1 Timothy 5

Well, it is good to see all of your smiling faces. Amen. It's good to be back together again. And many of us have been in contact over the last week and several days, and some of us have not, so it's especially good to see those with whom we've not been able to be in contact over these last several days. We're gonna do something a little different today. And you know here at GFC, we're committed to systematic exposition, and we preach through the Bible verse by verse, and. That's what we do. But we're not committed to that so woodenly that we are unwilling to take an opportunity to pause from our systematic exposition and say some things that need to be said. And there's some things that need to be said today. We're gonna look at something other than the end of First John on today and it's for this reason, as we have all looked around us and seeing the devastation in different parts of the city, there's a question that we must inevitably face, and that question is how are we going to respond? I mean, what are we going to do as this body of believers known as Grace Family Baptist Church. What are we going to do. It's easy to be overwhelmed. It's easy to look around us and see, you know, all of the devastation to the south of us, and just be overwhelmed and say, well, man, what. Can we do now. Not only is it easy to be overwhelmed, it is also easy to be complacent, because you know, most of us have power. Now. Very few of us had any any real sort of devastating kind of damage, unlike some people that actually we know, there's some people in our church whose family members went back to see their house and it wasn't there. It wasn't there. That the slab was there, but the house was not there. And most of us up this far north and this far west of the storm didn't have that kind of experience, though most of us were inconvenienced at least for a while without power and things of that nature. But how is it that we are going to respond? We could be complacent and say, boy, we're so glad that we chose to live up here, far away from where the devastation is, and praise the Lord he got our power back on God is good, Amen, and just be done with it. And that's the attitude of many. However, when we look at things like Luke chapter ten, you know, and we see in Luke chapter ten when Jesus gives this illustration of the good Samaritan, and that's not where we're going to be today. But he gives this illustration of the good American to Luke chapter ten. And there are a. Couple of people who passed by this man who's beaten and left for dead. And then there's this one, this Samaritan, this one in the story that Jesus told to this lawyer who was questioning him, who would have been. The least, the least of all. Expected to stop and respond to this individual's need. And the question that Jesus sort of leaves the lawyer with is who was this man's neighbor. This man's neighbor was the one who stopped and responded and did something, not only in Luke chapter ten, but also in Matthew chapter twenty five. I was hungry and you fed me. I was sick, I was in prison, all these things and you responded. You you did something. So I don't think that, based on what we see in that our attitude can be one of we're going to make sure that our power is on and that we're all okay, and we're just going to sort of move ahead as things are. I believe there needs to be a response. However, at the same time that we say that there needs to be a response, I believe that that response needs to be governed by a scripture. So how then do we do that? And let me make this clarification. And many of us have already been engaged in Luke chapter ten and Matthew chapter twenty five type of responses. You see an individual who has a need. There's a neighbor. If it's a neighbor who just drives you crazy, a neighbor that you cannot stand. The neighbor at whose very presence you break out in hives. That neighbor whose car you don't even like to hear coming down the street because you know that now they're home and occupying the same space. You know who I'm talking about. Okay, there are some of you who have that neighbor, and that's the one that God puts you in a position to help. This past week. You can't say amen. You ought to say, ouch, okay, what. Do we do when a situation like that comes? You know what? You forget about all the rest of that stuff. And it's Luke ten time, amen, and it's Matthew twenty five. Time you see somebody pushing a car that ran out of gas, you just kind of stop, you get out, and you help them push that car. If you got some gas, you give them some gas. You do that. Okay, But we're not talking about Luke ten here. We're not talking about Matthew twenty five. Here. There are going to be some long term needs and there's going to have to be some sort of long term response. How then, do. We as a church engage ourselves when it comes to these long term needs and these long term this long term response. Open your Bibles with me, if you will, the First Timothy chapter five, First Timothy chapter five. We're going to look at some principles. That govern our actions as it relates to the benevolence of the church. Here in one Timothy chapter five. We gotta read a couple of paragraphs here and draw some of these principles and then talk about kind of plan of action. First of all, let me give you the overwatching plan of action. Here's the of action. It's already been sort of instituted. Response Number one was for us to make sure to the best of our ability that everybody in the church was okay, And by the way, some of you need to update your numbers for us, Thank you very much. But that was response number one. Let's make sure that we can get in touch with everybody in the church that we can possibly get in touch with, and make sure that if there are any of those needs within the context of our own body, that we take care of those needs. First Galatians six to two bear one another's burdens, okay. So our first responsibility was to meet needs within the confines of our congregation, starting with the members of the church, and then those who are our neighbors who've been visiting with us and are not yet members. But that's where we start. And in beyond that for us as members of the church to do Luke chapter ten and Matthew chapter twenty five with those neighbors near us. And now that we've sort of seen to those needs of the church. And by the way, if you are here today and we haven't been able to get in contact with you and there is a need that you have actor the. Service, please come let us know. We have resources that we've set aside, that we've put in place to try to engage and meet those needs. And once that happens, there are those of us who have neighbors who have real needs who could use help, and it's beyond us. You may be here and you say, you know, I have a neighbor and I'm trying to reach out to this neighbor of mine. But based on what has happened with this neighbor, they're going to need more than what we as an individual family can do. But we have an opportunity as a church to extend our reach to the neighbors of our members. Now beyond that, Phase one, take care of those who are part of our body and those who are attached to our body. Phase two, help those reach out to those who are close to them, neighbors who need to be helped. Phase three. Phase three is reach out to the Christian community at large in our area. Reach out to the Christian community at large in our area. There are churches that have tremendous needs. We're going to help those churches who have tremendous needs, why so that they can do what we did in phase one. In Phase two, take care of themselves and their members, and then through their members, take care of their neighbors. Okay, we don't have the resources to take care of all of Galveston, all of South Houston, all that. We don't we don't have the resources to do that. But we have resources to take care of the needs within this body and to help those within this body to reach out to the neighbors that they have. Who have needs. And we also have resources to help the Christian community and other churches around us who have needs so that they can take care of the needs within their body and then in turn extend their ministry to and through their members, to their communities. That's the strategy. Okay, that's the strategy. Now just look at some of the principles behind that strategy, and some of the principles inherent in that strategy that are incredibly important for us to understand if we're going to do this not just the right way, but with the right attitude. First tim beginning at verse three, honor widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show Godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents. For this is pleasing in the sight of God. So I'm sorry She who is truly a widow left alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. But she who is self indulgent, is dead even when she, even while she lives. Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Verse nine, Let a widow be enrolled. And again they're talking about long term benevolence, the actual long term, full time support of widows in need. Let a widow be enrolled if she is no less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband, and having a reputation for good works, if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work. But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry and sow incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. Besides that they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies saying what they should not. So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander, for some have already strayed after Satan. If any believing excuse me, If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened so that it may care for those who are really widows. Several things. The first principle is this, the Bible is not silent on how the Church is to do benevolence. The Bible is not silent on how the Church is to do benevolence. That is incredibly important because, for the most part, the only thing most of us know about benevolence comes from the socialist neo Marxist mandate that we get from our culture. That's it. That's the only way we think about benevolence. We think about food, pantries and you know, things of that nature, and that's it. That's our that's the only mindset we have, is the socialist neo Marxist mindset as it relates to benevolence. This idea about benevolence that says, you know that if there is a poor person and you're a rich person, then you need to be guilty and feel guilty for being rich, because being rich when they are poor people is actually a sin. That's the neo Marxist mindset. That's the socialist mindset that we have. Marx put it this way, from each according to his ability, to each according to his need. That's Marxism. It's not Biblical benevolence. It's Marxism. So the first thing we need to understand is that the Bible speaks to the issue of benevolence, gives us instructions on benevolence, serious instructions on benevolence, when benevolence is to be applied, and how benevolence is to be applied. And I may say this again, and I refer to this throughout the message, so that we're clear. I'm not talking about Luke chapter ten. I'm not talking about Matthew chapter twenty five. I'm not talking about the man who's bleeding to death on the. Side of the road. Nor is that what Paul is addressing here in first time of the chapter five. That's not what we're discussing here. We're discussing the church's long term perspective toward how the church uses her resources in the area of benevolence. That's principal number one that the Bible governs this idea of when benevolence is given and how benevolence is given. Secondly, here's the second principle. Biblical benevolence begins in the home. Biblical benevolence begins in the home. The first place where God has determined to meet needs is through fathers who are responsible for their wife and their children. Fathers who are responsible for their wife and their children. That's the first place that God has set up in order to meet needs. That that's stop number one, and it's usually stop number last. The father who is responsible to meet the needs of his wife and to meet the needs. Look at what he. Says, honor widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children and grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. And then he talks about she who's truly a widow. But look down verse eight. But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, especially the members of his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. The first responsibility for meeting needs is that of a father who is responsible for his wife and responsible for his children. Why is it so important that we understand that first principle because if we don't understand that first principle, then attitude changes. For example, if instead of believing that the first responsibility is a father to his wife and his children, we actually believe that the primary responsibility is that of the government, then our attitude is this. We get angry. I'm without power. I can't believe the government hadn't gotten to my street. We're without food. I can't believe the Red Cross hadn't gotten here to feed us. By the way, these are things that people are saying anger or the church again, I have a need. I can't believe the church hasn't met my need. Angry, and if we're not careful, that anger actually turns into bitterness. You know, there are some people who don't go to church because the church didn't respond to them the way they thought the church should respond to them. You know, the last thing that we have if we don't have this biblical principle in place, a sense of entitlement, a sense of entitlement. It's owed to me. It's owed to me from the government, it's owed to me from the church. If we don't get this first principle, that's our attitude, a sense of entitlement. It's not with the Bible teachers. Bible teachers, the primary responsibility is a father for his wife and his children. By the way, when we do have this attitude in its proper perspective, instead of anger and bitterness and entitlement, we respond to whatever we get with gratitude. Amen. So instead of you know, we've been without power, and I've heard stories. I've heard stories of individuals who are without power for several days. You know, neighbors got power, or you know, people down in another you know community got power. But then we didn't get power, and all of a sudden, somebody comes to turn the power on in their neighborhood and they're cussing the people out for taking so long. And one of the individuals who got cussed out was actually from another state, had taken time away from his home and his family, and had driven from another state because he knew there wouldn't be enough resources here to get everybody's power on, hadn't slept in his own bed in a week. He's going up a power line two three states away from his own home so that he can do it faster, and he gets cussed out because he didn't get there quick enough. Talk about ingratitude. When we have a sense of entitlement, we are not grateful people. You mark my words. Mark my words. People with a sense of entitlement. When all of this is over, they're going to be mad because the government didn't give him more. People with a sense of entitlement. And you be ready for this, folks. There are gonna be people with a sense of entitlement, and we go to these individuals and we help these individuals. You give them some ice, you give them. Some food, and they're gonna be mad because we didn't give them more, because of a sense of entitlement, because of misplaced obligations. The primary place where needs are to be met our father who's responsible for his wife and his children. We got to understand that principle. We have to understand that principle. And then to those in his household and his family extended Beyond that, here's the other thing. Not only does the Bible sort of govern this process of benevolence, and not only does this benevolence start at home, But here's the thing that we need to recognize. That the church needs to be spared from all benevolence that it can possibly be spared from. Let me say that again, the Church needs to be spared from all benevolence that it could possibly be spared from. That's our attitude. Not the church ought to do as much as the church can possibly do. But no, I, in my household and with my extended family and through my extended family, should do everything I possibly can so that the Church is burdened as little as possible. Look with me, if you will, last verse that we read, verse sixteen. Believing woman has relatives who are widows, Let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened so that it may care for those who are really widows. And again this flies in the face of this, you know, sort of modern idea that we have this sort of socialist neo Marxist idea that we have the socialist neo Marxist idea says, hey, bleed the system dry if you can. The Biblical idea is this, take care of everything that we can take care of so that those who are extending care are not over taxed in the process. Amen, that's the attitude that we have. The other thing is this, don't forsake your family and your extended family for the church. Don't forsake your family and your extended family for the church. Notice that verse again, verse sixteen. If any belief has relatives who are widows, here's what I want you to notice. It doesn't say if any believing woman has relatives who are godly widows, doesn't say if any believing woman has relatives who are widows that they think are worthy of being cared for. Says if any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for it so that the church is not birthed, so that the church can then go and take care of individuals who have needs that can't be met otherwise. Can I just say I don't like that part. I got relatives and I'd rather not help. Oh, don't act like you couldn't say the exact same thing. We've all got them. I know you. I've talked to you when your guard was down. Every last one of us in this room has relatives who we rather not help. Let me just forget about, let their church do something for them. You know what, if that's our attitude, we're actually taxing their church unfairly because we ought to be doing something so that their church could actually be ministering to people who literally do not have anyone in their family or their extended family who could be of help to them. By the way, the flip side also works, you have family members who are offering you help, and you don't want to receive it from those family members because you don't like them, so that the church could then in turn help you. That's violation of this text as well. If you have family members who are offering you help and you don't take that help, don't then come to the church. Because God has provided for your need biblically through your family members who reach out to you. You don't then go over what God has provided and come to the church so that the church can help. Do you see that? Because that violates that first principle? Where does this start in the home. In the home, the church is actually as the resort when it comes to this. It's a last resort when it comes to this. And again, let me say again, we're not Luke chapter ten. You know, we come upon this bloody he's been beaten, he's been left for dead. Well, I wonder if he has a family member who can do That's not what we're talking about here. Okay, that's not the principle. That's not the principle. Here's another principle. I want you to understand from this text. Not everybody in the church is equally eligible for help. Not everybod the church is equally eligible for help. I want you to look at this. Look at the first thing he says, honor widows who are truly widows. So there's one condition. They have to be truly Widows's what does that mean If a widow has children and grandchildren, let them first show godliness to their own household. So that's a second condition. She has to be truly a widow, and she can't have children and grandchildren who are capable of helping. Well, here's another She who is truly a widow left alone has set her hope on God and continues in supplications, prayers, night and day, but she who is self indulgent is dead even while she lives. Command these things. But if anyone does not provide. For his own relatives, especially members of his own household, then he's denied the faith. That's worse than an unbeliever. Verse nine. Let a widow be enrolled if, if, and then it gives a set of conditions only if these conditions are met. Now, some of these conditions we don't really understand, because there's a whole lot of cultural nuances here. But some of these things are very difficult for us interpret. But here's the point. The point is this, not every individual is equally considered when it comes to the benevolence of the church. Discernment is required, Discernment is commanded. Notice a couple of these things here, not less than sixty years of age, having been a wife of one husband, having a reputation of good works, brought up children, has shown hospitality. Look at that one has shown hospitality, has shown hospitality. In interesting in this church we have the ministry of hospitality, and one of the requirements for the church when it's considering its benevolence is is this an individual who's shown hospitality has washed the feet of the saints. Is this an individual who has ministered to the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted ourself to every good work. And again, the point here is real simple. The point here is the attitude of the church is not one of everyone is equally entitled to benevolence at the same level as everyone else. That's not the attitude of the church. All of these things happen orn in mind. Why because every last one of us comes to a situation like this with our Marxist socialist mindset, and our understanding of benevolence is warped by that Marxist socialist mindset. And if we're not careful, then number one, we end up being inefficient and ineffective benevolence. And thirdly, and worse than. That, we end up being disobedient when it comes to doing benevolence. So why this strategy that we've chosen. Why work with our members and those who are faithful attenders of our church, then move out through those individuals to their neighbors. Then move other congregations, especially those with whom we have a relationship, so that they can in turn do the same thing. Why do that? Why have that strategy as. Opposed to just, you know, let's become the Red Cross and just go, you know, do whatever. Why have that strategy? Number one, that's our strategy because if we do it that way, the Gospel is attached at every step. Let me say that again. That's our strategy because if we do it that way, the Gospel is attached at every step. If you're a member of this church, benevolence to you or to me is always attached to the gospel because when you're here at this church, we know that you're sitting under the teaching of the gospel. When we do benevolence in our neighborhood and with our neighbors, guess what, we then have an opportunity to attach the gospel to our benevolence. And when we then go and help other churches to do the same thing that we're doing, take care of their members, Gospels attached through their members, take care of their neighbors, Gospels attached. We make sure through this strategy that at every step of our benevolence, the goss is attached to our benevolence. Here's why God is not running a soup kitchen. He's running a church, and the church is about the Gospel, and the Gospel is always primary, and when we meet needs, it is an extension of the Gospel. It is an expression of the Gospel, and it ought to have the Gospel attached to it. I'm doing this. Why am I doing this? Because of Jesus Christ, who died for my sins, redeemed me from the pit, saw me in a situation worse than your situation ever. And how can I be redeemed from a situation like that and not be a person who is about the redemption of. Others and just messes people up. Amen. And I know some of you already have stories about that, and it's incredible just to be able to do that. Watch God bring about those divine appointments. And you don't get those divine appointments when you just sort of give something blindly and never engage the gospel with it. You don't have those opportunities to share. You don't have those opportunities for divine appointments. So that's number one. The Gospel is attached that way. Here's number two. If we do it that way, we'll be more effective, will be more efficient and more effective rather than it's all just sort of running around like chickens with our heads cut off. Will be more efficient and more effective if we do it this way. And it's very important that we be efficient and effective because that's how we're stewards of God's resources. Amen, And we've got to be stewards of God's resources. We have to be Okay, here's the third reason we do that because the way we respond to benevolence during this time of crisis cannot be allowed to alter the way we see benevolence long term in this church. Let me say that again, the way we respond with our benevolence in this crisis cannot be allowed to change the way we see benevolence long term in this church. What do I mean by that, Well, you know, there are a lot of churches who now have you know, these sort of food pantries and soup kitshens. Not because they went to the New Testament and that was the best way they could figure out to meet needs based on the New Testament, but because some tragedy happened and they responded with a food pantry, and then somebody came back and said, hey, this is an idea, we need to just do this full time. I know that was on church on staff at one of those churches for several years myself. Okay, been there, done that, and it became a welfare agent. Was absolutely a welfare agency. So then instead of responding biblically and having our benevolence directed by what the scriptures teach, we respond based on the moment. And we're no longer doing biblical benevolence funding based on this strategy because long term we are by the way, you know, any one of our deacons would have been able to just tell you about this. Why because in their training as deacons, this is what they're trained over so that when needs come they learn how to sift it through this grid so that they can oversee benevolence from a biblical perspective. Okay, So that's our approach and that's our response, that's our attitude as we do this. We want to be as kind and as gracious and as loving and as giving as we possibly can. We want to be as gospel oriented and as gospel centered as we possibly can, so that when people are ungrateful, like those folks who cussed out that man who drove two three states away to come help put their power on. We can be just like he was and tip our hat and say good day to you, ma'am, because that's going to happen. That's going to happen. And here's another thing that we need to keep in mind. As we move. Forward and as we respond, we'll have this attitude. We're going to do this so that we can meet needs, so that individuals will then come to faith in Jesus Christ because we met their need, and then they have a different opinion of the church. You know what's interesting, that's the attitude that people had after nine to eleven. After nine to eleven, church attendants skyrocketed in the United States, and a lot of churches just sort of bent over backwards to take advantage of this natural catastrophe that it turned people toward God. Within sixty days, church attendants was right back down where it was before nine to eleven. Within sixty days. We're not doing this because it's a way to manipulate people into the kingdom. We're doing this because this is the way people who are already in the Kingdom respond in a situation like this. We proclaim to God, Hey, if God uses ike to bring somebody into the Kingdom, praise the Lord. But if God doesn't use Ike for anything other than to mold us and shape us and teach us how to go and help and meet the needs of others, then so be it. Finally, before we leave, remember this, there are a lot of people who are going to be in conversations about this, and I'm already hearing this theological error. And here's the theological error. The theological error is this, we're trying to protect God from being a bad guy. And so we say, well, you know, don't think that Ike was from God. God's not. God's not God's not like that. God wouldn't do that. Okay, that storm came because of sin, and there's sin in the world, you know, and and and God doesn't want things like that to happen. And God's not responsible for things like that happening. And that's that. You know, they're trying to protect God from seeming mean. But then on the other hand, we want to tell people that they need to trust God. Folks, if God didn't send Ike, then God's not sovereign. I don't believe that while Ike was bearing down on Galveston, God was biting his fingernails. Amen, God, I mean God was not going Ooh, I hope the seawall is tall enough. Ike came our way because God ordained it. We don't like the way that sounds. But follow me on this. If God was so helpless that he couldn't control Ike, how can I trust him with tomorrow? Follow me? Okay? If God's sitting there biting his fingernails and he couldn't control Ike, then how can I trust God for tomorrow? How do you get there? From here? I came right where God intended for I like to come. There is not one random molecule in the entire universe, and there's not one random hurricane. Has never been, will never be in the history of the world. There will never ever ever be a random hurricane or a random tornado, or a random flood, or a random lightning storm, or a random hailstorm or a random earthquake. No such thing. The good news is if my God is awesome and powerful enough to take a storm as big and nasty as Ike and say, right there, Ike, what do you think he can do with your circumstances? Huh? So, as we talk to people about this storm, don't try to protect God. He didn't need it. Amen, God, doesn't need to be protected. We serve the God who controls the wind and the rain. Don't believe me, Jesus, don't you care we're perishing. They're out there in a boat and they had their own ike in a boat. Jesus, don't you care that we're perishing? And so Jesus got up on the boat and said, well, you know, actually storms like this can't really be controlled by me. They are actually these natural forces that were already put into place. So what we need to do is just sort of endure this storm, because God really wouldn't want the storm. No, Jesus woke up and said stop, and that ike was gone. You don't think he could have controlled this one. Not only could he control it, he did he did. Let's keep that in mind as we go forward. Let's keep that in mind as we respond. Let's keep that in mind as all of us think through how we as individuals continue to respond, and as all of us think through how we collectively as a church continue to respond. You know, I said that was the last thing, but this will be the last thing for a while now. As the deacons and elders have been talking and as we've talked with Randy, our treasurer. You know, we've had this money church commits somewhere, which depending on how you look at it, all the numbers some are heard, you know, to like forty percent of our budget is set aside for missions and benevolence. You know, we don't know how you look at the numbers. And so we got this money, this benevolence money, but we never we never spent all our benevolence money. Never, we never spent all our benevolence money. And people are kind of going, you know what, what are we going to do with this? And is it this? Is it that? Do we need to start this? Do we need to start that? You know what? Do we We're kind of getting scared as the ban was building up, We're just going, God, you. Know what, what's the deal. We're trying to be faithful here and we want to do benevolence, but they just don't seem to be enough needs. So for all those who were wondering why it is that we would ever be put in a situation where we'd make a certain commitment that we believe God led us to make, and that those resources that we committed to do a certain thing would go unused. For everybody who's been wondering about that newsflash, God's in control. God's in control.