I'd like to ask you to turn with
me, if you would, to 1 Timothy. We've been going through this
book, expounding from this letter,
expounding from Scriptures, the things concerning Christ as our
Lord had taught the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Now, obviously,
we're working with the New Testament, and this is a letter from Paul
to Timothy. But just as the Lord taught those
two disciples on the road to Emmaus the things concerning
Him, using the Old Testament at that time, our Lord does the
same with each and every one of His children throughout all
time. We must be all taught of God as we read in our Bible study
this morning. And we will. God's people will
be taught of the Lord. We sing the words, More about
Jesus let me learn, More of His holy will discern, Spirit of
God my teacher be, Showing the things of Christ to me, Hearing
His voice in every line, Making each faithful saying mine. Our
Lord says, My sheep, hear my voice. Not maybe, not might,
not possibly. He says they hear my voice. Would you join me in chapter
3 beginning at verse 1. 1 Timothy chapter 3, verse 1. This is a true saying, if a man
desire the office of bishop, he desireth a good work. Paul
is writing to Timothy, instructing Timothy on the duties of pastor. Timothy has proved himself in
the faith over the years. We don't ever put anybody in
a position of leadership that has not proven themselves over
a time to be faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. But Timothy
is new as a pastor. And Paul is instructing him in
the ways of a pastor. This is a true saying. He said,
if a man desires the office of a bishop, he desires a good work.
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant,
sober, and good, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to
teach, not given to wine, no striker, not greedy, a filthy
looker, but patient, not a brawler, not covetous, one that ruleth
well his own house, having his children in submission with all
gravity. For if a man know not how to
rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of
God? Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride, he fall
into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must have
a good report of them which are without, lest he fall into reproach
and the snare of the devil. Likewise must the deacons be
grave, not double-tongued, not given too much wine, not greedy,
a filthy lucre. the mystery of the faith in pure
conscience. Holding the mystery of the faith
in pure conscience. Folks, all of God's word is important. There's nothing in this book
that is not truth and not important to consider. All of God's instructions are
important, but without faith, everything
else we read in this book is meaningless. Israel heard the Word of the
Lord, but they heard it without faith,
and therefore it was meaningless to them, and they perished in
the wilderness. I once told my son, this faith, before I start that,
this faith, this faith is a mystery and it is a mystery to the world.
I once told my son the mystery and the joy of having a child,
a baby, your own blood born. And I told him, I said, It doesn't
matter how I describe this to you. It doesn't matter what words
I can use to explain to you the wonder, the beautiful wonder
of your child coming into this world and holding that child
for the first time. The Lord blessed me in my days. It was right on that cusp where
most men didn't go into the hospital with their wives. I think my
brother Lee was there for a second, but I don't think he was there
for his first. I think that was when they told the dads, nope, you
go wait outside and we'll call you when it's ready, when it's
done cooking. They allowed me to go in with
both of my children. And this side of heaven, folks,
there's nothing more beautiful than seeing your child come.
What a joy. My wife, who went through the terror, pain, comes with
childbirth. I remember her face, she was
red, she was sweaty, her hair was a mess. I'm not kidding,
there was one point she actually got off the bed, stood straight
up almost like a devil, and she told her grandma, get out! Totally
different Cathy, but as soon as that child came into this
world, wow, her face just lit up. And her smile was from ear
to ear. And Dad was standing there going,
whoa. Look at that. That's how I kind of explain
this to my son. Now, he's had two children. And he came to me afterwards,
and he says, Dad, I know what you mean. You were absolutely
right. I had no idea with that explanation
what you were talking about until I experienced it myself. Faith. Faith is something that we can talk about. We can
explain it. We can use God's Word. We can do just like the leaders
of Israel did, preaching the Gospel to Israel, but without
faith. Without the experience of faith.
You will not understand these words. Words cannot reveal the
joy it must be experiencing. The world does not know this
faith. And though we explain the importance of it, the necessity
of it, the origin of it, the world will not understand it.
Now let's be very clear about something. Faith does not save. Christ Jesus the Lord is the
Savior of His elect. Salvation is of the Lord from
beginning to end. But one who is saved must have
faith. In the book of John 3.14 we read
this, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. that whosoever believeth,
whosoever has faith in Him should not perish, but have eternal
life. That's God's Word. Whosoever believeth, whosoever
trusts, whosoever has faith. Turn over to Ephesians chapter
2 if you would. And let's start with where does
this true faith originate from? Scripture tells us that we come
into this world spiritually dead in trespasses and sin, right? It also tells us that the spiritual
things of God are enmity to our natural state of mind. That means
that everything that is read in this book, that is written
in this book about the Lord Jesus Christ is enmity against the
natural man. We come into this world, we don't
care about what this book says and its truths, we want to make
it to say what we want it to say. That's why there's so many
different religions in the world today. You go back to the Bible
Belt in Tennessee and Kentucky, and I've shared this with you
before, when Kathy and I were driving back there to go to Don
Fortner's conference, Bill was on the phone with me at times,
talking on the cell phone, and he could go on the GPS and he
says, look, there's a big old church on the corner up there,
right above you. He was doing that street thing, you know,
that live GPS thing. That's pretty neat stuff. But
then he'd say, oh, wait a minute, there's another church on the
other corner, right across the street. There's this church on
all four corners. And they're all some kind of
a Baptist church. There are so many religions because people
make God's Word to fit their own ideas. And they do it because
the truth of God's Word is enmity to the natural mind. The things
of God don't make sense to the natural man. The truths of God
go against all that we can think of, all that we know. Well, that
means that the truths of God cannot be seen by the natural
man, can it? There are none that search after
me. The heart is desperately wicked,
our Lord says. True faith, true belief in who
God is, What He has done, who He did it for, what He is doing
now, does not come naturally to any man, or woman, or child. It must be instilled by an outside
source. It's not something that we can
purchase. It's not something that we can think, you know what,
I'm just tired of all the troubles I have in this world, I'm going
to go to church, I'm going to start following God, and things
will get better. That's not the way it works at
all. Our Lord has to bring us to that point. It must be instilled by an outside
source. Are you with me in Ephesians
chapter 2? Look at verse 1. It says, And you hath He quickened,
and you hath He made alive, you who were dead in trespasses and
sin at one time, and in the remainder of that verse, wherein times
past ye walked according to the course of this world, according
to the prince and the power of the air, the spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past, our lives, our walk of life, that's
what conversation means there, the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
the children of wrath even as others. That's God's Word, folks. That's how we were. We were just like the world.
And if it wasn't for the mercy and the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, we'd still be right there just like the world. I am so thankful that my God
exercised His will. Because my will would have been
going down that same path. that I had walked for 40 years. But God, how I love to hear those words,
but God, who is rich in mercy for His great love wherewith
He loved us even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened,
made alive, made alive us together with Christ. By grace ye are
saved, and have raised us up together and made us to sit together
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come
He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves it is a gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast." See, that's the world. That's how
it's a mystery to the world. The world thinks that grace is
something that they have earned, something that they have received
by doing something. Exercising their will, walking
down the aisle and saying a prayer. Some of them think that it's
because we got into this pool that somebody calls a baptismal.
And when I got in there, I was saved. God's people weren't saved
when they got into the pool. God's people were saved before
the world ever began. The Lamb slain before the foundation
of the world, Jesus Christ the Lord, was seen as that Lamb before
the world was. Yes, He did have to become a
man. God did have to become flesh and walk this earth because He
had to fulfill that picture of the Lamb slain before the foundation
of the world. But God, for by grace are we
saved through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is a gift
of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. You give me
one little thing, Give me one little thing and I'll run with
that as me. The pride of John will just jump
right out and say, ha, look what I did. I know, because if you
play golf with me, you'll see. See how good John can play? I feel I've given my God all
the glory and so, so much. So, so much. If there is some
way that we could conjure up true faith, either by purchasing
it or earning it or by anything else that we could do, then we
would brag about our own work. How often have you been talking
to a so-called Christian and heard them declare the date that
they followed the Lord. Every single one of the men that
I work with, and I work in a very large place, over a hundred and
something people work at that place. Every single one I've ever talked
to about the Lord has told me one way or another, if they've
listened, if they wanted to talk to me about it, have told me
the date when they began to follow Christ. I began to follow the
Lord in 1920, or 1948, or 1950, or 19, or 2000, or whatever. I began, I started following
the Lord then, and I've been following Him ever since. It's all about I. Have you ever
heard anybody say, I found God? I'm a better person now. I don't
smoke. I quit drinking. I conquered
alcoholism because I found God. I conquered smoking cigarettes
because I found God. I decided to follow Jesus. True faith cannot be bought,
it cannot be earned, and it cannot be merited in any way. Look at
verse 8 again of this second chapter of Ephesians. For by
grace are you saved through faith, and then not of yourselves, as
it is a gift of God. By the grace of God, He saves
us through faith. What is this mysterious faith
that Paul is telling Timothy about? It's the faith that God's
people have. A faith that leads the people
of God to sing out these words, Sovereign Grace, Salvation is
of the Lord. Turn over to Romans, if you would,
chapter 10. This faith is strange to the
wise of this world. They cannot comprehend it. It
doesn't make any sense to them. How can you say that I'm dead?
How can you say that I'm a sinner? How can you say that there is
no righteousness in me? I do this. I give to the poor. I go to church on Sundays. Remember
the rich young man who came to Jesus? And he said, Lord, I've
done all that. I've done all the things of the
law since I was a child. And the Lord says, give all that
you have away and come follow Me. And he walked away sad. They say, I do this. They say,
I don't do that. Or I am this, or I am that. Our
faith goes against the wisdom of this world. In 1 Corinthians,
you don't need to turn there, I'll read it for you. 1 Corinthians
1, verse 18, we read, For the preaching of the cross is to
them that perish foolishness. Did you catch that? The preaching
of the cross. that the sovereign God of all
creation, He who knows every hair on your head, went to the
cross and died for the sins of His people. And that perfect
blood that was shed on that cross, that perfect payment for all
the sins of His people throughout all of time, is so perfect that
the payment was made perfectly and it cannot be taken away. But unto us which are saved,
it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise, and I will bring to nothing the understanding
of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For
after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not
God. It pleased God by the foolishness
of the preaching, of preaching to save them that believe. For
the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom,
but we preach Christ crucified, and unto the Jews a stumbling
block, and unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called."
This is God's Word, folks. Not unto them which made the
decision for Christ, but unto them which are called. Both Jews
and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness
of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble are called. But God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise. And God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty. And base things of the world and the things that
are despised hath God chosen, yea, and the things which are
not to bring to naught things that are, that no flesh should
glory in His presence. But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus. who of God is made unto us wisdom,
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, that according
as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. The Lord the Spirit comes to
his chosen people. He comes to those All those whom
the Father hath given the Son shall come to them." Why? Because
the Spirit brings us. The Spirit of God puts us in
a position where we come to the church of God, to the building
where God's preacher stands before us and preaches the true gospel,
the true faith. and brings true faith to hear.
He takes the old stony heart the Spirit does, and He removes
it, replacing it with a new heart, a new spirit, a new nature, one
that believes the truths of God. Our Lord says we must be born
again. And He does this through the
preaching of His Word. Are you with me in Romans 10?
Look at verses 11-15. For the Scriptures say, Whosoever
believeth on Him shall not be ashamed, for there is no difference
between the Jew and the Greek. For the same Lord over all is
rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now here's the key
to that. Here's the key to this Scripture.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not
believed? And how shall they believe in Him in whom they have
not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good things. Now look at verse 17 of that
same chapter. We're talking about the mystery
of faith. So then, faith. This faith that
the world does not have. This faith. This true and saving faith cometh
by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. That's what we just
read. That's what we just read there.
How are you going to call upon the name of somebody that you've
never heard? How are you going to believe in that somebody? There's a different Jesus being
preached in the world, folks. A Jesus without power. One who has done all that he
can, and he's waiting for the people of God to come to him
and do whatever it is they're supposed to do. Whether it get
baptized, whether it be worship on a Saturday, no matter what,
you put whatever you want in there. That's a different Jesus. It's a different Jesus than the
Jesus of Scripture, for the Jesus in Scripture has all power in
heaven and earth under His feet. He is the Lord of all, the King
of kings. God-given faith comes by the
hearing of His Word, by the preaching of His Gospel. Now, a word of
warning. This God-given faith can diminish.
Now, I'm not saying God's people can lose their salvation. For
salvation is of the Lord. And no man can pluck the people
of God from the hand of the Father. That's Scripture. For He is greater
than all. But Abraham, the so-called father
of faith, became weak in the faith over time, didn't he? He
was promised a child. And somewhere before that child
came into his wife, at the age of 100, and I believe 90, I don't
know the exact ages there, but it's up in those areas, Sarah
gave Hagar her handmaiden to her husband. Abraham's faith
faltered, didn't it? I know God made me this promise,
but maybe I need to help out a little bit. Maybe I need to
do something. And he had Ishmael. Ishmael, the son of a bondwoman. Abraham, the so-called father
of faith, became weak. Not only does our Lord save us
through His Word, He sustains us. This preaching of the Gospel
is what is needed to continue in faith. Faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the Word of God. I came to this church for 20
years to hear about my Lord and Savior, because if I was out
in that world without hearing about it, I'm going to get weak.
I'm going to start thinking John can hit that ball right down
the middle of the fairway. I'm going to start thinking John
can do this. It's okay, I got it. I can handle
it. No, I can't. But my Lord can. And God's people put everything
at the feet of their Lord Jesus Christ into His hands, knowing
that He is the ruler of all it is. Turn over to 1 Peter chapter
1, if you would, please. We need to hear God's Word. God's Word is what sustains our
faith. I have said over and over again
that salvation is of the Lord, right? I've said over and over
again that God was manifest in the flesh. He shall be called
Emmanuel, God with us. He shall be called Jesus, for
He shall save His people. The blood of the living God was
shed on that cross just over 2,000 years ago, and it accomplished
exactly what it was shed for. He says, I purposed it, and it shall
come to pass. A God who rules over every detail
of creation, sovereign, is mystery to the natural world. This same
Christ who is the author and the finisher of our faith. Let's
begin reading in verse 1 of Peter chapter 1. And Peter, an apostle
of Jesus Christ to the strangers scattered throughout Pontius,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect called, chosen,
predestined, elect, according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, through sanctification, through the separation, through
the made holiness, through the setting apart of the spirit unto
obedience, and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
Grace unto you, and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled,
and that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you, who are kept
by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed
in the last time. wherein ye greatly rejoice, though
now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold
temptations." That's our life. Folks, we walk through this life,
and temptations are all around us. Not just temptations from
the world, but temptations that come from within. Temptations
to think, I can do this on my own. Temptations to think that
I do have this under control. Temptations to think I. Those temptations are around
us every day, whether we're out there in the world or whether
we're in our own closets. Aren't you glad that God has
made it a heaviness? A heaviness on our hearts? Look at verse 7. That the trial of your faith,
the trial of that faith the world does not understand, being much
more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried
with fire. That that faith, that precious
faith, might be found under praise and honor and glory at the appearing
of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen ye love, in whom though
now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable
and full of glory." When God comes to his people,
And gives us the faith to believe on Him. To trust on Him. And He tries that faith. Tries
that faith with trials and tribulations that we must go through in this
world. The trial and tribulation that
Jonah went through as he ran from God. And he came out the
other side singing, salvation is of the Lord. Praising our
Lord for the wonderful love that He has for His people. For this
one who calls himself Jonah. For this one who calls himself
John. Praising my Lord for what He's
done for me. Shedding His own blood. God became
a servant for my sake. For all the sakes of His people. He who gives us faith The faith
that we need, He tries it, He tests it, not because He needs
to know how strong it is, but so we will know how strong our
faith is. I shared with you last week about
my brother and how he looked to God's Word in Romans 8.28,
all things, and how he and his wife leaned on that Word for
their strength when their son was taken from him at an early
age. Pastor Gene has shared with us time and time again on how
his son died in his arms, and how the Lord brought him through
that test, through that trial, so that Pastor Gene and his wife
would know that their faith is in the right place. It's in the
Lord Jesus Christ. It is His will. Let His will
be done. Who are we to question the wisdom
of God? Where is your trust this morning?
Are you trusting in your flesh? Are you trusting in your decision?
Are you trusting in something that you have done? Folks, God's people have no confidence
in the flesh. I am so thankful for my Lord
being ruler of everything, being Lord of all. When He says, I
shall never leave you, nor forsake you. When He says, all that the
Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out. When He says, no man can pluck
them from my Father's hand, I have confidence in that. For I know, I know how this flesh
fails. I invite you all this morning,
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Look at John verses 1 through
6 with me if you would please, and we'll close. Actually, John 1, verse 6-16.
How are you going to know about this
One who gives faith? True, saving faith. How are you
going to know? Unless you hear. Verse 6 of John. There was a man sent from God,
whose name was John. The same came for a witness to
bear witness of the light that all men through Him might believe.
He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of the light.
That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh
into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made
by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and
His own received Him not. But as many as received Him,
to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on His name, which were born not of blood..." Catch
this next part. Look carefully at what we read.
This is God's Word. "...which were born not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God." And the Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bare
witness of Him and cried, saying, This is He of whom I speak. This is He of whom I speak. He that cometh after me is preferred
before me, for He was before me. And of His fullness have
all we received, and grace for grace." Folks, Paul is writing to Timothy
to tell him of this mystery. This faith that we have is a
faith, it's a God given faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
everything our Lord does is perfect. So when our faith is small, Small
as a mustard seed, remember this, it's still God-given faith and
perfect in His sight. Amen?