1 Timothy 4: Be A Good Minister to Christ (Take heed to yourself and teaching) by Ho King Swee dated 29.11.15

 Be a good minister of Christ Jesus

1. Warn about danger of false teaching (v1-6a)

2. Train yourself in godliness and be good example (v6b-12)

3. Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, exhortation and teaching (v13-16)

1. Warn about danger of false teaching (v1-6a)

-Forbid marriage

-Abstain from meats or certain food

-Are they Biblical?

How to know false prophets and teachers?

By their fruit you will know them – Matt 7:15

Ask and check :

Do these preachers & teachers have the qualifications stated in 1 Tim.3 (Titus 1)?

1Tim. 4:7  Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;

Don’t waste time on the false teaching but spend time on the truth, the word of God

2. Train yourself in godliness and be good example (v6b-12)

If we are true disciples and followers of Jesus Christ,

 We should grow to be more and more like Christ, otherwise we deceive ourselves.

Are we discipline in training ourselves in godliness?

Have a goal or mission not for this earthly life only but for eternity - 1Tim. 4:8  , 1 Tim 4:12

Share your life and not just your word – 1 Thessalonians 2:8-10, James 3:1-2, Ephesian 4:29.

3. Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, exhortation and teaching (v13-16)

We can’t stop or prevent false teachings but we can and must preach and teach sound Biblical teaching

What must we do to be good minister of the Word?

3 (a) Preach and teach the Word of God at all times- 2 Timothy 4:1-3

3 (b) Preach and teach the whole counsel of God – not your favourites – Matt 28:18-20, John 14:26, John 16:13, Acts 20:27, 2 Timothy 3:16,

Examples:  Ezra (Neh. 8:1-12)

Examples:  Jesus (Luke 4:14-22)

3 (c) Preach and teach under the authority of God’s word- Not make use of God’s word

Isaiah 66:1-2, 2 Corinthians 2:17, 2 Corinthians 4:2,

3 (d). Preach and teach to please God and not men

1 Thessalonians 2:3-4,

3(e). Preach and teach Not for ulterior motives –e.g. dishonest gain, deceive,..

1 Thessalonians 2:3, 2:5

3(f). Preach and teach Christ as supreme to lead people to follow Him

Acts 2):29-30, 1 Corinthians 1:23, 2 Corinthians 4:5, Colossian 1:28,

Application: What must we do?

      1.       Watch and pray

      2.       Train in godliness & be good example

      3.       Devote yourself to obey ALL teaching of the LORD Jesus Christ (read, listen, study, meditate, preach, teach the scripture)

1 Timothy 3 by Dr. Tiong Tung Hui date 22.11.15

Background of Ephesus prior to Timothy

The Gospel went to Ephesus through Apollo.  Paul noted that the Church teaching there was incomplete.  He brought along Timothy to guide the church there.  Timothy was young, he was born of a Greek father and a Jewish mother.  His mother and grandmother were devoted to God.  Timothy joined Paul in his second mission.  After Paul was released from prison Timothy followed him to spread the Gospel.  Later Timothy like Paul was martyred by the Romans.

What is an overseer?

One of the leader of the early church.  Used interchangeable with “elder” or “pastor”.

Overseers also means a group of leaders who watch over a congregation.

What is a Deacon?

Deacon was first mentioned in Acts.  It also means administrator.  A person who looks after the needy and perhaps the finances of the church.  In our example, can be our administration committee.  Here it is talking about the role and not the position.

1 Timothy 3:1

“Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.”

The role is talking about the heart.

1 Peter 5:1-4

“5 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”

The desire to serve is very important.  God gave us a choice whether to serve or not.

What are the standards?

Overseers

      1.       Above reproach – means blameless

      2.       Husband of one wife – monogamy

      3.       Temperate – moderate and humble

      4.       Self-controlled – sound, including judgement

      5.       Respectable – social grace, dignity

      6.       Hospital – opening their houses to visitors or strangers

      7.       Abe to teach – know the Scripture, so will know what is false teaching

The qualities from 1 to 6 are about the character, except 7 is about ability.

      8.       Not given to drunkenness

      9.       Not violent but gentle

    10.      Not quarrelsome

    11.      Not a love of money

    12.      Manages his household well

    13.      Must not be a recent convert

    14.      Must have a good reputation with outsiders

Deacons ( 1 Timothy 3:8-9, 12)

      1.       Worthy of respect

      2.       Sincere

      3.       Not indulging in much wine

      4.       Not pursuing dishonest gain

      5.       Keep hold of the deep truth of faith

      6.       Husband to one wife

      7.       Manages his household well

Women leaders ( 1 Timothy 3:11)

      1.       Worthy of respect

      2.       Manages her household well

      3.       Not malicious talkers

      4.       Temperate

      5.       Trustworthy in everything

1 Timothy 3:14-15

Purpose of this letter

Paul may be delayed so he wrote to the church regarding their conducts.  Because believers are pillars of God’s truth, we are the expression of the truth.  We have the duty to display these truth to others.

What is leadership?

The world’s definition of leadership is very different from our church’s definition.  Jesus taught if you want to be first you must be last.

Mark 9:35

“35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

A leader is a servant as far as God is concerned.  He serve from a position of weakness.

John 21:15-25 Jesus taught His disciples to take care of His sheep. 

Conclusion

Dr. Tiong shared a story of his varsity days where he was tasked to organize a church camp, at the end of it he was short of RM2,800.  After he shared with his pastor, he was reimbursed by the pastor.  He concluded that as we step out in faith God will provide.

1 Timothy 2 by Song Ting Kee dated 8.11.15

Introduction

Timothy was born of a Greek father and a Jewish woman.  His maternal grandmother was also a Jewish.  They lived in Lystra.  Timothy’s mother and grandmother had great influence in his belief in God.  When Timothy met Paul he was a teenager perhaps about 15 years old.  Paul’s life was a great influence on many including young Timothy.  Paul circumcised Timothy.  At age 21 years Timothy followed Paul to minister in various towns.

1 Timothy 2:1

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—

Paul urged the people to petitions, pray, intercede and give thanks to God.

4 key phrases:

Petitions

Prayers

Intercession

Thanksgiving

In general these 4 points refer to prayer.

Another word for petition is supplication.  People have lacks, and not sufficient of things so they needed supplications.  People needed to be prayed for.  Bro. Song shared a story of his student who attempted three unsuccessful suicides.  She caused trouble in school like cutting her follow students’ hair.  Bro. Song asked her why she was misbehaving.  She said her mother told her she wanted to strangle her dead!  Bro. Song prayed for her.  Few days later she told Bro. Song that she repented and was buying foods for those she hurt.

Prayers – in Scripture prayers also refer to God, meaning directing our prayers to God only.  In prayers we are going to God who is the source of all good things.  Go to God for our needs.

Intercession – is praying on behalf of others.  Like Moses interceded for his sister.  Samuel also interceded for the people who wanted a king. 1 Samuel 12:19.

Why do we pray?

      A.      We pray because men have needs.

      B.      We pray because God deserves glory and honour.

      C.      We pray because deep in our hearts we feel the anxiety of a lost people.

      D.      We pray with a thankful heart.

Prayer is bringing all our concerns to God.  These are settled in heaven.

12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man;[a] she must be quiet.

Bro. Song admitted that the verse above is a controversy and he finds it difficult to share.  Nevertheless, he shared that Paul was not being unaware of the importance of the roles of women.  He knew very well that Timothy’s faith was a result of his mother’s and grandmother’s efforts. 

Bro. Song also shared that in the pagan culture in their environment the goddess Artemis had a great influence on the pagan people. 

Paul was a great man of God and he walked closely with God every day.  Therefore, when he wrote this verse it was with the love of God in his heart.

Matthew 8:18-34 What Kind of Man is this? dated 25.10.2015

INTRODUCTION

Mt 5:6,7 Sermon on the Mount – we have King Jesus setting out the character & the required lifestyle of his subjects (his subjects are “BLESSED”).  Jesus the King –the one who has authority to determine who will and who will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

New Creation, New People

Matthew 1v1

Genealogy: Gk Genesis – Matthew wrote to remind hearers & readers of Genesis the first book of the Bible:  how God created the whole world, how God brought about the beginning of God’s People. Matthew is saying Jesus’ coming is like a whole new creation started for a whole new people of God.

MAJOR Theme of Gospel of Matthew:

Kingdom of God expanding & the part God’s people have to play in that expansion as we bring the message of Jesus to the ends of the earth.

Only if a church understands God’s plan will we be able to set our course in the light of it. If a church fails to understand God’s plan for the world, the church won’t have a clue what we it is supposed to be doing. The church will follow all the latest trends.

Intent of Matthew 8:

Bringing together the idea of Jesus the Conquering King who will hold back God’s judgment and presents us with his glorious future free from everything that spoils & wrecks our world (Sin, Sickness, Suffering) TOGETHER with the idea of Jesus the Suffering Servant who rolls back God’s judgment by bearing God’s judgment in his own body on the tree, the Cross

Matthew v18-22 WHAT’S THE COST?

What price would you pay for your place in heaven?

QUALIFIED DISCIPLESHIP – Do something first, then only follow Christ

v18-22 Teacher of law promised/offered too much, too soon THEN offered too little, too late

by being focused on this world (aspirations, expectations, attention – to achieve heaven on earth  (dream relationship, car, bonus, promotion, status, raised income, secure pension) which Jesus did not promised

What price do you think God puts on our place in heaven (perfect existence)?

·         Price is God’s Son – he alone can pay the debt: a huge debt mounting up day by day, year by year;

8:20 Son of Man from Dan 7:13,14 (Eternal ruler)

• All authority, all glory, all sovereign power, all peoples, nations & men of every language for all time
• Relinquish heavenly & earthly, human rights to pay debt we deserve > demonstrates immense value of place in heaven

v23-34 CREATOR OF THE WORLD

Enormous, furious storm - disciples terrified & wakes Jesus

v26 What does Jesus do?

First, Jesus rebukes their lack of faith while still lying down

Second, he got up & rebuked waves – obey & completely calm

v27 What kind of man is this? (What is Jesus like? His nature?)

Incident makes the point that Jesus Christ has all power, all authority over his creation when he walks on earth (Psalm 33:6-9; 89:8,9)

Purpose: focus not on disciples but Jesus

Aim: Show us what kind of man is Jesus –

Eyewitness account very clear:

• All authority, power – Lord, Ruler
• Therefore, demands we put him at centre of our lives: No 1 priority, Right to demand central place

8:28-34 Two Demoniacs

Have you come to torture us before the appointed time?

Key phrase unique to Matthew’s account: the appointed time

Demons recognize who Jesus is – God’s one & only Son with all authority & power; know what kind of man he is BUT recognizes he’s come early – expected him to come later at appointed time when he comes to judge & rule over all people & destroy all wickedness.

Demons know they have a shelf life – days numbered & will face God one day in judgment and that God will destroy them.

Unexpected

Jesus, coming to his creation when he did, is altogether unexpected.

He’s come for a different purpose (Matt 9:1-8)

Uncomfortable

When the Judge comes in advance of the final day, the thing Matthew wants us to notice is that it is extremely uncomfortable (8:33,34).

Jesus comes, finds situation out of control, exercises his divine authority over the wind & the wave, then meets the enemies – the demons – and with a word, restores situation.

Yet, local population begged him to leave: cannot handle this Divine Authority – awkward, uncomfortable because disturbed status quo:

§  His authority is challenging

§  He exposes inconsistencies & hypocrisies

§  He will want to change our lives

§  He is Creator & Lord & has authority over all creation

§  He has come early, unexpectedly

§  He makes us uncomfortable because he asks us to recognize his authority

§  He will change our priorities, our thinking, our agendas, our language, the way we treat our work colleagues, the way we treat our competitors

Q: What will we do with him?

Beg him to leave? Look at 9:1 don’t know the next time the people meets Jesus again, they may never meet him again. If they didn’t, the next time meet him will be in judgment.

ETERNAL & EVERYONE (Matthew 1:1)

Jesus as the very centre of God’s plan for the world:

The 2 big baskets of promise in the Hebrew scripture are:

• Promise to David of a Son who would be a King forever
• Promise to Abraham of a Seed who would be a blessing for everyone

Jesus is the King forever and he is the King for everyone. The eternal King through whom God’s blessing will extend to the nations.

Applications: Talk about it in LG & with one another

1   Discuss the following:

Only if a church understands God’s plan will we be able to set our course in the light of it. If a church fails to understand God’s plan for the world, the church won’t have a clue what it is supposed to be doing. The church will follow all the latest trends.

2   Discuss the following Equation:

Equation:

If make much of Jesus as a church > will do a lot of speaking about him;

If we are not talking about Jesus much > you can be sure we are not much in love with Jesus

If the church is in keeping with God’s purpose for the world, it will be transparently Jesus-centered (FBC ethos, FBC profile).

3   How big do you think God is? Do you think any political leader or devil can thwart the plans of God who put the stars in the sky?

• Be confident: God’s plan will triumph! God will reach all the peoples of the world.

Easy to be swamped by negativity & easily lose heart (restriction of freedom of Christians & our right to tell people about Jesus, specifically targeting Christians in Syria & Iraq for kidnap, torture & execution, people hostile & not interested in Jesus)

• Be focused: First, God’s plan is to reach all the peoples of the world. Second, his plan is to do it through Jesus.

The great evangelist is not apostle Paul, not Billy Graham, etc. The great evangelist is God himself.

4   What is it that will make a man willing to go anywhere, and do anything and lose everything like that? (Example: Henry Martyn, missionary to India)

Whether life or death be mine, may Christ be glorified in me.

5   With the gifts and personality that God has given each of you, how can you be deliberate and intentional in playing your part in God’s plans to reach the nations with the Good News of Jesus Christ?

You’ve only got one LIFE and it will soon be past and only what’s done for Christ will last.