The God-Qualified Pastor, p.1

Read your Bible to go to first Timothy chapter 3 is were going through this New Testament epistle on Sunday mornings. We call it beautifying the broad as Paul is writing to Timothy giving him instructions on how to fashion the church and how to function as the church so we have a rich rich teaching here from this text of Scripture.

So first Timothy chapter 3 is we find ourselves sweep Artie looked it one installment. We called it the God called preacher we outlined that aspect from first of the three verse one that we converse for Timothy three verses two through seven on the God qualified pastor's qualifications for the office of pastor.

Now this applies in the broad sense of not only just your primary preaching pastor, which is the position I hold but all church elders or pastors that will begin in verse two, the first empty chapter 313 verse seven and overseer then must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, fruited, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine are pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well keeping his children under control with all dignity. If a man does not know how to manage his own household. How we take care of the church of God and not a new convert so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil, and he must have a good reputation with those outside the church so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. That will just go to verses two and three this morning as it's going take several installments to get through this all right. But first of all, by way of introduction, notice what he says here in verse one.

The very first phrase and overseer then must be above reproach. Another equally good English translation is, he must be blameless, above reproach or blameless now as were going to these character qualifications for the office of elder or pastor in the church. We note that skill and performance. The mark that young man marked that older lady market church members is not his skill or his gift. It's his character his character and modify my dad. That's a long and hard thing to to develop because a person can be very carnal and be very worldly, but have great skills at influencing people or winning friends or whatever he does, but he may not have the character that qualifies him for gospel ministry, something we run into is were dealing with young man and I deal with a lot of those who feel led in the gospel ministry is to work with them always lovingly, always encouraging up and see if they will grow to have at least a level of character that qualifies them for the office of elder sold bit were emphasizing character, not skills or abilities. As we look at this text of Scripture.

Now that the word blameless of the phrase above reproach simply means nothing sticks. They had to be careful when you're dealing with the office of elder. Because a faithful pastor will always have enemies.

People do not like being reproved and rebuked and corrected. That's just not a comfortable thing that affects interview and leadership with us in the school of the office of the company anybody leadership gets fired at a lot, but is especially true in church leadership because the pastor's primary job.

According to Paul is committed to Timothy is to preach the word reproved, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction. That's not a fun thing and so Satan works overtime to fire all kind of accusations against the men of God.

But the point is, though some of them may try to stick a little here and there. The point is, he has the character that none of them have any lasting credibility to them. Things tend to not stick given some time and watch it other words, these things are not his pattern. These things do not mark who he is not talking about perfect men. Every time we go over this is an elder body without exception our elders look at one another and say no brothers.

I don't know I may not qualify and by the way that lets me know they probably do qualify that humility of introspection and repenting and not letting any certain character deficiency be a pattern of who they are now it inside is in first Timothy chapter 5 verse 20 on this reference.

It repulses in first Timothy 520.

If an elder continues in sin. Letting be rebuked in the presence of all that the rest may be fearful of sinning. Note the phrase there. It's the. The present tense participle, which means it's a continual pattern so elders can sin well and still be elders. We all see and we all struggle with sin but an elder should be marked by observable outward sinful patterns that calls his credibility to be diminished or his reputation to be more so. Occasionally an elder history correct one another.

There was a time years ago, when our elders gave me a two pages of things they wanted me to work on and it was good stuff that would scandalous things up. I would embezzling money. That insight will to quit embezzling money when things like that was things that I needed to hear and we've corrected one another like that. But if there's a glaring pattern of the type of sinner character deficiency that causes reproach or discredit to the ministry and that elder will not get it corrected than he's to be reproved bit in front of all the rest may be fearful sinning self not talking about sinless perfection here and by the way, all of these traits. Almost all of the without exception ought to be traits that you have in your life is not like willing elder can't seem to get the sense that's not what he say he is saying if you haven't matured to the place worth these things are absent. As far as I pattern then you're not yet ready for the office of elder. It's been interesting to the years have been doing this now, 30, 38, 39 years in one church, how often good men I mean men that I love and believe in, will be nominated for the office of elder and we allow them over time to privately speak with me or another church elder about whether or not they're interested in. Often they don't want a lot of the templates.

A pastor there's just is not a church discipline issue, but they're just things in my life that are patterns. I am a retentive, but I just don't think it would be wise for me to be considered at this time. That tells me that man's mature and he loves the church more than he loves his position or power. I have I have great respect for that kind of heart and that kind of attitude and hear grace like church. I'm saying this just because it's the truth. We are far, far, far more men who have not believe the spiritual and moral character for the office, then we have place for them to serve. That's a wonderful blessing to have. So as we go through this mind yourself, examine yourselves as you think about the examination of your church elder because all of these are traits that we offer example he has to be sexually pure resentment. You don't have to be sexually pure, of course not. But it means that you may have had a season of that in the last few years.

In the last decade which you repent or that's in your past. We don't judge you. We welcome you. We love you but if that's a known thing in recent years in your life. You can't be considered for elder, though you can be loved and forgiven and welcomed in the church family you with the church were all committed to the standards of godliness but qualifications for elder must be enforced. So God has called all of us to be holy like him and his men and leadership must tenant maintain a high standard for the sake of the example before the church now this is a passage of Scripture that many many great scholars in pastors and commentary writers have exegete it and called on and it really outlines itself so simply that I just use sort of the common outline that's always been used. Notice I and this will cover our session for this morning. The elder must be blameless, are above reproach in his moral character in his moral character he must be sexually pure. Remember, for decades ago when I was converted and begin to start in the ministry that it was unheard of for a man to have a scandalous moral failure in his life and ever again be a pastor or preaching pastor in the church and over these four decades, it's become more and more common to hear about me and so on their second or third wife who are allowed to be preaching in the pulpit of the local church and we call it a comet, and we call it loving we call it compassion was that we can relate well I'm sorry there is forgiveness for that dear brother.

There is restoration to church, but in those kinds of moral public scandal should not be a restoration to the sacred office of preaching the word of God sexually pure notice that what he says here we says he must be the husband of one wife, so sexual fidelity is first listed as the moral qualification for the office of elder. And perhaps this is because it seems that this disqualifies more men than anything else, but perhaps also we always understand Scripture in its original cultural context and that is that sexual promiscuity was rampant in the Greek and Roman culture this day in the city of Ephesus Ephesus. It was rampant in particular, they had the Temple of Diana there and thousands above a prostitute served in the quote worship of Diana there in that temple. So fornication and sexual immoralities was as calm and if jaywalking so that's the culture and so Paul says that once a man becomes a Christian and that's he's reputed of that. And that's in his past. He comes into the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. If that's marked his reputation for very long. He cannot be considered an elder or as an elder in the church that this phrase in the new American Standard. He must be a the husband of one wife literally means he must be known as 01 woman man to hear that that's what it means is not the word for divorce. Paul could have easily use that word. He doesn't use that word common in the Greek New Testament uses a word that literally means he's known or he has a reputation as a one woman man. Now it's kind of difficult to know all the application here so I'm going to run think quickly what different scholars have said this is referred to Dr. early scholars said it just prohibited polygamy man cannot have more than one wife at a time why any man would walk more than one wife in time. I don't know but some I don't think that's all he saying here. For example, polygamy was already prohibited in Jewish law initially wasn't a major issue among the Jews. When this was written then among the Greeks and Romans. Of course Paul's writing to Timothy's functioning as pastor of the local church in Ephesus.

It was it was an issue, but Tom not so much because Roman and Greek men were well known to have their concubines and their lovers, and a wife.

They did need to get another wife that that is such a a corrupt and ungodly view of of of relationships that men just had all kinds of companions in this setting might affect some historians note that in some early Greek Roman cities, many of the men had been married 26 and 27 times. He just got him a new sex partner.

Every years. What he did.

So that's the book that the low level of promiscuity and by the way the liberals are trying to get us there real quick. There's every push in the world to throw off the principles of morality revealed in Scripture, we can all do whatever we feel and whatever we think of as I've said before, whatever degrading passion floats across the fallen, depraved mind of man was with me and indulge in it and rest of us have to celebrate or were persecuted. That's just the level of wickedness in today's culture, but it was that bad or worse. In this culture. So while it perhaps all related definitely does include no polygamy. It means more than that a second thought is that it means elders can't marry a second time and what I mean by this is some early interpreter said it means an elder can never be married a second time, even if his former wife died I don't agree with that.

For example, Paul clearly gives permission for remarriage after the death of the spouse first Timothy five Roman seven first Corinthians 7, so I don't think he would contradict himself so clearly and say all of a sudden now if it is a man is ever remarried a second time for any reason he cannot nullify the notice. The early commentary writers of the early pastors in particular held this belief because they said if a man marries again.

He's being selfish and indulge labs nobly that holds up biblically. I respect him, but I don't agree with it. 1/3 interpretation is an elder can never be divorced obscene again just to be honest with the text.

The Greek word here is not divorce is just not there. The Greek word here means he's known as a one-woman man so and again promiscuity was so epidemic and this may in this day many men could maintain one wife, but they had many lovers so he could say not qualify can be an elder only had one wife have been divorced well yeah but you're known as a womanizer all over town so you don't have the reputation of a one-woman man and early in my Christian my ministry as a pastor to young man.

I kinda knew something about some of the churches of Southern middle Tennessee that I preached in an auto something about some of the men in those churches and out of the churches and find out that man was a deacon and that teacher and he was a rascal.

Morally, sinfully, yet he stayed in the church because his wife never left stayed on the on the deacon role because his wife never left so you understand that it's got to me more than he just can't be divorced so one of the thoughts it comes to my mind, one of the most immoral cities in the land was Kari, and it's likely Lemme change it is very probable.

Scholars say that all the men in that church of any age had been divorced before because that was just their custom.

That's how they lived life. So if you hold to that to tenacious feedly. You may never have an elder in the church at Corinth, at least for me to midyear, so there is a AAA relates to the setting to some degree, and I think that's the wisdom of the word of God, to give a type of teaching that would apply and all kinds of settings now let me say this very clearly. While it is possible to allow a divorce man on the body of air elders.

Our conviction has been since I've been here that it is highly improbable, and our policy is that a man who has been divorce cannot serve in the office of elder. We just think that's wise and we just think that's the 1/4 idea here is that an elder can't be single. It says he's got to be a a. How does the word here in the original. He has to be the husband of one wife. So there are those who say that means a man can't be single.

Well Paul single out think the apostle Paul could possibly say that when he himself was a single man. Now the filth interpretation is the one that I hold to and that this is Dr. John MacArthur's position.

I may have originally learned it from him. That is that an elder has a long standing unquestioned reputation that he is a one woman man long standing unquestioned reputation. He is a one woman man.

So again, the phrase here does not refer to marital status. That's not a qualification necessary for spiritual leadership. However, if he is married he's to be known as a one woman man so sexual purity is required for the office of elder. Now, secondly, not only sexual purity but not a not excessive. He's not to be excessive in his lifestyle. His character is above that the word here in our Bible is. He must be temperate and that's what that word means temperate has the idea of being without wind or unmixed with wine so it speaks of sobriety which is the opposite of intoxication now so there's two basic ideas here.

First of all, the most literal idea is he's not known as a drinker. He's not one that's known as indulging in that he abstains from any form of intoxication drunkenness again, along with sexual promiscuity was a form of worship in the pagan religions that job dominated the city of Ephesus so notice the radical transformation of these people coming out of this culture from living in the open fornication's and immoralities to live in an open drunkenness by coming to the church and you can understand a lot of that came with them because you get saved and repent admin you quit sending immediately.

But, at least for the office of elder. These things should have been left behind.

So anyway, drinking was a serious problem in Ephesus that we do know that type you'll study way delete the word wine or strong drink in the Old Testament and into the New Testament, the common practice and encouragement. Was this you should mix the wind down with water so that it has it at the least intoxicating element possible. And actually, if you take what the Bible calls strong drink is not anywhere near as strong as what we would call liquor or bourbon or vodka, whatever it might be.

It would be more much more akin to our regular wind today. What we do with alcoholic beverages today to get them the most intoxicating potency possible is Roth the opposite of what we see in the old and new Testaments as they had to drink some wine, because their water was impure, but they did all they could to keep the purification of the alcohol.

There avoid intoxication. Bible says in Proverbs 20 verse one.

Wine is a marker strong drink is a brawler and whoever is intoxicated by is not why not. The converse of that. If your intoxicated doctor probably act a fool known that when I going to a restaurant and they'll come out and so can we get your cocktail. Can we get you someone I can get you mixed drinks. I'll sometime said you know what the Bible says about the notice. Look at me funny as is. The Bible says that if you drink that stuff it, you're likely to act like a fool and I'm foolish enough already. In both of those are true, I don't.

Do you need help acting like a full be careful. I've known some of your four years.

No, you don't need any help just be a single food not available fool by going around intoxicated second view around intoxicated. You will get a visit from some of us. Proverbs chapter 23. Look at verse 29 Proverbs chapter 23 verse 29 who has woe who has sorrow who has contentions who has complaining who has wounds without cause, who has redness of eyes. Those who linger longer.

But why networks are not just using it because it's the only pure drink I have there using it to get intoxicated.

That's why bore the idea of social drinking you're doing it to the end of getting a buzz. We are to have a buzz is a holy buzz is called the Holy Spirit.

That's what the Bible says do not get drunk with wine that's dissipation but we feel the spirit and site content. I got a great buzz called the Holy Spirit, verse 30. Those who linger long over wind and those who taste mixed why this is the idea of mixing it to have more intoxicating nature, verse 31 do not look on the wind when it's read again that that would rebuild again a more intoxicating drink than maybe otherwise could be when sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smooth. If the last advice like a serpent and stings like a viper.

Your eyes will see strange things in your mind will utter perverse things and you will be like the one he lies down in the middle of the city are like one who lasted on the top of a mast, they struck me, but I did not become real.

They beat me, but I didn't even know what that I shall awake, I will seek another drink. The point is no man who abuse alcohol as part of his social culture and enjoys the effects of intoxication has any business in the office of pastor and church and I want to tell you this is become a rapid thing to promote drinking of alcoholic beverages in some churches. I honestly had no concept in my mind when I started the ministry that these type things would be promoted in God's church. I don't know how to get around these text so will we drink in moderation will all moderately intoxicated.

It's not allowable. LME say something in balance here is a lot of people who use some kind of sleep aid to help them go to sleep at night. That's why jokingly say bad, this wine is called knock will come all, have your doctor tells you you need something to help you sleep at night.

I first of all, I don't want to know the elders don't want to know. You don't need to promote it but I don't know why that would be different than whatever the sleep aids that the that they give you over-the-counter.

There is a place for that were not about legalistic hardness. That's a far far far difference than a public lifestyle of using intoxicant in your social gatherings.

Let's be reminded that even though they did use one in biblical days in certain Jewish categories of leadership. It was forbidden. For example, the priests could not enter God's house while under any influence of wine. Kings were advised in Proverbs 31 not to drink wine because I could could cloud their clear judgment in the Nazirite vow was the high valve spiritual commitment. I think the Nazirite veil is a type of New Testament Christianity, the Nazirite vow had a high spiritual commitment in the Old Testament, and it for bid.

Even if the water was unclean it for bid. The drinking of any wine so I tried to be cautiously biblically balance to your but you see the weight is heavy and I might say seller limit Michael Golder number two.

That's the literal sense.

I think the literal sense is part of what Paul is telling Timothy.

He must be one who is not excessive. He must be one who is temperate, then then the figurative sense and that means over all in his life.

He's alert and he's watchful. He's a man who must deny any excess at least as a pattern that would diminish clear thinking, and sound judgment. That's the primary understanding where it good to be alcohol or dozen different than you can get so indulgent in your hobby, you lose a perspective of what's right and what's wrong with proper what's improper so it's a it's a it's a sense of non-excessiveness.

Redo this quote. I do not even a member where I found it. Such a person lives deeply.

His pleasures are not primarily those of the senses with those of the soul. He still was spiritual and moral earnestness. He's not given the excess but is moderate, well-balanced, calm, careful, steady and saying this pertains to his physical, moral, and mental taste and habits number three. Sickly pure avoids Access number three self disciplined the Bible word in verse two. Here is the word prudent and that's what it means prudent means self discipline is simply means to discipline or have self-control of the results it it is the result. Rather, of being temperate and avoiding excess and the man who is not extreme who avoids Access is on the other hand, naturally orderly and disciplined in his life. He knows how to order his priorities linearly go back to what I did this past week and those many hours of teaching those men those pastors about a biblical priority to the ministry.

A biblical order to what matters biblically and putting your enemies there and said our enemies putting your energies there and saying no to secondary things. That's all about structurally and orderly, carrying on church life and the point is, if a man has this order in his personal life is likely going to have this order in the church life. You oversee and that is a glaring need today among pastors is to be more orderly about the things that matter and the things that don't and church life.

The word propriety comes to mind. He knows what is us, and spiritually, biblically speaking, what's a nine on a scale of 1 to 10 and what's a two on the scale of 1 to 10.

Far too often pastors make twos nines nines twos as far as how the Scripture emphasizes the so this person is disciplined. This includes that he is serious about spiritual things. In other words, he doesn't have the reputation of being a clown doesn't mean he avoids humor but he knows what things are sacred and what things are dignified and what things are holy and what things are humorous. He has a sure and steady mind not rash but thoughtful, earnest and cautious in the judgments he makes. Number four well organized or respectable, this bleeds over into the early word but the word here in our in our Bible and the numeric standard is respectable, respectable, it means he has a good good behavior. He appreciates all the aspects of his life in a systematic and orderly manner. The opposite of this would be chaos.

The idea is is is an elder cannot have an obviously chaotic lifestyle that doesn't speak well of his availability to oversee and leave the church, the ministry is no place for a man whose life is a continual confusion of unaccomplished plans and un-organized activity.

So overall and I get let me say two things to you. Number one examine yourself as you examine the church elders secondly understand were not talking about perfection, because if so, then we all must resign but as a pattern.

These things don't stick Garnet were not that there's a blamelessness as to pattern in the phrase given the hospitality he must be given to hospitality now. We got real careful on this one because some of the most hospitable people in the world are people who don't know God is just who they are. They just are naturally like this is not talking about the guys an elder of his family has the best dinner parties at his house that's not what's talking it would start about here at all not affect the word here literally means to love the strangers doesn't mean he's a social butterfly by the fact that would be detrimental to the mission.

I'll talk about more than moment doesn't mean he's a skilled politician and how he works. The crowding disciples. The people in his church, but is to love strangers and this can make a person vulnerable. It might it be even dangerous. And God doesn't ask us to discard wisdom as we take people in, and welcome them into our fellowship. Even in our homes and understand that's all they had in this day because I had no church building and very little money to do anything else.

The idea here is not that he's talking about. The pastor must be super nice Dalbey is a nice guy but it's an essential situation because in this day many, many Christians were severely suffering under persecution and some of them lead Linda almost nomadic lifestyle they might flow into Jerusalem, having been persecuted and run out of their former town and later they had not food off a little clothing and no place to rest. The point is, the pastor should be an example of all the church members when their suffering and persecuting Christians. We welcome them. Even if we don't know that we love strangers, and you've shown that so wonderfully through the years as we welcome people from all over into our church and and end our fellowship. Even in our home.

So in the early church persecutions in poverty made for a high number of widows and orphans had not that the social government social programs we have today. And so it was necessary not to allow people who are actually really suffering now again the concept of suffering. Today means you only have two flatscreen televisions and MSS three. That's not what this is about. This is a literally suffering. This is literally no place to sleep. This is literally nothing to eat.

That's the context here and a man shouldn't be a pastor in that context, he doesn't have a heart to help those brothers and sisters who find themselves in real need.

Now there's a balancing context here that that that helps us understand and I sent Chapter 6 you understand that this is referring primarily to very small household churches benefit to go to the New Testament church is meeting in households is about all you find that means they were very small but like our small groups almost but in the early chapters of acts. There was a tremendous revival. Thousands of people were saved and there was a great number of widows who are not being served. The hospitality they needed. They were not being said the Fed rather in the daily distribution of the food and in that case, the pastors organize the large church so that those needs would be met while they said we will go study and prepare to preach, so the context dictates how this is to be carried out, but I think the thing is the pastor's heart must be one that he is approachable.

He's not isolated from the people all of our elders.

Those of us on staff. Those of us who are not staff members will gladly meet with someone gladly received people and that's the heart. We must that I have office hours every week for folks who want to come in with any counseling they they may have. So there's a sense in it which he can't be aloof and separate from the people. The balance is very important. Here's what I want to say here this this of all the traits may be the easiest one for Satan to get a foothold in the church through and the easiest one for Satan to counterfeit. I've seen this over and over and over and over and over again where perhaps with good intentions and good motives. Pastors gifted with people skills. He has charisma. He knows how to make people laugh. He knows how to be everybody's buddy and he begins to realize he can keep the following on that instead of on this, so he's hospitable but way out of balance and even become sinful and I can't tell you how often I run into it constantly in my training pastors because the most hospitable and loving thing a pastor can do is do what Paul also commended the Timothy that is to study, to the point of exhaustion, and preaching the word. Your people.

You can't be a social butterfly. Do what Paul commenced him to do in handling the word of God, but it is a subtle and I'm in good brothers on the who I know are good men get trapped in this trap. All it takes is to three people to say he's not caring enough. He's not available enough he's not there when I need him, but limit your thought about this earlier if we have 8 to 900 active people. Not all those members who have 8 to 900 active people in this church. If I can make everyone of you feel like you're my best buddy, what would that be doing it be a line you know it and I know it is just not enough time or energy for me or matter our brother Steve or any of our elders to tell everybody where your best buddy know we want to be hospital. But as much as we can, but there's gotta be a order a structure in a large congregation for this function in our small groups is a wonderful biblical way to organize that kind of caring and that kind of hospitality when we come to the last one I will go ahead and throw this when it was will do this tonight, but I'm going to I'm going to build on it this morning, able to teach. He must be able to teach.

That doesn't mean he's called to be a heralding pulpit preacher you would expect God would give us 12 men with a strong gifted preachers is not enough pulpit for that and it's been proven throughout history that some of them in the church first century the church age and churches throughout the ages that typically among the body of elders, God raises up a lead, our preaching pastor you see that with Paul among the Gentiles. We see with Peter among the Jews and we see it all throughout church history so we hold to the principal and I'll elaborate on this later in the study that there is a body of elders and when we meet we are all equal, but based on gifts and calling, there is a leader among the another thing that you wouldn't expect and give certainly lead to chaos and confrontation is that all 12 elders all have the same strong gift of leadership will that would be a harmonious group would not know some have the gift of bleeding son don't have that gift so much but they all must be able to teach and quickly going through these first of all, he must have credibility and that is he he councils are.

He teaches and that's one way he teaches.

By the way, an elder may just be a very good personal counselor and I can say this unequivocally. All of our men are very able to take the word of God and exhort, and God, and teach in private settings, but he has to be skilled and practiced what he preaches and we don't want to be a church that reverts to the elders only teach historical or intellectual facts is the ability to bring the word of God than the application to our lives that speaks to our credibility in first Timothy 412, Paul told Timothy show yourself an example of those who believe be credible. Now let's go to the next thing not only credibility under the gift of teaching are able to teach. He has the gift of teaching is hard to put your finger on this, but it's obvious when you sit under person and they know how to take the biblical truth and apply it to life and I think their ladies who have this gift, but obsoletes don't hold the office of elder and to varying degrees.

This gift is scattered throughout a congregation but for man to be considered for the office of Elder. He needs to have shown at least in his personal counseling in small groups are from pulpit ministry. All of the above that he has a God-given gift of teaching.

Secondly, he must be doctrinally sound. This is something that should take a while you know if if we have a new staff member join our staff, especially from outside of our church. Our policy is to require three years before he could be considered for the office of elder and part of that is because he needs to learn both sound doctrine and how we function in sound doctrine here at Grace like sure we know that Timothy was a young man and Paul commenced Timothy because he is his mother and his grandmother had taken the pains to thoroughly teach him the doctrines of Scripture.

So as he's converted and called into the ministry he already had a reservoir of doctrinal understanding that change some today but sadly a lot of young preachers go off to seminary which actually is not in the Bible. I think seminaries are good, but there's no biblical requirement for graduate schools of theology, I don't know why we ever thought we could have a educational system structured after the pagan Greeks of antiquity, and it's the best way to train men from ministry because it's not the best way the best ways the local church with some formal training thrown in their but anyway young men go off the seminaries and many of our seminaries are not taught about this bad disk, but many of our evangelical seminaries have lost the faith they teach them heresy. They teach them unsound and so God for bid this church every put ever put a man in this pulpit, or even on the elder body who has been trained in liberal or unsound theology or doctrine, and at least is not recanted and turn from that initial good evidence for thing under able to teach.

He must be humble.

He must be humble. I'm talking about biblical humility here, not a worldly concept of humility, Jesus. Jesus was wonderfully meek and mild one day the next day he made publicly, boldly and with manly courage be condemning and calling out our hypocritical Pharisee, or he may pick up a kata non-tales and literally physically run men out of the temple, the moneychangers, both of those are humility asked how about those humility because in both cases, he humbled himself to do what his father wanted done, not what he wanted that humility.

It also parallels over to meekness.

But here's what I'm talking about the man who teaches must also be the man who says I'm repenting to.

I'm learning to I'm growing also.

Without that quality, he's not yet ready for the office of pastor and over an obvious pattern of arrogance cannot be present in a man who is teaching correctly or is qualified under the qualification of being able to teach.

He leads a holy life. That's the next qualification means is his his life must have a holiness, certainly not perfection, but it's obvious in his lifestyle the way he raised his children the way he handles his recreational whatever it may be he seeks a holiness and righteousness in his lifestyle again so there's no contradiction between his preaching and the way he lives. He's diligent in Bible study diligent in Bible study will look at this more as we go through the pastoral epistles, but Paul commenced. Timothy Hughes is a great phrase it literally means this being to your ears in study and in preparation for preaching be up to your ears literally means labor to the point of exhaustion in your study and in your preaching. You have allowed me to do that here and I believe without exception, you would say it's led to the spiritual benefit of culture. I don't just thank you for that for me. I thank you for that for you.

God forgive you get some happy Jack slept on the back.

Everybody's buddy warm when some wonderful personality and great humor kinda guy who doesn't feed you the word of God that your discerning enough to know the difference you would say things that got quickly. Most churches don't know why most churches are spiritual. They want the carnal affections of a manipulative Hector, not the spiritual truths of a faithful pastor so I commend you for that maturity.

Lastly, he must be a man with courage and conviction of hate to even go here a fight to go there shouldn't go there even though I'm functioning a lot to jet lag right now. One of the great great missing elements and leadership of countries and pulpits is a lack of manly courage, look at Jesus, not this liberal redesigned Jesus that we hear from the news commentators or somebody you throw out some quote about what would Jesus do they don't know who in the world. Jesus is I'm telling you, Jesus.

Not only did he won't grow up as a carpenter's son. Not only did you grow up carrying heavy beans and working hard and had callused hands. He was a man's man physically, but he was a man's man and moral courage.

You don't stand up to the Pharisees who had the power of life and death. The point your finger in their faces that you know what you guys are your bunch of snakes. Jesus said that your brood of vipers whitewashed to one of the most insulting indignities you could ever say good you is that you're like a dead body because dead bodies are spiritually and morally unclean to them. Jesus said manly courage and I don't want to sit under any man who opens this book and don't have the courage to preach, thus saith the Scriptures, on the one hand, humility, repentance, on the other hand, the courage and boldness.

That's all included, that he may not be an elder who uses the pulpit but if he's counseling or teaching is going to love and live a firm you say, here's what the Scriptures your problem is not this. Your problem is not that your problem is not your wife. Your problem is not your work environment. Your problem is you a manly courage well.

I feel like always feel I resign, I don't mean that.

Obviously you may fire me, but for those of us who hold the office of elder. May we be strongly reproved. May we be of thorough self-examination, and may we say, oh God in heaven. If you don't keep me I will be kept for all of you in the congregation. Examine your life's also Lord in my this kind of man Lord in my this kind of woman because these are just the qualification for elders. These are qualifications for Christians, but a man can't be in the office of Elder. If he has glaring patterns of the of character deficiencies in these areas