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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/brody-thibodeau/1-timothy-1-intro-goal-for-ministry/
Let's read together, please in 1st Timothy chapter 1, 1st Timothy chapter 1 and verse number 1. Paul an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope unto Timothy my own son in the faith.
Grace mercy and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord as I besought thee. To abide still at Ephesus when I went into Macedonia that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine.
Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions. Rather than godly edifying which is in faith. So do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith unfeigned.
From which some having swerved have turned aside onto vain jangling. Desiring to be teachers of the law. Understanding neither what they say nor whereof they affirm. But we know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully knowing this.
That the law is not made for a righteous man. But for the lawless and disobedient for the ungodly and for sinners for unholy and profane for murderers of fathers and murderers murderers of mothers. For manslayers for whoremongers for them that defile themselves with mankind for men stealers for liars for perjured persons.
And if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine. According to the glorious gospel of the Blessed God, which was committed to my trust. Now verse number 18 this charge. I commit unto thee son Timothy.
According to the prophecies which went before on thee that thou by them mightest war a good warfare. Holding faith in a good conscience. Which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander whom I have delivered on to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
I think that's all we need to read for this message now in in case I don't Get to to focus on the points that I have. I want to tell you that the the goal of my message really after hearing last week about purpose in our Christian life and purpose in different aspects of our Christian life the purpose of my Ministry is to show that there is a purpose to ministry.
We're going to look at it. Really when we get down to Verse number five, we're going to see now the end or the goal or the aim of the commandment. So Paul is going to be giving Timothy instructions. It is going to surround or at least surround the theme of sound doctrine and the purpose of the Instruction and the purpose of the doctrine and the purpose of the teaching is to produce in the believers some spiritual character and characteristics and I think it will be an exhortation for us who seek to minister the Word of God as we look forward to the Conference that we should have a purpose or a goal in the teaching of the Word of God.
What I'm going to do is I'm going to attempt I say attempt. But I'm going to attempt to go through these verses verse by verse. Just get some teaching from them and understand a little bit of what Paul is trying to express in the opening verses of 1st Timothy.
1st Timothy we know is one of what we call or have categorized as the pastoral Epistles it does not mean that Timothy was the pastor of the church in Ephesus. But it has to do with with shepherding or guiding the assembly in Ephesus with guiding this man Timothy as he seeks to lead or to at least teach the flock in Ephesus and Titus and 2nd Timothy also fall into that category.
I would say and We can discuss this. That's why I want to go first so we could discuss this at lunch. I For the writing of this epistle the first one could be To give assembly teaching. I believe this epistle was written not only to be read by Timothy personally.
But there are at least two different Indications in the letter that tell me it was going to be read to the assembly in Ephesus. The fact that the Apostle Paul chooses the apostolic greeting in this letter is very Significant.
If it was just a letter to Timothy, he would not have to remind him of his authority in Laying out these things. So I feel that when this letter was going to be read to the entire Assembly in Ephesus and it was going to be addressing some of the error that needed to be corrected in Ephesus and it was going to carry with it teaching that would instruct the assembly as to how to behave in the house of God.
The Apostle uses Paul an Apostle of Jesus Christ so that none would doubt the authority that these words carried. I think that's important. Also the final verse of this epistle could be Addressed to a group in the plural when he says grace be with thee.
It could actually be grace be with you or all of you. So this letter was going to be at least applicable to the assembly to promote assembly teaching. It was also going to be to encourage Timothy. Wasn't it?
It was going to be encouraged this Matt to encourage this man Timothy in the work that God had for him. To encourage him to continue to encourage him to be bold when be Confident in the teaching and to be confident in the presentation of the teaching and to be confident.
I think that is a theme that needed to be Emphasized. There's the word needed to be emphasized to Timothy because Timothy had been given a gift. Timothy had character, but Timothy needed to step up and in confidence really Administer the gift that God had given him so it was to encourage Timothy as well.
But the part that we have read Is another purpose for this epistle and it is to to warn and rebuke false teachers and false teaching. I Am convinced in in reading the epistle closely. There were at least three different types of false teaching that were affecting the assembly in Ephesus.
The the final one chronologically is found in chapter 6 it has to do with with what is called science falsely so-called it really has the idea of knowledge or Philosophy and I think that is something that not only was applicable in the day of Timothy in Ephesus.
But it is applicable in our day today. Because those men you look at it carefully in chapter 6. The men who were taken up with philosophy. Were not interested in the building up of the flock. They were those men who?
Associated religion with a means whereby to get rich. You read it. There were those who thought that gain is godliness and if they were profiting off of the believers they were godly and they Accomplish this not by teaching the Word of God, but by teaching Philosophy and we are affected by this today brethren and sisters.
I want to say this carefully. But I say it with conviction if the basis of our teaching from this platform is psychology. We are not teaching Properly and it's dangerous. Because with great swelling words of knowledge and science falsely so-called.
These men divided the people of God and they got their own following and they got their own Means of revenue. I know that sounds crude and it sounds hard, but that's what happens even in today's World we need to be careful.
Another form of the false teaching Was Gnosticism that's that's what's given to us in chapter 4 really because they were saying abstain from meats and forbidding to marry it was that Gnostic teaching that had to do with the the evils of Flesh and the ease evils of the physical world which would eventually lead to them denying the resurrection in 2nd Timothy that teaching was poisonous to the Lord's people and Paul wrote this letter to address That teaching but the teaching that we were addressing in chapter 1 has to do with the the Jewish teaching of the fables or the speculative teaching of the rabbis that which was going to be pointless we will see.
It was not going to edify the Saints and we will see if we were if we're given time here if we have time We'll see that it wasn't actually Doing what God had intended ministry to do so all three of those false teachings should be on our radar as Assembly believers we should be watching out for the weak watered-down ministry that begins with psychological theory.
We should be watching out for the Gnosticism for that which seeks to deny the Spiritual that which seeks to deny the foundational doctrines of Scripture and we need to be careful. That even though men seem to be presenting the Word of God That they actually have a point To their ministry and a focus.
Because we want to see the people of God edified don't we? That's our goal you you need to take everything Contextually in its context. I know there are Bible students here who are much better at Conveying these themes than I am.
What I did when I first began to study the Bible is I thoroughly Enjoyed word study. I I still do to this day. I use all of the different tools I can get to study words and you study words and their meaning.
You study words in their origin you study words. And then you start to think well because that word means this then I know the meaning of every passage that that word contains. Right until I found out that context means something until I found out that words have what's called a semantic range.
So there is a range of meanings that a certain word can have Depending on the setting in which it is found in the scriptures. And then I started to apply the rule of context to everything and I found out that the Bible begins to unfold itself in its interpretation much more readily and much more easily when I look for the reason for the setting for the Context in which everything is found and I believe the same thing is true and important when you approach a book from the Bible.
This epistle As I as I have I feel sufficiently proven was written to an assembly or at least to be read to an assembly. That assembly is found in other places in the scriptures and by looking in other places in the scriptures.
You will find out more about this assembly and the reason that Paul had to write. You look back now in the book of Acts. We find that this city of Ephesus. According to Acts chapter 19. There was a man who stood up and he said we know there is one thing we know about Ephesus is that we are a worshiper of the goddess Diana the key Aspect or the key element of this city is that we worship the goddess Diana.
There's a temple that has been created and established To the goddess Diana with all of those pillars like we were hearing last week. Which is going to be taken up in chapter 3, I believe but that temple with those pillars.
It was not only the religious persuasion of the the pagan religion in Ephesus but it was also integrated closely with their economy and many people drew their Income and made money from their religion.
Now think about that for a second. That might make sense when you read chapter 6. I'm talking now context, right? If they always saw that religion was going to be a means of gain and that was Demetrius the silversmith.
Where he said that when these men are preaching they're taking away our money because when they take away the people from our Religious beliefs they are taking away the money that the people were giving us for making these idols and it makes sense.
Why someone would confuse that and in chapter 6 begin to think that religion was really a form of gain. There's something else. I want you to see About Ephesus is that in that city Where they worship that pagan God so closely and at least What looked like they were committed to there was a message that came a message that changed people.
Completely you follow Ephesus through the book of Acts and when Paul was preaching there would be an uproar in the city. There was an uproar in the synagogue. I believe he stayed there for three months where he taught in the synagogue that this was the Christ.
Jesus was the Christ. He taught then in the school of Tyrannus and and the key I believe to Paul's teaching is it says mostly in those passages He preached the Lord Jesus. He preached the Lord Jesus. And when you come to Acts chapter 20 where he addresses those Ephesian elders as we heard last week in On Sunday afternoon, we find that Paul says I preach the same thing both publicly and from house to house repentance toward God.
Even faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And the two of those phrases Lord Jesus and repentance toward God are almost synonymous. Because when Paul would preach the Lord Jesus he was preaching more than just a name and he was preaching more than just Jesus.
I would say he was preaching more than just Christ Jesus or Jesus Christ. He was preaching the essential. He was preaching the absolute need for repentance with this gospel. That's what he was preaching.
So you watch as these men now take about 50 ,000 pieces of silver worth of books that were connected with their past that were connected intimately and and closely with their religious beliefs of the past and even their families would have been connected with these books and they would have.
They would have been severing ties with everyone who kept with that religion and they took all of those books and They burned them in a fire and they completely turned from serving those idols. I think the words of Thessalonians could apply to them.
They turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God not just with their lips. Not just with their feet. But with their entire possessions their entire life was changed and it was marked by repentance.
You know what? I enjoy from that the gospel that he preached had a life-changing effect on the people who claim to believe it. There it is. Fantastic, isn't it? You know What Paul preached? Was completely contrary to the culture in Ephesus.
Furthermore if his doctrine had been similar or Had been able to assimilate Into the culture in Ephesus. There never would have been a book burning. There never would have been an uproar. There never would have been a change.
We live in a I live in Canada and you live in the United States. But we live in in a similar Religious climate. I could say we live in a religious climate that Has an evangelical world that is seeking to assimilate the Christian message into Popular culture.
A world full of people who are claiming to preach the gospel. Who don't mind when people confess Christ and there's no change in their life. A World full of people where there are particular pockets in this country and in my country where people grow up in a church.
They say a prayer and then they are called a Christian and they live their life. Just like everybody else sometimes worse than everybody else and their Christianity is a part of their culture. And in that culture, there is a very dangerous trend for parents to stick up for the false profession of young children and in that culture there is a very dangerous trend of parents who continue to stick up for adult children who have never showed signs of life in Christ and the only way you can take Christianity and Assimilate it with the culture that we currently live in is if you leave out repentance, but if you leave out repentance, you're going to have an assembly full of unconverted people.
If you leave out repentance in the necessity of an actual conversion. In the life of a person if you leave that out. You're going to have a lot of problems trying to teach those people. Don't be surprised if the conversions that you claim to be witnessing don't produce a life-changing effect if you don't preach repentance.
See, I'm saying this because it's necessary. If you are preaching the Bible not only preaching Jesus. Not only preaching Christ crucified by preaching the necessity of repentance and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord.
If we're not doing that We cannot expect to have strong Assemblies on my watch. I haven't gotten to my text yet. What's important isn't it the context. The message produced results. You'll also know that in The Ephesian Church Paul did approach those elders and we were told that last week on Sunday afternoon when when he approached them and he told Them take heed to yourselves and to the flock that little flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers.
He purchased it with the blood of his own. He has now committed or entrusted those people and their safekeeping. Doctrinally and morally to you you are responsible now to protect them from false doctrine.
You are responsible to protect them from those wolves that will come in from the outside. You are responsible to be diligent and Vigilant in watching for those who will rise up from the inside. And you're seeing that the context is making so much sense.
Isn't it. And then you go to Revelation which I'm not going to spend much time in but it talks about. There the the the Lord Jesus is addressing them and he says you have left your first love. Left your first love.
And while I'm not ready to interpret that for you or even apply it in a broad sense I will say this at the very least. What happened in Ephesus in the changing of the doctrine in the teaching? Affected their devotion to the Lord Jesus.
So you see the wide-ranging effects that false teaching will have on this one assembly and We get to verse 1. Let's go there. Paul an apostle we already touched the significance of the word apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.
Which is our hope. The commandment here could be the idea of the authority that he is now going to claim. Teaching what he is going to teach. But I think it goes beyond that and you'll realize that I'm moving more quickly over the first couple of verses now it goes beyond simply the authority that he has to the Responsibility that he has to carry this teaching out having been given now you'll notice in your own study throughout first Timothy that the church or Stewardship or that which has been entrusted to Paul and entrusted to Timothy takes a major place in the epistle because God had given them a trust a deposit.
Something that they had that they were to use for God and they were responsible to God for how they used it. They were responsible to God for how they administered What they were given and this word can carry with it that connotation not only the authority that he had to teach this but the Responsibility that he had to teach this and it should be really something that every single leader in the assembly seeks to model.
Those who are in oversight and those who have the responsibility of teaching we must remember. That we have something that's been given to us by God that we must answer to God for how we use it Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope.
I take that to be more than just the hope. That that is the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, but all of God's purpose. And I say that in the singular but all of God's purpose in Christ wrapped up in this one person.
On to Timothy on to Timothy now this might have to be a two-part message. I'm going to readily admit failure at this point for covering covering my entire text, but I hope we'll get some teaching from it.
Timothy. Timothy was a man who was being used by God. I am convinced because of his character. Timothy was a man of character. We understand of course that names in the scriptures are significant. Names are more than just a way of indicating a person.
They are a way of describing at times his character and the name Timothy really means he who honors God. So from the beginning we know that Timothy is a man who sought not his own honor. But he sought to honor God and that's a man who can be used by God for this purpose.
The man who seeks to honor God. Timothy we also understand that Timothy was a man who knew the scriptures. Because from a child he has known the holy scriptures. So a man who is able to be used by God first has a motivation to honor God.
And he becomes familiar with the Word of God so he can teach it. I Sometimes think we fail to see the significance of the little things brethren the little things I Would be completely unable to teach the people of God if I do not become familiar with the Word of God.
It's essential. No matter my motivation if You're a young brother here who seeks to honor God and help the Lord's people you may never be a teacher. But no matter the function that God has for you you're going to have to know the scriptures.
So read it. Study them. Enjoy them. That is something we can get great joy from. The study of the scriptures. But practice them. So those are two things about Timothy and how he's going to be used but we find now.
When you go to Philippians chapter 2, I think it's a very telling statement about Timothy. Timothy was a man who cared a man who cared for. I have no man like-minded. Who will naturally care for your state or words that I would love to be said of me.
Timothy was not a man who was out for self. All seek their own. All and he's talking about believers now. He's talking about believers who would actually be in attendance at the meetings. They would be perhaps even taking part in some of the meetings, but when it came down to actually Sacrificing something real in their life for others in the assembly and for the purpose of God.
You couldn't find them. There was no man like Timothy. Whose care for those people? Exceeded his concern for his own well-being. Brethren, this is a man that is going to be trustworthy. It's a man who cares for the Lord's people if you're on the oversight of a local assembly.
I speak to you respectfully and I speak to you in humility. You better care for those people if you're going to get up and and teach the Word of God To the Lord's people. It won't be too long till they figure out whether or not you care.
That care is essential brethren. You know, it'll help us with that care is when we conscientiously choose. Not to fulfill every single desire that we have even though they're legitimate. Well, this is my time.
This is my my Thing these are my things and everything is my my my. Timothy was no. I don't own anything. I am here because I care for these people and I desire their benefit that that's a lofty standard right there.
But that's why Timothy was so trustworthy. I think that is it's good for us to understand also that Timothy was submissive. Now these are the characteristics of a man who's going to be used mightily by God.
He seeks to honor God. He knows the Word of God. He is a care for the people of God and he's submissive To those who are seeking to lead him you see it. You see it in different areas but you see it when Paul went to take him on the missionary journey and Timothy's father was a Greek and his mother was a Jewess and there was going to be a Confusion.
Yay. Timothy would not even be able to go in the synagogues to help Paul teach if he was not Circumcised and this man Timothy we don't see any any line in the scriptures that says he Protested when Paul asked him to go to that extreme measure.
Now for me it would be an extreme measure but when you think of it he was willing to go through that to simply obey and Submit to the leadership of an older man who was seeking to guide him and all of those things taken together.
I'm going to say them again his character and the fact that he was seeking to honor God his familiarity with the Word of God. The fact that he was willing To Care for the people of God naturally, and he was willing to submit to leadership made this man a man of character who was able to be.
Here's the word. Trust it With the important things. Trust it with the important things. This man Timothy and it says here. He's his own son in the faith that has to do with his conversion under the preaching of the Apostle Paul.
I'm sure it says in verse number three that he was besought to abide. Paul besought him to remain there continue on at Ephesus when I was in Macedonia that thou mightest charge some. That they teach no other doctrine.
There may be time. I'm not going to take time away from my brethren this morning. There may be time for me to complete this message. I hope that it doesn't actually undermine the purpose of my message which is That ministry should have a purpose.
The teaching of the Word of God should have a focus a purpose and a goal and We may look at that later on in the conference, but remember Timothy his character. Remember Timothy and the trust that was committed to him and remember Remember the importance of the teaching of the Word of God.