- 02/06/2025
But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Titus 3.4-7
#ChurchLeadership #faith #Jesus #Messiah #orderinthechurch #principlesofthechurch #salvation
https://lightforthelastdays.co.uk/articles/deception-in-the-church/gods-order-for-the-church/
Titus 3.4-7
#ChurchLeadership #faith #Jesus #Messiah #orderinthechurch #principlesofthechurch #salvation
https://lightforthelastdays.co.uk/articles/deception-in-the-church/gods-order-for-the-church/
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LearningTranscript
00:00okay well good morning friends good to see you just have a word of prayer as we come to
00:22the word of god lord we thank you for your word pray that you help me to speak and those who hear
00:26to hear guide us by your holy spirit into all truth we pray in jesus name amen
00:32okay a couple of weeks ago we were away on holiday and um we were in a hotel room and
00:40not near any churches so a lot of catholic churches around but uh on sunday morning we
00:46decided to have a bit of prayer together with and uh as we were praying i felt led to read from
00:52the second chapter of titus and to pray about god's order in the church pray for the service here
00:59and later on in the afternoon we i had my laptop with me so we tuned into the bridge lane service
01:05and i was amazed to find that daniel was speaking on titus chapter two and god's order in the church
01:11so i thought this was probably a sign from the lord that we should carry on looking at this subject
01:16which is what we're going to do today very good talk by daniel by the way so if you didn't hear it
01:21tune into it it's still on the web page so we're going to read a couple of passages from the
01:27scriptures number one is from 1 timothy chapter 3 verse 14
01:32paul writing to timothy says these things i write to you though i hope to come to you shortly but if
01:41i'm delayed i write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of god
01:46which is the church of the living god the pillar and ground of the truth and without controversy
01:53great is the mystery of godliness god was manifested in the flesh justified in the spirit
01:59seen by angels preached among the gentiles believed on in the world received up in glory
02:06i'm gonna read a second scripture from titus chapter 2 verse 11
02:11for the grace of god that brings salvation has appeared to all men teaching us that denying
02:17ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in the present age
02:23looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great god and savior jesus christ who gave
02:29himself for us that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special
02:34people zealous for good works speak these things exhort and rebuke with all authority let no one despise
02:41you remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities to obey to be ready for every good work
02:48to speak evil of no one to be peaceable gentle showing all humility to all men if we ourselves were
02:54also once foolish disobedient deceived serving various lusts and pleasures living in malice living in malice
03:01and envy hateful and hating one another but when the kindness and love of god our savior towards men
03:07appeared not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us
03:12through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the holy spirit whom he poured out on us abundantly
03:18through jesus christ our savior that having been justified by his grace we should become heirs
03:23according to the hope of eternal life two passages which speak about god's purpose for the church
03:32should be a place where we have the truth where we teach the truth we have also the power of god to
03:40change our lives from the person we were before we became christians to the person who god wants us to
03:44be and we look back to the grace of god which brought salvation to all men in other words the cross where
03:51jesus died for us on the cross rose from the dead to bring us salvation and we look forward to the
03:57blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great god and savior jesus christ the second coming of jesus
04:01the blessed hope of the church we look forward also to our own going to be with the lord as we
04:08meet with him in the resurrection and in the passage in timothy he speaks about the church of the living god
04:17i've told you before that the word church as understood in the new testament did not mean a
04:22building it did not mean an organization it meant the people who had come to believe in jesus the
04:28messiah the greek word is actually ecclesia which means the people who are called out called out from
04:33the world so when the people who are called out from the world meet together they are called out to
04:39worship the living god and they themselves are alive so they are the church of the living god
04:45and we want to be in a church which is alive because it has the presence of god and we are part of the
04:51living stones who are built up into that building which god speaks of in the word of god also speaks
04:59about the church as the body of christ so christ is the head jesus is the head and we're the body and
05:05the head should give life to the body so we have these images in the new testament which speak of life
05:10something which is living something which is has the presence of god with it and which is able to
05:17communicate something of god's truth to the world don't need to tell you there are plenty of dead
05:22churches around but while we were abroad we did go into a catholic church and there was a priest
05:28sitting up the front and he was just repeating various words in latin all i could hear was maria
05:35an aura pro nobis which means pray for us and i presume he was repeating over and again the
05:42mary's prayer or the catholics call mary's prayer hail mary full of grace pray for us sinners now in the
05:51hour of our need etc and he was just repeating this and the people were then were repeating some
05:56the whole crowd of people they were all just repeating the same words over and over again
06:01and frankly i couldn't get out of it quick enough quickly enough because it's just this feeling of
06:05death and oppression and just a dead religion just repeating words which mean nothing and god
06:11doesn't want that to happen god wants his church to be alive he wants it to be a place where his word
06:16is alive and he's producing life in the people who hear his word and so we have these images of the
06:23body of messiah the living stones that the church is the temple of the holy spirit the place where
06:28the holy spirit dwells amongst his people who are alive so i guess you're all alive and we are all
06:36alive in jesus christ so we have the holy spirit within us so we are the church of the living god
06:42and he says also that the church should be the pillar and the ground of truth
06:47some people say that this
06:51pest section of uh timothy where it says god was manifested in the flesh justified in the spirit
06:58seen by angels preached among the gentiles believed on in the world received up in glory was actually a
07:04hymn which they sang in the early church which is quite possible so as a hymn which was sung a chorus
07:10which was sung it was affirming certain doctrines which are the truth and actually the best hymns do affirm
07:16the truth of the scriptures uh best choruses do as well they should bring us back to the meaning of
07:23our life like the one we just sang uh gethsemane lead me to calvary and so we have these hymns which
07:30are speaking of the truth which is in in jesus christ and speaks about the the ground and the pillar
07:38the the pillar the ground and the the pillar and the ground of truth so the ground is what holds the
07:47building up and the pillar is also what keeps the roof on and keeps the building together so you have
07:53these images of a building and something which is built upon the truth which is built upon a foundation
07:59which is going to stand and which is built upon something which is going to hold up and support
08:03the building and when you look at these passages you find that the truth is not the church itself
08:08it's the truth which the church points to that's actually a very important point because the
08:14church is a fallible organization and it's run by fallible people and if it's not looking to the one
08:20who is infallible and who is the basis of the truth who is jesus the messiah then it can go off the
08:25rails and depart from the truth as many churches have in particular the roman catholic church which has
08:31brought in other teachings which are totally contrary to the scriptures
08:35now it's interesting when you look at the gospels you find that the word church is actually only used
08:42twice and as i was thinking about this occurred to me that jesus never went to church you ever thought
08:49about that maybe jesus had the church which was in embryo and his disciples as they went around and met
08:57together because it says in the scriptures where two or three to gather together in my name i'm there
09:02in the midst and jesus was there in the midst with his disciples there was actually no formal church
09:06which existed at the time of jesus that jesus went to synagogue we'll see at a moment and in matthew's
09:13gospel there is one scripture where he does speak about the church in matthew chapter 16 verse 15
09:18where he's been asked the son of the living god jesus answered and said to him blessed are you simon
09:25bar jonah for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my father who is in heaven i say to you
09:30that you are peter and on this rock i will build my church and the gates of hades shall not prevail
09:35against it and i will give you the keys of the kingdom and whatever whatever you loose on earth
09:40will be loosed in heaven so peter says that in answer to the question who do you say to them he says
09:48you are the messiah the son of the living god and jesus commends him for that answer he says that
09:54the holy spirit has revealed this to you my father in heaven has revealed this to you
09:58he says i'm going to build my church upon you or upon this revelation which one is it is he going
10:07to build this church upon peter the man or upon what peter has just confessed if you go to the
10:13roman catholic church it's built upon peter he's the first pope and everything else flows from peter
10:16which is not the point in fact in the greek the word is petros you are peter petros which means a
10:24small pebble and on this petra which is a great foundation stone i will build my church so peter
10:32in the man is a small pebble but the foundation stone is peter's confession of faith that jesus is
10:37the messiah the son of the living god and that's what jesus is going to build his church upon that
10:42confession of faith in jesus the messiah and he says that the keys of the kingdom are given to you
10:48now the keys of the kingdom again if you go to the roman catholic church you'll see peter with the
10:53keys on this and he's opening the door to heaven and if you don't go through peter's way you won't
10:58get into heaven which is not the case at all not peter the man but again they're the gospel of jesus
11:04christ now the keys of the kingdom were committed to peter and in fact peter has the role of preaching
11:11the gospel first to the jews in acts chapter 2 and then to the gentiles in acts chapter 10 so he does
11:18open the door to the jews and then to the gentiles and he has a privileged position as the leading
11:23apostle but the keys are not his to open the door to god through there the lord jesus is able to open
11:30the door to heaven through faith in him and he's the one who opens the keys to the kingdom and he's also
11:38the one who gives the the doctrine which was the apostles we're going to to bring into bear
11:45whatever you bind on earth will bound in heaven whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in
11:50heaven that means that the doctrine of the church was going to be fixed in the time of the apostles
11:55whatever they bind on earth will be bound in heaven whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in
12:00heaven what you apostles of mine allow and fix this doctrine will be allowed what you forbid will be
12:06forbidden. Now, this relates to what I said the other week when I was talking about the
12:11apostles' doctrine. One of the things we have to bear in mind when we're talking about the
12:16building of the church is that the doctrine of the church was fixed by the time the last
12:21apostle had died. And the writings of the New Testament were completed at that time
12:26and the doctrines of the church were to be completed by the time of the end of the writing
12:32of the New Testament. So we talked last time about some of the things which are fixed in
12:37the doctrines of the church, some of which actually come out in this little hymn in 1 Timothy
12:43chapter 5. And by the apostles also we mean those who saw the Lord, who are witnesses of
12:50his life and his resurrection, and who fixed the apostles' doctrine in the first century
12:54church, which was not to be changed by any later churches. And you find what has happened
13:00if you look at church history is that people have added things and they've taken things
13:03away from them. Go to the end of the Bible, the New Testament, in the book of Revelation
13:07chapter 22, there's a verse which says that not to add or to take anything away from the
13:14words that are written in this book. If you add or take away, then God is going to add his
13:19curses to you and he's going to take away his blessings from you. So not to add or take away
13:23anything from the apostles' doctrine. Look at church history, that's exactly what has
13:27happened. You have the Gnostic Gospels who added new Gospels which actually compromised
13:31the position of Jesus Christ. You have the Roman Catholics coming in with all kinds of
13:35new doctrines which were fixed much later, starting about the 5th century and after that,
13:41which changed some of the basic principles of the Gospel. You have the Muslims who came
13:46in and changed the whole book and gave us a completely new religion which was totally
13:50against true Christianity. And you had Protestantism which came in and reformed it, but then also
13:56went astray with liberal doctrines coming in, denying some of the truths of the Gospel
14:00and so on. And today you have lots of modern cults which have added or taken away from the
14:05Gospel truth. So we have to go back to the original, and the original document is here
14:10in the Bible, it's here in the New Testament, and what was fixed by the apostles is not going
14:15to be changed. That's one important thing we have to recognise when we're thinking about
14:18building the church. It's not going to be changed, it's not going to be added to
14:22or taken away from. If you go back to that little hymn in 1 Timothy, you see it contains
14:30doctrinal truths. It says that Jesus is God manifested in the flesh, otherwise He's both
14:35Son of God and Son of Man. It says that the Holy Spirit is going to bear witness to Him.
14:40So the work of the Holy Spirit is primarily or basically to bear witness to Jesus and to bring
14:47the truth of the Gospel to those that believe in Him. It says that angels have seen Him.
14:52You see that in the New Testament. Angels were messengers from God. They ministered to Jesus
14:56during His time. Angels appeared at His birth, His temptation at Gethsemane, at the resurrection,
15:04bringing God's comfort and God's strength to the Lord Jesus. It also speaks about the Gospel
15:10being preached. Philips also talked to us about the Gospel being preached to the ends of the earth,
15:15and that in itself is a sign of the truth of this message. In fact, the fact that here we are,
15:20thousands of miles away from the event when the event happened and nearly 2,000 years after it
15:25happened, believing the same things as the early church believed. That's a testimony to the truth
15:30of what we have in Jesus Christ. So the Gospel is preached, salvation, message to Jews and Gentiles,
15:37and that Jesus is now received up into glory, glorified in heaven from where He will return
15:43at the last day. Now in this passage in 1 Timothy, he says,
15:50I write to you so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God.
15:55Conduct yourself would be like how you should behave in the church of God.
15:59So question, how should we behave in the church of the living God?
16:05Obviously if it's just a kind of organisation, a kind of social club if you like,
16:09I guess you can do your own thing up to a point, behave how you like,
16:13just behave within the rules of that club.
16:18But if it's indeed a place where you meet with the living God
16:20and the people who belong to the living God, then there are certain principles which have
16:25to govern our conduct and our beliefs.
16:29And if you look in Paul's epistles, he outlines how we should behave.
16:34And indeed, that's actually why Paul was chosen, because Paul was very
16:38gifted and learned person, able to write these things down
16:41and to preserve them for posterity.
16:45As I said earlier, when Jesus was on the earth, the church as such did not exist.
16:49In fact, Jesus never went to church.
16:52And the Gospels themselves don't actually contain any
16:55teaching on how to run churches.
16:57They contain wonderful teaching from Jesus about how to
17:00live and how to behave in the kingdom of God.
17:03But they don't actually contain instructions on how to run a church
17:06because Jesus was speaking to Jewish people at the time
17:09before the church had come into being.
17:11And they're going to leave it until after his resurrection
17:14to give these instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles,
17:18particularly to the apostle Paul, but also to others who wrote the epistles
17:21in the New Testament on how we should behave in the church of God.
17:27And we say Jesus actually functioned within a Jewish context.
17:32He didn't go to church.
17:33He did go to synagogue.
17:35He participated in Jewish festivals.
17:38He even affirmed Moses and the prophets.
17:40And we have some interesting examples of what happened when Jesus went to synagogue.
17:45One of them in Luke chapter 4, verse 16.
17:50Luke chapter 4, verse 16.
17:53So he came to Nazareth where he'd been brought up.
17:55And as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.
18:00Note that little phrase, as his custom was.
18:02So Jesus regularly went to synagogue, apparently.
18:06Perhaps while his youth, when he was living in Nazareth, he attended the synagogue.
18:11He learned from the teachers there.
18:14And we read here that he stood up to read.
18:16And he was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.
18:19And when he opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18:21The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.
18:26He sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind.
18:32He said, at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
18:36Then he closed the book and gave it to the attendant and sat down.
18:39And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on him.
18:43And he began to say to them, Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.
18:47So all bore witness to him and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.
18:51And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?
18:55A couple of interesting things you can deduce from that passage.
18:57One is that in a synagogue service, they would read from the scriptures.
19:01Like we do.
19:03So there were similarities.
19:05Also, it would be likely that the person who read from the scriptures would give some kind of explanation to it.
19:11Like we do.
19:12So obviously there were parallels and there were similarities.
19:16Now Jesus here gives an explanation to the passage he just read which was quite out of the ordinary.
19:21He says, What I've just read to you is about me.
19:24I'm the one he's spoken of.
19:25I'm the Messiah.
19:27I'm the one who's come to bring you the message of good news.
19:29And I'm fulfilling this scripture which is taken from Isaiah chapter 61.
19:35He's saying, It's all about me.
19:37And I'm the one.
19:39And he says, Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.
19:43That caused a bit of a stir because they asked the question, Isn't this Joseph's son?
19:47We know him.
19:48He's brought up in here.
19:49We know him.
19:50We know his family.
19:51He's claiming to be someone more than he is.
19:54But he is.
19:55He is the Messiah.
19:56And he's actually declaring here the truth.
19:58He's coming out, if you like, as a Messiah.
20:00The one of whom the prophets speak.
20:02So that little passage is interesting because it tells you that although Jesus didn't go
20:07to church, he did go to synagogue.
20:09And there are certain similarities in what happened in a synagogue to what happened today
20:13in services like this.
20:15We also read that Jesus said to the, concerning the scribes and Pharisees, he said, The scribes
20:21and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.
20:24Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according
20:27to their works.
20:28For they say and do not.
20:29Otherwise, he gave authority then to the Moses and to those who teach the Torah, but he criticized
20:36at the same time the scribes and Pharisees for not practicing what they preach.
20:41It tells you that at the time when Jesus was preaching and going about in Galilee, he was
20:44still teaching in a context of Torah observance and Torah worship.
20:50That was going to change on the day of Pentecost.
20:52And we have some interesting examples where he's pointing to the change that was coming
20:58in the meaning of the things which he spoke about through his ministry and teaching, but
21:03he was also teaching in the context of regular Torah worship.
21:08One example of that in Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5, verse 23, where Jesus
21:14says, Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember your brother has
21:18something against you, leave your gift there before the altar.
21:21Go your way, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer you your gift.
21:27Okay, so he's talking to Jewish people here.
21:29He's telling them that when you go to bring your gift to the altar, which was part of
21:32the practice of the Jewish religion at that time, to bring a gift and to offer it on the
21:38altar, he says, when you bring it and you're in some kind of state of unreconciliation with
21:44your neighbor or even with God, first put it right with your neighbor and with God and
21:48then come and bring you a gift.
21:49So he's talking about here an Old Testament principle.
21:53He's now introducing a New Testament principle, which is going to come about in the days to
21:57come.
21:58You see a parallel with that, with what we've just done here, the breaking of bread.
22:04When we come to break bread with the Lord, we should first of all examine ourselves.
22:08And if there's something not right with us, with God or with our neighbor, we should put
22:12it right and then eat of the bread and the wine.
22:15So there should be the same principle of coming to offer your gift.
22:20So coming to take of the gift of the Lord, being reconciled with your brother if he's got
22:25something against you.
22:27So these are New Testament principles going to come into what comes in the church.
22:32So Jesus gave teaching then on how we should live in the kingdom of God, on the principles
22:40of the new covenant and the new order which he was bringing in.
22:43But the church itself will not come into being until after his death, his resurrection, his
22:48ascension into heaven and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
22:52Now he'd already chosen the 12 disciples.
22:54One of them, Judas, of course, had fallen away and betrayed him.
22:57But he'd chosen them with a work to then go out and preach the gospel and to bring in
23:04the kingdom of God through the preaching of the gospel.
23:07Most of the disciples he chose were actually from the common people, if you like.
23:13Pharisees used to refer to the common people as the Amhaaretz, the people of the land.
23:19And they were the common people who were, in their opinion, not so learned.
23:23But Jesus chose them deliberately because he wanted to teach them in the new way of the
23:29kingdom of God.
23:30And we find in the book of Acts, when the disciples begin to start preaching, one of
23:36the things the Sanhedrin says to them is that these are just ignorant and unlearned men.
23:40How can they be teaching these stuff?
23:43Acts chapter 4, verse 8.
23:47Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers and people and elders of
23:50Israel, if this day we are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means
23:55he was made well.
23:58This is referring to the miracle of the lame man being healed at the gate of the temple.
24:04He said, by what means he's been made well.
24:07Let it be known to you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of
24:11Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man stands before
24:15you whole.
24:17This is the stone which was rejected by your builders, which has become the chief cornerstone,
24:21nor is there salvation in any other.
24:23There's no other name given under heaven among men by which we must be saved.
24:29And when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, then perceived that they were uneducated
24:33and untrained men, they marveled.
24:35And they realized they had been with Jesus.
24:38And seeing the man healed standing by them, they could say nothing against it.
24:42So they say they were uneducated and unlearned.
24:46In the King James Version it says they were ignorant.
24:51What it meant is that they were untrained in the academies of mainstream Judaism at the
24:55time.
24:56It doesn't actually mean they were stupid ignoramuses.
24:59Everyone received some teaching in the scriptures.
25:02Actually the Pharisees had a lot to do with that.
25:05And these disciples have been particularly three years with Jesus.
25:07We see even in this passage they knew enough about the Hebrew Bible to connect the writings
25:13there with Jesus.
25:15For example, they quoted the Psalm 118, which says the stone the builders rejected has become
25:20the chief cornerstone, and applied that to Jesus, which it is.
25:24It's a messianic psalm.
25:26We read also in Luke 24 that after the resurrection Jesus explained to them what happened in his resurrection
25:31in the light of the law, the prophets, and the writings, the three divisions of the Hebrew
25:36scriptures.
25:38So the disciples had learned from Jesus, had a great deal of knowledge, but the Lord actually
25:44needed one or more person to complete the work which he's going to do in past his resurrection.
25:52He needed someone who had been trained in the academies of Judaism, who could make the
25:57connection between the principles of the Torah and the New Covenant, who had an understanding
26:02of the change which had come about with the arrival of the New Covenant.
26:06Preferably someone who had a first-class training, maybe even under the leading Pharisee of the
26:10time, Gamaliel, someone who had a brilliant mind and was able to articulate and to teach
26:18and to write, particularly the things which were able to build up the church.
26:23Now, during the time of Jesus, most people in that category were not disciples of Jesus.
26:27In fact, many of them were opponents of Jesus.
26:30You have one or two who are for Jesus, like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.
26:33But most were opposed to Jesus during his time in ministry.
26:39So Jesus sought out and found one such person.
26:42Who did he find?
26:43Saul of Tarsus, formerly opponent of the New Messianic Movement, but miraculously converted
26:50on the road to Damascus to become the Apostle Paul.
26:53And Paul was uniquely gifted as one who was learned in the Jewish religion, who had formerly
26:59been an opponent, but now was a preacher of the gospel.
27:03Also possessed of a brilliant mind and ability to express himself in public preaching and in
27:08writing.
27:09And so Paul was chosen.
27:10As Paul went around the Greek-speaking world in the Roman Empire, he preached with power,
27:15bringing many to salvation.
27:16He founded churches, and then as he learned about the problems within those churches, the
27:21Holy Spirit gave wisdom and inspired instructions on how to resolve them.
27:27Set order in the churches, told you how you should behave in the church of the living God.
27:36And we have to give thanks to God for the record of Paul's writing on this subject, which
27:41gives us instruction on how to behave in the church of the living God.
27:44In general, you could say the principles about how to behave in the church of God are based
27:50on one fundamental principle in the Old Testament and New Testament, which is stated by the Lord
27:57in the gospel.
27:59Love God and love your neighbor.
28:02Then one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him and saying, teacher, what is the
28:06greatest commandment in the law?
28:08Jesus said to him, you should love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
28:11with all your mind.
28:12This is the first and great commandment, and the second is like it.
28:16You should love your neighbor as yourself.
28:18On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
28:23So these two commandments, which are in both the Old and the New Testaments, Jesus says,
28:28on these hang all the law and the prophets, and these should be what is guiding the new
28:33work which is coming into being, the church of the living God.
28:38And you find that these principles go right through the teaching of the New Testament and
28:44come out in Paul's writings, like in Romans chapter 13, verse 8, where he says,
28:50Oh, no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
28:55For the commandments, you should not commit adultery, you should not murder, you should not steal,
28:59you should not bear false witness, you should not covet.
29:02If there is any other commandment, all are summed up in this saying, namely you should love your
29:06neighbor as yourself.
29:08Love does no harm to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
29:11And in Romans chapter 12, verse 10, it says,
29:16Be kindly affectionate to one another, with brotherly love, in honor, giving preference to one another.
29:22Those verses really don't need any interpretation, they speak for themselves.
29:26And that's how we should live within the body of the Messiah.
29:30Obviously, it doesn't always work out like that.
29:32Things can go wrong in churches.
29:35Anybody here seen things going wrong in churches?
29:37Probably you have, if you've been a Christian for a while.
29:39Just as they can go wrong in all institutions.
29:43And why do they go wrong?
29:44Because basically, churches are made up of sinners.
29:48Sinners saved by grace, but still people who have come from a sinful human nature.
29:55And you find that quite a lot of Paul's writings are directed towards churches where things were
29:59going wrong and needed correction, especially Corinthians.
30:04As I say, churches are made up of sinners saved by grace,
30:07in the process of what we call sanctification.
30:11Sanctification means we're moving from the person we were before we became a Christian
30:14to the person who God wants us to be,
30:17and ultimately working towards the time when we'll be glorified in heaven
30:20and become completely free from sin.
30:23Anybody yet arrived at being completely free from sin?
30:27No?
30:28Nor have I.
30:28So it's a process which is going on.
30:32And there's an ongoing process which we're all in,
30:34which is a battle between serving the spirit and serving the flesh.
30:40Some are further on than others,
30:41and sometimes we go on and then we fall back again.
30:45And we can see that pattern happening in our own lives.
30:48And some have come from backgrounds which are the very opposite of what you might hope to find in a church.
30:55Paul writes of the past condition of some of the people in the Corinthian church,
30:59saying you were thieves, drunkards, and sexually immoral.
31:02He says, such you were, but now you are sanctified in Jesus Christ.
31:10Such you were, but now you are sanctified in Jesus Christ.
31:13Now you may have been a drunkard, you may have been sexually immoral,
31:17you may have been a thief, but you shouldn't stay like that.
31:21And that's one of the big problems which happens in churches,
31:23that actually people don't totally change from the person they were before,
31:29and sometimes even the church doesn't encourage you to change.
31:32And so things can go wrong in churches.
31:36A preacher was once asked, where can I find a perfect church?
31:40He answered, you won't find one,
31:41but if you should find one and join it, don't join it,
31:45because it won't be perfect anymore.
31:49The church exists in a fallen world,
31:52and so it has to contend with the world, the flesh, and the devil,
31:55all of whom are trying to convert or subvert
31:57and neutralize its influence from within,
32:00even while the church is trying to influence the fallen world
32:03to repent and turn to Jesus.
32:06And we have to be aware that these things are happening,
32:07and they happen in the first church, they're happening now.
32:09And we have to be on our guard against those things
32:12which are going to come in to destroy and to spoil the church from within.
32:17Again, they always go back to the central principle,
32:19you should love the Lord your God with all your heart,
32:21with all your soul, with all your might,
32:22and you should love your neighbour as yourself.
32:25Now, Paul warned that there were going to be false teachers who would come.
32:29False doctrine.
32:30He has frequent warnings about false teaching coming in,
32:33denying the Lord.
32:33serving the interests of men or of the organisation,
32:37or even of money, rather than God.
32:40I had a word to the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20,
32:44verse 27,
32:46where he said,
32:47I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God,
32:49therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock
32:51among whom the Holy Spirit has made you overseers
32:54to shepherd the church of God,
32:55which he purchased with his own blood.
32:58For I know that after my departure,
33:00savage wolves will come in among you,
33:02not sparing the flock.
33:04Also among yourselves,
33:05men will rise up,
33:06speaking perverse things,
33:08to draw away disciples after themselves.
33:11Therefore watch and remember that for three years
33:12I did not cease to warn everyone,
33:14night and day with tears.
33:17Notice it says,
33:17men will rise up,
33:18speaking perverse things,
33:19to draw away disciples after themselves.
33:24My purpose is not to make you disciples of Tony Pierce.
33:27God forbid.
33:29We want to make you disciples of Jesus Christ.
33:32You have to learn from him,
33:34not learn from men.
33:36And one can see in some churches,
33:37especially big churches,
33:38they end up following the man rather than the Lord.
33:42And the purpose of these savage wolves
33:44is to draw away disciples after themselves
33:46and then to teach some things
33:48which are contrary to the scriptures.
33:51He says that's going to happen particularly in the last days,
33:53in 1 Timothy chapter 4.
33:54It says,
33:54Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times
33:57some would depart from the faith,
33:58giving heed to deceiving spirits
34:00and doctrines of demons,
34:02speaking lies in hypocrisy,
34:04having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.
34:08So one of the features of the last days,
34:09you're going to have people teaching things
34:11which are coming from a departure from the faith,
34:16an apostasy,
34:16and also giving heed to doctrines of demons
34:19and deceiving spirits.
34:23Which is pretty serious.
34:25If you have doctrines coming at you from the demons
34:27rather than God,
34:28then you're going to have people really being led astray.
34:31And I've been a Christian for 50 years
34:32and I've seen those things happening
34:34in certain churches around.
34:36And so Paul charges Timothy in his second letter,
34:422 Timothy chapter 4, verse 1.
34:46I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ
34:49who will judge the living and the dead
34:51at his appearing and his kingdom,
34:53preach the word,
34:54be ready in season, out of season,
34:56convince, rebuke, exhort,
34:58with all longsuffering and teaching.
35:00For the time will come
35:00where they will not endure sound doctrine,
35:02but according to their own desires,
35:03because they have itching ears,
35:05they will heap up for themselves teachers,
35:08they will turn their ears away from the truth
35:10and be turned aside to fables.
35:13But you be watchful in all things,
35:14endure afflictions,
35:16do the work of an evangelist,
35:17fulfill your ministry.
35:19So people are going to be turned aside to fables.
35:21What are fables?
35:23Fables are basically made up stories
35:25which are not true.
35:27And so you're going to find people teaching things
35:30which they've made up themselves
35:31and which are not true,
35:32they're not based on the truth.
35:33You've got lots of churches teaching fables.
35:36One of them is a prosperity teacher.
35:39Give a hundred pounds to the preacher
35:41and you're going to get a thousand pounds back.
35:43It's a fable.
35:44Then you find someone who gives a testimony to it.
35:46Probably a made up story.
35:48And you have lots of things happening in churches
35:50which are actually deceiving people
35:52with made up stories which are not true
35:54and getting them away from the basic message of the gospel
35:56that we're calling upon people to repent
35:58and believe the gospel and to follow Jesus.
36:00And so we have to contend for the faith.
36:05I mentioned this scripture last time I spoke
36:07but it's from the book of Jude.
36:08It says,
36:09Beloved,
36:10while I was very diligent to write to you
36:12concerning your common salvation,
36:13I found it necessary to write to you
36:15exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith
36:17which was once delivered to all saints.
36:20For certain men have crept in unnoticed
36:21who long ago were marked out
36:23for this condemnation
36:24ungodly men who turn the grace of God into lewdness
36:27and deny the only Lord God
36:29and our Lord Jesus Christ.
36:33So you have people teaching things
36:35which are against what God says.
36:39Teaching even lewdness.
36:41Denying the only God, Lord God
36:43and our Lord Jesus Christ.
36:45You've got churches today
36:46which are affirming homosexual practice.
36:48Even allowing secular morality
36:52which are condemned by God.
36:55So you have things which are coming into churches
36:56which are against what God says.
36:59And we have to contend earnestly for the faith.
37:01We have contend for the truth.
37:04And we have to affirm the things
37:06which are spoken of by the Lord
37:07and continually bring the church back
37:10to the apostles' doctrine
37:11to loving God
37:12and loving your neighbour as yourself.
37:16Moving on,
37:16there are other things which happen.
37:17you have divisions within the church.
37:20In the Corinthians,
37:21you had factionalism
37:22dividing over things
37:25which man they will follow.
37:27In 1 Corinthians chapter 1,
37:29it says,
37:29It's been declared to me
37:30concerning you, my brethren,
37:32by those of close household,
37:33that there are contentions among you.
37:35Now I say this,
37:36that each of you who says,
37:37I am of Paul,
37:38I am of Apollos,
37:38I am of Cephas,
37:39or I am of Christ,
37:41is Christ divided?
37:42Was Paul crucified for you?
37:43Or were you baptized
37:44in the name of Paul?
37:45And I've seen Christians
37:48falling out over which preacher
37:49to follow,
37:50falling out over minor points
37:51of doctrine,
37:52ending up fighting each other.
37:54We're actually called
37:55to follow Jesus,
37:56who was crucified for us,
37:58and the church which is founded
37:59on him,
38:00not to follow preachers.
38:03Another thing which can come in
38:04is immorality.
38:06Corinthians 5 says,
38:08actually reported that
38:09there is sexual immorality
38:10among you.
38:11Such sexual immorality
38:12is not even mentioned
38:14among the Gentiles,
38:15that a man has his father's wife.
38:18And then in
38:191 Corinthians chapter 6,
38:25he says,
38:26Do you not know
38:26that the unrighteous
38:27will not inherit
38:28the kingdom of God?
38:29Do not be deceived
38:30neither fornicators,
38:31nor idolaters,
38:32nor adulterers,
38:33nor homosexuals,
38:34nor sodomites,
38:34nor thieves,
38:35nor covetous,
38:36nor drunkards,
38:37nor revivals,
38:38nor extortioners
38:39will inherit the kingdom of God.
38:41And such were some of you,
38:43but you were washed,
38:43but you were sanctified,
38:44but you were justified
38:45in the name of Jesus
38:46by the Spirit of God.
38:49Notice it says,
38:50such were some of you,
38:52but now you are sanctified
38:53by the Holy Spirit,
38:54your new creatures in Christ.
38:57In one sense,
38:58it doesn't matter
38:58what you were
38:59before you became a Christian.
39:00If you turned away from that,
39:01you repented,
39:02and you confessed your sin,
39:03you ask God to forgive you,
39:04and you're a new person
39:05in Jesus Christ.
39:06I really don't want to know
39:07about your past history.
39:09If you want to tell me,
39:09you can,
39:10but I'm not concerned
39:11about that.
39:13What matters
39:13is what you are now.
39:15And if you continue
39:16in the things
39:16which are not of God,
39:18and you call yourself
39:18a Christian,
39:19then that is wrong
39:21in the eyes of the Lord.
39:23And Paul's saying here
39:24that some of you
39:25are carrying on,
39:26sinning after your conversion.
39:30Now, praise God,
39:30we haven't had any instances
39:32of that kind of sin
39:34happening in this church,
39:35which I give thanks
39:36to the Lord for.
39:37But we see that
39:38in much of the church today,
39:39particularly in the Church
39:40of England,
39:41things are being sanctioned
39:42which should not be.
39:44A quote here
39:45from the former
39:47Archbishop of Canterbury,
39:48Justin Welby.
39:50Speaking to the BBC,
39:51he said,
39:51what the Archbishop of York
39:52and I and the bishops
39:53by a majority say
39:54that all sexual activity
39:55should be within
39:56a committed relationship,
39:57whether it's straight
39:58or gay.
40:00Do you get the point of that?
40:01The only thing that matters
40:03is if you're in
40:04a committed relationship.
40:06Not whether you're married,
40:07not whether it's heterosexual,
40:09can be anything.
40:10It means that sexual intimacy
40:12is no longer limited
40:13to marriage.
40:14It's okay in gay relationships
40:17and even that the church
40:18should bless sexual relationships
40:19outside of marriage.
40:21That's going right against
40:22the teaching of the Bible.
40:25And it means a clear departure
40:26from the doctrine
40:27of the New Testament church.
40:29even the doctrine
40:30of the Church of England itself.
40:33And it's the opposite
40:33of Paul's teaching
40:34where he says,
40:35flee sexual immorality.
40:36Every sin a man does
40:37is outside the body,
40:39but he who commits
40:39sexual immorality
40:41sins against his own body.
40:44Do you not know
40:45that your body
40:46is the temple
40:46of the Holy Spirit
40:47who is in you,
40:47whom you have from God
40:49and you're not your own.
40:50You're bought at a price.
40:52Therefore glorify God
40:53in your body
40:53and in your spirit
40:54which are God's.
40:57So these issues
40:58are there
40:59in the New Testament church.
41:00They're still here
41:01in the church today.
41:02There are numerous
41:02other issues
41:03you could speak about.
41:05Gossip,
41:05slandering one's neighbor,
41:07pride in leaders
41:08who puff themselves up
41:09as something great
41:10and exploit and express
41:12the people
41:12they should be serving.
41:15I would add
41:16anti-Semitism
41:17and harmful behavior
41:18towards the Jewish people
41:19from whom the Lord
41:20himself came
41:20and the apostles came
41:22which Paul warned against
41:23in Romans chapter 9
41:24through to 11.
41:25So all of these things
41:27can grieve the Holy Spirit
41:28and cause him to depart
41:29from the church.
41:31Ephesians chapter 4
41:32Paul writes
41:34Do not grieve
41:35the Holy Spirit of God
41:36by whom you were sealed
41:37for the day of redemption.
41:39Let all bitterness,
41:39wrath, anger, clamor
41:41and evil speaking
41:42be put away from you
41:43with all malice.
41:44Be kind to one another,
41:45tenderhearted,
41:46forgiving one another
41:47even as God
41:48in Christ forgave you.
41:50That's how you should behave
41:51in the church of God.
41:53Be kind to one another.
41:55Forgiving one another
41:56even as God
41:57in Christ forgave you.
41:59Be kind
42:00and forgive one another
42:01even if someone
42:02in the church
42:02does upset you.
42:04Sometimes Christians
42:05are very easy
42:05to take offense.
42:07I've known that
42:08you say a wrong word
42:09to them
42:09and they're off
42:10offended
42:11and never return.
42:13We shouldn't be like that.
42:14If we do grieve
42:15the Spirit
42:15and offend our God
42:17our neighbor
42:17we should apologize
42:19put it right
42:20but we shouldn't
42:21just fall out
42:22and separate
42:23and that's what happens
42:24sometimes in churches.
42:26People are offended
42:26and they leave
42:27and that's the end of it.
42:29We're called to repent
42:30and be reconciled
42:32in Jesus Christ.
42:34And if we do grieve
42:35the Spirit
42:36if we do grieve
42:37our God
42:37and our neighbor
42:38there's always a way back.
42:401 John chapter 1
42:41one of the
42:43most important passages
42:44in the epistles
42:45says
42:46in verse 6
42:48verse 5
42:49this is the message
42:50we've heard from him
42:51and declare to you
42:52that God is light
42:52and in him
42:53is no darkness at all.
42:55If we say
42:55we have fellowship
42:56with him
42:56and walk in darkness
42:57we lie
42:57and do not practice
42:58the truth.
42:59But if we walk
43:00in the light
43:00as he is in the light
43:01we have fellowship
43:02with one another
43:03and the blood
43:03of Jesus Christ
43:04his son
43:05cleanses us
43:05from all sin.
43:07If we say
43:07that we have no sin
43:08we deceive ourselves
43:09and the truth
43:09is not in us.
43:11If we confess our sins
43:12he is faithful
43:12and just
43:13to forgive us
43:13our sins
43:14and to cleanse us
43:15from all unrighteousness.
43:16That's a wonderful passage
43:19which just tells us
43:20how to have
43:21right relationships
43:22with God
43:23and with one another
43:24in the body
43:25of the Messiah.
43:27And if we confess
43:27our sins
43:28he is faithful
43:29and just
43:29to the giver
43:30of our sins.
43:31He's always going
43:31to do that
43:32because that's
43:32why he came.
43:34And the blood
43:34of Jesus
43:34is powerful
43:35and able to
43:36cleanse us
43:37from all
43:37unrighteousness.
43:40And so
43:40a few thoughts
43:41on how we behave
43:42in the church of God.
43:44It comes to
43:45practical matters
43:45think about
43:47other people
43:48care for them
43:49sometimes you have
43:50a problem here
43:51with space limited
43:52good if you can
43:54come on time
43:54because that
43:55helps us to get
43:56things in order.
43:57I know sometimes
43:58there are problems
43:58but if we can
44:00start the service
44:01at 11 o'clock
44:02regularly
44:03it's good.
44:07Be helpful
44:08help to move
44:10the chairs around
44:10when we have
44:11the lunches
44:13help the preparation
44:14the outreach
44:14also
44:15take our
44:16leaflets
44:16and distribute
44:17them
44:17all these
44:18things can
44:18do
44:19we work
44:19we need
44:20also to help
44:21one another
44:21in our work
44:23for him
44:23Titus chapter 3
44:25ends with a
44:26word to
44:27learn to
44:27maintain good
44:28works
44:29and meet
44:29urgent needs
44:30that they
44:30may not be
44:31unfruitful
44:31sometimes one
44:33thing we need
44:34to do is let
44:34us know that
44:35there are urgent
44:36needs
44:36and if you
44:37have a real
44:37need
44:38then let us
44:38know and let
44:39us pray for
44:39you and let
44:40us do what
44:40we can to
44:41help in that
44:41need
44:42know that
44:43a lot of
44:43people here
44:43have been
44:44through some
44:44pretty hairy
44:45situations
44:46and need
44:46help in
44:47those situations
44:48but if you
44:49don't let us
44:49know about
44:50them then we
44:50can't do
44:50anything about
44:51it so do
44:52if you have
44:53a need
44:53feel free to
44:54let us
44:55know and
44:56to let the
44:56church pray
44:56for you and
44:57to help you
44:58in that point
44:59and we can
45:00give further
45:01help that's
45:02what we're
45:02here for to
45:03try to help
45:03one another
45:04and to build
45:05one another
45:05up in the
45:06faith
45:06and so
45:10we conclude
45:10just by
45:11rereading the
45:12verses from
45:12timid
45:13titus
45:13which really
45:15sum up what
45:15I've just been
45:16saying
45:16titus chapter 2
45:19the grace of
45:20god that
45:20brings salvation
45:21has appeared
45:21to all men
45:22teaching us
45:23that denying
45:23ungodliness
45:24and worldly
45:24lusts we
45:25should live
45:26soberly
45:26righteously
45:26and godly
45:27in the present
45:27age looking
45:29for the
45:29blessed hope
45:29and glorious
45:30appearing of
45:31our great
45:31god and
45:32saviour
45:32jesus christ
45:33who gave
45:34himself for
45:35us that he
45:35might redeem
45:36us from
45:36every lawless
45:37deed and
45:38purify for
45:38himself his
45:39own special
45:40people zealous
45:41for good
45:41works speak
45:43these things
45:43exhort and
45:44rebuke with
45:44all authority
45:45let no one
45:46despised you
45:46remind them to
45:48be subject to
45:48rulers and
45:49authorities to
45:50obey to be
45:50ready for every
45:51good work to
45:52speak evil of
45:52no one to
45:53be peaceable
45:53gentle showing
45:55all humility
45:55to all men
45:56for we
45:58ourselves were
45:58also once
45:59foolish disobedient
46:00deceived serving
46:01various lusts and
46:02pleasures living in
46:03malice and envy
46:04hateful and
46:05hating one another
46:05when the
46:06kindness and
46:07love of god
46:07our saviour
46:08toward man
46:09appeared not
46:10by works of
46:10righteousness which
46:11we have done but
46:12according to his
46:12mercy he saved
46:13us through the
46:14washing of
46:15regeneration and
46:16renewing of the
46:16holy spirit whom
46:18he poured out on
46:18us abundantly
46:19through jesus
46:20christ our saviour
46:21that having been
46:22justified by his
46:22grace we should
46:23become heirs
46:24according to the
46:25hope of eternal
46:26life so we
46:28washed in the
46:29regeneration being
46:30born again and
46:31the renewing of the
46:32holy spirit we
46:33should live new
46:34lives and serve
46:35god serve one
46:36another love god
46:37and love one
46:37another in jesus
46:38christ amen
46:40lord we do
46:43thank you for
46:43your word we
46:44pray that each
46:44one of us may
46:45be members of
46:47your body may
46:48love you may
46:48love one another
46:49may serve you
46:50may work together
46:52for the kingdom
46:53of god help us
46:55lord to turn from
46:55all the temptations
46:57and the ones
46:59things which the
47:00evil one would
47:00throw in our way
47:01both in terms of
47:03wrong teaching
47:04and wrong
47:04behavior help us
47:06lord to cling to
47:07the truth and to
47:07uphold the truth
47:08and to live our
47:09lives in the light
47:10of the truth revealed
47:11in our lord jesus
47:12christ we pray this
47:13in jesus name amen
47:15amen
47:16amen
47:16amen
47:16amen
47:16amen
47:16amen
47:16amen
47:17amen
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