The Expectancy of our Faith

 Temple Baptist Church - 11-17-2024

Psalm 23:6

 

Introduction: 

 

A.  Tonight, I will end our look at the 23^rd Psalm.  This Psalm can be preached word by word as I find at least thirty complete messages here.  What a wonderful story of the life of a believer, the soon to be King David, King of Israel and the establishment of an eternal Throne on which Christ will one day sit.

 

B.  As with any good biography, in spite of all David’s faults and failures during his life, all is well that ends well.  At the beginning of salvation, God intends to lead, feed, and restore throughout our lives.

 

C.  At the end of our physical life, God intends to walk the Valley of Death with us so that we will fear no evil.

 

D.  During our physical life, God wants to do things to us, with us, and through us as He uses the rod, staff, and table to correct, comfort, and communicate with us.

 

E.  Tonight, I want to look at verse six.  We find here the Promise of our Earthly Existence and our Eternal Existence.  God has give two wonderful promises to those who know the Lord in salvation, allow Him to lead/feed/restore us and then allow Him to have an intimate part of our life between salvation and the Valley of Death.

 

F.  Let us look at the breakdown of verse 6:  “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life (Temporal life): and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. (Eternal life)”

 

1.  Our guarantee from the LORD:  “Surely” is not a question, it is a promise.  God always keeps His promises!

 

2 Corinthians 1:18-20  But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.  (19)  For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.  (20)  For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

 

a.  Verse 6 is a promise of happiness and hope to the child of God.  There are words in the Bible that are used in diverse ways but mean the same thing and “surely” is one of them.  The sister words for “surely” are “verily” and “truly” or “Amen” (let it be so).

 

Verily - Of Hebrew origin [H543]; properly firm, that is, (figuratively) trustworthy; adverbially surely (often as interjection so be it): - amen, verily.

 

b.  This promise is also unconditional.  No conditions are stated here.  God is a good God and intends to take care of His children in this life.

 

2.  Temporary Life.  “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” is the earthly extent of His promise.  I do not know what will transpire between now and the end of my life, but I promise to carry this promise of God to the grave!  In the New Testament, our Lord said that He would not leave nor forsake us which is also unconditional.

 

a.  All the days of our lives, the LORD fills with “goodness.”  Moses asked to see God’s glory and God shared “all my goodness” with him.

 

Exodus 33:18-19  And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.  (19)  And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.

 

Exodus 34:5-7  And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.  (6)  And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,  (7)  Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

 

b.  There are so many areas of God’s glorious goodness that Moses saw in the above disclosure: mercy, graciousness, longsuffering, goodness, truth.

 

c.  “Follow me” shows us that where we go, goodness and mercy go with us.  I look back over life after salvation and I can say that God has been so good to Barbara and me.

 

d.  In the Sermon on the Mount, our Lord made this promise.

 

Matthew 6:25-34  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?  (26)  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?  (27)  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?  (28)  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:  (29)  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  (30)  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?  (31)  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  (32)  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  (33)  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  (34)  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

 

d.  I do not know how long “all the days of my life” is going to be but I know that He will always be better to me than I am to Him.

 

2 Peter 1:2-3  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,  (3)  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

 

3.  Eternal Life.  “And I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”  The promise of the Father’s house. 

 

John 14:1-4  Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  (2)  In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  (3)  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.  (4)  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

 

1 Corinthians 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

 

Revelation 21:1-7  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.  (2)  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  (3)  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.  (4)  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.  (5)  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.  (6)  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.  (7)  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

 

These verses are followed by a description of the New Jerusalem where we will eternally dwell and, in chapter 22, we find these words.

 

Revelation 22:1-5  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.  (2)  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.  (3)  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:  (4)  And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.  (5)  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

 

Heaven: a place of peace, perfection, and promise!

One Leaving, One Standing, One Returning - Part 5 - This Present World

Temple Baptist Church - 11-17-2024

2 Timothy 4:10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9

 

Introduction:

 

A.  One of the saddest accounts of the Pauline Epistles is found in the verse that we read this morning. 

 

1.  Demas, a fellow laborer and personal friend of the Apostle Paul chose “this present world” over the Lord, His church, and His choice servant.  We saw the adverse effect that Demas had on the great Apostle Paul in the words “Demas hath forsaken me!”

 

2.  Nothing is said in this verse about what led up to his return to the world nor what happened to him in the remainder of his life, but one thing is made perfectly clear: he loved “this present world” more than he loved the things of God.

 

B.  The world that Timothy lived in was so different from the one we live in and, yet it was the same. 

 

1.  The world system has never changed, from Babel to the 21^st century.  But our times are so vastly different.  I am sure the Apostle Paul would have been flabbergasted with the technology of our day and the worldly attractions that it brings with it. 

 

2.  The things that attract may be different, but the system is not!  This present world in which we live has neither changed in its values nor its vision.

 

C.  We have all known people that we once admired for their Bible stand and godly living who have forsaken the things of God for “this present world.”  We do not know if they are saved or unsaved so we will leave them to the Lord, but the forsaking itself is growing more and more “as we see the day approaching.”

 

D.  Times have changed so much in my lifetime and yours.  While the Bible says that we are not to love the world nor the things that are in the world, so many have been caught in the Satanic trap of worldliness. 

 

1.  In 1 John 2:15-17, we find the words “the world” 5 times. 

 

1 John 2:15-17  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  (16)  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  (17)  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

 

2.  In our text, we find the words “having loved this PRESENT world.”  When you see a change in wording, it is not contradictory but explanatory in nature.  This Present World is where we live; it is our world.  As Christ dying for the sins of the whole world is correct, it must also become personal for us to be saved.

 

3.  Almost everyone in church here today holds the “world” in our hands.  We can see anything that we desire, order anything that we desire, ask AI any question that we want answered, etc. with a “Hey, Siri!”  In the cell phone, we find all that Satan wants us to know:  the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life.

 

4.  We can eat what we want.  Look at all the eating places in our small town!

 

Matthew 24:37-39  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  (38)  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,  (39)  And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

 

5.  We can go anywhere we want: north, south, east, or west.  From the mountains to the ocean, it is just a “day trip.”

 

6.  We can buy anything we want.  Just pull out one of the credit cards or finance in other ways: new clothes, new cars and trucks, plenty of “man toys” and “girl toys” available.

 

E.  I want to look at the phrase “this present world” for a few minutes this morning.  Not so much the attractions of the world but the system itself.  When we take all of the veneer off of “this present world,” we see just how wicked it is in both its leadership and agenda!

 

1. Today is as it was in the days of Noah.  Matthew 24:37-38  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  (38)  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

 

2.  Today is as it was in the days of Lot. Luke 17:28  Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

 

3.  Today is as it was in the days of Laodicea. Revelation 3:15-17  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.  (16)  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.  (17)  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

 

4.  Today is as it was in the days of Falling Away. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3  Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,  (2)  That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.  (3)  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

 

5.  Today is as it was in the days of Timothy.  2 Timothy 4:1-4  I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;  (2)  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.  (3)  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;  (4)  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

 

F.  What is going on in our day with so many people leaving good churches or church all together?  The answer is simple:  they love this Present World instead of loving the things of God. 

 

G.  Why “This Present World?”  Present because:

 

1.  The Leadership Of This Present World Has Never Changed!  From its establishment in the Garden of Eden when the serpent raised his head and voice against God to this present day, the leadership is the same!

 

a.  Its Political Leadership – Our Lord identified the leadership of “this present world” in the Book of John.  Three times He used the phrase “the prince of this world.”

 

John 14:30  Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

 

John 16:11  Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 

 

The political leader is Satan!  He controls the workings of our political system and politicians become more and more liberal.  They may change their faces when voters threaten them, but their core values and heart condition remain the same.  Elections in general may put a scare into some and slow the liberal agenda for a while but the hearts of these elected officials have not changed, just their minds for the moment.

 

b.  Its Religious Leadership – The “god of this world” has never changed!

 

2 Corinthians 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

 

Matthew 4:8-10  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;  9  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.  10  Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

 

Ephesians 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

 

Satan rules in the churches of this world.  The Word of God rules in God’s churches!  The “god of this world” says, “Yea, hath God said?” while the church of God says “Thus saith the Lord!”  Where the Bible is not the final authority, Satan is always the culprit.

 

2.  The Loving Of This Present World Have Never Changed!  This world is anti-God, anti-Bible, anti-Christian, and anti-morality.

 

a.  It Is An Alluring World - 1 John 2:15-16  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 

 

The fruit of the Tree Of Knowledge Of Good And Evil was “good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”  The world is sensual (5 senses) and, therefore, appealing to the flesh.

 

b.  It Is An Evil World - Galatians 1:4  Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: 

 

Our society is wicked to the core because its core values are distorted because the Bible and God’s way are forsaken.

 

c.  It Is A Corrupt World - 2 Peter 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 

 

Corruption – to ruin or to decay; wickedness, depravity, perversion, deterioration of moral principles, loss of purity or integrity.

 

1 John 5:19  And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

 

d.  It Is An Affecting World - 2 Peter 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 

 

It pollutes both mind and body.  It pollutes our morals.

 

3.  The Leading Of This Present World Has Never Changed!  I said earlier that this present world has an agenda.

 

a.  This World Hates God - John 15:18  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 

 

Religion is not a friend of God.  Religion crucified our Lord!  Religion martyred the Apostles!  Religion persecuted the saints of God throughout the ages.  The Cain’s still kill the Abel’s!

 

b.  This World Has A Course - Ephesians 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 

 

Open rebellion to God!

 

c.  This World Has A Philosophy - Colossians 2:8  Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 

 

The world has a love for wisdom that is not wisdom.

 

Conclusion: 

 

a.  We are to be in the world but not of the world.  John 17:14-16  I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.  15  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.  16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

 

b.  We are to use this world, not abuse it.  1 Corinthians 7:31  And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.

 

c.  We are to have no friendship with the world.  James 4:4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.