 Chapter 5, 1 Timothy, we're going to be looking at verses 1 through 16 today, and I've divided this study into two sections, really. We'll look at verses 1 and 2 together, and then we're going to move into verse 3 and conclude up to verse 16. And so that's what we'll be looking at today, 1 Timothy chapter 1, verses, rather, chapter 5, verses 1 through 16. So let's begin reading together in 1 Timothy chapter 5. At verse 1, we'll read verses 1 and 2, and we'll get into our study. 1 Timothy chapter 5, verses 1 and 2, do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters with all purity. And so what we're going to be looking at today is how to treat one another, and we're going to be seeing that here in chapter 5 of 1 Timothy. Now Paul has been addressing the fruit, if you will, the outcome of bad teaching. As we've been going through 1 Timothy, you've noted that there have been false teachers who have infiltrated the church, and part of the fruit of the false teaching is there are now disputes or arguments that are taking place. In chapter 1, Paul had said in verses 3 and 4, as I urged you when I went into Macedonia, remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. So bad teaching has a tendency of dividing the church, and genuine Bible teaching is intended to promote love and service to God as well as to other people. That's why he had said in 1 Timothy 1 verse 5, the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith. So instead of unity and instead of love, there's now tension between members of the church. When you read your Bible, you'll discover that the church is described in various ways, there are various metaphors used to reveal the church, and one of the ways that the church is spoken of is it's spoken of as a body. It's a body that's made up of many members. In Romans 12 verses 4 and 5, it says, just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are all parts of His one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others. And so the church is described in Scripture as a body, we're called one body. But within this one body, there are various groups that are represented. Paul is addressing some of these groups, and he's teaching us how to treat one another. He's speaking to Timothy, a young pastor, and he's saying, this is how you're to deal with the various segments of that body. So it's going to speak to him concerning the treatment of the older men and the older women as well as the younger men and the younger women, and then he's going to move in in verse 3 to start speaking specifically of how you treat widows. And so that's what we're going to be looking at together today. And for Timothy chapter 5, we're going to look at how to teach one another as it's broken down here in these few verses before us. You see, over time as a minister, as a pastor, Timothy is going to have to correct the faults of members. So the question has to be, how is he going to do that? How do you handle people problems in church? Because that's what the church is, it is made up of people, and people sometimes will bring in their problems or create problems. And so the question has to be asked, how are you going to deal with people problems in church? I've said this before, but it bears repetition at this point. I knew somebody who said, I love ministry. It's the people I can't stand. Well, the problem is, that's what ministry is, isn't it? It's ministering to people. And so you'll always have problems in church. So he's going to share concerning how you deal with these problems. And he begins by speaking concerning the proper treatment of the church's older members. So in essence, he's simply instructing Timothy to show proper respect. And he begins by saying, Timothy, show proper respect for the elderly. When our church first began, I was 30 years old. We didn't have what you would call elderly people in church. I think our average age when we began was in the 20s. I was actually looked at as being the old person in the church because I was 30, soon to turn 31. Though my mom and my dad and a couple of others in our church were with us, my mom and dad were in their 50s. And so over the course of the first year or so, we wanted to minister to the variety of age groups and all. And so we began what we considered to be ministry to the old people. And we called it the over 40s. So think about that one for just a moment, the over 40s, because they in reality were the older members of the church. Our church's average being in the 20s and all. And me, I was 30, 31 years old and all. And again, my parents were in their mid 50s when the church began. And so right from the beginning, we've had to determine how are we going to minister to those who are regarded as the elderly and all. And so Paul is going to be concerning that because as the church continues to grow, it actually is going to add more who are of age and all. And so he's saying, listen, Timothy, you're a young man. And as a young man, you need to know how to handle the problems that you're going to deal with concerning, especially those who are older. How do you deal with problems with people who are 20, 30 years older than yourself and all? And so he's going to be concerning that right here as we begin by looking at how to treat the older members. Now in the Old Testament, you have the book of Leviticus. The book of Leviticus commands various or rather gives various commands that Moses gave to the nation of Israel. And in Leviticus chapter 19, Moses gave commands relating to holiness. You see in the Old Testament book again of Leviticus 19 verse two, that reads, you shall be holy for I, the Lord, your God, am holy. So when you read right from the beginning in Leviticus 19, God tells you, be holy for I am holy. And this is a command that is repeated in the writings of the Apostle Peter, be holy for I am holy. So when you look in the big Leviticus in chapter 19, it begins to speak concerning a variety of things that pertain to what is called the fear of God. And the chapter speaks of those things that reveal that a person has that the fear of God. And so when you read Leviticus 19, it records commands such as honor your parents, keep the Sabbath, reject idols. It speaks concerning the offering of sacrifices of providing for the poor of the land. It gives commands related to not stealing, not lying, not making false oaths. And there are various other regulations that you find in Leviticus chapter 19. But interestingly enough, included in the commands is how to treat the elderly. You see, when the elderly I disrespected, it's an obvious sign of a society's deterioration. How we treat the most vulnerable amongst us reveals what kind of people we as a society are. If you look at your society, you can tell the kind of moral strength of it by the way it treats its most vulnerable members. And so as a society, we will be judged on how we treat those that are vulnerable. So you look and you see how the society treats the unborn, how the society treats the infant. And you're going to see the value of that society. You will also see that on the other end of the spectrum, a society will be judged on how it treats the elderly. Because those are your bookmarks. How do we as a society treat the unborn? And unfortunately, in many cases, we don't treat them well, do we? Because we still have around or close to one million abortions a year. And so our society doesn't seem to value the unborn. But then again, if you don't value the unborn and you don't value the child, then how are you going to treat the older? Because an infant and a very old person are very dependent and very vulnerable. So how you treat the most vulnerable amongst us reveals what kind of people the society is. How we treat our babies and how we treat the aged reveals what we are as a people. So with that said, God included in His commands how elderly are to be treated. And so in Leviticus 1932, He said this. He said, you shall rise before the grayheaded and honor the presence of an old man and fear your God. I am the Lord. You ought to rise. Now that doesn't mean we levitate. You know, we just kind of float around. He's saying you stand in respect. Rise before speaks of showing an outward evidence of respect. So when you read concerning the commands as it pertains to the elderly in the society, if there were people who were seated just outside, we'll say, or in a mall for that matter, they were outside and those who were regarded as elderly in the society were to pass by. Do you know that the people, the younger people were commanded by God to stand up? Picture yourself, we'll say, at one of the malls and you're seated there on one of the benches and you're drinking your coffee and all. In their society, if you were seated there drinking your coffee and an older person, somebody over 60 were to walk by, you were supposed to automatically stand up and show them respect. If you were in your home or in the home of somebody and you're seated there on one of the couches and you're visiting and an older person were to walk into the room, you were commanded to stand up and show deference to them. And you would just stand there and you politely greet them, you'd welcome them into the room and the older person had the responsibility of saying, please be seated. That was showing respect. That's something of course that is lost today. You know, I go to New York to minister quite often and when I'm in New York, I'll get on a subway and get on a subway or you get on a bus and an older person walks on. Do you think everybody stands up and shows respect? No, they make sure that their seats are, you know, they may even stretch their legs out a little bit. Go to an airport and there are people who put their bags on the seats next to them so nobody sits next to them in the waiting room. There's no respect or very little and that is something that shows the deterioration of a society that when somebody walks in, we don't even show them the courtesy of standing and showing them the respect and yet you find that in the Scripture. The Bible spoke concerning this because it showed the society, the value of those who are elderly and the bottom line is, by the way, is that wasn't simple courtesy. It wasn't just general respect. It's actually done out of the fear of the Lord. Again, Leviticus 1932, you shall rise before the gray-headed, honor the presence of an older man, fear your God, I am the Lord. So next time I walk in, the elderly are respected. Why? Well, one, the Bible actually refers to God in the book of Daniel chapter seven as the ancient of days. It's regarding God and the holiness and the reverence that you give to the one who has no beginning nor no end. And so you show respect to those who are also elderly because in a way it's respecting the God that you worship. You respect them for the knowledge and experience that they have gained over a lifetime. In Proverbs 1631, gray hair is a crown of splendor. It is attained in the way of righteousness. Now some who are older and have lived without the Lord, I don't look to them for wisdom, but though I may not respect them for the life that they have chosen to live. I do respect them as a person and I do show respect for their age. Again, that was just simple common courtesy for many of us in this room as you grew up. I was taught to do that. I was taught as a child that whenever people entered into the room who are my parents' age or above, that I was to stand and show them respect and to this day, to this day, I still stand in the presence of a lady. I still do. You know, and I have women from my church who will walk in. The very first thing I was trained to do and I think it's a proper thing to do is I will stand up for them and they get kind of weird. I mean, younger women today don't understand that. The older women do. But the younger women don't really understand, what are you doing? You don't have to, you know, you don't have to stand up. You know, no, I don't have to. I choose to because I'm giving you the respect that you deserve, that you should have. That's how it works. That's what we're supposed to do. Even as a society, I have to be honest with you. If our society were to return to some simple things like that, we'd have a much more courteous society, I'm sure. Well, that's the way it was raised. We were raised. That's the way we do it. So in the confines of the church, there are times when correction is necessary because that will occur in relationships. So the question here, and that's what we're looking at, is how are we to treat people when correction is needed? And let's see what Paul has to say. First, notice, first one, how he begins. He says, do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father. So he begins to speak concerning the older man. And notice how he says, he says, do not rebuke an older man. The word rebuke, that word means to strike. It means to actually beat upon it. Speaks of chastising with words. It talks about scolding somebody, dressing them down. It's a way of speaking with disrespect. And he's saying, don't be disrespecting. Don't be scolding an older man. You're not to treat them harshly, in other words. You're to exhort. You're to encourage them. You see, as a young man, it's easy for Timothy to be disrespectful, even a bully. So he's not to berate. He's not to scold an older man. Why? Because it will harm him. It will hurt that man. So instead of scolding him, he's to entreat him. He's to encourage him. The word exhort means to call aside. It reveals respect. You don't dress them down in front of people. And when you speak to them and you have to bring a word of correction to them, you treat them with gentleness. You treat them with kindness. You treat them with the respect that you would show your own dad. You see, gentle encouragement is to be preferred, because it reinforces the older man's dignity. If an elderly man is to be corrected, he said, treat him with kindness, treat him with love. Proverbs 15.1 says, a soft answer turns away wrath. But grievous words stir up anger. You see, as we've been going through 1 Timothy in chapter 3, Timothy had been given instructions concerning the qualities of a pastor. And Paul had said in 1 Timothy 3, verse 3, that they were not violent. They were to be gentle and not quarrelsome. So he's to be kind and gentle in the way of speaking and correcting, especially as he speaks to an older man. You speak to them with respect. Now, as the son to my father, I did not show disrespect to him. I was taught not to. I was taught to speak with courtesy to him. And as a matter of fact, I don't know what you were raised like. You know, I had a bad upbringing and I had a bad life. I was rebellious against my parents' instruction. It wasn't their instruction that was bad. It was me. It was my heart that was bad. And so I was rebellious. That's true, but I was respectful for my father. In my home, we didn't even use the word yeah. I couldn't say yeah to my father. If I said yeah, just yeah, my dad would get upset at me. My mom taught me, you do not disrespect your father. And that simple word that people even include in worship songs today, there are songs that they're singing to God and they go yeah. To me, it's still great. So I'm gonna be honest with you because I didn't say yeah to my father. I did it one time. I didn't say yeah to my father because my father, I said yeah, my dad said something. I said yeah, and my dad said what did you say? And that was my dad. And I said I'm sorry, sir, because I was taught to call my dad, sir, and show him respect. And so how do you treat your father? Well, you're supposed to treat him with respect and you're supposed to speak to them with encouragement, especially I as a pastor am not to dress down older men. Now that doesn't give them freedom, by the way, to continue in sin simply because they're old. But Timothy is supposed to bring correction, but he does so with gentleness. He speaks to them with respect. You see, Timothy's sobriety and character is gonna increase the possibility of this older man being corrected because if Timothy's living out what he's giving out, while the scripture as well as his character working together will produce a chance for the older man to listen to the correction being brought by the younger man. So he begins in verse one by saying do not rebuke an older man but exhort him as a father. Then secondly, he speaks of how you deal with the younger man. He said, treat the younger man as brothers. How do you correct a younger man? Treat him like a brother. Encourage him. Don't lord it over him. Don't treat him as a spiritual inferior. Don't bully him. Don't make demands on him to obey. Remember your own weakness. Don't cause him to stumble in his faith by acting like you don't love him. Treat him with respect and treat him like you would your own brother. He speaks of older women. He said, the older women are treated as mothers. The younger as sisters with all purity. How do you treat an older woman? You know how? You don't ignore their sin but you do love them and you do respect them but you're taking into consideration the tenderness of their hearts. Somebody said no son who had proper feelings would rebuke his own mother with severity. This is more difficult when it is correcting a woman than it is with men by the way because when you bring correction to an older woman it requires tenderness, humility but it also requires a certain firmness. And it can be difficult. It can be difficult. Again, I was 30 years old when this church began and there were times that I had to bring correction and I actually had to bring correction to my own mom and that can be tough. I can still remember my mom. My mom was very opinionated. Some of you might have known her. She had a mind of her own and she could be kind of tough. And I still remember having to bring correction to my mom. Going to her house and sitting across the table from her and she was in need of correction. And I'm seated across from my mom and having a conversation and she's getting a little red face and a little pretty upset and then asking me who do you think you are? That was my mom. And I still remember when mama said that who do you think you are? I said I know who I am. I'm the pastor. And I know who you are. You need to listen. And I have to be honest with you. It's not easy correcting your mom but I've taught pastors at pastors conferences and I've said listen, if you can correct your mom you can correct anyone. That's a fact. There's no doubt about that. If you can correct your mama you can correct anyone. That's the truth. How do you do it? You treat them as with love and sincerity with gentleness and kindness but you're also firm. This is what scripture says. And I've discovered something. Listen carefully. If you love the Lord and you love His word you can receive correction. But when you're in rebellion and you're gonna have your own way nobody can contradict you. Nobody can correct you. Why? Because you're in the flesh and you're gonna do what the flesh says. But when your heart is right with the Lord and you want to do the things that you sing about in church where you actually wanna serve Him? Where you actually wanna worship Him? You actually want your life transformed? When the word of God is rightly divided and presented with humility and you can exercise faith and obedience God will transform your life. How do you correct an older woman? Gently the way you do a mama. How do you correct a younger woman? Now I want you to notice how He puts this. This is interesting how He says this also. He says you correct the younger women as sisters with all purity. Now that's interesting. With all purity. You see when you correct a sister and this is from a male perspective you treat her as a sister and you do so with purity. What does that mean? Well that means that you use the proper language. That means that you show respect for her as a woman. That means that you're aware of her vulnerability. It means that you don't bully her. It means that you don't intimidate her. It means that you don't demean her. And it's something that a pastor needs to be aware of because this is something that you may not be really, it may never struck you, but correction sometimes can be a doorway into seduction. It can also be a doorway into sexual desire because as you're bringing a word of correction to the younger woman, she may begin to confess things to you that can cause you to stumble or be fantasizing. He says you need to be aware of the fact that there are times when a woman is going through things that a man can be stumbled by. So regard her in the proper way. Look at her as your sister. Treat her with purity. Don't get caught up with the things that she's saying because that can lead you in a path you don't wanna go. Be very careful. Whenever I have as a young man to this day, had time with somebody that I need to help to correct or listen to and direct, I'm real aware of that. This is my sister. In 2 Timothy chapter two, verse 22, Paul says, flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. So again, these are directives to a pastor. How do you deal with an older man? How do you deal with a younger man? How do you deal with an older woman? How do you deal with a younger woman? And then he gives those directives. Timothy, these are the things that you do because in a church there's going to be problems and the problems need to be solved. You can't be just allowing them to fester. It'll create division. The bad teaching that's entering into the church of Ephesus is already producing discord. Deal with it and this is how you do it. And now he moves into another practical area and you can find that in verse three following. He starts speaking concerning how to deal with the widows in the church. Beginning at verse three, honor widows who are really widows. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents for this is good and acceptable before God. Now, she who is really a widow and left alone trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. And these things command that they may be blameless. But if anyone does not provide for his own and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. So verses three through eight deal with what you call widows in distress. Notice how he begins in verse three, how Paul says honor widows who are really widows. That word honor give proper recognition to or proper value. If they're in financial need, he's saying they are worthy of financial help. So look after the widows who are really genuinely in need of help. When you look in the old as well as your new testament, you're gonna see that God emphasizes the care for widows in both old and new testament. In Exodus 22 verses 22 and 23, he says do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. In the New Testament book of James one verse 27, it says religion that God our father accepts is pure and faultless is this. To look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. And so in the old as well as the new widows were, had special commands that were given to the people as it pertained to them and their well-being. What's interesting when you read your Bible? The first real problem the church has to deal with is found in the book of Acts chapter six. And in Acts chapter six, the first problem that the church had to deal with was related to the widows. In chapter six verse one, it says in those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained about the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So widows were to be cared for. But how was this to take place? Here's your question. Is it the church's responsibility to care for all widows without reservation? Well, obviously this was a problem severe enough for Paul to take time to address. What do you do to care for widows? Well, notice verse four. If any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents. For this is good and acceptable before God. First, he says, determine if they have believing children or grandchildren, not just children, children or grandchildren. Children are to care for their parents. The church should not be unnecessarily burdened to do so. It is the religious duty to care for the ones who brought them up. And so that's why he says, let them first learn to show piety at home and notice with me how he says this and to repay their parents, to repay their parents. Faith is revealed at home. It's not charity but justice that compels the care of parents. And they're to repay, as he says. They are obligated to help them in their time of need. That's a foreign thought again to a lot of people who are thinking now that I'm out of the house, I have no responsibility or obligations to these people any longer. I'm on my own, why should I worry about them? They have social security and if they didn't put anybody aside, that's their fault, not mine. Why should I owe them anything? Well, Paul says they're to repay their parents. And somebody said they are to repay their parents for all the sorrow, pain, trouble, care and expenses they have been in bearing and bringing them forth into the world in taking care of them in their infancy, in bringing them up, in giving them an education, in providing food and clothing for them and in settling them in the world to neglect them in old age when incapable of providing for themselves would be complete in gratitude. We never really thought about the trouble we were to our parents. We thought we were always the joy of their heart and yet that's not true. From the time that we were born and all the trouble that we caused, the crying over this and being upset over that and the demands that were made for all their lives and we thought that it was just their pleasure to buy us that bike or give us that party or to get clothing for us, put the shoes on our feet. They should do that to our parents. Well, the Bible doesn't teach that. That's interesting, isn't it? It says repay your parents. Why? Because you were a trouble to them. You know, just the other day. Just the other, was it yesterday? Just the other day. My son, David, has a son named David. We call him Baby David. So we got my son, Little David and my grandson, we call him Baby David. Baby David. And so Baby David is a busy Baby David. That baby is a busy Baby David. Now he's busy. Who he's busy? He gets me tired. I'm sitting and watching him and I want to take a nap. I mean, he is one busy Baby. He really is. He's into everything. And he's three years old now. And so my David recently, if it wasn't yesterday, he's done it more than once. He has said to me, Dad, I just want to say something. What? What do you want to say, son? I want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Well, you know, I normally say something similar to this. I'll usually say, well, you know what? God answers prayers. And I had prayed that he'd give you a son just like you were to me. And he does answer prayers, my son. You know, but he's seen this now. You know, the kids do see it in their own children. They don't realize that all the tension they brought, all the pain that they caused, all the things they demanded, they didn't realize that because they thought it was their divine right to do that. And listen carefully. Your parents, you know, I don't know what kind of parents they do had and certainly I'm not saying everyone was perfect and all. Who was raised by perfect parents? Besides my kids, none of them, you know. No, who was raised with perfect parents? I mean, we all sin in word, thought or deed and there's not a perfect person. We do our best and we fail. Well, our parents should be given the same kind of charity that we give ourselves, don't you think? And so bottom line is, is we do give back to them for they did do good unto us, at least the best that they could under normal circumstances. Is it the world's responsibility to take care of my mom? Is it the world's responsibility to take care of what belongs to somebody else? No, no, it's not at all. I have that obligation and that's what he's saying. If any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents. Why? Well, this is good and acceptable before God. You remember that God gave us a command, honor thy father and thy mother and that command is actually being fulfilled in our care for our parents. Jesus gave the example of that, perhaps you remember, how that when Jesus was on the cross, his mother was there as well as his cousin John. And Jesus looking at Mary said, woman, behold your son. And then he looked at John and he said, behold your mother. Well, what was he doing? When Jesus was on the cross, he was providing for his mother because Jesus's brothers were not believers. His sisters were not believers at that time and he was not going to entrust the care of his mother into the hands of one who didn't have a relationship with God. So he looked at his cousin John and he said, behold your mother, take care of her. What was Jesus doing? Honor thy father and thy mother. He was honoring his mother by providing for her because he would no longer be physically with her. Jesus himself models this for us. And so this is the fulfillment of the command to honor your father and your mother. And he goes on in verse five and he says, now she who is really a widow and left alone trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. So a believing widow with no children had no place else to go but to God. She's completely alone. She puts her trust in God because she has no earthly help. She understands what Jesus meant when he said, give us this day our daily bread. So she seeks God for her needs night and day and her faith is growing because God is revealing himself through these things. But though she is somebody that falls in line to be cared for, there are others who do not qualify. Notice verse six. She who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. And these things command that they may be blameless. Oh so it says she who lives in pleasure but it says she who lives in pleasure. That word pleasure speaks of being pleasure oriented. It speaks of self indulgence, living in luxury. She may attend church services but she's not living for the Lord. That's what's being spoken of here. And he's saying this woman receives no support because she's not interested. She may be physically alive but she in reality is spiritually dead. We'll see that in just a moment. He'll develop that. And he says again in verse seven, command these things. This will safeguard the woman's reputation as well as the witness of the church. And in verse eight, if anyone doesn't provide for his own and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. When it says does not provide for his own, the word own speaks of his circle of responsibility. In providing for your circle of responsibility, faith is actually revealed. The world sees that the church cares for those who are its members. And that's what we're called to do. So he says if a person is a genuine believer, they will care for his relative in need. And providing materially for family is always going to be the mark of a believer. Providing food, housing, clothing is something that is natural for us to do. Believers are to provide spiritually for their families. It's not enough for us to simply give our children food by the way. That's a great thing to do and of course we should. But we don't give our children or our family just food. The reason that this church came into being, and I'll say it quickly, I've said this so many times in different ways. The reason that this church came into existence, this church physically, part of it was simply caring for one of my relatives. When I resigned my ministry from the church that I had been an assistant pastor in, church that I was ordained in. I was ordained in the pastoral ministry in 1979. And in 1981, this church came into existence. In 1981, I resigned my position as assisting pastor. The senior pastor at that time had said to me, you're not a pastor, what you are is a counselor. And I knew that I wasn't called to counsel in that church. I was not called to be an elder in the church alone. I was called to pastor and so I resigned my position. I had a meeting. There were people that were attending a Bible study with me and they asked me, where are you gonna be on Sunday? And I said, my sister-in-law, Patty, has asked me to teach her a study on Sunday. I said, so I'm gonna be at her house, teaching her on Sunday morning a Bible study. This church began not because I had a burden for all kinds of people. This church began because my sister-in-law needed a home study. My sister-in-law wanted a Bible study. My sister-in-law didn't have a church that she was gonna attend, so she wanted to know where was I going to be? I had brought her to faith in Christ through my ministry. She was the first person who ever answered an invitation that I gave. And as she came forward to give her heart to the Lord, she didn't even come forward in a public service. I was in the back after the service when Patty came walking back there with her roommate Felicia and Patty walks up to me and she said, nobody answered your invitation. And I said, that's right. She says, well, I feel sorry for you. I better get saved. And that's how she got saved. She says, I feel sorry for you. I better get saved. And so that's how she got saved. And so I had a brother's love for this sister, my sister, and that's how this church began. You always give to your family. You always minister to them their priority. That's how my Bible studies began in the first place by teaching my mom and teaching my dad. By sharing with family. My brother gets saved. He needs a Bible study. I'm driving from Norwalk coming to Ontario. That's how I discovered this area is by coming here. I mean, let's face it, you know, for me, I came from LA County. San Bernardino County. And I would never, and Chino, I mean, Chino's the home of the fly. Why would I come to Chino? There's nothing to do here other than leave, you know? And so that was kind of how I saw it, right? I mean, I'm LA and so for the, you know, and so God brought me here through the needs of people. And it's always been family. It's always been a sister or a brother or my mom or my dad. That's what you do. You provide for your household. You give studies to your mom. You share with your pop. You minister to your brother. You share with your sisters. You give them the word of God. And that's all he's saying. And it's very basic. If you don't provide for your own, especially for those of your household, you're denying the faith. You're worse than an unbeliever. We care more about the unsaved. Unbelievers, unsaved. People who aren't related to us is what he's saying. You need to take care of your family. Pray for them. Even if you've shared from them, they reject, just keep them in prayer and say, God, in Jesus' name, touch my brother, touch my sister, Lord, save my mom, speak to my dad, speak to grandma. You pray for them. God has a way of answering those prayers, you see? And that's what it's all about. You care for them. In Galatians 6, verse 10, as we have therefore opportunity, we let us do good unto all men, especially unto those who are of the household of faith. He goes on in verse nine now, and he begins to give some regulations. In verses nine and 10, he says, do not let a widow under 60 years of age or 60 years old be taken into the number. And not unless she's been the wife of one man, while reported for good works, if she's brought up children, if she's lodged strangers, if she's washed the saints' feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she's diligently followed every good work, and so he begins to speak, concerning bringing a widow into the number. When it says, don't allow them to be taken into the number, the term the number is actually speaking of a list. Don't put them on the list is what he's saying. Only certain widows are to be cared for. So what qualifies her? Well, he says she's the wife of one man, which speaks of her being a faithful woman. And in verse 10, she's well reported for good works. She's known for her good or her kind deeds to those who are in need. She's brought up children, which speaks to she loves children, including orphans. She's lodged strangers. She's hospitable. She has a welcoming, a loving heart. She's washed the saints' feet. She's a servant. She's known for devoted love. She has relieved the afflicted. She's merciful and compassionate. And she has diligently followed every good work. She's not just trying to get immediate help, and thus she gets busy for a while. She is constantly busy, and she's shown her Christian character. So I say, these are the things, just because somebody says, oh, help me, you're obligated to do that. He's saying, that's not true at all. Listen, in this church over the years, we've been going for a while now, there are numbers of people who have over the years said, you need to help me. And why do we need to help you, may I ask? Because I have a need. And that means what? That means you got a big building. You must be rich. And I'm not. So you owe me. And there's this attitude we've had, we've dealt with that many, many times. Many times. You can't imagine, especially during the holidays. We have people who pulled up with campers, they'll say, I need gas money, I need food, I need clothing, and they come to us as we're supposed to be taking care of them and all. And so he says, no, you don't do that. He said, they need to have a good report. They need to be part of that church. They need to be known for their service. They need to be known for people who have, who were faithful wives, who loved their children, who are hospitable to people, servants. These are the ones that you help, not just people who wander in and say, you need to help me because I have a need. He even goes so far in verse 11 noticing, says, refuse the younger widows for when they have begun to grow wanton against Christ, they desire to marry having condemnation because they have cast off their first faith. He says, refuse them, why? Because they'll grow restless. See what happens is they would become widows and they would say, I just want to be sold out for God and I want to serve him. And so they would be put on the list of people who would receive a stipend. But because they were younger, they would begin to be restless and they would say, I don't want to be single all the rest of my life. And as a result of that, they'll say, you know what, I'm giving up on my vow to God but the church has been supporting them all this time and now they just take off and do whatever they want, whatever they want. They don't want to exclusively serve the Lord. They break away. They're not faithful to their original promise to serve the Lord. They begin to seek marriage. Now he's not saying that younger widows should never marry, by the way. In 1 Corinthians 739, Paul said to the Corinthian church, a wife is bound by law, as long as her husband lives but her husband dies, she's at liberty to be married to whom she wishes only in the Lord. What he is saying is they made a pledge to serve only Christ and they broke that pledge. They lose their initial fervor to serve the Lord. They're placing other things above him and the desire they have for marriage replaces the ministry they pledged themselves to serve in. In verse 13, he gives us a second reason. This is interesting too. He says, besides, they learned to be idle, wandering about from house to house. And not only idle but also gossips and busybosy, saying things which they ought not on Facebook. They become idle. See, they're being cared for so they go visit people and they're there to minister is what it is. And while they're there ministering it all, they're hearing things and seeing things because that's real life. So they may go in to speak to somebody and minister to them and they hear the problems and situations that they're going through. And instead of taking it to the Lord in prayer, he says what they're doing is they're taking those things and they're going to other homes and saying we need to keep Sister Sarah in prayer because she's going through this, this, this and that and they're gossiping. He said they're busybodies. They're beginning to meddle in people's lives and they ought not to be involved in this at all. They have an income that provides a leisure time but it's being misused. They go about sharing things with others. God hates gossip and meddling by the way we know that. In Proverbs 20 verse 19, a gossip betrays a confidence. Avoid a man who talks too much. My mom used to say this to me, let me give it to you. It's not a proverb. We'll say it's from the book of Bonnie chapter one, verse five. Mama said this to me and it's true then, it's true now. She said, David, just remember one thing. Anything people say to you about somebody else is what they're saying about you to somebody else. Never forget that. She's right. If somebody comes and speaks to you and says, oh, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, don't think that you're being some special person that they're sharing their confidence with. You're just one of the ears that they like to speak to. And you listen to them and you hear what they're saying and your eyes are changed toward somebody else because of the things they're saying to you and before you know what there's division in your relationships because this person's been seeding, putting seeds of discourse and discord in you to the point where you just don't look at these people in the same way. I had a lady who approached me when I'd been for long before I was a pastor, I was 23 years old at the time and I wasn't a pastor in this church yet and she walked up to me and she was dumping on me and I pointed at my ears and I said, you see this? She goes, yeah. I said, these aren't trash cans. These aren't trash cans. I said, don't be dumping your trash in my ears. I said, I don't need it. I really don't. So that's just a fact. She went out and told everybody about my trash can ears and I was like, no. But that's a fact. I mean, gossip destructive, isn't it? It destroys. It destroys. Sowing seeds of discourse. Listen, read Proverbs 6. We're gonna be looking at Proverbs, by the way. You'll get there if you come with us on Wednesday. If not, please read it on your own anyway. But in chapter six, it says these six things that I hate to say at the Lord. Yeah, these seven. And one of the things that he hates is he who sows discord amongst the brethren. Do you know God hates that? He who sows discord are amongst those things I hate. That's a powerful statement for God to say. It really is. And yet the church calls it prayer chains. We have to be very careful that what goes into our ears remains in our heart so we can take it to our Lord on our needs. That's how it works. And he's saying here, don't be bringing them in. They have leisure time. They go from place to place. They really wanna get married. They're forsaking their first pledge to serve Christ. They're hearing things and scattering these things and it's causing discord in the church. He says, be aware of that. He says in verse 15, for some have already turned aside after Satan, if any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them and do not let the church be burdened that it may relieve those who are really widows. Interestingly, notice how he says in verse 15, for some have already turned aside. These women are unnamed, but Paul and Timothy know who they are. Their lives have become a stain on the gospel. So by rejecting their service to the Lord, they spiral downward. Instead of remaining faithful, they'd be given into the temper. He said they should have children. They should manage the home. It's a good thing to do. Instead, they've walked away from the Lord. And some undoubtedly are following those false teachers and they're spreading their false doctrine. Others were more than likely marrying unbelievers and walking away from the Lord completely. So in verse 16, finally, he says, if any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them. It's the responsibility of the family to care for their mother or their grandmother. And as for the church, care for the widows, but make sure that they are in need. And in doing so, you're obeying God and you receive His blessing. And rather in Deuteronomy 2719, it said, curse is the one who distorts the justice, do an alien, an orphan, and a widow. In Proverbs 1917, he who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord and he will pay back what he has given. Take care of the widows, but make sure that there are widows indeed, that there are genuine widows. Just because somebody comes and stretches out their hand and says, give me, you have, doesn't mean that you should. They need to be given a thorough vetting, if you will. Do they have these good works? Are they really in need? Or are they just right now just kind of anxious and just making a vow that they're not gonna keep? So Timothy, if you're gonna take care of the church, you need to learn to command these things that they may be blameless.