Big Idea: We Need Men of Godly Character to Shepherd the church

Transcription

1 Please Note: the sermon notes were prepared prior to preaching and are not a word for word transcript of the sermon. Text: 1 Tim. 3:1-7, Date: Aug. 10, 2014 Titus 1:1-10 Series: Eldership IV Needed: Men of Godly Character for Godly Work, Pt. 2 Note: the partnership of men with the Holy Spirit, and the grace of God that enables and empowers us to pursue these Godly Character traits Last week: One, It is a godly work that requires godly men Two, We need godly men who desire the work Three, We need godly men who are pursuing godliness Four, We need godly men who display godly character We Need Godly Men, o He Is Blameless, (Over-arching Character quality) o He is temperate, self-controlled o He is prudent, wise and thoughtful o He is respectable, dignified So, By the Grace of God poured out on him, and in submission to the Holy Spirit, He is striving to be Godly and Blameless in his personal Character We want this morning to finish off looking at the Godly Character Qualities, 1 Tim. 3, and Titus 1 1

2 One: 3:2b, We Need Godly Men, who are Skilled to Minister Notice what it says in 3:2, again: The elder must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate sober minded of good behaviour, hospitable, able to teach: What Paul is saying is this: He must be blameless in his personal character, and then he adds two skills onto the list The elder is to be hospitable And the elder is to be able to teach Notice that these are not character qualities, because ungodly people can be both hospitable and good teachers Instead these are skills that he has developed, and desires to use for ministry, for shepherding So, first he is to be hospitable o It means that he is a good host o It means that he has developed the skill in opening his home and welcoming people in to share his time, his table, and his life with them o The dinner-table is a great facilitator of fellowship o The dinner-table is a great way to get to know people & minister to their lives Jesus is, of course the perfect example of this, o it was he as the good host that got up from the table and attended to his guests feet, the disciples feet o Remember also how many times Jesus used time around the table to teach and lead his disciples So, why don t we do it? o We re afraid people will make a mess they do! o We re afraid our stuff will get broken it does! 2

3 o We re afraid that people will see us as we really are, and that s the point! o When we have people into our homes they have the opportunity to see how we live, what s important to us o Having people into our homes and sharing a meal together is the most natural way to shepherd the sheep Your bible study group Other families in the church Other women in your home for a cuppa tea or coffee, for a chat, for prayer-time, Other men, around the fire, over a coffee, whatever ministering the word and life to each The Shepherd of the Church is to be hospitable o Women, be hospitable to other women o Men, be hospitable to other men o Men who are shepherding the church, use your homes as a means of fellowshipping and shepherding the sheep in your care Secondly he is able to teach o That phrase able to teach, has the added meaning of apt to teach, or skilful in teaching. o The elder-shepherd is a skilful communicator of truth. o He is a faithful communicator preaching, meaning to proclaim or herald teaching, meaning to explain and unfold exhorting, meaning to incite or encourage o He is able, skilful to open the scriptures and teach them o Paul elaborates on this skill, in Titus 1:9, saying that the elder is one who is 3

4 o holding fast the the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine, both to exhort, and convict those who contradict o In 2 Tim. 3:16-4:5, Paul adds to this all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching The shepherd is to be one who is skilful to teach o But, here s the thing: skill takes time to develop o That requires of us the listeners: patience o That also requires of the shepherd: prayer, practise, work, effort, time, study skills don t develop overnight o Being skilful to teach also greatly requires the grace of God in enabling a man to impart biblical, spiritual truth o Skill of Communicating the Bible is God-Centred skill o It is the Spirit of God that Provokes the man to study to show himself a workman that does not need to be ashamed Calls the man to teach the word of God Gives man the words to say Empowers him to speak those words, and Opens the hearts & minds of men/women to hear the word of God proclaimed and taught 4

5 o The Shepherd must be able and skilful to teach, because basic shepherd work is feeding sheep o Feeding sheep is a constant, if you don t feed them, no sheep to care for o Jesus the Good Shepherd, is the best example: he taught them, he preached the good news to them, he engaged in discussion with them, he illustrated the truth with parables We Need Men, empowered and enabled by the Holy Spirit to develop and use the skills for ministry Two: 3:3, We Need Godly Men, who are Filled with the Spirit Notice what Paul says in 3:3, he says: The elder must be, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. not greedy for money, Gentle and Peaceable These Character qualities are reflective of what we find in Galatians 5, which speaks about the Believer walking and living by the Spirit of God The elder shepherd must not be given to the deeds or desires of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21) o Not Addicted to wine, that s drunkenness o Not Pugnacious or Violent, that includes bullying, verbal abuse, angry shoving & pushing o Not Greedy for Money, that s looking for selfish gain, or even dishonest gain. 5

6 o These are obviously not all the deeds of the flesh that are listed in Galatians, but they are illustrative of the list that s given there The elder-shepherd must also show the fruit (sing.) of the Spirit in his life (Gal. 5:22-26) o He is to be gentle, he is to be kind, tolerant, courteous, yielding to one another o He is to be peaceable, means exactly what it says he has a desire for peace, he works to maintain and when necessary to restore the unity of the church body o Some versions use: Not quarrelsome opposite of peaceable, always in an argument What both of these mini-lists show us is that the elder shepherd is man o who is not given to the desires or deeds of the flesh o He is actively putting to death the deeds of the flesh o He is filled with the Spirit of God o He is actively submitting himself to the Spirit of God o He is responding when the Spirit of God calls him to repent, to act, to pray etc. o He is bearing the fruit (sing.) of the Spirit in His life And Not Just the Shepherd o This applies to all of us o The shepherd & sheep are called to do the same thing, o But, Shepherds have the added responsibility of modelling for the rest of us how it is we do it. The Shepherd as we said last week is to be pursuing Godliness 6

7 The Man of God, in submission to the Spirit of God is pursuing, in every area of his life, Godliness, Christlikeness And Once Again we can see that Jesus is the Perfect example of these character qualities o Jesus Christ was filled w/ Spirit of God, (at his Baptism) o Jesus Christ was led by the Spirit of God, (into the wilderness to be tempted) o Jesus Christ was certainly spoke all that God gave him o Jesus sent the Spirit to remind us of all things he said o Jesus was accused of being wine-bibber - not drunkard, o Jesus became angry, yet he was not a violent man o Jesus was certainly not greedy for money, dishon st gain o Jesus Christ was certainly Gentle and Peaceable Jesus, Our Good Shepherd modelled for us how we are to live, in every detail. Three: We Need Godly Men, who are Leading their Families Well Notice what Paul says to Timothy in 3:2, then 4, o The elder-shepherd must be the husband of one wife o He must manage his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity Notice also what he says to Titus in Titus 1:6, o If any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe What Paul is talking about is that the Shepherd of the church is ruling, or managing his own home well. The word that Paul uses for management is leadership He leads his home 7

8 The other thing to keep in mind from a historical/cultural perspective is that in those days a man s household included his entire estate o His wife His children o His servants and slaves employees o His property and business were included as household o In other words he manages his affairs well. So first of all there is his devotion to his wife. o Paul says he is a one-wife man o In order to be a One Wife man, there must be a wife o Some would say that it is not necessary that an eldershepherd be married, but that if He is married, he is devoted to that One Woman it s a Healthy Marriage o Opinion: I believe that it is important that an eldershepherd be married (even Paul shared his opinion) o There is a tempering that happens to a man within marriage, o his character becomes less rigid, more flexible o There is also the practical element of his ability to give Godly, wise, practical, experienced, council to married couples with whom he is counselling In my own personal experience of being in Elder-Lead churches for over 30 years when it came to elders the ones that were the most balanced, and approachable, and fair, were those that were married. o I must add that it is not mandated within scripture Paul himself was a single man, he was not an elder, he was an apostle different gifts 8

9 The Elder must have a solid healthy marriage (Eric P.) The Elder s home is to be a reflection of Paul s commands in Ephesians 5:25-27 o Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church o Jesus Christ is once again the perfect example of how to shepherd sheep: o He gave Himself for Her Commitment even to death He sanctified Her He set her apart totally for himself o He presented Her to Himself as a Bride in all her glory Second there is discussion with regard to his children o 1 Timothy 3 having his children under control, with all dignity o Titus 1:6, Having children who believe who are faithful, Not accused of dissipation or rebellion First thing we want to consider is must the elder have children? Strictly speaking the answer is no, he is not biblically required to have children That s not the sense of either text. The sense is that if he has children, then they are: o In 1 Timothy, under control o Titus, believing or faithful Secondly, the elder s children, must they be believers? o Why does he comment in Titus 1:6, but not 1 Tim. 3, considering the lists are so alike o There is a difference of context in the two texts: 9

10 o In 1 Tim. 3, I am convinced that we have the case of younger children that are at home, and are living under the authority of their father They are to be under control, with all dignity That means that he has them under control, in a dignified manner he s not controlling them in an emotionally or physically abusive manner o In Titus, he is referring to older children that are not necessarily living at home how do I get that? o Paul tells Tim. to appoint episkopos, Overseers o Paul tells Titus to appoint presbuteros, Elder, older man o A presbuteros, an elder in Greco-Roman culture was typically over the age of 65 (Make your own App.) o Notice also the phrase that we have translated as believing children, can also be translated as: having faithful children tekna exown pista Matt. 24:45, who then is the faithful servant 1 Cor. 4:2, moreover it is required of stewards that they be found faithful o 3 out of 4 major Greek Lexicons translate the term as obedient or faithful, or believing. o Notice also that phrase is qualified by the next phrase, o not accused of dissipation or rebellion o The idea behind these two words is undisciplined, debauchery, drunkenness 10

11 So the elder s children are to be faithful and obedient to their parents and not under the accusation of a reprobate, drunken, debaucherous lifestyle It makes no sense to have the claim made that his children are believers that are living a lifestyle that is totally in contradiction to the influence of the Holy Spirit. So the answer to the question is: Elders w/ young. Child. must have them under control w/ dignity Elders with Children that are older must have them as obedient, or faithful/obedient to their parents, and not under the accusation of living a lifestyle abandoned to ungodliness The Elder-Shepherd has shown, by his rearing of obedient, faithful kids that he is exercising Godly control in the home So the point here is this: We need godly men to shepherd the sheep in this church We need Godly men, devoted and faithful to their wives We need Godly men, devoted and faithful to their families We need men who have raised their children and those children are living in faithfulness to their parents: We need Godly men that are striving in the power of the Holy Spirit to lead their wives and families in a Godly way. Men, How are You doing in your Home? Are you/we loving our wives, giving ourselves for them Are you/we loving and leading our Kids, shepherding them? Whatever failures the past holds, make a commitment today, right here right now, to start Loving and Shepherding your Family 11

12 Recap We Need Men who are Skilled to Minister, o Hospitable and Teaching the Sheep We Need Men who are Filled with the Spirit, o not Given to the Desires of the Flesh We Need Men who are Leading their Families Well Two Final Characteristics (briefly) 3:6, We need godly men with experience Notice what he says in 3:6, he is not a new Convert The simple explanation of this is that the Elder-Shepherd has walked with the Lord He has been pursuing Godliness for a time He has shown by his track-record that he is steady, he is consistent, he is faithful, during good times and bad times, that he loves the Lord and that he Loves the Sheep Given a position of setting an example to the sheep, if he is young in his faith, he will quickly become conceited Wish I could unpack this some more, but is a fairly simple standard that Paul has set 3:7, We need godly men, recognised by the world Conclusion: The Work of the Shepherd is a very difficult one o Caring, Leading and Restoring God s People o Walking With God s People through the dark Valleys o Comforting them and Feeding them o Setting them an Example it s a great work 12

13 The Work of Shepherding Requires Godliness o Men Women, Young & Old, who are Pursuing Godliness o Devoted to Jesus Christ, Fearing the Lord, o Following the Lord no matter where He Leads o Living in Submission and Obedience to the Holy Spirit The Work of Shepherding Requires a Heart for God o Humble b4 God, knowing that without Him I m Nothing o Contrite in Spirit B4 God, knowing the wickedness of my sinful heart and knowing what Jesus has done to set me free o Trembling at the Word of God, what it means for my Life, and what it means for the Lives of All God s People o Loving the Sheep Knowing: w/o Love all ministry is irritating Noise Knowing: w/o Love all knowledge is Useless Knowing that w/o Love all the sacrifices I make leaves me useless and worthless The Work of the Shepherd requires Godly Men who are displaying Godly Character Qualities o 1 Timothy 3, and Titus 1 - o Character qualities, not Gained by human effort alone o Character qualities, engraved into us by the Holy Spirit working with our desire and pursuit for Godliness o As I pursue Godliness, devoting myself to Jesus Christ, to becoming more like Him, the Holy Spirit imparts the power and greater desire to continue pursuing 13

14 There is so much more we could say about Eldership, and Shepherding, about the Character Qualities of Elder s wives, about Deacons and their wives, etc The Main thing that I have wanted to impart for all of us to challenge us all to is to be striving and pursuing Godliness, striving to be more like Jesus, striving to Love the Lord and Love His Sheep Those two basic points will in turn drive everything else along that we looked at Let s Pray 14