Second Timothy chapter 4, going with our theme of preaching the Word.
And Second Timothy chapter 4.
And let's start off with verse number 2.
It vibrates in Second Timothy chapter 4 verse 2.
Preach the Word. Be instant in season, out of season.
Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.
Let's open it more correctly.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be in your house this evening.
Can I ask you right now to help us to put aside all of our distractions?
Ask you to give me boldness to preach your Word, God.
We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
And so, in Second Timothy chapter 4 verse 2, the first point I want to make here tonight is this.
That preaching is two-thirds negative and one-third positive.
Notice how the Bible says, we're proved.
Is that positive or negative? It's negative.
It says, we're proved, rebuke.
That is also negative.
Then it says, exhort.
So we see negative, negative, positive.
You see, preaching is meant to be two-thirds negative and one-third positive.
But you know, that's honestly not really what you hear from most preachers.
Most preachers love people like Joel Osteen and all these popular preachers.
They just say, positive, you're best like now.
And I've heard Joel Osteen say this on Larry King where he says,
I don't really like to use the word sin.
It would cost a lot on such an offensive term.
I don't like to talk about sin. I don't like to judge people.
It's like, you're supposed to be a man of God?
And you can't even use the word sin?
It's like, are you kidding me?
Because what I see in my Bible is it's two-thirds negative and one-third positive.
Now turn to Isaiah 58.
And this theme is throughout the Bible.
Because the verse we just looked at was in the New Testament.
Don't they always tell you, well, you know, the Old Testament God was so mean and evil.
But you know, Jesus was just, oh, love, love, love.
But I don't know about you, but that's a New Testament verse we just looked at.
That's not the Old Testament. That's the New Testament.
But this has always been the theme throughout the Bible.
Because God expects preachers to preach hard against sin.
But you know, preachers don't do that in today's world.
Because they want you to come, and they want your money.
So they do not want to offend you.
Notice what it says in Isaiah 58, verse 1, this is the Old Testament.
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet,
and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
What's it say? Cry aloud. What does that mean?
It means you preach with authority.
It means you preach hard. It means you're not afraid to preach the truth.
But you cry aloud against the sin. You say, why?
Because when you walk down the street in the Philippines,
you see a bunch of men dressed as women out there.
They're wearing a dress, and you know, if you're a man of God,
you need to preach against that.
I don't know about you, but I want to live in a country that cleans itself up,
but when I get the sin out of the country, you say, how do you do that?
You do that in the pulpits here in the Philippines.
That is what's going to fix the problem.
It's not going to be the Catholic church.
It's not going to be these cults out there.
No, it's going to be Baptist churches that fix the problem.
And the way we do it is not just through soul winning,
but also preaching hard against sin in the pulpits.
That is a requirement.
Notice, cry aloud.
Then it says, spare not.
What does spare not mean?
It means you don't hold anything back.
You preach all of it.
You see, every single word in this Bible is pure.
Doesn't the Bible say every word of God is pure?
Every single word.
You mean the parts in Leviticus chapter 20?
Yeah, those words are pure.
The parts where it talks about the abominations and the sin
and the various reasons for the death penalty in the Bible?
Yeah, those words are pure words.
Because every word of God is pure.
Every single one.
And we will not be afraid to cry against the sin.
And we will not spare.
It says, spare not.
Every single thing needs to be preached.
You say, why?
Look, we as people are sinners.
We need the hard preaching to fix our lives.
And it says, spare not.
Then it says, lift up thy voice like a trumpet.
That goes along with crying aloud.
And then it says, and show my people their transgression
and show Jacob their sins.
Notice how it keys in on their specific sins.
And look, when you're at a church and you're preaching
you have to preach about the issues at your church
and in your country and the area you live.
It needs to be specific.
Let me give you an example of something that really
in the past has not been much of an issue.
Here, but it is in America.
In America, half of people are divorced.
In the Philippines, nobody is divorced.
But I'll tell you what, it's about to become legal.
You say, why?
Because pastors aren't preaching hard against that sin.
And now it's about to become legal in our courts.
And it's going to be an issue in this country as well.
And so, you have to understand
you preach against the issues of your day
and where you live.
That's why it says, show my people their transgression.
The house of Jacob.
Their sins.
The specific issues that they're dealing with.
Go to the New Testament.
Matthew 5.
Now we looked at Isaiah 58 verse 1.
Many of the prophets in the Old Testament.
Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel.
Look, every single one you look at
they're preaching mostly negative.
It's not mostly positive.
You say, brother Stuckey, are you a hate preacher?
Well, you know, I guess I am.
Because throughout the Bible, they're all hate preachers.
They preach against the sins that exist.
They preach hard against the sin.
And they're not afraid to preach against sin.
That is what you see in the Bible.
You say, well, you know, I think Jesus was more loving.
Well, let's see what Jesus said in Matthew 5.
The servant on the mount.
Verse 27.
He had heard that it was said by them of old time
thou shalt not commit adultery.
But I say on you that whosoever looketh on a woman
to lust after her hath committed adultery with her
already in his heart.
Now, was it a sin in the Old Testament
to lust after a woman?
Of course it was a sin.
But what Jesus is doing is making it very clear.
I'm not just saying actually committing the act
but even in your mind.
The thought of foolishness is sin, the Bible says.
And so Jesus gets very specific.
You say, why is it that they crucified Jesus?
They didn't like his words.
They didn't like what he said.
Why is it that the first serving priest
they tried to throw him off a cliff?
They didn't like what was coming out of his mouth.
And what you have to understand is that
if Jesus Christ was around today
in this country most people would
hate his words.
They wouldn't like his words.
You say, how do you know that?
Because they don't like my words.
They don't like words from men of God
that are preaching the truth.
And look, if they don't like other words they wouldn't like the words of Jesus Christ.
Why? Because we didn't make these up ourselves.
It's right here.
And so if they get mad at him
they're going to get mad at us.
And so you've got to wonder about the preaching that everybody loves.
Look, if everybody loves somebody
maybe they're not such a great guy.
Because if Jesus was hated
we're going to be hated as well
if we preach the exact same thing
that's what the Bible teaches.
In Matthew 5 we see that Jesus is preaching very negative.
Did you know Jesus spoke a lot more about hell than heaven?
Well it makes sense because he doesn't want people to go to hell.
And if you don't want people to go to hell
you warn them about that place.
And so Jesus
you know what, he was mainly preaching negative.
Now turn to Proverbs 23.
And I'll tell you what, this is not just
something for preachers behind the pulpit.
But this concept should be taken outside
of the pulpit when you raise your kids.
I'm very proud of my son.
Just got spanking in there.
Why? Because if he's being rebellious
you know what, you're supposed to spank him.
That's what the Bible teaches.
And we have to teach our kids at a young age
so they don't grow up and be rebellious.
And see it says here in Proverbs 23 verse 13
Withhold not correction from the child
for if thou beatest him with the rod
he shall not die.
Did you know that when you spank your child
he don't die?
I mean they cry for two minutes
and then they forget about it and then they hug you.
Isn't that the way it works?
You know when you first become a parent
because we have one child and a second on the way
but when I first spanked my son
especially the first time, I was like I don't even know what to do.
But then right afterwards they hug you
and they just want to make up.
Kids are obviously very emotional.
Look, kids do not die when you spank them.
But it teaches them
that there is judgment for doing wrong.
And if they're being taught by their
fathers and mothers that
their father is never going to judge them
for doing wrong, they're going to believe one day
that their Heavenly Father is not going to judge them either.
And they're not going to realize the importance of
keeping the rules of God.
And so notice what it says in verse 14
Thou shalt lead him with the rod and shall deliver
his soul from hell.
You deliver your child from hell because when they
realize that there's a payment for their sins
and breaking rules
it's going to make them realize
I've got a loving God up there
but it's also the same God that sends people to hell.
Yes, God is love
but at the same time
the Bible says God is a jealous God.
At the same time God is a God that does
pour out judgment upon people
and when people go to hell the Bible says
the wrath of God abideth on them forever.
Forever.
Look, the people he throws in hell
guess what? He doesn't love them anymore.
They're burning in hell forever.
He obviously decided they deserve
to go there.
And so look, yes we have a loving God
that preaches hard against us
and he expects us as preachers
to preach hard.
And so go back to 2 Timothy 4
2 Timothy 4
And so preaching is two-thirds negative.
Reprove, review, exhort.
Now, there's a problem
if it's 100% negative.
But there's also a problem
if it's 100% positive.
Yes, 100% negative
is a problem and I'm sure
it's tough when you're preaching sermons
You want to preach the sermons
against sin and against false doctrine
at the same time you still need to preach
the sermons that build the people up
because we have so many things we struggle with
it can't just all be about false prophets
because there's a million here in the Philippines.
There are so many false prophets and false churches here.
And so you need to balance
and it's a tough thing to get that balance.
But people like to really rip on people
for always being negative
but we're not always being positive
because that's a pretty big problem as well
not being all negative is closer to the two-thirds negative
than being all positive.
But yet most preachers are all positive.
In fact, look at the churches around town.
Look at Victory.
Look at CCF. And guess what?
Positive, positive, positive.
You say why? Because people like to hear good things about them.
People don't like being told that they're wrong
and they need to make a change.
That is why churches like Victory
are always going to be a lot bigger than a church like this.
This church will never be as big as Victory.
This church will never be as big as CCF.
Neither will ours.
It will never be that big.
You say why? Because most people like to be lied to.
That's what you see throughout the Bible.
Most people just want to be lied to
and hear positive things.
They want to come to church and get an ad on the back stand.
Man, you're such a good person.
You're doing such a great job.
You're just knocking out.
Know you didn't pray in your Bible this week.
Know you didn't pray this week.
Know you've never let a soul to the Lord in your life.
But man, you're such a good person.
People love to hear that. Why?
Because they don't have to do any work
and they feel very spiritual
even though they're not spiritual.
There's a remnant of people
and people like us in this room
we want to hear the truth.
We want to know whether what we're doing is right
or whether or not it's wrong.
Look, when it comes to the truth
it cannot always be positive
because we have a lot of problems in our lives.
Me included.
Every single day.
And I need the hard preaching as well.
Why? I'm not perfect.
Nobody's perfect.
And preaching should be two-thirds negative
and one-third positive.
2 Timothy 4 verse 2.
But I want you to notice something here.
And it says in 2 Timothy 4 verse 2
Preach the word, be instant,
end season, out of season,
reprove, rebuke, exhort
with all longsuffering and doctrine.
And I want you to realize
that when you read this verse
you're seeing that the hard preaching
is not to just hurt people
and destroy their lives.
You're actually trying to encourage those people
to do what's right.
You're trying to help them fix the problem
when you preach hard against sin.
Quite honestly, it's not fun
to preach against sins
that are going on in the church.
When there's things that you notice are a problem
those are the last things you want to preach about.
You say, why?
Because you don't want to offend people.
You don't want to make them mad.
It's honestly difficult to preach against those things.
But the thing is, if you actually love
the people in your room
you actually care about them.
You want to help them fix the problem.
See, when the Bible speaks about being a pastor or bishop or elder
these terms are synonymous
but they represent different roles.
And the representation of a pastor
is one that cares for the sheep.
Because a pastor and shepherd
are synonymous in the Bible.
If you're a preacher, you need to care for the people
that are in your room.
You need to care for the people in your church.
And if you never preach
if you don't preach that the wolf is coming
if you don't want it when you see the wolf
then what kind of a shepherd are you?
See, when you're a shepherd
when you're a pastor
you should warn them when you see a wolf
that maybe they don't see.
And yes, you have to preach against the issues
because you care about them.
And look, if they don't see the wolf
if they don't see the issue
they might be upset, they might be mad
but you know what, if they're people that love the Lord
it's going to resonate with them
and they're going to understand and realize it.
I remember we had somebody who was just
visiting our church
and I was preaching through a series on the Pentecostals
and I was preaching all the issues
with their religion
and I remember I was preaching against the Pentecostals
and this person was visibly
moved by what I was saying
because she had been in a Pentecostal church
and she had gotten saved very recently
and she was kind of upset, I can tell.
She wasn't very happy.
But you know, after the service
she told the people that she was family members with
everything he said was right
and she was perfectly fine.
And so sometimes the preaching comes down really hard
and look, I've been in church
where the preaching comes right on my toe
it just comes down hard on you
and it's like, oh, let's not feel good.
But you know, if you're someone who loves the Lord
you're like, you know what, I need to make the switch.
I need to make everybody from time.
Every single person from time to time.
When I write sermons sometimes I'm like, man, this is coming down hard on me.
I need to make these changes.
But you know, here's the thing about this
people that love the Lord, they want this.
They want the truth.
And honestly, what we're trying to do is encourage people.
Look, when he preaches hard against your sins
it's not because he hates you
it actually proves he loves you.
Because if he didn't really care about you
he would never preach against your sin
he would never preach against the things that you're struggling with
it's all he wants you to do in a month.
The proof that he loves you is the fact that he's actually
willing to preach the hard things
and say what it means to be said.
Turn to Ephesians chapter 6, Ephesians 6.
And this is what people really just don't get
because they look at preachers that preach hard against sin
and they think they're very painful people
and very mean people
and they honestly seem to think that when they step outside of the pulpit
they just see somebody smoking a cigarette on the side of the street
and they just rip it from them and yell at them.
That's not what they do.
Actually, they actually care about those people
and they realize, you know, I preached behind the pulpit
but you know, first off, you're just trying to win those people the Lord
if it's random people.
But here's the thing about this
the person who's the positive only preacher
they won't even say anything to sin
because they do not care about the people
that they're preaching to.
And so honestly, the people that actually are loving
people that actually are caring
are the same ones that are going to preach against
the sodomites and the pedophiles.
You say, why? Because they actually care about the children.
And they're going to warn people
because, you know what, they want to keep the children safe.
That's the reality.
And they might seem very hateful
but in reality, they're actually very loving.
That's the truth.
And it says in Ephesians 6 verse 4
And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath
but bring them up in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord.
And see, it comes to the same thing as parents
because as we have to discipline our kids
and provide admonition
if you do not do that
you're going to provoke those children to wrath
if you do not spank them.
You say, why?
Here's the thing, if you do not spank and discipline your kids
if you do not do that
what's going to happen is those kids are going to grow up
and be rebellious and guess what?
They'll be arrested
because they never were taught what was right and what was wrong.
And here's the thing
it's the same thing with the church.
If the pastor remembers what's right and what's wrong
you will provoke them to wrath and they'll leave the church.
You say, why?
Because what will end up happening at the end of the day
is those people in church will wonder why
they keep struggling with the same sins.
They're going to wonder why they can't seem to be motivated
to read the Bible.
They're going to wonder why they keep making the same mistakes.
And honestly, the problem was right behind the pulpit
because the pastor was not willing to preach the truth.
And you know what, here's the thing
most pastors don't care.
Because honestly, if you leave the church
it's fine because at a church like Victory
they've got plenty of members.
They don't care when you fall in rough times and you leave the church.
Why? Because there's a thousand members in that church.
And they don't actually care about any of their members.
That's the truth.
Turn to Colossians 3.
And so when somebody tells you
that what you're doing is wrong
and they're trying to help you
someone who's in authority and trying to teach you
they're not doing that because they hate you
they're actually showing that they love you.
Look at Colossians 3 verse 21.
Fathers provoke not your children to anger.
This is a parallel verse with what we just saw.
Provoke not your children to anger
lest they be discouraged.
And see, here is the truth
that if you don't have the proper balance
on these things
of love but also
admonition
whether it's behind the pulpit or whether or not you're raising kids
your kids whose members are going to be discouraged
and they're going to be disheartened
because they keep struggling with the same things.
That is what the Bible teaches.
Now turn back to 2 Timothy chapter 4.
And so we see that
preaching ought to be two-thirds negative
but the person who preaches hard
is actually trying to encourage their members
but I want you to notice
in 2 Timothy 4 verse 4
you see one other thing where it says
Preach the word, the instant
in season, out of season
will prove, rebuke, exhort
with all long suffering
in doctrine.
What does it mean long suffering?
It basically means that you just
are very patient
and you're very long suffering.
What this is teaching is
the person preaching
yes they preach hard
but they're very long suffering about it.
What that means is
if they see a member make a mistake
they don't just immediately lay down the hammer.
And obviously you have to understand
when preachers are preaching specifically
it's because the issue has been going on
for a while.
It's not like it's just some small issue
and it's like man I'm preaching a whole sermon.
You saw someone at church
they were listening to rock music
you caught them.
So then the next sermon you just hammer against rock music.
That's not the way it works with preachers.
Honestly, members have issues
and they're not perfect.
You're going to see mistakes from time to time
but when the preacher actually preaches against it
you're actually being long suffering about it.
That's the nature of God as well.
Because God will lay down the hammer
on stuff when he's very long suffering
before he does that.
I find it interesting if you compare
the true God that we believe in
and then the false God of the Hindus
Shiva which is a
manifestation of God they say
that Shiva is very quick to anger.
That Shiva gets mad like this
immediately gets mad
but then basically just forgives immediately.
That's the exact opposite of God.
God is actually very long suffering
but when he lays down the hammer
he lays it down.
It's the exact opposite
and we believe in the same God.
It's the exact opposite of the Hindu God.
Turn to 2 Timothy 3.
I want you to realize that when preaching comes
the people that preach
they're very long suffering about it
they don't just immediately lay down the hammer
we're going to see that in the life of all the apostles.
That was a character trait that he had.
2 Timothy 3 verse 10
This is a characteristic of Paul the Apostle.
He was very long suffering
when there were issues that had to be dealt with.
He was long suffering if somebody made him mad
and preachers that preach hard against sin
they actually are very patient.
They actually are very long suffering
but sometimes issues need to be dealt with.
Now turn to 2 Corinthians 7
and we'll see the famous issue
that Paul deals with in 2 Corinthians 7.
If you remember
in the book of 1 Corinthians
the issue was that a man
was with his father's wife
Now
it doesn't really get much worse
in a church than that sin.
I can't even really think of anything worse
except when you have the sodomites
or pastors and things like that
in some of the Protestant churches
every Catholic church
pretty much. Outside of that
sin you can really think of in church.
And so this man has his father's wife
and the thing that's a problem is
you expect that from even churches
you don't expect that from a church
where there's people that are saved.
A sin that's that grievous.
That's what's going on in the book of 1 Corinthians
but in 2 Corinthians 7
notice what it says in verse 8
For though I made you sorry with a letter
I do not repent
though I did repent
for I perceive that the same epistle
shall be the word but for a season.
And so Paul says
I ripped you apart
in the book of 1 Corinthians
and he said I am not sorry for it
but notice what he said
I do not repent though I did repent.
You see Paul actually
felt bad about having to rip them apart.
It's not like
he took pleasure in the fact that man
I ripped someone apart today.
I am so glad that they committed sin
so I can just lay down the hammer.
I did repent. I did feel bad.
I didn't really want to rip them apart
but it became an issue where I actually
did have to do that.
But here's the thing about this
for I perceive that the same epistle
hath made you sorry though a word but for a season
what actually happened is that
that hard preaching in the book of 1 Corinthians
it solved the problem.
That's why I say I don't repent
I did feel bad about it
I know I had to rip you apart
because of the sin
but now why? It actually made a change in them.
They actually got
I guess hard preaching actually works.
I mean they say
well hard preaching doesn't work
you need to be more loving
try that technique every time
you know your child cries
just give them some pongymagus
and see what happens when they are 7, 8, 9, 10 years old
and they are going to be a really bad child.
That's what's going to take place.
Sometimes you have to just lay down the hammer
and that's what he does
Well that's the book of 1 Corinthians
Now notice what it says in verse 9
Now I rejoice not that you are made sorry
but that you sorrow to repentance
for you are made sorry after a godly manner
that you might receive damage by us
in nothing. Now I want to explain
here verses 9 and 10
because these are very misunderstood
and people that believe you have to repent of your sins
to be saved, this is one of the main
passages they are going to turn to.
Now let me ask you a question
The church at Corinth
is it a Catholic church?
No.
Is it some cult church out there?
No.
It's actually a Bible believing church
It's actually a church filled full of believers
saved people
Now obviously if a church reaches a certain size
there's going to be some people that are
infiltrators or unbelievers or people that are new
I understand that but the majority of people
in this church were saved people
the church at Corinth
and so he's writing to people that are already saved
What they're going to like to do is turn to these verses
and say, well see, they repented
of their sins and they got saved
they were already saved
The issue was a man
who we call a brother, a saved person
is committing that wicked sin
That's what the issue is
The issue is that other saved people were okay
with that sin being committed
and nobody was dealing with it
The issue is saved people were committing wicked sins
That's what the issue is
Notice what it says here
It says that he sorrowed to repentance
Notice what it says in verse 10
For godly sorrow worketh repentance
to salvation
not to be repented of
but the sorrow of the world worketh death
Brother Stuckey, it sounds like
they had godly sorrow
they repented of their sins and they got saved
That's not what's taking place
What you have to understand is these people are saved
and so what we see is two things
godly sorrow
and worldly sorrow
What you have to understand is
even as a saved person
repentance, true godly sorrow
works repentance to salvation
How? Because of the fact
look at the life of King Saul
Did King Saul have godly sorrow?
Did he ever make changes in his life?
No he didn't
Was he sorrowed? Absolutely
He had worldly sorrow
Worldly sorrow means you basically don't make any changes
You're sorrowed because he got caught
but then you do the exact same thing
Godly sorrow means
you actually make a change
And so yes, King Saul had worldly sorrow
and what ended up happening to him?
He had worldly sorrow, never godly sorrow
He ends up killing himself
That worked death in his life
So godly sorrow does work repentance
to salvation because it will save you
not only from death but also destroying your life
Look, drinking alcohol
will destroy your life
Being a drunk will destroy your life
and preaching hard against that sin
If you have godly sorrow to it
it works repentance to salvation in your life
It's going to save you from destroying your marriage
It's going to save you from destroying your relationship
with your kids
It's going to save you from losing your job
It's going to save you from destroying your health
And so yes, when you have godly sorrow
it will work repentance
to salvation
This is not talking about spiritual salvation
to heaven though
These people aren't saved
But at the same time, the hard preaching
is due to salvation in our lives
It can help us make the changes we need
But look, if you never preach hard against sin
nobody's going to make any changes
If there's somebody who does not read the Bible
they're not going to start reading the Bible
unless they hear that sermon that says
you're not right with God, just read the Bible
That's the reality
And so honestly, we need the hard preaching
But you have to realize
it's with very long suffering nature
Now turn back to 2 Timothy 4
And so we see that preaching is 2 thirds negative
And we see not only is it 2 thirds negative
but it's meant to encourage
It's done with a long suffering nature
But I want you to also realize
it says long suffering and doctrine
Lots of doctrine is very important
And this is something that is very missing
from almost every church
Honestly, you could walk into victory tonight
if they have service or Sunday or whatever
You can sit through that rock concert
that they have
And you can just take a survey around the church
and ask every single member of that church
what do you think it takes to get to heaven
And you're going to hear 20 different answers
from 20 different people
You say, why?
Because no doctrine exists in that church
It's a gathering of people that say they believe in Christ
but very few are actually saved
Very few are actually saved
And victory at CCF
mainstream non-denominational churches
They intentionally preach no doctrine
in the middle of an event
What you see here in 2 Timothy 4 verse 2
is when we preach the word
there must be doctrine
that is presented
And you say, why?
Because we need to fellowship with people that have the same doctrine
That's the reason why
Look, you're not going to invite some Catholic
to get up here behind the pulpit
and give his little lecture about
eating the bread that turns into the body of Jesus
Why? He's got different doctrine
And doctrine
is very important
There's a reason why this church actually has the name
Baptist in it, because that actually tells you stuff
It tells you we believe in baptism by immersion
as opposed to just
dropping a few little drops on your head
Look, when I was a baby
I got those few little drops
across the church
Many of you, you have that same
Don't lie to me, you have that same testimony
When you were a baby, you had those drops
on your head
At least hopefully now you have the Orthodox
where they dump you, they dump the baby three times
in the name of the Father
and then the baby goes back in in the name of the Son
and in the name of the Holy Ghost
That's how they do Orthodox baptism
Because they say, hey, it's by immersion
but we still baptize babies
So they just slam those babies in three times
Look, doctrine matters
And look, I understand
that all of these churches
here in the Philippines say
I believe in Christ
That is a very generic term that means a million things
What do you actually believe?
Turn to 2 John 1
And look, you know what?
Sometimes people will call you a Protestant
Look, I'm not a Protestant
I'm not close to being a Protestant
because saying you're a Protestant means you believe the Catholic church was once right
and you came out of the Catholic church
I didn't come out of the Catholic church
I didn't come out of the
Mother of Paul's church in the book of Revelation
Now, I grew up Protestant
But then I got saved
Then I heard the gospel
and I actually believed on the Lord Jesus Christ
And so look
We are Baptists around here
Why? Because we believe in eternal security
It's not just baptism by immersion
We believe once saved, always saved
To make Mormons and things like that
Because it was fun
You memorize a lot of verses
You make them look like fools and things like that
But it ends up being a waste of time
But I remember somebody showed me this verse
And I was like, I'm going to take that literally
And I was like, you're not welcome in my house
And honestly, I've learned over the years
that when you deal with cults
you're basically wasting your time
if they try to debate you
Now here's the thing, if they want to listen to you, that's one thing
But honestly, I've done this before
when somebody came and knocked on
When I knocked on somebody's door actually
I knocked on someone's door that wanted to argue with me
and I just quit wasting my time
and they said, hey you came to my door
you have to be willing to listen
When you come and knock on my door
I'll listen to what you have to say
I knocked on your door here today
And honestly the truth is if you knocked on my door
I wouldn't listen to them anyway
But honestly, the Bible says
don't even receive them into your house
Now that's true in a literal house
But how much more the house can die?
That you can't just let anybody
get up here and preach service
You're not going to have some Mormon
get up here and tell you about
how there's a multitude of gods
Why? Because they believe something
completely different
If they have a different doctrine
then obviously they believe different things
Turn to 2 Timothy 4
You have to understand that
our doctrine is the reason why
we can fellowship
Now I'm sure in this room
many of us, including myself
we have family members that are not believers
They do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
whether it's Catholicism or something
they're trusting in their works to get to heaven
Now do you love them?
Yes you do
But at the same time, how close can you really be
when they have completely different beliefs?
I mean honestly, what can you really talk about?
We just don't believe the same things
And we think of family members
but also all the other people
that say they're Christians out there
How can we really fellowship with them
if they believe different things?
I mean we can't because we're fighting different battles
We're fighting the battle of soul winning
That's a big battle we're fighting
And when we fight the soul winning battle
we're showing people that you do not have to repent
But if somebody believes the exact opposite
we're fighting a different battle
Because I'm trying to show people like that
that you do not have to repent
and you must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
That's it
The Bible says...
That's it
In Jesus Christ
It does not say well, it's believe plus
It doesn't say believe and change
No, it's just believe
And if somebody's preaching a different message
And look, when we go soul winning in parks
there's a lot of Christians that want to meet up with us
I have an open invite
to go street preaching
with some non-denominational church
that thinks you're going to lose your salvation
In case I'm on the world circuit line
Come on over, you're a missionary, come teach us
They're like, you can street preach with us whenever you want
And it's just like
Oh yeah, thanks, thanks
I tried to act respectfully
so I didn't have them be a thorn in our side
in case I'm on the world circle
But look, all those groups just want to bring everybody together
And the Catholics say
Hey, it was a big misunderstanding
when we murdered 59 people
during the Protestant Reformation
and the times happened
It's just a big misunderstanding
The Orthodox Church, I know we had the great schism
Let's just get back together
And let's just bring the Muslims with us too
Let's bring the Buddhists and the Hindus
Because if you believe different things
then you can't fellowship with one another
If somebody believes in multiple gods
I'm sorry if you're not my friend
Now I'm not saying that makes them arrested
They're certainly not going to be my best friend
I'll try to explain the gospel to them
But if they're not able to receive that gospel
they're not the person I go hanging out with
all the time to talk about spiritual things
Why? Because they believe different things
And doctrine is extremely important
Now one thing that takes place
is there's so few of us
that believe the same doctrine
that it makes you almost want to be friends
with people that are non-Catholic
Because there's this thing in the Philippines
that if you're not Catholic
you're on the same side
You know what I'm talking about
Basically, hey, if you're victory is the same as CCF
you made it out of Catholicism
Or you're a Methodist man
You made it out of Catholicism
That's the best part
Because there's still different doctrines being presented
And I understand
there's a few people who believe the right side
But look, it is what it is
We're starting a new generation
And so look, in 50 years
it's going to be different when our kids are growing up
And they're going to have lots of people to fellowship with
because churches are going to get started
and people are going to get saved
But honestly that's just not really the case right now
Right now there's very few churches that are preaching
and are doing the same thing
Now let's notice one other thing in 2 Timothy 4
And I want you to see this
Where it says
In verse 2
2 Timothy 4 verse 2
It says, in season, out of season
Now go to verses 3 and 4
When it says in season
It's saying preach it when it's popular
And out of season
You still preach it when it's not popular
Basically the word of God is preach whether it's popular or unpopular
You think of eating certain fruits
You know, in America
My favorite fruit is
Mangal
It's the best tasting fruit
But you know, honestly in America
It's only in season for like 2 months
I love Thai food
So sometimes I'll go to Thai restaurants back in America
Where my wife and I would go sometimes
And I'd always ask for mango sticky rice
Because that's like the best tasting
Pangimaya in the world
In my opinion
But quite honestly
Very rarely do they actually have it
Why? Because it's not in season
And because if you were to eat it
During that time period
It just doesn't grow well in America
It's not going to taste very good
So they just don't carry the product
Now obviously here is in season more often
But basically when we're saying in season
Think of a fruit or vegetable that only grows
During certain times of the year
You do not want to eat that fruit or vegetable
In the wrong time of year
It won't taste very good
But see when it comes to the word of God
It doesn't matter whether it's wanted or not
Whether it's in season
Or when it's out of season
It still needs to be preached
And quite honestly it needs to be preached more when it's out of season
In fact the last point is this
The reason why preaching is important
Is because people are rejecting it
That is why it needs to be preached
Notice what it says in verse 3
They will come when they will not endure sound doctrine
But after their own lust
Shall they keep to themselves
Teachers having itching ears
They shall turn away their ears
And the children shall be turned onto fables
And so here in these verses
It talks about people having itching ears
And basically they only want things that tickle their ears
That sound good
They don't want the heart preaching
And throughout the book of Jeremiah
That's what you're always seeing
It says literally people want to be lied to
So what it's so that the preachers are lying to them
Why? It makes them feel good
Isn't it true that in today's world
People are turned away from the truth
And you know it makes sense
In today's world because we have the internet
We have the TV
We have all of these things
And at a young age these children are being brainwashed into public schools
They're being brainwashed with the television
They're being brainwashed with the computers
And all this stuff
Is there anything they want now on YouTube?
Look I mean there's a lot of cool things you can find on YouTube
There's great preaching you can find on YouTube
But quite honestly
99% of things on YouTube are garbage
And honestly
Kids are seeing things that they ought not to be seeing
At a very young age on YouTube
And the world thinks it's fine
They will condemn the hate preacher
But they're not allowed to see anything they want
All kinds of scandalous things
That are things the Bible says are supposed to be
Between a man and a wife
And yet kids openly see that on YouTube
At the age of 5 and 6 years old
They're still in young kids' minds
People want to reject the truth in today's world
They want things that actually sound good to them
And quite honestly
Because we have a generation of people
That don't know the truth
And are rejecting the truth
The hard preaching needs to be there even more
To preach against it
Turn to Isaiah 30
If you walk down the street here in the Philippines
And every lady just looked very conservatively dressed
With a long dress
And every man looked like a man
All the men had short hair
And all the ladies had long hair
They look very godly
They're all carrying Bibles
Then guess what?
There wouldn't be so many things to preach against
But that's not what you see when you walk down the street
I remember when I became an infant and fundamental Baptist
About 15 years ago
And I started listening to preaching
And you hear preachers from the past really preach hard
Against going to the beach
That was a big issue
Because they said people are dressed wrong at the beach
They're dressed in bathing suits
And all this stuff that's inappropriate
But in today's world they're dressed like that on the street here
And it's just like you can't go anywhere
And avoid it
See there was a day when there was a certain place
Where people were dressed basically where they were naked
But now it's everywhere
And it's like honestly you can't just put yourself in a bubble
You gotta go to Robinson's to get your groceries
Or the market and guess what?
You're gonna see people dressed pretty scandalously
That is the world we live in
But that's why we need preachers to preach hard against it
And notice what it says in Isaiah 30 verse 8
Now go, write before them in a table
And note it in a book
That it's time to come forever and ever
That this is a rebellious people
Lying children
Children that will not hear the law of the Lord
And see God is angry
Because there's people that just do not want to hear the law of the Lord
They don't want the commandments of God
They don't want to know what the Bible says
Notice what it says in verse 10
Which say to the seers
See not into the prophets
Prophesy not unto us right things
Speak unto us smooth things
Prophesy deceit
The Bible speaks about people that would say
Hey we don't want things that are rough and hard
Just preach unto us nice smooth things
Just prophesy deceit
Just lie to us
Just tell us that we're a good person
Because you know we really are emotional about God
Even though we're a drunk
Even though we're a drug dealer
Even though we murdered someone
You know hey it's fine it's no good
Even though we're committing adultery on our spouse
Just lie to us
Just make us feel like
You know hey I put in a lot of money in the offering plate
So that's okay if I just commit these wicked sins right
Isn't that the way it is
See that's why people like churches like that
The non-denominational fund centers
Like victory
And that's why there's this symbiotic relationship
You say why are these pastors just intentionally lying to people
They're intentionally lying to people
Because there's people that want that
They need each other to survive
Because the person that's really wicked
Is perfectly willing to just commit any manner of sin
And feel spiritual by putting in a lot of money in the offering plate
And so basically
People that have a lot of money love churches like victory
Where do all the actors go to church?
They don't go to our church
They go to your church?
I don't think so
You're not going to see vice gondo walking into this church
You're not going to walk into our church either
You're not going to be welcome
People like that
They're not going to like our kind of church
Where they can commit sin to be a bad person
And they're willing to put in a lot of money
And they put in a lot of money because it makes them feel very spiritual
Especially as the preacher is talking about how
Man, just always talking about money
A five part series on just money
Money, money, money
And a grocery man
Let's just talk about money, money, money
Part one, money part two, money part three
And look, you know what
Those sorts of churches, they attract people with a lot of money
And they also attract people that don't love the Lord
Never go soul winning
They have a thousand members
And they win less people with more than this church wins
And honestly they probably have less people to save
Than a church like this
I mean there's very few people that are saved
In churches like that
Look, I wish in most cases
I wish that most people in this community
But it's not the case
Most of them aren't saved
They believe in a different gospel
That's the reality
And what it said in verse 10
In that relationship, basically there are plenty of people
That are false prophets that are willing to get up and just lie
Why? Because they get a lot of money
It's good for them
Go back to 2 Timothy chapter 4
2 Timothy chapter 4
But do you really believe that it's ever been any different?
I mean what we're seeing in the Bible
Is that during this time period
This is a real issue
People lying
That wasn't just something in the Old Testament though
Where it says prophesied deceases
How do you know that?
Because the Bible says there's no new thing under the sun
Nothing has changed
The vast majority of prophets have always been false prophets
It's always been like that
Whether it's in the book of Isaiah
Whether you go to the Minor Prophets
Whether you go to the New Testament
Look, who did Jesus preach against the most in the Bible?
Was it religious people or unreligious?
Religious people, the scribes
The Pharisees, the Sadducees
Why? Because he's very mad at false prophets that are deceiving people
And if he was around today
Guess what he'd be preaching?
He'd say, how can you name all these names?
Because if Jesus was around he'd be preaching against all those same churches
Because they're preaching false gospels
They don't love the Lord
They don't do anything to those churches
You go to the mall and you hear them from like a mile away
The floors are just bumping and shaking
I asked my wife one time
It was after our church was over
And we went out to get something to eat
And I was like, what is that sound?
And then she said, oh it's ECF
I was like, yeah, I thought it was like a rock concert
I mean, I did, I thought it was like a rock concert
I was like, what in the world is that music?
And it was CCF
Singing some Christian song
That's the world we live in, 2 Timothy 4 verse 5
The Bible reads
Watch thou in all things, endure afflictions
Do the work of an evangelist
Make full proof of thy ministry
The Bible says endure afflictions
Why does he have to warn him to endure afflictions?
Because if you're a man of God
You will be afflicted
You will be persecuted
That's just the reality
Why? Because people don't like the words we're saying
Now in this room, you like Jesus
That's what most people want
They have to realize that you are independent
Because when we hear things like this
We say, man, the word of God is preached
We're learning the Bible, amen
We're encouraged, we're edified
Most people would be horrified
By the words that are being used tonight
They'd be horrified by it
They'd be like, man, how is this person even welcome in our country?
That's the way they would feel
Why? Because they don't want to know the truth
Because they want to be lied to
That's the reality
The Bible says endure afflictions
Because if you're someone who's living for God
You will go through afflictions and persecutions
I want to warn you
It's not just going to be the person preaching the sermon
Just being attached to a church like this
Will give you a lot of those same persecutions
You will have friends that will reject you
You will have people at school that will make fun of you
People at work will make fun of you
That's not what the Bible calls a light affliction
The Catholic Church just murdered people
During the dark ages
We're not getting murdered
We're just getting made fun of
It's not really that big of a deal
It says endure afflictions
Do the work of an evangelist
One of the big things when it comes to being a pastor
A preacher, an evangelist
Is when you're doing the work of soul winning
And getting people saved
But honestly, the direct context
Is you're doing the work of God
But honestly, the direct context
Is more about preaching the Word
Than it is going soul winning in these verses
And so yes, the soul winning is vital
Every church
That is a real church needs to be soul winning
But honestly, every church needs to be doing
More than just soul winning
They need to be preaching the Word with authority
And not holding back
That is what the Bible teaches
And so let me say this
You should be happy that you have a church here
That maybe not every sermon makes you feel really great
And maybe you feel guilty all the time
But you have a man of God
That's actually preaching the truth to you
He's actually doing what very few preachers do
And that is, preaching the Word
Let's close the Word of God
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here
In your house this evening
And asking to help us to apply these words to our lives
God, I ask you to help me as well
I ask you to bless this church
And help them with their anniversary weekend
Help them with all the persecution they're going through
God, and ask you to
Guide them in the right way God
And just pray these things in Jesus name
Amen