Our first reading from God's Word is taken from 2 Kings chapter 22. So we turn up this Old Testament book, chapter 22 of 2 Kings. We take a short reading, 8 to 10, and then we move into chapter 23, verses 1 to 3. It's about God's Word, which had been lost. and then discovered, and then read, and then obeyed. 2 Kings 22. And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. And Shaphan the secretary came to the king and reported to the king, Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord. And Chaffan the secretary told the king, the priest has given me a book and Chaffan read it before the king. And the king wanted the people to hear what was written in the book, God's word. And then that takes us to chapter 23 and verses one to three. Then the King sent and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. And the King went up to the house of the Lord and with him, all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing, all the words of the book of the covenant that had been fined in the house of the Lord. And the King stood by the pillar. and made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined the covenant." Ending a reading there at that third verse, thanking God for his precious word. Our second reading from God's Word comes from 1 Timothy 3. Let us hear the Word of God. The saying is trustworthy. If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, super-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity, keeping his children submissive. For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, How will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. We end our reading there at that seventh verse. In Ephesians chapter four, we read that Christ gives gifts to his church. And one of the gifts that the church needs to function well and properly is the gift of the eldership. One of the responsibilities that a congregation must exercise from time to time is to recognize the gifts that Christ has given to it. For example, when there is an election for elders in the congregation, the members are to thoughtfully and prayerfully determine whom Christ has gifted for this office. That would be an impossible task if Christ hadn't given us criteria to follow, criteria by which to recognize such men in the congregation. Well, he has given us that criteria, and it is found in 1 Timothy 3 1-7, and we're considering verses 1-3 this morning. Titus 1 5-9, it's another passage. 1 Peter 5 1-4, a similar passage. Now chapters 2 and 3 of 1 Timothy are all about the life and worship of the church. and how the church is to be organized. We know that from what Paul said to Timothy at the end of chapter three. He said in verses 14 and 15, I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. In these chapters it is clear that Paul differentiates between the role of men and the role of women in the life of the church, especially with regard to worship. In verse 8 of chapter 2 he is referring distinctly to men in the matter of public prayer. I desire then that in every place the men should pray. It is understood that in Ephesus that there had been several different locations in the city where believers met for worship. So in all those different places that the men were to lead in prayer, and they were to pray without anger or without quarrelling. And for this to be the case, there would need to be union and communion within the fellowship of the church, so that the one who leads in prayer has the confidence He has the assurance that everyone is giving assent to the prayers that are offered on behalf of all. And they are to pray lifting holy hands. This is the only reference to the position of hands while praying in the New Testament. Obviously, it is an allusion to a Jewish habit of praying with uplifted hands. In this case, the addition of the adjective holy indicates that Paul has in mind the condition of the petitioner's heart and life. Much more important than the position of his hands. Psalm 66 in verse eight would support this conclusion. A verse that reads, if I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. Both having introduced a distinctive responsibility of men within the worship service, they went on to address the women in Ephesus. It is clear from verse 12 of chapter 2 that while women had many roles within the church, the office of elder is not for them. It is not one of the roles that women are called upon to exercise. At verse 8, I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man. After considering women in the worship service, Paul introduces the subject of the overseer, the elder, the bishop. These words are all interchangeable in the New Testament. And this morning we focus on verses one to three, where we see a couple of things. First of all, the description of the office of the elder, verse one, and then in verses two and three, a description of the elder's life. So we begin with a description of the office. And the first thing that we notice in verse one is that it is an office demanding toil. It is described as a task or a work. And some people have the conception of the teaching elder, the pastor, the minister, that he is the man who only works one day a week. And even on that, he is only on duty about three hours on that one day. And the same people may have the impression that when men are elected to the office of ruling elder, it is more in the nature of an honor conferred rather than a job of work to be done. Some people, when they have worked hard for the community, in business, or achieved a distinction in the world of sport or in the arts, they are awarded an OBE or an MBE. Very often it is an honour conferred on retirement for work well done. But the Eldership is not like that. It is a call to work It is a call to service. It is a call to give oneself energetically to a noble task. And that leads us then to think, secondly, that it is an office which is honourable. It is an office which is honourable, described here as a noble task. It has often been said that the call to the Christian ministry is the highest, most noble, the most honourable calling that any man can receive. And that's true. And those of us in the ministry are deeply humbled and highly honoured to have received such a calling. However, we must never forget that the word noble applies to the office of both teaching and ruling elder. A ruling elder is also called to a good work, a pleasing work, a beautiful work, a noble task. The media often caricatures the minister, the pastor, as being a bungling idiot, an effeminate socialite with nothing worthwhile to say. Sadly, In some cases, the caricature has reflected reality. But the true servant of Christ in the eldership is a man who is doing a good work, a man who is fulfilling a noble task. An office demanding toil, an office which is honourable, and then thirdly, an office to be desired. an office to be desired. If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. There are many things that we can aspire to in this life and may never obtain. I think it is true of every young person that they aspire to be married at some stage in the future. That is a legitimate aspiration. That's a valid desire. Hebrews 13 verse four says that marriage be held in honor above all. Or Proverbs 18 verse 22. He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. However, it is clear that it is not always God's will for every man to be married. clear that it is not always God's will for every woman to be married. But though that may be the case for some, there is nothing wrong with the aspiration. With respect to the eldership, every man in the congregation should aspire to serve in Christ in this particular way. Every man in the congregation should aspire to be either a teaching elder or a ruling elder, At a conference I attended some time ago, Dr. Joel Beakey said that the Puritans in the 17th century expected each young man to consider, first of all, the Christian ministry. And only when they were sure that this was not God's calling for them, then they were to give time and thought to consider other legitimate callings. And another legitimate calling is to serve Christ as a ruling elder. Therefore, according to this text of scripture, you men, and especially you young men, ought to aspire to the eldership. And if you sincerely believe that God is not calling you into the pastoral office, then consider whether someday God may call you to be a ruling elder in his church. And if he does call you through his people, remember, it is a call demanding laborious toil, but nevertheless, it is a noble and highly honorable calling, a description of the office. And then we come secondly to consider a description of the elder's life. And in verse two, we have positive characteristics And in verse three, we have negative characteristics. And when Paul is dealing with the positive characteristics in verse two, he puts them into two categories. He has five characteristics that relate to a man's personal life. And then he has two characteristics that relate to a man's interpersonal life as he relates to others. So we'll consider First of all, then, the five positive characteristics to be present in a prospective elder's personal life. First of all, an elder is to be above reproach or blameless. Now, this doesn't mean sinless, because if that were the meaning, then no one, absolutely no one would qualify for the eldership. So what does it mean? What does it mean to be above reproach? What does it mean to be blameless? Well, we all sin every day in many different ways, but this word is referenced to blatant, ongoing breaches of the moral law. For example, a man who has a reputation for not paying his bills on time, even though he has the means to do so, is flagrantly violating the 8th commandment and so therefore disqualifies himself from being an elder in Christ's church. Or a man who totally disregards his responsibility to make any kind of provision for his aged parents. Again that's a flagrant breach of the moral law of the 5th commandment And that man disqualifies himself for leadership in Christ's church. Of course, every Christian is called to live a blameless life. But it comes as a particular challenge to those who are called to serve Christ in the eldership. Then the next characteristic, husband of one wife. In the first century, it was entirely possible for men in the church to have more than one wife. Men coming from a pagan background who, before the conversion, had married several women. That still occurs. In fact, where the RP mission is in South Sudan, it is quite common in that culture for men prior to the conversion to have had several wives. What are they to do? Well, such men on their being born again are not asked to discard their extra wives, but rather to support them and to care for them and to make provision for them. And the church then, in the first century and now, must make accommodation for such marital entanglements which people get into before their conversion. However, the point is this, such men are forever disqualified from office in the Christian Church, husband of one wife. The application of this qualification in our society, where monogamy is the norm, is that the man should be above reproach with respect to his marital relationship. He is to be entirely true and faithful to his one and only wife. It will be clear to those who know him that he endeavours to love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Above reproach, husband of one wife, now super-minded or vigilant. This qualification means the opposite of drowsiness. We all know that sleep takes us out of the world of reality. The elder is a man who ought not to be like that. He ought to be in touch with reality. He ought to be aware of what's happening in the world around him. And he ought very specially to be aware of what is taking place in the life and work and ministry of the congregation where he belongs. Above reproach, husband of one wife, super-minded, now self-controlled. In view here is that trait in a man which enables him to exercise control over himself. He is not a man who will be swayed by sudden impulses. He is a man who thinks before he speaks or acts, and therefore he will be a man who acts intelligently, a man who uses discretion and a man who gives evidence of having a good measure of common sense, a man who acts wisely. And then the fifth of these positive characteristics in a man's life, respectable or of good behavior. This quality has been defined as belonging to the man who has an inner moral excellence, which is expressed in outward, orderly behaviour, and inner moral excellence, which is expressed in outward, orderly behaviour. He is a person who can be described as having moral courage and strength of character. These lastly qualifications are all quite closely related. Sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, They belong together to form a kind of triplet. Taken together, they suggest a person who is serious-minded, a person who is well-disciplined, a person who is well-balanced in his life. These traits, these characteristics, are so essential in the elder. For many of the decisions he will have to make, much of the work he will be called to do, require a man to be sober-minded, self-controlled and respectable. We have dealt with the five qualifications that relate to man's personal life, what he is in relation to himself. We now move to consider qualifications that belong to his interpersonal life, how well he relates to others. There are two in number. First of all, hospitable. All Christians are called to be given to hospitality. However, the elders, the overseers of God's flock are to excel in this gift. Normally we think of hospitality as inviting someone for a meal. The word in the New Testament sense didn't mean that, but it had a much broader meaning. To be hospitable meant befriending the stranger, offering not only food but also accommodation when necessary. To the scattered persecuted Christians in the first century, hospitality meant for them an open door, a warm embrace, a satisfying meal and a safe place to sleep. We are living in an entirely different world. Nevertheless, it can be a cold and lonely place. Let us all be given to hospitality, and may those of us in the eldership seek to excel in this Christian grace. 2. Able to teach This qualification does not imply that every ruling elder should be able to preach. Certainly, that should be true of the teaching elder and of some ruling elders, they may from time to time be able to help out in this regard. However, every elder should possess this gift to some extent. And in order to meet this qualification, an elder should have three important things. First of all, he ought to have a grasp of and a submission to the basic doctrines and contents of scripture. That's the first thing. Second thing, he ought to have the ability to communicate that truth to others. Now, that doesn't have to be from a public platform. More often than not, it will be on a one-to-one basis, either at work or at home or in some other setting. And then the third thing is this, that he ought to have such a love for the truth and such a love for people that these two will come together naturally. In other words, an elder comes into contact with someone who obviously has a definite spiritual need. He is aware of the scriptural truth he needs to communicate to that person, and in a loving and gracious manner he does so. The verse 2 has taken us from the positive characteristics that should be obvious in the aspiring elder's life, the positive traits that apply to his own life and in his relationship to others. Now we look at four negative traits set out in verse four. Not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. not a drunkard. We are living in a society where the abuse of alcohol has reached epidemic proportions. Many young people become addicted from an early age and are abusing themselves and others. The aspiring elder is a man whose life is marked by temperance and self-control in all aspects of life, and especially as far as alcohol is concerned. Not violent but gentle. Not violent means literally not given to blows. So the prospective elder will not be a man who is given to blows either physically or verbally. Rather, gentleness will characterise his dealings with those who need correction. The Apostle Paul had some characters to deal with in the Corinthian church, individuals who needed a firm hand, who needed direct spiritual counsel. But Paul didn't resort to physical blows. In 2 Corinthians 10, verse 1, we see clearly his approach. Paul, myself, entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. That's the pattern elders are to follow, especially when engaged in a potentially confrontational situation. Not a drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome. A man may not be violent, but nevertheless he may delight in being quarrelsome with people, playing the devil's advocate to stir up an argument, to begin a dispute. You will have heard of people who could start a riot in an empty house. That's certainly not a commendable characteristic. Jesus said, blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God. They are not a lover of money. Money is an important necessity. You cannot live without it. But in an increasingly materialistic world, there's the temptation to become a lover of money. J.D. Rockefeller, the oil magnate, was once asked, how much money is enough? He paused for a moment in deep thought. And then this billionaire said, just a little more, just a little more. When men and women succumb to this temptation to become lovers of money, then all their thoughts and all their actions are governed by the words, what's in it for me? Imagine an elder having that frame of mind. What's in it for me? Sadly, in history, some men have accepted the eldership because it would enhance their reputation. Or it would build up their practice. Or it would attract more clientele. Or it would build up the customer base. Would such a man be impartial in the exercise of church discipline? Obviously not. For if discipline of a member curtailed his business, then he would vote against it. The elder is therefore a man who cannot be bought. A man who will be completely and totally impartial in every decision that is made. So we've covered these characteristics that are outlined for us in these three verses of 1 Timothy 3. And as we have done so, we do recognize that this is a high standard. a high standard that is set before anyone who aspires to the office of Elder in the Church. But always remember the standard is not set by men, the standard is not set by the preacher, but the standard is set by Christ, the King and Head of the Church. And when we consider the responsibilities involved in caring for men and women and young people, for him Christ shed his precious blood, then no lesser standard would be sufficient. God willing, in two weeks' time, we will consider the additional qualifications outlined by Paul to Timothy in the next four verses of 1 Timothy 3, verses four to seven. In the meantime, prayerfully consider those whom Christ has gifted with these qualifications in this congregation men for whom you can cast your vote in three weeks' time. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father and our God, we do thank you for your word to us. We thank you that guidance, direction, counsel is given concerning office bearers in Christ's church, concerning the elder and the deacon, And concerning all of us, our Father, that we might walk before you and follow the blameless path. We realize, our Father, how difficult it is because there is the remaining corruption within our own hearts. There are the temptation of the world about us. And there is the crafty fool, the devil himself, who is seeking to lead us astray. We thank you for the Holy Spirit. Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. And to our Father, give us the strength to resist temptation that we might, O Lord, live as we ought to be as individuals, in our families and in the church. We thank you for the present elders in this congregation and the role that they fulfill for the life that they lead, for the responsibilities that they carry out. And so God, we pray your blessing upon them to guide the congregation at this stage in its history to additional men for the eldership, men who are biblically qualified, men who in their hearts aspire to give service to Christ in this way. So our Father, may your good hand be upon us in this matter. And also, Father, we think of next Lord's Day and communion and the breaking of bread. And we ask our Father to prepare us, prepare us through the evening service tonight and prepare us in our thoughts throughout this incoming week. And all we ask is in Christ's name and for his sake and glory. Now receive the blessing of the Lord, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.