Untitled Sermon (68)

Into: Story of man on a mission trip.

A man traveled to a Latin American country on a mission trip. He stayed with a Christian family that was desperately poor. Their only possessions were the clothes on their backs, a tiny one-room shelter, and a chicken. As the mission trip drew to a close, the host family held a dinner in my friend’s honor, at which soup was served for the main course. To the man’s astonishment, there was meat in the soup. He wondered what kind of meat it could be. Suddenly he realized that he must be eating chicken soup. My friend was so overwhelmed by the generosity of these Christians that tears began streaming down his cheeks. He marveled that the family had offered up their only chicken for him. Yet to the father of the household, this sacrifice seemed like the most natural thing in the world. They were willing to share everything they had with the missionary. After all, he was a brother in Christ, and therefore virtually a member of their own family…..What a caring loving act of honor and love….what a picture of both honor and service…of love and respect….

-See the problem is that often we see people as hinderance

…road blocks….I mean a screaming baby and 3:00am in the morning when you just want to sleep….that person in the church…who isn’t like you and has a need, your boss, your teacher…..and this is exactly what Timothy is addressing…in chapter 5…

-If the church is going to grow in unity into this beautiful household of God, we need to treat each other with honor instead of a hindrance

…..but how does Timothy show this….

I. We have to honor one another as family. (1 Tim. 5:1-2)

Ex. Paul starts by addressing how Timothy is to think again about his relationship in the church….He says do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father….again this whole section he is giving us advice and wisdom in how to handle relationship and the first place he starts is with older men in the church….Timothy a young buck…how do you treat older men??

-What he is not saying here is that don’t ever correct an older person.

false teacher..the word Rebuke means litter sense to beat something or someone with the fists…He is telling this young Timothy..who is timid, don’t over compensate when you have to correct or hold accountable and older saint..by blasting them….ILL:: I mean, I don’t think I have ever had to rebuke my dad…I mean when dad would say Remington Jerald my knees would just buckle……so He says approach the older men in your church as a father…gentle as you would correcting…He says the same thing with older women…encourage them…treat them with respect and love……App: so this applies to us today, in how we correct each other…are you bulldozing those you are correcting…with harsh quick words….or are you thinking through it..Pr; 12:18 there is one whose rash word are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing?…Also if we are to honor one another as family we have to see that

-Family is made up of older and younger people….it would be a very weird…very weird family if we were all thirty years old……

-Younger people you NEED Older people, Older People you NEED younger people in your life.

…..so invite them over for dinner…younger people….your not that cool…older people don’t hurt the church….Shane like too say…we need the older people jumping up and down for the younger peoples songs and the older people pumping up and down for the younger peoples songs…..ILL: By far the best volunteer and one of my closest friends in the youth ministry was a single 64 year old man…who never had kids…..real practical invite someone older or younger than you over… Then Paul says younger men Timothy as brothers….not like your little brother, which I was that guy…you push around… but as equals…and the big one he says younger women as sister, in all purity..moral purity yes but also, this word indicates sexual purity as well, watch what you are saying to women how you are treating them guards them and protects their purity…...ILL:: It’s crazy to watch my the boys….defend and protect their sister….the moment…one of them sneaks outside…they are on it….APP:: so…Fathers, Mothers, Brothers, Sisters….this is the language that Paul uses

-There are more than one hundred references to brothers and sisters in the writings of Paul.

.Jesus said the same thing…mark 3:31-35..when asked who are my mother and brothers…he says here…the disciple mother and brothers….whoever does the will of God…..APP:: So conflict arise in the church when we loose this…when we look at each other instead as obstacle to our plan,…..but what defuse conflict, stife in a church is understanding we are not a perfect family…conflict is going to happen….but that is my brother your talking about….so stop gossiping about..him…that’s my sister…my father…….

-Conflict follows when we are not loving, respecting, and caring for one another as family.

…….but as people in a church building…..thats in my way….We are to honor one another…..because Jesus says this is how the world will know that I love them…See the church as family makes the attributes of God tangible to the world..I could tell you Jesus forgive you ..but it’s another thing to see the forgiveness of Christ when we offend one another…and we forgive…world looks on and says what is that??…

II. We have to honor one another by caring for each others needs. (1 Tim. 5:3-16)

EX: Now you can see in this next section he is going to talk about the care of widows in great detail…now

Caring for widows in the ancient world was a lot different than now…In that time, women couldn’t get jobs, loosing a husband would expose her to physical danger and great economic danger……And note

-God’s heart for the for orphan AND widow.

-Deut 10:17-18

-Luke 7:11–15

-Luke 18:1–8

-Mark 12:40

-Psalm 68:5

Deuteronomy 10:17–18 ESV

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.

Deuteronomy 10:17–18 ESV

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.

“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.”

..He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow….Jesus brought back to life the only son of a widow Luke 7, Luke 18 Jesus commended the persistence of the praying widow, Even on the cross made provision for his own mother in her widowhood (John 19)..Psalm 68:5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation…..God’s heart is for those who are in true physical and spiritual need…and so should the heart of the church….so I am going to move very quickly through this chunks and then give us some App of how we can care for those most in need…notice he says those who are truly widows…how do we know?…verse 5, she is left all alone (doesn’t have family which we will note in a sec)..has hope in God…..she is a constant in prayer….now verse nine says let a widow be enrolled ( this word has some debate…some think its just a list of the widow who the church should help…while others think its a list of widows the church is helping who are also serving in the church…I think its both)..and the qualification intensify because these are widow are serving in a certain capacity in the church…verse nine…she must be older…sixty years of age….wife of one husband…not meaning she couldn’t remarry..but she is a one man women…she has been faithful….verse 10..has a good reputation of good works…brought up children…hospiblaby, and has washes the feet of the siants..which is fleshed out be caring for the afflicted…sum up help widows who are truly in need…they are seeking the Lord…not seeking to take advantage..but serve the church WHO not to help…Verse 6, and 11-13…some think are some of the harsh verse…lot hear but here is what was happing…some of these women who were young and widows…just wanted to take the money and only use in on their on self indulgence..and giving money to them would only enable the life style they were in….and 11-16 there were young widows in the church…and they wanted to get married but wouldn’t because they wanted to stay on the list so this made them actually seek relationships outside of the covent of marriage which as the text says was drawling them away from Christ, becoming idle (lazy), gossips..so he just says encourage the younger widows to marry…. to bear children and a family….But notice……

These true widow are not first suppose to be taken care of by the church BUT by the family…verse 4….if the widow has children or grandchildren let them first.learn to show godliness..for this is pleasing in the sight of God….verse 8..big…if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household….he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever…….why would he be worse than an unbeliever…because even those who don’t trust Jesus..know to care for family…how much more…the deliver…App:…Listen are those in your family who are in need…truly….are you helping?….caring for the age is hard work…seen it first hand….but it’s not an inconvenience it is our command to care for those in our families..pleases God…and by doing this it frees the church up to truly help those who would be in need (Verse 16)…….So how do we apply this strange talk about widows to our household….#1 -

-We must be wise in our mercy ministry but not cynical.

…ILL: I remember when I first was in ministry…anyone who came to the church..seeking help…just throw money hear you go…then I got burnt a lot…lady wanted money for beds….went and bought beds….delivered it to her house…they had all kinds of really nice beds…but listen what began to happen…is everyone who came in…I started getting cynical…your own fault..not helping….and listen that’s not the heart of God….and a church who is not seeking those in the greater need in their own body….and those around them……are missing a gospel driven church…

-James 1:27

..Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the father is this to visit orphans and widows in their affection……who around you is in physical trouble? Finicial trouble…and do we care??…..it’s not just throwing money…but entering into their lives….inviting them into our homes, church, calling them……..and why?? What’s the motivation because this is what Christ did to us…..Con: .we were all spiritual in need….lost, left alone…..and Just like that guy who gave his only chicken as a sacrifice…..God gave his best for us….nothing more or better he can give than the sacrifice of his Son…….to bring us into his family to help the pain and hurt…and show us a better way to live…not seeing us as hinderous….but showing honor by laying down his life…so trust in him today…repent of your sins your self indulgence…..the text says doing that self indulgent lifestyle you are dead even though your alive…turn to the only who can make you alive….and who…Brings us together as family….so we can love and respect each other as…father, mother, brother, sister……seeing each other not as a Hindrance but honoring one another as we care for each other as Christ cared for us.

Discuss at home:

-What is one thing that stood out to you from the sermon and why?

-Who is someone in our family, church, or town that is in need and how could we help?