St. Paul s Leaskdale Regional Rd 1, Leaskdale, ON ,

Transcription

1 St. Paul s Leaskdale Regional Rd 1, Leaskdale, ON ,

2 WORDS TO A YOUNG LEADER Introduction Timothy is one of those characters that makes us realize any one of us could have wound up in Biblical narrative. He shows us that you don t have to be perfect, or have it all together in order to be used by God in the world. You see God was, and still is, in the habit of using broken people to carry out his Kingdom building work in the world. It has never been about the strengths or weaknesses of the one being called, but about the One who calls. In fact, God uses us at times because of our weakness. In 2 Corinthians we read, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. That is why Paul could confidently write, For when I am weak, then I am strong. Paul s letter to Timothy is a letter to a young church leader, but in many ways, it could be a letter to any of us. Timothy was a real human being; vulnerable and insecure he even struggled with stomach issues. (Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. 1 Tim. 5:23) Timothy could be any one of us. Which brings the question to bear: in writing to Timothy, what is Paul saying to us?

3 1. WE RE DONE WITH GAMES 1 Timothy 1:1-11 This is a great passage for the church because it reminds us of what is most important in God s kingdom. It is a charge to Timothy and the church to uphold that which matters most: faith and love. Paul comes at it by addressing false teaching that had risen within the church. This was not uncommon especially in areas concerning the law. Paul writes, Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. There is speculation as to who these false teachers are, but what seems to concern Paul more isn t so much who the false teachers were but the fallout from their teaching. Paul s concern about their teaching is two-fold; it affects those inside the church and it jeopardizes the mission of the church in the world. The gold standard as it were for discerning whether teaching on the law is true or false is simple: does it promote the glory of God and the good of the church? In other words, does it encourage faith in the goodness of God and does it equip the church to love better and advance God s work on earth? If it does not meet these two criteria according to Paul, it has become meaningless talk and promotes controversy and speculation about the true Gospel message and hope in Jesus.

4 So, if there is a wrong use of the law, can there be a right use of the law? Many people think that the law (handed down by God to Moses) is in direct opposition to the message of the cross and the good news of the New Testament. I think that would be to miss the point. Jesus himself said, Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. (Matthew 5:17-18) The reformer John Calvin writes that there are three right uses of the law for the Christian and the Church. First, to show humanity their sinfulness and inability to achieve salvation on their own. Second, it compels those who are untouched by any care for what is right and just to do good. Third, and probably most importantly, it admonishes believers and urges them on in doing what is right and good. To be sure, the law has no salvific power. That is, it alone cannot bring about salvation since nobody can live perfectly, according to the law. Salvation is by grace through faith in the completed work of Jesus on the cross. Nonetheless, it is this third use of the law that I find applicable to the Church today. Think about it, the only reason we have speed limits is because there are drivers who speed. Humanity has demonstrated time and time again that there is a human bent toward lawlessness what the Church calls sin. Jesus stepped into humanity and conquered sin on the cross and opened a way for humanity to be given the gift of salvation. Obedience to the law, becomes a

5 natural way of being for the Christian. What Paul is saying is that there is a new way of being for anyone who is in Christ. However, there are some who have misunderstood what this looks like. Namely, rigid obedience to the law. So Paul s first point rings the clearest and the loudest. The Church is called to teach and promote the greatest commandment which is love; coming from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Questions for Reflection 1. What rules did you have growing up? Did your family follow any rules that you remember as being particularly important? 2. What do you think is the relationship between the law and the gospel? 3. What is Paul s biggest concern for Timothy in the first eleven verses? 4. Do you think that there is still a need to check or test teaching in the Church today? 5. In your opinion, what is the most important thing for the Church to proclaim today?

6 2. GRACE IS WHERE YOU START AND STAY 1 Timothy 1:12-17 There is story I once heard about a prison warden who dramatically changed the prison he worked at in the Southern United States with the power of grace. He started introducing prisoners to the concept of the Gospel and positioning them to recognize their own brokenness and allow the grace of Jesus into their life. During the course of the warden s tenure at the prison, many people accepted Christ and the fruits of that played out in lower re-offending rates, better rehabilitation, and better reintegration into society after release. It is a classic story of change toward good! But the point that stuck with me from the story is a quote from a prisoner. When one prisoner was asked about his personal life change and how he ended up doing so much good with his own life, he replied, Forgiven much love much. This is almost exactly the Apostle Paul s story. We like to sugarcoat the story of Paul sometimes in a Sunday-school friendly way. Paul was a bad man who met Jesus and then started being a good Christian. But Paul (formerly Saul) wasn t just convicted of crimes against believers because he didn t have good legal representation; he was actually proud of the fact that he attacked Christians. He took pride in the fact that he was cleansing the area of the Christian seed that was becoming so prolific. The story says that Paul ravaged Christian households dragging men and women

7 off to prison. It also said that he approved of killing Christians. That is until he met Jesus (read the story in Acts 7-9). Saul, the great defiler of the church, became Paul, the planter of many churches when he had a powerful encounter with grace. Just like the prisoner who said, Forgiven much love much, Paul wrote this to Timothy: I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 1:12-14) Forgiven much love much. Because of the incredible abundance of grace that Paul felt from Jesus, he was overflowing with it for others. In leadership, you

8 must start with grace. But you cannot start with grace out of nowhere, you must experience yourself. Then with the grace you have received, you can overflow it onto others. Paul doesn t become bloated in his thinking of himself as an apostle, but rather calls himself the foremost among sinners. He names himself the biggest bad guy, the worst of the worst. In doing this he is saying that because he has been forgiven for so much, his capacity for love is greater still. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience. Paul doesn t even take credit for his loving people, but rather says that Christ can show that through him. When leaders live out of grace themselves, they can so much better pour it onto others. Forgiven much love much. Questions for Reflection 1. Where in your life have you receive grace or mercy? 2. What did it feel like to be granted grace? 3. How can receiving grace make us more patient or more loving with others? 4. Are there aspects of your life in which you could show more overflowing grace? 5. How does abundant grace affect leadership?

9 3. THIS WON T BE EASY 1 Timothy 1:18-20 Paul wastes little time getting to the meat of the matter. His letter is a reminder to Timothy to continue the work that he has been called to do. Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience Just prior to this charge, Paul has challenged Timothy to confront false teachers regarding teaching that drew people into confusion, speculation, and ultimately away from the gospel message of faith and love. Here it seems like Paul is challenging Timothy to not become distracted or influenced by the teaching or teachers themselves. Instead, Timothy s effort should be directed to fighting the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience.

10 I wonder what runs the risk of distracting the church today? I wonder what has the potential to pull us away from holding on to the faith and fighting our good fight? When I think about things that have the capacity to distract us today, I think of modern day idols. Idols were physical representations of gods, that were worshipped in the place of the one, true God. In other words, idols distract from what is true. Friedrich Nietzsche writes, There are more idols in the world than there are realities. I think that is true, we live in a culture filled with idols. Our idols might not be physical representations of gods, but they might be idols of the heart. In Ezekiel 14:3 God says about the Israelite elders, These men have set up their gods in their hearts. Timothy Keller writes of this passage, Like us, the elders must have responded to this charge, Idols? What Idols? I don t see any idols. God was saying that the human heart takes good things like a successful career, love, material possessions, even family, and turns them into ultimate things. Money, success, jobs, appearance, reputation, can all be modern day idols. At the end of the day they are things that distract us from God. Sure, many of them are necessary to survive, however, none of them should be turned into ultimate things. If the reality is that anything has the potential to be turned into an idol, then the obvious question is, How can I avoid worshipping an idol? Paul s answer seems to me to be a little too simple, hold on to the faith. Hebrews 10:23 puts a little more

11 meat on the bones, Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. The hope that we profess, the hope of the resurrection and faith that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do, is hope because God is faithful. The one who promises, and the one who calls, He is faithful. Holding on to the faith becomes possible because God Himself promises to be faithful. Questions for Reflection: 1. What idols run the risk of distracting you? 2. What does hold on to the faith, look like for you? 3. What do you think Paul means by, fight the battle well? 4. Do you think that even the church could have idols?

12 4. PRAYER IS OUR BEST WEAPON 1 Timothy 2:1-8 Over the course of some of the Mark series, Inside Out, we looked at many different types of prayer. In the Teach Me How to Pray weeks we looked at adoration, confession, lament, and thanksgiving. These are common types of prayer. Supplication is probably the category we spend the most time in though. Anything that we ask God for would fall into supplication. We often pray for friends and loved ones, we pray for healing, we pray for peace, we pray about broken relationships. But how often do we pray for our leaders. In 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Paul writes to Timothy who is young leader in the church, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. Paul encourages Timothy that he ought to pray for those in leadership above him. Why? Because prayer is our best weapon. If the leaders above him were not believers, it made great sense to lift them up in prayer so that support, rather than persecutions might ensue. Nobody had more say over how their general life would be lived than the king of their state or country. During Timothy s time, religious persecution of Christians was rampant, and many kings wreaked havoc on the church at large. Paul s

13 answer for this was not public disagreement or discourse. His answer was not protest or all out war. Paul s answer was to pray. Pray for your leaders, so that you may lead a quiet life. Through prayer God has raised the dead, cast out demons, healed the sick, and changed hearts. Why not pray for leaders? If the leader is a believer already, and leading well down a good path, great! But how many Christian leaders have you seen on television whose lives have ended up in scandals with affairs, addictions, or abuse of power? Leadership isn t easy, and Paul s response to that is to lift up leaders in prayer. So much more so if the leader is actually not a believer should we lift them in prayer. I think of how much I enjoy watching Saturday Night Live skits and John Oliver bits on politicians. They are simply hilarious. And it s not bad to laugh. But sometimes to cope with things headed in a bad direction politically or in international relations we turn to laughter over leaders more than we turn to God. Pray for your leaders of the church, of your corporations, of your provinces and nations, that things may be peaceful! There is nothing so powerful as prayer. Paul writes, I desire, then, that in every place that [all]* should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument. *Though Paul actually directs this statement toward men, it is a good reminder to us all to lift up hands in prayer.

14 Questions for Reflection 1. Who are the leaders in your life that you should be praying for? 2. What does your prayer life look like? Do you spend a lot of time in thanksgiving, adoration, supplication, confession, lament? 3. Is there some type of prayer that you particularly struggle with? 4. How would you like to see your prayer life expand or grow? 5. Spend some time praying for the leaders in your life.