When I think of pressing onward towards the prize of Christ I think of mountain climbing. There is nothing that gives me a clearer picture of what it means to keep struggling towards a goal than those who, through every adversity, keep inching their way towards the peak. I think of the men who have trained harder than most and honed their skills so that they could conquer Lhotse, K2, and the grand daddy of them all, Everest. Very few people have every reached the summit of Everest. Even fewer have done it without the help of supplemental oxygen. When you climb higher than 6000 meters, your body starts to shut down on a fundamental level. Every step takes you closer to death. Your brain could swell and you would die. Your lungs could fill with liquid and you would die. You could get hypothermia and you would die. We weren't made to go that high. Even moving a couple of feet takes every ounce of strength one has. To reach that peak you must truly press on.

In 1996 12 people died on Everest in a matter of days. The events are captured in the book “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer who was one of the people on that exhibition. There are a lot of reasons for that catastrophe but I would think the biggest one is that instead of cutting off the climb at the predetermined turn around time the leaders kept the group going two to three hours after. By then it was too late to get down and they got caught in a storm.

But this tragedy illustrates today's message. We all, leaders and laypeople alike, need to push each other on toward righteousness and spiritual maturity. But we must do so in a way that doesn't push people to hard to the point where they break and get overwhelmed. Yes we press on, but we press on through partnerships of grace and understanding. We aren't tyrants who make demands of one another. Rather we are brothers and sisters who gently, but firmly, lead one another to a greater walk with Christ! In other words, we are called to disciple relationally! Look with me at our passages for this morning in 1 Timothy 5:1-2 and 6:1-2. This morning I want us to see that … Meaningful Discipleship Takes A Relational Approach!

Today we will be looking at what I consider to the fundamental passage of this series and possibly the entire letter of 1 Timothy! Every verse in this passage is filled with vital truth and application. 1 Timothy 4:6-11 says, “If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things.”

The heading in my Bible concerning this passage says, “A good servant of Christ Jesus.” It's important for us to recognize that it is not just for Elders and Deacons to serve the church. No, we are all called to serve the church. We are called to serve one another in the church, we are called to serve the lost outside the church, and most importantly we are called to serve Christ with our lives. But how are we are to be good servants of the church and of Christ if we haven't been trained to be good servants? This of course is Paul's concern and it is what we will focus on today.

As good servants of Christ we must be trained for godliness. We must be trained in spiritual warfare and spiritual maturity in order to successful in the mandate to reach the world with the Gospel and see lives completely transformed. In a world of darkness, lies, debauchery, disease, warfare, godlessness, paganism, and the spirit of the anti-christ, we must be trained in godliness if we are to overcome! Simply put, personal discipleship cannot be ignored if we are to be effective servants for the kingdom of God! To serve the Church and Christ effectively, intentional discipleship training must be a priority!

Last week we had a broad overview of the roles of Elders and Deacons. We saw that these are the two offices of leadership of the local church prescribed for us in the Bible. We went through over 20 different passages of scripture showing us that not only are there to be Elders and Deacons but that each church should have a plurality of Elders to oversee and shepherd the church and a team of Deacons to serve in the various ministries of the church.

Today and next week we are going to be taking it one step further and show you what the qualifications are to hold these offices in the local church. And as you will see, as where these focus on Elders and Deacons, they are qualifications which all of us should aspire to. This week we will be focusing in on the qualifications for Elders as they are outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. Read with me there if you would.

You may say, that list is unreasonable. No one can live like that. How can we expect anyone to be able to have all of these qualities and attributes? This is why it is a noble calling and is not for everyone. But being an elder also takes one under the grace and mercy of our Lord. Elders aren't perfect people, they are just repentant and humble men following God's lead as under-shepherds. This list isn't who they are all the time, but it is what an Elder should look like and aspire to be. This morning we will see that though being an Elder is a noble calling, it requires a humble discipline.

This is what I believe is one of the hardest passages in the entire Bible to exegete. Look at what Paul says to Timothy, concerning women's roles in the local church in 1 Timothy 2:9-15. We see here that there is not just an allowance for women to serve in ministry, but there is a mandate for women to serve in the ministry of the local church. And for the elders and the deacons to best shepherd and serve the body, they must partner with women in ministry. Without women serving in ministry, the church would be weak and incomplete.

I'm sure I don't have to convince you that your leaders should be men of prayer. However, it is a good reminder for them and for us, that prayer is very important for a church, therefore it is very important for those who shepherd and serve the church. Look at what Paul writes to Timothy, the Elder of the church of Ephesus, in 1 Timothy 2:1-4, 8.

We must see prayer as an urgent need both for our leaders and for ourselves. We must pray as a church the prayers that we see in this passage. We must see the responsibility of prayer for the church, how we are to pray for the church, and how we should pray for those outside the church. Most of all, our leaders must be praying over you as is their duty as shepherds and servants. A church, depending on Christ in prayer, pleases the Lord!

Why is an understanding of God's mercy so important to us as believers? Why should we not only be aware of it but deeply meditate upon it? I think it is because as humans we have a sickness called desensitization. The more familiar we become with something, the less important it becomes. Where as the cross, the sacrifice of Christ, and the sin which he saved us from should always break us, we've heard about it so much in church that it is just the same old record. But when we are talking about something as important as the mercy of Christ to save us from our sins we should never ever allow ourselves to be desensitized to it. Instead we should determine to keep the same sober- mindedness about it that we had when we first realized it. And if we can do that, we will have no problem praising God and worshipping him as he deserves. A worship that extends beyond the weekly worship service and permeates our entire lives. We should be in a perpetual state of praising our God because of the mercy he has shown us in saving us from our sins. Today I want us to leave with a sense of understanding that; There is nothing that can keep us from praising God when we are constantly aware of the mercy Christ has shown us.