Our scripture reading is from Titus chapter one. Titus chapter one, and then Belgic Confession of Faith, article 30. The Apostle Paul writing to Titus, one of the pastoral epistles, will hear the word. of the Lord. Apostle Paul said, for this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you. And then Belgic Confession Article Faith 30. I'm not sure how old this translation is, but I'm sure you can follow along in the newer version. Here's the teaching of the word of God. We believe that this true church ought to be governed according to the spiritual order that our Lord has taught us in his word. There should be ministers or pastors to preach the word of God and administer the sacraments. There should be elders and deacons along with the pastor to make up the council of the church. By this means true religion is preserved, doctrine is able to take its course, and evil are corrected spiritually and held in check. So that also the poor and all the afflicted may be helped and comforted according to their need. By this means, everything will be done well and in good order in the church when such persons are elected who are faithful and are chosen according to the rule that Paul gave to Timothy. May God bless the teaching of his word to our hearts today. My brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, under the past Canadian government, Canada was safer and richer. Canada was the richest country in the world. We had lower taxes. We were the most respected country on the planet. But Canadians chose a different leader. Under the past leader, we fought for lighter punishment for crimes. Sorry, we asked for a heavier punishment of crimes. The present leader legalized marijuana and has undone the serious and harsher sentences that were put upon criminals. former leader opposed homosexual marriages. The new one embraces it and promotes it. It's quite a contrast, isn't it? But Canadians want to change. And our government changes with the desires of Canadians. After all, we are a democracy. Can we have a democracy in the church and change leadership as we desire? After all, Christians want women elders, women ministers. Some people today prefer casual worship. Well, how is the church to be run? As a democracy? Well, you'll hear from God about this today. Our headings are three. In the church, Christ sets the rules. In the church, Christ sets the rulers. And in the church, Christ sets the reasons for the rules and the rulers. And our goals are that you will grasp the blessing of godly leadership in the church, and that you will then work to support that godly leadership. First, God sets the rules. Now the first congregation was organized by command before the fall. Adam and Eve were told to have dominion over the earth and they had to work together for that to happen. God established an order. A husband was head of his wife and she was the helper. She gave him advice. She supported him and encouraged him. And that was the plan. After the fall, God continued to regulate how we were to live, how we were to regulate worship, how the church was to be run. Remember how Cain was rejected and Abel was accepted by God? Remember what God said to Cain after he complained? If you do well, in other words, Cain knew how he was supposed to worship God. He knew what was right, he did not do it. And God called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees. And every place Abraham stopped, the characteristic of that thing was he built an altar and worshiped the Lord there. He called on the name of the Lord. And remember how he did not kill his son. Why? Because that wasn't going to be proper worship. Later on, we found how he circumcised his family, the males in his family, and he incorporate them in a formal way into a church, a household of God through circumcision. So God has always had his hand in how we were to live and how we are to be organized. Does God have the right to determine how people worship? Yes, and for two reasons. First of all, He is the creator. He must be worshiped. But there's another reason as well. He is the recreator. Jesus was the ground by which men were brought into the church in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, they had the same gospel as we have. It was faith in Jesus Christ. So they had the same gospel, the same faith, the same church. The same Savior. There's no difference in the fundamental things. So they worshiped and we continue to worship. Remember, Jesus was slain before the foundation of the world. And since you belong to him, he has the right then to demand that you worship him and worship in the way he said. The Apostle Paul, the last thing he said to the Ephesians elders in Acts chapter 20 verse 28, he says, take heed to yourselves and to the flock among whom the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. Or maybe the blood of his own, speaking of Jesus. So the church belongs to him and he says how the church is to be run, how worship is to take place, what rules will guide the church. Now today some don't like this and they argue pragmatically that the church must loosen up, loosen up some of its rules or it will die. For example, they argue that because women are as educated as men, they should be included in the leadership of the church. To them, God's teaching is kind of irrelevant or old, and we are smarter and wiser so we can make up our own rules. That's what democracy is. That's the danger of democracy. But the church is his, and you must run the church the way he says. The church must never run in the way you think is best. God sets the goals, and God sets the means to getting to those goals. It's the minister in Bowman who wrote this. He said the church is not a democracy where people rule. The church is not a social organization either where the highest social rank rules. It is not an aristocracy where the aristocrats rule. Rather the church is a Christocracy where Christ rules. It doesn't matter if you like that or not. And in a way, it doesn't matter if you like these brothers who are here, because they are here by Christ's ordination, by Christ's plan. And therefore, you obey him and you obey them, because he sets the rules. The second point follows. He not only sets the rules, he sets the rulers. How then is the Christ Church to be run? God has appointed ministers, elders, and deacons to run the church. All other offices were temporary. There are no prophets anymore. Consider briefly the details of these offices. The minister is an elder who is equipped by God to preach, pray, and counsel. His focus is usually on preaching. Usually he has more education. In Reformed churches, the ministers are often required to have a Master of Divinity degree, face a number of examinations in seminary in the local church and in classes. And they examine him in areas of his personal life and his knowledge and in his ability to preach. This is done really to protect truth, that the ones who are set in office are well qualified. One of the weaknesses of the modern church is directly linked to what was called the student missionary movement in the 1800s. In their zeal for spreading the kingdom, many churches developed mission boards that then sent these young kids out of college off on the mission field and they wreaked havoc. because they were not well trained. They were not able to teach. And often they compromised because they needed to send back good reports home and send pictures of what was happening, so they compromised. And people who were not really converted were brought into the church. And we face in the many third world countries, this is one of the lingering problems. Because the leaders that were sent were not capable. They were not qualified for that work. And you know what's interesting? Is that we're moving toward that trend again. We sort of look down today on educated people. And no formal training is looked upon as something more spiritual. We need to guard against that in our own midst, but we make sure those who are standing in the pulpits are well-trained. And if a candidate is found to meet these qualifications and is called by a congregation, then he's ordained to that gospel ministry. These are the ones that the Apostle Paul said are worthy of double honor, meaning honor and respect as well as an honorarium being paid. Then the Lord also set in place elders, those who are equipped by God to be spiritual overseers of the church. They teach the word of God, they pray for the people, they counsel God's people. And the apostle commanded the ordination of elders to this office. Why did the apostle do that? First of all, it means you can't be self-appointed. You can't make yourself an elder. You can't get in an argument with people and say, well, I'm going to start my own church. By the way, that's how many churches are started in North America. Somebody gets in an argument in the church and he just pulls some people away and starts his own. No, the elder had to be ordained to that office by other elders. And that's a verse that I read. Titus 1.5, for this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you. The word there appoint means to set in place that which was nominated or that which was elected. Further, there was always a plurality of elders. Why? So you prevent dictatorship. One of the unique things I saw in visiting in Ukraine and even in India, you see there's usually one man who just controls things. Even in Reformed churches, they forget that the plurality of elders is a beautiful thing that God's given to us and we should use that and benefit from it. And even when they had difficulties at the local level and the local elders didn't know what to do or weren't sure, they would send to ask other churches in the area. And one time they had to send in Jerusalem to get advice, Acts chapter 15, would be a picture of our classes of going beyond the local church to ask for help because we're building one kingdom. Now, the term elder implies the work of pastoring as well, of being a shepherd. And pastor comes from the word pasture, the one who takes care of sheep. This was a caring title. Back from Acts chapter 20, verse 17, from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus, that's the Apostle Paul, and called for the elders of the church. And this is the Apostle Paul, he's saying, I'm not going to see you anymore. I'm going to Jerusalem. I know what's coming for me. And what was the last thing he said to them? Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God which you purchased with his own blood. He could have said, reminisced about some of the memories they had. Well, this is what he wanted them to be left with before he left to die. you are to shepherd the church of God, and that church is precious in his sight. Because he bought it with his own blood. Now, there are a few words that are thrown around that sometimes can confuse people, and one of them would be presbyters. And presbyter is just a Greek word for elder. And we say that why we have a presbyterian system of government. Our churches are run by elders. And then sometimes people see the word bishop and they think, what is that? Are we like, are we not supposed to have some like higher up in the churches and some super pastors and make them bishops? No. The term bishops come from episkopos and it simply means it's the official title of a pastor. Pastor describes the work. Presbyter describes the system of how things are run. Bishops described for us the official title, the proper title of a pastor. And there's one more term that you would see in the scriptures, overseers. This is a verb, really a verb that describes the official work of a pastor, which is to oversee what is happening. So don't panic when you see these different words, whether it's pastor, shepherd, bishop, presbyter, overseer, they all refer to the same thing. In some churches like Pentecostals or Roman Catholic churches, they have a hierarchy. So you've got the local pastor, then you have one who's above him who could fire that local one, and then you have one above that one who could fire that middle one, and so on. That, of course, is taking away what God has put in place, that the church is to be run by elders, not dictators. The third group of churches, we'll call congregational churches, they're isolated, they have no relationship with others. You know, like just this past week, Nathan Zekfield was examined. Here there were pastors from all different churches. We came together to examine him and to give advice to the local constituents and say, yes, we think this man is ready to serve in the churches. where congregational churches are totally isolated from others. The third group of rulers that the Lord has appointed, remember it's His church, He appointed ministers, He appointed elders, and the third group would be deacons. Deacons are equipped by God to care for the non-spiritual matters of the church, to put it generally. The apostles commanded the ordination of deacons. The church was expanding rapidly, and it was a great blessing to the church, but the elders couldn't do everything, and the apostles found themselves too busy to teach and to pray like they should, and the needy were being ignored at the same time. There is a danger never to overwork your pastor. So under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they asked for men to assist them so that they could focus on the work of prayer and preaching. In Acts 6, verse 2, they then stated how these men were to be chosen. Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, it is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. They weren't against doing that. They were humble enough to do that, of course, but were saying they may not dismiss the responsibility that God had already given to them to do something else. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. And there was lots of business. For example, in these small places, you figured where would you meet? There weren't church buildings. You couldn't go to Zion URC and ask to rent their building. There was no church building. They'd have to know what were the latest charges, the false charges that came from the Sanhedrin or the Romans that are looking at them with strange eyes. How would they keep money? How would they handle gifts that are given to them? Some people gave land to the church and other things that they'd have maybe had to sell. What do they feed the hungry? Who would be cooking? Who would get help and who would not get help? They had to investigate who really and genuinely needed help. And you know the elders knew the curses that came upon those who ignored the widows, the orphans, and the foreigners. You check how many times one of the reasons for captivity in Babylon was because the church had ignored the widow, orphan, and foreigner. And the elders didn't want that on their heads. So they prayed and God said, appoint deacons for that work. That is essential for the proper functioning of the church. God urged generosity, mercy, and hospitality, and they had to do that. One of the verses I have in my, if you ever get an email from me at the bottom, says this, James 1, 27, pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their troubles and to keep yourself unspotted from the world. It's not just being spiritual. It's remembering the plights of the orphans and widows and foreigners, the needy in society. Well, what about these women deacons that we hear about? This is becoming more and more popular. In fact, some of the churches do have women deacons, churches like the RPCNA, Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, and some others with whom we have relations. Well, there were women deacons mentioned in the Bible. Who were deaconesses? The words translated, servant. And it's the same word that we use for deacons. Deaconesses were female deacons. This word is used in a general sense, not in the special sense of office. For example, you have an elder, and I'm sure we have people here who will consider elder. You're over maybe 75, 80 years, we'll call you an elder. But you're not an elder in the proper sense of the word, like those who will be set in office. They'll be called to office and they will serve within the church of Jesus Christ. So there's a general sense of an older person, an elder, and then there's a proper elder. And there's a general sense where we're all deacons or servants within the church, but there are those who are called to that office of deacons. And only men are called to the office of deacons. And you say, well, but they're called deacons. Well, there are a couple of other reasons as well, a couple of theological things to think about. If a woman were a deacon in the special sense of the word, that means she would have authority over her husband. And God forbids that. The order of creation stops that. See, we go back to the very beginning from the very church, beginning of the church. The Lord said, I'll give you a helper. The Apostle Paul talks about this to Timothy and said, I do not permit a woman to have authority over a man, over her husband. So if a woman were a deacon, she would have authority. And worse, if she were an elder, then she could discipline her husband. Can you imagine that? How that will turn the church upside down, and has in some ways. Also, the qualifications for a deacon is that he has to be able to rule his household well. Well, that of course will not allow a woman to serve because how can she have the experience of leading a household if she's not head of the household? So for those and other reasons, plus the general understanding of the scriptures that would forbid women from serving in that office. So the rulers that God has put in place, he's got ministers, he's got elders, and then there are deacons. What about the reasons that God sets? He not only sets the rules, the rulers, he also sets the reasons for this. Confession says that by these means true religion may be preserved and true doctrine propagated and transgressors chastened and so on. This is the last part. So first God set rulers in their different functions as a means of preserving His church and so preserve His glory. See, that's the ultimate goal. It's not simply the church as an end, but it's the glory of God. This means that anyone who diverges from God's ordained way is robbing Him of the glory that belongs to Him. It doesn't matter if you like one way or the other. The question is, does that bring glory to Him? Doesn't matter if you like one way more than the other, or if you think the church should change based on the world that changes. Hillary Clinton said the church needed to revisit its views on homosexuality. In what she's saying, the church is God. No, she's wrong. She needs to change. She needs to repent of her sins and call on God to forgive her for the wicked thing she has promoted. And God wants his glory and will defy you if you try to steal his glory by changing his God-ordained order. Second, to preserve his church, God requires that these leaders ensure that true doctrine is propagated. And this is why there's a plurality of elders. If there's one man who's in charge, like they do in some churches, who listens to his sermons and say, what did you say there? You better explain that better or call someone to the task to explain himself so that the doctrine, the pure doctrine is preserved. That's one of the pressures of serving as an elder in the church. You have to know, you have to study. You have to know the issues of the day. So when you hear the preacher speaking, you say, well, that's not exactly how I understand it, or that was not clear, or maybe that was wrong. That's the work. See, the pastors are not popes. There's no arbitrary pope-like figure within the church. We've got a plurality of elders to guard truth, to preserve his church. Number three, God requires that these leaders ensure that godly discipline, discipline that restrains the wicked and protects the godly, be practiced. Now, you don't discipline your neighbor's children. I mean, I've got some neighbor's children. I think I'd like to discipline them. But I have to discipline my own children. That's part of the function that God's given. For the church to function well, the wicked need to be straightened out, punished. and the godly protected by doing discipline. You know, some people are a little bit more tolerant, and they say, well, they're bad, but maybe they'll come around. You have to think about the innocent one who might be seeing bad behavior and saying, well, he's getting away with it. She's getting away with it. Must be OK. So it's not just about the one who's doing wrong. It's to protect the innocent that God has set leaders in place. Church discipline is only done for those who are members of the family of God, but it must be done for the family of God. Remember Matthew 18, 15 through 18, moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother, but if he will not hear you, take one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word will be established. And now here, the last part, and if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. That means the leaders of the church there. But if he refuses to hear even the leaders of the church, let him be to you like a heathen and tax collector. That's not an easy thing to do, of course. It's one of the hardest things when you have to announce someone has been disciplined or is being excommunicated from the church. But remember, it's not your church. It's not your rules, you are the servant and you do what the master says. For to preserve his church, God required that these leaders ensure that those who were distressed were comforted. Now I'm afraid sometimes as elders we get so much talking about business and buying things and The details of how the church is run, we forget that this is one of the expectations, one of the requirements is that you learn to comfort those who are distressed. And the church of God can endure many trying times. There might be real personal struggles in the church. People getting older or sickly or dealing with broken hearts and broken homes, divorces, depression, discouragements. Part of the work of the elders to go there and sit and talk to the people, or sometimes just listen, just to be there. I know it might not be part of the regular house visits, but sometimes it's just to be there and call or to send that email or text, find out how people are doing. This is part of what God expects, that you're always comforting those who are distressed. Now, sometimes when I hear these things, I want to think, boy, I need another job. It's so hard to do these things. And yet the Lord equips you. The Lord will strengthen you for this task. Number five, to preserve his church, God required that the church leaders ensure that there be mutual support of each other among the members of the church. And this is even harder. This is saying you've got to get people to get along. You have to work through troubles that exist between people. You have to encourage them to support each other, to share with each other, to care for each other. Acts 2, 44 and 45 say, now all who believed were together and had all things in common and sold their possessions and goods and divided them among all as anyone had need. What a loving community. The poor never felt ignored. No one in the church ever felt loved. You know why? Because the elders were doing their job. Dealing with problems and making sure that relations are good. You know, God has done so much for you and the more you have, the more is expected. And it is evidence from true religion, as we read from James 1.27, what pure and undefiled religion is. 1 Corinthians 13 verse one, one of my favorite verses in the scripture says, though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I become sounding brass and a clanging cymbal. And there will be many members that you elders will face who talk a good talk. Well, maybe sometimes it's time to put some money towards something, and you see them back away. Or put some time into something, you see them back away. But it's promoting that unity and support. So it doesn't matter if that evening you get that phone call and the Leafs are going to lose that night. You will go and visit. You talk to others. You give up your Hockey game, or I guess it's Saturday night, it's hockey night, I'm not so sure. But that's what it means to go the extra mile, and that's where elders, their job is to breathe in, or breathe in rather, the unity between the congregation. And finally, to preserve his church, God required that these elders ensure good order and decency in the church, that things are done properly, that things are done above board. I can see there's no secret things. There's no conniving. Your lives are open in front of each other. That's when the church will thrive. That's when families thrive, and that's when the churches will thrive as well. Let's conclude. Christ owns the church. He purchased her with his own blood. He then determines how she should live. So he's not just the creator, but he's the recreator. And He determines the rules. But brothers and sisters, His rules are not harsh, and His rules are not for punishment. His rules bring blessing. Now use the illustration of, you want to see a train run well? If the train says, I love the wide open spaces of the backyard, or of this field, and the train goes there, it will be stuck. But if the train stays within the tracks that God has put in place, that's the law of God that that train is free to go and so it is. So these rules are not intended to limit you or to punish you, but to guarantee your blessings. Those who reject God's rules and rulers are robbing themselves then of His blessing. And worse, they're robbing him of the glory that belongs to him. So brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, make the life of your leaders easy. Pray for them, submit to them, help them. How? Well, maybe you can find out how your sister is doing. Someone you haven't seen in a while. You don't have to call the elders to find out how someone else is doing. pick up the phone, it's free, send an email, text, go over to see where they are, how they're doing, take a meal for someone. You know, if you do these things well, you will make the life of the elders and the deacons so much easier. And then they can do other things that will help to spread the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Not everyone's called to be a preacher. But if you see someone coming in, a stranger, don't wait to see, well, who will, I guess somebody will have to invite them to your home. No, you take them into your home. You invite them and show the love of Jesus Christ to them. That's what real church is all about. Support the Lord's work. by your presence and by your gifts. What happens if you don't support your leaders? Again, you're robbing them of time to do other things. You're robbing yourself of the necessary blessings from God, and you're robbing God of the glory that belongs to him. Why would you do this? And that's the beauty of doctrine. It's never isolated. Good doctrine, never isolated. Why would you want to do all of these things I talked about? Submitting to your elders, helping them, or the elders ruling over the congregation, pastors preaching, deacons serving the congregation needs. Why would you do this? It's because you belong to him, body and soul. He made you, he remade you. It's for you to serve him. He owned you when he died on the cross. He owned you. And finally, being outside of the church will surely lead to eternity in hell. If you are outside of the church today, may God move you to surrender to him. And may you plead for Christ's work to be counted as your work so that you can become part of the family and then enjoy the godly rule that God has ordained. Let us pray. Thank you, Heavenly Father, that you've given us the opportunity to reflect on your words again, to hear them proclaimed, marked with weakness of the man, but accompanied by your Holy Spirit. Let us leave here with a reminder, a strong reminder, that is your church and you set the rules, that the rulers are there by your decree, the rules you have established. And the reasons behind those rules are clear. So we're not to live for ourselves. We are to live for your glory and honor. And may we work together with the leaders of this congregation for good, for the glory of Jesus Christ, and for the good of your people. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.