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A Prescription for Pastoral Health · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: As Christians who follow Christ, the words we proclaim in
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Speaker 1: our churches must come from the living God. What we
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Speaker 1: speak in church should not be an echo of human words.
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Speaker 1: As wise and intelligent as human opinions may be, the
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Speaker 1: church isn't guided by the thinking of any fallen human being.
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Speaker 1: Remember that. And by the way, that includes the pastor.
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Speaker 1: Christ alone is the head of the church. Our thinking
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Speaker 1: should be shaped by a study of scriptures, by God's thinking.
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Speaker 1: Nowhere else can we find such an authentic voice. Leaders
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Speaker 1: in the church would do well to remember that. My
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Speaker 1: Bible is open now to the fifth chapter of 1 Timothy.
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Speaker 1: I'll be reading verses 17 through 25, and powerful verses
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Speaker 1: they are. I'll begin reading at 1 Timothy chapter 5,
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Speaker 1: Verse 17. The elders who rule well are to be
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Speaker 1: considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard
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Speaker 1: at preaching and teaching. For the scripture says, you shall
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Speaker 1: not muzzle the ox while he is threshing, and the
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Speaker 1: laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not receive an
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Speaker 1: accusation against an elder except on the basis of two
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Speaker 1: or three witnesses. those who continue in sin, rebuke in
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Speaker 1: the presence of all, so that the rest also will
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Speaker 1: be fearful of sinning. I solemnly charge you in the
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Speaker 1: presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His
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Speaker 1: chosen angels to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing
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Speaker 1: in a spirit of partiality. Do not lay hands upon
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Speaker 1: anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins
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Speaker 1: of others. Keep yourself free from sin. No longer drink
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Speaker 1: water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake
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Speaker 1: of your stomach and your frequent ailments. The sins of
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Speaker 1: some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment.
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Speaker 1: For others, their sins follow after. Likewise also, Deeds that
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Speaker 1: are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise
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Speaker 1: cannot be concealed. We're studying the book of 1 Timothy,
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Speaker 1: and we have just about completed the fifth chapter. I
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Speaker 1: thought recently how good it would be if the church
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Speaker 1: had a handbook to turn to. I know we've got
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Speaker 1: the Bible. I realize we've got the New Testament, but
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Speaker 1: I think how wonderful it would be to have an
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Speaker 1: index that where listed alphabetically would be all of the
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Speaker 1: questions that anybody would have, all of the answers anybody
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Speaker 1: would need, all of the issues that we would want addressed,
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Speaker 1: all of the conflicts and how to solve them. I'll
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Speaker 1: tell you, we could sell several million of those things
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Speaker 1: before the week was over if we had such a handbook.
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Speaker 1: You know, some companies have handbooks like that. They get thicker,
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Speaker 1: it seems, as time goes on. They provide the policies
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Speaker 1: for employees to follow. given situations. I know in the
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Speaker 1: military the same is true. It isn't long after you
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Speaker 1: have enlisted that you're given a handbook for that particular
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Speaker 1: branch of service and if you have any questions in
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Speaker 1: whatever category of interest that particular handbook will address the
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Speaker 1: questions and the answers are there for you to choose.
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Speaker 1: But there is no such handbook for the church. Part
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Speaker 1: of the reason is that the ministry is not a business,
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Speaker 1: the ministry is a family. And there's no such thing
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Speaker 1: as a family handbook. There are scrapbooks, but there are
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Speaker 1: not handbooks on what to do in a given situation.
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Speaker 1: You are required as the brother or the sister or
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Speaker 1: the mother or the father to operate on the basis
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Speaker 1: of wisdom. You need wisdom much more than you need intelligence.
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Speaker 1: to have a great family. You need grace much more
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Speaker 1: than you need rules and regulations to live happily in
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Speaker 1: a family. That's certainly true in a church. Perhaps the
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Speaker 1: closest we come to any handbook would be the two
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Speaker 1: letters Paul wrote Timothy and the one letter he wrote Titus.
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Speaker 1: In these three letters, which are appropriately tagged pastoral letters,
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Speaker 1: we find a listing of many of the practical areas
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Speaker 1: that come under discussion in the local church. Let me
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Speaker 1: show you, for example, in sort of a survey, some
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Speaker 1: of the categories that are found in, we'll limit our
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Speaker 1: thoughts to the book of 1 Timothy. Let me show
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Speaker 1: you a couple of categories in each one of these
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Speaker 1: six chapters. To begin with, we have been given in
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Speaker 1: chapter 1 some warnings against dangerous instruction. Chapter 1, verse 3,
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Speaker 1: for example, as I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia,
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Speaker 1: remain on at Ephesus in order that you may instruct
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Speaker 1: certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay
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Speaker 1: attention to myths and endless genealogies which give rise to
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Speaker 1: mere speculation rather than furthering God's provision which is by faith.
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Speaker 1: And drop down to verse six. Some men straying from
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Speaker 1: these things have turned aside to fruitless discussions. Why? They
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Speaker 1: wanted to be teachers of the law, even though they
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Speaker 1: do not understand either what they are saying or the
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Speaker 1: matters about which they make confident assertions. There's a category
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Speaker 1: of warnings against false teachers in this letter. If you
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Speaker 1: go a little further on, you notice in verse 18
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Speaker 1: a comment regarding objectives and goals. In fact, before you
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Speaker 1: get over to verse 18, go back to verse 5.
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Speaker 1: You'll see it very clearly stated. The goal of our
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Speaker 1: instruction is love from a pure heart and a good
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Speaker 1: conscience and a sincere faith. If you ever wonder what
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Speaker 1: the goal of the ministry is, all you need is
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Speaker 1: to turn to chapter 1, verse 5 of 1 Timothy.
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Speaker 1: The goal of our instruction is love, a good conscience,
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Speaker 1: and sincere faith. And then over to verse 18, Timothy
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Speaker 1: is commanded, My son, I command, I entrust to you,
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Speaker 1: in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that
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Speaker 1: by them you may fight the good fight, keeping faith,
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Speaker 1: And he repeats, and a good conscience, which some have
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Speaker 1: rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. So
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Speaker 1: this letter provides, among other categories, some goals and objectives.
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Speaker 1: Not only are we to be people who have our
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Speaker 1: instruction based on love, good conscience, and a sincere faith,
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Speaker 1: but we're to stay in the fight. We're to keep
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Speaker 1: the faith with a good conscience. When you get over
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Speaker 1: to chapter 2, we're provided some priorities for ministry. Look
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Speaker 1: at verse 1. I urge, first of all, that there
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Speaker 1: be entreaties and prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be made on
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Speaker 1: behalf of all men, for kings and for all who
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Speaker 1: are in authority. Look at verse 8, still on the priorities.
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Speaker 1: I want men every place to pray, lifting up holy
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Speaker 1: hands without wrath, and dissension. This is a letter that
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Speaker 1: reminds us of the top priority in ministry and that's
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Speaker 1: time spent in prayer. The gospel is also addressed in
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Speaker 1: chapter 2. Look at verse 3. This is good and
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Speaker 1: acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who desires
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Speaker 1: all men to be saved and to come to the
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Speaker 1: knowledge of the truth for there is one God And
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Speaker 1: one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus.
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Speaker 1: Now this is the good news. David Hubbard of Fuller
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Speaker 1: Seminary said, The good news is so good that all
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Speaker 1: other news, good or bad, is irrelevant. It's a great statement.
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Speaker 1: The good news of Jesus Christ is so very good
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Speaker 1: and powerful, all other news, no matter how good or
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Speaker 1: bad it may be, is really irrelevant. I don't know
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Speaker 1: of a clearer verse on the gospel than verse 5
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Speaker 1: of chapter 2. One God. One go-between. The man, Christ Jesus,
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Speaker 1: who gave himself a ransom for all. The gospel is
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Speaker 1: a part of what is addressed in this handbook for
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Speaker 1: the church. When you get to chapter 3, obviously you
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Speaker 1: have qualifications for elders in the first seven verses. Qualifications
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Speaker 1: for deacons. in verses 8 through 13. They're all laid
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Speaker 1: out there for us. And before we've taken a breath
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Speaker 1: from that chapter, in chapter four he immediately gets into
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Speaker 1: the signs of the last days the spirit explicitly says
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Speaker 1: in later times some will fall away from the faith
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Speaker 1: so the good thing about this handbook is it takes
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Speaker 1: away the shock of living in our generation no one
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Speaker 1: should suck in his or her breath when they hear
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Speaker 1: of someone shipping the faith It's exactly what God said
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Speaker 1: would happen. It's a sign of later times that some
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Speaker 1: will fall away from the faith. But they won't simply
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Speaker 1: fall into a vacuum. They will fall into, well, what
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Speaker 1: does it say? Deceitful spirits, doctrines of demons, by means
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Speaker 1: of the hypocrisy of liars, seared in their own conscience
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Speaker 1: as with a branding iron. And Timothy is told to
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Speaker 1: grow up in those times. Verse 11 of chapter 4,
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Speaker 1: he's told to prescribe and teach these things. And look
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Speaker 1: at what else he's told. Verse 12, don't let anyone
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Speaker 1: look down on your youthfulness. We've chuckled together about the
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Speaker 1: fact that Timothy was probably in his late 30s. And
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Speaker 1: Paul calls him youthful. That's a marvelous fact. The longer
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Speaker 1: I live, the more the late 30s seem a terribly
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Speaker 1: young experience in life. Let no one look down on
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Speaker 1: the fact that you're young. There's nothing wrong with being youthful.
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Speaker 1: There's something terribly wrong if you are growing older but
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Speaker 1: you're not growing up. What people have a right to
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Speaker 1: look down on, as far as the leader is concerned,
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Speaker 1: is immaturity, not youth. Youth is an advantage. Immaturity is
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Speaker 1: quite the contrary. Let no one look down on the
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Speaker 1: fact that you're youthful, but rather be a model. In speech,
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Speaker 1: manner of life, love, faith, purity, show yourself an example
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Speaker 1: of those who believe. So chapter 4 closes with a
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Speaker 1: strong statement of encouragement to Timothy to keep growing up.
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Speaker 1: Great tendency in the Christian life, especially for Christian leaders,
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Speaker 1: is to level off. Is to reach a plateau where
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Speaker 1: you have just enough knowledge to be dangerous. Then you
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Speaker 1: put it into action. Just enough experience to be known
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Speaker 1: as a statesman. And then you level out. But this
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Speaker 1: verse says, keep growing, keep growing, Timothy. Don't stop. Don't
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Speaker 1: neglect the gift within you. Now, we've already seen in
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Speaker 1: chapter 5 the passage that has to do with treating widows.
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Speaker 1: That's in verses 3 through 16. And 17 to 20
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Speaker 1: is how to treat elders well. who need to be reproved.
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Speaker 1: I'm glad that category is not overlooked in this handbook.
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Speaker 1: There's counsel for the rich and the poor in chapter 6,
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Speaker 1: verses 9 and 10, and there's encouragement to keep on
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Speaker 1: in verses 11 through 20. We'll get to that in
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Speaker 1: time to come. Helpful for Christians at times to take
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Speaker 1: an overall look at the book or at various books
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Speaker 1: of the Bible. Every once in a while, I'd take
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Speaker 1: the time to simply read through all chapters of a
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Speaker 1: book without stopping. Just start to finish. Don't do a
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Speaker 1: deep study. Don't even take out a pencil and piece
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Speaker 1: of paper to write down thoughts. Just read through the letter.
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Speaker 1: In fact, one of my mentors had the habit of
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Speaker 1: taking a book a month. And he would read through,
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Speaker 1: let's say, one of the letters of Paul for 30 days.
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Speaker 1: wouldn't write anything down, wouldn't do any kind of in-depth study.
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Speaker 1: He would just read, as in this case, all six
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Speaker 1: chapters of 1 Timothy. He said at the end of
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Speaker 1: those 30 days, two things automatically happened. His Bible automatically
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Speaker 1: opened to that particular section that he had been reading.
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Speaker 1: And second, he automatically anticipated what was coming. And he
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Speaker 1: found he could think his way through that book before
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Speaker 1: the end of that month had come. I recommend that
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Speaker 1: same discipline to you, that you read through a whole
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Speaker 1: book on occasion just to get the overall picture. Now,
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Speaker 1: you and I are looking at chapter 5, and in
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Speaker 1: this chapter, there are some warnings. For example, the minister
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Speaker 1: is warned on how to deal with older men who
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Speaker 1: need to be reproved. You don't just sort of tighten
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Speaker 1: your belt and wade into it if you have wisdom.
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Speaker 1: Verse 1 says you don't rebuke an older man sharply. Why?
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Speaker 1: Because you are to appeal to him as a father.
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Speaker 1: So there is a warning against simply taking on individuals
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Speaker 1: as the spiritual leader regardless of their feelings. When you
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Speaker 1: deal with an older gentleman in the congregation, you are
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Speaker 1: to deal with him with dignity. He may be out
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Speaker 1: of line, but that does not give you the green
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Speaker 1: light to cut him down to size. Certainly not publicly.
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Speaker 1: He is to be dealt with as a father. Now,
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Speaker 1: when you deal with younger men, it says in verse 1,
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Speaker 1: you can deal with them as brothers. I don't know
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Speaker 1: how it was in your family, but when we dealt
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Speaker 1: with our father, it was altogether different than when my
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Speaker 1: sister and I dealt with our brothers. That's another story.
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Speaker 1: I'll tell you, I won't get into it right now,
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Speaker 1: but we had a great nickname for my older brother.
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Speaker 1: It was Hitler. And that tells you a little bit
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Speaker 1: about our relationship. It's marvelous that you finally outgrow those
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Speaker 1: sibling battles and rivalries that go on. I am so
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Speaker 1: glad that as we grow up, we are able to
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Speaker 1: forgive and forget. I remember my sister blew her nose
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Speaker 1: on my clarinet mouthpiece one time, and I thought I
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Speaker 1: would never, ever forgive her of that. I've forgiven her
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Speaker 1: of it. I have. I thought about that when Paul
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Speaker 1: mentioned the guy that blew his nose. So it doesn't
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Speaker 1: mean I've totally forgotten, but I've forgiven her for doing that.
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Speaker 1: When you deal with your brother, you deal with him
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Speaker 1: much differently than when you deal with your father. Now,
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Speaker 1: the older woman, look at verse 2. you're to handle
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Speaker 1: as a mother. And once again, there's dignity there. There's
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Speaker 1: a sense of respect in coming to terms with an
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Speaker 1: older woman. And Timothy, I don't care if you live
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Speaker 1: to be 50, 60, 70, 80 years, and you have
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Speaker 1: been in the church at Ephesus 40 years, you still
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Speaker 1: treat the older woman with gentleness as you would treat
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Speaker 1: your mother. And then the younger woman as a sister.
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Speaker 1: And written between the lines are some wonderful warnings. Now,
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Speaker 1: in verses 3 to 16, he talks about the widow.
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Speaker 1: And he's warning the Timothy in between the lines, don't
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Speaker 1: operate on the basis of emotions. See, the great tendency
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Speaker 1: on the part of the leader when it comes to
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Speaker 1: the widow is to just sort of unload the treasury.
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Speaker 1: Just inadvertently give them the stores. And Timothy is told
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Speaker 1: by Paul, wait a minute. There is a way to
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Speaker 1: view widowhood in the church. And we looked at this
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Speaker 1: carefully last time. He says it's not an emotional issue.
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Speaker 1: It is to be handled in this manner. One, two, three, four.
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Speaker 1: Sort of black and white. And then he comes to
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Speaker 1: that very delicate section on the elder who is accused.
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Speaker 1: See verse 17, chapter 5. He says, let the elders
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Speaker 1: who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially
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Speaker 1: those who work hard at preaching and teaching. Then he
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Speaker 1: quotes verses to back that up, verse 18. Then he
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Speaker 1: says this in 19. Don't receive an accusation against an
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Speaker 1: elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses.
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Speaker 1: That's a very important warning. Some churches... and I'm glad
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Speaker 1: this is not one of them. Some churches are pastor killers.
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Speaker 1: Some churches are leader killers. They simply are a group
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Speaker 1: of ornery sheep who don't want to be led. They
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Speaker 1: want to do the leading, and they are marked by
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Speaker 1: splits and fights and a spirit of rivalry, and they
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Speaker 1: are They are quick to bring accusations against the leadership.
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Speaker 1: And Timothy might have had a pocket of people in
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Speaker 1: his church like that. Paul tells him very wisely to
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Speaker 1: don't listen to every whim of criticism. If something is
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Speaker 1: said against one of the leaders of the church, Timothy,
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Speaker 1: make sure, make sure that it's on the basis of
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Speaker 1: two or three witnesses involved. then if there's a continuance
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Speaker 1: in sin, here's what you do. And he warns him
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Speaker 1: on how to follow through. Now, in that delicate context,
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Speaker 1: suddenly some things are sifted through that are neither black
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Speaker 1: nor white. They're gray. I call them not commands but hints.
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Speaker 1: And here we are again, left without a rule book.
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Speaker 1: But I want you who love black and white to
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Speaker 1: understand that not everything in the New Testament is so arranged.
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Speaker 1: It would be wonderful if it were. I don't know
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Speaker 1: that it would be that wonderful. Come to think of it,
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Speaker 1: it would never grow up. We would simply follow rules,
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Speaker 1: and children can do that. But here we're faced with
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Speaker 1: a passage of Scripture that leaves the details up to
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Speaker 1: you and to me. Let me read for you what
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Speaker 1: I'm talking about. Verse 21. I solemnly charge you in
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Speaker 1: the presence of God and of Christ Jesus Christ, and
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Speaker 1: of his chosen angels, I call that serious, lest you
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Speaker 1: think the gray areas are really kind of off the
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Speaker 1: cuff or unimportant, look at that charge. Timothy, I charge
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Speaker 1: you in the presence of God and Christ and the
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Speaker 1: angels to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in
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Speaker 1: a spirit of partiality. The first gray area is a
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Speaker 1: practical one that has to do with partiality. We're going
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Speaker 1: to come back in a minute and untie those knots
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Speaker 1: in that verse. Timothy, I charge you, be careful about partiality.
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Speaker 1: Now this calls for objectivity. Remember that. Next verse. Do
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Speaker 1: not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thus share
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Speaker 1: responsibility for the sins of others. This is an ecclesiastical matter.
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Speaker 1: The first one is a practical matter. It has to
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Speaker 1: do with guarding against a spirit of partiality. The second
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Speaker 1: is a church matter, and it has to do with
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Speaker 1: laying hands too suddenly on someone. And that calls for discernment.
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Speaker 1: We'll look at that again in a moment. Third, keep
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Speaker 1: yourself free from sin. That's a personal matter. It's a
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Speaker 1: spiritual matter. It's not black and white. He doesn't give
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Speaker 1: him a long list of do's and then a long
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Speaker 1: list of taboos. He says simply stay pure. And the
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Speaker 1: man is left up to his judgment. It calls for sensitivity, okay?
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Speaker 1: The first issue, the practical one, calls for objectivity. The
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Speaker 1: second one having to do with laying on of hands
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Speaker 1: calls for, what do we say, discernment. This third issue
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Speaker 1: having to do with keeping oneself free from sin calls
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Speaker 1: for sensitivity, caution. And fourth, look at verse 23. No
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Speaker 1: longer drink water exclusively for But use a little wine
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Speaker 1: for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.
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Speaker 1: This is a physical matter, and it calls for self-control.
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Speaker 1: That's in verse 23. Now, when you go through that
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Speaker 1: little section, you see that it's not all spelled out
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Speaker 1: for you. You're left to intuition, discernment, thought. Objectivity, sensitivity.
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Speaker 1: And men and women, it is those things that cut
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Speaker 1: away at the leadership of a church. It isn't that
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Speaker 1: leaders can't follow instructions. We can do that. It's that
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Speaker 1: when we are given the responsibility to do what is wise...
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Speaker 1: In the gray areas, we fail at that, and we
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Speaker 1: need not. Now let's go back. In each case, we
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Speaker 1: don't have to spend a long time on each one,
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Speaker 1: but we do need to spend a little time. Look
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Speaker 1: at verse, again, verse 21, the practical matter of partiality. Okay?
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Speaker 1: I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and
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Speaker 1: Christ and the angels. You'll see a similar charge in
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Speaker 1: chapter 6, verse 13. And in 2 Timothy 4.1, he
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Speaker 1: says similar words. Only three times in Paul's writing does
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Speaker 1: he charge in this manner. So he says to this pastor,
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Speaker 1: maintain these principles. What principles? The ones we just looked at.
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Speaker 1: Chapter 1, chapter 2, 3, 4, and on into chapter 6.
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Speaker 1: Maintain these principles. How? Without... Bias. Guard against being biased.
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Speaker 1: The Greek term means to judge ahead of time. To
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Speaker 1: judge before the fact. Remember seeing the symbol of justice?
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Speaker 1: Surely you do. She's blindfolded. She has a scale in
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Speaker 1: her hand. And she cannot make an external judgment. She
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Speaker 1: simply has to weigh the facts and determine on the
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Speaker 1: basis of the facts. She can't look. She can't take
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Speaker 1: a peek ahead of time and set her mind in
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Speaker 1: a certain direction. She, as it were, blindly listens to
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Speaker 1: the evidence and then determines what is truth and what
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Speaker 1: is error, what is right and what is wrong. Timothy
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Speaker 1: is told much the same thing. Ideally, Timothy, have a
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Speaker 1: ministry that is unbiased. That's the negative part of it.
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Speaker 1: The positive side says, do nothing in a spirit of partiality.
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Speaker 1: Just as it is wrong to treat some folks as
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Speaker 1: though they could do no wrong, it is wrong to
26:20
Speaker 1: treat other folks as though they could do no right.
26:26
Speaker 1: This term, translated partial, means leaning in favor, inclining to
26:33
Speaker 1: the side of another to support him. Timothy, don't do that.
26:40
Speaker 1: Remember when you were in school and there was a
26:43
Speaker 1: teacher that you had who selected a certain student and
26:48
Speaker 1: liked that student more than anybody in the class? Remember
26:52
Speaker 1: the term you gave that student? Sure you do. It's
26:57
Speaker 1: called a teacher's pet. And it's wonderful if you're the pet.
27:02
Speaker 1: But if the other kid is the pet, it's the
27:05
Speaker 1: pits to have somebody else selected as the one who
27:10
Speaker 1: can do no wrong. She's given special favors. She's usually,
27:14
Speaker 1: or he is usually very bright and always punctual and
27:18
Speaker 1: always clean and neat and tidy and always keeps the
27:20
Speaker 1: ink well covered and never carves on the desk and
27:25
Speaker 1: All those crazy things that certain students choose to do.
27:28
Speaker 1: He says, don't have church pets. Timothy. Ever been in
27:37
Speaker 1: a church where the pastor had pets? Then you don't
27:41
Speaker 1: have to have this explained. This causes some ministers to
27:47
Speaker 1: keep aloof of all the parishioners. Lest he play favorites.
27:55
Speaker 1: to a few. It is extremely difficult, but it's nevertheless
28:01
Speaker 1: necessary that the leader of the congregation be objective. I
28:07
Speaker 1: ran across this statement recently. The well-being of every community
28:12
Speaker 1: depends on impartial discipline. If you substitute the word church,
28:18
Speaker 1: it would apply to us. The well-being of every church
28:22
Speaker 1: depends on impartial discipline. discipline. When you run too thick,
28:29
Speaker 1: too close with one group as the pastor, you lose
28:34
Speaker 1: your objectivity toward that group and you, even though you
28:39
Speaker 1: don't realize it, start playing favorites. They can easily become
28:45
Speaker 1: your pets. Timothy, guard against that loss of objectivity. That's
28:52
Speaker 1: what verse 21 is teaching and it's so important He
28:55
Speaker 1: is solemnly charged in the presence of God and Christ
28:59
Speaker 1: and the chosen angels. Now then, there's an ecclesiastical matter
29:05
Speaker 1: in verse 22. Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily.
29:14
Speaker 1: There is one of two ways we could take this verse.
29:18
Speaker 1: He could have in mind the case of reinstating someone
29:22
Speaker 1: who has wandered. Let's say the elder mentioned earlier in
29:28
Speaker 1: verses 17 to 19, or 19 and 20, who has
29:30
Speaker 1: been accused and the accusation is true and he has
29:32
Speaker 1: continued in silence. verse 20 concludes he is to be
29:43
Speaker 1: rebuked in the presence of all so that the rest
29:46
Speaker 1: may be fearful of sinning now that brother turns around
29:52
Speaker 1: and comes back into fellowship to be reinstated as a
29:57
Speaker 1: part of the membership The fellowship of the church. Timothy,
30:02
Speaker 1: guard against putting your arms around him too hastily and
30:08
Speaker 1: thrusting him into leadership. Just hold off for a little while.
30:14
Speaker 1: How long? It's gray. No one can give you a timetable.
30:21
Speaker 1: It would be so easy if Paul had simply said
30:24
Speaker 1: two months and then you're free. But you're left with intuition.
30:30
Speaker 1: You're left with judgment. You're left with that which makes
30:35
Speaker 1: a leader a leader. That sixth sense, the time is right.
30:41
Speaker 1: But clearly, we are not to too hastily wrap our
30:47
Speaker 1: arms around them and put them right back into leadership. Now,
30:50
Speaker 1: the other way of viewing it is in the case
30:52
Speaker 1: of selecting new leadership. I don't know which one is
30:57
Speaker 1: in Paul's mind, probably the former rather than the latter,
31:00
Speaker 1: but it applies to selecting leadership. Let me return to
31:07
Speaker 1: the thought of the family. How quickly do you feel
31:11
Speaker 1: comfortable with your daughter selecting a mate for a husband
31:18
Speaker 1: to join the family? I have a feeling that you'd
31:22
Speaker 1: like her not to rush into that. I have a
31:25
Speaker 1: feeling I am being listened to right now by some
31:28
Speaker 1: ears of some parents who've had some long evening talks
31:34
Speaker 1: with some daughters over this quick selection or even some
31:40
Speaker 1: sons as they are reaching out, perhaps being led into marriage.
31:45
Speaker 1: And you're a little concerned that they're acting too hastily. Why? Why?
31:51
Speaker 1: You know why. That person's going to become a family member.
31:55
Speaker 1: That person's going to get all the rights and prerogatives
31:58
Speaker 1: and privileges of your family. And you've spent years seasoning
32:04
Speaker 1: and training your son or daughter for this life. And
32:09
Speaker 1: suddenly you see that offspring of yours moving quickly into
32:14
Speaker 1: talk of marriage, and you're uneasy. You don't want them
32:18
Speaker 1: to lay hands suddenly. See, here again is family talk.
32:23
Speaker 1: If you will always remember that the church is a
32:26
Speaker 1: family and not a business, it'll help you. That's why
32:31
Speaker 1: things are done differently in a church than in a business.
32:36
Speaker 1: It isn't that we don't have good business principles, and
32:39
Speaker 1: we must, but at the heart, at the nucleus of
32:42
Speaker 1: a ministry that's vibrant and in touch and relevant, there's
32:46
Speaker 1: the thought of family, not business. When it begins to
32:51
Speaker 1: represent a business, you're moving away from the biblical model.
32:57
Speaker 1: Since these people are becoming family members, watch out. Go slowly. Think.
33:03
Speaker 1: It has been my observation that one of the characteristics
33:06
Speaker 1: of youth in leadership is an impulsive spirit. That's why
33:12
Speaker 1: congregations are often uneasy when they are candidating pastoral staff possibilities.
33:20
Speaker 1: And the man is young. It isn't that they look
33:24
Speaker 1: down on the youth. They're just not sure he will
33:28
Speaker 1: act wisely or as is common for the youth to
33:33
Speaker 1: act impulsively. Now, so much for that warning. I think
33:39
Speaker 1: you got it. Verse 22. Verse 22 also includes in
33:43
Speaker 1: the last part, keep yourself free from sin. In fact,
33:49
Speaker 1: the verb tense suggests keep on keeping yourself. It speaks
33:54
Speaker 1: of a track record of purity. Track record. The leader
34:01
Speaker 1: of the assembly, and in this case it's Timothy, is
34:06
Speaker 1: not to traffic in sin. If he does, he forfeits
34:09
Speaker 1: the right to lead. Something happened in the history of
34:14
Speaker 1: the late Jim Jones. Something happened when the man, an
34:20
Speaker 1: effective leader for a period of time, began to traffic
34:25
Speaker 1: in impurity and he wasn't stopped. And someone didn't pull
34:31
Speaker 1: on his coattail and say, Jim, that's far enough or
34:35
Speaker 1: that's wrong. And by and by, he had a group
34:39
Speaker 1: of people that began to rewrite the color scheme. And
34:42
Speaker 1: he could say wrong was okay and they would nod
34:46
Speaker 1: wrong is okay. No one is immune from that tendency. Now,
34:53
Speaker 1: that's an extreme illustration. But the passage says, nevertheless, we're
34:58
Speaker 1: to keep ourselves free from sin. I've thought about that.
35:03
Speaker 1: How do I do that? I'm a sinner. You're a sinner.
35:11
Speaker 1: How do I keep myself free from sin? You know
35:18
Speaker 1: what I think? I believe the answer in great measure
35:24
Speaker 1: is tucked away in Romans 12 through 15. You can
35:31
Speaker 1: turn if you like. I'm not going to turn to it.
35:33
Speaker 1: Romans 12, 13, 14, and 15. I read that section
35:39
Speaker 1: again just three days ago and I walked into my
35:44
Speaker 1: secretary's office and I said, Helen, I want I just
35:49
Speaker 1: want to say this to somebody, and since you're the closest,
35:51
Speaker 1: I'll say it to you. I believe that the wisdom
35:56
Speaker 1: of Romans 12 through 15, and by then she is
35:59
Speaker 1: already nodding her head in agreement, that the wisdom of
36:02
Speaker 1: those four chapters is sufficient to keep the leader pure.
36:09
Speaker 1: If you'll simply obey it. The wonderful thing about Romans
36:12
Speaker 1: 12 through 15 is that it doesn't just talk about
36:15
Speaker 1: your life. It talks about the believers around you. It
36:20
Speaker 1: talks about doing that which builds up one another. It
36:23
Speaker 1: talks about the weaker brother. And it shakes a finger
36:27
Speaker 1: at you and says to you who are strong leaders. Now,
36:29
Speaker 1: don't just live like you're free to do whatever you
36:32
Speaker 1: want to do. You've got a body of people around you.
36:37
Speaker 1: May I, at the risk of overworking the analogy, remind
36:41
Speaker 1: you of the family? If you have little children who
36:44
Speaker 1: are watching you, it does something to your behavior. If
36:48
Speaker 1: it doesn't, you're weird. You're really tough. Little children who
36:56
Speaker 1: watch their daddies and their mothers are absorbing their lifestyle.
37:02
Speaker 1: And they're learning what they too can do. I heard
37:07
Speaker 1: about a man who sat through a church service and
37:10
Speaker 1: then on the way home, he fussed about the sermon
37:14
Speaker 1: and he fussed about the traffic and he fussed about
37:17
Speaker 1: the heat and he fussed about the lateness of the
37:21
Speaker 1: meal being served. And then after it was served, the father,
37:25
Speaker 1: this man, bows and has this great prayer. And his
37:29
Speaker 1: little boy has been watching him all the way through
37:32
Speaker 1: this episode, post-church experiences. And he said, Daddy, just as
37:37
Speaker 1: they were beginning to pass the potatoes and gravy and meat,
37:40
Speaker 1: he says, Daddy, did God hear you when we left
37:45
Speaker 1: the church and you started fussing about the sermon and
37:48
Speaker 1: about the traffic and about the heat? Father sort of
37:51
Speaker 1: blushed and said, well, yes, son, he heard me. Well, Daddy,
37:55
Speaker 1: did God hear you when you just prayed for this
37:58
Speaker 1: food right now? He says, well, yes, son, he heard me. So, Daddy,
38:02
Speaker 1: which one did God believe? The fact is, God believes both.
38:13
Speaker 1: When you've got little children watching you, it has an
38:16
Speaker 1: impact on your purity, doesn't it? Friends in the family,
38:24
Speaker 1: we've got children watching us. Now, our encouragement is to
38:31
Speaker 1: say to the weaker brothers and sisters, grow up now.
38:35
Speaker 1: Now grow up. We don't want to keep you little children.
38:39
Speaker 1: Understand that you must stand on your own two feet
38:41
Speaker 1: and we can't be the model of everything. But in
38:44
Speaker 1: the meantime, we'll adapt our liberty so that it leaves
38:48
Speaker 1: room for you to grow. And we won't live like
38:53
Speaker 1: we don't have kids around us. Keeping yourself free from
38:57
Speaker 1: sin is not just obeying the Ten Commandments. Okay? Okay?
39:03
Speaker 1: It's having a sensitive spirit. And here again, it's not
39:06
Speaker 1: black and white. It's having the wisdom to know what
39:11
Speaker 1: to say and what to do and how to act.
39:15
Speaker 1: Especially when you're on public display. You must be careful
39:22
Speaker 1: how you operate in public. That's not hypocrisy. That's all
39:31
Speaker 1: part of the life of liberty. You're freed by grace
39:39
Speaker 1: to put that control on yourself. And you're wise if
39:43
Speaker 1: you do. By the way, this isn't limited to pastors.
39:48
Speaker 1: Hold on here and go to 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 12. 5, 12.
39:54
Speaker 1: 1 Thessalonians 5, chapter 5, verse 12. But we request
40:05
Speaker 1: of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor
40:09
Speaker 1: among you. Now, this is obviously not talking about the
40:12
Speaker 1: leader himself, but the congregations. And they have charge over
40:16
Speaker 1: you in the Lord and give you instruction that you
40:18
Speaker 1: esteem them very highly in love because of their work.
40:21
Speaker 1: Live in peace with one another. Now watch carefully. This
40:24
Speaker 1: is a series of instruction to the congregation. And we
40:27
Speaker 1: urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the faint-hearted, help
40:33
Speaker 1: the weak. Be patient with all men. That's part of
40:37
Speaker 1: keeping yourself free from sin. See that no one repays
40:41
Speaker 1: another with evil for evil. But always seek after that
40:45
Speaker 1: which is good for one another and for all men.
40:49
Speaker 1: Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything, give thanks. Look
40:55
Speaker 1: at 21. Examine everything carefully. Hold fast to that which
41:02
Speaker 1: is good. See, while examining, you determine this is good. Okay,
41:06
Speaker 1: hold on to that. Let the other sift through. That's
41:11
Speaker 1: not necessary. You don't need that. But hold on to
41:13
Speaker 1: what's good. Keep reading. Abstain from every form of evil,
41:19
Speaker 1: even the appearance of it. Now, again, I'm not able
41:28
Speaker 1: to give you a list. There is no list for that.
41:33
Speaker 1: You're left to your own personal decision before God. And
41:42
Speaker 1: that allows you to grow up. Now look at verse
41:46
Speaker 1: 23 back in 1 Timothy 5. I was at a
41:49
Speaker 1: restaurant in Massachusetts a number of years ago. And I'll
41:53
Speaker 1: never forget as we sat down, my wife and I,
41:55
Speaker 1: to enjoy a delicious meal together. There was a wine
42:00
Speaker 1: list sitting on the table. And I'd never seen before
42:04
Speaker 1: on the front of a wine list a verse of scripture.
42:06
Speaker 1: But 1 Timothy 5, 23 says, appeared on this wine list.
42:12
Speaker 1: Do not drink water exclusively, but use a little wine. Dot, dot, dot.
42:18
Speaker 1: And there was not the rest of the verse. It just,
42:21
Speaker 1: you know, there it was for you to claim a
42:25
Speaker 1: verse and drink up. Chapter 5, verse 23 really is
42:31
Speaker 1: not a verse about wine. It's a verse about health.
42:38
Speaker 1: It tells us two things. Number one tells us Timothy
42:42
Speaker 1: had frequent ailments. And number two, it tells us that
42:46
Speaker 1: medicine is not an enemy of the life of faith.
42:50
Speaker 1: Timothy had some ailments. In fact, the way it reads,
42:54
Speaker 1: they were frequent. Use a little wine for the sake
42:59
Speaker 1: of your stomach and your frequent ailments. He had bouts
43:03
Speaker 1: with sickness. He had stomach problems. And Timothy said, is
43:07
Speaker 1: being told by Paul during the days of the infancy
43:12
Speaker 1: of medicine that wine would serve as a remedial agent
43:18
Speaker 1: in helping his stomach ailments and his other ailments. Take
43:22
Speaker 1: a little, not just water, but take a little wine
43:26
Speaker 1: for the sake of your stomach. Kenneth Wiest says, wine
43:31
Speaker 1: here means fermented wine, capable of intoxicating, Not a sweet
43:39
Speaker 1: syrup made by boiling down grape juice. Such sweetness would
43:44
Speaker 1: have aggravated the stomach. So don't try to get around
43:49
Speaker 1: it by redefining wine. According to that Greek scholar, it
43:55
Speaker 1: means fermented wine, the real stuff. But notice carefully, if
44:00
Speaker 1: you will, that Paul's concern is for Timothy's bodily condition.
44:07
Speaker 1: He's saying to him, this will help you in your
44:11
Speaker 1: health and your need for recovery. This also tells me
44:16
Speaker 1: that the body is important. It is incorrect to think
44:21
Speaker 1: that the more spiritual you get, the less important your
44:25
Speaker 1: body is. To be sure, if you have to choose
44:31
Speaker 1: a prerequisite, obviously you'd have to choose the spirit over
44:36
Speaker 1: the body. But it doesn't mean that your body is
44:39
Speaker 1: innately evil and that you should mistreat it. I'd like
44:45
Speaker 1: to paraphrase this for some pastors and say, no longer
44:49
Speaker 1: read books exclusively, but get out and exercise for the
44:54
Speaker 1: sake of your body. I'd like to say to some
44:58
Speaker 1: of those in God's family who tend to be too serious,
45:01
Speaker 1: no longer be serious and intense exclusively. But laugh and
45:08
Speaker 1: have fun. Broaden yourself for the sake of balance. You see,
45:15
Speaker 1: Paul is a man of intense balance and he finds
45:19
Speaker 1: Timothy in need of doing something about his bodily ailments.
45:26
Speaker 1: By the way, if you're under a physician's attention and
45:29
Speaker 1: you're being given instruction and you choose not to follow
45:34
Speaker 1: the instruction of that good physician, don't ask a lot
45:37
Speaker 1: of people to pray for you. Okay? Just go on
45:42
Speaker 1: your own. Just do it. But God has given us
45:47
Speaker 1: in the marvels of truth, and all truth is God's truth,
45:52
Speaker 1: the whole development of medicine, the whole world of good
45:57
Speaker 1: health and nutrition. He's given us that in this wonderful
46:01
Speaker 1: age in which we live And I don't believe you're
46:05
Speaker 1: more spiritual if you don't talk to physicians. As a
46:08
Speaker 1: matter of fact, one of my first pieces of counsel
46:12
Speaker 1: to people who are very ill is, have you sought
46:15
Speaker 1: the assistance of a good physician? If you can find
46:19
Speaker 1: a Christian, great. If you can't, you still need help.
46:25
Speaker 1: If my wife needs brain surgery and the finest brain
46:28
Speaker 1: surgeon is not a Christian, I'm probably going to go
46:31
Speaker 1: to him. because I want the finest there is to
46:34
Speaker 1: do the work. The fact that he may be a
46:36
Speaker 1: Christian is a plus, but it doesn't make him necessarily
46:40
Speaker 1: a better doctor so that he practices better medicine because
46:44
Speaker 1: he names the name of Christ. It's wonderful that there
46:47
Speaker 1: are some that do both, but understand that this matter
46:52
Speaker 1: of drinking a little wine has to do with the
46:54
Speaker 1: health of young Timothy. It doesn't mean you go out
46:57
Speaker 1: and crack open a bottle every night and And you're
47:00
Speaker 1: obeying what God says. That is not a passage here.
47:04
Speaker 1: Dealing with that. Verses 24 and 25 look away from
47:08
Speaker 1: the pastor to everybody else. To all. And I'm glad
47:13
Speaker 1: it's there. Because a guy who lives under the rules
47:16
Speaker 1: of verses 21 to 23 kind of gets persnickety. And
47:19
Speaker 1: he starts thinking, is everybody else going to do what
47:22
Speaker 1: I'm doing? Are they going to get their stuff together?
47:25
Speaker 1: If I'm going to walk this close with God. Is
47:27
Speaker 1: everybody else going to do that? And so Paul tells Timothy, hey,
47:30
Speaker 1: back off. The sins of some are quite evident. You
47:35
Speaker 1: can see those going before them to judgment. For others,
47:39
Speaker 1: their sins follow. God doesn't pay on the 1st and 15th.
47:48
Speaker 1: Sometime God's judgments wait and wait and wait. And on
47:54
Speaker 1: the other side, there are good deeds. Likewise, deeds that
47:57
Speaker 1: are good are evident, and those which are otherwise cannot
48:00
Speaker 1: be concealed. And I think he's saying to the leader,
48:06
Speaker 1: watch out about judging other individuals. Isn't that wise counsel?
48:12
Speaker 1: And once again, we're left in the grays. And you
48:16
Speaker 1: know when you do it, and I know when I
48:18
Speaker 1: do it. But the man is saying to all of us,
48:22
Speaker 1: Be sure that you're leaving with God that which is
48:26
Speaker 1: God's work. You do your part. God's well able to
48:29
Speaker 1: do his. You know what I find here? I find hope.
48:32
Speaker 1: I find hope in the Lord. I find it in
48:35
Speaker 1: four areas. First of all, I find unseen and intangible
48:39
Speaker 1: hope because God and Christ and the angels care. Verse 21.
48:47
Speaker 1: I charge you in the presence of God and Christ
48:51
Speaker 1: and the angels. Why mention them? Because they observe us.
48:56
Speaker 1: They are the only ones who don't participate in worship.
49:00
Speaker 1: They observe worship. Isn't that a great thought? Think of
49:03
Speaker 1: a great morning worship service and we've all participated and
49:07
Speaker 1: we have done it before the Lord God, His Son,
49:11
Speaker 1: and the chosen angels. They have applauded it. The angels
49:16
Speaker 1: learn of our worship and how to do it from us.
49:20
Speaker 1: There's unseen and intangible hope. Second, there's tangible and earthly
49:25
Speaker 1: hope because verse 22 talks about recovery and change. When
49:32
Speaker 1: you lay hands ultimately at the right time, people are
49:36
Speaker 1: brought into leadership. There's change. There's growth. There's forgiveness, and
49:41
Speaker 1: the hope here is an earthly hope. It's a wonderful
49:45
Speaker 1: thing to see a prodigal return and to applaud it.
49:50
Speaker 1: I know a pastor who went through the horrors of
49:54
Speaker 1: public discipline of a brother in their church, and it
49:56
Speaker 1: was dreadful. And it, in fact, made the news, certainly
50:01
Speaker 1: made the grapevine news of churches. And many of us
50:05
Speaker 1: heard about the discipline of this well-known Christian pastor Who
50:08
Speaker 1: just shipwrecked. And that brother walked away from God for
50:13
Speaker 1: several years. And finally, he turned around. And he came back.
50:20
Speaker 1: And there was a period of time where he proved
50:22
Speaker 1: the authenticity of his repentance. And you know what they did?
50:25
Speaker 1: They had a party. The same church that had disciplined him.
50:30
Speaker 1: He had written a letter of apology. Ultimately, he said,
50:32
Speaker 1: you were right. I was in sin. You put your
50:35
Speaker 1: finger on it. I rebelled and I rejected. But I
50:37
Speaker 1: want you to know, I see the wrong of my
50:40
Speaker 1: actions and I come back. They had a party. They
50:44
Speaker 1: bought a sport coat for him in place of the
50:47
Speaker 1: robe in Luke 15. They bought a new pair of shoes.
50:52
Speaker 1: They put a gold ring on his finger and they
50:55
Speaker 1: served prime rib. They killed the fatted calf. And they
51:00
Speaker 1: had a feast. And it was an evening of praise
51:03
Speaker 1: as this brother is brought back into fellowship. And that
51:07
Speaker 1: also made the news. There's not enough of that kind
51:11
Speaker 1: of news. Wonderful hope is the physical, I should say,
51:15
Speaker 1: the earthly hope of changed lives. And the hope I
51:19
Speaker 1: find in verse 23 is that there can be help
51:22
Speaker 1: for our frequent ailments. My heart goes out to people
51:26
Speaker 1: who are chronically ill. I know good health, and I
51:31
Speaker 1: have better health than I deserve. I even had health
51:34
Speaker 1: when I wasn't taking care of my body, and I
51:36
Speaker 1: didn't deserve it. And I find in verse 23 that
51:40
Speaker 1: there can be relief for frequent ailments, and there can
51:45
Speaker 1: be relief from stomach troubles and from mental anguish. There
51:49
Speaker 1: can be hope for recovery. Praise God for those who
51:55
Speaker 1: turn the corner in their health and are back on
51:57
Speaker 1: their feet. And fourth, I find in verses 24 and
52:01
Speaker 1: 25 relational hope that God is at work even when
52:06
Speaker 1: I cannot do the job. Dear Father, thank you for
52:17
Speaker 1: giving us this handbook of truth, for helping us know
52:21
Speaker 1: how to guide the church and the way it ought
52:23
Speaker 1: to go through making these words like 1 Timothy so
52:29
Speaker 1: understandable and relevant, and for giving us, with these words, direction,
52:36
Speaker 1: clear guidance, as well as such a sense of fulfillment,
52:41
Speaker 1: knowing we are in the right path. Thank you for
52:44
Speaker 1: the hope that there is, through following your leading and
52:48
Speaker 1: doing as you have pointed out that we are to do.
52:52
Speaker 1: Thank you that this Christian life is really a family life,
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Speaker 1: We're not running a business. And remind us of that
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Speaker 1: again and again, Lord. And as you keep this hope
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Speaker 1: firmly fixed in our hearts, remind us, Lord, that there
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Speaker 1: are many who have no hope whatsoever as they try
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Speaker 1: to make it through this journey called life. So give
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Speaker 1: us a gentle heart of compassion. Give us the ability
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Speaker 1: to share the good news with them and to open
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Speaker 1: our hearts to them in all honesty, regarding the Lord
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Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. And dear Father, finally I pray for churches
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Speaker 1: that are struggling, that you would use these words to
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Speaker 1: help guide them and return to the things of the
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Speaker 1: truth as you have revealed them here in 1 Timothy.
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Speaker 1: May we take your word at face value, may we
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Speaker 1: stand firmly on it, and may we draw our hope
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Speaker 1: from it. We commit to you now, our Father, the
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Speaker 1: days ahead, as the truth of these things we have
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Speaker 1: heard begins to be lived out. May we do so
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Speaker 1: with honesty and vulnerability and authenticity. May we serve the
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Speaker 1: body of Christ faithfully, whatever may be our role in it.
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Speaker 1: We ask these things, dear Father, in the name of
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Speaker 1: the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Lord of the
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Speaker 1: Church and the Lord of our lives. and for his
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Speaker 1: sake alone. Amen.