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Turn your Bibles to 2 Timothy.

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You've got an ESV.

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It rightly says in the introduction that the

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editors added, Paul wrote this letter as he

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awaited execution.

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This is Paul facing the end.

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And I want to focus on v.

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5 of chapter 1.

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Let's read that and then I'll pray.

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And this sermon is kind of a Mother's

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Day sermon and in another way, it's not.

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V.

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5, I am reminded, Paul speaking to Timothy,

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of your sincere faith.

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That's the message.

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Does sincere faith dwell in you?

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I am reminded of your sincere faith, a

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faith that dwelt first in your grandmother, Lois,

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and your mother, Eunice.

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And now, I am sure, there's a lot

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of certainty there, dwells in you as well.

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So does sincere faith dwell in you?

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That's what we're going to look at in

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the first part of my message.

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And then the next part is going to

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simply be this question, what instruments and means

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does the Lord use in some people coming

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to have sincere faith?

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And obviously, the answer here is his mother

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and grandmother were two of the instruments God

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used.

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And Paul makes that connection here in v.

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5.

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The same faith that dwelt in them, I

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am sure, dwells in you as well.

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And one of the greatest privileges parents have

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and mothers have is that could be said

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of us.

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Right?

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Could that be written?

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I'm reminded of your sincere faith, James.

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Do I have it?

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A faith that dwelt first in your grandmother

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and your mother.

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Could that be said of my kids?

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What's the greatest thing our kids can possess?

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What's the greatest possession I could pass on

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to my kids?

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You can't pass it on in one way.

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In another way, there are responsibilities, but it's

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to have a sincere faith.

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Because to have a sincere faith is to

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be heaven-bound.

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To not have a sincere faith is to

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be hell-bound.

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Well, let's pray.

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Father, Lord, thank You.

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I thank You that we can gather here

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today.

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Thank You, Father, that You've given us Your

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Word.

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And Lord, I just ask, Lord, be with

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me in all of my weakness.

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Would You be with my mind and give

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me clarity?

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Would You help me to say what is

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faithful to the text and faithful to Your

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Word?

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Would You guard my lips from saying something

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that might even be true, but saying it

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too strongly?

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Lord, I just ask for Your Holy Spirit.

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Lord, help me and help my hearers.

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Lord, would this be an encouragement to many?

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Lord, at the same time, would it be

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a challenge to all of us?

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And Lord, I pray, those here who don't

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know You, Lord, would You be merciful even

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in this hour to open their eyes that

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they would be able to have a sincere

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faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

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And so, Lord, we look to You in

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this hour.

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In Christ's name, Amen.

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Well, Paul, the apostle, had seen a lot.

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If you just flip over to chapter 4

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at the end of this letter, look at

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some of the things Paul had seen.

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He had seen people defect.

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Verse 10, "...For Demas, in love with the

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present world, has deserted me."

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Did Demas have a sincere faith?

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No, he chose love of the world.

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Paul had seen people defect.

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Look at verse 16.

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Paul had seen people desert.

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Verse 16, "...At my first defense, no one

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came to stand by me, but all deserted

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me."

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So Paul sees people defect.

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Paul sees people deserting.

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Did the Lord desert him?

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No.

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Verse 18, "...The Lord will rescue me from

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every evil deed and bring me safely to

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His heavenly kingdom."

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And then verse 21, he's writing

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this letter saying to Timothy, do your best

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to come to me before winter.

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So Paul wants Timothy to come to him.

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Paul wants Timothy to come.

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Why?

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Go back to our text.

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Chapter 1, verse 3.

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Look what he says to Timothy.

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You can see verse 2, to Timothy, my

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beloved child.

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Verse 3, "...I thank God whom I serve,

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as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience,

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as I remember you constantly in my prayers,

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night and day, as I remember your tears."

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So Timothy had emotion.

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"...I long to see you."

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Why?

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"...That I may be filled with joy."

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That's one of Paul's requests.

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Nearing the end.

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He wants to see a fellow Christian and

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be full of joy.

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And you can imagine that, right?

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If you're sitting there in that prison cell

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and Timothy comes in, Timothy who has a

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sincere faith, he's not a deserter.

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He's not like Demas in love with the

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world.

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He's the real deal.

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He is genuine.

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And Paul wants him to come.

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He desires Timothy to come that he might

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be filled with joy.

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And then verse 5, look what crosses Paul's

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mind here in prison.

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He remembers something.

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"...I am reminded..." Does he say of your

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powerful preaching?

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No.

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He says, "...I'm reminded of your sincere faith."

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What's that faith look like?

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"...A faith that dwelt first in your grandmother."

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So Timothy's faith is a minister of the

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Gospel.

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Paul compares it to that of his grandmother.

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You can tend to think of preachers and

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ministers as having some superior faith.

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Does Paul have that perspective?

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He does not.

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"...That dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and

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your mother Eunice, and now, I'm sure, it

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dwells in you as well."

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So where is one place Paul is looking

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to encouragement at the end awaiting execution?

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You know what thought encouraged Paul?

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He thought about three generations of Christians.

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He thought about a grandmother who was saved,

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a mother who was saved, and he thought

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about that mother's son who was a Christian.

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And there he is in that prison cell

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seeing people like Demas in love with the

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world, seeing people desert him, and here in

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that cell, he wants Timothy to come to

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be full of joy and he's being reminded

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of these people's sincere faith.

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And though they've not even made it to

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the end yet, it appears they're all still

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alive.

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Timothy was probably in his 30's.

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Maybe his mother was in her 50's or

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60's and the grandmother, 80's.

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Who knows?

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They haven't made it to the end yet

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and what does Paul say of them?

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Verse 5, "...I am sure, I'm certain, dwells

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in you as well."

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We sometimes could think, how do I know

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who's a true Christian?

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Can I really be dogmatic to say someone

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else is really a true Christian?

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Here Paul says he's sure.

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He's sure.

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He sees true faith in them.

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As we see people fall away, sometimes people

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can get disillusioned as a new Christian.

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They get saved and they're in the church

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and then they see people go out from

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among us.

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And they start to wonder, wait a minute,

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I thought that guy was the real deal.

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And now he's gone.

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Is anyone here really a true Christian?

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People could get disillusioned like that.

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Maybe some of you had that as a

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new Christian.

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You start to really question things.

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Well, here we have three examples of people

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who have the real deal.

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We've got a grandmother, a mother, and that

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mother's son.

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And Paul says, I'm sure, this sincere faith

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dwells in them.

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Sincere faith.

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And you see what Paul says in v.

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3.

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He says, I thank God whom I serve

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as did my ancestors with a clear conscience

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as I remember You constantly.

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Paul's point is faith in Christ is the

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true continuity of religion in the Old Testament.

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If you really believe the Old Testament, you're

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going to get to the point where you

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see Christ is the fulfillment of those prophecies.

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And that's what happened to these three people.

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They had sincere, true faith in the Messiah,

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in the Lord Jesus Christ.

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So first, I want to consider what sincere

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faith is.

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Then second, how does one obtain it?

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Or what are some instruments used in that

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person's life to bring them to a sincere

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faith?

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So you see, in v.

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5, I'm reminded of your sincere faith.

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What's sincere?

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Sincere.

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Genuine.

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Authentic.

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Not hypocritical.

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Doesn't have some pretense.

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It's not appearing to be something, but you

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come to find out it's not actually that

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thing.

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Right?

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If Paul says sincere faith, does that mean

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Paul assumes there's another type of faith?

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What would that other type be?

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A false faith.

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A faith that appears to be one thing,

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but it's not really real.

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And I was thinking about this front line

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my wife and I watched called the Exodus.

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It was a documentary.

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And they spoke about all these people who

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were traveling from Syria to Germany.

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And how did a lot of these people

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have to get to Germany?

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Did they go by land through Turkey?

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Or did they get on boats and go

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over to Greece and then go up to

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Germany?

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Right?

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They had to get across the Mediterranean there.

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Well, listen to what happened.

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This person in the documentary, he said, the

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saddest thing was that there were people who

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were liars on the way to people getting

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across the ocean and they sold fake life

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jackets that would cause people to sink and

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not to float.

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And imagine that.

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Here you go up to some store and

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it looks like a life jacket.

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It's orange on the outside.

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You don't really know what a life jacket

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might feel like and you shake it and

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you think it must work.

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And guess what?

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These people got on those boats and at

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some point, water got overtaken and some of

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their boats went down and these people, rather

279
00:12:12,830 --> 00:12:18,030
than float, they had a false life jacket.

280
00:12:18,190 --> 00:12:18,850
And what happened?

281
00:12:19,090 --> 00:12:19,750
They sunk.

282
00:12:20,610 --> 00:12:21,410
They perished.

283
00:12:21,970 --> 00:12:23,550
In the same way that's how it is

284
00:12:23,550 --> 00:12:24,450
in the spiritual realm.

285
00:12:24,490 --> 00:12:25,910
There are many people who say, look, I've

286
00:12:25,910 --> 00:12:26,770
got my life jacket.

287
00:12:26,830 --> 00:12:27,690
I've got my faith.

288
00:12:27,890 --> 00:12:29,350
I believe in Jesus Christ.

289
00:12:30,190 --> 00:12:30,450
Right?

290
00:12:30,590 --> 00:12:32,090
Well, what's going to be the test?

291
00:12:32,490 --> 00:12:34,330
What's going to happen when you're thrown in

292
00:12:34,330 --> 00:12:34,970
that ocean?

293
00:12:35,450 --> 00:12:36,350
Will you sink?

294
00:12:36,570 --> 00:12:37,470
Will it be real?

295
00:12:37,930 --> 00:12:40,550
Jesus says in Luke 8, there are ones

296
00:12:40,550 --> 00:12:43,130
who hear and the seeds, they fall on

297
00:12:43,130 --> 00:12:44,710
the rock and those are those when they

298
00:12:44,710 --> 00:12:46,690
hear the Word, they receive it with joy,

299
00:12:47,670 --> 00:12:48,830
but they have no root.

300
00:12:48,830 --> 00:12:52,730
They believe for a while and in a

301
00:12:52,730 --> 00:12:55,410
time of testing, what happens?

302
00:12:55,830 --> 00:12:56,950
They fall away.

303
00:12:57,470 --> 00:12:59,830
In a time of testing, like those people

304
00:12:59,830 --> 00:13:02,970
getting in the ocean there, they fall away.

305
00:13:03,050 --> 00:13:03,830
They sink down.

306
00:13:03,950 --> 00:13:05,970
It proves their life jacket wasn't the real

307
00:13:05,970 --> 00:13:06,310
deal.

308
00:13:08,500 --> 00:13:12,460
So, Paul assumes there's a hypocritical faith and

309
00:13:12,460 --> 00:13:14,120
he gave that example of Demas in this

310
00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:14,680
very letter.

311
00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:16,420
Demas in love with the world.

312
00:13:16,580 --> 00:13:21,160
Demas in a time of testing fell away.

313
00:13:23,100 --> 00:13:25,780
Okay, well, what does he mean by faith

314
00:13:25,780 --> 00:13:26,040
here?

315
00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:30,160
I'm reminded of your sincere faith.

316
00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:31,220
What's faith?

317
00:13:32,140 --> 00:13:34,020
You can think of faith in one way.

318
00:13:34,140 --> 00:13:36,080
There is the faith, which is what?

319
00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:38,160
The doctrine and body of truth in the

320
00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:38,880
Scriptures, right?

321
00:13:39,180 --> 00:13:42,260
You've got the faith, which refers to doctrine.

322
00:13:42,420 --> 00:13:44,880
In another way, you've got faith, which means

323
00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:48,220
a personal belief in the truth.

324
00:13:48,220 --> 00:13:51,120
And so obviously, Paul here is reminded of

325
00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:55,640
Timothy's sincere faith, meaning Timothy sincerely was believing

326
00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:57,280
in taking God at His Word.

327
00:13:57,460 --> 00:13:59,300
He not only had right doctrine, but he

328
00:13:59,300 --> 00:14:02,380
sincerely believed in that truth.

329
00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,980
He personally was believing in Jesus Christ.

330
00:14:06,860 --> 00:14:08,880
And the Scripture teaches, there are many people

331
00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:11,660
who say they believe, but what's reality?

332
00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:14,460
Their life shows differently.

333
00:14:15,260 --> 00:14:18,560
And if you've got your Bible, turn to

334
00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:19,120
James 2.

335
00:14:19,220 --> 00:14:20,200
We can look at a couple of those

336
00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:20,760
verses there.

337
00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:23,960
If you've never heard this idea that there's

338
00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:28,100
a true and a false faith, there's a

339
00:14:28,100 --> 00:14:30,780
person who says they have faith and it's

340
00:14:30,780 --> 00:14:32,380
real, and there's a person who says they

341
00:14:32,380 --> 00:14:36,780
have faith and it's false, James 2 is

342
00:14:36,780 --> 00:14:38,760
a very helpful place to look.

343
00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:42,280
Verse 14, What good is it, my brothers,

344
00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:46,420
if someone says he has faith, but does

345
00:14:46,420 --> 00:14:47,640
not have works?

346
00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:50,500
Can that faith save him?

347
00:14:51,380 --> 00:14:53,360
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed

348
00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:55,020
and lacking in daily food and one of

349
00:14:55,020 --> 00:14:56,540
you says to them, go in peace, be

350
00:14:56,540 --> 00:14:58,920
warmed and filled, without giving them the things

351
00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:00,860
needed for the body, what good is that?

352
00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:05,760
So also, faith by itself, if it does

353
00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:07,580
not have works, is dead.

354
00:15:08,420 --> 00:15:10,880
But some of you will say, you have

355
00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:12,320
faith and I have works.

356
00:15:12,540 --> 00:15:14,720
Well, show me your faith apart from your

357
00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:15,060
works.

358
00:15:15,340 --> 00:15:18,860
And I will show you my faith by

359
00:15:18,860 --> 00:15:20,660
my works.

360
00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:23,300
Verse 19, you believe that God is one.

361
00:15:23,380 --> 00:15:23,940
You do well.

362
00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:26,960
Even the demons believe and shudder.

363
00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:30,060
Do you want to be shown, you foolish

364
00:15:30,060 --> 00:15:34,180
person, that faith apart from works is useless?

365
00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:37,100
And then he goes on to talk about

366
00:15:37,100 --> 00:15:37,640
Abraham.

367
00:15:38,140 --> 00:15:40,640
He's not teaching there that we are saved

368
00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:41,560
by our works.

369
00:15:41,620 --> 00:15:44,760
He's teaching that works prove someone's got real

370
00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:45,060
faith.

371
00:15:45,900 --> 00:15:47,800
Look, if I've got my life vest and

372
00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:50,540
I'm trying to sell it to you, this

373
00:15:50,540 --> 00:15:51,540
is the real deal.

374
00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:53,260
You know what I would maybe say to

375
00:15:53,260 --> 00:15:55,160
that person knowing the scam was going on?

376
00:15:55,220 --> 00:15:56,380
I would say, go hop in the ocean

377
00:15:56,380 --> 00:15:57,480
and I want to see it float on

378
00:15:57,480 --> 00:15:58,000
you first.

379
00:15:58,400 --> 00:15:59,840
I want to see that it's real.

380
00:16:04,670 --> 00:16:06,990
So there's many, they possess, they have an

381
00:16:06,990 --> 00:16:09,610
inward reality, no outward works.

382
00:16:09,890 --> 00:16:10,630
There's others.

383
00:16:11,530 --> 00:16:13,030
They've got a ton of outward works.

384
00:16:13,270 --> 00:16:15,970
But they're trusting in those works to be

385
00:16:15,970 --> 00:16:17,910
right before the living God.

386
00:16:18,190 --> 00:16:20,010
And they're going to perish like the man

387
00:16:20,010 --> 00:16:24,370
in Luke 18 who fasted, he tithed, he

388
00:16:24,370 --> 00:16:26,670
was very outwardly religious, but he did not

389
00:16:26,670 --> 00:16:28,990
know Jesus Christ.

390
00:16:29,550 --> 00:16:31,570
So what makes sincere faith?

391
00:16:31,770 --> 00:16:36,730
Sincere and genuine faith is believing all the

392
00:16:36,730 --> 00:16:39,090
Bible says is true about you, that you're

393
00:16:39,090 --> 00:16:41,570
a sinner condemned before God, and it's believing

394
00:16:41,570 --> 00:16:44,290
all the Bible says about Christ, that He

395
00:16:44,290 --> 00:16:46,610
is God, and that He died as a

396
00:16:46,610 --> 00:16:49,430
substitute on the cross to bear God's wrath

397
00:16:49,430 --> 00:16:51,330
for us in our place.

398
00:16:51,850 --> 00:16:53,570
In order to believe, you've got to know

399
00:16:53,570 --> 00:16:54,290
the truth, right?

400
00:16:54,310 --> 00:16:55,110
You can't be ignorant.

401
00:16:55,310 --> 00:16:57,510
Faith comes by hearing and hearing through the

402
00:16:57,510 --> 00:16:58,290
Word of Christ.

403
00:16:58,630 --> 00:17:00,970
People need to be exposed to the Gospel.

404
00:17:01,350 --> 00:17:03,609
Many refuse the Gospel.

405
00:17:04,569 --> 00:17:06,450
Ultimately, what makes sincere faith?

406
00:17:06,510 --> 00:17:08,690
We find out in 1 Peter 1 that

407
00:17:08,690 --> 00:17:12,109
He causes us to be born again to

408
00:17:12,109 --> 00:17:12,869
a living hope.

409
00:17:13,190 --> 00:17:15,790
Everyone here who's ultimately been saved, guess what?

410
00:17:15,810 --> 00:17:17,490
It was a supernatural work of God to

411
00:17:17,490 --> 00:17:18,609
cause us to be born again.

412
00:17:19,170 --> 00:17:22,910
We could have tried to pry the eyes

413
00:17:22,910 --> 00:17:24,670
open of a dead person and it doesn't

414
00:17:24,670 --> 00:17:25,109
work.

415
00:17:25,349 --> 00:17:28,250
You need the Lord to give life.

416
00:17:31,420 --> 00:17:35,540
And again, there's no greater possession to have

417
00:17:35,540 --> 00:17:37,380
than sincere faith.

418
00:17:38,100 --> 00:17:44,560
To actually have genuine faith where it's not

419
00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:47,420
just I say I believe that Christ died

420
00:17:47,420 --> 00:17:51,640
for me, but the life proves it, and

421
00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:53,940
in all the works the Christian does, that's

422
00:17:53,940 --> 00:17:54,840
not their boast.

423
00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:58,360
Their boast is in Christ and His strength

424
00:17:58,360 --> 00:18:00,540
working through them to do those good works.

425
00:18:01,660 --> 00:18:03,760
So what are you believing?

426
00:18:04,380 --> 00:18:05,780
What am I believing?

427
00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:08,440
Let's look at this very letter, different things

428
00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:09,580
that Paul expresses.

429
00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:10,720
Look at v.

430
00:18:10,780 --> 00:18:11,180
8.

431
00:18:12,020 --> 00:18:13,400
Paul is believing.

432
00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:15,700
Genuine faith believes you're going to have to

433
00:18:15,700 --> 00:18:16,620
share in suffering.

434
00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:18,320
It says it in v.

435
00:18:18,380 --> 00:18:19,740
8 and 2 Timothy 1.

436
00:18:20,700 --> 00:18:22,420
And you're going to do it by what?

437
00:18:22,420 --> 00:18:23,360
The power of God.

438
00:18:23,420 --> 00:18:26,220
So genuine faith believes God gives power.

439
00:18:26,660 --> 00:18:27,100
V.

440
00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:29,220
9, we see what Paul believed.

441
00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:30,960
What sincere faith believes.

442
00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:33,440
We believe He saved us and He called

443
00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:34,280
us to do what?

444
00:18:34,300 --> 00:18:35,000
To be holy.

445
00:18:35,780 --> 00:18:36,940
To have a holy calling.

446
00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:37,680
Set apart.

447
00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:41,040
And He saved us not because of works.

448
00:18:41,580 --> 00:18:42,240
Our works.

449
00:18:42,300 --> 00:18:43,900
So we're not saved by works that we

450
00:18:43,900 --> 00:18:45,620
have done, but it's according to His mercy.

451
00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:46,820
And then v.

452
00:18:46,860 --> 00:18:48,600
9, what's sincere faith believing?

453
00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:51,940
I'm believing that He saved me because of

454
00:18:51,940 --> 00:18:53,360
His own purpose and grace.

455
00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:54,720
It was His purpose.

456
00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:55,620
It was His grace.

457
00:18:55,620 --> 00:18:57,140
It wasn't something that I had done.

458
00:18:58,360 --> 00:18:59,600
It was before I had done good or

459
00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:00,040
bad.

460
00:19:00,780 --> 00:19:02,440
It was before the ages began.

461
00:19:02,700 --> 00:19:03,860
It says at the end of v.

462
00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:04,260
9.

463
00:19:07,140 --> 00:19:07,800
Yeah, amen.

464
00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:10,980
To have sincere faith to be saved.

465
00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:12,040
There's no greater blessing.

466
00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:12,300
V.

467
00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:13,960
10, what am I believing?

468
00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:17,380
I'm believing that Christ abolished death and brought

469
00:19:17,380 --> 00:19:20,720
life and immortality to light through the Gospel.

470
00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:23,300
So the Gospel is the place where I

471
00:19:23,300 --> 00:19:24,140
can get life.

472
00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:26,500
And here Paul says he's been appointed a

473
00:19:26,500 --> 00:19:28,120
preacher and apostle and a teacher.

474
00:19:30,660 --> 00:19:33,120
There's many other things Paul says here.

475
00:19:33,500 --> 00:19:33,700
V.

476
00:19:33,740 --> 00:19:35,100
14, what am I believing?

477
00:19:35,260 --> 00:19:37,700
By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.

478
00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:39,040
What's sincere faith believe?

479
00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:40,600
That I've got this Spirit.

480
00:19:40,900 --> 00:19:42,720
I don't have to do this Christian life

481
00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:43,680
in my own strength.

482
00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:46,860
I've got God Himself dwelling in me and

483
00:19:46,860 --> 00:19:49,200
my body is a temple of the Holy

484
00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:50,180
Spirit.

485
00:19:52,630 --> 00:19:53,010
And v.

486
00:19:53,010 --> 00:19:55,190
2, 8, look what he believes.

487
00:19:56,250 --> 00:19:59,470
Paul's sincere faith is commanded to remember Jesus

488
00:19:59,470 --> 00:20:00,070
Christ.

489
00:20:01,190 --> 00:20:02,870
That He's risen from the dead.

490
00:20:02,950 --> 00:20:04,470
That He's the offspring of David.

491
00:20:04,730 --> 00:20:06,530
As preached in my Gospel.

492
00:20:08,290 --> 00:20:14,170
You see, the Christian's constantly remembering Christ.

493
00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:19,300
Our brother Jeff Thomas was recently with us.

494
00:20:19,360 --> 00:20:21,520
He said this about the Lord Jesus Christ.

495
00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:23,420
This is what sincere faith is believing.

496
00:20:23,900 --> 00:20:26,660
Sincere faith is believing no man ever spoke

497
00:20:26,660 --> 00:20:27,480
like Christ.

498
00:20:27,940 --> 00:20:29,760
When you read the claims of Christ that

499
00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:32,500
He was God, that He's the only way,

500
00:20:32,580 --> 00:20:34,500
that He's the truth, He's the resurrection, He's

501
00:20:34,500 --> 00:20:36,660
the life, no one else spoke like that.

502
00:20:38,020 --> 00:20:40,520
To believe in Jesus Christ, Jeff Thomas says,

503
00:20:40,580 --> 00:20:42,260
is to believe that no man ever lived

504
00:20:42,260 --> 00:20:43,060
like Christ.

505
00:20:43,500 --> 00:20:46,500
His life perfectly backed up his words.

506
00:20:46,900 --> 00:20:48,820
To believe in Jesus Christ is to believe

507
00:20:48,820 --> 00:20:51,140
that no man ever died like Jesus Christ.

508
00:20:51,420 --> 00:20:53,560
In the agony of the crucifixion, He breathed

509
00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,460
nothing but love and kindness to His enemies.

510
00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:58,840
Such dying, such love.

511
00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:01,480
No one ever died like Jesus.

512
00:21:02,820 --> 00:21:05,320
And the last thing Jeff mentioned was this.

513
00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:08,460
To believe in Christ is to believe that

514
00:21:08,460 --> 00:21:10,980
no man ever blessed the human race like

515
00:21:10,980 --> 00:21:12,020
Jesus Christ.

516
00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:18,540
I mean, the greatest blessing in existence is

517
00:21:18,540 --> 00:21:19,300
sins forgiven.

518
00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,360
And there is nothing that beats that out.

519
00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:25,320
You can't get close.

520
00:21:25,740 --> 00:21:28,280
A billion years from now in eternity, no

521
00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:30,920
one will have any closer idea of something

522
00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:33,940
greater than your sins forgiven and being right

523
00:21:33,940 --> 00:21:34,960
with God.

524
00:21:36,120 --> 00:21:39,340
So, I want to now look from the

525
00:21:39,340 --> 00:21:43,580
little we have written about Timothy's mother and

526
00:21:43,580 --> 00:21:48,500
his grandmother, what their sincere faith looked like.

527
00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:51,580
And we don't have a lot, so I

528
00:21:51,580 --> 00:21:53,000
don't have a long list on them.

529
00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:54,320
But I want to look at them, and

530
00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:56,480
part of what I want to look at

531
00:21:56,480 --> 00:22:00,040
them is the fact that their faith that

532
00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:04,040
Paul commends, there's a connection there in that

533
00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:06,240
verse to the very faith that Timothy has.

534
00:22:06,620 --> 00:22:08,980
Verse 5, I'm reminded of your sincere faith,

535
00:22:09,100 --> 00:22:12,180
a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother.

536
00:22:12,780 --> 00:22:14,560
So that makes you wonder what did that

537
00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:15,220
look like?

538
00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:16,960
If anything's written on her, what does it

539
00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:17,500
look like?

540
00:22:18,780 --> 00:22:22,100
Because if Paul attributes that was a means

541
00:22:22,100 --> 00:22:24,100
the Lord used to bring about faith in

542
00:22:24,100 --> 00:22:27,640
Timothy's life, every mother should want to imitate

543
00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:33,500
these two women that we find here.

544
00:22:33,620 --> 00:22:34,660
Let me pray again.

545
00:22:35,780 --> 00:22:37,240
Lord, I need Your help.

546
00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:41,160
Father, just ask that You would quicken my

547
00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:44,820
dull mind for Your name's sake and Christ's

548
00:22:44,820 --> 00:22:45,100
name.

549
00:22:45,540 --> 00:22:46,040
Amen.

550
00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,300
So what did Timothy's grandmother and his mother's

551
00:22:50,300 --> 00:22:51,140
faith look like?

552
00:22:51,140 --> 00:22:59,890
I guess the first thing that's implied here,

553
00:23:00,690 --> 00:23:02,630
what happened at some point in both of

554
00:23:02,630 --> 00:23:03,230
their lives?

555
00:23:03,410 --> 00:23:05,170
How did they get their sincere faith?

556
00:23:05,810 --> 00:23:07,550
They didn't reject the Word.

557
00:23:08,690 --> 00:23:09,090
Right?

558
00:23:10,610 --> 00:23:13,570
The first thing this mother and grandmother had

559
00:23:13,570 --> 00:23:15,630
to do was receive the Word and then

560
00:23:15,630 --> 00:23:17,090
believe it as being true.

561
00:23:18,470 --> 00:23:20,730
But it's not enough to receive the Word

562
00:23:20,730 --> 00:23:22,430
and believe it as being true, is it?

563
00:23:22,750 --> 00:23:25,290
There's lost people who receive the Word and

564
00:23:25,290 --> 00:23:26,210
believe it is true.

565
00:23:27,590 --> 00:23:28,150
Right?

566
00:23:28,350 --> 00:23:29,810
I was talking to a guy from China

567
00:23:29,810 --> 00:23:30,670
last night.

568
00:23:30,770 --> 00:23:31,310
He called.

569
00:23:31,930 --> 00:23:33,250
He knows he's lost.

570
00:23:33,430 --> 00:23:35,010
He believes the Word is true.

571
00:23:35,710 --> 00:23:36,970
You know what his problem is?

572
00:23:36,990 --> 00:23:39,170
He doesn't believe it's true personally for him.

573
00:23:40,050 --> 00:23:43,050
He's not believing on Christ for himself.

574
00:23:43,550 --> 00:23:45,770
So these women at some point, they personally

575
00:23:45,770 --> 00:23:46,310
believe.

576
00:23:47,350 --> 00:23:49,190
Christ claims for them.

577
00:23:49,810 --> 00:23:52,570
Believe these prophecies from the Old Testament that

578
00:23:52,570 --> 00:23:55,170
pointed to the Messiah.

579
00:23:55,950 --> 00:23:58,830
And look, many Jews rejected Christ.

580
00:23:58,950 --> 00:24:02,130
It's a merciful thing that they even believed

581
00:24:02,130 --> 00:24:03,630
on the Lord.

582
00:24:04,390 --> 00:24:06,330
Now we can ask this question, which one

583
00:24:06,330 --> 00:24:07,650
of these women was saved first?

584
00:24:10,910 --> 00:24:13,650
One version, yeah, it makes it seem more

585
00:24:13,650 --> 00:24:14,470
like the grandmother.

586
00:24:14,990 --> 00:24:17,290
We could assume that would be the progression.

587
00:24:17,870 --> 00:24:20,290
A faith that dwelt first in your grandmother

588
00:24:20,290 --> 00:24:23,210
Lois and your mother Eunice.

589
00:24:23,770 --> 00:24:25,510
So the order Paul gives it, it doesn't

590
00:24:25,510 --> 00:24:27,190
necessarily mean one after another.

591
00:24:27,510 --> 00:24:29,450
But one of the versions, it does add

592
00:24:29,450 --> 00:24:30,570
and then your mother.

593
00:24:31,430 --> 00:24:32,990
So we would generally take it to be

594
00:24:32,990 --> 00:24:33,430
that way.

595
00:24:33,510 --> 00:24:35,650
You can imagine the grandmother at some point

596
00:24:36,050 --> 00:24:38,890
gets confronted with the truth and believes.

597
00:24:39,850 --> 00:24:42,390
And then this grandmother takes the truth.

598
00:24:42,530 --> 00:24:44,570
And what does a saved mother tend to

599
00:24:44,570 --> 00:24:44,830
do?

600
00:24:45,310 --> 00:24:47,170
If you've got the words of life, who

601
00:24:47,170 --> 00:24:48,370
are some of the first people you want

602
00:24:48,370 --> 00:24:49,190
to take that to?

603
00:24:50,050 --> 00:24:50,850
Your children.

604
00:24:52,030 --> 00:24:52,370
Right?

605
00:24:53,550 --> 00:24:54,910
You take it to your kids.

606
00:24:55,170 --> 00:24:57,390
And yes, some of us, we took it

607
00:24:57,390 --> 00:24:58,210
too zealously.

608
00:24:58,370 --> 00:24:59,990
We took it too harshly.

609
00:25:01,010 --> 00:25:04,470
And we were offensive not for the sake

610
00:25:04,470 --> 00:25:06,330
of the truth, we were offensive because of

611
00:25:06,330 --> 00:25:09,690
our zeal, though it was done in love.

612
00:25:10,570 --> 00:25:12,010
Parents thought we were crazy.

613
00:25:13,150 --> 00:25:14,210
They thought, what do you mean?

614
00:25:14,230 --> 00:25:15,370
You've always been a Christian.

615
00:25:15,730 --> 00:25:17,290
And you're sitting there thinking, no, mom, I

616
00:25:17,290 --> 00:25:18,330
wasn't always a Christian.

617
00:25:18,330 --> 00:25:19,710
I've just been now saved.

618
00:25:19,830 --> 00:25:22,250
There's a genuine faith and there's a false

619
00:25:22,250 --> 00:25:23,850
faith, and I had the false faith.

620
00:25:24,710 --> 00:25:26,290
And how many of our parents, they didn't

621
00:25:26,290 --> 00:25:27,170
understand that.

622
00:25:27,230 --> 00:25:28,870
They thought that was foreign, but it's not

623
00:25:28,870 --> 00:25:29,710
foreign to the Bible.

624
00:25:30,090 --> 00:25:31,350
And so it won't be foreign to God

625
00:25:31,350 --> 00:25:33,950
on Judgment Day when He judges all mankind.

626
00:25:34,330 --> 00:25:36,530
People will find out then there was such

627
00:25:36,530 --> 00:25:38,450
a thing as false faith.

628
00:25:38,850 --> 00:25:39,930
It's hypocritical.

629
00:25:40,030 --> 00:25:42,190
They'll find out like those Syrians on that

630
00:25:42,190 --> 00:25:43,790
ocean when that boat sunk.

631
00:25:44,050 --> 00:25:46,010
They'll find out the life vest they had

632
00:25:46,010 --> 00:25:47,050
wasn't the real deal.

633
00:25:47,630 --> 00:25:48,930
And you don't want them to find that

634
00:25:48,930 --> 00:25:49,690
out in this life.

635
00:25:49,710 --> 00:25:51,150
You want them to get the real thing.

636
00:25:55,910 --> 00:25:58,650
So, here, another thing, we're looking at what

637
00:25:58,650 --> 00:26:00,150
did their lives look like.

638
00:26:00,290 --> 00:26:01,290
Here's something to think about.

639
00:26:01,530 --> 00:26:03,990
He says here, I'm reminded of your sincere

640
00:26:03,990 --> 00:26:06,170
faith, a faith that dwelt first in your

641
00:26:06,170 --> 00:26:08,310
grandmother and then your mother.

642
00:26:09,050 --> 00:26:11,150
Okay, they had a sincere faith.

643
00:26:11,250 --> 00:26:14,070
What's something true of someone who has a

644
00:26:14,070 --> 00:26:14,830
sincere faith?

645
00:26:14,930 --> 00:26:16,630
What type of life do they live?

646
00:26:17,470 --> 00:26:21,090
As a whole, not perfectly, is their life

647
00:26:21,090 --> 00:26:22,210
full of consistency?

648
00:26:22,730 --> 00:26:24,590
Or is it full of all sorts of

649
00:26:24,590 --> 00:26:25,590
inconsistency?

650
00:26:26,970 --> 00:26:27,610
Consistency.

651
00:26:28,590 --> 00:26:28,910
Right?

652
00:26:29,610 --> 00:26:32,470
And so, we don't have a letter written

653
00:26:32,470 --> 00:26:34,950
on them to see that consistency to its

654
00:26:34,950 --> 00:26:37,590
fullest, but we can assume that Paul here

655
00:26:37,590 --> 00:26:41,530
says they had a sincere faith, therefore, consistency.

656
00:26:41,890 --> 00:26:44,210
And I want to read something on the

657
00:26:44,210 --> 00:26:46,090
importance of consistency.

658
00:26:46,930 --> 00:26:48,710
And we've got to take this to heart

659
00:26:48,710 --> 00:26:49,710
as parents.

660
00:26:50,750 --> 00:26:53,710
This is from James Cameron's His Three Lectures

661
00:26:53,710 --> 00:26:54,890
to Christian Mothers.

662
00:26:55,410 --> 00:26:57,510
He lived in the 1800s.

663
00:26:57,890 --> 00:27:01,230
He says this, In all your conduct, manifest

664
00:27:01,230 --> 00:27:03,050
the most steady consistency.

665
00:27:04,010 --> 00:27:06,590
Children, even at a very early age, are

666
00:27:06,590 --> 00:27:10,050
eagle-eyed to observe the inconsistencies of a

667
00:27:10,050 --> 00:27:10,390
parent.

668
00:27:10,990 --> 00:27:14,670
And the slightest inconsistency, though it is manifested

669
00:27:14,670 --> 00:27:17,710
only in a word or a look, lowers

670
00:27:17,710 --> 00:27:21,470
your influence over them in an inconceivable degree.

671
00:27:21,950 --> 00:27:24,710
When a child learns to distrust its mother,

672
00:27:25,250 --> 00:27:29,310
all her warnings, admonitions, and protests, however earnest

673
00:27:29,310 --> 00:27:32,350
and unremitting, they fall powerless.

674
00:27:33,670 --> 00:27:35,550
This is the chief reason it is to

675
00:27:35,550 --> 00:27:36,310
be feared.

676
00:27:36,670 --> 00:27:39,910
Why so frequently we see the children of

677
00:27:39,910 --> 00:27:43,050
godly parents grow up not feeling shame or

678
00:27:43,050 --> 00:27:45,950
regret about their sinful actions or attitudes.

679
00:27:46,310 --> 00:27:48,790
The example of their parents has not been

680
00:27:48,790 --> 00:27:53,170
uniformly consistent with their instructions, and therefore, have

681
00:27:53,170 --> 00:27:54,730
these instructions been useless?

682
00:27:55,450 --> 00:27:57,270
Mothers, watch your conduct.

683
00:27:57,970 --> 00:27:59,630
Your child is watching.

684
00:28:00,350 --> 00:28:03,510
Every expression of your countenance, every word you

685
00:28:03,510 --> 00:28:06,810
utter, every action they see you perform is

686
00:28:06,810 --> 00:28:09,030
scanned and scrutinized by them.

687
00:28:09,030 --> 00:28:12,810
If they perceive that you act inconsistently, they

688
00:28:12,810 --> 00:28:14,810
will in their hearts despise you.

689
00:28:15,550 --> 00:28:17,490
And you cannot law and deceive a child

690
00:28:17,490 --> 00:28:18,810
with regard to character.

691
00:28:19,290 --> 00:28:23,330
The only sure way to appear consistent is

692
00:28:23,330 --> 00:28:24,070
to be so.

693
00:28:26,490 --> 00:28:29,050
So, I would assume these mothers were striving

694
00:28:29,050 --> 00:28:30,410
to be pretty consistent.

695
00:28:31,210 --> 00:28:32,390
They had a sincere faith.

696
00:28:32,930 --> 00:28:35,430
I was thinking of an example of someone

697
00:28:35,430 --> 00:28:36,790
in the church recently.

698
00:28:37,330 --> 00:28:39,430
They were mentioning a lesson they were teaching

699
00:28:39,430 --> 00:28:43,970
their kids about not taking something that's someone

700
00:28:43,970 --> 00:28:44,830
else's property.

701
00:28:45,410 --> 00:28:47,490
They were at someone else's house and their

702
00:28:47,490 --> 00:28:49,010
kid saw a penny and they took the

703
00:28:49,010 --> 00:28:49,510
penny out.

704
00:28:49,930 --> 00:28:51,910
And the parents obviously said, well, that's not

705
00:28:51,910 --> 00:28:52,270
our penny.

706
00:28:52,350 --> 00:28:53,630
You can't take that penny home.

707
00:28:53,850 --> 00:28:55,450
It belongs to the person who owns the

708
00:28:55,450 --> 00:28:55,750
yard.

709
00:28:56,430 --> 00:28:56,630
Right?

710
00:28:57,190 --> 00:29:01,590
Well, later on, this parent accidentally took a

711
00:29:01,590 --> 00:29:04,890
pencil from somewhere, and later they had that

712
00:29:04,890 --> 00:29:07,250
pencil and it dawned on them the very

713
00:29:07,250 --> 00:29:09,310
thing they told their kids not to do,

714
00:29:09,810 --> 00:29:11,790
take the penny they had taken the pencil.

715
00:29:11,910 --> 00:29:14,410
They were stealing a pencil from someone else.

716
00:29:15,790 --> 00:29:17,610
Now imagine if the kids, I don't think

717
00:29:17,610 --> 00:29:19,270
this happened in this situation, but imagine if

718
00:29:19,270 --> 00:29:22,510
the kids would have observed that inconsistency.

719
00:29:24,110 --> 00:29:27,610
The parent then loses the power of their

720
00:29:27,610 --> 00:29:28,110
words.

721
00:29:29,110 --> 00:29:31,070
What this parent did was they went to

722
00:29:31,070 --> 00:29:33,270
the person who they had gotten the pencil

723
00:29:33,270 --> 00:29:35,810
from their property and they took their kids

724
00:29:35,810 --> 00:29:38,610
with them and confessed that to the person

725
00:29:38,610 --> 00:29:40,670
with their kids there watching them.

726
00:29:41,350 --> 00:29:43,410
So now even if the kids did know

727
00:29:43,410 --> 00:29:45,310
what their parent did, guess what they see?

728
00:29:45,470 --> 00:29:47,110
My parent is consistent.

729
00:29:49,190 --> 00:29:52,010
They're living out what they say.

730
00:29:52,930 --> 00:29:54,810
So in all of our failures, one of

731
00:29:54,810 --> 00:29:56,730
the most important things we can show as

732
00:29:56,730 --> 00:29:57,910
parents is humility.

733
00:29:58,410 --> 00:30:00,350
The worst thing a parent can do is

734
00:30:00,350 --> 00:30:02,090
not admit where they've gone wrong.

735
00:30:02,810 --> 00:30:04,430
And you're sitting there at the dinner table

736
00:30:04,430 --> 00:30:08,610
and everyone knows Dad was just impatient and

737
00:30:08,610 --> 00:30:10,570
angry and he's not acknowledging that.

738
00:30:10,790 --> 00:30:12,150
That's one of the worst things.

739
00:30:12,590 --> 00:30:13,850
And then you tell the kids not to

740
00:30:13,850 --> 00:30:15,430
be angry and you've not had the humility

741
00:30:15,430 --> 00:30:16,810
to acknowledge your own anger.

742
00:30:17,810 --> 00:30:20,890
You lose your power of authority.

743
00:30:23,550 --> 00:30:27,350
So, a third thing about these women, and

744
00:30:27,350 --> 00:30:28,370
again, a lot of that was kind of

745
00:30:28,370 --> 00:30:30,670
assumption based on them living a sincere life.

746
00:30:30,670 --> 00:30:34,850
How that looked in their lives, we don't

747
00:30:34,850 --> 00:30:35,750
have all the specifics.

748
00:30:35,950 --> 00:30:37,950
But now, flip over to Acts.

749
00:30:38,030 --> 00:30:39,370
Keep your hand here and go to Acts

750
00:30:39,370 --> 00:30:40,010
16.

751
00:30:41,230 --> 00:30:42,350
Acts 16.

752
00:30:54,830 --> 00:30:59,570
His mother, it seems, lived out this sincere

753
00:30:59,570 --> 00:31:02,490
faith while married to who?

754
00:31:04,660 --> 00:31:06,360
A godly man or an unbeliever?

755
00:31:09,530 --> 00:31:13,890
Acts 16, Paul also came to Derbe and

756
00:31:13,890 --> 00:31:14,390
to Lystra.

757
00:31:14,390 --> 00:31:17,610
A disciple was there named Timothy, the son

758
00:31:17,610 --> 00:31:18,610
of a Jewish woman.

759
00:31:19,090 --> 00:31:20,870
And then look how he describes her.

760
00:31:21,110 --> 00:31:22,610
Who was a believer.

761
00:31:23,330 --> 00:31:25,390
So he doesn't just mention she's a Jew,

762
00:31:25,610 --> 00:31:27,290
because obviously a lot of Jews are lost

763
00:31:27,290 --> 00:31:28,930
that weren't believing in Christ.

764
00:31:29,210 --> 00:31:30,790
Who was a believer.

765
00:31:32,010 --> 00:31:32,750
A Christian.

766
00:31:33,350 --> 00:31:37,250
But, Timothy's father was a Greek.

767
00:31:38,450 --> 00:31:41,630
Nothing is said here that Timothy's father was

768
00:31:41,630 --> 00:31:42,170
a believer.

769
00:31:42,170 --> 00:31:45,470
Nothing is ultimately said whether he was alive

770
00:31:45,470 --> 00:31:46,170
at this point.

771
00:31:46,510 --> 00:31:47,410
We don't know that.

772
00:31:48,470 --> 00:31:49,810
We can only speculate.

773
00:31:50,730 --> 00:31:52,550
And here, verse 2, it says Timothy was

774
00:31:52,550 --> 00:31:55,750
well-spoken of by the brothers at these

775
00:31:55,750 --> 00:31:56,050
cities.

776
00:31:56,210 --> 00:31:58,370
And verse 3, Paul wanted Timothy to accompany

777
00:31:58,370 --> 00:31:58,630
him.

778
00:31:58,770 --> 00:32:02,610
But here the point is, Timothy's mother, it

779
00:32:02,610 --> 00:32:06,770
seems, lived out this sincere faith while married

780
00:32:06,770 --> 00:32:08,290
to an unbelieving husband.

781
00:32:10,850 --> 00:32:13,090
And look, the fact is that's the case

782
00:32:13,090 --> 00:32:14,830
with a lot of you different sisters here

783
00:32:14,830 --> 00:32:15,530
today, right?

784
00:32:16,490 --> 00:32:18,830
There are different sisters who get saved.

785
00:32:19,070 --> 00:32:20,370
You start coming to the church.

786
00:32:20,630 --> 00:32:22,250
Your husband is not a true Christian.

787
00:32:23,110 --> 00:32:27,470
And you're in a similar spot as Timothy's

788
00:32:27,470 --> 00:32:28,210
mother was.

789
00:32:31,190 --> 00:32:33,450
How do you live a sincere faith before

790
00:32:33,450 --> 00:32:34,410
an unbelieving husband?

791
00:32:34,530 --> 00:32:35,970
What's one of the first verses that comes

792
00:32:35,970 --> 00:32:36,570
to your mind?

793
00:32:37,690 --> 00:32:41,310
1 Peter 3.1 Likewise, wise, be subject

794
00:32:41,310 --> 00:32:43,450
to your own husbands, so that even if

795
00:32:43,450 --> 00:32:45,070
some do not obey the Word, they may

796
00:32:45,070 --> 00:32:47,250
be won without a word by the conduct

797
00:32:47,250 --> 00:32:48,650
of their wives.

798
00:32:49,190 --> 00:32:51,370
So the wife, no doubt she was seeking

799
00:32:51,370 --> 00:32:52,910
to live this way if her husband was

800
00:32:52,910 --> 00:32:53,410
alive.

801
00:32:53,710 --> 00:32:56,230
She was seeking to be subject to her

802
00:32:56,230 --> 00:32:58,090
own husband even if he does not obey

803
00:32:58,090 --> 00:32:58,730
the Word.

804
00:33:00,090 --> 00:33:03,490
But think of it, this mother's son, not

805
00:33:03,490 --> 00:33:05,890
only he got saved, but look how useful

806
00:33:05,890 --> 00:33:07,910
he was for the kingdom of Christ.

807
00:33:08,030 --> 00:33:08,390
Timothy.

808
00:33:09,450 --> 00:33:11,230
And he didn't come from the stock of

809
00:33:11,230 --> 00:33:12,850
two really godly parents.

810
00:33:13,630 --> 00:33:15,490
So that's an encouragement to you mothers here

811
00:33:15,490 --> 00:33:17,110
who have a lost husband.

812
00:33:17,570 --> 00:33:19,870
But it doesn't lower the bar of the

813
00:33:19,870 --> 00:33:22,190
possibilities of what might happen to your very

814
00:33:22,190 --> 00:33:22,670
kids.

815
00:33:26,620 --> 00:33:29,800
We could have many Timothys raised up from

816
00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:30,920
single mothers here.

817
00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:33,780
Now obviously, our hope, our prayer is that

818
00:33:33,780 --> 00:33:36,680
your husbands will be saved and that you

819
00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:37,960
both can have an impact.

820
00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:42,180
And look, one of the reasons you could

821
00:33:42,180 --> 00:33:44,260
ask this question in verse 5, he leaves

822
00:33:44,260 --> 00:33:47,280
out his father and grandfather.

823
00:33:48,180 --> 00:33:50,520
And some might say, well, that's because women

824
00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:53,140
have the most opportunity to instruct the kids.

825
00:33:53,380 --> 00:33:55,840
Do women generally have a lot of opportunity

826
00:33:55,840 --> 00:33:57,880
to instruct the kids compared to the husbands?

827
00:33:58,080 --> 00:33:59,800
That's true, but I think the reason he

828
00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:01,520
left out the father here is because the

829
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:02,600
father wasn't a believer.

830
00:34:03,500 --> 00:34:05,500
And you get other situations where there's no

831
00:34:05,500 --> 00:34:05,900
mom.

832
00:34:06,980 --> 00:34:09,460
And who in the Bible was a godly

833
00:34:09,460 --> 00:34:11,880
woman who just had a father?

834
00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:15,659
And that father really reproved her and exhorted

835
00:34:15,659 --> 00:34:17,480
her in a very trying time.

836
00:34:17,580 --> 00:34:19,860
He wasn't her biological dad in order to

837
00:34:19,860 --> 00:34:21,320
do something big by faith.

838
00:34:22,580 --> 00:34:22,739
Who?

839
00:34:25,380 --> 00:34:25,900
Esther.

840
00:34:26,100 --> 00:34:27,100
Yeah, Mordecai.

841
00:34:28,100 --> 00:34:30,800
Esther's parents had died and Mordecai takes her

842
00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:31,120
in.

843
00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:33,900
And here she's in this situation where she's

844
00:34:33,900 --> 00:34:35,380
got to go before the king and she's

845
00:34:35,380 --> 00:34:36,420
not overly inclined.

846
00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:39,800
And Mordecai comes in with this incredible exhortation.

847
00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:42,739
Like, you're born for this, and if you

848
00:34:42,739 --> 00:34:44,400
don't do this, God's going to raise someone

849
00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:44,980
else up.

850
00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:48,239
And she went to prayer and fasting and

851
00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:49,960
asked others to pray and fast and she

852
00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:51,020
went before the king.

853
00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:55,320
So parents, mothers, fathers, we all should be

854
00:34:55,320 --> 00:34:56,900
having an impact on our children.

855
00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:01,880
So, Eunice lived out this faith while married

856
00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:02,600
to an unbeliever.

857
00:35:02,680 --> 00:35:03,920
What's the fourth thing they did?

858
00:35:03,980 --> 00:35:05,380
Turn to 2 Timothy 3.

859
00:35:06,500 --> 00:35:07,820
Turn one page over.

860
00:35:08,540 --> 00:35:12,860
They poured the Scriptures into Timothy.

861
00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:19,820
Verse 14, "...but as for you, Timothy, continue

862
00:35:19,820 --> 00:35:22,280
in what you've learned and have firmly believed,

863
00:35:22,700 --> 00:35:26,940
knowing from whom you learned it..." You know,

864
00:35:27,020 --> 00:35:30,180
from Paul, from his grandmother and his mother,

865
00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:31,640
is implied.

866
00:35:31,860 --> 00:35:35,940
Verse 15, "...and how from childhood you have

867
00:35:35,940 --> 00:35:39,620
been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are

868
00:35:39,620 --> 00:35:43,060
able to make you wise for salvation through

869
00:35:43,060 --> 00:35:47,040
faith in Christ Jesus."

870
00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:49,720
And how from childhood, you have been acquainted

871
00:35:49,720 --> 00:35:50,980
with the sacred writings.

872
00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:52,460
Can we say that about our kids?

873
00:35:54,260 --> 00:35:57,360
A lot of kids, if you go into

874
00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:00,040
the world and you ask a kid what

875
00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:02,140
they've been acquainted with since they were a

876
00:36:02,140 --> 00:36:03,920
young child, it's one of the first things

877
00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:04,640
they're going to say is it's going to

878
00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:05,160
be the Bible.

879
00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:07,920
No, it's going to be some TV show

880
00:36:09,560 --> 00:36:16,200
that their parents watch more TV show than

881
00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:18,740
anything else, and that's their babysitter.

882
00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:21,600
And they live their life consumed with that

883
00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:21,940
show.

884
00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:24,560
That's what they're acquainted with is the characters

885
00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:26,780
in that TV show, not the Word of

886
00:36:26,780 --> 00:36:27,100
God.

887
00:36:27,540 --> 00:36:29,480
Timothy, that was not the case.

888
00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:35,480
The Bible was being poured into him as

889
00:36:35,480 --> 00:36:36,240
a little child.

890
00:36:38,100 --> 00:36:39,620
You know, I was thinking about grandmothers.

891
00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:44,780
Grandmothers often pour out gifts upon their grandkids.

892
00:36:44,820 --> 00:36:46,040
And nothing's wrong with that, right?

893
00:36:46,500 --> 00:36:48,740
I appreciate when my kids have a birthday

894
00:36:48,740 --> 00:36:52,240
and Grandma and Grandpa send something down or

895
00:36:52,240 --> 00:36:53,740
give the kids something.

896
00:36:53,800 --> 00:36:54,700
I appreciate that.

897
00:36:54,780 --> 00:36:56,540
But you know what's the greatest gift a

898
00:36:56,540 --> 00:36:58,260
grandparent can give to that child?

899
00:36:58,260 --> 00:37:00,000
It's the Word of God.

900
00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:01,240
It's the truth.

901
00:37:01,340 --> 00:37:04,120
It's living a consistent, sincere life of faith.

902
00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:06,280
It's no physical gift.

903
00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:09,560
It's pointing them to the one true gift

904
00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:10,600
in Christ.

905
00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:12,300
And if you look at v.

906
00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:15,880
15 in that chapter, how from childhood, you

907
00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:18,160
have been acquainted with the sacred writing.

908
00:37:18,580 --> 00:37:20,740
So here, Timothy had the knowledge.

909
00:37:21,260 --> 00:37:25,080
He was not ignorant like some Gentile out

910
00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:25,440
there.

911
00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:28,580
And then it says, "...which are able to

912
00:37:28,580 --> 00:37:34,040
make you wise for salvation through faith in

913
00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:34,800
Christ Jesus."

914
00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:36,660
So Timothy had the knowledge.

915
00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:39,000
Now he had to believe in it personally

916
00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:39,820
for himself.

917
00:37:40,260 --> 00:37:41,000
And he did.

918
00:37:41,060 --> 00:37:42,980
And we don't know specifically the hour or

919
00:37:42,980 --> 00:37:44,380
the day or the year when he was

920
00:37:44,380 --> 00:37:47,340
converted, but he took Christ at His Word.

921
00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:51,240
His parents, his mother, put the truth before

922
00:37:51,240 --> 00:37:51,640
him.

923
00:37:53,140 --> 00:37:56,220
At what age should truth be spoken to

924
00:37:56,220 --> 00:37:56,820
our kids?

925
00:37:57,260 --> 00:37:58,180
If you look in v.

926
00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:00,800
15 and how from childhood that word there

927
00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:07,110
is infancy, since they're small, they're hearing the

928
00:38:07,110 --> 00:38:07,450
words.

929
00:38:07,730 --> 00:38:10,570
They're being acquainted with the Word of God.

930
00:38:12,350 --> 00:38:15,430
It's amazing to me how Paul does not

931
00:38:15,430 --> 00:38:20,010
emphasize his grandmother and mother's prayer life for

932
00:38:20,010 --> 00:38:22,390
their grandson, for their son.

933
00:38:22,390 --> 00:38:24,490
Should we be praying for our children?

934
00:38:24,670 --> 00:38:25,050
Yes.

935
00:38:25,450 --> 00:38:27,250
But I could pray for my kids for

936
00:38:27,250 --> 00:38:29,370
the next ten years, but if I don't

937
00:38:29,370 --> 00:38:32,050
speak forth the Word, when faith comes by

938
00:38:32,050 --> 00:38:33,990
hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ,

939
00:38:35,070 --> 00:38:36,570
something's not going to work out there.

940
00:38:37,150 --> 00:38:40,350
I need to be preaching the truth to

941
00:38:40,350 --> 00:38:43,230
them which is able to make them wise

942
00:38:43,230 --> 00:38:47,790
for salvation through faith in Christ.

943
00:38:47,910 --> 00:38:49,450
They're going to have the true Gospel.

944
00:38:49,590 --> 00:38:50,650
They know who Christ is.

945
00:38:50,650 --> 00:38:52,710
They know about the doctrine of regeneration.

946
00:38:53,910 --> 00:38:56,450
I remember one of the young kids in

947
00:38:56,450 --> 00:38:58,230
the church when he was in a sports

948
00:38:58,230 --> 00:39:00,270
team, one of the coaches was trying to

949
00:39:00,270 --> 00:39:02,830
lead all of the kids in a sinner's

950
00:39:02,830 --> 00:39:03,850
prayer to be saved.

951
00:39:04,270 --> 00:39:06,670
And that kid was wise with truth from

952
00:39:06,670 --> 00:39:08,210
the church and he's thinking, I'm not going

953
00:39:08,210 --> 00:39:08,730
to do that.

954
00:39:08,790 --> 00:39:10,330
I know that's not the real deal.

955
00:39:11,130 --> 00:39:12,450
You see, we want our kids able to

956
00:39:12,450 --> 00:39:13,610
distinguish these things.

957
00:39:13,750 --> 00:39:16,950
Even if they're yet still rejecting them, do

958
00:39:16,950 --> 00:39:19,890
they have that knowledge of Christ that they

959
00:39:19,890 --> 00:39:20,910
might believe?

960
00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:24,900
Do they have a knowledge of how wicked

961
00:39:24,900 --> 00:39:26,080
and sinful they are?

962
00:39:27,100 --> 00:39:29,020
The Bible does not say our kids are

963
00:39:29,020 --> 00:39:29,660
little angels.

964
00:39:30,300 --> 00:39:32,400
The Bible says they're children of the devil.

965
00:39:33,060 --> 00:39:35,740
And we've got to be gracious to them,

966
00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:36,560
but be faithful.

967
00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:38,840
My grandmother growing up would always tell me,

968
00:39:38,860 --> 00:39:40,320
James, you're such a good little kid.

969
00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:42,500
And even as a kid when she said

970
00:39:42,500 --> 00:39:44,100
that, I thought she doesn't know how wicked

971
00:39:44,100 --> 00:39:44,700
I am.

972
00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:47,520
My wickedness was mainly inward.

973
00:39:49,660 --> 00:39:51,840
It would have helped if she would have

974
00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:54,480
reproved me rather than flattered me with how

975
00:39:54,480 --> 00:39:55,980
good I supposedly was.

976
00:39:58,040 --> 00:39:59,420
Spoke the Word to me.

977
00:40:01,120 --> 00:40:03,500
So mothers, grandparents, you can make a big

978
00:40:03,500 --> 00:40:05,480
impact on imparting truth to your children.

979
00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:08,820
You can have a massive impact.

980
00:40:10,260 --> 00:40:12,380
A massive impact on them.

981
00:40:13,720 --> 00:40:16,320
Timothy, he became a man who not only

982
00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:17,900
did he receive the Word, he was well

983
00:40:17,900 --> 00:40:18,620
spoken of.

984
00:40:19,310 --> 00:40:20,300
Well spoken of.

985
00:40:20,300 --> 00:40:21,960
What does Paul say in Philippians 2?

986
00:40:22,220 --> 00:40:23,840
Timothy was a man of what?

987
00:40:24,900 --> 00:40:25,900
Proven worth.

988
00:40:28,250 --> 00:40:30,090
Paul says in Philippians 2, there's no one

989
00:40:30,090 --> 00:40:32,250
like Timothy who has genuine concern.

990
00:40:32,790 --> 00:40:34,830
So Timothy had genuine love.

991
00:40:35,210 --> 00:40:36,610
Where do you think he saw that being

992
00:40:36,610 --> 00:40:36,950
modeled?

993
00:40:37,390 --> 00:40:38,450
Maybe his mom?

994
00:40:39,770 --> 00:40:41,310
He didn't have hypocritical love.

995
00:40:41,650 --> 00:40:42,750
He had genuine love.

996
00:40:42,810 --> 00:40:44,830
He genuinely cared about others' interests.

997
00:40:45,330 --> 00:40:47,490
You think about Timothy and his sincere faith.

998
00:40:47,910 --> 00:40:49,410
You know what we find in Acts 16?

999
00:40:50,110 --> 00:40:51,830
Timothy gets circumcised.

1000
00:40:51,930 --> 00:40:52,970
His father was a Greek.

1001
00:40:53,370 --> 00:40:55,910
Paul believes it's best to get him circumcised.

1002
00:40:56,170 --> 00:40:57,810
Does Timothy fight that?

1003
00:40:58,230 --> 00:40:59,710
Say, well, I don't need to do that.

1004
00:40:59,810 --> 00:41:00,950
I'm not under the law.

1005
00:41:01,330 --> 00:41:02,570
I don't need to do that.

1006
00:41:02,910 --> 00:41:05,390
Timothy's willing to get circumcised in order to

1007
00:41:05,390 --> 00:41:07,270
become all things to all people that he

1008
00:41:07,270 --> 00:41:09,530
might win some and not be a stumbling

1009
00:41:09,530 --> 00:41:10,750
block before the Jews.

1010
00:41:12,350 --> 00:41:14,510
Is that the type of faith you've got?

1011
00:41:15,090 --> 00:41:19,070
Are you fighting for your liberties rather than

1012
00:41:19,070 --> 00:41:20,170
willing to die for them?

1013
00:41:20,230 --> 00:41:22,410
Even to have something like circumcision happen.

1014
00:41:22,570 --> 00:41:23,930
Do I really need this to happen?

1015
00:41:24,050 --> 00:41:26,090
But Timothy, his faith, he had a bigger

1016
00:41:26,090 --> 00:41:27,650
mission in life than himself.

1017
00:41:27,910 --> 00:41:30,870
He was wanting to win souls to Christ.

1018
00:41:32,730 --> 00:41:34,590
We're thinking about Timothy and his faith.

1019
00:41:34,730 --> 00:41:36,830
Timothy had a sincere faith that needed to

1020
00:41:36,830 --> 00:41:37,750
be stirred up.

1021
00:41:38,370 --> 00:41:40,930
Verse 6 in this letter, chapter 1, he

1022
00:41:40,930 --> 00:41:42,710
says, I remind you to fan into the

1023
00:41:42,710 --> 00:41:44,050
flame the gift of God.

1024
00:41:44,310 --> 00:41:47,350
So Paul's exhorting him, stirring him up, even

1025
00:41:47,350 --> 00:41:49,050
us with sincere faith, we've got to be

1026
00:41:49,050 --> 00:41:49,770
stirred up.

1027
00:41:50,430 --> 00:41:51,930
Timothy had sincere faith.

1028
00:41:52,030 --> 00:41:55,830
It says in verse 4, Paul remembers his

1029
00:41:55,830 --> 00:41:56,490
tears.

1030
00:41:59,850 --> 00:42:00,370
Tears.

1031
00:42:02,540 --> 00:42:04,540
Don't you just love it when someone genuinely

1032
00:42:04,540 --> 00:42:05,040
cries?

1033
00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:10,780
Maybe some of you don't see it that

1034
00:42:10,780 --> 00:42:11,200
much.

1035
00:42:12,540 --> 00:42:14,520
I mean, genuinely cries.

1036
00:42:16,080 --> 00:42:18,660
I mean, some of the older Christians, when

1037
00:42:18,660 --> 00:42:20,780
I would pray with them up in Missouri,

1038
00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:23,820
it's like they were genuinely hit with such

1039
00:42:23,820 --> 00:42:25,400
a reality in that time of prayer, they're

1040
00:42:25,400 --> 00:42:26,340
genuinely weeping.

1041
00:42:26,760 --> 00:42:29,160
Not some fake show to appear a certain

1042
00:42:29,160 --> 00:42:29,520
way.

1043
00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:32,080
Timothy had tears.

1044
00:42:33,140 --> 00:42:34,100
There's a heart there.

1045
00:42:35,100 --> 00:42:38,120
As I've said, I wish I could cry

1046
00:42:38,120 --> 00:42:38,540
more.

1047
00:42:39,060 --> 00:42:41,300
And I'm just not that near to Christ

1048
00:42:41,300 --> 00:42:44,220
yet to where there's just more reality that

1049
00:42:44,220 --> 00:42:47,640
would cause me to flood over with tears.

1050
00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:50,980
Maybe I've not suffered enough yet.

1051
00:42:54,620 --> 00:42:57,420
But Timothy there, Paul remembered his tears.

1052
00:42:58,600 --> 00:43:01,360
Maybe he's referring to Acts when Paul was

1053
00:43:01,360 --> 00:43:01,740
leaving.

1054
00:43:02,820 --> 00:43:05,360
There were crying tears seeing Paul leave.

1055
00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:11,460
What's sincere faith in Timothy look like?

1056
00:43:11,900 --> 00:43:13,540
It looks like you've got to endure.

1057
00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:16,500
Hebrews 13, you should know that our brother

1058
00:43:16,500 --> 00:43:20,740
Timothy has been released from prison with whom

1059
00:43:20,740 --> 00:43:22,560
I shall see if he comes soon.

1060
00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:24,300
Did Timothy go to prison and come out

1061
00:43:24,300 --> 00:43:25,280
renouncing the Lord?

1062
00:43:25,280 --> 00:43:26,960
Did he renounce the Lord in prison?

1063
00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:27,560
He didn't.

1064
00:43:27,860 --> 00:43:29,100
He had sincere faith.

1065
00:43:30,520 --> 00:43:33,060
Paul is calling Timothy throughout this whole letter

1066
00:43:33,060 --> 00:43:34,940
of 2 Timothy to endure.

1067
00:43:35,440 --> 00:43:35,660
In v.

1068
00:43:36,040 --> 00:43:39,320
8, chapter 1, he says to share, continue

1069
00:43:39,320 --> 00:43:40,280
on in suffering.

1070
00:43:40,380 --> 00:43:41,000
Don't quit.

1071
00:43:41,540 --> 00:43:42,680
In chapter 3, v.

1072
00:43:42,760 --> 00:43:46,080
14, he says, but as for you, continue

1073
00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:48,500
in what you have learned and firmly believe.

1074
00:43:48,960 --> 00:43:49,960
Chapter 2, v.

1075
00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:52,200
10, Paul says, I endure everything.

1076
00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:52,860
V.

1077
00:43:52,980 --> 00:43:55,800
12, if we endure, we will also reign.

1078
00:43:55,980 --> 00:43:57,000
Chapter 4, v.

1079
00:43:57,080 --> 00:43:59,280
3, he says the time is coming when

1080
00:43:59,280 --> 00:44:01,620
people will not endure sound teaching.

1081
00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:02,580
V.

1082
00:44:02,620 --> 00:44:04,940
5, as for you, always be sober-minded.

1083
00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:07,020
Endure suffering.

1084
00:44:07,560 --> 00:44:09,580
True, sincere faith endures.

1085
00:44:10,520 --> 00:44:13,340
And how did his mother and grandmother die?

1086
00:44:13,440 --> 00:44:14,100
We don't know.

1087
00:44:14,860 --> 00:44:17,240
But we do know this, sincere faith endures

1088
00:44:17,240 --> 00:44:18,720
and he who began a good work in

1089
00:44:18,720 --> 00:44:21,460
someone, Christ, will bring it to completion at

1090
00:44:21,460 --> 00:44:22,780
the day of Jesus Christ.

1091
00:44:23,260 --> 00:44:24,640
He gets people to the end.

1092
00:44:26,140 --> 00:44:29,940
So, some thoughts to parents.

1093
00:44:31,540 --> 00:44:33,260
And it's not even just to parents, I

1094
00:44:33,260 --> 00:44:33,580
guess.

1095
00:44:34,180 --> 00:44:35,820
You could look at it like this.

1096
00:44:36,080 --> 00:44:38,100
Anyone who has an impact on a child.

1097
00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:42,120
Anyone who has an impact on a child,

1098
00:44:42,300 --> 00:44:44,840
and you know what, some of you, it's

1099
00:44:44,840 --> 00:44:47,240
you siblings who are professing and you've got

1100
00:44:47,240 --> 00:44:47,900
lost siblings.

1101
00:44:49,340 --> 00:44:53,320
You have an opportunity to impact your younger

1102
00:44:53,320 --> 00:44:53,840
siblings.

1103
00:44:55,940 --> 00:44:58,920
Sometimes there's an older child who is professing

1104
00:44:58,920 --> 00:45:00,880
and a younger child professes and they want

1105
00:45:00,880 --> 00:45:02,660
to join the church and we'll ask them,

1106
00:45:02,780 --> 00:45:04,520
what do you think about your other sibling

1107
00:45:04,520 --> 00:45:05,440
who professes?

1108
00:45:05,800 --> 00:45:07,560
What type of life do they live in

1109
00:45:07,560 --> 00:45:07,940
the home?

1110
00:45:08,680 --> 00:45:09,440
We want to know.

1111
00:45:10,220 --> 00:45:10,960
Is it sincere?

1112
00:45:11,460 --> 00:45:12,160
Is it genuine?

1113
00:45:12,400 --> 00:45:14,520
No, is it not some perfect reality?

1114
00:45:14,700 --> 00:45:16,920
But like that one parent, when you sin,

1115
00:45:17,200 --> 00:45:19,080
is there grief and you're wanting to make

1116
00:45:19,080 --> 00:45:21,220
it right no matter how small it is?

1117
00:45:21,240 --> 00:45:22,760
Even if it's taking a pencil.

1118
00:45:25,540 --> 00:45:27,480
I'm showing my kids I always want to

1119
00:45:27,480 --> 00:45:30,520
have a clear conscience before God and man.

1120
00:45:33,280 --> 00:45:35,220
So, let's think for a moment a couple

1121
00:45:35,220 --> 00:45:35,720
of things.

1122
00:45:36,980 --> 00:45:39,540
I already mentioned this, but many of you

1123
00:45:39,540 --> 00:45:44,270
mothers, or some of you, your husbands are

1124
00:45:44,270 --> 00:45:44,750
lost.

1125
00:45:45,630 --> 00:45:47,990
Do you realize you can have such an

1126
00:45:47,990 --> 00:45:51,270
impact on your children that even if your

1127
00:45:51,270 --> 00:45:55,690
husband never gets saved, your kids could turn

1128
00:45:55,690 --> 00:45:57,130
out like people like Timothy?

1129
00:45:58,870 --> 00:46:00,570
Do you even realize that?

1130
00:46:00,750 --> 00:46:05,970
It's a defeated, wrong thought to assume that

1131
00:46:05,970 --> 00:46:08,790
that family that had two really godly parents,

1132
00:46:08,910 --> 00:46:10,330
all their kids are going to turn out

1133
00:46:10,330 --> 00:46:11,130
better than mine.

1134
00:46:11,290 --> 00:46:13,210
Look, are we ultimately caught up to who?

1135
00:46:13,250 --> 00:46:14,210
The grace of God?

1136
00:46:14,290 --> 00:46:15,230
You better believe it.

1137
00:46:16,170 --> 00:46:18,010
But are we hyper-Calvinistic?

1138
00:46:18,310 --> 00:46:18,710
No.

1139
00:46:19,650 --> 00:46:21,390
We don't just say what will be, what

1140
00:46:21,390 --> 00:46:21,890
will be.

1141
00:46:22,370 --> 00:46:24,330
Like one of my old co-workers who

1142
00:46:24,330 --> 00:46:27,170
was a Dutch hyper-Calvinist guy, he said

1143
00:46:27,170 --> 00:46:29,010
he didn't even evangelize his kid and if

1144
00:46:29,010 --> 00:46:30,690
God's going to save his kid, God's going

1145
00:46:30,690 --> 00:46:31,090
to do it.

1146
00:46:31,150 --> 00:46:32,530
And I'm thinking, are you kidding me?

1147
00:46:34,150 --> 00:46:35,910
If my kid's going to know the Bible,

1148
00:46:36,770 --> 00:46:38,030
guess what's going to be a big part

1149
00:46:38,030 --> 00:46:38,930
of them knowing the Bible?

1150
00:46:39,550 --> 00:46:42,050
It's going to be me as a parent.

1151
00:46:42,910 --> 00:46:45,710
Not just reading the Bible, explaining the Bible,

1152
00:46:46,530 --> 00:46:48,930
and living it out in my own life.

1153
00:46:50,370 --> 00:46:53,970
But mothers, even a single father like Mordecai

1154
00:46:53,970 --> 00:46:58,710
who might have his daughter's child, do you

1155
00:46:58,710 --> 00:47:01,090
see your opportunity to have an impact on

1156
00:47:01,090 --> 00:47:01,670
that child?

1157
00:47:01,970 --> 00:47:04,230
The greatest possession you can pass on to

1158
00:47:04,230 --> 00:47:05,930
your children is sincere faith.

1159
00:47:06,950 --> 00:47:07,810
Sincere faith.

1160
00:47:08,950 --> 00:47:11,710
People will say, little Johnny has a nice

1161
00:47:11,710 --> 00:47:12,570
heart inside.

1162
00:47:15,300 --> 00:47:17,240
That doesn't matter as a parent.

1163
00:47:17,580 --> 00:47:19,440
I want to hear someone say to me,

1164
00:47:20,680 --> 00:47:23,380
your son has a sincere faith that reminds

1165
00:47:23,380 --> 00:47:24,360
me of your faith.

1166
00:47:25,560 --> 00:47:27,620
And not just your faith, your son's more

1167
00:47:27,620 --> 00:47:28,740
zealous than you were.

1168
00:47:29,520 --> 00:47:31,120
That'd be a nice add-on, right?

1169
00:47:33,820 --> 00:47:35,620
You know, you kids with Christian parents, you

1170
00:47:35,620 --> 00:47:38,640
don't want to live up to the standard

1171
00:47:38,640 --> 00:47:39,540
of your parents.

1172
00:47:40,060 --> 00:47:41,320
You want to go beyond it.

1173
00:47:42,080 --> 00:47:43,980
You'd be wrong to look at your dad

1174
00:47:43,980 --> 00:47:45,840
and mom and say, well, that's the standard.

1175
00:47:45,980 --> 00:47:47,380
No, Christ is the standard.

1176
00:47:47,560 --> 00:47:48,860
And your parents fail.

1177
00:47:49,540 --> 00:47:51,200
And they have blind spots that you don't

1178
00:47:51,200 --> 00:47:51,780
want to imitate.

1179
00:47:52,780 --> 00:47:54,920
And you want to go far beyond that.

1180
00:47:55,300 --> 00:47:57,460
And God forbid you drop the bar lower

1181
00:47:58,020 --> 00:47:58,980
than your parents.

1182
00:48:04,870 --> 00:48:07,430
Obviously, in parenting, we're balanced.

1183
00:48:07,670 --> 00:48:09,330
Passing on the knowledge of the truth does

1184
00:48:09,330 --> 00:48:11,530
not mean we ignore everything else in life.

1185
00:48:11,610 --> 00:48:13,190
It doesn't mean you don't go play sports

1186
00:48:13,190 --> 00:48:15,630
with your kids and you're just always beating

1187
00:48:15,630 --> 00:48:17,110
the Bible into their heads.

1188
00:48:17,910 --> 00:48:20,850
That would be more damaging than good.

1189
00:48:21,330 --> 00:48:23,090
But are we teaching our children?

1190
00:48:23,250 --> 00:48:26,530
Are we acquainting them with the sacred writings?

1191
00:48:26,770 --> 00:48:28,330
With the Scriptures?

1192
00:48:29,970 --> 00:48:32,510
Proverbs 31, it says, the words of King

1193
00:48:32,510 --> 00:48:36,870
Lemuel, an oracle that his who taught him.

1194
00:48:37,650 --> 00:48:38,370
His mother.

1195
00:48:38,790 --> 00:48:40,010
His mother taught him that.

1196
00:48:40,070 --> 00:48:42,770
Deuteronomy 6, these words that I command you

1197
00:48:42,770 --> 00:48:43,950
today shall be on your heart.

1198
00:48:44,030 --> 00:48:46,130
You shall teach them diligently to your children.

1199
00:48:46,490 --> 00:48:49,130
And obviously for us, these ultimate words is

1200
00:48:49,130 --> 00:48:50,430
the New Testament revelation.

1201
00:48:51,450 --> 00:48:53,630
You shall teach them diligently to your children.

1202
00:48:53,770 --> 00:48:55,530
You shall talk of them when you sit

1203
00:48:55,530 --> 00:48:57,710
in your house, when you walk by the

1204
00:48:57,710 --> 00:48:59,790
way, and when you lie down, and when

1205
00:48:59,790 --> 00:49:00,610
you rise.

1206
00:49:01,670 --> 00:49:03,630
I think one of the biggest failures, and

1207
00:49:03,630 --> 00:49:06,970
one thing that's helpful even with the pastoral

1208
00:49:06,970 --> 00:49:09,630
visitations and getting people's homes is really even

1209
00:49:09,630 --> 00:49:11,070
asking one question to parents.

1210
00:49:11,650 --> 00:49:13,970
Are you able to take time every day

1211
00:49:13,970 --> 00:49:16,630
where you sit down and talk about the

1212
00:49:16,630 --> 00:49:17,770
Scriptures to your children?

1213
00:49:19,070 --> 00:49:21,330
A lot of people right before the kids

1214
00:49:21,330 --> 00:49:22,670
go to bed, they sit down and they

1215
00:49:22,670 --> 00:49:24,530
have that, whether you call it a family

1216
00:49:24,530 --> 00:49:28,770
devotional or whatever you call it, if you're

1217
00:49:28,770 --> 00:49:32,110
not taking advantage of that opportunity, you're missing

1218
00:49:32,110 --> 00:49:34,670
seven days every week where you can speak

1219
00:49:34,670 --> 00:49:36,770
truth into your kids for ten minutes or

1220
00:49:36,770 --> 00:49:39,110
however long it is that will impact them

1221
00:49:39,110 --> 00:49:39,790
for eternity.

1222
00:49:40,550 --> 00:49:42,630
Some of the best discussions I've had with

1223
00:49:42,630 --> 00:49:44,810
my kids is just sitting down and we

1224
00:49:44,810 --> 00:49:49,030
start discussing something from the Word right there

1225
00:49:49,030 --> 00:49:50,290
before they're headed to bed.

1226
00:49:55,730 --> 00:49:59,630
D.E. Host, missionary in China, who took

1227
00:49:59,630 --> 00:50:02,110
over the work of China Inland Mission after

1228
00:50:02,110 --> 00:50:04,370
Hudson Taylor died, he said of his mom,

1229
00:50:04,890 --> 00:50:07,590
the mother in particular was a born teacher.

1230
00:50:08,410 --> 00:50:09,770
And as one of her sons wrote of

1231
00:50:09,770 --> 00:50:13,090
her many years later, to have passed through

1232
00:50:13,090 --> 00:50:15,410
her hand was to have a knowledge of

1233
00:50:15,410 --> 00:50:18,670
the Bible from end to end implanted on

1234
00:50:18,670 --> 00:50:19,890
the mind for life.

1235
00:50:20,130 --> 00:50:22,650
Whatever the special lessons, the main ideas were

1236
00:50:22,650 --> 00:50:24,850
of God's love to us revealed in the

1237
00:50:24,850 --> 00:50:25,970
Lord Jesus Christ.

1238
00:50:26,270 --> 00:50:29,910
Our own sins and shortcomings together with our

1239
00:50:29,910 --> 00:50:32,490
need of a personal repentance and renewal.

1240
00:50:32,750 --> 00:50:34,790
While the thought that we had been sent

1241
00:50:34,790 --> 00:50:36,590
into the world to do some work for

1242
00:50:36,590 --> 00:50:40,150
God and man was never far away.

1243
00:50:41,470 --> 00:50:43,770
J.C. Ryle said, train your child to

1244
00:50:43,770 --> 00:50:44,850
a knowledge of the Bible.

1245
00:50:44,950 --> 00:50:46,950
You cannot make your child love the Bible,

1246
00:50:47,090 --> 00:50:47,610
I allow.

1247
00:50:48,430 --> 00:50:50,170
None but the Holy Ghost can give us

1248
00:50:50,170 --> 00:50:51,610
a heart to delight in the Word.

1249
00:50:51,850 --> 00:50:53,990
But you can make your children, as the

1250
00:50:53,990 --> 00:50:56,870
text says, acquainted with the Bible.

1251
00:50:57,270 --> 00:50:59,490
Be sure they cannot be acquainted with that

1252
00:50:59,490 --> 00:51:02,630
blessed Book too soon or too well.

1253
00:51:06,160 --> 00:51:09,980
You know, our digital age, even in my

1254
00:51:09,980 --> 00:51:13,900
own parenting when I find inconsistencies in reading

1255
00:51:13,900 --> 00:51:17,000
the Word to the kids in the evening,

1256
00:51:17,640 --> 00:51:19,760
you know one of the big factors is

1257
00:51:19,760 --> 00:51:20,800
technology.

1258
00:51:21,060 --> 00:51:23,020
It's so much easier to get consumed and

1259
00:51:23,020 --> 00:51:26,720
have all these things on and you don't

1260
00:51:26,720 --> 00:51:27,300
get to it.

1261
00:51:27,320 --> 00:51:28,340
You don't make it a priority.

1262
00:51:28,460 --> 00:51:29,740
We want to make it a priority.

1263
00:51:30,600 --> 00:51:32,320
It's not already in your life.

1264
00:51:34,160 --> 00:51:37,720
The Bible gives examples of the ability that

1265
00:51:37,720 --> 00:51:39,520
parents can have on their children, good or

1266
00:51:39,520 --> 00:51:39,920
bad.

1267
00:51:39,920 --> 00:51:42,520
Are there bad examples in the Bible of

1268
00:51:42,520 --> 00:51:42,860
parenting?

1269
00:51:43,380 --> 00:51:44,880
Yeah, there's many bad examples.

1270
00:51:45,840 --> 00:51:48,420
The daughter of Herodias was prompted by her

1271
00:51:48,420 --> 00:51:50,360
mother to do what?

1272
00:51:52,470 --> 00:51:54,650
Ask for John the Baptist's head on a

1273
00:51:54,650 --> 00:51:55,010
platter.

1274
00:51:57,220 --> 00:51:59,620
Think about it, in Ezekiel, he's speaking to

1275
00:51:59,620 --> 00:52:01,040
Jerusalem as a city.

1276
00:52:02,080 --> 00:52:05,800
Okay, but you could take this reality and

1277
00:52:05,800 --> 00:52:07,120
there's truth to be had.

1278
00:52:07,180 --> 00:52:09,720
He says, behold, everyone who uses Proverbs will

1279
00:52:09,720 --> 00:52:10,640
use this proverb.

1280
00:52:10,640 --> 00:52:12,340
What proverb was used?

1281
00:52:12,860 --> 00:52:14,220
Like mother, like daughter.

1282
00:52:15,720 --> 00:52:17,760
Was it a good thing that the daughter

1283
00:52:17,760 --> 00:52:19,680
like mother, like daughter was a good in

1284
00:52:19,680 --> 00:52:20,200
that context?

1285
00:52:21,100 --> 00:52:21,800
It was bad.

1286
00:52:22,040 --> 00:52:22,880
It was horrible.

1287
00:52:23,240 --> 00:52:25,120
You are the daughter of your mother who

1288
00:52:25,120 --> 00:52:27,160
loathed her husband and her children and you

1289
00:52:27,160 --> 00:52:29,200
are the sister of your sisters who loathed

1290
00:52:29,200 --> 00:52:30,420
their husbands and their children.

1291
00:52:30,740 --> 00:52:32,460
Your mother was a Hittite, your father an

1292
00:52:32,460 --> 00:52:34,980
Amorite, and your elder sister is Samaria who

1293
00:52:34,980 --> 00:52:36,540
lived with her daughters north of you.

1294
00:52:36,540 --> 00:52:40,700
Not only did you walk in their ways

1295
00:52:40,700 --> 00:52:42,780
and do according to their abominations, within a

1296
00:52:42,780 --> 00:52:44,840
very little time, you were more corrupt than

1297
00:52:44,840 --> 00:52:46,240
they in all your ways.

1298
00:52:47,540 --> 00:52:49,000
Think about Ahaziah.

1299
00:52:49,480 --> 00:52:51,440
When he was 22 years old, he began

1300
00:52:51,440 --> 00:52:52,000
to reign.

1301
00:52:53,400 --> 00:52:55,240
He walked in the ways of the house

1302
00:52:55,240 --> 00:52:58,200
of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor

1303
00:52:58,740 --> 00:53:01,060
in doing wickedly.

1304
00:53:02,360 --> 00:53:05,220
You could have a mother who's your counselor

1305
00:53:05,220 --> 00:53:06,560
in doing wickedly.

1306
00:53:07,380 --> 00:53:09,280
And it says all of this led to

1307
00:53:09,280 --> 00:53:10,240
his undoing.

1308
00:53:11,060 --> 00:53:11,820
His undoing.

1309
00:53:12,020 --> 00:53:13,780
You see, parents can have a massive impact.

1310
00:53:14,840 --> 00:53:17,780
Now look, that's not our issue here.

1311
00:53:18,240 --> 00:53:20,000
I don't think we have mothers in the

1312
00:53:20,000 --> 00:53:22,340
church who are counseling their children to do

1313
00:53:22,340 --> 00:53:24,380
wickedly or trying to get someone's head on

1314
00:53:24,380 --> 00:53:24,840
a platter.

1315
00:53:25,140 --> 00:53:26,800
That's pretty extreme, right?

1316
00:53:27,280 --> 00:53:30,000
But as we try to wrestle with parenting,

1317
00:53:31,140 --> 00:53:33,100
you know, there's this balance there.

1318
00:53:33,500 --> 00:53:35,640
You want to impart truth to your kids.

1319
00:53:36,300 --> 00:53:38,100
And then we're all learning as we do

1320
00:53:38,100 --> 00:53:39,700
this, and it's not like the Bible has

1321
00:53:39,700 --> 00:53:41,320
all these exact specific things.

1322
00:53:41,520 --> 00:53:43,640
And one of the things many wrestle with,

1323
00:53:43,780 --> 00:53:47,000
especially in this family-integrated type of era

1324
00:53:47,000 --> 00:53:48,660
where a lot of people have went through

1325
00:53:49,160 --> 00:53:52,780
a great emphasis on homeschooling, people fall into

1326
00:53:52,780 --> 00:53:55,700
parenting that is too mechanical.

1327
00:53:56,400 --> 00:53:59,260
This is kind of a warning I read

1328
00:53:59,260 --> 00:54:01,220
in Martin Lloyd-Jones in one of his

1329
00:54:01,220 --> 00:54:01,600
sermons.

1330
00:54:01,780 --> 00:54:03,640
He wrote this in the 1950s.

1331
00:54:03,940 --> 00:54:05,100
This is not in 2000.

1332
00:54:05,280 --> 00:54:06,100
This is 1950.

1333
00:54:06,240 --> 00:54:07,860
Listen to Lloyd-Jones here.

1334
00:54:07,920 --> 00:54:11,680
He commented on this matter of parenting that

1335
00:54:11,680 --> 00:54:13,880
there's not heart there.

1336
00:54:13,960 --> 00:54:14,700
It's so mechanical.

1337
00:54:15,440 --> 00:54:17,040
Do this and you'll get this result.

1338
00:54:17,980 --> 00:54:20,760
He says this, he said, I spoke to

1339
00:54:20,760 --> 00:54:24,180
a friend who was in distress after hearing

1340
00:54:24,180 --> 00:54:25,180
a lady speak.

1341
00:54:25,180 --> 00:54:28,360
He said a certain lady had been lecturing

1342
00:54:28,360 --> 00:54:29,580
that very week.

1343
00:54:30,280 --> 00:54:32,140
Her theme was how to bring up all

1344
00:54:32,140 --> 00:54:34,440
your children in your family as good Christians.

1345
00:54:36,080 --> 00:54:37,360
You ever heard a theme like that?

1346
00:54:37,860 --> 00:54:39,400
This is what you do and all your

1347
00:54:39,400 --> 00:54:40,300
kids become Christians.

1348
00:54:41,020 --> 00:54:43,320
It was wonderful, the lady said.

1349
00:54:43,380 --> 00:54:45,160
She had five or six kids and they

1350
00:54:45,160 --> 00:54:47,440
were so organized in her home and her

1351
00:54:47,440 --> 00:54:49,340
life and she was finished with all her

1352
00:54:49,340 --> 00:54:51,120
domestic work by 9 a.m. in the

1353
00:54:51,120 --> 00:54:51,420
morning.

1354
00:54:51,800 --> 00:54:53,780
And then she gave herself to various Christian

1355
00:54:53,780 --> 00:54:54,280
activities.

1356
00:54:55,300 --> 00:54:57,260
And that's not to mock being in order,

1357
00:54:58,300 --> 00:55:01,880
but the mother talking to me, she says

1358
00:55:01,880 --> 00:55:03,920
all her children were fine Christians and it

1359
00:55:03,920 --> 00:55:05,400
was so easy, so wonderful.

1360
00:55:06,160 --> 00:55:07,980
The mother talking to me who had two

1361
00:55:07,980 --> 00:55:10,520
children was in a state of real distress,

1362
00:55:10,640 --> 00:55:11,460
Lloyd-Jones said.

1363
00:55:11,660 --> 00:55:13,600
She felt that she was a complete and

1364
00:55:13,600 --> 00:55:14,300
utter failure.

1365
00:55:15,040 --> 00:55:16,280
What had I to say to her?

1366
00:55:16,800 --> 00:55:19,360
This I said, wait a moment.

1367
00:55:19,360 --> 00:55:21,620
How old are the children of this lady?

1368
00:55:22,440 --> 00:55:24,060
I happened to know the answer and my

1369
00:55:24,060 --> 00:55:24,880
friend knew also.

1370
00:55:25,020 --> 00:55:26,600
None of them at that time were above

1371
00:55:26,600 --> 00:55:28,920
the age of 16 or thereabouts.

1372
00:55:29,300 --> 00:55:30,180
I went on.

1373
00:55:30,740 --> 00:55:31,580
Wait and see.

1374
00:55:32,140 --> 00:55:34,460
This lady tells you that they're all Christians

1375
00:55:34,460 --> 00:55:36,900
and that all you need is a scheme

1376
00:55:36,900 --> 00:55:38,420
that you carry out regularly.

1377
00:55:39,160 --> 00:55:39,720
Wait a minute.

1378
00:55:40,040 --> 00:55:42,240
The story may be different in a few

1379
00:55:42,240 --> 00:55:42,820
years.

1380
00:55:43,640 --> 00:55:45,420
And alas, it turned out to be very

1381
00:55:45,420 --> 00:55:45,780
different.

1382
00:55:46,360 --> 00:55:48,460
It's doubtful whether more than one of those

1383
00:55:48,460 --> 00:55:49,580
children is a Christian.

1384
00:55:49,980 --> 00:55:52,860
Several of them are openly anti-Christian and

1385
00:55:52,860 --> 00:55:54,520
have turned their backs upon it all.

1386
00:55:55,340 --> 00:55:57,580
Lloyd-Jones says this, you cannot bring up

1387
00:55:57,580 --> 00:56:00,160
children to be Christians in that way.

1388
00:56:00,280 --> 00:56:02,240
It is not a mechanical process.

1389
00:56:02,740 --> 00:56:04,940
And in any case, it was also cold

1390
00:56:04,940 --> 00:56:05,640
and clinical.

1391
00:56:06,220 --> 00:56:07,800
A child is not a machine.

1392
00:56:08,320 --> 00:56:11,840
And so you cannot do this work mechanically.

1393
00:56:13,900 --> 00:56:15,620
Every one of us wants all of our

1394
00:56:15,620 --> 00:56:16,680
kids to know Christ.

1395
00:56:16,680 --> 00:56:19,740
The thought of one of our kids being

1396
00:56:19,740 --> 00:56:22,680
in hell and rejecting Christ is horrific.

1397
00:56:25,040 --> 00:56:29,300
But many fall into this too mechanical, it

1398
00:56:29,300 --> 00:56:30,980
can flush itself out in different ways or

1399
00:56:30,980 --> 00:56:33,040
can appear different ways in different people's lives,

1400
00:56:33,180 --> 00:56:34,740
but we need to watch out for that.

1401
00:56:34,800 --> 00:56:37,260
Whatever that looks like, just take it as

1402
00:56:37,260 --> 00:56:37,740
a warning.

1403
00:56:42,150 --> 00:56:43,890
In all this, we see the blessing of

1404
00:56:43,890 --> 00:56:44,210
children.

1405
00:56:44,850 --> 00:56:46,670
What a blessing children are.

1406
00:56:50,290 --> 00:56:52,650
I was telling someone earlier today, when I

1407
00:56:52,650 --> 00:56:57,850
was single, I had the carnal thought of

1408
00:56:59,610 --> 00:57:01,610
if I get married, I don't want to

1409
00:57:01,610 --> 00:57:02,330
have kids.

1410
00:57:05,310 --> 00:57:07,390
My wife might gain weight.

1411
00:57:09,270 --> 00:57:10,150
Different reasons.

1412
00:57:12,730 --> 00:57:14,710
To be satisfied in her, she's got to

1413
00:57:14,710 --> 00:57:15,530
look a certain way.

1414
00:57:15,590 --> 00:57:16,530
That was how I was when I was

1415
00:57:16,530 --> 00:57:16,810
lost.

1416
00:57:16,850 --> 00:57:19,450
I got saved, and I thought if I

1417
00:57:19,450 --> 00:57:20,990
get married, I don't want kids, they'll slow

1418
00:57:20,990 --> 00:57:21,570
me down.

1419
00:57:23,610 --> 00:57:24,970
But now I've got four of them, and

1420
00:57:24,970 --> 00:57:27,430
they've done nothing but helped me and given

1421
00:57:27,430 --> 00:57:31,290
me an incredible opportunity to love and to

1422
00:57:31,290 --> 00:57:32,650
be sanctified and to grow.

1423
00:57:32,790 --> 00:57:34,110
Children are such a blessing.

1424
00:57:34,250 --> 00:57:36,530
The fact you can have such an impact

1425
00:57:36,530 --> 00:57:37,910
on children.

1426
00:57:38,030 --> 00:57:39,390
I was thinking about Jim Elliot.

1427
00:57:40,070 --> 00:57:42,170
As many of you know, his dad Bert

1428
00:57:42,170 --> 00:57:42,970
got married.

1429
00:57:44,490 --> 00:57:47,650
And a year into the marriage, their first

1430
00:57:47,650 --> 00:57:48,690
child was born.

1431
00:57:49,250 --> 00:57:51,410
And when the baby came, the mother and

1432
00:57:51,410 --> 00:57:52,610
baby both died.

1433
00:57:53,310 --> 00:57:54,710
And so Bert lost his wife.

1434
00:57:54,830 --> 00:57:55,830
He lost his child.

1435
00:57:56,630 --> 00:57:59,290
And he really wrestled with spiritual things for

1436
00:57:59,290 --> 00:58:00,870
maybe two or three years, and then he

1437
00:58:00,870 --> 00:58:01,710
got remarried.

1438
00:58:02,230 --> 00:58:05,150
And in that marriage came Jim Elliot, who

1439
00:58:05,150 --> 00:58:06,590
died as a martyr in Ecuador.

1440
00:58:07,210 --> 00:58:08,930
And another child came, Bert.

1441
00:58:09,490 --> 00:58:12,230
And Bert Elliot had visited Jim right before

1442
00:58:12,230 --> 00:58:12,950
they got martyred.

1443
00:58:13,030 --> 00:58:16,330
And Bert was married to his wife Colleen.

1444
00:58:16,490 --> 00:58:18,050
And they could not have children.

1445
00:58:19,330 --> 00:58:21,690
And he took that as the Lord, as

1446
00:58:21,690 --> 00:58:22,610
he should have, he took it.

1447
00:58:22,630 --> 00:58:24,290
This is God not allowing us to have

1448
00:58:24,290 --> 00:58:27,090
kids because of physical issues.

1449
00:58:27,550 --> 00:58:29,850
And so they served in Peru for 60

1450
00:58:29,850 --> 00:58:30,510
years.

1451
00:58:31,590 --> 00:58:33,370
Sixty years they went up and down a

1452
00:58:33,370 --> 00:58:33,610
boat.

1453
00:58:33,950 --> 00:58:36,570
Even into the 2000s, they were still there.

1454
00:58:36,610 --> 00:58:37,910
He died in 2012.

1455
00:58:41,090 --> 00:58:42,590
So some of us, that's our legacy.

1456
00:58:42,730 --> 00:58:44,030
We can have spiritual children.

1457
00:58:44,850 --> 00:58:48,370
We can have spiritual kids who come to

1458
00:58:48,370 --> 00:58:48,610
Christ.

1459
00:58:48,610 --> 00:58:49,530
I know it's getting late.

1460
00:58:52,590 --> 00:58:54,310
Ultimately, we're cast on God.

1461
00:58:55,070 --> 00:58:56,990
We've got this week of prayer and fasting

1462
00:58:56,990 --> 00:58:58,410
coming up.

1463
00:59:01,680 --> 00:59:03,760
One of the biggest things to be praying

1464
00:59:03,760 --> 00:59:04,740
for is your kids.

1465
00:59:06,660 --> 00:59:07,960
Fasting for your kids.

1466
00:59:09,100 --> 00:59:11,440
Seeking God that they might come to know

1467
00:59:11,440 --> 00:59:11,960
the Lord.

1468
00:59:14,900 --> 00:59:16,560
Let me give a warning to children.

1469
00:59:17,080 --> 00:59:18,880
So if your kids, listen up for a

1470
00:59:18,880 --> 00:59:19,120
moment.

1471
00:59:21,680 --> 00:59:25,240
Here, first question is, what dwells in you?

1472
00:59:28,100 --> 00:59:28,280
Right?

1473
00:59:28,380 --> 00:59:29,320
What dwells in you?

1474
00:59:30,600 --> 00:59:33,580
Timothy had sincere faith dwelling in Him.

1475
00:59:34,400 --> 00:59:35,500
What dwells in you?

1476
00:59:36,460 --> 00:59:38,700
Is it a hard attitude of taking God

1477
00:59:38,700 --> 00:59:39,940
at His Word and I want to be

1478
00:59:39,940 --> 00:59:41,820
pleasing and follow the Lord and I'm trusting

1479
00:59:41,820 --> 00:59:42,320
Christ?

1480
00:59:42,460 --> 00:59:43,860
Or is it an attitude of I'm just

1481
00:59:43,860 --> 00:59:44,840
going to live for myself?

1482
00:59:46,320 --> 00:59:47,480
I'm just going to live for me.

1483
00:59:50,400 --> 00:59:53,380
You have greater accountability to grow up with

1484
00:59:53,380 --> 00:59:56,220
godly parents who are not hypocrites.

1485
00:59:56,740 --> 00:59:59,960
Look, if your parents are hypocrites and they

1486
00:59:59,960 --> 01:00:01,500
come here and they act one way and

1487
01:00:01,500 --> 01:00:02,860
they go home and they act a different

1488
01:00:02,860 --> 01:00:05,020
way and they sin against you and there's

1489
01:00:05,020 --> 01:00:07,720
never any sort of apology and they're like

1490
01:00:07,720 --> 01:00:08,560
that, I'm sorry.

1491
01:00:09,420 --> 01:00:11,860
But don't let your parents' hypocrisy turn you

1492
01:00:11,860 --> 01:00:14,120
away from Christ because He really is true.

1493
01:00:15,040 --> 01:00:16,900
And there are those who are truly following

1494
01:00:16,900 --> 01:00:17,320
Him.

1495
01:00:18,160 --> 01:00:21,600
And He is the only way to heaven.

1496
01:00:21,860 --> 01:00:25,380
Charles Spurgeon's mother said this, I've trained you

1497
01:00:25,380 --> 01:00:26,100
in righteousness.

1498
01:00:26,640 --> 01:00:28,360
Your father and I have set you right

1499
01:00:28,360 --> 01:00:28,920
examples.

1500
01:00:29,420 --> 01:00:30,960
We have taught you the Gospel.

1501
01:00:31,420 --> 01:00:33,360
We have shown you the way of peace.

1502
01:00:33,760 --> 01:00:35,860
My son, if you don't live a godly

1503
01:00:35,860 --> 01:00:38,640
life, I will stand before God in the

1504
01:00:38,640 --> 01:00:41,800
day of judgment and bear witness against you.

1505
01:00:42,860 --> 01:00:44,420
His mother said that.

1506
01:00:45,020 --> 01:00:47,840
Because it would be unrighteous for her if

1507
01:00:47,840 --> 01:00:50,380
she would not agree to stand and bear

1508
01:00:50,380 --> 01:00:52,160
judgment against her own son.

1509
01:00:52,620 --> 01:00:53,000
You see?

1510
01:00:53,200 --> 01:00:54,660
It's not an unloving thing.

1511
01:00:54,740 --> 01:00:55,480
It's just reality.

1512
01:00:55,640 --> 01:00:57,300
God will be just on that day.

1513
01:00:58,260 --> 01:01:00,220
Children, you should be thankful to have a

1514
01:01:00,220 --> 01:01:02,820
godly mother and a godly father, or whatever

1515
01:01:02,820 --> 01:01:03,900
your situation is.

1516
01:01:03,900 --> 01:01:05,580
You should be so thankful to have parents

1517
01:01:05,580 --> 01:01:07,240
who want to speak the truth to you.

1518
01:01:07,800 --> 01:01:10,160
And this week and these upcoming weeks, kids,

1519
01:01:10,220 --> 01:01:11,640
if your parents are trying to sit you

1520
01:01:11,640 --> 01:01:13,880
down to read the Bible, and you're tempted

1521
01:01:13,880 --> 01:01:16,920
there to grumble and question them, don't grumble.

1522
01:01:17,440 --> 01:01:19,440
Ask, Lord, show me truth.

1523
01:01:19,800 --> 01:01:23,120
Show me something about who I am outside

1524
01:01:23,120 --> 01:01:23,660
of Christ.

1525
01:01:23,800 --> 01:01:25,720
And show me the beauty of Jesus Christ.

1526
01:01:25,980 --> 01:01:28,660
Because Christ offers you a life vest.

1527
01:01:29,460 --> 01:01:33,060
And kids, if you don't have Christ, when

1528
01:01:33,060 --> 01:01:35,740
that boat of this earth sinks, when you

1529
01:01:35,740 --> 01:01:39,760
die, you will drown in a pit of

1530
01:01:39,760 --> 01:01:41,780
fire called hell for all of eternity.

1531
01:01:42,380 --> 01:01:44,060
And that should terrify you.

1532
01:01:44,500 --> 01:01:45,980
Paul said, by the fear of the Lord,

1533
01:01:46,020 --> 01:01:47,360
we persuade many.

1534
01:01:48,420 --> 01:01:50,760
You should want to have Christ.

1535
01:01:50,860 --> 01:01:52,500
You don't want to gang the world and

1536
01:01:52,500 --> 01:01:53,380
lose your soul.

1537
01:01:56,540 --> 01:01:58,220
And I guess I already mentioned this, but

1538
01:01:58,220 --> 01:02:02,780
kids who are saved, be holy.

1539
01:02:04,000 --> 01:02:04,900
Be zealous.

1540
01:02:06,580 --> 01:02:08,860
I look at the older people in my

1541
01:02:08,860 --> 01:02:11,660
life, and I glean what is good, and

1542
01:02:11,660 --> 01:02:13,920
the areas that are blind, I try to

1543
01:02:13,920 --> 01:02:16,260
avoid, and then I try to be humble

1544
01:02:16,260 --> 01:02:18,040
for people to correct me on my own

1545
01:02:18,040 --> 01:02:19,840
blind spots as they see them.

1546
01:02:20,800 --> 01:02:22,220
We have an attitude.

1547
01:02:22,460 --> 01:02:23,000
Be holy.

1548
01:02:23,200 --> 01:02:23,960
Be like Christ.

1549
01:02:24,100 --> 01:02:24,680
Be zealous.

1550
01:02:25,660 --> 01:02:27,760
Be more zealous than your parents.

1551
01:02:28,740 --> 01:02:31,000
Be as zealous as the Lord Jesus Christ.

1552
01:02:31,160 --> 01:02:32,420
He is your example.

1553
01:02:33,940 --> 01:02:36,380
So brethren, we all have to keep on

1554
01:02:36,380 --> 01:02:36,800
believing.

1555
01:02:38,140 --> 01:02:41,320
And it says here in 2 Timothy 3

1556
01:02:41,320 --> 01:02:45,720
.16, all Scripture is breathed out by God

1557
01:02:45,720 --> 01:02:50,460
and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction,

1558
01:02:50,980 --> 01:02:53,760
and for training in righteousness, that the man

1559
01:02:53,760 --> 01:02:56,700
of God may be complete, equipped for every

1560
01:02:56,700 --> 01:02:57,740
good work.

1561
01:02:58,220 --> 01:03:00,680
So it's not just parents need to be...

1562
01:03:00,680 --> 01:03:03,000
the only way a parent can acquaint their

1563
01:03:03,000 --> 01:03:04,540
kids with the Bible is what?

1564
01:03:04,620 --> 01:03:06,880
If they're really acquainted with the Bible themselves,

1565
01:03:06,960 --> 01:03:07,200
right?

1566
01:03:07,720 --> 01:03:09,520
You can't pour the Word into your kids

1567
01:03:09,520 --> 01:03:10,880
if you're not pouring the Word into your

1568
01:03:10,880 --> 01:03:11,440
own soul.

1569
01:03:12,060 --> 01:03:13,920
It's going to be a dead time and

1570
01:03:13,920 --> 01:03:15,100
things won't make sense.

1571
01:03:16,400 --> 01:03:18,760
So in some ways, this is a call

1572
01:03:18,760 --> 01:03:21,240
to endure in believing the Lord and to

1573
01:03:21,240 --> 01:03:23,220
endure in being in the Word.

1574
01:03:24,200 --> 01:03:26,360
We all need to be in the Scriptures.

1575
01:03:26,680 --> 01:03:28,100
Keep plowing to know the Bible.

1576
01:03:28,520 --> 01:03:29,500
Keep memorizing it.

1577
01:03:29,520 --> 01:03:30,580
What did Chip read today?

1578
01:03:30,700 --> 01:03:31,500
Psalm 19.

1579
01:03:31,620 --> 01:03:33,000
Did you see all of that in Psalm

1580
01:03:33,000 --> 01:03:36,000
19 about the Word and the law and

1581
01:03:36,000 --> 01:03:38,060
knowing it and the treasure that it is?

1582
01:03:38,420 --> 01:03:41,560
We need to keep diving in to such

1583
01:03:41,560 --> 01:03:42,040
truth.

1584
01:03:42,340 --> 01:03:42,920
Let's pray.

1585
01:03:54,600 --> 01:04:01,960
Father, Lord, we often can feel like our

1586
01:04:01,960 --> 01:04:06,970
efforts, we don't see results.

1587
01:04:07,850 --> 01:04:08,630
We pray.

1588
01:04:08,890 --> 01:04:09,390
We instruct.

1589
01:04:10,790 --> 01:04:15,130
Lord, even when some raise kids and pour

1590
01:04:15,130 --> 01:04:17,450
the Word they love and it doesn't seem

1591
01:04:17,450 --> 01:04:20,690
like it's some mechanical shop to just output

1592
01:04:20,690 --> 01:04:24,150
Christian kids that are cookie cutter, and even

1593
01:04:24,150 --> 01:04:26,750
then, some of these kids go in the

1594
01:04:26,750 --> 01:04:27,510
world and perish.

1595
01:04:28,910 --> 01:04:32,970
Lord, we recognize there's no formula, but we

1596
01:04:32,970 --> 01:04:34,330
know Your Word has power.

1597
01:04:35,130 --> 01:04:36,830
That people can be born again by the

1598
01:04:36,830 --> 01:04:38,170
living, abiding Word of God.

1599
01:04:39,230 --> 01:04:40,810
Lord, we pray You'd do that, that You

1600
01:04:40,810 --> 01:04:43,270
would save more among the children.

1601
01:04:45,460 --> 01:04:47,700
Father, that we'd have many more children here

1602
01:04:47,700 --> 01:04:51,400
with a sincere and genuine faith, genuinely believing

1603
01:04:51,400 --> 01:04:51,720
You.

1604
01:04:52,800 --> 01:04:54,480
Lord, that takes a miracle.

1605
01:04:55,360 --> 01:04:57,700
So we humbly ask You, Father, show compassion

1606
01:04:57,700 --> 01:04:58,220
to us.

1607
01:04:59,160 --> 01:05:00,220
Lord, at the end of the day, we

1608
01:05:00,220 --> 01:05:03,100
recognize we fail in many ways as parents.

1609
01:05:04,140 --> 01:05:05,480
Lord, we're wanting to walk with a good

1610
01:05:05,480 --> 01:05:05,900
conscience.

1611
01:05:06,060 --> 01:05:08,380
We're wanting to have humility and transparency and

1612
01:05:08,380 --> 01:05:09,680
pour the Word into our kids.

1613
01:05:10,180 --> 01:05:11,740
But Lord, we're here asking that You would

1614
01:05:11,740 --> 01:05:12,320
save them.

1615
01:05:13,200 --> 01:05:15,400
Lord, that our kids would have genuine faith.

1616
01:05:15,640 --> 01:05:16,580
Dwell in them.

1617
01:05:17,940 --> 01:05:19,180
Lord, may it be so.

1618
01:05:20,600 --> 01:05:21,100
Please.

1619
01:05:22,340 --> 01:05:23,460
Would You save?

1620
01:05:24,260 --> 01:05:25,660
Lord, I thank You for the mothers.

1621
01:05:26,460 --> 01:05:29,180
Lord, would You strengthen all of those here

1622
01:05:29,180 --> 01:05:31,540
who have children that they're with day in

1623
01:05:31,540 --> 01:05:32,720
and day out at home?

1624
01:05:33,560 --> 01:05:35,240
Lord, help them to not lose heart.

1625
01:05:35,940 --> 01:05:38,260
Encourage them that their labor is not in

1626
01:05:38,260 --> 01:05:39,620
the Lord, is not in vain.

1627
01:05:39,620 --> 01:05:39,720
Amen.

1628
01:05:41,080 --> 01:05:43,120
We pray all these things in Christ's name,

1629
01:05:43,500 --> 01:05:43,860
Amen.