Faithful in the Way You Treat People
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Transcript
Organized into readable paragraphs from the preserved Whisper transcript. Non-speech markers are removed.
Good morning. It's good to see you guys. Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. I'm glad you're here. I want to invite you to stand with us. Hi, Nick. I invite you to stand with us. We'll pray and we'll get started.
Oh, Father God, we just thank you for the day. Thank you for just another opportunity, Lord, to be in your house. Lord, just ask your blessing upon this time, Lord. Help us to sit everything else aside in our lives, to focus on you, to worship you, Lord God, because you are worthy of all of our praise and worship, Lord. And Lord, just ask a special blessing upon the dads out there this morning.
And we love you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.
Yes, Lord God, in your presence, in your courts, and a thousand elsewhere, we'll confess that you are Lord. And even if we don't, the rocks will cry out that you are King of kings and Lord of lords. Lord, help us, God, to acknowledge you. Lord, we know that you're here. Lord, we know that you're here. coming again soon and help us to live expectantly of your of your return our
King thank you for who you are and Lord I thank you for that in you or there is victory or there's a chance for new life there's victory over sin and death well just thank you for thank you for how good you are to us Lord or you're just so good and kind and faithful or even when we're not and so Lord we just praise you this morning for how good you are to us Lord again I just thank you for how good you are to us we have so many reasons to praise you or for what you've done for us for sending your your only son to take our rightful place on that cross or forgiving us new life and for giving us a chance that spending it eternity with you Lord for all the ways you provide for us take care of us and
love on us Lord God we just thank you for how good you are to us seeing that course with me just one more time it's all my life you have been faithful and so so of your goodness oh God I will see of your goodness oh God well I gotta do you know this thank you for who you are Lord God at the end of this thank you for who you are Lord God at the end of this thank you for who you are and Lord as I thank you for your word and as pastor Ryan comes up I pray that you to speak mightily through him speak your word to our hearts Lord and give us soft and receptive hearts to receive it Lord and change our lives we love you father we praise you we thank you in Jesus name amen let's take some time and greet one another good morning if you could begin to now
Oh Maybe that's hot begin to locate Locate your seat. Oh, that's better. Grab a bulletin. We'll get ready to go over some announcements. Welcome to Calvary Chapel. I'm glad that you have joined us this morning. Handful of things to take note of in your bulletin. As always, on the left side, the things that are going on throughout the week. So please take note of those. Find yourself a spot to get
plugged in. Over in the middle section, just a reminder that construction is taking place outside and there's lots of construction related things out there. So if you could please watch the tiny people around the construction related things, myself, as well as all of the construction people would really appreciate that. There is a new Experiencing God Ladies Bible Study that is starting June the 24th, led by Elaine Phillips. There's a sign-up sheet out there in the hallway
if you're interested in that, as well as more information on that. Fellas, no men's breakfast this month. It's kind of one of those months. It's summertime. It's busy. It's crazy. So no men's breakfast this month. That being said, though, happy Father's Day to all of you dads. We're very thankful for you and all of the things that you do for us. Yes, go ahead. Applaud them.
You do a fantastic job. Here's to you, dads. We've got a little something for you. Ushers, don't forget to hand out a little something to all these fellas. And listen, if the usher's not standing there, this is your job, men, okay, dads? If you get out there and the usher's not holding something to hand to you, you need to say, Pastor Ryan says you have to go
get what you're supposed to hand to me, okay? You have my permission to call them out on that because I'm not sure anybody got anything for a service. So those are the things that are going on if you would make sure that your mobile device is silenced. But before we do our responsive reading this morning, we get to do a baby dedication. Okay, there we are. I saw all the
rest of the family, but I didn't see you guys at first. I'm like, well, I think we're doing a baby dedication. Come on up, rich family. This is Adley Joe. Rich. Adley, for short. You let me hold you. Look at you. Oh, wide-eyed. She's like, wait a second. Do you have anything you'd like to say to the people? You have their undivided attention at this point in time. Is there anything you'd like to say? Do you say it best when you say nothing
at all? You're just cute. Well, at Calvary Chapel, can I hold you while I talk for a minute? Is that good? She goes. That's the way everybody else looks when I talk, too. At Calvary Chapel, we don't believe in infant baptism because we feel like that's a decision that'll have to be made by an individual. But we do believe in dedicating these tiny people to Jesus. And so that's what we want
to do here this morning. And so we want to dedicate her to the Lord. So let's pray. Yes, you can hold mom's hand. That's fine. Father, we come before you this morning. And Lord, I just thank you for this family. Lord, I thank you for everything this family means to me. Lord, they're like kids to me, all of them. And so I just thank you for them. And I pray that you would be with Rachel and Tristan
as they as they raise these kids in you, as they raise Adley in you. Lord, would you give them the wisdom, the grace and the understanding that they need, Lord, to be able to raise this child to know and love you. And Father, we just dedicate Adley to you right now. And Lord, just pray that as she pulls my microphone off my head, that that that she would be the girl that you have created for her to be. Lord, that that she would have a heart to know you, a desire to love you and a desire to
follow you. Father, we dedicate her to you, trusting that in your hands, she will become everything that you've intended for her to be. We just pray these things, Father, in Jesus name. Amen. I know it's fun, right? Yay. Okay. Oh, okay. Go see mom quick, quick. It was good up till then. All right. Love you guys. Here. We made it almost all the way through. All right. Now for our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Psalm 75.
Psalm 75. We're looking at the New American Standard for this part so that hopefully we all sound the same. If you need a copy, it should be one in a row around you. And as you're turning to Psalm 75, if you are able, please stand in the honor of the reading of God's word. I will read the odd verses if you will follow along with Pastor Allen and the even verses. Psalm 75 for
the choir director, set to Al-Tashef, a Psalm of Asaph, a song. We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks for your name is near. Amen. Declare your wondrous works. When I select an appointed time, it is I who judge with equity. The earth and all who dwell in it melt. It is I who have firmly set its pillars. Selah. I said to the boastful, do not boast. And to the wicked, do not lift up the horn. Do not lift up your horn on high.
Do not speak with insolent pride. For not from the east nor from the west, nor from the desert comes God. But God is the judge. He puts down one and exalts another. For a cup is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams. It is well mixed, and he pours out of this. Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs. But as for me, I will declare it forever. I will
sing praises to the God of Jacob. And all the horns of the wicked he will cut off, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up. So, Father, we do give thanks to you. That you are God in heaven. And Lord, I thank you that all of the events that we see take place around us do not catch you off guard. Lord, we can rest in your sovereignty. And Lord, I pray that as
we get ready to spend time in your word this morning, that you would minister to our hearts by the power of your Holy Spirit in the way that only you can. Lord, move as you see fit and continue to draw us near to you. We just pray these things, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. If you would open up in your Bibles to the book of 1 Timothy chapter 5. 1 Timothy chapter 5. As you're turning there,
I want to share one thing with you and read another passage of scripture to you that's not a part of our study this morning. But there's been a lot of events that have taken place in the world in the past handful of days. We've seen, of course, conflict intensify between Russia and Ukraine. And of course, we know all the events that have happened in the last few years. We saw Israel do an incredibly surgically
precise attack upon Iran. And then Iran counterattacked them in a very not surgically precise sort of way. And a lot going on there. And then over the weekend, of course, we protested that we didn't want any kings, which I kind of thought we solved back in 1776. But here we are doing it again. But as we watch all of these things unfold, you know, a lot of times pastors
get up and they give the, you know, they give the, you know, they give the, you know, the, you know, the big end times update. So I'm not really that guy because here's the update. We're living in the end times. I don't know when the rapture is going to be. I don't know when Jesus is coming back, but all of these things are a part of it. But I read this thing over the weekend and I
thought that was a really good perspective. And he quoted out of Romans 8, 22. And so I just want to read this to you. It says, for we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves having the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption
as sons and the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope for who hopes for what he's already seen. But if we hope for what we do not see with perseverance, we wait eagerly for it. And the point is this, what we're seeing is not hope for what we're already seeing. We're waiting eagerly for it. And the point is this, what we're seeing is not hope for what we're already seeing. And the point is this,
what we're seeing take place around us right now is the groaning of creation. It's the groaning of humanity. It's the groaning of the world wanting to throw off the things of this world and ultimately embrace the right kind of leader. Everybody's just looking in the wrong place for it. And we're seeing the groaning of creation. And we're reminded that as we see creation groan, that the best thing
that we can do is to eagerly wait for the hope that we do have, which is Jesus Christ. So there's a lot of things I can't tell you. I can't tell you what's going on on the ground right now in Israel. I can't tell you all those kinds of things. But what I can tell you is this, you can find your hope and rest in an eternal Christ who has already solved all of these things. And that's
who we're hoping for and that's what we're looking for. And so keep your focus on Jesus as I always tell you to do in these times, okay? So that's my little end times update. We are in the end times. Stay close to Jesus. Now, 1 Timothy chapter 5. Now, we have been following through 1 Timothy, looking at each chapter with a different theme of faithfulness. And so as we come to chapter 5, we find that what he's going to tell
them to do, what he's going to tell Timothy to do is to be faithful in the way that he treats people, to be faithful in the way that he treats people. And in particular, he's going to talk about three groups of people within this chapter. He's going to tell them how to treat the congregation in general. Those will be the first couple of verses. He's going to tell him how to treat the widows.
And then at the very end, he's going to tell them how to treat the leadership within the church. And so we'll look at those first two this morning. And so we'll start in verse 1 of chapter 5, where he says this, Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, to the younger men as brothers, to the older women as mothers, and to the younger women as sisters in all purity. Now, he gives four different groups of people within the congregation that he's supposed to treat well.
And he tells them how he's supposed to treat them. And so he starts off. Now, remember, as Timothy is pastoring this church, Timothy's a pretty young guy. He's about 35-ish at this point in time. I was thinking about this on my way into service this morning, as I was kind of thinking about putting all this together. Timothy's about 35. And I'm like, well, son of a gun, that's about
10 years younger than I am right now. Timothy really is a young guy, right? As he's writing this to him. And so he tells him, this is how you need to treat these different groups of people. He starts off by saying, do not sharply rebuke an older man. Now, some of your translations may say an elder. And some people take that to mean the elders within the church. But I feel like that's
a poor understanding of what he's saying there. What he's actually saying is that, Timothy, you as a young guy, with pastoral authority, having to sometimes bring correction even to older men, men much older in you in age, and maybe older in you in the faith, you still need to bring about correction. But there's a right way and a wrong way to do it. The wrong way to do it is to rebuke them sharply. The idea of sharply there carries with it.
The idea of to strike at. In other words, to come out in a heavy-handed sort of way. He says, when you're talking to the older men, when you have to rebuke them, when you have to correct them, and listen, he doesn't say you can never correct someone who's older. After all, he had already told Timothy not to despise his youth, but instead to be an example. Well, part of being an example
is sometimes bringing correction. So he doesn't tell him you can't correct someone who's older. He says, there's a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. The wrong way to do it is in a harsh tone. The right way to do it is in a respectful tone. He says, appeal to them as fathers. Now, this is not going to be a Father's Day message, right? In just a minute, we're going to spend
most of our time talking about widows, but dads, it's okay. When it was Mother's Day, I spent most of our time talking about elders within the church. So it just is what it is, right? We just go through the word. But knowing what he says here about how to treat the older men, can I just quickly say, I don't feel like men, especially fathers in our culture, get the respect that they
deserve. It is an incredibly hard thing to live as a godly man in the culture that we live in today because you can't do anything right. There's just almost no way that you can do it and not get criticized by somebody. But listen, dads, if we're doing our job correctly, we can accept the criticism and move on with it anyway. As a matter of fact, if we do our job correctly, no one will
really notice it other than the fruit that it produces, and that's kids and families that are godly in the way that they live their lives. But oftentimes, we don't give dads the respect that they deserve. And I've watched this happen over my lifetime in television shows. That's where I notice it the most, right? I grew up watching Nick at Night, shout out, and watching
all of the older shows from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. I was not alive any of those times, but I did watch all those shows. And in all those shows, in those family sitcoms, dads were always presented as this wise individual who always had the answer, who was always gracious in the way that he handled things, who was a hard worker, who was a hard worker, who was a hard worker, who was a hard worker, who was a hard worker, who was a hard worker, who was a hard worker, who was a hard worker, who was a hard worker, who was just a good man that you could really respect. And the kids always respected him, right? But then as I was growing up, I noticed more and more, that's not how fathers were
presented to where you get now that the most bumbling idiot on every show that you ever watch is always the dad, right? Like all he cares about is watching TV, drinking beer, and staring at women. And that's the way every dad is presented in a TV show in our culture today. Now, I'm not saying some of that is not earned at times, but what I am saying is for a godly man, we don't always show them the respect that they deserve, the respect that they deserve of being the role models that they've created for us. And I share this with first service and I'll do my best
I can to not get overly emotional this service too, but I had a phenomenal example growing up. I had about the best role model anyone could ever ask for in my father. He taught me what it was to be loving. He taught me what it was to be gracious and kind. He taught me what it was to stand for the truth. He taught me what it is to love God's word and to love the Lord and to serve wholeheartedly
and he didn't always do those things with his words. He did it with his life and he deserves an incredible amount of respect because of it. And all of the men in this church, listen, I'm so happy to see the number of people here this morning that are here because this is the way it always works. Like Mother's Day was almost like Easter Sunday here, right? Like almost every single seat was
full, but you know how it usually is for Father's Day? Usually dads are like, well, I just want the day off, so I just want to go to the lake or stay home. But we got a pretty good crowd in here this morning. I'm so blessed. Listen, you wives, you should look at your husbands who wanted to come to church this morning on Father's Day and say, I'm so glad that this is what you wanted our family
to do, that you wanted our family to be in church on Father's Day because you know that that's the most important thing for us. Going to the lake can wait because what we need to do is we need to go to church as a family and they deserve respect because of that. And he told Timothy, listen, if you're going to have to correct an older man, do it respectfully like you would with your father, right? I learned a long time ago that even no matter how old my dad gets, he's always going to be my dad and he will always own me in every sporting event, right? I remember when I was 20
years old, just graduated Bible college, and my parents came out to California and we did a few things, kind of made a vacation out of it, and we're in the hotel room and I decide I'm 20 now, I'm in pretty good shape, I think I can take my dad. My dad was a wrestler too. I think I can take my dad. So I start wrestling with my dad and I get in deep on a double leg and I get ready to throw him down on the bed and I'm literally throwing him down on the bed and he turns me on and I'm like, how can this be? I am like so much younger than you and in so much better shape than
you. And it's like, nope, he's still my dad, right? And that's the way that we have to handle it. That's the way he tells Timothy to handle it. He says, appeal to him as a father with respect. And then he says, if you have to deal with the younger men, if you have to rebuke a younger man, do it as if they're your brother. What does he mean by that? He means you don't wield your
authority over them, even though you're in an authoritative position. No, you do it as if they are your brother. That they are on the same playing field as you in a respectful sort of a way. He tells them, if you have to address the older women, do so as a mother. In other words, with the respect that you would give to your mother. And listen, no matter what, everybody loves their mom, right?
Like that's just the way that it is. He said, if you have to address the younger women, do so as if they're your sisters in all purity. Listen, a lot of things in the church could get solved if men would look at women as their sisters. Right? Like if we could learn to understand that those young ladies, those are your sisters in the Lord, and they should be treated with that kind of respect. I'll never forget freshman orientation
in Bible College. The dean of men, his name was, his name's Mark Schwartz, and he's like this scary guy, right? Like picture drill sergeant crossed with a construction superintendent, and you've got Mark Schwartz. He's just a scary human being, right? And I remember him getting up in front of all of us and telling us all of the rules, what we can, and can't, and can't, and can't, and can't, and
can't do. And he says, and I need you to know something. Every young woman in this place is my sister. Don't touch my sister. And we were like, right? This is a really scary moment because we knew he meant it. We knew he was coming for us if we did something we were not supposed to do. And that's the way we should live our lives, right? With that sort of respect for each other.
And so he says, listen, when you're dealing with the congregation, whether it's the older men treat them as brothers, if it's the older women, treat them as mothers, and if it's the younger women, treat them as sisters. But I can encapsulate that into one word, show them respect, the respect that they deserve based upon their position in life. And so he says, the way that you treat people is important. You need to be faithful the way that you treat people. So first of all,
treat the congregation respectfully. But now he begins to deal with widows. He says, honor widows who are widows. And he says, honor widows who are widows. And he says, honor widows who are widows. And he says, honor widows indeed. Honor widows who are widows indeed. Now, before we get into this, and this is going to encapsulate everything else that we talk about today, okay? Before we get into
this, I need to make some introductory statements that are going to be important. Number one, we need to understand that widows, at this point in time especially, were the most vulnerable group in the culture. They were the most vulnerable group of people within the culture that needed the most care. You see, in our world today, there is Social Security, and there's retirement plans, and there's life insurance policies.
Where if someone is widowed, there's a lot of safety nets to fall back on. But at that point in time, they didn't have that sort of thing that went on within governmental circles or social circles at all. As a matter of fact, when a man passed away, his stuff didn't go to his wife, it went to whoever the oldest son was. So she was left with no one to take care of her, and really kind of destitute if no family would step in and take care of her. And he'll deal with
that in just a minute. And so he says, you need to honor those widows. So that's the point. That's the first thing, is that they were the most vulnerable people within the church, or within the culture at that point in time. Number two, caring for the widows was always at the heart of God, and should always be at the heart of the church. As a matter of fact,
if you were to go all the way through Scripture and find all the places where God talks about caring for the widows, and how angry he is when they don't care for the widows, you'll find that it's one of the most important things that God seems to continue to key in on. To the point where in the book of James, James says, being Jesus's half-brother, James said, And so it's a really important thing, because God has in his heart the caring for those vulnerable people. But the last thing I'll point out to you is this. The church has to maintain the right order in the way in which it cares for people. And that's kind of what he's going to
deal with, but I want to tell you what I mean by that. The church's primary function, and follow me on this, church's primary function is to meet the spiritual needs of people, right? That is the primary function of the church. When you look at when Jesus gave the Great Commission, the Great Commission that Jesus gave to them was to go forth to teach, and to preach, and to make disciples. Therefore,
the primary mission of the church is spiritual in nature. The primary mission of the church is not to feed the poor. I know that's an incredibly unpopular statement. Might have just made a few of you upset that I said that, but that's not the primary mission of the church. It's not to feed the church. That being said, one of the missions of the church is to care for the vulnerable, to care
for the poor. But you have to have the right heart in the way that you do it. Let me put it to you like this. If somebody comes into the church and they have a physical need, they're like, I need some groceries. I could give them groceries, and they could go away, and their tummies would be full, but they could still be on their way to hell. Now, if somebody comes in, and my primary goal is
to meet their spiritual needs, perhaps in that process, I will meet their physical needs so that they focus well enough for me to meet their spiritual needs. But if I meet their spiritual need, then I will first of all meet their physical, and then I'll meet their spiritual. Both will be taken care of. Does that kind of make sense? And so you have to have the right order in the way that
you handle things. And that's what he's going to point out to Timothy here. Okay, so he says, honor those who are widows indeed. That word honor means to attach value to and carries with the idea of providing for financially. So we see that he's going to talk about what it means to the widows or the vulnerable in the church financially. So the first thing he's going to
say is that the family is the first line of defense for the widows. Notice what he says in verse 4. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family and to make some return to their parents, for this is acceptable in the sight of God. He says, listen, the first place where people should be taking care of the widows is within their own family. In other words, the first place where people should be taking care of the
kids and the grandkids bear the responsibility first for caring for the widows. Because godliness is first learned within the home. I'm just going to tell you something right now. If you can't learn to serve within your own home, you'll never be able to learn to serve anywhere else. Because that's the first place where we learn godliness. It's the first place where we really learn to
serve and to give of ourselves is within the home. Because it has to start there. If it doesn't start there, it can't go anywhere else. It has to start there. If it doesn't start there, it can't go anywhere else. Because how unfortunate to think that you would serve with all of your heart a bunch of people you've never met before, and yet the people that you are the closest to, the people
that you have grown up with, the people that you live with, you're unwilling to serve them. What does that say about your religion? Well, to the world, it will speak volumes that your religion is useless. Because if it doesn't start with your family, if godliness doesn't start there, then it can never really grow into what God intended for it to be. So he says, first, it needs to start
within the home. It needs to start within the family. All of the inheritance went to the oldest son. Well, maybe the oldest son. Maybe the oldest son. Maybe the oldest son. Maybe the oldest son. It needs to start using some of that to take care of the mother. Does that kind of make sense? He says, this is pleasing to the Lord. This is good in God's eyes. Now, I am going to throw one
little statement in here and say what this does not mean. This does not mean that if a widow has family, that the church can't help out at all. I did have somebody come to me with that concern one time, because we had helped them out. And they said, I don't know that you should have helped me out. I do have family. I said, you know what? We prayed about it, and we felt like we were supposed
to help you. So I understand that you have family, but that doesn't mean that you're not helping. That doesn't mean that we can't help. Because a lot of times, a couple of other things begin to happen within the family. Either one, the kids and the grandkids can't provide, because they're doing everything that they can to take care of themselves. Or number two, kids and
grandkids won't provide, because they're not believers, and they won't step out of their box and really begin to serve. But he says, first of all, if you're going to care for the widows, it begins within their own home. But the second thing he does is identifies what a true widow actually is. He says, now, she is a widow, indeed, who is going to care for the widows. And he says,
who has been left alone, has fixed her hope on God, and continues in entreaties and prayers day and night. And so he gives this picture of, this is the criteria of what it looks like to be a widow. This is the people that you need to serve. This is going to come in important later, I promise. I'm going to bring this all together and apply it to us today. He says, this is what a
widow really looks like. But after he deals with that, he gives two warnings. I want you to read verse six with me. But she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead, even while she lives. Prescribe these things as well, so that they may be above reproach. But if anyone does not provide for his own, especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an
unbeliever. He gives two warnings here. The first is against the flesh. The second is against an unwillingness to work. He says, but if she has wanton desires and follows those desires, she is dead, even while she lives. What does that mean, Ryan? If she lives like the golden girls, that's not good, right? Maybe y'all have never seen the golden girls. If that's the way
she's living, that's not good. And that means that she's going to end up being dead while she's alive. And can I just make a point that applies to all of us here? If you pursue the things of the flesh, you will be dead, even though physically you're alive. Whether you're a widow who's pursuing the things of the world instead of pursuing the things of God, or whether you're just an
the things of the flesh, you will be dead while you're alive. I read a great quote by J.P. Pecluda over the weekend, and it said this, sin feels like freedom until you realize you can't quit. Sin feels like freedom until you realize you can't quit. And it's like, man, what a perfect picture of what he just said right there. He said, if that's the way that they're going to live their
lives, then that's a major problem that you have for yourself. And so the first warning that he gives is a warning of the things of the flesh. But the second warning that he gives is the warning against an unwillingness to work. And that's what he's doing. He's saying, if you pursue the things to work, but if anyone does not provide for his own, speaking of those that would care for widows,
especially for those of his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Those are very harsh words. Can we all agree with that? But in the world that we live in today, those are important words that need to be said, because we're living in a culture right now of people that won't work. And I like to say that that's eventually going to end, but I'm not sure
that it is, because we live in a culture right now where you can't find people that are willing to go to work. I was just having a conversation with a guy the other day that runs a construction company, and he said, I cannot find anyone to work. I can't find anyone that will show up and do what they're told. That's all I need for them to do. I don't even need to be good at it. I can fix their
mistakes. I just need somebody there. I need somebody that can work, that I know is going to show up, and that I know is going to do what I tell them how to do. That's all I need for them to do. And he goes, I can't find those people. I can't find anyone that's willing to work. And I would like to say that that's an isolated conversation. I would like to say that that's a
one-time thing, but that's not a one-time thing, nor is it an isolated conversation, because I talk to business owners that say that. I talk to people that run businesses that say that. I talk to people that manage other people that say that. I talk to people that just have jobs that say that. They're like, man, I wish they could hire somebody to help me, because I'm doing three
people's jobs right now by myself, because people won't go to work. And we need to understand something. If you're not willing to work, you're worse than an unbeliever. I didn't say it. Paul did, because you're not providing for your family. And that speaks for those who won't care for widows. And listen, it speaks for people who won't take care of their families. The Bible has
harsh things to say about this, because it's important, because our work ethic speaks to those things as well. And so after he gives those warnings, he goes on to discuss something that's a little bit unfamiliar to our culture. Again, when all is said and done, I'm going to bring four points together that I think will apply all of this to our culture. I've struggled with this a lot differently in this culture than they did back then. But it would appear that in the culture
that Paul lived in, that there was some sort of a list. That when you attended a church at that point in time, and you found yourself as a widow, and you were in need, you got put on some sort of a list, a role, where you were provided for on a consistent basis, both financially and materially. The first time that we see this is in Acts chapter 6. As a matter of fact, the first issue that arose within the church is that the Hellenistic Jews who were widows, were saying that they were being left out of the daily distribution. So that's the first place
where we see that this is what the church did. Again, we live in a different world now. It's a little bit different than that in our culture, but it's what they did at this point in time. And so what he's going to do is he's going to put some rules for help, some criteria on receiving help. And this is what he says. He says, a widow is to be on the list, that list that I spoke of,
only if she is not less than 60 years old, having been the wife of one man, having a reputation for works, if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work. It's kind of interesting because the list that he gives of criteria for those that would be put on some sort of a consistent helps list sound a little bit like the list of being an elder and a deacon. Can we agree with that? And so there was an age requirement that they had to be at least 60 years old, somewhere near retirement age. And so they had to be at least 60 years old,
we could say. They needed to be at that point in time, somewhere where they couldn't provide for themselves any longer. They were to be a one-man wife, just like an elder or a deacon was supposed to be a one-woman man, the idea there. They were to have a reputation for good works. They were to be hospitable, and they were to be devoted to serve. These were criteria that were to be met.
Now, I want you to imagine that you're Timothy. You're a 35-year-old kid who's pastoring a church, and you have all of these people coming to you wanting help. I'm in need, and I need some financial assistance, or I need some groceries, or I need to be put on something to be taken care of, and you have to make decisions every single day. Every day, you're deciding who gets help and who doesn't get help. Every day, you're deciding, am I using God's funds correctly,
or am I not using God's funds correctly? Because I'm here to tell you as a pastor right now, that's a pretty heavy pressure that you have on yourself. And that's what Timothy had to decide. Paul knew that's what he was having to do. He knew that's what he was having to do. He knew that's to work through. And so he said, I'm going to make it a lot easier for him. And so he gives him
this list of criteria, this list of things that everybody had to meet in order to receive this, so that when all of the people came to him, he would be able to know what to do. Well, not only did he tell them the list of criteria of those who were supposed to be on the list, but he gives them the criteria for those who would not be on the list. Notice what he says in verse 11. But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel sensual desires and disregard of Christ, they want to get married, thus incurring condemnation because they have set aside their previous pledge. And at the same time, they also learn to be idle as they go around
from house to house and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies talking about things not proper to mention. He says, don't put the younger women on the list. They'll end up deciding that they want to get married and break their pledge. It would seem to indicate, that there was some sort of a pledge that was made when you got put on this list that you would remain a widow and all of your life would be set to serve the Lord. He says, but these younger
ladies, they want to get married and then they break their pledge. And it's like, it's like condemnation to them because they're going against what they told the Lord. Therefore, don't put the younger women on the list. Not only that, but the younger women have a lot more energy and their time will be idle and they will find themselves going about doing things they shouldn't do, like being gossips and busybodies. Paul got himself in trouble with a lot of people, in my opinion,
because of the things that he had to say. But I'm going to get myself in trouble a little bit here too for a minute, shall we? I mean, I'm here. I may as well step in it. Paul brought up an issue with the women in the church at that point in time, an issue that he said needed to be dealt with, an issue that they needed to avoid. And the best way that they could avoid it is by making sure to
put certain safeguards into place. And the issue that he brought up within the church is that idleness brings about gossip and being a busybody and talking about things that you shouldn't talk about. Because if you're not about the Lord's work, then you'll be about the flesh work, right? And I'm just here to tell you right now, every issue, that's too harsh. That's too broad.
Many issues that come up within churches start by gossiping and being a busybody. They start with a group of ladies standing around in a circle having a conversation. It may have even started off as giving some prayer requests and it turns into a gossip circle. It turns into a busybody circle. And when I see that circle, this is just, look, I'm just being honest. If I'm
stepping on your toes, then maybe it's the Holy Spirit doing it. When I see that circle, I know that within one to two weeks, someone is going to come to me with an issue. And you know what happens every time? In one to two weeks, someone comes to me with an issue. Do you know what so and so said? Do you know what they said about me? This is what I've heard that they've said about
me. Now, wait a second. You heard that they said that about you? Yes, I heard they said this about me. Well, let's go ask them and see if they said that about you. No, I don't want to do that. Well, then you don't really want to deal with it. See, that's gossiping and being a busybody. And I'm here to tell you right now, it causes more issues within the church than you can
ever imagine. You know how I know that? Because the very first issues that started in the church started in Acts chapter six. And what did it start with? Gossips and busybodies who stood in a circle and said, you know, we're really being ignored in the daily distribution. I don't think they even like us because we're the Hellenistic Jews. We're not the real Jews.
I think they're against us. I don't think they like us. I think you're right. Let's go talk to the apostles. I think we should too. Do you know what they said about us? Do you know what they're doing about us? That's how it started. Listen, how do you avoid being a gossip and a busybody? Don't talk to each other about it. Talk to God about it. Don't spend all of your
time talking to each other about it. Talk to the Lord about it. Find a solution for it. Confront it. Don't let yourself be idle. Because if you sit idle, that's what's always going to end up happening. Because idle hands are the devil's playground. I know that's not in scripture, but boy, isn't it? I mean, basically the idea is there. And so he says, you have to beware of these kinds of things because they'll become idle.
They'll become gossips and they'll become busybodies talking about things not proper to mention. Therefore, verse 14, I want younger widows to get married, to bear children, to keep house, to give the enemy no occasion for reproach, for some have already turned aside to follow Satan. It says, therefore, I want younger widows to get back to life, to find themselves a husband and to marry. Do you know who one of the best examples in all of history is of this? A lady by the name
of Elizabeth Elliot. Elizabeth Elliot, if you've never read anything about her, you absolutely should. She's a fascinating lady. Her husband was the one that was killed reaching the Aka Indians down in South America. And as a young woman, she was widowed. And you would think perhaps she would allow herself to grow bitter. Perhaps she would allow herself to live a life of unforgiveness and bitter against God
and all the different kinds of things. But she didn't do that. Instead, what she did is she gave herself, first of all, wholly to the Lord. She gave herself wholly to the Lord through ministry. She went back to that same group of Indians and she ministered the truth of the gospel to them. And then she got back to the work of having a family and she remarried. And it's beautiful to see what God has done with her life over the years.
And that wasn't even the last time that she dealt with that because she lost another husband and decided that she was not going to get married again, that that was not for her. She was done with that. And I remember listening to her or reading about her on this. And she said, I told God I was never going to get married again, that I was just going to devote myself to him. And he said, why? I said, well, because I think that's what I'm supposed to
do. And he said, did I tell you that? And she said, no. And sure enough, God provided her with another husband. That's a perfect picture of what Paul is talking about right here. He said, let the younger widows marry. So that they don't have to worry about the future. He said, let the younger widows marry. So that they don't have to worry about the future. They can go and be who God has called for them to be. Now, so much of that is like,
what are we supposed to do with that today? Our culture is so different. The blank stares on all of your faces indicate to me that you're thinking to yourselves the exact same things. What are we supposed to do with this? And honestly, I've labored over this about the last three or four days. I told my wife, I said, I don't want to teach this message. This is boring. Like this, nobody wants to listen to this. What is there? She said, God
will always give you something. And he did. 00 I think there's four principles that we learn within this that I think we take away for ourselves that have application for us today as the church when it comes to how we treat people. Number one, the church has a responsibility to care for the vulnerable. The church has a responsibility to care for the vulnerable. Throughout our church and throughout our culture, throughout our area
right now, there are people who are in need. And the primary people that should be meeting that need is the church. A lot of times we want to delegate that. We want to delegate that especially to the government and governmental programs. The only problem with governmental programs is sometimes they don't work, right? Sometimes the money doesn't go to the right people,
it doesn't go to the right places, and it's nobody's fault other than maybe the people in charge, but it doesn't end up in the right places. And so we want to delegate that to everybody else. But wouldn't it be great if the church took that on for themselves and the church started being the ones who started meeting the needs of the people? But wouldn't it be even better if it wasn't just the church? What if it was the church that was meeting the needs of the people, that were caring
for the vulnerable, that were caring for those who were in need? Now listen, we'll get to the criteria thing here in just a minute because that's really important. But what if we started seeing needs and what if we started meeting needs? I will tell you, we do this currently right now. We meet a lot of needs of a lot of different people within our church. As a matter of fact,
within our church in general, just so you know, I don't always go over these kinds of things, but just so you know, in general, everything that comes in through your tithes and offerings into those agape boxes, the first 35 percent goes to what we call a first fruits account. And that account, all it can do is minister to people. We've helped people buy cars, we've helped people pay bills, we've helped people get into homes, we help people stay in their home, we help people buy groceries, we do all those things. Sometimes it's for people within the church, a lot of times it's for people outside of the church. But what hurts my heart more than
anything is when six months after someone within the church had a great need, I find out that that person had a great need. Because again, I'm one people, you're more than one people. I find out that they had a need and I didn't know about it. I'm like, well, I don't know about that. I don't know about that. We would have helped. Like, I would have done something to help them out. Either
me personally or the church would have done something to help them out. And so when you see a need and identify a need, sometimes you have to take that need either to people that can do something about it, or maybe you can do something about it. Maybe you as an individual are being called to do something. But our job is to reach out, to be there for the vulnerable. I think about
some of these young moms that go into family life services, and I think about the fact that we give them that, but there's still only so much that can be done. But what if God wanted to use you to meet some of those needs of the things that are going on at family life services? Because we can't say that we're against abortion if we're not willing to help moms have babies and then teach them what it looks like to raise those babies and to be there for them, to support them in that vulnerable stage, right? We can't say we're against government programs if we're not willing to be the ones that step in and do some of those things. We are to be the ones that are caring for these
vulnerable people. And if you'll listen to me, I'm not going to say that we're not willing to do that. But if you'll open your eyes, and this is a hard thing to do, because we live in a busy culture. We live in a culture where we've got to get where we're going. We've got to go do what we need to do. We've got a schedule to keep. But if we open our eyes, there's vulnerable people around
us all the time. There's people that are in need. And if you're willing to ask someone, is there anything I can do for you? You'd be amazed at the stories people will open up for you, and you can begin to minister to some needs. Because that's what we're called to do as the church. We are called to meet the needs of the most vulnerable. So number one, the church has a responsibility to
care for the vulnerable, just like what Paul's talking about here. Number two, the church also has to maintain the right priorities. We have to maintain the right priorities. Remember, my number one goal is not to feed someone for today. My number one goal is to see them sealed for eternity. My number one goal is to see ultimate spiritual healing take place in their life, because I am
well aware of the fact that most of the needs that are created in the lives of people come about because of sin. Either things that have been done to them, or things that they have done to themselves. And a lot of times, that's where it comes from. And so we have to maintain the right priorities as the church. Again, if your goal is to feed people, you'll feed people. If your goal
is to meet spiritual needs, you'll both feed people and meet their spiritual needs. You can do both. Because sometimes the only way that you can minister the gospel to somebody is if you're handing them a burrito, right? And I remember being in downtown Kansas City one time, and I always just, I'm a little harder than I used to be about this kind of thing, but especially in my early 20s, man, it just has hurt my heart so bad to see people on the street begging. And listen,
a lot of times you can tell the difference. One of the biggest ways you can tell the difference is you can say, can I buy you some food? And if they're really hungry, they say yes. If they just want money, they'll say no. I've watched it happen over and over and over again, okay? And so I saw this guy, and I said, hey, I'm gonna run into Chipotle. Do you want a burrito? And he was like, that would be
amazing. And I was like, I thought the same thing. So I go to Chipotle, I walk him through the line to buy him the burrito, get him a drink, and he was so thankful for it. And I was able to take just a minute to talk to him about Jesus. I was able to take just a minute to talk to him about the Lord. Because you see, my goal with him was not just to feed him. My goal with him was to
lead him to Jesus. But the way that I could do that was by buying him a burrito. Right? And so that's what it is. We as the church have to maintain the right priorities. And that's what it means. Like, they were caring for the widows because they were first of all wanting to meet their spiritual needs, but that meant that they also needed to meet their physical needs. If we just become a soup kitchen, we've missed the point. If we just become the
place where they come to get food, or they come to get clothing, or they come to get their bills paid, we've missed the point. We have to focus on those spiritual needs. Number three, there has to be criteria for help. There has to be criteria for help. I could probably stand here all morning. I won't. I could probably stand here all morning and tell you stories about the people that have
come here for help. The people that have come and given me their sob stories for what they need for help. And some of them absolutely hurt my heart because I know that they're real. And some of them absolutely irritate me because I can tell they're making the entire thing up. You start to notice the difference because it doesn't take a long time. To think about the truth, but to think about a lie takes a little bit of effort. You have to
really put some work into it. And so you start to notice when that begins to take place. And so we have to have criteria for how we help these things. One of the greatest criterias that we go through here at Calvary Chapel, especially for people outside of the church, is we operate almost totally through angels in the attic. There's a lady that works there. Her name is Ivy. I love
Ivy with all of my heart. She's one of my favorite people in the world because people will call up here and they'll ask me for help. They'll say, I need help with this bill. I'm like, and we would love to help you with that bill. But I'll tell you what, we do all of our help through angels in the attic because it's a protection for us and it's a protection for you. So why don't you go over and talk to Ivy at angels in the attic and she'll walk
you through the process. And then we're happy to pledge money towards us. I may even pledge the whole thing towards it, but we'll definitely pledge money towards doing that. And one of two responses takes place. Either one, they say, okay, great. Can you give me your phone number? Yes, no problem. Give them the information. The form comes through to me. We get them taken care of
and it's great. And I know that I've been able to minister to them and all those kinds of things. Or the second thing happens, which happens more often than it used to, is that someone will say, oh, well, angels in the attic won't help me anymore. They won't even answer their phone. They won't talk to me. They're just rude when I go to them. And I said, oh, that's,
well, that's too bad. I'll tell you what, give me, what's your first and last name? And I take their name down. I said, why don't I call Ivy? I'll call her. On behalf of you. And, and I'll, I'll find out from her what's going on, why, why they won't help you. And so I'll hang up, I'll call down to Ivy and I won't even get their full name out before she says, well, let me tell you why we won't help them. And she'll know when I first started into
this, that was a scary thing. Kind of like Timothy for him, it was 35. For me, it was 37. And I had to start deciding, okay, how am I going to handle this? Who am I going to help? Who am I not going to help? How am I going to follow criteria? And so I had to a hundred percent, lean on other people that had more wisdom than me to walk me through the best way to do that.
And then within the church, it's a lot easier because I can see how you live. I can see how you act. I kind of know what's going on with you. It's a whole lot easier to help in those situations, but there still has to be criteria. It's, it's hard to follow the criteria. And I, and I know for Timothy, it would have been a hard thing too, because I am kind of like him.
The older I get, the more I'm able to be like, well, you can be mad at me if you want to, you can get glad in the same pants you got mad in. But, but it was especially hard for me when I was, when I was much younger and earlier on in the ministry. I, the hardest thing to do is to tell someone no in those situations. I, I had, I've had multiple instances, but two that I can think of one, I received a phone call and eventually I had to say, no, I just don't think we have funds to help with that right now. And,
and they kind of berated me for a little bit about how can I call myself a Christian? How can I call myself a pastor if I'm not willing to help people out and really worked me over pretty good about it. And that was very hard for me. It took me, took me a few days to get over that one because it, it was really hard. And then one time I gave out some grocery gift cards and, and, or not grocery gift cards. That was another instance.
I'm telling you, I got lots of stories. I gave out some groceries to this person and they came back five times in two weeks for me, for me to give them what would last my family a solid week in each one that I gave them. And, and eventually I'd say, I appreciate your need, but, but we just can't be your grocery store anymore. We're, we're about to run out. And I know there's,
there's other people that are going to need it as well. And, and they, they pretty well verbally accosted me right on, on those front steps about, about the fact that I, that I wouldn't help them anymore. But you got to have that criteria because, because you want to be wise with God's things because you want to help the most people. Because one of the things that you learn, one of the things that you learn is that help is not always help. Sometimes it's enabling,
and that ultimately becomes the worst thing for someone. That's why Paul said, listen, you got to pay close attention to this because you want to point them to Jesus, not ultimately pull them away from Jesus. So there has to be that criteria. And so, so first of all, the church has that responsibility to care for the vulnerable. Second of all, we have to maintain the right priorities. Third, there has to be that criteria.
But then number four, the way you treat people speaks volumes about your faith. The way that you treat people speaks volumes about your faith. Listen, if you can treat people respectfully, that automatically makes your faith that much more valid. Because if you can treat people respectfully, young, old, male, female, agree, disagree, if you can treat them respectfully, it speaks volumes about who you are in Christ. Because that
means you care about who they are as a person, knowing that they have been created in the image of God, not just what their opinion is, not just what their age is. And if you can show love and generosity to the most vulnerable of people, it speaks volumes to the world around you. You don't realize this all the time. You don't realize this all the time. You don't realize this all the time. You
won't realize this all the time. Maybe you all help out . . . a ton outside of here, and that's wonderful if that's the case. But if you've been here for more than a week, and this is your second week here, I'm glad you're a member of Calvary Chapel. I'm glad you've become a member, because that's what that means. But as members of Calvary Chapel, I just want you to know that many people in this community consider you the most
giving people in the world. And you don't even realize that. Because the money that you all give here gets used in so many places throughout this community and you don't even realize it. So if you tell somebody you're from Calvary Chapel, and anybody that's involved with Angels in the Attic at all knows that, they will say, thank you for being so generous. Because your generosity, your kindness, the way you treat people,
is speaking volumes to the community, and you don't even realize it. And so, brothers and sisters, we need to realize something. We have to be faithful in the way that we treat people, whether it be the average person in the congregation, or whether it be the most vulnerable. Because the way that you treat people speaks volumes to the world around you. Amen?
Let's all stand.
And if you'd bow with me. Father, we come to you now. And Lord, I thank you for the practical things in your word. Lord, the things that keep us faithful in the most practical areas of our lives. And so, Lord, for each and every one of us, may we become the men and women of God, who show our faith, not just by the things that we say, or what we say we believe.
But Lord, would our faith be spoken through our actions, in particular with the way that we treat the people that are around us. And so, Lord, give us eyes to see the hurting. Lord, give us hearts that are compassionate towards those in need. Lord, give us lives that are respectful, above all things. And Father, we just thank you and praise you. In Jesus' name, amen.
Be blessed. I run to the Father, I fall into grace. I'm done with the hiding, the re-urging. My soul needs a friend, so I'll run to the Father again and again. Each and every day, we run to you.
I pray that you would minister to our hearts. Lord God, as we leave here today, I just pray that you'd give us hearts to minister to the vulnerable, Lord. The vulnerable in our community, in our community, in our community. In Jesus' name, amen. You guys have a wonderful week. God bless you. Happy Father's Day.