09c) A Leader's Heart - Part 3
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
We took a little two week detour from our text in 1st Timothy as we looked at Jesus as the ultimate example of the perfect leader and last week we spent the morning seeing what God’s word says about baptism. We got to celebrate Mrs. Kes getting baptised in obedience and glory to God.
Today we turn back to our look at Paul’s instruction to Timothy on church leadership. It is a noble task and those that aspire to the position of leadership in the church must come to understand what a noble task it is.
Church leaders have been appointed by the Holy Spirit to be overseers and to shepherd the church of God.
28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Men will rise up even from your own number and distort the truth to lure the disciples into following them.
The church was purchased with the blood of God, the blood of Jesus and men have been appointed to the responsibility to oversee and shepherd the church. The wolves will come and the leaders are to be on guard and ready to resist them. The task requests men with certain fruit in their lives that demonstrates their heart and whether or not they are fit for the task.
1 This saying is trustworthy: “If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work.” 2 An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not an excessive drinker, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy. 4 He must manage his own household competently and have his children under control with all dignity. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and incur the same condemnation as the devil. 7 Furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the devil’s trap.
So far we have seen that the church leader must be overall a man beyond reproach. That when an accusation of immoral character be charged against him that the charge would be unable to be held to him. That he would be found not guilty of the charge.
We saw that he must be a husband of one wife, a one woman man, a man who is completely loyal and faithful to his wife.
He must be self-controlled or sober minded. He was to be alert to the task that had been set before him, to be clear minded to fulfill his responsibilities.
And he must be sensible or temperate. A man who does not swing to the extremes of life and emotions. He is slow to speak and responds from a place of control. He doesn’t lash out and his emotions do not drive his reactions to the people and world around him.
We are going to look at three more characteristics or qualities that are to be found in the church leaders. These include
He must be respectable, hospitable, and able to teach.
He Must Be
He Must Be
Respectable
Respectable
The church leader must be respectable. In our language the oxford dictionary definition is to be regarded by society to be good, proper, or correct.
The are many ways that this word is used in our language.
As in one’s knowledge
A person can be respectable as in being respected because of what they know and understand. This person is a respected coach as they have won many championships. Or this person is respected after being in the same profession for 30 years.
Who would we look to here for their knowledge of fishing. You may turn to John or Ernie. How a about a good barbecue. We you may turn to Cas or Yuri. What about music knowledge, Nate. What about methods on raising young children or homeschooling, maybe Tricia? Making bread, Tatiana. It is that a person is worthy of respect due their knowledge or experience on a topic.
As in one’s moral character
A person can be respectable due to their morals. They are a person of high moral character. Their life has a moral compass and they live out their life in line with the direction the compass is going.
As in ones behavior
A person can be respectable in their behavior. Proper conduct and politeness. They are seen to interact appropriately in the social situations that they are in. They have good manners.
As in ones Quality
A person may not be an expert but what they do has a high quality to their behavior and actions. What ever they do they do well and to the best of their ability.
As in one’s contribution
A person may be respectable based on what they have accomplished and built. Maybe a person has built a respectable career or a large marble collection. Maybe they have created a legacy of people that have been discipled.
As we can see when we read that leader must be respectable, it is very possible for there to be different ideas and images in a person’s mind. We may look at a church leader and highlight one area over the other. All of these are things that all people should be growing in their lives.
So was Paul focusing on any one part or was he saying something different. The word he used here is only used one other place in the new testament.
1 Timothy 2:9 (ESV)
9 likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, ...
The word comes from a Greek word that means in one way to put in order. As in orderly and appropriate apparel for woman and an orderly and put together life for a church leader.
The idea is that a church leader exhibits a life that is in order and put together. The opposite of this idea is disorder and chaos. A man that is to be above reproach, sensible, self-controlled, will have a life that is orderly and put together. A church leader who has a life that is scattered and fragmented will not be fitting for the task of shepherding God’s people.
Lets say you were a director as a company and you were assigned to hire the person for a management position. There is a candidate that has been working for the company who really wants this position. They are respectable in many ways. They have been at the same company for 20 years and has more knowledge than any other employee, even yourself if you are honest. They have been contributing it great ways for 2 decades. They have never been accused of unethical or immoral conduct and they are always polite and curious. Their work is always superb and of high quality.
They must be a sure win for the job right. They are respected in every area, but even though they are super polite they have a really hard time making to meetings on time. Their office space is in so much chaos that even though they do great work it can be hard to find when it is needed.
Their home life is a little stressful so getting to work on time can be hard. Leaving early is a must many times. It is what is needed to take care of their family and they need to do so. Life for them is a little chaotic at the moment. For a management position which takes on higher responsibilities for work and for people, do you hire this person. Doesn’t an orderly life matter.
I think this is the point that Paul is making. A church leader needs to have an orderly life to fulfill the responsibilities of shepherding God’s church. Are there seasons that life gets chaotic? Absolutely. Does it make a person any less of a christian. No, but the reality is that if a person is a church leader who has a chaotic life, or a person aspires to be a church leader and has a chaotic life, this person should be focusing on their home life and get that in order before coming back into the ministry or entering into the ministry. An orderly life portrays an inner stability that is needed for the ministry.
An orderly life must be underneath all of the other things that a person can be respected for and we must be careful that church leaders are not appointed for just a single point of reference. This is the dilemma with hiring anybody for any position let alone a pastoral position. A resume carries the objective evidence of knowledge and contribution as presented by the candidate. The interview will give a brief view of ones manners in a single situation. Calling a reference may get an idea about the quality of their work and maybe their behavior. But it is impossible to know the life of a person, to see if they life in an orderly way.
From my experience I believe this is an important quality. For unless a pastor is hired just to perform like an 8 to 5 employee, it is impossible for the church leader’s life in the church to not merge into their life at home. They become intertwined. If the life of a pastor is chaos so will his ministry and I don’t think it would be possible to effectively shepherd the flock.
This is also a reason for the importance of having multiple church leaders. The needs of the church can very easily cause chaos in a pastor’s life. There is wisdom in having multiple men carrying the specific responsibilities of shepherding the flock.
Hospitable
Hospitable
After a church leader must be respectable he must be hospitable. This was a highly moral characteristic in the bible times. The word is a compound word that means “to love” and “strangers” or combined to have brotherly love towards strangers.
The world is much different today than it was back then. Let’s say you were persecuted to a point that you had to flee from your home. Or if you were commanded by the government to travel to your ancestral homeland to register for the census like Joseph or Mary. What if you became a widow in a foreign land like Naomi or Ruth? Or if your parents were taken into slavery for not paying their debt and you were an orphan. Or maybe you were a traveling teacher like Paul. Where would you go?
Today we would grab our credit card jump in our car and travel to friend or family. We can cover hundreds of miles in day. We can pull out our phone or borrow a phone and get connected with someone. We could even sleep in a car or find a hotel to get by.
But in bible times, there were no credit cards, not cars for transportation or to sleep in, no social programs to walk down town too. No wealth other than what you could carry on your person.
You could find an inn but these were places that you did not want to go. They were extremely expensive, dirty, filled with people behaving in all sorts of immoral behaviors. They were really not even an option for those that were in need of a place to stay.
Hospitality was very important to the christian community and treated as a very high virtue. It is the opening of a person’s home to a guest that you have never known before.
We see this in John’s letters
5 Dear friend, you are acting faithfully in whatever you do for the brothers and sisters, especially when they are strangers. 6 They have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God, 7 since they set out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from pagans. 8 Therefore, we ought to support such people so that we can be coworkers with the truth.
Paul writes of the virtue to the Romans
13 Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality.
It was known as a good work for widows that were to be supported by the church.
9 No widow is to be enrolled on the list for support unless she is at least sixty years old, has been the wife of one husband, 10 and is well known for good works—that is, if she has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the saints’ feet, helped the afflicted, and devoted herself to every good work.
Peter exhorts the church to be hospitable
7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer. 8 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God.
Jesus spoke of the blessing of opening a home
12 He also said to the one who had invited him, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors, because they might invite you back, and you would be repaid. 13 On the contrary, when you host a banquet, invite those who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Hospitality was and is a genuine act of generosity and stewardship of what has been provided to a believer.
In the world we live in today is there still a need for hospitality?
I think so. I was talking with some people the other day about how drop ins and random stops by friends were a good thing. It was OK to have our routine interrupted to be in fellowship with other people. We have “strangers” that travel through town and come into town for various reasons.
What would it look like to have a community of believers willing to open their homes to other believers? It would be good for the church to be less independent, even though we may have the means to stay at hotels and fly through life, maybe just maybe we should slow down and open our homes.
The church leader should be an example of being open, that if needed his home is open to the church and other Christians. There is a level of approach ability that should be seen in the church leader and his homes hospitality.
So we now turn to the last “must be” in Paul’s list.
Able to teach
Able to teach
Teaching is a constant theme through the letters to Timothy over 26 times Paul mentions teaching in some way or another.
Timothy is to charge certain people to not teach false doctrines.
There were people who wanted to be teachers of the law but they didn’t know what they were saying.
They were ideas being spread that were contrary to sound teaching
Paul claims to be a herald and a teacher of the gentiles
He speaks of people following the teachings of false spirits
He encourages Timothy to be nourished by the good teaching he has followed.
He is warned to pay close attention to his teaching
To protect God’s teaching
There are plenty of more ways that Paul will speak on teaching in these letters and if you look closely the scriptures are abundant with scripture that speaks about teaching and truth. but the specific word here is only used twice in all of the new testament in this verse on leaders.
24 The Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient, 25 instructing his opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance leading them to the knowledge of the truth. 26 Then they may come to their senses and escape the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
Both places used this specific word didactic Someone characterized by being able to teach by imparting skills or knowledge; specifically the ability to do it well.
Paul is looking at not someone who has large amounts of information, even though that is important. The word here implies the quality of being able to teach to understanding. Teach to apply and understand. It is more than just standing up in front of people and taking about facts and figures.
When I was in collage I had a class that had the professor that wasn’t able to teach due to some emergency. So they grabbed one of his grad students. His method of teaching was to open the text book and write on the board what was written in the book. That was it. I am not sure if he thought that is it was bigger in harder to read writing that we would understand the material better.
In one sense he was our teacher. He has been assigned. He was really good at the doing the material. But was he able to teach. There were 65 students that took the class. 30 people failed the class and 15 got D’s. only 20 people passed the class. Does this demonstrate one who is able to teach.
It must be more than just rewriting what is already there.
I had another class called quantum mechanics. To this day I am not sure what the class was about. There was something about taking jello with fruit in it and if you threw it, and knew the parameters of the input of the throw then we could predict where the fruit was in the future. I took my first test and was above average for the class. My 20% on the test was a passing grade. I believe that my final grade was in the realm of a 19%. That got me a B plus. Was this man able to teach. Super smart and a leader in his field but only 2 people in a class of 20 had grade that could even be assigned a letter A through F.
It is more than knowing the information so well that you are an expert but no one can pick up what you are putting down.
I had another class and that was state of the art at the time. I would show up in a room with cameras and microphones and a teacher would teach from the Tri-cities to three different campuses including WSU where I was at. I really struggled in the class because there was no way to contact my teacher.
If the only requirement for a church leader in the realm of teaching was just presenting good biblical information, then why don’t we find the best preacher in the world and all watch him on Sunday? Why do we have some one up here Sunday morning? In the day we live, we can watch anyone we want so why sit here and listen to me. Aren’t there better options? Wouldn’t be easier? Less effort. More efficient.
Because, the teaching that Paul speaks of here engages people here in the community of believers.
How can a video from a man 100 miles away that you have never met and will never meet be able to have the effect that Paul points out in chapter 4?
Primary task
1 Timothy 4:6–16 (CSB)
6 If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of the faith and the good teaching that you have followed. 7 But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness. 8 For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. 10 For this reason we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. 11 Command and teach these things. 12 Don’t let anyone despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. 13 Until I come, give your attention to public reading, exhortation, and teaching. 14 Don’t neglect the gift that is in you; it was given to you through prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. 15 Practice these things; be committed to them, so that your progress may be evident to all. 16 Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.
When we look at the interaction with our leaders we should be in community enough that the know what we are going through at some level. They can command and teach. They can watch over you.
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, since they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
Can a man on a video watch over your soul? The new fad that is growing is to create complete virtual churches. It is easier more convenient. You can watch them when ever. These are all true but they remove the the people from your life that are specifically appointed by God to watch over you.
I am not saying that you shouldn’t watch other sermons online, There is great wisdom and teaching that is out there. But can a person live out Hebrews 13:7 online.
7 Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith.
A believer is to carefully observe the the lives of the leaders. To see how it is done. To walk in the paths they have already gone. To be encouraged by the result of what is being preached by a man who is living it out on a daily basis.
The early church was devoted to the apostles teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. I find it very hard to believe that a believer can claim to be devoted to fellowship if you never entertain the company of each other.
God has given gifts and appointment to specific people for the benefit of the church.
11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. 14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. 15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ. 16 From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.
A teacher is gifted for a purpose. Not to get a million likes on social media. Not write books to make money. Not to be resident experts that are aloof from the people. They are given by God for the building up of the church. For us to mature, to fight against human cunning, and so that we can grow into the head. That we can grow into Christ. Being knitted together for his purposes.
The church leader is to teach the truth to the people, personally, and with accountability. In bible times teachers would have been limited to those in a community and a few that would travel from one place to another like Paul. Today we can open our phone and we have access to millions of sermons, pod casts, books, and classes. The warning is that how do you know this teacher is teaching the truth? How do you know they are living out what they preach? How do you know their motives? How do you know that you are not just finding teachers that agree with you? We must be careful in who we listen too and more importantly we must vet everything said against the scriptures. Against the truth of God’s word. The attack by the enemy is hugely focused on leaders teaching false truths.
It is the truth that guides a Godly leader,
Have you ever herd the quip. Those that cannot do, teach and those that cannot teach manage.
That is not possible in the Godly Leader. He must be able to teach the truth and live as evidence of the truth applied to his own life. Wisdom is the application of biblical truth.
It is not an easy task and is to be hard work.
17 The elders who are good leaders are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
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The hard work is for a purpose, it is for God’s purpose and it keep the preacher in the right place, humbly submitted to Christ in the task of teaching the apostles teachings to the people of God.
It is a long endeavor.
15 Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.
It is one that the leader should be convinced and convicted that he has ran well.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Today we looked at three more qualities that the leaders of God’s church are to have and demonstrate in their lives.
They are to be respectable in all areas of their lives but Paul focuses in them having a life that is put together and orderly. This allows the life of the church and the leaders home life to merge and to function together.
The leaders are to be hospitable. Open with their lives and their homes when the time arises and especially when there are time of need.
Leaders are also to be rooted and grounded in the truth of God’s word and must be gifted in being able to teach the people of God.
7 Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith.
But what about everyone else who currently are not leaders. Theses standards that have been laid out for God’s leaders also apply to all believers as Christ is the example. Are we not all expected to work to put our lives and homes in order as our God is not a God of disorder. Are we all called to be hospitable if the time or need arises.
Are we all teachers? In many way we all should aspire to teach in the sense of passing on the truths we have been given but there are those that God has appointed as teachers in his church. But we all should seek the truths of God’s word, seek to hear and learn from godly teachers. And speak these truths to the people around us as we live the lives we have been given.
So Let us be a people who are growing in these areas and we will see God’s hand in our personal lives, our family lives, and our church life.
Let us pray.
Let us pray.
Prayer
Communion
Warning
Children, Lost, Sin
19 And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
27 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Prayer
Song
Closing
Blessing/Benediction
5 Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.
