1 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:08,520 This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Lewis 2 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:12,200 Harold, assistant pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland 3 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:16,520 County in Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Lewis as he 4 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:18,920 continues teaching through God's Word. 5 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:40,360 You never want to see anybody in here walking up to you asking 6 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:43,960 you for money or pushing money. That's just not something we do, 7 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:46,600 and ministry shouldn't be about that. 8 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:50,720 That's like having a covetous pastors who are always looking 9 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:53,600 to make more money. There's some pastors who are 10 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:57,920 involved in schemes outside of the church to try to make more 11 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:02,040 and more money for themselves. Well, if you're focused on that, 12 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,480 it's very hard to be focused on shepherding the flock. 13 00:01:04,879 --> 00:01:08,600 As we continue considering the qualifications for an elder in 14 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:11,880 the 3rd chapter of First Timothy, we learned that money 15 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:14,160 can't be a focal point for an elder. 16 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,120 Now, this doesn't mean that an elder is called to live a 17 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:19,760 destitute life and not be responsible. 18 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:24,200 It just means that an elder is not someone who is fixated on 19 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:27,080 wealth. Money and the pursuit of money 20 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:30,640 can't be the focus of a biblical elder's life. 21 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:34,840 Maybe you're listening and you sense God is calling you to be 22 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:38,080 an elder in the church. How is your relationship with 23 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:41,360 money now? Here's Pastor Lewis in the Book 24 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:45,400 of First Timothy, chapter 3, with today's edition of Living 25 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:50,040 Waters of Grace. He says that a pastor is a man 26 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:53,640 of he's, he's a man. He's the, he's the husband of 27 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:57,120 one wife. Every husband I know is a man 28 00:01:57,120 --> 00:01:59,120 and every wife that I know is a woman. 29 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:04,040 So it's not a position that's opened up for a woman. 30 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:07,160 Now, there's other ministries in the church where women are 31 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,840 definitely able to feel and function in, but the pastor or 32 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:13,320 the elder position is not one of them. 33 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:17,160 And here in Calvary Chapel, we don't have women pastors and 34 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:19,840 women elders. We don't have them. 35 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:23,760 We have women teachers who teach other women, who teach children, 36 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:28,360 but we don't have pastors and elders who are women. 37 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:33,800 So he goes on and he says not given to wine. 38 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:37,480 I'm sorry, before we get to not to the wine part. 39 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:38,840 I don't know why I ran there first. 40 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:45,280 But anyway, he said he must also be temperate, OK, temperate. 41 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:49,080 So that means that he must be vigilant or have self-control. 42 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:51,680 He must be a sober someone who is sober. 43 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:55,720 He's his mind is not clouded. He's not someone who is given to 44 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:58,000 extremes. You know, he's not someone who 45 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,840 has these drastic mood swings, quick tempered person, but he's 46 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:05,400 under control. He can control himself, his 47 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:08,680 temper and also his passions. He's a temperate man. 48 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:13,280 He's reliable, trustworthy. He keeps his head in all 49 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:18,600 situations and then he goes on. He says he must be sober minded, 50 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,160 which is very similar to being temperate. 51 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:25,640 But he approaches the work of the ministry with a seriousness. 52 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:30,440 This is someone who understands the value of ministry. 53 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:34,640 He understands the value of being a leader of a 54 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:37,080 congregation, the leader of sheep. 55 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:39,640 He understands what that means. Now, that doesn't mean that 56 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:45,240 he's, you know, always, you know, a stern and ever laughs or 57 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:48,000 you can't hold a regular conversation with them. 58 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:50,320 That's not what this is. What he's saying here. 59 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:53,320 What he's saying here is that he understands that the ministry 60 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:56,440 that he is called to is a ministry of seriousness about 61 00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:58,280 souls. It's about winning souls and 62 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:03,040 teaching people who have given their lives to Christ the way of 63 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:05,800 the way, the way of Christianity, to give 64 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:10,360 instruction on instructional teaching on how to walk and live 65 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:12,400 as a Christian. And that's serious. 66 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,760 That's serious. So he understands the validity 67 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:19,160 of that. So he upholds the gospel message 68 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:22,720 with seriousness. And again, doesn't mean that he 69 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:26,920 has to lack a sense of humor. You know, some of the funniest 70 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:30,240 men that I know are pastors. You know, they're your sense of 71 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:31,760 humor. Sometimes it could be a little 72 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:35,000 dry, but it's still funny. You know, it's they're they're 73 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:37,960 very pleasant to be around. Very pleasant to be around. 74 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,800 Let's see the next one goes into now we're able to talk about the 75 00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:46,920 the good behavior. And this is really important 76 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:51,080 because Paul almost talks about the person being a person of 77 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:54,840 good behavior, almost the way that he talks about the women 78 00:04:54,840 --> 00:04:58,400 and the way that they dressed over in first Timothy 29 over 79 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:00,880 first Timothy 29. If you just turn back there just 80 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:05,160 for a second here, it says in like manner also that the women 81 00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:09,600 adorn themselves in modest apparel with a propriety and 82 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:14,560 moderation, not with braided hair or gold pearls or costly 83 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:19,320 clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness 84 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,800 and good works. Paul's also is almost making 85 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:26,880 that same distinction with the behavior of a pastor, and he is 86 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:32,000 saying that just as a woman has to be modest in her dress, she 87 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:35,120 has to be a woman who dresses in good taste. 88 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:39,320 That it doesn't draw attention to her and doesn't deflect 89 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:43,240 attention away from God. Neither should the man of God 90 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:47,760 behave behave himself in a way that distracts or deflects the 91 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:52,600 attention from God or the gospel and keeps his attention on him. 92 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,680 He shouldn't be boisterous. He shouldn't be loud and 93 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:58,320 obnoxious. He shouldn't be someone who is 94 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:00,960 rude. He shouldn't be someone who is 95 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:03,200 disgraceful or does disgraceful things. 96 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:08,960 So he should do nothing to deflect the glory of God, 97 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:13,120 reflect off the glory of God for people who are looking at him, 98 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:17,720 but they should see Christ in him and in his behavior. 99 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:20,200 He should be a person of good behavior. 100 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:22,960 Then he goes on into hospital. He should be hospitable. 101 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:27,040 And I remember when I was younger and always refer back to 102 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,480 that because the church was just so was kind of different than 103 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:30,960 the way it is now. And I'm sure a lot of you can 104 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,480 relate to that. But when I was younger, when it 105 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:37,120 came to hospital, you know, hospitality, there would be 106 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:40,280 times when other churches would come into the area to attend 107 00:06:40,280 --> 00:06:44,000 services at our church and they would bring in, you know, bus 108 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,520 loads of people. And a lot of those people didn't 109 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:50,360 have anywhere to stay. So the Christians in that town 110 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:52,960 that was going to the church, they would open up their homes 111 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:55,880 for these people to stay. They would open up their homes. 112 00:06:56,040 --> 00:07:00,080 They are being hospitable. I know here when people come 113 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:03,120 here to visit to, whether it's the teach here or the 114 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,480 missionaries come to give their reports and to share with us 115 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:09,080 there, we always accommodate them. 116 00:07:09,280 --> 00:07:12,600 We accommodate them. We set them up in a place to, to 117 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:16,160 be either rather it's in someone's house or we pay for 118 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:18,560 the accommodations at a, at an inn. 119 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:21,120 We pay for their meals, we take care of it, make sure that 120 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:23,160 they're fed and that they have what they need. 121 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:27,120 You know, we're hospitable toward people who come and 122 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:29,040 visit. And that's really important 123 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:31,840 because we have to be willing. A pastor should be willing to 124 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,440 open up their home. Now, that term hospital 125 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:37,120 literally means loving the stranger. 126 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:40,120 That's what literally means loving the stranger. 127 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:42,800 So it's loving somebody that you don't really know anything 128 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:43,960 about. Now, these people are 129 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:46,560 Christians. We're talking about Christians, 130 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:50,640 other Christians, but they may be coming from other areas and 131 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:53,720 you are hospitable to them. But we're also hospital to 132 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:56,880 people who have need, who have not given their lives to Christ. 133 00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:59,320 We have helped people in that way as well. 134 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:03,040 We've helped people have find housing or or help people 135 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:06,680 accommodate them for a couple nights in a inn for a couple 136 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:10,120 nights if they're homeless. So we have been hospitable 137 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:13,440 towards both those that are inside the church and those who 138 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:17,400 have been outside of the church. Romans 12 and 13 says it talks 139 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:20,800 about the distributing to the needs of the Saints and being 140 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:25,000 given to hospitality. Hebrews 13 and two says that you 141 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:30,200 we're not to forget to entertain strangers for by so or for by 142 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:34,960 doing so we unknowingly entertain angels. 143 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:39,000 So we need to also look at being hospitable. 144 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:42,919 How important that is. Now there was a case in 3rd John 145 00:08:43,159 --> 00:08:46,640 where the atrophis was a man who was not hospitable. 146 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:51,600 In fact, he refused to receive the missionaries and actually 147 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,360 denied or did not permit anyone else in his church to receive 148 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:58,520 them. So Paul said that this person 149 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:01,880 would be dealt with. That is not the way of the Lord. 150 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:07,120 That is not the Christian way is to deny hospitality to a brother 151 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:09,920 or a sister. So we should be hospitable. 152 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,160 And then of course #7 says we got to be able to teach. 153 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:18,200 We got to be able to teach. Now, that able to teach is not 154 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:21,680 just to be skilled in teaching, for there's a lot of people who 155 00:09:21,680 --> 00:09:26,240 are able to stand up here and project words with clarity or 156 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:28,880 communicate in a way that's eloquent. 157 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:30,760 There's a lot of people were able to do that. 158 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:33,600 But when he's talking about being able to teach, he's 159 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:38,520 talking about being able to teach the word of God, to study, 160 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:43,880 to show yourself approved someone who is a student, a 161 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:48,400 careful student in the Word of God, but not in their own 162 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:52,880 strength. Again, it has to be someone who 163 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:58,600 is willing and who knows that the teaching power does not come 164 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:02,120 from themselves, but it comes from the Holy Spirit. 165 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:07,040 You have to be someone that's given to prayer, someone that is 166 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:11,800 always calling on the help of the Holy Spirit to help you to 167 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:15,760 teach the Word of God. That's where the power is. 168 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:20,240 That's where the power is. It's not the words that come out 169 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:24,440 of my mouth by myself, but it's when the words that come out of 170 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:26,800 my mouth is empowered by the Holy Spirit. 171 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:31,160 That's what touches hearts. That's what touches hearts. 172 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:36,320 So we have to be able to teach. And you know what, every pastor, 173 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:39,160 you know, everyone who teaches does not necessarily have to be 174 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:41,200 a pastor there. You know, we have teachers in 175 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:43,480 the church that are not pastors. They're teachers. 176 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:47,840 They're teachers, good teachers, qualified teachers, able 177 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:52,400 teachers, but every teacher is not a pastor, but every pastor 178 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:57,520 has to be a teacher. Every pastor has to be able to 179 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:02,480 teach the word of God. And we go on here and it says 180 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:06,680 that I also a pastor, must not be given to wine. 181 00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:13,360 Now we get to the wine part. Pastor has to be not given to 182 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:15,760 wine. And what that means is not under 183 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:20,720 the control of wine. The Bible actually does not 184 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:25,200 teach that we should be abstinent, Total, total 185 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:28,000 abstinence from wine. The Bible does not teach that. 186 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:32,560 But what the Bible does teach on is that it teaches against 187 00:11:32,560 --> 00:11:35,560 drunkenness. It teaches against the excess 188 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:40,080 use of wine. It teaches against that. 189 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:47,920 So a man of God is not prohibited from drinking wine. 190 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:53,280 Wine was a big part of the culture back in the Jewish 191 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:54,680 culture. It's a big part of that. 192 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:57,480 And part, and the reason, well, the main reason was actually is 193 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:01,120 because the water was so bad. The water was so bad. 194 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:04,600 I mean, it was, it had microorganisms in it that would 195 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:07,720 cause people to get sick. And it had all kind of things in 196 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:09,040 it. And, and actually, they would 197 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:12,960 put a little wine in the water to purify the water. 198 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:15,520 Wine actually helped to purify the water. 199 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:17,040 So that's what they would drink wine. 200 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:20,400 Now, it wouldn't be strong. It would be, you know, just a, a 201 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:24,080 weak amount of wine in the water just to be able to purify so 202 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:27,440 that they can drink it. So it wasn't always used for 203 00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:30,760 ceremonial celebrations and things of that nature. 204 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:37,960 But we are clearly taught that we are not to use wine to access 205 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:41,120 or we're not to use it to the point where we're becoming 206 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:43,240 drunk. And in fact, some versions of 207 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:46,560 this may actually say, you know, that we're not to be drunkard. 208 00:12:46,560 --> 00:12:49,880 So we don't use that term a whole lot, but that's exactly 209 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:52,600 what some of the term, maybe someone has that version where 210 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:56,440 it says that, you know, we're not to be drunkards, not to be 211 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,000 drunkards. We also know that wine could be 212 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:02,200 used for medicinal purposes. First Timothy 5 and 23, Paul 213 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:04,400 tells Timothy, look, take a little bit of wine for your 214 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:06,840 stomach. You having issues with your 215 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:10,600 stomach, Drink a little wine for that stomach, you know, so it 216 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:12,680 can be used for medicinal purposes. 217 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:17,320 But we've also seen wine used in a way that could cause damage, 218 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:22,640 like if you go back into the day of Noah, for example, Noah, the 219 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:28,240 excess use of wine caused his his son to sin, his son to sin, 220 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:32,920 his son Ham that caused the sin Lot drank too much wine and he 221 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:38,440 became the father of two very Pagan nations, Moab and Ammon. 222 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:41,560 And it was after he had gotten drunk. 223 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:45,840 It was actually incest. And I know we talked about that 224 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:52,080 here before, but it was incest. He fathered two children to his 225 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:56,320 two daughters while he was on the influence of wine. 226 00:13:57,200 --> 00:13:59,800 So like I said, the Bible does not teach that you have to 227 00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:03,000 totally abstain from drinking, but it doesn't encourage that 228 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:06,360 you drink either. Doesn't encourage it as well. 229 00:14:06,680 --> 00:14:09,440 A pastor should be aware of the type of message that he is 230 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:12,920 sending when he's drinking. Got to be aware of the fact that 231 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:15,040 he is. An example could cause someone 232 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:18,400 to stumble. Romans 1421 says it's good to 233 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:24,200 neither eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your 234 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:28,520 brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. 235 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:33,840 And then he also says that we shouldn't be strikers or 236 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:36,480 nonviolent. We should be nonviolent. 237 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:40,840 We shouldn't be people who are easily pushed into a physical 238 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:44,640 fight. You know, it's probably not a 239 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:47,000 good look if you walk out the door one saying I'm on the 240 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:51,200 corner beating somebody up, you know, I mean, you know, getting 241 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:53,120 into an argument with somebody and I just start throwing 242 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:55,200 punches, you know, because I'm, you know, because I get that 243 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:59,600 that's probably not a good look. Probably not. 244 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:02,200 You probably wouldn't want to hear from me again up here. 245 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:09,040 So we really should not be easily provoked into fighting. 246 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:11,800 We shouldn't be fighting. All right. 247 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:14,960 So this is what Paul is saying and the reason why he said this. 248 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:17,200 You know, I mean, it might sound like it's kind of wild, but, you 249 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:22,240 know, back in the day, you know, some of those prophets and some 250 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:25,320 of those teachers back in the days, they would get physical 251 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:29,040 with the posers. They would pull out patches of 252 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:32,280 hair from the beards and strike them and hit them with sticks 253 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:34,680 and things of that nature because they weren't in 254 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:37,000 agreement with what they were teaching or that they were 255 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,760 sinning. They would actually strike 256 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:43,360 people. So it wasn't, you know, far off 257 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:47,520 that Paul talks about this. But we should not be verbally or 258 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:50,480 physically contentious. We shouldn't be contentious with 259 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:54,920 anybody and always looking for a fight, shouldn't be quick 260 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:58,240 tempered in that way at all, shouldn't be prone to that type 261 00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:01,960 of violence. And then ten, he says, not 262 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:05,840 greedy for money, not greedy for money. 263 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:08,600 And you would think that this is something that you shouldn't 264 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:12,960 have to talk about. But you know, the desire to 265 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:16,800 obtain more and more money can happen before you know it. 266 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:21,400 You know, when money starts to be an object for you, before you 267 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:25,560 know it, almost everything that you do is geared around you 268 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:28,840 getting money is geared around you getting money. 269 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:34,920 You know, people talk about is it unlawful to gamble or to do 270 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:37,360 things of that nature? But when you think about it, 271 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:41,680 when someone is given to that to the point where they're losing 272 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:45,480 control, it's because the money has become almost, it's come 273 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:50,840 like an idol and they're constantly seeking more and more 274 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:56,840 and more of it. We also understand that the, you 275 00:16:56,840 --> 00:17:01,040 know, the people who are in the ministry for money, you know, 276 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:02,840 are, are, are in it for the wrong reason. 277 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,839 I mean, if a person goes in to be a pastor because they're 278 00:17:05,839 --> 00:17:08,000 trying to be rich, then they're going into it for the wrong 279 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:13,160 reason. We shouldn't run our churches 280 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:16,880 like corporations where we care more about revenue than we do 281 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:19,720 about souls. We can't do that. 282 00:17:21,079 --> 00:17:24,400 It's about sharing the gospel and getting the gospel message 283 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:28,960 out for to win souls. And once those souls are one, to 284 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:33,160 teach them in the ways of the Lord to disciple those souls, 285 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:36,760 not to make money, not to make money. 286 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:39,920 We don't even like pass around plates and things of that 287 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:43,600 nature, you know, trying to get, you know, money or push people 288 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:45,880 to get money. I have been in churches where 289 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:49,880 people have taken multiple offerings because they didn't 290 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:51,120 get what they wanted the first time. 291 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:55,480 So they take multiple offerings to get what they want. 292 00:17:56,200 --> 00:18:01,440 I've seen that happen, but in this church I've never seen 293 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:05,560 money be the main issue. Won't teach about money as being 294 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:07,720 the main issue. If we feel like the week before, 295 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:08,960 well the offering was a little low. 296 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:10,320 So this week I'm a teach on money. 297 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:15,080 I've seen churches to do it so thank God we don't do that. 298 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:16,560 We don't even have offerings in here. 299 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:21,120 You never want to see anybody in here walking up to you asking 300 00:18:21,120 --> 00:18:24,680 you for money or pushing money. That's just not something we do, 301 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:27,320 and ministry shouldn't be about that. 302 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:31,360 That's like having a covetous pastors who are always looking 303 00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:34,200 to make more money. There's some pastors who are 304 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:38,480 involved in schemes outside of the church to try to make more 305 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:42,600 and more money for themselves. Well, if you're focused on that, 306 00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:45,040 it's very hard to be focused on shepherding the flock. 307 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:49,400 It's going to be hard to take time to study and to be in 308 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:51,400 prayer. If you're always thinking about 309 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:54,680 your next scheme to make money, it takes over. 310 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:58,120 It takes over. And the more you get, the more 311 00:18:58,120 --> 00:18:59,880 you want. That's just the trap of the 312 00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:02,840 devil. That's the trap of the devil. 313 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:07,160 And that's something that we have to try to avoid so that we 314 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:11,200 don't get in that trap. And we it's, it's circular. 315 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:13,840 It just keeps you moving and going and going and going. 316 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:20,320 And first Peter, in first Peter chapter 5, chapter 5, it says 317 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:25,840 the elders who are among you. I exhort I am a fellow elder and 318 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:30,200 a witness of the suffering of Christ, and also a partaker of 319 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:34,680 the glory that will be revealed. He says, shepherd the flock of 320 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:38,920 God, which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion, 321 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:43,080 but willingly, not by dishonest gain. 322 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:47,680 That means trying to do things to bring money in so that I can 323 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:53,880 gain more money, but eagerly, nor as being Lords over those 324 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:59,040 entrusted to you. So we should not be always given 325 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:02,880 to looking for and trying to accumulate more and more money. 326 00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:07,680 Calvin had an interesting quote. He says, I repeat, that the man 327 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:10,240 who will not bear poverty patiently. 328 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:16,560 And willingly will inevitably, inevitably become the victim of 329 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:21,320 mean and sordid covetousness. So we become victims to 330 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:26,480 covetousness when we do not allow ourselves to just trust in 331 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:30,160 the Lord, to make him our Jehovah Jireh. 332 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:34,880 And I can tell you by doing that here that Lord has been 333 00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:36,880 faithful. He has been faithful. 334 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:40,720 He's taking care of this house, He's taking care of the house 335 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:43,760 and the needs of the house. As long as we, I've heard, you 336 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:46,640 know, years ago, I was always taught that when we take care of 337 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:48,480 God's business, he'll take care of ours. 338 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:52,560 And I found that to be true. I found out to be true. 339 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:54,840 So we go on. He says 1. 340 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:59,360 He says not dumb, he said not greedy for money, but gentle. 341 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:03,200 He should be gentle. You know, not someone who is 342 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:07,120 impatient or someone who is not approachable, but he should be 343 00:21:07,120 --> 00:21:09,520 gentle. It should not be a problem to 344 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,640 approach a pastor. He should be able to listen to 345 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:16,280 others and listen to others opinions, listen to criticisms, 346 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:21,280 opposing views without overreacting or reacting in a 347 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:23,880 defensive or an aggressive manner. 348 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:27,400 But to be gentle with people, be gentle with each other, be 349 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:31,840 gentle with the flock. He also says that you have to 350 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:33,640 allow others to serve in the church. 351 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:35,760 And this is one of the things that I really love about here at 352 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:39,560 Calvary Chapel that we give those who we see that God is 353 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:42,040 putting a passion on your heart for ministry. 354 00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:46,280 We give you the room to be able to go and to serve in that 355 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:49,920 ministry. And not only do we not interfere 356 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:53,360 with your serving, but we are a covering and not a lid. 357 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:57,640 We support you and encourage you in that ministry, but we don't 358 00:21:57,640 --> 00:21:59,760 stunt your growth in that ministry. 359 00:22:00,120 --> 00:22:03,560 We don't stunt how big that ministry can grow to or the 360 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:05,600 things that you can do in that ministry. 361 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:08,720 We don't stunt the growth of your ministry. 362 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:12,400 We encourage you long as it's a blessing. 363 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:14,120 It lines up with the Word of God. 364 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:18,560 People are being blessed by it. Souls are being touched by it. 365 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,200 People are getting into the Word of God through it. 366 00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:26,320 We have no issue. Only want to know what can we do 367 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:33,080 to help, how can we assist you? What resources can we give you? 368 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:37,360 But we're not going to be a lid and try to stop your 369 00:22:37,360 --> 00:22:41,160 progression. And then in #12 says that he's 370 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:43,240 not quarrelsome. The man of God shouldn't be 371 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:44,720 caution. We talked about that a little 372 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:46,280 bit, and that's talking about fighting. 373 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:49,480 But this is more verbally fighting, always being 374 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:53,640 contentious with someone, verbally getting into arguments 375 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:56,320 and things of that nature. And that, that's, that that's, 376 00:22:56,320 --> 00:23:00,120 that's kind of prideful. You know, when, when, when a man 377 00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:03,640 of God is always being defensive and getting into arguments with 378 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:06,320 people, whether it's about the word or about something that's 379 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:09,080 happening here, you know, like we can't listen to hear. 380 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:12,680 If you feel like you have an idea about how to do something a 381 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:16,120 little better than what we're doing it, you know, absolutely, 382 00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:19,120 of course, through prayer, through much prayer and 383 00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:22,640 supplication, that's when we actually move on doing things. 384 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:27,160 But absolutely, we listen and hear what people want to share, 385 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,200 what people want to share. We want to do that so we're not 386 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:33,120 being argumentative, but the people who are being 387 00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:38,160 argumentative always getting into disputes that nature, that 388 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:40,840 can be a problem. Wheresby says this, he says 389 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:43,480 short tempers do not make for long ministries. 390 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:46,520 You know, you got a short temper, you'll probably have a 391 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:50,120 short ministry as well. In verse three, he says do not 392 00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:51,880 be covetous. And we talked about that. 393 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:55,440 And that has to do with someone who was a lover of money. 394 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:00,600 This has been another encouraging edition of Living 395 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:04,160 Waters of Grace. Pastor Lewis Harrell has shared 396 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:08,520 some good reminders for us to learn and walk in today as he's 397 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,400 teaching through the books of First and Second Timothy. 398 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:16,040 There are useful practices and advice that the Apostle Paul 399 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:18,400 offers to Timothy in these books. 400 00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:22,480 From a fellow pastor, Paul imparts some wisdom to Timothy 401 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:27,080 about solid leadership and what some of the criteria should be 402 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:30,480 for leadership. There are specific passages 403 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:33,280 directed towards men and women, respectively. 404 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:36,840 And All in all, there's much to gain in coming to an awareness 405 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:41,800 of God's heart for each person and God's purposes for each one. 406 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:45,080 We're happy that you've taken the time today to listen. 407 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:47,840 We invite you to come here the next edition. 408 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:51,200 In the meantime, when you have some time to spare today, go 409 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:55,640 check out our website, calvarychapelonline.com. 410 00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:59,800 There you'll find additional messages as well as a variety of 411 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:04,080 resources and information about how to meet with us in person. 412 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:07,880 We're also on Facebook, so you can be a part of what we share 413 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,920 there as well. You can stay plugged in with 414 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:15,160 this ministry via YouTube to watch previous teachings or tune 415 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:18,920 into our live stream. Living Waters of Grace is a 416 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:21,760 ministry of Calvary Chapel Westmoreland. 417 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:25,960 Before we go today, we ask that you share this program with 418 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:31,280 others and invite them to listen on Grace FM at 91.7. 419 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:34,840 That's all we have for today, but we're so glad that you've 420 00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:37,880 been with us. There's more to dig into here in 421 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:42,040 First and Second Timothy, so let's gear up for some more 422 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:46,720 great teachings from Pastor Lewis next time here on Living 423 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:47,880 Waters of Grace.