We spoke last time about an upheaval in this life and all the things that are going on to keep us from succeeding in our journey through life. We made the assumption that God would bless are pursuits, but He hasn’t blessed them.

We found out the reason for this dilemma. There is a famous quote that says, “we have met the enemy and it is us!” As God spoke to the people in Jerusalem through the prophet Haggai, they found out that their deliberate pursuits on their own was the problem.

We need to rebuild our lives around Him, allowing the Spirit to lead us, and we need to follow Him in every part of our life.

We must recognize that God has allowed or even brought these things about so that we will admit it is us and repent. There is no one to blame but ourselves.

We find ourselves in the middle of a chaotic life. Things we do, don’t seem to produce what they think they should. We pursue different things only to find out there is no lasting benefit. We have spent most of our life trying to gain something or get ahead only to be disappointed. God’s people have looked for the blessing of the Lord on their endeavors but have not seen His hand in what they do.

There is a reason for this! We have seen fit to pursue our desires instead of God’s. God dealt with Israel concerning this issue in Haggai. And even though He spoke to Israel, the principle still rings true for us today as His children.

As Paul continues to give his closing exhortation to Timothy we see some truths that we can apply to us today.

The same conclusions that we came to last time are repeated here with more emphasis. Let’s listen to Paul strongly urge Timothy regarding the faith, that is the work of faith, persevering in faith, wealth and faith, and guarding the faith.

Again Paul speaks to Timothy concerning the men teaching strange doctrines, myths and genealogies. This is the primary reason for the instructions that he gave to Timothy concerning the gathering of believers. The congregation at Ephesus was being enticed away from the truth and pursuing things that were not bringing about a godly character among the community but one that divides.We want to look at the possible problems that they were teaching and their motives along with the results of both godliness and false teaching.

This is first part of Paul’s plea to Timothy as he wraps up this all important letter to him.

The process of being a gathering of believers is not something that just happens by osmosis, but it is clearly defined in God’s word for His people. He set certain things in order, to bring blessing upon His people. I am reminded of the people in Nehemiah’s day when they wandered from what had been set up by Nehemiah according to the Word of God. Nehemiah scolded them and warned them about what they were doing and what God would do if they did not repent and do what was right. As we continue a little longer in this letter to Timothy, let’s not forget what God has given us for our good.

Another important concern that Paul wanted Timothy to convey to the gathering of believers was the care and ministry of the Elders. He gave instruction about the qualifications of an elder and we even spoke concerning their work. Paul wants Timothy and the people to know what some specifics are concerning elders and he wants the elders to know the specifics about their office.

This morning we want to look at honoring elders, reproving elders, leading of elders, and the laying on of hands by the elders.

The gathering of believers needs to give heed to the instructions that Paul gave to Timothy. We have already seen how believers should conduct themselves in the church, the gathering of God’s people, and although this speaks to a practice within the church it can be added to the conduct of the church as well. The remaining instructions to Timothy in this letter relate to the practice of the church.

We are dealing with the practice of honoring widows in the church. This morning we want to look at the widows in the church, the widows’ work in the church, and the widows who can be on the list.

Paul spells out to Timothy how he should deal with the people within the gathering of believers. These two verses imply that there would be times of dealing with each group of people on a group or one-on-one basis. As a leader of the gathering of believers, Timothy needed to approach them in the proper manner with respect to his own age. Because Timothy was younger, maybe around 30 years of age, he would need to use wisdom beyond his years. Paul balances the approach to the believers with three references; no sharp rebuke, exhort them, and do so as fathers, brothers, mothers or sisters. We want to look at these this morning and draw from them what we, as a gathering of believers, should expect from our leaders and how we should relate to one another within the gathering.

After summarizing the charge that he has given to Timothy concerning the gathering of believers at Ephesus, Paul points out 7 things that Timothy, a servant (deacon) of the Lord Jesus Christ, should be doing.

Even though they speak to Timothy’s task as a leader in the church at Ephesus we can glean truth and practice for us today. Since Paul emphasizes the conduct of the believers,

-whether individually or corporately,

-and being grounded in the Truth to steer clear of being enticed with false teaching,

-then it must be important for us today!

In writing this charge to Timothy concerning the gathering of believers, Paul reaches a point where he summarizes what he has said and puts it into perspective. Paul would have loved to get there with the letter to instruct Timothy and the gathering of believers at Ephesus in the behavior of the church, but instead sends this letter on ahead. He then goes on to say that a godly life comes from a profession of faith or a common confession, ending with the reason that there are so many problems arising to detract from the truth.