WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.060 Grab your Bibles, turn with me to 1 Corinthians 00:00:02.060 --> 00:00:07.980 chapter 4. 1 Corinthians chapter 4, I have good 00:00:07.980 --> 00:00:12.800 news for you this morning. Paul's long discussion 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:17.199 about church unity is coming to an end with today's 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:21.100 passage. Hallelujah, right? This entire teaching 00:00:21.100 --> 00:00:24.000 about unity in the body started way back in chapter 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:29.140 1, verse 10. You might recall this is what Paul 00:00:29.140 --> 00:00:31.480 said at that point. He said, I exhort you, brothers 00:00:31.480 --> 00:00:35.399 and sisters, and I want you to hear this today 00:00:35.399 --> 00:00:38.119 at Oak Hill. I exhort you, brothers and sisters, 00:00:38.219 --> 00:00:41.560 by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you 00:00:41.560 --> 00:00:45.500 all agree and that there be no divisions among 00:00:45.500 --> 00:00:49.539 you, that you may be made complete in the same 00:00:49.539 --> 00:00:54.320 mind, in the same judgment. That's how Paul launched 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:57.359 this whole teaching on church unity. And then 00:00:57.359 --> 00:00:58.920 all the way through today, to the end of chapter 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:00.960 4, he went on to talk about a whole bunch of 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:03.840 nuanced issues that relate to this one central 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:07.480 issue, which is unity in the body. Now, today 00:01:07.480 --> 00:01:09.579 he's going to end it with a powerful affirmation 00:01:09.579 --> 00:01:12.200 of his love for the Corinthians, but also with 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:15.659 a very stern warning for those in the city who 00:01:15.659 --> 00:01:19.480 had grown prideful in his absence. Now, before 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:21.420 we read, don't forget what he's just written 00:01:21.420 --> 00:01:23.920 in the section before, right? Verses 6 through 00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:26.519 13. If you were with us last Sunday, you saw 00:01:26.519 --> 00:01:30.180 how sarcastically Paul wrote about the foolishness 00:01:30.180 --> 00:01:32.780 of the Corinthians, about their immaturity in 00:01:32.780 --> 00:01:35.519 two ways, in the way they viewed themselves and 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:38.680 in the way they judged the apostles. And we noted 00:01:38.680 --> 00:01:41.140 last Sunday how surprising Paul's language was 00:01:41.140 --> 00:01:43.340 in that portion of the letter. Remember what 00:01:43.340 --> 00:01:46.840 he asked? He said, what makes you so much better 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:51.709 than anyone else? Right? And then he said, Do 00:01:51.709 --> 00:01:54.230 you deserve what you have? Have you earned what 00:01:54.230 --> 00:01:57.370 you have? Or has it been given to you from above? 00:01:58.310 --> 00:02:00.469 And if God has given you everything, why do you 00:02:00.469 --> 00:02:03.530 boast in it? And then he said, you really think 00:02:03.530 --> 00:02:06.109 you've arrived, don't you? You think you're filled, 00:02:06.329 --> 00:02:08.409 you're complete, you're reigning like kings. 00:02:08.669 --> 00:02:12.169 And all the while, us apostles, we're out here 00:02:12.169 --> 00:02:15.050 struggling. He says, we're weak, we're without 00:02:15.050 --> 00:02:17.889 honor, we're hungry and thirsty, we're poorly 00:02:17.889 --> 00:02:20.710 clothed, we're roughly treated, we're slandered 00:02:20.710 --> 00:02:23.370 by everybody, we are the scum of the world, but 00:02:23.370 --> 00:02:25.729 good for you, Corinthians, you guys are just 00:02:25.729 --> 00:02:29.210 fine. And of course, it was all sarcasm, right? 00:02:29.370 --> 00:02:31.750 They really did believe, they were so prideful 00:02:31.750 --> 00:02:34.050 to believe that they were reigning as kings. 00:02:34.169 --> 00:02:35.870 So that's where we left off last Sunday. Now, 00:02:35.949 --> 00:02:39.050 let's look at what he says next, how he finishes 00:02:39.050 --> 00:02:43.099 the chapter. Look at verse 14. It says, I do 00:02:43.099 --> 00:02:45.080 not write these things. And again, this goes 00:02:45.080 --> 00:02:47.280 all the way back to chapter one. I don't write 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:50.340 these things to shame you, but to admonish you 00:02:50.340 --> 00:02:54.360 as my beloved children. For if you were to have 00:02:54.360 --> 00:02:57.379 countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not 00:02:57.379 --> 00:03:01.180 have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became 00:03:01.180 --> 00:03:04.479 your father through the gospel. Therefore, I 00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:09.139 exhort you, be imitators of me. For this reason 00:03:09.139 --> 00:03:11.860 I have sent you Timothy, who is my beloved and 00:03:11.860 --> 00:03:14.659 faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind 00:03:14.659 --> 00:03:18.500 you of my ways, which are in Christ, just as 00:03:18.500 --> 00:03:23.060 I teach everywhere in every church. Verse 18. 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:26.479 Now some have become arrogant, as though I were 00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:29.340 not coming to you, but I will come to you soon 00:03:29.340 --> 00:03:32.780 if the Lord wills, and I shall find out not the 00:03:32.780 --> 00:03:35.800 words of those who are arrogant, but their power. 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:38.939 For the kingdom of God does not consist in words, 00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:42.860 but in power. What do you desire? Shall I come 00:03:42.860 --> 00:03:46.180 to you with a rod or with a love and a spirit 00:03:46.180 --> 00:03:50.659 of gentleness? Wow. What a forceful way to end 00:03:50.659 --> 00:03:52.860 this section of the letter. Now, let's walk through 00:03:52.860 --> 00:03:55.719 some of the key details. Look at verse 15. Verse 00:03:55.719 --> 00:03:59.659 15. For though you have countless tutors, or 00:03:59.659 --> 00:04:02.580 you could put in that word guardians or instructors. 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:06.120 So we have many tutors in Christ. Yet you don't 00:04:06.120 --> 00:04:09.900 have many fathers. You don't have many fathers. 00:04:10.180 --> 00:04:13.199 For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:16.459 the gospel. So what you see here is Paul taking 00:04:16.459 --> 00:04:20.040 a pause in his rebuke. He's been a little bit 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:22.459 harsh, a little bit sarcastic. He's pausing to 00:04:22.459 --> 00:04:25.819 say, look, let me tell you why I'm writing with 00:04:25.819 --> 00:04:30.620 such strong language. It's because you're my 00:04:30.620 --> 00:04:34.060 beloved children. Okay, so this reorients the 00:04:34.060 --> 00:04:37.500 way we think about love. I'm writing to you so 00:04:37.500 --> 00:04:40.879 strongly because I love you. You're my children. 00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:44.180 You are my spiritual offspring. And as your spiritual 00:04:44.180 --> 00:04:47.540 father, I carry with me this tremendous responsibility 00:04:47.540 --> 00:04:52.319 for your well -being, right? By the way, this 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:53.939 is the perfect message for Father's Day next 00:04:53.939 --> 00:04:55.720 week, right? Because this is the heart of a good 00:04:55.720 --> 00:04:58.500 father. Father's Day is next week. Y 'all remember 00:04:58.500 --> 00:05:01.040 that, right? Okay, we're doing baby dedications. 00:05:01.180 --> 00:05:03.000 We'll talk about dads. It's going to be great. 00:05:04.259 --> 00:05:07.660 As your spiritual father, I carry with me this 00:05:07.660 --> 00:05:11.459 deep responsibility for your well -being. That's 00:05:11.459 --> 00:05:13.660 the heart of a father. He wants what's best for 00:05:13.660 --> 00:05:16.079 his children. And this is something that he consistently 00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:18.579 expresses throughout the New Testament to all 00:05:18.579 --> 00:05:20.819 the churches that he plants and all the believers 00:05:20.819 --> 00:05:23.500 that he finds there. And in this case in Corinth, 00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:26.649 he was able to lead these. Corinthians to repentance 00:05:26.649 --> 00:05:29.629 and saving faith in Christ. They are his spiritual 00:05:29.629 --> 00:05:32.290 children in every sense of the word. And so he 00:05:32.290 --> 00:05:34.810 has a very special relationship with them. Even 00:05:34.810 --> 00:05:37.350 though he's far away, he still feels this very 00:05:37.350 --> 00:05:40.209 special relationship. And the truth is, some 00:05:40.209 --> 00:05:42.209 of you know this, when you lead somebody to saving 00:05:42.209 --> 00:05:44.810 faith, And there's no better thing on the earth, 00:05:44.910 --> 00:05:46.990 right, than you could do is to watch somebody 00:05:46.990 --> 00:05:49.870 else come to saving faith by God's grace. When 00:05:49.870 --> 00:05:52.870 you do that, it brings you into such a close 00:05:52.870 --> 00:05:55.470 relationship with that person, and you feel the 00:05:55.470 --> 00:05:58.310 weight of responsibility now to say, okay, let's 00:05:58.310 --> 00:06:00.329 get you maturing in the faith. Let's get you 00:06:00.329 --> 00:06:03.389 growing. And so that is what is motivating Paul 00:06:03.389 --> 00:06:06.050 as he writes. He's brought these folks to saving 00:06:06.050 --> 00:06:09.230 faith, but they're showing such foolishness and 00:06:09.230 --> 00:06:12.129 such immaturity, and he's very, very concerned. 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:15.079 Now, he does a good job of making sure that we 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:16.699 don't get the wrong idea that, hey, it's all 00:06:16.699 --> 00:06:19.500 about me, the guy who shared my faith with these 00:06:19.500 --> 00:06:22.000 folks, right? It's not that he's responsible 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:24.980 for saving anyone. He makes it clear. It's in 00:06:24.980 --> 00:06:28.339 Christ Jesus that I became your father. And I 00:06:28.339 --> 00:06:30.839 did so through the gospel. It wasn't because 00:06:30.839 --> 00:06:33.300 I'm super impressive. It wasn't because I had 00:06:33.300 --> 00:06:35.879 the best presentation of the gospel ever. It's 00:06:35.879 --> 00:06:38.300 the power of the gospel itself by the work of 00:06:38.300 --> 00:06:41.379 the Holy Spirit, whereby God's power moved to 00:06:41.379 --> 00:06:44.079 save you. And Paul's making that very clear. 00:06:44.199 --> 00:06:47.339 But because he's in Christ, he has the power 00:06:47.339 --> 00:06:50.300 of Christ moving through him. And because he's 00:06:50.300 --> 00:06:52.660 embraced the truth of the gospel, he's seen it 00:06:52.660 --> 00:06:55.519 change his own life. Now he can bring it to bear 00:06:55.519 --> 00:06:58.060 upon the lives of others. Guys, when we share 00:06:58.060 --> 00:07:01.800 our faith, if it's not in us first, transforming 00:07:01.800 --> 00:07:04.240 us, it's really difficult to share it, isn't 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:06.879 it? But this is what Paul is able to do. And 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:09.199 again, this is a consistent pattern in his life. 00:07:09.339 --> 00:07:11.620 It's in Corinth. It's in Ephesus. It's in the 00:07:11.620 --> 00:07:14.819 Galatian churches and more. Paul goes to these 00:07:14.819 --> 00:07:17.939 places. He plants churches. He plants believers 00:07:17.939 --> 00:07:20.720 in those churches. And wherever God moves to 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:23.180 the power of the gospel, we find him picking 00:07:23.180 --> 00:07:26.699 up more of these spiritual children. What a privilege 00:07:26.699 --> 00:07:29.519 he had to see all these new converts throughout 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:33.079 the Greek world. to come to faith in Jesus. Sometimes 00:07:33.079 --> 00:07:35.600 it's entire churches, by the way, like here in 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:39.319 Corinth. Other times you see certain unique individuals 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:42.459 being named, right? Paul has spiritual children 00:07:42.459 --> 00:07:47.000 like Timothy and like Titus and like Lydia and 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:50.910 like Crispus and Onesimus and more. And in various 00:07:50.910 --> 00:07:53.889 places, he refers to them as my little children, 00:07:54.069 --> 00:07:56.850 right? And my sons in the faith and all these 00:07:56.850 --> 00:07:59.850 beautiful fatherly statements. These folks are 00:07:59.850 --> 00:08:02.430 very special and very important to him. Now, 00:08:02.470 --> 00:08:04.870 by identifying himself as their spiritual father, 00:08:05.050 --> 00:08:07.389 one thing you have to know, Paul's not disparaging 00:08:07.389 --> 00:08:09.990 the other teachers in their lives, right? We've 00:08:09.990 --> 00:08:11.970 already seen him talk about the value of other 00:08:11.970 --> 00:08:15.170 teachers like Peter, like Apollos in this letter. 00:08:15.790 --> 00:08:18.410 Every teacher that a Christian ever sits under 00:08:18.410 --> 00:08:22.730 is going to be a part of developmentally moving 00:08:22.730 --> 00:08:25.470 them forward in the faith. That's true of you 00:08:25.470 --> 00:08:28.430 and I today. In your life, you're going to have 00:08:28.430 --> 00:08:32.169 lots and lots of instructors in Christ. Lots 00:08:32.169 --> 00:08:34.789 of them. But it's also true, it's likely that 00:08:34.789 --> 00:08:37.870 you're not going to have many fathers or mothers. 00:08:38.389 --> 00:08:42.009 Those are going to be few and far between. Now, 00:08:42.029 --> 00:08:43.509 it's important that we define what Paul means 00:08:43.509 --> 00:08:46.590 by tutors here or instructors. In the original 00:08:46.590 --> 00:08:49.450 Greek, this had a very specific meaning that 00:08:49.450 --> 00:08:52.009 his Corinthian audience would have fully understood, 00:08:52.110 --> 00:08:54.889 even if we don't quite get it today. In that 00:08:54.889 --> 00:08:58.409 Greco -Roman society, he's talking about a household 00:08:58.409 --> 00:09:02.370 slave who the master has identified as being 00:09:02.370 --> 00:09:05.509 trustworthy enough to become the guardian of 00:09:05.509 --> 00:09:09.419 his own child. Someone who's able to be able 00:09:09.419 --> 00:09:12.519 to take the life of this important child and 00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:16.919 to mentor them, to morally develop them while 00:09:16.919 --> 00:09:19.980 the master is unable to be there. So he's a guardian 00:09:19.980 --> 00:09:23.080 of sorts. He's an overseer of that child's life. 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:25.360 That's what Paul's describing here in terms of 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:27.740 these instructors. You and I will have many people 00:09:27.740 --> 00:09:30.860 like that in our lives over the decades. We'll 00:09:30.860 --> 00:09:33.120 have many of them, but not many fathers, not 00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:36.789 many mothers. So again, Paul's writing to a Greek 00:09:36.789 --> 00:09:39.570 church. They understood exactly what he was describing. 00:09:39.950 --> 00:09:41.610 And this was his point. You're going to have 00:09:41.610 --> 00:09:44.169 lots of guardians like that over the years. They 00:09:44.169 --> 00:09:46.070 will teach you many things. They will show you 00:09:46.070 --> 00:09:48.289 important things. But at the end of the day, 00:09:48.450 --> 00:09:52.110 you only have one true spiritual father. And 00:09:52.110 --> 00:09:55.809 that's why I feel I can write to you and admonish 00:09:55.809 --> 00:09:58.970 you and correct you and exhort you because I 00:09:58.970 --> 00:10:02.669 care for you as a father. So it's important to 00:10:02.669 --> 00:10:04.389 see that Paul's doing two things at one time 00:10:04.389 --> 00:10:07.450 here. First, he's asserting his authority in 00:10:07.450 --> 00:10:10.370 their lives as a father. And because of that 00:10:10.370 --> 00:10:13.529 role, secondly, he's appealing to their loyalty 00:10:13.529 --> 00:10:17.190 in hopes that they will hear him go, that's my 00:10:17.190 --> 00:10:20.429 spiritual father and respond in obedience to 00:10:20.429 --> 00:10:23.129 repent and change the way that they're functioning 00:10:23.129 --> 00:10:25.409 there in the city of Corinth. Does that make 00:10:25.409 --> 00:10:28.710 sense? That's what he's trying to do. And we're 00:10:28.710 --> 00:10:30.169 going to see as we go through the letter, and 00:10:30.169 --> 00:10:32.289 if you read 2 Corinthians, you'll find out even 00:10:32.289 --> 00:10:35.129 more about how they actually responded. Okay, 00:10:35.210 --> 00:10:38.169 so what does a spiritual father do? Well, first 00:10:38.169 --> 00:10:41.470 and foremost, he loves and he cares for his children 00:10:41.470 --> 00:10:44.409 in the faith. Now, that doesn't mean he loves 00:10:44.409 --> 00:10:47.009 and cares like the world says. He loves and he 00:10:47.009 --> 00:10:50.529 cares as Scripture tells us. And that means balancing 00:10:50.529 --> 00:10:53.009 the two things you see on the screen, affection 00:10:53.009 --> 00:10:57.220 and discipline. Affection and discipline. And 00:10:57.220 --> 00:10:59.000 by the way, we all know this from our physical 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:01.200 parenting, don't we? Isn't that the best model 00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:05.600 for physical parenting? A good father or mother 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:08.820 seeks to balance those two things, to be tenderhearted 00:11:08.820 --> 00:11:13.019 on the one hand, but also to be corrective, which 00:11:13.019 --> 00:11:15.120 is not an easy thing to balance, right? None 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:17.860 of us human beings ever gets this perfect, but 00:11:17.860 --> 00:11:20.120 that's the goal, to balance affection and discipline. 00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:24.220 Err too much on the side of affection, and your 00:11:24.220 --> 00:11:27.429 child will become spoiled and entitled. right? 00:11:27.570 --> 00:11:30.529 Err too much on the side of discipline and your 00:11:30.529 --> 00:11:33.909 child will become resentful and rebellious. So 00:11:33.909 --> 00:11:35.889 it's a tough balance that we walk. And you see 00:11:35.889 --> 00:11:37.830 what's going on here. Paul wants the believers 00:11:37.830 --> 00:11:42.129 to know that his tough words for them flow out 00:11:42.129 --> 00:11:46.529 of his tender heart and his love for them. That 00:11:46.529 --> 00:11:48.529 he has a real love and concern for their welfare. 00:11:48.649 --> 00:11:51.309 It's as if he's saying, because of my love for 00:11:51.309 --> 00:11:54.879 you, I want you to become more healthy. Because 00:11:54.879 --> 00:11:58.100 of my great concern for you, I want you to move 00:11:58.100 --> 00:12:01.460 towards maturity and away from this foolishness. 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:05.539 Look at verse 14. He says, I'm not writing these 00:12:05.539 --> 00:12:08.100 things to shame you. That's not my goal. I don't 00:12:08.100 --> 00:12:12.460 want you to feel beat up by me, but to admonish 00:12:12.460 --> 00:12:18.600 and warn you as my beloved children. To admonish 00:12:18.600 --> 00:12:22.950 and warn, right? Listen, we know, forget what 00:12:22.950 --> 00:12:25.830 the world says for a second. It is not loving 00:12:25.830 --> 00:12:30.850 to stand back and apathetically watch your child 00:12:30.850 --> 00:12:34.610 self -destruct. That is not love. The world says, 00:12:34.730 --> 00:12:36.450 oh, but, you know, you don't want to come down 00:12:36.450 --> 00:12:39.070 too hard on them. So you stand back and you watch 00:12:39.070 --> 00:12:43.049 your child implode. That is not love. Sometimes 00:12:43.049 --> 00:12:45.570 we have to step in, right? We call this tough 00:12:45.570 --> 00:12:48.870 love. We correct and we warn our children. We 00:12:48.870 --> 00:12:51.230 say, son. Where we say, daughter, I'm telling 00:12:51.230 --> 00:12:54.429 you this because it's best for you. And it's 00:12:54.429 --> 00:12:57.490 my love that compels you to admonish you like 00:12:57.490 --> 00:13:01.269 this. It compels me to admonish you. And by the 00:13:01.269 --> 00:13:03.110 way, that's a great biblical word, admonish. 00:13:03.190 --> 00:13:05.149 If you want to underline that in your text, it's 00:13:05.149 --> 00:13:08.250 a great word. In the original Greek, it's nutheteo. 00:13:08.570 --> 00:13:11.889 And it means, basically the meaning, it combines 00:13:11.889 --> 00:13:15.139 a whole bunch of things. That by themselves, 00:13:15.220 --> 00:13:18.620 we understand. Listen to these words. Instruct, 00:13:18.679 --> 00:13:22.899 exhort, correct, and warn. So when we admonish 00:13:22.899 --> 00:13:26.200 each other or a spiritual father admonishes you, 00:13:26.340 --> 00:13:29.639 it's more serious than a general teaching, but 00:13:29.639 --> 00:13:32.899 it's not as severe as a rebuke. It's somewhere 00:13:32.899 --> 00:13:35.679 in between. Does that make sense? It's loving 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:39.080 but serious counsel that is brought to bear upon 00:13:39.080 --> 00:13:41.860 a person's life with the goal of correction. 00:13:43.370 --> 00:13:46.029 Okay, this is what a good parent does. It does 00:13:46.029 --> 00:13:48.750 assume that there's a problem. When we admonish, 00:13:48.750 --> 00:13:50.750 it assumes that there is a weakness or a sin, 00:13:50.889 --> 00:13:53.850 and it's saying, look, you need to change course 00:13:53.850 --> 00:13:57.009 because you're heading in a bad direction, and 00:13:57.009 --> 00:14:00.870 I love you too much to let that happen. I love 00:14:00.870 --> 00:14:04.950 you too much. This is good, solid, fatherly stuff. 00:14:05.750 --> 00:14:09.090 Tough love. So Paul's trying to correct the Corinthian 00:14:09.090 --> 00:14:11.269 believers here while at the same time, he's like, 00:14:11.330 --> 00:14:12.809 I don't want to shame you. I don't want to make 00:14:12.809 --> 00:14:16.029 you resentful of my authority over your lives. 00:14:16.830 --> 00:14:19.629 So we talk about admonishing with gentleness 00:14:19.629 --> 00:14:23.629 in order to correct, critiquing in love with 00:14:23.629 --> 00:14:26.809 a view to bringing about change. This is the 00:14:26.809 --> 00:14:31.230 obligation, dare I say, of a good parent. Make 00:14:31.230 --> 00:14:34.049 sense? So there's these parallels between physical 00:14:34.049 --> 00:14:36.940 parenting and spiritual parenting. That's very 00:14:36.940 --> 00:14:39.179 important to understand. Then we come to verse 00:14:39.179 --> 00:14:43.080 16. What's Paul's conclusion based on what I 00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:45.840 just shared? Therefore, he writes, I exhort you, 00:14:45.940 --> 00:14:52.100 be imitators of me. Acorns. Do you guys remember? 00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:56.500 What does it mean to imitate someone? To follow 00:14:56.500 --> 00:15:00.840 their example, to copy them. Very good, right? 00:15:00.919 --> 00:15:02.840 Because actually the Greek word means to mimic, 00:15:03.019 --> 00:15:05.399 right? It's to mimic somebody or to copy them. 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:09.379 Very good. Paul says, because of what I've just 00:15:09.379 --> 00:15:11.679 written about your need to change course and 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:14.600 to move away from this foolishness, this is what 00:15:14.600 --> 00:15:17.519 you now must do. This is what I'm exhorting you 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:21.960 to do. Imitate me. Now that's another really 00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:24.120 important biblical word. We looked at admonish. 00:15:24.220 --> 00:15:27.899 What does the word exhort mean? And it's parakaleo, 00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:29.820 and it's a very interesting word. We've already 00:15:29.820 --> 00:15:32.639 seen it used once in this letter. And we saw 00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:35.440 it used multiple times in our recent study in 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:38.399 the book of Titus. Literally, this word means 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:42.320 to summon somebody or to call somebody to your 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:47.320 side. Right? So the word picture is, is I'm walking 00:15:47.320 --> 00:15:49.759 down the street and I look at Doug and I say, 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:52.879 Doug, come here. And Doug walks up along my side 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:54.360 and I put my arm around him and I say, brother, 00:15:54.500 --> 00:15:57.399 I've got a charge for you. I got something I 00:15:57.399 --> 00:16:01.259 want. Sorry, Doug. We say, brother. I want to 00:16:01.259 --> 00:16:04.059 strongly encourage you to do something. And the 00:16:04.059 --> 00:16:05.860 reason I might do that with Doug is I know there's 00:16:05.860 --> 00:16:08.240 something going on that he needs to know, something 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:11.259 that I see in his life. And as a mentor or a 00:16:11.259 --> 00:16:13.580 spiritual father, I can say, hey, I strongly 00:16:13.580 --> 00:16:16.440 encourage you to change course and to go in this 00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:19.299 direction. That's what Paul's talking about here. 00:16:19.480 --> 00:16:21.759 He's saying to his spiritual children, I want 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:25.080 you to imitate the way I think, how I walk with 00:16:25.080 --> 00:16:28.960 Christ, how I face suffering. and more. In fact, 00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:31.899 watch my entire pattern of life. I'm calling 00:16:31.899 --> 00:16:34.440 you alongside to say, let me point these things 00:16:34.440 --> 00:16:36.879 out to you. And again, what's the motivation? 00:16:37.159 --> 00:16:39.919 His love and concern for them. Not because he 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:42.600 enjoys beating people down, right? That's often 00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:44.399 the image we get of church leaders. You guys 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:46.899 just like to, you know, lord your authority over 00:16:46.899 --> 00:16:50.399 us. No, it's love. It's concern. But sometimes 00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:52.759 we need to step in and talk about hard things. 00:16:53.259 --> 00:16:55.279 By the way, this isn't the only place that Paul 00:16:55.279 --> 00:16:57.600 speaks like this. Later in this same letter, 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:01.460 in chapter 11, he's going to say this very famous 00:17:01.460 --> 00:17:05.200 thing. He says what? Be imitators of me as I 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:08.559 imitate Christ. That is the beautiful picture. 00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:11.859 The mentor is following Christ, and then you're 00:17:11.859 --> 00:17:16.720 following the mentor, right? In the letter to 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:19.059 the Philippians, he says, The things that you 00:17:19.059 --> 00:17:22.299 have, get this now, learned from me, received 00:17:22.299 --> 00:17:26.900 from me, heard from me, seen in me, practice 00:17:26.900 --> 00:17:31.279 these things, he says. You heard it in our call 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:34.059 to worship passage from earlier, which Adam read. 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:38.400 Paul says to the Thessalonians, you know. You 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:40.700 know this, how you ought to follow our example 00:17:40.700 --> 00:17:44.039 as apostles. It's like, I've already taught you 00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:46.480 this. You should follow our example as apostles, 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:49.160 speaking of how they were acting in the presence 00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:52.200 of this church. He says, we offer ourselves, 00:17:52.299 --> 00:17:56.519 get this now, as a model for you so that you 00:17:56.519 --> 00:17:59.500 would follow our example. So this is a consistent 00:17:59.500 --> 00:18:02.380 teaching that Paul has with his spiritual children. 00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:06.279 Imitate me as I imitate Christ. Now, it's important 00:18:06.279 --> 00:18:08.680 to point something out here. Paul's not trying 00:18:08.680 --> 00:18:12.789 to usurp. The role that Christ himself has in 00:18:12.789 --> 00:18:15.549 our lives as our great example. Acorns, who's 00:18:15.549 --> 00:18:18.990 the very best example that we can follow? Very 00:18:18.990 --> 00:18:22.109 good. Good answer. That's right. Paul's not trying 00:18:22.109 --> 00:18:25.930 to usurp that role here. It's only because Paul's 00:18:25.930 --> 00:18:29.509 found in Christ and because he's actively walking 00:18:29.509 --> 00:18:33.029 with Jesus and abiding in Jesus that he can be, 00:18:33.130 --> 00:18:36.390 that he qualifies to be an example for others. 00:18:37.109 --> 00:18:39.509 And this is, by the way, important. We looked 00:18:39.509 --> 00:18:42.390 recently at this incredibly important principle, 00:18:42.450 --> 00:18:46.710 don't put teachers on a pedestal. This is something 00:18:46.710 --> 00:18:48.230 very different, though, because when we talk 00:18:48.230 --> 00:18:51.089 about the skill of teaching, somebody who can 00:18:51.089 --> 00:18:54.049 just relate information, we have a tendency to 00:18:54.049 --> 00:18:56.430 put those people on a pedestal. This is something 00:18:56.430 --> 00:18:59.269 very different. This goes beyond just intellectual 00:18:59.269 --> 00:19:02.869 understanding of teaching. This is life -on -life 00:19:02.869 --> 00:19:06.619 stuff. We need life -on -life mentors in our 00:19:06.619 --> 00:19:09.779 lives that can show us Christ by the way they 00:19:09.779 --> 00:19:14.500 walk. Now, look at verse 17. Paul writes something 00:19:14.500 --> 00:19:16.819 here that you wouldn't probably expect. He says, 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:20.400 for this reason, because I want you to imitate 00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:26.339 me, I'm sending Timothy to you. What? Like, you'd 00:19:26.339 --> 00:19:28.880 expect him to say, I want you to imitate me so 00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:30.839 when I come to Corinth, you'll be able to watch 00:19:30.839 --> 00:19:34.890 my life. But he doesn't do that. He says, you're 00:19:34.890 --> 00:19:39.769 going to see my ways in Timothy. How amazing 00:19:39.769 --> 00:19:42.750 is this, right? Paul has done such a good job 00:19:42.750 --> 00:19:45.430 of being a spiritual father in discipling Timothy 00:19:45.430 --> 00:19:47.970 that he can literally go to Corinth and stand 00:19:47.970 --> 00:19:51.430 in Paul's place. What confidence he has in this 00:19:51.430 --> 00:19:54.680 young man. And it's because he's done good spiritual 00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:57.400 fathering in the life of Timothy, right? What 00:19:57.400 --> 00:19:59.799 a blessing Timothy must have been. Did you know 00:19:59.799 --> 00:20:02.180 that as an apostle or an elder, you can't be 00:20:02.180 --> 00:20:06.180 everywhere at once? You can't, right? Elders, 00:20:06.180 --> 00:20:08.539 right? We know this. You can't. And so what a 00:20:08.539 --> 00:20:10.880 blessing to Paul's ministry. He's already stretched 00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:13.440 thin. He's just covering all the churches in 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:16.720 the ancient world, right? With no airplanes or 00:20:16.720 --> 00:20:19.900 anything, right? Can't text, can't FaceTime. 00:20:20.539 --> 00:20:23.900 So yeah, to be able to send Timothy and have 00:20:23.900 --> 00:20:26.960 such confidence to say, if Timothy's there, he's 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:29.500 going to show you my ways, what a blessing that 00:20:29.500 --> 00:20:31.559 must have been. So Paul says, I want you to imitate 00:20:31.559 --> 00:20:34.380 me, so I'm sending Timothy. And then he adds, 00:20:34.599 --> 00:20:36.500 by the way, if you don't know who Timothy is, 00:20:36.599 --> 00:20:39.460 he says, he is my beloved and faithful child 00:20:39.460 --> 00:20:42.759 in the Lord. And he's going to come and remind 00:20:42.759 --> 00:20:45.920 you of my ways, which are in Christ. That's important. 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:50.390 Not just my preferences or my opinions. which 00:20:50.390 --> 00:20:53.630 are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in 00:20:53.630 --> 00:20:55.869 every church. So what's Timothy going to do? 00:20:55.950 --> 00:20:57.950 He's going to show up there, and he's going to 00:20:57.950 --> 00:21:00.950 love you guys, and he's going to show you exactly 00:21:00.950 --> 00:21:03.329 what you should be doing, both in word and in 00:21:03.329 --> 00:21:06.470 deed. Watch his life. He's going to show you 00:21:06.470 --> 00:21:08.789 the principles of the Christian life that he 00:21:08.789 --> 00:21:11.009 has seen in me, and he's going to relate those 00:21:11.009 --> 00:21:14.130 things to you. Very important, right? And these 00:21:14.130 --> 00:21:16.470 are the same principles, he says, that the apostles 00:21:16.470 --> 00:21:18.630 that we teach in every place that we go, every 00:21:18.630 --> 00:21:21.589 city, every region, because while there are cultural 00:21:21.589 --> 00:21:24.549 differences in every place, the essentials of 00:21:24.549 --> 00:21:28.009 the Christian life don't change. Amen? And so 00:21:28.009 --> 00:21:31.049 what a picture we're given here. This is how 00:21:31.049 --> 00:21:34.390 we truly make disciples, you guys. Listen carefully 00:21:34.390 --> 00:21:36.890 to what I'm about to say. We all know, Matthew 00:21:36.890 --> 00:21:41.049 28, make disciples, right? And then baptize them. 00:21:41.509 --> 00:21:45.009 Here's how we do it. We teach it, we live it 00:21:45.009 --> 00:21:49.289 out, and we reproduce it in others. This is what 00:21:49.289 --> 00:21:51.369 Paul and Timothy have going on, right? And now 00:21:51.369 --> 00:21:53.430 Timothy's gonna go to Corinth and he's gonna 00:21:53.430 --> 00:21:55.130 develop, he's gonna become a spiritual father 00:21:55.130 --> 00:21:57.809 to others. See how that works? We teach it, we 00:21:57.809 --> 00:22:00.670 live it, we reproduce it. And that's the responsibility 00:22:00.670 --> 00:22:03.430 of every single person here. Everyone who calls 00:22:03.430 --> 00:22:05.730 upon the name of Jesus, which we'll get to in 00:22:05.730 --> 00:22:09.690 just a second. Let's look at verse 18. Here comes 00:22:09.690 --> 00:22:14.450 the stern warning. Some of you become arrogant, 00:22:14.630 --> 00:22:19.190 right? Paul says, as though you're not going 00:22:19.190 --> 00:22:21.549 to see me again, as though I'm not coming to 00:22:21.549 --> 00:22:24.029 you, he writes. Now remember, for the better 00:22:24.029 --> 00:22:26.049 part of four chapters, Paul's been saying, look, 00:22:26.109 --> 00:22:28.049 there's real problems of division in Corinth. 00:22:28.779 --> 00:22:30.980 And now here in verse 18, we finally get a little 00:22:30.980 --> 00:22:33.799 bit clearer picture. Apparently, it wasn't just 00:22:33.799 --> 00:22:35.799 that certain people in the church in Corinth 00:22:35.799 --> 00:22:38.799 were lining up behind certain teachers and creating 00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:41.859 cliques in the body and growing prideful and 00:22:41.859 --> 00:22:45.099 judging others. That's all bad enough. But here 00:22:45.099 --> 00:22:47.259 we find out that apparently some of these same 00:22:47.259 --> 00:22:52.819 folks are actually bad -mouthing Paul. They're 00:22:52.819 --> 00:22:55.980 bad -mouthing the apostle. They're claiming that 00:22:55.980 --> 00:22:59.450 either We don't need you to come back or we don't 00:22:59.450 --> 00:23:02.309 want you to come back to Corinth or we don't 00:23:02.309 --> 00:23:06.369 think you have the guts to come back. Wow, can 00:23:06.369 --> 00:23:10.250 you imagine the arrogance? What does Paul say 00:23:10.250 --> 00:23:12.250 about that? By the way, we don't know who these 00:23:12.250 --> 00:23:14.710 individuals are. We don't know how many there 00:23:14.710 --> 00:23:17.730 were, but clearly Paul's become aware of it. 00:23:17.809 --> 00:23:19.910 Somebody's told him it's happening. My guess 00:23:19.910 --> 00:23:23.619 is he probably knew exactly who they were. And 00:23:23.619 --> 00:23:25.180 listen, we've said this before in this series, 00:23:25.279 --> 00:23:28.420 this kind of pride and rebellion is a cancer 00:23:28.420 --> 00:23:33.539 in any church. It's a cancer, that type of rebellion 00:23:33.539 --> 00:23:36.500 against God's established order. And so from 00:23:36.500 --> 00:23:38.579 a leadership perspective, you cannot leave this 00:23:38.579 --> 00:23:41.380 unchecked because it will only spread and affect 00:23:41.380 --> 00:23:44.319 more of the body. So trusting that the Lord is 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:46.859 going to allow him to come back to Corinth, he 00:23:46.859 --> 00:23:49.799 says to them in no uncertain terms, verse 19, 00:23:50.099 --> 00:23:54.349 I will come soon. if the Lord wills, and I will 00:23:54.349 --> 00:24:00.349 find out. Not what your talk is, right? Not the 00:24:00.349 --> 00:24:03.390 talk of those who are arrogant, but I'm coming 00:24:03.390 --> 00:24:07.069 to look at their power. How would you feel reading 00:24:07.069 --> 00:24:12.029 that? Uh -oh, daddy's coming. Daddy's coming 00:24:12.029 --> 00:24:14.589 home. How many of you guys remember that? Your 00:24:14.589 --> 00:24:17.710 mom said, oh, your dad's coming soon. He'll be 00:24:17.710 --> 00:24:21.900 here, right? And we're going to see, Paul says, 00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:25.700 exactly what's going on. When I arrive, I'm going 00:24:25.700 --> 00:24:28.779 to test your bravado here. We'll see if your 00:24:28.779 --> 00:24:32.400 lives reveal a true work of the Spirit or not. 00:24:32.519 --> 00:24:37.039 That's the power. Is your faith in Christ genuine? 00:24:37.160 --> 00:24:39.680 When I get there, will I see fruit in your life 00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:44.619 or will I see worldliness? Are you fleshly or 00:24:44.619 --> 00:24:49.519 are you spiritual? Trust me, I think Paul already 00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:51.400 knows the answer to that question because if 00:24:51.400 --> 00:24:53.160 they were spiritual, they would not have stirred 00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:56.900 up this type of division. They would not be taunting 00:24:56.900 --> 00:24:59.619 the apostle. So he knows exactly what's going 00:24:59.619 --> 00:25:03.339 on. What does he want from this letter? Repentance. 00:25:04.180 --> 00:25:06.640 He knows what's going on there. He knows there's 00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:09.299 a whole bunch of fleshliness happening. The point 00:25:09.299 --> 00:25:11.740 of the letter is repentance, to produce that 00:25:11.740 --> 00:25:15.630 in the Corinthian believers. Verse 20, he says, 00:25:15.670 --> 00:25:17.930 for the kingdom of God does not consist of words, 00:25:17.930 --> 00:25:22.170 but power. You know how we would say this in 00:25:22.170 --> 00:25:26.109 English today? We'd say, talk is cheap. When 00:25:26.109 --> 00:25:27.529 I get there, we're going to look at the actual 00:25:27.529 --> 00:25:30.470 evidence. Because talk, it's not about talk. 00:25:30.670 --> 00:25:32.809 You show me the fruit of the Spirit in your life. 00:25:34.130 --> 00:25:36.569 And then Paul concludes with two rhetorical questions 00:25:36.569 --> 00:25:38.710 that definitely would have gotten their attention. 00:25:38.890 --> 00:25:51.740 He says, verse 21, what do you desire? He's like, 00:25:51.779 --> 00:25:54.799 it's your call. How you respond to my letter 00:25:54.799 --> 00:25:56.859 is going to tell me everything I need to know. 00:25:57.559 --> 00:25:59.640 You make the choice. How would you like me to 00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:03.500 arrive? I can come with a paddle as a disciplinarian 00:26:03.500 --> 00:26:09.019 father, or I can come with big hugs. It's your 00:26:09.019 --> 00:26:12.299 call. And it's up to their response. Listen, 00:26:12.359 --> 00:26:13.539 I don't think there's any question in Paul's 00:26:13.539 --> 00:26:16.579 mind which one he prefers, right? It's always 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:18.680 easier for a church leader to come with hugs 00:26:18.680 --> 00:26:22.339 than with a paddle. But he'll do what is best 00:26:22.339 --> 00:26:25.299 for his spiritual children. And that may require 00:26:25.299 --> 00:26:28.119 the paddle. Because that's what a good father 00:26:28.119 --> 00:26:33.940 does. Amen? Okay. So, let's do some practical 00:26:33.940 --> 00:26:36.400 application. We have some time here to talk about 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:40.019 two really practical issues. for the church today, 00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:43.059 and even for our church here at Oak Hill. Let 00:26:43.059 --> 00:26:46.720 me talk first of all about this issue. Let's 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:49.180 talk about what we just read in terms of authority. 00:26:50.220 --> 00:26:53.920 Authority in the church. This is one of the most 00:26:53.920 --> 00:26:56.079 important things for all of us to understand 00:26:56.079 --> 00:26:58.640 about church life, and it's something that, can 00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:01.900 I just say, in the evangelical world, we don't 00:27:01.900 --> 00:27:05.440 do this very well. Because especially as Americans, 00:27:05.660 --> 00:27:08.869 we're like, I get to do what I want. You're not 00:27:08.869 --> 00:27:12.569 the boss of me, right? But the church, if you've 00:27:12.569 --> 00:27:14.789 studied church history, I know some of you nerds 00:27:14.789 --> 00:27:19.130 are, it's always been about God's established 00:27:19.130 --> 00:27:22.829 order in the body of Christ. And you don't want 00:27:22.829 --> 00:27:25.009 to live in rebellion to what God has established. 00:27:25.869 --> 00:27:27.990 So obviously there's no apostles on the earth 00:27:27.990 --> 00:27:30.750 anymore, right? So there's no apostolic authority 00:27:30.750 --> 00:27:33.089 over churches or over believers in the churches. 00:27:33.650 --> 00:27:35.650 But when you look at the New Testament, you do 00:27:35.650 --> 00:27:39.019 see a handoff. in terms of authority in the local 00:27:39.019 --> 00:27:42.480 church, from apostles to this unique office in 00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:46.559 the church called presbyteros or episkopos. And 00:27:46.559 --> 00:27:50.599 we translate those as elders or overseers. And 00:27:50.599 --> 00:27:52.619 we saw this specifically in the book of Titus. 00:27:52.619 --> 00:27:55.279 Do you remember? Here's Paul, who's an apostle, 00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:58.480 and he's writing to Titus, who is a younger but 00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:01.259 fellow apostle. And he says, look, I want you 00:28:01.259 --> 00:28:03.779 to go to Crete. And here's what I want you to 00:28:03.779 --> 00:28:05.779 do. I want you to establish order on the island 00:28:05.779 --> 00:28:10.039 of Crete by doing what? He says, establish elders 00:28:10.039 --> 00:28:15.119 in every local body. That's God's plan. And by 00:28:15.119 --> 00:28:17.460 the way, not a bishop. Don't go to the island 00:28:17.460 --> 00:28:21.059 of Crete and create a bishop. Or don't create 00:28:21.059 --> 00:28:25.279 a senior pastor. That's not a thing. He says, 00:28:25.279 --> 00:28:28.279 go and create a plurality of elders, a team of 00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:32.599 elders to oversee the local churches. I don't 00:28:32.599 --> 00:28:35.140 know why we can't see that. It's just so obvious 00:28:35.140 --> 00:28:37.900 in the Bible. But we just keep creating our own 00:28:37.900 --> 00:28:40.559 ecclesial structures because we feel like it. 00:28:40.920 --> 00:28:43.660 But that's what God has given us. Then he goes 00:28:43.660 --> 00:28:45.720 on to say to Titus, by the way, here's the qualifications 00:28:45.720 --> 00:28:48.779 for these elders. It's very important, right? 00:28:48.859 --> 00:28:51.420 They've got to be men of integrity. Above reproach, 00:28:51.420 --> 00:28:53.500 he says. They've got to be able to teach sound 00:28:53.500 --> 00:28:56.200 doctrine and refute falsehood. And he goes on 00:28:56.200 --> 00:28:59.589 to talk about those things. Friends. Here at 00:28:59.589 --> 00:29:01.730 Oak Hill, we take those instructions really seriously. 00:29:02.109 --> 00:29:04.890 We think we should live by them. And right now, 00:29:04.890 --> 00:29:06.849 we have seven elders who are carrying out that 00:29:06.849 --> 00:29:09.509 calling from the Lord. And passages like this 00:29:09.509 --> 00:29:12.630 one in 1 Corinthians 4 tell us some of the ways 00:29:12.630 --> 00:29:15.589 that we need to posture ourselves in relation 00:29:15.589 --> 00:29:18.650 to you, the congregation. And let me just say 00:29:18.650 --> 00:29:21.450 this. Last week, we talked about ways that you 00:29:21.450 --> 00:29:24.230 can honor your leaders. I want to share with 00:29:24.230 --> 00:29:26.930 you this morning just a little bit about behind 00:29:26.930 --> 00:29:29.599 the scenes in church life. If you didn't know 00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:32.339 this, serving as an elder is really difficult 00:29:32.339 --> 00:29:36.460 work. Paul knew this, right? Obviously he knew 00:29:36.460 --> 00:29:38.480 this. If you're under the impression that being 00:29:38.480 --> 00:29:42.579 an elder is prestigious or glamorous, let me 00:29:42.579 --> 00:29:44.819 sort that out for you this morning, just briefly. 00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:49.180 As a lay elder, you put in long hours to serve 00:29:49.180 --> 00:29:51.759 the body of Christ on top of your regular job. 00:29:52.099 --> 00:29:55.480 You know, the one that actually pays you? Long 00:29:55.480 --> 00:29:59.000 hours. And that means time away from your family. 00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:02.720 All the time. Did you know that an elder's wife, 00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:06.779 elder's children, sacrifice greatly for the sake 00:30:06.779 --> 00:30:08.900 of the body because their husband, their dad, 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:13.599 is so busy overseeing the church? Have you ever 00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:18.700 thanked an elder's wife? Something to think about. 00:30:18.900 --> 00:30:22.799 It's a great sacrifice. Those hours include lots 00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:25.859 of time discipling and counseling. Can I tell 00:30:25.859 --> 00:30:28.599 you the emotional toll that takes on a man to 00:30:28.599 --> 00:30:32.259 have a full -time job, to work hard, and then 00:30:32.259 --> 00:30:34.640 to counsel and disciple that emotional toll of 00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:37.740 doing that? It includes many, many hours of doing 00:30:37.740 --> 00:30:39.819 prep work for all the preaching and teaching 00:30:39.819 --> 00:30:43.359 that doesn't just magically happen in the local 00:30:43.359 --> 00:30:45.319 church, sweating over the text of Scripture, 00:30:45.579 --> 00:30:48.599 bearing the weight of what it means to handle 00:30:48.599 --> 00:30:51.839 God's Word correctly. There's all the time in 00:30:51.839 --> 00:30:54.400 communication with fellow elders and other leaders. 00:30:55.059 --> 00:30:57.400 Overseeing various ministries, which means, trust 00:30:57.400 --> 00:30:59.799 me, long email threads and long text threads, 00:31:00.019 --> 00:31:03.559 right? Constant communication on top of the phone 00:31:03.559 --> 00:31:07.859 calls. And like Paul, in the midst of doing all 00:31:07.859 --> 00:31:11.339 those things for the benefit of others, oftentimes 00:31:11.339 --> 00:31:14.299 you still feel the sting of criticism from the 00:31:14.299 --> 00:31:17.059 very people you're trying to love and to serve. 00:31:17.900 --> 00:31:21.119 And it breaks your heart. It can keep you up 00:31:21.119 --> 00:31:22.779 at night. There are times when you have run -ins 00:31:22.779 --> 00:31:26.019 with members who've grown prideful. and divisive, 00:31:26.019 --> 00:31:30.279 and it tears at your soul. This was what Paul 00:31:30.279 --> 00:31:33.259 was feeling as he was writing 1 Corinthians. 00:31:34.420 --> 00:31:39.160 All of the long hours, the dedicated prayer time 00:31:39.160 --> 00:31:43.339 over these saints that he loved so much, the 00:31:43.339 --> 00:31:46.980 hardship of ancient travel. Can you imagine how 00:31:46.980 --> 00:31:49.259 difficult it must have been? The physical and 00:31:49.259 --> 00:31:52.299 emotional toll of ministry, the threats against 00:31:52.299 --> 00:31:55.640 his life. Being hungry and thirsty and poorly 00:31:55.640 --> 00:31:57.460 clothed and all those things we talked about. 00:31:58.359 --> 00:32:02.160 And yet in the midst of all that, to have his 00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:05.880 spiritual children in rebellion against his authority. 00:32:08.119 --> 00:32:12.160 Judging them. Judging his work as an apostle. 00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:16.819 From Corinth, of all places. Can you imagine 00:32:16.819 --> 00:32:20.420 the heartache he was dealing with? Oh, and then 00:32:20.420 --> 00:32:22.259 there's the problem issues that arise in every 00:32:22.259 --> 00:32:24.759 local church, times when elders have to really 00:32:24.759 --> 00:32:28.099 dig in and deal with really hard stuff, and times 00:32:28.099 --> 00:32:30.700 when we have to take a posture like Paul does 00:32:30.700 --> 00:32:33.220 here, where we have to come in and talk to people 00:32:33.220 --> 00:32:36.960 we love and admonish them or rebuke them, exhort 00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:40.289 them towards a better path. In those cases, sometimes 00:32:40.289 --> 00:32:42.690 you're trying to bring out repentance for sin. 00:32:42.849 --> 00:32:45.130 Sometimes you're dealing with divisiveness. Sometimes 00:32:45.130 --> 00:32:46.769 you're just dealing with plain old foolishness 00:32:46.769 --> 00:32:49.529 or blindness on the part of an immature believer. 00:32:50.470 --> 00:32:53.269 And the goal for us, and we talk about this at 00:32:53.269 --> 00:32:56.990 our elder meetings, is to balance patience and 00:32:56.990 --> 00:32:59.430 gentleness, but also at the same time, firmness 00:32:59.430 --> 00:33:03.549 and seriousness. And then there's also this, 00:33:03.569 --> 00:33:06.289 in the midst of all that, It's part of our calling 00:33:06.289 --> 00:33:08.329 as elders that we're supposed to set the example 00:33:08.329 --> 00:33:13.390 for you. Talk about something that's heavy. It's 00:33:13.390 --> 00:33:15.269 our job to set the example. We're supposed to 00:33:15.269 --> 00:33:17.210 be able to say to this congregation, imitate 00:33:17.210 --> 00:33:21.130 us as we imitate Christ. Observe our lives and 00:33:21.130 --> 00:33:24.670 strive to live as we do. It's a heavy thing. 00:33:24.809 --> 00:33:27.049 That's exactly what Peter talked about this back 00:33:27.049 --> 00:33:29.829 in the first century. Peter said this. He said, 00:33:29.849 --> 00:33:34.200 I exhort the elders, as your fellow elder, I 00:33:34.200 --> 00:33:37.000 exhort you elders, what? Shepherd the flock of 00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:41.720 God among you, exercising oversight and proving 00:33:41.720 --> 00:33:46.940 yourself to be examples to the flock. That's 00:33:46.940 --> 00:33:50.259 our calling. So it's a tough gig that we have. 00:33:50.759 --> 00:33:52.880 And I don't say this because I'm begging for 00:33:52.880 --> 00:33:55.220 sympathy. Your elders are not doing that. We've 00:33:55.220 --> 00:33:57.559 embraced this calling that God has given to us. 00:33:57.839 --> 00:33:59.960 But here's what I want you to take from this 00:33:59.960 --> 00:34:02.400 and what I want you to see from what Paul is 00:34:02.400 --> 00:34:06.319 going through. In 1 Corinthians 4, I want you 00:34:06.319 --> 00:34:08.960 to know that for us to truly love you and care 00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:12.780 for you as shepherds and fathers, there's going 00:34:12.780 --> 00:34:16.139 to be times when we need to exhibit tough love. 00:34:18.159 --> 00:34:21.380 That's part of our calling. Sometimes that tough 00:34:21.380 --> 00:34:25.059 love comes in the form of a hard sermon. Right? 00:34:25.159 --> 00:34:27.880 How many times have you thought, I've actually 00:34:27.880 --> 00:34:29.460 heard you guys say this, Jeff, were you talking 00:34:29.460 --> 00:34:32.179 to me? Did you write this sermon for me? No, 00:34:32.260 --> 00:34:35.420 I didn't. But sometimes it comes in that form. 00:34:35.500 --> 00:34:38.139 It's a hard sermon or it's in discipleship. It's 00:34:38.139 --> 00:34:41.659 a challenge to grow in maturity. Or sometimes 00:34:41.659 --> 00:34:44.340 it's a rebuke and a counseling appointment. This 00:34:44.340 --> 00:34:46.559 is part of our job. And I hope and I pray for 00:34:46.559 --> 00:34:48.780 myself and for all of our elders that we will 00:34:48.780 --> 00:34:51.440 always balance those two things, affection and 00:34:51.440 --> 00:34:55.119 discipline for you. That's our goal. And that 00:34:55.119 --> 00:34:57.500 as we do that, even if we bring tough love, that 00:34:57.500 --> 00:35:01.389 you will sense that we care deeply for you. But 00:35:01.389 --> 00:35:03.010 it's important for you to realize that this is 00:35:03.010 --> 00:35:05.170 part of our calling and then receive it well 00:35:05.170 --> 00:35:09.309 from us, just as the Corinthians needed to hear 00:35:09.309 --> 00:35:14.210 this from Paul. Make sense? Last thing, let's 00:35:14.210 --> 00:35:16.449 talk about this issue of spiritual fathers. Or, 00:35:16.530 --> 00:35:18.889 by the way, spiritual mothers. This is not just 00:35:18.889 --> 00:35:22.070 a male issue, right? Christian men need spiritual 00:35:22.070 --> 00:35:25.289 fathers. Christian women need spiritual mothers. 00:35:26.869 --> 00:35:30.800 Acorns? Who else besides Jesus can we follow 00:35:30.800 --> 00:35:39.599 as our example? Zeke. Zeke Fonda, ladies and 00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:44.920 gentlemen. Good job, Carr. Adults who love Jesus. 00:35:45.280 --> 00:35:49.940 Exactly. Listen, as Paul says in this passage, 00:35:50.300 --> 00:35:52.219 we're going to have many, many teachers in our 00:35:52.219 --> 00:35:55.199 lives. Okay, so what does that mean? You're going 00:35:55.199 --> 00:35:58.079 to have pastors and elders and small group leaders 00:35:58.079 --> 00:36:01.320 and college faculty and conference speakers, 00:36:01.579 --> 00:36:04.940 even authors of books. And they're going to teach 00:36:04.940 --> 00:36:07.800 you many things. And those are all great things. 00:36:07.980 --> 00:36:10.039 But when we talk about spiritual fathers and 00:36:10.039 --> 00:36:11.920 mothers, we're talking about something much deeper 00:36:11.920 --> 00:36:16.010 than that. And because here in our text, Paul's 00:36:16.010 --> 00:36:19.329 writing from a unique apostolic perspective here, 00:36:19.429 --> 00:36:22.250 I think we can broaden out the application for 00:36:22.250 --> 00:36:24.389 us today because it's not the first century anymore. 00:36:24.730 --> 00:36:27.610 And the reality is, guys, and this is true of 00:36:27.610 --> 00:36:31.010 me as well, not all of us are in contact with 00:36:31.010 --> 00:36:33.670 the person who led us to faith or in close connection 00:36:33.670 --> 00:36:37.769 with that person anymore. And so a spiritual 00:36:37.769 --> 00:36:40.030 father or mother doesn't always have to be the 00:36:40.030 --> 00:36:43.280 person who led you to faith. but you still need 00:36:43.280 --> 00:36:46.300 this type of person in your life. So this is 00:36:46.300 --> 00:36:48.119 something we all need to think about. We all 00:36:48.119 --> 00:36:50.559 need this. And this means that we're going to 00:36:50.559 --> 00:36:54.019 have to seek people out that we know are worthy 00:36:54.019 --> 00:36:57.739 of imitation and saying, I need a spiritual father. 00:36:57.780 --> 00:37:00.800 I need a spiritual mother who I can imitate as 00:37:00.800 --> 00:37:04.099 they imitate Christ. And whoever that person 00:37:04.099 --> 00:37:07.119 is, you can call them a spiritual mentor. You 00:37:07.119 --> 00:37:09.559 can call them a discipler. The key to it all 00:37:09.559 --> 00:37:13.809 is depth of relationship. That's what separates 00:37:13.809 --> 00:37:15.429 you from the guy who writes a book. You read 00:37:15.429 --> 00:37:17.170 something in a book, you're like, I learned something 00:37:17.170 --> 00:37:20.070 here. That's not depth of relationship. We're 00:37:20.070 --> 00:37:22.710 talking about something bigger here. And interestingly, 00:37:22.809 --> 00:37:25.849 Paul actually gives us a snapshot in his second 00:37:25.849 --> 00:37:28.849 letter to Timothy. He describes all the ways 00:37:28.849 --> 00:37:31.429 that he and Timothy have this deep relationship. 00:37:31.630 --> 00:37:34.110 Let me read this to you. He says, you, Timothy, 00:37:34.349 --> 00:37:36.889 you followed, here's the list, you followed my 00:37:36.889 --> 00:37:44.449 teaching, my conduct. my purpose, my faith, my 00:37:44.449 --> 00:37:50.050 patience, my love, my perseverance, my persecutions, 00:37:50.050 --> 00:37:55.429 and my sufferings. So you say, well, how did 00:37:55.429 --> 00:37:57.789 Paul and Timothy become so close? Did you hear 00:37:57.789 --> 00:38:00.969 that list? I'll read it again. These are all 00:38:00.969 --> 00:38:03.889 the ways that Timothy observed Paul's life. Teaching, 00:38:04.010 --> 00:38:07.630 conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance. 00:38:08.869 --> 00:38:11.289 persecutions, and sufferings. Timothy said, I 00:38:11.289 --> 00:38:14.809 watched you walk through all those things. So 00:38:14.809 --> 00:38:18.349 I know the pattern of Paul's life. So a spiritual 00:38:18.349 --> 00:38:20.150 father or mother is a person who's going to be 00:38:20.150 --> 00:38:22.489 involved in your life in so many ways. They're 00:38:22.489 --> 00:38:24.989 going to faithfully care for you. They're going 00:38:24.989 --> 00:38:27.030 to be involved in your ongoing Christian formation. 00:38:27.650 --> 00:38:29.849 They're going to give you sustained discipleship. 00:38:29.849 --> 00:38:32.090 They're going to help you mature in your knowledge. 00:38:33.019 --> 00:38:35.519 And in your understanding and how you walk with 00:38:35.519 --> 00:38:38.239 the Lord. And yes, a spiritual father and mother 00:38:38.239 --> 00:38:41.039 is going to admonish you and correct you when 00:38:41.039 --> 00:38:44.280 that becomes necessary. Now this person has to 00:38:44.280 --> 00:38:47.260 be worthy of imitation. You're following this 00:38:47.260 --> 00:38:49.860 person as he or she is following Christ. So you 00:38:49.860 --> 00:38:52.059 have to be close enough to observe the way they 00:38:52.059 --> 00:38:55.639 walk. Observe the way they walk. You want to 00:38:55.639 --> 00:38:57.980 look at practical things. How does my spiritual 00:38:57.980 --> 00:39:00.300 father or mother, how do they function in marriage? 00:39:01.389 --> 00:39:05.170 Is it a healthy marriage? How so? How do they 00:39:05.170 --> 00:39:08.469 parent? Are they doing a good job to parent biblically? 00:39:08.630 --> 00:39:11.130 How do they develop their own habits and disciplines 00:39:11.130 --> 00:39:13.869 of the Christian life? And then practical things. 00:39:13.949 --> 00:39:16.590 How do they manage their time? How do they manage 00:39:16.590 --> 00:39:20.730 their finances? Right? What do they prioritize? 00:39:20.909 --> 00:39:24.530 How consistent are they? This is what makes somebody 00:39:24.530 --> 00:39:27.340 worthy of imitation. And then church -related 00:39:27.340 --> 00:39:29.719 things. What do their ministries look like? How 00:39:29.719 --> 00:39:32.519 do they show love and care? How do they serve 00:39:32.519 --> 00:39:35.940 the body of Christ? Is that worthy of imitation? 00:39:36.900 --> 00:39:38.920 And then the really hard part about having a 00:39:38.920 --> 00:39:41.300 spiritual father or mother, you have to give 00:39:41.300 --> 00:39:45.199 them permission to ask you hard questions. You 00:39:45.199 --> 00:39:47.500 have to give them permission to dig into your 00:39:47.500 --> 00:39:50.780 heart so they can point things out that you might 00:39:50.780 --> 00:39:54.260 not see. You have to let them push you towards 00:39:54.260 --> 00:39:57.449 greater maturity in the faith. And listen, guys, 00:39:57.530 --> 00:39:59.650 I can testify. I know I'm an old man now, but 00:39:59.650 --> 00:40:02.550 I can testify to the value of this from my younger 00:40:02.550 --> 00:40:05.349 days. God brought a man into my life, actually 00:40:05.349 --> 00:40:08.929 several men, who really spoke into my early spiritual 00:40:08.929 --> 00:40:11.090 walk with the Lord, and it made all the difference 00:40:11.090 --> 00:40:14.030 in the world. One of them, the man who baptized 00:40:14.030 --> 00:40:17.550 me, became such an amazing example. He was always 00:40:17.550 --> 00:40:19.769 involved in church life. He was an elder. He 00:40:19.769 --> 00:40:22.590 was a Bible study teacher, and he was a missionary. 00:40:23.289 --> 00:40:28.659 In fact, he went on to to preach and build orphanages 00:40:28.659 --> 00:40:31.940 in Haiti. Just an amazing guy. And I will forever 00:40:31.940 --> 00:40:35.300 be indebted to the Lord for bringing him into 00:40:35.300 --> 00:40:39.300 my life. Now I'm an older man and I don't have 00:40:39.300 --> 00:40:42.179 that close proximity. He's in very poor health 00:40:42.179 --> 00:40:44.699 right now and really struggling. I don't have 00:40:44.699 --> 00:40:48.840 that proximity. So even myself at 63 years old 00:40:48.840 --> 00:40:51.619 and a pastor of a church, I still need spiritual 00:40:51.619 --> 00:40:55.010 fathers. And so now I look to my fellow elders, 00:40:55.210 --> 00:40:56.869 all of them. I know some of them are younger 00:40:56.869 --> 00:40:59.150 than me. That's okay. Some of them are older, 00:40:59.210 --> 00:41:02.130 but I see in each one of them certain parts of 00:41:02.130 --> 00:41:06.150 their walk of faith that I want to imitate. So 00:41:06.150 --> 00:41:09.070 you've got to be intentional about this. I'm 00:41:09.070 --> 00:41:10.969 so thankful that Tanya and I have the privilege 00:41:10.969 --> 00:41:13.449 of walking through this stage of our life with 00:41:13.449 --> 00:41:16.110 fellow elders and their wives who can be great 00:41:16.110 --> 00:41:22.289 examples to us. Now, for some of you, Are you 00:41:22.289 --> 00:41:26.869 ready for the admonishment? Some of you, not 00:41:26.869 --> 00:41:29.469 only should you have a spiritual mentor, you 00:41:29.469 --> 00:41:32.730 should be a spiritual mentor. You should be a 00:41:32.730 --> 00:41:34.670 spiritual mentor to somebody else. And if you're 00:41:34.670 --> 00:41:37.409 not, if you've been a believer for decades and 00:41:37.409 --> 00:41:39.590 you're not a spiritual father or mother to anyone, 00:41:39.849 --> 00:41:42.989 I want to wake you up this morning to that deficiency. 00:41:44.170 --> 00:41:46.650 And I don't say that to be mean -spirited, but 00:41:46.650 --> 00:41:50.349 that exact rebuke is found in Hebrews 5. Did 00:41:50.349 --> 00:41:53.139 you know that? In Hebrews 5, the author says, 00:41:53.300 --> 00:41:56.900 by now you should be teachers, but you haven't 00:41:56.900 --> 00:41:59.820 grown up. You still need milk, spiritual milk, 00:41:59.920 --> 00:42:02.900 not solid food. So this is a rebuke that we can 00:42:02.900 --> 00:42:06.059 lay on the church today. Look, some of you by 00:42:06.059 --> 00:42:09.139 now should be teachers, should be spiritual mentors, 00:42:09.420 --> 00:42:14.159 but you're still looking to somebody else, but 00:42:14.159 --> 00:42:16.139 you're not looking behind to see who needs help 00:42:16.139 --> 00:42:20.559 behind you. This is the responsibility of every 00:42:20.559 --> 00:42:23.340 believer in this room. The Christian life is 00:42:23.340 --> 00:42:26.000 not self -centered. It's always other -centered. 00:42:26.539 --> 00:42:29.860 So for every man here this morning, every man, 00:42:29.960 --> 00:42:33.960 every man, you should be striving to someday 00:42:33.960 --> 00:42:38.440 be elder qualified. You should be striving to 00:42:38.440 --> 00:42:39.860 be elder. It doesn't mean you'll be an elder, 00:42:39.960 --> 00:42:43.300 but you should strive for those qualifications 00:42:43.300 --> 00:42:46.019 because that is the description of a mature man. 00:42:46.639 --> 00:42:49.840 That should be your goal. Ladies, you can't take 00:42:49.840 --> 00:42:52.119 the office of an elder, but there are many lofty 00:42:52.119 --> 00:42:54.940 spiritual goals for you to go after. Becoming 00:42:54.940 --> 00:42:59.440 a spiritual mother to younger ladies. Serving 00:42:59.440 --> 00:43:01.780 in women's ministry. Be a part of our women's 00:43:01.780 --> 00:43:04.880 council. Many great targets for you to look at. 00:43:05.639 --> 00:43:08.019 This is a pattern we see lived out by Paul and 00:43:08.019 --> 00:43:11.239 Timothy. A spiritual child imitates his or her 00:43:11.239 --> 00:43:14.619 mentor's way of life. becomes more mature in 00:43:14.619 --> 00:43:16.579 the faith, and then turns around and says, what? 00:43:16.780 --> 00:43:19.179 It's time for me to be a spiritual father. It's 00:43:19.179 --> 00:43:23.400 time for me to be a spiritual mother. Imagine 00:43:23.400 --> 00:43:27.639 Timothy saying, imagine Timothy saying, you know 00:43:27.639 --> 00:43:29.800 what? I like following Paul. It's really comfortable. 00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:32.840 It's great. I don't want to lead anybody else. 00:43:33.219 --> 00:43:36.539 It's not what I'm called to do. It's not what 00:43:36.539 --> 00:43:40.000 I'm gifted to do. No, no, no. That's not an option 00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:42.820 that we're given. This is reproduction in the 00:43:42.820 --> 00:43:49.139 kingdom of God. Just simple yet profound biblical 00:43:49.139 --> 00:43:52.360 process of multiplication. Because the Christian 00:43:52.360 --> 00:43:54.559 life is not static. Did you know this? It's not 00:43:54.559 --> 00:43:57.820 static. It's always moving forward, always moving 00:43:57.820 --> 00:44:00.539 towards maturity in Christ, always looking ahead 00:44:00.539 --> 00:44:03.019 to our mentors and then turning around and taking 00:44:03.019 --> 00:44:05.320 hold of somebody else and saying, come with me. 00:44:07.480 --> 00:44:11.329 So if this is a new concept, that's okay. There's 00:44:11.329 --> 00:44:14.250 grace, there's patience, but this is for all 00:44:14.250 --> 00:44:17.010 of us as believers. This is how the kingdom operates. 00:44:17.590 --> 00:44:20.329 Amen? Okay, so right there I just gave you an 00:44:20.329 --> 00:44:24.289 example of a little admonishment, right? Receive 00:44:24.289 --> 00:44:27.469 that well, because it's important. Okay, we're 00:44:27.469 --> 00:44:32.389 four chapters into Paul's letter. What he's done, 00:44:32.550 --> 00:44:34.289 I know he's been dealing with the same issue. 00:44:34.329 --> 00:44:36.929 He's laying a foundation for everything he's 00:44:36.929 --> 00:44:39.900 about to say in chapters 5 through 16. See, here's 00:44:39.900 --> 00:44:42.139 the thing. In order to get to those issues, the 00:44:42.139 --> 00:44:44.380 first thing he has to deal with is the pride 00:44:44.380 --> 00:44:47.460 of these Corinthians. He's gotta deal with their 00:44:47.460 --> 00:44:50.960 fleshliness. He's gotta root out all the divisive 00:44:50.960 --> 00:44:53.500 tendencies. He's gotta have them embrace humility 00:44:53.500 --> 00:44:56.840 and weakness. It's only when fundamental matters 00:44:56.840 --> 00:44:58.960 like that are set straight that you can then 00:44:58.960 --> 00:45:02.179 address other problems. And so Paul's done that. 00:45:02.239 --> 00:45:04.000 We'll keep building on that as we go through 00:45:04.000 --> 00:45:06.159 because all of those principles are gonna show 00:45:06.159 --> 00:45:08.800 up all the way through chapter 16. Now, next 00:45:08.800 --> 00:45:17.079 Sunday, you get a break from 1 Corinthians. It's 00:45:17.079 --> 00:45:19.300 Father's Day. Adam's gonna be here. He's getting 00:45:19.300 --> 00:45:21.900 close to finishing Ecclesiastes, which is very, 00:45:21.980 --> 00:45:24.539 we'll celebrate Father's Day, right? Baby dedications. 00:45:24.920 --> 00:45:28.320 And then the following Sunday, gird your loins. 00:45:28.320 --> 00:45:31.789 We're in chapter five. And it's going to get 00:45:31.789 --> 00:45:34.650 very, very interesting. Let's bow our heads. 00:45:42.210 --> 00:45:49.010 Heavenly Father, as I step back and I look at 00:45:49.010 --> 00:45:51.610 these four chapters, it's so humbling, Lord, 00:45:51.710 --> 00:45:56.769 to know how you have designed the church so perfectly 00:45:56.769 --> 00:46:00.559 and to know that we as human beings so often 00:46:00.559 --> 00:46:04.579 mess it up. You've given us the blueprint and 00:46:04.579 --> 00:46:07.840 we choose to be fleshly and we choose to be divisive 00:46:07.840 --> 00:46:13.139 and we choose to not want your established authority 00:46:13.139 --> 00:46:16.880 in our lives. We, in our rebellion, just want 00:46:16.880 --> 00:46:19.900 to do what we want to do. And so I pray that 00:46:19.900 --> 00:46:21.760 you'll break us of those habits, that you'll 00:46:21.760 --> 00:46:28.179 cause us to desire to submit. to the principles 00:46:28.179 --> 00:46:31.780 of your word, desire to submit to authority structures 00:46:31.780 --> 00:46:35.019 and the calling that you have on our lives. God, 00:46:35.099 --> 00:46:38.980 I pray for Oak Hill. You will continue to raise 00:46:38.980 --> 00:46:41.940 up mature believers who can serve as fathers 00:46:41.940 --> 00:46:44.800 and mothers to others and that you will keep 00:46:44.800 --> 00:46:49.239 raising up another generation of men and women 00:46:49.239 --> 00:46:53.039 who want to turn around and mentor others. God, 00:46:53.079 --> 00:46:56.079 would you do that reproducing work in this local 00:46:56.079 --> 00:46:59.429 church? We ask that you would do that, Father, 00:46:59.530 --> 00:47:02.570 because we know it's for our good and even more 00:47:02.570 --> 00:47:04.710 importantly for your glory. So do that work in 00:47:04.710 --> 00:47:07.710 us, Father, according to your perfect will. We 00:47:07.710 --> 00:47:08.550 pray in Christ's name.