Well, we're continuing through 1 Timothy, and we have an interesting overlap today as we come in 1 Timothy now to Deacons. And so this morning we looked at Acts chapter 2, and in Acts chapter 2 at the very end there, the people were fellowshipping, and the main way that they were fellowshipping, that they were talking about there, was they were fellowshipping in the material things of this life. They were encouraging one another and there were people who had needs. And those people who had needs, those needs were being met by the church. And so now we're going to look tonight in 1 Timothy about deacons as to one of the ways in which the church gets organized to meet those needs. So we're gonna turn to 1 Timothy chapter three, and we're going to start in verse eight and read through verse 13 for the qualifications of a deacon. All right, there it says, likewise, deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given too much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested, then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be the husband of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus." And there we end that reading. Now tonight, so you'll see a lot of overlap between this and the elders, or else you wouldn't need the word likewise, right? So things like at the end there, let deacons be the husbands of one wife. So we already talked about that with respect to the elders. So I won't cover that again tonight. Ruling their children and their own houses well, same thing that we've talked about that. If you go back to the beginning there of where did we get deacons, that's gonna get us a little bit past where we are in Acts, okay? So in Acts chapter two, we already said that there were people who had needs and the people were giving, right? It says they were giving as anyone had need. And if we go forward a little bit in Acts to chapter four, verse 35, it'll say again that, now this is the part where it says people were selling property and they were giving, Has anyone had need? Okay, so that's Act 435. Then you come to Act 6, right? So you have all these people who have needs, but there's a particular class of person who oftentimes has needs, and especially in that culture and throughout the world today, and that's widows. So the widows would have had a hard time perhaps getting labor or finding work, or even if they could, it just might be at the point of their lives where they just can't do that kind of work anymore. And then we're talking about the biblical definition of a widow. The biblical definition of a widow is a woman who has lost her husband, who doesn't have any children who could support her, right? That would be, especially if she had Christian children, right? So the church should turn around to the Christian children and say, you all need to take care of your mother or your mother-in-law or an aunt or somebody like that, right? So in fact, we come across that. in 1st Timothy chapter 5 verse 8, if anyone does not provide for his own, and they're talking about his own blood family, especially those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. So that should take care of hopefully a lot of that. Then, but there'd still be women who were without support and could not support themselves, right? And so you have them in the churches taking care of them. Now, in the midst of that, you've got two versions of this widow. One is described as Hebrew, and one is described as not, or as Greek. And the widows, the Greek version of them, the diaspora kind of widows, it says were being neglected in the daily distribution. And we don't know why that was happening, but it was happening. Right? And so the people got together, and they said, we've got to fix this. Now, who knows what the church's size is at this time? Imagine you're trying to work this out. You've got all these widows and let's call it a 15,000 person church, right, in Jerusalem area. Okay, so what basically the Lord does at this point is he says we need to get organized. And this is how we're going to organize ourselves. The apostles said, we're going to focus on two things. We're going to focus on the preaching of the word and on praying. So we're going to take that piece, believing that's what the Lord has called us to, and then what we're going to do is we're going to give the other piece to other brothers in the church. Now, and the way we're gonna do that is we're going to ordain them, okay? Now why do you ordain somebody? You ordain somebody so everybody in the church knows who to look to to be helpful in this, right? So there's some gifts you can exercise and you don't need ordination, right? You can be generous to somebody and you don't need to be ordained. You can be an encourager of people and you don't need to be ordained. You can be a teacher of people and you don't need to be ordained, right? So you can do lots of things in the church, you don't have to be ordained. However, when you start handling money, for instance, and that's what's going to happen here, then people are going to have questions about how that is going to function. And they have to be able to go to somebody who says, I have the authority to tell you how that's going to function. Or, if people don't get those answers, what's going to happen to their giving with respect to those in need, you might expect they're going to say, we're hesitant. We're hesitant to give to that because we're not sure that the money that we give is going to be used well, right? That would seem reasonable. So what the church does is it ordains men And it says, those men have been set apart to this particular ministry. They are trusted by the church. They've been gifted by the Lord. And therefore, what we're going to do is we're going to set them to do this kind of ministry. Now, they do lots of other things, but this in particular in Acts chapter 6 is what we're talking about. Now, if you were to continue in Acts chapter 6, Verse three, the apostles say, this is the kind of men we're looking for. Men of good reputation. Now notice how that parallels when we talked about the elders earlier, blameless, right? So that generally, generally, when you look at their lives, you look at their words, you look at their character, they're men of good reputation. That is, all of y'all see them and know them to be men of good reputation. Okay, what's a man of good reputation to the church? Well, it says next, as it continues on, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. Right? So it manifests to us that they're full of the Holy Spirit and they're full of wisdom. Right? Then, continuing in Acts chapter 6, it says, the deacons, they set, the deacon candidates, they set them before the apostles, and when the apostles prayed, they laid hands on them. Okay? So they laid hands on them. Now, that brings us to what is laying hands on somebody. What's that about in the Bible? Okay, when you lay hands on somebody, you're doing a couple of different things. You might be doing a couple of different things. So for instance, oftentimes when Jesus healed people, he would lay his hands on them, right? Okay, so Jesus, if he just thinks, right, let that person be healed. Can that person be healed like that? Absolutely, right? If Jesus just says the word, let that person be healed, right? There was a man who came and said, my child is sick and you don't even have to come and do anything. All you have to do is say the word. I know she'll be healed, right? Even from a distance, Jesus just has to do that. But oftentimes what he'll do is he'll lay hands on them when he heals them or the apostles, they will lay hands on people when they heal them. So for instance, In Matthew 9 a ruler comes and worships and says my daughter has just died but come and lay your hands on her and she will live or Luke chapter 13 He laid hands on her and immediately she was made straight and glorified God. This is a woman who's been afflicted for a very long time, right? So here you see laying hands. Now what's going on there? What's going on is that Jesus, one thing he's doing is he's associating himself with that person so that you know it's his power and his authority that's associated with that healing, right? It's just another way for us to identify it. And so Jesus would lay hands on people who are afflicted to show the power of God through him, to show the ability through him, and to show that it's associated with him, right? Okay, so now, that's one way that we lay hands on people. And then another way that we lay hands on people is we just, is that, I'll use Jesus again, people brought small children to him. And they said, would you lay your hands on them and pray for them? And Jesus offered to do that. Now, what do they want? They want whatever association with Jesus is helpful, give that to my child. Whatever blessing is offered by Jesus, give that to my child, right? So what they're wanting is they're wanting their children to be blessed by Him. So when you lay hands on somebody, one of the things that you're doing is in addition to maybe showing that there's power and authority associated with this laying on of hands. There's a gift that can be bestowed upon them, right? So Acts 8, 17 is probably one of the more straightforward instances of this. The apostles laid hands on some and they received the Holy Spirit. The apostles would lay their hands on these people and what would happen is all of a sudden they would receive the gift of tongues or something so you could see it in history. When the apostles did that you knew it was associated with them because they laid their hands on it as a confirmation rather than just saying it or thinking it or something like that. And so God acted through that, and these people now, through that laying on of hands, received gifts associated with the people who laid hands on them, right? And then lastly, or a third association of laying on hands, is is that what it shows is there's a gift from God or a qualification, a gift from those associate who are laying on hands or qualifications and identification. So in this case, the apostles are saying when they lay hands on the deacons, these brothers are associated with us. They're associated with our authority, They're associated with our gifts. They're associated with our Savior. They're associated with this call to come and help these people. And they are qualified. In 1 Timothy 3, that's part of it. So what we're saying is we identify ourselves with them, and we say that they're the kind of people we would be associated with. We identify ourselves with them. The same Jesus who's at work with us is at work in them. We identify ourselves with them. The same call or authority in the church that Jesus gave to us, we are showing that that authority is associated with them as well, right? So before, the apostles were taking all of the Giving and the teaching and the praying right and now what they've done is they've said that that giving that Distribution to the needy is now associated with the deacons. So that's what the laying on of hands is about in Excuse me in Acts chapter 6, right? So let me see what I Go there Yes. Okay. In Acts chapter 6 verse 6. So the apostles prayed. They laid hands on them. Right? Okay. So the apostles are now certifying to the whole congregation, these men are qualified to do this. These men are gifted to do this. And they're qualified and gifted and they're charged to do this by God. Right. Just like God has qualified us charged us and gifted us to do what we do. Right. So therefore that's what's happened. OK. Good. Now. Now let's go back to First Timothy Chapter 3. Right. So in First Timothy Chapter 3 as I've as I've said here what we're now we're looking at those qualifications. Right. So if the elders are saying deacons are qualified what kind of qualifications do they need. OK. They need a lot of overlap with the elders. I won't cover that. This one begins, it says, reverent. Now, don't the elders have to be reverent? I mean, why wasn't? Yes, they do, of course. Why deacon? Why do they highlight that for deacons? I think the reason they highlight that for deacons is because if you get a guy and you want him to distribute money and help widows, what kind of a guy might you pick? I think the church, and has often fallen into this, we might pick a guy who's just good with numbers. We might pick a man who's a good businessman, or he's a scribe, or in that day, or something like that, who understands those things, and everybody will say, well, he's qualified. Yeah, but what if he's not reverent, right? That's, I think, the big issue in this particular thing. So what they do is they say, okay, qualified, right out of the gate, not just capable, you might say, not just maybe socially, morally pretty good, but a man who's going to do this work as he stands before God. A man is going to do that work in relationship to God. Now notice again how well that fits in with Acts. In Acts, what are we looking at? Throughout the entire book, we're looking at what is Jesus continuing to teach and to do in history. So now what Jesus has done is he's set up in history men who are ordained for Jesus to teach through them. And now he's set up men who are ordained to serve. That he's going to do through them in history. Now again, not to say that you have to be ordained to teach, that Jesus can still work through you if you're not ordained, or that you have to be ordained to serve, to do. But Jesus is showing here that sometimes the doing needs organizing, so we ordain men to it. Sometimes the teaching needs organizing, so we ordain men to it. And that's what they're doing here. OK, so they have to be reverent and they have to be reverent because they're looking to Jesus to work through them for the good of the church. OK next. They have to be. Verse now I'm coming back to First Timothy Chapter 3 verse 9 and verse 9 says they're holding to the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. OK mystery. How can you hold to something that's a mystery, right? Now the answer is, in the Bible, when they use mystery, mystery is something that was previously not known, but is known now. So let me give you a couple of examples of that from the scriptures. Romans chapter 16, verse 25, it says there, now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, that is, now to God, and this gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ which is according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began. So what he's saying there is the gospel has been not revealed since time began and you could say very clearly or like it is now, right? And so now that mystery has been revealed but they still call it a mystery and all they mean simply is the gospel or Ephesians chapter 3, Ephesians chapter 3 verse 3, how by revelation God made known to me, that is Paul, the mystery which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has been now revealed by the Spirit. That's probably a lot clearer, right? It's not that it never was revealed in any sense at all, but it's not been revealed as clearly by the Spirit as is now to the holy apostles and prophets, and in particular that the Gentiles would be fellow heirs. So with the Jews in the gospel, right? So this mystery that we're talking about here is just simply another way of saying the gospel. So then if you look there in verse 9, that deacons must be reverent, and the reason they're reverent is because they hold to the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience, right? The mystery of the gospel in a pure conscience. And so those are really two of the big things I wanted to highlight tonight with their qualifications, right? Because the other ones I think are pretty much overlapping with the elders. Then, again, just to repeat this, right? Jesus himself says, the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. And so it doesn't surprise us that he wants the church not to be served, but to serve. And then on top of that, to say, okay, and I'm going to ordain some people. And some of those people who are those who serve primarily in the church, in their call, are going to reflect who he is. Or Acts chapter 10, verse 38. God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Okay, and Jesus, when he was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power, what did he do? He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him, right? And how did he do that? Well, sometimes he did that by teaching, and sometimes he did that just directly by serving them, right? So there's just another reflection of who Christ is with respect to that. Or that Christ gives diversities of gifts. In the body there are diversities of gift, this is 1 Corinthians 12, but the same spirit. So one spirit gives us deacons, one spirit gives us people who are not deacons, one spirit gives us people who are ordained, one spirit gives us people who are not ordained. Prophecy, tongues, and then what we're talking about at this point in history. Administration, all those kinds of things that you see in lists of gifts, but it's all those different gifts, but the same spirit. Diversities of ministries, same Lord. Diversities of activities, the same God. Manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all." Right? And so again, that comes back to that laying on of hands. With the laying on of hands, one of the things it says is, we realize that there is manifesting or demonstrated in these brothers that the Spirit is at work in them. And in fact, we pray and we hope, like Jesus was going to bless the little children, we pray and hope that the Lord would give to them additional gifts or increase of gifts that they might serve as the Lord has called them to. Yes, even as, for instance, Timothy. You'll remember Paul told Timothy that remember when the presbytery laid hands on you and that gave you a gift that had been prophesied at that point, right? And because that happened, you ought to remember that and serve out of it, right? So this laying on of hands ought to remind the deacons to serve in the strength of the Lord for the good of God's people, and that that strength of the Lord has already been in their life and recognized by the people. Okay, then one more verse, 1 Peter 4, verse 11. Now this is looking at the diaconate from the side of the people now. What kind of people does God put in the body? 1 Peter 4, verse 11, if anyone speaks, let him speak the oracles of God, okay? If anyone serves, let him do so with the ability God supplies." And then he's done. Then he says, that in all things, God might be glorified through Jesus Christ, right? So if the church is manifesting gifts of teaching, the church is manifesting gifts of service, then what's gonna happen is God's going to be glorified. Or Romans chapter 12 verse 6 also gives another summary of this along the same lines as 1 Peter 4. Having gifts that differ according to the grace that's given us, let us use them. If prophecy in proportion to our faith or ministry or service in ministering, then we should do that. Sorry. Mangled that sentence, my apologies. If you have gifts differing according to the grace given to us, let us use them. If you have the gift of ministry, do that in your ministering. Now that doesn't mean minister like me. That means ministry just in the general sense of service. So again, if you have prophecy, prophesy. Or you could say in our day, if you have the gift of teaching, teach. If you have the gift of serving, serve. And right there he gives to us that same indication of that's how God wants to work in history because that's what Jesus is doing in history as Jesus is continuing to do and to teach. And then what's our expectation and hope from all this as we've set these brothers aside to do this kind of thing in the church? Acts chapter 6 verse 7, the word of God spread and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem. And so we have great hope that as the deacons exercise their ministry in the group, in the midst of the church, that the word of God will spread and the number of disciples will be multiplied greatly. Let's pray.