First Baptist Lenoir City

Two Decisions for all Disciples:

• Intentionality -

• Intensity -

I. A Humility that leads to Intensity -vv. 11-15

1. True Salvation - Repent & Believe

2. True Sanctification -

a. Flee from -

b. Follow after -

c. Fight for -

II. A Holiness that leads to Purity - vv.15-16 (“in His own time”)

1. The Blessed and only Sovereign - Potentate!

2. The King of Kings and Lord of lords - Revelation 17:14; 19:16

3. Who alone possesses immortality - You want it? You must get it from the Lord!

4. Who alone dwells in unapproachable light (God met Moses in a burning bush; God met Isaiah in a smoke-filled temple; God met Peter in a boat on the sea; God met John on the island of Patmos) John 1; I John 3:1-2; Revelation 1:1; Exodus 33 -

5. Who is to be Honored - Your stated goal? Honor has been a theme in chapters 5 & 6! Honor God @ work; Honor God w/ widows; Honor God w/ pastors; Honor God over money; Honor God!

6. Who has Eternal Dominion - over your sin and over Satan (both now and for all time).

Review:

• The Commander

• The Commanded

• The Liberty

• The Liar

• The Curse

• The Christ - Paul keeps Jesus front and center. Jesus is his main focus, but Paul reminds the Corinthians and us about Satan’s strategies:

• II Corinthians 2:11

• II Corinthians 11:14

• II Corinthians 12:7

— THE WEAPON IS THE WORD -

Matthew 4:1-11

I. Be Compassionate - 10:1

II. Be Courageous - 10:2

III. Be Competent - 10:3-5

IV. Be Confident - 10:6

1. We walk in the flesh

2. We don’t war in the flesh

3. The Weapons of our Warfare

• They are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses

• They destroy speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God

• We can take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ

• We are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete

I. A Humility that leads to Intensity -vv. 11-15

1. True Salvation - faith, grace, repentance

2. True Sanctification-

3 Intense Greek Imperatives

a. Flee from -

b. Follow after -

c. Fight for -

II. A Holiness that leads to Purity - vv.15-16

1. The Blessed and only Sovereign

2. The King of Kings and Lord of lords

3. Who alone possesses immortality

4. Who alone dwells in unapproachable light -

5. Who is to be Honored

6. Who has Eternal Dominion -

“The Word is the Weapon” / Mt. 4:1-11

(Matthew 6:13; Hebrews 4:14-16; I Corinthians 10:13)

I. The Last Adam is very different from the First Adam!

1. The Conception of Jesus - Matthew 1

2. The Birth of Jesus - Matthew 2

3. The Baptism of Jesus - Matthew 3

4. The Temptation of Jesus - Matthew 4:1-11

a. The Spirit led Jesus - 4:1a

b. The Serpent tempted Jesus - 4:1b

c. The Scripture defended Jesus- Matthew 4:2-11a

d. The Angels strengthened Jesus - Matthew 4:11b

e. The Serpent would attack again - Luke 4:13

f. The Application - I Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 4:14-16

Leadership in the Lord’s Church Honoring God Part 3 / I Timothy 6:1-10

(The Outcome in Israel & in America)

I. Love God @ Work - 6:1-2

1. Unbelieving bosses -

2. Believing bosses -

3. Impact on our Testimony - Protect God’s Name & Protect God’s Word

• Colossians 3:22-25 • Ephesians 6:5-9 • I Peter 2:18-25

II. Love God’s Word - 6:3-5

1. “If anyone” - no one gets a pass

2. “sound doctrine” - bones & nets

3. Hymenaeus, Alexander, Demas are mentioned - not everyone in error is a heretic.

4. “depraved in mind” and deprived of the truth” - They don’t know the truth; They don’t want the truth.

III. Love God, not Money - 6:6-10

1. The Defenses -humility & contentment

2. The Dangers -

3. The Damages -

4. The Discernment - The remedy/cure (Proverbs 30:7-9)

I. There is a similar model for supporting Pastors that we saw for supporting Widows:

Honoring - 5:3 & 5:17

Providing

Protecting

Even Correction for both -

II. Jesus is the Model Shepherd - He is called: Psalm 23

1 The Good Shepherd in John 10

2 The Chief Shepherd in I Peter 5

3 The Great Shepherd in Hebrews 13

4 Jesus revealed in Matt. 9:36-38

5 Jesus restored Peter in John 21

1. Honor Pastors/Elders/Overseers - 5:17

a. Who rule well - I Peter 5:1-4

b. Who labor in study - II Tim 2:15

2. Provide for Pastors/Elders/Overseers - 5:18

a. Quoting Moses - Deut 25:4 (referencing animals)

b. Quoting Jesus - Luke 10:7 (referencing people)

3. Protect Pastors/Elders/Overseers - 5:19

a. Do not receive an accusation against an elder (give them benefit of the doubt) “except”

b. Except on the basis of two or three witnesses - Mt. 18:15-17

4. Correct Pastors/Elders/Overseers - 5:20-21

a. Those who continue in sin -overview of I Timothy 1-4

b. Rebuke in the presence of all - don’t leave room for gossip and innuendo - incentive to live rightly when in leadership

c. Maintain these principles w/out bias (don’t play to partiality)

d. Two were removed in chap 1 -

5. Selecting Pastors/Elders/Overseers - 5:22-25

a. Don’t lay hands too hastily -don’t be in a hurry on this critical process (because then you share in the responsibility of the problems)

b. Keep yourself free from sin - Be accountable! Then a caveat for Timothy (you can remain pure and use wine for medicinal purposes)

c. The sins of some are quite evident - “going on before them to judgment”

d. For others, their sins follow after (obvious examination process)

e. Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite -

f. And those otherwise cannot be concealed -

I. The Starting Point of the Supper

1. Saved by Grace & Faith - Ephesians 1:13-14; 2:1-9

2. Saved for Works - Ephesians 2:10

3. Saved to Share - Ephesians 3:7-13

4. Saved to Serve / to Be Shaped - 4:11-16

5. Saved to Walk Worthy - Ephesians 5:1-21

a. Walk in Love - 5:1-2

b. Walk in Light - 5:3-14

c. Walk in Wisdom - 5:15-17

d. Walk in the Spirit - 5:18-21

II. The Lord’s Supper - Matthew 26:26-35

God has cared about widows from the very beginning - The Law (Deuteronomy); The Prophets; The Gospels; and The Epistles. Caring for widows fulfills the 2 Great Commandments AND impacts our evangelism - John 13:34-35

Sadly, many churches discount widows and senior adults as a whole. They are often viewed as a burden to the church. They are largely ignored because they are viewed as no longer a productive part of the church. It’s basically a “What have you done for me lately” mindset. This is not the view of our Lord. This cannot be the view of His Church.

I. The Compassion & Concern of Widows - OT/NT Honoring Widows

The Christmas Widow - Anna in Luke 2:36-38

The Big Reveal included widows - Jesus in Luke 4:14-32 (25-26)

The Corruption of Corban against widows - Mark 7:9-13; 12:38-44

The Double Doom for widows - Luke 7:11-17

The Power of Persistence of the Widow - Luke 18:1-8

The Generous Given widow - Luke 21:1-3

The Second Challenge was about widows (in the early church) - Acts 6:1-7

The Place of Widows (in the early church) - Acts 9:36-43

II. The Attention & Protection of Widows (Respect/Recognition) - I Timothy 5:3-16

Qualified widows - age & faithfulness This is not favoritism Ephesians 6:1-4

Scripture calls us OVERCOMERS (I John 4:1-6 & Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21. We are told that we are MORE THAN CONQUERERS (Romans 8:37)

All 3 in Ephesians 6:10-18 / 9-18-24

I. The Whole Armor of God - Ephesians

   6:10-18 (“stand” - 3x)

   •   James 4:7-10, sin weakens us; opens us up to being wounded

   •   I Peter 5:1-7, 8-10: humility, alertness (prepared not paranoid), resist by standing firm on the faith”)

(The Primary Focus of this passage of this truth of Spiritual Warfare is Jesus, not a Roman Soldier and not Satan. The Lord fights for us and with us)

   •   The Lord’s Strength - 6:10

   •   The Lord’s Armor - 6:11

   •   The Lord’s Enemy - 6:12

   •   “Having done all” - 6:13

   •   The belt of truthfulness - 6:14

   •   The sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God - 6:17 (II Cor. 10:5)

   •   God’s weapons are effective and successful - Our weapons are not. Our strategies make things worse: isolation, keeping struggles a secret, relying on self-determination

   •   Defend and Attack - mostly defend

I. The Goal is Victory, not Comfort

   1.   Know Your Commander/Creator -

   2.   Know Your Enemy -

   3.   Know Your Weapon -

   •   Delight in God’s Word - Ps. 1:2A

   •   Meditate on God’s Word - Ps. 1:2b

   •   Trust in God’s Word - Ps. 19:7-9

   •   Value God’s Word - Ps. 19:10-11

   •   Purified by God’s Word - Ps. 119:9

   •   Protected by God’s Word - Ps. 119:11; Matthew 4:1-11; Ephesians 6:10-18 (Scripture provides, protects, defends)

   •   Directed by God’s Word - Ps. 119:105

   •   Saved by God’s Word - Luke 16:27-31

   •   Made holy by God’s Word - John 17:17

   •   Examined by God’s Word - Hebrews 4:12

(WE ARE ALL ACCOUNTABLE)

(“Order in the Church” is caused by Careful Correction by the Church)

• Some love to confront

• Some lovingly confront - us!

I. Careful Correction in the Family of Faith - vv. 1-2 (sharp rebuke vs encourage/appeal). Let’s back up and answer a critical question that must be thought out before moving forward with correction:

• Cover if you can - Proverbs 17:9

• Confront if there’s a pattern

• The goal of biblical confrontation is reconciliation - to “win” our brothers and sisters back into a right relationship / into healthy fellowship - Ken Sande (Peacemakers Ministry in Billings, MT) - Christian conciliation

• Matthew 18:15-18

1. Treat older men as a father -

2. Treat younger men as brothers -

3. Treat older women as mothers -

4. Treat younger women as sisters - * “with/in all purity” - “with complete patience” -

• Be encouraging in Ephesus - II Timothy 2:24-26

• II Timothy 4:1-4

• Be careful in Thessalonica - I Thessalonians 5:12-14

• Be gentle in Galatia - Galatians 6:1-2

• Keep the perspective in Phillipi - Philippians 4:1-3 (with joy)

• Be warned in James 3:1-10 (scattered saints) Subscribe to get notified on new releases: @fbclc