Characteristics of a Godly Life | Building a Gospel-Shaped Church | Week 10

Few months ago, we started our journey

through this letter that Paul wrote to his young lieutenant, his padwan, his

apprentice, whatever word you want to use there, writing to this young man that's leading

a church in Ephesus, this pagan city uh full of people. Uh uh it's uh very

multicultural. I mean, it's a port city, so there's trade routes going through. people from all over the world coming

through this city. It is also a very religious city. One of the ancient wonders, one of the seven wonders of the

ancient world. The temple of Artemis is in Ephesus. So, it is a very religious

city. I have a picture I want to show you from when we were there a few weeks ago. And as I stood on this walkway,

this marble street that you can see here, uh, led to the port where ships

would pull up. So when people got off ships and they're walking up this walkway towards the city, they would see

this great amphitheater. To the right of that is the picture I showed last week of the library. Uh, it

was just over there a couple of hundred yards. But I wondered as I was standing on this spot if this is where Paul stood

when Acts chapter 19 tells us about the rioting that's going on in Ephesus. how

they were upset that he was talking of this new uh Eastern religion that came to town about this man named Jesus and

and uh he's doing wonders and signs and all of a sudden these artisans that uh

were making little trinkets of the goddess Artemis

it was impacting their wallets, their pocketbooks because this new guy has

come to town and he's stirring things up. I wonder if this is where he was standing when those people were in the

theater getting fired up and ready to

string him up. We don't know. I don't know. But my mind went there and thought

about that. It was a meaningful trip to go and be in those places

that Paul and Timothy stood and walked. You know, we've covered a lot of ground since we started this little letter. I

hope that as we finish up today that you'll be able to walk away with a little better grip on the on this letter

that Paul wrote to Timothy. He's talked about things uh in this in this letter

to watch out for false teachers. He's talked about the importance of prayer, the role of women in the church,

qualifications of elders and deacons. He's given instructions about widows and

and the dangers of materialism. He covered a lot of ground talking to this

young pastor and how to shape and develop a gospel-shaped church. And so we've taken

these lessons. Hopefully we're applying them to our own church that you and I would continue to be a gospel focused,

gospel-shaped church as we live out our faith in this

community. It's my opinion that Paul is finishing this letter with the same

focus that he started this letter with. Look with me. Turn back to chapter 1

of First Timothy, just a couple of pages. Verse 18. Look at what he says.

He says, "This I charge. This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies

previously made about you, that by them you may say it, wage the good warfare.

Now turn to our text today, chapter 6, and look at verse 12.

Fight the good fight of faith. He is challenging. He starts and

finishes this letter with fighting a good warfare, fighting the good fight.

Timothy was reminded again and again that we are involved in warfare,

spiritual warfare. And it's a battle that is worthy to be fought.

It's not only a battle for your faith, Timothy, but it's a battle for the faith. Timothy, you need to make sure

you fight the good fight, man. Because there's going to be all kinds of distractions that come your way. There's

going to be materialism. There's going to be all kinds of influences from this this culture that you live in to pull

you away from your devotion to God. Fight the fight for your faith. But Timothy, also fight the fight for the

faith. Guard the gospel. And friends, that is a good word for me and you today. There are so many things that tug

on our hearts to draw our attention and devotion away from God.

So we need to fight the good fight as well. This good warfare for the faith.

If you have surrendered your life to Jesus, believing that he died on the cross for your sins, that he was buried,

and on the third day was rose again to life, has ascended to heaven, and that one day he will return and he'll gather

up his church. If you're a born again believer, then whether you know it or not, or like it

or not, you are in warfare.

You are in a battle today. The Bible is clear on this and I want to

I just want to let scripture speak for itself. And so if you'll read along with me these passages

that point out to this warfare that you and I are in. Hebrews 12:4 says, "In

your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding

your blood this struggle." 1 Peter 2:1, "Beloved, I

urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh,

which what wage war against your soul." Jude 3.

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing

to you to here it is contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to

the saints. 2 Timothy 2:3 share in suffering as a good soldier

of Christ Jesus. 2 Corinthians 10:3 and4. For though we walk in the flesh,

we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare

are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. This this

idea of spiritual war is all around us. And probably the passage you're most familiar with comes out of Ephesians 6.

Look at it with me. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. put on the whole armor of God

that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but

against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the

spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Like it or not,

if you are born again, if Jesus has saved your soul, you're in a battle.

Jesus said it himself. John 10:10, "The enemy comes to

steal, kill, and destroy, but I came that you may have life and have it

abundant, have abundant life in me." Uh Peter, how does he say it? That the

devil is out there like a roaring lion

looking for people to devour.

same uh we we need to be careful not to take our

enemy lightly. He is a roaring lion. And there might be some of you today

that are engaged in more and heavier and stronger warfare than others in this

room. But be aware of who is on your team. The winner,

the King of Kings, the undefeated, undisputed champion of all time is on

your team and his name is Jesus. I want to read uh the words of an old

hymn to you from a person that wrote it that you may have heard of. His name is Martin Luther.

He wrote these words. A mighty fortress is our God.

A bullwark. I I don't know what that word means, but it's must be strong and a bullwark never

failing. Our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.

For still our ancient foe does seek to work his woe. His craft and power are

great and armed with cruel hate. On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our strength confi confide? Our striving would be losing.

We're not the might. We're not the right man on our side. The man of God's own

choosing. You You ask who that may be. Christ Jesus. It is he. Lord Sabbath his name.

From age to age the same. And he must win the battle.

And through and though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo

us, we will not fear. For God has willed his truth to triumph through us. The

prince of darkness grim we tremble not for him. His rage

we can endure. For lo, his doom is sure.

One little word shall fail him. That word above all

earthly powers, no thanks to them abides. The spirit and the gifts are

ours through him who with us sides.

Let goods be and kindred go. This mortal life also the body they can kill, but

God's truths abide still. His kingdom

is forever. church, make no mistake that Satan intends to steal glory from God.

And if he can take people down with him, if he can discourage Christians all across the land, yes, he's excited about

that. But you and I need to remember who's on our side.

His name is Jesus. We're in we're involved in a battle.

It is all around us. We see it in our society. If you turn the news on, you

can't help but see the battle that's going on all around us.

The Bible tells us in James 4:7,

"Resist the devil and he will flee from you." It doesn't say ignore

him and it doesn't say act like he's not there. It says flee or it says resist

and he will flee from you. And that's a good word for us today to resist the

devil and his schemes. So let's read and let's look at our text together as Timoth as Paul finishes up this letter.

I'm going to begin in verse 11 and read through the end of the letter. If you're

able, will you stand with me in honor of reading God's word?

But as for you, oh man of God, flee these things.

Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness,

gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take

hold of the etern of the eternal life to which you were called. and and about which you made the good confession in

the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God who gives

life to all things and of Christ Jesus who in his testimony testimony before

Pontius Pilate made the good confession to keep the commandment unstained and

free from repo reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ which

he will display at the proper time. He who is blessed and only sovereign,

the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in

an unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor

and eternal dominion. Amen. A as for the rich in this present age,

charge them not to be hotty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly provides

us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good

works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasures for

themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of

that which is truly life. Oh, Timothy,

guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble

and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge. For by professing it,

some have swerved from the faith. Grace

be with you. Father, we ask that you would use your word to

shape us and mold us into your likeness more today than we were yesterday.

that we would absorb the teachings of First Timothy,

that we would fight the good fight of the faith. I pray this in your holy name. Amen.

He says, "But as for you, oh man of God,"

what a title to have put on for someone to say, "I mean, that man, wouldn't that

be great to have on our tombstone one day, man of God or a woman of God?"

That title was used in the Old Testament to point

out some of the big dogs. You may have heard of Moses, a man of God. Elijah,

Elisha, King David. They were given that title. It was written about them, a man

of God. Only one time in the New Testament is that title put on to

somebody. And we see it here in First Timothy. No other time in the New Testament do we

see someone declared as a man of God. Man, that's

for Paul to put Timothy in the audience and in the in the group with some of those Old Testament big dogs is giving

him some street cred. I He's putting some weight

behind Timothy by giving him this title. And so today, I want to take the lessons

that Paul gives Timothy and apply them to us. I'm going to use person of God

because I believe it applies to men and women. It's good word for all of us.

person of God. I'm going to be using John MacArthur's the way he outlined these verses 11

through 14. You I'm using his approach. I thought it I thought it works really

well. So, uh you'll look at your outline and it says person of God. I want to point out

the things that we will be known for. The first one is this

person of God. You will be known by what you run from.

The construction of this opening clause makes it clear that Timothy is set apart and different from the false teachers

that are floating around and they're spreading their their junk to all the people there in Ephesus. Timothy, you're

different, man. And you need to run from that stuff. Those false teachers are after money. They are money men, but not

you, Timothy. You are God's man. That's for us, church. We are not

money's people. We are God's people. And there's so many temptations all

around us to pursue more money, more things, more stuff. Fight the good

fight. Fight the good fight of the faith. You are God's man.

We need to run from certain things. I mean that we need to run from sinful actions. You can write that down. Run

from sinful actions.

Think about your life for a second. Are there things that you need to be running? You know you need to be running

from them, but you're not. You'll be known by God and you'll be

known by other by the things that you run from. Are there sinful actions that you need

to be running from? There's too many Christians sitting in churches all

around the world that are flirting with disaster.

to quote the theologian Molly Hatchet. You know, when I was doing youth

ministry, and I've used this illustration before, students would ask me, Joel, how close to the line can I

get without stepping over the line of sin?

Let me be more specific. Young men would come up to me when I was a youth pastor and say, "Joel, how far is too far with

my girlfriend? They wanted to know how close to the

edge can I get without falling into sin. And there's

too many Christians that are doing the same thing. That doesn't end when you stop being a teenager. Adults,

how many of us are flirting with how close to the line can I get without stepping over into sin? And we're

flirting with disaster. And Paul tells Timothy, and it's a good word for us, run from that stuff. Stop

trying to see how close you can get to the line without stepping over. Run from it. Run, Forest. Run.

We need to run from sinful actions. We also need to run from sinful desires. Look at verses 9 and 10 again

from last week's passage. But those who desire to be rich fall

into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that

plunge people into ruin and destruction. These desires that pull us away. This

these desires for riches and for more stuff. It takes our devotion away from

our devotion to God. Run from those things. He says,

"Think about your own life. I think about my own life. Are there things that I need to be running from

and I'm not? Then today, let's make a commitment,

a personal commitment right there between you and God. I'm going to I'm going to run from that from this moment

on and then stick to it. Here's what I dare you. I dare you to tell a friend,

to tell a brother or sister in Christ, someone that you trust, today I made a

commitment to God to start running from blank. You fill in

the blank that applies to you. I made that commitment and I want you to

ask me this time next week how my week went in my running

run. flee from it. But you, as for you, oh man of God,

flee these things, these desires, these temptations. And the last thing we can run from is our thoughts.

This is where the good fight of the faith happens. Let me ask you another question.

You believe God is enough for you. And we know the church answer, "Yes, I

believe that." But do we really believe that? Because he told us in the passage last week,

godliness with contentment is great gain.

But are we content? Is God enough really? Or am I pursuing a

more more paycheck, more of this, more things, more gadgets? Am I Is God

enough? Timothy, you fight the good fight, man.

Because there's things out there that are going to draw your heart away from me. Fight the good fight. That is a great

word for us. The person of God will be known by what they run from.

But while we're running away, the another question is what are we running to?

I if I'm if I've been running after these things and and I say, "Okay, I'm going to make a commitment. I'm going to run from those things. What am I turning

and what am I running to? Other stuff? No. Timothy, Paul gives

Timothy a list. You can see it right there. He tells him what to pursue. So the bl second blank on your outline, uh

the person of God will be known by what they chase after. Look at what

he says there. Verse 11, the second part, he says, "Pursue." It's an

imperative. pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness,

gentleness. That's what we're to be chasing after. And you and I will be known by that. I

ain't chasing after that. I'm not trying to see how close to the line I can get. No, I'm pursuing these things in my

life. What are we talking about with those words? righteousness, external actions, doing right by God and doing

right by people, godliness, internal attitudes and motives, reverence for God

out of a heart of worship. John MacArthur, he says this, "Right behavior flows out of right motives."

What are our motives? Godliness, faith, confident trust in God for everything.

love, strong love for God, others, and non-believers. Jesus said it himself,

"Love your neighbor and love your enemy."

Love your enemy. You know, this is a side note. Probably has nothing to do

with this message, but it is a public service announcement.

Many of us have seen the news this last week how up in Minnesota a group of people walked into a church house. You

seen it. And began protesting making a chaos a a making a you what's

the right word? Help me. A scene. And it while a church service is going on. And by the way, a little

side note, it's one of our Southern Baptist missionaries church plants.

they come in and just start making havoc all over the room. So, my thoughts this week is what would Community of Grace do

if that happened? During one of our worship services, the doors open up and man, they come in and they start spewing

whatever they're spewing. Well, the first thing I would do is I would run straight out that door and

leave y'all all alone.

Y'all are do whatever you got to do. No, I'll tell you what we would do. We would

remain calm and we would pray. We would let our safety team do what our

safety team does.

But we're in a war, spiritual war. And as the Bible says,

our battle is not against those people that are walking in the room. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but it

is against spiritual principalities of this world.

So we would pray, yes, we would protect oursel and our safety team is is going to be talking about a response and how

we would handle that. we would make sure that our children are

taken care of. But we're going to pursue

righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance. That's an interesting word

to stick to it, to push through even when the things get tough in life. Persevere,

gentleness, to be kind, humble,

courteous, and meek. We'll be known by what we run from, what

we chased after. And then the next one is we will be known person of God. You will be known by what you fight for.

Our English word fight here in this verse comes from the Greek word agon

agonismi. We get our English word agony

from this. It's often used to describe military or athletic contest to describe

the concentration, the discipline, and conviction needed to win.

Fight. Fight for it. Fight for what?

When you and I choose to speak up and stand up for the word of God, when you and I choose to be public with our faith

in Jesus, you and I will be stepping out from behind cover into the open. You're How

many people saw Top Gun Maverick? Come on.

The rest of you have an assignment.

Okay. So, you know that they're training most of this movie to fly through this this valley to stay under the radar. All

right? Because they've got to go and they got to bomb this nuclear substation, whatever. So, they got to

fly through these this curvy canyon under the radar because if they get above the radar, they're now going to be

seen and these surfaceto-air missiles are going to shoot the plane down. We all get that. Okay. So, here's the deal.

When you and I make the choice to stay under the radar, stay private with our faith,

there's safety there. But when you and I choose to go public with our faith, and

defend Jesus and fight the good fight, and we get above, we now come to the

place where the world will attack.

The world will attack. Are you ready for that?

This is an imperative to fight the good fight. I don't want to be a Christian that

stays under the radar. I want people wherever I go know that I'm a follower of Jesus Christ.

And so be it what comes because I know who's on my team.

I know that the undefeated, undisputed champion of love is on my team.

We will be known for what we fight for. And the last one there is person of God.

You will be known for what you are faithful to.

He says keep the commandment in verse 16.

I don't think it's 16. Verse 14. Keep the commandment.

Keep the word of God, Timothy. Keep the word of God. Be faithful to it. It's an

imperative. Now, there's a couple of conditions that I want you to keep this word of God. And

it is to keep it unstained and free from reproach. My life and your life

needs to be marked by integrity and character and the things of God,

free from repo, reproach, and unstained. The other qualification in keeping this

commandment is keep it until Jesus comes back again.

Stay faithful. Persevere. You're in a fight. You know it. Be aware and be

ready for this enemy schemes. He's going to try to draw your heart away from God.

Be aware of that. Verse

17, he gives comes back and touches very quickly on the point of the rich people,

people that are pursuing wealth and material things. Tell them not to be hottaughty.

Tell them not to put their hope in the in the faulty, unstable foundation of

wealth. It's a poor foundation. rather have them put their faith and

their hope and their trust in the foundation of God. Faith in God. It's a sure foundation, man. Don't tell them

not to store up treasures for themselves here, but store up treasures for themselves in heaven.

If they're going to be rich in something, have them be rich in good works.

That's that's what to purs have them pursue, not wealth. pursue good works.

And with a final thought, he says, "Protect the gospel."

Protect the gospel. Church, I have loved this study for me personally through

this letter to Timothy. It it really kind of went from black and

white to vivid color when I walked those streets of Ephesus. Just thinking and imagining

Paul and Timothy walking those streets. Church, we're in a we're in a war. Be

aware of it. Protect the gospel

wherever you go. Be known as a follower of Jesus. Let's store up treasures in heaven by

doing good works. Let's be rich in good works.

Deal. Deal. Let's pray. Father, we come to you.

We ask that as we uh conclude this letter, but it wouldn't that it not be a

conclusion to the impact on our lives. Lord, I pray that we would be known for

what we run from and what we chase after, for what we fight for and what we're

committed to. Lord, may the world know and may you know that we are committed to you,

that we're willing to fight this good fight of the faith, not only the faith,

but for our own faith. Lord, may each of us make it an an issue this week. Maybe

we make it an issue of our life

to be a person of God. Lord, I pray for the person today that's

made a commitment to run from sin.

I pray for the person that today has made a commitment. They're going to contact a friend that they can have help

them help them be accountable to that commitment.

So Lord, I want to give you the the last word today. So use these

moments of silence to speak to the heart of your children

to move us, inspire us.