Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] How do you motivate inactive, unappeasable and self serving churchgoers?
[00:00:13] How do you motivate inactive, unappeasable and self serving professing Christians?
[00:00:23] And how do you motivate them to serve with the right heart?
[00:00:30] Charles Spurgeon had a few words to say about that.
[00:00:34] He said, quote some of you good people who do nothing except go to public meetings and Bible readings and prophetic conferences and other forms of spiritual dissipation would be a good deal better. Christians, if you would look after the poor and needy around you. If you would just tuck up your sleeves for work and go and tell the gospel to dying men, you. You would find your spiritual health mightily restored. For very much of the sickness of Christians comes through their having nothing to do.
[00:01:04] All feeding and no working makes men spiritual dyspeptics. I had to look up what that word meant. I'm not all that intelligent. It means those who suffer from digestive problems.
[00:01:19] That would be an old way of saying, quit your belly aching.
[00:01:24] Spurgeon continues.
[00:01:26] Be idle, careless and nothing to live for, nothing to care for, no sinner to pray for, no backslider to lead back to the cross, no trembler to encourage, no little child to tell of a Savior, no gray headed man to enlighten in the things of God, no object in fact to live for. And who wonders if you begin to groan and to murmur and to look within and to until you are ready to die of despair.
[00:01:52] Now, according to Spurgeon, one of the first steps of repentance, of getting out of our pits of despair or becoming the president of the pity party campaign to stop navel gazing, to stop being preoccupied with serving only ourselves and start thinking, thinking more like Christ and His love for us. Friends, what happens is we have everything change.
[00:02:22] We begin serving Christ and loving Christ because he is so graciously served and loved us.
[00:02:32] Friends, if you're new to Christianity or you've been in church for a while but never understood why Christians talk about service or being a faithful servant, I think this sermon is good for all of us.
[00:02:43] So why does Jesus talk a lot about service or servanthood?
[00:02:47] And why should we?
[00:02:49] Jesus is what the prophet Isaiah called the suffering servant whose life of humble and joyful obedience to God, whose relentless and tireless love for the weak, the wayward, the needy, the ignorant, the stubborn, and whose costly and bloody sacrifice on the cross for sinners under the wrath of God. Friends, this is the preeminent. This is the most precious display of service that all humanity has ever seen and will ever see, and his matchless and self giving sacrificial service unto God and unto man, which is also sinful man at that is the same heart, posture and character that the Spirit of the living God is forming in all of us, all of us who are united to Christ by faith.
[00:03:38] Jesus said in Matthew 20:26 to 28 but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave. Even as the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Or consider on the night of Jesus betrayal, before Jesus talks about the promise of the Spirit coming upon his people on the day of Pentecost, what do we find Jesus doing in the upper room? He's giving them his last final lessons in the university or the seminary of Jesus. And you know what you find our Lord doing?
[00:04:14] He's not spouting off another long sermon. He's a living sermon by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the shepherd of his Church, taking off his garb and becoming a sermon, and washing the dirty feet of his filthy and wayward disciples who are about to betray him. And one's going to backstab him, and the rest are going to deny him what was being taught by our Lord through this living sermon.
[00:04:42] John, chapter 13. Starting in verse 12, when he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, do you understand what I have done to you?
[00:04:53] You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I, then your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should also do as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his Master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
[00:05:20] Therefore, contrary to the lazy, apathetic and purposeless and despairing attitude we can all have from time to time when we are in our less than godlier moments, especially if life hasn't turned out the way we wanted to, Jesus offers us a more satisfying and more meaningful way to live.
[00:05:41] Instead of trying to climb the ladder for worldly applause, instead of using people out of selfish ambition like stepping stones to personal self fulfillment, instead of wanting in the end to be found the center of everyone's attention, Jesus offers us a far better way.
[00:06:04] A way that says moving up in the kingdom of God necessarily involves getting low, forgetting ourselves, and do it all for the glory of God and for the good of others.
[00:06:16] Friends, it's only when we decrease, John the Baptist said that Christ will increase because it's only in Christ, through Christ and by Christ that our life trajectory, our life purpose, can be truly discovered.
[00:06:32] A new life with new hope and a new rescued and holy ambition that that comes to us from God because we are made new creatures in Christ by His Amazing grace.
[00:06:45] The Lord Jesus exposes our sinful love for self because that is our core problem.
[00:06:52] We love ourselves too much. We want to be the sovereign of our life and he frees us to freely love one another as we have been so dearly loved by Him.
[00:07:04] And the good news of God's good plans for our lives is this is true for every Christian, every pastor, every Christian, and especially to those who are qualified to serve in the office of deacon, which is what we'll be focusing the bulk of our time this morning. If you have a copy of God's Word, please open your Bibles to the New Testament Letter of First Timothy from 1 Timothy Chapter 3. If you're using one of the chair Bibles or Peubak Bibles, provided you can find that on page 1178 first Timothy 3 well friends, we continue our sermon series this morning looking through Paul's first letter to Timothy and starting from chapter two, verse one to the end of chapter three, here we see the Apostle Paul lay down for his young protege Timothy how the church in Ephesus is to conduct themselves to do life together, or as we'll find out next week, behave in the household of God.
[00:08:04] Just as a brief recap, first Timothy 2:1:8 Paul laid down the appropriate guidelines for how prayer is to permeate the life of the church, with men leading by example for the church as a whole. Then in first Timothy 2:9, 11 women who profess godliness should demonstrate their godliness through a worshiping heart that shows itself off not by fancy dress attire or fancy makeup or hairstyles, but by modest dress, good works that commend the Gospel, and an eager and teachable heart ready to receive what God has for them under biblical authority. Then in first Timothy 2, verse 12, we also begin to see the establishment of church order where authority where biblical headship is given to qualified men to teach and exercise authority over the congregation.
[00:08:54] Paul says, in connection with the creation order of Adam being made first and then Eve. Alluding back to Genesis chapter two, Paul instructs all women in the church to desire to show a humble eagerness to learn sound doctrine under biblical church leadership as God has prescribed.
[00:09:11] As men fulfill their God giving callings, as men abiding in Jesus Christ, imitating Jesus who is the true and better Adam, and as women embrace their God given femininity as redeemed daughters of Christ, each man and each woman are to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, bearing fruit according to the ordered liberty and complementarian unity of God's good design for men and women.
[00:09:36] Then in first Timothy three, Paul then begins to explicitly lay out the qualifications for the biblical headship role in the church. He does that by teaching first on the first of two offices in the church, and we've been looking at that for a number of weeks on the office of overseer. Or your translation could say Bishop. We've seen it's basically referring to the same office, the pastor, the shepherd, the elders. This role is given to some qualified men according to 1 Timothy 3:1:7 and Titus 1:6:9, who carry out the ruling and oversight role, which includes teaching and preaching.
[00:10:11] Paul then alludes to this in verse two and that an elder must be able to teach. And then again verse 5, he must care for God's church.
[00:10:18] What is caring for God's church required of here?
[00:10:21] Speaking of what Paul said to titus in Titus 1:7, elders should view themselves as stewards, not CEOs.
[00:10:28] They are supervisors and managers overseeing the household of God.
[00:10:34] Elders are called to do this under the chief shepherd, Jesus Christ.
[00:10:38] And over the last few weeks we learned these two central truths about the office of the pastor.
[00:10:43] First, pastoring is a desirable work because pastoring is dear to the heart of Jesus work.
[00:10:49] And second, a pastor will never be Jesus for you, but he is to be a window by which you can see Jesus through him.
[00:10:56] Paul doesn't stop though with the pastor or the overseer when he's teaching Timothy on church order.
[00:11:03] He then moves on to the second of two offices that God has prescribed in order for churches to image God and to be healthy witnesses for Christ on earth.
[00:11:13] Which leads us to our topic this morning on church Deacons. Look with me now at first Timothy 3. Starting in verse 8, I'll be reading to verse 13. Please follow with me.
[00:11:29] Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest game.
[00:11:39] They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience and then let them also be tested first.
[00:11:46] Then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.
[00:11:50] Their wives likewise must be dignified, not Slanderous, but sober minded, faithful in all things.
[00:11:56] Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
[00:12:11] This is God's word.
[00:12:13] If you're taking notes, the main point of the sermon is the work and character of a deacon.
[00:12:25] Gives us a window into the loving heart and hands of Jesus.
[00:12:34] The work and character of a deacon gives us a window into the loving heart and hands of Jesus.
[00:12:46] Now, the outline of the sermon will be pretty straightforward in the form of three questions we want to ask.
[00:12:53] Question number one, what are deacons and what do they do?
[00:12:59] What are deacons and what do they do? We're going to spend the bulk of our time on that one.
[00:13:05] Question number two, what are the qualifications for a deacon?
[00:13:10] What are the qualifications for a deacon?
[00:13:14] Question number three, why are deacons needed in the local church?
[00:13:19] Why are deacons needed in the local church? And really, questions one and two will answer the third one pretty logically. Let's look at that first question together. What are deacons and what do they do?
[00:13:32] The word deacons in the original language here is diakonos.
[00:13:37] Diakonos. It's a general term often translated as minister or servant all throughout the New Testament over 20 times.
[00:13:47] It refers primarily to someone who performs service or ministry. It's a term typically referring to menial acts of service, such as waiting on tables, as when Martha served Jesus in John 12:2.
[00:14:02] It's also used in Jesus teaching in our call to worship this morning from Luke 17, the one who serves a master through plowing, keeping sheep, and preparing supper for his master.
[00:14:16] The term is also used in a variety of other ways in the New Testament. You can jot these things down or you can listen and then record them later on the podcast. In Matthew 22, verse 13, it can be used of servants or attendants to a king.
[00:14:31] John 2, verses 5 and 9, it was used to speak of a waiter who serves food and drink at a wedding.
[00:14:39] In Romans 13, verse 4, civil magistrates, or the governing authorities established by God, are called God's servant, or literally God's deacon. In Romans 15, verse 25 speaks of someone bringing aid and serving others who are likely in financial or material need.
[00:14:57] Second Corinthians 3, verse 6, Paul calls himself a minister or servant of the New Covenant, being a minister of the Gospel. In chapter four of first Timothy, which we'll look at Lord Willie next year, Timothy is called a good servant of Christ Jesus. First Timothy 4, verse 6, and then in John 12:26, Jesus says that all who truly follow him are called his servants.
[00:15:22] Thayer's Greek lexicon defines Diaconos as one who executes the commands of another.
[00:15:29] At Robertson defines Diaconos as one running an errand for another.
[00:15:36] However, there are a few occasions where it refers specifically to an official recognized office in the church or a church deacon. And those two places that are the most explicit in all of the New Testament is right here in first Timothy 3, 8, 13, and then in Philippians 1, verse 1. You don't need to turn there, but you can listen. Philippians 1, verse 1 says to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi with the overseers and deacons.
[00:16:04] Now it's interesting. The only explicit passages talking about the office of deacon, not just servants in general, but the office of what God has established in the church.
[00:16:15] Deacons are always mentioned side by side with the elders, with the overseers, with the pastors.
[00:16:25] You'll notice that the deacons are never mentioned, isolated all to themselves.
[00:16:31] In fact, elders or overseers are all mentioned first as well in the order in the order matters.
[00:16:37] Even in Acts chapter six, which we're going to look at in a little bit, where we see most likely a prototype or a paradigm deacon. Guess who else is present.
[00:16:46] The apostles, the spiritual leaders of the church, the ministers of the word in prayer.
[00:16:54] Taking all these texts together, we should see that the role or function of a deacon should never be looked at as kind of independent servants of the church, disconnected from the elders leadership with the elders leading and deacons following or helping the elders, they are to work as a team, using like a husband and a wife would in many ways in the life of a marriage and at home, using their complimentary gifts, their complimentary roles for the blessing of the household of God. If you go to a restaurant and let's just pick some fine dining, the kind of thing you only do maybe once a year, or on an anniversary, or giving you ideas for Christmas maybe. If someone likes to go out for dinner, think about the chef. He's the one in the kitchen preparing the food for everyone to eat.
[00:17:43] Think of the restaurant manager who's giving supervision and taking responsibility for everything that goes on in the life of the restaurant. The chef and the manager is the function of the elders. That's what they're doing. They are primarily preparing the meals that Jesus gives them to feed the flock of God. They are also supervising, giving watch over and accountability to, to the Life of the church, just like a manager would.
[00:18:13] But what about the waiter and waitresses?
[00:18:16] What about those who are busing tables to clean up the mess after they eat?
[00:18:21] What about the hostess that welcomes people in to make them feel comfortable and cared for and direct them to their table? And if you're at a real fancy schmancy restaurant, what about the valet parking? You know what I'm talking about. You feel really cool, and then you find out they want to be tipped, like $100, and you just say, I'll just do it myself. But anyway, the idea here is that kind of role, the waiting, the serving, the assisting, the running and errand, going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth to make sure you, the customer, are cared for and accommodated and your needs are met. That's likened to the roles of elders and deacons in the church.
[00:19:00] Now, I've got a whole other sermon to say we should never come to church thinking we're the customer.
[00:19:05] Because if we just think we're here to be served, get fat and full, go listen to Spurgeon again in the introduction. That's the whole point of the rebuke.
[00:19:12] I would make the argument that a church that practices meaningful membership and has congregationalism understood biblically, where the vast majority of the church is regenerate, the vast majority of the church comes to be equipped for service, then I would say they make the work of the elder and the work of the deacon and easier and more enjoyable when the vast majority of the church is giving themselves to acts of service, and praise be to God, by God's grace, I think we find ourselves in a church like that. Amen.
[00:19:43] Now, according to some theologians, the term diakonos, when it appears in close connection to the overseers, could be understood better as attendance. So if you wanted to kind of scratch out or put to the next attendance assistants or aids, who assist the elders by attending to specific needs at specific times for specific cares in the church.
[00:20:06] Alexander Strauch says, quote, in many contexts, the idea is that of a subordinate carrying out an assignment on a superior's behalf and having full authority to execute the superior's delegated task.
[00:20:19] Now, aside from simply just looking at the word diaconus as servants, in general, we should see this as a subordinate role. It's not less important or less valuable, but it's not an authority role. It's not an office of authority. It's an office given to service, where they carry out the delegated task set forth by the leaders of the church.
[00:20:42] To put it More bluntly, it is not God's design.
[00:20:45] I used to have to be more bold on this when I first moved here. I feel like now I'm talking to the choir.
[00:20:50] It is not God's design for maverick deacons to just go around doing whatever they want.
[00:20:57] It is not God's design for deacons to act like elders.
[00:21:02] If I was to ever write a book, one day I would put an appendix. The office of Delder does not exist.
[00:21:09] Deacons trying to be elders and confusing the matter is both unbiblical, confusing and often divisive.
[00:21:16] One older pastor towards the end of his ministry said this. I must say the most consistent problem with which I have helped young pastors deal through the years is deacons who are creating a power struggle with the pastor and who are actually dividing the church rather than unifying it. Running off the pastor, administering the budget, fighting over secondary issues and creating power struggles are not what deacons are supposed to do.
[00:21:41] So if deacons are not supposed to do that, they're not trying to be a pseudo elder.
[00:21:47] How should we biblically view deacons? And I'm not even speaking of just ccbc. How should every gospel preaching church that wants to be faithful. How should we view deacons?
[00:21:58] Deacons are to be looked at as model servants who assist the elders.
[00:22:06] Model servants who assist the elders.
[00:22:11] Deacons are exemplary servants that model what Christlike humility and efficient service looks like. As a Christian.
[00:22:19] Even in the list on spiritual gifts in the New Testament, you don't even have to possess the office of deacon to be really good at serving. Romans 12:7 says, in your service, give yourself to serving. It's a redundant way of saying if you've been given an ability to help or show mercy, help help with children and the sick, or financial oversight or insight. There's a lot of different things that can fall under acts of service. That's not ministry of the Word primarily.
[00:22:49] We see that also in 1st Peter 4. Some of us have been gifted primarily and given to the service of the Word.
[00:22:57] And then others of us have been given service to hospitality or giving and everything in between.
[00:23:05] Friends, this is not something that should be a hobby horse for us, but it should be a big deal to us because Jesus made a big deal about Service.
[00:23:14] In Mark 9, verses 33 to 35, it says, and they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, what were you discussing on the way, speaking of his 12 disciples? But they kept silent. For on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest?
[00:23:30] Couldn't you imagine that you're following around the greatest and they're arguing about who is the greatest.
[00:23:36] Amateurs.
[00:23:38] And he sat down and called the 12, and he said to them, can you imagine it? Hey, guys, bring it in. Bring it in. Y' all ready for this? This is going to be like mountaintop systematic theology. If anyone would be first. And they're going, oh, yeah, I got it. I think it's John. He's called the Beloved. I know it.
[00:23:55] He must be last of all and servant of all.
[00:24:04] Remember those times when you were a kid. Maybe you still do it as an adult.
[00:24:08] You try to be first in line and someone says, I'm going to teach you a valuable lesson today.
[00:24:15] Get to the back.
[00:24:18] Get to the back.
[00:24:20] Actually, you. You will be the last to go, and you can't say anything. You're going to wait for everyone else to get their turn.
[00:24:29] That's what Jesus just taught.
[00:24:32] You want to be the greatest.
[00:24:34] You want to be top dog.
[00:24:36] You want to be in the hall of fame of faith. And the kingdom on earth is the testing ground, because the greatest is sitting before you. And the greatest is about to give up his life for people who don't deserve it like you.
[00:24:50] And I am the definition of greatness.
[00:24:54] Friends. What were they fighting about?
[00:24:58] What were they ruffled about in other feathers?
[00:25:02] It's the same stuff that causes division in most relationships.
[00:25:06] It's me, myself and I not get in our way.
[00:25:09] I'm not being heard. I'm not being seen. I'm not being loved. I'm not being. I'm not being respected. My gifts aren't being used. I'm not being recognized. They always put them first. I'm always the last. No one ever asked about my opinion. Me, me, me, me is the opposite, opposite, opposite of a servant.
[00:25:33] Jesus said, I came, I came. Heaven's greatest came not to be served by, but to serve and to give my life what is most precious to me as a ransom, as a payment for many and many who did not deserve it when I was a child growing up.
[00:25:56] Kid, you not the advice I was given all throughout my childhood. It was pumped in my veins.
[00:26:06] An athlete.
[00:26:08] Make a name for yourself.
[00:26:11] This is before Instagram, y'. All.
[00:26:14] This is before Instant Messenger. Kids, you have no idea what Instant messenger is like.
[00:26:20] It's before MySpace. It's before any kind of social media.
[00:26:25] You want to make a name for yourself. You want to show out. You want to get noticed. You want to be top dog. You want to be the alpha male. You. You want to make yourself look good and make others look like they are dust to be forgotten. Friends, that might be a childish and immature example of my childhood experience. Maybe it was yours too. But what if that same attitude still creeps into our hearts right now in 2026?
[00:26:51] Maybe it sounds like this. We show off our book smarts and our Bible knowledge to people at church.
[00:26:58] You don't think that happens?
[00:27:01] We dress to impress so others can compliment us.
[00:27:06] We tell everyone how bad other people are at fill the blank to lift ourselves up as superior to them.
[00:27:14] We ball hog in sports.
[00:27:17] We complain how others have it better than us so that others feel sorry for us.
[00:27:24] We take over every conversation. We turn it always back to ourself, always wanting to be noticed and heard. We want to be first in people's thoughts and we want to have the last word in every debate, dispute or conversation.
[00:27:39] John MacArthur once said, Beware of men or women who are heroes of all their own stories.
[00:27:46] It reminds me of the proverbs.
[00:27:49] I'm sure we've all heard Proverbs 18:2. A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.
[00:27:58] Proverbs 27:2. Let another praise you and not your own mouth, a stranger, and not your own lips.
[00:28:05] Friends, others characterize you and I as those who talk too much and listen. Little do we fish for compliments, do a set up conversations with a fill in the blank mentality. I hope they finish the blank with something about me.
[00:28:29] You know what you call that?
[00:28:32] Pride.
[00:28:34] It's antithetical to the Christian life.
[00:28:40] It's pride.
[00:28:43] True greatness in the hall of fame, of heaven is the testing grounds right now of what we do with our life on earth.
[00:28:55] It's not about outdoing others.
[00:28:58] It's not about getting mine and getting ahead.
[00:29:03] It's not even about getting our best life. Now at the end of the service, we're going to conclude with a beloved hymn. Many of us like I want you to pay attention to when we sing this afternoon of this stanza. As summer flowers we fade and die Fame, youth and beauty hurry by.
[00:29:24] Why do we seek to be great in things like fame, youth and beauty when it hurries by hook, line and singer there's worldliness needs to die and we got all of it in our hearts and our lives.
[00:29:42] True greatness according to Jesus. It's not about us. It's never been about us and never will be about us. But it's about Christ and making him look famous and good and treasuring and satisfying in him and the overflow that shows that he is our treasure is that we are willing to to lay down our preferences, our opinions, our conveniences and our comforts for the good and well being of others. That make us tired, that make us annoyed, that actually hurt us, that actually grate against our personality. And he's actually teaching you you cannot love like Jesus if you don't abide with Jesus and ask for his supernatural love. It's really easy to serve people who like you, love you and do what you ask. That's not service. That's called scratching your back.
[00:30:27] Reciprocity didn't make it in the Beatitudes.
[00:30:31] We are to love our neighbor. We are to love our enemy. We are to love our spouse. We are to love our children. We are to love church members. There is no one exempt. And that kind of love can only come through Jesus Christ invading your heart with his love friends. That's the good news.
[00:30:47] That we don't have to be in bondage to being enslaved to loving ourselves anymore.
[00:30:53] The Lord Jesus came and gave up his life to free us from that empty life purposeless life of serving only ourselves.
[00:31:04] I like what D.L. moody once said. The measure of a man is not how many servants he has, but how many men he serves. It's a good word.
[00:31:14] What is the deacon? I hope you get the point.
[00:31:18] Servant.
[00:31:20] Church servants, church assistants, servants.
[00:31:26] I want you to hold your place. Then in first Timothy three, turn back to Acts six.
[00:31:32] A number of years ago I preached this passage when we were going through Acts. So I'm not going to rehash everything.
[00:31:38] Go back to Acts chapter six. If you're using the Pew Bibles, go to page 1086.
[00:31:50] So some people ask, and it's wise to ask. Okay, that's what a deacon is. As a servant, what are they called to do? There's only two passages that explicitly talk about deacons, but there's not a whole lot there.
[00:32:00] So if there's any passage in the New Testament that's going to give us an example or a hint or a preview of what deacons will do or could do, Acts chapter six is a great place to camp out.
[00:32:13] Let me read for you. Acts chapter six. Starting in verse one, it says now, in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
[00:32:30] Verse 2. And the 12 summoned the full number of the disciples and said, it is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.
[00:32:38] Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. And what they said pleased the whole gathering. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. And Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.
[00:33:04] These they set before the apostles and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase.
[00:33:11] And the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem. And a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. So let's walk through the passage, 30,000 foot view with a few things to pay attention to. We want to answer the question, what are deacons supposed to be doing? We know what a deacon is now. Servant. What are they supposed to do?
[00:33:29] The word complaint there in verse one means a grumbling.
[00:33:32] It's like what you hear in the first half at a sports game when the fans don't like the calls that the ref is making. It starts out as a low whisper, it starts out as eye rolls. And then it gets worse in the second half and you got people standing up, saying things they will regret the next day. Their little bit of complaining ends up to be some murmuring. And grown men and grown women are acting like little kids that lost their toys during snack time.
[00:33:58] That's what's going on.
[00:34:00] And this is happening not at a sports game, but at church. If you're new to church and you're looking for a safe haven that is free from all complaints and free from grumbling, sorry, won't find that because sinners are welcome here and sinners complain and grumble and I'm one of them. So anybody raise their hand if they struggle with complaining and grumbling? Alright, great. I'm glad. At least we're at least telling the truth. Okay, so what was the fuss about this time? We had the disciples act like knuckleheads. Who's the greatest? I'm like, he's right in front of you.
[00:34:28] But there's more complaints. But this time it's a divide.
[00:34:32] The Greek speaking widows, the Hellenists and the Hebrew widows, we have a divide in that they were being neglected.
[00:34:43] 50% of the widows were being neglected or overlooked in the daily distribution. Back in these days they didn't have government assistance like we do today. If a widow had no family, no husband, no way to Provide for themselves. No land, nothing. They were utterly destitute. If they had no one like a church to care for them, they would have had to put themselves into prostitution or they would die in homelessness. So the church had to take a familial responsibility for these widows. But here's a problem.
[00:35:14] The church in Jerusalem was busting at the seams. They were growing rapidly, but hundreds, even thousands of people. And guess what happens when a church begins to grow?
[00:35:26] The complaints and the potential for division starts to grow.
[00:35:31] And that's what's going on here.
[00:35:33] There was a daily distribution, a food pantry, a way to meet the needs of these dear ladies.
[00:35:41] But they were being neglected. And so it began to be a complaint. Someone spoke up for them. So the apostles as good leaders here, there's a problem.
[00:35:50] They're not going to jump to knee jerk reactions, but they're going to listen, think and devise a plan.
[00:35:56] It says in verse two, we need somebody to serve these tables. The apostles then go on to say, hey, listen, serving tables is needed. Taking care of these widows is absolute necessity. But the apostles are primarily given to the ministry or the deaconing of, of prayer and the word. If they were to give up preaching and give up the prayer, give up the shepherding to serve tables, then who's going to do the preaching? Who's going to do the praying? Who's going to do the shepherding? So they said, we've got to have a division of labor, a delegation authorizing some to see that this task is taken care of. So what do they do? They say, choose seven men from among you. He gives the congregation an opportunity to, to give feedback and et cetera and so forth. And then he Sundays, there are seven men that are chosen and they all have Greek names.
[00:36:48] We've already preached this sermon. You can listen to it more in detail. But that's very deliberate. Since their widows were being neglected, this would have been a great opportunity to preserve unity in the body.
[00:36:58] Here we see that the qualifications are pretty simple, filled, the spirit, full of wisdom, the kind of things you need when you have a lot of people and a lot of needs. You need to be able to move from A to B, B to C, D to E. You need to have a plan, a logistical plan. So you need people that are full of wisdom and measured on how to do that.
[00:37:19] Two of these men, five of them are unknown. Two of them we do know Stephen, who was the first Christian martyr, who was very knowledgeable of the scriptures.
[00:37:28] And then we see even Philip, who later is known as an evangelist, which means his role there as a proto deacon or whatever he was was pretty temporary. Later on, now, at the end of the day, what was the root problem and what was the solution?
[00:37:43] The root problem was not the food.
[00:37:46] The root problem there was a division.
[00:37:49] And that division necessitated revisiting the whiteboard on how to administer to the different needs in the church.
[00:37:58] In other words, they had to get back on the whiteboard and revisit, how are we going to meet the spiritual and physical needs of this massive church? And so exercising biblical wisdom in God's economy, it would be a division of labor.
[00:38:14] So these men were chosen. They were to give some oversight and direction to see that these needs were met.
[00:38:21] And it says after laying hands on them, to commission them to the task. It says in verse seven, the word of God continued to increase. In other words, the division that could have split the church wide open was mended, brought to peace, and the church kept growing.
[00:38:39] Now turn back to 1 Timothy 3, 1st Timothy 3.
[00:38:45] So you can see from the evidence, regardless if these were the first deacons or what deacons would do, the deacons were given a specific task for a specific time defined by the leadership of the church to bring about peace and unity to the body of Christ.
[00:39:04] That is what a good deacon does.
[00:39:08] It's not just getting the job done, it's preserving unity in the church as you get the job done.
[00:39:16] Now, deacons can have a lot of responsibilities.
[00:39:19] A number of years ago, I asked a bunch of pastors, hey, give me all the roles of your deacons in your church. And I put them together in a list and then I consolidated them down to a concise summary. Here are the different things that deacons could do. Doesn't mean they have to do, but they could do. You've got Deacon of Parkin, Deacon of Library, Deacon of member Care, deacon of welcome and hospitality, Deacon of digital media, Deacon of ushers, Deacon of Finance, Deacon of ordinances, Deacon of childcare, Deacon of youth and college ministry, Deacon of sound, Deacon of buildings and grounds, deacons of weddings, deacons of funerals, or put those together, hopefully the wedding's not like a funeral, but anyway, terrible joke. Deacon of security, Deacon of outreach to the poor in the local community.
[00:39:59] Friends, the point is, as the needs arise in the church that are not primarily given to the ministry of the word prayer and shepherding, the elders have to think very carefully about whether or not that deserves a deacon to give attention to or a new service team to give people opportunities to serve, to see who could Be qualified to serve as a deacon.
[00:40:26] Friends, I would summarize it this way. Deacons are model servants of the local church. Deacons are exemplary assistants to the elders of the church. Deacons are happy and helpful problem solvers to meet logistical, fiscal and physical needs in the ministry of the church. And deacons are ministry mobilizers who facilitate and organize acts of service in the church. Deacons are peacemaking bodyguards preserving unity in the church. Deacons are mercy ministry detectives that are looking for ways to meet urgent needs in the body.
[00:40:57] One pastor said this of all deacons. Deacons, seize the initiative.
[00:41:02] Find a problem and meet the need. Go to the hospital, win the lost, mow the yard, empty the trash, take food to the widows. Say to the pastor, I'll do that, sir. Here, I'll handle it. Hey, let me. Don't worry about it. We will do it. That is the attitude of the deacon.
[00:41:22] Brothers and sisters, I am not saying this to fill up a sermon. I am saying this because it's true. There are deacons and deaconesses in the past and in the present. There are service team leaders and happy members who quietly serve that have that attitude in this church. And I'm thankful for you.
[00:41:40] Talk to Alan, talk to Jackson, talk to Ian. We hear this from Tom to Tom again, we got this. Don't worry about that. You go home, take care of this.
[00:41:49] I'm so thankful for Larry Porter with Sound and Timber, Griffin with member of care and Ricky Manzano with church ordinances and Mark and Miranda with welcome and greeters and Casey Lester with the media team. And of course, I've already mentioned in my pastoral prayer Michael and David and Michelle and their respective deacon roles. And not even to mention all the volunteers in a kid's equipping hour as well as with childcare with Michelle. And not to mention the 130 members or so that serve in ways that may not get public recognition here on earth, but it is publicly seen by the host of heaven.
[00:42:25] And that's where it matters the most.
[00:42:28] Serving a fellow disciple with a cold cup of water.
[00:42:31] You will by no means lose your reward. Jesus said one question people do ask. I told you we'd spend a lot on question one because it makes sense, given the distinction.
[00:42:43] Do deacons possess authority?
[00:42:46] Howard Foshee says a new deacon, you must understand that you have not been selected to an official board to exercise authority in the life of the church. The office of deacon is not an office of authority, but of service.
[00:42:58] Few observations. These are not slam dunk arguments, but it's Observations Nowhere in the New Testament do we see deacons operate with the same authority or oversight as the elders.
[00:43:09] Nowhere in the New Testament are we told that elders are to submit to the deacons or the congregation to submit to the deacons.
[00:43:15] However, we are told that deacons assist the elders and serve the congregation.
[00:43:20] Also to Note In Acts 6, even the office of deacon is not mentioned. The verb tense is to serve, but it's also called the apostles, or to give themselves to the deaconing of the word. It's just a form of service, right?
[00:43:33] It's also interesting to note in Paul's missionary journeys. I don't know if you ever paid attention to this. When the Gospel goes forth and churches are planted, there are several places in the New Testament, Acts 14:23, Acts 20:17, where it says explicitly that Paul and his team appointed elders, they installed officers, but they primarily only focused on the pastors.
[00:43:55] They spoke to the elders only in Acts 20. There's no mentioning of deacons explicitly in the entire book of Acts. It doesn't mean the deacons didn't exist. We know by the time Philippians was written they did exist. Of course, Paul mentions it here in First Timothy.
[00:44:09] And aside from those passages, Romans 16:1 is the only other place we find it where there is a servant of the church of Cenchrea named Thebe who's given the same word, a diakonos given as an example there in this list of men and women in Romans 16.
[00:44:28] Lastly, it's also worthy to note in Ephesians 4, where Paul talks about building up the church, the bride of Christ.
[00:44:36] Only apostles and prophets, evangelists and teachers, pastors are mentioned as gifts of Christ to equip the saints. Even deacons are not mentioned there in Ephesians 4 as special authority and leadership roles.
[00:44:48] I would also say this. We should not view, like some church traditions have, we should not view the deacon role as kind of like a testing ground for the eldership, kind of stepping stones to a higher position.
[00:45:01] Some deacons may become elders over time because they're apt to teach and they desire the work and they're godly. They.
[00:45:08] But we don't want to mix that up. We don't want to say the diaconate is like JV before you get diversity. We don't want to do that because Scripture doesn't do that.
[00:45:17] Now, friends, if we've established what a deacon is and what a deacon does, what must a deacon be?
[00:45:25] That's going to get to question number two, the qualifications, which is really the rest of the text.
[00:45:31] Well, there's four disqualifiers. Start with a negative.
[00:45:34] Verse 8. Not double tongued. Verse 8. Not addicted to much wine. Verse 8. Not greedy for dishonest gain. Verse 11. Not slanderers. Let's take these one at a time.
[00:45:44] First, deacons must be dignified. Verse 8. The word means honorable or respectable. One of serious demeanor.
[00:45:52] It's the opposite of someone who is known to be a frivolous, jokey, smoky, juvenile kind of person.
[00:45:59] Someone that others, when they look at them, they can't be seen as someone that no one takes serious.
[00:46:06] It's just kind of a joke.
[00:46:08] A deacon can't be that. Now let me also frame this. They shouldn't walk around like it's game time for the super bowl, you know, they shouldn't look like a killjoy when they walk in the room. You have to tell them to smile every once in a while. That's not what it's talking about.
[00:46:24] But they're respectable, they're honorable. Just like the elder is in first Timothy three. Two.
[00:46:29] They are respectable. Their example is dignified.
[00:46:33] Next, deacons are not to be double tongued.
[00:46:36] Double tongued? It means they're sincere and truthful in their speech. They're not to be deceitful in their words. They're not being given to double talk or as one translation says, to be two faced friends. You know what it means to be two faced?
[00:46:51] It means someone's words can't be trusted.
[00:46:55] And if this characterizes someone, they are not eligible. They're not qualified to serve in the role of deacon.
[00:47:02] Deacons are called to be peacemakers and shock absorbers to preserve unity in the church. They can't be the ones who instigate and start it and put gas on the fire of division in the church. That's not godly deacons, that's demon deacons. And you don't want demon deacons.
[00:47:21] Deacons must be known as servants who are yes. Let their yes be yes and their no be no. Their words are reliable.
[00:47:29] Next, it says verse 8. Must not be addicted to much wine. Not greedy for dishonest gain.
[00:47:35] At the very base level, they are not guilty of substance abuse. They're not enslaved or addicted to gambling and booze and everything in between.
[00:47:46] It's actually even stronger than that. It says they're not thinking about. They're not preoccupied with thinking about wine and alcohol all the time. I would just venture to say, I know there could be some culturally different expressions of this. You go hang out with Christians in Italy and other Places like that. But I would say if you're going to be a deacon or be considered, you can't be a wine connoisseur.
[00:48:07] You're pretty given to wine at that point. That's kind of the connotation. It's not everything you talk about.
[00:48:13] It's like, hey, what did Romans 3 say? And hey, what'd you drink last night? You don't want a deacon that talks and thinks like that.
[00:48:20] And also, they're not greedy for unjust gain or sordid gain. You don't basically want Judas Iscariot as your treasure. Chris, you're not. You're good, brother. But he was happy to serve, happy to handle the finances, but full of greed on the inside. He you don't want a deacon that's full of greed because deacons oftentimes will have interactions with and transactions with money. You want someone who's above reproach when no one is watching. With the checkbook and the church Card, verse 9, they must hold firm to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. Let's keep it simple. They are a Christian. They actually believe the Christian faith.
[00:48:59] They seek to live out the Christian faith.
[00:49:03] It implies that the doctrine dances in their life. They have a clear conscience as they hold fast to the word of faith. Now, no, a deacon does not have to be a teacher. It doesn't say able to teach. That's for the elder.
[00:49:18] But they must be teachable to the extent man. You want deacons who know their Bible wells too.
[00:49:24] Deacons are going to be in the throes of ministering on the front lines and you're going to get questions asked and problems asked and all these sort of things. You want deacons who know more than just spreadsheets and how to fix a pipe. I love plant plumbers. You do want that. But you want people who can be people oriented. It's not just getting the job done, it's getting the job done. Well, loving and ministering to people.
[00:49:51] You have to possess a conviction. You have to possess a love for self. Sound doctrine. The once for all delivered to the saints. Sound doctrine.
[00:50:01] Then in verse 10, he says, Let them also be tested first and then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.
[00:50:11] This word tested is often used to speak about the testing or purging or refining of metals.
[00:50:19] It is to prove the genuineness of piece of silver, piece of gold. Gold, right. We'll give you another analogy. Take a sponge. Before you use a sponge on your car, I would highly suggest you do what?
[00:50:32] Probably squeeze it out to make sure someone didn't put something in the sponge that didn't belong there. You know what it means to be tested in the Christian life? It means God squeezes you and I and we get to see what comes out.
[00:50:45] And you know what comes out.
[00:50:47] The sin and the dross from the metal comes out that God wants to remove from our life.
[00:50:54] And then the beauty of the diamond, the beauty of the metal, the purity found within also comes out. That's called sanctification. A deacon must be tested first. There must be a season, there must be a time where the elders are observing, the congregation is observing how they talk, how they serve, how they preserve unity, how they consider themselves as a committed member of the church. There must be a time and a season of testing so they might be proven blameless.
[00:51:27] What does that look like here at ccbc?
[00:51:30] Quickly. Number one, you're a member in good standing.
[00:51:33] You're not just a longtime visitor or a semi church attendance Christian, but you're a committed member of the body.
[00:51:39] Secondly, you are actively on some kind of service team. You serve in some way that meets a need. The elders have given oversight to that. We have. We're watching your character, your home life, your excellent work, dependability, team player, servant heartedness.
[00:51:57] Thirdly, if you are recommended by a present deacon or present service team leader as someone that could fulfill their role, someone has observed this, maybe more than we have. Fourthly, if you're recommended by the members of the church, we have an online form in the E newsletter. Send us names, send us why you think we should consider them. Also fifthly, the elders themselves will make recommendations and we will talk among ourselves, often for months, sometimes even years, over individuals in our church.
[00:52:27] And then upon the elders agreeing to recommend, we will begin to examine them. They will fill out a, I don't know how many pages it is, questionnaire. They will fill out the questionnaire. We'll bring them to the table, ask them questions, give them encouragements, and barring no hesitation on their end or ours, then we bring them to you you for a nomination. That's how deacons are tested in the life of our church. Drop down to verse 12.
[00:52:50] Drop down to verse 12.
[00:52:52] It says, Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children in their own households. Well, this qualification is very similar to that of an elder, but it's not given the grounding purpose for managing the church, but the home life must be examined.
[00:53:08] A deacon doesn't have to be married, but if they are married the quality and fidelity of their marriage will be examined. Their home life, the care for their children. Same thing as we looked at last week. You can listen to that online.
[00:53:21] The main thing we see there with the household verses, here's the point.
[00:53:26] The point is not your children have to be converted or your children never sin, or you and your spouse never get along.
[00:53:33] No, the deacon, the man here in verse 12 has his priorities in check.
[00:53:38] Jesus comes first, his wife comes second, his children come third, the church comes fourth.
[00:53:46] That's what makes him qualified. He's a man who has his priorities in order.
[00:53:53] Again, the question can a divorced man serve as a deacon? Similar to what we talked about last week with elders, because elders are the highest office and the highest responsibility. I would say I would lean more towards prudence to slow that down towards the eldership. But for the diaconate, we would want to ask more questions. What is their present marriage like? What does it look like for them to be above approach? What does the community of faith notice about their current marriage? Those are the things that we want to talk about. Now go back up to verse 11, verse 11. You'll see there is one unclear part of these qualifications. And if you didn't think there was anything unclear, I'm about to show you that it's a little unclear.
[00:54:32] In the esv, it renders their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober minded, faithful in all things.
[00:54:39] If you don't have an ESV but you have maybe a different translation, especially if you have the nasb, the New American standard, it doesn't say their wives. It often says the women translations are divided on it. Do we not have the original translation? No, we actually have the original translation. The Greek word is gunicus and it can be translated woman or women or wives.
[00:55:04] And it's translated in different ways depending on the context. For example, back in chapter 2, verses 9 to 15, consistently Paul uses the word woman or women does not use the word wife. It's the same Greek word. But then in verse 2 for the elder, verse 12 for the deacon, they must be the husband of one Gune wife. But we know the literal translation is they are a one woman man, not simply they've been married one time.
[00:55:33] That means it could be translated the women or women deacons.
[00:55:38] Or it could be translated the deacons wives.
[00:55:41] Or another view in church history is it could be the deacons assistants who are women, whether those are older widows in First Timothy 5 or the older women in Titus 2, verse 3.
[00:55:53] Three very respectable views all held throughout church history.
[00:55:57] Just to make it really candid, here at CCBC we have women serve as deaconesses or women deacons. However you want to frame that we are in fellowship with churches that would be in direct contradiction to us.
[00:56:11] I've served in churches where there were only men serving as deacons. I've served in churches where women are allowed gifted deacons and qualified women are allowed to serve in deacons. It all depends not on the Greek word but the function.
[00:56:24] Does your view of ordination and authority play into your role of deacon or not?
[00:56:29] For example, even Kevin DeYoung, a PCA pastor who does not affirm women deacons but in favor of the deacon's wives view. Notice what he says.
[00:56:42] Whether the verse is talking about wives who help their husbands in their diaconal work or about women doing diaconal work as deaconesses, the outcome is that women are doing the same kind of work. There is nothing in the nature of diaconal service ministry to preclude by necessity a woman serving as a deaconess. Phoebe was a diakonos, after all. Romans 16:1 granted. Today, many churches accord ruling authority to deacons. So the best way to utilize the serving gifts of women. And title, if any, to use for this role will depend on the church's broader theology of governance.
[00:57:13] Because of my Presbyterian understanding of ordination and the authority inherent in church office, I am not in favor of women deacons in my denomination. But insofar as diaconal ministry is service oriented, diaconal work is completely open to women.
[00:57:28] If you have more questions about that, come find me at the door. We've done a whole series on this before. There's other resources I could commend you.
[00:57:35] I can fellowship with pastors. I can worship with Christians that hold different views on this with a clear conscience. There are pastors in our own community. We would be an anomaly having women deacons in our church. But we're an anomaly for a lot of reasons too. We care about a lot of things. So join the bandwagon, I guess. But just I'm not Church history does not prove anything.
[00:57:56] It proves something.
[00:57:58] I'll just give you some modern examples. How many of you own a John MacArthur study bible?
[00:58:03] How many of you liked John MacArthur's ministry for 56 years?
[00:58:07] You don't have to agree. You don't have to be a dispy. You don't have to be all that kind of stuff.
[00:58:10] His church had women deacons. Still does. 56 years. John Piper. Anyone like him? Not Pipper Piper.
[00:58:19] John Piper's church pastor there for 33 years had women deacons. Mark Dever, who's almost been there 32 years, has women deacons. There's also many pastors who would never in a million years allow that to happen because of their conscience and what they see in Scripture of it violating. First Timothy 2:12 about teaching and exercising authority over man. I totally understand where they go from there. I can. I can have disagreements, still love each other and still serve in any of these churches with a happy conscience. So with all that being said, look at the qualification.
[00:58:52] It's interesting. These are all very much reflective of the male deacons. In verses 8 to 10 it's really clear there. It says they must be dignified.
[00:59:01] The same of the male deacon. They're not slanderers. The word is diabolos. It means devil. False accuser. I love this. It means that she's not a she devil. That's a good qualification.
[00:59:12] She's sober minded. She's temperate, just like the elder. First Timothy 3:2. She's faithful in all things. I love Paul's all encompassing look at her home life. Look how she handles finances. Look how she handles alcohol. Look, look how she handles her tongue. She's trustworthy, she's reliable. She's faithful.
[00:59:33] This leads to the third and final question.
[00:59:35] It's the shortest one to answer because I hope I at least have brought you to this place to see why. Why are deacons needed?
[00:59:44] Friends? Without the work of qualified deacons, the ministry of the Word and prayer by the elders, we will be hijacked and distracted by the pressing needs of the body.
[00:59:59] If we were a 25 person church, you might need one pastor, one deacon.
[01:00:04] We're 130 plus growing church.
[01:00:08] Those days are gone.
[01:00:10] The church is getting older, which means some of our older saints are going to have greater needs. Church is getting younger in some ways, which means they're not probably ready yet to serve in these offices. That means in between 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s.
[01:00:27] Depends where you're at. It's all hands on deck. We need more deacons. That's free advertising for you.
[01:00:35] Fill them out. Tell us to get our eyes on someone. We need more elders. Say that at least three times a year. I'm saying it again. We need more elders.
[01:00:44] Friends, why do we need deacons in the church? Because many needs will be neglected and overlooked by your elders. Because we're not omnipresent, nor are we called to meet all of them.
[01:00:57] We can't be elders.
[01:01:01] Deacons, congregation, they sometimes overlap, but they are distinct friends. Why are deacons needed in the church?
[01:01:11] Because deacons serve as a window into the loving heart and hands of the chief deacon, Jesus Christ.
[01:01:21] Brothers and sisters, when we think about Jesus, we tend to think about the Lord is my shepherd and I shall not want. That's true.
[01:01:33] He's my rock. He's my fortress.
[01:01:38] He's my God and king.
[01:01:42] Did you know that Jesus was the suffering servant who came to lay down his life for us?
[01:01:50] Let me push you a little further.
[01:01:53] Did you know that Jesus, even right now, is still serving and deaconing his church?
[01:02:01] You say, how is he doing that?
[01:02:03] How does Jesus wear the hat of pastor and deacon and not be called a delta? Because he's Jesus.
[01:02:11] He's a multitasker and does not ever drop the ball.
[01:02:15] You know why that's good news for me as a pastor? Because I dropped the ball.
[01:02:20] I forget to pray for you. He doesn't.
[01:02:24] I forget some things you've told me to keep in confidence, so I forget them, but he doesn't.
[01:02:33] He checks on you all the time.
[01:02:36] I don't.
[01:02:38] You need him to shepherd you all your days. And get this, friends, the deacons cannot meet every need of this church either.
[01:02:46] Our Lord Jesus is deaconing us. When at the Lord's Supper, the elders sit at the table. We prepare the elements.
[01:02:56] The Lord's Supper doesn't get transfigured or transformed into the literal body and blood of Jesus. No, no, that's not biblical.
[01:03:04] But at the table, there is something more going on than looking at a lifeless statute.
[01:03:13] We don't invite Jesus to the table.
[01:03:17] Jesus invites us to him.
[01:03:22] So when you take this bread and eat, so feed in this your mouth with this bread by eating and so feed on Christ in your heart by faith.
[01:03:34] That's why we say that when we take the cup.
[01:03:38] The cup, the blood of the covenant that was sealed for us. It was Christ who served, who deaconed to his disciples after he washed their feet and gave them the bread, gave them the cup. And he said, the washing, the eating, the drinking, it's all about me.
[01:03:59] You know what the difference between a Christian and a non Christian is?
[01:04:03] Non Christians are too prideful to let Jesus serve you.
[01:04:09] And Christians have been humbled and broken and recognized. If we don't let Jesus serve us, we have no part with him.
[01:04:17] Friends, this is the good news.
[01:04:20] He is our shepherd.
[01:04:22] He is our deacon.
[01:04:24] He is our friend.
[01:04:27] And he proved that on the cross.
[01:04:29] He put an end to all our sin.
[01:04:32] He rose from the dead, ascended to the Father. And it says, wait upon the promise of the Spirit from on high. How does Jesus deacon us today at the Son?
[01:04:43] And he also does it by His Spirit.
[01:04:47] When you don't know what to pray for, what does Romans 8:26 say? The Spirit helps us.
[01:04:53] What is a deacon? They help us. They assist us.
[01:04:58] Thirdly, what is the third way that the Lord Jesus deacons us and serves us? He uses his people to serve our needs.
[01:05:09] Pride will keep us from lovingly serving others and their needy lives and pride will prevent us from allowing others to lovingly serve us.
[01:05:23] And when we do that, we are robbing others the joy of being used by Jesus to deacon us.
[01:05:32] So here's a good challenge question.
[01:05:36] Who in your life needs you right now?
[01:05:42] What child is beckoning for your attention?
[01:05:46] What spouse that you interpret as nagging is trying to communicate something to you?
[01:05:53] What friend is passive aggressive in their comments?
[01:05:57] What person just keeps debating you and debating you? What is it they're really needing?
[01:06:04] Friends, there is a cry of so much pain and hurt in the world and people cloak it in so many ways. You know what those people are? They're ministry opportunities, not ministry inconveniences.
[01:06:16] If we're going to see people as Jesus sees people, people are not inconveniences to ministry. People are ministry.
[01:06:25] Your neighbor, your parents, your children, your church members, your pastors, your deacons, your enemies. There are people to serve like Jesus has served us.
[01:06:41] And those who serve well as deacons will gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
[01:06:54] Friends, our lives are not ours to hold onto but for Christ to use for his sake.
[01:07:02] May the life of Christ in us be put on display by a life of service to others for Him.
[01:07:11] Let's pray.
[01:07:14] Heavenly Father, we pray that you would cause each of us to examine how Christ served us and continues to serve us.
[01:07:24] And may his perfect and pure faithful love for us help us find our identity not by the applause of men and not allow pride to keep us from serving others or keep others from serving us.
[01:07:40] Lord, our worth and our value and our identity is found in you. In serving you.
[01:07:45] Or may that be true of all of us.
[01:07:47] It's in Jesus name we pray.
[01:07:49] Amen.
