08 Elder Ordination - The What, Warning and Why of Ordination

If you would take your Bible and turn back to where we were just a moment ago in our scripture reading That is 1st Timothy chapter 5 verse 22. We'll get to that portion of Scripture Really about halfway through the message so you can just have your Bible turned open there Now this morning we are finishing up the process and the work of some great and exciting growth in the life of our church Since February the first we have been in the process of affirming two men for the work of elder ministry Of course, we know that's Jared Walters and Tommy Alderman And I think most of us would say that the work that God has been doing here has been going on for much longer Than just the past four weeks and I have been blessed by the testimonies.

I've been blessed by the Affirmations from you some of them were written down when we took our vote the other night lots of them have been verbal and those Testimonies and those affirmations just speak to the fact that we've been seeing this work go on for quite Sometime the church noticed what we have before us and installing two additional elders in Matthew 16 verse 18 Jesus said that he would certainly build his church and From all that God has taught us from that verse through the years.

We know that we should have a mighty Expectation for growth in the life of our church now think about it We would really be an error and in sin if we thought differently Jesus said that he would build his church and even the gates of hell would not prevail against his church So we should have a mighty expectation For the growth of our church and a part of church growth is the development of more church leadership as needed And notice how we have been seen God work in two places. This has been very unifying This has been very very encouraging.

I think for all of us First as the pastor of our church I have been seeing the need for more elder ministry and Leadership for quite a while and I have been seen the call of God on Tommy and Jared's lives for this work Both men have faithfully served well for quite a while in certain elder like Responsibilities that I have put on them This has been a part of testing to see if indeed they have been called and equipped by God for the work And then second as a congregation You the membership of Grace Life Church have been seen the call of God on both of those men's lives as well Collectively, we have seen them serve faithfully in these elder like Responsibilities for quite a while Which has been a part of their testing in their affirmation before all of us Now church, there's a vital lesson here that I want us to see before we proceed in the message We must understand that the church is to always be moving forward.

Let me say that again We must understand and expect and see that the church is to always be moving forward the church is to always be moving forward while always being bound to tied to The Word of God which tells us the way God's church is supposed to work and function. It's rather simple But before we continue I want to remind us of our leadership structure now This is very very biblical and I've taught you this through the years We are elderly, but we are congregational e govern there are times It seems like it is only the elders that lead in govern at times They were certain things that is needed we can see that but at other times It seems like it's only the congregation that makes decisions and governs at times and with certain things That is what is needed and we clearly see that pattern of church leadership Really all through the New Testament scriptures beginning in the book of Acts But also I am the pastor or what could be seen as the lead elder, but I am a leader among equals We believe in and have a plurality of elders and we are all equal But as the pastor I am the leader among equals and we also see this all throughout the New Testament starting with the book of Acts This morning we are at the last step in confirming our two new elders this morning we are having what is commonly called an ordination service to commission and commit these two men for the word and a part of the ordination service is That the existing elders of the church along with the men of the church lay their hands on these men in prayer for the purpose of commissioning and Committing them to the work and the service now.

This is what we will do this morning in our message We will look at three things from the scriptures first I want us to see what it means to lay hands on a man in an ordination service like we have before us and Second I want us to see a very very important warning that really highlights how we have done these things And we have done these things well, and this helps keep us very very serious minded here, but then third Last I want us to see why this is important and then after our message.

We will have the ordination part of The service so let's get into the message Number one I want us to start off with a question What does it mean to ordain and to lay hands on a man as he becomes an elder? I'll repeat that question What does it mean to ordain and to lay hands on a man? When he is becoming an elder Now this part of the message will be a basic Explanation of what the New Testament says about ordination and the laying on of hands But in the New Testament it is clear to see that elders were affirmed They were set apart and appointed in a unique way to the office and service of elder The term usually used in the New Testament for the appointing of elders Simply means to set into place to appoint and to set one over and even in charge it means to ordain in the idea a notion of ordination speaks of and speaks to an official public recognition by the existing church leadership and the congregation thereby setting a man aside to work and to serve in the office of the elder Now notice a few examples of this ordaining work The first example is seen in Acts chapter 6 verses 1 to 7, but this does not have to do with elders But we will see this ordaining work in Acts chapter 6 we see that as the church in Jerusalem was growing there rose a church growth problem The Hellenistic widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food So a complaint and the division came about in response the apostles called the congregation to choose seven men for the work of Making sure that all of the widows there in the life of the church their needs were met in their needs for food Well after seven men were chosen by the congregation and they were affirmed by the Apostles They were ordained they were appointed for the work We also see another non elder example like we see in Acts 6 later on in Acts chapter 13 This is one we've looked at often in this study There we see that Barnabas and Saul they were ordained They were appointed for the work after the leaders of the church placed their hands on them and they prayed over them But the next example is seen in Titus 1 5 and this does pertain to elders The book of Titus tells us that Titus was put on the island of Crete by Paul to straighten out the problems in the churches there on the island of Crete and One of the first things Titus was to do was to appoint or to set aside elders in those churches And then the next example is seen in the life of Timothy who was an elder and he was the lead elder the pastor there in the church and Nephesus in 1st Timothy 4 14 We see that Paul warned young pastor Timothy not to neglect his gift and not to neglect neglect his calling Obviously, he was tempted to be careless with his gift and his calling or he was actually struggling With some kind of neglect or some kind of carelessness in his calling But here Paul reminded Timothy that the council of elders had laid their hands on him which spoke of and reminded him of His ordination and appointment for gospel work and ultimately for pastoral work that verse reads Do not neglect the gift you have which was given to you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you and Then also in 2nd Timothy 1 6 Paul urged young pastor Timothy to stir up the gift or to flin The flame of his gift and calling from God again Paul reminded him that the council of elders had laid their hands on him Which was when he was set apart and unto gospel work and ultimately?

Pastoral work and that verse says for this reason I remind you to fan in the flame the gift of God Which is in you through the laying on of my hands now. What is the point here? All throughout the New Testament we see language and examples of men who were ordained for particular service in work and Acts 6 those seven men were ordained for deacon type work in ministry and Some say that this was at least the office of the deacon in prototype in Acts 13 Barnabas and saw were ordained by the laying on the hands and prayer for evangelistic gospel work and we know that that ultimately became the first missionary journey and Several places in the New Testament we especially see that elders were appointed They were ordained and they were set apart for the work of elder ministry in the church and churches and in most of these Examples we see the recognized leaders of the church along with the congregation Laying their hands on them and a commissioning and an appointing and in an ordaining work But next I want us to notice the progression of this work Now you may not see the importance of recognizing how this work progressed in the scripture, but this helps us more than you know But if we study the work of appointing and ordaining elders throughout the New Testament We will see a progression and a transition take place In the beginning it was the Apostles who selected and ordained elders in the churches We see this in Acts 14 verse 23 That is when Paul and Barnabas were on their first missionary journey.

They literally appointed the elders and Then later on we see that those close to the Apostles appointed elders just like the Apostles We see this in Titus 1 5 when Paul instructed Titus to appoint elders there in the churches on the island of Crete But then later on we see a change We see that the established elders in those established churches ordained the elders We see this with Timothy and in those verses that I read earlier 1st Timothy 4 14 and 2nd Timothy 1 6 Now what is my point here?

As we see the church develop from its infancy on into maturity We see a body of elders Appointing and setting aside elders for the work of elder ministry along with the affirmation of the church and the congregation and an outward sign of that affirmation and appointment was the laying on of hands in prayer and that is what we See take place today now last Notice what the laying on of the hands means our speaks to If we go all the way back into the Old Testament We will see that the laying on of the hands really comes out of and from the Old Covenant sacrificial system when a sacrifice was performed the hands of the one making the sacrifice was placed on the sacrifice so as to identify with the sacrifice and Then in the New Testament It is basically the same thing in the New Testament the laying on of the hands was an outward Invisible way of saying something like this and I'm putting it into my words We recommend you and appoint you to the ministry at hand.

We stand beside you We stand in support of you We affirm the work of God in you and through you and we recommend and appoint you giving you the authority And the position at hand Now think back with me a little To Timothy who was the pastor there at the church at Ephesus? Timothy did not just appoint himself to be the pastor of the church at Ephesus Paul did not appoint Timothy to the gospel and gospel ministry on his own From first Timothy 4 14 and second Timothy 1 6 we see that Paul along with a body of elders And obviously there was a congregation on hand there They all affirmed appointed and ordained Timothy to gospel work and ultimately he became a pastor in the outward sign of identifying with God in Timothy in that work an outward sign of commissioning him in the work was the laying on of the hands and praying and committing him to God into the work and That is clearly seen in the New Testament scriptures.

Now. What is my point here? The laying on of hands is to have great great spiritual meaning First to the one being commissioned and ordained Second to the elders actually doing the commissioning and third and then third to the church who is commissioning and recommending and ordaining as well and that is the case here today. I'm thankful that I have heard from Tommy and Jared both that they are gripped by and Overwhelmed by the great spiritual significance of what is taking place here.

They are humbled by these things They are sober minded in these things And I want to say this to you as your pastor that these things are very very serious And I take these things in a very very serious way That is why we have taken our time here and I've taught you thoroughly here I see the great spiritual significance at hand here And this is stirring up quite a lot of good conversation Between Keith and myself because he served faithfully as an elder here as well Now what am I trying to show us here as the church and as a pastor in any man involved here We should be gripped by the seriousness of these things and the true scriptural meaning of this day and this time But then number two We must see the very serious warning in this work We need to make sure that we see the very serious warning in This work now right here is where I want us to go back to our scripture verse from earlier It's just one verse, but I want us to read it again Paul is instructing Timothy about some elder matter starting in verse 17 But this one specific matter I want us to read about here and then look into verse 22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands Nor take part in the sins of others keep yourself pure Now before we jump into the verse I want us to make sure we see some basic background of this teaching in verse Timothy was the pastor of the church at Ephesus and scholars tell us that the church at Ephesus was one of the toughest churches The pastor that might surprise you There were certain leaders.

They were teaching false doctrine. We see that in chapter 1 verse 3 They were some who brought fruit lists and vain discussions into the church. We see that in chapter 1 verse 6 There were some in the church They were misusing the law and that exposed the fact that they misunderstood the gospel We see that in chapter 1 verses 7 to 11 We see that some of the false teachers were women in the life of the church We see that in chapter 2 verse 11 and 12 and then we see that some of the teachers in the church were in sin And they needed discipline That's what we see in chapter 5 in verses 17 to 20 But one of the errors that Timothy had to address and had to correct was the hasty or fast Disappointment of elders and leaders in the church now listen to that verse again in the Amplified That verse reads do not hurry to lay hands on anyone or daining and approving someone from ministry Or an office in the church and thereby share in the sins of others keep yourselves free from sin So out of verse 22, I want us to see three things that form what I see as a very serious and much-needed warning first Paul commands do not quickly appoint leaders now right away.

We need to clear up a possible misunderstanding Because Paul had explained how to deal with sin of the lives of church elders back in verse 20 verse 19 to 21 Some say that here Paul was commanding Timothy and this church not to be too quick in Reinstalling elders who have been in sin, but that's not the case Because in every instance in the New Testament where the laying on of hands is connected to leaders. It is connected with ordination Well, if that is the case and I believe it is what is Paul saying here?

We have learned that to lay hands on someone is a part of an Installing a man into leadership in a church So it is plain to see that Paul was commanding Timothy and this church Not to quickly lay hands on a man and appoint that man into leadership Now I want to ask a few rhetorical questions What happens when the church is quick to appoint leaders? What happens when a church is quick to appoint leaders and have we ever seen this?

Could it be that most of those problems with leadership in the Ephesian church Came about because they failed to thoroughly investigate and test those who were appointed up against God's Word I Think it is safe to say that most of their leadership problems stem from this error. Let that sink in So Paul gives them a clear and an easy to understand command Do not be quick to lay hands on man in prayer over them in prayer and to appoint them the leadership position in the church Now church, I want to explain something to you. That's rather simple.

I Have obeyed this command Brother Keith is my witness and Keith alongside me as an elder We have obeyed this command and Jared and Tommy can attest to the methodical And even the slow way I have worked with them in their calling Not just to test them in their abilities But to test them in their qualifications and to make sure that they were indeed called by God for the work Now through the years I Have had minister friends and friends that I have done ministry with Make a joking but yet serious accusation against me Many have said that I am very very slow in making decisions in the life of the church Well right here.

I've been very biblical Because I've been methodical and I've been slow even to the point where some would say why are you being so slow? But then second Paul reveals what takes place when this happens Here Paul says that when a church is quick to appoint leaders such as elders and when that leader turns out to be sinful Unqualified and even destructive to the church.

There are consequences Notice that Paul really seems to be saying that the one who is quickly appointed is first in sin Second damaging and destructive to the work in the office that he has been appointed to and third even damaging and destructive to the church and notice the consequence He says that to quickly appoint this kind of a leader the church actually shares in has Communion with and even shares a partnership with their sin and sinfulness This phrase take part in that we see in the English Standard Version this comes from a word in the original Which means to share in partake in have in common and even to partner with?

Listen to the new American Standard it captures it Well that verse says do not lay hands upon anyone to hastily and the share responsibility for the sin of others see that share responsibility for the sin of others now a question here How many churches appoint? ungodly leaders therefore the church shares in and even partners with and in their sin and Notice the depth and the breadth of this horrible sin When those leaders are appointed and they are kept in the place of leadership The church shares in and even partners with their sin and their growing sinfulness for years Maybe even for more than one generation Grace like We must see that if we lower the standard to excel unqualified and sinful men in elder ministry unqualified and sinful men in other ministry positions and this applies to teaching positions, too We all truly share in their sin and sinfulness.

Oh How we need God to open up our eyes to this reality and possibility and Then we need to have this seared into our hearts and into our minds and into our thinking because this is a horrible and disastrous sin And Keith I'm speaking to you as an elder and now Jared and Tommy what I'm about to say to you is extremely important as you may and operate as elders if I Become sinful to such a degree that I need correction or I need to be removed because of sin If you lower the standard then you will be leading our church to share in sin and to even Partner in sin and the damage that that sin will do in the life of the church is unimaginable And if I do the same thing in relation to you and other leadership positions in the church I could do the very same thing We must never commit this sin therefore bringing sin and shame and damage into Christ's church this church And then third Paul commands keep yourselves and the church pure Here Paul uses a key word this word keep all the translations use this word keep this word translated keep it Literally means to attend carefully even to be on guard and even to be extra careful when on guard and here Paul was commanding Timothy and the church to carefully be on guard here so as not to share in and even participate in the sin of unqualified Ungodly church leaders and to make sure to keep themselves and to keep the church pure clean and holy and look at this standard church and look at how this applies to us Leadership and especially elder leadership should not only Not cause the church to share in and even to participate in sin But elder leadership should by their very own lives and in how they protect the church They should promote purity and bring about more and more Holiness in the life of the church members and in the overall life of the church Now Keith I Want to ask you do you see and do you reaffirm yourself to this high standard?

And now Tommy and Jared as you are coming in on Elder ministry do you see and do you accept this high high standard for elder ministry and service and this is my Responsibility this is the standard and responsibility that I have as well So notice what we see here in this warning Paul gives Timothy in this church a command Do not be quick to lay hands on a man and put him in leadership quickly for if you do You personally share in and partner with their sin and you lead the church to do the very same thing He says to keep yourselves and the church pure and free from sin in every area of church leadership in church life Now I want to say something right here and I'll say this very humbly And there are people here that can attest to this some of you've known me for over 20 years In the 29 years I have been in the ministry Serving three churches since I left my home church and in ministering to too many churches to count through youth camps Retreats mission trips preaching engagements and now pastoring for almost 15 years by God's grace and God's grace alone I have never been involved in sin that caused a church to share in and partner in sin That brought shame and damage and disgrace to the church and the lives of the believers in by God's grace and with God's help I can say that God has used me in all of those churches and all of those Circumstances that I mentioned in all of these 29 years to make the church more clean more pure and more holy And it's all been by God's grace Now Keith Jared and Tommy And really this goes beyond leadership elder leadership I'm speaking to any and all leadership in the life of our church.

This is what God expects of us Not just to not bring damage into the life of the church But to protect the church and to bring more holiness and more purity in the life of the church in every area of the church By who we are And how we live? But then number three another question Why is ordination important? Why is ordination important We have already seen that ordination and the laying on of the hands by the existing elders and leaders of the church is an official public recognition of and a setting aside of a man to a Particular work in a particular office and in the case of Jared and Tommy, this is the work in office of elder ministry But the question why is this so important?

Now there are many ways we can answer that question We have entered that question to some degree throughout the message, but I want to answer that question in two ways It's very simple, but I believe you'll see this is very very beneficial first This is important because we can clearly see that this is God's prescribed manner and means to lead his church Some questions here. This will cause you to reflect back on some of your church experiences in the past Does God's Word permit women to be elders in the life of the church?

Well, the answer to that question is no and to do so would be to do what God does not permit that would be sin and ultimately that would be destructive because any sin in the life of the church and leadership is destructive another question Does God's Word say that deacons are to lead and govern Shepherd and pastor? Teaching preach like we see with elders in the scripture Well, the answer to that is no and to operate like this is at best a flawed model and it worst sin And I believe a flawed model like that is unhealthy and it can hinder and does hinder the work of the church and it can damage the church But one more question Does God's Word say that a committee of men and women are to lead and govern the affairs of the church?

Well, the answer to that is no and to put the governing business of the church in the hands of a committee of men Or in the hands of a committee of men and women is not what we see in the scripture and that is unhealthy I believe it is a hindrance and I believe it is damaging now. What is my point here? It is very very simple The laying on of hands and ordaining God called me into this ministry is An obedience issue.

We are simply doing the work of God The work of the church God's way according to the scripture It's real simple but then second this is important because The care of God's people is at stake and we see this plainly in the scripture The New Testament scriptures clearly state that God gave elders to the church to shepherd or pastor God's people Ephesians 4 11 says that they are gifts and we see this also in Acts 20 verse 28 We also see that God gave elders to the church to teach his word to his people We see that in Ephesians 4 11 and also in 1st Timothy 3 2 in other places in Scripture We also see that God gave elders to the church to lead and to govern his church We see that in Acts 20 28 1st Timothy 3 2 1st Timothy 5 17 and in other places and in Hebrews 13 17 We see that the writer of the book of Hebrews called those Jewish Christians to be obedient to a particular command He said and I'm quoting the verse Obey your leaders and submit to them For they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will give an account Let them do this with joy and not with groaning for that would be of no advantage to you Now what is my point here?

Not only is this God's way, but it is to your spiritual advantage To have God called elders over you serving you like we see in the scripture or daining Jared and Tommy is To your spiritual advantage and to the spiritual advantage of your families your children and their children's children These men are for my spiritual advantage that may surprise you as the pastor of Grace Life Church The addition of these two men in elder ministry this is for my spiritual advantage and the spiritual advantage of the church for years to come and notice The ordination of these two men is simply God moving his church forward so elder ordination What elder ordination is the great warning here and why ordination is so very important that leads me to the title of the message elder ordination the what warning and why of ordination Now let's pray over the message.

Let's pray over this teaching and then we will transition to laying hands on these men praying over them and then Commissioning the work this will be rather simple and will not take too much time, but let's pray