First Irving Sermons

Main Point. God sustains trembling faith that tears down idols and trusts His Word.

Driving Question. What does real faith look like?

1. Faith tears down idols (25–32)

3 truths :

1. God starts reformation in the heart and home (25–26).

2. Faith obeys even when it trembles (27).

3. Bold faith can stir others to follow (28–32).

Application.

Faith starts at home by confronting hidden idols.

Faith obeys, even when we feel afraid.

Faith influences, as God uses trembling obedience to stir others.

2. Faith trusts God’s word (33–40)

3 observations.

1. God clothed Gideon.

2. God’s patience with weak faith.

3. God’s word is sufficient.

Takeaways

God cares more about your heart than your public ministry.

God honors trembling faith.

God is patient with weak faith.

True faith rests in Christ’s finished work—not our performance.

Main Point: God meets us in our weakness with His Word, presence, and peace—and invites us to trust and obey.

Why trust God when we feel weak, afraid, or unworthy?

1. God is able to disrupt our idolatry (1–6)

2. God’s word confronts our disobedience (7–10)

3. God’s presence strengthens our weak hearts (11-18)

Three Promises from the Angel of the Lord:

1. He Promises His Presence (vv. 12–13)

2. He Promises His Strength (vv. 14–15)

3. He Promises His Victory (v. 16)

4. God’s peace affirms safety from death (19-24)

Takeaways.

1. Revere God’s presence.

2. Rest in God’s peace.

3. Remember God’s promise [that you will not die].

4. Respond to God in worship.

Though we rebel, God remains faithful—redeeming us by crushing the enemy.

Why do we rebel against God?

1. Rebellion is in our hearts (1–3)

2. Redemption is in God’s heart (4–24)

a. Deborah [the unique leader]

b. Barak [the faithful warrior]

c. Jael [the courageous agent of deliverance]

Applications from these servants.

a. God works through weakness.

b. God’s Word is sufficient.

c. God delights in faithful women.

Takeaways.

a. God is victorious—He has crushed the head of the enemy.

b. God is trustworthy—His word never fails.

c. God is worthy—He deserves our full devotion.

d. God is the deliverer—not our strength, but His.

e. God is the judge–the unrepentant will perish.

f. God is sovereign–working behind the veil.

g. God is glorious—He alone deserves the praise.

Main Point. God graciously delivers His people through unexpected means.

1. Undeserved Grace (7–11)

2. Unexpected Savior (12–30)

3. Unlikely Means (31)

Responses.

Repent, for when we cry out to the Lord, he quickly gives us the Deliver he raised

Recognize that God uses the foolish things in the world to shame the strong.

Remember the ordinary means of God’s grace.

Main Point. The God we forget is also the God who faithfully delivers us.

Driving Question. What happens when God is forgotten? (3 lessons from this text):

Drifting from Truth – (vv. 6–10).

Devotion to Counterfeits – (vv. 11–15).

Delivered by God – (vv. 16–19).

1. Drifting from Truth (6–10)

"All it takes is one generation to forget the gospel, and we are always one generation away from losing it". D.A. Carson

Apply:

Love God and prioritize Christ and the Gospel.

Be diligent to teach your children the goodness and glory of God.

2. Devotion to Counterfeits (11–15)

What do you trust in and treasure more than God?

3. Delivered by God (16–19)

Interpretive key for the book of Judges:

Idolatry

Judgment and bondage to a foreign enemy

Cries out to the Lord

Salvation: through a Judge (12 judges in the book)

Judge dies, people return to idolatry

God’s evaluation (20–3:6)

Application.

Sometimes God doesn’t remove trials immediately, because they reveal what we really love.

Takeaways.

Pluralism is a great evil in God’s sight.

God disciplines his people who compromise.

Build your family on the word of God and the One who saves.

Main Idea: Local churches must support missionaries for the sake of gospel advancement.

What does missionary support look like?

Three characteristics of missionary support

1. We must support missionaries faithfully (vv. 5-6).

What does it look like for us to faithfully support our missionaries?

a) Financial support

b) Prayer (Colossians 4:2-4)

c) Short-term Trips

d) Stateside ministry

2. We must support missionaries selectively (v. 7).

(Acts 5:40-41)(Romans 1:5)

How do we support missionaries selectively?

1) Raise up missionaries from within

2) Partner with like-minded missionaries

3) Partner with like-minded mission agencies and networks.

3. We must support missionaries deliberately (v. 8).

(Romans 10:14-15)

Conclusion

15  And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church

entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only.  16  Even in Thessalonica you sent me

help for my needs once and again.  17  Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.  18  I

have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you

sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. (Philippians 4:15-18)

Main Point. God demands His people's complete and unwavering obedience, for half-hearted obedience invites spiritual decay and divine judgement.

Driving Question. What are the results of half-hearted obedience?

1. Deception of short-lived prosperity (1–20)

2. Downward spiral of faithlessness (21–36)

Application.

Do you think you have ever been guilty of half-hearted obedience?

3. Divine judgment of God (2:1–5)

Takeaways.

three about man:

Distrust breeds Disobedience. (1:3–36)

Compromise leads to Consequences. (2:1–3)

Revelation of sin leads to Repentance. (2:4–5)

two about God:

God is faithful to his promises. (1:1–2)

God alone drives out the enemy.

Driving Question. Where is true life found?

Main Idea. By His grace, true life is found by hoping in God and guarding His gospel.

1. By hoping in God, not earthly wealth (17–19)

Two warnings of wealth.

i. (17) Danger of haughtiness.

ii. (17) Danger of false hope.

Helpful and hopeful reminder. "but [set your hope] on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy."

Matt 6:19–21

Jn 10:10

Application. [Two indications that you’re trusting in Christ and storing up treasure]:

i. Thankful to God and rightly enjoy what he provides (17).

ii. Be rich in good works, generous and ready to share (18).

2. By holding-fast God’s gospel, not man's knowledge (20–21)

Paul gives three final pleads to Timothy to have a faithful pastorate.

i. A careful ministry (20)

ii. A blameless ministry (20)

iii. A graceful ministry (21)

Application:

i. Do you treasure God’s Word as a sacred trust, or treat it as common?

ii. Are you proactively guarding your heart and your church from error?

iii. Are you more influenced by podcasts, pundits, and platforms than by Scripture?

iv. Where might your heart be drifting from the simplicity and sufficiency of Jesus?

Three Takeaways from 1 Timothy.

1. The Church exists to protect sound doctrine.

Know the signs of false teachers (1:3–7; 4:1–3; 6:4–5, 21)

Prayer keeps the church gospel centered (2:1–7)

Proper roles rooted in creation (2:8–15)

Faithful qualified officers (3:1–13)

Teaching right doctrine (1:3–7, 10–11; 4:1–6, 11–16; 6:3–5, 20–21)

Faithful living that bears Christ’s name (1:3–5; 3:1–16; 4:6, 12–16; 6:3, 6–12)

Rich doctrine is found only in Jesus Christ (1:1–2; 3:16, 6:21)

2. The Church is a household with structure.

Christ is the head of the church (1:1–2; 3:14–15)

Prayer and the Word guide worship (2:1–7; 4:13–16)

Led by Elders (also called overseers) (3:1–7)

Served by Deacons (3:8–13)

The Congregation is a family (3:14–15; 5:1–2)

Caring for widows (5:3–16)

Supporting elders (5:17–18)

Accountable to each other (doctrine, relationships, actions, care)

3. The Gospel is for the nations.

Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1:15)

Prayer (2:1–7)

The glorious gospel itself (3:16)

The gospel forms the church in missional context (cf Acts 18:19–21; 19:1–10; 20:17–38)

Main Idea:

The good fight of the faith is waged in a godly life that is taking hold of eternal life, with eyes set on the God of life.

1. Fight the good fight… in godly conduct (vv. 11-12)

The components of godliness in the good fight:

Flee worldly pursuits - v. 11a

Pursue godliness - v. 11b

Guard the faith - v. 12a

Take hold of eternal life - v. 12b

Hebrews 10:32-34

Hebrews 11:13-16

2. Fight the good fight… for the church’s witness (v. 13-15a)

3. Fight the good fight… fueled by the glory of God (vv. 15b-16)

"[These] splendid titles are here employed in exalting the princely authority of God, in order that the brilliancy of the princes of this world may not dazzle our eyes… When good men see that the wicked are puffed up with prosperity, they are sometimes cast down; and therefore Paul, for the purpose of withdrawing the eyes of the godly from that transitory splendour, ascribes to God alone “blessedness, principality, and kingly power.” (John Calvin)

Response:

Make the good confession today (see Rom. 10:9)

Flee from sin with the help of the church (see 2 Tim. 2:22)

Pursue godliness in the church

Know and defend sound doctrine in the church

Strengthen your faith in order to take hold of eternal life (see Rom. 10:17)

Know God truly. Study Him in order to love Him more. (6:15-16)

Main Point. A corrupt heart uses God to get gain; a content heart finds God is the gain.

Driving Question. How can we recognize when our hearts are using God instead of being content in Him?

1. The Marks of Corrupt Hearts (3–5)

Three heart issues from the text:

1. Conceited (4).

2. Controversial and Combative (5).

3. Corrupt (5).

2. The Marks of Content Hearts (6–10)

3 motivations for contentment:

1. You cannot take anything with you (7).

Ecclesiastes 5:15: As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand.

2. You currently have enough (8).

"Contentment is not by addition but by subtraction: seeking to add more and more, we multiply our cares; instead, lessen your desire.” Jeremiah Burroughs

3. Your cravings can destroy you (8–9)

The Gospel ultimately drives the motivations.

1. You cannot take anything with you. Christ is your eternal inheritance.

2. You currently have enough. Christ is your true sufficiency.

3. Your cravings can destroy you. Christ is your superior pleasure. “

Fighting for contentment (Applications):

1. Examine Your Desires.

2. Rest in God’s Presence.

3. Practice Gratitude Daily.

4. Remember the Vanity of the World

Keep your eyes on what lasts. “Set your mind on things above” (Col 3).