Deacon: Divine Encouragements to Deacons

Introduction: Identifying Audiences and Goals

0:04 Now those of you who received the addendum to the original program for the conference will know that the subject announced for the ministry of the Word of God tonight is divine encouragement to deacons. And in addressing this subject, I have three distinct groups of people in mind, and with respect to each group, I have some very distinct goals. And I want to identify those three groups and the goals that I have at the very outset, and I identify those groups and the goals in order of priority. As I seek to take up the subject with the Word of God as our source book, divine encouragement, divine encouragement to deacons. First of all, I have in mind those of you who are presently in the office of the diaconate, who have come into that office through the grid of a careful assessment of your life and character and aptitude for the office in the light of the Word of God. And my goals for you are basically two.

1:31 The first is to seek to stir up every biblically qualified and presently functioning deacon to a new level of appreciation for the dignity, honor, and privilege of your office. I want you to leave tonight with a renewed understanding of the dignity, of the privilege, and of the honor of your office. And secondly, I wish to motivate you to greater zeal and joy in the performance of your diaconal service. So if you who are deacons and ought to be deacons as you presently serve in that office, if you leave tonight saying, I never saw so clearly, what a privilege it is to be a deacon, and I have never been more determined to serve with all of my heart in the strength of Christ and with joy in my office, my goal towards you will have been accomplished.

2:51 But then I have a second group in mind, and that is those of you who may be contemplating the office who have some degree, or another, of aspiration to the office of a deacon. And my goals for you are likewise, too.

3:12 For you who fit the description of aspirants to the office, I want first of all to seek to nurture those sanctified aspirations for the office. I would love to see you as a result of our time in the Word of God, And God tonight have an increased measure of sanctified desire for the office and its functions. And secondly, I trust under God by the Scriptures to renew and intensify in you a determination that you will not enter that office by any other path but that of biblical integrity. So if at the end of today's lecture, At the end of our time, all aspirants to the office say to themselves, After what I've heard tonight, I desire the office and its functions more than ever, but I am more determined than ever that I shall not intrude myself into the office, but only come to it by way of biblical integrity, then my goal to the second group will have been realized. But then there's a third group.

4:34 You are here tonight, and you are in my mind and heart and were in my preparation, and that is the rank and file of God's people. Some of you young people, children of parents who are members, others members of this assembly, some members of other assemblies who are visiting with us, and you have presently no place in the office of a deacon. You have no aspirations. You have no aspirations to that office, especially if you are women.

5:05 I trust you have no aspirations to that office. And I have three goals for you.

5:13 Goal number one is that you will seek to abound in the disposition and deeds central to the diaconal office and function. That after you hear what you hear, though you have no aspirations for the office and are not in the office, that you will...

5:33 You will abound in the disposition and deeds central to the diaconal office and function. For many of those deeds and certainly the disposition are appropriate to all of the people of God. And secondly, I trust that the result of our study will be such as to make you to abound in the spirit of generosity. With respect to your time and to your money, so that the deacons in your churches will never lack manpower or money to carry out their tasks as they fulfill them under the direction of and in cooperation with their own elders. And my third goal for this third group is to seek to increase your commitment to pray both with greater frequency and fervency for those who are your deacons. So this third group, if as a result of the study tonight you go out saying, though I have no aspirations for the office, I am determined to cultivate both the spirit and disposition

6:59 and to abound in the deeds that are commensurate, with the functions of that office. I am more determined by the grace of God than ever to make myself and my substance available to the deacons that they might never lack manpower or money to accomplish their tasks. And I'm committed to pray for them that they may have increasing measures of the spirit of Christ and of power and of wisdom resting upon them. Well, with these three groups in mind and these manifold goals before us, consider with me the following divine encouragements to deacons. And I confess that it has been difficult to be selective because as I sat at my desk and began to think about this subject and pray that God would bring to remembrance those portions of his word which constitute in a very simple way the divine encouragement to deacons. And I confess that it has been difficult to be selective because as I sat at my desk and began to think about this subject in a very simple way the divine encouragement to deacons. And I confess that it has been difficult to be selective because as I sat at my desk and began to think about this subject I found myself in an embarrassment of riches.

First Encouragement: Deacons as a Manifestation of Christ's Glory

8:12 And I have had to do what I tell the men in the academy they must learn to do, exercise the discipline of exclusion and selectivity. So God helping us in time permitting, I will seek to open up in your hearing four of many more that could be mentioned, but four. of the divine encouragements to deacons. And the first is this.

8:41 The office and function of a godly deacon is a special manifestation of the glory of Christ.

8:53 Every deacon ought to be encouraged by this biblical fact that the office and function of a godly deacon is a special manifestation of the glory of Christ. is a special manifestation of the glory of Christ. Now Pastor Barker touched on aspects of this theme this morning, but I want to direct your attention to two verses in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 which directly address this subject. Now most of you I am sure are familiar with the general contents of 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9.

9:35 These, two chapters, are Paul's treatment of the subject of the special benevolence that was being collected among the Gentile churches to be taken to the poor and suffering saints in Judea. And these chapters form nothing less than a gold mine of marvelous principles relative to Christian giving in general and, which, with respect to special benevolence offerings and concerns in particular. Now here in chapter 8, as Paul is seeking to stir up the Corinthians to do their promised part in their involvement in this benevolence offering, he tells them that Titus is going to play a very significant part in this ongoing endeavor. Verse 16, of chapter 8. But thanks be to God who put the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. For he accepted indeed our exhortation, but being himself very earnest, he went forth unto you of his own accord.

10:58 Paul says, it was my judgment that Titus ought to have a leading role in this ongoing endeavor of, of completing this benevolence offering for the saints in Judea. But his response was not merely one of submission to me as an apostle, but there was an internal spirit-created desire within his own heart. He did accept our exhortation, but being himself very earnest, he went forth to you of his own accord. So here, their duty and desire coalesced.

11:38 So as Titus comes, he wants the Corinthians to know he is not a man simply under apostolic constraint, but he is also under internal constraints wrought by the Holy Spirit. Verse 18, And we have sent together with him the brother whose praise in the gospel is spread through all the churches. Now why did not Paul name him? I'm always fascinated when I come to the passage.

12:08 Could it be that he made a judgment that though his praise in the gospel was spread through all the churches, he had not yet matured enough to have his name enshrined forever in Scripture? I don't know. But he's unnamed. He is simply identified as the brother whose praise in the gospel is spread through all the churches, and not only so, but who was appointed.

12:37 There was some suffrage among the churches in the selection of this particular brother who was appointed by the churches to travel with us in the matter of this grace, or this gift, this offering, which is ministered by us,

12:59 the glory of...

13:04 Now here at this point, with reference to many of the details, of the ongoing endeavor of connecting this benevolence, the apostle says that this grace, this gift, this offering, as the NIV translates it, is ministered by us to the glory of the Lord. Now the glory of the Lord is the outshining of the perfections of the Lord. As the rays of the sun are the outshining of the essence of the sun, and in that sense, its rays are its glory. So the glory of the Lord is the outshining of the perfections inherent in the Lord Himself. And here, the benevolence offering itself, called a grace, describes as that which is ministered by us, the glory of the Lord, literally, towards, the Greek preposition pros is used. It is that benevolent gift which is ministered by us towards, tending towards and promoting the outshining

14:33 of the perfections of the Lord Christ Himself. When that gift would be received by the brethren in Judea, it would be nothing less than a measure of the outshining of the love, the tenderness, the compassion, and the care of the Lord Jesus, the great shepherd, and the loving husband of His church. It would be an outshining of the glory of His own gospel grace that Gentiles who once stood in deep prejudice to Jews are now found bound together in this bond of common faith and love so that these Gentiles having partaken of the spiritual riches of the Jews are now responding in monetary ways to these Jewish Christians and these Christians in Judea. The outshining of the grace of Christ, the power of Christ in the gospel, all of that, Paul says, would be found in connection with this benevolence offering. However, as he goes down through the chapter and continues to take up various strands

16:02 of concern, namely, making sure that in the collection there would be no unnecessary prejudice that the money was being misused, verse 20, avoiding this, that any man should blame us in the matter of this bounty which is ministered by us for we take thought for things honorable not only in the sight of the Lord but in the sight of men. Now he mentions another unnamed brother who is going to accompany Titus and we have sent with them our brother whom we have many times proved earnest in many things but now much more earnest. Do you see the presence of the word earnest here with respect to Titus and now with respect to this unnamed brother? This was something that got them excited, something that engaged their whole being, something concerning which they didn't have a laid back lackadaisical attitude. No, we've sent with them our brother whom many times we have proved earnest in many things but now much more earnest by reason of the great confidence which he has in you whether any inquire about Titus he is my partner and my fellow worker to you word and our brethren

17:31 and how shall he identify them? They are unnamed. He says Titus whom I've named I will identify with these words and designations. My partner my fellow worker but what about these two unnamed brethren?

17:53 Well, he gives them two designations. They are messengers of the churches literally apostles of the churches small a not apostles in the technical sense of those unique foundation stones in the church of God but they are the messengers of the churches. The Gentile churches were involved in this cooperative benevolence endeavor. These men have both been chosen by the churches and Titus selected by the apostle to be the leading figures in the carrying of this benevolence so they are to be recognized as messengers of the churches. That's what they are at the horizontal plane. But what are they at the vertical plane or dimension? Look at the text.

18:53 They are the glory of Christ.

19:01 They are not mirrors of the churches bringing that which in and of itself is a manifestation of the glory of Christ an offering which never would have been collected never would have been sent from Gentiles to Jews if Christ had not been manifested in the saving power of the gospel in the hearts and lives of these Gentile Christians and therefore this benefit this grace this offering this gift is indeed ministered to and towards the glory of Christ but think of it the men who actually convey it are not only the messengers I'm sorry the sent ones the apostles of the churches but they in their persons are the glory of Christ.

20:06 In their persons are the glory designated in this very passage and is surely as they are messengers of the churches because they've been sent by the churches to be as it were an extension of the heart and the hand and the good will of the churches they are also the out of the very perfections of the Messiah that Messiah would be the Savior not only but of Gentiles the Messiah who would call to himself men from every kindred tribe and tongue and people and nation and as the apostle describes these men , men chosen to dispense this benevolence he says that not only does their gift tend toward the glory of Christ they as the conveyors of the gift embody the very of the perfections of Christ.

21:29 For you see ever since his ascension to the right hand of the Father except for that revelation given to the apostle Paul Christ is the Christ described in first Peter as the one whom having not seen we love. Where then do we see the beams of his glory not by direct sight but we see them according to a passage like this when men are conveying to others the motive of God's produced selfless love and concern for others in a context in which prejudices of centuries have been broken down by the power of the very gospel of that Christ. Surely those men laden with these gifts were in their persons with those gifts conveyed to the saints in Judea the very outshining of Christ's glory.

22:43 And all my dear brethren serving in the diaconate may God encourage you with the realization that the office and function of a godly deacon is a special manifestation of the glory of Christ himself. Does Christ care for the poor for the vulnerable for his hard working servants for those that are destitute and in need? Does Christ care whether or not the impression made upon those who gather in the places where his people meet as the living stones in the living temple reflect him as the God of decency and of order? Is God concerned with these things? Well the answer is clear. Well then as you give yourself to the tasks which are yours as a deacon you not only do things which tend towards the glory of Christ and impress men with the fruit of the saving work of Christ in that which you do but God makes you yourself in your office and in the functions of that office a very outshining

24:11 of some aspects of your of his perfections and you are constituted the glory of Christ. You say that boggles my mind. That's something I'd never asked for. I would never think in those terms.

24:32 No. Anyone who knows anything about himself, his own heart, what he deserves would never think in those terms but you see God delights to be prodigal in the conferrals of his grace and to overwhelm us with the wonders of his grace and therefore be encouraged my dear laboring deacon brother that that office and your function in it as a godly deacon is indeed a special manifestation of the glory of Christ. But then the second encouragement derives from this.

Second Encouragement: Deacons Preserve Prayer and Preaching

25:15 The office and function of a godly deacon is a great means to preserve and promote the priorities of prayer and preaching by the under shepherds of Christ. The office and function of a godly deacon is a great means to preserve and promote the priorities of prayer and preaching by the under shepherds of Christ. Remember the origins of the office. Acts chapter 6.

25:57 And I want us to turn there for a few moments again and seek to highlight aspects of the passage that were not highlighted as much earlier today. Here in Acts chapter 6 you remember the problem.

26:12 There was a complaint of the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebrews. Because they perceived that there was some prejudicial and preferential treatment being shown to the Hebrews. And that these Hellenistic Jews that would not be considered quite as pure blue blood Jews were being neglected in the daily ministration, the daily deaconing. The aconia is the word used here.

26:46 They were being neglected in the daily ministry. Deaconing.

26:51 And the twelve that is the apostles called the multitude of the disciples unto them and said now notice notice what they perceived. They did not say it is not fit it is not pleasing it is not acceptable to God nor to us that there should be division within our ranks. We have been as one man since Pentecost and divisiveness will grieve the Holy Spirit and the Holy it is not fitting that there should be divisiveness among us. This must be dealt with.

27:25 They did not address the issue of divisiveness. They did not address the issue of the prejudice that may have lain behind the creation of that divisiveness. They did not say it is not fitting it is not pleasing that there should be any preferential treatment based upon racial and cultural and religious background no they saw to the real issue they saw that the hith of the serpent was found precisely at this point that all of the conquest of the powers of darkness and all of the advancement of the gospel in Jerusalem had come by means of the two grands of God which God has furnished his church prayer the weapons of our war fair and sound of stronghold and what were those two great weapons in the arsenal of God do is read the opening chapters of Acts and we see that confirmed again and again and again all the divinely created brouhaha on the day

28:54 of Pentecost with men speaking in languages they had not acquired in the natural way the sound of a rushing mighty wind the tongues and flames of fire over the head they were all but attention getters and when the crowd was gathered what did God do he raised up a preacher began to preach when were people cut to the heart not when they heard the rushing mighty wind not when they heard every man these men speaking in their own dialects the mighty works of God there's no record that they were cut to the heart no record they were cut to the heart by the sight of the flaming tongues over the head of the hundred and twenty and no it was wild it says they were stabbed as with a dagger in their hearts and cried out men and brethren what shall we do it was preaching that was the grand instrument of God to bring them to holy ghost conviction and eventually after Peter gives them a little band-aid mini remedy he then it says the scripture says went on and with many other words testified and exhorted them saying save yourselves from this scolios this crooked this bent generation and then the scripture says they that received

30:23 his word they that received his word were baptized and they were added unto them and these continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine in fellowship breaking of bread and the prayers then in chapter four after their throne after the authorities the Sanhedrin apprehends them and threatens them and they're turned loose again and they have their prayer meeting the scripture says the place where they prayed was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the word of God with boldness prayer and preaching these are the grand weapons of God all of the church groving God has not rearranged the stuff of his arsenal prayer and preaching and you see these discerning apostles saw that this problem of this division between the Hellenistic Jewish people and the Hebrews the more pure Hebrew stock was an effort of the devil to get them to leave the priority of prayer and preaching because that's what they focused upon in their report it is not pleasing or fitting that we

31:51 should forsake abandon the word of God and serve tables yes serving tables the verbal form of deacon deacon and deacon tables that's pure religion and undefiled but in the conquest of the kingdom of darkness serving tables is not the great means in the arsenal of God and preaching are those great means therefore they come up with this holy expedient and they lay it out before the multitude and thank God they didn't have anyone in that multitude who thought well the only way to prove that I have the Holy Ghost and that I can think is to stand against everyone else and have my own opinion no they said look out from among you therefore brethren seven men of good report full of the spirit and of wisdom whom we may appoint over the business we will continue steadfastly in prayer and in the deaconing of the word the word is used up in verse one neglected in the daily deaconing of the table serving we will give ourselves to this service to this diaconal ministry this service of the word of God the saying please the whole multitude

33:20 why because these people were the fruit of a ministry based on prayer and preaching and they knew its worth they were the fruit of the ministry steeped in prayer and preaching and they have been incorporated into a church that had as two of the four central activities listed in Acts 2 42 prayer and preaching they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine fellowship breaking of bread and prayers well no wonder that saying please them it was that which answered to their own gifts it was men who came out of their meeting in the power of the ghost who were instrumental in their own conversion and because they had been incorporated into a church where they knew experientially now the tremendous benefit of these weapons in the arsenal of God this saying please the whole multitude and they choose the seven who in their judgment meet the apostolic standard they set them before the apostles the apostles pray and lay their hands upon them and then as Luke so often does after a crisis he gives a little summary of what God does in response to the godly response of his

34:50 people to the crisis a similar pattern in chapter five after the discipline of God upon Ananias and Sapphira verse seven and the word of God increased and we have an imperfect use of the verb the word of God was increasing it wasn't something sporadic it was an ongoing manifestation of God's blessing upon the under shepherds tenaciously hold to the divinely instituted priorities of prayer and of preaching and God says as it were I like what you've done and to show you that I like what I've done not only am I going to cause the effect of my word to increase I'm going to cause it to break over a boundary that none of you ever suspected it would break over into the ranks of the very crowd that engineered the death of your Lord and the scripture tells us and a great company of the priests were obedient why is that added I believe it's added to show that with their renewed determination we're going to stick to the weapons that God has given us from his arsenal prayer and preaching

36:19 God says I like it I'll not only cause my word to increase I'll cause it to penetrate and conquer in areas where you never dreamed it would and all of this from the human side because God was pleased to guide them into this expedient by his spirit of the initial appointment of men to serve tables so why should you be encouraged as a deacon because the office and function of a godly deacon is a great means to preserve and promote the priorities of prayer and preaching by the under shepherds of Christ my dear brethren serving in the diaconate do you see how significant your ministry is in this respect if God has given you a man or two or three men in your assembly competent to minister the word of God to serve up the table of spiritual food week by week with solid nourishment well laid out tastefully arranged upon the table but not fluff not

37:47 but the solid history of the word of God bathed in prayer so that it comes not in word only but in demonstration of the spirit and of power do you see what a privilege is yours by giving yourself to those manifold oft times menial tasks that free the mind and the spirit of the under shepherds from anything that could be called table serving necessary and noble and godly as the activity is in itself it would take the under shepherds away from the priority of praying and preaching and my dear deacon brethren it is your great privilege as well as your solemn responsibility under god to be a great means to preserve and to promote the priorities of prayer and preaching by the under shepherds of the lord jesus and as you give yourself to jealous concerns that the man of god who must minister the word of god need never fear when he comes into the visible place where the people of god meet that he's going to be embarrassed

39:16 with gum wrappers on the floor and windows that have been washed and cobwebs on the chandeliers and fingerprints on the communion table no no he ought to be able to come into a place where everything reflects the decency and the order of the god in whose name and in whose presence you meet and where people are greeted and brought in and made to feel comfortable and ushers are doing their work quietly and unobtrusively where everything bespeaks both dignity and warmth welcome and earnestness well you see any man of god who is sensitive to the fact that the first impression often made when a visitor comes to a church is not a man's preaching but it's a shelf full of junk down in the foyer and already there's a negative impression and then there are sloppy handprints all over the walls obviously haven't been painted in a long time further offense may have to make his way by the men's room or women's room can smell stale urine and knows that the place has not been thoroughly cleaned more negative impressions by the time they actually get up and are seated they've got

40:44 ten or fifteen barriers raised against being favorably disposed to the man of God when he preaches but when deacons do their work everything from sweet smelling toilets and urinals to clean sparkling glass and to freshly painted walls everything is such that no mind is distracted but is positively disposed to receive the message of the man of God because the context has reflected the God of decency and the God of order and if it's a true man of God if he has to come over and scrub the walls himself if the deacons won't beak and the people won't see the dirty walls and just come over uninvited with a pail of water and then he would rather be found late Saturday night cleaning the walls himself than have someone's mind unnecessarily prejudiced against the preaching of the word by hand smudges on the dirty wall dear deacons be encouraged that as you assume your office and function within it in that broad range of responsibilities which differs from one congregation to another nonetheless you under God and in

42:14 the will of God are a great means to preserve and to promote the priorities of prayer and preaching by the under shepherds of Christ but then thirdly and I must make tracks or I won't even get through the four thirdly the office and function of a godly deacon involves him in activities which will receive a concentrated commendation from Christ you see not only does the office and function of a godly deacon constitute a unique reflection of the glory of Christ not only is it a great means to preserve and promote the priorities of prayer and preaching by the under shepherds of Christ but the office and function of a godly deacon involves him in activities which will receive a concentrated commendation from Christ now let me pause and just say a word about the legitimacy of longing for the commendation of Christ some would say we should serve Christ for his own sake with no thought of being commended or rewarded by him that's supposed

Third Encouragement: Deacons Receive Concentrated Commendation from Christ

43:43 to be the epitome of spirituality well as I have said to many over the years I have no stomach I have no heart for any spirituality which goes beyond that of my Lord and of the Apostle Paul and my Bible says that who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross it was the reward that kept our Lord in the tracks of his suffering and the great Apostle could say in such passages as 1 Corinthians 4 he says it's a very little thing with me it's nothing it's a little thing with me if I be judged of you or of man's judgment for he that judges me as the Lord therefore judge nothing before the time when the Lord come because at that time he will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness make manifest the counsels of the heart then shall each man have his praise from God he said I'm willing to wait for my praise to come from God himself the God who knows my heart and you may judge me to be this that or the other but God knows me to be something other than that and I can await the day when God will vindicate the integrity of what I am as a servant of Christ and in his

45:12 swan song 2nd Corinthians 2nd Timothy chapter 4 you remember what Paul said I finished my course henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord shall give to me in that day and not to me only but also to all those who have loved disappearing he looks forward to that reward that awaits him having completed his course so the concept of longing for the commendation of Christ is thoroughly biblical now the point for you deacons and for your encouragement is this that your office and function as a godly deacon involves you in activities which will receive a concentrated commendation from Christ and you already are thinking the passage I have in mind aren't you Matthew chapter 25 this passage was referred to earlier today when the son of man comes in his glory and the angels with him sits upon the throne of his glory gathers the nations before him separates them one from another as a shepherd separates sheep from goats he'll set the sheep on his right hand the goats on his left then shall the king say to them on his right hand come you blessed of my father

46:39 inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world and then to vindicate before the entire moral universe gathered at that day of judgment that his welcome of his own is a justified welcome that in welcoming these for whom the kingdom has been prepared from the foundation of the world that they have not only been marked out by eternal sovereign electing love but transformed by redeeming grace notice what he focuses upon for I was hungry and you gave me to eat I was thirsty and you gave me to drink I was a stranger and I was a stranger and you took me in naked and you clothed me I was sick and you visited me I was in prison and you came to me you notice how all of these are what we would call a broad spectrum of diaconal ministries of compassion and benevolence of all the things he could have said he doesn't say for I was your lord and master and you thought my face and worshipped me daily I was your lord

48:08 and master who commissioned you to take the gospel to every creature and you witnessed faithfully he could have said many things but he focuses upon this one category for peculiar for concentrated commendation and that's why I've described it that way then shall the righteous answer him saying lord when did we ever see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink when did we ever see you a stranger and take you in or naked and clothe you when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you and the king shall answer and say unto them verily I say unto you in as much as you did it unto one of these my brethren my brethren and the lord jesus defines who his brethren are in mark chapter three as those were gathered about him in the house hearing the word of god and friends came from without and said your mother and your brethren are seeking for you they have priority over this crowd those who shared the same womb with you are out there and the mother from whose womb you came she's there they have primes jesus said no who is my mother and who are my brethren he said those who hear and who do the word of god these are my mother and my brothers and my sisters

49:37 so when the lord says in as much as you did it unto the least of these my brethren he's speaking of the family of faith the family of attachment to christ in faith and love and obedience in as much as you did it unto the least of these my brethren you did it unto me then of course when he consigns the wicked to eternal torment he takes the same motif and he said it was the absence of your benevolent deeds to me with respect to my people that is all I need to constitute a hold upon the conscience of the whole moral universe that in designating you goats and consigning you to everlasting punishment my judgment is righteous and is just now deacons hear me your very office shuts you up to a concentrated involvement in the very acts and deeds which will receive a concentrated commendation from christ in the last day it should make a lot of us elders jealous to be deacons because you see

51:05 the very nature of the eldership being a ruling office having a higher profile publicly how much easier it is for residual sin to be stirred up and for motives other than pure motives to be mingled with our higher public profile office and functions but there's the deacon quietly visiting the lonely christian in prison going by the sick bed his visit known only to the sick one his wife or husband and to the lord and to the deacon's wife you see there is something that is far more in keeping with the spirit that jesus said when you do an act of benevolence don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing in the whole office and ministry of the diaconate you dear deacons are pressured by that office when you function within the basic principles of the word of god you are shut up to activities that will receive a concentrated commendation from the lord jesus christ himself well then very quickly the fourth and final encouragement i've set before you

Fourth Encouragement: Deacons Receive a Special Promise from Christ

52:34 is this the office and function of a godly deacon has a special word of encouragement and promise from christ the office and function of a godly deacon has a special word of encouragement and promise from christ and here i ask you to turn to first timothy three first timothy chapter three when paul takes up the matter of the office of an overseer all he says in the opening verse is faithful is the saying if a man seeks overseership if a man would be a better rendering not seeks the office but the office and its work so overseership if a man seeks overseership all he says is he desires or he's reaching out he's lusting in a wholesome sense of good work that's all he says by way of encouragement it's a good work it's work but it's a good work now if you're stretching out after overseership if you're desiring overseership it is a work but it's a good work but you must be and then he lays out the standard however when he turns to deacons

54:03 verse eight deacons in like manner must be and then he lays out the standard for deacons but before he concludes he says in verse thirteen after requiring the deacons be husbands of one wife ruling their children in their own houses well for they that have served well as deacons gain to themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus now get the difference aspiring overseers are simply told what you aspire to is a good work aspiring deacons are given a marvelous two-fold encouragement from the Lord Jesus through his servant Paul that they if they enter the office serve well in that office gain to themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus they have a two-fold special promise paving their way into the office and now I'm aware that in first Peter chapter five there is a marvelous word of encouragement from Christ through Peter to pastors to elders already in office first Peter

55:32 five four he says to those already in office if they carry out their task as he directs when the chief shepherd shall appear you shall receive the crown of glory that fades not away but that's a promise to those already in the office there's no promise on the front and drawing them in but there is for the diaconate isn't that interesting now whenever I find something like that I always ask the question Lord why why is there no drawing into the office of an overseer a pastor an elder with any special word of promise but there is this wonderful word of promise two-pronged promise drawing men into the office of a diacon you know what the answer is when you find out tell me I don't know what the answer is could it be could it be that God knowing the human heart and all of the horrible windings of indwelling sin in the dark rat ridden corners and caverns of that thing we call the human heart knows that there is enough that will be stirred up within men

57:02 to seek the more public higher profile of the overseer from base motives that God does not want people running into that office with a promise on one side and with perverse motives growing out of the human heart and the other and therefore he simply does not give any special promise but because the very nature of the diaconal office is that it is not contrary to what we are by nature we are not servants of others by nature we want everything and everyone to serve us and could it be that this promise is a divinely intended gracious provision to help overcome the natural actings of remaining sin that would keep men from aspiring to that noble office and that is that is I only ask could it be but there is the two-pronged promise now what does it mean they that have served well as deacons gain to themselves a good standing a bathmos only time the word occurs in the New Testament it means a step well a step into what well

58:31 it would be fascinating to tell you all of the answers that have been given in the history of the exposition of this verse I don't know all of them but I'm aware of the major ones some have said it's obvious they that serve well as deacons gain to themselves a good standing they come to a pedestal of recognition that will naturally then lead into the office of overseer or elder and therefore the good standing is the diaconate is a proving ground and a preparation for the office of an elder I reject that view flat out for a number of reasons not the least of which is that a man may be marvelously gifted to serve as a deacon who'd be an absolute dub as an elder and no amount of service in the diaconate would ever equip him because the head of the church has not endowed him with the requisite gifts grace is yes there's very little difference in the standard of grace is for either office grace is for but there must be the endowment of gift and as John Owen has so powerfully argued in his treatment of the requirements for the pastoral office where Christ has ordained that office to a given end only those whom he equips to function to that end does he place in that office and where the gifts are withheld no matter what graces may be present

60:00 such a person is not a gift of Christ or it would be a contradiction of the very wisdom and purpose of Christ in the institution of the pastoral office it is my own judgment that he is probably pointing to that which takes us beyond anything in this life and points to the final day and I say that's suggested by the form of the verb for they that have served well as deacons you have an heiress participle that though we cannot limit it to past action completed and think of the man as having totally finished his service nonetheless the nuance of the verb in its tense would seem to point in that direction and God is saying they that have served well as deacons gain to themselves a good standing in the one place that ultimately alone really counts and that's in the day when they stand before the Lord himself to hear his words well done and meanwhile they gain to themselves great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus because as they are given grace to serve well

61:29 there is the confirmation that grace has indeed worked in their hearts they don't want the whole world to bow down and bow down and serve them they do not believe that the whole world exists to promote their good and to serve their needs they have experienced the transforming power of the gospel which makes men no longer live unto themselves but unto him who for their sakes died and rose again and to live and serve him in terms of serving his brethren as Matthew 25 says in as much as you've done it unto them you've done it unto me and so what do they gain not only do they anticipate the office realizing serving well in this noble office will gain to me good standing in the last day but here and now great boldness in the faith increased confidence that I am indeed a child of God that I belong to him who transforms self-centered self-serving sinners into a into those whose delight is to serve others that could at least be the meaning I'm in some good company when I take that position that's essentially the position taken by Fairbairn in his commentary on the passage others have varying

62:57 degrees of agreement but this much is clear every deacon sitting here should take comfort in the knowledge that the office and the function of a godly deacon has a special place in the office of a godly deacon has a special place has a special place has a special place has a special word of encouragement and promise from Christ and I find when there's a promise that I don't understand I say Lord you gave it you understand what it meant and whatever it means give it to me in full measure I've done that with more than one promise I've read it and prayed over it and used all the tools I knew to try to understand it and at the end of the day I had to say Lord I don't know all it means but you made it and you know what it means and it sure sounds good to me whatever it means Lord fulfill it fulfill it according to what you know you meant when you said it and that's way in some ways our own experience then becomes the best exegete of a passage and as God is pleased to fulfill the promise in the course of our reading the scriptures we come across it forgetting we even pleaded it and lo and behold the next time we come to it say my Lord I remember the last time I prayed over that promise I asked you to make it true and good in me I didn't even understand what it was but I said Lord you know you gave it you make it good Lord I see now that this and this and that why that fits the language of the text that fits the setting and the context Lord that's what

64:25 the promise meant thank you Lord you fulfilled that promise beyond my understanding of it even when I pleaded its fulfillment on my behalf well you say what are some of the other things you'd hope to develop well I'd sow the seed you look at Ephesians 4 Philippians 4 18 where Epaphroditus' benevolence gift to Paul is called a spiritual sacrifice an odor of a sweet smell acceptable to God think of your role as a deacon as being one of those new covenant priests who is uniquely privileged to be exercised in the presenting of spiritual sacrifices that smell sweet in the nostrils of God Paul says that when Epaphroditus came on behalf of the Philippians bringing their gift God was sniffing there in the place of his house arrested Rome and that benevolent gift carried by the hands of Epaphroditus was this spiritual sacrifice the diaconate gives us a unique opportunity to manifest the dominant quality of Christ I am among you as he that serves the son of man came not to be deaconed but to be deaconed but to be deaconed and to give his life oh dear brethren there are many encouragements to you in your office may the Lord take these

Conclusion: Call to Service, Prayer, and Reflection

65:53 that I've attempted to set before you and accomplish that goal that I addressed at the outset fill you with a new sense of the nobility the privilege and the dignity of your office don't ever say mumbled through half closed breath well I'm just a deacon in the church say I'm privileged to be a servant of Christ in his church in the noble office of a deacon think of these encouragements and you who aspire to the office and those who have no aspirations and ought never to have them do you see what a tragic thing it would be for God to furnish us with more and more godly deacons and for us not to furnish them with the stuff to express the heart of Christ and to be the unique glory of Christ as they are his hands to dispense the tokens of his care and love and mercy to his needy people may God grant that whatever this promise is it may draw us on and encourage us in our labors and cause some of you who aspire to that office to have an intensified aspiration and a determination to deal with anything that is an impediment in the light of the biblical standard

67:21 R.L. Dabney argues very powerfully in his essay on the call to the ministry there is nothing in the standard of godliness that is necessary for an elder that is not incumbent upon every Christian man to pursue and he says if you aren't pursuing those godly qualities as a Christian man not only are you disqualified for the ministry you may be disqualified for the ministry you may be disqualified for the ministry you may be disqualified for the ministry you may be disqualified for heaven for a true Christian is seeking to be as godly a man as the grace of god can make him may god grant dear brethren who are serving in that noble office that you'll leave this place not only further instructed but greatly encouraged and if you do then the goal for this hour together has been realized by the grace of god and may we as a people be able to who often and faithfully pray for our elders may we be stirred up to pray with greater frequency and fervency for our deacons that they may indeed be the glory of christ that they may find joy in representing the lord jesus and his heart of compassion to those in need let us pray

68:43 our father we thank you for the richness of your holy word and for the grace thank you for this noble office of deacon thank you for the way you so worked overruling even the division and tension between the hellenistic jews and the hebrews that this expedient under the guidance of the holy spirit might be implemented and might eventually fully flower into the office of the diaconate oh lord we thank you we thank you we marvel at your wisdom and your ways and as we sit here with the completed written revelation in our hands we pray that the truths contemplated tonight may be so blessed by the holy spirit that every godly deacon in this place will leave with renewed vision with renewed encouragement and a renewed sense of the dignity and nobility of his office and the dignity and a determination to give himself to every labor attached to that office for the ends for which you appointed it seal then your word to our hearts dismiss us with your blessing grant us all

70:11 a good night of rest be with us as we would gather tomorrow morning bless our brethren who will direct our thinking in the broad spectrum of practical concerns and then for the many who will make their way back to the office back to their homes some traveling long distances be with them and may their very presence back in the midst of their respective assemblies be indicative of a fresh touch of your grace upon their hearts that all will take note that they have been in your presence hear us and receive our thanks for the mercies of this day through our lord jesus christ amen