Beacon Sunday Service: December 8th, 2024

I'll be reading Titus chapter 1, verses 5 through 9. It'll be up here on the screen as well. This is the reading of God's word. For this reason, I left you in Crete that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, namely, if any man is beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, having faithful children who are not accused of dissipation or rebellious. For the overseer must be beyond reproach as God's steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of dishonest gain, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, righteous, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word, which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to reprove those who contradict.

Please join me in a word of prayer. Father, we're thankful this morning, just to gather together and worship, and Lord, with you at the center, just to delight in this great family time. And I pray for a good time of learning, as today we really see your heart for your people, and we see your heart for your people's shepherds. Ultimately, Lord God help us to really long for the return of the chief shepherd when he will restore all things, and we will see you perfectly. And I pray for just a proclamation of your word and your truth that no matter where we're coming from, no matter what condition our heart is in, Father, that our hearts would engage appropriately to the preaching of your scriptures.

So we thank you, God, for just this morning. I pray for just ears to hear and hearts that are very fertile and tender. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Go ahead and be seated. I'm an ethnic Korean, uh, if it's not that obvious. I grew up in the Korean church. And I got saved at a Korean church, and I benefited much from the Korean church. And there's a lot that I appreciated culturally about the Korean church. I observed at a young age that Koreans took prayer very seriously. And the fervor with which Koreans prayed is something that I personally want to emulate, although I'm not comfortable like yelling and screaming. Um Koreans took Sundays very seriously. I know many Koreans in my childhood who dressed up for Sundays as each week's worship was a highlight of their week, and every Sunday was a special occasion.

Um Koreans took giving very seriously. I had an aunt, my dad's oldest sister, who used to iron the cash. She would give to the Lord as an offering because she wanted to give the Lord her best. So Koreans, especially those of the previous generation, they knew how to sacrifice for the church. I saw a lot of generosity, a lot of warmth and passion in the Korean immigrant church contexts. Many, uh many occasions Koreans rolled up their sleeves, worked hard for the church. And this is just my opinion, but the Koreans who immigrated here in the 70s and the 80s, in many ways, I think they were better people than our generation. They were hardworking, they were very selfless and sacrificial. And as a bonus, I'm glad I am ethnically Korean because at church on Sundays, there was really good food.

Um I would look forward to church because of the soups. And uh over the years, needless to say, I've grown a greater appreciation for the generation of Christians who have gone before me. But there were also a few things growing up in a Korean church context that misinformed my understanding of the church. Korean culture, as you may or may not know, gives a high priority to age and titles. You can't just address someone by their name. In fact, I actually didn't know the names of any of the adults at our church. Uh, when I was growing up, it was my understanding that every man who was in his 30s or 40s was a chipsanim, which is the Korean word for deacon. And I called every man who had gray hair or was over fifty, he was a changonim, which in the Korean language it just means elder.

I did not know as a kid that those were functional offices in the church. I just thought that that is how one addressed the men in the church. I also learned as I came into ministry as well, and I spent years in Korea, that in many Korean church contexts, the title of elder is one of very high esteem. And the title of deacon is a much lesser title, though biblically it's not a lesser title. I thought deacon meant simply elder in training. And I learned that in many Korean church contexts, one of the main prerequisites in becoming an elder was many years of faithful, generous giving. In many contexts, there would be a target sum of money one had to give to become an elder. And the amount given as an offering by each member of the church was usually printed in the weekly church bulletins for everybody to see.

And this in some ways is understandable because if a man has given much to the church, he's putting his money where his mouth is. And he's taken ownership of his duties at the church. So this is not in and of itself a bad thing, even though there are exhortations in the scriptures to give in such a way that our left hands don't know what our right hands are doing. Unfortunately, a financially challenged man, no matter how godly, seldomly ever became an elder. He remained a deacon forever. According to 1 Timothy 3 13, the office of deacon is one of very, very high standing. But somehow it became a lesser or subservient title. Many elders in the Korean churches tended to be white-collar workers, well educated, while many deacons tended to be blue-collared people who were hardworking but weren't qualified to be elders because of either their social statuses or their lack of financial giving.

And all of this, of course, I'm generalizing. This isn't true of every single Korean church, but I've observed it enough where this generalization isn't that far from reality. Many ways, all of that is not surprising because in the early days of mission work in Korea, the well-meaning missionaries like Samuel A. Moffitt, they wrote that they set up elders in a hurry because their time was of the essence, there was persecution. So they set up elders in a hurry and very pragmatically. And oftentimes individuals who were already community leaders or had larger homes.

And missionaries like Moffat, trusting that God who had begun a good work in them would perfect that work, as it says in Philippians 1.6, the missionaries established leaders in this way. And in many cases, it turned out well. But as it was more often the case, this led to a lot of chaos. Have you ever heard the phrase, let's make like a Korean church and split? I used to think that this was pretty funny. But now it kind of hurts. It kind of makes me cringe. And it's not a surprise that this has become a saying. There's been much in the establishing of leaders in Korean churches that were more cultural than biblical, more practical than biblical. And again, this isn't just unique to Koreans, and I'm sharing this because I'm Korean and that's my context.

But if we were to examine how every church in every country and culture and generation establish their leaders, I'm sure we would see elements in each of them that were also more cultural than biblical or more practical than biblical. We don't actually have to look that far, right? We just have to ask the question: is the establishing of church leadership here in Californian churches, in the churches around us, are they more biblical or cultural? Are most churches being led more by tradition or what the scriptures lay out? Are the elders at your friends' churches selected more practically or biblically? Does biblically actually mean impractical? Right? Oh, that's too high of a standard. So we're gonna just discount what the Bible says and just go with what works.

And you know, we don't need the guidelines of scriptures because they're too old-fashioned, too unrealistic, or even too sexist. Well, we learned last week that we're not supposed to turn aside either to the left or to the right in the precepts of scripture. So we're gonna take God at his word, and we're gonna take the next two weeks to explore what the Bible says about how a church leadership is to be established. Okay, because that's where we are in the book of Titus. We're officially done with the introductions to Titus, and now we're gonna be looking at the instructions and exhortations contained in the letter. And in his ministry, the Apostle Paul had been entrusted with teaching the whole council of God, all of it, cover to cover, and teaching sound doctrine for the establishment, health, and growth of the church.

Now, as Paul is writing this letter to Titus, he's commissioning this Gentile man, Titus, to do the same, to establish healthy churches on the island of Crete. And this is no small task on the island of Crete because the Cretans were self-proclaimed liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. So they call themselves this, and they gloried in this. So the people of Crete were a difficult people, but Titus is charged with the responsibility of building up the churches amongst this difficult people. So first things first, okay, chapter one, verse 5. Verse 5 begins with for this reason. Okay. What is the this reason? And I reviewed it last week. It's everything that we talked about in verses 1 through 3 of the epistle.

That's the reason. Okay? That holy God, the promise keeper who cannot does not lie, in his compassion, he chose to save and give eternal life to those elected. And this was the good news that was supposed to be proclaimed in Crete. The text says that Paul left Titus on the island of Crete for this reason. And we don't have the record of this in the biblical narrative. So if you look at um the biblical narrative of Acts, this took place after chapter 28 of Acts. And this took place sometime before his second imprisonment in AD 65. So sometime but after the writing of Acts and before Paul's imprisonment, Paul and Titus and presumably other people, they traveled through Crete, and we don't know exactly when Paul left him there, but apparently Titus stayed and then he stayed faithful.

History tells us that Titus died in Crete, and he is currently entombed in a cathedral in Gortina, Crete. But what's interesting is that he they only have his skull, even though he died of natural causes. I don't know what happened to the rest of his body, but his body is there in Crete. So it looks like Titus ministered faithfully in Crete until the time of his death. So he was faithful to the what Paul had commissioned him to do. So Titus, if you look up on this uh the screen, was left on Crete with like a two-fold task. The first task was to set in order what remains.

The ministry work had been left unfinished. Baptisms needed to be performed, right? Disciples needed to be made. How long does it take to teach the whole council of God? That needed to be established. The churches in the cities of Crete needed to be built up and strengthened. And there were also a lot of things hindering the church from being set in order. There were opponents that were hostile to the church. So everywhere preaching happened, opposition happened. There were those who were church adjacent who were opposing the church. And they were, in many cases, within the church. So there was a lot. So the churches were not in order, and they needed to be set in order. So there was a lot of work to be done.

Okay, so that's not that complicated to understand. The second task was for Titus to appoint every uh elders or ever elders in every city as Paul had previously directed. Okay, so he's not just giving him new instructions in this letter. Does that make sense? He had, I mean, he traveled months upon months with Titus, probably walking him through like examples of what kinds of men uh he was supposed to appoint. So it appears that there were things that Paul had previously directed Titus that aren't even written here. So the subject of appointing elders is what we're gonna be diving deeply into for the next two weeks. And this is not like an unimportant subject, right? So here is the outline for this topic.

First, we're gonna be looking at what an elder and an overseer is. It is not just a Korean title for a person with gray hair. Secondly, we're gonna look at how elders and overseers are to be appointed. And we're gonna be looking at these things today. Thirdly, we'll look at the non-negotiable qualities that every elder or overseer has to have to be established as leader in the church. And fourthly, we'll look at the job description for every elder and overseer. And we're gonna look at their ministry priorities. So, what is an elder? How are they appointed? Who qualifies, and what are the elders supposed to do? Okay, so I want to walk you through that biblically. The first two we'll cover today, and then the latter two we'll cover next week.

So, what is an elder or an overseer? In this portion of the letter to Titus, Paul uses two related words in describing one office. He uses the word elder in verse 5 and the word overseer in verse 7. Functionally, you can understand them as like one and the same. So the words elder and overseer are synonymous to the titles of pastor, shepherd, and teacher. So I'm going to treat all of those as one office. Alright. Um, elder, overseer, pastor, shepherd, teacher. If you're like, I teach second grade, am I an elder? No, no, no, it's that different kind of a teacher. So teacher in a church. First Peter chapter 5, verse 1 to 2, it reads, Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and the witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing, not uh under compulsion, but willingly according to God, and not for dishonest gain, but with eagerness.

So the apostle Paul or Peter here refers to himself as an elder here. Do you guys see this? And that he implies elders, they oversee, and they shepherd God's flock. He then implies a few verses later, it's not up here, that he too is an under-shepherd in the service of the chief shepherd. So again, the terms elder, overseer, pastor, shepherd, teacher, can be understood as synonyms in terms of purpose. Okay? Elaborating a little bit more. What additional functions do you see in the office of elder and overseer? He functions as a shepherd pastor who equips the saints. He also governs or rules in the church. In our day, the mentioning of this ruling function can be sensitive and some people can get triggered.

Okay, but that's what he does. He rules the church. He does so as a sacrificial servant leader, like Christ sacrifices for and serves the church, but he rules. Okay. The elder also intercedes for the church. Elders need to be prayerful men. They're supposed to be prayerful men, and when the situation calls for it, an elder goes to visit the sick in the church, and he prays for them and for their healing. Okay? So you don't want an elder who only prays at mealtime or when someone is sick. Elders are supposed to lift up the church to God in prayer. And one other function, as the writer of Hebrews implies that the elder watches over the souls and is accountable to the souls of the members of Christ's flock.

So the Bible says every elder in the church, he's going to be questioned and grilled and held accountable for every member in the church. That's a scary thing. But that's what the Bible says is the function of an elder. So here is my definition of what an elder and overseer, I mean, this this is mine, so it's it's not like the standard, but it's an eld, an elder is a man who is appointed by the Holy Spirit, and very obviously filled with the Holy Spirit to feed, teach, protect, and to lead the church. Hopefully you guys are satisfied with this definition, right? Howard gave one that was not his words, but he quoted that uh that one and it's just as good. But that's what an elder is. So can a church elder be a woman?

No. Can a man who is not clearly and obviously be filled with the Holy Spirit be an elder? No. His lack of Christ-likeness immediately disqualifies him. Can a godly man who is not gifted in teaching be an elder? Well, teaching involves many things, right? It's not just standing up here on the pulpit, but in a sense, no. That's the only difference between a teaching or the elder and a deacon title in terms of function, the teaching aspect. So the primary difference in the function of a deacon and an elder is the ministry of the word. Okay, which we're gonna be looking at next week. So basically, what does an elder and an overseer do? He does whatever is needed for the establishment of sound doctrine in the church.

He's like a dad, he's a father. Okay. What are the job descriptions of a father? What does a father do? Does a father take out the trash? Sure. Okay? Does he cook? If he's good, yes. Okay, my wife doesn't like it when I cook because she goes, it tastes decent, but we're all gonna die. Okay. Um does a father set an example for his kids? Of course. Does a father provide? Well, he better. Does he fold laundry? Sure. Does he fend off those who will try to hurt his children? Absolutely. Any threat to my kid, I'm responsible for protecting my child. Is he a role model? Of course. So what does a father do? He does whatever it takes to lead the family well. He does whatever is necessary for the family.

He lays down his life for his family. He is the family's head, he's the family's protector. He is the face of the family, and he leads the family not with an iron fist, beating everyone into submission. He's a servant leader. He's a servant ruler. You guys, you guys tracking that, right? So an elder is a man who is appointed to feed, teach, protect, shepherd, and lead, and etc. etc. Whatever the church needs, the elder supplies to the best of his ability or assigns so that it gets done. Okay? So Paul, he charged Titus with the appointing of such men. So how are the elders and overseer supposed to be appointed? Is there a biblical protocol? Or they're like set guidelines for the appointing of elders?

It's a good question. We don't actually have too much that is written in the scriptures as to the procedural directives for the appointing of elders. Okay? But we do see the process described as the laying on of hands. You'll see the laying on of hands often. You guys all seen that before? Okay. The laying on of hands was the symbolic act of God's blessing or an imparting of spiritual authority. My hands, in and of themselves, have no power. If you were to lay your hands on me, in and of themselves, your hands have no power. It is primarily symbolic. The laying on of hands and anointing with oil, and we don't see that happening today, right? Hey, you're going to be ordained as our pastor of sploosh.

It doesn't happen. The laying on of hands, anointing with oil, and sometimes fasting were found always together in the New Testament. The reasoning behind this, we actually have very little written in the New Testament. So there's people with all kinds of theories, all kinds of thoughts, but there's not much. So if it is not much, we can't overly speculate. But laying on of hands comes together with anointing with oil, prayer, and fasting. So in modern day churches, we have an installation service or an ordination service or something special like that. And usually the ordaining or the appointing comes after like a bunch of interviews, right? A bunch of exams. There's like a presentation of like a certificate.

Okay. By the way, I didn't get no certificate as being a pastor of this church. So just as an FYI. All right. There's like a presentation of a certain. You know, you guys sometimes take me literally, don't do it. All right. But there's a presentation of a certificate. And that's how appointments today are done. Okay? And there's nothing unbiblical or incorrect. In the New Testament church, it was a laying on of hands. So the laying on of hands was a formal like commission. It's a formal commission publicly performed with the whole body's request for God's blessings on it. That's what that was. Okay? We'll see this with the first appointment in the Bible of the deacons in Acts 6. And this word pleased the entire congregation.

They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit and Philip and Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenus, Nicholas, a proselyte from Antioch. And these they stood before the apostles, and after praying, the congregation, they laid their hands on them.

And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, set apart for me, Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them out. They sent them away. Just as an aside, God did not change Saul's name to Paul. Some people think that, oh, his name got changed when he met Jesus. No. When Saul was with Jews, he went by Saul. When he was with Gentile people, he went by Paul. Okay, so here in Acts chapter 13, this is after he encounters Jesus, and God still addresses him as Saul. So one more.

So this is Timothy, he also was commissioned in a similar fashion. Do not neglect the gift within you, which is given to you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. So same thing with Timothy. Okay? Laying on of hands, laying on of hands, laying on of hands. The only real process in the New Testament is this laying on of hands. So if someone says, well, that's the unbiblical, this is unbiblical or that's unbiblical, there's not much biblical outside of the following, okay? The mode was never the main concern. The non-negotiable was not the mode, but the process and the end goal. Okay. So in each of these cases where there's a laying on of hands, you always have a lot of prayer to discern God's will, like with God directing, leading, and appointing through the Holy Spirit.

The appointment of the elder of a church was never a decision to be made in the flesh or something done primarily to meet an immediate need in the church. From beginning to end, the appointment of an elder, that process, the Holy Spirit takes charge.

The Holy Spirit drives the entire process, and it was up to the people to discern the will of God and the will of the Holy Spirit in the manner. Here's a question. Does the Holy Spirit ever contradict himself? No. Does the Holy Spirit ever contradict God's word? No. The Holy Spirit, will he ever direct a group of saints to do opposite of God's will? No, he will not. So the Holy Spirit will not contradict himself in any way, shape, or form. He does not prefer this kind of elder in one context or this kind of elder 300 years later. Because the Holy Spirit also is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Amen? Okay? So the appointing of elders was not primarily supposed to be a practical move. It was supposed to be a demonstration of obedience.

Okay, I'll repeat this. The appointing of an elder was not just supposed to be a practical application. It's supposed to be a demonstration of obedience. We choose and we appoint as God desires for us to choose and appoint. It is actually better to not have an elder in a church than to have an unqualified one leading, teaching, and shepherding. Amen? We cannot place a leader of whom God says no into a position of leadership without consequences. So our job is to discern is this man God sent? Or the only other alternative is is this satanic? Did God really send this man? So the laying on of hands was to be done in accordance with the blessings of God. So we don't have much written concerning the process, but we do have specific instructions of what churches are not supposed to do in the appointing of elders, and then we're gonna look at that.

So first, the church is not ever, ever to put a new convert, a young believer into a position of authority or leadership, especially the office of elder overseer or pastor. Okay.

Not a new convert. Repeat after me, not uh new convert.

So that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Strong words. Were they unclear in any way? No. How new? How not new must he be, though? That's the question that then you'll ask, right? How new is new? Completely subjective. Kind of. But we need wisdom here. Okay? Enough time has to have elapsed where a person's faith and character have been adequately and thoroughly tested. You guys, you guys following that? I don't have a set like 415 days. There isn't like that. But enough time where a person's faith and character have been adequately and thoroughly tested by a mature group of people. Immature people who don't pray choose wrong. Okay, you see that in the scriptures as well.

Give us a king. Right? So bad decisions are made. So enough time has to have passed. First Timothy 3 10 reads, these men also must first be tested. Then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. Verse 6 is actually talking about elders, and then just in a few verses later, he's moving on to give instructions about deacons in verse 10. So the principle is no different in any office in the church. No new untested converts. Repeat after me, no new untested converts. No new untested converts. Okay. Now are these tests academic? Do you know what Exodus chapter 37 says, brother? Can you articulate the views of revelation, brother? Is that what the tests are? No, it's not. These aren't examinations of someone's background or resume.

These are the tests of the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit of God, of God's very DNA. Is it discernible in this person or not? Without a shadow of a doubt, does that person have the Spirit of God, which is objectively testable in the scriptures? Does that person demonstrate the character of Christ in and out? At home and at work. So for me to have enough time to say God is working in this person's life. That's what I need to be able to test. Amen. Generally, new believers, like real new believers, they have a lot of zeal. They're excited. Is that good or bad? It's super good. I love baby Christians. Right? There's a cuteness like to a human baby, and there's a cuteness to a baby Christian.

It's like, is it okay? Like to sit? Yeah, yeah. Like, can I do I have to sign up to come to the lunch? No. Because they don't know what to do. And it's great. The scary thing is, though, that even those who remain unconverted can have an emotional, spiritual high. They can demonstrate zeal and curiosity of the Christian faith. They can have passion for Christian music. They can enjoy learning. Can a non-Christian be excited about Christianity? Absolutely. Can a non-Christian really enjoy participating in church? Yes. But like we learned in the parable of the four soils, when persecution and hardships come upon a churched unbeliever, like the blazing sun, the genuineness of his faith is revealed.

You guys know that parable, right? For other churched unbelievers, given some time, the thorns of pleasure, comfort, deceitfulness of wealth, they creep back in.

So those of the second and third soils in the parable of the four soils, at times they look like believers. They even produce some fruit. You guys know the stories, right? But with time, with testing, they either wilt or they get choked out. Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8. It's in three of all three synoptics. So the genuineness or the realness of a person's faith is not revealed through tears. You guys following that? The genuineness or the realness of a person's faith is not revealed through tears, it is tested by time. Real Christians, they grow and they persevere, and in trial, they get strengthened, and they're they have a joy inexpressible. So we're like sponges. We don't actually really know ourselves well enough to even know what's in our own hearts.

It's only when you give a sponge a squeeze do you actually see what's inside, right? That's why when trials and temptations come into our lives and we're still standing firm in the faith, we're called to rejoice. James chapter 1, verse 2. Because the realness of our faith has become somewhat authenticated. So how long must a person have been a faithful Christian before he's considered for any office in a church? Real good important question, right?

And not just the fruits above the soil. You guys tracking there? How long must a person be not a new convert? Long enough where I can test what's in the roots, not just the fruit above it. You guys understand that, right? This is just my opinion. But it I think it takes at least a minimum of three years of working closely with a person to really see a person's true nature and character. Just opinion. It's not biblical. Okay? It's not like 3 Peter chapter 6. There's none of that. It's just my opinion. How does a person handle hardship? How does a person respond to opposition or criticism? How does a person respond when he's disagreed with or challenged? Self-control and temperance are on every list for the qualifications of church leaders.

It's on every list of the fruit of the spirit. When do you need self-control and temperance? You don't need that in times of peace. If you were to tell me right now, don't be mad at Sarah, no problem, I'm obedient to the T. I don't have any reason to be mad at Sarah. I need to have self-control. If someone in this congregation slanders me or attacks my integrity or hurts my kids, that's when there has to be restraint and self-control. You need self-control and temperance in times of conflict and tumult. With a baby Christian, not enough time has passed. Okay? So what happens when a church lays hands on a baby Christian? What happens? The devil happens. Do you understand why I say that? It's there in the text.

Look at verse 6. This young man becomes puffed up. He begins to think that God needs him. He begins to think that he's a gift to the church, that he's indispensable to the church. Instead of being emptied for the service of the church, he starts to believe that the church and even God exists to make him look good. He becomes conceited, and then that young man who is now an elder, becomes extremely difficult to remove. When you give an untested baby Christian a position in a church, no matter the number of accolades or what his resume looks like, you're playing with fire. And the scripture says, you may be giving the devil a foothold. Kanye West. I never thought I would ever use Kanye West in a sermon, but it happened this morning.

So Kanye West, a number of years ago, you guys know this, he converted to Christianity. You guys know that, right? He even came out with the album, Jesus is King. How many guys have heard his album? It's actually pretty good. Some of it, right? And for a while he was traveling, he was speaking, he was preaching. Some churches wanted to hire him as a pastor. Earlier this year in March, March 2024, he renounced his Christian faith. He called himself God. So first, not a new convert, a young, untested believer, no matter how zealous, no matter how gifted, no matter if even if he's so famous that you feel like he could do great things for the Lord, do not lay hands. You lay hands on whom the Holy Spirit says, lay hands.

And how does the Holy Spirit guide us? The sword of the Spirit, what is it? It's the word of God. Secondly, he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Did you see the word must there? In verse, oh, I well, I highlighted it for you. You better have seen it, right? Unless you're colorblind. He must. What does the word must mean? It's a non-negotiable. Okay. In appointing an elder, the church cannot appoint a man who is faithful at church only. He must be someone where non-believing co-workers, non-believing family members, non-believing family neighbors, and friends, they all vouch for him. Now, of course, opinions are subjective, people can embellish, they can exaggerate, they can lie.

But generally speaking, what do non-believers closest to that Christian have to say about him? If they call him a bigot or narrow minded, well, that's understandable. Okay, because the darkness hates the light, right? That's legitimate persecution. I mean, even Jesus was accused of having a demon, okay. But with real normal non-Christians, when they're looking objectively at a person, they must have any no doubt about that person's character. They may tease him, they may mock him, or they may even hate him, but the word hypocrite should never be used in describing that man. The reasonable, normal non-Christian person must have, must have a high view of that man. I know of a brother who aspires to be a leader in his church.

He's a good guy. I like him a lot. And the people at his church, they love him. They respect him. His non-Christian family members call him lazy, inconsiderate, disrespectful, and volatile. That's coming from a sibling. They say he's thin skinned. They say that bringing up even objective and reasonable criticisms, he immediately discounts as persecution. Oh, you guys just are like like persecuting me because I go to church. No, they're persecuted, they're criticizing you because you're lazy.

His reputation with his non-believing family members actually speaks volumes. Maybe how he is with those outside his church is his real self. The opinions of those outside the church are more accurate than those who admire and fawn over him at church. What happens when a hypocritical, mask-wearing, inconsistent individual, I'm not doubting his salvation, but what happens if that individual gets established as a leader in a church? Verse 7, what's the words? You give you the devil happens again. Do you see that in the scripture? You give the devil a foothold into the church. Did you notice a devil being mentioned as examples in each of these both of these situations? The devil desires to establish leaders like this, like a new convert.

Someone who doesn't have a good reputation with non-believers. How else do you think Satan recruits workers into what we've been looking at false religion? If the wrong person becomes an elder at a church, and that guy falls into condemnation or reproach and becomes ensnared by the devil, is it easy to disentangle him? Or is it extremely difficult? It's absolutely extremely difficult. Because remember, he's tasted being respected. And for men, we're like pretty insecure. When someone respects us, I'm so happy. If someone disrespects us, how dare you, right? So that insecure man is respected and loved. He's now used to having a voice at church. Humbling himself might mean giving up that title or that position.

So when he is rightly criticized, such a man is simply gonna harden his heart and then double down when he is called out or challenged. That kind of a shepherd will not lay down his life for the flock. He's going to flatter the flock so that some of them will take his side.

And let's say over a span of many, many years, churches continue to add unqualified man after unqualified man, untested young believer, bad reputation guy into their churches, and these men make decisions for their churches, these men lead their churches, these men represent God's word from the churches, these men teach in their churches. What happens? Let's make like a Korean church and split happens. The church is full of hypocrites. Happens, and it becomes very accurate. The devil gets into that church and renders that church powerless, losing its first love. They're holding the teacher teachings of Jezebel. They're holding the teachings of Balaam the false prophet, as it says in a couple of the churches in Revelation.

Two more.

Okay? So that was verse 19. Verse 20 is removing people who are engrossed in sin. Because unrepentance usually leads to slander. So a lot of times when you have a false accusation against an elder, it's because that guy was called out for his sins and he's unrepentant. So you have to remove that guy, according to verse 20. Okay? Verse 21 says, nothing with bias, doing nothing impartiality. So in all matters involving elders, there is not supposed to be a bias. There is to be nothing done in accord with how much money he's given, how much status he has in the world, you can't get him off the elder. He's a PhD. Dude, Joshua Harris wrote a bestseller. Like, how do you know? We need him. It doesn't matter how likable they are, how useful they are, how much celebrity status that they have, none of those things should ever play a factor.

College education, color of skin. Like there are churches right now that are like, how come we don't have a black pastor? How come all our pastors, I mean, at a previous at my previous church, they're like, someone asked, how come we don't have a black pastor? We're like, if we have a godly, godly man who is black who is above approach and has all the qualities, of course we would hire him as a pastor. It's just we don't have them within our group. But they're like, we need, so even if he's not qualified, if his color of his skin makes us look more colorful, we'll pick him. And there are churches that operate this way. You guys know this, right? Choosing an elder and following an elder, or even in removing an elder, there should be no partiality or bias.

I was having a conversation with someone this week. I said, we need to be a church that is so familiar with the scriptures that in the event I were to fall into scandal, you would have to remove me, no matter how well liked I am. Because God's glory is at stake. No bias, no partiality in selecting, heeding, or removing. So no bias. Also, verse 22. Do not lay hands upon anyone hastily, and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others. Keep yourselves pure. Verse 22 basically says we need to take our time. Okay, similar to verse one, or the the reason number one of like no baby Christian. So should a new convert ever be in consideration for elder overseer pastor shepherd? No. Okay. But what about someone who's been a Christian for 20 years, has actually gone to seminary, and is now freshly visiting our church.

Man, that guy is skilled. He should, we should make him a small group leader. We should make him an elder. Just FYI, eldership is not transferable. In the Korean culture, you're in one's another, always an elder. But biblically, you don't, the elder is supposed to be ordained for that church. So you don't move him, and then that that transfers. Pastor is a little different. Okay, in function. So even if he's 20 years, he's been a Christian, he got his seminary degree, he's a nice guy. Don't put him up too quickly. Not being hasty means you test and you watch and you observe, you watch God squeeze and you observe again and again and again. You wait and you test and you watch and observe again and again and again.

You leave no stone unturned until it becomes pretty clear that the man who is appointed to lead a church truly has been brought to you by the Holy Spirit. Amen. So you guys didn't do a great job with me. Okay? You did you we did move pretty quickly? But that's for a different sermon. And you had no choice, right? Well, you did have a choice. Ah, I got I digressed myself. Okay. It is easier for a church to be stretched and for the right person to be raised up than to appoint an unqualified person into a position of authority and then later try to remove them. Because many, many, many people get hurt in the process. So we need to prayerfully wait and test and observe before we approve of anybody.

We have shepherd Christ's church as under shepherds. Amen? So this has to be thorough, can't be done in haste. Even the right person established in haste can become the wrong person. True or false. Yeah. And that person gets hurt. So first, no new convert. Second, uh, someone who has to have good quality reputation in and out of the church. Third, complete biblical objectivity, no bias, no prejudice in establishing, heeding, and then removing. Fourthly, nothing done hastily. Okay? That's the biblical principle. When a church is led by an unqualified individual, you can play church, but you can't minister. Things actually don't move forward for the church. Real gospel ministry is obstructed because of unqualified leaders.

Do you guys know of examples? Like you can't move forward, right? I'm gonna give you an example in 3 John. Oh, actually, oh hey, there's there's a I I left that as a okay, I'll skip that. Third John, chapter uh verse five. Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever work you do for the brothers and are doing this though they are strangers. They bore witness to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. For they went out for the sake of the name, receiving nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore, we ought to support such men so that we may be fellow workers with the truth. Super encouraging, right? This is a good thing. There were missionaries passing through.

These missionaries are theirs are strangers. The church members had a heart to support them. This church members did their best to support them. Unfortunately, this work appears to have hit some major snags, all because of an unqualified, spiteful, evil, devil-ensnared leader. I wrote something to the church, but Diatrophes, who loves to be first among them, does not welcome what we say. For this reason, if I come, I will bring to remembrance his deeds which he does, unjustly disparaging us with wicked words, not satisfied with this. He doesn't not welcome the brothers either. He forbids those who want to do so, and he excommunicates them because of their insubordination. Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good.

The one who does good is of God. The one who does evil like Diatrophies has not seen God. So we are introduced to a leader named Diatrophes, a diva, a man who apparently loved the spotlight. This man apparently loved making decisions. He probably loved the sound of his own voice. This man spoke evil of Apostle John. I'm guessing he saw himself on par with the apostles. He's a godly man. He withheld blessings from these missionaries. He forbade the church members in helping these missionaries. He even excommunicated those who are insubordinate. This man was abusive. This was an unqualified man. So John closes his third epistle by saying, Don't be like that man. That evil man, that evil man who has not seen God.

This is a blind blind man trying to lead. But you know when I thought about this, the text doesn't say, how did he become a leader there? Was he a gifted man? Was he once an excited man? Was he a responsible man? Did he have spiritual gifts? Did he give money? Probably. Satan's strategy in opposing God and sidetracking the church for a mission is to divide and conquer. And sometimes distract, divide, and conquer. And the apostle Paul calls them savage wolves, and I'm going to close with this. Be on your guard for yourselves and all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd in the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

And from among your own selves, men will arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them. So there's much at stake here. We need to be on our guard. We need to watch our lives and doctrines closely. We need to be vigilant in all those things. We need to pray and with great love and fervor for God's protection of our church, the leaders and the future leaders. I was thinking, you know, I had I taken the senior pastor position at a different church. This may have been a very difficult sermon to preach. Because I will be preaching this in front of the elders. And those elders would be spotlighted whether I like it or not. Right? If we had elders at our church, those men, every time I say something, people will be like, oh, you give a lot of money.

But we don't have elders. At present, at the beacon, I'm the only elder. So I make all kinds of unilateral decisions, right? So help me God. The cool thing is, we actually have the opportunity to build this right. And lay it out like the scripture lays it out. My hope is that we can build slowly, thoroughly, and in a way that truly honors the Lord. And my hope is that we have an army of qualified, tested, knowledgeable, godly men, spiritually sexy to the core, like they are just legit warriors in the faith to really lead this church for generations to come until the Lord returns. That's my prayer. And what exactly is a qualified, tested, knowledgeable, godly man? We're gonna look at that less next week.

Let's pray together. Father, thank you for just informing us and instructing us and guiding us to know how to build your church. Give us wisdom, give us grace for your glory and for your name's sake and for our good. And pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.