The Church: Its Meaning - The Pillar of the Truth of God, Part 4

We are taking a long look at the church, helping us to understand how we, the called out ones, are to understand God's design for His church.

It's so important for us to come to grips with the reality of what it means to be a child of the King, what it means to be chosen by God, converted by God, cleansed by God, commissioned by God to serve His purposes. I think if you look at the church, its meaning, its mission and ministry, it really is about what it means to love the church.

I would hope that you love the church. Not the organization, not the denomination, not the intricate details of the facade of the facility, but do you really truly love the church? I've had the most incredible privilege over the last 29 years to pastor here at Christ Community Church. And I can honestly tell you that I truly love the church. I love the church not just because of the fact that I'm employed here, I love the church because of all that it is and all that God designed it to be. And I've had the most incredible experience and wonderful ministry to serve alongside many of you in this ministry over all these years.

And I really truly love the church. I mean you can't not love the church if you love the Lord, right? Because you love the people He died for. And so you love the church. And I find it interesting that, you know, I've raised a lot of children and now I have a lot of grandchildren. You know it wasn't the fact that after 10 years of having children and raising children that I decided to chuck them aside and start a new family. No I stayed with my children to raise them, to nurture them, to care for them, to love them over all these years.

And that's never going to change. When I came to Christ Community Church I didn't come for 10 years so that I could chuck you aside and go to another church and adopt a new family and be a pastor of a new congregation. No that's not the way the ministry is supposed to be. You need to show commitment as you would in a marriage to a family. Devotion as you would to marriage in a family. And the Lord made it very clear that your spiritual family always takes priority over your physical family. When they came to Him and said, Lord your mother and your brother are outside waiting for you.

And He said who are my mother and who are my brothers but those who believe in me. He made it very clear that the spiritual priority took place over the physical aspect of family. Why? Listen we are going to spend the rest of our lives on this planet and into the future and eternity together. Like it or not if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ we're going to be forever together in glory. That's just the way it's going to be. So get used to it. If you don't like someone in front of you or behind you just think you're going to be sharing a mansion with them in glory.

And so there's a certain aspect you can look at the principles that we're looking at as the fact that this is why we love the church.

We love the church because it's the plan of the Son of God. He said in Matthew 16 I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Do you know that Jesus never built anything else? He only built one thing, the church. He's continually building the church until that last soul is saved in the church age and he's going to come and receive us unto himself that where he is there we may be also. But it's the plan of the Son of God. It was a perfect plan. It's a precious plan. It's a providential plan.

It was a plan made in eternity past before time began. We love the church because it's a plan of the Son of God. We love the church because the church is the possession of the living God. First Peter chapter 2 verse number 9 we are his chosen possession.

We are his children. We are his bride. We are his body. He purchased us with his blood. He bought us back from the slave market of sin that we might be his and his alone. In fact we're such a possession of his that he takes up residence in our lives. What was the mystery concealed in the Old Testament but now revealed in the New Testament? Christ in you the hope of glory. We are such a possession of his that he takes up residence in our lives and works in and through us. The Father resides in us.

The Spirit resides in us. The Son resides in us. Read the Gospel of John. They're all there in terms of the understanding of what God is doing with his own possession. Can't help but love the church. It's a plan of the Son of God and you're part of that plan. If you love the Lord and you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ you're part of that perfect providential precious plan of the living God and we are the possession of the living God. He owns us. He bought us. He took us out of Satan's domain and put us into his kingdom.

How can you not love the church? Because you love the Lord. And our third point and this is kind of where we've camped out on the last couple of weeks that the church is the pillar of the truth of God.

First Timothy 3 verse number 15 tells us that the church is the pillar and support of the living God.

And we've been looking at what that church looks like. And how do you know that as a church we are demonstrating on a regular basis that we are the pillar and support of the truth of the living God? Because that's who we are. And so we told you over the last couple of weeks that the church that is the pillar and support of the truth is a church that studies the truth carefully. They want to know what the truth says. That's why the early church was committed to the apostles teaching. That's why Paul tells Timothy study to show yourself approved in the God and work with that need not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth.

The church that's the pillar of the truth of God studies the truth very carefully. Like the Bereans who search the scriptures to see whether or not these things are so. Because you want to know exactly who God is. And so you study the truth carefully. And then number two you show the truth clearly.

And that's how you know you studied it carefully. You show it very clearly. You demonstrate the truth. You live out the truth. So all will know that what you believe is really true because it's manifested on a daily basis in your life. And so you show the truth clearly. And those who study the truth carefully and show the truth clearly are those who speak the truth convincingly. And that's what we talked about last week. You speak the truth convincingly. You speak and exhort with all authority. Paul tells Titus in Titus chapter 2 verse number 15.

You speak the truth convincingly because you speak it authoritatively. You speak it apocalypticly. You speak it accurately. You speak it authentically. We talked about all those last week. But you speak the truth convincingly. Number four and this is where we left off last week. The church that's the pillar of the truth of God is the church that submits to truth continually. It submits to truth continually. It submits continually. In other words, you line yourself up under the authority of the word of God.

Now this is not easy for most of us because there are certain things in the scriptures that we find hard to digest, hard to accept, difficult to realize. And yet we are to submit to the truth continually. That is every day I am finding myself under the authority of God's word. What does God's word say that I should be doing? What does God's word say that I should be saying? What do I do in order to honor my God? And so I line myself up under the commands of scripture. And so I submit to the truth continually.

When the Bible speaks about forgiveness, right? I want to forgive my brother. I want to forgive those who have sinned against me. I don't want to hold the grudge. I don't want to become bitter and angry. I want to forgive one another even as God for Christ's sake, Ephesians 4 tells me, has forgiven me. And yet we find ourselves bristling against forgiving those who have wronged us so. That's just not willing to submit to the truth of God continually. When it comes to serving one another, we should be in service mode at all times.

We need to serve our fellow brother and sister in Christ, but this way, serving by exercising your spiritual giftedness. Right? God has gifted each and every one of us. 1 Peter chapter 4 verse number 10 tells us as each has received a gift, employ it in serving one another. Why? Because we are a body. If one rejoices, we all rejoice. If one is sad, we're all sad, but we're all in this together as the body of Christ. And so because the Bible tells us about the gifts that God has given to us, that we might exercise them in the body and minister to one another in a most profound kind of way, doing something that no one else can do because God has specifically gifted you to be used in the church for his glory.

If I don't submit to that and follow through on that, then I live in rebellion to the truth of God's word. And as an individual, I cease to be the pillar and support of the truth. You see, we are to submit to everything that God says.

We don't have the luxury of picking and choosing what we're going to submit to. I mean, I don't allow my children to pick and choose what they submit to my commands or to my demands or to what I say as their father they should be doing. I don't give them the option to say, well, I think, Dad, I'll do that or maybe I won't do that, Dad. Oh, no, no. You're going to do what I tell you to do because you're in my family and I'm your father and you follow the direction of your father and your mother. But somehow we think that within the church we can say, God is so graceful and loving and kind that if I choose not to exercise my spiritual gift, it's okay.

Everybody else can do it. I don't have to do it. Or I don't have to be involved in giving to the church. I mean, after all, everybody else gives to the church. Why should I give? All the needs are met. They've met the budget for the new year. Everything seems to be hunky-dory. Why should I give if everybody else is giving? You see, there are certain things in the Scriptures that we just want to pick and choose that we submit to. The church at Thessalonica was not that way. They were a very submissive church.

In fact, turn with me to 1 Thessalonians 1. Paul says this about those in Thessalonica. This is really good because this is a submissive church. Remember I told you last week that the church at Thessalonica was the only church that Paul said was a pattern for every other church. And remember, he wrote to a lot of churches. But there was one church that was a specific unique pattern, and that was the church at Thessalonica. And that was because they were such a submissive church. Look what it says in verse number 6.

You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with joy of the Holy Spirit. In other words, you received the word, but when you did, you received it amidst much tribulation, much persecution, but you did it with joy in the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and in Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.

What a testimony. Chapter 2, verse number 13. For this reason, we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. In other words, you were receptive of the truth. When you heard the word from us, you received it. You put out the welcome mat. That's what the word receive means. You put out the welcome mat, and you welcomed the word of God into your life, and it took root in your life and effectively worked in you because you believed.

Chapter 4, verse number 1. Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that as you receive from us instruction as how you ought to walk and please God just as you actually do, that you excel even more.

So you've received the word from us. You've excelled. You've followed what God's word says, but we want you to go beyond that. We want you to excel even more. So he says, for you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord. For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality. And each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and in honor, not unless with passion like the Gentiles who do not know God. And that no man transgressed and defrauded his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.

For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. So he rejects this. So he who rejects this is not rejecting man, but the God who gives his Holy Spirit to you. So Paul gives them this exhortation. You're walking with the Lord. And that's obvious to everybody. But we want you to excel even beyond that because this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality. We want you to know how to possess your own vessel in sanctification and in honor because this is what God wants for you, the purity of your life.

And he goes on at the end of chapter 5 and he gives command after command after command without any explanation at all because he doesn't have to, because he knows they're going to submit to the authority of Scripture. It says, we urge you, brethren, in verse number 14, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always.

Pray without ceasing in everything. Give thanks for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Examine everything carefully. Hold fast to that which is good. Abstain from every form of evil. He didn't say, I want you to rejoice always. And this is why. And this is how. And this is when. He doesn't do that. He just says, rejoice always. He says, I want you to give thanks in everything. Doesn't give an explanation as to why. This is just the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

And that's good enough for them. If that's God's will for me, that's what I'm going to do. You see, we love to debate the truth. We love to deliberate about the truth. We love to discuss the truth. We just need to submit to the truth. If God says it, that's it.

And I say, okay, Lord, whatever you say that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to follow your direction. I might not understand it. I might not come to grips with the reality of all that's happening in the word of God. But Lord, because you said it, I'm going to do it. Peter says, be fervent in your love toward one another. Be boiling over in your love toward one another. Extend all you can to love one another. And as believers we say, yes. Yes, Lord. Because whatever the question is, the answer is always yes on the part of the believer.

So the church that's the pillar and support of the truth is the church that submits to the truth continually. Think about it this way. Show me a church that doesn't take the Bible seriously and I'll show you a church that doesn't take God seriously. Better yet, show me a family that doesn't take the Bible seriously and I'll show you a family that doesn't take God seriously. Show me an individual who doesn't take the Bible seriously and I'll show you an individual who doesn't take God seriously. See, you can't separate the two because the incarnate word gave us the inspired word.

And when that word became flesh and dwelt among us, we beheld this glory. The glories of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. We need to take God's word seriously. Psalm 138 verse number 2. Thy word, O Lord, is magnified even as thy very name. The word of God is on the same plane as the name of God. And one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Why? Because he is the name that is above all names. And yet God holds his word on the same level as his name because it's the spoken word of the living God.

And therefore we need to take God's word seriously. So, if God's word is disregarded, if God's word is devalued, then God is diminished in the eyes of that church or in the family of those believers. If God's word is disregarded or devalued in any way, God is diminished. If God is diminished, the gospel will always be diluted because the gospel is based on the identity of who God is. And the identity of God comes from the word of God. So then the gospel then becomes diluted. If the gospel is diluted, godliness will disappear.

If godliness disappears, God is dishonored and the people will always be destroyed. That's just the natural downgrade of devaluing and disregarding or despising the truth of the living God. There are churches that refer to the Bible but don't revere the Bible. There are churches that read the Bible but don't revere the Bible. God's word is magnified even as his very name. The church is the pillar of the truth of God. That church studies the truth carefully, shows the truth clearly, speaks the truth convincingly, submits to truth continually, and number five, stands on truth confidently and courageously.

Stands on truth confidently and courageously. That's the church that's the pillar of the truth of God. And you can go through scripture and read about all kinds of individuals who stood strong on the truth. You can go all the way back to the Old Testament and look at Esther who stood strong on the truth of God's covenant with Israel.

You can go back and look at Moses and Abraham, Joseph, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. You can pull yourself into the New Testament and look at Stephen and the apostles and the apostle Paul.

But of all the people in the New Testament that stands out as the supreme example of standing courageously, standing confidently. I think we'd all say the apostle Paul. We'd even say Timothy, his protege. But there's one individual that hardly anybody knows, hardly anybody ever mentions whose name would have been the name of my ninth child. But I don't have a ninth child. I only got eight. But if I had a ninth one, it would have been his name. So turn with me to the book of Revelation.

Revelation chapter 2. In Revelation 2 and 3 you have seven letters to seven churches, seven literable churches, seven churches that truly existed. And these letters sent to them are letters by God to them that they might understand God's call upon their lives. And these seven churches are representative of every church that's ever existed in the history of the world. So you need to understand that. And so these churches are not just literal, but they're symbolic in nature because they truly help you understand the condition of the church.

The first letter was written to Ephesus, right? They're the cold church. And the second letter was written to Samarna.

They're the crushed church. The third letter was written to the church at Pergamum. They are the compromised church. And so the Bible says in Revelation 2 verse number 12, and to the angel of the church in Pergamum write, the one who has a sharp two-edged sword says this.

Now who's that? That's the Lord, right? He's the one with the sharp two-edged sword. We know that in Revelation 19 when he returns again, there's a sword that proceeds or protrudes out of his mouth. It's a two-edged sword. Why? Because it's an instrument of conversion on one side and instrument of condemnation on the other side. It's a two-edged sword. And so therefore the one who holds the two-edged sword says this. And we know it's an instrument of conversion. And remember a sword is that which slices and dices and dissects and cuts off.

So when Christ says in Matthew chapter 10, I did not come to bring peace but a what? A sword. Why? Because he was going to divide a son from his parents. He was going to divorce or not divorce but divide a husband from his wife. Because when there was a conversion in a Jewish home, you were cut off, right? And Christ says I came to bring the sword.

And the sword of conversion, the side that converts you is going to divide you from friends and family. It's going to do that because that's what conversion does. And then it's an instrument of condemnation. That's based on Revelation 19 when he comes and he destroys his enemies with just a word of his mouth. We know that Hebrews 4.12 says that God's word is living and active and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, right? We also know that we have the sword of the spirit which is the word of God, Ephesians chapter 6.

But know what the Lord says. He says, I know where you dwell. That's just a great statement. You ever wonder if God knows where you dwell? Oh, he does. In fact, he says to Ephesus, I know your deeds and your toil and your perseverance. God knows your deeds. God knows your work. God knows your perseverance, your steadfastness. God knows all that. God's never taken by surprise. To the church of Samaria he says, I know your tribulation and your poverty. You ever wonder if God knows your poverty? He does.

Does he know your tribulation? Oh, absolutely. So he says to the church of Pergamon, I know where you dwell. Where do they dwell? Where Satan's throne is. Whoa. How can they dwell where Satan's throne is? Didn't know Satan had a throne. Well, if you know anything about the historical Pergamon, you know that it was a city filled with idolatry. In fact, there was emperor worship in Pergamon. Also there was a great statue to Zeus built on the side of a hill. There was a temple of Asclepius. The temple of Asclepius was a temple of healing medicine symbolized by a snake.

And those who needed healing would go to that temple and they would lay down in that temple and these snakes would crawl all over them for the purpose of healing. Remember Satan is referred to as a snake in Genesis chapter 3. A serpent in Revelation chapter 12, verse number 9. And so there was a place where Satan dwells. I know where you are. You're in a place where Satan dwells. It's true of us today. Because the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4 that Satan is the God of this world.

The Bible says in 1 John chapter 5.19 that the whole world lies in the lap of the evil one. In fact, in John's gospel three different times Satan is referred to as the prince of this world. And God says I know where you dwell.

Because you see Satan wants the church to compromise. He wants it to compromise on the truth. And if he can get the church to compromise and look like the world then it's very ineffective of being salt and light in the world. So whatever he can do within the church, the local church to make it look and sound like everything that happens in the world already then he's got the church to compromise. And the church those who go to that church then believe that that's the way Christianity really is. And so he says these words.

I know where you dwell. Where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast my name and did not deny my faith. What a testimony. You held fast to my name. To my character. To my nature. You were steadfast. You were resilient. You stood strong. You didn't compromise my name. You did not deny the faith. No. You weren't ashamed of the gospel. You stood strong on the gospel. You were not afraid of those. Now listen carefully. Even in the days of Antipas. That's the guy. Antipas. Simply because his name begins with an A.

And all my kids' names begin with A's. And I was running out of A names. So I was bound to determine the name of my next son Antipas. Those of you who are pregnant, going to have children. You have a boy, name him Antipas. You know what his name means? Against all. What a name. The man was against everything except God. So it says, even in the days of Antipas, my witness, my faithful one who was killed among you where Satan dwells. He was killed because he stood strong. He was my faithful one. He was my martyress.

He was my martyr. He was my witness. Oh, to be known as God's witness. To be known as God's faithful one. That's how you want to be known. And that's the way Antipas was known. He set the example. He raised the bar for everybody in Pergamum. To understand that no matter what happens, no matter what happens to you, it's all irrelevant as long as you're a faithful witness of the King of Kings, as long as you don't deny his name, as long as you stand fast for the sake of the gospel, that's all that matters.

And Antipas' name is recorded in the scriptures for everyone to read about this man who was against everything except his God. He was for his God. That's why he was against everything else. Because you see, when you stand for God and you're for God, you're against everything else that opposes God. And that's what we need in the church. We need men who are strong, who stand for the gospel. It will not compromise the gospel. Listen to what it says. It says, but I have a few things against you. Wait a minute.

Hold on. How can you have a few things against us? We did not deny your name. We were faithful to you. What could you possibly have against us? Listen carefully. Because you have there some, not all. There are some in the congregation who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things, sacrifice to idols, and to commit acts of immorality. So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans, which was an antinomian religion, which was all about no law, just all grace.

You can live any way you want. Just do whatever you want to do because it doesn't make a difference concerning your spiritual well-being because it's all done in the flesh. So it's okay. There are some of you who have committed to acts of immorality and idolatry. There are some of you who want to live any way you want without any consequences. In other words, there are some of you who are very willing to compromise. Not all of you. Some of you. So he says, therefore repent or else I am coming quickly, listen carefully to the language, to you and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth, that two-edged sword.

Repent immediately from your corruption or you will reap immensely the consequences of your corruption. He says, I'm going to come to you, the church, quickly and I will deal with those in the church who have compromised the truth. In other words, he's saying to the church, look, you need to deal with the people in your church who have compromised the truth because if you don't deal with them quickly, I'm coming to you quickly and I'm going to deal with them and you don't want me to deal with the people in your church.

So you deal with them and you call them to repentance. You hold them into account. You show them the error of their way, that they might turn from their sin and follow me. You who hold fast my name, you the church who is the pillar and support of the truth, I want you to hold that truth, stand firm in that truth and go to those people and say, you're living in sin and if you don't repent, the Lord is coming to you quickly and he's going to deal with you and you don't want the Lord dealing with you.

You'd rather have us dealing with you. The church is the pillar and support of the truth. And as a church, we don't want people in the assembly of our local congregation to compromise the truth. We want them to stand firm on the truth. We want to be confident in the truth, courageous in the truth, not compromising the truth. So as a church who is the pillar and support of the truth, we go to those people and we say, listen, you need to turn from the error of your way and you need to follow the Lord and serve the Lord.

Let us help you do that. Let us come alongside of you and minister to you that we might be a support and accountability to you that you might live for the glory and honor of our King. So important. The church is the pillar and support of the truth, stands on the truth courageously and confidently. So much I want to say about that but time escapes me. The church that is the pillar and support of the truth safeguards the truth compellingly. They safeguard the truth compellingly. In other words, they protect it.

They preserve it. They guard it. Paul would say over in 1 Timothy chapter 6, these words, Oh Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, verse number 20. Guard it avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of that of what is falsely called knowledge. He says in verse number 13 of 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse number 13, retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. He says guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us the treasure which has been entrusted to you.

We are the protectors of the truth. Not just the pillar of the truth but a protector of the truth. We guard the truth. We guard it against error. We guard it against those who want to treat it as if it is irrelevant. We want to protect it from those who want to despise it. We are the protectors of the truth of the living God. Paul said that when it is all said and done, I was faithful to the fight and I was faithful to the faith. Definite article, meaning the body of doctrine that which I believe.

I was faithful all the way to the end to guard and fight for the truth. Listen, this is the war that we are engaged in. It is a battle for the truth. And we as a church are the pillar and support of that truth. And so we are bound and determined to safeguard that church. In one year we will have our 30th anniversary and we will be able to proclaim that for 30 years we protected the truth. We preserved the truth. We preached the truth. That is all we did because that is what God has called us to do.

And we have done it for 30 straight years. And Lord willing that will never change. I know it won't change as long as I am here and Tom is here and Roger is here and Bruce is here. But we want to make sure that the word of God always stands front and center in everything we say and everything we do. We are going to protect the truth. We are going to safeguard the truth. We are going to watch over the truth. We are going to guard the truth. Why? Because we are the protectors of it. So when you hear someone say something that is an error you need to correct that and say no that is not the right thing.

That is the wrong thing. This is what the Bible actually does say. Listen, we can say as we sit here today, yes we are the church and we are the pillar and support of the truth and we are going to stand courageously on the truth and then go to work tomorrow. And all of a sudden someone begins to speak against the truth and we don't know what to say. Or we are silent on the matter. Or we go to our teammates and they want to engage in some kind of immoral activity and now we have to stand on the truth.

Will we stand? I mean it is easy to stand sitting here in the pew. But it is hard to stand when you go to work. It is easy to say I am going to stand on the truth. I am going to be the man of my house and then go home and kowtow to your wife. And every demand that she has is to say honey the truth is this, we must follow the truth of the living God. It is easy to sit here and say we are going to stand on the truth and speak the truth and then go home and have our children run the home. And us kowtow to our children's whims because they have all these ideas but we don't say no you cannot do that.

No we will not do that because God's word says this we stand on truth. We are going to live truth. Those are the kind of parents we say. You say we say we believe the Bible but do we believe the Bible enough to stand firm on it and never compromise it no matter what the cost. So important. People say to me all the time I have heard this probably from parents more so than anything else ever said to me in the last 40 years of ministry. I am afraid if I am too hard or too harsh or take too strong a stand I am going to drive my child away.

And I tell them every time if that is what you are afraid of I got news for you. They are already away. They are already gone. Don't think you are going to drive them away. They are already away. Stand on the truth. Let the Lord deal with your children. Let the Lord handle them. But make sure you stand on the truth. But you know what happens? We value a relationship that I have with my son or my daughter more so than I value the truth of the living God. If we had time I would take you to 1 Samuel chapter 2 to read you the story about Eli and his sons.

And the man of God came to him and said you did not rebuke your sons when they slept with the women in the tent of the temple and committed immoral acts. And all Eli said to them was I hear that there are things being said about you guys that is not good so you probably better not be doing that stuff. And the man of God came to him and said you did not rebuke your boys. You did not deal with your boys. Do you know why? He tells them because you honored your boys over me. And that is where he had that phrase 1 Samuel 2 verse 30.

He who honors me I will honor. But you chose the other way. You chose Eli not to honor me and you are a priest. And you chose to honor your sons over me. Therefore you have lost the priesthood therefore you are going to die and so are your boys. That should be a wake up call to every dad in the room. Every father that says wait a minute if I am going to honor anyone it is going to be my God. And I am never going to honor my children over my God. I am going to hold them into account to the truth of the living God.

Eli did not do that. He lost his ministry. More than that he lost his life. His boys lost their lives simply because he chose to value the relationship over the truth of the living God. And the church that is the pillar and support of the truth never does that. Never. And we need to understand that from the get go. And if you are a young parent today and you have young children you need to know that you need to raise them in the nurtured admonition of the Lord and raise them up fearing God and living a life that honors God more than anything else.

Because that is what matters. You teach them the truth. Lastly number seven. My time is gone. But I got to say it anyway. The church that is the pillar and support of the truth is satisfied with the truth completely. It is satisfied with the truth completely. In other words they understand the sufficiency and the supremacy of the word of God. It is everything to them. This is what satisfies them. That is why Jeremiah could say when God told him you are my prophet you are going to preach and not one soul is going to respond or listen.

And Jeremiah said thy words are found and I did eat them and they were the joy and they rejoiced in my heart. God your word is enough. If nobody responds, if nobody repents, if nobody comes alongside and supports me in the ministry it is okay. I don't need that. What I need is the truth of the living God. The word of God that is sufficient. That is everything. That is all I need. And Jeremiah ministered for years with no response. Think of the life of Job when he said in Job 23 verse number 10 he knows the way I take.

When he has tried me I shall come forth as gold. My foot is held fast to his path. I have kept his ways and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of his lips. I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. Here was a man who was wrapped in suffering. Here was a man who had lost everything including his friends. He had nothing. But he had the words of God. And that was more treasured to him than anything else. Anything. Why? Because the truth is what satisfied him completely.

See we want to be satisfied with the truth partially. But if someone else comes alongside to fulfill the other half. We want to be satisfied by getting married. We want to be satisfied by having children. We want to be satisfied by having a greater income. We want to be satisfied by having good health. Job didn't have any of that. But he had the word of God and that was enough. So Psalm says in Psalm 119 these words I love them so the law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

I'm satisfied enough. I don't need any gold and silver pieces. I'm satisfied with your law. He said oh I love your law. It's my meditation all the day. Verse 103 how sweet are your words to my taste yet sweeter than honey to my mouth. They're the sweetest things I've ever tasted. The words of the living God. Because they satisfied him completely. The church that's the pillar and support of the truth recognizes that the truth of God satisfies them totally. Fully. Completely. May God give us the grace to be that kind of church.

Let's pray. Father we thank you for today and the opportunity you give us to study your word and we're grateful for all that you've done. We thank you Lord that your word speaks to all of us. None of us is exempt. None of us is excused. Your word speaks. It's the word of God that speaks to me first as a pastor to realize I'm a cannibal not just to what I preach but to what you've said to me before I ever got up to preach.

And I pray that my life would be held accountable to the truth of your word and lived out not just in my life but in the life of my family. And I pray for us as a church that we would stand strong never compromising the truth of the living God. And that Lord you would do a mighty work in and among us as you have for all these years. Continue to show yourself faithful, merciful and graceful. For you Lord are the God we love. And we love you. We love your church. Until you come again and for all eternity in Jesus name.

Amen.