[This sermon was delivered by our guest speaker and ministry partner Devraj.]
Dan Lee
What controls you? Your cravings, your temper, your need to be right, or your pursuit of wealth? In this study of 1 Timothy 3:3, we explore four qualities God calls every believer to, not just church leaders: freedom from enslaving influences, sweet reasonableness instead of aggression, self-control instead of quarrels, and freedom from the love of money. These are facets of spiritual maturity we are to strive after. May God’s grace changes our hearts, reorder our affections, and teach us to serve one Master, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Dan Lee
The two qualities of hospitality and teaching ability have great relevance to spiritual maturity. Biblical hospitality is a heart that welcomes and meets the needs of strangers. The phrase “able to teach” is fundamentally about helping others understand and live out God’s truth. These two qualities are marks of spiritual maturity that reach beyond church leadership to every believer. As for overseers, they are to be men who set an example of these traits to urge the congregation along toward biblical maturity.
Dan Lee
Leaders of the church must be spiritually mature. In this portion of the overseer’s qualifications, Paul highlights moral purity, a sober mind, a sound mind, and an ordered mind. These traits reveal that godliness involves more than fleeing certain vices; it requires earnestly pursuing Christ, who alone can transform our character and conduct. May the Lord not only raise up leaders who exemplify these qualities but also grow all of us into greater likeness to Jesus.
Dan Lee
Who shepherds the church of God? The answer begins with Jesus Himself. The church belongs to Him. He is its head, its foundation, and its life source (the vine). He has placed elders as stewards and overseers to shepherd His people according to His Word. Biblical eldership is a high calling. Men who serve in this capacity must be above reproach, with nothing to hinder or compromise their faithfulness to Christ. In this introductory study, we explore five biblical principles of eldership: the office, the work, the qualification, the appointment, and the aspiration.
Theology
Dan Lee
This passage of Scripture presents Christ in the stunning reality that He is truly God and truly man. He is the Savior God who took on human flesh and soul and truly obeyed the Father for our salvation. His obedience took Him to the depths, even unto death, even death on a cross. But this is not where the story ends. The Father then gave to Him supreme exaltation, supreme name, and supreme worship. All of this came about not only to secure salvation for sinners, but also to becomes the pattern for every believer’s life. The pathway to glory is the pathway of the cross.