False Teaching - 1 Timothy - Gospel Church

Residual market was whose man is so good to be back right weird xylophones were gone the summer so if you're like me to present it offers a positive lottery box and we are like men. We have no idea you're gonna go so the goal but we are so glad you back if you got a copy of Scripture taken on turn with me to the book of first Timothy and we are to be chasing some things over the next couple of months today what I want to get across. First is just sort of where were going with this series quickly and will get into the sermon for this weekend right peers were going with the series. Healthy churches come from their heavenly father right. Healthy churches are a gift from God and he is integrally connected to them in the same way that an artist is connected to a piece of art. When you see the art is connected deeply to the artist or when you see a a great meal or you can you you experience something is really good from from eating a dessert or something like that is very connected to the cook right you end up seeing something about the cook, because of what you have heat now I would do something or take a risk here. See if anybody's willing to admit this of themselves or campuses as well, ask a question I want to know by raising him who in here loves, and I don't mean like I mean you love and you would say it is my favorite dessert you love putting what anybody say yes okay I we have about five here regional okay I don't know how you guys got of the campuses rights. We love it. We have some great honest people here little weird okay putting your favorite dessert dog I'm getting table what are bring out here's what what's that what's the phrase about to go to, not yours. You heard it right. The proof is in what, that's right.

The proof is in the putting out what is that mean when somebody says the proof is in the putting what they mean is, if you want to know about the authenticity of not just the putting but the cook if you know what they did is right. You can't just look at it from the outside right if you want to know if it's the real thing. You've got a taste and see you gotta actually dive in and have some sort of interaction with it and if it's the right thing, it reflects on whoever it is that made and that is exactly I think what the book of first Timothy is maybe trying to get us to see that a deep interaction not just on the outside looking in, but a deep interaction with a church will reveal who created it in a way that that will reveal who is the author of it. Maybe they're just thinking about where we go over the next couple months I want to tell you it just in terms of the book of first Timothy years and I would say first Timothy is a charge like to see the evidence of God in the church you say like this is a charge for the value of God and the gospel to be made evident in the church of Jesus Christ that there would be a different community among us.

Then there is in the world that in the church you would see things that are little crazy to the world, you would see people who have decided to be generous in a way that is unlike the world you would see a people who honor their leaders and leaders who don't Lord over the people who have voluntarily decided to follow them you would see a multigenerational multiethnic expression of what community and family can look like you would see all this kind of stuff in the church that you don't see out there, you would see in here and the idea is that the proof is in the putting that the interaction with it would show you something about God only said this right up front right because in a series about church on the mercy hill especially seems like this there to be people right here regional there to be people at high point at Northeast two people at Clifton today. Three people, less manual, even by their thinking like this that man I'm given this thing another shot, but I'm a tell you something. My experience of the church has been anything but reflective of a divine creator. So me.

Maybe here's a new segment.

You don't know how unbelievably mean the students were in that church. They were bullies or maybe you might say my family feels very forgotten and I know some things that went on and we were just forgotten of everybody, moved on, or maybe God forbid that maybe you would say that when I was growing up there was experience of my life or experience someone else's life.

That was absolutely abusive and it was connected to the church in years.

I would say to you that are heartbreaks over that.

But you know whose heart really break so that God's heartbreaks over that and here's what I don't want you to carry for the rest of your life in some to push right here and I'm in a safe. Men don't judge the real thing because an experience maybe with the wrong thing right now. I knew I doubt our signature.

Are you saying mercy hill is like the real thing on the table. We are were real. In this sense that we look at first Timothy. And we say that that's what we desire to be nowhere perfect and we fail every single day. Okay. And all the people in this room and on our campuses are imperfect and we fail every single day, but I can at least segment the real bottom desire of our heart is the somebody would interact with the local church here.

And it would speak to the divine creator that has created.

That's where were to go the next couple months right players will want to go for this weekend and it really is a first things first kind of literally in the book and also a maybe just an order of employer importance man if you want to have the proof in the pudding. If you want the fruit that comes out of the church to be indicative of a God who is created it. Then first order importance is you have to guard the doctrine you have to guard the teaching so here's order to go this weekend's false teaching leads to fake fruit, false teaching leads to fake fruit. When the experience of the church does not end up being indicative of a divine creator who created you know a positive essay to a young pastor Timothy today. Hey, maybe what the problem is in many times more often than not, is that you get way upstream and the doctrine is off and false teaching is being sold into the church and when false teaching is being sewn into the church.

What you're going to end up reaping is a false fruit and nuts were to talk about this week and we have to guard the doctrine of the church arrived first Timothy chapter 1. Here's what it says I'm a read a bunch of Scripture this weekend.

Okay, so we got just got a settlement were to really get to try the next couple months to get our mind all the way around this book and the best way that we can. Here's what it says chapter 1 starting in verse three as I urged you what I was going to Macedonia remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies which promote speculations rather than stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart, get this.

This is what the frittata be stewardship and love. Okay stewardship of what God is given and the aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Paul begins this letter to a young pastor growing church okay. Every church got issues of his got issues. I did gives them this this letter and what is he saying to them as a first order of importance, Timothy.

I've left you there so that you might charge certain persons that they would stop teaching things that are contrary to what I have given you don't know this is one thing is interesting, at least to me if you're to tell somebody to stop the false doctrine, it must mean that by mid-first century A.D. there was already a body of doctrine was accepted. There was already a body of things that were accepted and settled on by the early church, the said this is right doctrine. This is wrong doctrine and what Paul is saying to Timothy as man as a pastor of this church as a leader in the movement you have God to stop the false teaching because the false teaching will end up coming out in bad for later. Now this is what's interesting to me and I'm zooming out a little bit before against the particulars here, but here's what I want to see right off the bat.

Paul doesn't only begin the letter to Timothy in this way, but he actually ends the letter to Timothy in exactly the same way you can turn there if you want or you can just see on the screen quickly here but go all the way to the end of the book.

First Timothy six chapters chapter 6 verse 20 oh Timothy guard the deposit that is been entrusted to you. The imagery there is a commodity to somebody is handed over height. I've handed over this commodity to you that is precious guard it guard what is been entrusted to you and he says this avoid the irreverent babel and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge. For by professing and some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you now before you in a particulars there's all trying to see is this okay. He not only begins the letter would watch out for false doctrine.

He ends the letter by saying watch out for false doctrine, and as if that weren't enough dead smack in the middle of the letter in chapter 4 were to get into this here in a few minutes.

He says oh by the way, you need to guard the doctrine because there are demonic demons that are influencing deceptive teachers and they are coming into the church to understand what I'm saying. First, if you order the book of first Timothy as a sandwich from Subway okay. It would be called the rebuke false teacher sandwich on its both sides and it's in the middle right it starts it ends and all that's in the middle and what is he said you need to guard the doctor now before I get into some of the particulars on guarding doctrine. What that means in our day today. I think we just need to let the weights of how much Paul assigns to to this letter. This idea of false teaching and false knowledge in a reverent babblings or however else you want to say it.

I think we got let the weight of that. Just sit on us for a moment and realize and I'm gonna come restate what I said in the intro here guys. When you so false teaching.

You will read fake fruit.

There were, there will be things that look a little bit like fruit, but there fake and what he saying here is this is what we have to watch out for when the experience of the church is not exactly one that connects like the piece of art to the artist or the pudding to the to the person who made when it's like the church experience is not connecting to a divine creator. One of the first places that we must look is who is teaching what what is the what is being ported. What is the church consuming what is being sewn in the teaching that is coming up with this fruit. Let me give you couple examples of this right if you sewed the teaching of workspace righteousness if you so week after week. The teaching workspace righteousness. You better be good to God and God be good by you. Okay, if you do the right thing to let you and you do the wrong things and he'll kick you out if you so workspace teaching you will reap here that's what will come out and it will look like obedience on the outside a quaking obedience, but it will be fair if you so in a teaching that says the Bible is subordinate to cultural norms of the day, so please go ahead and we say the Bible is good when the Bible comes up against the culture when turned to sexual ethic the Bible is the culture went when you so that you will reap a people who have no backbone and no foundation or absolute blown by the wind. I what was going on a culture of that's we believe right what's going on here out.

That's what we believe that's what you'll so if you end up teaching about a God who would never send anybody to hell you know what you race you race a generation of sappy sentimentality type people.

It looks like love and it looks. You can't have love without truth you still getting out like if you go upstream and you don't guard what is being poured in Bible is authoritative. It is sufficient that once your faith once delivered all the saints, the gospel, the big issues of Trinity and X. The Hilo creation and efficiency sufficiency of Scripture like if you start wobbling on that stuff you go downstream of what you'll end up with is will end up with a bunch of fake fruit, some of it might even look okay a little bit on the outside but what you'll end up with man as it is something that is not the real thing. And that's what he's getting at here. As he says, you have got to guard the doctor knows going to the particulars for just a minute right. This is what can frustrate you ask. It frustrates me total given the particulars of time I'd he's at me, you go back and read commentaries. All the commenters Trenton name with the heresy you know exactly what is it is being taught falsely like a seven Paul as I got the foresight to say man its name something site will be same some different tomorrow. 2000 years later, it will be different. Sitting in the United States of America on 2022. So he'll give us a bunch of names here. Okay what he gives us is some things to watch out for. That's what I want to get into as well. Look what it said in verse three again as I urged you when I was going to Macedonia remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctor don't understand it's not about the identity. It's sort about the effect right and here's what the effect is the effect is they devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies which promote speculations rather than stewardship. If what you're getting is speculations, which I'm going to find is that of stewardship. Then you go upstream and you realize there were probably devoting ourselves to myth and genealogies, and in these types of things says in verse five. The aim of our charges love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Paul's not ultra-clear about exactly what he is dealing with. But here is what is clear about right. I got to very broad categories that I want to talk about this weekend from first Timothy that talks a little bit about false teaching. Really, no matter what generation you end up in okay at weather were here weather is back in Bible times there's two things enters more than this. We can get into right, but there's two things very clearly from the Scripture today in the book of first Timothy that are indicative of false teaching.

There is the devotion to what is wrong and there is the denial of things and the denial of the wrong things okay working again about those verses. This false teaching is devoted to the wrong things, rather than being devoted to right doctrine that the things that are very clear in Scripture right where the Bible has spoken and is shouted and we should trumpet and shout, rather than that you have a people who are focusing on periphery things that are not even true things that maybe even on noble art or things are just downright absolutely false. And this is what they're focused on. It's a bunch of folklore cultural kind of stuff that has crept into the church and he names into a general.

There were myths and genealogies okay missing genealogies knelt, what is he mean by miss a myth is very simple amid starts in truth and into an ally by death, how myth is a myth is like the others.

Elements of the right and you keep listening like labor that's not right you know that it sounded right, but is not right. I remember being confronted with one of of what I would consider to be. I think what is getting on your myth.

Whenever I was on one of the mission trips that we take to the high jungle of Peru okay and it wasn't among the people that we were going to reach with the same missionaries were hanging out with were tell us a story about another tribe that was there in the same, region, and they said hey it's funny because what it happened is you have the gospel enter these areas. A few hundred years ago, a form of the gospel.

Didn't missionaries come in all that but then through wars and through political stuff they get kicked out and some of the stories, morph over years and then we go back in and reengage all the sudden assessable but so for example okay there talking to this one lady and she starts to talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ, son of God comes virgin birth. He is preaching the kingdom does miracles okay. He's got his 12 followers and he's doing all the stuff I just tell the whole thing man ends up ends up being tried before Pontius Pilate ends up on the cross and ends up from the cross saying that father forgive them for they know not what they do and then he turned into a lamb and flew to heaven the end is like well okay that I got off the rails real fast right is a bit weird. We were doing pretty good at it all said it was like what just happened right there, starts in true things in life and if this is the idea it starts. It's a building with the truth and then kind of were taking it wherever it goes you ever heard the intellectual elite on the college campus. For example, with some of our students and know some of our college students are bad were so happy you guys get back to big we can for you guys next weekend, but that I think about some of our students to sit in a hero.

Yet Jesus was a little person. Yes, he gather he preach kingdom. He did incredible work and then he died on the cross and absolutely did not resurrect because he was just a man. If I get started, there started you had some truth in that you know and all the sudden it gets way off real fast minutes, a myth.

Paul's saying is that these guys are playing around with all the stuff that they couldn't know all stuff is directly falls me all the they're playing around with it rather than camping on what they know to be true in the right doctrine to another. If they sincerely says that the idea of genealogies okay know what is.

This idea genealogies. Apparently the people were obsessed with family heritage thinking of that would lead them to a greater standing before God.

The point is here.

Here's my point I'm making. They felt as if an certain persons in the church were teaching if you want. Yet Jesus cross yes yes yes God okay but it's plus the myth. It's plus the genealogies okay yes Jesus cross God it resurrection all that plus if you're the certain genes that can you get your genealogy back then you'll have another blessing or whatever it is right. It's Jesus plus something. Here is what they're doing what they're saying is you.

You must devote yourself to these things and that's what these teachers were doing. I think about this in our day even more like Nancy's modern genealogies of I have greater insight not greater access, just based on who I am.

You know when I was coming up as a as a kid in early teenage years. I remember this big book that came out about the Bible code number seven does here. Okay, but I remember this and it's like, what would you go back to the language and you can do the acrostic just writing you can count just right have all the numbers it's gonna talk about what, World War III and all that and as of the Bible can just be playing about what it wants to be playing about.

Also, you have got the secret code that makes you closer to God.

No, that's not a genealogy all right. That's not a myth that all I think about that or I even think about maybe a little closer to home than people that want to endlessly argue over issues that honestly Christians can agree to disagree on it's it's a complete argument all the time about God's role in sovereignty and election and and and and salvation. Or it's an endless argument all the time about the end times theology and a sort of like men I don't I don't know if being right about that is going to give you closer inside or something like that but maybe it would be that man. God just wants us to take what is playing and run down the fecal you do with it as far as we can and be accountable with the things that we do know, look what says one verse four promote speculations rather than stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love. The false teaching that is promoting a false devotion devoted to the wrong things okay what is it, ultimately doing it's ultimately creating baseless conic convictions around things that may or absolutely may not be true. That's what speculation is and what the Bible is getting us this is not up right doctrine that flows down.

It's a stewardship and love. Like I told you guys, there's another lot of Scripture. Here I were working to keep in them a little bit further here, but I told you we were talking about devotion to the wrong things and working to talk about denying the wrong things right element. Let me let me let me explain this a little bit. We had to wade out into little bit of deeper waters are to understand this second part of false teaching. Look what it says but well begin the verse six just a moment when the guns it is false teaching denies the wrong things. Okay so devoted to the wrong things, denies the wrong things.

But here's what we start to pick this up. I will read your passage out of chapter 1 talk about for just a minute. There were a switch to chapter 4 order to see kind of the same idea says now you gotta get your thinking cap on. You really lock into this if you catch okay certain persons by swerving from these have wandered away into a vein discussion now this this where is get into the law. Here, desiring to be teachers of the law without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions now we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully. Understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just. But for the lawless and the disobedient that the issue what is the law for the Old Testament laws of God is and so people have rules that they can keep in order to make God love them they can keep their selves just or is the law for something else for the ungodly and sinners for the unholy and profane for those who strike their fathers and mothers for murderers for the sexually immoral for men who practice homosexuality in slavers, liars, mergers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. Now the false teachers devoted themselves to some things right myths and genealogies, but you know what else they do they misinterpret the reason that God has given the law and the Old Testament, and now they are trumpeting it as a way to be just if you just do X, Y, and Z.

Then you will be okay before God. If you will deny yourself. These sinful passions, then you will be okay before God, what they're saying is that these laws are a way to be justified before God guys if we if we only have Old Testament. Maybe some of this would be unclear when you get to the New Testament and begin to read the apostle Paul.

You realize this, the laws of God show us our need for a Savior that is what they do and doesn't like how I got a list rule so I can just go ahead and do all these things and then I'll be justified before God actually know you won't because you can't argue were born altogether incident. You have absolutely no chance of keeping God's law perfectly before him was the law do what you know in Romans five. Here's what it says this is interesting to me. Romans 520 says this now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased ground grace abounded all the more. What is he saying he saying the law came in that the trespass would increase, not decrease that the false teachers and emphasis are using the law to say hey deny yourself sexual morality deny yourself the hatred and rage, and murder that is in your heart and if you will devote to missing genealogies and deny yourself. All these other sinful passions that we see from the law, then you will suddenly be okay before God.

If you just do the right things and Paul is saying man you completely missed the point of the law.

The law is there to expose when the law comes into so I go. I think I could this actually helps me in being just before God know doesn't the law comes in and trespass increases. You see the wickedness of your own heart is like an x-ray machine. It looks in and sees you. We were gone for four weeks of summer last summer. We did part one of a sabbatical this summer.

We ended up doing parts, you would love to talk you guys more about that. It was incredible.

I'll be loving apart. At first was a care for their pastors. In this way seven year cycle to come to help us be healthier. So that was incredible trip to one of one of the highlights of the trip is just traveling with my son but I'm okay now you if you easily are brand-new. I and I must number nine is full of life. When you name a kid, but neither you're in for a ride by what is Minaya UW – the Bible, but I was a character in the Bible to kill a line in the pit on a snowy day, apparently because he was that bad.

Okay he could do it and so he did it. And so, anyway, but I would not allow stores open eyes as he was young and all the books of the farm. The funnest thing about denies is just full of life and all that and he has not flown airplane. We had a chance to fly an airplane.

Maybe it wasn't his literal first time a conference on human first time I was with him and he was so part man looking out the window and all I can stop and we take off and we start the bank about this far, but I grabs my arm. He says hold on daddy's doing a barrel roll okay they would do.

He was ready for the fluent enough that the reason I bring that up is because of course you know you got you like glass full of life you we go through the little machines and they pull him aside because he has a knife in his backpack.

Okay so you know where he's thinking he's getting it taken off of TSA were doing this whole thing, but my point and that is like you know they run the little things through and what I do it there there looking in there there seeing what is their right to say when you break your arm or something like that. The x-ray machine doesn't fix you, but it shows right is shows what's up, and this is the essence of the problem here in chapter 1 is like Nick know the law isn't there for you to say I can keep these rules and we just forgot.

It exposes what is there and it seems you and I on a search for a Savior.

They devote themselves to some things they did not hate you just deny yourself this deny yourself the way. Continue it in chapter 4 says now the Spirit expressly says in the latter times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons through the insincerity of liars, whose consciences are seared know what look what I say here okay to forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth for everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

The issue isn't just the Old Testament law you understand what he's saying is false teaching that is stemming from demonic influence that is that that is a tough thing for us to say out loud, but this is the reality of many deceptive teachers are influence under demonic teachings and influences, and it don't look like what you think it will look like it might look very pious and it might look on the outside go there very devoted they they won't even they forbid, even to get married. They must be very devoted to God. They only eat X, Y, and Z and they must be very what he saying is unknown enough what you're trying to do is nothing short of saying Jesus across your blog. Your resurrection was insufficient because what I gotta do is trust the gospel and of the myths. When I gotta do is trust the gospel and make sure my lineage is in the genealogies. What I gotta do is trust the gospel and keep the Old Testament law what I gotta do is trust the gospel and then come up with a bunch of new stuff you know, no, don't drink, smoke, or to ordain girls who do okay and if I can do that, then I'm to be okay before God and this is where he is the kind of guys on ongoing heart is a sort of phone open now little bit is a sorta kinda crack it open. We can seat.

Paul doesn't talk so much about the identity, the false teaching, but its effects is a workspace righteousness, its effects is something that undermines the gospel in essence what you see in the false teaching in first Timothy is this Jesus plus something is the gospel. But here's the problem.

Actually, Jesus plus anything is not the gospel.

Jesus plus my works is not the gospel.

Jesus plus where I come from it's not the gospel. The gospel as fleshed out in the greatest theological treatise on earth the book of Romans. Okay the gospel is Jesus sufficient alone is you.

This is if you're like me and you're saying gospel bunch of times what is Mama get exactly means okay is multiplies you know the Bible for this read the book of Romans refurbishment in chapter 15. Okay you can go to many but it's there. It's actually it's, it's, you know it's it's it's it's shallow enough for child understand the deep enough that elephant can swim us as one is okay it here. It's deep but it's also accessible. Here's what the Scriptures say when I say the gospel is what I mean that you and I in our sin are separated from God.

Okay, there is no amount of devotion or denial that overcomes that there's there's no amount of white men. I know the method of the genealogies of memorize this on the rise that I don't do this, I don't.

There's none of that we have seen the ship sailed right because God is demanded of us is Jesus in the sermon on not a perfect life and so when we said it's over, but God in his infinite grace and mercy. He sent his son Jesus Christ to come and walk in our shoes to live a life that we didn't live you and I send it every turn.

Jesus never said nothing of his life, rather than reaping the rewards of a righteous life before God. He went to the cross for us. All of our sin on his shoulders.

The chastisement put on him and he goes to the cross and he dies widely.he died because that's the penalty of sin. The wages of sin is death. So Jesus dies in our place and then praise God. Three days later he wakes up the same spirit, the word to receive when we become a believer wakes him up in the grave, and he is able to come bursting forth from the grave and when he does he founds a new humanity and this is what I get for 2000 years. People like me ordinary individuals in an end. And Christians like you have been spreading this movement all over the globe where we say hate in his resurrection he came out at grade with him like this sinkable you can come to you, and except me and what is true of me will be true of you be united with me and can walk in the newness of life. You will be defined by your greatest failures. You can have the newness of life. And this is the gospel and what I think. First Timothy is trying to get us to see is this when we feel the need to go beyond that, we will dive into false teaching which will lead to fake fruit.

But if we will stay rocksolid on the simple, profound gospel message that what we can end up seeing is a redeemed people who are not perfect in a church like Mercy Hill fills every single day, but we can say men were amen at being, the provision of putting here like that for a minute were amen not being a community that seems like it has been redeemed by the God of the universe. Now, I usually do what what we do from here okay I so got it made a lot of teaching. Now what do we do, here's the big application for this we get our campuses. You guys can just out you want to what I call us to do is to detect error by taking in the truth. Okay, so by way of application we seen the dangers we seen what it is now 2000 years later what what should we do because of it. What I want to call you guys to do is to be a church that takes in the truth. Now here's a think you know you detect error you detect error. Not by focusing on what is counterfeit. You focus on the real thing when people are trained to spot counterfeit dollar bills. You know they look at all day long for months on end and look at the real thing. And when they see the wrong thing. It jumps out of it.

Same way with our critics, our critics can tell you that one's right real. That was a fake, thinking to tell you why they're just like men I know, I know, and I've seen a million Pisa bargain with the real thing and I can spot a fake. And there's a there's a principal not for us. I think we need to be sharp on some of the heresies and some things are going on. I'm actually mention a few that do those things here in our day, but generally speaking what I want to call us to is for people who are pushing to be sharp on the word of God and how can we do that, I have three quick ways we do that number one what we need to do is sit under gospel centered preaching right we need to sit under gospel centered preaching and what I mean by that for Mercy Hill church. Okay, there are great preachers on the Internet there great preachers on YouTube. Maybe we could check them out.

Maybe we can be part of that about talk about other resources in a minute but you're part of the church here. What that means is you usually take a week off right around the Christmas season know in terms of the Sunday of our staff and stuff but that means there's 51 sermons a year that again pumped out here on the weekends you have an opportunity to take them all the way in and go wrestle with them in community and group all right whether were in group session with you just do not with your friends, your mercy, and that's what I want to call you to do is to devote yourself to the teaching of the word that is here. You don't beat sit under it and I can miss one minimal beer, 51 weeks I can do that if we do miss working on go back and listen to it and here's one reason I said so some of you and also some them.

I want to email me about this other than save email okay.

So to answer the question right now some of you are like Gavin is an individual Bible reading. More important than that, no is individual by really important. Yes okay very important is it more important than hearing the word taught and then taking it into community to be broken open. It really is and use the word you get there, we'll hear what the results say that is because what that idea of me and Jesus my coffee cup in the Bible every single morning is a little modern I got a little foreign to the New Testament when you look at a solution to actually say we should do this would be my second thing we should do but I do not understand this. These letters were written to churches non-Christians that that idea of like I'm a Christian, but I'm not in a community of of the Sunni modern invention in America.

Here okay this is not you have the persecuted church around the world. Not happening. I'm a Christian up arbiters know you go to the early church.

This idea of Christian but not church is is just a total what I'm calling you to do is to say that your to do nothing else fully devote yourself to hearing the word taught and then taken into group and be the type of person who is willing to say our sales spirits want to push me around in this animal be open to that. Right now the second thing is and is will and on and on. I don't want at the first version. Here's intentionally little little bit abrasive shocking because I will make sure you understand that we we push everybody. Mercy Hill to be an avid Bible reader. Okay I mean there should not be a Christian. Here at Mercy Hill that is not taking in the word for themselves and that's what I want to call you to do read your Bible. This is what we ought to be doing.

If you like men.

I don't really know how to read the Bible. Let me give you a quick way to think about okay quickwitted thing about reading the Bible read something in the Psalms read the book of Proverbs take the chapter whatever day it is that they do those two things and then have a book in the New Testament or the Old Testament. You're just going to a rhythmic basis. You can read three chapters a day and get a ton of Bible influence in your life okay and you should be doing that day in day out if you like what I'm reading it when my supposed to do.

You're supposed to do the same thing that we do when we preach at Mercy Hill, Georgia mission every single second of the sermon is one of three things it's either an explanation. It's an illustration or its application. That's all this. So when I'm reading the Bible. When I got to do or say what is this mean what is it like like how can I think about. Another way that might make it popped in my head like what was all this, like this, and that's, like that and in the third thing is that how does Powell apply to my life and how does my life begin to move around. Because of this.

Thirdly and finally I would say hey man look for other resources that are good for you because were not on the same lie stated some of your light now going through a season of parenting. In this way or somebody my community was walking through some type of big diagnosis and I'm not exactly sure how to handle that are talking about, that there are great resources but every resources is by way great are there good resources out there.

I'm hoping this week we can put out some things that we trust and maybe you can be led and that I would say these are a distant third to the first two right distant third hollow podcast I love you too. I love read other books but it's really almost not in the same race. Here preaching from your pastors take that into community group and read your Bible and those of the things that we need to devote ourselves to hate you looking for other resourcing on something our system to have. We have our campus pastors. Every single one of our campus pastors would invite a call or an email from you over what it it's over an issue you're dealing with. You're looking for resourcing on they would love to help point you in the right direction with some of these things. They would love to do that right now cunningly say there's an anomaly, and I would say this in an inordinate start moving toward a closer look at heart. So let's say we did do what I'm saying let's say we decide our, devote myself to the teaching of the local church in the authority of the elders that God is put over me and my local church, do not number one very close to that is reading my Bible. I read my Bible and I'm in a minute to get to know much, gets to the Scripture or not, thing, do that every day here's what's can happen in your life knows can happen. You're seeing the real thing all the time and was in the domain. We will make mistakes okay may differ your preachers me when we wait we can make this but were aiming at the right thing raiment right doctrine and and you can be reading the Bible.

Your to be taken in community you really see in the real thing. So here's what ends up happening here is for spotting the wrong thing and you know what I don't want to apply this by saying hey, spotting somebody else must audit ourselves. Let's look at the ways that we might be susceptible. I budget. Heresies have much different names that I was the same as a pastor right now and 2022 right here I think is a few things that the air we breathe that we gotta be watching out that we might fall into the first one is prosperity teaching we gotta watch out right what we get you prosperity teaching height all God wants for you is health and wealth.

Everything supposed to be awesome and and you know you see you see the pastors in this country when I saw a guy with viral and tick-tock for yelling at his coronation about not buying him a luxury watch.

Okay and you see this kind of stuff were all sorta like that man cannot creep in that we begin the thing and to follow Jesus and therefore think I owed something in this life.

I thought I mowed some, you know good lifer or great that take what we got.

I'm looking at the real thing was the real thing say the real thing shows me Paul's sufferings and the martyrdom of the early church and then maybe it's not so much about the blessings that I will receive because I've earned this before God prosperity teaching at a another one is works based geology art where even as a gospel believer as one who has been redeemed. We can still fall into the performance trap a man if I get all that have strode out to kick me out as you do the wrong thing and and then this this comes up all the time to take this up this past week this past weekend I wasn't preaching about to get a preach of redemption in road of Virginia, which was just the most incredible thing to go to one of our church plans and be able preach there.

It was awesome and I took a couple of our folks with us at the Rachel and Josiah with us their resident and staff members here and so we are just another and since I was driving and I now call him just style of lead foot Roethlisberger after this okay so you understand what happen he got Sawyer we get pulled over okay and him all the way to preach and the guy the guy comes up to the window you know and and he's and he's like he's like notes hey guys know what's what's going on. He asserts in a first kind engage in us or whatever and I'm and Psalms. Why was waiting. You know, and he finally asked the question where you guys go and I was like well but site is the greatest you know that I know you've heard some stories here okay but I'm a tell you this is like a story. I said, man I feel really bad because they're driving me so that I be prepared. I said you know I'm on the pastor of the church in Greensboro and we plan to the church at Roanoke and I'm driving up there purchase more and nobly not my notes right here in County.

That's enough. That's kind of an eye. He was like now what you say son okay. He's trying to get in his mind you notes and and he 80s know. He sighed and I told the whole story again and you see the look on his face because Josiah was sublime he was. He was driving.

I and I had so and so we you know you see the look on this new space and is like give me a minute he walks back to his car and he like his leg, pulled his hair. You notice these into any comes back as I give your license and then as is walking away. Go back to his car, he says, ma'am, I can give you guys a ticket got my semi the hell given you think you going okay is he is back to his car door, sit there and Rachel says the bids are psychospiritual and okay Rachel says guys we have got to correct his theology on this house I Rachel were not doing that today okay somebody else you know like somebody else to do okay what what would I do that I write this I can write anyway.

You know you know what is not indicative many and it was news, it was, it was a crazy I think about that. It's funny you know. But the reality is that even as a believer, guys, many of us can come fall back into that man God's gonna do this because I we need to do is when you look at the real thing was the real thing same in the real thing says that you and I are a new creation in Christ we have been wrapped in his arms. You know another another thing I think we got of the kind of watching out for in our day today is this idea of confusing the kingdom of God with the citizens with the citizenship of a country is important to listen. This is why have no problem saying this because you never met anybody more patriotic than me. My grandfather fought over to my uncle thought Vietnam. If you will not patriotic. My family is come join for us Fourth of July one time.

If you were sleeves are not invited. Okay, that's kind of what the way, the way goes all right. Not being serious.

I think America's greatest country on earth. I love it mean about the gotta be dead on born here, but the reality is that I watch a lot of people in our culture get one thing big time confused. Philippians 3 says we are a citizen of heaven first horses in this country we have a lot of duties responsible is a code that but worse is in their first right manner so many different things we can end up getting into. We confuse the kingdom we computer prosperity teaching had another one I think I get into is the subordination of the Bible to cultural norms seems all the time in our young people are allowing the Bible to go to war with our culture and let the Bible lose and saying hey you know the cultural norms should and what the Scripture is telling us is second Timothy 316 that the Scripture is God for it. It's inspired by God himself to stand on that I could go into more and more, but you know what, the way that we detect those things is by staring at the truth and we end up doing that all centered on close with this we do that centered in the church in the local church is where these things are flushed out as I was saying earlier when his letters are written as letters are rendered to just individual Christians. The written for like the church you know look like little in first Timothy three 15,000 closes.

If I delay you may know how one ought to behave in the house of God, which is the church of the living God. A pillar and a buttress of truth is hard to stand in the truth without being connected integrally into the life of local church with other believers with elders that are watching over you.

This is this is what God has for us and I will call you to that with a lot of college students from our church that we love campus ministries there not a church I was in college I know I probably part one, but I would also church different for many of us site and many are coming around you, this religious thing, but are you are you locked in with elders stand before God and say they were part of the flock and I would love to have you come the weekend or next weekend and start try to hammer some of those things and see what our doctrine is understand a we we sleep.

We followed about his fate the message to thousands some of us wanting to know what that is like what it would create a creedal kind of thing is paid as we do it we can or we love having come and check that out right. Father I pray that in showing a vision for doctrine and false teaching that we would be a people who would lean in to the local expression of the church year. Gotta pray that Mercy Hill would be a church, nor that when people interact with her.

They are able to say the proof is in the pudding, not we get everything right with Phil every day. Got for you do something ordinary here is your spirit moves in the individual believers who are being built up into the house, but I pray for those that are brand-new this weekend and what we are so looking forward to this kindergarten commission coming up.II just pray for those families teach their kids. These truths gonna pray that maybe some of them will be called today in the side to lean in Christ name we pray. Amen