Now open your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 3. 1 Timothy chapter 3. Last week we broached the subject of deacons. Deacons. And we asked three questions last week. What are they? Why would we want one? And how do we get one? Amen? And to answer the first question, what are they, we determined that they are biblically qualified servants who assist the pastor. The question, why would we want one? We want one if the pastor is in danger of being diverted or distracted from the things that he should not be diverted or distracted from. Now, primarily, that means the study of the Word of God in prayer. We learn in Acts chapter 6. Third, how do we get one? Well, the first thing we do is pray. Then we set someone aside. We say, Lord, we believe this might be the man that you would have in this position. And then, after we've had a chance to observe this man in his service for God for just a little longer, then we would confirm that appointment as a church. That's how we get one. Now, why would we do it, OK? We could pick anybody to help the pastor. Well, we couldn't do that. I mean, I could get Owen here. Owen, bail me out of here, buddy. I need some help. And we do that frequently. The men of the church are involved in ministry. But the fact is that the Bible gives us specific qualifications for these associates. And if the Bible gives us specific qualifications for the associates, there's a reason for it. There's somebody in particular, or some bodies in particular, that God has put among our assembly to fulfill that specific task. And he's qualified not just physically, not just intellectually, but he's qualified also spiritually. And certainly that would have to be the most important qualification. Amen. Amen. So we're going to begin tonight to look at some of those qualifications. First Timothy chapter three, we're going to start in verse number eight where the Bible says, likewise, it says likewise, because it just described what a pastor is supposed to be. Likewise, must the deacons be grave? not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre, holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved, then let them use the office of a deacon being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husband of one wife, ruling their children in their own houses well. For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchased themselves a good degree and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus." Father, thank you for the Word of God, and thank you, Father, for this office of deacon. You have given it to us, Father, that it might be used by you to accomplish your will on earth. Father, it is given to the local church. And Lord, we as a local church come before you tonight, Father, seeking your wisdom, your grace, and your guidance concerning this matter of what is a biblical deacon. And Father, we ask that you teach us tonight in Jesus' name. Amen. The deacons must be grave. Grave, okay? Now, grave essentially means dignified seriousness. Dignified seriousness. I put in parentheses beside that reverence. But dignified seriousness actually works better. And the sense here is that this man, who would be a deacon, gives an air of dignity to the work that he's doing. It is God's work. It is serious business. And it is to be taken seriously, like I do all the time. No. Not at all. That doesn't mean, folks, that he lacks joy or that he doesn't have fun. It means that he takes serious things seriously. OK, and reverence is a good way to be thinking about that. Somebody who would be a deacon would be somebody who appreciated the value, first of all, of the office and second of the church. So anybody who would want to be a deacon in this local church, we're picking a servant. We're looking for someone who's willing to say, God, you've got me here in this place, in this body, for a specific purpose, and the purpose is to serve. And I'm going to take it seriously. It's not going to be one of those things that I do when I feel like it, I do when I can. I heard a fellow say the other day about management. He said, one of the things that you give up when you enter management is the right to have a bad day. And you know, I've been thinking about that ever since. I said, boy, that ought to be in the Bible somewhere. You know, it's not, right? Literally. But the fact is, is if you are a servant of God and a servant of the church, then you serve God and serve the church. And you know what happens when we have a bad day? We're looking for somebody to serve us. I mean, that's the bottom line. I'm coming in, I'm ill, I'm feeling bad, and I'm expecting some sympathy, some talk, you know, some, some, some, Good words, and patience, and it's all about me. Well, deacons, it can't be all about them. They've got to approach this thing with a very serious mind. And, you know, when we set this person or persons apart, or aside, we're going to be looking for somebody who will take the Word of God and the work of God seriously. We're looking for somebody who's faithful. We're looking for somebody who's here and doing what they need to be doing. And not somebody we have to chase down, okay? I mean, there are people who, you know, you might appoint somebody a deacon, and you say, look, you know, I desperately need for some help with visitation. This week I've got four people in the hospital, and I don't see anyone in the world I can get up with two of them. I need to be able to find this guy, okay? And when I find him, he needs to realize this is part of what we've called him to do. It's a serious business. And this matter of approaching with gravity means that he's going to take it seriously. A deacon must realize and conduct himself as though God's and the church's reputation is at stake. I want you to look at 2 Samuel 12, verse 14. When David committed his sin with Bathsheba, he had something very special to say about that. David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. That's in verse 13. And Nathan said unto David, the Lord also hath put away thy sin. Thou shalt not die. But listen to what he said next about David's sin. He said, how be it because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. Now, the devil has two favorite groups of people, preachers' daughters and deacons' kids. I mean, he loves to point those fingers. He loves to find a preacher he can trip up. He loves to find a deacon he can make fall. Because they are supposed to be representing the body of Christ. And when he takes one of them down, who does he take down with him? He takes God down with him. And what happens is he gives the devil, he gives the enemies of God an opportunity to blaspheme the Lord's work. You see that guy? He's a deacon. Anybody that we make a deacon in here needs to realize that. And he needs to appreciate that this is serious business, folks. Anything he does reflects on the church, and ultimately on the head of the church, on the Lord Jesus Christ. The church must consider the image. The church must consider the image that this man will portray to the outside world. You say, is the image important? It is, and we're talking about deacons. It is, and we're talking about pastors. What's that say right above it? It says, of good report. It's important. So first of all, this guy's got to be great. Second, I like this one. Not double tongue. Not double time. It's a very interesting word. It's only used one time in all of all of the New Testament. And in fact, it's rarely used outside of the Bible, it's almost as if the Lord just coined this one specifically for this purpose. And it comes from two Greek words. The first one is die, which means two in the second was logos word to word. Two word double time. I think the word that we use today would be called two faced. Everybody understand immediately, two-faced, right? We got that one, okay? Somebody who's two-faced is what? Over here there's something with you, and we go over here and we're something else. And then later we come back to this guy and we are different, okay? And we go back to this one and we're changed our story. Okay? What do you got? You got somebody who you're never certain exactly where they are, what they're doing, or what they're saying. Why is it important for a deacon to know where he stands and to be confident in what he says? Same thing. He is representing the church of Christ. And he's in a position where he can do great damage. You take somebody who goes around telling stories or listening to stories. Folks, a deacon shouldn't be a gossip. First of all, he shouldn't listen. And above all things, he shouldn't repeat. You know what I've learned about gossip? It usually ain't. And you know, I mean, even with people who I have a lot of confidence in, they'll come to me and they'll tell me something. I'll say, wait a minute, you heard this from somebody else, right? OK, now, was this other person the source or did you hear they heard from somebody else? And if you get me on one person, I usually begin to discount. What I'm hearing by a significant amount. Why? Interpretation, if nothing else. You know, communication. Communication is very important. It has a speaker sending a message to a receiver. Communication occurs when you understand what I meant to say. Amongst people who speak the same language from birth. Like two of you guys who live around here and speak the same dialect, okay? Not even talking to me. But to you guys who speak the same language, your level of communication is probably about 80%. That means you understand about 80% of what I meant to say, or what I meant for you to understand. That's with people who live together and speak the same language. Now, add a third person. Add a fourth person. You want to get better? Throw in a foreign language. You know, if you get... I mean, it's like... If you're two people away and you've got a foreign language in between you, and this happens any time you preach to an interpreter, if I'm preaching to an interpreter, I say it, the interpreter understands it in a foreign language, puts it into another foreign language, the people out there are trying to figure out what I said through her. You know what the communication level is? Low. Low. It's not much better with a foreigner speaking a foreign language. But what I'm telling you is, a deacon better understand that. He better be careful what he says, he better be careful what he says it to, and he needs to be careful what he's listening to. He needs to have discernment, and he needs to have discretion. Now this is something I've tried to beat into my children. Discernment and discretion. What really needs to be said, and to whom does it really need to be said? Discernment and discretion. Folks, there's some folks who get to be 70 years old and they have never learned discernment and discretion. We're not going to make them deacons. They have to be reliable. The other thing is, folks, they're in a leadership position and they can very, very easily undermine the work of the leadership. Let me give you a real bad example. 2 Samuel, chapter 15. Second Samuel, chapter 15. It started in verse number 1. Now Absalom has murdered his brother. He got sent off. They set Joab's field on fire. And David brought Absalom back to the city. Now Absalom has come back to the city. He's living in the city with David. And in verse number 1, Absalom hatches a plot. And it came to pass after this that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses and fifty men to run before him. And Absalom rose up early and stood beside the way of the gate, and it was so that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him and said, Of what city are you? Where are you from, brother? And he said, Thy servant is one of the tribes of Israel. And Absalom said unto him, See, Thy matters are good and right, but there's no man deputed of the king to hear you. So you've got a valid complaint here, but there's just nobody here who can listen to it. The king's falling down on the job. Absalom said, moreover, oh, that I were made judge in the land, that every man which had any suit or cause might come unto me and I would do him justice. And it was so that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand and took him and kissed him. And on this matter did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. And I'm telling you right now, one of the biggest causes of church splits is Deacon. Why? Because they are in a position to do exactly what Absalom did. You know, if I were the pastor, he just doesn't appreciate you. He just doesn't understand you. You've got a legitimate complaint here. Boy, you know, we could fix this if I, you know. And what I've got is a deacon who wants to be something else. A deacon. When we talk about a deacon not being double tongue, folks, we got to have somebody in here who's solid. Somebody who's going to support the church and the leadership of the church and somebody about whom we don't have any questions We're looking for that guy who's willing to be a servant and who's willing to be under authority He can't be double-tongued. He can't be a backbiter. He can't be any of those things Because he's positioned to do great, great damage. There's a reason churches don't have deacons, folks. This is one of them. What else does he have to be? He has to be not given too much wine. Alright, now for us, that shouldn't be a big deal. Okay, I don't know of any drunks. And I don't know of any drunks. But the point here is not that we have any of our men who are drunks. The point here is that this man has no habits that are going to impact his behavior or his conduct. We're not just talking about wine here. We're talking about some other things. There's lots of nasty habits floating around in our time, folks. And they get real, real close to you. See, the problem with not giving too much wine is it brings out the flesh. It breaks down inhibitions, inhibitions that are better left in place. You remember Noah and his sons? Noah planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine. He got in trouble. Anybody remember, let's see, who's that guy? Abraham's nephew, Lot and his daughters. What happened? Lot had too much to drink. They got him in trouble. Folks, the things that break down our inhibitions, the things that bring out the flesh, those are the things we need to avoid. Look at Habakkuk chapter number 2. That's your lesson for tonight. Find Habakkuk. That's the challenge. Let's see, I'll tell you, it's after Daniel. It's after Hosea. It's after Nahum. Sword drill, stand up when you found it. No, don't do that. Good job. I got one popped right up back there. Back in chapter 2, verse 15, God says, Whoa unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that putteth thy bottle to him, and maketh him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness. The point is, that takes away the things that need to be left in place. And what we have, if we have a deacon, He's going to have to be a man of steady behavior and steady influence. We don't want somebody who's flighty. He could be flighty from an outside influence or flighty from an inside influence, but he's got to be solid. Not given to much wine. Not somebody who's being impacted by the world so that it influences his behavior. So he's not reliable. That's one of the reasons that this guy can't be a newbie. You can't be newly saved. We need somebody who we've had a chance to watch for a while. We're going to set him apart for a trial period, but before we ever set him apart, we're going to be confident that this is a guy. He meets the qualifications. Somebody we spend some time with. Now I can spend a lot of time on wine, okay? Preach several sermons on it, but I'm not going to. Because I'm not talking about wine, I'm talking about deacons. I'm talking about behavior. I'm talking about conduct. I'm talking about character. And we're looking for one who's not subject to a weakness that's going to impact his character. No matter what it is. Would you take a deacon that smoked? No. Why? Same reason. We've got to stay away from that. Not given to much wine. Oh, by the way, our church covenant says this about wine. It says, we engage to abstain from the use and sale of intoxicating drink as a beverage. Now we can sell it as lighter fluid or fire starter, but not as an intoxicating beverage. I thought that was kind of funny actually, you know. So, deacons that drink. Some places, that's up to them. This local assembly, No. No, in fact, in fact, if we go by our church covenant, they not only are not a deacon, they're subject to not being a church member. Amen. One more. Boy, I'm going to finish really early tonight. I'm going to have to sing or something. Not greedy of filthy lucre. Not greedy of filthy lucre. What's lucre? Money. Lucre's just money. What's filthy lucre? Money ill-gotten. Money gathered by some means other than legitimate, honest means. Not greedy of filthy lucre means this guy's not in so big a hurry to get rich that he'll do something underhanded to do it. Now, I mentioned slumlords in here once before, I think. If we had somebody in this church who was a slumlord, Anybody know what a slumlord is? Because it's the only example I can think of, okay? That's these guys who lived in the big cities. They keep people in apartment buildings that are not fit for human habitation. They extract rent from them, and they will not do the work that they need to do. They don't do improvements on the buildings. They throw people out in the street. They treat them like dirt, generally. They're called slumlords. Slumlords, in this church, are subject to discipline. by this Bible. The problem is filthy lucre. Not only are they subject to this, but of course they couldn't be deacons. What's the problem? Why don't we want a deacon? Well, that's kind of a silly question, right? First of all, he's going to be in a position to influence how money is spent. What do you call it when you take money off the top? Embezzlement? skimming. What else? What's the other name for it? Stealing. There are lots of bad examples. The whole Reformation began because of dishonest priests and a dishonest Pope. Anybody here have selling indulgences? If you've been in my class, you have. You've been in my discovery class, you have. What is selling indulgences? That means for a certain amount of money, I'm going to give you a piece of paper that says you can sin in advance. I always liked that idea. We could do well. And they did well. They were using the authority of the church and of God to generate funds for themselves. That's filthy lucre, folks. Another cool one that they liked was Simonie. Simonie is selling church offices. You want to be the priest here in this little town? We're auctioning it off next week. And if you're the priest, you can get your money back. You know how you're going to do that? Somebody needs to get baptized? You charge. Somebody needs a wedding? You charge. Somebody wants a funeral? I mean, everybody wants their loved ones put away properly, right? Folks, if anybody asks me to perform a service here, and they ask me, how much does it cost? The answer is always, nothing. I get paid by the church to perform services. That's part of my job. I call by God to minister to people. That's part of my calling. I will not charge someone to do wedding, or funeral, or baptism, or any of those other things. Now, somebody who has a wedding, somebody who has a funeral, if they would like to give a love offering to me or the church, they are able to do that. But I will never tell them, this cost you this much money. Why? It's filthy lucre. Don't need it. Folks, I've seen priests abuse this. Russian Orthodox priests, Ukrainian Orthodox priests, you get out there in those villages, those guys carry power. They're raising a tradition where the church is everything. The church has to do everything. If you've got a baby, that baby's got to be christened. That baby's got to be baptized. He's got to be baptized right quick. Why? Because if that baby's not baptized and that baby doesn't live, that baby will go to hell. So it's real important we get that child baptized. Well, who can do it? The priest. Oh, father, come and baptize my child. Sure. Pay in advance. So they would never do that. Yes, they do. Absolutely, they do. And one of the reasons that the qualifications for a deacon is that they are not greedy of filthy lucre is to ensure that that does not happen in God's church. We're not going to put a man in a position where he can abuse God's people for the sake of gain. I hope the idea makes you guys as mad as it does me. That's not just a biblical qualification. That's good sense. That's good living. And yet we get abused. People get abused all over this world. By who? the religious leaders. Not greedy, a filthy loser. You want to see some bad examples? Turn to John chapter 12. John 12. Here's a good bad example. John chapter 12, verse number 6. Judas, the man of the hour. This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the bag and bear what was put therein. Judas had the bag of money for disciples in Jesus. And you know what he was doing with it? He was helping himself. He was skimming off the top. And he wanted that ointment sold, so there'd be more there to skim. Good, good, honest deacon. No, Judas, whatever he is, okay. Simon, Acts chapter 8. Chapter 8, verses 18-21. Peter and John are ministering. They laid some hands on folks and they got the Holy Ghost. Verse 18, And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee. Because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money, thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray, God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart might be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity." I suspect Simon wanted a little power so that he could generate a little cash. He saw a business opportunity. Now, folks, I'm going to tell you something. We're looking for a deacon that's not greedy of filthy lucre. But there is not a better business in this whole country than the business of religion. It's tax-free. You don't have to work too hard. And you can get people to give it to you. You don't even have to steal it. But there are excesses. There are abuses. And they are all over this country. How long ago was it when we got the story of Jim and Tammy? You know, she's still on TV. She's still collecting money. How about Jimmy? Huh? Any abuses? He's still collecting money. I suspect that if you ran down Benny Hinn's background, You found a man who lived pretty well. What do you think? Folks not greedy of filthy lucre. There's a lot of folks making a lot of money off of the Lord's people. But we're looking for a deacon for whom that's not important. We're looking for a deacon who's content with what God's given him and content to be a servant in the house of the Lord and one who we can rely on. Not to abuse that privilege. This is why deacons are important. And this is why the folks who we appoint to the position need to be qualified. So you can grab yourself a bunch of guys and not make them meet these qualifications. I mean, you can call them whatever you want to call them. You can't call them deacons. Or you can call them deacons if you want to and just not have them meet the qualifications. But the reason God gave the qualifications is because it was an office of critical importance within the body of Christ. And it was critically important that the man or men who were selected to fill that office meet those qualifications. They say, Brother Tom, are you making this too hard? No. Are there men here who meet those qualifications? As far as I know, there are. But I want to make sure that we all know, that we all know as a church what we're looking for. And you know, one of the things that we get out of that is a deacon's a servant. But there are servants, there's honor deserved. And if you take a guy who meets these qualifications and you let him serve, Then there's a certain amount of respect in that position. There ought to be a certain amount of respect in that position. You know, by the way, I believe the pastor is the servant of servants. Okay. I mean, you just, if you just, I mean, when I, if you, I get to train you in a pastor, I'm going to tell you, first of all, that you are the servant of servants. We are all servants. And my job as a pastor is to serve the servants. That's the bottom line. The same is true of a deacon. But the fact is that God ordained the office of a deacon. He gave them very special, very high spiritual qualifications. By the way, we're all should meet those qualifications. OK, we all should be there. But we're looking for a guy who's proven that he's already there. And one of those qualifications will ensure if there's a certain amount of respect that goes with that office. If you know This man is spiritually these things. Then you ought to recognize that he's got something to offer. An honor to whom honor is due. I believe God meant for his servants and his servant's servants. To be honored because it was a servant, the biggest servant of them all. The Lord Jesus Christ. Came not to be ministered to, but to Minister and to give his life a ransom for many That's all we're looking for we go looking for a deacon we're just looking for somebody like Jesus How well that made it easy brother Tom hmm that probably got us all out right Amen And fortunately God didn't say that okay He didn't say if you're gonna pick a deacon you find somebody like Jesus. I He gave us a lot more specific qualifications so that we could qualify one. Amen. Folks, we're praying about that, right? We are praying, we are asking God whom he would have be a deacon in this church. Deacon or deacons? I'm open to more than one. To this point, we have prayed. OK, we're going to pray. And remember, the other half was, pray about it. And then give me a name. Or two names. Or three names. Say, Brother Tom, I prayed about it. I prayed about it. I've thought about it. I've meditated on it. And I believe this man will make a good deacon in this church. I want that name. And you know what? I've got enough confidence in the Spirit of God. enough confidence in the body of Christ that if we don't pray that the name that's written on those pieces of paper is going to be one or two guys, the same one or two guys. And we are going to very, very clearly know the will of God in this matter. That makes life simpler, doesn't it? It's just like interviewing somebody for a job, except we've got a lot better guidance. I mean, we've got the qualifications. We've got a living resume. And best of all, we've got the Spirit of God saying, that one, right there. Can't beat that, folks. Because I can mess up. God won't. And God works through His people. And God put all of us in one body to work together. Amen. Amen. Father, we thank you. Thank you for your goodness. Thank you, Father, for these folks. Thank you for the work that you're doing among us. Father, we pray that you bless us, that you guide us, and that you give us freedom of your wisdom in this matter. Father, we need to know your will concerning this matter of a deacon. Lord, Father, we just pray that you give us clearly your guidance your wisdom and your direction in this thing. Father, we also pray today for souls. Lord, I'm just so impressed this week, Father, that we have not because we ask not. And Lord, we come tonight as a church, Father, begging you, asking you, Father, to give us souls. Father, bless us with the harvest here in this area. Father, you know that to gather the harvest, we need laborers. And Father, you said, pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest. He'll send forth laborers. And Lord, we come to you tonight. We bow before you. We lift our arms and we say, Lord, we need laborers for the harvest field. And God, we ask you to bless us with them. And Father, you know that when all those souls get saved and all those laborers come in, dear Father, we're going to need space. And Lord, Father, we just trust you to supply. You are Almighty God. El Shaddai. the All-Sufficient One, the Almighty God. Father, bless us and teach us. Lord, thank you for your people. Bless those who are traveling tonight, Father, and attending services somewhere else. Father, touch their hearts. We thank you and praise you for it. In Jesus' name, Amen.