OVERSEER OF THE BODY part 2

“Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach…”
I Timothy 3:2

Previously in looking at the qualifications of an overseer, I left with encouraging you to evaluate your life in the three areas we discussed. Those qualifications included being the reflection of one who is blameless, your devotion and marriage only to God, and not giving of yourself over to the aftertaste of sin on your breath. Again, our lifestyle speaks more than our words. But as we continue on with I Timothy 3:2 today, let us look in depth at the remaining four qualifications just found in this verse.
The next qualification to make the list is the word ‘self-controlled’. Let me start by saying that this is a different self-control than the fruit we read about in Galatians 5:23. In the Galatians passage the word is EGKRATEIA, meaning to be one who masters his desires and passions. Here in I Timothy, though, Paul uses the word SOPHRON, meaning also the curbing of desire, but more so the fact of being of a sound mind or sober in thought. In the physical, a minister needs to have his or her mind fixed on God’s ways, sober to the mindset of what and how God desires to move. He cannot, or should not, move based on society or fear of what the church may think, but should be stepping out in the truth that God is speaking. This fact revolves around the being one with God. But in the greater definition of us all being ‘episkope’, we all need to be in the same mindset with God. We all need to curb our desires and be sober in the ways of God.
While more can be said regarding self-control, we move to our next qualification which is stated as being ‘respectable’. In the Greek we read this word as KOSMIOS, from the root word KOSMOS. Kosmos is defined as a harmonious arrangement or order. Kosmios is defined as well arranged and modest. The root and variant both involve the same context, that of order. An ‘episkope’, whether behind the pulpit or in the greater meaning of one who is searched by God, needs to be one who is orderly. Now while this can mean physical order, I think it can just as well mean spiritual order. We must strive to be those who search out the truth, apply the truth, and share the truth. It is no surprise that there are many theologies just within the church that battle for supporters, but I urge you to study out God’s Word for yourself. Taking the belief of other preachers, or even other family members, is not being well arranged as much as it is being lazy. Dig for yourself and allow God to arrange and order your belief based on His truth.
The qualification of being ‘hospitable’ is the Greek word PHILOXENOS, and is a literal translation. We as ‘episkope’ should be hospitable and generous to others. This same word is found in I Peter 4:9, where Peter writes, “Use ‘philoxenos’ one to another without grudging.” We are not to murmur or debate the fact on a list of pros and cons, but are simply to be generous. The fact is this can be harder done than said. What if we do not want to be hospitable, are not able to be hospitable, or are just afraid of being taken advantage of when being hospitable? I wish I had an answer for these concerns, but all I can say is what I am now saying to myself. The example of Christ was that of a servant. I see now that I need to serve a little more, trusting that what I am doing is His will.
Lastly in I Timothy 3:2 we read the qualification of being able to teach. I have actually heard this piece taught as the ability to teach, as well as the fact of being teachable. To end the debate, the word in the Greek is DIDAKTIKOS, and it translates into an apt and skill in teaching. In the pastoral sense, it makes sense that a pastor should be one who is able to teach the crowd, draw them in, and leave them with a point or two to ponder at home. But is this true also of the greater definition of ‘episkope’? I venture to say yes. When approached or challenged concerning your beliefs, are you able to share on the terms of the listener what you believe? Are you able to teach them about God in a skillful and sensible way, or do you leave them wondering what your are trying to say? I am not saying we all have to be scholars and English teachers, but am suggesting that we know what we believe so that we can clearly share our beliefs with others.
In just one verse we have defined seven qualifications of an ‘episkope’. I share these qualifications not to sway you to begin judging your pastor, but to encourage you to perhaps judge yourself. We are all ministers as we are all being watched. And the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words is truer than we think. What thousand words are being spoken of others about you as they look at your life and your Christian title? Are you an ‘episkope’? If not, then perhaps this is a good time to begin letting God search us out, challenge us, and sharpen us to meet these qualifications He has put in place.

OVERSEER OF THE BODY part 1

“Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach…”
I Timothy 3:1-2

Last week in church a wonderful thing happened to me personally. As the service was closing, my pastor put before the church the question of bringing a fellow member and myself on to the board. The vote was cast and the ‘yes’ vote won. But the happiness I felt was not because of a title but because a promise was beginning to be fulfilled. You see, when I was a child, as I have shared before, it was prophesied over me that I would be a pastor. At the time being a pastor was far from my mind. What child still in his single digits in age desires to enter the ministry when there are so many other occupations available? But as time continued on, and so did the same words prophesied by others, my heart began to change.
It wasn’t all that long after that instead of running from these words that I was embracing these words. I set out for seminary and graduated with my pastoral training under my belt in 1998. Three months after graduating college, however, things would change. Having explained prior to marriage where God was leading me, my dreams were halted once the honeymoon was done. The subject of this prophesy became the cause of many arguments and soul-searching. Yet I also came back to the same truth. I felt God pushing me into ministry. In 2007, following our divorce, a part of me thought, “Now you can run after what God first gave you years ago.” The only problem, though, was that in the eyes of many I was damaged goods. One pastor even bluntly told me that God would never use me for more than a Sunday School teacher because divorce was in my background.
Imagine that; imagine being told that for a divorce you did not elect to get, you now would be unable to proceed in the dream you had, or even more, in the calling God gave. Imagine the pain I felt when life suddenly wasn’t as exciting. For years I had felt the pit of not following this desire already, and now people were encouraging me to give up still. But why would God give me this prophesy, knowing all that would happen in my life, and then not somehow make a way? Does not the Bible say His word will not return void? So I then began to look at the qualifications of a minister as named in I and II Timothy and Titus, and it is from these books I wish to share with you over the next few days.
So let’s jump right into Paul’s first letter to Timothy and see where we land. According to Paul, seeking to be an overseer is a noble task. But what exactly is an overseer? The Greek word for this title is EPISKOPE, and means an elder or bishop. This same word has a little deeper meaning to it, however. It is also defined as the act by which God looks into and searches out the ways and deeds, or character, of man. Thinking this in true context then, we read that a trustworthy saying is, “anyone who sets his heart on being searched in character desires a noble task.” Regardless of if I ever step foot into full time ministry or not, this is what I want. I want God to take His fine microscope over my life and find the things that are not right in me so that I can get them changed. I want to live a life that expresses Him and His ways. Do I want it for nobility reasons? No. I want it simply because I do not want a gap in my relationship with Him because of a sin that I refuse to get rid of, or a behavior I want to hold on to. How many blessings have I already missed as a result of holding on to things that block His ways?
As we move on to the supporting verses, we begin to find exactly what the qualifications are for both those seeking ministry roles, as well as those who desire to stand before God during His searching. We find in I Timothy 3:2, the first qualification is being above reproach. Honestly, I do not think this is a term we use to define people much anymore. The word itself in the Greek is ANEPILEPTOS, and it means blameless, not apprehended, and one who cannot be reprehended. How many people can we say are blameless? I consider myself to be a pretty good guy, be even I do not think I could honestly say in full that I am above reproach. But notice too that the word alludes to not being apprehended. Apprehended by what, or whom? I have to be honest and admit that the first apprehension that comes to mind is that of being apprehended by sin. Maybe it is safe to say that the first qualification to being an ‘episkope’ is to not be in agreement with sin in any fashion.
The one seeking to be an ‘episkope’ must also be the husband of but one wife. Now this one seems pretty much straight forward, yet it was this one that I was told would un-qualify me from ever entering into the ministry. The actual phrase in Greek reads, ANER MIA GUNE, husband of only one wife. The term ‘of only one’ is defined by some as meaning that the person who is ever involved in divorce stands no chance of being involved in the ministry. Others define this term as meaning that we should not literally have multiple wives as was custom in the Old Testament days. But if we take the definition of overseer in relation to this qualification, would it still make sense to say the divorcee can never enter into ministry? Can the divorcee not be searched by God in his ways, deeds, and character? And consider this fact as well. We cannot be married to both God and sin as in so doing we do marry more than one.
The last of the seven qualifications found in verse 2 that I want to look at today is the qualification of temperance. The term is NEPHALEOS in the Greek, and it translates as sober and abstaining from wine. Now while I myself am not one who gives into drinking anymore, I do not judge those who do. We probably have all heard enough from the pulpit to know that water in Jesus’ days did not have the same filtration systems we use today, and as a result wine was normally drank. But it is the engorging of drink that makes one drunk, and therefore not temperate. That said, drunk people seem to make decisions while intoxicated that can be questionable, to say the least. So to prevent these questionable decisions, Paul encourages us to not be drunk with physical drink. But as one who wants God to search all aspects of himself, and be found in the greater definition of ‘episkope’, I must be sober also from sin. I cannot afford the wine of sin to intoxicate me and in the end be the reason that this office passes me by.
In closing today, I want to encourage you. I want to encourage you to evaluate your life in these said areas. While you may never be ordained and stand behind the pulpit, you do have the ability to minister to others with your life. Does your life reflect one who is apprehended by sin, married to God and sin, and drunk on the wine of sin? Or does your life reflect one who is blameless, devoted and married only to God, and not giving over to the aftertaste of sin on your breath. Our lifestyle speaks more than our words. What is yours saying about you?

HOLEY REVELATION

“Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.”
Hebrews 12:10

At one time I always tried to spend a little time reading before bed each night. Some nights I waited too long and the minute I laid down I was out. Last night, trying again to pick up this habit, I was able to get a few pages read before the book crashed onto my face. It was in my reading that I found a revelation. I guess it was something I had known all along, but the freshness in the way it was said made sense. The author spoke of a young boy who had found his daddy’s tool box. Inside he found all sorts of things. Seeing his daddy hammering nails before, he immediately grabbed the hammer and the box of nails and went to town. His father arrived home from work a few hours later to find the shed door peppered with nails driven through it and poking out the other end. After the dad’s frustration subsided, he called his son out and told him that as his punishment he would now have to take each nail out. Two hours later, with sore hands and wrists, the boy finished. As both he and his daddy examined the shed door the son began to cry. His father questioned what was wrong, thinking it was the pain from his pulling the nails out or such. The son responded, though, “I can still see the holes from the nails.”
I read a book recently concerning the twelve sons of Jacob. The men who became the twelve tribes of Israel were first simply sons, like me. They quarreled, got into mischief, and most of the time came to one another’s defense. But as these brothers gathered around their father for a blessing in his final moments, they did not all hear the happy words they were expecting. One such son and brother was Reuben. It was he who Jacob declared was as stable as water, and that history shows never produced a prophet, king, or anyone of significance. He did have the intention of saving Joseph, which was to his advantage in God’s eyes, but it was he who also slept with Bilhah, one of his step-mothers. In the good and bad, Reuben could not change his past, and it defined his future.
While not one of the sons of Jacob, I want to look at another man in the Bible. We all know of David, the giant slayer become king. Most people will remember that David had an affair with Bathsheba and then had Uriah, her husband, killed to save face. But think on this with me. Bathsheba gave birth to a child. What happened to him? He wasn’t Solomon. In fact he is not even given a name in the Bible. Hebrew tradition states the name was given on the eighth day. This un-named son died shortly after birth (II Sam 12:18-23), on the seventh day. For that one moment of sin, David lost his son.
So what do a holey shed door, Reuben’s future, and a dead baby all have in common? They are the effects of sin. God’s Word is clear that if we confess our sins He will forgive us. But it is the effects of sin that must still be carried out. The holes from the nails were still there even though the nails were removed. The lack of much good in Reuben’s future was still played out even though he had been forgiven for sleeping with his step-mother. And the child was still taken from David and Bathsheba even though David repented, and even fasted. These stories only prove to us that sin does carry a price. The encouragement of Hebrews 12:10 should then be for us to learn from our mistakes so that they are not repeated. In God’s mercy and grace for us we are forgiven. In God’s love for us we are disciplined.

BE STRONG IN THE LORD

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
Ephesians 6:10-11

I have always been one who was fascinated by the Armor of God. Truth be told, this is probably my favorite Biblical topic. And why not? Are we not soldiers in His army, and as such much fit ourselves in His gear. But before we are even given gear, we are given something else. Do you know what it is? It is a command. We are given the command to be strong in the Lord. Why? Well let’s take a minute to look. Looking at Ephesians 6:10-11, we find that the ‘how’ of this challenge is answered by the putting on of the armor. The ‘why’ is answered by the taking of our stance against our enemy. But how is it then that we move into a place of being strong in the Lord? To answer this we must define what ‘strong in the Lord’ really is.
The word for ‘strong’ in the text here is the Greek word ENDUNAMOO, which translates as being strong, endued with strength, or increasing in strength. It is composed of the words EN, meaning with or in, and DUNAMOO, from the root DUNAMIS, meaning might or power. And who are we to be strong in? We are to be strong in the Lord. The Greek word found here for ‘Lord’ is KURIOS, meaning the possessor and disposer of a thing, the person to whom things belong, or the one who has the power. In essence, we are to be strong and mighty in the One who already has all the power in His hands. It is because of His mighty power, His strength, His force, and His deeds of dominion, that we can only be made strong. As John 15:5 tells us, “…apart from Him we can do nothing.” Our personal might is honestly no match for the enemy. But mixed with the might of God, the enemy then stands no chance whatsoever.
Now we move to the next step of the armor itself. The scripture tells us to “put on the full armor of God” as it is in this clothing that we are able to stand against the enemy. The Greek word for ‘put on’ is the word ENDUO, which literally means to sink into a garment. The garment we are to be sinking into is the armor of God, or PANOPLIA in the Greek. This word is derived of two additional Greek words, that being PAS, meaning all, and HOPLON, meaning utensils, tools, or weapons. Only when clothed in the full tooling and weaponry of God Himself are we then able to stand against the enemy.
And this term ‘stand’ is the Greek word HISTEMI, meaning to be established, appointed, or firmly set. With a proper garment of weaponry we are then able to firmly set our feet on the Rock while we battle against the methods, METHODEIA, also meaning trickery, or traps along a journey, that the enemy, the devil, DIABOLOS, meaning accuser or slanderer, may put in our path. Let’s face it, without this armor, we are sitting ducks.
Our weapons and warfare, though, are of a special type. In II Corinthians 10:3-4, Paul tells us, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” Would you like an example of this? How about the way in which David defeated Goliath? In real life would you have walked out to the battlefield with only a slingshot, against a warrior whose trophy collection was probably bigger than your house? How is it that David won this battle? He won because he fought with God’s weapons and not the weapons of this world. Think about it, in I Samuel 17:38, Saul attempts to dress David in his own armor. Have you ever wondered why? There are two reasons. First, Saul was afraid to be shown up by a youth, so he dressed him in his royal armor so the men would think it is Saul finally standing up to Goliath. But secondly, Saul was under the assumption that the warrior had to wear carnal armor and fight with a carnal sword. But that is not how God works. Although David had a slingshot, it was with spiritual weaponry that David defeated Goliath. How so, you ask. Because Goliath spoke against God, blasphemed God, and came out from any chance of protection against God’s weapons.
God has given us the armor, yes, but He has also given us His power. Will we dress ourselves in His might? Will we allow our ability to be the ability of God through us? Remember, we can do nothing apart from God. So then, this challenge is for you just as it was for David, and for saints of old. We are to be strong and mighty in the One who already has all the power in His hands. We are to be strong in the Lord alone.

THOUGHT SHIFT

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.”
Romans 7:15-17

Here is a question for you to ponder. Why do we run to and from the opposite of what God is calling us to run to and from? It may be safe to say that the answer lies in a shift in thinking. But it is true. As I have come to realize that I can do nothing without Christ, I am also coming to realize that my thoughts are not always, or even half the time, the thoughts that He has. My thought pattern is tainted, skewed, and quite honestly lacking good sense many times. The words Paul wrote in Romans 7:15-17 were custom made for me I am sure.
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Rom 7:15). Paul and I are sharing the same idea here in saying that we know the right response, the right character to own, and the right way to live, but why then do we find ourselves doing the exact opposite. Where the sign reads to go left, I find myself wanting to go right. If the sink is putting out clean water I find myself still drinking from the toilet. And if the skull and crossbones are printed on the label marking the bottle toxic I still find myself unscrewing the cap to take a sip. Why do I find myself like Jonah, running from the very command that God has given me?
God has given us His law. As a parent I can respect this. I lay down the rules for my kids and I expect them to be obeyed. Failure to obey them leads to consequence. Are we so naïve to think that when we step outside God’s law that we will not find consequence? True, we will find forgiveness when we repent, just as I offer to my children when they fail to obey, but there still is consequence.
We need to make a shift in our thoughts. We need to pull ourselves away from our ‘self’ and replace the self with God. For instance, one of the methods that I used in pulling away from my addiction was to imagine God sitting right next to me while surfing the internet or watching movies. With the idea that I was sitting next to God, my thoughts changed from ‘myself’ to ‘my God’. The sin that was living in me was beginning to be replaced by a desire to obey God. But without even allowing my mind to be changed, and my thoughts in line with God’s thoughts, I was doomed to be no better than I was. I would have spent my life living in that lukewarm place and running from God.
The change in mindset produced a change in spirit which began a true change in character. It is only because of this change that I am now beginning to be able to do the right type of running, that like Joseph who ran when temptation came looking for him. It was against God more than anyone else that Joseph knew he would be sinning against, and he was not about to fall into that lifestyle. This should be our resolve as well. Instead of me running to sin and from God, I want to be found doing the opposite and running to God and what He is calling me to and running from the sin that longs to take me down. I have resolved to make the thought shift needed in this hour. Will you as well?

STRIKE THREE

“But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them’”
Numbers 20:12

Watching sports on TV has never really been my thing. Okay, so I do watch football and NASCAR, and do keep my eye on the bracket during March Madness, but watching sports on television is not the same as playing the sport. Baseball is one of those sports; one of those I would rather play as opposed to watch. There is a totally different feeling in holding the bat and making contact with the ball myself as opposed to watching a guy on TV do the same thing. Furthermore, there is a different emotion that comes over me when it is I who strikes out as opposed to the player on my screen. Yet while I do not play the sport of baseball with the kids in the neighborhood anymore, I can say I know both these feelings. And maybe it is safe to say that I know the feeling of striking out more than I do hitting the game winning run. Allow me to explain as we look at the life of Moses.
When I think of Moses and his inability to enter the Promise Land, I think of baseball. Strange relation, I know, but not too far off really. You see, Moses had an anger problem. On three different occasions he allowed his anger to get the best of him and in the end, was struck out. Let’s take a quick look at these three times.
The first strike is found in Exodus 2:11-12. The chapter records that he went out to where his own people were and watched them doing their hard labor. Seeing one of his people, an Israelite, getting beaten by the Egyptian taskmaster, Moses glanced around him. Seeing no one around, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. While the Bible does not say specifically, “…thus Moses was mad and killed a man,” it does point to the fact that his anger flared up when he saw the mistreatment of a fellow Israelite. Instead of handling it in perhaps a better way, Moses took matters into his own hands and allowed himself to swing at this crazy pitch.
The second strike came years later, and is found in Exodus 32:19. After spending forty days on the mountain with God, he begins his trek down and hears a celebration going on. When he gets closer, he sees the camp dancing around a golden calf idol and his anger flares once more. Moses throws down the stone tablets he just got from God with the Ten Commandments written on them, breaking them at the foot of the mountain. Another crazy pitch; another swing.
The final strike, however, happens when he is already upset. Instead of calling for a time out of the umpire, Moses plays on and swings at the third pitch in Numbers 20:8-12. Instead of speaking to the rock as God had told him, he takes his staff in anger and strikes the rock instead. But this action caused Moses to strike out, and to not gain access to the Promise Land (v12).
Did Moses make it to heaven? Yes. Did Moses make it to the Promise Land? No. Why? Because of Moses’ actions taken in anger, God denied him the honor of going into the Promised Land. But why do I share all this with you? The answer is easy. I do not want us to be in the same shoes as Moses concerning our anger. Anger is a natural emotion, but as Psalm 4:4 tells us, “In your anger do not sin…” This thought is so important that Paul even reminds us in Ephesians 4:26 of these same words. I want us all to hit the homeruns, but we must be wise and not swing at the crazy pitches.

WE SHALL FIGHT

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.”
I Corinthians 16:13

On June 4, 1940, as word of the upcoming German attack on the British Isles became known, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered one of the grandest speeches given in World War II. To a weakened French army, a surrendered Belgian army, a proud British army, and any additional army listening, Churchill spoke.

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air,
we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender

As I read these words again, my mind is immediately taken to I Corinthians 16:13. It is here that Paul warns the believer to stand firm. It is in Churchill’s speech that he too warns the British nation to stand firm. A fight was about to come, there was no doubt it was coming. But it was not time for the nation to shrink back in the face of the oncoming Nazi regime. It was time to dig the feet in the sand and stand ready to fight.
In Isaiah 51:12, the prophet questions, “Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass…?” I believe it is true that although God has not given us the spirit of fear, we are still easily intimidated by the enemy. It is no different than when a child sees the flicker of lightening and hears the crashing of thunder. Countless times the parent can soothe the child and let them know they are safe, but the fear is still there. It is not that the child does not trust his or her parent, but rather that in that moment something is bigger than the parent. In our moment of attack by the enemy, we fear a ‘something’ bigger.
But let us continue in Isaiah 51. In verse 14 we are promised freedom from our prison and life where we once feared death in our dungeon. How is this so? The answer is in verse 15 and following. God! It is God who brings this freedom. God laid the foundations of the world. God puts His words in our mouth. God calls us His children. And as an angry mama bear runs after the threat to her cub, so God will step on the grass that we are for no reason to be fearful of.
With Christ on our side, we are undefeatable. The people of Britain heard this message given by the Prime Minister, but did they believe it? It is the same message God is giving to the church, but do we believe it? Look…

We [the church] shall go on to the end, we shall fight [against the devil and his cohorts],
[the church] shall fight [in prayer and fasting],
[the church] shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in [the power of God],
[the church] shall defend our [body], whatever the cost may be,
[the church] shall fight [against the devil’s schemes],
[the church] shall fight [against the rulers and authorities of evil],
[the church] shall fight [against the powers of the dark world],
[the church] shall fight [against the forces of evil in the heavenly realms];
[the church] shall never surrender

It is time to put away the fear of the enemy and meet him head on. He only has power over us if we let think he does; if we let him get in our mind. So then, it is time to “be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.”