Knowing & Growing in Your Calling - Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Meet me in your bibles, please, in the book of first Timothy. First Timothy chapter four. In verse 14, Here's what the word of God says to us this morning. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.

Let's pray. God, we need you. Lord, this this word will not have its effect unless you assist us. Protect us from being like the Pharisees. This is Protect us from being like the Pharisees this morning.

Failing to see Christ, failing to see the gospel, even in a text like this. We pray, Lord, that if there would be any consequence of this meeting, that every person would be drawn closer to the person of Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that you and your power through the word would set men free. Free from legalism. Free from lawlessness, Lord.

Free from any false interpretation of who you are. Lord, we declare in your presence that eloquence will not do. Gifting alone will not do. Lord, we are told in your word that it must come from the power of the Holy Spirit. His might, his grace, and we ask, Lord, that he would be evident in this house.

Lord, that every man would disappear, but let Christ appear. We ask, oh God, that this would be free from confusion, free from distraction. Lord, take full authority over our minds and our affections this morning, and may it last. May we grow as we just read. May we progress in your will.

In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen. As a believer in Jesus Christ, you would admit that at one point, the eyes of your heart have measured the incomparable value and worth that is in the gospel. There is a moment where you can no longer ignore it. There is a time where you stop scorning it, and then, surely, there was a time where you fully submitted to it.

As the Holy Spirit drove his conviction, as he convinced you of being a sinner, but also convinced you of the love of God in Christ Jesus, You embrace that hand that was extended to you to pull you out of the waters, that wanted to swallow you alive. And so you know in yourself that according to Hebrews two, that you did not neglect such a great salvation. Surely. But here is the reality. What many Christians do understand, obviously, is that they are a recipient of a gift, the gift of grace.

But at the same time, many fail to see that they are beneficiaries of other gifts. I'm afraid that many believers who are convinced that they have received eternal life do not understand and realize that with that gift come many other wonderful treasures. The possibility that is so prevalent in the body of Christ, that even Paul's spiritual son, Timothy, was in danger of falling into spiritual dormancy, where he would, yes, obviously know that he received salvation, but he was in danger of ignoring, making light of, being careless with this other deposit or deposits that God has placed in him. That's why we are told here, do not neglect the gift you have. Again, to neglect means to ignore, to be irresponsible, to make light of, and to ultimately just be careless with.

And why would Paul write this to his spiritual son, unless of course, he knew the potential temptation of even though he was in ministry neglecting what God had purchased for him, for the church. And why would the Holy Spirit write such a verse? Unless for generations to come, God knew in his foreknowledge that this would be a temptation that believers and many churches would neglect, not salvation, but the other gifts that came with salvation. Here's the prayer for this message. That you, this morning, would know what God has called you to.

Or at least, if you haven't known, would begin the quest of discovering what God has called you to. And that from that place you would know God's heart for you to utilize the very things that he has purchased for you. Is this message optional this morning? What do I mean by that? Is it is it up to you to determine whether this would be a serious thing to take into consideration?

I'm sure you can come to the conclusion that it's not. It's not optional. Because if you do not know the gifts that God has given you to serve the church, or if you know them, but you choose not to exercise them, I have to tell you right from the beginning that you are not fully in the will of God. And if you love God, that's not a place where you wanna remain. And so, I wanna break this down simply into two ways.

Number one, how to identify your gift. And then number two, how to utilize that gift, or how to utilize, how to walk in your calling, to know God's heart for you in that area. And so what do we see here? Look at verse 15 again, rather 14. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.

If you read carefully, you would see here in this very verse that there is a model into discovering the functions that you could occupy in the assembly that you were called to. Now, the order of these insights are not set in stone, but they are all vital ingredients in understanding exactly what it is that the Lord has for your life. And so I want you to consider them with me this morning. I want you to see it with me this morning. And if you're really, again, I always give this disclaimer before a message like this.

This will only benefit those who long to be in the will of God. And you've heard it, and maybe you already know this, what I'm about to say, but take it into consideration for somebody that you might be able to bless with. You've heard it, you probably asked it, what does God want me to do? How do I know what God called me to? How do I how do I step into that with greater clarity and light and insight?

That's what this is about. And here I think I think there are three things from this one verse that we can draw from. Number one, to know what God's called you, to know the gift that he has placed in your life. Your heart will bear witness to it. Your heart will bear witness to it to some degree.

Paul here is reminding Timothy of a gift or gifts that are already in him. Giving us and indicating to us that Timothy was probably aware of something that he had already. And generally before there is an outside confirmation, there is an inner witness. There's something within you, there's an ambition or there's an ability that you know in the realm of spiritual goals and gifts that resonates with you. Paul told Timothy, remember when we studied in chapter three verse one?

If anyone aspires the office of an overseer, he desires a noble task. If anybody aspires, longs for, hopes for, dreams for, this specific office, which is a gift, he says, that's a great sign indicating and pointing you in the direction of your possible service in the kingdom of God. And so it begins with desire. In Timothy's case, he needed to know that because it's not very wise to elevate somebody in a place of leadership if they don't love the idea of leading, shepherding people. Likewise, it's not wise in many areas to elevate or promote anybody in any kind of ministry if they don't have the heart for it.

Why? Because the lack and the absence of passion will affect the quality of the service. And so even when it comes to elders, it's amazing how the Holy Spirit begins with identifying a desire, a passion. Is that not a principle for us that long to serve our Lord? Examining our own hearts and saying, oh God, where are my passions?

Where did they sit? What does my soul resonate with? What brings me joy? What brings me fulfillment? Where do I see fruit when I exercise certain things?

A wise word of counsel at this point, that desire or ambition can be misguided. For example, maybe you've experienced this, that when you first got saved, alongside with the joy of knowing Christ came a rush of wanting to be like a missionary or a senior pastor because in your mind, the only way you can really serve God is if you had this or if you went to some foreign place and was martyred. And sometimes that sensation is genuine, and most times, it's outlived or replaced by something else God had in mind for your life. And so I say this because though you may have an ambition, a desire, a longing, if that ambition is not assisted with an ability, maybe it's not from God. Because with the ambition will come a grace to fulfill the task that you burn for.

It's not my opinion. And you might say, well that's that's that's kinda that's kinda mean. Well, Paul told Timothy earlier that if you desire to be in office, in the office of an overseer, you have to have the ability to teach. As much as you long for it, and you memorize these pastors in history, and how much they inspired you, and that doesn't mean anything. If you don't have the grace, then it's not gonna be effective.

If it's not effective, it's not gonna be a blessing. If it's not a blessing, then what's the point of the gift? Listen to what Paul said in first Corinthians 15 verse 10. But by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace toward me was not in vain.

On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them. Saint Paul, you're a little arrogant, don't say stuff like that. But he was realistic. I worked harder than any of them, and then he clarifies, though it was not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Do you see?

It wasn't just the grace of being called into certain ministries and giftings. He also highlighted the grace to fulfill them. And so he's saying here, I fulfill the role of an apostle, church planner, pastor, teacher, but they're not just my heart's desires. They weren't just my passions. They weren't just my dreams.

No. I recognize and I tell you today that the skills and the talents to walk in them were empowered and enabled by God himself. And though our spiritual gifts may not be in full development, may they may be in seed form in the beginning, obviously, of our walk. You will be able to recognize a sense of vision, a sense of liberty, joy, ease, and drive in certain areas over others. And so listen, it's not unspiritual for you to say to yourself and your heart or to others, this is where I find joy in serving my God.

It's okay. That desire in you is given by God. It's an indicator. Your heart will bear witness to a certain degree. But another ingredient is that God himself will bear witness.

God himself will bear witness. So he not only says, hey, Timothy, don't neglect the gift you have. I'm reminding you of something that's in you. You know it's in you. But then he goes on to say, when the council of elders laid their hands on you, and they prophesied over you.

Now whether Timothy knew early on in his Christian life that these were the the things that he wanted to do for the rest of his life, be a pastor, and be a teacher, and be an evangelist, one thing is certain that at one point, God made it very clear in his life. And the way it was done was by prophecy. Now, to be in the dark of what you are supposed to do, and to not know is not a sin in itself. Sometimes it takes much prayer, time, experiments, and counsel before you come to that place. So don't be discouraged if you're here in this place and you go, I don't know.

Am I already We just went through point one. I'm already in a mess here. It's okay. In Timothy's case, he had confirmation. There was a revelation that was beyond personal.

It was outside of himself. And the Lord came through a specific gift that he has given to the church by spiritual leaders exercised. And the scene of this is not recorded. We don't have Timothy's ordination service in our Bibles, but we have great confidence to think that it looked very much like what Paul experienced in Acts 13. You don't have to turn there.

Where where he's there with a bunch of men fasting and worshiping, and praying and seeking God. And then the Holy Spirit says, the Holy Spirit spoke and said, set apart from me Paul and Barnabas for the work to which I've called them. Now what? Did he boom from heaven? I believe in that text, it was through the gift of prophecy.

And so what you have here in Timothy's case is that certain spiritual leaders surrounded him, laid their hands on him, perhaps prayed over him, and one or more sensed by the Spirit to encourage him for his future ministry. And so perhaps it looks something like this, as these faithful men of God placed their hands on Timothy. A man said, Timothy, the holy spirit wants to let you know that you being a pastor is not your idea. It's God's idea. He has given you the gift of teaching and leading and pastoring and evangelizing.

And so go with this strength that God is with you and for you, and He has ordained you himself. I myself have known people, faithful people, that have experienced that. Where God has made something known to them in a supernatural way, where whatever was hidden in their hearts was confirmed by those who did not know what was in their hearts, to say something that they themselves sensed by the Lord. And there's no biblical reason, There's no biblical reason to believe that it can't happen today. Although, many have used what we just read here out of ignorance or selfish reasons to do damage to other people's lives.

Don't mess around and start saying to people what God has revealed to you. If you fear God, you'll be very very slow to act in such a manner. And I'm sure you hearing this today, feel a tug in your heart to say, oh, wouldn't that be an experience for my life? And in fact, we would say that would be much easier than me trying to figure it out. Why can't God just speak to me?

Why can't God just make it known? Haven't we asked that God give me a sign. God's As I come to church, I just have a stranger do something. I just need to know where am I supposed to go from here. And today, I'm not here to defend the spiritual gifts, I just wanna make this point, that God is not limited in the way in which he can confirm something in your life.

And so in Timothy's case, it was prophecy, but may I tell you that in more than this, where you see God moving supernaturally through not prophecy, but providence. Providence. What do I mean by that? The Lord often makes something clear to us, not by having his voice boom from heaven, nor by having a dramatic encounter with somebody, but will lead you through circumstances. And he'll close doors, and he'll open doors, and he'll allow you to go through certain events providentially, only for you to have an assurance in your heart about something that needs to be known to you.

Providence, events, a series of things occurring in your life, and God as a father knows exactly what his children need. In Timothy's case, he needed prophecy. And for another child of God, he knows that he needs providence. He needs me to take him by the hand and allow him to experience and taste things before he is certain and convinced this is where the Lord wants me to be. When I first got saved, I was convinced within a few months walking with the Lord, I was totally convinced that if I was gonna serve the Lord in any way, I was gonna be an evangelist.

I was gonna be an evangelist. In fact, as a scripture says, zeal without knowledge is not good. I had the zeal, the wisdom caught up with me later, I guess. Because in my mind, with this burning desire to tell people about Christ, I almost looked at the church and thought, why do you guys meet all the time? I mean, once a week is enough.

Come on. Let's get out of here. Let's go to There's a dying world out there, and you need to hear another sermon. Let's go. And so this desire was very real in my heart, and and I would just go out there, didn't have a name tag, didn't get invited to places, just went to my campus and tried to tell as many people as I could about the Lord.

And as I went into a church and was built with a church, I built a relationship with a pastor, a young adult pastor. And different times, he would take me out for lunch because the my my campus was not far from the church. And one day, he's in the car with me, and that's what we would do, we would go in the car and drive together and just talk, and he would drop me off school. One day, he's in the car with me as we're driving, and he's looking forward with his hands on the steering wheel, and he said, Daniel, have you ever considered being a pastor? And I'm sitting in the passenger seat, and I'm thinking, no.

And I said, listen, honestly, if I was gonna be if I have any relationship with the church, it'd be coming to the church, grabbing a microphone, be like, get out of the church. Go, go, you need to go reach the lost. And so when he had said that, it did not resonate with me immediately, I have to be honest. And I even told him, I said, No, not really. And I began to explain my heart, and then he said this, very wise, he says, don't negate it.

Don't cancel the thought out completely. Just consider it. And that's it. That's all it was. And what did it take?

It took a series of events in my life, and it wasn't until by God's providence that I became a youth pastor, and even in that place, still operating as an evangelist, some of you remember, I mean, the only message that I really had was repent, that you need to repent. And I thought to myself, I can't keep telling them to repent. They have lives, they have relationships, they they have finances, how how can they grow? And then going to different conferences, my heart began to testify to me of my love for the church and the people of God. And I began to miss the people of God, and began to think about the people of God that I was plugged into.

And it was through that I mean, I was so convinced that I wasn't gonna be a pastor that when I went to Moody, they asked me, what do you feel like God's calling me? I said, an evangelist. And they said, okay, you gotta go to this degree. Don't go for this degree. So even my I was so driven and then God, through a series of things, teaching me by experience, this is where you're supposed to be.

And my heart began to warm up to that. And so you don't have to have this dramatic event where you sense the glory of God and heaven opened up and said, this is what you're supposed to do. Walk in what Corinthians tells us where you are in the moment. As God has called you, walk in that place, and then watch the Lord lead you as your heart desires to serve him with everything within you. God will find a way to bear witness and confirm in your life, this is what you're supposed to be doing.

But it won't be just God who will bear witness. The church will bear witness. Notice here that the revelation of Timothy's gifting was given by prophecy. Sure. But when the council of elders laid their hands on him.

The laying on of hands here is not just how you pray for somebody. Brother, can I pray for you? And you lay your hands on the shoulder. No. This was a custom in the old and new testament of ordination.

That's why later on in the next chapter, he says, don't be quick to lay hands on somebody. He's not talking about don't be quick to pray for somebody, Don't be quick to elect somebody in leadership. And so we see that practice throughout the scriptures. And what's happening here, what Paul is reminding Timothy of is his ordination service. When other spiritual leaders publicly confirmed to the church, God has called this man Timothy to be a pastor in the church of Jesus Christ.

And so in Timothy's unique case, God confirmed his ministry at the same time as the church recognized his call. But the principle can be stretched out. And one of the strongest ways in which you will have a greater clarity where God wants you to be is through the body of Christ. God uses the church. Why?

Because think about it. It's a it's a very simple equation. If a gift is meant to bless others, then who better to confirm in your life what blesses them than those who are being blessed? Here's the scripture, and I would encourage you to turn in first Corinthians 14 verse 26. A gifting is strongly confirmed by the church leaders and church body that you are a part of.

Notice what Paul says in first Corinthians fourteen twenty six. What then brothers? What then brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn. A lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation, that all things be done for building up.

Did it say some of you? Did it say, some of you will come with something? No. Each one of you. Now, I want you to think about how significant that is.

Every single person in this place this morning came to this church service with something to offer. And this is what's amazing. It's every single person, every time we gather. And we pray over our services, and we ask God to save souls, and we ask God to make himself known, and we ask for a list of things, but if there's anything that is to be automatic, that we do pray for, but automatic is that all of us, every time we gather to worship the Lord, should leave here built up. That's what it says here.

Which brings me to another point, which is not directly with this message. Just turn a few chapters in first Corinthians. Go to 11, and I want you to read something that's kind of grieving, but it's important to see nonetheless. First Corinthians 11 verse 17. Look what Paul says to the same church.

But in the following instructions, I do not commend you. Why? Because when you come together, it is not for the better, but for the worse. Wow. You know what Paul is saying here?

It's possible that when you come together as a church, it's worse for your spiritual condition than it is better. And you think it will, what were the Corinthians doing for them to come together for it to be worse than it is a blessing? For it to be more damaging than for it to be a delight? Well, it can be various things. It can be false teaching, shallow teaching, a lack of church discipline, a lack of confrontation and sin in the congregation.

It can be sin against one another. It can be division, and that's exactly what they were dealing with in verse 18. He goes, it's worse for you when you come together. Do you know why it's worse for you? Because in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that some are dividing amongst yourselves.

There's clicks. Some of you are saying, oh, we love pastor so and so, and we're we're with him. And, oh, but no, we we love pastor so and so. We like it when he teaches and he and and that's what he deals with early on. He's like, oh, are you of Cephas?

Are you of Paul? Did Paul died for you? He's like, I'm glad I didn't baptize some of you. You'd be part of my clique. I don't want you part of my clique.

I want you to think about this. A church has the ability to bless the people, or make them think, is it really worth coming to this church? Now take that verse, just while we're here, because we're gonna go back, but let's just stay here for a little while. Take that verse and apply it to your personal life. Who are your friends?

I don't care if they're called Christians. Who are your friends? Now let me ask you this, when you come together, are you built up in your faith? Or is it worse for your faith? If you wanna gauge if you wanna gauge who you should be around, then take these two verses and place them on your friendships and say, am I built up in my faith or is it worse for my faith?

If you are honest, if you are honest, there will be a great sifting in your relationships. Paul says here, it's worse when you come together. And if it's worse for you, if you become more lukewarm, if you become more tempted, you have to reconsider who you associate with. And back to the verse in chapter 14 verse 26. It says, so what then brothers, when we come together, when you come together, let me just remind us that we have to come together as a church.

Plagues or no plagues. Think about this. Jesus said that before he comes, there will be an intensification of plagues and pestilences, plural. COVID is not the last one, by the way, guys. COVID is not the last one.

And so let me say this, if we have to shut our church down every time there's a plague or a pestilence, there's not gonna be much church near the return of Jesus Christ. Plagues are pestilences. What did Jesus have in mind when he said that there were being plagues and pestilences? Pestilences. He didn't say when you come together on Zoom.

Paul says, when you come together in person, when you come together as a church, there's a building up that will occur. And now what he says here, with the variety of gifts that are in the church, with the different skills and abilities, God has in one mind, in one accord, that we would be raised up in our spirits. So what does that mean? Here's a practical way for you to be able to assess and identify how it is that I can function in the body of Christ. Ask yourself this, how can my participation or involvement benefit and boost the spirits of my brothers and sisters?

Notice that it's not how can I be built up? That's not the question. The question is not how am I built up, that's why I want to serve, this is where I want to be because I want to be built up. Now the byproduct of you serving is that you will be built up, but if you are seeking something for the sake of your own self esteem, nobody can receive from somebody using a gift to bless themselves. But if you are set on saying, no matter what it takes, with the skills that are at my disposal, I wanna bless other, then you will be a blessing to the church of Jesus Christ.

And to which some would say, I've been told that I have certain gifts, it's been confirmed by my brothers and sisters, but I don't have an opportunity to utilize them. At this time, and if you know, or it has been affirmed by others that you have especially a public speaking gift to teach, to exhort, to sing, whatever it is that utilizes your your tongue, realize that the platform of that gift to be exercised may not be granted as soon as you would prefer. Nonetheless, realize also that God in his wisdom knows exactly when to bring you to that place. He knows what needs to take place in your heart. He knows what he needs to prepare concerning those around you before that promotion comes.

You have to believe that. You have to No matter how much you itch, and no matter how much you think, I'm ready now, I love the story, if there's any picture of this with the life of David himself, Anointed by one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament. I mean, if you had anybody backing you up, if you have anybody on your recommendation for school, or for ministry, Samuel was the guy. Samuel was the guy. Samuel comes, anoints him, says, you know, God has called you to be the next king.

He's a teenager. Now think about the average teenager, how they would respond to that when Samuel would come on the scene and say, you're gonna be the next king. You know what? You know what he didn't do? Thanks Samuel.

And go show up home, hey guys, guess what? You guys didn't even call me to come when Samuel came, Well, I'm gonna be your king in a few years. And he didn't march up to Saul and say, hey Saul, Samuel came up to me. Yeah, the same Samuel that came up to you. Now this is what I need you to do, I need you to make me co king, and if not co king, then I need you at least to train me up to be a king, because I'm I'm coming to take that seat very soon.

No. Even when he grows up and he is under Saul's leadership, there are many opportunities. Even when Saul wanted to kill him, that his friends were like, just take the guy out. You can have it early. This is what God is doing.

They're even saying, this is the Lord giving you this opportunity. And David said, you know what? No. Because if God's really called me, I don't have to lay a finger on anything. I don't have to push any doors open.

He will effortlessly lead me to where I need to be if it's truly of him. And God honored that. So what does he do in the meantime? Well, read his life. He serves his family.

He's a delivery boy. Hey son, I need you to get them cheese and bread. They're out in battle. Go get them. And then, slowly and providentially, he becomes a in a place where he worships, and he soothes Saul's demons.

And then he does these little missions, and then God at the right timing, after much development, and trials, and suffering, and preparing Israel. Like God had to prepare Israel for Moses to come on the scene. He preparing the other people for him to operate where God called him to operate. It's a wonderful comforting thing to know that even though you can identify, even though God, like in this case, the spirit of God rushed upon David. So he didn't just have Samuel, he had the Spirit of God anoint him, and he sensed it.

Still, the timetable is different with God. That doesn't mean that you can't still serve him. I'm reminded of a testimony of a young man who also felt like he was called to be an evangelist. And he had a burning desire and he was part of, obviously, a local church, and he shares of this story. He did not have a chance to come up and preach.

He wasn't invited to conferences. No. But he has a series of of stories of how God still used him with those giftings to bless the body of Christ, and in this particular story, he would take the city bus to his church, and one day he took the city bus and he was a little tad bit late. He steps off the bus and he wants to rush and to get into the sanctuary just before the message is about to begin. And as he does so, he sees a young man smoking.

I don't smoke, so this is just saying, you you look very professional in that. This is just, he's smoking there and leaning against the wall, and that young man in his heart, he had the evangelism strings being pulled. Thinking to himself, I've never seen this person, he's right outside the church, this is a pretty good opportunity. And so instead of just rushing into the service, he stops and he begins to communicate with this young man. How you doing?

What are you doing here? And this young man began to open his heart. You know, my mom's a Christian and she brought me out here, and I'm just grabbing a smoke break, and and so he began to discuss and talk with him. Come to find out that his mom is not just a Christian, his mom had brain cancer. And she was in the service.

So this young man looks at him and says, well, why don't we just go in Let's go into church together. I mean, don't stay out here. I'm heading in. Just come sit with me. He goes, okay, fine.

I'll come. And so they go into the service together, they sit, and they sit beside the mother who had a wig on. And the message goes on, and they finish and they begin to talk again, and he meets the mother. And the story goes that the mother was absolutely ecstatic. She could not believe that somebody took a brief moment of time to give attention to her unsaved son, to show concern and enough love.

And it Her her face lit up, I mean, she was just brimming with joy. And in that moment, that young man had the opportunity with the son and the mother to pray over her cancer, ask God for a miracle for her life. Now, here's my question. That young evangelist who desire to to see God's people, awaken to see God's people, all these different things, did he get up on the platform and preach a nice message? Did he have a big name?

Did did he have crowds coming to hear what he had to say? No, but he still built the body of Christ. He still built up one person. In fact, he probably did something that in event, a guest speaker at a church could not really do, and that's give special attention to a guy that was smoking outside because his mother wanted to see him and hear the gospel. You don't need the platform.

You don't need the name tag. You just need a heart and you just need eyes to see around you. How can I build up? How can I build up? The church will confirm it.

And so I come to this point now, giving you some tools to know how to identify it to a certain degree. Here's God's heart for you to utilize it in verse 15. Practice these things. Practice these things. Immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.

After giving a negative command, do not neglect, he now gives a positive command, practice these things. Immerse yourself. You know how the King James puts it? Give thyself wholly to them. To what?

Well, you read verse eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, to Christ like character in Christ ordained ministry. And the idea here for Timothy as a pastor, is that he was not to think that the pastorate was a job. He wasn't to think that the pastor is just a nine to five that you punch in and out, and you get a nice little paycheck, and you're comfortable, and your future is set. He goes, no. Timothy, the pastorate is not a job, it's a way of life.

You are to immerse yourself. You are to be absorbed, engulfed. You are to be putting forth maximum effort into being an effective servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not something you just turn on and turn off. No.

This is something that you dive into. And the temptation of this verse is it not to say, that's right, pastors better take their their ministry seriously and they better be completely consumed in studying and reading and preaching and being holy. Timothy was to be an example by the way. And this is not just a call for ministers to be immersed in pursuing Christ like character and in Christ ordained ministry. You ready for this?

That is to be the attitude of every servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are to be completely consumed and there should be a greater intensification of your devotion to loving Christ and serving him as your master. Or else the church is in trouble, if the immersing is only left to leaders of congregations, and congregants don't have to immerse, but just have ankle deep devotion to God. That's not God's plan. Think of the language that is being used here, and analyze your own heart this morning.

Am I completely consumed to serve my God and his people? Like, is that really the reason why I exist? Or is it a slice of the pie of why I'm on the earth? Like 40% is my job and 25% is my relationships and 10% is vacations and and 7% is living for Christ and serving in the church. That doesn't exist in the Bible.

That's North American Christianity. That's not biblical Christianity. You know what biblical Christianity is? That the whole pie is serving Jesus Christ. And if there's any slices in it, the slices identify the different context in which you shine Christ.

So I serve and love the Lord Jesus Christ, and I do it 30% of my work, because that's where I am 30% of my time, and I do it 50% here, and I do it 20% here, but everything about you is immersed in this. It's not just a slice of the pie. It's not the cherry on the top of your Sunday life. No. It's the reason why you live and breathe.

It is. Anything less is to set a lower standard. And listen, if you think about it, this verse is much more important than you can even think and imagine. Two people can be saved in the same meeting in the same year, and ten years from that meeting, they look completely different. Why?

Why? They heard the same message, they received the same gospel, they were filled with the same Holy Spirit, so why is it that ten years from that moment where they both came to the place of receiving Christ that they look like two different people and there's one main reason. One immersed himself and the other didn't. Or he did for a season and he got distracted by something else and goes hooked onto another purpose in life. That's why.

And you might be thinking, well, you know, it's not as grievous as a thought to me, like, people have different spiritual maturity levels. May I ask every father and mother in this place, if you would be satisfied to know that your child remained in the first grade for ten years in a row? Now, it's amazing on an educational level, we go, that is disastrous. That would grieve you, that would break your heart. But then when we interpret it spiritually, we're like, no, you know, people, yeah.

But God is your heavenly father, and he's not interested in you staying in grade one level faith for twenty years. And this is why it's important, because as God's children who sit in churches, it's possible not to graduate into a more mature love and humility and sacrifice, and kindness and purity and knowledge of God and his word. See, this verse here in first Timothy four fifteen is both deeply troubling and deeply encouraging. Deeply troubling because of why I just mentioned. It's possible to know the gift of salvation, but not make spiritual progress.

To be spiritually stagnant and handicapped. That's possible. Or else, why would he say, so that all may see your progress? So that, immerse yourself, so that you can grow. And the great question is, how do I grow?

Or how do I how do I get out of this, revisitation in the same same class in the school of Christ? Let me read to you second Peter three, verse 17 to 18. When you hear this, and you read it slowly, you realize God's wisdom and it is profound. At the end of his letter, after describing the end times and how the world's gonna be consumed in flames, that there's gonna be a new heaven and a new earth, he gives the application at the end of his letter and he says in second Peter three seventeen, therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard. Be on your guard.

To not fall over, so you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. Isn't that isn't that what's possible that we can fall? Stumble. Yes. And then he says in verse 18, but grow.

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen. Do you see the connection? The great question of the day, is it not?

I don't wanna keep falling and I don't wanna keep stumbling and I don't wanna keep cycling. And Paul, rather Peter, is saying that's possible. You can fall. You can be lured away. And here, I'm gonna give you the solution.

So that you would never know a season of cycling and roller coaster devotion. Here it is. Here's your remedy to never fall again in your life. Grow. Grow.

What does that mean? Be intentional to invest, to plant, to water. And when you are set on growing in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, that is the great protection from falling. So you can be assured that one of the reasons why somebody is falling or has fallen, at least in part, they have gone quite a while without being intentional in growing. They they're just floating around.

You're bound to fall like that. But when there's a daily discipline and a daily decision to say, oh God, in some part, in some measure, I'm gonna invest in my growth. You may not have the same time as a pastor, that's okay. But as long as you make daily small choices to make an investment in your growth, oh, there is a great protection not just benefit. Great protection.

But this is not just deeply troubling. As I said, this verse is deeply, deeply, deeply encouraging. So that all may see your progress. You know why that's important? Because God comforts us with the insight that spiritual progress takes time.

It takes time. I want you to think about the great emphasis on the metaphors of spiritual growth in the bible, and notice that much of it is agriculture. Planting, watering, sowing, bearing fruit. What does that mean? Well, you never plant something and see something immediately shoot up into maturity in one night.

I mean, the men and women of that day that heard Jesus use those metaphors and those parables, understood to a certain degree that there is a level of patience in my maturity, in my spiritual growth, that it does take time and attention. Therefore, be patient with yourself for your God is patient with you. I love seeing Jesus Christ interact with his disciples. Because Jesus Christ had one condition for discipleship, that is that you give up everything to follow him. Right?

And as long as you're set on giving everything up to follow him, that your heart is saying, I'm immersed. Lord, the reason why I live this short life is to live for you. He's willing to work with you, like he did with those disciples. With all the mistakes, and all the hiccups, because of their one surrender and their daily carrying of the cross, God could work with them. Prove it, the rich young ruler who was so ready, he thought to say, Lord, I'm ready to I'm ready to know what it's like and what I need to do to inherit eternal life.

He's like, Well, give up this. And he goes, I can't do that. And he walks away. And what would most people do? Run after him and put their armor on the back?

Oh, no. It's okay. We'll work it out. You'll figure it out, and you'll see that you you can't hold on to this while you follow Christ. Jesus didn't do that.

He goes, you can't give up everything? You can't follow me. I can't work with somebody who doesn't give up everything. So as long as that is set in your heart, you can be guaranteed that Christ will hold your hand and walk with you. And as you fall, he'll never let you plunge face first.

He'll pick you up and say, let's keep walking. So what does this tell me? It tells me this, that progress takes time. And this would have been especially encouraging for Timothy as a pastor. Being young, for sure, this would have been encouraging.

Timothy, there's gonna be a season in which you will need to grow in your knowledge and in your ability to communicate truth, and be encouraged to know that as you progress, your God is walking with you and God's people are walking with you. Timothy, your leadership is gonna develop and your wisdom is gonna grow as you deal with circumstances and events that no textbook and seminary is gonna teach you by the way, but know this, progress takes time. God is walking with you and God's people are walking with you. Believer in this place that is serious about holiness, that's serious about growing, that's serious about blessing others. Be patient.

Swatter. Plant. Invest. Bring light. And listen, this is what's so encouraging about this, is that spiritual growth is not some subjective interpretation.

Because he says, so that who may see your progress? All. All. So what does that mean? It means that spiritual maturity is observable by those who are near you and watch you, and worship with you.

Here's where that can be dangerous, that you pursue spiritual growth so that others may see it. Don't do that. Please don't leave here and say, oh, if if true spiritual growth is recognizable by others, then I better show people that I'm someone start speaking King James and fellowship. Don't do that. But here's what that means, that as you focus and you immerse yourself in Christ, the evidence of your change can be so real that it will be recognized by others.

And from time to time, you may hear, sister, you've been spending time with the Lord, haven't you? Brother, I wanna encourage you that you are more wiser than you were a couple years ago. And it's amazing, right? That even in the physical, this is why this is important, this is encouraging because in the physical, we can make improvements on our self and may not see it, but it's when others confirm it that we're blessed and we're reminded. Right?

For anybody that's died in here, you know what that that's like. You feel like nothing has changed and then four people on that one day say, you've lost weight. I can clearly tell. And go, really? Thank you.

Wow. And so here, what we see is the need for a corporate body to encourage us and to affirm us and to identify what God is doing in us. It's a wonderful thing. It's not to fish for praise. It's not to say that you're not growing unless somebody is affirming you every time you come to church.

You're different than you were last week. Nobody expects that on a diet. You don't expect somebody to tell you every single day or every other day, it looks like you lost some weight. Nobody expects that. Spiritually speaking, don't worry about your maturity being measured by others, but know that it is in part a confirmation when the church says, from time to time, I'm encouraged by your walk with the Lord.

Your presence blesses me. Do you see here that your calling has everything to do with the people around you? Again, let me end on this note. This is not a competition to be the best superstar Christian. This is not so that we can we can manipulate God and pray enough and long enough, so that other people can love us the most.

That's not what it is. So we can simply bless, whether that's one, two, a handful of people. No no matter where God has called you, whatever capacity he's given you, just like the talents, ten, five, one. Whatever God has disposed into your hand, you work with that. You work with that.

Here's my question today. In 2021, in 2021, are you going to choose to be more immersed than you are in 2020? No matter what 2020 look like, make Christ the whole pie of your life and not just a slice. Even if that slice is 95%, God wants a 100. That's what the Lord wants.

If you're in this place and you're saying, I wanna know what God's called me to, know this, your heart will bear witness over time. God will make it clear. The church will confirm. You have every right to come up to spiritual leadership. If you've been in a church long and say, brother, what is it that you feel like God's called me to do?

We've experienced that. I'm blessed by that. And then you you you go through a journey of prayer to discover what that is and counsel and experimentation. And God's heart for you is to be consumed with this. No matter what you do in life, no matter what job you have, that your utmost desire is to say, oh, God, I wanna live my life being a blessing to the people of God, and God will answer that cry.

Let's pray together. Lord, in the beginning of this year, we look to you. Lord, if our hearts were anything but completely absorbed to live for the glory of God, no matter what context we find ourselves in. Forgive us. Help us realize that spiritual progress can only be possible upon this one condition, being immersed.

Our affections, our plans, our desires, our dreams being soaked, being submerged by the will of God. Lord, if there's anybody here that's on that quest of knowing the path for their lives, help them realize that the only thing that you require is a heart that's set and living for you only. From that place, Lord, you will bear witness in their hearts, and if not, clearly, Lord, you will clarify yourself providentially, and Lord, you will also through the gift of the church identify gifts in us. And we pray, oh God, that once those gifts are identified, that we would practice these things. We would train, we would grow, and that we would be completely consumed so that progress would be known by the world around us.

Help us not live for that as our main ambition, but help us realize that growth can be so known that others can recognize and praise you for it. We ask God that that would be the case for every person in this church. Lord, show us how we can build one another up. Your name we pray. Amen.