Sermon Tone Analysis

I’m sure you have all heard the phrase that something was functioning as “a well-oiled machine”

Usually that phrase refers to some system that is functioning optimally.

People were doing their jobs, tasks were being accomplished, and there were no hangups in the process.

Not long ago I purchased a project truck to fix up.

It had a bad oil pressure sensor that needed to be replaced.

This sensor is critical for the truck to know if the engine was receiving sufficient oil.

If an engine does not get the oil it needs, it starts making a lot of extra noise.

It pings, it ticks, rattles, it knocks.

It starts having problems firing as it should, and begins running less efficiently.

Oil serves to both lubricate and cool the engine parts.

Without that oil, the parts begin to rub, they begin to stick, and they get damaged.

The added heat warps parts, turns the oil that is left into sludge, and eventually the entire engine will grind to a halt, being completely seized up.

Because of the damage that is caused, the only real solution is to replace the engine.

On the other hand.

If the engine is well-oiled, the moving parts will glide with very little friction.

The oil lubricates and cools, and the engine can accomplish its designed task.

With regular maintenance, a well oiled engine can last for many many years.

God has given instructions for his church that, if followed, will keep her functioning as a well-oiled machine as she accomplished her God-given design.

But what is that design?

What is the church, and what is it that she is to be doing?

This morning we are going to take a brief departure from the book of Judges to consider a passage from the NT.

The name of our Church is Pillar Fellowship.

Have you ever considered “Why that name?”

This sermon is the answer.

If you would open your Bibles 1 Timothy 3. The first 13 verses of the chapter outline the qualifications of elders and deacons within the church.

These are to be men of high moral character.

Above reproach, sober-minded, self-controlled, etc.

What we learn from the text that we will examine today, is that God has given these leaders, and these qualifications, in order to show forth how the church of God should function.

These things are to be in place because of what the church is.

How we behave as God’s church is directly related to what the church is.

Because of what the church is and because of the mission of the church, the leaders are to function in these ways.

So what is the church?

What is her mission?

Let’s read our text for this morning.

Paul begins this paragraph after laying out the qualifications of the elders and deacons, letting Timothy know the reason why is he writing these things.

In many way, this paragraph serves as the purpose statement for the entire letter.

This is why Paul is writing.

He desires to come and teach, but these things are simply too important for him to wait to communicate.

Have you ever had a piece of information so important or so pressing that you wanted to share it with someone that you just couldn’t wait to tell it to them in person so you gave them a phone call?

In Paul’s day, there was no telephone.

No telegraph.

No email.

No text messaging.

If you wanted to communicate with someone you had to show up in person or send a letter.

Paul knows that he has critical information for the health of the church, but since he doesn’t know exactly when it is that he will be able come, he writes this letter to communicate this vital information about the qualifications of the leadership of the church among other things.

Why is it important to know these things?

Paul says “I write these things to you, so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself.

Paul wants his readers to know particular information, and that particular information ought to impact how they behave, how they conduct themselves.

He uses the word ought.

How one ought to conduct himself.

It is necessary to live this way.

These aren’t suggestions, nor recommendations.

This isn’t just information and you can take it or leave it.

There is moral weight to these things.

There is significance to these things beyond simply helpful information.

Paul then goes on to give three descriptions of what the church is.

He says the church is the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and support of the truth.

We need to pause to ask “why?”

Why does Paul give all these analogies about what the church is?

What Paul needs us to see is the connection between what the church is and how that must impact how we conduct ourselves.

Who you are impacts what you do.

This is why the issue of identity is such a crucial issue.

If you don’t know who you are and why you exist, you will struggle.

This is true of companies.

Studies have shown that companies that are clear about who they are and why they are in business have the most success.

This is true of individuals.

Those who have a clear sense of identity and purpose are the most well-adjusted.

Furthermore, the identity you embrace will impact your behavior, for good or ill.

You as an individual are made in the image of God.

You were created to be his representative on the earth and proclaim the glory of God.

If you are in Christ, your identify should be found in him.

When we embrace who we are in Christ, that will have a tremendous impact on how we live.

This is true of churches.

When we first set out to launch Pillar Fellowship, I realized that I desperately needed to have a good handle on biblical ecclesiology, or the study of the church.

If I was going to plant a church, I needed to know what I was planting.

As I studied, this passage was instructive and we ended up naming the church Pillar Fellowship from this text.

Churches must be clear on who they are, as that will set the stage for how they live.

It is that connection that Paul wants us to make.

Who you are impacts what you do.

So, Paul says I’m writing these things because they are too urgent to wait until I come, and I write them so that as you consider what the church is, it will impact how you behave.

What is the church?

First, we are the household of God, and as such, we are to embody the truth, relationally.

As God’s household, we embody the truth, relationally

Scripture often speaks of Christians as brothers and sisters in Christ.

When we receive Christ, we become Children of God.

We are adopted into God’s family and given all the rights and privileges thereof.

As God’s children, we are called to relate to each other as a family.

There are dozens of one-another passages and commands in Scripture.

Each one of those assumes that something is true: that we are in relationship with one another and spend time with one another.

You cannot sacrificially love, serve, edify, and encourage those whom you never see.

I’m confident that each of us have experienced some level of familial dysfunction.

When these occur it is always painful and challenging to navigate.

Sin is always damaging to relationships.

God knew that and provided instructions for how husbands are to relate to their wives, wives to husbands, children to parents and parents to children.

We we return to the Word of God, we find all the instruction that we need to healthy family relationships....if we are willing to humble ourselves and live according to it.

The same is true for God’s household.

Just as sin can mess up family relationships, sin can mess up church family relationships.

Just like we might be tempted to strive for our own agenda’s in our family, we are tempted to strive for our own agenda with our church family.

The antidote to this is to live Gospel-empowered, Gospel-infused, and Gospel informed lives.

A church family will be tempted to slide into dysfunction over things that really don’t matter in the long run, just like a natural family.