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 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,760 We're not living a double life. None of us are totally sinless. 6 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:43,080 No, I realize that we all realize that none of us are 7 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:46,360 totally sinless. We all fall, we all all come 8 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:48,680 shorter of the glory of God sometimes. 9 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,800 But when we do, because our hearts are given to the Lord, we 10 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:57,040 repent for those things and we turn back to the Lord. 11 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:01,000 But even though we're not sin less, but we should sin less, 12 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:03,360 right? We should not sin as much as we 13 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:07,640 did before we gave our hearts to the Lord, because it gives place 14 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:10,800 to the devil. If you didn't listen carefully a 15 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:13,600 moment ago, you might have gotten the wrong impression from 16 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:16,960 Pastor Lewis. You might have thought he said 17 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:20,000 that we have to be sinless as followers of Jesus. 18 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:22,680 We all know that is completely impossible. 19 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:27,920 No, Pastor Lewis said that we should sin less, meaning we 20 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:30,440 should not sin as much as we used to. 21 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:34,160 If your life looks the same as it did when you said you 22 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:38,640 received Jesus, maybe that's all you did, just received Him. 23 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:42,280 But you never made him Lord and master of your life. 24 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:45,800 If you did, your life would look different now. 25 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,480 Here's Pastor Lewis in the Book of First Timothy, chapter 3, 26 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,000 with today's edition of Living Waters of Grace. 27 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:55,800 We've talked in first in chapter 2. 28 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:03,120 Paul gave some instructions to his young pastor Timothy, who 29 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:07,280 has been left in Ephesus to take over the Ephesian church, to 30 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:10,600 pastor the Ephesian church. And Paul has given him 31 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,680 instructions that he should pass on to them. 32 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:17,480 And I just want to emphasize that in chapter 2, the first 33 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:21,120 thing that he mentions and emphasizes is the need for 34 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:24,480 prayer. And in that need, he talks about 35 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:28,720 praying for a number of things. He talks about the intercessions 36 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:34,440 and he praying in terms of the supplications and things of that 37 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:38,440 nature. But there's so much to be prayed 38 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:42,880 for in the church. So he starts off the teaching, 39 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:47,040 talking about prayer. And as we move over into chapter 40 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:52,240 3, we see the need for prayer. In fact, we as a church 41 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:56,640 emphasize prayer as well. And the reason why is because 42 00:02:56,640 --> 00:02:58,840 it's through prayer that the church moves. 43 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,560 It's through prayer that the church comes in order. 44 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:06,840 It's through prayer that we can be good examples of the 45 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:11,080 Christian faith and the things that the Lord is raising up in 46 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:14,440 us to do that we would be that light, you know, that light 47 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:16,160 doesn't come, but through prayer. 48 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:18,760 It comes through the the power of the Holy Spirit. 49 00:03:18,920 --> 00:03:22,920 And it's when we have the Holy Spirit on the inside of us, we 50 00:03:22,920 --> 00:03:26,520 have a light that can shine. Without the Holy Spirit, we 51 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:30,800 don't have a light. It's dim, it's dark, but it's 52 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:34,280 the Holy Spirit that brings light to our life. 53 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:37,720 Jesus says I am the light of life. 54 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:40,560 And as long as he's in the world, we have light. 55 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:43,960 But when we I leave, you know, then it will be darkness. 56 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:47,720 But we have light because we have that spirit on the inside 57 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:52,480 of us and thank you Jesus that we have it because that is what 58 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,600 helps us to live the Christian life. 59 00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:59,280 So what we're going to be talking about today is going to 60 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,480 be the example of why it's so important to have the Holy 61 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:05,040 Spirit to live the Christian life. 62 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:10,880 So in starting in verse 3 here, verse 1, he says this is a 63 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:15,440 faithful saying. If a man desires the position of 64 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:19,200 a Bishop, he desires a good work. 65 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:22,320 So he said this is a faithful saying, this is a trustworthy 66 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:24,720 saying. This is a saying that you can 67 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:26,360 count on. This is a saying that you can 68 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:28,800 believe in. This is a trustworth you can 69 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:34,760 trust this that if a man desires the position of a Bishop, he 70 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:38,240 desires the good work. So the word Bishop here and it, 71 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:42,600 and you know, it's used here in the New Testament, Paul uses it 72 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:44,560 and it's, it's a little different. 73 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:46,760 I think we should talk about it just for a second because it's a 74 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:50,160 little different than what we may have understood a Bishop to 75 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:51,480 be. And I know when I was growing 76 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:54,200 up, when I heard the word Bishop, I'm thinking of some 77 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:58,640 powerful person walking in the church with this garb on that 78 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:02,640 just looks untouchable. You know, he, he, he's like all 79 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:05,720 powerful, all knowing and just like really like he's God's 80 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:08,800 second cousin or something. You know, it was, it was, it was 81 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:11,920 that kind of an attitude almost with these, these bishops in the 82 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:14,720 New Testament church. And, and they had all this 83 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,720 oversight and all this power. But the word Bishop here, when 84 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:22,000 Paul uses it, it's the Latin word Episcopal. 85 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:25,800 And the word Episcopal actually means overseer. 86 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:29,880 So the word Bishop just basically means overseer. 87 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:35,120 In fact, in the Word of God, the word Bishop, the word pastor, 88 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:40,040 and the word elder, all three of those are used interchangeably. 89 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:45,200 Often in the Word of God. They all refer to being an 90 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:48,480 overseer. It's an overseer. 91 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:50,960 I just want to take us to a couple of scriptures where 92 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:54,040 you'll see all three of those terms are used. 93 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:56,680 And the first one I'm going to go to is going to be to the book 94 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:58,200 of Acts. If you'll go with me to the book 95 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:04,400 of Acts, chapter 20, Chapter 20. In the book of Acts Now right 96 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:09,160 there in verse 17, he starts and he says from the leaders he sent 97 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:13,280 to Ephesians and called for the elders of the church. 98 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:18,720 And then when you go over to verse 28, he says, therefore 99 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:24,240 take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the 100 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:30,000 Holy Spirit has made you overseers and and to shepherd 101 00:06:30,200 --> 00:06:34,160 the Church of God. Now this overseer is what we're 102 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:38,360 talking about as being a Bishop and the shepherd is actually 103 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:42,800 pastor. A shepherd is a pastor. 104 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:47,640 He pastors the flock. He he shepherds the flock and 105 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:49,960 that's exactly what the overseer does. 106 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:52,400 I'm going to take you to one other, if you'll go with me to 107 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:57,800 first Peter chapter 5. First Peter chapter 5. 108 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:04,040 Again we see these three titles mentioned in one place. 109 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:06,480 You'll see first First Peter chapter 5, verse one. 110 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:09,440 It says the elders who are among you. 111 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:13,720 I exhort, So he uses the word elders there and then he says, 112 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:17,960 and I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the suffering of 113 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:24,000 Christ and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed, 114 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:28,600 verse 2, shepherd the flock. In other words, pastor the 115 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:33,720 flock, oversee the flock, oversee the flock, pastor the 116 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:38,840 flock, which is among you serving as overseers. 117 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:42,880 So again, you see those 3 terms used, interchange, They all mean 118 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:46,680 the same thing. Overseer, one who overseas, one 119 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:52,040 who governs the flock, takes care of the flock. 120 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:54,560 So this is what Paul said. I wanted to spend time doing 121 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:57,400 that because here in Calvary Chapel, we don't necessarily 122 00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:59,720 have bishops. We don't have bishops. 123 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:03,880 We, we, we, we have pastors and we have elders and we do have 124 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:07,000 deacons also, but you know, but we also have pastors, but the 125 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,680 ones who are like the spiritual oversight of the church is, is 126 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:15,480 generally under the leadership of the pastors and the elders. 127 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:18,560 So that's what a spiritual oversight of the church comes 128 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:21,040 from. So then he says that if he 129 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:23,720 desires a good, he desires a good work. 130 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:26,040 If he wants to be a pastor, what that means? 131 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:28,880 It's a noble work. It's an honorable work. 132 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:34,400 It's a work of good reputation. Now, here in Calvary Chapel, we 133 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:38,280 have three that serve as elders and pastors. 134 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:42,240 OK Clark and I are the pastors of the church. 135 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:46,800 And we have George and John who are the elders, and they all 136 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:50,760 give oversight and to the leadership of the church. 137 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:52,840 We work together to give oversight. 138 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:57,760 We pray together to give oversight to the Church, but we 139 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:01,360 don't have someone who comes in with a mitre on and call him 140 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:03,160 Bishop. We don't have that. 141 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:06,200 We don't have that. So he says that it is a 142 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:09,440 trustworthy and faithful saying. And then and he says that it is 143 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:13,600 a good work to desire the work of a Bishop. 144 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:17,600 But then he says a Bishop then must be blameless. 145 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:20,120 And I emphasize the word must be. 146 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:25,760 He doesn't say that a Bishop can be, should be, might be, want to 147 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:29,880 be. He says a Bishop must be 148 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:32,800 blameless. And what does he mean by 149 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:34,840 blameless? He means that, you know that 150 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:39,000 nothing to take hold of. That means that there's that 151 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:41,520 he's above reproach. This is a man who was above 152 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:44,200 reproach. There is nothing to take hold 153 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:45,640 of. There's nothing that people can 154 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:49,840 point to or that people can criticize him for in his life. 155 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:52,320 He's not a man that's living a double life. 156 00:09:52,560 --> 00:09:55,360 He's not a man that's here on Sundays and then when he leaves 157 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:58,520 here, he's going to the local bars to hang out, to do all the 158 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:00,200 things that the worldly people do. 159 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:04,200 He is a blameless. The people couldn't come in if 160 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:07,320 the world was to come in or if unsaved people was to come in. 161 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:10,400 They could not point to him and say how is he the pastor? 162 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:14,520 Because I just saw him the other day or the other night doing ABC 163 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:16,280 or D. How is he your pastor? 164 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:21,400 That brings a reproach or shame upon the ministry and it brings 165 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:25,480 shame upon him as a church leader. 166 00:10:25,560 --> 00:10:29,680 So he must be blameless. You know, we know that Satan 167 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:33,320 will always try to put people in a position to do things 168 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:36,160 disgraceful or to do things shameful. 169 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:39,840 Satan will always try to do that, to tempt, to tempt us and 170 00:10:39,840 --> 00:10:43,800 to put us in situations where we have to make a decision to do 171 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:46,920 the right thing. And so we we want Satan to be 172 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:52,280 cast out so that we can do those things that are approvable to 173 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:55,720 the Lord. We're not living a double life. 174 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:59,080 None of us are totally sinless. Or I realize that we all realize 175 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:00,440 that none of us are totally sinless. 176 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:04,400 We all fall, we all all come shorter of the glory of God 177 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:06,720 sometimes. But when we do, because our 178 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:11,160 hearts are given to the Lord, we repent for those things and we 179 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:15,120 turn back to the Lord. But even though we're not sin 180 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:17,680 less, but we should sin less, right? 181 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:22,200 We should not sin as much as we did before we gave our hearts to 182 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,080 the Lord, because it gives place to the devil. 183 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:29,400 This is an interesting illustration of one who is 184 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:32,600 blameless or one who is above reproach. 185 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:37,400 And he says simply this. It's like a boxer, like a boxer, 186 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:41,880 the word pugilist, you know, or a boxer, one who gets in, 187 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:45,720 defends himself in a ring. A skillful pugilist or a 188 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:51,040 skillful boxer is one who can defend himself in such a way 189 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:55,600 that he gives the enemy absolutely no chance to hit him. 190 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:00,000 There's no way you can hit him. No, he's defended. 191 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:05,400 He's defended, so defended that he's not open for a hit anywhere 192 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:09,080 to take a blow. And that's exactly what the life 193 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:11,440 of a Christian or a Christian leader should be. 194 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:15,640 It should be one who lives his life in a way that although we 195 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:20,080 know that the devil is a accuser of men, we know that, but 196 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:22,640 doesn't mean that those accusations have to be true. 197 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:27,920 So there's no way that he can land a blow upon our character. 198 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:31,880 This is what the thought here. I remember when I was younger 199 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:34,800 and I watched the, I watched the young man and an old man. 200 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:38,840 The, the young man was about 18 years old and the older man was 201 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:42,640 about, I think he was like in the 70s and he was boxing. 202 00:12:42,680 --> 00:12:47,080 He gave a boxing demonstration and I'm watching these two guys 203 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:51,480 in the ring and this young guy is trying everything he can to 204 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:53,840 land a blow on a 70 year old man. 205 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:58,200 And it wasn't that he was so fast or quick or anything. 206 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:03,200 He was just so well defended in the way that he held his body, 207 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:05,960 the way that he held his hands, in the way that he defended 208 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:09,280 against the blows. The young man could not land one 209 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:12,760 blow and this 70 year old was getting a standing ovation 210 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:15,600 because even though he didn't throw any blows, he didn't 211 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:19,040 receive 1. It was interesting. 212 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:21,360 So as I was reading this, I'm studying this, I'm thinking 213 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:23,480 about this. That's exactly what Paul's 214 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:26,400 saying, that we should, that we should be, we should be like 215 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:30,760 this pugilist, this boxer who does not lend ourselves to take 216 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:36,400 a blow from the enemy in any way or from people in the community 217 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:38,360 in any way. So he goes on here. 218 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:42,520 He says, so the Bishop must be blameless, but he also must be 219 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:46,720 the husband of one wife, the husband of one wife. 220 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:50,080 And it speaks to the faithfulness of a pastor. 221 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:54,320 It speaks to his his faithfulness, his him giving 222 00:13:54,320 --> 00:14:00,320 himself all of himself to his wife and not having other wives 223 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:03,240 on the side or he's not polygamous or anything of that 224 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:05,400 nature. He has one wife. 225 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:10,000 Now, it also does not mean Paul is not necessarily saying that a 226 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:15,640 pastor elder has to be married or that he has to have children. 227 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:19,520 He's not saying that he has to. But if he does, then he should 228 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:23,800 be the man of one wife, one wife. 229 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:30,120 He should be the man who, if he does, if his wife passes, if, 230 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:32,880 you know, if he becomes a widower or something, he can 231 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:35,600 remarry. This is not saying that he can 232 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:38,320 never marry again if his wife passes. 233 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:42,200 You know, if he becomes a widower, he can be married 234 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:47,120 again, but if his wife is not past and he just divorces his 235 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:51,880 wife, that is said in the word of God to disqualify him as an 236 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:56,920 elder or a pastor. So Paul continues his point 237 00:14:57,080 --> 00:14:58,600 back. You know, that he that he talked 238 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:02,600 about back in 212 when he talked about the fact that, you know, 239 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:05,560 this should be the position of a man. 240 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:08,960 And by clarifying that further here in verse 2, he says that a 241 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,400 pastor is a man of he's he's a man. 242 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,720 He's the he's the husband of one wife. 243 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:19,520 Every husband I know is a man and every wife that I know is a 244 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:22,560 woman. So it's not a position that's 245 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:26,440 opened up for a woman. Now, there's other ministries in 246 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:29,520 the church where women are definitely able to feel and 247 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:33,800 function in, but the pastor or the elder position is not one of 248 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:35,840 them. And here in Calvary Chapel, we 249 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:38,920 don't have women pastors and women elders. 250 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:42,520 We don't have them. We have women teachers who teach 251 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:47,080 other women, who teach children, but we don't have pastors and 252 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:52,040 elders who are women. And so he goes on and he says 253 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:56,920 not given to wine. I'm sorry, before we back, we 254 00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:59,160 get to not to the wine part. I don't know why I ran there 255 00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:03,800 first. But anyway, he said he must also 256 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:07,520 be temperate, OK, temperate. So that means that he must be 257 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:11,520 vigilant or have self-control. He must be a sober someone who 258 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:14,120 is sober. He's his mind is not clouded. 259 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:17,200 He's not someone who is given to extremes. 260 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:20,200 You know, he's not someone who has these drastic mood swings, 261 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:23,400 quick tempered person, but he's under control. 262 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:27,840 He can control himself, his temper and also his passions. 263 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,320 He's a temperate man. He's reliable, trustworthy. 264 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:37,320 He keeps his head in all situations and then he goes on. 265 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:41,080 He says he must be sober minded, which is very similar to being 266 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:43,680 temperate. But he approaches the work of 267 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:48,160 the ministry with a seriousness. This is someone who understands 268 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:52,920 the value of ministry. He understands the value of 269 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:56,840 being a leader of a congregation, the leader of 270 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:58,880 sheep. He understands what that means. 271 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:02,040 Now, that doesn't mean that he's, you know, always, you 272 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:06,960 know, a stern and ever laughs or you can't hold a regular 273 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:09,440 conversation with them. That's not what this is. 274 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:11,839 What he's saying here. What he's saying here is that he 275 00:17:11,839 --> 00:17:15,200 understands that the ministry that he is called to is a 276 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:17,200 ministry of seriousness. It's about souls. 277 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:20,680 It's about winning souls and teaching people who have given 278 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:24,599 their lives to Christ the way of the way, the way of 279 00:17:24,599 --> 00:17:28,119 Christianity, to give instruction on instructional 280 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:31,280 teaching on how to walk and live as a Christian. 281 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:33,880 And that's serious. That's serious. 282 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:36,400 So he understands the validity of that. 283 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:40,480 So he upholds the gospel message with seriousness. 284 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:45,080 And again, doesn't mean that he has to lack a sense of humor. 285 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:48,920 You know, some of the funniest men that I know are pastors. 286 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:50,720 You know, they're your sense of humor. 287 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,720 Sometimes it could be a little dry, but it's still funny. 288 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:56,600 You know, it's they're they're very pleasant to be around. 289 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:01,120 Very pleasant to be around. Let's see the next one goes into 290 00:18:01,360 --> 00:18:05,080 now we're able to talk about the the good behavior. 291 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:09,760 And this is really important because Paul almost talks about 292 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:12,680 the person being a person of good behavior, almost the way 293 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:16,240 that he talks about the women and the way that they dress over 294 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:19,560 in first Timothy 29 over first Timothy 29. 295 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:22,800 If you just turn back there just for a second here, it says in 296 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:27,040 like manner also that the women adorned themselves in modest 297 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:31,480 apparel with a propriety and moderation, not with braided 298 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:36,640 hair or gold pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper 299 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:40,560 for women professing godliness and good works. 300 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:44,480 Paul's also is almost making that same distinction with the 301 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:49,120 behavior of a pastor, and he is saying that just as a woman has 302 00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:53,960 to be modest in her dress, she has to be a woman who dresses in 303 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:58,640 good taste, that it doesn't draw attention to her and doesn't 304 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:03,080 deflect attention away from God. Neither should the man of God 305 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:07,520 behave himself in a way that distracts or deflects the 306 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:12,360 attention from God or the gospel and keeps his attention on him. 307 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,480 He shouldn't be boisterous. He shouldn't be loud and 308 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:18,080 obnoxious. He shouldn't be someone who is 309 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:20,720 rude. He shouldn't be someone who is 310 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:22,960 disgraceful or does disgraceful things. 311 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:28,680 So he should do nothing to deflect the glory of God. 312 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:32,800 Deflect off the glory of God for people who are looking at him, 313 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:37,400 but they should see Christ in him and in his behavior. 314 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:39,840 He should be a person of good behavior. 315 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:42,640 Then he goes on into hospital. We should be hospitable. 316 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:46,680 And I remember when I was younger and always refer back to 317 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:49,120 that because the church was just so was kind of different than 318 00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:50,600 the way it is now. And I'm sure a lot of you can 319 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:53,080 relate to that. But when I was younger, when it 320 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:56,720 came to hospital, you know, hospitality, there would be 321 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:59,880 times when other churches would come into the area to attend 322 00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:03,200 services at our church, and they would bring in, you know, 323 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,080 busloads of people. And a lot of those people didn't 324 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:09,880 have anywhere to stay. So the Christians in that town 325 00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:12,480 that was going to the church, they would open up their homes 326 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:15,040 for these people to stay. Up their homes, they are being 327 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:18,560 hospitable. I know here when people come 328 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:21,600 here to visit to, whether it's the teach here or the 329 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:24,920 missionaries come to give their reports and to share with us 330 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:27,520 there, we always accommodate them. 331 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:31,000 We accommodate them. We set them up in a place to to 332 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:34,600 be either rather it's in someone's house or we pay for 333 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:36,960 the accommodations at A at an inn. 334 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:39,520 We pay for their meals, we take care of them, make sure that 335 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:41,560 they're fed and that they have what they need. 336 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:45,480 You know, we're hospitable toward people who come and 337 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:47,360 visit. And that's really important 338 00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:50,200 because we have to be willing. A pastor should be willing to 339 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:53,320 open up their home. Now that term hospital literally 340 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:57,360 means loving the stranger. That's what literally means 341 00:20:57,360 --> 00:21:00,160 loving the stranger. So it's loving somebody that you 342 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:01,480 don't really know anything about. 343 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:04,840 Now these people are Christians. We're talking about Christians, 344 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:08,920 other Christians, but they may be coming from other areas and 345 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:11,960 you are hospitable to them. But we're also hospital to 346 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:15,120 people who have need, who have not given their lives to Christ. 347 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:17,520 We have helped people in that way as well. 348 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:21,280 We've helped people have find housing or or help people 349 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:24,880 accommodate them for a couple nights in a inn for a couple 350 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:28,320 nights if they're homeless. So we have been hospitable 351 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:31,600 towards both those that are inside the church and those who 352 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:35,560 have been outside of the church. Romans 12 and 13 says it talks 353 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:38,920 about the distributing to the needs of the Saints and being 354 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:43,120 given to hospitality. Hebrews 13 and two says that you 355 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:48,280 we're not to forget to entertain strangers for by so or for by 356 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:53,040 doing so we unknowingly entertain angels. 357 00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:57,040 So we need to also look at being hospitable. 358 00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:00,960 How important that is. Now there was a case in 3rd John 359 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:04,640 where the atrophis was a man who was not hospitable. 360 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:09,600 In fact, he refused to receive the missionaries and actually 361 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:13,360 denied or did not permit anyone else in his church to receive 362 00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:16,480 them. So Paul said that this person 363 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:19,840 will be dealt with. That is not the way of the Lord. 364 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:25,040 That is not the Christian way is to deny hospitality to a brother 365 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:27,840 or a sister. So we should be hospitable. 366 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:31,040 And then of course #7 says we got to be able to teach. 367 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:36,080 We got to be able to teach. Now that able to teach is not 368 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:39,520 just to be skilled in teaching. For there's a lot of people who 369 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:44,120 are able to stand up here and project words with clarity or 370 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:46,720 communicate in a way that's eloquent. 371 00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:48,600 There's a lot of people who are able to do that. 372 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:51,400 But when he's talking about being able to teach, he's 373 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:56,320 talking about being able to teach the Word of God, to study, 374 00:22:56,320 --> 00:23:01,560 to show yourself approved someone who is a student, a 375 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:06,160 careful student in the Word of God, but not in their own 376 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:10,640 strength. Again, it has to be someone who 377 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:16,280 is willing and who knows that the teaching power does not come 378 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:19,800 from themselves, but it comes from the Holy Spirit. 379 00:23:20,120 --> 00:23:24,720 You have to be someone that's given to prayer, someone that is 380 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:29,440 always calling on the help of the Holy Spirit to help you to 381 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:33,360 teach the Word of God. That's where the power is. 382 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:37,840 That's where the power is. It's not the words that come out 383 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:42,040 of my mouth by myself, but it's when the words that come out of 384 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:44,400 my mouth is empowered by the Holy Spirit. 385 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:49,120 That's what touches hearts. You've been listening. 386 00:23:49,120 --> 00:23:53,320 To Pastor Lewis Harrell here on Living Waters of Grace, we're 387 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:56,800 digging into all that Paul shared with Timothy in the books 388 00:23:56,800 --> 00:24:00,560 of First and Second Timothy. Timothy was commissioned to do 389 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:04,240 the following fight, the good fight of faith, lay hold on 390 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:08,840 eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed 391 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:12,560 the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 392 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:17,120 Timothy would be carrying on what Paul had taught him and 393 00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:21,120 continuing on in ministry even though Paul knew that more 394 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:23,080 hardships would come for Timothy. 395 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:27,160 This is the Christian life. It's not glamorous. 396 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:31,600 It's not some celebrity status. It's hard fought. 397 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:35,400 It's gritty, it's unpopular, but it's worth it. 398 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:38,640 Do you believe that today? Are you willing to fight the 399 00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:42,280 good fight even at the cost of earthly pleasures? 400 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:46,680 Living the life of a follower of Jesus will have its heavenly 401 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:49,560 rewards. To be a part of a community 402 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:53,400 that's looking forward to that heavenly reward, we invite you 403 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:56,000 to join us at Calvary Chapel Westmoreland. 404 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:59,840 If you're in the Greensburg, PA area, come be with us this 405 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:04,680 Sunday at 10:30 AM at 400 E Pittsburgh St. 406 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:08,520 Ste. 6B. Check out Calvary Chapel 407 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:13,120 online.com For more information on directions and any other 408 00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:17,240 details you might want to know. You can also download our mobile 409 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:21,800 app from our website thatscalvarychapelonline.com. 410 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:25,040 If you have friends or family members who want to tune in, 411 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:28,960 encourage them to listen on Grace FM 91.7. 412 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:33,760 One last thing, this radio ministry relies on your support 413 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:36,720 to keep things going. If you're willing to donate 414 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:43,080 financially, send gifts to Grace FMPO, Box 716, Greensburg, PA 415 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:47,520 15601. Thanks for prayerfully 416 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:51,160 considering this, and thank you for listening to Living Waters 417 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:51,840 of Grace.