Exhortations For Believers

Q: What does the Bible say about grace, mercy, and peace?

The Bible teaches that grace, mercy, and peace come from God through Jesus Christ and are essential for salvation. In 2 Timothy 1:2, Paul opens his letter with the words 'grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.' Grace refers to the unmerited favor of God through which we receive salvation as a gift, while mercy signifies God's compassion in not giving us what we deserve, such as judgment for our sins. Peace is the tranquil state of our souls, assured by our reconciliation with God through Christ's atonement. These concepts are foundational to the Christian faith, highlighting that our salvation is solely rooted in God's grace, mediated by Christ.

Q: How do we know that salvation is by grace?

The Bible clearly states that salvation is a gift from God, not based on our works, which is foundational to sovereign grace theology. The doctrine of salvation by grace is emphasized in passages such as Ephesians 2:8-9, which declares that it is by grace we have been saved through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. This principle is central to sovereign grace, affirming that God chooses to save whom He wills, independent of human merit or effort. In 2 Timothy 1:9, Paul mentions that God saved us 'not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace,' reinforcing the reality that our salvation is entirely a result of God's sovereign will and divine grace.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to stir up the gift of God?

Stirring up the gift of God ensures that believers actively engage their faith and maintain their spiritual fervor. In 2 Timothy 1:6, Paul exhorts Timothy to 'stir up the gift of God which is in you.' This is important for Christians because it encourages believers not to become complacent or indifferent in their faith. The Holy Spirit bestows gifts upon believers to empower them for service, and these gifts require cultivation and active use. By stirring up these gifts, Christians can rekindle their zeal for the Lord and be effective witnesses for His glory. This exhortation serves as a reminder that our faith is dynamic and must be actively exercised and expressed, contributing to both personal growth and the edification of the church.

Q: Why shouldn't Christians be ashamed of the gospel?

Christians shouldn't be ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. In Romans 1:16, Paul declares that he is not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. The gospel reveals God's righteousness and His plan for redemption through Christ's sacrificial death and resurrection. For Christians, embracing and proclaiming the gospel is crucial, as it reflects their faith in the saving work of Jesus. Being unashamed of the gospel also serves to glorify God and to encourage others to seek salvation. As believers, they are called to share this transformative message boldly, knowing that it is the means by which God draws people to Himself.

Q: How does God empower believers?

God empowers believers through the Holy Spirit, granting them confidence, love, and a sound mind to live out their faith. In 2 Timothy 1:7, Paul explains that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. This empowerment comes from the Holy Spirit, who equips believers to stand firm in their faith, proclaim the truth of the gospel, and overcome fears associated with living a Christian life in a world that may oppose their beliefs. The power mentioned here reflects God's ability to sustain and strengthen His people, while love encourages compassionate interactions with others, and a sound mind provides wisdom and clarity in decision-making. Together, these elements enable believers to boldly fulfill their calling in Christ.

Second Timothy chapter one. This letter was written. To a
young. Preacher. And pastor. Named Timothy. Is written by. The elder. And apostle Paul. shortly before he was beheaded
for preaching the gospel. These are truly the dying words
of a dying man. And we often quote Baxter's old
saying, I preach as one that may never preach again, as a
dying man to dying men. And this letter is truly that.
As he said later on, I'm ready to depart. The time of my departure
is at hand. And these are exhortations to
this young Timothy. And I would to God they would
touch another young Timothy, or old for that matter. And five
exhortations here, if you are taking notes, I will point each
one of them out to you very clearly. Let's begin with verse one. Let's
go through these verses. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ
by the will of God, as everything is by the will
of God. constantly reminds us of that.
It is not of him that will it. It is not of man's will, but
all things are of God, who works all things after the counsel
of his own will. He chooses to save whom he will,
and he chooses his minister, and Paul knew that. And he said,
by the will of God, according to the promise of life which
is in Christ Jesus. That short line declares the gospel, that life,
the promise of life, is in Christ Jesus. As John said, John said,
he said, this is the record that God hath given to us eternal
life, and this life is in his Son. It's in Christ. He that
hath the Son hath life. Verse 2, he addresses young Timothy,
to Timothy, my dearly beloved son, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ
Jesus our Lord. The apostle begins Nearly every
single epistle with these words. Grace, mercy, and peace, and
this is where everything begins. Everything is by the grace of
God, everything is because of the mercy of God, and we have
peace with God because of the grace and mercy of God through
Christ. It's from God and it's through
Christ. Grace, these three words describe the gospel. If I don't
get any further, In verse two. I'll be disappointed, but you
will hear the gospel grace, mercy and peace, grace, we're talking
about. Grace. Salvation is by growth. Salvation is a sovereign undeserved
gift, that's what grace means, it's a gift. It's not earned,
it's not works or grace is not great. If it works, then it's
no more great. But if it's grace, it's it's
no more work. Well, what is it salvation by
grace, sovereign grace? He said, I'll be gracious to
whom I will, not who will let me, but whom I will. I'll be
gracious. Thank God he's gracious, but
he's sovereign with it. That's his divine right. Sovereign grace. And it's an
undeserved gift. Everything we have. Especially
salvation is an undeserved fear. And mercy. Mercy, mercy means
not getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we don't
deserve. Salvation, everything's about
great. We don't deserve anything. Mercy
is not getting what we do deserve. So the wages of sin is death.
Condemnation. Judgment. Hail, but mercy is
not getting that. Mercy. Is us being spared what
we deserve? Why? Because God spared not his
own son. He sent his son to hell. He punished
his son in our stead. He made him to be sin for us
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. Grace, mercy. is for guilty sinners. Mercy
is for guilty sinners. Not come to call the righteous,
but sinners. And he's got a good word for
sinners. Mercy. And peace. Peace from God, he
said. Peace from God the Father and
Christ Jesus our Lord. This thing of peace, you see.
God is angry with the wicked every day. God hateth all workers
of iniquity. The wrath of God abides only
on God's Well, that's me by nature, ungodly, a sinner, a worker of
iniquity. But God, who's rich in mercy,
sent his son and chastised him with a chastisement that was
due me. And by his stripes, I have peace. I'm healed. The chastisement
of our peace was laid on him. and by his stripes. He made peace
by the blood of his cross. Men and women don't make peace
with God. Only Christ can make peace betwixt
a holy God and a sinful man. Peace from God. He's the one
that sends it. And Christ, he's the one that
obtained it. That's the gospel in three words. from God, who purposed it, from
Christ, who purchased it. Read on. I thank God, he said,
verses 3 through 5. Paul is reminiscing here, in
tearful reminder and reminiscing. Verse 3 through 5, I remember
he said, you, in prayer, night and day, and I want to see you,
verse 4, greatly desiring to see you. And remember that tearful
departure we had. I'd love to see you again so
that we both might smile, our tears turn to joy. Verse 5, When
I call to remembrance, unfeigned faith, real faith. Timothy was
a true believer, and Paul recognized it, and he thanked God. Verse 3, Thank God for that,
bound to give thanks to God, because it's all of grace, remember? All right, here's the first exhortation.
He's writing to this young man. He's writing to us. In verse
6, he says, Wherefore, I put thee in remembrance, that thou
stir up the gift of God which is in thee. Right there's the
first exhortation. Stir up the gift of God that
is in thee. By putting all of my hands and
this applies to us as well. Peter said over and second Peter
he said I want to stir up. Your pure mind. My way of remembering. You remember that I want to stir
up your mind to remember that. He said I want to stir up your
pure mind seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth
he said I want to stir up I'm writing you a second letter to
stir up your pure mind by way of remembering. And Paul is writing this young
man, he says, don't stir up the gift that is in thee. Stir you
up. Stir us up. We need stirring
up, don't we? We sang that hymn a moment ago.
Tendle a flame of sacred love in these cold hearts of ours.
Well, God who begins the fire. God who is fire begins this work
within the hearts of his people. It is a burning fire. Did not
our hearts burn within us? Those young disciples said on
that road. But sometimes they get like a
fire, and it turns kind of cold. Right? What do you do? First
thing, go when you're going to put another log on the fire,
what do you do first thing? You just throw a big old log
on there and hope it flames? What do you do? Get the poker
out. And you stir those embers up. Stir them up. That's what
we need. Kindle a flame in these cold
hearts of ours. Stir up the gift of God that's
in you. Every believer in here has a
gift of God in them. What's that? Faith in Christ. Christ in you, whose unspeakable
gift. It's the hope of glory. in you,
and that's what I want to do right now. This, Paul, I want
to stir you up, young and old, the gift of God that's in you. We get in a state of complacency. We get in a state of indifference. We get in a state of lukewarmness.
God warned of that, didn't he? Oh, how he warned of that. He
said, I'll spew you out of my mouth. Oh, Lord, stir me up. Don't spew me out, stir me up.
When you say that, don't spew me out, stir me up. Worldliness,
we get in a sense of worldliness, we get just settled down in this
vanity fair, don't we? Don't we? The enchanted ground,
we fall asleep, don't we? It's enchanted ground. Stir me
up, Lord. Set me back on the path. Look at verse 7. He says, God
has not given us the spirit of fear. Look over at Galatians
chapter 3 with me. Galatians chapter 3. Turn over
there. Sometimes believers get in such
a bad state, and it's due to so many things.
Listen to me. Oh my, Timothy, you out there,
listen to me. Sometimes believers get in such
a bad state, And it's due to so many things. It's all our
fault. We can't blame God. God is sovereignty, is spirit,
can we? It's all our fault. We get in a bad state and it's
due to so many things. Scripture says evil communications
will corrupt good manner. Who we hang out with, who we
listen to will corrupt us. Evil men and seducers. Deceive
the simple. A poor diet will get you in a
bad state moment. You don't eat healthy things,
you'll get in a bad state. Forsake the assembling of yourselves
together, that will get you in a bad state. A root of bitterness
that springs up will greatly trouble you and get you in a
bad state. Worldly influence, so many things. Look at Galatians
3 verse 1. He writes to these Galatians,
he said, who that, oh foolish Galatians, who? have bewitched
you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes
Jesus Christ hath been so evidently set forth, crucified among you. Who could influence you in any
way? Who could corrupt you in any
way? Look at verse 4. Have you suffered so many things
in vain? Over in chapter 5, he says this. You did run well. Who did hinder
you? Who. And he says whoever did this
whoever does this will they will bear judgment very good. Who he said there did you have
you suffered so many things in vain you know every believer
when they start out. When they start out they are
so zealous. For the truth for the gospel
and so gung-ho when they go out into
the workplace and they go to their families and they just
they do it perhaps all wrong and the wrong spirit and all
but nevertheless they're zealous for the truth they just they
think oh I believe this and why doesn't everybody believe it
and they just like Peter you know with a sword they just chop
people's want to chop their heads off but but their zeal is good
isn't it And we go out, and at first, you know, our friends got put out with us and all that,
and left us because of this truth, because our family, you know,
doesn't want anything to do with us anymore, and we're an outcast
in our family, and at work and all that, fellas abhorred you,
and people abhorred you. That's suffering for the truth's
sake. That's persecution for the truth's
sake. And he says here, have you suffered so many things in
vain? You slip into a state to where you've lost that
first love and that zeal and enthusiasm and you just kind
of meld in with a bunch. You don't want to be outcast
anymore. You're kind of tired of that
persecution and fear. Fear sets in. That's what he said over here
in the text. He said, God hasn't given us the spirit of fear.
Turn back to the text there. 2 Timothy 2. And Paul said in another place
there in Galatians, he said, you received, over in Galatians
4.14, he said, he said, you received me as an angel of the Lord. People receive the preacher as
a God-send, as an angel of the Lord, a messenger of the Lord. Oh, hang on his every word. In
the next verse, he says, What happened? What happened? That happened, doesn't it? It
happened. I don't want to stir you up. Kindle is playing God and given
a spirit here. Some lose their first love and
zeal because we stand alone and fear believers are alone. We stand alone. Sure, you're
the you're probably the only. How many years you've been there?
Go ahead. Woman can speak right now. How many years? Where you work, how many? Fifteen
years. You ought to know better by there
but now they believe or believe like you that you're in you stand
alone. And that will bring after a while.
You get tired of standing alone. You get tired of the persecution.
You won't be one of the guys I know I worked on the railroad
for nearly that long. I'll be one of the guys you know
I'm tired of this. Tired of eating lunch alone. Tired of this and
that. Stay and thank God you've got John and vice versa right.
Not everybody does, though. Not everybody does, and that
creates a spirit of fear sometimes, fear. No longer zealous for the
truth, and you lose friends. I remember all my friends, all
my old buddies that I grew up with. I lost them all. This is part of what Paul's talking
about. I've suffered the loss of all things. I don't have one
childhood buddy that right now I can call my friend. I mean
I grew up with these people. But I do count it, but loss.
Brother Excellency, I have a friend now, I stick closer than a brother. My brother, I was very close
to my brother, especially when I lost my oldest brother and
my other brother and I became bosom buddies, steadfast friends.
I've lost him now. We are estranged. We have no
relationship, do we, men? But I have a friend a stick of
closer than a brother. I got a brother now that's more
brother to me than my flesh and blood brother. You pray, people get afraid of
fear of influence, you know, influence. Well if I can make
a stand for the gospel I'm going to get that promotion and you
might not but oh the promotion in the end. Which one matters. Fear. Reputation you know. You reckon I got a reputation
in this town. Oh I got one all right. It ain't the kind I'd
like to have. But big deal. And some of you
the same way. Big deal. It's not they that are commended
by men that are accepted. It's with whom God command. Right? Verse 7. Read on. He said, God
has not given us a spirit of fear. Evidently Timothy, you
know, was like this to a degree. He says, Timothy, I'm going to
stir you up. Get out of this state that you're in. What's
your problem? God has given us the power of
God. Verse 7, not of fear, but of
power. What is power? What is power? What is the power of God? It's
the word. It's the word of his power. The
gospel, which is the word. God has given us the word of
his power. But nobody believes it. What's
the sense in Well, you didn't either at first, did you? I look
at young people in our congregation right now, and I look in their
faces and I think, boy, I tell you, it's hopeless. That's exactly
what my pastor may have said when he looked at my face, eighteen
years old. You know what they look like. power. Wherein does power lie? It's in the Word. It won't return
void. I'm declaring this Word, and
I'm going to leave it up to God, the Holy Spirit, who has it anyway.
I'm going to leave it up to Him, and He's given me this Word. So what are we going to do, Henry?
What can I do to save our children? Nothing. What can I do, Rebecca,
to keep our children away? They're going to be kept by the
power of God. What's going to turn them? What's
going to change them? Same thing turned and changed me, the gospel. So what are we going to do? We're
going to preach the gospel to them. They don't like it. They've
heard enough. I didn't like it either. I love
it now. But don't you fear losing them?
Yeah, in a way I do fear losing them, but God has promised. His
word won't return void, that that prodigal son may leave for
a time, but if he's God's, he'll be back. Only John, usually. That's my hope. So what am I
going to use? I'm going to use the same thing
my pastor used on me, that stirred this old cold heart up, that
turned this old young Timothy. It saved his prodigal son. Same
thing. See, if you kill a snake with
one stick, you can kill another one, right? The old saying. This is it. The power of God. And love. He says here, I do
want to love our young people. I do want to relate to our young
people. I want to be a friend to our
young people. I do. I want to relate to them. I don't
want them to look at me As somebody who just thinks he's better than
me I'm and all I want to relate to and all I want them to know
more than anything that not that I know doctrine but that I don't
care about. Because they don't care what
I know. And they're right. They don't care neither do your
friends neither do you your people you work with they don't care
how much doctrine you know if you're hard a hard day. Right. So Lord soft-boiled me. Love, meekness, considering thine
own self. I want to present the truth in
love. And that's where we go wrong in the beginning. Beat
people over the head with the truth. I want to get a little
bit of wisdom stand on how to use it. In meekness and spirit
of love. A sound mind. Look at it. Verse
7. God's given us a sound mind. I used to be out of my mind. Did you? I mean, a man doesn't
have the mind of Christ. A young person doesn't have the
mind of Christ. They're out of their mind. They're insane. They're insane. It's right. Don't know God, don't care, not
interested, not looking for Him. When he's angry with a married
man, he's insane. To ignore his Creator is insane. He's out of his mind if he can't
see the hand of God and all around him, how God is made. He's insane.
He's lost his mind. He's got Alzheimer's. He's forgotten
everything. Isn't that right? But that's how we ought to treat
people. People with Alzheimer's, we don't treat them like, you
know, you don't get mad at them. Well, maybe we do, but that's
our fault, isn't it? But we ought to treat them like
God treated us. Kindness. That right that good
advice and. Sound mind we got a sound mind
we're we're dealing with the insane. You know freedom is set by wife
and I work with the special. Special mentally retarded children
you know and there are times when I just want to say. Especially
one is about twenty five years old you know. But he's got a
mind of a five year old. That's the way we ought to treat
them. That's the way we ought to treat
them. Verse 8, here's the second thing. He says, Be not thou therefore
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. That's the second exhortation, which we dealt with
a little bit. Don't be ashamed of the gospel.
That's the testimony of our Lord, the gospel. We used to tell it. Believers,
at first, man, they tell everybody, everybody they come across, whether
they want to hear it or not, I remember standing toe-to-toe
with fellas. And it's not altogether bad.
At least the truth's going out. Don't be ashamed of the... What
do we have to be ashamed of, anyway? We've got a lot to be
ashamed of in ourselves. Oh my, we've glory in the gospel. Glory in it. He says, don't be
ashamed of the gospel and don't be ashamed of me, his prisoner.
See that? His prisoner. Paul lived in a
prison house. I live in a glass one. You know, I'm often ashamed to
be introduced as a preacher. I am. because of these fools
out there who call themselves preachers. I don't like to be
grouped with them. Preachers are the silliest, most
effeminate, how they're portrayed on TV and throughout the world
and all that. They're the most pitiful bunch
on the planet, aren't they? For people to first find out
I'm a preacher. I'm sure not ashamed of this
gospel. I'm not ashamed of this office. I magnify my office,
like Paul said in Romans 11. This is the greatest calling
on earth. I'm ashamed of it, but don't
you... I hope you're never ashamed to introduce me as such. I see it on the face of young
people. I've gone in where young people work, you know, and here
comes a preacher and it's almost like And that's what he's saying to
young Timothy. That's what he's saying. Don't be ashamed of me,
nor of the brethren, nor any of the brethren. Any of the brethren. Here's the third thing, verse
8. He says, Don't be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord,
be thou, here's the third thing, be thou partaker of the afflictions
of the gospel according to the power of God. Be a partaker of
the afflictions. Listen to me. I hope I listen
to me. Right now. I don't like. The. Persecution any more than you
do, not at all. But there's a blessedness. That
only comes through this persecution of the government. There's a
blessedness, there's a consolation of Christ that only comes because
of this persecution. He said, blessed are they that
are persecuted. There's a consolation, there's
a nearness, a closeness in a way that Christ reveals himself more
real and more close and more personally in time of persecution
than any other time. And I don't expect you to understand
that except But you go through it. When Stephen was being stoned. When Stephen was being stoned,
Henry. It'd be like you in your service
station, a bunch of fellas coming in there and grabbing rocks and
just going to beat your brains out. You one of them believers?
What do you believe, Henry? And you tell them. And they all,
and Roberta's standing over there, she loves you, she doesn't want
it to happen, but they're going to kill you. Not horrible. Can you think of
such a thing? That's what happened time and
time again. What did it say happened to Stephen
though at that very time when they grabbed rocks and they were
beating his brains out. What does it say? It says he
looked up to heaven and he said, He who normally is seated. He who normally is seated at
the right hand of the majesty on high stood up. Steven said,
I see him standing. The Lord was saying, I'm with
you. I don't think he felt a rock. Paul sitting down in prison.
You know I work at M.W. What a prison. I work at the
station. I have to drive this old truck
everyday. I'm so confined. the top of his lung. He knows
he's going to go die. Soon they're going to kill him.
He knows it. He said, I'm ready. I'm content. I'm happy. You see, there's a consolation. You see, Paul's trying to cheer
up Timothy. Timothy's free. Or is it like bound by fear? See, Timothy should have been
having the right palm to cheer him up, shouldn't he? No, it's
the other way around. Oh, who was it, William Cowper? He said, a prison would a palace prove
if he would dwell with me there. A palace, a toy would appear,
and a prison, a palace would prove if he would dwell with
me there. It's a consolation. It only comes with this persecution
for the gospel. John was on the Isle of Patmos.
I'm all alone. Oh, no. What did John say? What
did John say? Enoch walked alone. What happened
to Enoch? Well, one day he was headed to
the station, Henry, and he didn't make it. Noah. Lord, is it just us? Yeah,
no, you found grace. Keep pounding, no, keep driving,
Joe. Keep driving, Stan. Be thou partaker
of the afflictions of the gospel, because there's great reward. That's what he said in Matthew
5. Great is your reward for so persecuted they, the prophets.
We admire Elijah, don't we? We admire Jeremiah, don't we?
We admire Daniel, don't we? We admire these fellows, don't
we? We admire Paul, don't we? We want their faith, don't we?
What's it going to take? Be a partaker of the afflictions.
Is that right? I need that. Get it at ease in
Zion, don't we? Oh, he says it's the gospel.
Be a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the
power of God. It's the gospel of the power
of God. And this is what makes, this
is what brings the affliction. This is what brings the persecution.
This is why they're going to hate you for merely declaring
that God's God. that he has all power, not only
what men will let him do, but he has all power. Go out there
and say it. Don't be ashamed of it. Get on
the rooftop, he says, if it takes. Let them know it. Don't soft-soak
it either. Say it. God's God. Say it in love, meekness, humility. I didn't know this either. I
was dumb like you are. No, don't say that. But say it
nevertheless. If any man doesn't worship this
God, they're lost, because God's God. He has all power, and Christ
is Christ. It's only Christ that'll save
us. It's only the blood of Christ that'll save us. It's only the
righteousness of Christ. It's not by works of righteousness
which we have done. It doesn't matter how sincere
we are. If we're ignorant of the righteousness of God, it
doesn't matter how Devoted we are to our religion or to our
friends or to our... It doesn't matter if we have
not the righteousness. Say that! To the most meek, to
whoever you come across, say it. Don't be ashamed of it. This is the gospel. The power
of God. The power of the Holy Spirit.
The gospel of God's power that declares salvations of the Lord.
Verse 9. Wouldn't Donnie love to be here
right now? Verse nine, wouldn't he love to declare this? Well,
he can't. I can, though. Verse nine, who
hath saved us? This is the gospel of the one
who does the saving. This is the gospel of God who
hath saved us. He did it. Are you saved? Yes. Why? He saved me. I'm not ashamed
of that. And he called us. He called us
with a holy calling. He called us not vice versa.
I wasn't seeking the Lord. Though we tell men to seek Him,
they're not going to be saved by that. They're going to be
saved because He was seeking them first. And He causes them
to call. Yes, call, but don't ever for
a moment think that because you called, He saved you. Tell people
that. It's not our calling, it's His
calling. He has saved us with a holy calling. Not according to our works. Oh,
it has nothing to do with anything about me. Works won't save. Religious works
won't save. It's all according, look at it,
verse 9, according to His own purpose and grace. Sherry played
that song while ago, and I wanted to stand up and sing it. How
can it be? How can it be that God should
love a soul like me? See, it's not according to our
works. It's according to His purpose. And this threefold thing. Go out there in the world and
ask people, are you saved? Well, yeah, I'm a good Christian.
Who saved you? Who saved you? You choose God,
did He choose you? Why did He choose you? When did
He choose you? When? Well, Paul says this, he
said, He saved us according to His own purpose and by His own
grace, which was given us, and He did this before I was born.
See, God did the saving. This is the gospel of the power
of God. This is my gospel, and I'm not
ashamed of it. This is my salvation. This is
my hope of glory, that I'm kept by the same power. I'm not ashamed
of it. Oh, ashamed of thee! Yes, I may,
but I have no sins to wash away, but I have no guilt to purge. And don't back down for a minute.
Declare it. Be bold to declare it. It's God's
glory that's at stake here. It's not just doctrine. Calvin's
reputation is not on the line. God's glory is at stake here. Look at, read on, verse 10 through
12. And he said, He is now made manifest by the appearing of
our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and brought
life and immortality to light through the gospel. Oh, I'd like
to dwell there a while. Whereunto I am appointed a preacher,
an apostle, a teacher of the Gentiles, for which cause I also
suffer these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed.
I know whom I have believed and persuaded he's able to keep that
which I've committed unto him against that day. Oh, I'd stop
there a while, wouldn't you? Could you preach from that? Rick,
John, could you? You ought to be able to. You
know whom you have believed. All right, here's the next thing.
He says, verse 13, hold fast the form of sound words. The
fourth exhortation, hold fast the form of sound words. You've heard it once, you've
heard it a thousand times. If we're still here another eight
years, or eighty-eight years for that matter, we're going
to keep saying it. Inaction. Sound doctrine. Sound words. That's the word
I like to sound out. The world doesn't like that.
You don't have to say election. You don't have to say that when
you preach. Yes, you do. That's what he said in the John. Hold
fast. The world's doing away with that.
You don't have to say that. People don't like the sound of
that. Say it louder then. Hush up, Bartimaeus. He cried louder, didn't he? David dancing for the ark, you
know. His silly wife, who was an unbeliever, said, You're vile.
He said, I'll be more vile. Paul says, say it louder, election! That's God's Word. Why would
I ever apologize for it? Why would I ever soft-soap it?
Why would I ever want to tone it down? Why would you ever want
to say anything else? You don't see that the power
of God's Word is in the Word. God chose the Word, and He said
it more than twenty-seven times in the New Testament. You see,
the power of word, the force of word is in the word itself,
right? The illustration. Here's a house that's on fire.
And somebody's in it. And they're asleep. All right,
what are you going to do? Excuse me. Pardon me. I'm so sorry. You're not going
to like this. I'd hate to disturb you. But there's some combustion
going on. You see, some flammable liquids
and some spark, an ignition, has ignited this flammable liquid
and this process of combustion has taken place. And it has the
power to consume if you... They're going to wake up and
say, man, shut up, I'm going back to sleep. What do you say?
Fire! Everybody knows what that means, don't you? The power is
in the word. Election! Huh? I don't like that. Boy, I do. Say it again, OK? Did you ask Fort Henry? Election! That the purpose of God, according
to election, might stand, it was said unto her. Huh? Hold fast the form of sound word. Sound word. Here's another one. You know what I'm going to say,
don't you? Go ahead. Predestination. Oh, that's an awful P word. If
election doesn't get you hated, this one will. Predestination. I don't believe that. Boy, I
do, and I like the sound of it. Don't you? God hath predestined
all things. He hath predestinated us according
to his predestination, the purpose of him who worketh all things
unto the counsel of his own will. Whom he did foreknow, he did
predestinate. Before I was ever born, God did
predetermine my end, that I would be found in Christ. not found
alone, but found in Christ, and that he would order all things
concerning me, and sure a covenant made with Christ concerning me.
This is all my salvation, and all my hope. Do I, am I ashamed
of it? Would I dare self-associate?
This is God's glory, and this is my salvation. Oh, fast! I don't care if the world doesn't
like it. I wish they did. But we're going
to say it. Loud and clear. Predestination. And on and on it goes. On and on. Many other sound words.
And though the world says it's hard doctrine, it's God's doctrine. It's God's doctrine. And it's
my salvation. And the last thing, and I quit.
Verse 14. He says, That good thing which
was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy Ghost. That's the
only way you're going to keep. Him by the Holy Ghost. All right,
Deborah Huff, what good thing has been committed unto you?
What thing? Becky Patton, what good thing
has been committed unto you? Joe, Henry, anybody, what good
thing? The one thing needful, the gospel, has been committed unto us. He
says, keep it. He said, buy the truth and sell
it not. Our Lord said, what would a man
give in exchange for his soul? I tell you what, a believer wouldn't
give anything in exchange for Christ and the gospel. That's
what Paul said. He said, I've suffered the loss
of all things. But some people would. What would
you give for an exchange for your soul? What would you give
in exchange for this gospel? We have something here, and there
are other places that have it. Not in this area. But there are other places that
have this gospel, this blessed thing, this blessed gift, a place
where God has chosen to put his name there, his glory, his honor,
his people, his Christ is exalted, where Christ is lifted up. where
the voice of Christ is heard constantly. It's a good thing. What are you willing to give
in exchange for this? Well, a believer's not willing
to give anything. Some people, you know, would
readily leave for a husband, get married. That's what some
of them said. That's what our Lord came and
said. There's a marriage supper going
on they all with one accord began to make excuse one of them said
I'm married while married now left town you know. Go. And I'll tell you what that husband
may leave you. Would you let me pick on charity
and you leave Christ for Stan Anderson that's not a fine man
in this in this building. He just might leave you. Stan,
you know yourself, don't you? You know that's very possible,
don't you? But by the grace of God. Right,
Stan? Stan, admit that. I'll admit that. So where are you going to place
all your hope and trust and love and everything in, Stan? It better
be in Christ. And vice versa. I've seen better
women than Sherry Mae. And not men. Women are better
than you. But I've seen them. What about a job? There ain't
no job security in this world. Is there, Joe? Ain't no job security. I got a promotion now. I got
to leave the gospel. Oh, no you don't. A man's got
to make a living, doesn't he? He's got to live, all right.
You got to live in Christ. Health, wealth, you know, you
can lose that awful fast, can't you? You can lose it awful fast. Oh, my. This blessed fellowship
of believers, we have such a good thing here. This is a foretaste
of glory divine. There are times when I think
it doesn't get any better than this. Don't you? I hope you do. That's a good sign. If we don't think so, maybe that
fellow called me back to preach and come preach back to that
place again. Have we forgotten that so soon?
Anybody that went down there, are you thankful for what we
have here? Oh, my, my, oh, me, oh, my, oh, my. Man, just turn your TV on for
a second. Listen to those dudes. How'd you like that Benny Hinn
for a pastor, Rebecca? Oh, my. These people actually
follow that dude. Oh, we have a good thing here,
don't we? Paul talked about food and rain being content. We got
food. We've got, you know, I've eaten
out a lot of places. I've been out to eat a lot of
places. I mean, I've eaten the best.
I've eaten at the library. Have you ever eaten at the library,
Henry? It doesn't hold a candle to Mindy's
house. I'm serious. Home cooking. And I've heard a lot of preaching
and all, but it doesn't hold a candle to my pastor's
preaching. It doesn't hold a candle. Food, you talking about food?
Bread. Fresh bread. Daily. Weekly. Homemade bread. Not out of a
machine. That ain't bread. I mean homemade
bread. Rainman. Food. Rainman. Rainman. Oh, y'all, it should
have been down at the first Baptist Church of the Heretics this morning.
They had, oh, you should have seen the choir. They'd all robed
in splendor. Oh, boy. You should have seen
the robe of Christ's righteousness that is presented this morning
in the gospel. Most glorious thing I've ever
seen. Without seeing. Food and rain. And fun? That's what religion, that's
the reason they do all this. Their religion is not much fun
in it. Not much fun in their preaching, you know. There's
nothing, nothing enjoyable really about it. So they have to whoop
up all this stuff, you know. Basketball and all that. Even
if we did have a basketball team, there wouldn't be time. It doesn't get any better than
this. It's right here. We're going to be playing basketball
in heaven? Come on. What are we going to
be doing? Bernard used to say, we're going
to be playing yo-yos in heaven? Or looking at one of those crowns?
We're going to be doing. In reality, or in person, with
these eyes, what we're doing right now in spirit, the Father
seeketh such to worship him in spirit and in truth. And it's
enjoyable, believe it or not. Stephen, believe it or not, it's
actually enjoyable to God's people. John, why are you smiling and
laughing about it? I didn't tell a joke. It's enjoyable. It brings you great joy, doesn't
it, John? Great joy. you're a joke. So keep that which
is committed to. Keep it. There are you. There are you. New Year's promise.
Christ is at the door. That's the day that waits for
him. It's going to appear to them. All right, Joe, you have
a 209. In number two hundred.

Exhortations For Believers

What does the Bible say about grace, mercy, and peace?

How do we know that salvation is by grace?

Why is it important for Christians to stir up the gift of God?

Why shouldn't Christians be ashamed of the gospel?

How does God empower believers?

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Exhortations For Believers

What does the Bible say about grace, mercy, and peace?

How do we know that salvation is by grace?

Why is it important for Christians to stir up the gift of God?

Why shouldn't Christians be ashamed of the gospel?

How does God empower believers?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

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