2nd Timothy, chapter 2, verse 1. 14. Of these things put them into remembrance, charging them before the Lord, that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers, starting to show that they are self-approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 15. But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker, of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus, who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal. The Lord knoweth them that are his, and that every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel under honor, sanctified and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men apt to teach patience, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God, peradventure, will give them a repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil who are taken captive by him at his will. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we're thankful, Father, for your grace and power available to us, God. We do pray that as we've sung that you would make us a blessing to others around us, dear Lord. and so father now i do pray that you would help me by your spirit please fill me and help me uh preaching and teaching uh that which you'd have for us from your word tonight uh dear god help us in this thing of instructing and in teaching father to be learners ourselves to be filled with the spirit and to be looking for opportunities and learning in the ways and things and where we're in that we can instruct others, all because we have your word, which gives us all the direction that we need for life, dear God, that we may glorify your name. And I pray that by your spirit, we would be helped in that. We're thankful that our prayer requests are before you, dear God, And in your might and your power, we've already seen you answer so many, God, and we look to you to answer these according to your will as well. Bless your dear people tonight. Do that in hearts, which only your spirit and your word can do. Father, for the glory of your precious son. And Father, we just pray and ask these things in Jesus name and for his glory. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. We may finish lesson 10 tonight. We'll see how far we get. We are looking at faithfulness in behavior, I think. And we might have got into that a little ways. Proposition, I think we saw that. Let's see here, where are we at? Yeah. I'll pick it up from there when we get there. All right. So last week we saw that there was going to be babblers, false teachers, but there's also going to be those who are what? Who are approved of God. God's going to allow some false teachers to slip into the church, some babblers, and the reason being is it will show those who are true to the word, we'll be able to address them, and we'll stand up, and according to God willing, what we're reading here, address those issues and stand up for the truth. Study to show thyself approved unto God, and work when thou needest not to be ashamed, rightly abiding the word of truth. And we know that as long as our feet are on this planet, as long as this planet is here, Matthew 16, 18, Jesus says to Peter, I say unto thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock, and the rock there was a statement, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. That's the statement the church has built upon the faith. Thou art peering upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Gates were where the elders of the city would gather together and do all the strategies for defense and protection and for attacks the city would make. They put together the wisdom, the elders would gather at the gates. All the wisdom and planning of hell is not going to stop God's church, okay? The gates of hell are not going to prevail against it. And also has the idea, by the way, of the church attacking, not defending, amen? By the way, the devil doesn't have to grab anybody. He has everybody, amen? And the church is to go forward with the gospel and, in that sense, assault those gates and give the gospel. Because the moment someone believes what? They are freed from condemnation. And the devil loses that grasp that he had on them as far as salvation goes forever. We saw the proposition there in verse 19, the Lord knows them that are His. We named the name of Christ. We are to depart from iniquity. We saw that. And we looked at, you know, we got saved, the blood of Christ for salvation, but the blood of Christ is also sufficient for what? Sanctification calls us to that. And so the Apostle Paul gives us an illustration here, letter B on your outline, if you're keeping one. But in a great house are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wooden earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself of these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified in meat for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. So he gives the illustration of a great household, where there are going to be multiple vessels that are used within the house, and gold and silver, also wooden clay. And so he's using it. Obviously, if you have a great house, you're going to use different vessels for certain things. You might get out the fine china for the company that comes over. But then again, you have an old cup that you use, or something. I meant to bring that tonight, for the grease, or the stuff that you cook. You're not going to use that to serve for someone to drink out of. It's a drinking glass at the table. That's a vessel that you have chosen to dishonor, so you pick something old. I had a cup that I brought, of course, I washed it out, and I forgot it tonight. Once in a while, you have to do work on the commode, and you have to get all the water out of the commode. It only flushes out so much, so you've got to scoop the rest out, and that's what we use that particular cup for. I want you to know I never brought that in there and left it back there for someone to drink out of. It's never happened. We dishonor that cup. That's what that cup is for. God uses that illustration. What he's saying is, if we are going to be seeking iniquity, what do we do? We make ourselves an unclean vessel, don't we? We make ourselves something that God can use for the great purposes that He wants to use us for. We are clean in His side positionally, in Christ eternally. We're holy in our position, but practically, God says, by the way, I've paid for that too. He's paid for us to grow the blood of Christ, that foundation, to live holy lives, to be departing from iniquity. to be right with God, amen, and that He might use us to be, you know, the problem is not really, the problem is not so much sin, because it is having regard to sin, when we allow sin in our lives, when we have the hard idea of, well, this sin's okay, or this sin's welcome. And that's the kind that God can't abide. That's the kind that makes us so God can't use us. Because we all mess up. We all fail in times of weakness or ignorance and those kind of things. That's why the Bible calls... That's part of why we're called sinners. It's in our nature. We do that. I mean, you look at David, there's a man after God's own heart. We could go down the list of sins and the mistakes that David made, could we not? All right? And yet God, all the while, could look at David and say, that man loves me. That man loves me. Oh, he's made some stupid mistakes. He's caused some great heartaches to his own life and some other people, but that man loves me. And when he realizes that, it breaks his heart, and he repents. And he asks for that forgiveness, and he goes on. That's what God wants of you and me, amen? And to love him and to be not, we're not going to be sinless, but we need to be ever what? Sinning less. And that's for us all. So the obvious principle here is, and I'm just going to not go any deeper into this illustration that he's given. We could maybe make some other applications from it. I'm not going to do that tonight in this lesson. But the most obvious, I think, application is that we are to be separated from the things of the world, separated unto God, Why? So that God can use us for whatever he wants to use us for. Amen. And he will do that. Give that illustration. We want to be a vessel under honor. You know, when God raised up Israel, he says, I'm going to get glory out of you as a nation one way or the other. And he said, he went on to say, if you obey me and follow me, it will be the blessings poured upon you that give me glory. If you disobey me and forsake me, it will be my chastening upon you that gives me glory. Because the nations around will say, oh, God's doing that because they forsook him. He told them in the very writings he gave them not to be either worshipers. And look what they've done. So God says, so I'll get glory either way. And by the way, brethren, we get the cheese which way, amen? Aren't you glad? And God wants to get that glory as we follow him to be among those who are close to him. Or I could say like of us as David, that we were after God's heart. and then see the call to action here, verse 22. So we are to be fleeing these things. And we are to flee fornication and such, those youthful lusts. That word flea there is the Greek word fugo, and it means to escape. You're actually, when you're tempted with especially these, the youthful lusts, there's that attraction to the flesh. When you flee that, you're actually escaping the snare that would overcome you if we were to fall in that kind of sin. And God wants to keep us pure in that. If you go to be saved by flight, run. And we have so much of that available today Unfortunately on the internet and those things and if you have a problem with where you're going on the internet You need to get rid of your computer or you need to have someone that that has full access to your computer my wife and I we have full access to each other's computers all the time and And you don't want to be going to those places Because I tell you what that will destroy your life. It will destroy your marriage It will destroy those that are around you, okay? And that's a hard thing. I think someone said it produces a pheromone in the brain. I forget what drug, it was that and one drug, maybe it was fentanyl, were about the only things that would produce that pheromone. And that's an awesome thought to think about. That that can grasp someone like that. And we see that. We see that in our society today. And by the way, I mean... Illicit sex has been a part of demonic worship since the beginning of time. And the devil still uses that today. The world worships that. Everybody has a right to have whatever kind of relations they want to have. Why do they say that? Because it is a god of the world. And so they don't want to step on somebody's god. Well, what business is that of yours what I do in private? I'll tell you whose business it is. It's God's business. He made you. It's none of my business what you do in your rooms private at home, but I'll tell you whose business it is. It's God's, amen? It's God's business. And no one loves us more than He does. No one is offended more. No one is hurt or harmed more than Him. Let me go into those things. And so we need to be on the guard against that. We think about Joseph in the Old Testament. What a good example of that, when he was taking his prisoner into Egypt, his brother sent him there, and he was working for Potiphar as a slave. And Potiphar's wife got her eyes on Joseph, and it came to pass, Genesis 39, 10, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her to lie by her or to be with her. And it came to pass about this time that Joseph went into the house to do business, and there was not of men in the house therewith. She caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me. And he left his garment in her hand and fled and got him out. He literally fled, literally fled. Sometimes we need to literally flee from that. And Joseph certainly did that. I like what Adrian, what the late Adrian Rogers would have said about that kind of situation. When you, the youthful lust, when it comes upon you, as it did Joseph, you're tempted with it, he would say something like, when youthful lusts come calling, you should saturate, if there's a certain place where, or a certain person where that brings you into that temptation, then you should saturate that place with your absence. Did you get that? Saturate that place with your absence. Get out of there. Don't be around there. Stay away from there. And oh, the heartaches and the broken hearts to those who have not heeded that advice. One scripture says, oh, how did I not listen to my teachers? Whoa. that would come. And here's the thing. You'll not flee useful lusts. You'll not stand successful against those. You'll not flee those unless you're pursuing something else. Unless you're pursuing something else. If you are not wanting to be or have made it a priority in your life to be one of those clean vessels that God uses and that God can continually use and to be a witness for Christ, you're probably not going to be able to stand. that temptation when it comes. We actually flee by pursuing. Pursuing the things of God. But flee also you who lust, but follow what? Righteousness, faith, charity, peace. With them that call the Lord out of a pure heart. Be around those that are pursuing the same thing. Amen? That's part of why we come to church. To be accountable to each other. To be around the Word of God. And and and to to glorify his name together. Flee also youthful us follow righteousness that follow that what that Greek word translated follow in Second Timothy 222 is the Greek word Dioko. And it's it's the same word that Paul used when he said, I press. toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. So pursuing it earnestly, to seek eagerly after, to earnestly endeavor to acquire something, to press on, to race swiftly to reach a goal, righteousness, faith, charity, peace, pursuing godliness in our lives to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. having that action going forward, fleeing those youthful lusts, pursuing righteousness. Point number three, we see faithfulness in controversy, 2 Timothy 2.23. But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And the scripture says in the other place, words to no profit, profane and vain babblings, these things. And certainly when we read earlier that we are to flee those things, we are to flee those as well, not just the youthful lust, but the babblings and the false teachings, those kind of things. And whatever sin might be in our own life, we are to be putting aside as far as separation goes. Now, some things we resist. We don't flee everything. The Bible commands us to resist as well, put on the full armor of God. And we want to be doing that as well. Foolish and unlearned questions avoid. And we need to be wise when people begin to ask us these kinds of questions or bring up these things. Extra biblical speculations that just produce strife. You know, there's people that have some crazy things that they'll they'll say about the Bible or whatever or they believe are spiritual has nothing to do with the Bible and you can't really go to the Bible to prove or disprove it because they're just wandering around, you know, and You know what? I call that I call that a waste of time a pin and Let's make an application, redeeming the time because the days are evil, amen? We don't have time to waste on arguing for arguments that are gonna go nowhere, okay? And so we need to develop spiritual wisdom to make those when they start very short, amen? And by the way, very kind, amen? It's always best if we can to leave an open door where we can go back and speak with someone. You want to be careful about that. I had a teacher in Bible college used to talk, said how we ought to be learned to be diplomatic. Diplomatic. And he defined that as diplomatic is when you tell someone where to go and make them enjoy the trip. OK? And we need to talk kindly, but truthfully as well. This doesn't mean the believer is just to avoid all confrontation. Foolish and unlearned questions. On the contrary, believers are to be proclaimers and defenders of the truth. We'll see that as we go on. But there is a time to expose error and to proclaim the truth. We must do that. And we are to address that. But we need to beware of those who have their machine gun loaded with a barrage of questions, okay? Mark 12, 13, the Bible says, And they, the scribes and Pharisees and such, and the rulers of Jerusalem, they sent unto him, certain, they sent unto him, Jesus, certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. Were they trying to learn anything? No, they weren't. Were they trying to be instructed better themselves? No, they weren't. They were just trying to catch him and find something they could use against him. I've seen that, and you've been out with people on visitation. We've seen it. Maybe you've seen it. Talk with the neighbors or whoever you've talked to. And someone, you answer one question, and you give them a Bible answer to it. They had something, an objection to something in the Bible, and you give them the Bible answer for it, and you barely get the answer out of your mouth, and they're on to another question. That's a good sign. It's time to say well, I hope to be able to maybe talk to you again sometime But but there's some places, you know, there's some places I got to go people I can see It's time to go. Amen and Having that redeeming of the time Yeah, there are some there is some time there are times to address it and Acts 20, 28, Paul is talking to the elders at Ephesus, whom he'll not see again, and he says, For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you. Not sparing the flock, grievous wolves enter in among you. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. And so from within the church, you see, the thing about a visible church is it can be infiltrated with people who aren't really believers, right? And you and I, frankly, we don't know 100% sure if someone else is a believer or not, okay? Because that's something only God can see in the heart. Now, if we get to know someone pretty well, and we see someone walking with Christ, and we see those fruits of the Spirit on a continual basis, that's how we see. We see faith by works. That's what James says. James says, Of course, he was talking about people, okay? God doesn't need to see our works, okay? They'll come eventually, but God knows when we have faith. By the way, even when we're not putting forth works like we should, But only God knows that. If people are going to believe, we need to see faith. By the way, if you're looking for who you're going to marry as you grow up, well, he or she, well, they trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. They prayed that prayer. And, you know, well, you're going to need more than that to know that they're godly. When the Bible says that Paul said that they are free to marry whom they will, but what? Only in the Lord. Only in the Lord. And as a believer, you're supposed to only marry another believer, okay? And by the way, that doesn't mean they said, oh, I prayed. I prayed to receive Jesus as my Savior. That's not what it means. You can't tell if they're a believer by what they say. You have to go by how they live. So if you're looking for a mate, you need to find somebody that loves Jesus more than they love you. That means they're faithful to church, they're reading their Bible, and by the way, they're not gonna give any of that up for you. Okay? You need to find somebody to put Jesus first. And I'm talking about something that can make or break your life on this earth. Something that'll be a blessing to you, maybe hopefully till the Lord calls you home, or it'll be such a wreck and a discouragement to you, and it'll be a burden to bear for the rest of your life. Marry a believer, amen. Marry a believer. I can't tell you how much my heart is yearning for young people to follow that. Because we get in at that youthful age, and the mind just isn't all developed, okay? And thank God that young people with the Holy Spirit in your heart can be filled with the Spirit, amen? Well, they gotta show their wild else. No, they don't. No, they don't. You don't have to run. It's Satan's pasture. And God help and give grace to our young people. We have to fight. We have to speak for the truth. Jude 1, 3, for the faith which is once delivered unto the saints." We're going to declare the truth up here as long as we're on this planet, amen? And there may come a day when the law won't allow us to declare the truth from this pulpit. If that's the case, we'll do what the church has done in China. We'll get rid of the 501c3. and we'll just go start meeting in houses, and you'll lose your tax deductions for your tithes? That'd be okay, wouldn't it? That'd be okay. That's not going to stop me from tithing. And God will keep us and provide for us. Amen? And we need to be faithful to the Word. 2 Timothy 2, 4. Preach the Word. Be instant in season, out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering in doctrine. We need to be ever, ever faithful of that. I'm thankful for God's people that are faithful to preach and teach here and minister. I'm thankful for God's people that are coming to hear the Word preached and taught. We don't have a lot of frills around here, in case you haven't noticed. But we do have what we need and what, and by the way, what is vital for our lives, amen? And it is the preaching, the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. So we are to expose error, preach the truth. But there comes a time, we must realize, there comes a time when the error has been so clearly revealed as wrong by the Scripture that there is no further point of continuing if it is not received. I mean, you could point something out so clear, you know, well, the Bible says, you know, it says, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He has saved us. And, well, by grace, you say, through faith, and that not of yourselves, is the gift of God, not of works which any man should boast. Well, I still believe you need to have works and endure unto the end. What are you going to do if somebody throws away the plain Scripture like that? Not much point in continuing that argument there. And you can pray for him. Make sure you present those things kindly. Don't be pointing the finger and screaming like I'm doing up here, okay? You know I love you. And I've always said, if I ever point a finger out there, there's three fingers pointing right back at me, okay? Because we're all, we're in Christ together. We have one master and the rest of us are brethren. Amen? That's what the Bible says. And that's how we function as a church. But there comes a time when there's no further It's obvious it's not going to be profitable, but a continued argument. They'll bring up extra-biblical philosophies that can't be, as I mentioned, clearly refuted in the scriptures and all those kind of cases. And we need to be careful about that. 2 Thessalonians 2.23, but foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing they do dangerous drives. So avoid those useless arguments of people who will not be persuaded. Now, we may get some arguments. Did I hit that point? OK. I think I covered point A without putting it there. B, educating. Now, eluding the foolish. It's not going any further. I'm wasting my time. And so we learn to end that. But there is, as we mentioned, a time to instruct, educating fools. Verses 24 through 26 here. A servant must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach. Patient in instructing those that oppose themselves. You see, there are those that actually are working against themselves. And who is that? Anyone who rejects the truth of the Word of God. And not all are putting forth these arguments just to try to catch you or I. Some of them don't know any better. Some of them, they're just, in a sense, not educated. They're ignorant of some Bible truth. And that's something that we can share with them, amen? And we may not find that out, which way they're going on that, until we share that truth. If they're actually searching, then they'll receive that truth, amen? Or they may choose to not believe. And, uh, uh, or they may just throw another question out of that. That's very telling. Okay. As far as, as far as where it's going, it means to striking those that oppose themselves. If God pair eventual grant them repentance to the acknowledging of, uh, of the truth that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil. who are taken captive by Him at His will. Boy, that's a mouthful there. It makes us instructing, causing them to learn. When we saw it in the previous verse, foolish and unlearned questions, and unlearned, the word comes from the same word as instructing here. And there are some that are just uninstructed, okay? But the ones that we need to avoid are the foolish, and unlearned, okay? There are some who are uninstructed and don't want to be and don't want to listen. But if we find someone that just needs more knowledge, well, we need to share the scripture with them, amen? And reach out to them. And they're opposing themselves in their ignorance or in their rejection of scripture. Opposers raise uninstructed questions, and faithful Bible students will give biblical instruction that will answer the question. The Bible says the righteous studyeth to answer. And so, by the way, if you're trying to win someone to the Lord, or trying to help someone grow in their spiritual life, and they ask you a question that you don't know the answer to, you know what the best thing to say is? I don't know the answer to that, okay? You don't have to give an answer. If you're ever trying to lead someone to the Lord, and they ask you a question off base, you say, that's a good question. And I tell you what, let me finish what we were talking about, about how to be saved, and if you still have questions about it at the end, we'll get back to that. You see, keep right on the point there. A lot of times, especially if the Holy Spirit's working there, I forget all about that question. And so just instructing. A method to follow. A method to follow. I think I'm going to quit there. There's a couple more little points that I'll finish it up here. So we'll finish this up next week. And I might read your missionary letter, too, if I don't have quite enough to fill the service next week. So we're going to stop right here for tonight. Heavenly Father, I thank you for your grace and goodness, and God, how patient you are with us. And Father, we think of the boldness of Christ, how he taught and he came to bear witness of the truth. And indeed he did, Father, and he not only in word, but in life, the truth personified. He is the way, the truth and the life. And father, he he knew when to rebuke, he knew when to be gentle, he knew when to be silent. God, and we have the spirit of your dear son in us, help us to be yielded to your spirit so that we and the spirit of Christ can also rebuke. And be gentle and be silent, Father, as you guide us and direct us and as we reach out, Lord, to those that are around us. Father, I thank you for the fellowship around your word that we've had tonight. the comfort that we've had to pray, submit our requests before you, the privilege that we've had to sing songs of praise and worship to your name. And we're going to do that again, Lord. We pray you'd receive it and be pleased with it. And Father, just help us as we go into the week, Father, to be reading our Bibles, studying on our own, growing there as well, and in the grace and knowledge of you, and help us to be careful to thank you and praise you, we ask it in Jesus' name, for his glory, amen.