And because Adam & Eve were married and then problems came, so the holy people shouldn t get married either.

Title: Advancing by Staying. Reading: 1 Timothy 1:1-7. Let s imagine a scenario Imagine this, say you rock up to church one Sunday and all of a sudden, none of the Elders and deacons are here, they ve just gone. There s been a partial rapture, a bit like Phillip the Evangelist in the book of the Acts, and the all the Elders and Deacons are finding themselves suffering in Tahiti and it s going to be a while before they are back! The only one left is a young fella, who for the sake of this scenario we will call Roy. Roy is about 28 and has just finished Bible college. He s done alright at Bible College but hasn t been involved too much in church leadership before. On this particular Sunday a whole new group of people turn up to looking to join the church. They believe the Bible and appear to be quite devoted. They hold that because Adam & Eve in the garden of Eden were vegetarians, the really devoted Christians should be vegetarians too. And because Adam & Eve were married and then problems came, so the holy people shouldn t get married either. Just look at Jesus and the Apostle Paul. They weren t married, and they were really holy. The leaders among them claim to be able to trace their family line right back to Aaron the priest in the OT and therefore should be listened too and they have some interesting views on how the 10 commandments should relate to life. Now all this sounds attractive to some in the congregation and start to follow these people. What is young Roy to do? Today, we re starting the book of 1 Timothy. 1 Timothy is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to a young fella by the name of Timothy, hence the name of the book. Timothy was in Ephesus which is on the eastern side of what today is Turkey. Ephesus was a major city of the day, trade was a big deal there, as it had a port. Page 1 of 17 15 th July 2018

Being a city with plenty of trading happening, it was a well-connected city, even though the NBN fibre had not yet reached it yet. I know some of you may say that messages by boat would still be quicker, it still had plenty of access to the latest thoughts and ideas that were floating around. Timothy, like young Roy from our story, he was facing a tough situation. For Timothy, like Roy, there was some weird teaching and practices in the Church at Ephesus, and this was leading to people changing how they lived, how they conducted themselves. We re not sure exactly what the ideas and thoughts were or what the source of the messages were. Maybe there was a bit of a mix of both Jewish and Greek teaching and a bit of mythology added in as well. Some were saying you couldn t eat certain foods, and you probably shouldn t be married either. They were pursuing myths really hard and chasing through some really obscure OT thoughts and vague genealogies and speculating what they could mean. Some of the details we are simply not told, but whatever they were, they were in opposition to the gospel that Paul preached. Obviously, this false teaching was leading people away from the Gospel that Paul taught. It did not lead people to Faith in Christ and did not lead people into transformed lives. So how was Young Timothy to approach this situation? It was to get the fundaments right to get the Gospel right in the church and in the lives of the Christians in the Church. Now the obviously made up scenario outlined before, although a little extreme, it s quite relevant for us today in Brisbane. Some of the things mentioned in the opening scenario Timothy had to deal with in his day. What about us here in Brisbane in 2018? Like in Timothy s time, we do live in a time where there is pressure both from inside and outside the church in regard to doctrine, to teaching. For example, there are some denominations who have changed views on some aspects of doctrine, of teaching and are then looking to force this change of stance into all the churches in the denomination, for instance the role of women, or LGBT clergy. And the opposite happens to where there are churches that want to go another direction that s provided by the denomination. Then there s problem with leadership in the churches. Page 2 of 17 15 th July 2018

Even recently over the past few weeks, there has been respected leaders and preachers who have been caught in adulterous relationships, leadership in churches who have split and gone different directions, there are other leaders in churches who have walked away from congregations who were at one time thriving, and now with just a handful left. It s these sorts of issues that this letter to Timothy addresses, so you can see that God s word is truly relevant for the church today. Well you may be sitting there thinking, that fine for the church, I m doing fine in my Christian life thank you, all that you ve mentioned is precisely why I don t commit to church or get involved in one so that I can avoid all this. Alright then how are you really going in your Christian life, what does godliness really look like in your life? What s your attitude to wealth, possessions and materialism? What really should be your attitude to church leadership? These questions are also addressed in this letter to Timothy. We live in a messy world, Just as Timothy did. We face pressures both from outside and within, just as Timothy did. We then, as we stand in a messy world here in Brisbane in 2018, there are lessons that we can learn for us to apply to our lives, to our church as we consider this letter to Timothy. Hence the name of this series that well be stepping through in Timothy: Gospel Living in a Messy World. As Christians, we are called to hold firm and live out the gospel in the midst of a messy world. In Timothy s day, it was this false teaching that was affecting the thinking of the believers in the church there in Ephesus, and as a result, the way the Christians were behaving was changing. The gospel itself was under attack, the very foundation a Christians faith, the very foundation to the church And so, Paul writes this letter to young Timothy, to give direction, to give instructions to him on how to correct, and guide the church in Ephesus. Paul declares clearly the purpose of writing this letter clearly in 1 Timothy 3:14-15; 14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. 1 Tim 3:14-15 ESV. Page 3 of 17 15 th July 2018

This was Paul s purpose statement for this letter. It s the central statement of the verse: That you may know how one ought to behave or how the CSB puts it I have written so that you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God s household. CSB So it is how we conduct ourselves, how we behave as people transformed by the Gospel both as a church, but also as individuals living in a messy world that are unpacked in this book. This is the heart of Paul s message. The Gospel, the message of Christ Jesus coming into the world to save sinners is the message that Paul has been entrusted with. It this message that was for all nations to be declared to all, to everyone. But this message was not just of salvation, but also one of transformation. The Gospel message once receive will change hearts, transform people, and with this transformation comes a transformation of behaviour. How we live, act, behave, conduct ourselves is changed, it is transformed by the Gospel. As sure as night follows day, this is the pattern of people who have been saved by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There will be a transformation of life. It is this message that the Church, God s people, God s servants, you and I are called to as the church is called to uphold, are called to live out in our lives. It is the very basis of our faith, it s the very foundation of the church It s this Gospel message that as the church we ve been called to promote & protect, a pillar & buttress of the truth. That s the primary purpose of this book. So this sets up the book, and I hope you are looking forward to the encouragement and the challenge that we will have as we look at the truths here in this letter to Timothy. This morning we going to move into the first chapter and the first 7 verses. Page 4 of 17 15 th July 2018

To day I want us to see that: Big Idea: God s Servants Advance His Work by Staying True to the Gospel. 1-2. The Greeting 3-4. The Gospel Gets Our Head Right. 5-7. The Gospel Gets Our Heart Right. So let us move into the letter starting with the first two verses, the greeting. 1-2. The Greeting. How often when reading our Bible, particularly the epistles do we blow right past the opening verses to get onto the good stuff? It s worth slowing down and taking time to note thing in the opening of letters, as they can help in things revealed later on in the letter. But rather then blow right past it, there are a few things that I d like us to take note of. There s more packed in here than what we re covering today. This s the part of the letter that says Hi Tim, It s Paul, how ya going? Or as it s here: It s Paul, Hi Tim, how ya going? If you were going to write an encouraging note to someone facing a tough situation, what would you write? It s interesting to note what Paul writes then to Timothy. As this letter starts there are three parts to the opening in verses 1 and 2. Who it s from, Who it s to and the greeting. In this letter Paul is off the mark quickly and firmly. We see this in the introductory verses to the book as you can read with me here in Ch 1 verse 1. Page 5 of 17 15 th July 2018

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope Now this at first seems a little odd. Normally when writing, emailing, well texting, you don t remind a well-known mate or friend of your occupation and your credentials of your job, do you? Why would Paul need to do this? Was not a surprise to Timothy that Paul was an apostle, or was it possible that young Timothy was suffering from forgetfulness or was a candidate for early onset Alzheimer s? Well, no! Timothy had now been serving with Paul for many years, had been on trips with him, served with him. The point to remember is that this letter is more than a personal note to Timothy. This letter was to be not only to be a personal encouragement to Timothy, although I do think that is a big reason Paul includes this. This letter was also to be read to the Church in Ephesus to provide some direction, some correction on some of the drift from the truth that was happening. Paul, in pointing out his Apostleship, is highlighting his authority in what he is saying in this letter he s highlighting that what he s saying is authoritative and therefore is to be listened to and obeyed. This would have been an encouragement to Timothy to hear this from Paul, that he had the backing of Paul the Apostle as went about the awkward task of correcting and dealing with the false teachers. Just as in our opening scenario, if the Elders were to write an email, or on a postcard with a happy snap of Tahiti on it to Roy to encourage him with the mess that he was facing. It may start with Hi Roy, In the middle it may have some specific instructions on how to go about fixing things, but at the bottom it may have this close; Blessings, On Behalf of the Elders, Craig. This would be an authoritative letter and would give confidence in carrying out the task given that Young Roy had the backing on the all the Elders. This s the same idea here. Notice as well as the first verse continues, that Pauls Apostleship isn t a self-imposed, it comes from a dual source, God himself and Christ Jesus. This would be again a further encouragement to Timothy. Page 6 of 17 15 th July 2018

If I was Timothy I would have been encouraged further by some other things that Paul includes here. Notice Paul identifies God as Our Saviour and Christ Jesus as Our Hope For Timothy, this would ve been encouraging and reassuring knowing that despite the messy circumstances, despite the uncertainty of what precisely the future hold, some things are a constant. The reminder here then, is that there is only one true savour, who is God Himself. There is no other saviour, this is the only one true saviour. Our salvation is sure because it is founded on the work of the unchanging Almighty God. And He is OUR Saviour, this is the one that we are made one in. We are together in this. The Paul reminds Timothy of Christ Our Hope? Timothy was going through a tough time, he needed reminding of Hope! What do you need to be reminded of when going through tough times? Hope! This real hope is a person, not a place. This hope is the confident and eager anticipation of what God has in store for us as believers. There s a time coming when the struggles and trials we go through now will be gone. Those who know, and trust Christ as their Lord and Saviour will be in heaven, and there faith will give way to sight, we will see our Saviour face to face. We will be with our Lord. Our salvation will be complete. When facing troubled times, what do you, what do I, what do we need to be reminded of? Our Saviour and our Hope. This doesn t matter what we re facing. It maybe illness and health issues, it may relationship struggles, financial strain, it may be that ministry life is tough. Just like us at times, we struggle through a tough week and we look for the weekend to have a break. We push on at times with hope, but that hope doesn t last does it? Page 7 of 17 15 th July 2018

Because it seems that in a sneeze the weekend is gone, and we have to push through the next week. But this a real and lasting hope, this confident and eager anticipation of what God has in store for us. That is what Paul is reminding Timothy, reminding you and me of our salvation, our identity and also our real hope. So often we can forget this. We need reminding of this God Our Saviour, and Christ Our Hope. So often for us, we can be forgetful of exactly these things and start to drift. We can get caught up in life, or the distractions of this age. We need this reminder as we press on in life here. I can tell you that over these past few weeks the Pastors have been thinking on this. When we heard about some of the troubles that leadership at other churches have had, the fall of some of the Pastors at other places have had, our hearts ached. It s these two things that Paul reminds right at the start of the letter to encourage Timothy, that is who our Savour is, and what our Hope is that were an encouragement to the Pastors this week. Verse 2, 2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: we have Timothy identified as a recipient, but the following statement; my true child in the faith I think, has a dual purpose. Firstly, one of encouragement to Timothy, reminding him of the possible conversion under Pauls ministry, a true child or son through faith. Secondly, I think it s also an acknowledgement of the authority that Paul confers to Timothy as he carries out the task of directing the church at Ephesus. This would ve been an encouragement to Timothy as he was facing the false teachers. The last part of verse 2 has the greeting: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul in his letters normally used grace and peace, but here in this letter he adds mercy. Page 8 of 17 15 th July 2018

If you actually add in hope that we ve already considered, we have Hope, grace, mercy and peace mentioned in these few verses. As we will see next week, it s these themes of Grace, Mercy and Peace are expanded further as Paul recounts his testimony. Focussing now on grace, mercy and peace here in verse 2. Paul includes similar statements in all his letters. It was the custom in Paul s day to express kind wishes for the wellbeing of those receiving the letter, the recipients. Not sure if in those days it became a bit of a throwaway line that we can sometimes do. This would not have been some throwaway line that we can sometimes do. For example, sometimes when you call people on the phone, they answer saying something like Hello, Roy speaking. and you reply saying: Hi it s Luke, How are you going? The How are you going? can be just a polite saying, a throwaway line. I don t think this s why Paul includes this at the start of his letters. This isn t just a polite statement to include at the beginning here. For Timothy, for the church at Ephesus, indeed for us, it is good to remember, that apart from God s grace and mercy to us we would be not saved. Both grace and mercy are both gifts of a gracious God to undeserving people. Grace reminds us of the saving act of God through Christ Jesus it s this this salvation that comes to us who are totally undeserving. Mercy is what you plead for when you realise that you re in need, that you need help. Before God that s exactly what we need mercy. Because as we re made aware of our sin, as we re made aware of the consequences of our sin, and then realise that there s nothing that we ourselves can do to make it right, we can only call on the mercy of God. As I ve already mentioned, both grace and mercy are both gifts of a gracious God to undeserving people. The result of grace and mercy is peace, peace with God. Before grace and mercy had effect on our hearts and lives, we were separated from God, we were opposed to God, in one sense at war with God. But by God s grace and mercy which came through Christ Jesus, the one who became the mediator between us and God, we have been brought into a relationship with God, we have been reconciled, we have peace with God. Page 9 of 17 15 th July 2018

Isn t this amazing? For us who did not deserve it at all. It is no wonder that Paul includes similar greetings at the start of his letters. I am sure that this would not have been missed by Timothy, knowing the situation that he faced. For us may we too not miss the reminder and encouragement that these three words brings. For those who are not sure, ask yourself are you at peace with God? Can I assure you that peace with God is possible, and this is through faith in Christ Jesus. He s the agent, the means, by which grace and peace came when He suffered and died on our behalf, without mercy, without grace, to bring us peace with God [Jn1:17]. Do you have this peace? If you want to know more, please come and speak to me after, or speak with the person who brought you. 3-4. The Gospel Gets Our Head Right. As we move further into this letter in verse 3, Paul reminds Timothy of the reason that he was to stay in Ephesus. Read with me verses 3 and 4; As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. Timothy s urged, he s encouraged to charge, to command certain people in the church to stop teaching a different doctrine, or a different gospel. As a younger bloke, this would ve been a big task, it s not pleasant at all to confront people about error, about sin. You can see why then Paul packs so much encouragement and reminders of attributes of God s grace, mercy and peace and the reminder of the sure hope the believer has into the start of the letter. Two things about these people, they were teaching this false doctrine as it says in verse three. But these people were devoted in the wrong area, to the wrong things, verse 4. Page 10 of 17 15 th July 2018

Another way you can interpret the devote themselves to is be addicted to. It would seem that not only were they teaching error, they were also pursuing a lifestyle that was in opposition to the Gospel that Paul preached. We see devoted people in all sorts of areas, sport is one we see often, don t we? Probably there are some here today. We can get all dressed up in our favourite team s colours; jersey, beanie and scarf, and head off to the game. Or with the World Cup Soccer on at the moment, some here who follow England would have been up early or late, to see them play This shows devotion, we can adjust our lifestyle to suit us to attend games, or to follow on TV. There are some who are really devoted and follow their team interstate to watch them play, such is their devotion that they re life style is altered to pursue their team. Similar idea here, in following through with the teaching, in pursuit of the myths and genealogies, they we re adjusting their lifestyle to suit. However, notice the result of these things in verse 4, which promote speculations or as the CSB puts it; promote empty speculations or another way you could put it is useless speculations. You get the feeling that Paul isn t keen on it don t you? Now we can t be certain of what the myths and endless genealogies in verse 4 are precisely referring to, but it would seem to be a meld of some form of Judaism that focussed on the genealogies of the OT and a bit of Greek thinking and gods. The result of this false teaching was useless, controversial speculations, that produced nothing of value in their hearts or lives. Their thinking, their head was wrong, and was producing results in their lives, in their lifestyles that were not reflective of the Gospel. What it did NOT do was advance God s work, as we can see at the last part of verse 4. which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. Or as the NIV puts it; Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God s work which is by faith. Page 11 of 17 15 th July 2018

What is God s work, what is then this stewardship that s referred to here? God s work is His plan of salvation. This plan was already laid out to the Ephesian church in Ephesians 1:3-10. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. This master plan of salvation outlined here is amazing, just to name a few items listed here He has chosen us in time past for blessing, to be holy and blameless, that He is going to adopt us, that through this He will be glorified, that he will redeem us through Christ s blood. God s plan of salvation, as our saviour was the Gospel of God as revealed through Jesus Christ. The one through whom grace, mercy and peace has come. It s through faith we enter into this favoured relationship with God. Page 12 of 17 15 th July 2018

But this work, God s plan, God s stewardship, God s Work continues in our lives by faith, producing growth, producing fruit in keeping with the Gospel, in keeping with God s work. The Gospel message once receive will change hearts, transform people, and with this transformation comes a transformation of behaviour. This results in lives that reflect the Gospel, lives that have been transformed by the Gospel This is part of the call originally made to the Ephesian church To walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. Ephesians 4:1. ESV Where does this growth happen? It happens on the seedbed of faith. In Timothy s time there was obviously a turning from faith in God, a disbelief in what God has said, a turning from trust in Him and His Word, which resulted to a turning away from the truth. The result of the false teaching was speculation, and a drift away from Gospel truth toward sinful lifestyles. Nothing to advance God work in people s hearts and lives. Application: Just brief challenge here for us. I know there are a number of really clever people here in this congregation, way smarter than I am. Some of you may be prone to think deeply on many things many theories and ideas, including aspects of the Bible and truths in it. Now I admire people intellect in these areas, and at times we can benefit from it. Unfortunately, there are dangers with this as it can become all consuming that it can become your life. There s a bloke I know who could tell you everything about warfare techniques and methods from ancient times to the middle ages and yet did not know how to make a cup of tea. The question I would like to leave with you is this: Is this a devotion that is advancing God s work, God s plan, God s work in your heart and Life? Or if you were honest, is it an empty speculation? Page 13 of 17 15 th July 2018

God s work is the advancement of the Gospel in people s hearts and lives, in our own heart and lives. It s the Gospel that gets out heads right, gets our thinking right. Sound teaching, sound doctrine should produce good thinking, inform good thinking that then results in good living, proper behaviour. The false teachers produced speculation, the gospel produces something of substance, love. This moves us into our final point. 5-7. The Gospel Gets Our Heart Right. Read with me from verse 5, The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions. Apparently one of the outcomes of the false teaching was an intellectual satisfaction, the empty speculation that had no positive impact on conduct. Here, one goal of the Gospel is love. This is a summary of what the Christian life should be, of what the Christian life should be characterised by. This is not a good fuzzy feeling, rather, a response of love toward God for His grace, that then is expressed in sacrificial actions and toward others. This love has three sources as verse 5 points out. A pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Page 14 of 17 15 th July 2018

A pure heart is an obvious requirement. How does that happen? Through the blood, the sacrifice of Christ when we were first saved. But there is also a continual cleansing through confession of sins as 1 John 1:9 reminds us; If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 ESV For love to flow out of our life, we need a pure heart, one that s been washed by the water of the Word [Eph 5:26]. A good conscience, the second one, is that inner voice that can speak to us when we re doing wrong. You may have heard the statement either from yourself, or someone else My conscious is clear, meaning that they are free from guilt or responsibility. This is fine as long as your conscience is a good one. Because we can choose to go against it, and if we do it enough, sometimes it can become twisted, it can become seared so that we can t distinguish right and wrong, good or bad. For us to self-evaluate how our actions, out direction of life, to assess if we are obedient to God or not, we need a good conscience. This comes from a renewal of the mind [Romans 12:2] and the washing of regeneration of the Holy Spirit [Titus 3:5]. The third and final one is a sincere faith. This is a genuine trust in God, a real reliance on Him. It is an active belief in God. It s a sincere faith, and genuine faith is seen, is evidenced by action. This love, this Christian love that Paul is talking about here, has at its core a genuine faith in God; that has been cleansed in the inner person, in the heart; and that has the ability to rightly perceive truth and goodness. This is only possible by the transforming power of the Gospel, that transforms from within. By stating the goal that is love, Paul is highlighting the criticism that he has against these false teachers. He is highlighting that is no love evidenced in the lives of these people, there is no Christian living. That s what we can observe in the last verses of today s section, reading with me from verse 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions. 1 Timothy 1:6-7. Page 15 of 17 15 th July 2018

They have strayed off, talking about meaningless stuff, that means nothing, that doesn t produce conviction of sin or inform how we should live as God fearing people, nothing. They want to be recognised as teachers of the law, but the truth is they don t really know what they are talking about. They had drifted off away from the Gospel they had drifted away from what the people in Ephesus needed and what we need here today. This is what identifies the false teaching here that Paul is addressing, Sound health doctrine, Sound healthy teaching produces moral healthy Christian living. You might be sitting there thinking, I m ok, I go to a good church, they read from and preach the Bible, it s all good. A couple of things I d like us to consider. We live in a very connected world. The internet, social media, society, friends, what shows you watch, what games you play, what all has a voice an influence on our lives. I d like to ask what voices, what teaching are you listening to? Your response might be - look I m fine, I don t have a problem. But are these things leading you into a deeper relationship with God, are they advancing God s kingdom in your heart? We may not have false teachers in our Church, but we can be opening our hearts and minds to them in our homes, in our daily lives. Now I m not going to say we need to though all our technology and that sort of stuff out the door when you get home, it may need to be controlled though. The question is, is it producing Love out of a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith? For us here today, the call is the same as it was to Timothy. To hold firm and live out the Gospel in the midst of a messy world. As God s servants, we re to Advance God s work by staying true to the Gospel. Lets Pray. Page 16 of 17 15 th July 2018

Advancing by Staying. [1 Timothy 1:1-7 14th July 2018] Main Point: God s Servants Advance His Work by Staying True to the Gospel. Please pick a few relevant questions from each section and ensure that most of the time is focussed on application. General Questions: 1. What ways have you observed the Gospel under attack in modern day Australia? Is this all from outside the Church or from within? 2. If you were to write a letter of encouragement to Christian who was serving the Lord in a hostile environment [North Korea or Afghanistan], what sort of things would you include and why? 3. Is the apostleship of Paul important in this letter? Why? 4. What is the significance of grace mercy and peace? 5. Why is the issue with the false teachers in Ephesus so critical? 6. What is the relationship between the stewardship of God [or the advancement of God s work] and the aim of Paul s command love? 7. Looking at God s Salvation Plan in Ephesians 1:3-14, what aspects of this plan impact you the most? 8. In verse 5, the target of the Gospel doctrine in Love the issues from a pure heart, good conscience and a sincere faith. If one of these was missing, why wouldn t genuine Gospel love be the outcome? Application Questions: 1. What did you find encouraging in the Greeting [Verses 1-2]? Why did this resonate with you? 2. Do you use throwaway lines in conversations? If so, why? Are there things you could do to change this behaviour? 3. Are there times in your life when you have pursued empty speculations? What can you do to avoid doing this again? If there was someone you knew pursuing this sort of thing how would you gently counsel them? Are there any empty speculations that you are pursuing in your life that you need help and accountability with? 4. Are there areas in your life that you are allowing yourself to be influenced by messages other than the sound Gospel message? What are these messages producing in your life? Are they producing a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith? If not, you may have to take action and put these out of your life. Consider sharing this with a accountability partner or your Home Group Shepherd. Page 17 of 17 15 th July 2018