church, I want to, acknowledge,
my friend Pastor Freddy sitting right back here in his.
And, Freddy, I'm glad you're here, pastor.
I'm glad you're here.
But can you hear me, pastor?
Yeah.
Pastor Freddy is is is leading the church that we started
when, when we were three years old,
we started a church with a man named John Brown Koski.
And, Pastor Freddy has taken that over,
and he is leading that well in Fresno.
Loving on people that need the love of Jesus,
serving people that are underserved.
And he is with us this morning.
And thank you.
And, I'm going to ask on your behalf.
Best, Freddy, that some of our prayer people,
certainly John and Laura and Scott and Brenda and you,
when this service is over, you spend some time praying
over, over, pastor Freddy.
And I want all of you to put him on your prayer list.
He's going through some health things that,
we desire to see God's hand move in his life.
And so, pastor,
would you allow us that honor after the service of praying over you?
Yeah.
All right.
We're in this study of first Timothy,
and this letter from the apostle Paul
written to Timothy as, as as Paul's young protege
was written from an older man to a younger man.
Paul is in his probably early 60s.
And for the first century community, that's.
That was pretty old.
He lived a long life.
It lived a hard life.
And sometimes,
the way we live adds years to our life.
You know, as far as wearing us out, you know what I'm saying?
And so he lived a hard life, and he was six years old, which was old anyway.
So he's he's he's he knows is he's coming to an end.
He's in jail.
He's going to be beheaded by, Caesar Nero.
And so he's passing on some things of utmost importance to those coming up
after him that he's leaving in charge of these churches, that he started.
And so this young man, Timothy,
is is in charge of this
church that Paul started in the place called Ephesus.
And Paul is charging Timothy as a Christ follower and as a pastor.
Here are some things that are really important,
to know and to do and to be.
And what he says to Timothy is why I came up with this series
title, Guard and Guide, Guard Doctrine and Guide People into it.
That's the whole theme of these letters first Timothy, second Timothy and Titus.
Two leaders, Timothy and Titus, three letters guard
good doctrine and biblical doctrine.
Sound doctrine.
Guard it because people will drift away from it,
and we'll start changing stuff and then guide people into it.
And so that's what this whole thing is about.
And so what he started in chapters one and two,
he said, these things are really important.
They're paramount for the church.
And the first things Paul says to Timothy about the church is the church
must be a place of grace.
We have to be a church of grace.
We have to be a people of grace that understand
how much we've been forgiven, all that God has done for us.
Not because we're worth it, not because we're worthy,
not because we've earned it, but by the grace of God, the unmerited
and undeserved favor and blessing of God to grant to those who believe salvation,
and then every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms through Christ
given to us. This grace is profound.
Second thing Paul said, church must be a place of grace,
must be a place of doctrine.
We have to teach good doctrine.
We have to teach biblical truth what good doctrine is.
It's everything that's contained in here.
And we have to teach this. We have to proclaim this.
This is the church's job in the world, okay?
It's grace, doctrine, and then prayer.
He says the church has to be a place of prayer.
And as I've been going through this study in my own mind,
just thinking, Lord, how are we doing as a church?
I think we're doing
pretty good on the grace part and pretty good on the doctrine part.
I we're we're a church of we understand God's grace
because we understand how rotten we are,
right? I mean, we understand.
I mean, just look to the person on your right.
You'll understand how rotten we are. No. I'm asking.
It's just like.
Like we get this part.
We understand grace.
And here's what I know.
Like, we don't mind messy people because we understand grace.
Churches that don't understand grace don't like messy people.
We understand what the Bible says.
That were sent abounds. Grace abounds more.
We get that.
We understand how sinful we have been and still struggle with.
So we understand
the propensity, the magnitude, the overthrowing nature of God's grace.
And it's beautiful.
We are a very messy church, a very messy people.
We get grace.
That's why messy people don't mind being here.
So you don't mind being here.
We understand grace, and I think we do a pretty good job with doctrine.
We. This is our standard.
It's always been our standard, and we don't diverge from it. And.
And it's rubbed people the wrong way. Praise God.
It's like whatever.
This is our this our doctrine.
But this third thing, prayer.
And here's where I think we fall short in the error of prayer in this way.
We're a church full of praying individuals,
but we're not a praying congregation.
We have prayerful individuals, but not a praying congregation.
That's just an honest assessment.
Now whenever we look at Scripture, we look at it honestly,
and it's intended to rebuke and correct, right?
And to train for righteousness as part of what's church supposed to be?
I think we're a church
full of of prayerful individuals, but we're not a praying congregation.
Here's my proof.
We've, we've done this first Tuesday prayer thing
once a month, the first Thursday every month for a long time.
I've got about the same five people that show up
every month.
It's an indictment on our church.
You okay?
Listen, today is not going to be fun.
It's going to be informative.
But I'm telling you
right up front, it's why we're look at doctrine.
Because if we're not careful, we'll just drift away.
And what makes us feel good about ourselves.
And so I think with the grace and the doctrine part, we're doing okay.
The praying part.
We're it's not good.
All of us pray.
All of us pray a lot, which is fantastic.
We're supposed to.
But as a congregation.
I bear full responsibility for that.
But so do you.
And so then in chapter three,
he talks about godly leaders and godly Christians.
And it is quite a qualified list of qualifications for what he calls
elders and deacons.
We talked about all those titles and stuff.
That list of qualifications is pretty profound.
But here's the thing that listed
qualifications should be common for all Christ followers.
Like, we don't get to take a pass just because I don't have a title.
And when you look at the qualifications, none of those are things
that anyone would think, well, I can be I can follow Jesus without that.
I mean, they're like, what are the qualifications
we want to cross off the list for someone who follows Jesus?
None of them.
And so it's
really a list of look, this is the standard.
If we're going to call him I if I'm going to call myself a Christ follower
and apprentice of Jesus, a disciple, this is the standard.
And that's what chapter three is.
And then it gets into chapter four and he says, knowing all of that.
This is what the church is to be.
This is the standard for any Christ follower.
Then he gets to chapter four and he says, okay, now here's the reality.
Here's what's going to happen and here's why.
You have to be careful to faithful leadership.
So the big idea for today in chapter four, the big idea is this
to train like it matters.
Now Paul is going to use the word train.
And when we say train, well, I say train like Paul does.
It means training in godliness.
So trained in godliness.
Like it matters because what we're dealing with this is issue of godliness.
In a world gone soft.
The world has gone soft.
The church has gone soft.
And so this is Paul saying, like press into godly training, training in godliness
because everything around us has gone soft.
So get hard about this stuff,
you understand?
So we're going to I'm going to press into this like Paul does.
This chapter is one of those that gets my like my competitive juices flowing,
gets my coach juices flowing right now because he's going to press into this.
I, I coach obviously at the high school.
I think this is year 14 or 15 for me at the high school.
I've also started coaching again this year at the youth
level, our junior football team, which is basically seventh graders.
And so I think it's year.
12 of that.
And so I've done multiple years, you know, with both.
And so I was with
we had this little all the way up camp with these seventh graders.
This week and I had these new coaches I'm coaching with.
And I told him, I said, here, listen, here's think
like I
when I can translate spiritual truth on to the football field.
That's when it really makes sense to me.
And so I got my team together.
I said, you know, hey, listen.
I said, I read an ancient book.
It's called the Bible.
And that tells me that whatever I do
to do with all my heart, whatever I put my hands
to do with all my heart, because there's a word coming.
So whatever we do.
And I told him, whatever we do on the football field, every practice matters.
Every drill matters.
Every rep of every drill matters.
Do it like it matters. Because it does.
Because if I can.
And still this in them now, in the springtime
when we get to season time and then the playoffs.
Right.
You understand you athletes understand this.
I told don't waste to practice. Don't waste.
Don't waste a rep.
This is what Paul sent.
Light train for God.
Don't waste
an opportunity to train
for God
because we live in a soft world.
I mean, I get this.
I told my boys
you'll find a reason or you'll find an excuse.
Right?
On the other, I mean, you have softball.
You tell your girls
you'll find a reason to get it done, or you'll find an excuse not to.
It's the same thing in faith. Okay?
Same thing in faith.
We got all kinds of reasons why we don't
dot dot dot.
If we wanted to, we'd find a reason.
2....
For what feels just like the faith world.
So he's going to press into this.
So let me just read. Here we go.
Verses one, two and three of first Timothy four.
Now the spirit expressly says
that in latter times some will depart from the faith
by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons
through the insincerity of liars whose conscience is our seared,
who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created
to be seed with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
Let me just unpack this a little bit.
He's saying this is what's
going to happen in latter times.
Now there's a difference in the Bible, which in latter times, in the last days,
latter times, the moment Jesus
ascended to heaven until now are the latter times.
There will come a time of last days.
The last days are the few days of the latter times.
Y'all follow.
So we are in the latter times.
We'll know when we're in the last days.
It'll get real apparent.
We're definitely in the latter times.
He says during now there will be those
who depart from the truth.
That word depart literally means apostasy.
It means they will walk away.
They will abandon the faith.
In latter times, they will abandon the faith.
It's going to happen.
We call it deconstruction.
I've deconstructed my faith, and now I believe something different.
I used to be a Christ follower.
Now I'm, an atheist.
Agnostic.
Now I just don't believe I used to hold these things as certain.
Now I'm not sure.
He says in latter times, this is what's going to happen.
And this is why says it's so important for you to teach good doctrine.
Because unless you have that foundation and that anchor, you will drift.
And here's what I know.
And here's what you know.
Drift starts with doubt.
I used to believe everything here.
Now I doubt it. I used to believe Jesus was the only way.
Now I doubt I used to believe churches, but now I doubt.
And drift starts with doubt.
He says in the latter days, there will be people
who will drift
and drift and drift.
And it begins with doubt.
So he says to you, this is why this doctrine is so important.
And they will drift from the faith.
There's a lot of, of, of, of thought about what it means to drift from the faith.
And I'm not going to deal with the, you know, can you lose your salvation?
Can you not lose your salvation?
What I want to talk about is this drift from the faith.
Paul, at the beginning of this letter, has been so focused in hammering home
the faith, meaning the doctrine, teaching the doctrine of the church
one Savior, one Lord, one
faith, one baptism, one word of God.
And he says they will start drifting from that.
That's why
teaching and understanding good, solid biblical doctrine is so important.
So we don't drift from the anchor that that's intended to be.
That's why I wrote that book, essentials.
It's in the it's in the welcome Center.
Pick it up if you haven't got one yet.
It's free for you, but it will help you understand the essentials
of Christian biblical doctrine
to protect yourself from drift.
You know, it's so interesting
this from my younger sons, their generation and younger.
So I'm reading study after study that said that generate
these generations are so open to the faith.
They're open to the truth of Scripture.
They really are
more so than other generations.
They just want something that's real and authentic and trustworthy.
We have such an opportunity before us,
and I'm so thankful for Michael and Trish and our youth and children's
ministry team for the work they're doing, because this generation now,
they're ready, like, like so few generations before them,
for the reality of who Jesus is.
And we have such an incredible opportunity in this little community
to have a profound,
eternal impact on young lives.
And guys, we gotta capitalize on it.
Now, please understand.
I have a real hard time
with.
People who are not passionate.
I got a real difficulty
with dispassionate people.
Like they're.
There's got to be passion
for something,
and it better be the right things. And.
And I just struggle like
when I'm coach, I got a real problem with dispassionate coaches.
Like, get off the field.
And so when it comes to this,
you want to talk about passion.
Like they're.
It's hard for me to be around
dispassionate people.
And we have such an opportunity
to be so passionate about what this provides for this younger generation.
Like if we don't.
We dare
not neglect the opportunity that's before us.
I was talking to Michael this week,
and we were talking to the staff just about the summer program.
There are some churches and I just don't understand it,
but there's some churches that kind of give their youth team
the summer off because they've worked hard all year long.
I think you're it.
It's you're just it it's like don't like
summertime is the time where you've been running 80 miles an hour all year.
Well, now it's time to go hundred and 20 miles an hour.
Load something like you just press in an alley.
Lauren all herself last year.
Now you got used to working with Michael. Like.
Like they don't you out.
You press hard in summertime, right?
Jeff did a few years ago.
He's kind of working them into this whole, like, overwhelmingly work system
that we have here in the summertime with us.
But we have to do it.
And so I told Michael, come up with the figure, how much does it cost
us this year to run a junior high and high school program?
How much its cost is $10,000.
This year we're going to spend ten grand
in two and a half months on our junior high and high school kids.
It's a lot of money.
I gave him the green light, so now you got to pay for it.
I mean, it's just worth doing right?
I mean, there's going to be a time when they're part.
Let's let's not let it be on our watch.
He says
there's gonna to be time when you start them,
when they're going to depart from the truth, from the faith is these core
essential biblical doctors and they're going to devote themselves
to deceitful spirits and teaching the demons.
That sounds pretty nefarious, right?
Well, let me tell you how subtle this is.
Teaching of demons.
You know where we first see that Genesis three
straight from the mouth of Satan himself
when he told Eve, here's how subtle it is.
Did God really say?
You realize if you do this
God's way, you're going to be missing out on something.
You can have happiness and fulfillment in a way other than what God said.
That's demonic teaching.
It's Genesis three and it's so subtle.
Because all the time
we're told in our culture, did God really say.
Is that really the truth?
When we start thinking,
I could be more happy if I don't do it God's way.
You mean I can have more money if I don't tithe?
I'm not going to tithe.
I got more money.
In anybody? No.
You mean I'm human?
I could be more fulfilled.
I mean, God says, you know, sex is only for marriage
and you shouldn't live with each other.
But I could be more fulfilled if I live with my boyfriend or,
you know, girlfriend before marriage.
That's okay. That's.
That's a deceitful, demonic teaching, right?
You understand this is.
It gets so subtle.
Unless we're solid on doctrine,
we're going to get to see by it.
And this is
taught through the insincerity of liars whose consciousness are seared.
You know what that tells me?
That tells me that the the the challenge to Christian
doesn't just come from outside the church.
It comes from inside the church, because this is taught to God's people.
It says by teachers with whose eyes are conscious is seared.
If you're burned, your your fingertips, your brush, your fingertips,
the nerves get seared right and you lose sensitivity.
He's saying there are people who are going to teach
deceiving doctrines in the church who have their very conscience is seared.
They're not even sensitive to the Holy Spirit anymore.
And they're going to diverge from sound biblical doctrine
and it's going to lead people astray.
Is false sense of discipleship.
And in their consciousness is these people are going to forbid marriage
and Christ absence from food
that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those
who believe and know the truth. Here's what he's saying.
He's saying like there will be people
who will add to what God has said.
If you just do a little more than what God has said, you'll be right with him.
You know, when we add to Scripture, it's called legalism.
And he's saying, just like
God has after this, go a little bit further.
If you just deny yourself enough, God will be more pleased with you.
That's a lie from the devil.
And in this context, when he says forbidden
marriage and certain foods, what he's literally talking about
is not the contract of marriage, but the intimacy in marriage.
He said, you can have the contract of marriage,
but don't enjoy the intimacy of it and you'll be more godly.
That's a lie from the devil.
And this food, these delicacies in Genesis.
And then with Peter on the roof, he God says all food is,
is is okay for you to eat.
So go ahead, have a bacon sandwich.
You know, it's okay.
Like it's, it's I'm permitting you the freedom of that
and it's good for you to enjoy it if you give thanks to God for no,
it might not be healthy for you, but it's okay to enjoy.
That's what he's saying.
He said, enjoy what God provides.
Don't add to what he said. That's legalism.
And don't, don't, don't go soft on what he said.
That's liberalism.
Be certain on this and then enjoy all that.
Now watch this for every verse for for everything created by God is good.
He pronounced it good in the garden of Eden, went before the God like
when he created all things, pronounce it all good, and nothing is to be rejected.
If it's received with thanksgiving, for it's made holy by the Word of God.
Emperor says, look, pleasures become holy when received with thanksgiving.
Everything that God's given you to enjoy, it becomes
holy when you receive it with thanksgiving like, thank you Lord.
God like whole.
I don't know if it's a word holy.
Is it?
But here's what I want you to understand.
Here's what he's saying.
Gratitude sanctifies legalism,
sterilizes, and liberalism neutralizes.
This is what we have to understand.
And so all these things God has given to us for our enjoyment
when we acknowledge the giver of the gifts,
God makes the enjoyment of it a holy act.
Does it make sense to you like he's so good
he hasn't asked you to give up anything that isn't sin?
So the fact if you deny yourself whatever, fine.
That's between you and God, it doesn't make you more holy.
Like if his gift to you enjoy.
That's what Paul saying,
and I love what he says.
He said it's made holy by the Word of God in prayer.
And he is specifically in his context talking about
especially when you sit down to eat, when you sit down to eat, thank God for it
because you're thinking of God makes that time
of community and communion with God like eating holy.
No, it doesn't mean it makes it nutritious.
I think we should.
Every Christ follower should pray before they eat.
Whether you're by yourself or with people.
Doesn't matter where you are.
Every Christ follower before you partake of the goodness of God,
should acknowledge the giver of the goodness of God.
You follow doesn't have to be a big showy thing.
Probably shouldn't be a big holy thing because then we,
you know, we look like a bunch of gluttons and we're don't have self-control
because when we eat, we just shovel.
And so probably should be a private prayer.
So, so we don't give ourselves a bad name,
but we should like the acknowledgment of God.
But listen, just because it makes that time
wholly between us and God doesn't mean it makes the food nutritious.
So let's be smart. Prayers.
It does no good to go to Handel's Ice Cream.
And before you eat your ice cream,
say God bless this to the nourishment of my body, that I may serve you more.
God is going to say no,
I don't do that.
You can't say, God, thank you for this.
Double, double and in and out.
Bless it to nourish my body.
He'll say, no, I'm not going to bless that.
It's bad for you.
You will be a holy moment of having bad food, but your holy moment
won't make the food bad. It's still bad.
He will probably say, I will not bless that for your nourishment,
but at least you'll get to me faster.
So let's just not be dumb.
Prayers,
you understand? Yes.
Give thanks to God
and eat smart.
Verse six.
If you put these things before the brothers, you will be
a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith
and of the good doctrine that you have followed.
Here's what I'm saying when he says, put these things before the brothers,
when he uses those words, what he's saying here
is to remind them.
Just remind them
there are some things we just need to be reminded of stuff, right?
Like, like but many of you, you've been in church a long time,
and some of you have sat with me for 20 years.
Most of the stuff you know,
but we just got to be reminded of it.
Sometimes you hear it in a different way and it just makes more sense.
And sometimes I say it in a way that makes you okay.
Now I get that.
But much, much of this, you know, just got to be reminded of it.
Parents, please understand your kids need constant reminders
of who God is, of who
Jesus is, of how trustworthy the word is, of how right it is to live
according to the Word of God, of how much it protects them.
They just need reminders from you,
of God's
goodness, of his sovereignty, of his plan
to be patient and wait on the Lord, that his mind is far above ours.
His ways are different than ours. They're better than ours.
They don't need a sermon from you.
They just need reminders from you.
Does it make sense? Yes.
They remind them.
I don't know how many times I've had the privilege of reminding my sons
of what they already learned
in Sunday school, in youth group, from their leaders, from their mother,
from me, from the scripture that they've read themselves.
I don't know how many have had the privilege.
And remember, son,
don't lose sight of this.
I know you don't feel it right now, but remember.
Listen.
And here's why it's so important.
Because what we
forget, we eventually neglect,
even if we know it,
what we forget, we eventually neglect.
It's one reason why it's so important for us to be together on Sunday mornings.
Because we remember together.
And I get it.
And Paul says in Romans, every day belongs, Lord, every day.
It should be a day of worship.
Absolutely, 100%.
Can you worship on days of him Sunday? 100%.
You can.
And I understand people say, well, because I can worship on any day,
I'll worship with my family up at the lake.
I'm like,
well, that's I mean, I get it, and if you're going to do it
as an act of worship to God, fantastic.
But it's so difficult to be reminded of these things in isolation.
We're reminded of these things in community.
Do you understand and
remind them of these things?
What you forget you'll neglect?
It's so good for us to be together and be reminded.
And then look at this seven and eight I'm going to press into this.
Have nothing to do.
Is that all I want to say about that?
I think it is.
I know time
for seven have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths.
Rather, here's the option train yourself for godliness.
For all. Bodily training is of some value.
Godliness is a value in every way,
as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
Let me camp on this for a little bit.
He says.
He's going to he's he's going to compare godly training to athletic training.
Okay? So make those those connections.
It makes sense in my world when he uses this train.
Train yourself for godliness.
That word train is the Greek word gymnasium,
which where we get our word gymnasium or the gym.
He's saying, work out.
Go to the gym of godliness.
Train yourself at the gym for godliness.
He's saying all of that physical training, athletic training,
physical strength is of some value.
Godly training is of eternal value.
When Paul says God, physical training is some value, he means temporal value.
It is good for us.
But what's better for us because it's beneficial both temporally and eternally?
Is spiritual workouts more than physical workouts?
Not that physical workouts are bad, but spiritual workouts are eternal.
That's what he's saying.
So here's let me press in here.
Godliness is the result
of hard spiritual work.
It's great for us to be here, encouraged
together, mutually edified, mutually reminded.
But godliness doesn't happen by sitting
in comfortable chairs.
Godliness happens by hard, consistent,
disciplined spiritual workouts.
Every day
when my sons were young and growing up, from the time there were little
in our way up all the way up through college, playing football
every season, the moment season ended,
they would come to me and say, dad, let's start training.
I didn't push it. I didn't ask them.
I didn't tell them because they had this internal drive
that they understood that to do what they wanted to do
required constant, consistent, hard freaking work.
The moment season ended, boom.
We're back at it.
At their request,
I need to make sure you understand that I wasn't one of those dads.
And every time they said, let's go,
I was with them.
Most people want to be fit.
A few people put in a work.
Most people want to be spiritual.
A few people put in the work.
I have a very difficult time
with passionless people.
Physical training is of some value, no doubt.
Spiritual training is more.
Now listen.
I exercise
every day.
And I, I realized a few years back,
and God gave me this.
He said, Carl, I think you put all my heart.
I want to preach, teach and coach until I'm 80 years old
with energy and passion and
and and and and, you know, piss and vinegar.
They say like, I just want a president as tall.
I'm 80 years old.
And I realized to do that, I got it.
I got to take care of my body.
And I want to present time, and I don't want to
I don't want to take care of my body just so I can see my kids and my grandkids
till I'm 80.
That's a perk.
But you do understand something.
I'm going to be with my kids and grandkids through eternity.
Yeah, and we're going to be on a real earth together in bodily form.
I get them for eternity, so I'm good there.
I don't get them as much as I want here, but I get them for eternity.
I know their salvation
and so I don't want to live a healthy time 80 so I get more time with them.
That's a perk.
I want to be healthy so I can preach,
teach and coach till I'm 80 because I don't get to do that in heaven.
You understand God and so and so.
I have to exercise every day.
But when I exercise,
I listen to teachings,
commentaries, sermons, worship music.
So it's after worship and go through my prayer list.
So my physical exercise is attached to my spiritual workouts.
Does that make sense? Yes.
I mean.
I don't want to talk about this as the come to nation.
I just want to talk about it as a as a caution.
Would any of you at all
think that
you can lose weight and get in shape because you're a pastor
each right, and runs?
Anybody?
Yeah.
Yeah, it doesn't work that way, does it?
So why do we think it works
that way with this?
So you okay?
Yeah.
Here's what I know.
And again, not as accommodation, just as a caution.
The culture is set up against
disciplined discipleship,
and we experience it in profound ways right now in this season that we're in,
because it's called travel ball.
And I talked to,
David White, who's a part of our leadership here.
Loves the Lord, is raising his family in the Lord.
And he's one of the leaders of the baseball youth baseball world out here.
And he struggles with this. And he and I had a conversation.
I called him, said, David, this is what I'm talking about on Sunday.
I want to make sure you and I are good, because I'm gonna say some things that,
if you don't understand
my heart,
are going to seem like a critique and it's not a critique,
and you need to make sure you're talking
to all these other families of ours, right now.
And I can count on both hands, on both feet,
how many families we have doing travel ball right now.
And so so you need to translate this for them
because I don't want them, you know, thinking I said something I didn't say.
But let me say.
The travel ball world where there's baseball, soccer I don't care what it is.
The travel ball world is set up antithetical to the discipleship world,
because it's set up to condition our culture,
not to think twice about missing church.
Now David does a good job
between games on on, on on tournaments.
On Sunday, they'll watch the live stream.
They'll gather our flip side people that is with around the watch
a live stream or you know, they'll have the Bible study and pray.
And he's doing a great job at that.
And I commend him for it.
And he makes sure that the flip side, people that he's traveling with
are a part of the community.
And and so there's a
there's a part of this that is his mission field, as is the football field mind.
But he's also real life.
And that's part of his discipleship, too.
And we have to be careful about the standards that we're setting
just to be that, well, this is just what we do.
Acceptance.
Rather than being driven by the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
And I was talking to David, said, David, there's three ways
we can approach this travel ball season and where you can start discipling church
people in this understanding, because most people, most Christians
in this travel ball world, go into it without any thought whatsoever.
That's just the culture.
And this is just what we do in the summertime. We just miss church.
I'll see you in August or September without any thought.
There's got to be thought,
there's got to be purpose behind it.
So I told David, I said one thing you can do.
And we did a some years back,
we held a Sunday night service for our travel ball families,
and the only ones who came were our travel families.
And I did the whole message all over again just for them.
It's one way we do it.
Another way we do it is to have travel ball, church,
you know, and do what David's doing.
Yes, yes, we're missing here, but we're still the church there
and we're going to gather as the church. That's fantastic.
How about it? Make sure you do it.
It's a great testament, a great discipleship.
But the other way is the Eric little way
back in the Olympics, I think in the world that the 40s or whatever,
the 20s, I don't when it was a long time ago,
and he was an Olympic sprinter.
And the qualifying for the Olympics for his is his,
meet or for his race was on a Sunday and he went to Olympic Committee says.
And on Sunday it's a Sabbath day.
So he changed his entire, his entire,
entry into a, an event that was on Sunday is amazing.
And God honored it with a medal.
And I just wonder, I wonder how God would honor it if the travel ball families
went to the travel ball coaches and said, we are all yours
except for Sunday 8 a.m. till noon.
I just wonder how God would honor that.
I don't know, because I've never seen any parent bold enough in this type
of bold enough to do it.
All I know is this when it becomes
the norm to miss corporate worship,
and we don't think twice about it,
something's wrong.
What I know is what you know.
Downfall follows distance.
Downfall of faith
follows distance of godliness.
And when we make excuses and find excuses not to come,
not to serve, not to lead, not to do, not to give.
Downfall as soon to follow.
And as parents, we have to be very careful
about what we're modeling and mentoring for our children
because we will mentor, mentor and model them into a distance
that will lead to their downfall without even thinking about it.
You understand? Yes.
You okay?
We understand what you training is.
You talk about physical training involves two things nutrition and exertion.
If we're going to train our souls physically.
Nutrition and exertion, nutrition.
You gotta eat right?
It's been said you can't out train a bad diet.
So nutrition what we take it
and then exertion we you got to push stuff right.
You got to get the miles in.
You gotta get the the strength the strenuous labor in.
You got
you nutrition.
You got to limit the saturated fat.
You got to increase the monounsaturated, the polyunsaturated.
You got to limit the calories. You got to limit the sodium.
You got to limit the all the glucose level.
You got to limit you got to watch that stuff, increase the protein,
the lean protein stuff, the exertion.
You got to get the heart rate up to whatever that heart rate is for you.
You got to get your, you know, 30 minutes of exercise a day.
You got to get 10,000 steps.
Like, we understand that it's the same thing in the spiritual world.
Nutrition and exertion.
What is your spiritual intake?
What is your spiritual nutrition?
If it's one time a week, spiritual nutrition and then the other
six days are full of spiritual junk fruit in the music, let's do.
And what you look at online and on the on the streaming stuff.
What kind of diet is that?
If your
diet that bad, guarantee you it's adult diabetes right
now, you're going to die that way spiritually.
The exertion. What?
Your exertion level spiritually.
If our exertion level consists of getting up on a Sunday morning
because we're tired from sitting down and sitting in the air
conditioned room in a cushioned chair, that's not much exertion.
Right.
We're.
You okay?
Here's what I'm saying.
Our Bible should be more worn out that our gym gear and our running shoes that.
Amen.
That's what Paul saying.
Let me press through this.
I know what time it is.
You know what time it is.
Verse ten.
For to this end we toil and strife
because we have our hope set on the living God,
who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
We toil and strive in this
life. We press into this.
We're passionate about this stuff
because we our hope is in the living God.
There's no other religion that ever
in the history of man that has a living founder of it.
Every other leader of every other religion has been founded
by a founder who's dead, decayed and worm food.
Except Christianity is the only one whose founder died and rose again
and is alive today.
Nobody could ever disprove his death nor his resurrection because it happened.
And that is what our hope is in.
And we press into these things because of that living God,
because he is a salvation for all people, especially those who believe
this is what it means.
He is a salvation for all people.
Not that all people will be saved, potentially the Savior of all people,
actually the Savior of those who will believe
do you understand that potentially the salvation of all,
but actually the salvation of those who believe?
And because I believe it, I'm going to press into this because he's worthy of it.
Yeah, yeah.
He says, come, man, verse 11, and teach these things.
When he says, come in.
He said, this is, this is as a military officer,
you don't suggest these things to people you don't politely encourage.
This is a command from a commanding officer to the troops.
This is the standard. This is what we'll do.
This is the expectation. I've lived it.
You live it.
This is this is who we are now.
You understand? Yeah. Yeah.
This this is this is the passion.
A part of it.
Let no one despise you for your youth.
But, set the believers
an example in speech and conduct and love and faith and purity until I come
devote yourself to the public, reading scriptures, to exhortation, to teaching.
Instead said, looking.
Don't let anybody down on you for your youth.
He's in his 30 years old.
He's in his 30s. There's only 30s.
He's not like a teenage kid.
But when it's an old man
talking to a 30 year old, he talk to him like he's a young man
and he's saying, look at you.
Set the example.
You become the standard in your speech.
So let's translate it.
If you and I, if you think for yourself, if you are the standard of what godliness
is according to your speech, how is that standard?
If you are the standard for godliness in your posts,
how is that standard?
Set an example for everybody in speech
and setting sample for everybody and conduct in your lifestyle.
If your lifestyle is the standard, what's that say
in speech, in conduct, in love?
That's agape
love, self-sacrificial love, giving without expecting anything in return.
Sacrifice?
Well, either,
if that you set the standard for that for everybody is what he's saying
in speech and conduct, in love,
in faith that is actually faithfulness, not just faithfulness to the doctrine
through God's Word, but faithfulness and what,
like what we say we will do, we're not going to tap out
and we're not going to back away, and we're not going to back out of
something we said we would do. We're faithful.
And you set the standard and impurity
says you set the standard for purity.
So just understand, just think if I am the standard for this,
what does that standard look like?
And if we do set that standard according to biblical doctrine,
people can say whatever they want about us.
It doesn't matter,
because that is.
And Jesus set the standard for this.
Devote yourself to it
and to the reading of Scripture, exhortation and teaching.
The role here is to teach this
and escort it to people
like, let's be encouraged with this.
This is our job.
So what we do?
I mean, just real quick here,
father's day is coming up.
Dads, please understand
your life is your legacy.
Your legacy is not what you leave your kids
and an inheritance.
Your life
is your legacy.
What your family sees in you.
Your family will repeat. Or.
And so if there's things that you prayed.
God, please don't let my family repeat that part of me.
I get it.
That's where
you become the model of God's grace.
Relying on the grace of God for you
and giving that grace
to others.
And let that be the legacy, if nothing else,
what I'm saying is this.
I don't want to say that yet.
Yeah.
Your godliness
requires discipline, not just your desire.
You understand that?
Our godliness requires discipline,
not just desire.
What it means to be disciplined
is that we choose what we want most over what we want.
Now, guys, if we could get that dialed in, we'd be doing
all right.
What I know
is what you know that discipline beats inspiration.
Every time.
Discipline beats inspiration every time.
Discipline has to do with the decision in here.
Inspiration has to do with what you can provide me.
And I don't want to leave my God pursuit of godliness
and my mentorship of my family to someone
else, inspiring me to be someone different that I'm not in here.
Does that make sense?
So to dad, certainly, but also to all of us.
But especially with the Father's Day coming up. Just think about this.
We have to like we we need to be the sermon that our family remembers,
not preach a sermon our family remembers.
That's what Paul saying to Timothy.
Listen, we can't lead if we don't follow well,
and we can't serve if we don't eat well.
Your and my consistency will preach louder
and more convincingly than any opinion or post we can make.
It's what he's talking about.
Press into this,
for to this end we store.
We toil. Command him in these things.
Don't let anybody look down on you.
Be the example.
I mean, as a coach, I understand we can't play
well on Friday night if we don't practice well Monday through Thursday.
Spiritually, it's the same thing.
We can't lead well if we live sloppy.
Dad, do you understand that this
disciples.
You understand that?
So Paul's saying.
14 1516
do not neglect the gift you have which was given you by a prophecy
when the council of elders laid their hands on you.
Practice these things, immerse yourselves in them,
so that all may see your progress.
He's saying, prove yourself by what you do, not by what you say.
Let people judge your life by what you do because you're doing it right
and nothing wrong with it.
Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching.
Persist in this, for by doing so you will save both yourself
and you and your hearers. Here's what I'm saying.
He said, look, you follow Jesus.
You've been given a gift, a spiritual gift.
That Greek word is charismatic. It's a spiritual gift.
You've been given it by God.
If you're a believer in Jesus
and you're saying, use that gift to press into your spiritual workouts.
In serving God's kingdom through his church
and ignored gift blesses no one.
If you're a Christ, for you have at least one spiritual gift.
And again, in the Welcome Center, I got a little inventory there
so you can figure out what your spiritual gifts are
and then places you can serve in this church
so you can press into godliness.
Remember, you'll find a reason or excuse
right?
Right. I
you got to do these workouts.
You just practice immerse yourselves him when he says
immerse yourself in him he says take a deep dive in them.
Don't make them cursory.
Don't make them well, my my schedule clears up.
Don't make them.
When the when the schedule says I don't make it a side thing like you
immerse yourself in this, you jump into this stuff, you dive into this stuff. Why?
Because God is worthy of it.
How? No more reasons do you need?
Yeah.
How many more reasons do you need?
Keep a close watch on yourself and your teaching.
Persist in this, for by persisting in these things,
you will see both yourself in your.
Here's here's what he's saying.
When we neglect these things,
we put others salvation at risk
because we are the conduit.
It's always the work of the Holy Spirit.
Please don't misunderstand me.
It's always the work of God, the Holy Spirit.
But he's chosen to tie his work to our hands.
When we neglect this, it's to our detriment
and to those who are coming up under us and our huddle around us.
Part of their salvation is contingent upon our godliness.
Wow. Do you see this?
Yeah.
So what he's saying is that
your contribution authenticate your calling.
We're called to this.
And the fact that I'm called to it's proved my
my contribution proves it authenticates the call.
I have
and yours does to
see, at the end of the day,
visible faith is what confirms authentic faith.
Invisible faith
authenticates in authentic faith.
Faith is not meant to be invisible.
Visible faith authenticates faith.
And so Paul says, press into this.
He is.
God is so good,
and he's so worthy and is so gracious, and he's so merciful and he's so loving.
He's the creator of your soul, the crafter of your life,
and the secure of your destiny.
What other reasons do you need
to press into this?
So in essence, he's saying, ask yourself this
if I am the standard, what's the state of my church?
If I'm the
standard, what's the state of faith?
If I'm the standard, what's the state of discipleship?
Press into this.
Train yourself for it.
To understand
where.
You okay?
Listen, it is a high calling,
and it's a worthy calling.
And then something the Holy Spirit enables us to fulfill.
And as you press in, you will be enabled.
But if you tap out,
that's all on you.
That's what he's telling Timothy.
You got enough for today.
You get.
I think I need to let off the gas a little bit.
Father.
Thank you.
You're a good God.
You you're mercies are new every morning.
Your grace is sufficient.
And your forgiveness is
constant.
Thank you.
Father, you know, as far as I'm concerned,
you know the times and seasons of my life where I was just so apathetic
and so negligent and so arrogant
and so prideful and so full of hubris.
And I thank you
that in the midst of my own stuff that you didn't
cast me aside.
You've been so good
and so merciful and so gracious towards me.
I don't need any other reasons
to train hard after you and to press into this.
I don't need any other reasons, you to motivate me to be passionate.
I don't need any other reasons.
And father, I feel like there's a lot of people who here
who could say the same or should say the same.
Thank you for your mercy.
Thank you for your grace for us.
You've already done enough
for us to press in hard after you
to be passionate about your things, to train hard and godliness.
You've already done enough.
Friends, I invite you in the quietness of this moment
just to think for a little bit.
I would dare you
to just say to God, say,
father, forgive me for my apathy.
Forgive me for my lethargy.
Forgive me for willingly
sitting on the sidelines
for far too long.
I repent
of my lethargy.
I repent of my apathy.
I repent.
Of settling for far below mediocrity
in terms of faith.
And father, I ask over those
who in repentance are coming to you and saying, God, forgive me up.
You deserve more of me.
I ask that in repentance, father,
that you would give them all that your grace allows you,
all that your grace allows the full measure
and magnitude of your mercy and your grace, giving them
all the blessings that they don't deserve, that I don't deserve.
But by your grace, you give. It's.
Thank you in repentance, father, give us all that your grace allows.
And I pray that we would choose
discipline over inspiration.
To value and to press into that which matters
most over that which we want. Now.
That we would live as the standard,
not with pride or arrogance,
but with humility, out of gratitude for everything you've done.
You're a good God.
Good God,
help us to love you with our whole heart and soul and mind and strength.
It's in the name of Jesus that we pray.
Amen.
Listen, I love you.
Please understand that even if I came across it like I don't,
I really do.
I'm so thankful that God's chosen you to be a part of this church.
I value you,
please understand that
we love you.
Thank you.
Go this week and read first Timothy four as if it's Paul's
letter to you through the Holy Spirit,
and read
chapter five and see where we're going.
And we'll get there.
We are becoming all that God created us to be
the image of Christ in this world.
And we're so further along now, the moment we're a year ago.
Yeah.
And especially more than a decade ago.
Yeah.
So look at where we are. It's good.
It's good. Progress.
We're getting there.
We're being made into his image. It's good.
Let's just not get settled.
Right? Right.
Got a championship to win.
We're like one game in.
Let's work hard.
Yeah.
And enjoy the doing of it.
Yeah. Somebody say quit preaching.