Tonight I invite you to turn in the scriptures to the book of 1st Timothy chapter 4. 1st Timothy chapter 4. And this sort of concludes this small short series on the offices, the three offices. And tonight I wanted to spend some time in this great chapter of 1st Timothy chapter 4 since it provides such a thorough explanation of what is at stake in Christian ministry. I'm a little nervous to preach this sermon because the standard is so high that the Lord gives us here in 1 Timothy 4 in explaining what is at stake. You have to have the standard high. And so in swinging hard, I don't want to discourage any who struggle with their calling, but I also understand that the Lord is pressing us to understand how weighty this is because the problem is not from being too strong about these offices, but the fact is that we are too weak in our view of these offices and thinking about their importance and what is really going on. So if God has truly called you to the office of elder, pastor, or deacon, I trust by His Spirit He will reinforce that and give you a clear conscience in that matter. Tonight we're looking at 1 Timothy 4. This is the word of the Lord. Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God in prayer. 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 hope set 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 set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in 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 elders laid their hands on you practice these things immerse yourself in them 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 may the lord bless the hearing of that wonderful chapter in his word well you know in the book of acts paul had a great relationship especially in the second missionary journey with this young protege timothy and when he had first met the apostle timothy was probably in his mid-20s at this point uh it's about 15 years later this would put him in his you know late 30s roughly in the ancient world the term youth was understood by many such as Irenaeus as the first stage of life extending to the age of 40 so anyone 40 or younger was still considered to be a youth and I have great joy in saying that tonight by the way for many of you it's not so good but I think it's helpful because Paul is encouraging this young timid weak pastor and that's the focus tonight with what amounts to be a very weighty calling that he and others felt he may have felt ill-equipped to do that he questioned whether he should really be doing this and paul is helping him through this calling even though the bar is this high, Paul is still encouraging this servant. Timothy, did you catch it? Hands were laid on you by the elders. That was no mistake. So you accept that and you give yourself to this. God called you. God equipped you. God has given you what you need. Don't be compromised or bashful with excuses because too much is at stake. When God calls somebody to this office, there really is the great need he'll even go on to say that that that the gift be stirred up in us that the gift be stirred up and tonight we look at and understand why that must be so we have for the few last few weeks considered the qualifications for office bearers and there has been so much positive response from this it has been greatly encouraging to me to hear your responses and to hear how the sermons have helped you to appreciate how glorious these offices are in the body of christ the office of elder and deacon that the lord put in place to be of great spiritual benefit and blessing to you it's a wonderful wonderful thing that the lord has put in place for your benefit and one of the things that i consistently heard in all of this was uh the same sort of statement for many of you boy I just didn't realize how weighty these requirements are maybe like Timothy that causes some of you to struggle with this you're calling to be an elder and a deacon in these offices and we've already looked at this but I have to say again the Lord did not want us to look at these qualifications and do what we often do and say well that's a great target but no one can really do that that is the last thing paul wanted us to do with the qualifications what paul wanted us to do was say we need men who exemplify these standards and show these qualities of godliness in these offices you need to put the best men in these offices he was raising out of the roof our view of these offices and whoever he puts in these offices he equips and he gives wisdom and help to fulfill their tasks well after looking at the qualifications what paul does now in chapter four of first timothy is provide a motive a motivation for office bearers particularly pastors this is focused on pastors tonight it is to provide a motivation to stop asking whether they are called but like this morning to go forward and to understand why they must go forward and give themselves to this this calling stop asking whether and go if you're called to this so paul does what paul does at this point is explain for us what is at stake and why we need godly leadership so desperately. In other words, we might come to realize that a man should be a pastor or an elder or a deacon, but it really won't take on much importance for us until we understand why we need them. Why do you need them? What do you think? What is the great purpose you need them? Why do we need men who demonstrate the highest possible standard of godliness among us? Why does the Lord want that? Why does the Lord command that? Why is that all so important to Him? We haven't really answered that yet. And that is where chapter 4 comes in. 1 Timothy chapter 4 comes into place to explain the weight of the office. This is a fantastic chapter for understanding christian ministry for understanding what is at stake why we need godly leaders so desperately who meet the biblical qualifications we have to take that with utmost seriousness we get really nice at times like this and we don't think a lot about qualifications qualifications are on the back burner we just look at nice guys no they have to meet the biblical qualifications and after explaining when a pastor or elder or deacon what they should be now paul explains what is at stake it's not hard to figure out the climax to this wonderful section comes in verse 16 the last verse where paul says keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching the doctrine persist in this for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers what a verse there is this we've looked at this direct connection between the christian leader giving himself to his life and his doctrine and how the people will progress and be delivered themselves so this section when i say this it helps us to understand what's at stake in this it helps us to understand the gravitas and the weight of this of what the holy spirit is telling us about because paul is now about to present that there are a bunch of competing agendas in these false teachers who are wreaking havoc in the gospel ministry this chapter though primarily aimed at pastors is meant to have all leaders and all of god's people understand what's going on to understand what they must be those who desire to be on guard so that one they understand why they must give themselves to this and two to keep themselves from falling in the pathway of false teachers and what they do and what they say and so this this chapter functions as a giant polemic and corrective to bad ministry. That's what this is. This functions as a giant corrective to bad ministry. And we don't think a lot about that. So I'd like to consider with you tonight the Spirit's solemn warning to Christian leaders and then the Spirit's call for leaders to fight this by watching their life and their doctrine. That's what I plan to do tonight. In verse 1, We read, and it all begins, Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demon. That's a mouthful. The Spirit expressly says something. You don't have that very often in Scripture. This is a remarkable statement that the Spirit would think this to be that important that Paul, under the inspiration of the Spirit, would put it down like that. When did he expressly say it? Well, it's something that runs true throughout all of the church time and the days of the church. But I want you to think a little bit in connection with what Paul had understood in Acts 20. Remember, this is all tied together. That in Acts 20, which was Ephesus, which is where Timothy is ministering here in this context, that church paul knew was going to have major problems when paul said after i leave i know that savage wolves will come among you not sparing the flock and men from among yourselves will rise up speaking perverse things and they will draw away disciples after themselves paul knew with absolute assurance that would go on and that would happen how i believe this is exactly what the spirit was expressly telling him this is most likely a further explanation so the people understood what had happened in ephesus and what they were to understand and fight against it's so expressive in the greek and emphatic that the spirit is expressly telling you that in these latter times there is going to be the painful reality of apostasy apostasy is going away from the faith. Going away from it. Knowing it and leaving it. I'll come back to this. But what is producing that? Well, he makes an interesting statement in verse 2 that all of this is brought about through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared. When I hear that, I can't help but think the Holy Spirit's view of ministry is not how we view the ministry. He views the ministry as warfare. He is seeing so clearly what is going on. And he's giving us a window into that. We've been looking at qualifications for this. This means much to him that what drives this, and generally we take rather casually. We come to church, we think this is about just having a good amount of encouragement, heading off into our weeks. The Holy Spirit has something else to say. We don't take seriously enough. what it is to be serving in God's kingdom. And it's as if after the qualifications, the first thing the apostle wanted to do is emphasize, listen, the Holy Spirit has something you can't afford to miss, which means that if this is true, you can't afford to put men into this who aren't called. That's the point. That's the impact of this. You can't put men who don't have the qualifications into this because this is what's going on. You feel the weight of that? Serious warfare. In other words, Satan has offices too. Satan has pastors too. And they're really good at what they do. They are really good. Paul wanted everyone to know the Spirit was really concerned, the Holy Spirit was really concerned to give us a window back and to pull back the curtain so that we look behind the scenes of Christian ministry so that we are very careful about who we put into Christian leadership positions. And it should have the effect tonight as we walk out of saying, whoa, I need to take this a lot more seriously. In a sense, what we have is what follows is the Spirit giving us a look into Satan's officers so that we would understand how exemplary God's officers must be. he says two notable things about them two notable ways to spot them two things that stand out about them in verse two he says through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared in their insincerity they're speaking lies uh i don't like to use greek words i think it's a bad practice but I want you to hear this one. Hypocrisis. Hypocrite. That was a loaded word in the first century. If you looked at what they understood about that, Paul would tell the Romans to let your love be without hypocrisy, without masks. In the first century, the hypocrite was the actor. He put on the mask. He was known by that. You had amazing actors in the ministry. Do actors sound good? Do actors look good? Do they have great speaking ability? Sure. Actors do well. Do actors dazzle and woo? Do actors find themselves exhilarating in winning people and holding them? They find that exhilarating? Of course they do. Paul said this in 2 Corinthians 11. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it's no surprise if his servants, his ministers, disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness. Satan has a kingdom. Satan has demons working for him. Satan has pastors working for him who are great disguiser. Boy, the Spirit says, I need you to listen to this. I need you to listen to this. I need you to take this really seriously. What do they do first? They're not after the truth. Insincerity means they're after their own glory. So they speak and they're after the accolades of men. They want the applause of men. That's the goal in the ministry. How do you spot it? You say, well, that's always troubled me because how do you see through a mask? How do you see through a mask? Well, Paul gives you, I think, the clearest way in the New Testament to identify a false teacher, the Spirit says their consciences are seared. What a revealing statement. Their consciences are burned with a red-hot iron. Their consciences are cauterized. Likely a reference to a branding that slaves had to receive ownership, to have ownership. You know that happened in the first century. It's when the conscience is cauterized, what has happened? If a conscience is cauterized in the ministry, how are you going to see that? No care about dealing with sin. Sin. Sin is out. We don't talk about that. And thus, you have a ministry that never deals with confronting people in their sin, never deals with norms that God put in the Bible that need to be expressly preached, never deals with the effects and consequences of sin in people's lives. We just sung out, comfort, comfort my people. Why do they need comforted? Sin. Which in turn leads to a totally ineffective gospel ministry. How could you ever provide the answer if you won't diagnose the problem? And so the gospel won't ever animate somebody like that because they failed anymore to diagnose real problems in people's lives. That's a cauterized conscience. The gospel doesn't drive them. because God's cure in the Gospel only has meaning when the disease is properly dealt with. And it's going to be some serious confrontation at times from this pulpit if we're doing our job. So when the conscience is seared, what does the ministry look like? That's the question. Well, I think you get it. The Spirit says, here's how you can spot a false teacher. Look at the agendas of his ministry. Look at the agendas of his ministry. If he's not confronting sin, if he refuses to do that and he wants to be a people pleaser, he's not getting to the remedy. But strangely enough, he's imposing other things and practices that have the intent in bringing people back into bondage and strange holds on them. You don't have to look very far to see that. If ministers, if we are to minister the gospel, if we are to first confront sin and minister the gospel, if you have a cauterized conscience, that will not be the drive of the ministry. Paul says what will actually happen is all sorts of wacky agendas in the man's life. Just follow this. When you read it, you're like, oh man, that's just weird stuff. Abstaining from marriage and abstaining from foods. And you stop and you say, yeah, that's what a cauterized conscience ends up doing. They find everything else under the sun that is not the ministry of reconciliation. Look at the side trails. Look at the controversial side trails. Look at all the strange ideas. Look at the strange holds on people. Look at the strange doctrines that are preached with such charisma and authority. Which ultimately leads, which is what this is here, to a strange asceticism or in many cases in the New Testament, anti-nomianism, anti-law, none of it is the ministry God put in place. That's not that hard to spot. It's not that hard to spot. Is the ministry of the gospel in confronting sin there or not? Or is it a bunch of side agendas and entertainment? If that's what it is, Paul's saying you've got to be willing to understand this is what's going on. The Spirit expressly tells you that. You guys know God created marriage to be a blessing? You guys know God gave you foods to be a blessing? You know that when you thank God for them, they're sanctified by the word of God in prayer? But the Spirit wants you to get this. In America, we need a fresh reorientation to what is really happening behind the ministry of Satan's ministry and what is being done is on a battlefield. An intense spiritual warfare for souls is taking place and there are casualties. There are people who are being pulled away. There are people who are being led astray. The Spirit wants you to know that. And Paul is helping us to appreciate what we're fighting for. That's the point of this. Paul is helping us to understand what we're fighting for. If that is going on, do you see why we need men who will give themselves in sincerity and love for God's people? With clear consciences to win people? The world is full of counterfeit religions. We have a narrow gospel. Narrow. Jesus called it narrow, a narrow way. We think of all the other philosophies of religions are rather harmless. That's not what Paul's saying. Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, all of these atheism, they're not just wrong religions. They are backed and propagated, Paul says, by demons. And people are being influenced by this stuff. That'd be nice if we could keep this out of the Christian community. We could tuck away. We could have our homesteads. We could have our Christian schools and keep it safe. Paul in the Spirit is expressly saying, uh-uh, it's happening and rising up from among you. Satan came into the garden to ask one question of Eve. Did God really say? And that question rings through all the time. Now interject weak men who are not called or who want glory for themselves. See how dangerous it is? If we don't have men who are sincere and care a lot about the truth and what is most important, if we're not giving ourselves to think about qualifications and specifically tonight pastors, how will they be effective in fighting that? Personally, I want to encourage men, young men here to go into the ministry. And I will always do that. I prayed tonight that the Lord would sin. But I also believe there needs to be an incredible amount of godly fear that needs to be recovered today of going into this. We've made it pretty easy. I'm concerned that the checks and balances are good in our reformed world with doctrine, but not godliness. Everyone gets so excited when someone says they want to go to seminary, and mom and dad are excited, and the money flows. Is the man called? I want to tell you a story to give you some perspective on this. I was working on this sermon this past week, and I had a dear brother call me and say, Pastor, I want to meet with you. And I'm always amazed in my daily routines and business that whenever I stop and do something like that, the Lord hands me something. Well, I went to lunch with this dear brother and we're sitting there at lunch and he pulls out a folder. And so I opened the folder. He says, look at it. And in the folder was an MDiv degree. An MDiv degree. I said, I had no idea. That is absolutely wonderful. He said, no, it's not. I want you to understand something since you work with seminary students. I had real speaking ability. I was a good speaker, received awards for my speaking abilities. A respectable man heard me, pulled me aside and says, I know what you need to do with your life. You need to go into the ministry. You need to go to the seminary. Why not, he thought. So I went. Hung out with my buddies. It was just a blast. I pastored a Reformed church from 1954 to 1961, let me tell you something. I was a fraud. I stood back and I said, are you sure? I practiced, he said, convincing myself. I was called to this, and yet inwardly, the turmoil was so strong, I knew I wasn't. I wasn't living it. He said, I resonated with Rosaria Butterfield's story, actually, when I read her book, that she said before she came out, she was constantly feeling the pressure to reinvent herself because it was all an act. He said, would you go look at Rosaria's chapter and page 52? So I did. This is what was there. I usually don't do this, but I want to do it tonight. I once asked R, this was a man who she knew from the past, if he thought seminary was harmful to him. I asked him why he felt called in the first place. This pastor goes on to pray, Matthew 9. The harvest is plentiful, but the labors are few. Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labors in the harvest. He said, that's why I'm here. I felt that prayer was for me. I asked him to clarify what he meant. I wondered if R felt that Pastor Ken was directing that prayer to him or that the Holy Spirit was speaking to him through Pastor Ken's prayer. I asked because it seemed to me there were two different calls, one directed by man and another directed by God himself. He thought about it and then told me he wasn't really sure which call it was after all. In recent years, I've contemplated this statement, thinking about the difference between the call of God on the one hand, as revealed through the Holy Spirit's work on our conscience, and the call or influence of other people whom we deem powerful and important on the other hand, what Sigmund Freud would call the power of the superego. I thought about this in the context of church work, about how easy it is for the church to unintentionally manipulate people. And think about Office of Elder and Deacon too. According to Freud, the superego is part of the conscience that deeply feels and responds to the expectations that other people and institutions place upon us. The superego is our receptor site for people-pleasing. Even as a believer, it is easy to become people-pleasing instead of God-pleasing. I thought that was fascinating that it could be the pleasing of our egos that we go into this instead of a genuine, clear conscience confirmed externally by the church as they witnessed those gifts. He said, when I left, and they gave me an honorable sort of discharge, I was set free and I could be honest with myself. I said to him, that's hard. I said, what do you tell a man aspiring to the office to be a pastor who is walking your path? What do you say? He said, appeal to their conscience. I never had a clear conscience. Even though I suppressed it, God calls us to have a clear conscience. And that got me. Because back in verse 9, what did Paul say about deacons? They must hold the mystery of faith with a clear conscience that runs through. The conscience has to be absolutely clear that you're called to this. Paul says this all throughout the New Testament. Hebrews 13, pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience. Now all that to say, if the Spirit warns and Satan interjects men with seared consciences, see the connection? We need men with the best clear consciences in this work clear consciences not insincerity and wearing masks if you're not willing to die for this don't get in it so in verse 6 paul says if you instruct the brethren in these things you'll be a good minister of jesus christ what does that mean what he's saying here is leaders have to take very seriously what the spirit just told you and the church needs to take very seriously what the spirit just told you you've got to tell people this is ministry they need to understand this about the ministry and you need to understand what this is all about because we don't take it very seriously i remember in one of my internships years ago uh there was this average there was this this i remember doing a bunch of church visits and i remember uh darcy and i went over to this couple's house 70s 80s sweet couple from holland we went over to their house i'll never forget right in front of me and his wife he proceeds to deny that he's a sinner and i thought you you you you're in the reformed church you can't say that and uh i had to confront him and say listen that is a doctrine of a demon i probably didn't say it like that but i i warned him about the consequence of his view i went back to the elders and told the elders and they you know this these were the the people in the church who had always been there. They were the folk of the church. They were the people. And the elders did nothing. And the guy took a gun to his head and killed himself. I told you I have to raise the bar high on this. This is what I experienced. The Spirit says you're battling for souls. The Spirit says you're going after people. God's office bearers need to demonstrate that they love people, that they're sincere. Watch your life, he says. you've got to be an example to the flock. Have nothing to do with silly myths. Have nothing to do with worldly fables. There were all these apocryphal writings and Jewish fables. And all he's saying there is you've got to stay focused. You've got to stay the course. Listen, it's that kind of stuff that's led the false teachers astray. You stay with the gospel, the simplicity of the gospel. Don't get caught up and sidetracked with stupid things. In the history of the church, had we listened to that, much more penetrating gospel ministries would have prevailed. Stay focused. He says, watch your life. Exercise yourselves toward godliness for bodily exercise profits little, but godliness is profitable for all things. Having the promise of the life that is now and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. They understood that. There was the Greek gymnasium and they had all the concern about the body like we do today and the youth would work for the game. and they would exercise their bodies and Paul says to Timothy, you give yourself, just like you know they train their bodies for that, you give yourself to complete dedication to God just as they exert their bodies for that, you exert your life to godliness. Give yourself for a different goal and a different prize. Give yourself to the same energy to train your spiritual advancement. This is why Paul would say, I discipline my body to bring it into subjection And lest when I preach to others, I myself should become disqualified. And if you want help from that, you can go back and look at the qualifications we went through. It's how you discipline. He goes on in verse 12 and says, be an example in speech. Stop gossiping. In conduct. Have discipline in behavior with alcohol, with money, in love, in faith, in purity, sexual purity. All of this, Paul was so concerned about character. Remember, these qualifications are loaded with character. Very few speak of ability. Second, he says, watch your doctrine. Timothy, you've got to be nourished. You've got to be reared up on the words of faith, the good doctrine that you've carefully followed. You've got to continue to grow in that. You've got to continue to love that. You've got to continue to be fed by that. You've got to continue to advance in that. You're the model. You've received that. Many of pastors, just like Timothy, received it from their grandmother, Lois, and their mother, Eunice. I mean, they've had godly influences in their lives. You've got to grow in the Word. Love the Word. Isn't it something he tells Timothy? Devote yourself to the reading. They would have reading services where they just came and listened. We don't do that. There was public reading. But the one thing I want to say is the servant of Christ, elder, deacon, pastor, has to love reading the scriptures. Don't neglect that gift. Keep teaching them, pastor. Your job is just to keep your head in the book and keep teaching them. Devote yourself to it. Explain the word and show how that great story of the gospel is unfolded everywhere. That's what Paul said. Woe is me if I don't preach that gospel. When a man is, you know this. When you're teaching something, when you're growing in the word, You are excited to tell somebody else about that. And if you're stale and stagnant, don't expect the people to be very excited about what you're saying. The effectiveness of the leader is bound up with his love for the truth of God's word. The effectiveness of the leader, the Christian leader, is bound up with the truth, the love for the truth of God's word. It's the center of the church and of our lives. We have a pulpit with the word on it for a reason. And we don't set aside the pulpit. In verse 15, he says, let your progress be evident to all. Give yourselves to this. That's how you'll strengthen. Verse 10, that's the end for which we are laboring. Why? We labor and suffer reproach. We go through all of this because we trust in the living God who's the Savior of all men, especially those who believe. And verse 16, persevere in it, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. That's what's at stake tonight. We're laboring to pull people out of the fire. We're laboring to turn sinners from death to life. We're laboring with an aim and a goal of conversion so that on that day we know that these brothers and sisters will stand there covered by the blood of the Lamb, faultless before the throne of God, a multitude no man can number. It's an amazing thing God takes sinful men and places them to be His voice to the people. that through the exclusive, powerful message of Christ and Him crucified, people are brought from darkness into life. You believe that? So don't be bashful then if God has called you to this. Step forward. Step forward. If God has given you a clear conscience, this brother who came to me, the Lord worked on that conscience and didn't let him stay. And that church honorably let him go. But he wanted everyone to know, especially since we're in a country of so many pastors, you've got to have a clear conscience in this. And I am so affected by that because that's all over the scriptures and the Lord knows that with a clear conscience, we will minister with hearts that love God's people. The sheep need Christ. They need to know his love. And we need to know that the battle ultimately in their salvation belongs to him. If Christ loved these sheep so much that he died for them, let all who serve as under-shepherds of the true shepherd, the good shepherd, faithfully represent him. Amen. Heavenly Father, we are grateful that you instruct us in these things and show us what is at stake. There's a lot going on that we don't take very seriously. And we are so grateful to you that you raise up faithful under-shepherds of Christ. Pray that any who have that clear conscience that You would move them to serve, convince them in their hearts, and may the church recognize that, that they might serve well to the glory of Your name and the care of Your people. And preserve Your church from all those who would get in this who should not be in it, who are after their own name, their own glory, and who are nothing more but actors. And may, O Lord, Your church be built up strong in this place and all over the world today with men of God. servants who love Christ and His people. And where we fail, where we sin, which we will, forgive us, help us, strengthen us, and may our reliance deeply be upon You as we look to Your Word for our food and strength. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.