Humble Men in God's Service
1 Timothy: Gospel Formed • Sermon • Submitted
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· 15 viewsPROP: GOD CALLS MEN OF HIS CHARACTER TO LEAD HIS CHURCH THROUGH SERVICE.
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This is a text that we have looked at many times as we come to the season each year when we select deacons. This is a crucial text for that purpose to guide us in the process and help us keep from making errors that we might otherwise make. One error that we might make is ask, “What skills does a man have that could help on the deacon body?” But as we read this text we find that God does ask us to look for certain skills. He asks us to look for certain character qualities. God is more concerned with character qualities of men who will lead as deacons rather than skills.
What kind of character qualities are important for a deacon? Well I think it is of first order to ask what is a deacon?
In. v.8, the word “deacon” just literally means servant. They are not here to be a board of directors. It’s not their job to make business decisions. They are here to help meet the needs of the people of the church and the community. That’s why when Paul tells Timothy what to look for in deacons, he doesn’t describe needed skills. He describes character traits. The character of God’s servants.
The first character trait of a servant must be humility. A person can not serve another unless he can put others above himself.
I think this is what Jesus exemplified and what he called his apostles to.
35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
In Matt. 12:18, Matthew quotes Isaiah 42:1-3, and attributes that to Jesus. God says,
18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
Jesus is God’s servant. He is the picture of what lead servants, deacons should look like.
A number of years ago, Marie Berger published in Sojourners magazine a story about Serena Williams, the professional tennis player. (Sojourners magazine, Sept-Oct 2002)
Williams once asked how it felt to be number one in the world. She responded, "When I was little, I always wanted to be 'number zero.' I thought that was the best you could be. I guess I wasn't very bright."
Berger went on to note that number zero should be the hearts desire of the spiritual leader. That should be the heart of a deacon. Deacons must be people that understand that “last is first.”
Paul wrote,
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
The older I get the more convinced I am that this really is the secret to leading men.
Lao Tzu, the Chinese philosopher once said, "I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others." He continued: "Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men.”
Paul describes Jesus’ humility in his work of accomplishing his work of redemption of humanity.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
There is no servant leadership apart from Christlike humility.
I. How would God direct us as we choose deacons?
I. How would God direct us as we choose deacons?
A. Choose men in whom humility is producing honor.
A. Choose men in whom humility is producing honor.
8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.
Dignified- These are men with a good character, worthy, respectable. The office of deacon is an honorable position.
11 The greatest among you shall be your servant.
No matter how skilled someone maybe, we can’t separate leadership from character. There are a lot of men that have many useful skills, but they are not equipped to serve as deacons because they lack the character it takes.
So how do you know if a person is honorable? Answer this question. “Is he the same person outside the church, as he is inside the church?”
We can’t say we have honor if we will give our tithe to the church, but will take advantage in the business world to make a buck. We can’t say we are honorable if we are great guys to our friends, but our wives hate us.
*The Navajo people have an interesting term for those who have gone astray. When they want to describe a person that is acting without honor they use this phrase: “he acts as if he has no relatives.”
They understand that how a person acts casts honor or shame on his family. A deacon is a man of honor because he understand that his actions casts honor or shame on Christ.
B. Choose men in whom humility is producing integrity.
B. Choose men in whom humility is producing integrity.
1. V. 8 says he should not be “double-tongued.”
8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.
The original language gives us a excellent picture word. Literally, “don’t be two-faced.” You know what he means because we have all met people who talk out of both sides of their mouths.
*If you have ever seen the old comic strip Dick Tracey. You probably familiar with a character called Two Face. If you are not, Two Face is a man who has one side of his face delightful, good looking, just like any other nice guy. But on the other side it was the face of a hideous monster.
3. Paul is warning us, “Don’t call Mr. Two Face as a deacon because he will absolutely destroy a church. This guy will be nice to you at church. He will smile, shake you hand. But when you turn around, he will stab you in the back. Choose men in whom humility is producing integrity.
C. Choose men that humility is producing delight.
C. Choose men that humility is producing delight.
1. Notice what Paul said over in I Tim. 1:12
12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service,
Paul is saying, “I can’t tell you how delighted I am that God has allowed me to service him.”
That is why Paul said in v. 8 that a deacon should be “not addicted to much wine and not greedy for dishonest gain.”
8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.
Think about it. How many people do you know that just can’t be happy unless they have a beer in hand. They work all day long so they can come home sit down in a recliner and have a beer. Work all week for the weekend so they can go out with friends and tie a few on.
Now I’m not saying that alcohol is the end all evil or even that it is a sin to drink alcohol. I would advise you not to. There are a lot of bad things that alcohol leads to. Not the least of which is jeapordising your witness to people around you here in the deep south. But, that is beside the point.
God’s servants don’t need alcohol to make life worth living. He finds all the happiness he needs in serving Christ.
-Some of you are thinking. Well I don’t drink, so I’m good. Nope. Paul goes on to remind us the pursuit of money has the same intoxicating affect as alcohol. He says a deacon should not be a man who pursues “dishonest gain.” A desire for money can easily steal our desire for God in our depraved hearts. It can cause you to pursue it in ways that would compromise your integrity.
4. *I read this interesting fact. There are 2 billion square feet of storage space in the U.S. along. That is enough room to house every man, woman, and child 7 times over. That just goes to show you how enslaved our hearts are to the God of wealth. There is nothing wrong with making money as long as piling up junk is not the end point of it all. Make a lot of money in a God honoring way and pour it into accomplishing the great commission! That needs to be our delight.
7. A deacon is not a man plagued by greed. He is a giver because all he has to do to be happy is to serve the Lord.
D. Choose men that Humility is producing Holiness.
D. Choose men that Humility is producing Holiness.
9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.
Deacons are men that have deep religious convictions based on the Word of God. They are not tossed around by the winds of changing doctrines. They know the Word of God and on it they stand firm.
So those are God’s directives to select his leaders. But how do I know whether a man meets these criteria?
II. Is there a test that the church can use to evaluate a man’s fitness for becoming a deacon?
II. Is there a test that the church can use to evaluate a man’s fitness for becoming a deacon?
10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.
Yes. Look at how they serve their home.
11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.
Paul tells us to look how he leads his wife.
The wife of the deacon has almost the same qualifications as the deacon. The wife is held to a standard as high as the deacon. Why is that? If a man is not leading his wife to holiness, he has no business trying to lead his church to holiness. A deacon’s wife should be dignified. She stays out of other people’s business by not spreading gossip. And she is level headed to even out her husband at times.
In v. 12, Paul says
12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.
As I said last week, we have gone through “the husband of one wife phrase in detail dealing with the issue of divorced deacons. Regardless of what you feel about that, it can not only mean not divorced. Just not being divorced is not nearly high enough of a standard.
The actually wording of this text reads in the original language. A deacon should be a “one woman man.”
This is not just about whether or not he is divorce or not. This is a character issue. Is he a one woman kind of man. Does he have eyes for one woman, a heart for one woman. Is he devoted to one and only one woman, his wife.
This is not the kind of man that you’ll find telling dirty jokes or looking at pornography. It is not enough that these men are just not merely divorce because I’ve known a lot of men that have never been divorced, but they are not one women men.
Paul finishes up by describing them as “managing their children and their own households well.” (v.12)
Paul says, “also look at their children. Are they leading them to grow in the Lord as well?” These are men who take care of their families and lead them all in a Godly direction. That is the test.
I hope you can see by now that Paul’s directive for choosing deacons are character issues. These are not rules that can never be broken. No one has been perfect there entire life in all of these areas. Is he a man of honor, honesty, integrity, delight and holiness.
*Humility may be the most important key to being used by God. I’ll close with this quote by the monk who started the Protestant reformation.
“It is God’s nature to make something out of nothing; hence one who is not yet nothing, out of him God cannot make anything.”-Martin Luther
“It is God’s nature to make something out of nothing; hence one who is not yet nothing, out of him God cannot make anything.”-Martin Luther