Godly Training | Duane Roberts | 1 Timothy 4 | 5/8

Good morning, everybody. How's everybody doing today? How many could use an extra cup of coffee right now? Praise the Lord. If you love Jesus, can I get a good amen this morning if you are with me? Thank you so much. I am honored and privileged to be able to share what God has shown me in the Word. My name is Pastor Dwayne Roberts. I get to be an assistant pastor here. I want to welcome those that are watching online. We are continuing in our series in the book of 1 Timothy. So if you are in need of a Bible, please raise your hand. We want you to follow along with us. We are going to be in 1 Timothy chapter 4. And we're also going to make a stopover in 2 Timothy chapter 4 as well. 1 Timothy chapter 4. And then we're going to touch 2 Timothy chapter 4 as a part of our Bible study. If you do not mind, would you please stand as we read the Word of God together? You know, as we approach this weekend, we're not immune to what's happening in the world. So we want to pray because our nation is at war in Iran. We want to pray for just the lives that are there, that are in danger. We want to pray for the wisdom of our leaders. We also realize that maybe you're in a season where you are grieving the loss of someone or something significant in your life. And so we want to pray that God would be the God of all comfort. Who believes that God is a comforter today for those that might grieve? So we weep with those who weep and we rejoice with those who rejoice. Or maybe you're in a situation where you're dealing with a diagnosis or you're praying on behalf of someone that received some news today and you want to intercede on that person, or you're the person that needs a healing today.

I believe that God still heals and He's still a miracle worker. So we're going to read 1 Timothy chapter 4, verses 1 through 5, and then we'll pray for all of those things, and then we will pray also for our Bible study. So 1 Timothy chapter 4, verses 1 through 5, and it reads this. The Spirit clearly says that in later times, some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is what? Good. And nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. Let's bow our heads and pray together. Father, thank you that we get to be in your presence. Your word says that we can access the very holies of holies. And in times of mercy and grace, we can come boldly before your throne room. So that's what we desire to do today. We come boldly, God. First, asking for our nation, the wisdom of our leaders, the war that we are a part of, God, we pray for lives to be spared. And we pray that you would be sovereign and that even in those moments, God, hope would be found and the gospel would be preached and people would be saved. God, we pray for all of those that might be grieving a loss right now. Pray that you would be the God of all comfort. We thank you that you are a very present help in our time of need. And when we look to the hills, from where does our help come from? It comes from the Lord. And some are grieving today.

And God, I pray that you would be the God of all comfort. I also ask for those that need a healing today, God. Maybe someone in here has got a diagnosis from a doctor and it's terminal or it's something fresh and new and completely surprising to them. Or they're praying for a family member or a friend and it's looking dire, God. We need you to be, Lord, we're asking for you to be Jehovah Rapha. We believe that you still heal. And maybe someone needs healing over a past trauma or pain, healing over a mind that may be going through depression or anxiety. God, that you would meet them today. And God, I pray that you would meet us in your word as well. That as we engage in your word, that we would hear your voice speak to us. Lord, may we decrease and you increase. And I pray again for me, Lord, that I would just be simply a vessel. May the words of my mouth and the meditation in my heart be pleasing in your sight. Oh, Lord, my rock and my redeemer. And I pray this in Jesus' name. And everybody said, amen. You may have a seat. So I don't know if you watched the Olympics, the Winter Olympics, but there was a woman named Ilana Myers-Taylor, who is 41, the oldest woman to win an Olympic gold medal. She was a bobsledder, and you begin to dig into her life, and you realize that she was a devout Christian. She is a devout Christian who had a long tenure athletic career, and she highlighted her faith and approach to life, balancing elite training. She's a mom and a wife with two sons, both special needs. Both are deaf and one who has Down syndrome. She openly spoke about her joy and challenges as an Olympian,

but she has often shared that her title of mom is more significant than being an Olympian, emphasizing that her family and faith are her highest priorities. She wasn't immune to challenges. The news report says that leading up to the 2026 Games, she dealt with injuries from a crash. Upon arriving in Italy, she was in isolation for a week due to COVID-19, missing crucial training time. Two months before the Games, she almost retired, texting her husband saying, it is impossible, the mental exhaustion was too much for this mother of two. But she proceeded on, and she stated that God had placed her in a position to bring him glory, and in her life, she aims to reflect the love of Jesus, noting that whether she wins or loses, her goal is to serve. Her faith was strengthened by challenges early in her career and her faith in God. When I think about the Christian life, we are not immune to challenges. Can I get an amen if you're with me? I wish when we got saved and gave our heart to Jesus, there would be no more problems to deal with. But a lot of times, that's not the way it works. So, how do you overcome challenges in your life as a believer in Jesus? It's through what I've titled this message, it's through godly training. And we're going to hear some points regarding the way God trains us to go through certain challenges in life, because challenges will come. Some, I've heard it said that either you are coming out of a storm, you're about to go into a storm, or you're in the storm. And maybe some of you are in a storm right now. And I love the fact that the Bible does not speak of people that are fake. These are not characters that are made up. These people are real. And I love the fact that we can learn so much from God's word about people that go through things just like we do.

And when you look at the life of Timothy, he is Paul's protege, but he's a timid individual. And he's in Ephesus, not an easy assignment. But that's what God has called Timothy to. And many times, God doesn't give us easy assignments. But sometimes, God calls you to something specific because he's placed you there for you to give him glory. No matter how difficult it may be, the one thing that you will know is this, that God is present. He will never fail you. He will never abandon you. He will always give you what you need to get through your situation. So, as we read the book of 1 Timothy, we see this in the text right away. Paul says this in the first verse. The spirit clearly says that in later times, some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Paul is talking about... of what's happening in the church at the time, says the Spirit clearly is speaking. And if you are not taken, the first point is this, godly training requires listening to the Spirit. Godly training requires listening to the Spirit. Now how many of you believe that the Spirit of God is still speaking today to us? He's clearly speaking. And we are a church that listens to the Holy Spirit. How do you know that we are church? Last year, we celebrated 40 years of faithful ministry. Can we praise God for a God allowing us to go through 40 years of making disciples,

seeing people saved? And our lead pastor, Pastor Doug said, well, I feel like God has given us a word, a verse for 2026 and beyond, for 2025, for the next 40 years. It's Habakkuk 3.2. Lord, I've heard of your fame. I'm in awe of your deeds. Lord, do it again. And as we look at all of the vision projects and things and we talk about from one generation to the next, and we're looking at all of our campuses, God was saying, do it again, the same way you did it the last 40 years. God, will we see more people come to Jesus? Will we see more people used for his kingdom? Will we plant more campuses and send more missionaries out? Will we see and change our community for the cause of Jesus Christ? Lord, do it again. And that's not just a global message, that's a message for you. Lord, do it again in the lives of those that know Jesus. In 2026, we're going back to Matthew 28, 19. We want to make disciples, not converts, so we don't want you to get saved, just saved. We want you to grow in your relationship with Christ. We want you to grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ. So that's why you come to service.

That's why you go to the Bible study. That's why you go to the community group, so you can grow. Anybody want to grow in their relationship with God? But it starts with listening to the Spirit. And if he's speaking today, here's what Jesus says in John 16, 13. He says, but when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own. He will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is to come. The Spirit is clearly speaking. And the reason why this is so important, because Paul says, in later times, some will abandon the faith. Some will leave Jesus. Some will leave the essential doctrines of the gospel. Some will just go away. It's a prophetic word that in latter times, people will not continue to follow Jesus, but they will follow deceiving spirits and demons. And when you think about that, who you follow and who you listen to, if not the Holy Spirit, is important. You know why that's important? Because I tell you this. You can get, beyond Calvary Chapel, beyond any one of our campuses, you can get 1,000 pastors at the click of a link. But just because they say the name of Jesus

don't mean they're actually preaching sound doctrine. You gotta be careful what you listen to. So you got all these pastors. You got one on Instagram, and he's celebrating the fact that he's got all these followers. You gotta be careful. If somebody's more concerned about who's following them and not who is following Jesus, I would say that's an issue. You gotta watch people that preach and drop a verse, and it sounds all impressive and eloquent. You gotta watch who you follow, and you know who we're competing with these days. Pastor chat GPT. You think I'm joking. I'm not. Recent Barna research said this. One in three US adults say spiritual advice from AI is just as trustworthy as pastors. Let me say that one more time. One in three US adults say spiritual advice from AI is just as trustworthy in pastors. Two in five among Gen Z and millennials. They venture to even say that 30% of US adults, 30% of American adults have an emotional affair with AI. This is the world that we live in. It's not just competing with humans. Now we're competing with artificial intelligence. And it's not all bad. I mean, we believe in digital platforms.

I mean, we have an online campus. We have a virtual reality campus. Can I just tell you what God is doing in our VR campus? Two people got saved last night in our virtual reality campus. Two people came to know Jesus. And so digital is not all bad, and AI is not of the devil, as people might say. But here's what a leader says that is so important. As the world becomes more artificial, the church needs to become more human. As the world becomes more artificial, the church needs to become more human. And I will tell you today, AI, AI will never be a replacement for Jesus Christ. Can I get a amen, somebody? The hope that we have in Christ will always outlive innovation and technology. Paul goes on to say, these people have their consciences seared with a hot iron. They're forbidding people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For he says, everything God created is good. According to Genesis, he said, everything was good after creation. And what tends to happen is sometimes you could be part of a church, or maybe you've come from a church,

and there's more rules and regulations than about your relationship with Jesus Christ. I don't know if you've ever been part of a legalistic church and go, well, if you don't study the Bible this way, if you don't fast this way, if you don't do these certain things, if this is not part of your spiritual practice, you are not a real Christian. Notice that the enemy, the demon, it's not, the interesting thing, it's not about a pitchfork and horned ears. The enemy will just allow you to go astray. He'll make you follow something that is not of God, that God created that is good. I mean, marriage is good. Like, I like being married to my wife. Can I get amen, husbands? Like, you better say amen really quick, husbands, if you're in the room. Don't give me no slack, amen, husbands. If you love being married to your wife, husbands. All right. Wives, love being married to your husband? What did I just say? Husband, you love your wives. Wives, love your husbands. But if a church becomes more about rules instead of relationship, that's a challenge.

Maybe you've come from a church that way, and can I free some people today? Anybody wanna be free today? Can I free some people? If you're holding on to somebody that's hurt you, or you have any sort of legalistic thing, or church has told you something that's not sound doctrine, can I free some people this morning? If Christ has set you free, you are free indeed. Can we celebrate the freedom that we have in Jesus Christ? And that is such a freeing verse for me. You know why that verse is freeing? Because I love me some oxtails. Nobody can tell me. Anybody like oxtails in the room, eh? Arroz con pollo, anybody? Grillo, grillo, anybody? Hamburgers and fries, lasagna, little bacon. Anybody love bacon? And shameless plug, every Sunday, I gotta eat me some bread pudding. Anybody ever have bread pudding from the grill? Ooh-wee. Listen, if you're fasting sugar, get your bread pudding in before March 16th, because that's what I'm doing. Godly training requires listening to the Spirit, because he does still speak. Let's continue, verse six.

If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truth of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales. Rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trust. worthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who's the savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. If you are no taker, the next point is this. Godly training requires spiritual discipline. Godly training requires spiritual discipline. I alluded to it earlier, you cannot grow in Christ without some discipline. And maybe in this season, there's something that God is calling you to do and be a little bit more committed. Not approach it haphazard or lax a days ago. Maybe it's a season God is like, hey, you just gave your heart to Jesus. You're a brand new disciple. You don't know how to study the Bible yet. I need you to go a little bit deeper.

So for us as a church, we realize that many of you may not know the word of God. You might be sitting in here saying, man, I wish someone will help me go deeper, or there was some resource to help me go deeper. Well, we've created that resource. Every week you could receive an email from our church related to the chapter that is here. So if you are in that place where you go, I don't even know where to begin how to study. I want to go deeper in first Timothy four, scan that QR card, you'll get emails, you can get connected to a group. And the idea is that we're going deeper in the word of God. Can I give you some permission today? Can I encourage you? Do you know that you don't have to wait till next Sunday to open your Bible? Did you know that? Did you know that you can open this tomorrow and Tuesday and every day? Do you know that we won't punish you if you read ahead to first Timothy five? Maybe it's a season that it's about Bible study. Maybe a season where God is just increasing the way that you connect him in worship. And maybe it's just keep coming to service. Stop making an excuse, show up next Sunday. You know what the average church attendance now

for people that say they're regular attenders of church, it's twice a month. Maybe it's a commitment to just come to service consistently. Maybe God has called you to serve somewhere and you have gifts and talents. We'll talk about that. Maybe it's just a commitment to just commit to serve. Maybe it's an outreach. Maybe it's in our family ministry. Maybe it's in Celebrate Recovery or any one of the ministries at our campuses. And God is like, your season is to serve or maybe it's to go deeper in prayer. And we did that series earlier this year, but it's not just for a January series. It's for you to have a lifestyle of praying and reflecting and rejoicing and asking and yielding to God. Prayer was done in January, but man, what if prayer became your lifestyle? Maybe God is asking you to be a little bit more generous and you realize that all things belong to God and generosity is not based on the fact that the church needs money, but it's an act of worship. And we would say here at Calvary Chapel, generosity brings joy. And those who refresh others themselves will be refreshed. So what is that spiritual discipline that God has called you to?

Telling Timothy, point out these things. You will be a good minister if you share these things with people. And he's telling them, and to be nourished, it says, to be nourished on the truths of the faith of the God, of the good teaching that you have followed. The whole thought is that you're constantly nourished on God's truth. You're constantly nourished through prayer. You're constantly nourished through the word of God. You're constantly nourished through worship. And he's telling Timothy, he's telling Timothy, although you're the leader, it never gets old. Can I say, I wish that church attendance or coming to worship or prayer or reading the word of God, it should never get old. It should always be this place where, God, I'm opening your word so I could discover more of you. God, I'm worshiping more because I wanna have an encounter with the presence of Jesus. I'm serving more because God, I wanna use the gifts and talents that you have given me. Timothy said, be nourished on these things. And I thought about this, but it's important on what you are nourished on because I don't know about, how many of you like to work out? Anybody like working out? Somebody said, kind of, how many of you kind of work out?

How many of you have a gym membership and... You're just wasting money right now. I'm just saying, I just... But part of any physical training requires nutrition. 80% is what you take in. 80% is what you take in. And so to be trained in God, it's what you take in. And so I have this protein shake, right? But here's the thing, not all protein shakes are created equal. And my family, what we're doing nowadays because we're such on this health kick and we're worried, it's like when you go to the store and you go, you buy a zero sugar creamer, but it still tastes sweet. You go, well, what's going on with that creamer? What do you do? You check the label. How do you know when something is true or not? You check the label and make sure it lines up with what's happening here. And he tells him physical training is all good. In Greek culture, because of the Greek Olympic games, working out was a part of the culture. I love working out. I mean, I love, it's a lifestyle for me. So maybe you don't go to the gym or not go to the gym, but for me, like I literally, if I am waking up in the morning to go to the gym and for whatever reason, I even think and I skip,

like I'm, if I ever skip a workout, I'm in this place that I should have went, I should have ran, I should have, I should have lifted, I should have. And sometimes there's this overemphasis on all the physical stuff happening. So I thought about this, it's just like, anybody know what this is? Little kettle ball, right? Maybe you go to the gym and I know you're a Christian, but you're like looking at your arms. Look at my temple. Ooh, I'm just taking care of the temple of the Holy Spirit, you know? My weights, investing all that time in weights. And then, and then I love to run. Any runners in the house? Not at 9 a.m., there ain't no runners here. Maybe this'll work a little bit better at the 11, that's okay. That's why we got three service, some land, some don't. But I like to run. But here's what Paul says in this word, he says, that's all good. All that physical training, according to verse eight, is of some value. What is Paul trying to say to us? We can invest a whole lot in earthly things that won't last long. Whether it's working out or the thing

that draws you away from God. Whatever is earthly and you're investing more in that than you're investing in what's godly and what leads to eternity. Paul says one is not gonna transfer and one will. So what's the encouragement? How do you increase in godliness? Instead of curling a kettle ball, maybe you do some more Bible curls. And you pick up this more. Don't you know the more you pick this up, the more you open it up, you'll get stronger in the word of God and the sword of the spirit, you'll know how to wield this and the attacks that you'll get, you'll have a verse for the enemy that comes against you, right? Maybe instead of running to that next thing, you run to a Bible study. Running to the next thing that won't have everlasting value, maybe you run to serve somebody. Now here's what Paul says in another chapter, 2 Corinthians 4.16 says it this way. Therefore, we do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. You know what Paul says? After a while, no matter how buffed up we may get, no matter how strong my arms get, no matter how much I run, and can I just tell you, as I get older,

I can't run as much, gravity will always win. And father time has never lost a battle. But here's what happens when you invest in what's eternal, the inward man, the inward woman is growing day by day. And that's a good thing. Can I get an amen if you're with me? Amen. Paul says in verse nine, this is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the savior of all people and especially of those who believe. Paul is saying, if I was a betting man, I'm gonna put all my chips in the gospel. You can take this to the bank. This is a trustworthy saying that the gospel and Jesus is still savior of all. He's still savior of all people. So here's what I wanna encourage you this morning. You may be watching Fox News, you may be watching CNN News, you may be watching your social media news, but there's always gonna be better news. And it's the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's the good news of the gospel that is still saving people amidst our dark and hopeless world. If you wanna find hope,

it's in Jesus alone. And I would say to you this, I know, I know sometimes it's hard to believe. That's why we have an Easter theme called living proof because many people don't believe he came and he died and he rose again. But he's the savior of all people. So if today you don't know Jesus, you know who you are? You are all people. And it doesn't matter your background, doesn't matter your history, because we're gonna open up the altar for you to come to know Jesus Christ if you don't know him. And typically what happens in the seat and in your heart, you go, I'm damaged goods. God has, doesn't want anything to do with me. What can he make of my life? I am too broken. I am too far. I've done too many bad things. And I wanna encourage you today, look around. We all felt that way. And one day we knew we needed Jesus. And we just came forward. So I pray nothing holds you back from coming. And maybe today you're a believer and it feels so hard. Maybe today's your day. You go, today I wanna rededicate my life to Christ.

I wanna believe in the hope, in the living God. Maybe that's gonna be you. Let's continue verse 11 to the close of the chapter. It says, command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young. But set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of scripture, to preaching, and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift which was given you through prophecy. When the body of elders laid their hands on you, verse 15 says, be diligent in these matters. Give yourself wholly to them so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. Last point if you're taking note is this. Godly training leads to spiritual progress. Godly training leads to spiritual progress. I don't know what kind of answer I'm gonna get, but I think I know the answer I'm gonna get to this question. Who loves traffic on I-95? Anybody? Anybody enjoy being stuck for hours, right? How many of you would love traffic every day in your life?

How many of you would love traffic every day in your life? How many of you would love traffic every day to look like this? If you were on your commute to work tomorrow and it's eight o'clock and it's rush hour, you saw that or 9-9-5, you'd be like, there is a God, oh, my prayers, thank you, Lord. But life is more like this often. And the reason why I use that analogy, because you set out to go to work, to go to your, to go to whatever place that you have destined to go and traffic in itself sometimes tests your Christianity, doesn't it? It's just like you can say, what a beautiful name it is, name of Jesus, that could not hold you, the veil torn before you, and then somebody cut you off, what are you doing? Life is like that a lot of times, and it seems like as you're on this journey to grow in your walk with God, sometimes to see progress is hard. And maybe you're in a place where life is just full of traffic, uncalled for, unpredictable. God threw you something in your life and he's like, I'm throwing this conflict, this thing in your life, and what tends to happen is we get frustrated in our walk with God because things are not working out as we planned. And God is testing your faith. Maybe it's like, God, make me more patient. I want to exhibit the fruit of the spirit. I want to be more gentle. Here you go. There's some traffic. But you know what happens? For real, in real talk, this is where believers want to give up and throw in the towel when things are not moving. And maybe you're here today and that's what's...if you're being real, you're saying things are not moving, and God, if you don't move, I don't know how long I'm going to last. Maybe you're depressed.

No matter how much you open the Bible and attend service, nothing is changing. You're anxious. You're worried. You got past trauma. Been asking for a healing. You're like, God, it's taking forever. Do you see me, Lord? Life just feels like you're not getting anywhere. There's no progress. But here's what I want you to know. No matter how much traffic, no matter how much conflict, no matter how much it seems that you're not moving, here's one thing that doesn't change. When you are on your way somewhere, no matter how long it takes you to get there, the destination is always the same. And where God is taking you has not changed. It might take you a little bit longer to get there, but here's the thing. Don't get off the road. Trust God in the process, and allow him to get you to where he's destined for you. Don't give up on God, because godly training will lead you to spiritual progress, and sometimes you got to revert back to your godly training. Zachariah 4.10 says this, do not despise the days of small beginnings, because God is faithful to complete what he started. Can I get a good amen if you're with me? Can I get a good praise if you believe me this morning, that God is faithful to complete in you what he's begun? So he tells Paul, command these things. Teach them. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example in faith, purity, speech, conduct. Timothy's about 30 years old, and he's in a place where he's probably got a bunch of

older people with him there. And you know what we do, us senior saints, our seasoned saints, you know sometimes when we see a kid or we see a young adult, we're like, well why do young adults, why do they listen to that music? Why do they do those things? Why are they on their phones all the time? And sometimes we get unsolicited. Good advice. Why don't you get right? And can I just say that sometimes for our young kids, our younger generation, that is the most discouraging thing we could tell them. Because you know why? You were 15 once, and you had no idea what you were doing. You were 21 once, you were still trying to figure it out. So man, let's invite the younger generation, and I thought this was really cool because there was a young man, I happen to be in the back praying for the message. And during CCA chapel, anyone have kids that go to CCA? Not many nine o'clock, that's all right. Can we give it up for CCA though? CCA is doing such a great job, right? So that's fine. So this young man, a sophomore named Zane Hughes gets up and he begins to preach the gospel. He's talking about David

and how long it took David after his anointing before he became king, it took him 15 years. And he's encouraging this high school crowd and I'm looking at this young man and I'm like, go Zane. And I met him in the hall or outside and I said, you just gave me sermon material. You know, the greatest thing that we could do for our younger generation, our high school kids, our young adults, our middle schoolers, you know what the greatest encouragement we could share with them? We see how God is using you. Can I just say, they're not the church of the next generation, they're the church of this generation. And we need to encourage them. Yes, they may mess up. Yes, they may not figure it all out. But man, let's call out the gifting in them. That's what Paul is telling Timothy. Don't let anyone look down on you because you're young. But I love the way he says, set an example so everyone can see your progress. It's not so much what you say, Timothy, it's what people see. A lot of times it's not so much what you say because you don't gotta be your own cheerleader, but what you show people as an example to how you're following the Lord. And he's encouraging Timothy the same way.

He's like, look, continue to do this, be an example. Devote yourself to the public reading of scripture, to preaching and to teaching. And I love the fact that Calvary is a church that teaches the word of God. Because hear what Paul is saying, because there will be a time in later times. Second Timothy four, verse two to four says this. Preach the word, be prepared in season and out of season, correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and careful instruction, for the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. Sometimes it saddens me that you see people come to service and they're on fire for Jesus. And then you don't see them no more. What happened? I know life happens. But sometimes you text a friend, you go, hey, what's up brother or what's up sister? What's going on with you? I haven't seen you at the group or I haven't seen you at church. And they say to you, yeah, well, you know, I'm following this guy or this,

and it's their doctrine sound now. Some people want to go to church where they affirm everything. You're not doing nothing wrong. God is good with everything that you're doing. Like, man, I don't want to be a part of a church that doesn't challenge me in some way, that points me back to truth when I'm off. But he says, some will go and go more to what their itching ears want to hear. He's telling them, continue to preach the word. Don't neglect the gift that people will see your progress. I would say, don't neglect your gift so people could see your progress. Everyone has a gift if you're a believer in God. If you believe you got a gift today and you are a child of God, can I just get you to hold your hands up real high and just say, I know I have a gift, right? But maybe not everybody is using it. And this is not to discourage you, but God is calling you to use your gift. Just imagine we were a church that every person that gave their heart, every believer, every child of God, just to use your gift. Imagine if you used the gift that God gave you, what kind of church would we be? That everybody's using their gifts. This is why this year we're so focused on discipleship.

As we look at our growth tracks, we're looking at ways that you can either use your gift, or going to connect to learn your gift, or going to a formation class. I don't know if you know this, that after Easter, we're gonna have a freedom group. If you've been through freedom, and there's some things that you know God has set you free from, we want more people to be set free in Christ. Maybe it's your season to go join a group and be in community. Maybe God has called you to be a leader. You've been fully devoted, and now he wants to reproduce in you, so now you're serving, and you're leading a group, or you're part of our ethos leadership, or you're being part of our church leadership, or internship. We just want you to consider taking your next step to make some progress. It's all part of your godly training. Lastly, Paul would tell Timothy in verse 15, watch yourself, watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere then, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. You know why it's so important? To model beyond this service, your walk in Christ. Because if you watch yourself, you realize people are watching you at your job,

in your neighborhood, at the Publix, at the gas station, on 995, in traffic. But here's the cool thing. Man, if you watch yourself and your doctrine closely, if you give yourself wholly to Christ, who can Christ save through you? It's so cool. Can I get amen if you're with me? Let's pray. Lord, thank you. Thank you for the word today. Thank you for the godly training. Thank you for your spirit that is here with us. Thank you for the opportunity to see souls one for Jesus. And I pray this morning that the word of God sticks, not because a man preached it, but because God, it's your word. And I pray for this time where we're gonna invite people to come to know you. That your presence would just fall fresh on us. We pray this in Jesus' name. And everybody said, amen. Here's a time where I would love for you to just stay in your seats. If you are a believer in God, I want you at this moment to be praying because there could be someone in your row, someone next to you that needs to know the love of Jesus. And so today, if you say, that's me, pastor, I'm part of that all people,

and you've been searching for hope, searching for answers, today's your day. The Bible says, if you hear the voice of God, harden not your heart. So if you are here today and you go, I wanna have my eternity secure, we want you to walk forward when the song plays. And if you're here, you're saying, I'm off the track. I wanted to give up. I'm at the end of my rope. And you want restoration. And you wanna rededicate your heart to Jesus. God allows do-overs. Can I get an amen if you're with me? He allows you to come back to God. And it could be just your fresh way to say, God, I'm committing again to you. I've heard you today. So as the worship team plays, if that's you, I want you to summon the courage to come up here and we would love to pray for you. Worship team, would you lead us? If that's you and you sense God calling you to come forward, now is your time to walk forward. ♪ Lord I come, I confess, darling here, I find my way ♪ ♪ Without you, I'm all apart, you're the one that guides me ♪ ♪ You're the one that lights my heart ♪ ♪ Lord I need you, oh I need you, every hour I need you ♪ ♪ My one defense, my right hand, my right hand, my right hand ♪

♪ Righteousness, oh God, I need you. ♪ Amen. Let's give it up for these brave hearts that have come forward. So grateful for you. The Bible says for one person that repents, all of heaven rejoices. But before I move on, I wanna just give you one more opportunity. Because in a room this size, I'm believing there could be more, but maybe you're in your seat, you're like, I don't wanna be a hypocrite, I've done it before. So I want you to hear my heart, no force. And you don't have to come if God is not prompting you. But I would say this, if you are not eternally secure in your relationship with Jesus, or something's beating in your heart saying you know you need to be a pair, if it's God prompting you, before I pray for them, now is your time to come forward. We'll wait for you. Amen. Amen. Praise God. Amen. Usually it takes one or two,

and then a couple more get the courage. Only if you sense the Lord doing it. Don't let this be anything where you feel forced. Amen. Church, let's bow our heads, and I'm just gonna lead you in a prayer. I want you to repeat these words after me. If you're in the seat and you're thinking, I should be up there. But you wanna pray this prayer to yourself. God honors that prayer in your seat as well. So if you're here at the altar, or if you feel led to pray this in your seat, say Lord Jesus, I invite you in my heart, and I ask you to forgive me. I ask you to wash me clean. And now I ask, to fill me with your Holy Spirit. So I may walk with you the rest of my life. And I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. If you are here, I want you to follow Tony and Charles. I wanna meet you in the back and pray for you. Church family, let's give it up as they make their way to the room. Why don't you stand with me?

Thank you again for coming out and losing an hour of sleep, and you made it to church on time. Can we just put our hands up real quick and just say this? God is good. All the time. I mean all the time. God is good. God bless you. Hope to see you next week.