A Plan to Have Qualified Elders--Part Two
Surviving the Pandemic as a Congregation • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 8 viewsNotes
Transcript
Handout
INTRODUCTION:
1. Every church needs a plan for how to appoint qualified men to the eldership.
A. Having elders is not something that takes care of itself.
1. It is something that must be planned for.
5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—
2. It is something that must be lived and practiced.
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); 6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
3. It is something that must be appointed.
23 So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Body:
1. The first step in obtaining elders is to realize the need for the eldership.
A. Jesus recognized the need for sheep to have a shepherd and compared people without proper leadership to sheep without a shepherd.
34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.” 35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
1. The eldership is also called shepherds.
28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
A. This would imply that congregations that do not have shepherds are sheep without a shepherds.
1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
2. The second step is to not be satisfied with our current situation.
A. If something is lacking that God wants us to have we need to set it in order and be unsatisfied with the circumstance until it is.
5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—
1. It can be easy to be satisfied with the way things are and not want them to change because repentance is hard.
A. Repentance for an alien sinner is admitting something in their life needs to change.
10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
B. Appointing elders in a congregation that does not have them is change that needs to be made and that is admitting something needs to change which is hard.
3. The third step is to evaluate the men and accept the evaluation.
A. The qualifications given in Titus and in Timothy are for the purpose of evaluation.
1. The qualifications in Titus follow the words if a man is....
6 if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. 7 For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, 8 but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.
2. In Timothy the qualifications follow the words—A bishop then must be.
1 This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); 6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
B. If two men are found to be qualified they are appointed by the qualifications not by the congregation.
1. Titus and Timothy’s responsibility is to help their respective congregations recognize qualified men and to allow God through the qualifications to appoint them.
1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
C. Congregations of Timothy’s and Titus’ time were no different than today’s and faced the same challenges yet they were to appoint elders in every congregation.
9 That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us.
1. No man meets any of the qualification perfectly to the point that they can not improve in any one aspect.
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
A. Every elder ever appointed to the eldership need to continue to grow in most of the qualifications.
17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
2. There is only one qualification that I can see in both list that can’t be fixed if it is not met in a specific way.
A. This is if a man is divorced for un-scriptural reasons.
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;
6 if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination.
4. The last step is to appoint the best qualified men and to continue to move as a congregation closer and closer to being like God.
1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.
1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
CONCLUSION:
1. If we realize our need for elders, do not accept our current situation of not having them, evaluated the men for the best qualified men and accept the evaluation realizing that no one is perfect, and then appoint elders we will have elders.