A Good Servant of Christ Jesus (Banner of Truth) (Part 1 of 2)

The apostle Paul had a provision mentor to Timothy Timothy under his wing and encouraged him caught and counseled him in ministry to what expectations did Paul lay out for this young pastor Alister Megan explains what it means to be a good servant of Christ Jesus as the title of our message today on truth please turn with me to first Timothy and to chapter 4 I'm going to read from from verse six. If you put these things before the brothers you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed have nothing to do with irreverent silly myths. Rather, train yourself for godliness, for while bodily training is of some value godliness is of value in every way as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, for to this end, we toil and strive because we have our hopes said on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but said the believers. An example in speech and conduct, in love and 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 and nurse yourself in 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.

Amen.

I wonder whether if we had had occasion to ask Timothy what the gist of Paul's exhortation to him was if there was a punchline in all of the punchlines. Perhaps he would've said well what I took from it. Most was just that simple sentence. Verse 16.

Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching or as JB Phillips paraphrases it hypocritical.

I both upon your own life and on the teaching that you give, or in the NIV want your life and doctrine closely. My charge is simply to remind us again of what it means to be a good servant of Christ Jesus. The privilege of service has been enunciated for us. We understand that and then of course we have to do it, we realize that the imperatives of Paul's writing to Timothy are grounded in the indicative reality of the grace that is ours in Christ Jesus and be strong sister in the in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And it's of great importance that we remind ourselves again and again of that and be a direction that he gives. Here is familiar material to us, the longer I go in pastoral ministry.

The more I realize how much the Bible has to say about reminder and remembering these things and I intend always to remind you of these things that our responsibility is not so much to introduce people to things they have never known, as it is to remind ourselves and to remind one another of the things we must never forget there is no doubt that the directive that is given here by Paul is on the one hand, both agreed encouragement, but it is also distinctly challenging even as I read the section before you now inaccurate in my own head I realize is one thing for us to read. This is where in the privacy of our gathering with one another or in the context of our study. But although this was a personal letter.

It also had a public reading and so that means that not only was Timothy made aware of Paul's great concern for his progress in the gospel but since the letter was read out publicly all of Timothy's congregation then knew what was expected of him as a pastor and so Paul is aware of the fight of fulfilling that charge is of particular difficulty, and particularly for Timothy as a younger man how old he was. We don't know. Perhaps he was as old as 40 and maybe a little younger than that he qualifies as a young man and he is he is essentially given in these two letters. His standing orders admit at least one military man. Well, I've been here as far as I understand it, is spent standing orders in the military refers to a military order or ruling that is retained, irrespective of changing conditions, ruling that is maintained irrespective of changing conditions and as you read through the pastorals realize that this is the great call isn't that the sound words of the Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that concurs with godliness and is revealed in godliness lies at the very heart of all that Paul has to say and he has made it very clear from the beginning of the letter that this is a man sized times.

I urge you, and I was going to Macedonia remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine nor to devote themselves to myths and so on, but rather that they would be grounded and grow up in the faith. As he gets to chapter 4 later on in the letter and he says in his far as you're concerned Timothy make sure that what you been saying to your congregation. You are actually bringing home to yourself.

You have to tell them what they must stay away from.

And you must encourage them in what they need to draw close to now let me just say a word about the temptation of youth because it's been nice to meet as some of the younger folk here and find I would be greatly encouraged if I was organ in this conference to see the variation in ages. When we are young and are particularly foolish. We are tempted to all kinds of things do not necessarily dissipate with age, but as I alluded to yesterday. As I said in conclusion, you know, when I was younger I thought that if I just spoke a little louder or went on a little longer, or appeared a little stronger that things would progress. I looked at people who were further down the line and I was tempted to do what you read all of it in the second volume of Lord Jones, page 458, where Ian Murray is quoting somebody else who said a young minister is prone to try to attain by one jump. The height which others have reached by a long series of single steps in the labor of 1/4 of a century. I think I can jump out there and do that while the aspiration is a good one, but the back story to effective ministry. If you trace will always lead to pain and suffering, and to sacrifice.

No matter what the public persona is of the individuals from whom we benefit and whom we live. I guarantee that if you probe into their personal journey there will be that which on a daily basis will remind them of the absolute essential nature of their ongoing dependence on the spirit of God for every aspect of ministry and it is a kind of youthful bravado that things that it would be other than that I why mention this, and incidentally, in the talk in the prayer time about being servants of God. I'm reminded of the man who at his installation was on the receiving end of the kind of story that we heard earlier, where as the man had stood up as the clerk of session was on the end and told him his this incoming minister all the things that he was going to be doing intact and who he was going to be serving and what they were expecting and everything else and it was that it was a very sad and sorry Saturday night for this poor soul and he was overwhelmed by it all he did was he stood up and he said I thank you sincerely for the privilege of becoming your pastor. All I have to say to you is I will endeavor to be your servant but you will never be my master, for we have only one master name the loop the Lord Jesus Christ, we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants. We serve you because Christ is our master ultimately understood the sensory system. I don't want you to allow people to despise you because you're young, don't do that don't allow them to despise you because of your youthfulness cause them to admire you because of your example said the believers. An example and then he provides a kind of a circuit if you do exercises at all. You perhaps at a little circuit up yourself. Three jumps here in two squats there, and so on. And in this training for godliness.

He has five little zones and the rear before is in the text into let me just point them out to you. First of all, in the realm of speech, set the believers. An example in speech were all familiar with the idea that sticks and stones can break my bones but names will never hurt me. As always at a school in Scotland.

But what we remember after all of these years. When we think back on our child at school. We don't really I don't have any bruises that were left on me from the from the football pitch but I can still remember the things that were said to me. I can remember, the assistant headmaster who had me stand up in front of the class and announced to the entire class. You hear me say this, he said, stand up in front of the class bag and state of the class class. I have a torn up on my neck and down so identities the master I had to I screwed up in the class laughed at me in for a very long time.

I think all maternal head and your beautiful 60 years later and I can remember hardly anything, but I remember that I have a torn up on my neck.

But I can also remember some of the misguided and foolish things that I've said it deacons meeting or an elder's meetings are sort of the equivalent of that speech speech words fitly spoken of course are able to make a tremendous impact for good. However, as James reminds as the tongue is a restless evil is full of deadly poison. He says having Congress that out of the same spring there would come freshwater and saltwater. Is it really possible that out of that same tongue could come the praises of God and the cursing's of man. How amazing is it that for most of us in the area of our greatest gifting there is this immediate challenge, the prophet of God. When confronted by God says I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. We were said no, you're the prophet of God you don't know me to know that little point of all that we say in a single day with never a word left out were printed each night in clear black-and-white. It would make strange reading. No doubt, and then just suppose there are.

I should close, we must read the whole record through, then wouldn't we sigh and when we try a great deal less talking to do and I more than half think that many a king would be smoother in life's tangled thread. If half that I say in a single day were to be left forever onset words are our tools with which we can help, but also harm moving over to the next section of the exercise. That was a little tough that one there. I confess, but what about conduct or behavior in your speech and in your conduct.

The false teachers were of course very very concerned about conduct and that's mentioned at the beginning of the chapter. The are devoting themselves to all kinds of things and as a result of that, they forbid marriage that require abstinence from foods and so on. And Paul is disdaining that and is making it clear that the conduct of the servant of God is to be out of the fullness of the Spirit of God, source to become increasingly like the son of God, and that is the desire of the father of the spirits work within us is to conform us to the image of his son and speech and behavior is of course immediately apparent. People see as the observance the make deductions on the strength of that they may not always be right. But sadly, in certain cases, we will be I think about it relationship to my own children. I don't how you are in driving a car. I think golf courses and car driving reveals quite a lot about the character of the individual, and I have been known, on occasion, when the children were small to provide a running commentary as I drive mainly a commentary about other people's driving and to point out see if they could please speed up if they could please move over is why with this person never have a car. Why would the Arabic driving license. Who is this person and so on and I was really unaware of it until than one occasion. In a moment of silence after I had run out of adjectives. A voice in the backseat just said and that's another kind word from your pastor well that's that's it right there in a nutshell, since well if if if our words and under conduct are out there in terms of the next three we moved through quickly, love, faith, purity, and a lot of that is taking place in private business. What about the hard times worth of an echocardiogram on Monday the going to find out really what goes on in my heart and very interested to see the screen because what I think is the case may not be the case when it comes to love possible for us to use terminology that is very amenable to that kind of thing that one of our hearts in our own personal convinced faith, and of course in the purity of our lives, how many rights one false unfailing ministers of missed used secluded pastoral situations to embark on sexual adventures to the ship wreck of their ministries and to the shame of biblical Christianity. I mentioned bridges yesterday and he has a wonderful quote where he is talking about this very thing, and he is warning the plasterers in the realm of purity of life with their spouse. And this is a wonderful sentence. This is all he says tender well-regulated domestic affection is the best defense against the vagrant desires of unlawful passions and credit sentences. It's even good coming out of the 19 century. It is some writing in the 21st century would it wouldn't have any of the decorum about it would be far too graphic is one of the downsides of the 21st century for the loss of of language to be a will to use language in such a way that everybody knows what you're talking about but you don't have to be so jolly explicit's other views that are long married as it was in 75 I was the antidote to really losing your head and losing your mind and losing your ministry. Well, I think Bridges is good.

Well-regulated domestic affection. You see, contemporary church life.

As I understand it here while formally committed to these character essentials formally committed to these character essentials appears in increased measure to follow you die mentions of life and publicity that actually work against these very things in the way in which they value entertainment or celebrity status or endorsed personality and so on. Not realizing that we cannot only bring our minister down by undue criticism which breaks his spirit but we can also bring them down by undue adulation, which may actually make them believe things he knows in his heart he should never believe and what I've discovered is that in this realm of love and faith and purity at the evil ones approaches do not respect our geography. They don't respect intellect. They don't respect style and they come from everywhere and all over the place and being alert to God and being reminded of it is of course wonderfully helpful. Rutherford deals with this frequently in his writings. At one point. Remember, he says down with the topsail down with the topsail stoop, stoop. It is a low entry to go in at Heaven's Gate and STS monies as we all need a wife and for no other reason then of course the keepers to keep us humble and when we lose that law something greatly. I don't know if you read the works of the a Robert Harris if you read the trilogy on ancient Rome is essentially on Cicero and the voice of the books is two euros, the slave of Cicero and he has served Cicero all of his days. On one occasion as Cicero's stature has risen, he is on the receiving end of a dreadful, verbose string of flattery from crisis and crisis comes in and blow smoke at Cicero and the slave observes there was a time when Cicero would've sponsored such an obvious trap a mile off but I fear the reason all men who achieve their life's ambition. Only a narrow line between dignity and vanity confidence and delusion glory and self-destruction instead of seat staying in his seat and modestly disavowing such praise. Cicero Rosa and made a long speech agreeing with crisis is every word think you desire with a chronicler tells us was gloriously held until he became strong. But when he became strong. He grew proud to his own destruction. So the character is said dealt with their and then Paul goes on to deal with the work itself. I want you to devote yourself.

He says to the public reading of Scripture and of course this is at the very heart of things we affirm this, we believe this I we teach it and we try and model it. It's the pattern all the way through the Old Testament and it is the pattern that is then exemplified in the ministry of Jesus, and that by way of apostolic precept, and then by their practice, and so on and in the second century, Justin Martyr, in his first apology acknowledges this when he writes on the day called Sunday all who live in cities around the country gather together in one place and the memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets of red as long as time permits. Then when the reader is finished.

The president speaks instructing and exhorting the people and and so that the reading of Scripture's is of absolute is an absolute essential all of us need to be reminded of the important's of reading God's word just heard Alistair Begg this is Truth for Life. We hope you come to realize, you can depend on this program to provide you with solid Bible teaching that you often hear Alister invite you to open your Bible. The reason for that is because we believe Scripture is the true word of God. It's at the very heart of all we do.

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