1 Tim 5:21 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. 
	It is important to once again emphasis the truth that even though the Apostle Paul was writing specifically to Timothy, the reality is still applicable to each of us. As we are reminded by the Apostle in 2 Tim 3:16+17, All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 
	We have seen that the Apostle Paul is giving specific instructions to Timothy with regard to the manner in which the church is to function together unto the glory of the Lord. There has been very practical application addressed to the behavior and the responsibility of the believers within the corporate body of the church. At this point, within this letter, Paul is impressed by the Holy Spirit to charge Timothy, and to charge each of us, with the seriousness of what is before us in Christ. We are to maintain these principles of God’s practical application of love and support in the church, without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. 
What we want to see today is that the charges, within scripture, emphasized by the Holy Spirit, need to be absolutely in operation within all the people of God. As specifically stated within this charge before us, it is before God, the Father and Jesus Christ, the Son, and the chosen angelic hosts that we must take this charge of His Word. We must take the seriousness of this to heart. Realize that we stand before all of heaven, if we fail to heed that which is put before us by the Holy Spirit.   
	The imperative nature of following the direct teaching and guidance of the Holy Spirit is seen throughout the scriptures. There are many recorded examples of the leadership of the people of God being undertaken in all its depth of reality and seriousness and insurmountable accountability and conscientiousness. We need to regard the Word of God, and all the people of God and all the things of God all in reverence before Him. It is vital to remember that our responsibility is unto God and not unto man. We need to look at and treat everything of God as exactly that, of God. When we are held to task for the manner in which we have dealt with God, with His Word, with His Beloved Son, with His Chosen people, with His Holiness and His Righteousness, it will be before His throne of majesty that we stand. We need to take into our hearts the increasingly greater development of awe and honor and respect that God deserves for the manner in which He deals so lovingly, personally, and fully with each one of us. As that becomes ever more deeply embedded into our beings, so will we respond, ever more reverently, as did the Apostle Paul, to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
	With our hearts unto God, in His supreme calling of our lives, let us examine several charges recorded as to the Lord’s heart unto His people. These are in evidence in both the Old and the New Testaments and are in place at the most critical junctures of God’s relationship with His creation.
	Consider the point of the transfer of power and responsibility that was critically witnessed in the nation of Israel between Moses and Joshua. It was the end of that generation of God’s Chosen people that had been delivered from slavery in Egypt. The children of that wandering nation were now about to enter the Promised Land. It was the dawning day of the fulfillment of God’s Word to Moses. These were God’s chosen people whom God would plant in the land flowing with milk and honey. At that genesis of the physical completion of God’s promise, Moses was instructed to give a most solemn charge to Joshua. Joshua, not Moses, was to lead the people forth into God’s Promised Land in the power and the wisdom and the honor of the Lord. Look at this charge in Num 27:18-23. So the Lord said to Moses, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation; and commission him in their sight. "And you shall put some of your authority on him, in order that all the congregation of the sons of Israel may obey him. Moreover, he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his command they shall go out and at his command they shall come in, both he and the sons of Israel with him, even all the congregation." And Moses did just as the Lord commanded him; and he took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation. Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses. 
	This commission of Joshua as the leader of the people was a is the charge that Moses received from the very heart of God. Consider the struggle that must have been going on within Moses. He knew that it was the time for the Lord to accomplish all that He had promised. He knew that this was the generation for which he had been plagued so insufferably by their fathers, whom he had led out of the land of Egypt. His whole life’s purpose was intertwined and knitted into the depth of the history of this people. Think of all the years of delivering, judging, ruling, cajoling, and interceding on behalf of this stubborn and stiff-necked people. All that was now at an end. It must have been an extremely bitter-sweet and poignant moment for Moses, having the responsibility completely shifted from his shoulders onto those of Joshua. He stood at the threshold of the completion of his appointed task, and at the same time, was not allowed to accomplish what his heart desired – to lead this people into the Promised Land. That task was now given to another. 
	Yet, he was firmly set on that which would honor God and he knew that Joshua was the chosen one to lead the people into the Promised Land. In faithfulness unto God, in honor to the Most High, in complete service to God, his friend and confidante and Guide through all those years, Moses gives this charge to Joshua. Deut 3:21+22, "And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, 'Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so the Lord shall do to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. 'Do not fear them, for the Lord your God is the one fighting for you.' 
	Oh that we would put ourselves under that charge as we walk on this earth! That we would have those eyes instilled into us to see the hand of God in operation as He is the One Who goes before us. That we would not doubt, and worry, and despair, and fret, and be frustrated, but would rather stand firmly rooted in this truth. That we would live in the trust that God does have all things well in hand. He is the One Who fights all the battles, and He does so in full and complete victory in every instance. That we would honor God in our hearts as the Lord God Almighty, against Whom no power on earth, or under the earth, or in heaven, or in all of creation can prevail. That we would reverence Him with hearts that accept that spiritual charge, as did Joshua, in the complete realization that since God is for us, none can prevail against us. We live in the truth that the Lord God Almighty goes before us and our victory is eternally set in Him in Jesus Christ. That is a spiritual charge that needs to grow and to develop within the single heart of God’s church. It needs to be our single thought as we face the trials and situations of each day in our lives. Look beyond the circumstances and stress and strife and see the victorious face of Jesus Christ every moment of every day.
As well, another tremendous charge for us, individually and corporately, is recorded in 1 Kings 2:1-4. As David's time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, "I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, so that the Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying,' If your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.' 
	This is the charge from David to Solomon, his son. Yet, in it, we should find our hearts as well challenged to follow after this heart unto God. We need to keep this charge within our lives, within our homes, within our fellowship, within the church, as Christ’s Body of Believers. If your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel. That man on the throne is the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in His heart that we now walk. It is in His life that we now live. It is in His salvation that we now have peace with God. It is in the Lord Jesus Christ, that we now are covered in the righteousness and the holiness and the boldness to stand in the very presence of God Almighty and declare His glory on earth as it is in Heaven. We need to heed this charge and ask the Lord to work to such a degree of sovereignty in our lives and families that we will …walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies… all the days of our lives. 
Another immense charge, for our lives in Christ, was given by Jehoshaphat to the judges that he appointed over Judah. 2 Chron 19:6-9, And he said to the judges, "Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the Lord who is with you when you render judgment. Now then let the fear of the Lord be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the Lord our God will have no part in unrighteousness, or partiality, or the taking of a bribe." And in Jerusalem also Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites and priests, and some of the heads of the fathers' households of Israel, for the judgment of the Lord and to judge disputes among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Then he charged them saying, "Thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord, faithfully and wholeheartedly. 
Consider the great responsibility that is placed upon us in our dealings with others. We are to express the Lord’s life in all that we do. Fully in line with that truth is the fact that we are to deal with others, not on the basis of that which pleases man, but that which pleases God and God, Alone. 
It seems so easy to separate our conduct into categories and levels of commitment. At church, we are seen as Christians and part of the fellowship of believers. At home, we are seen as parents or children or spouses and set on that which is expected in each role. At work, we are departmentalized into that which fulfills our responsibility as a worker, an employee, or an employer. We are responsible to our overseers, whether they be bosses, customers, patients, teachers, supervisors, or the general public. As humans, we divide our areas of responsibilities to one another, but that is not how we are to live before God. Now that Christ is our life, now that we are guided by the Word of God, now that the Holy Spirit indwells and directs our every step, we are singly and absolutely responsible to Him for our every action, interaction, and reaction! We answer to God for the manner in which we live, at church, at school, at work, at home, at play, socially, civically, publicly, and privately – all unto God for His purposes and truth. There is no other power or dominion that is to have any sway in our actions and behavior and judgment. …you do not judge for man but for the Lord who is with you when you render judgment. Now then let the fear of the Lord be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the Lord our God will have no part in unrighteousness, or partiality, or the taking of a bribe…
There are now areas and expectations of conduct and codes of behavior that we must justify, not to others, or to ourselves, but to God. He is with us in our every decision. He is with us in our every moment of life. He is with us in our every expression of the motives and desires of our hearts. Be very careful in accordance with that truth. Realize that we are the living testimony of Jesus Christ on this earth and our every single great or small action is now reflective of Him. Whatever we do, we are now judged according to the fact that we are Christians. We are being examined, studied under a microscope, so to speak, as to our conduct by this world. This age is looking for any little imperfection, any flaw, and any reason to declare that God’s work in Christ is insufficient to fulfill His great promise of salvation. 
This is not to scare us by any measure. We do not live out of fear, especially out of fear that we cannot please God in our every moment. Realize that we are called into this perfect relationship, but it is a marvelous relationship with the very Holy Spirit of God working within us. He is our strength. He is our source. He is our wisdom. He is our guide into all the fullness of Christ. What we are encountering every moment of every day is the power of God in action, drawing forth those things that are not to be a part of our lives any longer. He is causing us to come into agreement with Him that these earthly elements and desires no longer have any basis in our lives. Some of the things are seemingly easy for the Lord to accomplish, and some are extremely difficult to uproot from our lives. But, they will be uprooted. God will do all that He has promised to do in Jesus Christ. We are not to frustrate or to be discouraged, but rather to whole-heartedly give ourselves to this charge, just as Jehoshaphat declares   …"Thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord, faithfully and wholeheartedly…
	Please take to heart the charges that we have considered today. Know that they are laid upon each of us in the love and the grace and the mercy and the patience and the faithfulness of Our Lord God Almighty. These are in place to instill into us the realization that we are now dealing on a completely different level of life than that which many of us have ever even imagined. We have been lifted out of the realm of human existence and set into the realm of spiritual and eternal life in the very presence of the Only God, Lord of all creation. Our lives need to reflect the seriousness and the magnitude of that relationship with God. We are dealing with issues and eternal matters that so far supersede anything of our thoughts of importance on this earth. As such, when we do receive a spiritual charge from the Word of God, we need to heed it above all else. We need to take it to heart and ask the Lord to make it become true in our lives. 
Next week, Lord willing, we will again concentrate on this area of consideration as we look at some of the other charges recorded in God’s Word. We will consider some given to Timothy, and some of those direct charges of the Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples, to His Church, which absolutely includes you and me. So be it. 
	I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. Amen
This morning’s benediction is 1 Thess 5:14-18 And we urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all men. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Amen.