Faithful Ministry in a Degenerate World

Let's grab your Bible. So let's go back to second Timothy we start chapter 3 this morning.

We've entitled this exposition beautifying the bride because in effect again Paul is writing from prison this time to his understudy Timothy who meets left in charge of the local church at Ephesus and he is actually in a sense, pastoring the charts through Timothy telling Timothy how it should be structured, how it should be organize how it must function correcting this error correcting that error and giving a lot of caution and a lot of warnings to Timothy about the things that are not allowed in God's church and the type of things it must be gotten out of God's church, if it gets into God's church we seen a lot of that already. In that spirit continues as we look at second Timothy chapter 3 verses one through 511 titled this exegesis, faithful ministry and a degenerate world faithful ministry in a degenerate world now since Adam and Eve CN in the Garden of Eden. This has been a degenerate world degenerate obviously means to decline to have fallen beneath was acceptable instead of holy unholiness of righteous unrighteous degenerating in continuing on down away from the standard of God in the. The values in the ethics of God and his word.

So it's always been a degenerate culture but some season seem to be much, much worse than others.

Our country is in a fast decline into degeneracy. We are way down the slippery slope from where we were as a country just a few decades ago, and that's the culture. Paul and Timothy are in. For example, the one of the temples of the pagan worship's worshipers of the day was a temple where you worship God by relations with temple prostitute gross and vulgar immoralities which is overwhelmingly prominent in cities like ancient Ephesus and in ancient Corinth and so there just covered with degeneracy but here's something Paul says to Timothy about being faithful in your ministry in a degenerate world. Verse one chapter 3, second Timothy but realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant revolvers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power avoid such men as these. I seasons and cycles of wicked degeneracy. Personally, says the Timothy in the last days difficult times will come. The phrase last days is the idea of a time are seasons of time are an era that basically would say the last days are from the time that the church age began in the New Testament era until Christ returns. Not a fact. There's no other major event on God's calendar but Christ return. That's why were in the last days. I guess you could say were in the last of the last days, but the work times can have the idea of a cycle are cyclical occurrence. I think that's what we see in church history. We see it all through the biblical net record, Israel would have something of renewal or revival then she would fall away that she would have a renewal that she would fall away and we see this in other parts of the world.

Throughout history, so there's going to be these seasons and cycles of increased societal degeneration and then some renewal never gets backward. All the big you, but some renewal happens and then I degeneration again. Who knows, we may be in the last degenerate.

Before Christ comes. Then again, God may do something we haven't seen love reading about the first great awakening in the mid part of the 18th century when Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield and John and Charles Wesley charge through Europe and the American colonies preaching to these dead unsaved on the reborn church members that they must repent and must be born again, and the Baptist Church is flourished out of that in Methodism started out to that end, and God did a great work. Hundreds of thousands if not millions came to Christ.

There was just a renewal of morality and purity. They talk about hold towns and cities where the taverns close down houses of prostitution disappeared when you like to see something like that in this degenerate a but overall during these last days. It's a degenerate world we find ourselves in, and there are seasons and times like in Paul and Timothy's day when it was at one of its lowest AM's. So Paul writes and says it's going to be like this. Matter fact, Paul's writings is full of this warning. Let me just going through several quickly first Timothy 4133, the Spirit explicitly says that in latter times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of the demon, I'll just move on from there move on to Romans chapter 1 verses 28 and 29 and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper.

That's our age brothers and sisters being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed in the full of evil.

Evil rather full of envy, murder, strike deceit, malice.

They are gossips, and unfortunately in the reason why Paul's writing to Timothy so clear about this. Is this degenerate wickedness is constantly trying to find its way into God's church. And Satan is very conniving. He's very subtly very clever about trying to bring EFT brings into the church often cloaked under the veils of compassion and equality in care and loving kindness, brothers and sisters. Nobody ought to be have more those traits and God's church, but where to have those traits defined by truth, not by human sentimentality's. Be careful about letting this stuff creep in. For example, in second Timothy 43 he says for the time will come when they thought about the professing church now for they will not endure sound doctrine sound Bible preaching and teaching. They won't want that, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires wanting to have their ears tickled, literally means I want the latest fad preacher don't get up there. Just preach the word. What's the latest whole thing churches are doing today was the latest trend in culture that we can bring in and maybe entice more people in the world to come in the God your went out about enticing people to come into God's church without winning people to Christ and then them coming into God's church enticing people in the French flesh doesn't do anything as far as changing one's heart or change in their eternal destiny and Jeremiah and other places. The Old Testament prophets warned about this stuff that came into Israel shows the wickedness that took root. There Jeremiah 2314. Also among the prophets of Jerusalem. Those are God's people I've seen a horrible thing.

The committing of adultery and walking in falsehood and they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of that have become to me like Sodom and her inhabitants, like the Mara the prophets if we come good day in in the addenda that the Old Testament covenant relationship of God with Israel that disregards people actually had church leaders that would not confront people about sin, but confirmed them, and even apply them and said, so that no one ever repented and got right with God. I can take you to many professing Christian congregation that that's basically what's happening in those congregations today. Nobody wants to come to church and feel convicted nobody wants to come to church and be read by repent or that's because so many of them don't know Christ. Once you know Christ. You want God's help in God's church and God's preacher to help you create repent for drawback near to the Lord. My brothers and sisters.

The church is to be an oasis of sanity in a degenerate world. Paul warned this very church. The church at Ephesus as he met with the elders of this very church that Timothy is now pastoring and he said this in acts 2029 through 30. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock and from among among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.

So Paul was well aware already in his ministry of planning these churches in appointing elders and appointing men like him. If you don't receive them of this would be a battle on their hands to keep the savage wolves out of the church. Second Peter 21 and two Peter warns of false prophets also arose among the people. Just as there will also be false teachers among you in the professing body of Christendom. You might say, not necessarily in every single church, but they'll try every single church who will secretly induce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, notice that word sensuality is the idea of lasciviousness, giving over to Walton indulgence in sin, especially sexual immoralities, and because of them the way of truth will be maligned.

Second Timothy 313 again pulse is evil. Men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. The degeneracy of the culture and the continual effort of Satan and his minions to bring it into God's church, which is not only in the last days we have cycles of this he amplifies this limit. He says difficult times will come.

Difficult is the idea of perilous or greediest time actually one of the Gospels. This word that is translated difficult in verse one of our text is translated violence, violent times will come. The early Greek writer patriarch use this very term to describe an ugly infected sore on one's body. He said that's the kind of the way this wickedness in the degenerative culture looks like an ugly infected sore Jamison Fossett Brown and their excellent brief commentary said this.

This is described today went with it. He then done, that has beast like propensities.

The very accurate way, but he then dumb were men and women and people in the world like crude and brute beast in their morals and in their conduct in the culture and one to another, so the pastor of the New Testament church and those faithful church member will encounter wave after wave of degenerative wickedness creeping EN and even arising from within the church and for those who love Christ and those who love the truth and to those who love his church the last days is no time for idle relaxation and for churches to be mildly biblical and what they're about is God's people well the seasons and cycles of degenerative wickedness now. II.

Note the polluted stream from which wickedness flows the polluted stream from which wickedness flows. He says there in verse two for men will be lovers of self, I'm convinced, based on the context and the overall balance of biblical truth that first phrase is first because it's the root of all the others lovers of self. This is the poisonous spring from which all other evils flow. These evils flow naturally from the unredeemed and unregenerate heart that when the does not know Christ, the heart that is slavishly bound to the love of self and all the pleasures that center and sale are natural hearts are warped and perverse are glorious good and gracious God made us to love him and defined our pleasures in him, but instead in our fallen condition. We love only ourselves and we honor and and and and and look to our depraved hearts and only the restraining powers of God holds the unsaved man from the deepest depths of wickedness nice.

I've known people who were not Christians.

And I've known people are not really converted or committed to Christ and the basic moral human being just, that's the goodness of God in his restraining power you remove God's restraining power and see what happens to a culture that's what's happening in our country God saying is your judgment on pulling back my restraint. I'm going to let you go in your last see where that gets you, and even went on unsaved man is held back some by God's restraint. Nevertheless, he cannot be improved by himself and he will cycle further downward and degeneracy. The longer he lives.

This is all because the root of his being is corrupt.

The stream of his life is sin, polluted the anchor of his life is not a good anchorage. The broken anchor of self-love and self worship in Matthew 22 verse 37 Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

No man can do this no man even desires to do this men on their own.

Do not wake up in the morning. It's all like God how wonderful you are and all the moments of my nodded all the moments of our day to love you and honor you because you're worthy of such devotion. No man naturally does that were not the opposite.

Why is this because our core nature. Instead of flying the banner of the love of God flying in our hearts is the banner of the love of self and the worship of self and what a twisted logic.

This is because the love of self is the sure way to destroy yourself only love the love of God is our primary motive and desire can bring life and health and peace to ourselves.

Only the new birth, genuine Christian conversion can take us from the state of being centered on and enslaved to the love of self to being centered on and enslaved to the love of God. Those that are not converted, are left to themselves. The left to the love of self and the worship of self. This is their normal path and this is their inevitable downfall of these wicked traits that were going to see laid out in front of us as we continue in a moment.

All of these described in the chapter is the inevitable fruit that comes from the love and worship of self. In today's world we have such wicked traits being manifested before us.

The have those who reject the craters designed for men and women that abounds in our culture. Divorce abounds in our culture.

Adultery abounds in our culture. Fornication abounds in our culture, unnatural sexual lust abounds in our culture. The brazen rejection of one's created gender that abounds in our culture, we glory in Victor of victimhood and the manipulation of so-called oppression, especially about politicians to gain wealth and power that kind of thing abounds in our culture criminal activity abounds in our culture. Hatred abounds in our culture. Abortion, the killing of the unborn abounds in our culture, we could go on and on.

These are the fruit of self-love and self worship.

It was Satan's love of himself that fueled his rebellion.

It was Adam and Eve's lover felt self that led to their rebellion in all their descendents are born with the same sin disease unless they are rescued by Christ. John MacArthur points out how these things creep into the church. This self-love and all the wicked characteristics of self-love. He says it's come in and been welcomed into the church through modern psychology. That's where we got the terms self-esteem and self-worth and self-sufficient and positive self image. All have come into the church almost unchanged from modern psychology by way outward. You could have helped healthy self image and preach the truth of the doctrine of sin usually self-image you need a Christ image you say Christ is inmate Christ is my righteousness. Christ is my life wonderful image of him, but have no hope for me. Naturally that's the Christian, so this stuff is clever. It comes into over helping people were were were were were healing the hurting will temporarily maybe permanently or not, not with things that are outside of biblical truth. The phrase self-love has become the mantra of this modern age again. Self-love always runs parallel with self worship. They always go together. And today, especially among the radical left of our day we hear the phrase that will. This is my truth.

This is my truth. They caustically reject that truth is objective to come from God. It's outside of them. It didn't come from within them. Jesus said in John 14 six but I am the way, the truth and the life.

So we see this terrible plot. This horrible condition of the world and you wondered a million years. Why would God so loved the world was not because the world's lovely is because God is wonderful. He's bigger than we are.

He's greater than we are. He's love is deeper than our love and plug glorious that our love.

He could love even the most unlovely that includes you. That includes me. Roman three.

Let's unpack this and I'll go through it rather quickly. I call this a dissection of the degenerate season he sent Timothy. This is the way this world is and is just all get more worse worse and worse. Timothy men will be lovers of self, then he goes on to the first one there, lovers of money, I think, lovers of money, come second because it's a primary tool of the worship of self and the love of self.

LSP reminded again. Having money is not the same as loving money, the love of money is not the same as having even a lot of money, even the abject pork and commit the sin of loving money. They just want somebody else's collateral have their own so it's a heart condition. Proverbs 1022 says it's the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, and he adds no sorrow to it.

Proverbs 10 forces course he works with a negligent hand but the hand of the diligent makes rich Proverbs 28, 20 reminded us a faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished, making Jesus the idea that you forget God in your quest to make money.

You forget ethics and morality in an consort to fraud and deceit in unethical ways that will be punished by God. You see the love of money is when there is an absence of the love of God and the presence of the love of self so that you bought readily rather violate Scripture to gain money and then to keep the money you gain in all of this again is at a heart that out of my heart that does not love and treasure God loves, and treasure self. The love of money is when our primary motive is not how can God be served by my wealth. But how can I serve myself by my will, in fact, the whole socialist communist movement is centered on the love of money you might amplify that out to covetousness. If you remove the sin of the love of money, the sin of covetousness. You remove the that that that the systems of socialism and communism from your culture course that's never going to happen now. The rich, the Bible says in the church are commanded to be generous and joyous in helping the less fortunate, but they're not condemned for having more money than others throughout the ages.

God has had very wealthy servants.

And God has had very poor service and many servants in between.

But in our world today.

The love of money abounds, and far too often the love of money is too prominent in God's church. Secondly, he says, boastful. That's the next trait here, boastful, boastful, has the idea being an empty pretender. Isn't this a case of all non-lovers of God there empty pretenders.

All they boast of wisdom, but they know not God and only God has wisdom. They boast of power, but they have no strength before God from whom they originated and to whom they will give an account one day.

They boast of attractiveness. Yet what beauty they have will fade, and be gone. They boast of achievement, but it's like Paul said my achievements are nothing more than dung. I am what I am by the grace of God. Paul said they boast of righteousness in God says all their righteousness is filthy rags. It's all Inc. it's all false and all fails there boastful there empty pretenders and waterways.

It's so obvious in these trades definitely overlap in Interlink, but the arrogance behind her boasting way for all so deeply of our narrative in our viewpoint, you must agree it just boastful, boastful, these are not gospel humble people they they try to come into the church wearing a thin veneer of Christianity, but not the real thing closer related again. He continues on the next trait Erica, these are arrogant. It means arrogant and thought and conduct. They put themselves above others in counseling with some of our churches in our fellowship.

We had a brother who had a young lady in the church and she became very committed to the social justice movement and very committed to what's called the welcome movement or even the world religions. What I think it is in many ways can do and by the way the church and me personally in us all adamantly oppose any real racism or injustice are evil that's anywhere committed at any time. But when a movement comes out of the world based on the wisdom of the world it always has terrible flaws in it and what happened they wanted to bring the secularists unregenerate worlds wisdom on these things and then bring it into the church where there was a young lady in one of our churches out there who came in and she was beginning to demand the senior pastor and elders.

You must follow this new movement. The church must change everything and become walk and get on the social justice, social justice bandwagon in the pastors and what we agree with you on some of these issues with errors observable provable injustice or oppression. We can get it but were not going to follow this whole line of thinking because a lot of it is centered in ungodly viewpoints and unblock godly philosophy, but she insisted no you're you're not as spiritual are godly as I am. If you don't change the jerk. She didn't say that that's what she meant it. Eventually she became so forceful that she and her family had to be removed from the church and at the root of it, what is it it's arrogance arrogance Avenue you mean after 2000 years of of church history. We've got 21-year-old girls are finding truth. We all missed.

Don't misunderstand what I'm saying you listen to my sermons over the last 41 years and you find a time when in the slightest way. I've given the tiniest encouragement to any real injustice are prejudice or evil against anyone, anywhere, anytime is wicked is not of God. But now, these movements are a type of justice and compassion that has the warped wisdom of the world is not the true wisdom of God's word I give you one quick example that Bible says if you don't work you don't eat. Now that's a figure of speech it on the plot. Every single case are not Melitta suffering person, whoever they are you sick and can't work it if they were sluggard in their life would still love them and help them.

Amen.

Show mercy as much as we can, but generally those who are able to work all the work we have a spirit in our agents based on non-wisdom and not wisdom. They call it compassion.

Compassion is to beat the dignity did dignity of mankind to handout the person is able-bodied and well able to take care themselves you're hurting them, not helping them. The next trait is revolvers comes from the Greek word blaspheme office are blasphemous is the idea of abusive slander.

It means if you confront this person.

If you reprove this person carve you just disagree with this person you're gonna get it abusive slander back in return they don't listen to anyone they will not listen to the truth.

All they want to is the fire back at you and bully to win their way. This reminds me of the tensile culture of our present age when some name some of us unworthy to even be heard. Gonna shut you down. Gonna cancel you out and if you don't walk to their narrative in and agree with their values and their viewpoints while they don't consider you worthy to have a business they'll try to set your business that that's the spirit of a revolver. They will maliciously slander you and try to ruin you.

Now that's not just in the world. Sometimes that comes into the church, at least the professing church pulses at all not be this way will the next one he says is disobedience to parent of the children's rights movement took hold. Some years ago and over and against the parental responsibility I wouldn't call it movement. The foundation gods lay down.

We even have the FBI sick on parents to because parents are going to school board meetings and and demanding certain things not be talk to their children about like parents have every right to do that we have this spirit, this this system in our degenerative age of no children know what's best for them. Their parents don't know a young person's rebellion against authority is applauded and and is defended. We have a bill in the state of Florida by Rhonda Santos, a man I have a good bit of respect for. He says will not allow our teachers to teach sexuality of any kind to kindergartners. The third-graders who in heaven's name would have probably that child's parent I can teach that to them and not church will teach that to them in the state has no business doing, disobedient to parents, since I it's all under that heading children and these these evil they know children are vulnerable and they know they can get to them and leave them on the wrong path quickly to teach children about homosexuality and transgendered-ism at the smallest ages and against parents wishes there was conversion therapy law passed an anti-conversion therapy law passed in Canada. If you read the law, it looks like you could very easily be interpreted that in the church if we repent reach for pit rip sinners to repent and reform their lives.

We could be guilty of confer conversion therapy and be violating the law in Canada will disobedient to parents and next one is ungrateful. This is quite self-explanatory. These are those who feel that they are owed everything from everyone being so concerned with self-love and self worship.

They have no debt of gratitude to God or to anyone else, they built an altar in their hearts, and they bow down to it, that is, to themselves. This is the first cousin too much of the victimhood we see in our culture today and then he says on the holy falling deep in the self-love and self worship. They reject all restraint and indulgent gross immoralities. This word is used in the Bible of those who commit incest they deify themselves in glory and their own perverse lust and have no shame and no semblance of decent. We are people today in our country that have ignored these unholy things and then accepted these unholy things and now we are glorifying unholy things, divorce, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, we take children to see drag queen performances. We teach children to accept these immoral lifestyles that are promoted week glory and the killing of unborn children may be legal but it is not holy, holy, and holy and God forbid God's church, given open RBA of these unholy thing really struggle, yes we do do we said yes we do but we will not stand up and let the resolve to condemn it in calling what is in command.

Our own hearts, to humble ourselves and repent of the unholiness that may rise up in our own hearts. God help the church to be a guard against and an oasis of sanity in this world of insanity. Unloving is the next one. This is, this word is the idea of the natural love a person feels for others that they ought to naturally love lot members of your family are those in the same cost with you. There's an affinity and affection. That's just naturally there. What Paul is saying is some go so far in self-love and self worship that they even lose the love that should help for those that they should naturally love just become brazen and selfish and they see those in their family and those around them is only people to be used for their own selfish gain.

What could be more unloving.

What could be more unnatural than a woman killing her unborn child.

The brazen hardness against the one that ought to have the most compassion, love and care for mother's heart for her own child.

We have an unloving world this because we have an unholy world. Irreconcilable is the next trait. It means without libation because in the ancient world when two parties came together were reconciled and formed a covenant they pulled out a libation to celebrate and seal the unity of the covenant, but without libation means I refuse to be reconciled refused to get along, refused to compromise its mild way. We have our narrative in our viewpoint that did.

They refused to humble themselves for the good of others. I just will not reconcile. Let me say to you, brothers and sisters, that such a spirit is the exact opposite of Christian love Christian love says, okay, I'll deny myself to have unity with my brother. You say there's no such things as to genuine Christians being irreconcilable. It's impossible to people who been crucified with Christ. Two people have died. The self can always learn to get along.

But he says in this day they'll be a spirit of harsh hard division and refusal to be reconcile. I'm telling you it's I have a lot of brothers and sisters and friends who have darker skin that I've got.

I'm telling you I love them and it feel a oneness with them a lot more than I do.

A lot of people have same color skin is I've got all this movement in all this work and all this notion to pick one color skin against another color skin. It's evil it's an irreconcilable spirit certainly should not have a trace of it in the church, malicious gossips is the next trait. These are those who make it a point to harm another person out of jealousy or hatred or whatever else they somehow have a perverse pleasure in hurting others. This word comes from the same word. This use 34 times in the New Testament to define Satan refer to Satan. He he sees the malicious one out the hurting to harm the next trait is without self-control. The notes incontinence can control. They throw off all self-restraint. They have no embarrassment.

I just want to indulge themselves in whatever lust comes across her depraved heart and depraved mind. These are those who engage in all sorts of criminal activities, no self-restraint, all sorts of immoralities, no self-restraint. We watch video after video on our televisions.

Of these mobs crashing into stores in California is having big shots and just piling the goods and their sex is more or less walking out the door. Some of Philip Carson. I don't they just walk out the door because they know they will be prosecuted. No self-control in our government applauds and enables it. They glory in their liberty and in their freedoms but they commit gross immoralities and are not free and they don't have liberty thereby owned and their slaves to sin. The next trait is brutality. It has the idea of savagery. It means to attack and devour at will. This is worse self-love and self-worth worship gets one if it's left unchecked, again, is not abortion. Brutality is not savagery of the spirit of our age and then haters of good, is the next trait. These are completely warped mindsets. These are those that revile and attack that which is decent upright and good and they glory in that which is bad and evil Romans 12 nine says we are supposed to abhor evil and claim to what is good. Isaiah 520 warns woe to those who call evil good and good evil, those who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness. Those who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter wooded age.

We have when God's word so that's the haters of good, the spirit of in our world today that hates anything that's good you go out in almost any public arena, and we may still have some vestiges of Christian consensus here in the Bible Belt I don't know but in most arenas in the culture today bring up that you believe in biblical morality.

You will get another word out that the revile her to shut you down right there because they hate it's good they hate it that what's behind all this and get away from my notes now. That's when it is good while it because God gave them a conscience. The law of God, the Bible says is written in their hearts and their convicted in half and I got about fitness goals.

The teachers credit plasma. The church is to command and I know that I condone their wickedness. So the Contras will not bother them so bad Me know. Our job is to live them, get them the truth in love, that will expose the evil get them to Christ. Christ, the one who can cleanse them and forget that you know there's more dates.

Please send your stand will not get you there. Are you hearing me, you are seeing your indulgent jury band will not get you to please that's what you go for Marcy and Marcy and Marcy have had more ship could you looking for something that's not there. Only Christ if we love then we don't affirm them in the thing that's going to destroy them. We call them from it to Christ who's the lover of sinners like me and you you and me back to my notes treacherous printers is the next trait is they'll give a traitor.

People just turn on those now to be defending and throughout this message. Of course it talked about the culture and the church culture again.

Right now in our country today.

There are those who have thrived under the freedoms of this country. They have thrived under the liberties. This country affords they been blessed by free-market capitalism. No country in the world has more people come from nothing to something financially than I have been America and though they thrived under that these people are treacherous in their spirit toward our country that they want to destroy it. They hate our country.

Let's tear it down to listen to me. America needs repentance. America needs reformation, but we need to turn back to our founding principles, not a scholar on Martin Luther King Jr. and I don't agree with his biblical theology. He had no liberal in some areas but I do think if you study Martin Luther King speeches and writings, he will say the founding documents of this country are wonderful and God. We just need to live out we just need to live up to them where I'd say a man that's true when only to destroy them immediate baptism but are treacherous. Just notice destroy everything.

Let's just take it all apart. Let's start so something brand-new in the course was brand-new at socialism communist system, by the way, I do not want you list what I'm saying to you listen real clear on the site. I am for communism.

Dear me and for communism. If Jesus Christ is leading it and he will one day. But anyone with less virtue and moral integrity and ethical rightness than Christ is not qualified to rule others in that absolute sense. I'll take freedom into you get Jesus running everything and he'll come and run it Wendy's ready when it's time I heard this just recently, a historian, said this and it just kind of took me back and he was talking about, like me, with all of our errors and failures in their stuff that sickens all of us in our country there are injustices there are prejudices junk out there that will always fight against what he said and I don't own should hear this because it was so powerful when it hit me, he said. Name another country in the world from any time in history that recently had a two-term president whose very ancestors could have been the slaves of the first president unison is and I many of the country to show that kind of progress that just had a two-term president Barack Obama whose ancestors may or could have been the slaves of our first president, George Washington, because he had slave how could that be because those men even though they did not live up to it. Wrote founding document that taught the equality of all men before God we need live up to it, not destroy.

We don't need to be traitorous about it. We need to be reformers of what we have with their many who don't want to help us live up to our Constitution.

They want to destroy everything and start over.

But now back to the main point of Paul's argument here. This kind. The spirit comes into the church. If were not careful if were not diligent.

Jesus himself said in Matthew 1021 and 22 brother will be to betray brother to death. What's at that's in the church and father his child in children will rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death and you will be hated by all because of a name but is the one who's endured to the end, who shall be say that I don't know, humanly speaking of a greater love than love for parents for the child but is one of my children stands up and sad to announce Christ. I'm turning to a life of sin and wickedness. Nothing to do with it, I'll sell love you with tears in my eyes.

I love you all my days. If you are not in union with your renouncement of my Savior. And that's not where you are. You're not a Christian, are your your week when it best Nellis and the Bible gives us clear instructions. If you have a lost spouse you to go to the ends of the earth and back to stay with that lost spouse and try to win the Christ.

But if they decide they must abandon you because you love Christ, your essay and you must go.

I don't want you to go but I will not denounce Christ for even my family well. We come to our awake minute to make sure I got my notes right here you not surmise there's a lot of notes here all reckless is the next trait needs to be without caution to be headstrong, be so concerned and self-love that you disregard any care and concern for others because all you care about is pursuing your indulgences. You know it we have our younger generation Nazi 18 to even 40 now that that they don't care much about getting married.

The shirt I don't have children and by the way, the love people have children that will be parents. A man church. We have children and work will be parents with her that there's a group that 18 to 40 year age bracket. The just hedonist we want to indulge in every while a pleasure we can possibly find and many of them in effect saying it's the government's job to facilitate this are were being discriminated against is just reckless self-indulgence conceded there were conceded, is the idea being veiled in smoke. They got fog in their heads. They can't think clearly because they think they're something. The facts don't bear out the puffed up with word puffed up come from there to fog these kindest spirits and attitudes can get in the church cause great harm, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God is the next trait. Luke 1613 tells us no one can serve two masters. Really hate the one I love the other else be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon. You cannot love pleasure first and primarily love God.

Now when you have a inner love of self and the worship of self. All you know it all you seek is worldly pleasure, now Christian can enjoy the common grace given in earthly blessings, but he does not love or worship those earthly blessings modified when he enjoys those earthly blessings he worships God and thanks God for getting those having boats. Well, that's a dissection of those traits now real quickly.

IV. I'm circling the field about the land are the rigorous requirements to guard the church universe for what he says these are those who are holding to a form of godliness, although they did not its power. He still got these things for folks with many of these traits in many of these characteristics or will try to come to the church under the form of godliness for Maine's outer shell only. They just have the outer shell got into Maine's piety.

Only the outer shell of godliness are positive, and I do not have the substance Titus 116 they profess to know God, but by their deeds. They did not him being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed, perfect balance to what he talked about your nieces. They'll have the form of the.godliness that there are shale, there are a knock off. They're not the real thing. Verse five says, and they have denied its power a form of godliness, although they have denied its power, it means they've renounced the need and have no desire for God's saving sign in God's saving power. They do not know and do not want to know the regenerating's sanctifying work of the Spirit of God. At one level or another in various varieties.

They live out the wicked traits we described above and have no desire to repent, want to have no desire to repent. Why do people keep living in such corrupt immoralities they have no ability to repent. They have no power to stop and so they are enslaved and so they want to justify because only if Christ comes in and changes them so they begin to have the power to walk out of that wickedness.

They deceive themselves like Satan and they deceived others when they try to come into the church like Satan does. The Bible says he close himself in the form of an angel of light in a realities. The Emperor of darkness so they put on this form of godliness but it's but a lie there teaching and their lifestyles are inconsistent with one who's been changed by the power of God. And here's where we see that rigorous requirements to guard the church in verse five he continues on and says avoid such ministry that phrase avoid such men as these is is an imperative.

It meets a command. It implies that some of these are going to get into the church and too often pastors today try to pacify these power mongers that sneaky and then they try to to honor these men and tolerate these men and women, by the way, but that in itself is a sin on the part of the pastor while because pulses avoid them.

Avoid them. Verse five is a present middle imperative, which means the subject acts on himself. You, Timothy. You make sure you keep this out of the church. That's what he said to grab your cell by the Napa neck and again about the work of guarding God's charter.

Rigorous never rigorous requirement stand against this stuff taking root in the we have the spirit in the church sister you got me to the spirit in your heart right now, but they don't dominate you are not the true you are part of your old unredeemed humanity that you repent of and try to push behind and walk on God's truth. What Paul is saying this better not take root. Timothy the litigant establish you. Grab yourself and you called yourself you make yourself keep this out of the church. You know why it's not fun. It's not easy. As a personal testimony of the 41 years. It's tiring.

Sometimes elders, there was many things you know nothing of what we keep it from getting a root started in the church sometimes went to grab ourselves by the naps of the neck say this is gotta be dealt with, so coach they've done your cup stadium is the vice chairman of elder body and is been many many years ago now. I took my July brake two weeks vacation to each study break.

I came back in and there been two people in our church that we had been dealing with for I think Coach would say years of struggling and loving them and counseling them. They just keep pushing in the Senate keep not raising our admonitions in our help and just living in open rebellion of all just all my heart I knew it needed had to be dealt with and I came back in for my July brake coach is a pastor while you were gone. We remove those two people, church membership, so you would not through with you.

How rare that is about price. God's blessing avoid these people. Paul says this requires having a sound biblical policy for membership and I sound biblical policy for removal from membership. John MacArthur gave this test for these false teachers who have many of these traits in rock. By the way these don't come out all at once you got to be around a while, and this stuff start comp and other lives. You begin to think that that's not the conduct does not. The character traits of a man of God or woman of God. MacArthur gives the three test test their creed. What's their doctrinal statement. What's their doctrinal position test their character does any of these things start coming out without a humble repentance, you might come out of us will be hungry repent they men with the false teacher recounted defends himself and excuses himself. Check his character check.

I checked the screen rather take his character and check his converts long-term keyword. There he phrased long-term what to those who follow him look like that. A pretty will expose false teachers.

Well, these are part of the things we must be about have a faithful ministry in a degenerate world cannot just thank you for these years of standing with us as we strive in perfectly yes but strive to build a church that's based on these truths because you've done that as a church and I praise God for you now, child of God. Some of these traits too prominent in your heart and your your life and let's deal with this morning. This be a repent or not a reviled not excuse or partner conduct. Do you sit upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against is not always easy work, but we do win we do win