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I'll see you guys in the next video. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Hello, welcome to Sure Foundation Baptist Church. Thanks for coming out to our Sunday morning service. Let's take our seats and open up our green handles to page 58. We're going to sing He the Pearly Gates Will Open, page 58 in your green hymn books. He the Pearly Gates Will Open. Green handles, page 58. Sing it out loud on the first. Love divine, so great and wondrous. Deep and mighty, pure, sublime. Coming from the heart of Jesus, just the same through tests of time. He the Pearly Gates Will Open, so that I may enter in. For he purchased my redemption and forgave me all my sin. On the second. Like a dove when hunted, frightened, as a wounded fawn was I. Broken hearted, yet he healed me. He will heed the sinner's cry. He the Pearly Gates Will Open, so that I may enter in. For he purchased my redemption and forgave me all my sin. Love divine, so great and wondrous. All my sins he then forgave. I will sing his praise forever for his blood, his power to save. He the Pearly Gates Will Open, so that I may enter in. For he purchased my redemption and forgave me all my sin. Sing it out on the last. In life's even tide at twilight. At his door I'll knock and wake. By the precious love of Jesus, I shall enter heaven's gate. He the Pearly Gates Will Open, so that I may enter in. For he purchased my redemption and forgave me all my sin. Amen. Great singing this morning. Brother Bill, you want to open us up with the word of prayer, please? Amen. Let's turn to page 51. Sing your second song, Where We'll Never Grow Old. Page 51, Where We'll Never Grow Old. Sing it out on the first. I have heard of a land on a faraway strand. Tis the beautiful home of the soul. Built by Jesus on high, there we never shall die. Tis the land where we never grow old. Never grow old, never grow old. In a land where we'll never grow old. Never grow old, never grow old. In a land where we'll never grow old. On the second. In that beautiful home where we'll never more roam. We shall be in the sweet by and by. Happy praise to the King, through eternity sing. Tis the land where we never shall die. Never grow old, never grow old. In a land where we'll never grow old. Never grow old, never grow old. In a land where we'll never grow old. Sing it out on the last. When our work here is done, and the life crown is won. And our troubles and trials are o'er. All our sorrow will end, and our voices will blend. With the loved ones who've gone on before. Never grow old, never grow old. In a land where we'll never grow old. Never grow old, never grow old. In a land where we'll never grow old. Good morning everybody, welcome to the Sherr Foundation Foundation. Let's take our bulletins and go through some announcements. The bulletins kind of got messed up for some reason. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but they're kind of weird on the fonts. And there's some stuff, some bleed over and stuff like that going on. But anyway, welcome to Sherr Foundation Baptist Church. Let's look at our verse of the week on the front cover. We have the verse of the week. It says, there's no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4.18, our service times are Sunday morning. Preaching services at 10.30 a.m. Our Sunday evening preaching services at 3.30 p.m. We're in Exodus chapter 15 tonight. And our Thursday Bible study is at 6.30 p.m. And will be in Hebrews chapter 11 this week. And our service times are listed below. If you're going soul winning, please make sure. I don't think Sean is running it today, because Sean is driving up to Seattle to preach. So brother Alex is the man. Okay. And the maps are already in. Okay. So the maps are already in the WhatsApp group, if you're in the WhatsApp group. If you're not in the WhatsApp group, just get with me or my wife, and we can get you in the WhatsApp soul winning group. So also there's other soul winning times to choose from. Different leaders, different days of the week. So in the praise report, we've had six salvations so far in the month of May. So we're off to a great start. And we had 155 salvations for April. So that was the best month we've had in a long time. And 119 of those are from Detroit, but the rest are ones that we got here or in Longview and other places. We're not counting the Seattle numbers with the Vancouver numbers. And there's already, let's see, I think there's 24 salvations already. Is that right? Twenty-four salvations already for our church plant up in Seattle. They've only been going for one week up there. So that's really good. I just want to say thank you to our church family, also all the people that are taking time to go out up there and preach and just help out with the new plant. It's been a lot of work, so I just appreciate you guys and I appreciate your prayers. That church would get up and rolling as fast as possible. And we've got a lot of people who have stepped up and done a lot of great work. So I really appreciate it. Our upcoming events, this Tuesday, guys, is the men's leadership class. That starts at 6 p.m. And we'll have a lesson and then please bring like a 10-minute sermon. And then ladies' tea is coming up this week. It's at noon. And so just meet here at noon and dress up for the event and there will be tea and I don't know about crumpets. I don't have crumpets here. But crumpets are good. Don't sleep on crumpets. Those are good. I don't know if we'll have clotted cream either because that's an English thing. It's hard to find. I've looked for it. But it's kind of like butter but better. It's kind of like a cross between whipped cream and butter. So it's pretty tasty. But it won't be exactly an English tea, but we'll have it all fancy and stuff here. And then we'll feed you and there's some, I think, surprises for best dressed and things like that. So also Mother's Day is the next day, so please invite your mom. And if she doesn't want to come, just make sure you tell her you love her and give her something nice or something. And then for the ladies that are here, for the whole church, actually, because it's Mother's Day and we don't want the Mother's Day to have to go home and cook or slave away the night before, we're going to provide lunch for the whole church. So that will be after the morning service. And May 20th, I put as a church work day, if you could come and help work around the church. We've got some things around the outer building that need to be, some attention needs to be had on them. We're going to do some pressure washing, maybe just chop up some stuff. And on the inside here, maybe some deep cleaning and things like that. So that would be May 20th, so that's the week before the conference, which I'm rolling into. May 25th through 28th is our King James Conference. It's the first conference our church has ever had and I'm very excited about it. And we have several of the best pastors in the country here to preach. I wish I could have invited them all. Those are all the ones that I'm friends with. I really like their preaching and everything, but we can only do so much. So anyway, Pastor Shelley will be preaching on Thursday. Pastor Anderson, those are at 7 o'clock. There will be 3 p.m. soul winning on the first two days. There will be food served at 5 o'clock. Lunch will be served for anybody that's here. Dinner, 5 p.m. Soul winning, 3 p.m. Preaching is at 7 p.m. And then Saturday Pastor Mendez will be preaching at 1030 in the morning. And then after his sermon we're going to have lunch. And then there will be a soul winning time after that if anybody wants to go soul winning. Sunday morning we'll have Pastor Jones. He'll be preaching 1030 a.m. We'll have a meal provided between the services. And then I'll be preaching the last service. And I made a video about RSVPing for the conference. Now, I was hoping that people that are coming from out of town, because I know people have said they're coming from out of town, but people don't ever want to RSVP in the new IFB. I don't know what the, maybe it's a generational thing or, you know, I don't know what the deal is. But anyway, it's nice to be able to plan for things. And so I kind of made an incentive for people that are going to come to the conference to RSVP. If you RSVP, and even in our church if you're RSVPing, then we will set aside a hat for any teens from 13 to 19, or any men will get a King James hat. And it's a cool design, of course. And then we're going to have ladies t-shirts. So 13 to 19 for the teens. So we won't have anything for the younger kids. As far as that goes, obviously they're going to get their own types of prizes through the conference. But just for the hats and t-shirts, if you RSVP for the conference, let me know what size you need for the t-shirts, and how many people need one with your group. So anyway, for the hats also. So RSVP, people, so that I can give a count on how much food we need to get. Because I would really hate to have the people that didn't RSVP not get a hat, because it's going to be first come, first serve at that point. So if people that don't RSVP, if they're not here on the first day or two or whatever, then it's possible that they might not be able to get a hat or a t-shirt. So I just want to make sure that everybody gets one. So anyway, that's all I have for that. And then June 9th through 12th, we're having the official launch. We've already kind of launched the church up in Winnipeg. Brother Jim's been up there for five years doing the work. And so we're going to do a launch up there. And there's going to be a Sony marathon on Saturday. So the dates are the 9th through the 12th. And then the ordination of Brother Jim as an evangelist of our church up there. So that's kind of what's coming up. We have a really busy summer. There is going to be no camp this year. I know a couple of people have asked me about camp. And camp would have been the week after the conference, like the next day. And I'm like, uh-uh. No moss. No moss. I've had enough. So we've got to have some gaps here. So anyway, so we're not going to do camp this year. So what I was thinking is we could do it every other year. And I just kind of thought, because there wasn't a big group at our camp last time, maybe if I starve you out for a couple of years, you'll be more willing to come the next time. That's how I do things. So in case you didn't realize that. But anyway, if it's not that cool to people anymore, then it's lost its luster. Then starve them out for a couple of years. And then they'll be like, when's camp, Pastor? So anyway, we're a family integrated church. That means the children and infants are welcome during the church services. Please make sure you're utilizing the mother-baby rooms for your convenience. And also reserve the back rows for families with young children. Rockers and gliders who are pregnant. Nursing mothers and elders only. No unattended children in any area of the building. Please, no food in the assembly area. And silence your cell phones. Escorts are available to your vehicles by the ushers. Upon request, just ask one of the ushers. And they're the guys with the pins on their coats that say usher. And you can look at where you can donate online if you choose to do that or text give. And then the tithes and offerings that came in for the month of April. That's the total there. And then we'll have the new month in next week. So happy birthday to Jack Harrington on the 12th. And Miss Crystal had her birthday on the 4th. So happy birthday to all the birthdays. And that's all I got for announcements. Let's go ahead and sing another song. And then we'll receive the offering. Alright, song number 411 in the blue. Get out your blue hymn book, song number 411. Song number 411 in the blue hymn books. I'm in the way, the bright and shining way. I'm in the glory land way. Telling the world that Jesus saved today. Yes, I'm in the glory land way. I'm in the glory land way. I'm in the glory land way. Heaven is nearer and the way it groweth clearer. For I'm in the glory land way. Verse 2. List to the call, the gospel call today. Get in the glory land way. Wanderers come home, oh hasten to obey. And get in the glory land way. I'm in the glory land way. I'm in the glory land way. Heaven is nearer and the way it groweth clearer. For I'm in the glory land way. On that last onward I go rejoicing in His love. I'm in the glory land way. Soon I shall see Him in that home above. Oh, I'm in the glory land way. I'm in the glory land way. I'm in the glory land way. Heaven is nearer and the way it groweth clearer. For I'm in the glory land way. Good singing. At this time we're going to have the offering. Brother Robert, can you pray for us? Heavenly Father Warren, just thank you for this great day in church, Lord. Thank you for this church here. And Lord, I just ask that you bless this offering. Help us to give with a tearful heart, Lord. And just bless services and the fellowship, Lord. And help us to sing out to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. All right, good morning. Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 4, Ephesians chapter 4. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. We'll read the whole chapter. Ephesians chapter 4, the Bible reads, Therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. Now that he ascended, what is it that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above the heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That we hencefore be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. For whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart, who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ, if so be that ye have learned him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus. That ye put off concerning the former conversation of the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. That ye put on the new man, which is after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour, for we are members one of another. Be ye angry and sin not, let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Brother Mike, will you pray for us? Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful morning and for safely bringing us all here to hear your word today. Amen. All right, we're in Ephesians, chapter number four. The title of the sermon is Three Offices, Pastor, Deacon, Evangelist. Three Offices, Pastor, Deacon, Evangelist. Let's look down at our Bible at verse number 11. The Bible says, And he gave some apostles. Obviously, this is talking about, you know, if God gives something to somebody, what is that called? It's a gift, right? So he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for edifying, excuse me, the edifying of the body of Christ till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and the cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But speaking of the truth and love, may grow up into him in all things which is the head, even Christ. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much for the scriptures this morning and pray, Lord, that you would just fill me with your spirit this morning as I preach this sermon and I pray that it would be edifying to our church. Lord, I pray that you would just be with our people and I pray that they'd have ears to hear and that they'd pay attention and focus on what the Bible says and we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright, so you see here that God gave some and so I believe personally that this is talking about that when you have someone that's, you know, obviously the apostles have all died out. The first generation, all the apostles died out. And then obviously prophets, I mean, prophets are, you know, obviously were ordained in the Old Testament and the Bible says that John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets. Obviously in the first generation and obviously, I mean, prophets could be just, you know, just means preachers but obviously we don't ordain prophets in our churches but you see that word evangelist. Now evangelists are, you know, some people say, well that's just a lay person that goes out soul wanting and I don't believe that. I believe that that's a position in the church and we obviously ordain elders. I've never ordained a deacon before but I've ordained evangelists before and I just want to show you today the need for these three offices in the New Testament church this morning and what the Bible says about it. So, and so it says it's for the perfecting of the saints. So obviously through your Bible reading you should be able to understand doctrine if you're saved. You have the Holy Spirit to teach you all things but it says it's for the perfecting. So when you have a pastor or an evangelist or a deacon preaching to you then those things are supposed to help perfect your life. So whatever's going wrong in your life, the Bible, see, and here's the thing. The Bible is the thing that's supposed to be correcting you. So the preacher gets up and preaches what the Bible says and then it's your responsibility to respond to what the Holy Spirit is saying through the scriptures, right? And it says it's for the work of the ministry. So you have pastors that are for the work of the ministry. You have deacons. It doesn't mention deacons here but you'll see in some of the other passages I go to this morning that, you know, that's kind of a little bit of a trend in this sermon. There's certain things that are mentioned and certain things that aren't but it says for the perfecting of the saints. So he gives apostles, prophets, some evangelists, pastors, and teachers for the perfecting of the saints to get you better, to build you up, and for the work of the ministry. So, and anybody that says that the ministry isn't work has never done ministry before because it is work. You know, people just, you know, they're like, what do you do? You just get up and preach one 15-minute sermon a week? Well, not at this church you don't. I know there's a lot of churches in town that do do that or they'll preach two services but it's the same sermon and two different services. So it's like, you know, how much work are they really putting into the Word of God and studying the Word of God and giving people a spiritual, healthy diet to chew on. So, but if you're going to a church and they're not preaching the whole Word of God, they're not preaching all the Bible, then you're probably not going to be very perfected, are you? But God gave these people to you for a gift and not everybody has a good pastor in their town. Not everybody has a good evangelist in their area. Not everybody has good deacons in their churches. And so it's important for us to understand what the Bible says about this and it's important, I think, for people to understand that if you have one of these in your area that you should be thankful for that gift. Because not ever, I mean, in our group of churches that, you know, we're obviously independent Baptists but, you know, we do have friends that we are more like of like faith that we are friends and we hang out and we do conferences together and things like that. But our churches are independent but, you know, we have good pastors in good areas but like there's still a big need in this country, there's still a big need in this world for more evangelists, more pastors, more deacons. And it is kind of a qualification thing. It's hard to find people that are qualified these days to actually do these jobs. But notice how it says in verse 13, So, you know, obviously the goal is to have unity but not at the cost of doctrine, not at the cost of the qualifications, not at the cost of just for singing Kumbaya and everybody holding hands. That's what the Catholic Church wants to do but they're holding hands with Muslims, they're holding hands with Jews. You know, obviously there's a lot of things that we would disagree with about even old IFB as we would call them. You know, they do a lot of things that I just don't agree with and they don't really like us anyway so it's kind of just like, you know, okay, well, we'll just do our own thing. You know, we'll ordain our own pastors, we'll ordain our own preachers. But it says in verse, let's see, let's turn it over to 1 Timothy 3. So the first of those three offices I want to look at is the pastor. Now I'll just say this and caveat this real quick. There's not a verse that says that an evangelist is an office. It does say that about pastors and deacons. So obviously the things that I believe about evangelists, you might not agree with some of the things I say. But, you know, that's fine. But I would say this, that it is an ordained position. So whether it's an office or whatever you want to call it, a missionary, you know, obviously the word missionary is not even in the Bible. So I don't even know if it's in the Greek. But missionaries are not in the Bible, so why does everybody have missionaries for their churches? Well, we call them that, but in reality they're probably more like evangelists or pastors or deacons. So anyway, 1 Timothy 3 verse 1, we'll talk about the pastor first of these three offices. And the reason why I'm saying three offices is because the acronym Baptist obviously is not in the Bible. But there's acronyms that Baptists use, and they'll say they have an acronym for each letter in that. And I started to write a sermon about it, and I realized deep into my study that it wasn't going to be a one-sermon topic. So I might have to do the whole, I'm going to do Baptists, but I'm going to have to break it up. But I wanted to really hit on this one and make a full-length sermon out of it. So when I do the three, because most people say there's two offices, pastor and deacon, and I'm saying something a little bit different. And you don't have to agree with me if you don't want to, and it's my opinion based upon what I read in the Scriptures. And obviously I do believe it's a full-time position. So it's not just, obviously the pastor is supposed to do the work of an evangelist, but am I an evangelist? I mean, I've got to kind of be everything, really. I've got to be able to do everything that would be in the wheelhouse of church work. So whether that's doing labor or whether that's, you know, whatever it is, I've got to kind of do that. But anyway, so pastors are called either, you know, we obviously use the term pastor, right? But the word elder, the word bishop, and even the word angel, which don't call me an angel, but overseer and shepherd are also used as the four pastor. So I prefer pastor, and I think that's kind of like a preferential thing. But all those things are the same, like when it says to the angel of the church of Ephesus, it's not talking about some heavenly angel that's pastoring that church. Because, you know, the men were getting these letters. So, you know, angel means messenger. So I don't know if you knew that or not. When it says, when it talks about John the Baptist being a messenger, the same word for angel is used in the Bible for that, too. So they mean the same thing, messenger. So John the Baptist was a messenger. Sometimes angels were messengers, you know. Angelic beings were messengers, but men can be messengers also. So anyway, 1 Timothy 3, 1 says, This is a true saying. If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. So, and obviously 1 Timothy chapter 3 gives the qualifications for the bishop and the qualifications for the deacon. And also in the book of Titus, it gives some qualifications. And I'm not going to go through all that today. I've already preached sermons about that, but it's not really in the full scope of this sermon. I've got a lot of things to cover here. So what is the job of the pastor? Well, the pastor rules over the church as an under shepherd accountable to Christ. Accountable to this book. So I have to do, this is my work training manual. You know, you go to work and they give you these packets for your new hire orientation. Have you ever done that before? And it's like they show you a bunch of boring videos and you fall asleep through them. But this is my manual. It's a big manual. And it's my job to enforce the rules of the Bible. I'm supposed to rule over the church. And that doesn't mean that I'm, you know, your lord or something like that. Obviously Jesus is our lord. Jesus is the head of the church. And he is the savior of the body, which we are the body of Christ when we gather together here. But someone has to be in charge. Now, there's a lot of people that just believe a lot of weird things about plurality of elders and that, you know, there's supposed to be some committee that makes decisions for everybody. There's a lot of deacon-run churches where the deacons control everything. And then they, you know, they tell the pastor what to do. But you don't see that in the Bible. You don't see Moses taking orders from his people that he ordained to help him. You know, he had seventy people that he had. He picked a bunch of people to help lead the children of Israel. And, you know, he had to pick them out. There were certain qualifications that they had to meet before he would allow them to be leadership. So Moses is the one that spoke for God. Moses is the one that enforced the rules. And Moses was kind of, he was like a prophet, but he was also their leader and judge. And his brother Aaron was the high priest. So he had his own jobs and duties, but ultimately Moses would even have to tell him what to do sometimes. So if he wasn't doing something right, then Moses would have to get onto him or whatever. But, you know, that's the Old Testament. Well, Moses was like the pastor for the children of Israel. I mean, what did he do for forty years in the wilderness before he went back to the children of Israel? He was a literal pastor taking care of flocks. So that's, and you'll see in the Bible that one man is usually the leader of the children of Israel. One man is the head judge. One man is the one that's leading. And God, obviously there's leadership and then there's the one leader. So, I believe that a church of God should be, the pastor is the one that's supposed to be in charge of the things that go on. The operations of the church. Who preaches, who doesn't. Who plays music, who doesn't. Who, you know, all the different, who's allowed to be here, who's not. And things like that. But it's also my job to feed the church. So, look at 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 1. 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 1. So obviously the Bible says that the pastor is, you know, the office of a bishop is an office of the church. You're like an officer of the church or the bishop, the person that's in charge. So, look at what it says in 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 1. The elders which are among you I exhort whom also an elder. So Peter, he was an apostle, but what else was he? He was an elder. He was a pastor. And it says, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Feed the flock of God which is among you taking the oversight thereof. So you see how he's telling the pastors, the elders, to feed the flock of God. So you're supposed to feed the word of God to them in the preaching. And it says, taking the oversight thereof. So my job as the pastor is to oversee what happens. Isn't that what pastors do? They oversee a flock. You know, like the pastors that would take care of animals. And they look for the wolves. And then they take care of the sick ones. And they take care, you know, they feed them. They care for them. They're supposed to be taking oversight. And it says, not by constraint but willingly, not for filthy lucre, so not for money, but of a ready mind. Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being in samples to the flock. So my job is not to be lord over God's heritage. And I believe that that's really talking about, you know, I don't get involved in your personal life. It's not my job to rule your house. It's my job to rule this house, God's house. And so, I'm going to preach what the Bible says. I'm going to preach sermons so that you can be helped and edified and that you can be perfected. But ultimately, you're the one that has to make the decision to implement those things in your life. I'm not going to go to your house and see your DVD collection. I'm not going to go to your house and judge your false idols that you have, your little birds in teacups with animals painted on them or whatever. That's not my job. My job is to preach the word of God, to oversee this church. And what you do at home is between you and God, honestly. I'm not going to tell you what color of car to pick. I'm not going to tell you what kind of car to buy. That's just out of the scope of my job as a pastor. I'm not going to rule over God's people in that way. I believe that's what it's talking about. It says, but being in samples to the flock. So, it's my job to also practice what I preach and so on and so forth. And it says in verse 4, And when the chief shepherd shall appear, That's Jesus Christ, right? You shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. So, there's this crown that is given to pastors that are faithful, it sounds like. So, but, you know, people just get this idea that pastors are supposed to be the cream puffs that everybody pushes around in the business meetings. You know, these churches, who's been to lots of other different kinds of Baptist churches before? Anybody? Who's been to a business meeting at a Baptist church before? Okay. Now, most Baptist churches are voting Baptist churches. This church is not a voting Baptist church. This is not a democracy. We're not the USA. This is the church. We're a holy nation here. And the church, it doesn't say that we're supposed to vote on stuff. So, here's what you have happening. When the way you have everything set up is already a failure, then all the other things in your church are going to ultimately fail, too. So, when you have little short, bossy old ladies in the church, just sharpening their teeth, waiting for their chance to just dig into the pastor at a business meeting, that's what they do. Or people that are trying to overthrow the church, they'll do the same thing, and they just pick at the pastor and say, Well, why aren't we doing this? And why aren't we doing that? It's like, just shut up and why don't you follow what the pastor says to do? But that's why it's wrong, because you're having these people vote on what should be done. Isn't that controlling what the pastor does? Now, obviously, you can give your input, and usually if somebody says, Well, we should really start doing this. I go, Okay, we'll go start doing it then. People like to have a lot of ideas, and we really should be doing this. Or if I was the pastor, I'd be doing this. But maybe you wouldn't be. Maybe you would see how foolish that thing is, and maybe it's good. It could be good. But it's funny how people always have a lot of ideas of what they think the pastor should be doing when, if they were in that position, they wouldn't be doing it. Or they would see that it's not working out. But it's easy to play the Monday morning quarterback. It's easy to just say, Well, why was this? You're not the pastor, so why even entertain those stupid, silly thoughts in the first place? So, now look at 1 Timothy 5, verse 17. I mean, you have Baptist churches that are just... I mean, I've literally watched, in business meetings, little old ladies with short hair. The reason why I'm saying that is because I observed this happen. I'm not just trying to make fun of ladies with short hair. I'm saying that that's the ones that usually try to control the pastor in the business meeting. They were fighting over what toilet paper to use in the restroom. So, it's like, You know what toilet paper we use? The kind that doesn't clog the restroom. And you're like, Well, I don't like this kind of toilet tissue. Well, quit clogging up the bathroom. You wouldn't have to worry about it. But I have to make a decision for all. So, anyway, that's just a really vain example. But, I mean, does it matter what kind of toilet paper we use? It kind of does. But guess what? I'm not going to just let someone pick the 50-layer thick kind that's going to clog the toilet up. Sorry. Not sorry. I mean, bring your comfy one from home, but just don't use too much of it or it's going to clog the toilet. But anyway, I'm sorry. Potty talk is done. But I'm just saying that I've seen this happen in church. Or they'll bring up the old business in the business meeting. Well, we said we were going to table this and talk about it this week. I've just watched pastors squirm and writhe because these people are just on them about something. You know, recently a pastor told me about something that he was going through where people are trying to start little committees that the pastor is not in charge of in the church. That's dangerous, isn't it? I told this pastor, I was like, you need to just crush that dude. But, you know, that's what happens when you have a voting system. They're bringing things to them in the business meeting and then the pastor is having to jump through all these hoops to please these people that shouldn't have a say in anything. Why do you have a say in what kind of toilet paper there is? Why do you have a say in what color the carpet is going to be? I've heard of literal church splits that split over the color of the carpet. That split over the color of the carpet. One half of the church, or two thirds of the church wanted this and the vote ruled. And they're like, I don't want this pink carpet, I'm out of here. It's like, what a weird thing to leave a church over. The color of the paint, the color of the carpet. This stuff is all fleeting, folks. This building won't be here in a hundred years. Well, I mean, most likely it won't be. But anyway, so there is a one person that's supposed to be in charge. Because you know what happens when one person is not in charge? It becomes a free for all. It becomes chaotic. It becomes ridiculous in polity. It becomes ridiculous in what is allowed to happen. You know, these house churches where everybody is the pastor. I mean, have you ever heard the term, what is it, too many chiefs and not enough Indians? Like, everybody's the chief. Everybody's the one that's ruling over everybody. And then there's one person that they're all picking on the same person or whatever. Or they're all bossing one person around. But this plurality of elders, obviously if a church is huge like the one in the book of Acts, where there's thousands and thousands of people going there, it's like a mega church. You have to have multiple pastors. You have to have multiple deacons. You have to have multiple evangelists working for the church. But when your church is smaller, you don't have to have that. So, 1 Timothy 5 17 says, Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. So what is one of my jobs as the pastor? To labor in the word and doctrine. And then also, my job is to rule well. Do a good job at pastoring. So, people say, well, what do you mean you're the ruler? Well, exactly what that means. That's what it means. So when I say stop doing this or stop doing that, or I make rules up for the better of the whole congregation, and like I've said before, because of transgressions is why I have to make laws. That's why God had to make laws. So when new things happen that shouldn't be happening, I'm like, oh man, I never thought that this would happen, but I guess I'm going to have to make a new rule for this. So that's ruling well. That's being in charge and making decisions that matter, making decisions that are right. And you know what my answer should always be to someone? This is what the Bible says. Why are you doing this? Well, this is what the Bible says. You're like, well, what does toilet paper have to do with that? The Bible says I'm supposed to rule well. So I'm going to make the decision on what kind of toilet paper we're going to use. Potty talk again, sorry. But anyway, turn to Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13. So the office of a bishop or pastor or elder or shepherd or whatever you want to call it. Hebrews chapter 13 verse 7. The Bible says, Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation. So here's another verse where the Bible says that they rule over you. Again, not in your personal life. But you know, sometimes things in the personal life bleed over into church life. And so those things might have to be addressed. But I'm talking about like, you know, wicked sins that would get you thrown out of church outside of your personal life. You're like, well, you just said you're not going to be in our personal life. Well, hey, but if those sins are affecting our church, then I'm going to have to deal with that. But it says, Those who rule over you who have spoken unto you the word of God. So obviously this is talking about pastors. Look at verse 17. But it also could be talking about deacons or evangelists if they're in charge of you, okay? So, and I really, I don't think that deacons are necessarily a position of authority in the same way as a pastor is. They're under a pastor. And same thing with evangelists. They're not on their own. Kent Hovind is on his own at Dinosaur Adventure Park or whatever. And he's just making his own decisions. He was ordained an evangelist in some other church and just kept the title even though he doesn't go to that church anymore. He doesn't go to any church because, you know, he's just doing his own thing. Calling himself an evangelist when he's really not a biblical evangelist. So look at verse 17, the same chapter. It says, Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves. So, if I tell you to do something that has to do with church or church work or something like that, then what are you supposed to do? It says, Submit yourselves. Do what I say. For they watch for your souls, as they which must give account that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you. What's it talking about here? Well, you know, just follow the rules. Do what the pastor says. Do what the Bible says. And don't be a pain in the neck. That's what it's talking about. It's talking about the people that want to be a pain in the neck. And, you know, what makes this job hard is people. People make mistakes. People do things wrong. And obviously I'm willing to overlook a lot of things, but just continue blatant crossing the line with things, always having to step over the rules, always having to push it to the limit. Those are things that irritate me. And, you know, eventually I end up having to explode about it. And I don't want to have to do that, but some people just never get it through their thick skulls to stop doing something that I've asked them to stop doing. You know, I could be nice and just shotgun the whole crowd so I'm not calling that person out specifically. But, you know, there comes a time when I have to get specific. And, you know, people don't like that. But, well, don't make me do it. You're putting a gun to my head. Because, you know, as the pastor of the church, I'm supposed to rule well. So what am I supposed to do? Just ignore the fact that you're breaking all the rules all the time? I'm not going to ignore it. And if I say it nicely, and I keep saying it nicely, and eventually my kindness runs out, eventually my long suffering is going to run out and my mercy is going to run out over these types of things. Isn't that how God is too? He's like, here's a gentle nudge. Here's another one. You know, and eventually God has to smack people around and sometimes He has to kill people. He does kill His own children sometimes. And you're like, well that sounds horrible. Well, He allows them to die so they don't cause more problems and more trouble in this life for other people because, you know, it's just like Saul. I mean, the last straw was what? Going to see the witch. He went to see the witch. And the Bible says in the book of Chronicles that that's why God killed him. God allowed him to be killed. Obviously God didn't strike him with a thunderbolt. But God allowed him to be destroyed by the Philistines and his sons also. He got punished severely for that. So, you know, I'm not going to do that to you. I'm not going to throw you in the Sodomite protest or something and let you fend for yourself. Obviously I'm not going to do any physical violence to anybody but I will use my mouth to rebuke people. And I will use my mouth to reprove people. And I could be long suffering. But again, that patience has an end sometimes. So don't be a pain in the neck to your pastor. Don't be a pain in the neck to your leader. Whatever type of leader you have in your church, don't be a pain in the neck. Why don't you just be a help? Instead of always being a problem, why don't you be a solution? I mean, some people... Look, I like when people bring me problems. But do you have a solution with it? Because if you don't have a solution with it, then maybe you should just not tell me what that problem is. Or maybe it's something that you can't control. That's fine. Just tell me what the problem is. But I'm not here to play patty cake with people all the time. Eventually I have to bring the hammer down about stuff. And people don't like that about pastor-led churches. And there's people out there that even say they're pastor-led churches but then they let their deacons control them. They let their deacons tell them who to fire and who to hire and all that stuff. You won't find that in the Bible, folks. You don't see the deacons controlling the pastors in the Bible. You just don't see it. So the pastors rule, they teach, they preach, and are essentially in charge of the operations of the church. Pastors ordain other pastors. Pastors ordain deacons. Pastors ordain evangelists. And here's what pastors are not. Well, we don't rule your homes or personal lives. Obviously, unless it's some kind of sin that will get you kicked out of church or something. Our job is to shepherd as a pastor and care for you, to teach and preach the Bible, and to pray for you. Now deacons have similar qualifications. We'll move on to the deacons. Deacons have similar qualifications to the pastor, but they were instituted, the deacons, to help the pastors in Jerusalem with tasks that were taking them away from prayer, away from studying the Word of God, and away from the preaching. So let's look at 1 Timothy 3, verse 13, and we'll just show where it says that it's the office of a deacon. 1 Timothy, chapter 3, verse 13, the Bible says, For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchased to themselves a good degree and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. So, see how it says they used the office of a deacon. So you have that office there that's a position in the church, and again, I don't have time for the qualifications, but they're very similar to what the pastors are. You must be married. You must have children. You must be given to wine and all the other qualifications that are in there, but they're not the pastor. They're a deacon. A deacon just means servant. Deacon just means someone that serves, right? So now let's look at Acts, chapter 6, verse 1, where it talks about the first deacons that are ordained. And again, you can look at Moses and how he had to divvy out work to other people because he was just literally, from the time the day started to the very end, was just helping people, counseling people, answering questions all day long, and his father-in-law came along and told him, What you're doing is not good. You're going to wear yourself away, and you're not going to be able to keep this up. And so he advised Moses to get people underneath him to help him with the work. So look at Acts 6, 1, it says, And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. So what are they talking about here? Well, the daily ministration, the helping of the widows, the different things in the church that were supposed to be getting done, they're saying, It's not reason that I should stop my sermon or stop studying for my sermon or praying for people so I can go and make sure to wipe everybody's tables or serve food to people. Now obviously, that's stuff I have done. That's stuff I will do. But to the effect where it's affecting my ability to pastor the church, I have to divvy those things out. And that's what they're saying. It says, Wherefore, brethren, look out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this, what does it say? Business. So people say, Well, the church is in a business. Well, what does it say right there? Business. So there is business, church business, things that have to be done. Jesus said, I must be about my Father's what? Business. So there is business that the church has to handle. And so what were the qualifications? Well, they had to be honest, honest report, so they had to have a good report among everybody, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom. So full of the Holy Ghost, wisdom. Wisdom with what? Probably the Bible is what I'm guessing. Wisdom of how to make decisions, who we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. So the apostles were focused on what? Prayer and preaching the Word of God, right? Studying the Word of God. Verse 5 says, And the same pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicholas, a proselyte of Antioch, whom they set before the apostles. And when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. So this is an ordained position, isn't it? And it says, And the Word of God increased. So this helped, didn't it? It helped the apostles to get things done. The number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. So it helps to have people that are ordained helping the pastor, accomplishing these tasks, and that's what they were for. So here's what deacons are not, though. They are not in charge of the pastor. There is no such thing as a deacon board who hires and fires the pastor. Is that what it said for them to do? Hey, make sure that you're on this board, making sure that we do all the things that we're supposed to do or we'll fire you. I mean, you never see that talked about in the Bible about the deacons, do you? They're not in charge of the pastor. The pastor is in charge of them. Who ordained them? The apostles ordained them. And some of those apostles were pastors. Wasn't Peter an elder? Yeah, so I mean, some of them are doing two jobs at the same time, and you'll see this as we study this out, that there's two people, you know, there's people wearing kind of two hats. So, but the deacons are not in charge of the pastor. That's not in the Bible. So, and we'll go into a little bit more, but the deacons, you know, their job is to serve in the church. They are ordained and they are under the leadership of the pastor. The pastor is the one that rules over the church, and now, and whatever authority the pastor gives to the deacons, they're allowed to do that kind of stuff. So, but notice, the deacons aren't just serving tables. They're not just sweeping the floor. They're doing other stuff. Stephen, what happened, how did he get killed? He was preaching like a hard sermon against the Jews, and they killed him for it. So, they obviously, part of their job was to preach the word of God. So, you know, they had, that's why they probably had to have almost all the same, you know, and in the passage in 1 Timothy chapter 3, it goes through more of the detail of what the deacons are supposed to be doing to be qualified. So, that part in Acts chapter 6 didn't explain everything that they needed to be, right? That was kind of like the new thing. So, anyway, so let's move on to evangelists, and it'll kind of bleed back into the deacons and all the other positions here. So, and this is going to be the hardest or the longest part of the sermon. So, let's see. So, and again, I already said that this, a lot of this is, you know, some of this is my opinion. Obviously, a lot of it's just Bible. But some of this is me, you know, this is just my, some of it's my opinion. So, don't get mad because, well, you ruined the T. You ruined one of the T's in the acronym Baptist. You said there's three. Well, it still starts with a T. So, anyway, but, and a lot of people would probably disagree with me about it, and that's fine. But as we go through it, I'll kind of explain where I'm coming from. Now, again, so when it comes to, go ahead and turn to 2 Timothy chapter 4, but I'm going to just read again Ephesians 4, 11, it says, And he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. So, the evangelists are also given for the work of the ministry, for the perfecting of the saints, for the edifying of the body of Christ. They're part of that group and list, aren't they? So, where does it say the evangelist is in office? Well, it doesn't. It doesn't specifically say that. But, again, we'll get more into that as we go further here, but 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 5, where I had you turn, says, But watch thou in all things, this is talking about the pastor, Watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. So, one of my qualifications as a pastor is that I'm supposed to do the work of an evangelist. Well, what's an evangelist do? Well, they preach the gospel. That's really kind of what it means. You evangelize. You're trying to get people saved, but you're also, you know, again, there's more things to an evangelist than just that, but, you know, everybody in this room should be an evangelist. Really. I mean, I'm not talking about an ordained evangelist, but someone that preaches the gospel. So, it's not just for our ordained people to do. You know, Jesus said to teach things to everybody. You know, in Matthew chapter 28, Teach all things to them, all things whatsoever I have commanded you. So, when he commanded the apostles to go, he said, Teach them all things that I commanded you. So, aren't we supposed to do the things that they commanded the apostles to do? Wouldn't that be part of the things that he commanded them to do? He's commanding them to go and preach the gospel, right? So, now, we're going to go off into the woods a little bit here, but I want to explain by telling the story of one of the deacons, the first deacons in the church, I want to kind of use this to explain what my theory is on the evangelist here, but remember how Jesus goes to the woman in the well. All the disciples leave, and Jesus is alone with this woman, and he preaches the gospel to her, and it says he must needs go through Samaria. So, he's going through Samaria, and he has this meeting. Do you think it was a chance meeting? Like, oh, I didn't know she was going to be there. Jesus knew all things. He could read people's minds. He knew what's in people's hearts. He knew that woman was going to be there. He preached her the gospel. She ended up getting saved, and she goes back and gets other people saved and brings other people to Jesus that are in Samaria. Do you guys remember that story? Then, later on in the gospels, you'll see where Jesus goes on his way back to Jerusalem before he's about to be crucified. Now, I'll go ahead and have you turn to Luke chapter 9, verse 51. Luke chapter 9, verse 51. So, he gets people saved in Samaria. He kind of plants a seed there, and that seed germinates and spreads and has some more sproutlings there. So, Luke 9, 51 says, And it came to pass when the time was come that he should be received up. He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem and sent messengers before his face, and they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him. So, he sent people ahead to the Samaritans, right, to make ready for him, and they did not receive him because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. Remember, part of the problem with the Samaritan woman is that they believed that they were supposed to worship God one way, and the Jews believed that they were supposed to worship another way, and Jesus corrected her and said, No, the Jews haven't, you know, you're supposed to be in Jerusalem, and so on and so forth. So, obviously, there's still some issues between the Samaritans and the Jews, right? And it says, And they did not receive him because his face was as it would go to Jerusalem, and when his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, even as Elias did? And they're just like, you know, you want to talk about fire and brimstone, they're literally wanting to call down fire and brimstone on these people because they wouldn't receive Jesus. They're kind of like, No, we don't want to have anything to do with you, even though he got them saved, right? He got some of them saved. And it says, But he turned and rebuked them, and said, You know not what manner of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man has not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village. So they didn't receive him, but the disciples wanted to torch them, okay? That's not the right attitude to have, folks, okay? If someone doesn't receive us, we're supposed to shake the dust off of our feet or the water in the Pacific Northwest or whatever. We're not supposed to call down fire and brimstone upon the neighborhood that didn't want to receive us or the apartment complex, right? Because maybe you planted some seeds because Jesus did plant some seeds before that, right? People legitimately got saved. They just didn't have a very good attitude about it. Now let's skip in your Bibles to Acts chapter 8. So Philip was one of the seven. One of the seven deacons that were ordained in chapter 6. We already kind of read through that a little bit. Now here we have Philip, and remember, he's a deacon, so he's a servant of the church. He's working for, where did he get ordained at? Jerusalem. He got ordained by the 12. So he's one of their, I wouldn't say converts, but he's one of their disciples that was ordained as a deacon. It says, verse 4, Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. So Saul is causing havoc in the church, and there's a great persecution happening at this time, and it scattered the disciples abroad. And so they went and were going to all these different places, right? And then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. So he's a deacon, but notice he preached Christ unto them, so he's preaching the gospel, and the people with one accord gave heed unto the things that Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did, so obviously he had the gift of doing some sorts of miracles. And it says, For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them. So he's casting devils out of people in Samaria. And many taken with palsies, and that were lame were healed. So he's healing the sick, he's healing the lame. And there was great joy in that city. See, the city that they wanted to barbecue is now receiving the gospel and getting saved. And there was great joy in that city, and there was a certain lame, not lame, excuse me, there was a certain man called Simon, which before time in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that he was some great one, to whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God, and to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized both men and women. So he's not just preaching, he's not just preaching the gospel, it says he's preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, which would probably encompass all Christian teachings, right? And then it says in verse 14, Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria, oh excuse me, I skipped a verse, verse 13, then Simon himself believed also, so this sorcerer gets saved, and when he was baptized he continued with Philip and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them, who? Peter and John. So Peter and John are the ones, they're part of the twelve that ordained him, right? And so, who does Philip work for? He works for the church in Jerusalem. What is he doing? Well he's going off to other places and preaching the gospel. And it says, And the angel of the Lord, skip down to verse 26, so then Peter and John come up and are like, hey this is legit, let's do some work here. And then in verse 26 it says, And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. So obviously he's also led by the Spirit. The Spirit told him to arise and go. And what did he do? He arose and went. Verse 27, And behold a man of Ethiopia and eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasure, and come to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning and sitting in his chariot read, Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near and join thyself to his chariot. So, you know, this chapter really is kind of just explaining what the work that Philip was doing is. What is he? He's a deacon. He's one of the seven, right? Hope you're all following me still. Verse 35, Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. So what's he do? He's sent to this one guy who's, you know, he's driving in some wagon or something, some chariot, and then the Holy Spirit says, Go preach the gospel to that one guy. So, you know, and then what happens? Well, Philip preaches the gospel to him. Verse 36, And as they went on their way, they came into a certain water. The eunuch said, See as water what doth hinder me to be baptized. And Philip said, If thou believeth with all my heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still. And they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. So what did he have the authority to do? To preach the gospel and to baptize also as a deacon. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip and the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus, and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea. So this is the last time we see Philip until many years later. Now I was trying to track exactly how many years it was between Acts chapter number 6 and Acts chapter number 21, which you can go ahead and turn to Acts chapter 21. But from what I've seen, and obviously I'm not going to say for sure that this is 100% accurate, but it's about 20 to 22 years later. So he goes where? He goes to Samaria, gets all them saved. And then he goes to the eunuch, gets him saved. He goes to Azotus, and then he went into a bunch of other cities, till he came to Caesarea. So basically that's the end of Philip that we see. The last time we checked, he's a deacon. He could have been an evangelist in that last chapter, but for what we know from what the Bible says, he's a deacon. And he was able to baptize, he was preaching, he was filled with the Spirit, doing many great works for God. Now here we are 20 to 22 years later, Acts chapter 21 verse 8. Paul is on a journey coming back, and it says, And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed and came unto Caesarea. Isn't that where Philip ended up? Yes. And we entered into the house of Philip, now what's it called? The evangelist. So he's not Philip the deacon anymore, he's Philip the evangelist. So his title has changed. And could he still be a deacon? I don't know, he could be, but that's not what it calls him. And it says, which was one of the seven. So is he still a deacon? Which was one of the seven. So I don't think he still is, personally. Because when it says was, I mean he isn't now, right? And abode with him. And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. Now, it's not talking about they were foretelling the future, okay? It's talking about they were preaching. So you're like, well I thought women aren't supposed to preach. Well, women are allowed to preach the gospel and to teach their children. You know, when it talks about, you know, in Proverbs chapter 31, the prophecy that his mother taught him. You know, so obviously mothers can preach and teach their children and people at the door. So obviously that's what his daughters were doing. So he's an evangelist, that's what it calls him, Philip the evangelist. And then he has four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. Now it doesn't mention that he has a wife here, does it? But to be a deacon, you have to be married, don't you? So, you know, Philip is no longer a deacon for the church in Jerusalem. However, he's now called the evangelist. So he still has a position and that position, I believe, is an ordained position. Because it's in that list in Ephesians and the Bible talks about, you know, I'll show you where I believe that evangelists are ordained. But the fact that he's no longer in Jerusalem could be the reason he's no longer a deacon. But it could also be that he is no longer married and doesn't meet the qualifications anymore. Because if, say, like, my wife passed away and I just said, well, I just never want to get married again, then I would not be qualified to be a pastor. So I know that not very many people believe that, but the Bible says you must be, must be the husband of one wife. So I think if you're a pastor, you know, obviously if you're like 80 and you're a pastor and your wife passes away, you might not want to take another wife, you might just want to retire at that point. But I believe when the Bible says you must be the husband of one wife, that that's a qualification. But anyway, so it also, so it could be that he just is no longer, you know, at the church, he's no longer the deacon because he's no longer in Jerusalem permanently or whatever. Because, look, 20 years have gone by, where's he still at? He's still in the same place, isn't he? He's in Caesarea. So it seems like he has planted roots. When it says they entered into the house of Philip, so that means Philip lives there. And so it says, and it could, so also, I'm not saying he's divorced, by the way, because I think if he was divorced then he wouldn't be qualified at that point. But it says, but maybe, so, but maybe his wife, I think that what's possible is that his wife passed away and he didn't want to remarry. That's what I think happened. Because why wouldn't he be the pastor now? Why wouldn't he be the pastor of the church that's in this area in Caesarea? Why is he called the evangelist? Well, he met the qualifications of a deacon, which are basically almost the same as being a pastor. So, and then it mentions his daughters only, doesn't mention his wife, so he was obviously married before because he was a deacon. He obviously has children, so that's just, obviously I'm speculating a little bit here. I don't know exactly what happened, but my guess is that he probably just didn't want to get remarried. That's just my guess. And can you be an evangelist and not be married? Yes, you can. And I'll show you why I think that. So, I mean, those are just some of the scenarios that I came up with of why he's the evangelist and not the deacon anymore and why he's not a pastor. And it could be that he just changed his position to the office of an evangelist. I mean, maybe his wife is still alive. It doesn't really say that, but I think the lack of it speaking of who his wife is kind of tells us a little bit there. So, you know, another thing to point out is that, once again, he was in that place for over 20 years. So, he's obviously leading as an evangelist. He loves that place, and he's obviously not qualified to be a pastor, not qualified to be the deacon anymore, but he is qualified to be an evangelist. So, that tells me that it's possible to have evangelists ordained over the work for over 20 years without having that place have a pastor in that place. So, people, I mean, and the reason why I'm kind of bringing this up is because, you know, we've started quite a few churches, and sometimes they do have evangelists, sometimes they don't. Sometimes we wait, sometimes we ordain, and things like that, but people ask me questions when we started that church in Seattle, and they say, well, who's going to be the evangelist there? Well, why are you assuming there's going to be an evangelist there? You know, he gave some evangelists. There's not always what we need to start churches, but I'm going up on Wednesdays to preach, and so I'm the pastor of that church, so I'm going up on Wednesdays to preach there. My goal is to get an evangelist in there, or a pastor. That's my goal any time I start a church is to eventually get a pastor in there. But what if nobody ever gets qualified in one of these areas? Well, Phillip was an evangelist for 20 years, and they still don't have a pastor. Was he still a good preacher? Was he still a man of God? Yeah. And so, I mean, what's the best case scenario for a church? The best case scenario for a church is that they do have an ordained pastor. Paul ordained elders, you know, and he left Titus and Crete so that he could ordain elders in every city. That's the goal, to ordain elders in every city. But is that the reality that we see? It's not. So, now, obviously the church in Seattle has me as the pastor, and there's nobody leading that besides me. We're sending men up on Sundays, and hopefully we're going to get someone that wants to just fully take that work. But you're like, well, I mean, I just don't agree with you starting these churches, and they don't have, you know, ordained people. Like, where does the Bible say that they have to have an ordained pastor to be a church? Now, to be an independent church, yes. Is it the best case scenario? No. But, like, we've had Brother Wynn up there as the evangelist, and he's not qualified to be a pastor. So, you know, at this point he won't ever be the pastor. So, he's been there for five years. It's not 20 years, is it? So, I would just say this, like, if you're in a place and you have an evangelist, and that's all you have, why don't you just be thankful for the evangelist that you have? If you're in a place and the deacon is running that church, well, why don't you be thankful for the deacon that you have leading in your life? Because, you know what? Things could be a lot worse. And you know what? I'm not going to stop digging wells. I'm not going to stop, I'm just not going to stop planting churches. I'm just not. And you're like, well, then I don't want to be here. Well, then don't be here. Because the Bible says I'm supposed to do the work of an evangelist. What's the evangelist do? What was Philip doing? Where did he go to church at first? He went to Jerusalem. Where is he now? Well, not right now, but, you know, he's in heaven right now. But, in Caesarea, where he eventually ended up, where he eventually wanted to stay. And so, if he's not the pastor, but the leader of that church plant, or whatever it is, then he's still under the authority of the people that ordained him in the first place, was what? Jerusalem, right? So, it just wasn't good enough? Well, it was good enough for Paul to stop by and have a visit, wasn't it? It's not just some second-class church citizen or something. When we have church plants, these are people that are saved. These are people that love God. You know what? They deserve the chance to have a good church to go to. You know what? And I just kind of count on God to lead me into planting churches. And you know what? If people don't like it, guess how much I care? I don't care. If you don't like it, then don't like it. But I'm not going to stop. I mean, obviously there's a load that you can take, right? But our plan is to ordain brother Ian, who's the evangelist in England, this summer. I'm ordaining brother Jim Weeb as the evangelist in Canada. You're like, well, you don't even know him. I know him well enough, and you know what? I've been watching him for long enough to know. And here's the thing. Here's what I look at. Are people following him? Do people complain about him? Do people like him? Well, he still had, you know, it might be a small group, but he runs like 28 people up there. So, is that good enough for you guys? Is that good enough for people to have a church there? Is he good enough? People have been following him for five years when he wasn't a church and nobody wanted to touch him with a 10-foot pole. I'm not saying that they didn't like him. I'm just saying that nobody wanted to help him. Other people, you know, he's on the east coast, basically. Well, midwest, midwest north or something, I don't know, whatever. But he's way up north, but I want to help the guy. I want to help their church succeed and go to the next level. And I don't want him to be an evangelist for 20 years. Eventually, you know, he'll be a pastor, hopefully. But, you know, sometimes just things just aren't, not everything's a cookie cutter based upon what you think it should be. You know, we go to places, we preach the gospel, and sometimes, you know, there's a group of people there that are continuously soul winning. You know, people need to go and start churches. And obviously, I'm not in control of what other people do. I can only do so much, but I've got people asking me to start churches all the time. But I can't do all that by myself. So, I try to do as much as I can. So, now why do I think that evangelists cannot be married and still be evangelists and that they are ordained? Well, let's look at Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13. And in Acts chapter 13, you know, you see Paul and Barnabas ordination. And I believe that they're ordained as evangelists. Does it say they are? Does it say they're ordained as church planters? It doesn't. But, you know, they're not pastors because they're not married. Paul says he's not married. And he also says that he is able to earn a living, but he chooses not to. He made tents and things like that and paid his way for a lot of things. But I think probably towards the end, when he was probably physically unable to probably make tents anymore, at some point, I'm sure that Paul went full time and was supported by other churches. You know, in the book of Hebrews it says, or in other books it says, I robbed churches so that I could come and start this church. You know, he's not saying he literally robbed them, but he's just saying he took wages from other people so that he could be there to minister to other people, right? So, anyway, so, you might say this, too, before we start reading the scriptures, you might say this, that, well, it doesn't call Paul and Barnabas evangelists. It doesn't call missionaries either. Well, that's what everybody calls them, right? And in Acts chapter 6, you might not have noticed this, but in the verses in Acts chapter 6, does it call them deacons? It doesn't call them deacons, does it? But we all think they are. That's what everybody goes to when they say, well, where's the first deacons? Well, what do people go to? Acts chapter 6. Does it say, ordain deacons? It doesn't say that, does it? So, look at Acts chapter 13, verse 1, it says, Now there were in the church, so notice, so let's do some qualifications while we're here, too. They were in the church, so, yeah, to be an evangelist, you've got to be in a church! If you want to be ordained as an evangelist, hey, don't just come, you know, you can't be a bozo like Kent Hovind and just become a permanent evangelist when you don't even have a church you go to. Anyway, now there were in the church that was at Antioch. So this is a different church. This is a church that was started in Antioch. Certain prophets and teachers. So notice that they were already preaching. They were already teaching as Barnabas and Simeon. That was called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch and Saul. This Saul is obviously Paul. As they ministered to the Lord, so what else were they doing? Ministering to the Lord. They're what? Working in the church. They were already doing the work. And fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I have called them. Who called Paul to be an apostle? Jesus Christ. Was he already an apostle before this chapter? Yes, he was. He was already an apostle.