Welcome to the Daily Blade . The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit , the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil . Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson , and they stand ready to equip men for the fight . Let's sharpen up .
All right , guys , let's wrap up the week . This week we are doing a deep dive into the qualifications for overseers as described by the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 3 , verses 1 through 7 . I'll read it for the last time here . The saying is trustworthy If anyone aspires to the office of overseer , he desires a noble task . Therefore , an overseer must be above reproach the husband of one wife , sober-minded , self-controlled , respectable , hospitable , able to teach , not a drunkard , not violent , but gentle , not quarrelsome , not a lover of money . He must manage his own household well , with all dignity , keeping his children submissive , for if someone does not know how to manage his own household , how will he care for God's church ? He must not be a recent convert or he may become puffed up with conce . 6 and 7 , but before we get to that , let me remind you of the question that you should have been considering all week into today Do I have what it takes to be an overseer ? So back to verses six and seven . He must not be a recent convert or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil . Moreover , he must be well thought of by outsiders so that he may not fall into disgrace , into
the snare of the devil . So not a recent convert , okay . So not a novice . So it literally means that you are not newly planted . So if you are new to the faith , our reaction should be welcome to the team , not welcome to the leadership team , right ? Why not ? Because you're definitionally immature . You just have not been tested yet , right ? I mean there's a reason in the corporate world why someone coming straight out of college with a business degree isn't added to the C-suite just have not been tested yet , right ? I mean there's a reason in the corporate world why someone coming straight out of college with a business degree isn't added to the C-suite of a Fortune 100 company .
Speaker 2Now , this doesn't necessarily mean that you need to be an older guy , but it is probably a good idea if you are . I mean , old dudes have been around the block , they've seen some things and , as Joby says , you can't be an elder if you've never elded anything . But ultimately , whether the overseer is a little younger or significantly older , they just can't be spiritually green , okay ? So another good way to look at it is it's not how many years the person's been a Christian , but how many hours you know . That's going to be reflective of their sanctification process and their level of maturity . So , again , the role is just too important and too heavy . It's just too heavy for , you know , a baby deer believer .
Speaker 2Right Now , back to verse six , or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil . So guys that are young in the faith you know kind of the whippersnappers , if you will are especially susceptible to pride , and pride can be an absolute killer for a young believer . So they might get to a place where they wake up on third base but think they hit a triple right and I think we've all been at that place at one time or another where we get a , you know , just a little bit of knowledge and a little bit of experience and then we think we can run the entire show right . Yeah , I mean , it's just really not a good person to have as an overseer if they , if they , act that way .
Now verse seven . Moreover , he must be well thought of by outsiders so that he may not fall into disgrace , into a snare of the devil . So an overseer must have a good reputation , they need to have a solid testimony , and nonbelievers , those who are outside the church , should be able to look at an overseer and think , you know , I may not agree with what that guy believes , but he's a solid dude , right , and at the end of the day , an overseer or elder is an ambassador for Christ . And at the end of the day , an overseer or elder is an ambassador for Christ . So the non-believing culture should be able to look at an overseer and conclude that that person is operating with a high level of integrity . Because here's the thing , as verse 7 says , if the guy doesn't operate with a high level of integrity , he could easily fall into disgrace .
Speaker 2I mean , if I was Satan , I would definitely go after the leaders within the church and try to discredit them , right ? I mean , it's the same thing . In the same way that people think in war , if you can take out one of the generals , you do it because it will have a negative ripple effect through the rest of the troops . And the same applies for leaders in the church . You know , cause one of them to fall and not only will outsiders sneer and snicker and all that , but insiders believers will be stuck in feelings of doubt . So again , let me take you back to our
question for this week . Do I have what it takes to be an overseer .
Speaker 2Now , if any of you guys listening to this are currently crushing it in all of the categories listed in the qualifications of an overseer , let me just say that I would be a little bit skeptical . Okay , I would venture to say that every single one of us is lacking in at least one , if not several , of these areas . But that should not crush your spirits , okay , it should actually lift you up . It should encourage you , because Paul is giving us an aspirational identity . He's giving us the words that we should pray to God in terms of the sanctification journey that he has us on right . He is literally laying out a cheat sheet for all of us , because every single one of us , every single one of you listening to this , should be striving towards being this kind of a man every second of every day . The bride of Christ needs more men ready to step up and to lead . So , guys , either lead or get the hell out of the way . Thank you for your attention this week . Stay sharp .
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