WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.800 Great words to consider as we turn to Scripture to 1 Timothy chapter 5, and that small section 00:00:09.800 --> 00:00:16.480 that we read together, it's a brilliant passage, tremendous passage, and it's a very practical 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:22.400 message from God that I think we need to hear. 00:00:22.400 --> 00:00:24.800 Every part of Scripture we need to hear, of course. 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:29.440 But I think this is a very relevant passage from verse 17, that small section to the end 00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:35.719 of the chapter, because we're living today in a society, and we find ourselves in a society 00:00:35.719 --> 00:00:39.160 which is increasingly divided. 00:00:39.160 --> 00:00:43.240 It's polarized, and it's toxic. 00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:52.000 In many sections of society, we find that toxicity, we find that division and that polarization, 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:55.320 and social media sometimes makes that worse. 00:00:55.320 --> 00:00:59.679 We see it in our political leaders at the highest level. 00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:07.280 We see an abusive power and a disregard for the truth, and the truth treated cheaply 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:10.960 by people who hold very high positions. 00:01:10.960 --> 00:01:16.280 We read constantly and hear constantly of huge injustice. 00:01:16.280 --> 00:01:24.079 Unless we become judgmental or proud, we needn't look any further than the church itself. 00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:35.679 The church of Christ plunged into many scandals and many embarrassing and disastrous situations, 00:01:35.679 --> 00:01:42.039 because primarily and often because of leaders, leaders who have abused their position, leaders 00:01:42.039 --> 00:01:49.000 who are abusing their power, who deny the truth, who encourage toxicity within their 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:56.359 congregations, who engage in lies and live lives of double standards and immorality. 00:01:56.359 --> 00:02:01.359 And we've seen the name of Jesus being scandalized because of that, and the cause of Christ being 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:03.120 brought into dispute. 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:05.159 We've seen congregations split. 00:02:05.159 --> 00:02:10.360 We've seen people leaving the church, leaving the faith, and saying we want nothing more 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:12.360 to do with it. 00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:18.960 And so we find that a passage like this really speaks powerfully into our own lives and situation. 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:23.719 Remember that Paul and Cori and myself have been reiterating that we can and we can. 00:02:23.719 --> 00:02:29.280 Paul is speaking to Timothy into a real church situation. 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:35.080 The church in Ephesus had many positive things happening in it, but also had many trials 00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:42.040 and troubles and difficulties, primarily from false leaders, from false teachers. 00:02:42.040 --> 00:02:46.400 And we find that God gives Paul a message. 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:53.000 Paul gives Paul to give Timothy a message that is specific to the situation, but from 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:57.759 which we draw principles as well that we recognize. 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:03.400 There were abusive leaders and there was toxicity within the church in Ephesus. 00:03:03.400 --> 00:03:08.240 There was gossiping and slander and bad things happening. 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:12.560 And so Paul gives Timothy God's advice. 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:16.520 The reminder to us is that there's nothing new under the sun. 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:19.439 Very important to remember that for us. 00:03:19.439 --> 00:03:24.840 And it's also as we begin, it's a reminder to be humble ourselves, to be humble as St. 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:31.080 Columbus, to be humble as members, to be humble as leaders, as preachers, and to remember 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:37.560 because this is what comes out again and again in this letter, that Godly character is everything. 00:03:37.560 --> 00:03:43.479 It's everything that you send a cue, it's everything for us as leaders to have Godly 00:03:43.479 --> 00:03:51.400 characters because we remember as we sit in church, as we sit and we seek to have a public 00:03:51.400 --> 00:03:57.680 demeanor, a public face, a public persona that was ultimately significant. 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:03.159 That public persona must come from a Godly character that is unseen, that's invisible. 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:08.039 No point in coming to church and thinking, I can hide who I am and I'll just come to 00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:10.240 church and that'll cover a lot of things. 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:11.519 That's not what it's about, is it? 00:04:11.519 --> 00:04:16.639 Because we're in God's presence, not just in church, but wherever we are, it's the daftest 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:19.480 hypocrisy ever, isn't it? 00:04:19.480 --> 00:04:26.560 To think that we can have a different public reality from what we are privately at a very 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:28.519 core level. 00:04:28.519 --> 00:04:34.079 Godly character is everything, and Godly character is everything in leadership. 00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:39.039 It's very important, and good leadership is very important, and that's not just a biblical 00:04:39.039 --> 00:04:46.039 reality, that's a reality that you all recognize and face and experience positively or negative 00:04:46.039 --> 00:04:47.199 every day. 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:51.959 It sets the tone, doesn't it, for the whole organization, whether it's the workplace, 00:04:51.959 --> 00:04:57.279 whether it's the classroom, whether it's the home, or whether it's the church. 00:04:57.279 --> 00:05:05.159 You know and you can tell a lot about a place by its leadership, and often the leadership 00:05:05.159 --> 00:05:13.519 will set the tone for the whole organization, and Paul and God, Paul through God, or God 00:05:13.519 --> 00:05:18.599 teaching Paul and Timothy, reminds us of that today. 00:05:18.599 --> 00:05:23.119 So this letter is very much about the governing principles that God is giving to the whole 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:28.040 church for all of time through this specific situation. 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:33.480 And we're to be a community, always a community being transformed by the principles of grace, 00:05:33.480 --> 00:05:39.519 by God's grace transforming our hearts inside and transforming our church community as we 00:05:39.519 --> 00:05:41.560 interact with one another. 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:47.480 It's so important because we see that that is what reflects the kingdom of God and what 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:50.040 is powerful in the society in which we live. 00:05:50.040 --> 00:05:54.240 So there's a couple of things that I want to recognize today. 00:05:54.240 --> 00:06:01.600 Well, it's actually, there's one thing, and then look at the application. 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:09.040 The one thing I really want to do is look at leadership and apply it to us all and how 00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:13.480 we interact with that because there's important principles here. 00:06:13.480 --> 00:06:20.600 What we'll see here are some governing principles for leadership and for how to deal with issues 00:06:20.600 --> 00:06:22.920 when they go wrong. 00:06:22.920 --> 00:06:30.360 So God recognizes and Paul recognizes and we must recognize the importance of good leadership. 00:06:30.360 --> 00:06:31.360 Okay? 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:36.319 Verse 17, let the elders rule well, who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:39.319 especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 00:06:39.319 --> 00:06:44.399 And this is an affirmation of what has been said previously and what God gives us in the 00:06:44.399 --> 00:06:51.759 New Testament of the good principles of leadership, the good character that he wants to see in 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:52.759 the leaders. 00:06:52.759 --> 00:06:57.920 We've seen the list of characteristics, moral characteristics that he looks for in leadership. 00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:04.319 And it's an appreciation of how important good leadership is to the church family. 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:11.519 And within that, that paid ministry, which we call paid eldership, which we call ministry, 00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:18.079 is both foundational and biblical as we see in verse 18, which we'll come back to in a 00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:19.079 minute. 00:07:19.079 --> 00:07:25.039 So there's this, in verse 17, we have this respectful consideration of good leadership. 00:07:25.039 --> 00:07:32.120 You know, there's a recognition of double honor, of worthiness, of affirmation and appreciation 00:07:32.120 --> 00:07:38.560 being made to those who lead well, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 00:07:38.560 --> 00:07:41.560 Double honor does, sadly doesn't mean double pay. 00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:43.800 It'd be great if it did. 00:07:43.800 --> 00:07:47.519 I'll need to get on to the free church trade union and see if we can do something about 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:48.519 that. 00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:50.240 It's not really referring to that. 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:58.680 It's referring to double honor, double affirmation, significantly recognizing, not individuals, 00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:03.639 but the principles and the characteristics of good leadership. 00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:11.840 It means that God recognizes that good teaching and good preaching is valuable and is important 00:08:11.840 --> 00:08:17.720 and should be prayerfully supported and considered within the church life. 00:08:17.720 --> 00:08:21.079 It's not just a kind of secondary thing. 00:08:21.079 --> 00:08:24.800 It's important and it's valuable. 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:33.000 And so we should always be careful in choosing people for that position who reflect the importance 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:40.399 of character, the centrality of Christ and of the truth and the doctrine of God's Word 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:42.360 and obedience to that. 00:08:42.360 --> 00:08:48.120 So often we make decisions, don't we, on popularity, on personality, even on gifting. 00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:50.320 And now gifting is not insignificant. 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:58.120 But it's all about Christ primarily and about character and what is important that stems 00:08:58.120 --> 00:09:02.760 from that character, good teaching and preaching based on the authority and the foundation 00:09:02.760 --> 00:09:07.680 of God's Word, respectful consideration. 00:09:07.680 --> 00:09:13.120 And within that, there's this recognition that there will be those elders like myself 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:17.520 and Corey who are full time given to preaching and teaching. 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:25.159 And the full time ministers, as we call them ministers, servants are bovine servants. 00:09:25.159 --> 00:09:27.120 That's what they're called here. 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:31.679 They're servant cows, servant oxes. 00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:36.439 That's what we're told here as reflects the teaching from Deuteronomy and elsewhere in 00:09:36.439 --> 00:09:37.439 the Scripture. 00:09:37.439 --> 00:09:41.519 For Scripture says, you know, you shall not muzzle an ox when it treads on the grain or 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:44.840 the laborer deserves his wages. 00:09:44.840 --> 00:09:53.800 And speaking about the right which Paul denied for himself, but the right of a payment and 00:09:53.800 --> 00:09:58.240 salary of full time work for those whose work is preaching and teaching. 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:03.480 And it's not a particularly flattering image that we have there of their work, but I think 00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:06.600 it's an accurate one because the work is not... 00:10:06.600 --> 00:10:12.280 It shouldn't be glamorous. 00:10:12.279 --> 00:10:18.679 It shouldn't be glamorous in God's economy, but it is glorious. 00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:25.919 Okay, so we're likened to oxen that are treading the grain that they're able to feed on the 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:31.679 grain that they're treading and also to hardworking servants or slaves. 00:10:31.679 --> 00:10:34.120 That's the image of the full time worker. 00:10:34.120 --> 00:10:35.120 It's not glamorous. 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:36.679 It's not flashing about. 00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:37.879 It's not having a big salary. 00:10:37.879 --> 00:10:40.319 It's not having the white suit and the gleaming teeth. 00:10:40.319 --> 00:10:41.319 It's not that. 00:10:41.320 --> 00:10:45.080 It is recognizing and knowing that the work is not glamorous. 00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:48.480 It's hard work, but it is glorious. 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:51.320 It's an honor and a privilege to serve Jesus Christ. 00:10:51.320 --> 00:10:56.280 I think there's a little bit of an atmosphere sometimes around ministers who say, mourning 00:10:56.280 --> 00:11:00.440 about how hard it is and how tough and how difficult is the work. 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:05.080 Now, it is, I'm not denying that, but we're loved and we're supported and we're empowered 00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:09.320 to do this work, and it is a glorious privilege. 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:16.879 It can become unhelpfully tough if we expect honor or if we expect privilege and position 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:22.560 or if we become self-reliant or relying on our gifts or our natural abilities, or sometimes 00:11:22.560 --> 00:11:28.480 if we face unhealthy expectations and abuse from within the congregation. 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:35.440 And tensions and difficulties, these can often make it tough, but the ministry, while it's 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:38.840 tough, it's not glamorous. 00:11:38.840 --> 00:11:42.280 It is glorious because of who we serve. 00:11:42.280 --> 00:11:46.920 So we see that Paul is going on to set out some important truths here. 00:11:46.920 --> 00:11:53.519 And he sets out in verse 18, a defined grievance procedure, verse 19, do not admit a charge 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:57.800 against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 00:11:57.800 --> 00:12:04.080 And again, the context here is of public leadership, publicly making a mess of things, 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:10.480 publicly teaching false doctrine and leading to division and maybe implied moral failings 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:12.000 as well. 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:18.320 And what God is reminding us here is that serious public failings in the church context 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:24.600 among its leadership must be dealt with, and it must be dealt with in the proper way, with 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:28.360 proper evidence, and must be seen to be dealt with. 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:32.560 The sin must be dealt with publicly through rebuke and warning. 00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:37.319 This is not about humiliation and it's not about exposing private failings. 00:12:37.319 --> 00:12:43.439 This is about something that is known within the church, some kind of teaching or lifestyle 00:12:43.439 --> 00:12:49.359 that is clearly against God and against God's teaching being dealt with. 00:12:49.359 --> 00:12:55.479 And that for us is very important today because God's family, God's church needs to be protected 00:12:55.479 --> 00:12:57.479 from abusive leadership. 00:12:57.479 --> 00:12:59.599 It's a massive issue today. 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:04.399 You can go to any website and find out about the abusive behavior of church leaders throughout 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:05.399 the world. 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:11.279 It's far too long, it's been a personality kill or about power or about gifts before 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:17.960 character and it's been allowed to be a cancer in the church, ministers and elders abusing 00:13:17.960 --> 00:13:23.519 their position and not recognizing their servanthood and accountability before God. 00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:30.960 And so it needs to be addressed, but also not only does God say here that the church 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:36.159 needs to be protected from abuse, but also Godly ministers and elders need to be protected 00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:42.360 from slander and from gossip and from being easy targets because we're in a spiritual 00:13:42.360 --> 00:13:48.720 war and Satan will often want to bring down unjustifiably those who lead families, those 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:51.000 who lead the church. 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:57.840 And in chapter five, earlier verses, it talks about those who learn to be idlers, going 00:13:57.840 --> 00:14:02.759 about from house to house, not only idlers, but gossip and busybodies saying what they 00:14:02.759 --> 00:14:04.259 should not. 00:14:04.259 --> 00:14:10.600 And it may well have been in that situation that they were slandering those leaders in 00:14:10.600 --> 00:14:13.039 the church who were godly. 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:21.000 Then we see that this is about protecting the public work of the church. 00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:26.639 I don't think it's dealing at all really with the private sins or the quirks or the 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:31.039 character weaknesses that we find in elders and leaders of the church. 00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:36.399 You know, it can be very easy for us to talk about leaders, to gossip behind their backs 00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:41.240 to dislodge ministers or elders because maybe we just don't like the way they do things 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:46.879 or they're not meeting our impossible standards to be spiritual super people. 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:50.480 Or we like believing the worst about them and spreading slander and gossip. 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:55.360 So we find a double protection here, both for the church against abusive leadership 00:14:55.360 --> 00:15:02.560 and also for godly leaders to be protected from slander against those who don't have 00:15:02.560 --> 00:15:08.639 evidence and who are simply seeking to cause division. 00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:16.879 But within all of that, underlying it all, is this reality that we are a grace community, 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:21.279 that we see the importance of protecting God's gospel and its truth. 00:15:21.279 --> 00:15:26.120 But the encouragement is to deal honestly and openly together. 00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:28.279 Don't gossip about people. 00:15:28.279 --> 00:15:30.240 This is wider than just the leadership. 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:32.480 Don't judge unfairly. 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:35.480 Don't ignore people's failings. 00:15:35.480 --> 00:15:42.120 Don't talk about people, but rather talk to them well in love, holding each other accountable. 00:15:42.120 --> 00:15:49.080 It's so counterintuitive to the world and the standards of much of what we see, sometimes 00:15:49.080 --> 00:15:52.320 in our own hearts and sometimes in the world around us. 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:54.840 So there's this defining grievance procedure. 00:15:54.840 --> 00:16:01.240 There's also the importance of impartiality, verse 21, in the presence of God and Christ 00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:02.519 Jesus and of the elect elders. 00:16:02.519 --> 00:16:09.039 I charge you, keep the rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality. 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:12.799 Great advice, practical advice from God. 00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:19.360 So as we enact the governing principles of God in the church regarding leadership, but 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:25.639 also more generally, let's not be people who prejudge the outcome of anything. 00:16:25.639 --> 00:16:31.919 Isn't it easy for us to decide when people are guilty without knowing the truth with 00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:33.639 scant evidence? 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:38.839 Isn't it often that we make people guilty by association or we take pleasure in their 00:16:38.839 --> 00:16:41.959 downfall or hearing bad news? 00:16:41.959 --> 00:16:49.439 We're to do so with impartiality in our interactions with one another, without favoritism. 00:16:49.439 --> 00:16:58.519 And we've seen that so often in the church, nepotistic behavior, where families or people 00:16:58.519 --> 00:17:08.680 who are favored are protected and people in the pew are damaged and destroyed because 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:17.920 the leadership is protected in an ungodly and in a favoritistic way. 00:17:17.920 --> 00:17:21.400 And we don't show impartiality or favoritism. 00:17:21.400 --> 00:17:23.000 Why? 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:29.079 Because in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, Timothy is charged to keep these rules 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:35.559 without prejudging, because we're in God's presence, because we all stand before the 00:17:35.559 --> 00:17:41.400 one judge, all of us, because he knows us and he knows our hearts. 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:45.920 And the very core of our Christianity is that we've opened our hearts to Him and said, 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:52.440 I'm guilty, I need you, I'm forgiven, I'm being transformed. 00:17:52.440 --> 00:17:59.039 And that should mark this community as those that are grace filled. 00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:02.600 And through it, we need the vitality of godly wisdom. 00:18:02.600 --> 00:18:07.440 The last couple of verses, do not be hasty in the laying on the fans or take part in 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:11.279 the sins of others, keep yourself pure, don't drink just water, but a little wine. 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:17.039 Even if some peoples are conspicuous, going before them, others come up here later. 00:18:17.039 --> 00:18:23.839 And there's just a kind of, it's like snowballing of pieces of advice here that all could be 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:27.759 umbrellaed under wisdom, God's wisdom. 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:34.359 So as God's people, we need caution, particularly as we appoint leaders, appointing leaders 00:18:34.359 --> 00:18:37.440 and ministers as a serious business. 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:41.360 And God is saying here through to Paul, to Timothy, you know, don't do it just for the 00:18:41.360 --> 00:18:48.720 sake of it, don't do it hastily, lay hands on someone in terms of ordination without 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:51.720 due thought and prayer. 00:18:51.720 --> 00:18:56.720 Take it seriously, don't do someone as young in the faith as we're told elsewhere. 00:18:56.720 --> 00:18:59.480 And look after our own hearts as we do so. 00:18:59.480 --> 00:19:04.680 He encourages Timothy to keep himself pure. 00:19:04.680 --> 00:19:05.799 We all need to do that. 00:19:05.799 --> 00:19:11.519 We need to be pure through depending on the forgiveness and grace and transforming power 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:12.519 of the Spirit. 00:19:12.519 --> 00:19:15.000 And the little bit there about wine is interesting. 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:24.480 I wonder whether Timothy was maybe prone to listen to the aesthetics among him, aesthetics 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:28.680 who said, you know, you have to be outwardly, you have to be, you know, really self-denying 00:19:28.680 --> 00:19:33.599 and not allow yourself any of these pleasures and that will reflect the purity that's inside 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:34.599 you. 00:19:34.599 --> 00:19:39.279 I wonder if Paul is an older Christian, he's saying, look, you've got a dodgy stomach. 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:41.480 Take a little bit of wine. 00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:44.959 Not only is it good medicinally, but wine gladdens the heart of man. 00:19:44.959 --> 00:19:51.359 And I wonder if he's just shaking Timothy a little bit away from the, maybe the temptation 00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:58.279 of some of the false teachers who were denying God's good gifts to enjoy. 00:19:58.279 --> 00:20:07.559 Of course, drunkenness, of course, is to be avoided at all costs and those who follow Christ. 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:12.480 So there's caution there, but there's also discernment, isn't there, for recognizing 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:15.799 that some people's sins go before them in judgment. 00:20:15.799 --> 00:20:18.440 Other people's sins maybe just appear later. 00:20:18.440 --> 00:20:20.559 So we need to know what people are like. 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:26.759 We need to take, to patiently wait and find out more about, don't be hasty in making judgments 00:20:26.759 --> 00:20:31.359 or in making appointments, it's all about the heart. 00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:38.559 It's all about seeing the fruit of the heart coming out in our lives as Christians, a fantastic 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:40.720 section that applies to all of us. 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:49.000 So in conclusion, for some of the challenges for you and me, for us in St. Columbus, and 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:56.400 as, you know, we come to church, we come under God's word, we come for God to change us every 00:20:56.400 --> 00:21:01.400 time we are under God's word, whether we read it ourselves or we come to church, you'll 00:21:01.400 --> 00:21:03.840 go out differently from the way you came in. 00:21:03.840 --> 00:21:09.480 And it's important that we just alert ourselves, remind ourselves and alert ourselves to that 00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:13.960 great truth, that God is changing us through His word. 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:21.480 I think the local church, as God's family live together, we live from the heart out. 00:21:21.480 --> 00:21:23.360 It's not about appearances. 00:21:23.360 --> 00:21:26.280 It's not about how good we look. 00:21:26.279 --> 00:21:27.519 It's about our heart. 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:28.639 And we reflect. 00:21:28.639 --> 00:21:30.879 In so doing, we reflect Christ. 00:21:30.879 --> 00:21:36.440 And we're not aiming to take ungodly principles from the world and from society and from our 00:21:36.440 --> 00:21:39.200 hearts in. 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:41.960 We're seeking to reflect God from the heart out. 00:21:41.960 --> 00:21:43.799 And that means your heart matters. 00:21:43.799 --> 00:21:46.240 And the way you live matters, not just me. 00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:52.279 I'm going on to speak a little bit about that, but your part matters. 00:21:52.279 --> 00:21:59.519 That means that as we seek to develop relationships of gospel accountability in love, the whole 00:21:59.519 --> 00:22:07.599 interaction between leaders and people here reflects that kind of gospel love and accountability. 00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:09.599 Talk to people again. 00:22:09.599 --> 00:22:12.240 I say, not about them. 00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:15.680 Don't talk about people behind their backs. 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:22.480 It takes courage and humility sometimes to deal with an issue that's difficult. 00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:25.480 Often it might just love covers a multitude of sins. 00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:29.000 And if love covers a multitude of sins, don't talk about it. 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:30.600 Don't gossip about it. 00:22:30.600 --> 00:22:31.840 Don't badmouth people. 00:22:31.840 --> 00:22:35.279 If it's good enough to be forgiven, just let it go. 00:22:35.279 --> 00:22:39.400 But if it's big enough to deal with, deal with it face to face with people so that there's 00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:43.759 honesty and accountability in a gentle, loving, gracious way. 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:51.079 Don't take the huff, don't use people's failings as an excuse to criticise or judge them. 00:22:51.079 --> 00:22:52.680 Don't nitpick. 00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:56.279 These are some of the things that come out of a passage like this. 00:22:56.279 --> 00:22:57.279 Give thanks. 00:22:57.279 --> 00:23:01.240 Can I ask you to give thanks for all its insides, for all as you look around you? 00:23:01.240 --> 00:23:05.839 Give thanks for the children, give thanks for the teachers and helpers, the singers, 00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:08.680 give thanks for every single person in the pew. 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:10.319 Pray for them. 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:12.200 Pray for each other. 00:23:12.200 --> 00:23:16.559 Help us overcome our own weaknesses. 00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:21.720 Give thanks for the unity that we do have and for the biblical preaching and teaching 00:23:21.720 --> 00:23:27.840 that you do receive that seeks to be faithful to God's Word, even when we struggle to know 00:23:27.840 --> 00:23:29.200 how to preach it. 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:33.840 And even when we find it difficult and we don't fully understand it. 00:23:33.840 --> 00:23:36.920 Remember together that we are all sinners saved by grace. 00:23:36.920 --> 00:23:42.759 Corey, me, the elders, the deacons, the members, everyone who's part of the church, we're all 00:23:42.759 --> 00:23:43.759 the same. 00:23:43.759 --> 00:23:45.480 We are sinners saved by grace. 00:23:45.480 --> 00:23:47.480 Please remember that. 00:23:47.480 --> 00:23:49.039 We're all battling. 00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:53.320 We don't come to church on surfboards. 00:23:53.320 --> 00:23:56.240 We don't come all breezing through life easily. 00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:57.960 We're all struggling. 00:23:57.960 --> 00:23:59.640 We're all finding difficulties. 00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:02.000 We can all be rejoicing as well. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:08.960 But remember that and remember to look at one another in that light. 00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:14.039 Can I speak specifically to the elders who are here today? 00:24:14.039 --> 00:24:15.519 And I'll close myself. 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:17.559 Don't be paralysed by guilt. 00:24:17.559 --> 00:24:21.720 You see, when an elder reads a passage like this, he's paralysed by guilt. 00:24:21.720 --> 00:24:25.200 Can I ask you to recognize your calling? 00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:31.880 Recognize the power that you have under God and the significance of your example, good 00:24:31.880 --> 00:24:34.960 or bad. 00:24:34.960 --> 00:24:41.760 And may it always, when you struggle with paralysis, come back to Jesus Christ for energy and life 00:24:41.760 --> 00:24:42.760 and movement again. 00:24:42.760 --> 00:24:46.320 I've been a minister for 32 years. 00:24:46.320 --> 00:24:56.200 You have no idea the number of times I feel paralyzed by expectations, by a sense of failure 00:24:56.200 --> 00:24:59.600 and inadequacy, by the accusations of the evil one. 00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:04.919 The first 10 years of my ministry were what we would uneffectually call the 10-year conflict 00:25:04.919 --> 00:25:13.319 in the free church, where I saw things and did things as a leader that were toxic and 00:25:13.319 --> 00:25:17.799 miserable that led to a great split in our church. 00:25:17.799 --> 00:25:23.919 I've sensed being under the mercy of other people's opinions driven to the pulpit sometimes 00:25:23.919 --> 00:25:24.919 by guilt. 00:25:24.920 --> 00:25:32.920 And the only answer to these challenges and paralysis is to be reminded that God loves 00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:37.519 me because He does. 00:25:37.519 --> 00:25:41.720 And I keep going back to Him for His forgiveness and for transformation. 00:25:41.720 --> 00:25:48.000 If I could have one word that would summarize 32 years of ministry, it's kept. 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:52.120 I've been kept for that time and to Him be the glory. 00:25:52.119 --> 00:25:55.719 Now, when I say that, I'm not saying that as a dose of the poor me, poor me. 00:25:55.719 --> 00:25:58.599 I don't want you to come up and rub my back at the end of the service. 00:25:58.599 --> 00:26:04.119 Not interested in anything like that by any means because I love what I do and I'm blessed 00:26:04.119 --> 00:26:06.199 beyond measure. 00:26:06.199 --> 00:26:12.959 But sometimes I think you need to know that the battles you face in your life ministers 00:26:12.959 --> 00:26:16.159 and elders face as well. 00:26:16.159 --> 00:26:18.799 Maybe different, different. 00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:21.559 May come at different angles, may come in different ways. 00:26:21.559 --> 00:26:28.079 I know that Satan, spiritually Satan sometimes will attack ministers in particular in different 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:32.079 ways because they're up the front and because they're dealing with God's word and they're 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:33.599 teaching God's word. 00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:39.440 And it may be a more insidious spiritual attack that's not as evident to people in the pew. 00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:45.319 But your battles and your struggles in your workplaces and in your environments are just 00:26:45.319 --> 00:26:46.319 as real. 00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:47.599 They're just different. 00:26:47.599 --> 00:26:53.039 So let's remember that together and let's remember the importance of that in our lives 00:26:53.039 --> 00:27:01.519 together so that we might see our place in God's family here, every single one of us, 00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:08.839 each of us equal before God, serving the Lord Jesus Christ, each of us playing our part 00:27:08.839 --> 00:27:17.439 in this gospel community which seeks to glorify and reflect Jesus Christ with all our failings. 00:27:17.440 --> 00:27:19.440 And with all our mistakes. 00:27:19.440 --> 00:27:28.240 And I know the leaders have an important role to set the tone, but each of us, you all set 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:36.480 the tone for what this congregation is like as it reflects Jesus Christ. 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:42.960 We're never here to pat ourselves in the back and say, what is like us? 00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:44.600 Because it's a battle. 00:27:44.599 --> 00:27:51.199 Because there's always an ongoing need for transformation and change and joy even in 00:27:51.199 --> 00:27:54.079 the midst of suffering and difficulties. 00:27:54.079 --> 00:28:03.959 And I close with this relentless, repetitive, frustrating maybe for you plea that we need 00:28:03.959 --> 00:28:06.480 to be a praying people. 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:09.279 We need to be praying together. 00:28:09.279 --> 00:28:12.879 We need to recognize that we need Christ. 00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:19.200 Yes, we can ask for Christ's grace and help and strength on our own, but it's good to 00:28:19.200 --> 00:28:22.120 encourage one another in prayer. 00:28:22.120 --> 00:28:31.560 And if you can, over the next three weeks or so, Friday morning, 7 a.m., you can do it 00:28:31.560 --> 00:28:35.080 in your pajamas because it's online. 00:28:35.079 --> 00:28:44.279 Come and join us as we plead before the throne in all the imperfectness of being online and 00:28:44.279 --> 00:28:45.279 not together. 00:28:45.279 --> 00:28:50.519 But we're doing 1271 until the end of June and we're taking a break, not from prayer, 00:28:50.519 --> 00:28:52.319 but from 1271. 00:28:52.319 --> 00:28:53.960 And then we'll come back to it again. 00:28:53.960 --> 00:28:59.839 But it's just this declaration that we need Jesus and we need His power. 00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:05.199 And it reflects, I hope, a daily need that we have for Jesus in our lives to be this 00:29:05.199 --> 00:29:08.879 kind of radical church. 00:29:08.879 --> 00:29:17.199 We don't want to be the church that is in the news, that speaks about another abuse, 00:29:17.199 --> 00:29:25.079 abusive leadership, a failed ministry, publicly failed, and all that goes with that. 00:29:25.079 --> 00:29:27.439 And we need God's protection. 00:29:27.440 --> 00:29:33.440 And if you don't know Jesus, if you don't know Him as your Lord and Savior, can I just 00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:39.480 remind you it's the heart that He comes in and He changes and needs to change your heart 00:29:39.480 --> 00:29:46.720 so it's alive and forgiven and in relationship with Him. 00:29:46.720 --> 00:29:47.720 Let's pray. 00:29:47.720 --> 00:29:51.799 Father God, we ask that You would help us to know You better. 00:29:51.799 --> 00:29:57.400 Thank You for the practical advice of a chapter like this, speaking into a context, but also 00:29:57.400 --> 00:30:03.240 giving us principles that are so good, they would be so good, not just in church, but 00:30:03.240 --> 00:30:04.240 anywhere. 00:30:04.240 --> 00:30:12.280 Principles about impartiality and about not showing favoritism and about not judging someone 00:30:12.280 --> 00:30:16.680 unfairly or without evidence in a public forum. 00:30:16.680 --> 00:30:26.800 Lord, if only our nation, if only our leaders, if only our politicians and world leaders 00:30:26.799 --> 00:30:33.440 are these great basic principles, then the humility of servant leadership would be so 00:30:33.440 --> 00:30:34.440 much more effective. 00:30:34.440 --> 00:30:40.720 We pray for each of us that in our own lives, in our own families, in our own homes, in 00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:45.680 our own hearts, in our workplaces, in our environment, in our neighborhoods, that we'd live out 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:52.200 grace, live out this transforming walk, what is so different from what we are naturally 00:30:52.200 --> 00:31:01.200 like in our selfishness, our pride, and our love of gossip, and our positioning for authority 00:31:01.200 --> 00:31:10.160 and power and abusing that, which we fight against in our hearts. 00:31:10.160 --> 00:31:11.920 So Lord, help us, we pray. 00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:15.799 And may You have the praise and the glory, and may You have the honor, and may we see 00:31:15.799 --> 00:31:22.839 many people coming to know Jesus in this church and through our connections because we live 00:31:22.839 --> 00:31:28.079 honestly and are blessed by You in weakness, depending on Your strength. 00:31:28.079 --> 00:31:46.359 Amen.