to the glory of God. God is the most God-centered being in the universe. I've been praying for a long time about starting every sermon with that. Nobody wants God to have first place in all things more than God does. Everything that God says and does from creation to salvation is designed to exalt God and to make Himself look glorious. And I can't tell you how many people have come up to me after I would say things like that and say, when you say things like that, I don't feel loved. And I've got a sermon because about Seven years ago, eight years ago now, Oprah Winfrey was talking about her salvation experience. And she was in church and the guy was talking about the great attributes of God and she was just eating it all up and just happy as she could be. And he came to one verse where he said, the Lord God is jealous. And she said, that didn't sit well with my spirit. Why would God be jealous of me? That can't be true because God's not jealous of me. C.S. Lewis struggled with this concept for decades of his life. He was 29 years old before he got saved. And this was the issue. Jesus is an egomaniac. God is a megalomaniac for wanting everybody to worship Him all the time. He's like an old woman who wants attention all the time. He goes around telling people all the time, praise me, praise me, praise me, praise me, praise me, praise me, love me, love me, delight me, delight me. I said, who talks that way? And when he got saved, his eyes were opened and he understood and he wrote extensively about this. But he's not the only one. I would say to you that most people struggle over this concept. They don't talk about it most of the time. Because they don't understand the love of God. They equate the love of God as the love of a mother with a child, or the love of a soldier with his country, or the love of a man with something, or his wife, and that's got nothing to do with the love of God. That's human love, and it's all fallen. The love of God is unique. Nothing is like it. So I'm going to make this, I just made a powerful statement. I want you to meditate on it this week. I want this to really bear home to you. when I just said, everything that God says and does from creation to salvation is designed to exalt God and to make Himself look glorious. Now listen to this next statement. These are the two statements I want you to think about. And that is wonderful news for us. Because in radically changing us by the miracle of the new birth, we truly delight ourselves in God. Here we go. Therefore, our desire to be happy and God's desire to be glorified are united in the person of Jesus Christ. I have never met one person in my life that didn't want to be happy. Everybody desires to be happy. And what God is telling the world, don't settle for something less. delight yourself in Me, and you will have the fullness of joy. Now listen to this, every single command in the Bible for us to praise and magnify the infinite worth of Jesus Christ, every single instruction for us to be holy, every encouragement for us to utterly forsake the world and embrace Jesus as the treasure of the universe, is a command and an instruction and an encouragement for us to find and possess the fullness of joy. So there is no one who wants us to be happy and content and satisfied and fulfilled more than God. And He knows better than anyone else that the only way that created humans can do that is by coming to the place where we genuinely enjoy God. And I would suggest to you it takes a radical new birth for you to enjoy God. So in His wisdom, God created the church to teach and instruct and model this abundant life in Christ Jesus to the world. The only life that allows for God to be magnified and for people to have the fullness of joy. When Justin Martyr was killed, Justin Martyr preached that the true sign of salvation was when they were burning you to death and how you responded to that. and they burned him to death. And he sang praises to the heavens. And people were saved as they killed this man. His last name wasn't Martyr. It's Justin the Martyr. Jesus' last name is not Christ. It's Jesus the Christ. Jews don't use these in their writings. So the church exists to display God's glory to a fallen and broken world. Not the building, not the steeple, not the cross on the front. You. You exist. You're saved to show the world what marriage looks like, what joy looks like, what salvation looks like. You're to model that before the world. And they are to see your good works. and they are to glorify your father who is in heaven. That's the only reason God saved you. Let me put it this way. That's the only reason God left you here after he saved you. It's better for us if he just takes us on. Right? After salvation. No more temptation. And because the call to the church is so important God has seen fit to raise up qualified men to lead in the church so that both of these things will come about. And here at the beginning of the fifth chapter, 1 Peter, the Apostle teaches that one of the ways that God has to relieve the anxiety of His people and to show them that He cares for them is by raising up elders over them to love and guide and shepherd them in living a life before God that will allow them to receive an unfading crown of glory. And so Peter instructs them to humble themselves to God by subjecting themselves to the rule of godly and loving elders. So we see that it is God's will for His church to have the leadership position of elders. And the Bible teaches that each local church should have a plurality of these qualified men. But while the office of elder has its roots in ancient Israel, the office of deacon is decidedly a creation of the New Testament. Soon after the church was created in the first prayer meeting in the upper room, the need for an additional leadership office began to emerge. And Dr. Luke records that emergence in the book of Acts chapter 6. That's why I put various in your bulletin, because I was going to have chapter 6 and 1 Peter 5, and I forgot to change that. So elders along with deacons are God's plan to lead His church. Today we are so blessed to have an installation service for another elder and three deacons. Brother Reese Webb, Brother Jeff Bradley, Brother Don Kaiser, and Brother Robert Calvert have all proven themselves worthy and have been nominated by the people of this church The existing elders and myself have met with each one and found them to be biblically, morally, and theologically qualified. Your wives think you're qualified. Amen. Over the years we have tried them. And we have watched with joy as they would manifest their love for all of you and their calling to lead. God gave them this. It's in them. I'd come here on Fridays or Thursdays to mow the yard and there's Brother Don out there weeding. Y'all like the fact that you got sermons in your hands and the websites updated and all that? That's Brother Don. You like the fact that we used to come in here and it was like the demon lived in the control booth back there and the sound system was crazy and ever since he's been back there, things have worked right. I didn't ask him to do that he just naturally fell into that. That service he's serving the church. For the Robert loves the people of the church by the Jeff loves the people of the church. That's what this is all about. For the Reese loves the people of the church. And at the conclusion of the sermon we're going to install them into these leadership positions. The reason that the bylaws of this church has a distinction between elders and deacons That elders are permanent. That's a permanent position unless there's a moral failing or death. Deacons are serving for one calendar year and the reason behind that is so that everybody has a chance to serve. Everybody in the church should be desiring to serve one another. So we want a whole bunch of people in the office of deacon, not just the same people. Elders are different. So where do we get the notion that the church is supposed to be led by a plurality of elders and deacons? Well, we get that idea from Scripture. So bear with me as I go over the history of both elders and deacons. Now first of all, almost all ancient societies and religious communities were guided in some way by elders. And back then, that really meant older, experienced, wise men of the group. They really were white-headed men before they could be an elder. According to Genesis 50 verse 7, many hundreds of years before Jesus was born, there were elders of Egypt. And according to Numbers 22 verse 7, there were elders in the nations of both Moab and Midian. So there's nothing unique or unusual about having elders in a position of authority. Elders are historic. In this country, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the other guys had just come out of the first great awakening in New England. Jonathan Edwards preaching. The stuff that I was leading off in this sermon with. That kind of stuff. Jonathan Edwards was preaching. And on the heels of that, God ignited a fire in those men to set up this country the way the church is supposed to be set up. With a plurality of senators who are different from representatives. And that's why we have these branches of government, is because they wanted it to be based in Scripture. The early church was born on Jewish soil. Its first members and leaders were all Jewish. Its Lord was Jewish. And it saw itself as the fulfillment of the Jewish Scriptures and as the true Jewish people of God. Therefore, it is understandable that the church, as it emerged from Judaism, would in some way pattern its life and structure on the life and structure of God's people in the Old Testament, of which they were now the true posterity. The elders of Israel are referred to in the Old Testament from the beginning of the nation in Egypt, down to the period of the rebuilding of the temple after the Babylonian exile. They seem to be first mentioned when Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, gave him counsel from Exodus 18 verse 17, where Moses' father-in-law said to him, The thing you are doing is not good. Here's a pagan priest telling Moses, You will surely wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you. You cannot do it alone. Now listen to me. I will give you counsel and God be with you. You be the people's representative before God and you bring the disputes to God. Then teach them the statutes and the laws and make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do. In other words, train them. Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain, and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. Let them judge the people at all times and let it be that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor dispute they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure and all these people also will go to their place in peace. So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said. It's amazing. On that passage right there, I went to my father who was an unbeliever. And I knelt down by the side of his wheelchair and I said, put your hand on my head and pray for me. Because He was my Father. And whether He was saved or not was irrelevant. He was my Father. And He had a call of God upon His life to impart wisdom into me. Find an older man to impart wisdom to you. It will bless your life. In Ezekiel 7.26, the elders are grouped together with prophets and priests, each group having its own special responsibility. Here's what Ezekiel wrote, then they will seek a vision from a prophet, but the law will be lost from the priest and counsel from the elders. In Leviticus 4.15, the elders have a representative function in certain worship practices. In Numbers 11, they are described as officers over the people. In the Judaism of Jesus' day, the elders of Israel were still dominant. The most frequent use of the word elder in the New Testament refers to the Jewish elders who opposed Jesus during His lifetime. Within the Gospel and the book of Acts, the elders are most often viewed as forming a closely knit group with the chief priests. Again and again we read of the chief priests and elders of the people. The term elder was probably very broad and would include members of the scribes as well as the Pharisees and Sadducees. Therefore, it is evident that the Judaism out of which the early church emerged was one in which elders played a distinctive and well-known leadership role. The familiar role in Jewish society was no doubt where the early church got the title elder, but just what the character and function of the early Christian elder was can only be determined by studying the New Testament itself. It would be wrong to assume that the Jewish concept was taken over with no modifications. Because the church is not simply a carbon copy of Judaism or of Old Testament Israel. But it is worth noting that the office of priest that was so prominent in the Old Testament was not carried over into the early church. Prophets and elders have their counterparts in the church, and these titles were used, but there is no official counterpart to the priest. No hierarchical priesthood in the New Testament. None. For as the New Testament teaches, the entire church is a holy priesthood and a royal priesthood. We who are in Christ have all been made priests to God. This is called the priesthood of the believer. It's a dominant theme of the Reformation. Each individual believer in the church now has access to the Holy of Holies, God's throne of grace, because of the once for all atoning death of Jesus Christ. But no officer in the church has the function of mediating between the believer and God. That is reserved solely to King Jesus. Hallelujah. The elders of the early Jerusalem church appear in three situations in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. The first reference is in Acts 11, verse 30. The disciples of Antioch had decided to send relief funds to the church in Jerusalem, and this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to who? To the elders who were in the church at Jerusalem. No mention is made of either deacons or apostles here. So the elders are apparently the older men responsible for the general welfare of the church. We know nothing about how they became elders, and we can only surmise that the reason they were elders at all is because of the pattern already set in Judaism. The second situation where we meet the elders is at the Jerusalem Council of the book of Acts chapter 15. This is a watershed moment in church history. They are mentioned five times, verses 2, 4, 6, 22, and 23. Some heretics had gone to Antioch preaching that a believer had to first be circumcised before he could be saved. So the issue was one of legalism. Can a believer do something to earn his salvation, including obedience to the law? Paul and Barnabas debated with them until the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders concerning the issue. This is a pattern of how theological disputes are settled. It is noteworthy that while funds were sent only to the elders, a doctrinal issue was sent to the apostles as well as the elders. So the authority of the apostles was recognized, but even this authority was not demonstrated without effort to persuade and unify through a church council. So when Paul and Barnabas arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. So here we see three groups. The church as a whole, the twelve apostles, and the body of elders. The issue of whether a Gentile believer had to become a good Jew before he could become a good Christian, by adherence to the law, surfaced soon enough. And the result was that according to verse 6, the apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter. In the debate that followed, Peter, then Barnabas, and Paul, and finally James, spoke in favor of not requiring circumcision. So apparently the discussion, at least initially, was confined to the apostles and elders. It is probable that members of the congregation were present in view of the reference to the word multitude, and that's the Greek that you see on your page in verse 12, and in view of the fact that when all was said and done, verse 22 says this, then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders with the whole church. to send a letter to the various Gentile churches about their decision. Verse 28 adds that it also seemed good to the Holy Spirit that circumcision not be required. When the letter was delivered, for example, in the book of Acts 16 verse 4, Dr. Luke comments that the decision about circumcision had been reached by both the apostles and the elders. And this confirms what Book of Acts 15 verse 6 says that the apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter. So the picture in chapter 15 is that the elders along with the apostles have the responsibility under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to make decisions regarding ethical and doctrinal matters. We may assume that these significant decisions were laid before the whole church at some point where they were approved. So when seeking guidelines from this incident for today's church, we would have to keep in mind that the office of the apostle being linked to the personal witnessing of Christ's resurrection was an unrepeatable office. Therefore, the irreplaceable function of the apostles remains for us now in the apostolic word which we have in the New Testament. Thus, the doctrinal leadership of the church after the death of the apostles, using only the Jerusalem model, would be a collection of elders under the Holy Spirit in humble agreement with the apostolic word. So that's the framework there. So, we have to understand that heresy comes first, always. False teaching always comes first. The church is rocking along. We're all happy, we're all holding hands and swaying back and forth and singing Kumbaya, and somebody teaches something bad. Doesn't sound right, it's new, some new teaching. And somebody in the church gets infected with it, and then they say, well we need to teach this. This happened several times in this church early on. When we were first getting started, Satan was trying to destroy the child as soon as it was born. And we had to handle tremendous doctrinal disputes about the Sabbath and about all kinds of issues here. And the result was that people converted to the truth or they left. So what we did, we gathered together and we fasted and prayed and we sought God's word for instruction. And we said, this is the word of the apostles. And we agreed with that. And that's how we are where we are today. So if you have a doctrinal issue that you think might be important if it is of God we need to know about it if it's not of God we need to know about it. And so that's what the church is for, to decide these matters. So we're faced with things that other generations before us have never been faced with before. Because now our country has sanctioned, this is an example of where we're going in this country. They've sanctioned marriage between the same sexes. When two men get married out in the world and one of them gets saved, We hope the grace of God still works in the future, huh? And one of them gets saved and comes to the church to join the church and to be a part of the church. Do we require a divorce? See, these are the difficult things we're going to be faced with. And what if they adopt a child? What do you do? How do you handle that? These are the sticky issues that life brings to the church because of the fall of man. And every generation is faced with some of these issues. And that's why today we have a doctrine of the Trinity. That's why today we have a doctrine, all these doctrines and creeds and catechisms were developed because of the fire of hashing out what is heresy and what is truth. And so this continues in our day as well. It didn't stop. We're not finished. People are still falling, and the mind of fallen people is still calculating how to do wickedly. And we've got to have a response to these things. And so we're going to have to meet in the future. What do you do? How do you handle this? If a man has had a surgery and now he's a woman, do we require him to have another surgery to turn back into the way God made him originally before he becomes a member of the church? Is that part of his repentance? Those kind of issues, those are just examples of things we're going to be faced with. I hope people still get saved. And so we're going to have to get on our face before God and find out what does God's Word declare about these things. You say, well that's not particularly in the Bible. Then we've got to use what is in the Bible to make determinations. The word Trinity is not in the Bible. But if you extrapolate all that the Bible teaches about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, you've got the Trinity. It's not unclear. And so that's why we have these things. This is not just dry, dull, boring, theological gobbly-goop that only people like me are interested in. This is very down-to-earth and very practical. This is why we have a very hard road, the elders and I have a very hard road, because we're dealing with people whose lives are an unmitigated disaster when they get saved, and they bring that with them into the house of God. Now we've got to deal with this, because we love them, because they're precious in God's sight. But they've got this stuff around them that their life brought with them, and we've got to deal with it. That's the business of the church. And we need truth to help us solve that. The third situation in the book of Acts where the elders appear is Paul's final visit to Jerusalem in chapter 21 where Paul goes to James, the Lord's brother, and with all the elders present, he lays before them what God has been doing among the Gentiles through His ministry. Why do you think He did that? They didn't know if God was going to move in the Gentile world. It had never happened before. They were walking on water here. They had no Old Testament precedent. Not much. They had some to go by. And they had to figure out, is God really leading us to go to these pagans with the Gospel? Thank God they said, yes He is. Right? But it wasn't clear to them. That's why they went to the elders and talked to them about it. Look what God is doing among the Gentiles. It's unheard of. Right? That's what this is all about. Then the elders urged Paul not to give offense to the Jewish Christians, and so he accepted their advice and purified himself and entered the temple according to Jewish custom. That was to keep the Jews happy. Here the Jewish Christians happy. Here the function of the elders was to receive the distinguished apostle and hear his report. They take pains to see that there is a good rapport between Paul and the whole church. It is interesting to note that James, who was not an apostle, was mentioned separately, apparently, as the main leader. This could only be due simply to his unique status as the Lord's brother. Or it could suggest that from the early days as the apostles dispersed and died off, a central figure emerged among the body of elders who was recognized as the main leader or administrator. We know nothing about how the elders of Jerusalem were chosen unless we equate the 7 of the book of Acts chapter 6 verse 3 with the elders. But listen, there is no good reason to do that. We may assume they emerged naturally from within the community because they were taken for granted in Jewish society. There were apparently they were apparently responsible for the general welfare of the church with the apostles and the guidance of the Holy Spirit and they made decisions respecting the doctrine and morals of the church. These decisions then met the approval of the whole church. Now the term elder is a title for a church leader occurs in the epistles attributed to Paul only three times. First Timothy five verse seventeen verse nineteen and Titus chapter one verse five. Obviously the title as such was not of great importance to Paul. It could well be that he may not have even used the title in his work until near the end of his life when he wrote the pastoral letters except that they presuppose some prior acquaintance with the term. There are two references in the book of Acts to elders and in the churches of Paul. which are the churches that Paul was used by God to begin. And let's look at these one at a time. In the book of Acts, chapter 14, verse 21, Paul begins to head back to Antioch of Syria, retracing the steps of his first missionary outreach to the churches of southern Galatia, Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidia. while visiting each of these churches which Paul had recently founded where he was quote strengthening the souls of the disciples encouraging them to continue in the faith and saying through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God then Luke tells us in chapter fourteen verse twenty three that Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in every church having prayed with fasting they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed Concerning the elders here, we may note first that it does not say Paul called them elders. This may be Luke's word for a church leader to which Paul may have given no name at all except perhaps the ruling ones in 1 Thessalonians 5.12 or overseers, the book of Acts 20 verse 28. But whether Paul called them elders or not, Luke saw them fulfilling the same function as what he knew as elders. It is interesting to note here that the installation of elders was by appointment, not election. A feature we will find true to elders throughout the New Testament. Also nothing is said here about the actual function of the elders. So evidently Dr. Luke assumed that in his day the office of elder was so common that it needed no explanation. Number two, the second reference to elders in Paul's churches is in the book of Acts. It comes in Acts chapter 20 verse 17 where Paul is on his way to Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey and he stops off at Miletus just south of Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church of Ephesus. And when they came down to Him, Paul gives a very moving farewell address. In verse 28, Paul admonishes them with these words, Be on God for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. Concerning the elders here, again we note that Paul does not call them elders, but rather overseers. The Greek word is episkopos. which literally means overseer and is translated as bishop in some English versions. I think King James uses bishop. So the elders are entrusted with the task of spiritual oversight. This vital task has immediate relevance because the next verse warns of wolves that will come not sparing the flock. So it is obvious that for Paul the term overseer is virtually synonymous with shepherd since the congregation is pictured as a flock. This gives clear foundation for our use of the term pastor and pastoral staff, since pastor means shepherd. In addition, the responsibility of the elder or overseer is to feed the church. No doubt in the sense in which Jesus said to Peter in John 21, verse 17, feed My sheep. And in context, the food that they are to feed the sheep with is, according to Acts 20, 32, the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance among all those who were sanctified, or Acts 20, 27, the whole purpose of God, the whole counsel of God in some versions. Therefore, the elders are overseers, are ministers of the word. Finally, we should note that the elders have been set as overseers by the Holy Spirit. This fills out the picture somewhat when we add to it the fact that Paul appointed elders in all the churches. The appointment, no doubt, occurred after the manner of Paul's own appointment by the prophets and teachers in the book of Acts 13. So through prayer and fasting, the Holy Spirit makes plain who shall be appointed, and then the leaders lay hands on them and appoint them. From the two texts in the book of Acts we can see that from the earliest times in the churches of Paul there had been appointed leaders who functioned as overseers of the flock to guard it, feed it while helping to also supply its physical needs. Luke applies the term elders to these and makes plain that there are several in each church and apparently in Ephesus there was a large number. Within the inspired letters of Paul themselves, which are 13 epistles, the term elder as a designation for a church leader occurs only three times. 1 Timothy 5, 17, verse 19, and Titus 1, verse 5. And we'll look at these in reverse order. And as we do, we should keep in mind the unique character of the pastoral letters, which are 1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus. They are the last letters Paul wrote and they reflect the situation 15 to 20 years after Paul's first missionary journey. And unlike all of his other letters, they are addressed to individual church leaders and spell out some of their duties. Paul writes to the young pastor on the island of Crete in Titus 1, verses 5-11, For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you. Namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion, for the overseer must be above reproach as God's steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid game, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict. And then Paul told Titus why he needed to do this. In the next two verses, four are because. There are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. That's why we need elders. So, we see right away that Paul here uses the term elder and overseer or bishop with reference to the same persons. Verse 6 and 7 can be paraphrased like this, elders shall be irreproachable. For an overseer must be irreproachable. The function of the elders is thus summed up as oversight. Just as it was in the book of Acts 20 verses 17 and verse 28, also in the book of Acts, the emphasis falls on the ministry of the Word. The elder and overseer should be well grounded in doctrine and be able to both exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict. He needs to know what he's talking about. Beyond this, nothing is said about the task of the elders. Now, the reason I'm concentrating on this is because this is ultimately more important than the service of deacons, but it's not that deacons are not important. Verse 6-8, give the requirements one should meet in order to be an elder and overseer. In his community relations, he should be irreproachable. And his marriage and family should be exemplary. His own personal character should be one of spiritual maturity, which fits him to help others. The other two places where the term elder occurs in Paul's letters is 1 Timothy 5, verse 17 and verse 19. In chapter 5, verses 3 through 16, Paul describes the procedures to follow in caring for widows in the church. Real widows, that is godly older women who have no relative to care for them, are to be supported by the church. They are thus to be honored. Then in verses 17 and 18, Paul says this, The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing, and the laborer is worthy of his wages. Now by the way, verse 18, at the bottom of your page, verse 18, this is why we know that the New Testament is Scripture. This is why we know the New Testament is Scripture. Paul calls in verse 18, for the Scripture says, and then he quotes the Old Testament from Deuteronomy, you shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing. And then he quotes, the labor is worthy of his wages, which Jesus said in Luke 10, verse 7. So he is equating Luke's Gospel as Scripture along with Deuteronomy. Huh? So you get free stuff when you come to church here. This text raises a number of questions. What does the honor consist of in verse 17? Verse 18 makes it plain that financial support is in view, at least partly, the laborer, those who labor in the word, is worthy of his wages. So the term double honor in verse 17 must mean at least double pay. But this raises the question, exactly what is to be doubled? When Paul says that the elders who rule well are to be accorded double honor, does he mean that elders who rule poorly are to get five thousand dollars a year and the elders who rule well or to get ten thousand dollars a year that what he's saying probably not this is doubtful since Paul says nothing about honoring elders who rule poorly in fact in verse twenty he speaks of rebuking an elder who persists in sin so you're only left with one thing Paul was talking about to the degree that you care for widows you should double that honor to the pastor or the elder Another question is raised by the phrase especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching which primarily some elders are called to and listen to this other elders are not called to. I'm a get into that just a minute. This seems to imply that there are some elders who labor exclusively in the word and teach and some who don't. Now, there are two new features about the ministry of elders that emerge from 1 Timothy 5, 17 through 22. Here their work is described as ruling. And the Greek word means to stand before. And it was used by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5, verses 12 and 13 when he said, But we request of you, brethren, that when you appreciate those who diligently labor among you and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, that you esteem them highly in love because of their work. So there's three ministries here. They labor among you, they have charge over you, and they give you instruction. And the key to understanding this comes from 1 Timothy 3, verses 4, 5, and 12, where the word is translated manage or rule. And refers to the function of a father in the family. Thus the elders are to the church what a father is to his family. He leads, he manages the affairs, and he supervises. A second feature of the ministry of elders which we have not seen before is that they are apparently ordained by the laying on of hands. After telling Timothy how to handle an elder who persists in sin, Paul warns Timothy not to lay hands on anyone too hastily. In other words, do not set a person into the office of elder in haste. For Timothy's own ordination by the laying on of hands, you need to see 1 Timothy chapter 4 and 2 Timothy chapter 1. Now, we have not looked at all the texts where Paul uses the term elder, but since we have noticed from both Acts 20 verse 17, 28 and from Titus 1 verses 5 and 7 that elder and bishop and overseer are sometimes interchangeable, we should perhaps look at two other texts where the bishop is mentioned. In 1 Timothy 3, verses 1-7, Paul gives the qualifications for one who aspires to the office of overseer. There's Episcopus. They are similar to those listed in Titus 1, verses 5-9. The task of teaching is again mentioned, and the function of the overseer summed up in verse 5 as taking care of the church of God. The second and last text where Paul refers to the bishop is Philippians one verse one Paul and Timothy bond servants of Christ Jesus to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philip in Philippi including the overseers and deacons and in some English versions that word overseers is rendered bishop. The chief value of this reference historically is to show that the technical terms of overseer and deacon are not restricted to the pastoral letters, which some scholars say Paul didn't even write. Now we can try to summarize what we have learned about elders in the churches of Paul. Their role can perhaps be summed up in the phrase overseeing, and hence the term elder or overseer or bishop are sometimes used interchangeably. So there's no separate ministry of bishops. They just made that up. There's no way you can get that out of the Bible or even linguistically. They just make it up as they go along. This oversight of the church involves guarding the flock spiritually like a shepherd guards the flock from wolves. Feeding the flock the Word of God. This feeding happens as the elders labor in the Word and teaching. And it may mean that they were ruling elders who were not involved in preaching and teaching, not primarily involved in preaching and teaching. In addition to the spiritual ministry, the elders were also responsible for certain physical needs of the flock. In the New Testament, elders attained their position by appointment, either by Paul or Barnabas, or by Timothy, or by Titus, The Holy Spirit was active in these appointments, so it could be said that He had made them overseers. But this divine guidance did not short-circuit the normal assessment of a person's character, since according to 1 Timothy 3, 2-7, and Titus 1, 5-9, the elder overseer had to have an exemplary family, a spiritually mature character, and ability to give sound teaching. The appointment was a kind of ordination to a sacred calling which was performed by the laying on of hands. And finally it is apparent that each city church had several elders rather than just one. Back then, there wasn't 19 different denominations and 85 different churches all over town. That didn't happen. Every Christian, it was the church that was in Rome. The church that was in Thyatira. The church that was in Ephesus. And everybody went to that one church. And as time went on, we began to develop these kinds of things that you see going on now. But that's why it's called the City Church. Probably at the beginning, being an elder was not a full-time job and was performed in addition to one's vocation. But by the time Paul wrote 1 Timothy, the elders in Ephesus were to be paid for their labor. Now there are a number of uses of the term elder outside of Paul's writings. For example in the book of the Revelation the term occurs twelve times with reference to the twenty four elders in heaven. There is no agreement among biblical scholars who these people represent. Second and third John begin with the designation the elder to Apparently the author is so well known to his readers that he needed not even give his name, but only called himself the Elder. In James 5, 13-15, we read this, Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? Then he is to sing praises. Is any among you sick? Now I've got a paper on what this actually means. It doesn't mean what it looks like it means, but this is where people get the idea you're supposed to have a healing line and you're supposed to have a bottle of olive oil and you come up front and the man does like this and prays for you. Okay, now, you say, well, that's what that means. No, that's not what that means. But let's assume it does. What's this? What is that? That's not how they anointed. Huh? Right. Right, that's how you anoint. So if you're going to say that, then get a big bucket and dump it on there and it goes down to the skirts of their garment, right? That's right, that's Bible. So if you're going to believe that this is physical sickness and you can get healed, physically healed, rather than this is injury and depression because of your beatings that you take, And the anointing is an anointing in the sense of Old Testament anointing before the Holy Spirit came to live inside of us. Which why in the world would anybody want to go back to that? But if you believe that, then anoint. Don't dab. You can't get dab in the Bible anywhere. I've never understood that. And it depends on the value of your suit as to how you're willing to do that. I meant because you ruin your clothes. That's right. So now if you believe that then do it. But don't dab. There's no dab in the Bible. Free stuff. All right. Now the only new thing we learn here is a specific illustration of the kind of practical ministry the elders were to have in the churches of the dispersion. Let me go ahead and tell you. OK. These are people who were in jail. who are being beaten for their Christianity. And they're losing hope. They're losing faith. In that sense, they're getting spiritually sick. They're having a problem trying to put together why they're going through what they're going through, and them being a child of God, and God's supposed to be their Savior. Aren't you glad we've all risen above that? So they call for the elders. Why? Because this is a doctrinal issue. And the elders literally take the oil and they anoint their body because they've been beaten. And that's why they're discouraged. That's why they're spiritually sick. And so they pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one, not heal his body, restore him to right standing in God's eyes. They'll encourage him. And the Lord will raise him up, and even if he's committed sins, they'll be forgiven. So tell me, if you get anointed with oil, your sins are forgiven? That doesn't make any sense. Anyway. And in 1 Peter 5, verses 1-4 that Brother Andy read to us, in the beginning, Peter refers to himself not only as an apostle, but also as an elder. Now that does not mean that an apostle is an elder, but rather that in the early church, the apostolic office overlapped with that of elder. Peter refers to this elder status to illustrate the very point he is making. Namely, he does not want to lord it over the other elders precisely because he was an apostle, but by example and exhortation to help them fulfill their calling. So he draws attention to Christ's suffering and glory, which meant something to the other elders who were called to take the lowly role of examples to the flock and to await the unfading crown of glory which only Christ can give." So the main point of these verses is to instruct the elders just how to exercise their authority. And Peter uses three pairs of admonitions. Not under compulsion, but voluntarily according to the will of God, not for sordid gain, but with eagerness, not yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples of the flock." So what Peter is saying here is, don't lead like that, lead like this. So the single most important quality that elders must possess beside a genuine love of God is an equally genuine love for the people. Huh? So especially in the business of leading the flock of God, love must reign supreme. It's not about an academic argument. I love you. You can't believe this and be right with God. Because without that love, constantly governing their actions, simply telling people the truth will only make people a Pharisee. It is a truth that people do not care what you know until they know that you care. People will receive even the harshest rebuke from an elder whom they are convinced genuinely loves them. And it is that love that will change the way the elders shepherd God's people. And this genuine love also guides the deacons. The entire ministry of deacons was originally established so that they would be put in charge of this task. And the task was caring for the people in the church who might otherwise be neglected. You heard the phrase, the squeaky wheel gets the grease? Okay, that's talking about me. I'm loud. I'm not in a room long before everybody knows I'm there. Okay, most people aren't like that. Most people are quiet. And they're off to the side. And they don't tell you they're hurting. You don't know. I'll tell you, I'm hurting. They won't tell you. You'll never know. They could be suffering unbelievable sorrow, anguish. They'll never say a word. It's just not in their nature. And they were being overlooked in the church. And we're standing here worshiping the King of all the universe and these people are being left out. This cannot happen. And so you have to have people who've got eyes to see, ears to hear. You've got to have people whose ministry it is to make sure that the low ones, the weak ones, the quiet ones, the late are not neglected. Their souls, they're precious in God's sight. And everybody's not called to see them, but the deacons are. That's their ministry. This tells us that God is very concerned, not only with the spiritual needs of His people, but their physical and natural needs as well. Aren't you glad of that? It is true that what determines a church standing with God is in how they treat their weakest members. Neglecting widows and orphans and the weak and the aged and the sick is a sure sign that the church does not possess the truth that it claims. It is not one or the other. Truth and love are simply two sides of the same coin. The Bible teaches clearly and repeatedly that if you do not love, it is because you do not really have truth. And if you have truth, you will love. If we are known by anything, it is the love that we have one to another. You will not be known by the world by your great oratory skills, or your great prophetic utterances, or the mighty gifts and spiritual demonstrations. The Bible says you will be known by them by the love that we have one to another. That is our calling card. That is the aroma of the Christian church. Without that, we fail at everything. We might as well stop. We must love one another. And that involves everything that it sounds like it involves. Being patient with people who are just as hard to get along with and they're like fingernails on a chalkboard to you. And it just grates your soul every time they talk. You love them. You love them. How'd they get here? God brought them here. That's God's business who He chooses. You don't get to pick your brothers and sisters. I don't pick the sheep that I'm to shepherd. Doesn't matter. Nothing else matters. They're here. God expects us to deal with them. Doesn't matter how bad they've been. Amen? That's where we're going. I asked the church this a long time ago, and I said, when they bring a child molester, when God the Spirit draws a child molester to this church, are we going to work with him? Oh yeah, pastor. And so one came. And right back there, right back there he was. I'm not talking about you. You wasn't here then. He sat right back there and everybody moved away from him and sat over here. And so I moved my children and my family back there. I said, God brought him here and God expects us to work with him. And I looked at him and I said, I'm watching you. You're not going to touch a child in this church. But if you're if God is leading you here, I will work with you all day long. Amen. The worst transvestite, the worst homosexual, dying with open sores on his body with AIDS. We've had him here. He ate at my table at Christmas dinner. He ate on my china, drank out of my glasses, ate off my silverware. And he died. And I preached his funeral and three pastors came in this church 20 minutes before I preached the funeral and condemned me for preaching that man's funeral because he died with AIDS. I said he was saved. He was my brother in Christ and he went to heaven. That's the church. Amen. If we're not that, the worst sinner in this town needs to know he can come here and have hope and salvation and he can be rescued from the penalty of eternal damnation. If the worst person in town cannot come here, none of us have any hope. We have got to be this way, beloved. Also, the deacons are to engage in this important practical ministry so that the elders might then devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. No three days a week on the golf course for us. I don't know how you do that. How in the world do you have 1,500 members? I'm talking to somebody on this coast right now. How do you have 1,500 members of your church and you play golf three days a week? How do you have time for that? Where in the world did you get that? Now it should never be thought that deacons are almost elders but not quite. Both deacons and elders serve the people. So in that sense, their ministry is the same. The main distinction between elders and deacons is that elders are primarily concerned with the spiritual needs of the people while the deacons are primarily concerned with the physical and natural needs. That does not mean that deacons cannot teach or that elders cannot make sure that a widow woman is cared for. They can and they should. But elders must be able to teach. So in addition to being morally qualified as godly men, elders must be able to understand biblical truth and articulate it to the people. They must be able to spot false teaching a mile off and understand why it is false. And elders must be able to engage in spiritual counseling. So by extension there should be ongoing training in the life of an elder that is simply not required of deacons. However, if a deacon is especially gifted at teaching and preaching and has a firm grasp on deep and profound theological issues, then he is demonstrating that he is probably being called to the office of elder. Now, unlike the many American corporations and other business models, the banner that weighs over the church is not efficiency. It is love. So in the church that has Jesus as head, all of the leaders are not to pattern their positions after the lost pagan world, but after the many examples given in the Bible. And those godly examples given in the church over the last 2,000 years. Jesus himself said this in Luke 22, 25b-27. The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them. And those who have authority over them are called benefactors. But it is not this way with you. But the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves. So all who lead in the church must possess the kind, tender, and loving heart so as not to lord it over the people. We need to always keep in mind, beloved, that one of the very early martyrs of Christianity was the deacon Stephen, who had a powerful ministry and who had complete grasp of the history of redemption, beginning with Abraham all the way through Jesus. So deacons are vitally important and have historically been abused by God mightily. So we are blessed by God today to have so many men who are qualified, who have proven themselves worthy to step into this leadership position. So let us see to it. Let's pray.