Sermons

Series: Guard the Treasure

Title: 5 Keys to Success in Ministry (& Life)

Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:11-16 NIV

Bottom line: “Watch your life and doctrine closely.” Persevering in them will lead to success in ministry (and in life).

Alt. Bottom Line: We succeed in ministry through Christlike character and competency.

Competencies that include:

• The Word

• Gifted ness

• Diligence, and

• Balance

1. INTRODUCTION

2. CONTEXT

3. SERMON OUTLINE

4. CONCLUSION

5. NOTES

6. OUTLINES

7. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

8. MAIN REFERENCES USED

INTRODUCTION

Illustration or story

Life-Changing Words by Nicky Gumbel

My father wanted to go to Russia before he died. We went there on holiday as a family. At that time Bibles were strictly illegal there. I took with me some Russian Bibles. While I was there I went to churches and looked for people who seemed to be genuine Christians. (Church meetings were often infiltrated by the KGB.)

On one occasion, I followed a man down the street after a service. I went up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. There was nobody about. I took out one of my Bibles and handed it to him. For a moment, he had an expression of utmost disbelief. Then he took from his pocket a New Testament, which was probably 100 years old. The pages were so threadbare they were virtually transparent. When he realised that he had received a whole Bible, he was elated. He didn’t speak any English and I didn’t speak any Russian. But we hugged each other and he started to run up and down the street jumping for joy.

CONTEXT

Timothy seems to be where he doesn’t really want to be right now.

• Church didn’t call him.

• Elder leaders don’t think he’s seasoned enough.

And yet Paul sends him to “Guard the treasure” for the sake of the Church’s mission.

In ministry and in life, we guard the treasure of the gospel (truth and godliness) successfully by growing in Christlike character and the following competencies:

• The word

• Giftedness

• Diligence

• Balance

But it all starts with and is built on character.

Rick Warren showed me this using his famous baseball diamond illustration. First base is fellowship (knowing Christ), second base is discipleship (growing in Christ) which is where character formation begins, third base is ministry (serving as the hands and feet of Christ), and home is mission (Sharing Christ). You’ll notice that ministry or competency (third base) is built on the foundation of second base (character) which is built on knowing God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Yeah, it all starts with Christlike character which is a fruit of the Spirit of God that we receive at salvation.

SERMON OUTLINE (based on Hughes’ outline):

Successful Ministry requires us to grow in Christlike character and competency—Becoming and Doing like Christ:

I. Successful ministry assumes that you are eating and exercising spiritually.

A. Diet—word of God (1 Tim 4:78-)

B. Exercise—training to remain/abide in Christ (cf. John 15:1-5)

C. Note that in v. 11 Paul urges Timothy to “Command and teach these things.”

II. Successful ministry happens through personal godliness/Christlike character. (V. 12) Note Paul’s 5-fold godliness description:

A. Through speech

B. Through conduct

C. Through love

D. Through faith

E. Through purity—John goes on to describe the completed church in heaven – their *purity* and their *power*. The two are connected. As Pastor Rick Warren has tweeted, ‘In ministry, *private purity* is the source of *public power*.’

F. Note that he starts with the observable and moves to the inner life.

G. Paul seems to understand that when we are challenged in our leadership our first impulse/response is to

1. speak when we should listen and

2. act when we should be still.

III. Successful ministry happens through the Word (v. 13)

A. Public reading of scripture

“When a church ceases to be in touch with another world, she is no longer in touch with this one.” -someone, heard from J Vernon McGee

B. Preaching—exhortation to obey, imitate, or apply the Word to your life

C. Teaching—explanation and doctrinal instruction

1. More than devotional thoughts

2. More like boundaries, wisdom and truths to base your faith on when you’re tempted to doubt e.g. What is God like?

IV. Successful ministry happens through personal giftedness. (V. 14)

A. Not talking about talents or abilities here, though they are relevant.

B. Talking about spiritual gifting that comes with the Holy Spirit when we are born again. When we are spiritually born, we get birthday gifts:

1. New life/new creation or spiritual birthday where we are immersed (baptized) by the HS

2. Presence of the Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing he’ll finish what he’s started

3. Fruit of the Spirit (builds character)

4. Gift(s) of the Spirit (points to our ministry or spiritual strengths)

1. Everyone has at least one

2. No one has them all

3. See Romans 12, 1 Cor 12, and Eph 4:11-12 for a partial list of spiritual gifts

V. Successful ministry happens through diligence. (v. 15)

A. Diet

B. Train hard. Hard work.

VI. Successful ministry happens through balance. (V. 16)

A. Note the balance in this verse.

1. “Godly people are God-fearing people. They have experienced the Copernican revolution of Christian conversion from self-centeredness to God-centeredness..” -John Stott

2. Life (how you live) and

3. Doctrine (what you believe)

4. What you believe determines how you live and

5. How you live demonstrates what you (really) believe

6. I.e. Faith matters in life—not just in the afterlife.

B. Note how this verse summarizes successful ministry: “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

1. “Yourself” (character)

2. “Teaching” (word & gifting)

3. “Persevere in them” (diligence)

4. Balance seen in summary form

C. Find Your Balance by Nicky Gumbel

My body is so inflexible. I was told once by a professional fitness trainer, who happened to notice the way I was walking, that I was one of the worst cases of stiffness he had ever come across. I am now trying to do more stretching! I had considered myself reasonably fit (for my age!), as a result of still playing squash and biking everywhere.

But in other ways, I realised I am not. Physical fitness is a balance of strength, flexibility, aerobic and anaerobic fitness. Some people are exceptionally strong but cannot even run to catch a bus. Others are aerobically very fit (they could run a marathon), but are not very strong. However, spiritual fitness is far more important than physical fitness. It also involves balancing a number of areas of your life.

CONCLUSION

St. Patrick's Day. It's always been--and never been--a holiday for me. 

It hasn't been a holiday for me because I don't partake in the typical Irish revelry. No interest there. It has been a holiday for me in that I tend to wear green that day and engage in the silly banter around that tradition. But I've never really taken the holiday marking the death of St. Patrick seriously. 

But that's changing.

The more I learn about this disciple-making saint, the more I like him. Like Joseph, son of Jacob, he was sold into slavery--this time to the Irish barbarians. After six years of servitude, he escaped eventually making it back to his British homeland. 

It's at age 48--my age this year--that he receives a "Macedonian call," similar to Paul in Acts, to go share the Gospel with the Irish. He gathers a team and does just that for the next thirty years. As a result, the Irish move from a pagan culture to a Christian one.

He used methods that were controversial, to say the least, in the church in that day. He didn't focus on converts but on making disciple-makers. He emphasized holy-living while planting 200 churches. He used methods that focused on implanting Christ into the Irish culture instead of paving a Romanized Christ overtop of that culture. A movement was born, as a result.

I pray that we'll see that as our missional mandate--to take Christ to our culture in a way that results in a movement that redeems that culture instead of destroying it. 

What a legacy St. Patrick has. I hope I leave a legacy like his. 

Bottom line: “Watch your life and doctrine closely.” Persevering in them will lead to success in ministry (and in life).

Pray

NOTES

Let’s ask some summary questions:

Q. What do I want them to know?

A. 5 keys to success in ministry (and life)

Q. Why do I want them to know it?

A. So that they’ll examine their life

Q. What do I want them to do about it?

A. Make adjustments and surrender to his way.

Q. Why do I want them to do it?

A. So they’ll stay true to Christ and carry out his mission.

Q. How can they begin to do this?

A. Prayerfully examine their life and obey the word.

OUTLINES

Outline Bible (Willmington)

SECTION OUTLINE FOUR (1 TIMOTHY 4)

Paul contrasts two kinds of shepherds.

1. GODLESS SHEPHERDS (4:1-5): Paul warns Timothy against false teachers.

II. GODLY SHEPHERDS (4:6-16): Paul lists some dos and don'ts concerning Christian ministry.

A. The don'ts (4:7a, 12a, 14)

1. Don't waste time arguing over foolish ideas and silly myths (4:7a).

2. Don't be intimidated because of your youth (4:12a).

3. Don't neglect your spiritual gift (4:14).

B. The dos (4:6, 7b-11, 12b-13, 15-16)

1. Warn the church members concerning apostasy (4:6).

2. Keep spiritually fit (4:7b-11).

3. Be a godly role model in all you do (4:12b).

4. Continue to publicly read, teach, and preach the Word of God (4:13).

5. Give yourself wholly to the ministry (4:15).

6. Keep close check on your own life (4:16).

BKC Outline

I. The Salutation (1:1–2)

II. Instructions concerning False Teachers (1:3–20)

III. Instructions concerning Conduct in the Church (2:1–3:13)

IV. Instructions concerning Guarding the Truth in the Church (3:14–4:16)

A. …

C. Responsibilities of a good minister of Christ (4:6–16)

V. Instructions concerning Various Groups in the Church (5:1–6:10)

A. Concerning various age-groups (5:1–2)

B. Concerning widows (5:3–16)

C. Concerning elders (5:17–25)

D. Concerning slaves and masters (6:1–2)

E. Concerning the heretical and greedy (6:3–10)

VI. Final Charge to Timothy (6:11–21)

A. Exhortation to godliness (6:11–16)

B. Instructions for the rich (6:17–19)

C. Exhortations to remain faithful (6:20–21)

W Wiersbe sermon outline

Key theme: How to manage the ministry of the local church

Key verse: 1 Timothy 3:15

I. The Church and Its Message (1)

II. The Church and Its Members (2–3)

III. The Church and Its Minister (4)

A. A good minister (4:1–6)

B. A godly minister (4:7–12)

C. A growing minister (4:13–16)

IV. The Church and Its Ministry (5–6)

A. To older saints (5:1–2)

B. To widows (5:3–16)

C. To church leaders (5:17–25)

D. To servants (slaves) (6:1–2)

E. To trouble-makers (6:3–5)

F. To the rich (6:6–19)

G. To the “educated” (6:20–21)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Discovery Bible Study process:

1. Retell the story in your own words.

2. Discovery the story

1. What does this story tell me about God?

2. What does this story tell me about people?

3. If this is really God’s word, what changes would I have to make in my life?

3. Who am I going to tell about this?

Final Questions (optional or in place of above)

• What is God saying to you right now?

• What are you going to do about it?

Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast

Alternate Discussion Questions: Based on this passage:

1. Who is God?

2. What has he done/is he doing/is he going to do?

3. Who am I? (In light of 1 & 2)

4. What do I get to do? (In light of who I am)

Final Questions (index cards optional)

• What is God saying to you right now?

• What are you going to do about it?

MAIN REFERENCES USED

“1 - 2 Timothy,” by David Helm, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent Hughes

“1 & 2 Timothy” by John Stott

Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Timothy & Titus, David Platt, Daniel Akin, Tony Merida

“Look at the Book” by John Piper (LATB)

“The Visual Word,” Patrick Schreiner (VW)

“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)

“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)

Outline Bible, D Willmington (OB)

Willmington’s Bible Handbook, D Willmington (WBH)

NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/

Chronological Life Application Study Bible (NLT)

ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.org

“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app (BIOY)

ChatGPT https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt

AnswerThePublic.com

Wikipedia.com

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