things come from our mouths.

When we are busy about the work of the Lord, then let's use all the abilities God have has given us. These would be the gifts of the Holy Spirit as we have just discussed.

If we have other talents, such as singing or other musical talents, then they too should be used to promote the Word of God, the "Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ".

There are certainly Books called the "Gospels" but all the Word of God is the "Gospel of Jesus Christ"!

They tell us of His First Coming before the Church and His Second Coming after the Church.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who bought us from the slave market of sin. He owns us! Surely, we can use anything and all things the Lord has provided to glorify God, in Christ, in everything we do.

We should be busy today!

Notice that this was Peter's prayer, and we need to pray for such things also!

Amen!

Let's just Pray Now!

This is the Messiah

This Is the Christ

Book of John Chapter 7

The Feast of the Tabernacles was the fourth of the annual feast of the Jews. It was also called the Feast of the In-gathering, The Feast to the Lord, and sometimes it was just called "The Feast" because it was so well known.

The Jews would build a temporary structure called "booths", that they would live in for a week.

This booth was not to be an image of misery from the days of the 40-year trek through the wilderness but was to be an image protection, preservation, and shelter from the heat and the storms.

Psa 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

Psa 27:6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

This feast is thought by many to be the greatest of the Hebrew Feasts.

It is on the last day of this feast that we find the Lord Jesus Christ and He will say:

Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

He will also say:

Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

We should also understand that the Pharisees and the High Priest had been actively hunting for Jesus, so they could put Him to death.

Jesus had moved His ministry to Galilee which was occupied in majority by the Gentiles and also was not under the jurisdiction of Herod at this time.

Now we do not have to think that Jesus was afraid of being caught or captured because this was not true. It is just the fact that the Scriptures had to be fulfilled just as they were written!

This is where we will pick-up our Scripture:

*****Joh 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

On each of the 7 days of this festival a priest would take a golden pitcher and lead the people to the Pool of Siloam.

On their return the people would sing out the Psalms of Hillel which were the Psalms 113-118 which are also the Psalms of Praise.

Asa Christians we do not need some festival to praise the Lord, He is to be praised everyday!

On the return to the Temple as they passed through what was called the "Water Gate" these people would repeat Isaiah 12:3.

Isa 12:3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

We can just imagine as this was being repeated the Lord Jesus Christ stood up and shouted "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water".

When that priest reached the Altar where sacrifices had already been offered, this water was also poured out over the Altar as an offering to God, while palm branches were being waved and Psalm 118:25 was being sung out.

Psa 118:25 Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

The Lord is waiting on all of us to repeat these words. "Save Me Oh Lord".

For the Jews this was a dramatic way to thank God for the rain.

Remember there is no rain in Israel during the Summer Season but as the Fall Season arrives, so would the rains return!

There can be no doubt that Jesus can meet our Spiritual needs, but the same Jesus can also meet our physical needs!

Without a doubt it is these two things that most people have a craving for!

It is only "Living Water" that can quench the thirst of these things!

Most people recognize their "Spiritual Thirst" but they try to quench this thirst with the things of this world which will only make matters worse!

Many then get frustrated and give up on everything including life itself.

When we meet Jesus the "Fountain of Living Waters" that thirst will disappear!

What we must understand is that this "Living Water" was not available, in this maner, until after the death of Christ.

Remember the time of Moses?

Exo 17:5 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.

Exo 17:6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

We must also understand that this is where Moses made a terrible mistake:

Num 20:10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?

Num 20:11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

Num 20:12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

Num 20:13 This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.

The Lord will only go to the Cross one time not two!

The bottom line is that without the Lord Jesus Christ we cannot be washed in the water of the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit was not given in this manner until after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ back to His throne in Heaven.

*****Joh 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

You see it is not some temporary tabernacle we must build but it is the permanent Tabernacle that Christ must build!

Jesus Christ died to pay the sin debt of this entire world and became the source of "Living Water".

Because Jesus gave up His life He was able to take up His life again.

Jesus was able to conquer all sin He took from us and His death to bring forth eternal life from the abundance of God meaning there would always be enough to go around!

It is only by our "Faith" that we can partake of this "Living Water"!

Rivers of "Living Waters" speak of the Holy Spirit who could not come to each of us until Jesus returned to Heaven in His "Glorified Body"!

We must clearly understand that the deity of the Holy Spirit is bound up in the Triune God.

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit does many things, but maybe the most important was to inspire all the writers of the Scriptures to guarantee that the Scriptures contained no errors. Of course this refers to the original Hebrew and Greek Scriptures.

It is man who must make an honest copy of those original text in the many different languages.

The Lord Jesus promised us another helper so what does this mean?

Jesus said another helper because He Himself is the first "Comforter"!

1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

The Holy Spirit would be that other "Comforter"!

Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Just as Jesus was sent of the Father, then the Holy Spirit was sent of the Father and again we can see that the Trinity of God is not only involved in our salvation but also in keeping us saved which means we cannot lose our salvation under any condition.

This made so much sense to those that could hear Jesus that they admitted that Jesus Himself was definitely inspired of God the Holy Spirit and could truly be the Messiah, but they made a huge error.

They put man-made text before the Word of God just as many do today!

They had been listening to false statements made by their leaders.

*****Joh 7:40 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.

Joh 7:41 Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?

What Prophet? The Prophet promised by Moses.

Deu 18:15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

Deu 18:16 According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.

Many before this time had insisted that John the Baptist was this Prophet, but he insisted that he was not and he was not.

Jesus was certainly the Messiah, but the confusion came because of a lack to study the Scriptures and forgetting their heritage.

What had Moses actually said?

Act 3:22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

Act 3:23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

Act 3:24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.

Act 3:25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

Act 3:26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

When we stand before the Lord we may have to answer for our lack of knowing more of the Holy Scriptures!

Had any investigation been made, these people would have known themselves that Christ Jesus had both the lineage and the birth place which was required of the true Messiah.

This is another reason that when we teach we do not deviate from the Scriptures in any form of fashion!

It may not take much ignorance to keep someone from being saved.

*****Joh 7:42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?

Why are there so many so-called denominations today? Because those who say they are Christian either add to or take away from the truth of the Scriptures when we are to accept those true Scriptures and believe them for what they say, rightly divided!

The truth is this is why Jesus left us the Comforter to begin with!

Joh 16:12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Joh 16:14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Joh 16:15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Joh 16:16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.

When we do not allow the Holy Spirit to complete His work within us, we are setting ourselves up for division and for error!

*****Joh 7:43 So there was a division among the people because of him.

It amazes me that when the topic of Jesus Christ comes up division and slander begins when the Lord is all about salvation but Christ Jesus already knew all these things.

Mat 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

Mat 10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

Mat 10:36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

Mat 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Mat 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

The truth is, sin is such a fixed unyielding power that it takes an overwhelming power to overcome it and this is Christianity!

Everyone who meets Jesus Christ will change in some way. Some to the good but more to the bad as they choose to confront the Lord rather than accept Him.

We are not to run from these things, but we are to be a part of these things!

Luk 12:49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?

Luk 12:50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

Luk 12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:

Luk 12:52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.

Luk 12:53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

This does not in any way change the fact that we are to be witnesses for Christ, but we should be aware that Satan's army will resist the truth and only those who accept Gods call will reap the rewards.

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

*****Joh 7:44 And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him.

Joh 7:45 Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?

We must also understand that as long as we tell the truth, we do not have to lie. The truth will win in the end!

Those who reject Christianity believe that everyone that lives, have some dirty rotten sin in their past that they can be controlled by. We must not all forgiven sin to weigh us down!

Even today, many see Jesus as a great man but still only a man and they totally reject Jesus is the Son of God or God in the flesh.

Even today most of this world would wish that Jesus would just go away but this is not going to happen.

There is no man-made thing that can stop Christianity!

Those that want nothing to do with Jesus will make their choice and they will reap what they sow, and this is why they have so much hatred toward the Christian.

Sinners do not want anyone to tell them they cannot enter into God's Heaven because they have made themselves to be little gods in control of their own destiny, but this is simply not the truth.

Jesus spoke with such an authority that not one man would risk laying their hands upon Him.

Even the Temple police would not dare touch the Lord on this day.

What are the facts? Even on the last day of the Feast of the Tabernacles, the greatest day of this feast, the High Priest and those he controlled, maybe even the entire Sanhedrin Court, were waiting on the Temple police to bring Jesus to them.

They were immediately hostile toward those who had failed them.

They had planned on humiliating the Lord on this day by taking Him off to prison but the Majesty of the Lord had won again this time because it was not the right time.

So they answered:

*****Joh 7:46 The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.

It was not the great crowd that had kept these men from doing their job, it was the words that the Lord spoke to the crowd that had kept them from laying their hands upon the Lord.

It was still 6 months before Jesus would be crucified and the hatred of Him had grown.

The High Priest and his cronies could not stand to listen to the people as they talked about the Lord and the things that He had already done.

This was the second time this same day that someone had been sent to arrest Jesus and again they had failed.

It is a fact that no one upon the face of this earth has ever had a message like that of the Lord Jesus Christ!

These men could have used most any excuse that would have sounded more reasonable, but they told the truth. When the Lord speaks things happen and this will never change.

This answer which was true did not sit well with the Temple rulers.

*****Joh 7:47 Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?

Joh 7:48 Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?

Joh 7:49 But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.

These rulers were arrogant enough to place themselves above anything associated with Christ!

By this time the Sadducee and the Pharisees had linked together even though they were enemies in trying to rid that world of Jesus Christ.

The message of Jesus Christ was never about deception, it was always about the truth!

To these rulers anyone who had a favorable impression of Jesus had to be mentally ill.

They had to be slow witted and easily duped and manipulated but this had never been true.

This is the exact way the Christian is seen today.

One lady said we were deplorable which in reality means we are all to stupid to know what we need.

Satan will try anything to intimidate us and cause us to trip in our faith.

These foolish men had not even realized that there were some among them that had a much higher opinion of Christ Jesus than they showed.

Among them Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimethia.

Our previous government said we are unable to judge ourselves.

Our previous government said we are unable to decide right and wrong for our children.

Our previous government said we are unable to choose what we should learn or not learn.

Why does the world want to get rid of Jesus? Because since Jesus came, the world has no place to hide its sin.

Joh_15:22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.

Truth always has a way of catching up to the liar!

But the liar on the other hand will cling to his lies with everything he has, just so he can continue in his sin!

This is the same way most Christians are looked upon today.

In fact the Word of God is looked upon by many as being hate speech when the Word of God is all the truth.

The world denies it's own truth and the lessons from history!

Today the Lord is our example, our measuring stick to see how we measure up.

These Pharisees and Sadducee had made themselves to be the measuring stick for godly living so it was they who were the deceivers.

Today we have some men and women who we believe to be Christians in our own government but if they refuse to vote for Jesus even one time they are not worthy to hold their positions.

Today we hear an awful lot about holding to the rule of law from people who have very little concern about keeping the laws of our land.

Nicodemus pointed out to those in session that they were already judging a man contrary to the Laws of Moses who they claimed.

It was 6 months till Jesus would be crucified and these men had already judged Him to be guilty and worthy of capital punishment according to Roman law because Jewish law could not get a death penalty for the Lord Jesus.

*****Joh 7:50 Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)

Joh 7:51 Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?

Something our own government needs to realize is just because they write the laws, this does not give them the right to break those laws.

Another thing is once a law has been approved and voted on, it does not give others the right to falsely interpret those laws.

The one true thing we can agree on is you cannot get a houseful of lawyers to agree on anything!

Nicodemus had just as much right to speak up as anyone that was present that day, yet he was cutoff immediately.

*****Joh 7:52 They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.

Joh 7:53 And every man went unto his own house.

Nicodemus was cut-off with an outright lie.

Jesus was not from Galilee, He was born in Bethlehem of Judea and they all knew this.

There were many prophets from Galilee: Deborah in the time of the Judges, Anna, Jonah, Hosea, Nahum, Elijah the Tishbite, Elisha, and maybe others.

We can be sure that these so-called heads of the Sanhedrin and the High Priest had already made up their mind and they intended that there be no more discussion.

The title of our lesson is "This is the Christ".

The more Jesus proved He was the Messiah, the more He was hated by these who would attempt to kill God!

We must remember that an attack on the deity of Jesus Christ is an attack on Christianity.

If Jesus is not who He said He was then He could not have died to save our souls, but He died for all the world, even for those who doubt Him!

It is only by Jesus Christ that we can be reconciled to God!

This is the truth of the Scriptures and this is what we base our salvation upon!

Amen

Let's Pray!

Being Faithful

Counted Faithful

Book of 1 Timothy 1:1-20

Paul, the ambassador for Jesus Christ our King, is writing to his dear son in the "Gospel", Timothy.

The most important job of the Church is to make disciples just as Paul has made a disciple of Timothy and then went further in his teaching when God called Timothy to be a Pastor.

Anything else is secondary to this function.

1) The disciple must first believe the doctrine of Jesus Christ.

2) The disciple must rest on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

3) The disciple must be absorbed with the Holy Spirit.

4) The disciple must imitate the example of Jesus Christ so close, that he resembles Him. (This is what Christ-Like means, a Christian)

Timothy became such a disciple and then he was called of God to become a Pastor.

*****1Ti 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;

The authority to call anyone into the service of God must come from God Himself! We cannot call ourselves to be a Pastor!

We can rest assured that Paul was truly an apostle specifically called by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Also notice that Paul knew that it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is God and Savior, one person of the Holy Trinity!

Paul also new that all our hope lies in the truth of the "Gospel" and in all the Word of God!

So, we must clearly understand that Jesus Christ is our only hope for salvation!

Jesus Christ is the love of God shown to us in His Son!

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Jesus Christ is the author of our hope.

Jesus Christ is the object of our hope.

Jesus Christ is the foundation of our hope!

God has provided the only means of salvation to every person since the resurrection of His Dear Son.

If God had not loved us and have a plan of salvation from the beginning, then no one could be saved!

Paul spoke with such authority because these epistles to Timothy and Titus will be considered the Pastoral Epistles and this is a specific calling of God.

Paul expected young Timothy to share these epistles with all the church.

All the epistles of Paul were passed from church to church!

The question comes up many times by those who are full of pride, why should the church make disciples?

The answer lies in the truth that all the world is enslaved by sin!

These people are gripped by spiritual death and are too blind to see it.

These people are doomed to face the judgment of God and they need someone to tell them the truth!

1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Timothy needed to hear these things from Paul the Apostle of Jesus Christ, who was also the same messenger of God who had led him to the Lord.

*****1Ti 1:2 Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

Why is it so important that our children be taught the Word of God? Because on occasion you get a Timothy!

His mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois had prepared this young man in the Old Testament Word of God at a very young age as it was written in the laws of Moses. They had also been converted on Paul's first trip to Lystra.

2Ti 1:5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

Timothy was just a child when Paul had first come to Lystra. He was probably no mare that 10 to 12 years old when Paul led him to the Lord. He was no more than 18 when Paul returned on his second missionary trip and had grown so much in the Scriptures that Paul took Timothy with him and treated him as his son.

1Co 4:17 For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.

Timothy became so likeminded in the Scriptures as Paul, that Paul said his mind was at one with Timothy.

Php 2:19 But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.

Php 2:20 For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.

From this point on, Timothy would travel with Paul or would be sent by Paul to other locations.

Timothy may not have reached the age 30 years old, when Paul left him at Ephesus to correct the errors in doctrine that had made their way into this church.

The problems in Ephesus was not only from the Judaisers but many of the Greeks tried to bring parts of their pagan worship into the Church

**Timothy had been saved by the "Grace" of God just like every Christian is saved.

The "Grace" of God is revealed in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ died, to redeem us from all our sin.

Jesus Christ died, to raise up a peculiar people a people set apart for His use.

Jesus Christ died, to stir us into good works like the works that He did.

All these came because of the '"Mercy" of God.

The "mercy" of God came to us because of His compassion for us, His love for us, and His pity for us!

God has mercy for us because He truly cares about all His creation, especially we of human race..

God sees our needs and provide our needs and the greatest need we had, was to be in harmony with our God!

Because of God's "mercy" He has withheld His judgement of us, even though we deserve His wrath.

All those who do not know the mercy of God do not know God at all!

The peace of God means, we are bound together with the Lord Jesus Christ and secure in the love of God!

If we know the peace of God, we can then be at peace with God!

Timothy knew all these things and was a willing young Pastor to serve God, wherever he was sent!

*****1Ti 1:3 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,

1Ti 1:4 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.

What was Timothy's job at Ephesus? Timothy was charged to defend the truth of the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ.

This must be the charge of every Pastor, Missionary, and Evangelist!

This must be the same charge to every "Born Again" child of God!

It is a fact, that all false teachers teach a false doctrine because, they cannot know God. Only those filled with the Holy Spirit who will only come by acknowledging the truth of Jesus Christ that can have such knowledge

Paul had gotten the Macedonian call at this time and the Holy Spirit was at work in Paul, yet he felt Ephesus could not be abandoned at this time, so it was Timothy who had to stay there to lead this church back to the truth.

Paul had warned this church that false teachers would come, and it is also a fact that we need to understand, false teachers will make an attempt to cause problems in every church!

We simply must guard against all those who attempt to corrupt the Word of God!

We must demand that our teachers and preachers teach the truth of the Word of God and the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ!

We can see that Timothy even at this young age, was strong enough in the Word of God, that Paul trusted him to work that truth into this church.

There is also no one on the face of this earth who has the authority to change the Word of God!

In the day of Timothy there were many of the Jewish faith who made attempts to stop Christianity.

There were also many from the pagan Greeks who wanted to incorporate Christianity intro their own beliefs.

Some say this was the beginning of the Catholic church.

Tit 1:10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:

There were many who taught fables rather than the truth of God.

Tit 1:14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.

There were those that wanted the Christians to abide by the Laws of Moses.

Tit 3:9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

The true Word of God, does not contain fables as some say! Fables are any fictional teaching of the Scriptures.

The Lord Jesus taught using with parables, but He never taught using fables and neither should any man of God!

There is nothing contained in the Hebrew or Greek Scriptures that suggest the use of fables!

2Pe 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

2Pe 1:17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

That word "genealogies" is the teaching of those who take comfort in their godly heritage.

As Christians we can look back to the faith of Abraham because the Scriptures point us to him.

The truth is, we cannot be saved just because Abraham had such a great faith.

We cannot be saved just because we have godly parents or godly grandparents.

We must accept the Lord Jesus Christ ourselves in a faith such as Abraham had in trusting God, as our personal Savior and there is no other means of salvation period! *****End of discussion!

What did Jesus say?

Luk 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

It is only because of the love of God, that we get this opportunity to be saved!

*****1Ti 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

1Ti 1:6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;

Those false teachers had put empty discussions of the Law ahead of the "Love of God"!

The church is to teach love for one another, just as God loves each of us!

What had Jesus said?

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.

Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

When there is no love in a church, then there can be no church!

It is also a terrible sin to compromise the Word of God, just to get more members or to keep the ones you already have!

*****1Ti 1:7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.

The teacher or preacher must not allow ambition to cloud their understanding of the truth!

To make disciples as preachers and teachers, the church must focus on learning as well as teaching!

When those who do not know the Lord ask why we love the Scriptures, we should just say, "because we have a personal relationship with the Author".

Tit 1:10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:

Tit 1:11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.

Jas 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

Jas 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

We must also understand that the Laws of Moses had their purpose in the day of Paul, just as they do today!

Those laws point out that we are all sinners who cannot measure up to our Savior!

*****1Ti 1:8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

1Ti 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

1Ti 1:10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

1Ti 1:11 According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

The Scriptures were not written for those who already think they know it all. Nobody can teach these people!

The Scriptures were not written for those who want to do it their own way. That what Elvis said and the theme of humanism!

The Scriptures were not written for those so full of pride, who think they are much better than all others. Pride was the downfall of Lucifer (Satan).

The Scriptures were written for those who know they are sinners in need of a Savior!

False teachers will always put pride and self-righteousness above the Word of God!

False teachers would say, to be saved required you to give yourselves to Christ, but also you needed to add to this the obedience of Judaism to be truly saved!

False teachers will always reject that salvation can come only by the free gift of the "Grace" of God alone!

False teachers will confuse everyone on the gifts of God!

The law is good if it is used properly! The law teaches us what God considers to be sin. There are 613 Jewish laws and not just those 10 commandments.

Those laws can only teach us how far short we come when compared to the goodness of God which was in the Lord Jesus Christ!

False teachers will also teach that God had a set of scales to weigh our goodness against the things we do that are bad and whichever one came out on top would determine if you went to Heaven or to Hell.

But God says we have no goodness, "which is righteousness" to put on our good side.

Isa_64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags"; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

There is nothing wrong with being good, but no amount of goodness will get you saved!

God is a perfect God and we cannot come face to face with God until we are also perfect!

God gave all those laws to show all of us, that we had a great need of a Savior!

The Law was given to all those who are lawless and disobedient.

The law was given to the ungodly and sinners.

The law was given to those who are unholy and profane.

The law was given to those murderers who are so low that they would kill their own families.

The law was given to all those who commit fornication, and adultery, and homosexuals and all immoral people.

The law was given to all those who trade in slavery, and kidnappers.

The law was given to all liars and those who commit perjury.

The law was given to anything else that goes against the truth of the Word of God.

There is no one left out of this list because we are all sinners!

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

False teachers just do not understand the truth of God or they will reject the truth of God!

God has made a way for every human being upon this earth to join Him in Heaven and that way is by the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ!

We must never be deceived. It is the truth of the "Gospel" that is the only way to become perfect enough to join God in Heaven!

1Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

1Co 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

1Co 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

The Gospel is described as "glorious".

The Gospel is described as "everlasting".

The "gospel" is the unchanging, perfect, Word of God!

All those who come to know the Lord Jesus Christ in a personal relationship, will tell you how great it is to know the truth of Jehovah, the saving God!

*****1Ti 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

1Ti 1:13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

There are no true ministers of the "Gospel" unless they are called by Christ Himself!

There are no true ministers unless they came by "faith", trusting the Lord!

It was Jesus Christ who enabled Paul to teach the truth of the "Gospel".

Enabled means to strengthen and give power to.

The power of Paul's ministry came from the Lord Jesus Christ.

The power of every minister of the "Gospel" comes by the Lord Jesus Christ!

The power to continue in the ministry of the "Gospel" comes by the Holy Spirit who is the only path to the Lord Jesus Christ!

Joh 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

There can be no self-made ministers of the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ!

Those that call themselves, can only serve to a humanistic false religion who will lead people into a false sense of security!

It is Jesus Christ who found Paul to be trustworthy, to teach the wonderful Word of God.

It is Jesus Christ who finds any of us to be trustworthy, to teach the truth of the Word of God!

If you preach or teach the truth of the Word of God, God knows those who are faithful to Him!

*****1Ti 1:14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

Paul had spent some time trying to destroy the Church but by the "Grace", he had been forgiven.

Paul had committed blasphemy, hating even the name of Jesus Christ.

Paul was the persecutor who first set out to wipe the name of Jesus off the face of this earth.

Paul was injurious to destroy the rights of others who sought the Lord Jesus to be saved.

By God's "Grace", Paul was forgiven of all these things but all these things continue by others of the world today and yes, they can also be forgiven.

Paul thought he knew God and that Judaism was the true path to glorify God, but he had been wrong.

Judaism is not the way.

Islam is not the way.

Jehovah's Witness is not the way.

Mormanism is not the way.

Religion means death.

Christianity is life and leads to eternal life because Jesus Christ is the God of the Bible and has all the authority of God because He is God!

The Lord Jesus poured out His "Grace" onto the Apostle Paul and Paul was gloriously forgiven of all his sin!

None of us are worthy of the "Grace" of God and we can thank God for giving us the Apostle Paul who remained faithful all his days.

God's "Grace" is sufficient to cover any sin but one and that is the sin of not believeing that The Lord Jesus Christ is the God of the Bible!

We must remain faithful to the Gospel all our days to be of any use to Him!

In fact, when we remain faithful to the Lord, this is when He will pour out blessing after blessing to us all our days!

*****1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

1Ti 1:16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

Why did the Lord Jesus come to this world? Jesus Christ left Heaven to come to this world to save sinners!

**The Apostle Paul is the greatest of examples of just how far God will go to save a worthless sinner!

It is an indisputable fact, that even the worst of sinners can be saved!

Jesus Christ would save the entire human race if they would only believe that His able to do it!

It is still "faith", not just any faith, but "faith" in the "Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ"!

Luk 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

**The Apostle Paul is also the greatest example of God's "mercy"!

Paul was also chosen to be the pattern of mercy to all those in sin!

It was not easy in that day to bring the "Gospel" to the gentile nations.

The truth of Paul was that if God could save Paul, then God could save anyone!

Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

**The Apostle Paul is our greatest proof of God's "mercy"!

*****1Ti 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

When we know of the glorious salvation that Jesus Christ has given us, we to should break forth into praise!

**Our Savior is the unchanging King of all the ages.

Psa 145:13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

**Our Savior is Immortal, which means He is incorruptible, He cannot age, He cannot deteriorate, He cannot decay within His being. He absolutely cannot die! He is immortal!

Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

**Our Savior is invisible! He cannot be seen by people with physical eyes in this physical dimension!

He came, He took all our sin to the lower part of the earth, and He ascended back to His throne!

Joh 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

**Our Savior is the only wise God. "Yes Jesus Christ is the God of the Bible" the stumbling block of this world!

Jud 1:25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Eph 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

**Our Savior is the only living and true God who can interact with this world!

1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

1Pe 2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Timothy probably had not reached the age of 30 at this time and he needed to be encouraged to become the pastor at Ephesus.

*****1Ti 1:18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

1Ti 1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

1Ti 1:20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Each and every believer is called to be in the army of God, but the calling of the Pastor is to do more!

Many a believer fail to realize, that as Christians we are in a great battle, in fact a war and our job is to fight a good fight.

Paul would have had Timothy to be like himself while he was also like Jesus.

2Ti 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

Timothy was sure he was called of God into the ministry and it was now time for him to begin his ministry.

Every Pastor must be called of God. To be a Pastor is not just another profession as many see it today. It is never another place just to make a living.

Just like every new Pastor, Timothy would find himself right in the middle of spiritual warfare. He had witnessed these many times already, but the Apostle Paul and other Elders had taken charge, but now he would be on his own but not forsaken by the Lord.

The truth is when a person is called into the ministry by the Holy Spirit, he or she must not reject the call. They must jump right into the battle and fight a good warfare.

To reject the call of God is to live in misery!

Sometimes we must be stirred up to get into the battle and Paul was doing this to Timothy here in this passage.

Each ministry is a sacred trust, a sacred commitment to the Lord!

The war we fight, is for the minds and the souls of the lost, some even being of our own family. We must jump right into this conflict if we are called of God.

The Pastor, the highest calling, is God's instrument to not only be a fisherman of men but, also God's instrument to teach and make other disciples.

Each Pastor must be faithful to fight a good warfare!

The greatest weapon of defense is the shield of "faith".

Good conscience is that conviction that our course of conduct is right, and it is accompanied by an obligation to the truth of God.

Conscience is our sense of right and wrong!

Conscience does not come by training, because each of us are born with a sense of right and wrong.

Rom 2:14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

Rom 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

Though conscience does not come by training or education, it must still be developed and matured!

A good and healthy conscience comes by living a godly and righteous life before our Savior!

It is Holy Ghost conviction, that works with our conscience for us to discern right and wrong!

It is that same conscience, under conviction of the Holy Spirit, that convicts us of sin.

Rom 9:1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,

Rom 9:2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.

The word conscience is used 31 times in the New Testament.

There is the good conscience.

There is the conscience void of offense.

There is the weak conscience.

There is the pure conscience.

There is the seared conscience of which we see more of today.

There is the defiled conscience which has been around since the sin of Adam.

There is the evil conscience.

And the most frightening thing we can do with our conscience, is to put it away.

If we put away our conscience concerning our faith, we will be shipwrecked.

Shipwrecked means our faith is destroyed!

Hymenaeus put away his conscience by denying the true doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Alexander the coppersmith also rejected the truth of God.

Paul delivered them to Satan which means:

1) They were excommunicated from the Church and left out in the world with the hope that they would come to the truth of the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ. (We never read where they made a change)

2) The were given back to the world, which is under the power of Satan.

The church would then pray that some circumstance would happen to them out in the world that they might repent and return to the church and accept the truth of the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The truth is, it is impossible to commit sin and escape the chastisement of the Lord!

The Lord says we will reap what we sow!

There remains also the Spiritual power that inflicts punishment for sin.

Even modern medicine agrees that misbehavior causes physical, emotional and mental punishment.

And we must always remember that church discipline is put in place, in order that those who receive the discipline may return to Jesus Christ for forgiveness.

1Jn 5:16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.

1Jn 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.

The Lord always knows what is best for His Church!

Amen