July 8, 2007 - Letters To My Son: The Mystery Of Godliness

INTRODUCTION

• OK trivia buffs- let’s see how many questions you can answer about the year 1982:
• What show won the Emmy award for Outstanding Comedy Series? Barney Miller^®
• What was the Grammy-winning song of the year?
• Bette Davis Eyes^® by some one-hit wonder named Kim Carnes
• More proof that the Grammies are a joke
• What movie won the Academy Award for ‘Picture of the Year'? Chariots of Fire^®
• What was the top-grossing movie for the year? ET- The Extra Terrestrial^®
• You guys aren’t doing so well. Let me make this a little easier:
• Who was president of the United States? Ronald Reagan
• Which team won the NCAA^® basketball championship? THE University of North Carolina Tar Heels^®
• Who released the album Thriller^®?
• Michael Jackson
• Still looked like a normal person in those days
• And finally- who became pastor of New Sandy Creek Baptist Church on July 6, 1982?
• Your’s truly- Steve Bass
• That’s right. This weekend marks my 25th anniversary as a pastor

TRANSITIONAL REMARKS

• That’s a long time. Over the last quarter century I’ve preached more than 3000 sermons
• And you know what I’ve learned?
• I really enjoy preaching sermon series
• It doesn’t matter whether it’s a series on...
• The life of a Biblical character like Jacob or Joseph
• Some of the important doctrines of our faith
• Or a particular book of the Bible
• Sermon series are...
• A challenge to prepare- a joy to preach
• And- best of all- you seem to like them too
• As far as I can tell there’s only one problem with a sermon series:
• They take up a lot of time. I think the longest series I preached took something like 14 or 15 weeks
• All of which means they inevitably get interrupted by some other event on the church calendar
• Take last Sunday for an example. It was the first Sunday in July- which means we celebrate the Lord’s Supper
• Which is great-
• Nothing we do in worship is more important than taking communion
• BUT it did interrupt the flow of our sermon series on 1 & 2 Timothy
• So to bring us back up to speed-
• We’re going to begin by re-examining 1 Timothy 3:2-7
• What we’ve got here is a description of the character and qualifications for someone who feels lead to serve the church as a pastor-overseer

DEACONS LIKEWISE

• Now let’s continue on with verse 8
• The word deacon is a translation of the Greek word diakonos
• Diakonos means servant or house slave
• Which is an accurate description of what deacons were originally called to do
• Please read Acts 6:1-5
• In the months and years that followed the Day of Pentecost the Jerusalem church experienced explosive growth
• Now church growth is a great thing- but it does present a few challenges
• Sometimes you have to build bigger buildings
• Sometimes you have to hire more staff
• Sometimes you have to find ways to incorporate new members into the life of the church
• In the case of the Jerusalem church rapid growth resulted in a bitter conflict between some of the women in the church
• The source of the conflict was the daily distribution of food
• In those days there weren’t any public welfare programs
• Since society didn’t let women go out and get a job
• Widows- particularly widows with young children- were often destitute
• The Jerusalem church tried to meet that need by providing a daily meal- called the agape-feast- for these widows and their families
• Which was a fantastic ministry- until the dispute reared its ugly head
• The Greek-speaking widows in the church felt their families weren’t being given as much food as the Hebrew-speaking widows
• We’re victims of discrimination. We’re being treated like second-class members of the church- just because we speak a different language.
• It’s not right! It’s not fair!
• We thought the people of God were supposed to be different!
• Folks- if you want to tear a church apart
• Create cliques- show favoritism- ignore certain people- act as if some members are more important than others
• And pretty soon you’ll have a divided, dying church
• The apostles realized I had a crisis on their hands-
• So they prayed about it
• And then gathered the church together

Acts 6:2-5

• These seven men became the first diakonos
• Their job was to make sure that everyone was treated with love and fairness in the church
• Suffice it to say- the deacons more than fulfilled their responsibility
• The crisis soon faded- and the church grew
• Read what Acts 6:7 goes on to say.
• By the time Paul wrote his letter to Timothy- the diakonos had evolved into a particular office in the church
• The deacons’ responsibility was to work with the pastor-overseer in guarding the spiritual health and welfare of the church
• Because this is such an important job- Paul talks about the kind of person who is eligible to serve as a deacon
• Essentially the qualifications are the same ones that apply to the pastor-overseer
• Notice what it says: Deacons, likewise...
• This means that all the things that apply to pastor-overseers
• Also apply to potential deacons
• But- there are a couple of important differences
• First of all the Bible says deacons are to be men worthy of respect
• This means deacons must have a seriousness of purpose and self-respect in conduct (Moule)
• In other words: Deacons have to understand that they’ve been called to be spiritual leaders in the church
• As such/spiritual leaders deacons...
• Aren’t supposed to be a board of directors running the day-to-day business of the church
• I’ve been in churches where deacons functioned like that
• And I can tell you- it’s NOT a good thing
• Are supposed to be involved in maintaining and strengthening the spiritual welfare of the church
• How do they do that? Primarily they’ve got to do three things. They must...
• Prayerfully seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit- asking Him to provide the wisdom they need to serve as deacons
• Work cooperatively with the Pastor and staff to build a healthy church that seeks to love, worship, serve and proclaim Jesus as the Christ- the Son of the Living God
• Lovingly care for the families of the church- ministering to each one in the name of Jesus
• It’s a tough job- it isn’t for the faint of heart
• But I want you to notice the promise God makes to those believers who serve faithfully as deacons
• Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.
• The idea of gaining an excellent standing means two things:
• One- faithful deacons will earn the love and respect of their brothers and sisters in Christ
• And two- and most importantly- God looks on them with favor: Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful over a few things- come and I will make you ruler over many things!
• Finally- faithful deacons are promised great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.
• This means they become more confident in their relationship with Christ
• Not because.../ They become more confident in their faith because...
• They’ve done something that earns extra brownie points with God
• They’ve learned to depend on God more than they ever have in their life
• Funny thing about being a Christian:
• The best way to grow your faith is to test your faith
• And the best way to test your faith is to let God put you in situations where...
• You know you can’t possibly do it on your own
• You have to learn to lean on the Lord- depending on His power and grace and mercy for everything!
• If you feel like you’ve been floundering in your faith-walk with the Lord
• Let Him yank you out of your comfort zone-
• Put you in a place of ministry you can’t POSSIBLY accomplish
• Learn to trust solely in His power and grace and strength
• And your faith will be strengthened- and you will be blessed! I guarantee it!

HOW PEOPLE OUGHT TO CONDUCT THEMSELVES IN GOD’S HOUSEHOLD

• Let’s read on: 1 Timothy 3:14-15
• Let me talk about one of the problems with a lot of Christians today
• They don’t know how to conduct themselves in God’s household
• They bring disgrace to the church- and damage the cause of Christ- by acting like spoiled, dysfunctional children
• These are the kinds of people who...
• Want to be catered to all the time- but won’t lift a finger to help out in the church
• Create conflict by thinking they have to speak their mind about every issue that comes up
• I was always told it was sometimes better to remain silent and be thought a fool
• Than to open your mouth and remove all doubt!
• Jump from church-to-church every time their feelings get hurt- or things don’t go the way they want them to go
• Pout and criticize everything and anything that goes on in the church
• Feel free to unload anyone they choose- but get terribly offended if anyone ever says anything to them
• Are so hypersensitive you feel like you’re walking on eggshells whenever they’re around
• To all these Paris Hilton drama-queens the Bible has a word of instruction:
• GROW UP!
• Stop acting like a petulant child and start behaving like a mature man or woman in Christ
• See here’s the thing: The happiest Christians you’ll meet are people...
• Who look to serve- instead of being served
• Who work for peace and harmony in the church
• Will stick it out- and try to be reconciled with people who’ve hurt their feelings
• Who rejoice and celebrate the good things Christ is doing in His church
• Who show Christ’s love to others- even folks who don’t particularly deserve it
• Who have thick-skin- who are low-maintenance and don’t expect the world to revolve around them
• Look- you want to know how you ought to conduct yourself in God’s household?
• Be sure you read 1 Corinthians 13 two or three times a week
• And then be sure to do what it says to do
• Last Sunday’s Life Answers teacher’s guide quoted a wonderful definition of what it means to be a church
• It was taken from Douglas Jacobsen and Rodney Sawatsky’s book Gracious Christianity
• Listen to what it says:

"Church is the group name for being Christian. It refers to all the followers of Jesus who have ever lived...More intimately, and just as importantly, church refers to a local gathering of believers, people who know one another face-to-face, people who put up with one another’s quirks and foibles, people who genuinely try to love one another despite their imperfections. The local community of the church is the social context in which Christianity takes living form. Being church is being Christian together..."

• As Sunset Road Baptist Church- let’s work at being Christian together!

THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS

• With that in mind- let’s read on with verse 16
• You know- Paul was an extremely witty guy
• He frequently uses puns and plays on word to make important points about the truth of God
• 1 Timothy 3:16 is one of those occasions
• It begins with the Greek word translated as Beyond all question
• You can see it on the screen- I’m not even going to try to pronounce it
• But it conveys the idea of common profession
• Or a universal agreement
• In this case Paul is talking about something that every Christian knows and understands
• He then goes on to talk about the mystery of godliness
• The word mystery means something that is hidden- or unknown
• Something that hasn’t been revealed
• So notice what Paul is saying:
• Paraphrase:
• The mystery of godliness is something every Christian knows and understands.
• It’s no secret at all- because it deals with the essential truth about Jesus
• Paul then lists what these truths are
• He (meaning Jesus) appeared in a body
• In other words: The only begotten Son of God- who was pure spirit- took on a body and became a human being
• This is the event we celebrate at Christmas
• The theological term for this event is incarnation- or in fleshment
• Read how John 1:14 puts it.
• He...was vindicated by the Spirit
• The Spirit of the Living God testified to the fact that Jesus was- in fact- God’s only begotten Son
• Read what Matthew 3:16-17 says.
• Paul goes on to say Jesus was seen by angels
• This could refer to the fact that:
• The Bible says angels watched over Him during His time here on Earth
• Or that His Resurrection was first announced by an angel- "He is not here! He is Risen! Come and see the place where He lay"
• But the point is clear: Angels- God’s chosen messengers- had confirmed:
• Who Jesus was
• And what Jesus had done!
• The affirmation that Jesus was preached among the nations means that:
• Jesus was more than the Jewish Messiah
• He was, is and always will be, the Savior of the world
• Then Paul says Jesus was Believed on in the world
• Folks- this is a testimony to the power of the Gospel
• When people hear the Good News of salvation in the name of Jesus
• They can be saved by God’s grace
• Activated by faith in Jesus Christ
• Romans 10:9-10
• Finally Paul says Jesus was taken up in glory
• This is a reference to Jesus’ Ascension into heaven
• The Ascension is one of those things we don’t talk about much as Baptists
• And that’s not good
• Because Jesus’ Ascension into heaven is one of eternity’s most important events
• Please read Acts 1:6-9
• Here’s why Jesus’ Ascension is so important. It...
• Was the climax of Jesus’ earthly ministry
• Testified that Jesus had accomplished everything He’d been sent to do
• Confirmed that Jesus’ death on the Cross and Resurrection from the dead is all-sufficient for salvation
• Was the definitive proof that Jesus is, was and always will be the only begotten Son of God!

1 Timothy 3:16

CONCLUSION

• When Chris Kidd shared his testimony he talked about taking a Confirmation Class when he was 12 years old
• From what I know about them- confirmation classes are good things:
• They teach you a lot of facts about Jesus
• And help you understand many of the important doctrines of the church
• Chris- the way I understand it in the church you grew up in:
• After you take the classes
• Then you can join the church- right?
• And that IS a problem. Because a lot of people think that’s all you need to do in order to be saved:
• Learn some facts about Jesus
• Become a member of a church somewhere
• And you will be saved
• Folks let me tell you something
• Salvation isn’t based on WHAT you know- as important as that is
• Salvation is based on WHO you know
• Take George W. Bush for example
• I know a lot of facts about the President- I’d obviously recognize him if he walked in this room
• But here’s the thing...
• I may know facts ABOUT George Bush
• But we’re strangers to one another- we don’t have a personal relationship with one another
• But I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!
• I’d known ABOUT him all my life
• But when I was ten years old I accepted Him as my Savior and came to know Him personally
• Today I can honestly say:
• He’s my friend- He’s my Lord- He’s my King- He’s my Savior- He’s my God!
• I know Him-
• And He knows me
• And someday I’ll see him face-to-face!
• So my question for you this morning is simple:
• Do you know Him- does He know you?
• If you don’t He wants to establish that personal relationship with you today
• Let us pray