Speaker 1: One other thing, and this is going to be kind
Speaker 1: of like a zero entry pool right into our text.
Speaker 1: And that is some of you were paying attention when
Speaker 1: about forty days ago or so, I said, hey, look
Speaker 1: in your bulletin, we are looking to a point for
Speaker 1: additional elders to this church, and we're planning to have
Speaker 1: an installation service. I don't know, we'll probably do that
Speaker 1: ceremony on March twenty second or so. And some of
Speaker 1: you took that down and cause I heard from some
Speaker 1: of you like, hey, March twenty second, that's in.
Speaker 2: The rear view mirror what happened.
Speaker 1: And apologize for that. Let me say what I should
Speaker 1: have explained back then. We have decided to elongate this
Speaker 1: process a little bit. We're going to elongate this process
Speaker 1: a little bit. I was talking to a friend and
Speaker 1: mentor who said, you know, when was the last time
Speaker 1: you taught on elders And I was like, I don't
Speaker 1: that's done. That was like nine years ago, taught the
Speaker 1: whole book of Titus.
Speaker 2: And he's like, yeah, you might want to do that again.
Speaker 1: There may me need to be continuing sewing of understanding
Speaker 1: in your church regarding pastor elders and build some time
Speaker 1: in this process for the congregation to build some bridges
Speaker 1: and trust and get to know some of the men
Speaker 1: that you are going to consider appointing as elders. So
Speaker 1: we're taking a little bit more time, and as a
Speaker 1: part of that time, I'm going to teach on it.
Speaker 1: That's where we're at with Titus Chapter one. And I'll
Speaker 1: just go ahead and tell you this morning, we're gonna
Speaker 1: be a little bit more like teachee than preachy. And
Speaker 1: some of you are like yay, and others are like, okay,
Speaker 1: I'll buckle up. Yeah, I heard you went long in
Speaker 1: the last service.
Speaker 2: Not a lie true. So we'll see how we do.
Speaker 1: But Titus chapter one, verses five through nine is one
Speaker 1: of the main texts in the New Testament about elders,
Speaker 1: about elders, pastors, overseers. The Bible uses all of these
Speaker 1: terms synonymously. There's not one group that are pastors and
Speaker 1: another group that are church that are elders. This is
Speaker 1: one office pastor, elder overseer in a church. And this letter,
Speaker 1: if you read the you know the whole title there
Speaker 1: in your copy of God's Word. It says, the letter
Speaker 1: of Paul to Titus, we just call it Titus.
Speaker 2: This letter to Titus.
Speaker 1: Is it reminds me of like a general in the
Speaker 1: army leaving behind a colonel to sort.
Speaker 2: Of finish a job.
Speaker 1: Paul is taking off from these like literally like helicoptering
Speaker 1: out of this island of crete, not literally a helicopter,
Speaker 1: but literally an island of crete, and he's saying, okay, soldier,
Speaker 1: I need you to finish the job.
Speaker 2: And he gives them this letter.
Speaker 1: And this letter is not just about elders, although that's here.
Speaker 1: It's really a more comprehensive set of written reminders and
Speaker 1: some written justification for Titus to point to for setting
Speaker 1: churches on a good trajectory, a good, healthy way to go.
Speaker 1: And Titus is going to need it because Crete is
Speaker 1: a rough place.
Speaker 2: And he says, this is what I want you to.
Speaker 1: Do, and he gives them this letter, and it includes
Speaker 1: this section here about appointing elders. Let's read it, Titus
Speaker 1: one five through nine. This is why I left you
Speaker 1: in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order.
Speaker 1: And a point elders in every town, as I directed you,
Speaker 1: if anyone is above reproach. The husband of one wife
Speaker 1: and his children are believers are not open to the
Speaker 1: charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God's steward,
Speaker 1: must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or
Speaker 1: quick tempered, or a drunkard, or violent or greedy for gain,
Speaker 1: but hospitable, a lover of good, self controlled, upright, holy,
Speaker 1: and disciplined.
Speaker 2: He must hold.
Speaker 1: Firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he
Speaker 1: may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine, and
Speaker 1: also to rebuke those who contradict it.
Speaker 2: This is God's Word.
Speaker 1: Titled this Morning's message wanted good managers, good managers, And
Speaker 1: I get that from this key term in our text, stewards.
Speaker 1: That's how the English Standard version translates this an overseer
Speaker 1: as God's steward. Other translations use a little bit different term.
Speaker 1: Some will say as stewards of God's household, or as
Speaker 1: overseers of God's household, or as those entrusted with God's work.
Speaker 1: And then there's also this translation.
Speaker 2: As managers of God's house.
Speaker 1: I like that term. I like that translation managers. It
Speaker 1: reminds me.
Speaker 2: Actually of I worked on a farm.
Speaker 1: My uncle owns a sheep and goat farm. And I
Speaker 1: worked on his farm for a while, So I've literally
Speaker 1: been a shepherd before, and you smell much better than
Speaker 1: that that sheep fold. But what you would have on
Speaker 1: this farm, and it was it was kind of a
Speaker 1: large farm. And what is noticeable about a sheep fold.
Speaker 1: What is noticeable about a sheep farm is that it
Speaker 1: requires constant management farm hands. You gotta have good farm hands.
Speaker 1: And what I what I don't like about the translation
Speaker 1: manager is that if we're not careful, the idea that
Speaker 1: pass elders overseers this office is management like business management,
Speaker 1: like merely administrative church trustee sort of stuff that would
Speaker 1: not be true of pastoral ministry. To say it the
Speaker 1: way I've heard it before, the business of the church.
Speaker 2: Sure ain't the business of the church. That's actually pretty simple.
Speaker 1: What I do like about this term managers when we're
Speaker 1: talking about pastors, well, for one, the Bible uses it
Speaker 1: always on sound footing. When the Bible is using the
Speaker 1: same term, you're using steward manager. But the other thing
Speaker 1: that I like about that term for the office of
Speaker 1: elder pastor.
Speaker 2: Is that it is sufficiently plain.
Speaker 1: It's sufficiently plain if you don't know many pastors. You
Speaker 1: might think the office of pastor or the title of
Speaker 1: pastor is some exalted thing. I promise you it's not.
Speaker 1: Ask my wife. She told me to say that manager
Speaker 1: is kind of not that big a deal.
Speaker 2: And here is.
Speaker 1: And I told you this was going to go long,
Speaker 1: and the intro is particularly long, and I know some
Speaker 1: of you love that, So this is for you. Here's
Speaker 1: the biblical pattern when it comes to appointing God's steward's
Speaker 1: or elders, pastors, overseers. What we see as a biblical
Speaker 1: pattern in the New Testament is for one, a plurality,
Speaker 1: a plurality, a team of elders. We see that that's
Speaker 1: implied here when he's saying appointing elders, but we see
Speaker 1: that specifically like in Acts chapter twenty, as Paul is
Speaker 1: leaving Ephesus and he's gathered around him the whole team
Speaker 1: of elders, and he's praying with them and weeping with
Speaker 1: them for the care of the church, the stewarding, the
Speaker 1: managing of those souls there in Ephesus, a whole team,
Speaker 1: a plurality of men who are sharing the shepherding load,
Speaker 1: teaching in various settings, holding each other accountable, encouraging each other.
Speaker 1: But not only this plurality in the pattern, but also
Speaker 1: you see this pattern of some elders are paid and
Speaker 1: some of them are unpaid. You do have like full
Speaker 1: time pastoral ministry like you see in one Timothy chapter
Speaker 1: five pastors being paid great and you see actually the
Speaker 1: majority of pastors being unpaid volunteer elders in most of
Speaker 1: the New Testament. In either case, here's the fact. Here's
Speaker 1: the main thing. The main thing is elders in their
Speaker 1: eldering work mostly have their reward in Heaven in mind,
Speaker 1: that's where their eyes are focused. And then lastly, this pattern,
Speaker 1: this pattern we see here is the appointment, the appointing
Speaker 1: of elders. Now instead of elders being appointed as Titus
Speaker 1: is instructed to do. Here, some of our brothers, like
Speaker 1: our Southern Baptist brothers, they like to vote on elders
Speaker 1: as a whole congregation. I don't think the Bible prohibits that.
Speaker 1: But here we see wisdom in following this pattern more
Speaker 1: closely from Titus elders examining and assessing an elders, appointing
Speaker 1: potential elders.
Speaker 2: That's kind of the pattern.
Speaker 1: We see plurality, a mix of paid and unpaid pastors,
Speaker 1: and the appointment of pastors.
Speaker 2: And when people ask me.
Speaker 1: In conversation over the past few months, when people have
Speaker 1: asked me, hey, what's something you're really excited about these days,
Speaker 1: which is a great topic of conversation. When every that's
Speaker 1: a great question, Hey, what are you excited about these days?
Speaker 1: My response has been, Man, we are appointing like four
Speaker 1: new elders at our church, like we're looking to double
Speaker 1: the pastoral team.
Speaker 2: And they'll say, man, that is awesome. Why is that awesome?
Speaker 1: What is it that's exciting about growing a pastoral team
Speaker 1: in a church?
Speaker 2: And I wonder do we know? Do we hear what.
Speaker 1: Paul has to say about desiring leadership of the local
Speaker 1: church being a noble thing? And do we see it?
Speaker 1: And do we feel it? Do we do we see
Speaker 1: how Jesus' heart aches over people who lack sufficient, sufficient shepherding,
Speaker 1: and our hearts also ache when shepherding is not happening
Speaker 1: in a sufficient way. Do we feel it? Because here's
Speaker 1: the thing. We should eagerly receive good managers to pastor
Speaker 1: our church. We should eagerly receive good managers to pastor
Speaker 1: our church. And we're gonna look at this passage in
Speaker 1: that regard three main headings. First, we're gonna talk about
Speaker 1: the why why should we eagerly receive good managers?
Speaker 2: Second, we're gonna talk about what it looks like?
Speaker 1: What does it look like? And then third, how does
Speaker 1: that connect to the Gospel of Jesus? So why what
Speaker 1: does it look like? And how does that connect to
Speaker 1: the gospel? All right, do we have our signposts clear enough?
Speaker 1: Let me put on a bright blinker turn into the
Speaker 1: first road?
Speaker 2: Number one?
Speaker 1: Why why should we eagerly receive good managers to pastor
Speaker 1: our church? And the first thing I would say is
Speaker 1: we need them, first of all, just to follow the
Speaker 1: biblical pattern.
Speaker 2: Like we need them to be biblical.
Speaker 1: I know, Crossway Bible Church, it's in our middle name.
Speaker 1: But like that's what Paul says here too, Titus in
Speaker 1: verse five, Like he says, that's why I left you
Speaker 1: in crete. Here's why I left you in crete to
Speaker 1: appoint elder to put in order what remained at a
Speaker 1: point elders. I mean, if that is the example that
Speaker 1: we see over and over again throughout scripture, in acts,
Speaker 1: in Titus, in Timothy, the question is don't we want
Speaker 1: to follow the biblical example. Don't we feel like this
Speaker 1: is good ground to be on. So yeah, but functionally,
Speaker 1: why well, functionally is in order to be in order,
Speaker 1: in functioning order.
Speaker 2: That's what Paul says again in verse five.
Speaker 1: I left you in crete so that you might put
Speaker 1: what remained into order, into order, which is to say,
Speaker 1: operational functioning. And Paul had come with his church planting team,
Speaker 1: and Titus was a part of it. And they went
Speaker 1: about crete and preached the gospel. And there were those
Speaker 1: who heard the gospel, and by the power of the
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit, they were transformed it by faith and the
Speaker 1: grace of God, and they began to gather in a
Speaker 1: real life church was born. They had planted a church.
Speaker 1: But was it functioning? Was it operational? Was it set
Speaker 1: in a healthy way? Paul said, not until some things happen.
Speaker 1: And one of those is you need faithful stewards. Faithful
Speaker 1: stewards reminds me of those farm hands. If you've ever
Speaker 1: worked on a farm. At no point are you going
Speaker 1: to say, huh more good farm hands.
Speaker 2: Don't know why we need them? Hey, you'd know.
Speaker 1: But partially I think feeling the.
Speaker 2: Need for the fun functioning that comes.
Speaker 1: From good faithful stewards has to do with understanding what
Speaker 1: a church is, what a church is like. If we're
Speaker 1: not careful, we can begin to conceive that a church
Speaker 1: is a Sunday morning gathering.
Speaker 2: That this is it that a church is like.
Speaker 1: It's a three hour or four hour period on a
Speaker 1: Sunday morning where people gather kind of in the same
Speaker 1: room and they hear the same sort of teaching from
Speaker 1: the Bible, and we sing spiritual songs and then church
Speaker 1: is over.
Speaker 2: And that's just not what a church is.
Speaker 1: A church is a twenty four to seven endeavor as
Speaker 1: a discipleship community looking to see our lives together as
Speaker 1: we do ministry towards one another, to love one another
Speaker 1: and encourage one another, hold each other accountable, and form
Speaker 1: in one another by the power.
Speaker 2: Of the Holy Spirit through the work.
Speaker 1: Of God disciples amongst us. It is a one another
Speaker 1: community that in order to function, requires faithful stewards, that
Speaker 1: requires people looking after the discipleship, making sure this sort
Speaker 1: of thing is happening, making sure lives are comporting with
Speaker 1: good sound doctrine, and.
Speaker 2: Rebuking those that don't.
Speaker 1: If that is what a church is, then We need
Speaker 1: stewards in order to function. If this gathering, if this
Speaker 1: Bible teach sing a song show, if that's what church is,
Speaker 1: well we need far less. God help us, God help us.
Speaker 1: If this discipleship community devolves into just to teach the Bible,
Speaker 1: sing the songs show, this can't be what we allow
Speaker 1: to see happen in this community.
Speaker 2: We need stewards to oversee the work, the real work
Speaker 2: that you all are doing.
Speaker 1: If you're a Christian, you're call to ministry, that's the work.
Speaker 1: We need stuarts to oversee the work. I mean, Paul says,
Speaker 1: this is why I left you in crete, But if
Speaker 1: you look at chapter three, verse what is it ten
Speaker 1: No twelve, Titus isn't staying forever. Paul has already said, Hey,
Speaker 1: in a minute, I'm gonna send you some guys to
Speaker 1: come get you and then come to me. So all
Speaker 1: of this work that he's got throughout this letter of like, hey,
Speaker 1: make sure these people are not teaching this nonsense, and
Speaker 1: make sure that these ladies are discipling younger ladies, and
Speaker 1: make sure that old men are living in dignified ways,
Speaker 1: and make sure that younger men are remaining Come all
Speaker 1: of this work, this make sure stuff. Who's going to
Speaker 1: be doing that? Those folks that tight us appoints, they'll
Speaker 1: become overseers over all of this work.
Speaker 2: Here's the thing.
Speaker 1: A church should want managers, managers, because a church needs managing.
Speaker 1: We want shepherds to move us through this work of
Speaker 1: making disciples amongst us, of growing in godliness. We want it,
Speaker 1: I want it, I need it. Well, that was our
Speaker 1: first road, the why why should we eagerly receive good managers?
Speaker 1: Here's the second road. Put on a bright blinker. What
Speaker 1: does it look like? What does it look like to
Speaker 1: receive good managers to pastor our church? And here Paul
Speaker 1: lays out just some basic qualifications of here's the guys
Speaker 1: that you're looking for.
Speaker 2: And he divides us up basically into three areas.
Speaker 1: You're looking for competent managers of households, competent managers of godliness,
Speaker 1: and competent managers of doctrine. Do you see that he
Speaker 1: starts with household. He starts with the household. He says this,
Speaker 1: if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife
Speaker 1: and his children are believers and not open to the
Speaker 1: charge of debauchery or in subordination for an overseer, as
Speaker 1: God steward must be above reproach. So you could kind
Speaker 1: of put it this way, elders should competently manage their household,
Speaker 1: because elders manage the household of God's people, and He
Speaker 1: gives us two kind of elements here. One is this
Speaker 1: idea of husband of one wife or the translation And
Speaker 1: there are a few different translation things to look at
Speaker 1: in this paragraph. In the original language that the wording
Speaker 1: is just.
Speaker 2: This a one woman man, a one woman man.
Speaker 1: And so the English Standard version translates that the husband
Speaker 1: of one wife.
Speaker 2: Now the issue comes when you start to interpret that.
Speaker 1: Okay, well, what does that mean a guy who's only
Speaker 1: ever been married once? And there are actually some people
Speaker 1: who interpret it that way. So if there was a
Speaker 1: man who was married whose wife died and he remarried,
Speaker 1: and that person could never serve as an elder because
Speaker 1: he's not a hu hu of one wife, I don't
Speaker 1: think that is actually following what Paul is talking about here.
Speaker 1: What Paul is saying here is a one woman man. Literally, well,
Speaker 1: what is that?
Speaker 2: Well?
Speaker 1: I would say that if there's a man who's been
Speaker 1: faithful and loved his wife who then died, and he
Speaker 1: remarried another Christian woman and has continued to be faithful
Speaker 1: and loving to her.
Speaker 2: That's a one woman man.
Speaker 1: Likewise, even if a man say he was an unbeliever
Speaker 1: and was married and then for a legitimately with legitimately
Speaker 1: biblical grounds, is divorced from that wife, he becomes a Christian,
Speaker 1: marries a Christian woman, and he has lived for twenty
Speaker 1: years in loving faithfulness to her. We as as the
Speaker 1: elders here at Cross, always saying that's a one woman man.
Speaker 1: It's a one woman man. In contrast, you could have
Speaker 1: a guy who married his high school sweetheart, has been
Speaker 1: married to her for twenty years, but we happen to
Speaker 1: know that he has been struggling with pornography and lust
Speaker 1: for much of that time. We would say he's only
Speaker 1: been married to one woman. He's not a one woman man.
Speaker 1: He's not what Paul is talking about here, because this
Speaker 1: is more than just the singularity of spousehood. This is
Speaker 1: about demonstrating the kind of commitment and love and long
Speaker 1: suffering a pastor must have that we want our pastors
Speaker 1: to have. That's the kind of guy I want pastoring me.
Speaker 1: One who's committed, who loves, who suffers long. Also an
Speaker 1: element here regarding households is what the ESV trans translates
Speaker 1: as children are believers. That word is just faithful. They
Speaker 1: translated with believers and not open to the charge of
Speaker 1: debauchery or in subordination. Again a little bit of translation
Speaker 1: thing here. The CSB, for instance, translates this faithful children
Speaker 1: who were not accused of wildness or rebellion. So again
Speaker 1: the interpretive question here is, okay, is Paul saying every
Speaker 1: elder all their children must be Christians, or is Paul
Speaker 1: saying every elder they must manage their household in such
Speaker 1: a way that their kids are not open to the
Speaker 1: charge of wildness or rebellion, they're faithful in their household.
Speaker 1: I think the CSB translates this better here. Here's a
Speaker 1: few reasons. One, it's the most natural reading that word,
Speaker 1: being faithful, and the end is not in the sentence.
Speaker 2: Actually, it's just faithful, not open to the charge. So
Speaker 2: that's an explanation.
Speaker 1: And of what Paul is saying faithful is likewise, it
Speaker 1: corresponds if he just turned three pages back to First
Speaker 1: Timothy chapter three. In First Timothy chapter three, you have
Speaker 1: this parallel passage about overseers elders, what does he say there?
Speaker 1: In Chapter three, verse four, he says he must manage
Speaker 1: his own household well with all dignity, keeping his children submissive.
Speaker 1: If someone does not know how to manage his own household,
Speaker 1: how will he care for God's church. So in both
Speaker 1: passages it seems that what Paul is emphasizing is we're
Speaker 1: looking for dads that manage and steward in such a
Speaker 1: way that it shows good order in the people who
Speaker 1: are under their charge, good order amongst the people under
Speaker 1: their charge. Dads can and must teach the gospel to
Speaker 1: their kids. They can't save them, they can't save them,
Speaker 1: but they can put their household in good order. But again,
Speaker 1: even good order does not mean we're looking for like
Speaker 1: the von Trapp family. Even fewer of you have watched
Speaker 1: this sound of music than the first service. First service,
Speaker 1: it would be about sixty forty I think here it's
Speaker 1: the other way, forty sixty the family von trap You
Speaker 1: know this guy, he's got eight or ten or I
Speaker 1: don't know, twelve kids, I don't He blows a whistle
Speaker 1: and all twelve of them come downstairs and they stand
Speaker 1: in order of highest the tallest to shortest, and then
Speaker 1: they start singing in harmony.
Speaker 2: It's if you haven't seen the movie You Got To,
Speaker 2: You Got To.
Speaker 1: I think I can go out on inm on that one.
Speaker 1: But listen, that kind of like meticulous order is not
Speaker 1: what Paul's even calling for here. No family von Trapps
Speaker 1: and Crete, I can promise you. But he's just saying
Speaker 1: they're faithful in that they are not open to the
Speaker 1: charge of wildness or rebellion, like their household is in order. Honestly,
Speaker 1: that also is the kind of person I want pastoring me,
Speaker 1: who is who demonstrates love and commitment and long suffering
Speaker 1: and marriage, and whose kids show that they can attend
Speaker 1: to good order with the people under their charge.
Speaker 2: I want to talk to that guy.
Speaker 1: But I would say this, honestly, it's kind of ordinary,
Speaker 1: don't you think.
Speaker 2: I mean, I wouldn't call this a low bar, but
Speaker 2: it's not a super high bar.
Speaker 1: These these are these are just guys that are living
Speaker 1: up to ordinary Christian aspirations here, and that actually turns
Speaker 1: out to be a theme.
Speaker 2: If you look to the next area, godliness.
Speaker 1: Right, he talks about household and then he talks about godliness.
Speaker 2: He just makes it.
Speaker 1: It makes it kind of clear. Elders should competently manage
Speaker 1: their godliness. Why because elders manage the godliness of God's people. Right.
Speaker 1: Remember all of the instructions that Paul has given Titus
Speaker 1: in this letter, look after like teach what accords to
Speaker 1: sound doctrine. Older men are to be so reminded, dignified,
Speaker 1: self controlled. I'm in chapter two at this point. Older
Speaker 1: women are likewise to be reverent in behavior like all
Speaker 1: of this life shepherding, the willingness to grapple with you
Speaker 1: in your life of godliness. That's what these guys are
Speaker 1: gonna end up doing, and so and so they should
Speaker 1: be not here's Paul's not arrogant or another translation self willed.
Speaker 1: Should not be quick tempered. They should not be drunkards.
Speaker 1: They should not be violent or other translations pugnacious or
Speaker 1: a bully. They should not be greedy for gain again
Speaker 1: other translations for sordid gain or dishonest gain. Okay again,
Speaker 1: aspirations for ordinary Christian wouldn't you say?
Speaker 2: I don't think Paul is saying, elders, this is what
Speaker 2: we're looking for. Everybody else they can be drunks.
Speaker 1: But these are especially key for managers, right, we don't
Speaker 1: you don't want you don't want.
Speaker 2: To be shepherded steward.
Speaker 1: You don't want this congregation of disciple making to be
Speaker 1: managed by arrogant, self willed, overbearing, hot headed, bully managers,
Speaker 1: because God's people shouldn't be led that way, and the
Speaker 1: pastoral team would never get along. You don't want those
Speaker 1: who are greedy for dishonest gain, because they have to
Speaker 1: be entrusted with finances and they have to put others first,
Speaker 1: and greedy is like the definition of not putting others first.
Speaker 1: You don't want drunkards because they need to do the work.
Speaker 1: But again, pretty ordinary.
Speaker 2: He says. But rather, here's the other.
Speaker 1: There's the positive side of the godliness they should manage,
Speaker 1: but rather they should be what does it say hospitable.
Speaker 1: There's an openness to their life. They are welcoming you
Speaker 1: into their home and into their life and even into
Speaker 1: their spiritual disciplines. They are hospitable to the people of God.
Speaker 1: They are lovers of good because they're gonna have to
Speaker 1: shepherd people towards the good. They're self controlled and sensible prudence.
Speaker 1: They're gonna have to make good decisions. They're upright and
Speaker 1: they're holy again. They're gonna have to shepherd people towards
Speaker 1: those things. And they're disciplined, disciplined. This work requires discipline.
Speaker 1: It requires ongoing study, persistence in prayer, guarding the heart,
Speaker 1: follow up, follow up.
Speaker 2: On uncomfortable conversations.
Speaker 1: This work requires the discipline of following up on difficult conversations.
Speaker 1: You can just put that in your margin more than
Speaker 1: anything as a pastoral observation, that is the discipline that's
Speaker 1: required amongst these men.
Speaker 2: These are show up and do things guys.
Speaker 1: Again, not in a superhuman way, but in real ways
Speaker 1: that need to be They need to be able to
Speaker 1: lead us toward good, upright, holy things. You can't lead
Speaker 1: where you're not going, and they need to be able
Speaker 1: to do it with prudence and hospitality and discipline. I
Speaker 1: want to encourage you, like you have these men's names
Speaker 1: in your bulletin, and you have a church directory, so
Speaker 1: you've got their contact information. Call them up, send them
Speaker 1: a text, get a meal, have coffee. Their lives are
Speaker 1: open to you. That's what they've committed to. They're committed
Speaker 1: to hospitality. Their lives are open to you. And I
Speaker 1: would just encourage you to open yourself up to the
Speaker 1: influence towards goodness and uprightness and holiness that these men
Speaker 1: have for our church. They desire these things for us
Speaker 1: as a congregation. Lastly, doctrine, right, what does this look like?
Speaker 1: It looks like competently managing their household godliness doctrine. Elders
Speaker 1: should manage their doctrine, because elders are going to manage
Speaker 1: the doctrine of God's people.
Speaker 2: Boll says it this way.
Speaker 1: He must hold firm to the trustworthy word a is
Speaker 1: taught so that he.
Speaker 2: May be able to give instruction and.
Speaker 1: Sound doctrine and also rebuke those who contradicted. So teaching
Speaker 1: and rebuking, instructing and correcting. Now, instructing can look a
Speaker 1: lot of different ways, right, Like, it's not just Sunday
Speaker 1: morning like pulpit ministry that Paul's talking about here. He's
Speaker 1: talking about instructing people in knowing and living what is true,
Speaker 1: and that can happen in so many different ways. Happen
Speaker 1: in one on one discipling, or in group settings, or
Speaker 1: in the position statements that we have to write as
Speaker 1: elders to help us sort out how do we think
Speaker 1: about these things biblically, I would say, more than anything
Speaker 1: in this church, it means leading in small group.
Speaker 2: We're talking about guys who.
Speaker 1: Are leaning in to instructing people in their small groups
Speaker 1: that they would live out the truth of God's word.
Speaker 1: We're always watching for those guys who are leaning as
Speaker 1: far into leadership of those of those people as possible, saying, Man,
Speaker 1: they're willing, they are willing to grapple with people's lives
Speaker 1: and help them become like Christ. But not just instructing,
Speaker 1: also rebuking, That's what he says, rebuking, redirecting in discipleship,
Speaker 1: willing to bring correction, willing to protect you from YouTube,
Speaker 1: and even confront people in the congregation.
Speaker 2: Look at Chapter three, verse ten.
Speaker 1: As for a person who stirs up division after warning
Speaker 1: him once and then twice, have nothing more to do
Speaker 1: with him. These are the instructions that Paul is giving
Speaker 1: for leadership in the church. After warning a person who
Speaker 1: stirs up division once or twice, then you need to
Speaker 1: have someone who has the guts to confront that and.
Speaker 2: Say this is not happening anymore. Who's that.
Speaker 1: Actually, this is the only part of these qualifications is
Speaker 1: actually pretty extraordinary. The extraordinary willingness to grapple with one
Speaker 1: another's lives and help form Christ in people, and being
Speaker 1: willing to confront and take even correction and congregation.
Speaker 2: That's actually extraordinary.
Speaker 1: Everything else here is pretty ordinary. So what does this
Speaker 1: have to do with the gospel? What does this have
Speaker 1: to do with the gospel? That's our third sign post?
Speaker 1: And I told you I was going to be long.
Speaker 2: How does the Gospel.
Speaker 1: Encourage us to eagerly receive faithful stewards in our church?
Speaker 2: Let's say two main ways.
Speaker 1: Number One, the Gospel encourages us us to receive good
Speaker 1: stewards because Christ's plans are always good. Jesus' plans are
Speaker 1: always good. Right, This is the one whose plans include
Speaker 1: humbling himself as a man for us and dying on
Speaker 1: a cross for us, and rising and ascending and sending
Speaker 1: his spirit for us, and then also plans in his
Speaker 1: love for us to receive some decent, eager, imperfect men.
Speaker 2: As a part of his plan.
Speaker 1: For our care and growth and protection and community of discipleship.
Speaker 1: This is Christ's plans. It's got to be good. Christ
Speaker 1: has proven his goodness towards us in the Gospel we
Speaker 1: receive his goodness towards us in every way, including receiving
Speaker 1: faithful stewards. But secondly, I would say this and then
Speaker 1: I'll close, The Gospel encourage es us to receive good
Speaker 1: managers as opposed to great managers. The gospel holds out
Speaker 1: this not very amazing bar. I mean, it's not very amazing,
Speaker 1: just faithful to his wife and his kids. Aren't wild,
Speaker 1: not a hot head, not a drunk, not an embezzler.
Speaker 1: I mean the only again, the only out of the
Speaker 1: ordinary thing here is a real ability and willingness to
Speaker 1: feed us a good understanding of scripture and weed out
Speaker 1: a bad understanding of scripture and actually help us to
Speaker 1: live it.
Speaker 2: That's extraordinary.
Speaker 1: Other than that, this bar is not amazing. And I
Speaker 1: think the Gospel encourages us to receive such good managers.
Speaker 2: Because there aren't.
Speaker 1: Any amazing pastors. There aren't any amazing pastors. If you
Speaker 1: think there are, just get closer, says my wife. And
Speaker 1: I'm saying this as someone who's been up close to
Speaker 1: many a great, not great, good pastor. You will find us,
Speaker 1: all of us flawed, normal men. The best of men
Speaker 1: are men, best, decent, competent, faithful flawed. But we eagerly
Speaker 1: receive flawed but faithful stewards because they are meant to
Speaker 1: faithfully point us to Christ, who is amazing.
Speaker 2: He's amazing. You don't have to be amazing. Jesus is amazing.
Speaker 1: I mean, frankly, I don't want to be pastored by
Speaker 1: a bunch of guys who are amazing, first of all,
Speaker 1: because they're not.
Speaker 2: Second of all, because.
Speaker 1: Too easily the message becomes be amazing. That's not even
Speaker 1: close to the gospel message. Way closer is Jesus is amazing.
Speaker 1: You don't have to be amazing. Trust in him. Trust
Speaker 1: in his amazing work to save and to forgive and
Speaker 1: to sanctify amazingly sinful and selfish people who are, by
Speaker 1: the work of His spirit becoming good, decent, faithful.
Speaker 2: Praise the Lord. You don't have to be amazing. Jesus
Speaker 2: is genuinely amazing. You just have to follow him. And
Speaker 2: we need.
Speaker 1: Shepherds stewards who will point us to him. Why should
Speaker 1: we eagerly receive good managers in this church? Because the
Speaker 1: church needs managing, and because we need those who will
Speaker 1: keep pointing us to the only leader who actually is amazing.
Speaker 1: The church doesn't need more amazing. The church needs more
Speaker 1: faithful Stuarts. Would you stand with me and pray Heavenly, Father, Lord,
Speaker 1: thank you that you have given us already in Christ,
Speaker 1: all that is amazing, forgiveness, justification, eternal life, a call heavenward,
Speaker 1: a people that you are forming to be like your son.
Speaker 2: And Lord.
Speaker 1: I asked that we would receive also from your hand
Speaker 1: faithful stewards, good managers, not in an administrative sense, but Lord,
Speaker 1: in the farm hand sense. It would take this congregation
Speaker 1: and continue to move her towards loving one another and
Speaker 1: caring for one another, and discipling one another, and praying
Speaker 1: for one another. That we would, as a whole congregation
Speaker 1: honor you, the great Shepherd of the sheep.
Speaker 2: We asked us in Jesus' name, Amen and sing