Sermon Tone Analysis

2009-06-14 (am) 1 Timothy 6:11-16 Men of God

 

          This morning, we’re listening in on Paul’s wisdom given to Timothy.

It is one pastor writing to another.

One leader of the church encouraging and equipping another.

We’re focussing on this passage because in a sense, Paul is encouraging and equipping our new deacon, Jerry, and our new elder, Lewis.

But before the rest of us tune out thinking, “Oh, it’s just for them,” we must know that Paul is also writing these words to all of us.

First, look at what he calls Timothy!  “O man of God!”  Put yourself in Timothy’s shoes.

You’re working in a church, you’re working hard to follow Christ, you’re trying to do your best, but you’re a rather timid fellow.

You don’t have very much confidence in your abilities.

Then, these super Christians come along.

They’ve got the latest and greatest teaching.

They’re market savvy.

They’re from the best schools; they’ve trained under the best Biblical scholars around.

They’re smooth and suave.

They’ve got power point, video, outlines, guidelines, support lines and zip lines.

And you, well, you’re just a farmer, a truss maker, a welder, a teacher, an oil worker, coal worker.

So, isn’t it interesting that Paul addresses Timothy saying, “O man of God.”

This is one of the most powerful titles used in the Bible to describe a human.

It referred to the truest, most powerful, most faithful of God’s servants—a true prophet, a prophet like Moses.

Moreover, Paul here isn’t just telling Timothy he’s a man of God, he’s Calling him a man of God.  “Timothy, you man of God, you, I’ve got some important things to tell you.

Listen up.

This is vital.

I’m going to tell you how to deal with those false teachers.

Okay?”

Now before we get to Paul’s instructions, we have important thing to realise.

How did Paul know to identify Timothy as a man of God?  Was it because Timothy could do all the things the super apostles, the false teachers could do?

Nope.

Was it because he knew how Timothy was raised?

Did Paul just know?

Nope.

Timothy’s identity isn’t based on who he is, or what he can do.

It is based on who Christ is and what Christ has done.

Timothy is a man of God because, like Moses, the great man of God, he completely trusts in God.

He is completely dependent upon God.

He knows that God will win.

He knows that the battle is the Lord’s.

He knows that no matter what challenges he faces in ministry, God who will give him strength and wisdom and character.

How does Paul know this?

It is because God has blessed Timothy with the Holy Spirit.

Timothy is full of the Holy Spirit.

Paul knows this.

Paul has seen Timothy grow up spiritually over the years.

He knows his character.

He knows that Timothy serves Christ as Lord of his life.

He knows that Timothy was trained in the faith.

He knows that Timothy was baptised into the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

It is because of God’s activity in Timothy’s life, that Paul can definitively call him a man of God.

But what about us?

The New Testament is clear, all who put their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, his atoning sacrifice on the cross, his given body and shed blood, know that they are new creations.

They are born again.

Those who trust in Christ alone become children of God.

They all become men of God.

Have you put your trust in Christ?

Have you accepted God’s grace?

Have you professed your faith in Christ?

Have you experienced the power of the Holy Spirit at work in you?

Then yes, you too are a man of God, a woman of God, a child of God.

Lewis and Jerry, I don’t exactly know what you’re feeling or experiencing at the moment, but know this, you are men of God.

The Holy Spirit is at work in your lives.

He will lead you and guide you as you serve this congregation.

This is a good reminder for all of us on council.

We might not always obey the Holy Spirit, but the promise was there for Timothy and it is here for us also.

But the second question we have not just as elders and deacons, or pastor, or members or baptised members is this, how do we live out our lives, how do we serve God?  How can we be sure that we’re faithfully following Christ?

How can we be sure that we’re not being like a false teacher?

How do we as elders, deacons, as pastor, as members, as Christians, how do we keep ourselves in the truth?

In this passage, Paul teaches us that there are two actions of a Godly man or woman.

Flee and follow.

Paul tells Timothy that in order to deal with the false teachers, in order to guard his ministry, in order to be a good leader, he must flee these things.

Now, because we’re jumping in at verse 11, we don’t know what these things are.

Paul lists them for us in verses 3-10.

I’ll quickly highlight them for us, Timothy, and not just Timothy, and not just Lewis and Jerry, all of us are to flee doctrine that is different from, that doesn’t agree with, the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ, the teaching that is in agreement with godliness.

We are to flee conceit.

We are to avoid craving for controversy, quarrelling about word—for such quarrelling produces envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and depraved of the truth, imagining that godliness is the means of gain.

Such people, in reality desire to be rich, not content.

Thus, they fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

The love of money is the root of all kinds of evils.

It is not the only root; it happens to be one that very easily leads to all kinds of evil.

I’ve just started reading a new John Grisham novel, the appeal.

And the love of money clearly has led a man to all kinds of evil.

I wish I could believe that it is only a novel, that people aren’t that evil, but I know my own heart, and I can easily see it is true.

We have to flee from teaching that is contrary to scripture.

There’s a lot of stuff being thrown about these days within the Christian world that claims to be Christian.

There’s a lot of extremely well-meaning folk who are trying to be effective communicators of the truth, but who are compromising truth in order to be relevant, or successful.

Then there are others who have bought into the idea that being a Christian can pad the bottom line.

They think, “If I go to church, if I make good contacts with those people, I can get work from them, and I can increase my business because they’ll want to support one another.

So that’s what they do, they come to church, and they have all the appearances of being a follower, but their life isn’t so consumed with Christ, but with getting the next job, getting the next contract, getting the next best thing that money can buy.

Now, I don’t know anybody like that here.

I hope that no one here thinks that way.

And more importantly, I hope I don’t think that way.

I can tell you that there are a lot of temptations in ministry.

It is easy to see this as just a job.

It is easy to see this as a means to getting a paycheque.

There have been all kinds of benefits here.

In fact, I’ve taken the opportunity to make contacts here.

Actually, I have to spend some time really thinking this through.

I might actually be guilty of some of the things that Paul is warning against.

So, as you can see, I’m not just preaching this message out there, I’m preaching it to myself.

And, honestly, if Paul were to call me a man of God, I’d probably object.

But then I’d remember why he’s calling me that.

And that leads us to the second part of Paul’s instruction.