June 29, 2003
Morning Service
Text: 1 Timothy 3:8-13
Subject: Christian Leadership
Title: Stepping Up to the Plate
I have been a Cardinal baseball fan all my life. I like other sports as well but there is something about Cardinal baseball that makes all the others pale in comparison. When I look back at all the baseball greats that have gone through the cardinal baseball system it is just mind-boggling. And to think that I have had the opportunity to see some of the greatest players that have or probably ever will play the game, well it’s just too much to fathom.
I stop and think of all the world series teams in my lifetime and the great players - Stan Musial (I saw him before he retired, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Red Shoendeist, Roger Maris from the 1964 world series champs – then Gibson, Brock, Steve Carlton, Mike Shannon, in ’67 &’68. Then there were the teams in the 80’s with Ozzie Smith, Willie Magee, Vince Coleman and even more recently those great teams that were anchored by Mark McGuire.
I stop and think, “What makes the Cardinals so special?” Well, they are from the Midwest. Their Broadcast network is one of the largest in the nation. But what really makes them great is that when one great player steps aside, there is always another who has been in training who is ready to step up to the plate and be a hero.
I’m not going to go on all day talking about baseball (tough I probably could) but I just wanted to get you headed in the right direction with your thought process. What I’m really going to talk about today the church, particularly, this church. What is it that makes a church great? Is it the preaching? Is it the programs? Is it the worship? The answer to all these is a resounding no! What makes a church great is that it is self-perpetuating. In other words there is always someone ready to step up to the plate and take over where those who have gone before have left off.
Today we are going to look at the deacons in the church. The word that is translated deacons in the Greek is diakonos, and it literally means “servant”. What makes the church great? It is people who are willing to be servants to do the work of ministry. Am I talking about the group of men who are elected to serve on a board to run the church? Yes, but the word is not relegated to them alone. It covers every one of you since everyone has been given spiritual gifts to use to build up the church.
Paul writes to Timothy to give him the requirements for one who desires to be a servant. I want to reiterate that these are guidelines by which all Christians should be living their lives. Listen carefully for what you hear today could impact you for the rest of your life.
I. The character of a deacon is tested. (Verses 8-10)
A. First of all, a person’s spiritual character must be tested. “A deacon must be reverent.” This word “reverent” refers to someone whose behavior is dignified, or honorable, worthy of respect. Leaders in the church should display character that commands respect. A deacon is revered because he strives to live a life worthy of the calling to which he is called.
B. Next, a person’s social character is tested. A deacon is not to be double-tongued. The idea here is saying something twice with the negative thought of saying one thing to appease one person and then something else to please another. Jesus said, “Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ ‘no’. For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” In other words, you need to be in a position that people know that what you say is what you mean and you stick to it. Saying one thing and doing the opposite will do more to damage your image with others than anything else ever could. Why do you think that these things are looked at in the selection of deacons? As a church we must be careful that those who represent us, and ultimately Christ, to the world, must live above reproach.
C. Servants must have moral character. “Not given to much wine or greedy for money”. A member of Alcoholics Anonymous once sent columnist Ann Landers the following: We drank for happiness and became unhappy.
We drank for joy and became miserable.
We drank for sociability and became argumentative.
We drank for sophistication and became obnoxious.
We drank for friendship and made enemies.
We drank for sleep and awakened without rest.
We drank for strength and felt weak.
We drank "medicinally" and acquired health problems.
We drank for relaxation and got the shakes.
We drank for bravery and became afraid.
We drank for confidence and became doubtful.
We drank to make conversation easier and slurred our speech.
We drank to feel heavenly and ended up feeling like hell.
We drank to forget and were forever haunted.
We drank for freedom and became slaves.
We drank to erase problems and saw them multiply.
We drank to cope with life and invited death.
Bits & Pieces, May 1990, p. 18.
Ephesians 5:18 says, “Do not be drunk with new wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
And we are not to be greedy. Greed is the logical result of the belief that there is no life after death. We grab what we can while we can however we can and then hold on to it hard. Sir Fred Catherwood, Evangelicals Now, September, 1994
We know that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. People will do what they have to do to hang on to the money they have. Am I saying it is wrong to have money? NO! But I am saying that your attitude towards money must be that if God has blessed you with it, you must be willing to turn loose of it if He tells you to. We all know what Malachi 3:8-10 says, “will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me. But you say, ‘in what way have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. And try Me in this, says the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.” If we hold on to our money when God asks us to give the only thing we can truly expect is to be cursed.
II. If you want to be a deacon/servant, your family will be scrutinized. (11-12)
A. Wives are to be just as their husbands – reverent, not slanderers, temperate, being found blameless. Wives, since the husband is the spiritual head of the household, your actions not only are a reflection of your character, they reflect on your husband as well, and vice-versa. If you are living with and unsaved spouse continue to live lives that are blameless.
B. Deacons, rule your children well. The behavior of your children will say a lot about you. Kids aren’t perfect. But when you raise your children in a biblical fashion most times they will respond appropriately. “Spare the rod, spoil the child?” Only if you correct them in love and not anger. “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will no depart from it”? Only when you tell them about God’s love and mercy and what God has done for you. Teach your children the word of God and write them on the doorposts of your house. But don’t nag them with it.
C. A deacon’s household will be in order. Bills are aid, needs are met, priorities are set, and it all shows.
III. The community standing of a deacon is important. (Verse 13)
A. He serves well. The story in last week’s paper about Brother Gene Harlan and how he served the community in his job for the last 42 years was a great testimony of his faithfulness to the surrounding area. Each of you has the same opportunity to serve the community faithfully and in the process, glorify God. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”. It’s not only your standing in the community that is important your relationship with others will tell a lot about who you are.
B. You need to get along with others. How many of you know people who just seem like they are crabby all the time? They don’t even want to get a long. Now, how do you respond to them? It is easy to get along with those that are friendly, but how do we respond to those who are not friendly? Jesus said, “You have heard it said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” Not only will you be a servant to the community, but you will be a walking testimony to the Lord Jesus Christ.
C. Stand up for the faith. Our passage talks about having great boldness in the faith, which is in Christ. Our faith is in Christ and our boldness is in Christ, stemming from the power given us through the baptism in the Holy Spirit. When you stand in the faith among the people in this community, living lives of character, with evidence seen from your children and your household people will take notice.
Now that we have described what a true servant is like what is next? Well, just like the Cardinal baseball teams that I described earlier, when one generation of servants steps aside, there must be another to step in and take their place. We have to remember this; we aren’t going to hit home runs in every situation we find ourselves in. But like a good team player we often have to sacrifice ourselves and all our glory for the betterment of the team. We are all servants. From the top to the bottom, the head to the foot. Let me close by sharing this story about a servant.
At Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington DC recently the Sergeant Major of the Army, Jack Tilley, was with a group of people visiting the wounded soldiers. He saw a Special Forces soldier who had lost his right hand and suffered severe wounds of his face and side of his body. The SMA wanted to honor him and show him respect without offending, but what can you say or do in such a situation that will encourage and uplift? How do you shake the right hand of a soldier who has none? He decided to act as though the hand was not missing and gripped the soldier’s wrist while speaking words of comfort and encouragement to him. But there was another man in that group of visitors who had even brought his wife with him to visit the wounded who knew exactly what to do. This man reverently took the soldiers stump of a hand in both of his hands, bowed at the bedside and prayed for him. When he finished the prayer he stood up, bent over the soldier and kissed him on the head and told him that he loved him. What a powerful expression of love for one of our wounded heroes! And what a beautiful Christ-like example! What kind of a man would do such a thing? It was the wounded man’s Commander-in-Chief, George W. Bush, and President of the United States.
The requirements for being a deacon are not just for those who wish to hold an office in the church. Those qualities should emanate from the church like a beam from a lighthouse. Take the time to look today. Are you representing Christ in the way that would bring glory to God?
