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But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit, only for old women.

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On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.

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The best summer days

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were, when my mom would drive my two younger brothers and me to the

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north side of town and drop us or dumped us off of the local swimming

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pool.

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We'd each hand, or quarter to the High School lifeguard, working the

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desk, and then spend the rest of the afternoon and the rest

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with the rest of the town's kids in the sun, and the water enjoying

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the single biggest best bit of entertainment available in Oxford,

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Nebraska.

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But we had to wait, of course.

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First we had to eat lunch and then we had to park in front of the TV

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to watch Monty Hall, make deals while our food digested.

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A minimum of one hour was required otherwise as we all knew you would

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get cramps and drown.

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My mom told us, it was so. I relate this bit of childhood nostalgia

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because it is one of the few specific instances I can ever recall of

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hearing an actual old wives tale from a woman.

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But even this instance is dubious. My mom wasn't old when she told us

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and she was simply relating

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what was universally, accepted truth and idea that persist even today,

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Despite the complete lack of any supporting evidence.

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Maybe it's different for you, but old wives don't tell me

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tales.

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And they have had plenty of opportunity to do

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so. I have made my share of

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shut in calls complete with the requisite and excruciating friendly

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chitchat. I have heard plenty, but I can't say I've heard much that

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would fall into the category of mythology

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peculiar two old women.

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Apparently, the situation was different in Paul's day, he even had to

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issue a stern warning to young Timothy. Reject outright pointless, old

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ladyish myths, that's what Paul said.

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I've been wondering for two weeks about what myths, he had in mind.

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Like so many so many exegetical questions, the answer remains

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unsettled. Who can really say for sure.

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Which also as usual is the beauty of it.

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Because it doesn't

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actually matter what myths Paul had in mind, we get the point.

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In fact, you cannot read this text and not get the point.

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You can't read this text and not be blown away by the torrents of

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exertation, guidance and blunt commands from the old Apostle, Paul to

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the young Pastor Timothy. Sometimes a text gets dropped in your lap

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that is so obviously spot-on appropriate for your gathered

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congregation.

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That there is simply no point trying to subvert, or enhance it with

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some clever deconstruction or creative homiletical manipulation.

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You just got to take, what is there and run with it.

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So, hang on.

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Paul's warning is real.

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Of course, myths can be deadly.

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I suppose even a persistently circulated old wives tale or a far more

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trendy youthful

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and so, thereby naturally sophisticated urban legend could actually

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become problematic to doing the work of the church.

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Might get in the way. For most of us though

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I suspect there are other myths

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floating around

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that are far more dangerous.

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You overuse and exceedingly tired term

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fake news. Does name a reality that can rise

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Yes to the level of damaging myth.

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It is not good when what is false is dutifully propagated as factual

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events and people believe it. But an even greater threat comes when

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lies mature into conspiracy theories about who is

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really in control and what they are trying to do to us.

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In our circles, this is a very real temptation. Temptation to

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entertain and even embrace, apocalyptic myths about social power,

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and cultural warfare and political saviors.

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And so, we become hopelessly distracted from what should be occupying

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our attention.

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Is not, it is not our job to save America.

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Not our job to preserve Western culture.

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Those are a myths.

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They're wrong.

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Those myths, get in the way of what the church, what you need to be

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doing.

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There are though, even more threatening myths, that blunt, the work

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that should consume us.

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Myths that distract us from our real task.

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These are the ecclesiastical myths usually unspoken but invariably

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present.

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If we can get our person elected, we can get the church back on track

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again.

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We can save the church, if we make sure that we all worship the right

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way.

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We've got to make the church attractive to the world.

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Or we're not going to be relevant. Things are different today and so

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we need to rebrand our image and our message and we need to

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accommodate where we can.

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The church's future depends on preserving the past.

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These myths

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so easily, become ideologies, and weapons, and justifications.

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What is just

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plain old sin.

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Paul tells Timothy to reject myths but far more importantly.

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Paul tells Timothy what he is supposed to be doing

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instead. Be soaked in God's beautiful, truth of right Doctrine, pay

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attention to the reading and the preaching, and the teaching. Train

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yourself for godliness. Discipline yourself to an example to the

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church in the way that you talk the way that you live. Give them a

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model of God's way of love in your faith and in your purity labor for

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these things.

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strive for them practice these things persevere in these things.

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What a list of imperatives and exhortations at least 15 of them and

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the space of ten verse,

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And who is doing all these verbs Timothy is. You are and the result

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of all this doing, you will save yourself and your hearers. It's that

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straightforward and clear cut.

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Is this works righteousness of

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course not. Underneath behind and sustaining

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all that Paul commands is the bedrock truth, that God is the savior of

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all men.

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God Saves, we work and work you must. Paul leaves no room for doubt or

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discussion or debate.

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It's only week two, we're still in the fresh bloom of a new year, the

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way it will wear off quickly.

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For some of you it's a whole new career as a seminarian and it's good

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at the beginning to have a sharp view of the

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end so you know how to keep yourself rightly aimed and focused through

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all that lies ahead.

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There's a lot that lies ahead.

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The end is simple.

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You no matter who you are, you a faithful follower of Christ who gives

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the church and the world and unflinching uncompromising unrelenting

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living breathing, example of what it means to confess Jesus as Lord,

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in all of your life.

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How does that happen?

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Again, it's not complicated.

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You are saturated, absorbed, swimming in God's truth because God's truth

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is nothing more than the reality of the things he has made known to us

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in Christ.

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Swimming in the bracing waters of beautiful doctrine,

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that's not hard around here.

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But be careful.

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Very careful.

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Don't get tripped up by stupid myths.

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Don't forget what Paul is teaching Timothy and you. Do not make the

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fatal mistake of thinking that Doctrine is just a head thing.

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That myth

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can kill you.

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The Christian life is not really about what, you know, or what you feel, or even

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what you believe.

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The Christian faith, that the Christian faith, is something that

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happens only in your head, and in your guts, and then your heart is

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perhaps the most destructive myth of all.

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At least in our corner of the church, I think.

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Don't believe the lie.

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Listen to Paul and get the end keenly in your sights and keep it

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there.

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See what God wants you to do

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and what he wants to do with you.

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And then obey Paul's direction and do what you have been given to do.

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Paul knows what he's talking about.

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So, does the Holy Spirit.

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Living out the Christian

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Life is not just happen.

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It's not automatic.

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It's work.

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Do the work.

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Discipline yourself, train your whole self in godliness, your mind,

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your hearts, your feelings, and yes, your body.

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Persevere in these things and you will save yourself and those who

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hear you because after all God has already, drowned all of us and

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saved all of us.

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Now don't try to figure it out.

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Just dive in. Live it.

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Amen.