You're listening to Key Life Fellowships Pulpit ministry
podcast. We thank you for tuning in as we
learn from God's Word together. If you would like more
information regarding Key Life or to speak with one of our
pastors, please visit us at keylifefellow-ship.com.
Isn't it good to be here this morning?
You 3 here are glad to be here. I'm glad with you.
Y'all do understand what really happened this morning when
Casey's guitar string broke? You see what happened was he, He
fixed it so that it would break because guys who play.
Martin's all they really want to do is play a tailor.
And he knew, he knew that if that Martin broke, I would bring
him a tailor. And so you know.
So I I took my hat to him, a very smart move on his behalf.
If you have your Bibles, if you'll turn to First Timothy
chapter 4, as we continue looking through the pastoral
Epistles, as we continue learning about how to be
biblical ministers and to do biblical ministry the way that
God would have us to do according to His Word.
Let me give you a quick review. Last week, you, if you were
remember back, if you were here, you remember that Paul, he
instructed us on the importance of godliness in order to be a
good minister. What does that look like?
What does that mean to be a good minister?
And he drove the point home that we are to be godly in our lives
because if we just say the right things even all the time, yet we
don't have godliness in our lives.
Nobody's buying anything that we say.
And he's going to continue helping us, of course, as he's
writing to young Timothy, the pastor there at Ephesus, giving
him encouragement on how he is supposed to pastor that church
and how he's supposed to lead. He's going to give us
encouragement on being biblical in our leadership.
He's going to give us great insight into that and what that
should look like. So I'm going.
To go ahead and tell you this when you leave here today.
You will have no excuse for unbiblical leadership.
Now many of you would say, well, Pastor Paul the apostle is
writing to Timothy, the pastor there, the Bishop at Ephesus.
What does that have to do with me?
Well, everyone of you in this room, if you were doing what God
has called you to do in being a Christian, you are a leader to
some capacity in your life. Perhaps you are that person who
says, well, I'm not a leader, I'm more of a follower.
You still are required by the word of God to make disciples.
And so surely you are at least making one disciple in your
life. Perhaps you're that mom who used
to, I'm rather introvert and I don't have a whole lot of
leadership skills, but you have children, you are making
disciples and are you leading well, Are you leading
biblically? Are you leading according to the
word of God? Or perhaps you're that dad here.
It's no mystery that dads, you are the leader of your home.
Whether you grasp that or not, whether you're leading the way
you should or the way that you shouldn't, you're still a
leader. You'll give an account for how
you lead. And so this has something for
all of us and it actually takes away all of our excuses are
excuses for any unbiblical, lazy, complacent, apathetic
leadership that we may have going on in our lives.
What Paul's going to do, he's going to teach us how to bring
glory to God, is through true biblical leadership.
And biblical leadership matters, especially in a world where
people are not leading according to the word of God.
They are not leading biblically. May we as followers of Christ,
see the importance of biblical leadership not only in our
lives, but also in the lives of those who are following us.
Isn't it true often times people are following us that we don't
even realize are following? Us.
So let us take the topic of biblical leadership seriously
this morning so that we don't misdirect with unbiblical
leadership, so that we don't lead people astray in the church
or in our homes or in our places of work.
We see so often today the absence of true biblical
leadership. And the absence.
Of true biblical leadership. Reminds me of a compass that I
once owned. I had received this compass for
a gift at one point in my life, and I had used it for many, many
years. Now, for you youngsters, you're
asking yourself the question, what in the world is a compass?
Well, it's this cool little device.
And before there was GPS and you had a little thing in your hand
called a phone, and you could get that everywhere you were
going where we would actually use the compass.
And what the compass does, the arrow in that compass points to
true north. And so if I can find true north,
then I can find east, West and South.
And so I would use this compass when I would go into the woods
hunting. Well, this particular particular
year I received a coat for duck hunting as against and and this
coat had a very interesting pocket on it.
It was right here in my chest and I, it had a magnet, the two
magnets actually, that would close the pocket and I could
separate the magnets and the pocket would open.
And it was good for putting your duck calls in there so that they
stay warm. So your reads stay warm.
You see the ducks flying, you reach in there and pull them
out. But I found, hey, this is a
great place to have my compass because I actually relied on a
compass to get through the woods to where I was going.
We would just walk into this swamp and if you didn't pay
attention to what direction you were going, you would actually
just find yourself lost or turning in circles.
And So what I did, I said, man, that pocket's going to work
great, not only for my duck hauls, but also for my compass
that I usually have hanging around my neck.
So I put this compass in my pocket, my cool magnetic pocket.
Now, if you know anything about a compass, it works off the
magnetic forms. Little did I know that while
this compass was in my pocket, the whole poles on this compass
were being rearranged. So north was no longer, SE was
no longer east, West was no longer West.
And So what I did, because I was in charge of leading this entire
group, I got there this morning and five or six or eight of us,
however many were hunting that day.
We got out of the truck and we had a mile and a half to walk.
We had a mile and a half to walk.
And we would take from the parking lot a northeast heading.
I would generally find Northeast and.
Follow there. Occasionally I would check my
compass. I would check if the skies were
clear at some constellation or something off in the distance
that I could use to gauge where we were headed.
I could get in the general vicinity.
This particular morning though, I pull out my compass and I
start walking. I find northeast of my compass
and I began to walk. I began to feel weird at some
point in this trek, like man, this something doesn't seem
right. My internal compass in the
compass I was holding in my hand.
They just weren't diving. We walked a little further and
one of my buddies said, man, are we going the right direction?
To which I humbly said, of course we're going to the right
direction. I take you here every day.
Few more minutes. We start to see headlights.
Now. If you've ever been to this
particular place, when you walk a mile deep in this place, you
don't see headlights. You're not walking toward any
highways or any cars or any parking lots.
The only parking lot that you might find is the one you came
from. I began to see headlights, and I
thought, this is strange. First I thought maybe they were
boat lights, that we were close to the Creek because you could
only motor a boat on the Creek. But then I realized those.
Are truck lights. And I pulled out my compass and
I got another strange reading. And then finally, one of my
buddies, why he didn't do this earlier, I have no idea.
He pulls out his compass and he says, man, we're heading back to
the truck. I said, let me see.
We compared our compass, and I wasn't really sure at first what
had happened. And I was like, man, something's
off of my compass. Well, I went to go stick it back
in my pocket. When it got close to those
magnets, that compass just went. And I said, oh, you dummy, what
happened? I stored that compass around
those magnets and I became ineffective as a leader.
Much of today's leadership that we see it's.
Skewed. It's pointing people in the
wrong direction. It's leading people astray.
And maybe there's something inside of us that says
something's just not right. Well, we need to find out what
that something is, because there are many people.
Who are in the role of leadership and their needle is
off. What does that mean?
Well, just like that day in the woods, everyone who followed me
when the needle of my compass was off, everyone who follows
unbiblical leadership is off. They're following the wrong
leader and they are going down the wrong path.
Why? Because if the needle's off,
everything's going to be off. We can't afford in our
leadership to be off. I say that to the pastors, to
the elders, to the ministers in this church.
I say that to the fathers and the mothers who are leading
their homes and leading their children.
I say we cannot afford to be off.
We must be biblical in our leadership.
Watch what Paul says in first Timothy chapter 4 verse 11.
He says this command and teach these things.
Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but
set an example. For the believers in speech and
life and love and faith and in purity.
Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of scripture,
to preaching, and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which
was given you through a prophetic message when the body
of elders laid their hands on you.
Be diligent in these matters. Give yourself wholly to them so
that everyone may see your progress.
Watch your life and doctrine closely.
Persevere in them, because if you do.
You will save both yourself and your hearers.
Let's pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus, we
come to you, thanking you so much for your word.
Thanking you that by your word you raise up for yourself and
for your glory biblical leaders. Lord, I pray that you would do
that today, that you would do that in this service, that you
would raise up leaders for your name's sake who would be
biblical in their lives. God, that we would see the
fruits of that for generations to come.
People who are pointing others to Christ through their
leadership, through their biblical scriptural leadership.
God, I pray for the lost soul who's here today, who does not
know Christ, who is wandering around aimlessly, wandering in
the darkness of their sin. God, I pray that you would
direct them, that you would guide them, that you would draw
them into your marvelous light, that you would give direction to
their life and to their eternity.
That you would point them to Christ, that you would point
them to faith in Christ and repentance of sin.
That you would point them in the way that they should go that
leads to eternal life. And that is in Jesus and Jesus
alone. God will be careful to give you
all the glory for all that you're going to do as your word
goes forth today. Challenge us, convict us, mould
us, and shape us. And we pray these things in
Christ's name, Amen. Biblical leadership is of utmost
importance. It does matter.
Paul's going to take the time this morning to teach us as he
is teaching Timothy, as the Spirit is using this some 2000
years later to challenge us. I pray that you would be
challenged as we look at biblical leadership.
And the first thing that I want you to see is this.
In verses 11 and 12, we see that biblical leadership will be
commanding, commanding, he says in verse 11.
Command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on
you because you are young, but set an example for the believers
in speech and life and love and faith and in purity.
So Paul is here giving another imperative.
Remember I told you last week that that when he commanded
godliness, it was in the imperative mood.
In the Greek. That means it is not a
suggestion. He is not suggesting to Timothy
that he be weak, an impotent in his leadership.
He is commanding him to take command and to take charge in
the areas of teaching, in the area of living his life as an
example to others. He's in essence commanding that
Timothy would be commanding. Why?
Because a biblical leader will lead with authority.
They will lead with command. They will lead in boldness.
We've all seen those leaders who call themselves leaders, and
they're in that position of leadership, but they're almost
last upon because there is no boldness and there is no
authority coming from their lives.
Let us not be those types of leaders.
Let us be the leader that Paul is desiring Timothy to be here,
the the same leader that he desired for Titus to be.
Titus 2 verse 15. It sounds very similar to what
he's telling Timothy. He says these then are the
things you should teach, encourage and rebuke with all
authority. Do not let anyone despise you
with all authority. Where do we receive all
authority? Well, it's Simply put, we
receive our authority from the Word of God.
I am an authoritative leader not because I have some authority in
myself. I am an authoritative leader
because I stand on the Word of God in boldness.
I trust what the scriptures say. Paul telling Timothy to be a
commanding leader, to lead in boldness, to not be timid or
passive, right? We all know this timid and
passive leaders don't get anything done, but isn't it
funny how the liberal world loves those kind of so-called
leaders? The reason that they love those
so kind, those kind of so-called leaders is because they're not
intimidated by them. Now we live in a culture that is
so intimidated by a strong leader, one who will stand up in
the authority that he has been given and in boldness proclaim
the truth and to give direction to the people.
Just as Paul is telling Timothy to do here.
He says command and teach these things without exception,
without apology, in boldness. Don't back down, don't digress,
stand up and say thus saith the Lord, not in a timid or passive
fashion, but with power. Then out what he tells Timothy
in second Timothy chapter one verse 7 about the Spirit that we
have been given in Christ. He said this for the Spirit God
gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and
self-discipline. Paul is saying this lead with
authority. Lead with authority.
Put your timidity behind you. That's obvious here that and
we'll see in second Timothy that that Timothy, because he was
young in age, probably struggled with being timid just a little.
And I guess so Paul is saying this.
A biblical leader cannot afford to be timid.
A biblical leader must be commanding.
He must lead with authority. Now let me clear up what I am
not saying. I'm not talking about
authoritarian dictatorship type rule when we rule by an iron
fist, but I am talking about authority in the meaning and in
the sense of strength of conviction.
He is saying, be a man of conviction, one who leads with
authority and with conviction. You know what I'm talking about,
right? You, you have heard what people
speak before and you may not have believed what they were
saying, but you believed they believed it because they spoke
with such authority and they spoke with such command.
He's saying, Timothy, this is the kind of leader that you must
be. One who leads with authority.
You know why there's so much weak conviction in the churches
these days among the lay people? I believe because there's weak
conviction among the leadership in the churches.
And Paul's not going to stand for that.
He is instructing Timothy, and he is instructing us through
Timothy here today, as Timothy would have passed this on to the
church at Ephesus. He's instructing the leader's
there. He's instructing the leaders
here, whether you be a leader of your home or you be a leader in
this church, he's instructing you to operate in commanding
leadership, leading with authority, the authority of the
word of God. He goes on and he says.
This and he says don't let anyone look down on you because
you are young. He already knew that this is
going to be an obstacle for Timothy.
He says don't let anyone look down on you because you are
young. Now, I can tell you this.
I was young when I started pastoring churches and this does
happen, right? The many people treat you as
you're just a 20 something year old kid.
What can you tell me? He's saying don't be intimidated
by that. Don't let them look down on you
because you're young. But set an example.
For the believers. He says prove them wrong, Prove
that you are wise beyond your years.
Set an example for even the older believers in your speech
and life and love and faith and impurity.
What is he saying here? First he's saying lead with
authority and secondly, he's saying lead by your example and
don't miss this. He's saying lead by your
maturity. He's saying lead maturely.
Why? Immature leadership is an
ineffective thing, isn't it? We've all seen it where we can't
take someone serious as a leader because they are always being
silly. They're always doing or saying
stupid, trivial, unimportant things.
I am amazed at the. Immaturity that is allowed in
churches today by people who call themselves pastors where
they stand behind the pulpit using not a pulpit but maybe
some type of pub table or some type of glass table to set their
eye padding or coffee on. I'm amazed that they get away
with the silliness that they get away with.
I watched some videos not too long ago.
Pastors riding in on a roller coaster.
That's immature, that's inappropriate, that's not
serious. When when we talk about the Word
of God, we have to approach it with a mature attitude because
immaturity in leadership is effective.
That's why Paul said in First Corinthians chapter 13 verse 11.
He said when I was a child, I talked like a child.
I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.
Paul is talking about basic maturity there, how there is no
room in a leader's life to remain a child immature.
Because if you do, you'll be those leaders who instead of
raising up men, you allow boys to continue to be boys.
And isn't that true? Men who act like boys can't
truly be taken serious as leaders.
They can't. You've not stepped into the the
the shoes of a man. You're not taking on the
responsibility of a man. Paul leaves no room for
immaturity when it comes to leading and leading biblically.
Titus chapter 2 verse 6. Paul says to Titus similarly.
Encourage the young men to be self controlled in everything.
Set them in as set them an example by doing what is good
and your teaching. Show integrity, seriousness.
Pay attention to that. You leaders who were here today,
you dads, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot
be condemned so that those who oppose you may be ashamed
because they have nothing bad to say about you.
I know there are those who are critics of me.
Man, he's too serious. Is there really a such thing as
too serious when we're talking about such a serious thing as
the word of God? Are we to just treat this as if
it is unimportant, are treated as if it's some child's game?
No. We're to lead by our example and
our lives of maturity. That's why he says don't let
anyone look down on you because you're young.
Set an example for the younger men because men who act like
boys can never make other men. They'll just make older boys on
how we need some serious men of God who will be used by God and
turning boys into men these days.
Can I just help all you dads? You'll never turn a man, a boy
into a man if you're still playing childlike games,
whatever games that may be that you're playing, if those things
are consuming you. I don't care if that's golf, I
don't care if that's tennis, I don't care if that's fishing.
I don't care if that's the hours that you spend in a closed off
room in your own home with a headset on and a microphone,
talking to your imaginary computer friends on a video
game. These things have no place in
the life of a serious. Biblical leader.
You're wasting important time where you have been entrusted to
lead your family, to lead your wife and to lead your children,
and you're playing needless silly games.
Paul is saying don't let them look down on you because you're
young. If you don't want people to look
down on you because you're young, don't act like you're
young. Grow up.
Be a man. Because.
Men make men. Men make women, and we teach
them what a godly man and a godly woman look like through
our influence, through our leadership, leading our
families, and leading our wives. So that our.
Children will be LED in biblical principles, so we must lead by
example, he says. Don't let anyone look down on
you because you're young. Live beyond your years.
Set an example and your example is to be that of maturity so
that you will build maturity. In.
Others look at the examples that he uses and what you say.
Dad, if you're still using the four letter words that a 6th or
7th grader discovers on the playground and you think that's
cool, you're not an effective biblical leader.
You're teaching the next generation to have lips like
little boys saying inappropriate things, curse words that have no
place in the life of a godly man.
You must lead in what you say. Why?
Because Jesus teaches the principle, and the principles
that Jesus teach mean something to me.
And he says from the overflow of the heart, the mouth will speak.
When you speak using words you shouldn't use or using tones you
shouldn't use, you show what's really in your heart and how sad
that is. What a testimony that is of your
true heart. You need to make a decision
today that you're going to begin to lead in what you say to be a
biblical leader. Matthew, chapter 12, Jesus
leaves us a warning about this. He says, but I tell you in verse
36 that everyone will have to give an account on the day of
judgement for every empty word they have spoken.
By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you
will be condemned. You think words don't matter?
I hear people say that all the time about cussing.
Oh, they're just words. Yeah, they're words.
And you're going to be held to account for every one of them.
Think about that when you're leading your families.
Think about that when you're talking to your wife harshly or
your children harshly. You need to lead in what you
say. He goes on and he says this.
Do not let anyone went down on you because you were young, but
set an example for the believers in speech, what you say in life,
how you live. Be an example to others in in
how you live. Isn't that important?
Bold lips must be backed up with bold lives, right?
If you just talk a big game, you can say all the right things.
You got all the right answers. That counts for a little, but it
doesn't really count for a lot when you don't have a life that
backs up all your bold claims. There's lots of people who talk
a big game, don't they? Yeah, we will say that about
them. Well, they talk a big game.
They're full of what? Hot air.
What they say doesn't matter. Why?
Because they don't live what they say.
They claim to be a Christian, but they deny it by their lives.
It's important in how you live that you live like an.
Example Thomas Brooks appeared and said a Christian should
carry his religion in his life, not only on his lips.
Shouldn't be something that you just talk about.
It's something that you should just carry around with you by
the way that you behave. Because if you're truly saved,
you know what you're a new creation.
What's inside is going to come out.
Now if what is coming out? Is the same old nature that
you've always had. It's a pretty good chance you
don't have a new nature. It's a pretty good chance that
you're not in Christ. Think about these things.
Why? Because we have to set an
example for those we're leading by how we are living your life
is important. How you live it is important.
First Peter chapter 5 Peter giving instructions.
He said be shepherds of God's flock there in verse 2 that is
under your care, watching over them, not because you must, but
because you're willing as God wants you to be, not pursuing
dishonest gain, but eager to serve, not lording it over those
entrusted you, but being examples.
To the flock. I I speak to the pastors and to
the elders in this church first, as we're leading this flog,
we're not to Lord over you again, not that authoritarian
rule, a strength of conviction. We're to lead you by the
authority. Of the Word of God and by our
example, the example that we live out of our lives.
Now, how does that apply to you, those of you who may not stand
in the pulpit or lead a church, your dad's pay close attention
to me. You have in your home a small
flock that you have been entrusted with.
You are the pastor of that small flock.
And your example is crucial to those who are following you
because you know what? They don't care what you say
unless what you say is backed up by what you live.
It's important that we see that. It's important that we see that
setting an example of Christ to others is important.
Why? So that they will follow Christ
likeness. First Corinthians 11 verse one.
Paul says this. He says follow my example as I
follow the example of Christ. Many of us know that, but but
think about the weight of that statement.
Paul is devoted to following the example of Christ because he
knows other people are following him and he has confidence here.
He has confidence in Christ, in him.
And he says this look at me and follow me.
Why? Because I'm following Christ and
all of my confidence is in Christ and the work.
That He's doing in me and it's done in me.
We need to do the same. We need to be able to
confidently tell our children. I as the pastor need to be able
to confidently tell this church, hey, follow me.
Why? Because I'm following Christ.
Can you say that with a clear conscience?
Can you say that with utmost confidence that you really are
following Christ? Could you look your wives and
your children in the eyes and say, babe, have full confidence
in following me because I'm going to prove that I am
following Christ? That's what Paul did.
That's what a biblical leader is going to do.
He's not only going to talk about following Christ, he's not
only going to know Christianese on a Sunday morning, he's going
to actually live it. He's going to be an example how
he lives. We're to set an example for
others in that how we talk, how we live.
He goes on and he says how you love.
Oh, it's so important, isn't it? First Corinthians chapter 13.
You know what, no need to turn there.
Paul says this. If you don't have love,
everything that you do and everything that you say is
pointless. It's a clanging gong or an
irritating symbol. It's just noise.
I wish the men of God would stand up and say, you know what?
I don't want to be noise. I want to be a leader.
I want to leave an impact. I want to leave an impact on my
wife so that my wife can leave an impact on my children.
I want to leave an impact on my children so that my children
will impact the next generation when they're married and have
their own families. We lead by example.
We must our. Speech.
Our lives the way we love. Then he says faith just be an
example for believers in speech and life and love and in faith.
What is he talking about? How you trust God?
Does your wife and your children see you as a leader, ultimately
trusting God? Do you, as congregants of this
church, see the leadership of this church, myself and the
elders who lead the affairs of this church, do you see us as
confidently relying on and trusting in God?
It needs to be seen. It needs to be evidenced in our
life. Faith.
This is not talking about saving faith, though it could apply.
Timothy's already saved. He's saying, Timothy, show them
what it means to be a man who trusts God.
Show your family what it means. Show your church what it means.
Dad, when you go through that financial crisis, show your
family what it means to trust God.
Gather them around that dinner table and say, you know what?
Things are tight right now, but God is faithful and he has never
and He will never, ever let us down.
And you pray with your family and you trust in the power of
God. And you sit back and you watch
what God does as we trust him. You know what you're going to do
in that when God comes through, and He will, because He always
does in his perfect timing, his perfect way.
When God comes through. You know what you just did?
You just taught the next generation about faith, about
trusting in God. Oh, I love that.
I get to see my children continually learning about
faith, what it means to trust God.
Many of you don't know this because you're new here at Key
Life Fellowship. But this church started with a
prayer in a little bedroom and a house in Arkansas.
And here we are right now. Here we are right now.
What happened? Well, God had a plan and we
trusted in it. And even when it was difficult,
we kept trusting in it. Even when people didn't
understand, we trusted in all the more.
And then along the way, we told our kids and we taught our kids,
this is what we do. This is the life that we live.
We are giving an example to everyone else of how they can
trust in a God who is faithful to everything that he is
promised. And he is Paul says Timothy, BA,
commanding leader in this area. Lead by your.
Example in faith and trust in God be a model of Proverbs 3
verses 5 and 6 that say it says trust in the Lord with all your
heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways.
Submit to him and he will he doesn't say might and he will
make your paths straight. O may we trust in God and may we
live that example to others as we're leading then he says and
in purity. He's talking about holiness.
We know last week he drove the idea of godliness home for us.
Purity in our lives. You are leading someone in
regard to purity. Dad, stand up to your wives and
tell your wife no, she can't wear that homecoming dress
because it's impure. Stand up to your wives and say
no, you can't wear your workout clothes in your sports bra to
Walmart. Why?
Because it's impure. Wives, lead your children in
purity and modesty and the things that a wife is designed,
a godly wife is designed to lead them in.
They'll never know if we don't lead them in that direction.
It is OK to say this. No, you may not.
Purchase that. No, you may not have that.
No, you may not watch this. No, you may not watch that.
It's OK. It's high time that parents
realize that you are leading the next generation.
Then you step up and you take biblical leadership seriously,
especially in the area of purity.
People look all the time. And I hear the comments, man.
My, my mom, my dad would have never let me out of the house
like that. You know what the problem is?
You nailed it. The parents are not leading.
The parents are not leading biblically.
You have to teach these things to your children.
Holiness, purity. It's important that Spurgeon
said this. He said, believe me, there is no
preaching in this world like the preaching of a holy life.
I can ask all of you in this room, those of you in Christ, if
I ask you this question, I hope I know the answer.
Do you want your children to turn out godly?
Do you want them to live holy lives?
Hopefully your answer would be yes, Pastor.
Of course we do. Then preach to them holy sermons
by your life. Show them what holy, pure living
looks like. If they see you carousing with
the world on Saturday, bouncing into the church on Sunday,
that's exactly what they're going to learn and that's
exactly what they're going to pattern.
If they see you say purity is important and then purity is not
important and modesty is not important in your life, moms and
dads, it's not going to be important in their life.
A biblical leader will take command.
He'll take command. He'll lead with authority, the
authority of the Word of God. He'll lead by his example.
May we do this? Secondly, biblical leadership
will be insistent. This won't be something that you
just do on a Sunday morning. Because you know what?
Today, after we're done, it's going to be easy for you to say
I'm going to lead like God wants me to lead like the Bible.
Says I'm supposed to lead and you'll make it probably almost
out to your car before you change your mind.
Because we have a problem with consistency in the church, don't
we? We have a problem with
consistency. We're not consistent and being
biblical leaders maybe see the importance of consistency or
watch what Paul says. He says until I come.
Now when Paul wrote this, he didn't know that he was coming.
For sure he wanted to come. His desire was to come to
Ephesus, but he didn't know what God had in store for him.
But he says, until I come, devote yourself to the public
reading of Scripture. He didn't say until you feel
like it or until you don't feel like it or until it's not
convenient for you anymore, Devote yourself to the public
reading of Scripture and to preaching and to teaching.
He says until I come, be consistent in this matter.
He says do not neglect the gift which has was given you through
a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands
on you. Paul here is stressing how
important consistency is to biblical leadership and he's
teaching that to Timothy. He's wanting him and he's
desiring for him that he would be consistent.
And don't we need consistent and faithful leaders in the church
and in the homes these days as we see a total breakdown in
society because we don't have consistency in leadership?
When we talk about consistency in leadership, we have to
entertain exactly what Paul is talking about here, and he's
talking about two categories. He focuses on consistency in two
areas. Let's break it down.
First, consistently committed to the Scriptures.
A biblical leader will be consistently committed to the
Scriptures, being LED and leading others by the word of
God with consistency. That means this.
You're not going to just hear the word of God today in a
sermon and walk out and say I'm going to be the biblical leader
that I need to be and it happened.
You are going. To have to be consistently
committed to the Scriptures in your life, being LED and leading
others by those Scriptures. Psalm one.
What we read in our Scripture reading verse one.
Blessed is the one who does not walk in the step with the
wicked, or stand in the way of the sinners, or sit in the
company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the
Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night.
Verse 3 says that person is like a tree planted by streams of
water, which yields its fruit and season, whose leaf does not
wither. Whatever they do prospers.
This is a person who meditates on the word of God day and
night, Paul tells Timothy. Devote yourself to the public
reading of scriptures, reading it out loud.
Now I know at that part of our service, some of you think that
that's just a good time to continue to visit.
No, when, when we open the Word of God and it is time to read
the Scriptures, that is focusing on us, on the main thing, and
that is the word of God because it is in the Word of God that
God reveals himself to us. This ought to be an everyday
element of your life. You want to start your day?
Listen to me, Dad. You want to start your day
cracking open that Bible long before you crack open the TV,
long before you eat your breakfast, long before you do
anything else. Moms, you do the same,
consistently committed to the scriptures, being led and
leading others by the very word of God, reading them, reading
them aloud, reading them silently, studying them.
Paul here talking specifically about the reading of scriptures
in the public context, just as we see Jesus doing in Luke
chapter 4. When Jesus walks into the
synagogue there in Luke chapter 4, he takes the scroll of Isaiah
and he begins to unfold and begins to read all that's
written about him in the prophet.
Then he rolls it up again, He gives it back to the attendant,
and he says this. Today the scripture is fulfilled
in your hearing. He took the authority of the
Word of God. He read it publicly.
He proclaimed the truth. That's what happens when we read
the scripture. Because how many of you realize
this? It doesn't take long to open up
your phone and look on social media.
Lies are coming at you from every direction, and if you
don't counter those lines with the truth of Scripture, you're
going to fall through those lies.
They're coming at you and there's nothing that you can do
about it except for consistently be committed to the Scriptures,
reading the Scriptures, preaching the Scriptures, he
said. Well, pastor, I'm not a
preacher. Preach the Scriptures to
yourself. Over and over and over and over
again, proclaim and receive direction from the word of
truth. Preach the gospel to yourself so
that you know the gospel, so that you can verify and have
assurance that you truly are saved.
Preach the truths of Scripture over and over to yourself.
He says to preach them, read them publicly, to preach them
and to teach them, to teach the Scriptures, to explain and to
exposite the truth. He said, well pastor, that's
your job. It is my job in this pulpit.
But you know what? I'm not at your breakfast table.
I'm not at. Your dinner table when your kids
are trusting in you to exposite the scriptures for them and they
say, dad, what does this mean? Or mom, what does this mean?
There's nothing that I love more than when a dad comes to me and
he pulls me aside. He said, hey, pastor, can I, can
I ask you a question? Of course you can ask me a
question. My son asked me this about
Scripture and I didn't know how to answer him.
So that seems kind of weak. No, it doesn't seem strong.
He'd humbled himself to get to that point to say, and you know,
it's pretty tough for a dad to say, I don't have all the
answers. But I'm thankful for the times
that God has led me to say I don't have all the answers so
that I can point my children to the one who does.
I can point in the truth of the word of God.
I love a dad who comes in who asks that because of what
they're doing is they're desiring to lead their kids
properly. They want biblical leadership in
their home and I'll help them. I won't.
Do their work for them. I'll help them.
I'll point them in the right direction, and then I'll say
this. Look, don't, don't go back and
give me any credit for that. You go back and you pastor your
home, you go back and you share the nugget of truth that you
have from the scriptures and you give that to to your family.
You stand up as that authority in their lives.
You you teach them what the word of God says.
We need some consistency in our commitment to Scripture as
leaders, don't we Biblical leader will have this biblical
leader will show this in a commitment to the Scriptures.
Biblical leader will live it. He'll teach it, he'll proclaim
it, and it'll give great care, great consistency toward the
Scriptures. So biblical leadership will
first be consistent, consistently committed to the
Scriptures, but also consistently committed to 1's
calling and giftedness. Watch what he says next.
He says, until I come, devote yourself to the public reading
of Scripture, to preaching, and to teaching.
Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a
prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on
you. Because at his ordination, what
would have happened? The body of elders, Paul would
have been there. They would have laid their hands
upon young Timothy after seeing his giftedness, after seeing
that the Spirit was truly active and alive and working in him.
They would have then ordained him through ministry.
They would have. Sent him out to do the gospel
work and Paul is reminding him of this, that you have a special
calling and you have a special giftedness on your life.
Now before you say this, because I know what I'm going to hear
already, well pastor, I'm just a dad or I'm just a mom.
No, you were called by God to be a dad, the leader of your home,
and you were called by God to be a mom, the vessel that God will
use to raise up the next generation.
These are important things. Stop letting the liberal world
lie to you and tell you that these aren't important thing.
You're called to this. You're gifted to do this.
If it were not so, you would not have children.
God has called you and he has equipped you for this.
Same goes for those of us in the church who are pastoring.
Who are leading? He gifts us and He calls us and
He equips us for that which we are to do, just as he's Speaking
of in regard to Timothy here and he's saying, don't neglect this
gift. Be consistent in it.
Know who you are and know what God has called you and crafted
you to do so that you can be effective in leading those who
you have been called to lead, doing exactly what God has
prescribed in fashion for you to do in Christ.
Did you know that all of you in Christ have words that have been
prescribed and preordained for you according to Ephesians
chapter 2 verse 10, if you were in Christ?
He says, for we are God's handiwork created in Christ
Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to
do. I can clear up a mystery for
some of you. Right.
Who's struggling? What's my purpose in life?
If you're a mom, the purpose is to lead your children in a godly
fashion, in a biblical way. If your dad, your purpose is to
lead your family in a biblical in a godly way and to be
consistent in that. What do I mean?
It's not just a Sunday morning thing.
The American church has plagued with Sunday morning moms and
Sunday morning dads who are one way here and they're another way
outside of these doors. It cannot be so.
Not be effective. Not be biblical in its
leadership. We have to consistently commit
ourselves to what God has called us to do as Christians, to the
giftedness that He's given us through His Spirit.
You know you have been gifted, even gifted.
Don't waste that. Refuse to waste your life due to
a lack of commitment to that to which you recalled to do.
Jesus rebukes such behavior in Matthew chapter 25.
You know the parable, the parable of the talents, the one
guy who got his talent of gold and he just went and buried it.
He wasted it. He didn't utilize it, He didn't
invest it, and he's rebuked for it because it was contrary to
what God would have him to do. He wanted him to use this, to be
committed to it. He was called to take this, to
use it, to prosper for God's glory.
All of you have been called to use that which God has.
Gifted you to use and leading others to see the glory of God,
whether that's in your home again, whether that's in the in
your workplace where you're employed, whether that's in this
church as you serve Christ and as you lead others in this
church, you have to be careful not to waste this.
I've seen far too many men at the end of their life who felt
as if they had wasted everything that God wanted them to do.
Don't waste your life. In fact, Ephesians chapter 5
verse 15 says be very careful then how you live not as unwise
but as a wise Making the most of every opportunity because the
days are evil, making the most of every opportunity because the
days are evil. And what do evil days tell us?
Evil days tell us. Over and over again that we are
now nearing more and more the return of Christ.
He's saying as we near the return of Christ, make the most
of every opportunity. I've lived long enough to know
this. You have a small window of
opportunity to lead your family. Oh how I would have listened.
Listened to the old grey haired men who looked at me and told
me, son, you better make hay while the sun's shining because
this life passes very quickly. Don't miss any opportunity.
So many times we think that that doesn't apply to us, but it does
and leading your families and leading this church.
We have to make the most of every opportunity, not wasting
not one second of time How to speak consistent in that
consistently leading others by our commitment to do what God
has called us to do and to do it with all of our hearts, to do
with all of our hearts. Colossians 323 tells us about
this. Whatever you do, work at it with
all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters.
Oh, when we lead others, let us see it as work for the Lord.
Let that be our charge. Let that be our encouragement
that the things that we do are for the Lord and to do them
biblically. And so biblical leadership will
be consistent, consistently committed to the Scriptures,
consistently committed to 1's calling giftedness the body of
Christ is if we're going to be effective biblical leaders of
any kind, consistency is our friend.
Consistency is our friend, and a lack of consistency can be our
greatest enemy. Thirdly, biblical leadership
will be concerned. There should be some concern
here. There's a lot of weight in
knowing that you are a leader who will be held responsible for
the way that you lead. And so you should be concerned.
But what should you be concerned with?
What's what Paul tells Timothy, he says be diligent in these
matters. Give yourself holy to them, holy
to them. Not partially, I kinda holy to
them. So that everyone may see your
progress. What's he talking about?
Your own spiritual growth. They will see you as a leader in
that church, yes, but they will also see that you are
continually growing, even in your knowledge and in your
leadership. That's important, he says.
Watch your life and doctrine closely.
Persevere in them. Because if you do, you will save
both yourself and your. Hearers biblical leadership will
be concerned. The biblical leader will be
concerned. He'll be concerned pertaining to
1st their own spiritual well-being and growth.
I'm so thankful that Paul doesn't leave this out of
Timothy's life. He says be diligent in these
matters, give yourself wholly to them so that everyone may see
your progress. He says, Timothy, you keep
growing in Christ, you keep maturing in Christ, you keep
considering your spiritual well-being.
It is important he's instructing Timothy to diligently surrender
to Christ. Give yourself holy to this, to
Christ and his giftedness in your life and your calling.
Give yourself holy to it, Dad. Give yourself holy to leading
your family. Moms, give yourself holy to
leading your children. There's nothing wrong with that.
Nothing. Just give yourself holy.
To it, but in doing so, be progressing.
Consider your own spiritual well-being and growth
diligently. Then study and apply the
scriptures. I'm thankful that I have an
opportunity to study and to apply the scriptures to my life
long before. I ever begin to prepare to teach
you anything. A pastor who does not consider
the importance of his spiritual well-being will never be a
biblical leader. It's important that I continue
to progress. It was important that Timothy
continued to progress. Why?
Because when we stop progressing, we start
digressing. It was important because he's
leading the family of God. That's why it's important.
That's that you progress in spiritual growth and spiritual
maturity, that you take the time you need, moms, that you take
the time that you need parents, that you work as a team so that
this can happen. Why?
Because your spiritual well-being is important.
Your personal growth is important.
Why? Because others need to see your
progress, right? When they looked at young
Timothy and they said, man, who's this young cat wet behind
the ears, He's going to pass through this church.
Then they began to look at his life and they began to say, you
know what, man? He talks mature and he lives
mature and he acts mature and he displays godliness in his life.
He takes his calling, his giftedness seriously.
Oh, and we're watching him and he's growing constantly.
He's progressing. I'm so thankful for a church
who's patient with me, who allows me to grow, allows me to
spend time making sure that I'm growing so that I can then
teach, so that I can be effective in leading others.
It comes through diligently studying and applying the
Scriptures personally so that the servant of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Is that not what Paul teaches in Second Timothy chapter 3?
Of course it is. It's like Joshua, it was
commanded even though he was already a strong leader, he was
commanded. Joshua chapter 1.
You ought to be familiar with this if you're in enrich at this
point in time or morning Bible studies.
It says in verse 6, be strong and courageous because you will
lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors
to give them. Be strong and very courageous.
Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you.
Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be
successful wherever you go. Keep this book of the law always
on your lips, meditated on it on it day and night, so that you
may be careful to do everything written in it, and then you will
be prosperous and successful. What was the key to Joshua being
a strong leader? That Joshua would take inventory
of his own spiritual well-being and that he would apply and
learn the Word of God and that he would be true to it.
Paul telling Timothy here to be diligent in these matters, to
give yourself wholly to them so that everyone will see your
progress. And then he says, watch your
life and your doctrine closely. Examine your own life and your
own doctrine continually. You know what?
There are things that I believe doctrinally.
You know what I do? I revisit them constantly in
light of the Scriptures. Why?
Because there were things that I once believed doctrinally that I
was dead wrong in. I don't want to fall into that
trap. I want to progress.
I want to learn more. I want to know more about God
and to know Him more. It comes through diligent study
of the Scripture, Being concerned with that so that I
can persevere in sound doctrine. Why is that important?
Because everything is attacking sound doctrine, isn't it?
You can say anything in this world that you want to say, but
when you preach the truth of the Scripture, outcome all the
critics. Don't they?
And so we have to persevere in sound doctrine.
We have to be concerned with this, what it means to truly
persevere and hold firmly, as he tells Titus, Titus, 19, he he
says hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it's been
taught, so that you can encourage others by sound
doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
It's important we considered we're concerned with our own
spiritual well-being and our own doctrine that we persevere in
them. When you know something is true
in the Scripture, don't back down from that.
Stay there, firmly rest there, trust in that.
Be concerned about your own spiritual well-being.
There's nothing selfish about that at all, especially if
you're a leader. And as I said, all of you are a
leader to some degree. You're a discipling a little
child. That little child deserves.
He deserves or she deserves your spiritual well-being.
Make sure that it's happening so that others will see your
progress, watching your life and your doctrine closely,
persevering in them, holding true to them, contending for
true faith. It's important.
Why? Because stunted pastors produce
stunted parishioners, stunted parents produce stunted
children. Lack of concern for your own
spiritual well-being will soon lead to a decline of a
generation. You don't believe it, look
around, we're living it. Be concerned because biblical
leadership will be concerned with their own spiritual
well-being, but also as he notates here properly, they'll
be concerned with others spiritual well-being and growth,
he said. Why is it in that order?
Well, because if we're leading, we must be strong so that we can
lead the weak. And if we're going to be strong,
we have to be concerned with our own spiritual well-being, and
then immediately following that, we have to be concerned with the
spiritual well-being of others. Because if I am not well
spiritually, you know what? There is the potential that the
entire congregation suffers because of the fact that I am
not spiritually well. When a leader decides that, yes,
I want to be concerned with being spiritually well, and he
dedicates the time and the effort into that, he can then
and only then effectively lead the congregation.
Whether that congregation be this church, whether that
congregation be your family, whether that congregation be
your home. We have to be concerned with the
spiritual well-being of others, desiring what's best for them,
for those you're leading, not letting them decide what's best
for them. Did you hear me, parents?
Isn't it interesting today we give children so many options?
What do you want for breakfast? That's not how it worked when I
was a kid. Here is breakfast, right?
I've seen parents go to three or four Dr. Thrus to pick up stuff
for their kids who couldn't get on the same page.
No, you lead them biblically. You lead them biblically in
every area of their lives, teaching them the truths of the
Scripture, teaching them what it means to be well disciplined and
to be growing in Christ, desiring the best for them.
What does that look like? Well parents, I have a sneaky
suspicion that you know what's best for your children long
before they ever do. Did you know this?
As the pastor of this church, I most of the time know what's
best for your spiritual well-being as well.
You know, I know this. I open the word of God and God
leads me to teach something, you know, you know what I can
confidently do. I can stand here today and say
this, this might not be for everyone here, but it's for
somebody because this is where God has me in this process.
And I'm concerned about your spiritual well-being, your
spiritual well-being as a leader, your spiritual
well-being as an elder or a pastor, your spiritual
well-being as a mother, as a father.
I'm concerned about that. Why?
Because biblical leadership will be concerned with the well-being
spiritually of others, concern for their souls over everything
else. You see this in the heart of
Paul there in Acts chapter 20 when he's leaving Jerusalem and,
and verse 28 there he says keep watch over yourself.
Excuse me, Ephesus, he says keep watch over yourselves and and
all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers be
shepherds of the Church of God, which he bought with his own
blood. He's telling the leaders there
to keep watch over themselves. Yes, their own spiritual
well-being and the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made
them overseers. You see exactly what he's
telling Timothy here, exactly what I'm telling you.
Be concerned, be concerned with your own spiritual well-being
and then be concerned with the spiritual well-being of others,
concentrating on walking according to God's Word in such
a way that you lead others to do the exact same that you portray
for them that which God desires of all of us.
Philippians 317 Paul says. Join together in following my
example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a
model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.
Have the spiritual well-being of others in mind, living your life
knowing that they are watching you, that they are looking to
you as you lead them. Parents, you don't think your
children are watching you, huh? You don't think that they're
mimicking every word that comes out of your mouth.
And they want to be like you and they want to do what you do.
Give them something godly to see care about their spiritual
well-being. Be a biblical leader.
And he says this. He says if you persevere in
them, he said you'll save both yourself and your hearers.
Now what he's not saying is that we save people.
Don't read too much into that. He is saying, though, that we
are instruments, that God. Uses to point others to he who
does save. And so an effective biblical
leader will be concerned with the spiritual well-being of
others, always pointing them to Christ, pointing them to Christ
for salvation, pointing them to Christ in every area of their
lives, pointing them to Christ and everything they say and
everything that they do. Biblical leadership will be
concerned. I find it disturbing at the lack
of concern that I see and a lot of the leaders who are leading
their homes these days, because you are leading your home.
You're leading your home one way or the other.
I'm disturbed by the lack that I see in the leadership in the
home of a desire for your children and their spiritual
well-being. I'll make it real for you.
If you will spend endless amounts of time and endless
amounts of money to make your child a better athlete or a
better musician or a better you fill in the blank than you do in
investing into their spiritual well-being, you are not an
effective biblical leader. I know people get angry with me
for statements like that, but I pray that you would understand
that your anger does not fall upon me because I did not make
this up. This is the Word of God and why
isn't that so-called? Christian parents give no regard
to the well-being of their own children.
Why? Because we're not concerned.
We're not concerned. Some of you are concerned with
whether other kids will like your kids or not, whether your
kids have the cool clothes, whether they go to the cool
things or they're invited to the cool parties.
When are we going to get concerned that we're leading the
next generation and we need to lead them to godliness?
When will pastors become concerned that they're leading
a. Church toward godliness.
A church toward being more like Christ instead of trying to be
the hip cool. And relevant church and
everybody wants to go to. May we be concerned, yes, with
the spiritual well-being of ourselves as we grow, but may we
be concerned with the spiritual well-being and the growth of
others? Point #4 just kidding.
May we all be biblical leaders in all that we do.
It's that simple. You are all a leader to some
degree. You may not lead in the capacity
that I lead or that the staff here at this church leads, but
you're leading in some capacity. Are you leading biblically?
Are you leading biblically in your home, in this church, in
the workplace? Dad, are you, mom, are you
pastor, elder, teacher? Are you, are you being biblical
leaders devoted to Christ and discipling others?
Are you, are you being a biblical leader to the
unbeliever? You can't lead biblically.
You're lost and you're wandering in the darkness of your sin.
You're wandering, wandering around aimlessly the depravity
of your own soul. Oh, but there is one who brought
light in. His name's Jesus.
My prayer for you today that He would draw you out of the
darkness of your sin, that He would draw you into His
marvellous and everlasting light.
That in Him, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, you would
find and rest for your soul. You would find direction for
your darkness. That you would find the
forgiveness in the eternal life that He promises in Himself.
I pray today that before you face the wrath of God for all
eternity in hell, you would hear the voice of God today in your
heart. Oh, it won't be an audible
voice, it will be a drawing of you out of the place that you
are sin, into the place that He desires for you to be, into a
righteous place, a place in right standing with God.
I pray today that Christ would have mercy on you.
He would draw you unto Himself for forgiveness and eternal
life, and that you would obediently respond and
surrender, turning from your life of sin, your life of hate,
your life of misery, and turning to Christ for life, life
eternal. Repent.
Trust in Jesus today as the only hope that you have, the only
hope that you have in not facing the wrath of God, the only hope
that you have of forgiveness of sin, the only hope that you have
for eternal life, the only hope that any man will ever have.
Call in the name of Jesus today and he will faithfully save you.
Let's pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus, we
thank you for your word. We thank you that it is true.
God, I pray that you would shake us to the core this morning.
We take our roles as leaders seriously.
And to know that generations are depending upon us to be biblical
leaders. God, that we would put
childless, childish things behind us.
We would put immaturity behind us, desire to be accepted by the
world behind us, that we strive to be biblical in our lives,
that you would from this congregation, raise up mighty
and biblical leaders for your glory and for your name's sake.
We pray these things in Christ's name.
Amen. You've been listening to Key
Life Fellowships pulpit ministry podcast.
Join us each week for more teaching from God's Word.