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Bro. Otis Fisher
First Timothy, the fourth chapter, Now the Spirit, it should read, but the Spirit, speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.
Don't fear, it won't be any of you, for I believe you are truly saved.
This apostasy, yes, yes, that's right,.
But it will not be what they call apostasy. Yes, you will come back. Never fear, you're not going to miss heaven. This apostasy began even in the time of Paul. Depart from the faith. This means to stay away from.
Depart means to stay away from it. It means not only that you have a point from which you're going, to which you're going, but also a point from which you came. Those who apostatize are the ones who have professed to believe the faith, but now they're departed from it.
So they just possessed it. They never were part of it. In a totally apostatized church, it'd be hard to tell. There cannot be an apostasy in paganism because they never possessed the faith. They never professed the trust in Christ the Savior.
You have. You're not going to apostatize. Now you may move, transfer, or whatever, and you may hear some teaching that's not exactly right, but you will know it. Apostasy comes within the organized church among those who profess to believe and then depart from it.
If they have departed, they were never one of you. No one can send away his salvation when he's truly in the Lord. There will be and now are heretical teachers who are misleading a great company of people.
There's a departure from the faith, not those in the faith. When the Church of Christ is raptured, they will be left behind, a totally apostate organized church. Just how close are we to it? We're very close.
Doctrines of devils. Church members will give heed to doctrines or teachings of demons. In 1 John 4, 1, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
The second verse, John 4, 2, Hereby know ye the spirits of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God.
So if you are in doubt about somebody, just find out how they stand with Jesus Christ. And this is that spirit of Antichrist, whereof you have heard that it should come, and even now already is in the world.
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. They're of the world, 1 John 4, 5. Therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
Any church that you find a dynamic preacher leading and the church is just growing by leaps and bounds, you need to check the preacher. 1 John 4, 6, We are of God. He that knoweth God heareth us, and he that is not of God heareth not us.
Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. You will know which is which. Just listen to them. If you want to practice, listen to some of them on television, especially Sunday morning.
It's almost hilarious. I think we're seeing a real manifestation of the spirit world today. But remember this, the best thing you can do to the devil is to show him a clean pair of heels. Don't get caught up in a study of demonism.
Second verse, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron. Now if you can imagine a hot, I used to use, before they had the guns, low heat, but I started work with the soldering gun, a big heavy thing, you plugged it into 110, and you had a big tip out here.
That's what I think of when searing. And it would sear. I've been seared many a time. The apostate will pretend to be very pious and very religious, very legalistic, very strict in control of the church.
They will little by little prevent the study of God's holy word and will force a study of man's word. And it will be so subtle. But believe me, if you have the truth, it'll make you humble. The first thing you find out is just how little you are and how little you know.
The things that characterize the visible church are found in 1 Timothy 1, 5,. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith unfeigned. It seems to me that this country, including the church, in quotation marks, is captivated by sex.
I have trouble even saying the word. The world in which I grew up, you didn't say that. You would think that the present world just discovered it. This is one of the devil's hot irons. There was a show on television on early, early morning, 2 or 3 o 'clock, and we wanted to see it.
It was about John Brown. But it was made years and years ago. I'm glad we had it on the recorder so I could skip over all of the ads. But I saw enough of them that would curl your hair. These are they who would throw poison in a common well that people drink from and all of them become sick.
3. Forbidding to marry, commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. You know of anybody that prevents their priest from being married.
They're in trouble, aren't they? Been in trouble for years. Forbidding to marry. These hypocritical priests pretending that a single life was much more favorable in devotion and to the perfection of Christian life.
Then you have the Mormons, on the other hand. They can't both be right, can they? This sentiment was held by the Essenes way back in Paul's time. A religious sect among the Jews, and we know that it has a favorite opinion among the Romanists, who oblige all of their clergy to live a single life.
Just look at them now. There are those who make certain rules about diet that are not found in God's word. They act as though the food could commend you to God. I'm here to tell you that food has nothing to do with it.
4. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving. Isms. They're not new. In Christ's day, there was a group down by the Dead Sea known as the Essenes.
When Christianity came along, they joined the Palestinian church and helped to produce most of the characteristics, the heresies, including the law of not marrying. 5. For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
Why do we give thanks before a meal, Russell? To sanctify it. What do you mean? Why do you want his blessing on it? You mean it can't be unless it's blessed? Why, David? Now, this is your preacher. Listen to him.
Oh, that's good. That's good.
All right, but this goes back even before that. God's what? All right. Well, it's plain to see you're not going to get what I want. So it won't make us sick? Well, you can still get sick. To give God thanks for our food removes the curse.
Everything was cursed. Everything. That's the only way we have of removing it. Opinions or answers that you all gave was right. But it goes back to the curse. He cursed the ground. I must admit, there's some food that...
Well, in order to stand the truth of the ground, a person...
Yes, because they come from a cursed ground. Everything was. The bananas, the oranges, potatoes, everything is under a curse. Well, I've got to admit there's some foods I cannot be thankful for, such as Brussels sprouts.
But we are to give thanks to God for the food and to remove the curse. You don't have to say that, but that's what you're doing. He contrasts again true doctrine not only with false and apostate doctrine, but also with all vain and curious wiles.
And we've all heard them. The world's full of them. What's the first one you think of, David? Well, he didn't think of any. It is not only necessary that the minister of the world be sound in doctrine, but also that his life is godly and religious in true serving of God.
Eight. For bodily exercise profiteth little. How many programs are there on the news encouraging you to enroll in this exercise program or that one? People have learned how to make a living enrolling us in that that we should be doing.
We've grown salt. When they left the farm, you grow salt. Everybody needs to be raised on a farm. For bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.
The bodily exercise is just for this life and some people to make money. Those gymnastic exercises so highly esteemed among the Greeks are but little worth. They are but short duration. They refer only to this life and to the applause of men.
But godliness has the promise of this life and the life to come. Practice it. It's profitable for all things and for both time and eternity. You're not going to have this body except in this life. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.
For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach because we trust in the living God who is the savior of all men, especially of those that believe. Now the savior of all men, especially of those that believe.
There's something pertaining to them in regard to salvation which does not pertain to all men. It cannot mean that he brings all men to heaven, especially those who believe. So you couldn't read it like that, for this would be nonsense.
And if he brings all men actually to heaven, how can it be especially true that he does this in regard to those that believe? So it can't be. Does it mean that he saves others without believing? This would be contrary to the uniform doctrine of the scriptures.
These things command and teach. Still our apostle proceeds to further direct and advise us to Timothy, both as to his preaching and his practice, both as his doctrine and his language. Russell, you're a preacher, you stand behind the pulpit, you lead a congregation, and then you go home and live like you want to.
Is that true? I hope you're living like you want to, but not like the world. Let no man despise thy youth. Timothy was a very young man. But be thou an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
And there you have it all. Be an example to man. Those of us that lead others have got to live a godly life. Act with all gravity and dignity which becomes your situation in the church. As you are in the place of an elder, act like an elder.
He was talking to Timothy. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. To the reading of the scripture to the people. In that age, they didn't have printed books. Printing hadn't come into existence yet.
The word was unknown to them except as they heard the preacher utter it. If a preacher was so minded, he could lead them any way he wanted to. Scripture had to be delivered by word of mouth. Fourteen, neglect not the gift that is in thee which was given thee by prophecy with the laying on of hands of the presbyte.
The gift that is in thee. Each one of us, each child of God has a gift. I don't know what it is. I don't claim to know. The spiritual gift imparted to Timothy by the Holy Ghost, by prophecy, in accordance with the preceding prophecies, which pointed him out as a man to be inducted into that sacred office.
Meditate upon these things. Give thyself wholly to them, and thy property may appear to all. That thy property may appear to all. Who knows what meditate means? To do what? To think on this? Well, that's a good place to start.
That's what it means. A cow goes out in the morning, grazes on the grass. Then she goes to the water, in our case the Holy Spirit, and drinks water. Then what does she do? She'll either stand or lay down in the shade of the summertime and recall that which she ate.
She'll bring it up into her mouth and chew it, and chew it, and chew it, and chew it, extracting all of the good from it, and then put it in another compartment. Her chewing of that, that she ate, is meditating.
A perfect example of meditate. Meditate on these things upon the train of events by which you have been led into the ministry. How many of you have gone back in your life and picked up the things that brought the next thing, and then everything brought the next thing?
Have you formed a trail through your life? If you haven't, I encourage you to do it, because you will see that you're exactly where you are right now according to the will of God. Of course, it can't be any other way.
But from our view, I did this and it resulted in this, and then I did something else and that resulted in something else. And form that train in your life back as far as you can remember. And upon the responsibilities and duties of the office, let your mind be deeply impressed with these things.
Make them the subject of profound and serious thought. So Paul admonishes Timothy to think about these things. You didn't just all of a sudden appear in a pulpit. You didn't all of a sudden grow in the knowledge of God.
It had to happen one little piece of information. Everything is first a thought. Everything. Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine continuing them, for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear you.
Seeing that the life of God remains and God prospers in your own soul, take heed to your doctrine that the matter be pure and orthodox and that you teach nothing for the truth but what God has revealed.
Now, you know nothing because I sat here and taught you. You know nothing because David stands up there and teaches you. You know nothing of anybody, any place, any time, anything. Because whatever you know, it was revealed to you.
You think you have learned certain things because of my teaching, not because of my teaching at all. You sat and you listened and you understood something. If you have understood anything today and a teacher looks for that, the Holy Spirit's at work in you right then.
It's a great, great life and one to be envied of. Let's stand and be dismissed. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity you've given us. We thank you for this word that you have given us. Let it stay with us.
Let us go out and meditate on your word in the name of Christ. Amen. Amen.