Read below what John Cole wrote as his manuscript for this sermon. Watch or listen to this sermon on our website and app or YouTube channel. The sermon post on the website and app includes a brief outline to help you follow along and discuss with others.

WHAT MAKES A “GOOD” FIGHT?

It’s not what most think. It’s...
Fighting evil to do good—as defined by God.
Our text calls Christians into a good fight.
It’s not a call to fight people. It’s a call to fight sin.

Our passage is about fighting evil sin as we pursue good godliness by faith in the gospel. It’s about persevering in the fight every day with the return of Christ in view.

The text stresses the need to struggle. To fight. To be steadfast in living out the gospel amidst the remaining presence of sin. In a way that is distinct from those who instead pursue evil. Let’s read it…

1 Timothy 6:11–12 KJV
But thou [Timothy], O man of God,
     flee these things [love of money & accompanying evils]; and
     follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
      Fight the good fight of [the] faith,
     lay hold on eternal life,
         whereunto thou art also called, and
         hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Brothers and sisters, we are called into a fight. Every Christian is.

If you’re not yet a follower of Christ, you’re in a fight too. But you’re on the losing side. Until you gladly receive the gospel, turn from sin, and trust in the crucified and risen Christ, you are sided against God and His good kingdom. Please trust in Christ today. Join the fight against sin.

The eternal Son of God came as the God-man—Jesus—to defeat sin, Satan, and death through His sinless life, substitutionary death, and victorious resurrection. All who repent from sin and trust in Christ are forgiven of sins and redeemed from death into eternal life.

Come have victory in Jesus. Follow Christ in the fight against sin until He returns to judge sin and remove it from earth. But know this, the fight demands perseverance. It is not easy. It is endless until we see Jesus face to face.

The only alternative? Being on the losing side of sin. And being judged with it. Instead, follow Christ. Fight the sin He has defeated. Live the eternal life God alone gives.

 Eternal life  is a gift of God.  Living it out  is a fight. A fight  won by Christ .

God’s gift of eternal life contains within it the ability to persevere. To fight as Jesus. We are called to follow Jesus in enduring temptation, crushing sin, and pleasing the Father,

What does this look like? Paul urges Timothy to live out this call of life and ministry with four imperatives: flee, follow, fight, and lay hold—or fasten.

1) FLEE WHAT  PIERCES  YOU.

Speaking of piercing, how many of us here can’t stand getting shots? I searched and found this account from one nurse on Reddit:

“Had a family come in for their kid's flu shot. Kid was about 4 or so. I was about to give the shot and her parents were getting her to look away from the shot so she wouldn't be scared. Right as I got the needle in, she whipped her head around and stone cold stared at her shoulder. No fear.”

Fearless girl. But you don’t want to do that with temptation. Staring at it leads to entertaining it. That leads to being overtaken by it. Soon, you’re piercing yourself through with many sorrows—like we saw in the text before this.

Paul says to run from it.

1 Timothy 6:10–11 KJV
10 For the love of money is the [a] root of all evil[s]: which while some coveted [aspired] after, they have erred [been misled] from the faith [the gospel], and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things…

Flee! “But thou.” That’s not you! Instead Timothy, you’re what God called Moses, David, Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha—a man of God!

Men of God are not to entertain sin. Represent God instead. Aspiring after sin will mislead you away from the gospel—at least for a time. Time spent away from the faith.

We spent more time on this warning in last Sunday’s sermon. You can listen to it on rhbaptist.com or our app. But for now, let’s ask ourselves…

Q: From what do you need to flee? What must you stop entertaining?

Remember that brave little girl who stared down her flu shot? That’s all fine. But don’t down stare down sin.

Sin that leads to death starts with giving it attention. The moment sinful thoughts, sights, or circumstances come your way, dart! Or it will pursue you.

Literally, get up. Look away. Bury your mind in scripture. Call and confess to a godly friend. Go for a walk and pray. Ask God for the strength to flee. To forgive and cleanse you. To renew your mind.

Run as soon as sin enters your mind, sight, ears, or proximity.
•Stop entertaining envious thoughts. Pray for her good!
•Forget the idea of going back to that addictive sin. That’s not you anymore!
•Don’t encourage that person to immodestly show off his or her body. Look away!
•Quit daydreaming about self indulgence. Look for a way to give and serve!
•Quiet that gossip! Stop and pray for the person.
•Overcome anxieties. Cast your care on the Lord!
•Halt Satan’s false accusations. Believe the gospel!

2) FOLLOW AFTER  THE GOAL .

10,000 Sermon Illustrations Wheelbarrows
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev used to tell of a time when there was a wave of petty theft in the Soviet Union. So they put up guards around the factories. At one timber works in Leningrad, the guard knew the workers in the factory very well. The first evening, out came Pyotr Petrovich with a wheelbarrow and, on the wheelbarrow, a great bulky sack with a suspicious-looking object inside.
  “All right, Petrovich,” said the guard, “what have you got there?”
  “Oh, just sawdust and shavings,” Petrovich replied.
  “Come on,” the guard said, “I wasn’t born yesterday. Tip it out.” And out came nothing but sawdust and shavings. So he was allowed to put it all back again and go home. When the same thing happened every night of the week the guard became frustrated. Finally, his curiosity overcame his frustration.
  “Petrovich,” he said, “I know you. Tell me what you’re smuggling out of here, and I’ll let you go.”
  “Wheelbarrows, my friend, “ said Petrovich, “wheelbarrows.”
  Quoted in The Devil’s Gauntlet, Os Guiness

The guard was distracted by the saw dust and missed the obvious wheelbarrow. We must not lose sight of the obvious goal of the Christian: Christ.

Paul says, Flee sin and follow after Christlikeness.

1 Timothy 6:11 KJV
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

Being a follower of Christ is more than fleeing sin. It’s following Christ.

While Christ is far greater than a list of virtues, these virtues are given for us to pursue as we follow Christ. Knowing, obeying, and imaging Christ is the goal. These virtues are part of what it looks like to live it out. Let’s consider each one.

• righteousness—uprightness & justice

When we follow Christ, we pursue upright living—not just what we can get by with.

No rigged scales to cheat payments. Be just in all your dealings.

To follow Christ is to follow after uprightness before God and justice with others.

• godliness—a proper response to God & His word

Chapter three said Godliness is believing and following Jesus—God’s great plan for heaven and earth. It’s a response of faith.

• faith—trust in God & His gospel

Faith is believing God and what He has said. It’s necessary for godliness.

Faith is more than an acceptance of God. It is dependence on Him. Allegiance to Him. It’s a new heart that lives for God and His gospel.

• love—deeds & affections that put God & others first

True love worships God and helps others do the same. It doesn’t affirm sin that destroys or exalt idols that defile. It doesn’t put self first or God last. You don’t fall in and out of it.

Let the Bible renovate your definition of love! And this calls for…

• patience—perseverance and steadfast endurance

Patience? Who has time for that! The Bible is filled with calls to patience. Perseverance. Endurance. Waiting. Continuing. Abiding. We’re to grow in it through Christian experience and maturity.

Why is patience so unnatural? It relinquishes control to God. It endures hardship when you can’t see how long you have to.

We’re called to persevere in following after Christlikeness—even though we can’t control much of the road along the way.

• meekness—gentleness, humility, & controlled strength

Blessed are the meek. The meek don’t have to prove themselves. They don’t have to one-up others. Their confidence and value is in Christ, not self.

When Jesus described His heart, He said He is meek or gentle and lowly (Mt 11:29). The One who spoke into existence photons, atoms, energy, and all the universe. All the energy the greatest minds of our day are trying to harness. It all came from Him. And yet, He stepped into history in obscurity before changing it for all eternity.

God the Son became the God-man. He served the humanity He created to image Him. He let them falsely accuse Him. Beat Him. Scoff and crucify Him. And He prayed on the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Jesus called the “common sinner” to repentance and faith in the gospel with gentleness, humility, and meekness. He touched the leper. Held the child. Talked with the adulterous woman. Rescued the demoniac. And taught multitudes of sinners about the gospel of His kingdom.

Jesus’ half-brother caught it. James wrote this in his punchy letter to show meekness that comes from God’s wisdom.

•Are you strong? Good, be gentle!
•Knowledgable? Great, listen.
•Upright? Wonderful, don’t act shocked when someone confesses sin.
•Did something good? Praise God! Let it go unnoticed unless God chooses to make it known.
•Bothered by someone? Breathe. Pray. And remember how God is slow to wrath .

How humbly do you follow Christ?

Don’t be like that guard who missed the obvious wheelbarrow. Follow after the obvious calling of the Christian life: Christ!

Q: Have you lost sight of the goal? What are your eyes fixed on?

We don’t become more Christlike by staring at the world! Christ is the goal. Fix your eyes on Him! Follow after Him! Preach Him. Reflect Him. Love Him. Be more and more like Him.

Like the husband and wife who mirror each other. They’ve stared at one another so long, it’s as if they started copying each other in how they age.

Let’s flee what pierces us—sin.
And follow after the goal—Christ.
As we do, we…

3) FIGHT THE  GOSPEL  FIGHT.

Not every fight is worth fighting. Not every fight is a good fight.

10,000 Sermon Illustrations Penalty Box
Stan Mikita, a professional hockey star, used to get into a lot of fights during games. He stopped when his eight-year-old daughter asked a very grown-up question: “How can you score goals when you’re always in the penalty box, Daddy?”
  Bits and Pieces, July, 1990, p. 19

What’s something good you have fought hard for? Christians fight the good fight of faith.

1 Timothy 6:12 KJV
Fight the good fight of [the] faith…

You might consider yourself a “draftee”. Instead of Uncle Sam, you’ve been called by God. Into a good fight.

Brothers and sisters, it is vital we understand this. Otherwise, we may think “real” Christians don’t struggle at living according to the gospel. They have no sin to flee. They always perfectly follow. It’s a breeze.

That’s not how it works. Yes, Christians have new desires from the indwelling Holy Spirit. But also, they have old desires from the remaining indwelling sin. Day by day, the Christian must consider as dead those old sinful ways and “put on” Christ. We must fight.

I like the old hymn, “Am I a Solider of the Cross”.      
      Am I a soldier of the cross A foll'wer of the Lamb
And shall I fear to own His cause Or blush to speak His Name
     Must I be carried to the skies On flow'ry beds of ease
While others fought to win the prize And sailed through bloody seas
     Sure I must fight if I would reign Increase my courage Lord
I'll bear the toil endure the pain Supported by Thy Word

Q: Do you think you’re the only one who struggles with following Jesus? Are you trying to do it alone?

There’s some fights that aren’t worth fighting. Some just keep you in the penalty box.

But fighting to live out the gospel is a good fight. It’s one we are called to do together. That’s so much of what it means to be a member of a local church. Fight the good fight of the faith together!

It’s like we are in one army that fills heaven and earth. God has assigned us to a particular company and unit—our local church.

We help, protect, and support the brothers and sisters next to us. We confess and flee sin together. We follow after Christ and Christlikeness together. We fight the good fight together. And we hold on together.

4) FASTEN ONTO YOUR ETERNAL  CALL  &  PROFESSION .

A few years back, I pulled the family around on a tube with a pontoon boat. Martha was on a tube. She held on to that tube with all her might—and we hadn’t even moved yet!

In an attempt to be gentle, I pulled forward very slowly. Bad idea. The slow pull failed to tug the rope up high, so the front of the tube went down. Water flowed into the tube. And Martha went down…

Thankfully, all she had to do was put her feet down and stand in the water. But she instead just held on to her life jacket with all her life!

Paul said finally,

1 Timothy 6:12 KJV
…lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

“Lay hold” here includes the idea of grabbing with violence. Grab what? What you already have. The eternal life that God has called you into according to your profession.

Eternal life is a gift of God. It was paid for by Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. It is given through the Holy Spirit’s internal call as the external call of the gospel is preached. And those who receive the call through faith profess this profession.

Christians make our profession before many witnesses. Specifically, we make this profession before the witness of the church. We do this through baptism.

Elements of this verse and the following verses are found in many of the confessions made at baptisms in the early church. Paul says to Timothy: fasten on. Lay hold onto the eternal life you have. The eternal live you have professed among the church. Back when you were baptized.

But don’t just profess it. Live it! Live out your profession! Follow after the good of righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and meekness. Know you are forgiven of sins through Christ’s substitutionary work. Rejoice in your calling to salvation and Christlikeness! Give yourself to it wholly.

Brother and sisters, we must remember that eternal life begins at conversion, not death or the resurrection! Once you hear and respond to the gospel call with repentance from sin and faith in Christ, you have eternal life!

True, eternal life will be more fully realized at the resurrection. But if you are truly a Christian, you have eternal life now. And you are called to lay hold of it. Give witness of it. Live according to it. Enjoy it now.

It’s like Martha on the tube out in the middle of the bay. It was her tube! We were not taking it away. If she fell off, we would stop for her to get back on. We would not let Martha lose the tube. But she still had to lay hold of the tube to enjoy the ride!

Or, she could lay hold of what she really enjoyed… driving! Look at that beautiful smile. Driving is her happy place.

From that seat, she gave opportunity for others to lay hold and fasten onto the tube! And that she did.

Just look at David having a blast holding on to that tube. That little guy was loving it. He was fastened on.

Q: Are you holding fast to your calling in Christ? Are you enjoying eternal life now?

Remember—Becoming a Christian is a gift of God’s grace. Being a Christian is living out God’s gift of grace.

The fight of the faith is not just a fight. It’s a good fight! It’s a fight to be in. Not just a fight to escape. The good fight is a part of the eternal life into which every Christian is called.

So lay hold to it. Fasten on to your eternal call and profession. You have no greater calling in this life.

Fight and hold on, knowing you will give account to the Lord Jesus Christ at His return. As Christ was faithful in His witness, you too must follow in His faithful witness. This is your calling. Persevere in it. Hold on.

Paul makes this point in the verses where we will be next week—Easter Sunday. It’s about the resurrected Lord who will return.

1 Timothy 6:14 KJV
…keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:

SERMON IN A SENTENCE: God’s call to faith in the gospel is a call to continually  flee evil and pursue good  until you  see Jesus face-to-face.

•It’s a good fight.
•It demands fleeing what pierces you—sin.
•It requires following after the goal—Christ and Christlikeness.
•It’s a fight of the faith—the gospel.
•So fasten onto your eternal calling according to the profession you have made.

And if you have never responded to the gospel with repentance from sin and faith in Jesus… if you have never made a profession of receiving eternal life before the church through baptism… what is preventing you?

Remember,  don’t be on the losing side. The side of sin, Satan, and death. Receive Christ as your Savior and Lord. Be saved! And be changed. Join Christ’s church in this good, victorious fight.

God’s call to faith in the gospel is a call to continually flee evil and pursue good until you see Jesus face-to-face.

Read below what John Cole wrote as his manuscript for this sermon. Watch or listen to this sermon on our website, app, and YouTube channel. The sermon post on the website and app includes a brief outline to help you follow along and discuss with others.

A CLOSE ENEMY

We have a close enemy. Today’s scripture passage tells of an enemy who wants to destroy us and pierce us through with many sorrows. And until Christ returns, there’s no fully escaping this enemy on earth.
This enemy is a hunter who sets traps. It looks for opportunities to make you fall. And if you do, it will plunge you into destruction and ruin.
No need to look around with wonder where this enemy is. It’s always around. It resides in our hearts. It’s the indwelling presence of sin. And it often presents itself as discontentment. As a heart that is set on money and things money can buy.

We have a close enemy. The only victory over it comes through faith in the gospel. Actually, faith in the gospel is what it attacks. Love of money attacks faith in the gospel.

Do you love money?

We must all ask ourselves this question today. It’s more difficult to answer than we might think. So I’ll ask it another way. Our text also stirs us to ask:

Are you content with what you have?

That’s challenging to answer, isn’t it? Do you have food and covering today? What beyond those is your heart currently set on? What else can’t you stop thinking about? What else would you love to have?

How do you preach and hear a sermon about loving money in the DC area? Isn’t society here largely wound up around money, economy, government, and jobs?
Worse… I started planning a family vacation just as I began working on sermons in this chapter! Family, get ready to back-pack it this year! We’re always thrifty with our vacations, but this year we’re setting records!
We’re in the heart of the USA. We have so much. And we pay lots of taxes for it! But we have so much. And yet, we still want more. If you could, what more would you like to have?

• To be able to keep up with your bills? For your DHS job and pay to re-open? To pay off that loan?
• A certain amount in the bank and investments? Better healthcare or insurance? College or trade school funds for your kids. A house?
• Maybe just an addition to your house? A vacation you see others going on?
• A home update. Nicer car. A restaurant budget. The latest gadget. That thing your friend bought—whatever that is!
• Maybe it’s a degree. Or just higher social status. Power. Pleasure. Travel and leisure. Freedom and comfort!

I could go on, but I’m afraid I’ll never get your mind back to the sermon.

I’ve titled the sermon: The Great Gain of Godliness with Contentment. We’ll be in 1 Timothy 6:6-10, but we need to begin by reading v3-5 from two weeks ago.

A church in Ephesus during the first century had been plagued by greedy false teachers. They tried to use their false claim of godliness to gain power, wealth, and pleasure. They even misused the name of God to climb the social ladder.

So, Apostle Paul wrote by the Holy Spirit this instructive letter to his representative, Timothy, and to the church. As he confronted the false teaching and living that did not accord with the gospel, he wrote…

1 Timothy 6:3–10 KJV
3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;

4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting [sickeningly obsessing] about questions [controversial disputes] and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings [slander], evil surmisings [suspicions], 5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt[ed] minds, and destitute [robbed] of the truth,

supposing that gain is [something to be grasped by] godliness: from such withdraw thyself.  

These false teachers supposed that godliness was a means of gaining possessions, power, and pleasure. Paul counters them by saying that godliness actually brings great gain. Gain that is eternal—as said in chapter four. And…true godliness includes contentment.

Such true godliness is great gain now and in the age to come. So, now our text of v6-10.

1 Timothy 6:3–10 KJV
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
     7 For we brought nothing into this world,
         and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
     8 And having food and raiment [covering]
          let us be therewith content.  

1 Timothy 6:3–10 KJV
9 But they that will [set their heart to] be rich fall
     into temptation and a snare, and
     into many foolish and hurtful lusts [cravings],
          which drown men in destruction and perdition [perishing].

1 Timothy 6:3–10 KJV
     10 For the love of money is the [a] root of all evil[s]:
          which while some coveted [aspired] after,
               they have erred [been misled] from the faith, and
               pierced [impaled] themselves through with many sorrows [pains].

Now with this context, let’s apply our text with four sharp directives. Whether you are a young adult trying to establish your home and income… or you’ve been through all that but still not where you hoped to be… or you’re done with all that but trying to figure out how to make your
golden years” golden…

1) KEEP AN  ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE  OF YOUR GODLINESS AND POSSESSIONS. (v6-8)

How many possessions did you bring into the world? How much will you take with you to the presence of God and the new heavens and earth? You brought nothing in. You’ll bring nothing out.

What does that say about the importance of what you collect during the short dash that will go on your tombstone? Godliness matters. Knowing and loving God. Believing and living according to His gospel.

Paul by the Spirit says this eternal perspective…

1 Timothy 4:8 KJV
…godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

Godliness goes with you. That’s the point Paul makes. So, Paul’s wise statement in verse six builds on the wisdom God has already given well before Paul’s time.

Consider: Job 1:21; Ecclesiastes 5:15
Job 1:21 KJV
And [Job] said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return thither: The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.

The older, wealthy King Solomon wrote…

Ecclesiastes 5:15 KJV
As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.

We bring nothing into this world. We take nothing out. That is the basis of Paul’s powerful statement of our text…

1 Timothy 6:3–10 KJV
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
     7 For we brought nothing into this world,
         and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
     8 And having food and raiment [covering]
          let us be therewith content.  

Paul says if you have your basic necessities, be content. Even if you have little of them and sometimes hunger, be content. Because godliness with contentment is great gain now and in the age to come.

Wisdom of the world tells us to do all we can now to ensure we can be content later. If we follow that advice, we spend all our vibrant years discontent. And then we remain discontent in our older years because they don’t end up the way we anticipated.

Life in this fallen world has a way of undermining our ideals.

Wisdom of God tells us to be content now with whatever God has given us. Be diligent. Have goals. But at the same time, be content with what you have. Do both.

Through faith in the Lord and His gospel, we joyfully steward our years with contentment.

Contentment is not a call to be lazy, apathetic, or without goals in life. It means to be at peace with the results of our labor and the possessions we have while we pursue godliness. While we diligently steward what God entrusts us. While we work hard in the home, at the job, and in ministry as a church.

We are called to contentment! Not anxiety, envy, or greed about what we do and do not have

Paul’s instruction sounds like some of the classical Greek philosophy and common ascetic dogma of his day. Paul even used the same Greek word they used for contentment. But, Paul’s instruction was much different.

We know this because Paul employed that same Greek word two other times in the NT:
Same Greek root word for “contentment”: 2 Corinthians 9:8; Philippians 4:11
2 Corinthians 9:7–8 KJV
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

So Paul’s godly understanding of contentment included sufficiency—and even abundance! Paul assured this church in Corinth that God was able to give them sufficient grace for them to be abundant in their service and their giving.

Biblical contentment includes having a resolve to do more. But the resolve is always centered on God and His gospel. Whether the context is establishing a vocation, building a business, caring for family members, or giving to your church.

It’s not about how much you have. It’s about where you have set your heart.

See how Paul uses “content” in Philippians.

Philippians 4:11–13 KJV
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Godliness with contentment has Christ and His gospel as the chief goal. With Christ as the goal, Christ gives the enablement to be content in all things. Whatever we are going through!

Christ doesn’t strengthen us to do all things. That’s puling the statement out of context. There are many things He would never strengthen us to do. But Christ will strengthen us to have the contentment needed to keep Him and His gospel as the goal through all circumstances—times of plenty and times of little.

Godly contentment still receives with thanksgiving many good gifts God does give—without denying them. But, godly contentment depends on God’s gift of the Spirit to be content. It is an empowerment that comes from Christ.

Greek philosophy and asceticism of Paul’s day and today’s self help advice know nothing about depending on God’s Spirit to have contentment. If they teach contentment, they teach you to achieve contentment by your own power, by drugs, or by some other power than God!

But godliness with contentment only comes from dependent trust in the Lord. It maintains an eternal perspective on our possessions.

Do you have this power from the Lord to be content in all things? Have you been born again? The strength Paul is talking about is the same power by which Jesus was raised from the dead. It is the power of God.

If you are not yet a Christian, you do not have this strength from the Lord. But you can become a Christian. Jesus calls all to hear the good news that He died for the sins of all who repent and believe on Him. He rose to give them life eternal—and godliness with contentment.

Will you confess your sin to God? Will you turn from it with faith in Jesus to save and make you godly? There is great gain in doing so.

1 Timothy 6:3–10 KJV
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
     7 For we brought nothing into this world,
         and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
     8 And having food and raiment [covering]
          let us be therewith content.  

Godliness has higher goals than material possessions, power, or pleasure gained by money. Godliness has a heart set on God’s great plan for all heaven and earth—Jesus.

There is no lasting gain in heaping up possessions. Neither is there lasting gain in trusting in one’s ability to stoically deny possessions. But there is great gain in trusting in God and His gospel for the right use of possessions.

Trust in the Lord enables contentment: Hebrews 13:5.
Hebrews 13:5 KJV
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

If you have the Lord, you have more than any money can buy. Being in fellowship with the Lord enables us to have contentment with such things as we have. And…

Living for the gospel enables contentment: Mark 8:35-36.
Mark 8:35–36 KJV
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

See? Contentment is about believing the gospel—truly. Not just professing to believe it. If you believe the gospel, you have the ability from Christ to be content while also working hard losing your life in the gospel!

Consider some quick principles to help you keep an eternal perspective of your godliness and possessions:

• Whatever you have is more than what you brought or can take with you.
• You are always a recipient. God is always the giver.
• If you trust God with your eternity (though you bring no possessions into it), trust Him with your needs today.
• Godliness with contentment is gain that goes with you.

Remember how I asked what you are trying to collect during the short dash that will go on your tombstone?

Godliness with contentment is great gain now and eternally.

Q: Are you more concerned with obtaining possessions than with being godly?

1) KEEP AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE OF YOUR GODLINESS AND POSSESSIONS. (v6-8)
2) GUARD FROM BEING  OVERTAKEN  WITH  DESTRUCTIVE AMBITIONS . (v9)

Think with me about the many cautionary examples God has recorded for us in the Bible.
The Bible begins with the first man and woman—Adam and Eve. They set their hearts on more than God had given them. In doing so, they stepped right into Satan’s trap. And their lust plunged them—and us all—into destruction.
The Bible records of another married couple who was overtaken by their passions—Ananias and Sapphira. They lusted for money and lied to the Holy Spirit. Instead of fearing God, they feared losing the money they loved. They set their hearts on being rich and fell into temptation and the trap. And then they literally fell over dead. You can read about it in Acts 5.

These are just two examples from a history filled with more of what we read next.

1 Timothy 6:3–10 KJV
9 But they that will [set their heart to] be rich fall
     into temptation and a snare, and
     into many foolish and hurtful lusts [cravings],
          which drown men in destruction and perdition [perishing].

This is the opposite of godliness with contentment. It is discontentment in place of godliness. It is a heart set on gaining what God has not given you as more important than God and His gospel.

Riches are not bad. Instruction for Christians who are rich is actually given near the end of this chapter. Riches do not cause a fall into temptation, snare, and destructive lusts. A heart set on riches does. A heart that desires temporary treasures over God and His gospel.

The heart that is set on being rich is misled to think other things are more important than God and His gospel. That person may may say God is more important, but his actions follow where his heart is truly set—on temporary gain.

Such a heart posture is positioned to fall into a temptation and snare.

[Grab chair prop]
It’s like it is standing up on a chair with one foot and on tip toes with arms reaching up as high as possible. Just hoping to grasp at more possessions. To be rich.

And then the fall into a temptation and snare. And once in the trap, you give yourself over to many foolish and hurtful lusts. And those lusts plunge you into destruction and perishing. Loss and even eternal judgment.

A heart set on riches is not a fruit of the Spirit. It is the fruit of the sinful flesh. And that is why it characterizes these false teachers. They misused the law, taught what they did not understand, usurped biblical authority, valued their ways over true godliness, and were filled with pride and sickly strifes, envy, and evil suspicions.

They were sinners, but unlike Paul, they did not confess it. Unlike Paul, they were not overwhelmed by the mercy and grace of our Lord with faith and love that is in Jesus Christ. They did not truly believe that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners and that He is the risen King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God.

They professed to believe, but they didn’t. They were unrepentant. Not submitted. Unbelieving. They were perishing. Here’s what they did:

Desire to be rich—>fall/temptation/snare—>many destroying lusts

[Grab chair again]
Always standing up and reaching for what they did not have. Never content with what God has provided. Drowning in lusts.

Like a lot of people in our world. Like how you might have once been. Or how you are now.

Much of the destruction of our world is done by sinners who have their hearts set on being rich and powerful instead of living according to the gospel. Instead of loving and worshiping God with trust in Christ’s salvation.

• Godly desires may diligently steward riches, but godly desires do not seek to be rich.
• A heart set on riches is itself a temptation that snares.
• A heart set on riches leads to a flood of destructive passions.
• Set your heart on Christ and the riches of His grace instead.

Consider the wisdom of God: Proverbs 23:4-5; 28:22; Matthew 6:24
Proverbs 23:4–5 KJV
Labour not to be rich: Cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
Proverbs 28:22 KJV
He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, And considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.
Matthew 6:24 KJV
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Ironically, those who set their heart on riches become mastered by their desires. As Jesus said in Mark 8, they try to gain the whole world but lose their soul.

Q: Is your heart set on riches? How is that going?

1) KEEP AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE OF YOUR GODLINESS AND POSSESSIONS. (v6-8)
2) GUARD FROM BEING OVERTAKEN WITH DESTRUCTIVE AMBITIONS. (v9)
3) UPROOT  GREED  BEFORE IT  MISLEADS  AND  PAINS  YOU. (v10)

It’s spring time! You know what that means? Gotta pull the weeds!
Don’t you hate weeds? They must be part of the curse of sin!When you pull weeds, it is important to pull them up by the roots. You don’t want them growing back.

Our final verse describes the heart set on riches as a root. A root of all evils. Pick an evil, and you can see in some way this root.

1 Timothy 6:3–10 KJV
     10 For the love of money is the [a] root of all evil[s]:
          which while some coveted [aspired] after,
               they have erred [been misled] from the faith, and
               pierced [impaled] themselves through with many sorrows [pains].

Like I said, name an evil, and we can see a way that a love for money can take you to it. It’s a root of all evils. The emphasis of the text is on how catastrophic love of money is. Just let the way the text read land with weight instead of trying to needlessly soften it.

Those who love money aspire for riches. Instead of having good aspirations like for godliness or eldering (chapter 3), they aspire for riches and all the power, pleasure, security, and comfort money can buy.

Again, money is not the problem. The love of it is.

While aspiring after riches, people are misled away from the faith. From the gospel. They choose to aspire for riches. They are deceived away from the gospel as a result.

And then they take another set of actions in their deception. These actions are even more self-destructive. Paul describes them as piercing or impaling themselves through with many sorrows, griefs, and pains.

What sort of pains? The sort that come from:
•Lying, cheating, fraud, and robbery
•Selfishness, slander, division, and hatred
•Injustice, oppression, and unjust wars
•Sales of drugs, pornography, and human trafficking
•Blackmail, back-stabbing, and constant politicking
•Endless stress, anxiety, and distrust

A constant repeat of Adam and Eve… Cain and Able… Ananias and Sapphira. As the psalmist wrote…

Hear the psalmist: Psalm 52:7
Psalm 52:7 KJV
Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; But trusted in the abundance of his riches, And strengthened himself in his wickedness.

If you start calling money or the idea of being rich “my precious”, it’s past time to confess, repent, and turn with trust in God as your strength!

• Uproot aspirations to be rich and ask God instead to give you aspirations for godliness.
• You will be deceived if you love money.
• You will suffer evil pain if you love money.
• Do not be led away from the eternal gospel for vanishing money.

Choose the gospel over vanishing riches. Godliness over power. Love of God and others over love of money.

Make money. Don’t treat it like your maker.
Steward money. Don’t serve it.
Do good in the world with money. Don’t do evil to get money.
Use money out of love for God and His gospel. Don’t love money.

Q: Do you love money? Why?

Is there any good that comes from loving money? It is a root of all evil.
If you sense the love of money taking root in your heart, it’s past time to pull some weeds!

Ask God’s Spirit to help you go to God’s word and people. Pray for the ability to uproot this ungodly love. Ask Christ for the strength and ability to love and obey Him with contentment!

1) KEEP AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE OF YOUR GODLINESS AND POSSESSIONS. (v6-8)
2) GUARD FROM BEING OVERTAKEN WITH DESTRUCTIVE AMBITIONS. (v9)
3) UPROOT GREED BEFORE IT MISLEADS AND PAINS YOU. (v10)
4) SET YOUR HEART ON  KEEPING THE FAITH , NOT  GANING MORE MONEY .

Remember the close enemy? It’s sin in our hearts. Real close! Love of money is the opposite of keeping the faith. It sets traps and misleads away from the faith.

Do not minimize God’s instruction to us. Do not laugh about loving money. It divides homes and wrecks lives.
•Fathers and husbands fail to lead their homes in godliness because of it.
•Family members spend money out of control and derail the focus of the family from the gospel.
•True Christians get misled away from the gospel for a time and cause much destruction on their way back to living out the gospel in church community.
•Non-Christians get misled away from ever coming to faith in the gospel as they give themselves to the love of money and as they see people in the church do the same.

So Paul wrote…

1 Timothy 6:9–10 KJV
But they that will be rich fall… For the love of money…have erred from the faith…

In a place like our DC area, we need reminded about the danger of setting our hearts on riches and loving money.

It’s a trap that keeps trapping. People who are misled by it mislead others by it. It’s an endless cycle of greed.

There is no true, lasting gain in loving money. So…

SERMON IN A SENTENCE:  Seek  godliness with contentment that  goes with you , and  uproot  love of money that  ruins you .

You’ll leave the world in this age the same way you entered it: without any possessions.

You were created by God for a far greater purpose than aspiring for riches and material possessions. Use them, but don’t love them. You were created to know, love, and make known God.

If you are not yet a Christian, ask God to fill your heart with love for Jesus. Turn from loving sin to loving God. Trust in Jesus’s sinless life, substitutionary death, and victorious resurrection as the atonement for your sins. Be saved. Get baptized. Grow as a faithful member of your church.

If you are a Christian, seek godliness with contentment that goes with you. Uproot love of money that ruins you. Godliness with contentment is great gain. It has profit now and in the resurrected life to come.

Don’t fall for Satan’s traps. Don’t be misled away from the faith. Don’t pierce yourself through with many sorrows, griefs, and pains.

Lasting gain is loving God and being loved by Him. Brothers and sisters, God is our inheritance. Are you content with God?

Have goals. Steward wisely. Work diligently. But don’t love money. Love God.

And go tell others about: The Great Gain of Godliness with Contentment.

Read below what John Cole wrote as his manuscript for this sermon. Watch or listen to this sermon on our website, app, and YouTube channel. The sermon post on the website and app includes a brief outline to help you follow along and discuss with others.

SO MUCH PAIN IN THE WORLD

Have you ever wondered if God cares about your health and hurting? The world is full of pain. Why?

We live in a sin-cursed world. And it is our doing.

We have earned God’s just judgment for our sin against Him and for our sin against His very good design for us. We have twisted God’s good creation by our own doing.

We presently live in a world of both immense good and corrupting evil. It will not always be this way. Christ will return and remove the stain of sin in all the world. But it’s here now. It’s here in such forms as illness, childlessness, abandonment, natural disasters, oppressive regimes, and death.

You and I feel the effects of sin all the time. They ache. They make us cry. While they serve to constantly alert us to our need of God’s salvation in Christ, the effects of sin themselves are not good. They are evil. They are reason for much grief, pain, and sorrow.

It is right to hate illness, disease, and all the effects of being in a sin-cursed world—and the effects of our own indwelling sin. We are never to just shrug off the evil effects of sin or to tell others “just suck it up” or “everything works out!”.  We also shouldn’t merely say, “God works all things for good.”

True, God works all things for the good of conforming His people to the image of His Son. That’s not what people usually mean. But even the truth that God works all things for this good will must be filled out with other biblical truth that the effects of sin themselves are not good.

So, we are also called to grieve with one another as we persevere in the will of God through these enemies of good. We are to aid one another through them. We are to make good stewardship choices that  push back these effects of sin in the world.

Yes, God works these evils for the good of conforming His people into the image of His Son, but these harmful things are not themselves good. We know this because God’s eternal plan for His redeemed people eventually overcomes and casts out all such evil.

God has a better plan for us. It’s the gospel. And we’ll get to that in the end of the sermon today. The gospel is the basis for all our faith and understanding of God and His revealed plan for us.

But for now, let’s learn from one easily-overlooked parenthesis—imperative!—in 1 Timothy. Let’s hear and obey this instruction to help us push back the temporary evil results of sin in the world that affect our health.

While the gospel is the ultimate answer to what comes up in our text, our stewardship of the gospel gives us abundant reason to heed the instruction found here. To take good care of our health. Because Your Health & Hurting Matter to God.

If you think you might ever face a health challenge… or if you want to invest in your health… and you want to do this as a Christian… You’ll want to listen well to today’ sermon.

Our text reads…

1 Timothy 5:23
Drink no longer water,
     but use a little wine
          for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.

You might ask, how does this square with the qualification of “not being given to much wine” in chapter three? I am going to summarize a little of what I shared when I preached that text and also add some elements that help us understand this instructive command.

It had become common practice in Rome for water to be mixed with wine for normal drinking purposes. The combination had very low alcohol content. You had to be given to much of it to become drunk.

Wine was often diluted to well under under 1% alcoholic content and sometimes up to 3-5%. It was safer to drink than plain water, and it made it taste much better. Ever drunk bad tasting water? Water is a great source of both life and illness in the world—depending on what is contained in it!

They didn’t understand the antimicrobial properties of wine, such as the contained ethanol, organic acids, and pH levels, but the positive effects and taste of the mixture was enough for them.

In that time, what was considered to be strong drink likely ranged from 3% to 11% alcohol—sometimes a little more. A person who drank undiluted wine was often thought of as barbarous and gluttonous—by the Romans! According to the Greek historian of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, Athenaeus, they even mixed water with wine at a 1:1 ration for heavy parties!

According to the World History Encyclopedia, The University of Chicago Encyclopedia of Romana, and ancient texts, the Romans and the Ancient Near East people would at dilute their wine to a 3:1, 3:2, or 4:1 ratio for standard drinking. Even “strong drink” was diluted to a 2:1 or 1:1 ratio. The Roman soldiers drank sour wine (or vinegar) at a dilution rate of 10:1 or 20:1. Cheap, soured wine was far cheaper than the fuel necessary for boiling all their water.

And unless they were in the more elite class of society, the people usually referred to the soured wine or vinegar just as wine. Why? Because the cheaper wines had been soured. Once bottles were opened, the souring process began.

One Sumerian proverb warns: “He who drinks wine undiluted will fall like a log.”

And a proverb in scripture says,

Proverbs 23:31
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, When it giveth his colour in the cup, When it moveth itself aright.

This might help us better understand what it means to not give ourselves much to wine!

So, it would be irresponsible to turn this passage into a justification for “being given to much wine” or drinking highly concentrated alcoholic beverages that accord with modern gluttonous practices of our world. Today, beers often contain 5%, wines 9-20% (higher than their “strong drink”), and hard liquors 40-50% or higher due to the distillation process that did not become known until after the middle ages.

In the first century, you usually would have had to be long with wine in order to get drunk. Not so much today. We live in a day in which some of the poor can be as gluttonous as unwise royal families once were!

So all that said,
Paul was advising Timothy to utilize common practices of their day to drink more pure water or low-alcoholic wine that would be better for his health. Paul was not recommending Timothy go get drunk at home or in social events.

Now why would Timothy need to be told to include wine with his drinking, and why did Paul insert this instruction right here?

Well, Paul had just told Timothy to “keep yourself pure.” It must have made him think of this. False teachers were promoting ascetic, legalistic practices of forbidding things God has created. They restricted people from rightly and properly using things God created with thanksgiving.

Timothy might have stopped the common practice of adding wine or vinegar to his water, and as a result, he was frequently sick from less pure water. He probably let their ascetic legalism become a yoke to his liberty.

Paul by the Spirit advised Timothy to utilize this common grace of God and drink treated, more pure water instead of drinking water that kept making him ill. Don’t drink water only. Include some wine in it to purify the water—and health.

Paul’s instruction was not a license for drunkenness. It was liberty to use God’s good creation for good and proper purposes.

Like how you might take NyQuil or some other medication. Or like how chlorine is used to purify water today, but you wouldn’t want to drink a high concentration of chlorine!

Paul instructed Timothy to be a good steward. “Use what God provided to take care of your health. Don’t let ascetic, legalistic false teaching wrongly bind your conscience.”

Today, Paul might say, “Don’t let a false teaching ‘word of faith’ doctrine make you think you can’t talk about illness and treat it medicinally.” As though sickness is something to overcome with your faith. As though you have to deny and rebuke your sickness instead of treating it through the common grace God has given in creation—medicinally.

Paul’s words are consistent with what was given by God a thousand years prior in Proverbs 31…

Proverbs 31:4–7
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; Nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, And pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, And wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, And remember his misery no more.

Alcohol in one of its proper uses is similar to the way hospitals administer palliative care with drugs today. Rather than dying in extreme pain, the pain is dulled.

So historical good use of alcohol was for things like providing a good diluted drink, purifying water, or dulling pain on your death bed.

With that background and understanding of our text, let’s consider seven applications of this instruction.

1) GOD HAS CREATED MANY COMMON GRACES FOR US TO  USE FOR OUR GOOD  AND  RECEIVE WITH THANKSGIVING .

Ever been frustrated because someone did not properly thank you for something? Think about how many things go unthanked that God has given and does give.

Our text along with the beginning of chapter four highlights this truth. Even in this sin-cursed world, God has sustained within it many common graces that are for all our good.

Whether it be materials to construct buildings, fossils for fuel, electrical energy to be harnessed and used, silicon and math for technology, or chemical substances and compounds for many forms of medicine… God has filled our earth with vast resources to be used for our good and His glory.

The right use of them puts on display the wisdom, power, and provision of our God! As Paul wrote in chapter four…

1 Timothy 4:4
For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

Receiving with thanksgiving helps us and others worship and honor God.

Revelation 4:11
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure [by your good will] they are and were created.

God is worthy of receiving glory from all His creation. And God’s first commission to humanity was to do this by exercising dominion over the rest of His creation on earth.

Genesis 1:27–28
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

With this trust that God created all things in the natural world for us to receive and exercise dominion over… and that He did this as a sharing and displaying of His glory for our good… we as Christians are to exercise dominion over the world out of faith, not fear. With thanksgiving, not denial.

This involves wise ingenuity. We do not fear every new discovery or development in the world. We are not to be constantly suspicious of new technologies—whether it be wheels, iron, concrete, trains, cars, planes, HVAC, computers, medicines, or robots.

Newer technology is certainly getting more complicated. Ethical and moral implications have to be considered.

But like with weapons, they may be used for good or evil. The fact that unbelievers in the world discover or develop something does not make it bad. If it can be used to make known God’s glory and do us good in the will of God, we have the liberty to use it with thanksgiving. But not to abuse it.

Q: What common grace have you thanked God for lately?

And that leads to our second application.

2) MEDICINE, HEALTHCARE, AND INVENTIONS THAT  DO US GOOD  AND  HELP US OBEY GOD  ARE GIFTS FROM GOD THROUGH HIS WORK OF CREATION.

The key is that these things must truly do us godly good and help us obey God. They must neither be a reason to sin nor to become our trust.

Any use of something that makes it a master over us, a god to us, or a device of evil is a sinful misuse.
•Misuse of alcohol neither does us good nor does it help us obey God. Drunkenness is a work of the sinful flesh that is condemned by God.
•Misuse of surgical possibilities to confound genders or to murder either the pre-born or born is an abomination against God’s design of us as His image-bearers.
•Misuse of technology and medical practice to transform and confound what it means to be human is an attempt to change image-bearers of God into an image of our choosing. This is a complex subject and a lot to discern. We need much wisdom, knowledge, and thought to be invested into this topic!
•Misuse of tools or weapons to steel, engage in unjust war, or to oppress society is evil.

I think we all get the idea. Sin does not come inherently from God’s creation, though the effects of sin are seen in creation. Sin itself comes from our hearts. It comes from us giving ourselves over to good and bad desires to be our master to sin and death. See how James says it by the Spirit…

James 1:13–18
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

God gives good gifts, not bad ones. Good gifts in creation. The greatest good gift God gives is the new birth through the preaching of the gospel message.

So, the good and godly use of God’s creation gives God glory and does good to our neighbor. What makes the difference is our stewardship of what God has given us. We must minister as good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God.

1 Peter 4:10
As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Q: Have you considered how many prayers have been answered by God through the development of medicines and technologies?

•Have you given much thought to germ therapy and antisepsis? These turned hospitals from being “houses of death” to places of healing.
•Clean water and sanitation? It has saved billions of lives.
•More access to nutrition through railroads and other transportation?
•How about antibiotics? Insulin? Major vaccines? Medical imaging? Blood transfusions and types?

It is mind-blowing the sort of progress that has been made for our health. These things are gifts of God’s common grace. Check out this graphic by “Our World in Data” who partners with Oxford.

Every country in red had a life expectancy of under 40. (Now keep in mind this number is heavily influenced by the high child mortality rate in these nations.)
•1800 looked bad. About 40% of children died before age 5
•1950 became much better for some countries
•2015 it more than doubled globally—though this does not account for the horrific murder of the unborn through abortions! We must pray and work toward the abolishment of this evil practice.

But keeping God’s common grace in view… In 200 years, the average life expectancy from birth has gone from 30 to 72.

That is reason to praise God! God has given us much good in His creation. Because of how God made humans in His image, we can develop resources from God’s common grace and push back some of the effects of the curse of sin!

God deserves the praise for this! And yet we too often think God only deserves the praise when He spontaneously heals someone through answered prayer.

3) WE MUST NOT  PRESUME UPON GOD  THE PRIORITY OF A  SPONTANEOUS HEALING  OVER HEALING THROUGH MEANS HE HAS PROVIDED IN CREATION.

Do you remember when Satan tried to tempt Jesus to jump off a building and presume God to rescue Him—as said in the Psalms? Presuming upon God to do something when and how we think it should be done is sin. Let’s follow Jesus’s example and not sin.

Notice in our text that Paul said nothing here about praying for God to take away Timothy’s frequent illnesses. That doesn’t mean Paul didn’t pray for Timothy’s health. But, Paul knew God had already supernaturally created some things in the world that could meet Timothy’s need.

God’s provision of healing through His creation is just as much a gift of God as direct healing. Faith is not a superpower for us to tell God how to do what He does. It is a gift of God’s Spirit to trust and obey God. To believe and live according to the gospel.

Consider as an example the strong instruction from James to people in the church who presumed on God with their business and life plans. They probably did this without thought of accountability to God.

Similarly, there’s false supposed “Christian” teaching that suggests if you have enough faith you can declare things into existence and tell God what to do. They say you should deny health illnesses, rebuke them, and claim good health by faith. That’s pretty similar to what James condemned here…

James 4:13–16
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

God’s revealed will is in His word. God’s unrevealed will is not revealed—by definition! We cannot presume to know God’s unrevealed will.

God’s Spirit leads us in the truth of God’s word and gives wisdom for right application of scripture. But, God’s Spirit does not give us the right or ability to presume upon God what is His will.

We are to bring our requests to God in prayer and trust Him with His good answers. Our faith is in God’s goodness, power, and readiness to answer… according to His will.

Q: Can you think of times you have presumed upon God and been ungrateful for His common grace?

If you have been reading with us through the Bible in the group in our app, you may remember what Israel did while going through the wilderness. They complained about the miraculous provision of food God gave them!

A miraculous provision from God will not make your grateful. So, pray and thank God for His many provisions—whether through common grace in creation or through the seemingly more miraculous!

4) WE MUST NOT FEAR OPENLY  SPEAKING THE TRUTH  ABOUT OUR ILLNESSES OR  ADDRESSING THEM DIRECTLY .

Not only did Paul interrupt his flow of thought to directly address this health matter with Timothy, but also, he openly recorded it by the Holy Spirit’s inspiration for all to read through the ages in scripture.

1 Timothy 5:23
…for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.

The Bible does not teach us to be superstitious. We should not be afraid to acknowledge and speak the truth about circumstances. To do so reveals a distrust in God’s sovereign rule and presumes that we know the will of God.

Q: Do you directly pray about and steward circumstances God has given you, or do you ignore or deny them?

5) WE MAY PRAY FOR AND STEWARD  HEALTH OPTIONS  THAT HELP US PUSH BACK THE  DEATHLY EFFECTS  OF OUR SIN-CURSED WORLD.

God works through means, and He gives us gifts to steward. Wise stewardship of the health God gives us is an exercise of godliness if done with faith in God and gratitude toward Him.

Good health is a proper desire and stewardship. John desired and prayed for it on behalf of another believer.

3 John 2
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

Fear of the LORD and wise living is good for our entire person. It doesn’t earn blessing from God. It is a means of blessing from God.

So Proverbs says…

Proverbs 4:20–22
My son, attend to my words; Incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; Keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, And health to all their flesh.

God’s common grace is also a means of good to our entire person, including our health. And when God shines the sun on the evil, those made good in Christ get warm too. When God rains on the wicked, God’s redeemed people drink.

Matthew 5:45
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

So, we can pray for God to gift us with resources, technologies, and medicines that do good for our health—even if God gives them through those who do not do it to make Him known.

And we can wisely steward the resources God has entrusted us to develop resources and make God known to those who do not yet trust in Him.

Q: Do you wisely steward your health with the common grace God has given?

Our health does matter. Christians should eat healthy food. We should exercise and care for our bodies. We should respect the way God designed us and get sleep.  

We should exercise dominion over creation and develop new resources to help us do all this. We should do this as a means of pushing back the effects of sin in the world with faith in the gospel to do this ultimately.

6) WE MUST USE WHAT GOD PROVIDES WITH  SELF-CONTROL  AND IN A WAY THAT  GLORIFIES GOD AND HIS GOSPEL .

Our efforts to invest in good health as Christians is about more than good health. It must be about God and His gospel. We must not do it out of a desperate desire to control everything, fear, or out of a licentious desire for self indulgence and gluttony.

Consider what God says about self-control.

Proverbs 25:16
Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, Lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.

Don’t be a glutton of a good thing! It won’t be good in the end. Or as the wisdom of Ecclesiastes says…

Ecclesiastes 10:16–18
Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.

So whether it be the good of food, medicines, or the gift of intimacy, don’t let it control you! Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the use of their bodies and intimacy that is given to for God’s glory and our good within marriage…

1 Corinthians 6:18–20
Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Q: What is an area in which you need to exercise more self-control for the glory of God and His gospel?

What good gift do you let rule you? Food? Do you need to go to bed earlier? Sugar? Alcohol? Leisure?

God’s Spirit gives God’s people self-control. But He gives more than that too. God’s Spirit gives assurance that all who repent and believe on Christ will be resurrected.

7) GOD’S PROMISE TO  BODILY RESURRECT TO LIFE  ALL WHO REPENT AND BELIEVE ON CHRIST IS THE GREATEST EVIDENCE THAT  GOD CARES ABOUT OUR HEALTH .

We began today by me asking, “Have you ever wondered if God cares about your health and hurting?”

Our greatest source of bad health and hurting is our sin. Jesus came to save His people from their sins. If you repent and believe the gospel, God is saving you from all sin and its effects through the work of Christ  

This final application from thinking on our text says, “Your health and hurting matter to God.” God will not let His people hurt forever. He will raise us into the likeness of His risen Son. On that day, God will give us perfect, glorious health.

The pain of sin will be no more. And all creation awaits the day of our bodily resurrection. Paul wrote by the Holy Spirit this way…

Romans 8:22–23
For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

Can you imagine a day when we have perfect health in the presence of Jesus? No more illness. No more death. This is the sure hope of all who belong to God through Christ’s sinless life, substitutionary death, and bodily resurrection.

Our lasting hope is not in medicine or pure water. It is not in technologies or inventions. Those can be common graces from God that we steward for God’s glory, the advancement of the gospel, and our present good.

But, being saved by grace with the resurrection as our sure future, that’s our hope. And, that is the greatest evidence that God cares our health and hurting.

Present, temporary health is not the greatest evidence that God cares. But, we should steward it with the common grace God provides and pray for it.

Our future resurrection with Christ the greatest evidence that God cares.

So, don’t doubt God if you must presently endure hurting and poor health. Don’t question God’s love and goodness. God cares about your hurt and health. The resurrection says so.

Q: Do you have assurance that God will raise your body to new life when Christ comes?

You and I deserve to die in eternal separation from God. Were it not for God’s saving grace, we all would.

Have you been saved? Do you agree that you deserve to die for your sin?

Jesus died for the sins of all who repent and believe on Him as the risen Savior and Lord. Do you repent when scripture exposes your sin? Do you believe Jesus died for your sins? Have you been born again?

If not yet, please ask God to save you. Right where you are. Turn and follow Jesus! And let us know so we can baptize you as a believing follower of Jesus and member of His church.

SERMON IN A SENTENCE: FROM CREATION TO REDEMPTION TO RESURRECTION, BELIEVERS SHOULD KNOW  YOUR HEALTH AND HURTING MATTER TO GOD .

God in Christ has felt your pain. Jesus has hurt bodily. He got sick. He probably got food poisoning and drank bad water at times.

And then He went to the cross. Why? To save all who repent and believe the gospel from sin, hurting, bad health, death, and God’s just judgment.

So we know our health and hurting matter to God. And we must steward it well to His glory, for the gospel, and for our good.

1 Timothy 5:23
Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.

Your Health & Hurting Matter to God.

INTRODUCTION

During the past two weeks, many Jews observed Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. One drastic difference of their observance from when it was observed in ancient days is that Jerusalem no longer has a temple or temple-sacrifices. So in the place of those, Jews today gather in synagogues and practice prayer, repentance, and forms of charity.

The historically tragic and prophesied desolations and destruction of the Jerusalem temple is precisely what today’s text is about. Parents, in a little bit, I will show some pictures with soldiers and war. No close-up graphics, but the pictures will help us follow the horrible storyline of the Jewish-Roman War in a more rapid pace.

Last week, we looked at verses 14-16, where Jesus instructed His apostles and followers in their generation to:

 UNDERSTAND  &  OBEY  PROPHESY.

Remember, prophesy is not given to decode. It is given to do.
Jesus said…

Mark 13:14–16  
But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains: And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house: And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.

We…

Studied Last Sunday & Wednesday: Luke 21:20-24; Matthew 24:15-16; Daniel 9

You can…

Listen to or read those sermons at rhbaptist.net/sermons.

In these verses, Jesus is instructing His disciples to flee without delay and without return once they see abominations taking place in the temple and armies beginning to approach and surround Jerusalem.

God’s promised, good wrath would come upon Jerusalem and the temple, so obedient followers of Christ must forsake the old temple and covenant to instead represent the everlasting Temple and Covenant into all the world.

Before getting into our text today, let’s hear how Jesus’s prophesy unfolded and how Jesus’s followers were spared by obeying it.

History of the Jewish Wars & Destruction of the Temple
After the death of King Herod Agrippa I in 44 AD as recorded in Acts 12:23, the Jewish people suffered around 20 years of oppressive treatment under the direct rule of a series of Roman procurators (or governors). During this time, aspirations of zealots, revolutionaries, and false messiahs kindled hotter and hotter.

Gessius Florus, the last Roman procurator of Judea, was particularly treacherous towards the Jews. He began ruling in AD 64. Within two years of his rule, the Jewish Revolt and Wars began. Most of what we will cover next took place in 66-70 AD.

To set the flame of zealot fervor into what became the Jewish Revolt and Wars, Governor Florus led a cruel slaughter and pillage of over 3,600 Jews, including those who were Roman citizens and influential upper class. During this, he took gold from the temple treasury and crucified many victims, killing men, women, boys, and girls. After this, he and his troops relocated to Caesarea, making room for zealot fractions to organize more.

The zealots stirred up civil wars throughout Jerusalem, Judea, Galilee, and surrounding areas where Jews lived. Josephus, the Jewish historian who lived through it all, called them “robbers,” and while some modern-day Jewish sources downplay such labels, holding disdain for Josephus as a traitor, the historical record makes clear that the various Jewish zealot groups oppressed their own people, warred against the temple guards and priests, and shed much blood in the temple.

They went so far as to replace the sitting high priest, other priests, the Sanhedrin of 70 members, and temple guards with their own people. The Jewish zealots in fact took over the temple as their fortress as they fought the removed temple personnel and many thousands of civilians.

This civil war was full of undercover spying, betrayal, shifting leadership, murder, oppression, and abominations. The zealots supposedly stood for the kingdom of God, the Messiah, and God’s people, but instead, they stood in the place of God’s kingdom, Messiah, and people. Menahem was killed when he tried to have himself declared as the Messiah.

They were among those who rejected Jesus as the Messiah, and now they tried to bring about their own messianic strength against Rome and all among the Jews who would not join them.

The zealots called the nearby Idumeans to join them in their fight against the citizens of Jerusalem and their rulers. Eventually, even the Idumeans left the fight because they came to realize that they had been brought into an unjust slaughter of civilians.

It seems the Jewish zealots saw themselves as following in the footsteps of the Maccabees, but instead they were just a part of Jesus’s prophesied wars, rumors of wars, persecutions, false messiahs, abominations, and desolations. The non-Christian, Jewish historian, Josephus, who lived through all this said that these zealots were the cause of the abominations, desolations, and destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.

We read that the Jewish rulers had been asking help from Roman senator and governor of Syria, Cestius Gallus, but Gallus put things off until everything got way out of control.

Various zealots and revolutionaries had taken over a number of locations in the region, but especially significant was when they seized the rule of Jerusalem and the temple. The chief among those leading the zealots in Jersualem during this war in the late 60s AD was Eleazar, son of the high priest, Ananias—who was eventually killed under Eleazar’s rule of the zealots.

Possibly the most crafty among the zealots was John of Gischala, who led revolutionaries in Galilee and then served as a sort of spy during this civil war in Jerusalem before rising as a leader among the zealots and then being imprisoned by Rome.

These zealots violently warred against the populace and the temple guards. Blood was shed in the temple. Worshipers died as they brought their sacrifices, and even priests were killed. The zealots then forced the stop of sacrifices that were regularly made on behalf of Caesar—which in effect declared war on Rome.

So, Roman senator and Governor of Syria, Cestius Gallus, determined to set order by coming to Jerusalem with 12 legions of soldiers. They pitched camp just under a mile away from Jerusalem for three days, giving opportunity for people in the city to flee.
And then they advanced into Jerusalem, setting parts on fire and making their way to the temple walls—where they strove for five days with the zealots who had positioned themselves well behind the temple walls an in towers from which they defended themselves.

Then, Cestius took many of his best men to shield themselves from hurling darts and make their way to the gates of the northern quarter. After arriving to the gates with shields above them in defense, these Roman soliders were ready to set fire to the gates and take over the temple triumphantly.

But, suddenly and strangely and as Josephus put it, “without any reason in the world,” Cestius and his soldiers immediately retired from the temple gate and retreated from the city.

Well, the now emboldened Eleazar and zealots followed after the retreating army for 40 miles to as far as Antipatris and destroyed around 6,000 Roman footman and horseman as they hauled their armory away in retreat.

This resulted in several things:

First—The Zealots and people were emboldened to commit themselves to what became known as the 7 years of the 1st Jewish Wars that followed. Really, the war only lasted 3.5 years.

Second—Nero commissioned General Vespasian to punish them for rebelling against Rome. Vespasian began in Galilee and the northern lands in the Fall of AD 67 and continued to take control of Samaria, Judea, Idumea, and all but four strongholds from Jewish zealot control by AD 68.

During that year, Nero committed suicide, Rome went through three emperors, and then Vespasian became emperor of Rome in AD 69. As emperor, Vespasian directed his son, Titus, to command the troops in the region of Judea and lay siege to Jerusalem in AD 70.

Titus surrounded Jerusalem with 80,000 Roman soldiers for about 5 months, creating gruesome famine and internal horror in Jerusalem.

In early August of AD 70 the morning and evening sacrifices were not offered in the temple for the first time in centuries.
Around August 29 the sanctuary was torched and the temple was destroyed with rocks literally being thrown down—just as Jesus prophesied.

By the end of September, the city had been desolated, and according to Josephus, as much as one million Jewish people had been killed and some 900,000 had been taken captive. Some continued to revolt from fortresses like Masada for another 3.5 years, but that ultimately did not end well for them.

So, what happened to the Christians who listened to Jesus?

Finally—Christians of both Jewish and Gentile ethnicity obeyed the warning and instruction of Jesus to flee Jerusalem and Judea as soon as they saw abominations taking place in the temple (like those of the zealots) and the presence of Roman armies ready for war around Jerusalem.

Jesus told them not to listen to the voices that will claim messianic rule and who would deceive many into following them into the abomination of desolations.

The Christian’s first opportunity to both see the armies and flee would have likely been during the three days that Cestius camped less than a mile from Jersualem before attacking it.

Their second opportunity was after Cestius’ army strangely retreated from the temple walls and was defeated during their retreat.

Their third opportunity to obey was while they heard of Vespasian’s campaigns coming from the north to Jerusalem. This occurred for over a year, giving time to “flee!”

Their final opportunity would have been during the transition times of emperors until Titus actually surrounded and besieged Jerusalem. We have clear early history that Christians did in fact flee Judea to the mountains and surround areas—such as Pella.

By the time of the siege, it was too late for most. Those who disobeyed the true Messiah’s prophesy remained in Jerusalem before the siege began. Their end was tragic. They ignored the Word of the Lord from the Messiah like far too many do today…

But those who believed and obeyed Jesus’s word fled to the mountains and continued to spread across the lands instead of remaining tethered to Jerusalem and the temple.
They were sent out to the ends of the horizons by Jesus’s judgment on Jerusalem as the new temple of God filling the earth. They went beyond the limits we see in the Book of Acts.

^{Some of the sources referenced while writing this summary:
1.Josephus, Flavius, and William Whiston. The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987.
2.Sch¸rer, Emil. A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, Second Division. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1890.
3.Sch¸rer, Emil. A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, First Division. Vol. 2. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1890.
4.Singer, Isidore, ed. The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day, 12 Volumes. New York; London: Funk & Wagnalls, 1901–1906.
5.Eusebius. The Ecclesiastical History and 2: English Translation. Edited by T. E. Page, E. Capps, W. H. D. Rouse, L. A. Post, and E. H. Warmington. Translated by Kirsopp Lake and J. E. L. Oulton. Vol. 1. The Loeb Classical Library. London; New York; Cambridge, MA: William Heinemann; G. P. Putnam’s Sons; Harvard University Press, 1926–1932.
6.Travis, William. “First Jewish Revolt.” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988.
7.Melvin, David P. “Israel, History Of, Post-Monarchic Period.” Edited by John D. Barry, David Bomar, Derek R. Brown, Rachel Klippenstein, Douglas Mangum, Carrie Sinclair Wolcott, Lazarus Wentz, Elliot Ritzema, and Wendy Widder. The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016.}

That is a summary of how Jesus’s prophesy and instruction unfolded. Let’s see now the rest of Jesus’s prophesy and instruction related to all this.

Try to picture yourself receiving this instruction.

All of Christ’s followers would have to leave their homes and travel in difficulty.
This would not be easy for anyone.

So, Jesus taught them to…

 PRAY FOR  MERCY DURING AFFLICTION.

God’s judgment on sin brings affliction/tribulation in our current fallen world—until Jesus returns and makes all things new with His redeemed people.
We too need to pray for mercy. Jesus said…

Mark 13:17–19  
But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

Jesus uses the language of prophetic warning here as He warns of the horrific affliction/tribulation that will take place in Judea before the destruction of the temple.

Notice how Jesus’s words echo Moses’s words in Exodus.

Judgment Like None Other: Exodus 11:6; Daniel 9:11-12; Leviticus 26:27-35; Ezekiel 5:5-12; Extra: Deuteronomy 28-30; Lamentations 2:17
Exodus 11:6  
And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.

By sounding like Moses, Jesus is saying a judgment like the 10th plague on Egypt is coming upon Jerusalem! Jerusalem has been found like Egypt, so now God’s true people must be saved up out of Jerusalem!

But why so great of affliction and tribulation?
It is what God consistently warned in His covenant with Moses and Israel—blessing or cursing.
Remember Daniel’s prayer from last week?

Daniel 9:11–12  
11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

What had happened in the 6th century BC had been prophesied long before it at the forming of Israel after their redemption from Egypt. Let’s just look at a portion of Leviticus 26.

Leviticus 26:27–35  
27 And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;

28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.

30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.

31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.

32 And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.

33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

34 Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.

35 As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.

The Mosaic Covenant that God made with Israel promised that great evil and curse would come upon them if they persisted in turning away from the LORD to serve other gods and idols and to forsake His commanded sabbatical years*.
*Years of rest—particularly from agriculture and debt—once every seven years.

As prophesied by Moses, Israel did seek after other gods, Jerusalem and the temple was destroyed, and they were scattered in exile for 70 years.

The first time this happened was in the 6th century BC. Ezekiel was among those exiled. Hear what he writes by the Spirit about it. Notice especially the similarity of Jesus’s words with Ezekiel’s.

Ezekiel 5:9  
And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.

God said there that He was doing to Israel what He has not done nor would ever do again because of their abominations! He was speaking about the desolations, destruction of Jersualem, and exile of Jews that they—and Ezekiel—went through in the 6th century BC.

But now, Jesus is saying that once again a similar judgment of desolation, destruction, and exile was about to happen, and Jesus uses the same hyperbolic, prophetic language as in Deuteronomy, Leviticus, Daniel, and Ezekiel… and other places!

Mark 13:17–19  
17 But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 18 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. 19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

Jesus is connecting this judgment with the previous judgments on both Egypt and Jerusalem, according to God’s Mosaic Covenant with Israel.
It’s of the same nature, for the same purpose (judgment/redemption), and of the same context—local!
Between all the Gospel accounts, Jesus describes this time with such words as “during the sabbath, in Judea, on the housetop, in the field, and flee to the mountains,” and Jesus gives direct instruction to “you”—His disciples.
Jesus is not prophesying here about a world-wide affliction. His prophesy is about “those days” of affliction that would lead up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.
A destruction on the same level—but worse and more lasting—than the destructions on Egypt and Jerusalem before.

But the instruction to flee this affliction would lead Jesus’s disciples through affliction, not entirely from it. We will see that more clearly in verse 20, but also we see it in Jesus’s instruction for them to pray in regards to the timing and their travels out of Jerusalem and Judea.
The Sovereign over all these events is instructing the disciples to pray for merciful travel conditions before it all occurs!

Notice verse 18: “And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.”

Why give such instruction?
1.It gave them  acts of faith  to do before the affliction happens.
2.Such prayer would  prepare them  for the affliction.
3.If they prayed, God would  answer with mercy .
4.Prayer is an expression  of trust  in God’s sovereignty.

Even when God’s plan involves affliction, God never leaves His people alone. He is ever present.
Prayer through affliction deepens the believers trust in God’s sovereignty over all things.

But prayer and God’s sovereign rule over all things unnecessarily perplex some. Consider these two questions.

Q: Why do you pray when God is sovereign? Why don’t you pray when God is sovereign?

God’s sovereign rule over all things should not lead believers into determinism and fatalism. Rather, it should lead us into trust, prayer, and obedience.
So, trust and obey God’s prophesy. Believe in God’s ability. Pray for mercy during affliction… And…

TRUST GOD’S FAITHFUL LOVE.

This next verse contains a beautiful truth.

Mark 13:20  
And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

“Those days” of affliction could have went on longer.
•The Jewish zealots could have had a longer tyrannical rule.
•Vespasian could have extended his armies to more regions where more Christians lived.
•Nero could have lived longer.
•Titus could have extended the siege even more than 5 months and not have taken any captives—no one alive.

But Jesus is saying that, as horrific as “those days” would be, God would restrict “those days” out of love for His elect people—those whom He has foreknown and is saving.
Imagine what our world’s horrors would be if God did not restrict evil!

Be careful pointing your finger at God about circumstances you don’t like!
Were it not for His faithful love… if God left us to our own ways… our affliction would dramatically escalate from being purposeful according to God’s good wisdom to being just plain ruin and chaos according to our sin.

While traveling through affliction (which is the only way Christians experience it), followers of Christ must trust that not only is God sovereign but also that He is faithful in His love.
You might ask, “How can God be faithful in love if He brings His followers through such affliction?”

I don’t know, maybe we should ask people like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Ezekiel, Daniel, John the Baptist, the disciples… Jesus!

The early church… later church… and modern church all go through affliction and tribulation in various forms and oftentimes with intensity.

And today, Christians remain highly persecuted in numerous regions all over our world.

But praise God, we can trust that God will be faithful to love us through all affliction—as Jesus promised He would through their affliction before the destruction of the temple!

Q: When and how do you struggle with trusting God’s faithful love for His people?

Do you pull in closer to God and His people during afflictions, or do you walk away? Trust God’s faithful love for His own.

DON’T BE  LED ASTRAY .

During “those days” of affliction, false “messiahs” tried to rally the Jewish populace as though they were going to bring about God’s promised kingdom over their enemies—who, in their minds, was Rome.
So Jesus said…

Mark 13:21–22  
And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not: For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

Imagine being caught in the middle of all sorts of mixed messaging, threatenings of death, and vicious peer and family pressure to “join the cause of God” and fight against Rome!
And at the same time, you have religious rulers who encourage you to calm down and submit to Rome.

Who do you follow? That depends on the source of your trust.
If you are a Christian at that time, you obey Jesus and flee to the mountains, knowing that the temple and Jerusalem will not be defended by God.
There is a an everlasting Temple and Jerusalem that will fill the earth. No need to hold onto the one destined to destruction!
No need to follow the false messianic fervor! You know the Christ.
No need to follow the conventional wisdom of remaining in the fortified city and temple.
Go on! Flee! Get far from this place.

Jesus is saying that they must forsake the only country they know while they continue to drawn nigh to Temple and City not made with hands!
God’s people have always been a people who are called to obey God by faith, leaving what they have always known for what can been only truly seen by faith in God’s Word.

Jesus said that this false messianic fervor, prophesies, and signs would be so intense and convincing that most will be seduced—except God’s elect people.
Those who are in Christ by faith have God’s Spirit and will not be deceived.
And some of the means by which they will not be deceived is the hearing and teaching of God’s Word—what Jesus is giving them here, and what we are to preach today.
Jesus’s teaching protects His followers from deceivers, but deceivers keep many from hearing Jesus’s teaching.

Q: Who do you need to stop listening to in order to obey Jesus?

Those who fill their minds with counterfeits of truth will not:
•Understand and obey prophesy
•Pray for mercy during affliction
•Trust God’s faithful love
•Avoid being led astray

BE VIGILANT ABOUT WHAT GOD HAS  MADE KNOWN .

And now we come to apocalyptic (or unveiling) language concerning prophesy to which all the other verses in Mark 13 have been leading us.
What exactly is Jesus predicting in this final section of today’s text?

Before we get into Jesus’s words, we are going to simply read through a series of prophesies that employ similar apocalyptic language.
In each one, notice God’s involvement and description of what human armies do. And remember how Jesus is the eternal Son Who came from the Father’s right hand.
It is my conviction that Jesus is here identifying Himself as Yahweh and the promised Son of Man with the language and prophesy He gives next—a prophecy about which the disciples are told to “take heed” and “be vigilant”!
Jesus prophesies about a day of the LORD to come.

Let’s now read through some…
Examples of apocalyptic language for judgment (or rescue) from God through human armies:
•2 Samuel 22 / Psalm 18 (David—rescued from Saul & Enemies)

2 Samuel 22:7–18  
7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God: And he did hear my voice out of his temple, And my cry did enter into his ears.

8 Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of heaven moved And shook, because he was wroth.

9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured: Coals were kindled by it.

10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; And darkness was under his feet.

11 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: And he was seen upon the wings of the wind.

12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, Dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.

13 Through the brightness before him Were coals of fire kindled.

14 The LORD thundered from heaven, And the most High uttered his voice.

15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; Lightning, and discomfited them.

16 And the channels of the sea appeared, The foundations of the world were discovered, At the rebuking of the LORD, At the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

17 He sent from above, he took me; He drew me out of many waters;

18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.

Verse 18 is what happened.

•Joel 2:1-2,10-11 (Judah—invaded by Assyria)
Joel 2:1–2  
1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: For the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, A day of clouds and of thick darkness, As the morning spread upon the mountains: A great people and a strong; There hath not been ever the like, Neither shall be any more after it, Even to the years of many generations.
Joel 2:10–11  
10 The earth shall quake before them; The heavens shall tremble: The sun and the moon shall be dark, And the stars shall withdraw their shining:

11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: For his camp is very great: For he is strong that executeth his word: For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; And who can abide it?

•Isaiah 19:1-4 (Egypt—civil war & subdued by Assyria)

Isaiah 19:1  
The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: And the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, And the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.

•Jeremiah 4:13-14, 23-28 (Jerusalem—destroyed by Babylon)

Jeremiah 4:13–14  
13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, And his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.

14 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?

Notice next the “de-creation” language that is common of apocalyptic writings. It sounds like a reversal of Genesis 1-2.

Jeremiah 4:23–28  
23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; And the heavens, and they had no light.

24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, And all the hills moved lightly.

25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens were fled.

26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, And all the cities thereof were broken down At the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.

27 For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; Yet will I not make a full end.

28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: Because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, And will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.

•Ezekiel 32:4-11 (Egypt—destroyed by Babylon)
Ezekiel 32:7–11  
7 And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.

8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.

9 I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.

10 Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall.

11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee.

In verse 10, the LORD said it would be His sword. In verse 11, the LORD said it would be the sword of the king of Babylon.
This is common language of prophesy.

“Revelation” or “apocalyptic” language descriptively and poetically “unveils”  God’s rule in heaven  over  our experiences on earth .

Each of those apocalyptic writings were simply descriptions of army invasions and battles over which God rules.
God “covering the heavens, sun, moon, and stars” is a way of saying that this “sword of the king of Babylon coming on you” is a work of the LORD.

Let’s look at one more passage before going through the remainder of our text today.
In Mark 14, we have the insightful context of the prophesy Jesus gives to the high priest at His trial:
Mark 14:61-62

Mark 14:61–62  
61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Jesus said there that He is “I am”—Yahweh, the One Who rides on the clouds.
He then prophesied that Caiaphas the high priest and those with him would see Jesus, the Son of man of Daniel 7, both sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven.
How does one both sit and come at the same time, unless His “coming” is from His seat?

Jesus and Mark by the Spirit here are connecting this prophesy with the the one Jesus already gave in Mark 13—they (not the disciples) shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
While Jesus does clearly prophesy of His future coming and return to earth, our text before us is clearly not about that.
Now I understand that due to the language used, many have taken this to be referring to Jesus’s coming, the resurrection of the saints, and Jesus’s return at the end of the age, but that simply does not fit the context or Jesus’s words that “this all will take place in this generation.”
•If Jesus is the Messiah, He must bring both redemption and judgment.
•If Jesus is the Messiah, He must also show Himself to be Yahweh.
•If Jesus is the Messiah, He must reign until He puts all His enemies under His feet.
•If the apostles and church are to be faithful to Jesus’s words, we must know that He is a true Prophet.

All this and more is accomplished by Jesus’s prophesy being fulfilled as the answer to the disciples’s question about the destruction of the temple.
Jesus begins by saying, “Give vigilance to flee when you see all the things that will come before what comes next “in those same days”—the Son of Man bringing judgment on Jerusalem from heaven through the Roman armies.”

Mark 13:23–31  
23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.

26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:

29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.

30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

This is the answer to the disciples’ question of when the temple would be destroyed and how Jesus would give an obvious sign to His disciples that He is ascended and reigning on the throne of the kingdom, as promised.
“The Son of man coming in the clouds” is Jesus bringing judgment on Jerusalem through Roman armies in the same way Yahweh coming in the clouds was God bringing judgment through human armies in the past.

This final section of our text today is loaded with Old Testament language, and it strongly connects Jesus with both Yahweh and Daniel’s prophesied Son of man, Who ascends to rule at the right hand of Yahweh.

This text makes clear that Jesus did not just claim to be an innocent Spirit-led man who paid for our sins—like Islamic, Jehovah’s Witness, and Mormon cults will gladly say.
No, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever as the true Yahweh Who came in clouds of judgment many times before and would soon do again against Jerusalem, and Who continues to do as He rules over the nations today.

In verse 23 Jesus instructs His disciples to be vigilant about everything He has foretold, and in verse 30-31 Jesus declares that His prophesy will surely come to pass in their generation.

What exactly did Jesus make known?
1.Jesus is both  Yahweh  and the prophesied Son of man.
2.After His death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus would  rule the nations from  His heavenly throne.
3.Those who believe Jesus’s word will be able to  discern the timing of His prophesied judgment  and  flee Judea before it comes .
4.In fleeing the temple, Jerusalem, and Judea, Jesus’s followers would be fully untethered from the old  Mosaic Covenant  and  scattered as messengers*  of the New Covenant from  one end of the horizon to the other .
5.“Those days” of affliction, judgment, redemption, and scattering would come  in their generation .
6.Jesus’s prophetic words will  surely come to pass  and vindicate Him as the promised Prophet-Priest-King of heaven and earth.

For NT scriptures that use “angellos” for human messengers, see the ones I have given in the bulletin.
*See: Mark 1:2; Matthew 11:10; Luke 7:24,27; 9:52; 2 Corinthians 12:7; James 2:25; Revelation 2-3

Concerning the sending of His messengers to the four winds and to the uttermost (or extreme limit) of earth and heaven (or sky), consider how Matthew puts it:

Matthew 24:31
“And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet [like a King or ruler would do], and they [the messengers] shall gather together his elect from the four winds [all directions], from one end of heaven[s] [or skies/horizons] to the other.”

I believe Jesus is saying that He will send His messengers to gather His elect from one horizon to the other… or to all the earth.

Right before ascending to His throne, Jesus said it this way:

Acts 1:8
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

Jesus gave His disciples everything they needed to know to trust Him through tribulation, to avoid destruction after He had left them, and to carry out His mission for them.

Q: Do you trust that God has already revealed all that you need to know to follow Jesus?

He did for them.
What God has revealed in Scripture and presently applies by His Spirit is sufficient for us to follow Jesus today.
Trust His word and follow Jesus. As we do so, we will…

LIVE AS COMMISSIONED MEMBERS OF  THE GLOBAL TEMPLE OF CHRIST  UNTIL HE COMES AGAIN.

As His church, we live in the results of that prophesy.
The church has been scattered all over the earth, and we are commissioned as Christ’s messengers of the New Covenant until He returns.
We have been given the Gospel, Scripture, the Spirit, and the church.
Jesus and all in Him are the new temple.

Consider what Paul wrote while this doomed Jerusalem temple still stood in the 1st century:

Galatians 4:25–26  
For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Earthly Jerusalem was doomed, but heavenly Jerusalem—then and now—is “the mother of us all.” That means, we belong to the heavenly Jerusalem—the city of God, if we have been born from above (or again).
And then the writer of Hebrews tells us to seek that Jerusalem above since “we have no continuing city.”

Hebrews 13:14  
For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

The heavenly Jerusalem/city is enduring. When heaven and earth is united after the return of Christ, then the earthly Jersualem will also be enduring because they will be one in the same.
So, Jesus is telling His disciples, “Leave the earthly allegiance, take up your cross, and follow Jesus to the ends of the earth!”

Earlier in the service, Jacob lead us in reading how Peter said this by the Spirit. I encourage slow reflection on 1 Peter 2:5-10 this week in your devotions.
1 Peter 2:5-10; Mark 11:17; 12:9; 13:27; 16:15

In closing, Jesus had been saying it this way all along…

Mark 11:17  
And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Mark 12:9  
What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.

Mark 13:27  
And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

Jesus would soon say it this way…

Mark 16:15  
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
 
MAIN ARGUMENT: Jesus’s fulfilled word should embolden us as  globally commissioned messengers  to spread His word while He  gathers His elect as the new, holy temple of God .

Do you trust the word of Jesus?
Are you obeying the word of Jesus?
Are you being a messenger of the word of Jesus?
Jesus is ruling and reigning from His throne above. He is faithfully sending and saving.
Let’s spread the word of the Sovereign Priest-King.