Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge… (1 Tim. 6:20)We are bombarded with “godless chatter” every day. In university towns, we are immersed in it. In all of this, there is some of God’s truth. People hear the truth in it and consequently do not recognize the “godless chatter” for what it is. This makes the godless chatter even more dangerous.
There are three ways to train yourself to recognize godless chatter:
1. Know the wisdom of God very well. "We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Cor. 2:6-8).
2. Know the enemy. "…in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes" (2 Cor. 2:6-8).
3. Stay awake. "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings" (1 Pet. 5:8-9).
You may know that CCM's ministries are in locations that are dominated by liberalism, secularism, and/or Mormonism. These communities are also made up of a high proportion of single 18-22-year-old students. The communities are transient because of the universities. We are in these locations for these reasons.
In the last few decades, much of my personal ministry has been with people who have had major sin problems and have had them for years. A twenty-year-old can be converted out of gross sin. A forty-year-old can be converted out of gross sin. What is the difference? The twenty-year-old can, in a few years, marry a godly woman and raise a godly family. The forty-year-old has already had an ungodly forty years, two ungodly wives, and six ungodly children.
We are working with both kinds of people. We need God’s love, wisdom, and authority as we preach the Word.
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