A Warning about Spiritual Drift June 2, 2024

First Baptist Church Leominster

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Amen. Please be seated folks and Dale if you'll come in the back of your hymnal either the red or the blue I believe is our church covenant that we read together each month and may the

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Lord help us to see these things realized in our church fellowship and so read it but think of it as a prayer also asking the

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Lord to help you let us begin having been led by the

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Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and on the profession of our faith having been baptized in the name of the

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Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit we do now solemnly make this covenant with each other as one body in Christ we will walk together in brotherly love we will exercise a

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Christian care and watchfulness over each other will faithfully admonish and help one another as the need may be we will be slow to take offense but always ready for reconciliation without delay if any stray from the path of truth we will endeavor to restore them in the spirit of meekness we will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together or neglect to pray for ourselves and for others we will seek to educate our children in the scriptures we will seek to win our kindred and acquaintances to Christ and to holiness as stewards of the

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Lord we will aid in the support of a faithful evangelical ministry among us and in efforts to preach the gospel to the whole human family we will live circumspectly in the world denying ungodliness and worldly lusts and according to our ability and opportunities will do good to all men we will endeavor as long as we live to glorify him with call this out of the darkness into his marvelous light the

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Lord's Supper is for the Lord's disciples not everybody is encouraged by the

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Lord to eat and drink of this supper in fact only those who are committed disciples of Jesus Christ should do so for a non -disciple a non -christian to eat or drink the scriptures say they're actually eating and drinking damnation of themselves this is for true believers in Jesus Christ disciples who have committed themselves to believe upon and to follow the

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Lord Jesus Christ Jesus is Lord and they've shown forth that in their baptism confessing their new life in Christ if you're a disciple of Jesus Christ we we invite you to eat and drink with us and of course with the trays we have both wine and grape juice offered depending on your conviction the wine is in the purple shaded cups around the perimeter each tray and by the way also with the bread we do have some gluten -free bread that's a few few of our folks are in need of that and so only if you are you know does need to have a gluten -free bread would you take one of those please well let's first pray and we're going to ask

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God to help us in confession and petition as set forth long ago our

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Holy Lord we have sinned times without number and been guilty of pride and unbelief a failure to find thy mind in thy word of neglect to seek thee in our daily life our transgressions and shortcomings present us with a list of accusations but we bless thee that they will not stand against us for all have been laid on Christ go on to subdue our corruptions and grant us grace to live above them let not the passions of the flesh nor lustings of the mind bring our spirits into subjection but do thou rule over us in Liberty and power we thank thee that many of our prayers have been refused desire every base aspiration everything contrary to thy rule we thank thee for thy wisdom and thy love for all the acts of discipline to which we are subject for sometimes putting us into the furnace in order to refine our gold and remove our dross no trial is so hard to bear as a sense of sin if thou shouldest give us choice to live in pleasure and keep our sins or to have them burn away with trial give us sanctified affliction deliver us from every evil habit every accretion of former sins everything that dims the brightness of thy grace in us everything it prevents us taking delight in thee and then we will bless thee

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God of Jeshurun for helping us to be upright for we pray these things our

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Father in Jesus name Amen I trust that we prepare our hearts and minds for the

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Lord suffer before this occasion when we gather together on the first Lord's Day of each month we are to examine ourselves acknowledge wherein we transgress ask

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God's to forgive us and of course assert our dependence and faith in Jesus Christ alone as the basis of forgiveness let's just take a few moments and pray yourself asking the

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Lord to forgive you of your sins if you're a disciple of Jesus Christ to cleanse you and set your right restore your soul as we look to Jesus Christ and him crucified to do his good work in us our

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Father we thank you for this bread that's before us as we hold it our God and as we ingest it we we do so in faith trusting the

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Lord Jesus Christ to whom this bread so beautifully portrays before us and we thank you our

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God for the life that you give us through him through faith in him and so help us our

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God as we eat this bread as we look to Christ afresh to invigorate us our

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God to strengthen us our Lord to give us a holy resolve afresh to live for thee bless this bread to us we pray in Jesus name

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Amen well the

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Lord after supper took the bread and gave it to his disciples and said to them take eat this is my body which is broken for you do this in remembrance of me we thank you father that the blood of the

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Lord Jesus Christ that was shed so long ago is effectual today to cleanse us of our sin even to the cleansing of our conscience before you

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Lord we come as believers but we come as as ones who sin and are in need of ongoing cleansing and forgiveness of sins and so we look to the blood of the

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Lord Jesus Christ thanking you our God for a full and complete atonement may we experience a fresh our

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God a renewal of the cleansing of the conscience our God the cleansing of our life of our sin we pray not only will you forgive our sins but we pray as we look to Jesus Christ our

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God to deliver us from further sin to the degree that that's possible in this world in this life and so help us our

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God we thank you and praise you our father for giving your son to die for us and we thank you dear son for your effectual blood sufficient to our

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God to atone for our sin bless this cup to us as we drink it in Jesus name

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Amen well then our

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Lord took the cup in the same manner that he had taken the bread gave it to his disciples declared to them this cup is the new covenant in my blood this new as often as you drank it in remembrance of me and if you're a disciple of Jesus Christ you eat and drank in fact faith confessing your sins you may rejoice in the reality your sins are forgiven you

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Amen let's pray father we pray that you would help us now as pastor

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Jason opens your word to us may you reveal your will your word to us our

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God and may your Holy Spirit enable us our God to believe it and conform our lives to it bless as we pray in Jesus name

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Amen this morning excuse me we return to our study of first Timothy we've been working through the first seven verses this is part three and this really sets the stage for the rest of the book by way of reminder in 1st

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Timothy 1 verses 3 through 4 Paul instructed Timothy to remain at Ephesus and to charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine nor to be devoted to myths and endless genealogies because all of these things different doctrine myths endless genealogies promote controversy and divisions within the church rather than advancing the work of the

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Lord God through the proclamation of the gospel in 1st Timothy 1 5 in contrast to the false teachers at Ephesus Paul reminded

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Timothy of the true aim or goal of Christian ministry love love for the

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Lord God and love for one another this love comes from a pure heart a good conscience and a sincere faith a pure heart refers to a heart that has been cleansed through the washing of regeneration the

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Lord God makes the heart new the Spirit of God breathes new life into it enabling man to live spiritually and to respond freely to the truth of the scriptures a pure heart is undivided in its loyalties and it strives to walk in obedience to the

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Lord God by putting sin to death and living to righteousness a good conscience refers to a conscience that is clear and right before the

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Lord God the conscience is the work of God's law written upon the heart of man it is an internal independent witness that examines and passes judgment on our conduct the conscience accuses and condemns us when we have done wrong or it approves us and commends us when we have done right a sincere faith refers to authentic and genuine faith it is a faith that fully trusts and rests upon the

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Lord Jesus Christ and his work at Calvary it results in loving God and loving others because you want to please the

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Lord God out of gratitude and thankfulness for all that he has done and all that he is a sincere faith is a faith without guile and hypocrisy to faithfully minister to the church at Ephesus Timothy would need to be reminded of these things but he would also need to be warned about what happens when one departs from these things please turn with me to the book of 1st

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Timothy our text this morning is 1st Timothy 1 verses 3 through 7 specifically verses 6 and 7 as I urged you when

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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 promotes speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith the aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith certain persons by swerving from these have wandered away into vain discussion desiring to be teachers of the law understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions the church at Ephesus had significant leadership problems particularly among the teachers and their problems stemmed from their lack of love verse 6 and their overabundance of pride verse 7 remember love is the hallmark the chief or the primary characteristic of authentic Christianity Christians are to have a love for the

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Lord God and a love for one another Galatians 514 says the whole law is fulfilled in one word love you shall love your neighbor as yourself yet the false teachers at Ephesus did not focus on love for the

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Lord God nor on one another first Timothy 1 6 certain persons by swerving from these have wandered away into vain discussions the certain persons at Ephesus had swerved from the fount and source of love they had swerved from a pure heart swerved from a good conscience and swerved from a sincere faith to swerve means to miss the mark it means to deviate it means to stray or to turn from the literal meaning of this term means to not aim at the certain persons at Ephesus were not aiming at love their purpose was not love their goal was not love their end was not love the reason being their hearts were not pure but impure their consciences were not good but seared and condemning and their faith was not sincere but insincere and hypocritical it's no wonder these certain persons and their teaching had missed the mark of love altogether and by swerving from these things by missing the mark of love these false teachers had wandered away into vain discussion the phrase wandered away is an interesting one it's a medical term used to describe a limb dislocated or put out of joint a dislocated limb a dislocated arm or leg cannot accomplish its purpose within the body it's no longer a help to the rest of the body it's unable to assist the rest of the body a dislocated limb hangs limp it's a hindrance it's a handicapped it is an encumbrance to the rest of the body teaching service ministry without love are disconnected and disjointed from the will and purpose of the

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Lord God beloved we are the workmanship of God created in Christ Jesus for good works which

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God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them but without love our teaching our service our ministries will hang limp like an arm or a leg out of joint without love our words and our works will be a hindrance a handicapped and an encumbrance to the rest of the body 1st

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Corinthians 13 1 through 3 if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not love

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I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal and if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but have not love

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I am nothing if I give away all I have and if I deliver up my body to be burned but have not love

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I gain nothing teaching without love is like a noisy gong it's a clanging symbol it is nothing more than an annoyance and an irritant to the listener to understand all mysteries and to possess all knowledge and all faith so as to move mountains but have not love is nothing incredible generosity overwhelming charity selfless sacrifice even sacrifice to the point of death without love has no gain it has no benefit it serves no purpose beloved love is crucial for exercising our spiritual gifts within the body the

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Lord God requires us to serve one another in love a sacrificial love a selfless love a love that seeks the benefit of others without expecting anything in return the reason the

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Lord God expects us to love in this manner is that he first loved us 1st

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John 419 we love because he first loved us if anyone says

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I love God and hates his brother he is a liar for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love

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God whom he is not seen this commandment we have from him whoever loves

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God must also love his brother if you hate your brother you do not love the

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Lord God but if you love the Lord God you will love your brother but how how can

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I love my brother my sister or my neighbor if I don't even like them will demonstrating a love for others does not necessarily mean possessing a warm and fuzzy feeling towards them love does not always include emotion but it will always include action specific action as Paul went on to describe in 1st

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Corinthians 13 verses 4 through 8 love is patient and kind love does not envy or boast it is not arrogant or rude it does not insist on its own way it is not irritable or resentful it is not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth love bears all things believes all things hopes all things endures all things love never ends notice how love is defined in this passage love is defined by verbs not adjectives in other words love is defined by what it does not by what it is in this passage there is no emphasis on feelings there is no emphasis on emotions there is no emphasis on warm affection but on action love is patient love is kind and humble it does not envy it does not boast it is not arrogant or rude it is not selfish but content it does not insist on its own way but is considerate and conciliatory love is not irritable it's not resentful instead it is understanding it is forbearing love does not rejoice at wrongdoings but rejoices in truth love bears all things it covers up people's faults it covers up their sins it defends its shields and protects them love believes all things it sees the best in others and it gives others the benefit of the doubt love chooses to accept and acknowledge the best about them not the worst love hopes all things which means that it entertains the best expectations love looks to the bright side and it does not despair in adversity or difficulty love is not pessimistic but it shows a godly optimism love endures all things it is persevering it is tenacious it endures pain and suffering it endures loss and loneliness it endures insults neglect misunderstanding and being taken advantage of it endures being sinned against and the seventy times seven offenses of a brother or sister in Christ love never ends beloved do you love one another in this manner do you bear all things do you believe all things do you hope and endure all things beloved first John 411 if God so loved us we also ought to love one another no one has ever seen

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God if we love one another God abides in us and his love is perfected in us if the

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Lord God loves us we must also love one another in the same way the

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Lord God loves us we must love one another if we do the

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Lord God abides in us and his love is perfected in us the certain persons at Ephesus did not love others in this manner by swerving from a pure heart a good conscience and a sincere faith the certain persons at Ephesus had wandered away into vain discussion the term vain discussion refers to empty discussion fruitless discussion it refers to discussions that are futile senseless unprofitable vain talks that have neither substance nor gain they are noisy gongs and clanging cymbals in his commentary on first Timothy William Hendrickson remarked naturally they also missed the true destination the final goal namely love they are like marksmen who missed their target like travelers who never reached their destination because they have taken the wrong turn and have failed to look for the familiar signs along the road the path which these people have taken is not even a detour it is more like a dead -end street beyond which lies a swamp in their case the swamp of futile talk useless reasoning argumentation that gets nowhere dry as dust disputation a wrangling about fanciful tales and then pedigrees yes their vaunted learning has finally landed them in no man's land of ceremonial subtleties in the dreary marsh of ridiculous hair -splitting and the owner of that quagmire is

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Satan who heads the welcoming committee this warning to Timothy has significant application for you and I the phrase swerving from these in verse 6 is in the active voice which means the subject is the one who performs the action or exercises the activity what made the certain persons swerve from a pure heart a good conscience and a sincere faith it was their own choice to swerve from these things by their own volition the certain persons at Ephesus made a conscious decision to turn away and depart from these things however the phrase wandered away in verse 6 is in the passive voice the passive voice contains conveys the idea of an outside force or power that is acting upon the subject in other words due to their own volition to swerve from these things a pure heart a good conscience and a sincere faith the result was their wandering away being dislocated from the will and purpose of the

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Lord God beloved actions have consequences often serious consequences in Acts chapter 20 the church at Ephesus was on the right track the church at Ephesus was striving to hit the mark it was a sound and healthy church with sound and healthy doctrine with sound and healthy leaders but a short time later through a series of poor and unwise decision the church at Ephesus had abandoned their love for God they had abandoned their love for one another and they had abandoned the sound words of our

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Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness and in abandoning these things the result was spiritual drift they wandered away into vain empty and meaningless discussions in Acts chapter 20 they were on the right track they were diligently following the narrow way but by the time first Timothy was written they were off track they were following the wide and easy way and drifting aimlessly away from the

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Lord God spiritual drift away from the Lord God is a dangerous and perilous path for the church it's a dangerous and perilous path for the

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Christian our adversary the devil prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour he is working hard for your destruction he is continually scheming planning and plotting your failure and demise always remember

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Ephesians 612 we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the authorities against the cosmic powers over this present darkness against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places but not only is our adversary and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places scheming planning and plotting your failure and demise so is your very own flesh

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Roman 718 Paul writes I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh for I have the desire to do what is right but not the ability to carry it out for I do not do the good

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I want but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing now if I do what

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I do not want it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me our flesh

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Galatians 517 for the desires of the flesh are against the spirit and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh for these are opposed to one another to keep you from doing the things you want to do always remember the spiritual battle that is presently raging and warring against you if you do not take this spiritual battle seriously if you don't take your walk with the

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Lord God seriously rest assured that the adversary will he is a relentless attacking enemy who will stop at nothing to snare and entrap you your enemy is strong Paul referred to him as the prince of the power of this world the prince of the power of the air he opposed the

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Lord Jesus Christ in his ministry he appalled he opposed the disciples in their ministry all throughout history he is opposed the church and he will oppose you he is opposing you your enemy is restless he never sleeps he remains alert he remains undistracted he continually moves back and forth on the earth and walks up and down on it you may be careless about your walk with the

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Lord God you may be careless about your soul but he is not your enemy is cunning

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J .C. Ryle remarked in his book thoughts for young men for thousands of years he has been reading one book and that book is the heart of man he ought to know it well and he does know it all its weakness all its deceitfulness all its folly and he has a storehouse full of temptations such as are most likely to do the heart of man the most harm never will you go to a place where he will not find you go into the city he will be there go into the wilderness he will be there also sit among drunkards and he will be there to help you listen to preaching and he will be there to distract you beloved the adversary is working hard for your destruction he is working hard to deceive to discredit and to make your testimony meaningless and without influence he's working hard to destroy your marriage he's working hard to destroy your children your family your church you are the prize for which he is contending so your life will advance his kingdom and bring great reproach to the name of the

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Lord God now there's no need to fear our adversary because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world but you must never underestimate him thus you cannot remain in a state of spiritual slumber you cannot remain in a state of spiritual neutrality you not you cannot claim to be a

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Christian while aimlessly drifting in this world not without grave and serious consequences you are either growing in your love for the

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Lord God or you're swerving deviating and turning from him thus do not be careless about your walk with the

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Lord God young men and young women do not be careless about your walk with the

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Lord God do not put off till tomorrow what you can accomplish today once you begin to drift away from the

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Lord God you have no idea how far or where it will take you I'm sure that when

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Paul left Ephesus in Acts 20 after he warned the congregation that from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them

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I bet the men at Ephesus probably thought not on my watch that's not going to happen to us and yet a handful of years later different doctrine myths endless genealogies and vain discussions all running rampant within the church if you make a poor and unwise decision then you will reap the fruit of that decision if you choose to neglect your time in prayer your time in the scriptures your time in fellowship with other believers the worship with the gathered assembly then your walk with the

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Lord God is going to suffer if you neglect or swerve from these things like the certain persons at Ephesus you too will wander away into vain empty and fruitless discussions

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Hebrews 2 1 through 4 therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard lest we drift away from it for since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation beloved pay close attention to the eternal things of the

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Lord God lest you drift away pay closer attention to the eternal things of the

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Lord God lest you drift away give heed lest you drift away keep alert lest you drift away be sober minded lest you drift away paying closer attention giving heed keeping alert and being sober minded these are your responsibilities the

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Lord God requires this of you it is your duty it is your task it is your work to accomplish no one else can do this for you therefore you must pay close attention you must ground and settle your mind upon what you read and hear in the scriptures you must bow your will and bend your knee to them you must surrender and conform your life to them in the power of the

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Spirit if you ignore or neglect the eternal things of the Lord God then you risk drifting away drifting away into futility and judgment with eternally damning consequences on this verse

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Charles Spurgeon remarked you see dear friends that we need not be great open sinners in order to perish it is merely a matter of neglect see how it is put here how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation you'd need not go to the trouble of despising it or resenting it or opposing it you can be lost readily enough simply by neglecting it in fact the great mass of those who perish are those who neglect the great salvation let that question ring in our ears how shall we escape there will be no escape there can be none if we refuse the

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Lord Jesus do we mean to be lost dare we continue to neglect the great salvation all that it takes to perish eternally is to do nothing live your life follow your desires and worship and serve whatever it is that makes you happy follow the many travelers on the wide and easy way that leads to everlasting destruction beloved do not neglect such a great salvation do not neglect the

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Lord Jesus Christ do not neglect the message of the gospel do not neglect the ordinary means of grace there is nothing in this world as important as your soul nothing in this world as essential as your walk with the

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Lord God thus pay attention to it and do not neglect it the first commandment is

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Exodus 23 you shall have no other gods before me you shall have no other gods before the face of God you shall have no other gods in the sight of God nothing is to be placed before the

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Lord God no person no thing no ideology nor purpose you cannot serve the

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Lord God and serve something else you cannot serve the Lord God and yourself you cannot serve the

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Lord God in your flesh you cannot serve the Lord God in your sin it is either one or the other it is all or nothing

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Hebrews 12 1 and 2 therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God to run this race we must lay aside every weight and every sin and we must run the race that is set before us with endurance well what's the difference between the terms weight and sin what is meant by using the term weight let us lay aside every weight well the word late wait means a bulk or a burden or a mass and it refers to anything that is heavy anything that will slow you down it refers to anything that hinders your ability to run the race anything that diverts your attention or anything that drains you of your energy to run a weight is an encumbrance it trips you up it slows you down it renders your running ineffective the term weight is not necessarily negative or positive it's neutral good things can weigh you down just as easily as bad things take for example money money is neither good nor bad you can use money for good or for evil money can assist you in your race or it can hinder you in your race it all depends on the hold that money has in your heart some of the best things in life are things that can hinder us in our walk with the

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Lord God but not only does added weight hinder our performance in running so does our sin sin is when we miss the mark of perfection it refers to the slightest departure from absolute obedience to God if perfection is the bullseye then sin is everything but the bullseye and sin clings very very closely it entangles us it ambushes us it encircles us it entraps us to run the race that is set before us you must deal with your sin you must deal with all your sins even even the seemingly little and insignificant ones as if there were seemingly little and insignificant sins the sooner you repent the sooner you turn from your sin and turn to the

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Lord God the sooner you can start running again JC Ryle remarked sinful habits have long roots sin once allowed to nestle in your bosom will not be turned out at your bidding habits are like stones rolling downhill the further they roll the faster and more ungovernable is their course habits like trees have strengthened by age a boy may bend an oak when it is a sapling a hundred men cannot root it up when it is a full -grown tree custom is the nurse of sin beloved do not nurse your sin do not take your sin lightly do not take your little sins lightly because your little sins have allowed will continue to grow and will most assuredly become grander and more prominent in your life these sins will not be easily turned out late repentance is seldom true do not develop a peaceful coexistence with your sin for it will restrict your running in the race and you will drift away you will drift off course if you look to anything or anyone else besides the

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Lord Jesus Christ you will drift this is the end result of those who lack love this is the end result of those who lack love for the

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Lord God and love for others the certain persons at Ephesus drifted spiritually because they lack love but also because they were filled with arrogance and pride look at verse 7 certain persons by swerving from these have wandered away into vain discussions desiring to be teachers of the law without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions here we see the motivation behind the certain persons at Ephesus they desired to be teachers of the law they had a strong desire a resolve a settled determination to be teachers of the law the term desiring in verse 7 explains the preceding statement in verse 6 in other words certain persons wandered away into vain discussions because of their desire to be teachers of the law now there was nothing wrong with them wanting to be teachers of the law the problem was their lack of knowledge the problem was their ignorance they were teaching without understanding either what they were saying or about the things which they made confident assertions these men were filled with confidence and pride in their assertions their teaching was absolute it was authoritative it was dogmatic it was domineering but it was wrong it was a different doctrine it was erroneous doctrine arrogance and ignorance are a dangerous mix the fruit of which is disastrous to the church first Timothy six four he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing he has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words which produce envy dissension slander evil suspicions and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth imagining that godliness is a means of great gain why would these certain persons desire to be teachers of the law if they had no understanding or no knowledge of the law why even bother well it was because their interest was not in the law itself but rather the prestige the reputation and the financial gain of being a teacher of the law their desire was to be known as a teacher of the law and to receive the respect and benefits of such a position to them the position of teacher was merely a means of prideful gain

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Paul warned Timothy about these motivations in chapter 6 verses 9 through 10 but those who desire to be rich fall into that into temptation into a snare into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierce themselves with many pangs desiring to be teachers of the law but without understanding without knowledge resulted in temptation which then became a snare leading them to many other senseless and harmful desires eventually plunging them into ruin and destruction to whom are mentioned by name in chapter 1

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Hymenaeus and Alexander holding faith in a good conscience by rejecting this some have made a shipwreck of their faith among whom are

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Hymenaeus and Alexander whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme the pulpit is no place for an arrogant person the pulpit is no place for an ignorant person the pulpit is no place for those who seek the applause and the praise of men the pulpit is no place for those who desire to get rich and gain financially through the work of the ministry this is why teachers are given a stern and sobering warning in the book of James James 3 1 not many of you should become teachers my brothers for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness here

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James is giving a command to the church not many of you should become teachers unless the

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Lord God has called you to preach and teach don't do it because those who preach and teach will be judged with greater strictness those who preach and teach will be judged with a greater condemnation those who preach and teach will incur a stricter wrath the authority to preach and teach comes with greater and higher accountability and if you're preaching and teaching does not produce a love for the

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Lord God nor a love for others then it is vain empty and worthless it will be judged with greater strictness preachers and teachers who proclaim false and erroneous doctrine are conceited and arrogant they are engulfed in their own smoke blinded by their own pride and ignorance in their own self -worth and self -importance they set themselves and their teaching as superior to the

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Lord God superior to the teaching of the Word of God false teachers understand nothing even though they make confident and convincing assertions they have a complete lack of understanding regarding the eternal things of the

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Lord God and it's not surprising that their teaching produces unhealthy interests in controversial questions and disputes their teaching brings about envy strife abusive language evil suspicions and constant friction beloved be on guard against false teachers be on guard against false teaching do not be like a child tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine by human cunning by craftiness and deceitful schemes instead be grounded in the truth love the

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Lord God and love others this is the aim of our charge love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith don't be like the certain persons at Ephesus do not swerve from these things because you will wander and drift away from the truth if you do let's pray our

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Father we thank you for the truth of your word and we thank you for the Holy Spirit who teaches us your truth

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Lord apart from the spirit we would all be lost we would have no understanding but you've given us a truth teacher who resides within us and Lord you've given us men and women over the years who have been wonderful teachers who have helped equip us and we pray

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Lord that we would always keep our eyes fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ and that we would evaluate all teaching through the lens of the scriptures through the lens of sound doctrine we pray

57:52

Lord that we would not be led astray by false teaching we pray Lord that our church would be protected from false teachers from false teaching that we would always pursue a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith