What I/We Need
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
We’re going to study Paul’s first letter to Timothy (and his second, and his letter to Titus, if we have time). You should know, I don’t just pick books of the Bible at random; I study and I pray in order to determine the specific book we need during each particular season of life in our church family.
I could just pick a book of the Bible at random and I know it would not be a waste or a mistake.
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
I could have picked 1 Timothy at random and we would be well-served. But this I believe: 1 Timothy is the book of the Bible we need at this moment in the life of this local church body.
I need 1 Timothy. We need 1 Timothy.
I need 1 Timothy. We need 1 Timothy.
I’m going to do something a little unconventional this morning. Maybe it’s not altogether unconventional, but it is something different for me. I’m going to confess my pastoral shortcomings (at least the ones I can pinpoint; I’m sure you can identify others).
I have been pastorally lazy. I’m frustrated and tired. I’ve been pastoring from a place of fear and people-pleasing (probably for as long as I’ve been a pastor). There have been seasons when I stretch myself thin and fail miserably, both at home and at work. In my fear and hesitancy to do anything that might upset anyone, I hesitate to do what needs to be done and therefore upset nearly everyone. Even when I’m really trying to do everything necessary, I let people down.
In my role as pastor/elder, I’m good—real good—at keeping the status quo. I can just preach and let everything else stay as it’s been the last several decades; that’s easy. I’m an expert at maintaining what is. What’s difficult is making changes, even when it’s changing non-essential stuff like 30-year-old carpet or lovely orange and green pews. Even changing things that don’t really matter can be tough. Better to heed the sage advice: “Don’t rock the boat.”
Rather than doing, I’ve just kind of given up. I’ve grown tired of trying. Pastorally, I’m fairly timid. I’m scared. I’m very much like Timothy.
Knowing what Timothy was like, Paul writes to him, reminding him:
7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
Knowing what we do about Timothy, for me it’s kind of like looking in the mirror. He’s frail. He’s very human, with all the infirmity and vulnerability that comes along with it.
Timothy is young when Paul writes his letters to him. Paul tells him in chapter 4 not to let anyone look down on him because of his youth. And then, some two years later urges him to flee the evil desires of youth.
Timothy probably joined Paul’s mission team when he was in his late teens or early twenties. So, at the time Paul writes these two letters to ol’ Tim (13-14 years after partnering in the gospel with him), Timothy would be in his mid-thirties.
In the ANE, this was regarded as being still within the limits of youth. And this much is clear: Timothy felt inexperienced and maybe too immature for the heavy responsibility that Paul was laying upon him.
A few years before he writes to Timothy, he urges the Corinthian Christians to put Timothy at ease:
10 When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am.
Timothy needed all kinds of affirmation and encouragement and reassurance.
Timid Timothy. Timid Barrett.
Timothy was also physically ill (this is one area of difference between us; I’m healthy as a horse, a tubby horse, but a horse nonetheless). Timothy suffered from a recurrent gastric problem (awkward). Paul refers to his habitual ailments, which is fun; very nice of Paul to put that into print for everyone to read about for generations and generations. In particular, Paul mentions Timothy’s stomach issues. Paul even writes Timothy a prescription for a little wine:
23 Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
This is the profile of Timothy that we can reconstruct from a few of Paul’s references to him: Timothy was young, self-conscious, and frail.
This should have disqualified Timothy from taking charge of the churches in and around Ephesus. “How can a kid like this lead anything, let alone a church in a major city like Ephesus?”
Timothy’s biography, however sad, kind of makes us like him. It makes us feel not that far detached from this servant of God.
Timothy was needy. And the grace of God was sufficient for his need.
1 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
This is the word I need to hear, the example I need. I need 1 Timothy. I need 1 Timothy as a resource, a guide to help me lead this church and to be a better pastor.
I’ve failed many, if not all, of you, this you well know. If I’ve not failed you yet, I’m sure I’ll get around to it. I’m not what I should be. And I’m not what you deserve. What the future holds is known only to the Sovereign Lord, and I’m trusting Him.
This much is clear: the Lord is raising up men in our local church who, I fully believe, are going to help us move forward; they’re going to help shoulder the burden and carry the load. Some of these men will lead as elders, some will serve as deacons, others will head up ministry teams.
Whatever the future holds, please be in prayer for the men God has raised up and is raising up.
And pray for me, would you? Pray that the Lord gives me strength. I am needy.
I need 1 Timothy. We need 1 Timothy.
I need 1 Timothy. We need 1 Timothy.
I’m grouping myself in with you on this one; I’m not alone.
As a member of God’s family, I’ve been part of a handful of local churches: Greensburg Christian Church from ages 0-17 (the same carpet and pew salesmen that came here pushed their red carpet and orangey-greenish pews on us, too). When I went to college, I attended University Christian Church when I wasn’t preaching at other churches on the weekends. For a couple of years, I preached every weekend at Barnes Christian Church. After graduation, I served as an associate pastor at Grace Community Church in Overbrook. After a few terrible years there, I became a member of and volunteer at Fellowship Bible Church in Gardner, Kansas before coming to Rich Hill to serve as pastor/elder in 2010.
All that to say, I can call 5 different churches ‘home’ at different points in my life. I’m thankful for each church, but let me tell you: each local church I’ve been part of is far from perfect (if for no other reason than that I’ve been involved).
Some of the churches I’ve been part of are stuck and stagnant, caught in a rut; others are growing and vibrant. None of them are what they should be—not one.
This is why we need 1 Timothy.
Paul was expecting to visit Timothy in Ephesus soon, and would then of course, as an apostle, assume responsibility for the churches. But Paul seems to have anticipated the possibility of being delayed, so he sends Timothy these written instructions so that Timothy would know how to regulate and direct the life of the churches:
Paul writes this:
14 Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
And tells Timothy to carry out the most important tasks of a pastor:
13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.
And so Timothy does.
But this is not just a book for Timothy and for others in a similar position. This is not merely a “pastor’s handbook”, though it is that. This is not private correspondence, not private communication. What Paul writes is, by the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit, for God’s people in all times and in every place to read (even that embarrassing bit about Timothy’s digestive habits).
It’s written to Timothy specifically, but Paul looks beyond Timothy to the churches. One clear hint of this is that Paul’s final greeting (the last verse of the book) is plural:
21 which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.
Grace be with you all.
This letter is for us. Paul addresses these six main topics in 1 Timothy. See if any of these are applicable to you, to us, to the church local.
Paul addresses:
The church’s doctrine: how to preserve it, keeping it uncorrupted by false teaching (1:3-20)
The church’s public worship: including prayer, the roles of men and women in the conduct of the church (2:1-15)
The church’s pastorate: eligibility for elders and deacons (3:1-16)
The church’s local leadership: calls for personal godliness (4:1-10), how younger leaders can ensure their teaching is listened to and not despised (4:11-5:2)
The church’s social responsibilities: to widows, elders, slaves, etc. (5:3-6:2)
The church’s attitude toward material possessions (6:3-21)
There is wisdom here for the local church in every generation and in every place. Let no one say the Bible is out of date.
In 1556, one well-known pastor wrote that 1 Timothy was “highly relevant to our own times.” Even now, 463 years after that, it can still be said that 1 Timothy is “highly relevant to our own times.”
For some, this conversation is entirely hypothetical or even imaginary. I'm sure not everyone thinks about how the local church should operate, probably not even everyone in this room.
For some, how the church should operate is just a foregone conclusion because you’ve been a part of one church for most of or all of your life. It’s the water in which you swim. Doubtful many fish think about their fish tank. There are Christians who don’t think much about how their local church operates and why it does the things it does. “It just does. This is how we do it.”
Many people blindly trust that the way things have been done is the way they should be done. There’s is an ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ mentality. If it was good enough for ‘Grandma and Grandpa’ it’s good enough for me.
Please hear me: tradition is just fine. I am who I am and I am where I am because of the living faith of those who have gone before me. My mom and dad, my grandmothers—all major influences on my life and faith. Their faith, their beliefs, their convictions have shaped me.
But, just because Grandma Lindy dressed to the nines and sat in the same pew and sang the same familiar hymns week after week after week for decades doesn’t mean that I must rock a coat and tie and find a pew and put my name on it or sing only songs from a hymnal. A lot of my Grandma Lindy’s faith was admirable and worthy of my emulation. But some of it was personal conviction, not a Biblical mandate.
My Great-Grandma Hazel (we called her ‘Grandma Great’) had a few rock solid, Biblical convictions, namely that you go to church every Sunday, carry your Bible, know your Bible. Because of Grandma Great, my mom memorized at young age the Lord’s Prayer and the 23rd Psalm and knows her Bible well. Grandma Great’s expectations were passed on to me and to my sister. Grandma Great was a great example to generations of my family.
But Grandma Great had some extra-biblical convictions (beliefs not supported by the Bible). For instance, she believed “a preacher has said all he’s got to say in 5 years. After 5 years, it’s time for him to move on.” Silly and not at all Biblical.
Timothy was no doubt thankful for those who had gone before him (Paul mentions Timothy’s mother and grandmother and their faith in Christ which they passed on to Timothy).
We can appreciate our traditions and the faith of those who have gone before us (and we should), but we need not hold on to the past way of doing church as the only way to do church. We need not keep a death grip on that which is merely human invention or personal preference.
We must hold fast to Christ! We must tread unswervingly the path the Bible marks out for us, not the path tradition tries to dictate.
We need 1 Timothy to help us navigate the ins and outs of local church ministry, to settle issues of doctrine and leadership, the church’s social responsibilities, our relationship to material possessions, and a variety of other issues.
Saying, “I need 1 Timothy. We need 1 Timothy” is just another way of saying,
We need the Lord to help us figure out this thing called church.
We need the Lord to help us figure out this thing called church.
And what we have is the Triune God who meets all our needs.
In the first two verses of Paul’s first letter to Timothy, we read:
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
2 To Timothy my true son in the faith:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul speaks as an apostle, a special representative of the Triune God. It’s essential for every pastor to hear these instructions (I need 1 Timothy).
All the issues that arise in the churches Timothy is pastoring are not confined to one place and time. Sin continues to rear its ugly head in Christ’s Church. There is much for the local church to consider and work through. 1 Timothy is essential for every follower of Christ (We need 1 Timothy).
All of us need to know what God has said about how we relate to Him and to one another in the church. The fact that God chose to include this letter in the Bible means it is relevant for every child of God.
1 Timothy is God’s Word to all of us; 1 Timothy is what we need at this point in the life of the church.
We must change in keeping with God’s Word. They have to. We cannot be content with how things are. We cannot be content to play church while the larger percentage of our community will spend eternity separated from God.
If we love our tradition and our way of doing things more than we love the person out there who doesn’t know Jesus, we have lost our way. We have missed our purpose. We have traded our commission for comfort.
This is going to be hard. Real hard. I’ve been doing ministry the same way in the same place for 9 years. I absolutely refuse to change core beliefs and biblical convictions. I will not stop preaching/expositing God’s Word. I will forever hold forth the exclusivity of salvation in Jesus Christ.
But our way of functioning as a church has to change. It has to. I cannot keep going the way I have been. We cannot keep going the way we have.
I'm hopeful that the Lord will use this study in 1 Timothy to light a fire, to raise up new leaders, to breathe new life into this local church.
Timothy needed to hear at the outset of the letter what he had been given for his great need and the great need of the church he served. This is what he heard from Paul in the first few sentences:
WE HAVE A SAVIOR
WE HAVE A SAVIOR
Did you notice how God is referred to in verse 1? God our Savior.
The God Timothy serves, the God we serve is the saving God of the Bible. This is where all our confidence rests; not in ourselves, not in our programming, not in our planning, not in our vision, not in our leadership.
All our confidence rests in the God who saves. Salvation, from beginning to end, is from God. Our deepest need is met by God our Savior. The deepest need of each person is met by God our Savior. This, we must never forget, never neglect, never ignore, never stop preaching.
WE HAVE HOPE
WE HAVE HOPE
1 Timothy is filled with hope. The letter deals with a lot of difficult issues, but it’s chalk-full of gospel hope.
Right there in the first verse of this letter, we’re reminded, amid the difficult and thorny issues discussed in the letter, that Christ Jesus is our hope!
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
Without a doubt, the Holy Spirit intends for us to dwell on the hope that is ours in Christ because of Christ’s death and resurrection.
Our local church has faced hard times before and we’re at a crossroads here and now. We’ve said goodbye to several members, faithful leaders, pillars of the church—men and women who supported this church, who gave sacrificially of their time, talents, and money. We have reverted to the safety of what we know and what we’ve “always done.” We’re kind of stuck. We’re in a rut.
But there’s HOPE! Jesus Christ is alive. This is His church. He is with us. He sits at God’s mighty right hand interceding for His Church. He will never leave us or forsake us. He will, like a Good Shepherd, be our guide and our protector. We simply need to follow His lead.
WE HAVE GRACE, MERCY, AND PEACE
WE HAVE GRACE, MERCY, AND PEACE
This is what we need as a family, this is what binds us together: our common share in grace, mercy, and peace.
Grace is God’s kindness to the guilty and undeserving. Mercy is His pity on the wretched who cannot save themselves. Peace is His reconciliation of those who were previously alienated from Him and from one another.
All three—grace, mercy, peace—issue from the same spring. All three, gifts from God. God deals with His people with grace, with mercy, with peace.
What better way to relate to one another in the church than with grace and mercy and peace?! These we’ve received from God should mark our relationships with one another.
The Triune God has gifted His people with all three in abundance. Let us use all three—grace, mercy, and peace—in abundance.
_______________________________
Lord, we need you. What all this boils down to is our deep and abiding need of You. Your Word speaks, and we are thankful. Your Church will endure, and we are thankful. Would we, members and attenders of Rich Hill Christian Church, hold fast to you, not to our way of doing things. Help us to be a people on mission, telling others about Jesus, about the hope and salvation we have in You.