so as we' mentioned before um in<\/p>\n
previous weeks when we' talked about<\/p>\n
first Timothy it's a letter uh that Paul<\/p>\n
wrote to his Apprentice Timothy um who's<\/p>\n
serving uh p as a pastor in a church in<\/p>\n
EP Ephesus uh Paul wrote lots of letters<\/p>\n
throughout the old test the New<\/p>\n
Testament uh to churches giving advice<\/p>\n
encouragement instruction um reminding<\/p>\n
them of of the truths of the of the<\/p>\n
Gospel of Jesus Christ<\/p>\n
um he takes special care to write two<\/p>\n
different letters to Timothy so Timothy<\/p>\n
was kind of like Paul's Paul's guy uh in<\/p>\n
the book of Acts when uh when Paul first<\/p>\n
meets Timothy he immediately sees<\/p>\n
promise in him he wants Timothy to start<\/p>\n
accompanying uh Paul as he's going on<\/p>\n
his missionary Journeys so that he can<\/p>\n
learn from Paul um Paul sees Timothy as<\/p>\n
like the person who could possibly<\/p>\n
replace him down the road<\/p>\n
um he believes Timothy's uniquely<\/p>\n
qualified to be a pastor even though<\/p>\n
he's very very<\/p>\n
young uh so Timothy starts his journey<\/p>\n
as a pastor of a church and Paul writes<\/p>\n
these letters to him to kind of<\/p>\n
encourage him um some giv him give him<\/p>\n
some advice uh from One Pastor to<\/p>\n
another from one missionary to another<\/p>\n
um and most of this letter has been Paul<\/p>\n
giving Specific Instructions to Timothy<\/p>\n
uh for church structure for church<\/p>\n
governance um for how the hierarchy<\/p>\n
within the church leadership should have<\/p>\n
work where women stand in that hierarchy<\/p>\n
um and to be honest with you I I really<\/p>\n
don't envy some of my fellow preachers<\/p>\n
who have had to preach on some of the<\/p>\n
topics that are written in this book um<\/p>\n
thankfully 1 Timothy 5 is is a little<\/p>\n
bit more uh to the point there are some<\/p>\n
uh parts of it that are a little more<\/p>\n
complicated a little more complex uh<\/p>\n
there are some structural things that<\/p>\n
we're going to talk about but the main<\/p>\n
point of 1 Timothy 5 is that um we all<\/p>\n
as a church treat treat each other with<\/p>\n
love and respect um and so that's what<\/p>\n
we're going to base this me Mage John um<\/p>\n
and it kind of goes back to um verse 15<\/p>\n
of chapter 3 um Paul writes uh in in in<\/p>\n
verse 15 of chapter 3 if I delay you may<\/p>\n
know how one ought to behave in the<\/p>\n
household of God which is the Church of<\/p>\n
the Living God a pillar and buttress of<\/p>\n
Truth so in our chapter today you're<\/p>\n
going to see again that what Paul is<\/p>\n
focused on more than anything else is<\/p>\n
talking to Timothy about how the members<\/p>\n
of the church should behave when they<\/p>\n
relate to one another um how they should<\/p>\n
treat one another how they should rebuke<\/p>\n
one another um how they should care for<\/p>\n
the least of these among them those who<\/p>\n
are in need um and how they should<\/p>\n
defend one another and ultimately how<\/p>\n
they should uh discipline one another<\/p>\n
with failure um so turn with me to 1<\/p>\n
Timothy 5 uh and we will begin in verse<\/p>\n
one uh do not rebuke an older man but<\/p>\n
encourage him as you would a father<\/p>\n
younger men as brothers older women as<\/p>\n
mothers younger women as sisters in all<\/p>\n
Purity honor widows who are truly widows<\/p>\n
but but if a widow has children or<\/p>\n
grandchildren let them first learn to<\/p>\n
show godliness to their own household to<\/p>\n
make some return to their parents for<\/p>\n
this is pleasing in the sight of God she<\/p>\n
who is truly a widow left all alone has<\/p>\n
set her hope on God and continues in<\/p>\n
supplications and prayers night and day<\/p>\n
but she who is self-indulgent is dead<\/p>\n
even while she<\/p>\n
lives command these things as well so<\/p>\n
that they may may may be without<\/p>\n
reproach but if anyone does not provide<\/p>\n
for his relatives and especially for<\/p>\n
members of his household he has denied<\/p>\n
the faith and is worse than an<\/p>\n
unbeliever let a widow who let a widow<\/p>\n
be enrolled if she is not less than 60<\/p>\n
years of age having been the wife of one<\/p>\n
husband and having a reputation for good<\/p>\n
works if she has brought up children has<\/p>\n
shown Hospitality has washed the feet of<\/p>\n
the Saints has cared for The Afflicted<\/p>\n
and has devoted herself to every good<\/p>\n
work but refused<\/p>\n
to uh enroll younger widows for when<\/p>\n
their passions draw them away from<\/p>\n
Christ they desire to marry and so incur<\/p>\n
condemnation for having abandoned their<\/p>\n
former Faith besides that they learn to<\/p>\n
be idlers going about from house to<\/p>\n
house and not only<\/p>\n
idlers not only erss but also gossips<\/p>\n
and Busy Bodies saying what they should<\/p>\n
not so I would have younger widows marry<\/p>\n
be children manage their households and<\/p>\n
give the adversary no occasion for<\/p>\n
slander for some have already strayed<\/p>\n
after Satan<\/p>\n
if any believing woman has relatives who<\/p>\n
are widows let her care for them let the<\/p>\n
church not be burdened so that it may be<\/p>\n
it it may care for those who are truly<\/p>\n
widows let the elders who rule well be<\/p>\n
considered worthy of double honor<\/p>\n
especially those who labor in preaching<\/p>\n
and teaching for the scripture says you<\/p>\n
shall not muzzle an ox when it Treads<\/p>\n
out grain and the laborer deserves his<\/p>\n
wages do not admit a charge against an<\/p>\n
elder except on the evidence of two or<\/p>\n
three witnesses as for those who persist<\/p>\n
in and rebuke them in the presence of<\/p>\n
all so that the rest May stand in fear<\/p>\n
in the presence of God and of Christ<\/p>\n
Jesus and of the elect angels I charge<\/p>\n
you to keep these rules without pre uh<\/p>\n
prejudging doing nothing from partiality<\/p>\n
do not be Hasty in the laying on of<\/p>\n
hands nor take part in the sins of<\/p>\n
others keep yourself pure no longer<\/p>\n
drink only water but use a little wine<\/p>\n
for the sake of your stomach and your<\/p>\n
frequent ailments the sins of some<\/p>\n
people are conspicuous going before them<\/p>\n
to judgment but the sins of others<\/p>\n
appear later so also good works are<\/p>\n
conspicuous and even those that are not<\/p>\n
cannot remain<\/p>\n
hidden let's pray Lord we pray that you<\/p>\n
will fill this place with your spirit<\/p>\n
this afternoon we pray that you will<\/p>\n
give me the words that you have for me<\/p>\n
to share from this text Lord I pray that<\/p>\n
we will see within this text the ways<\/p>\n
that we can love one another well I pray<\/p>\n
that the Lost around us would see the<\/p>\n
ways that we love and care for one<\/p>\n
another and wonder what is different<\/p>\n
about us we love you Lord<\/p>\n
amen what do what does family mean to<\/p>\n
you what does family mean to you I think<\/p>\n
we each probably have a little bit of a<\/p>\n
different answer about that based on the<\/p>\n
way we've brought been brought up the<\/p>\n
way we were raised by our<\/p>\n
parents for me there's when I was<\/p>\n
thinking about this question there's a<\/p>\n
song that comes to my mind um it's not a<\/p>\n
serious song it's kind of a fun song by<\/p>\n
an artist named Drew hul um who I<\/p>\n
listened to a good bit um there's lines<\/p>\n
about playing together there's lines<\/p>\n
about going on vacation together there's<\/p>\n
lines about um singing in the kitchen<\/p>\n
together because family for me is a lot<\/p>\n
about<\/p>\n
fun but there are other lines to say<\/p>\n
we're all in this together that we laugh<\/p>\n
together in the rain even when things<\/p>\n
aren't<\/p>\n
pretty see I think there's some<\/p>\n
poignancy to that the purpose of what<\/p>\n
Paul is saying in in this In this<\/p>\n
passage is that we should behave as a<\/p>\n
family a family is about being there<\/p>\n
when things are<\/p>\n
hard it's about experiencing the<\/p>\n
greatest of Joys together caring deeply<\/p>\n
for one another making memories<\/p>\n
together carrying each other's burdens<\/p>\n
when things are really<\/p>\n
hard and helping one another see the<\/p>\n
light when things are really<\/p>\n
dark they can encourage you and pick you<\/p>\n
up like no one else<\/p>\n
can for me there's nobody that brings me<\/p>\n
joy and makes me laugh like my family<\/p>\n
there's nobody that makes me cry like my<\/p>\n
family and there's no one else I want<\/p>\n
advice from before my<\/p>\n
family the last two weeks Courtney<\/p>\n
Courtney and I uh my wife have had the<\/p>\n
uh pleasure of Hosting my family in in<\/p>\n
Bangkok for um for a long time and it<\/p>\n
was it was really great it was so<\/p>\n
encouraging it was um exactly what we<\/p>\n
needed um it was refreshing um we got to<\/p>\n
experience uh my parents as grandparents<\/p>\n
and and get to um see the joy in their<\/p>\n
faces when they get to hold hold our<\/p>\n
little girl and care for her um family<\/p>\n
can do things for you that nobody else<\/p>\n
can and what Paul's saying In this<\/p>\n
passage is that we in the church should<\/p>\n
behave the same way that you do with<\/p>\n
your<\/p>\n
family we should behave like a true<\/p>\n
family of faith for much of First<\/p>\n
Timothy Paul has talked about the<\/p>\n
Practical structures and roles within<\/p>\n
the church somewhat like the business<\/p>\n
model model of the church um in chapter<\/p>\n
five that five that tone shifts a little<\/p>\n
bit towards more personal aspects of the<\/p>\n
way that the church should relate to one<\/p>\n
another uh in 1 Timothy 5 we see that<\/p>\n
the church should behave like a family<\/p>\n
in the way that we relate to one another<\/p>\n
care for one another serve one another<\/p>\n
and discipline one another in the way<\/p>\n
that we care for one another relate to<\/p>\n
one another serve one another and<\/p>\n
discipline one another so break it<\/p>\n
breaks down into four key sections that<\/p>\n
we're going to talk about we should take<\/p>\n
care in the way that we relate to one to<\/p>\n
different members in the congregation<\/p>\n
that's verses 1 and 2 in verses 3-8<\/p>\n
we'll talk about how we should make a<\/p>\n
priority to care for the less fortunate<\/p>\n
Among Us and those who are in need in<\/p>\n
verses 9-16 we're going to talk about<\/p>\n
how the Christian life is not just about<\/p>\n
receiving but it's about serving as well<\/p>\n
and in verses 17-25 we're going to talk<\/p>\n
about how the church should care for<\/p>\n
those in leadership and in moments<\/p>\n
discipline them as<\/p>\n
well so let's look again at verses 1 and<\/p>\n
two do not n an older man but encourage<\/p>\n
him as you would a father younger men as<\/p>\n
brothers older women as mothers younger<\/p>\n
women as sisters in all<\/p>\n
Purity there's a growing belief in<\/p>\n
society today that um regardless of of<\/p>\n
age race gender sexual orientation and<\/p>\n
wealth status that we should all be<\/p>\n
treated the same and that idea does have<\/p>\n
biblical truth in it um<\/p>\n
we I'm reminded of of the the famous<\/p>\n
line from the declaration of<\/p>\n
independence of the United States right<\/p>\n
all men are created equal okay that that<\/p>\n
idea is is true biblically in a lot of<\/p>\n
ways um we are all created in the image<\/p>\n
of God men and women we are all created<\/p>\n
in the image of God um we are all we<\/p>\n
have all forsaken God equally our sin<\/p>\n
condemns us the exact same way and we<\/p>\n
all need an equal amount of Grace so<\/p>\n
what is Paul trying to say here in the<\/p>\n
way that we relate to one another what<\/p>\n
he's trying to tell Timothy is that he<\/p>\n
should take extreme care in the way that<\/p>\n
he Shepherds his congregation Timothy is<\/p>\n
a young pastor of a multigenerational<\/p>\n
church he's going to be shepherding and<\/p>\n
caring for people who are older than him<\/p>\n
people who are younger than him people<\/p>\n
who are the same age people who are he's<\/p>\n
going to be sheering men and women he's<\/p>\n
going to be shepher married people and<\/p>\n
single<\/p>\n
people and Paul's saying you can't<\/p>\n
relate all of those people the same<\/p>\n
way he's telling them to act in wisdom<\/p>\n
not to show partiality or Prejudice<\/p>\n
based on anything raging from age to<\/p>\n
wealth to anything he's telling them to<\/p>\n
act in wisdom as he Shepherds and cares<\/p>\n
for the family of<\/p>\n
Faith this kind of we have to contrast<\/p>\n
this a little bit with uh First Timothy<\/p>\n
4:12 which says let no one despise you<\/p>\n
for your youth but set the Believers as<\/p>\n
an example in speech and conduct in love<\/p>\n
and faith and Purity so in 1 Timothy<\/p>\n
4:12 Paul is telling Timothy don't let<\/p>\n
the older people within your<\/p>\n
congregation look down on you or push<\/p>\n
you around because of your youth you're<\/p>\n
the pastor of the church you have to<\/p>\n
step into a leadership role but in<\/p>\n
chapter five what he's telling him is<\/p>\n
you can't just relate to everybody the<\/p>\n
same you're going to Shepherd everyone<\/p>\n
differently you're going to lead people<\/p>\n
differently because people are different<\/p>\n
people you're going to have to relate to<\/p>\n
people different ways we have different<\/p>\n
interests we have different Hobbies we<\/p>\n
have different sins that plague us<\/p>\n
what he's saying here<\/p>\n
is you know the idea is that we we do<\/p>\n
this innately right we relate to people<\/p>\n
differently you know as a kid I related<\/p>\n
to my parents differently I knew which<\/p>\n
parent I uh didn't want to find out that<\/p>\n
I had done something wrong I knew which<\/p>\n
parent to go to if I wanted to ask for<\/p>\n
permissions for something that maybe I<\/p>\n
the other one would say no to um I knew<\/p>\n
which parent to go to if I had got a<\/p>\n
really good grade and I wanted a lot of<\/p>\n
encouragement<\/p>\n
um each of you probably experienced<\/p>\n
something similar to this when you were<\/p>\n
growing<\/p>\n
up the point is intuitively we do treat<\/p>\n
people<\/p>\n
differently<\/p>\n
um while I may relate to my parents<\/p>\n
differently with different levels of<\/p>\n
respect with different styles of<\/p>\n
communication uh I always try to relate<\/p>\n
to my family with<\/p>\n
love um and so when we read this passage<\/p>\n
and we see what Paul says about relating<\/p>\n
to one another that should be our<\/p>\n
foremost uh foremost command here um our<\/p>\n
relationships within the church should<\/p>\n
not be defined by rebuke um by looking<\/p>\n
for ways to tell people what they're<\/p>\n
doing what they're what what they're<\/p>\n
doing is wrong uh but instead by<\/p>\n
encouragement uh by respect uh by love<\/p>\n
uh Jesus says they will know that you<\/p>\n
are my disciples by Your Love he doesn't<\/p>\n
say that you'll know your my disciples<\/p>\n
by your<\/p>\n
theology um by your catechisms by your<\/p>\n
sacraments all of those things are<\/p>\n
good but the thing he says first and<\/p>\n
foremost we should be known by is the<\/p>\n
way we love one<\/p>\n
another do you think this church is<\/p>\n
known by its<\/p>\n
love would you people in with the people<\/p>\n
in your life the people you go to small<\/p>\n
group with the people people you<\/p>\n
interact with on Sunday mornings Sunday<\/p>\n
afternoons uh would they say that you're<\/p>\n
known by the way that you love<\/p>\n
people we're supposed to love our<\/p>\n
neighbors as<\/p>\n
ourselves are you loving your<\/p>\n
neighbor are you caring for the people<\/p>\n
around<\/p>\n
you love can look like a lot of<\/p>\n
different things love can look like<\/p>\n
respecting an elder for their advice and<\/p>\n
their encouragement um love can look<\/p>\n
like encouraging a younger person when<\/p>\n
they are airing or steering them on back<\/p>\n
onto the straight<\/p>\n
path uh love can look like caring for a<\/p>\n
widow as we're going to talk about later<\/p>\n
In this<\/p>\n
passage you know the way I love my my<\/p>\n
grandmother uh versus my sister is<\/p>\n
different and and Paul's saying that<\/p>\n
both of those things are good and we<\/p>\n
have to be conscious of the differences<\/p>\n
in each of those<\/p>\n
situations um as Paul continues in first<\/p>\n
Timothy 5 we're going to we're going to<\/p>\n
have great examples of the ways that we<\/p>\n
can love those around<\/p>\n
us so let's turn back to our text uh and<\/p>\n
continue in verse<\/p>\n
three uh so it says honor widows who are<\/p>\n
truly widows some return to their<\/p>\n
parents H grandchildren let them first<\/p>\n
learn to show godliness to their own<\/p>\n
household and to make some return to<\/p>\n
their parents for this is pleasing in<\/p>\n
the sight of God she who is truly a<\/p>\n
widow left alone has set her hope on God<\/p>\n
and continues in supplications and<\/p>\n
prayers night and day but she who is<\/p>\n
self-indulging is dead even while she<\/p>\n
lives<\/p>\n
yes um I'm reminded of the words uh of<\/p>\n
James<\/p>\n
127 um religion that is pure and<\/p>\n
undefiled before God the father is this<\/p>\n
to visit orphans and widows in their<\/p>\n
Affliction to keep oneself unstained<\/p>\n
from the<\/p>\n
world uh the world is selfish um the<\/p>\n
Christian Life should be<\/p>\n
selfless um the Christian Life should be<\/p>\n
characterized by caring for the less<\/p>\n
fortunate fortunate<\/p>\n
um we don't earn Grace um through good<\/p>\n
works um but because of the of the way<\/p>\n
that Christ has served us and sacrificed<\/p>\n
for us we should look to sacrifice for<\/p>\n
others oftentimes we focus too much on<\/p>\n
the personal nature of our relationship<\/p>\n
with<\/p>\n
Jesus uh we spend too much time talking<\/p>\n
about what we're personally getting from<\/p>\n
a sermon or a worship service um what<\/p>\n
we're<\/p>\n
how our our quiet time our personal time<\/p>\n
with the Lord is<\/p>\n
going um and how the word the Lord is<\/p>\n
working in our lives personally and we<\/p>\n
don't look at the people around us and<\/p>\n
see how they're<\/p>\n
doing the Christian church should be a<\/p>\n
fellowship of Believers not a bunch of<\/p>\n
individuals focused on themselves and<\/p>\n
their own personal<\/p>\n
growth when we focus our lives on others<\/p>\n
we will grow in Christ because that's<\/p>\n
one of the things he's called us to<\/p>\n
do Jesus spent so much time around the<\/p>\n
poor The Afflicted the cast out and the<\/p>\n
ignored we have to model Our Lives after<\/p>\n
this there are people around us even in<\/p>\n
this very congregation that need our<\/p>\n
help part of Walking With Jesus is<\/p>\n
sacrificing for the sake of<\/p>\n
others you'll notice that Paul seems to<\/p>\n
make some stipulations to his command to<\/p>\n
care for widows here in chapter 5 um and<\/p>\n
it's important for us to understand um<\/p>\n
why he's he's he's making<\/p>\n
these uh points um and and setting<\/p>\n
widows in different categories um so<\/p>\n
let's start with verse four and we're<\/p>\n
going to read verse 7 and 8 again uh but<\/p>\n
if a widow has children or grandchildren<\/p>\n
let them first learn to show godliness<\/p>\n
to their own household to make some<\/p>\n
return to their parents for this is<\/p>\n
bless this is pleasing in the sight of<\/p>\n
God uh command these things as well so<\/p>\n
that may they may be without uh may be<\/p>\n
without reproach but if anyone does not<\/p>\n
provide for his relative and especially<\/p>\n
for members of his household he has<\/p>\n
denied the faith and is worse than an<\/p>\n
unbeliever so what we see here is that<\/p>\n
uh the church has um what we generally<\/p>\n
Call a Duty of care um for its members<\/p>\n
and uh especially in this passage widows<\/p>\n
um so what Paul is saying here is is is<\/p>\n
widows who are true widows he makes that<\/p>\n
uh he he has that category true widows<\/p>\n
true widows are people who have no<\/p>\n
family their they they have no family<\/p>\n
whatsoever um they have no children to<\/p>\n
care for them um they have no<\/p>\n
grandchildren to care for them their<\/p>\n
husband is obviously gone um their<\/p>\n
parents are gone um true widows who have<\/p>\n
no one else um now Paul Paul obviously<\/p>\n
says th that kind of<\/p>\n
person is someone the church should<\/p>\n
immediately care for U the other<\/p>\n
category is widows who have uh who have<\/p>\n
family um so widows who have family uh<\/p>\n
what Paul says here is that the church<\/p>\n
should not supersede an individual's own<\/p>\n
family to care for a widow it is the the<\/p>\n
family's responsibility to care for them<\/p>\n
um and<\/p>\n
so we as a church have to address um<\/p>\n
situations um individually um and and<\/p>\n
figure out what's going on in each IND<\/p>\n
these individual situations um so he's<\/p>\n
Paul's telling us the church should have<\/p>\n
a process to address each each one of<\/p>\n
these<\/p>\n
situations um<\/p>\n
so at when we take in widows we care for<\/p>\n
them those true widows on the other hand<\/p>\n
you know often times uh if a widow um<\/p>\n
needs help and she is not being cared<\/p>\n
for by her family it's because there's<\/p>\n
been some some relational um problems<\/p>\n
that have happened there some Brokenness<\/p>\n
there um and I think the church in that<\/p>\n
situation uh our our duty is to care for<\/p>\n
that person but at the same time<\/p>\n
encourage Restoration in the<\/p>\n
relationship there um we have to<\/p>\n
encourage them to to bridge that Gap<\/p>\n
with their family because it is the<\/p>\n
family's um responsibility to care for<\/p>\n
them uh so there a difficult balance to<\/p>\n
find here and there there are some<\/p>\n
intricacies within what Paul is talking<\/p>\n
about here um but the reality is for<\/p>\n
each of us individually um we should<\/p>\n
look for those who are in need in our<\/p>\n
congregation um who need our help um who<\/p>\n
we can serve um and you<\/p>\n
know our job job is is to help them um<\/p>\n
is to uh support them um is to help them<\/p>\n
along<\/p>\n
um to bring them to church if they need<\/p>\n
to be brought to church um to provide<\/p>\n
for their needs if that's necessary um<\/p>\n
so as we move to the next section uh<\/p>\n
Paul is going to give some uh intricate<\/p>\n
details about um requirements for widows<\/p>\n
who are going to be who who can be<\/p>\n
enrolled in the church um who are like<\/p>\n
officially a part part of church uh in a<\/p>\n
church office as a widow um so let's<\/p>\n
look at verses 9-6<\/p>\n
again um I'm not going to read through<\/p>\n
all of this again but you what you what<\/p>\n
you'll see here is um basically a list<\/p>\n
of qualifications um very similar to<\/p>\n
what we saw in um uh the earlier portion<\/p>\n
of this book when Paul is talking about<\/p>\n
uh qualifications for elders as well so<\/p>\n
um what we learned from this is that<\/p>\n
like a widow is the widows who are<\/p>\n
enrolled in the service of the church<\/p>\n
are not just receiving charity there<\/p>\n
this is like an official office was in<\/p>\n
the church and they're they are<\/p>\n
assisting and helping um the pastor the<\/p>\n
elders the deacons to to serve the<\/p>\n
church um and to make the church go<\/p>\n
um so the ultimate point there is that<\/p>\n
our Christian life is not just about<\/p>\n
receiving but it's also about giving<\/p>\n
it's about serving um<\/p>\n
we look to the author of our faith as an<\/p>\n
example of this right so so as we read<\/p>\n
in our call to worship Jesus did not<\/p>\n
count equality with God a thing to be<\/p>\n
grasp right but he humbled himself<\/p>\n
humbled himself even to the point of<\/p>\n
death on a cross so that we could<\/p>\n
receive Grace so that we could receive<\/p>\n
mercy and we would not be condemned<\/p>\n
right so our only response should be to<\/p>\n
be willing to sacrifice as well we need<\/p>\n
to be willing to serve as Jesus served<\/p>\n
us<\/p>\n
what are you willing to sacrifice for<\/p>\n
your savior are you willing to sacrifice<\/p>\n
some of your time are you willing to<\/p>\n
sacrifice some of your<\/p>\n
money these are things that we need to<\/p>\n
think about when we talk about caring<\/p>\n
for the people in our<\/p>\n
congregation often we view the Christian<\/p>\n
Life as transa<\/p>\n
transactional uh we view the church as<\/p>\n
an entity whose responsibility is to<\/p>\n
serve our needs we don't think about the<\/p>\n
way that we can serve the church<\/p>\n
the reality is that we should give as<\/p>\n
much to the church as we're receiving<\/p>\n
are you coming to church every Sunday<\/p>\n
just expecting to um receive some sort<\/p>\n
of spiritual power up uh and go back<\/p>\n
out we're filled up on Sunday so that we<\/p>\n
can pour out to those who need us around<\/p>\n
us in our communities in our<\/p>\n
congregation but we can also serve in<\/p>\n
our<\/p>\n
church we have to look for opportunities<\/p>\n
to serve our neighbors and our<\/p>\n
communities in Genesis 12 um when God<\/p>\n
promises Abraham that he will become<\/p>\n
this great nation one of the things that<\/p>\n
he says is that you will be blessed so<\/p>\n
that you can be a<\/p>\n
blessing how can you be a blessing to<\/p>\n
those around<\/p>\n
us because everyone in this room has<\/p>\n
been blessed every one of us has been<\/p>\n
blessed how are you being a<\/p>\n
blessing are there ways that even now<\/p>\n
you could be be serving the<\/p>\n
church um are you musically gifted could<\/p>\n
you help lead worship um could you help<\/p>\n
welcome people on Sunday mornings and<\/p>\n
pass out<\/p>\n
bulletins could you participate in a<\/p>\n
care group so that we can further the<\/p>\n
fellowship with this church not just on<\/p>\n
Sundays but throughout the<\/p>\n
week look for ways that you can serve<\/p>\n
you can bless and even sacrifice for<\/p>\n
church some of the qualifications that<\/p>\n
uh that Paul has for widows we don't<\/p>\n
necessarily need to get into the into<\/p>\n
the weeds with those um but there are a<\/p>\n
couple things that I want to note um the<\/p>\n
first thing is this U Paul is Paul talks<\/p>\n
about um uh younger widows struggling<\/p>\n
with idleness and gossip and this desire<\/p>\n
to be married again um and and you know<\/p>\n
when I read that one of the things that<\/p>\n
I think immediately is is uh for those<\/p>\n
who are single Among Us uh singleness<\/p>\n
can be difficult it's not wrong to long<\/p>\n
for a<\/p>\n
relationship but can be a hindrance to<\/p>\n
your walk with God if it becomes the<\/p>\n
most important thing in your<\/p>\n
life it can be lonely but be encouraged<\/p>\n
that God sees you he knows you he cares<\/p>\n
for you don't allow having a<\/p>\n
relationship to take the place of the<\/p>\n
Lord in your life you know this this can<\/p>\n
happen to people who are in a<\/p>\n
relationship even people who are married<\/p>\n
if you start to go to your uh boyfriend<\/p>\n
or your girlfriend girlfriend or your<\/p>\n
spouse for things that you should be<\/p>\n
getting from<\/p>\n
God that's a problem and that's<\/p>\n
something that's going to start sin is<\/p>\n
going to find a foothold there and<\/p>\n
that's the second thing that I see from<\/p>\n
this is um this idea of Gossip um<\/p>\n
finding its root in idleness um when we<\/p>\n
allow ourselves to um be too idle be um<\/p>\n
to not have uh a a something we're<\/p>\n
working towards in our relationship with<\/p>\n
the Lord um that's a the door is cracked<\/p>\n
open for sin to come in um and one of<\/p>\n
the things the Bible says over and over<\/p>\n
again is that the tongue is kind of this<\/p>\n
uh the the gateway drug to S sin a<\/p>\n
little bit um and that's why James says<\/p>\n
it's so important so we tame our tongue<\/p>\n
right so gossip is is something that<\/p>\n
that we all struggle with we can all<\/p>\n
find ourselves as as gossips um but when<\/p>\n
we are focused on the Lord when he is<\/p>\n
our number one thing in our lives and<\/p>\n
when we're growing with<\/p>\n
him uh now this final section of<\/p>\n
verses<\/p>\n
um I could preach an entire sermon on<\/p>\n
just these eight verses um there's a lot<\/p>\n
going on here uh but today we're<\/p>\n
basically going to take a a satellite<\/p>\n
view and just look at a few key points<\/p>\n
um so there are four main parts of this<\/p>\n
this this group of eight verses uh the<\/p>\n
care of Elders the defense of Elders the<\/p>\n
discipline of Elders and the appointment<\/p>\n
of Elders and at the very end there's um<\/p>\n
kind of a personal note um to Timothy<\/p>\n
that Paul gives him um the first two<\/p>\n
verses talk about how the church should<\/p>\n
take special care of Elders especially<\/p>\n
those responsible for preaching in the<\/p>\n
church uh what Paul is saying here is<\/p>\n
that it's the duty of the church to<\/p>\n
support um an elder or a pastor in this<\/p>\n
position uh both materially and<\/p>\n
spiritually they shouldn't put too much<\/p>\n
strain of leading the church on one<\/p>\n
person so that they become burnt out um<\/p>\n
which is a phrase we we often use to<\/p>\n
just talk about you know how people get<\/p>\n
tired so tired that they just can't even<\/p>\n
function really in their role um the<\/p>\n
church needs to care for elders in this<\/p>\n
position and acknowledge that they need<\/p>\n
adequate times of rest um and<\/p>\n
refreshment uh because they're pouring<\/p>\n
out so much of themselves um when<\/p>\n
they're preaching and teaching and sh<\/p>\n
sheering a<\/p>\n
church um so this why often churches<\/p>\n
will allow pastors or Elders like what's<\/p>\n
called a sabatical it's like a time away<\/p>\n
to rest and refresh and focus on their<\/p>\n
personal relationship with the Lord um<\/p>\n
which sadly can often be pushed to the<\/p>\n
side when they are doing so much in in<\/p>\n
in uh for leading the church uh Paul's<\/p>\n
also saying that the church should<\/p>\n
materially support um pastors that that<\/p>\n
their their leaders shouldn't um live<\/p>\n
like the live in in in uh in need um<\/p>\n
that whether that's that salary is<\/p>\n
coming from the church or um from some<\/p>\n
other profession that the church needs<\/p>\n
to make sure that the the Pastor Elder<\/p>\n
in this position is is taken care of um<\/p>\n
you know Paul experienced this in<\/p>\n
different ways on his his missionary<\/p>\n
Journeys um you know there were churches<\/p>\n
that supported him and then there were<\/p>\n
other times when Paul Paul made money<\/p>\n
himself as a temp maker um and so you<\/p>\n
know there is no right or wrong way for<\/p>\n
the church to do this it's just the<\/p>\n
church's responsibility to make sure<\/p>\n
that um an elder a pastor in this<\/p>\n
position is um is cared for<\/p>\n
um so verse 19 uh talks about the the um<\/p>\n
defense of Elders um in this verse Paul<\/p>\n
says that the church should not permit<\/p>\n
baseless accusations against Elders um<\/p>\n
what he means by this is accusations<\/p>\n
made by one person um because later on<\/p>\n
he says uh accusations corroborated by<\/p>\n
two and three two or three Witnesses<\/p>\n
should be heard out um and and action<\/p>\n
should be taken uh this is a really<\/p>\n
difficult<\/p>\n
um task to deal with in the church today<\/p>\n
over the past few years we have seen<\/p>\n
um many many church leaders um who have<\/p>\n
been uh perpetrating sin for a long time<\/p>\n
perpetrating abuse for a long time um<\/p>\n
and because only one person um was<\/p>\n
talking about it that that abuse<\/p>\n
continued that sin continued um on the<\/p>\n
other hand you've also had um ministers<\/p>\n
falsely accused and in the world we live<\/p>\n
in today it's this uh cancel everybody<\/p>\n
World um<\/p>\n
when the action that that we take as<\/p>\n
Society is condemn first and ask<\/p>\n
questions<\/p>\n
later uh you don't have to prove your<\/p>\n
innocence anymore you have to prove like<\/p>\n
you're just immediately assumed that<\/p>\n
you're guilty if somebody accuses you of<\/p>\n
something you're guilty if you did<\/p>\n
anything wrong or said anything that<\/p>\n
isn't appropriate you're guilty you're<\/p>\n
done that's it there's no<\/p>\n
Grace so how do we deal with this how do<\/p>\n
we follow what Paul is talking about<\/p>\n
here where we don't want abuse and<\/p>\n
sinfulness to be continuing from elders<\/p>\n
but we also don't want to corroborate<\/p>\n
false accusations I think it's really<\/p>\n
really difficult balance to find um and<\/p>\n
what Paul tells us is is just if there<\/p>\n
are<\/p>\n
more than one person accusing you have<\/p>\n
to approach each individual situation as<\/p>\n
its own thing um and if there are more<\/p>\n
people accusing then what happens is we<\/p>\n
have we we we should rebuke that person<\/p>\n
publicly public sin should be met with<\/p>\n
public discipline that's what he says in<\/p>\n
um<\/p>\n
verse<\/p>\n
um so<\/p>\n
Paul is trying to help us understand<\/p>\n
that um we should not allow people who<\/p>\n
are in a position of authority people<\/p>\n
who in his position of of leadership<\/p>\n
within a church um to be um without uh<\/p>\n
checks and balances um that these people<\/p>\n
need to we When sin occurs um we have to<\/p>\n
discipline the people the same way<\/p>\n
without<\/p>\n
bias um and so<\/p>\n
the Christian Life is is about Grace and<\/p>\n
forgiveness at its core at the same time<\/p>\n
we have to we have to protect the people<\/p>\n
of our congregation from sin from abuse<\/p>\n
from um<\/p>\n
indiscretion um and the reality is that<\/p>\n
sin has consequences when we become<\/p>\n
Believers we don't become perfect that's<\/p>\n
just the reality of our situation right<\/p>\n
um we are sinners and we're going to<\/p>\n
continue to sin the hope is that we<\/p>\n
would draw closer to the Christ every<\/p>\n
day and we would sin<\/p>\n
less but sin is still is still has a<\/p>\n
foothold in our lives for the most<\/p>\n
part and the reality is that sin has<\/p>\n
consequences and so when sin occurs<\/p>\n
those consequences have to be<\/p>\n
felt we want<\/p>\n
restoration but at the same time we need<\/p>\n
conviction if we just let someone keep<\/p>\n
getting off free there's no chance for<\/p>\n
conviction<\/p>\n
conviction is coming to the realization<\/p>\n
about one's own sin one's own guilt um<\/p>\n
and it's still an important part of our<\/p>\n
walk with Jesus<\/p>\n
daily um so these three previous points<\/p>\n
lead to the last idea that Paul States<\/p>\n
in verse 22 he says that because of how<\/p>\n
difficult it is to be an elder the<\/p>\n
public light having your walk with<\/p>\n
Christ under a<\/p>\n
microscope uh that Timothy should be<\/p>\n
cautious in quickly appointing Elders um<\/p>\n
he should be wise and discern if someone<\/p>\n
is truly spiritually mature enough to<\/p>\n
step into the role of<\/p>\n
leadership as we come to a close today<\/p>\n
uh remember above all else in this<\/p>\n
passage that we are a family of Faith um<\/p>\n
if we adhere to the first directive that<\/p>\n
Paul gives us in chapter 5 the rest<\/p>\n
becomes far<\/p>\n
easier so if you hear nothing else today<\/p>\n
hear this treat one another with love<\/p>\n
and compassion and relate with one<\/p>\n
another with the respect due to the age<\/p>\n
and position of that person in the<\/p>\n
church care for the widows in the church<\/p>\n
like they are your own mother listen to<\/p>\n
the older men in the church like they<\/p>\n
are your own father speak peacefully and<\/p>\n
respectfully to the people of your age<\/p>\n
and younger as if they were your<\/p>\n
brothers and<\/p>\n
sisters we all just want to be a one big<\/p>\n
happy family<\/p>\n
right let us be known by our love Above<\/p>\n
All<\/p>\n
Else and that love should take the form<\/p>\n
of service often times think of the ways<\/p>\n
that you could serve your church even<\/p>\n
now we're all gifted in various ways<\/p>\n
and I can promise you that the church<\/p>\n
could use your gifts right<\/p>\n
now think about the ways that you might<\/p>\n
be able to use your gifts to make the<\/p>\n
church<\/p>\n
grow take special care to find ways to<\/p>\n
Aid the less fortunate and the neediest<\/p>\n
Among Us your church and its members<\/p>\n
need you just as much as you need them<\/p>\n
let's<\/p>\n
pray Lord we pray that this church and<\/p>\n
its people would be known for the way we<\/p>\n
love one<\/p>\n
another we pray that Lord we also pray<\/p>\n
that as we love one another that we<\/p>\n
would follow in the footsteps of your<\/p>\n
son and look for ways to serve one<\/p>\n
another<\/p>\n
sacrificially Lord let us love and serve<\/p>\n
the people around us abundantly father<\/p>\n
we pray that in all these things we<\/p>\n
would keep you first and foremost in our<\/p>\n
hearts and our lives we love you Lord<\/p>\n
amen<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20241010","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Z6U1KDjDPqI","video_id":"Z6U1KDjDPqI","video_duration":"35:21","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=349"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":350,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349\/revisions\/350"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}