Ordination Service - Josh Shelton
Notes
Transcript
Intro: I am excited about what God is doing in the life of LRBC! The Holy Spirit is as work and is demonstrating His tremendous power. We see evidence of this in that He is still calling people to serve in His Kingdom. He is still calling out pastors and deacons, missionaries and teachers.
And tonight, we get to celebrate together in the ordination of Josh Shelton as deacon.
For most of us here, we are well aware of what a deacon is… he’s a volunteer servant of the church. But I’d like us to dig into God’s Word for a few minutes this evening in preparation to challenge you, Josh in fulfilling the role that God has called you to.
Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.
So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.
“Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.
“But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.
And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.
The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
The first thing we recognize here is that there was a physical and practical need in the early church for deacons.
The church was exploding in growth! And rightly so- when God’s Spirit is at work in the life of His people, the church multiplies! The disciples, being human and all, could not care for all those in need. If they were going to do more hands-on care, they would have to sacrifice the study and teaching of God’s Word.
But that cannot happen. When we take the emphasis off God’s Word, the church stops being a church and starts being something else. Yet, because the care of these in need is important, the church was called to set apart deacons- men who could be trusted to handle the tasks of ministry so that those who were called and gifted to teach could do so.
It is vital that these who fill this role are willing and capable to take on the task. It would be quite useless to have someone filling the role of deacon, yet who refuses to do the work that he was set apart to do.
Josh, I challenge you to take this role seriously, as commanded by God. Your faithfulness as a deacon will allow for the church to be fed both physically and spiritually.
But, as we’ve noted, it’s not just a filling of a physical act.
You are to be an example to the congregation. (3a)
Luke writes that the men who fulfill the role of deacon must be of good reputation.
That is that people have witnessed your character and affirm that you meet the standard set forth in Scripture.
We spoke at length in our study through 1 Timothy about these:
Men of dignity and integrity
Free from strongholds and strong in faith
Faithful leaders of their families
Above reproach
Luke records it as “full of Spirit and wisdom” (3b)
Josh, you cannot do this on your own. You must be surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus and filled with His Holy Spirit. It is only by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit that you will be able to persevere- to hold tight to the faith. He will be the One who gives you grace and joy as you serve.
Likewise, you must be wise- Scripture tells us that the Fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom and that if any lacks wisdom, let him ask..
In other words, depend on God. Seek Him. Follow Him.
And know that as you do, you are taking part in the organism of the church in such a way that positions it to grow - to spread the Good News of the Gospel to the world.
Josh, you have already been set apart by the congregation here as a man who demonstrates the necessary traits of a deacon. Your peers testify to what God is doing in your life.
Therefore, as we prepare to bring you forward, to lay hands upon you and pray over you, let me challenge you with the words spoken by Joshua in his final days:
‘I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’
“Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
“If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Let’s Pray.