Every Step You Take

Transcript

Alright, thank you very much. And hello again, radio friends. How in the world are you? Yes, this is your friend, Bob Cook, and I’m glad to be back with you, to share from the Word of God. You and I have been walking through the book of 1st Timothy, and we’re in the fifth Chapter. Right now, I want to spend, just a moment, in reviewing some key phrases, which show up in chapter four, five, and six. In chapter four, he points out that the Spirit of God, expressly, that means, especially, with special emphasis, tells us that in the latter times, there will be an increase of the occult, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons. Don’t be surprised at the growth of the occult in our day.

I think that when America threw the Bible out of our schools, and prayer out of our schools, she, at the same time, opened the door to an influx of demonic invasion from the Orient, and Asia, as well as from parts of Europe. I remember thinking, as I sat in the Supreme Court on a June day, when one of these cases was being argued, and realizing that it was going to be lost, and that the Word of God was going to be thrown out of the school, as part of the education of American children. I remember thinking, “Well, here it comes. The doors are gonna be opened.” And sure enough, that was back in the ’60s, and in the years that have gone by, we’ve had a wave of invasion of demonic power, the growth of demon worship, Satanic worship, Satan worshipers, and so on. You have all these… And the covens of witches, all these different manifestations of occult behavior.

And God says, “Alright, it’s gonna happen.” Along with that, there comes a set of rules to follow. Anytime anybody tells you, “You have to do this to be saved,” watch out. “For by grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Now, good works of the right kind are part of God’s plan, but they are a result, they are a by-product of salvation. Ephesians 2:10, which follows upon the verses I just quoted, proves that. He says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk,” means live everyday, “In them.” The new birth is a new creation. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation” says Paul. The new birth is a new creation and we are created unto good works. It’s first, get saved, second, do the good works that prove you are saved.

Back to what I said a moment ago. The Spirit of God warns us that, “There will be a wave of the occult, demonism, Satanism, all of that in our world.” Don’t be surprised. Expect it, know how to fight it. And be aware of the fact, that always, in any kind of heresy, there are rules to follow, which promise you salvation. In this case, it has to do with your relationship with the opposite sex, your relationship with things to eat, and the way you treat your conscience. He says, “Put the brethren in remembrance of these things. And you, be a good minister, nourished up in the words of faith, and good doctrine. Remind people that we’re in a battle.” We seem to forget that. If we’re not constantly being challenged, we tend to forget the fact that we do have an enemy, his name is Satan. Peter says, “Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary, the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour.” Paul talked about the snare of the Devil, and the devices of the Devil, and the condemnation of the Devil.

All of the things that Satan uses, wrapped together in his ancient ploy, which he used in the Garden of Eden, “You can better yourself by disobeying God.” That’s Humanism in capsule form. He says, “Remind the brethren of this. Don’t let people forget that we’re in a battle, but don’t let ’em forget, either, that we have the victory. Thanks be unto God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And remind them,” this is 1st Timothy 4-5, “Remind them that ordinary things can be touched with God’s blessing, through the Word of God and prayer.”

God can glorify the routine in life, such as what you eat and how you live. God glorifies the routine, when you submit it to him, in line with His Word and through sincere prayer. Praying your way through the day, touches it with glory. And Paul says to Timothy, “You remind people about that. Don’t let ’em get mired down in routine. Help them to know that they can walk in the very glory of God, while they’re living everyday life.” That’s good stuff there.

Then in verse 15 of… This is reviewing these phrases, you know what we’re doing… In verse 15 of f irst Timothy 4, he says, “Meditate upon these things, give thyself wholly to them.” Now, again, you have the phrase, “These things.” What are you supposed to meditate on? Verse eight, “Godliness pays off.” Verse 10, “It’s worthwhile to pay the price of being a Christian.” Verse 12, “You can be a walking demonstration of what Jesus Christ can do, in the very areas where human nature brings down.” Verse three, “The areas that you want to specialize in are reading, exhortation and doctrine.” Reading has to do with your understanding of things and information; exhortation has to do with your ability to persuade others; and doctrine has to do with the backbone of truth, things for which you’re willing to be shot at five o’clock tomorrow morning. He says, “Specialize in that.” And then another thing he says, “Neglect not the gift.” Remember that God has given you some special gifts, which belong particularly to you, by His grace. Don’t neglect them. Don’t waste them. Now, he says, “Meditate on these things.” Think about them. Think about them.

In verse six, “Remind the brethren.” Verse 15, “Meditate on these things.” And then over in Chapter five, “Observe these things.” What things is that? Your relationship with other people: Elders, young men, elder women, younger women, widows, and those that are desolate, and in need. “Your treatment of those, who ought to be rewarded. The elders that rule well, counted worthy of double honor. Pay your help properly.” If you don’t pay your help, you don’t have a very good testimony. “Do right by people who are laboring in the Lord’s work.” Don’t expect them to be evangelically shabby, while you drive your Cadillac. And he says, “Don’t listen to gossip. Against another, receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.” Don’t listen to gossip, nail things down, be fair. And then take a public stand against sin, “Them that sin, rebuke before all.” Take a public stand before sin. Don’t listen to gossip and private accusations, but when something really surfaces, jump on it without any question.

Now, he says, “Observe these things without preferring one person before another or without doing anything with partiality.” First, you have, “Remind the brethren you’re in a battle. Meditate on these things.” You can be a walking demonstration of the power of the Lord Jesus Christ in your life. “Observe these things without partiality.” You be fair in all of your dealings with other people.

Then over in chapter six- we’ll get to this after a while in some detail, but I’ll just touch on it, so that you can see where we’re going. The key is the phrase, “These things.” “Remind the brethren of these things,” first Timothy 4:6. “Meditate on these things,” 4:15. “Observe these things,” 4:21.

Now, he says, “These things teach and exhort,” that’s chapter six verse two. “These things teach and exhort.” What are they? Why, it has to do with your relationship with employees and employers. “As many servants as are under the yoke, count their masters worthy of all honor. They that have believing masters, don’t despise them, and rather do them service. These things teach and exhort.” Be a good employee. I think we could stand a little of that teaching today, when work seems to be something to get out of.

And when you have an interview with someone, that’s applying for a job, one of the first questions is, “What are the retirement benefits?” I remember, on one occasion, I felt mischievous and somebody was applying for a teaching position at the college. [chuckle] They said, “What are the retirement benefits?” I said, “We got Sleepy Hollow Cemetery right down the road.” [laughter] That’s terrible, isn’t it? Oh, dear, “I’m sorry, but not much.”

Well, he says, “Teach and exhort.” Make sure that you nail the truth down, to where people are taking action for themselves. Teaching means imparting knowledge. Exhorting means leading to decision. Then in verse 11 of chapter six( as I say, we’ll get into this in some detail, but I wanna just touch on it here. ) He said, “Thou, O man of God, flee these things.”

What are the these things? Well, he says, “We brought nothing into this world and it’s certain we can carry nothing out. They that will be rich, fall into temptation, and a snare, many foolish and hurtful desires, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

“The love of money is the root of all evil, which while some covet, after they’ve erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows, but thou, O man of God, flee these things.” Love of money, love of money, they that will be rich. The love of money.

Now, it’s no sin to have money. It’s a sin to love money. There’s a difference. Have you discovered this? Some of the poorest people in the world love money. Money and the things it will buy are, to them, the great desideratum of all of life, “That’s what I want. That’s what I desire.” See? Alright, he says, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” Not money itself, the love of it. “And when you covet, first of all, you err from the faith.” The faith demands commitment to God. You can’t depend upon money, and the things it will buy, and depend upon God at the same time. “No man,” Jesus said, “Can serve two masters. You cannot serve God and mammon.” A ‘mammon’ is another way of saying money and the things it can buy. Jesus said that. Didn’t say, “You must not,” He said, “You cannot. Impossible.”

If you give yourself over to the love of money and covet things, first of all, you depart from real trust in the Lord. Second, you buy a basket of heartache, “Pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” I don’t know how many people have said, sadly to me, “Well, I’ve made my money, but I’ve lost this, and that, and the other.” I remember the man who said, “I decided I was gonna be a millionaire and I am. But in the process, I’ve lost my wife, my children hate me, and I’ve lost my health.” He said, “I don’t think it was a very good deal.” There you are.

Okay, there’s the little review. I’ve spent today’s time, in just reviewing that phrase, “These things.” “Remind the brethren of these things, meditate on these things, observe these things, teach and exhort these things, flee these things.” We’ll talk about them a little more when we get to them.

Father God, today, help us to walk with Thee every step of the way. In Jesus’ name, I pray this. Amen.

Till I meet you once again by way of radio, walk with the King today and be a blessing!