Sunday School 6/19/2022 Josh Sargent the danger of Swerving

All right, you can go and be seated and see if you were here when cord had to leave the singing without a piano player. You understand why he said that I wasn't here, but I heard about this one. Just miss our Sunday School classes, starting with the first second, third graders and the 4th 5th and 6th graders, you can go to your class at this time and then all the 7th through the 12th graders, you can go ahead and go to your class at this time. All right, and fathers. Hope you already had a good Father's Day morning and Josh.

All right. Well good morning, everyone and Happy, Father's Day to all the dads out there. Glad you're in church this morning and if you have your Bible with you, which I hope you do turned with me to the book of 1st Timothy, the book of 1st Timothy. I'd like to draw your attention once again to this book 1st Timothy and we're going to be in chapter number. 1 chapter number 1, we recently began a new Sunday school series looking at this book and we're going to go through it and for the next you know, few months for sure, we are going to be spending our time. So I won't need to tell you where to turn in future weeks. You can you can have your Bible ready to go to the book of 1st Timothy. But it's um, It's interesting because you, when you read through this letter, that Paul wrote to Timothy, you'll notice something several things. In fact that jump out that delighted the Apostle Paul things that brought him joy in his life and the Christian Life certainly has has so many joys and wonderful, things are blessings throughout it and, you know, we can share. And as we read this letter, the joys that will be bringing up that the Apostle Paul had. Those are similar Joyce and the exact same things that you and I can also share the Lord wants his children to have Delight. It's the Christian life is not meant to be one where we walk around, just waiting for eternity, waiting for heaven. You know, as we think about our future, I really don't know why we could ever be sad if you're ever sad or down. Just start thinking about glory and your perspective should. Change pretty quick. We have so much to look forward to. If you're saved this morning the Lord has a home in heaven for you. Eternity in glory things that are unspeakable. The Apostle Paul wrote about that. When he got a glimpse of what is awaiting us, things that are unspeakable. And so we have a lot of things but you know the Lord wants us to have a life of delight and blessing here. And now and in fact the first lesson that we looked at and we finish this up last week was one of Paul's greatest Delights and it was the Delight of discipleship. You may remember that lesson from last week discipleship or you know today's term might be mentoring or discipleship is a is more of a Christian Baptist term, perhaps a Bible term. But mentoring in the first 2 verse Chapter number one, you'll notice that the weight Paul refers to Timothy here. He referred to him as my own son in the face and that was a really a term of endearment as he's writing to Timothy hear Paul mentioned this last week he had one Timothy to Christ. So he had seen through a through traveling there and feed 1 Timothy to Christ and seen him. Get saved several years earlier and we know that Paul had a huge impact on the life of Timothy Timothy was younger than Paul Paul trained him for the ministry. And what Paul has seen is he had come back and found Timothy serving God, I found him faithful and we had really found Timothy filling his shoes. The things that the Apostle Paul was doing now he's looking in Timothy do those very same things and continuing the ministry that the Apostle Paul had started and what a joy, what a joy that brought and it was a delight to the Apostle Paul. And in the lesson last week, we saw that mentoring requires really two things. The first is it requires taking an interest, you can't Mentor or disciple. Someone if you really are just focused on yourself, you have to take an interest in someone else and it also requires a plan and requires a plane and we talked about that. This was a delight to Paul. This was one of his Delights and we all we have to do, is read the introduction to this letter. And you can you can sense and you can hear the Delight in as Paul writes this. But, you know, we talked about How does this relate to us in and our Timothy's? The Timothy's in our life? And, you know, as parents I think this is, this is mostly how we we covered the lesson as parents. We have a responsibility to our kids, we have a great responsibility to disciple or Minter. Our kids, you know, the children of our flesh. But then spiritually, speaking, we also have a duty and the opportunity to Mentor or disciple those that perhaps we've won for Christ or maybe we've invited them to church and or maybe maybe they're, they're newly saved and they're young Christians. There, they're young and their faith and you can give the ability or the the time to take an interest in them and see them grow in the things of the Lord, and those are delites being a parent is a delight, being a dad. Is a delight to see your kids. Come up and in the things of God but I'm reminded of the, the book of third John verse number for where. It says this. I have no Greater Joy than to hear that. My children walk in truth. You know, it's a delight to descend your kit. Many of you parents. I, I still have three kids in the home, that many of you have kids out of the home, and you have seen them go on into life on their own and really there is no Greater Joy in the life of a parent. I believe then to see them being Godly strong, you know, walking in the truth and that is a joy to the parents but you know, they can be the same. You may not have kids of your own and that's fine. But you can still have that same impact on the life of young babes in Christ, young Christians. You can, you can have that. Cleaner or mentoring. This was the July 12th this morning. I want us to draw our attention to the first danger that we read about in the letter here. In 1st Timothy we talked about the first Delight the Delight of discipleship in the blessing that that was to the Apostle Paul but then he gets right in to the next section versus number 3. And down through verse number 11 and I want to draw your attention to the first danger that we read about its founded verse number 6. And it is the danger of swerving the danger of swerving. So let's just read this portion scripture. I'll read you could follow along. Beginning Denver's, number three of 1st, Timothy Chapter number 1, the Bible says this is our desire is soft key to abide, Paul is riding here, again to Timothy, I besought the to abide still at Ephesus. When I went in to Macedonia that thou mightest charge some that they teach no. Weather Doctrine, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions rather than Godly edifying, which is in faith. So, do now the end of the Commandment is Charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience. And of unfeigned, Faith verse number 64, which some having swerved have turned aside intervene jangling Desiring to be teachers of the law understanding, neither what they say, nor whereof, they affirm. But we know that the law is good. If a man use it lawfully, knowing this that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the Lawless and disobedient for the ungodly in for Sinners for Unholy and profane for murderers of fathers and mothers of mothers form and Slayers for whoremongers for them that defile themselves with mankind. Find for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons. And if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound Doctrine. According to the Glorious, the Glorious Gospel of the Blessed God, which was committed to my trust. Let's stop there. And ask for the Lord's blessing on our lesson are the only father, we thank you for this time to be in your house. So we thank you for a church that stands for the truth stands for your word and we thank you for the the word that we have in our laps this morning and your word. I pray that we would, you would speak to us this morning as we go through it and study, this portion of scripture, be with each of the other Sunday School classes where they would be a time of that a fine in Jesus name. Amen. And show the first danger that we see here found in verse number 6, the dangerous swerving Paul writes for which some having swerved have turned a Side intervene jangling, you know, at this point in in time and I mentioned this couple weeks ago, Paul had been released from his first Roman imprisonment, this was in, you can read about that in the book of Acts chapter 28 and one of the things that Paul did as he got out of prison, they're in from, is he immediately travel Eastward back toward some of the churches that he had established in Asia and parts of Europe? One of those churches was the church there in Ephesus and Paul had Paul left there and we ended up going into Macedonia and we know that Timothy young Timothy was left there in the church in Ephesus to deal with the dangers. In verse number 3, we read about this in. The Bible says, is I Paul says, I besought the Timothy to abide still at Ephesus. He left Timothy in Ephesus and he says when I went in to Macedonia and he says I left you enough assistant that my discharge them or charge some that they teach no other Doctrine. And we talked about how Timothy was left there and asked us has to deal with these dangers and in five short in five short years, Things had begun to change in this church things things really took a change. Paul had been in Ephesus 5 years prior and it left but the chit, the church and changed and only five years and turn over to the book of Acts, it may be hard for you to see. I realize the verse on the screen is is a little smaller font for those in the back row, but Acts chapter 20 and verse number 28. In this passage of scripture, we see hear Paul is leaving a fascist. And you know what? He thought would be his last time there in Ephesus and he's heading to Jerusalem. And then he spent two years in Cesery of before heading to Rome. So, we're talking about a span of about five years time from when Paul was had been in Ephesus. And when you call a when you, when you read the The Narrative of Paul's travels here, he went to a place called my leaders and he called for the pastures of Ephesus to come and he gave discharge. And so here in the book of Acts chapter 20, we're going to begin reading, inverse number 28. This is the message that the Apostle Paul had given to the pastor's in Ephesus. There were there were several pastors there and he says this inverse. Number 28 of Acts chapter 22 the pastors. He says, take he, therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers to feed the Church of God, which has purchased, which he has purchased with his own blood. That is the job of the pastor's is to take heed over the flock to feed them, feed them with the word. And so he's charging the pastor's there and emphasis to do this very thing. And verse number 29, The Apostle Paul goes on. He says, for, I know this, that after my departing shall Grievous. Wolves, enter in among you not sparing? The flock also of your own self memorized. Speaking perverse, things to draw a way disciples after them there for watch. And remember that, by the space of three years, I cease not to warn every night, or every one night and day with tears. And so what pole is saying he had left them. Paul had left the pastors of that church here with this warning, this very warning that that we just read. And now five years later Paul comes back to Ephesus and he had to leave Timothy. Very, couldn't they both couldn't travel into Macedonia? He had to say about Timothy. You need to stay here a little bit longer because there's you need to straighten some things out. And now we see the pulse Prophecy from five years earlier, coming to pass. Do we not? You know, it's amazing that this would happen in such a short. Of time, a church change, so quickly 5 years, it's Paul doesn't even recognize what's going on. But I think what it, what this tells us in, really what this highlights the dangers that are present here in the book of 1st Timothy. The dangers that we're going to cover, the danger of swerving, is a very real danger for churches. And for those that make up the church, the the members, the first danger is swerving has wearied inverse number 690, what does it mean to Swerve? What do we mean by? That is, I think most people know what the word means. We use it in our, you know, low cab. You Larry pretty often, quite simply the word means to deviate or two are to Swerve means to deviate or two. Are you know? The term that we associate with driving right as we're driving, we swerved to miss, you know what, animal? Perhaps some of you probably not used to, I'm going to hit that squirrel but we should swerve. Write most of us would swerve. Certainly, we've probably all if you've been driving for any amount of time probably have swerved to miss a vehicle. Right. You know, and we want to we don't want to cause an accident. Certainly, we don't want to hit a person. We are always going to swear for that. You know. It's a common cause of accidents. While we're driving, is swerving, you know, how many times do you read about your hear about driver driving down the road, and they swerved, I got distracted, and went into a ditch, or hit, something hit a tree, you know, a lot of times that's what that's a cause of automobile accidents. you know, one in the same sense spiritually, A deviation from the face, can cause spiritual disaster. It can cause us to spiritually hit a tree or go into a ditch the Bible says Those Who swerve turn aside. Turn aside, it's not a good thing spiritually. You know when we receive Christ as our savior, when you trusted in Jesus Christ, as your savior, you entered into what the book of Acts calls, it refers to it as that way. That's that was a term for Christians or Believers, right? They are those that are there that way they, this is before they were called Christians and they had to, you know, identify the people that believe that way and we are on that way if you were saved you are a you are you've entered into what is called that way and that way the Bible says is a narrow way. That way is a straight way and it is the way of life mind you and so if you're saved you were on that way, it's a narrow way, it's a straight way and it is not a brought the Christian Life for the child of God but their life is not intended to be a broad path where you can move around as you please let you know. It would be awfully nice if lanes were that way you go through a construction zone, oftentimes they narrow the lane and you have to slow down, you have to be careful when it be nice. If if you drive down I-5 and it's got four lanes and they just made it all into one lane. You can just kind of swerve route, no. I mean, that's not how it works. Now, the Christian Life It's not a broad path is not one that you can just move around in as you see fit, there's only one. The only there's only one way to walk that path and that way is to keep your eyes on the Lord and his word. And the Book of Proverbs, Proverbs, Chapter number 4, and verse number 25 says it. This way, you know, for the child of God, our job is to keep our eyes on the Lord. Keep our eyes on his word and focus on that and live our lives. According to his word and proverb says it this way in chapter number for inverse. Number 25, his left eye. And I look right on. Look right on and let thy knowledge. Look straight before thee upon the path of thy feet and let all thy ways, be established. What are the next two words? Turn off swerve. Not right. Turn not to the right hand or to the left remove thy foot from evil. This is the great admonition to the living the Christian Life, don't let your eyes wander, don't let your eyes wander. There are so many examples in the Bible of great men who have gone astray because they deviated from the straight and narrow path. I think of King David there. I mean we could just go the list, really? Every I'm just about every single great man, Samson. You see these, these great men in the Bible where there are times when they let their eyes deviate from the truth and what did it result in their life? And so we're encouraged where admonish to keep our eyes, right on. Look straight ahead and we're to be looking to Christ looking to his word. Don't turn not to the right hand or to the left and, you know, it doesn't take much, does it to deviate to Swerve. You know, you may think that you're a strong Christian in. This could never happen to me in a most of us think that we are. I think there's even statistics out there, you know they pull people. Do you think you're a good driver and how many of you? Let's go ahead. Will take a poll this morning. How many of you think you're a good driver? I do. I'm not going to lie. It's okay we got a bunch of liars. I think just about I think most of us think we're pretty good drivers. It's the other driver's right there is a problem. You know, but I will leave it in MIT this. I think I'm a pretty good driver. But there have been times when I've been humbled because I took my eyes off the road and I like that was a close call. You know, what we've been done and you know I took my eyes off the road. Got distracted. Looked at the phone yet, we've all done it, don't look at me, you know.

And you know, and so and then I've realized boy, I, you know, I wasn't paying attention and it could of it could have been disaster. Sometimes it. It's a, you know, sometimes it does cause we hit that those those choppies. Yeah. What are they called for the rumble strip? Yeah, I'm not going to say what I go. Sarah shaking her head. No.

They rattle something that I sit on.

But you know what I mean? It doesn't take much. You may think you're a strong Christian. I may think I'm a strong Christian. Oh I'll never never deviate from the truth. I'll never get my eyes off the Lord O. Be careful what you say. It doesn't take much. We took. We talked about how it took five years for the Church of Ephesus to deviate from what Paul had Steve was encouraging the pastor's. In this, the church was strong, Church of Ephesus, was a pretty good church, you know? And but yet it took 5 years or less for them, you know, turn turn over to the Book of Exodus. Keep your place in 1st Timothy, if you have it, we may be coming back here. We'll be coming back in just a few minutes, but the book of Exodus chapter 32, He talked about five years for the Church of Ephesus. Here in Exodus chapter 32. Verse number seven is where we'll begin Moses had gone up onto the mountain and Moses had been on the mountain for 40 days, 40 days and he was of course receiving the Commandments God was giving him the law. and notice what it says here in Exodus chapter 32 verse number 7, The Bible says in the Lord said unto Moses, go get the down for the Pete for thy people, which doll broadest out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. Verse number eight, if you're there follow along, what does it say? They have turned aside quickly. Out of the way, which I commanded them. They have made them a molten calf and have worshipped it and I've sacrificed their onto and said, these Be Our God's. Oh Israel, which I brought them up out of the land of Egypt. You know, this is almost an unbelievable. This is almost unbelievable to think about, you know, what Israel is doing here. Israel had seen God, not only deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians. You talk about the plagues, you think, you see the Miracles there just to get out of Egypt. And then what happens, right? Then, they're faced with the Red Sea, the Red Sea, and first of all, remember, when they left Egypt, what were the Egyptians doing? They were giving them. Everything are. Well, here's our gold jewelry. Just get out of here and these are slaves for 400 years, they had nothing. Now, all of a sudden they had to everything and they head out, so God does that for Israel. In the Red Sea. Can you imagine Being there and seeing God do what he did at the Red Sea destroying their enemy wiping, the Egyptian Army, the number, the best army of the day that was really could have had their way with them. God, wipe them out literally, and now they're on the other side. And God LED them to a place where they heard the Thunder rings of God in the mountain. They saw the power of God. They heard the Thunder, he's up in the mountain yet in 40 days. Moses have gone up to receive the Commandments 40 days. They quit on God, 40 days and not only that. They weren't one of these, you know, there's a lot of Christians today that do quit. And then they just don't really, they just kind of don't do anything but no, they didn't just give up and quit. They began to worship a false god. They made a molten image a calf and they begin to worship a false god. So they even went a step further than the quiz. The Christian you just quits. You know, it when you're driving a car, things can happen. Quickly already said this and you can find yourself in a ditch, the same can happen. Spiritually can happen so quick, and this is why we're talking about the danger of swerving spiritually. This is especially especially today in Christianity. I think this danger is clear and evident. It was obviously evident, you know, almost 2,000 years ago, as Paul was writing this letter to the church there in Ephesus or to Timothy who was at Ephesus. But, you know, today, Christianity, People think, you know, truth, what is truth, the B, you know, that the Bible is just a textbook that we refer to in in church. It's stopped. It doesn't matter what you believe churches, ought to be accepting of a people coming in, but that doesn't mean they have to accept every wind of doctrine that people bring in know the truth stays the same. God's word is truth but that's what churches today. Christian Church is, they call themselves Christian have a loud and so members are people that are in the church and, you know, they all believe different things they take liberties with Doctrine. And if you look here in 1st Timothy verse number 3. Notice what Paul says to Timothy about Doctrine. doctor named versus number 3, says, When I went to Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other Doctrine. There's any other Doctrine. No debating. No debating was allowed and it's not man's thoughts, being tossed in and out of reverse to back up man's thoughts to be the other way around, you know, if tears what God's thoughts are? Let's adjust man's thoughts to to that. And, you know, that is what a lot is. It's so easy, churches, allowed at the creep in A number 10, we read this as well. And verse number 10, Paul says, at the very end of that sound Doctrine and, you know, people say about doctor that they don't like the word. It's a, it's a you know, Doctrine divides, its love that unites and, you know, doctor and I I suppose it came divide people because we just have to get in line that it's God's doctrine that we need to be in agreement with and look what Paul said to Timothy in the very next letter that second Timothy chapter number 2, 2nd, Timothy chapter number 2 and verse number. 2nd Timothy actually verse 1:13, scuse me 2nd Timothy 1:13. He says this hold fast. The form of sound Words which thou Hast heard of me in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. If you want to know whether Doctrine is important, I would suggest just go to the word of God and it will tell you to hold fast tells you it's important. Hang on to the established true that the word of God teaches.

We must understand. God does not change. Truth is truth. Psalms 119 verse 60 tells us that word is true from the beginning and every one of the righteous judgement sindhura forever. God's word does not change. God does not change many things in the world have changed and they'll continue to change. Things will continue to change and evolve Society. What they allow, what they don't allow the Lost. They're always change. Those are those are man's lost. But the one thing that will not change is the word of God. It is a constant. And so what caused this deviation? What caused the church here in Ephesus to Swerve, number 6, tells us Search for which some having swerved. Have turned aside until vain jangling. What caused the deviation Mulvane jangling and you know I think of when I read every time I read this, I think of, you know, holding Keys, we don't really have keys so much today, cars. You know, I guess most car still have keys but not like before where everything had a key, you know, you hold up your key chain and you can jingle all the keys and that's what I think and and you know, it always gets his attentions and your pet. You can get your pets attention by jingling. Something vain jangling is just a little sound that would cause us to go astray. And, you know, I'm not, you know, and example of this and, you know, it's not a good, it was straight. I certainly wouldn't promote Greek mythology, but many of you may have read or know the story of Odyssey in, in Greek mythology, how many of you are familiar with Odyssey UK? Some of you. All right. Well, in Greek mythology, there were these things called Sirens which were part human part Bird, right? I should have put a picture of what they look like, but they lived on a Rocky island in the middle of the sea. And what did they do? They sing Melodies. So beautiful at the sailors passing by couldn't resist getting closer to, they just couldn't resist. It, the sounds And the sailors would steer their boats towards the sound and they would jump in the water to get closer. Either way, what it always did is it always resulted in death of the Sailor and this was a great trap for the sailors. And so, in the story of of the Odyssey Odessa has resisted the Sirens by ordering his men to put beeswax in their ears. So that they couldn't hear the music as they sailed by. And then what he also did, was he ordered the sailors are his men to tie him to the ship's master that they could that he could hear the enchanting music. But they wouldn't be able to but he wouldn't be able to swim ashore. The point being here is, you know, there's a lot of vain jangling going on in the religious world and it's a danger. It's a danger and it has an effect on Christians. There's a lot of thing. Jangling Xin the religious world where a lot of people are looking for some new thing. They're looking for something, a new doctrine, a new way of understanding the word of God. A lot of, you know, a lot of Christian books today, you have to be careful with them because really what they are is just a new way or a new thing of understanding, the word of God and they may not always be sound Doctrine. And really what it is is people today and this is really no different. Nothing is changed but they're tired of the old ways. They want something new and look over. In 2nd Timothy chapter, number 4 will wrap up with the 2nd Timothy chapter 4 and verse. Number two, again, Paul says to Timothy Preach the word be instant in season and out of season reprove rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and Doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound Doctrine. But after their own Lush of the heat to themselves, teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned into fables vein Django. That's itching years. Something new. And this explains to us what it means to Swerve from the truth. This is a danger. It's a danger today. It is a flashing red light if you're driving. It's a danger. And no matter how mature you are, no matter how grounded you feel, you are in the word of God or in truth this morning, we have to take this warning seriously because our adversary seeks to cause you and I to swerve. And so next week, we're out of time this morning. But next week, I want to continue this and look at what caused the members of the church there in Ephesus to Swerve. What caused them to Swerve. Paul had told Timothy, you need to stay here in Ephesus and charge them that they teach no other Doctrine and other words straighten that out so that they don't swerve. And there were really two things that we're going to look at it and get into that caused them to Swerve one. There were false teachers. But then the other was a misapplication of the law of God. And so, these were two things that crept into that church caused members to Swerve. It's applicable to us and we're going to look at those things next week. And so will continue and finish up this lessen. The danger of swerving next week. So thanks for your attention. We've got about 15, or so minutes before our morning service. So you are dismissed.