ALL OF THE FOLLOWING WAS TAKEN OUT OF THE VIDEO, and I am assuming some of the audio recordings:
If you are a child of the king nothing on this earth can satisfy you, nothing. “Prescribe and teach these things.”
Now, there is so much here, but look at 15. “Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.”
Let’s say that on a wooden table my child spills a glass of water. And by the consistencies of nature, the laws that God has placed in her, the water heaps up a bit on the table, so much that you can see it as a pool. You walk by it and you say, “There is water spilled on the table.” It is evident to all. But then I come by and I take a towel and I lay it across the spilled pool of water and I lift
it up.
And you say, “I no longer see any water. Where is it?”
It is absorbed in the towel.
Men, you are to be absorbed in these things of godliness and character. Men, I plead with
you. Listen to me. This is so important. You are not errand boys. You are not to spend
your days wiping the noses of carnal churchmen. Get yourself in your study. Drink deep.
Be so absorbed in the knowledge and the knowing of God that people say, “Where is he?
He used to be such a man about town, such a friend to everyone, such a personable
fellow. Where is he?”
He is absorbed in these things.
We are men of God. We are ministers of the most high. There should be an otherness
about us. We should have a distant gaze in our eyes towards a distant [?]. The greatest
thing we can do for our people is to be men of God absorbed in the things of God so that
when we open our mouths the Word of God comes out.
Where I go to church Jeff Noblett is the main preaching pastor. He has always given
himself to study, but when I got there I talked to him and I talked to other leaders. And
any time someone asked me something I said this. “Please do this one thing. Take as
much of the burden off of brother Noblett as we possibly can and let him live in that
study with God because I have got children out here. And the greatest gift that man could
give to me is to study to show himself approved and to come out in that pulpit in the
power of the Holy Spirit and proclaim, ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ correcting and rebuking,
giving great promises and warnings. Please do that for me.”
Pastor, please do that for your people because he says, “Pay close attention to yourself
and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure
salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”66
I want... Let’s just finish with this. This verse means almost nothing in the evangelical
community today. How many pastors do you think and preachers take it seriously, “I
need to pay close attention to myself to insure salvation for me and for those who hear
me”?
I have a question, pastor, when was the last time you examined your own life to see if
you were in the faith, to see if you really know him.
SOMEONE NEEDS TO ANSWER FOR THIS.