Jump Start # 2805

1 Corinthians 16:10 “Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without cause to be afraid, for he is doing the Lord’s work, as I also am.”

Make sure that Timothy isn’t scared. Now, there’s lots of things that scare people. For me, it’s snakes. Hate them with a passion. Don’t try to convince me that some are good. The only way a snake is good in my book is if it is good and dead. Some are afraid of storms. Some are afraid of dying. Some are afraid of flying. Our list of fears can be long, very long. Here, Paul was sending Timothy to a church. Timothy was a young preacher. Certainly there is an element of nerves on the part of the young preacher. All young preachers have had that. But, there was something more here. The Common English states this passage, “…be sure that he has no reason to be afraid while he’s with you…” That thought puts the fear factor upon the Corinthians.

And, there was plenty of things to be afraid of if Timothy was going to stand for the truth. A troubled church often has a lot of fixin’ to be done and much too often, no one wants to do that. Fellowshipping an immoral member, divided over the Lord’s Supper, fighting over spiritual gifts, suing each other, false teaching spreading among them—there was a long, long list of things that needed to be worked on. And, Paul was sending in a young preacher. Old heads, with hearts full of arrogance won’t take well to hearing what a young preacher has to say. So Paul is sending a warning shot across the bow of the ship before Timothy gets there. Don’t make him afraid. Don’t abuse him. He is doing God’s work. He is doing what I am doing.

And, with this there ought to be some lessons for you and I to think about.

First, we should never be in a position where other brethren are afraid of us. One of the main reasons why people do not go and talk face-to-face with someone that has offended them is that they are afraid. A friendship may end. A shouting match may begin. The tension and the pressure become so great that we’d rather suffer silently than go and deal with the matter. Our countenance and the manner we carry ourselves has much to do with this. Even we preachers need to take this to heart. Anyone ought to be welcome to talk to us without feeling intimidated, scared and the sense of heading to the principal’s office.

Second, tough things often have to be said. Sometimes they are said from the pulpit. Sometimes they must be said face-to-face. Creating an atmosphere which encourages one to speak the truth makes all of that go so much easier. In the home, the kids may be afraid to say something to their parents. I’ve known kids who had a big brother or sister sign the report card because they were afraid of what mom or dad would say. Some can be like a volcano that might explode at any given moment. People walk around on eggshells, fearing that they may say or do the wrong thing. That’s not a healthy home. Nor, does that make a healthy church.

Third, we older folks can learn from the younger ones. There is no “pecking order” within the kingdom. A young Timothy can have more insight and faith than we older ones. When we allow age to out rank others, then we are heading to a dangerous place. We can all learn from each other. Being thankful to a young man who gives the invitation on a Wednesday or teaches a class helps create an atmosphere of respect, love and appreciation for each other. Fear can keep some from preaching what needs to be preached. Now, what’s preached, needs to be spoken truthfully and filled with love. We preachers can create problems by the manner in which we say things. Picking scabs only keeps wounds from healing. Keeping a spirit of unity, love and fellowship goes a long way in learning and sharing from each other.

Don’t cause Timothy to be afraid. Paul was protecting young Timothy, yet he was also sending him right into the middle of a mess. Paul didn’t keep Timothy home. Paul didn’t find nice safe places for Timothy to preach. Go to Corinth. Preach God’s word. But a warning came to the church, don’t make Timothy afraid.

The upside potential was win-win if all went well. Timothy would grow, get more backbone and learn how to face tough situations. The Corinthians would learn how to walk closer to the Lord. If it went well, both would do well. If it didn’t, disaster could happen.

Sure gives us a few things to think about…

Roger

Jump Start # 2613

1 Corinthians 16:10 “Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without cause to be afraid; for he is doing the Lord’s work, as I also am.”

Timothy is coming! That would have been exciting for the Corinthians. Timothy was young. Timothy knew the word of God. He would do so much good for the Corinthians. But Paul adds, “see that he is with you without cause to be afraid”. A scared preacher isn’t effective. A scared preacher will steer clear of topics that need to be addressed. A scared preacher plays it safe. That’s not what the Corinthians needed. They needed a preacher to tell them the truth. They needed boldness, courage and a confidence in the word of the Lord.

What would scare Timothy? In the next verse, Paul warns the Corinthians not to “despise” Timothy. That word comes up again in Paul’s letter to Timothy. There he said, “Let no man despise your youth.” What might scare Timothy were the Corinthian brethren. It’s easy to allow age to become a power weapon. What can a young guy tell us? He doesn’t know anything. Age plus pride is all it takes for ears to close and a power struggle to begin. So, before Timothy arrives, Paul is telling the Corinthians to behave. Don’t let Timothy be afraid.

Now this makes us think about ourselves. Are there things that we do that might cause other brethren to be afraid of us? If that atmosphere develops, then the ‘family’ concept of the church is gone. Now, what are some things that people may be afraid of?

First, the shepherds or elders. They are supposed to be among us and help us. They are to lead us. They are to know us, love us and care for us. In a healthy congregation there should be no fear. But when things are not healthy, the fear level rises. When the elders want to talk to you, some may see that as going to the principal’s office. The first reaction is “what did I do wrong?” Rather than a light, enjoyable, beneficial chit chat to connect better and see how they can help you, much fear and anxiety develops. The way to eliminate fear, is by becoming approachable and by having many experiences with the sheep that are social, fun and encouraging. When no relationship exists, then fear is a natural feeling.

Second, the preacher. Some are afraid to ask a question in class because they fear the preacher will make them look like the village idiot for even asking. They feel intimidated because they believe the preacher knows so much and they know so little. Those that have advanced degrees in Biblical studies or languages can even put more fear in asking a question. But rather than being afraid, folks ought to use that wonderful blessing and resource around them. Now, how the preacher answers the question, can make things worse or it can put people at ease. We need to be comfortable around each other and be ourselves.

Third, the different generations. The older were to instruct the younger, Titus was told. To do that, there must be a common love, understanding and atmosphere for that to work. Things change. The old way is not always the best way. The older folks can learn from the younger. It’s a two way street. Having a wonderful open and kind fellowship where young moms can ask the empty nesters advice only helps. But if the older ones sigh, roll their eyes, and mumble things under their breath, then a distance will be created among them. It shouldn’t be that way. Within the church family we ought to have adoptive moms and grandmas who are willing to help others. There are a lot of people who have never been taught how to do things. Asking for advice will only work if it is not perceived as a big bother and inconvenience.

Finally, fear should never exist within our fellowship. We will never ask for advice, help or confess sins if we are afraid. Some are afraid of getting a tongue lashing or a stern lecture. So, in silence we journey on. Our fellowship becomes superficial and artificial. The true feelings can never be expressed. Open dialogue and discussion never takes place. One is afraid to disagree, even though he does disagree. Certain topics are viewed as off limits. Suspicion is cast upon one’s faith if they do not line up with everyone else. This is a unhealthy, dysfunctional way to be together. The one mind, one voice of the New Testament does not actually exist when one is fearful and intimidated. And, so sadly, what too often happens is that the fearful person gets to a point where he can’t take it any more. He explodes. Then, he leaves. Those that remain write it off as a faith issue. Nothing changes. No good comes from it. How better it would have been to have some open discussion with open Bibles. Maybe a teaching moment would have shown the person why the church does what it does. Maybe some areas of neglect would be brought to the front and changes would be made for the better. But as it is, fear keeps the lid on our mouths.

Don’t let Timothy be afraid. I expect later on Paul would ask Timothy about his Corinthian experience. If the Corinthians didn’t behave, Paul would likely let them have it. They were warned. Timothy was doing God’s work. Don’t let his age fool you. He knows what he is talking about. Don’t be so proud that you can’t change.

Good words then and good words for now. Let’s eliminate the fear factor among us. Love ought to abound. No one should be afraid of coming home, as the prodigal did. No one should be afraid to ask for help. No one should have to be grilled and receive the third degree treatment for confessing wrongs. No one should feel afraid to say, “I don’t understand,” or, “I don’t see what you are saying.” We are in this together and let us act that way.

Roger

Jump Start # 1012

1 Corinthians 16:10 “Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without cause to be afraid, for he is doing the Lord’s work, as I am also.”

  We talked about this verse yesterday. We looked at the aspect of being afraid. There is another thought that is worth looking into. It’s found at the end of this verse. Paul reminded the Corinthians that Timothy was doing the Lord’s work. Paul stated that he, too, was doing the Lord’s work.

I like that expression, “The Lord’s work.” We don’t hear that very often. Instead we hear, “This is what I am doing,” or, “this is the work of the church.” Paul and Timothy recognized that they were doing the Lord’s work. Give that some thought.

1. The Lord’s work, meant it was a divine work and God approved. It wasn’t Timothy’s work. It wasn’t the Corinthian’s work. It was the Lord’s work. Timothy was working God’s work. It’s easy to put the tag on something and call it the Lord’s work, when it really isn’t. We see that with the use of the word “ministry.” Put any word in front of it and all of a sudden it is connected to God, the church and is funded with church money. Bike ministry, children’s ministry, puppet ministry, pet ministry, prison ministry, single’s ministry, senior citizen ministry, couples ministry, inner city ministry, food ministry, entertainment ministry, worship ministry—there seems to be no end to the “ministry” concept. Just because the word “ministry” is used does not make it the Lord’s work. Timothy was doing the Lord’s work, because this is what the Lord did and this is what the Lord authorized. What was Timothy doing? He wasn’t cooking pancakes on Saturday morning, washing chariots for charity, engaging in a walk-a-thon. Nope. None of those things. Timothy was preaching. Preach the word is what Paul wrote him later in 2 Timothy. Jesus preached. Jesus told the apostles to preach. The Gospel is the power unto salvation. The Gospel was to be preached. Go everywhere preaching Jesus said. Preach to every person Jesus said. That’s God’s work. That’s what Timothy was doing. It was a divine work. It wasn’t the work of the church, it was the Lord’s work. Feeding a person, walking his dog, washing his car, and giving him a ticket to the circus will certainly put a smile on his face and possible make a friend, but it won’t save his soul nor get him to thinking Christ-like. Teaching the Gospel will.

2. The Lord’s work is the greatest work in the world. It is greater than keeping peace among the nations, keeping the economy rolling, or getting more kids to college. God’s work changes destinies and family futures. God’s work never ends. It is teaching and preaching. It is helping people with broken hearts and broken lives to come to the Savior. It’s getting people to recognize that their way didn’t work. It involves warning about wrongs. It involves challenging to do more. It deals with showing how to resist temptation. It involves every aspect of our lives: our families, our money, our habits, our dress, our language, our thinking, our priorities, our relationships. It involves how we handle wrongs. It involves grace and forgiveness. It involves teaching folks how to pray and study the Bible. It is about showing the truths of the Bible. It is about baptizing and worship. It is about getting people ready for Heaven. The Lord’s work—there is nothing greater.

3. We can play a huge part in the Lord’s work. God wants us involved. This work is not so important that God doesn’t include us. He does not say, only the experts are allowed to do this. Can you see what God has invited us to? When you go to a ball game, the coach doesn’t call a time out, run up into the stands, and ask you what you think ought to be done. Never happens. You pay the money for a ticket and you watch. You can cheer the team on. You can holler at the refs. But in the end, you have not been involved. You only watched. God’s work is not like that. Timothy was doing it. Paul was doing it. We can do it. God wants that. You are involved every time you teach. This may be in a formal class that takes place at the church building. It may be at the coffee shop where you are sitting with one other person. It may be through an email. It may come about my posting a Jump Start to someone, or sending them a sermon CD, or simply answering a question with a reference to the Bible. You do this when you invite a friend to come to services. You do this when engage in a conversation at work that has turned religious. You stand upon God’s word. You connect people to the Bible. You do this work when you teach your children at home how to live and how to be righteous. You are a part of this work when you contribute money on Sunday. This provides funds for getting the message out. Tools such as we use to send out Jump Starts, cost money. Printing costs. Making CD’s costs. Traveling to teach costs. Money given helps with the Lord’s work. In all that a church does, the Lord’s work must come first. It must be at the top of the list. This is why a church exists—to worship and do the Lord’s work.

4. The Lord’s work is timeless and lasting. I was reading an article yesterday, written in the 1880’s. That sure was a long time ago. The man who wrote that article is long gone. His words, his insights into the Bible, were still working, long after he quit. The Lord’s work is like that. It out lives us. It is greater than us.

Timothy was doing the Lord’s work. We need more Timothy’s. We need more who are interested in the Lord’s work. We need those who can teach. We need those who can invite. We need those who can preach. We need those who are praying for the Lord’s work. Much of what we do today will not matter fifty years from now. The Lord’s work that we do will. There are congregations and families that are walking with the Lord today because of the work that was done fifty years ago.

The Lord’s work—do your part. Get involved. Make a difference.

Roger

Jump Start # 1011

1 Corinthians 16:10 “Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without causes to be afraid, for he is doing the Lord’s work, as I also am.

  Paul seemed to have two concerns in the book of 1 Corinthians. First, he was concerned about the church. He was concerned about their continual walk with the Lord. He wanted them to do what was right. Fighting, fussing and division characterized those brethren. There were many problems from moral issues, to relationship issues, to doctrinal issues. Paul wanted them to make it and be the people that God expected.

Paul’s second concern was about Timothy. Paul left Corinth and he was going to send Timothy there. Timothy was the follow up. He was to continue hammering away by teaching the will of God. Timothy was not an apostle. Timothy was not Paul. Timothy was young. Our verse reminds us of those things when Paul says, “see that he is with you without causes to be afraid…” Later when writing to Timothy, Paul reminded him that God has not given us a spirit of timidity” (2 Tim. 1:7).

Two simple thoughts here.

First, we should not cause anyone to be afraid. It’s hard to know exactly what Paul meant by those words. I expect more than anything, it involved resistance to what Timothy would say. Fear can silence what ought to be said. Fear follows threats. From a preacher’s perspective, it means the fear of being fired, of being tossed out, of the church ignoring what you say. There is a bigger picture here than just the preacher. We can be afraid of one another. Our fellowship ought to include, accept, and enjoy one another. Fear is one word that should not be found within the church. But often it is. Here are a few “fear factors”

• Fear of not being accepted because of your past
• Fear of not being included. The feeling that you are always on the outside. The feeling that there is an inner circle and you are not in it.
• Fear of looking foolish or dumb. This is why some never speak out in a Bible class. They are smart and have great insights but they fear that they will say something wrong or dumb and everyone will laugh at them.
• Fear of serving publicly. Some go into the panic mode if they had to stand before an audience. They are terrified of such things.
• Fear of sharing any personal matters. You fear some will gossip about you. You fear some will make fun of you. You fear inferior and unworthy compared to others.

So, because of these fears, we keep our boat next to the dock. We sit silently in worship. We don’t sing too loud, because we fear those around us will hear us. We don’t want to be noticed, called upon, or looked at. When the preacher or teacher looks at us, we quickly look down into our Bibles. We’ve looked at the floor a lot. Our conversations are generally shallow and cover the same topics. Safe topics, like the weather, sports, the weather, and the weather. We talk about the weather a lot. It’s a safe topic. Most folks have the same opinions—we hate cold weather and we hate hot weather. You’ll find yourself in safe company there. So we talk about the weather, often and a lot. Our opinions are guarded and spiritual topics are never brought up. Fear does that. We hate to admit it, but many of us are afraid of others.

Sure it is a low self esteem issue, but there it is. I understand. I have sat with the afraid and numbered myself with them before, especially when around other preachers. That would make me shudder. I used to dread having to preach with another preacher in the audience. I just knew what he was thinking. I couldn’t even look at him. After services, when he approached, I would be shaking. I knew he was going to tell me what a joke I was and that I ought to get into some other line of work. Some very well known preachers have sat in the audience when I preached. It nearly destroyed me when I was younger. I was afraid. And now, I get to do it to younger preachers! I’ve learned some things.

First, all of us are in the same boat. We have a past. We want a glorious future that includes Heaven. We have not been the perfect mate, nor the parent of the year. Our faith has been up and down. There are topics that we don’t understand, issues we struggle with, and days that we ought to stay in bed. Now we feel that we are the only ones like that, when all of us are like that. We need each other. There is comfort, strength and hope with each other. Alone, we are toast. Alone, we get discouraged.

Second, your greatest fan and support comes from fellow Christians. They will stand behind you when you have to do the tough job. They will be with you when you need them. I found this true when preaching to preachers. Preachers understand what it takes to develop thoughts and deliver them. All preachers had those first sermons that they just hope everyone forgets. Preachers understand what it is like on the other side of the pulpit. I have found the best friend a preacher has is another preacher. They want you to do well. They are with you. Many will even “borrow” what you said and use it down the road. What a compliment that is. But beyond preachers, our greatest fans are found among brethren. What we often fear, is one of our greatest strengths and helps—each other. We all want everyone to do well. We all want everyone to do their best for the Lord. We are not in competition, but rather, on the same team. The guys on the bench want the team to win just as much as the guys in the game. We are team members. We are in this together.

Third, most of our fears are imaginary. We think the worst. We dread because of what might happen. Paul’s words to the Corinthian church was a warning. Do not give reason for Timothy to be afraid. There are a few knot heads and jerks who are nothing more than spiritually bullies. They talk tough and seem mean but what they lack is the genuine love of Jesus. I’ve encountered a few spiritual bullies. They scared the stuffins’ out of me at the time. I got through it. It toughed my skin and gave me a backbone and made me trust my faith and now fear isn’t an issue. It’s like child on a stormy night. The moment is scary. The next day, it wasn’t so bad. Because of the experience you get stronger and tougher. We can either run all of our life and be afraid or we can face our fears, with the Lord, and overcome them. Many men who have never prayed publicly fear going blank and not knowing what to do. The solution? Pray more at home and in small settings. Build up to the next level. Publicly serving isn’t for everyone, nor should it be looked upon as a characteristic of faithfulness. Some can do it, some can’t. That’s all. Don’t push people, rather invite and lead them. Those that can will. There are other ways to use talents and serve the Lord.

Fear is what led Adam and Eve to hide. Fear is what put Elijah in the cave. Fear is why the one talent man buried his talent. Fear characterized Joseph who overcame that fear and asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Fear and faith are opposites. The greater the fear, the less the faith. The greater the faith, the less the fear.

Do not give reason for Timothy to be afraid. Strong words to the Corinthians. We ought to make sure that we are not giving others reasons to fear us.

Now, there is another thought from out passage, but we’ll have to look at it tomorrow.

Bless be the tie that binds our hearts…there’s no room for fear, only love. Love melts fear. Love picks up after someone has fumbled. Love remembers…

Roger