Let’s Talk About the Pastor

Let’s Talk About the Pastor (1 Timothy 1:1-6)

"Talking about people," one pastor has said, "is a great sport. It’s 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 you’re on when you play. Your rules on someone else’s 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:
"There’s Churchill. They say he’s failing badly"
"So I’ve heard. They also say he’s 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 he’s hard of hearing"
people also talk about the pastor
I think I’ve told you about the pastor who visited a home for lunch and asked the little boy what’s for lunch
the son replied, "Goat"
the pastor said, "Are you sure?"
and the little boy replied, "Yep. I heard Dad say, ‘Let’s have the old goat for dinner today’"
we’re going to talk about the pastor tonight, as we begin to look at one of the pastoral epistles – 1 Timothy
they’re called pastoral epistles because they’re 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 God’s 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. They’re going to oppose you. But I’m here by God’s command, and so are you. Regardless of what they say about me, "I’m 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 wasn’t 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 there’s not a better way to spend your life than serving God, and you’ll never find a better master
why are we studying this book?
because it’s crucial for us to know how the church should be managed
and because everyone here is either a church leader or under church leadership, it’s crucial for everyone to understand what a church leader should be
what pastors and deacons will look like, and how they should act
we’re 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, let’s talk about the pastor
let’s 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
here’s 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
they’re 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. Don’t look for greener grass. Don’t stay too long either, but don’t view your current church as a stepping stone. Bloom where you’re planted. Fulfill your charge where you’re 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 attendant’s 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 didn’t
a pastor doesn’t just hang around the church because he has a job there
God’s 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, Timothy’s 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 God’s 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 God’s work
the term used for God’s work can be translated "God’s saving plan – his redemptive purposes throughout history"
instead of focusing on somebody’s hair-brained teaching, focus on the bedrock of truth – God’s Word
don’t 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 – that’s 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 Paul’s command was about correcting error, it has a far deeper purpose: the purpose of establishing love instead of contention
I’ve 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 doesn’t 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 don’t have a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith, then no matter how hard you try, you won’t 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 you’re serving exactly where you’re supposed to be
don’t 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 let’s 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 didn’t send him
this isn’t a ploy to give me all the power and authority
but I do want to ask you: can you accept and support what God’s 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

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Let’s Talk About the Pastor (1 Timothy 1:1-6)

Adapted from a message by John Crocker