Called and Qualified Men - The Deacon - Part 1

Well, I enjoyed that new song. I don't know that one. I'm going to have to learn that one so that I can worship with enthusiasm like I talked about last week. But I sure did love that old song. I want you to think about a phrase we were singing, "Ponder anew what the Almighty can do." Think about that for a minute. We should be a people that ponder and think about what God can do. Yes, we should see what the Lord is doing among us, but we should think about and ponder with vision what the Lord can do among us. And I'm very, very thankful for all that He is doing. I enjoy that worship as always.

Now, if you would take your Bible and turn back to 1 Timothy chapter 3. I did read earlier verses 8 to 13, and I did say that we will not cover all of those verses this morning. Now, I'm going to ask you to turn to another place in Scripture a little later on in the message. That would be Romans chapter 12 verses 6 to 8. There is a portion of Scripture that I want us to all see together. Of course, I'll mention a few other verses. You could write those down and read those and study those on your own.

Now, for several weeks, we have been in our series that I'm calling, "Messages from the Pastor's Heart." And most of you know that I started this series by sharing how I came to faith in Christ and when I came to faith in Christ, and how and when God called me into the ministry. I could say it like this. This is my personal testimony. This is my spiritual journey. And of course, I couldn't share all of that. And as a matter of fact, there were certain things that I didn't share that I look forward to sharing in the future. Now, as a part of that series, I have been addressing leadership in the local church.

Specifically, the last two Sundays, I have taught from 1 Timothy 3 verses 1 to 7 on the call and the qualifications of the elder. Well, this morning, I'm taking the next logical step in teaching on leadership in the church. I'm going to teach on the work in the office of the deacon from verses 8 to 13. Now, I have said over and over that we are in a critical time in the life of our church. Not that we have any problems, no. I have said numerous times that if we do not have a biblical approach to elders and the elder ministry and who we select as elders, well, the results will be disastrous.

If we do not have a biblical approach in God's wisdom with elder ministry, the leadership of the church and ultimately the health of the entire church can flounder and can fail. I say that because the church rises and it falls on its leadership. I'll give you an example to prove that statement. In Acts chapter 20, Paul was giving the elders of the church at Ephesus some parting instructions. Some of you know what was going on there in that chapter. Paul was going to Rome and he knew that he would never see them again.

And in that last meeting, he tells the elders of the church there to pay careful attention to themselves and to the church because false teachers and false teaching was coming into the church. Paul even called those false teachers fierce wolves. And my point is this. In the coming trials and days that Paul knew was coming to the Ephesian church, he knew that they would succeed or they would fail based on the leadership of the leaders. This morning I want us to see that we are in a critical time in the life of the church for another reason. Before us, we have the need for organized deacon ministry and service.

Now for the 11 or 12 years I have been the pastor here, we have never had organized deacon ministry and service. We have relied on men to care for what we would call deacon work as it comes up before us, but we have never had organized deacon ministry and service. But the need for deacons and organized deacon ministry is upon us. But of course those things will be put into place in God's time and in God's way. So as we look at organizing deacon ministry in the future, it is critical that we start this biblical ministry just as God's word says it should be.

And we need God's wisdom to organize this ministry as it should be according to God's will for our church. And if we start off wrong, we really strike out before we even come up to bat. If we start off wrong, we hamstring ourselves before we even start the race. And what I'm saying is this, in the future or near future, as we seek to select deacons and organize deacon ministry for our church, if we do not do these things according to God's word and with the wisdom that comes from God, the physical needs of our church and the ministries of our church, they will not be met.

And if that happens, we hinder the work of the church and we hinder the people of the church. That would be you and me, all of us. Now before we get into the call and the qualifications of the deacon, we need to see some basic information here. We need to make sure that we all see the office of the deacon and deacon service as it is seen in the scriptures, the New Testament. And what I'm going to share here will surprise some of you. Also, this will correct some misunderstandings and even some error that some of you have in your mind and your thinking. And this will even be more instructive than you know.

But in the New Testament, the word deacon and the words related to this word deacon simply means serve it or to serve or service. And these variations and related words appear all throughout the New Testament. But this particular word that is used to refer to the office of the deacon is only seen in two places in the New Testament. Only in Philippians chapter 1 verse 1 and only in 1 Timothy 3 verses 8 to 13 do we see the office of the deacon. The rest of the times this word deacon and the variations of the word are used in a general sense. They speak of the serve it. They speak of to serve. They speak of service in a general way.

Now this will take a little more time but I want to explain this a little further. And if I were to jump straight into the office and the qualifications of the deacon without helping us see the different uses of the word and the meaning of the New Testament, I would not be educating and equipping all of us as we should be. But first of all, the first use and the meaning of this word had to do with serving and menial tasks like waiting on tables or serving food.

And if you follow the use of the word throughout the New Testament, the definition and the understanding of the word broadens to speak of various kinds of physical service in the church. And we can see the broad use of the word and the variations of the word all throughout the New Testament. This word deacon and the various forms of the word are translated in our English translations in many different ways. We see the word administration. We see the phrase cared for. We see the word minister. We see the word servant and serve service. We see words like preparations and relief and support as well as many others.

And what I'm showing you is this. All those words and more come from this word deacon in various forms of the word. The basic idea of the word is seen in John 2 verse 5 where a form of the word deacon is used at a wedding. This word is used in the same way in Luke 439 where Peter's mother-in-law served a meal. The same idea is seen in Luke 10 40 and Luke 17 8 and in John 12 2 where a form of the word deacon is used to speak of serving food. Now what is my point here?

The original meaning of this word deacon and the various forms of this word deacon had to do with performing menial tasks, domestic duties, duties that we would normally see in the life of a servant or even a slave in the New Testament. But second, forms of this word deacon are used in the New Testament in a more specific way as well. In the list of spiritual gifts in Romans 12 verses 6 to 8 we see the spiritual gift of service or ministry. And this will surprise some of you. That's why I want you to turn over and I want us to look at these verses and I want us to see this word service or ministry. Let's read Romans 12 verses 6 to 8.

I'm going to back up and read verses 3 on down to put it in context. "For by the grace given to me I say to every one among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function. So we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually members of one another, having gifts that differ according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them." And now we see that Paul gives the spiritual gifts.

If prophecy in portion to our faith, if service in our serving to one who teaches in his teaching, to one who exhorts in his exhortation, to one who contributes or gives in generosity, to one who leaves with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. Now what we see here is this with this service in ministry. This means that there are those in the body who are specifically equipped and gifted for service or ministry. They truly have the spiritual gift of service. They have the spiritual gift of ministry. But this does not mean that they have necessarily an office.

This is a broad term with a breadth of meaning to serve the Lord in the church. A commentator, William McDonald says the person who has this gift of service, they have a servant heart. They see the opportunity to serve and they seize that opportunity. I like that term. They seize that opportunity. I would say this is their gift. I would say this is their calling. I would say this is their heartbeat. This is who they are and what they do.

If you ask this person who has this gift, if you say to them, "How do they serve?" They're going to say, "Well, I just serve." And if you ask them, "Why do they serve?" They're just going to say, "This is what I do. This is my heartbeat. This is what I love to do." In 1 Corinthians 16, 15, Paul wrote about a man named Stephanus and his family. He said that Stephanus was gifted for service and he goes on to say that they devoted themselves to service and to ministry. Now, in application, I want you to see how this applies to us in two ways. First of all, there's this general call to serve.

Remember, I said the word deacon and its various forms are used all throughout the scripture. And I'm going to give you a term here. We're all called to deaconize. That means we're all called to serve. If you are a born again believer and a member of Grace Life Church, we are all called to serve. We believe in what's called every member ministry. We all serve. But then we see that there are those who have the spiritual gift to serve and to deaconize above and beyond. Why? Because they're uniquely gifted that way. And how do they serve above the norm? That's just who they are. Why do they serve above the norm? Well, that's how they're gifted.

That's their heartbeat. That's what they do. That's what they love. That's who they are. And as we live together in the life of the church, we will see one another serve and then we'll see those who are called in a unique way to serve. Why? Because they have the gift. I give you an example. My wife. Now, I'm going to be honest with you. It's dangerous to mention your wife when she's not here. She's visiting her mom this weekend. But one of my wife's spiritual gifts is service. And there have been some times in our spiritual journey where we've been in different churches where she was limited in her ability to serve.

And I watched her during those times wilt like a flower. She suffered. She couldn't do what she was called to do. She couldn't serve in the life of the church. She was restricted. She was caged. She wilted and she didn't grow as she should have. Why? Because she couldn't exercise that gift. And I think you understand how this applies to us maybe in a way in which you'd never seen before. So we have seen the wide meaning of this word deacon and the various forms of the word. This speaks of service and all kinds and types of service in the life of the church for all of the body.

And we have seen a more specific use of the form of the word deacon. In Romans 12, 6 to 8 we see the particular spiritual gift of service and ministry. And that gift is manifested in and through a believer in the life of the church in a whole host of ways. But it is a gifting to service in the body and for the body. But then third, we see the word deacon. And forms of this word are used to refer to the officially recognized office of the deacon and the officially recognized responsibilities of the deacon. I love what John MacArthur says here. He's describing all three here. This will really help some of you.

He says, and I'm quoting, "Everyone is a deacon in the general sense." I like that. We're all to be deacons. We're to deaconize. And he goes on to say, "Some are specifically gifted by the Holy Spirit for service, but still others hold the office of the deacon. They model spiritual service for everyone." I love that. They model spiritual service for everyone. And he goes on to say, "They," that would be those who hold this office, "they work alongside the elders implementing their preaching and their teaching and oversight in the practical life of the church." So in summary, look what we have learned here. Look what we've been reminded of.

Look what we've seen. Deaconizing. I love that phrase. Our serving in the life of the church is seen all throughout the New Testament in all sorts of ways. And every member of the church should be serving. Again, we believe in every member of ministry. And when we have our church membership classes, we emphasize that. It is a part of what we do. And you as members of Grace Life Church, you have opportunities to serve throughout our ministry teams. If you're looking for a place to serve, they're right there. You come to me, you come to Brother Keith, we'll put you to work. Why? Because we're all to serve.

And then on top of that, there are some of you, you have the spiritual gift of serving. You might be a woman, you might be a man. These men and women, you are uniquely gifted and compelled to serve in the church. And this service in the church is needed. And look, in many ways, they are models of service in the church for all to see. Many times we will call these people lay leaders. Why? Because they kind of rise above the norm. And those are the men, those are the women who were first to serve. They are up front to serve. Many times they're the first to serve and they serve last. Many times they're early, they work a little harder.

And maybe that's you. Maybe that's why you have reached out to serve in a leadership capacity, maybe in a ministry team. Maybe that's why you step to the forefront to volunteer because you have the gift of service. And then on top of all that service, there are some men that are called and equipped for service in the church. And they are officially recognized and given the responsibility of the deacon as seen in the scriptures. And they are officially recognized and given that office of the deacon as seen in the scriptures.

And they work alongside and under the elders to carry out the teaching ministry of the church, the work of the church, and the practical and physical needs of the church. And this will be the deacon and the deacon body are deacons. In many ways and in every way, these men are to be models of service in the church for all of the church to see. Now an application real quick. Many of us have come from sick and unhealthy churches. Now let's don't call any names, but think back to the men who were deacons in those churches. Were they models of service? Were they heads and shoulders above in models of service for all to see?

See folks, this is the standard. And we're going to see the standard this morning and next week. This is the standard and this should be our expectation that we look across the congregation and we see an entire body serving, deaconizing, and then lay leaders, those who have the gift of ministry. They're serving above and beyond. And then we see men who were deacons who set the standard in a new and a unique way. Now that was some much needed background in teaching, but there are a few more things about the deacon that we need to see before we can get into the call and the qualifications.

In this series of messages, we are in the process of moving from the call and the qualifications of the elder to the call and the qualifications of the deacon, right? But we need to see that the two are very much alike, but much different. Yes, the elder and the deacon are very much alike, but much different. We must see that the biblical standards for the deacon are in no way less than or lower than the standards for the elder. Now that surprises some of you, but you need to hear it again. The biblical standards for the deacon are in no way less than or lower than the standards for the elder. Now I want you to banish a thought.

I want you to get rid of an assumption. I want you to think about a standard that you may have, and I want you to get it out of your mind and your understanding. The deacon is not the man who just can't measure up to being an elder. The deacon is not the man who is examined for the office and the service of an elder, and he just couldn't make the cut, so he's sitting down to the minor leagues to serve as the deacon. Look, the biblical standards for the deacon are almost identical to the biblical standards for the elder.

Elders who serve in their office and deacons who serve in their office serve in much different ways, but the spiritual standards and the qualifications are almost identical. I love how John MacArthur says it. He says there's no drop-off between the two. I like that. There's no drop-off between the elder and the deacon. Simply the spiritual qualifications, the spiritual maturity, the spiritual quality of the men are just the same for the deacon and the elder, but the only difference in the qualifications is that the elder must be able to teach, whereas the text does not say that the deacon must be qualified with an ability to teach.

Now a deacon can have the ability to teach and preach, but the text does not say that the deacon must be able to teach. Now personally, I'll take a deacon who can preach and teach. Give me a deacon who can preach and teach, and I'll put him to work preaching and teaching. So in summary, we see there's no drop-off. Get that in your mind, folks. There's no drop-off between the elder and the deacon. The deacon is no second-class elder. He is not the man who just couldn't quite make elder. The deacon and his qualifications are identical to the elder, except that the deacon is not required to have the ability to teach.

Now I want to put one more thing in your mind before we move on. I think about it like this. We have two pillars. We have two towers. We have the elder and we have the deacon. They are very much the same in their quality. Yes, there's no drop-off, and it is upon their shoulders that the work of the church rests. You cannot deny that if you understand it biblically. Now one more bit of background that will help us. I said earlier that the only times we see the office of the deacon mentioned is in Philippians 1.1 and here in 1 Timothy 3.

In the greeting, in the book of Philippians, Paul writes, and I'm quoting the verse, "Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus to all of the saints in Christ Jesus who were at Philippi with the overseers and the deacons." Notice what Paul is doing. He is addressing the elders, the pastors, the overseers, and the deacons. And then here in 1 Timothy 3.8, Paul writes, "deacons likewise." But a question, who were the first deacons? Where is the beginning of this deacon ministry? If the only times we see the office of the deacon mentioned is here in Philippians in 1 Timothy, well, where did the ministry begin? Who did this ministry begin with?

There are many Christians and Bible scholars that believe that the seven men chosen to oversee the distribution of food in Acts 6 were the first official deacons. Now if we read those verses Acts 6, 1 to 7, we will see that the text does not call them deacons. As a matter of fact, the only use of the word is found in Acts 6, 4 when the text says that the apostles would devote themselves to prayer in the ministry or service of the word. The text was saying they were going to deaconize. They were going to serve, deaconize in prayer in the word. And we see a form of the word in verse 1 when the text mentions the daily distribution of food.

And also if we follow these seven men from Acts 6 who some say were the first deacons, if we follow them throughout the book of Acts, we never find them being called deacons. Elders are mentioned all throughout the book of Acts, but these men were never called deacons. Now what is my point here? I want us to see what we have in Acts 6. Some see these men as the first deacons, but we can't say that for certain because the Scriptures do not call them deacons. But we certainly can call these men deacons in prototype. And we certainly can call their ministry of waiting tables and serving food deacon ministry in prototype.

Who these men were in their service in the church, there in the Jerusalem church foreshadowed deacons and deacon ministry in an official capacity that we see later on in the New Testament. Now what is the lesson here? I want to introduce you to a strange word. It is called hermeneutics. We have what is called the laws of hermeneutics. What that means is we've got to interpret the Scriptures properly. Now I know there are respected biblical scholars who will say that these men were the first deacons, but the text doesn't say it. It just doesn't say it. Now what am I trying to show you?

Sometimes we can work off assumptions, but we have to be careful with assumptions. We know that they were deacons, and this was deacon ministry in prototype. But what do we see right here? We see the progression and the development of the need and the office in the church. You got to understand in Acts that was the beginning of this thing called the church, but we see the church progress and develop. And as the church grew and developed and progressed, well the need, it came up, and the need was met. Now as we look at the qualifications for deacon, we can be overwhelmed. You might say, "Pastor, you're finally getting to the text.

You're finally getting here to 1 Timothy." But if we look at the qualifications like we did with the elder, we can be overwhelmed. But if we categorize them, if we categorize the qualifications like we did with the elders, well that will help. Well here in verses 8 to 13, we have what I see as five groups of qualifications, five categories. First we see the qualifications that relate to personal character, that's in verse 8. Second we see the qualifications which relate to doctrine and faith, that's verse 9. Third we see the qualifications which relate to service in the life of the church, that's at the beginning of verse 10.

Fourth we see qualifications that relate to moral purity, we see that at the end of verse 10 and the beginning of verse 12. And fifth we see qualifications that relate to the home and home life and the witness of the home, and that's in verse 11 and 12. Now before we get to the qualifications, there's one key word that will help us see these qualifications as we should. And I can't explain just how important this word is. As a matter of fact, this one key word here will explain much of what you've seen in the lives of deacons and deacon ministry throughout your years of experience in the church. Look at verse 8 with me.

This is 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 8. Look at your copy of God's Word, no matter what translation I want you to read along. Notice what Paul says. Paul says deacons likewise kind of sort of need to be. Is that what he says? Paul says deacons likewise, maybe they need to be. No, that is not what the text says. We've already done this once so you know what I'm going to say. Paul uses this word must. Paul says the deacon and the prospective deacon must meet these qualifications. And look Grace Life Church, understanding this one word and believing this word is in the text helps us relate to these qualifications God's way.

God says that for a man to be considered for the service and office of deacon he must, he must, he must meet these qualifications. He's saying that a man who is in the position of a deacon he must meet these qualifications. If not, he's not qualified. If not, he must not be considered. And again think about your past experiences in other churches. Again, we're not going to call any names but in so many churches the qualifications are barely mentioned. The word must can be removed in many of these circumstances and it's really just a well you can kind of sort of meet these qualifications. Lord help us if we ever get to that place.

Now let's finally get to the qualifications. You might say pastor I thought you'd never get there. Well we finally are here but I believe that all that we've been studying and looking at together here has been beneficial. So our first category, the deacon must have qualifying personal character. If you're taking notes you can write that down. Our first category, the deacon must have qualifying personal character. Let's read verse 8. Paul says deacons likewise must, must be dignified, must not be double tongued, must not be addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. Now here we have four qualifications that all relate to what?

The man's personal character. And first off we see that the deacon must be a man who is dignified. The English standard that I'm reading from says dignified. Now the King James uses the word grave. Some of you have the new international version. It's accurate. It says men worthy of respect. And this speaks of a seriousness. This speaks of a seriousness in his thinking. This speaks of a sober mindedness. But this also speaks of a reverence or one who is venerated. Another way of saying it is that he is very, very respected. And this means that he is a man who takes his responsibilities to serve in the life of the church seriously.

He does not casually perform service in the church for the church. He does these things in such a way that he is respected. He is venerated. He is looked up to. Simply these men must be men of dignity. These men must be men of respect. And that is because they are serious men who are serious about spiritual matters and service in the church. So they are men of respect. They are men who are worthy of this respected office and service. So a deacon, a prospective deacon must be qualified in his personal character specifically. He must be dignified, respected, even venerated because of his serious approach to a serious work.

Now we're looking at the future. We're looking at selecting and evaluating and appointing the deacon. And what we must see is this. We must have men who are respected. They are dignified. They are serious about this serious work and serious office. They are venerated. They are looked up to. Next we see that the deacon must not be double tongued. Now notice that the King James and the new American standard in the English standard all say the same thing. This funny phrase, double tongued. Now some scholars say this refers to gossip and a gossiping tongue. Now that is true but it really means more than that.

This also pertains to the awful habit of saying one thing to one person but then something different to another. We may say it like this. He or she talks out both sides of their mouth. We know what that phrase means. So to say that a deacon must not be a gossip is true but it's more. He must not say one thing to one and yet say the opposite to another. John MacArthur says it like this and I'm quoting. He says a deacon speech must not be hypocritical but it must be characterized by integrity, consistency, and honesty.

Albert Barnes says they, this would be the deacon, they should be men who can be relied on for the exact truth of what they say and for the exact fulfillment of their promises. Simply the deacon, they must be men of truth and truthfulness, of honesty and consistency in their speech. Their speech must be dependable. It must be trustworthy. All people in the church and outside of the church must be able to depend on what they say. So a deacon, a prospective deacon, he must be qualified in his personal character. He must be truthful. He must be honest. He must be dependable in all of his speech.

And again we're looking into the future and when we look to select and appoint men for this particular office and service they must be truthful. They must be honest in their speech. Their speech must be dependable. And then also we see that the deacon must not be addicted to wine. Now here the King James says not given to much wine. The English Standard, the New American says not addicted to much wine. Now there's a key word here, the word addicted. This means to turn one's mind to. It means to occupy oneself with. It means the habitual continual practice.

And just like when we looked at this same teaching with the elders in verse 3, we must see that this is not a strict commandment against the use of alcohol. Nowhere in the scriptures can we find a command that says a Christian or an elder or a deacon cannot consume alcohol. So here Paul is not giving a command. He is not forbidding a deacon from drinking alcohol. But we must see that there are many warnings in the scriptures against the abuse of alcohol. And the scriptures clearly teach that drunkenness is definitely a sin. And we must see that the scriptures do teach us how we should approach these types of things in our lives.

And the question should a Christian drink or not, it is a matter of two areas of the life. It is a matter of the Christian witness and it is a matter that pertains to the Christian conscience. In Romans 14, Paul teaches that believers must seriously and methodically work through the things that pertain to the Christian conscience. Paul teaches that the believer is responsible for their witness in these questionable areas of the life. And Paul shows us that these are very, very serious matters with great responsibilities attached to them.

Specifically he says in Romans 14, 21 that it is good not to eat certain foods or to drink wine or to do anything that would cause a brother to stumble. So believers and especially leaders like elders and deacons, they are responsible for their witness. And we will see that a deacon is to be blameless. That means that there should be no substantial charge of sin against their life. And this matter of alcohol would certainly apply to the life of the deacon and the prospective deacon. I like how Albert Barnes puts it. In his commentary he compares the deacon of today to the spiritual leaders of the Old Testament.

He points out that the use of wine and strong drink, those things were prohibited for the Jewish religious leaders when they were serving the Lord. Go and read Leviticus chapter 10 specifically verses 8 and 9. Barnes goes on to say, and I'm quoting, "Why should it be any more proper for a Christian minister to drink wine than for a Jewish or a pagan priest?" Simply, deacons must be men who are not addicted to wine. They are not addicted to the drink. They must not be occupied with alcohol. This must not be their habit. So a deacon and a prospective elder must be qualified in their personal character.

They must not be addicted to wine or occupied with the drink. Now I have shared with you my position. It's just not worth it for me. I value my witness too much. I would rather abstain from something that could tarnish my reputation or lead another astray. Brother Keith has said it like this several years ago, "We don't take a blood oath or a covenant. We have a gentleman's spiritual leader handshake. We just don't consume alcohol as leaders in the life of the church." Why? Because our responsibilities are too great. Our witness and my witness is too valuable to you.

And of course, when we look at deacons and prospective deacons in the future, this would be one of those things that we must evaluate. And then last, we see that the deacon must not be fond of dishonest gain. Now the English Standard uses the word dishonest. The New American uses kind of an odd word, this word sordid. The King James uses the term greedy for filthy lucre. Now this simply means that he must not be greedy but more. He must also not be greedy for dishonest gain. That would be a greed for gaining wealth in a dishonorable or an unsavory way. Think about his circumstance, the deacon. Think about his circumstance in service.

The deacon is responsible for physical matters in the church. And that would put him in close contact with the monies and the properties of the church. The deacon and the deacon body may even be entrusted to care for the monies and the properties of the church in a unique way. And if he, that would be the deacon, if he would be greedy and greedy for dishonest gain, well, he would be greatly tempted or would use the responsibility that he has to take advantage of church monies and properties for what? For selfish gain. I like what William McDonald says here. He says Judas was not the last treasurer to betray the Lord for mere money.

Think about that. Judas was not the last treasurer to betray his Lord for mere money. So a deacon, in a prospective deacon, must not be greedy. He must not be greedy for possessions. But on top of that, he must not be greedy for dishonest gain either. And you know what I thought about? If you have a church member who is greedy for dishonest gain, well, that's a sin. That's a church discipline issue in and of itself. And look, folks, when we look to appoint and select and put deacons into service, when we look to this, we are to evaluate how they deal with money and possessions. We look to see if they are honest.

We look to see if they are greedy. We look to see if they are even greedy for dishonest gain. And I can't help but think about all the men in the life of the church that I have known. They were in business. They had businesses. They had business associates. And you always heard those stories. You always heard, "Don't do business with him. Watch out if you do business with him." Why? Because it always seemed like they were greedy for dishonest gain. Now, let me share with you something about money and church money. We have a team of men here who are over the church money. Me and Brother Keith as elders are a part of that team.

Tommy Alderman is a part of that team. Jared Walters is a part of that team. Chris Travis is a part of that team. There is no question that you cannot ask why. We have nothing to hide. No one is greedy. No one is using the church and church money and church properties for greed. There's a phrase I hear with those men often. They use this phrase, "Generous and generosity." We must be generous with God's money. Why? Because they understand it's God's money. It's not ours. So a deacon, a prospective deacon, must be qualified where? In his personal character. Now, I'm going to summarize this by quoting the amplified. I love the amplified.

That's why I quote it from time to time. But notice what the amplified says. It says, "In like manner, the deacons must be worthy of respect, not shifty and double talkers, but sincere in what they say, not giving to much wine, not greedy for base gain, craving wealth and resorting to ignoble and dishonest methods of getting it." Now, if you've kept up with the categories of qualifications, you'll see that we have four more categories to go. Well, I had to say that for the next time. And we just don't have the time to cover all of that material in one message.

But a question as I close, and as we look at the rest of the qualifications for deacon the next time we meet in these verses, why do I take the time here? Why not just jump into the qualifications? Why do I take the time to look at this teaching? Why do I take the time to look at service and the specific gift of service and the deacon who would be called to this unique office and unique service? Why? I said earlier in the introduction of the message that we are at a very critical time in the life of our church. The need for organized deacons and deacon ministry is before us.

Our church is growing and the physical needs that need to be met, those needs are growing. And of course, these things will be done and should be done according to God's timeframe. And as a church and as an elder and as an elder body, we must approach this work and this process and everything connected to it biblically and with God's wisdom. If not, the results will be disastrous. The results will be destructive. Now as I close, I want to show you kind of how all this comes together. And this is much like what we did with the elder. Some of this will sound familiar to you, but it applies.

First, we must see that only the Holy Spirit of God can make a deacon and call a deacon. You see folks, only God can do that. We saw in Romans chapter 12 verses 6 to 8, we saw that the spiritual gift of service in ministry is given to some, right? That is a gift from God. But we also see that there are some men who are uniquely called, they are uniquely gifted to serve even above and beyond those who have that spiritual gift. But we must see that it is God who makes that man. We must see that it is God who equips that man and calls that man to serve in that way. It is God who equips that man and gives that man and brings that man to what?

That high and respected level of service. And if God is doing that work in you, you must pray. You must seek to know for certain that God is calling you to this work. You must seek counsel from your pastor and continue to pray to know God's will here. And you must sift every area of your life through the grid, through the light, through the test of all of these qualifications. You must test every area of your life with the truth of these qualifications because they are Gods, not man's. In my responsibility, I have a great responsibility here. I am the pastor or the shepherd, the deacon through these matters.

It is my job to teach and to counsel and to teach from other verses and other teaching from the scriptures and more to prove your calling, to prove your qualification, or maybe not. And it is your responsibility here. If you are Grace Life Church of Brookhaven, if you are an adult here, you have a great responsibility, especially men, because men lead the church. You are to examine the lives of any man that God would bring to the forefront for deacon service. And you must examine them by seeing who is popular, by seeing who you like, by seeing who has a good business, by seeing who is a good speaker. No.

You examine them up against and through what these biblical qualifications. Look at all this comes together. It is God who makes the deacon. It is God who calls the deacon. He brings these men to the service and to the forefront for what? Service. And it is the pastor who examines them as well as the other elders. And it is the church who does the same thing. The church as a whole examines and tests and affirms what God is doing. I said earlier that I believe Acts 6, those men in that circumstance foreshadows deacon and deacon ministry. And it was the entire church who saw what God was doing. And in many ways, this happens naturally.

In many ways, this happens organically. Notice in many ways, this even happens informally. And then when all of this work is done, the church formally sets them apart and sets them into the office and into the service of the deacon. So what have we looked at this morning? Called and qualified men. That's been the title all along. Called and qualified men, the deacon. And again, we will look at the rest of the verses in the part two when we are back together in these verses.