Treating the Church Like Family - Part 3 (1 Timothy 5:17-25)

Well, it's so good to be here with you this morning.

Glad that you're here worshiping with us. Do you feel

that this morning you feel something different about this morning?

You know what you feel? You feel God moving, and

God's moving in our church, God's moving in our students. Hey, listen,

this morning, God wants to move in you. So today

as we come together, I mean, we have open hearts

and open minds and say, God, speak to my heart,

move into me today. Father, I want to hear from you. Amen,

if you turn your bibles with if you have your bibles,

hope you will if you'll turn with me to first Timothy,

chapter five, and we're going to continue in our series

in the letter that Paul wrote to a young pastor

named Timothy. We'll start chapter five this morning and we

will pick up in verse seventeen this morning, One Timothy,

Chapter five, Verse seventeen. You've ever felt like there was

a time where you feel this morning God moving? But

has there ever been a time of your life you

just kind of felt empty? You see God moving in others,

but spiritually you just feel like you're empty. I know

there's been times in my life it's kind of like

this water bottle. It seems like others might be filled

with the Holy Spirit, may be filled up with God,

but it might feel like you're a little empty. I've

noticed in my life and there's times where I felt

like I was this and felt empty. That God has

a way of filling us up. I love the passage

in the Gospels where there was a young man who's

really empty. His name was Thomas. Thomas was empty, and

some of the emptiness that Thomas was feeling because of doubt.

He doubted that Christ had rose again. The other's disciples

had seen Jesus there is in Lord, but Thomas had

only seen his Savior die. Thomas doubted that Jesus had

rose again. And Thomas said, unless I see him with

my own eyes and I put my hand in his side,

I will not believe. Thomas was empty. He was empty

a lot of it because of the doubt he had.

Do you remember the story as Jesus appears to Thomas

in that upper room. The Bible says, Jesus come, and

he said peace, And with just those words he filled Thomas,

filled him full of faith. You know, God has a

way of speaking into our lives, coming into our lives

and moments where we feel desperate, where we're full of

doubt or full of despair, whatever it may be. And

by speaking words of God over us, we are filled

with faith and confidence of the word of God. Only

I believe that, and only God does that in the

lives of Thomas, but I think God does that and

a lot of times in our lives. I can think

of a time where I was full of doubt. Brandy

was sick and I've told you maybe the story before,

and she had transversed my life as was in the hospital,

and we didn't know if she had the MS, we

didn't know if she'd ever walk again, use her hand again,

all kinds of things. And I was full of doubt

and fear. I was empty. And I remember calling a

pastor friend of mine that day and speaking to him,

and just with the words of the Lord and word

of God, he just filled me spiritually. And I really

believe that God uses pastors at times. I'm going to

try to do this. I gotta really shake hands, Y'll see.

I believe God uses pastors as instruments that when God's

people are empty spiritually, they might speak the word of

God over them and they might fill them up spiritually

as one of the roles of a pastor is that

we might be filled with the Word of God faith.

And when our people are empty, we fill them with

God's word. We give them truth that their faith might

be filled and they might feel the presence of God

in their lives. That's one of the roles of a pastor,

is us to speak the word of God to when

you're empty, for us to give God's word to you,

you might be filled full of the spirit, full of God,

full of God Word. Here's the thing. If this is

the pastor and this bottle empty, bottle is you church members,

there's one hundred and fifty of you, two hundred maybe

of year here today. Sometimes it seems like for a pastor,

our spiritual tanks getting empty. As we keep feeling, feeling,

feeling and giving and giving and giving. Here's what comes

an issue. Who is feeling the pastor, who is pouring

into the pastor. As we come to First Timothy five,

Paul's really addressing this issue of how you as a

church body are to care for your elders, How are

you care for your pastors, how you care for those

in leadership, those who are responsible for delivering the word

of God to you to encourage you to pour into you.

How do you care for them? So that's our focus

this morning is how do we care how do we

treat church like family? How do we care for pastors?

How do we care for elders. We've been as we've

been in first Timothy Paul has been talking to the

church about how they treat the church like family. How

do you treat older members, older men like fathers. How

you treat older women like you would treat your mother.

He treat younger women as you treat your sister. He

treat younger men as you treat your brother. We treat

each other like family. And last week he shifts a

little big bit and he starts focusing on different groups

in the church. In these groups in the church or

groups that are important, but some are faithful and some

are unfaithful. Last week he started talking about widows and

how there was in the Church of Ephesus there was

widows who were faithful and there was widows who were unfaithful.

And Paul gives Timothy instructions how he's the care for both.

But this morning he comes to another group, and that

is elders, and in this Church of Ephesus, there are

elders who are faithful, and Paul gives the church instructions

how he's a care for those elders. But also there's

unfaithful elders, and he gives us struction of how he

should care for them. So this morning, I challenge you

together as a body, I have a responsibility. You're a pastor.

As elders here we have many elders here at our church.

We have responsibility to care for you. I challenge you,

how are you caring for your elders? How are you

treating your elders? How do you care for them? Let's

look and examine God's word, and let's look at his

instructions of how the church should treat its elders. Let's

stand with me and let's read God's word together. We

start verse seventeen. Let the elders who rule well be

considered worthy of a double honor, especially those who labor

and preaching and teaching. For a scripture says you shall

not muzzle and os when it treads out the grain

and the laborer deserves his wage. Do not met a

charge against an elder, accept on the evidence of two

or three witnesses, as for those who persistence in rebuke them,

when the presence of alved that they may, so that

the rest may stand in fear and the presence of

God in Christ, Jesus and of the let angels. I

charge you to keep these rules without prejudice. Do nothing

from partiality. Do not be hastily and laying on hands,

nor take part in the sins of others. Keep yourselves pure.

No longer drink only water, but use a little wine

for the sake of your stomach and for the frequent ailments.

The sins of some men are conspicuous, going before them

to judgment, but the sins of others appeared later. So

also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are

that are not cannot remain hidden. Let's pray together, Father,

we thank you Lord for this word. God, your word

tells us in Ephesians that you gave the church gifts pastors, teachers,

evangelists to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. Lord,

we know that elders are a gift from you to

your church, to to lead, to encourage, to pour into

your body. So Lord, we pray today that we would

recognize and we would honor those who lead well in

our church, that we would care for them, that we

would pour into them, that we would encourage them, support them,

stand alongside them. Lord, in the days where we might

have those who stray. Lord, help us be faithful to

hold elders accountable. Lord, I pray that we would be

a church that would care well for those that you

put in leadership over us. Lord, lead us today to

listen to your word, to understand it, to think about

how it applies to us, to see our responsibility and

caring for those leaders in our church. Lord, help us, Lord,

look to you in the ways that we need you today.

We need your word. So Lord, I pray that your

spirit would speak upon us. Lord, I pray today that

you might feel me that I might give your word.

And Lord, today, Lord, I pray that the church would

hear not a message from me, but a message from you.

And Lord, we surrender Lord to your word. Today in name,

we pray, Amen, you may be seated how the church

should treat its elders. First, we must honor faithful elders.

Paul begins as I said, he's been going through different

groups in the church here. Last week he looked that widows.

There are faithful widows and they are unfaithful widows. Here

he goes to the next group, and that is elders.

These are elders are the leaders in the church who

are responsible for leading the church and preaching, teaching, and administrating.

So this is a group of men who are leading

in the church. He describes how who they should honor

lists of the passage verse seventeen. Let the elders who

rule well. Let the elders who rule well. So he's

talking about elders again. In this church. We know there

are those who are faithful, and there's are unfaithful. He

describes these here are these who lead well. The word

lead there or rule maybe in your translation, describes someone

who is exercising leadership. Paul uses this same word in

the Greek to describe leading in the home. In One

Timothy three four through five, he describes the importits of

elders and deacons who manages their household well, the idea

of managing your household. There is the same word in

the Greek. It's the idea of leading their household well.

So it's using the term of leading the home, but

it's also leading in the church. The references is guiding, administrating, caring, Paul,

is you fall that to train the thought for Paul?

It's those who care well for the church. These are

men who are leading as elders in the church, and

they are caring well for the church. They're guiding the

church well, they're administrating well, they're leading the church well

as a church body. The Bible says here that let

the elders who rule well, this is what it says,

be considered worthy of double honor, considered worthy, this worthy ideas,

this honors expressed them here there to be considered. Scripture

says here of receiving worthy of double honor, you to

honor them, that they're worthy. Why are they worthy? They're

worthy because they're leading well, how are you to honor them?

How are you to do that? Well? That word honor

there is used to express material possessions. He says here

double honor to would imply maybe twice as much Paul.

Throughout Scripture in the New Testament, in First Corinthians and

other passages talk about the importance of churches providing for

the needs of the elders. There there we see that

one Corinthians nine thirteen through fifteen, he says, in the

same way in verse thirteen through fourteen, So do you

not know that those who are employed in the temple

service get their food from the temple, and those who

serve the altar share and their sacrificial offerings. In the

same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the

Gospel should get their living by the Gospel. So Paul

is struggling the church there those who lead, well, you should,

you should take care of them, you should provide for them.

And you know, I'll be honest with you. When I

first came to this passage, I've heard this passage use

throughout ministry about how important it is that care for

passages provide financially for pastors. But at just first glance,

I didn't get that. How do you see that just

out of the idea of double honor? But I think

as we continue to see the passage and read the

rest of the passage, you see this idea. Look at

what Paul does. When Paul is a good teacher of

the Bible, and when you teach the Bible, support and

when you have an idea to support it with other

references in the Bible. And that's what Paul does here.

Look at what he does. He gives an Old Testament

reference in support of how you to honor provide for

those needs of the pastors. And he gives a New

Testament reference. Look at the passage in verse eighteen. He

says for those who labor and for the scripture says,

you shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out

the grain. What Paul, they're in referencing is how pastures

should be provided for. He gives two scripture quotes. One

is the Old Testament reference, and that's Deuteronomy twenty five

to four in Dune army twenty five to four. Is

this reference? Is this you shall not muzzle on ox

when it treads out the grain. The illustration here is

an ox. The ox is used in the Old Testament

times as they would put out the weed in the grain.

They would take the ox and they would drive walk

the ox over the grain, and the hoofs of the

ox would thresh out the grain and it would separate

the stalks from the chaff with its hoofs. What he's

saying is there is that a farmer should not muzzle

an ox who's doing his job. What is if you

muzzle on ox while he's treading out the grain. You're

you're hindering from doing what he's supposed to do. You're

hindering his job. And what he's referring to there is

if a church is not providing for the pastor, you're

hindering him and what God's called him to do. You're

hindering him and being obedient to what God's instructed him

to do. Not only does Paul give a reference to

the Old Testament, Paul also quotes Jesus look at He

quotes Jesus in Luke ten to seven. Jesus says, remain

in the same house, eating and drinking they provided for.

The laborer deserves his way his wages. Paul quotes that

in One Timothy five eighteen nineteen don't admit a charge.

I'm sorry, Verse eighteen for scripture says you shall not

muzzle an ox when it treads out to grain, and

the laborer deserves his wage. He's saying, pastors, he's liking

in the pastors to an ox, who's being obedient to

what he's commanded to do. He's liking the laborer here

to this one. Who is this laborer who's laboring for work.

And if he's laboring for work, he deserves his way.

And he says, a pastor is faithful to do what

God's called him to do, and you should provide for him,

We should care for him. It's interesting, as Paul continues

in this passage, if you go back, what is he

laboring in. He's laboring and leading the church. But he

also says here this passage, look at verse seventeen. Let

the elders who are rule well be considered worthy of

double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

He further identifies there a group of elders or maybe

some elders, who their labor is preaching and teaching. This

word preaching there is actually the word logos. It means

word they labor in the word. They're laboring the preaching

of God's word. The teaching theirs is in focus of

teaching the word of God. Some would say these two

is on the preaching there is focused on his preaching

to the lass or unbelievers, and the teaching there is

his teaching to believers. That is the role of a pastor,

were to preach the lost and the believers, and the unbelievers,

and that's what he labors in, and he's worthy of honor.

I think it's important to understand Paul is showing that

there's some who, as elders of the church, say lead

the pastoral care. I will think of our elder board

here as our church. Of course, I've one of my

main responsibilities of laboring and preaching and teaching. But there's

other elders here that focus on pastoral care. They do

a lot of work and caring for those in need

and who are hurting, sick, homebound. There's those in our

elder board that does that. Some are geared more to

administrative things, helping with administration things. Here. We have different gifts,

we have different service, but we all are leading at

the church and here as God's called us. The lead

scripture says the church should honor those in leadership. You

know one thing I've noticed most of you may know.

When I started out in the ministry, I was a

student pastor and I had a I was working in

the church in Conway, South Carolina. I had a senior

pastor of preacher Jerry Phillips was my pastor at the time.

And so I've worked in a church as a as

a youth pastor and then eventually become a senior pastor.

And one things I've noticed through the years in ministry

when I was a student pastor, now that I'm a

senior pastor, and sometimes elders don't get treated the same. Sometimes,

just to be frank, when someone comes into office, maybe

from the outside, and they're want to sell us some

material or looking to sell us something for the church

and the ministry who that they want to talk to.

They want to talk to the pastor. Tanner and Devin

may come to the door, but they where's the pastor?

They want to talk to me. They think that I

have more clout than anybody else maybe and they want

to talk to me. And sometimes Tanner and Devin will

tell you they are treated differently because they're not the

senior pastor. They feel that. And when I was a

student pastor at Hickory Grove, I felt the same way.

They they treated Pregigieri different than when they treated me.

I think as important as we come to this passage

of Scripture, that you as a church body listen to me,

you as a church body, that you treat the elders

the same. Skip Carl van Tanner devon. Their role in

leading this church is just as important as my role,

and they deserve honor and care and support and prayer

and encouragement just as much as I do. I want

you to think about something this morning, the statistics. There's

a study that came out in twenty twenty three about

how evangelicals come to faith. Do you know this morning

that and this has been a study that's been seen

for over the last thirty forty years. Do you know

that in that study in twenty twenty three that seventy

two percent of people who come to faith to faith

by before the age of eighteen, think about seven out

of ten. Majority of people when they receive Christ, they

receive it before the age of eighteen. The study says

that five percent become received Christ before the age of five,

twenty six percent between the ages of five to nine,

twenty four percent came to faith between ten and twelve,

and seventeen percent came to faith between the ages of

thirteen and seventeen. Do you know if that study also

talked about what was the most for these young people

who come to Christ before the age of eighteen. It

asked them what was the most influential, significant influence in

our life. Forty four percent said one of the most

influential things in theirs was reading the Bible for themselves.

The second most influential thing in their life, I'm sorry,

forty four percent was the church. The second was reading

the Bible. The third most influential thing in the life

of a believer a young believer under the age of eighteen.

You know what it is a pastor. I want you

to hear me today, Church. You know what, according to

that statistic, you know who the most important pastors on

our staff are Devin in Tanner because they have an

opportunity to reach young people to Christ. And really, if

we think about it, that is the future of our church,

isn't it. This morning as we see four students come

to know the Lord and be baptized, how did that happen?

What happened? Because there's a church and there's a pastor

who is shepherding and pouring the Gospel into young people.

So I want you to hear me today, Church. God's

commanded us that God is giving us a gift. And

I believe our elders are a gift to this body,

and you as a church body you have a responsibility

to honor those who labor well. Tanner, Devin skip Van,

Carl Floyd. They are serving and leading well, and they

deserve honor from you Church. And listen, many times I

can tell you they're running on empty and they need

a church body to come alongside of them and say,

I love you, I appreciate you. I want to stand

beside you and encourage you. Can I encourage you? Church,

Let's honor our elders. Well, let's care for them, Let's

hold them in honor. What you see next in this

passage scripture as we continue this morning, there are faithful

elders in the church. But and it's unfortunate, there are

unfaithful elders in the church. We must recognize that, and

the church must be prepared to confront when an elder

is way, when it elder falls into sin. And Paul

instructs the church and how to do that. Listen what

the passage says in verse nineteen says, don't admit a

charge against the elder, accept on the evidence of two witnesses.

As for those who persistence sin, rebuke them with the

presence of all, so that the rest may stand in

fear and the presence of God and of Christ, Jesus

and elect angels. I charge you to keep these rules

without prejudice and do nothing from parsionality. We should treat that.

How should the church treat its elders. It must honor

faithful elders. But secondly, we must hold elders accountable. Now

I believe Paul here, who are these elders? I believe

these elders that Paul has instructed Timothy to hold accountable

into practice church discipline are on are the elders who

are who have fallen into false teaching. Much if you're

new here to our series, much of the subject of

First Timothy is Paul telling Timothy to confront the false

teachers or in the church. And so we know many

of these elders who maybe have fallen away are elders

who are following false teaching and maybe teaching false teaching

in the church. And so Paul is telling Timothy, listen,

you're to honor faithful elders, but you're to confront the

elders who have gone away, who are following false teaching,

who are falling into sin. And he kind of gives

if you will really a manual a guidebook of how

a church is to hold elders accountable. First, he strugts,

they're one, there must be consistent charges. There must be

consistent charges. Look at verse nineteen. Don't admit a charge

on an elder except on the evidence of two or

three witnesses. I think it's important to understand that there's

always criticisms right among pastors, among any leader, no matter

what organization they are, there's going to be criticism. But

there must be legitimate charges. There must be legitimate sin.

That's here the way the Old Testament and a New

Testament would establish it there's legitimate sin or issues with

an elder or those in leadership is there must be

legitimate charges and there must be consistent charges. Here it

uses the idea there must be the charges of two

or three witnesses. Don't omit a charge. The idea meant

there is the idea, don't entertain or stop accepting accusation

unless there's two or three witnesses, and this is established.

This is a protocol that was established really from the

Old Testament and into the New Testament. In the Old

Testament Deuteronomy nineteen fifteen, the Old Testament law established that

no charge or crime could be brought against the individual

unless there was two or three witnesses. In Deuteronomy nineteen fifteen,

a single witness shall not suffice against a person of

any crime or of any wrong in connection with any

offense that he's committed. Only the evidence of two witnesses

or of three witnesses shall shall a charge be established.

Paul's referencing that he's alluding to this idea that Protocol

was establishing the Old Testament. Must be two or three

witnesses who all affirmed the same charge, the same sin,

the same following in the false teacher, and whatever it

may be. There must be consistent charges. It's also a

reference that Paul established in First Corinthians or Second Corinthians thirteen.

He says this a third time I come to you.

Every charge must be established by the evidence or two

or three witness So there must be consistent charges. As

we look at the guidelines for holding elder accountable, it

must be consistent charges. Secondly, there must be persistent sin.

But you notice is what he says here in verse nineteen.

Don't omit a charge against an elder. It's setting on

the evidence of two or three witnesses. But as for

those who persist in sin, if you're familiar with the

New Testament, one of the things we know that Jesus

established like a maybe a formula for church discipline. This

in Matthew eighteen. Let me read it with you. In

Matthew eighteen, he establishes this kind of form of discipline.

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him

your fault between you and him alone. And if he

listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he

does not listen, take one or twothers along with you.

That every charge may be established by the evidence of

two or three witnesses. You see that same protocol Jesus' following.

And if you refuse to listen to them, tell it

to the church. And refusally listen to even to the church,

let him be to you as a gentile and a

tax letter. So here's this protocol that Jesus establishes formulaves church.

This one. If a brother sins, it gets you go

to him one on one in private. If he listens

to you and repensive his sins, you what gains your brother.

But if he doesn't listen you take another with you.

You take another brother or maybe two brothers with you,

two or three witnesses, and then you bring the charge

against him again, hopefully that he might repent. But if

he doesn't repent after the second time, then you bring

him before the church. You have this same imagery that's

found in One Timothy, that maybe the leaders of the

church have found this evidence of sin. They've heard the

two or three witnesses among the church members of these

consistent sin that's in the life of this elder. They

confront the elder, they've gone one on one, he's refused

to repent. Maybe they've taken more elders and they confronted

him again. He refuses to repent. And then you notice

the language here in this passage, as for those who

persist in sin. These elders are refused to repent. And

so now the third thing is following that they are

to be public crew rebuked. Guidelines for holding elder accountable.

There must be consistent charges, there must be persistent sin

refuses to repent. The second step in practicing church just

one on elders, there must be public rebuke. Listen the

imagery there in the presence of I mean verse twenty

as for those who persist, rebuke them in the presence

of them all, so that rest may stand in fear. Rebuke,

there is a public rebuke. It's in the presence of all.

The presence of all is the precess of all the congregation.

What is the rebuke here? Some would say it would

be removal from leadership, removal from being an elder. Titus

says this a Titus three ten as for a person

who stirs up division after warning him once and then twice,

have nothing more to do with him. So maybe it's

removal from leadership. Some would say this may be removal

from the church. That's communication. I want you understand that

the process of all three have taken place. Was what

we would understand by Paul's explanation here. The last guideline

here is there must be an example of fear. He

must be an example of fear. Look at what it

says here as for those who resistance or abute them

in the presence of all, why so that the rest

may stand in fear. You remember in One Timothy chapter four,

Paul is telling Timothy what his role is as a pastor,

How is the lead? What's his responsibilities as a pastor?

What is the responsibility as a pastor of the church.

Is he used to be an example. He's to show

the church how to live for God in his personal

walk with the Lord, what it means to be a

man of God. There to look at his life, and

he's to be an example of faith, of example of purity,

example of speech. He's to be a living example for them.

You remember that as one Timothy four to twelve. Let

no one despise you for your youth, but set the

believers an example in speech and conduct and love and

faith and I purity. Here Paul is drawing upon that

imagery that if he's not that example and he falls

into sin, he won't be an example of purity and

all the other things. What he will turn be an

example is the example of the consequences of sin. That

he is a leader, has fallen into sin, and he

is suffering the consequences of his sin. He's an example.

He's to be an example of fear, example of seriousnes

of sin, example of God's punishment. You remember the one

of the guidelines is that must be consistent charges. Here

Paul outlines that when he stands before the church and

they bring him before the church for abuc hum in

front of all the congregation. Not only is he the

congregation is a witness of this, and it brings fear

upon them. He's an example of fear, example of God's judgment.

He's also in the presence of another witnesses, and Paul

in the next verse gives three witnesses who are witnessing

the rebuke of this elder who's fallen away. Look at

these witnesses and verse twenty one, in the presence of

God and of Christ, Jesus and the elect angels are

charging you to keep these rules without prejudice. Not only

does the church see how he has fallen, but God,

Jesus and the angels have seen how he's fallen away.

Can I tell you church today, we must be a

church to treat our elders faithfully. We must honor the

faithful elders well. We must be a church that holds

elders accountable. It's heart. Tell you I've seen throughout ministry

God's blessed us and protected my ministry. And I've never

had to do this at a church that I've been

at with a leader. There's spent some time. Maybe this

church discipline throughout churches, but never anything like this. But

I have seen churches who I feel like not have

done this faithfully. You ever heard of the someone the

whole saying is someone says, you know, the best way

to get up get rid of a cold or the flu.

You know what the saying is, you give it to

someone else. That's a joke, right, and that if you

got the cold, give it someone else, that's the best

way to get rid of it. I mean, honest with you.

Sometimes I believe that's the way churches treat this issue.

They believe that the best way to get rid of

a bad pastor is to give the bad pastors someone else,

and they quietly send him on't don't public rebuke him,

and they just let him find another church in move

him all. I think that's a detriment to the church.

I've heard of churches where pastors have had affair with

someone in the church and he ups and leaves, and

he goes and finds him another church. That should not

be so when he be churches that sometimes, I really believe.

You know the first name Heel twenty four to six.

It says David would not cut the hem of Saul's garment.

Why because he says, this is the Lord's anointed, and

I won't put my hand again the Lord's anointing. I

think sometimes we have this such revere respect and maybe admiration,

or maybe we sometimes, if we're real honest, even idolize

a pastor so much so that we'll let him get

away with anything and we won't confront him. We won't

handle it properly because we don't want to hurt the

Lord's anointing. I think Paul's very clear here. If a pastor,

if an elder's falling into the sin, and there's consistent charges,

there's a refusal repent of sin, persistent sin, and you

practice church this one and if he doesn't repent, there

should be a public rebuke. And I'll notice the imagery

for Paul says, Timothy, do this and show no partiality,

no partiality, I don't. It doesn't matter how great he

is as a preacher, how much you might revere him,

what he made done in the past. If he's fallen,

you've got to hold him accountable. So I encourage you. Church.

We must be a church the honors faithful elders, but

we also need to be a church that hold elders

accountable when they fall. Lastly, as we kind of finish

up this morning, we must be careful to recognize elders.

You can imagine there's going to be a void in

the church here here, Paul's gonna have to remove some

elders from the church. There's gonna be a gap, there's

gonna be a void of elders not in the church.

That he's going to need to add new elders. And

there's a temptation for maybe Timothy to rush this and

put elders in position quickly, and Paul responds to that.

Listen what he says in verse twenty two. Don't be

hasty and laying on of hands, take no part of

the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. He tells him

not to be hasty. The laying of hands there is

a was an idea, is a symbolical act. Laying of

hands to recognize the church laying their hands on someone

to be an elder or ordaining them was what the

idea we would use. It's a symbolic signifies a church

recognizes God's calling on that individual. It's also using scripture

to demonstrate the church commissioning someone into service. Paul says

this reminds Timothy of the church laying hands on him

in one Timothy four or fourteen and remind him God

saw God's the church sees your calling and your gifting this,

and they've laid hands on you to affirm you have

this gift. Paul's cautioning Timothy to not be hasty, not

rush into laying hands on the elders. Why, because they

may not be ready, they may fall into sin. They

may yeah, they may turn out not to be faithful,

So be careful, don't rush it. Take your time, make

sure they're right. You ever had a time where you've

recommenced somewhere for a job, maybe for a position you

knew someone's open, and they ended up not being a

good candidate, maybe they ended up getting fired or didn't

fall through. And the people you recommended says, I thought

you said this guy was a great guy, and you

kind of feel like you bear some responsibilities. I recommended

him and he really or she didn't really turn out

to be a good employee. You kind of feel responsible

for kind of creating some That's what Paul is saying here.

Be careful, Timothy, if you put someone in an elder position,

and they don't and they fell in being a faithful

elder kind of bear some of that responsibility, So don't

be hasty In that he encourages him to be careful

appointing leaders. He also kind of gives some personal recommendations

to Timothy as a pastor, so maybe advice for him.

Look at verse twenty two says, don't be hasty and

laying of hands, nor take pardon the sins of others.

He says, Listen, Timothy, there's a temptation. As you see

other elders fall and falling into other temptations. You need

to protect yourself. You need to keep yourself pure. You

don't take part in them. Listen to myselves, keep yourselves pure.

I think it's important for us, and I think Tanner

and Devin will both tell you. One of the things

that I really feel responsible for as the pastor of

this church is caring well for them. One of the

things I do is ask them Tanner, Devin, how are

you reading your Bible? How are you doing your devotions?

How are you doing in your purity? How are you

staying faithful? Why? Why do I do that? Because I

care for their souls? I don't want them just to

be good at doing their job. I want them to

be spiritually well healthy. I want them to be being

filled with the Lord and growing in their relationship with them.

I want them, as Paul is here with Timothy, to

keep themselves pure, to do battle in their own soul

and drawing close to the Lord. He also talks about

Timothy's health here in verse twenty three. Timothy has a

stomach issue is often getting sick, and so he tells

Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach. I

will say just quickly about this. Many times a lot

of people use this passage to justify drinking. I do

not believe in any way that's what Paul is talking

about here, Because Paul, the issue for Timothy is his stomach.

The issue for many other people drinking is not their stomach,

it's their pleasure and their enjoyment. For Paul here is

helping Timothy with a sickness issue. And also, I think

we have to take in what other passages of Scripture

says about this. In Romans fourteen twenty one says it's

not good. It is not good to eat or drink wine,

or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. I

believe you know me, I believe in alcohol abstinence, that

we should have stained from alcohol wine because for our

witness and to to cause the stumbling block for any believer.

And so I believe that's very important for us as

a church. But here he's trying to care for the physical.

I think it's important as we think about pastors, how

are we caring for them spiritually? But also how are

we caring for them physically? How do we make sure

they're taking care of their health? As we finish up today?

I encourage you, church, how are you caring well for

the pastors here? How are you caring well for the elders.

God's commanded us to honor our faithful elders, to hold

them accountable, to be careful in selecting future elders. How

are you caring for them? And last, Tanner and the

band to come and lead us in a song the invitation? Yeah.

I remember I was a young pastor and I would

We had just left seminary. It was four three. I

think we had Chloe at that time, only Chloe. We

left seminary and we went to a little church in Conway,

South Carolina. Hecrew grow Baptist Church. They had been through

some things and we were coming in and you know,

they didn't have a whole lot. It was maybe the

first time they had a full time youth pastor. And

I remember trying to make sure I could take care

of my family, and I remember it, really, to be

honest with you, was the step of faith. Brady didn't

really have a job quite yet, and I remember going

and thinking, Lord, I don't know if we can actually

take care of my family. You know, I think it's

I don't know if you could ever fully understand what

it means for a pastor to leave everything and to

go to a church where you don't know anybody yet

and you don't know if they're going to like you

or they were wanting to get rid of you in

a year, and then you've got the financial thing is

if you've got to take care of your family. And

I remember going and thinking, I don't know if they

can take care of me. And I remember we struggled

the first year, and I thank God that I had

a pastor. Preacher Jerry that year knew that we were

struggling the first year, and that next year he went

to the board I don't remember who's in did the

finances or at that time, and they He told the church,

I don't want you to give me any increases for

I don't know how long it was, but I want

you to take what you're going to give me. I

want you to give it the child that we might

take care of him. You see, in that moment, for me,

it taught me as a pastor, how important it is

for me to make sure I take care of him,

To make sure I take care of Devon, to make

sure I treat the others elders just as I treat myself.

To realize how important it is that I honor them,

that I care for them no matter what they do,

because they're laid bring for the Lord. Can I tell

you church, as the pastor, may we be a church

that together we come together and say, God, you gave

us leaders, and may we honor them, May we care

for them, May we treat them the same, May we

hold them accountable, and may we care for their spiritual

needs and may care for their physical needs. Listen, I

need you, need you, Devon needs you, Skip needs you,

Van needs you, Carl Floyd. They need your care. Church,

Let's care well for elders. Amen, you pray with me. God,

I thank you Lord for a church that doesn't see

me as an employee, that I have a job to

do and I'm at their service. God, I thank you

for a church that sees me like family. For some

they see me like a son, some see me like

a father. And God, I thank you that we are

a family. And God, may I be faithful to care, might,

be faithful, to labor, to encourage, to strengthen, to pour

into Lord lead me and being faithful to be pure,

lead our staff and taking care of themselves spiritually and physically.

But Lord, help us as a church come alongside of

each other and honor each other well, and recognize we

all have a part in this family. We all have

a role, we all have a responsibility. Lord, help us

as a church be faithful and what You've called us

to do. Or we love you. We thank your Lord

for this day and your name. We pray and all

to Him.