1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:04,920 Pastor Tucker did get to go on vacation this week, and it seems 2 00:00:04,920 --> 00:00:09,120 like the perfect week for him to go on vacation to give me this 3 00:00:09,120 --> 00:00:12,520 passage of scripture to talk about elders and leaders in the 4 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:18,040 establishment of pastors in the church from a position of not 5 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:19,960 the lead pastor. And so I'm going to stand up 6 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:23,800 here and read Paul's words to Timothy and advocate for the 7 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:27,600 role of a leader in the organization of the church. 8 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:31,880 And in doing so, I've been, I mean, praying a lot. 9 00:00:32,439 --> 00:00:34,640 We've been going through this this sermon series called 10 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:37,640 Trustworthy, Trustworthy Church. And so today we're going to be 11 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:41,360 talking about trustworthy leadership, which is honoring, 12 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:46,040 correcting, appointing and caring when it comes to the 13 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:49,680 establishment of those leaders again within the church. 14 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:52,440 So Pastor Tucker got to go on on vacation. 15 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:57,080 So as we get to the double honor portion of the scripture today, 16 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:01,720 you will know that he was able to be double honored today and 17 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:04,280 get to go and and enjoy his family. 18 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:09,560 So as I was praying through and as I was trying to figure out 19 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:13,320 exactly how you know what this passage means for the 20 00:01:13,320 --> 00:01:15,920 congregation, because I think this is an easy passage to 21 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:19,040 preach to a bunch of staff members of the church, to say 22 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:22,280 that your role and responsibility is valued and 23 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:25,200 valuable. And then to to give it to a 24 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:29,480 congregation to say, hey, now you also value and honor the 25 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:32,840 pastor and the leader, the people that are in front of you 26 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:37,880 teaching and, and praying for and, and agonizing over and 27 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:42,200 laboring and dealing with very weighty issues. 28 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:47,200 Honor them. And so as I was preparing, I 29 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:52,280 came across this, this sermon by Alistair Begg, who who does an 30 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:56,200 incredible job. But as I was, as I was reading 31 00:01:56,200 --> 00:02:00,120 it, listening to it, trying to understand it, he opened his 32 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:04,640 sermon with this quote. And I thought it was perfect to 33 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:09,160 establish just the the groundwork for us as we get into 34 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:15,920 the passage today, it says the church is not a democracy. 35 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:21,760 It is also not a dictatorship. In fact, when we turn to the 36 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,960 Bible, we see that the church is a theocracy. 37 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:31,960 It is God who rules and governs, and he chooses to mediate his 38 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:34,760 rule through the direction of godly men. 39 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:39,880 God has appointed some to leadership of others, while he 40 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:44,080 is appointed all to the leadership of Jesus Christ. 41 00:02:44,920 --> 00:02:47,480 And so as we're going through this letter that Paul writes to 42 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:50,400 Timothy, I want that to be fresh on your mind. 43 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:56,360 I want that to be what God uses to speak this message and what 44 00:02:56,360 --> 00:03:00,520 the takeaways should be. Because it's not always a 45 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:02,960 democracy. It's not always a dictatorship. 46 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:06,680 It is God who establishes the ways of the church and he puts 47 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:10,000 people in place. They need to align themselves 48 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,480 with His will, with His call, with his direction, with His 49 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:18,480 Scripture to lead and to direct and to a point and to honor. 50 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:22,400 So with that said, join me one last time in prayer as we get 51 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:24,000 into the Word. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do 52 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:27,800 humbly just come before you, Lord, asking your Holy Spirit to 53 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:30,960 speak. Lord, asking for everybody in 54 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:36,840 the room to have open hearts to hear, to be able to navigate 55 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:41,360 this letter from Paul to Timothy and the purpose of it, which was 56 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:46,400 to establish and to operate and to govern and to function your 57 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,280 church. Lord, we thank you for your 58 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:52,080 church. We love the church. 59 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:57,800 And Lord, we look to you for all guidance, for all wisdom, for 60 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:01,280 all encouragement. This day to name, we pray, Amen. 61 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,680 All right, a trustworthy church honors its leader. 62 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:10,280 So again, we're going to be in First Timothy chapter 5, looking 63 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:17,040 at verses 17 through 23, and it just naturally breaks into four, 64 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,600 four different sections, the first one being the trustworthy 65 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:24,520 church and honoring its leaders. So starting in verse 17, it says 66 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:29,400 let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, 67 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:32,520 especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. 68 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:37,080 For the Scripture says you shall not muzzle an ox while it treads 69 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:42,440 out the grain, and the laborer is worthy of his wages. 70 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:50,040 Paul very clearly states this idea of double honor and we just 71 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:53,720 focused on honoring true widows last week. 72 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:57,160 And so this idea of double honor that Paul is talking about has 73 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:02,160 2, two different aspects to the first one being just the natural 74 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:06,760 honor and respect that is given to the leader of the church who 75 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:09,920 has been appointed by God to lead us. 76 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:13,800 And so meeting them and being grateful, giving gratitude to 77 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:17,880 the one who leads well. So I also want to make sure that 78 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:21,240 we understand that it's very clear that it's not just, you 79 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:24,920 know, hey, because you're in this position, because, you 80 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:27,520 know, you have been put where you are put. 81 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:31,440 We just need to blindly go and, and follow them because I, I 82 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:35,640 know the trap that that can be because I, I, I probably do that 83 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:38,880 more often than not. Yeah, you're in this position of 84 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:40,640 leader. I just, I just follow. 85 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:43,560 I, I believe. But remember, if we keep in 86 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:46,880 front of us the idea of this theocracy that God is 87 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:51,680 establishing, God is appointing, God is putting in place then to 88 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:56,680 be able to say thank you, to be grateful, to show respect and 89 00:05:56,680 --> 00:06:00,200 honor to a pastor or a leader who is in front of us, We're 90 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:03,560 actually showing honor and gratitude to God for 91 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:06,440 establishing that person in that position. 92 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:14,480 With Tucker out of town, he did put together 5 burdens of 93 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:17,360 pastoral leadership that I do want to share with all of us. 94 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:22,280 Because unless you've walked a mile in the shoes of somebody 95 00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:25,880 who is in that position, you don't fully understand or or 96 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:29,640 can't fully grasp all that goes on. 97 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:32,160 And so I want to make sure that I established before we go any 98 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:37,480 further, the, the weight that goes into leading a church, 99 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:39,760 because it's not just, you know, like I said, it's not a 100 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:42,560 democracy. It's not a dictatorship, as as 101 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:49,280 Alistair points out, but it is you got to navigate what that 102 00:06:49,280 --> 00:06:50,760 looks like. You got to you got to follow 103 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:52,960 God's lead. You have to prayerfully consider 104 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:56,320 what every decision means. And so with Tuck out of town, 105 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,000 he, he did put this together. But I also have found myself 106 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:05,320 over the last 20 years of ministry in different rooms with 107 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:08,400 different people, different pastors, different leaders, 108 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,080 different, you know, table settings, different conferences, 109 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:13,480 different places. And, and inevitably when 110 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:14,640 somebody goes, hey, how's it going? 111 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:20,880 Often times my response is, I don't know, I'm tired. 112 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:25,960 My stomach is always tied in knots because of whatever 113 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:30,280 decision is in front of me. I don't know if I'm doing well. 114 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:32,840 I don't know if I'm leading the way that I should be leading. 115 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:38,080 I don't know if the church is happy or sad or ready to follow 116 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:42,880 at a moment's notice or upset. I often know because the comment 117 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:49,920 cards that come in, but I find that to be very similar when I 118 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:54,880 asked the same question to many pastors because being a leader, 119 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:58,120 being a pastor within a church, being an elder is not a nine to 120 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:01,520 five job. It's not go home at 5:00 and get 121 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:03,080 to be with your family. So I'm going to read these. 122 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:06,240 And again, this is, this is Pastor Tucker who wrote this for 123 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:10,560 us. And so I, I wish I was better at 124 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:12,960 doing other people's voices, but I'm not. 125 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:18,560 So this is me reading Pastor Tucker's words #1 the weight of 126 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:20,760 people's burdens. Again, this is the the five 127 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:24,520 burdens of pastoral leadership. Leadership is more than sitting 128 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:26,480 in an office with a coffee and a Bible. 129 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:29,600 A good pastor is shepherding the flock among them. 130 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:32,880 We pray for people. We sit with them in hospitals. 131 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:37,039 We counsel broken marriages. We walk them through death and 132 00:08:37,039 --> 00:08:40,440 funerals. It's emotionally heavy, and 133 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:46,320 without constant effort to cast the burdens on Jesus, it can 134 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:51,680 crush you #2 loneliness and isolation. 135 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:56,240 It's one of the great paradoxes of pastoral life. 136 00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:00,080 You could be the most recognized person in the room and still 137 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:04,040 feel utterly unknown. People know your name, your 138 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:08,160 voice, your stories from the pulpit, but that only scratches 139 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:10,320 the surface of who you really are. 140 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:15,240 The church knows the pastor, but they don't know the person. 141 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:19,480 It's a strange kind of loneliness unique to those 142 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:24,440 called to help carry the burdens of others while quietly carrying 143 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:30,360 their own as well #3 criticism and discouragement. 144 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:35,120 Pastors live in the cold reality that you can't please everyone, 145 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:41,240 but you can let everyone down. Every yes comes with a 146 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:46,480 disappointed no. Every sermon leave something 147 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:50,280 unsaid. Every season has someone 148 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:55,200 unhappy. Even constructive criticism can 149 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:58,440 be heavy. It's good to receive feedback, 150 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:04,040 but it is still exhausting. Most people have a negativity 151 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:10,200 bias and pastors are no different #4 balancing family 152 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:15,160 and ministry. There's no real line between 153 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:19,080 work and home when your job is the church. 154 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:25,520 The rhythm of ministry. The rhythms of ministry don't 155 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:29,240 clock out at 5, and neither do the needs of your own family. 156 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:35,400 That's the tension. You belong to two families, both 157 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:41,440 precious, both hungry for your attention, and neither 1 keeps 158 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:46,920 office hours. Finally #5 being supported to do 159 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:49,640 the work. There are days when I still 160 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:51,680 wrestle with the fact that this is a job. 161 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:57,400 That I get paid to pray, to study the Bible, to write 162 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:02,280 sermons, to shepherd people through joy and sorrow, weddings 163 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:05,640 and funerals. It's beautiful, but also 164 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:10,680 strange. No path, no pastor worth his 165 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:14,840 salt, wants to drift one inch towards profiting off of the 166 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:19,120 gospel. And yet here we are, drawing 167 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:23,120 paychecks from the very thing we would do for free if bills 168 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:26,640 didn't exist and kids didn't need dinner. 169 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:33,000 Sometimes I Daydream about a normal job, one where I could 170 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:37,200 still serve the Kingdom but never have to mix money with 171 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:40,360 ministry. One where I'd never have to 172 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:43,880 wonder if someone thought I was in it for the benefits. 173 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:52,000 And yet Paul is clear, gospel work is labor and laborers are 174 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:56,040 worthy of their wages. That's the tension at the heart 175 00:11:56,040 --> 00:12:00,720 of all of this. Elders are to be honored and 176 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:03,280 honor includes financial support. 177 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:11,480 So again, I don't I don't want this to sound like a pastor up 178 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:16,000 on stage saying, OK, congregation give more support, 179 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:21,200 more line our pockets so that we can continue to do the work. 180 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:25,800 But I do want to recognize that Paul is very clear in writing 181 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:31,320 this with intention to Timothy as he's calling Timothy to care 182 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:34,720 for the church at Ephesus. He's very clear in the church 183 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:38,480 government and how to go about establishing what this looks 184 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:41,840 like in those principles still land true today. 185 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:44,880 I don't know how many times I've had the conversation with 186 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:48,040 different people when they find out what I do for a job, they 187 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:49,760 go, that's cool. What do you do during the week, 188 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:55,440 which is I don't often preach. This is actually my first time 189 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:58,080 on a Sunday morning and six years that I've been here that I 190 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:01,440 stood in front of and so it seems seems purposeful. 191 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:04,640 Thank you. It seems purposeful for the 192 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:06,960 executive pastor to get up and talk about giving more money. 193 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:11,240 I'm kidding that that is not where this is, this is landing. 194 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:14,480 And I want the conviction in your life to really truly be the 195 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:21,280 conviction given to us by God. But again, as as pastors, you 196 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:25,640 know, as leaders, I think anybody in in a business who is 197 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:30,440 tasked with bringing people along knows the struggle of the 198 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:34,320 human nature, right? You know, the agony that goes 199 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:36,400 along with every decision that is made. 200 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,680 And that is no different when it comes to the church. 201 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:44,040 If anything, I can speak from example with the my stomach 202 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:48,840 being tied in knots every time I have to make a decision, knowing 203 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,160 that when I say yes to something, I'm actually saying 204 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:54,440 no to something else and agonizing over is this God's 205 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:58,200 will or is this my plan? Is this what God would have in 206 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:00,280 store for the leadership of the entire church? 207 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:03,200 Or is this something that just Matt wants to do? 208 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:09,160 And so I, I want that to come across very, very clear that it 209 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:17,200 is labor, it is weight, it is, it is weighty, it is work. 210 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:20,280 It does take time. It does take process. 211 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:22,880 It does take. And so if you've ever sat in 212 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:24,640 here and you're like, man, do they even think about what 213 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:27,640 they're doing? They got a white wall now. 214 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:31,040 Did anybody think about, I might like the black wall? 215 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:39,480 Yes, yes, a lot and a lot and a lot more than I would like to 216 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:42,360 admit. We thought about the color of 217 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:45,800 that wall, but that goes across the board. 218 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:48,240 I mean, as, as you know that I talked about these five 219 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:52,520 different things. We sit with people, we shepherd 220 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:55,360 the flock. When somebody in this 221 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:58,480 congregation sitting here with 1000 people represented, when 222 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:02,520 somebody has an issue, when they're in turmoil, when their 223 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:06,840 marriage is failing, when a loved one dies, a pastor comes 224 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:10,720 alongside and carries that weight with them. 225 00:15:11,760 --> 00:15:16,560 It is work, it is labor, it is valuable, but it's been 226 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:20,320 established by God. So as the congregation, what 227 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:23,960 does that look like when it comes to our honor and our 228 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:28,640 respect and our care? And it doesn't come without, you 229 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:33,520 know, without account first. Peter 5 says a pastor must lead 230 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:36,560 willingly, not out of obligation. 231 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:43,560 It must be eager and not greedy. It must be examples and not 232 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:48,440 Lords. It must serve with humility and 233 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:53,560 faithfulness in Christ. Everything that we try to do is 234 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:58,600 done prayerfully considering what God would want for this 235 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:02,120 congregation. It's also not looking at the 236 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:04,360 church down the street and saying they have a really good 237 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:09,440 strategic plan. Let's follow that because we're 238 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:15,640 not CE OS running a Fortune 500 company that gets to focus on 239 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:19,520 generating more revenue so that we can reach more people. 240 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:25,120 This is faith, this is trust. This is established by God. 241 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:29,440 And so when Paul writes the scripture, you shall not muzzle 242 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:32,720 an ox while it treads out the grain that comes directly from 243 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:38,600 Deuteronomy 25 verse four. And what he's saying is there if 244 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:41,640 we were a Fortune 500 company, if we were CE OS just trying to 245 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,240 figure out how to generate more revenue so that we could sell 246 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:49,920 our product even more better. That was didn't come out right, 247 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,360 but it would drive sell more better products. 248 00:16:54,160 --> 00:17:00,240 We would be like the pagans. They put the muzzle on the ox. 249 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:04,079 The purpose of the ox, the the exact what Paul is referencing 250 00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:07,520 here is an ox. They would put a put a post in 251 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:10,800 the middle of a field and they would put all the grain with the 252 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:12,400 the husks and everything on the ground. 253 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:14,880 And the ox would be tied to the post and it was starting the 254 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:17,400 outside and as it walked in a circle it would get closer and 255 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:19,920 closer to the post and it would be working. 256 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:24,160 It would do it be doing the work that that men would normally do 257 00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:28,079 and it would be breaking the stock from the seed so they 258 00:17:28,079 --> 00:17:29,800 could then go and gather the seed and use. 259 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:32,320 And they said no, no, no, no. We want to, we want to keep all 260 00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:34,800 of the revenue. We don't want to pay the ox. 261 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:37,160 The ox is free labor. So why would we do that? 262 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:42,920 And Paul says no, no, no, don't put a muzzle on an ox. 263 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:48,320 Give the ox what it it needs. Give the ox. 264 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:54,320 Pay it for its work. Allow it to graze on the stock 265 00:17:54,360 --> 00:17:56,680 and the seed while it is threshing. 266 00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:02,000 Same thing for a pastor. As your pastor, as your leaders, 267 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:05,760 as they are working, as they are caring, as they are toiling, as 268 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:09,240 they are laboring to care for the flock among them. 269 00:18:10,120 --> 00:18:16,840 Pay them. Pay them, allow them to earn a 270 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:19,840 wage that is worthy of the work that they do. 271 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:27,800 That never ends. Pastor Tucker mentioned families 272 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:34,040 and being a leader, being a pastor, being a church leader 273 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:35,720 doesn't. It doesn't end. 274 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:39,760 It's one of the weirdest jobs I think I've ever had because it, 275 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:44,600 it, it, it doesn't go away. Everything continues, and I know 276 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:47,720 that there are people in here that it's the exact same way. 277 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:51,640 And so please hear me say we're getting into the Scripture or 278 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:54,680 recognizing how Paul is telling Timothy how to establish the 279 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:57,080 church. And then again, those principles 280 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:03,520 land true to us today #2A trustworthy church. 281 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:09,520 Judges Sin fairly says do not receive an accusation against an 282 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,440 elder except from two or three witnesses. 283 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:18,440 Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of of all that the 284 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:22,760 rest also may fear. I have 4 kids. 285 00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:26,880 I don't want to admit that it was on accident. 286 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:30,640 No I'm kidding. The the 4th, the 3rd and 4th 287 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:33,800 were twins. So it was not on purpose, but it 288 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:37,760 was God's plan. And I was as I was, as I was 289 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:40,760 thinking about this passage, it was like, you know, do not 290 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:43,800 receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three 291 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:47,480 of this comes from Deuteronomy 19 talking about don't just 292 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:50,080 listen to one person's accusation and make a quick 293 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:53,520 judgment and correct them. Like get witness from two or 294 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:55,880 three people, validate the claim. 295 00:19:55,880 --> 00:20:00,720 Do the investigation, do your due diligence before going and, 296 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:03,800 and bringing them in front of everybody and making an example 297 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:07,240 out of them. And again, I have four daughters 298 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:12,920 and in our house, it is very, it happens more often than not of 299 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:17,480 an accusation flying against somebody else in the home, 300 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:20,880 right? So, and so did whatever you 301 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:23,080 could think of. It's always, you know, you think 302 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:26,480 4 girls, it wouldn't be weird. It's it's the same. 303 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:31,880 But an accusation flies, and then I have to go, OK, what's my 304 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:35,360 role in this? Do I believe the one or do I now 305 00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:39,760 go to the other two and say, hey, can can you validate this? 306 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:45,320 Did this actually happen? Can you give witness to what you 307 00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:49,240 just saw? And I know that I equate, you 308 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:52,960 know, treating elders with the four kids in my home. 309 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:54,960 But the principal stays the same. 310 00:20:56,240 --> 00:21:00,200 Principle is don't be so quick to judge, but don't also dismiss 311 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:03,400 it. Again, I think if I were so 312 00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:08,040 quick to take every accusation against anybody in the church or 313 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:14,000 pastors or leaders with the comment cards that don't have a 314 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,640 name attached to them, nobody would be here. 315 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:22,120 I know that we all have preferences, I know that we all 316 00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:24,200 have desires. I know that we all have ways 317 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:26,400 that things should be in our eyes. 318 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:32,080 But again, looking at the Gods establishment of the church and 319 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:37,440 Paul directing Timothy, leaders are to not be quick. 320 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:43,320 However, if two or three come forth with the same accusation 321 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:48,920 of an elder sinning, he's very clear about bring them in front 322 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:53,040 of the entire congregation and not just make an example out of 323 00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:59,000 them, but point it out. Let the church see he he says 324 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:05,360 specifically that the rest also may fear and get. 325 00:22:05,360 --> 00:22:09,760 It doesn't happen very often in my home when I have to make a, a 326 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:14,280 public example out of one of my daughter's, but I guarantee when 327 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:19,040 I do and the other three see it, they know exactly how to act or 328 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:25,680 not to act moving forward. And so believe me when I say we 329 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:31,480 don't take accusations lightly. We don't, we don't take that 330 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:34,880 lightly at all. And there is a process that we 331 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:36,800 go through. I'm going through it currently. 332 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,000 It is no fun. It's not fun at all. 333 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:45,800 And and it is work. It is labor, it is strenuous, it 334 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:49,400 is taxing, it is exhausting, it is nerve racking. 335 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:54,200 It causes me to lose sleep because I don't want to get it 336 00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:57,400 wrong. So Paul saying, hey, Timothy, 337 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:02,480 you're this is going to happen. People are going to have 338 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:06,160 accusations against somebody else, including leaders in your 339 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:11,200 church, when it happens. Be mindful of that. 340 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:14,400 Be cautious about that, be careful with that. 341 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:19,360 Go slow with that when slow needs to be the speed to go and 342 00:23:19,360 --> 00:23:22,560 be quick with it if quick is the speed that it needs to be. 343 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:26,600 And that's the interesting thing about leadership in a church. 344 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:31,480 We have Scripture to give us reference on how to maneuver, 345 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:35,640 but Scripture doesn't speak to every instance that we have to 346 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:40,520 navigate. And so be praying for your 347 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:44,040 pastors, be encouraging your pastors. 348 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:48,080 Give them the first honor of respect and encouragement. 349 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:52,840 The second of, you know, never second guessing if if this is 350 00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:55,840 the job that they should be doing or having to go get a 351 00:23:55,840 --> 00:24:00,720 second job or a third job or a real job so that they can do the 352 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:02,600 ministry that God has called them to. 353 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:07,120 Secondly, continue to pray for them as they navigate through 354 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:12,360 difficulties. You know, Paul had a, there was 355 00:24:12,360 --> 00:24:13,920 a different way of doing church back in the day. 356 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:17,000 It was obviously not show up on a Sunday, listen to worship and 357 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:20,400 a sermon and move on with your life and go about your business. 358 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:24,200 It was more communal. But even then there was a desire 359 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:27,520 to be private, right? I think obviously now we have a 360 00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:31,640 little more of a desire for our sins to be private, for actions 361 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:34,440 to be private, for the things that we go through on a a weekly 362 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:38,320 basis to be private. And so to bring them into this 363 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:44,840 arena and confess them is is a lot more difficult. 364 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:48,240 And so in his time, obviously bringing them in front of the 365 00:24:48,360 --> 00:24:51,280 the church family made a little more sense. 366 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:54,480 But we are to do the same thing today. 367 00:24:55,760 --> 00:25:01,720 And the church history, this church history does have sin in 368 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:07,040 its in its background, does have brokenness in relationships in 369 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:11,120 its background. And so this is not unique in 370 00:25:11,120 --> 00:25:14,560 this setting. And, and we have to recognize 371 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:17,400 that as a a pastor and a leader of a church, we have to navigate 372 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:22,440 through those gently, cautiously, carefully, 373 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:27,840 prayerfully, with honor and dignity, but also do the 374 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:36,920 difficult thing sometimes #3A trustworthy church appoints 375 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:41,680 leaders wisely. And Paul is very clear on on 376 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:44,920 saying this right after he talks about the sin of an elder 377 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:47,360 because he goes, hey, I think you could save yourself some 378 00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:51,720 heartache if you just go slow. Don't lay hands on people too 379 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:53,200 quickly. I'll read it. 380 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:55,840 It says verse 21. It says, I charge you before God 381 00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:59,360 and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels, that you 382 00:25:59,360 --> 00:26:02,800 observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with 383 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:06,880 partiality. Do not lay hands on anyone 384 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:10,440 hastily, nor share in other people's sins. 385 00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:16,200 Keep yourself pure. Again, I charge you before God 386 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,120 and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels, that you 387 00:26:19,120 --> 00:26:25,560 observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with 388 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:28,600 partiality. There is a severity to this. 389 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:33,920 What Paul is telling Timothy is be very, very serious when it 390 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:37,720 comes to the establishment of leaders within the church. 391 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:42,080 Go slow. Witness what they are doing. 392 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:44,960 See the fruit from their actions, from just the way that 393 00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:48,480 they conduct their lives. Are they believing in Jesus 394 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:52,320 Christ and being established in leadership by him or do they 395 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:57,640 have ulterior motives? Paul in chapter 1, he talks 396 00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:00,160 about it, he says, hey, watch out for those ones that are 397 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:03,760 trying to rise up from within the church who desire leadership 398 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:06,440 but are doing it from a position of pride. 399 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:13,840 There needs to be a humility that is witnessed by the leaders 400 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:14,960 that are going to be established. 401 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:19,360 And Paul tells Timothy go slow. Do not lay hands on anyone 402 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:22,920 hastily nor share in their people's sins. 403 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:33,240 Keep yourself pure, go slow when you're establishing a leader, 404 00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:37,600 witness their character, see what they're all about. 405 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:42,920 Character, not charisma, builds long term trust. 406 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:48,120 There was a a friend I used to do ministry with and he was one 407 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:51,320 of three boys. I have 4 girls now. 408 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:54,960 He was one of three boys growing up and his mom had a saying. 409 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:57,120 I think I shared this at man camp a couple years ago or maybe 410 00:27:57,120 --> 00:28:04,120 even last year, but she would say one boy is a boy, 2 boys is 411 00:28:04,120 --> 00:28:09,320 half of a boy, three boys is not a boy at all. 412 00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:13,520 Paul is telling Timothy, hey, don't find yourself in the same 413 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:17,440 situation. Don't allow their bad behavior 414 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:21,640 to rub off on you and find yourself in that same bad 415 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:26,440 behavior. Don't allow the sin of others to 416 00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:31,520 pull you away, to allow you to live a life that is not God 417 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:35,640 honoring. And then finally #4 and I, I had 418 00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:38,560 to preface this first service, and I don't know that I did a 419 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:42,120 very good job of it because jokingly after first service, 420 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:45,080 most of them said, I'm going to go home and drink wine now. 421 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:48,600 I was like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no #4 is there's a 422 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:52,800 trustworthy church cares for its leaders holistically. 423 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:54,520 And it comes specifically from verse 23. 424 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:56,000 It says no longer drink only water. 425 00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:59,240 And again, this is Paul speaking to Timothy, many, many years of 426 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:02,360 ministry. And so Paul probably knows the 427 00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:08,280 way that Timothy deals with handles, carries the burdens of 428 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:09,920 the people that he's interacting with. 429 00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:14,640 He says no longer drink only water, but use a little wine for 430 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:18,560 your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities. 431 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:22,200 And in that day, the wine would it, would it would settle, 432 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:25,720 settle the stomach. It was used for medicinal 433 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:28,280 purposes. And the purpose of this, the 434 00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:31,040 purpose of Paul talking to Timothy in such a way to say, 435 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:35,680 hey, make sure that you still have some time for yourself not 436 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:38,320 to go and drink excessively and get drunk. 437 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,880 Scripture is very clear about not doing that, but allow a 438 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:46,560 little bit of wine to calm your stomach to take care of the 439 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:51,400 ailments that you carry. That can be a direct effect of 440 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:56,800 being in ministry doing the work that God has called you to do. 441 00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:00,880 So again, in student ministry, at the end of the message, I 442 00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:03,000 always had to say, hey, what 3 things are you going to go tell 443 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:06,720 your parents that you learned drinking wine is not one of 444 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:10,160 them. OK, Paul is specifically saying, 445 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:15,720 Timothy, take care of yourself. Don't forget to give yourself 446 00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:17,920 some time. Don't forget to minister to 447 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:20,760 those that you love. Don't forget to have healthy 448 00:30:20,760 --> 00:30:24,000 relationships. Don't forget to enjoy the day. 449 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:28,520 Don't forget to. He recognizes the weightiness of 450 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:32,000 ministry and he's encouraging Timothy. 451 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:34,960 Hey, don't get so caught up in it. 452 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:39,240 Don't look to yourself for all of the answers. 453 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:43,040 Instead, seek God in everything that you do. 454 00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:45,960 Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you. 455 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:51,120 Allow the Holy Spirit to guide and to maneuver and to care for 456 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:52,920 you. But there will be times. 457 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:54,480 And trust me, I feel it right now. 458 00:30:55,240 --> 00:31:00,640 I'm very, very nervous. Take time for yourself. 459 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:04,240 There is a weightiness that comes with this. 460 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:07,640 I asked Tucker, I was like, do you feel this every week? 461 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:13,480 And he goes, Yep, because we want to do what's right in God's 462 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:17,000 eyes. We want to lead a congregation 463 00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:22,120 with integrity. We want to maneuver in this 464 00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:27,000 culture in such a way that God gets the glory, but we also 465 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:29,000 understand the weightiness of it. 466 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:34,120 And it's by no mistake that I've said weightiness a lot because 467 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:40,600 it is a burden that if we carry on our own, it will drill us 468 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:44,000 through the ground. And I know that that's true for 469 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:45,760 so many in the congregation today. 470 00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:50,160 But praise God because he made a way. 471 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:55,640 He had a plan. He sent his Son Jesus Christ to 472 00:31:55,640 --> 00:32:03,280 die on the cross for our sins. He said his yoke is easy, His 473 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:06,200 teaching is easy, and his burden is light. 474 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:13,720 Allow Jesus into the process. So congregation, pray for your 475 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:17,280 leaders. Congregation also go to your 476 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:21,280 leaders. Congregation, go to one another, 477 00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:25,720 care for one another, minister to one another. 478 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:30,120 Recognize the family of God that has been established here in 479 00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:38,480 this little corner of our city. Would you stand with me? 480 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:43,480 We're going to take communion because Scripture is very clear 481 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:47,840 that God loved us so much while we were still sinners. 482 00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:57,160 Christ died for us. And I want us to remember that 483 00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:03,760 we are acting as a theocracy, looking to God's Word and the 484 00:33:03,760 --> 00:33:07,480 Holy Spirit to guide and to direct. 485 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:14,960 So Scripture says, as we gather together, we take communion and 486 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:17,720 remembrance of what Jesus Christ did for us. 487 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:22,040 So we'll take the bread which represents his body being broken 488 00:33:22,040 --> 00:33:25,400 for us, and we'll take the cup which represents his blood being 489 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:29,840 poured out for us. We'll take it in remembrance of 490 00:33:29,840 --> 00:33:35,640 Him believing and trusting and having faith in His Holy Spirit 491 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:40,400 that lives and is active in our lives so that everything that 492 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:45,360 goes from beyond this place, we are representative of His 493 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:48,120 Kingdom, of His goodness, of His love. 494 00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:53,280 Not just here at church, but in the marketplace, in the 495 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:58,200 workspace, at our homes. When we're exhausted and we need 496 00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:02,240 a break, recognize that God is for us.