A SACRED STEWARDSHIP

Pastors have a sacred stewardship. Paul underscores this by his personal example and pointed exhortation in 1 Timothy 1. He speaks of “the stewardship from God that is by faith,” (v. 4). A steward was one who was “entrusted,” (v. 11) with his master’s riches as a household manager. This was his “charge,” (v. 5, 18)—the “appointing…to his service,” (v. 12). In this case, Paul was entrusted with the glorious Gospel. Paul testifies that His Master, “Christ Jesus our Lord…judged me faithful,” (v. 12). Now, he will say to his young protege, “This charge I entrust to you Timothy,” (v. 18). This is the sacred stewardship of every God-called preacher.

The Apostle begins with THE GREETING, (v. 1-2). This is more than a formality, but sets the context for this pastoral letter. Paul immediately identifies himself as the author, speaking with authority as “an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope,” (v. 1). He is fulfilling his calling by enlisting and equipping “Timothy, my true child in the faith,” (v. 2). It is vital to the church’s continued witness to raise up future leaders. As an apostle, Paul is not offering good suggestions about what might work in a local church, but demanding God’s essentials as imperatives. 

God is our Savior—the Father who has ordained salvation’s plan, and Christ Jesus is our hope—the One who is the object of faith who has brought redemption. Our only hope is in a relationship with Him by faith in Him. Now, we have the responsibility to carry that message to the ends of the earth. Through the preaching of the Gospel, we are regenerated as Timothy, “a true child in the faith,” (v. 2a). 

The Gospel is one of “grace.”  We receive what we could never deserve—heaven. It is one of “mercy.”  We do not receive what we do deserve—hell. The Gospel is one of “peace.”  God is no longer at war with us, as we have surrendered to Him. Peace with God flows from the grace and mercy we have experienced. This is the Gospel we are to faithfully proclaim.

Next, Paul warns of THE GODLESS, (v. 3-10). Timothy is warned of those who would dilute the truth with liberalism or distort the truth with legalism—but, either way, godless messengers preach a perverse message and promote godlessness in their hearers.  False teachers will either subtract from the Gospel or add to the Gospel—and, thus, subvert the Gospel.

Satan does not always undermine the church by direct confrontation, but often through subtle infiltration. They “teach…different doctrine,” of “myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations,” (v. 3-4). The faithful preacher must found his message and fortify the members on the pure Gospel of Christ. This means he will not only speak the truth, but confront its twisting by false teachers. 

Older pastors have the duty to the church to raise up younger men who are throughly vetted, solidly instructed, and consistently monitored as to their faithfulness to the Gospel. The results will be “love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith,” (v. 5). 

“Swerving,” from the truth, (v. 6) is to wind up in a wreck.  Satan does not care which ditch he diverts the pastor into—liberalism or legalism—the church is off the straight and narrow road of truth.  The opposite effect of the Gospel is experienced: schism instead of “love,” a perverse heart instead of “a pure heart,” a guilty conscience instead of “a good conscience,” and fraudulent faith instead of “a sincere faith.”  False teachers may speak eloquently and carry an air of authority, but they have “wandered away into vain discussion…without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions,” (v. 6-7). 

Paul hits the matter of legalism head on in verses 8-10. The law of God is good for it is of God who is only good. It is an expression of His holiness. The problem is not in the law, but in us. We cannot keep it. An external code can condemn us, but cannot change us. That can only be accomplished by the Gospel which internally transforms us. The proper preaching of the law is meant to convict us of sin and call us to salvation in Christ alone. It is meant to drive us in despair to Him.

This brings us to THE GOSPEL, (v. 11-20). Our preaching is to be “in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which [we] have been entrusted,” (v. 11). This is the sacred stewardship of the preacher. The law is only bad news as it condemns us, but this message is good news—the literal meaning of “gospel,” in that is converts us. It is glorious for it is all of God’s grace and thus for His glory. We are accountable to Him for faithfulness in preaching it, (v. 12).

Paul bears testimony to the power of the Gospel that transformed him. He had been “a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent,” of Christ, (v. 13a). But the Lord had extended “mercy,” in his ignorance and unbelief, (v. 13b). Overflowing grace washed him as he came to faith in Christ and love for Christ, (v. 14). It was a radical change from a man who saw himself as the foremost of sinners, (v. 15). He is an example of the difference the Gospel makes, (v. 16). How grateful we should be for God’s “patience,” in bringing us to Himself and exclaim with the Apostle, “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (v.17). 

Paul concludes by driving home the seriousness of our stewardship, (v. 18-20). We are on a battleground not a playground, (v. 18). We must be tenacious in holding onto faith and a good conscience. The church is a Gospel battleship, and to fail to chart a straight course is to make “shipwreck of…faith.” Paul pointedly presents Hymenaeus and Alexander as false teachers. They had been excommunicated from the church—where Satan would hurt them, in hopes that the discipline would bring them to repentance and restoration, (cf. 1 Cor. 5).  We had best take the stewardship of the Gospel seriously, for it is evident that God does!

WHEN A LITTLE MEANS A LOT

 “Little is much when God is in it.”  That was a line from a Gospel song they used to sing in the small church I attended as a lad.  It is the truth we observe in Acts 23:11-22.

But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.” And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. Now there were more than forty who had formed this conspiracy. They came to the chief priests and elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul. Now you, therefore, together with the council, suggest to the commander that he be brought down to you tomorrow, as though you were going to make further inquiries concerning him; but we are ready to kill him before he comes near.” So when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their ambush, he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. Then Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to tell him.” So he took him and brought him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to say to you.” Then the commander took him by the hand, went aside, and asked privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire more fully about him. But do not yield to them, for more than forty of them lie in wait for him, men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from you.” So the commander let the young man depart, and commanded him, “Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me.” (Acts‬ ‭23‬:‭11‬-‭22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬, emphasis added)

Here is when a little meant a lot.

There was A NAMELESS PERSON, “Paul’s sister’s son,” (v. 16a). We know he was Paul’s nephew, but we do not even know his name. Yet, God would use this lad in a large way. The Apostle’s ministry would have been terminated and his impact truncated had it not been for this nameless person. 

There are preachers’ names we know. Like Paul, their impact is huge. But, for all of those, there are many whose names will never make headlines. Maybe you feel that way. But, God knows your name. He has written it down in His Book. One of the strangest things is that the Lord may summon you to the front of the crowd to receive your crown in that eternal day! 

I love Hebrews 11–“Faith’s Hall of Fame.”  Household names like Noah, Abraham, and Moses are prominent. Then, there is this encouraging word:

Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. (Heb.‬ ‭11‬:‭35‬b-‭40‬‬)

“Others,” not even named; no miracles noted. Yet, God sets them up as a shining standard of faith and summons us to join their ranks.  The fulfillment of the promise of God’s ultimate triumph requires both the heroes and the zeroes. We fit in there somewhere!

There was AN OBSCURE PLACE, “Paul’s sister’s son heard of their ambush,” (v. 16b). Where was he when he heard?  The location is as unknown as the young man’s name. But, he was in the most strategic spot for a service that was spiritually significant.

So, we may labor for the Lord in obscure places. We serve a small church back in the holler. It may be a name associated with a little creek or a grove of trees. There are prime places in large cities with prominent pulpits. Where we serve, maybe not so much. We walk outside on the porch in front of the small country church and do not hear cars going by, but the sound of the creek flowing along. There are more birds singing in the trees than people singing in the congregation. Far from having a worldwide broadcast, we are so deep in the woods we don’t even have the internet.

Take comfort in the fact that though the denominational executives do not know where you are, God does. We may discover on the Judgment Day that a mini-church had a mega-impact. It may be that a young farm boy will get saved in that little chapel, and grow up to be called into ministry.  That man’s service might then have a worldwide impact!  It happens. But, it would not happen without that “Little Brown Church in the Wildwood,” as the song goes.

I will never forget one of my mentors, Dale Fisher, telling me as a 21 year old called to Gospel ministry, “God knows where you are and He can get you where He wants you to be.”  So, I have served Cane River, Oak Grove, Centerview, Sugarfork, and Pole Creek. None of those are household names in the church world. But, I was where God wanted me, and that is good enough. Someone needs to pastor, “Suck Creek Baptist Church,” (yes, that is a real place).  

Here is the crucial part: there was A DIVINE PROVIDENCE, “he went and entered the barracks and told Paul,” (v. 16c). The Sovereign God was directing a nameless person to an obscure place to the fulfillment of His Divine providence. 

The Lord Jesus had the night before showed up in Paul’s prison cell and made a promise, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome,” (v. 11). 

Satan sought to stop that mission. He moved the conspirators to plot Paul’s assassination. Yet, the Lord’s purposes cannot be thwarted. This instead set a series of events in motion that instead of stopping Paul from reaching Rome, brought him there. The Devil did not halt the Gospel, but instead took the Apostle to a worldwide platform!

Man of God, you are in the Lord’s hands. His providence will lift you up and bear you along to places you did not anticipate. I would have never thought it possible that an unknown young preacher speaking to a small group of about 60 (on a good day) of mostly senior citizens would one day regularly preach to 400 on Sunday morning in a place called Pole Creek, located between Milk Sick Cove and Hookers Gap, not quite to Jugtown. When I attended Fruitland as a young ministerial student, I would have laughed had you told me I would someday be a professor at Fruitland Baptist Bible College. After seeking counsel from our Missions Director as I faced a crisis from conflict in the church where a bunch were trying to fire me, I would not have believed that I would one day be in that position dispensing counsel to other pastors. Sitting in the back of an NC Baptist Convention Meeting, where no one knew my name, it would have been the most unlikely scenario that I would one day be on the platform, giving the report as Chairman of the Nominating Committee, and also nominating the man who would ultimately. become President of the Convention.

I never tried to climb the ladder. I just tried to be faithful where I was. Give the Lord the five loaves and two fish and he can multiply them miraculously. Pass on the news you overheard and the Lord can use that to make an enormous difference and save a preacher. He knows your name. He knows where you serve. His providence will direct you. In heaven, you will discover:

In the harvest field now ripened
There’s a work for all to do;
Hark! the Master’s voice is calling,
To the harvest calling you.

        Refrain:

        Little is much when God is in it!
Labor not for wealth or fame;
There’s a crown, and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ name.

        In the mad rush of the broad way,
In the hurry and the strife,
Tell of Jesus’ love and mercy,
Give to them the Word of Life.

        Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem so small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He’ll not forsake His own.

        Are you laid aside from service,
Body worn from toil and care?
You can still be in the battle,
In the sacred place of prayer.

        When the conflict here is ended
And our race on earth is run,
He will say, if we are faithful,
“Welcome home, My child—well done!”    (Kittie L. Suffield)

(The photo is of Young’s Chapel Baptist Church, where I preached my first revival as a Fruitland student, and the chairman of the pulpit committee from Cane River heard me, leading to my call to serve Cane River in my first pastorate.)

AFTER GOD’S HEART

 

There was a Marine slogan I saw on TV years ago, “We’re looking for a few good men.”  So is God. He is a seeking God—from Genesis to Revelation, we witness His search. God called Abraham, Jesus called Simon, and the Spirit and the Bride communicate the pursuit of God in saying, “Come,” (Rev. 22:16). The Lord is still after men who will respond and be “after My own heart,” as David was. We focus on Paul’s sermon illustration in Acts 13:22, as he quotes 1 Samuel 13:14. 

Consider, THE PERSON, “a man.” David was a real man—the son of Jesse. He was not Superman, but a spiritual man. We know he was a sinner saved by grace and set apart by God for God. We are aware that he was a man who sometimes stumbled—and once egregiously so—yet, the orientation of his soul was for God’s heart and the direction of his steps was toward God’s heart. 

God is not after perfection, but progression. If being a perfect man is required then we are all disqualified. There has only been One Perfect Man—Jesus Christ. This is not an excuse for sin. David paid a price for his failure—and others suffered also. Yet, God called the “chief” of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15) and made him the great Apostle Paul, who said, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,” (1 Tim. 1‬:‭12‬‬). Paul, like David, was a man—but a man after God’s own heart. 

Thus, there is THE PASSION, “after My own heart.” To be “after” the heart of God is to exhibit a relentless pursuit. Think of a dog in the hunt, who has picked up the scent of the prey and exerts all that is in it to seize that quarry. Is there a passionate fire burning in you?  Is that pursuit to find the heart of God?

This is important. Don’t bark up the wrong tree!  Success in ministry is not the goal. If you want headlines—status and significance—then even if you get it, you will find it hollow and slippery to hold.  How many church “heroes,” have a pride producing fall and become “zeroes”?

It is the heart of God we are after—to know Him, to love Him, to glorify Him, and to enjoy Him, forever. As we read David’s story and listen to David’s songs, we cannot fail to see his passion for God and God alone. Here is one such expression in Psalm 63:1-8:

O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts  for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land  Where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the  sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your  lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You.  Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your  name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,  And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I  remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night  watches. Because You have been my help, Therefore in the  shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows close  behind You; Your right hand upholds me.

Does your heart pound, “Amen” when you read that?

We conclude by considering THE PATTERN, “who will do all My will.”  To be “after the heart of God” is to walk in the will of God. Such a man has Christ as the pattern and seeks to conform to His heart. Our Master is our model and His mission is our mandate. Jesus described it this way in His call to disciples to follow Him, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matt.‬ ‭20‬:‭28‬‬)

This is a servant mentality, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.”  Do we demand, “serve us,” or engage in “service”?  The servant’s heart is revealed by how we respond when someone treats us like a servant!  The King of Glory stooped to wash dirty feet!

It is also a sacrificial ministry, “and to give His life a ransom for many.”  As John Maxwell’s leadership principle states, “you have to give up to go up.”  We are to be poured out as living sacrifices, (Rom. 12:1). Paul saw his ministry as being “poured out as a drink offering”—a sacrifice to God for men, (ref. 2 Tim. 4:6a). 

May God find in this imperfect man that I am, “a man after [God’s] own heart”!

THE CALL TO MINISTRY

In the dark night of my sin, the light of Christ broke into my life, and a new day dawned. I have never been the same. The grace of God that redeemed me from sin, also redirected me into service. As new doors opened, I joyfully walked through them. After all that Jesus did for me, how could I do anything else?

Yet, there seemed something more—a nagging sense that another step needed to be taken. Was I being called to gospel ministry?  I will never forget that summer night, in an open air auditorium, set amid mountain splendor, and the pointed call of Dr. Stephen Olford to absolute surrender. My wife and I made the commitment, “Lord Jesus, anything, anywhere, anytime, I am ready.”  We have never looked back.  In the words attributed to William Borden, who left behind a life of luxury to die a missionary, there has been, “No Reserve; No Retreat; No Regrets.”

Consider what Paul said of his call to ministry here.

He points to GOD’S ENABLEMENT, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me”.   Gospel work is God’s work. It is a natural man given supernatural resources.  It is not our talent—though God can use it if taken to the cross—nor our intellect or charm. It is the enabling power of God’s Spirit at work in us and through us that means we can do that which is beyond our own ability.  With God’s calling comes His enabling. 

Paul next speaks of GOD’S JUDGMENT, “because He counted me faithful”.   Now, there was a sense in which Paul’s personality was one given to a determined direction. He was full bore in whatever he did. This brought him to become a Pharisee—the most zealous of all religionists. Not content with that, he became a leader among the group. Still more, in his commitment to his religion, he was willing to kill for his convictions!  When he met Christ, the Lord sanctified him and would count him as one who would be faithful to truth once delivered from error. Jesus does not see just what we are, but what we will become through His grace.

Then, the Apostle concludes with GOD’S ASSIGNMENT, “putting me into the ministry.”  We are reminded that the call to preach—to feed and lead God’s flock—is not a vocation that we have chosen, as one considers an array of employment possibilities and we say, “I think I would like to be a pastor.”  Now, this does not mean we have to run from the call—though some do—but may run to the call—I certainly did. Yet, it must be a call from God. There must be that sense that this is an assignment from heaven. The church will recognize it—and that is the point of them “laying on hands,” in ordination, as we note in the New Testament.  That is the affirmation of His assignment.

Now, I have been directed into  a different dimension of service.   People ask, “How is retirement going?”  Retire? I am not retired, but redeployed!  While I am no longer standing in the same pulpit week after week, I am helping shepherd the ones who do, as an Associational Mission Strategist for the 62 Baptist churches in Haywood Association.  From the burden of duty of a single congregation, I can feel the weight of what Paul described, “what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches,” (2 Cor.11:28b).  When we come to the end of our assignment may we be able to write in our Bible, “No reserve, no retreat, no regrets.” 

SHEPHERDING GOD’S FLOCK

“I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed: Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5:1-4‬ ‭CSB‬‬

It is both a glad and grave responsibility to shepherd God’s flock. The gracious call of the Lord, should be received with joy—that God would choose someone like us to such a task!  Yet, none should serve unless so compelled for apart from the activity of God, we are doomed to fail. Such failing would be grievous, for the pastor’s responsibility is the soul-care of God’s flock. They are His and He loves them all. Those entrusted to our oversight have eternal worth. Jesus paid the price of His own life to bring those lost lambs into His fold. For each one entrusted to us, we will give an account on the Day of Judgment. We ought to be driven to our knees in prayer for the Divine empowerment of the Great Shepherd that we might be faithful in this task.