The OVERSEER’s FITNESS-III—1Timothy 3:1-7
Attention:
As a kid, I remember capturing 3(4?) baby snapping turtles(one was named ‘Otis,’ but I can’t remember the others)/I placed them in a large washtub, fed them as best as I could, changed their (creek)water regularly, changed their sand, placed obstacles(rocks, sticks, etc.). In short I oversaw their living conditions so they would do as well as snapping turtles could.
I actually did a fairly good job of it for a pre-teen boy. In fact, I was wise enough to know when I should let them go, nearing winter.
I became a Fit Overseer of the snapping turtles...but my fitness began way prior to my catching them! It was ‘character’ related.
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.
?What character traits define an overseer’s fitness for office?
?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—An overseer’s fitness for office is decided by...
His ORDERLINESS(:2e)
Explanation: (:2e)
:2—A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;”
Not party to disarray.
A pastor/overseer must also be “of Good Behavior/Respectable” in that a degree of orderliness must rule his life.
He will not be one to live in chaos—emotionally attaching himself to every whim of life’s unexpected challenges— nor will he fall victim to the various upheavals in others lives.
*He is to be a leader not one who is lead by either his own flesh or that of others.
*This leaves him compassionate but not outwardly controlled...a shepherd responsive to, but not party to, the whim of those he leads.
He neither enjoys chaotic irregularity nor that which is not “good.” Some things must be set & expected...in his life & in the life of the church!
“Adornment”—
1Pet. 3:3—“Do not let your adornment be merely outward--arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel--”
We are to ‘adorn’ the testimony of God in Christ. Such requires an Orderliness inherent to such a Divine call.
“Preparation”—
Rev. 21:2—“Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
Such preparation requires an inherent Orderliness, which is to be imitated.
“Good behavior/Respectable”—kosmiov—Adj.—Well arranged, seemly, modest. Strong—Orderly, i.e. Decorous. Used 2X.
Argumentation:
Acts 16:12-13—“& from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days. And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; & we sat down & spoke to the women who met there.”
Acts 17:1-2—“Now when they had passed through Amphipolis & Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, & for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,”
*Mat. 6:1[NASB]—““Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.”
Mat. 6:2-4—““When therefore you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues & in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. “But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing that your alms may be in secret; & your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”
This implies the presence of a continual repetition of such actions in the believer.
1Cor. 14:40—“Let all things be done decently & in order.”
Illustration:
No legitimate business can thrive when it is unorganized/No plan, no regularity, no goal=No business!/This is why a bank will not loan money to an upstart business with no written, clear-cut rules of order/His ORDERLINESS
TV’s “Shark Tank”/Potential businessmen present their new idea to a team of investors/The investors then decide whether they are in or out/Most leave with no support, because ironically, they have not thought thru how they are going to wisely use the money they are asking for/His ORDERLINESS
Application:
?Does your pastor exemplify godly ORDERLINESS?
?Your Pastor Fit for Office?
?How do you measure up regarding the same qualifications?
1Tim. 5:19—“Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses.”
7—An overseer’s fitness for office is decided by...
His OPENNESS Toward STRANGERS(:2f)
Explanation: (:2f)
:2—A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;”
The overseer of the local manifestation of God’s Church must also be ‘a friend to strangers/foreigners/guests’ as he will be “Hospitable.”
He will NOT be ruled by the multiple prejudices men have regarding nationality, race, language, etc. but will openly receive others generously.
Yet he is to make a distinction...between lost humanity & saved humanity. Saved humanity is to live by God’s design & not by that of the world’s devising.
A “hospitable” heart is not specific to pastors but is expected of all saints & exemplified in the overseer/pastor!
“Hospitable”—filoxenov—Adj.—Hospitable, generous to guests. Used 3X.
From—filov—(properly--Dear, i.e. A friend; actively--Fond, i.e. Friendly(still as a noun, an associate, neighbor, etc.)—&—xenov—Foreign(literally--Alien, or figuratively--Novel); by implication--A guest or (vice-versa) entertainer. = ‘Friend of foreigners/guests.’
Argumentation:
Lev. 19:33-37—“‘And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. ‘The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, & you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. ‘You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, & an honest hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. ‘Therefore you shall observe all My statutes & all My judgments, & perform them: I am the LORD.’””
Deut. 10:17-19—““For the LORD your God is God of gods & Lord of lords, the great God, mighty & awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless & the widow, & loves the stranger, giving him food & clothing. Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
Job 31:32—“(But no sojourner had to lodge in the street, For I have opened my doors to the traveler);”
Isa 58:6-11—““Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, & the LORD will answer; You shall cry, & He will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, & speaking wickedness, If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”
1Cor. 5:9-13—“I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.””
Our judgments are to be within the church. We are not to shun the world & its decisions but are to meet them with a true knowledge of God by the Good News of salvation in Christ.
Heb. 13:1-3—“Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. Remember the prisoners as if chained with them--those who are mistreated--since you yourselves are in the body also.”
Mat. 25:31-46—““When the Son of Man comes in His glory, & all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, & He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ‘for I was hungry & you gave Me food; I was thirsty & you gave Me drink; I was a stranger & you took Me in; I was naked & you clothed Me; I was sick & you visited Me; I was in prison & you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry & feed You, or thirsty & give You drink? ‘When did we see You a stranger & take You in, or naked & clothe You? ‘Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, & come to You?’ “And the King will answer & say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil & his angels: ‘for I was hungry & you gave Me no food; I was thirsty & you gave Me no drink; ‘I was a stranger & you did not take Me in, naked & you did not clothe Me, sick & in prison & you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, & did not minister to You?’ “Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.””
Acts 16:14-15—“Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she & her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house & stay.” So she persuaded us.”
*Rom. 12:10-13—“Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.”
*1Pet. 4:7-10—“But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious & watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
*Gen. 18:1-8, 16—“Then the LORD appeared to him[Abram] by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes & looked, & behold, three men were standing by him; & when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, & bowed himself to the ground, & said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. Please let a little water be brought, & wash your feet, & rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.” They said, “Do as you have said.” So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah & said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it & make cakes.” And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender & good calf, gave it to a young man, & he hastened to prepare it. So he took butter & milk & the calf which he had prepared, & set it before them; & he stood by them under the tree as they ate.”....“Then the men rose from there & looked toward Sodom, & Abraham went with them to send them on the way.”
Illustration:
Special speakers for revival meetings/Very often used to(back-in-the-day) stay in local homes/OPENNESS Toward STRANGERS
Previously, when I had been looked at by new church prospects there was usually discussion about where I should stay—1)A church member’s house or 2)Motel/OPENNESS Toward STRANGERS
Application:
?Does your pastor exemplify godly OPENNESS Toward STRANGERS?
?Your Pastor Fit for Office?
?How do you measure up regarding the same qualifications?
1Tim. 5:19—“Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses.”
8—An overseer’s fitness for office is decided by...
His TEACHING(:2g)
Explanation: (:2g)
:2—A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;”
This does not concern the style of his teaching but the viability/soundness of his teaching.
The overseer’s “ability to teach” is vital to the well being of the Church in that they must receive God’s truth as it has been revealed to man. Thus he will be above the temptation to placate people of power(financial, directional, cliquish). Such an overseer will present sound doctrine to the demise of those who have itching ears in opposition to the truth(2Tim. ). He will thereby not fall for the platitudes of such people to which a “novice“ would be prone(:6).
“Able to Teach/Apt to teach”—didaktikov—Adj.—Apt & skillful in teaching. Strong—Instructive ("didactic").
Argumentation:
Titus 1:6 -2:15—“if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort & convict those who contradict. For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers & deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not giving heed to Jewish fables & commandments of men who turn from the truth. To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled & unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind & conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, & disqualified for every good work. But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things-- that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you. Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness & worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, & godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope & glorious appearing of our great God & Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed & purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Speak these things, exhort, & rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.”
*Js. 3:1-2—“My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.”
Teaching God’s truth is a limiting factor, which not all possess.
Illustration:
When we spend our money for a college education we want teachers who are capable/We want to hear from those who know what they are talking about or at least understand the subject matter/We don’t sign-up for classes taught by slackers or teachers merely in it for a job even if they do have tenure!—We want career teachers wired for that task/TEACHING
Application:
?Does your pastor exemplify godly TEACHING?
?Your Pastor Fit for Office?
?How do you measure up regarding the same qualifications?
*Lest we have our eye on ‘ousting the pastor’ too readily...
Mat. 7:1-5—““Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; & with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; & look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, & then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
1Tim. 5:19—“Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses.”
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
My fitness in caring for the snapping turtles.
Action:
An overseer’s fitness for office is decided by His...
6. ORDERLINESS(:2e)
7. OPENNESS Toward STRANGERS(:2f)
8. TEACHING(:2g)
1. DESIRE(:1)
2. BLAMELESSNESS(:2a)
3. MARITAL COMMITMENT(:2b)
4. EMOTIONAL STABILITY(:2c)
5. SELF-CONTROL(:2d)
Presented 09/09/2012pm to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
