
Lets Talk About the Pastor (1 Timothy 1:1-6)
- "Talking about people," one pastor has said,
"is a great sport. Its a popular sport because you can play
and be the umpire at the same time. You can even make your own rules
if you like. Just mind whose field youre on when you play. Your
rules on someone elses home field make for an ugly game"
-
- when Sir Winston Churchill was in the twilight of his
career, he attended an official function
- a couple of rows behind him, two people whispered to
each other:
- "Theres Churchill. They say hes failing
badly"
- "So Ive heard. They also say hes becoming
quite senile"
- at the close of the session, as Churchill was leaving,
he leaned over to speak to his two detractors, and said, "They
also say hes hard of hearing"
-
- people also talk about the pastor
- I think Ive told you about the pastor who visited
a home for lunch and asked the little boy whats for lunch
- the son replied, "Goat"
- the pastor said, "Are you sure?"
- and the little boy replied, "Yep. I heard Dad
say, Lets have the old goat for dinner today"
-
- were going to talk about the pastor tonight,
as we begin to look at one of the pastoral epistles 1 Timothy
- theyre called pastoral epistles because theyre
addressed to the pastors of churches to Timothy in Ephesus, and
to Titus, the pastor of Crete
- open your Bibles to 1 Timothy as we set the stage for
this epistle
-
- THE AUTHOR is the apostle Paul
- (1 Timothy 1:1) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by
the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
- Paul sets an example of assertiveness in verse one
- he says he is an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command
of God our Savior and Christ our hope
- Paul is Gods personally chosen ambassador, and
is not shy in listing his credentials, knowing that some who would read
this letter would question his authority
- right away, Paul seems to be telling Timothy, "People
oppose me. Theyre going to oppose you. But Im here by Gods
command, and so are you. Regardless of what they say about me, "Im
here as an apostle of Christ by the command of God"
- "Expect detractors to criticize you but
keep on obeying your commander"
-
- most likely, Paul wrote this letter from Macedonia
after the events in the book of Acts
- it was likely written sometime between AD 62-66
-
- THE CHURCH was in Ephesus, some 400 miles from Macedonia
- it was a city devoted to the worship of Diana, the
patroness of sexuality
- Paul founded this church, as we read in Acts 19
- and we read about this church in Revelation 2 some
thirty years later
- by that time, it wasnt a healthy church
-
- THE RECIPIENT is Timothy
- we first meet Timothy in Acts 16
- Paul was impressed by Timothy, and made him an intern
on his missionary journeys
- he seems to have been impressed by this young man,
and sent him to Ephesus to lead the church there while he moved on to
Macedonia
- Timothy was evidently a gifted man, close to the apostle
Paul and yet a man who probably had some physical problems and
a tendency to get discouraged
-
- and THE PURPOSE of this book is to encourage and
charge Timothy in his role as a church leader
- Timothy was there as an apostolic representative
probably not as the pastor and yet many of the principles are
transferable to pastors and all of church leadership
- Paul wrote this book to encourage Timothy, but also
to explain how a church should be managed
- it is a book that re-enforces his authority as a servant
of God
- it outlines, as we will see, the main responsibilities
of those who provide oversight in the church
- specifically, it outlines these two:
- FIRST, that leaders defend Christian truth from distortion
or perversion
- SECOND, that leaders maintain spiritual discipline,
so that Christians mature in their faith and become obedient disciples
of our Lord
-
- an advertisement appeared in a London newspaper:
- Men wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter
cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return
doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success.
- thousands of men responded because the ad was
signed by the noted Arctic explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton
- Warren Wiersbe says that if Jesus Christ had advertised
for workers, his announcement might have read something like this:
- Men and women needed for difficult task of helping
to build my church. You will often be misunderstood, even by those working
with you. You will face constant attack from an invisible enemy. You
may not see the results of your labor, and your full reward will not
come till after your work is completed. It may cost you your home, your
ambitions, even your life.
- and yet theres not a better way to spend your
life than serving God, and youll never find a better master
-
- why are we studying this book?
- because its crucial for us to know how the church
should be managed
- and because everyone here is either a church leader
or under church leadership, its crucial for everyone to understand
what a church leader should be
- what pastors and deacons will look like, and how they
should act
- were going to study in this book some important
topics, such as prayer, gender in church leadership, the care and protection
of pastors, and Christianity in the workplace
-
- but for the rest of this evening, lets talk about
the pastor
- lets talk about three indispensable characteristics
that Paul mentions for the pastor in verses 3 to 7 of 1 Timothy 1
- THE FIRST INDISPENSABLE: CERTAINTY OF LOCATION
- (1 Timothy 1:3) As I urged you when I went into Macedonia,
stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach
false doctrines any longer
- in verse 3, Paul seems to indicate that he had been
with Timothy in Ephesus, but had left him
- there is a hint in verse 3, when Paul says "stay
on", that Timothy might have wanted to move
- but Paul tells him to stay where he is until his calling
there is done
- Timothy has a job to do there to command certain
men not to teach false doctrines any longer
-
- a few years ago, there were wildfires in Riverside,
California, that destroyed many acres of trees, including some homes
- after the fires were put out, the fire fighters were
searching through the rubble for victims
- they found a man deceased, of course
who seemed to have broken every bone in his body
- the strange thing was that this man was completely
outfitted in scuba diving gear
- a scuba diver in the midst of a deadly fire? it was
a mystery
-
- heres what happened
- the forestry department uses specially equipped airplanes
that swoop down to lakes and scoop up thousands of gallons of water
which they can then take and dump on the blaze
- theyre called superscoopers
- this poor man was in the wrong place at the wrong time
- he surfaced from his dive just as a plane came and
scooped up water with him in it, and took him miles away and dumped
him onto a burning house
-
- a pastor must be sure that he is not at the wrong place
at the wrong time
- Paul writes to Timothy, "Stay there so that you
can teach
"
- rather than being a pastor-at-large, Paul encouraged
Timothy to stay where he was so that he could fulfill his task
- H.B. London writes in The Heart of a Great Pastor:
- When God sends them, modern Moseses must willingly
go to tough places. Check two realities we seldom discuss:
- There are not enough easy assignments to go around.
- Most desirable places were difficult until a previous
pastor loved the church into greatness. Face it few Camelots
exist in the ministry.
- This means that ministers must sink their roots where
the Father providentially places them
Pastors must commit to
stay in an assignment until God gives them a genuine spiritual breakthrough
or a clear-cut release. Many pastors need to become enthusiastic
naturalized citizens of the place where they serve until they are used
by God to establish a flourishing ministry.
- Paul would say to pastors, I think, "Stay where
you are. Accomplish the task given to you. Dont look for greener
grass. Dont stay too long either, but dont view your current
church as a stepping stone. Bloom where youre planted. Fulfill
your charge where youre located."
-
- the second indispensable characteristic of a pastor
is found in verse 3 and 4
- THE SECOND INDISPENSABLE: CONFIDENCE IN VOCATION
- (1 Timothy 1:3) As I urged you when I went into Macedonia,
stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach
false doctrines any longer
- (1 Timothy 1:4) nor to devote themselves to myths and
endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work--which
is by faith.
-
- the British are great at the patronage system
- the story goes that for over twenty years, an attendant
stood at the foot of a stairway leading to the House of Commons
- at last, someone checked, and they discovered that
the job had been held in the attendants family for three generations
- it seems that it originated when the stairs had been
painted, and the grandfather had been assigned to a patronage position
to warn people not to step on the wet paint
- the paint dried up, but the job didnt
-
- a pastor doesnt just hang around the church because
he has a job there
- Gods Word tells a pastor what his job is
- the pastor is there to guard against truth and decay
entering the church
- Paul writes, "command certain men not to
teach false doctrines any longer"
- take a stand against the spread of erroneous teaching
- according to Paul, Timothys position is an authoritative
one he has the right to call people to account and to correct
any false teaching that might be apparent within the Ephesian congregation
-
- everything in the life of a church stands on biblical
truth
- someone writes, "Without gospel truth, what we
call worship blurs into entertainment or emotional catharsis
a feel good experience at church. Without truth, teaching/preaching
becomes either ear-tickling or guilt-provoking. Ignore the truths of
Gods grace and teaching becomes legalistic. Instead of experiencing
freedom from guilt Christians are crushed, overwhelmed by feelings of
worthlessness. Without truth, what is called evangelism/making disciples
degenerates to anything that will draw a crowd"
-
- this is serious
- in an age that underplays doctrine in favor of practicality,
Paul says to correct false teaching
- stop people from devoting their attention to myths
and endless genealogies speculation about things not grounded
in the truth
- at the time, some of the Jews had developed an imaginative
rewriting of some of the genealogies and accounts of the Old Testament
all speculative
- it is even possible that some began to view this deeper
type of knowledge as necessary to their salvation
-
- the whole problem with these types of things, Paul
says, is that they promote controversy, rather than Gods work
- the term used for Gods work can be translated
"Gods saving plan his redemptive purposes throughout
history"
-
- instead of focusing on somebodys hair-brained
teaching, focus on the bedrock of truth Gods Word
- dont follow the latest fads, or get your theology
from the "New Books" section of the Christian bookstore, or
even worse, from Chapters
- open the Word of God, make it your textbook
- when you preach, Timothy, put one finger in the air
and another one on the text, and when the finger in the air gets tired,
trade but always keep one finger in the text as you preach and
as you teach
- correct false teachers, and do it with confidence and
authority thats your job
-
- we read in verse five the third indispensable characteristic
of a pastor
- THE THIRD INDISPENSABLE: CLARITY OF VISION
- (1 Timothy 1:5) The goal of this command is love, which
comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
- (1 Timothy 1:6) Some have wandered away from these
and turned to meaningless talk.
-
- Paul told Timothy to command certain people not to
teach error
- why? did Paul want Timothy to gloat in winning an intellectual
battle?
- no
- the goal was love in the church
-
- although Pauls command was about correcting error,
it has a far deeper purpose: the purpose of establishing love instead
of contention
- Ive known Christians who are so zealous for truth
that they have no love left
- they just want to win
- but remember: truth without love destroys; love without
truth deceives
- love is the mark of Christians
- Jesus said:
- (John 13:35) By this all men will know that you are
my disciples, if you love one another."
- (Matthew 22:37) Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.'
- (Matthew 22:38) This is the first and greatest commandment.
- (Matthew 22:39) And the second is like it: 'Love your
neighbor as yourself.'
- (Matthew 22:40) All the Law and the Prophets hang on
these two commandments."
-
- where does this love come from?
- Paul tells us: a pure heart, a good conscience, and
a sincere faith
- is your heart pure? are you nursing judges? are you
longing for things that are shameful?
- should you ask God to purify your heart today?
-
- do you have a good conscience? are you sensitive to
wrong attitudes?
- Paul tells us later in this letter that some people
have had their consciences seared as by a hot iron
- have you become so hardened that it doesnt other
you at all to put someone else down, to gossip, or to be dishonest?
- is your faith sincere?
-
- do you have a sincere faith an unshakeable conviction
of salvation?
- if you dont have a pure heart, a good conscience,
and a sincere faith, then no matter how hard you try, you wont
have love
- it will be a fa�ade
- without love, the church will be nothing more than
a collection of proud, spiritually impotent people who just want to
keep up appearances
- and my job is to keep this goal of Christian love in
view
-
- so pastor, be certain of your location be sure
that youre serving exactly where youre supposed to be
- dont long to be someplace else
- maintain confidence in vocation be completely
convinced that you know what God has called you to do, and do it
- and maintain a clarity of vision be precise
in your purpose
- keep the church on track, moving toward the goal given
in Scripture
-
- now lets talk about you
- I can only do what God requires if you let the pastor
be the pastor
- Jesus said very clearly:
- (John 13:20) I tell you the truth, whoever accepts
anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who
sent me."
- it is a serious thing to reject the messenger the Lord
has sent
- if you refuse to receive the instruction and guidance
of a pastor, you had better be absolutely certain that the Lord didnt
send him
-
- this isnt a ploy to give me all the power and
authority
- but I do want to ask you: can you accept and support
what Gods Word here in Timothy says about pastors and church leaders?
- if so, I want you to pray for me and ask God to use
me as your pastor to help you in your Christian growth and obedience
Adapted from a message by John Crocker