Bible Messages from the Kimberly Church of Christ

When we see the story of David, we read about a man who committed serious sins, ones which would have condemned other kings in the eyes of both God and the Biblical historians. And yet he is held up as "a man after God's heart."

That phrase is rarely used in scripture, but the idea is a person who actively seeks God's heart - seeks God's approval, love, and care. For all David's faults, he never wavered in seeking the Lord. When the Lord called, he answered. When the Lord punished, he accepted that punishment without resentment and without excuse. As a result of that faith, David was able to obtain grace and mercy.

How do we use the story of David? Is it to excuse our own sin and find license to live according to our own hearts? Or is it an example of the mercy available to us when we submit ourselves to God and truly seek His will in our lives, and not our own? In looking at David's life, we see four characteristics that stand out:

1. David truly loved God - not just in word, but in deed. He did not love a God that he invented, or one that he did not fully understand, but he saw in God a righteousness, grace, and justice that appealed to him, and drove him to worship.
2. David extended grace to others - We see David's reign marked by justice and equity, which came from his recognition of those qualities in God. As a result, we see David willing to be merciful to his enemies in defeat, looking for ways to honor those who were weaker than he, with a concern for the people over which he ruled.
3. David humbled himself before God - he constantly thanked God for his blessings, seeking God's will above his own. In the times that he sinned - which were the exception and not the rule in his life - he turned to God and asked for mercy, repenting of his wrongdoing and accepting the consequences.
4. David truly trusted God - even as God was punishing him, David always believed God would ultimately deliver him, that the promise God had made to him about preserving his throne would ultimately hold as long as refused to turn his back on the Lord.

The position of elder - or bishop, or overseer, or shepherd - is outlined pretty clearly in Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus, as he spells out the character and demeanor of men who are fit to serve as leaders of a local congregation of Christians. While Paul doesn't give the exact same qualifications in the same exact words in each account, it becomes clear that Paul is describing the same type of character in slightly different - although mostly overlapping - phrases.

The question is not what those qualifications are; Paul makes those relatively clear, and most of the disagreements on definitions tend to be minor. The difficulty arises when we put those qualifications into practice. How do we use sound judgment in determining whether a man fits these qualifications sufficiently to lead God's people? And are we more focused on someone who fits our image of an elder, or are we focused on appointing someone who will do the work effectively and in a godly manner, proving himself to be someone worthy of emulating and following in the Lord's work?

We start by setting a common foundation of what Paul says - and what he does not say - in these verses, and then talk about some points that we need to bear in mind as we're determining whether a man is qualified to fill the role and do the work of an overseer.

What does it mean to be "above reproach" in the context of selecting elders? At times, we in the church take this so seriously that it almost paralyzes us. We look at the qualifications found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and we see the ultimate expression of these qualities in Christ, and realize how far short we fall. We start looking for someone who perfectly embodies those traits, rather than starting with the simple question: Can this man do the work he is called to do?

The eldership is a vital component in God's plan for the Lord's church, and a local group cannot achieve what it needs to achieve in Christ without sound, godly leadership by men who are qualified to hold that position. So it's important not only that we understand and apply those qualifications in such a way that we are appointing men who are truly going to serve the Lord as shepherds in the mold of the Good Shepherd, Jesus, but that we're not disqualifying those who ought to be serving.

In John 10, Jesus describes a typical sheep fold, and states "I am the door," then describing how the sheep and shepherd alike use that door in terms of security and access to food and water.

While Jesus' next analogy, that of the Good Shepherd, can be assigned to Jesus alone, the role of shepherd in the the first parallel is applied not only to Jesus specifically, but to any shepherd of God's people who is attempting to lead in a godly manner. So when the church is beginning the process of appointing elders, it's important to start by ensuring that the elders understand what it means to emulate Jesus in their leadership, and how they should "use the door" the way Jesus describes.

The eldership is not a new concept in the Lord's church, and in fact it predates the church going all the way back to the Israelites in Egypt. Israel had always been led at the city level by appointed elders, and this concept was clearly God's plan for the church as well. In Jeremiah 23, the prophet condemns the leaders of his day, prophesying about the time when God would appoint godly shepherds to watch over his people, led of course by the chief Shepherd, which was Christ.

We see four basic takeaways from this parallel that elders must model in their own leadership:

• A true shepherd uses "the door:" He is a servant first and foremost of Jesus Christ, and everything he teaches, every action he takes with respect to the flock must be done by the authority of Jesus.
• A true shepherd leads the sheep: He doesn't have to prod or drag, he doesn't lead by coercion as the Pharisees had been doing in the previous chapter. He is an example, and when the church sees Christ in him, they hear the voice of Jesus, and they follow.
• A true shepherd practices "sheep shepherding:" Elders often get caught up in "flock shepherding," which involves thinking about concepts at a group level, while sometimes neglecting the decisions they need to make about helping individuals - whether it's encouragement, involvement, teaching, or correction.
• A true shepherd focuses on the safety and well-being of the sheep: An elder has no other job but to guard the people under his care from spiritual harm. He is tasked with protecting the flock from evil influences on the outside and inside of the church, and must see his responsibility as vital, knowing that he will answer to Jesus, the "chief shepherd."

Ultimately, as Jesus was called to lay down his life for the sheep, a true elder of the Lord's church does exactly that for his own flock. He gives his life in service to his brothers and sisters in Christ.

In John 10, Jesus continues a discussion with the Jewish leaders that came as a result of the events of the previous two chapters, where Jesus condemns them for being blinded to his message and refusing to accept his testimony, stating that they could not hear because they were not of God, but were instead serving the devil.

In light of that, he gives a description of the typical sheep fold of the region, with the shepherd working with his sheep, leading them out, protecting them, calling them by name, and caring for their needs. He then makes two comparisons about himself: Jesus calls himself "the door" as well as "the good shepherd.

What does he mean by "good?" He is contrasting himself with the current leaders, who he calls in one illustration "robbers and thieves" and in another illustration hirelings who don't care about the sheep they're charged to protect. But by calling himself the "GOOD" shepherd, he's also indicating that he has something to offer the sheep that no shepherd before or since could ever give.

There are three things that jump out of his analogy:

• Jesus is the good shepherd in that the sheep of God will recognize him and follow him, and not anyone else.
• Jesus is the good shepherd in that he truly cares for his sheep, both as a flock and as individuals.
• Jesus is the good shepherd in that he can bless his sheep in ways that even the best shepherd could never bless them.

The apostles started out as a group of men arguing over who would be the greatest - who would be the most important people in the kingdom of God. And Jesus continually brought up the image of a child to remind them of two points:

• In Luke 9, Jesus brought a child over and said "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me ... For he who is least among you all is the one who is greatest." The one in the kingdom of God who is greatest is the one on whom God places the most emphasis, displays the highest regard and care. and as we learn from parables such as Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus' concern is first and foremost seeking and saving the lost, the weak, the abandoned. Rather than arguing over who is most important, focus on what God views as important: making sure those "little children" are safe and built up in the coming church of Christ.
• In Luke 18, Jesus again uses a child as an example, but this time takes it a step further, saying that "whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." The point now is that you need to display the same humility as this child, understanding that you're the willing tool for the master's use in the kingdom, the one who must be led, carried, placed where he needs to be by Jesus, who is your king and your head.

As future leaders of the Lord's church, the apostles needed to understand this in order to lead effectively, not as tyrants imposing their will, but as shepherds constantly evaluating how they lead based on the needs and well-being of the flock. 

And when we look at how the apostles governed the early church, we can see how they took these lessons to heart - sometimes leading with strength and authority, sometimes with meekness and gentleness, but always motivated out of love for their fellow children of God.

Pressing On to Attain the Resurrection
Sunday, June 23, 2019, a.m. Lesson

The apostle Paul writes in Philippians 3:

"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. "

Too many are convinced they can take a passive approach to serving God, living the same life they lived before they came to Christ, indulging in the same lifestyle, holding the same priorities in life, reserving parts of our lives for ourselves while giving some of that to God.

Paul brings up the idea in Phil. 3:12 of pressing on - a word that is also translated as "persecute." He uses it earlier in chapter 3 to describe how he persecuted the church, and now, in Christ, he "persecutes" the resurrection: he pursues it with zeal, with all his focus and energy. It is his single focus in life.

The ESV translates this concept as "I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own." Does Jesus' zeal in pursuing me impact how I in turn pursue a life in Christ? Or are we determined to continue living a sinful life, believing that Jesus will save me regardless of how I choose to live?

Paul argues that "the love of Christ controls us" - because we see what Jesus did for us, we in turn live our lives for him, turning away from the sin for which Jesus died. We don't go right back to the things from which Jesus purified us. When we take that approach to the Christian life, we display the contempt for Jesus' sacrifice that the writer describes in Hebrews 10:26-29:

"For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. … How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?"

Questions we should be asking ourselves:

• Am I focused on growing more like Jesus?
• Am I finding more ways to serve?
• Have I grown comfortable in my routine?

Sunday June 16, 2019
Speaker: Richard Creel

Sunday June 16, 2019, a.m. Lesson
Speaker: Ben Sorrell

In John 9, Jesus heals a blind man, which wasn't unusual for him. He healed lots of blind men in the gospel accounts! But this is the only one recorded by John, and there are a number of things about this miracle that make it special, and point to a meaning much deeper than simply restoring someone's sight.

The miracle takes place in the context of an argument between Jesus and the religious leaders of the day, ending with the people taking up stones to kill Jesus in the temple. Jesus had made a number of claims about himself and his origin, as well as pointing out the darkness and dishonesty of the people who wanted to discredit him by discounting his testimony and explaining away the signs that he had performed.

So in John 9, Jesus finds a man who is physically blind, sends him to a specific pool called "Sent" and tells him to wash his eyes. That single instruction sets up a chain reaction that fully demonstrates Jesus' mission in the world, the reception he has received from the leaders, and the opportunity still available for anyone willing to believe his testimony.