Billy Grahams Message. Topic:- Retreat! Stand! Advance! Episode 2. Continuation.. There are three words that I want to use which may touch upon the secret of your failure. You will find them in the writings of Paul to young Timothy. They are: retreat; stand; advance. First and Second Timothy are good books for any Christian young person to read and study. Timothy was a young man, very much like some of you. He faced the same temptations, the same trials, had the same burdens and the same problems that you have. He was a man of like passions. Timothy had been converted at an early age and answered the call to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the greatest challenge and call that any young man can have. Now, there are a lot of people who think that to be a preacher all you have to do is to preach twice a week and conduct prayer meetings — about an hour and a halfs work per week. Many consider the ministry an easy and lazy profession and many have said, If you cannot be anything else, be a preacher. But a preacher who is true to the Word of God must not only preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:2) but must expose false teaching (1 Timothy 1:3). A minister who is true to his calling must warn people against the danger of heresy and false doctrine. Many times he is tempted to soft-pedal because people may misunderstand and he may make enemies. That is why Paul said, I am praying for you day and night, Timothy. Your pastor needs prayer that God will give him courage to stand true. Timothy was called upon to reprove. That was a hard thing for a young man to do! Paul told him to rebuke. That, too, is hard! First Timothy 5:19 tells us that Timothy was instructed to handle church discipline. All these problems are faced by a minister of the Gospel. Your pastor or evangelist carries a thousand and one problems and has hundreds of things to do that you never hear of. Yet Timothy was a young man and Paul charged him with these great responsibilities. The greatest challenge and thrill in the world is to preach the Gospel — even though many times it costs! I. RETREAT In the sixth chapter of First Timothy we find in the eleventh verse that Paul says this: But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. I think that General Timishinko of Russia will probably go down in history as the worlds greatest leader of strategic retreat. You will remember that he led the armies of Russia back from the Polish border all the way to Stalingrad and kept them intact until the time came for the forward move that carried the great Russian Bear to the heart of Berlin. There comes a time in our lives when God says, Run! Flee! Get away! Leave it alone! Have nothing to do with it! Avoid it! Paul was giving this advice to young Timothy. Let us give attention to some of the things which he was anxious that young Timothy should avoid. Notice that he mentions — Pride. A friend of mine tells the story of Dr. Stuart Holden who was sitting one day in the lounge of his club as a number of people around him were discussing golf. One of them turned and said, By the way, Holden, what is your handicap? Without a moments pause Dr. Holden replied, Myself! How true that is! Self, the capital I, is the universal problem, the handicap of us all. We are told in the Word, These six things does the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look . . . Notice! A proud look is the first thing that God hates. We are told that pride goeth before a fall. We are told that the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. The root of all sin is pride. Perhaps the greatest sin that has crept into the lives of Christians is the sin of pride. No young person can expect victory and inward rest until the capital I has been conquered. God commands us to humble ourselves. We are never told to pray for humility! That is our job! If we are to live above the clouds, the sin of pride will have to be confessed and forsaken. It is deadlier than the poison of a rattlesnake. It stunts, stifles, weakens and destroys Christian victory. When I was a student at Wheaton College a great revival swept our campus. Dr. Harold Warren was the human instrument, but it was the Holy Spirit who did the job. From ten oclock in the morning until eleven at night on two successive days, classes and meals were forgotten as students confessed their sins and God took over. The sin that was confessed most often publicly and privately was the sin of pride. Students, staff and faculty alike realized that this awful sin was ruining their individual victory with God. If that is your sin, confess it today and be rid of it. To be continued...
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 11:36:46 +0000
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