My sweetheart Beth has been elaborating on the present sermon series on her blog. Here is an excerpt from one of her posts. Read the whole thing:
Will my children remember…
Coty Pinckney
This is a summary of the fourth sermon in the six-part series, “God Gave Pastors and Teachers,” preached on July 6, 2008. The audio is available here.)
What is a senior pastor, and why do we have one?
In this series, we are exploring what the Bible says about the role of pastors and elders in the local church. These are vital truths, often misunderstood in the church today, which are key for us to understand if we are to build a church that brings glory to God.
Let me remind you of some of what we've seen in first three sermons:
The first sermon focused on the centrality and necessity of preaching. The most solemn exhortation in all of Scripture precedes Paul command to Timothy to preach the word. God calls men to a preaching ministry, in part because naturally we don't want to hear the Word - instead, we want to gather teachers to tell us what we like. A man who will preach the Word faithfully in season and out of season, whether people like it and large crowds come or whether they walk out, is a gift to the church.
The second and third examined biblical teaching on elders/pastors/overseers (which are all the same office.) The Holy Spirit makes them overseers, not man. They exist to help the church fulfill its threefold purpose:
- To Express joy in Christ
- To Spread joy in Christ
- To Deepen joy in Christ.
(This is a summary of the third sermon in the six-part series, “God Gave Pastors and Teachers,” preached on June 22, 2008. The audio is available here.)
What is shepherding and why must elders do it?
When you read in Acts 20:28 that the elders are to shepherd the church of God, what images come to your mind?
What tasks that pastors or elders do constitute shepherding?
Since this is a serious biblical command, we had better understand it well.
To understand it well, we need to look at how the Bible uses the term
What is shepherding, biblically?
(This sermon on 2 Timothy 2:3 was preached 8/3/2008. For a version that is easier to print, click here. The audio is available here.)
Have you ever stepped out in faith? Have you ever made a hard decision, decided, “Yes I will follow God!”? What happened next?
We love stories like that which continue: “And it didn’t seem possible, but by God’s grace I was able to do it!”
Praise God for such stories. Praise God for that way of displaying His faithfulness.
But do you also love stories that proceed differently? What if the rest of the story is: “I fell flat on my face.” Or “there was a great deal of pain and suffering, and no success that I could discern.”
Think of the Apostle Paul in that regard.
Paul wrote his 2nd letter to Timothy from prison. He was cold. Several former co-laborers were now ashamed of him; they did not want to have their names associated with him. So they deserted him. At his preliminary trial, no one came to his defense. He knew his legal case was hopeless; his execution would come soon.
His is not a story that, on the face of it, inspires confidence. Indeed, Paul even reminds Timothy of his persecutions and sufferings.
But he doesn’t say, “I’ve made mistakes in being too public, in irritating religious and government officials, in inviting persecution. Be careful to avoid persecution so you can have a fruitful ministry.”
Quite the contrary. He says, “all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). And he tells him:
Do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God (1:8).
Furthermore, he tells him, “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3).
Paul tells Timothy to expect pain and, in a sense, to embrace suffering.
What should we expect in our own lives?
Surely we should expect that pain and suffering are a normal part of some Christians’ lives. That much is clear. But Christians over the years have made at least two big mistakes when thinking about pain.
· Some have said: “Pain is a necessary step to becoming like Christ. So I should pursue pain! I should seek pain.” With this in mind, over the centuries, some have whipped themselves, or sat on poles, or gone to other extremes. That is NOT the biblical message.
· Much more prominent in our country today is the second mistake: That is, saying, “Of course, Paul suffered, Jesus suffered, and Timothy was going to have to suffer. The political powers of their day opposed them. But today, we don’t face such persecution by our government, and God wants us to be free from pain. He wants us to prosper. Just believe! Have faith! And He will give you good success.”
This morning, I want to approach this subject of pain via the analogy between running and living the Christian life. For pain plays an important role in running. Someone who says, “My life should be free from pain; I should avoid anything that will cause me pain,” will never succeed as a runner. However, that’s also true of the one who seeks pain. He, too, will fail as a runner.
Check out this video to hear the best American marathoner, Ryan Hall, discuss the themes of tomorrow's sermon: the parallels between the pain and joy of running, and the pain…
(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)
Consider this phrase from Isaiah 44:20: "A deluded heart has led him astray."
Note that it does not say, "He was deluded about the truth." Unquestionably that is the case. But the phrase says more: After being deluded about one matter, that very delusion leads us yet further astray from the truth.
In Isaiah 44, this is the case with idol worship. The prophet here mocks the man who takes a block of wood, cuts it up, then uses some pieces to cook food and calls the rest a god. Verse 20 concludes: "He cannot deliver himself or say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?" Having turned away from the One Who is the First and the Last, the one true God (verse 6), the idol worshiper eventually becomes unable to escape the delusion he willingly chose. He acts foolishly, but can't recognize it. His chosen delusion leads him further and further from the truth. He is trapped.
This is a great danger that Scripture warns against again and again. Indeed, all fallen humanity is caught in this trap.