1 Timothy 4:11-16 - The Persistent Pastor
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
Pastoral burnout is at an all-time high in our nation. When asked by Barna Research whether they had given real, serious consideration to quitting full-time ministry within the last year, 42% said yes in March of 2022 while 29% had said yes in January of 2021. This is a marked increase of almost 45%. The following reasons topped their reasons for considering quitting:
According to Barna Research, the top four reasons pastors consider quitting are:
1. The immense stress of the job
2. They feel lonely and isolated
3. Current political divisions
4. Unhappy with the effects on his family
1. The immense stress of the job
Being a pastor is hard work. You are regularly teaching and preaching things every week that are offensive to the culture around you. Preparing a sermon takes many hours each week and is difficult work. There are also many moving parts in a church. There is vision work, counseling, administration, visitation, pastoral care, shepherding, and other practical things.
Next pastors said…
2. They feel lonely and isolated
This is incredibly unfortunate but is a common issue that I hear from many pastors as well. Pastors are called to shepherd the flock. They are to reach out to the congregation regularly and shepherd them. They are to be available for counsel and help.
Yet, time after time, I have heard pastors say that no one ever checks on them. Pastors can quickly isolate themselves and not have people that they confide in. They can also burn out by not allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through them.
3. Current political divisions
Politics can certainly divide a church quickly. Sadly, even when speaking out on clearly Biblical issues such as sexuality and abortion, people can turn that into a political issue when it most certainly is a Biblical issue.
4. Unhappy with the effects on his family (1)
A pastor’s job can become far too time consuming if he does not set appropriate boundaries and manage his time well. Many pastor’s children have struggled with seeing the church as something that prevents daddy from spending time with them.
We have quite the epidemic in our nation don’t we? We have many men in pulpits that aren’t really all there. Their mind is really on doing something else. They want to run away from their duty and calling. Whether it be relational conflicts, loneliness, burnout, or other reasons, we see pastors dropping out of the ministry left and right.
How do we keep from this epidemic continuing? Like every problem that we have, we need to get back to the Word.
Today’s Scripture is directed primarily to pastors and elders - namely it was initially directed to Timothy. This is a beautiful day for a message like this since we just ordained our first elder - Adam Hill!
But there is much truth in here for all believers as well. All of us have or will have someone whom we lead or someone who is watching our lives. We all must be persistent in our faith and be an example of Christ to our world.
If we want to have pastors who persevere and persist and we want to see all believers persevere and persist as well, then we need to make sure we are all founded on the Word.
Let’s jump into our Scripture for today.
Read Full Scripture:
Command and teach these things.
Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.
Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.
Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.
Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Prayer
Today’s message shows three ways pastors must persist. The first is…
I. Pastors Must Persist Despite Persecution (11-12)
I. Pastors Must Persist Despite Persecution (11-12)
Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
There have been many debates on the age of Timothy as Paul writes this letter. Timothy was likely saved during Paul’s first missionary journey when Paul came through Derbe and Lystra in AD 46 (Acts 14:8-28). By the second missionary journey, he started serving alongside Paul which was likely around AD 49 (Acts 16:1). This letter we are reading today was written around AD 62. So we are around 13 years since Timothy started ministering with Paul and around 16 years since Timothy had been saved.
Putting these all together, most commentaries lean toward him being in his late 20’s or early 30’s at this time - which is providentially right where Adam is today - the elder we just ordained - at 31 years of age.
Yet, because of Timothy’s younger age, there are people despising him. Sadly, his persecution and trails aren’t just coming from outside of the church but also inside!
What does Paul say to do in response to this.
He starts off by saying that Timothy is to command and teach these things. The word command here is an authoritative word. It is often used of military or judicial matters. Paul reminds Timothy that when dealing with these things - or false teachings and false teachers as we saw at the beginning of this chapter - a leader must be firm and direct. He must not be soft on false teaching. He must stand firm on the Word of God. This is not because of his own power or authority - but is because of the power and authority of God and His Word. After rebuking false teaching a pastor must also teach what is correct.
But in the same vein, he must also earn the trust of those who are not respecting him inside the church but are believers. Note the change of tone here. He is not to command the respect of those older than him who are believers. Instead, he is to lead them. He is to be an example to them in five different ways listed here - in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. These are things that do not happen over night. They take the power of the Holy Spirit and the diligence of a believer who is dedicated to reading the Word, prayer, and following Christ no matter the cost.
This wonderful teaching applies to all of us today. When we face persecution we must all lead by example. Let’s go through each of these one by one.
When we are persecuted or despised, we must be an example…
1) In Speech
A man’s speech reflects his heart. Jesus let us know that out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34).
Believers must speak good and not evil. They must speak truth. This is obviously important in the position of being pastor as he is to preach the Word of God. But this is important for all of us as well. Our children, friends, and family hear what we say. Our words have meaning and power. We must be an example by speaking the truth in love.
Next we must be an example…
2) In Conduct
People hear what you say and they see what you do. If you are able to say the right things but your conduct does not match up, you will be viewed as a hypocrite. We must walk the walk. A believer’s conduct must be controlled by the Holy Spirit and God’s Word.
These first two have been outward in nature. Speech and conduct are observable things that people see and hear. However, these last three are all inward. Only if these last three qualities are in line can the first two come to fruition. The first of these is…
3) In Love
This Greek word is agape which means sacrificial love. It is the love that only comes out of a believer filled with the Holy Spirit. God is the source of this type of love (1 John 4:8). And because of that, only those who have the next quality are able to truly love… which is…
4) In Faith
Only those who are trusting the Lord can truly walk in love. Those who are in Christ must both have faith and remain faithful to Him. We are charged to stay on track and continue on the straight and narrow.
And finally…
5) In Purity
In order to be a good example toward others, one must have purity in all aspects of one’s life. Sexual purity is obviously insinuated here. Many pastors as well as many others have fallen due to not maintaining purity of their heart and lives. However, we must exercise pure motives as well. Things must be done for the glory of God and not for our own benefit or recognition.
We bring God glory when we respond to persecution, disrespect, and despising by continuing to walk in the light and be a godly example to others.
Moving forward, we see that…
Scripture References: Acts 14:8-28, Acts 16:1, Matthew 12:34, 1 John 4:8
II. Pastors Must Persist in Preaching (13)
II. Pastors Must Persist in Preaching (13)
Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.
Paul alluded to his hope to come visit Timothy in 1 Timothy 3:14-15, but yet stated that there might be a delay in his ability to come. In the meantime, he charges Timothy with some strong words here.
There are three different things he commands Timothy to be sure he is devoting himself to doing. All three things refer back to the management of the church - especially the meetings of the congregation. And all three of these things have the Greek article ‘the’ in front of them - showing that these were undeniable aspects of the gathered body of believers.
The Three Undeniable Aspects of a Church Service:
1. The Public Reading of Scripture
There should never be a gathering of believers for a church service without the public reading of the Word of God. We must be reading the Word of God and teaching the Word of God as we will see in a moment. Some churches do longer readings than others. There is no legalistic guideline or limit to the amount of Scripture that must be read per God’s command in the New Testament church. However, we must be reading and preaching the Word of God and not man’s ideas.
As a side note, this reading of Scripture as Paul refers to would include the Old Testament as well as the gathered letters and books that had been written thus far in the church by the Apostles and those working closely with Apostolic direction. We see in 2 Peter 3:16 that Peter is already calling Paul’s writings the Scriptures. Today, this refers to the entire canon of Scripture consisting of 66 books - Genesis through Revelation.
The second is…
2. The Exhortation of the Gathered Church Body
This word means encouragement as well as reprimand. At it’s heart, it refers to whatever it takes to give motivation to change another’s behavior. Paul is definitively referring to the preaching of God’s Word. It is mentioned right after the public reading of Scripture for a reason. This is because there is no other form of preaching that is appropriate other than expositional preaching from the Word of God. We must be reading the Word of God and preaching out of the text itself. This is the prescribed form of preaching that is presented throughout the Bible, and it is what we should be doing today.
Sadly, many pastors do not persist in preaching the Word of God. They fall into error by preaching man’s word and not God’s Word. They read a text and then preach their own sermon. There is no anchor in the Word of God. Their preaching is peppered with cliche statements, entertaining gimmicks, stories unrelated to the text, and their own human wisdom and ideas.
Preaching devoid of the Bible has no power to change lives. You might change one’s mind for a short while. But it is only the Word of God that truly changes hearts and minds for good.
Listen to the writer of Hebrews assert just that...
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Here we see the Word penetrating and changing the mind and the heart.
And people do not repent and turn to Christ because of man’s abilities and human reasoning. Instead, it is only the true Gospel as presented in the Word of God that saves souls:
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
I pray that we always maintain a high view of God’s Word and the preaching of it. It is incredibly important. And finally, that last undeniable aspect of a church service is...
3. The Teaching of the Gathered Church Body
In Paul’s letter to Titus, he gives the qualifications for elders similarly to what we found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. In Titus 1:9, Paul gives the following charge to pastor/elders:
He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
Pastors are to read the Word, preach the Word, and teach the Word. And pastors must always be prepared to defend the Word.
The gathered body of believers should leave the service knowing they have heard the Word, learned about the Word, and have been exhorted to obey the Word.
This is why preaching is so important brothers and sisters.
There are many churches that grow because of their programs, outreaches, music, entertainment or some other aspect of the church. These other aspects of the church can make an impact - absolutely. However, nothing is more important than the Word of God.
I’m sure some of you are sitting there and wondering how this applies to you right now. But pastor, I don’t preach and I’m not called to preach. What does this mean for me?
I think this has some really important applications to all of us - whether we are preachers or not.
#1 - Be sure you are always in a church that preaches and teaches God’s Word. Your spiritual growth will be significantly hindered if you are not hearing and listening to the Word of God regularly. I know you can listen to podcasts as well. There is nothing wrong with that. However, there is something about the way God moves in the gathered body of believers in real time on a Sunday morning that is just different.
#2 - Be sure that as you raise children or grandchildren, or as you influence the next generation, or as you disciple new believers - frankly in whatever way God gives you influence in the lives of others - that you are teaching and exhorting them in the Word of God. Don’t give your own ideas and opinions, but point them to the Word, read them the Word, and teach them the Word.
And as we all know, the only way to do these things is to be in the Word ourselves.
At the beginning of 2024, I encouraged each of you to start a Bible reading program for this year. There are still some handouts on the table here so that you can get started even in April. Maybe this year you will just get through the New Testament. Maybe you will get through more. It’s okay to start today! Maybe you started off strong, but you have lost your pace. Get back on track and hit the reset button.
Be sure that you are founded on and fed by His Word alone so that you can grow in godliness yourself and so that you can help others as you walk your walk.
And finally, we see that…
Scripture References: 1 Timothy 3:14-15, 2 Peter 3:16, Hebrews 4:12, Romans 10:17, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:9
III. Pastors Must Persist Through Perseverance (15-16)
III. Pastors Must Persist Through Perseverance (15-16)
Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.
In order to remain faithful in preaching, Timothy first needs to remember his gift and calling. Paul makes it clear that we do not call pastors but God does. This gift has been given to Timothy by God and recognized by the church and elders. The council of elders has laid their hands on him commissioning him to his pastorate and eldership.
When I was going through my ordination evaluation, Cross Lanes Baptist Senior Pastor Seth Polk gave me some incredible advice. He reminded me to remember my call. He let me know that there would be times that would be very hard in ministry. There would be times when I might want to quit. And during those times, I needed to remember my call.
Brothers and sisters, you might not be called to being a pastor, but if you are a believer you have been called and saved by God. You have a wonderful gift of salvation and God promises that He has given you spiritual gifts to serve the body as well.
However, we are warned here to not neglect our gifts. If we neglect our gifts, they soon become buried under the weight of all of the other things in our lives. Instead of exercising our giftedness in Christ, we can chase the things of this world.
Be sure that you fan into flame the gift that Christ has given you. Listen to Paul encourage Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:6:
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands,
We must exercise our gifts in order to grow in them. With this in mind, Paul gets very practical with this in the next two verses:
Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Paul gives a rapid-fire succession of admonitions and exhortations here. Timothy needs to:
1. Practice These Things
As we just saw Paul encourage in 2 Timothy 1:6, Timothy needs to fan into flame his gift. This takes effort and practice. I didn’t just learn to preach overnight. It took effort and training and work. My first few sermons were probably not my best! Yet, God was working in and through me all along.
We are going to be blessed to hear Adam preach his first sermon as a new elder the first Sunday in May. Be in prayer for him. I have been working with him and saw his preliminary thoughts and ideas a couple of days ago, and he is doing great. This is exciting and is a big step for him. We must practice our gifts in order to grow in them.
Timothy was also to be practicing godliness. This would only be able to happen with the power of the Holy Spirit working in him. As he practiced, he needed to…
2. Immerse Yourself in Them
As Timothy practiced his gifts and practiced in godliness, he needed to immerse himself in the Word of God and teachings therein. As he continued to grow in holiness and in his giftedness, others would see his progress and glorify God. Next Paul tells him to…
3. Keep a Close Watch on Yourself and Your Teaching
Self-evaluation and self-awareness is a lost art today. People don’t struggle with thinking of themselves. Today’s selfie generation certainly shows that. But they do struggle with understanding how others are affected by their actions. Most people spend a lot of time dealing with how they feel. Yet, most people don’t consider how their actions impact other people.
We need to keep watch of ourselves. We must evaluate how well we are doing in following Christ in godliness. And in this, our doctrine and teaching are very important as well. What kind of advice are we giving others? What are we teaching our children?
This is incredibly important for the pastor. People are watching him. When he approves of a false teaching or an ungodly behavior, many follow suit. A pastor must be above reproach and known by his self-control and holy living.
And finally, Paul tells Timothy to…
4. Persist in This
He, in essence, is telling Timothy not to quit. Timothy must persist and persevere. And he gives two very important reasons for Timothy to continue in faithfulness.
A) You Will Save Yourself
Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Verse 16 is a great example of understanding the entirely of Scripture as you seek to understand the meaning of a verse. This is a verse that many take out of context. We must interpret Scripture with Scripture. When we come a verse that sounds contradictory or unclear, we must understand it through the entirety of the Bible. Then we can fully understand what is being stated.
The late theologian John Stott articulated this beautifully:
“Perseverance is not the meritorious cause, but rather the ultimate evidence, of our salvation.”
John Stott
We understand that the Scriptures clearly show that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). But the Scriptures also often assert that those who are saved will persevere - I have included numerous Scriptures charging us to persevere in the faith in your handout (2 Timothy 3:14-15, James 1:12, Galatians 6:9, Hebrews 12:1, Hebrews 10:36, Ephesians 6:18, 2 Timothy 2:12, Matthew 24:13, Matthew 10:22, Revelation 2:10, 1 Corinthians 9:24, 1 John 2:19, Colossians 1:23, Hebrews 3:6, Mark 13:13).
That is the heart of this statement. But this perseverance is only possible through God’s work in and through the believer - Philippians 4:13.
Not only does persistence and perseverance affirm that one is saved, but it also has a great effect on those whom the preacher leads as Paul states…
B) You Will Save Your Hearers
Again, we know that we do not have the power to save anyone. God saves and seals (Ephesians 1:13). God works in and through the true believer and firmly keeps him or her rooted in Himself (John 10:28-29).
However, Timothy was the lead pastor in the Church of Ephesus. He was preaching the Word of God and leading the church. Although God is the One who does all of the work of salvation, He has charged us to preach the Gospel. If Timothy would have fallen into some of the false teachings going around during his day, he would have robbed many from hearing the life-giving words of the Gospel.
But praise be to God that Timothy stood firm in the faith and preached the Word of God. Many souls were saved by God as God worked in and through Timothy.
Scripture References: 2 Timothy 1:6, Ephesians 2:8-9, Scriptures on the Charge to Persevere: [(2 Timothy 3:14-15, James 1:12, Galatians 6:9, Hebrews 12:1, Hebrews 10:36, Ephesians 6:18, 2 Timothy 2:12, Matthew 24:13, Matthew 10:22, Revelation 2:10, 1 Corinthians 9:24, 1 John 2:19, Colossians 1:23, Hebrews 3:6, Mark 13:13)], Philippians 4:13, Ephesians 1:13, John 10:28-29
Conclusion
As we come to a close, I want all of us to take a quick look at our lives and evaluate where we currently are. Paul has just laid a pretty heavy burden on Timothy here. He has put the burden of preaching the Gospel so that others might be saved on him.
This burden is most certainly laid upon pastors. We do carry that load of needing to be overseers of the church and maintain true Biblical teaching and Gospel-centered preaching. Yes, if a pastor falls into error or grievous sin, it often affects a greater number of people.
But I want to focus on everyone here for a few minutes. I have a very difficult question that I want each of you to truly consider and pray through. This is a tough question to ask yourself, but it is important in order to understand the impact that you are having for the kingdom of God right now.
If you were found out to be a fake - a false convert - how would that affect those around you?
I don’t say this to make you doubt your salvation. Although we should certainly test ourselves and ask God to examine our hearts, we know that true believers persevere to the end.
But, I want you to consider the impact you are having on those around you. Are those around you encouraged and exhorted in the faith by your life and the words that you speak? Are you making an impact on anyone in your life right now for the Gospel?
If you denied the faith tomorrow, would it rock the world of those around you? Would they be devastated? I pray they would be. I pray that you have been consistent in your faith and in being a light shinning in a dark world.
But if you aren’t really sure people would even care or be affected - or maybe you aren’t really sure most people in your life even know that you are a believer - may today be the day that you repent. First, be sure you are truly in Christ and that you have repented of your sins and believed that Jesus died on the cross, rose three days later, and is now at the right hand of the Father. If you haven’t already, make today the day of salvation for you.
But if you are in Christ, know that there are many in your life that Christ has opened a door of opportunity for you to share the Gospel with. Walk through that door. Take advantage of that opportunity. Their eternal lives are at stake. Ask Jesus to allow you to feel His burden for the lost. Ask Him to give you His heart for the broken. And then share the love of Christ through the Gospel. Persist and persevere my friends.
Don’t stop running this race. Allow the Holy Spirit to sustain you and guide you as you continue forward for His glory.