TOPIC:‌“The Heart of the Christian Worker”

                  by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

 

TEXT:‌I Timothy 4:11-16

 

“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (I Timothy 4:12).

 

‌This morning I want to direct this message to all of the Christian workers in our church. Listen to me: You will never be the worker that God wants you to be until you see the people you serve and teach as souls. And some of them are lost souls who desperately need to be found and forgiven by Christ.

 

‌You and I as Christian workers are in the business of souls. And if we do not have a soul for it, or if our own soul has not been prepared, we will never register as an effective Christian worker. Now let me bring to your attention those traits mentioned by Paul to Timothy that are needed as we work and serve the people of the church.

 

I.

 

‌First of all, the Christian worker must be a MODEL to IMITATE. Give attention to Paul's words to young Timothy: “be thou an example.”

 

‌That raises a question that every Christian worker should ask themselves: What kind of example am I setting before the people I serve? Do we practice what we preach? This is an inescapable responsibility we must all be concerned about. All too often these words of Paul to young Timothy speak of something that is all too real and tragic about workers and teachers in the church. We do not model and manifest before others a dedicated and disciplined Christian way of living. That is to our detriment.

 

‌The words “Let no man despise thy youth” is rendered by the NIV this way: “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young.” Timothy at this time was a man between thirty and thirty-five. In a culture where “elders” were highly regarded, Paul writes those words of encouragement both to young Timothy and the church at large to let them know that despite his youth, he has Paul's support and authority to teach and serve. Paul wants Timothy to offset the youngness of his years by the beautifulness of his character. In doing so, the church will quickly forget how young he is by their recognition of how spiritual he is.

 

‌From these words of Paul to young Timothy there are two commands we as the people of God must not overlook when it comes to young leaders like Timothy in our churches. We are not “to look down” on them because they are young, but we are “to look up” to them if they are examples to other believers. Let me list those virtues Timothy, and we as leaders, are to model . . .