So I'm continuing the decently and in order series.
I took a bit of a break. I preached on the importance of praying
and then I taught on the reprobate doctrine which is tied in neatly with Jeremiah chapter 6.
So we're back into it and today we're going to be looking at the order of the church
or the local church. I like using the term the local church. If you ever wondered why
did so many Baptists say the local church? The idea behind that is
because there is that false teaching that there is one universal church.
Every saved person belongs to sort of this one church body
and the Roman Catholics love that. They love that idea because
they think that salvation is through one church. It is through their church
and so if they just sign you up, if you just get registered, if you just get kind of
inducted into their religion, I think it's by baptism
what is it that gets you as a member of the Catholic church?
Is it baptism or is it something else? It's a sprinkling? It's a sprinkling or whatever it is.
They think they've got all these church members and they think you've got to be
part of this one universal church but you'll soon see that that's not what church is.
Church is not just some global body where people don't
interact with one. In fact, churches are at a local level.
And many times when we read about the Bible, yes, sometimes God uses the word church.
If it's just the one church, it's describing every church. Many times you're going to see the term
churches or different cities having different churches.
And so this is where we get the idea of a local church. For you guys, Blessed Hope
Baptist Church is your local church. Hey, there are other churches. There are other
good churches in Sydney. I don't pretend to be like, oh man, we're the only
one great church. I think that's a really prideful attitude to have.
There are a lot of great churches that have served the Lord in this city. A lot of great
soul winners still getting out there preaching the gospel. And so there are many churches in
Sydney. I think it's the best. But anyway, there are many great churches
in Sydney. And so, you know, we want to get this idea like
why is church so important? What is church? And if we look
there in Colossians chapter 1, verse 16, just a
reminder for us in Colossians 1, chapter 16, it says,
Now often we think about what God created. We think about, yeah, the heavens, the earth, the creation.
Yeah, we get that idea. But then it says this, what else is created?
Whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers, all things
were created by Him and for Him. And so in this Decently
and in Order series, we've looked at the workplace or the employment,
we've looked at government, we've looked at family, and now
we're going to be looking at the local church. All of these things have some level of
dominion, principalities, all these institutions have some element
of power and understand that even these powers were
put in place by Jesus Christ. They were created for Him.
Created by Him and for Him. This is why
I've been teaching you that every institution, whether it's a godly man
or an ungodly man at the top of it, they are still all answerable to Jesus
Christ. If they do well, if they follow the laws of
God, if they practice things properly, how God asks, they're going
to be blessed. But if they're corrupt, we deal with corrupt governments,
corrupt politicians, even corrupt churches, even mess up families where fathers
aren't leaving the house properly, whatever level it is, brethren, Jesus Christ
is in charge of that and if they mess things up, Jesus was going to hold them accountable.
Jesus is going to judge those people. Now let's keep going,
verse number 17.
Now we get to the church, verse number 18.
So who is the head of the body of the church? Jesus Christ.
It's not your pastor. It's not your pastor.
Please don't treat me like the head of this church. Please don't
treat me like I'm some type of god, man. I'm just like you,
brethren. I am just another human being. You don't have to come
and ask me for permission to do things in your life or in your family.
Listen, as the head of your home's husband, you're in charge of your family.
You decide what you do with your family. Don't come and ask me what kind of job should I
do, Pastor Kevin? I've got this potential job offer.
I've got this potential job offer. Which do you think I should take? That's not for me to decide.
Go to God. God is the head of the church. God is the head of every institution.
Jesus Christ is the head of all things.
It says here at the end of verse 18 that in all things
he might have the preeminence. So when we come to church
the one that gets the preeminence, the one that gets the glory, the one that gets the worship,
the one that gets the praise is Jesus Christ.
We can be thankful for men. There's a lot of men that serve. I'm serving right now with the preaching,
the teaching of the word of God. But don't forget, it's not about honouring man.
It's thank God that I got to hear a sermon that helped me today.
Thank God the word of God is being proclaimed. Give Jesus the glory. He is the word of God.
We can't have the word of God without Jesus Christ.
We can't have the preaching of God's word without the Holy Spirit working through the preacher
and touching the hearts of those that are listening.
Everything, especially the church, must give glory to God. Jesus Christ has the preeminence.
Now let's drop down to verse number 24 there, Colossians 1.24.
Because when we learn about a church, it's made up of believers,
it's made up of those that want to give Jesus Christ worship,
but also it requires ministers. Ministers are required
to work in the local church. Look at verse number 24.
Now who rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is
behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake
which is the church. Now look at this, verse 25.
Whereof I am made a minister.
Paul was made a minister. Now before we keep reading, you must understand
that all of us, and I'll show you this later, all of us have been
called to minister in this church. But when Paul is saying
that he has been made a minister, this is something
where he is to serve the body. This is where he has taken
a position of authority in that body to minister,
to serve, to preach the word of God, to teach people the word of God.
So we're all called to ministry, don't misunderstand, but there are some that are just referred
to as being put in place to minister. That means it's their
job to work in that local church. And when it came to the apostle Paul,
he went about establishing church to church. He was being sent out by his
local church in, oh where was he being sent out from?
Antioch. He was being sent out by Antioch, and he went out
and establishing other churches. He was this minister to the Colossian
church. But let's keep going. According to the dispensation of God,
which is given to me for you, to
fulfill the word of God. So God has given Paul a
special dispensation to serve, to me, for
you. To serve the local body. Verse number 26. Even
the mystery which have been hid from ages and from generations,
but now is made manifest to his saints.
So Paul's job was to reveal anything that may seem mysterious,
any kind of mysteries in the Bible. It was his job to make it clear.
It was his job to make it plain. And that is the job of the preacher. To come
behind the pulpit and make clear what the word of God says.
That's what Paul has been called to do. Verse number 27.
To whom God would have made known what is the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope
of glory. Whom we preach, warning every
man and teaching every man. So this is the job of the minister
who's been put in place by God for a church. What is it? To preach,
to warn every man, to teach every man. Look at this. In all
wisdom that we may present every man
perfect in Christ Jesus. Now for the men
for those of you guys that came on Friday and I was teaching you about the
job of the preacher and where I wanted you to get, so I showed you a graph and I said
look, this side, the y-axis represents your knowledge, it represents your wisdom
and then the x-axis, right, that represents your character. What we see there
in verse number 28, it says teaching every man in all wisdom, so you've got to gain knowledge
you've got to gain wisdom that we may present every man perfect and that's your character
that's how you behave, that's how you act out your Christian life, right, in Christ
Jesus. And so it's the preacher's job to help
people in the church to know what Jesus Christ is asking from you
so you can live that perfect life. And perfect doesn't mean sinless, it means
complete. You have everything you need to be able to serve Jesus Christ at your
full ability. Okay, so I just want to show you that.
There's a body made up of believers, Jesus Christ is the head of that body
and within that body, Jesus Christ appoints ministers to teach
and to preach and we'll soon see that these ministers have authority
alright. Now please turn to Hebrews chapter
actually no, you turn to Psalm 22 for me, go to Psalm 22
and verse 22, you go to Psalm 22
and verse 22
and I'm going to read to you from Hebrews 2.12
Now you go to Psalm 22.22, you look on that page
as I read to you Hebrews 2.12 because they're very
similar, okay, you look at Psalm 22.22 and in Hebrews
2.12 it says, saying I will declare thy name unto
my brethren, in the midst of the church
will I sing praise unto thee. Hey I read to you from Hebrews 2.12
in the midst of the church I will sing praise unto
thee. What did you read there in Psalm 22.22?
In the midst of the congregation will I
praise thee. So you see these are parallel passages
it's been repeated for us in the New Testament and it's defining to us what
the church is. The church is the congregation
the congregation of believers, okay, church is not a building
I love this building, I think it's wonderful, we've got to fix it up, we've got to put carpet, got the painting
we've got this image up here, everything looks cool, it looks wonderful, but this is not the church
alright, when I say hey let's go to church
I'm not thinking let's go to 250 Fairfield Street
Fairfield East, when I think let's go to church I'm saying hey let's get together
with other believers, that's what church is, amen. Church is not
some universal church where there's some believer out there that I've never
met before, I don't know his name, I don't interact with that person, no a congregation
is an assembly, it's a gathering of God's people together, this is
why a church is at a local level, okay, we're not
some denomination, we're not just part of some greater group of churches
or some man in charge, no Christ gets the preeminence
and every church is made up of local believers, okay, and
we ought to come together, we ought to have a congregation, we ought to have
a love for one another, right, it's a bad thing that if you come to church
and you know there are people in that church that you do not interact with, there are people in
church that you don't even know their names, now look we don't have that much of a problem
because we're a smaller church, but I've been in a church where it's larger, you don't even know half
the people in that church, you've never spoken to that person in the church, it's not really
operating like a church if it's working that way, okay, we're meant to be a congregation
you know, we've got our own lives, we've got our own families, we've got our own jobs
we're apart, but then the church is about coming together, right
to give Jesus Christ the preeminence, so it is not
a building, church is also not a legal documentation
okay, now we're registered with an ABN number, right, and we've got
and we needed to do that to get insurance and
many times when you need to hire a hall, they need to see all the paperwork, they need to see your
legal status, all these things, some churches get into the
become a charity so they can claim back GST expenses or
or get other benefits by becoming a charity, but you know what, all that
documentation, that is not the church either, okay, that is not the church
either, that stuff just helps you function in today's society
you know, today's needs where the government may need certain things, or you might
you know, to hire certain things, you know, making sure they can protect people, if someone has an accident
there's insurance to cover the cost, so you know, it doesn't destroy the church or things like that
those things I guess are needful, that they're in place, but brethren
at the end of the day, we are not a document
we are not some words on a government website with an ABN number
okay, you know what, if one day, you know
we didn't have a building, if one day, you know, it's dangerous to have
that kind of level of documentation, where people are trying to force you, where you're allowed
to preach in the church, at that day we just give up on the church, sorry, we give
up on the building, we give up on the documentation, and we still can get together
any place, any public place, anybody's house, and still have church
because it's the people that make up the church, amen, it's the congregation
that make up the church, now can you please
turn to Acts chapter 7 for me, turn to Acts chapter 7 verse number 37
there is a false teaching about the church
found in many of our Baptist churches
who has heard of the term the church age
can I just see a show of hands, the church age, wow, okay
everybody, pretty much, right, the church age, now look
the idea behind the church age, this comes from dispensational theology
where it says, well, in the New Testament, you know
after Christ resurrected from the dead, and they try to pinpoint exactly
they try to figure out, you know, at some point the church started
either they believe it started when Christ was resurrected from the dead
or they teach that it happened on the day of Pentecost, you know, when they had the Holy Ghost
come upon them and they weren't preaching the gospel, you know, and some people have
different ideas as to when did the New Testament church age start
listen, the church age did not start, it's always been
the church has always been, people coming together
to worship God, to give Jesus Christ the preeminence
to worship God, that has always happened
we didn't just turn a corner, now it's time for church
now God wants to deal with a church age, and listen, that whole church age thing
is no different to the understanding of Roman Catholics, they create this
monster called the church age and they say every believer is part
of the church, that's not what a church is, a church is not
every believer, local churches of believers coming together
that's what a church is, amen? This church age idea
is crazy, they do not believe there was a church in the Old Testament
because they say, well, you read the Old Testament, where does it say
church? It says congregation, that's what it says
it says the house of the Lord, that's what it says
every time you read the house of the Lord which was the temple, or the tabernacle
or Bethel, you know, back in the old days, that was a church
coming together, offering their sacrifices, we come and offer our sacrifices of praise
we come and serve God when we come to our local church
it's just that things have changed a little bit between the Old Testament and the New Testament
but to believe there was no church in the Old Testament is crazy
you're going to tell me there was not a time when people came together to worship God
just read your Bible, it happens over and over again, okay?
Acts chapter 7, look at Acts chapter 7, verse number 37
Acts chapter 7 and verse number 37
This is that Moses which said unto
the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God
raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me
him shall ye hear. This is he that was
in the church in the wilderness, with the angel
which spake to him in the Mount Sinai, and with our fathers
who received the lively oracles to give unto us
what was the church in the Old Testament? There was a church
in the wilderness, who was pastor in that church?
It was Moses, Moses was the pastor of the church in the wilderness
God's people, hey, that was like a, probably like a
three million member church, that's a huge church
praise God for that church, I don't know how Moses did it, he needed some help
but look there's no difference, what did he have to do?
It said that God set him up so they would hear Moses, what did Moses do?
It says that he went up to Mount Sinai with our fathers
who received the lively oracles, Moses received the word of God
to give unto us
Moses was a preacher, Moses was teaching and preaching
God's word, Moses was the minister of the church in the wilderness
just like Paul was when he was going out studying churches
many, many local churches in the New Testament, well the Old Testament
we have a church in the wilderness right there, and again, did Moses have a building
to meet him? They had a wilderness, they were out in the open
did he have an ABN number brother? Did they have insurance paperwork to make sure they didn't
get, I don't know, stung by scorpions or something? No, right?
There was still a church, regardless of all those things
so listen, there was a church in the Old Testament, very clearly when the people of God
when Israel would come together to worship God, that was the church
alright, now please turn to Ephesians chapter 3
turn to Ephesians chapter 3
and verse number 20, and if anyone wants to be a pastor
let me encourage you to study Moses, Moses was
the very first pastor, okay, now he had a lot more responsibility
not only was he the pastor, he was also the government, okay
I mean he was everything, he wore a lot of hats that Moses, right?
but if you want to learn what it is like to be a Moses, how to be a humble man that loves the people
of God, just study Moses' life, and even when God is angry
at his people, you see Moses step in and make intercession for them
Moses had a love for the people, Moses was a people person
and he was a leader, he was able to lead such a great congregation
but let's go to Ephesians chapter 3 and verse number 20
Ephesians chapter 3 and verse number 20, and this passage just
completely demolishes that false teaching of the church age
okay, Ephesians chapter 3 verse 20 says
Christ Jesus throughout all ages
world without end, amen
so, is there a church age there, brethren?
are you ever going to open your King James Bible and read about the church age?
it's never going to happen, the closest you're going to find is this passage
and it tells us that there was glory in the church for Jesus Christ
throughout all ages, all ages, Old Testament
New Testament, before the Old Testament there was always a church
brethren, there was always a place where people would gather, not a place, but people would gather
to worship God, every age had a church
and it says world without end, what is that telling us?
with that end there's always going to be a church
in eternity there's going to be church, okay, we're always
going to have a time when we get together with believers to worship
our Lord God, okay, and I'm going to show you that church very shortly
actually I'm going to show you it right now, let's go to Hebrews chapter 12
Hebrews chapter 12 and verse number 22 please, Hebrews chapter 12
and verse number 22
Hebrews chapter 12 and verse number 22
I want you to see this one
I'll give you a moment to turn there, Hebrews chapter 12 and verse number 22
so we saw that there was a church in the Old Testament
and if you remember when Jacob would go and
worship God he went to a place called Bethel, which used to be called Luz
and there he would worship God, Bethel means the house of God
that's where he would go to worship God, Hebrews chapter 12 and verse number 22
and then we saw the New Testament church, which we're all part of right now brethren
the local church here in Fairfield East, we're that church, but there comes a time
world without end for all eternity that we're going to be back in church
you said what are we going to do in heaven Pastor Kevin, well we'll be going to church
we're going to be learning God's word even more, you know we're going to just keep learning
we're going to keep gaining knowledge, what a great thing, I like learning, I don't know about you
but I like learning new things, I like it when I open God's word and oh wow I didn't know that
before, I didn't notice that before, I didn't realize that before, well we're going to be doing that
for all eternity, okay, I mean God has all knowledge
you know, so it's going to take us eternity to learn what God has to
teach us, but in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 22 it says
but ye are come unto Mount Zion, but look at this, is this Mount Zion
on the earth, it says and unto the city of the living God
is that the city of Jerusalem on this earth, it says here
the heavenly Jerusalem and to an innumerable company
of angels, hey there's going to be a time when we're going to be together with the angels
look at this, verse 123, to the general assembly, hey what's
the church, it's the assembly, it's the congregation, to the general
assembly and church of the first born
which are written in heaven and to God the
judge of all and to the spirits of just men made
perfect, wow, Mount Zion in heaven, in the heavenly
Jerusalem we're going to be gathered together, all believers
with the angels that serve God, right, and we're going to worship him
at church, we're going to learn at church, I don't know guys, get up here and
start preaching, maybe God's going to call you to come up and preach a sermon in heaven, who knows
right, but listen, in heaven, in all eternity
church has a place, the point I want to drive home there
and I figure I've driven home more than enough, there isn't just this church age
brackets, it's just a bracket, it's a timeout time
God's just dealing with the local church right now, because he's put Israel
listen, Israel was a church in wilderness, okay
there is no church age, throughout all ages, world without end
we're going to have church, I can't wait for the general assembly, I don't know what that church is going to be called
right, well I guess that's the name of it, the general assembly, the church of the first born
okay, first born, so it's everybody that's been born of God, everybody that's
in Jesus Christ will be part of that church, hey what's going to be great about that church in heaven
there's not going to be any tears amongst the wheat, it's all going to be the wheat
it's all going to be the sheep of God, it's all going to be believers
there's not going to be an opportunity for some false prophet to creep in
teach us heresies and try to take over a church and lead it into wickedness
now please turn to 1 Timothy chapter 5
turn to 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse number 17
1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse number 17
I realise in my notes that I've lost a verse that I wanted to teach
anyway, it was one of the verses that basically said
that God has given each of us a gift to serve in the local body
you know all of us have been given some gift from God, we can serve
for some it's the preaching of God's word, for some it's just to
edify believers, it's to be a help, it's to be a prayer warrior
we've all given different gifts by God to serve in this local church
and I haven't got that verse with me right now but that's ok, but you go to Hebrews chapter 12
and verse number 22, sorry, 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse 17
1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse number 17
because even though we've all been given a gift to minister in the church
as we saw with Paul, some people are set up to teach others
some people are set up to instruct others, some people are set up
to start churches and this is where the idea of authority
comes from, even though we're all ministers, some ministers have
been given authority in the local church
in 1 Timothy chapter 5 verse 17 it says
let the elders that rule well, now let's stop there for a moment
if you're talking about someone that rules, what are you saying to that person?
that that person has authority, he's got authority
he's got to rule over others, and so within a church
there are others that are under the authority of the elder
now the elder is another way of saying the pastor
or the shepherd, the reason we use the word pastor today is because
it's the Latin form of the word shepherd, ok, another term that gets used
in the Bible is the bishop, ok, and the bishop is the overseer
it means that you look out for the souls of others, ok, and this is the person
that's been given authority in the church, let's read it again verse 17
let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor
look at this, especially they who labor
in the word and doctrine, so the one that has
authority in the church, the one that is to rule in the church
has to labor in the word and doctrine
ok, so listen, when I prepare my sermons
I'm not here, like I've said it many times, I'm not here for 10 minutes
I'm not here for 15 minutes, mucking around putting some verses together
and preaching fluff, you know, when you're laboring
it means you're working in word and doctrine, I used to be
I used to think I was in church, and I guess because the preaching, a lot of the preaching wasn't
edifying, a lot of the preaching I wasn't being fed in church, and I'd be like man
this man gets behind the pulpit, I'm thinking about my Baptist union church
and I mean these sermons are boring, I mean how much time
has he spent preparing these sermons, maybe he's copied it from someone else
and this guy's getting paid for that, yeah but you know what
this is how a child thinks right, what you don't understand until you actually
put a sermon together, this is why I encourage men, hey men if you want to get up to preach let me know
the reason I encourage men to do this is because when you are looking at the
word of God and you say well I need to prepare something to preach to God's people, you start
to understand how much work it takes, like if you want to preach a sermon that
helps people, that edifies people, that feeds people, you know you need to
spend a lot of time laboring in his word, okay and you're just sitting there and sometimes
brethren I'm just laboring, I'm not even writing anything, I'm just thinking, I'm just meditating
I'm thinking of one verse and I'm thinking how does that apply for us today, well I'm thinking
hey that sounds a lot like this other passage in the Bible, let me go and find out what that
passage says because maybe that adds further light to what this passage of the Bible says
I mean all of that time right, just studying, thinking,
praying, asking God give me wisdom, Lord help me teach your people
correctly because I want to make a mistake, all that labour is behind the scenes and nobody
sees it and you think the pastor gets just behind the pulpit and just says a few words and man that guy
gets paid for that, yeah you know what if he's not feeding God's people I don't
believe he deserves to get paid, you know if he's just given 10 minutes of a preparation
why is he there, why is he there, but you see here the one
that rules well in the house of God is to labour in word and doctrine
alright, he's got to have knowledge, he's got to impart that knowledge
unto others, verse number 18
so you see there that the elders, you know biblical speaking
are to be paid, they're to be rewarded for their labour right
verse number 19 and look you know I don't say that
I don't like preaching that because I don't want anyone to get the idea that I'm
in it for the money and look do I need to get paid to look
after my family and feed my kids and pay the bills, of course
of course but you know it can take a long time to get to that point
where you can actually provide yourself serving God
because we live in a nation that doesn't like God, we live in a nation that takes a long time
to get a church started, get people invested and for people to go
you know what I'm being fed by the word of God, I want to give to this work
I want to make sure my pastor doesn't go hungry, you know it takes time for that to develop
it doesn't just land in your lap
but you can see here that pastors are called to be paid
and then it says in verse number 19, actually let's go back to verse number 17
it says let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour
I haven't got time to explain this to you, but the honour there is of course
making sure that his needs are met, it's not just making sure that his needs are met
but he has double that, so he has more than what he needs, the double honour
that's what he's referring to, but that's only for the elders that rule well
if you don't rule well, you're not deserving of double honour
but then there's a flip side to that authority, so you've got the authority
you rule well in the house of God, you get paid
even double honour if the church can afford that, but then there's a flip side to that
and look at verse number 19
so what that's saying is that if someone has something negative, nasty
to say about the pastor, let's say someone comes up to you
oh man I've got to tell you something really bad about Pastor Kevin, I found out he's in
some really bad sin, that's okay, you can discuss that
but make sure you do that before two or three witnesses
now if someone comes to you behind you in your ear, oh Pastor Kevin blah blah blah
say hold on, we need some other witnesses, and if others can't listen to this, I don't want to listen to that
there's got to be two or three witnesses, right, now if the pastor has
sinned, and we discussed this in the men's bible study, if the pastor has sinned
alright, and you've gone out and you've confirmed this is correct
you've got two or three witnesses as well, several people have checked the evidence
this lines up, he's done wrong, maybe he's disqualified himself
in verse number 20, it says them that sin rebuke before
all that others also may fear
listen, pastors are not allowed to get away with extreme wickedness
I can't say pastors are not allowed to get away with sin because we all sin
especially if you get to a point where you disqualify yourself, pastors are not to remain
in power, okay, the church is to come together, we'll look at
the evidence that's at hand, and do the best to rebuke that elder
hopefully that elder will be embarrassed, step down, and look it says rebuke them
before all, why, why is that important, we don't want to hurt his feelings
look, that others also may fear, man the pastor
has messed up his life, the pastor has made this mistake, we better make sure
we don't make those same mistakes, so you've got to call out the pastor when he does wrong
okay, yeah they're worthy of double honour, but they're also worthy of
double shame if they disgrace the office
alright, I don't want that to happen to me, alright
I have a fear of God, I don't want to mess up, I don't want to get into some filthy sin
I don't want to disqualify myself, alright, because you know
if I knew that I would be ashamed and I would be rebuked before all
that at least would kind of make me double, you know, think twice
before doing something extremely wicked, alright, instead of getting away with
certain things, now let's go
to Hebrews chapter 13, let's go to Hebrews chapter 13 and verse number 7
so the point I want to show you there brethren is that there is authority
in the local church and it's the elders, it's the elder
responsibility to rule well, alright
and if they do well they're worthy of double honour, Hebrews chapter 13 and verse number 7
Hebrews 13 and verse number 7
it says remember them which have the rule over you
so who did we see who has the rule over you in the church? The elder, the pastor
alright, the bishop, remember them who have spoken
unto you the word of God, what is their job? To speak to you the word of God, teach you the word of God
we've seen that already, alright, whose faith follow
considering the end of their conversation, again the conversation there is
your lifestyle, your behaviour, you know the pastor isn't just someone
who should speak eloquently and give great speeches and preach
great things but his life should also demonstrate that he is someone who is
faithful to God, right, his house has to be in order, his wife
needs to be a good woman, not out there gossiping and back saving people
his children need to be in order, not involved in
horrible sins and running wild in the church, right
you've got to look at that person's lifestyle and that's another thing that
gives me great fear, right, because if people are looking at my life, looking at my behaviour
and trying to pattern themselves after that, I can't let down
you know, you mess up as a pastor, you let down the whole church
okay, but I want to show you there that once again
there is a man that has the rule over you in the house of God, let's drop down to verse number
17, verse number 17
it says obey them that have the rule over you
so brethren, look, this is the word of God, what does it say, you've got to obey me
you know, if you like me as your pastor, listen, if you think
I can't obey the pastor, I can't obey the man of God
then let me encourage you, I don't want any problems
just find a church, find a pastor that you can obey
because that is your command, okay, that is your command, I would rather
you just leave the church, pastor, I don't think I can obey you
and I'm going to find myself another church where I believe I can, fine
do that, it's better, it works out better, because I don't want to have to have problems in the church
right, but look, there is a need for obedience, right, it's very
clearly there, obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves
again, what is submission, it means someone has authority over that person
that has to submit to that, right, submit yourselves, look at this
for they watch for your souls, that's what a bishop is, an overseer
you're watching for your souls, as they that must give account
that they may do it with joy and not with grief
for that is unprofitable for you, so if you can't obey me
brethren, find another pastor, you have my blessing, find another church
I'm not mad at you, I'm being honest with you, okay
because I don't want to have to give a bad account of you to God, when I have to stand before God
and give an account for this church, okay, I don't want to say, well you know
brother, who can I use, brother, what's the name that we haven't got
brother Matthew, alright, God, brother Matthew made my life so hard
you know, I asked him to do things in church, he wasn't obedient, I told him to leave
God, I told him to leave, I said go find another pastor that you can be obedient
to, and he just wouldn't do it Lord, that's not going to be profitable for you brother
thanks for being the guinea pig for that, okay, I was trying to find some other name of someone that we haven't got in this church
but anyway, you know what I'm saying, right, you can see there that the pastor
must give accounts, so who's accountable for the church
the pastor's accountable, who is he accountable to
he's accountable to God, alright, and the member of the church should be
submissive to that person that has the rule over them, that's the proper structure
as we've seen in the decently in order series, there's always somebody that has the rule
and there are always those that have to be submissive to that rule, whether it's government
whether it's church, whether it's your workplace, whether it's the family
this is the order of God, even the trinity, we've seen
Jesus Christ is submissive to the will of the Father's will, okay, so it's not an evil thing
it's God's nature, and that's how he's put the powers
into place in this world, please turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 5
1 Peter chapter 5 and verse number 1
the elders which are among you I exhort
now I'm going to show you how this ties in with being a pastor or a bishop
the elders which are among you I exhort who am also an
elder, so Peter was an apostle
but he was also a pastor, he was also an elder of a church, okay
he says that he was the pastor of the church in Babylon, that's what he says
I haven't got time to go through that right now
and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and also a partaker
of the glory that shall be revealed, look what he says in verse number 2
so this is one pastor speaking to other pastors, he says
feed the flock of God, how are we to feed the flock of God?
we saw with the word of God, right, laboring in doctrine
in the word and in doctrine, okay, feeding, so if you're feeding the flock
what is that referring to? A shepherd and the sheep, amen
it's the shepherd's job to make sure the sheep are being fed
alright, so there's the shepherd, and again the Latin
word for shepherd is the pastor, and that's why today we're so used to using
the term pastor to refer to the person that rules in the house of God, okay
but again, who has authority in that description?
does the sheep have authority over the shepherd, or does the shepherd have authority over the sheep?
the shepherd has authority over the sheep, so that's the
again, it's the same idea, hey, the pastor is called the elder
the elder, and look, we know that that's not referring to someone that's
necessarily old, though it could be, it could be someone that's old, but when it's talking about the one that rules
in the house of God, it's the one that has spiritual maturity, okay
and so the pastor ought to be someone that has lived a long
Christian life, he's got a lot of experience, he's got a lot of leadership abilities
you know, and I'm not trying to talk myself up, and that's the last thing I want to talk about
but that's the man that it ought to be, someone that can be the elder, and what's the difference
between, what's the opposite to an elder? the younger
alright, the younger, the younger, so the younger in the faith, right
and so again, if you were to put together into place, you know, you had an elder person
or a younger person, it's the younger person that's called to give honour to the
elderly, right, to the one that's older, the one that has the experience, again it's not
you know, the Bible doesn't teach us that the elderly should honour the youngest, you know, the youngest
no, it's the other way around, okay, this is talking about spiritual maturity
alright, so again, you see that framework, let's keep going
there in verse number 2, feed the flock of God which is among you
take in the oversight thereof, again we saw oversight
that's where the word bishop comes from, bishop means the overseer
so who's overseen the church? the pastor
the pastor oversees, is the congregation that oversees the pastor?
no, the pastor's given the title overseer because he's watching over those
that are under him, okay, so you can see how
very clearly, whether it's the elder, whether it's the shepherd, whether it's the bishop
those titles, that job is always somebody
that's over those that are under him, it's not the other way around, okay, in the word
of God, take in the oversight thereof, not by
strength, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of
a ready mind, okay, now let's go to verse number 3, because the next thought is
well, what if my pastor is, you know, asking me to obey
stupid things, what if he's coming into my life and he's telling me
who I should marry, what job I should take, you know, he's checking
my bank account to see if I've given my tithes and my offerings to the church
I would never do something crazy like that, I would never do anything crazy like that
but we know there are some pastors that overstep their boundaries
where is their authority? Is there authority in your home?
Is there authority in your workplace? Is there authority
over your wife and your children? No, the pastor's authority
is in the church, it's in the congregation, it's the
local assembly, when we come together to praise God
that's where the pastor holds authority, brother, one day I might
work for you, you might have a business, right, and you need an employee
and I need to work a job, okay, maybe, I might go and work for you
and guess who's in charge when I'm working for you?
You're in charge, you can't just go with Pastor Kevin, you've got, you know
brother tells me to obey you, well yeah, that's a church, right
in fact, I've had a pastor once work for me, alright
and yeah, I honour him as a pastor, but at the end of the day, he's working
for me, I'm his boss, so I'm telling him what to do on the workplace
okay, there are proper structures, there are proper institutions
my authority is in the church and that's it, that's it
I don't want to look after your family, I don't want to go to your job and tell you how to do your job
I don't want to tell you who to marry, I don't want to tell you when to go on holidays
I don't want any of that brother, please keep it, you know, make the decisions for yourself
you know, if you're a man, if you're a husband, if you're a father, you decide
what is right for your family, you don't need to check it with me, okay
when it comes to church though, I ask that you please obey those that have the rule over you
okay, it'll make all our lives a lot easier when that happens
alright, look at verse number 3
1 Peter 5 verse number 3
so I'm not here, even though I have the rule, remember
I am ministering the church, I am a minister
what does the word minister mean? The servant
I'm serving this church, I am not the lord of this church
I don't come here so you can serve me, oh pastor Kevin, do you need your shoes polished
you know, and sometimes you guys come out and you, you know, you've given me gifts
and you've done nice things for me, brother Ramson buys my lunch almost
every time, I have to tell him stop doing it, but here's the thing, when we go and have lunch
we're not at church anymore, so he doesn't have to obey me when I ask him to do that, he still
pays for my food sometimes, you know, thank God for those that do nice things, I appreciate
it, right, but listen, you're not here to serve me, I'm here to
serve you, and part of that work of service is to have the rule in the house of God
okay, so there is
one lord, there is one head of the church, that is the lord Jesus Christ, it is not
pastor Kevin, it is not anyone else, look at verse number 4
again, we see the chief shepherd, right, the pastor is a shepherd, but there's a chief shepherd
even above the pastor, when the chief shepherd shall appear
you shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away
brethren, I want that crown of glory, this is a special crown
that's given to elders, that's given to shepherds, that's given to pastors, I want
that crown of glory, alright, so I don't want a lord over you
I don't want to serve you for filthy lucre, you know
I don't want to disgrace my office here and commit some
grievous sin, I want to rule well, I want to
feed you the word of God, because I want this crown of glory, that's what I want
you want to know what I want brethren, that's what I want, okay, if I get a kebab once in a while that's great
but what I really want is this crown, okay, that's what I really want
okay, and so I don't want to mess things up
but the point is, it's very clear there, that the
pastor has authority in the church, okay, now let's go to
if you guys can turn to, where can I get to turn
to, let's go to 1 Timothy 3, 1 Timothy 3, I better hurry up
1 Timothy 3
and verse number 1, 1 Timothy 3
and verse number 1, this is a true saying, if a man
desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work
now look at this, a bishop then must be blameless
the husband, not a woman, he's got to be a husband
of one wife, not divorced, not multiple wives
one wife, vigilant, sober of good behaviour
given to hospitality, apt to teach
apt means aptitude, you've got the ability to teach, not given to wine
no striker, not greedy or filthy lucre, but patient
not a brawler, not covetous, now look at verse number 4
so before you can be allowed to be a pastor, you have to have at least proven yourself
that you can rule your own family, your own wife
your own children, they're not going crazy, right?
once you've proven yourself in that institution, then that is a person
that can step into an office of a bishop
the office of an elder, the shepherd, look at verse number 5
once again, who is ruling?
if a man know not how to rule his own house, why? because he's also got to rule that church of God
how shall he take care of the church of God? what is that saying?
that if you're not a leader, if you can't manage your family
if your wife is not submissive to you, if your wife is the one running the show
if your children are not obedient to you, if your children don't listen to dad
you're not going to be able to manage the house of God because it's going to be even more difficult
it's going to be even more challenging, your family is like that stepping stone
you do well as a family man, then you'll be able to do well in the house of God
alright, so you see that that's the pastor's role
now please turn to, let's drop down to verse number 8
verse number 8, there is another office in the church
that holds some authority and that is the role of a deacon
of a deacon, now
I've served, before I became a pastor, I served two years as a deacon
and it was great, I learnt a lot of behind the scenes things
I served in the church a lot more faithfully and do a lot more for the church and things like that
I served in many capacities, I was a Sunday school teacher, Sunday school superintendent
I'd be preaching once or more every month
at church and of course as a Sunday school teacher you're preaching every week
basically to children, so I was able to get a lot of skills through that
but many times the office of a deacon today
it's kind of like, they're not given
the full authority that we see in the house, in the bible
because the deacon, and I haven't got time to go through this, you can read about it in your own time
in Acts 6, but the deacon was there to help
help the ones that do have the role in the house of God
to manage affairs, to manage the administrative tasks of the church so that the apostles
could be able to get out there and preach the word of God, to labour in the word of God
sometimes when a church gets too large you need extra
extra hands and this is where the deacon steps in
but there in 1 Timothy 3 verse 8
it says likewise, when it says likewise it means in the same way
we just finished talking about the pastor
the bishop, so likewise the deacon ought to be pretty much like
a pastor, likewise must the deacons be grave, not double tongued
not given too much wine, not greedy for filthy lucre
look at this, holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience
and let these also first be proved
so before someone can become a deacon, they must also first be proved
okay, this is why you've got to serve faithfully in church for some time
prove yourself, show yourself able to be that person
let that person also be proved, where am I up to brethren?
verse number 10, then, so let them be proved
then let them use the office of a deacon
being found blameless, even so must their
wives be grave, not slanderers
sober, faithful in all things, and what upsets me
in so many independent fundamental Baptist churches, they're putting people into positions
of deacons that aren't even married, you've got to have a wife
what in the world, what's going on
okay, why do they have to have a wife, why do they have to have children
because again, if they prove themselves to rule in their families, they can have some authority
in the church, you know, people are putting, I remember, you know, I won't name the church
I was in a church, and you're given a piece of paper
these are all the names that have been brought forward to serve as a deacon, and I'm like well this man
has no wife, this man I think is even unsaved
well this one's married, but he's a new believer, right, I mean it's like
are you crazy, we don't just put deacons for the sake of
having deacons, they've got to meet the qualifications
they've got to have a wife, they've got to show themselves
leading a house
even so, look, must their wives
they've got to have a wife, must, okay, must have a wife
be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things
let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children
oh this one has one child, children, multiple
children, why?
Having one child is challenging, of course, but when you have children
you know children argue and fight, so you have to prove
that you can manage a household, where children sometimes argue and complain
because sometimes that's what church is going to be like, you're going to have people with different opinions
people are going to clash, people aren't going to agree, and you're going to have shown yourself to be able to handle
a situation where people aren't on the same page, this is the deacon as well
okay, the deacon basically has to have the same
qualifications as a pastor
it's a disgrace to me when I see these deacons, not married, no kids
it's like I'm a deacon, haven't you read the Bible?
haven't you read the qualifications, how is it that you've proved yourself, in fact you've proven
yourself to not know the word of God, how can you step into that position
it's crazy to me, it's insane
I don't understand what's going on, then we wonder why our churches are suffering
we haven't got the right leaders in place
it's like this list is here so we can work toward that
but if you take shortcuts, you're going to get a shortcut
pastor, you're going to get a shortcut deacon, that messes things up
these things are here for a reason, ruling their children
ruling their children in their own house as well, for they that have used the office of a
deacon will purchase to themselves a good degree
and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus, brethren I want to
elevate the office of a deacon, it's a great office
you purchase to yourself a good degree, but our churches have diminished
what a deacon is, or anybody can be a deacon, you don't need to be married, you don't need to have kids
you don't give them any responsibilities, they're just some figurehead
just giving a vote, they're not giving any kind of authority, any kind of
positions where they're ruling things in the house of God, you diminish it so
lowly that people think, oh just a deacon?
you purchase to yourself a good degree, this is better than a Bible college degree
you want a degree in the house of God
become a deacon, aim for that
those that want to be pastors one day, aim to be a deacon, but not just a deacon, a deacon
that is qualified according to God's word, when the need comes up
it's a great office to have, it's a great office to have
serving the people of God
so brethren, in conclusion, the house of God
is important, the local church is important, what is the church once again?
it's a congregation, and we've all been called to minister
to serve one another, the person that gets behind the pulpit
brethren, whether it's a pastor or some other preacher, they're not there
to be served, they're there to serve you
when someone prepares a sermon
please, just have in your heart, this brother has gotten behind the pulpit
he's spent hours laboring the word of God, maybe he's nervous
I mess up words all the time, misspeak, he's going to say things
that might sound wrong, but he's faithfully serving God, he's doing it for me
he's doing it to serve me, and so I better listen
I don't want to switch off, who's preaching this afternoon? Oh, it's brother so and so?
Who cares who's preaching this afternoon? You're coming to hear the word of God being preached
that person has labored because he loves you, because he wants to serve you
but what else do we notice this, we notice that in a church there's authority
the pastor has authority, and I'm thankful for that, it's a lot easier when someone has authority
to call the shots and make hard decisions sometimes
and it is hard decisions sometimes, especially as COVID stuff, but what you are called to do
brethren, is to be obedient to that pastor, make my life a lot easier
so I can give a good account of the church and of you, because I want it to profit you
in heaven, I want the Lord to reward you for being a faithful
obedient member of the church, making the pastor's life easy
and helping them out, okay let's pray