Look for a Working Leader

Welcome to God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in Morning Sun, Iowa. Check us out online at www.sharonrpc.org. We pray that this message will be a blessing to you and that the Lord will use it to transform your faith and your life. Will you please turn in your Bibles with me to 1 Timothy chapter 3. 1 Timothy chapter 3. Continue on in the last of our series for elder qualifications for electing an elder First Timothy chapter 3 and what we've been doing is taking this verse phrase by phrase and trying to understand it holistically through the lens of the Bible So first Timothy chapter 3 if you're using your pew Bibles, you'll find that on page 1053 The first time we looked at it, we looked at if a man desires the position of a bishop, and we talked about what is the position of an overseer.

Prayer for Illumination

Last week, we talked about what does it mean to desire this office. This week, we come to these words. Hear now God's word. This is a faithful saying. If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. a good work. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word. It is faithful. It is true. It is perfect. It is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.

Sermon

So, Lord, we pray that even this morning you would be using it to teach us, to correct us, to rebuke us, to train us and to give us wisdom. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. If anyone desires, if a man desires the office of a bishop, he desires a good work.

I remember hearing a story of one man as they were about to have an elder election. People were asking this guy, why do you think you would be a good elder? And he says, well, I'm good at making decisions quickly. And that was the extent of why he thought he was qualified to be an elder.

Well, brothers and sisters, that is not what this means here when it says he desires a good work. Elders of the church, overseers of the church, bishops or presbyters of the church are to be shepherds, and that means servants willing to do hard work. Look for a man. Your call this morning is to look for a man who is ready to work. It's a good work, but it is work.

I mean, this isn't like a special word for work here, right? The word for work is agros. This is the same word that you would use If you're like ergonomic, right? If you're gonna get a good work chair, right? You want one that's ergonomic, right? One that you can actually do work in, right? It's just ergos. It's you got work to do, guy. What's the work that they are to do? Well, first, shepherding, which is the primary work of a bishop, of an overseer, is sacrificial work. Shepherding looks like serving others.

We've been out of Mark for three weeks now, but we left off with Jesus teaching his disciples when they wanted to be the leaders of the church, and they wanted to sit at the right hand and at the left hand of Jesus. He told them, that's not how it works in my kingdom. That's not how I run the household. In my household, the first will be last and the last will be first.

If any of you wants to be first, you must be the servant of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve. Jesus made Himself a servant of His people. You need to look for a man who is ready to serve, a man who is ready to work. Shepherding God's people looks like doing the hard work of protecting them. Right?

If you were to be a shepherd of the flock, if you were entrusted with somebody's flock, you were put out into the field and your job was to protect them. See, there were thieves who would want to come and they would want to steal away the livestock. There were beasts who would come at night and they would try to attack the sheep. And part of the shepherd's job was to make sure that they were going and protecting the sheep.

Do you think it was easy for them? Why do you think the shepherds were awake at night when the angels came and announced Jesus' birth? Because at night they were awake, doing their work, watching over the sheep. They can nap at times, they might even take rotational shifts, you know, you sleep at this time and I'll be awake and we'll have different watches throughout the night, but we need to make sure God's people are protected.

Protecting from the outside attacks, but also protecting, if you're going to elect a man as an elder, he must be a man who's willing to work protecting also from the inside. Jesus warned that there would be those who would come up amongst, from inside the sheepfold, who would try to destroy God's people from the inside out. Part of shepherding, what we're going to look at in a minute in Ezekiel 34, is those who would rise up as sheep, but would actually hurt God's people.

But if you're going to find a man who's willing to work, he must also work in prayer. Now, if this was chalk and talk, I would ask you the question, I would say, let me know, raise your hand, and I'm not asking you to do this now, but if we were in chalk and talk, you better believe I'd ask you. Say, raise your hand if you ever found it difficult to keep praying during the long prayer. Why? Because it takes work to pray. It takes discipline.

We have this idea with prayer that like when we say, oh, the elders are going to pray for the people, like that's easy. Do you know why how many elders and churches take praying for the sheep and just kind of punt it off to the end of the meeting? You know, it's like this concluding idea. We'll just do this the last five, 10 minutes.

Oh yeah, and God will pray for your people. Because it's hard work. It's the work of saying, we need to take God's people to the chief shepherd and entrust him to his care. And it takes time. When we first started praying for you all at the beginning of worship, I mean, when I first got here, this took us like 30 minutes maybe to pray for all of you. Now it takes like an hour and 15 minutes of the elders meeting every month to pray for you all. And it's good work. but have no doubt about it, it is work.

Look for a man who's willing to work in prayer, who knows not just generally how to pray for you, but they work at knowing you. They work relationally, so they know when they go to God's throne of grace, they're not just saying, God, please care for this person I kind of know out there, but I haven't talked to in six months. But look for the man that you know is actually working and building a relationship with you so he could pray for you. Look for a man who is willing to work and it shows with his leading.

It shows with his leading, his work shows that he works in his own life. If a man desires the office of a bishop, that's a good thing, right? It's a good work that he's desiring, but it is work. So you need to ask yourself, is this man I'm thinking about electing, is he working on his own heart? If he's not working on his own heart, if he's not working on his own holiness, if he's not working on his own self-control, if he's not working on his own speech, do I really want that man working on my heart? Working with my family? working to disciple my children? You need to find a man who is leading already by working in his own family and working in his own heart.

Look for a man who is already feeding God's people. I gotta tell you, right, we think about feeding. Most guys, you know, we think about feeding and we don't give much thought to it, right? Our wives cook a lot of our food. We don't think that much about it. But one of the things I love about being around farmers, especially farmers with livestock, you think about feeding a lot more than I do.

Because if you don't feed, there are certain fields that I know that at certain times, if the animals haven't been fed, and I run past in the morning their pastures, I'm going to hear their animals crying out for food. And those animals are dependent upon, if it's sheep, they're dependent on their shepherds to bring them the food or take them to the food.

Look for a man who's already feeding himself upon a steady diet of God's Word. And he's been leading you in it possibly. Who knows the hard work of going to the well of living water. But he also knows how to share it with those around him. Look for a man who's willing to do the hard spiritual sweat work of shepherding.

But beware. I want to take us back to Ezekiel 34. There's a reason we read all of it. I'm not going to read all of it again. But we need to beware of false shepherds and look to God as our true shepherd. Did you notice that this chapter was broken in half? In the first part of Ezekiel 34, if you've got your bulletin in front of you, it's page 763. In Ezekiel 34, God is condemning the shepherds of Israel. Why? Because they're going and they're caring about themselves before they're willing to care for the sheep. Or worse than that, they're caring for themselves and even destroying the sheep. There are supposedly pastors, supposable elders, who love all the glory, love all the riches, love...

Maybe you shouldn't... If you think you're going to get rich being an RP pastor, maybe you're in the wrong denomination. But if you think you're going to get rich being an RP ruling elder especially, you got something wrong. You don't elect that guy, right?

He doesn't have any common sense. Often it costs these guys money to do what they're doing. There are people even in our American context today, that would rather fleece God's people than actually give them biblical truth, line their own pockets, rather than to actually tell them about sin and the need for redemption. Would rather let people fight with one another, soil the pastures that he's brought them into, than to actually get into the midst of disputes and arguments and help people reconcile. There's actually this one question. This is actually one of the things that made me scratch my head. Verse 11.

For thus says the Lord God, Indeed, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is coming his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. God is going to go and seek the lost. This is the illustration that Jesus uses. He'll leave the 99 and go and search for the one that's lost.

But he also says, And this is where I kind of scratch my head. After he says he's going to feed them, he's going to care for them. He says in verse 20, Therefore thus says the Lord God to them, Behold, I myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. But God is saying that in the congregation, there are people who are fat sheep and people who are lean sheep. Why is this happening? Isn't it like, okay, you're in the congregation, so we're all good. Is everybody in the congregation perfect?

The answer here is no. God as a shepherd knows what's going on even between the sheep. Notice, because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns and scattered them abroad, Therefore, I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be a prey, and I will judge between sheep and sheep. I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them my servant David.

Even in the flock, there are people who will butt heads with one another. But I mean, I'm just gonna say, I know that that's true of maybe churches in the city, but it's never, that never happens at a place like Sharon. No, right? Human nature, sheep nature of us is that we'll try to push each other, shoulder each other, get the best food. Do what we want to do, but look for a man who's willing to work to even be able to take the sheep who might be stronger and say, you need to wait because there are other people who need food. Who's willing to say hard things to people and even call them out This is difficult. This is difficult work, but this is what God says He Himself is doing.

God sets Himself up as the pattern of the shepherd. That He's going to search for His sheep and seek them out. That He's going to deliver them from scattered places. That God Himself will do the work of bringing them to His own land. That God Himself will do the work of shepherding His people, feeding them on the mountains of Israel. God Himself will do the work of feeding them in the good pastures. God Himself will do the work of making them lie down in the good fold and be in the rich pastures. God Himself will bind up the broken. God will do the hard work of strengthening the sick. And then He makes a promise, what we just read.

He'll set one shepherd over them. His shepherd is Jesus. Remember, this is Ezekiel. Ezekiel 34, this is not just like 10 years, this is centuries after David is dead in the grave. So when he says, And verse 23, Ezekiel 34, 23, I will establish one shepherd over them and he shall feed them, my servant David. He can't be talking about the David who is decaying in the grave. He's talking about the one who would come.

And that servant, that son of David is Jesus Christ himself. And so as you look at 1 Timothy 3, verse 1, and you see the man who's desiring a good work, look for a man who looks like Jesus. 1 Peter 5 tells us that elders are nothing more than under-shepherds. And that under-shepherds answer to Jesus, the chief shepherd.

So what was Jesus' work like? Jesus knew hard work. Jesus knew what it was like to be weary as he shepherded his people. Jesus knew what it was like to be just just doggedly tired as he as he cared for and he ministered and he healed and he loved people that he was so tired that when his disciples are sailing across the sea he's just exhausted sleeping in the front of the boat.

Right? Jesus knows what it's like to want so badly just to go with his disciples out into the countryside. Guys, we just need the time to just go away and pray. And as soon as they get to the other side of the shore, guess what's there? People who need love. And guess what people, guess what Jesus does? They say, no, no, guys, I'm done working. It's vacation time. I'm done. The guys and I, we had a retreat. We're going to, you know, go up to the hills and we're going to leave you. Jesus in his Tiredness still works, loving the people.

Jesus himself says that he has no place to lay his head. Jesus knew what it was like to shepherd, to be in the midst of people's lives, to work with them at their highest joys. Jesus was there at the wedding feast. He was also there at the funerals. Jesus knew what it was like to be at the emotional lows when people were at the bottom and at the pit of their despair and depression. Jesus knew what it was like to work even when he wanted to weep for his own friend Lazarus to be dead.

Lazarus died and and he wept so much of the people said look how much he loved him and yet he was still working even in his grief jesus knew what it was like to work even as judas betrayed him and peter denied him jesus knew how to work in mercy as he healed the death as He gave sight to the blind, as He healed those who were maimed. We've been working through the book of Mark and seeing Jesus all the time, and it's like every time that Jesus arrives somewhere, what happens?

There's a crowd of people waiting for Jesus to work. Some of them are there and they want to hear Him teach, but even in His teaching, He's working. And when he's done teaching, he's caring for them. His time of ministry of shepherding was filled with nothing but working, teaching late into the night, feeding thousands upon people. But he was also working and bringing holiness and in judging.

Jesus was not afraid to do what God did in Ezekiel 34. As he surveyed the land, he did the hard work of telling the Pharisees, you whitewashed toons. Jesus knew what it was like to see the fat sheep and see the lean sheep. As the money changers were in the temple, Jesus, as the chief shepherd, was willing to, with His own hands, braid a whip to overturn the money changers' tables and to chase them out of the temple because He was filled with zeal for His Father's holiness. It took work. physical and emotional and spiritual work. Jesus would confront those sheep and those goats who would be shoving their horns and pushing their shoulders and hurting the other sheep and driving them away from God. Jesus came to draw them to himself. But most likely the most difficult work of Jesus was on those last few days of his life. As he labored in prayer. As he went to the Mount of Olives and he prayed all night long. Do you remember what his disciples did when he was working in prayer? They went to bed. Why? Because they were tired.

Jesus was moving, moving, moving, moving, moving. At this point they're having a hard time keeping up with Jesus. And he says to them, Boys, you couldn't even stay awake for a few hours to pray, as he's there sweating drops of blood. Jesus knew it was going to be hard work to go as a sheep led to slaughter without opening his mouth.

Because he was going to work out the plan of salvation for you and me. And if we think the crucifixion wasn't work, Remember just the physicalness of the passion. As Jesus had that cross beam bound upon him as he was walking up Galgotha carrying his own cross.

Every step working because he shepherded and loved and was working for his people's good. When we come on Wednesday night, I pray that you will come looking for a man who is desiring to work. A man who desires to work not for his own glory, but work for the good of God's sheep. Church history has shown us time and time and time again, biblical history has shown us time and time and time again, the disastrous effects of what happens if a man is working for himself rather than being a shepherd of God's people.

I gave you two inserts today. One insert is kind of the bullet points for the sermon for you to fill out. The other is straight from our directory for church government. And on it, you'll see how we have summarized the office of a ruling elder, as well as the duties that we say are ascribed to it.

I would encourage you to read through those two pages, think through the qualifications, pray through the qualifications, but also look at the duties and privileges and ask yourself, if I elect this man, is he going to be the type of man who will do these things for God's glory and for his people's good? Or is he going to do it for his own self-aggrandizement? Will he be like the shepherds in Ezekiel, ruling by power and cruelty? Or will he be an overseer who desires a good work of shepherding God's people as an under shepherd of Jesus?

Closing Prayer

Let's pray. Father, we thank you that you are our good shepherd. Lord, we pray that you would please give us wisdom. Please teach us how to live these things. Lord, we pray that you would please give us a good under-shepherd if it's your will on Wednesday night. But no matter what the election has on Wednesday night, Lord, We thank you that you have promised to shepherd us and to love us. And that you have proven that by what you have done on the cross and the resurrection, the ascension, and what you are doing even today. We pray these things in Jesus's name.

Thanks for listening to this week's message from God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in rural southeast Iowa. We pray that the message would be used by God to transform your faith in your life this week. If you'd like to get more information about us, feel free to go to the website, SharonRPC.org. We'd love to invite you to worship with us. Our worship time is 10 a.m. every Sunday at 25204 160th Avenue, Morning Sun, Iowa, 52640. May God richly bless you this week.