Guarding the Mission

Welcome, Ethan Callison, Discipleship Pastor

This is our 9th and final week in 1 Timothy. Common Practice that God instructed the Israelites was to look back, reflect, remember, recount. Over the past 9 weeks, I want you to spend 30 seconds and:

Reflect on what God has revealed to you (through series or not). I want you to:

Remember this by writing it down,

Recount by telling a family member, or friend. Deuteronomy 6:20–21 ““When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.”

Main Idea: As the church, we are called to pursue godliness, fight for the faith, and guard what has been entrusted to us—not just within the walls but in our everyday lives and community. The Mission of God is not abstract; it is personal, local, and entrusted to us.

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1. Pursue the Right Things vv. 11-12

“But as for you, O Man of God...” v. 11a

Could be Timothy in particular, “O Timothy” v. 20

Could be to all who are following Jesus.

“...flee these things...” v. 11b

What was preceeding.

Desiring riches specifically

Irreverent and silly myths

Anything that does not lead us to Jesus.

Run from evil, run towards godliness.

Many run from bad, but get stuck in good. Good isn’t always godly.

Many stop doing ‘bad’ but never replace it with God.

Behavior Modification

“Can you help my student stop arguing with us?”

Can you help my child become respectful?

What if we raised a generation of good kids who didn’t love Jesus? Is that what God calls us to do?

No, so when we ‘flee evil’ we must do what? What does the text say “Pursue...”

a. Righteousness and Godliness

Righteousness: Justice and fair dealing with people.

Godliness: pursing God, not man.

Self-Justifying, “I’m not as bad as _____” “At least I’m not doing ____”.

We see this a lot in our Student Life Ministry where students want to know where the line is. Can I do ___ without sinning?

b. Faith and Love

Faith: integrity (wholeness and undivided)

1 Timothy 5:21 “..doing nothing from partiality.”

“Faith is the conviction that the plan He has developed for me is better and more affirming than my own.” Bill Hull

Love: sacrifice and service, no room for greed

The Gospel

Jesus is Love.

c. Steadfastness and Gentleness

Steadfastness: patience in difficult circumstances

How many of you find yourself in difficult circumstances right now? Pray over them to be steadfast. Long Suffering.

Gentleness: Patience with difficult people

1 Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

Many of us are fighting a fight. Just the wrong fight.

Maybe you’re trying to defeat the sin in your life. Give it to God.

Take hold the Eternal Life

“Called”-inward and private

“Good confession”- Outward and public (conversion and baptism)

2. Live with Kingdom Perspective vv. 13-19

As Paul writes here, he brings us back to the end game.

Often we get into the weeds of doing something, and forget why we started in the first place.

Ever walked into the kitchen to get something, open the fridge and immediately forget why you were there?

Paul is telling us not to do this but rather Paul takes his eyes off Timothy and the church in Ephesus and gazes up at WHO God is.

We call this a doxology. He is praising God for who God is.

4 Truths in Doxology of to give us a Kingdom Perspective vv. 15-16

a. He is King of kings and Lord of lords.

Powerful statement against the current Roman “lords”

b. He alone is immortal

He has life in himself

We survive after death from the endowment by Christ

c. He dwells in unapproachable light

falsehood and evil cannot enter his presence

Only by the Imputed Righteousness of Christ can we enter.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

d. He is invisible

We can know him only in so far as he has been pleased to make himself known

1 Corinthians 2:12–13 “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.”

Applied Theology, because of WHO God is, Paul gets back into applying this knowledge.

1 Timothy 6:6-10 is about the Poor who desire to be rich and 1 Timothy 6:17-19 is about the Christian who is rich.

Two Negative Instructions to the rich in v. 17

Becoming Prideful “haughty”

Becoming secured by your riches “...Set there hopes on the uncertainty of riches...”

In 2020 Katie had a co-worker who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in his 401k

Two Positives Instructions to the rich in v. 18-19

a. There is a responsibility to your wealth. “They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share...” v. 18

As we heard last week, if you make over $20,000 a year, you are in the riches 10% of the world, and you will give an answer to how you stewarded these resources.

God’s design to live generously.

Do you know what the #1 reason that is holding back the missionary sending force? Finances.

Crossworld: Stress of raising support and keeping support, 925 minsitry.

IMB: Debt

Raising support, last piece to be completed is the financial support.

Only 1/3 of giving by Christians is done through the local church. Imagine if we tripled our giving.

b. Store up your treasures spiritually. v. 19

“...Take hold of that which is truly life.” v. 19 JESUS!!!!

The Message of 1 Timothy and Titus b. Positive Instruction: The Duties of Being Rich (6:18–19)

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3. Guard what has been entrusted. vv. 20-21

As Paul wraps this letter up and puts a bow on it “O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you...” v. 20

The Gospel that came to you, it was on it’s way to someone else, and you now are entrusted to take it to that someone else.

How are you doing to guard this Gospel?

Jesus Every Day: Preach it to yourself daily. Be in the word Daily! SO that you avoid the “...irreverent babble and contradictions...”

Jesus Everywhere: Preach it everywhere you go!

“To tamper with the gospel is always to trouble the church… Indeed, the church’s greatest troublemakers are not those outside who oppose, ridicule, and persecute it, but those inside who try to change the gospel… The best way to serve the church is to believe and to preach the Gospel.” John Stott

Through this “Grace be with you.”

Call to Action:

Individually: Get involved with a local mission partner. Serve, give, or pray.