The Book of 1 Timothy - Step Away!, Part 1

Have you ever been to a job interview where the person ask you, what are your weaknesses now some may avoid giving a direct answer or the question to brag a little bit by saying well yes I do have a weakness I work too hard and I care too much what I want you to know is that your weaknesses are important. You need to know what they are because what you learn today is that they can work for your advantage. Stay with me.

Welcome to this Edition of Living on the Edge Chip Ingram the mission of these daily programs is to intentionally disable Christians, the Bible teaching of Chip Ingram, thanks for joining us today as were nearing the end of our newest series.

The book of first Timothy life coaching from the apostle Paul. These last two programs to focuses on the sixth of final lesson. Paul shared with his prot�g� Timothy before we begin, encouraged by the series would you take a minute after this message and shirt with a friend they can do that to the chipping roadmap or by sending them the free MP3s that you will find LivingontheEdge.org will you have a Bible go to first Timothy chapter 6 let's join Chip for his message. Step away last coaching to life coaching from the apostle Paul writing to number six.

Know your opponent well and your own weaknesses better know your opponent well world system the enemy in your own weaknesses better not. I can't end this time without telling one more basketball story. I me when I went away to play in college is hundred 35 pounds in 6 foot tall and and I was always undersized and saw always observed and I learned I learned from coaches and United watch games on TV and who are my heroes. And what did they do and why and how to John Stockton come off of the picking has a dual pocket ass and I was study study study study because everyone was bigger. Everyone was stronger and everyone could jump higher. Other than that I was in good shape and as I remember starting to learn this in high school and replay. I can still mean not many high school games.

I can remember. But this kid lit us up and that we are five I was in Columbus Ohio area and there was Delaware and we were in this thing called the OCC's conference and I mean he would come down and he had a crossover and I mean he would just he just lit us up bang bang bang bang can you not come out of the game and I was sitting in a signal when we got to do what I found out I started to watch my watch every time he did heel toe heel toe 12.

Every time for a shot. I watched it I watched it I watch the kids you know this is in the old days when the three-pointer this guy's got like 18 points and were like not even into the second half at all and and so you know, okay Chip to get back in there. I do like Coach says I'm just watching his bellybutton the moment I saw Hugh Hewitt you meant I just I just got up into his career like that and was amazing what happened and many years later we were playing when I went to seminary I go in seminary. The first day was to find anybody over 610 and recruit them to a team that we had and then we played in this big Texas tournament and we played against another guy who was man. He was in this tournament, he's gonna light everybody up and we studied him and I just found that you know what kind of the Larry Bird ever figure out how the world that God what is not as quick as other people knew where they were going to be.

Got to the right spot at the right time at the right place, so he knew his opponent well but I want to encourage you to know your weaknesses better in the seventh grade I broke this eighth grade I broke this ninth grade I broke this I think you either three or four years I broke something on the right side of my body and being a gym rat. What you do is you take the cast and you play with one hand, but because of all that I never had quite the touch so you know I shoot right-handed and and what I realize was I needed people to believe that I wanted to go right. But honestly, I was always better left and then I had one like that didn't work so well, so I needed to jump off of this leg instead of that lake as I had about your knee problems growing up with shots in and so is her so I knew my own weaknesses, so would always come down right-handed like this and I watch these guys do this like we were taught to make and go left could drop you and see if you know your own weaknesses. Well you structure your life in ways where your weaknesses don't hurt you but instead you can use your weaknesses to your own advantage.

Let me jump into three very quick things that are very practical about your life and I want to go to the text I remember of the big deal let my large high schools to make the varsity anything as a sophomore.

I happen to in baseball and so we did a trip we live in Columbus and went to Cincinnati and seniors and walk around Cincinnati and all these guys want to go to this triple X theater and on the sophomore and I mean like I didn't really want to go with a Christian that it was moral and I'm not gonna say anything. So I went, I saw images that stayed in my mind for the next eight years I memorize Scripture.

There's times when I would pray was it was it was a bad movie and I recognize that I was very visual so II predecided II know I missed a couple good movies as I just said for me.

I can't watch an R-rated movie. If I'm in a room with another woman. The door is open if I ever councilwoman. It was with my wife and now my saying that everyone needs to do exactly that. What I knew was I had a weakness so I was positioning myself for success. I had a weakness in money and so before I was a Christian, I used to go to the track.

Someone introduced me to a sulky racing and you know I think the enemy works like this uniting know what a Cornell was in the very first time I put down something on Cornell. I felt like pipe dollars down. This is back in the day when five dollars actually bought something like got $132 and I thought this is the way to make a living. So every Tuesday and Friday in the summer I would go and then it was like if that's fun. These guys I would I put quarters in the bathroom and then Friday nights. I played cards with with guys.

I remember going to football players about $250 back when that was a lot of money and I remember so embarrassing in between classes. I would go into the restroom and I would I would I would put my feet up on the toilet so they couldn't find me because they were not nice guys and I thought I was an arrogant mouth. He him and I deserved every thing I got and I was living in fear and I recognize that for me and I mean I gambled to into basketball. I gambled about everything all the time it's sorted in my personality unit risk-taking stupidity mix ends and so I don't I don't gamble at all mouth a Diet Coke or lunch for around the golf is that's that's my limit because if is not something on it's not.

So here's what I want you to get. I don't know Mrs. and I wanted I wanted to be in kind of funny little stories because where the apostle Paul is going to take his son Timothy, is there is a couple things that'll take you down dude, there's a couple things I have taken the very best of people down and I want to warn you, you need to know your enemy well but if you read this text very carefully easy as I Timothy you need to know your own weaknesses better and then you have to structure and protect your life so that those weaknesses don't come into place that makes sense. Okay, let's roll were in chapter 6, the apostle Paul doing some life coaching and he's the because all those under the yoke of slavery are to regard their own masters as worthy of honor. See if you can start getting a theme so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against those who have believers as their masters must not disrespect them because their brothers or sisters but must serve them all the more because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved, teach and preach these principles and that is to make a hard turn so that I need to be wise in relationships and I want you to step into them, and if you got unbelieving master. This is what you do if you got a believing master.

This is why you do it now.

Timothy teach in preach these principles because at the end of the day. Paul's writing this thinking if all else fails. One thing I want to do is stop the false teachers because of all the things I've written this book so now notice what he says, teach and preach these principles. If anyone advocates a different doctrine and doesn't agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to circle the sort. Godliness. That's the goal of everything I want you to live out your life so that you reflect Christ, he is conceited and understands nothing, but he has a sick craving for controversial questions and disputes about words for which come envy and strife in abusive language and evil suspicions and constant friction between people of depraved minds who suppose that godliness is a means of gain and so basically what he goes through and says some of the evidences of false teaching.

It produces arguments and the friction has anyone seen any of that in the church last couple years or so, did you notice the root cause of men of depraved minds thinking in overtime. Pretty soon people's theology and their values and and then you do understand that you are now wired in a world where the enemy whatever you believe, we now have the have algorithms that will keep feeding you the same stuff so that you'll get cemented in your views, even the ones that are true and that are baseless and have no fact and polarize you against other people because if you want to raise money or if you want to get likes or if you want to get following what you have to do is have a big evil opponent that everything they do is wrong, and the more you screen scream screamed there terrible their terrible we need you to raises money and it gets ratings though a person who knows the truth is God, but our responsibility is we gotta be really discerning. This is this this is how false teaching occurs but but all you know is the evidence of false teaching in relationships. He says in the strife abusive language you see neither online lately. I don't know what happened. I had had to be in the last five years or so with this this calling out of other people instead of with respect of giving them nicknames of humiliating people in public. How the world did you ever have a conversation when it's them in there called certain names.

I mean it is like slick fifth-graders on bad days talking to one another. Now, back and forth in the media, and then he says that one of the other evidences of false teaching is not just the production of controversy and questions and disputes, but it actually develops into people who think that godliness becoming more and more like Christ and following Jesus is a means of financial gain.

You seen any of that lately. This is a new always love the one where the guy says send me all your bills to send me all your bills will put them in the center and will burn them, and God will take them away or are I love this one send a seed of the thousand dollars and the Lord will give you 10,000 unthinking. If you believe got that generous once you send me a thousand, and when he gives me 10,000 will give it back to you.

Can you understand why Christianity is hard for a lot of people swallow right now so you're telling me you guys believe in the Jesus that this guy's tent telling people. His other two jets are too old and so needs 300 Main dollars for new jet to tell people about Jesus mean I remember as I was only 12 years old and watching one of a lot of TV that this stuff is going on forever and a member thinking. I think the only people dumber than the people that are saying things like that are people that actually believe in their money. I mean I'm 12 years old and I can see through that. But there has been a huge movement here and around the world that started all the way back that says that if you want to get rich.

Here's the spiritual keys not be careful because if you're out more on the conservative side. It is, it's easy to throw the baby out with the bathwater because the Scriptures really clear that when you're generous for the right reason generous with your time generous with your money generous with your resources generous your friendship is sought.

God does bless, and he often bless us financially, but the moment that becomes your motive when you are on the wrong track going in a very bad direction and so he gives a little correction here, he says, but godliness actually is a means of great gain when accomplish by contentment that's being at peace with what you have, doesn't mean that you're lazy doesn't mean that there's not direction ambition.

Goals are strategy but godliness walking closely with Jesus and being at peace content for we brought nothing into the world so we can take nothing out of it either. If we have food and covering with these we shall be content. Can you imagine what would happen if we actually believe the last line I got a roof. I've close my food with that now. Is it wrong to want a nicer roof little bit nicer clothes and little bit more food if it's not think so but can you say thank you and spent a lot of time with pastors through Alderson. One young man called me said we talk Karen come to Christ through Bible study on that about 10 years ago when pretty difficult background and one way to school, became a pastor and an got married and just you know things on the right track and that basically the conversation went like this. It's really hard to be a pastor and I don't think if I remain a pastor I'll ever be able to own my own home some thinking about maybe starting a little charter business for fishing because I really like to fish and I can still tell people about Jesus.

So we think well I would remind you at least that of the 8 billion people in the world you are in the 1/10 of 1% of knowledge of the Bible because of your training for four years. That's a stewardship that no one else has. So if God's calling you out of being a pastor into fishing because you're more passionate. I would just say, make sure to row clear call and I know them really well and so working on my gentleness because my insides were not gentle at all. My insides are like who said it was can be easy. I got some promises for you. Anyone who desires to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted and then I just said when you sense God's calling and and and and by the way, it's real tough to be a pastor site. I really listen compassionately right now with all that junk on but I said to think that owning a home is like to think God promises or you deserve to necessarily own a home. Well when everyone else as I know the is your generous are you getting it. It's subtle and so subtle is Jesus. Yes, I want to follow you no matter what, but unconsciously I have this condition. In this condition where I went to school. I really love it was a really great school and a member talking to do missions Gaian mean it was an unwanted exaggerates all aim really low, but is like 1/3 of all the people to graduate from where I went to school. Live within like in a 50 or hundred miles because they didn't want to move out of the area really. She spent for five years going to school learning the Bible and then someone ask you. I don't go there because it's cold it's hard because people aren't as open as my mother-in-law doesn't want to go there because she doesn't want her daughter to you know live more than you know. Two hours away and if you wonder why so many Christians are missing the fullness of God and experiencing the power of God. Verse nine but those who want to get rich and put a box around want to in your Bible. There's nothing wrong with being rich.

Those who want to get rich fall into temptation's and a trap underlying trap and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge people into ruin and destruction. I'm just undulate trap harmful desires plunge ruin, destruction.

I did a study on this earlier and I mean one of these words is it is the word for fishing lure and the other word is a is a word for a trap for an animal in its both of them are built around what deception that fish thinks that's a real minnow that animal thinks that food is free and and notice it.

It's he's he says those who want to get rich. In other words that's it starts then with harmful desires to have this I'm not content, and then he gives a reason for the love of money and then circle is a root it's not the root is a root of all kinds are sorts of evil and some by underlying longing for it. Have are you ready wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many Greeks and then he says, Timothy. Here's the recommendation contrast but flee these things you man of God, pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness fight the good fight of faith take hold of the eternal life to which you were called in for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

I direct you. Last time was I command you. Now I direct you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Jesus Christ who testifies the good confession before Pontius Pilate that you keep the commandment without fault or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the proper time. Speaking of judgment, and we kinda heard a charge like this before. This is actually the fifth personal charge. He's concerned that his son in the faith is going to wander drift be pierced within be destroyed find himself in ruin bankrupt and then he goes he was blessed and the only sovereign the King of Kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see to him be honor and eternal dominion forever and then almost like an afterthought to sit okay with you understand right member.

My coaching tip Timothy you need understand your opponent is a pastor 10 years when I thought there was God against Satan that some of the Bible teaches going to Jesus, there's two gods me and Mammon. Materialism, wealth, money, and Satan uses that to save money will make you secure money will make you famous money will give you happiness money will make you significant you got the logo here you can talk about pretty good time at the final four and you my friend on the G5 we had pretty good time together and have I told you lately who I did a something with an ending that we all just downsize that to you know, I know the superintendent of schools. I know the football coach her on right for you and I dated the prom queen or the button money money promises it right you know if I buy watching of commercials. If I could just have a red sports car and really like teeth. I mean, glowing white teeth and a Coors light beautiful blondes would jump in that car with me. You do understand is this true right as the commercial says so can I can I just bought my way. I usually mute commercials to know why do understand every single commercial has only one goal starts with discontent you don't buy something and less what you have is coming through for you doesn't mean that you shouldn't desire or think or plan and what he saying to Timothy is boy. There is a trap because the other God. Money is always screaming listening to part one of step away will be right back with his application for the stitching from a series book of first Timothy life coaching from the apostle Paul. Our mission as many of you know is for Christians to really live like Christians, but that's a lot easier said than done nowadays right through this new series based in the book of first Timothy chip highlights the vital warnings and pieces of advice. Paul shared with Timothy that helped him navigate the hostile society lived in. Don't miss how we can put this wisdom into practice in our everyday Christian lives to get plugged in with a series visit LivingontheEdge.org that's LivingontheEdge.org one joined by our Bible teacher, Chip Ingram and ship great challenge today. For every believer to really be careful how we use how we view and how we think about money now. I've heard you say before that. How we handle money is actually a great indicator of our faith, what you mean by that will debut now. I think we all we all long to believe that what we say and what we think really is who we are and and Jesus in his day talk so much and taught so much about money not because he ever became rich was trying to get people's money, but our money is the mirror of our heart or maybe think about it this way. It's the MRI of your heart to know what's really in there.

What do I really worship what are my values. What are my true motives and what I would say is Jesus teaching says your lips, declare what you think matters what your values are and what you worship. That's what your lips declare your money reveals where they really are. And so that's why he talks so much about that because really it's love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul your mind your strength and the competition for our heart is money, it's, it's the things that we think that can fill us up that money can buy security significance impact impressing others, and so you know it really has a impact here Living on the Edge when I think of the people who give to Living on the Edge. It's not just that they're giving us their money. We are so grateful we are good stewards we are using it in ways that really honor God and lives are being changed, but to help people understand who God really is and create resources around Badin and reach the next generation and and to say that we really want to make a difference to help Christians live like Christians in a crazy world that were living in when people give to the ministry.

What they're really saying is that's on my heart to I'm with you, were partners were in it together.

And so I just want to pause and I want to thank each and every one of you who are partners who are on mission with us, not because you say you are, but because your money is the mirror it's the MRI that reveals that we are in this together and you know what you not only a part of making a difference. You will be a part of the reward as well and so we want to pause today and say thank you will. If you're benefiting from chips teaching now would be a great time to join the team.

You could minister with us to help others receive the same blessing you're enjoying.

You can send the gift of LivingontheEdge.org or through the chipping remap or text the word donate to 741 41 that's donate to 741 41 and we hope you know how much we appreciate your partnership will chip as we wrap up this message. There were two major things in today's talk false teaching and wealth. Could you help us understand how those ideas are connected. Will Dave. I love to do and for some of us that didn't grow up in the church and probably for a lot of people. Now even they dropped out a local church experience because of the false teaching. Having to do with money when we turn on the TV.

Let me say there are some excellent Bible teachers that do much good, and let me also say there is a plethora of teachers who are using the platform of Jesus Christ to make themselves rich and wealthy and are teaching a false gospel that God wants everyone to be rich and the bazaar thought is that the way you get riches to send your money to them and then somehow God's going to multiply it back to you. Even in the early seasons of the gospel people perverted and twisted the teaching of generosity and the teaching of sowing and reaping to fill their pockets. As a result. So many Christians don't understand anything about money and generosity. The truth is God honors generous giving the Bible's very, very clear, but the goal of any kind of teaching from Scripture is never to give to get our generosity comes from a heart that cares for others and we give without any thought of return. I want to encourage you, yes you right now to do a study in God's word to find out what the Bible actually says about money and generosity. If you need little help I written a little book called the genius of generosity.

It's very small. You can read it in about 45 minutes an hour max. This is not I will give you this book for a gift of any amount. I don't want anything from you I want you to understand what the Bible says and God's heart about generosity and stewardship and the joy and adventure of being a conduit of God's grace.

Give us a call and will drop in the mail. I think this tool will really help you get God's perspective on money and ministry. Thanks, Chip will to get your hands on this book. Genius of generosity go to special offers@livingontheedge.org or the chipping remap and this trip just said. For a limited time, we'd like to give you this resource at no cost to you.

So take advantage of this opportunity. Now again to get your copy of genius of generosity go to special offers@livingontheedge.org or the chipping remap one book per customer, while supplies last. Will from all of us here Sunday really saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge