I invite you to turn in your Bibles this morning to the book of 1st Timothy, 1st Timothy chapter 1. COVID fog is a real experience, so if I'm off today, I get to blame COVID fog, so I apologize, but it really has been something to experience. So, I plan on looking today with you at verses 12 through 17 to consider the gospel ministry of grace. I thought it was appropriate with the installation of new office bearers to look at this great passage. Tonight we'll come back and look at the end of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. About a year ago, I gave a two-part series on what to expect before Christ becomes. Now, tonight we'll look at how to prepare for Christ's return. But for now, we're going to look at this passage in 1 Timothy chapter 1. Let's give our attention to the word of the Lord. We'll begin the reading at verse 12. I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service. Though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent, But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me as the foremost Christ Jesus might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the king of all ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. And there is the reading of God's word this morning. Well, as we install a new office bearer today in the Escondido URC, See, I thought it would be helpful to think with you and to reflect a little bit about how the apostles viewed the privilege of serving in the kingdom of God and of Christian ministry. And there was something in them, I think you'll notice here, a perspective that drove them in all of their efforts that they knew could be easily forgotten along the way. Something that would have great consequence in their involvement in the kingdom of God and in their service in the kingdom if a fundamental truth was forgotten among them. And the consequences of forgetting this basic truth, this important truth, would have devastating effects on the service and life of God's kingdom. And that's the case. It really does today become a calling for the leadership to think about how they identify with what Paul is describing here. But I have to say, as I say that up front, I'm not just aiming this sermon right here today to the leadership. That's the beauty of the pastoral epistles, is that the instruction given in the pastoral epistles is meant to inspire all Christians in their involvement in the kingdom of God with the same perspective in all their callings of life, in all of your callings. No matter where the Lord has you, no matter what you are doing, and no matter what the Lord has placed you in, this is really important for all of life. And you'll see how it inspires all behavior for everyone who names the name of Jesus Christ. So that's what I want to spend some time with briefly this morning, this passage, working with Paul's introductory words here in Timothy to encourage him and to help Timothy in the work of the ministry. Again, that applies right to you wherever you are. This is an important section today for that end. You'll notice here that what Paul is doing here right up at the beginning of 1 Timothy is helping his young protege, helping this great worker and pastor in the kingdom of God with the right perspective that should drive his ministry. Paul wants Timothy properly motivated in the work. Paul wants Timothy to think about what motivates Christian service. what drives Christian service and so he's using himself as a great example here that we have here the apostolic description and really the mindset of the apostles particularly Paul that helps us to understand what drove them in the ministry and why those ministries were so successful there was a blessing behind that and we see it here in the description in the way that the apostles thought about the ministry. You remember Paul had taken Timothy on his missionary journeys and, of course, at one point had left him in Ephesus. And Ephesus was a challenging church in many respects, a lot like a church in our time. There were all kinds of false ideas. There were all kinds of false doctrines. There were all kinds of ideas that were a great threat to the gospel ministry and paul is is really motivating one of the great purposes of timothy is to motivate him and to help him to say you've got to fight for the truth of the gospel there's attacks on it everywhere there's real assaults on this everywhere and paul wanted him not to be ashamed of the gospel um it's interesting that in this great description how many times paul would call timothy to not be ashamed of this great work why do we get ashamed of this great work what does that shame look like well whether timothy was timid as is constantly said i don't really know but i think it's fair to say that paul did have concerns over how timothy would address these problems there's a sort of default way in leaders um when it when you um when you just get weary in the battle and in the struggle there's a default way to just avoid problems i think that was something that um reverend camming had told me years ago he says when you've been through the battles and you get older you're just tired and it's easy to just say let the next generation do it. I don't know if he said that, but I'm assuming he thought that. That's what he was talking to me, so. Avoidance equals neglect. How many problems have we had in life? One of the easiest ways to deal with problems is to do nothing. That's what Paul's dealing with here but we all know problems do not go away the more things are left undone the more the problems grow and think about the struggles in the life of the church think about all the things that make us about about ministry well somebody should be disciplined but we do nothing and we just keep kicking the can down the road people should be visited and we don't do it people should be cared for there should be greater efforts there should be more instruction there should be greater efforts to care for the flock and this stuff gets neglected what happens over time especially in times of weariness when we've just come through one of the most wearisome times in this last two years. In any given church, the service of the Lord and His work can become mundane, flat, empty, boring, of people whose hearts aren't in it. I mean, I'm not chiding the congregation here. That's not my goal today. My goal is to really encourage you. But it is really sad that years ago it was common to put up twice the number for service. We can barely get enough people to fill these positions. Why? Have we lost a joy in the work? Or are we better at complaining? Paul is really helpful here. I think he's going after the heart of the problem. Why is there no joy in the Lord's work? Why does that happen? And again, I speak to myself as a pastor, it's easy for this just to become the duty. Oh, I've got to write another sermon. Oh, I've got to go do this. And that initial joy and excitement that drove it is gone. Paul knows what can happen in the attitude in the Lord's service and conflict and in struggle and in difficulty. And this is the reason that he begins a second epistle when he talks to Timothy. I think there's sort of bookends here for each section, but they're working together off of each other. And he says this in 2 Timothy 1, right out of the gates. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. Fan into flame the gift. For God gave us a spirit, not of fear, but of power and of love and of self-control. Therefore, don't be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me as prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God. So the result, Paul knew in the ministry over time, I mean, when you're first going in, especially as a pastor, you're somewhat idealistic. And you think everyone's just, it's just going to go so well and everyone's going to love it. And you realize this is a battle. This is a fight. And easily do we fall into becoming sluggish and lackadaisical in service in the Lord's name. And this is somewhat Timothy in this regard, that some people are always on the right side of issues. they're always on the right side of an issue, but they've never fought for an issue. Never. But they're always on the right side. But they're just silent. I think Paul understands a lot of this as pride. And what I believe he does here is one of the most important things to help Timothy and us in our service in God's kingdom. How do you fan the flame, the flame of the flame, the gift of God? How do you stir people up who are just sitting around doing nothing? How do you resurrect people in the service of the Lord's work? It has everything to do, Paul says, with going back to the most important truths of the gospel and holding on to them with all that you have. setting these truths in your heads, learning to think a little bit like I rehearsed with Fred Trost every day, how needy we are. The first thing Paul does here is give a perspective in how he looks at ministry himself. That's the short first point I'm making. I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, Because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service. That's a great verse and an important verse in verse 12. He is saying something there, immensely important, and he is absolutely fixated on the gospel. Fixated on it. There's a great truth in the gospel that we celebrate in general. While we were without strength, Christ died for the ungodly. no strength, no ability. Paul is taking that great truth and he's applying that truth to his own life. He says, when Jesus Christ decided, now this is an interesting way he says this, which I think keeps things at balance here in important ways for our times too. When Christ decided to put me in the ministry and to judge me as faithful, He did it when I was still in my wretchedness and sin. In other words, it was his sovereign decision when I was still dead in trespasses and sins, when I had no knowledge of God, when I had no true saving knowledge of God, he would have said, when I had none of that, when I was dead as a doornail to spiritual things, He decided right then and there and judged me that I would be faithful in the ministry. That he would count me as faithful in it. And give me to be faithful in it so that I would do this service. Now what's coming across in Paul is not a celebration of his faithfulness. That's not what this is about. It's a celebration of the fact that God, an amazement of the fact, that God would include him in his kingdom and give him a wretch that he was, a place for service, and that by his grace he would be a faithful minister. Overwhelmed him. Whoever could claim that on themselves. God didn't have to do that. God didn't have to give us a place in his kingdom. And not only did he not have to give us a place in his kingdom, he didn't have to then put me in the ministry of saving people. I think what you see in Paul here is what's driving him as a thankful heart that whatever he is accomplishing, it is in the strength of the Lord. And that's one of the great things that overwhelmed him in thankfulness is that God would even use him this way and that anything that he would ever accomplish in the Christian ministry was by the Lord's strength. You know, that changes your whole attitude. Takes a sour attitude and makes it a joyful one. A lot of people serve because they think they're gifted. A lot of people serve because they think they have all the answers and then again this applies to every aspect of life and what kind of attitude do you get from people like that annoying number one know-it-alls fighting with everyone arguing with everyone because they have all the answers pain in the necks remember um what the scriptures say whoever serves one who serves should serve by the strength that god supplies in order that in everything god may be glorified through jesus christ every effective servant there is a humble recognition that we are totally dependent upon Him to do this work and that He decided to put us in it by His grace and that He would make us faithful in it. Without that, you have no perspective on right service. Total reliance is the disposition of the apostle. Isaiah 40, 29, He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Nehemiah 8, do not grieve for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Notice how it just radiates off Paul. This whole service in the kingdom is by sovereign appointment. And when there's anything good that's accomplished and there are any great works that are done and there is any great work among the people of God, every last one of those works were done in the one who gave us strength. That's what Paul's saying. I'm just thankful to be in it. That's Paul's attitude. What a privilege. What a privilege. It's not three years and I can't wait to get out. It doesn't work that way in the kingdom of God. I know you get tired. That's not what I'm talking about. Jesus talked about this hard attitude. He told a parable about two people who were given great opportunities to serve in the kingdom. And after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts. And when he who had received five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, Master, you delivered to me five talents. Here I've made five talents more. His master said, Well done, good and faithful servant. You've been faithful over a little, and I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. And then the one with two came forward, same thing. Then he who had received one talent came forward saying, Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you do not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. So I was afraid and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours. His master answered him, You wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered no seed. So then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers. And at my coming, I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has ten. For to everyone who has more, who has, more will be given. And he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken. And cast the worthless servant into outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. There's a lot of service in the kingdom. of people who aren't thankful like the last man and I think it's important that Paul's pressing us on what makes for an effective servant wow what a privilege you know what I used to be says Paul moving to the second point let me tell you now about my perspective not on just the ministry Let me tell you about my perspective on myself. Do you know what I used to be? I used to be a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man, arrogant. I acted ignorantly and in unbelief. The crown of his confession here is what he says about himself. It's a faithful saying, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. I'm the foremost. How do you view leaders? How have leaders trained you to look at them in American churches? That's an important question. This is not pietistic ramblings by Paul. False humility. There's a lot of that, which I hate too. What I believe about myself is that I believe that I am the absolute worst of all sinners ever to exist. You remember what he was doing in Acts. I mean, the guy was dragging away Christians and having them killed. I think it's important up front to say we're not talking about progress and sanctification. And we're not talking about God's restraining grace in your life. Again, he had already said he would count me faithful in the ministry. It's not that Paul ran around saying I could have been a serial this or that. That's not what he's saying. There's a lot of that that's heard today too. And that's not the right way to hear it. It's important to listen to what Paul is saying about himself. He was talking here about his own assessment of what he knows he is before God. There's always a humble recognition in God's servants of what they were and what grace had done for them. I remember David, when he had been caught with his sin with Bathsheba and had really no, hard to say, no knowledge of it. He had suppressed that knowledge and then hardened himself in it so that he didn't even see it. But when he made the confession and Nathan said, you are the man, as we sang from Psalm 51, for I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me against you and you only have I sinned and done what's evil in your sight so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. It's that perspective that drives all of service. Remember Jesus said there's two kinds of people, really, in the kingdom of God. There are those who cry out for mercy and who live daily dependent on that mercy and are taken by the grace of God and understand the gospel. And then there are those that generally think they're just good people. I go to church. God, I thank you that I tithe every week. I look the look. I talk the talk. I fast. I give to these poor people. And then Jesus says there's a tax collector who wouldn't even lift up his head. Standing far off, beats his chest. He says, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Jesus said one person went down to their house justified. That's the basis of the truth of our justification before God. But I think what Paul's concerned about here is that even among Christians in his service, that professing Christians can easily lose sight of this fundamental truth. And when this fundamental truth is lost in the Christian life and we've moved away from this basic truth of the gospel, it has devastating effects on service in the kingdom. You have to go back to this truth. Do you see yourself as Isaiah says? Simultaneously just and sinner. Do you see yourself as we all have become like one who's unclean and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. You know what kind of garment that is? Make all of you very uncomfortable right now if I really described what kind of garment that was. it's the recognition of what is true of us apart from grace. And that drives us. Make sure you understand that. It's the recognition of what's true of us apart from grace. None of you are here today in your own strength. Let this set in for a minute. There's nothing you've ever done in your own strength. Nothing. You're not brilliant. You're not smart. God gave that to you if you have smarts. You don't have all the answers. And we come here today and we present our families as perfect. We have this Gordon tradition. I don't know if I should tell you that when we get all your Christmas cards, They all go up on the mantel. And then we have a vote of who wins. Did you know that? How do you think we're voting? It's all about who dolled themselves up the best. I can tell you that. Do we lose sight of this? You have nothing apart from divine grace. You are no better than the drug-infested prostitute across the street, apart from divine grace. You are no better at all as if you've achieved this yourself. This was the battle of Jesus with the Jews. A bunch of morally upright people who were keeping the traditions of the elders, but what was the problem? Deep down, they were content with their own external form of perfection and they would not listen to Jesus. And Jesus was constantly saying, those who are well have no need of a physician. But those who are sick, go learn what this means. I desire mercy and not sacrifice, for I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. Who? It's like Machen saying the church has this seemingly impossible task of calling the righteous to repentance. See, what drove Paul is by grace you've been saved through faith. And that not of yourselves. Here's what captivated the apostle in his service. You know what God did for me? He says it right here. But I received mercy. I received the mercy of the Lord. Look at the verse. And that overflowed for me with faith and love that's in Christ Jesus. He gave me faith and love toward Him because His mercy overflowed, His grace overflowed to me. To the chief of sinners. Who is this again? I never get over it. The gospel of justification by free grace alone because of Christ. That has kept me on my knees in the ministry. That has kept me on my knees in life. You know, one pastor, I was reading the other day, and he was telling a story about a woman who wanted to be baptized and join the church. She gave a good account of who Jesus is, what he had come to do. One of the elders knew something was missing. So he said, but what do you believe about you, and what do you believe about your sins? She couldn't answer. She was unable to give a testimony about her own sins and her own failures in life. She didn't see them. It was like there was no sense of the problem. It was like a wall. It was just over there. It had never become her story, I am the foremost of sinners. It had never become her story. has it become your story you know what God's done for you beloved at some point in all your ignorance and confidence he poured out his love on you and gave you grace and before you had eyes to see before you understood anything about yourself for him he came after you with an everlasting love and then He opened your eyes and saved you and poured out grace and then would give you a place in His kingdom and count you worthy because of Christ? That's how wonderful grace is. Can you see it the whole way? And that leads me to my last point real quick. When this is forgotten or not believed, what do you get? You get a bunch of inactivity. because what drives someone in service is this truth it's the understanding that other people need but if it's not in the hearts of those who are in the service why in the world will it pour out to those who need it if they don't see it from the leadership i'm so together do you want an elder like that in your house this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance christ jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom i'm chief how does that drive me well here's the reason i receive mercy right here that in me as foremost christ jesus might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. God did this amazing work of grace in my life as an apostle to show his patience. Look, if he could do this for me, a murderer and somebody dragging off Christians, think of the patience he's showing to this day of your unbelieving daughter or son. But they need to see in us this. If God could take a murderer and a blasphemer and an arrogant man and make him an apostle to the Gentiles, then beloved, you should see how great God's patience is as an example that he is continuing in this ministry to save a whole bunch of very hard people for the gospel and the good news. That's why we're doing this. And that's what we need to remember as a church and as leaders. You know, this applies to every aspect of life, how we train our children. This is really important for child rearing. Are we training them and pressuring them to be perfect? Seriously. Are we out there at every event like, wow, there's Johnny again? Are we holding on them an external standard of righteousness that they can't keep? That every award center, they're the center of everything in the parent's life. That they are to be everything they expect them to be. That it's all about the grades. And it's all about success in sports. We've made them the center of existence with a pressure. Have they seen from us as parents? I'm the foremost. Or do they see an external righteousness they can't attain to? no child can fulfill that. Do your children see in you humility and that they can fail? Are you before them dependent on the grace of God or has an external system of your own righteousness been imposed upon them? And that's so true with leadership. When we don't have this attitude of Paul, you know what people feel when they're around us? judged, judged because they're never worthy of you. We all have the answers, don't we? Has COVID proved that? We're so proud. I would suggest that in the American church, this lack of true humility among leaders has led to the great failure in showing people themselves why they need a Savior. The most effective church, beloved, is filled with people who are not hiding who they are, who are not trying to create a perfect family, people who we can relate to, broken people can relate to, that it's not trying to break into an external system of righteousness that's laden with expectations that nobody else can keep. We are a people who together say we're the chief of sinners. We're not just workers in the vineyard with sour attitudes. We're the latecomers. Our young people need to see that. I wonder if, really, who has run off our young people? Has it not been because of inactive complaining in the kingdom where no, they couldn't really connect with the gospel? They didn't see it in the parents. It's important. We have to be touched by the gospel. We have to be changed by the gospel. Or else we just complain about everything. I'm the problem. I'm the mess. I'm the needy one. And I'm glad to tell you about my Savior. Do you know what God's done for you? You were like those on the side of the road late in history that he picked up. And when you're picked up by grace, here's what it sounds like. And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, since he is also a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. That's where Paul took this faithful saying, by the way. Right here. When we understand grace afresh, we break out as Paul did, And we end our sermon and we end this day and we go in this strength saying to the King of kings, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your grace to us. Thank you for being merciful to us, the chief of sinners. Thank you for counting us faithful and putting us in the ministry. it's all your strength, it's all your grace that you keep us from being what we could be. And we acknowledge that today. So may that whole spirit overcome us in all of our lives and work, whether it be at the school, whether it be down at the station, whatever it is, whatever calling, vocation you've given to us, may we diffuse the fragrance of Christ. Forgive us, Lord, for we can't do this ourselves. We've tried. We ask that you would give your leadership great grace to love your people and to understand what the delivering mercies of the Lord have saved us all from. Thank you, O Lord, for this time. In Jesus' name, amen.