The Bridge of Nevertheless
Notes
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Intro: There comes a time in an individual’s life when they must come to a conclusion of what is real and what is a fantasy. That time is now for our graduating seniors. Life is fixing to get real for them as they enter the next chapter of their lives [work, college]. What you have learned from your family is the foundation of which you will build your life upon. My hope is that that foundation is Jesus Christ!
Text; 2 Tim. 2:14-19
14 Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers.
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
16 But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.
17 And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort,
18 who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.
19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”
An atheist was walking through the woods. 'What majestic trees! 'What powerful rivers! 'What beautiful animals! He said to himself.
As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look. He saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charge towards him. He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder & saw that the bear was closing in on him. He looked over his shoulder again, & the bear was even closer. He tripped & fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw that the bear was right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw & raising his right paw to strike him. At that instant the Atheist cried out, 'Oh my God!'
Time Stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent.
As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky. 'You deny my existence for all these years, teach others I don't exist and even credit creation to cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer? 'The atheist looked directly into the light, 'It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian?'
'Very well,' said the voice. The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head & spoke: 'Lord bless this food to my body, and me unto your service. Amen.'
As funny as this may sound we can be as this Atheist in many ways, knowing God yet denying His power. You don’t need to deny the foundation of Christ in your life or the bears of this world will destroy you!
1. The Bears; 16-18
1. The Bears; 16-18
The next chapter of your life is going to be filled with BEARS that will chase you down, try to alter your path or destroy you.
Profane and vain babblings- language not respectful of your religious practice, blasphemous or obscene.
The world continues to spread its “disinformation” about the truth through various forms of speech, venues, and they will try to force it upon you.
Social media has become a platform for the censoring of free speech. That free speech includes the expression of your faith. Your words will be challenged and twisted, and many times shut down because they will be made to seem like hate speech and you will be assaulted by your peers.
College professors will call your faith into question in the classroom and often will use you as an example of bigotry and intolerant of the norms in society.
You will be ostracized by teammates, coaches and fraternities if you oppose what they believe or what they want their school to project to the world as being all inclusive to gender identity, LGBTQ+ and BLM friendly.
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
Ungodliness- lack of reverence for God [philosophy]
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values/morals, mind, and language.
What is a philosopher? A man who is trying to find out the mystery of the universe. There is a Book that will tell him all he needs to know, but he turns his back on that which God has revealed and tries to find out on his own.
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
Ungodliness “Gangrene”- decomposition of bodily tissue or death, resulting from either obstructed blood circulation or bacterial infection. Gangrene is one of the worst dangers in battlefield injuries. If not treated promptly and carefully, it can quickly lead to amputation or death.
Cancer- a malignant growth or tumor resulting from the division of abnormal cells: Those abnormal cells are the influence of profane and vain babblings and ungodliness/gangrene you are going to encounter in the world. The BEARS of secularism in a satanic society in which you are now entering without the constant protection of your family.
[FOX News 5-16-22] A local nonprofit organization is hosting an event for LGBTQ youth in Naples, Florida, on Saturday that will feature a drag show at a church. The inaugural Youth Pride Conference will take place May 21 at Naples United Church of Christ (UCC) and is intended "for LGBTQ youth seeking to explore LGBTQ-related issues they face today," according to the event's page. Youth aged 12 to 18 are invited to attend the all-day event, which the organizer boasts will include free breakfast and lunch, "as well as a drag show from some of our local drag queens."
2. Nevertheless, the Solid Foundation; 19a
2. Nevertheless, the Solid Foundation; 19a
Nevertheless- however, on the other hand, there is another side. Even though the BEARS will chase you and try to destroy you, you can defeat them in Christ!
Solid Foundation- the solid base/footing upon which a secure structure can be built; used mainly in reference to the temple. It is used figuratively of Jesus Christ, the apostles and prophets as the secure foundation on which the church is built.
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
Foundation of God- a lasting strong foundation built with the best materials. The solid foundation of the church/faith is built upon the substance of God.
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Jesus didn’t build His church upon Peter, but on Himself. Jesus is the Rock. But Peter built/placed his faith upon that Rock.
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Sure Foundation [Stands]- established, upholds, sustains, it is sure
24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
Seal- every foundation after it is poured is sealed [cured/finished]. Whether you realize this or not, cement continues to harden throughout its life. On the day we poured the first footings for the new church [7-9-2015] the strength rate of the cement was 3000 psi. On [8-7-2015, 28 days later] the strength rate had climbed to 4230 psi. according to a core sample taken by the engineers.
If the foundation is sealed correctly it will continue to strengthen throughout its life. If we are sealed in the Blood of Christ and we depart from iniquity, we will continue to strengthen our faith throughout our life as well!
3. Strengthening Our Faith Foundation; 15
3. Strengthening Our Faith Foundation; 15
Be diligent- persistent to accomplish a particular objective, giving it maximum effort [Softball, academics, welding]
Approved to God- the purpose of our diligence is not to please others or ourselves, but to be pleasing to God.
John MacArthur said, “The idea in this passage is that of standing alongside of or before God, of presenting oneself for inspection, as it were, in order to be approved by Him. “Approved” refers to favorably passing careful scrutiny and thereby being counted worthy.
10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.
4 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.
18 So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge.
20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done.
A worker- a disciple who is not ashamed of Jesus and proves it through their actions. Talk is cheap but actions prove your worth!
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Rightly dividing the word of truth- accurately interpreting the scriptures. Too many people [Christians] twist the scriptures to meet their needs or to fit their sin! You will be challenged with that even more than now when you move into this next chapter of your life’s journey.
13 “You shall not murder.
Matthew 5:21–22 (NKJV)
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
[22a] Abortion is being angry at a human being without a cause! That unborn child has done nothing to anyone and their is no cause to be angry with that child to murder them!!
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
19 Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.
20 Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding,
21 or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.
Close;
We are facing an onslaught of opposition in our day. The world and its society are attacking the very foundations of our faith.
But that Bible that is in your hand is your Rock, our sure foundation in Jesus Christ. If you will trust Him, delight yourself in His Word and desire to walk in His ways, you will defeat the BEARS in life!