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Poured Out | What Goes In Is What Goes Out

 

Leaving the Gas cap off on the lawnmower

  • Rainwater getting into the tank

 

Water and Gas do not mix.

  • It will ruin the engine
  • Not run well

 

Like an engine, what we allow in is very important

 

What do I mean by “WHAT WE ALLOW IN?”

 

What we:

  • SEE
  • HEAR
  • LEAD TO WHAT WE BELIEVE

 

What this means is:

WE ARE ALL BEING DISCIPLINED BY SOMETHING

 

Discipleship: The condition or situation of being a disciple, a follower, or a student of some philosophy

 

We are all being disciples by something

  • From what we see
  • What we hear

 

Why am I saying all this?

 

This series has been about Pouring our Lives out for the Gospel of Jesus

  • Like any container, we can only pour out what has been put in

     

To say it another way

What Goes In Is what Comes Out

 

Healthy things in, healthy stuff out

Garbage in, garbage out

  • Physically, mentally and spiritually

     

So we are all POURING OUT something

  • We are pouring what we have been putting in

     

Stress in — Stress out

Anger in — Anger Out

Bitterness in — Bitterness out

Fear in — Fear out

 

We have been talking through Paul’s letter to Timothy

  • A young church leader
  • The family converted by Paul
  • Paul is in prison
  • Old
  • Near the end of his life

     

As we look at the end of this letter, Paul begins to give Timothy some tough advice

 

2 Timothy 3

1 But know this: Hard times will come in the last days. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people.

Couple of things to know here

 

  1. Paul is speaking of the culture at large, but ALSO Christians “

    Holding to the form of Godliness…”

  2. “Last Days” may sound like the “END OF TIME” but is the entire time between the Resurrection and the 2 Coming of Jesus
  3. The most important thing we should pick up on is the first thing Paul Said: PEOPLE WILL BE LOVERS OF SELF

 

When the center of gravity in an individual shifts from God to self, a multitude of sins can spring up.

If you are only POURING YOURSELF INTO YOUR LIFE you will do WHATEVER makes you happy WHENEVER you have the opportunity

 

This is exactly where culture wants to live

  • Do what makes YOU happy
  • Do what makes YOU feel good
  • YOU are who YOU say YOU are
  • It’s YOUR life, do what you want

 

This is a strong warning for all of us, not just people who don’t show up to church

 

We often PICK things that we think are OK for OURSELVES but point out what OTHERS are doing wrong

  • I listen to Christian music but I complain about everything
  • I pay my tithes but I’m unfaithful emotionally of physically to my spouse
  • I pray but I talk behind people’s back all the time
  • Those are all FORMS OF GODLINESS but Not true Godliness

 

The Gospel is, WE ARE ALL THOSE PEOPLE

  • We are all sinners who do not deserve one ounce of mercy from God
  • We have all rebelled against him

     

But the Gospel is that Jesus came and has stood in the place of judgment that YOU AND I DESERVE

So we get to walk around now with a badge that says “REDEEMED” even though you did nothing to earn or deserve it

So if you have given your life to Jesus, you don’t have to live that way anymore!

  • You are free from that!
  • That’s not who you are

 

You can CHOOSE TO GO BACK, but that’s not you anymore!

 

Paul understands that these people are TOXIC

  • “AVOID THESE PEOPLE”
  • They are not good news
  • They are not ok with their own destruction; they want you to come with them

 

But he doesn’t just warn of who to stay from but provides direction for Timothy and us…

 

2 Timothy 3

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, 15 and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Paul is saying, as you live in the world, it is easy to begin to think the way the world thinks

  • To value what the world values
  • To believe what the world believes

 

But that’s not where truth and direction come from – It comes from God’s word

Paul points Timothy to the Bible (Preachers have been doing this from day one)

 

That is why you and I must be familiar with what the Bible says about things.

  • It’s easy for us to be swayed into thinking something is ok or right or just

     

You may hear someone say something and the way they say it doesn’t sound too bad…

  • But that doesn’t make it right

 

Here’s the question…

ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF GOD’S TRUTH TO SPOT THE LIES?

 

Are you confident in your knowledge of the Bible to pick out the places where culture is Going against God?

  • Does your heartbreak over what breaks his?
  • Are you desensitized to things that is against God?

     

We are moving into a time when a loose knowledge of the Bible is dangerous

  • Because you think you know what it says, but you really have no idea

     

The word of God is Profitable, Good for us, Good for your Future, Good for your children, and Good for our world.

 

Paul then changes his tone to something more personal

 

2 Timothy 4

1 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and his kingdom: 2 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching.

6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing.

Paul understood the meaning of being poured out

  • To give his life fully to God’s kingdom

 

Paul knew this:

A POURED OUT LIFE IS A FULL LIFE

 

Paul understood that to pour his life out was SO MUCH BETTER THAT LIVING FOR HIMSELF

 

What does it mean to be poured out as a Christ Follower?

It means:

  • We are the gatekeepers of truth in a culture that hates it
  • We are the agents of righteousness in a culture of immorality
  • We are the hope dealers in a time of hopelessness
  • We keep the faith when all faith seems lost
  • We are people of purpose in a world that seems pointless
  • We point to true north when people are lost

 

Romans 12

Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

A POURED OUT LIFE IS A FULL LIFE

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