1 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:08,520 This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Lewis 2 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:12,200 Harold, assistant pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland 3 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:16,520 County in Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Lewis as he 4 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:18,920 continues teaching through God's Word. 5 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,920 I've heard someone say I was one way, I'm one way in business and 6 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:43,280 I'm another way in church with spiritual things. 7 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:45,800 I don't read with that soul in the word of God. 8 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:49,680 I don't read with that soul. He said we are to do all things 9 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:53,400 that's unto the Lord. Everything, every thought should 10 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:57,320 be brought into the captivity and obedience of Jesus Christ, 11 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:01,040 not be one way one place and then another way in another 12 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,440 arena. We are all servants of the Lord 13 00:01:04,519 --> 00:01:07,520 first. What happens when you live one 14 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:10,360 way at church in another way everywhere else? 15 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:14,320 In today's message, Pastor Lewis confronts the idea that you can 16 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:18,160 be one person in business and another in spiritual things. 17 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:21,320 The Word of God never allows that split life. 18 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,040 The Scripture says to do everything is unto the Lord, 19 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:28,440 bringing every thought into obedience to Christ. 20 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:32,280 God can keep your heart undivided when you serve Him 21 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:35,960 first in every area. How do you make sure every part 22 00:01:35,960 --> 00:01:37,760 of your life is lived is unto the Lord? 23 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:41,760 Well, let's join Pastor Lewis in First Timothy Chapter 3 with 24 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:44,960 today's edition of Living Waters of Grace. 25 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:48,360 Turning your Bibles to First Timothy chapter 3. 26 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,680 So why don't we pray and then let's go into the word of 27 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:54,400 Godfather. We do thank you for once again 28 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:58,920 we get opportunity to learn from you, Lord, to get into Your 29 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:01,600 word, the truth, the living Word. 30 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:04,600 Lord, Your word is living. And we thank you that we have 31 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:07,360 the privilege, Lord, to hear Your Word and to sit under that 32 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:09,919 word and have that word do its work in us. 33 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:15,560 We ask God now that you would bless us with the anointing that 34 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:19,120 comes from on high. Lord, if you're not speaking, if 35 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:22,880 you're not giving us what to say and what to hear, if you don't 36 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:27,480 open up our eyes and our understanding, our hearts to the 37 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:32,600 revelation of this Word, Lord, we will not receive anything. 38 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,360 So we ask God that you will pour out your wisdom on us. 39 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:40,320 Pour out your understanding Lord, and help us, O God, to be 40 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,480 able to receive from your word. We ask all these things in the 41 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:47,840 name of our Savior and our Lord. In Jesus name we pray, Amen. 42 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:53,040 We're in First Timothy and we are in chapter 3. 43 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,560 Now. Last week we did talk about the 44 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,760 elders and the qualifications of the elders. 45 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:04,280 And as we went through that list, I just want to remind 46 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,640 everybody that as we go through these, these qualifications, 47 00:03:07,640 --> 00:03:10,720 these lists of qualifications, we're not going through this in 48 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:13,520 a way that it's religious or that it's legalistic or anything 49 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:15,960 of that nature. It's not that anybody is just 50 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:18,360 looking and watching and say, oh, OK, I'll check the box on 51 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:21,200 that. That's not what this is about. 52 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,240 None of this can be done without the empowerment of the Holy 53 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:29,040 Spirit, which is why in the book of Acts, before Jesus even sent 54 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:33,680 the disciples anywhere to do any ministry, to do any witnessing, 55 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:38,600 he said, wait, wait for the power to come and the Holy 56 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:42,040 Spirit will come upon you and then you will be witnesses unto 57 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:46,160 me in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria and to the other 58 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:48,840 parts of the world. We can't do any of that without 59 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:51,800 the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. 60 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:55,520 So as we go through these qualifications, I just want you 61 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,480 to keep in mind that these are things that we are all, each and 62 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:03,320 everyone of us are seeking God to help us with. 63 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:07,240 These are the things that we are pressing into the Lord to help 64 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:09,920 us to attain. And we have to be like Paul. 65 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:12,840 And so I'm not yet obtained and I'm not yet apprehended. 66 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:15,240 I can't keep in mind what I've done yesterday. 67 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,079 I can't keep remembering how I fell short yesterday. 68 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:20,640 I got to look to what's ahead of me, man. 69 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:24,920 I got a press toward the mark of God, the high calling of God in 70 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:27,720 Christ Jesus. So this is what we need to do on 71 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:30,120 a regular basis. So this is not a religious or 72 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:34,520 legalistic list, but there are things that that Paul is saying 73 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:40,120 that as a Deacon or as a elder or a pastor, these are the 74 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:45,400 things that we are looking and seeking God to possess so that 75 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:50,280 we could be a blessing to the people in the ministry and also 76 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:53,600 be a good example to people who are outside of the ministry. 77 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:54,680 Amen. Amen. 78 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:59,040 Let's talk about the qualifications of the deacons. 79 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:02,320 Before we do that, let's go to Acts chapter 6. 80 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:04,320 We can turn back there just for one second. 81 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:08,080 This is the best description and this is actually the foundation 82 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:12,240 or the genesis of where the ministry of the deacons have 83 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,880 started and starting there in verse one, Acts chapter 6, it 84 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:18,480 says Now in those days when the number of the disciples was 85 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:22,800 multiplying, there arose A complaint against the Hebrews by 86 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:26,280 the Hellenists because the widows were neglected in the 87 00:05:26,280 --> 00:05:30,560 daily distribution. Then the 12 summoned the 88 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:34,440 multitude of the disciples and said it is not desirable that we 89 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:38,200 should leave the Word of God and serve tables. 90 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,720 Now, when we say that it's not that Peter and the disciples 91 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:44,880 were saying that this work is beneath us, that's not what he 92 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:47,400 was saying. What he is saying is that by 93 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:50,800 doing this it does take away from the ministry that we are 94 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:53,600 called to. Everyone has a ministry that 95 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:57,240 we're called to, and by doing things that is actually a 96 00:05:57,280 --> 00:06:01,720 ministry or a service that someone else could be called to, 97 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:05,200 it takes away from our own. But he is not saying in any way 98 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:08,640 that we are above serving tables. 99 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:11,320 We do it all the time. It's not that we're above 100 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:14,000 serving table or serving tables is beneath us. 101 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:16,920 It is not. It's not beneath us to run the 102 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:19,600 vacuum sweeper in here. It's not beneath us to pick up a 103 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:22,320 broom. It's not beneath pastors to wipe 104 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:26,360 off tables and to serve people when we have our feast or our 105 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:29,440 fellowships together. It's not beneath us to do any of 106 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:32,120 those things. But what these men understood is 107 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:35,320 that God had brought forth a need. 108 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:39,160 He has shown a need. And when God does that, he's 109 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:42,680 doing that for a purpose because there's purpose and people who 110 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:47,200 are called to do those things. That's why even here, whenever 111 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:50,600 you see something that you sense is lacking and you come to 112 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:53,760 leadership and say, you know this is lacking, we should be 113 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:56,480 able to do this or, or is it possible that we can do this? 114 00:06:56,480 --> 00:06:59,320 That's a ministry that God has probably laid on your heart. 115 00:06:59,840 --> 00:07:03,640 We support you and pray for you to go forth and doing those 116 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:06,160 things. It's something that the Lord has 117 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:08,760 exposed. So anywhere this says here that 118 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:11,800 it's not that we should serve tables, but therefore, brethren, 119 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:16,800 seek out from among you 7 men of good reputation, full of the 120 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:21,560 Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. 121 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:24,520 But we will ourselves continually. 122 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:29,080 And this is the ministry that the pastors and the elders are 123 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:32,840 called to do, is to give ourselves continually to prayer 124 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:37,240 and to the ministry of the Word. In other words, even the 125 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:41,520 oversight of the church. So that is the foundation, that 126 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:46,480 is the genesis of where the whole position of deacons have 127 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:49,040 come from. Now, it doesn't mention the word 128 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:53,080 deacons there, but the word Deacon in the diaconose is 129 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:59,280 actually Greek for servant or service minister. 130 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:01,440 It's a servant and which we all are. 131 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:05,520 But this particular service is geared toward helping the 132 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:09,600 physical matters of the church. And that's exactly what deacons 133 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:11,840 do. Just as the pastors and the 134 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:15,160 elders are given to the ministry of the Word and prayer and the 135 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:19,000 oversight of the church, well, for deacons, they are given to 136 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:23,560 the physical ministry of the church, the practical ministry 137 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:26,600 of the church. They take care of the structure 138 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:31,360 of the church, the outside and the inside needs of the church, 139 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:35,200 physical needs of the church. That's why we have deacons here 140 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:38,799 who will take care of lights if they need to be taken care of or 141 00:08:38,799 --> 00:08:42,120 electrical issues that come up. And some of the other structures 142 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:43,760 that come. And you'll see them with ladders 143 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:47,080 and doing things that I may not be equipped to do or have the 144 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:50,400 understanding to do, but they just come right in and they do 145 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:51,960 it. They see the need, they come 146 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,480 right in and they do it. And that's the ministry of the 147 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:57,720 deacons. And in addition to that, they 148 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:00,160 also take care of a lot of the administrative things in the 149 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:02,400 church as well. You know, they deal with, you 150 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:04,840 know, when we used to do offerings, they would help to 151 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:07,680 take the offerings and a lot of the deacons will help in 152 00:09:07,680 --> 00:09:10,360 counting the money in the offerings and things of that 153 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:14,440 nature to help to distribute to the people who have need. 154 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:18,640 A lot of times the deacons are involved in that service as 155 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:21,360 well. So it is a noble service and it 156 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:25,800 is something that men are called to do and they do it with 157 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,320 everything in them. Now, as we said last week, we do 158 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:33,720 have, I think I said 3, but we actually have 4 that are elders 159 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:36,040 and pastors. Myself and Clark are the two 160 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:39,920 pastors currently in George Pernis and John Morris. 161 00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:44,320 Those are our two elders. But collectively we deal with 162 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:48,320 the oversight or the spiritual oversight of the church. 163 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:52,240 And then we have those who are the deacons in our church, and 164 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:56,560 that is Tom Brubaker, Brad Cheney, and Nick Steele. 165 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:00,600 And they deal with the physical needs of the church, the 166 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:04,440 structural needs of the church, including the financial and 167 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:06,280 administration. And some of them serve in a lot 168 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:09,080 of other ministries as well. A lot of those men teach. 169 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:12,160 These men are able to teach. That might not be one of the 170 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:15,400 qualifications under the name Deacon, but these men are 171 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:19,080 qualified men to teach. This church has been blessed. 172 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:21,560 I don't know if you're aware, but this church has been blessed 173 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:27,080 with many men who are able and qualified to teach, who go into 174 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:29,720 the Word of God and teach. It doesn't have to be me. 175 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:32,280 They could be a number of other men that'd be standing here 176 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:34,400 instead of me. There are many men in this 177 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:38,160 church who have a teaching gift and they are able to teach. 178 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:41,640 There are many women in this church who have a awesome 179 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:45,080 teaching gift as well. So this church has been blessed 180 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:49,880 with men and women who are qualified to teach the word of 181 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,200 God. And it's such a blessing because 182 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:55,360 the understanding of the doctrine is there and it's 183 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:57,720 evident throughout everyone who is here. 184 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:00,800 And I like it because I'm OK with being accountable to 185 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:02,840 someone. If I say something that's not 186 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:05,720 right, please let me know. And I know that these are men 187 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:08,680 and women who study. So if they were to pull me aside 188 00:11:08,680 --> 00:11:11,520 and say that, I know I can trust it because these aren't just 189 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:14,120 people who just say, well, emotionally I didn't like what 190 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:15,480 you said. No, these are people were saying 191 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:18,360 I know that it wasn't right based on from the word of God 192 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:19,840 and they would be able to show that to me. 193 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:21,720 So we're we're blessed with that concern. 194 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:25,040 So anyway, it says here verse starting at verse 8. 195 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:30,600 It says likewise deacons must be reverent, not double tongue, not 196 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:33,760 given too much wine, not greedy for money. 197 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:37,280 OK, so he says they must be reverent and that just simply 198 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:42,160 means there must be men who are worthy of respect, men who carry 199 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:47,000 themselves in a way spiritually that they are worthy of respect. 200 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,800 People see their lives and respect them as men of God. 201 00:11:51,680 --> 00:11:54,920 And that is a blessing because even children, and that's one 202 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:57,000 thing that you cannot fool. You can't fool children. 203 00:11:57,640 --> 00:11:59,960 They know when you have the right heart. 204 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:04,640 They know when you have a heart for God, a heart that's tender, 205 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:08,680 a heart that's even when you're correction of a child, they know 206 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:12,280 that there is God in you. They know that there's a spirit 207 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,280 of kindness, a spirit of goodness in you, a spirit of 208 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:18,640 love and protection. They know that, They know that. 209 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:22,680 So when they too are respectful of deacons or and when the 210 00:12:22,680 --> 00:12:26,840 adults respect these men, that is what exactly a Deacon should 211 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:28,360 be. They should be men who walk in 212 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:30,680 respect. Not only are they respected, but 213 00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:33,520 they're also men who respect others. 214 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:37,280 And so we also understand that this character that a Deacon 215 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:40,440 has, it's worth imitating. And I can tell you the truth 216 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:43,400 that the men that we have here that serve as deacons, I would 217 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:48,920 have no problem if my sons were to look at these men as examples 218 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:51,800 of spiritual or Christian character. 219 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:53,360 I would have no problem with that. 220 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:56,840 The the men who have been serving here as deacons have 221 00:12:56,840 --> 00:13:00,360 been men that we have been able to, I've been able to watch over 222 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:02,840 my time being here. Many of them were here before me 223 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,280 and I can tell you that I've seen that they love their 224 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:10,280 families, they love God, they love God's Word, and they love 225 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:12,440 God's people and that's important. 226 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:16,320 That is very important. They've demonstrated honesty, 227 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:19,680 they've demonstrated knowledge of the Word and love for Jesus 228 00:13:19,680 --> 00:13:22,200 Christ and God and his Son Jesus Christ. 229 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:26,200 Their families are here in the church and they are men who are 230 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:29,480 faithful to their families. These are men that I have, 231 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:33,000 again, I have no problem watching them and seeing them as 232 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:36,160 good examples. And at the same time, while they 233 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:39,600 are respected, they respect, they're not double tongue. 234 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:42,520 That means they're not 2 faced. Anybody remember the, the name 2 235 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:45,320 faced it, the term 2 faced it. We don't hear that much anymore, 236 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:47,800 but that person is 2 faced it. What does that mean? 237 00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:51,000 You know, these are men who are not double tongue or they're not 238 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:52,680 2 faced it. That means that they're not 239 00:13:52,680 --> 00:13:54,760 gossips. They're not saying one thing to 240 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:57,640 one person and saying something totally different to someone 241 00:13:57,640 --> 00:13:59,320 else. So it's almost like it's two 242 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:01,840 different people. They come out of a meeting, they 243 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:04,160 tell some people, oh man, that was a great meeting. 244 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:06,800 That person did a really good job explaining that. 245 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:08,600 And, and that was that was awesome. 246 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:10,720 I, I feel like I understand, I feel like I've learned. 247 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:12,840 Then they go to someone else. Did that person prepare? 248 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:15,320 They didn't sound like they made any sense, you know, and it's, 249 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:16,880 it's just like they're double tongue. 250 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:20,240 They say one thing about one way and one thing another way. 251 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:23,120 And these are the kind of things that inner church can cause 252 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:25,720 discord. You know, when people are saying 253 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:28,240 different things to different people can cause discord. 254 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:32,480 But it also takes away from the character of the man who would 255 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:35,440 do it, because people then come to the point where they can't 256 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:37,480 trust what that person is saying. 257 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:41,200 But a Deacon is a man who does not gossip, first of all. 258 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:44,680 And when he does say anything that needs to be said, it's the 259 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:47,560 truth. And so he's saying it the same 260 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:49,200 every time. He's not changing it. 261 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:51,560 But a Deacon is also a man who was dependable. 262 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:56,640 He's dependable and he has no intent to deceive anyone. 263 00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:58,840 In his heart. There's no God found in him. 264 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:03,840 There's no selfish intention in these men who are serving as 265 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:06,840 deacons, but they're reliable. They're reliable. 266 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:09,200 When they say that they're going to take care of something, they 267 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:10,840 take care of it. They say they're going to do 268 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:12,360 something. They do it. 269 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:16,520 And that's very important in terms of a man who serves as a 270 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:18,800 Deacon. Now here it says not giving too 271 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:20,600 much one. Now, this is interesting because 272 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:24,120 the elders, they were not to be given to wine at all. 273 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:26,960 So I guess the deacons don't have to be given to no wine, but 274 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:29,640 they can be given to some wine, just not much wine. 275 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:35,320 But actually even the elders are due to are called to to walk in 276 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:39,360 moderation whenever it is that they were to, to drink wine. 277 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:43,320 You do it in moderation. And the deacons are the same. 278 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,400 And we've already talked about those things last week 279 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:49,360 concerning drinking wine, not being given too much wine. 280 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:51,720 But I do want to say one thing. I just want to look at one thing 281 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:55,800 back here there in Ephesians, it kind of gives a good, actually a 282 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:59,440 very good description of the attitude that should be taken 283 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:02,400 when it comes to an alcoholic beverage like wine. 284 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:05,200 And that's mainly what the what the Bible talks about in the New 285 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:07,080 Testament, it's talking about wine. 286 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:13,840 But in Ephesians chapter 5 and in verse 18, it simply says and 287 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:18,200 do not be drunk with wine, which is in dissipation or debauchery, 288 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:22,600 but be filled with, I'm sorry, be filled with the Spirit. 289 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:27,440 OK, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual 290 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:30,720 songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. 291 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:35,440 So not to be filled with wine, which does speak to moderation, 292 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:38,080 but to not do it excessively, but to be filled with the 293 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:40,040 Spirit. So I guess sometimes it comes to 294 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:41,920 a point where we have to make a decision, am I going to be 295 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:43,520 filled with this wine or am I going to be filled by the 296 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:45,480 Spirit? I'd rather be filled with the 297 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:47,240 spirit. Let's walk in the spirit. 298 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:50,760 So then it says here, the next one he mentions is not to be 299 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:53,840 greedy for money. Don't be greedy for money. 300 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:56,880 And we talked about that too with the elders, but it's a 301 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,840 little bit different with the deacons because the deacons 302 00:16:59,880 --> 00:17:02,360 actually are involved in the counting of money. 303 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:04,240 They're pretty close. They work pretty closely with 304 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:05,880 the money. I never see the money. 305 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:08,800 I never see the money. But the deacons, they count the 306 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:12,560 money and they can be involved in distributing money to other 307 00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:16,200 people who have need. So it's important that they are 308 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:20,560 responsible in that area and that they're not greedy for 309 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:22,640 money. Because if they are greedy for 310 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:26,280 money, they could be tempted. They could be tempted if they 311 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:28,920 have a need, if their bills aren't being paid and they have 312 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:32,320 financial needs that need to be taken care of and and they don't 313 00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:33,920 see how they're going to be able to do it. 314 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:37,320 If they don't have a control, they don't have control on this 315 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,960 being greedy for money and have that control that they need to 316 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:44,000 have that self-control, the spirit in them that helps them 317 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:47,560 to, to deal with these things with the level of integrity that 318 00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:50,320 the church requires or that the Lord requires, not the church 319 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:53,320 the Lord requires. It can be tempting for them to 320 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:56,600 steal money or to use the, the months for the money for 321 00:17:56,600 --> 00:18:00,600 personal needs. So we need to make sure that we 322 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:04,640 observe that the people who are involved with the money are men 323 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:08,440 who have the integrity and the women who have the the integrity 324 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:12,440 to do that without having to worry about any impropriety. 325 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:15,200 Now, I can say that as long as I've been here, in fact, I've 326 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:18,760 never heard anything here concerning any impropriety 327 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:21,480 financially here. You know, the men and women who 328 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:24,360 have dealt with the money and it's mainly been men, but the 329 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:27,560 ones who have dealt with the money, they have done it with 330 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:31,000 the highest level of integrity, highest level of integrity. 331 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:33,880 I have no problems about giving to this church and wondering 332 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:36,360 about where it goes. We don't never have any issues 333 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:38,880 with that. There are two, I've learned when 334 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:41,120 I was growing up, there are two ministries that we have to be 335 00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:44,040 particularly careful of putting people. 336 00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:46,520 You know, when we select people to go into ministries, there's 337 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:48,960 two in particular that we have to be very careful of. 338 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:52,200 One ministry is always going to be the finance ministry because 339 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:54,040 that's the money. And again, for the reasons why 340 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:57,360 we just stated, you know, the temptation for someone who has a 341 00:18:57,360 --> 00:18:58,840 need. But the other is a children's 342 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:01,720 ministry. Got to be careful with the we 343 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:04,720 got to protect our babies. Got to protect our babies. 344 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:07,880 So we have to be careful and we have to be maybe a little bit 345 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:11,320 more a little bit more scrutiny, maybe involved and looking at 346 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:15,120 the background of people in those two positions before they 347 00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:19,160 are appointed and let go to deal in those of the functioning 348 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:22,360 those ministries. So verse 9 now verse 9 says a 349 00:19:22,360 --> 00:19:26,320 holding the ministry of the faith with a pure conscience, 350 00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:28,760 the ministry of the faith holding the ministry of the 351 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:30,200 faith. What is the ministry of the 352 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:32,840 faith? Well, the, the mystery is always 353 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:35,760 a hidden truth. Mystery is a hidden truth. 354 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:37,960 Something that's healed, that's not something that's hidden, 355 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:41,840 that's not been revealed. And a Deacon must hold the 356 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:45,320 mystery of the faith, must hold it before them. 357 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:47,560 It must be something that's out in front of them. 358 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,240 So what is the mystery? That God came in the flesh and 359 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:52,240 died for our sins. For a lot of people, that's a 360 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:53,880 mystery. Those who are outside the church 361 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:55,920 don't understand that. They don't believe that They 362 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:58,480 can't reconcile that in their hearts, you know, it's something 363 00:19:58,480 --> 00:19:59,960 that they just can't grab a hold of. 364 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:02,400 But those who are inside the church, those of us who are 365 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:05,760 believers, we understand that. And we believe that and we 366 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:08,720 receive that. And that's the mystery of the 367 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:10,320 truth. That's the mystery of the faith. 368 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:12,920 You see, the mystery of the gospel was once hidden. 369 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:15,000 There was a time that was sent. It was even hidden from the 370 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,920 prophets who spoke it at that particular time. 371 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:20,680 They never really saw it to come to be. 372 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,040 But we, those things have been revealed to us. 373 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:29,160 It's been revealed to us. We have seen this come to be so 374 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:32,120 deacons are to not only understand the doctrine of that 375 00:20:32,120 --> 00:20:35,960 faith, but also to obey it. So they walk in that faith with 376 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:38,360 sincere with a sincere conscience. 377 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:41,920 Sincere conscience meaning that they understand the difference 378 00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:46,040 that between good and evil and able to make decisions between 379 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:49,480 good and evil. And if there is some violation 380 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:53,320 of whatever behavior, if there's been some sin, that person is 381 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,760 still keeps a pure conscience because they go and bring it to 382 00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:00,800 the Lord and they repent. Confession is made, they're 383 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:05,680 purified by the blood of Jesus. So as deacons that facilitate 384 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:08,520 the matters of the church, church building or the church 385 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:11,920 business, they have to do it based on the word of God. 386 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:15,160 Very important that we do it based on the word of God. 387 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:22,600 Now everybody has constitutions, everybody has man written rules 388 00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:25,160 or bylaws and things of that nature. 389 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:28,920 And that's fine, that's fine. But none of those things are 390 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:30,920 more important than the Word of God. 391 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:37,920 When we make a decision, it must be made based on the Word of 392 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:41,600 God, not a bylaw, not a constitution. 393 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:45,520 And in the church, the bylaws and constitutions or whatever is 394 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:49,440 written to try to govern or manage the ministry, that should 395 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:52,440 be done based on the Word of God. 396 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:56,160 I've heard it spoken before and it never sat right in my spirit. 397 00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:58,440 I've heard someone say I was one way. 398 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:01,600 I'm one way in business and I'm another way in church with 399 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:04,200 spiritual things. I don't read with that soul in 400 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:06,840 the word of God. I don't read with that soul. 401 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:09,760 He said we're to do all things. That's unto the Lord. 402 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:13,960 Everything, every thought should be brought into the captivity 403 00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:18,320 and obedience of Jesus Christ, not be one way one place and 404 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:20,320 then another way in another arena. 405 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:24,200 We are all servants of the Lord first. 406 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:29,240 So that is so important that when we do business or when we 407 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:32,800 have meetings and things of that nature, that what we discuss or 408 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:37,000 what we decide, it's all based on the word of God and not 409 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:40,800 someone's good idea, not some strategy in business that works 410 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:43,040 for the world. We should not sit into a 411 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:46,360 business meeting in the church and feel like we're sitting in a 412 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:48,760 Fortune 500 corporate business meeting. 413 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:51,160 Should feel that way. We should understand that we're 414 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:54,640 sitting with brothers and sisters who fear, acknowledge, 415 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:57,480 and uphold the Word of God. Amen. 416 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:02,400 Then in verse 10, it says it talks about being tested, he 417 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:04,200 said, but let these be tested first. 418 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:09,040 Then let them serve as deacons being found blameless. 419 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:11,280 This testing means be to prove them. 420 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:14,560 They should be proved and we should be watching their lives 421 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:18,400 and seeing how a man conducts himself in different situations. 422 00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:21,680 You know, we can see the best of people here in church every 423 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:23,400 Sunday. We can see the best of people. 424 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:25,480 Everybody's wearing a smile, everybody's shaking hands, 425 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:27,920 everybody's hugging. But what we need to see in 426 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:30,680 ministry, when you put someone in a position like this, So what 427 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:32,080 happens if somebody disagrees with you? 428 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:34,000 What happens when adversity hits? 429 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:37,120 How do you deal with that? How do you deal with a situation 430 00:23:37,120 --> 00:23:39,000 when you're offended? How do you deal with that? 431 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:41,800 So we have to see people in different than decision making. 432 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:44,360 When you have to make a decision, how was that dealt 433 00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:46,160 with? Do you do it based on your 434 00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:49,000 knowledge of the word of God or do you do it based on worldly 435 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,400 knowledge? All these are things that has to 436 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:54,280 be taken under consideration. That's why people need to be 437 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:59,080 proved or tested. Here on Living Waters of Grace, 438 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:01,320 we're in the books of First and Second Timothy. 439 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:05,360 Pastor Louis Harrell is walking us through these letters written 440 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:08,520 from Paul to Timothy. Toward the end of these letters, 441 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:12,520 Paul is anticipating that his time here on earth is coming to 442 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:15,360 a close. He's giving some final words of 443 00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:19,440 advice to his mentee. Paul writes in Second Timothy 4, 444 00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:21,400 verse seven. I have fought the good fight. 445 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:25,800 I have finished the race. I have kept the faith wherever 446 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:29,560 you are in your journey of faith with God, our hope is that you 447 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:33,440 have the willingness to fight for what's true, not 448 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:37,160 compromising, but holding fast to the Word of God. 449 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:41,480 Paul was reminding Timothy of this, and it's a good reminder 450 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:45,880 for you and for me today too. For helpful input throughout 451 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:49,400 this series, why not listen to all of these teachings from 452 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:52,840 First and Second Timothy on our website and go to 453 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:57,760 calvarychapelonline.com to access teachings, download our 454 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:01,400 app, and more. If you'd like to visit us this 455 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:05,400 weekend, we'd be delighted. Living Waters of Grace is a 456 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:10,200 ministry of Calvary Chapel Westmoreland in Greensburg, PA. 457 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:13,960 Come to our service held at 10:30 AM on Sundays. 458 00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:19,560 We're located at 400 E Pittsburgh St., Ste. 6B. 459 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:23,240 For any other information on our weekly service, visit 460 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:28,360 calvarychapelonline.com. You can also join our e-mail 461 00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:32,360 list, give online, or submit a prayer request right from the 462 00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:35,120 site. If you can't make it in person, 463 00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:38,640 be sure to tune into Calvary Chapel Westmorelands YouTube 464 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:41,720 channel. Subscribe so you never miss new 465 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:44,360 teachings. We thank you for tuning in today 466 00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:48,480 and ask that you come back for more solid and biblical teaching 467 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:52,840 from Pastor Lewis right here on Living Waters of Grace.