[0:00] Thank you very much. You can have a seat, Brother David. The boy is going to come. Come on up, Brother David. He's going to give a word of testimony. I'm pretty sure you all know him and know him well. He gives an offer and devotional and all that.
[0:11] But he's going to give you a word of testimony about getting saved and all that. So have at it, Brother. I told Jen I wasn't going to write things down for this.
[0:22] I usually do that for everything that I say up here. I'm regretting the decision not to have written things down now that I'm here. My testimony probably begins with my mom because she...
[0:37] Oh, I looked at her. I know that it was a burden of hers, of course, as any mother would be, for her son to get saved. And I don't remember all the details, but I'm pretty sure we sat at a dining room table.
[0:52] And a preacher that I don't know, I don't remember, came and explained the gospel to me. And I went through the plan of salvation there. I did struggle immensely with my security for quite some time.
[1:09] I didn't know if I said the prayer right. I didn't know if I believed right. Those kinds of things. I imagine if I asked for the raising of hands that there would be several people in this room that went along the same way.
[1:20] And I probably had told the men I probably asked Jesus into my heart a million times between third and fifth grade. Okay. I do know that at some point along those lines, I started getting around people that took an interest in me and was explaining the word to me.
[1:42] And I did have security within that time frame. I don't go back to a day and a time that I can say this is when it happened.
[1:55] And some of the most encouraging words that were given to me was basically, well, David, what do you believe now? And if you are doubting your salvation, I would encourage you to think that way.
[2:08] What do you believe right now? And I believe right now that if I stand before the Lord, that I'm going to be accepted and beloved.
[2:19] And that my righteousness is nothing and that I have Jesus Christ's righteousness on my life. And that security, it deepens and grows stronger all the time.
[2:36] And that is a testimony to ministries and especially the ministry of this church because faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
[2:46] And that is something that this church stands for. And it is something that has been an effectual work in my life. And I'm incredibly grateful for that ministry.
[2:58] The Lord has taken us a lot of different places. I never thought I would end up here, but I imagine that's the same way for a lot of you as well. But I am so grateful that this is where the Lord has me.
[3:11] And I'm so grateful that my best friends, the people that I love and the people that I want to spend the most time with, besides Jennifer, are people that are members of this church.
[3:22] And so I thank you so much for the blessing of being able to know you and serve you and together lift up the name of Christ. Amen.
[3:33] Go ahead and stand with me one more time and we'll continue singing together. Amen. I once was lost in darkest night, yet thought I knew the way.
[3:52] The sin that promised joy in life had led me to the grave. I had no hope that you would own a rebel to your will.
[4:10] And if you had not loved me first, I would refuse you still. But as I ran my held out face, indifferent to the cause, you looked upon my helpless state and led me to the cross.
[4:39] And I beheld God's love displayed. You suffered in my place. You bore the wrath, reserved for me.
[4:53] Now all I know is grace. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
[5:03] All I have is Christ. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Jesus is my life.
[5:16] Now Lord, I would be yours alone. And if so all I see, the strength to follow your commands, you'll never come from me.
[5:37] Oh, Father, use my ransom light in any way you choose. And let my song forever be.
[5:52] My only boast is you. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. All I have is Christ.
[6:08] Hallelujah. Jesus is my life. Hallelujah.
[6:20] All I have is Christ Hallelujah Jesus is my life Amen, you can have a seat.
[6:37] Jesus is my life. What a great declaration. I know it's one that could be said of David and all of our deacons and of you in here tonight. Would you look at 1 Timothy chapter number 3 with me just for a moment?
[6:48] I was thinking of three ways in which tonight I find to be Extremely special and I've been looking forward to it First of all in the bible it tells us that when deacons are placed When we're obedient to scripture that the word of god moves forward And that's the expectation of the night is that the word of god will move forward as a church More people will hear Secondly, I love it because little kids in this room see us doing something different in a service And maybe they don't know exactly what's happening. They will hear testimonies And then david will come up here and we'll walk by and pray with them And then they will see that their church Is doing what they know to do that here to how the bible says we should have a church That we are following the practices of the word of god And the little kids in here tonight we're having an ordination service Because this is how the bible tells us that a church should do That the bible should look out and find people like mr david with the qualifications given And that we should um Ordain them to do a special work and a work that is where we honor service
[7:51] The third to me It's a special night because david is my friend There's many things that david is to me Um, he's my life group teacher He calls himself sunday school teacher, but he's wrong about that All right, he's my life group teacher When i'm not in another class and so many other things But he's really my friend and as a teenager I prayed that god would give me christian friends And he answered that prayer time and time again And we honestly have grown up together We've done as much growing from 25 to 40 as anybody would do from 0 to 15 And we probably have as much room to grow as we've grown so far All right, that was complicated, but we've grown up together. All right Raising our families together and I love it and what a great friend And when we read these scriptures make some comments verse 8 likewise must the deacons be grave Not double tongue not given to much wine not greedy a filthy lucre holding the mystery of the faith and a pure conscience And let these also first be proved and let them use the office of a deacon being found blameless Even so must their wives be grave not slanderous sober faithful in all things
[8:54] Let the deacons be the husband and the one wife ruling their children their own houses well For they have used the office of a deacon well purchased to themselves a good degree and great boldness in the faith Which is in christ jesus as you um As we look through the conditions and what god would ask of a deacon I don't think of david and jennifer in a very general sense But I have very clear examples of how they have lived these out I have been in their home. I have been with him in moments where we were serious I've had enough conversations with him to know that he's not double tongue that he will tell you what the bible says I've had many meals with him and none of them included wine. That's good, isn't it?
[9:32] Um, not greedy a filthy lucre. We have spoken about Uh, how we should be stewards of what god Um has given us i've been at his home and I did not find another wife there. He just has one All right in case you um warning i've seen him yesterday on a basketball court where luther We don't know what luther was about to do But when he made eye contact with his dad, I knew that david ruled his own house Um, he knew that he lived under the governance of somebody and he turned around and went the other uh direction And of all these different things Um in our lives and i've had clear examples and it's super special But there's one that's very specific in this passage that I believe david exemplifies and I love it so much First of all the right disposition means that a description isn't needed And all these that are given of the couple passages when they have the bible has a deacon It describes who they are, but it doesn't say what they are Uh to do you can't find any way Which is the same that deacons just know what they're supposed to do
[10:33] That people with these types of qualifications with this type of heart Whatever time in history whatever country in the world and whatever culture that's going on People with this type of heart they show up and they just know what needs to be done Usually this people can't find any place to serve because service is below them They show up and they look around and they say I can't find anything to do But the type of people described in the bible They always find something to do and they volunteer to serve in awana because awana needs it And they step up and be the treasurer even though they didn't plan to be the treasurer But because their church needed a treasurer They're always looking for work and they're always willing to look low enough to do it So we don't need a description deacons are already doing the work before they received the office Acts 16 15 says they have talks about a group of people that had addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints They're always involved right in the middle of the ministry It is not work at all for david and I to talk about the ministry our conversations go to it very
[11:34] Quickly when we even when we're watching basketball games and day and when carson or luther will pass the ball to the other one We both look at each other and we say local church because our sons only passed each other because they're the only two from the same church All right And everybody around us don't know what we're talking about But that's the weird kind of humor we have because we're always thinking about the church and the ministry of the church And I can't tell you what a blessing it is To have a friend that is equally as awkwardly in love with the church as my friend David is And so it's a good reason we don't have a description because the work changes with the church and the time and history You know, we don't have many tables to serve of widows One of the few widows in our church lives in david's basement. So he's doing a pretty good job On that behalf, but we need sometimes we need new treasures and we need a place for our kids to play where they'll be safe And so a guy like david takes initiative to build a play center outside But those who come to serve find places to serve matthew 20 28 says even as the son of man
[12:37] Came not to be ministered unto us, but the minister and gave his life ransom for many david I know you love this verse because you wear that t-shirt most days that you're not working It says that jesus came to serve jesus came to serve and we should as well So the day we honor david with another opportunity to serve and the world would think that's absolutely absurd And it's a burden but people who spend time looking at the life of christ and they spend their time In the word of god when they leave bible study. They go looking for service and david's that type of man I also want to say you should certainly have a towel in one hand But this is a thing that I believe you exemplify having a towel in one hand But having the word in the other hand verse 9 says holding the mystery of faith in a pure conscience Mystery is something here that has been revealed the mystery of faith for the first deacons. It would have been the atonement of jesus His death and his resurrection something that wouldn't have been Wholly known by the old testament but now that would have been revealed and they would know it
[13:38] But for us today, it's so many things we have a whole book of revelation And I know that david loves this those that are in the bible institute know he loves it Those that are in the connect class know that he loves it that we have a whole book of revelation That we can hold on to and that he needs to teach the other people In the bible we find that deacons love the word I'm sure that they love the widows in act 6, but it was the word of god that they were called to protect act 6 2 Then the 12 called the multitude of the disciples unto them and this is what they told them They said it is not reason that we should leave the word of god and serve tables The question that was asked of those men were the word of god's important, isn't it? Yes Would you help make sure that we protect it in our church so that the ministry of the word always has the room that it needs Deacons are men of the word that hold the mystery of faith and a pure conscience This pure conscience means they should not accuse themselves of lying when they process the christian faith And this conscience is not just sufficient for them to be proved But us also they were first proved that david holds the word of god and he teaches it with the pure conscience
[14:45] Then lastly this word of god that we have it's so important to the ministry that we do Because it informs us and how we serve you know it might kind of be seem strange to you Why do we need a portion about doctrine?
[14:56] Why do we need a portion about the word of god for a group of people that are going to be deacons or people that are going to Serve tables or people that in the church are going to deal with the financial issues or building plans? Why does that need to be done?
[15:08] Because there's nothing that we do in the christian life that should not be informed by the word of god We cannot properly do what god calls us to do without being people of this book You need to know the word because we need wisdom act 6 10 is speaking of a deacon It says and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake It's not called for deacons to be apt to teach meaning it's not required of them to be apt to teach They most certainly can i mean david is certainly apt to teach even though it's not required But it says of the deacons that when they spoke they were astonished at their wisdom How would it be true that a deacon saw somebody of wisdom?
[15:43] If he wasn't a person that didn't hold the word of god and a pure conscience in one hand While he had a towel in the other We need the word also because it affects our tone Proverbs 15 1 says a soft answer turneth away wrath for grievous words stir up anger Isn't just enough for deacons to solve problems between a group of widows who are fighting Or they solve problems inside of our church just because they're smart enough and they know the answers But the word of god changes the tone of their voice It gives them a soft answer when they want to have a harsh answer And we need the word of god to help renew our minds so we can help set the right priorities Inside of the church romans 12 1 and 2 talks about the word of god renewing our mind and helping us not be conformed To this world alex montero and I were at a church like 10 years ago and we were walking through it But a vision was still in a in a warehouse not and it was a great place But not as near as nice as the building we're in right now And as we were walking through the building everything was marble Everything was marble. I mean the water fountain was marble. I mean if it could be marble It was marble all right and he looked at it said man
[16:44] How would you feel someday a vision had a church like this and I looked around and I said I would be so sad Because it meant that a group of people lost their priority in the work that we were called To do god uses the deacons by being in the word to help our church make sure we keep the main thing The main thing it is the word in your hand that will keep your service from being for anyone other than god Colossians 3 16 and 17 Let the word of christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs Singing with grace your hearts to the lord and whatsoever you do in word or deed do all in the name of the lord jesus Giving thanks to god and the father by him It's the word of god that's going to keep your heart soft as you're serving people Who won't always express themselves and be as grateful as we should be?
[17:34] I won't always be as grateful as I should be David i'm actually trying to say all my nice things tonight because I don't plan to do it again for another few decades All right I'm, gonna get i'm not always going to be as grateful as I should be But the word of god's going to let you realize that you're not serving us You're not serving the people here, but you're serving through this church to the god of heaven So as the ushers come i'm going to pray for offering david i would like to say serve with everything in you As you do, please hold fast to the word our church your family and me as your friend I need you to serve with the towel in one hand and that word of god clenched so tightly in the other Heavenly father. I thank you so much for an opportunity tonight To be in a church that wants to follow what you have told us You told us that we should be a church that gives priority to the word of god And lord, we have deacons have Stepped up lord to say that that's what they want I thank you that david is a man that exemplifies the characteristics Somebody that my family can look to that my sons can look to as an example
[18:34] Somebody who wants to be obedient to christ We're not perfect people lord, but we are people who want to be perfectly led by your spirit in this world I pray for david and for all of us in here lord That we would be people that keep the towel in one hand and your word in the other In jesus name I pray thank you bibles if you would and go me to first timothy chapter 3 I would like to take the time to just do a little bible study and preaching here Uh for you we don't get to talk about or we don't talk about Deacons a lot and this is a good opportunity to do that So I want to give you five things that I see out of these deacon qualifications that I believe Are just very special you know the first thing before I ever get started There is no Explanation in the bible about what a regular lay person is supposed to be You ever notice that we have a list of requirements Expectations of a bishop or an elder or a pastor
[19:37] We have one of deacons But there's not a list like that of regular people And that's not because you get to live like the devil. Amen It's not that we don't have it. It's that god expected all of us to aim for those other two We all ought to be headed towards pastoring or deaconing we ought to all be saying I may not have the position or the title But I want to serve and act and live like a man of god because we're all men of god in this room There's not just one anointed guy in this room or one special guy that's got the call Everybody ought to have in their heart boy. I don't know if they'll ever name me a deacon I may have messed up in my past. I may have more than one Marriage I may have done some things that maybe would mess me up But that doesn't matter i'm gonna live just like the rest of it I'm gonna live it out and i'm gonna be that guy if at all I possibly can And and so that's uh, that's a beautiful thing if you think about it that god wants to use all of us And god has a plan for all of us
[20:39] And so there's a couple of titles that we use in the new testament church pastor and deacon or bishop elder pastor and then the deacon but uh, that's for Everybody now I want to take and go through and give you five words you might write down Somewhere as you think about deacons and I think it's true about everybody, but it's especially True about deacons first timothy Chapter 3 and verse 10 if you would the godly deacon is an example to the flock As a layman as one of the flock, you know, i'm paid to be good And y'all are good for nothing Amen And that means you don't get paid to be good. I get paid to be good And you know a heavy heavy hangs over my head if i'm not good you can take it away But regular church people aren't and so when you look around the church fact is back in the second church I worked in there was a big billboard in birmingham And this deacon was selling cars. He sold used cars and it said deacon so-and-so
[21:42] Selling used cars and i'm sure he hoped that deacon would help make up for the fact that he was selling used cars Amen because deacons supposed to be godly man and I won't say the rest But I want you to look at the bible with me first timothy chapter 3 and verse 10 let these also first be proved Then let them use the office of a deacon Being found blameless. There's a lot three interesting things in that one thing First let them be proved Let them live it and act it and be it before they ever get to be The deacon and once they've lived it and proved it and we all like yeah, you ought to be a deacon Then they get to use it But you know how they're found Blameless Without reproach Nobody's going to say something that sticks To them you can throw mud at them, but the mud won't stick It'll slip right off because they have a testimony that says
[22:43] That's not really true A deacon lives as an example To the flock I've got three ways. I think he ought to be an example and he is an example number one He's an example because of his faithfulness to god His faithfulness to god to god's people to holiness to truth and the church of the lord jesus christ You know, he's an example of faithfulness There ought to be some people that are just There Rocks of gibraltar You don't have to worry. You don't have to question you don't have to wonder and as all the years i've been in the ministry Which is 48 years or so 47 plus years I can tell you this are not a lot of guys like that But a deacon is that guy. He's a guy that's faithful to god He's the guy that's faithful to god's people. He's the guy that's faithful to holiness He's the guy that's faithful to truth He's the guy that's faithful to the church of the lord jesus christ
[23:44] The bible says in acts chapter 6 and verse 3 if you just hold both passages we'll go back and forth But in acts chapter 6 and verse 3 it says wherefore brethren look you out among you seven men of honest report Full of the holy ghost and wisdom whom we may appoint over this Business you know what they looked around they picked seven guys and they said yeah that we know them they're honest We can trust them. We'll let them handle this. Those are the kind of men that will be in charge They were an example of faithfulness They're an example in how they lead their family Every deacon ought to be an example And how he leads his family how he gets his family to the truth How he gets his family to obey god how he has a faithful family just like him look at first timothy chapter 3 verse 11 I'm just taking it right out of the passage and we're looking at it says even so must their wives be Serious grave serious that doesn't mean like in the grave. It just means
[24:46] Serious they got to know that what we're doing is important This isn't a game. We're not just going through a ritual. This isn't some title. Nobody's gonna be high-fiving Tonight This is serious business. We're doing the lord's business grave. Even the wife is to be grave She can't be a slanderer running around talking Slandering other people. She's got to be sober Got to be serious minded got to be faithful in all things. Look at that faithful in all things He's to be the husband of one wife and even his children Even his children Are a way he is showing leadership in that home Leadership he is faithful in his family too. He's an example in his family I think he's also an example in fervor That means That he hates sin Loves god and loves the book Hates sin Loves god and loves the book I don't have a verse on that one right out of the two passages, but here's your one from colossians
[25:49] And whatsoever you do Do it heartily do it with all of your heart Do it excitedly. Listen to this as to the lord I'm gonna do this to the lord Do you know every one of us we go to work everybody?
[26:04] It doesn't matter if you're changing tires or running a company You ought to go in and say i'm not here today for my boss. I'm not here for others. I'm here for jesus Watch this. I'll be the best tire changer. I'll be the best businessman I'll be the best eventer because i'm not working for anybody else but jesus i'm doing this as to the lord I didn't say that it's right there in your bible as lord and not unto men Knowing that of the lord you shall receive the reward Of the inheritance for you serve lord jesus you serve the lord christ You know the truth is it was mentioned to david in the meeting There won't be a lot of rewards won't be a lot of People bragging on you when you do deacon work or any other kind of work for jesus But the verse says the reward is from the lord jesus christ amen Number one a godly deacon ought to be an example and it is an example number two A godly deacon is an encouragement to the faithful A godly deacon is an encouragement to the faithful. I love the acts chapter 6 and verse 5
[27:06] Go back there with me to acts chapter 6 and verse 5 and look what the bible says And the saying pleased the whole multitude and they chose a man They chose stephen a man full of faith and of the holy ghost and chose the rest of those Well, this is what's really going on. It's funny because the church was in turmoil They got they got greek widows and and and they got hebrew widows and they're fussing and fighting and the greek girls are saying They're playing favorites there with the with the jewish girls. They get stuff But the the gentile girls aren't getting stuff and that's not right And the guys the the preachers walked out and said we don't have time this We need some people we can trust to operate this You know what the guys said, you know what the people in the congregation said in that early church. They said man, we like that We like that that encourages us that god would have some other people That would get involved in doing this first way They're an encouragement of the faithful as they're look at act 6 2. They're an encouragement to the pastor
[28:09] A good deacon is an encouragement to the pastor The 12 called them all to the disciples unto them and said it is not reason that we should leave the word of god and serve tables Acts chapter 6 and verse 4 we will give ourselves Continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word So they came along and they said look you got a job and we'll free you from all the other stuff We're going to take these headaches off you the widows are over here fussing fighting. Don't worry. We got it go preach Don't worry you go preach. We'll take care of that that encouraged the preacher They also encourage those in the pew Galatians and acts chapter 6 and verse 1 There's a murmuring of the grecians against the hebrews and the widows were neglected The truth of matter is unless you got a pretty small church It's pretty hard to do everything and be everywhere and do all the stuff you ought to do And their church was humongous. We're a small Church. We run about 250 people. That's about all we have and they probably had 25 000
[29:15] And they couldn't keep up with everything you got you got 12 preachers running around trying to take care of things And seven deacons did what 12 preachers couldn't do. How about that one?
[29:26] So hey man, that's pretty good and deacons got there. They got it that day They went and encouraged the people they got those ladies to get along and and god did a work on them And then number the next one they encourage other preachers Look in third john 5 You know deacons are going to be man. You are so vital You are so vital The bible says in third john 5 that's right over in front of the book of revelation first second third john jude revelation The bible says in verse 5 or chapter 5 whichever you want to call it Beloved thou does faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren and the strangers Which have borne witness of thy charity Before the church whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort Thou shalt do well because that for his name's sake they went forth taking nothing of the gentiles We therefore ought to receive such that we might be fellow helpers to the truth They helped preachers that went through the town over in verse 5
[30:29] It says what you do to the brothers you're taking care of other brothers what you do to strangers as foreigners That's people coming through and it was a witness and verse 6. They helped along the way. We do that a lot here at vision We do that a lot with missionaries and people that god has called to preach and send out and other pastors over the years We've actually brought in pastors that we knew were a little bit discouraged in this church gave them an offering And said nice things to them just to be an encouragement number three Go back to acts chapter 6 and verse 7 a godly deacon is an equipper of the foal Look at acts chapter 6 and verse 7 And the word of god increased And the number of the disciples multiplied in jerusalem greatly And a great company of priests were obedient to the faith Something happened When they picked out those seven men There was problems at the chapter 6 starts There's issues in the church
[31:31] There's bickering between two different groups of people They're saying the preachers don't care They're saying people are going along with it. They don't like it. There's racism going on in the church There's a fight and a fuss going on And they picked seven men and put them in charge of it And before you can get to the end of the chapter You don't get down to just verse 7 And in verse 7 all of a sudden God started blessing the church These godly men solved the problem And started doing it They let the preachers go preach and they took care of problems And whatever they did it says in your bible And the word increased And multiplied Disciples multiplied Excuse me That's not what it says We're leaving out one big word Greatly I mean that's like I don't know what's going on But really in the chapter 6 There's not mention of how great a preacher there was There's mention of seven guys getting picked To be deacons And deacons provide the tools
[32:33] Needed for the work Look in Acts chapter 6 and verse 3 Underline they appointed them over this business See they went in there and they said Something needs to be done We'll figure it out That's pretty sweet isn't it I mean I don't know what happened The twelve apostles got together The pastors of the churches there And all of them are together And they got with these seven guys And they said look you guys are men of God Go fix the problem We're busy We'll go preach And the deacons looked at them and said Y'all just go preach We'll take care of it Read the Bible That's pretty sweet isn't it They provided the tools And then they prepared others for teaching In Acts chapter 6 We give ourselves to prayer They said y'all preach Y'all teach We'll take care of things In Acts chapter 6 and verse 8 I like this Maybe part of my favorite part of the whole study They permitted transitions needed in ministry Stephen's a deacon
[33:35] He ought not be preaching But he is And the deacon said go do it And old Philip's a preacher In Acts chapter 6 and verse 8 Stephen full of faith and power Did great wonders and miracles He went from deacon To like big shot preacher overnight To dead preacher right after that But man God greatly used him I just love it I've been in church all of my life I don't know how many times People have stood in the way But not the deacons In Acts chapter 6 In Acts chapter 8 and verse 5 There's another one Old Philip He's going to become a great evangelist He is going to go out And be used of God Fact is he's like Your real first cross-cultural missionary We got going on there Except for Jesus He was of course Number four I don't have much time Let me give you two more A deacon A godly deacon Is an evangelist of the faith He's an evangelist of the faith
[34:35] The Bible says in 1 Timothy chapter 3 In verse 13 It's right out of the Bible They have used the office of a deacon well Purchased to themselves a good degree And underline this And great boldness In the faith Which is in Christ Jesus These are deacons They're not timid guys That sit over and say I don't know Jesus No, no, no Let's don't bring him up These guys got boldness We got proof of that One of them is named Stephen He'll be dead real shortly Because of his boldness We got proof of that Because Philip He's one of those guys That God just I don't know how it happened But it's like God picked him up one place And put him in another place I don't know what really happened there I was not that clear But it's almost like He got transferred quick These guys were great servants They were evangelists of the faith I believe that means They invite the lost to church services In 2 Timothy 1.8
[35:36] It says Be not thou therefore ashamed Of the testimony of the Lord In Matthew chapter 9 I think they invoke the Lord of heaven To save people Matthew 9.38 He said Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest That he will send forth laborers Laborers into his harvest I think he instructs lost people I think deacons instruct lost people They're just as good at it As the preacher is 1 Timothy 3.9 They hold the mystery of the faith In a pure country Like boy I got this God gave this to me And I'm going to use it Just like the preacher Or anybody else ought to Last one and I quit The godly deacon edifies The family of God Ephesians chapter 4 In verse 6 I really wish you'd turn there The Bible says From whom the whole body That's the church here Fitly joined together That means all of us Belong together Compacted Pushed together By what every joint supplies
[36:38] You should underline the word Every joint According to the effectual work And in the measure of every part Making increase of the body Under the edifying of itself And Lord And love He edifies the family Builds us all up Deacons Godly deacons They've come to my office And just Said the sweetest And kindest things to me They've sent me texts And said those things They're builders They're builders Not destroyers The Bible says In Ephesians chapter 4 And verse 29 I believe it applies to a deacon He shows grace Not lordship Not rulership The Bible said In Ephesians 4 29 Let no corrupt communication Proceed out of your mouth But that which is good To the use of edifying That it may minister grace I believe he sows The seeds of growth In a church In 1 Thessalonians 5 11 It says Comfort yourselves together And edify One another In Hebrews chapter 10
[37:39] Verse 24 and 25 We are to consider one another Provoke unto love And good works We're to exhort one another And we're to do it even more As we see Jesus coming Last verse Verse 76 3 A good godly deacon Seeks godliness We want to be holy Don't we?
[37:58] We're not Not like we want to be We are by the grace of God He's made us holy But I don't always live As holy as I ought to live But we ought to be hungry for it We ought to get up every morning And say I won't be like you Jesus I want you to work in And through me The Bible says In verse 76 3 If any man teach otherwise If somebody's teaching Different than what Paul taught them He said If they don't use wholesome words Of the words of our Lord Jesus If they don't teach Basically it's the same If they don't teach What the Bible teaches Which is according to godliness Don't listen to them We ought to seek godliness As a people We want godliness So I'm excited That God is doing a work I do believe This about David Dubois I believe it about our deacons And I'm excited about that And I'm excited that God Is doing a work in our lives Let's bow our heads forward In prayer Father in heaven I love you And I praise you And magnify you And I just pray That your name would be Glorified As we as a church
[38:59] Step forward To do your ministry And to do your will God there's so much For us to do So many people Need to hear the gospel So much needs to go forth And I'm asking you To do a work in and through us And we'll give you praise for it I hope and pray With your heads bowed And your eyes closed That if you're not saved That you will get saved And if you are saved I hope and pray That you would make a decision Tonight that says I want to be Deacon material Man or woman I want to be Deacon material Maybe God didn't call you To preach But we all ought to Strive to be All we can be For Jesus Nobody in this room Ought to be satisfied With just being A ho-hum Ordinary Everyday Christian We ought to be hungry To be greatly used Of God Won't you tell the Lord Right now I want that Won't you just tell him Won't you say God I want you to use me I want my life to count God I want to learn more I want to get more involved
[39:59] I want to serve I don't want to be a spectator I want to play the game I want to be in the middle Of the war Won't you tell him that Father in heaven Do a work And I'll praise you For all you do In Jesus precious name Amen Like Zach I got through praying And he said Will I leave I said no Just feel awkward And so I called his wife up And I said That's less awkward Right And so Come on up Trent With those things The deacons The current deacons If you'd come real quickly Those who are currently Actively serving You can't have anybody In any ministry The serving God Without a good Godly wife And Betty You want to come Bring that Bible That goes to her And grab that one That goes to him I really believe that
[40:59] With all my heart I've been married a long time Got a little bit Of experience in it And we believe As a church That Jennifer Dubois Is a great lady Loves Jesus And has been a good wife And they've raised Some stinking good kids Let me just tell you When kids come To get candy In the office I say two They take two handfuls I say to the Dubois kids I say You can have two They say No we can't And I say Why not They say Mama said we can't I'm like I won't tell nobody If you won't tell nobody I don't really say that I don't say that But I'm just telling you I am very proud Of their family And what they're doing So we have a Bible Brother Brett You want to give them The Bible Betty You want to give her That Bible Trent You want to come over And read that certificate And let's give him That certificate And on behalf of our church We give you all those Bibles And proud of you Right Certificate of Ordination David Dwayne the boy Having been chosen One of good report Full of spirit And of wisdom And capable of using
[42:00] The office well Was set apart As a deacon By authority In order of Vision Baptist Church Of Alfredo Georgia On the 18th day of April 2021 His name is Dwayne We have T. Wayne And D. Wayne All right T. Wayne Ain't here tonight Is he All right Let's get y'all Out of those chairs Would you stand right there With the deacons And you stay with them And we'll just get to The four deacons Let me introduce All deacons Zach Elrod On the other end Is a deacon Here at the church Andrew Pearson Is the next guy over Brett Johnson Is our youngest deacon Amen And then now we have David And we're excited about that And so we'll take some pictures Then I'd like to get All the people That have been ordained As a deacon At our church You have ever served As a deacon Here at our church Would you come stand with them All of y'all That have served As deacons Here at Vision In the past And I'm gonna Can I get you two To Y'all pull up here
[43:00] Don't stand in front Of the short ones But And that way It'll fit the picture better It's a beautiful thing That God's given us these God has given us These good godly men And I love them How about a round of applause For all these men Now don't y'all go anywhere And all the rest of you That didn't make it To deacon This Deacon realm Come on up And we'll take a picture Of all the ordained men To help ordain Where are you Trent Okay Hey that guy We had That guy we had In Thursday night Looked like Trent's twin Didn't he Two weirdos On the planet now You know So I was very I'm glad y'all Enjoyed them Alright Thank y'all Very much Thank you David And Jennifer Thank you very much We are proud of you Proud of all these men And they are not Just standing here
[44:02] So if you ever have Questions or problems And you need to talk to them You feel free to talk to them And ask questions And they'll be able to Answer your questions I really believe they can Answer your questions And even the deacons That have served I think they stand ready To serve and help you I'd just like to say Just a couple more things Would be We got parents here tonight Could I get parents To stand Parent in-laws And whatever Y'all stand Mom And in-laws Look at that Proud of them How about a round Of applause For them I don't think Godly kids Are an accident And so I thank you Parents Thank you mama For praying For a Boy And watching God save him That's pretty good Isn't it And God's put him In the ministry That's pretty good Amen And that's good And then you guys I know what it's like To let a guy Take your daughter It ain't fun But he's proven I think a good man
[45:02] And I'm sure You're proud of him too And I am Now I'm not sure What the dates are But everybody in this room Ought to be trying to grow And become more for Jesus Than they were yesterday They'll be starting The institute up I'm not sure When that'll be If you're not involved In that You ought to be Because we all ought to be growing And now None of us Have reached a place Where we I literally spend Somewhere around 25 hours a week Studying Just studying And you don't get That privilege But if you'll come To the To the Bible institute You can learn a lot there And then Discipling If you're brand new If you haven't Been through discipleship And you don't know So many of us Don't understand About our salvation David shouldn't have Had to suffer like that I suffered just like him I got saved I got saved By the time I was already pastoring And still getting scared Until I learned
[46:04] Somebody helped me See the word of God And that's where My anchor was So our discipleship program And the Bible institute They're all here To help you And Sunday school Whatever it's called Life groups Life groups Life groups You know I've been living In a life group Of Sunday school For 67 years But anyway Whatever it's called You should come to it And be involved in it It'll help you I really believe I don't We don't do it To take up time We do not do it To spend another hour We do it because A godly person Gets a chance To exercise their gifts And we do it also Because you get to learn From them And it's not just The pastor And then you might Become the next person Exercising your gift Because we're all About growing So I hope you'll Be a part of it Thank you