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you you you you you everyone it's good to be back in the house of god you can turn with me in your bibles to psalm 119 for our call to worship psalm 119 will read verses 89 to 96. psalm 119 beginning in verse 89 forever o lord your word is settled in heaven your faithfulness endures to all generations you established the earth and it abides they continue this day according to your ordinances for all are your servants unless your law had been my delight i would then have perished in my affliction i will never forget your precepts for by them you have given me life i am yours save me for i have sought your precepts the wicked wait for me to destroy me but i will consider your testimonies i have seen the consummation of all perfection but your commandment is exceedingly broad amen well please turn in your hymn books to psalm 149 psalm 149 be as in bravo we'll use a familiar tune and we'll stand as we sing together [Music] is [Music] american [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] let us pray god most high it's a great joy and a blessed privilege to gather again in your house on your day we come to the father through the mediation of the son and the power of the holy spirit and our desires that god would be all in all in this place you would be glorified and that you would be enthroned upon our praises and that you would be lifted high we ask that you would be pleased to dwell in our midst to encourage and strengthen each of our hearts to build us up in our most holy faith and cause us to walk in conformity unto our blessed lord jesus christ may you send forth the holy spirit to promote in us that reverence toward god and that comfort that dependence upon you that the scriptures afford to us and our understanding of who you are and god we ask that you would be well pleased to just bless this congregation look with favor upon the saints of christ in this local church and god be glorified in our meetings together we ask you it as well bless the preaching of the gospel as it goes forth here and elsewhere we know there are a multitude of sinners dead in their trespasses and sins throughout this world and we know that you have purpose to save a great multitude that no man can number from every tribe and tongue and people and nation so god we pray that that word would run swiftly and be glorified we pray that christ and him crucified and resurrected would be proclaimed from sea to sea that he would have dominion from sea to sea through the proclamation of the truth as it's attended by the spirit we ask as well lord god that you would continue to inform and instruct and build up the church of christ that you would cause all of us who name the name of the lord jesus to think your thoughts after you to be faithful in intercession and help us lord god to glorify you by shining his lights in this crooked and perverse generation and give us the zeal to hold forth that word of truth and god as we gather now and as we contemplate your holiness and your righteousness and your justice we are mindful of our own sin we're mindful of what the hymn writer says when we are prone to wander and prone to leave the god that we love and we confess our transgression against your holy law both the first and the second table we know lord god that we have not lived as we ought we know that we are to let our conduct be worthy of the gospel to pursue holiness without which no man will see the lord god we have transgressed so we confess that sin now and ask for mercy and grace and the application of the blood of the lord jesus christ that you would wash us and purify us from all sin as well our god we pray that you would just fill us with the spirit not just as we gather for corporate worship but but each and every day we acknowledge that apart from christ we can do nothing and certainly certainly to live the christian life in a manner consistent with the written word of god requires that divine assistance so lord flood our hearts and minds with the presence of the spirit and grant us grace to to glorify you in this world we ask that you would bless our children and our young people we thank you for their the the rich heritage that you have given to us and got our desires that you would surround them as the mountains surround jerusalem you would protect them that they by grace would remember their creator and their youth that you would hedge them in and protect them we know this is a lawless age a wicked age an age where sexual perversion and all manner of lawlessness is openly promoted so god may they know the fear of the lord in the comfort of the holy spirit in their young hearts and may you look with favor upon each one bless chloe butler as she carries a child in her womb we pray that all would go well that this little one would go to full term and that father you would be glorified in this as well lord look with favor upon us and our families help us to take seriously what our brother read this morning from colossians 3 we have those responsibilities as husbands and wives and parents to our children and children to their parents god we want to do all things according to your revealed will so god help us in these things as well our father we pray for other churches in our community we thank you that we're not alone in this city we pray for your rich blessings upon the the men of god that preach the word of god in this town we think of this entire nation and the great need for gospel preaching the great need for proclamation of the whole council of god so lord bless the men that are committed to this work raise up more men and fit them and qualify them and cause the church to recognize them as our lord jesus taught us that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few so we appeal to you god of the harvest that you would raise men out raise men up and cause them to be recognized in churches and to be sent forth to proclaim your truth bless the work in vernon and god bless the work and dryden continue to look with favor upon the saints in surrey and lord god in heaven may you be glorified in the proclamation in each of these local churches as well father we pray for the missionary enterprise we thank you that the gospel is going forth all over the earth and we know lord god that the men the women committed to the cause of christ and other parts of the world that are unknown to us you know them god you know them intimately so lord bless the work of extending the kingdom of christ throughout the nations of the earth let the nations be glad and cause your face to shine upon the peoples and may you be glorified in this endeavor and our father we again thank you and praise you for this place we thank you and praise you for the people of god that we know and love in this place we asked he would look with favor upon those that are not well we ask that you would watch over bev we ask that you watch over mrs bolt and mrs van shaykh lord continue to look with favor upon the new felds and just everybody in our congregation that has ongoing physical challenges and trials and difficulties we know lord god that you are intimately involved not only in the spiritual but in the temporal realm as well and we rejoice in your loving kindness to us we ask now that you would be glorified through our worship and we pray through jesus christ our lord amen we can turn with me again in your hymn books to 227 227 and will stand as we sing together you you well you can turn in your bibles to the book of leviticus we're in leviticus chapter eight remember the book of exodus ends on the high note of having completed the tabernacle that earthly dwelling place of god not literally but a represent a representative or symbolic representation of god's presence with his people the book ends with the tension of moses himself not being able to enter into the tabernacle and so the book of leviticus comes on the heels of exodus to answer the question how does sinful man approach a holy god that is the reason of the rationale for the sacrificial system that we've been reading concerning and now we have the sac the the tabernacle constructed we have the sacrifices commanded and now the priesthood is instituted in order to conduct israel into the presence of god almighty so i'll read beginning in verse 1 of leviticus chapter 8. and the lord spoke to moses saying take aaron and his sons with them and the garments the anointing oil a bull as the sin offering two rams and a basket of unleavened bread and gather all the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting so moses did as the lord commanded him and the congregation was gathered together at the door of the tabernacle of meeting and moses said to the congregation this is what the lord commanded to be done then moses brought aaron and his sons and washed them with water and he put the tuna tunic on him girded him with the sash clothed him with the the robe and put the ephod on him and he girded him with the intricately woven band of the ephod and with it tied the ephod on him then he put the breastplate on him and he put the urim and the thumb in the breastplate and he put the turban on his head also on the turbine on its front he put the golden plate the holy crown as the lord had commanded moses also moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it and consecrated them he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times anointed the altar and its utensils and the labor and its base to consecrate them and he poured some of the anointing oil on aaron's head and anointed him to consecrate him then moses brought aaron's sons and put tunics on them girded them with sashes and put hats on them as the lord had commanded moses and he brought the bull for the sin offering then aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering and moses killed it then he took the blood and put some on the horns of the altar all around with his finger and purified the altar and he poured the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it to make atonement for it then he took all the fat that was on the entrails the fatty lobe attached to the liver and the two kidneys with their fat and moses burned them on the altar but the bull its hide its flesh and it's awful he burned with fire outside the camp as the lord had commanded moses then he brought the ram as the burnt offering and aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram and moses killed it then he sprinkled the blood all around on the altar and he cut the ram into pieces and moses burned the head the pieces and the fat then he washed the entrails and the legs in water and moses burned the whole ramp on the altar it was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet aroma an offering made by fire to the lord as the lord had commanded moses and he brought the second round the ram of consecration then aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ramp and moses killed it also he took some of its blood and put it on the tip of aaron's right ear on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot then he brought aaron's sons and put and moses put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet and moses sprinkled the blood all around on the altar then he took the fat and the fat tail all the fat that was on the entrails the fatty lobe attached to the liver the two kidneys and their fat and the right thigh and from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the lord he took one unleavened cake a cake of bread anointed with oil and one wafer and put them on the fat and on the right thigh and he put all these in aaron's hands and in his son's hands and waved them as a wave offering before the lord then moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar on the burnt offering they were consecration offerings for a sweet aroma that was an offering made by fire to the lord and moses took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before the lord it was moses part of the ram of consecration as the lord had commanded moses then moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar and sprinkled it on aaron on his garments on his sons and on the garments of his sons with him and he consecrated aaron his garments his sons and the garments of his sons with him and moses said to aaron and his sons boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of meaty and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of consecration offerings as i commanded saying aaron and his son shall eat it what remains of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn with fire and you shall not go outside the door of the tabernacle of meeting for seven days until the days of your consecration are ended for seven days he shall consecrate you as he has done this day so the lord has commanded to do to make atonement for you therefore you shall stay at the door of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for seven days and keep the charge of the lord so that you may not die for i have been commander for so i have been commanded so aaron and his sons did all the things that the lord had commanded by the hand of moses amen well let us pray our father in heaven we thank you for this old covenant sacrificial system and we know the significance was to tutor to instruct the children of israel on on their approach as sinful people into the presence of a holy god we know it functioned typologically as well that it pointed forward to the messiah to the one the baptist calls the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world we give praise to you lord god almighty that you have provided a way of access that you have provided atonement that you have brought forgiveness and have given us a righteousness wherein we may stand in the presence of a thrice holy god we rejoice in the gospel of our salvation we rejoice in your loving kindness and in your goodness we rejoice in the mission of the son of man to save his people from their sins and god bless and encourage and strengthen each of our hearts and we ask in his most blessed name amen well you can turn again with me in your hymn books to psalm 119 psalm 119 r as in romeo and we'll stand as we sing together oh [Music] [Music] [Music] your justice is [Music] is [Music] uh well you could turn with me in your bibles to first timothy chapter three first timothy chapter three we've been looking at the qualifications of elders in verses 1 to 7. we noted the man's desire for the eldership in verse 1. we saw the man's personal conduct according to verses 2 and 3. third the man's domestic faithfulness in verses four and five the man's experience in the faith verse six not a new convert uh the next was the man's testimony toward outsiders in verse seven now tonight we'll take up what we find in verse 2. all of these for the most part describe the man's character it describes virtue there is one specific gift that the man must have and that he must exercise for the good of the church it's at the end of verse 2 where paul says able to teach so i want to read the section and then we'll pray and then we'll get to this particular aspect of the qualifications of elders this is a faithful saying if a man desires the position of a bishop he desires a good work a bishop then must be blameless the husband of one wife temperate sober-minded of good behavior hospitable able to teach not given to wine not violent not greedy for money but gentle not quarrelsome not covetous one who rules his own house well having his children in submission with all reverence for if a man does not know how to rule his own house how will he take care of the church of god not a novice lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil likewise deacons must be reverent not double tongued not given to much wine not greedy for money holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience but let these also first be tested then let them serve as deacons being found blameless likewise their wives must be reverent not slanderers temperate faithful in all things let deacons be the husbands of one wife ruling their children in their own houses well for those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in christ jesus these things i write to you though i hope to come to you shortly but if i am delayed i write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of god which is the church of the living god the pillar and ground of the truth and without controversy great is the mystery of godliness god was manifested in the flesh justified in the spirit seen by angels preached among the gentiles believed on in the world received up in glory amen let us pray our father thank you for this list this description of a qualified man to function in the context of the eldership in the church give us grace father to receive these things give us grace to apply them in our lives as we consider men for eldership or for the diaconate and god we pray again that you'd raise up a multitude of such men that would be servants in the church of the lord jesus christ faithful to teach the whole counsel of god faithful to proclaim the gospel of free and sovereign grace and may you be glorified in this again forgive us now for all of our sin and its darkening influence in our minds and hearts and guide us by your holy spirit and we pray through jesus christ our lord amen well before we unpack this statement able to teach notice a couple of things by way of reminder look at what paul says in verse 1. this is a faithful saying if a man desires the position of a bishop he desires a good work we don't force men into service we don't make men engage in service we don't simply say look out among you find the most hapless soul and put him into this office for a space of two or three years no he must desire there must be within him that understanding of what scripture says at the point of qualification and function and he wants to be able to take that on so there is that desire that is operative but then the fact that the apostle gives a list of qualifications underscores that the desire is not sufficient in itself in other words a man might want to be an astronaut but if he's afraid of heights or he has problems with pressure then he's probably not going to engage in that particular endeavor a man might want to be a cowboy but if he can't ride a horse then that's not the job for him so desire alone does not make a minister of the gospel and one of the reasons why paul gives this list of qualifications is so that the subjective desire that a man has in his bosom can be checked objectively by the church in other words if a man has aspiration if a man has desire it is the church's task and responsibility to make sure that is in fact a legitimate desire and it will be evidenced to be a legitimate desire if he is the things that paul describes here in 1st timothy chapter 3 verses 1 to 7. notice again verse 2 a bishop then must be now the list of virtues that the apostle describes are those things that every christian should be pursuing every man every woman every boy every girl should strive to be blameless should strive to be gentle should strive to live in a manner that is consistent with this list of qualifications but it must be demonstrable in the lives of those who we are considering for gospel ministry they're not going to be perfect men they're not going to be sinless men but they must be this manner of men and then one one other observation before we hone in on verse 2. look at what paul says in verses 14 and 15. he says these things i write to you though i hope to come to you shortly but if i am delayed i write now notice what he says so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of god we refer to this as the regulative principle of worship worship is not a free for all it's not up to the worshipper to define the approach taken to god no the apostle paul specifically says i write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of god which is the church of the living god the pillar and ground of the truth one of the things that should have jumped out at you in the reading of leviticus chapter 8 is that they did as the lord had commanded them they didn't make this approach up they didn't just kind of innovate this the idea of sacrifice in order to get to the deity no god commanded how he wanted his church to approach him in the sacrificial system in the old covenant well god commands us today how the church is to conduct herself in the house of god he regulates our worship he regulates our approach he regulates who it is who will function in the capacity of elder and deacon so let's now hone in on paul's statement in verse 2 that he must be able to teach now i want to back off from that for just a moment to try and show why this is inevitable in other words this shouldn't be a surprise that in the eldership in the church of christ a primary function the primary function is to teach it is to preach the word of the living god if you start in the book of genesis and you read to the book of first timothy and you read beyond the book of first timothy you'll notice the centrality of the word of god in biblical religion the centrality of the word of god in biblical religion i want to flash that point out and then secondly consider the importance of the word of god for the church of christ and then thirdly the preaching of the word of god as the function of the man of god but first the centrality of the word in biblical religion you can turn back to the book of deuteronomy deuteronomy chapter 5 this is a thumbnail sketch we're not going to deal with every aspect relative to the centrality of the word in biblical religion but just a few key notes for us to appreciate that when we get to first timothy 3 2 we shouldn't be surprised we shouldn't say wow i can't believe there needs to be a class of men who serve in the church of christ and whose primary function is to teach the word of god no this is a no-brainer this necessarily follows with those who understand the centrality of the word in biblical religion notice in deuteronomy chapter 5 specifically verses 6 to 8 i am the lord your god who brought you out of the land of egypt out of the house of bondage you shall have no other gods before me you shall not make for yourself a carved image any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth you shall not bow down to them nor serve them for i the lord your god am a jealous god visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me but showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments these two commandments these first two commandments are inextricably connected the first one demands that we worship the true and the living god it forbids molech it forbids ashrae it forbids baal it forbids the gods of the nations rather it demands that we worship yahweh of israel the one who uh delivered his people from bondage in egypt the second commandment is closely related you need to worship the true god in the true way so it's not only necessary that we have the right object of worship but that we obey the manner prescribed on how we enter into the worship of god almighty this brings us to the point the centrality of the word in biblical religion god never was for persons erecting an idol fashioning an image engaging in some sort of frenzy or ecstasy at the base of that particular idol the bible tells us that the religion of god is word based in other words god is incorpor incorporeal he's without body the fact that he is invisible demands that for him to engage in or for us rather to engage in proper worship we must be instructed by his word now look back at deuteronomy chapter 4. remember that the commandments had already been given it's not that they're just now being given in chapter five they've been given in exodus chapter 20. so they're conscious and mindful of that first and second commandment that we come to the true and living god and we come in the manner prescribed by him we're not free we're not left by our on our own to just conjure up any old way whatsoever that we enter into the presence of god notice in deuteronomy 4 at verse 11 then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of to the midst of heaven with darkness cloud and thick darkness and the lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire not the language the lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire you heard the sound of the words but saw no form you only heard a voice why is that because yahweh is not baal yahweh is not ashrae yahweh is not molech yahweh's command yahweh's voice yahweh's word is determinative of yahweh's people's conduct they're not innovators they're not creators but rather they are obedient verse 13 so he declared to you his covenant which he commanded you to perform the ten commandments and he wrote them on two tablets of stone and the lord commanded me at the same time to teach you statutes and judgments that you might observe them in the land which you cross over to possess now on the heels of that exhortation there's a caution against idolatry again you saw no form but rather you heard the voice the word of god is determinative for the the conduct of god's people a second observation is later in the book of deuteronomy deuteronomy chapter 18 the function of the prophetic ministry deuteronomy chapter 18 under the big heading of the centrality of the word of god in biblical religion it's necessitated because of the first and second commandments but as well notice the function of the prophetic ministry in deuteronomy chapter 18. i'll just give you a summary of what the chapter is dealing with in the first place it deals with provisions for priests and levites we're already seeing this in leviticus as the priests bring the sacrifice to yahweh they get to keep a portion for themselves that they may be able to eat because the priest in israel did not live on love and fresh air he like everybody else needed protein he like everybody else needed fat he like everybody else needed complex carbohydrates so the provision for priests and levites secondly there is a prohibition from following the abominations of the nations specifically occultism in verses 9-14 notice specifically at verse 10 there shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire or one who practices witchcraft or a soothsayer or one who interprets omens or a sorcerer or one who conjures spells or a medium or a spiritist or one who calls up the dead in other words you need to recoil from horror at the way that the canaanites make contact with the supernatural thirdly there is the purpose of god in the prophetic ministry in verses 15 to 19. this sets the stage for the prophets that follow after moses and terminates ultimately in the prophet that god raises up from among them namely our lord jesus christ uh peter tells us in acts 3 at verse 22 that this is applicable to our lord jesus as well on the mount of transfiguration the same language comes up that we find in this chapter notice in in 1815 the lord your god will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst from your brethren him you shall hear according to all you desired of the lord your god and horeb in the day of the assembly saying let me not hear again the voice of the lord my god nor let me see this great fire any more lest i die look at what it says at verse 15. him you shall hear on the mount of transfiguration the voice of the father comes from heaven and says this is my beloved son him you shall hear so this not only is the foundation for the prophetic ministry in israel but it also as i said terminates in our lord jesus christ it substantiates a succession of prophets leading to one specific prophet meredith klein says jesus was the anti-typical prophet whom the old testament prophetic institution foreshadowed so this is a crucial text then of course in verses 20 to 22 there is a condemnation of those who would speak false prophecy so the prophetic function or the nature of the prophetic ministry in israel was to teach them was to instruct them was to inform them concerning what god demanded by uh from them so they didn't seek out a cultist they didn't seek out the witches remember in first samuel chapter 28 saul's great sin against the living god god no longer spoke to him so he fetches the witch at endor to try to make contact with the supernatural he wants her to bring up samuel so that saul can get information as to whether or not he should engage his enemy it is crass it is vile it is a uh wicked and abominable he was not relying upon the means that god had ordained in terms of the prophetic ministry now go forward just a couple specimen passages concerning the prophets of god teaching the word of god look at isaiah 58 isaiah 58 again if we understand what the old testament is about when we get to first timothy 3 2 we shouldn't be surprised that the elder and the church of christ must be apt to teach notice in 58 1 cry aloud spare not lift up your voice like a trumpet tell my people their transgression and the house of jacob their sins in other words convince them correct them rebuke them instruct them call them back to repentance and faith the prophetic word comes to the nation of israel to call upon them to consider their sin to consider the remedy that is to be had in yahweh in terms of forgiveness you see this emphasis in the call of the prophet jeremiah you can turn to jeremiah chapter 1. jeremiah chapter 1 specifically at verse 4 then the word of the lord came to me saying before i formed you in the womb i i knew you before you were born i sanctified you i ordained you what a prophet to the nations not just israel but the word of god is expansive it is extensive it is comprehensive it is simply not confined to palestine but rather it goes to the uttermost parts of the earth now drop down to verse 9 then the lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth and the lord said to me behold i have put my words in your mouth see i have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms to root out to pull down to destroy to throw down to build and to plant those six key words come up often in this book of jeremiah but it's by heralding it is by proclaiming it is by prophesying it is by teaching the word of god that these things come to pass and then as we move to the new testament we see this continued emphasis what does jesus do certainly comes from the father in order to live for us and to die for us and to be raised again for us but how does jesus fill his time in terms of his earthly ministry yes he does miracles yes he's kind and gracious and compassionate but the central focus of christ's earthly ministry was prophetic in other words he taught the gospel of matthew records five discourses of our lord jesus christ as he engages in the task of preaching and teaching the word of god when we move on from the gospel narratives we hear the lord in the great commission when he says go therefore and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit teaching them to observe all things that i have commanded you and lo i am with you always even to the end of the age so we turn to the book of acts and what do we see again the emphasis on teaching the emphasis on preaching on the day of pentecost what does peter do does he have a therapy session does he have a divine encounter session do they punch pillows to deal with their their upsetness from their their their wayward youth no he preaches the word of god he says this is that which was spoken by the prophet joel he applies it to that particular context shows that the power of the spirit is given by the ascended lord jesus acts 3 more preaching acts 4 more preaching acts 5 more preaching such that the sanhedrin now threatens them you're no longer to fill this city with this doctrine but that's when they said we must obey god rather than man one of the first difficulties encountered within the church is in acts 6 not that it was wrong to serve the hellenistic and the hebrew widows a daily ration of food but it was taking the apostles away from the emphasis of prayer and preaching acts chapter 13 the start of the missionary journeys by the apostle paul what does he do he goes into the synagogue and there he preaches in acts 14 1 we read that on that missionary journey the apostle so spake that a great multitude believed i mean it almost sounds armenian it almost sounds pelagian you mean it was because they so spake that a great multitude belief well no 1348 tells us that as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed and then in chapter 16 we read that the lord opened the heart of lydia in order to believe what paul had spoken but nevertheless there is emphasis laid on the proclamation of the truth the word of god the power of the gospel has been advanced through the proclamation of that gospel the apostle paul emphasizes that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god in romans 10 17. but before that romans 10 14 you can turn there just to see his emphasis on the necessity of the preached word romans chapter 4 10 specifically at verse 14 how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard better rendered as and how shall they believe him whom they have not heard in other words as a man faithfully expounds the truth it is as it were christ speaking through that word for the edification of his people and for the salvation of sinners so how shall they believe him whom they have not heard and how shall they hear without a preacher and how shall they preach unless they are sent as it is written how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace who bring glad tidings of good things but they have not all obeyed the gospel for isaiah says lord who has believed our report so then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god turn over to first corinthians chapter 1. first corinthians chapter 1 into chapter 2 the apostle is highlighting the glory of god in the salvation of sinners and he displays the glory of god in the salvation of sinners three particular ways in the first way it is seen through the message of the cross what the world deems as foolishness is in fact the power of god almighty the glory of god and the salvation of sinners is seen in the salvation secondly of the sinners in corinth not many wise not many noble and then the glory of god and the salvation of sinners is seen in the character of the apostle paul himself according to chapter two verses one to five he came not as a man who was eight foot tall and bulletproof he didn't come as the celebrity preacher he wasn't passing out the coffee cups he wasn't passing out the t-shirts the apostle paul is my homeboy no he came with trembling he came with fear but he came with proclamation that was in the demonstration of the spirit and power but notice specifically what paul says in verse 18 for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power of god for it is written i will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent where is the wise where is the scribe where is the disputer of this age has not god made foolish the wisdom of this world for sense in the wisdom of god the world through wisdom did not know god it pleased god through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe for jews request a sign and greek seek after wisdom but we preach christ crucified to the jews of stumbling block and to the greek's foolishness but to those who are called both jews and greeks christ the power of god and the wisdom of god because the foolishness of god is wiser than men and the weakness of god is stronger than man get it get it in the heads brethren that the way that god has ordained for the calling of sinners unto salvation by faith in jesus christ is through the word of god and that word of god is proclaimed by men of god who are qualified to do so recognized by the church and set apart for that particular capacity now let's look secondly at the importance of the word of god for the church of christ three texts here that are very very familiar to us in the first place the apostles emphasis on the importance of the word of god for the man of god the apostles emphasis on the importance of the word of god for the man of god you can turn to second timothy chapter three second timothy chapter three the apostle sets forth a contrast between the wicked and between timothy notice he describes the wicked in chapter 3 at verses 1 to 9. he's dealing with problems internally he's dealing with problems in the professing church he's not dealing with the world he's not dealing with the heathen he's not dealing with the gentile he's not dealing with the pagan chapter two verses uh chapter three rather verses one to nine specifically has the aim of the church because notice in verse five the person's causing trouble having a form of godliness but denying its power and from such people turn away timothy avoid that like the plague they are menaces they are about destruction and turmoil and pain and misery so he describes this threat in the church but then notice the contrast in verse 10 but you you have carefully followed my doctrine manner of life purpose faith longsuffering love perseverance persecutions afflictions which happened to me at antioch at iconium at lystra what persecutions i endured and out of them all the lord delivered me yes and all who desire to live godly in christ jesus will suffer persecution but evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse deceiving and being deceived but you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of knowing from whom you have learned them and that from childhood you have known the holy scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in christ jesus don't miss what paul says here the old testament scriptures because that's what's in view primarily as paul is writing ii timothy the old testament scriptures are able to make one wise for salvation through faith in christ jesus there's not two or three or four or five ways unto god it's always been grace alone through faith alone in christ alone and then he gives this wonderful statement in verses 16 and 17. all scripture is given by inspiration of god and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness that the man of god may be complete thoroughly equipped for every good work you see the emphasis there brethren it's not on his gregariousness it's not on his happy attitude though that is certainly a good thing the emphasis is upon his understanding of scripture and his use of scripture in the context of pastoral ministry now secondly the apostles emphasis on the importance of the word of god for the church of god you can turn back to ephesians 4. again a familiar passage i've cited it recently but it bears repetition because the church needs this ephesians 4 11 and he himself gave some to be apostles some prophets some evangelists and some pastors and teachers now verse 12 has been taken out of its context and used to teach every member ministry in other words when you're in the church you have a ministry you got to have a ministry we got to plug you in it could be the parking lot ministry it could be the bathroom ministry it could be whatever ministry because every member has a ministry so verse 12 has been taken that way that's not the point of verse 12. there are three coordinate statements that are true of the minister the best punctuation is in the old king james the new king james punctuates it in that way that i think is faulty but notice what he says in verse 12 for here's the first purpose the equipping of the saints certainly pastors equip the saints so that they can engage in ministry that is a truism that is accepted that is axiomatic axiomatic but notice the second coordinate statement for the work of ministry not the members being equipped but the pastors are the elders themselves they are working in the ministry of the word in order to edify the body of christ and then that comes out thirdly for the edifying of the body of christ again i'm not suggesting that every member shouldn't find his or her ministry absolutely positively great go do that and be fruitful but this isn't the text and then notice how he goes on verse 13 till we all come to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the son of god to a perfect man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of christ that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful blotting you mean there's tricky men out there there's cunning crafting men out there that are trying to usurp for them authority that is not theirs and they do it with a purpose of actually messing with the people of god yeah that's exactly what paul says paul says in galatians 1 that there are some who want to actually pervert the gospel of our lord and savior jesus christ so back to our passage notice in verse 15 but speaking the truth and love may grow up in all things into him who is the head christ from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effective working by which every part does its share causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love you see the apostle paul and the ins under the inspirational holy spirit says that the word of god is so important for the church of god so that the church of god does not lose her way when you look at problems in the church today i guarantee you you can always trace them back to a faulty pulpit you can always trace them back to faulty exposition you can always trace it back to a mishandling of the well i should say always i mean you could have ax murderers and that sort of thing that just happens in the life of the church you can't necessarily blame a pastor for that but for the most part the problems in the church have to do at the level of the misunderstanding of god's word the apostle paul in acts 20 says i have not shot to declare to you the whole council of god that's incumbent upon preachers it's not a hobby horse session it's not whatever i feel led to share with you but it is the job of the minister to preach the word of the living god and that's the final text we'll look at in second timothy chapter four this is the last corporate command given by the apostle to the church he gives timothy commands bring the cloak uh bring the bring the cloak that i have uh i left with corpus at troas verse 13 when you comment and the books especially the parchments that's not a command for us we're not you know somehow going out there finding these items and taking them to where paul used to be in prison no that's not a corporate command that is conditioned specifically with reference to timothy as paul's companion the corporate command is found in verse two notice the command is set in the context of eternity verse one i charge you therefore before god and the lord jesus christ who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom now brethren i don't want to sort of put down any other job i think all labor as long as it's not sinful is noble it is blessed it is good it is a godly thing to have a vocation it is a godly thing to work hard with your hands but it is interesting that with reference to preaching the word it is set in the context of the judgment to come i think this gives us understanding as to why james cautions every everyone pursuing a teaching ministry he says we shall incur or receive a stricter judgment so it's set in the context of the day of judgment and then verse 2 the command is simple preach the word be ready in season and out of season convince rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and teaching he gives two reasons for that command the first is in verse three and the second is in verse six the reason that he wants timothy to preach the word the second one's easy for the time is coming or i'm already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure is at hand timothy i'm about to die so you need to take the baton the faithful baton of gospel preaching and you need to engage in that again paul's emphasis with timothy isn't on being the most handsome the most gregarious the most friendly but rather he wants to wants him to be committed to preaching the word of god so this idea of paul's departure but the church's departure necessitates the command of verse 2. so preach the word he says in verse two the immediate reason is verse three for the time will come when they will not endorse sound doctrine but according to their own desires because they have itching ears they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables but you be watchful in all things endure afflictions do the work of an evangelist fulfill your ministry what is paul telling us that in the midst of defection on the part of the church the same emphasis on preaching maintains in other words well you know paul they don't like preaching so we're going to engage in drama they don't like preaching so i'm going to move the pulpit i'm going to put an easy chair in its place and i'm just going to tell them stories now brethren if you smile at that or think that odd there is a very famous preacher in our generation who has said that very thing our church doesn't like preaching so we move the pulpit put an easy chair and i simply sit there and i tell them stories brethren you can go to your local library for story hour you want the man of god to preach the word of god in light of the judgment of god with blood earnestness preach the word why because the time will come when they will no longer endure sound doctrine now let's look thirdly and finally at our qualification in first timothy chapter 3. so the preaching of the word of god as the function for the man of god notice first timothy 3 verse 2 it says he must be able to teach this is how elders lead or govern the church remember when we defined and described the eldership it is two primary emphases there is the preaching or teaching of the word and there is the leading or the governing of the church those are absolutely positively connected it's not that he just preaches the word and then he moves the pulpit and instead of an easy chair he puts a throne and from that throne he leads and he governs and he's the despot or the tyrant no the manner in which a man or an eldership rather leads or governs the church is through the ministry of the word if that is not operative you're dealing with autocrats you're dealing with death spots you're dealing with men who are committed to their own agenda the government and the leadership in the church is by the word of the living and true god so when it comes to this particular description it jives with what paul says throughout the pastoral epistles that's first and second timothy and titus it jives with what paul says in terms of an emphasis on sound doctrine we are cessationists in this church we don't believe in the revelatory gifts continuing on in our own generation we don't believe in tongue speaking and in prophesying in terms of god revealing new stuff to the church john owen well said if private revelations agree with scripture then they're useless if they disagree with scripture then they're heretical there's no private revelations on this or at this stage of the game in terms of church life so when it comes to this particular issue with reference to teaching and preaching it it has to be the way that men govern the church they don't do it through you know direct contact with the lord they do it through preaching so when we come to these pastoral epistles the emphasis is not on tongue speaking the emphasis is not unprophesied the emphasis is always on sound doctrine so the last letter that paul writes is second timothy chapter 2 timothy and in chapter 4 at verse 2 he doesn't say speak in tongues prophesy as you receive special revelation oh preach the word the emphasis is upon sound doctrine look at first timothy 4 verses 6 and 7. first timothy 4 at verse 6. if you instruct the brethren in these things you'll be a good minister of jesus christ nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed but reject profane and old wise fables and exercise yourself toward godliness drop down to verses 13 and 14. till i come give attention to reading to exhortation to doctrine do not neglect the gift that is in you which was given to you by the prophet uh by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership see the emphasis not tongues not prophesying not direct contact but rather preach the word as it had been given by god through the prophets and the apostles first timothy 5 17 let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor especially those who labor in the word and doctrine not especially those who speak in tongues those who are great guys those who have all of the notes those who labor in the word and in doctrine notice in second first timothy chapter six at verse two those who have believing masters let them not despise them because they are brethren but rather serve them because they uh though uh because those who are benefited are believers and beloved beloved teach and exhort these things and then notice dropping down in verse 17 command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living god who gives us richly all things to enjoy in other words command teach disciple instruct inform the same emphasis comes up in second timothy look at 113 hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me in faith and love which are in christ jesus that good thing which was committed to you keep by the holy spirit who dwells in us brethren that is the solemn responsibility given to the church in our age if we don't keep that which was given to us if we let it go it's going to die humanly speaking and our children and our grandchildren are going to suffer as a result of it the church needs to wake up and understand that it's not about a lot of the things that has occupied us over the last generation but it's about the proclamation of god's holy word it is an emphasis upon sound doctrine notice in 2-2 the very function of the church and the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also notice that he's addressing here not the seminary not the bible college he's addressing the church the church according to first timothy chapter 3 is the pillar and ground of the truth the church should be competent and able to raise up elders to see that they're doctrinally sound that they're biblically responsible in terms of exegesis before they inflict them on the rest of the church notice in 2 15 be diligent to present yourself approved to god a worker who does not need to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth not approved a man it's not man that you're trying to court his favor it's not oh i hope they all love everything i have to say be diligent to show yourself a proof to god same sort of emphasis that paul calls us to in second timothy 4 1. think of eternal things think of god himself think of the lord jesus christ as the measure or as the standard rather for your faithful ministry notice in chapter 2 at verse 24 servant of the lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all able to teach patient in humility correcting those who are in opposition if god perhaps will grant them repentance so that they may know the truth and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil having been taken captive by him to do his will and then we've seen the passages in chapters 3 and chapter 4. the apostle wants the men that are being scrutinized relative to pastoral ministry to be competent to teach the word of god that's the job that's the primary function spurgeon said brethren if you're not theologians you are in your pastorates just nothing at all you may be fine rhetoricians and be rich in polished sentences but without knowledge of the gospel and aptness to teach it you are but a sounding brass and a tinkling symbol turn over to titus chapter one another list of qualifications the same list but a further dimension developed by the apostle in titus chapter one at verse nine this is the apness or the ability to teach section of the qualifications of elders in titus 1 5-9 notice holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught he doesn't just kind of hold on to it he doesn't just have a little bit of familiarity with it no he he holds it fast he doesn't let go come whatever may he's not going to relinquish that he's like a dog with a bone you try to grab that bone out of the dog's mouth you're going to get bit or you're going to have trouble same thing with a faithful man of god holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught now notice that he may be able by sound doctrine to engage in a two-fold task both to exhort and convict convict those who contradict so exhort those who are on board with you exhort those who are god's people exhort those who are blood bought who are owned by the holy spirit those people want to know and hear the word of god so that they may grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our lord and savior but it's not only exhort those who are with you but convict those who contradict that's not always as easy when persons oppose doctrinal preaching when persons oppose certain things in scripture when they're not already predisposition on your side it becomes even more difficult in terms of setting forth the truth of god's word so what does a man do well it's so hard because they don't want to hear it preach the word whether they want to hear it or not the task the function the job doesn't change so he needs to exhort and convict those who contradict calvin says this is the chief gift in a bishop who is elected principally for the sake of teaching for the church cannot be governed in any other way than by the word he wishes that a bishop should hold it fast so as not only to be well instructed in it but to be constant in maintaining it constancy earnestness perseverance not just starting well but by god's grace finishing well and then commenting on the twofold task exhort and convict calvin again says the pastor ought to have two voices one for gathering the sheep and another for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves so it's not just exhort but it's also convict those who contradict in other words drive off the wolves drive off the thieves drive off the menace that creates problems in the context of the church and that's not with physical force or physical harm but rather through the proclamation of the truth and the implementation if necessary with uh of church discipline to deal with threats posed to the body well in conclusion pay attention i'm assuming that you haven't been no i'm assuming that you have but this is where it gets real practical we not only look we're not looking at this just because it's in the bible that would be a perfectly valid reason to look at it because it is in the bible but as i've said we've got men that we're looking at in terms of gospel ministry we've got needs in terms of our own church with reference to eldership so we need to be sufficiently instructed with reference to these qualifications so that we can engage in our particular responsibility in a responsible manner in other words it's the church membership that recognizes the men or the man that will function in terms of eldership or the diaconate so i want to look at first the responsibility of men who aspire to the ministry and then will end on the responsibility of the church toward the men who aspire to the ministry with reference to the responsibility of men who aspire to the ministry there are two things here first the proven faithfulness in biblical churchmanship this is a lesser to the greater argument if a man is not faithful as a member then what possible reason would we have to conclude that he will be a faithful elder jesus lays the principle down he who is faithful and little will be faithful in much i think it was my brother telling me what his father had said at one point look after the pennies and the dollars will take after or look after themselves i think we can ascribe that to mr lawson senior we need to have men who maintain a consistent devotional life in other words the bible isn't simply a job for them but they live on it lloyd jones was excellent here he says you don't read the scripture as a man of god to find sermons you read the scripture to find food now while you're eating that food he recommended have a pen in your hand and a paper on the task and write down skeletons as you see them and throw them in the in the filing cabinet to be revisited or to be visited later we read the scripture because that's what a man of god does for the good of his soul as well the man should faithfully attend the public means of grace again brethren this is not rocket science i'm not that smart to engage in rocket science these are basic foundational principles if a man does not function well in the capacity of a member why would we want him to function in the capacity of an elder he should faithfully attend the means of grace that man as well should love and serve the brethren it shouldn't be well now that you're an elder go out and love and serve the brethren no typically you're able to spot men who are qualified for eldership or diaconate because they're already doing that they don't need to be recognized by the church they don't need to have hands laid upon them they don't need to be set apart in some official capacity because they just love and serve the brethren the man should be supportive of the ministry a mission and ministry of the church wouldn't it be great oh yeah we do we have a second london confession of faith that does define the terms of our understanding of scripture it's a wonderful guide so a man comes in among us and he's an armenian a man comes in among us and he's a dispensationalist a man comes in among us and he's a charismatic we're not suggesting he can't be saved we're not suggesting he isn't saved but we are suggesting it's probably not going to work that you function in the eldership in our church because happiness to teach means apnes to teach the bible truly and faithfully and as well the man should be faithful in little things there was a fellow his name is ronnie coleman he's built like a mountain he won mr olympia eight times in a row for those of you who do not know what that means it means having muscles on top of your muscles and then being awarded this mr olympia well commenting one time he said everybody wants to be a bodybuilder but no one wants to lift any heavy weights everybody wants to be a bodybuilder but no one wants to lift any heavy weights what's the point if you don't lift heavy weights you're not going to be a bodybuilder again just not rocket science here brethren if you're not faithful as a member in the church then why in the world would that church ever call you into the eldership and then secondly under the responsibility of men who aspire to the ministry the proven faithfulness in the qualifications of elders so not only generally he's a good and faithful church man but specifically he measures up he has a biblical desire he has personal conduct as described here he has domestic faithfulness he has the necessary experience in the faith he has a good testimony toward those who are outside and he has the ability and the competency to teach the word of god now i want to issue all of us an encouraging bit of caution here when we have young men who aspire we cannot expect from them old man ability in other words a new man a new elder a younger man who hasn't been at it as long is not going to preach and teach with the same degree of competency that a man who's been in it for a long time will that that makes sense right so we can't say well the guy doesn't sound like spurgeon no one sounds like spurgeon if that's what we're looking for will never have elders well he doesn't bring the same level of of teaching that perhaps this pastor does again he's new in terms of eldership and we need to understand that in fact look at what paul says in first timothy chapter 4 verse we already read verses 13 and 14 notice verse 15 meditate on these things give yourself entirely to them that look at what he says your progress may be evident to all in other words the first time he preached through the book of galatians he missed a few things along the way okay but later on when he preaches that same book of galatians he's going to touch on more stuff luther has two sections or two rather sets of lectures on galatians when he was a younger minister and when he was an older minister guess which set is more fuller more robust and more well-informed and if you're thinking the first one let me tell you you're wrong that is just the reality of it we have to be gracious we have to be kind and we have to be understanding that a man who's been in the ministry for one year should be markedly different than a man who's been in the ministry for 25 years in other words the man with the 25 years should be more able because he's been engaged in it longer look at 517 let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor in the context honor means payment it means remuneration it means do re me you know that because of verse three honor widows who are really widows he's talking about putting them on the widow's list and giving them money so that they can buy sheets for their beds so they can buy soup for their cupboards so that well stuff to make soup back in those days so that they could buy shoes honor meant to pay them to remunerate them and the same thing holds in verse 17. let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor what does it mean to rule well especially those who labor in the word and doctrine for the scripture says you shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain and the laborer is worthy of his wages so there is a class of elders that rule well those who engage especially in labor with reference to the word and doctrine yes absolutely positively now secondly broader consideration the responsibility of the church toward the men who aspire to the ministry there's a general and a specific generally the church should pray for an increase of laborers matthew chapter 9 the lord jesus looked upon the multitudes and he felt compassion for them because they were like sheep having no shepherd joshua makes that same observation back in the old testament and so what is jesus response to his disciples the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few therefore pray the lord of the harvest to raise up men and on the heels of that jesus then installs the apostles into that aspect of gospel ministry so we need to pray for an increase of laborers secondly the church should know the qualifications for elders and deacons that's why we've spent time here so that when it comes time to recognize a man we can't say well i don't know what it means to be an elder i would like to think by this time after the this is the fourth sermon you at least are in the ballpark in terms of what to look for third the church should insist that men who aspire to office meet the qualifications that's it's it's a big boy's world here i mean if a guy gets his nose bent out of shape because someone says you know i don't think he measures up or there's a consensus rather it's not just a someone but let's say the consensus is it's best for that man to wait a bit that's oftentimes the best proof as to the man's medal if a man can take the answer of no and be faithful in light of that then that bodes well if he gets his nose bent out of shape and he gets all upset and he starts to whine and cry and starts to launch his invective at the the current eldership or at the church you just don't know what a valuable man that i am brethren that's not as much of a boating well scenario as well the church must examine men in light of these qualifications drop down in chapter 3 to verse 10. so you've got the qualifications for elders verses 1-7 you've got the qualifications for deacons verses 8 to 13. but notice that verse 10 let these also first be tested what do you think the also means it means that the men who aspire to eldership are tested by the church to see if they fit the qualifications before they're admitted into gospel ministry so with reference to these qualifications we apply them we test men both informal and formal the way that we function is we announce the man or men we encourage the people of god to get to know them to have them over to ask them questions in informal settings when we get closer to the date where we lay hands on them we have a public examination everybody from the church members and attenders are welcome to come and see how we examine a man for gospel ministry with the bible and the confession of faith we launch a series of questions at them to see how they respond in terms of scripture and theology and then the church should exclude all who do not meet those qualifications not from the membership not you're a terrible specimen of a human being but exclude them from the eldership if they're not fit one of the things that the church in ephesus gets right in the book of revelation they're the church famously that lost their first love but prior to that condemnation they are commended because they took seriously first timothy chapter 3. remember timothy was in ephesus timothy was given this letter and would have preached it and taught it to the church in ephesus well in revelation 2 2 you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not and have found them liars so again brethren it's a bad thing it's a real condemnation you've lost or you've left your first love well i suggest they probably did because they were having to combat lying men who were trying to espouse that they themselves were apostles when you're in the trenches of battle it's hard to keep the heart white hot you're not reading spurgeons morning and evening when you're waging the good warfare so when jesus says that he's not cutting them off he's calling them back to increase devotion in terms of the first priority so that's the general specifically with reference to men the man must be recognized by the church we have to have a system in place and paul provides that system for us where the subjective desire that a man has can be checked by the objective criteria of the word of god that is absolutely positively crucial secondly the man must be tested by the church again verse 10 and then thirdly the man must be approved by the church you see it in acts 6 acts 14 first timothy 1 3 here and then again in titus chapter 1. now i probably should have led with this because this summarizes everything i've been trying to say london confession second london confession chapter 26 paragraph nine the way appointed for by christ for the calling of any person fitted and gifted by the holy spirit under the office of bishop or elder in a church is that he be chosen there unto by the common suffrage of the church itself and solemnly set apart by fasting in prayer with imposition of hands of the eldership of the church if there be any before constituted therein and of a deacon that he be chosen by the like suffrage and set apart by prayer and the like imposition of hands this is not a decision on the part of the existing eldership here's your new pastor this is the church having been informed by the word of the living god seeing a man or men presented before them taking that objective criteria applying it to the individual again with grace with kindness with love with charity and large-heartedness but nevertheless applying that criteria and if the majority says yay we bring the man in we lay hands on him we set them apart with fasting and prayer and then we either a use a mirror or beast send them out into the harvest field to plant churches or to go to the mission field to call sinners from every tribe and tongue and people and nation brethren pray brethren look out among you and brethren seek by god's grace to see installed in our church a plurality of elders perhaps a couple of more deacons and again men fit to go and to preach the word well let us pray father thank you for your word and thank you for the clarity concerning the qualifications of elders and deacons thank you for your kind provision of our deacons i thank you for these men and for their faithfulness i pray god as well for your blessing upon ryan i pray for your blessing upon dan in ontario i pray for andrew here she would just bless these brothers and give them sobriety as they approach these passages as they think through them and pray through them and help us as a church to be mindful to be responsible in the exercise of our responsibility at so important a level and god be glorified in the raising up of men in the proclamation of the truth in the salvation of sinners and in the edification of the saints and we pray through christ our lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation you [Music] you