But he does not leave him guessing what it takes to be a MAN OF GOD.
In verse 11 he tells him and us as we saw in last week’s sermon…
1) We must FLEE from sin.
2) And today in this sermon he instructs us there are somethings we must FOLLOW after.
Look at 1 Timothy 6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
Illus: A businessman read a little book entitled “Men of God.” He was so impressed with the book that he was determined to secure copies for all of his employees.
• He wired the publisher in Chicago: “Send me 125 copies of ‘Men of God.’”
• The publisher wired back, “Chicago is out of ‘Men of God’ try Memphis.
• He wired Memphis: “Send me 125 copies of “Men of God.”
• Memphis wired back and said the little book called “Man of God” is no longer being published…THERE ARE NO MORE “MEN OF GOD”!
Seriously, there seems to be a shortage of MEN OF GOD in every town in America.
For example...
Illus: If you attend many funeral services as I do, one of the sad things about the eulogies that we hear about the decease…
• Where a person worked.
• How long they worked there
• What position they worked there
• How much he/she is going to be missed.
• How many children and grandchildren he/she has
• How much he/she accomplished in life.
But, very seldom is it stated, “We have come here today to honor and remember a MAN or WOMAN OF GOD”.
How sad so little can be said of some people who lived their life here on earth for decades but who have accomplished so little with their life.
Let me illustrate some of the things written on grave stones that reflect how some folks have lived their life here on earth…
(1) Speaking of one man who lived a wasted life was written “Here lies the shell…but the nut is gone!”
(2) Speaking of another man it was written on his grave stone, “I made some deals and I made some bad deals. But I really went in the hole on this deal”
(3) Speaking of a woman was written, “They all warned her. Never go for a hike in the woods where bears live smelling like meat loaf. If only Ima had listened to their words of wisdom, she’d be here today.
There are all kinds of things written on tombstones of the dead how they lived their life.
Illus: Have you wondered what your loved ones will place on your grave stone.
The greatest thing that can be written on the grave stone of a child of God is…HERE LIES A MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD!
Why?
Because to be a MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD this is a person who did not just live the normal life like the average person but a person WHO HAS EARNED THE RIGHT TO BE CALLED A MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD.
In order to earn that prestigious title, there are things:
• WE MUST DO
• MUST NOT DO
To be considered MEN and WOMEN OF GOD.
Let us look at the Word of God to see how we can become MEN AND WOMEN OF GOD.
First, THE MAN OF GOD IS TO FOLLOW.
Follow what?
Look at I Tim. 6:11. We read, “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and FOLLOW after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.”
Notice, Paul gives us a grocery list of six things we are to FOLLOW after.
First we are to...
I. FOLLOW AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Look at this verse again, “But thou, O man of God, flee these things (sin); and FOLLOW AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS...”
Some religious denomination like to refer to themselves as a HOLINESS DENOMINATION!!!
In these denominations their churches refer to themselves as a HOLINESS CHURCH.
But that has become a stigma in some areas of the country because just because a church might refer to themselves as a HOLINESS CHURCH DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE PEOPLE WITHIN THAT CHURCH IS HOLY.
Sad to say this is the case in some churches that call themselves a HOLINESS CHURCH.
But the fact is every church SHOULD BE A HOLINESS CHURCH!!!
Why?
Because God wants every child of God to FOLLOW after RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Is holiness and righteousness the same?
Holiness and righteousness are related but there is a difference in their concepts.
For example…
1) Holiness involves being set apart from what is common and consecrated to God such as a holy sacrifice.
2) The word Righteousness in this verse refers to doing what is right in the sight of man.
Holiness and righteousness are the SAME in that you cannot be a holy person and not live the right kind of life before mankind.
To be righteous in everyday language mean integrity still counts!
We live in a society that tells us that living a good moral life no longer counts. DON’T YOU BELIEVE THAT LIE! It still counts with God!!!
To be a MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD and live a RIGHTEOUS LIFE means:
• When you buy something on credit and the payment comes due to be a MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD means you pay your bills. (Dead beats or not man and woman of God...they are thieves!)
• When you or hired to do a job for so much money and you do not do it you are not a MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD. You are a thief…you took money for a job you did not do!
• When you tell someone that you are going to be somewhere at a certain time if you are a MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD, you should be there! You stole precious time from the life of someone waiting for you.
INTERGRITY STILL COUNTS!!!
Integrity is closely related with other virtues such as Honesty, Kindness and Humility
• In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word translated “integrity” means “the condition of being without blemish, completeness, perfection, sincerity, soundness, uprightness, wholeness.”
• Integrity in the New Testament means “honesty and adherence to a pattern of good works.”
Illus: Jesus is the perfect example of a man of integrity.
For example, after He was baptized, He went into the wilderness to fast for forty days and nights, during which time Satan came to Him at His weakest moment in life to try to break His integrity and corrupt Him.
Jesus was 100% man and 100% God at the same time, and He was tempted in every way we are, yet He never sinned!!!
Look at Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
That is the definition of pure (100%) integrity.
To be a MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD we Christians are called to be like Jesus.
There are numerous verses in the Bible that emphasize the importance of integrity. I Peter 3:16, II Cor. 8:21, Pr. 4:25-27, Phil. 4:8 and many more.
To be a MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD we are to be RIGHT IN THE SIGHT OF MAN.
Integrity is what makes a person stand out from evil men.
Let me give you an example.
Illus: Reuben Gonzales was in the final match of a professional racquetball tournament.
• It was his first shot at a victory on the pro circuit, and he was playing the perennial champion.
• In the fourth and final game, at match point, Gonzales made a super “kill” shot into the front wall to win it all.
• The referee called it good. One of the two linesmen affirmed that the shot was good.
• But Gonzales, after a moment’s hesitation, turned around, shook his opponent’s hand, and declared that his shot had hit the floor first.
As a result he lost the match. He walked off the court. Everybody was stunned!!!
A player, with everything officially in his favor, with victory in his hand, disqualified himself at match point and lost!
When asked why he did it, Reuben said, “It was the only thing I could do to maintain my integrity.”
He realized that he could always win another match, but he could never regain his lost integrity!
The word “righteousness” here deals with our relationship with man.
• One commentator noted that you can tell what a man’s relation with God is by looking at his relations with his
fellow men.
• If a man is distant from his fellow man, it is good proof that he is distant from God.
• If he is divided from his fellow men, he is divided from God.
A man of God is guided by righteousness wherever he goes or wherever he lives.
Illus: There was an interesting political cartoon in the paper during the time John Tower was a senator but he was also a boozing womanizer.
He was brought before the senate to be examined for a presidential nomination.
John Tower was on the witness stand and was asked: “What would you do if we rejected your nomination on the grounds that you’re a boozing womanizer?”
He said with humor, “I would Move to Massachusetts and run for the U.S. Senate.”
While acceptable moral standards may vary from state to state, the standards of moral conduct have never changed with God.
• What is right in South Carolina is right in California in God’s sight.
• It does not matter if he living his life at home or on a vacation a thousand miles away from home he is MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD.
You and I will never earn the name of being a MAN or WOMAN OF GOD, until we FOLLOW AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Also we are to...
B. FOLLOW AFTER GODLINESS.
Look at I Timothy 6:11 again. We read, “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after Righteousness, GODLINESS...”
Some think GODLINESS is similar to righteousness.
Actually they are different!
These two words are kin to each other like RIGHTEOUNESS AND INTEGRITY.
• Remember, the word “righteousness” in this text refers to being right in the sight of man.
• GODLINESS is much deeper than being right with mankind. Godliness is being God-like.
Godliness deals with our relationship with GOD THAT WE ARE RIGHT IN HIS SIGHT!!!
Godliness makes a difference in the everyday decisions of our lives as a MAN AND WOMAN OF GOD.
Illus: Years ago, Jack Eckerd, founder of the Eckerd drugstore chain, committed his life to Christ. Shortly afterward, as he walked through one of his stores, he noticed the magazine racks with their glossy copies of Playboy and Penthouse.
Although Eckerd was retired from active management, he called the president of the company and REQUSTED him to get rid of those pornographic magazines.
The president protested because substantial profits were gained from their sales.
Being the largest stockholder, Eckerd himself stood to lose a lot of money by such a decision. But he remained firm in his objection, and he prevailed.
The offensive magazines were removed from all 1,700 drugstores.
When he was asked what motivated him to take this action, Eckerd replied, “God wouldn’t let me off the hook!”
We don’t hear of many taking that kind of stand today.
Many People today have become demoralized.
That is, they have lost all their godly morals.
Illus: Paul would be shocked today to live in our society and hear some folks who call themselves a Christian but they have been completely DEMORALIZED!
Let me explain…
· Remember when President Clinton turned the White House into a whore house; there was Christians who said they would vote for him.
Why?
Because their loyalty was to a political party Not the LORD JESUS!
These people have been DEMORALIZED!
· We have people in our churches today that do not care if politicians supports partial-birth abortion (Killing helpless babies up to the 9th month), just so long as it pleases their labor union or job.
These people have been DEMORALIZED! They have lost their MORALS AND THEIR MINDS!
· We have teachers that are teaching our children Transgenderism, and the acceptance of homosexuality. They do not care what the Bible teaches just so long as NEA is pleased with them. THEY HAVE BECOME DEMORALIZED!
Listen, we will never earn the name of being a MAN are WOMAN OF GOD, until we FOLLOW AFTER GODLINESS.
And how dare we refer to this nation as a Christian nation that is filled with UNGODLINESS!!!
This nation has become DEMORALIZED!
To be a MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD we must FOLLOW after...
• Righteousness (Right in the sight of men)
• Godliness (Right in the sight of God)
But also Paul in this grocery list of six things to be a MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD…
C. WE MUST FOLLOW AFTER FAITH.
Look at verse 11 again. We read, “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith...”
The meaning of the word “faith” in this text is from the Greek word meaning, “Fidelity, reliability, or dependability.”
Illus: Every year, across this nation, churches like this will meet to elect new officers and teachers for the coming year.
They will check with everyone to see before they are nominated, if they are willing to serve in the area that they are suggested to serve.
Once they agree to serve, they then are elected to serve.
But, sometime within the first month some will become UNRELIABLE.
Illus: That is, sometimes, in some churches:
• A class full of boys and girls might show up to learn about the Lord Jesus, but the teacher will not be there.
• A class full of boys and girls will show up to learn about Jesus and the teacher may call in right before class is to begin to say he, or she, is not coming.
Because it is so late, no one will have time to prepare a Bible lesson to teach those boys and girls.
But here is some good news…
All across this country of ours some churches like ours are blessed to have leaders that are RELIABLE!
Thank God for people like this, they are HERE WHEN THE DOORS ARE OPEN AND PREPARED TO SERVE.
I could spend a great deal of time mentioning some of these in this congregation but I will not because I might leave some out.
It is joy for a pastor serve in such a church and to have such reliable people as this church has.
Illus: I did some research the other day on the length of time of the average pastors in how long he may stay at the same church.
Here is what I discovered.
The average length of time a pastor stays at one church is 4.4 years.
After this research…
• I wondered why is it that men and women in the secular work force can work at a job for 40 years and the average pastor only stay at one church 4.4 years.
• One reason is that some pastors are in it for the money and they will change church for a hundred dollars pay raise.
• But many good pastors only stay at some churches for four years because of the frustration of trying to pastor a church that is full of UN-RELIABLE PEOPLE.
The church is different from the secular work force. In the secular work force if a person is not reliable…
• You can walk up to them and give them a tongue-lashing and maybe if they are not too big a good old kick in the pants if you think you can do it and get away with it.
• You can even fire them, but in the church if it is filled with un-reliable people who are you going to replace them with.
Now you can see why I am thankful to pastor this church and have been here for decades because we have some RELIABLE PEOPLE.
But every pastor is not blessed as I am!!!
Some pastors are cursed with a church full of UN-RELIABLE!!!
Also I did some research the other day and this may shock you…IT SHOCKED ME!
• In the United States a staggering 75 churches closed their doors per week. And I can assure the reason is
due to un-reliable people.
• A 2021 study found that 4,500 churches closed while only 3,000 were started.
All of these closing can be traced back to UN-RELIABLE CHRISTIANS.
For example…
Illus: So many times professing Christians will say, “Well, I plan to come to all the services, IF SOMETHING DOES NOT COME UP!”
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY JUST DID?
They told the devil if something does not come up, they would be here, and the devil will see to it something comes up. And when something comes up, they fall in line with the devil every time.
Illus: MEN and WOMEN OF GOD understand that God is not just someone that we fit into our schedule when it is convenient. HE IS OUR SCHEDULE! HE IS OUR LIFE!
Illus: God is the HUB OF THE WHEEL of the Christian’s life. Everything should revolve around Him.
Illus: MEN AND WOMEN OF GOD understand that they may not get everything done they want to get done in a week’s time period, but, GOD IS NOT TO BE THE “THING” THAT IS LEFT OUT! Let some other thing which is less important be that which is not done.
Every child of God should FLEE FROM SIN AND FOLLOW after…
1) Righteousness
2) Godliness
3) Faith
But Paul also tells us if we desire to a MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD….
D. We must follow after love.
Look at verse 11 again. We read, “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE...”
If a person does not follow after LOVE, you can rest assured that person does not have God in their life because the Bible tells us GOD IS LOVE.
So to be a MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD a person must be a GOD LOVING PERSON.
The Lord said something very startling in the book of John about LOVE.
Look at John 13:34-35. We read, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
Notice several things about this verse.
(1) First, I would like to remind you this is a command from Almighty God!
Listen to what John said, “A new COMMANDMENT I give unto you...”
Illus: One thing that the military teaches young recruits right off is that they must follow orders.
They teach them...
· A command is not something you do only if you agree with it.
· A command is not something you do only if it is ONLY convenient.
We need to understand this is a COMMAND from God almighty!
WHAT IS IT THAT WE ARE COMMANDED TO DO?
John 13:34, “That ye love one another (This includes all races and social levels); as I have loved you, that ye also love one another...”
HOW DOES HE LOVE US?
1. He knows all of our WEAKNESSES, and in spite of them, He still loves us!
2. He knows how UNDESERVING we are, and in spite of that He still loves us!
3. He knows what FAILURES we are, and in spite of that He still loves us!
He gave His life, on the cross of Calvary, so we may be saved.
He really loves us, and He says we are to love each other in the same way.
He commands each Christian to be a MAN or WOMAN OF GOD, we must follow after love.
Then the Lord tells us the results of our obeying the command.
Look at John 13:34-35. We read, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another?”
Look again at verse 35. We read, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
Look at the words, “...By this...” That is, lost people will see we are MEN and WOMEN OF GOD when we love each other the way Christ loved us! He said, “BY THIS”
He did NOT say:
• "By this", if you attend church every Sunday, people will know you are my disciples.
• "By this", if you tithe ten percent of your income, people will know you are my disciples.
No! He said that because we love each other as He loved us the world will know we are HIS DISCIPLES.
You will never be known as a MAN, or WOMAN, OF GOD until you learn to FOLLOW AFTER LOVE.
Also...
E. We must follow after patience.
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (Patience), gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit.
To be GOD-LIKE think about the PATIENCE OF GOD.
Illus: I have known men to live to be in their nineties and they live every year God gave them in SIN.
But during those ninety years God was patient and not strike them down dead.
God is a PATIENT GOD!!!
Someone said “Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can. Found seldom in a woman, never in a man.”
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Patience doesn’t come naturally but is a gift from God bestowed on us as one of the fruit of His Spirit.
It’s essential that we cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He develops patience within us.
Why?
Because this necessary quality can save us from the inevitable regrets that come when we refuse to wait for His direction.
Some of us have seen people:
• At the red light or a train crossing loose it and they start beating on the steering wheel.
• At Walmart in a long check-out line loose it!
• At the grocery store loose it demanding a discount for a coupon that is outdated!
• At a church service when someone set in their seat loose it!
It is surprising how people who have no patience loose it in these public places but on Sunday morning we find them in church singing with the Saints of God “O HOW I LOVE JESUS”.
To be a MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD we have to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us how to FOLLOW AFTER PATIENCE.
Also, we must follow after…
F. We must FOLLOW after Meekness.
Meekness is not weakness; it is strength under control.
Illus: One of my favorite preacher Dr. Adrian Rogers says, “A meek person is someone who has turned the reins over to the Lord Jesus Christ and let Him do for Him and through Him and with Him what he could not do for himself.”
Some people remind us of a FULL BACK on an offensive football team. His primary job as fullback is taking the football and run straight through the Middle of the defense team knocking over everyone who gets in his way.
This is the way some run their life. They knock down anyone get in their way. They are not known to be MEN AND WOMEN OF GOD.
Let me give you a good illustration of humility.
Illus: Sammy Morris was led to the Lord by a missionary in Africa. He became one of the most Christ-like individuals ever.
He came to America to go to school. Although his pathway to service for Christ was not easy, his difficulties never deterred him. Perhaps this was because he had learned genuine humility.
One incident that showed this occurred when he arrived at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. He was asked by the school’s president what room he wanted. Sammy replied, “If there is a room nobody wants, give it to me.”
Later the president commented, “I turned away, for my eyes were full of tears. I was asking myself whether I was willing to take what nobody else wanted.”
To be godly we have to follow after MEEKNESS.
Illus: One of the meekest men in history was John, the Baptist. He was such a powerful figure that Josephus, the great Jewish historian, reports many years later, when John’s name was mentioned, people still trembled at the thought of him.
Jesus’ eulogy of John was that he was “greater than any man born of woman.”
His idea about who he was, he said “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Illus: Did you ever notice that David never describes his victory over Goliath in any of the psalms? If David had been like some today, he would have offered his story to the highest bidder and traveled the country telling everyone of his achievement.
We live in a time of superlatives. We desire dignity, position, etc., No wonder Christ cannot be seen in the life of some today who profess to be saved.
Illus: Paul called himself “The least of all the apostles.”
Conclusion:
Illus: A missionary in India was once teaching the Bible to a group of Hindu ladies. Halfway through the lesson, one of the women got up and walked out. A short time later, she came back and listened more intently than ever. At the close of the hour the leader inquired, “Why did you leave the meeting? Weren’t you interested?” O, yes,” the Hindu lady replied. “I was so impressed with what you had to say about Christ that I went out to ask your driver whether you really lived the way you talked. When he said that you did, I hurried back so I wouldn’t miss out on anything you said.”
If we are going to be MEN AND WOMEN OF GOD, we are going to have to:
To be a man or woman of God we have learned that we must FOLLOW after…
I. Righteousness,
II. Godliness,
III. Faith,
IV. Love,
V. Patience,
VI. Meekness.
2:10
Where He Leads I’ll Follow
YouTube
Trail Reeves
24.2K views
Nov 2, 2020
