 Today we're in chapter 2. Let's begin reading together 1st Timothy chapter 2 at verse 1 We're going to be looking at verses 1 through 8 today So we'll begin reading here in 1st Timothy 2 at verse 1. I'll read to verse 8 and we'll get into our study What we're looking at is the subject of prayer for the lost Paul writes in 1st Timothy chapter 2 verse 1 and therefore I exhort first of all that supplications prayers Intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men For kings and all who are in authority That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who desires all men to be saved and To come to the knowledge of the truth For there is one God and one mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time For which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle. I am speaking the truth in Christ not lying a Teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I Desire therefore that the men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting and So as is my normal way of teaching, let me remind you of a few things lay a foundation So that we can see the direction that Paul is taken here in 1st Timothy in chapter 2 Remember with me that the Apostle Paul had left behind in the city of Ephesus a young man by the name name of Timothy Who was pastoring the church there in Ephesus and what he was doing is he was he was setting things in proper order in the church So one thing that needed to be set in order would be the church's mission You see every church has a mission the church has a mission and there are sometimes even what we call mission statements So we have certain elements that we've discovered in scripture that become the foundations the fundamentals The personality revealed through the mission statement and every church has that we have a mission statement here Our desire is for this church to be built on the word of God the worship of God The witness of God's people as well as the witness of God's people those are our four pillars And so every church has a foundation. There's something fundamental to it And what Paul is doing here is he's he's saying you need to set in order the church's mission And its mission is to present the message of the gospel clearly in order to rescue sinners He had already said that in chapter 1 verse 15 look with me for just a moment how how Paul had said in chapter 1 verse 15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am cheap And so Paul has already stated that the church is there to rescue sinners And so what he's doing now is he's urging Timothy to remember to pray for the lost So let me develop this for just a moment The Bible teaches that before you are saved the Bible teaches that we are actually separated before you are saved you are separated from God and That which separates us from God once again the Bible is very clear is our sin in Isaiah 59 verses 1 and 2 The prophet writes behold the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save nor his ear heavy that it cannot hear But your iniquities have separated you from your God Your sins have hidden his face from you so so that he will not hear so you are separated. He says from God a holy God by your sin sin makes separation and Because sin makes separation we do not have a relationship with God So Jesus Christ came in order to bridge between sinful man and the holy God He was the bridge to do that. He came as he says to seek and to save those who are lost and Because sin made separation Jesus became what is called the sin offering and he's a sin offering on our behalf Isaiah 53 6 says all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way and The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all and so Jesus has been called the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world and he freely offers us life He presents us forgiveness of sins and he does so in a message that is called the gospel The Bible says that we are commanded to repent and to receive Christ and in doing so repenting and receiving We are forgiven in Acts chapter 17 verse 30 It reads in the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent and So when you repent and receive Christ the door of heaven is open to you And now we're God's children and as God's children we have access to him and we can speak to him That's because we become his children. We speak to him as our father Now that amazes me That God the God of heaven the God who created all things the God who created this universe and all that's within it has opened the door for us to have relationship With him and that comes through the blood of Jesus Christ his son. I Remember seeing something years ago in the news years ago And then it was repeated and it has been repeated often throughout the years how that one of our presidents John F. Kennedy how he would be in the middle of his Meetings and his son John John they called him John John would come walking in and it didn't matter that he was in the midst of a meeting Whenever John would walk in the small one would come in his father would give him attention and I understand that because as a pastor when when I was In my office even to this day when I'm in my office and I'm working and I'm preparing something You know my children always had access to me. They could walk in at any given time and today Yeah, I'll have meetings. I have meetings on Monday. I have meetings on Tuesday There are times that my daughter will bring her little girl in my Stella Stella's Five years old and and I'll be there in my in my office having a meeting There'll be several people staff members and here comes Stella and Stella just will open the door And she'll just come walking in and and it doesn't matter that there's all these people that are doing ministry here in the church And she'll just walk in and when she walks in it doesn't matter that I'm having a meeting I'll just turn and she'll come and she'll sit on my lap and she'll give me kiss and she'll hold me As long as she wants to be there She's going to be there and everybody in that office is going to wait And that's just the way it is why because that's my baby That's how it works And so she doesn't need special permission. She doesn't need an appointment. She doesn't need to call in advance She doesn't need to wait in line. She just walks in And guess what guys you can do that with the Lord God himself let that settle on you God himself God himself You can walk into the throne room of god himself In your time of need and get help That's the father that you have and that's what Jesus wants us to know He wants us to know that through him we can have relationship with his father And that's how it works We have a relationship with god our holy god because the bridge builder Jesus himself Has taken the hand of sinful man taken the hand of holy god and brought us together through him That's how it works. You confess your sin god be merciful to me. I'm a sinner forgive me of my sins I receive Christ as my lord and my savior and his blood washes and cleanses you you are now Transferred from darkness into into light. You are now one who was lost now You're found you were once not a son now You are a son or a daughter of god and you can enter into that throne room because of him The bible in first peter 312 says it like this the eyes of the lord are on the righteous his ears Are open to their prayers But the face of the lord is against those who do evil So now you're saved and what do you do while you pray for those Who have yet come to a saving knowledge of jesus christ That's what we're seeing here in chapter 2 of first timothy Paul begins to address prayer for the lost In this chapter notice in verse 1 first timothy 2 Paul begins by saying therefore I exhort first of all That supplications prayers Intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men So paul reveals that We pray for the lost in various ways And he says that there are supplications. He says there are prayers and intercessions He speaks of the giving of thanks and so we'll look at that briefly each one of those things He said so first of all he said that supplications be made The word supplication speaks of requests Requests that arise from a deep sense of need It's like the woman with the demon possessed daughter who came to christ In matthew 1522 it says behold a woman of canaan came from that region and cried out to him saying Have mercy on me. Oh lord, son of david. My daughter is severely demon possessed She had an incredible sense of need. There was a deep urgency Within her mark 726 says that the woman was a greek a syrophoenician by birth and she kept asking him To cast the demon out of her daughter. So this is what she's doing She's making a request from a deep sense of need. It's a supplication This is also exhibited when when a blind man by the name of bartimaeus was there on the road to jericho And according to to mark 10 47 and 48 when he heard that it was jesus of nazareth He began to cry out and say Jesus son of david have mercy on me Then many warned him to be quiet, but he cried out all the more son of david have mercy on me So that's a supplication That's an entreaty That's a request that arises from a deep sense of need And so knowing that something is lacking We're to pray that god will supply that which is lacking and in the case of those whom he's commanding us to pray for What is lacking is salvation And so we call to him and we ask the lord To reach them and so i'm 18 verse 6 it says in my distress. I called upon the lord cried out to my god He heard my voice from his temple My cry came before him even to his ears And so you make out your you make your cry out you you cry often to him about that that the lord might save you know Often people are saved because somebody has prayed for them And they don't even realize That somebody is praying for them to be saved And then the invitation is given And they come to faith in the lord. Do you know that? Your prayers have been very often answered by the lord on behalf of strangers Strangers who came to faith in christ even right now Right this minute as i'm teaching And every time i teach There's a group of people who are right right i could see the room that they're in right now They're praying for you Right now We have prayer every time i teach every time bible said he goes There are men who are gathered together right now praying For the people in this church especially for those who are lost And people get saved because people are praying for them god answers those prayers And sometimes you don't even realize your prayers are going to be answered When i was um Because you're praying for strangers when i was younger i I was one of these guys i'll say this quickly i was one of these guys who Well i think when i was born I wanted to be married from that moment I i i the first time i ever proposed to someone to marry me i was four years old i mean i wanted to get married Her name was bernadette archuleta. I still remember bernadette Her cousin goes to this church and uh Yeah, i wanted bernadette to be my bride so you know beccy martinez, you know I mean there was a lot of i could name a lot of girls, you know Beccy padilla sandy martinez. I don't want them to get mad 63 years later, but um No, but i wanted to get married in the worst way and so when i got saved And i still did i said oh no now i can get married now i can pray according to the will of god And i can have a bride and And father i i i want to get married and i was 20 years old I still remember going to bible studies and young women would come walking in and i'd claim them in the name of jesus, you know How is mine? How oh yeah, hallelujah. Bless you lord They resisted his spirit And then one day One day I finally realized that You've got to stop this you've got to just concentrate on the lord And so I prayed another prayer and this prayer was father put me to sleep to my desires even as you brought Eve to adam By first allowing a deep sleep to come upon him I would pray that you would put me to sleep to those desires And that lord you will bring the woman that you desire for me I prayed that prayer And then within three weeks I was teaching a bible study But a young woman came into that bible study who was unsaved Within three weeks or so after coming to her first bible study. She gave her heart to christ and She needed discipling So I married her and so I was praying for my future bride who was unsaved at that time without even knowing it sometimes Your prayers are being answered in ways you don't even realize Praying for the lost praying for people to know christ to come to faith in christ And so god would have us supplicating would have us to ask a deep entreaty from a depth of a heart god Save people and you'll be surprised at how wonderfully he can answer those prayers and how that will bless you So he speaks of supplications the second thing he speaks of prayers Now prayers are obviously directed to god So the word carries the idea of worship as well as reverence So we pray for the lost Because when they're saved They exalt and they praise him In psalm 18 verse 46 the lord lives blessed be my rock Let the god of my salvation be exalted 1st peter chapter 2 verse 9 You are a chosen generation A royal priesthood a holy nation His own special people That you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness Into his marvelous life So prayers are directed to god the word carries the idea of worship and reverence So you're praying that they'll be saved So that they may exalt and praise him A third he speaks of intercession We are to make intercessions on behalf he says of the lost Intercessions literally means Getting involved in someone's life You're involved in they're struggled so that means you have empathy compassion you have sympathy And the reason we have this is because we know that without the lord They will perish and therefore you passionately pray for the lost Because they're going to be lost and they're going to be judged When moses went to mount sinai to receive the law While he was there receiving the law the bible teaches us that the people rose up in sin They saw that moses was delaying returning and so They spoke to his brother erin they said we want a visible god that we may worship So erin told them to bring their golden earrings to him and he melted the gold and he made what is called a golden calf Now when moses returned the people the scripture says had risen up to play Exodus 32 9 and 10 says the lord said to moses i've seen these people indeed it is a stiff neck people Now therefore let me alone that my wrath may burn hot against them and i may consume them And i will make of you a great nation now earlier In his life moses When he was around 40 years of age knew that he was to deliver the children of israel And that god was going to use him And so he tried to do so by the arm of flesh and ended up 40 years in a wilderness so now later on When he's there receiving the law he comes down and he sees how the people are involved in in sexual excess and and various sins and And and god's god's wrath is hot against them You would think that moses could be tempted to say that's a great idea wipe him out and start it over with me But he doesn't moses actually interceded in exodus 32 11 through 13 it says moses implored the lord is god And said oh lord Why does your wrath burn hot against your people whom you have brought out of the land of egypt with great power And with a mighty hand why should the egyptians say With evil intent did he bring them out to kill them in the mountains and consume them from the face of the earth Turn from your burning anger relent from this disaster against your people Remember abraham isek and israel your servants to whom you swore by your own self and said to them I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and all this land that i have promised I will give your offspring and they shall inherit it forever. He interceded on their behalf Please don't destroy them. That's intercession In the new testament we have stevens prayer for his murderers as he was about to be put to death It says in acts chapter 7 verse 60. He fell on his knees cried out Lord do not hold this sin against them And when he had said this he fell asleep. That's intercession praying for them And so your desire for god to save Others drives you to intercede on their behalf and he do so fervently james 516 says the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much A fourth thing praying for the lost to be saved includes the giving of thanks So we lift up the lost and we pray with the thankful heart That we were able to share the gospel with them And we care about people And we pray that they may be saved And sometimes we put feet to our prayers. We invite them to church. We invite them to events That they may hear a gospel message and get saved And when they're saved we rejoice and we give thanks to god for that When you look in acts chapter 8 verses 5 the way that says that Philip went down to the city of samaria and preached christ to them And the multitudes with one accord he did the things spoken by philip Hearing and seeing the miracles that he did For unclean spirits crying with a loud voice came out of many who were possessed And many who were paralyzed and lame were healed And there was great joy in that city And so you do so with thankfulness you give thanks because you know that god is able to save Now sometimes we restrict our prayers to those who are related to us or perhaps for our friends But i want you to notice what paul says here in first Timothy 2 In verse 1 when he says this should be made he says on behalf of all men And then he goes on in verse 2 to say this He said for kings and all who are in authority That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness And reverence Notice what he's saying here this includes kings And all who are in authority You know it was a while back now I was concerned because law enforcement personnel Many of you remember it's not that long ago. We're being gunned down And we're seeing quite a number of events that were being Published in the news and papers magazines radio tv The police officers that were getting gunned down And i got concerned You see i have friends And i have relatives in law enforcement And so it struck home to me because i know that these people are on the street And they're doing what they can to help us and therefore i was concerned for them and i and and so i I came to church and i shared two times in a row two weeks in a row. I i prayed specifically for their safety Because they were being assaulted and killed in all and And and as that happened, you know, there were people who didn't understand um You see i was on my way one time to church And uh as i was driving here church i was coming on uh pipeline here right in front of us here And i was driving north on pipeline and you get to riverside drive And when you get to riverside drive The the speed limit changes and uh So i was going the speed limit as i entered across riverside going north And then i took my foot off of the gas because you know just to let the uh Let let the engine break if you will and it slows down. Well as i'm driving I i look in my rear view mirror and there's a black and white behind me You know what a black and white is And as i look there's this black and white and there goes the lights And he pulls me over and he walks up to me and says you're speeding It was my brother-in-law Who goes to this church? Or used to And i said no i wasn't He goes yes you were He says it's a 40 and you're going 45 i can give you a ticket As you'll become an illustration Like he is right now And so we had a conversation you know and obviously you know he wasn't going to ticket me because i was slowing down But the point is this you know i have friends and relatives in law enforcement And uh and and i didn't like them i'll be honest with you i didn't like police for a long time That's because i was breaking the law And and i i discovered that criminals have a way of disliking officers I discovered that Well since i got saved i i started realizing that That these people and we'll see this in a minute i'll give you scripture related to this are Are actually there for a purpose in all and so when i was praying for People in law enforcement i did it two weeks in a row because i was concerned Uh, we lost members of this church. You thought you know that i shouldn't be praying for law enforcement But let me tell you something the bible says that very specifically that's what we're looking at It says here that giving up thanks be made for all men for kings and all who are in authority That we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and reverence You see what he's speaking about here is praying for human government In romans chapter 13 verses 1 through 7 this is what the apostle paul writes He said let every soul be subject to the governing authority So there is no authority except from god and the authorities that exist are appointed by god Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of god And those who resist will bring judgment on themselves For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil Do you want to be unafraid of the authority do it is good? And you will have praise from the same For he is god's minister to you for good But if you do evil be afraid For he does not bear the sword in vain For he is god's minister and avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil Therefore you must be subject not only because of wrath but also for conscience sake For because of this you also pay taxes for they are god's ministers attending continually to this very thing render therefore to all their due Taxes to whom taxes are due Customs to whom customs fear to whom fear honor to whom honor Of course this kind of prayer for government is very difficult sometimes for us to do Government officials very often are disrespectful Or arrogant towards christians California is run by officials who seem bent on destroying our state And it's difficult It is difficult sometimes To pray for them because of the arrogance because of the disrespect because of their disregard because of the things that are done that are undermining And working against in many ways The things that we as christians truly do believe disrespect for For christians is not just in the united states. It's really worldwide. I was reading some things about that Believers receiving disrespect is something that happens in other countries for example in 2016 Russia passed a law restricting evangelism outside of church precincts In 2017 Six states in india passed what are called anti conversion laws In minmar nipal and butan Those those countries have enacted similar laws in saudi arabia Conversion from islam is apostasy and is punishable by death So if you become a believer in saudi arabia you can be executed for that And so we see that worldwide in the united states Christians are dealing with laws that restrict freedom of religion A read of a ministry in lake city florida That has cared for the poor for over 31 years But it has been told that they cannot post a picture of jesus exhibit the ten commandments Have a banner reading jesus's lord Or give out bibles to the needy if they expect to continue receiving usda food So this is a church being told by the government You cannot be a church if you want to give help to the poor and we supply the food for that The owners of a colorado bakery were faced in a year in prison For refusing to bake a cake for a homosexual wedding The colorado attorney general's office filed a discrimination complaint against masterpiece cake shop US law protects twitter And allows them to censor views That they disagree with on monday october 9th 2017 Twitter censored one of marsha blackburns who is a congresswoman from tennessee one of her twitter videos In which he proudly defended her pro-life record in the censored campaign ad Blackburn said that she stopped the sale of body parts by planned parenthood And she was censored they finally rescinded the censorship, but that's because of the outcry some of you saw the video that went viral of A homosexual seattle coffee shop owner who kicked out a group of people from his establishment For being christian and he said the most profane things Concerning them and the lord jesus christ But what would have happened if christians kicked homosexuals out of anything? So we see this i'm not trying to get you angry you're already mad I'm simply saying we see this We do see this we're not blind to this So it becomes very difficult. I can remember in 1987 A so-called work of art that had a crucifix that was submerged in urine Was protected by free speech So apparently law protects this kind of discrimination against christians And it seems that it does sometimes doesn't it This can cause anger and this can cause bitterness towards government and government officials We need to remember that during the time of the writing of first timothy Nero was the caesar And history records that caesar nero hated believers He did some acts of brutality that are unheard of Things if you read schafer's history of christianity and others like that fox's book of martyrs You will see historical Examples of what caesar did Where he would he would take christians and he would sew them in in the skins of animals Christians alive Sew them in the skins of animals and throw them to wild dogs and the wild dogs would tear the christians apart How he took them and dipped them in in pitch Tar and and placed them on posts and and ignited them and then wrote his chariot madly around as christians were becoming Human candles he hated christians and he put them to death He blamed the the the burning of rome on christians He he hated me and when you read concerning his life He he was a very evil man. He was perverted He was a persecutor of the faith and yet christians were Commanded to pray for caesar nero in that interesting In first peter 2 13 through 17 the apostle said therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the lord's sake Whether to the king is supreme or to governors As to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good This is the will of god that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men As free you're not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bond servants of god He said honor all people love the brotherhood fear god honor the king That comes from the writers of the new testament who are undergoing Incredible persecution yet you pray for the government You pray that they might be saved One of the more practical reasons why you pray that they might be saved is Someone said it like this good people make good laws The bible tells us in proverbs 29 verse 2 when the righteous are in authority the people rejoice But when a wicked man rules the people groan Someone said if we prayed for the government with the same energy that is spent on criticizing and lobbying It might be impacted for good Remember that the most important thing is for government officials to be saved And so he says supplications prayers intercessions giving of thanks be made for all men why Well who for kings and all who are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence We pray that we might continue to live in peace that we might have the freedom to serve the lord You see when laws are ignored chaos ensues I was just in tijuana this last friday And I can tell you when laws are ignored Chaos ensues I haven't driven in tijuana in a long time I didn't drive I just somebody else did so I could cover my eyes and pray Amazing stop signs are suggestions And you get to these traffic circles and and people are darting in and out running through the stop signs, you know when law is ignored chaos ensues On the way to church just this morning. I was coming up pipeline going north and and uh, I was by the shopping center just down the road and There's a red light and there's a woman At the red light. I have a green. She has a red as I'm driving and approaching the green She decides to take a left turn on the red And I know that if a police officer were to pull her over. I know what she'd say Well, there was nobody, you know, I was safe didn't cause any problems What's the big deal? And I was thinking about that as I was driving here because When I when I was about 13 two friends and I went to the movies my mom and dad dropped us off And it was I lived in norwalk and and the movie house that we went to the theater was in in downy And it was right off of uh firestone boulevard for some of you who may know that area and um And the the the movie ended and my friends and I were walking Towards our home. So we were going west from downy rather east from downy and as we were We're going home walking On firestone It was 10 o'clock there was there. It's no traffic. See there was a time in at 10. There was no traffic So there was no traffic So we decided that we were cars and we went into the traffic lanes And we were running chasing each other. We're 13 years old. We're real goofy and we're chasing each other around in traffic lanes When a police officer pulls over to the side of the road and calls us to him and he says, what are you guys doing? We said we're uh, we're going home You know one we're breaking curfew because there was something called curfew If you were under 18, you weren't supposed to be out at 10 o'clock They had a curfew and we were walking and now we're in this and so he says, what are you doing? We're going home. We're wait. Well, our parents are going to come pick us up And we're just walking in the direction that the car will be traveling in to pick us up And the officer says to us and he says you were in the you were in traffic lanes You were running that's a dangerous thing and I responded to and I said there was no car There were no no cars You know, we weren't in danger. I thought I was talking to my mom. See if I just said that to my mom She just said well, you're right stupid, but don't do that again Not the cop. He said so you think that laws are based on whether or not you agree with them That's how it works and he gave me a lecture. I'll never forget it. He was right Laws are there not because of I'm so good, but because I'm so bad They're there to keep me from doing certain things and to ensure certain things can actually happen that we might live peaceable lives That there is no chaos that there's no confusion And so that's the whole bottom line. That's the point Disorder and persecution is harmful He says ignore don't ignore keep praying Pray and be the best citizens that you can be That gives to you an opportunity to be a witness and secondly It can also help to keep the environment in such a way That that the faith can be presented and also younger believers Will be given the opportunity to grow and mature in their faith So be aware of that He says in verse three for this is good and acceptable in the sight of god our savior Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth And so He's saying god is pleased when we pray for our officials as well as for all who are lost To pray for them that they might be saved as good and is acceptable to god But the question has to be asked Why and he says in verse four because god desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth So who does god want to save he wants to save everyone? In Ezekiel 18 23 it says this do I have any pleasure at all? That the wicked should die says the lord god And not that he should turn from his ways and live I say of 45 22 Look to me and be saved all you ends of the earth For I am god there is no other 2 Peter 3 9 The lord is not slack concerning his promise as some counts slackness But his longsuffering toward us not willing that any should perish But that all should come to repentance So praying for the salvation Is according to his will He says in verse five For there is one god And one mediator between god and men the man christ jesus who gave himself a ransom for all To be testified in due time So paul cites three unquestioned truths of the gospel here first he says there is but one god You find that in the old and new obviously deuteronomy chapter six verse four Hero israel the lord our god is one lord First carinthians eight five and six though there be though there be Though there be that are called gods many that are called gods whether in heaven or in earth As there are gods many and lords many But to us there is but one god the father of whom are all things and we in him And one lord jesus christ by whom are all things and we by him So one there is but one god Two There's only one way to approach him and I want you to see this There is one god One mediator Between god and men the man christ jesus One god one mediator I don't know what your religious upbringing is and I certainly don't want to insult Your mom or your dad or grandma or whoever most sincerely was teaching you what they believed Keep that in mind as I say this I was raised as a roman catholic My mama Tried to teach me to pray as a as a young boy and She said to me and I still remember it. My mama said to me You need to pray to mary and I said to her why and she says because sometimes the lord is busy And she said you know how How when you want something from your dad how you will You will approach me and ask me to tell your dad And I said yes, she said that's how it is in heaven You speak to his mom And she brings your request now that made sense to me Because I spoke to my mom my mom would speak to my father So I never really questioned it. Why would I? And my mom introduced me to someone named saint anthony Now saint anthony was a patron saint of a variety of things including the one who helped you when you lost something So my mom taught me a prayer saint anthony saint anthony, please come around for there is something that cannot be found And I would say whatever it was a million dollars, you know, I'd I'd At a certain point I was loaded and drunk almost every day so almost every day I was losing my keys And so I'd be walking around the house. My mom would help me was like an easter egg hunt She would help me find them because I'd walk in so wasted. I didn't know where I put my car keys So I still remember standing in my mom's front my dad's front room saying anthony helped me I can't find my keys and my mom would follow me around as we went around the house like a scavenger hunt And that's what we would do So I was taught at a very early age that you could ask a lot of different people For help, you know, but when I got saved what I decided to do is look to see if that's in scripture And here we have it where he says there is one god one mediator Now jesus said I am the way the truth and the life No man can come to the father But by me and so when I read the scripture, I I appreciate Those who have gone before us and all but I speak to the one Who can help me and that's the lord jesus christ That's why I go to god through him and that's what paul is saying here. There's only one mediator. There aren't several You don't have to take a lifetime to get to know various saints You don't you don't go to to the mother of jesus christ You go straight to god through the son jesus christ That's a privilege we have and that's found here in scripture And that's what god is teaching us to do that we go through jesus christ And he's the one who answers And then he says that jesus gave himself a ransom for all when he speaks of him giving himself it's voluntarily vicariously Victoriously he gave himself a ransom That reveals the sufficiency of his sacrifice for those who are willing to trust him In first timothy 4 verse 10 it says To this end we both labor and suffer reproach because we trust in the living god Who is the savior of all men especially of those who believe In matthew 20 verse 28 The son of man came not to be ministered to but to minister and to give his life A ransom for many so we go to god through jesus christ Who is the ransom and is testified of that's who we preach in the gospel Verse seven for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle i'm speaking the truth in christ not lying A teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth I was appointed I was appointed. I was placed I was set in this position by god Not by man I was appointed a preacher a preacher is a messenger that has public authority Who conveys official messages? He's saying i am god's ambassador. I am a proclamer of the divine word Ephesians 3 8 he says it like this to me Who am less than the least of all the saints this grace was given That I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of christ He says I was appointed a preacher. He says I was appointed an apostle Jesus's authoritative messenger. He's saying to the church appointed by him and i'm a teacher Now notice a teacher of the Gentiles Him being a teacher of the Gentiles leads to his death Because paul had the The calling to minister the gospel of grace to Gentiles When you go through the book of acts as we've been going through it on wednesday Some of you who've been with me traveling through acts has seen this that paul was arrested And ultimately he dies Because he was preaching the gospel to Gentiles And it caused such an Uproar he was arrested and ultimately put to death for that He was revealing the true faith of god to Gentiles In Galatians 2 7 through 9 He says on the contrary they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles Just as peter had been to the jews for god Who was at work in the ministry of peter as an apostle to the jews Was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles James peter and john those reputed db pillars gave me and barnabas the right hand of fellowship When they recognized the grace given to me They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles And they to the jews So god has strategically placed me as a preacher preaching Is appealing to the will When the ministry of preaching takes place And the holy spirit is working Those who are listening Are being given an appeal to make a decision Apostle is a place of authority A teacher is an individual who is gifted by the spirit to To give information That provokes people to learn And so a preacher is calling you to make a decision A teacher is giving you information with the encouragement for you to assimilate that and be transformed That came under The title apostle a person of authority who had been strategically set in this position To take the word of god out to the world to pray for all men But especially his calling was to reach the Gentiles who are outside of the promises of god And so he says that's what he is and then finally he says this Verse 8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting This is a command for men to be spiritual leaders This does not diminish women From the beginning Women are extremely influential As a woman who is the first testifier of the resurrection of christ It was through a woman obviously that messiah was born And in the new testament You find a number of women who are mentioned Who are evidences of the faith and goodness of the lord Tabitha and others In the new testament That are used as models So paul is not giving some negative commentary That women have no place of ministry But paul is saying I desire men to be the leaders I desire men To be the prayer warriors I desire men to take the place that god has called them to take And to be the kind of men That transforms homes and families To be the kind of men that makes churches powerful I remember years ago now we were At a retreat Our retreat a woman's retreat and And there was a visitor a lady who didn't go to our church She was there because she was invited by somebody else to go and she began to cry on a saturday She was crying and one of our women approached her thinking there was something wrong and asked her what is wrong And she said She said I don't go to this fellowship. She says I go to another church and she says We have never had an entire weekend that has been devoted for the women to To be able to go and be taught to worship and fellowship. We've never had that in my church. She says because If the women don't show up on sunday, we can't have church because the men won't Because the men won't She said the men in my church do not rise up and lead They just don't See when this church began many years ago now I had been an assistant pastor as a young man. I got ordained in the ministry when I was 28 years old And I'd been an assistant pastor in another ministry And one of the ladies in the church held a woman's bible study and she had a worship leader And her worship leader was beginning to introduce some things that just weren't biblically solid and so The senior pastor at that time was 22 years old So he's 22. I'm about 28 29 At that time And we have to sit this woman down who's in her 40s and the woman who's leading The woman's ministry there at that time was in her late 50s So to this older woman We were just young kids who didn't know what we were talking about So she made an appointment for her to come and meet with the senior pastor and me So she could read us the riot act so that she could teach us what real ministry is all about And so there's this 22 23 year old. There's me around 29 Seated in a room where this older woman's kind of wagging her her finger at us telling us how things are going to be Now i'm not the kind of person that you can do that to i'm just not You know, I wasn't the senior pastor. I was just there, but no, you know, no, no See my mama My mom was a black belt in telling you what was on her mind She was a strong strong woman my mom And my mom my mom had no trouble telling me Whatever that was mama and I grew up with that And when I became a pastor in this church My mom tried to tell me some things I sat her down And I said we're not going there and you're not telling me anything I said, you know who I am. She said, who do you think you are? I said, I know who I am I'm the pastor of this church and you're not so you're not telling me what god's going to tell me to do See if you can tell your mama that you can tell anybody that that's a bottom line That's a fact. That's a fact That's a fact So see I am under the spirit of the lord Not some dominating person whether male or female. Okay, that's a that's a given So when this woman is trying to tell us off the senior pastor is intimidated. He didn't know what to do So I stepped in I said, we're not going that way. This is what scripture says. This is what we're going to do I kept that in my memory when this church began. I began working with the men first We did not have women's ministry here for two years Because I wanted to give myself over to the men to teach the men to be men Because I believe if there's anything lacking then and now it's male leadership So men we need to rise up and be what god has called us to be We have to we have to my here we go My wife is not the pastor of this church My wife is my wife and she is a sheep in this church the way everybody else is That's the reason why I will teach the first study at the women's retreats To remind the women that the woman who is leading this is under the The authority of her husband who is the pastor of the church Why because god has called us men to take the lead. That's why and so that's why I encourage you men to rise up And be men listen your wife needs a man in the house not another little boy She doesn't need to raise another child She needs you I was talking to a young woman in our church just this last week I was speaking to her and uh, she's young. She's in her in early early 20s And I was talking with some of the ladies and a couple of the guys young men And I said I feel sorry for you because you've got a lot of uh men who are boys You need a man in your life. I said do you want do you want to dominate some men? Do you want to be the leader in the house? She says no, I want a man And so that's the bottom line men. I'm telling you my wife doesn't need another child She needs a man that she can respect she needs a man that she can listen to She needs a man who loves her and tenderly leads her But it's not going to be pushed because god is going to tell me what to do and we as a family We will serve the lord. That's how it works And it's not meanness And it's not brutality and it's and I don't bully my wife and I don't scream at my wife and I don't know Is that she knows that the man she's married to has a spine And I know that my knee is about to jesus christ first and foremost and when maria and I were dating I said this you may leave me, but he never will I will always follow him first and you come behind him That's what our relationship is going to be like and that's what it's been for all these years Why because god has called the man to lead not because we're better But because that's our responsibility and when I hand ministry over To my wife that is mine. I am not doing what god has called me to do So men wake up your wives want a man in the house They want a man who will lead not a brute not a bully a man who loves a man that they can trust a man that they are In strength strengthened by my dad was a man My mom was was a powerful woman But when daddy was there my mom was a submitted woman white because my dad loved her enough to lay his life down for her And a man who will lay his life down for his wife will be followed by that wife wherever he goes My wife, this is the truth My wife, this is if I walk to the to the to the edge of hell My wife will be right behind me. She won't push me in But she'll be right behind me supporting me. That's a fact and why is that why is that? Because when she and I met and when she and I began to go out I told her i'm going to be a man of god That's what I am. I'm a man under orders of the lord jesus christ That's who I am and I will follow him as far as he takes me as long as he wants me And you will go with me to where he calls us to go Men become leaders. He didn't say I will that the women raised their hands Why because you women so very often are so spiritually minded You don't even have to have a command like that You raise up holy hands to the lord men Raise your hands to the lord worship him follow him be the example Be the hero in your family be the priest of the home I could bring my wife out right now And I could hand her a microphone And I could say honey. Am I the real deal? Or am I just pretending? I'd be willing to do that Anybody who wants to talk to my wife ask him what the man is that she's been married to for all these years Ask if I do these things she'll tell you she'll say no He does what he says because he loves the lord and men I want you to have the same testimony that your wife will say i married a man of god Because a godly woman wants a godly man Listen carefully Listen carefully a godly woman wants a godly man A woman who's not godly doesn't care But a godly woman wants a godly man I have become the man that I am fear of the lord And love for this woman Because she wants a godly man I want to be the man that she'll always love She won't look at another man because i'm going to be the man that It's the only man she'll ever want. I'm going to be that man I want to be that man. I made a decision. You could bring my kids up You can bring my grandkids up. You can ask them. Does your father live what he's saying? Does your grandfather live what he's saying? And if they're capable of answering questions like that Everyone of them will say he lives it. Why because there's something greater to me than whether the Dodgers win today Which I hope they do by the way There's something greater to me than that Eternity is greater than that Eternity is greater than that I don't want to go to heaven without my wife I don't want to go to heaven without my my children I do not want to go to heaven without my grandbabies I want the rosalas clan to be representing In heaven And that's what i've done And that's what I will do is I will remain faithful as a man of god And men I exhort you to do the same I exhort you to do the same Be that man And this may sound like a shameless plug. It's not It's just a concluding exhortation If you can go to the retreat go We are there to help you become the men you want to be That's what we're doing. We're trying to help you to become men of god This church needs men to rise up and lead This church needs you And we need you to stand up in these last moments these last days And be counted as god's man And I will do all that I as a man can do to be an example and encourage her to you In that because that's how important this really is Men rise up Pray and seek the lord and let's see what god will do with us In the coming years. Let's see what jesus will do