Sermon Tone Analysis

“But as for you, O man of God, flee these things.

Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.”

[1]

The people of God live under constant threat even to their lives.

Jesus warned His people, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.

When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.

For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake” [MATTHEW 10:16-22].

Threats to spiritual well-being are quite real for the child of God; yet, no believer lives under more severe threats than does an elder.

Those opposed to righteousness are enemies of the Faith; and enemies of the Faith threaten the spiritual health of the faithful.

The undershepherd has received appointment to guard the flock of God.

“I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock” [1 PETER 5:1-3].

The Big Fisherman’s words echo those delivered by Paul to the elders of Ephesus.

“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock that the Holy Spirit has appointed you to as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.

I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

And men will rise up from your own number with deviant doctrines to lure the disciples into following them.

Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears” [2] [ACTS 20:28-31].

The man of God is charged with mounting an aggressive defence against spiritual assault.

“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” [JUDE 3, 4].

If the overseer fails to guard his own heart, he jeopardises not only his spiritual standing with the Master and he imperils the spiritual health of the flock for which he accepted responsibility.

Should the man of God succumb to the temptation to treat his service as a mere job, or should he begin to compromise with the wicked attitudes of this fallen world, the spiritual health of the congregation and the advance of the work of Christ through that assembly will be endangered.

Thus, the warnings of the Word directed to the elder are essential.

We have witnessed the Apostle providing instructions for the general conduct of the elders as they provide oversight of the congregation.

Paul has implemented a measure of order that was lacking in the assembly.

Suddenly, precipitously, he shifts attention to Timothy.

Paul writes, “Sù dé,” thrusting the second personal singular personal pronoun to the front of the sentence for emphasis.

The false teachers are left behind—they have been addressed and he assumes Timothy will shortly take care of their pernicious efforts to wreak havoc of the church.

From this point to the end of the book, the Apostle is addressing Timothy—and indirectly, every elder until the Master returns.

The first sentence of this final portion of the missive is the foundation for our study this day.

Paul will provide quite personal instruction that each one who occupies the sacred desk must take to heart.

Focus with me that together we may learn, holding those who provide oversight accountable to the Word of the Living God.

*O MAN OF GOD* — “But as for you, O man of God…” It is distressingly easy to pass over some gems that are included in the Word because we have grown familiar with the language.

For instance, the Apostle addresses Timothy as the “man of God.”

It is at once a word of supreme confidence and high expectation.

Applied to Timothy, it is high commendation, indeed.

However, I am prepared to argue that this designation should apply to each pastor.

The elder is to be a “man of God.”

/It is a statement of ownership/.

This concept of divine ownership is important to the people of God.

It reminds us that no church hires a preacher; pastors are appointed by God.

The congregation of the Lord receives from the hand of the Lord that one whom God deigns to appoint.

Jesus spoke of shepherds and hirelings.

It will be beneficial for us to refresh our memories concerning what He said concerning this matter.

“The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep” [JOHN 10:11b-13].

I am fully aware that Jesus was speaking specifically about Himself.

He said, “I am the Good Shepherd” [JOHN 10:11a].

However, since He is the chief Shepherd [see 1 PETER 5:4], those who are appointed to this service are required to “shepherd the flock of God that is among” them [1 PETER 5:2].

The elder looks to the Master for direction concerning the service he is to render.

Overseers are to model their service on the Son of God who sacrificed Himself for His own people.

What is important for each of us to know is that no church can say that it hires a preacher.

Christ the Head of the Church appoints to holy office; any other relationship is at best presumptuous, and at worst it is fraudulent.

Whenever a congregation begins to assume that it is in control of hiring and firing, they will shortly destroy the flock of the Lord.

The reason they will destroy is precisely as Jesus warned when he said the hired hand sees danger and flees, leaving the sheep to be ravaged by wolves.

Now, as gently as I know how, I point you to the words of the Master who informs us that “He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep” [JOHN 10:13].

I draw great comfort from the vision of the Risen Son of God presented by the Revelator in the opening verses of the Apocalypse.

John heard a voice, and upon turning to see the voice that spoke with him, he saw the Son of God.

Note one particular aspect of the One whom He saw.

“In his right hand he held seven stars” [REVELATION 1:16a].

Soon after describing the Person whom he saw, John was informed of the significance of all that was shown to him.

I want you to note what the Son of God said concerning the stars held in His hand.

“The secret meaning of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lamp stands is this: the seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lamp stands are the seven churches” [3] [REVELATION 1:20].

The Son of God stands in the midst of His churches, and He holds the messengers—the pastors—of the churches in His hand.

Undoubtedly, Paul could speak with great confidence concerning the divine appointment he had received.

Testifying before Agrippa, Paul boldly recalled the words which He heard when Jesus appeared to him.

“The Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.

But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you” [ACTS 26:15, 16].

Thus, he opens his letters with an assertion of divine appointment.

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures” [ROMANS 1:1, 2].

The First Corinthians Letter begins with this same confident assertion, “Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus” [1 CORINTHIANS 1:1].

It is with the same certainty that he begins his letter to the Churches of Galatia: “Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead” [GALATIANS 1:1].

No less can any overseer speak with confidence that God has appointed him to service.

Candidly, if there is no sense of call, no confidence in the appointment of Christ the Lord, no man can long survive in the pastorate.

Christ calls and Christ appoints.

I pity those sorry individuals who see the pastorate as a job, always finagling for a better salary or a better position or a larger congregation.

If that is all it is, then we should never again approach this sacred desk.

I know quite well that the words Isaiah penned were directed to Israel.

However, I am unapologetic in appropriating some of those words to this office.

Comforting His people, the LORD God spoke at one point, saying,

“But now thus says the LORD,

He who created you, O Jacob,

He who formed you, O Israel:

‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.’”

[ISAIAH 43:1]

I see that final strophe and draw courage that God spoke those as surely for His undershepherd as He did for His ancient people.

I am adamant in insisting that Christ has appointed me to His service; and so long as I declare the message that He has given, ensuring that I declare the Word which is printed for all to see, that He will stand with me.

Those who dare attempt to remove God’s appointed servant are setting themselves against no mere mortal—they are opposed to God Himself.

When we speak of one as a “man of God,” it is acknowledgement that that man belongs to the Lord God.

With the Psalmist, in a powerful manner, that man can say, “My times are in His hands” [cf.

PSALM 31:15].

/It is a statement of position.

Paul called Timothy “man of God.”/

Throughout the Old Testament, the term “man of God” is applied specifically to the prophets or the anointed leaders.

Whenever we read of a prophet in the pages of the Old Covenant, “man of God” is a common designation.

For instance, the one bearing the awful prophecy delivered to Eli was not named, though he is identified as “a man of God.” “There came a man of God to Eli and said to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh”’” [1 SAMUEL 2:27]?

What a powerful statement is made by Elijah when the king endeavoured to hale him into court.

The first group of armed men came to Elijah, and the captain of the fifty spoke, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.”