This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Lewis
Harold, assistant pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland
County in Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Lewis as he
continues teaching through God's Word.
I'm happy with being able to go in there and wipe down the table
because I'm doing it as unto the Lord, because I'm doing this
unto the Lord. I'm happy to get my brother a
cup of coffee or to take their plate up after they're finished
eating and throw it away so they don't have to.
I'm happy doing that. And there was a time when I
expected somebody to do that for me.
What a boldness that gives us in the faith to see this is the
work that God did in me. This is the power of God working
in me. What changes when you start
doing even the smallest task as unto the Lord?
In today's message, Pastor Louis shares the joy of wiping tables,
fetching coffee, or clearing plates simply because it's done
for Jesus. Once he expected others to serve
him, but God transformed his heart.
Now every humble act brings happiness because it's offered
to the Lord. Boldness and faith grows when
you see what He's done inside. How do you serve others today,
knowing every act is unto the Lord?
Well, let's join Pastor Lewis in First Timothy Chapter 3 with
today's edition of Living Waters of Grace.
Someone has an interest in being a Deacon, that's fine.
Let's just observe for a while, that's all.
It doesn't have to put them right in because we have a need.
Just take some time, let's observe them.
Let's get to know. The Bible says that we should
know those who labor among us. So that's why it's important
that they are use time for testing.
In many ways and many times I've found that the men who are
brought into this ministry or men who are ordained to be
deacons or men who have been doing that anyway, they've been
basically functioning that way anyway.
They didn't have a title, but they were always doing it.
There are always men who were walking around picking up and
cleaning up behind the congregation or helping when
something is broken and it needs to be fixed.
They're always one of the people who are volunteering to do it,
helping to set up tables when we have a feast or we have a lunch
or a picnic or something like that.
They're always involved in that, always one of the first people
to say, what can I do to help? So they've always been doing it.
That personality, that spirit have always been there.
So it wasn't a reach to bring that person and to officially
ordain that person as a Deacon. And what we found even in
biblical, we see that men who are found faithful that have
been promoted to other positions because as a Deacon doesn't mean
that once you're called to the Deacon for this season, doesn't
mean that these men are always going to be deacons.
Some of these men are going to be called maybe to a pastor or
elder position. Maybe they're going to be called
that way. Maybe the Lord is already
working in the hearts of some men because they have a caller.
They sense God's calling. So it's not that they're because
they're a Deacon today that that's going to be where they
are forever. And the Bible record shows that
men have been called to other ministries.
For example, we know that Moses who was a shepherd, he was
called to be a leader. David, who was a shepherd was
eventually called to be a leader.
Joshua, the same thing. He was a servant for Moses and
eventually was called to be the leader of the people of Israel
taking them into the land of Canaan.
And even in the New Testament we see where one of the seven
Philip who was initial Deacon or served in as one of the seven
who was called out man who was filled with wisdom and knowledge
in the in the Holy Spirit. We know that he preached in
Samaria. It was Philip who was the one
who actually went to Samaria and preached where many people got
saved. God called him from that and
took him to a lonely Rd. on the side of the road somewhere and
preached to a eunuch and he received faith.
So God used him in many ways. God can do that.
In fact, Philip now is referred to in the Bible often as a
evangelist. We also understand Stephen who
was a Deacon or served in that capacity.
And God used him to preach a sermon where the Pharisees were
struck, hitting to the heart. Some believed, some believed,
but it also caused him to be the first martyr of the church.
But he preached before he left this world because that he was
called to another order. So we have to understand that
these men are called to a calling at that particular time
doesn't mean that that's where everybody's going to stay.
And that's the same with you. Whatever God has you doing, just
be faithful in what God is have you doing right now.
Just be faithful over that because you never know where God
is taking you. Anything that we do, we got to
keep this in mind. In God's economy, anything that
he calls you to do is significant.
We really have to not look at what the position is.
This isn't like a corporate world where it's more status to
be here than it is to be there. We've got to stop looking at
things that way. That's not the way it is in
God's economy. God is just as interested, and
he finds his calling to someone who's done nothing.
For example, we talked about the story of Athaliah, who was a
very nasty queen who tried to wipe out, tried to wipe out the
sons of David to try to take out that line.
And you understand taking out that line with me and taking out
the line of Jesus Christ, But God used Jehoshapha, a woman who
you never even heard that name again, use this woman to
preserve an entire nation. That woman is just as important
to God is as David is to God when he was able to be one of
the best kings, one of the most spiritual kings that Israel ever
had. She is just as important to God.
So anything that God calls us to is significant, and we should do
it with all of our heart as unto Him, as unto him.
So then we go on and we now look at verse 11.
And in verse 11 he says that now he's talking about their wives.
He said their wives should be reverent, not slanderous,
temperate, faithful in all things.
Now some believe that he's not only just talking about the
wives of deacons, but also that this may even be a separate
office of deaconess. And the Bible does talk about
Phoebe, who was actually a Deacon, what he referred to as
Deacon. It actually was the word
minister in our translation in New King's version, it's
minister. But in some translations in
Romans chapter 16, verse one, where Paul talks about receiving
them and being hospital to her, that's Phoebe.
And she was actually a minister. She was she was a servant in the
faith. She was a servant in the faith.
So some think that this is talking about women who have
taken on to position of a Deacon, that we don't have
female deacons here. We do have women who serve.
Do we have servants here? We have women who serve
different capacities, just as Phoebe serve, but we don't call
them deacons. But women who are the wives of
deacons is what this is referring to here.
Their wives must be reverent. That means that they must be
women who are respected in the ministry and also women who are
respectful in the ministry, not slanderers.
And we must understand that word slanderers, It actually means
devil, but it doesn't mean that that's the person of the devil.
It's the character of a devil because a slanderers one who he
speaks falsely about someone and God hates that.
He hates that when someone speaks falsely about someone
else. So he's a slanderer and God
doesn't like slandering temperate meaning that she has
to be a woman who has self-control over her passions
and self-control over the way that she presents herself when
she's in partly sober minded, making clear decisions and
faithful in all things. She must be faithful to her
husband, faithful to her children, faithful to building
up her home, faithful to the ministry that she's in in the
church. She must be faithful to these
things. And then it goes on in verse 12,
it said, let the deacons be the men of one wife.
We already talked about that with the elders.
Deacons have to be men of one wife.
First of all, we know that they can't be polygamous.
I mean that, you know, you can't walk around with seven and eight
wives. And we, we, we, we don't do
that. So no, we can't be polygamous.
But it also means that if a man is married and he divorces his
wife, if he divorces his wife and his wife is still with us,
OK, this man is not to be remarried.
But if a man's wife dies and she passes and he becomes a widower,
yes, that man can then get married or get remarried.
And again, this is for your elders, pastors and deacons.
This is church order. This is just church order.
And then he says at the bottom of that he had be ruling their
children and their own houses well.
Well, if they're going to take care of some of the
administrative financial issues here in the church, we have to
be secure that that person is able to take care of his own
finances. Well, in his own home.
He can run his own house. He can take care.
He's paying his bills. He's he's taking care of
expenses that he has. He's orderly taking care of
those things. His children are in order.
They are they are in subjection to him and to the faith that he
is a good example and with the structure of his home, a godly
structure of his home. And then in verse 13, it says
for those who have, and this is a promise that God now gives to
deacons for serving in his capacity.
And this is really, this is really compassionate because I
look at this and I say, well, you know, there are probably
some people who may feel that, well, I'm only a Deacon.
You know, I'm only on this committee or I'm only serving on
that committee. And this is kind of a witness
that God doesn't see anything as insignificant.
And he says here in verse 13 for those who have served well as
deacons obtain is 2 things that he says that they receive when
they serve well as deacons. The first thing is that they
obtain a good standing, and that's a good standing of
respect in the congregation which in which they serve.
And a lot of these men also have good reputations in their
communities. I grew up with a man who was a
Deacon, and we actually called him Deacon every day that we saw
him. And this was a man who was well
respected, very well respected, not only in church, but also in
the neighborhood in which we we live.
People had a lot of respect for them.
So there's a respect there. And they obtained that good
name, that good that, that he's that respect.
But there's also eternal rewards that comes with that as well,
eternal rewards which are greater than rewards that
they'll receive here. And that is for their faithful
service at the judgment seat or the Bema seat when Jesus Christ
will judge all of what we've done in this body.
One thing I've learned is that God rewards faithfulness.
He rewards it either here or He reward it when we see Him in
glory. But He rewards faithfulness.
It's always worth it to be faithful and to be named
faithful, to be seen as faithful.
In Romans 1410, he said we should all stand before the
judgement seat of Christ. And then in First Corinthians 5
and 10 says, for we must all appear before the judgement seat
of Christ, that each one may receive the things that are done
in the body according to what he has done, whether it's good or
bad. And this is something I want to
emphasize here, faithfulness, it is rewarded and it's rewarded.
If it's not rewarded here, it will be rewarded when we see the
Lord. And I want to just emphasize the
fact that at that particular time that we see the Lord, it
won't matter what the position was that we served in our
church. When we stand before the Lord
and he looks at me, I want trust me.
We want him to say well done, faithful servant, right?
We want him to say well done, faithful servant.
He's not going to say well done, Pastor Louis Harris.
He's not going to say that. He's not going to say well done
Gina, worship leader. He's not going to say that.
He's not going to say well done, Dylan, you know, mighty man of
the technology of Calvary child, he ain't saying all of that.
He's going to say well done, good and faithful servant.
That's what we all are. We are servants.
Take away the title or the position name.
We're servants and that's the way that we should be doing
every single thing that we do in the House of God with the heart
of being a servant. And that just blesses the entire
body. People see that.
It blesses them to see someone serving with nothing in their
heart, personal things in their heart of trying to be seen or
trying to be accomplished or trying to get fame or be
popular. None of that's in the heart.
Just serving, looking after each other, helping each other
selfishly for whatever the needs may be.
That's a blessing. And then he goes on here, the
bottom of that verse, it says, and it also gives good standing,
but also great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
When we serve faithfully, we do have a level of confidence in
the Lord. Not in ourselves, but it's a
level of confidence in the Lord. It's a security that we have in
the Lord that gives us boldness to talk about our faith to other
people and to walk out that faith.
It's a boldness I can seek God for more.
God did this in me if He humbled me to the point where I used to
work in jobs where I was the boss, I was the district
manager, I was the CEO, I was this, I was owner.
And now I'm happy with being able to go in there and wipe
down the table because I'm doing it as unto the Lord, because I'm
doing this unto the Lord. I'm happy to get my brother a
cup of coffee or to take their plate up after they're finished
eating and throw it away so they don't have to.
I'm happy doing that. And there was a time when I
expected somebody to do that for me.
What a boldness that gives us in the faith to see this is the
work that God did in me. This is the power of God working
in me. So I get boldness to go out and
share the gospel with other people.
The gospel will change your life, and I have proof, right?
Look at what He did for me. So then we go to verse 14.
We're about to wind down verse 14.
It says these things. I write to you, though I hope to
come to you shortly. But if I am delayed, I write so
that you may know how to conduct yourself in the House of God,
which is the Church of the living God, pillar and ground of
truth, the blessing here. And this is something that we
have to look for because we can read over this and say that,
yeah, Paul is just writing another letter.
But the way we have to look at this is the fact that God made
it. So Paul would have to write the
letter just like he did with the Thessalonians.
He couldn't go back to the Thessalonians because of the in
the Thessalonians couldn't go back there because of the
persecution. So he wasn't able to go back
there. So he had to write a letter to
him, and that letter that he wrote to them is not just read
by the Thessalonians, but it was read to us.
The same thing is here when he says here that I write these
things. So that though I hope to see you
shortly, he knows that there's a chance that I might not get back
to you. Because the devil was always
throwing things in Paul's way. Whether it's persecution or
shipwrecks or imprisonment or something, he's always throwing
something at Paul. And Paul realized that I might
not be able to get back. But the good thing about this is
that what the devil meant to be for evil, him not getting back
to the Ephesian church, God used it for good.
So not only is there Ephesians reading this letter, not only
are they understanding what the church order is, many
generations after Paul is getting this letter, including
us today. So the devil didn't stop
anything. He just helped it and he thought
he was doing it for evil. Thank God there's things that
God is doing in your life. Enemies coming and he said man,
I'm under attack and Satan things that Oh yeah, I got them.
I got them I got them frustrated I got them scared, I got them
fearful, but all that's doing was pushing you closer to the
Lord. You were getting on your knees
longer you were getting in your word longer you were studying
deeper. You were seeking God at levels
that you had never saw them before.
All the devil did was bring you closer to the Lord and then he
goes on he says I write this and say that you know how to conduct
yourself in the House of God, the Church of the living God,
the pillar of ground and truth. So he gives us three pictures of
the Church of God. First of all, he says the House
of God. This is not the House of God.
What I'm standing on where you're sitting at, the structure
that we come into every week, this is not the House of God.
The House of God are the people who are in this structure.
We are the House of God. And first Peter, he says that we
are the spiritual house. We are the stones built up, a
spiritual house unto God. We are the House of God.
And he then he says that in any House of God, if we're a House
of God, then we are a family. And thank God that we are family
because that's why we treat each other like brothers and sisters.
We're family. It tells us that in the word of
God that we are like family. That's why we over in the book
of Titus, I believe, where he talks about how we treat the
older adults. We treat them like fathers,
older men, we treat them like fathers and we treat the the
older women like mothers. And we are to treat the younger
men of the church like brothers and we treat the younger women
of the church like sisters because we're family.
We're family. That's why we said to pick up
the phone and call anybody, said, look, I need you to pray
for me and I'm praying for you like I'm praying for my own
sister or brother. I need help.
No one ever needs to be. Somebody gets pregnant in here.
And we've had some little experience with that.
Somebody gets pregnant in here, they can pick up the phone.
And there are people who bring mill trains that will get them
mill trains. People have problems with
different issues that come up and people in this church will
bring them food. That's a family.
So then he goes on, he says, the
Church of the living God. We don't serve a dead God.
We serve the living God. We don't serve an idol.
See, this comes from the fact that they were serving Diana.
She's a statue, you know, out in front of the the temple, the
temple of Diana. And that's what they were
serving. Paul said, no, we serve the
living God. You can call Diana all day long.
She ain't going to be able to say nothing.
She can't hear what you're asking her.
She can't respond to you. She can't do none of that.
But I dare to call on the Lord. He is a prayer answering God,
and we've seen those prayers and hear many times those answer
prayers. And then he says the Church of
the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
And that's what the church is. The church is the pillar and
ground of the truth. Pillars hold up things.
It holds up structures, and the church holds up the word of God.
It holds it up and it holds it forth and it's a ground of
truth, the foundation of truth. It's in the church, in the
church body in US. And he says great is the mystery
of godliness and that means God likeness.
Great is a mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh.
And we read about that back in John chapter 1 when he talked
about the word was with God and the word was God and in the
beginning the word was God and words was with God in the
beginning. And then the word was made flesh
in John chapter one verse 14, and the word was made flesh.
And then he talks about the fact and that's the godliness.
That means the whole character of God was made flesh in Jesus
Christ. And then he said justified in
the Spirit. When Jesus got baptized in
Matthew 4, the Spirit came down and it settled upon Jesus Christ
and he was seen by angels. And there was several times that
Jesus was seen by angels. The one time he was seen by
angels is when he was in Matthew chapter 4, when he went through
the temptation. He was seen by angels because
after Satan left him, it was an angels that came and ministered
to him. He was seen by angels when he
was in the garden, when he was praying, according to Luke 22
and 43. They came and minister him
afterwards. And then in the resurrection he
was seen by the angels that had actually witnessed him coming
out of the tomb. He was seen by angels and then
he was preached on among the Gentiles.
And that's exactly but the apostles did.
They went and preached in all these Pagan and Gentile areas.
They preach the word of God, they preach Jesus Christ.
And who is it that we preach Jesus Christ?
And we are Gentiles. We were preached too.
As Gentiles. We were preached too.
And now we go out and we share the gospel with others and then
it goes on and says he was believed on in the world.
And that's the response. We are the example of him being
believed on in the world. And then of course, he was
received up into glory. And you know what?
One day we too are going to be received up into glory.
Jesus was received up into glory because he was righteous.
He was righteous and he had did all that God had called him to
do. We are going to be received up
in the glory because we have the righteousness of Jesus Christ,
because it was given to us. We are declared righteous.
We were justified in the faith. We are declared righteous and we
to the church, the believing church is going to be called up
and received up into glory. And not only that, but Jesus
Christ is coming back, you guys. He's coming back and he's coming
back with power, and in the same way that he left, he left here
in the clouds. They saw the clouds receive him
up. The same way the other righteous
men were received up. Elijah who was received up, and
also we know Enoch was received up.
He walked with the Lord and he was no more.
The Bible says they're received up.
We're going to be received up. The Bible says we're going to be
risen up. The dead is going to rise first,
but then we are going to come together and be received up into
Jesus Christ and meet Him in the air.
We don't sorrow over death like others who have no hope.
We don't sorrow like that because if we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, he's going to bring with him those who died
in Christ Jesus. So we don't sorrow over that.
We have a future, and that future is when Jesus comes back
for his church to bring us into the clouds to where he is.
We remember that Jesus was taken up into glory.
The whole character of God was manifested in the flesh and we
remember, Lord, that you were justified by the Spirit.
Lord, you were filled and the Spirit indwelled you.
Just like we pray and we look for the Spirit to indwell us the
many things that Jesus did, through the Spirit of God, we
too are able to be empowered to live holy through the Spirit of
God. We know that He was seen of
angels. We know that He was preached on
among the Gentiles and we thank God that there was someone who
preached to us as Gentiles. They didn't keep the gospel away
from us because we weren't Jewish, but we were preached to
and it was Jesus Christ that was preached to us.
Amen. Lord bless you.
You've been listening to Pastor Lewis Harrell here on Living
Waters of Grace. We're digging into all that Paul
shared with Timothy in the books of First and Second Timothy.
Timothy was commissioned to do the following, fight the good
fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were
also called, and have confessed the good confession in the
presence of many witnesses. Timothy would be carrying on
what Paul had taught him and continuing on in ministry, even
though Paul knew that more hardships would come for
Timothy. This is the Christian life.
It's not glamorous. It's not some celebrity status,
It's hard fought, it's gritty, it's unpopular, but it's worth
it. Do you believe that today?
Are you willing to fight the good fight even at the cost of
earthly pleasures? Living the life of a follower of
Jesus will have its heavenly rewards.
To be a part of a community that's looking forward to that
heavenly reward, we invite you to join us at Calvary Chapel
Westmoreland. If you're in the Greensburg, PA
area, come be with us this Sunday at 10:30 AM at 400 E
Pittsburgh St. Ste. 6B.
Check out Calvary Chapel online.com For more information
on directions and any other details you might want to know.
You can also download our mobile app from our website
thatscalvarychapelonline.com. If you have friends or family
members who want to tune in, encourage them to listen on
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If you're willing to donate financially, send gifts to Grace
FMPO Box 716, Greensburg, PA 15601.
Thanks for prayerfully considering this, and thank you
for listening to Living Waters of Grace.