As the choir is being seated, I'll ask you to turn in your bulletin to the back side of the bulletin. We have the Belgian Confession, Article 30, as we look at the government of the church and the offices that were created by God. So let us read together our confession of faith, Belgian Confession, Article 30. We believe that this true church must be governed by that spiritual polity which our God has taught in his word, namely, that there must be ministers or pastors to teach the word of God and to administer the sacraments. Also, elders and deacons who, together with the pastors, form the council of the church. that by these means the true religion may be preserved, and the true doctrine everywhere propagated, likewise transgressors chastened and restrained by spiritual means, also that the poor and distressed may be relieved and comforted according to their necessities. By these means everything will be carried on in the church with good order and decency when faithful men are chosen according to the rule prescribed by the Apostle Paul in his epistle to Timothy. And so brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, as we consider the government of the church, we have to understand that God calls his church to be governed by sinful human beings. That God uses sinful human beings to direct the church. And so God lays out in his word, a polity. Of course, that word has the same basis as a dirty word in our culture, politics. We have to understand that. Polity means how is it governed? And so God has taught us in His Word how it is to be governed. If we look back into the Old Testament, We go all the way back to Moses, and Moses was told by his father-in-law, rightly so, that he couldn't run it by himself. That there needed to be elders. And by the way, brothers and sisters, the idea we have what we call a federal government in the United States, and we have a church polity that is Presbyterian, Presbyter speaks of elders, and we have to understand that those are actually the same idea. That there is representative. Now, we in the continuing government, federal-wise, Think of those people as representing us, whereas in the church, they are used by God, but quite honestly, it should be the same thing in both situations. And so perhaps sometimes in our churches, we forget that the elders and deacons are there to represent us in the church councils. And that is a part of their duty. And so when we start talking about different aspects of that, there needs to be an interplay between the congregation and the consistory and the spiritual council. Going back, of course, finally to God's Word. But there must be ministers to preach the Word and to administer the sacraments. And then there are as well the offices of elders. and deacons. And we can get into each one of those. Each one of those is laid out in the scriptures. We understand that God sets up that there are those who are to preach. But we understand that they do not have a different or a higher authority than the other elders of the congregation. People sometimes look to pastors and say, okay, you have certain education, but brothers and sisters, the officers, the elders of the church are there to represent God and to be used by God as well. And both are necessary, in fact, in the RCUS, and rightly so. We are not to have a committee at classus or synod that doesn't have an elder and a pastor on it. Because the wisdom of elders is so important. We sometimes push that off to the side, but it is a very important part of the church, as well as the office of deacon. They're necessary as well. And we sometimes forget about that. Indeed, in Eureka, we had a diaconal fund. And it had been $100 for 20-30 years. Nobody knew what it was for. I'm going, guys, first of all, let's put some money into that. And second of all, when you have money in it, guess what? You have the opportunity to use it. The confession is right on. So that the poor and the distressed may be relieved and comforted according to their necessities. The office of deacon is important in the church. Remember in Acts, when the deacons were chosen, Acts 6.3, Therefore, brethren, seek out among yourselves seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business, over caring for those who needed assistance within the church. The office is important to the care of one another within the congregation. Our spiritual needs, and perhaps I overlooked that along the way, that they form a council, we have the elders and the deacons form a council, that by these means the true religion may be preserved, the true doctrine everywhere propagated, likewise transgressors chastened and restrained by spiritual means. Those are the offices that are delegated into the spiritual council to make sure that the gospel, the true religion is preserved, that it is extended, And as well, used by God to restrain transgressors. To restrain people from sin. That we call people back from sin. Sadly, that is too often seen in our culture as a stick. Lovingness says that if people are in danger, we do not forget about it. We do not not consider the situation that they're in. And those means are called by God, directed by Christ, Matthew 18, to call one another back. Think of, as we look at 1 and 2 Corinthians, the problems going on in that church that would horrify us. And then in 2 Corinthians, that the sinner had repented and was then to be reunited with the church there in Corinth. So God uses these things. By these means, everything will be carried on in the church with good order and decency. That we seek to go about the offices that God calls us to with good order and decency. According to the rule prescribed by Paul in his epistle to Timothy. Notice one other. When faithful men are chosen. That we seek to find and make sure that we have faithful men in these offices. And just Reading from 1 Timothy, because it is referenced there. 1 Timothy 3, 1-13, this is a faithful saying, if a man desires the position of a bishop, which elder, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous, one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence. For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God? Not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise, deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to 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 in 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 so we're reminded that we need these offices. And by the way, there's one other office that I think sometimes get forgotten. It's the office of church member. Each one of us has that office. Each one of us has that place within the church. And we have an awesome gift there. I would rather be put to death than be excommunicated from God's church. Because the church is looking at me and saying, Grossman, we believe that you exhibit the marks of a true Christian. That you're a repentant sinner. And brothers and sisters, that is a great statement made about us. Because if I look at myself, yeah, I think I'm a pretty great guy. Wish you guys were all as good as I am. But if I'm honest with myself, I'm not. I'm a sinner. I'm a rotten sinner, and it is only by grace that I am saved. And so to have others and those who are called by God to say to us, yes, we see your life, yes, you're a sinner, but yes as well, we see your faith worked in you by the Holy Spirit. To be able to have people and specifically the officers called by God of God's church say that about us is a great gift. And as well then, we have that opportunity to say that about each one of us, and to consider, and to call one another back. Because again and again, we need to be called to repentance. We don't come to church and therefore are great people, and we don't come to church because we are great people. We come to church because we're sinners. And we need the grace of God. We need God to save us. And so we come to hear His Word preached to us, to sing His praises, because we do serve an awesome God. Amen.