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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/brandon-doll/the-need-for-sound-doctrine/
Turn, please, to the book of 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy, and we're going to read in chapter 4. I'd like to carry on a few thoughts about doctrine. Doctrine. 2 Timothy in chapter 4. We're going to read together at verse number 1.
I charge thee, therefore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word, be instant in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts, they shall heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables.
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. Now to the Old Testament, please. First of all, the book of Isaiah. And we're going to get some examples of what this looks like when men will not endure sound doctrine.
Isaiah in chapter 30. We'll read together at verse number eight. Isaiah 30, verse eight. Now go, write it before them in a table and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come forever and ever, that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord, which say to the seers, see not.
And to the prophets, prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits. Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.
Wherefore, thus saith the Holy One of Israel, because he despised his word and trust in oppression and perverseness and stay thereon, therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach, ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.
Now to Jeremiah chapter 10. Jeremiah chapter 10, and this really is a verse that's been speaking to my own heart. I just want to take four words at verse number 24. Oh Lord, correct me. Oh Lord, correct me.
Chapter 11, verse 20. But oh Lord of hosts that judges righteously and tries to reigns in the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them for unto thee have I revealed my cause. Therefore, thus saith the Lord of the men of Anathoth that seek thy life saying, prophesy not in the name of the Lord that thou die not by our hands.
In other words, we don't want to hear anything from the Lord or we're going to kill you. Therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, behold, I will punish them. The young man shall die by the sword. Their sons and their daughters shall die by famine.
And book of Amos, please. Chapter seven. We're taking the time to read these three prophets just that we might understand that what Isaiah was realizing wasn't just common to him as a messenger of God.
Jeremiah, the same thing. Amos, chapter seven, verse number 10. Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel. Now you remember that Bethel in the Old Testament is house of God. So we're going to apply this to the assembly today.
Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam, king of Israel saying, Amos has conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.
Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah and there eat bread and prophesy there. But prophesy not again anymore at Bethel for it is the king's chapel. It is the king's court.
And the Lord will bless to us the reading of his precious word. In the last days, men shall not receive sound doctrine. And our brother Joel has explained the doctrine to us. It is the foundation for what we believe and why we believe it.
And I would just like to just simply look very practically today at my life as it's been correcting me and hopefully the Lord will apply it to whoever needs to hear it this morning. I've been exercised this fall as I've been going through the Old Testament and the different things that trip up God's people.
The different things that cause hindrance to our growth and hindrance to our blessing. And first of all, I've been looking at it for me. And what is it there that is hindering my communion with the Lord and the beauty of his presence?
And in Heightsville, you might remember, we looked at the idea that the people of Israel were all about ritual and there was no reality to their life. They were going through all the motions and they were going through all the right things, but it was for a wrong way and it was for a wrong motive.
And there was nothing for God in the way that they lived and the way that they represented God on this earth. And today, I would just like to simply look at the doctrine. The doctrine. The nation of Israel, as we've read together, has come to the point in their existence that they don't want to hear from God.
They're not interested in what God has to say. They're not interested in the holiness of God. They're only interested in how they feel. For in Isaiah, they said, "'Prophesy unto us smooth things.'". We just want to hear things that make us comfortable.
We want to hear things that put us at ease, that put us at rest. That's what they were interested in. And they were not interested in what God had to say. Jeremiah, it says there, "'Prophesy not in the name of the Lord unto us.'".
They weren't interested in the authority of the Lord. They weren't interested in what He had to say. Could that ever happen to me? Could that ever happen to you? And in Amos, Amaziah, the priest of all people, he says, get out of here, we don't want to hear that in the house of God.
Could it ever happen in your assembly? You know, we get all taken up with the events of the world and they used to scare me to death. I find them rather interesting now, trying to change my attitude, trying to change my outlook.
And in fact, if we would get rid of the news, we might do better. But listen, what's the most important thing that's going on in this life for you? It's your personal relationship with God. It's not what's going on in Israel today.
That is the most significant thing in this world for you. It is your personal communion with the Lord, it is your personal relationship with Him. And then next, it's our relationship with Him in assembly capacity.
And what's taking place out there is all according to the program of God and the timing of God and the providence of God. But really, the only thing that you can affect, the only thing that you can change is what's going on inside of you.
And how is that going to change? It's going to be by the Word of God and the power of the Spirit of God. And these people, we're not interested in that. Do not prophesy unto us right things. Tell us deceits.
And you look around at the great religious, ecclesiastical movements in our country and perhaps the world, and what is it? It's that where people, preachers and pastors are making their congregation feel good.
And they're feeling good and they're promising them blessing and they're promising them prosperity. And there they are, they're salving the conscience of the people. It's a massive movement. But when it comes to the smooth words that the people want to hear, three things that smooth words can never do.
Smooth words can never convict the soul of sin. Whether it's a believer or an unbeliever, to give men and women the smooth words that they're longing to hear. Those that puff up their flesh and pat them on the back, they can never cause conviction of sin.
And so as God's people here today, we're not interested in that. We want to know when we need to be corrected. And what a stumbling stone it is for us. That as we listen to the ministry and we try to read the word of God, and we're only seeking to prop up our lifestyle and we're not interested in change.
In Jeremiah, in chapter 10, where we read the cry is this, Lord correct me. I don't know what you come to this conference looking for today, but I come that the Lord might correct me. And if there's something that is in the way that it might be taken out of the way.
But in Isaiah's day, they were not interested. Prophesied deceits. Can you imagine? The people would say, tell us lies intentionally. That's the state of the nation of Israel. We would rather hear lies than the truth.
Jeremiah's day, prophesy not in the name of the Lord. And we don't want to hear a word from the Lord. We're not interested in his authority. We're not interested in what he has to say. We do not want to acknowledge his Lordship.
And what about you and I today? He is the Lord. He has supreme authority. He will always have and be the supreme authority. But those people, they didn't want to hear anything in that name. That name is a despised name today, isn't it?
It is a rejected name. And yet there are a few of God's dear people here and there that seek to gather in that name. And when we profess to gather in his name, what are we saying? That he has authority here.
That he is exalted here. That he reigns here in this local gathering. He is the Lord. He is the Lord. It's the practical thought about the house of God. The priest. Not in Israel. You go to Judah. We don't want to hear it in Israel.
We want, just go to Judah. Go down there and give your messages. Go down there and give your visions. But not in the house of God. Could that happen in your assembly? Could it happen in your own soul?
It could. And it has. And it will happen again if we're not careful. The house of God is a delightful place. The assembly where God has chosen to place his name in the presence of the Lord Israel is unlike any other place.
But the time will come. Yea, the time is here when men will refuse sound teaching. I want to be very practical. I want to be very pointed with the help of God. Not to offend anyone, but to challenge, first of all, those of you that are saved and you're not in assembly fellowship.
And we're going to go right up the list. You're sitting in the back seat and you're observing the Lord's people and you're observing the breaking of bread and you think it's a nice, you think it's a lovely idea, it's a lovely concept, but there's a few things that you would do different.
When it comes to God's assembly, God has given us the pattern, right? And a pattern is used to reproduce the same thing multiple times. And so it's God's desire, it's God's will that there would be local assembly church gatherings in every place that look the same because they're according to the pattern.
I was in a place not too long ago and there were some things that were happening and I got called in by the elders and I thought, oh no, I'm in trouble now. And they asked me what I thought about a certain thing that was being introduced in that assembly.
And I said, brethren, God's pattern is like a recipe, okay? You sisters know about a recipe. What do you put on your little recipe card when some kind person says that was a delicious dish? Can I get your recipe?
What do you put on it? Do you go through the time and the hassle to put everything on that little index card that shouldn't be in that recipe? It's nonsense. If you put those things on there, the list would never end.
But what you put on that pattern card, on that recipe card is only the things that you want in that recipe. And if that person wants to truly and honestly reproduce that, they will only put the things that are on that recipe card.
Now, I've had some of your sisters' chocolate chip cookies and they're absolutely delightful. And some of you put a little bit of almond extract in some of your, that's the best, right? But there are all sorts of things that could go in chocolate chip cookies that are healthy, that are good for you, but they're not on the recipe.
Now, if you start putting celery in your chocolate chip cookies, we're gonna have to have a chat. It doesn't belong there, right? That's not gonna be something that people are going to reproduce. And so when it comes to the local assembly, dear young people here, whether you're in the back seat and you're looking on and you're thinking, there could be a little different.
If I was in charge, I would do that just a little bit different. I might bring this in. Or this assembly gathering, I can see the idea of it, but it could be more exciting. Could be more exciting. God has given us the pattern to the local assembly only to bring things into the local assembly that are on the pattern.
Now, if they're not in the pattern and they're good, they still don't belong. They still don't belong. There are things in Christian living that are good, that are not found in the local assembly. Why would that be?
Because God has designed the local assembly to bring him the most glory. God has designed the local assembly and given us the pattern because this is how he wants it, plain and simple. We cannot add to its value by adding things.
We cannot add to its effectiveness by adding things. We cannot add to its function in any way by adding, and rather we take away from the glory and the wisdom of God. So it is a recipe. It's a recipe to be followed.
And so the smooth words that people want to hear is they want change to make them either feel more accepted or to feel more important by bringing their ideas in. Right? So smooth words can never convict the conscience.
Smooth words can never slay a sin. Smooth words are never, if there's no conviction, then there's gonna be no change. And there's no conviction when I've got sin in my life and people are, people, did you know that in many places and in many assemblies, assembly discipline is going out the window?
And the idea that these dear people bring in, I'm not even gonna call them brethren, these dear people are bringing in is it is not necessary for assembly discipline in this day and age in which we live.
That is God's pattern. And just to say something to get you to think, if you know someone who's been put under assembly discipline has been restored to the local assembly, I dare say probably 100 of them would say it was the best thing that ever happened.
Can't hide sin in the assembly. Can't coddle sin in the assembly. Smooth words will never slay a sin. The smooth words will never set apart the Lord in our gathering. They'll never magnify Him. They'll never set Him apart in His holiness.
In His beauty. And in His righteousness. And in His glory. And in His majesty. Smooth words won't do that. They can't do that. And so therefore we're missing the whole point of the whole thing. And they said speak unto us smooth words.
Prophesy not again anymore in the house of God. Why? Because it's the king's chapel. That floored me when I read through there a couple weeks ago. Because the house of God belongs to the king. It's the king's chapel.
And that chapel means a consecrated, a holy place. A house. And that once was, which once was the house of God, now is the king's chapel. And the king is an interesting study. As God prophesied in Deuteronomy, in chapter 17 I think, or is it 14 and 17?
It doesn't matter. Anyway, He says that people are gonna want a king when they come into the land. And what happens, the people come into the land and in Samuel's day they want a king. And they wanted a man to rule over them.
God was doing a perfect job. But they wanted a man. And they wanted a king. And God says, this is to Samuel, the king is gonna take their young people. The king is gonna take his 10%. The king is going to take their lands.
Give him a king. And that which was supposed to be for God out of the willingness of their heart as they would give the firstfruits. And God would be the judge over them in righteousness. And they wanted a man.
And now by this point, the house of God is called the king's chapel. It's called the king's court, the king's house. God's been kicked out of His own house. And it's no wonder that they're off into captivity.
And the day will come where men will not receive, endure sound doctrine. What about older ones? We've talked about the young people. Observing. Can I just say this? If you're in a scripturally gathered local assembly and you're seeing things and you're thinking about joining that assembly, but there's things that you would like to change, go talk to the overseers of that assembly first.
Before you're even asked to be in the assembly. And ask them why is that not here? But let me bring it a little deeper. For those of you that have been in an assembly fellowship, what is it that you'd like to change?
I was in a place not too long ago and I overheard a sister saying to someone that, and I'm not gonna say what it is she wanted to bring in, but she said, I can't wait to be the first sister to do that.
Wasn't part of the pattern. Spent in the assembly for years. What about, who's scanning the audience here, overseers? I'm guessing 10 to 12 assembly overseers or representatives are here, at least. What is it that you'd like to change?
Because where does the false teaching come in? It creeps in unawares, right? The teaching brethren here today, anything that we would like to see changed. And the overseers here today in Blue River are responsible for the content of the doctrine here taught.
And if we say anything wrong, it's their responsibility to tell us and rebuke us. But why are we not content? The problem that's in here. That's the problem. You see, oh Lord, correct me. And the doctrine is given for correction, isn't it?
It's given by inspiration of God and is profitable for instruction, for correction, exhortation, all these things, but the time has come. We have itching ears, some of us here today, and we're just looking for someone to agree with us.
Lord, correct us that we'd be looking to agree with God and to bow to His doctrine and bow to the Scriptures for the preservation of individuals and the preservation of the local assembly. Lord, speak to us today, wholesome words, sound doctrine for His honor and glory.