all right well good morning and welcome
second service is our sermon and our
Bible
teaching through first Timothy and we're
going through this epistle
verse by verse and today our text will
be chapter
3 and verses 1 through 13.
you can turn there if you're not there
already and for those of you that are
here I'll ask you to stand if you're
able if not that's all right where
you're seated
you can follow along as I read the
apostle Paul
is writing to Timothy a young pastor
he's in Ephesus and
he says verse 1 here is a
trustworthy saying
whoever aspires to be an overseer
desires a noble task
now the overseer is to be
above reproach faithful to his
wife temperate
self-control respectable
hospitable able to teach
not given to drunkenness verse 3
not violent but gentle
not quarrelsome not a lover of money
he must manage his own family well
and see that his children obey him and
must do so in a manner worthy of full
respect and then we're told
parenthetically in verse 5
if anyone does not know how to manage
his own family
how can he take care of God's church
he must verse 6 not be a recent
convert or he may become
conceited and fall under the same
judgment
as the devil he must also
have a good reputation with outsiders
so that he will not fall into
disgrace and into the devil's trap
in the same way verse 8 deacons
are to be worthy of respect sincere
not indulging in much wine
and not pursuing dishonest gain
they must keep hold of the deep
truths of the faith with a clear
conscience
they must first be tested and
then if there is nothing against them
let them serve as deacons in the same
way verse 11
the women are to be worthy of respect
this is interesting not malicious
talkers
but temperate and trustworthy in
everything
a deacon must be faithful to his wife
and must manage his children and his
household well
those verse 13 who have served well
gain an excellent standing
and great assurance in their
faith in Christ Jesus
let's pray if you would join with me
we'll ask God's blessing on our
understanding
loving Heavenly Father we're
so grateful to you for Your Word
this portion that we have here before us
today here in your Word
but Lord we're keenly aware that unless
the Holy Spirit gets our attention
and holds our attention our minds are
going to wander especially with
this text because there's much here that
the enemy does not want us to hear
so Lord we're asking you to
not only get our attention and keep our
attention by the Holy Spirit but
speak into our lives and minister to us
the truths that You have here for us
we want to have eyes to see what You
want to show us
ears to hear what You want to speak to
us
and hearts to receive that which You
desire to minister to us
so Lord speak your servants are
listening
in Jesus name Amen and Amen you can be
seated thank you
all right so I want to talk with you
today
about the paramount importance
of godliness over
giftedness whether naturally
or spiritually both in our lives and
in our churches as christians and that's
quite a a pactful
opening statement as it were
now please know that this is not to say
that giftedness is not important it is
but it is to say that giftedness
should not replace godliness
and sadly oftentimes it does and that's
the problem
it's the problem with many christians
and sadly
churches the emphasis
is on giftedness outwardly
and sadly it comes at the expense
of godliness inwardly
you see somebody that's very gifted very
talented
and you lay hands on them suddenly and
you put them
into a position in the church
prematurely
and it's just a matter of time as we're
going to see here
momentarily where
you're just setting them up for a fault
they do not possess
the character inwardly to be
able to have that position
and serving in the church they may be
so gifted it doesn't matter
if they don't have a godly character it
is a recipe
for disaster now
the truth of the matter is
when someone has a godly character
inwardly
it will eventually become evident
outwardly but here's the thing
giftedness is just that it's the gift
character godliness is not a gift
it's a fruit now stay with me
see fruit takes time to grow
and ripen and mature
whereas a gift is just given and used
as such and see again
the emphasis is on the gift outwardly
and not the fruit inwardly and I think
you need
look no further than to the emphasis
that
churches today place on the gifting
and not the character it's the gifts of
the Holy Spirit
not the fruit of the Holy Spirit
here's an illustration I heard this
illustration in a
different context and it just stuck with
me over the years
so godliness inwardly
are like the stars in the sky
that last longer and remain
long after the fireworks
of giftedness are gone
you know how it is on the fourth of July
not this last fourth of July but
reminisce in years past
when you'd had the fireworks it's like
wow
spectacular sensational
wonderful and then they're gone
and while they're blowing off and
you know lighting up the sky you don't
see the stars they're still there
but the fireworks have overshadowed them
taken the place of them so
now they're gone and what remains oh my
goodness
the beautiful stars that god flung
into the universe and named
he even named them and that's what
remains
that's what godly character is like
godly character is like those stars in
the sky that remain long
after the fireworks of giftedness
giftedness comes and goes and this is
really what the apostle paul
is talking about in the text that we
have before us today where he lists
with specificity the godly
characteristics
and qualifications for those serving
in the church those given oversight
of the church and there is no mention
of any gifting there's no emphasis
placed
on giftedness every single one of these
in this list
and actually there's three lists here
in the text every single one of them
is related to the godly
character inwardly so let's get started
you ready
buckle up your seat belts here we go
in verses one through seven paul
starts out with the godly
characteristics
for those who are overseers now
depending on what translation you have
uh overseers basically refers to
those who are pastors and
or elders who have the spiritual
oversight of the flock of god these
are the requirements prerequisites
if you will for anyone desiring and when
paul says he's actually kind of echoing
what James said
about those who have that desire God
places that desire on their heart
and they desire to be in that role
as an overseer a pastor a teacher
it's a noble thing it's a good thing
nothing wrong with that however James
warns
that you should be very careful and
prayerful
when desiring that noble office
because you will be judged by a much
stricter standard because now you have
oversight over God's people over the
flock
of God so there are 14 things here
okay and the first one is
above reproach what does that mean now
some of your translations render it
blameless this is a often misunderstood
requirement but to be above reproach
means that a man has nothing in his
life that the enemy can use
to accuse and bring reproach
on the gospel or the church of Jesus
Christ
in other words he's blameless not
sinless
this is where a lot of us get into a lot
of trouble
he's blameless not sinless in the sense
that
he's guiltless he's not bringing
shame or blame to the church
of Jesus Christ it's a life lived above
reproach
blameless second one this is also
misunderstood
because some of your translations render
at the husband of one wife
in other words you can never be divorced
you have to only have been married once
that's not what he's saying
he's saying faithful to his wife
and it carries with it the idea of a man
who is known as a one-woman man
not a womanizer I mean this guy is
faithful
or as you've i'm sure heard it said and
heard it sung uh i've got
eyes only for you I'll hum a few bars
you can join in I've gone
it's a one-woman man
faithful to his wife
and that is a godly characteristic
he doesn't have eyes wandering eyes
for another number three temperate
this is a man who for lack of a better
way of saying it is a steady eddy
and he's reliable
and dependable not volatile he's not
somebody you know okay well he's up one
day down the other you never kind of
know where you're at you're kind of
always walking around
on eggshells no he's temperate
he's steady he's reliable
he's dependable number four
self-controlled
this is a man who is sober-minded
and takes seriously the profound
privilege of being an overseer and
it is a profound privilege and what
comes
packaged with that profound privilege
is a profound responsibility and it's a
responsibility
that this man takes seriously
number five respectable
this is a man whose behavior is orderly
such that he's honorable and
respectable with a character
that is unimpeachable and
highly esteemed you know respect is
earned
right and an
overseer must earn the respect and we're
going to see this
again here in a moment number six
hospitable
this is a man who is friendly and
inviting
to foreigners and strangers
the door is always open they're always
available
number seven this is a this one
is probably right up there with the most
misunderstood and if you'll just bear
with me I want to
explain this one because it's
able to teach now this would
imply that they have to have the gift of
teaching
able to teach I would submit
that this is not about giftedness this
is about
godliness because to be able
to teach one first has to be
teach able that's a play on words right
teachable that's a
godly characteristic inwardly
it's the man who before he teaches
and is able to teach is teach a ball
how can you teach unless you're
teachable
we had an acronym on the mainland
many years ago uh
please don't uh get upset with me but we
were looking for fat people
which is why i qualified and i was able
to
be the pastor but it was an acronym
F A T
faithful available and teachable
that's who we were looking for to lay
hands on
to serve as it would be such a profound
privilege
within the church of Jesus Christ
I want to take it a step further I was
thinking about this
this morning so
the word disagree
okay already
everybody's polarized I just use the
word disagree well i don't agree
you don't no you're not in agreement
I don't agree really
I'm not worthy are you god
no no I'm not trying to get up in
anybody's grill here but I just
need you to hear me out
the audacity the arrogance the
pride the ranked pride of
saying you don't agree with what
my position is
first of all let me just lovingly and
calmly say
that it's not about whether somebody is
in agreement with you
it's are you in agreement with God
whose side are you on boy the political
discourse
especially now
I was talking about it during first
service in the prophecy update
I don't see people as republican and
democrat
right left conservative liberal
black white i see them as either lost or
saved
that's the bottom line and this notion
of and when it comes to
things like black lives matter
uh the division that this is causing
within the church within the church
it's dividing it is destroying it is
devouring the church
because now all of a sudden we have to
pick sides
whose side are you on it doesn't matter
whose side are you on
are you on God's side that's all that
matters
you oh we disagree it doesn't matter
are we in agreement with God
when Joshua
uh is visited by the Lord himself
he asks the Lord whose side are you on
and the lord doesn't even answer this
question he doesn't say I'm on your side
or I'm on the enemy's side
he basically says it doesn't matter
whose side I'm on it's are you on my
side
I know that's a a paradigm shift for
lack of a better way of saying it but
okay
let me just if you don't mind I'll take
it just a step
further since I've already dug myself
into this puka
could you imagine if Jesus were here in
the year
2020. okay well I think you just
answered my question
oh my goodness
what would he say what would he do where
would he go
I think if we really
saw it that way it would bring us
to our face
in repentance
what if Jesus had social media
is that too much
what would Jesus tweet no for real what
would Jesus tweet
what would the hashtag be
hmm how about this
what if Jesus saw your twitter
account
should we just bow our heads and close
our eyes right now and
close in prayer and how convicting is
that
well here's the thing he does
he sees every letter of every word
of every post
I wonder
does it grieve him or does it glorify
him
you know well maybe you do I
I'm aware of it I'm not involved in it
thankfully by the grace of God I'm not
trying to
posture myself or fancy myself as you
know being this goldy man
just ask my wife she'll set you straight
right away
I'm not above it I've certainly done
it I'm not proud of it
but
I'm hearing about the
viciousness vile
evil wickedness
on social media from
Christians
and it's like they are
digging their heels in
and they're right and you're wrong
and I dare you to try to have a
civil conversation with them
and say to them
you're wrong will they receive it I
don't think so
they're not teachable
so okay I'm going to take it
one step further and then we'll move on
okay
so you're in a disagreement with
somebody
over whatever it is and
you'll forgive me but it's probably
really stupid
yes I just said stupid stupids in the
bible
revelation chapter 12 verse one that's
my story
and I'm sticking with it stupid it's
stupid
what are you doing that's so stupid
and you want to argue for hours on end
because you don't agree well that's not
my position
well who cares what your position is you
know that
I heard I heard this uh this is way back
in the early 1900s
uh evangelist by the name of Billy
Sunday this is
pre Billy Graham something about Billy I
guess I don't know
but after one of his crusades many have
you know
come forward come to Christ and this
woman comes up to him afterwards and
says you know Billy
preacher you rub me the wrong way
and his response was well if I'm rubbing
you the wrong way you need to turn
the right way and I won't be rubbing you
the wrong way
oh that's good I like that one
it's like petting a cat in the wrong
direction
right
so let's say you're in a disagreement
and in your arrogance in your pride in
your stubbornness in your
abstinence you just dig your heels in
further
wait a minute what if you're wrong no
they're wrong I'm right I'm on the right
side of this you are
really you know what happens when you do
that
first of all forget being teachable
for forget and by the way humility
is roommates with being teachable
it's a humbling of oneself and and
saying you know
maybe I need to revisit this let me just
hear what your position is maybe I got
this wrong
when was the last time you actually were
involved in a disagreement with a
brother or sister in christ or even not
and you were willing instead of
preparing what you're going to say you
know they're talking you're inserting
all the right you know
things you know hmm huh oh is that right
you know but you're not even listening
to them
because you're preparing your rebuttal
to them
what you're going to say to them in fact
you'll even interrupt them
so you can get your point across
well have you ever thought that maybe
you should listen to them hear them out
well I don't believe that okay well why
you know what you might find and it
happens more times than
you probably realize is that in that
process
you're giving the Holy Spirit elbow room
and the Holy Spirit knows exactly
where that person is at where that
person is wrong where
you're at and where you're wrong
and the holy spirit can do that which we
cannot
and so sometimes it can just be a
humbling of one and is this not the
fruit
fruit of the Holy Spirit
not the gifts of the Holy Spirit outward
manifestation of the gifts a word of
knowledge a word of prophecy
tongues all of the gifts
no this is fruit whole different ball
game
love joy peace
gentleness that's going to come up here
in a minute if I
will ever get there kindness
meekness self-control
I think that one of the
most important
characteristics of
anyone who desires to be an overseer
it has to be that they're teachable
that they're humble that they're willing
to admit
when they got it wrong it's not easy
especially for guys man that's like no
way
no way this is why we don't ask for
directions
no it is because I'm not going to admit
I know I know we're gone you know five
hours later I know where I'm going
can we use the GPS now
and the pride is so great and so
powerful
that you can't admit
you know what I completely blew it
oh my goodness can I just speak to
marriages
just for a moment
husbands what would your wife do
if when you have a marital disagreement
you know I as I've mentioned before
pastors we don't call it that we call it
intense fellowship
when you're in a conflict right
what would your wife do if you just said
you know what honey
I never thought of it like that
I never saw it like that
you know what iIm sorry
you know what I'm wrong
I'm I'm the one that's wrong
would they look at you and go what did
you do with my husband
who is this man before me in my presence
teach able being
teachable number eight
this is gnarly not given the drunkenness
what does this mean well quite simply it
means a man who's not a drunk
not addicted to alcohol whether
it's wine or strong drink
number nine not violent
but gentle this is a man who's not
mean or rude
but instead is considerate
and gentle guys
they call us gentlemen
oh man gentle
man
how does that fit for you
is that true
are you am I a gentle
man you know in our study through the
Proverbs
it became abundantly clear that
it's gentleness that can have such an
impact gentleness a gentle answer breaks
a bone
when you're angry and mean
no gentle and isn't
gentleness to a fruit
of the Holy Spirit
number 10 not quarrelsome
I see this as a man who's not looking
for a fight
you know there are some guys that just
like to fight I think it's adrenaline
I mean if I can just you know be frank
with you
there is such a thing as having sort of
this addiction to the adrenaline because
when you're in that fight or flight mode
that adrenaline
is you know is so strong it is so
powerful
and it makes you feel invincible it's a
God-given thing
but to the extreme you can get addicted
to that
feeling that adrenaline and man when you
get into a
good argument I mean you're just looking
for a fight
because you're looking for that
adrenaline rush you know there are
adrenaline junkies
they may not be in the context of
fighting but this is why you have people
that do things like jump out of
airplanes that's an adrenaline rush
why do you think we go to the water park
and go on those
rides that rearrange all of your
internal organs
oh my goodness the last time I was at a
at the water park
I don't know how long ago was now my my
daughter says hey baba let's go on this
ride and look at that they go no
no no you know you get off
or when when they have the you know the
the
the fair the state fair
and they have that that one uh right we
went on that
uh right it's called uh pharaoh or it's
an Egyptian thing where
it's this you know big thing that goes
back and I must be the Egyptian in me I
don't know but
so it goes up and then you know up and
then
then it goes faster and
I mean you would think you know looking
at us like yeah I could do that
you get in that thing you're going what
am I doing
I mean you get off that thing you're
like okay I hope that's
my kidney and that's my liver they're
back in the right spot you're kind of
feeling around in there
it's all about the adrenaline
and we have to be oh so careful
when it comes to just looking for a
fight
wanting a fight and again talking about
social media
that's all adrenaline man and it's
fueled
by pride number eleven not a lover of
money
this is a man who's not in it for the
money
they're not greedy they don't love money
as we're going to see in chapter six the
root
of all evil probably one of the most
misquoted verses in all the Bible
it's the love of money not money
money as we talked about in the prophecy
update it's
neutral it's immoral you can take money
and use it for
immoral purposes or you can take it and
use it for moral purposes
and money too can give you an adrenaline
rush
and an overseer is and should never be
given over to money a lover of
money in it for the money
hey I think he'll get in the ministry I
hear those guys make pretty good money
I'll give you my email address I will
talk with you about this I can assure
you
if you're going into the ministry for
the money
you're you'll last probably not very
long
number 12 he must manage his family
well
this is a man who is respected
by his wife and his children
respect him and obey him
and see him as a man of God
a godly husband and a godly father not a
perfect father
and not a perfect husband but a godly
husband
and the point is that if you can't
have your house in order how are you
going to
serve in a capacity in the church
if you can't manage your own family how
are you going to manage
in the church number 13 is very
interesting
he must not be a recent convert why
because again you put somebody
prematurely into a position of
leadership for which they are
ill-prepared
and it will go to their head and you
will be party
to their fall their fault is on you
if you lay hands on anyone suddenly and
here's here's what it looks like
you you put somebody in a position they
don't have the character
they might have the giftedness you think
man that guy whoo
are we fortunate to have him ah be
careful what you
what you ask I would rather have
somebody
that is godly inwardly
than somebody who is gifted outwardly
because it's not long before they just
collapse
and and falter and fail and fall
and you're setting them up because then
the enemy comes in
and starts putting thoughts in their
mind like hey
they gave you a set of keys
oh man keys can I mean
change I'm not talking about anyone here
but on the mainland I'll always use
mainland examples
man you give somebody the key and you
know you're pulling up to the church and
they pull out their keys and
need to get in I have a key oh you have
a key
that's authority yeah you want to go to
my office you have an
office too
and they get puffed up
and conceited and and here's what they
do they
think it's them
and Satan's right there reinforcing it
you something special I know thank you
very much
thank you very much and again here comes
the pride and pride always
comes before the fall spiritual maturity
again
oh I wish it were something that you
just receive
like a gift but no it's a fruit
and it has to grow over time
and the root has to be deep and strong
so when the storms of pride and
temptation
come in you're able to stand that comes
with maturity
and that's why you should never lay
hands on anyone
suddenly if they do not possess the
character inwardly
to be able to occupy that position
as an overseer lastly number 14.
he must have a good reputation with
outsiders this is very important
this is a man of good character earning
a good reputation
outside of the church with non-believers
he'll be known for his wholesome life
and untarnished integrity this goes back
to
being blameless let's talk about deacons
in verses 8 through
10 what do deacons do
they deac
sorry just want to make sure you're
still with me
so overseers have spiritual
oversight while deacons
have physical oversight in that
they minister to and serve the needs
of the church the best example of this
is in acts chapter 6 verse 1
in those days when the number of
disciples was increasing
the Hellenistic Jews among them
complained
against the Hebraic Jews
because their widows were being
overlooked
in the daily distribution of food
there's a conflict
what are we going to do so
the 12 gathered all the disciples
together and said
it would not be right for us as the
overseers
to neglect the ministry of the word of
god
in order to wait on tables our
oversight is a spiritual oversight we
need
somebody to have the physical oversight
and serve and minister to the physical
needs
of these Hebraic and Hellenistic Jews
so we're told verse 3
brothers and sisters choose seven men
from among you who are known listen to
this
to be full of the Spirit
there's the prerequisite and wisdom
we will turn this responsibility over to
them
and will give our attention to prayer
and the ministry of the word that is
what they were called to
as overseers the spiritual oversight now
here's another question
can a woman be a deacon yes
they're called deaconesses deaconesses
Romans chapter 16 verse 1 and 2 Paul
I commend to you our sister Phoebe
a deacon of the church in
central I ask you to receive her in the
Lord
in a way worthy of his people
and to give her any help she may need
from you for she has been the benefactor
of many people including me
this speaks to and this is a big issue
you know
we talked about this last week women are
not to be pastors
of a church that does not mean that
women do not serve in the church
they can serve in these roles as
deaconesses
they can minister to the physical needs
of
thank God for the women
in the church oh my goodness again we
talked about this last week when the man
abdicates his responsibility
and his God-given authority in his
leadership
role oftentimes the woman is forced to
whether it's in the church or in the
home
and they have to pick up that
responsibility because
if they don't here the man has abdicated
his responsibility if they don't
it all comes crashing down women play
a very important role within the church
within a ministry
so what are the requirements
for deacons and deaconesses number one
worthy of respect against someone
who shows proper respect towards both
God
and man and as such is worthy of respect
this is kind of along the lines of
teachable and able to teach you know
whose respectable is the one who
respects
if I'm respectable it's probably
because I show respect and it works both
ways
conversely if I'm not respectable it's
probably
because I I don't respect
and it works that way too
number two sincere
someone is someone who's not double
tongued
speaking out of both sides of their
mouth saying one thing
and doing another in other words you're
in this
crowd this group and you say
this because it's them and then
you're over here with this group and
this crowd and you say something
different because of them
that's being double tongued that's
insincere
disingenuous number three
again not in indulging in
much wine someone who's not given over
to
drunkenness I don't want to get into the
whole can of Christian
drink a glass of wine thing oh my
goodness
I'm still dealing with masks I'm not
going to deal with wine right now
can we just is is that okay please
it's drunkenness okay it's drunkenness
they cannot be given over to
alcohol and drunkenness number four not
pursuing
dishonest gain again someone who's not
in it for what they can get
out of it that's not what they're in it
number five
they must hold keep hold
of the deep truths with a clear
conscience
this has the idea of someone
who is doctrinally sound
and it has to be genuine out of
true conviction a clear conscience
this speaks to the importance the
paramount importance
of the centrality of the Word of God
doctrinally this is for a deacon
not the overseer this is the deacon so
wait a minute all I do is
you know clean the bathrooms no
it brings up another point I probably
should mention this before I forget this
because I do forget
uh it's not like the overseas here
and then the deacons here no
in fact it could be argued that it's the
other way around
the shepherd the under shepherd is here
and then
everyone else it's a it's the inverted
world concept of the you know top-down
you know the the ceo and then the peons
down below
the nobodies you know the insignificant
no that's not how it works
and the body of christ were all
different parts of the same body
assembled together did i mention this
about assembled
you're looking at me with that look that
tells me that
know the difference between assembled
and gathering
so the best illustration i ever heard
was this so you get you get a watch and
you get all the parts and you gather
them all together
they are gathered there's no function
there's no operation nothing was working
you just have all the parts gathered but
when you
assemble them now they're functioning
we're told to not forsake the assembling
of ourselves together when the body of
Christ is assembled together
then all the parts are functioning and
operating as god intended
so this is what Paul when he writes to
the Corinthians talks about where
you know don't you know if you're the
nose in the body of Christ
I'm probably the nose at the body of
Christ I got a big nose or a big mouth I
guess
maybe I'm the big mouth in the body of
Christ but don't let
one part of the body look at the other
part of the part of the body and go
I don't need you looks at the big toe I
don't need you
big toe goes oh yeah watch me now
and the big toe leaves and down you go I
had no idea how much I needed that big
toe
to keep my balance I can't walk without
you that's the point you want me now
right
I need you now right yeah
that's how the body of Christ is every
part is important in fact
Paul goes on to argue that the unseeming
parts
the seemingly insignificant parts are of
more
value than the ones that are you know
given all the
attention and spotlight
I hate that clock don't look at your
watches
I just use that illustration don't look
at your watches anymore
you know I stand up here and that
spotlight is bright and I know that my
bald head reflects it and you see me
you know what you don't see is everyone
else
behind the scenes
they don't have a spotlight on them they
serve tirelessly
faithfully they are so important
if it were not for them functioning in
this body of believers
just send me home now because what am I
going to do
so important we're all part of the same
body
please never see anybody as being
inferior to anybody else this
air of superiority and this goes into
the whole thing about
rockstar pastors oh my goodness
well you know how I feel about this
right maybe you don't maybe I should for
the benefit of those of you that are new
when I've gone and spoken in conferences
on the mainland and people come up to me
and go whoa
JD you're a rock star I'm like
don't say that sign my Bible no
I don't say it like that but God already
did
I didn't write it he did what do you
need me to sign up for
again I don't say that but man imagine
how crushed they would be if I did
but this pastors
are put on a pedestal upon which they do
not belong
and then when you've got these you know
well-known
I hate to use the word famous pastors
who are well known and then all of a
sudden
they don't agree with each other
what are you going to do they're not in
agreement
what's the matter with you if you're
looking
to them you're looking in the wrong
place why are you putting them in that
position
there's nobody that should be in that
position but God himself
I think it's a healthy thing when
famous well-known pastors are none in
agreement on a certain
topic or matter and it's again not
dealing with salvation matters
oh my goodness we need to get together
they need to debate no we don't
it's not are we not in agreement it's
again
are we in agreement with him and I think
it's a healthy dynamic
sometimes because it takes us i'll put
myself in there
off a pedestal that we should have never
been on
in the first place number six I better
keep moving here
they must first be tested this is so
important too
they must first prove themselves there
is a proving process
to show that they are fit by their good
and godly conduct
this is a principle that you don't break
it breaks you if you try to go up
against it i've learned the hard way
i've got the scars to prove it
you put somebody in a position you've
not had an
opportunity to see how they respond to
certain situations
you know because out of the abundance of
the heart the mouth speaks
put them in a heated situation which is
the ministry all the time
see how they uh respond
see what they do when this happens and
it will happen
I want to see how they how they respond
to
that what's their posture going to be
what's your attitude
going to be they have to prove
themselves
well let's um bring it to an end here
women in verses 11 through 13 paul
turns his attention to women and
in so doing he sums up the
qualifications for
deacons and deaconesses
and again we have number one worthy of
respect
we've talked about that showing proper
respect
and being respectful
means that you will be respected
being respectful means you'll be
respected
I I want to be careful on number two
not malicious talkers interesting that
he would write this to the women
not a slanderer backbiter
bearer gossiper you know what this
in the original language of the greek
new testament literally
translates as not
devils I I'm just this is that you
this is I did not say that
because what is the devil
diabolical uh
the accuser the father of lies
the author of confusion that's who he is
don't be like that you know we've uh
talked about it in our study through the
new testament
where paul will have a list of all of
these ungodly
characteristics that should never be
numbered amongst
the people of God in the church of Jesus
Christ
and I mean you've got things like
sexually immoral
murderers adulterers and would you
believe
that in that list is
gossiper what
you mean gossiping rises to the level
of sexual immorality and murder yeah
how do you get there well what did jesus
say
he said you know you you say
thou shalt not murder I say when you
assassinate and murder somebody with
that ugly tongue in your
vicious and vile mouth that's the same
as murder
there's power of life and death in the
tongue
this is a biggie and I'm
gonna leave it at that and let the Holy
Spirit take it from here
I've seen churches destroyed because of
this right here
I've seen marriages destroyed I've seen
families destroyed I've seen
kids who not want
nothing to do with the church or the
things of God because of this when you
slander somebody you make them
guilty until proven innocent you'll
never prove medicine because you've
already been
judge and jury in your own mind and when
you're on the hearing end of that the
receiving end of that
and you hear somebody gossiping
spreading rumors false accusations
slandering somebody you'll never look
at them the same way again that's how
dangerous is and again James talks about
this
this tongue can set a firestorm we can
tame
wild beasts we can control large ships
but we can't control this little piece
of flesh that god gave us a white picket
fence called
teeth to keep that thing inside
number three temperate in everything
this again is a woman who is reliable
dependable not volatile
being up one day down the other
now if you're anything like me
and I've got to believe that you are you're
probably thinking to yourself wow
oh my goodness this this is the
14 for the overseer man
and then this is a tall order
how is it even possible
for me to qualify
if this is what is required
that's actually a good thing what do you
mean
see God brings us to this place where we
look at the standard the the gauge where
the goal pulse are
and we throw up our hands and we say
there's no way that I could attain to
that
and then god says I know you can't
but I can through you
in you instead of you how
it's the how of the Holy Spirit
that enables us and empowers us to do
the what
of the Holy Word that's how
the mystery from which
true godliness comes is
found in jesus christ which
paul will expound upon at the end of the
chapter lord willing
next week I can't wait in fact
he talks about the church
the importance of the church
and lord willing next week we're going
to see how it's possible
for us to conduct ourselves in a Godly
manner
as the church in the church and I think
you would agree
if there was ever a time that the church
needed to be
Godly and holy
it is now
unique to the church of Jesus Christ
the mystery of godliness is Jesus Christ
by virtue of how it's not
realized in a process but a person
so please and if you don't hear anything
else I say
hear this don't leave this church today
thinking oh my goodness I've got to try
harder
you're going to make it to Kam highway and
you're gonna blow it
especially if you have kids right
it's not trying harder
it's not trying it's trusting
there's no way you can do it and that's
the whole point
is that you realize that it's this i
can't
but he can so he has to
live this holy life in me
instead of me you know when
there's verses in the bible that
really are sobering
where god says be ye holy as
i am holy okay
I'll get right on that starting this
afternoon
no you won't keep in mind God will never
command or
call us to do anything without also
enabling us to do that which he's called
us to do
He can't not that's a double negative
not proper english I know
but again He cannot be party to our
failure
He will always create an environment in
our Christian lives that is conducive to
our obeying Him
not disobeying him it's not going to set
us up for a fall
so God commands us to be holy he's going
to
package with that command the enabling
God's callings
are God's enablings He will always
enable us to do that which He's called
us
to do one last thing and we'll close
you know the differences between
Christianity and every other false
religion
because if Jesus is the way the truth
and the
life and no man comes with the Father
except through Him
pretty much settles it right
so buddha buddhism is out islam
is out all of these other religions are
out because that pretty much
settles it Hes the only way He's the
only truth
He's the only life right
why and how because religion
false religions are all about what man
does
for God
but Christianity is about what God has
already done
for man and that's the difference
and that should settle it and that by
the way
is the only way that you and I can live
a
holy and Godly life as He is holy
it comes only that way why don't you to stand
we'll pray appreciate your patience
you can look at your watches now thank
You Lord
oh Father in Heaven thank You so much
this is so good because
it it just recalibrates
us and situates and
acclimates us to where that plumb line
is this is Your standard of
righteousness
and it's so good for us to
revisit this because oftentimes we
don't realize how far we've strayed from
this
unwittingly unknowingly
doesn't excuse it it might explain it
so Lord this is a much needed reminder
of where the goalposts are in our lives
in this Church as your people
and Lord we're so thankful for the Holy
Spirit
that matures this fruit in
our life in Jesus name Amen
thank You
