INTRO.- Out of order. Don’t you just hate that sign? And especially when you want to use an ATM or an elevator or a vending machine or a public restroom (particularly on a cruise ship!). HAVE YOU EVER HAD THAT EXPERIENCE? Of course, if a restroom was “out of order” that might be one of the worst catastrophes!
And how about a country that’s “out of order”? Can’t we all honestly say that America is somewhat “out of order”?
Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.”
Psalm 43:1 “Vindicate me, my God, and plead my cause against an unfaithful nation. Rescue me from those who are deceitful and wicked."
Our nation is “out of order” when it comes to faith and morality. Don’t you agree? In the past, it seemed like more Americans believed in God, Christ and the Bible but we are fast becoming a minority or else God’s people are just not living their faith and speaking out. They are not being the light of the world.
And what about morality? Oh mercy! Have you looked at the ratings of movies lately? Many are rated “R” for raunchy. And many that are PG13 are still not good. Honestly, we’ve slowly been seduced by the world and by the prince of the world who is Satan. And we’ve hardly noticed this happening!
ILL.- It’s like that old story about the frog who was slowly boiled to death in a pan of water. They say that if you put a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will leap out right away to escape the danger.
But, if you put a frog in a pot that is filled with water that is cool and pleasant, and then you gradually heat that pot until it starts boiling, the frog will not become aware of the threat until it is too late. Could this be what has happened to us in America? Our country is definitely “out of order” when it comes to faith and morality.
OUT OF ORDER. Perhaps worse yet is a church that’s “out of order.”
Churches that may be out of order: Chaos, fighting, disunity, worldliness, etc.
ILL.- Years ago, Leslie Flynn wrote a book called, “Great Church Fights.” In it he chronicled the way people in different churches would go after each other – all in the name of Jesus Christ. A young father heard a commotion out in his backyard, he looked outside and saw his daughter and several playmates in a heated quarrel. When he questioned his daughter, she called back, “Dad, we’re just playing church!” (via sermoncentral)
Churches do experience fights and disorderliness!
ILL.- Here’s the title of a newspaper article in the 1960’s: “PREACHER TURNS OTHER CHEEK, GETS POKE IN EYE!” A preacher and his church got into a real fight. I remember reading this story about a church in northeast Arkansas that got into a big fight and the preacher decided to sue the church board, I believe. It seems that one man wanted to make an announcement over something that affected the preacher so the preacher ordered the man out of the church. One thing led to another and soon the whole church was literally fighting with one another. The preacher got knocked to the floor and some lady on crutches poked him in the eye with her crutch.
It would be funny if were not so sad. God’s people fighting with one another. That’s definitely a church that is “out of order.”
I Corinthians 14:40 “Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.”
Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."
Any time self rules in a church you will find a church that is “out of order.”
Titus 1:5 “The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished....
Things that are out of order or are unfinished need to be put in order or straightened out. How can we put a church in God’s order? We must follow God’s Word in order to put a church in order and one good way is to appoint good leaders. Good leaders make for good churches and orderly churches.
Proverbs 11:14 “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure.” Good leaders/advisers make for a good country and a good church.
Prop.- Appoint God ordained leaders. Titus defines God ordained leaders.
1- They are blameless in life and religion
2- They are Spirit controlled rather than uncontrolled
3- They are committed to God’s word in teaching
I. THEY ARE BLAMELESS IN LIFE AND RELIGION
6 An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7 Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.
ILL.- After a long dry sermon, the minister announced that there would be a brief meeting of the board immediately after the benediction. Following the services, a stranger was the first to meet the minister up front.
“You must have misunderstood the announcement,” said the minister. “I announced a meeting of the board.” “So I heard,” replied the stranger, “and if there was anyone here more bored than I was, I’d like to meet him.”
If you were a church leader how would you deal with long, dry sermons? Or how would you deal with a preacher who preached long, dry sermons?
ILL.- Many years ago, I had a preacher named Roy Weece who was the Campus Minister at the University of MO preach a revival at our church. He preached from Sunday night to Friday night. On Sunday night he preached for 45 minutes. On Monday night he preached an hour and every night after that he preached an hour. In his case, it was perfectly acceptable because he was an outstanding preacher.
He didn’t yell, but he had a strong, clear, deep voice that was easy to listen to and he preached excellent, Biblical, well-illustrated sermons. He was a delight that week of revival.
I remember hearing Roy preach a revival not long after I had accepted Christ and I went out of that meeting saying, “If I hadn’t already become a Christian I would have during that revival meeting.” That’s how good of a preacher he was. That’s how well God used Roy Weece.
Now you know that during a revival a preacher might preach 45 minutes or longer and do just fine, but if the local preacher did that every Sunday in his pulpit it might not go over so well. In my viewpoint, a preacher would have to be a super-duper preacher/orator to keep everyone’s attention for 45 minutes or more, Sunday after Sunday.
So how should a church deal with a preacher who preached long, dry sermons all the time? Or perhaps wasn’t doing his homework for preaching or doing his other ministry work?
Poor leaders might jump down his throat, chew him out, threaten him, or even fire him. I’ve known of such things to happen. Good leaders, spiritual-minded leaders, however, would show their concern not by being critical but rather by giving caring counsel and prayerful support.
V. 6 An elder must be blameless. I think in life and in the church. V. 7 Since an overseers manages God’s household, he must be blameless, not overbearing, not quick-tempered, etc.
Perhaps we’ve all known of people and perhaps church leaders who said one thing but did another outside the church. Clean talking in the church but foul or rough talking outside the church. Seemingly fair and upright in the church but shady in business outside the church.
A good leader in the church whether he’s an elder, deacon, teacher, or preacher should live a blameless life as best he can. He shouldn’t be overbearing, hard-nosed, critical, negative, or hot-headed. Instead, he should be kind, loving, and forbearing toward all. Such a person lives a blameless life.
II. THEY ARE SPIRIT CONTROLLED RATHER THAN UNCONTROLLED
7 Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8 Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.
Here is some advice about Interpersonal Problems With Christians. Not sure who the author is.
- Realize conflict is inevitable. The Bible is full of stories of strife among God’s people.
- Seek a biblical solution when you’ve been wronged. Pray about how to proceed.
- Recognize a conflict in its initial stages. Early confrontation eases resolution.
- Approach it from a godly perspective. Never let others’ actions control your emotions.
- Gather the facts. Investigate the conditions surrounding the conflict.
- Speak carefully. Hasty words are impossible to retract and rarely forgotten.
- Admit your mistakes; address their effects. Cover-ups just make matters worse.
- Keep an eternal perspective. Learn to see God’s sovereign hand in all events of your life.
- Don’t use authority to coerce others into compromising their position. If you are a leader, agree to disagree, then move on.
This is good advice. It's sound Biblical and spiritual stuff and that’s the way we are supposed to be in life and in dealing with people, but often, it doesn’t work this way. We are often more dog-eat-dog instead of being kind and compassionate like Jesus was in dealing with people.
ILL.- At an art show Max Weber met Abe Walkowitz, the artist, with whom he had shared a Paris studio fifty years ago.
“Abe,” Weber greeted the seventy-three-year-old painter, “I hear you just had an eye operation. Will you be able to see well enough to paint?” “I think so,” Walkowitz replied. “And if I can’t see, I’ll become a critic.”
People who can’t see things well (that is, from a Biblical perspective, from God’s perspective) often become critics. They are fleshly-controlled and not Holy Spirit controlled people.
Church leaders, however, are supposed to be Holy Spirit controlled people instead of being uncontrolled. Or instead of being worldly-controlled people. V. 8 He must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.
How does anyone become Holy Spirit controlled? Only as we yield to the Lord and His Word in all ways in life. When we do things God’s way, according to His Word then and only then can we become Spirit-controlled people.
III. THEY ARE COMMITTED TO GOD’S WORD IN TEACHING
9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
ILL.- William Ashley "Billy" Sunday (November 19, 1862 – November 6, 1935) was an American athlete who, after being a popular outfielder in baseball's National League during the 1880s, became the most celebrated and influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century.
Born into poverty in Iowa, Sunday spent some years at the Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home before working at odd jobs and playing for local running and baseball teams. His speed and agility provided him the opportunity to play baseball in the major leagues for eight years, where he was an average hitter and a good fielder known for his base-running.
Converted to evangelical Christianity in the 1880s, Sunday left baseball for the Christian ministry. He gradually developed his skills as a pulpit evangelist in the Midwest and then, during the early 20th century, he became the nation's most famous evangelist with his simple sermons and wild delivery. Sunday held widely reported campaigns in America's largest cities, and he attracted the largest crowds of any evangelist before the advent of electronic sound systems.
He also made a great deal of money and was welcomed into the homes of the wealthy and influential. Sunday was a strong supporter of Prohibition, and his preaching likely played a significant role in the adoption of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919.
Despite questions about his income, no scandal ever touched Sunday. He was sincerely devoted to his wife, who also managed his campaigns, but his three sons disappointed him. His audiences grew smaller during the 1920s as Sunday grew older, religious revivals became less popular, and alternative sources of entertainment appeared. Nevertheless, Sunday continued to preach and remained a stalwart defender of conservative Christianity until his death.
Did you hear that? He was strong defender of conservative Christianity until he died! You just have to admire a man like that for his strong, Biblical stand in this world.
Sunday said many powerful things. Here are some of his quotes:
- “One reason sin flourishes is that it is treated like a cream puff instead of a rattlesnake.”
- “The reason you don't like the Bible, you old sinner, is because it knows all about you.”
- “Whenever a day comes when I can stand and preach God's Word without an agony of anxiety lest the people will not accept Christ; whenever a day comes when I can see men and women coming down the aisles without joy in my heart, I'll quit preaching.”
- “Listen, I'm against sin. I'll kick it as long as I've got a foot, I'll fight it as long as I've got a fist, I've butt it as long as I've got a head, and I'll bite it as long as I've got a tooth. And when I'm old, fistless, footless, and toothless, I'll gum it till I go home to glory and it goes home to perdition.”
Brothers and sisters, Billy Sunday was man who was committed to the truth of God’s word and all church leaders should be as well. We should not wishy-washy in regard to God’s Word. We must take a stand but also, a kindly stand.
I Peter 3:15 “In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
Philippians 1:27 “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel.”
CONCLUSION----------------------
ILL.- Dwight D. Eisenhower once said: “In order to be a leader a man must have followers. And to have followers, a man must have their confidence. Hence the supreme quality of a leader is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, on a football field, in an army, or in an office. If a man's associates find him guilty of phoniness, if they find that he lacks forthright integrity, he will fail. His teachings and actions must square with each other. The first great need, therefore, is integrity and high purpose.”
Put the church in order. How? By having good church leaders who are committed to Christ and His Word and are controlled by His Spirit!
Steve Shepherd, Cape Girardeau, MO
shepherd111@hotmail.com
