God s Silent Super Servants

Transcription

1 God s Silent Super Servants This morning we re going to look at God s silent super servants. The Bible calls them deacons. Please write down questions as I speak, and come back tonight at 6:00 PM for a discussion time. The purpose of this message is education, so you can nominate appropriate men to be deacons. You should have input into the process. Some of the men you nominate will not want to serve. Interviews with others may show that they are not qualified or ready. But, some of the nominees will be brought before the congregation for a vote of confirmation. There are two Scriptural offices in the church. One office is pastor, which is also referred to as elder, bishop, or overseer. The four terms are mostly interchangeable. This office is usually associated with spiritual leadership of an individual church. The other office is deacon. The office of deacon is a position of silent, super service to the church. Deacons may be involved in many types of service ministries. For example, the first deacons made sure that food was distributed fairly to widows. Deacon ministry might include, visiting people at the hospital. Often, deacons help the ministerial staff with hospital visits on a rotation basis. Deacons are servants. Deacons may have responsibilities associated with the Lord s Supper. They may ensure that supplies are in stock. They may fill the cups with juice in advance and wash the trays afterward. Often deacons serve the bread and juice to the congregation and to individuals who are homebound. Deacons are servants. Deacons may help behind-the-scenes with baptism. They can show the person being baptized where to find a robe. They may help with gathering the wet garments and towels for washing. Deacons are servants. Deacons may help families prepare for hurricanes if the families are unable to help themselves. Many people are not able to put storm shutters into place or take them down. Deacons are servants. Deacons may rotate the responsibility of praying before the offering is collected or for being on call so the congregation has a point of contact for emergencies during the week. In summary, deacons are silent, super servants who perform numerous responsibilities to assist the pastors, so the pastors can concentrate on prayer and teaching God s Word. Tonight, we will read a few verses from the book of Acts that will reinforce that idea. 1

2 The office of deacon is not a position of power. It is a position of super service, and that service is often is silent and unnoticed. Deacons should not direct the church. They should serve in the church. A man who desires to be a deacon should be willing to serve sacrificially. The Bible outlines the qualifications of a deacon to us. Please turn to 1 Timothy, Chapter 3. In verses 1-7, Paul described the qualifications for a pastor, elder, bishop, or overseer. Beginning in verse 8, Paul tells us about deacons. Let s look at verses Timothy 3:8-13 (8) Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. (9) They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. (10) They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. (11) In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. (12) A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. (13) Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus. Verse 8 Worthy of respect A deacon should act in a way that invites respect. His behavior should be respectful and tasteful. Have you noticed Billy Graham s behavior? Billy Graham is worthy of respect Daffy Duck is not. Some Bible translations use the word dignified. A deacon is dignified. Dignified is a word that is difficult to understand. It means serious, but it doesn t mean stuffy. A dignified person does not act silly all the time, but he may act silly, when silly is acceptable. Billy Graham most of the time Daffy Duck occasionally when appropriate. It s OK for a dignified person to smile, laugh, and even play a practical joke on someone. The sense of dignified is that the person takes life seriously, but not too seriously. 2

3 A deacon is respectable in his dress, his speech, the appearance of his home, the way he does business, and the way he behaves in general. By acting respectfully, a deacon is worthy of respect. Sincere Many Bible translations use not double-tongued. A deacon does not say one thing and mean another. He doesn t claim one position on a topic to one person and an opposite position to another person. For example, he doesn t tell his SS teacher that he liked the lesson and then other class members that the lesson wasn t very good. He doesn t say he prefers hymns to one person, and he prefers contemporary choruses to another. A deacon doesn t say, I m going to try to be there, when he has no intention of going. A deacon keeps his promises. Deacons should be men whose words can be trusted. A deacon s speech does not contain deceit or hidden meaning. A deacon can be trusted to be sincere. Not indulging in much wine A deacon does not habitually consume wine or other alcoholic beverages. He does not drink to the point of intoxication. I believe there is any even higher road for deacons. I believe a deacon should abstain from alcohol and all other intoxicants. Proverbs 31:4-5 says, It is not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget what the law decrees. How many lives have been changed drastically because they drank more than they intended? How many church leaders have lost their ministry because of intoxicants they thought they could control in moderation? Abstinence is preferred for a deacon. Romans 14:21 says, It is better not to eat meat, or drink wine, or do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. What would you think if you saw me come out of a liquor store? What might a visitor think? What if I brought a cup of beer to the pulpit instead of a cup of water? What if you came to my house unannounced and saw several bottles of liquor on my counter? What if a fellow Christian saw a deacon drink and assumed it was a good thing to drink? What if someone, who was struggling to escape from alcohol abuse, saw a deacon drink and decided to go back to drinking? A deacon s example can be an obstacle to others and cause them to fall in some way. The Bible specifically limits deacons from overuse of alcohol. I believe there should be no use, because it can hurt a deacon s testimony and cause others to fall. 3

4 Not pursuing dishonest gain A deacon is honest with money, even when no one else is watching. A deacon is truthful on his taxes, claiming all income that is required to be reported. When a deacon gets more change than he deserves at the store cash register, he returns the extra change. A deacon calls the insurance company when he receives too much reimbursement. A deacon is honest in business affairs. He doesn t take advantage of his company or his customers. He doesn t pad his bank account by robbing God through inadequate monetary offerings. There are two big Christian leadership killers in the world today: sex and money. Money is the killer that is mentioned here. Dishonest monetary gain kills a deacon s testimony and can blemish the reputation of the church. A deacon is not motivated by the accumulation of money. Verse 9 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience A deacon must understand Christian truths. He must know how to walk with God. He must have a grasp of what it means to be Christ-like. A deacon understands the mystery of the gospel, that Jesus was God in the flesh, that he lived a sinless life, that he died a sacrificial death for our sins, that he rose again in victory over sin, that he offers forgiveness to all who will accept him as Savior and Lord. A deacon holds tightly to the truths of the Bible, without any doubt in his conscience. When trials come, a deacon holds firm in faith. When storms blow, a deacon s anchor holds him in place. When blessings come, a deacon holds onto godliness and does not wander off to pride or self-sufficiency. A deacon turns the other cheek because that is consistent with the deep truths of faith. A deacon guards his thought life because that is consistent with the deep truths of faith. A deacon knows to witness to others because that is consistent with the deep truths of faith. A deacon does not flirt with sin because running from sin is consistent with the deep truths of faith. Bible truths have a deep foundation. A deacon holds to these deep truths with a clear conscience. Verse 10 They must first be tested A deacon must show long-term, consistent, godly character. It s easy to act like a deacon for a Sunday or a few weeks, but a deacon must be tested. That doesn t mean they have to be a church member for several months. As long as the prospective 4

5 deacon has been well known for several months, he can serve. If Billy Graham joined our church today, would you let him be a deacon tomorrow? The key is the testing. We should watch carefully for the qualities described in these verses. We should test the man s words and actions, in and out of church. A novice to the faith is not a good candidate. A man, who is not well known, is not a good candidate. There should be a lengthy period of testing before a deacon is ordained. Testing is essential. I believe it is important to interview prospective deacons as part of the testing process. Deacons should be asked to explain how they meet the qualifications in these verses. Every candidate will be interviewed before he is presented to you for a confirmation vote. Verse 11 Their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. This verse does not require a deacon to be married. A deacon can be single or a widower. I believe that Jesus and Paul would have served well as deacons even though they were single. If the wife of a deacon were to pass away, the deacon would still be a worthy deacon. If a deacon is married, the character of his wife is important too. Like her husband, her behavior should invite respect. Her conversation should not be harmful to others, the church, or God s kingdom. Her actions and emotions should be temperate, not volatile. She must be trustworthy because she will have inside knowledge that may be confidential. A deacon s wife must be qualified in these respects. Verse 12 A deacon must be the husband of but one wife This statement has caused much controversy. Margy, please go get the car, start the engine, sit in the driver's seat, and leave the passenger's door open for my quick exit. While I have the chance, let me say, "I've enjoyed being your pastor." To some people this verse disqualifies all men who have ever been divorced. The word divorce appears 28 times in the Bible, 15 of those are in the New Testament. The word divorce was a very common word when Paul wrote this letter to Timothy. Paul wrote numerous other letters that appear in the New Testament, which were intended to help churches organize in a 5

6 godly way. Paul never used the word "divorce" in any of his Holy Spirit-inspired discussions about leadership. Not even once! Paul does not use the word divorce here, when it would have been very easy to do so, if that is what he meant. I don't believe that Paul discussed divorce here. I believe Paul had something different in mind. Perhaps the best translation of the phrase "husband of but one wife" is a one-woman man. A deacon, if married, must be devoted to his wife. He should guard the sacredness of his marriage relationship. He should love her and be committed to her. He should be a one-woman man. Can divorce disqualify a man from being a deacon? Yes. If a man meets all the other qualifications for a deacon, but has a recent record of not being a one woman man, he is not eligible. If a man has been divorced several times, he is not eligible. Does divorce automatically disqualify a man from being a deacon? No. If a man is divorced but has never remarried, he satisfies a "but one wife" requirement, so divorce can't be the issue. Let's assume that the man is divorced and remarried. What if the man was divorced 20 years ago before becoming a Christian? Didn't the cross deal with that mistake? What if the man's wife left him due to her adulterous affair? The Bible permits divorce for immorality. What if the man's wife abandoned him because she was tired of being married? The Bible permits divorce for abandonment. Divorce is not the unpardonable sin. Moses was a murderer, yet God used him in leadership. King David was an adulterer and murderer, but God used him in leadership. Paul, the writer of the letter we are looking at today, was a brutal persecutor of the church and probable murderer. God used him mightily in leadership as an Apostle and author of 2/3 of the New Testament. If murderers, adulterers, and persecutors can be used in leadership, so can a man who is divorced for reasons permitted by the Bible. Divorce may, but does not always, disqualify a man from being a deacon. We live in an age of grace. And must manage his children and his household well - This qualification does not disqualify men who are not married or men who do not have children. Paul explained the importance of this statement back in verse 5. "If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?" Leading a family 6

7 with love, integrity, kindness, and godliness is directly related to being able to lead in service to a church family. The skill set is much the same. If a man, who is married and has children, can't manage his family properly, he should not be a deacon. Be careful here. We live in an age of grace. The members of a man's family have a free will. A man can manage his family perfectly, yet have a family member live improperly or reject Christ. Misbehavior and unbelief in the family do not automatically disqualify a man from being a deacon. A man does not need to have a perfect family to be a deacon, but he must be able to manage his family well. There you have it, the qualifications for being a deacon. Please study these verses. Please bring your questions tonight. Please ask God to show you who our additional deacons should be. Deacon selection is not a popularity contest. It is a serious process to select God's silent, super servants. You will nominate, so please save your nomination form. A man can even nominate himself, if he feels called. Bill Lindsay and I will interview the prospects. You will vote on the recommended men in a few weeks. We will ordain new deacons. It's going to be an exciting process. Are you ready? Let's pray. We're going to sing hymn number 480 "Only Trust Him." Maybe you want to come to the altar to ask God to speak to you about who to nominate? Maybe you feel called to be a deacon and want to pray at the altar, making yourself available to God's use. Maybe you have made a decision regarding salvation or church membership. If you have any decision to discuss with me, I'll be waiting. 7