back to indexBerean Community Church Sunday Service 1/23/2022
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We're going to go ahead and start our service with this first song, Enough. 00:19:00.000 |
>> All right, I forgot I was supposed to come up here. 00:19:08.000 |
Just a couple of announcements before we get started. 00:19:13.000 |
So first of all, the spiritual development courses, the sign-ups are still going on. 00:19:19.000 |
Again, I want to remind you, if you need help with the Bible study lab, how to do the inductive Bible study, 00:19:25.000 |
And the first class is happening on February 6th. 00:19:28.000 |
There's three classes, and it's happening at 2 p.m. 00:19:32.000 |
The other one is we have a New Testament survey class being taught by Pastor Peter Chung. 00:19:38.000 |
And the first class is starting again on February 6th, and there's four sessions for that. 00:19:46.000 |
And then one other thing is that we have communion service on that Sunday, so February 6th. 00:19:51.000 |
So please prepare your heart for that as well. 00:19:53.000 |
After I pray for the offering, we're going to have a baptism of our brother David Kim. 00:19:59.000 |
So he'll come up after the worship, and then he'll give the testimony, and we'll have him baptized. 00:20:05.000 |
So if you're new to our church, we have a physical offering basket in the back over there. 00:20:09.000 |
And then after I pray, we'll give you a few minutes to give your offering for the electronic, if you're going to give it electronically. 00:20:19.000 |
Heavenly Father, we pray for your blessing over this time. 00:20:23.000 |
We ask, Lord God, that whatever it is, Lord, that caused our hearts to be entangled with the things in this world, 00:20:30.000 |
that you would help us with your word through our worship, our giving, all of it, Lord God, as an act of worship to honor and glorify you. 00:20:38.000 |
We pray that you would bless this time, bless the testimony, bless the teaching of your word, 00:20:44.000 |
and bless our giving, Lord God, that it may be multiplied for your use in your kingdom. 00:21:56.000 |
For those of you who are outside, please remain seated. While those inside, please join with me in standing. 00:22:27.000 |
The radiance of the Father, before the dawn of time, you spoke and all creation came to be. 00:22:47.000 |
The molecules and planets revealed your great design. 00:22:57.000 |
And everyone was made so we could see, so we could see you are Lord. 00:23:11.000 |
You are the glorious Christ, the greatest of all delights. 00:23:20.000 |
Your power is unequal, your love beyond all heights. 00:23:25.000 |
No greater sacrifice than when you lay down your life. 00:23:35.000 |
We join the song of angels who praise your day and night. 00:23:49.000 |
You left the air of heaven to breathe the dust of earth. 00:24:11.000 |
You came to be forsaken and died to take a curse. 00:24:35.000 |
You are the glorious Christ, the greatest of all delights. 00:24:44.000 |
Your power is unequal, your love beyond all heights. 00:24:49.000 |
No greater sacrifice than when you lay down your life. 00:24:59.000 |
We join the song of angels who praise your day and night. 00:25:16.000 |
You shattered death and freed us from our fear. 00:25:21.000 |
And though we cannot see you, you're coming back again. 00:25:26.000 |
And I will be made right when you appear, yes, Lord. 00:25:40.000 |
Oh, you are the glorious Christ, the greatest of all delights. 00:25:51.000 |
Your power is unequal, your love beyond all heights. 00:25:56.000 |
And you are the glorious Christ, the greatest of all delights. 00:26:06.000 |
Your power is unequal, your love beyond all heights. 00:26:11.000 |
And no greater sacrifice than when you lay down your life. 00:26:21.000 |
We join the song of angels who praise your day and night. 00:27:30.000 |
when my sinking hopes are few, I will hold fast to the anchor. 00:28:18.000 |
Though I justly stand accused, I will hold fast to the anchor. 00:28:50.000 |
Hopeless somehow, O my soul now, lift your eyes to Calvary. 00:29:00.000 |
This my ballast of assurance, seer's love forever true. 00:29:43.000 |
as we draw our final breath, we will cross that great horizon. 00:29:58.000 |
And the calm will be the better for the storm that 00:30:08.000 |
Christ the sure, Christ the sure of our salvation, 00:30:55.080 |
My name is David Kim, and I'm a girl dad, a husband/servant, 00:31:00.760 |
photographer, cheerleader, social media manager, 00:31:03.280 |
and whatever my wife says I am to my wife, Tessia. 00:31:06.960 |
But most importantly, I'm a sinner saved by grace 00:31:11.760 |
Before I continue with the rest of this testimony, 00:31:21.360 |
If I totally botch it and it just goes all kinds of haywire 00:31:24.400 |
and nobody knows what I've said, that was all me. 00:31:26.600 |
So all glory to God, all the mistakes come down to me. 00:31:33.560 |
to hear my testimony and witnessing my baptism. 00:31:36.080 |
I know most of you didn't really have a choice 00:31:39.840 |
but I appreciate you guys patiently suffering with me 00:31:47.400 |
after I watched the Billy Graham crusade on TV with my father. 00:31:50.840 |
I prayed with my father, who was a missionary and still is, 00:32:06.280 |
and was never fully baptized through full immersion. 00:32:11.480 |
just purely out of ignorance-- never received a full immersion. 00:32:14.600 |
To continue, after that day, I pursued God, or more accurately, 00:32:22.000 |
and experienced God's love through my friends 00:32:26.320 |
In my third year at school, however, I grew lazy 00:32:28.680 |
and began harding my heart towards God's voice. 00:32:32.920 |
Instead, I simply stopped praying and reading the word 00:32:39.840 |
And over time, I simply forgot how good God is, 00:32:45.800 |
And I began to ask, is Jesus really all I need in life? 00:32:51.360 |
of discovering the answer to that question for yourself. 00:32:53.720 |
And I'll tell you, the answer is absolutely yes. 00:32:58.600 |
who got to travel all over the world through the military 00:33:01.440 |
and just through some interesting experiences, 00:33:11.400 |
even though I thought I was free in a worldly sense, 00:33:15.000 |
And I often joked that I even couldn't get sinning right, 00:33:19.760 |
So I was a terrible Christian, and I was a terrible sinner. 00:33:22.180 |
So that kind of tells you how conflicted I was back then. 00:33:27.640 |
know it was the Holy Spirit relentlessly pursuing 00:33:40.800 |
to remind us of his goodness, his holiness, and providence 00:33:45.280 |
He continues to be faithful and takes care of us 00:33:51.240 |
We'll just have to get to know each other for that one. 00:33:53.520 |
But as I navigate this next chapter in my life, 00:33:56.400 |
I look forward to seeing how God will be glorified in my life 00:34:01.520 |
And I really look forward to seeing the types of miracles 00:34:07.880 |
and I pray that you are blessed by the rest of this service. 00:35:02.880 |
>> All right, thank you, David, for that great testimony. 00:35:05.660 |
If you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 13. 00:35:17.380 |
We're gonna be in the text in verse 17 through 19. 00:35:22.660 |
And this is a passage that you guys have all been looking forward to. 00:35:32.780 |
they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. 00:35:36.660 |
Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for 00:35:41.820 |
Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, 00:35:44.660 |
desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things. 00:35:49.740 |
And I urge you all the more to do this so that I may be restored to you sooner. 00:35:55.500 |
Gracious Father, we pray for your blessing over this time. 00:35:58.220 |
May your word be honored, and that you would encourage us, rebuke us, 00:36:04.060 |
guide us, and build us up, Lord God, for the sake of your name. 00:36:08.140 |
If our church was a topical message giving church, 00:36:15.660 |
this is one of those passages that you probably will never hear, right? 00:36:21.380 |
This is one of those passages that I know as soon as I hear it mentioned the word 00:36:25.020 |
submit or obey your leaders, there's a cringing that takes place. 00:36:29.540 |
In fact, the very first wedding that I officiated, 00:36:33.100 |
I had an issue because the bride was having a hard time saying the word submit. 00:36:39.140 |
Right, we're equals, what are you talking about, submit. 00:36:41.820 |
And then every wedding, the husband and wife, they exchange their vows. 00:36:46.780 |
And then when it comes to the wife's turn, and 00:36:48.220 |
then in the vows it says I will submit to the leadership of my husband. 00:36:54.900 |
I know every wedding there's always some cringing that takes place, right? 00:37:04.980 |
Because especially if you've been raised in the Western culture, 00:37:09.940 |
questioning leadership is part of maturity, right? 00:37:14.420 |
We're not dumb, we're not naive, what do they know more than we do? 00:37:22.740 |
there's so many things that have happened in government and in media. 00:37:26.900 |
That it's all time low to trust in any kind of leadership. 00:37:30.740 |
In fact, they did a survey and found that 66% of people who were surveyed 00:37:35.740 |
believe that government is deliberately misleading people, 66%. 00:37:41.220 |
Now, if it was just one political party, right, it wouldn't be 66%. 00:37:46.060 |
66% basically represents a majority of people, 00:37:51.140 |
63% believe that business executives are not to be trusted, right? 00:37:56.140 |
Whatever they're selling you, whatever they're telling you, 00:38:01.060 |
67% believe that media is deliberately misleading people. 00:38:04.940 |
So trust in media, news organization who supposedly are just telling us 00:38:10.820 |
facts of what has happened, 67% of the people don't trust in the media anymore. 00:38:16.220 |
Now, all of these things are referenced to secular leadership, but 00:38:21.420 |
it's sad to say that that number correlates exactly with how they view church today. 00:38:29.180 |
They said that the trust in church and its leadership is at an all time low. 00:38:33.860 |
And 66 to 67% of people who are interviewed in our culture say 00:38:40.980 |
And the leadership of the church specifically is not to be trusted. 00:38:44.340 |
So it's in that context we read, obey your leaders and submit to them, right? 00:38:51.900 |
So some of you who may have already looked into this text, and 00:38:54.820 |
maybe you looked at Facebook and said, we're gonna be in this text. 00:38:57.220 |
And if there's one verse that I'd like to skip and 00:39:00.860 |
just kind of not sit in the service, it may be this one. 00:39:05.420 |
And not just for general reasons, some of you, including myself, 00:39:10.300 |
have very painful experience of putting your confidence in a leader and 00:39:16.140 |
And so you have a scar that's probably gonna last the rest of your life. 00:39:19.540 |
And maybe as a result of that, you've determined in your heart that I will never 00:39:24.780 |
So you've resolved, I'm just gonna kinda be there, but to really put my confidence 00:39:30.940 |
and trust, let alone to obey and to submit leadership. 00:39:37.380 |
I've had a friend who was burned by that kind of leadership. 00:39:41.220 |
And I remember him specifically telling me, coming out of that ministry, 00:39:50.420 |
because that distrust of leadership did not come from a vacuum. 00:39:54.260 |
Every single one of us can probably point to, either from personal experience or 00:40:02.780 |
from things that you've heard recently or in the past, somebody who was a leader, 00:40:08.700 |
who was trusted, who was gifted, who embezzled the church, or 00:40:12.700 |
had an affair with his secretary, or completely led to double life. 00:40:18.940 |
In fact, this may not be true of every single one of you, but 00:40:23.580 |
I think most of you can easily name people who have discouraged you or 00:40:30.340 |
they didn't live up to what they were supposed to do. 00:40:32.820 |
And you can give examples, maybe even in the dozens. 00:40:37.340 |
And then if I was to ask you a pastor or a leader that you really, 00:40:40.940 |
when you think of, that's the kind of man that I would follow and 00:40:44.540 |
I would submit to, that you'd have to think really long and 00:40:48.940 |
Every single one of us has had some kind of experience, 00:40:55.900 |
And like I said, it doesn't come from a vacuum. 00:40:58.060 |
I remember years ago, I had a friend who asked me to come and 00:41:04.180 |
speak at a youth conference when I was a youth pastor. 00:41:07.860 |
And basically, it was supposed to be a large conference in Colorado, and 00:41:12.700 |
they had about six, seven churches get together. 00:41:14.860 |
And they got a newspaper advertisement advertising this event with my name on it. 00:41:21.140 |
Saying that Pastor Peter Kim from SoCal is gonna come, 00:41:23.620 |
he's gonna preach to the youth, we're inviting everybody to come. 00:41:27.300 |
And then I showed up, and then my friend kind of warned me ahead of time. 00:41:31.700 |
He said, we were expecting so many people, but 00:41:33.980 |
a lot of them dropped out at the last minute. 00:41:37.820 |
I said, when they found out that Peter Kim was coming, 00:41:40.980 |
they said that they got upset and they just basically called and 00:41:47.540 |
So I said, Peter Kim, how do they even know who I am? 00:41:50.020 |
You know what I mean? What did I do in SoCal that my name 00:41:55.220 |
So basically what happened was, a couple weeks before I showed up, 00:41:59.500 |
another youth pastor made the news because he ended up sexually assaulting 00:42:06.060 |
And the student ended up telling the police, and then it got into the newspaper, 00:42:09.700 |
and this young Pastor Peter Kim was in the newspaper. 00:42:14.260 |
And then the very next thing that was on the newspaper is Pastor Peter Kim is 00:42:21.140 |
And so he didn't even know what was going on, and then he got the news. 00:42:24.740 |
And then so as soon as he found out what was going on, 00:42:29.540 |
So the few friends that he knew that was coming, he told them, so they came. 00:42:33.280 |
But everybody else that didn't have that direct contact, 00:42:36.780 |
by the time that they found out what was going on, they just dropped out and 00:42:41.500 |
Now, as sad as that story is, when people think of leadership, 00:42:49.100 |
if you experienced that, or you knew somebody who experienced that type of 00:42:54.180 |
abuse, I mean, that's tainted your idea of leadership. 00:42:58.740 |
Not just for that moment, not just for that purpose. 00:43:07.700 |
And so as a result, you kind of harden your heart and you said, 00:43:11.340 |
I know what the Bible says, but it's not practical." 00:43:15.980 |
So knowing that, knowing that this is a subject that is cringeworthy for people 00:43:21.860 |
to hear, if it was up to me, I would easily avoid this subject. 00:43:26.820 |
I can spend the rest of my pastoral life preaching, choosing subjects that would be 00:43:35.580 |
And you'd be encouraged and maybe thanked before, maybe even grow the church 00:43:44.860 |
Because there are passages that I personally prefer to stay away from, 00:43:52.660 |
So what I want to do this morning is go through five different things that leaders 00:44:00.020 |
And when I say leaders, I'm specifically referring to elders 00:44:03.700 |
Our church, elders and pastors, they function in the same way. 00:44:07.220 |
The only reason why we separate the elders and pastors is for logistical reasons. 00:44:11.900 |
And I'm not going to get into that right now, but the elders and leaders are 00:44:15.460 |
in reference to because they're the ones who are functioning as leaders 00:44:22.100 |
First part today is for the leadership, okay? 00:44:26.500 |
Because the call to obey and to submit is a conditional call. 00:44:35.100 |
It's specifically to submit and to obey because what the leaders are called to do. 00:44:42.540 |
And so it's not like no matter what they do, submit to them as you would submit 00:44:46.300 |
to Christ because they know better than anybody else. 00:44:48.140 |
That is not the call of what this text is saying. 00:44:52.380 |
It is a conditional call because of the work that the leaders are called to do. 00:45:00.860 |
If anybody's going to be cringing, it's going to be the leaders, including myself. 00:45:05.260 |
And based on that, we're going to move to the second part. 00:45:09.540 |
Only when we understand the calling of the leadership where the second part is going 00:45:17.300 |
It's like, "Well, just because they have the title, you just do whatever they tell 00:45:21.660 |
It's because of what we have been called to do. 00:45:23.780 |
So there's five things that I want to bring up that the Bible makes it clear, 00:45:32.300 |
First call, the first call of the leaders in the church are to be undershepherds 00:45:42.340 |
I am not the head of this church, and the elders are not collectively the 00:45:49.420 |
There's only one head of the church, that's Christ. 00:45:52.500 |
We are members of the church just like anybody else, except we play the role 00:45:57.300 |
And so the role of a leader is to be the undershepherd, meaning that we say what he 00:46:01.460 |
tells us to say, we do what he tells us to do. 00:46:04.500 |
And so we are not leaders independently of ourselves. 00:46:07.700 |
That's what makes the leadership of God's church unique. 00:46:12.020 |
We are not CEOs where we have our own vision and what we want. 00:46:15.740 |
We are simply undershepherds, ambassadors of what Christ desires of us. 00:46:19.980 |
So your submission and obedience to the eldership and to leadership is simply an 00:46:28.980 |
So if the elders are not submitted to the leaders, or elders are not submitted 00:46:33.260 |
to Christ, he does not have authority by himself. 00:46:38.500 |
If you remember the Israelites, if you are a king, there is nobody above you. 00:46:45.580 |
So in a typical setting, if David committed adultery and then he murdered, 00:46:54.260 |
He didn't break any law because he's the king. 00:46:59.660 |
From now on, the king could do whatever he wants." 00:47:05.140 |
There is no justice system that you can drag the king into. 00:47:10.580 |
But what's unique about Israelites king is that he was not the ultimate king. 00:47:19.100 |
And so the kings are established basically to carry out what God desired for them. 00:47:24.060 |
That's why Saul got into trouble because whenever God told him to do something, 00:47:27.460 |
he acted like he was the king and he did whatever. 00:47:33.100 |
So the eldership and the leadership of the church is ultimately Christ. 00:47:39.340 |
And the leadership of the church is simply, we are called to be undershepherds. 00:47:43.820 |
In Jeremiah 23, 21, it says, "I did not send these prophets, but they ran. 00:47:48.220 |
I did not speak to them, but they prophesied." 00:47:52.780 |
In other words, they're not representing God. 00:48:03.020 |
I've been doing this for a long time, so you should listen to me. 00:48:08.820 |
And what they're saying to you is just their opinion." 00:48:13.500 |
That's why we make sure that when we speak, that we're not telling you, 00:48:17.780 |
that my authority does not come from my experience. 00:48:26.340 |
Your experience is just as valid as my experience. 00:48:29.860 |
The only authority that I have is authority given to me by Christ. 00:48:32.900 |
That's why if you read the New Testament, the introduction almost always starts 00:48:37.980 |
by saying, "Apostle, a servant of Christ, a slave of Christ," or "Apostle Paul," right? 00:48:45.900 |
And he's connecting himself because the authority of the letter doesn't 00:48:51.020 |
The authority of the letter comes from Christ himself. 00:48:54.340 |
So, Paul is making it very clear that the content of this letter, 00:48:57.540 |
even though I am writing this letter, I am writing to you, another human being 00:49:01.660 |
writing to you, but the authority of this letter is coming from Christ himself. 00:49:07.740 |
So, we are simply under shepherds, representing who God is. 00:49:14.740 |
Paul says in Galatians 1.10, "For am I now seeking the favor of men or of God? 00:49:21.580 |
If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ." 00:49:30.660 |
Yes, we choose to be your servants because we want to serve you, 00:49:34.580 |
but the calling is not to be a servant of the people. 00:49:39.780 |
That's why when Apostle Paul wrote Galatians 1.10, he was saying that because he had 00:49:50.020 |
Apostle Peter, he's the head honcho among the apostles, and Barnabas was his mentor 00:49:59.220 |
So, if he had any human reason to be shy about what he was about to say, 00:50:06.340 |
It would have been easier for Paul to compromise and say, "Well, you know, 00:50:12.460 |
They're just refusing to sit with the Gentiles." 00:50:15.660 |
But the problem was the gospel was just starting to come into the church, 00:50:23.100 |
And it was giving credibility to the Judaizers. 00:50:26.780 |
So, it could have been easy, like, "Oh, if I say this, what if this backfires, 00:50:29.540 |
and what if this creates a rift between Apostle Peter and myself, 00:50:33.380 |
and what Barnabas was so loyal to me, he's the one who stood up for me, 00:50:42.420 |
He could have had all kinds of human reasons to sweep this under the rug, 00:50:47.380 |
And he says, "No, if I did that, I would be a servant of man and not God." 00:50:53.500 |
And so he comes out and says, "If anybody preaches a different gospel 00:50:56.340 |
other than what I preach to you, let him be anathema." 00:51:05.020 |
If they don't correct themselves, and they allow this confusion 00:51:08.420 |
to penetrate into the church, let them be anathema. 00:51:11.060 |
Even if I did it, even if an angel of God comes, let him be anathema. 00:51:14.900 |
This is this important because Paul is saying, "I represent God, not man." 00:51:22.500 |
First and foremost, the calling of the leaders are to represent Christ. 00:51:27.820 |
That's why his personal relationship with Christ is essential to his calling. 00:51:33.220 |
Not his peachy, not his doctorate, not simply because he had many experience, 00:51:41.260 |
He must know Christ in order for him to represent Christ. 00:51:46.420 |
Christ must speak to him in order for him to speak what Christ spoke to him. 00:51:51.140 |
Through the Word, obviously, because we are simply under shepherds. 00:51:56.020 |
1 Thessalonians 2.34, "For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity 00:52:00.500 |
or by way of deceit, but just as we have been approved by God 00:52:03.420 |
to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, 00:52:12.100 |
Who doesn't want to be in this situation where, you know, 00:52:15.860 |
I've been doing this long enough to know that there are certain things that if I say it, 00:52:20.860 |
like I'm going to have a lot of compliments, encouragement. 00:52:26.300 |
"Thank you so much. I was so wearied and tired, and your sermon just lifted me up. 00:52:31.980 |
And when I hear that, I'm encouraged. I have a better week. 00:52:37.380 |
I look forward to coming to church because everybody's thankful that I'm here." 00:52:41.780 |
Every once in a while, I'll give a sermon and I say something, and then it's like, 00:52:45.460 |
"Oh, he's legalistic. He's judgmental. He's too harsh." 00:52:53.940 |
And then when I come to church, I'm aware there are some certain people that don't like it. 00:52:59.100 |
So if it was up to me, if it was up to my flesh, 00:53:02.820 |
I could spend the rest of my years avoiding those topics 00:53:06.460 |
and just get to those subjects that's going to be encouraging to people. 00:53:11.180 |
But if I did that, I wouldn't be a servant of Christ. I would be your servant. 00:53:16.860 |
If what we do and do not do at this church is simply based upon what you want, your opinions, 00:53:23.340 |
then I've been hired to be the social worker for you. 00:53:28.420 |
And to be honest, earlier part of ministry, that's what I thought I was called to do, right? 00:53:34.820 |
If people come to church and they're not happy and it doesn't grow, that means I'm failing. 00:53:39.500 |
And so I figured out early on as a youth pastor how to get people to come to church 00:53:45.460 |
and how to get them to want to come to church and keep them at church. 00:53:49.660 |
You know, tell a lot of funny stories, and I got plenty. 00:53:57.380 |
And keep it short, keep it entertaining, right? 00:54:00.500 |
So I can keep everybody engaged for a short period of time, 00:54:04.220 |
and then give you plenty of time to go to a cafe, play basketball, 00:54:08.300 |
and people are happy, the church is growing, and you know, my family is taken care of. 00:54:19.660 |
Because if that was my goal, I could have been a businessman, made a lot of money, 00:54:25.340 |
and do all of that, fulfill all of my desires with money, you know? 00:54:32.580 |
But that's not what I'm called to do. It's just so empty. 00:54:34.500 |
So at the end of my life, what if you have a 10,000-member church, 00:54:45.300 |
Other than propagate religiousness of our culture, which is what God hates, 00:54:50.460 |
he says he detests, then I become a propagator of what he says he detests. 00:54:56.980 |
So I remember early on thinking, I am not a servant of the church, first and foremost. 00:55:03.380 |
There's things that I will say that you are not going to like. 00:55:09.500 |
But the only reason why I would need to say that is because I'm concerned 00:55:20.980 |
I am not a servant of man, first and foremost. 00:55:26.460 |
He's the one, 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 4, it says, 00:55:29.300 |
"Not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts," first and foremost. 00:55:34.620 |
Number two, the responsibility of elders and pastors is to teach the word. 00:55:40.740 |
It says in 2 Timothy 4, "Preach the word in season and out of season." 00:55:45.580 |
The reason why Paul is writing that, in season and out of season, 00:55:50.700 |
Paul is sitting in prison. He's about to be beheaded. 00:55:53.100 |
That's the last letter he writes before he dies. 00:55:56.060 |
You know, early on in the church, it's almost exciting to be persecuted. 00:56:02.180 |
Because Apostle Paul, I mean, think how exciting it is that Apostle Paul gets stoned. 00:56:12.220 |
He goes back and he preaches. And he continues on. 00:56:15.860 |
Can you imagine if you heard that if you were with him? 00:56:19.540 |
You know what happened? They tried to kill him. They couldn't kill him. 00:56:23.140 |
Can you imagine the excitement that must have spread in the church 00:56:26.700 |
that this man who was anointed by God literally is just escaping death, just like Jesus? 00:56:33.860 |
They wanted to kill him. He would just walk through the crowd. 00:56:35.980 |
They're hungry. And then they would just find food just anywhere. 00:56:38.860 |
Apostle Paul and the other apostles experienced that kind of miracle. 00:56:43.900 |
So in the early church, even with the persecution, there was this buzz. 00:56:48.740 |
But by the time 2 Timothy is being written, people are actually dying. 00:56:54.740 |
They're being stoned and they're not getting up. 00:56:57.700 |
They're in prison, but they're not getting back out. 00:57:00.540 |
Paul is writing this letter. If you notice Philippians, there's almost this hope. 00:57:06.300 |
Like this has actually caused benefit in the spreading of the gospel. 00:57:10.140 |
This is good. More people are preaching the gospel 00:57:12.980 |
because they're becoming bold because of my imprisonment. 00:57:15.620 |
And he says, I am sure that I'm going to be delivered from all of this 00:57:19.900 |
2 Timothy says, I'm being poured out like a drink offering. 00:57:22.660 |
This is the end. Paul's about to go and he knows it. 00:57:27.340 |
And the church knows it. And the people know it. 00:57:30.740 |
And as a result of that, people start slipping away. 00:57:35.460 |
And so he's writing this letter to his young protege, Timothy, 00:57:39.100 |
sending him and establishing him as the pastor of the church of Ephesus, 00:57:43.060 |
which Paul loved, probably more than other churches. 00:57:47.740 |
And he's telling Timothy, you preach the word in season and out of season. 00:57:54.820 |
In other words, whether they listen or don't listen, 00:57:57.900 |
whether you live or whether you die, you preach the word in season and out of season. 00:58:06.940 |
The primary call of a leader in the church is to not to compromise the word of God, 00:58:14.780 |
There may be greater and greater consequences that come 00:58:18.340 |
because what we believe is in direct contradiction to what the world says. 00:58:22.820 |
More and more, the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, 00:58:32.580 |
So if we are servants of men, automatically you are disqualified 00:58:39.220 |
because you can no longer stand between the gap with the pressure that's coming. 00:58:43.660 |
I mean, right now, in my opinion, it's a joke. 00:58:48.020 |
As much as it's because we've lived so comfortably for so long. 00:58:51.820 |
It's like, oh my gosh, they're erasing us from YouTube. 00:58:55.860 |
Oh my gosh, they're saying that we're giving hate speech. 00:59:01.380 |
Think about what's been happening around the world. 00:59:04.740 |
Think about what's been happening, what is happening. 00:59:07.180 |
People are literally being stoned and burned at the stake for their faith. 00:59:12.700 |
It's just that God has blessed this country for so long 00:59:15.180 |
that any little discomfort, we say, oh my God, it's persecution. 00:59:19.380 |
And if we can't even stand against that, if we're going to fold because of that, 00:59:25.860 |
you're no longer a servant of Christ, you're a servant of men. 00:59:30.060 |
If we pick and choose what we say and don't say because how people will respond, 00:59:44.020 |
Ezekiel chapter 3, 17 to 19, it says, "Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman 00:59:50.780 |
Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, warn them from me. 00:59:54.540 |
When I say to the wicked, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out 00:59:58.340 |
to warn the wicked from his wicked way, that he may live, that wicked man shall die 01:00:03.060 |
in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 01:00:07.300 |
Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from 01:00:11.380 |
his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you have delivered yourself. 01:00:17.300 |
If all you are committed to as a leader is the praise of men, you are disqualified." 01:00:24.780 |
Because you can no longer represent Christ accurately. 01:00:28.180 |
You cannot pick and choose that this is pleasing to men, so I will represent this, 01:00:36.020 |
He says, "If I tell you that this is the state of men and you do not warn them because 01:00:42.580 |
your idea of Christ is mercy and grace at all costs, even if you're going to hell, 01:00:49.020 |
mercy and grace at all costs, and you refuse to warn and call out the wolves that are coming 01:00:55.140 |
into the church, destroying the church, then you no longer are representative of Christ, 01:01:04.300 |
The leaders of the church are called to be an ambassador of Christ, to speak on behalf 01:01:18.300 |
There's a reason why Jesus says it to his disciples, "If you want to come after me, 01:01:25.100 |
Do not think it's strange that they reject you. 01:01:32.120 |
We can't be popular and cool when Jesus is not popular and cool. 01:01:36.540 |
We cannot be loved and honored when Jesus is not loved and honored. 01:01:43.780 |
We cannot live in a culture where leaders are praised while the culture hates Jesus. 01:01:51.080 |
Then we no longer are representatives of Christ. 01:01:58.020 |
If they think he's weird, they have to think we're weird, because we are simply undershepherds 01:02:04.800 |
to teach the word of God accurately, to say what he says. 01:02:09.540 |
Apostle Paul says in Acts 20, verse 20, he says, "How I did not shrink from declaring 01:02:14.940 |
to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly 01:02:20.420 |
testifying both to Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." 01:02:30.080 |
Our primary call of preaching the gospel is to bring people to repentance. 01:02:41.200 |
If you have not tasted the goodness of God and you're committed to nominal Christianity, 01:02:51.360 |
That means every time you come to church, you're being called to turn, because repentance 01:02:55.360 |
means to turn, turn from the world and turn toward God. 01:03:00.760 |
But if you've hardened your heart and you don't want to do that, I think this is who 01:03:07.960 |
I want to live my life where I have these things and I don't want people to judge me 01:03:16.840 |
It's not that you're not committed to Christ or the Bible. 01:03:30.660 |
But it's okay because everybody else seems to be okay with it. 01:03:34.680 |
We're called to preach the word in season and out of season, because the only way that 01:03:41.440 |
you will find true life is not to be comfortable in your sins, but to bring you to repentance 01:03:47.200 |
so that you can have a much more intimate relationship with Christ. 01:03:51.600 |
And if I'm not convinced that that's what's best for you, I shouldn't be here. 01:03:56.320 |
If I'm not absolutely convinced that the best thing for you is to put away your sins and 01:04:04.920 |
to cling to Christ with all your might, even if the things that you're comfortable with 01:04:10.800 |
brings peace and satisfaction, that if I don't warn you and tell you that anything that causes 01:04:21.800 |
you to be distant from Christ is the source of the contention in your life, then I do 01:04:30.480 |
Because my primary task is to teach the word of God in season and out of season. 01:04:36.800 |
Thirdly, the leaders must lead a life for others to follow. 01:04:45.720 |
Leaders have the potential to be the biggest hypocrites in the church. 01:04:52.560 |
Leaders have the potential to be the biggest hypocrites at the church, and especially me, 01:04:56.520 |
because I'm here preaching every single Sunday. 01:05:00.320 |
And what I preach is not something that I can do. 01:05:02.960 |
I'm not telling you because I'm more disciplined than other people, that I'm more righteous, 01:05:06.480 |
that my heart is more sanctified than anybody else. 01:05:17.480 |
He says in Hebrews 13, 7, "Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to 01:05:21.040 |
you, considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith." 01:05:27.720 |
You cannot preach the word of God and say, "Do as I tell you, but don't do what I do." 01:05:37.200 |
A leader, by the simple definition of leader, is when people follow you. 01:05:48.480 |
You're not a leader because you have knowledge. 01:05:50.600 |
You're not a leader because you have much experience. 01:05:56.120 |
So if you cannot say, "Follow me as I follow Christ." 01:06:00.360 |
If all the leader is, I'm going to tell you what you should do, and I hope you just go 01:06:08.720 |
The leader is a person who has been called to stand between the gap between the church 01:06:14.720 |
and to Christ and to tell them, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ. 01:06:21.240 |
So it is not just the preaching, but his very life needs to be in that gap. 01:06:26.480 |
First Peter 5, 2-4, "Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight, not under 01:06:31.160 |
compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God, not for sordid gain, but 01:06:36.040 |
with eagerness, nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge." 01:06:41.000 |
In other words, don't force your opinions on other people. 01:06:48.160 |
And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." 01:06:53.640 |
That our lives must stand between the gap and saying, "Follow us as I follow Christ." 01:07:01.440 |
There's a reason why in the qualifications of elders, everything is about character. 01:07:09.060 |
Everything about the qualification of an elder is a character. 01:07:11.720 |
I mean, think about how people come into ministry today. 01:07:16.360 |
Think about how leaders are often chosen today, right? 01:07:26.520 |
And typically if you're successful in the secular life, maybe that'll translate into 01:07:35.280 |
And so if you have a large business, if you are a famous politician, or you're a doctor 01:07:40.840 |
and you're very well educated, and so by secular reasoning, if you have all those qualities, 01:07:48.680 |
But the problem is, the primary character and the only things that God tells us to look 01:07:58.040 |
And He says, "But he needs to be able to teach." 01:08:02.080 |
I think able to teach is not just talking about skill. 01:08:05.480 |
If you don't have the character, you can't teach. 01:08:14.780 |
You may have knowledge to present, but no one's going to listen because they don't respect 01:08:21.400 |
So even the calling to be able to teach is related to the character, who you are. 01:08:29.360 |
And so He says, a leader not only must understand that he is an under-shepherd of Christ, that 01:08:35.080 |
he has to preach the Word accurately in season and out of season, he needs to set an example 01:08:44.000 |
You can't say, "We need to be like this with our finances, but don't look at my books." 01:08:53.120 |
You need to have lordship with your finances, but I don't want anybody looking at my books, 01:09:01.480 |
Because I want to tell you what's right, but I don't want to show you. 01:09:08.680 |
I remember years ago, there was this one particular church that I was a part of. 01:09:15.560 |
Some of you, some of you, a few of you may know. 01:09:19.200 |
The senior pastor left, and then they were looking for another pastor to come in. 01:09:25.760 |
And as the other pastor was coming in, you know, they found a Southern Baptist pastor, 01:09:34.040 |
And so they were about to make the decision, and all of a sudden, the very next week, we 01:09:38.880 |
had a guest speaker that came, and they loved his sermon. 01:09:43.000 |
You know, and almost overnight, within a month period, they decided to go with the other 01:09:50.720 |
And I was asking the leaders, "What happened?" 01:09:54.680 |
He said, "Well, his sermon, the whole church loved his sermon." 01:09:57.840 |
And I found out that he wasn't a Baptist, he was a Methodist guy. 01:10:02.960 |
You know, and at that time, I was kind of like, "Okay, you know, I'm a young kid, so 01:10:07.920 |
And then he comes in, the first thing he does is he changes the sanctuary, and he removes 01:10:15.120 |
Now, most people, you know, it's like, "Well, what's the big deal?" 01:10:18.600 |
Because Methodist and Presbyterian churches, they have the pulpit to the right, and they 01:10:25.280 |
Baptist churches have the pulpit in the middle to say that the Word of God is central. 01:10:30.040 |
But in a Presbyterian and a Methodist, it's the altar is at the center, so the communion 01:10:36.160 |
So as soon as he changed that, I kind of said, "Oh, okay. 01:10:41.440 |
But that in and of itself was not a big deal, right? 01:10:46.760 |
He doesn't have the same mindset, so it was kind of like bells ringing, you know. 01:10:52.560 |
And then for the first maybe about six months, everybody loved him. 01:10:56.880 |
And part of the reason why they loved him is because they loved his sermon. 01:11:03.840 |
And people loved him because, you know, people at church playing golf, and so he would go 01:11:08.080 |
with them to play golf, and he was hanging out with the people playing golf, and they 01:11:12.360 |
It's like, "Oh, our pastor is like one of us, and he's playing golf," and you know. 01:11:16.560 |
And so they loved him for that because he was one of them. 01:11:20.340 |
And then during that period, I ended up going to another church to join my former mentor, 01:11:27.640 |
And then after about six, seven months, I start getting these phone calls from people 01:11:31.720 |
that there's grumbling and stuff going on over there, and they're thinking about removing 01:11:35.600 |
that pastor who was only there for probably less than a year. 01:11:39.880 |
And he said, "All he does is play golf Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. 01:11:47.640 |
Every time we try to get to him, he's playing golf." 01:11:50.640 |
And the problem with that decision was their whole leadership, why they wanted him was 01:12:02.400 |
Sad to say, in our generation, if you're gifted and you can lead well, you're the guy. 01:12:12.380 |
And part of the reason why the church is in the condition that it is today is because 01:12:17.360 |
We didn't pay attention to the seriousness of what the Scripture says of the high calling 01:12:25.600 |
He says in 2 Timothy 2:34, it says, "Suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ 01:12:33.520 |
"No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life." 01:12:40.040 |
Obviously, pastors are to set an example for everybody else, and the elders are included 01:12:54.400 |
Like, get a job, pay your bills, take care of your children, make sure you have enough 01:13:00.800 |
retirement, my wife is taken care of, that I make proper investments so that I can make 01:13:09.520 |
So is he saying that leaders shouldn't be engaged in that at all? 01:13:19.160 |
Go to the mountain and wear a robe and have no earthly possession. 01:13:29.000 |
The leaders of the church have to be committed to the gospel ministry above everything else. 01:13:41.040 |
This needs to be not just something that you do, but this needs to be your primary passion. 01:13:48.120 |
I remember years ago when things were tough and I couldn't pay the bills. 01:13:54.200 |
I was having a hard time, you know, even just getting grocery. 01:13:59.960 |
This is my wife with two young children, with our third one in the stomach, having complications, 01:14:07.640 |
and the church was so young at that time, we didn't have much help, and then I was going 01:14:12.240 |
back and forth running this business out in Vegas. 01:14:15.800 |
But the temptation was, when I was at Vegas, I was earning about six, seven times what 01:14:25.280 |
And as a pastor, basically I paid the mortgage and then paid for gas, and we didn't even 01:14:34.880 |
So we were getting paid about $2,000 a month before tax, and that was everything. 01:14:43.840 |
And then I go to Vegas and I'm making somewhere around $12,000, $15,000, $16,000 a month, 01:14:53.480 |
I can't take care of my family like this, and if I let go of that, I can't even buy 01:14:58.600 |
So I'm wrestling, and knowing that when I told my mom when I first started going to 01:15:05.240 |
ministry, she was not happy with it, not because of the calling, but because how much she suffered. 01:15:13.200 |
And then so I knew if I told her that maybe secretly she might be happy that I'm considering, 01:15:19.240 |
because Esther and I, we were talking, like if we move to Vegas and I ran that business, 01:15:25.600 |
we can buy a nice house, take care of our kids, pay our bill, and then maybe we can 01:15:29.560 |
just kind of come back on the weekends and put a young pastor there who doesn't have 01:15:37.880 |
We're talking about this, and it's like, well, what choice do we have? 01:15:46.280 |
And so we're going back and forth, and I'm wrestling with this, and I bring this up to 01:15:50.440 |
my mom while I'm driving, and my mom just, you know, I was expecting her to say, "Okay, 01:16:00.960 |
Because ever since I was a little kid, everybody told me that I would be rich, and I believed 01:16:10.040 |
And the reason why is because ever since I was a little kid, I got into just making 01:16:16.280 |
So in the winter, I would knock on doors and I would shovel snow, and I would make money 01:16:21.880 |
And then when fall would come around, the leaf, and this is back in the East Coast when 01:16:26.840 |
It's like the leaf would just pile up, like almost a foot, and then they would give me 01:16:33.800 |
And everybody, you know, everybody would knock. 01:16:36.000 |
They'd say, "Hey, come, this little kid, this third grader, you know, he's going to work 01:16:39.960 |
And then when it got too hot during summer, I set up a lemonade stand. 01:16:43.560 |
So I remember thinking early on, it's like, "Man, making money is easy." 01:16:48.760 |
And to this day, so ever since I was young, like everybody that knew me said, "Oh, Peter 01:17:04.980 |
So when I decided to go into ministry, you know, it's like everything that I was being 01:17:08.880 |
hyped up for, my relatives, my uncles, everybody, it's like, "What?" 01:17:15.880 |
Especially the non-Christians or nominal Christians, like, "What a waste." 01:17:21.360 |
You could have made so much money, Peter, and you're going to go into ministry? 01:17:25.800 |
And so when I finally brought that up to my mom, I assumed secretly she would be happy. 01:17:35.000 |
And when I talked to Esther, Esther would have, like, I knew how much she was suffering, 01:17:38.880 |
and she would have said, "Oh, you know, we've done everything. 01:17:43.260 |
And I know I shared this story before, but it was a turning point in my life, in ministry 01:17:49.560 |
And Esther was the first one that said, "Peter, as much as I want you to quit, you can't. 01:18:04.480 |
"You're going to make money, buy a nice house, and take care of our family, but that calling 01:18:19.200 |
So I talked to my mom, thinking that my mom was going to be, "Okay, you know, you've done 01:18:29.720 |
And my mom looked at me and she said, "Peter, I've never seen anybody do bivocational ministry 01:18:47.920 |
I know it's hard, but you have to keep it going." 01:18:54.920 |
I understood Esther pushing me back, but I did not expect that from my mom. 01:19:00.800 |
And that was just enough to push me over to the other end. 01:19:06.320 |
And really, to really, out of fear that I was going to regret it, I persevered during 01:19:13.960 |
But those wise words from my wife and my mom at that time gave me enough strength to persevere. 01:19:36.520 |
If the leaders in the church are distracted with civilian affairs, you cannot lead. 01:19:45.660 |
If your mind is half here and half somewhere else, you cannot lead. 01:19:51.520 |
If you have one eye toward comfort and one eye toward Christ, you cannot lead. 01:19:58.600 |
This is not something that you can do half-hearted. 01:20:01.160 |
When he says, "We have an enemy like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour," you don't 01:20:07.000 |
go into battle knowing that, not fully committed, not fully focused. 01:20:16.320 |
Because the moment we take our eyes off of what's going on, we cannot lead. 01:20:24.040 |
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9, 19-23, "For though I am free from all men, I have made 01:20:28.120 |
myself a slave to all so that I may win more." 01:20:32.080 |
Paul says he has the freedom, just like any other Christian. 01:20:37.520 |
But he says he makes himself a slave because he's so consumed with bringing the loss to 01:20:43.760 |
Christ, even though he says, "To the Jews, I became as a Jew." 01:20:48.600 |
Imagine the suffocation of living under the law as a Pharisee, and he's finally delivered. 01:20:58.280 |
He doesn't have to obey these commandments that were created by man. 01:21:04.720 |
I was delivered from the Jews, but I became a Jew so that I may win the Jew. 01:21:08.860 |
To those who are under the law, as under the law, though not being myself under the law, 01:21:13.100 |
so that I might win those who are under the law. 01:21:16.640 |
Do you know what that means to a Jew who was delivered? 01:21:21.000 |
He's stepping back into the suffocating law because he's so consumed and so committed 01:21:32.500 |
To those who are without the law, as without the law, though not being without the law 01:21:35.740 |
of God, but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without the law. 01:21:39.620 |
To the weak, I became weak, that I may win the weak. 01:21:42.160 |
I have become all things to all men, so that by all means to save them, I do all things 01:21:46.840 |
for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become fellow partakers of it. 01:21:55.880 |
That's the calling of the leader in the church. 01:21:59.200 |
Elders and pastors alike, we cannot lead if we are not consumed with this cause. 01:22:08.160 |
Because we're not here to build a community of people who love one another, where we're 01:22:13.360 |
going to raise our children together with like-minded people, play softball, win championships, 01:22:20.400 |
take little mission trips, and we have great stories to tell one another, and that we're 01:22:25.760 |
It's like, "Oh, that's such a great community. 01:22:27.960 |
People love the Lord, and they're taking care of each other." 01:22:35.920 |
God called us to be a light in this dark world. 01:22:40.480 |
I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 01:22:43.520 |
He called the church to fight in the midst of darkness. 01:22:46.400 |
He said, "They're going to hate you, because they hated me too." 01:22:54.760 |
We cannot be leaders if all we're doing is talking. 01:23:08.200 |
Why can't I have a business and make a lot of money on the side? 01:23:14.000 |
There's nothing the Bible says I can't make money. 01:23:32.000 |
A leader has to be consumed as Paul is consumed. 01:23:37.600 |
Thirdly, he must keep watch of the people of God. 01:23:44.280 |
You know, this is an interesting word to watch, is agrupneo. 01:23:55.280 |
So an elder or pastor is called not to sleep. 01:23:59.840 |
And it's like, "Oh, okay, I'm doing that already." 01:24:04.280 |
Obviously, he's not talking about physically. 01:24:14.960 |
I remember I was talking to a young pastor who was an associate for a while, and then 01:24:20.400 |
And then after about a year, he started going bald and his hair started turning all white. 01:24:26.640 |
You know, at that time, he was probably no more than 37, 38 years old, and too young 01:24:34.380 |
And this is how he described it to me, what it felt like. 01:24:36.760 |
And he said, "You know, I was kind of a, you know, I was leading some stuff on the 01:24:42.360 |
And he said, all of a sudden, he went to the captain's lounge. 01:24:46.080 |
And then he said, "I realized, like, I have to be awake all the time. 01:24:53.200 |
Because if you're the captain of the cruise ship or whatever ship you're in, you have 01:24:56.760 |
to make sure and see the waves coming, right? 01:25:00.240 |
If you see the, you know, if you see the danger coming, you have to be the one who warns everybody 01:25:08.800 |
Like, "I realized, like, I need to be awake all the time." 01:25:15.240 |
Is a leader in the church is without sleep because he is constantly watching for what 01:25:26.000 |
Our primary concern is one that when you die, you are not under the judgment of Christ. 01:25:36.120 |
You can hate us, despise us, and question our decision, but our primary concern in everything 01:25:42.600 |
that we preach and do is make sure that you can hate us, but at the end, we're trying 01:25:48.920 |
our best to watch over your soul so you are not under the judgment of Christ. 01:25:53.800 |
Secondly, to make sure that your soul is enriched in Christ. 01:26:02.200 |
Your soul is not dancing and rejoicing over temporary things that are also under judgment 01:26:08.460 |
That all of us learn how to rejoice and rejoicing in Christ together. 01:26:13.680 |
And so he is the one who is constantly watching. 01:26:16.120 |
In Corinthians 11, 28, he says, "Apart from such external things, there is a daily pressure 01:26:25.320 |
Who is led into sin without my intense concern?" 01:26:31.120 |
You know, when people come in and out of the church, you know, because of the size of the 01:26:35.280 |
church, it seems like nothing, but if you have people who are laboring over you, praying 01:26:40.000 |
over you, even though we don't have, I mean, as the church got bigger, it's harder and 01:26:43.640 |
harder to have an interpersonal relationship with everybody at church. 01:26:48.080 |
But we are constantly, we're constantly watching over the church. 01:26:56.360 |
Talking, discussing, sharing, praying, because our desire is to see you grow. 01:27:04.920 |
If you're a nominal Christian, you're committed to nominal Christianity, you're never going 01:27:09.840 |
to feel comfortable at this church, and I'm not going to let you. 01:27:14.680 |
I'm not going to let nominal Christians stay at this church year after year after year 01:27:21.200 |
after year, possibly dying and falling into the judgment of Christ, and then do nothing 01:27:27.040 |
about it other than making you feel comfortable. 01:27:29.600 |
So if you're a committed nominal Christian, you will never be comfortable at this church, 01:27:37.600 |
I'd rather have you be angry with me, and wake up and realize what the Bible says, and 01:27:44.680 |
be committed to the truth, than to have a room filled with people who are enjoying life 01:27:50.960 |
and doing everything that the world does, and then realize after death that they're 01:28:04.480 |
Let me give you the final thing, why this is such a high calling. 01:28:16.160 |
James chapter 3, 1-2, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that 01:28:26.560 |
If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man and able to brighten the 01:28:31.800 |
I remember a pastor described this as having two separate lines. 01:28:35.160 |
You have a line from the people who are not leaders, and then you have the line of the 01:28:38.840 |
leaders, and the leaders will incur stricter judgment. 01:28:44.200 |
We are told in the Scripture not to lay hands hastily. 01:28:49.280 |
In 1 Timothy 5, 19-25, it says, "Do not receive an accusation against an elder, except on 01:28:57.040 |
Have you noticed that when there's church discipline for a regular church congregation, 01:29:04.720 |
They sin, and then you confront them, and then they won't repent. 01:29:09.120 |
Then you take a brother with you, or a sister, and then you try to say, "You know what? 01:29:12.880 |
This is something that you need to repent of," and they refuse. 01:29:15.920 |
Then the third step is to take it to the church, and if they won't refuse, then he says, "To 01:29:22.520 |
The three steps is to bring them to repentance, to restore them. 01:29:29.600 |
But when it comes to leadership, it says, "Don't even get to step one, unless there's 01:29:36.000 |
Don't bring an accusation unless there's two or three witnesses." 01:29:43.800 |
You can be, you can say it was a two or three. 01:29:45.880 |
I mean, our church has anywhere between 800 and 900 people. 01:29:51.200 |
If somebody has something against me, I'm sure you can fight two or three, right? 01:29:55.840 |
Like just in my family, I have me, and I could convince my wife pretty easily, right? 01:30:03.880 |
And then get one of my children to support me. 01:30:15.520 |
Is there an agreement in the congregation that that person should not be a leader?" 01:30:25.620 |
His character doesn't match up to the calling of an elder. 01:30:30.120 |
And so we cannot preach, submit, and obey because of that leader, because we don't trust 01:30:37.840 |
So, first, he says, "Do not bring an accusation against an elder unless there's two or three 01:30:42.320 |
But if there are two or three witnesses, he says, "Those who continue to sin, rebuke in 01:30:50.720 |
the presence of all so that rest also will be fearful of sinning." 01:30:56.040 |
So, if there is a consensus, it says to rebuke him publicly. 01:31:07.800 |
Because that person who's in that position that shouldn't be there, and there's a consensus 01:31:11.780 |
in the church that we cannot submit to this leader because of his moral and character 01:31:17.320 |
failing, he must be removed because it will hurt the church. 01:31:22.580 |
If you bring an accusation that doesn't stick, then you've done harm, not only to him, but 01:31:29.280 |
It says, "Do not entertain it unless it's true, unless there is a consensus." 01:31:33.280 |
But if there is a consensus, you would be equally wrong to sweep that under the rug 01:31:41.860 |
Because now you're throwing the church, the weightiness of the church, and you're treating 01:31:50.620 |
He says, it goes on, turn 22, "Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily." 01:31:56.140 |
And he's talking about ordaining, bringing people into leadership, "And thereby share 01:32:03.320 |
So when we ordain people as an elder or as a pastor in the church, and you say, "Yeah, 01:32:18.540 |
We all practice grace as long as it's not personal. 01:32:21.800 |
Then as soon as it becomes personal, judgment. 01:32:36.740 |
He says right off the bat, "Do not ordain hastily." 01:32:41.200 |
He who ordains hastily, when that person sins, he says, "You are also guilty of his sins 01:32:46.760 |
because you took lightly the leadership of the church." 01:32:51.780 |
Some sins are evident going before them to judgment, and their sins follow after. 01:32:57.120 |
Likewise, also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot 01:33:10.200 |
So the only people who are squirming here are the pastors and elders today. 01:33:17.600 |
The reason why I wanted to spend at least one sermon, one part, before we get to the 01:33:23.840 |
second part of calling the congregation to obey and submit to the leadership of the church, 01:33:30.320 |
is not because we're more honorable, that we've been separated, and because of this 01:33:35.880 |
It's because of what we've been called to do. 01:33:40.160 |
And we cannot do it, and we can't do it well without the cooperation of the church. 01:33:47.680 |
And so submitting to the eldership is not submitting to the people. 01:33:54.320 |
If there's an elder or a leader, it starts to get to his head, and he starts having an 01:33:58.480 |
ego, and he begins to think that I must be good, right? 01:34:02.420 |
And you begin to see that pride welling up in that individual, right? 01:34:10.820 |
That's dangerous because I've been in, again, ministry long enough to know that before anything 01:34:19.080 |
And then that pride allows all these other sins to come in. 01:34:25.040 |
But the reason why the church, and the reason why that passage is in there, is because of 01:34:35.680 |
And so first and foremost, our leadership has to take this seriously. 01:34:46.280 |
We have to make sure that we're sober, that we're watching, that we are not compromised. 01:34:52.780 |
And second, you need to help us have a high standard of leadership, not simply because, 01:35:00.680 |
We need more leaders, and we have so many people. 01:35:03.720 |
It's like, yes, we would like to have 30 elders, right? 01:35:08.160 |
I mean, we could use all the help, but we want to be careful. 01:35:12.400 |
We want to keep the standard that the Scripture teaches us to the best of our ability so that 01:35:17.040 |
we do not compromise the integrity of the church and that Christ is exalted in the midst 01:35:24.460 |
And that's going to be part of next week's sermon, that hopefully, including myself and 01:35:30.520 |
the elders and the pastors, are shaking in our boots, right, that we examine our lives, 01:35:36.920 |
our hearts carefully, knowing the high calling that we've been called to. 01:35:42.720 |
And I'll be honest with you, this high calling of pastoral ministry really didn't hit me 01:35:49.080 |
You know, it's like, "Okay, that's something you're supposed to do. 01:35:53.040 |
You have to get ordained because you're going to have to full-time ministry." 01:35:55.040 |
But I remember when the pastors, there was about eight or nine of them who put their 01:35:59.480 |
hands on me, and they were praying, and they were praying in Korean, and I didn't understand 01:36:06.720 |
But I remember the gravity of them laying their hands on me and understanding what it 01:36:13.600 |
is that I've been called to do, and it broke me. 01:36:16.680 |
Like, this is more than any human being can handle by his own strength. 01:36:24.600 |
And so I pray and hope that you guys would lift up our leadership in that manner, knowing 01:36:30.200 |
that we are weak men in need of your grace, so that our church that we are building, right, 01:36:37.160 |
to be a light would start with our leadership. 01:36:53.560 |
You know our tendency, Lord God, to be worried about our future, our children. 01:36:59.960 |
You know, Father God, our hearts, how easily it can be compromised, how we fall into temptation, 01:37:08.720 |
Help us, Lord, to remember the height from which we have fallen, that we may repent and 01:37:21.820 |
Help us as leaders, Lord God, as we are weak men. 01:37:25.040 |
And when you warned us and encouraged us that if you do not abide in me, you cannot bear 01:37:34.760 |
Help us, Lord God, day to day, this week, to remember the high calling of leadership, 01:37:42.080 |
that you will prepare our hearts, Lord God, for what you plan to do with this church. 01:37:48.760 |
Make grace, righteousness, and holiness be exalted, Lord God, in this church in the name 01:37:58.560 |
Would you all stand up with me for the closing praise? 01:38:01.560 |
Oh, sovereign God, oh, matchless King, the saints adore, the angels sing, and fall before 01:38:39.680 |
These sufferings, this passing time, under your wings I will abide. 01:39:06.680 |
To the valley for my soul, thy great descent has made me whole. 01:40:11.680 |
To the valley for my soul, thy great descent has made me whole. 01:40:35.680 |
Yours is the power, yours is the glory forever. 01:41:47.680 |
Father, as you've been merciful to us all these years, Lord, we don't know what's coming ahead of us. 01:41:54.680 |
But we pray, Father God, as the author of Hebrews has constantly been encouraging us to be anchored in Christ. 01:42:02.680 |
We pray first and foremost for our leadership. 01:42:06.680 |
Help us, Lord God, each day to remain sober, to stay awake and watch, to be prayerful, to be in your word, Lord God. 01:42:18.680 |
That we may be proper and correct and righteous ambassadors of Christ. 01:42:24.680 |
That we may simply represent who you are in season and out of season. 01:42:29.680 |
Help us, Lord God, to live day to day with weightiness of this calling. 01:42:34.680 |
That we would desire more than anything else, Lord God, to see Christ exalted. 01:42:39.680 |
To see sinners, Lord, confess their love for you, to be saved. 01:42:46.680 |
Nominal Christians, Lord God, who lived all their lives, Lord God, with their own making of who you are. 01:42:53.680 |
That those paradigms would be shattered, Lord, by your word. 01:42:58.680 |
That you would build a true church that will worship you in spirit and in truth. 01:43:03.680 |
And as you've promised that the gates of Hades would not be able to prevail against it. 01:43:07.680 |
Help us to be the church that you've called us to be. 01:43:11.680 |
Especially as the world, Lord God, is plunging toward immorality. 01:43:21.680 |
But that we would have greater revival, greater urgency, Lord God, to come before you. 01:43:31.680 |
To be engaged in this battle with spiritual warfare. 01:43:34.680 |
That you would build this church for the sake of your name and your glory.