Sermon Title: Are You Qualified to Serve? [5 of ]
Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:1-16
Wesleyan Community Church
Terry, Mississippi
Sunday Morning – May 26, 2002
Scripture Introduction:
As we prepare to read this mornings text, we need to consider that Paul is writing to his favorite pupil. Paul is writing to his spiritual son, and because of the love that Paul has for Timothy and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he wishes to ensure that Timothy has all of the advantages possible working for the ministry that he is called to. The Gospel of Christ is the reason that Paul finds himself in the confines of a Roman prison and that same Gospel will be the cause of his execution. As I was preparing for this message I thought of the account of Jonathon in the 14th chapter of 1 Samuel. I thought of the fact that even though the Lord might raise up a capable person to lead, in order to be as effective as that leader could possibly be, there needs to be a layer of effective support for the person in charge as well.
1Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison, that is on the other side. But he told not his father. 2And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men; 3And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’S priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. 4And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah. 6And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few. 7And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart. 8Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them. 9If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them. 10But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the LORD hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us. 11And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves. 12And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, Come up after me: for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand of Israel. 13And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armourbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armourbearer slew after him. 14And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow. 15And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling.
You see, Jonathan only knocked the opponents down, it was the armor bearer who was in support of Jonathan that finished the Job. The resulting teamwork of Jonathan the leader and the armor bearer as supporter caused the will of God to go forward with a mighty impact. With this in mind let us read:
Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 3:1-16
This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; 4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) 6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
8 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; 9 Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. 10 And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. 11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. 12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 13 For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
14These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: 15But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 16And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
Sermon Introduction:
In looking at some of the more successful ministries in recent times, I found some interesting items that may at times point out why that ministry may be more successful then others. Obviously, the person who is in charge, must be totally sold out to God. Now we look at this and perhaps wonder, “Why does someone need to be in charge?” and I believe the answer lies in a statement that we used to quote quite readily in the military, and that was, “too many chiefs and not enough Indians”. Too many shepherds confuse the sheep.
It seems that the more successful ministries have people who back up the shepherd, and by that I don’t mean YES men and women, I mean there is a background crew that marches into the fray right behind their leader, not out of duty to him, but out of duty to duty to God. Just as the reputation of the leader is important, so also is the reputation of all who back him up.
Interestingly enough, at least from the standpoint of the world around us, is the fact that what makes Christians effective in the ministry for God as individuals or as a group is not the strengths that they have on their own, but the weaknesses that cause them to rely totally on God. It is not the power that we have within us, but the power that He places within us that makes us effective warriors for the kingdom of God.
Let us pause for a moment of prayer!
Point 1: The Man or Woman Behind the Pulpit
Paul begins this section of Scripture for the qualifications of the leader, and let us re-read the first verse:
1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
There is one item that goes without saying in this particular text, and that is the necessity of being called. Unless God has placed a distinct call upon someone’s life, they probably ought not pursue a particular vocation. Now we also need to bear in mind that all are called, but for each of us a particular calling is chosen. We read Paul’s words in Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; Looking at the illustration of the church in comparison with the human body, there needs to more then just feet, there needs to be a means of connecting the feet so they travel toward the same goal and there needs to be a central point where the ideas are formed in light of the single goal.
Paul tells Timothy that the one who desires this position of responsibility desires a good work. If you have been blessed with a gift of leadership by the Lord then you had best use it for the Lord, remember Jesus’ parable of the talents and the failure to use was a reason to loose.
Paul now lists the qualifications of a leader [and we are all leaders in some respect]:
2 A bishop then must be blameless, - Now interestingly enough, this does not mean that blame cannot be directed at the leader, only that he is innocent of the things that they are blamed for. Every single leader had some things said against them. Look at the charges that were leveled at Jesus – He was called a blasphemer. The charges were not against Jesus but instead to ease the guilty consciences and to relieve the sting of conviction in the lives and the souls of the accusers.
the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, At the time of this writing, multiple wives was the way of the society within which they lived. God has clearly ordained that Christians live within the boundaries that He has set down, and that is one man and one woman united in Holy Matrimony and that obviously rules out the many different arrangements that this society has deemed acceptable.
He must be vigilant, and by that Paul was referring to being aware of what he is doing, to be temperate in all the things that he does. The leader must be untarnished by any excesses. How many things can we see in our lives that could be considered as excesses. I know in my own life there are things that I must be vigilant of.
He must be sober, and aside from the obvious meaning of today, which means free from intoxication which fits more in line with vigilant, the leader must be of sound mind, and included in that would be a real sense of what is taking place around him. We have a danger that is posing a very real threat to each and every congregation and that is our desire to draw inward amongst ourselves. We do not desire the same things that the world does. We do not even like the things that the world does, and in many cases when we do this, we separate ourselves and in effect we are cutting the lost off from the saving power of the word of God.
If anyone ever thought living out Great Commission Christianity was going to be safe and clean, I hate to disappoint, because our very lives are indeed in jeopardy from an increasingly evil world and the trench warfare that we wage against the powers of darkness is dirty and filthy and requires us to live out what we profess beyond these walls.
The leader is to be of good behavior. The leader should possess good manners and present himself in a proper manner and that includes the appropriateness of what he wears in relationship to the situation that he finds himself in. Customs dictate attire – formal occasions dictate formal attire.
given to hospitality, apt to teach; There needs to a desire to serve in this office that Paul is talking about. To often the people who hold higher positions look upon their elevated status as a barrier from doing the common. Oh how wrong that is, and if you look in your past, you will find that the most effective leadership was held by those that did not mind getting their hands dirty as well.
The leader is apt to teach, and by that it means that there is a natural ability to expound on what is being said. There is another confusion in this matter that is complicating the mission that God has called us to do. It seems that many people expect to be entertained when they come to worship God. That was never the intent of the early church as they began to expand and naturally require some levels of organization.
3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
Paul gives a list to Timothy that we would almost say goes without saying, but it is not always the case. When we tackle the subject of alcohol as a church we oftentimes find ourselves at odds. There is no reference in the Bible that prohibits the consumption of wine. However, the wine that they consumed was not much different then the grape juice that we make from the concentrate that we find in the frozen food section. The alcohol level was negligible. A leader cannot be prone to lash out at others, he cannot be consumed with material desires and overwhelmed by a desire to amass a wealth. He must be patient. He must not be prone to contention nor shall he be envious over the possessions of others.
4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
The leader must exhibit the same fairness of expectation over his household as he does to those whom he leads. There is such a thing as being to harsh and oftentimes the standards are unfairly applied depending on the position held.
6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
Paul gives a warning about the need to disciple those that are new in Christ before they can be put into service. Without careful spiritual grooming the young Christian is destined to fail. To often a young Christian still wears the condemnation of their past which dulls the effectiveness of their testimony. Allow the change to be deep rooted in their lives before expecting them to serve. To often the churches are overwhelmed due to a lack of participation, 90 percent of the work is done by 10 percent. In their enthusiasm to serve the young Christian is oftentimes overwhelmed by the responsibilities of service.
Point 2: The Men or Women Behind the Man or Woman Behind the Pulpit
Paul then deals with the standards that are set for those who stand behind the men or women of the pulpit:
8 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; 9 Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. 10 And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. 11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. 12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 13 For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
You see the standards are virtually the same. Whatever standards are set for one are set for all.
Point 3: The Authority by Which We Stand
Interestingly enough, many have been seeking ways around these standards, but these standards are not set by men, but are taken directly out of God’s Word which is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow – God’s Word holds the sama authority still.
14These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: 15But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 16And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
Paul stresses our behavior in God’s house. We need to realize that God’s house does not begin or end with the walss of this church. God’s house is everywhere that we find ourselves when we profess Jesus Christ as our Savior.
Paul stresses that Godly living is possible though not always easy. The ways of the world and the ways of the flesh are easy, however that is the idea behind being set apart. If the world can tell no difference in the actions and the conduct of a professed believer, then I dare say that no difference exists. If you walk like the world and you talk like the world and you look like the world then you are of the world.
Paul reaffirms that God’s Word must be preached to the ungodly. We need to get out and tell the world about Jesus. Not just the pastor, not just the board, not just the adults, but each and every person who claims to be a child of the king – must work to win souls for the kingdom – and this command goes beyond nationalities, race, ethnicity, and social class. There are no divisions in heaven.
And finally Paul gives us the ultimate example. God endured as a man and was successful. Jesus came not only as the most perfect and final sacrifice, He put on the robe of flesh and bone and starred temptation and Satan directly in the face and emerged victorious and showed each and every one of us the way.
Conclusion:
How do we support The Man or Woman Behind the Pulpit. I am not just talking about myself, I am directing this at each and every person who has answered affirmative to God’s call to teach the Word of God in such a way as can be understood and applied in everyday life.
How successful do we see ourselves as The Men or Women Behind the Man or Woman Behind the Pulpit. Are we able to hold up the standards of conduct that we apply to the ministry? Have we figured out that not only are there those that are called to lead, like Jonathon, but there are those that walk the path behind and finish and support what their leader has started. No matter how a good of an idea that may be proposed, unless there are willing participants, nothing will get done.
Do we understand The Authority by Which We Stand? It is our awesome God who takes the weakest of our weaknesses and turns them into the strongest of strengths for His Kingdom, for His glory, and for His honor.
