1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:03,360 We're going through a book in the Bible called First Timothy. 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:07,480 It's the Apostle Paul writing a letter to Timothy as he is 3 00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:09,320 charged to put a church in order. 4 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:12,720 So we're calling the series Trustworthy or Trustworthy 5 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,880 church so that we can study this as a way to say, you know, God 6 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:20,280 has a beautiful design for, for his people and how they gather. 7 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,280 And we, we want to follow that design. 8 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:26,320 And we especially want to do that well for the day and the 9 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:29,840 age that God has put us in. Because oftentimes, and some of 10 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:32,600 you have probably experienced this, the church and the church 11 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:35,680 leadership and the church gathering is sometimes less than 12 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:38,120 trustworthy. So our hope is to study this 13 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:42,040 letter that is timeless, but it's very timely in a way to 14 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:45,120 become trustworthy followers of God and a trustworthy church, 15 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:47,440 which is really just the people of God gathered. 16 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:50,480 And so we're going to start a new chapter, but we'll continue 17 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:53,760 a, a, a theme we've already looked at the last couple of 18 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:55,240 weeks. We've been looking at Paul 19 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:58,840 exhorting Timothy on how to put the church in order, the 20 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:01,600 instructions for the gathering and the different roles for men 21 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,040 and women in the gathering. 2 weeks ago, Paul was exhorting 22 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:09,920 Timothy in in chapter 2 to have the men pray and stop fighting. 23 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:11,960 And so that was our instruction, instructions for men. 24 00:01:11,960 --> 00:01:14,360 It's like, let's not quarrel. It's not doubt God, Let's not 25 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:16,480 doubt one another. Let's lift up holy hands and 26 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:18,320 pray. And then that transitioned into 27 00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:21,400 instructions that were specifically for women about how 28 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:23,680 they're brought into the gathering to learn and to be 29 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:26,160 peaceable. And and now we're going to 30 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:30,560 continue a instructions for the church in a way that is maybe 31 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,520 the most critical. And I have to say last week, as 32 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:38,040 we talked about First Timothy, chapter 2 and many of you read 33 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:40,560 ahead and knew that we were going to cover a passage of the 34 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,160 Bible that talked about women learning and submission and 35 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,440 being quiet. And I, I probably never had more 36 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:49,960 feedback going into a sermon as people were excited to hear what 37 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:52,200 we had to say. And, and, and, and I also 38 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,520 probably never had feedback on that scale after a sermon. 39 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:58,240 It was just a very many of you found that verse to be so 40 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:01,040 interesting and and kind of waited to see how it was going 41 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:06,240 to unfold. I have to say, sadly, I haven't 42 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:09,800 had anywhere near. In fact, I've had no discussions 43 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:13,280 from any of you about First Timothy chapter 3, which is this 44 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:15,440 week's sermon. No one has come up to me and 45 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,240 said, you know, I can't wait to see you, how you handle 46 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:24,600 qualifications for leadership. And as I read this and consider 47 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:26,680 the church age we live in and what it means to be a 48 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:29,880 trustworthy church, I'm convinced that the problem with 49 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:33,120 the church is not the role of women and the role of men in the 50 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:35,960 gathering. It is much more crucial that we 51 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:40,480 get this right, that the problem and the way to correct and to to 52 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:45,480 be a city on a hill shining the light to the glory of God is not 53 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,880 just the parishioners, but the pastors. 54 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:53,160 There's so many reasons to preach a sermon series on 55 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,560 becoming a trustworthy church. And most of the reasons that 56 00:02:56,560 --> 00:03:00,920 people aren't here to listen to them is not because of worship 57 00:03:00,920 --> 00:03:04,440 style or liturgy or different denominational struggles. 58 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:08,000 It's because in every version of church that people have tried, 59 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:10,280 there have been leaders that failed people. 60 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:13,520 And there are people that aren't with us now because they they 61 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:18,440 experienced a pastor or a church oversight committee or or some 62 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:21,240 church leadership that utterly let them down and hurt them and 63 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:23,800 left them, as it says in First Timothy, shipwrecked. 64 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,560 And so as we consider what we're about to read, I actually made a 65 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:32,200 list of names that just top of mind from my youth to now that 66 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:36,680 you'd probably recognize that what was the headline news for 67 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,960 the Kingdom of God when when this particular pastor fell? 68 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:42,760 And I don't even think I need to read it. 69 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:45,520 I don't think I need to share with you specific names because 70 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:50,080 you all have a touch point to the the moment where you heard 71 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:52,920 of a pastor that fell because of a sex scandal. 72 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:57,240 Or the pastor that was actually using his position as leader to 73 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:01,240 to line his pockets and become wealthy at the expense of of 74 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:05,040 widows and poor people. Or or the the pastor who was so 75 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:09,600 overbearing and domineering that he did great things to grow a 76 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:12,320 church and there was a path of destruction behind him. 77 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,640 So fill in the blank. We all have a a outsider's view 78 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:21,079 of why it's so important to understand that God does not 79 00:04:21,079 --> 00:04:24,080 just simply say, if you're a man, come lead. 80 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:27,560 And if you, if you, if you think you have a gift, you know, if 81 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:30,200 you have experience in the real world, the church could really 82 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:32,280 use your help. There is a narrow gate for 83 00:04:32,280 --> 00:04:34,840 leadership. And the New Testament is very 84 00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:40,160 clear that men who lead the church must be qualified to lead 85 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:42,560 the church to God's glory. And they can also be 86 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:45,080 disqualified to not lead it. And that's what we're going to 87 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:46,800 look at today. I think this is one of the most 88 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:50,680 important sermon topics of our trustworthy series because this 89 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,760 is one of the most important things to get right. 90 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,320 So read along with me. That is the introduction to 91 00:04:57,320 --> 00:04:59,560 chapter 3. We'll look this week at 92 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:03,880 qualifications of overseers and next week qualifications of what 93 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:05,720 sometimes it's called deacons or servants. 94 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:09,800 So it starts in verse one. This is a faithful saying. 95 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:13,400 This is actually that faithful saying phrases where we get the 96 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:16,680 title of our series trustworthy. It's a faithful saying or a 97 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:20,520 trustworthy saying. If a man desires the position of 98 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:23,240 a Bishop, he desires a good work. 99 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:27,800 A Bishop then, must be blameless, the husband of one 100 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:33,440 wife, temperate, sober minded, of good behavior, hospitable, 101 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:38,040 able to teach, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy 102 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:42,880 for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous. 103 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:47,920 One who rules his own household well, having his children in 104 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:51,920 submission with all reverence. For if a man does not know how 105 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:56,440 to rule his own house, how will he take care of the Church of 106 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:59,240 God? He's not a novice, less being 107 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,720 puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as 108 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:05,600 the devil. Moreover, he must have a good 109 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:10,080 testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into 110 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:13,160 reproach and the snare of the devil. 111 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:18,440 So if you were following along point by point, you can find 15 112 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:22,480 qualifications that Paul just gave Timothy on what to look out 113 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:24,520 for and how to raise up men of the church. 114 00:06:24,840 --> 00:06:26,840 And so one of them is able to teach. 115 00:06:26,840 --> 00:06:30,560 Pray for me as I, I'm going to be trying to teach a 15 point 116 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:32,400 sermon. This will be a record for me. 117 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:34,680 So we, we have to move fairly, pretty quickly. 118 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:38,240 But if we're looking for just a little road map, a little matrix 119 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:40,360 for how to look at these qualifications, it's not 120 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:45,280 perfect, but there's essentially 3 categories for who this leader 121 00:06:45,280 --> 00:06:49,040 is and what to look out for that these qualities and, and 122 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:53,000 qualifications fall into. It's basically his character, 123 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:57,680 his conduct and his credibility. And, and, and we'll look at each 124 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:00,240 one of those categories as we go through the list, but we start 125 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:02,880 with Paul's encouragement to Timothy. 126 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:07,800 Why this is a worthy sermon, why this is a worthy examination of 127 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:10,400 the people and the men of the church, because it says in verse 128 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:13,880 one, this is a faithful saying. If a man desires the position of 129 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:16,840 a Bishop, he desires a good work. 130 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:20,600 And so before we get into Paul's encouragement, this is a good 131 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:22,320 work. We just have to define the terms 132 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:26,640 very quickly because he says in new King James, which is our my 133 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,760 kind of preaching version of the Bible, he says Bishop, which is 134 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:33,840 not a title you're going to hear at our gathering or in the 135 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:37,360 structure of our church. So we don't just get to pass and 136 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:39,440 say, well, that doesn't apply to us, but good luck to churches 137 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:42,480 that have bishops. He's actually just describing 138 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:45,720 what the Greek word is getting at an overseer. 139 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:49,680 And we're going to see Paul writing and the New Testament 140 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:54,160 describing the overseers with somewhat of interchangeable 141 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:55,840 titles. And to to get an example of 142 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:58,080 that, you can actually study Acts chapter 20. 143 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:00,480 We won't look at the whole chapter, but we've referenced it 144 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:03,720 a couple times in this sermon series because Acts chapter 20 145 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:06,760 describes Paul's missionary journeys. 146 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:09,480 And he was actually in Ephesus for a number of years. 147 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,280 And when it was time for him to leave Ephesus and he's getting 148 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:15,240 ready to verbally kind of give them some instructions on how to 149 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:19,720 do well as a church, he calls the leadership of the church to 150 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:21,760 to pray with them and give them encouragement. 151 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:24,480 And when he calls them, it says that he called the elders. 152 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:29,320 So that's a term for overseer. Now, the same group of men in 153 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:32,600 Acts 20 that he called as elders, he'll encourage them and 154 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:37,360 say, the Holy Spirit made you overseers of this church or this 155 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:39,559 city. And so he calls elders and he 156 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:42,559 says you guys are overseers. And then his encouragement to 157 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:46,160 them is to shepherd the flock well or to shepherd means 158 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:49,960 pastor. So same group of men are called 159 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:52,360 elders, overseers, pastors and shepherds. 160 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:56,560 Because and the the main emphasis is not necessarily if 161 00:08:56,560 --> 00:08:59,880 those roles are are distinct enough to to carve up and make 162 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:02,440 separate. The main emphasis is every 163 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:06,320 church community and gathering. And then the sub gatherings of 164 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:09,760 the church have men that are qualified to oversee it. 165 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:12,800 And those men can be called elders, pastors, bishops or 166 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:16,080 overseers interchangeably. And so just to give some insight 167 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:18,360 to our church, we don't use the word Bishop, but we have the 168 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:23,400 same concept in the terms elders and pastors and our function, 169 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:25,000 the way we use those terms of the church. 170 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:29,600 Elders are overseers of, of kind of the direction and the, the 171 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:31,880 well-being, the health of our church, the finances of our 172 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:34,680 church, making sure that our church is in a good place and 173 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:37,040 even overseeing some of the overseers. 174 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:41,160 And typically our elders across the board are people that are 175 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:46,080 not everyday boots on the ground salary, full time ministry 176 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:47,760 workers. And one of the reasons for that 177 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:51,720 is our elders are also asked to set forth the, the money and the 178 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:55,360 budgeting and make sure that there's no implicit bias for the 179 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:58,240 people that need to make final calls about money because 180 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:00,680 they're on staff and the money could eventually be funneled to 181 00:10:00,680 --> 00:10:02,920 them. So our elders have an overseen 182 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:05,720 kind of in a general sense. And then in the same way we have 183 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:09,320 overseers that we call pastors. So I oversee kind of the, the 184 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:11,120 overall vision mission of our church. 185 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:14,240 And then we have overseers in different categories of, of 186 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:16,080 house, church, home, home groups. 187 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:18,640 And, and what you would see in the New Testament we see in our 188 00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:21,040 church, there's, there's subgroups that meet in homes. 189 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:23,920 We have overseers of our youth, we have overseers of our kids. 190 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:27,000 Those are all our pastors. So I say all of that because 191 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:31,000 what we're going to read should qualify or disqualify those who 192 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:32,600 are trying to serve our church in this way. 193 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:36,400 Now there there's a couple questions that we could ask that 194 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:38,360 don't get answered and that is OK. 195 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:41,160 How long should an elder be overseen? 196 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:43,600 Is there a certain time frame they should serve and then move 197 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:47,480 on for propriety's sake? Or, or how many people should an 198 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:50,240 elder oversee? What's, what's a good balance 199 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:53,160 between number of elders and number of of people in the 200 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:54,680 church? What is an A? 201 00:10:54,680 --> 00:10:56,720 Is age part of the qualification? 202 00:10:56,720 --> 00:11:00,120 Because elder does mean older. And for all of those questions, 203 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:02,360 good questions to think through and try to discern for our 204 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:04,920 church, but they're not clearly answered in the Bible. 205 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:08,400 And we could, we could take that a step further when looking for, 206 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:11,520 you know, how the structure and governance of church is supposed 207 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:13,560 to work. Our church answers it one way 208 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:15,360 and there's a number of different denominational 209 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:16,960 answers. The reason we're not going to 210 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:19,440 get in the weeds on that is because the Bible does not make 211 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:21,960 that clear. And I think it's worth pointing 212 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:25,960 out that what the Bible does make clear is not structure but 213 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:29,480 character. And if we're looking for a way 214 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:32,200 to be a God honoring church, it's good to have structure that 215 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:34,680 we adhere by. But it's much better to have 216 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:38,840 high character people. Structure will not save a 217 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:40,840 church. There's there's wolves and 218 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:42,240 sheeps. Clothing can invade any 219 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:47,360 structure and take it down and there's amazing high character 220 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:49,480 men of God that can work with any structure. 221 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:54,000 So the emphasis that we read in First Timothy and Titus and in 222 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:58,680 the New Testament is if you find the right leaders with heart 223 00:11:58,680 --> 00:12:02,400 after God's heart and conduct that is respectable and 224 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:05,560 credibility to their life, then the church is going to be well 225 00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:07,800 cared for. And I would say the same thing 226 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:10,880 as as you listen to this, it's worth listening with ears and 227 00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:13,240 not just eyes. And sometimes we listen to this, 228 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:15,640 it's like, OK, I'm going to, I'm going to examine every person, 229 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:19,160 which is part of this project. We want to examine our leaders 230 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:21,640 to qualify and disqualify. But you also want to listen to 231 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:23,840 ears. Everything that we're about to 232 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:26,360 go through point by point, everything we just read. 233 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:30,280 Amazing measurements for Christian discipleship, amazing 234 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:34,680 measurements for how you have an influence in the offices of your 235 00:12:34,680 --> 00:12:37,720 life. And all of it is, is meant to be 236 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:41,080 done in a way that is God honoring in, in different 237 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:42,800 structures that you might find yourself in. 238 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:44,480 So that's the first part of this. 239 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:47,680 And now we're going to get into a 15 point sermon. 240 00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:50,360 Now I have put in some supplemental reading into your 241 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,600 bulletins this week because I'm going to say a lot of things. 242 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:57,280 I, I stated more clearly point by point, just so you have as a 243 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:00,560 reference point for, for what we're aiming for as the 244 00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:02,640 leadership kind of measurement of our church. 245 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:05,520 And also, I know as I was studying this and reading it, I 246 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:08,120 thought I should just memorize every single one of these 247 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:11,600 qualities so that when I find myself in, in real time game 248 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:14,920 time decision mode, I'll have in my mind, in my heart, the word 249 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:18,040 of God giving me filters on how I'm supposed to live and how I'm 250 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:20,800 supposed not into. That's a challenge for all of 251 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:25,360 you parents, bosses, managers, coaches, teachers, neighbors, 252 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:27,840 anyone who has someone that could look to you and say, give 253 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:30,560 me advice. These are amazing lists to to 254 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:32,840 store in your heart for how you can conduct yourself. 255 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:39,520 And we start after all of that verse 2A Bishop then must be 256 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:45,520 blameless. So blameless is a word for a, a, 257 00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:48,640 a, a person that if you were to make a blame, nothing would 258 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:52,040 necessarily be credible. It does not mean perfect. 259 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:56,480 In fact, I, I, I do like the ESV version that says above 260 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:00,320 reproach. There is a line by which you 261 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:05,360 live above that if scrutiny or accusation came against you, you 262 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:08,600 would you'd pass the test. In other words, a leader cannot 263 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:12,920 have a giant scandal just living in the shadows of his life a a 264 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:16,000 giant secret saying that when exposed, would actually 265 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:19,440 disqualify him from another number of these other qualities 266 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:23,200 on the list. Above reproach does not mean 267 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:27,040 above approach. So one thing I think we get 268 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:29,880 wrong about leadership sometimes is that leaderships, you know, 269 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:33,560 we stand on a platform from behind a pulpit and and they're 270 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:35,520 the guys that are righteous and they're the ones that have to 271 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:37,040 learn. Leaders should be examined. 272 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:38,520 That's the whole point of this list. 273 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:41,520 You should be able to look at your leaders life and say, Hey, 274 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:44,080 I've got a question about this or can we talk about this? 275 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:48,840 And accusations aren't necessarily in themselves wrong. 276 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:53,760 Now to be accused and found guilty is what we're careful of. 277 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:55,800 But being accused doesn't mean anything's happened. 278 00:14:56,440 --> 00:15:00,160 Jesus was accused of being a wine bibber, a glutton and a 279 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:02,560 friend of sinners. And he got through that by 280 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:07,280 showing himself loving, caring and actually a a beautiful 281 00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:09,480 picture of the heart of God in every one of those categories. 282 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:13,240 So this only means the charges aren't going to stick. 283 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:17,440 We're not being led by people who have scandals hiding in the 284 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:20,000 shadows. And that's really a headline of 285 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:22,920 all the other qualities because they all live under live above 286 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:26,520 the the the reproach line. And now we'll get into a number 287 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:30,400 of qualifications that have to do with the actual character of 288 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:32,320 the leader. And we'll start with one that I 289 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:35,280 think is a great test of a man's character. 290 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:40,040 And that is how does a man who has committed his life to one 291 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:46,080 woman pass the test? It says a husband of one wife. 292 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:52,160 Simply put, this means he is a one woman man, which would be 293 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:54,320 counter cultural for the day that Paul was writing. 294 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:57,280 I think it's actually sadly very counter cultural for the day 295 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:01,920 that I'm preaching that it is not uncommon for men that are 296 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:05,600 viewed as successful in the world or talented or a man of 297 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,880 influence to have all sorts of pleasures on the side. 298 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:11,440 And Paul says, you know, polygamy might happen in the in 299 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:12,640 this culture, but not in the church. 300 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:17,480 And he says to this church, to our church, one of the worst 301 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:20,360 headlines you're going to read. It's sometimes the headlines 302 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:23,440 that unleash all of the other failures is that there was a 303 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:26,400 pastor caught in a sexual scandal. 304 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,960 That is from the new the New Testament church to now that 305 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:34,040 that's one you can start with. I think there's a couple reasons 306 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:38,840 for it. One the the marriage covenant is 307 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,400 held as one of the great metaphors of the gospel that men 308 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:46,000 we are to love our wives like Christ loved the church with a 309 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:49,080 covenant love that loved until death. 310 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:53,000 That is a great measurement of whether or not you're willing to 311 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:57,000 love the church unto death. And so if men can't stay 312 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:01,040 faithful to one person, they're not going to stay faithful to 313 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:05,520 the all of the different temptations that that seep into 314 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:08,920 a leadership role. And while we're here, we can 315 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:10,920 also say what we alluded to last week. 316 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:14,839 This is one of the ways that I think it is within reason. 317 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:18,680 And I think it's good study of Scripture to say that Paul is 318 00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:22,359 being gender specific here. When he's giving a list of 319 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:26,640 qualifications for leaders, he is saying it's a man of one 320 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:30,120 wife. It is gender specific and I can 321 00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:32,800 say that because later he's going to speak to women, first 322 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:35,960 Timothy chapter 5 and he's going to say to the widows to qualify 323 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,440 for the widow program, you needed to be a woman of one 324 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:42,600 husband while he was alive. Did you honor the covenant you 325 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:45,000 had to him? And he says to widows in chapter 326 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:47,960 5, you need to be a woman of one man. 327 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:51,280 SO2 commandments given specifically one gender at the 328 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:53,800 time. And we'll see later that leader 329 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:56,880 of the the the marriage, leader of the household, leader of the 330 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:00,120 church are all used as qualifications to help us 331 00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:04,320 understand how you can be a, a qualified leader. 332 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:07,480 So this is the main point. That is an assumption, but the 333 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:13,160 main point is marital fidelity and sexual purity. 334 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:16,400 And I hope that if you've been around our church long enough, 335 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:21,640 you know why this is so serious. You get this one wrong, and you 336 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:25,840 have an inevitable shipwreck of the soul. 337 00:18:27,120 --> 00:18:29,840 The only other point to be made here is sometimes a question 338 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:33,400 that comes up in looking for qualified men and wondering, 339 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:35,520 does this mean that they have to be married? 340 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:40,640 And I think that we can, with good reason, say that Paul is 341 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:43,240 making an exhortation for those who are married, not that it's 342 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:45,840 necessary. Meaning those who are single, 343 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:49,440 those who have gone through the tragedy of a biblical divorce, 344 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,840 even those who are widowed can still lead. 345 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:57,120 But he's speaking to men who have a a marriage, an active 346 00:18:57,120 --> 00:18:59,800 marriage, that this is how they must conduct themselves. 347 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:02,280 I think you can see that in the language and I can, I think you 348 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:05,080 can also see that just by inference. 349 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:09,560 I'm happy to say that with that conviction, the Apostle Paul 350 00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:12,720 could be an elder at our church. The Apostle Paul himself who's 351 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:17,520 writing this was not married. We could also include our Lord 352 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:20,400 and Savior Jesus, if he was willing to help, you know, get 353 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:22,040 into the fine tooth combing of our budget. 354 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:24,080 He could be an elder of our church. 355 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:27,840 He was never married. And then also, if you ever come 356 00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:29,600 to midweek, Wednesday nights, you should. 357 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:32,200 It's amazing one of our elders teaches that. 358 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:35,120 And he happens to be single and without children. 359 00:19:35,120 --> 00:19:38,200 I don't think he's disqualified because he's never broken the 360 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:40,520 covenant of marriage that he's committed to. 361 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:43,600 So man of one wife. And then it goes on to say 362 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:47,920 temperate temperance means you're showing moderation, self 363 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:50,800 restraint, a leader who is stable. 364 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:55,520 You know, we, we have to lead the church through often times 365 00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:59,240 the ups and downs of the world and culture and headline news 366 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:02,440 and, and crazy things that are happening all around us. 367 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:05,560 And what we don't want is to be so reactionary that every time 368 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:08,240 something happens, we have to take a Sunday to do a special 369 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:10,680 service to talk about the special news item. 370 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:14,880 We're just people that trust that for the last 2000 years God 371 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:18,000 has been faithful to His church. We read the word verse by verse. 372 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:20,880 We present it as something that's honoring to God and 373 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:22,240 something we submit ourselves to. 374 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:27,840 And we just go week by week, day by day, LED without whiplash of 375 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:31,280 every new idea of ministry or every new thing that we could be 376 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:33,680 talking about. We want people that are steady, 377 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:38,480 someone who doesn't lose his cool and that goes into the 378 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:41,600 continuation of that which is to be sober minded. 379 00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:45,800 Now combine that you'll see it in the insert sober minded also 380 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:50,680 considerate self-control. You know, to be in leadership, 381 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:56,320 you have to battle all the time, the racing comments section and 382 00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:00,600 criticism or overly encouraged and, and you have to think about 383 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:02,720 the future and you have to think about, you know, what you're 384 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,560 what you, what we have is resources and there's all sorts 385 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:08,920 of ideas and there's all sorts of pushback. 386 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:11,720 And, and, and what we have to have in people who are willing 387 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:17,160 to serve in this way is people that have a clear mind. 388 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:21,680 They're not laying in bed at night with anxiety or worry or, 389 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:24,240 or what if this happens or what if that happens? 390 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:28,720 This is one of those categories that is for all of us. 391 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:32,800 Parents need to have that that renewed clear mind that they're 392 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:35,320 not leading their household with a bunch of anxiety, but with the 393 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:37,880 peace of God that surpasses understanding. 394 00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:41,000 In your marriages, you don't want to be racing thoughts. 395 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:42,480 Where were you? Where have you been? 396 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:45,400 You just want to have a a clear and sober mind with 397 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:49,120 self-control. And self-control, simply stated, 398 00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:53,800 is the ability to consistently say no to what is harmful and 399 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:57,200 yes to what is good. So a leader should exhibit the 400 00:21:57,200 --> 00:22:01,520 discipline of self-control, the habits of how he treats his 401 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:04,840 physical body, how he treats his finances, how he treats his 402 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:07,720 relationships continually in his best effort. 403 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:11,520 No one's perfect, but saying yes to what is good in life and the 404 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:14,720 will of God and rejecting saying no to what is harmful. 405 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:18,000 And if you can exhibit discipline in your own life, 406 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:21,040 you're going to need self-control to lead anything, 407 00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:23,960 let alone the church. You're going to need to say yes 408 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:27,520 to the will of God stepping out in faith and no to the opinion 409 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:31,040 of men and all of the the the wayward things that can take a 410 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:33,640 church off the rail. So sober minded self-control. 411 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:36,000 And then it goes on to say good behavior. 412 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:39,600 And that I think that translation's simple enough. 413 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:41,640 We if you've been around kids, you know what it's like to say 414 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:43,720 like mind your manners being good behavior. 415 00:22:45,120 --> 00:22:46,800 It's good for a pastor to be well mannered. 416 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:49,680 I think, I think that's why the ESV again, is, is kind of 417 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:53,200 helpful here. It says to be respectable, to be 418 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:57,680 courteous, to be someone who has manners, who is kind, and it'll 419 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:00,360 go so far as to say is presentable. 420 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:03,960 It's not someone who, you know, looks like they they had a rough 421 00:23:04,120 --> 00:23:06,640 couple of months. It's like they, they look nice. 422 00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:09,680 And as I was preparing this evening, I thought through this 423 00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:12,600 is an area for your prayers. I want to be a more respectable 424 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:14,920 person. In fact, my, my mother-in-law 425 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:18,440 for Christmas this year gave me deodorant, soap and, and 426 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:20,480 Cologne. And I thought this is kind, but 427 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:23,160 this seems like a, a message, a deeper message. 428 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:27,120 And I won't say who, but even as I came here today, someone 429 00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:30,120 handed me a bar soap and I and I and I'm like, what is that? 430 00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:33,000 What is the message for that? So we all, we all need to be 431 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:37,680 respectful leaders, respectable, good behavior, polite, courteous 432 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:43,480 and kind, hospitable. An overseer, if you'll notice 433 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:47,680 the thread or the theme, an overseer has to be an embodiment 434 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:52,040 of the church culture. So being hospitable is one of 435 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:55,080 the constant reminders of the New Testament church that we 436 00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:58,160 need to hear all the time because ancient culture got this 437 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:01,520 point a lot faster than we do. Ancient culture was lived in a 438 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:03,680 time where people were travelling and there weren't 439 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:06,960 just like, you know, hotels and Airbnbs that the church was 440 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:10,640 often times a refuge for, for those who were coming in hungry 441 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:13,400 and needed a place to stay. And Paul is saying, hey, pastor, 442 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:16,600 you better represent that. And I would take that a step 443 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:18,600 further. It's not just hospitable with 444 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:21,480 the ability to welcome someone in, make sure that if they're 445 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:23,400 hungry, they're fed and if they're thirsty, they have 446 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:26,280 water. It's hospitable with your life. 447 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:30,760 A leader should not be as selfish over his time and his 448 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:32,840 his resources and even his own heart. 449 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,400 A leader should welcome people in and make them know that the 450 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:40,600 church is a place that wants to welcome the stranger, that wants 451 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:43,000 those who are hurting to come get healed, those who are hungry 452 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:46,880 to come get fed, and those who are on the outside aside to find 453 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:49,960 Jesus in a presentable and kind way. 454 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:53,720 And so to be hospitable is to not just open up your home but 455 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:58,320 is to open up your life. Also in verse 2.7, if you're 456 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:04,320 counting able to teach, this is a requirement of the leaders of 457 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:08,200 the church because as we studied in the very beginning of this 458 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:10,760 epistle, Paul writing to Timothy, said one of the major 459 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:14,680 problems of the church is unsound doctrine is when 460 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:18,480 teachers claiming to be teachers come in, they don't know what 461 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:21,680 they affirm or they deny. They're preaching legalism. 462 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:25,080 They're they're talking endless genealogies and disputes about 463 00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:27,320 myths. And, and Paul had the right to 464 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:31,160 say those teachers need to be dealt with and you need to fight 465 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:34,000 the good fight of sound doctrine. 466 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,280 And I would say the same is true in our day. 467 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:40,960 We need men who are able to teach, not just able to inspire 468 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:43,840 or able to captivate an audience or give a Ted talk or a word of 469 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:48,680 encouragement, but able to walk the church through sound 470 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:51,960 doctrine. And I, I'm grateful that it just 471 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:54,680 says Abel. I think one of the the ways that 472 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:58,200 we can overemphasize some of these qualities is that in the 473 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:01,000 church age we live in where everything can be broken down 474 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:03,880 into a little shareable clip that could go viral or 475 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:06,080 everything can, you know, you got to keep everyone's 476 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:07,320 attention. Otherwise they're going to get 477 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:09,960 bored and find a new church. We've elevated the role of 478 00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:12,480 teacher. We've, we've made it seem as 479 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:15,640 though if someone has eloquence and they can, you know, make an 480 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:18,400 alliteration sermon with three points that you never forget, 481 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:20,840 make you laugh, make you cry, make you inspired to live for 482 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:24,160 Jesus, They get a pass on all of the other disqualifications. 483 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:27,840 And so we have many, many, many teachers that are great with 484 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:32,440 words but not great with wisdom. And because of that, we live in 485 00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:36,440 a church age that is happy to just get a 20 minute view of God 486 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:39,240 on a Sunday, but there's no actual growth or depth. 487 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:42,440 So it's not just that they're able to talk, but they're able 488 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:46,640 to teach sound doctrine. And you know, I'll just point 489 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:49,080 out again, 15 qualifications we're covering today. 490 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:51,280 This is one. If you add Titus, there's 12 491 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:56,120 more. So 1 of 27 is able to teach and 492 00:26:56,120 --> 00:26:59,240 it does not give you a pass on all of the other ways that you 493 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:03,400 might not be a qualified leader. Another question that sometimes 494 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:07,240 come up, is every elder overseer supposed to, to teach and preach 495 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:09,840 in this manner? And I think clearly, no, I, I 496 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:13,760 don't think that the, the gift of teaching and the, the, the 497 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:16,880 operation of, of the Sunday morning gathering has to be 498 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:19,600 every overseer. But I think every person who's 499 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:22,840 going to give oversight to the church needs to have sound 500 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:25,600 doctrine that they can guide people in by principle, that 501 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:28,400 they can meet with people, understand what's going on in a 502 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:31,840 marriage or between a, a father and a, a son, or understand 503 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:33,160 what's happening in church conflict. 504 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:36,640 And, and, and have a lens of God's word to be the lamp into 505 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:39,480 our feet as we're led. And that can happen one-on-one. 506 00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:42,040 It can happen at coffee. It can happen randomly in a 507 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:43,440 lobby. It can happen through formal 508 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:46,200 meetings. An elder and overseer, a pastor 509 00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:49,440 needs to know the word well enough to allow it to guide 510 00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:53,600 their leadership. So that's the character of an 511 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:56,160 elder. Now we go into the conduct. 512 00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:59,480 So read with me First Timothy, chapter 3, verse 3. 513 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:04,640 Not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but 514 00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:08,280 gentle, not quarrelsome and not covetous. 515 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:11,440 So we'll, we'll put money and covetous together. 516 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:13,960 We'll save it for the end. But you'll notice this is just a 517 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:19,680 list of what a good and healthy overseer is to avoid or not do. 518 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:23,400 And he starts by saying that he's not given to wine. 519 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:26,960 Again, other translations, will, will will say it more plainly. 520 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:32,120 ESP says he's not a drunkard. He's not someone that is so 521 00:28:32,120 --> 00:28:36,040 overtaken by alcohol that it affects his daily life. 522 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:38,800 And you know, you're going to, at this point in the sermon, 523 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,040 you're going to find probably 2 extremes. 524 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:46,360 Some people will deny the fact that the Bible is actually not a 525 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:49,520 book that prohibits alcohol consumption for all its people. 526 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:52,640 The Psalms say, you know that that wine makes the heart glad 527 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:56,320 and it it rejoices at the thought of of merriment because 528 00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:59,120 of a glass of wine in, in, in praising the Lord. 529 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:02,560 And later we'll hear that Paul will say to Timothy, have some 530 00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:04,720 wine for your belly. It it might help your ailment. 531 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:09,600 So it's not a total prohibition and, and yet it's not something 532 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,760 that we, we should look at and say, OK, well, the, the, the, 533 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:14,520 the goal is just to not get drunk. 534 00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:16,880 And, and the line is this many beers. 535 00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:21,760 And the, the idea is that a leader represents sober mind, 536 00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:26,360 sound thinking, clear thought, and ultimately is an example to 537 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:29,600 the flock of God. And this is one of those areas 538 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:32,960 where I think leaders have to be very aware of their example to 539 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:38,120 the flock of God. It would be unhelpful if our 540 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:41,520 leaders and pastors didn't have control over this area of their 541 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:44,920 life and and you had to read that they got a DUI or they were 542 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:48,400 stumbling out of shorties at midnight or that you saw them 543 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:51,880 with a grocery cart at Albertson's full of, you know, a 544 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:54,840 discount beer. I don't. 545 00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:58,240 I mean, it's just not what you want to see as an example to the 546 00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:00,320 flock. So leaders are called to a 547 00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:03,920 standard that is different than how how you guys enjoy the 548 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:06,800 liberty because there's no prohibition against alcohol. 549 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:09,080 There's absolutely a prohibition against drunkenness. 550 00:30:09,080 --> 00:30:12,240 Don't go near the line and leaders even farther from the 551 00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:14,000 line. I think we also have to be 552 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:20,120 respectful and mindful of how we gather in consideration to where 553 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:22,920 people are at with their struggle with all sorts of 554 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:24,480 things. Think that's one of the reasons 555 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:28,560 we want to dress modestly and we don't want to cause any undue 556 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:31,120 temptation as far as we can help it. 557 00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:34,200 And the same reason is that we're not going to be a church 558 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:36,840 that has anything to do in our gathering with alcohol. 559 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:39,320 So you'll never come to church in the park and be like, hey, 560 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:41,440 this year we're just going to we going to have a couple kegs in 561 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:43,920 the park. Drink it if you can can don't 562 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:44,960 drink it. You know who you are. 563 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:49,400 Don't drink it. We aren't going to glorify 564 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:53,000 Christian liberty on social media and and hope that you know 565 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:56,560 only the people that have control over it can can can view 566 00:30:56,560 --> 00:30:59,320 the post and comment and we're net and one of the examples is 567 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:03,800 we still don't use real wine for our communion. 568 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:07,400 That's just in replacement of real wine as to not cause any 569 00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:10,960 confusion about the the gathering here is a place of the 570 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:13,000 Holy Spirit influence and not alcohol. 571 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:16,200 We use the grape juice substitute. 572 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:19,800 So the leaders be mindful of all of those things and don't go 573 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:23,440 near the line and then it says not violent but gentle. 574 00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:27,520 First Timothy chapter 3 verse three. 575 00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:32,160 I've heard it said a pastor should feed the sheep, not beat 576 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:34,320 the sheep. And I think what Paul is getting 577 00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:38,240 at is more of a metaphor than than a real life example. 578 00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:42,600 Obviously no one should be violent, let alone leaders. 579 00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:46,280 A theme of our study in First Timothy, if a, if a leader, 580 00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:50,160 pastor, elder is violent with you, call security on them just 581 00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:52,400 like you would anyone else and we will have them removed and 582 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:54,720 we'll call the cops. There's no, there's no violence 583 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:57,560 in leadership, but I think it's more than physical. 584 00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:02,680 I think that often times what can happen is people in a place 585 00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:06,720 of authority use that authority to get what they want no matter 586 00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:09,480 what. And so preachers, teachers, 587 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:12,320 people in authority can guilt trip in a way that is 588 00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:16,560 aggressive, and they can scripture trip in a way that is 589 00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:19,400 aggressive. They can have a vision or a 590 00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:23,520 mission that is so that is LED with such zeal from their heart 591 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:28,080 and even have an aim for God that is so passionate that 592 00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:30,840 they're willing to have a path of destruction in the wake of 593 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:32,520 their leadership. And that is wrong. 594 00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:38,280 No one should be a victim of good leadership The the church 595 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:43,120 is is supposed to be led the way that Christ embodied the love of 596 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:46,160 God and showed us the visible image of the invisible God. 597 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:51,240 He came as a Good Shepherd. He came as the the Psalm 23 598 00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:54,160 here's green pastures Stillwater, I will comfort you. 599 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:56,720 I will guide you through the valley of the shadow of death, 600 00:32:56,920 --> 00:33:00,960 and I will not harm you. And I think that it that Paul 601 00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:03,920 says it clearly in the second letter to Timothy, when he says 602 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:08,200 a servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but be gentle to all, 603 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:11,360 able to teach, patient and humility, correcting those who 604 00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:14,760 are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them 605 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:17,080 repentance, so that they may know the truth. 606 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:20,920 Be gentle in the correction. And this is one of those areas 607 00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:24,320 where listen as parents, but also understand this as people 608 00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:27,640 who have ever overseen, if you've ever been a Bishop or an 609 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:32,720 overseer of children, you know that that you're doing them harm 610 00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:36,600 if you're pushing them in a way that is so aggressive that even 611 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:38,600 if they get there, they're not going to listen to you anymore. 612 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:42,480 Sadly, there are so many kids that grow up with well intending 613 00:33:42,480 --> 00:33:45,360 parents and they're like, as soon as I'm 18, I'm turn 18, I'm 614 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:48,760 never listening to you again because you were so aggressive, 615 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:51,840 you were so violent, you were so harsh with your words that even 616 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:54,840 if you had good advice, it didn't land anywhere near my 617 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:57,080 heart. And and often times that is a 618 00:33:57,080 --> 00:34:00,880 picture of a domineering pastor or leaders. 619 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:03,000 So I think it's worth a double emphasis. 620 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:06,120 It says in James chapter 1. So that my beloved brethren, let 621 00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:11,480 every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. 622 00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:15,679 For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of 623 00:34:15,679 --> 00:34:18,880 God. If you, if someone is giving you 624 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:23,760 righteousness and an angry cup, it will not produce the fruit 625 00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:27,480 that he thinks it will. And please pass from the drink. 626 00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:32,080 And I, I, I, I will point out how James starts that 627 00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:35,120 exportation. He says be quick to listen. 628 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:39,679 So leaders have to be able to teach and they also have to be 629 00:34:39,679 --> 00:34:42,360 able to listen. It's not enough just to stand up 630 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:45,760 and talk and, and tell people to, to, to do what's said and 631 00:34:45,760 --> 00:34:47,880 get out of the way. The leader should be quick to 632 00:34:47,880 --> 00:34:51,239 listen, quick to understand the state of the people that they're 633 00:34:51,239 --> 00:34:53,679 leading. Says #10 and verse 3, not 634 00:34:53,679 --> 00:34:57,480 quarrelsome. It's been said it's possible to 635 00:34:57,480 --> 00:35:00,680 win an argument and lose the soul. 636 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:05,720 And that is essentially one of the core issues that Paul was 637 00:35:05,720 --> 00:35:07,520 dealing with. Some of these bad teachers were 638 00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:11,960 coming in unsound doctrine, pointless discussions and it and 639 00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:16,000 and and the the fruit of it was endless disputing just fighting 640 00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:19,480 with each other all the time. So I Paul will say stop fighting 641 00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:23,760 and start praying because leaders should not be people who 642 00:35:23,760 --> 00:35:26,400 have to fight in order to get their way. 643 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:29,640 And Paul says the Timothy fight the good fight with his sound 644 00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:34,720 doctrine and don't engage in endless disputes and a 645 00:35:34,720 --> 00:35:39,520 quarrelsome or angry or always ready to fight leader is not a 646 00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:41,520 wise leader. That's an insecure leader. 647 00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:45,360 That's a leader who's actually worried that something that 648 00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:49,280 you've pointed out is, is going to cause them to be somehow less 649 00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:53,000 of a leader over you because and they're willing to die on every 650 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:55,640 single hill. So Paul says to Timothy, the, 651 00:35:55,720 --> 00:35:58,600 the people you raise up make sure they're not one of the, the 652 00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:02,040 quarreling, fighting men of your church. 653 00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:05,440 And then it says, put them together, not greedy for money 654 00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:09,080 or covetous. So they go together. 655 00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:12,600 They're the same heart issue. A sadly, we, we already looked 656 00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:15,000 at the headline of, of pastor sex scandal. 657 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:17,840 And what that does just demoralize a church and cause 658 00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:20,400 the name of the Lord to be blasphemed in the Gentiles. 659 00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:23,440 And same thing with the money scandal. 660 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:27,880 The the the pastor who is exposed as using the pulpit in 661 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:30,600 the place of influence, not only to be an overseer of the 662 00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:32,840 congregation, but an overseer of the money purse. 663 00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:36,920 And the vision is actually a a vision to grow so large that the 664 00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:40,160 budget can actually sustain a lifestyle that God never 665 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:43,920 intended a pastor to live. So we don't have to look far to 666 00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:48,160 look for the anti example, the television, the televangelist 667 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:52,560 pastor who's who's asking you to to sow the seeds of faith so 668 00:36:52,560 --> 00:36:55,840 that they can get one more private jet to fly him from his 669 00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:59,720 mansion to his next amazing crusade to his private villa 670 00:36:59,720 --> 00:37:03,240 where he can do a respite and and retreat in his before his 671 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:06,200 next shopping spree. It's like that is just horrible. 672 00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:11,080 We, we don't the the name of God is blasphemed when lovers of 673 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:14,840 money stand behind pulpits and use the congregation as a way to 674 00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:18,760 raise cash. And so that informs a little bit 675 00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:21,480 of our liturgy, the just liturgy, meaning the structure 676 00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:23,400 of our gathering, why we do what we do. 677 00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:27,760 And one of the things we don't do and some churches do it and, 678 00:37:27,760 --> 00:37:30,360 and then this is definitely no condemnation for those who do, 679 00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:34,960 but as a way to not ever give the false assumption that money 680 00:37:34,960 --> 00:37:38,200 is more important than souls. We don't pass a basket. 681 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:42,600 I just too many times sat back, saw visitors, saw someone who is 682 00:37:42,600 --> 00:37:44,680 coming to our church and the the basket comes. 683 00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:48,240 They're like, I feel bad and they just start obligatory 684 00:37:48,240 --> 00:37:51,280 giving because they know that that Christians love money in 685 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:54,360 their mind. And I just that's not why we're 686 00:37:54,360 --> 00:37:57,240 here. We are not here to pressure 687 00:37:57,240 --> 00:38:02,800 anyone to give and still probably my, you know, least 688 00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:05,040 favorite, although I love everything that we do when we 689 00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:08,000 gather, but when we have to do the four ways to give and you 690 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:10,160 know, you can send your check or you can listen. 691 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:12,400 We have 4 little boxes right over there. 692 00:38:12,640 --> 00:38:16,840 God loves a cheerful giver. Give according to the grace and 693 00:38:16,840 --> 00:38:19,760 the favor that God gives you in the way that you want to worship 694 00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:23,240 him and praise him and, and by God's grace, we are a well 695 00:38:23,400 --> 00:38:26,040 sustained church. So we, we have nothing to 696 00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:29,120 complain about, which really points us to the other part of 697 00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:32,280 this, which is that not only should a leader not be greedy 698 00:38:32,280 --> 00:38:36,560 for the money, they shouldn't be a leader that has a heart of 699 00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:39,280 coveting, meaning they, they look out and they see what they 700 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:40,440 don't have. And they're like, that's what I 701 00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:43,000 want. And it can creep into a leader's 702 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:45,240 heart. You know, pastors talk and they 703 00:38:45,240 --> 00:38:48,080 look around and you know, you're driving and you see the, the, 704 00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:51,280 the latest, greatest stadium church and pastors in the 705 00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:53,360 valley. It's like, well, I wish we had 706 00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:57,440 a, a, a gymnasium with a playset inside. 707 00:38:57,440 --> 00:39:00,400 And I wish we could do like satellite campuses and all of 708 00:39:00,400 --> 00:39:02,760 the the bells and whistles of the modern church. 709 00:39:02,960 --> 00:39:05,880 There's a temptation that Satan will use against the heart of a 710 00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:08,320 pastor to say, don't you wish you had a different church? 711 00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:09,800 Don't you wish your church gave more? 712 00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:10,920 Don't you wish you had more money? 713 00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:14,600 It's like, listen, one of the great secrets to life according 714 00:39:14,600 --> 00:39:16,840 to Apostle Paul is the heart of contentment. 715 00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:20,520 And and I want to be part of this church with you. 716 00:39:20,520 --> 00:39:22,800 That's just content in everything we do. 717 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:26,040 When I look around and I think about the state of the world and 718 00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:28,800 just underground churches and churches in Africa that meet 719 00:39:28,800 --> 00:39:31,520 under a mango tree, I'm like, we must have one of the nicest 720 00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:34,800 churches in the world. We have nothing but to complain 721 00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:35,920 about. We should just be saying thank 722 00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:38,280 you every Sunday. Like look what we have as a 723 00:39:38,280 --> 00:39:41,920 church and the one of the best cures for a greedy heart and a 724 00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:45,240 covetous heart is just generosity, just learning to to 725 00:39:45,240 --> 00:39:46,560 bless others and to give it away. 726 00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:51,120 So I know that if, if we lead, if elders and overseers lead 727 00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:54,320 with generosity, then then we're sowing generosity, we'll reap 728 00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:56,720 generosity. So if you want to give, give 729 00:39:56,720 --> 00:39:58,640 according to the the abundance of your heart. 730 00:39:59,720 --> 00:40:02,520 OK, so we've got, we've got his character, his conduct. 731 00:40:02,720 --> 00:40:07,360 And now quickly, we look at his credibility, which is so 732 00:40:07,360 --> 00:40:10,280 beautiful that. The, the Lord has, has given us 733 00:40:10,280 --> 00:40:12,400 this measurement for how to raise up leaders. 734 00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:15,760 And some of this is it isn't just guesswork. 735 00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:19,360 It's like, listen, a good leader isn't just going to lead the 736 00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:21,040 household of God. Well, he's going to lead his 737 00:40:21,040 --> 00:40:23,920 house well. And, and a better measurement of 738 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:28,240 a leader is not the stage. It's actually how he's a servant 739 00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:30,040 in his private life. It's his home. 740 00:40:30,440 --> 00:40:34,560 And so it says in first Timothy chapter 3, verse four, look for 741 00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:39,640 one who rules his house well, having his children in 742 00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:44,000 submission with all reverence for if a man does not know how 743 00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:49,000 to rule his own house, how we take care of the Church of God. 744 00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:54,040 So Paul's saying, Timothy, you know, get a get a get a read on 745 00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:55,600 how they're already living their life. 746 00:40:56,320 --> 00:40:59,360 Are they someone that you can get a measurement of how are 747 00:40:59,360 --> 00:41:02,520 they faithful and little so that we know they can be faithful and 748 00:41:02,520 --> 00:41:04,200 much. And there's a couple of things. 749 00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:06,480 One is, does he rule his household well? 750 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:09,360 And one of the qualifications that sometimes gets 751 00:41:09,400 --> 00:41:12,840 overemphasized, but it shouldn't be under emphasized, is finding 752 00:41:12,840 --> 00:41:16,720 a leader that is a good steward. And so sometimes in the modern 753 00:41:16,720 --> 00:41:19,720 church, you'll find leaders who have had success in business or 754 00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:21,800 they've gained a little bit of wealth and they've been generous 755 00:41:21,800 --> 00:41:24,120 with it and, and they get qualified to be leaders. 756 00:41:24,120 --> 00:41:26,720 And I think if that's the only emphasis or the only 757 00:41:26,720 --> 00:41:29,960 qualification, that's not good. But if it's in line with this 758 00:41:29,960 --> 00:41:32,560 person's done well with his household, and that's kind of 759 00:41:32,560 --> 00:41:35,400 what Paul is getting at. According to ancient culture, 760 00:41:35,400 --> 00:41:38,960 the household was not just husband, wife, nuclear family. 761 00:41:39,160 --> 00:41:42,800 Many of these men had small estates with servants and 762 00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:46,280 multiple family members. And they had an enterprise of 763 00:41:46,280 --> 00:41:49,640 making money with clients and resources and, and, and that was 764 00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:52,760 a big job to manage that well. And Paul says, how, how are they 765 00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:56,520 doing with all of that household stewardship? 766 00:41:56,760 --> 00:42:00,160 If they're doing well there household that is, is your 767 00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:04,360 family can work well with a household that is your God and 768 00:42:04,520 --> 00:42:08,160 that is God's. And so he, he goes on to say, 769 00:42:08,400 --> 00:42:11,600 here's another fruit of that. And he he talks about the 770 00:42:11,600 --> 00:42:13,800 children. He says having children in 771 00:42:13,800 --> 00:42:17,120 submission with all reverence for if a man does not know how 772 00:42:17,120 --> 00:42:20,760 to rule his house, how will he take care of the church. 773 00:42:20,760 --> 00:42:25,400 And so now we see not only just this household stewardship, but 774 00:42:25,520 --> 00:42:29,080 the fruit of his leadership actually is his little disciple 775 00:42:29,080 --> 00:42:33,480 making factory that is his children and that that this is a 776 00:42:33,480 --> 00:42:36,920 this is a part of the the word that is very helpful. 777 00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:38,320 You don't have to take a guesswork. 778 00:42:38,640 --> 00:42:43,800 Is the leader that is overseen? Is his family healthy? 779 00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:47,480 Are they loving the Lord? Are they following his lead? 780 00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:53,040 Or, which is all too common, has his family died at the altar of 781 00:42:53,040 --> 00:42:56,360 his ministry? And we have to get that in order 782 00:42:56,360 --> 00:42:58,680 and at least approach it. Look at it. 783 00:42:59,080 --> 00:43:02,440 And I don't think this means, just like a blameless man 784 00:43:02,440 --> 00:43:05,640 doesn't mean a perfect man, I don't think this means that his 785 00:43:05,640 --> 00:43:08,880 children are perfect. I think this means that his 786 00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:13,680 children are on a trajectory of God honoring discipleship. 787 00:43:13,840 --> 00:43:17,200 And the two marks that Paul will give Timothy is do the children 788 00:43:17,200 --> 00:43:19,720 submit? And do they have reverence? 789 00:43:19,880 --> 00:43:24,320 Other words would say, do they trust and obey is is his 790 00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:28,160 leadership over his household producing in his family children 791 00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:32,160 that when he speaks, they listen and they're willing to go with 792 00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:34,320 his lead. And I think this should give us 793 00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:37,520 some answers for maybe another question that would come up. 794 00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:40,080 It's some of you are listening to these qualities and 795 00:43:40,080 --> 00:43:43,120 qualifications and you love the Lord and you're you're doing 796 00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:46,600 well by this list and you think, but I've got this prodigal child 797 00:43:46,600 --> 00:43:49,200 and I and what does that mean? What how does that reflect on 798 00:43:49,200 --> 00:43:51,480 me? And, and I think big picture, 799 00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:55,040 even using the term prodigal child points us to one of the 800 00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:58,840 most amazing love stories in all of history, which is the 801 00:43:58,840 --> 00:44:03,640 prodigal father Luke chapter 15. There is a son that essentially 802 00:44:03,640 --> 00:44:06,200 says to his father, you're dead to me, give me my estate. 803 00:44:06,200 --> 00:44:11,120 He goes and he lives outside of the grace and the goodness of 804 00:44:11,440 --> 00:44:13,400 the the will of God for his life. 805 00:44:13,400 --> 00:44:17,360 And I think that if you're in that moment and you study that 806 00:44:17,360 --> 00:44:21,600 story, you should be encouraged. Not necessarily that the fruit 807 00:44:21,600 --> 00:44:24,200 of all of your parenting is going to turn into missionaries 808 00:44:24,200 --> 00:44:27,320 and pastors and elders of churches, but there is a way to 809 00:44:27,320 --> 00:44:31,000 be qualified just as you wait and just as you pray and just as 810 00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:34,560 you love the child that isn't necessarily fully loving you 811 00:44:34,560 --> 00:44:37,720 back. There is faithful parents that 812 00:44:37,720 --> 00:44:42,080 do not have faithful children. And so I go back to those two 813 00:44:42,080 --> 00:44:45,520 marks that Paul says. He says obedience and trust. 814 00:44:45,880 --> 00:44:48,800 I think those are two good categories for me in my life 815 00:44:48,800 --> 00:44:50,640 right now. If you were judging my children, 816 00:44:50,880 --> 00:44:53,440 it would be less about trust and more about obedience. 817 00:44:53,680 --> 00:44:55,320 My, my, my kids have to trust me. 818 00:44:55,320 --> 00:44:56,440 I'm like, get in the car. We're going. 819 00:44:56,440 --> 00:44:58,680 They're not like, I don't know, should I go with you? 820 00:44:58,680 --> 00:44:59,960 They, they have to, they live with me. 821 00:45:00,360 --> 00:45:03,040 But they can show you a measure of obedience. 822 00:45:03,240 --> 00:45:06,480 Do they listen? Are they are they following my 823 00:45:06,480 --> 00:45:08,560 lead? And so for for the leaders that 824 00:45:08,560 --> 00:45:11,080 have younger kids, I would measure the obedience of your 825 00:45:11,080 --> 00:45:13,440 children. For leaders that have older 826 00:45:13,440 --> 00:45:17,800 children, I would measure the reverence and trust because 827 00:45:17,880 --> 00:45:22,040 there comes a time when your children are no longer in good 828 00:45:22,040 --> 00:45:24,240 health supposed to just obey you. 829 00:45:24,640 --> 00:45:26,880 There comes a time when you have to commit them to the Lord. 830 00:45:26,880 --> 00:45:28,520 You say I've done my best to disciple them. 831 00:45:28,760 --> 00:45:31,760 Lord, I trust that everything I've implanted to them. 832 00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:35,080 You have the grace to take care of the rest and, and if you're 833 00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:38,200 over a certain age and you're still asking for your parents to 834 00:45:38,200 --> 00:45:41,720 give you all of the, the yeses and Nos of life and you're just 835 00:45:41,720 --> 00:45:44,560 going to obey them. You're probably not a great 836 00:45:44,560 --> 00:45:48,320 version of what this is looking for, but you can always trust 837 00:45:48,320 --> 00:45:50,480 your parents. Even if you're not coming to 838 00:45:50,480 --> 00:45:53,080 church every Sunday, even if you're old enough to make your 839 00:45:53,080 --> 00:45:56,560 own decisions, your parents can always have a role in your life. 840 00:45:56,560 --> 00:46:00,520 Your dad can always be someone in your life that has your ear 841 00:46:00,640 --> 00:46:03,600 and when he says something, you know he has your best interest 842 00:46:03,600 --> 00:46:06,960 in mind because he loves you more than his own life. 843 00:46:07,360 --> 00:46:10,680 And that is a great measure. If you have grown children, no 844 00:46:10,680 --> 00:46:13,480 matter where they are in their participation of church, if you 845 00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:15,920 have grown children that trust you in that way, that's a great 846 00:46:15,920 --> 00:46:20,480 measure of a man. And then it says not a novice 847 00:46:20,720 --> 00:46:23,160 less being puffed up with pride. You fall into the same 848 00:46:23,160 --> 00:46:26,440 condemnation of the devil. Novice just means beginner. 849 00:46:27,080 --> 00:46:30,840 ESV says not a recent convert, that the direction is very 850 00:46:30,840 --> 00:46:34,160 clear. You give someone leadership too 851 00:46:34,160 --> 00:46:37,880 early, they get saved at a crusade or on a Sunday morning 852 00:46:37,880 --> 00:46:40,800 and they say, hey, I was rocketed in the world and now I 853 00:46:40,800 --> 00:46:43,280 want to rocket in church. I'm a really skilled and gifted 854 00:46:43,280 --> 00:46:44,720 person in this way. Put me to work. 855 00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:48,840 If you put the the leadership mantle on them too quickly that 856 00:46:48,840 --> 00:46:52,200 there's not a character that's built in them and that could 857 00:46:52,200 --> 00:46:54,840 lead to pride. You see it all the time. 858 00:46:55,200 --> 00:46:57,120 Someone just comes and they think they're going to be the 859 00:46:57,120 --> 00:47:00,520 savior of the church rather than the church being their disciple. 860 00:47:00,720 --> 00:47:04,080 And that's what Paul says, if you give leadership to a 861 00:47:04,080 --> 00:47:08,400 beginner or an early convert, convert, you might be actually 862 00:47:08,400 --> 00:47:10,120 sowing seeds of pride in their life. 863 00:47:10,120 --> 00:47:15,280 So how early is too early? I would say there's no, there's 864 00:47:15,280 --> 00:47:18,280 no, there's an unclear answer. Don't wait too long, don't go 865 00:47:18,280 --> 00:47:19,960 too soon. It's always, a lot of times the 866 00:47:19,960 --> 00:47:21,800 answer is medium. So medium here. 867 00:47:21,800 --> 00:47:26,680 Don't just be patient and also be step out in faith to not 868 00:47:26,680 --> 00:47:30,760 despise anyone's youth. And then finally it says that 869 00:47:30,760 --> 00:47:33,560 they in verse 7. Moreover, he must have a good 870 00:47:33,560 --> 00:47:37,120 testimony among those who are on the outside leaders. 871 00:47:37,200 --> 00:47:40,320 You bear the name of Christ, we all do. 872 00:47:40,920 --> 00:47:44,600 But leaders stand before the church, they open the word of 873 00:47:44,600 --> 00:47:46,440 God and they speak with authority. 874 00:47:46,560 --> 00:47:49,280 And that's why they are double judged because they have to not 875 00:47:49,280 --> 00:47:52,560 only teach and they also have to be judged by the way they live 876 00:47:52,680 --> 00:47:56,560 from the outsiders. Let no leader go out and 877 00:47:56,560 --> 00:48:00,280 blasphemy the name of God to the outside world because one of 878 00:48:00,280 --> 00:48:04,760 these qualifications is utterly overlooked when we lay hands on 879 00:48:04,760 --> 00:48:07,400 him. So having a good reputation from 880 00:48:07,400 --> 00:48:11,000 outsiders now we have very little time. 881 00:48:11,720 --> 00:48:14,840 And so I want to just give 3 basic reasons why this is such 882 00:48:14,880 --> 00:48:19,760 an important, important message to to to hold in your heart and 883 00:48:19,760 --> 00:48:24,640 to have as the guide for sitting under the authority of an 884 00:48:24,640 --> 00:48:28,840 overseer of a church. 1 You need to qualify and disqualify your 885 00:48:28,840 --> 00:48:31,440 leaders. So many people talk about church 886 00:48:31,440 --> 00:48:34,080 shopping and whether or not they like the facility or the kid 887 00:48:34,080 --> 00:48:35,040 care. That's all fine. 888 00:48:35,840 --> 00:48:38,600 One thing that has to be on your list is when you're getting 889 00:48:38,600 --> 00:48:42,320 close to the oversight relationship to the church are 890 00:48:42,320 --> 00:48:46,320 are you being led by men who exhibit these qualities in a God 891 00:48:46,320 --> 00:48:49,720 honoring way? Not perfectly. 2 Not only a 892 00:48:49,720 --> 00:48:53,160 measure of the leaders, but a measure of your leadership. 893 00:48:54,400 --> 00:48:58,000 This message is not for a select few of men that are going to be 894 00:48:58,000 --> 00:49:01,040 called into some oversight meetings of our church. 895 00:49:01,040 --> 00:49:05,800 This message is for believers to know that there is a real way 896 00:49:05,800 --> 00:49:10,040 that God is maturing you to reflect His character in 897 00:49:10,040 --> 00:49:13,560 whatever capacity you have. One person who would look to you 898 00:49:13,560 --> 00:49:17,160 for advice or wisdom or guidance or or answers on the word. 899 00:49:17,360 --> 00:49:21,320 You should be looking at this and saying, am I representing 900 00:49:21,560 --> 00:49:26,240 quality and qualification, bearing the name of God and 901 00:49:26,240 --> 00:49:30,440 offering someone my leadership? And finally, what we're going to 902 00:49:30,440 --> 00:49:33,480 do right now, One, you measure your leaders, 2. 903 00:49:33,480 --> 00:49:38,160 You measure your leadership and three trustworthy church get 904 00:49:38,160 --> 00:49:39,880 this one right and everything will fall in place. 905 00:49:40,360 --> 00:49:42,160 This is all meant to magnify Christ. 906 00:49:43,160 --> 00:49:48,240 This is meant to utterly humble leadership that is anyone but 907 00:49:48,240 --> 00:49:51,400 Jesus. This is this is to save us from 908 00:49:51,400 --> 00:49:53,280 any one of you saying you know, I really like this church 909 00:49:53,280 --> 00:49:55,480 because that guy preaches or that guy sings. 910 00:49:55,800 --> 00:49:58,440 Those are all fine. We want to serve you well, but 911 00:49:58,680 --> 00:50:03,720 no one in any area of church history, church leadership, is 912 00:50:03,720 --> 00:50:07,600 going to perfectly reflect the beauty of these qualifications 913 00:50:07,840 --> 00:50:11,440 except one. This is all a way to once again 914 00:50:11,440 --> 00:50:15,240 realize that God uses very flawed people who are willing to 915 00:50:15,240 --> 00:50:18,160 submit themselves to being built up to serve others. 916 00:50:18,320 --> 00:50:23,480 And it all points to the only one that will never, ever, ever 917 00:50:24,240 --> 00:50:27,400 have a scandal other than the scandal of grace. 918 00:50:28,520 --> 00:50:30,840 He will never, ever, ever, ever let you down. 919 00:50:32,840 --> 00:50:36,360 There is no church leader that should ever be your ultimate 920 00:50:36,360 --> 00:50:39,560 leader. And that is why every time we 921 00:50:39,560 --> 00:50:43,400 gather in forming the liturgy, we sing His praises, we proclaim 922 00:50:43,400 --> 00:50:45,680 His goodness. We put Him at the center of our 923 00:50:45,680 --> 00:50:47,440 worship and the aim of our desires. 924 00:50:47,640 --> 00:50:52,800 And at the very end of everything we ever do, we take 925 00:50:52,800 --> 00:50:55,840 the body and the Blood in remembrance of Him. 926 00:50:55,840 --> 00:51:00,000 If we forget Him, we're losing the whole plot. 927 00:51:01,120 --> 00:51:02,960 The only trustworthy leader is Jesus. 928 00:51:03,120 --> 00:51:06,000 We remember that we are all standing under the banner of His 929 00:51:06,000 --> 00:51:11,200 grace as we pass out the communion to remember that He is 930 00:51:11,200 --> 00:51:14,520 the leader that gave His life so that we could find ours. 931 00:51:14,840 --> 00:51:17,800 When the Chief Shepherd appears, we'll be rewarded with the crown 932 00:51:17,800 --> 00:51:20,640 of glory. Until then, we just keep looking 933 00:51:20,640 --> 00:51:22,680 to Jesus and give each other grace. 934 00:51:22,680 --> 00:51:23,000 Amen.