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You're listening to Key Life 
Fellowships Pulpit ministry 

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podcast. 
We thank you for tuning in as we

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learn from God's Word together. 
If you would like more 

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information regarding Key Life 
or to speak with one of our 

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pastors, please visit us at 
keylifefellow-ship.com. 

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Amen. 
At the end of the day, isn't it 

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true that all we truly have is 
Christ, that only or that not 

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only rings true at the end of 
the day, that's at the beginning

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of the day and all throughout 
the day all we have is Christ. 

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You have your Bibles. 
If you would turn to First 

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Timothy chapter 3 as we continue
our look at the pastoral 

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epistles as we. 
Continue looking at biblical 

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ministers and biblical ministry 
so in our lesson. 

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Today we are going to move after
two weeks of looking at the 

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specific role of the overseer, 
the Bishop, those who shepherd 

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God's people in leadership and 
administration, teaching. 

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We're going to move to another 
role and another office in the 

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church, which has. 
Great responsibility, and that 

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is the role of the Deacon as we 
look at verses 8 through 13 here

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in chapter 3. 
Now the word Deacon in the Greek

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diaconos it means simply 
servant, one who waits tables or

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the waiter of tables. 
It speaks of those who, by their

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example of servitude and 
servanthood, lead others to 

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serve the Lord by their example.
And I say that, and I begin with

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that because there's often 
confusion and complication when 

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we get to talking about the. 
Roles and the function of the 

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Deacon in the New Testament 
church. 

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I want us to simplify that today
because Scripture simplifies it.

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Man has complicated it, and they
had complicated it because they 

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haven't properly defined what a 
Deacon, really. 

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Is. 
And I think if we go back to the

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meaning of the word diakonos, 
this person is a servant and a 

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servant leader. 
This person, as we will learn, 

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is the one who uses their 
specific giftedness, not in 

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speaking from the pulpit or 
teaching from the podium or 

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leading as one of the elders. 
But this person uses their 

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spiritual giftedness to serve 
the body of Christ, to serve 

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them wholeheartedly, to be able 
to do those things that the 

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pastors and the elders of the 
church that if they had to do 

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those things would not be free 
to do the things that they are 

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gifted in doing. 
Paul says this in Romans chapter

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12 verse six. 
He says we have different gifts 

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according to the grace. 
Given us if a man's gift is 

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prophesying. 
Preaching, he says, let him use 

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it in proportion to his faith. 
If it is serving, let him serve.

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If it is teaching, let him 
teach. 

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If it is encouraging, let him 
encourage. 

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If it is contributing to the 
needs of others, let him give 

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generously. 
If it is leadership, let him 

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govern diligently. 
If it is showing mercy, let him 

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do it cheerfully. 
Why do I read Romans chapter 12 

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to begin talking about the role 
and the function of a Deacon? 

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I read this because Paul is 
explicitly saying here that 

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there are many functions and 
many roles and many individual 

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giftedness in the church and we 
are not all the same. 

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We're not all expected to do the
same thing. 

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It's true, as Christians we're 
all called to serve in a general

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sense. 
But when we talk about Deacon, 

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the very title means that they 
are to serve in a more than 

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general sense. 
They are to serve as their 

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ministry. 
They are to be servant leaders, 

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serving in a greater capacity 
than just the congregant who is 

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called to serve one another. 
This is what the Deacon is by a 

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short, brief definition, one who
is called to serve God in a 

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greater capacity than that of 
just simply being called to 

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serve as a Christian. 
They are called to a specific 

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office and a specific duty to 
which we will look at that 

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office and we will look at that 
duty today. 

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First Timothy chapter 3, verse 
8, Read it with me. 

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It says deacons likewise are to 
be men worthy of respect. 

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He says likewise because he's 
just taught us that the overseer

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is to be a person of that is 
respected who is above reproach.

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And he says. 
Likewise, in the same manner, 

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deacons are to be men worthy of 
respect, sincere, not indulging 

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in much wine, not pursuing 
dishonest gain. 

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They must keep hold of the deep 
truths of the faith with a clear

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conscience. 
They must. 

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First be tested, and then, if 
there is nothing against them, 

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let them serve as deacons in the
same way their wives are to be 

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women worthy of respect, not 
malicious talkers, but temperate

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and trustworthy in everything. 
A Deacon must be the husband of 

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but one wife, and must manage 
his children and his household 

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well. 
He goes on in 13 and he says 

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those who have served well gain 
an excellent standing and great 

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assurance in their faith. 
In Christ Jesus, let's pray 

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together. 
Father, we thank you for this 

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today. 
We thank you for your word. 

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We thank you that it is true and
that it is clear. 

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We ask today that the clear 
teachings of Scripture be 

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honored, but not only that the 
clear teachings of Scripture be 

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honored, but those who are being
obedient, living their lives as 

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servants, as deacons in this 
body, what may they be honored 

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and may they be respected for 
their service unto You as You 

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have called us to honor and to 
respect those who serve and who 

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serve well. 
God, we pray as we look at Your 

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word today that all the truths 
that you desire for us to see, 

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that they would be seen, that 
you would use this lesson as you

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see fit in our lives. 
Whether to cause us to encourage

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and honor those servants among 
us, or perhaps to call some of 

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us even to be one of those 
servants. 

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God, we pray that whatever we do
would be honoring to you. 

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And I pray for the lost soul who
is here today, Lord, that you, 

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as only you could do, would 
grace them with mercy and 

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forgiveness in Christ, as you 
turn their wicked hearts from 

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their sin and turn them unto 
yourself for salvation today. 

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God, may you be glorified in 
everything that is done and 

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everything that is said. 
We pray and we ask all these 

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things in Christ's name, Amen. 
Many of you know that I like to 

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do this. 
When we come to a passage of 

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Scripture where there is an 
interpretive challenge, I like 

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to jump right on that 
immediately and, and I want to 

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do that with this passage 
because. 

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This has not been without 
challenge throughout the ages, 

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especially when we get to verse 
11. 

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When we get to verse 11 here, 
we're going to talk about that 

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briefly, then we're going to 
look at everything in its 

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entirety. 
But when we get to verse 11. 

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Some of your Bibles say like 
minded in the same way that her 

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wives are to be women worthy of 
respect, not malicious talkers, 

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but temperate and trustworthy in
everything. 

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Why I say that this has some 
interpretive challenge because 

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some of your English? 
Bibles may just say women in the

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same way or in like manner the 
women are too. 

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And then he gives us some 
instructions. 

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Now the reason for that is this.
The original does not contain 

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the term their wives. 
It is only by assumption that 

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the translators have come to the
conclusion that he's talking 

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about the wives of the deacons, 
and rightfully so. 

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Shouldn't the? 
Wives of the deacons actually be

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women of respect, serving 
alongside of their husband and 

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in many, many times and 
capacity. 

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However, that's not necessarily 
the entirety of it. 

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One would say looking at this 
talking about the wives of 

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deacons, well there are others 
and I don't agree with. 

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This at all would say that was 
just talking about women in 

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general. 
I don't think that at all. 

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There was no reason. 
It gives no evidence here that 

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this is a great time to throw in
just some instructions about 

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random women in the church. 
I don't think that fits the bill

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at all. 
So you can throw that theory 

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out, but we get to the third 
aspect of this and what we see. 

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Is the fact that there could be 
and that Paul could be talking 

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about women deacons Now I know, 
gasp, women deacons. 

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Well, pastor, in looking at the 
overseers, you said that a woman

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is not to teach her to have 
authority over a man. 

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That is correct. 
The Deacon would not violate 

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that role because a Deacon is 
not a position of authority. 

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It is a position of servanthood.
It is a position of servitude. 

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And so it's not a position of 
governing authority. 

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It never has been. 
And if it's properly evaluated, 

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it never will be. 
And So what I tend to do is I 

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tend to learn more toward the 
fact that he is talking about 

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those women who serve in the 
role of Deacon, which we know. 

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I hope by this point you've 
already heard the Greek meaning 

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it means servant, that there 
were and could be female deacons

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in the church. 
We would refer to them as a 

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deaconess. 
In fact, when we look at a woman

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named Phoebe in Romans chapter 
16, Paul refers to her as a 

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deaconess, as a woman actually 
fulfilling. 

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Because I've never met a man 
named Phoebe. 

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Neither will you actually 
fulfilling the role of a servant

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leader in the church. 
Now, that servant leader is not 

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going to primarily have, if they
have a role at all in teaching 

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in an environment where they 
would teach or have authority 

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over men, they're not going to 
serve in a role of ruling as an 

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elder where they would have 
authority over the congregation.

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And so I see that we could 
definitely see that there is 

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room for the women deacons. 
Now, none of you know Phoebe, do

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you? 
No, you've never met her. 

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I've never met her. 
I'm sure she's a nice lady. 

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However, many of you do know 
this will hit close to home and 

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she's going to kill me for this.
And I really don't care. 

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Many of you do know Don. 
Carpenter. 

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And Don Carpenter, what she does
is she serves the Lord and she 

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serves his body by being a 
servant leader, a Phoebe in this

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church. 
And what does she do? 

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Well, she actually, by her 
service, leads other people in 

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service in our preschool 
ministry. 

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She is not an overseer in this 
church. 

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She's not a leader in this 
church. 

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She never will be a pastor in 
this church. 

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She will never teach nor have 
authority over a man, but she 

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serves and is an example of 
service unto the Lord. 

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Now because of her service, all 
of those who serve alongside of 

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her are then encouraged to be 
servants all the more. 

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Now I know it bothers some of 
you because you're going to 

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immediately do this. 
Why would he highlight just one 

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person if that's your and not 
me? 

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If that's your attitude, you're 
not a candidate for being a 

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Deacon, male or female. 
Warm blooded or cold blooded, 

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what you've just revealed as 
you've revealed the opposite of 

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the heart of a Deacon. 
A Deacon serves without desiring

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any glory at all. 
I'm not giving her glory here 

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today. 
I'm giving glory to Christ. 

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I am honoring her as scripture 
has told me to honor those who 

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are worthy of honor. 
I'll go ahead and say this. 

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You might not realize this. 
But the day that Don Carpenter 

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stops being a servant leader in 
our preschool ministry, the 

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nursery collapses. 
Why? 

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Because what you don't see is 
behind the scenes, all of her 

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effort, all of her prayers, all 
of her working alongside of the 

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pastors, those overseers in this
church to make sure that 

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everything goes according to 
plan down there so that you have

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everything that you need. 
She's an example of in, in real 

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time, someone who would be a 
servant and a servant leader who

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has that right heart. 
So I think that interpretive 

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challenge has been taken away. 
If we would say this, OK, maybe 

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I can see that they're talking 
about the wives of the Deacon. 

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OK, well, then I have to ask 
this question. 

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How come they didn't say 
anything about the wives of the 

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overseers when they were talking
about the requirements for the 

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overseer? 
And why would they talk about 

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the role of a wife and then go 
back into talking about the 

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Deacon as we saw this text go? 
And so me, the plain and simple 

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text says this also the female 
deacons, they have some 

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responsibilities alongside of 
these other things that they 

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need to be aware of. 
And we'll look at that in detail

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in a moment, but just to prepare
you for what we're about to see 

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so that we can understand it. 
So let's start with the 

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definition of Deacon. 
I've already given you the brief

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and the simple definition of 
Deacon, and I hope that we can 

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keep it as simple as possible. 
Again, I think the church has 

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complicated this to a degree 
that they never needed to 

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complicate it to. 
As we're going to see, the 

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office of Deacon began from a 
simple need. 

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It is a simple office and it is 
simply serving the Lord and 

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leading others to do the same. 
So we've seen the word Deacon. 

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We have seen that it means. 
A servant, a waiter of tables 

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now, so that we can kind of hone
in on that a little bit so that 

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you can have a little more 
insight and what a Deacon is. 

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Because as you know, there's 
lots of confusion about this, 

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right? 
You grew up in a Baptist Church 

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where the deacons ran 
everything. 

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They told the pastor what pants 
he needed to wear. 

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And when he didn't wear the 
pants they told him to wear, 

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they ran him out of town. 
That's the job of the Deacon. 

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That is not the job of the 
Deacon. 

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So before we talk about exactly 
what a Deacon is, let's talk 

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about what they're not. 
Can we do that so that we have 

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an understanding of what they're
not? 

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They're not the same as an 
overseer. 

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If they were the same as an 
overseer, he would have just in,

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in what we just looked at for 
two weeks in a row said 

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overseers and deacons. 
He didn't do that. 

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He split them up, let you know 
that they're two different 

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offices. 
He's not an overseer. 

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He he does not administer 
anything in the church. 

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He's a servant, just as his name
says that he is. 

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He's not a position of any kind 
of superintendents or governance

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in the church. 
He never has been, never should 

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00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:54,240
be. 
They're not a decision making 

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board or governing body. 
How many of you saw that in your

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church when you were growing up?
The problem with that is some of

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those people weren't gifted in 
the area of leadership. 

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Yes, they may have been gifted 
servants. 

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Well, someone's gifted to serve.
Point them towards service. 

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But if they're gifted to speak 
and they're gifted to lead you 

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point them to do those things. 
They're very clear in Scripture 

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that there are gifts of service,
right? 

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00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:24,320
And they're. 
Speaking gifts in the church, 

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00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:29,120
the Deacon would fall into those
service gifts, not those who 

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would make decisions, not those 
who would teach classes or stand

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in the pulpit and preach. 
This is reserved for the elders 

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and the bishops, the pastors, 
the teachers in the church. 

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They're not spiritual shepherds.
They're not teachers of the 

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Word. 
That again, is reserved for the 

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pastors and the teachers here in
this congregation and in all 

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congregations. 
The Puritan, William Cartwright,

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he said this, the deacons are 
appointed not to preach the 

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00:16:54,360 --> 00:17:00,080
Word, but to take care of the 
poor, that the ministry may not 

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be distracted from prayer and 
the Word. 

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00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:05,119
We're going to see in a moment 
when we get to Acts chapter 6, 

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which I believe is the birth of 
the modern Deacon. 

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When we get there, we're going 
to see that the whole reason for

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the Deacon was so that those 
with speaking gifts and 

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administrative gifts in the 
church, the the apostles at that

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00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:22,319
time who were establishing the 
church, could devote themselves 

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00:17:22,319 --> 00:17:25,760
to the study of the Word and to 
prayer. 

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00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:27,960
We're going to see that more 
clearly when we get there. 

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So we kind of have an. 
Idea of what the Deacon is not. 

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00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:36,080
Now, how many of you would say 
I've been confused about that in

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my church life because I grew up
in a church where the deacons 

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were everything that you said 
they were not. 

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00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:43,440
And we've all seen that, haven't
we? 

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00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:44,960
Especially if you grew up in a 
Baptist Church. 

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00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:48,160
For some reason, the Baptist 
forgot to read the word elder 

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00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:54,680
and Bishop, and they made boards
out of these men called deacons.

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00:17:55,560 --> 00:18:00,080
And if someone is not really 
prepared to be a Deacon, it's 

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00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:02,840
going to go to their head and 
it's going to become a power 

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00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:05,400
struggle and it's going to 
become about control. 

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00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,840
Unfortunately, we've seen that. 
So what is a Deacon? 

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00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,560
Well, exactly what the Bible 
declares a Deacon is. 

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00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:14,080
I don't know how to say it any 
other way. 

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They are servants, the Aconauts,
those who operate in the church 

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in a special serving capacity. 
This is a greater capacity than 

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00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:29,240
just the fact that we are all 
called to serve one another, are

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00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:31,520
we not? 
Yes, we're all called to serve 

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00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:33,760
one another in love. 
Yes, we are every single 

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00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:38,040
believer in this room. 
They are to be leaders in this. 

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00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:42,520
They are the examples that we 
look to of how service should be

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00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:47,480
and how it should look. 
They are to serve alongside of 

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00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:50,040
the church leaders, those 
overseers that we have spent 

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00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:51,880
time looking at the past few 
weeks. 

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00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:56,920
They're to serve alongside of 
those overseers, to serve the 

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00:18:56,920 --> 00:19:04,080
needs of the people in whatever 
manner is needed that the elders

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00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:06,680
otherwise could not take care 
of. 

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00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:12,880
They're used to fulfill ministry
duties that, if left to the 

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00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:16,400
pastor, would never be 
fulfilled. 

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00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:21,480
Unfortunately, in many churches,
I'm thankful not here. 

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00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:26,880
But in many churches, the 
deacons aren't doing their role.

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00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:31,080
And so the pastor is left with 
the responsibility of fulfilling

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00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:33,240
the role of the deacons. 
And he's so busy trying to 

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00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:36,680
fulfill the role of the deacons 
that he can't devote himself to 

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00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:40,600
the Word and to prayer. 
And now the Church becomes 

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00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:45,720
spiritually. 
Infantile. 

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00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:49,480
Weak. 
Spiritually malnourished. 

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00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:52,080
Why? 
Because the pastor's role is to 

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00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:55,760
lead in the study of the Word of
God, and the deacon's role is to

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00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:58,680
lead in areas of service so that
the pastor can do that. 

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00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:01,280
Isn't that beautiful? 
I love looking at these things 

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00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:04,720
and I noticed some of you. 
This can be mundane and boring, 

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00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:09,680
but to me this is exciting. 
Because I have seen churches 

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00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:12,840
that didn't function in churches
that were divided and so much 

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00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:16,240
disharmony in the church. 
And you know what I think it all

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00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:19,840
boils down to? 
Many times they don't define the

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00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:22,200
roles. 
Biblically, that ought to be 

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00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:24,880
fulfilled by the different 
offices in the church. 

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00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:29,200
So we must understand what a 
Deacon is. 

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00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:37,080
He's a servant, willing servant.
He's not afraid to lead by his 

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00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:42,480
acts of service and his 
leadership in whatever ever area

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00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:46,720
he or she serves in. 
So we can do it like this so 

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00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:50,160
that you understand it, what the
elders and pastors are to our 

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00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:52,320
spiritual needs. 
Would you say that my job is 

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00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:54,960
first and foremost to meet your 
spiritual needs, to feed you 

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00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:58,000
with the Word of God? 
That is my job. 

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00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:10,800
The Deacon his job is to meet 
our tangible and our physical 

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00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:15,520
needs, serving those in need 
within the body of Christ. 

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00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:19,360
Watch this again going back and 
using the reference of dawn. 

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00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:23,920
Don't worry chance will make 
Chase will make sure that she 

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00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:29,560
stays humble but going back to 
her. 

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00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:33,200
She is leading in service in the
area of our preschool ministry 

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00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:36,480
now. 
Right now, there are tangible 

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00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:39,520
and physical acts of service 
that are going on right down 

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00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:42,280
that hallway. 
Some of you moms are enjoying 

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00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:46,080
being fed the Word of God, being
nourished spiritually while 

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00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:49,800
someone is meeting the tangible 
needs of your children. 

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00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:53,360
Right right now, someone is 
feeding your child. 

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00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:58,880
Or right now there is someone 
who is changing a nasty, filthy,

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00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:04,400
poopy diaper that your child 
made that is tangible, that is 

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00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:07,880
real, that is physical. 
I'll go ahead and say that's not

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00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:15,480
my job, however. 
I've seen Dawn, on her own time 

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00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:18,960
of her own free will, come up 
and change dirty, nasty, poopy 

353
00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:22,560
diapers and serve the families 
of this church by taking care of

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00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:24,800
the physical and tangible needs 
of her children. 

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00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:28,520
Now, what I have also seen is 
other people who have followed 

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00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:31,560
her leadership while she is in 
here and her soul is being fed 

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00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:34,800
spiritually now so that she can 
do what she's called to do. 

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00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:39,520
They are now down the hall. 
Mimicking her leadership. 

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00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:43,160
That's how we have a culture of 
service in the church. 

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00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:48,200
When deacons do what deacons do,
servants are made, servants are 

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00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:50,160
born. 
Then we can actually see what it

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00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:52,920
means to serve one another in 
love. 

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00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:58,440
So that's what a Deacon is. 
So Simply put, so you can 

364
00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:02,960
catalog this in your mind, 
Elders, pastors, they're to 

365
00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:09,760
shepherd the church spiritually.
The Deacon is to serve the 

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00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:15,080
church practically. 
Let's not mess this up any 

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00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:19,320
longer in the church again, 
because when we get it right, it

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00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:22,240
is a beautiful thing. 
You know, one thing I never 

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00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:25,600
worry about, I never worry 
about. 

370
00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:27,920
Is everything going to be taken 
care of in the nursery? 

371
00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:31,360
You know why? 
It's not my job. 

372
00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:34,400
But you know what else I have 
confidence in? 

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00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:36,880
Everything's going to get taken 
care of. 

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00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:39,440
You know what else I don't worry
about? 

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00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:46,040
I don't worry about when I pull 
up on a Sunday morning if all 

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00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:47,600
the. 
Grass in the landscape is going 

377
00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:48,480
to be taken care of. 
I. 

378
00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:49,720
Hadn't thought about that all 
week. 

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00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:51,840
You know why? 
Because I've been studying the 

380
00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:53,600
word of God. 
I've been studying the office of

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00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:55,720
Deacon. 
This church allows me to do 

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00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:58,480
that, which I'm called to do. 
And you know what, When I pull 

383
00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:01,840
up, the deacons have already 
taken care of all the grounds. 

384
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:03,360
And I said, man, it sure looks 
nice. 

385
00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:05,160
You know what we have people, 
they ask, is this, who takes 

386
00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:08,320
care of your, your facilities? 
Who takes care of your ground 

387
00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:10,480
maintenance? 
Our people. 

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00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:12,480
And you know why? 
Because there are deacons who 

389
00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:14,760
lead those ministries as 
examples, and then those other 

390
00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:18,280
people get right in and they 
actually serve because they have

391
00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:22,120
been taught how to serve well, 
serving the church in a 

392
00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:24,720
practical sense. 
So people ask, do you have 

393
00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:25,720
deacons here? 
Yes, we do. 

394
00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:27,120
Do we call them deacons? 
No, we don't. 

395
00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:30,720
It's a decision that our elders 
have made on multiple occasions.

396
00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:32,160
We've talked about it. 
Do we recognize them? 

397
00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:33,280
No. 
Why would we recognize them? 

398
00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:35,240
They don't want to be recognized
anyway. 

399
00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:40,400
Let the servants serve and they 
serve well and they continue to 

400
00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:44,280
do all that is required of them.
So yes, we do have deacons. 

401
00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:47,080
We have servants in the church 
and I think all of you would 

402
00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:49,960
agree you've seen them in action
in various different ways, 

403
00:24:50,120 --> 00:24:52,920
whether that is as I've already 
mentioned, the children's 

404
00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:55,880
ministry, the pre preschool 
ministry, the cleaning teams, 

405
00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:57,320
right? 
If you went into a restroom here

406
00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:01,200
today, someone served you by 
making sure that that restroom 

407
00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:03,240
was clean. 
And you know how they did that 

408
00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,720
because someone who is a servant
is in leadership over that 

409
00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:08,640
ministry. 
As an example for them that 

410
00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:13,120
would we properly understood as 
a Deacon being that example, our

411
00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:15,080
mowing teams. 
How about spec OPS? 

412
00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,120
Right? 
I know all of you think that 

413
00:25:17,120 --> 00:25:19,720
there's this magic fairy who 
comes before all of our events 

414
00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:22,000
and sets up tables and chairs 
and then takes them down when 

415
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:23,320
it's over and you just can't see
them. 

416
00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:24,760
There are no magic. 
Fairies. 

417
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:30,360
These are servants of God. 
Who don't mind getting dirty for

418
00:25:30,360 --> 00:25:31,560
the Lord? 
Why? 

419
00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:34,400
Because whoever is in charge of 
that ministry has shown them and

420
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:37,160
taught them we don't mind 
getting dirty for the Lord. 

421
00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:40,040
We will serve Him. 
We will be the waiters of 

422
00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:42,400
tables. 
So yes, we do have them. 

423
00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:45,640
We do see them. 
We see them as we walk in the 

424
00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:51,400
door and enjoy a nice hot cup of
coffee in the foyer. 

425
00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:57,960
Because no one would bring one 
of those in here, would you? 

426
00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:01,600
Especially with all the signage 
that says please don't. 

427
00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:10,160
However, when you get a cup of 
coffee in the morning and you've

428
00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:12,320
been served in that way, that's 
pretty good service, isn't it? 

429
00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:19,360
It's because someone was willing
to do the work of service and 

430
00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:21,280
getting here early, preparing 
those things. 

431
00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:24,640
They actually stay late and 
clean up after all of you make 

432
00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:27,080
message. 
And we're thankful for those who

433
00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:30,320
serve in a hospitality sense, 
the greeters at the door with a 

434
00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:33,360
smile on their face, those who 
cook. 

435
00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:37,200
For our students on Wednesday 
night, I'm amazed by their 

436
00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:41,200
willingness to serve your kids 
right, their tangible needs on a

437
00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:42,520
Wednesday night. 
Aren't you thankful that when 

438
00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:44,840
you get home from Reach Group, 
you don't have to feed your 

439
00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:46,400
kids? 
Why? 

440
00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:49,960
Because there are those people 
in our church who lead by their 

441
00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:54,000
example in serving your kids 
every single week. 

442
00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:58,280
Taking care of them at no cost 
to you, meeting those tangible 

443
00:26:58,280 --> 00:26:59,680
and physical needs that they 
have. 

444
00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:01,240
Sunday nights. 
If you've never been up here on 

445
00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:04,280
a Sunday night and seen the cook
team that works in our student 

446
00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:07,480
ministry, those guys, some of 
you and our fundraisers, you 

447
00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:10,240
have experienced that. 
Those guys get paid $0.00 and 

448
00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:13,440
zero cents for what they do. 
They don't seek any glory, they 

449
00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:15,240
don't seek any fame, they don't 
seek any notoriety. 

450
00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:18,280
They just want to be used by 
God, That's it. 

451
00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:23,280
So we choose not to use the term
Deacon because it is confusing 

452
00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:25,520
in the English language. 
In our modern culture, we just 

453
00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:28,040
use the word servant because we 
all know what that means, don't 

454
00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:31,000
we? 
And so that's what the Deacon 

455
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:31,760
is. 
He's a servant. 

456
00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:33,720
Hopefully that helps you 
understand the Deacon a little 

457
00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:37,080
bit more as we go through this. 
Understanding what he is, 

458
00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:40,520
understanding what he's not. 
Now let's look a little closer 

459
00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,600
and examine this office a little
more in detail. 

460
00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:45,280
Let's look at the origin of the 
Deacon. 

461
00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:48,280
Where did this begin? 
Now, many of you Bibles and 

462
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:50,960
scholars would quickly jump up 
and say it began in Acts chapter

463
00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:53,120
6, and I think you're right to a
degree, though others would 

464
00:27:53,120 --> 00:27:56,880
argue with that. 
I think it started long before 

465
00:27:56,880 --> 00:28:00,200
this. 
How many of you understand that 

466
00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:06,920
the elder that we see in the New
Testament, that position was 

467
00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:10,720
also a position in the Old 
Testament. 

468
00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:14,200
There were elders among God's 
people who led them. 

469
00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:19,360
Moses would consult the elders, 
Joshua would consult the elders.

470
00:28:19,360 --> 00:28:22,960
They were an elder group of 
mature men leading God's people.

471
00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:27,240
Now, though we don't see the 
term Deacon in the Old 

472
00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:30,080
Testament, you can go back to 
temple worship, to Tabernacle 

473
00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:34,440
worship prior to that, and you 
can see this, there were two 

474
00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:39,880
people who did the work in the 
temple, the priests who would 

475
00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:42,400
administer the sacrifice. 
Spiritual needs. 

476
00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:45,680
How many of you? 
Say I need to be atoned for. 

477
00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:48,480
Yeah, they would, and thankfully
Christ has done that in his 

478
00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:51,560
service to us. 
The the priest would actually 

479
00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:55,160
administer the sacrificial side 
of the temple. 

480
00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:59,360
Now alongside of them were the 
Levites. 

481
00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:02,680
The priest stemming from the 
line of Aaron because it was 

482
00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:05,840
required by the law. 
The Levites stemming from the 

483
00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:07,960
line of Levi. 
Which, just so you'll know this 

484
00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:10,560
and keep it all clear, all 
priests were Levites, but not 

485
00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:13,560
all Levites were priests. 
Some of them would serve the 

486
00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:18,880
congregation in singing, playing
instruments, but some of them 

487
00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:21,120
they would actually serve in the
Tabernacle. 

488
00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:26,560
In this way, they were 
responsible for cleaning up, 

489
00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:31,840
setting up, and all the things 
that surrounded the sacrifice. 

490
00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:34,360
Can you imagine that? 
Right Knee deep and blood 

491
00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:37,240
sacrificed as the priest 
administered the sacrifice and 

492
00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:39,880
the atonement on the altar. 
And then somebody had to come 

493
00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:42,400
and clean that up. 
And these were the Levites. 

494
00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:45,000
And so when we look at the 
Levite, we see those people that

495
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:50,640
God raised up to do service 
within his people, not afraid to

496
00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:53,200
get dirty, not afraid to do the 
jobs that other people weren't 

497
00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:57,120
willing to do. 
And so we can trace the, the the

498
00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:01,280
Deacon probably all the way back
to the Levi and say this is a 

499
00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:05,640
good example of God using people
who had a servant's heart for 

500
00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:07,600
his purposes. 
Now here's what I don't want you

501
00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:09,240
to do. 
I don't want you to leave here 

502
00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:14,680
today and say that Kurt said a 
Levite and a Deacon are the same

503
00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:16,200
thing. 
That's not what I'm saying. 

504
00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:20,400
I'm giving you a scriptural 
parallel so you can kind of have

505
00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:23,840
an idea of how these things 
carried over into the New 

506
00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:26,640
Testament. 
And so we see the Deacon 

507
00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:31,720
serving, doing the things that 
other people don't want to do. 

508
00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:36,280
Now, in the New Testament, we 
have a little clarity on this. 

509
00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:40,000
This office, this role was born 
out of necessity. 

510
00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:42,840
The role of Deacon was not 
commanded. 

511
00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:46,000
Did you know that? 
It was not commanded like we see

512
00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:49,240
Paul tell Timothy appoint elders
to the churches. 

513
00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:52,360
Never. 
You can look high and low where 

514
00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:56,360
you find that it was ever 
commanded that you had to have 

515
00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:59,640
deacons. 
They were on a need to have 

516
00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:02,400
basis. 
They were born out of necessity,

517
00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:07,760
these special servants who were 
set aside to lead in their 

518
00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:10,320
servitude. 
So the role of Deacon never 

519
00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:13,200
being commanded, but we see it 
born out of necessity in Acts 

520
00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:16,280
Chapter 6. 
Verses one through 6. 

521
00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:20,320
Now I know this many would argue
against this passage being 

522
00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:24,400
called the first deacons. 
Many do, and they don't argue in

523
00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:29,400
a mean or. 
Belligerent sort of way. 

524
00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:34,440
They argue with a pretty good 
argument that the word Deacon is

525
00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:37,080
not used here in Acts chapter 6.
And it's not. 

526
00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:41,680
I will be the first one to tell 
you that, But I draw the 

527
00:31:41,680 --> 00:31:45,200
conclusion that Stephen and 
these men that were set aside 

528
00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:49,680
based on the requirements that 
they had to meet and the role 

529
00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:54,440
that they were assigned to 
fulfill, they were in fact as 

530
00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:56,960
the first deacons. 
And I think the term Deacon 

531
00:31:56,960 --> 00:32:00,360
probably came into play later on
down the way. 

532
00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:05,280
We have nothing in Scripture to 
verify or to deny that. 

533
00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:08,160
And so when we don't have 
something in Scripture to verify

534
00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:11,800
or to deny something, I 
immediately go to church 

535
00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:16,200
tradition and I find a man named
Irenius. 

536
00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:19,280
And Irenius, he said this, he 
said. 

537
00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:22,200
And most of you here or men who 
come on Thursday nights are 

538
00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:25,920
familiar with Iranians. 
Some of you have heard his name 

539
00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:28,520
pronounced Irenaeus. 
Either way is correct. 

540
00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:31,200
But who is he? 
He was one of the Church 

541
00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:34,640
fathers, the early Bishop in the
church, a teacher. 

542
00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:37,120
He says this. 
He said Stephen, who was chosen 

543
00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:40,920
the first Deacon by the 
apostles, was the first martyr. 

544
00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:45,080
So in the 1st century of the 
Church, we have a man confirming

545
00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:50,680
that, yes, what we see in Acts 
chapter 6 is the selection of 

546
00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:53,280
the first deacons. 
And I believe that with all my 

547
00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:57,240
heart, again, because of the 
role that we see defined and the

548
00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:01,800
role that they played in the 
church, it was a role born out 

549
00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:03,960
of necessity. 
What was that necessity? 

550
00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:05,200
Look at Acts chapter 6 and we'll
see. 

551
00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:07,920
This says in verse one, in those
days when the number of 

552
00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:10,440
disciples was increasing, that 
means the church was growing. 

553
00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:13,640
Isn't that a good thing? 
Now, as the church grows, we 

554
00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:15,640
have greater needs, don't we? 
Right. 

555
00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:18,840
A church might be able to, at 
its initial phase, not have any 

556
00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:22,160
deacons at all, but then as it 
grows, it's going to have to add

557
00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:24,400
deacons. 
This is in those days when the 

558
00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:25,800
number of disciples was 
increasing. 

559
00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:29,360
The Hellenistic Jews, that's the
Jews from a the Greek background

560
00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:32,760
among them, complained against 
the Hebraic Jews because their 

561
00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:36,360
widows were being overlooked and
the daily distribution of food, 

562
00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:39,440
the widows who couldn't fend for
themselves were being 

563
00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:41,600
overlooked. 
There was a need. 

564
00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:45,040
That need was tangible and 
physical, right? 

565
00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:48,440
Everybody see that now? 
So the 12 gathered all the 

566
00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:51,160
disciples together and said it 
would not be right for us to 

567
00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:54,240
neglect the ministry of the Word
of God in order to wait on 

568
00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:56,760
tables. 
Now the apostles say, look, we 

569
00:33:56,760 --> 00:33:59,400
can meet their needs, but it 
wouldn't be right for us to meet

570
00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:00,840
their needs. 
There's plenty of us. 

571
00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:03,560
It wouldn't be right for us to 
meet their needs because if we 

572
00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:06,080
as the apostles had to meet the 
needs of the widows in the 

573
00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:10,280
church who were hungry, then we 
couldn't devote ourselves to the

574
00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:13,520
word and to prayer, and then 
spiritually the entire 

575
00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:16,480
congregation would suffer. 
Common sense, isn't it? 

576
00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:20,120
He says in verse three Brothers 
and sisters, choose seven men 

577
00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:22,679
from among you who are known to 
be full of the spirit and 

578
00:34:22,679 --> 00:34:27,400
wisdom, that that sounds like 
the criteria that we see here in

579
00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:32,239
First Timothy chapter 3. 
In a nutshell, right full of the

580
00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:37,239
Spirit and wisdom, we will turn 
this responsibility over to them

581
00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:40,239
and we'll give our attention to 
prayer and the ministry of the 

582
00:34:40,239 --> 00:34:41,760
Word. 
The apostle said our job is to 

583
00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:45,239
pray and to administer the Word.
Their job is now we're going to 

584
00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:47,840
turn it over to them to take 
care of the widows. 

585
00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:49,920
Is that not what Jesus tells us 
to do, to take care of the 

586
00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:51,719
orphans and the widows? 
Of course it is. 

587
00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:55,520
But can one person or a small 
group of people in the church 

588
00:34:55,639 --> 00:34:57,560
take care of all the 
responsibilities that come with 

589
00:34:57,560 --> 00:34:58,680
that? 
Absolutely not. 

590
00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:02,840
Common sense tells us no. 
This office came out of 

591
00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:05,320
necessity. 
It's a common sense thing, he 

592
00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:07,320
says in verse 5. 
This this proposal pleased the 

593
00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:09,720
whole group. 
They chose Stephen, a man full 

594
00:35:09,720 --> 00:35:14,120
of faith and of the Holy Spirit.
Also Philip, Pocarius, Naikaner,

595
00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:19,640
Timon, Perminus and Nicholas 
from Antioch, a convert to 

596
00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:23,200
Judaism, they presented these 
men to the apostles who prayed 

597
00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:25,320
and laid their hands on them. 
Now that's when some of the 

598
00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:28,040
fancy serum that the apostles 
laid their hand on them and 

599
00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:29,640
bippity bobbity Boo, they 
received power. 

600
00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:32,960
The apostles laying of hands is 
simply this to show their 

601
00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:35,480
approval. 
They are saying yes, these are 

602
00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:39,440
men who are full of the Holy 
Spirit and wisdom just as is 

603
00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:43,240
required of them. 
It says in verse 7 and after 

604
00:35:43,240 --> 00:35:46,800
this happened, so the word of 
God spread. 

605
00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:51,800
What does that tell me? 
Had the necessity of the office 

606
00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:55,280
of Deacon not ever come to be, 
the Word of God would have been 

607
00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:57,800
hindered. 
But it says the word of God 

608
00:35:57,800 --> 00:35:59,360
spread. 
Now watch what happens when the 

609
00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:02,600
word of God is allowed to be 
spread forth and to go forth. 

610
00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:06,000
The number of disciples in 
Jerusalem increased rapidly. 

611
00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:09,600
Now let me help all of you 
American church people here 

612
00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:13,480
because you get to see a lot of 
really cool and interesting 

613
00:36:13,480 --> 00:36:16,000
stuff as far as church church 
growth is concerned, right? 

614
00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:19,200
We can grow a church by. 
Offering big screen TV's to the 

615
00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:21,400
1st 10 people who come in the 
door on a Sunday morning. 

616
00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:25,280
But if we go back to the early 
church, here's how they grew. 

617
00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:28,600
Evangelism. 
The preaching of the Word. 

618
00:36:29,240 --> 00:36:31,920
The preaching of the Gospel. 
And as long as the preaching of 

619
00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:35,280
the Word and the preaching of 
the gospel went forth, God added

620
00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:37,880
to their number daily those who 
were being saved. 

621
00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:40,440
That's the church growth model, 
not all this other kooky stuff 

622
00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:46,120
that we see in our culture. 
The men of God who were called 

623
00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:48,120
to preach the Word were free to 
preach the Word. 

624
00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:51,960
The men of God who were called 
to serve freely served. 

625
00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:54,680
And in doing so, the number of 
disciples in Jerusalem increased

626
00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:57,920
rapidly and a large number of 
priests became obedient to the 

627
00:36:57,920 --> 00:37:00,680
faith. 
Jewish priest raised up in 

628
00:37:00,680 --> 00:37:03,880
Judaism their entire lives now 
come to faith in Christ. 

629
00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:08,760
Why did this happen? 
Because the Deacon, the servants

630
00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:14,960
that we see raised up here, did 
what they do so that the pastors

631
00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:16,680
hear. 
The apostles in the church at 

632
00:37:16,680 --> 00:37:21,800
the time establishing the church
could do what they do. 

633
00:37:21,800 --> 00:37:24,400
And that is to bring forth the 
word of truth. 

634
00:37:24,560 --> 00:37:28,400
And the church grew. 
I believe many churches don't 

635
00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:32,320
grow because the roles aren't 
properly defined and properly 

636
00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:37,040
operating in the congregation. 
And so we see the Word of God 

637
00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:37,880
being hindered. 
Why? 

638
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:40,560
Because your pastor can't devote
himself to studying the Word of 

639
00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:41,800
God. 
Therefore, you can't grow 

640
00:37:41,800 --> 00:37:45,400
spiritually because he's doing 
all these tangible and practical

641
00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:47,640
things that the deacons ought to
be doing. 

642
00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:53,720
No, That being said, I am 
thankful that I don't have that 

643
00:37:53,720 --> 00:37:56,240
problem because I can't say that
in every church I've ever served

644
00:37:56,240 --> 00:37:59,400
in. 
Most of the churches that I have

645
00:37:59,400 --> 00:38:03,400
served in, the deacons became 
this self-proclaimed governing 

646
00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:07,080
body who did nothing except for 
make the lives of the staff and 

647
00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:12,640
the pastors miserable as they 
tried to teach the word of God 

648
00:38:12,640 --> 00:38:16,640
but yet couldn't because they 
were hindered by people who were

649
00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:21,640
operating in the wrong manner. 
You say, well I don't know if I 

650
00:38:21,640 --> 00:38:23,000
believe that. 
I don't care if you believe it 

651
00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:23,840
or not. 
I've lived it. 

652
00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:26,840
I know it's true. 
So we see this office out of 

653
00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:30,560
necessity, the word of God has 
to go forth and if the word is 

654
00:38:30,720 --> 00:38:33,080
of God is going to go forth, 
it's going to go forth with men 

655
00:38:33,080 --> 00:38:36,000
who are gifted in the area of 
speaking gifts. 

656
00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:42,400
Those men have to be aided by 
those who are gifted in the area

657
00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:46,960
of service gifts. 
Again, the body different parts 

658
00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:48,760
functioning for the whole which 
is Christ. 

659
00:38:50,280 --> 00:38:52,800
This office born out of 
necessity but based on Jesus 

660
00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:59,000
example. 
I love this John chapter 13 

661
00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:01,080
verses one through 17. 
I won't read it all for you. 

662
00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:03,240
You know what's going on there 
if you've paid any attention to 

663
00:39:03,240 --> 00:39:07,120
any amount of time here. 
Jesus is going to wash his 

664
00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:10,360
disciples feet. 
What a picture. 

665
00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:18,560
This is the King of Kings and 
Lord of Lords, God in flesh, the

666
00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:21,320
greatest prophet. 
Whoever lived or will ever live,

667
00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:28,600
lowers himself and he kneels 
down and takes a basin after 

668
00:39:28,600 --> 00:39:30,920
wrapping a towel around his 
waist so that he could dry their

669
00:39:30,920 --> 00:39:34,120
feet. 
He washes the filthy, nasty, 

670
00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:40,440
dirty feet of his own disciples,
the King of Kings and Lord of 

671
00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:46,200
Lords, giving us an example of 
what it means to serve others. 

672
00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:50,040
And he did this scripture says 
in order to. 

673
00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:56,000
Show them to the full extent of 
His love that He loved them 

674
00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:59,760
enough to serve them. 
Oh, you remember, Peter? 

675
00:39:59,760 --> 00:40:02,200
No, Lord, don't. 
Don't just wash my feet, wash my

676
00:40:02,200 --> 00:40:04,000
whole body. 
Jesus said you're clean, Peter. 

677
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:05,560
I've already, I've taken care of
that. 

678
00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:07,640
I'm about to go and atone for 
you so that you will be 

679
00:40:07,640 --> 00:40:12,040
completely clean, but I'm going 
to continue to serve you. 

680
00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:16,160
By taking the filth off of your 
feet as you walk around in this 

681
00:40:16,160 --> 00:40:18,560
dirty world. 
I'm going to take care of the 

682
00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:22,880
tangible and the practical as I 
serve you, Peter, not just the 

683
00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:25,440
spiritual. 
Aren't you glad that God in 

684
00:40:25,440 --> 00:40:30,400
Christ takes care of not just 
our spiritual, but our tangible 

685
00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:32,920
and our physical? 
How does He do that? 

686
00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:38,760
Servants who emulate. 
Christ, John chapter 13 The 

687
00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:43,160
greatest example of that scene 
in Jesus himself. 

688
00:40:44,360 --> 00:40:52,040
He teaches his disciples that 
the greatest among them is the 

689
00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:57,800
servant, not the one who stands 
in the pulpit and who delivers 

690
00:40:57,800 --> 00:41:02,240
powerful sermons. 
The greatest among them is the 

691
00:41:02,240 --> 00:41:08,080
one who kneels and does the act 
of washing the feet, who kneels 

692
00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:16,160
and cleans the toilet and the 
restroom, who kneels and takes 

693
00:41:16,160 --> 00:41:20,720
care of the little children, who
kneels and takes care of the 

694
00:41:20,720 --> 00:41:24,480
orphan, who kneels and takes 
care of the widow and her knee. 

695
00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:27,680
That's who. 
The greatest is one example 

696
00:41:27,680 --> 00:41:33,040
Jesus has given us. 
And so the Deacon and the actual

697
00:41:33,040 --> 00:41:35,800
role of the Deacon is based on 
Jesus and what he taught. 

698
00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:39,840
You're here today and you say, 
you know what, I feel like I'm 

699
00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:42,240
probably serving as a Deacon in 
the church. 

700
00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:43,920
You know your greatest example 
is Christ. 

701
00:41:46,160 --> 00:41:49,440
Only side of him. 
Follow him, teach others to do 

702
00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:50,840
what Christ did. 
Isn't that what he tells his 

703
00:41:50,840 --> 00:41:54,480
disciples to do? 
He says very truly, I tell you 

704
00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:57,560
there in verse 16, no servant is
greater than his master nor 

705
00:41:57,560 --> 00:41:59,120
messenger greater than the one 
who sent him. 

706
00:41:59,880 --> 00:42:02,800
Now that you know these things, 
you will be blessed if you do 

707
00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:04,800
them. 
He said go and do the same 

708
00:42:04,800 --> 00:42:08,960
thing, serve one another. 
So this is based on Jesus 

709
00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:13,520
example. 
The example that he did with joy

710
00:42:13,520 --> 00:42:18,600
in his heart, he was able to 
serve those that he was about to

711
00:42:18,600 --> 00:42:20,480
lay his life down for. 
Now I want you to think about 

712
00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:23,520
that for a second because one 
who is a Deacon will do the 

713
00:42:23,520 --> 00:42:27,160
ministry of a Deacon with joy 
and with zeal. 

714
00:42:27,840 --> 00:42:31,760
That's what Romans 12 tells us. 
Verse 11 it says never be 

715
00:42:31,760 --> 00:42:34,160
lacking in zeal, but keep your 
spiritual fervor. 

716
00:42:34,320 --> 00:42:38,920
Doing what? 
Preaching sermons, serving the 

717
00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:40,760
Lord. 
What does that mean? 

718
00:42:41,320 --> 00:42:43,440
That means this. 
Whatever I'm gifted in doing, 

719
00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:47,200
that's what I need to be doing 
with passion and zeal. 

720
00:42:47,240 --> 00:42:50,480
That is my service to the Lord. 
If you're not gifted and 

721
00:42:50,480 --> 00:42:52,680
standing behind the pulpit and 
delivering a message, you're not

722
00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:55,360
gifted and expositing the 
Scripture. 

723
00:42:55,680 --> 00:42:58,320
You're not gifted in leading and
administration in the church. 

724
00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:03,160
That's OK, You have a great role
as a Deacon and that is to. 

725
00:43:03,160 --> 00:43:09,040
Serve as Christ served Jesus 
himself, saying I came not to be

726
00:43:09,040 --> 00:43:13,120
served, but to serve. 
What an example. 

727
00:43:13,120 --> 00:43:14,960
The Deacon was born out of 
necessity. 

728
00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:19,520
My calling is based on Jesus. 
Example. 

729
00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:22,400
We see the origin of the Deacon 
as clearly as we can. 

730
00:43:22,400 --> 00:43:24,440
Now let's look at the 
expectations and the character 

731
00:43:25,280 --> 00:43:30,080
of the Deacon, because just like
the overseer, this should be a 

732
00:43:30,080 --> 00:43:33,720
person of great character and 
integrity, right? 

733
00:43:33,720 --> 00:43:36,360
This is not just somebody who we
just throw in a roll and say, 

734
00:43:36,360 --> 00:43:38,160
here you're serving, go lead 
this ministry. 

735
00:43:38,160 --> 00:43:42,760
No, it doesn't work like that. 
We look at this word Deacon for 

736
00:43:42,760 --> 00:43:45,920
the first two points, seeing 
what it is and what it's not 

737
00:43:46,160 --> 00:43:50,760
where this term came from. 
Now let's hone in on the verses 

738
00:43:50,760 --> 00:43:53,320
that follow. 
He says in verse 8, Deacons 

739
00:43:53,320 --> 00:43:58,120
likewise, or to be men worthy of
respect, sincere, not indulging 

740
00:43:58,120 --> 00:44:00,520
in much wine and not pursuing 
dishonest gain. 

741
00:44:01,280 --> 00:44:03,520
They must keep hold of the deep 
truths of the faith with a clear

742
00:44:03,520 --> 00:44:05,960
conscience. 
They must first be tested, and 

743
00:44:05,960 --> 00:44:09,000
then, if there's nothing against
them, let them serve as deacons 

744
00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:13,920
in the same way. 
They're wise, or as I spoke on 

745
00:44:13,920 --> 00:44:19,160
earlier, the women deacons are 
to be women worthy of respect, 

746
00:44:19,240 --> 00:44:21,960
not malicious talkers, but 
temperate and trustworthy in 

747
00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:25,080
everything he goes on. 
And he says a Deacon must be the

748
00:44:25,080 --> 00:44:28,920
husband of but one wife and must
manage his children and his 

749
00:44:28,920 --> 00:44:31,640
household well. 
Now, if that sounds kind of 

750
00:44:31,640 --> 00:44:35,280
familiar to you, we spent the 
last couple of weeks looking 

751
00:44:35,280 --> 00:44:39,560
into the life of the Overseer. 
And the requirements for the 

752
00:44:39,560 --> 00:44:42,080
office are very similar, But I 
want to break this down for you 

753
00:44:42,080 --> 00:44:44,600
just very quickly because some 
of these are hopefully still 

754
00:44:44,600 --> 00:44:46,760
familiar to you. 
So there's no need to spend a 

755
00:44:46,760 --> 00:44:51,680
lot of time on them. 
We can break it down into two 

756
00:44:51,680 --> 00:44:55,440
categories, and we'll do that. 
First category is this. 

757
00:44:55,440 --> 00:44:59,040
Paul is explaining the 
expectations of the Deacon, and 

758
00:44:59,040 --> 00:45:02,040
he's explaining this, that they 
need to be humble in service, 

759
00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:04,640
right? 
He starts with deacons. 

760
00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:08,080
There's that word. 
Again, the very name expressing 

761
00:45:08,800 --> 00:45:12,240
humble service. 
Why is that important that we 

762
00:45:12,240 --> 00:45:15,880
understand that? 
Because 1 cannot be a servant if

763
00:45:15,880 --> 00:45:22,440
he's not or she's not. 
First, humble deacons are humble

764
00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:25,360
servants. 
They're not walking around with 

765
00:45:25,360 --> 00:45:28,080
their chest poked out telling 
all their friends that they're a

766
00:45:28,080 --> 00:45:30,040
servant leader at Key Life 
Fellowship. 

767
00:45:30,040 --> 00:45:34,400
Oh, we look at me. 
No, in fact, most of the time 

768
00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:38,360
the deacons in this church, 
people don't even know that 

769
00:45:38,360 --> 00:45:44,240
they're doing what they do. 
They're humble servants. 

770
00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:49,640
Humility and servitude go hand 
in hand. 

771
00:45:49,640 --> 00:45:54,360
Don't you forget that. 
You can't have one without the 

772
00:45:54,360 --> 00:45:56,760
other. 
That's why on that night in John

773
00:45:56,760 --> 00:46:01,360
chapter 13 where Jesus kneeled 
down and he washed his disciples

774
00:46:01,360 --> 00:46:05,480
feet, we see a humbling that is 
spectacular to us. 

775
00:46:05,480 --> 00:46:09,240
The King of Kings and Lord of 
Lords humbling himself. 

776
00:46:11,600 --> 00:46:15,840
And so humility and servitude 
are the opposite sides of the 

777
00:46:15,840 --> 00:46:19,320
same coin. 
You can't have one without the 

778
00:46:19,320 --> 00:46:20,640
other. 
That's like having a quarter 

779
00:46:20,640 --> 00:46:22,400
without a tail side and a head 
side. 

780
00:46:22,400 --> 00:46:27,280
You can't have it. 
And so there must be that 

781
00:46:27,800 --> 00:46:31,480
humility in. 
Service, the Deacon will be that

782
00:46:32,680 --> 00:46:36,560
fulfilling what Jesus said in 
Matthew 23, verse 11 when he 

783
00:46:36,560 --> 00:46:38,600
said this, the greatest among 
you will be your servant. 

784
00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:42,280
For those who exalt themselves 
will be humbled, and those who 

785
00:46:42,280 --> 00:46:44,640
humble themselves will be 
exalted. 

786
00:46:45,080 --> 00:46:47,400
In a moment we're going to see 
that that's absolutely true. 

787
00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:50,120
Jesus is going to promise 
through his Word, through the 

788
00:46:50,120 --> 00:46:53,320
Apostle Paul here, that the 
Deacon will be exalted. 

789
00:46:54,400 --> 00:46:57,160
But they must first be humble in
service. 

790
00:46:57,800 --> 00:46:59,040
The Deacon won't want the 
spotlight. 

791
00:47:00,320 --> 00:47:02,600
I guess I said a moment ago, if 
I hadn't mentioned your name 

792
00:47:02,600 --> 00:47:04,440
this morning and you're back 
there and you're saying, well, 

793
00:47:04,440 --> 00:47:06,480
when do aliens say anything 
about me? 

794
00:47:07,280 --> 00:47:12,760
You're not a Deacon. 
In fact, the greatest servants 

795
00:47:12,760 --> 00:47:16,360
that I know, who I would call 
deacons, they run from the 

796
00:47:16,360 --> 00:47:19,120
spotlight. 
They don't want people to know. 

797
00:47:20,040 --> 00:47:21,520
In fact, I'm going to use 
another name in our 

798
00:47:21,520 --> 00:47:23,560
congregation. 
Again, I know how people get 

799
00:47:23,560 --> 00:47:25,960
when you name names. 
Well, should you really call and

800
00:47:25,960 --> 00:47:29,120
draw attention to these people? 
Yes, honor to those who deserve 

801
00:47:29,120 --> 00:47:33,000
honor. 
Paul names his Co workers and Co

802
00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:36,240
laborers by name, commending 
them, commending them unto the 

803
00:47:36,240 --> 00:47:40,240
church and unto the Lord. 
So I'm going to mention another 

804
00:47:40,240 --> 00:47:41,040
one. 
You may know. 

805
00:47:41,040 --> 00:47:42,760
His name's Mark Mueller. 
And I'm not going to look at him

806
00:47:42,760 --> 00:47:47,800
because he may make my pine 
pollen get irritated, My eyes 

807
00:47:47,800 --> 00:47:51,400
start watering. 
Many of you know Mark Mueller. 

808
00:47:51,400 --> 00:47:54,040
I've known Mark Mueller for a 
long time. 

809
00:47:54,040 --> 00:47:56,760
In fact, I don't want to admit 
how long I've known Mark Mueller

810
00:47:58,840 --> 00:48:03,440
because I used to think when 
people would say things like 30 

811
00:48:03,440 --> 00:48:11,480
years ago, those people were 
really old. 30 plus years ago I 

812
00:48:11,480 --> 00:48:22,120
met a young man named Mark 
Mother and I noticed his 

813
00:48:22,120 --> 00:48:27,920
willingness and his giftedness 
to serve even when he was young.

814
00:48:29,480 --> 00:48:32,880
He does things at this church 
and for this church alongside of

815
00:48:32,880 --> 00:48:36,600
his wife Kim, and many of you do
not know anything about. 

816
00:48:36,600 --> 00:48:38,880
We have to hide things from him 
sometimes. 

817
00:48:40,080 --> 00:48:42,560
Because he has a real job and 
he'll be coming up here when he 

818
00:48:42,560 --> 00:48:43,880
ought to be going home to his 
family. 

819
00:48:44,040 --> 00:48:46,280
And there are times, and there 
have been times, Kim's walking 

820
00:48:46,280 --> 00:48:53,600
out the door, Mark's walking in,
and he's going to probably be so

821
00:48:53,600 --> 00:48:55,920
mad at me for even saying his 
name today. 

822
00:48:57,640 --> 00:49:03,200
I don't say it to blow him up, I
say it to give glory to God 

823
00:49:03,200 --> 00:49:06,640
because I get to see a 
functioning Deacon in action and

824
00:49:06,640 --> 00:49:10,760
I've watched him for over 30 
years serve the body of Christ 

825
00:49:10,920 --> 00:49:13,120
faithfully. 
Now, is he a perfect man? 

826
00:49:13,160 --> 00:49:14,680
No. 
Am IA perfect man? 

827
00:49:14,800 --> 00:49:16,360
No. 
Aren't you thankful that that's 

828
00:49:16,360 --> 00:49:21,400
not the requirement? 
Is he a man who desires to serve

829
00:49:21,400 --> 00:49:23,840
the Lord and to bring glory to 
Him with everything that he 

830
00:49:23,840 --> 00:49:25,240
does? 
Yes, I believe He is. 

831
00:49:26,480 --> 00:49:29,680
I spoke in the early service 
about one who's not been a part 

832
00:49:29,680 --> 00:49:32,560
of this fellowship I haven't 
known near as long, as well as 

833
00:49:32,560 --> 00:49:36,240
Mark James Jones. 
James Jones became a Christian. 

834
00:49:36,240 --> 00:49:38,080
Shortly after that. 
I began to really notice that 

835
00:49:38,080 --> 00:49:41,600
James Jones had a special gift. 
You know what that special gift 

836
00:49:41,600 --> 00:49:42,480
is? 
Serving the Lord. 

837
00:49:43,320 --> 00:49:46,960
He wasn't just serving the Lord 
because that's what we're 

838
00:49:46,960 --> 00:49:50,040
supposed to do We are. 
Y'all do know that's an 

839
00:49:50,040 --> 00:49:54,720
obligation for all of us? 
His was different. 

840
00:49:56,440 --> 00:50:00,600
His is that desire to serve that
supersedes the normal person's 

841
00:50:00,600 --> 00:50:05,680
desire to serve. 
In fact, I began to wonder, is 

842
00:50:05,680 --> 00:50:08,520
this man trying to take my job? 
He's up here at the church so 

843
00:50:08,520 --> 00:50:11,200
much. 
But you know what he was doing? 

844
00:50:11,200 --> 00:50:13,720
I'm only playing about that. 
You know what? 

845
00:50:13,720 --> 00:50:17,400
He was doing anything that he 
could for the body of Christ, 

846
00:50:19,080 --> 00:50:23,760
Vacuuming floors, cleaning 
bathrooms, kitchens, doing 

847
00:50:23,760 --> 00:50:27,240
whatever the Lord would have him
to do, mowing the grass. 

848
00:50:28,760 --> 00:50:31,800
And now years later, I see him 
as a leader in that you want to 

849
00:50:31,800 --> 00:50:34,160
see how to serve. 
You want to see some people in 

850
00:50:34,160 --> 00:50:36,960
our church who are good servant 
leaders who give you an example.

851
00:50:36,960 --> 00:50:38,680
You look to those two men, 
they'll give you a great 

852
00:50:38,680 --> 00:50:40,080
example. 
You looked at Don Carpenter, 

853
00:50:40,080 --> 00:50:42,680
she'll give you a great example 
of what a Deacon really looks 

854
00:50:42,680 --> 00:50:43,920
like. 
And I know there are many 

855
00:50:43,920 --> 00:50:46,280
others. 
If your feelings are hurt, get a

856
00:50:46,280 --> 00:50:49,600
hold of yourself. 
I don't have time to go down the

857
00:50:49,600 --> 00:50:52,240
list. 
I, I am so thankful and we are 

858
00:50:52,240 --> 00:50:54,960
so blessed as a church to have 
such great servants. 

859
00:50:56,480 --> 00:50:59,640
Often times, unfortunately, you 
get overshadowed and maybe 

860
00:50:59,640 --> 00:51:00,920
that's just the role of the 
Deacon. 

861
00:51:00,920 --> 00:51:04,200
That's what happens by those of 
us who get to stand in the 

862
00:51:04,200 --> 00:51:08,720
pulpit, teach the word of God. 
But can you be sure of this? 

863
00:51:08,720 --> 00:51:11,840
You are not overshadowed in the 
eyes of God. 

864
00:51:11,840 --> 00:51:18,880
You are a humble servant. 
The Lord shows His favor, the 

865
00:51:18,880 --> 00:51:20,760
broken and the humble. 
Keep serving Him. 

866
00:51:20,760 --> 00:51:24,440
Keep doing what you're doing. 
It doesn't go unseen. 

867
00:51:24,440 --> 00:51:30,760
Your humble service, it's 
appreciated, it's needed, and 

868
00:51:30,760 --> 00:51:35,120
glorifies God. 
The expectations and the 

869
00:51:35,120 --> 00:51:38,760
character of a Deacon defined by
their humble service, but then 

870
00:51:38,760 --> 00:51:40,320
their holy lives. 
I told you I would go through 

871
00:51:40,320 --> 00:51:42,480
this and I'll go through this as
quickly as possible because most

872
00:51:42,480 --> 00:51:46,640
of this you already know. 
Just as we've seen the overseas 

873
00:51:46,640 --> 00:51:49,520
seers were called to live holy 
lives, those who serve as a 

874
00:51:49,520 --> 00:51:52,320
Deacon are called to live holy 
lives. 

875
00:51:52,320 --> 00:51:53,560
You know what I'm saying about 
that? 

876
00:51:53,560 --> 00:51:57,880
I'm saying this, that if Don 
Carpenter, who serves our 

877
00:51:57,880 --> 00:52:00,640
preschool department as a 
servant teaching others to 

878
00:52:00,640 --> 00:52:05,120
serve, has things posted on her 
social media that are not 

879
00:52:05,120 --> 00:52:07,840
glorifying to God or that can 
hurt her testimony of Christ, 

880
00:52:07,840 --> 00:52:11,160
that's going to be addressed. 
It's not acceptable. 

881
00:52:12,160 --> 00:52:16,560
She is called to live a life 
that is above reproach in that 

882
00:52:16,560 --> 00:52:20,520
position, as the deacons and the
overseers all are. 

883
00:52:21,040 --> 00:52:22,480
So he says this. 
That they're to live a life he 

884
00:52:22,480 --> 00:52:24,360
begins with this worthy of 
respect. 

885
00:52:26,160 --> 00:52:29,880
To take their role as a Deacon 
seriously. 

886
00:52:30,160 --> 00:52:33,480
That's what that word means to 
be serious. 

887
00:52:33,880 --> 00:52:35,600
I know we lose a. 
Little in our English 

888
00:52:35,600 --> 00:52:39,200
translation worthy of respect, 
but people respect the Deacon 

889
00:52:39,200 --> 00:52:42,080
because they are serious about 
serving the Lord. 

890
00:52:42,600 --> 00:52:45,040
When you look around and you say
man, there's others who they 

891
00:52:45,040 --> 00:52:47,160
seemingly don't want to serve 
the Lord at all. 

892
00:52:47,560 --> 00:52:52,000
And then there is this servant 
who is full steam ahead, giving 

893
00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:55,560
everything they have for the 
Lord in service to him, not 

894
00:52:55,560 --> 00:53:00,000
caring about any glory or any 
praise for themselves, but only 

895
00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:04,000
wanting to glorify God. 
When you see that, my friend, 

896
00:53:04,960 --> 00:53:08,200
you've seen a Deacon, one who is
worthy of respect. 

897
00:53:10,320 --> 00:53:12,040
They're worthy of respect 
because they have the right 

898
00:53:12,040 --> 00:53:16,960
attitude and the right approach.
I'm thankful to see men and 

899
00:53:16,960 --> 00:53:19,360
women in this church who have 
the right attitude and the right

900
00:53:19,360 --> 00:53:20,880
approach. 
You know why they do? 

901
00:53:23,840 --> 00:53:26,200
It's not because I've taught 
them the Word of God, though I 

902
00:53:26,200 --> 00:53:29,720
hope that that helps. 
It's because others have taught 

903
00:53:29,720 --> 00:53:33,160
them by the example what it 
looks like to serve the Lord. 

904
00:53:34,080 --> 00:53:35,560
Just a little while. 
We're going to have a new member

905
00:53:35,560 --> 00:53:36,800
fellowship. 
You know my favorite part of new

906
00:53:36,800 --> 00:53:38,280
member fellowship when it's 
over. 

907
00:53:41,040 --> 00:53:42,560
I don't say that in a negative 
sense. 

908
00:53:42,560 --> 00:53:48,160
You know what I love to see? 
Because those new members come 

909
00:53:48,160 --> 00:53:49,520
in and they think they're 
interviewing me. 

910
00:53:51,680 --> 00:53:56,280
I'm interviewing you. 
I don't want ravenous wolves 

911
00:53:56,280 --> 00:53:57,840
coming in here attacking what 
God's doing. 

912
00:53:57,840 --> 00:54:04,160
You know what I want to see? 
What I love to see, and when 

913
00:54:04,160 --> 00:54:07,120
it's dismissed and our deacons 
grab a table, they start folding

914
00:54:07,120 --> 00:54:09,520
up chairs, they start wiping 
things down. 

915
00:54:09,840 --> 00:54:12,760
I like to see people who just 
now came to Key Life Fellowship 

916
00:54:13,280 --> 00:54:15,600
pulling their shirt sleeves up 
and getting in there and doing 

917
00:54:15,600 --> 00:54:17,200
the same thing. 
Why? 

918
00:54:17,680 --> 00:54:21,280
Because that is who we are. 
That's who I want us always to 

919
00:54:21,280 --> 00:54:23,000
be. 
And why are we that? 

920
00:54:23,360 --> 00:54:25,280
Oh, because a powerful preaching
from the pulpit. 

921
00:54:25,280 --> 00:54:28,400
Maybe God can use that to get 
your attention, but he's placed 

922
00:54:28,400 --> 00:54:32,720
in our lives examples that we 
can follow who look like Christ 

923
00:54:32,880 --> 00:54:34,560
in the area of. 
Service. 

924
00:54:34,560 --> 00:54:36,520
And that is why we are what we 
are. 

925
00:54:36,520 --> 00:54:40,200
That is why we function how we 
function all of us doing our 

926
00:54:40,200 --> 00:54:44,720
specific part for the whole the 
unity of the body of Christ. 

927
00:54:46,600 --> 00:54:49,040
These people called to live 
lives worthy of respect. 

928
00:54:49,040 --> 00:54:50,680
He says sincere. 
What is he saying they're not 

929
00:54:50,680 --> 00:54:54,400
double tongued double minded, 
not a gossiper slander 2 faced 

930
00:54:55,960 --> 00:54:58,840
person of their word and when 
they tell you something's going 

931
00:54:58,840 --> 00:55:00,720
to happen something's going to 
happen. 

932
00:55:01,760 --> 00:55:05,080
That's a requirement of these 
people you know lead in service.

933
00:55:05,080 --> 00:55:06,640
You have to be a person of your 
word. 

934
00:55:06,640 --> 00:55:10,040
You have to be a person who is 
sincere in your service to the 

935
00:55:10,040 --> 00:55:13,760
Lord and your example, not 
indulging in much wine, we can 

936
00:55:13,760 --> 00:55:15,320
quickly. 
Address this. 

937
00:55:15,320 --> 00:55:17,600
He's saying you can't be a 
drunkard or an indulgent of 

938
00:55:17,600 --> 00:55:21,320
alcohol. 
Now please know that when this 

939
00:55:21,320 --> 00:55:23,360
was written, it was written in a
different culture. 

940
00:55:24,800 --> 00:55:27,480
It was written in a culture 
where they would drink wine 

941
00:55:27,480 --> 00:55:30,600
because the water was not 
necessarily pure. 

942
00:55:31,400 --> 00:55:36,880
And I am fully convinced then at
the Lord's Supper in these days,

943
00:55:36,880 --> 00:55:39,240
they would drink some type of 
wine. 

944
00:55:39,800 --> 00:55:43,760
Now, I don't think that that 
wine was of this high alcohol 

945
00:55:43,760 --> 00:55:47,160
content where all you needed to 
do was drink a little thimble of

946
00:55:47,160 --> 00:55:49,240
it and you would be drunk. 
I don't think that at all. 

947
00:55:50,720 --> 00:55:53,160
But I do believe that if you 
drink too much of it, it could 

948
00:55:53,160 --> 00:55:55,040
become a problem and you could 
become a drunker. 

949
00:55:56,480 --> 00:55:59,440
Now we Fast forward into our 
culture where we don't really 

950
00:55:59,440 --> 00:56:01,960
know the difference in the 
alcohol content. 

951
00:56:01,960 --> 00:56:05,760
We can testify to this that the 
alcoholic beverages in our day 

952
00:56:05,760 --> 00:56:10,720
are manufactured and they are 
brewed to get people 

953
00:56:10,720 --> 00:56:12,600
intoxicated. 
That's the whole point. 

954
00:56:13,760 --> 00:56:16,240
And so I would warn everyone, 
not just those who are seeking 

955
00:56:16,240 --> 00:56:19,080
the office of Deacon. 
I would warn everyone, be very 

956
00:56:19,080 --> 00:56:21,520
careful of alcohol. 
And please, if you're the one 

957
00:56:21,520 --> 00:56:25,600
trying to say, see, the Deacon 
could have wine, but just not 

958
00:56:25,600 --> 00:56:27,960
much wine. 
You've just admitted that you're

959
00:56:27,960 --> 00:56:30,080
trying to push the alcoholic 
envelope. 

960
00:56:32,880 --> 00:56:35,080
I can show you over and over and
over again. 

961
00:56:36,480 --> 00:56:40,880
Where Scripture gives great 
warning, much consideration to 

962
00:56:40,880 --> 00:56:44,640
the fact that alcohol is best 
left alone. 

963
00:56:45,560 --> 00:56:49,560
Now I say that. 
And I will turn around and I 

964
00:56:49,560 --> 00:56:54,440
will say that, and in no sense 
does it ever prohibit A thimble 

965
00:56:54,440 --> 00:56:56,480
full of wine during a Lord's 
Supper. 

966
00:56:57,760 --> 00:57:01,760
But I would caution the 
alcoholic don't. 

967
00:57:01,760 --> 00:57:04,480
Partake of wine. 
If you've got an alternative, 

968
00:57:05,440 --> 00:57:06,840
you've been there, you've done 
that. 

969
00:57:06,840 --> 00:57:10,680
You know what happens to the 
alcoholic, It consumes you. 

970
00:57:10,680 --> 00:57:12,040
Don't be consumed by these 
things. 

971
00:57:12,800 --> 00:57:15,920
He gives good advice to the 
Deacon here. 

972
00:57:15,920 --> 00:57:18,760
Not indulging in much wine, that
means this. 

973
00:57:18,760 --> 00:57:21,080
Maybe the Deacon lived in an 
area where his water wasn't 

974
00:57:21,080 --> 00:57:25,920
pure. 
Maybe he was, as Timothy was 

975
00:57:25,920 --> 00:57:27,400
stricken with an illness, Paul 
said. 

976
00:57:27,400 --> 00:57:28,720
Drink a little wine for your 
stomach. 

977
00:57:28,880 --> 00:57:31,840
A little. 
Maybe that's a warning to say, 

978
00:57:31,840 --> 00:57:34,360
hey, some of you deacons, you 
might have stomach issues, drink

979
00:57:34,360 --> 00:57:36,840
a little for your stomach, but 
hey, don't indulge. 

980
00:57:38,360 --> 00:57:40,640
Isn't that the truth? 
With much of everything, it's 

981
00:57:40,640 --> 00:57:46,040
excess that gets us in trouble. 
He then moves on and he says not

982
00:57:46,040 --> 00:57:48,320
pursuing dishonest gain. 
Once you're staying here, 

983
00:57:48,320 --> 00:57:49,560
deacons don't need to be 
shysters. 

984
00:57:49,560 --> 00:57:52,800
They don't need to be people 
seen in the community as as 

985
00:57:52,800 --> 00:57:54,120
someone who's ripping people 
off, right? 

986
00:57:54,120 --> 00:57:55,400
Because that would be bad, 
wouldn't it? 

987
00:57:56,280 --> 00:57:58,000
I'm going to be bad if you know 
right now. 

988
00:57:58,000 --> 00:58:00,880
I thank the Lord for Mark 
Mueller and, and I commend to 

989
00:58:00,880 --> 00:58:04,120
him and I commend James Jones. 
But you know, Mark Mueller 

990
00:58:04,120 --> 00:58:06,960
leaves here. 
And if you don't know, I 

991
00:58:06,960 --> 00:58:08,640
shouldn't tell you what he does 
for a living because then you'll

992
00:58:08,640 --> 00:58:10,760
be calling on him all the time 
and he'll get so overwhelmed he 

993
00:58:10,760 --> 00:58:11,480
won't know what to do. 
But. 

994
00:58:12,000 --> 00:58:17,480
He has a certain trade and if in
his certain trade he began to 

995
00:58:17,480 --> 00:58:20,520
RIP people off, these people 
began to find that out. 

996
00:58:20,520 --> 00:58:23,520
You know, the first thing that 
they would say about him, oh, he

997
00:58:23,520 --> 00:58:28,480
calls himself a Christian. 
He's supposed to be a leader 

998
00:58:28,480 --> 00:58:30,840
down that church serving the 
Lord. 

999
00:58:31,800 --> 00:58:35,040
We know how that happens. 
We have to be careful of that, 

1000
00:58:35,040 --> 00:58:37,840
don't we? 
And unfortunately, many who have

1001
00:58:38,000 --> 00:58:44,000
warned the label Deacon in the 
church, I've done great damage 

1002
00:58:44,440 --> 00:58:48,640
in regard to being shysters, 
pursuing dishonest gain, ripping

1003
00:58:48,640 --> 00:58:51,680
people off. 
You have to be very careful of 

1004
00:58:51,680 --> 00:58:55,560
that, keeping hold of the deep 
truths of the faith with a clear

1005
00:58:55,560 --> 00:58:57,280
conscience. 
What is he talking about here? 

1006
00:58:58,000 --> 00:59:00,400
He's talking about they need to 
be men of sound doctrine, 

1007
00:59:01,560 --> 00:59:06,520
keeping hold of the faith with a
clear conscience. 

1008
00:59:07,000 --> 00:59:08,840
Sound and doctrine, Sound and 
living. 

1009
00:59:09,640 --> 00:59:11,560
What is he saying? 
They practice what they preach. 

1010
00:59:11,960 --> 00:59:14,600
They practice what they know 
because someone who really 

1011
00:59:14,920 --> 00:59:18,000
understands sound doctrine will 
live sound doctrine. 

1012
00:59:18,920 --> 00:59:21,920
And if a person claims to know 
sound doctrine, right, I'm tired

1013
00:59:21,920 --> 00:59:24,360
of so many theologians claiming 
to be theologians who aren't 

1014
00:59:24,360 --> 00:59:28,000
living what they claim to know. 
It can't happen. 

1015
00:59:28,000 --> 00:59:31,280
As a Deacon, all you have is 
knowledge and knowledge puffs 

1016
00:59:31,280 --> 00:59:33,440
up. 
But he's saying a Deacon, he'll 

1017
00:59:33,440 --> 00:59:37,400
take the the sound biblical 
doctrine and who actually live 

1018
00:59:37,400 --> 00:59:41,080
such a good life. 
That his conscience will be 

1019
00:59:41,080 --> 00:59:46,280
clear before man and before God,
keeping hold of the deep truths 

1020
00:59:46,280 --> 00:59:49,080
of the faith with a clear 
conscience being sound and 

1021
00:59:49,080 --> 00:59:52,680
doctrine, understanding the true
gospel, being able to 

1022
00:59:52,680 --> 00:59:56,840
communicate that, to live it. 
He's a man, he's a woman who is 

1023
00:59:56,840 --> 00:59:59,840
sound and truth. 
And then he goes on and he talks

1024
00:59:59,840 --> 01:00:02,080
about this and often times we 
miss this part. 

1025
01:00:05,240 --> 01:00:09,640
He's going to talk about how the
Deacon should be properly 

1026
01:00:10,320 --> 01:00:13,400
proven. 
We use the term vetted when we 

1027
01:00:13,400 --> 01:00:16,600
talked about the overseer. 
They need to be. 

1028
01:00:16,720 --> 01:00:21,240
First tested there in verse 10. 
And if there's nothing against 

1029
01:00:21,240 --> 01:00:23,000
them, then let them serve as a 
deacons. 

1030
01:00:23,000 --> 01:00:25,200
Now we've done that backwards in
the church right here. 

1031
01:00:25,200 --> 01:00:26,600
You're a Deacon. 
Now live up to this. 

1032
01:00:26,600 --> 01:00:31,680
That's not what this is about. 
You know one thing that I have 

1033
01:00:31,680 --> 01:00:34,120
learned about every true Deacon 
that I've ever seen, they were 

1034
01:00:34,120 --> 01:00:37,720
doing the work of a Deacon 
before anyone ever acknowledged 

1035
01:00:37,720 --> 01:00:40,440
that they were doing the work of
a Deacon. 

1036
01:00:41,480 --> 01:00:43,760
They were living the life. 
They were meeting the criteria. 

1037
01:00:43,760 --> 01:00:46,120
They were humbly serving the 
Lord and others. 

1038
01:00:47,720 --> 01:00:52,640
It must be properly proven. 
It's not want to be a Deacon do 

1039
01:00:52,640 --> 01:00:58,080
this. 
It's On the contrary. 

1040
01:00:59,480 --> 01:01:03,720
And because you're doing this, 
you're a Deacon, you meet the 

1041
01:01:03,720 --> 01:01:08,440
criteria, you are what Scripture
says that a Deacon really is. 

1042
01:01:08,440 --> 01:01:11,400
You're properly proven. 
And then he moves into the women

1043
01:01:11,680 --> 01:01:15,160
deacons or if you want to 
believe, the wives of the 

1044
01:01:15,160 --> 01:01:16,760
deacons. 
And again, let's don't split 

1045
01:01:16,760 --> 01:01:18,880
hairs over that. 
There's no reason to fight about

1046
01:01:18,880 --> 01:01:24,360
that, but he gives them some 
distinct things to think about. 

1047
01:01:24,360 --> 01:01:27,280
He says in the same way that are
wise or the women, the 

1048
01:01:27,280 --> 01:01:32,960
deaconess, he says they are to 
be women worthy of respect. 

1049
01:01:34,080 --> 01:01:36,280
That's pretty self-explanatory 
because he says the men are to 

1050
01:01:36,280 --> 01:01:38,200
be worthy of respect, so surely 
the women are too. 

1051
01:01:38,320 --> 01:01:39,880
Whether that's the wife or the 
deaconess. 

1052
01:01:40,760 --> 01:01:43,760
Not malicious talkers. 
I have no idea why he would 

1053
01:01:43,760 --> 01:01:46,080
include that particular thing in
regard to women. 

1054
01:01:52,080 --> 01:01:56,320
You figure it out on your own. 
Not malicious talkers. 

1055
01:01:56,320 --> 01:01:58,480
That means no gossip, no 
slander, no backbiting, all the 

1056
01:01:58,480 --> 01:01:59,720
things that come out of our 
tongue. 

1057
01:01:59,720 --> 01:02:06,240
It's not over mouths, but 
temperate and trustworthy in 

1058
01:02:06,240 --> 01:02:09,400
everything. 
What's he saying about the women

1059
01:02:09,400 --> 01:02:13,080
there to be above reproach, just
like the men don't have to 

1060
01:02:13,080 --> 01:02:13,760
complicate? 
This. 

1061
01:02:14,120 --> 01:02:16,280
Now, however you want to 
interpret that if that's a 

1062
01:02:16,280 --> 01:02:19,560
deacon's wife, that's the 
responsibility for you. 

1063
01:02:20,480 --> 01:02:23,120
Because could it be that he's 
talking about the deacon's wives

1064
01:02:23,120 --> 01:02:24,520
who serve alongside of the 
Deacon? 

1065
01:02:24,520 --> 01:02:27,440
Possibly, but I don't know what 
to do with Phoebe. 

1066
01:02:28,160 --> 01:02:32,240
And so I have to also say it 
could include the deaconess, the

1067
01:02:32,240 --> 01:02:37,120
woman who's serving the Lord. 
She needs to do it above 

1068
01:02:37,120 --> 01:02:43,160
reproach. 
Then he moves back into the 

1069
01:02:43,160 --> 01:02:46,920
deacon's role, which makes sense
because he's never left the 

1070
01:02:46,920 --> 01:02:49,240
deacon's role. 
He simply inserted women 

1071
01:02:49,240 --> 01:02:50,640
deacons. 
You need to pay close attention 

1072
01:02:50,640 --> 01:02:54,640
to these things as well. 
He says a Deacon must be the 

1073
01:02:54,640 --> 01:02:57,080
husband of but one wife. 
We learned what that meant last 

1074
01:02:57,080 --> 01:02:58,280
week. 
I hope you understand that. 

1075
01:02:58,280 --> 01:03:02,160
What that means. 
Faithful to your wife, one woman

1076
01:03:02,160 --> 01:03:04,600
man in the Greek, that is a 
literal translation. 

1077
01:03:04,600 --> 01:03:09,000
And then he goes just as he did 
with the overseers and says and 

1078
01:03:09,000 --> 01:03:11,640
must manage his children and his
household. 

1079
01:03:11,840 --> 01:03:13,320
Well. 
Why is this important? 

1080
01:03:15,160 --> 01:03:17,440
Because you can't serve as a 
Deacon in the church if you're 

1081
01:03:17,440 --> 01:03:22,760
not serving your family at home 
by leading them by example, the 

1082
01:03:22,760 --> 01:03:25,720
2GO hand in hand. 
You cannot have one without the 

1083
01:03:25,720 --> 01:03:28,240
other. 
Same goes for the overseer, for 

1084
01:03:28,240 --> 01:03:30,280
the Bishop who's standing up 
here teaching the Word of God. 

1085
01:03:30,520 --> 01:03:35,200
If I am not doing my 
responsibility at home, I have 

1086
01:03:35,200 --> 01:03:37,920
no place in standing in this 
pulpit. 

1087
01:03:38,440 --> 01:03:41,200
If you were not handling your 
responsibility in the home as a 

1088
01:03:41,200 --> 01:03:43,960
Deacon, A servant leader in your
home, serving your wife and 

1089
01:03:43,960 --> 01:03:48,120
serving your children, you have 
no place in taking a role in the

1090
01:03:48,120 --> 01:03:49,920
church where you are to serve 
others. 

1091
01:03:49,920 --> 01:03:54,280
You can't do it effectively. 
Paul makes this very clear that 

1092
01:03:54,280 --> 01:03:56,520
the Deacon is to serve his wife 
and his children. 

1093
01:03:56,520 --> 01:04:01,200
So the office of Deacon is a 
position that calls for humble 

1094
01:04:01,200 --> 01:04:05,840
service that will be accompanied
by holy lives. 

1095
01:04:06,760 --> 01:04:09,800
It's important because it's not 
just a title that we wear. 

1096
01:04:10,280 --> 01:04:12,720
It's not just a badge that you 
get to stick on your shirt. 

1097
01:04:12,760 --> 01:04:16,600
It's not a status symbol. 
We've met those people, haven't 

1098
01:04:16,600 --> 01:04:22,720
we? 
My husband's a Deacon, and I'll 

1099
01:04:22,720 --> 01:04:26,200
tell him about how you're not 
doing your job. 

1100
01:04:26,760 --> 01:04:30,520
OK, great. 
Tell him I said hello. 

1101
01:04:32,960 --> 01:04:35,080
Now you know why we don't call 
them deacons here. 

1102
01:04:36,280 --> 01:04:37,960
So the people don't think that 
they're a role that they're not 

1103
01:04:37,960 --> 01:04:42,920
supposed to play. 
It's a role of humble service. 

1104
01:04:42,920 --> 01:04:44,520
It's a role that requires a holy
life. 

1105
01:04:45,240 --> 01:04:46,960
They must be examined first, 
tested. 

1106
01:04:48,440 --> 01:04:50,600
Most people don't serve in a 
capacity of what we would 

1107
01:04:50,600 --> 01:04:54,520
recognize officially as a Deacon
here, a servant, servant leader,

1108
01:04:55,120 --> 01:04:58,160
until they are properly vetted 
for years. 

1109
01:04:58,760 --> 01:05:00,320
Then they are entrusted with 
this work. 

1110
01:05:00,320 --> 01:05:02,520
As Scripture says. 
Then and only then, they should 

1111
01:05:02,520 --> 01:05:03,880
be. 
Now, I want to leave you with 

1112
01:05:03,880 --> 01:05:05,400
this because I found this 
interesting. 

1113
01:05:05,400 --> 01:05:07,480
This is something that the way 
I've studied this, the way I've 

1114
01:05:07,480 --> 01:05:11,080
actually taught on this, we've 
actually taught other churches 

1115
01:05:11,080 --> 01:05:13,960
about the roles in the offices 
in the church so that they could

1116
01:05:13,960 --> 01:05:15,800
refine and establish their 
roles. 

1117
01:05:18,240 --> 01:05:21,160
And again, though this may not 
be interesting to any of you at 

1118
01:05:21,160 --> 01:05:23,720
all, it is interesting to me 
because if God is sovereign over

1119
01:05:23,720 --> 01:05:25,840
all things, He's sovereign over 
the leadership in his church. 

1120
01:05:25,840 --> 01:05:29,800
And I love to see it when it's 
bringing him honor and glory and

1121
01:05:29,800 --> 01:05:34,520
praise in the body of Christ. 
He's designed it this way and 

1122
01:05:34,520 --> 01:05:36,840
with that design He promised his
reward. 

1123
01:05:38,080 --> 01:05:40,080
And I really love this, 
especially in regard to the 

1124
01:05:40,080 --> 01:05:42,920
Deacon who's doing the jobs most
of the time that other people 

1125
01:05:42,920 --> 01:05:46,120
wouldn't be willing to do. 
He says in verse 13, those who 

1126
01:05:46,120 --> 01:05:49,720
have served well gain, gain an 
excellent standing and great 

1127
01:05:49,720 --> 01:05:52,360
assurance in their faith in 
Christ Jesus. 

1128
01:05:52,840 --> 01:05:55,840
Paul is speaking here in terms 
of a blessing. 

1129
01:05:56,320 --> 01:06:00,160
He's saying a Deacon who does 
his job or her job well. 

1130
01:06:00,640 --> 01:06:05,600
Will receive a blessing for it 
and he's going to explain those 

1131
01:06:05,600 --> 01:06:09,160
blessings that come to those who
humbly serve as deacons in the 

1132
01:06:09,160 --> 01:06:11,480
church. 
He says first they will be 

1133
01:06:11,480 --> 01:06:17,080
exalted in standing. 
You say, well, what do you mean?

1134
01:06:17,080 --> 01:06:18,640
I thought we're not supposed to 
exalt ourself. 

1135
01:06:18,640 --> 01:06:19,560
You're not. 
You're supposed to humble 

1136
01:06:19,560 --> 01:06:20,960
yourself and God will do the 
exalting. 

1137
01:06:22,280 --> 01:06:27,720
Those who serve in full humility
as Deacon with the true attitude

1138
01:06:27,720 --> 01:06:32,240
of a servant, that John 13 
attitude of Christ, they will be

1139
01:06:32,240 --> 01:06:36,520
seen as excellent by God 
himself. 

1140
01:06:37,520 --> 01:06:44,040
And he says, I will exalt them 
because of that excellent 

1141
01:06:44,240 --> 01:06:47,040
standing. 
I'll exalt them. 

1142
01:06:48,280 --> 01:06:50,760
James speaks of this James 
chapter 4, verse 10. 

1143
01:06:51,760 --> 01:06:54,280
It says humble yourselves before
the Lord and he will lift you 

1144
01:06:54,280 --> 01:06:55,520
up. 
Is that true? 

1145
01:06:56,400 --> 01:06:57,800
Well then would it apply to the 
Deacon though? 

1146
01:06:57,800 --> 01:07:00,240
I know in James chapter 4 the 
context is not Deacon. 

1147
01:07:00,240 --> 01:07:01,680
The context is a general 
Christian. 

1148
01:07:01,840 --> 01:07:03,680
And is a Is a Deacon a general 
Christian? 

1149
01:07:03,680 --> 01:07:05,240
Yes. 
And does a Deacon serve in a 

1150
01:07:05,240 --> 01:07:06,440
specific office? 
Yes. 

1151
01:07:06,520 --> 01:07:08,000
And is his office to serve? 
Yes. 

1152
01:07:08,120 --> 01:07:11,360
And if he humbles himself before
the Lord, what does the Lord 

1153
01:07:11,360 --> 01:07:13,040
promise he will do? 
He'll lift him up. 

1154
01:07:14,600 --> 01:07:16,360
That's for all the deacons who 
have served, right? 

1155
01:07:16,360 --> 01:07:19,280
And you hear the enemy. 
Nobody ever notices what you're 

1156
01:07:19,280 --> 01:07:21,120
doing. 
Nobody appreciates it. 

1157
01:07:21,240 --> 01:07:25,600
God sees it, and He sees it as 
excellent, and he's going to 

1158
01:07:25,600 --> 01:07:28,640
honor you by that. 
Why would you want men to honor 

1159
01:07:28,640 --> 01:07:30,440
you when God promises that He 
will? 

1160
01:07:32,760 --> 01:07:35,920
I wouldn't be OK with that. 
I don't want men to honor me 

1161
01:07:35,920 --> 01:07:39,880
when God says that He's willing 
to honor me, The God of this 

1162
01:07:39,880 --> 01:07:42,760
universe honoring me because 
I've humbled myself to serve 

1163
01:07:42,760 --> 01:07:45,960
Him. 
He says I'll exalt you first 

1164
01:07:45,960 --> 01:07:48,320
Peter chapter 5, verse 6, humble
yourself, therefore under God's 

1165
01:07:48,320 --> 01:07:50,800
mighty hand, that he may lift 
you up and do time Those who 

1166
01:07:50,800 --> 01:07:52,720
humbled himself under God's 
mighty hand, does he lift them 

1167
01:07:52,720 --> 01:07:54,160
up? 
Does he promise to do so exalt 

1168
01:07:54,160 --> 01:07:56,560
them? 
Yes over and over and over again

1169
01:07:56,560 --> 01:07:58,880
in Scripture. 
I I couldn't take the time today

1170
01:07:59,000 --> 01:08:01,400
to read all the psalms that 
confirm this. 

1171
01:08:02,520 --> 01:08:08,520
Yes, much of A deacon's work on 
this earth goes unseen by man, 

1172
01:08:08,920 --> 01:08:12,080
doesn't it? 
Most of you went into the 

1173
01:08:12,080 --> 01:08:14,240
restroom this morning, said, oh,
nice clean restrooms. 

1174
01:08:17,399 --> 01:08:22,200
You gave no thought to those who
came in there armed with latex 

1175
01:08:22,200 --> 01:08:28,000
gloves and a toilet scrubber. 
But they were here this week, 

1176
01:08:29,279 --> 01:08:36,479
serving the Lord, unseen by man.
God doesn't miss a thing. 

1177
01:08:37,640 --> 01:08:39,720
He sees it all. 
He misses nothing. 

1178
01:08:40,680 --> 01:08:44,479
Not only will they be exalted in
standing by God, God exalting 

1179
01:08:44,479 --> 01:08:49,000
them however he sees fit, others
will also see them as excellent 

1180
01:08:49,000 --> 01:08:52,520
in the church. 
They will see them as examples 

1181
01:08:52,520 --> 01:09:00,160
that they want to follow. 
Looking at them, seeing Christ 

1182
01:09:00,160 --> 01:09:02,479
in them and saying, you know 
what? 

1183
01:09:03,840 --> 01:09:05,359
That's how I want to serve the 
Lord. 

1184
01:09:06,399 --> 01:09:08,080
I want to serve the Lord like 
that. 

1185
01:09:09,560 --> 01:09:11,439
I want to do what they're doing 
for the Lord. 

1186
01:09:11,439 --> 01:09:14,319
I'm not not getting any applause
or any accolades or any 

1187
01:09:14,319 --> 01:09:20,439
trophies. 
I want to be like them, to be 

1188
01:09:20,439 --> 01:09:24,439
seen as a servant of God, 
nothing else. 

1189
01:09:25,640 --> 01:09:31,359
First Thessalonians, chapter 5, 
verse 13, You know what it says 

1190
01:09:31,359 --> 01:09:33,960
to do with those who are 
serving, doing the work of 

1191
01:09:33,960 --> 01:09:36,040
ministry in the church, whether 
that's the overseer, whether 

1192
01:09:36,040 --> 01:09:38,080
that's the Deacon, whether 
that's the pastors. 

1193
01:09:40,040 --> 01:09:43,200
Verse 13 and 1st Thessalonians 
chapter 5 says to hold them in 

1194
01:09:43,200 --> 01:09:45,960
the highest regard. 
That's what we ought to be 

1195
01:09:45,960 --> 01:09:47,640
doing. 
We got to hold them in the 

1196
01:09:47,640 --> 01:09:50,240
highest regard. 
You know what, oftentimes people

1197
01:09:50,240 --> 01:09:52,120
hold the pastor in highest 
regard. 

1198
01:09:54,760 --> 01:09:57,040
They talk about key life 
fellowship and they say, oh, our

1199
01:09:57,040 --> 01:09:58,560
pastor this. 
Sometimes it's good. 

1200
01:09:58,560 --> 01:10:00,440
Most designed probably. 
Not, but you get my drift. 

1201
01:10:04,800 --> 01:10:06,680
Along for the day when when 
people talk about Key Life 

1202
01:10:06,680 --> 01:10:12,480
Fellowship, they talk about her 
servants because this pastor 

1203
01:10:12,480 --> 01:10:15,720
couldn't do what he does. 
If the deacons weren't doing 

1204
01:10:15,720 --> 01:10:18,600
what they do, Why I couldn't 
devote myself to the word. 

1205
01:10:18,600 --> 01:10:20,080
I couldn't devote myself to 
prayer. 

1206
01:10:20,400 --> 01:10:24,080
I'm so thankful and I commend 
Key Life Fellowship. 

1207
01:10:24,080 --> 01:10:29,240
That I am able to do this, that 
we are as structurally sound as 

1208
01:10:29,240 --> 01:10:32,720
we can be with our leadership in
the church, I am thankful for 

1209
01:10:32,720 --> 01:10:37,280
that. 
Because it's not the norm, it's 

1210
01:10:37,280 --> 01:10:41,560
rare that a pastor can do his 
job and that the other pastors 

1211
01:10:41,560 --> 01:10:42,960
in this church can do their 
jobs. 

1212
01:10:43,160 --> 01:10:45,920
And we can trust in the deacons 
to do their job. 

1213
01:10:45,920 --> 01:10:50,240
And that's how it's designed to 
work. 

1214
01:10:52,560 --> 01:10:57,000
God says because these deacons 
are willing to serve, we had to 

1215
01:10:57,000 --> 01:11:02,760
hold them in the highest regard.
We had to see them as excellent.

1216
01:11:03,600 --> 01:11:06,120
We got to commend them for their
Excellency. 

1217
01:11:08,400 --> 01:11:12,480
You know why? 
Because long after people forget

1218
01:11:12,480 --> 01:11:16,280
what we say, they'll remember 
how we served. 

1219
01:11:19,760 --> 01:11:25,000
They'll remember how we served 
long after they forget. 

1220
01:11:26,520 --> 01:11:29,440
Their favorite sermon is that if
anyone's ever had a favorite 

1221
01:11:29,440 --> 01:11:35,200
sermon that I preached, they'll 
remember. 

1222
01:11:36,440 --> 01:11:42,800
He served the people well. 
Those of you who are serving as 

1223
01:11:42,800 --> 01:11:44,720
deacons in this church, remember
that. 

1224
01:11:46,160 --> 01:11:47,920
Remember that in the lives of 
your family. 

1225
01:11:50,960 --> 01:11:54,480
One day your family's going to 
gather around the graveside. 

1226
01:11:57,480 --> 01:11:59,680
They're not going to remember 
how much Scripture you had 

1227
01:11:59,680 --> 01:12:02,960
memorized. 
I'm going to remember how you 

1228
01:12:02,960 --> 01:12:07,640
serve them, how you serve 
Christ, how you love Christ. 

1229
01:12:07,640 --> 01:12:10,080
And because you love Christ, you
love them and you serve them. 

1230
01:12:10,080 --> 01:12:13,480
That's what they're going to be 
talking about, Christ in you 

1231
01:12:13,880 --> 01:12:16,640
serving one another. 
That's what sets us apart. 

1232
01:12:17,600 --> 01:12:19,560
He says there's a reward. 
For the Deacon, you'll be 

1233
01:12:19,560 --> 01:12:22,480
exalted in your standing, but 
also you have assurance in your 

1234
01:12:22,480 --> 01:12:25,040
salvation. 
Watch this and great assurance, 

1235
01:12:25,040 --> 01:12:26,480
he says. 
Those who have served well 

1236
01:12:26,480 --> 01:12:29,600
gained an excellent standing and
great assurance in their faith 

1237
01:12:29,840 --> 01:12:33,600
in Christ Jesus, he says. 
That the Deacon will be rewarded

1238
01:12:33,760 --> 01:12:36,160
with assurance of their 
salvation. 

1239
01:12:36,200 --> 01:12:38,280
Why? 
Because their life is showing 

1240
01:12:38,280 --> 01:12:42,720
evidence that a person who was 
once selfish and self motivated 

1241
01:12:42,800 --> 01:12:45,400
and who wouldn't get dirty for 
anyone else, wouldn't sacrifice 

1242
01:12:45,400 --> 01:12:48,640
anything for anyone else, was 
stingy, and love themselves 

1243
01:12:48,640 --> 01:12:52,960
above all things, is now serving
others wholeheartedly. 

1244
01:12:53,080 --> 01:12:58,520
That is a work of God you can 
know this if God has changed you

1245
01:12:58,560 --> 01:13:02,000
in that area, you can have 
assurance of your salvation. 

1246
01:13:02,080 --> 01:13:06,240
You have been changed by God. 
How do I know this Jesus and 

1247
01:13:06,240 --> 01:13:12,000
what he taught he says in John 
chapter 13 verse 34 new command 

1248
01:13:12,000 --> 01:13:13,680
I give you love one another's 
I've loved you. 

1249
01:13:13,680 --> 01:13:15,320
How did he love them? 
He showed them that he's a. 

1250
01:13:15,320 --> 01:13:18,560
Servant and he served them, so 
you must love one another. 

1251
01:13:18,560 --> 01:13:20,680
If you really love one another, 
you'll serve one another, he 

1252
01:13:20,680 --> 01:13:24,600
says in verse 35. 
By this what you're loving 

1253
01:13:24,600 --> 01:13:27,360
servants. 
You love for one another shown 

1254
01:13:27,360 --> 01:13:28,760
and what you do for them, he 
said. 

1255
01:13:28,760 --> 01:13:32,760
By this everyone will know that 
you are my disciples if you love

1256
01:13:32,760 --> 01:13:36,040
one another. 
That Deacon who is 

1257
01:13:36,040 --> 01:13:39,120
wholeheartedly serving others 
can know he belongs to Christ 

1258
01:13:39,320 --> 01:13:42,720
and the proof is in the fact 
that he loves and desires to 

1259
01:13:42,720 --> 01:13:46,320
serve others. 
God says I'm going to reward you

1260
01:13:46,320 --> 01:13:49,360
with that. 
Assurance while many others are 

1261
01:13:49,480 --> 01:13:52,080
constantly struggling, 
struggling with the assurance of

1262
01:13:52,080 --> 01:13:53,360
their faith. 
You know why you struggle most 

1263
01:13:53,360 --> 01:13:55,480
of the time with your assurance 
of faith. 

1264
01:13:56,120 --> 01:14:01,400
You're not serving the Lord. 
I can tell you this, you're 

1265
01:14:01,400 --> 01:14:02,920
serving the Lord. 
You don't have time to doubt. 

1266
01:14:03,880 --> 01:14:05,360
You're driven by the Holy 
Spirit. 

1267
01:14:05,360 --> 01:14:06,880
You're driven by what His Word 
has taught. 

1268
01:14:07,080 --> 01:14:09,360
You don't have time to think 
about anything but the work that

1269
01:14:09,360 --> 01:14:14,240
He has for you to do. 
The Deacon will be rewarded with

1270
01:14:14,240 --> 01:14:17,600
assurance of faith, knowing that
what he is doing is a work of 

1271
01:14:17,600 --> 01:14:19,360
God. 
What she is doing is a work of 

1272
01:14:19,360 --> 01:14:21,440
God that backs up their 
profession. 

1273
01:14:22,960 --> 01:14:25,200
I don't want to hear people talk
about their profession of 

1274
01:14:25,200 --> 01:14:27,760
Christ. 
You know what I want to do? 

1275
01:14:27,840 --> 01:14:29,120
I want to see Him serve the 
Lord. 

1276
01:14:30,480 --> 01:14:33,160
Why? 
Because talk is cheap and the 

1277
01:14:33,160 --> 01:14:37,440
proof is always in the service. 
Because if you love the Lord, 

1278
01:14:37,840 --> 01:14:40,040
what did He say? 
You do what He says. 

1279
01:14:40,480 --> 01:14:44,480
You keep His commands. 
So this Deacon will experience 

1280
01:14:44,680 --> 01:14:46,240
assurance. 
Others will look at him and say,

1281
01:14:46,240 --> 01:14:47,480
yeah, that's the disciple of 
Christ. 

1282
01:14:47,480 --> 01:14:49,000
That's the follower of Christ. 
Look how he serves. 

1283
01:14:50,400 --> 01:14:54,280
He'll also be able to evaluate 
himself and know that God has 

1284
01:14:54,280 --> 01:14:57,200
done a work in him, that the 
service that he does is not 

1285
01:14:57,200 --> 01:15:00,400
because of anything that he has 
done, because of everything that

1286
01:15:00,400 --> 01:15:06,000
Christ has done in him. 
He'll take note of Galatians 

1287
01:15:06,000 --> 01:15:11,880
513, it says serve one another 
humbly in love. 

1288
01:15:12,960 --> 01:15:14,200
You don't know. 
That's the mark of a true 

1289
01:15:14,200 --> 01:15:18,560
believer. 
He'll take note Mark chapter 10 

1290
01:15:19,000 --> 01:15:21,440
verse 44 where it says, and 
whoever wants to be first must 

1291
01:15:21,440 --> 01:15:23,480
be a slave of all. 
For even the Son of Man did not 

1292
01:15:23,480 --> 01:15:26,600
come to be served, but to serve 
and to give his life as a ransom

1293
01:15:26,600 --> 01:15:30,800
for many who have assurance of 
his faith because he has a 

1294
01:15:30,800 --> 01:15:35,000
desire to give his life for many
just as Christ gave his life for

1295
01:15:35,000 --> 01:15:37,600
many. 
He'll take note of first Peter 

1296
01:15:37,600 --> 01:15:39,400
chapter 4 where it says this and
verse 10. 

1297
01:15:39,400 --> 01:15:41,880
Each of you should use whatever 
gift you have received to serve 

1298
01:15:41,880 --> 01:15:46,040
others as faithful stewards of 
God's grace in its various 

1299
01:15:46,040 --> 01:15:48,480
forms. 
It'll be confirmed to him that 

1300
01:15:48,480 --> 01:15:52,000
he is truly a recipient of God's
grace because he has this 

1301
01:15:52,000 --> 01:15:55,680
supernatural desire within him 
to serve God and to be an 

1302
01:15:55,680 --> 01:15:57,760
example of Christ in his 
service. 

1303
01:15:58,920 --> 01:16:03,880
That's the reward of the Deacon.
Folks, you can't put a price tag

1304
01:16:03,880 --> 01:16:07,560
on that. 
Exalted by a sovereign God-given

1305
01:16:07,560 --> 01:16:11,320
assurance by the same God, 
confirmed by others who see the 

1306
01:16:11,320 --> 01:16:13,520
work that God has done in you, 
in Christ. 

1307
01:16:13,720 --> 01:16:17,120
There's not an earthly reward. 
That even compares to that is 

1308
01:16:17,120 --> 01:16:20,320
there? 
The Deacon will be blessed, and 

1309
01:16:20,320 --> 01:16:23,600
rightfully so, because they are 
worthy of a blessing, aren't 

1310
01:16:23,600 --> 01:16:25,840
they? 
So let's conclude this. 

1311
01:16:26,800 --> 01:16:30,720
We've been blessed, haven't we? 
We've been blessed as a church 

1312
01:16:30,720 --> 01:16:34,520
with so many who fulfill the 
role of the Deacon. 

1313
01:16:34,520 --> 01:16:37,160
I've spent this last week just 
really pondering all this, 

1314
01:16:39,720 --> 01:16:45,000
thinking about those who look 
like what I see in scripture, 

1315
01:16:46,600 --> 01:16:49,560
and I am overwhelmed with 
Thanksgiving to the Lord for 

1316
01:16:49,560 --> 01:16:51,640
each and everyone of you. 
I can't say that enough. 

1317
01:16:51,640 --> 01:16:54,840
You know who you are. 
I can't say that enough. 

1318
01:16:54,840 --> 01:16:58,360
Keep serving Him. 
He will reward you just as He 

1319
01:16:58,360 --> 01:17:00,320
has promised. 
Know that we are all thankful 

1320
01:17:00,320 --> 01:17:02,960
for you. 
Your service is not something 

1321
01:17:02,960 --> 01:17:06,520
that goes unseen or unnoticed. 
We as pastors are able to do our

1322
01:17:06,520 --> 01:17:09,160
job and to do our job 
effectively because you are 

1323
01:17:09,160 --> 01:17:14,360
willing to do yours. 
I thank the Lord for that. 

1324
01:17:16,120 --> 01:17:19,000
He's established it perfectly so
that those things can happen. 

1325
01:17:20,160 --> 01:17:23,280
So to the believers in our 
congregation, be thankful to the

1326
01:17:23,280 --> 01:17:24,720
Lord. 
For the deacons in this church, 

1327
01:17:25,320 --> 01:17:27,280
though, we don't use that term. 
They're servants. 

1328
01:17:27,280 --> 01:17:29,720
You see them. 
They're the ones who do what you

1329
01:17:29,720 --> 01:17:32,200
aren't willing to do. 
They do it with joy in their 

1330
01:17:32,200 --> 01:17:33,480
heart. 
They do it with gladness in 

1331
01:17:33,480 --> 01:17:35,200
their heart. 
They do it for the glory of God.

1332
01:17:35,200 --> 01:17:38,560
Thank the Lord for them. 
Perhaps you're here today and 

1333
01:17:38,560 --> 01:17:41,920
you're an unbeliever and you 
say, Kurt, this stuff really 

1334
01:17:41,920 --> 01:17:43,240
doesn't make sense to me. 
It won't. 

1335
01:17:45,560 --> 01:17:47,680
It won't make sense to you until
you're a part of the family of 

1336
01:17:47,680 --> 01:17:49,080
God. 
You can't figure out why I would

1337
01:17:49,080 --> 01:17:51,240
tear up thinking about all these
people and how dear they are to 

1338
01:17:51,240 --> 01:17:53,120
me. 
Why? 

1339
01:17:53,120 --> 01:17:55,080
Because they're a part of God's 
family that Christ purchased 

1340
01:17:55,080 --> 01:17:56,840
with his precious blood. 
They're dear to me. 

1341
01:17:59,160 --> 01:18:01,160
You have no understanding of 
that because you're still lost 

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in your sin. 
You're still undone by your 

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wretchedness. 
You've offended a holy God. 

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You need to be forgiven. 
You need to be saved, redeemed, 

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as the Bible calls it. 
I pray for you. 

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I pray that today be the day 
that God opens your eyes to see 

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your sinful state and to show 
you that you need a Savior and 

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to reveal to you that Christ is 
that Savior. 

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01:18:22,320 --> 01:18:26,760
And I pray today, by His power, 
He gives you strength to repent 

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of your sin and to turn to Jesus
Christ as Lord and His Savior 

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01:18:29,640 --> 01:18:32,880
this very day, that your life 
would be changed, your sins 

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would be forgiven, and you would
receive eternal life just as 

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Jesus has promised to all who 
believe and trust in Him. 

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01:18:39,360 --> 01:18:40,880
Let's pray together. 
Father, we thank you for this 

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day. 
We thank You for Your word. 

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01:18:42,920 --> 01:18:46,280
Such rich truths that so many 
times just go overlooked. 

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01:18:47,320 --> 01:18:49,680
God, thank You that You won't 
allow us to do that if we just 

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01:18:49,680 --> 01:18:52,720
walk through Your word. 
We see it all, we teach it all, 

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01:18:54,120 --> 01:18:56,080
because it's all of equal 
importance. 

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01:18:57,200 --> 01:18:58,760
God, may we see this important 
role. 

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01:18:59,880 --> 01:19:02,120
Would I pray for those who would
desire to serve in this role, 

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01:19:02,120 --> 01:19:04,840
that you would continue to raise
them up for those who are 

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01:19:04,840 --> 01:19:07,240
serving in this role, or that 
you would continue to encourage 

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01:19:07,240 --> 01:19:11,160
and empower them. 
God, I thank you personally for 

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01:19:11,160 --> 01:19:14,560
each and every one of them. 
God, I pray for the soul who's 

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here today does not know Christ.
And I plead with you, Lord 

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Jesus, you would have mercy upon
them today. 

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01:19:22,760 --> 01:19:24,840
They would talk to someone about
someone, about what it means to 

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01:19:24,840 --> 01:19:27,600
know Christ as Lord and Savior, 
perhaps be saved this very day 

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according to your will. 
And I pray and I ask all these 

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01:19:30,280 --> 01:19:33,640
things in the mighty name of 
Jesus and all God's people said.

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You've been listening to Key 
Life Fellowships Pulpit Ministry

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01:19:38,120 --> 01:19:40,920
podcast. 
Join us each week for more 

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01:19:40,920 --> 01:19:42,520
teaching from God's Word.