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Introduction:
When preachers get together, we complain that many
Christians think all we have to do is work two days a week, coming
up with a couple of sermons and teaching a Bible class.
Regrettably, the more preachers I have met, I have learned that
this derogatory stereotype may be the truth in too many cases. I
have found that there are two kinds of preachers. The first preach
because they can’t do anything else. The second, on the other
hand, preach because they can’t do anything else. That is, the
first preach because they are lazy and can’t cut it doing
“real work.” There are churches that will put up with
anything. And there are churches that will support a man simply
because he asks. These men find jobs preaching. The churches
don’t expect much and the preacher doesn’t do much. He
couldn’t work any place else, so he preaches. The second group
of preachers is completely different. They live to teach the
gospel. Their greatest desire is to help people go to heaven. They
become evangelists because they would see their lives wasted as
anything else. These men simply couldn’t work any place else,
except when needed as a support for their real work, so they
preach. The first group is what I call the whining class of
preachers. This second is a first class group of preachers. As a
congregation, you are allowed to expect your preacher to be a
first class evangelist. When I say first class, I am not talking
about pulpit presence; I am talking about his work. The key word
for this lesson is worker. Discussion: I.
The local church should expect the evangelist to be a hard
worker. A.
Do not misunderstand this, you should not expect an
evangelist to be a handyman, here to do any work you ask of him.
But when it comes to his work, the work of an evangelist, you have
the right to expect him to be a worker. Laziness is not to be
tolerated. Paul told Timothy in II
Timothy 2:15 to present himself as a worker who does not need
to be ashamed. B.
Notice the pictures Paul uses to describe the preacher in II Timothy 2:3-6. He is a soldier in warfare, a disciplined athlete
competing according to the rules and a hard-working farmer. C.
Finally, in Proverbs
24:30-34, we read of the fields of a lazy man. We can look at
churches that have lazy preachers and see this same kind of
picture. This is not to say that some first class preachers have
not worked hard in lazy congregations. This is simply to say, if
you get a lazy preacher, don’t be surprised when you get thorns,
weeds and broken down walls. II.
The local church should expect the evangelist to be a
worker for the Lord. A.
I understand that there is a sense in which the evangelist
within a congregation works for the congregation, under the
oversight of the elders. However, above all of that, the
evangelist’s real boss is the Lord. As a congregation, you are
allowed to expect him to work for the Lord. B.
That means you should expect him to lean on God. In I Timothy 1:12, Paul acknowledged God in all his ways claiming, “I
thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me …” Paul did not
lean on his own strength. But in Philippians
4:13 he said, “I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me.” In I
Corinthians 3:5-7, Paul recognized that he was nothing. It was
God who gave the increase. The evangelist must realize his place
in the work. He is God’s tool, who must work using the
opportunities and resources that God has given him. C.
This means that you should expect two things from an
evangelist. 1.
You should expect the evangelist to be a man of prayer. How
many times did Paul speak of his prayers for churches, for
Christians (Colossians 1:3,
9ff) and even request prayers for himself and his
work (Ephesians 6:17-20).
2.
You should expect the evangelist to be a man of the book.
He is working for the Lord and, therefore, must teach what God
wants him to teach. In II Timothy 3:14-4:5, Paul told Timothy to stay in the scriptures, to
preach the word and to endure affliction when people would no
longer endure sound doctrine. I recently overheard a preacher’s
answer to an interesting question. He was asked if he had read any
good books lately. His response, “Well, I just finished Acts
again and now I am starting on Psalms.” Certainly, there are a
lot of good and helpful books out there. But above all, you should
expect the evangelist to stick with God’s word—even when you
don’t like it. III.
The church should expect the evangelist to be a properly
motivated worker. A.
There are men who may work hard. But they are not doing
these things from the proper motivation. Consider some improper
motivations for work. Some work hard … 1.
… to be seen and praised by men (to be big name
preachers). 2.
… to be paid more money. 3.
… to get sympathy for how much they have to work and
sacrifice. 4.
… to get to be in control (Diotrophes). 5.
… to keep brethren off of their back. 6.
… to make the congregation think they are indispensable. B.
While there are certainly other improper motivations,
consider the proper motivation—Love. 1.
You should expect the evangelist to work hard because he
loves the Lord. In John
21:15-17, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love Me?”
Peter three times replied, “You know that I love you.”
Jesus’ response was, “Feed my lambs.” The man who works to
feed and teach within God’s sheepfold is one who loves God. 2.
You are should expect the evangelist to work hard because
he loves people, both brethren and otherwise. Paul demonstrates
this kind of love in II
Timothy 2:10
and in I Corinthians 9:19-23. Paul wanted as many people as possible to
go to heaven and so he worked hard. IV.
The church should expect the evangelist to be a worker with
a proper goal. A.
An experiment was once conducted on processionary
caterpillars, so called because they follow each other in a line.
They were placed in a circle with food just inches from them, but
instead of eating, they followed each other until they all starved
to death. They confused activity with accomplishment. Preachers
often do the same. They work hard, but never accomplish much. They
confuse activity with accomplishment. B.
In I Timothy 1:5
Paul wrote that the purpose of the commandment (NKJV) or the goal
of our instruction (NASB) is “love from a pure heart, from a
good conscience, and from sincere faith.” When Paul taught or
worked, he had a goal in mind. He had a picture of where he wanted
people to end up. His work was governed by that goal. C.
Jesus described the goal of Christians in John
15:8. Our duty is to glorify God. You should expect your
evangelist to have that goal. If he desires to glorify himself or
even glorify “his congregation”, then the work will suffer.
But, if the goal is to glorify God, then the work will thrive. V.
The church should expect the evangelist to be a worker who
stays on task. A.
I am not saying that an evangelist cannot have “time
off” or vacations. Everyone needs times to rest, relax, refuel
and replenish. What I am saying is that a proper worker does not
allow himself to be distracted from his work. He stays on task. B.
I think of several instances in which Paul charged Timothy
and Titus to stay on task, not allowing things to get in the way
of the work they had to do. Consider some examples: 1.
Repeatedly, these two were told not to get distracted by
useless arguing and pointless teaching—I
Timothy 1:3-4; 6:3-5; II Timothy 2:23; Titus 1:13-14. You
should expect an evangelist to stay out of this stuff. He should
stay on task. 2.
Timothy was told to flee youthful lusts, but pursue
righteousness, faith, love and peace in II
Timothy 2:22. You should expect an evangelist to flee the
lusts which get in the way and pursue what will help him
accomplish the proper goals. He should stay on task. 3.
Note Paul’s command to Titus in Titus
2:1-10. He told Titus to teach older men, younger men, older
women and bondservants. But the younger women are to be taught by
the older women (vs. 3-4). Why? Because too many preachers are distracted from the
work by women. An evangelist should stay on task and keep his eyes
and hands off of women. Conclusion: These are the things you should expect. But keep in mind one thing you should not expect from your evangelist. You should not expect him to be God in the flesh. He is just a man. No doubt, he is growing to be more like Jesus, but he will make mistakes. So have high expectations, but expect him to fall short at times. Then simply help him grow to be what he ought to be. After all, that is what you want from him, to help you grow to be what you ought to be.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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