Well, good morning. Those of you who are visiting. I'm Cube Whidden. My family and I, we've been here. We just celebrated three years. We love Holland. We can't imagine worshipping any. Where else? On the planet. We love it here. Colin Avenue. Well, let's pray, Father. We come before you always humble because we know intimately need that we have before you. We are so poor before you. And yet, Father, we are now rich. Not because of anything that we did, but because your own arm brought salvation to us in the person and work of Christ. That song was just played. Lift high. The cross of Christ, Father and we We lifted high because we know that it is. It is only because of the cross that we can approach your throne of Grace. It's only because of Christ. Death on the cross. In his three three day later resurrection, we know that we have sure footing before you that one day we will to be resurrected. We know that when you look down your see Jesus Christ's righteousness superimposed on our very souls. Father, This morning, as we approach your word and pray that you would help us to see the grandeur of Jesus Christ, Father. We pray as well for our pastor. Pray for his heart. We pray for his parents, pray for his father. Doctors would be, um, super intending process fall. Pray all this, Christ human. So have you ever been asked a question at the beginning of a sermon? That's a twofer. I wouldn't make fun of Kevin, but he's just too cool. So I just didn't want to start the sermon without asking the question. And it feels like we have toe hear that intonation. It's not a real sermon. We're going to be in first. Timothy this morning, Paul, he tells Timothy why a pastor is worthy of double honor in this book. I mean, it's a sermon that I feel free to preach because I have no skin in the game. I am not on staff. I'm not a pastor here, and so I can, uh, preach the sermon without it looking like I'm self serving the book of First Timothy. It is a personal letter pose. Writing to his son in the faith, he first met this son, Timothy, who was 1/2 half Jewish, half Greek. He met him in Asia minor, modern day Turkey On his second missionary journey. He saw something in this this young lad, and he not only becomes a Christian as a result of Paul's ministry, but Paul sees something in him, and we we have to. We don't even wonder why he sees something in this young man. It's because this young man was poured into by his mother and his grandmother, who were both Christians. But Paul sees this man is a potential pastor, a potential fellow worker for Christ. And so he takes him along on his missionary journey, and he shows them what a pastor is in doing this. Paul, We know Paul is the apostle of the Gentiles, but very often when he would approach a city, where would he go? He'd go immediately to the synagogue and start teaching. So Timothy was not circumcised because his father was a Greek. So, Paul, even circumcise is Timothy, and that's when you know that you trust your mentor when you let him circumcised. So Timothy is with Paul. Even when Paul ministers at emphasis after a second missionary journey, he settles and emphasis, and he he preaches there Paul preaches and emphasis. If you didn't know that for three years, a three year ministry, can you imagine the most eminent of the apostles? And he is in emphasis, preaching on a daily basis, and Timothy is there. He gets to see what a pastor looks like, how a congregation loves their pastor and how great is the pastor can be. Paul loved this church, and they loved him. We see when Paul was coming back, he concludes his third missionary journey. He's coming to Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit divinely revealed to him that he is going to suffer. He's going to be. He's going to be in prison, and Affliction waits for him. And so we know that that wasn't the end of story is eventually going to be released. But he didn't know that he thought this was the end of the road. He thought it was arrest, affliction and death. And so he he makes it such that on his way back from his third missionary journey, he can stop in one last time and say a parting message to this church of emphasis. And so it's tearful. They're on this beach. They kneel, they pray they weep, and it says they can't stop kissing. Paul, This is more than a job. This is not a vocation. This is more than that. He intimately loves the churches he gave of all that he was to these churches. Well, Paul is arrest for the first time after he comes back to Jerusalem on his third missionary journey. Timothy is even with him, then stays by his side. Paul is released at the end of Acts Chapter 28. We don't get the details because X obviously ends, but Paul travels and preaches again. Timothy settles back into ethicists and becomes the head pastor, and this is where he receives the letter of first Timothy from Paul. Paul implores him, encourages him and teaches him what he needs to do in this church. Because there's trouble. There's turmoil in emphasis. Emphasis was an interesting city. It had one of the ancient wonders of the one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and had the temple of Diana, or Artemus, as her Greek name is. It was beautiful. According to the ancient sources. It even had sculptures that were 500 years old by fit ius just amazing sculptor. It was the Myrtle Beach of idolatry. It was a very big touristy spots, so you would come to emphasise as an idolaters, and you would want to go and see in this temple so you can see a lot of Asia minor cities as well had idolatry, but this one all the more. Because of this temple, you can imagine how difficult it would be, too, be in a city that is rampant with idolatry and then the effusion church. They had their own problems. They had evil pastors who were teaching bad doctrine. Could you imagine if, on one Sunday, someone got up and started spouting out falsehoods from the pulpit, it would be almost unbearable to the pastor's that new correct doctrine, and this is what it is to Paul. He hears about it, and he immediately writes to Timothy. And he says, You have to confront these men. The language is so pastoral, it's so gentle. This is how he tells Timothy to deal with the people in the church, even the people that are teaching falsehood in Chapter five. First one, he says, do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father to the younger men, his brothers, the older women as mothers and the younger women is sisters in all purity. He doesn't say These guys need to be silenced, and we need to just run him out of the town on a rail. No, it's always gentleness. It's always humility. It's always graciousness. He wants Timothy to deal with them, as Paul did in his own ministry. And this is also in Chapter five, where Paul turns and he tells Timothy how the church should treat him, how the church to treat pastors, how the church should think about their pastors and how the church should pay. Pastors. We're getting to the brass tacks here in Chapter five, So vs 17 to 25 of Chapter five and first Timothy. It outlines US pastors in vs 17 and 18. We have honor for pastors in Verse 19 a hedge of protection for the pastor's versus 20 and 21. It's a heave ho for unqualified pastors, and the handling of new outers is found in versus 20 to 25. If we were to deal with all of the text today, we would be here for five hours. We're not going to do that. We're just dealing with vs 17 and 18. The honor for pastors. Let's read or text for 17. The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard. It preaching and teaching for the scripture says you shall not muzzle the ox while while he is threshing and the laborer is worthy of his wages. Vs 17 18 has a high called not only for the pastor but also for us. As a congregation, it's a double edged sword. It has an edge for the pastor and an edge for the congregation. Sadly, in our day we've fallen short or the church at large has fallen short in giving the pastor double owner. So this morning we're going to see three reasons why we should give our pastors double corner. We must give them don't double honor because they roll well. We must give them double honor because they labor in the word. We must give them double honor because it is from the very mouth of God that we hear this encouragement now. If you're a pastor and you're listening to the sermon today, or you're listening on the website. Your your points are just reversed. You must rule well to be worthy of double honor. You are especially Do double honor if you currently labor in the word And the Lord has divinely spoken and willed in his word that you are do double honors a pastor. Well, let's look at our first point. We must give double honor to our pastors because they rule Well, I'm sure you noticed in the passage it doesn't actually say Pastor, it says Elder. There are three words in the New Testament that actually I mean the same thing. They're the same office Pastor Elder Bishop. So we use the word pastor a lot more than the other words, but they are really interchangeable. Sometimes they speak of the different aspect of the ministry. Like Bishop is actually just means Overseer Shepherd is the meaning of the word. Pastor on Elder was just thought of a someone who is elderly and had more wisdom. But these words came to mean the same office of the past. So that means that you could start calling Dow Bishop down. I don't think he'd like that. The double honor here. It's not simply esteem that we're giving. It's not simply honor, it's more than that. It means it goes on to mean something else as well. But it is true. We should esteem them highly. We get that and elsewhere in First Thessalonians. But we request of you, brother, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instructions and that you esteemed them very highly in love because of their work. Paul doesn't even use one of the words for the office here because he is concerned not so much with the office, but he's concerned with the work. It's almost absurd that we have to be told to be grateful. How about a week so quickly? Forget that were to be grateful for those who diligently work so hard and serve us those that are imitating Christ. Those who model Christ before us and become our servant. And I think so. Often we think of them too meanly, and we think of them as our servant. And yet the Bible calls them the Lords bond servant, not our servant. Even though they do service, they they answer to Christ, but those who labor diligently among us. We seemed to always forget that they they deal with such hardship, such turmoil on a daily basis and really by extension. Even though we're talking about pastors, the whole staff of Holland, they just they're so diligent to labor among us. And we have to be reminded to be grateful. It was clear that when my daughter, when we first started coming here and my daughter was in Fifth Avenue, Holland Avenue, Fifth Avenue, I just got Was that purposeful? Oh my goodness, I'm slow. Tammy. She loved our daughter and taught our daughter, and it was just a joy. And so we way knew she was in such capable hands last week it was, might have been. Two weeks ago, Lindsay was talking about preschool starting, and I was expecting to hear I am pre school started. But it wasn't drudgery that I heard her voice. It was delight. She loves the ministry because she loves Christ and she loves the people. It's not hard to see Ty as loving people and so gracious. So Christ, like Kevin, has taken such great pains with our children with the youth wasn't hard to see that he pours his life into these children and gives all that he has. Dow agonizes over his sermons. I mean, I remember one time he he called me up because he had to totally change his sermon and reworked it because he was he wasn't pleased with him. He pours over the text to show us the grandeur of Jesus Christ. That's how they model Christ to us. They work tirelessly among us, not to mention frequently down is a permanent fixture at the hospital, the ministers to others, even when his own circumstances are hard. That statement in the roll call of Saints and Hebrews, 11 comes to mind that the people on staff at Holland evident men and women of whom the world was not worthy. But going back to the office with pastors, though this is ruling, well, it's when they point us to Jesus Christ. Not that they teach us the hard things of doctrine that's good, and that's profitable. But showing us Jesus Christ, that's that's what sanctifies us. Ruling well points us back to being gracious but instructive when there's conflict not being domineering, not saying it must happen like this because I said so is the pastor. But it's being humble and being gentle and patient and really, this ruling well is assumed that you can't roll well if you're not qualified for the office. We don't have time this morning to go into the details that Paul gives us in Chapter three of First Empty. But he outlines what a deacon is to be and what an elder is to be, and they have the same moral qualifications. The only difference between Deacon and elders Deacon and Pastor Deacon Outer is that the elder teaches. And so, if your ungodly, you can't room well. And now, don't misunderstand what I'm saying when I say that I don't mean to say that you won't be successful or that you won't have the largest church, or that people won't be falling over each other coming. The door toe hang upon every word you say. That's not ruling well, unnecessarily raking it in. And the offering is not ruling well, unnecessarily. And if you are ungodly, if you're not qualified for the office that you hold, you will not rule well. And so Paul is quite concerned it emphasis that there are some that were not ruling well, that there are some that were had no business being pastors. The consequence of this, though you say, Well, you know there's a few bad apples. What does that matter? 11 man can wreak havoc in a church. One divisive man, one man teaching incorrect doctor in one man who's unloving. One man who is a Ndjeng tal one man who is not qualified for the office. Paul says that they are up upsetting the faith of some in Titus, he says, When evil men come into the church, they they're upsetting whole families and they must be silenced. They're doing so much damage. I mean, think about it. As a pastor, he has charge of our souls, our very souls. Scripture says what? Nothing is more important than that. Okay, so why the double honor? Why not just honor? Why do we have to go overboard? It seems. What is this double owner? I mean, are we comparing pastors who rule well, too? To pastors who rule? Okay, The comparison has its foundation in the beginning of the chapter, look at first Timothy 53 honor widows who are widows. Indeed, this may seem like an insignificant comparison, but it's not because Paul is going to go on for the next 13 verses and talk about how we're to put widows on the list to take care of them. And so there was a system in place in the offices where if you were a widow, you would be put on a list to be taking care. And he outlined Who exactly, is a widow indeed. And if you had, if you had a dependent widow, if the widow had family to take care of her, he said, don't put her on the list because the family can take care of her a CZ they have means. And he said, if the widows were too young, why don't we just encourage them to get married? Because you know, they can still get married again and be taken care of, and so that wouldn't be a financial burden on the church. So when he says in verse three honor widows were talking, Yes, we're talking about a steaming them, but primarily the expression of that is talking about financial and so right after verse 16 looking for 16. If any woman who is a believer and has dependent widow. She must assist them, and the church must not be burdened so that it may assist those who are widows. Indeed, and then we have 1st 17 minutes says Give the pastor double honor. You may have never seen that before, but that is incredibly significant. Think about how often the Bible talks about widows and how were to treat widows. It's all over Scripture. It's in the Old Testament. It's in the New Testament, and we're to treat widows with owner. But we're to help as well. That's what the expression means. I mean, James, we think of James when he says This is true and undefiled religion in the sight of our godfather toe visit orphans and widows in their distress, he's talking about financially. And in verse 17 when we say they're worthy of double honor. Paul is expressly saying that the pastor is worth his wages because of the work that he does. And in fact, as much as you honor the widows, give the pastor double that, that's the comparison. This cannot be overstated. The reason I think Paul makes a distinction here by saying that pastors ruling well instead of just saying pastors because I believe in F says, we had men who had no business being pastors. Well, we turn to second point. We give double honored our passes because they labor in the word for us were 17 again the elders who rule well or to be considered worthy of double honor, especially, especially those who work hard preaching and teaching. We have an additional distinction here. Yes, elders, pastors, bishops are to be given double honor, but especially those who have the occasion to teach who are currently teaching. And so I don't believe we have a distinction here on, you know, a pastor who only rules on the pastor who only teaches. I think there were other pastors, and they just laughed occasion to be preaching. But think about this. Paul says. They labor in the word labor in the work. I mean, how often have you sat in the pew? And you just you're sitting there weeping, waiting for a word from the sermon because you you need encouragement because you need strength. How often have you sat there and gleaned it for more? Pastor. And don't think that that just happens. You can't just get up here and shoot one from the hip. It doesn't work that way. It's laborious. It takes time. You Sunday school teachers know that as well, but it takes time and or, if you've ever taught, it takes time to pour over the passage. It takes time to go to the Lord in prayer and say, Father, give, give me a word for the church. Help me to understand the scripture that I can teach And this is what happens on a weekly basis. I mean, we tend to want to be entertained. We tend to want to points in a poem, but that's not what's going to sanctify us. What's going to sanctify us? His the pastor digging deep into the word, showing us the grandeur of Jesus Christ on the page of Scripture, pointing to him modeling him with their lives. It's the word that judges and our thoughts and intentions, it's our it's the word, John, 17 says. That sanctifies us. That makes us holy. That makes us more like Christ. We need to remind ourselves why we're here. We're here to Minister. I mean, we're not here just to get a blessing. Yes, the pastor, he does give us encouragement. He does give us admonishment, but he gets up here, tells us what the word means so that the word energizes in your own heart so that you're able to use your gift to your brothers and sisters in Christ. It's for the equipping off the saint so that you can do your job so that you can preach the gospel. Well, finally, we must give double honor or pastors because it is from the very mouth of God that we hear it. Verse 18 for the Scripture says you shall know it. Muzzle the ox while he is threshing, and the labourer is worthy of his wages. Justus an ox. They used to use the Hawks to step on the wheat, and it would break the colonel's from the chaffing. You weren't to muzzle the ox in the Old Testament, you could. You unmuzzled him so that he could actually eat while he's stomping. And so, just like he's allowed to eat and he tramples the grain and also the labor who is worthy of his wages. So to the pastor who rules well, especially those who teach are worthy of double owner, and that is generous wages. That's the expression of our high esteem or high love for the pastor. The Holy Scriptures are speaking to us in this passage. Are you going to argue with the Scriptures? Are you going to say, Well, no, I don't think he deserves. If he's not, I don't want the past for being paid higher than I do. That is the wrong expression. Paul's fuller treatment of the subject is to be found in first Corinthians nine, where he used the same Scripture. But he says, who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense, likening the soldier to the pastor. And then he quotes again. You shall not muzzle the ox. Wiley ist threshing. God is not concerned about oxen, is he? Paul says. We're not primarily talking about oxen here, are we? Martin Luther says this passage is obviously not talking to oxen because oxen can't read. Goes on to say this in Verse 11. If we sowed spirituals, things in you, is it too much If we reap material things and anyone who knows Paul, he was not trying to get a nest egg and retire in the Caribbean. He he just wanted to live and pastor and get the things he needed. And very often he he used his own tent making skills not to be a burden of the church, even though it was obviously in Scripture and he could have asked for it. So the first quote is from Do Deuteronomy with second quote. Do you know where that's from? That's from Jesus Christ. Mouth himself in Verse seven of Luke, Chapter 10. When he sent out the 70 he said the labor is worthy of his wages, and that's what Paul is quoting. Now Paul is quoting Jesus Christ own words for the authority to give the pastor double honor. And so we have. In this short verse, we have a Scripture from Deuteronomy that carries the authority. We have a scripture from Jesus Christ own mouth, and we have this verse itself, which is Scripture telling us that our attitude, this is what we need to kindle in our own hearts. Double honor for pastors, Corinthian Church, the current the interest needed to be corrected by Paul Way have those two letters they actually repented. We know that from history and 30 years later, they actually fall into a difference in you know what that scene is. They actually purge their God godly pastors out of the church. They act on Godly Clement of Rome, rights to them and gently rebuked them and says to them, uh, he tries to shame them And he says, Um, search the scriptures and come up with an example where righteous men are thrust out anywhere by holy men. The implication is there acting very evil by Pershing, these godly men, they're not giving them the double honor that they do. They're not a steaming them highly in love. We need to appreciate the pastors who tirelessly serve among us. We need to kindle this in our heart. We need to We need to give our offerings knowing that we're giving known only to the work of service. But we are. We're giving double honor, and that's an expression of worship we should have. It's this generosity that should flow out of our hearts. Do you believe this? Do you kindle that in your heart? Do you believe that? What relation, says the one who has taught the word that's us, is to share all good things with one who teaches him well. I want to close with a date, and you probably I don't know what this date is. August 24th 16 62 It's a date known to England as the Great ejection and what it waas was, um, it was a law that was crafted in England at this time by the Church of Ink by the clergy of the Church of England to purge from England all Puritan pastors, and so they were ejected on August 24th from their rule is past her from their offices. Pastor, can you imagine 2500 pastors and these Air Puritan pastors? They you read their sermons with a lot of them that we have, and they are. They just bleed Bible. They're so good. And so 150 years later, J. C. Rile he referred to the ejection as an injury to the cause of true religion in England, which will probably never be repaired. He was still seeing the effects of what had happened. Hurt 50 years previous 2500 churches just like that, lost their pastor. What? What do you think that did? All the families of those 2500 churches. Could you imagine if that happened in South Carolina? Well, there's a book of sermons that are the Puritan sermons leading up to this and what they preach to their people before they left. And they're just so heartfelt. They just love their congregation. They weren't bitter, but they agonized because they had to leave. You can hear the love and their sermons. They love Christ. They loved their people. If we don't cultivate double honor in our hearts toward our pastors, it's if we begrudge them the salary that they are owed that Christ tells us to give them. If we are grateful for the labor among us, it is. If the great ejection has happened in our hearts and it can have lasting effects on the church like it did in England, may we endeavor to give double honor to our pastors. Pray with me, Father. I pray that we would have generous hearts, that this Scripture would come to mind when we wanna worship you each and every week in the giving of our offerings. Father, I pray that we would be cheerful givers that we would love to give and father that it is an expression of the double honor that we want to give to support. Are pastors that they're worthy of their wages? Father, I pray that is are pastors model Christ that we would do the same, father. We thank you for them and wait. Just We love them so much as they worked tirelessly among us. Pray all this in Christ, Amen.