The Biblical Qualifications for Church Leaders

At River Oak Church, we are a welcoming family of imperfect people who share a passion for God, a passion for others, and a passion for graciously sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.  We enjoy an informal environment and Christ-exalting modern worship, and we are committed to following the truth of God’s Word.  We welcome you to come as you are, from wherever you’ve been, and join us!

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Well, good morning. Hey, my name is Caleb. I'm one of the pastors here. Uh, and I'm so glad to be able to worship with you. Glad to see you on a holiday weekend. Uh man, there's a lot of other choices you could have made today, and man, I my prayer and I believe it is, will that this one will be uh the most beneficial, that this one will be the most encouraging to you today. Hey, uh, we're in 1 Timothy. If you walked in a little bit late, 1 Timothy chapter 3, we've been walking through the book of Timothy. Kind of before we get there, uh, does anybody remember uh the Polaroid camera? You know what I mean? Like, like the original camera, not the ones that like you would get your like 10-year-old daughter because she wanted to take pictures for her birthday or whatever. But like the ones you like, because those like print out and they're like, don't shake this picture, just let it be lame. But you remember the old ones where they're like, hey, it's gonna print this picture out, and you're gonna shake the mess out of this thing if you want to see at all what you look like. You remember those? Do you know that um what was what was amazing to me was that that company, Polaroid, created the first instant camera in 1948. And then this is a picture of it right there. 1948, Edwin Land created the first instant camera. That like blew my mind. I didn't know it was that long ago. What was amazing about the Polaroid Company is that they um they had technology that far surpassed uh any of the rival companies. And the reason this was is because Edwin Land was not only a pretty smart guy, but he hired some of the top engineers and scientists that would develop some of the top technology in his day. That they were guys that that were inventing and thinking through all sorts of things. And they rode from 1948 to kind of launch them, and they rode this wave of success into the 70s, where they really uh got most of their um funds, most of their fame, most of their revenue from creating the cheap film that consumers could get and that made instant pictures. These guys were so smart that they actually invented, were the first inventors of the digital camera. However, they believed that the digital camera, the digital technology would hurt the revenue of their cheap film, and so they buried it. Yeah, dumb. Uh and then into 1990 or 1980s rather, they created this uh terrible camera at the same time that VHS came out, and they lost like 68 million dollars in the in the 80s because of this poor business decision. It would come to the the the end of Polaroid would end up in 2001, where Polaroid would go bankrupt because they could not keep up with their predecessors. That they went from being the top camera-producing company with all the top engineers, all the top technology, to 2000, to 1990, Edwin Land would retire and and leave the company. Uh he would be asked to leave, and then in 2001 they would go bankrupt, and the Polaroid company would completely be dismantled. And you're like, but we have Polaroid cameras today. Yeah, that's because some like history buff bought the Polaroid brand, rebuilt it, and made their own thing. It has nothing to do with the original Polaroid company. Why? Why would that happen? Why would a company who had all the top engineers and all the things, here's why, because leadership matters. Everything rises and falls on leadership. Whether it is a business, whether it is your family, whether it is the church, everything rises and falls on good leadership. And what's happening in 1 Timothy is Paul is moving from 1 Timothy 1 and 2 on how do you organize the church to 1 Timothy chapter 3, where he says in Timothy, here's who you should be looking for to help carry the burden of leadership in the church. He goes from how to who. And so just to catch you up real quick, uh, what Timothy is, is it's a writing from this guy named Paul who was an apostle, a follower of Jesus, who was a leader in the early church, who wrote to Timothy, who is starting to pastor the new church in the city of Ephesus. And as Timothy, this young guy, begins to pastor this new church, Paul says, Hey, here's what the healthy church will look like. Here's how you organize it, here's what it what it will be, and here's what what who will lead in different places. And so he tells them, hey, here's how it looks and how certain things should be ordered, and then he moves to, now here's who should lead that ministry. Here's who should do it. And this is what he says in 1 Timothy 1, uh chapter 3, verses 1 through 7. He says, now here's who who we're looking for. If everything rises and falls on leadership, here's what the good leaders what the good leader looks like. He says, this saying is trustworthy. If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work. He says, This is a trustworthy thing. If you in here are aspiring to be a leader in the church, an overseer, you're desiring a good thing. Now that word overseer actually means pastor. And if you would turn to Ephesians 4, you don't have to right now, Ephesians 4, 11 through 12, or if you looked at Titus 1, 5 through 7, what you'll see is they use those words synonymously. Pastor, leader, overseer, elder. Those things are synonymous. An elder, a pastor, an overseer. Sometimes they even use the word shepherd. And the and the easiest way, this breaks down a little bit, the easiest way you can kind of think of it is same role, same office in the church, different task. So here at River Oak, we have a council of elders, men who are leading our church. I'm on the elder board. Uh Eric and Blake are on the elder board, but yet we have different tasks in leading the church. Not all of them are a part of the teaching team. Not all of them are have their hands deep in the finances of the church, not all of them have their hands deep in the administration of the church. We have the same office, but we have different tasks. Though we could all move and do different places and things, is kind of an easier way to think through this. He says, Man, this is whoever desires this desires a noble work. What Paul is helping Timothy to see is that leading the church is a good work for those who are gifted in leadership. Leading the church is a good work for those who are gifted in leadership, as affirmed by others around you. Like, how do you know you're gifted in leadership? It's not because your mom said so. Right? It's because other people around you. We don't need like the first episode of American Idol happening where you're like, my mom said I'm a good leader. Like, I can sing. Uh no, you can't. No, it's you're a good leader because the around you, the people around you affirm it. He says, for those who are gifted in leadership, this is a good use of your time. This is a good thing to commit more of your life to serving God's kingdom as a leader with the gifts God has given you is a good thing. It's a right thing, it's the right use of the gifts God has given you. That if anyone aims their life to be a leader of the church, he desires a good thing. And so Paul is saying, man, there's a lot, right? We know this, there's a lot of things we can desire. There's a lot of things we can run to. He says, but those who would look to the church and desire, say, man, I want to be a part of what God is doing for his kingdom in the local church. God has gifted me with leadership. I want to, I want, I desire that. He says, you desire a good thing. Now, this word desire, uh, it's not a whim or a wish, right? Where you're like, man, I desire Taco Bell after this. Like that, that's a whim or a wish. He says, no, it's an informed compulsion. That you're compelled, you have the information of what you're desiring, and you're compelled to do it. Which means it's not a romanticized thought, but it's with understanding of what you're actually desiring. Now, this is important because us as a culture, we romanticize generally everything. We look around and we're like, man, I really want that. Like, like, I want that thing. Why? Because I think about how beautiful it's gonna be when I have it, how good it's gonna be, right? Like, have you ever thought about working remotely? I think about sometimes we romanticize the thought of like, man, I want to work in a hammock with my laptop in Jamaica. It's gonna be awesome. Do you know? Have you thought of this through? Like, there is no Wi-Fi in a hammock in Jamaica, it's impossible. And then you're like, well, what do you do about food? I don't know, but I see myself in a hammock with my shoes off and the sun's shining. I'm like chilling, cool glasses on. You're like, no, there's actually no Wi-Fi there. The food's terrible, you can't speak the language, and you gotta do your laundry at a laundromat in a third world country. You're like, well, maybe, maybe it's not as great. Sometimes we romanticize, right? Like another person. We say, man, if if I was just married to that person, man, if I just like it is the reason in God's word, he says, do not covet ten commandments. He gave us ten, one of them, don't covet. Don't look to someone else's stuff and say, Man, if only I had that, everything would be fixed. We romanticize the effects of the things around us. And when it comes to leadership, when we romanticize leadership, we look to the glory of being the leader, not the burden of being the leader. He says, for those who desire leadership, meaning they recognize the burden of leadership and they're not looking for the glory of leadership, man, they desire a really good thing. I think about Matthew 20. In Matthew 20, these two disciples come to Jesus, and this is like the most embarrassing thing that could have happened. It says that their mom comes to Jesus and she's like, Hey, will you let my boys sit at your left and right in eternity next to your throne in heaven? Which I personally would be like, Mom, shut your mouth. I'm a grown man. And Jesus looks at them and he says, Can they drink the cup that I'm going to drink? You want the glory, but do you recognize the sacrifice that comes with that position? Do you recognize it means you're gonna lay down your entire life for the sake of God's kingdom being known and grown? Can you drink the cup? And they're like, we can drink the cup. And then Jesus kind of baits and switches. He's like, That's awesome, you're gonna drink the cup. Those spots are taken, though, I'm sorry. It says that they would go on and do that. They would go on and lay down their life for the gospel, and the gospel would grow as a result that they accepted the burden of leadership. He says, for those that desire it, they have an informed compulsion about it. Man, not an infatuation, not a sermon high, but rather a desire to serve, not to lord authority over someone, but it's a holy desire. He says, Man, that is a good thing. He would go on in Matthew 20, he'd say, Man, it looks like this desire. Matthew 20, verses 26 to 28. He says, It must not be like this among you, talking about the leaders in the world. He said, On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. And whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Paul says to Timothy, look for men who desire to be a servant leader. They get it. And it says, in the man who says, I'm going to not invest all my time in these other worldly things, but my desire that the Lord has put in my heart using the leadership skills he's given me is for the church. He says, You desire a good thing. He says, That is a right investment. That is a needed thing. He says, but it's a desire that's accompanied by qualification. He says, There are many that are gonna be like, Yes, I desire to lead. He says, but look to these men and assess, are they qualified? And so he gives them qualifications that would follow. Um and these are qualifications that it's not like, hey, I'm a leader, and he says, Okay, go ahead and achieve these 16 things, and then you'll be good to go. It's no, he says, I desire to be a leader, and these things are already in order in my life. It's something they have in order, and the Lord gives them then a desire to lead, not the reverse. It's not I'm gonna be a leader and then try to get these things in order. And he's and he's so serious about it, he gives them, like I said, 16 qualifications. He says, here's the 16 things, Timothy, that you're looking for in a man who would go and lead the church. And now you should understand, he says he's looking for a man to go and lead the church. Remember, I told you in one and two, he says, how? How does the church, how should the church be ordered? And here's what he says in one and two, just to catch you up. He says that men and women are of equal value, both very necessary in the church, both essential to the church functioning in a healthy manner. Like if there was no women involved in our church, this place would stink. And I don't mean like like stink like that. I mean literally, it would smell terrible, it would be a mess. It would be chaos. There would be a fighting ring right here, and we'd be like, disagreements, church discipline in the ring. Like, this is what would happen. Some of you guys like, that sounds great, actually. Can we like women? The Lord has given to you in such a way, he says, but here's the thing equal in value, different in roles. Like men, he's made you stronger and physically bigger. Like he's made you that you would go and you would protect and you would provide and and and you would lead your family. He says, in the same way for the church, he says, Men, I've called you to stand up and to lead and to protect and to provide for the church. He says, and so you're looking for these men who are qualified to do that. He says, and here's the qualifications. He says, an overseer, a pastor, an elder, therefore must be above reproach. First thing he says, must be above reproach. This word reproach means not being able to be even be accused of something sinful. That someone can't look at your life and make some sinful assumptions about you based on what you do. Right? That there are no shadowy parts where someone's like, ah, what? Now here's what this means. Often we live in this culture where it's like, I don't care what anyone else thinks about me. No, if the man is to live above reproach, the godly man actually deeply cares about what other people think about him. Not to be valued by those people, but in an effort not to lose testimony with those people. Right? Like, I deeply care what other people think about me, because if it prevents me from having a relationship with them, then it prevents me from being able to share the gospel with them. Right? Like, we should care deeply. And so if it's if it's a substance where you're like, man, I I don't know. Did you did you have one drink or did you have 15 drinks sitting at three amigos on a Monday afternoon? No one knows. Do I do that every night? Do I do that just that night? No one knows. And so, me personally, personally, don't take this on yourself. Me personally, I'm like, I'm not gonna get a drink at three amigos on a Monday afternoon. Because I don't need anyone to look at me and doubt my character or my affection for the Lord or think that I'm drawn to some other substance for something that only God could give me. And so I'm going to abstain from that to live above reproach. Right? It's this kind of attitude of saying, man, everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. He says the godly man is one that actually deeply cares about what other how other people are viewing him, and he's living in such a way that it gives him an avenue to share the gospel with whoever he would encounter. Right? He says the second thing is that he must be a husband of one wife. There's a lot of different views on this, but here's what I do know that this means, here's what we definitely believe here at River Oak, that this man takes marriage very seriously and he values it as God values it. That he takes marriage very seriously. Some would say, like, well, that means he could never have been divorced. And so there's people who made mistakes in their 20s and didn't know Jesus and got divorced, and that would, some would say that would disqualify them from ever leading in the church. That's not necessarily where we stand here at River Oak. But what we do, where we do stand is that a leader in our church is going to be somebody who values marriage in the way that God values marriage. That they're gonna be deeply concerned with the health of their marriage. Also, they're gonna be self-controlled. That means they're not prone to lose their cool. They're not the one that's that's like raging down the highway. They're not the one screaming in the front yard necessarily. And it also says that they're sensible, they're not prone to act a fool. He says, man, that this is what this means. This person who's gonna be a leader has it under control here and has it under control here. This person who's gonna be a leader is not gonna be one that's gonna devalue the gospel by the way that they live their life. This this person is someone who is sensible in the way they act. They have an understanding about how they're acting. There's some wisdom there. He also says that they are respectable. Now, here's what I love about this word respectable. In the Greek, it's the exact same word that they use for modest in 1 Timothy 2.9. If you would turn to 1 Timothy 2.9, what you would see is that Paul is talking to the women in the church and he says, here's how you should present yourself. You should present yourself with a modesty, not by dressing up with jewelry and makeup and dressing in all these kinds of ways. Uh and Blake spoke on that last week. He says, but you should be modest, meaning that the most attractive thing about you should be what God is doing in you that comes out of you, not that what you are putting on you. Right? Very different. He says, What should be most attractive about you is how God is working in you. Now, this lady should be like settling for you. This should cause peace for you because you know that every day it gets harder and harder to make the outside look the way you want it to look. Right? You're like, as you get older, as things change, you're like, how do I keep making myself cute? And if you if you're waiting for everybody to give you value on how cute you look, you're in a losing battle. The hair on the top of my head keeps leaving my head. God, that was too hard. You laugh too hard. What the heck? Come on, guys. Uh support me. So if I'm concerned of like, I want to keep looking young and keep looking like, ah, dude, I'm in a losing battle. We're all in a losing battle. He says, No, the most important part is not what you're putting on the outside. That everybody would think respectable about you. It's what's on the inside. And then the kicker is in 1 Timothy chapter 3, he says, and the same is for you men. It's the same qualification, it's the same characteristic, it's the same encouragement. That it's what the Lord is doing on the inside, not what you're putting on the outside. And he says the same characteristics should be found in a man desiring to help lead the church. That they should be respected for their upright character. They should be respected for the love of the Lord, not for their qualifications, not for their business accomplishments, but rather in how they walk with Jesus and how they love people. And he says, and they should also be next qualification, hospitable. That word hospitable literally means loving the stranger. Now, for you men, me included, this takes some transparency, this takes some vulnerability, because our knee-jerk reaction is to be like, no, I have no emotions. I'm big and I'm bad, I don't care about anything. Right? And then everyone's like, and you think everyone's walking around looking at you, like, that guy's so cool. He's awesome. And Paul would say, hey, no, Timothy, the guy you're actually looking for is not the guy that's the biggest and the baddest and the coolest. The guy you're looking for is the one that can love the stranger. The guy you're looking for is the one that can speak softly to a child. The guy you're looking for is that as our homeless friends come in here on occasion, man, they approach them. Even though they look different, smell different, talk different, sound different, do different, man, it's the man that walks up to him and says, Man, hey, Jesus loves you. I love you. What can I give for you? Can you come sit with me? He says, that's who you're looking for. It's the one that literally can love the stranger, that can get past their own ego, get past their own pride and humility. Say, man, let me let me let me go love somebody well. He says that they're also able to teach. Now, here's the thing: it doesn't mean that you've got to be like a qualified teacher. We're gonna put you up here and like quiz you're like, you're gonna preach, we're gonna hold signs in the back and rate you. That was a seven. You need an eight. It's not that. Rather, just able to teach means that you can learn to teach. It's a man that's dedicated to his craft. That he's able to study and research and spend time with the Lord and then communicate that well to the people around him. He says that's a part of it. And then Paul moves. He says, Hey Timothy, here's what these men should be. And then he moves and he says, and here's what they should not be. He says, they should not be an excessive drinker. You know the thing about an excessive drinker? It's not that you drank a lot, it's why you drank a lot. That there are very, actually, I don't I would say there is no one that is an excessive drinker and isn't trying to cover up something, heal something, hide something, run from something. That if you're running to substances, it's likely because you're not running to Jesus for the healing only He can provide, you're running to these substances instead. And it's also likely because your body's created a physical response that now you're addicted to these things. He says the person who is a leader is one who is freed from that addiction, is one who's gone to Jesus and he's provided healing from them. Because the truth is, if we don't have Jesus, we're all that person. Right? He's the one that brings us healing. He says, the person you're looking for is one that's not in this season of life, they're in this season of life. They've learned to walk with Jesus, and Jesus is their their sole uh satisfying element. That Jesus is the one that gives them purpose and gives them value. He says they're also not a bully, but gentle, not quarrelsome. See, there's the the big deal often when when people get into places of leadership, if they're in it for the wrong reason, you'll see it in the way that they are not gentle with people, but they're quarrelsome with people. Some of you have bosses like that. If they're in this room, don't look at them. Where you're like, this person really is proud of their position as a leader, and so they're quarrelsome, they're not gentle, they're they're a bully. And why are they bullying because they can be. He says, No, the leader of the church is not someone who's who's sitting there trying to prove people wrong and assert his dominance over people. It's not someone who knows God's word and has an appendix carry of a theological revolver and they're just waiting, right? To to lay someone out who's who's theologically wrong. Instead, it says, no, the the leader, the one who's walking with Jesus well, who you should be looking for, is one who's looking to see people know Jesus by showing them what is right, not just telling them how they're wrong. He says, Someone who's walking with people, who's gentle with them. And he says, and they're also not greedy. They're not greedy for money, they're not greedy for fame, but man, their main driver is that the name of Jesus would be known. He says, Man, they're not just searching out a bunch of other things, looking for success in those things. He says, No, but they are generous people, they are kind people, they are loving people. And he goes on, he says, Man, this must play out not only in the church, but it must also play out in the day-to-day and match what happens in your home. For some of us, I know that's more convicting than others. Because it's very easy to walk in here and to put on a front. I'm gentle, I'm kind, uh, I'm self-controlled, I'm above reproach, I'm the husband of one wife, and then to walk out into that parking lot, to get in that car, and our children see a whole nother person. Right? The people closest to us see a totally different leader in the home. He says, No, the one that's the one that we want to lead the church is one that's also doing this at home. He says, he must manage his own, this is verse 4, he must manage his own household completely and have his children under control with all dignity. Why, if anyone, verse 5, does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God's church? See, the father's role in the house is one who sacrifices for his family. That's what it says in Ephesians 5, that you would lay down your life, just as Christ laid down his life for the church, that you would lay down your life for your wife, that you would stop pursuing your own gain, but rather you would sacrifice that to say, No, I want to see my family succeed. I want to see my family know Jesus. I want to see my family walk with the Lord. It's one who sacrifices for his family, who bears the burden of leadership and gently guides his family into a real love and a real deep love for the Lord. It's like, man, this is what that looks like. It's one who manages his household well. It's a servant leadership. See, if he isn't a father who loves his family well through discipleship and discipline, then how will he be able to care for the church? Now, for some of you in here, you're like, dude, what have you met my kids? Right? My kids are crazy. And I would just share with you, this doesn't look like the perfect family, just so you know. Uh, my father has been a pastor for over 40 years. So I grew up uh in a pastor's family. Um that makes me, if you're not aware, that makes me a preacher's kid. And I get it. Some of you are like, oh, preacher's kids are the worst. And that is right. I there are times my parents, let me back up, my my parents worked really hard at creating good habits, good rhythms of life, good disciplines, that they worked really hard at helping us to be discipled and to walk with the right motives in life. And yet, we still did, and I say we, I'm including my brother and sister in this as well. Yeah, hope you're watching. We still did some very unhinged things. We did some things that that were very contrary to what my parents had taught us and discipled us and were teaching us to do. And it was in those moments that my dad would approach us with gentleness and with love and would begin to discipline and disciple us through the ups and downs of life. That he would take the management of his house seriously and worked to manage his house well. Though we didn't make it easy, he was consistent and he managed his house well. And this is what Paul is saying. He's saying, I'm not looking for the guy who also has perfect kids, and so my kids disqualify me from leading. Rather, it's the guy who deals with his imperfect sinners, which, just so you're aware, all of your kids are imperfect sinners. And he deals with these imperfect sinners in a loving and kind and gracious way that continues to point them to Jesus. That his kids weren't rebellious towards him, his kids didn't disrespect his leadership, his kids didn't uh uh speak ill of him, though they may have run and done their own thing. My brothers and sisters and me, we never doubted my dad's leadership, we never disrespected him in that way. He says, No, this is what this looks like someone who manages their house well. And then he goes on, and he says, and he must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and incur the same condemnation as the devil. What this means is it's a man who's come to know Jesus, and he must give time to study and grow before he tries to lead the church. Now, here's what happens. Any of you who have recently came to know Jesus, here's what happens is you were dead in your sin, you recognized that that you had done and walked in some rebellious ways that were opposing to an almighty God in heaven, and yet God had a deep wrath towards sin, and that the penalty of the sin you had committed was death of your life eternally. And some of you came to a realization of that. And you recognize in Acts 2 where they said, Oh man, what do we do? And you said, What do I do? And then you heard the gospel message that God in his love for you, despite your sin, saw you and loved you and sent his son to be the atoning sacrifice to pay for you. And so he sent Jesus to earth. Jesus lived perfectly, he died to death that you deserved for your sin. Then he rose again three days later and invited you into a loving relationship with your Father in heaven, covered in the righteousness of Christ, sin paid for by Christ to give you new life in Christ, to walk in a whole new way. And you were stoked about it, and that sets you on fire. And you're like, I'm gonna go pastor a thousand churches, I'm gonna go lead, I'm gonna go tell the world about the gospel. And you are on fire. And Proverbs says that hasty feet without knowledge will miss the way. But there takes some discipleship to take that fire and to cultivate it and to aim it and to point it in a way that's pleasing to the Lord. He says, so the leaders in the church don't need to be a new convert. Those people need to take some time to grow in their faith because they will be the future leaders of the church. And he says, and furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders so that he does not fall into disgrace and the devil's trap. Why is this a big deal? Why is Paul making such a big deal about the leadership of the church? Because character and integrity matter, especially in the church. That you can't compartmentalize your character. Hear this for a second. You can't do things in one area of your life and think you're only doing that sinful thing in one area of your life. You should recognize character cannot be compartmentalized. How you do it in one area is how you do it in every area. If you're a liar in one area, you are just a liar. If you are selfish and greedy in one area, you are just selfish and greedy. You cannot compartmentalize character in the maximum, uh the lowest part of your character is the maximum part, is the maximum of your of your um capacity. Capacity. That's the word. The lowest part of your character is the maximum of your capacity. You should hear that. And Paul says we need people who have character in their whole life, and their capacity is high. And he says, and here's why this is important. He says, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the devil's trap. There is a real spiritual war and a real enemy. In 1 Peter 5, 1 through 11, or really 8 through 9, he says, be sober-minded and be alert. Your adversary, the devil, is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for anyone he can devour. He says, So resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world. What Paul and Peter are saying is that there is a special bite in the jaws of deception, especially reserved for pastors. He says, Man, this person needs to be on guard. See, here's the thing: the seed of the gospel has been planted in your life. And God is, through the Holy Spirit, is watering that seed. And God over time will make it grow in such a way that your grandkids, grandkids will see the fruit of it. What the Lord is doing in you is a generational movement known as the gospel of Jesus. And as you posture yourself to give God glory, you need to understand this. Satan will position himself to take you out, and he will do it by laying traps. So be alert and be disciplined and take your role seriously. This is what Paul is saying. He's saying, Man, the seed of the gospel has been planted. And Satan's in the businesses of uprooting plants. He says, and the Lord's doing something big, not just for you, but generationally. So you should be on your guard that Satan is actually attacking. And what in life, in life, there there are two kinds of virtues that you really you can be a part of. There are resume virtues and there are eulogy virtues. There are resume virtues, there are eulogy virtues. Resume virtues are the virtues that uh that that you would put on your LinkedIn account. Resume virtues are the things you've accomplished. Resume virtues are the ways that your family has succeeded. Resume virtues are the plaques you put on your wall of the certificates and degrees that you've gotten. Resume virtues are the letters that you put behind your name. And then there are eulogy virtues. Eulogy virtues are what they're going to say about you at your funeral. Eulogy virtues, they they take they they are about a depth of character. They're the sum of all the parts given of a life of godliness and good works. They're a result of the Holy Spirit in the life of a person who creates these eulogy virtues. And what Paul is talking about is he's giving eulogy virtues. That this is the character and integrity that our leadership should possess. But you should understand it's also that godly men and women, the character that they should possess. So not only is it the character and leadership that our leaders should possess, but for you in here who are walking with Jesus, he says, no, this is the character that each of us should seek to possess, should be talking to the Lord about. It's the character that we should possess and pursue if we are to live and love well in the local church. That this is what the local church is about. It's not about resume virtues, but it's about having eulogy virtues. It's not just what we get out of it, rather, it's what we belong to. A people of God giving ourselves over to something greater, the glory of God known to all the earth. He says that you should have these eulogy virtues. And so I would just ask as we close, are are you if you put 1 Timothy chapter 3, 1 through 7, and you and you put it up against your life and you treat it like a mirror, what does that reflection look like? Does your life match this reflection? Has eulogy virtues been the most important thing to you? Or has it been resume virtues? Are you looking forward to the day that you will stand before the Lord and He will say, Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into my presence. That's the best way you can love the people around you, that's the best way you can provide for your family. Hey man, just go to work. Just go to work, go to work. Your presence isn't necessary, your money is. Go to work. And God's word would counter that. You say, no, no, no. Actually, you know what's a really good thing? Is if you'd pursue the characteristics found in here. If you would ask the Lord to be working that out in you, as you feel conviction over it, as you recognize, man, this is not me, that you would come to your father and in repentance and say, God, this is not me, but only you can make this me. So God, would you change my sinful flesh? That we would pursue a eulogy virtue heart. God, we want to we want to be known for this, not so that people would be like, oh, they're known for this. But that we would be able to lead and love in the local church well. That we would be a healthy church who walks with Jesus well, who loves people outside of these doors really well. Will you pray with me? God, we love you and we thank you. We thank you for the gospel. We thank you for the invitation. God, for the way that even those in here who do not know you as Savior, Lord, you have invited them into that. So, Lord, we ask that you would just ordain those moments between you and them. That they would know you and trust you. God, we ask that you would raise up leaders in this congregation. Raise up men and women who would lead in different capacities and in different places. God, that you would raise up people to lead in our children's ministry and in our student ministry and in our adult ministry, that you would raise up men to lead on our elder board. And Lord, that you would use us to be a church that is not just babysitting Christians. Lord, you use as a church that's discipling and training and sending leaders. And so, God, we we can't do that on our own. Lord, we want to be the healthy church that is kingdom-minded and kingdom-building, and it's honoring you. So would you go before us in that? Lord, you move in these moments of reflection as we worship you now. In Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 41:40

Good morning, everyone. We are glad you were able to join us, and we pray that it was encouraging for you this morning. We ask you to subscribe, that way you can see all of the sermons. But we hope to see you in person next week. God bless.