WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.120 Well, folks, do keep those verses open in front of you and we'll get into them together. 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:14.439 But just to kick us off, complete the phrase, looks can be deceiving. 00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:21.300 ! When was the last time that you either said that or thought that to yourself? 00:00:21.300 --> 00:00:21.879 Have a think. 00:00:24.179 --> 00:00:29.859 Before Alex and I moved to Edinburgh in 2012, we spent five months in Malawi. 00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:31.800 In Southern Africa. 00:00:32.700 --> 00:00:36.460 I remember one day going for a wander around one of the many marketplaces. 00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:40.600 And if you've ever been to that part of the world, you'll know that just marketplaces are absolutely everywhere. 00:00:41.519 --> 00:00:51.480 I loved the marketplaces when we were there, full of all sorts of noises, sights, smells, colour that I'd never really encountered before. 00:00:51.480 --> 00:00:58.879 I remember this one day when we were walking around the marketplace and I noticed a man wearing a T-shirt. 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:02.440 And I'd never seen anything like this T-shirt before. 00:01:02.439 --> 00:01:08.219 And being an extrovert, I kind of ran up to him really excited about his T-shirt. 00:01:08.299 --> 00:01:11.299 And his T-shirt said on it, ex-atheist. 00:01:11.299 --> 00:01:18.099 So I ran up to him enthusiastically and I said, my friend, my friend, I love your T-shirt. 00:01:19.739 --> 00:01:24.519 And he just looked at me blankly, which wasn't the response I was hoping for. 00:01:24.539 --> 00:01:29.140 I was hoping for some kind of marvellous testimony about how he'd come to faith, having down to God in the first place. 00:01:29.140 --> 00:01:31.599 But it turned out that this guy didn't speak a word of English. 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:37.659 So he tapped his friend on the shoulder and he got him to translate to him what I was saying. 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:43.359 And his friend understood what he was saying and then he relayed it back to me. 00:01:43.519 --> 00:01:45.659 And he said, oh, you mean that T-shirt? 00:01:46.519 --> 00:01:48.060 He doesn't know what it means. 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:50.180 He just likes the colour. 00:01:50.180 --> 00:01:57.660 And I was gutted because here was a man giving the impression of something being true in the outside. 00:01:59.060 --> 00:02:02.280 But actually something totally different was going on in the inside. 00:02:04.100 --> 00:02:06.680 Looks can be deceiving, can't they? 00:02:07.940 --> 00:02:11.580 And that's the issue that Paul's speaking into in these verses tonight. 00:02:12.900 --> 00:02:17.420 That he wants Timothy to understand that looks can be deceiving. 00:02:17.419 --> 00:02:27.899 Now what we're going to see is Paul give Timothy three things to heed when it comes to the people who have rocked up in Ephesus. 00:02:28.219 --> 00:02:30.139 And we're going to see how they apply to us today. 00:02:30.799 --> 00:02:32.479 The people who have rocked up in Ephesus. 00:02:32.659 --> 00:02:38.699 Now if you've been tracking with this series, and I recognize the summer is a bit stop start and you might be in and out for different ones. 00:02:39.259 --> 00:02:42.139 But there's this group who've rocked up in Ephesus into the church there. 00:02:42.259 --> 00:02:45.439 And essentially they are spiritual doppelgangers. 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:51.939 Their message is a looky-likey one to Paul's. 00:02:53.020 --> 00:02:57.960 And their lives are looky-likey ones to real deal Christians. 00:02:59.560 --> 00:03:05.020 And Paul's going to say to Timothy in this church where it's difficult to tell what's really going on. 00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:07.000 He's going to say looks can be deceiving. 00:03:08.360 --> 00:03:11.060 And at this point I can hear the voice of my kids in my ear. 00:03:11.199 --> 00:03:13.460 And they're so good at this they make me a better preacher. 00:03:13.460 --> 00:03:14.960 So what? 00:03:16.360 --> 00:03:16.599 Right? 00:03:16.659 --> 00:03:17.240 I'm bored. 00:03:18.340 --> 00:03:19.140 Who cares? 00:03:19.719 --> 00:03:21.280 And maybe that's what you're thinking. 00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:23.439 You're too polite to say it in your lips. 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:24.500 Maybe that's what you're thinking tonight. 00:03:24.580 --> 00:03:27.840 You read this list and you think can we not just skip chapter three. 00:03:28.180 --> 00:03:30.900 And I wondered that when I was preparing for this. 00:03:30.900 --> 00:03:36.520 Why didn't Paul just go from chapter two verse 26. 00:03:37.180 --> 00:03:42.259 And that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil who's taken them captive to do his will. 00:03:43.060 --> 00:03:46.540 Why didn't he jump just to chapter four verse one. 00:03:47.900 --> 00:03:50.980 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who judged the living and the dead and view the superior and the kingdom. 00:03:51.040 --> 00:03:51.580 I'll give you this charge. 00:03:51.659 --> 00:03:52.159 Preach the word. 00:03:52.480 --> 00:03:53.920 That could have been a seamless jump. 00:03:54.180 --> 00:03:56.860 Why give him all this detail? 00:03:56.860 --> 00:03:59.900 It's a good question isn't to ask. 00:04:00.140 --> 00:04:00.400 Why? 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:02.760 But let me give you two big reasons. 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:04.560 That's what we're going to explore as we go through here. 00:04:04.840 --> 00:04:10.600 Let me give you two big reasons to care about what we're going to consider over the next 20 minutes or so. 00:04:10.760 --> 00:04:11.180 You with me? 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:12.340 Two big reasons. 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:14.120 The first one is in the text. 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:17.280 And it's that phrase at verse one. 00:04:17.400 --> 00:04:18.199 Do you see it? 00:04:19.139 --> 00:04:20.340 The last days. 00:04:20.339 --> 00:04:31.199 That phrase means the time between Jesus ascending to heaven and the time when he returns. 00:04:32.339 --> 00:04:34.899 Timothy finds himself in that gap. 00:04:36.379 --> 00:04:39.799 And we find ourselves in that gap. 00:04:40.759 --> 00:04:45.479 And the fact that we live there in the last days. 00:04:46.179 --> 00:04:48.759 I want to suggest two things. 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:52.839 I want to suggest firstly that it's a reason to be massively optimistic. 00:04:54.839 --> 00:04:57.480 Glass half full kind of guy. 00:04:58.060 --> 00:04:59.699 I love this kind of stuff, right? 00:05:00.259 --> 00:05:02.339 It's a reason to be massively optimistic. 00:05:02.339 --> 00:05:07.159 Because this time, these last days are the time of gospel proclamation. 00:05:08.099 --> 00:05:08.240 Okay? 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:16.860 The gospel message of the risen Jesus is going forth to all nations and all peoples. 00:05:16.860 --> 00:05:25.439 And God is saving people to himself and giving life to men and women the world over through this message. 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:33.819 And nothing will stop him achieving his purposes of seeing his salvation plan going to the ends of the earth. 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:35.160 It's amazing. 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:37.400 Just come back from a week in Keswick. 00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:42.279 One of the big things that I haven't been in a big Christian gathering for a long, long time. 00:05:42.819 --> 00:05:49.319 But one of the things I was powerfully reminded of is that God is working in all sorts of ways that I will never hear about. 00:05:50.279 --> 00:05:53.339 You hear stories about what God's doing in Asia. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:57.179 And you hear stories about what God is doing in Cumbria. 00:05:58.459 --> 00:06:01.779 Places all over the world where God is at work through this message. 00:06:01.779 --> 00:06:06.839 And it's such a great reminder to think about the fact that it's bigger than EH10. 00:06:08.199 --> 00:06:08.339 Yeah? 00:06:09.219 --> 00:06:10.459 God is working. 00:06:10.679 --> 00:06:12.799 Jesus is plundering Satan's kingdom. 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:16.239 The light is invading the darkness. 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:21.119 And that's what happens every time someone becomes a Christian. 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:28.659 It's one of the great joys of my job as I see people make small steps of faithfulness to Jesus. 00:06:28.660 --> 00:06:30.540 What is happening there? 00:06:30.980 --> 00:06:33.260 The light is pressing back against the darkness. 00:06:34.260 --> 00:06:39.800 So we have every reason in the last days to be wildly optimistic. 00:06:40.940 --> 00:06:46.879 But the last days also means, secondly, that this is a reason to be realistic. 00:06:48.460 --> 00:06:52.860 Because this is the age when the spiritual battle rages. 00:06:52.860 --> 00:07:01.420 If that first part is true about optimism, then you would expect that the forces of hell will do everything that they can to stop it. 00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:05.480 The devil is the father of lies. 00:07:06.040 --> 00:07:07.860 The spiritual battle rages. 00:07:07.860 --> 00:07:12.600 So the first reason to listen to this tonight is in the text. 00:07:12.699 --> 00:07:13.660 We're in the last days. 00:07:13.759 --> 00:07:14.500 This is us. 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:19.540 But the second reason to think about it and listen tonight is outside the text. 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:23.020 Because this day is our day. 00:07:24.100 --> 00:07:31.620 We can expect this kind of stuff that Timothy's up against in Ephesus to be par for the course until Jesus returns. 00:07:31.620 --> 00:07:34.480 So this advice is timely. 00:07:35.379 --> 00:07:39.660 And what this is, is a call for discernment. 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:47.439 Now I spent a number of summers when I was a student trying to earn some cash to get me through the next term. 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:49.579 Working at the Clydesdale Bank. 00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:52.319 Some of you won't be old enough to remember the Clydesdale Bank. 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:55.040 The Clydesdale Bank was bought over by National Australia. 00:07:55.639 --> 00:07:58.019 National Australia was bought over by Virgin. 00:07:58.019 --> 00:08:01.859 And so technically I was working for Virgin Banks if you want to think about it like that. 00:08:02.439 --> 00:08:03.879 Working at the Clydesdale Bank. 00:08:04.339 --> 00:08:06.139 And I'm working as a teller at the front. 00:08:06.359 --> 00:08:08.439 So people used to come up to me and ask for cash. 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:11.719 And in my little drawer to the side where all my cash was. 00:08:12.299 --> 00:08:16.000 In amongst all the fives, the tens, the twenties, the fifties, the hundreds. 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:19.240 Was a wad of what we called your robbery notes. 00:08:20.379 --> 00:08:23.939 What would happen is that if somebody came in with a gun and said give me all your money. 00:08:24.299 --> 00:08:25.060 There's a bag. 00:08:25.060 --> 00:08:29.220 You would empty all your money in but you would slip in the robbery notes. 00:08:29.699 --> 00:08:32.279 So that when the person left and thought they'd got away with it. 00:08:32.500 --> 00:08:35.360 What would happen when they left when they went beyond the door. 00:08:35.500 --> 00:08:37.379 Is that something would trigger in those notes. 00:08:37.940 --> 00:08:40.320 And a red dye would explode all over the bag. 00:08:41.980 --> 00:08:46.919 But the thing is those robbery notes looked really like the real notes. 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:47.740 Right? 00:08:47.799 --> 00:08:49.139 Otherwise you would see straight through it. 00:08:49.179 --> 00:08:50.139 They looked really like it. 00:08:50.139 --> 00:08:53.899 But the only way you could tell which ones the robbery notes were. 00:08:54.620 --> 00:08:57.240 Was by being so in touch with the real deal. 00:08:57.360 --> 00:08:58.360 It was all about the touch. 00:08:58.740 --> 00:08:59.600 All about the touch. 00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:01.019 You could feel it. 00:09:02.620 --> 00:09:05.279 And this is kind of what Paul is saying here. 00:09:05.539 --> 00:09:06.699 All the way through this letter. 00:09:06.779 --> 00:09:09.059 You need to be so in touch with the real deal. 00:09:09.059 --> 00:09:12.199 That you can feel the fake a mile off. 00:09:13.719 --> 00:09:14.159 Discernment. 00:09:14.559 --> 00:09:14.719 Right? 00:09:15.199 --> 00:09:18.479 Difficult days call for clued up Christians. 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:19.879 That's what he's saying. 00:09:20.779 --> 00:09:22.399 And you'll see in the text there. 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:23.379 Paul lists. 00:09:24.079 --> 00:09:25.379 I think I counted them. 00:09:25.599 --> 00:09:30.379 19 characteristics that will mark people of the world in the last days. 00:09:30.459 --> 00:09:31.439 That's what's going on here. 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:39.460 Things that Paul is saying are true of these gospel opponents in Ephesus. 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:40.760 Again, remember the big thing. 00:09:40.920 --> 00:09:41.700 Looks can be deceiving. 00:09:41.800 --> 00:09:43.100 It doesn't look like it. 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:48.580 These guys are talking and walking in a sense like everyone else. 00:09:48.660 --> 00:09:51.920 But Paul's just lifting the lid off here of what's really going on. 00:09:52.880 --> 00:09:55.840 And just scan your eye over them there at verses 2 to 5. 00:09:56.960 --> 00:09:57.820 Look in the text. 00:09:57.900 --> 00:09:58.580 2 to 5. 00:10:00.360 --> 00:10:01.300 First impressions. 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:04.380 Really strong. 00:10:05.700 --> 00:10:06.140 Right? 00:10:07.180 --> 00:10:09.120 Even as we read it there, you would have felt it. 00:10:09.280 --> 00:10:10.460 Really, really strong. 00:10:11.800 --> 00:10:14.140 Very ugly words, isn't it, that he's using there. 00:10:14.220 --> 00:10:16.780 Now, we don't have time to look at all these things in detail. 00:10:17.460 --> 00:10:22.480 But let me just draw our attention to the word that comes up so often here. 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:24.060 Do you notice it? 00:10:24.060 --> 00:10:25.920 And it's the word love. 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:32.339 In the last days, people will love themselves rather than God. 00:10:34.659 --> 00:10:37.339 Misplaced and idolatrous loves. 00:10:37.659 --> 00:10:39.539 Lovers of self rather than lovers of God. 00:10:39.599 --> 00:10:40.639 It's the essence of sin. 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:49.279 But what's really surprising here is when we consider the group of people that Paul is talking about. 00:10:49.379 --> 00:10:51.319 For this isn't the people of the world. 00:10:51.320 --> 00:10:56.360 This is the people who are in the church. 00:10:56.420 --> 00:10:58.600 So this isn't these people out there. 00:10:58.600 --> 00:11:02.840 This is these people who are in here. 00:11:03.139 --> 00:11:05.460 The people who claim to follow Jesus. 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:10.259 And of course, it's not obvious and clear to Timothy or to anyone watching who's who. 00:11:10.259 --> 00:11:19.120 But the fact that Paul takes time to mention it, I think, is meant to wake Timothy up to the reality of what's going on here. 00:11:19.659 --> 00:11:23.159 You know, I remember getting a letter through the post a few years ago, came to my office. 00:11:24.179 --> 00:11:29.259 From the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints. 00:11:29.559 --> 00:11:34.899 And they were calling us to join them as Christians, fellow Christians, to work together in mission. 00:11:34.899 --> 00:11:38.500 Now listen, we love our Mormon friends. 00:11:39.579 --> 00:11:44.720 But we've got to understand that things might look very samey on the surface. 00:11:45.419 --> 00:11:48.459 But we believe completely different things about Jesus. 00:11:51.039 --> 00:11:54.699 And as far as it concerns these people in Ephesus, see verse 5. 00:11:57.299 --> 00:11:59.620 That's the kind of thing that Paul wants Timothy to see. 00:12:00.120 --> 00:12:01.500 We're totally different teams. 00:12:02.319 --> 00:12:04.360 So what is it about these people in Ephesus? 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:06.639 And this is really important to see the details here. 00:12:07.100 --> 00:12:08.700 Paul says, do you see it, verse 5? 00:12:08.779 --> 00:12:10.460 They have a form of godliness. 00:12:11.860 --> 00:12:13.840 So they look like the real deal. 00:12:14.960 --> 00:12:17.300 But peel back the skin, lift the bonnet. 00:12:18.300 --> 00:12:20.860 And they are just like everyone else in the world. 00:12:21.120 --> 00:12:22.879 So they value the same things. 00:12:23.639 --> 00:12:25.320 They love the same things. 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:26.919 They desire the same things. 00:12:27.019 --> 00:12:28.360 They chase the same things. 00:12:28.440 --> 00:12:29.680 They teach the same things. 00:12:29.940 --> 00:12:32.139 And how is Timothy to identify them? 00:12:32.139 --> 00:12:38.240 It would be easy if they wore a medallion with a big F for false teacher on the front, wouldn't it? 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:39.000 It would be really easy. 00:12:39.319 --> 00:12:42.240 But I take it that Paul has to write this because it's really hard. 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:56.580 But he says, you'll know them, Timothy, not by what they wear, but by reflecting on and listening to what they are saying about the gospel message that I have passed on to you. 00:12:56.580 --> 00:13:02.759 And what we'll see next week is that it's intrinsically tied up with this idea of suffering. 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:10.280 You've seen it all the way through the letter, all the way through, this idea of suffering because of Christ. 00:13:11.700 --> 00:13:13.780 What are these fakes doing, says Paul? 00:13:13.779 --> 00:13:15.779 They are denying its power. 00:13:15.779 --> 00:13:17.699 And that's the message. 00:13:18.459 --> 00:13:20.759 They are denying its power. 00:13:22.120 --> 00:13:27.799 And I take it that's the power to really change a person internally. 00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:36.019 And Paul's point is that only his gospel can deliver those goods. 00:13:36.019 --> 00:13:43.980 And this will happen in the last days, Timothy, and it will happen in the church for those who are supposedly on your team. 00:13:44.159 --> 00:13:49.159 So remember this, difficult days call for clued up Christians. 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:52.319 What is Timothy to do? 00:13:53.939 --> 00:13:55.279 What are we to do? 00:13:56.179 --> 00:14:01.299 If this is going to be a constant battle until Jesus comes home, what are we to do? 00:14:01.699 --> 00:14:03.639 Because this can be really unsettling. 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:07.259 Well, here's the first of the three things. 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:09.879 Try and make this really easy so we can get it. 00:14:10.039 --> 00:14:10.139 Okay. 00:14:10.559 --> 00:14:12.939 Here's the first, I think, what Paul is saying here. 00:14:13.539 --> 00:14:15.000 Number one, watch the heart. 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:17.759 Watch the heart. 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:26.759 So if verse five, these men have a form of godliness, but are denying its power. 00:14:27.899 --> 00:14:32.720 I think the invitation to Timothy is to do the opposite. 00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:36.679 To live a life that shows its power. 00:14:37.240 --> 00:14:39.299 That's been the theme all the way through this letter, isn't it? 00:14:39.299 --> 00:14:42.580 To live a life that shows its power. 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:51.419 Because if Timothy is almost tempted to try and beat them at their own game or to fight fire with fire, 00:14:52.480 --> 00:14:56.220 Paul has said all the way through this letter, that's not how the servant of God behaves. 00:14:56.220 --> 00:15:03.860 How much of this letter is how Timothy is meant to conduct himself in unsettling and difficult times? 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:06.120 Now, what's going to show its power? 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:11.960 Well, if you glance back at verse 22 of chapter 2, 00:15:12.820 --> 00:15:14.840 and we're going to think about more of these things next week, 00:15:15.620 --> 00:15:18.420 what is Timothy to pursue? 00:15:18.419 --> 00:15:21.839 So he's not just to go on the defense, he's to go on the offense as well. 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:22.379 Okay? 00:15:23.299 --> 00:15:28.379 So what the reformers used to talk about, mortification of the flesh and the vivification of the flesh. 00:15:28.599 --> 00:15:28.839 So, right? 00:15:28.939 --> 00:15:30.939 Killing sin, but pursuing Christ. 00:15:31.319 --> 00:15:32.240 What's he to pursue? 00:15:32.599 --> 00:15:34.039 Verse 22 of chapter 2. 00:15:34.259 --> 00:15:36.319 Really easy to remember, by the way, 2-2-2. 00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:43.400 He's to pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace. 00:15:44.800 --> 00:15:46.420 Verse 9 of chapter 1. 00:15:46.580 --> 00:15:48.440 God has saved us and he's called us to what? 00:15:48.520 --> 00:15:49.020 Do you see it? 00:15:51.740 --> 00:15:52.980 Verse 9 of chapter 1. 00:15:53.040 --> 00:15:56.120 He's called us to a holy life. 00:15:58.180 --> 00:16:00.300 Friends, what's going to convince the world? 00:16:01.260 --> 00:16:03.480 What's going to convince the people in your office? 00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:06.519 What's going to convince your friends and family? 00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:12.240 What's going to convince your course mates of the truth of what you and I believe and preach? 00:16:13.420 --> 00:16:18.519 It's that the fingertips of the Spirit of Jesus, the fingerprints rather, of the Spirit, 00:16:19.220 --> 00:16:21.820 are all over our words and our actions. 00:16:24.580 --> 00:16:29.980 Now, if we see anything of these signs that are listed at verse 3 of chapter 3, 00:16:29.980 --> 00:16:32.300 if we see any of them in our lives, 00:16:33.259 --> 00:16:37.820 this is a call that it should be sounding alarm bells in our mind. 00:16:39.220 --> 00:16:41.240 Because I don't know, I come to this list so often 00:16:41.240 --> 00:16:45.560 and this is what Jerry Bridges would call respectable sins, so much of this stuff. 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:50.940 And it's so easy just to ignore it when we see it in our lives. 00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:56.019 You know, there's a warning sign that's been on my car dashboard for a while 00:16:56.019 --> 00:16:58.579 and it just says, add blue, right? 00:16:58.980 --> 00:17:00.980 I need to top that up and I'm looking at it thinking, 00:17:01.100 --> 00:17:02.659 well, the engine's not falling apart. 00:17:02.819 --> 00:17:05.119 I've still got my tires are working. 00:17:05.240 --> 00:17:06.599 I think I can get to that later. 00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:10.180 But friends, this is a call when we see this stuff in our lives. 00:17:12.019 --> 00:17:14.079 Lord, would you search my heart and help me kill it? 00:17:16.680 --> 00:17:17.660 Sin is sin. 00:17:17.660 --> 00:17:25.540 It is so easy to think and to sing about grace without any embedded repentance. 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:27.440 Let's say that again, get our heads around that. 00:17:28.320 --> 00:17:35.840 It's so easy to sing about grace and marvel at grace without any embedded repentance. 00:17:37.800 --> 00:17:43.620 When was the last time, friends, that we repented of a small sin that we saw in our lives? 00:17:43.619 --> 00:17:48.939 I take it that instinct is a spirit-inspired, wonderful thing. 00:17:52.059 --> 00:17:57.379 Lord, search our hearts for the things that I don't even know are there. 00:17:58.299 --> 00:18:00.099 Would you help me search my heart? 00:18:00.199 --> 00:18:03.199 Would you bring to the surface the things I need to change? 00:18:03.779 --> 00:18:06.219 Father, thank you that you're in the business of transformation. 00:18:08.459 --> 00:18:10.699 Do you see how he's not going to fight fire with fire? 00:18:10.700 --> 00:18:13.759 He's going to tackle them by holiness. 00:18:14.200 --> 00:18:15.220 It's wonderful, isn't it? 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:17.960 The wisdom that Paul imparts here. 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:19.299 That's the first thing, guys. 00:18:19.400 --> 00:18:20.120 Watch the heart. 00:18:21.160 --> 00:18:24.080 Second thing, stay the course. 00:18:25.660 --> 00:18:26.559 Stay the course. 00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:32.420 Beginning of verse 7, what is the accusation against these men, these individuals? 00:18:32.420 --> 00:18:41.320 They are always learning, but never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:48.300 I take it this is a person, and Paul's aware of this stuff going on in Ephesus. 00:18:50.039 --> 00:18:56.740 A person that has a mind that is restlessly infatuated by the latest and the shiniest 00:18:56.740 --> 00:18:59.779 and the most spiritual-sounding fad in town. 00:18:59.779 --> 00:19:04.899 I wonder whether Timothy's tempted to believe some of it. 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:08.960 Maybe he's got it slightly wrong. 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:11.039 Maybe there's something that he could learn. 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:12.680 Maybe there is more. 00:19:12.819 --> 00:19:15.680 What is the implication here for Timothy? 00:19:17.420 --> 00:19:22.279 Timothy, unlike them, you already have the truth. 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:26.039 Yes, it's cross-shaped. 00:19:27.299 --> 00:19:28.940 Yes, it's marked by suffering. 00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:32.899 Yes, it doesn't look or sound impressive to the world. 00:19:33.019 --> 00:19:34.920 We're not so grateful for that reminder this morning. 00:19:36.039 --> 00:19:37.619 But make no mistake. 00:19:38.980 --> 00:19:42.559 It is a message about a Savior who has destroyed death 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:47.879 and brought life and immortality to life. 00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:50.100 That's what the gospel is. 00:19:51.040 --> 00:19:54.620 How often we forget that that's the wonderful truth at the heart of it. 00:19:54.700 --> 00:19:55.960 Do you not love that? 00:19:56.040 --> 00:19:58.760 Go and read that again at chapter 1, verse 10. 00:19:58.759 --> 00:20:05.980 It's now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, 00:20:05.980 --> 00:20:07.460 who has destroyed death 00:20:07.460 --> 00:20:11.640 and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 00:20:11.779 --> 00:20:13.240 This is Paul's gospel message. 00:20:13.339 --> 00:20:14.539 This is the one that we have. 00:20:14.539 --> 00:20:21.339 So life for you now, Timothy, is not about contemplating moving on 00:20:21.339 --> 00:20:25.779 or somehow thinking you are able to graduate the gospel. 00:20:26.379 --> 00:20:29.759 No, life now and for the rest of your days 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:32.859 is about pressing further into it. 00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:36.799 Remember that song from Kanye West years ago? 00:20:38.500 --> 00:20:40.299 Harder, better, faster, stronger. 00:20:40.639 --> 00:20:41.599 Was that him or Daft Punk? 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:43.019 I can't remember, right? 00:20:43.019 --> 00:20:45.920 But that is what the world says, 00:20:46.099 --> 00:20:49.660 infatuated by harder, better, faster, stronger. 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:50.879 Do you know what the gospel says? 00:20:51.220 --> 00:20:52.839 The gospel says deeper. 00:20:54.619 --> 00:20:55.099 Deeper. 00:20:55.700 --> 00:20:59.019 And we are talking marina trench depth to the gospel. 00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:02.400 Friends, there are contours, there are glories, 00:21:02.599 --> 00:21:05.799 there are marvels that we just have yet to see. 00:21:06.940 --> 00:21:10.660 And this is an invitation for Timothy to see that he has the truth. 00:21:11.319 --> 00:21:12.420 He has the truth. 00:21:12.420 --> 00:21:16.039 The one that he heard, remember down his family line, 00:21:16.120 --> 00:21:18.259 we thought about that, chapter one. 00:21:18.420 --> 00:21:20.060 He heard it from his grandmother, Lois. 00:21:20.220 --> 00:21:21.860 He heard it from his mother, Eunice. 00:21:21.960 --> 00:21:24.279 And now Paul is persuaded, now lives in him. 00:21:24.360 --> 00:21:25.360 He has the truth. 00:21:26.759 --> 00:21:28.660 What Christ has done for us, 00:21:29.500 --> 00:21:31.340 the hope that's ahead of us, 00:21:31.420 --> 00:21:34.160 the status that is now ours in Christ, 00:21:34.320 --> 00:21:36.039 adopted children of the living God, 00:21:36.320 --> 00:21:37.360 you have the truth. 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:43.059 It's what a massive theme that has been in this letter, isn't it? 00:21:43.399 --> 00:21:45.219 You have the truth, stay the course. 00:21:45.939 --> 00:21:47.299 Remember those at chapter two, 00:21:47.479 --> 00:21:48.979 and sorry I'm jumping about a little bit here, 00:21:49.059 --> 00:21:50.839 it's just, I've had a lot of time to think about this, right? 00:21:50.919 --> 00:21:51.519 Chapter two. 00:21:52.679 --> 00:21:55.199 Paul gives Timothy those three metaphors, 00:21:55.979 --> 00:21:57.939 those three images to think about. 00:21:57.940 --> 00:22:01.200 He says, verse seven of chapter two, 00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:03.779 reflect on what I am saying. 00:22:04.039 --> 00:22:06.240 And you see how Paul gives him those three things. 00:22:06.320 --> 00:22:09.400 The soldier, verse four. 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:13.840 The soldier, which I take it as just a call to focus. 00:22:14.740 --> 00:22:16.820 Stay focused on what God has called you to do. 00:22:16.900 --> 00:22:17.539 Don't deviate. 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:19.059 He's called you to preach the gospel. 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:21.240 In Ephesus, stay where you are. 00:22:21.539 --> 00:22:21.840 Focus. 00:22:22.399 --> 00:22:26.119 The athlete, which I think is a call to don't cheat, right? 00:22:26.220 --> 00:22:27.559 Don't cut corners. 00:22:28.559 --> 00:22:30.419 And I wonder whether in the context, 00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:33.439 that is Timothy being tempted to take some of the sharp edges 00:22:33.439 --> 00:22:36.619 of the gospel to try and win a few more people to his cause. 00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:39.179 And then you get the farmer. 00:22:39.319 --> 00:22:39.959 Do you see that? 00:22:40.579 --> 00:22:44.099 The farmer, verse six, hardworking. 00:22:44.659 --> 00:22:48.679 The image is him of the farmer sowing diligently night and day. 00:22:49.079 --> 00:22:51.339 But I wonder if there's something in the farmer, 00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:54.259 of the fact of, 00:22:55.740 --> 00:23:00.639 in the fact that the farmer doesn't see the results immediately. 00:23:02.259 --> 00:23:04.779 And I wonder if Timothy's living in a world 00:23:04.779 --> 00:23:06.740 where things are instant and things happen. 00:23:06.839 --> 00:23:08.059 And Paul is saying, no, no, no, no. 00:23:08.579 --> 00:23:10.000 If you're going to stay the course, 00:23:10.659 --> 00:23:13.240 you're going to be in it for a long, long time. 00:23:13.679 --> 00:23:15.339 Keep on doing the right thing. 00:23:16.119 --> 00:23:18.359 And the wonderful thing about that image, isn't it? 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:21.339 That you don't see the effects of your labor immediately. 00:23:21.339 --> 00:23:23.259 I mean, apple trees don't just appear overnight. 00:23:25.079 --> 00:23:28.399 You might not see it, but you know behind the scenes, 00:23:28.539 --> 00:23:32.139 God is working his purposes out in the silent 00:23:32.139 --> 00:23:34.859 and in the unseen and the everyday. 00:23:35.399 --> 00:23:36.679 Now, you might not see it. 00:23:36.740 --> 00:23:38.139 You might never see it in your life, 00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:40.980 but you better believe that God is at work through this message. 00:23:41.299 --> 00:23:42.619 Does that not encourage you tonight? 00:23:43.819 --> 00:23:45.779 As you think about going to your workplace, 00:23:45.779 --> 00:23:49.599 I remember a young lawyer working away thinking, 00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:51.119 is this making any difference? 00:23:51.839 --> 00:23:54.039 Does it not encourage you tonight with your family 00:23:54.039 --> 00:23:56.000 who are unbelieving, perhaps? 00:23:56.599 --> 00:23:58.839 Thinking, is my witness making any difference? 00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:01.920 Is it making a difference when you think about your kids, 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:04.079 bringing them up, about your marriage, about your friends? 00:24:04.180 --> 00:24:04.940 All these things. 00:24:05.059 --> 00:24:07.200 Does this make a difference, doing the right thing? 00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:10.200 This is an invitation to see that it does. 00:24:11.460 --> 00:24:12.460 Stay the course. 00:24:14.500 --> 00:24:16.140 That's what we're called to do here. 00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:19.680 And then third, mind the end. 00:24:21.160 --> 00:24:22.039 Mind the end. 00:24:22.140 --> 00:24:23.080 So look at verse eight. 00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:27.160 Who does he mention here at verse eight? 00:24:27.160 --> 00:24:33.000 He mentions these two individuals called Jannes and Jambres. 00:24:34.040 --> 00:24:34.640 You see that? 00:24:35.900 --> 00:24:40.960 Widely understood to be the names of two of Pharaoh's magicians 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:42.360 in the Exodus story. 00:24:43.460 --> 00:24:44.880 So Exodus chapter seven. 00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:46.180 What happens in that narrative? 00:24:47.640 --> 00:24:51.620 God tells Moses and Aaron to perform a miracle in front of Pharaoh. 00:24:51.619 --> 00:24:57.619 So they rock up and they try their best to demonstrate to Pharaoh 00:24:57.619 --> 00:25:00.579 the truth of the God that he is defying and denying. 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:03.899 You can make a case that the whole book of Exodus is about that. 00:25:04.179 --> 00:25:07.139 Pharaoh declares straight off in that first encounter, 00:25:07.259 --> 00:25:08.079 who is the Lord? 00:25:09.099 --> 00:25:13.339 The book of Exodus is about the world knowing who the Lord is. 00:25:14.459 --> 00:25:16.019 But Pharaoh says, who is the Lord? 00:25:16.099 --> 00:25:19.039 And Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh and they throw down their staff. 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:24.000 And it turns into a snake and you think, wow, that's incredible. 00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:27.079 But what do Pharaoh's magicians do? 00:25:27.899 --> 00:25:29.759 They do exactly the same trick. 00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:34.079 What does Pharaoh think to himself at that point? 00:25:34.180 --> 00:25:36.000 Well, he thinks, if my guys can do it, 00:25:39.240 --> 00:25:41.079 if my guys can do the same thing, 00:25:42.519 --> 00:25:44.720 then your trick, Moses and Aaron, your God, 00:25:45.639 --> 00:25:46.859 he's met his match. 00:25:46.859 --> 00:25:50.019 Isn't that all special after all? 00:25:52.719 --> 00:25:55.339 So Janes and Jambres oppose God's truth 00:25:55.339 --> 00:25:57.399 by pretending to be the same thing 00:25:57.399 --> 00:26:01.859 and in so doing, lead people away 00:26:01.859 --> 00:26:06.079 from coming face to face with the living God and God's truth. 00:26:06.159 --> 00:26:06.859 Do you see the connections? 00:26:08.299 --> 00:26:11.179 That's the comparison that Paul makes between them 00:26:11.180 --> 00:26:16.640 and these false teachers who are in Ephesus. 00:26:18.039 --> 00:26:23.539 And it's interesting why he mentions Janes and Jambres 00:26:23.539 --> 00:26:26.820 of all the people from that Exodus story 00:26:26.820 --> 00:26:28.500 that he could have picked to illustrate that point. 00:26:29.720 --> 00:26:31.820 And here's two reasons I think he does it. 00:26:31.819 --> 00:26:36.419 Firstly, and quite simply, to help Timothy understand 00:26:36.419 --> 00:26:40.879 the side these false teachers, these gospel opponents, 00:26:41.639 --> 00:26:43.240 the side that they are really on 00:26:43.240 --> 00:26:46.220 is the same side that Janes and Jambres were on 00:26:46.220 --> 00:26:48.159 all those thousands of years ago. 00:26:49.460 --> 00:26:50.839 Not on your team, Timothy. 00:26:50.839 --> 00:26:55.199 But secondly, and I think this is really powerful 00:26:55.199 --> 00:26:56.619 and encouraging for us tonight, 00:26:57.619 --> 00:27:00.859 is in relation to what Paul says here 00:27:00.859 --> 00:27:02.579 at verse 9 of chapter 3. 00:27:02.899 --> 00:27:03.659 Have a look at it. 00:27:05.559 --> 00:27:07.059 He says, ultimately, 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:09.839 they will be exposed. 00:27:09.839 --> 00:27:13.379 What happens in the Exodus story, 00:27:13.480 --> 00:27:14.799 Moses throws down a snake, 00:27:14.959 --> 00:27:15.939 Janes and Jambres, 00:27:16.139 --> 00:27:17.379 they throw down their snakes. 00:27:17.500 --> 00:27:18.220 Is it a draw? 00:27:20.439 --> 00:27:22.000 Well, it isn't a draw, is it? 00:27:22.500 --> 00:27:23.759 Because who eats who 00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:25.959 in this mighty battle of the snakes? 00:27:26.459 --> 00:27:29.539 Moses' snake eats up the magician's snakes. 00:27:31.240 --> 00:27:33.119 God will have the victory in the end. 00:27:34.339 --> 00:27:36.919 And Timothy, it's the same for your situation. 00:27:37.139 --> 00:27:39.359 Friends, it's the same for our situation today. 00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:39.979 Right now. 00:27:40.740 --> 00:27:43.579 We don't know when the Lord Jesus will return 00:27:43.579 --> 00:27:47.159 and victory will be visible and final 00:27:47.159 --> 00:27:48.500 for all to see. 00:27:48.979 --> 00:27:50.459 We don't know when that will happen. 00:27:51.379 --> 00:27:53.759 But we do know that one day 00:27:53.759 --> 00:27:56.179 Jesus tells us that it will. 00:27:58.319 --> 00:28:00.500 And in the end, God's truth 00:28:00.500 --> 00:28:05.000 will swallow up every single God pretender. 00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:09.380 And this is a call to play the long game. 00:28:10.680 --> 00:28:11.579 Play the long game. 00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:14.880 It's a call to wait faithfully. 00:28:16.259 --> 00:28:17.059 I don't know about you, 00:28:17.119 --> 00:28:18.220 but I'm not very good at waiting. 00:28:21.059 --> 00:28:22.380 But this is the kind of waiting 00:28:22.380 --> 00:28:25.799 that is called for here. 00:28:25.859 --> 00:28:26.420 The kind of waiting. 00:28:26.539 --> 00:28:28.460 It's not like I'm waiting on a letter 00:28:28.460 --> 00:28:30.079 to come through the post kind of waiting. 00:28:30.939 --> 00:28:31.099 Right? 00:28:31.199 --> 00:28:32.839 You don't organize your life 00:28:32.839 --> 00:28:34.159 around the fact that you know 00:28:34.159 --> 00:28:34.839 you're getting a letter 00:28:34.839 --> 00:28:35.740 through the post, do you? 00:28:37.299 --> 00:28:37.659 No. 00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:40.579 But when you're waiting on a new sofa 00:28:40.579 --> 00:28:42.619 or a new fridge, 00:28:42.659 --> 00:28:43.839 or whatever it is you're waiting for, 00:28:44.379 --> 00:28:46.139 the kind of thing that you annoyingly 00:28:46.139 --> 00:28:47.480 need to be in for to sign, 00:28:48.599 --> 00:28:50.119 you arrange your whole day. 00:28:50.519 --> 00:28:52.240 In fact, they annoyingly give you, 00:28:52.299 --> 00:28:54.319 it will be there sometime between nine and five, 00:28:54.419 --> 00:28:54.639 don't they? 00:28:55.440 --> 00:28:57.360 You organize your whole day around that. 00:28:57.560 --> 00:28:59.380 Everything else pivots around your day 00:28:59.380 --> 00:29:00.220 around that thing. 00:29:00.500 --> 00:29:01.620 And that's the kind of waiting 00:29:01.620 --> 00:29:02.920 that Paul's talking about here. 00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:04.640 It's the kind of waiting, 00:29:04.800 --> 00:29:05.759 the friends that you and I, 00:29:05.940 --> 00:29:07.980 because of Jesus returning that event, 00:29:07.980 --> 00:29:10.400 we organize our whole lives 00:29:10.400 --> 00:29:12.860 around its certainty. 00:29:14.120 --> 00:29:15.580 That's the kind of waiting, 00:29:16.920 --> 00:29:17.980 faithful waiting, 00:29:18.500 --> 00:29:20.700 that Paul is urging Timothy 00:29:20.700 --> 00:29:21.800 to adopt and see. 00:29:22.500 --> 00:29:24.220 And it's the kind of faithful waiting 00:29:24.220 --> 00:29:26.500 that God is inviting us into as well. 00:29:28.180 --> 00:29:29.440 You know, just as we close, 00:29:31.079 --> 00:29:32.879 there was a magazine that's still going, 00:29:33.019 --> 00:29:33.879 I think it's still going. 00:29:35.099 --> 00:29:36.259 I remember my dad gave us 00:29:36.259 --> 00:29:37.379 an annual subscription of it 00:29:37.379 --> 00:29:38.119 when we were young. 00:29:38.919 --> 00:29:39.919 Just to try and get us reading 00:29:39.919 --> 00:29:42.319 more widely than Roald Dahl. 00:29:43.779 --> 00:29:44.819 We had a year subscription 00:29:44.819 --> 00:29:46.399 to Time Magazine, right? 00:29:46.700 --> 00:29:48.059 Anyone read Time Magazine, 00:29:48.180 --> 00:29:49.460 you know what I'm talking about, yeah? 00:29:49.460 --> 00:29:51.700 Every year Time Magazine 00:29:51.700 --> 00:29:52.779 used to publish this thing, 00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:53.600 and I think it still does, 00:29:53.680 --> 00:29:55.920 the top 10 most influential people 00:29:55.920 --> 00:29:57.819 in the world list, right? 00:29:58.400 --> 00:29:59.720 Well, in 2002, 00:30:00.860 --> 00:30:02.539 in that top 10 people, 00:30:02.600 --> 00:30:03.920 the most influential in the world 00:30:03.920 --> 00:30:06.140 was this man called Robert Atkins. 00:30:07.740 --> 00:30:09.860 And here's how I first encountered 00:30:09.860 --> 00:30:11.240 that name, Robert Atkins, 00:30:11.319 --> 00:30:13.180 as I think a 15, 16 year old. 00:30:14.200 --> 00:30:15.279 So I remember coming down 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:16.440 as a teenager one morning 00:30:16.440 --> 00:30:17.200 for breakfast. 00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:19.559 And this was a school morning, 00:30:19.640 --> 00:30:20.480 it wasn't even a weekend, 00:30:20.640 --> 00:30:22.440 coming down and all I could smell 00:30:22.440 --> 00:30:23.460 was the smell of bacon. 00:30:24.460 --> 00:30:25.279 And I thought, 00:30:25.460 --> 00:30:26.740 this has never happened 00:30:26.740 --> 00:30:27.640 in our house before 00:30:27.640 --> 00:30:28.640 on a school day, 00:30:28.840 --> 00:30:29.400 school morning. 00:30:30.700 --> 00:30:31.759 Absolute jackpot. 00:30:33.740 --> 00:30:35.740 But my hopes were absolutely dashed 00:30:35.740 --> 00:30:37.039 in the cruelest way possible 00:30:37.039 --> 00:30:38.100 because I got there 00:30:38.100 --> 00:30:39.019 and mum said, 00:30:39.259 --> 00:30:40.299 it's not for you, 00:30:41.180 --> 00:30:42.920 it's for your dad. 00:30:42.920 --> 00:30:43.519 Dad, 00:30:43.519 --> 00:30:45.620 dad who sat right next to me 00:30:45.620 --> 00:30:46.539 at the breakfast table, 00:30:46.620 --> 00:30:47.920 you can imagine how painful 00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:49.120 an experience it was each 00:30:49.120 --> 00:30:51.640 and watching him eat his bacon. 00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:53.960 But my mum said, 00:30:54.240 --> 00:30:55.660 dad's on the Atkins diet. 00:30:57.360 --> 00:30:59.200 So Robert Atkins was this man 00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:00.420 whose diet program 00:31:00.420 --> 00:31:02.180 at the tail end of the 90s, 00:31:02.220 --> 00:31:03.680 it swept the world. 00:31:05.460 --> 00:31:07.740 It was absolutely everywhere. 00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:10.319 And the crux of it is, 00:31:11.079 --> 00:31:13.000 the crux of his program was, 00:31:13.380 --> 00:31:14.620 the key to weight loss 00:31:14.620 --> 00:31:16.299 is to just cut out carbs 00:31:16.299 --> 00:31:18.640 and replace it with 00:31:18.640 --> 00:31:19.880 whatever you want. 00:31:21.180 --> 00:31:23.000 And the marketing behind this 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:24.640 was absolutely brilliant. 00:31:24.839 --> 00:31:25.700 That's why it was able to 00:31:25.700 --> 00:31:27.059 take over the globe 00:31:27.059 --> 00:31:28.099 in a matter of months. 00:31:28.359 --> 00:31:30.220 But the science behind it 00:31:30.220 --> 00:31:32.839 was absolutely lacking. 00:31:34.740 --> 00:31:35.640 Robert Atkins, 00:31:35.960 --> 00:31:36.539 ironically, 00:31:36.539 --> 00:31:37.680 get this, 00:31:38.539 --> 00:31:39.859 he died of a heart attack 00:31:39.859 --> 00:31:40.740 in 2002. 00:31:42.220 --> 00:31:43.240 And his company 00:31:43.240 --> 00:31:44.420 that was 00:31:44.420 --> 00:31:46.559 a multi-billion company, 00:31:46.659 --> 00:31:47.879 it filed for bankruptcy 00:31:47.879 --> 00:31:49.200 in 2005. 00:31:49.759 --> 00:31:50.139 Today, 00:31:51.000 --> 00:31:52.299 the Atkins program, 00:31:52.440 --> 00:31:53.339 the Atkins diet, 00:31:53.519 --> 00:31:54.359 is officially 00:31:54.359 --> 00:31:55.539 a fad. 00:31:56.859 --> 00:31:57.119 Now, 00:31:57.200 --> 00:31:58.159 if you had told someone 00:31:58.159 --> 00:31:59.399 that in 1999, 00:32:00.319 --> 00:32:01.339 that that's how it would 00:32:01.339 --> 00:32:02.599 turn out for Robert Atkins 00:32:02.599 --> 00:32:04.099 and his so-called wisdom, 00:32:04.879 --> 00:32:05.399 you would have been 00:32:05.399 --> 00:32:06.079 laughed out 00:32:06.079 --> 00:32:07.240 the joint. 00:32:08.599 --> 00:32:09.240 But now, 00:32:09.319 --> 00:32:10.220 looking back on that, 00:32:10.679 --> 00:32:11.679 decades later, 00:32:11.799 --> 00:32:13.319 it was so obvious 00:32:13.319 --> 00:32:15.059 to everyone 00:32:15.059 --> 00:32:16.119 looking back on that, 00:32:16.759 --> 00:32:17.899 just how lacking 00:32:17.899 --> 00:32:19.079 in wisdom it was. 00:32:20.759 --> 00:32:21.079 Friends, 00:32:21.220 --> 00:32:21.960 in the end, 00:32:22.039 --> 00:32:23.000 do you see how Paul 00:32:23.000 --> 00:32:23.740 finishes this 00:32:23.740 --> 00:32:24.439 at verse 9? 00:32:24.440 --> 00:32:27.440 in the end, 00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:27.440 00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:27.440 00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:27.440 00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:27.440 00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:27.440 00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:27.440 00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:27.440 00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:28.019 in the end, 00:32:28.019 --> 00:32:29.180 in the end, 00:32:29.180 --> 00:32:30.180 in the end, 00:32:30.180 --> 00:32:29.440 ! 00:32:29.440 --> 00:32:30.180 It might be in time, 00:32:30.299 --> 00:32:31.200 but it will definitely 00:32:31.200 --> 00:32:32.120 be in the end 00:32:32.120 --> 00:32:33.039 when Jesus returns. 00:32:34.039 --> 00:32:34.860 In the end, 00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:37.240 wisdom will be shown 00:32:37.240 --> 00:32:38.100 to be wisdom. 00:32:39.220 --> 00:32:40.860 And in the end, 00:32:41.259 --> 00:32:43.299 folly will be clear 00:32:43.299 --> 00:32:44.860 for everyone to see. 00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:47.559 In the last days, 00:32:47.759 --> 00:32:49.600 many imposters will come, 00:32:49.720 --> 00:32:51.039 they will make a splash, 00:32:51.039 --> 00:32:53.980 and they will go. 00:32:55.240 --> 00:32:56.359 And as difficult 00:32:56.359 --> 00:32:57.539 as it is now, 00:32:57.779 --> 00:32:58.839 what we need to 00:32:58.839 --> 00:32:59.740 understand is, 00:32:59.799 --> 00:33:00.599 we look around 00:33:00.599 --> 00:33:01.559 at our world today 00:33:01.559 --> 00:33:02.019 and think, 00:33:02.099 --> 00:33:02.639 who's going to be 00:33:02.639 --> 00:33:03.759 standing in the end? 00:33:04.200 --> 00:33:05.720 We need to understand 00:33:05.720 --> 00:33:06.740 that in the end, 00:33:06.859 --> 00:33:07.920 there's only going to be 00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:10.119 one person left standing. 00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:12.940 And one person's wisdom 00:33:12.940 --> 00:33:14.099 declared to be wisdom. 00:33:14.099 --> 00:33:16.539 And his name is Jesus. 00:33:17.699 --> 00:33:19.679 So this is an invitation 00:33:19.679 --> 00:33:20.419 tonight 00:33:20.419 --> 00:33:22.459 to live our lives 00:33:22.459 --> 00:33:23.199 in the world 00:33:23.199 --> 00:33:23.740 where, 00:33:23.879 --> 00:33:24.559 to be honest, 00:33:24.699 --> 00:33:26.480 it sometimes doesn't feel 00:33:26.480 --> 00:33:27.419 like God is winning. 00:33:28.799 --> 00:33:30.179 It's an invitation 00:33:30.179 --> 00:33:31.619 to trust Jesus, 00:33:32.379 --> 00:33:34.179 to live out our identity 00:33:34.179 --> 00:33:36.039 in who he has made us to be, 00:33:36.379 --> 00:33:37.759 to trust fully 00:33:37.759 --> 00:33:38.859 as people of faith 00:33:38.859 --> 00:33:40.599 in the promises of God, 00:33:40.599 --> 00:33:44.539 and play the long game. 00:33:46.899 --> 00:33:47.480 So friends, 00:33:47.519 --> 00:33:48.119 we're going to pray, 00:33:49.219 --> 00:33:50.019 but why don't we just 00:33:50.019 --> 00:33:51.219 be quiet for a minute 00:33:51.219 --> 00:33:54.399 and let's just allow God 00:33:54.399 --> 00:33:55.039 by his spirit 00:33:55.039 --> 00:33:56.639 as we've encountered him 00:33:56.639 --> 00:33:57.359 in his living word 00:33:57.359 --> 00:33:58.199 to speak to us, 00:33:58.240 --> 00:34:00.000 maybe individually 00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:01.139 bringing some things 00:34:01.139 --> 00:34:01.639 to mind, 00:34:03.240 --> 00:34:04.559 areas of challenge, 00:34:04.679 --> 00:34:05.539 but I hope tonight 00:34:05.539 --> 00:34:07.000 as we take in the gospel 00:34:07.000 --> 00:34:08.159 and God's truth, 00:34:08.940 --> 00:34:10.420 some wonderful words 00:34:10.420 --> 00:34:11.059 of encouragement 00:34:11.059 --> 00:34:11.720 and hope. 00:34:15.880 --> 00:34:17.180 They will say of me, 00:34:17.300 --> 00:34:18.400 in the Lord alone 00:34:18.400 --> 00:34:19.960 are deliverance 00:34:19.960 --> 00:34:20.659 and strength. 00:34:21.860 --> 00:34:23.119 All who have raged 00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:23.780 against him 00:34:23.780 --> 00:34:24.619 will come to him 00:34:24.619 --> 00:34:25.639 and be put to shame, 00:34:26.360 --> 00:34:27.720 but all the descendants 00:34:27.720 --> 00:34:28.420 of Israel 00:34:28.420 --> 00:34:30.500 will find deliverance 00:34:30.500 --> 00:34:31.119 in the Lord 00:34:31.119 --> 00:34:33.820 and will make their boast 00:34:33.820 --> 00:34:34.300 in him. 00:34:36.680 --> 00:34:37.220 And so, Father, 00:34:37.340 --> 00:34:38.200 thank you tonight 00:34:38.199 --> 00:34:40.899 that we have encountered you 00:34:40.899 --> 00:34:41.859 as we've opened the pages 00:34:41.859 --> 00:34:42.899 of your living word. 00:34:44.799 --> 00:34:45.039 Father, 00:34:45.159 --> 00:34:45.899 thank you tonight 00:34:45.899 --> 00:34:47.119 for the wonderful source 00:34:47.119 --> 00:34:47.659 of assurance 00:34:47.659 --> 00:34:48.419 and comfort 00:34:48.419 --> 00:34:50.579 that we've gazed upon 00:34:50.579 --> 00:34:51.219 in the risen 00:34:51.219 --> 00:34:52.259 and the reigning Jesus. 00:34:53.339 --> 00:34:53.980 So, Father, 00:34:53.980 --> 00:34:54.799 I pray that you would 00:34:54.799 --> 00:34:55.519 help us tonight 00:34:55.519 --> 00:34:56.079 to be 00:34:56.079 --> 00:34:58.039 a countercultural 00:34:58.039 --> 00:34:59.199 community of faith. 00:35:00.159 --> 00:35:00.500 Lord, 00:35:00.579 --> 00:35:01.559 help the world 00:35:01.559 --> 00:35:02.399 look in at us 00:35:02.399 --> 00:35:03.359 and see that there's 00:35:03.359 --> 00:35:04.179 something different 00:35:04.179 --> 00:35:04.839 about us. 00:35:05.640 --> 00:35:06.059 Father, 00:35:06.140 --> 00:35:06.760 would you help us 00:35:06.760 --> 00:35:07.380 to be a people 00:35:07.380 --> 00:35:08.420 who are discerning, 00:35:08.539 --> 00:35:09.380 who know your word 00:35:09.380 --> 00:35:10.140 so well, 00:35:10.280 --> 00:35:12.079 who are able to spot 00:35:12.079 --> 00:35:13.440 the real from the fake. 00:35:15.059 --> 00:35:15.680 But, Father, 00:35:15.740 --> 00:35:16.340 would you help us 00:35:16.340 --> 00:35:17.059 to be a people 00:35:17.059 --> 00:35:17.840 who hope 00:35:17.840 --> 00:35:21.200 and who trust 00:35:21.200 --> 00:35:24.120 in the work of Jesus 00:35:24.120 --> 00:35:25.800 and trust in the promises 00:35:25.800 --> 00:35:26.780 that you've made us 00:35:26.780 --> 00:35:28.640 and live such holy lives, 00:35:28.720 --> 00:35:29.320 the ones that you've 00:35:29.320 --> 00:35:30.260 called us to live, 00:35:31.120 --> 00:35:32.420 as we faithfully seek 00:35:32.420 --> 00:35:33.180 to follow him. 00:35:33.179 --> 00:35:34.759 So, Lord, 00:35:34.779 --> 00:35:35.219 we thank you 00:35:35.219 --> 00:35:35.839 for each other. 00:35:35.960 --> 00:35:36.599 Thank you tonight 00:35:36.599 --> 00:35:37.299 that this isn't 00:35:37.299 --> 00:35:38.419 an individual pursuit 00:35:38.419 --> 00:35:39.519 that you've called us to. 00:35:40.759 --> 00:35:41.159 But, Father, 00:35:41.219 --> 00:35:41.539 thank you 00:35:41.539 --> 00:35:42.199 that you've given us 00:35:42.199 --> 00:35:42.659 each other. 00:35:43.339 --> 00:35:44.299 We thank you 00:35:44.299 --> 00:35:46.419 for our church family. 00:35:47.839 --> 00:35:48.259 And so, Lord, 00:35:48.299 --> 00:35:48.919 I pray that you would 00:35:48.919 --> 00:35:49.679 help us to be 00:35:49.679 --> 00:35:50.319 speaking truth 00:35:50.319 --> 00:35:51.440 into each other's words, 00:35:51.619 --> 00:35:52.699 others' lives as well. 00:35:53.379 --> 00:35:53.839 So, Father, 00:35:53.879 --> 00:35:54.339 we thank you 00:35:54.339 --> 00:35:54.980 for this evening 00:35:54.980 --> 00:35:55.799 and as we close 00:35:55.799 --> 00:35:56.639 our time together, 00:35:56.779 --> 00:35:57.599 I pray that, 00:35:58.399 --> 00:35:58.579 Father, 00:35:58.679 --> 00:35:59.219 this message 00:35:59.219 --> 00:35:59.899 would live long 00:35:59.899 --> 00:36:00.460 in our memories 00:36:00.460 --> 00:36:00.960 and lives. 00:36:01.099 --> 00:36:01.219 Lord, 00:36:01.299 --> 00:36:01.960 help us to be 00:36:01.960 --> 00:36:02.419 the people 00:36:02.420 --> 00:36:03.180 that you've called us 00:36:03.180 --> 00:36:03.579 to be 00:36:03.579 --> 00:36:04.860 because we pray 00:36:04.860 --> 00:36:06.159 in the strong name 00:36:06.159 --> 00:36:06.599 of Jesus. 00:36:07.740 --> 00:36:08.099 Amen.