Wanna be a Servant? Know the Truth!

Wanted to share some insights i've been learning from my pastoral epistles class. Let me ask you, what does it mean to be a servant?I believe in 1 Timothy Paul brings to light an aspect of servanthood that we don't usually think of.

1Tim. 4:6 ¶ In pointing out these things to the brethren you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.

The "these things" Paul is telling Timothy to point out in this verse are the false doctrines he just mentioned in 4:1-5. But what's interesting is that in v.6, Paul makes a connection between pointing out false doctrine and servanthood. Now typically, when someone mentions the word servant, we think of things like washing eachother’s feet, putting the interest of others ahead of ourselves, or Christ Jesus who came to serve and not be served. We think of setting up chairs, or sound equipment, or going out of one’s way to help another, and these are all definitely characteristic of a servant.

But another part of being a servant is being sound in doctrine. For a servant, needs to be able to point out those things that hinder the faith and growth of others. A servant has to be able to see the truth and know it well enough so that when a counterfeit comes along, he or she can point it out. A servant of Christ Jesus has to be doctrinally discerning. And looking at the 2nd half of v.6, in order to be doctrinally discerning, we have to be constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of sound doctrine. In other words, we need to be in the word of God, nourished by it. The word “nourished” can also mean feed upon, to live off of.

And when we are individually saturated in the word of God, I believe that we will also be on our way to fulfilling the purpose statement of this letter in 3:14-15 where Paul says…

1Tim. 3:14-15 ¶ I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth

If we want to be the church of the Living God, we need to be the pillar and support of the truth, and in order to do so, in order to be a people who can dispense and proclaim God’s truth, we need to know God’s word well, and in doing so we will benefit ourselves, benefit others, and also be good servants of Jesus Christ.

3 more weeks...than i'll be a youth pastor

Just in case someone reads this that I havent told, I recently accepted a positon to be the jr.high pastor of about 40-50 kids at Nasung Wesleyan Church In La Habra area. I'll officially be starting Halloween weekend. I found out about 2 weeks ago, and I have to admit, my initial reaction, though I had been praying about it and knew I would accept the position if it was offered to me, was absolute fear. Since then i'm not quite as scared as I am excited (though i'm still scared).

During my devotional today, Luke 4:42-43 stuck out to me.

Luke 4:42 ¶ At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”

Though the people wanted Jesus to stay, he was committed to a specific mission, that is to preach the good news to the kingdom. It wasn't about him being staying somewhere he was comfortable, or even somewhere he was wanted, but it was about the kingdom! Jesus was so committed to his mission, his vision, his purpose. He didn't let anything distract him or get in the way of that mission.

Though I'm definitely still scared, nervous, and will definitely be taken out of my comfort zone, I feel confident in this decision. There are sheep without a shepherd, and my heart can't help but be pulled towards this new opportunity. But more than that, I want to see the kingdom of God furthered. I can't let what I want dictate my decisions, or even what other people think. Jesus had a clear purpose for being on earth. And as he was sent by the Father, Christ sent us out to preach the good news.

Please pray for me! Specifically, pray for everything you can think of =P But in particular, that I would cultivate an eternal perspective, focused on one mission, the spread of the gospel of the kingdom.

*By the way, if you're looking for a good read on what the kingdom is, I'd recommend Gospel of the Kingdom by George Ladd.

Abuse of the Gospel

Have you ever met anyone who quickly says "sorry" but in your mind you're wondering if they even know why their sorry? Does it even mean anything to them, or are they just words? I'm sure i'm guilty of this, especially in my relationship with God. Oftentimes I feel more sorry for myself, wanting to make myself feel bad so that I can eventually alleviate feelings of guilt that come following sin or transgression. Other times i'm sorry because I got caught, rather than feeling sorry because of the intrinsic evil of the act that I committed. Lastly, there are times I say sorry without any heart behind it, or in other words, in my heart I don't really feel that bad.

I often wonder what God thinks when we flee to the gospel without any thought as to the gravity of our sin. Let me ask you, how often do you repent? Following sin, It's easy for me to quote Isaiah 53 to myself, and simply move on with my life. But where is the mourning, where is the repentance? (Matt 5:4) How often do we take a good look at our sin?

Now don't ask me to elaborate on what it means to truly repent. I'm still trying to figure that out. But surely this is a neglected essential in the evangelical church? All I know is that God hates sin, so shouldn't it break our hearts when we disobey and grieve our Father? Grace may be absolutely free to us, but it wasn't cheap for the one who paid for it.

Don't short-circuit the repentance process......