We don’t always have to have things removed from our lives, but we have to have our hearts circumcised; amen?  And God will have those encounters with us when He wants to ask you and me the same questions He asked Peter, “Do you love Me more than these?  Do you love Me?  Do you want to know Me personally?  Do you want to walk with Me?  Then sell everything that you have, give it to the poor, and come and follow Me.”  Now, that was true for that young rich man, but we can’t build a doctrine on that because we have too much Scripture that talks about how we’re supposed to use our abundance; so, we don’t necessarily liquidate it and give it all away.  But we do have to come to the heart attitude that says, “Everything I have belongs to the Lord, for I’ve received it all from Him”; amen?

So, he says at this particular time that there are these perverse disputing’s coming from people of corrupt minds, people who are destitute of the truth.  Anybody that believes that gain is godliness is destitute of the truth; amen?  That means they’re destitute of the Word: “Thy word is truth.”  It’s not enough to get part of the Word right; we have to get all of the Word and its doctrines right; amen?  It’s all profitable:  isn’t that what the Scripture says?  “All scripture is profitable…”  So, when it comes to the mundane things of life, things that we are talking about like this, they pertain to our life in this world alone:  money is good only for this life that we’re in; it’s temporal; it has no eternal value.  But, if we’re going to be followers of those who are walking in light and truth, we have to see this in which Timothy’s being instructed by the apostle, that these are people that you’re not to hang around.  Don’t let this doctrine be put into your mind; don’t let the effects of it seduce you in any way.  I have shared stories with you; we’ve seen it in our travels:  what that doctrine does is tragic.

You might reach out to some of these people and feel that, somehow, they might have a word for your flock or they might have something that could be edifying to the body of Christ because of something we have seen about them or have heard about them or we have read their book (or whatever the case might be).  You contact them and you say, “We would really like you to come and minister.”  This has happened to us.  “Well, my minimum fee is $20,000 and I want to be picked up in a Rolls Royce at the airport and I want this kind of a room and accommodation.”  You’re not a celebrity; you’re a servant; amen? We can tell a lot about the hearts of individuals by just listening to some of these particular conversations.  I don’t want to belabor that point but many people whom some of us have admired over the years are destitute of the truth because they truly believe that gain is godliness:  it’s their doctrine, it’s their manner of living, and it’s how they conduct themselves as it pertains to the care of others.  These are people of corrupt minds, so “from such withdraw thyself.”

The Scriptures say that these things should not even be once named among us.  Isn’t it interesting that, when that was spoken in Ephesians to this same church, he was talking about adulteries and fornication; then, right in the middle of that, he throws in covetousness:  the love for stuff, the love for money, and the lust for all that contributes to our independence and our perception of self‑worth.  “But he that is greatest among you…shall be servant of all”; amen?  Do you want an example?  Jesus left His position in the heavenlies to come and dwell among us; amen?  How many of you think that was a bit of a step down?