Speculations

Something Special

Have you ever been a part of something special?

Something you loved and invested in and grew through.

For me, Bible College was one of those things.

I loved Bible college. I loved the challenge of learning, the fellowship, and the atmosphere of encouragement.

When I was done with college, I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to live in the area. Minister in the area. stay connected to the school and enjoy that environment for as long as i could.

The problem was that god had different plans for me.

I got married and fell in love with Rachelle’s family. I wanted to stay here in Washington and stay connected to my family and hers.

God had a different plan.

Often times in life, we get to be a part of great things and be connected to great people. But God is our first love.

The Church is the same. It will go through seasons where we will do things that are so amazing we won’t want to change and grow because that means leaving those things in the dust.

It often won’t be because we wanted to change them but because God does.

And when God wants to make a change . . . We have a choice to follow or be drug kicking screaming by a loving father into his will.

Today’s passage has a warning for the church. It is also an encouragement about how we are to remain faithful through the seasons of change.

Let’s pray and dig into God’s word.

PRAY

READ

1 Timothy 1:3–4 ESV

3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.

Stop the teaching of other doctrines.

What is a doctrine?

A belief or set of beliefs.

One of the earliest forms of false doctrine came in the apostles conflict with the Jews:

Philippians 3:2–11 ESV

2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Then Paul gives us a great answer to this in Ephesians 2.

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Sidetracked

Paul goes on to warn Timothy to not get sidetracked by erroneous beliefs.

The two he mention are:

myths - This is something that seems fantastic but does not line up with the truth.

genealogies - This is something mundane and may even be based in truth but has become a lie that has been made into something of importance.

What does this focus produce?

Speculations

What does a Myth look like?

If their experience is true then I want to experience that too. Let’s copy what they are doing in order to conjure up this amazing work of the “spirit”.

We must guard against this tendency to compare and attempt to replicate. We can learn good things from good examples but humans look for the sensational while God looks for the faithful.

Chasing Myths is a waste of time. It pulls our eyes from God and puts them on the experience. The experience has now eclipsed God and we are no longer pursuing him.

What does a genealogy look like?

You are the son of this great person so you must have the gifting in your blood. You have the same skill . . . the same ability . . . and people will follow you because of your name. Your voice is more important. What you say cannot be questioned because of your lineage.

The Problem with speculations.

They do not promote stewardship from God that is by faith.

What is stewardship?

Taking care of what God has given us?

What is faith?

Faith is living life based in the Truth of God’s Word and living in obedience to it and trusting that God will bring the fruit, the success, the growth, the vision, and the changes necessary to grow the kingdom.

The Myths represent our human desire to see the miraculous. Miracles are real and one of the greatest miracles is the Truth of the Bible that is God’s Word by which we can live godly lives. Often our journey is stalled because we aren’t doing the simple things outlined in his word. Are you being a witness to the Gospel. Is your light shining? Is mine? Is our churches? Instead of looking for the fantastic, lets see the miracle of our calling and the truth we carry and take it to others.

The genealogies represent our traditions. Our way of doing things. Our idea of how it should be. We often build this based on those good times like I had in Bible college. But God wants me to Steward in faith. To trust him to walk a road that maybe I’ve never seen before. To see the mission through the lens he is providing and not the one of my past.

1 Corinthians 9:19–27 ESV

19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

We must not become people who wast our lives looking for the fantastic or dwelling on the good old days. Today is ours: