And he's speaking to every minister
of the Word of God as he speaks to young Timothy. And he says
in verse 2, Timothy, preach the Word. Preach the Word. Dr. John Gill says, this Word
which Timothy is commanded to preach is twofold. The Word here
is Christ the Lord. In the beginning was the Word.
And the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and all things
were made by Him. Without Him was not anything
made that was made. And the Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us. We are to preach Christ. Christ
is the Word of God. But also we are to preach the
Word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. And included
here is not only preaching Christ, but preaching the written Word
of God. We are to emphasize the Word
of God. For one cannot be preached without
the other. You can't preach Christ and not
preach the Word. And you can't preach the Word
and not preach Christ. And notice Paul doesn't say,
argue the Word, debate the Word. We're not sent to argue the Word
of God. We're not sent to debate the
Word of God. We are sent to proclaim or to
preach the Word of God. We're not sent to explain the
Word, we are sent to proclaim the Word of God. Timothy preached
the Word, preached the Word of God. And then down here in verse
3, or verse 2, he says, "...be instant, in season, and out of
season." That is, the Word of God is to be preached whether
the opportunity seems to be favorable or whether it seems to be unfavorable. in season and out of season,
whether the opportunity appears to you to be favorable to preach
the Word or whether it's unfavorable, whether it is convenient or inconvenient,
whether it is, listen, welcome or unwelcome. Preach the Word
in season and out of season, whether it be favorable or unfavorable,
whether it be convenient or inconvenient, whether it be welcome or unwelcome. And whether it be believed or
disbelieved, preach the Word of God. I'm going to say some
things in the message tonight that may be contrary to what
you have always heard or always felt or always thought or always
been taught, but I'm going to preach the Word of God. Whether
it be welcomed or unwelcomed, whether it be believed or disbelieved,
whether it be favorable or unfavorable, it's the Word of God, in season
or out of season. Now, for the time will come,
and brethren, I don't think it's a prophecy anymore. I think it's
a reality. I think the time's here. The
time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but
after their own lusts, their own desires, their own thoughts,
shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears,
and they will turn away their ears from the truth and shall
be turned to fables. The time is here now when men
will not endure, men and women will not endure sound doctrine. They want a religion, people
today want a religion that actually teaches nothing. People today
want a religion that requires nothing. They want a religion
that embraces everything. And after their own desires and
their own lust, they seek pastors and preachers who will satisfy
them. Now what is the idea today of
a good pastor? Now you think just a moment.
What's the idea of a good pastor? If you ask someone who is a good
pastor or a good preacher, and I'll say this will be the definition. A good pastor is a pastor who
can satisfy the congregation. A good pastor is one who can
get along with everybody. A good pastor is one who offends
no one. A good pastor is one who can
build a large, happy congregation. But where is the prophet? Where
is the disturber of Israel? Where are the sons of thunder? Where are the spiritual leaders
who dare to disturb the status quo? Where are the men of God
who dare to boldly call men to repentance and call men to faith
in Christ? The time will come when they
won't endure sound doctrine. They don't want to hear it. And
they're going to heap to themselves teachers that will satisfy them
and please them and do what they want to be done and preach what
they want to hear. But there are churches. There
are churches which God, there are churches that God is blessing
and there are preachers that God is blessing. And the guidelines
are laid down in the Word of God, and I want to give you four
of them tonight. First of all, a church which
God blesses will be a church which gives the gospel its rightful
place. Now turn with me to 1 Corinthians
chapter 9. The church that God blesses is
the church which will give the gospel its rightful place. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9
verse 16, Though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory
of, for necessity is laid upon me, yea, woe is unto me if I
preach not the gospel." I brought the ordination sermon for a young
man down in Georgia about three weeks ago, and I looked through
the word of God and I asked the Lord to give me a text, one to
give to this young man and to the congregation. And God led
me to this text right here. in 1 Corinthians 9.16. And he
taught me about three or four points from this text. Paul said,
I preach the gospel. I preach the gospel. I preach
the gospel. Not many people can say that.
Not many people know the gospel. But Paul said, I preach the gospel.
What is it to preach the gospel? Now just exactly what is it to
preach the gospel? It's not just to stand up here
and shout in a loud voice. That's not preaching the gospel.
What is it to preach the gospel? First of all, it's to tell the
truth about God. A man cannot preach the gospel
who does not tell the truth about God. Turn with me to the book
of Psalms, Psalm 135. In Psalm 135, David is talking
about God. He's talking about the Lord.
And he says in Psalm 135, Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name
of the Lord. Praise him, O ye servants of
the Lord. Ye that stand in the house of
the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, praise the
Lord. For the Lord is good. Sing praises
unto his name, for it is pleasant. For the Lord hath chosen Jacob
unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure. I know
that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. And whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep
places. In Psalms 115, listen to David
again. In Psalms 115, verse 1, he says,
Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory,
for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. Wherefore should the heathen
say, Where is now their God? Our God is in the heavens. he
hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." To preach the gospel
is to tell the truth about God, and to preach the gospel is to
tell the truth about men. Now turn with me to Romans chapter
3. Now this is not a pretty picture,
but we're going to, if we preach the gospel, we're going to have
to tell the truth about men. It says in Romans chapter 3,
verse 9, Romans 3, 9. Listen to it. What then? Are
we better than they? No, and no wise, for we have
before proved both Jew and Gentile. They're all under sin. As it
is written, there's none righteous. No, not one. There's none that
understandeth. There's none that seeketh after
God. They're all gone out of the way. They are together become
unprofitable. There's none that doeth good.
No, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre,
with their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of asp
is under their lips, and their mouths are full of cursing and
bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and
misery in their ways, and the way of peace have they not known,
and there is no fear of God before their eyes." You can't preach
the gospel unless you tell the truth about men. Isaiah said,
from the sole of our feet to the top of our heads, there's
no soundness in us. The flesh is flesh, and the flesh
is corrupt, and the flesh is rotten, and the flesh is depraved,
and the flesh is defiled. And to preach the gospel, you
have to tell the truth about men. What is it to preach the
gospel? It's to tell the truth about
Christ. The scripture says, and I think being as brief as possible,
the scripture says Christ is all. Christ is all. If Christ is all, where was he
back in eternity before the world began? There was a day when there
was no world here. There was a day when there was
no moon and stars and sun. There was a day when only God
existed, when the angels didn't walk across heaven. Where was
Christ then if he's all? Well, He said, Father, glorify
thou me with the glory which I had with thee before the world
was. There was a time when all things
were created. If Christ is all, where was He
then? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God, and all things were made by Him. They
were created by Him and for Him and because of Him and through
Him and will glorify Him. There was a day when sin and
darkness and death came upon this earth through Adam's disobedience. If Christ is all, where was he
then? He was the brightest light in
the darkest night. He was the announcement of God
who said, The seed of woman shall bruise the serpent's head. He
was life announced to a dead world. He was the salvation announced
to a lost world. Christ in that moment of the
fall, in that moment of man's rebellion, Christ was announced
then as all of man's hope. There was a time when this world
was plunged into the deepest darkness and superstition. Religion
was corrupted, politics was corrupted, philosophy was corrupted. In
that day God hung a star over a manger in Bethlehem and announced
to the shepherds on the Judean hillsides peace on earth, goodwill
toward men, unto you is born this day in Bethlehem a Savior
Christ the Lord." He was all in that hour. There is coming
a day when this world shall be no more, when the heavens shall
melt with a fervent heat and the earth shall be destroyed.
and there shall be a new heaven and a new earth. If Christ is
all, where will He be then? The Scripture says, God hath
exalted Him, and given Him a name above every name, that at the
name of Jesus every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess
that He is Lord. He shall have the preeminence.
coming a time when the sea shall give up the dead which are in
it, death and hell shall deliver up the dead which are in them,
and all men shall be standing before the great white throne
of God. If Christ is all, where will
He be then? He'll be on that throne as the
judge. For the Father judges no man but hath committed all
judgment to the Son." If we preach the gospel, we're going to have
to tell the truth about God. He is not a puny He is not a
frustrated, defeated God. He is not an old granddaddy upstairs
that wants to do his will and can't. He's a sovereign, almighty,
omnipotent, eternal God who does everything He pleases, with whom
He pleases, when He pleases. And man is a depraved creature. He's a rebellious creature. He's
a helpless creature. He's without hope and without
God and without Christ. But by God's grace we have a
Savior, and that Savior is Christ the Lord, who obeyed the law
as a man and went to the cross as the God-man and paid our sin
debt. And if we preach the gospel,
we're going to have to tell the truth about salvation. If any
man be in Christ, he's not just a professor of religion, he's
not just a member of the church, he's a new creature. If any man
be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things have passed away and
all things have become new. He's not just a nominal worshipper
upon certain days. He's not just a religious hobo
that goes from church to church. He is a devout, devoted, consecrated
child of the King who loves Christ more than he loves life. And no man or woman has any right
to claim salvation who has not been brought to that place. Any
man who loves father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife,
even his life more than he loves Christ, is not fit to be called
his disciple. Any man who puts his hand to
the plow and, like Lot's wife, turns and looks back out of an
attraction for this world, is not fit to be his disciple. That's
what he said. Now let's tell the truth about
salvation. Let's quit excusing these half-hearted, careless,
nominal, indifferent church members who never worship God, who never
pray, who never read the Bible, who do not love Christ. Let's
quit calling them Christians. They're not Christians. They
don't know Christ. Now that's so. Any man who's
met Christ is a new creature. He's been regenerated, he's been
sanctified, he's been consecrated, he's been changed, he's been
made partially imperfect thus far, going to be perfect someday
into the image of the Son of God. That's the truth about salvation. And no man has a right to claim
it who has not been brought to a vital union with Christ. Now
look back at that text again, 1 Corinthians chapter 9. What
is it to preach the gospel? It's to tell the truth about
God. It's to tell the truth about man. And don't flinch. Don't
be afraid to. Paul said, you rebuke, and you
exhort, and you correct, and you reprove. Don't be afraid
to. Preach to yourself while you're preaching to them. It's
to tell the truth about man. It's to tell the truth about
Christ. He's no failure. He cannot fail. He did what he
came to do. He said, I came to seek and to
save the lost, not try to, not hope to. He did it. He shall
not fail. He's the man of the covenant.
He's the surety of the covenant. His blood is the blood of the
covenant, and God's covenant's going to be fulfilled. He said,
my sheep will hear my voice, and they'll follow me. Now then,
though I preach the gospel, I've got nothing to glory of. Why
do we have nothing to glory of? Well, we know our own guilt.
We know our own sins. Paul said, I'm the chief of sinners.
He was the greatest preacher and the chief of sinners. He
said, I'm less than the least of all the saints. I'm not worthy
to be called an apostle. And all our gifts are borrowed
gifts. They don't originate in here.
They came from God. Look at 1 Corinthians 4, 7. He said in verse 6, No one should
be puffed up against another. Verse 7, For who maketh thee
to differ from another? What hast thou that thou didst
not receive? Now, if you received it, why
do you glory as if you did not receive it? We are dependent
upon the Holy Spirit of God. Totally dependent, absolutely
dependent. We know our guilt, we know our
weakness, we know our failure, we know our sin, we know our
gifts and talents, whatever they are, are borrowed. God gave them
to us, and we're dependent on God's Spirit. Look at the rest
of this verse. Do I preach the gospel? I don't
have anything to glory of. I don't have any reason to be
puffed up, for necessity is laid upon me. Why is it necessary
that I preach the gospel? I think the disciples answered
that. Our Lord was preaching one day to a great multitude,
and when he finished his message, they began to walk off. And after
a while, they were all gone. And he turned to the twelve,
and he said to them, Will you also go away? And one of them
said, Lord, to whom shall we go? To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. Brethren, there's nothing out
there in what we call liberal religion today. There's nothing
there. in their colleges and seminaries where they're putting
a question mark on God's Word, where they're preaching philosophy,
where they're putting a question mark on the miracles and on creation,
putting a question mark on the deity of Christ, the resurrection
of Christ, the existence of hell. There's nothing there. To whom
shall we go? Out there in these so-called
fundamental churches where people are putting on a show and they're
singing whoopee music, and everybody's having a hallelujah time, and
they're dragging folks down to the altar, and they go away,
and they come back again to the altar next week, and they go
away, and they come back next week, and they go away, and they
keep getting it and losing it and never know when they have
it. There's nothing there. In these churches where they
bring them down the aisle and baptize them, put their name
on the roll, and they quit attending, but they're all going to heaven
because they're eternally secure, there's nothing there. There's
nothing there. I've been in those places. in
these places where they claim to be restoring the gifts of
the Spirit, speaking in tongues, prophesying, healing, putting
on a sham show. There's nothing there. Nothing
there. It's hollow, it's empty. Lord,
to whom shall we go? Necessity is laid upon me. My only hope is Christ. My only hope is a sovereign Savior. My only hope is a Savior who's
able, out of love, not my love for Him, His love for me. to
reach down and lift me from the dunghill and set me on the throne,
and by his power keep me there. Lord, to whom shall we go? Necessity is laid upon me. I
have to preach this gospel because there is no other gospel. I have
to proclaim salvations of the Lord because there is no other
source of mercy. There's no other source of help.
There's no other source of salvation. It has to be from the Lord. With
men, salvation's impossible. If it's left up to me to help
myself, then I won't be helped. And Paul goes on and says, "...woe
is unto me if I preach not the gospel." Now, brethren, what
is the penalty? for compromising the gospel.
There's some folks going to find that out someday. There was a
preacher right here in Ashland, I'm not going to call his name,
it happened years ago. And we were having some difficulty
over this message that I'm preaching. I'm not ashamed to declare that
I'm preaching the truth about God, and the truth about man,
and the truth about Christ, and the truth about salvation. I'm
preaching the salvation of the righteous as of the Lord and
of him only. And I'm not ashamed of that.
And this preacher was asked by one of the men of our church,
don't you believe what the man's preaching? He said, I sure do.
I sure do believe it. He's preaching the truth. But
he said, listen, I can't preach it, because if I did, my people
would fire me Monday morning. And I have a wife and family
to support. Now brethren, I ask you tonight,
Paul said, woe is unto me if I don't preach the gospel. I
don't know what men are doing, I don't know what preachers,
I don't know what their aim is, I don't know what their goal
is. Suppose we build a large congregation and most of the
people go to hell, of what use is it? Suppose we build a vast
monument to our religious works and efforts. If God burns it
as wood, hay, and stubble, of what use is it? Suppose I get
twenty-five people down the aisle and twenty-four of them are lost.
My soul, I give them a false security, a false hope. Woe is
unto me if I don't preach the gospel. But you say we've got
to be successful. All right, let me ask you this. A man can rob a bank if he's
willing to pay the penalty. I'm not willing. You can go right
down there tonight and rob the Second National Bank. Yes, you
can. And you can get rich for a few minutes. You can really
prosper for a few minutes. You'd be the richest man in the
state of Kentucky for a few minutes anyway, maybe for a few days.
But I'll tell you, there's a penalty awaiting you. And we preachers
can cut the corners off our messages. We preachers can compromise the
sovereignty of God. We can say that, well, we're
not going to preach this. It's hard to understand. That's
what they said to Christ. This is a hard saying. Who can
hear it? We can cut the corners off and
we can compromise with people, but I'm telling you this, there's
a severe penalty awaiting the man that does. Woe is unto me
if I don't preach the gospel. Woe is unto me. The second thing
about this church that God will bless, this church will give
the gospel its rightful place. From its pulpit will go forth
the gospel. From its classrooms will be declared
the gospel, the gospel of substitution, the gospel of the blood atonement,
the gospel of the crucified Christ, the gospel of saving mercy, the
gospel of Jesus Christ. People will come to that church
and they'll sit down and they'll get up and go out, at least in
their heads they'll know how God saves sinners. They will
not suspect for a moment that a man can go to heaven because
he's a good man. They will not suspect for a moment
that a man can go to heaven because he's made a profession of religion.
They will not suspect for a moment that a man can go to heaven because
he's turned over a new leaf, reformed his life, joined the
church, been baptized, observed the Lord's table, kept a few
laws. They will be persuaded, at least in their heads, that
the only way sin can be put away is by the death of a substitute,
Christ the Lord. Now secondly, this church will
be a church in which the pastor has his rightful place. Turn
to Ephesians chapter 4. Now brethren, the greatest thing
in the world is to be pastor of a church of believers. That's
the greatest honor that God can bestow upon any individual, is
to be pastor of a believing people. I know the name pastor has lost
its meaning in this day. Pastors today are promoters.
Pastors today are entertainers. Pastors today are visitors. Pastors today are toastmasters,
club NMC, do-gooders. But there is a job in the Scripture
given by God And there are some responsibilities connected with
it, and it's called the pastorate. Look in Ephesians 4, verse 11. It talks about Christ going back
to the Father. And He gave some apostles. We know who they were. Secondly,
and some prophets. We know who the prophets were.
And some evangelists. We know who the evangelists were.
Timothy was one. And some pastors and teachers,
right along with apostles. Pastors. Right along with prophets,
with Daniel and all the rest of them, pastors. Right along
with evangelists like Timothy and Barnabas and Paul. Pastors. Pastors and teachers. What for? Look at it, verse 12.
Why? For the perfecting of the saints.
For the work of the ministry. For the edifying of the body
of Christ. Till we all, till every sheep
of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith, till
we all come to a knowledge of the Son of God, till we all come
to a perfect man, a mature man, till we all come into the measure
of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That pastor is to
see that that congregation, verse 14, be no more children. tossed
to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by
the slight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in
wait to deceive. But he's to speak the truth in
love." To speak the truth in love, that
we may grow up into Christ in all things which is the head,
even Christ. God ordained the pastorate. I'm
responsible under God and before God and before you for the spiritual
welfare of this church. Turn with me to Acts chapter
20. Here is the Apostle Paul. Paul talking to these elders,
pastors and elders, and the church of the Lord Jesus Christ properly
governed and organized has pastors and elders. They're teaching
elders, and Paul stood before these pastors and these elders.
And he said in Acts chapter 20, verse 17, look at it, And from
Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.
Got something to say to you, Paul said. Look at it. Verse
28, he talks to them about how he ministered himself, and then
he said in verse 28, Now you take heed, therefore, unto yourselves,
and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost have made you
overseers to feed the church of God which he purchased with
his own blood. That's your job, to feed them.
To feed them. I see David sitting up on the
hillside, and the flock is down there grazing before him. And
he thinks about his relationship with all. He brought that flock
into green pastures. David was a shepherd, and he
looked for the best feeding grounds for his sheep. He's responsible
for He looked for a place where they could have a quiet stream
out of which to drink. A sheep doesn't like a turbulent
stream. He found quiet waters, still
waters, and green pastures. He sat there, he did his best
to see that they were well fed, and as he watched them he said,
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me
to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside distilled
water. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness,
for his name's sake. We as pastors and elders are
to feed the flock. Not entertain them, feed them.
Not socialize, feed them. Every opportunity that we have
to speak to the church of God, we are to feed the flock. to
go through this book and read it together and pray over it
together and preach it. Paul said, I did it with fear
and trembling, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ
be made of none effect, not with wisdom of words, lest your faith
should stand in the wisdom of men, but I came to you in fear
and trembling. Now turn to Hebrews 13, and I
want you to look at this verse here. The pastor is God appointed. The pastor is God-ordained. The
pastor is responsible for the spiritual welfare of the Church.
He's to assume that responsibility. God gave it to him. And it's
so serious. It's so serious, to feed the
Church of God. And your responsibility to him,
in Hebrews 13, 17, listen to it. Obey them that have the rule
over you. That is, that guide you. and
submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls as they that must
give account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief,
for that be unprofitable for you. God gave you a pastor He
gave that pastor the spiritual responsibility to feed that flower.
Now, he can't make you eat it. He can't make you come to the
services and listen to the word. He can't make you. He can provide
the green pasture, but he can't make you eat it. He can provide
the still water, but he can't make you drink it. And you'd
be wise, Paul said, if you'd listen to him. Or Paul, writing
in Hebrew, he said you'd be wise if you'd listen to him. He has
the rule over you, and submit yourselves, for He watches for
your soul as those that must give an account. Now then, turn
with me to 1 Corinthians 9. A church is responsible to support
a pastor. In 1 Corinthians chapter 9, now
listen to this. In 1 Corinthians 9, in verse
7, listen to Paul. First Corinthians 9.7, Who groweth
a warfare any time at his own charge? Who planteth a vineyard,
and eateth not of the fruit thereof? Who feedeth a flock, and eateth
not of the milk of the flock? In other words, here's a man
who takes care of a flock or a group of cattle, and he takes
care of morning, noon, and night, and the owner says, You can't
have any of that milk. Well, he'll drink the milk. A soldier
leaves his home and goes to protect his country, goes to fight a
battle. Does he pay his own expenses, or does the nation for which
he's fighting pay his expenses? That's what he's saying. Say,
are these things of the man, or say, is not the law the same
thing? Doesn't God's law teach that? Verse 9. It is written
in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox
that treadeth out the corn. That ox that's plowing your cornfield's
got a right to eat an ear once in a while. You ought not put
a muzzle on him. Does God take care of the oxen?
Or sayeth he it altogether for our sakes, Paul says he's saying
it for our sakes, this is written, that he that ploweth should plow
in hope, and he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of
his hope. Now then, if I have preached unto you spiritual things,
if I have fed you from the word of God, is it a great thing that
I should reap your carnal things, your material things? If I have
shared with you the knowledge God has given me in spiritual
things, is it any great thing that you should share with me
the material things God has given you? Read on. If we have sown unto you spiritual
things, is it a great thing we should reap your carnal things?
If others be partaker of this power over you, the groceryman
has that power over you. He doesn't give you any groceries
unless you pay him. The paperboy won't deliver your paper unless
you pay him. The milkman won't bring you milk unless you pay
him. Others have this power over you. Nevertheless, Paul said,
we have not used this power, but suffer all things lest we
should hinder the gospel of Christ. Paul was forced to make tents,
but he said, this is the scriptural order right here. This is the
way it ought to be. A church should pray for, support,
and now 1 Corinthians 11, should follow the pastor. Now watch
this. Follow him how far? Read verse 1. 1 Corinthians 11.
Be ye followers of me, as I also am of Christ. That's how far.
As he's preaching the Word, you follow him. As he follows Christ,
you follow him. Now then, in the next place,
turn to 1 Corinthians 12, and I won't take much longer. Somebody said this morning, why
don't you throw that clock away and preach? I don't want to wear
people out. You know, I don't mind a fellow
looking at his watch, but when he looks at it and then he shakes
it and puts it up to his ear, that bothers me a little bit.
But I don't want to wear you out. I know that listening to
the same person for so many years, it gets tiresome, I know that.
But here in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 12, a church, God will
bless, is where the members have their rightful place. In verse 12 of 1 Corinthians
12, as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members
of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body. I'm no
more important in the body of Christ than you are. We all have
a place. Read on. Whether it be Jews or
Gentiles, bond or free, we've been all made to drink into one
spirit. The body's not one member, but many. The foot shall say,
because I'm not the hand, I'm not of the body. Is it therefore
not of the body? And the ear shall say, I'm not the eye, I'm
not of the body. Is it therefore not of the body? A body has many
members. And read on down here, if the
whole body, verse 17, what if the whole body were an eye? Where
would be the hearing? What if the whole body were hearing?
Where would be the smelling? God hath sent, now hath God sent
the members, every one of them in the body, as it pleases him. God made me the preacher. He
made Don the elder. He made Paul the deacon. He made
somebody else something else. But the members of the body,
some are Men gifted in prayer, some are gifted in giving, some
are gifted in witnessing, some are gifted in teaching, some
are gifted in material care of the building and the grounds.
Every one of us are necessary. Some are gifted with just a bright
smile. We couldn't do without it. Some
are gifted with a sweet spirit that brings others together.
But every one of us have a particular and peculiar place that God has
given him in the body of Christ. And read on down here. And in
verse 20, But now are they many members, yet one body, and the
eye cannot say to the hand, I don't need you. And down in verse 22,
Much more, those members of the body which seem to be more feeble.
They are necessary. And those members of the body
which we think to be less honorable, they are not out in the public
eye all the time. They are not seen and heard all
the time. Upon these we bestow a more abundant honor, and our
uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. A church of the Lord
Jesus Christ is where the deacons and elders have their rightful
place. Turn to Acts chapter 6. Here is an interesting note here
concerning I think this is the chapter where the early deacons
were ordained, and it says in Acts 6. They were having problems
because there were so many needs in that church. The widows, the
Hebrews, the Grecians against the Hebrews, and these various
things were being neglected, and the apostles didn't have
time for this. Not if they were going to study and pray and take
care of the ministry of the Word. So they selected seven men and
made sort of deacons out of them. And why? Verse 4, that we may
give ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.
You know who ought to do most of the visiting in a church?
The deacons. That's right, not the pastor.
The pastor ought to be in his study. Oh, he should visit people
when there's a death and when there's sickness and when people
need him. But a pastor that just goes around calling on folks
to be calling on them to stay on the good side of them is wasting
his time. He needs to preach. He needs
to take care of what? Two things. Prayer and the ministry
of the Word. It's the business of the deacons
of the church to visit people and to witness and talk to people
and take care of the needs of the church. And it's the business
of the women of the church To do what? Well, let's look here
in Ephesians chapter 5 a moment. In Ephesians, the fifth chapter,
it says here in chapter 5 of Ephesians, verse 22, Wives, submit
yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord. It's a wise
place to build a home, not to build a church. I believe that
more religious women have wrecked more churches than any other
single thing outside of preachers who don't preach the gospel.
I just came from a church in Virginia that has been totally,
completely wrecked by woman domination. In 1 Timothy chapter 2, turn
over there with me just a moment, 1 Timothy chapter 2, when a woman
takes care of her children and her husband and makes a happy
home, and recognizes the husband as the head of the home and the
priest of the home. And she provides a happy home
and a happy life and food and clothes for her children. She
has done exactly what God called her to do. God did not call her
to run the church. He did not call her to teach
in the church. He did not call her to win the
world of Jesus. In 1 Timothy chapter 2, now listen
to it. In 1 Timothy 2, verse 8, I will
therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without
wrath and doubting. In like manner also the women
adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety,
not with braided hair and gold and pearls and costly array,
but which becometh women professing godliness. Good Let the woman
learn in silence with all subjection. I suffer not a woman to teach,
nor to use of authority over the man, but to be in silence.
Let's talk about it in the church now. A woman can teach her children
at home. She can discuss the scriptures
with her husband. I think a woman can say grace
at the table. Let's talk about the church of
the Lord Jesus Christ. I suffer not a woman to teach,
nor to use of authority. No woman has any business ever
leading in prayer. in the church of the Lord Jesus
Christ, except in a women's prayer meeting. No woman has any business
standing up in a business meeting and ever opening her mouth. That's
against the Word of God. That's against the Word of God.
Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 14. In 1 Corinthians, and this
is what happens, and I'm being perfectly frank with you, and
I warn you. There's no problem in this church, but I warn other
churches, wherever you have dominating women, You have two things happen. The women become masculine and
the men become feminine, sissies. They'll always work that way.
It's that way in the home and it's that way in the church.
When the woman begins to dominate, the man loses his strength. He
loses the presence of the Lord. He loses the direction of the
Holy Spirit and he becomes feminine. That's the reason there's so
many sissy preachers. They're run by the women in the church. That's
right. It's the reason they walk around smiling all the time,
you know, and keeping their hands folded in front of them. They're
dominated. They're dominated at home, and they're dominated
in the church. And a man who can't run his home's got no business
being a preacher. In 1 Corinthians 14, 34, listen
to it, "...let the women keep silence in the churches. It is
not permitted unto them to speak. They are commanded to be under
obedience, as also saith the law. And if they learn anything,
let them ask their husbands at home." It's a shame. for a woman
to speak in the church. That's what God's Word says. Now the fourth thing, the church
that God will bless, is a church that is united in love and purpose. And I want to give you this before
I close. In Ephesians chapter 4, verse 1, I therefore the prisoner
of the Lord beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation
wherewith you are called with all lowliness and meekness, longsuffering,
forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God, for Christ's
sake, forgave you." We are to endeavor, every one of us. Look
at verse 31 and 32 of Ephesians 4. Let all bitterness and wrath
and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you
with all malice. let it be put away. Every one
of us are to appoint ourselves as chairman of the committee
to keep the spirit of peace and unity and joy in the church of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know God lists seven
things in Proverbs 6 that he hates, and one of them is sowing
discord among brethren. God says, I hate pride, I hate
a wicked tongue, and I hate sowing discord among, but we're to promote
peace and unity and joy in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
May God give us a church that exists not for the sole purpose
of making converts, but to glorify God. Not for the sole purpose
of building a large congregation, but to glorify God. Not for the
sole purpose of getting recognition, but glorifying God. Our Father
in Heaven, bless this message. Anoint it to our hearts and to
our spirits.