The Qualifications

[0:00] one and all for leading our service this morning to the singers to musicians to join to karen to barry and to the techie folk as usual and always to the the stewards that welcome us coming in turn with me please to second or sorry first timothy chapter three first timothy chapter three and your prayers this week appreciate prayers for paul and i as we travel down to blackpool for the fic leaders conference a thousand pastors or so and elders getting together it's good time of fellowship it's also very tiring so there's preaching and there's teaching in the form of seminars uh so it's going from usually about four or five o'clock on a monday through to about wednesday afternoon so appreciate prayers for that for not just for ourselves but obviously for pastors throughout the uk that are associated with fic it's a it's a good time it's an annual conference and if you could pray for that that would be that would be terrific the other thing is as you know we've moved the philippian series that we normally do in the morning we've used moved that to the evening that's been a reluctant move i must confess i've preached through philippians before but i've always ever done it only done it in the morning it's such a key series it was a real reluctant move but we're getting reasonable numbers out on a sunday night so that should encourage you if you want to come it's fundamental teaching on how to grow as a christian what it means tonight we're looking at the topic last week we looked at what paul really really wanted and uh this this week we're looking at he says not that i have already obtained all this or am already perfect but i press on so if you're struggling pressing on as a christian uh that'll be an encouraging message for you this evening it's an opportunity to hear from god's word but this morning we are continuing a series of studies a very brief series of three weeks looking at the topic of eldership and we began last week by looking at the role of the elder now this morning we're looking at the qualifications of an elder so let's read in this reading i'll include the deacons in this as well uh because they are very similar in many ways and it might be you might not aspire to be an elder but you might aspire to be a deacon the lord may have given you gifts in that area in which case the qualifications are identical except an elder has to be able to teach deacons don't have to be able to teach apart from that the qualifications are the same let's there's two readings one in timothy these are the basic qualifications one timothy three and then we'll move into titus in a minute but one timothy three here is a trustworthy saying whoever aspires to be an overseer or a bishop or an elder desires a noble task now the overseer is to be above reproach faithful to his wife temperate self-controlled respectable hospitable able to teach not given to drunkenness not violent but gentle not quarrelsome not a lover of money he must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect if anyone does not know how to manage his own family how can he take care of god's church he must not be a recent convert or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil he must also have a good reputation with outsiders so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap in the same way deacons are to be worthy of respect sincere not indulging in much wine and not pursuing dishonest gain they must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience they must first be tested and then if there is nothing against them let them serve as deacons in the same way the women are to be worthy of respect not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything a deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well those who have served will gain well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in christ jesus turn with me please to titus just over a few pages you went to second timothy and then you come across titus titus chapter 1 and we'll just read from verse 5 paul says the reason i left you in crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town as i directed you an elder must be blameless faithful to his wife a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient since an overseer manages god's household he must be blameless not overbearing not quick-tempered not given to drunkenness not violent not pursuing dishonest gain rather he must be hospitable one who loves what is good who is self-controlled upright holy and disciplined he must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it we'll end our reading there let's just come before god let's ask for his help as we study this together our loving heavenly father we come to you this morning we thank you for all that's gone before to this point we thank you for the songs that we've been singing that not only have warmed our heart and and reminded us of the faith and the god who saved us we we thank you for this great opportunity to praise and to worship you but father as we come to you now with your word open before us we pray that the holy spirit would be our teacher we pray father for those of us who are elders lord that we might not only be challenged by by what we hear but but encouraged and thrilled lord at the high calling to be an elder in a local church i pray father for any of the the men here as well that you might have your hand upon leading perhaps in this direction lord i do just pray that you might speak to such i pray father for the other members of the congregation as well lord that they might know how to relate uh to elders uh in in these days so father just bless us teach us now from your word we ask in jesus name amen i've got quite a wee bit to go through so uh what i said keep your hands inside the pew or the pulpit or whatever until the sermon comes to a full stop so we're going to go through this fairly quickly this is like an mot for for elders uh there's almost about 15 points here and all i can do is really just mention them if they throw up more questions than they ask by all means grab me afterwards why are we looking at the the subject if you weren't here last week i gave various reasons church eldership is not the idea of the local church they are a gift given to god god saves us he brings us into families and within the family he raises up men to to be able to feed and to teach and to encourage us in our christian faith and therefore it's good that we understand that and we appreciate that role and as i said before churches very seldom rise again higher than the spiritual temperature of their elders elders you remember last week are to lead by example and if our example is is not that great churches won't rise above it but if elders are on fire for the lord church members usually will follow them and that's why we're looking at this because it's good for the local church if you know anything of the old testament god's old testament shepherds were often criticized for not caring for the flock enough and as a result the nation suffered so it's a big thing for the health of a church it's also to not only challenge us as existing elders but to challenge the men in the church we said quoting 1 timothy 3 here is a trustworthy worthy saying if anyone sets his heart on being an overseer an elder he desires a noble task i wonder if this is in the heart of of any of the men here to not only be good in their business or in their family and in their ambitious life or whatever in that way but do you have that desire within you to lead possibly in the local church and it's a challenge to the members as well for us to appreciate and to know how to relate to our elders more on that next week that's will be the third and the final series in this how if god has given elders to the church it's important that elders know what to do and church members know how to relate to them and we'll look at that next week so last time we looked at the role here are the points we looked at last week you remember feeding uh main task we are called under shepherds and uh this these roles these five things here is very much in the heart of jesus as the good shepherd we resemble his qualifications and he has entrusted the care of his sheep into the elders hands it's a really is a noble task and so feeding protecting against doctrine against even other sheep leading it's a it's a directing role it's a governing role to be able to set goals to cast vision to steer the church in the direction that it should go in also to care practically care for the members of the church and lastly if you had one qualification or not qualification one role of the shepherd it should be that the shepherd the the elders love you if you if you're loved you'll be well cared for everything else will fall into place and it involves great responsibility because as peter as it says in acts 20 be shepherds of the church of god which he christ bought with his own blood you if you're a member of this church if you're a christian here this morning you are precious you have been bought with the blood of christ and entrusted into the hands of the elders to feed and protect to lead and to guide that is a big big responsibility uh because you are so special to the lord so elders are a gift of the lord to the local church they are not just the church's idea and when that's working it's quite a beautiful thing it's very different from from the the world and the way in which the world conducts its business because to be a good elder not only involves wisdom it involves love and grace and mercy your your boss might not show you that monday to friday but your elders should show you that as they you are gently led and cared for by them we are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination hence it is a noble calling it is a high calling so if that is the role what are the qualifications the qualifications to be an elder are very similar to to the characteristics that jesus himself showed no wonder that shouldn't surprise us if he is the good shepherd and we are shepherds under him then we are to show that the same things and note and if you're in one timothy three you might want to just stay in that passage as opposed to titus well i'll i'll jump between two you'll see the word must the the it's mentioned a few times now the overseer must verse two verse four he must manage his own family well verse six and seven he must not be a recent convert he must have a good reputation the the qualifications are not negotiable when we play with these qualifications and i speak from experience when you tinker with them you get your fingers burned and it's to the detriment of the church there are things that this must be the case they must be this it's not just a case of passing an exam there are qualities characteristics that need to be there and if we tinker this we not only bring harm to god's people but to the gospel and ultimately to god's glory so these are known many of these are known if not them all are non-negotiable so we're looking at the qualifications and basically they are included in these two main passages timothy and in titus there are one or two other verses but these are the two main passages that you go to for these qualifications there are basically a checklist of qualifications there are 15 mentioned in these there's an overlap of about 10 between timothy and titus there's about 10 that are similar in each and the other five are fairly obvious and what i want us to note in these qualifications they are high but they are ordinary they are unexceptional qualifications apart from the one to be able to teach these are qualities that should be in every christian so maybe if you're looking at this you're not kind of saying he doesn't have that and you're ticking off for your elders are these qualities that you have in your own life they are not extraordinary beyond the reach of everybody and only elders can reach them they should be in every christian's life apart from the the part to be able to teach no everybody has that that that gifting so i want to to look at this i want to mention a book uh if you're thinking of this and you want to look at it a wee bit more there's many books on this but this this one by nine marks is quite good finding faithful elders and deacons this will flesh out a wee bit more some of the things that i'm going to mention i'll leave this here whenever i show you a book feel free to come up flick through it look at it and so forth it's always encouraging if i come back and and see it's moved i think i said to you in one of my churches i put it down and it was always in the exact same position i would deliberately leave it like that and think i wonder if anybody's going to take that and it just stayed there the same so encourage your pastor by just moving the book if nothing else that that will be an encouragement uh so i commend that book to you if you're thinking of this i don't know maybe maybe years from now but i'd like to know a bit more and so forth so we're going to look at this once again i'm assuming certain thing topic is too big uh to to deal with it in in vast detail i might have to go back to it but i'm assuming that that you agree that leadership is male in the church so i'm taking that as red that is a whole topic in and of itself and to do that justice it would really need another sermon or two if you have a problem with that come and see me or see one of the elders elders and by the term elder i'm also including the pastor we're going to this conference next week and i noticed as i was wading through some of the delegates some of them call themselves pastor stroke elder for me just pastors enough it's assumed you're an elder as well but some pastors feel they need to mention both uh how you can be a pastor not be an elder i don't know anyway uh but that's i'm assuming that that's the case so by pastor elder i'm using the term interchangeable so three things three main things hold on to your seats we're going to go through this it's just an mot of looking through these they're important topics so nevertheless three main areas for the qualification of an elder the first one is morality uh the the pastor is is a is a moral person and the lord places such a high value on uh godly living in every christian and also in elders paul sums up our moral the pastor or the elders moral qualities as above reproach that's the wee expression he uses elders are to be above reproach look at verse two now the overseer must be above reproach doesn't mean he's sinless but it means that nobody can point the finger at him and and accuse him in any way it's so he has to be uh if you looked at titus he mentions the elder must be blameless since an overseer is entrusted with god's work he must be blameless he mentions it twice in two verses above reproach blameless in other words that people don't think badly of him he doesn't have a bad reputation inside and outside the church we are to model jesus and the gospel and in verse seven he has to have a good reputation with outsiders to be above reproach what does that mean it basically means to be self-controlled that you're in control of yourself verse two the overseer must be above reproach and then it talks about being self-controlled titus 1 8 rather he must be one who is self-controlled and he spells out what this is he's a disciplined man look at verse uh titus 1 8 rather he must be one who loves what is good who is self-controlled upright holy and disciplined uh so he's a disciplined man self-controlled fairly obvious that should be you it should be the elders especially now let's look at them very briefly under six headings under morality first of all faithfulness uh faithfulness paul mentions this in both letters timothy and titus though the overseer must be above reproach the husband of but one wife titus the elder must be blameless a husband of but one wife now that wee phrase is open to various interpretations some folks say he has to be married uh he's mentioned he has to be a husband so he has to be married he's not to and if he is he's not to be a polygamist he's not to have more than one wife if he's married he's to have one wife some folk would say he's only to have married once so you cannot be an elder if you've been divorced or remarried i don't have time to deal with this this morning that's a big big topic some folks say this others say it means maritally and sexually above reproach most commentators say that's basically what's meaning here it's not talking about singleness paul encouraged singleness he he talked about the married man who's concerned about the affairs of this world whereas how he may please his wife his interests are divided whereas the single person so it can't be that didn't paul was single he wasn't married so many folk would say you don't have to be married but i know people have i even asked folk to be an elder or a deacon and they felt no i'm not married and they never did it they refused to do it because they looked at this and says you have to be a husband i don't personally believe that's what it's saying what it's saying is this that if you are married you are a one woman man it is simple as that you are a one wife man it is to do with faithfulness to your own wife it's not necessarily talking about adultery it's a bit more subtle than that it means as a one woman man you're not a flirt uh there's something creepy about uh a guy who who's a flirt uh who has an eye for the ladies can you imagine having an elder like that that that just kind of uh what is it you sometimes say in the in the workplace that some women are scared to go to the photocopier in case this leering guy comes up and and just pesters him elders are to be content with their wife faithful to their wife happy with their wife it's sometimes said that uh men are turned on by what they see and women by what they hear and therefore we're not to flirt with women well you're great you're this that and the other and you never say it to your own wife uh there's something just not right about that it's as simple as that it's not good enough just not to be sleeping around uh you have to have be faithful to your wife have eyes only for your wife other women are your sisters in the lord to be a flirt or to be having an eye for the ladies is not a good quality to have in your elders the the question to ask is this do women feel safe around such a person this is the nitty-gritty book it really is when it comes to qualifications morality is very very important it's not just doctrine it's how godly you are how you live your life so as elders we need to be careful a man needs to be careful what he says and and so forth otherwise it can be a disaster paul says this but among you there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality not even a whiff and if that's true for every church member it's certainly true for the elders that's all i can do with that let's move on to emotions temperate it says temperate means sober-minded uh clear-minded it means that you're someone who's mild and calm you're stable you're clear-headed you're not neurotic uh you're not just going off in one all the time you're temperate and uh elders must have this quality it's part of self-control you're in control of your emotions in that way mild and calm clear-headed able to think thirdly the tongue he controls his tongue he's not quarrelsome verse three gentle not quarrelsome to timothy two the lord's servant must not quarrel instead he must be kind to everyone those who oppose him he must gently instruct titus 1 7 not overbearing not quick tempered basically control your tongue if you can control your tongue james says you can control your whole body you you if you can't control your tongue you're a clanging symbol and uh it's it's it's not on we are not to be argumentative not to cause division uh because of what we say how we say it it's a great indication of the elder's heart of a person's heart isn't it for it is out of the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks it's a test of the condition of the heart we don't put an elder through an mri or a cat scan but that will determine uh how we speak determines that the condition of our heart out of the heart the mouth speaks if we cannot keep a tight rein in our tongue james says our religion is worthless imagine having an elder whose religion is worthless because we can't do it it's fairly obvious isn't it you're looking for a godly man who loves his wife who's in control he's not flighty self-controlled in his tongue fourthly temper he controls his temper he's not violent but gentle titus 1 7 he is not overbearing not quick tempered not violent he's not mr angry uh that's not the first gift you buy them every christmas a mr angry mug i've got a mr messy mug but i'm glad i don't have a mr angry mug if your kids can't you a mr angry mug uh i would i would i'd be worried uh mr angry it's it's not to be the case we are to control our temper except in righteous anger but one of the reasons why anger is is bad james says for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that god desires so there are things that should upset us uh but we are not to be quick tempered fifthly alcohol you're controlled not only in your emotions your tongue your temper but also in alcohol not given to drunkenness self-control over alcohol and drugs there's much debate on this this this is one that's always could really confuse me uh on what qualifies as drunkenness i've one or two churches had to pull up some of our younger men uh who to my mind drank too much at the church wedding uh and i thought really should you have drunken as you know you have taken what qualifies is one of the guides i used to use was in london that you could drive your car uh okay the lord calls you as an elder come and see me i'm feeling a bit down or whatever you can jump your car if you've not drunk but in england uh if you had one pint you could still drive your car and then you come to scotland and you can't have a wine gum and and drive your car and i thought so if you drive if you drink a pint or a glass of wine and you go out to visit somebody and the police stop you and the breath elize you i don't know you can tell me uh do they come down on you like a ton of bricks and they do you for drink driving uh it's a difficult one isn't it i just i just but we are told not to be drunk with wine doesn't mean you can be drunk with other things we are just not to be drunk you should be always be in a condition that we the lord can use us we're minds sharp we are clear and so forth but we are not to be drunk i think this is it's as simple as that we are to be in control at all times whether it's drunk uh drink or or drugs sexually lastly money paul mentions money not a lover of money verse 3 the love of money will distract an elder from his role as a shepherd too busy making money i'd love to be able to do the job but i'm really busy i'm i've got a job and i'm raking it in the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil jesus himself says you cannot serve god in the local church and money at the same time we need to decide where our priorities lie and we are not to be materialistic doesn't mean that you don't have a nice car and what have you but we are not to be driven by money a love of money loving money more than the people that we are called to to be involved with to care for titus paul expands even in titus what this means that he says not pursuing dishonest gain we're not to cheat in more tax forms we're not to do whatever because everybody else does it we do we are to be above reproach uh that's what these things mean so here is somebody who's self controlled morally faithful loves his wife not a flirt uh one woman his eyes are towards her control of his emotions his tongue his temper his alcohol intake or whatever have you and money as well if we have these in place we have a good reputation or we should have we're on the way to that but secondly looking at the clock here spirituality it's not just moral you can find those qualities in loads of people who aren't even christians god just nice people but the elder is more than that he is a spiritual man it's such a basic quality we are to be holy not just elders but as i said most of these are to do with you as a church member or as a christian you have to show those first six but also we are to be holy titus he mentions this to be upright holy and disciplined it's it's a summation you could say of all that the the moral things we have a strong walk with god a godly person we love the lord we we're above reproach in that way we are a praying person i won't labor this because i don't have to convince you of that first one holiness to be a holy person because you know it's it's a given that you look at such a person not just to be a good laugh or the good moral i remember being in i had heard a wee expression a couple of weeks ago i'd not heard for many years in northern ireland uh they often said he's good living it's a it's a so-and-so is good living it's only place i heard that it's a great expression but you need to be more than good living you need to be a holy person loving god walking with him secondly hospitable paul places places a strong emphasis on this he mentions it twice in timothy and titus the overseer must be hospitable uh titus as well rather he must be hospitable note the word must you have to be hospitable if the other ones are to do with the qualities of of an elder this one is to do with how he goes about discharging his duties as an elder he he likes people he likes to be with people he is a people person and uh so it's how he he does this it's a very practical expression of his care and his love towards others hospitality is not just uh hospitality is basically sharing yourself and all that you have with others your home whatever that is and uh it's a great picture remember acts 2 uh the end of acts 2 how the early churches described that all the believers were together they had everything in common they sold property possessions to give to anyone who had need every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts they broke breads in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts so therefore the elder is hospitable so that's a possible question to ask a potential elder does he have time for people inside and outside the church does he talk to visitors or only his friends this is home open to them does he share all that he has with others it's a real intangible sign that he cares for the flock doesn't just care for them theologically but he cares for them practically he gets alongside he chats to them how are you doing how are you keeping it's a very basic isn't it you'd expect a shepherd to spend time and want to spend time with his sheep so should an elder he should want to spend time with his sheep thirdly he should be called he's called it's a noble task if you aspire to be an overseer you desire a noble task in other words in a sense elders have this desire but it's something they are called to they are called to by the holy spirit there's a compulsion within the elder to do this particular work acts 20 keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the holy spirit has made you an overseer it's not the church that makes you an overseer that the the potential elder feels it in his heart it's what he should do to be obedient to the lord is is impressing upon him this desire to be an elder and all the church is doing is recognizing this they see this within the elder it's not something the church chooses or the elder necessarily chooses for themselves there's this sense of calling the holy spirit leading both groups that this person is an elder the elder should never be driven by a sense of of prestige or status the nobility of the task of the role come from the task not the title be wary of somebody who just wants it to i've i've been in churches where i think you want it too much why why do you want if you knew you were taking on and the responsibilities it's not something you will run into you if judgment starts with the house of god it starts with the leaders of the church we will be first in the queue and i certainly will as the pastor as the lead elder you could say in that way and it comes from the task not the title a strong desire to do the work i remember i'd only been saved a few years and i was asked to be an elder in a local church and i remember thinking you guys must be desperate or you're just not taking this seriously enough would the anno and i declined i says i'm not ready and i knew in my heart i probably wanted it quite a lot i wanted to go in and say to my mates at work i'm an elder in the church and and for that reason alone i felt i wasn't suitable to be an elder i wanted it too much and it is that but i didn't feel called they might have felt that i didn't feel that it has to be has to be both so ask yourself does this person want this too much that's why paul says he can't be a recent convert because the lord is still doing a work in them and so forth it needs to be tested uh i was i was looking i've never really looked at your rules in the church here i was looking at the rules that rule two of western hails baptist church election of elders elders must be male members of the church of good standing chosen by the elders court on the basis of scripture it made me laugh because usually you get verses in there and somebody just put that on the basis of scripture just somewhere in the bible uh but maybe somebody can correct me maybe there's another rule that i've not seen here is here is my last church this is what they said in other words it should be proven that there should be signs already that the person is as an elder appointment to this office this is the church i left in east finchley it's very much an fiec wording appointment to this office shall be an act of recognition by the church of one who is already exercising the function of eldership within the church the number of elders will therefore be determined by the number of such persons raised within the church the church will confer the office only upon such as are manifestly exercising the function in other words we are to look and see not can they be an elder but are they almost behaving like an elder just now in the things that they do and then scriptures are the ones that i mentioned plus others you remember when we looked at philippians 2 you know that timothy has proved himself timothy was known to the church he had proved himself so elders in some way need to prove themselves it is it is it is one of the the hardest things that that today life mitigates against so many men coming to the church to see to hear them pray to see them engage and so forth and it's one of the hardest ways in which to for that for somebody to prove themselves in the local church it's something to to really pray about not only in our church but churches up and down the uk uh traveling's busier work is busier how does somebody prove himself in the local church and yet it makes sense not uh how are we to know that the lord is saying this is the man look at him he's already basically you see the qualities they're already there it is something we need to look at so there's this calling on the person recognized by the church but it's a calling by the holy spirit thirdly and with this ability it's not just high moral standards or spirituality he needs to be able to do certain things and the first thing here is he needs to be able to manage his family this is a test that paul gives he says he must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect in other words the test is this if you're wondering if somebody can manage the church can can lead and guide the church how is he doing with his family i don't know but that that's a test that fills you with dread if you're a father your children know how to embarrass you they're wee monsters uh but generally speaking you just look and you see how's his wife how does his wife relate to him how does his children relate to him the puritans called the the father the head of the house he called to they used to call uh the the father's family his little church that's his his wee church he's the head of of of of his his children and his family to bring them on to develop them so you look at how he's doing in his little church before you let him loose on the bigger church and it's a very practical test but it's a very good test because paul says if anyone does not know how to manage his own family how can he take care of god's church verse 5 and he expands on this he says in titus 1 6 man whose children believe not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient so the test for paul centers around two first of all the children look at this person's children are they well managed are they open to the charge of wild and disobedient disobedient do his children obey him do they show him respect these are questions that need to be asked how is he managing his small church if he can manage that then there's every chance he can manage in other words if his children respect him and are likely to follow then the members will as well if they don't uh they they probably he he probably will do the same thing i remember and of all the qualifications i've been in churches when we've appointed people to eldership i remember once there was a man in the church who was a godly man he was a good guy sound sound theologically uh in so many ways i remember looking at the qualifications and this was the one qualification i questioned and he's far it didn't seem to be able to control these kids in the slightest it wasn't so much that the kids can run around you let them live that they're fine kids will be kids but he couldn't get them to stop he couldn't get them to do anything they just went yeah i hear what you're saying i'm doing this and you just felt there wasn't the same respect from his kids as them and rather foolishly probably one of the worst mistakes i ever made as a pastor was thought maybe we can hone this this this thing in him he ticks all the other boxes but this one thing to do his family and then i thought after he became an elder it was just a disaster because nobody listened to him in the church uh there was something in him that he couldn't get people to fall on and uh it was a disaster it was a disaster for me it was a disaster for the church and uh i regretted it with every fiber of my being and i kept thinking he doesn't have that qualification but maybe we can give him the qualification we can work on it he said 12 years with his own kids uh how am i going to get him to to change that in a weekend so that's why these qualifications are such an important thing he must be able to manage his his children well and uh big topic should they be believers obviously if your children are older you can't make them believe it's more to do some commentators say the word is faithful are they faithful uh or are they open to to other things it's it's such a big big topic are they under the father's control do the kids say sorry dad i shouldn't have done it or whatever it is it is one we do have to look at sad to say too many churches nowadays don't look at a potential pastor's family they're too busy looking at his business card and saying he's a high flyer he's doing this look at what he's doing and they take him on and you need to look at the family it's such a big thing i'm not just paul has gone out his way he must be able to do that if he can't do that he won't be able to do it in the church it is such a big thing so the other qualification in this is a his an elder's wife the suitability of an elder worthy of respect elder's wives verse 11 not malicious talkers temperate trustworthy and everything similar qualities to a husband in many ways and the reason for this if the husband is the head of the family to try and bring his children on in the faith it is also true of his wife when you do marriage classes uh the the role of the husband is is not to have his wife just obey him as some folk take them out i'm not putting that in my vows pastor uh i'm not saying that uh but you remember as christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy that is the role of the pastor to his wife to to bring her on to make her holy uh we are responsible in many ways not completely but for the spirituality of our children and of our wife and if these things are not happening and the wife is is doesn't show these and not worthy of respect in some ways he is failing in this and that's a sign of possibly how he will lead his church it is as simple as that how is the pastor pastoring how is the elder pastoring his children and his wife does that make sense i hope it does it's it's a big topic that in and of itself is a big topic sad to say from some elders wives rule the elders uh that that happens that happens a lot it's a sad to me it's a sad thing when that happens uh you don't want your wives used to be yes men but i i knew one pastor very well-known pastor who before every single elders meeting he had to go and visit this elder and his wife and convince his wife because if he convinced his wife he'd be convinced and then the elders meeting wouldn't be a disaster i think there's something wrong in that i wouldn't do that i would say well i don't think you can do that uh as a failure of management uh and it's but it's a pastor's wife an elder's wife is such a blessing such a blessing to him and to the church it is a big big responsibility managing your own family secondly able to teach you're able not only to to manage your family but able to teach mentioned this last time so i won't dwell on that i'll go straight to the last and final point able to do the work it is very possible to have tick all the boxes up until this point morally spiritually called and so forth but at some point you have have to actually be able to do the work i just speak from experience here i've been in elders meetings where the work was being neglected and the only excuse from one or two of the elders when when it was obvious that they weren't doing the work that they were called to do and the church was suffering was and i can quote word for word john i think you've got to realize that some of us are too busy and i'm thinking do you believe in it i usually answer it saying do you believe the lord has called you to this particular task yes well the lord feels you can do it maybe you just need better management of your time to be able to you need to choose there will be times when you'll be too busy but when you're too busy every single year what's the point of having the qualifications if your lifestyle is such that you can't actually do the work health is a different thing we make allowances for that of course we help we support each other as elders but if somebody just cannot be there because because they're in the philippines and business or whatever 24 7 you never see them you think is that a role you should be taking on you have to be able to actually do the work if god has set you apart for it and the church has recognized this then it's something we take seriously i have a job to do i have the qualifications i know what the role is i actually have to do this and manage my time so here is the qualifications of an elder i don't know about you but when i looked at these again i just think wow i think if you're an elder and you look at this in many ways you feel a failure you just look at this and i think wow this this is a hard hard task i almost feel as if i've delivered elders a rocket on november the 5th uh that's what this feels like uh it just feels but in many ways it will always be that way every time a pastor picks up a book on eldership or leadership you're always challenged again oh lord i've neglected this wee area or this big area help me to go back that's why uh it's it's often said a church can often get the pastor or the elders they deserve if you don't pray for them if you don't pray for them you will get the elder or pastors you deserve pray for them and then you'll get you'll get better elders and they will really need to be prayed through so morally somebody who's in control above reproach his sexual appetites his his faithfulness his emotions his tongue his temper his alcohol his materialism he's a holy man he likes people he's given to them he's called by the holy spirit recognized by the church he has the ability seen in how he manages his little church the family he has the ability to teach god's given them that gift to understand the things of god and to communicate them maybe not from the pulpit but it's such if you're speaking to them one-to-one they might need to go away and study it but they should be able to to explain it to you and most practically they can do the work set aside in the time to do this does that make sense we only you only ever do eldership about every five years it's a good thing to do so the elders can now breathe relax your shoulders it's i don't know but it's it's hard to preach this to myself hard to listen to but hopefully next week when we look at this you'll appreciate that the burden that's on the elders to lead the church a high noble calling and next week we'll look at how we are to relate to each other as we move forward let's stand and we'll sing i want to serve the purpose of god in my generation these are qualities most of these 99 of these are for you as well as for every elder so it should make us all tremble lord help me to be that person not quick tempered not angry to love my kids and so forth so we're going to stand and we're going to sing this and use this as our prayer so so uh

[48:22] I want to serve the purpose of God in my generation.

[48:38] I want to serve the purpose of God while I am alive. I want to give my life for something that'll last forever.

[48:50] Oh, I delight, I delight to do your will. What is on your heart? Show me what to do.

[49:06] Let me know your will and I will follow you. What is on your heart? Show me what to do.

[49:20] Let me know your will and I will follow you. I want to build with silver and gold in my generation.

[49:35] I want to build with silver and gold while I am alive. I want to give my life for something that'll last forever.

[49:48] Oh, I delight, I delight to do your will. Let me close in prayer. A loving Heavenly Father, this morning we have considered what's on your heart.

[49:59] What's on your heart, Lord, for the leaders of the flock for whom Christ gave his own precious blood. Lord, these qualifications are high, not only for those of us who are elders, but for every Christian, Lord, for everyone who claims the name of Christ as their Savior.

[50:16] Father, we pray that each one of us would hear these things, that you would challenge us, that you would help us to quickly confess sin and to move on. But, Father, I do just pray for the elders of this church today and going forward.

[50:29] I pray, Father, that you would continue to raise up men, Lord, who will love and who will care for the flock here, who will be well taught and be able to disciple them and to help people in works of service.

[50:41] So, Father, we pray that you will perfect that which you have begun in each one of us. We ask all these things in Jesus' name, not only for our good and the good of this church, but for the glory of your name.

[50:53] Amen. Amen. Thank you, folks.