Behavior in the house of God

1st Timothy chapter 3 verse 15 but if I tarry long thou mayest know how thou art to behave thyself in the house of God which is the church of the Living God the pillar and ground of the truth 1st Corinthians please chapter 14 the closing verse 1st Corinthians 14 and verse 40 let all things be done decently and in order and then back in the Gospel of Luke please chapter 19 Luke chapter 19 and verse 13 and he called his 10 servants and delivered them 10 pounds and said unto them occupy till I come now just for a basic heading on what I want to consider this portion of the time right now is the title behavior in the house of God now I am not by any means going to go over the number of things that a person can be exercised in in the local assembly but there is one thing particularly that I want to consider relative to behavior in the house of God and it is simply this work work some of us were old enough to have heard it and I hope if you're from this nation you've probably learned it in your history you're not old enough to have actually heard it but on January 20th 1961 the former president John F. Kennedy said those words that are very often referred to he said my fellow Americans ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country and those words I think perhaps have become even more particularly relevant at this time our brother Wells has been reminding us of that statement having some consciousness of the times where we are and we have come to an era in our Western culture where people have this desperate mentality of entitlement it's all about me and what can you do for me and I think if we're going to be frank and honest we can see that that same spirit of the times is infiltrating Christian testimony so that you do get people and I'm speaking generally now you do get people that look at the choice of what or where they will associate themselves for a congregation and the way it is assessed is what will this congregation of people do for me the concept of looking for a place with which to associate oneself to commit oneself to based on the Word of God convictions of conformity to the pattern in the Word of God seems to be really if not totally dismissed brought away down the list of criteria and it's what does it do for me now I can say this and I trust that it's generally true if you're at this conference today that you're not that's not your attitude it's not your mindset now sure we come to a conference and we hope to hear ministry from the Word of God that will meet particular needs that we may be dealing with at this season of our life wherever you might be but generally people that are have the desire to be at a conference of this sort are those that have an appreciation for the assembly and see the value in these occasions and putting themself as we've been hearing already those who have given their heart to it and putting themselves into the place and being an asset to it so if we look at this subject that behavior in the house of God under this one term of work there is going to be an emphasis of what I look at of a transition of generations that there is the necessity then of a growing and developing generation to see that any assembly is only as effective in its testimony as the faithful endeavors of those that are in it the work that's put into it and then to we will look at the matter of the generation that I say this without offending anybody grows older I guess is the best word not grows old but grows older recognizing the succeeding generation and a transition effectively taking place now the reason why I read first Corinthians 1440 was for that word or that term order it is found ten times in our New Testament eight of which refer particularly to the order of priests seven of those in the book of Hebrews and relating to Melchizedek the other one of the eight speaking to Zacharias the father of John the Baptist so eight out of ten very distinctly it is the order of priests then the one we read in first Corinthians 14 and then a reference in Colossians 2 5 so Colossians 2 5 it's where Paul unable to get to Colossi has this yearning to be with him but he says not present with you in the flesh but being absent yet there in the spirit joying and beholding your order so if you would I think we can rightfully conclude whether in Corinthians or in Colossians when order is used it is introducing to our minds the idea of priestly service priestly activity in the local assembly now sisters don't check out because you could very readily at this point in time say well he's speaking of all the activity of the men and I will say this right now that probably the bulk of what I'm going to say will carry that emphasis but there is the work in the assembly of every individual and we've been hearing particularly of the activity of prayer and if you find yourself without any other obvious activity that the Lord has fitted you for and engaged you in you certainly can be praying for all those other activities and exercises in the assembly so nobody's exempt from what we're looking at here today and the Lord help us just to appreciate that the assembly will only progress in the measure that we are equally prepared to work the folks in black earth heard me mentioned earlier this week about a name that is common to my family and it's the name George and maybe you remember the old expression that's been thrown around in generations past let George do it well it's been kind of a joke in our family and I'm a chip off the old block so you will not know my father's not going to hear this from heaven above and think his son is maligning him on earth but let George do it was a bit of a joke in our home my dad's first name is George that's my middle name we gave it to my son as well it's been passed around for generations let George do it well my dad unfortunately was known to enjoy his cup of tea after coming home from work and he could sit on the screen porch on a hot summer day enjoying his cup of tea and mom was just so irritated because the lawn needed to be mowed and she'd go out and fire up the mower and do it herself and so let George do it was it still brings a smile to my brothers and I as we think about those days gone by we each have our responsibility there is the work that can be done and there is then this order that the assembly is marked by service dear brother Norman Crawford was the one that I first heard introduced that thought to first Timothy chapter 3 verse 15 many years ago he's just suggested simply behavior in the house of God it's the behavior of priests it's the work of priests so having said that who serves somebody says well the priests serve I want to just you to come with me and we're going to follow relative to this question of age and responsibility maturity and all that I want to go back and look at the pattern that is introduced to us first in numbers of the priests that are called to serve so we'll start in Numbers chapter 4 Numbers chapter 4 and in this chapter you have Moses by the designs of God outlining the sons of Levi and responsibilities that will be undertaken but in verse 3 just for example we read numbers 4 and 3 from 30 years old and upward even until 50 years old all that enter into the host to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation chapter 8 place verse 23 chapter 8 and 23 the Lord spake unto Moses saying this is that belongeth under the Levites from 20 and 5 years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation and from the age of 50 years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof and shall serve no more but shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation to keep the charge and shall do no service thus shalt thou do under the Levites touching their charge now come with me to first Chronicles 23 first Chronicles 23 so we fast forward to the days of David who is near last days first Chronicles 23 and verse 3 says well verse 2 he gathered together all the princes of Israel with the priests and the Levites verse 3 now the Levites were numbered from the age of 30 years and upward then down to verse 24 these were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers even the chief of the fathers as they were counted by number of names by their poles that did the work of the service of the house of the Lord from the age of 20 years and upward for David said the Lord God of Israel have given rest unto his people that they may be well in Jerusalem forever and also under the Levites they shall no more carry the tabernacle nor any vessels of it for the service thereof for by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from 20 years old and above now we're going over into the New Testament Luke chapter 1 now we'll return and just make a brief comment or two on those portions that we have read but in Luke chapter 1 verse 5 Luke 1 and 5 there was in the days of Herod the king of Judea a certain priest named Zacharias then at verse 8 and it came to pass that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course according to the custom of the priest's office his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord and verse 18 the angel has appeared to speak to him about the prospect of a child and Zacharias said unto the angel whereby shall I know this for I am an old man and my wife well stricken in years and if we had read it verse 7 it tells us they both were well stricken in years I don't think there's anybody here today that at age 50 would be prepared to take that label I don't what has happened we have read these several references to show that there has been to use for one of another word an evolution there has been a change in how God defined the qualified individuals for his work so when we commence back in the book of Numbers we had the age 30 being the starting point and there was a culmination point there was termination date age 50 and then we had read reference to 25 year olds being introduced to the picture but they were like waiters they were to assist that 30 to 50 year group and then in the day of David in his later days there was a revision and it was backed up from 30 not to the 25 year old if you would apprenticeship place but to 20 years old and as well there seems to be no as unless I've missed it no termination age brought forward by David and unless you think perhaps that David was acting on his own and not under the guidance of being affirmed by the Lord in that thing in the days of Ezra the age 20 qualification was reintroduced there when Jerusalem in the temple were being reinstituted so 20 seemed to have been an appropriate age different writers will point out but even the reference in 1st Chronicles 23 shows us that that change from even 25 but from 30 particularly back to 20 was based on the fact that they were no longer going to have to do the physical work of carrying the tabernacle in the wilderness as they wandered now you dear young man here today don't get all in the huff over this but 1819 you aren't what you're going to be when you're 30 that was quite real you're still growing there's still formation they're still developed maturity of the skeletal system and you and your frame so if you think this is a slam at you at 18 or 19 it's not you still going to do that was the physical requirements that they saw in that day I know when I was 20 years old I had a severe break of my leg and the surgeon that did the repair work and put a plate and he says you know you may need to get that out because you could still be growing and I thought I was tall enough at that point but apparently after a few years I did have to have pulled out and I was up into my 20s I was still growing but David by God's design brought it back to 20 because the heavy burden part was no longer an issue they were stationary in Jerusalem so all that to paint a picture yes there is a measure of maturity that is required Paul as he speaks in first Timothy when we go back to it earlier in that same chapter in chapter 3 when he's talking about the qualification characteristics of an overseer he's not to be a novice not one newly planted so maturity is definitely an issue to be an elder is not just an elder in years though it's an elder not naturally but spiritually so there's a distinction still being made but not a novice but general but genuinely an elder some form of maturity the example of Zacharias suggests to me there's no retirement well stricken in years even prepared to refer to himself as an old man I have a son that likes to label me that way but I'm not quite prepared yet to take that label but be that as it may Zacharias's words and would suggest to us that he is quite old quite old but not retired every generation then is represented in this history if you would that we've looked at of the priests and the qualifying ages that are identified and those things are still applicable today the not a novice label not newly planted young brethren you are very much needed in the assembly but please recognize that that generation going before you is still a generation to be respected you can't just bypass them but having said that you'll notice what we looked at there in numbers chapter 8 at the last when that age 50 had been a had the person that arrived at that they were being drawn out of the hard service but they were still there laboring with those of the qualifying years those are in the quote middle age and I don't do my best to hang on to that label we can't dismiss those that have gone before us so how do I speak to those that are before me there is a great need as we move about of seeing succeeding generations brought into responsibility in a timely way it is a sad experience when it is observed that an oversight suddenly finds a big gap in it because the next generation was not prepared to take that responsibility and this is the classic two-sided coin young brethren that are here today young men that are here today you're here yes because not just because you're looking for a spouse if you are this good I found my wife at a conference that's a good deal but listen you're here today to learn the Word of God to hear the truth of God start working at it my dear father-in-law who is very evidently over the last four or five months being drawn aside from his years of service and very effective service was a man that said years ago something that deeply affected me did your Bible readings on Wednesday night Tuesday night make an appointment it's devoted preparation for that Bible reading give yourself a whole evening study for that Bible reading come prepared for it both to ask and to submit help in that Bible study and then it grows from there I don't know how many of the assemblies here practice it today and I'm not up here I'm just speaking from experience one of the biggest detriments I have felt since I was commended to the Lord's work and even just to visit an assembly for the Lord's Day and then be encouraged to take the ministry meeting quote-unquote at that time and have a word for the Saints that would last 30 to 45 minutes that was the biggest shortcoming had at that point my experience why is the assembly where my formative years were spent did not have a teaching meeting other than a Bible reading can I encourage assemblies here to develop your young men in the exercise of teaching the Word of God other than 10 and 15 minutes at the close of the breaking of bread because when the time comes that there is a greater need it hasn't been developed and it could be a very very difficult struggle a teaching meeting encouraged to take part whether it's left as an open platform or whether it's a scheduled thing encourage young men that are showing gift so what we've been talking about here is a general all people all generations all ages need to be working but that's not to dismiss the fact that there's obvious gift that has been given Ephesians chapter 4 talks about not the gifts necessarily given to the individuals but the individuals who God has gifted being given to his people to build them up to strengthen them yes there's the evangelist but there's the teacher pastor as well and those gifts need to be established and developed so young men your your responsibility is ours in the book studying the Word of God generations that are going before making a pathway for them to develop in it and start to move responsibility from one generation to the next brother Steers knows the man who most particularly in my former home assembly had the most influence in pushing me down the road not to get rid of me to develop and to progress brother Andy Akin I have fond memories of that man William Avery knows him very well too it hadn't been for that man opportunity would have been much much less than ever it was but when that man died there was still a great load and when the transition takes place dear brethren we want our next generation to be ready to take the weight so yes it's work who does the work while we've reviewed the transition of generations under the guise of the priests as they are called and now just quickly how long occupy till I come till I come keep working keep working keep working look for the avenues of developing use in working with children gospel work in the streets seed sowers it's been a great place for people to get a grip of what it means to try and win souls for Christ whatever Avenue there is encourage them to go ahead to guide them as well that generation will respect the generation that's before on that generation will use them for the good of that local assembly some of you here probably taking courses in economics there's something that's called the Pareto principle he was an Italian mr. Pareto was an Italian special expert and economics it's called the 80-20 rule in general it's first introduced to me by a man young man that was in sales and he had just come from a seminar and he thought he was you know divulging to me some great strange phenomena he said 80% of the income of salesmen is earned by 20% of the salesman he says isn't that phenomenal it sounds pretty strange but it seems to be a natural law when I was in industry we we did value analysis of the product that we were manufacturing and much to my surprise when you went through the parts list of that finished product just about came right down to it 20% of the components had 80% of the cost of that unit in it maybe that's a natural law but should it be true about the people of God in God's house behavior in the house 20% of the Saints doing 80% of the work and that's every Avenue we're talking about yes the gifted ones do particular work but there's all kinds of things in the assembly to be done and it shouldn't be left up just to a few young brother and young sisters step up but step up following those that are before you and us that are older and much older be ready to give them a place so that when we are at the Lord hasn't yet come gone it won't be like a bombshell going off in their midst when they have to pick up