The OVERSEER’s FITNESS-IV—1Timothy 3:1-7
Attention:
My CDL.
I went to truck driving school, went thru the appropriate training, passed the appropriate tests, made the appropriate contacts.
I was trained for a few months on the road/I learned much from my trainers.
I eventually was cut loose on my ow, driving from Ohio to Mississippi to Florida, etc.
CT(Coastal Transport) saw me as FIT for their trucking team!
Likewise, oversight of the local church requires a certain fitness.
Need:
Paul related the moral qualifications for an overseer of the Church.
Character traits for overseers of the church are definitive/unequivocal.
?How is an overseer’s fitness determined?
Characteristics by which an overseer’s fitness for office is decided.
In previous weeks we have found that An overseer’s fitness for office is decided by His...
1. DESIRE(:1)
2. BLAMELESSNESS(:2a)
3. MARITAL COMMITMENT(:2b)
4. EMOTIONAL STABILITY(:2c)
5. SELF-CONTROL(:2d)
6. ORDERLINESS(:2e)
7. OPENNESS Toward STRANGERS(:2f)
8. TEACHING(:2g)
9—An overseer’s fitness for office is decided by...
His SOBRIETY(:3a)
Explanation:(:3a)Demeanor
:3—“not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;”
These terms seems to be a triplet of opposing terms.
3 Negatives(mentioned first), followed by their three corresponding positive counterparts, hence the word “But”—alla.
The first involves consumption of fermented substances.
People who are stone cold sober will be those who do not stumble into matters bull-headedly. Such people will NOT be ‘like a bull in a china shop’ regarding the personal struggles & experiences of others who are in need. Rather the fit pastor/bishop/overseer will be “gentle” in his approach toward helping others.
Our society recognizes the effect of beer or wine & liquor as ‘being under the influence’(DUI) or ‘driving while impaired(DWI).’
Both these terms & the fact that they are governmentally regulated, highlight the potential which alcohol holds for personal & collateral disaster.
Any ‘mind-altering substance’ has potential to transform a person from helpful to dangerous. *That is, if anything we ingest or take into our bodies in any way, chemically alters the normalcy of our thinking processes, then we have lost our ability to reason as God has endowed us. We have thereby rendered ourselves—albeit temporarily—‘impaired.’
We are ‘impaired’ because we have, thru the substance, severely short-circuited our spiritual discretion/discernment to the will of the flesh rather than the will of God by the Holy Spirit—1Thess. 5:19—“Do not quench the Spirit.”
Being ‘under the influence’ is being ‘under the influence’...of something other than God in Christ. One’s Christian principles lived by are openly ‘forgotten’ or laid aside for the sake of personal indulgence.
Drunkenness/being high is never conducive to a rewardingly influential ministry.
Related to alcohol consumption is the fact that the Bible never condemns its ingestion, but it absolutely condemns its abuse—its mind-altering indulgence.
The testimony of Scripture is to divide alcohol into two categories—1)Wine & Beer & 2)Strong drink(liquor).
Liquor use is never commended but is always denigrated. That is because its sole purpose is to get the person high, which is sinful!
Pot/weed/ganja/marijuana use is the same—its sole purpose is to get the person high. People will say to me, ‘Oh but preacher, Nobody smoking weed would harm anybody! It makes you more mellow, dude.’
Well, folks whether you are mellowed out/relaxed or enraged, your thinking has still been willingly & chemically impaired!
*Its not about niceness vs. badness, but is all about impairment & flesh & the Holy Spirit!
What would happen if we were to meditate on the goodness of God & be allow the Spirit of God to relax us? We would find relaxation can come substance free!
Consider ‘ADD’ medications. They ‘mellow’ a person(particularly children) out as well. Americans have become the victims of governmentally directed secularized public education. Teachers are not allowed to interact with & discipline their own classrooms. Thus ADD medications are now mainstream. These slow the child down, effect their appetite. But more than that, they do not allow the child the privilege of handling personal struggles effectively.
We all must learn to approach each day’s difficulties with sober seriousness. Each day is a gift of God. And each day day holds individual trials of varying degrees. We must personally learn to appreciate such ‘troubles’ with God’s help & not chemical help.
Mat. 6:33-34—““But seek first the kingdom of God & His righteousness, & all these things shall be added to you. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
The corresponding & like response of Sobriety is “Gentleness.”
“Gentle - His manner & words are not abrasive ...he has a good "bed side manner.”—Pastoral Ad
Jas 3:17—“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle(epieikhv), willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality & without hypocrisy.”
NOT:
“Given to wine/Addicted to wine/Given to drunkenness”[See :8]—paroinov—1)Given to wine, drunken. Strong—Staying near wine, i.e. Tippling (a toper). Used 2X.
*:8, same concept in 3 words—“Given to”—prosecw—“Much”—poluv—“Wine”—oinov.
From —para—&—oinov—= ‘Near/beside wine.’
BUT(alla) Rather:
“Gentle”—epieikhv—Adj.—Seeming, suitable; 2) Equitable, fair, mild, gentle. Strong—Appropriate, i.e. by implication--Mild. Used 5X.
From—epi—1) Upon, on, at, by, before; 2) Of position—On, at, by, over, against; 3) To, over, on, at, across, against—&—eikw—1) To be like. Strong—through the idea of faintness as a copy; To resemble.
Argumentation:
Lev. 10:8-11—“Then the LORD spoke to Aaron[high priest], saying: “Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that you may distinguish between holy & unholy, & between unclean & clean, & that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.””
*Prov. 20:1—“Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.”
Isa. 28:5-8—“In that day the LORD of hosts will be For a crown of glory & a diadem of beauty To the remnant of His people, For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way; The priest & the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, They are swallowed up by wine, They are out of the way through intoxicating drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit & filth; No place is clean.”
Prov. 31:3-7—“Do not give your strength to women, Nor your ways to that which destroys kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes intoxicating drink; Lest they drink & forget the law, And pervert the justice of all the afflicted. Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to those who are bitter of heart. Let him drink & forget his poverty, And remember his misery no more.”
Nazrite Vow:
Num. 6:2-5—““Speak to the children of Israel, & say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD, ‘he shall separate himself from wine & similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. ‘All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin. ‘All the days of the vow of his separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the LORD, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.”
The vow speaks of ‘going natural’ with God’s unhindered design for man—with God in full control of one’s faculties. This speaks to the seriousness in undertaking the vow.
Lk. 12:42-48—“And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful & wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ & begins to beat the male & female servants, & to eat & drink & be drunk, “the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, & at an hour when he is not aware, & will cut him in two & appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his master’s will, & did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; & to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.”
Lk. 21:34-36—““But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, & cares of this life, & that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, & pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, & to stand before the Son of Man.””
Eph. 5:17-18—“Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,”
1Cor. 10:13—“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
Mat. 11:29—““Take My yoke upon you & learn from Me, for I am gentle & lowly in heart, & you will find rest for your souls.”
Gal. 5:19-24—“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, & the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions & desires.”
Gal. 6:1-2—“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Illustration:
Employees who cannot stay sober/Unreliable-Hit-&-miss/Some employees keep them on because they cannot bear to leave their families penniless/His SOBRIETY is vital to the strength of the business/
Presidential candidate/Would he function well in a moment of crisis if inebriated/No!/His SOBRIETY is vital to the task at hand.
Likewise, the church of God is serious business & not to be taken lightly!
learning from people’s mistakes
Gentleness
Application:
?Does your pastor exemplify SOBRIETY?
?Your Pastor Fit for Office?
?How do you measure up regarding the same qualifications?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
My Fitness as a driver for CT Trucking.
Action:
An overseer’s fitness for office is decided by His...
9. SOBRIETY(:3a)
1. DESIRE(:1)
2. BLAMELESSNESS(:2a)
3. MARITAL COMMITMENT(:2b)
4. EMOTIONAL STABILITY(:2c)
5. SELF-CONTROL(:2d)
6. ORDERLINESS(:2e)
7. OPENNESS Toward STRANGERS(:2f)
8. TEACHING(:2g)
Presented 09/23/2012am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
