The Church Needs Deacons

Amen.

Today is a little bit different for us.

Ordinarily, we are walking through books of the Bible together.

We just finished a long series through the book of John.

As I mentioned earlier, Lord willing, next week we'll begin a new series in the book of Daniel.

But here in between, we have an opportunity this morning,

as we install two deacons in the life of this church,

to explain from the Bible what in the world that word even means, deacon.

Now I know when I even say that, many of us have different images that come to mind,

different experiences that come to mind, some good, some bad, some biblical, some unbiblical.

And so what I want to do this morning, with the help of God through His Word,

is to open up to Acts chapter 6 and explain biblically what we are getting ourselves into

Acts 6 · chapter mention

with this gift of deacons this morning.

So open it up to Acts chapter 6.

Acts 6 · chapter mention

And I want you to keep a finger there.

We're also going to go to 1 Timothy chapter 3.

1 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

If you're using the Pew Bibles there in front of you,

you can find Acts chapter 6 at page 859, I believe.

Acts 6 · chapter mention

But when you found it,

let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word, Acts chapter 6.

Acts 6 · chapter mention

I'll be reading this morning from verse 1 through verse 7.

Now in these days,

when the disciples were increasing in number,

a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews,

because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.

And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said,

It is not right that we should give up preaching the Word of God to serve tables.

Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute,

full of the Spirit and of wisdom,

whom we will appoint to this duty.

But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.

And what they said pleased the whole gathering.

And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit,

and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicholas,

a proselyte of Antioch.

These they set before the apostles,

and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

And the Word of God continued to increase.

And the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem,

and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

And the grass withers and the flower fades,

but the Word of our Lord endures forever.

Would you pray with me?

Lord, we thank You for Your Word.

We thank You for Your wisdom and for Your design and plans for Your church.

And we thank You that in Your grace and Your kindness,

we are becoming obedient to what You've written.

And we pray that that would continue here,

and that You would work in us what You worked in the early church,

that disciples would multiply greatly from this place.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

And you may be seated.

Pastor Matt Smithhurst,

in his very short, very helpful book,

simply titled Deacons,

he says,

Show me a church with distracted leaders

or a derailed mission,

and I will show you a church without effective deacons.

It may be that you've been a part of a church like this,

and if you have,

whether you realize it or not,

if you've experienced a church with distracted leaders

or a derailed mission,

whether or not you realize it,

you have had a little taste

of what life was like in the early church

in this period in Acts chapter 6.

Acts 6 · chapter mention

There's an issue here in the early days of the church.

Issues are not anything new in the church, by the way.

It's not a new phenomenon.

Good things are happening in the early church.

The Spirit has come.

The Word is spreading.

Men and women from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria

to the ends of the earth are beginning to believe.

The gospel churches are forming.

But verse 1 tells us that there's an issue.

Look there with me.

When the disciples were increasing in number,

that's a good thing,

a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews.

That's a bad thing.

Why were they complaining?

He says,

Because their widows were being neglected

in the daily distribution.

Here we go.

This is church war.

We've all maybe tasted a bit of this.

You have the Hellenists in one corner.

These Greek-speaking Jews.

They're hungry.

Literally hungry.

Their widows have been neglected.

There's an injustice being done.

And in the other corner over here are the Hebrews.

We don't know exactly why this neglect was happening.

It may be that there was some sort of underlying prejudice

behind this neglect.

Maybe this was intentional.

It may be just an innocent oversight.

We're not told exactly why this is happening.

But it's happening.

And everybody is looking to the apostles

to try and figure out,

well, what in the world are they going to do

to solve this problem?

If this were an American church,

they probably just would have planted

a Hellenist church over here.

And a Hebrew church right around the corner over here.

They would separate,

go their own separate ways.

Everybody would be happy.

But that's not what they did.

The solution here,

for the sake of unity of the church,

and for the sake of the mission of the church,

for the sake of the advance of the gospel,

was to establish a deacon-like ministry

that served the needs of these widows,

that advanced the mission of the gospel,

that preserved the ministry of the word and prayer.

There is a deacon-like ministry.

And I can't exactly say

that this is the establishment

of the deacon ministry.

Deacons have not yet formally been established

at this point in the life of the early church.

But I can say with certainty

that this, at the very least,

lays out the blueprint

for what the deacon ministry would become

in the church.

And so here's what I want you to understand

this morning.

That this type of deacon ministry,

what we see in Acts chapter 6,

Acts 6 · chapter mention

is absolutely vital

for the health of the church.

Deacon ministry,

when it functions according to the word of God

for the good of his people,

is absolutely vital

for the health of the church.

The church needs deacons.

Sea Wee Bay needs deacons.

And so what I want to do this morning

is give you four reasons why this morning.

Four reasons why we need deacons.

And really, these are four descriptions

of a deacon.

So if you're following along,

if you're a note taker,

we try to make it easy

for you to take notes.

This will help you follow me this morning.

Four reasons why we need deacons.

Number one,

deacons are mature believers.

Deacons are mature believers.

Verse 2, if you look there with me,

verse 2 says that the 12 summoned

the full number of the disciples.

At this point,

that number was in the thousands.

According to Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

some estimates are likely

over 20,000 members of this church.

This was the first mega church

here in Jerusalem.

Twelve apostles,

thousands of members.

And here's what they said.

They said it's not right

that we should give up

preaching of the word of God

in order to serve tables.

We'll get back to that comment

in a moment.

But here's the solution.

They said,

Therefore, brothers,

pick out from among you

seven men of good repute,

full of the spirit and of wisdom,

whom we will appoint to this duty.

The solution here to this issue

was seven men of good repute.

You hear that qualification?

They had a reputation

that preceded them.

Seven men who were full of the spirit.

They're not primarily

just good businessmen.

These are mature Christians.

That's the qualification.

These are individuals

who gave evidence of regeneration.

Seven men who are full of wisdom.

They knew their Bibles.

They can apply God's truth

to issues in their lives

as well as in the life of the church,

problems that the church would face.

They were mature believers.

Now, I want you to flip over

to 1 Timothy 3 for a moment.

And keep your fingers there

in Acts 6,

because we will come back.

But in 1 Timothy 3,

all of 1 Timothy,

Paul is writing to a young pastor

who's trying to figure things out

in the church.

And he's giving godly wisdom,

God-directed insight

into how the church ought to function.

So by the time he gets to chapter 3,

the Apostle Paul,

he's listing out qualifications

for the two offices

of the local church,

elder and deacon.

Pastor,

overseer,

elder,

elder,

and deacon.

So we have the qualifications

for the office of pastor

in verses 1 through 7,

and then the office of deacon

in verses 8 through 13.

And what I want you to notice

is that in this description of deacons,

this is simply describing

Christian maturity.

Look there with me to verse 8.

It says,

Deacons likewise,

in the same manner as the pastors,

deacons likewise must be dignified.

This is the banner qualification

that hangs over the rest

of these character qualifications here

in the rest of the passage.

They must be dignified.

And then it tells us

what they must not be.

Verse 8,

they must not be double-tongued.

Deacons might be placed

in vulnerable situations

where they might know

sensitive information

about church members.

They're caring for the needy

and the weak

and the vulnerable.

Deacons don't say one thing

and do another.

They don't say one thing

behind your back

that they wouldn't say

to your face.

They are not double-tongued.

They can be trusted

with the words

that come out of their mouth.

They're not addicted

to much wine.

Deacons in this context,

again,

they probably,

possibly,

would have been

bringing wine to the sick,

administering wine

to those who are needy

and sick.

And they should not be

given over to addiction

to much wine.

They're not drunkards.

You don't want

an alcoholic deacon, right?

And in the same way,

likely,

they would have had access

to distribute

some of the church's funds

for these tangible,

immediate,

practical needs.

They would be money holders

for issues of benevolence

and member care.

And so,

he says,

they must not be greedy

for dishonest gain.

You don't want

a greedy deacon

having his hand

in the finances

of the church.

All of these

are issues of self-control,

aren't they?

All of these

are issues

of Christian maturity.

But it's not only

what they must not be

and do.

Verse 9 says,

what they must do,

they must hold

the mystery of the faith

with a clear conscience.

Don't you love

that description?

Don't you wish

that would be said of you?

They must hold

the mystery of the faith

with a clear conscience.

They're not primarily teachers.

That's not their role.

But they're mature believers.

They know their Bible.

They're not in conflict

with the church's

statement of faith.

These are men and women,

as we'll see in just a moment,

who believe the word of God.

Verse 10 says,

they must be tested first.

This isn't a quick appointment.

It's too important for that.

They're proven over time

to be competent

and faithful.

You see the standard here.

This is a standard

of Christian maturity

that's observed

and affirmed

by the church

over time.

Now, verse 11.

Here's where we get

into some controversy.

Although I don't want

to get all the way

into the weeds

this morning in it,

I do just want

to point out

that there in the ESV,

the translation

that we use,

where it says,

their wives likewise

must be dignified,

that can just as easily

be translated,

women likewise

must be dignified,

which would change things

a little bit,

wouldn't it?

Rather than Paul

giving an additional

qualification

for deacons' wives,

which the elders

have no such qualification

for their wives,

instead,

Paul,

if this is what he's doing,

would be speaking

to females,

women,

who would serve

in the office

of deacon.

And so,

if that's what he's doing,

then the structure

of this passage

would look like this.

Verses 8 through 10

address all deacons

as sort of a header

for the list.

Verse 11

speaks to women deacons.

Verse 12

speaks to male deacons.

And then verse 13

concludes,

again,

by speaking to

all deacons.

Women likewise

must be dignified.

They likewise

must not be slanderers,

must be sober-minded,

must be faithful

in all things.

Verse 12,

back to male deacons.

They must be

the husband of one wife,

a one-woman man,

managing their children

and their own households well.

And then finally,

in verse 13,

all who serve well

as deacons

gain a good standing

for themselves

and also great confidence

in the faith

that is in Christ Jesus.

I guess we did

sort of get into the weeds,

didn't we?

Not too deep.

Here's the point.

Whoever serves

as a deacon

must be dignified.

That's the banner

qualification here.

It's Christian maturity.

And why do we need

deacons that would

serve like this?

Well,

because I pray

that this list

would describe

every member

of our church.

What's exceptional

about this list

is that these qualifications

are so ordinary,

isn't it?

This is what

all Christians

must aspire

to be and do.

It's what deacons

must be

if we're going

to recognize them

and install them

to serve in our church

as deacons.

But this is what

all Christians

ought to aspire

to be

by the grace of God.

God.

So when we

install qualified,

mature deacons

to serve in this church,

what we're doing

is we're

providing

servants

who you can look to

and say,

go look like this.

Go live like this.

You want to know

what it means

to serve

in a God-honoring way?

Go spend some time

with Bill.

Go spend some time

with Randy.

Serve with them.

Serve like them.

Pursue Christ

like them.

They're examples

of Christian maturity.

Second,

second,

deacons are

pastor supporters.

Let's look back

to Acts chapter 6.

Acts 6 · chapter mention

Deacons are

pastor supporters.

Look there again

to verse 2.

And notice again

how the apostles

responded

to this issue.

They said,

the twelve

summoned the full number

of the disciples

and said,

it's not right

that we should give up

preaching the word of God

to serve tables.

Therefore,

brothers,

pick out from among you

seven men of good repute,

full of the spirit

and of wisdom,

whom we will appoint

to this duty.

But we will devote

ourselves to prayer

and to the ministry

of the word.

Do you notice

the division of labor

here?

Developing in the early church.

The apostles here,

they are to devote themselves

to the ministry

of prayer

and the word.

And then these seven men

are appointed

to this need meeting,

ministry,

practical,

tangible,

need meeting task.

And again,

this lays out

the blueprint,

the pattern

for how these two offices

of the local church

ought to operate.

Elders,

pastors,

our shepherds,

their spiritual overseers,

their leaders,

their primary task

of elders and pastors

is to be about

the ministry

of word and prayer.

And the primary task

of deacons,

like these seven men here,

is to be about

this practical,

tangible,

need meeting

ministry of the body,

but not as an end

in itself.

In essence,

they look to the many

practical needs

of the body

so as to guard

and protect

the ministry

of the word.

They're like

offensive linemen.

As the elders

run the play,

drive the ball

down the field,

the linemen block

and keep them

from getting hit

with every possible

need or complaint

along the way.

That's the general

division of labor

here.

Now,

notice what the apostles

did not say.

They did not say

this need

isn't important.

It could be easy

to misunderstand

the apostles'

words here,

to take it almost

as being dismissive

of the significance

of this need.

Like,

I'm not waiting tables

so somebody else

can do it.

We're doing the

important stuff

over here

so get somebody

else to do it.

Well,

that's not what

they said,

is it?

Quite the opposite,

in fact.

They saw that

this need

is so important

that they gathered

the whole church,

appointed seven individuals

to the task,

set them about the work

to make certain

that this need

was met

so that they

could continue

to devote themselves

to the word

and prayer.

It's interesting

that the root word

for deacon

there in Acts 6,

diakonos,

it appears twice.

Once,

in verse 2,

it's not right

that we should give up

preaching the word

of God

to deacon tables.

And again,

in verse 4,

but we will devote

ourselves to prayer

in the deaconing

of the word.

They recognized

this division of labor

with a common goal

that was needed

for the health

of the church.

What they also

didn't say

was this need

is important

so we will do

it all ourselves.

That's not what

they said.

The apostles

were not meeting

every need

that they saw

in the early church.

And wisely so.

They weren't doing

everything

that could be done.

They were focused

explicitly

on what must

be done.

Namely,

the ministry

of the word

and prayer.

Some churches

have a

messed up vision

of what a pastor

is supposed to do.

That if there's

needs in the church,

well then the pastor

is the one

who must

be the one

to have to meet

the needs

in the church.

That's wrong.

But at the same

time,

some pastors

wrongly take

that upon

themselves.

They try to

do too much.

And instead

of actually

helping the church

and ministering

to the church,

the church winds

up with

distracted leaders

and a derailed

mission.

The Associated

Press published

an article

on January

11th

titled,

U.S.

Pastors

Struggle

with Post-Pandemic

Burnout.

Survey shows

half considered

quitting since

2020.

It said that

more than

four in ten

of clergy

surveyed in

fall 2023

had seriously

considered leaving

their congregations

at least once

since 2020.

And more than

half had thought

seriously of

leaving the ministry

according to

the survey

released by

the Hartford

Institute for

Religion Research

on Thursday.

And it went

on to say

those thinking

of quitting

the ministry

entirely were

more likely

to be pastors

of smaller

churches and

those who work

solo compared

with those on

larger staffs

and at larger

churches.

Now why do you

think that is?

It is not

because large

church ministry

is easier than

small church

ministry.

I can guarantee

you that.

But it is

because small

churches are

often understaffed

and under

resourced

which leaves

the pastor

overwhelmed

and overextended

as they seek

to meet the

needs of the

body.

Unless

unless

he is able

to delegate

the needs

of the ministry

to qualified

individuals who

can help

carry the

load.

Church do

you see the

wisdom here?

In God's

gift of

a plurality

of elders

and a plurality

of godly

deacons to

help carry

the load?

I am

thankful for

Treg

Hallman

who serves

alongside me

as an elder

here.

I am thankful

that God has

brought these

two men

Bill and

Randy to

serve alongside

us as

deacons.

We need

deacons

church.

The church

needs

deacons.

There is

wisdom here

for us to

follow.

But it is

not just

for my

good.

Third,

deacons are

unity

defenders.

They are

mature

believers.

They are

pastor

supporters.

Third,

they are

unity

defenders.

Ask

yourself,

why was

this need

so important?

Important

enough to

gather the

whole church

and important

enough to

address it

here.

Important

enough for

Luke as

he is writing

the book of

Acts to

say we need

to record

this and

have us

think about

this.

I think

there are

three layers

to this

issue here.

On the

one hand,

the issue

is important

simply because

there is a

need in the

body.

These widows

are being

neglected.

That is an

issue.

We are called

to care for

those who

are weak

and vulnerable.

We are called

to care for

the orphan

and the

widow.

That is

layer number

one.

There is a

real need

here in the

body that

needs to be

addressed.

There is

another issue

here,

isn't there?

We have

already covered

it.

The ministry

of the

word was

going to

be hampered

if the

apostles were

to be

distracted

from the

ministry of

the word

and prayer

to go

serve

tables.

Guess

what?

The ministry

of the

word and

prayer would

be hampered.

The apostles

can only divide

their time and

attention in so

many ways.

There is

another issue

here,

another reason

why this

ministry was

so necessary.

It is a

reason that

underlies the

work of a

deacon.

It is one of

the main

reasons why

we and

every other

church needs

qualified deacons.

That reason

is that the

unity of the

church is

being threatened.

Do you see

that?

The unity of

the church.

Think about

it.

The problem

here is much

bigger than

just the

immediate

practical need

on the

table.

No pun

intended.

The problem,

this unmet

need,

was resulting

in a bigger

issue,

the brewing

threat of

disunity in

the early

church.

Now,

we have

talked about

this so

much.

You probably

are wondering

when in the

world am I

going to stop

talking about

unity so much?

Well,

don't hold

your breath.

Church,

this is so

important for

us.

We must

guard the

unity that's

given to us

by God in

the gospel of

Christ.

Christ.

It's a

defining feature

of the local

church is that

Christ has

united us

individually,

vertically to

God by faith

in Him,

and He has

united us

horizontally to

one another

in a body.

If we're not

united together,

we have no

mission worth

sharing about.

Unity was

important to

Jesus,

John 17.

He prayed,

I do not ask

for these only,

but also for

those who will

believe in me

through their

word,

that's us,

that they may

all be one

just as you,

Father,

are in me

and I in you,

that they also

may be in us

so that the

world may believe

that you have

sent me.

Our unity,

again,

individually to

God and

corporately to

one another,

is an

apologetic to

the outside

unbelieving

world.

He said,

Father,

I pray that

they may

be one

so that

the world

may believe

that you

sent me.

Lack of

oneness

breeds lack

of witness.

This is a

need that

must be

addressed.

How could

they continue

to go out

and tell

people of

the unifying

work of

Jesus if

they themselves

are divided

with one

another?

Unity was

important to

Jesus.

Unity was

important to

Paul.

Ephesians

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4.

He says,

I therefore,

a prisoner of

the Lord,

urge you to

walk in a

manner worthy

of the calling

to which you

have been

called,

with all

humility and

gentleness,

with patience,

bearing with one

another in love,

eager to

maintain the

unity of the

spirit in the

bond of

peace.

Does that

sound familiar

to you?

To our

members,

that ought to

sound very

familiar.

That's a part

of our church

covenant.

It's the

first line

of commitment

that we

make as we

join together

in this church

family,

that we

will pursue

unity,

being eager

to maintain

it,

what God

has given

to us.

The unity

of the church

was important

to Paul,

not only this,

but the church's

unity is important

to Satan.

Do you realize

that?

The church's

unity is

important to

Satan,

which is why

he does

whatever he

can to

disrupt it.

Our enemy

does not

want a

united church.

He hates

a united

church.

I'm afraid

that he

works much

harder to

disrupt our

unity than

we tend to

do to

protect it.

Church,

we share a

sweet fellowship

here in this

family.

I know we

do, but

hear me out.

Our enemy

would love to

use something

as small as

setting tables

to unravel the

fellowship that

we share

at Seawee Bay.

Deacons,

I'm speaking

to you and

church members

to you as

well.

Don't let it

happen here.

Be on guard

against it.

Be eager to

maintain the

unity that we've

been given.

Don't let the

enemy get one

step into this

church to

disrupt the

unity that we

have.

Our mission

hinges on our

unity as we

work together to

spread the

gospel.

be watchful

deacons.

Be vigilant.

Serve like

watchmen in a

tower.

Serve like

snipers in a

tower who

seek to put

out any threat

before they

even come near

the walls of

this church.

You are unity

defenders.

One final

description.

Fourth,

finally,

deacons are

servant leaders.

servant leaders.

At the very

heart of the

deacon ministry

is service.

Serving tables

is not glamorous

work, is it?

I worked at a

coffee shop while

I was in

seminary.

Let me tell you

something.

There is no

worse job than

serving coffee

to coffee

addicted people

before they have

had their coffee.

Everybody else

gets them after

they have

been getting

their fix of

the caffeine.

It is tough.

It is messy

work.

You get fussed

at.

People fuss at

you.

They don't like

the way you

serve them.

You have to

clean up other

people's messes.

It is hard

work in the

service industry.

To be a

deacon at its

very core is

to be about

service.

The word

deacon, you

know this.

The word

deacon, it

literally

translates to

mean servant.

It is a

dignified title

for dirty

work.

You want to

be a deacon?

That does not

mean you are

climbing up the

ladder of a

church to a

position of

authority.

What it means

is that you

are committing

to stoop down

low to be in

the position of

a servant.

But lest you

think that makes

them insignificant,

let me remind

you how things

work in the

kingdom of God.

Mark chapter

Mark 10 · chapter mention

10, James

and John

wanted to

climb the

ladder of

authority.

And they

made a request

of the Lord

Jesus, Lord

let us sit at

your right hand

in glory.

They wanted

this position

of authority

and recognition.

They wanted

power and

greatness.

And Jesus

responds to

them and says

really you

don't know

what you are

asking for.

Listen to

what he says

in Mark

Mark 10:42

chapter 10

verse 42.

It says

Jesus called

them to him

and said to

them, you

know that

those who

are considered

rulers of

the Gentiles

lord it over

them.

And their

great ones

exercise authority

over them.

That's how it

works out there

in the world.

But it shall

not be so

among you.

But whoever

would be great

among you

must be

your servant.

And whoever

would be first

among you

must be

slave of

all.

Do you hear

the path of

greatness in the

kingdom of God?

Unlike the

way things

work out

there in

the world

where the

path of

greatness is

climbing the

ladder no

matter who

you got to

trample on

the way up

the path to

greatness in

the kingdom

of God and

in the church

is not up

but down.

You're not

climbing your

way up the

ladder.

You're stooping

low to become

a servant.

Whoever would

be great among

you must be

your deacon.

And whoever

would be first

among you must

be slave of

all.

Is that your

vision of

greatness?

Is that your

vision of what

true greatness

looks like?

Deaconing is

messy work.

It's often

thankless work.

Oftentimes people

who you serve

are mean to

you.

Sometimes they

won't be happy

with your

service.

If you serve

for their

approval you'll

probably be

discouraged in

your work at

some point along

the way.

But if you

want to be

a deacon

your call

is to step

into the

messiness of

the church

for their

good and

for God's

glory.

You are

called to

be a

servant.

Again,

Matt Smethurst

quoting his

book, he

says,

deacons are

not the

church's

spiritual

council of

directors,

nor the

executive board

to whom the

pastor CEO

answers.

They are the

calvary of

servants,

deputized to

execute the

elders'

vision by

coordinating

various

ministries.

I love that

description.

And here at

Seaweed Bay,

what that's

going to look

like, what

this means

for us

practically as

we install

these men

today as

deacons,

is that

these men

will serve

by leading

and facilitating

some key

ministry areas

for our

church, the

ministries of

facilities and

the ministry

of stewardship.

And church,

they will

need your

help.

They will

need your

support.

They will

need your

prayers.

We don't

raise up

deacons to

do all the

ministry

themselves.

They lead

and facilitate

and organize,

but the church

is to be about

this work of

service.

All of us

are in a very

general sense

lowercase d

deacons.

If you want

to support

them, then

join them.

Don't just

observe their

efforts, multiply

their efforts.

And it's

my prayer

and my

expectation

that as

these men

serve, the

Lord will

do in us

and through

us what

he did for

the church

here in

Acts chapter

Acts 6 · chapter mention

6.

Look there

again to

verse 5.

Verse 5

says that

what they

said pleased

the whole

gathering,

and so they

chose Stephen,

a man full

of faith and

of the Holy

Spirit, and

Philip, and

Prochorus, and

Nicanor, and

Taman, and

Parmenas, and

Nicholas, a

proselyte of

Antioch.

These they

set before the

apostles and

they prayed and

laid hands on

them.

Listen to this.

And the word

of God

continued to

increase.

And the

number of the

disciples multiplied

greatly in

Jerusalem.

And a great

many of the

priests became

obedient to

the faith.

Don't you

want to see

that happen

here?

don't you

want to see

the word of

God increase

here?

Don't you

want to see

disciples multiplied

here?

I believe that

deacons and

their humble

need, meeting,

pastor, supporting,

unity, defending

ministry are a

crucial part of

that game.

The church

needs great

deacons.

why?

Ultimately

because when

they serve in

this way as

God has designed

for the good of

the church, they

show the church

and the world

what Jesus is

like.

Mark chapter

Mark 10 · chapter mention

10, one more

time.

Verse 45.

Jesus gives

them the ultimate

reason to serve

like this.

For even the

Son of Man

came not to be

served, but to

serve and to

give his life as

a ransom for

many.

Even the Son of

Man, Jesus Christ

himself, came not

to be deaconed, but

to deacon.

The Lord Jesus

himself, for the

sake of others

centered, church

building, need,

meeting, service,

humbled himself to

become a

servant.

covenant.

How great is the

Lord Jesus who

stooped down to

wash his disciples

feet?

How great is the

Son of God who

took on flesh to

come and to ransom

what's been lost?

How great is the

King who laid down

his life to bring

sinners like us into

his kingdom?

Do you see Jesus'

greatness?

Jesus served us.

I know that this

is primarily a

message for the

church about

deacons, and if

you're not a

believer and you're

here, you're hearing

this message, you

probably don't care a

thing about deacons and

why our church needs

deacons and what does

this have to do with

you.

Listen to this.

You may not care a

thing about that, but

you should care that the

Son of God himself has

stooped down to serve

you.

That even the Son of

Man came not to be

served, but to serve

and to give his life as

a ransom for many.

You know, we often

think the way to get

right with God and to

maintain a good standing

with God is to serve

him, right?

If I can just serve him

in the correct ways, he'll

love me.

If I can serve him

better, maybe things will

be right with me and

him.

Let me be as clear as I

possibly can with you

this morning.

You cannot begin to

serve him unless you

have first allowed

Christ Jesus to serve

you.

Have you received the

service of Jesus by

faith?

And church, for us, I

hope you see we need

deacons like this.

We need deacons like

this who will show us

the servant heart of

Christ that we might

see and experience

from one another what

it means to be served

and loved and cared for

by God himself.

Now, we might have an

example to follow as we

follow Christ.

And that this church

might grow in health and

unity and that the word

of God might go forth in

power.

Amen?

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for

your wisdom and your good

design for your church.

It's not our church.

It's not our plans for

our church and what we

want to do and what we

want to see happen.

It's not our design.

God, we want to submit to

your word.

What you have planned for

your church.

So we praise you and we

thank you for these two

men, Bill and Randy, as

you've raised them up,

as this church has

affirmed their

qualifications as deacons.

And we pray, God, that

they would be a blessing

to us as we look to

Christ.

We love you, Lord, and we

pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.