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Amen, so I want to preach a message message tonight entitled what makes a man of God what makes a man of God? And of course, you know, this is probably one of the when you think about what makes a man of God this is the chapter you return to because this is where you find all of the qualifications both for the bishop and the deacon and Which we will see here in a minute is what a man of God is a man of God is somebody who's been ordained in the ministry We'll see in the Old Testament to that It wasn't just anybody that was a man of God. It was men that were specifically called to be leaders in God's ministry But you know, this is the one we would think about in the New Testament You would go there and we'd say we'd look through this list and it's a good list and say, you know You got to meet all these criteria and you have to check all these boxes off if you want to be somebody That's a man of God, you know an ordained minister That's what makes a man of God And the first thing I'd point out too is that you know There has to be a desire to be a man of God right it starts with a desire, you know We often talk about you know, you'll hear people say, you know, I was called into the ministry and you know There's kind of two schools of thought. There's two ways to kind of take that and think well You know, is there really this calling into the ministry that God, you know somehow just you know Puts a calling on someone's life and it's irresistible. They just have to do it You know, I don't necessarily buy into that But there's definitely the idea that God might put that desire in someone's heart, you know to be a man of God to be a minister Certainly that can be there but even then it might just be that Somebody just has that desire the desire as it says they're a good work, you know They just love the Lord. They see a need They just want to fill that need and it might not even be something necessarily that God even puts in their heart It's just something that they have a burden to do. They have the right motives and that's a good place to start obviously That's where you want to start when it comes to being a man of God you want to start with that desire You should never be somebody that is you know, just forced into it You know not by constraint as he says in 1st Peter, but of a willing mind and not for filthy lucre's sake Okay But then you know the desires not enough obviously you have to go through this list and we've we've all probably read this list heard This list preached of all the different things They have to be in order to meet the requirements to be a man of God. The desire is not enough You know, we read it here just a moment ago, but if you would go over to 2nd Timothy chapter number 3 2nd Timothy chapter number 3 see these are these are the things that are necessary to be a man of God Well, you have to be you know, just generally speaking you have to be you know, married You have to have children and not only can you just have children But they actually have to have them in subjection with all gravity I feel the rule your own house as the Bible says For for man know not how to rule us on house own house how eventually take care of the Church of God, right? So there's a proving there's a testing Here in 1st Timothy 3 and Titus 1 if you wanted to read that to that that shows us that there's certain criteria that you have to meet in order to be considered meet for the ministry But I want to get into here something else that maybe doesn't isn't just explicitly spelled out here in 1st, Timothy Something that you know, there there still has to be some things that that that will make a person a man of God There's certain characteristics So you have to have certain characters traits that have to be there in order to be a man of God now You're there in 2nd Timothy chapter 3 look at verse 6 It says all scripture is given by inspiration of God and it's profitable for correct for doctrine for proof correction for instruction and righteousness That the man of God may be perfect thoroughly furnished into all good works So again, this is Paul writing to Timothy so we can see that in the in the New Testament You know the man of God is referring to You know the preacher it's referring to the pastor it's referring to someone who's ordained in the ministry right, and we'll see that elsewhere where Timothy again is called a man of God by Paul and You know, we have all these New Testament qualifications But you know that that term open the man of God is something that's used throughout the Old Testament We really don't have time to go through tonight to look at all the different examples of people that were referred to as men of God They were always leaders. They were always Prophets some of them were named specifically some of them were more obscure Some of them weren't even mentioned beyond just that they were a man of God. Okay so What I want to look at is more what's in the Old Testament and just draw a few thoughts just a couple things tonight About what it make what makes a man of God. What does it take to be considered a man of God? What kind of characteristics do you have to be what have to be really? What I'm getting at is what is your motive to be a man of God? What is the motive behind it? And look at the end I'll tie it up you say well, I'm you know, I'm I'm never gonna be a minister I'm you know, you know, that's something that's reserved for men You might be a lady and say well that doesn't really apply to me but there's still something that we can learn from this and when it comes to All of us can learn that when it comes to what it takes to be a man of God there's an application that we can make here and take home tonight, but You're there in 2nd Timothy 3 you read that go to Exodus chapter 4, you know one of the Old Testament, you know men of God that we're gonna look at is Moses you know and Moses is a great example and I think he serves as an example of the kind of Characteristics the kind of character you have to have if you want to be somebody That is a man of God or at the very least someone who just wants to serve God You know, maybe being a man of God is just not something that's gonna Be your lot in life. That's just something that you're never gonna fulfill but you know at the end of the day we can all serve God and We could look at these characteristics of these Old Testament in the in the Old Testament characters and and learn some things about You know serving God just generally speaking, okay Now Moses was referred to as a man of God as it says in Deuteronomy 33 This is the blessing wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death and what's interesting about About Moses is that he was somebody that was though called, right? We would say there was definitely a calling in his instance, right? The God came to him in a burning bush I mean, I don't know how much more of a calling you need, you know, you need to call it a calling But he was also somebody who's very reluctant to go into the ministry He was somebody that didn't just say well, of course, it's about time, you know I've been waiting for this I've been watching this bush for decades now waiting for you to light that thing up and and see my true talents, right? Moses was actually somebody that was very resistant into going into the ministry if you look there in verse 10 He has this whole dialogue of Exodus chapter 4 verse 10 with the Lord where he's kind of you know, he's disputing almost He's almost disagreeing with God and saying no you got the wrong guy He says in verse 10 and Moses said to the Lord. Oh my lord I am not eloquent neither heretofore nor sense hast thou spoken unto thy servant, but I am of slow of speech and of a slow tongue So what's his excuse? He saw I can't get up. He's you know, he has a fear of public speaking, you know He's like I'm not eloquent. I can't get up and move people But is that really what we need to be able to do as somebody who's preaching the Word of God? You know Paul told Timothy preach the word the instant in season out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine Right, but he said preach the word, you know, and that's some of the best advice I ever heard when it came to preaching, you know If you want to deliver a message just preach what the Bible says, you know People don't come here to just you have some emotional experience They don't come to churches like this for people to get up and just move them with their eloquent speech you know they come here because they want to learn something from the Word of God and Look we all know something from the Word of God, you know We should all be able to teach other somebody something out of the Word of God You know if we've been saved for a long time or even a short time Look, even if you've been saved for a very short time, you at least know how to get somebody saved You've learned something, you know, we all have something that we could share we could teach others, right? That's why I told Timothy look preach the word It doesn't matter about being eloquent or having you know This great speaking ability now obviously you have to be apt to teach when you're gonna get up behind the pulpit There is a certain level of aptitude that you need to be able to you know Clearly teach what the Word of God says I understand that but it doesn't have to be this eloquence It doesn't have to be this, you know, the high Standard of being able to just wow people with the way you speak I'm walking proof of that. You know, I mean I get up here. I stutter I stamper I misspeak all the time But you know what I'm doing my best to try to preach the word and that's what Benefits people the most is when the Word of God is preached. It's not about the messenger. It's about the message Okay, again, there has to be an aptitude, but it's not this, you know over-the-top eloquence, you know and you'll see guys like this that get up in these pulpits and Some churches where it's just it's it's like an act, you know, they'll every sermon they're crying You know, but then you talk to them outside the pulpit and everything's fine You know, every sermon is just this it's just as drama it's like a it's like a play or something. Okay? That's not what God's looking for. That's not what he needs. Okay, and that's kind of what Moses is throwing at the Lord here You know people could talk about was Moses right to do this or not Look Moses was a man of like passions and I can understand him not wanting to you know Maybe be put in that position, you know, and it's actually a good thing You know that people you know that I'm not saying he was right or wrong But I'm saying at least he wasn't just someone who was so arrogant and full of himself that he was just like, yeah I got this. Yeah, of course You know, I'm a great speaker, right? But there was some hesitancy there, but you know at the end he was willing to go and do the job He says there He says but I am slow speech of a slow tongue verse 11 and Lord sent him Who hath made man's mouth or hath made that make it the deaf or? Who make it dumb the dumb or deaf or the seeing or the blind have not I the Lord? He's like you don't think I know how you how you speak Moses, he's like, I'm the one that made that mouth I'm the one that formed that tongue before you were even, you know brought forth, you know before you were born I know how you speak you think I don't it's like he's saying you don't know what I'm you think I don't know what I'm doing Moses. You think I got the wrong guy He's saying I know how you speak. I know all of this and some people might say well, maybe Moses was lying here I don't know. I'm not gonna lay that charge. I think maybe he was just reluctant and just had some self-doubt, you know He goes on and says now therefore go and I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say, you know And that's a great Passage to encourage people, you know if you ever find yourself as somebody that maybe has to get up behind the pulpit and and fill in or Maybe be a preacher one day or even out soul winning again going back to the idea of preach the word Remember if we're preaching God's Word, we have the Holy Spirit. God's gonna be with us. He'll help us He'll give us the words to say I'm not saying he's gonna take over Right, but he's given us the things to say right here. You know, we have the whole counsel of God There's a message in here on every page, you know If we just take the time to read it and think about it We'd all have something to share God will be with our mouth if we're in his book Okay, so that's just kind of some advice there But he said in verse 13 and he said oh my lord send I pray thee by the hand whom thou wilt send Now he's still fighting him. He's saying look I made your mouth. I'll be with you. He's trying to Bolster his confidence here right because you know, he comes he calls him Moses kind of has this reply I'm not eloquent and then God corrects him and you would think at this point that Moses would just be like, yeah You're right. I'll go with you But he's sitting here and he's arguing with the Lord which is you know, to me always this story always kind of blows My mind right? He's it's a burning bush. It's obviously God You know and here he is he's and he's he's arguing arguing with him He said ascend by thee I pray thee send by the hand of him that whom thou wilt send and The anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said is not Aaron that I the Levite thy brother I know that he can speak. Well, he's like so, you know, I he's taken away his excuses, right? and he said also and also behold he cometh forth to meet me and when he seeth he he will be glad in his heart and Thou shalt speak unto him and put his words and put in his expert word Excuse me and put words in his mouth and I will be with thy mouth and with his mouth and will teach you what you shall Do so he's saying look I'm gonna take away your excuses You keep coming up with excuses and I'm just gonna I'll tell you what to tell Moses to tell Aaron and that's what we'll do He's gonna be your mouthpiece, right? verse 16 and he shall be thy spokesman unto the people and he shall even And he shall be even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth and thou shalt be to him instead of God And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand wherewith thou shalt do signs So he's really just giving Moses no excuse right and Moses went returned to Jethro his father-in-law and said unto let me go I pray thee and he let him go right and that's how the story goes but notice What's the point here is that when men of God are called to do to the ministry when they are? You know when they're when they're given that job to do it's something a lot of times that they're often unwilling to do It's something that they have to be talked into doing and something that they have to be persuaded like no you can't Do this, you should do this you need to do this and they have to do it Another example of this I think would be Elisha if you would go over to 2nd Kings chapter 19 or 1st Kings 19 excuse me, 1st Kings chapter 19 and 2nd Kings chapter 5 it we we learned that Elisha was called the man of God and it was so when Elisha the man Of God had heard that Israel the king of Israel had ran his clothes and this is a story of name sinner I'm just pointing it out to To show us that Elisha is another one that is called the man of God you have Moses and again There's a multitude of people But there it seems to be this, you know This this reluctance or and not not so much in Elisha's case But we do see that they're brought into the ministry by another person with Elisha It's not really that there's a reluctance But it's it's rather that I'm making the point that somebody else called them into that Somebody else said hey, this is something you need to do Right and first Kings 19 verses verse 19. He said so he departed thence. This is the he there is Elijah And found Elisha the son of Shaphat who was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen before him and he with the 12th You know, there's a lot to say right there about the character that Elisha had. This is a guy who was a hard worker Somebody he was already employed at something else somebody, you know He's sitting there plowing with the 12 yoke of oxen and he with the 12th like he's in the yoke with the oxen He's not driving it. He's actually in that yoke pulling with a bunch of oxen So really when you think about it, you know, there's a whole nother Aspect to this man of God here is that you know, he was there's nothing really beneath him when it came to work You know if he if the job needed a gun get done He's gonna get in there and do it You know That's the kind of character that you need to have if you're gonna be somebody that's going to serve and you'll see more about this About about this when it comes to Elisha that he was somebody that No task really was beneath him when it came something you need to get done That's what he do that is the kind of attitude you have to have if you're gonna be somebody who goes into the ministry because there's a lot of Little things to do a lot of things that you know They're gonna go unseen that people aren't going to appreciate and that's not why you're doing it people think Oh, I'm gonna go in the ministry and I'm just gonna be up in the lights You know, I'm gonna be the one on the camera. I'm gonna be the one with everyone's attention Well, but they don't see is all the nitty-gritty that goes on behind the scenes They don't see you know Elijah here getting in with the yoke of oxen and plowing with them In fact, that's probably not the most impressive thing to me. We would look at it say wow, that's that's cool, right? But somebody else might walk by and see like why don't you just get another ox, you know? Look at this guy. He doesn't even have enough money to get another oxen. He's he's in there with him It's kind of a demeaning thing when you think about it But anyways, the light say it goes on it says there and Elijah passed by him and what cast his mantle upon him And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah said let me I prayed he kissed my father my mother and then well I will follow thee and he said go back again for what have I done to thee? And to me that just kind of gives a little bit of a window into to what Elijah might have been like I mean cuz it's kind of doesn't that sound kind of dismissive the way he talks to him He comes to him and throws his mantle upon him and Elijah comes running and he says what have I done to you? He's just kind of it's kind of like he's just kind of blowing him off a little bit I don't know that, you know makes me kind of think that maybe Elijah wasn't exactly the the friendliest guy You know, maybe he was a bit of a grouch a little bit. I don't know He just seems kind of a kind of a curt thing to have said there and it says a verse 21 and he returned back from him with it and it took a yoke of oxen and slew them and boiled their flesh with the Instrument of the oxen and he gave one of the people and they did eat Then he arose and went after Elijah and ministered unto him So again, he goes from plowing with these oxen to ministering unto a guy who you know Just from that little interaction isn't exactly maybe the nicest guy, you know He's he's kind of dismissive But you know what that was who Elijah had to go and minister unto and I'm not saying Elijah was some bad guy Or anything like that, but you know what? Maybe he wasn't the the most gentlest boss, you know and Elijah was the type of guy that could take that, you know And again, that's something that you have to have you have to have thick skin if you're gonna go into the ministry You're gonna have to have handle somebody, you know telling you you did wrong here you didn't do this, right? You got to fix that, you know that there's that correction that always comes and that's something that's just for everybody, right? We could all stand to have thick skin, especially these days when everybody's getting thinner and thinner skin You can't tell anybody that they did something wrong anymore So Elijah here, he has some thick skin, right? He's going to go serve under this guy who's you know, kind of dismissive and just saying you know what? Go kiss him don't kiss him do whatever you want, you know, I'm moving on okay but the Excuse me. The point is this is that Elijah was brought into the ministry by another person. He didn't go find Elijah, right? He didn't go find him and say hey, I know I'm the one that's supposed to follow in your footsteps I'm the one that's gonna pick up your mantle literally You know that was something that came to him. He wasn't expecting it So again, it's good to have that desire right that's obviously that's we want that there But at the same time you don't want people that are what insistent on being in the ministry That's usually a bad sign That's usually a red flag when you have people who insist on being a pastor or whatever When they clear even especially when they clearly don't even meet the qualifications, you know, they might get some Ordination from somewhere else they might go through some Bible College and they'll ordain just about anybody these days You know, I've seen them send out people that aren't even married and say call them or drain Amos pastors. They don't even have a wife Okay, and that's and that's not uncommon, you know in in these colleges and I'm talking about Baptist colleges independent fundamental Baptist colleges That type of thing has happened and then they insist on being in the ministry, you know Maybe they do that just out of ignorance. They haven't really considered what the Bible says about that But then I've also seen people that have been told look you don't meet the qualifications The best thing for you to do would be to just join a local church and serve there faithfully And then when you do meet the qualifications we can talk But a lot of times they'll just insist on no, I'm just gonna go ahead and do it anyway Now that doesn't necessarily make them rotten people It just means that you know what? They probably don't have the type of character to be in the to be in that position to begin with because as we'll see Here in a minute. It's not about you. It's not about the minister It's about the one that they are the ones they are ministering to They're brought into the ministry by another person It's not something they insist on another example of this and if you would go to 2nd Kings chapter 3 2nd Kings chapter 3 as That they are, you know, they're brought in the ministries by another another example would be Timothy, right? I mean Moses was found by the Lord the Lord had to come find him and and You know call him into it Elisha was sent to go and cast his a lot his mantle upon Elijah or I got that around around Elijah's went to cast upon Elisha Right and called him into the ministry Another one great example of this is Timothy and Timothy is referred to as a man of God in 1st Timothy 6 You're there in 2nd Kings 3. I'll just read to you He said but thou thou o man of God flee these things, right? So Paul writing Timothy's calls him a man of God. He says oh man of God But when when Paul first found Timothy, he wasn't a man of God He's something buddy that was trained and became and was ordained as a man of God He says in Acts 16 then came he you know Paul to Derby and Lystra and behold a certain disciples there named Timotheus as the son of a certain woman Which is a Jewish Jewish and believed but his father was a Greek which was well reported of by the brethren That were at Lystra and Iconium. So there's this principle here that when Paul, you know had to find another companion and travel when he went to looking for one and he found Timothy what what tipped him off was that he had a good reputation Right. He was well reported of by the brethren and they were saying hey consider Timothy, you know Cuz he's been faithful. He's been you know serving already. He was found somebody that was found already serving right as It says in 1st Corinthians chapter 4 that I steward it moreover It is required and stewards that a man be found faithful, right? And that's the case with Timothy here that was the case with Moses and Elisha and specifically Tim Timothy He was somebody that was already found being faithful in his local church and then was called into the ministry By Paul and was trained by Paul You know, and that's the same thing again going back to the example of lie show you're there in second Kings chapter 3 Look at verse 11 It says but Jehoshaphat said is there not here a prophet of the Lord that we require of the Lord by him and one of the kings of Israel Israel servants answered and said here is Elisha the son of Shafat and how is he known as known as the great and powerful? Elisha The this mighty man of God, right? No He was known as Elisha the son of Shafat who poured water on the hands of Elijah. I Mean that's a pretty humbling job, right? I mean I've asked favors of people in this church You know to help me in the building or something that people have come to me and said AIDS or anything you need me to Do I have yet to ask anybody to wash my hands for me? Right because you got to think about why is he pouring water in his hands? Well, they didn't have plumbing back then, right? So back then they would come with a pitcher and they would pour it on his hands that he would wash his hands You know before he ate that was one of his duties. That's a pretty Humbling task if you ask me, I mean we're talking about a grown man here Helping another grown man wash his hands right he that but that's how close he was He that was he was Elisha's or Elijah's servant He was the servant of Elijah, you know when you think about Joshua He's known as the servant of Moses, right? And he was somebody that eventually of course took the reins and led the peace but with Israel after Moses's death But that's not how he started out. He started out as a servant They were people that were brought into the ministry as another. How did they start out though? They started out as faithful servants where no task was beneath them. Whatever needed to be done that's what they were willing to do and that's how you know men like Timothy earned that reputation and I don't know that they said he was well reported of the brethren because you know He was just some great speaker or was it rather because he had a reputation of being just faithful being Willing and just you know wanting to help out and doing what he can anything that he could you know Another great example of this would be Paul right if you would go over to Galatians chapter 1 Galatians chapter 1 These are people that are just found as faithful servants. That's what they're there for and this is what makes a man of God You know, we want to read over the qualifications in first Timothy 3 and Titus 1 and just say well, there you go That's all it takes. Yeah, those things are definitely necessary I'm not dismissing those but there's more to it to being a man of God to being somebody's ordained to being a sermon of Christ there has to be a certain type of character There has to be a certain type of attitude that goes along with those qualifications of humility Somebody's willing to serve somebody who's not just in it to be a big shot Okay, and that's not what Paul was Paul's not in it to be a big shot And in fact here look at Galatians chapter 1 verse 11 He said but I certify you brethren that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man neither. I was For I neither received it of man neither was I taught it but by the revelation of Jesus Christ For you have heard of me Ye have heard of my conversation in times past in the Jews religion how that beyond measure I persecuted the church and of God and wasted it and was and profited in the Jews religion Above many mine equals in mine own nation. He's saying look I used to be a big shot in the Jews religion They knew who I was. I you know, I was the one that took letters and had people arrested I wasted the local church. I was Pro- I profited above many mine equals right many my equals in my own religion being more exceedingly zealous of the tradition of my fathers But when it pleased God who separated me from my mother's room and called me by his grace To reveal his son and me that I might preach him among the heathen He's talking about his conversion and remember his conversion and look if anybody had Something to you know, get puffed up about or tout themselves about it was Paul you know a lot of he's the only one where you see Jesus Christ showing up and manifesting himself after he ascended into heaven and Speaking directly to him, right? Remember that in Acts 9 on Damascus Road, right the road of Damascus that Paul's conversion. That's how it takes place and he's blinded, right? Did any of the other apostles could they have said that now they definitely saw the resurrected Christ That's part of being an apostle. They walked with Jesus, but then this seems like, you know, the Lord really singled him out And he could have gone. Hey, well, hey Peter Did he did he has he appeared to you since he left as he come back and and and manifest you Did he speak to you like that? You know, he's like all he did for you was catch some fish, right? That's you know, he did some miracles right but here Paul is referring back to it But notice how he describes what happened afterwards and and you know There's some debate and speculation about exactly the timing all of all this and Paul's life I'm not really gonna get into that because I'm not a hundred percent sure about it anyway But he's saying look he says he said in verse 16 to reveal his son to me that I might preach him among the heathen Immediately. I conferred not with flesh and blood But went into Arabia and returned again into Damascus now He's saying there some people say oh he conferred now with flesh and blood meaning he went off to be by himself I don't think that's what he's referring to I think what he's referring to is the fact that he didn't go to confer with the Apostles. Okay, because remember when People say oh he had to go off into the Arabia and contemplate his new faith and get his head straight or something like that Okay, and and maybe that is what play. I'm not I'm not saying that's exactly what happened Maybe I don't think the Bible is explicitly clear on that But to me with your beat he's calling him to what to go preach under the Gentiles, right? He's saying what Paul is a chosen vessel to preach under the Gentiles to bring the light unto the Gentiles I mean he made it real clear what his job was I don't think and to me it just seems like if if Christ is speaking to you if you manifesting you're going blind and Having the scales removed from your eyes. You don't have to sit there and contemplate him. Is this real that this really happened? What is it? I'm supposed to do again. It seemed pretty clear-cut what God wanted to do I don't feel like he had to go out and spend all this time the desert. Maybe he did Okay, but it says he went into Arabia and returned again on Damascus now It says then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and abode with him 15 days He said then I went to confer with flesh and blood, right? He's saying I didn't do that and then immediately just go to the apostles and say, you know, God called me I'm here to be a light on the Gentiles I'm here to do the job that you guys are failing to do To some degree because remember the apostles are always hanging back in Jerusalem They're not you know, God is trying to get them to go into these other nations Which is why in the book of Acts, you know towards the latter half of it is all the acts of one man Paul right because it's just The apostles aren't getting out of Jerusalem like they were told to do they weren't going to all nations, right? That's another sermon But the point is this is that Paul didn't just immediately run off and go beat his chest with the apostles He said I conferred not with flesh and blood But after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and abode with him 15 days But of the other apostles side none say James the Lord's brother What am I getting at is that Paul was somebody that was called in the ministry. He was brought into it Right and you want to talk about somebody who was reluctant to go into the ministry He was destroying it when they found him But when that happened, he didn't make himself into some big shot He wasn't in going into the ministry to make a name for himself and by you know And inadvertently is probably you know outside of Lord Jesus Christ the most popular Christian that we know of I mean, he's a very prominent character in the New Testament, right? But is that why he went into it? Did he think he went into it saying I know that every letter I'm rights going to be preserved It's going to be considered the Word of God Obviously, I think a lot of things he did right. He knew were were under the inspiration Holy Ghost But you know, I don't think that's why he went into the ministry Why did he go to the ministry because he wanted to preach under the Gentiles to bring the gospel of Christ to the heathen That's why you read in Ephesians chapter 3 He said unto me who I'm least than all this of all the Saints Does that sound like somebody who has an attitude of being a big shot? He's saying look I'm the least of all the Saints not just the Apostles He didn't say he said also, you know, I'm as one born out of due time You know, I am the least of all the Apostles. He's saying look I'm the least of all Saints Is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ? Paul didn't get called in the ministry to be a big shot And look if people want to go into the ministry just to make a name for themselves They're in it for the wrong reason if they're in it because they want to brag about their you know, YouTube subscribers You're in it for the wrong reason Because it's not about you. It's not about being a big shot And this is something that guys can fall into even if they go into it wrong with the with the right motives You know, they start getting invited to all the you know The the conferences and things like that and this is something that's pretty prominent in the new life or the old IFP And look I'm not against the conferences I think we've got some great ones in the new IFP and even the old IFP has got some good conferences I've been to them but after a while it, you know, there's always that temptation It's a possibility that some of these guys just want to get into it to have their photo on You know the invite or whatever they want to be the guy dr. So and so, you know They want to you know, dr. This is going to be preaching and they end up just want to be big shots you know and That's something I used to drive my old pastor crazy is these guys that would just they would they were qualified They could they could settle down and run a church but all they wanted to do was just go guest preach and get in their RV and Just drive around the country and just preach at everybody else's churches and never and this is how we put it get their hands dirty and actually do the nitty-gritty of the dirty work of the ministry of Dealing with situations and people and helping others because that's not gonna make you a big shot You know going around and preaching the same six messages that you've polished and memorized that's gonna make you a big shot But is that gonna help you preach the the unsearchable riches of Christ? Is that gonna really minister to people the way that you need to be ministered to? So that's what you know, that's another these are the that's what we're talking about tonight The the real motives for being a man of God what makes a man of God? It's more than just these qualifications There's got to be a certain type of attitude. There has to be a character You have to be somebody who's not insisting on being in the ministry So that you can be a big shot and get yourself a name and be somebody You know John the Baptist I think is another Great example of this we'll close on this example if you would go to John chapter 1 John chapter 1. I Mean look when you're the guy That baptizes Christ you're whether you want to know it whether you men or not. You're kind of a big shot You know if John the Baptist showed up here tonight, you know, besides how amazing that would be just in and of itself You know, we would probably take the time to acknowledge him. You know, I probably say hey you want to preach? You know, I'll step down. I'd love to hear that Right. I mean, but what does that what he did it was he a big shot. Did he make himself a big shot? The Bible we know when Luke how you know We learned some things about John the Baptist and he wasn't somebody that was on the scene very long You know, he came baptized preached and then was beheaded, you know shortly thereafter But it says in Luke 1 and speaking of his birth and the child grew and waxed strong in spirit and was in the deserts Till the day of his showing unto Israel So he's not I mean think and if you understand remember the story behind his birth the angel is showing up in in the in the temple with Zacharias and Pronouncing his birth and Elizabeth is learning about it and it's this miracle that's taking place You know Zacharias has made mute because he doubted Right, and then God tongue loses his tongue after he's you know, names him John like he's supposed to I mean Wouldn't you think there'd be a little bit of a mystique around this child when people go? Wow, did you see everything that happened to the high priest and the son was born to him? then it was in their old age and how amazing it was and And they would have probably made a big deal out of him, right So what does John end up doing and it sounds like it's you know Something that happened fairly quickly when he was eight as soon as he's probably able to fend for himself You know He waxed strong and spirit and was in the deserts till the day of his appearing of his showing unto Israel So I don't think it was like, you know They gave birth to him and then just took him out and and set him out in the bushes somewhere Let him grow up, you know, but he could have been they knew who he was No doubt people must have known who John the Baptist was even before he was known as John the Baptist John the son of Zacharias and everything was behind his birth, right? He was a miracle baby. Okay, but They were that where does he go out into the deserts, you know, just wandering around He's basically when you think about it homeless, you know, he's he's kind of he's kind of a Basically people might have looked at him said he's he became a vagrant, you know, he's a derelict He's just out there wandering around the deserts and in Matthew We learned that what his meat was locusts and wild, honey Don't you know who I am? I'm John the Baptist. Where's my t-bone steak? Where's my you know, where's my garlic mashed potatoes? Where's where's my? Asparagus, you know, which is the nice fancy way of saying asparagus And if you want to get real fancy you put parmesian cheese on it Somebody's Parmesan, but I use parmesian, right? But he could have made himself something. I'm not gonna go out in the desert and eat bugs and wild, honey Now the honey part I'm for wild, you know, get yourself some organic honey, right? Brother, amen. It's good, huh? Yeah, I got a witness right here. I Can recommend you some good honey. All right, but I'm not gonna do it from the pulpit until they start paying me I'm kidding. No True love honey, get you some. All right But I'm all for that but he's out there eating locusts He's eating bugs and we learned that he you know, he had can't his Raymond was camel's hair and a leather girdle We where's the three-piece suit? Why isn't this guy a raid and silk? You know, why isn't he had this these comfortable garments? Why isn't he just being kept in the lap of luxury and fed all the best things? Because he's not a big shot because why cuz it's not about him You know, his ministry was not to make himself into something. It was to appoint others to Christ, right? And that's what he did. I had you go to John 1, right? He said in John 1 29 the next day John seeeth Jesus coming unto him and he saith behold the Lamb of God Which taketh away the sin of the world? John's mess it wasn't behold John who was born of Zacharias in his old age Did you hear about the story about my birth and how amazing that was? No, his whole point was to point people to the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world because that's not something John could do I Mean, what's the big deal? You can't take away the sin of the world, but you know what Jesus can and does and He's the one that he's pointing people to This is he of whom I said After me come with a man which is preferred before me for he was before me He's saying look he's better than me go over to John chapter 3 John chapter 3 This is the motive and the character that you have to have if you want to be one That goes into the ministry if you want to know what it's gonna make up your character What's gonna make a man of God? It has to be one of humility. That's not about you It's not about being a big shot. It's about other people. It has to be there Otherwise it'll fail and look this is the application for everybody You know your service for Christ is for Christ and for others and I know I mentioned this earlier But I'll mention again don't ever don't ever think that you're coming into church to serve me or any other person in this church Well, you know because people get bent out of shape and then they go after everything I did for the pastor Oh, is that why you were doing all that? I thought you were doing it because you were serving Christ Don't you know, it's if that's not your motive then don't do anything If your motive for serving a local church is Anything other than to serve Christ in the local church then don't serve because you've got the wrong motive and don't you know And don't and don't do it to trying to make yourself into some kind of a big shot You know, and and I don't think we have that here, you know And I don't I don't believe that for we have that here for a second, but we always got to keep that in check You know, I have to do that for myself You know, I can start to think well my man my preaching is getting you know, it's getting better I'm gonna say oh my preaching is getting so good man. My talents could be used elsewhere. You know, I could have such a bigger church You know that that could that happen to a preacher sure it could You know, even if they go into it with the right motive, you know They could get a big head and think that you know It's not about the people that they're ministering to that. It's it's about them It's about you know, what they're you know, what their talents are worthy of or something like that And Look that's not to say that every guy that has a big church or something is in it for the wrong reasons There's just there's a lot of reasons why people have bigger churches than others a lot of that has to do with location Especially if you're you know, if you're in a big city and you're the only game in town, you know You're gonna have a big church Like the first guy goes out to the East Coast and goes to one of these major Metropolitan's, you know, New York that area they're gonna have a huge church, right? But is that the reason to go there, you know, not necessarily but we don't want to fall into that trap of thinking, you know me serving Christ whether it's as a minister, you know behind the pulpit or Serving here in the local church or going out and preaching the gospel in Whatever capacity you serve God don't ever do it for any other motive than for Christ and for other people Because it's not about you. That's what we learn about John the Baptist Again, somebody, you know who we would look at and say is a big shot, but you know what he's as Christ What made himself of no reputation? Look at John chapter 3 verse 29 John 3 verse 29. He said he that hath the bride bride is the bridegroom but the friend of the bridegroom Which standeth and heareth and rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice and this my joy therefore is fulfilled Look, he's saying look. I'm just glad that I get to bear witness to this I'm happy just to stand here and and see Christ and his bride and And see that taking place that union, you know in salvation, right? And he goes on and says in verse 30 he must increase but I must decrease That's the attitude. We all have to have if we're gonna serve God and make it is that you know what? It's not about us. We have to decrease if he's going to increase If you want more of Christ's power You want to be able to do more for God then it has to be less about you and more about him He that cometh from above is above all and he that is of the earth is earthly and speaketh above earth He that cometh from heaven is above all And that's who we serve today just like John we serve him Who is from above who's from heaven and speaketh of heaven, you know, we're worth of the earth We speak we're earthy, you know, we're faulty. We make mistakes. We're not perfect. It's not about us folks it's about him and that's the motive you have to have and And that's you know, that's the takeaway for everybody tonight, you know that Josh that John's you know His motive to serve God his humility. That's something that we can all share not just men of God Let's go ahead and pray